Thanks again to all our volunteers that helped with The Simple Way Potter Street camp. Without your help this would not have been possible.

The Village House is designed to give people an opportunity to live, work, and serve here at The Simple Way.  We are seeking a handful of individuals that are interested in being a part of this pilot program. So no matter if you're in your 90s, 20s, or somewhere between here's your opportunity to come for a season of time and work with The Simple Way.

We see diversity as a gift, so special consideration is given to applicants who will enrich the experience because of who they are.  Please know that there is no cookie-cutter applicant we are looking for - we love to see applications from folks who are senior citizens, single and married, Catholics and protestants, all shades of skin and from all over the world, or even from right here in Kensington.
 
Though there may be some elements of spiritual formation and discipleship that happen during your time, Interns are folks who have had a fair amount of experience. So you might be finishing up your MBA and wondering what's next, this may be for you. You may have ran your own business or worked for a Fortune 500 company and you're wondering what's next, this may be for you. You may have raised your children and now they're all growing up in your wondering what's next, this may be for you. You may find yourself asking is there more to life than this, this may be for you.

We are specifically looking for individuals that have experience and interest/passion in the following areas...

Youth Education
Hospitality
Financial/Business Administration
Carpentry
Urban Farming
Writing/Editing
Artists/Muralist
Office Administration
Graphic Design/Desktop Publishing
Web Development
Website Maintenance
Building Maintenance/Construction

So, if you are interested, shoot us some info about yourself (preferably your resume), a photo of yourself, and one page or less on why you would like to live and work at The Simple Way Village House.  It may feel a little official, but this will help us share your information as a community.  Then, we will follow up with you personally in the near future.

Submit your resume, photo, and your goal/hope for living and working at The Simple Way Village House by email to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Once again, our partners at Yes! And... CAMP are beginning a summer full of fun at their Summer Theatre Camps. This year, their teen "SHADOW Company" is proud to be a part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival and features several teens from our neighborhood: Derrick, Daysha, Rolando, Rolanyi, and Kasim in addition to Demitre and China whom we have known since college! They are asking for your help to raise the money they need to produce this new play, through their "SHADOW Dollar Campaign". Simply click here to donate $1, $10, or visit their website to donate more!

Make a $1 donation

Make a $10 Donation

Shane wrote an article about Independance Day that appears on the Huffington Post blog! Check it out here!

Timoteo officially began in the spring of 2005.  Our Mission is to support communities by empowering men and mentoring youth through athletics found in the love of Christ and the unity of the church. The idea for Timoteo Football was inspired by II Timothy 2:1 which states “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”  Timoteo Football was created to reach out in love with the Gospel to the youth of the Kensington community and surrounding neighborhood.  Timoteo works by placing Christian men who are actively involved in a local church on teams as coaches to be examples and father figures to the youth.  The coaches spend quality time investing in the youth, talking and building relationships with them and leading them in informal, interactive Bible studies in order to share Jesus with them in a relevant and non-coercive way.  The hope is that the youth would connect with Christ and the local church.  Timoteo Football was not created to drag kids into a church building but rather to serve them, spend time with them, hangout, and provides the gospel in their context, while doing something that they love to do – play football.

We recently completed our sixth season which was a great success as we had are largest number of youth participants at 166 who completed the season.  Through our partnerships with nine local churches we were able to create a well organized league that provided a positive enviroment for these young men to grow and learn. We also had an awards banquet for players and families to recognize on the field accomplishments as well as players that exemplified Christian character.

During the offseason in September we will begin our men’s flag football league named Paulo Kohl.  Also in October we will have a weekend retreat for players and coaches to attend in order to continue to build relationships with the youth and coaches.  We also plan to have some one day events such as a basketball tournament to continue to stay in contact with our youth and let others know about the league.  Continue to check out www.timoteofootball.com for updates.

It’s graduation season!!!

Here in Kensington people know how to celebrate a graduation -- cars honking, people yelling, windows decorated, balloons everywhere.  Graduation means that someone has beat the odds and triumphed over the obstacles.  After all, the dropout rate in Philly is 42%... some schools only see 25% of the young men getting the diploma.  So we are excited this year…

We have 3 high school graduates connected to The Simple Way headed off to college at Eastern University.  And we are sooooooo thankful to be working with Eastern to subvert the statistics and pave a way for kids from our neighborhood to create a different future than the patterns of inequity and a broken education system might dictate for them.

Join us in celebrating:

• Michael Rosario
• Jesse Martinez
• Teyanna Jett

Eastern is providing full tuition, but we are raising money to help with books, room and board, etc… so feel free to send a little graduation gift!
By the way, in case you haven’t heard… there was another little graduation ceremony.  Shane received an honorary doctorate from Eastern! Check on this post later this week for a YouTube version of the event!

Shane wrote a few more graduation reflections on the CNN blog... Check it out here.

(you can call Shane “Dr.” if you want to but you might keep in mind how you would feel about a surgeon or a dentist with an “honorary” degree in medicine… good thing he’s “only” doing theology – hahaha)

Several of us just returned from Iraq, and we are excited to launch a few new projects from the pilgrimage. To here more about the trip and why they went, check this out.

We are excited to announce a new project of The Simple Way, partnering with our friends in Iraq – The Rutba Peace Project seeks to deepen relationships with our friends in the town of Rutba, working together for peace and reconciliation. It’s hard to run a hospital without electricity so we have helped fix their broken generator. Over the next year we hope to raise $30,000 to help rebuild the Rutba Hospital that was bombed in 2007 by US and Coalition forces. Also sorts of other good stuff is in the works. Keep it in your prayers, and you can donate here.

Our friend Greg Barrett is writing a book called The Gospel of Rutba. Keep an eye out for that (probably near the end of the year)… and word on the street is Desmond Tutu is excited to do the foreword. Jamie Moffett is creating a film from the trip to Iraq called “The Gospel of Rutba”. You can watch a trailer with some images from the trip here:

Photography: Jamie Moffett, for the feature-length documentary The Gospel of Rutba. Some rights reserved, contact Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production for details.

THE PEOPLE’S JOURNEY

Join citizens from IRAQ, GAZA, AFGHANISTAN (via skype), and VETERANS of the GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR who will share their experiences, moving beyond the political rhetoric as we converse with Americans of all persuasions.

