I first was exposed to Shane Claiborne as a naive youth worker at Resurrection 2002 (a United Methodist youth conference held at Gatlinburg TN every Januray).  He came on stage with crazy hair, crazy clothes, and a crazy message - care for the poor.  It was something I had always felt was key to the Christian life, but something I had always explained away in favor of a 'mainstream faith' that prized orthodoxy over orthopraxy.  So when I heard and saw this guy living and giving credibility to a  Matthew 25 sort of life - God put a fire in my bones and has broken my heart time and time and time again (mainly because I always try to fix it) for a broken world.  Please don't assume this means I have lived this uber-selfless life - not at all.  

So, needless to say, I was excited when I heard Shane was writing a book.  Throughout college my friends and I would dream of being a 'Simple', the term for one who lives with the The Simple Way in Philadelphia.  So now that you know I am totally unbiased when it comes to this book :)  I can tell you that it is great.  There are few places where he is a little too extreme for me.  Namely, where he denounces paying ministers or church staff.  I probably don't like this part because I am a paid pastor :) - but as a paid pastor I know that this job would be nearly impossible if it required one to work full time elsewhere.

With that being said, Claiborne presents a very well reasoned treatise on radical living in the 21st century.  The best part of the book are the stories.  These aren't just a set of theological axioms pulled out of someone's head or a few greek words, they have been lived out from the inner-city of Philly to the slums of Calcutta.  These stories of a radical faith speak much clearer than most of the theology I read in seminary.  Although both are needed, this is a breath of fresh air.   Another aspect of the book that keeps you turning the pages is the love and brokeness that Claiborne exudes in each story, and each call for a deeper faith.  The dedication reads like this:

Dedicated to al the hypocrites, cowards, and fools... like me.

May we find the Way, the Truth, and the Life in a world of shortcuts, deception, and death. 

Posted In: spirituality social-issues

Bookmark This Article: Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Facebook, Stumbledupon