Just got done reading The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical by Shane Claiborne.
This book generally challenged and encouraged me, and I think that his questions are valid. I don’t agree with all of his conclusions, but it was refreshing to get the vibe that I probably didn’t have to. While Claiborne seemed to want to distance himself from both liberal and conservative camps, that’s not as easy to do in all practicality, exemplified by a very liberal media style and his quotes from many of those champions. Not that I necessarily disagreed with the statements; I guess it just seemed pretty safe in some ways, like something you would see in Spin Magazine or Rolling Stone.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book. He’s a good writer in the emergent “everyone has a story” way. I really appreciated his ideas and some of the balance the Lord has taught him so far. His expressions of community and redemption struck a real chord in me.
There were several passages in the book I really appreciated, but I chose this one to share.
“God forgive us for all those we have lost because we made the gospel boring. I am convinced that if we lose kids to the culture of drugs and materialism, of violence and war, it’s because we don’t dare them, not because we don’t entertain them. It’s because we make the gospel too easy, not because we make it too difficult. Kids want to do something heroic with their lives, which is why they play video games and join the army. But what are they to do with a church that teaches them to tiptoe through life so they can arrive safely at death?”
Great thoughts and question …
Peace.