The Travelers:

• Salam Talib… is a journalist and computer engineer from Iraq and has also been active in designing databases for numerous NGOs which work with disabled Iraqis.
• Our Journey To Smile… will join us through skype, live in Afghanistan! This group of inspiring young Afghanis share their firsthand accounts of war while maintaining a shining hope for humanity despite decades of turmoil.
• Students from Gaza… will discuss the policies in their country that most U.S. citizens don’t know about, how our government affects their lives, and how we can create change.
• Conor Curran… completed two tours in Iraq as a Marine. His compelling story of transformation has been heard all across the country as he bicycled across the country last year on a speaking tour with…
• Josh Stieber… also an Iraq Vet who has been speaking to international media about his former company’s role in the “collateral murder” tape and the letter of reconciliation that followe

For more information or to RSVP, contact Jason Crouch at jason@thesimpleway.org or 215-888-6490

Soldiers of Conscience

June 10, 2010 - 7:00 pm
at 1125 S Broad St., .
Free Admission  --  Discussion to Follow

Soldiers of conscience is a dramatic window on the dilemma of individual U.S. soldiers in the current Iraq War – when their finger is on the trigger and another human being is in their gun-sight. Made with cooperation from the U.S. Army and narrated by Peter Coyote, the film profiles eight American soldiers, including four who decide not to kill, and become conscientious objectors; and four who believe in their duty to kill if necessary. The film reveals all of them wrestling with the morality of killing in war, not as a philosophical problem, but as soldiers experience it - a split-second decision in combat that can never be forgotten or undone.

Church of the Sojourners, our sister community out in San Francisco, is looking for apprentices for this next year, August 2010 – July 2011.  Apprentices live together in a church housing and form a mini-community inside Sojourners.  Apprentices share their money, commit to a common schedule and calendar, learn group discernment by making decisions together, pitch in on church chores, and meet regularly with a mentor.  If you are interested or know of anyone who is interested, visit the website for more info (http://churchofthesojourners.wordpress.com/living-church-family-style/apprenticeship/) or have them email Dale at dale@churchofthesojourners.org.

The earliest and shortest of the four canonical Gospels is probably the least known – yet in many ways the most powerful and radical portrait of Jesus.  What does Jesus mean in proclaiming “the reign of God”?  How does his life embody that new spiritual and social reality?  What kind of discipleship community does he call people to?   We will look at the socio-historic, literary, and cultural issues in the Gospel and in the community for whom it was written.  We will explore how the Gospel addresses issues of politics, economics, power, healing, community, and suffering.  We will struggle with how the Gospel challenges us to be a faithful community in our modern world and in our own lives.  The course will be facilitated by Will O'Brien, coordinator of The Alternative Seminary.  Along with the text of the Gospel, we will read Say To This Mountain, a superb study guide by Ched Myers and others.  The charge for the class is $50 (or whatever you can afford), which includes the price of the book.

This summer, Chris Haw will be starting an apprenticeship program on carpentry, pottery, and theology in Camden,NJ .

This summer, the apprentices would spend about 25 hours a week working either with Chris doing carpentry or pottery, possibly serving as well in a garden or in another capacity within the neighborhood. They would also spend about 10 hours a week in study and conversation on theology. The apprentices would need to raise money about $2000 for the summer, per intern. This would cover housing and most meals. If any of you are interested, please email Chris Haw at: hawchris@gmail.com ASAP.

We regret to inform you that the PAPA Festival will not be happening this summer. We're stepping back and looking at a variety of options, including a mix of local and regional gatherings for the future. Lord willing, we will have something planned for next summer. If you are interested in helping plan and carry-out future events, let us know at http://bit.ly/cFHnTY

We added a Gatherings section to the Community of COmmunities website, where you can find a list of events already planned for this summer. If you're having a gathering this summer that you want to invite others to, please let us know at http://bit.ly/c4sKy8 and we will add it to the list. Please note: We are compiling the information, but we are not officially endorsing any events.

LIVE from North Philly

The Simple Way will participate in a vigil with Heeding God's Call at the Shooter Shop in our neighborhood as we continue to ask the owners to sign on to a volunteer Code of Conduct. More information about the event.

Live stream begins 4:00 pm Friday, April 2.

Free TV : Ustream

We are excited to announce a new project of The Simple Way, partnering with our friends in Iraq – the Rutba Peace Project seeks to deepen relationships with our friends in the town of Rutba, working together for peace and reconciliation.

It’s hard to run a hospital without electricity so we have helped fix their broken generator. Over the next year we hope to raise $30,000 to help rebuild the Rutba Hospital that was bombed in 2003 by US and Coalition forces. Also sorts of other good stuff is in the works. Keep it in your prayers, and you can donate to our Rutba Peace Project.

Our friend Greg Barrett is writing a book called The Gospel of Rutba. Keep an eye out for that (probably near the end of the year)… and word on the street is Desmond Tutu is excited to do the foreword.

Jamie Moffett is creating a film from the trip to Iraq called “The Gospel of Rutba”. You can watch a trailer on our YouTube page or below.

Photography: Jamie Moffett, for the feature-length documentary The Gospel of Rutba. Some rights reserved, contact Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production for details.

Over the next year we hope to raise $30,000 to help rebuild the Rutba Hospital that was bombed in 2007 by US and Coalition forces. The hospital has a special place in our heart as they treated community members and friends in 2003 who were injured in an auto accident... and then refused to accept any payment.

Here are some pictures of Shane you can use on your website or event materials, if Shane is a confirmed speaker.

HERE IS A SAMPLE LETTER TO THE GUNSHOP OWNER.  (This letter was personalized and sent by nearly 100 Methodist Clergy in the Philadelphia area). 

February 16, 2010

Mr. Lawrence R. Haney, Owner
Shooter Shop
2001 E Allegheny Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19134-3811

Dear Mr. Haney,

As a United Methodist, I mourn for the victims of gun violence, including the recent death of Papito on February 5, 2010 in Philadelphia, his family, and the local Kensington community. In our Wesleyan tradition and as part of the Body of Christ I am called to be a witness to a loving God, to love my neighbors, to heal my community, and to restore God's kingdom of justice and peace.

As a person of faith and action, I join Shane Claiborne, local clergy and community organizers requesting your signature on the Code of Conduct, a 10-point covenant created by a national association of Mayors committed to decreasing violence on the streets. This is an urgent issue and you truly have an opportunity to set a precedent for other gunshops across the country. You can help reduce and eliminate the practice of straw purchasing and, with integrity, refuse to profit from the sale of illegal handguns.

You and your employees will be included in my prayers.

