Jubilee Thoughts

Clearly my trip to Memphis has been about getting to know Jesus a little bit better, learning to follow him more closely and reshaping my heart just a little bit more.

And to be honest, it is usually painful.

God has me in a learning season. (I hope it's a short winter!)

• Who has the answers? Christ does, not people, at either end of a wide spectrum.
• Worship is about incredible gratitude that prompts internal changes marked by external actions. If we are Christians we had better well be living differently than the rest of the world.
• Selfish ambition, something I fall prey to (don't you? If you are honest, of course you do! Come on... :)) has got to be shed. In the writing world this may look like signing a contract with a publisher you don't 110% line up with, or seeking endorsements from big name folks, regardless of whether or not you agree with their beliefs. Be careful. Very careful. This is a painful lesson to learn the hard way.
• Care for the least of these is transformational to both giver and receiver.
• Bring your faith alive by serving as the hands and feet of Christ.
• Be a conduit of love. Not just to the lovely, but to the unlovely.

So as I pondered what I heard this weekend I find myself arriving at the place of practicing these directives:

• loving others,
• following the way of Jesus
• and being radical about sharing Christ with others

The following is excerpted from the website of a church in the UK (Vineyard) that will be practicing the year of Jubilee in 2009. The work of Shane Claiborne has heavily influenced their beliefs, thoughts and practice. Thanks to a fellow journeyman from my church for sharing this with me.

"What is our aim?

Refocus on mission and particularly on the "poor".
Refocus on ethical living.
Learn more about living simply - need not greed!
Learn more about radical giving - that there are no needy among us..
Make changes that will last many life times and not just a year.

What are we actually going to do?
This is the basic bottom-line list of stuff we are doing as a church. Our hope is that we will all go much further than this though.
A call for a day of prayer and fasting every month.
A call for an ethical "audit" of our lives
who do we bank with?
where do we shop?
what clothes we where?
what food we eat?
etc.
A call for more radical giving.
A call to every house group to actively partner with a Christian social action work in the city. Hopefully, by the end of the year, each group will be linked to a work as part of its fundamental DNA.

A call for every house group to actively set about helping one another simplifying their lives from clutter. For instance, for a month at a time choosing one or a few of:
No TV
No Internet
No mobile phones
Only using public transport
No supermarket shopping
Living as a vegetarian
I am sure that you can think of other things as these are just ideas. The hope is for groups to do this together, corporately and help each other to simplify their lives.

A call for house group members to commit to invited people from the group over once a month for a meal. Hopefully, those who are invited out all the time would be those who have less or who know fewer people or who are most excluded. "

Now, I need to fly out of here (literally). Happy thoughts about relinquishing my seat to obtain a free ticket gratefully accepted!)

Peace.