Irresistible Revolution Chapter 2

Irresistible Revolution Chapter 2

So last Monday March 16th, our small group of couples met to talk about Chapter One. Now, there was not a whole lot of content in Chapter one, but there was enough to get us all talking, and talking, and talking….How do we relate to a guy who is writing about ministry in the city, when we all live out here in the mountains in a county of a few thousand. Yet, as we talked, it became clear to us that there is poverty, both spiritual and physical, right under our noses. At one point, Shane Claiborne made the point in Chapter 1, that to truly understand poverty, one has to understand what poverty feels like. I think Mother Theresa first said that. Shane began to spend nights in the city with homeless people, and his experiences there changed him profoundly. He began to see things he never saw before, he began to experience God in profound ways. He saw compassion, and sacrifice, and even evil at work. So, in our context here, what does that look like? If we are truly to understand what it feels like to go without, to truly not know when our next meal is coming from, how do we feel that? Furthermore, there are other needs in this community. There are a lot of single moms struggling in our community right now…. What must that be like? I have no idea how hard it is to be a single mom. I mean, how do they do it? How do you support a family and all their needs, and at the same time work? How do you find time for yourself, or just have a cup of coffee alone? And what about the stereotypes out there? In many situations, people may frown on you for being a single parent. How intimidating it must be to walk into a church, or bible study, and feel normal and accepted? People are so quick to judge… “What are people thinking?” “Do they think it is my fault?” To be honest, I have never quite let myself go there, and try to feel what it must be like. But, I hope that changes….

Furthermore, Shane talked about being pro-life. Yet, he stated that most Christians miss the whole point of being pro-life. If we are to truly stand for life, then we also need to be willing to care for un-wed mothers, and be ready to adopt babies. Sometimes we think just holding up a picket sign is enough. What does that help anyway? We are called to care, to truly care. Now on this point, we had some amazing discussion. It will be fun to see how that bears fruit over the next few months as we walk forward. We all know unwed mothers in our community, and so we all brainstormed what it would look like to truly reach out as the church to them. We have some action steps in mind, and it will be really fun to see how we can help come alongside some single moms with support and care.

We will be reading the next two chapters over the next couple of weeks. We won’t meet for another two weeks, but there is quite a bit of anticipation about what is next. I think there is the tendency in all of us to fight change, to fight the idea that someone can come in and radically challenge our worldview, our perspective on scripture, and our lifestyle. My hope and prayer is that I am open, truly open, to what God wants to reveal to me. Am I willing to be humbled, to be proven wrong? I do not know what will happen, or if I am wrong in my thinking yet, but I pray that I am an open book and a willing disciple. When confronted with the radical words of Jesus Christ, am I willing to take them for what they are, and change accordingly? I sure hope so.