Respectfully submitted,
XXXXXXXXX

by shane claiborne

Something sort of mystical and magical happened after a 19 year old kid named Papito was killed on our block a few weeks ago.  As our neighborhood ached and grieved and cried with his family, we began to create a memorial for Papito where he died, a familiar ritual in the inner city.  Those who knew and loved him brought photos and flowers.  Kids on our block brought stuffed animals or whatever they had and laid them on the sidewalk memorial.  And everyone brought candles.  But here’s where the magic happened.  It was the next day that the east coast was to be hammered with one of the worst snowstorms since we’ve kept records.  As the snow showered down, I thought the little candles, sheltered only beneath a little shanty of soggy cardboard, would not stand a chance in the blizzard.  But on they burned. Hour after hour, even through the night they burned.  And the warmth of the fire melted down the snow as it fell.  Flake by flake melted from the warmth of the fire.  The next morning I went out to find the candles still burning, on a little patch of wet sidewalk like an oasis of warmth glowing in the middle of 2 feet of snow encroaching on all sides. 

The next week we held a prayer vigil at the local gunshop, praying for an end to violence… and specifically asking and praying that the owner of “The Shooter Shop” would agree to a voluntary “Code of Conduct” drafted by Mayors from all over the country who agree that these ten simple steps would prevent deaths like Papito’s.  So on February 13, we walked in silence with friends and neighbors from the candle memorial where Papito died three blocks to The Shooter Shop down the street.  And we carried candles.  It was there that I remembered the candles gentle warmth as it faced the coldness of a winter storm.

As we gathered with dozens of other Christians from around Philadelphia to pray for peace, we were met by a counter-demonstration that had been organized by guns-rights groups.  They shouted some of the meanest things I have ever heard.  I didn’t mind them calling me a “scumbag”, and I even concede on the “you need a shower” comment… but then the insults shot like bullets – racial, economic, angry insults… some of them to kids from our block…  some of them whispered just loud enough to hear, “stupid immigrant”.  As we started a sacred moment of silence to remember Papito and the other kids killed with illegal guns… the silence was pierced with insults and meanness.  As we prayed the Lord’s Prayer it was interrupted with the singing of “God Bless America.”  A deep theological cagematch was happening in the heavens it seems.

While I do not believe the folks we met reflect the character or views of most gun owners or even NRA members (heck I’ve shot some squirrels for dinner back in TN)… the ugly counterprotest was organized by folks who started off by saying things like this:  

Be advised that Shooter’s Shop is located in a dicey neighborhood. You should have no problem in daylight, and I doubt the local neighborhood folks are going to mess with a bunch of NRA members, but carry your gun with you, do not leave it unattended in a vehicle if you go where someone could break into your car and steal it!

(from the website “Snowflakes in Hell”… which incidently may flow with my candle metaphor!)

So the fact that they are not from the neighborhood may explain some of the behavior we saw and inability to lament the bloodshed we see on these streets from guns sold to straw buyers at gunshops like the Shooter Shop (not many folks are buying hunting rifles from a gunshop in Kensington… we don’t have many deer here).  

There is no doubt that my grandmother was right when she used to say, “God doesn’t like ugly.”  And the Scriptures speak clearly that we are not fighting against people but against principalities and powers – ugly, filthy, sick principalities and powers.  When we look at Jesus’s cross we see what love looks like when it stares evil in the face.  It is nonviolent, it is forgiving, it is steady and courageous.  It is this courageous love that exposes evil by making it so uncomfortable that it has to be dealt with.  Colossians is correct when it says that as Jesus rose from the dead he made a spectacle of the cross.  As he listened to insults, had people spit in his face, curse him and kill him… he knew full well that he was exposing the ugliness… and in the end love wins over hatred. 

When we came back to the house we got a chance to unpack things with some of the teenagers from the block who were at the vigil.  They shared about how powerful it was to see us return meanness with kindness.  We remembered how Martin Luther King said to those who were so mean to him:  “To our most bitter opponents we say: ‘Throw us in jail and we will still love you.  Bomb our houses and we will still love you.  Beat us and leave us half dead, and we will still love you… but be ye assured that we will wear you down with our love.”  As the early Christian martyrs said:  “Grace dulls even the sharpest sword.” 

We will continue to hold vigil and to pray for a conversion of heart from the gunshop owner.  In fact, the steady witness is growing… over 100 pastors and Church leaders have drafted letters (like this one) to the gunshop owner urging him to seize this opportunity to lead with integrity and show irresponsible gunshop owners a better way.  Please light your candle and send your letter to Mr. Haney.  When he signs the Code of Conduct we will alert the press and have a huge celebration outside The Shooter Shop (I might even buy a new bb-gun from him). 

This morning I woke up and saw the snow falling again, and the candles still burning (they’ve been burning for almost 3 weeks now)… they are still melting the snow.  As I thought about the vigil last week, I had once thought we were sheep among wolves… but now I’m thinking we were just candles in the middle of a blizzard.  And snow melts, but the light keeps glowing.  We are to be the light, to be the salt… both of which can melt the toughest ice or the coldest heart. 

photo credit: Jamie Moffett

Jamie Moffett setup a live stream of the gun shop vigil through his phone.

Streaming .TV shows by Ustream

Life within the Simple Way is always changing.  Sometimes things we start like our after-school theater program spin-off into entirely new organizations like Yes! And..., other times, changing seasons simply bring changing times, as we started with one house, expanded to a few, went back to one, and now are preparing to launch a new Apprenticeship House.  A lot of what goes on in our neighborhood is a local expression of The Simple Way, while some of our larger, national and global projects, are about connecting with and fostering other outposts of grace and discipleship.  

Here are our current expressions

Daily Prayer

We gather with friends and neighbors every weekday morning at 8 AM for morning prayer.  Often, we use the Celtic Book of Daily Prayer, but sometimes we lead each other in other forms of prayer.  Shane and some friends are working on a book of Common Prayer.  Morning prayer is open to however is in the neighborhood, in town, or wants to join us.

Friday Night Dinners

We have a weekly community dinner, sometimes fondly known as “Family Dinner”, with neighbors and friends. This is a time for us to check-in with each other, share, laugh, celebrate, (and sometimes cry). Friday night dinners are generally not public but for folks in the village here, but on occasion we do something special open to visitors.

Nights of Celebration

Nights of Celebration started several years back as a public gathering of Christians and communities all over the Philadelphia area.

They usually happen a few times a year and are a good excuse to get together outside of our own little neighborhoods and celebrate all that God is doing in our City. In recent years, the Nights of Celebration have coincided with the release of Conspire magazine so folks can pick up their copies. Things kick off with a good ole potluck dinner and then we sing some songs, pray, have some testimonials, send people off on adventures, and finish up with communion. The Nights are hosted by different folks each time, so it may be at the Cathedral, in the storefont church, or in a park.... 

