Church of the poor - Jesus Army

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Continued from overleaf you the criticism that you have an affinity with a communist political ethic. To what extent would you refute that claim? I say in my book (The Irresistible Revolution) that if we really discovered Christ’s call to love our neighbours as ourselves then capitalism as we have it now would be impossible and communism would not be necessary. We are not creating a system but we are creating a relationship with people in poverty. Redistribution is only meaningful as much as it is rooted in love and relationships. It is not a prescription for community but a just description of what happens when we live our lives alongside people who are hurting. If we really have genuine friendships with the poor then redistribution is inevitable – we see that in the early Church. They ended poverty in the early Church and we believe that we can do that again. Tell me about the fire – how have your local community dealt with the trauma? It was awful in many ways. There was a real feeling in the neighbourhood that this didn’t have to happen – it wouldn’t have happened in other neighbourhoods. But there is also the real, beautiful hope of people pulling together. The Red Cross said that they didn’t have many people staying in the local shelter on the night of the fire because so many people in the neighbourhood had opened up “ their homes to each other. What does your practical response to the situation look like now? We have a coalition of neighbours affected by the fire and we have raised tens of thousands of dollars from around the world in order to rebuild homes – we’ve just begun work on two houses. We are excited to see homes restored and people moving back in. This Do you see the fire as persecution for what you’re doing for Jesus? The fire started in the warehouse – it wasn’t like our building was set on fire. But there is a sense that when you live among the poor and marginalised you enter into suffering – or at least solidarity – with them. You become vulnerable to things like this, things that you would never need to worry about in other neighbourhoods. What has been amazing about this situation is that it puts us on very equal ground with our neighbours. In our meetings we’re no longer the heads of a non-profit organisation – our neighbours are bringing us clothes and telling us they want to help us rebuild. There is a real sense of bearing each others’ burdens. It’s what incarnational love should look like. we are creating a relationship with people in poverty In your book you quote Bonhoeffer: ‘The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community but the person who loves those around them will create community.’ Is this the simple recipe for success that churches should follow? For sure. We can see it in congregations that have a seven point, five-year programme for church growth – but then people in the congregation just rip each other apart. The same can be true in social justice circles – people can have a great vision for changing the world but be pretty hard to live with. In one community I went to, they had T-shirts that said ‘Everybody wants a revolution but nobody wants to do the dishes’. That’s the challenge – to live out the revolution every day in not just the great things but in doing the small things that we do with a lot of love. My friend Brooke says that the most radical thing that we do is love each other again and again, and choose to do that every day. JL ” article first appeared in the Autumn 2007 issue of Faithworks magazine, copyright CCP Ltd 2007, reproduced with permission. www.faithworksmagazine.info For more on Shane’s community, visit www.thesimpleway.org The Simple Way are launching a new website designed as a connecting point for people interested in or already living in intentional communities like The Simple Way, around the globe. Visit www.communityofcommunities.us for more information. The Irresistible Revolution is published by Zondervan £7.99 / ISBN-10: 0-310-26630-0 Jesus Life One/2008 Page 16 www.jesus.org.uk
multiply WHAT IS MULTIPLY? Multiply Christian Network is a worldwide apostolic stream of churches, initiated by Jesus Fellowship Church. It is a member of the Evangelical Alliance UK. Multiply now has 18 UK groups and 105 worldwide. WHO’S IT FOR? Any fellowship, of any size, from any culture or race, as long as it is basically evangelical. The latest partner to join was Living Water Church, a Congolese Frenchspeaking church based in Gloucester, UK. WHAT DOES IT OFFER? Relationships between leaders are central and are fostered through regular conferences, celebration gatherings and fellowship. Leadership and evangelism training plus a variety of resources, including free literature, are also available. MORE INFORMATION: Contact Multiply Director Huw Lewis Tel: +44 1327 344533 Email: huw.lewis@jesus.org.uk or write to: Jesus Fellowship/ Multiply Central Offices, Nether Heyford, Northampton, UK NN7 3LB A CALL TO ACTION Delegates from across the UK attended the Multiply UK Leaders Conference last November. Emma Merry reports. LIFT UP, stand up, get up – the call was to action at the latest Multiply UK Leaders Conference, held at Cornhill Manor in Northamptonshire. In the midst of a very bleak picture for church in the UK, the radical church is becoming more and more distinct, as Huw Lewis, Multiply Director, pointed out. “There’s a job to do.” “Commissioned into chaos” is how Kelly Bartholomew described it! “To build, you need to learn many things,” he said (and he knows what he’s talking about – as well as being a member of the Jesus Fellowship’s apostolic team, he is also a builder by trade.) “But you also need to have a covenant, a mutual commitment that says ‘I’ll be with you all my life’. If you create a perfect situation for yourself, all neat and comfortable, you’ll die. Life comes from letting people ‘poke’ us.” Kelly also exhorted the group to take risks with people – as God had with them – in order to build. “You’re not building your own kingdom. Your responsibility is to enable the PEOPLE God gives you to grow into who they are in God. Your outlook should be: ‘I’ve got to commission you to leave me.’” Laurence, one of those very next-generation leaders, could vouch for the success of this approach and smashed ageism in the church: “We’ve all received the same Spirit that attracted Jesus’ disciples, whatever our background – or age.” “Glory Hallelujah, He Reigns”, we sang. “But does He?” asked Steve Calam, Apostolic Team Member. “In Chronicles, they had to make King David king. Yes, he was anointed. But if they hadn’t made him king in practice, he’d have had no power and no Prayer at the Multiply UK Leaders Conference real kingdom. So, who’s going to ‘make’ Jesus reign today? We are! “And if we are to do this, we need to strengthen one another. In Multiply, as for Jesus Fellowship, relationships will always be number one. A listening ear, regional meetings, regular communication and much more are all available to members.” www.multiply.org.uk Jesus Life One/2008 Page 17
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Church of the poor - Jesus Army

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