Raising up an Army of LOVERS of God and Suffering People

Just finished this book today "The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical" by Shane Claiborne. WOW! Food for thought -- and I'm not talking baby food. Claiborne's life is revolutionary and challenging. He's provocative and sure to cause many Christians to be angry at some of his comments on the church and how it's lost it's calling to serve the least of these. Don't throw this baby out with the bath water. Read and pray about how you would live in light of how he presents ordinary albeit radical Christian living.

The following quote summed up what I hope will happen in PCC's Compassion and Justice Community:

"We are trying to raise up an army not simply of street activists
but of lovers -- a community of people who have fallen des-
perately in love with God and with suffering people and allow
those relationships to disturb and transform them." p. 296

AMAZON REVIEW From dressing the wounds of lepers in Calcutta to living among the homeless in Philadelphia to visiting families in Iraq, social activist Claiborne strives to live an authentic Christian life. In his view, he is a radical in the truest sense of the word, returning to the roots of Christianity by living as Jesus did and doing "small things with great love." A partner-founder of the Philadelphia-based faith community Simple Way, he presents an evangelical Christianity gentler and more inclusive than is usually seen, especially in the mass media. He describes Simple Way as a new culture that relies on radical interdependence and consists of grassroots organizations, intentional communities, and hospitality houses. Although the book isn't an autobiography, in it Claiborne reports much about his life: growing up in the Bible Belt, becoming a Jesus freak, moving to Philadelphia despite his family's misgivings, and helping the homeless there. Then he boldly requested an internship with Mother Teresa in Calcutta. She simply responded, "Come." Besides illuminating his own faith journey, Claiborne is insightful on the huge U.S. cultural and economic divide: the problem isn't that wealthy Christians don't care about the poor, he says, it's that they simply don't know the poor. A moving, often humorous account of a life of faith lived to the fullest. June SawyersCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved