The Washington Post Magazine today features a wonderful article about A Simple House, A Not-So-Simple Life.  It’s a really great article that helps explain a lot of the things we’ve been working through living in community. It also features a couple of quotes from my housemate Dawnielle Miller and mentions our community, Casa Chirilagua.  Let me know what you think! ]]> http://www.atthemargins.com/2009/01/25/a-not-so-simple-life/feed/ 1 http://www.atthemargins.com/2009/01/25/activist-dc-church-embraces-transition-in-name-of-its-mission/ http://www.atthemargins.com/2009/01/25/activist-dc-church-embraces-transition-in-name-of-its-mission/#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:54:44 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/?p=194

The Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein recently wrote an article about Church of the Savior, Activist D.C. Church Embraces Transition in Name of Its Mission. To quote one of my friends in the city, “No other group of people has done more to bring social justice to the city.” They were emerging decades before anyone had any concept of what that meant. I have many friends in their community and I admire their work more than I can articulate. ]]> http://www.atthemargins.com/2009/01/25/activist-dc-church-embraces-transition-in-name-of-its-mission/feed/ 0 http://www.atthemargins.com/2008/08/27/i-live-with-another-mans-wife/ http://www.atthemargins.com/2008/08/27/i-live-with-another-mans-wife/#comments Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:44:23 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/2008/08/27/i-live-with-another-mans-wife/ The September_October 2008 edition of Relevant Magazine features a wonderful story on community living by Matt Conner entitled “I Live With Another Man’s Wife.”  Unfortunately it is only available in print at this time (if this changes, I’ll put a post here), so pick up a copy of Relevant and take a look.

They are a bit too focused on the political end instead of the faith end, but it’s still cool.

Greed in the Name of Green

It talks about how going green has become a new option of conspicuous consumption.  It’s something I and my friends struggle with.  One, Dawnille, also of Casa Chirilagua, is particularly interested in starting a business of fair trade clothing, but is working through how to do it successfully while not continuing the societal embrace of consumerism.

She sent me a wonderful website, the Story of Stuff.  It does an excellent job of addressing the history of consumerism in our society and the problems of our extreme resource usage.

The Unexpected Monks

What chores would Jesus do?

It is well worth checking out!

The cover story, Portrait of Exploitation is accompanied by a bunch of pictures of prostituted women taken over an extended period of time.  The images depict a demise like I have never seen before.  They are utterly shocking!

The articles in the issue include:

Portrait of Exploitation
by Laura Coulter
A compelling call for the church to follow Jesus’ example by embracing the victims behind the vice.

Sophia’s Circle
by Amy Durkee
Former prostitutes come together for a time of healing and renewal and in the process become part of a sisterhood network.

Prostitution: Pathway to Incarceration for American Females
by Lisa L. Thompson
As the female prison population increases at alarming rates, it’s time we understood prostitution’s role as gateway to the crimes that are putting women behind bars.

Traffic Stopper
Donna M. Hughes, a leading international researcher on sex trafficking, explains the relationship between sex trafficking and prostitution.

Part 4: And who, now, will lead them?

Part 2: A call to serve, and to lead

Part 3: A crisis year, a Christmas comeback

My friends at Ma Siss’s Place and Quincy Street Missional Church were featured on the front page of the Boston Globe this morning.

This first in four part series will continue the next three days (I will post a link each day) and features many pictures and some other multimedia.

“From a Dorchester Chop Shop, to a Place to Pray”

The cover story ”A Return to Tradition” and “Mixing Jesus with Java: The Appeal of New Religious Communities.”

In it, Meghan Gouldin asks us to finish the sentence: “Authentic Christian community____________________.”

It’s what each of us living in community grapples with daily.  At least I hope we do.

Read her post and respond at

http://commongroundsonline.typepad.com/common_grounds_online/2007/07/meghan-gouldin-.html

Advent Conspiracy

Category: General

I just read about the Advent Conspiracy in the ePistle from Evangelicals for Social Action. It’s a program to help churches challenge their congregants to rethink the consumeristic celebration of Christmas by focusing on the worship of Christ and obedience to his message to the poor.

