Matt Pritchard » Intentional Community http://www.mattpritchard.com Connecting People and Communities Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:11:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 A Not-So-Simple Life. http://www.mattpritchard.com/2009/01/25/a-not-so-simple-life/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2009/01/25/a-not-so-simple-life/#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:14:51 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/?p=197

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.mattpritchard.com/2009/01/25/a-not-so-simple-life/feed/ 1 I Live With Another Man’s Wife http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/08/27/i-live-with-another-mans-wife/ http://www.mattpritchard.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.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/08/27/i-live-with-another-mans-wife/feed/ 0 Transitions at Culpeper House http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/02/27/transitions-at-culpeper-house/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/02/27/transitions-at-culpeper-house/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:22:07 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/2008/02/27/transitions-at-culpeper-house/ Over the next few months Culpeper House will be losing some of the members of our community… Josh and Sarah are returning to Florida to be with their families, Ryan is planning to move into an apartment with his brother, and Sarita will be leaving for Uganda.

Times of transition provide excellent opportunities to refocus. Over the coming weeks we will be focusing on the vision that God has put on our hearts as a community and how to best structure ourselves moving forward. This will help us better transition new people into Culpeper House as we move forward.

If you or someone you know is interested in exploring the possibility of being a part of Culpeper House, please e-mail us at info@culpeperhouse.org.

It’s an exciting time, but also a sad time as we will very much miss those who are leaving.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/02/27/transitions-at-culpeper-house/feed/ 0 The Unexpected Monks http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/02/27/the-unexpected-monks/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/02/27/the-unexpected-monks/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:51:05 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/2008/02/27/the-unexpected-monks/ Another article about New Monasticism ran in the Boston Globe earlier this month, but I forgot to post it.

The Unexpected Monks

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/02/27/the-unexpected-monks/feed/ 0 What chores would Jesus do? http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/01/29/what-chores-would-jesus-do/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/01/29/what-chores-would-jesus-do/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:05:57 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/2008/01/29/what-chores-would-jesus-do/ Ran across a wonderful article in the LA Times:

What chores would Jesus do?

It is well worth checking out!

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2008/01/29/what-chores-would-jesus-do/feed/ 0 Storytelling http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/08/21/storytelling/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/08/21/storytelling/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:21:22 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/2007/08/21/storytelling/ Jan at Church for Starving Artists wrote yesterday about the need to hear one another’s stories in building authentic community.

Sharing our stories is so important.

I’ve found it the best foundation to lay for any group whether a missions team, intentional Christian community, or sunday gathering.

It enables us to love one another so much better. Suddenly I have a glimpse into why Susan does all those things that drive me nuts and it’s not so bad any more. I’m able to sit in silence less awkwardly becaue I now know why John never speaks. Knowing how Jim grew up affords me more grace when he snaps at me.

A practical suggestion, having done this quite a few times by this point, is to have someone who is willing to be particularly vulnerable go first and set the tone. It’s also good to encourage everyone to have a turn, sharing only what (and if) they are comfortable, taking particular care to value however much or little is shared. It can take people a really long time to share their story, so I’ve found, if it’s a small group, taking a weekend retreat with the primary purpose of hearing everyone’s story makes it actually less arduous and forms a great foundation for authentic Christian community.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/08/21/storytelling/feed/ 2 Conflict Avoidance = Transformation Avoidance http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/08/14/conflict-avoidance-transformation-avoidance/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/08/14/conflict-avoidance-transformation-avoidance/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:33:00 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/2007/08/14/conflict-avoidance-transformation-avoidance/ I used to think that I truly enjoyed conflict. While I was in primary and secondary school, I loved to debate and was quick to jump into a fray. As I’ve grown older, I’ve abandoned debating (having the desire to win) and started discussing (having the desire to learn). I’m quick to challenge prevailing wisdom and theology and to seek to get to the Truth. For me, it’s a socratic excercise that is apart from my feelings and who I am. It’s why I used to think I was not conflict averse.

