Sutherland Auditorium was filled Thursday night as Biola students, faculty, members of the public and even students from other schools waited expectantly to hear from a very distinctive man.
The speaker approached the podium wearing a brown bandana over his dreadlocks, baggy green pants he had sewn himself and an oversized gray sweatshirt. But as he began to speak, the audience seemed to forget about what he was wearing and was instead drawn into the passion, humor and sincerity of his message.
Shane Claiborne would be the first to admit he doesn’t know how to describe his occupation. He travels the world simply to teach people to love God and love others. And he calls the church to return to a gospel that looks like Jesus.
“There’s got to be more than just believing all the right stuff,” Claiborne said. “The kingdom of God that Jesus talked about wasn’t just something that we hope for when we die, but is something we are to bring on earth as it is in heaven.”
Claiborne said that people might wonder whether the gospel really brings healing, hope and good news for life now. It should, he argued.
“Jesus came not just to prepare us to die, but to teach us how to live,” he said.
It is this challenge of living as Jesus did that Claiborne is issuing to the next generation of Christians. “To Love God. To Love people. To Follow Jesus” is the mission statement of the Simple Way community of faith Claiborne co-founded and has lived in for the past 10 years. He describes it as a “community born out of a struggle of homeless families in Philly” — a struggle Claiborne and his friends decided to get involved with. The six of them pooled their money, bought a house and moved into the neighborhood with little more than the example of the early church in Acts and the goal of simply loving others.
“What we decided was we’re going to stop complaining about the church that we’ve experienced and work on becoming the church that we dream of,” he said. “We need to re-think what it means to be the church.”
This call to examine what it truly means to be the body of Christ resonated with students.
“We’re quick to say ‘Jesus loves you’ but slow to show them what Jesus’ love is like,” said Jordan McGrath, a sophomore intercultural studies major. McGrath said that reading Claiborne’s book “Irresistible Revolution” reaffirmed some of the things on his heart such as not avoiding the radical verses in the Bible and the importance of reaching out to the poor and outcast.
“We’ve got to really re-imagine the world together,” Claiborne said in a Q&A session before the evening lecture. “We’ve got to think about what’s at the root of so much of this.”
The suffering, poverty, and pain around us demand a response. Claiborne emphasizes the need for good leaders with vision and communities that free people up to ask themselves how they can use their gifts to further God’s kingdom. Most importantly, to each and every individual he issues the call to radical discipleship.
“What’s at stake in the world right now is not just the reputation of American Christianity,” Claiborne said. “But what’s at stake is the reputation of the gospel — and what Jesus really lived and died and teaches … It’s a radical crazy love that makes no sort of sense to the logic of this world.”
This was encouraging to freshman journalism major Alyssa Diaz.
“Listening to what Shane Claiborne had to say made me feel like I’m not crazy,” Diaz said. “When I want to jump in a car, take all my money and just go feed people after reading articles in the newspaper and weeping over them … I know now I’m not crazy. We do have a greater calling than we know.”