I recently saw God Grew Tired of Us with a friend. It’s a wonderful film about Sudanese lost boys who become U.S. refugees. During their first Christmas in the United States, one of the boys asks (forgive me, because I don’t remember the exact quote), What is this tree? Who is Santa Clause? They aren’t in the Bible. He goes on to remark, Christmas is different in Sudan. I don’t know what all this stuff is for, in Sudan we just celebrate Jesus on Christmas.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year—mostly because it’s an opportunity to have wonderful parties with friends and sing Christmas music all day long. My housemate and I have been talking this morning about how to rethink what we do at Christmas. Perhaps instead of a traditional party, we go spend the evening with friends in a barn full of animals, singing together, praying together, and talking about this baby called Jesus who was born in a similar barn a couple of thousand years ago and who created the world.

Download | Link

Artist: Speaking of Faith

Duration: Appx 58 min

Created: Thu, 10 May 2007

Category: Speech

Subject: Shane Claiborne

Interviewer: Krista Tippett

NPR’s show Speaking of Faith this week explores New Monasticism in an interview with Shane Claiborne.

So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore

Rating: 4 out of 5

Author: Jake Colsen

Year: 2006

Publisher: Bodylife Publications

ISBN: 0964729229

The writing in this book is frankly quite bad, however the content is amazing and inspired. It offers a strong challenge to the institutional church and paints a radical transforming picture of the Church.  Even better, you don’t have to by it.  It’s available for free download.

In it, Aaron provides a wonderful description of community:

BH: From what I’ve read about you, you’ve said that one of the turning points in your life is when you went to live in community with other people in Philadelphia.

AW: Yeah.

BH: How exactly does that work?

AW: Well, people who think that when Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself and love God—these are central teachings and central focuses of our life as Christians—not a belief in a doctrine of Christianity or an acceptance of a religious form but a life lived of love. And that’s going to play out as community. If you have a problem, and I love you, that’s my problem. If you have a joy, and I love you, that’s going to bring me joy. And we share it. We share everything. We share our struggles and our triumphs and our money and possessions. We share our faith and our hopes and our fears and struggle together and try to help other people around us who maybe don’t agree with us or have anything to offer us in return. Just living a life of service—that’s what I got out of the communal life that I tasted there. It’s just a simple life of love that I believe everyone is called to. It’s going to look different ways, but for me that was the realization that Jesus didn’t call me to a belief more abundant or a doctrine more precise. He called me to a life more abundant. He called me to a life where there’s fruit that you can taste and see and touch and smell and feel—tangible reality. “The kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.” That was something where I’d read the words before, but it had never penetrated my heart before that the Gospel has social implications and an immediate relevance. That was tremendously liberating from this obsession with the purely spiritualized version of Christianity. When it talks about setting free the captives, that’s spiritual. When it talks about “blessed are the hungry and the poor,” that’s spiritual. Spiritually hungry and spiritually poor—that’s in there. But so is the tangible stuff. People need food and they need shelter and they need freedom, both economically and politically.

BH: Was it difficult, having grown up in this culture, to start
living that way?

AW: Ah…I wouldn’t say so, because it’s so bankrupt, the notion of just living for your own desires and pursuing your every whim and trying to ensure financial security. To store up money so that one day you can retire and have 15 years of relaxing until you die – has that worked for anybody? Has that given anybody eternal peace? Has that given anybody that sense of “I know why I’m here. I know the purpose of my life”? I look around and I see the failed American dream. People that are trying to claw their way to the top of the corporate ladder or some social group, and you realize that there’s no real contentment at the top. Whatever little ways that I’ve tried with the band—like, “Oh, we need to get on this label” —you end up wanting something else. Then you get on this radio station, and you want something else. You get in this magazine, and then you want something else. You get on this television station, and then what else? What else? What else? It’s never enough. Jesus calls us to less and less. He calls us to a simpler and humbler and more broken and emptied out lifestyle of service. To me, the moment that I realized that, it all made sense. It was perfectly clear. Everyone is called to that, and there’s room down there for everybody. But there’s only room at the top for one person. That would be a sad world, if our only purpose was to be the most successful or the world champion or the richest man alive.