You can find information on upcoming Nights of Celebration on our Connecting page.

Timoteo Football League

Timoteo is a youth flag football league for young men ages 13-18. Actually, Timoteo is becoming more than a flag football league, it is becoming a unifying movement of local congregations to empower youth to make a difference in their neighborhoods!  “Timoteo” is Spanish for “Timothy,” and has been in operation since 2005.  In 2010 alone, we anticipate about 200 youth and 40 adults from our neighborhood involved in the league.

Read more about the league and support the kids, including buying jerseys for the teams.  

Conspire Magazine

Conspire! is a quarterly publication from a diverse network of communities and groups. The magazine exists to explore in a collaborative, creative, and corporate way some o the unique issues that arise from community life.  At the same time, it engages the struggles of many who are not in such communities.

Read the current call to submit, locate a co-conspirator near you and pickup a copy, complete the application to become a co-conspirator

Community of Communities

Community of communities is a space for individuals and intentional communities to learn and connect. We are developing a map-based database of communities. We are currenting in limited beta so help us get started by submitting your community.

www.communityofcommunities.info

Centurion's Guild

Centurion’s Guild is supports and defends prospective, current, and former service members while bearing true faith and allegiance to God.  The guild is a community grounded in our shared vocation and Centurion's Purse is a kind of relational tithe to help support alternatives to the military

Jubilee Fund

More information coming soon!

Cielo Azul Fund

The Cielo Azul Fund provides a basic living stipend for Ruth and Alex Orantes, Salvadoran Baptist pastors and community organizers, and supports outreach programs and development projects in communities they serve in El Salvador, including construction of a community center at Iglesia Bautista Shekina, health clinics and social services, youth leadership workshops, art and music activities for children, community Bible studies, education scholarships, and more.  Ruth and Alex's commitment to faith-based community development, justice, peacemaking, and healing has been a cherished model and inspiration during many years of friendship across the borders.

You can read Ruth & Alex's story, see pictures, and contribute on our Cielo Azul Fund page or you can read their own blog.

Shane Claiborne interviews Tony Campolo for an article in Cross Currents Magazine.

Tony Campolo is an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church and professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Shane Claiborne is a founder of the Simple Way Community in Philadelphia and a prominent Christian activist.

Introductory Remarks (Shane Claiborne)

I grew up around people who looked like me and thought like me, insulated from anyone that made me uncomfortable or challenged my assumptions. I cannot remember meeting anyone Jewish or Muslim growing up, and distinctly remember (much to my chagrin) being swayed from dating a lovely Catholic girl because she prayed to Mary. And then I went to Eastern College. I studied sociology with Tony. I met Jesus on the streets of Philadelphia, in his most distressing disguises. I was surrounded by people who stretched my vision of what it means to be Christian. In one of the evening sociology classes (which, as usual, flowed over until nearly midnight), I can remember hearing Tony say, "Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and doing something incredibly daring with your life." Since then the Christian adventure has taken me to the extremes of wealth and poverty, from a ten-week stint in Calcutta working alongside Mother Teresa to a year spent in the verdant Chicago suburbs at the evangelical mega-church, Willow Creek. Most recently, I was led to Iraq as part of an interfaith peace team during the war. So I hold Tony responsible for much of this, as the Lover he has introduced me to and the Gospel he has taught me have wrecked my life and gotten me in a lot of trouble.

When a devout Muslim brother asked Tony and I to have this cross-generational dialogue about interreligious cooperation for an interfaith publication, we jumped on it. In an age when religious extremists of all faiths have perverted the conceptions of what our traditions teach, there seems to be another thing stirring. Many of us are refusing to allow the media and twisted images of our faith to define us. And though words like "evangelical" are up for grabs, we still consider it an important adjective to reclaim and an important community to restructure. Tony tackles many of these issues in more detail in his newest book Speaking My Mind.

Before we get started it seems critical to note that the word "evangelion" from which we derive our words "evangelical" and "evangelism" are ancient words that predated Jesus. They were words Jesus takes from the imperial lexicon and spins on their head. For instance, in 6 BC there was a saying inscribed around the Roman Empire that read: "Augustus has been sent to us as Savior. . . the birthday of the god Augustus has been for the whole world the beginning of the gospel" ("evangelion"). The early evangelists were announcing another Gospel, proclaiming an allegiance to another Emperor and another Kingdom. When people ask me if I am an evangelical, I must make sure we have a proper understanding of the word. If by evangelical we mean one who spreads the Good News that there is another Kingdom and another Emperor, another economy and peace than Rome's, another Savior than Caesar . . . then, yes I am an evangelical." So here we sit down together and have a cross-generational conversation on inter-religious cooperation, as evangelical Christians.

Shane Claiborne: Well, we've been asked to consider the possibility of evangelical Christians cooperating with people of different faiths. The place to begin seems to properly define what we mean by "evangelical." I offered my definition above. What's yours?

Tony Campolo: An evangelical is someone who believes the doctrines of the Apostle's Creed. That outlines exactly what we believe in detail. Secondly, an evangelical has a very high view of scripture though not necessarily inerrancy. And the third thing—we believe that salvation comes by being personally involved with a living resurrected Jesus. So I've defined evangelical in those three terms. There is a doctrinal statement, so that there is some content to what we believe. There is a source of truth, Scripture. And there is a personal relationship with Jesus.

SC: There are many evangelicals who find themselves lost amidst the current political climate. They find themselves outside the narrow issues that define conservatives and estranged from the shallow spirituality that marks liberals. Many seem to be thirsty for Christian social justice and peacemaking but cannot find a Christian community that is consistently pro-life, or that looks at war and injustice as spiritual issues.

TC: As we think about all of this we have to be aware of what has happened in this last election. Evangelicalism getting wedded to the any political party is like ice cream mixing with horse manure. It's not going to hurt the horse manure (i.e. the republican party, and I would say the Democrat Party is also horse manure so don't get the wrong idea), but it sure will mess up the ice cream.

SC: President Bush uses political and spiritual language interchangeably, referring to the ideals of America as the Light of the world that the darkness cannot overcome. He invokes God's blessing on a nation that has stepped far from the things that God blesses in the Beatitudes. I've met many evangelicals, particularly military families, who find their national and spiritual allegiance in conflict. I have met parents who lost their kids speak their anger that their children died thinking this was God's will. I have met soldiers who have knelt at the altar to ask forgiveness for what they did in Iraq. Recently I was talking to a woman who was very upset as I spoke about Iraq. She said she just wanted Muslim people to come to know the grace and love of Jesus. I told her I want the same thing. The question is how does that happen, and are we getting closer to that? What can we learn from the blood-stained pages of history—Constantine, the crusades, the Inquisition, the martyrs. Do you see evangelicals getting closer or further from interfaith dialogue?

