Hat tip to Zach Exley (author of the Preaching Revolution article I posted some months ago)
for pointing me to his new blog, "Revolution in Jesusland." It looks
like it will be an interesting one to follow -- a self-described
"guided tour for secular progressives to America's fourth Great
Awakening.""
This blog is a plea to the progressive movement, to take another look
and get to know the diverse and complex world of evangelical
Christianity in its own terms. Here you’ll find interviews, commentary,
analysis and other dispatches from all over "Jesusland."
...
From mega churches to tiny country churches, evangelical Christians
are rediscovering the “gospel of the God of the oppressed.” Perhaps the
most surprising among these are the suburban, white evangelicals who
are stepping outside of their comfort zones to “get into relationship”
with the poor, the oppressed, the homeless, prisoners—the people of
whom Jesus said, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me...Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. -Matthew 25"
They are building houses for and teaching job skills to homeless
people, they are creating tutoring programs for kids in failing
schools, they’re paying health care bills and sending off rent checks
for people living on poverty wages—and there’s even a movement afoot
among these people to move their young families out of wealthy suburbs
and into forsaken inner city neighborhoods, putting their kids into
broken and often violent public schools. And in their Sunday services
and Bible studies they are questioning the very foundations of modern
American capitalist ideology.
On this blog we will attempt over time to provide evidence, and to
explain the inner logic of this culture’s narratives, theologies and
passions, and to flesh out the larger context of this movement that is
shaking up nearly every American community and producing so many
exceptional leaders.
So -- welcome to Jesusland. We hope you enjoy the tour.
Zach recommends this post to get a sense of why he feels that secular progressives need to hear about this "revolution" within evangelical Christianity.
We're in Grand Rapids, Michigan (driving to Iowa from a training in
Toronto). On Saturday, we ran into an anti-war rally organized by local
lefties. There were about 100 people, and it was a pretty awkward,
low-energy and demoralizing event.
Then, on Sunday, along with about 10,000 other people, we attended the regular weekly services at a church, called Mars Hill, where they teach that Jesus calls Christians to be peacemakers—and
that even 9-11 called for a non-violent response. You know: “Turn the
other cheek,” “Love your enemies”—these folks don’t skim past those
parts of the Bible.
The lefty rally could not have had less energy. At least while we
were there, no one even tried to chant one of the ten tired, old
anti-war chants.
At church, on the other hand, a chorus of thousands sang beautiful
songs of peace, love, hope and lament—drawn from a vast, 5,000-year-old
body of poetry. A loud, fun band (with an accordion and harp!) lead the
singing.
If it sounds interesting to you...subscribe to his RSS feed. (I have.)
Hat tip to Zach Exley (author of the
http://www.laizjj.cn
http://www.laizjj.cn
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