Where

Authors: Peta Owens-Liston

Journal: Time Magazine

Publish Date: Dec. 26, 2006

I just finished reading a TIME article about restaurants that ask people to “pay what you can.” It seems to me an intersting model of voluntary redistribution.

Authors: William Booth

Journal: Washington Post

Publish Date: December 18, 2006

My friend Laura Gillaspy just sent me a wonderful article from the Washington Post. I’ve heard of folks doing this before.

For those who don’t want to read the article, I’ll give you the gist. There’s a green-minded group of people in San Francisco who, last year, made a vow not to buy any new things for a year (save for a few essentials).

I think it would be fun and hard. How do you move away from legalism too? I think it’s hilarious how people are militantly opposed to what these folks are doing, which honestly makes me want to do it even more.

I’m not a green by any stretch, though it’s something I should probably think about more. However, I am a strong proponent of using God’s resources well–most specifically money and time, so giving up new items for a time period is something I’d be very interested in doing. It’s not something that I think should be imposed on people, but certainly a good option for Christians. Similarly, I like the timeframe aspect–it’s sort of akin to a nazerite or lentin vow. Also, many of you know I have a book problem and as of late new books have been cheaper than used, I think that means no books.

Still a lot of details to figure out, but anyone in with me?

Link

Duration: 50:55

Created: Wed, 01 Nov 2006

Category: Documentary

Speaker: Shane Claiborne

Discovered the following hour-long video on YouTube of Shane Claiborne, author of the incredible book Irresistible Revolution, speaking at a youth conference. If you’ve read the book, they are stories you’ve already heard. If not, it might be a good introduction.

]]> http://www.atthemargins.com/2006/12/08/christian-vs-christ-follower-2/feed/ 0 http://www.atthemargins.com/2006/12/02/love-your-enemy/ http://www.atthemargins.com/2006/12/02/love-your-enemy/#comments Sun, 03 Dec 2006 02:33:00 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=54 I’m speaking with Brandy about my difficulty in loving some people. I’m someone who loves almost everyone. I find it quite easy to love the large majority of people. There are a few people I don’t and I believe that those are the people I should particularly be seeking to love. Still I fail.

Yet the Bible calls Christians to an even higher standard. One should seek to “love your enemy as a yourself.” So often I think of this as a personal and heart thing. “I love my enemy in my heart.” This is certainly wrong. Christ is calling us to actively love our enemies. To love our enemies in action and heart. What an incredible thing for Christ to tell us to do. How rediculous in the world’s eyes?!?! What does it truly look like to do such a thing? I pray that I may learn to actively love my enemies as myself.

Global Rich List

Category: Tool / service

Take a moment to checkout the Global Rich List to see just how rich you are from a world-wide perspective. Any question as to if the “rich” spoken of in the Bible is you? If you live in the U.S. you are most likely extremely wealthy from a global perspective.

Worldmapper

Category: Tool / service

To commemorate World AIDS Day one of my friends sent me an e-mail with a map with countries resized according to the prevalence of AIDS. It’s part of a large collection of comparative maps at http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/index.html.

Most of you know that I don’t like “specialized” services (i.e. worship for 20-somethings), but what happens when the Church completely rejects a people?

[Note: I am completely avoiding the issue of homosexuality and the church for now.]

A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/calvinist, … anabaptist/anglican, metho (Emergentys)

Rating: 3 out of 5

Author: Brian D. McLaren

Year: 2006

Publisher: Zondervan/Youth Specialties

ISBN: 0310258030

Not as good as Velvet Elvis and even more married to the Constantinian model of church.

“Everybody wants to change the world and nobody wants to change themselves.”

As those who know me are well aware, I often fail to adhere to the theology I so strongly purport. I am a theologian who is all about a theology of action, but most of the time I find myself just writing and talking about it, not doing it. In fact, to be completely upfront, I am often trying to convince myself as much as I am trying to convince those I talk with.