TC: Evangelicalism is heading for a split. I think that the last election aggravated a significant minority of the evangelical community, believing that they did not want to come across as anti-gay, anti-women, anti-environment, pro war, pro capital punishment, and anti-Islam. There is going to be one segment of evangelicalism, just like there is one segment in Islam that is not going to be interested in dialogue. But there are other evangelicals who will want to talk and establish a common commitment to a goodness with Islamic people and Jewish people particularly.

SC: When I was in Iraq, I heard folks call our leaders "Christian extremists", mirroring the language we hear of "Muslim extremists". One woman said, "Everyone is declaring war in the name of God and asking God's blessing. What kind of God is this?" What became clear, is that what is at stake here is not just the reputation of America, but the reputation and identity of Christians, and that is dangerous.

TC: What has happened now is that evangelicals have emerged from this election with an incredible triumphalism in the life of the Christian evangelical community. They think they have a right to control America. God won. They won and they are now going to make this into the Christian nation they think it was supposed to be. Then you get Jerry Falwell making that statement about 'The only answer is to bomb all the terrorists off the face of the earth in the name of the Lord.'

It's scary. Because if this is defined as a Christian nation, than the Muslims have every right to assume that what is happening in Iraq is Christian, and this is a regeneration of the crusades. And it's being broadcast that way by Al Jazeera and media networks in other parts of the world. That's why I am saying that evangelicalism has to be challenged. That triumphalism has to be challenged, we cannot allow that to go unchecked. And right now they own the microphone. They have the radio stations. They have the television stations. They are in fact saying this is the agenda. And we have to fight against that.

SC: Both Muslims and Christians are very evangelical in the sense of desiring others to come to faith in their God. When we talk about inter-religious cooperation, does that mean that we need to stop trying to convert each other?

TC: We don't have to give up trying to convert each other. What we have to do is show respect to one another. And to speak to each other with a sense that even if people don't convert, they are God's people, God loves them, and we do not make the judgment of who is going to heaven and who is going to hell.

I think that what we all have to do is leave judgment up to God. The Muslim community is very evangelistic, however what Muslims will not do is condemn Jews and Christians to Hell if in fact they do not accept Islam.

SC: That seems like a healthy distinction—between converting and condemning. One of the barriers seems to be the assumption that we have the truth and folks who experience things differently will all go to Hell. How do we unashamedly maintain a healthy desire for others to experience the love of God as we have experienced it without condemning others who experience God differently?

TC: Islam is much more gracious towards evangelical Christians who are faithful to the New Testament, than Christians are towards Islamic people who are faithful to the Koran. The Islamic faith will ask, "Are you faithful to the book that you have?" Mohammad was very understanding that there was great truth in Christianity. He differed with us in that he felt he had a more complete truth, and Islam would hold to that, but Mohammad contended that we would ultimately be judged in terms of the truth that we had at our disposal.

I think there are Muslim brothers and sisters who are willing to say, "You live up to the truth as you understand it. I will live up to the truth as I understand it, and we will leave it up to God on judgment day."

There is much in Christianity that would suggest exactly the same thing, particularly Romans the 2^nd chapter, where the apostle Paul says "What do we say of those who do not accept the law of God," and I would add "as we understand it," "and are faithful to all the things that God calls us to do—will God not have to make room for them?" He asks that as a rhetorical question, leaving the reader with the obvious sense—"but of course." So I think that the apostle Paul would be a lot more generous towards Islamic people than most of my evangelical brothers and sisters are. If both sides are willing to live up to the truth as they perceive it and if both sides are willing to say we are not going to compromise what we believe but we are convinced that in the end the other side will have a chance to respond in a positive manner to what we believe. I think we can live together in peace and without attacking each other and without condemning each other.

Catholicism would say that at the moment of death every person is confronted in that split moment with Christ and is given the opportunity of saying yes or no. To say otherwise is to say God has got to be a pretty unfair deity, to condemn three quarters of the human race to hell without them ever having a chance.

I've got to believe that Jesus is the only Savior but being a Christian is not the only way to be saved. A student at Princeton once asked Protestant theologian Karl Barth, "Do you think that other religions can be valid avenues to God and His salvation?" Barth answered, "No! No religion can provide a valid avenue to God and His salvation. Not even the Christian religion. Only Jesus Christ can serve as mediator to God."

SC: When it comes to living out the Biblical vision of justice and peace, there are times when I feel like I have more in common with folks of other religions than I do with some other evangelicals. I have often found that while we may not agree theologically, we have a similar vision for how God calls us to live. Can we work together in service and action, even though we disagree theologically?

TC: I used to do this television show "Hashing It Out" with Steve Brown. One day a friend in his seminary said, "How can you be friends with people like the Campolos, especially Peggy, when you know what she believes about homosexuality?" Steve's answer was, "Peggy is wrong in the head but right in the heart. You on the other hand are right in the head and wrong in the heart. And if I have to make a choice I would much rather prefer someone who is right in the heart and wrong in the head."

That's a powerful statement but I think that's where most of us would go. Now Muslims do not believe that Jesus died on the cross. So we have a difference there. We kid ourselves if we pretend that we all believe the same thing. What we have to do is say that we believe different things. But there is so much goodness in the Islamic community, it cannot be ignored. Those who write off Islamic people are making a serious mistake. And vice-versa, Islamic people who write off Christians are making a serious mistake. But I would have to say they are less inclined to do that than we are to write them off.

SC: When I was in India working in Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying, there was a young man who had been there volunteering for quite some time. He rarely talked, just went from bed to bed caring for the dying men. One day on the train ride home he gently said to me that he wanted to share a confession. He went on to explain that he was not a Christian, and often had a tendency to question the mixed motives of evangelical Christians who came to volunteer. He said he was never sure why they were there, if it was because they truly loved the dying, or because they were commanded to, or because they wanted to convert the dying . . . Then he asked me, "When you care for the dying is it because you love them, or because you love God?" A good question. I thought for a while, and then I replied, “Yes, both. In fact, they are indistinguishable to me. I cannot tell where the one begins and the other ends. As I love the dying I am loving Christ, and how I love God is by loving my neighbor." He smiled. As I thought afterward, I wondered about the difference between how this atheist so gently touches and cares for the dying, and the way I cared for them. Could he be caring for Christ without knowing it? Dorothy Day said, "The only true atheist is the one who denies God's image in the face of the poor." Were both our hands the hands of God?

