New Monasticism / Ordinary Radicals, Shane Claiborne on Social Ministry
Referenced in: Missional Lifestyle, Discipleship, Spirituality / Theological and Philosophical Foundations of Social Ministry
Introduction
Among young, emerging, evangelical Christians, there is probably not a more respected social prophet than Shane Claiborne. By his lifestyle and challenging attempt to live out the radical teachings and ministry of Jesus, he has earned significant moral authority to speak to current social issues. He has a genuine heart for the broken world, and has completely dedicated his life to discerning and living out the Christian witness to this brokenness. He leads a large community of like-minded social activists through The Simple Way. Their lifestyle is often called The New Monasticism, which is summarized in School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism.
His writings convey many influences, from Jesus, to the ancient monastic communities, to John Howard Yoder’s Politics of Jesus, to Richard Horsley’s Jesus and Empire, to Gregory Boyd’s Myth of a Christian Nation, and many others (see the list at the end of Jesus for President).
Claiborne’s life is reason enough to take him seriously, but it represents such a pendulum swing that it causes some of his followers (though not Claiborne himself) to be unfairly critical of the genuineness of those in the past and present who are not like them. Claiborne personally conveys a kind of humility that recognizes his path is one, but not the only, legitimate expression of Christian social conscience. His writings have much to commend.
Resources
Claiborne has written several books, most of them in association with other authors under the Ordinary Radical banner. Most agree that reading Irresistible Revolution and Jesus for President provides the essential Claiborne. These two, along with a few of the more representative volumes, are listed below. Follow the links to see more complete summaries.
- Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
- Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals
- Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals
- Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
- John Perkins and Shane Claiborne, Follow Me to Freedom: Leading as an Ordinary Radical
See Other Resource Guides on Christian Social Ministry:
- Social Ministry, Introduction
- Theological and Philosophical Foundations of Social Ministry
- Spirituality for Ministry of Social Compassion and Justice
- Strategies For Christian Social Ministry
- Perspectives and Strategies For Social Ministry Among the Urban Poor, Urban Ministry
- Christian Perspectives on Political Theory and Church-State Relations
- Christian Perspectives on Economics and Public Policy
- Evangelism
See Resources on Over 100 Ministry Topics