The reality is that I know that Christ calls us to suffer, to leave those things to which we cling and cling to him, but I am so afraid. My heart desires to chase after the Master with reckless abandon, but my body says, “Why? You love people. You serve the poor. You proclaim the Gospel. Certainly that is enough.” And, though I live in a society and church that says my body is right, I know it is lying to me. Still I continually give in.

I am a hypocrite. But please do not let my hypocracy dampen the Truth of what I say, for they are two separate issues. The question is not if I do what I say, but if what I say is True. It is my prayer that you may inhabit the Truth of God with great boldness and zeal!!!

Relativism WITHIN the Church…

Category: Personal article (non-blog)

Author: Peter Walker

Freedom from Fear

Category: Organization Website

Link

Created: Sat, 07 Jul 2007

Subject: Moby

Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers

Authors: Laurie Goodstein

Journal: New York Times

Publish Date: October 6, 2006

Evangelicals (and the modern church in general) have set their own snare by making the appeal of Christianity exclusively life after death and selling Christ at the bargain price of simply proclaiming an incantation. I am working on a paper about the problem with the prevailing view of evangelism (as I spoke about before). Hopefully I will finish it soon and post it. I’m excited about it because I believe that a false view of evangelism is a root cause for many of the problems facing the institutional church.

Amy in Thailand

Category: Blog

A revelation? – Bible’s book of Revelation presented in another light

Authors: Steve Arney

Journal: Pentagraph of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois

Publish Date: October 2, 2006

Check out this article in the Pentagraph of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois about a professor’s non-traditional interpretation of Revelation. I think I’ll probably get his book. I’ve often commented on my generation’s (including my own) lack of eschatology. I believe God gave us Revelation for a reason, so to neglect it is bad, however, there are certainly sections of the church with an unhealthy obsession with it.

Relational Tithe seeks to relationally distribute tithes in accordance with scripture. Much of their work is fueled by an essay by a megachurch teaching pastor entitled, “Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of Contemporary Christianity?” In it Ray Mayhew, quite against his own best interests, seeks to examine the purpose of tithes using scripture and documents of the early church. It is an amazing, hard teaching and a very worthwhile read.

I increasing realize the need for a complete examination of church practice and that many of the problems of the church are directly related to an incorrect view of evangelism. I am working on a paper examining evangelism and plan to post it in the next few weeks. My hope is that it will serve to begin a series on a vision for the 21st century Church.

Category: News article

Author: Nathan Colquhoun

I read this reflection by a church planter just now and thought it was worth sharing. Nathan Calhoun reflects on the difficulty of escaping the false Sunday focus of being a Christian.

• http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/review-the-irresistable-revolution-by-shane-claiborne
• http://peoplebooksandchrist.blogspot.com/2006/06/irresistible-revolution-shane.html
• http://nathancolquhoun.com/blog/index.php/2006/08/10/the_irresistible_revolution_some_quotes
• http://blogs.efca.org/challenge/2006/07/shane_claiborne_religion_to_re/
• http://slobotski.blogspot.com/2006/08/shane-claiborne.html
• http://www.preachermike.com/2006/08/18/ordinary-radicals
• http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&q=%22Shane+Claiborne%22

Wanderings and Wonderings

Category: Blog

Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families

Acts 10:9-13 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Familial (brothers and sisters) with Service and Hospitality to Friend and Stranger

Confessing, Praying, and Healing

Worshipful and Correcting

God Pursuing, Spirit Seeking, and Suffering Sharing

Listening and Discerning

Gift Seeking and Encouraging

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Luke 6:32-33 32″If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that.

Faithful, Hopeful, and above all Loving (particularly the hard to love)

Sabbath Keeping

Redistributive

Giving

Matthew 5:23-24 23″Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Forgiving & Reconciliation Seeking

Romans 12:14-16 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Carrying the Burdens of Others, Together—Rejoicing and Mourning Together in Season

Daily Communing

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Rob Bell

Year: 2005

Publisher: Zondervan

ISBN: 031026345X

I just finished “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell on audiobook. It was great! The author has a keen understanding of where God is calling the Church.