TC: When it comes to what is ultimately important, the Muslim community's sense of commitment to the poor is exactly in tune with where Jesus is in the 25^th chapter of Matthew. That is the description of judgment day. And if that is the description of judgment day what can I say to an Islamic brother who has fed the hungry, and clothed the naked? You say, "But he hasn't a personal relationship with Christ." I would argue with that. And I would say from a Christian perspective, in as much as you did it to the least of these you did it unto Christ. You did have a personal relationship with Christ, you just didn't know it. And Jesus himself says: "On that day there will be many people who will say, when did we have this wonderful relationship with you, we don't even know who you are. . . " "Well, you didn't know it was me, but when you did it to the least of these it was doing it to me."

SC: The Scriptures are filled with God choosing the most unlikely places to dwell. God uses the brothel owner Rahab, the pagan nation of Assyria, the adulteress king David, the zealots and tax collectors, even old Balaam's donkey as instruments of the Kingdom. It seems that Jesus is constantly extending the boundaries of grace and enlarging our vision of the Family of God, telling stories where Samaritan heretics and Syro-phoenician outsiders are invited into the Kingdom. We can see this in Peter's second conversion when he realized that God's grace is even extended to the Gentiles. Jesus' own image of the eternal banquet says that the guests the King invited are all preoccupied with the concerns of this world, and commands the servant to go into the alleys and margins to bring in whoever will come. How do we leave room for the surprises that could await us in the afterlife, without compromising our beliefs?

TC: I don't think you have to compromise as a Christian the belief that Jesus is the only Savior but what I do think we have to say is that the grace of God extends way beyond the limitations of my religious group. And I think that the Muslims have to say, as they do say, that the grace of Allah extends beyond the Islamic community. The community is supposed to be faithful to its beliefs and convictions or else it has no core. On the other hand it has got to be more loving towards those who are outside.

Our Muslim brothers and sisters can say Islam is the only true faith but we are not convinced that only Muslims enjoy salvation. I contend that there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ, but I am not convinced that the grace of God does not go further than the Christian community.

SC: There is a discomfort when I hear Gandhi's whisper that the religions are one tree with many branches, and I can appreciate the fact that our faiths trace their roots back to the same dysfunctional family of Abraham and Sarah. But in many interreligious gatherings I have experienced the feeling that we are forced to walk on eggshells in a shallow murky spirituality that does not honor the distinctiveness of each tradition. This universalism, in its attempt to honor every tradition I often merely creates a culture where their beauty and distinctiveness are lost.

TC: I think we have to maintain our theological differences. We don't have any integrity if we don't. We end up with this mishmash in which we say, 'Well, in the end, we all believe in the same God'. Maybe we do, but we don't define God in the same way. We don't come to God in the same manner. And each of us makes exclusivist claims, and we have to recognize that. We cannot allow our theologies to separate us, and we cannot allow our theologies to get watered down lest we lose our integrity.

SC: Can you share a recent example of where we have seen inter-religious cooperation at its best, with evangelicals at the table?

TC: Jimmy Carter, who is certainly evangelical, wrote a book called The Seed of Abraham, pointing out that Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all trace back to Abraham and have a certain commonality between them. I look at how Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin were able to cross the line. You should know that what led up to the Camp David accord was that fact that Jimmy Carter knew the Bible very well. And he was able to bring Sadat and Begin into agreement by showing that the Sinai was never promised to Abraham in the Hebrew Scriptures. They could agree on that. He was able to point out things in the Koran that called for peace with the Jews. That whole Camp David Accord was built on Biblical and Quranic teaching. It should be noted that Anwar Sadat had hoped that there might be on Mt. Zion three places of worship: a Jewish place, Islamic place, and a Christian place. My wife sent him a letter saying that is what we need, here's a ten dollar contribution—let it be the first towards the establishment of this new foundation. He wrote back a lovely letter which she has framed.

SC: Community seems to form most naturally during times of struggle. Most of the times I have felt deeply connected to people of other faiths were during times where our survival required interdependence. I remember when our peace team was leaving Iraq, in the middle of the bombing. The car I was in had a bad accident, all of us were injured, planes were still flying over. And the first car of Iraqi civilians stopped. Waving a white sheet at the planes overhead, risking their lives, they drove us into the nearest town called Rutba. The doctors and townspeople gathered. One of the doctors was pleading, "Why, why, why is your country doing this?" He said that they could not take us into the hospital, because three days before the bombs hit their hospital, the children's ward. In the same breath he said, "But we will take care of you. Because here, in Rutba, it does not matter if you are American or Iraqi, Christian or Muslim. We take care of you as our friends." And they did, they set up a little shanty clinic outside the bombed out hospital, and they literally saved my friend's life. These are the times when I think cooperation and community are inevitable.

TC: Peter Arnett used to be with CNN. I know him and I met him in an airport in Chicago, and I said, "Peter so glad to see you, I'm running out of stories. Tell me a story." He said, "I've got one . . . I'm in the West bank, a bomb goes off and bodies are blown through the air. The Israeli troops seal off the whole area. A man comes running up to me with a bloody little girl in his arms, and says, 'You are press, you can get us out of here. If I don't get her into a hospital then immediately she's going to die. You can get us out of here. You are press'. Peter said, "I put them in the back seat and threw a blanket over them."

And I did get through the lines. As I rushed towards Tel Aviv in the car, I could hear him in the back seat, as he rocked this little girl in his arms whispering, "Go faster, oh God help him to go faster. God help him to go faster. Then he starts moaning, I'm losing her! I'm losing her! Oh God I'm losing her, I'm losing her!" Peter said by the time I got to the hospital I was emotionally drained. They took the little girl into the operating room, and the two of us sat down on a bench in the waiting room, exhausted. We must have sat there a half hour, silent, exhausted from the emotion. The doctor came out and said, "I'm sorry. She's dead." This man dissolved in tears. I put my arm around him and said, I'm not married. I don't have any children. I don't know what it's like to lose a daughter. The man snapped his head back and said, "My daughter? That little girl is not my child. I'm an Israeli settler, she's a Muslim girl. But maybe the time has come for us to recognize every child as our child."

What can we learn about that kind of spirituality that can help us find common ground? No theological statements were made, no compromising beliefs, no attempts to come to a common denominator. And yet, a kind of spiritual oneness.

That's the place where we come together, in common need and common suffering, as we reach out to one another in love, leaving judgment in the hands of God, sharing out of our own faith. I mean the last thing we are asking in those times is—is your theology the same as mine?—and vice-versa. All of the sudden in the hour of suffering there is a commonality. And that's where we meet. It's in mystical spirituality and in communal mutuality that's where we come together.

