A Conversation with Shane Claiborne

I was on the road with a friend of mine. We were heading down to a small university for christians, outside of the Twin Cities. Conversation was going well and we were anticipating our arrival as we raced the daylight down the asphalt ribbons interrupting the green open pastures.

Upon arriving at the university, my friend and I wandered around looking for where his friend, Shane, was going to be sharing. He had connected with Shane several times in the past and they had built a friendship based off of those times together. I had read his book "Irresistible Revolution" and was encouraged and motivated by it, so I was looking forward to being introduced as well..

We deciphered the wallpaper of advertisement on the hallway wall, and followed some signs to the room he was sharing in.

We walked in, and i could not help but laugh...

It was like being at a middle school dance. There were a bunch of starstruck, doe-eyed college students staring awkwardly in one direction and Shane Claiborne sitting by himself quietly on the other side of the room. It was amazing... as though he had just suffered defeat in a riveting game of red-rover. Apparently Shane was going to be speaking in a large chapel the next morning, and this was a smaller scale gathering of some university christian club... A setting like this is more intimate and allows for people to actually talk to the speaker... which added to the awkwardness of our middle school dance situation.

So, we enter... and I am captivated by this anomaly. I was probably looking at the students the same way the students were looking at Shane... just replace "starstruck" with "confused" and "doe-eyed" with handsome.

anyway... back to Shane.

My buddy immediately started talking with Shane and they were reconnecting and catching up... (I think this blew the minds of our spectators) and then I am introduced to him by my friend and the three of us talk briefly before Shane was called up to talk to this small gathering of anxious scholars.

So Shane talks, and it was good, and Shane sits back down next to me and we carry on a conversation.

I was in the middle of working with some other staff at my work turning a the idea of a community house into a reality (which it now is!)

So, I had some questions.. mainly about what the biggest challenges have been. I figure if you know how to come against the biggest challenges, you will experience firsthand the best results.

This is a summary of what he said...

paraphrased

" If at any time the community becomes exclusive or inward focused, it will die. The danger we see in community is just that. Our sights begin to focus on ourselves and how we can better who we are... and there is a certain amount of that which is needed, but if that is our only focus... the community dies. Also if at any point the community becomes exclusive, it will turn incestuous and slowly but surely rot away from the inside. A healthy community will be inclusive and outward focused"

Now... It has been a while since we talked.. and this is probably paired with my own thoughts.. but I think he offers some great insight, and not just for a community house.

The church is considered to be a community of believers. While Shane was talking specifically about his experience with community in Philly, I think there is some serious cross-over and insight about what has happened with the church at large.

That community seems to have erred on the side exclusivity and the focus also seems to be mainly directed inward. If this is the case, then the state of the church and it's health might be able to be better understood and hopefully counteracted.

Let me clarify... I am not trying to badmouth the church for the sake of complaining. That is pointless. I am willing to point out it's shortcomings in the hope that change occurs and awareness is raised. I know that many entries I have written have had a similar direction... I do not think that invalidates their relevance.

Increased knowledge equals increased responsibility, and while God requires obedience and not sacrifice, sometimes our obedience requires sacrifice. Peace.

-Jreux