Rob Bell is the senior pastor at Mars Hill, a megachurch attended by thousands. Now, I know what many of you are thinking, Matt Pritchard is singing the praises of a megachurch pastor, what’s going on? Well, I’m still firmly in the camp of the importance of reflecting the intimacy of Christ in our fellowships.

That said, it was fun to hear Bell use the exact same language I have been using of late–maybe it’s a Holy Spirit thing. Though Bell is a little too institutional for my taste, he thoroughly comprehends the need for the church to embrace reality instead of religion, love instead of legalism, and a powerful Christ worth living and dying for instead of a palatable, easy god worth only saying a phrase of allegiance to.

Adventures of a Journeywoman

Category: Blog

Theirs Is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Robert D. Lupton

Year: 1989

Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco

ISBN: 0060653078

Robert Lupton artfully relates a variety of stories from his experiences in urban ministry. The short chapters make this book perfect for devotions.

Kingdom Works: True Stories About God and His People in Inner City America

Rating: 4 out of 5

Author: Bart Campolo

Year: 2001

Publisher: Vine Books

ISBN: 1569551952

Kingdom Works provides a wonderful group of devotions on urban ministry by one of mission year’s founders, Bart Campolo.

Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Disciplines

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Lauren F. Winner

Year: 2007

Publisher: Paraclete Press (MA)

ISBN: 1557255326

Lauren Winner delves into her Jewish roots to explore 11 spiritual practices that help us understand the character of God.

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Shane Claiborne

Year: 2006

Publisher: Zondervan

ISBN: 0310266300

As I have traveled the country talking with fellow 20-somethings, it has been clear that God is speaking to us in a united voice, however it has been difficult to find the words that correspond with this calling. Shane Claiborne artfully articulates what so many in our generation are hearing. A theologian who truly lives out the Call, he challenges the Church with exceptional love and truth.

The only negative is that in chapter 11, I felt he crossed the line from solidarity with the poor and oppressed to political action. At any rate, it’s a difficult path to navigate and Claiborne does it exceptionally (both in his writing and life)!

I have given away over 150 copies. A must read!

Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Lauren F. Winner

Year: 2006

Publisher: Brazos Press

ISBN: 1587431971

Lauren Winner does an excellent job Biblically examining sexuality, shaking off the victorian and Hollywood views of sexuality so prevalent in today’s cultural christianity to expose the beautiful, normal sexuality God has called us to.

From Brokenness to Community (Harold M. Wit Lectures)

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Jean Vanier

Year: 1992

Publisher: Paulist Press

ISBN: 0809133415

In this extremely short book (actually a transcript of a lecture he gave at Harvard), Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche, discusses the importance of community. It is in community that we realize our own brokeness and only in community that we can find healing.

Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Mike Yankoski

Year: 2005

Publisher: Multnomah

ISBN: 1590524020

This is a great chronicle of a student who felt called to spend 5 months on the street as a homeless man. Wow!

Remember Me, Rescue Me

Author: Matt Roper

Year: 2004

Publisher: Gabriel Resources

ISBN: 1850784795

Street Girls: Hope on the Streets of Brazil

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Matt Roper

Year: 2004

Publisher: Authentic Media

ISBN: 1850785961

The Silence of Adam

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Larry Crabb

Year: 1998

Publisher: Zondervan

ISBN: 0310219396

Unlike Eldridge’s combination of Nietschean masculinity with cultural christianity in Wild at Heart, Larry Crabb thoughtfully and Biblically explores what it means to be a Godly man in this excellent work.

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

Author: Donald Miller

Year: 2003

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

ISBN: 0785263705

Many of my friends really like Blue Like Jazz, I read a few chapters and just didn’t get into it.

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Ronald J. Sider

Year: 2005

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

ISBN: 0849945305

Blinded by Might

Rating: 4 out of 5

Author: Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson

Year: 1999

Publisher: Zondervan

ISBN: 0310226503

Written by two former leaders in the “Moral Majority,” Blinded by Might argues that seeking the Kingdom through political means in problematic.

Discipleship (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 4)

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Year: 2003

Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers

ISBN: 0800683242

My favorite book. In this incredible work, Dietrich Bonhoeffer dispels the myth of cheap grace and calls us to extreme devotion.