SC: You also note in your book the encounter of Francis of Assisi and the Muslim Sultan during the thirteenth century, again in a moment of crisis, when they came together across major religious divides and had a mystical unity; the Sultan became known for his kindness and Francis used the Muslim horn given him to call the Christian brothers to prayer. These are human encounters that we do not naturally have when we are conditioned to see each other as enemies or outsiders. As you mention in the book, MacDonald says, “Theologians have done more to hide the gospel of Christ than any of its adversaries." Rarely are people converted by force or words, but through intimate encounters. Perhaps one of the best things we can do is stop talking with our mouths and cross the chasm between us with our lives. Maybe we will even find a mystical union of the Spirit as Francis did.

TC: Speaking of Francis, here's a wonderful story. I got to meet the head of the Franciscan order. I met him in Washington. He said let me tell you an interesting story. He told me about one of their gatherings, where they bring the brothers of the Franciscan order together for a time of fellowship. About eight years ago they held it in Thailand and out of courtesy, they really felt they needed to show some graciousness to the Buddhists, because they were in a Buddhist country. So they got Buddhist theologians together and Franciscan theologians together and sent them off for three days to talk and see if they could find common ground. They also took Buddhist and Franciscan monastics and sent them off together to pray with each other. On the fourth day they all reassembled. The theologians were fighting with each other, arguing with each other, contending there was no common ground between them. The monastics that had gone off praying together, came back hugging each other. In a mystical relationship with God, there is a coming together of people where theology is left behind and in this spirituality they found a commonality.

It seems to me that when we listen to the Muslim mystics as they talk about Jesus and their love for Jesus, I must say, it's a lot closer to New Testament Christianity than a lot of the Christians that I hear. In other words if we are looking for common ground, can we find it in mystical spirituality, even if we cannot theologically agree, Can we pray together in such a way that we connect with a God that transcends our theological differences?

So we make sure we don't compromise what we believe. But we also make sure that in mystical spirituality we find a kind of oneness that we leave judgment of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell in the hands of God and just preach the truth as we understand it.

SC: And that is very liberating, to trust that the work of conversion is not up to us but to the Spirit, and not contingent on our own persistence, technological ingenuity, or church growth tactics. It really is liberating to leave that in the hands of the Spirit, and continue to live in a way that magnetizes people to God. Rabbi Michael Lerner says that we not only need to decode some of the violent threads of Christian thought, but we also must re-credit the ancient Jewishness of Jesus. He points to the many places that our faith traditions intersect, namely in calling us to work for justice and peace and reconciliation. Lerner says, "People of all faiths need to shape a political and social movement that reaffirms the most generous, peace-oriented, social justice-committed, and loving truths of the spiritual heritage of the human race. It is only this resurrection of hope that can save us from a new wave of global hatred."

TC: Michael and I got arrested together. A few years back, Jim Wallis organized this demonstration in opposition to the welfare bill that was passed, and forty of us got arrested. Michael Lerner chose to get arrested with us. Were you there?

SC: No, back then I still thought good Christians didn't go to jail. Now I know better.

TC: So we got arrested, and they put us all on a bus and they took us to the police station. We're all on the bus at the police station for quite a while, because they are processing us one by one. We are all giving testimonies of how this works into our Christian faith. Finally John Engel from a missionary organization called Beyond Borders looks over and says, "Michael how do you feel about all this highly evangelical talk?" Michael says, "Oh, I don't like it when I am with liberals who just compromise everything they believe to make me feel good. I think that the way we are going to have peace and brotherhood is if you go to the core of what you believe, and I go to the core of what I believe. And when we get to the core and live it with true love and true peace, there will be a coming together in spite of our differences." That is a very powerful statement. He did not feel the least offended. What offended him was liberals who try to say there are no differences between us.

SC: Mother Teresa used to say, "It is very fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not so fashionable to talk to the poor." I think the same could be said today of inter-religious cooperation. Many of us talk about Jewish and Muslim folks but few of us talk to them, or have friends that do not share our faith. The fellow who asked us to do this interview is a Muslim whose friendship has been such a gift, to hear how his Muslim faith drives him to love, and to share how my faith has driven me. And I must say, the Muslims I know are very interested in seeing another face of Christianity than that which they have encountered in the popular media. And that makes for a safer world, when we remove the layers that separate us from seeing the sacredness in every person, the image of God in them. We may still want them to experience the love and grace of Jesus, but how else will that happen but from seeing it in our lives? And it makes it harder for us to simply condemn them to Hell.

TC: Rather than making theological statements, we need to tell each other our stories. Jesus would tell stories and then say, "what do you make of this story?" One more story.

In the city of Toledo, right in the middle of Spain in the year 1000, when the Inquisition was in high gear. Jews, Catholics, and Muslims in this little city had learned to live together and respect one another and love one another, and protect one another. And the Catholics would not let the Inquisition come in and hurt their Muslim or Jewish brothers and vice-versa the Muslims would not let the invading Muslim troops do anything to hurt the Catholics and Jews. They had found among each other a commonality and a common spirituality that was really quite remarkable. There is a book written on Toledo holding it up as the fact that here was a place where it happened. So let it never be forgotten that there was once a spot in Toledo.

You might conclude with the that little song we always sang at communion:

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above. . .

There is a fellowship of kindred minds and you can't deny it. And this is why C.S. Lewis asks the question, "Once I am connected with such a person in love: Could I possible enjoy heaven without him?"

SC: That's a good word. TC: Yes, a real good word.

If you are interested in speaking with or meeting someone from The Simple Way, please contact Darin Petersen. He will respond within 5 business days.

www.timoteofootball.com

The simple way is proud to introduce you to our newest project: Timoteo Flag Football League!  That’s right, we have partnered with several local congregations in our neighborhood to sustain a vital ministry among the youth in our neighborhood.  “Timoteo” is Spanish for “Timothy,” and has been in operation since 2005.  This year alone we anticipate about 200 youth and 40 adults from our neighborhood involved in the league.

There are several things that make Timoteo unique and has us excited about this new partnership.

