New Monastacism

Today we talked a bit about the New Monastacism movement, and watched an interview with Shane Claiborne online. I've heard a lot about this guy and the Simply Way intentional community that he and some friends started in the poorest neighborhood of Philadelphia. However, I had never heard him speak. I was impressed with how down-to-earth and humble he was. He didn't speak out in anger against the traditional church, but rather challenged people to think about what it truly means to follow Christ. He pointed out that's there's a huge different between believing in Jesus and following him. And he said that in his pursuit of Christ, he found him in unexpected places...not necessarily in the church, but rather in his poor communities with homeless moms and drug addicts.
Living in community is still a challenge for us in our very individualistic, compartmentalized lives. But I believe that's one of the biggest draws towards Africa for me...the interconnectedness of one another is their means of survival. Everyone is a brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle. And you take care of your family. I know there are a lot of churches here that are really good at taking care of their own, and even those in the community, or outside of country. But does it stop with material goods? What this New Monastacism group has done is plant themselves in a place...a place that from the outside appears to be very dark and hopeless...and be fully invested in that community, building relationships and supporting one another in a humble, self-sacrificing way. It's a beautiful model...but of course not everyone can or should move to the inner city and join this group. Yet, what would it look like to build a stronger community and serve your neighbors wherever you are? Opportunities abound when we start to look outward.