Do you know a story like this? November 1, 2007
Posted by Zack in Missouri , trackbackI can no longer keep track of how many white, middle class or affluent Christians I’ve met who have moved to poverty-stricken, crime-ridden city blocks as part of locally organized attempts to redeem neighborhoods. If you are doing that, or know some folks who are, can you please email me and tell me about it? I would love to start visiting some of these communities and getting permission to write about them.
Email me at: info@RevolutionInJesusland.com
Whatever your suspicions are toward these folks, you have to admit that this is a fascinating phenomenon. They are going against every single instinct that is bred into us white yuppies from day one. I’m happy to say that my parents were people who resisted those instincts—but I still got it from everywhere else: media, friends & school, neighbors, etc… In other words, this stuff couldn’t be piled higher on top us us. If you’re one of us, you know what I’m talking about. Lock that door. Take the highway instead of Broadway. Don’t stop at THAT gas station, go a little further on. Yet these people are not only getting out of their cars in the roughest of neighborhoods, but are moving into former crack houses for Christ.
I grew up thinking that church was another institution that reinforced those instincts. And I’m sure it is in general. But now, some number of churches are preaching an alternate set of instincts—instincts based on the story of Jesus, a guy who was attracted to—not repulsed by—people and places stuck in dire straights.
What prompted this post is that I just got an email telling me about yet another community like this in a very small Midwestern city. It’s one of those small (50K people) towns that is the “Big City” for fifty miles in any direction. (Overwhelmingly Republican, by the way.) Doing some Googling, I found some blogs by people living in the community. FASCINATING, HEART WRENCHING STUFF! But I’m going to have to leave you in suspense until they give me permission to link to them. They are just so personal, and I don’t think they ever imagined anyone but their close friends would be reading them.
I also hesitate to link to them because the language they use is just soooo different from anything that people outside of the church is used to. I almost feel like it would have to be translated. I remember what that language looked like to me just a year ago. I remember thinking, “These people are insane.” But then I met them and found that they are actually FRIGHTENINGLY sane—like, *miraculously* well-adjusted.
And when I learned the actual, practical, operational meanings of the phrases they use—I saw that most are, in practice, near equivalents of phrases that secular folks use too. One simple example is when they say “God told me to…”. Yes, they do believe that God has a desire that they may be able to feel. But they realize they might be misinterpreting or mis-attributing those feelings to God, and most aren’t thinking of God as a person up there who has nothing better to do than whisper into their ears.
In other words, “God told me to…” may mean something as “normal” (from a secular point of view) as reading a passage of the Bible and having it shed new light on a decision you’re trying to make.
Anyways, know some Christian (or non-Christian for that matter) yuppies who are moving into an economically devastated neighborhood? Please connect me to them: info@RevolutionInJesusland.com
Comments»
Its very interesting that you bring up that the language of Christians is radically foreign to people outside of the church. Im wondering if that is somehow a hinderance to having the church and the progressive left working together, besides or at least on top of all the other things that get in the way.
Any ideas on how to get around that for us Christians that have been speaking that cultural language for a while?!
I really like the idea of trying to bridge that “language” gap. In trying to do so, I suspect we would discover more commonality and common values then are evident when the language is misunderstood, which can aggravate whatever real differences there are in experience, values and beliefs, and sometimes “push buttons” tied to prejudices, fears, etc. This seems like a valuable exercise.
It seems to me that this can be done any number of ways, including one-on-one dialog, small discussion groups, presentations, workshops, books and also via web sites like this one.
One web-based approach would be to videotape a one-on-one or small group discussion or even a more formal presentation that examines these differences in language and their underlying (and sometimes not so different) meanings, and to make the video available via streaming. Since Zack’s already been through much of this language-bridging process, he might make a good interviewer/facilitator to guide the discussion in directions that non-Christians would be likely to appreciate and benefit from.
On another web-feature-related note…as I read Zack’s stories about people and events in various local communities, I find myself envisioning a Google Map, where you can click on specific local communities and access each one’s “Revolution in Jesusland” stories, photos, audio and video clips, etc., along with information about that local community as a whole. Sort of a multimedia way to portray how this is on one hand a nationwide phenomenon but, at the same time, is unfolding at a very local level, community by community, person by person. The map would allow someone to zoom out to get the big nationwide (or state-level) picture, then zoom in to explore the specifics of each community’s activities and evolution, including the broader social, political and religious context of that city, town or neighborhood.
I don’t know how to do this kind of thing myself, how much work it would entail, nor what Google Maps’ limits are in terms of achieving the multimedia “richness” I envision, but since the picture came strongly to mind, I thought I’d mention it in a comment.
Mitch, I had the same thoughts about a google + redemptive communities. I know Cool People Cares (www.coolpeoplecares.org) has an example of this for links to their. Also, Faith in Politics does as well (for evangelically progressive organizations) http://www.faithinpubliclife.org/map/index.html
I wonder if you emailed Shane Claiborne along with Will & List Sampson (authors of Justice in the Suburbs) if you could get a list of these communities?
What’s new in the neighborhood? More for less poverty
Jubilee USA offers a highlight reel of their Cancel Debt Fast prayer breakfast. Fighting poverty — Hispanic
Eric,
I understand why you feel that Chrstian language is “radically foriegn to people outside of the church.” I have felt that way before, too, not only because the language is different but because the worldviews the respective languages represent illuminate different parts of the world.
