Quotes from Shane Claiborne

My critics are my best teachers, but only when they will talk with me, not at me. Unfortunately

The way of Jesus is not a proposal for how to take over the nation-state and make it Christian. It is, rather, a lesson in learning not to take over--to be a community where we find a new way of life by giving ourselves for others.

Lord, use us to heal the broken systems. Equip us with wisdom and foresight. May our lives interrupt injustice with your grace. Amen.

The Scriptures say that we should not fear those things which can destroy the body, but we are to fear that which can destroy the soul (Matt. 10:28). While the ghettos may have their share of violence and crime, the suburbs are the home of the more subtle demonic forces—numbness, complacency, comfort—and it is these that can eat away at our souls.

The kingdom is not some place that our souls are taken away to when we die. It is, instead, an order that comes to earth--right here among us who call ourselves daughters and sons of God.

Cyril lived in the fourth century. His gift to the church was his refusal to separate good doctrine from good living, insisting that orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxis (right living) must be married.

John Wesley, who founded the Methodist movement, wrote, "One of the principle rules of religion is to lose no occasion of serving God. And since he is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor; which he receives as if done to himself in person, standing visibly before us.

But if you ask the average person how Christians live, they are struck silent.

If God's kingdom looks radical, it is only an indictment on the sort of Christianity we have settled for. Sharing our food with the hungry, opening our homes to the homeless, reconciling with our enemies--these are what Christianity has always been.

For some folks, the second ammendment is as holy as the great commandment, so it warrants a closer look. But it is important to note from the outset that, for those of us who consider ourselves Christians, the final authority for life is not the Constitution. It's the Bible. It's Jesus.

While the ghettos may have their share of violence and crime, the posh suburbs are home to more subtle demonic forces--numbness, complacency and comfort. These are the powers that can eat away at our souls.

Perhaps the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safety and comfort.