subverting the ordinary...

tr.v.   sub·vert·ed, sub·vert·ing, sub·verts

1. To destroy completely; ruin:
2. To undermine the character, morals, or allegiance of; corrupt.
3. To overthrow completely

Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw are making the rounds, they were in Toronto ( Church of the Redeemer, Bloor Street ) a few nights ago...pimping the movie " Ordinary Radicals ", and talking about subverting the empire. Shane Claiborne has done wonderful work expanding the Kingdom, and God's mission. " Irresistible Revolution ", was a great book revealing the reality of simplicity...that small mustard seeds can grow into great things.

But on every seat...glossy brochures...Simple Way's new magazine " Conspire "; Ordinary Radicals, the Movie; Jesus for President, the book.

The Ordinary Radicals website, a website featuring some of the most highly regarded thinkers in the North American church. Among the names I noticed Tony Campolo –a man I greatly admire. It is hard to overstate my regard for Tony, he has mentored and help shape my faith. The blog is an advertisement for the upcoming documentary and as it lists, features Interviews with: Becky Garrison, Shane Claiborne, Jim Wallis, Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, Rob Bell, John Perkins, Brooke Sexton, Michael Heneise, St. Margret McKenna, Logan Laituri, Zack Exley, Aaron Weiss and many more Ordinary Radicals. All great people, shaping the Kingdom...but;

I am frustrated by the absolute “un-ordinary-ness” of the people it is about. Alot of the people on the list are international superstars in the christian marketing culture, have been on “The Colbert Report” and CBC's " The Hour ", any number of high profile talk shows and television appearances. Most of the above names are regulars on the conference circuit. They are highly educated and enjoy flexibility and some notoriety. Wallis is the founder of Sojourners, a prolific author, and teaches at Harvard. Campolo " Red Letter Christians ", was a personal adviser to Clinton and a protégé of Albert Einstein. Claiborne is ...irresistible. McLaren the" New Kind of Christian ",is considered by most to be the foremost spokesman for the emerging church. Rob Bell, Nooma Video series, " The Velvet Elvis "...speaker extraordinare.

Subverting the empire: the movie. Subverting the empire: the magazine. Subverting the empire: the book tour.

Sadly we are being subverted from the reality of the " extra-ordinariness " of faithful living. It's not books, magazines, the conference hype. It is those simple acts of faith...stopping and talking, helping, feeding the poor drunken addict you find passed out on the street.

We want to subvert the empire...imagine if we all started living, by simply practicing extravagant love and faith everyday.

Comments

[brad grinnen]

this was hard for me to read. i admire and respect so many of the people that you mention as being a part of this marketed movie. but to a certain extent i agree with you. i imagine it must have been difficult for you to write as well.

i do wonder however, if there isn't also a sense in which we are these folks are using the mediums by which the culture provides in order for them to teach and disciple. what i mean by that is... Jesus and the apostles after him traveled and publicly preached, which was the means of the day by which the cultures offered the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

If, along the way, these people are interacting with the key grips...speaking hope into the lives of the people on set...listening to the desperate man whom they met while being interviewed...etc...then wouldn't that be subversive as well?

i may be absolutely wrong. in fact, i think i am wrong more often than i am right. but i am interested in your further thoughts here.

thanks for the post.

brad

[Mich]

Have you read the comment by Jamie Moffat, the director of the film "Ordinary Rascals, at Today at the Mission? Interesting.

http://mission.squarespace.com/-journal/2008/7/1/whats-the-point.html#comments

Ron, I know what you mean about feeling uneasy about big production/glossy stuff. My knee-jerk response is to be suspicious about motivation, etc. The Christian music scene makes me feel that way much of the time and I can't say that I tune into it except for a very few artists.

But I do have to stop and have a look at my own prejudices. I have to admit that I do appreciate and am moved by music that is certainly put out by well-known artist (mainstream or christian) that has great production and is marketed like any other. Just as an example, I like U2 or Van Morrison or Peter Gabriel. But I also like Steve Bell.

I appreciate the writings of Campolo, Yancey, Manning, Buechner, etc. But I also appreciate the writing I find on blogs such as yours.

So why is this different? If I were using the gifts that I think were God-given, what would that look like?