I have found, too, that this can be both a blessing and a curse. The curse is the gap; the blessing is that we can enrich each others’ perspective if we take the time to talk.
I wonder if you (and those other Christians who feel the same problem) might benefit from working on issues you believe in with secular leftist organizations?
honestly Matt, I would love to! Unfortunately the worldview I get to interact with that is outside of our church is very against working with someone from the church (and vise versa) because of these complication, such as communication/poor planning/ and other things.
Recently though I was able to hear about someone helping at a church sponsored half way house of sorts, and he was staunchly anti-Christian and in construction (not that those have anything to do with each other
anyways, he wanted to help out too and asked where he could, he found out that they had no A/C except a little window one, and a space heater for the winter, so he went and purchased and installed new heating and a/c’s at his cost and did the installs with his crew on one of their work days. Not looking to promote his name with a sign out or passing out his business card, just to do something right. That was amazing!
I wish secular leftist’s in particular had something around here, where I live, youre either right wing or your wrong. So I dont see very many leftist and if they do they have a very negative view on Christianity (some with good reason) so its hard to get their help.
Matt, i do agree though I would love to work on a project with secular leftist organizations, something I plan on doing purposefully soon but right now, I need to find them in good old small town usa!! (which honestly is very disappointing, because I feel like a minority in the Christian church here, because Im willing to work with anyone who will help others, not just other Christian organizations, very heretical in some parts of very conservative Christianity) So Matt, where do you help out? Mind if I borrow some secular leftists from your place?! ha!
Well, I think you know, we had been living in a community like what your looking for in Nashville.
Now we are locating ourselves in North Minneapolis hoping to be a part of something similar. I like that your interested, I don’t know if I fall into a category worth discussing at this point
This is arguably off-topic but there are some restaurant / cafe owners who essentially run their businesses on free-will offerings. Two of these that, when I first learned of them, _really_ impressed me are One World Café, in Salt Lake City, and So All May Eat, in Denver. Web pages at oneworldeverybodyeats.org/ and soallmayeat.org/ respectively. (If I remember correctly none of the principals claim any religious motivation but I somehow doubt God or Jesus gives a hoot about _that_.)
My ancillary thought is that the more individuals and groups such as these who, if not free to devote their lives to neo-monastic poverty and service but can choose, like these people, to live by gift and / or barter economies the less oxygen available for, e.g., unilateral oil wars and other deadly follies of the powers and principalities. (A small item in the anti-imperial toolkit perhaps but as Aragorn said Every little helps.)
p.s. We Quakers — some of us anyway — are well acquainted with “God telling us” things. We have a number of names for this experience: the Spirit, the Inner Light, the inward Christ, the inner Teacher, Guide etc. and learning to recognize and heed / partner with it is imo one of the core elements of Quaker practice. (Non-Quakers please note that this phenomenon is not copyright by us and all and sundry are cordially invited to steal it with our blessing.) :o)
p.p.s. Don’t recall where I first heard of these folks; if from _you_ my face is red in advance. Cheers.
Follow-up / correction: As of April, one of the Birkys who run SAME in Denver was working full-time as a teacher, and the other a part-time computer consultant, so they were not, at that time anyway, pure gift economy but that or something like it does appear to be their goal.
My wife and I have formed an intentional, missional community in two of our homes in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. We have about 14 members living here. Check out our site, if you’re interested.
www.radicallivingnyc.com
You’re probably familiar with www.newmonasticism.org. I worked with some of these communities on my project a year ago in divinity school that I’m expanding into a book. If you email me I can give you a list of great contacts.
B”H
Hey Zack,
First things first. You’re doing a great job here with this blog, (IMHO). I have been reading for about a month now, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am going to write something on my site about this road trip you and Elizabeth are on. It’s no big deal, but even if you get 5 or 10 additonal readers I think that’s worth something.
I have been checking through all your archives of Oct and Nov and I didn’t see any mention of a recent conference here in my neighborhood (Reba Place - Evanston, IL) called Cynicism and Hope. www.cynicismandhope.org
They describe the conference as follows:
How do we live out God’s call to prophetic witness in an apathetic and disempowered society?
How can we learn from others who have remained faithful to Jesus’ radical call in the midst of failure?
How can art, prayer and other forms of everyday resistance nourish our hope for the kingdom of God?
Join academics, activists and members of our communities as they share their work through the lens of cynicism and hope. Our vision is to provide a space for frustrated, justice-minded Christians who, like us, feel trapped by the current political situation but long to be part of meaningful action for change.
I understand that you guys can only be in one place at a time, but I thought you should at least know about this event. BTW, I noticed that Jason Barr who makes comments here sometimes was one of the presenters at this conference.
Regarding your request for stories of folks relocating to poor areas you might want to check out Voice of Calvary Ministries in both Mendenhall and Jackson Mississippi. This ministry was started by John and Vera Mae Perkins in 1957. This is the same John Perkins who also cofounded the CCDA.
Reba Place Fellowship was started in 1957 also and has a very similar story to tell of starting an intentional Christian community in a semi-urban environment. In the early 90’s they sent out 100 + members to a rough neighborhood in Chicago and now they are a self sustaining congregation in a dangerous part of the city. Several books have been written about Reba and its attempt to live out the Gospel in various settings in today’s world.
Shlomo