The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

This book is truly amazing, and it has really got me thinking. Shane Claiborne is part of a collective in Philadelphia that aims to live like Jesus and like early Christians. They keep their doors open and share everything with everyone. Their one goal (besides loving God) is to build community ties amongst their neighbors - poor people, homeless people, prostitutes, drug addicts in the area of Philly where they live. If Jesus were alive today, they argue, he would be loving as many poor, sick, confused and wretched people he could find. Not necessarily the people you worship with or commune with on a daily basis. He argues against charity (which maintains distance between people who give and the people who receive) and for love. Just getting to know poor people. Just acknowledging them as human and making eye contact with them. Breaking bread with them. When you love others like this, Claiborne says, you learn what God really is, the one body or whole that we are all a part of. I'm oversimplifying it and making it rosier than it is. But it's a great book and I'm going to keep thinking about it.

In Durham, we have a community that lives like this called Rutba house, named after a town in Iraq. Their website is newmonasticism.org.