Not sure if I'm making any sense here, but you got me thinkin'.... or, at least, trying to think. :)

[ron]

Brad, you're right, I had a tough time writing this post. Part of me just wanted to press delete and keep my thoughts corked. But, I really struggle with the idea of these people being ordinary radicals. In the conversation of things " missional " and " emergent ", these would be the knights of the round table.They are far from ordinary.
Ordinary is my friend Jim working day in and out with handicapped kids, feeding and loving on folks at the mission. Kent cleaning up human excrement, and vommit off floors at the Mustard Seed. Gail cutting hair of the homeless.
I know these guys are movers and shakers, there names sell books, magazines, videos, podcasts etc.But it can become selling a program, what they are can become the bar to reach, rather than try and work it out in our own context of daily living.I'm all for teaching as long as we don't just become spectators at a conference, and not motivated to do anything else...except wait the next latest and greatest. Hope that makes some sense where I'm coming from. Peace...Ron+

[Mich]

BTW, I meant to say ordinary radicals but it came out rascals. Did you notice? lol Freudian slip, perhaps. Maybe I should wait until after that first morning coffee before I post a comment, eh?

Actually, I was thinking that we are the ones who make people into superstar status, right? So would changing the term "ordinary" to something else make any difference?

I appreciate the struggle behind this post. I think it provides a good opportunity for discussion so I'm glad you didn't just sweep it under the rug.

Still not sure if the coffee's kick in, yet.

[James]

Thanks for the post Ron.

I do remember finding it "strange" that Irresistable Revolution starts with Claibourne's praise of Ma T's "come and see" approach to spreading the news about what she was doing.

I had assumed that the book was Shane's version of that invite: the point being that we read the book, get inspired and then head on over TO the Simple Way to learn in community.

Seems as though somewhere along the way Shane and co. decided to go on tour instead.

As to whether I'm a fan of the tour vs the pilgrimage; I gotta wonder what would/could be if all the time and energy going into spreading "the news" was left to visitors instead...

[Jordon]

Good thoughts here, Scott Williams has been saying much of the same thing over on his blog as well.

[scott williams]

very subtle jordon...

[brad grinnen]

ron,

you're making total sense to me. and i do agree with your assessment of 'knights of the round table' so to speak.

thanks for sharing more in your reply. its been helpful in processing my thoughts as well. and thanks for putting your thoughts out there to begin with in regards to this post.

brad

[ron]

Mich, just to pick up your comment about the " christian music scene." If you remember back 10-15 years to the era of the " worship conferences." I wonder how much of that actually created the " christian music scene." My fear is " missional " can begin to snowball into the same. It starts off with good intensions and begins to roll becoming bigger taking on a life of it's own, and suddenly we've lost the somplicity, and reality of what missional really is...ordinary people living, and practicing faith.

[Mich]

I'll take your word for it about the worship conferences, Ron. I was nowhere near anything Christian 10 or 15 years ago. I think what you say about missional is probably true as well and I think it has to do with the nature of humanity and its neediness. Things get distorted pretty easily it seems. More, more, more...

For me, there is a feeling of yet one more bandwagon on which to jump. On the other hand, I don't really know what I'm talking about as I haven't even checked out the ordinary radicals website; I'm just going on what's been described. Although I do a sense of what you mean about the reality of serving the poor juxtaposed with a glitzy looking campaign.

[Mich]

Oops, that should read:
"Although I do have a sense of what you mean about the reality of serving the poor juxtaposed with a glitzy looking campaign."

[Matt Heard]

Why don't you talk to the director? It's an indie film and his email's right there at the site... that is unless you'd rather complain about it on a blog. Additionally, it strikes me as strange that you'd consider Sr. Margaret McKenna and a house painter named Aaron as celebrities.

[ron]

Thanks Matt, I sent an e-mail to Jamie Moffett Director of the documentary. And I don't see my post as a complaint or rant, as much as I'm try to encourage and acknowledge the little people planting little mustard seeds of faith in there daily cominings and goings.
So if this has only come across as a rant, forgive me...that was not my intent. Peace...Ron+

[Heneise]

agree...for the most part. Except that there is a name in that list - Michael Heneise (pronounced HEN-ICE)... who is in fact "unknown", certainly not a "highly regarded thinker in the North American church" - whom, to this day, can't figure out why his name keeps getting copied and pasted in to the blogosphere... I WANT OUT OF THIS MADNESS!!!

[Wayne Stratz]

there work does fertilize some seeds. I know of a student inspired by Shane's life, who got a church to start feeding the hungry... where the elders fought against it. I did not see this as a rant.