The last several weeks though, I have come into the realization that I am completely and utterly conflict adverse if the conflict has to do with interpersonal relationships or who I am. It’s why I don’t speed when I drive. Avoid breaking rules. Hate getting into trouble no matter how minor it is. And choose to ignore conflict instead of resolving it. Real conflict exhausts me. I don’t want to hurt or be hurt, so I pretend it doesn’t exist.

I’m happy to change what I think–in fact I love for people to show me where I am academically wrong as it means I can be correct tomorrow. However, I am not excited about changing who I am. I avoid conflict when it means that I might actually have to change what I do–become less selfish, love on another person’s terms, do something I find boring or banal. Changing one’s position theologically takes mere moments and comes at little cost. Changing how one lives takes time, long, arduous time. It’s costly and it hurts–the Refiner’s fire is always uncomfortable. Conflict requires me to contemplate the fact that I am not who I desire to be, that I am broken, sinful, and imperfect. However, it is the only route to growth and holiness.

We live in community so that we can grow and become more like Christ. Growth often, if not always, requires conflict. It’s why we have a committment to not only resolve conflict, but to acknowledge it when it exists. It’s the thing I find hardest in community. I love being surrounded by people 24-7–serving them and sharing the gospel. I am easy-going and love sharing hospitality and bearing joy. I enjoy listening to other’s problems and binding up their wounds. I am made for community and so much of it comes completely and utterly naturally for me–it seldom if ever feels like a sacrifice. And what a blessing that is! The thing is, it means that I can so often ignore the fact that I am broken, selfish, and sinful; that I need to grow, need to learn, need to sacrifice, and need to change. That I, too, am in need of the Spirit’s transformation.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/08/14/conflict-avoidance-transformation-avoidance/feed/ 1 What does authentic Christian community look like? http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/07/17/what-does-authentic-christian-community-look-like/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/07/17/what-does-authentic-christian-community-look-like/#comments Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:07:41 +0000 Matt http://www.atthemargins.com/2007/07/17/what-does-authentic-christian-community-look-like/ This morning I read a short blog post on Common Grounds entitled, “What does authentic Christian community look like?”

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

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/07/17/what-does-authentic-christian-community-look-like/feed/ 0 Speaking of Faith > The New Monastics http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/18/speaking-of-faith-the-new-monastics/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/18/speaking-of-faith-the-new-monastics/#comments Fri, 18 May 2007 14:23:24 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=77 The New Monastics

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.
]]> The New Monastics

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.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/18/speaking-of-faith-the-new-monastics/feed/ 0 Where Do You Go to Church? http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/04/where-do-you-go-to-church/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/04/where-do-you-go-to-church/#comments Fri, 04 May 2007 14:27:00 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=69 It’s a question I am often asked. It’s also a question that makes me cringe. I mean, I know what they are asking, but I feel to respond with Grace Community Church or even Culpeper House is woefully inadequate.

I mean, as much as I love the people in each community and believe that they are in fact my Church, to describe either one simply as my Church denies a core reality of Church.

I mean, Church is not a destination or a club, it’s not something that is even geographical. It is much more organic than that. I believe that I am not only called to be a follower of Christ all the time, but to be the Church all the time. This simply is impossible if I define Church by an organization or building. Not to mention unhealthy. Christ spent much of His time in the world. We have created churches that are clubs, places that shelter us from the world rather than equipping us to love those of the world.

For me, Church is and happens whenever 2 or more followers of Christ gather for the purpose of seeking after Him (the above diagram is far from exhaustive). Sure, it’s something that happens on Sunday mornings, but it’s also something that happens many times a day in my community. We can be the Church when we are having dinner with friends, during late night conversations, during Bible Studies. I’m having Church when I spend time with the homeless downtown. I’m having Church when I spend time with His Gathering in Ft. Myers, Florida and when I’m eating breakfast with Stu. In fact, I’m having Church when I’m praying alone, as the Holy Spirit dwells in me.

I recently read a great book about being the Church, So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore by Jake Colsen. It’s available in print, but you can also download it online at http://www.jakecolsen.com/JakeStory.pdf. It’s not Shakespeare, but it was really interesting to me–it’s not social justice at all, but presents a view of the Church that is incredibly different and to which I’ve only recently begun to be exposed. It’s a very worthwhile read and, if you read it, I would love to hear what you think.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/04/where-do-you-go-to-church/feed/ 4 Wonderful Description of Community http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/02/wonderful-description-of-community/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/02/wonderful-description-of-community/#comments Wed, 02 May 2007 11:30:00 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=68 A new friend, Julie Foley, sent me an interview of Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou that appeared in Busted Halo.

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.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/05/02/wonderful-description-of-community/feed/ 0 Irresistible Revolution Audio Book http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/01/23/irresistible-revolution-audio-book/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/01/23/irresistible-revolution-audio-book/#comments Wed, 24 Jan 2007 02:32:11 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=76

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Shane Claiborne

Year: 2006

Publisher: Zondervan

ISBN: 0310266300

]]>

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author: Shane Claiborne

Year: 2006

Publisher: Zondervan

ISBN: 0310266300

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2007/01/23/irresistible-revolution-audio-book/feed/ 0 Reflections on Intentional Community http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/09/18/reflections-on-intentional-community-2/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/09/18/reflections-on-intentional-community-2/#comments Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:34:03 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=112

Wanderings and Wonderings

Category: Blog

A friend I met at the PAPA Festival spent the summer visiting a variety of New Monastic and other intentional Christian communities doing research for her senior thesis at William and Mary. Her blog chronicles her travel and offers a lot of wonderful thoughts.
]]>

Wanderings and Wonderings

Category: Blog

A friend I met at the PAPA Festival spent the summer visiting a variety of New Monastic and other intentional Christian communities doing research for her senior thesis at William and Mary. Her blog chronicles her travel and offers a lot of wonderful thoughts.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/09/18/reflections-on-intentional-community-2/feed/ 0 Christian Community http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/09/11/christian-community/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/09/11/christian-community/#comments Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:59:00 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=24 This is the handout to accompany a talk I gave about Christian Community at my church’s community group leaders retreat…

Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families

FORM

Upward Focused, Inward Connected, Outward Looking

FUNCTION

Sharing the Gospel, Maturing in Faith, and Worship of God

MARKS

Ephesians 2:19 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.

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

James 5:13-16 13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Confessing, Praying, and Healing

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Worshipful and Correcting

Romans 8:12-17 12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

God Pursuing, Spirit Seeking, and Suffering Sharing

John 16:13-14 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

Listening and Discerning

Romans 12:4-8 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Gift Seeking and Encouraging

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

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)

Hebrews 4:9-10 9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

Sabbath Keeping

Luke 3:11 11John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

Redistributive

2 Corinthians 8:1-5 1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.

Giving

2 Corinthians 2:5-11 5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent–not to put it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven–if there was anything to forgive–I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

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

Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

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

Luke 17:31-32 31″ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Celebration Prone

Acts 2:42-27 42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Daily Communing

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/09/11/christian-community/feed/ 0 Kingdom Works: True Stories About God and His People in Inner City America http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/06/29/kingdom-works-true-stories-about-god-and-his-people-in-inner-city-america/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/06/29/kingdom-works-true-stories-about-god-and-his-people-in-inner-city-america/#comments Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:34:15 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=90

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.
]]>

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.

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/06/29/kingdom-works-true-stories-about-god-and-his-people-in-inner-city-america/feed/ 0 The Irresistible Revolution http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/02/07/the-irresistible-revolution-2/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/02/07/the-irresistible-revolution-2/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2006 20:16:10 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=87

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!

]]>

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!

]]> http://www.mattpritchard.com/2006/02/07/the-irresistible-revolution-2/feed/ 0 From Brokenness to Community http://www.mattpritchard.com/2005/10/29/from-brokenness-to-community/ http://www.mattpritchard.com/2005/10/29/from-brokenness-to-community/#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2005 19:33:32 +0000 Matt http://www.orangewombat.com/blog/?p=82

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.
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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.

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