1. For the past five years coaches have been mentoring youth from our neighborhood.  Several youth have moved on to college or have assumed leadership roles in their congregations and football teams.  Youth have been empowered to be leaders and to mentor those who come after them!
2. Several different congregations are working together!  Timoteo provides a platform for several area churches to act as “the Church.”  It is amazing to see congregations working together for the good of the youth.  
3. There is a lot of vision and hope stirring up with this league.  Coaches are talking about organizing their teams to do local service projects.  The league seeks to be concerned about more than just football games, but for the well being of the youth, both at home and at school.  Who knows, maybe one day we will see a Timoteo after-school program?
4. Timoteo is home grown!  It’s beautiful to be a part of something that was birthed and is being led by folks from our neighborhood (Kensington).  Through Timoteo we have built relationships with several pastors, youth pastors, youth, lay folk, all from our neighborhood.  It is beautiful seeing how God is bringing us together!
5. Please take the time to check out Timoteo’s website:  www.timoteofootball.com.  Stats on each of the kids will be updated once the season starts.  Also feel free to come to the games. They are around the corner from our house at Scanlon Park starting April 10.  Check the Timoteo site for the schedule and directions.

We really do appreciate any support that you may be able to give us.  The following are several specific things we need each season to make the league run effectively.  For some items, we've listed the number needed per team, we invite you to consider sponsoring a team by donating enough to cover one team.  If you prefer to give by check, you may send checks to

The Simple Way,
PO Box 14751,
Philadelphia, PA 19134.

Indicate what you would like it used for in the memo line (ie. Timoteo: flags).  If you would like to give a gift for the general operation of Timoteo, put “Timoteo” in the memo line.

Give Monthly

Use PayPal to setup a monthly contribution to Timoteo.  Your on-going support ensures that we will be able to continue this ministry for seasons to come.  You may cancel at any time.

Give Online

If you would like to give to the general fund, this will help with everything we forgot to list.  We are also looking for ways to create some salaries within Timoteo as well, and your donation to the general fun would help us with this.

Buy Equipment for Timoteo

Flags

Unit Cost: $40 for 12 pack 42” flags
Quanity Needed: 15
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Footballs

Unit Cost: $30
Quanity Needed: 18 (1 per team + 6 game balls)
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Down Markers

Unit Cost: $90
Quanity Needed: 2
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Cones

Unit Cost: $12 for 6 cones
Quanity Needed: 24 units (teams need 12 cones)
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Armbands

Unit Cost: $10
Quanity Needed: 144 (12 per team)
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Refs

Unit Cost: $25
Quanity Needed: 117 (2 per game regular season, 3 per game post-season)
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Field Paint

Unit Cost: $30/case
Quanity Needed: 10
Quantity Donated So Far: 1

Coaches Playbook with Armband Interactive

Unit Cost: $35
Quanity Needed: 12
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

This year we are seeking to equip our coaches with tools that will help them coach their teams more effectively.

Jerseys

Unit Cost: $20
Quanity Needed: 180 (15 per team)
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Scoreboards

Unit Cost: $118
Quanity Needed: 2
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Storage Locker

Unit Cost: $240/month
Quanity Needed: 3
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

With this item we will be able to safely store our equipment on site, which will reduce the wear and tear than can occur transferring the items off site each week. We also plan on paying a few youth to help manage the equipment each week!

Website

Unit Cost: $165/year
Quanity Needed: 1
Quantity Donated So Far: 0

Jamie Moffett streamed the vigil live from his phone, we are going to put together a recap for you, in the meantime, you can browse through Jamie's archives.

At about midnight we heard the shots ring out.   My friend ran to the door and I heard him yell, “Shane, a kid has been shot, come down.”  As we looked down the street we could see a young man staggering as he walked down our block.  Then his knees gave out and he fell to the ground.  We called for an ambulance, and ran outside to be with the boy.  My friend talked to him tenderly, looking into his eyes as they struggled to stay alert.  We could see the wounds in his chest, torn by bullets.  I grabbed his hand and held it as we prayed… and as we hoped.  The ambulance came and drove him off.  The next morning we heard that 19-year old Papito died that night from the gunshot wounds, on February 5, 2010.  Papito was the fourth shooting in the last few months within walking distance from our house. 

Right now in Philadelphia there is a homicide every 48 hours.  A few years ago it was one a day.  One a year is too many.  I remember Dr. King saying something to the effect, “We are all called to be the good Samaritan, and lift our injured neighbor from the ditch on the Jericho road… but after you lift so many people from the ditch, you start to say, ‘Maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be reimagined… so folks don’t keep ending up in the ditch.’”

After you see so many kids shoot each other, you start to ask where are they getting the guns?  In our neighborhood, one of the answers to that question is, “The Shooter Shop”.  The Shooter Shop is a gunshop located a few blocks from our house here in Kensington, and it has statistically been one of the worst gunshops in the country – for having guns sold there later tracked to violent crimes on the streets.  A group of local clergy and community organizers have now approached the owner of The Shooter Shop (as we did Colosimo’s gunshop, and we are urging him to sign a Code of Conduct, a 10-point covenant created by a national association of Mayors committed to decreasing violence on the streets.

We will also be starting to vigil outside his gunshop Saturday, February 20, two weeks after this latest shooting.  We will walk from the spot where Papito was killed to the gunshop 3 blocks away.  There are 3 things I want to invite you to do, if you are one of those folks who doesn’t just like pontificating but likes acting. 

1. Pick up the phone and give the owner of The Shooter Shop a call – (215) 426-2215.  His name is Mr. Haney, and we are in a respectful conversation with him.  Stress to him how urgent the issue is, and that he genuinely has an opportunity lead with integrity and set a precedent for other gunshops in this country.  We really hope that he will sign the Code of Conduct.  And when he does, we will have a celebration outside his gunshop instead of a protest.
2. Come to the vigil if you are in the Philadelphia area.  We will be at The Shooter Shop (2001 E. Allegheny Ave) at noon this Saturday.  If you are not in the area, start a conversation with your local gunshop and encourage them to commit to the 10 point Code of Conduct. 
3. Write or Call the members of Congress and encourage them to pass legislation that will decrease gun violence on our streets.  One such law we are pursuing in Pennsylvania would limit the number of guns to “One Handgun a Month”.  Part of the problem is that there are no limitations to how many guns folks can buy which is why the end up being resold on the streets by “straw purchasers.”  We are not even trying to stop the “right to bear arms”, we’re just saying maybe one handgun a month is enough.  And for those of us who are Christians, Jesus sure didn’t have a much to say about the right to bear arms but had a heck of a lot to say about loving our enemies… so we hope Christians of conscience can help lead this important struggle for peace. 

Keep our neighborhood in your prayers.  Pray for Papito’s family, for those who killed him, and for the arms dealers in our world (both gunshops like The Shooter Shop and gunshops like Lockheed Martin).  We had a powerful memorial for Papito this week, where about 100 of us gathered as a neighborhood with Papito’s family.  We prayed.  We cried.  We read Scripture.  We ached for an end to the bloodshed.

Rest in Peace, Papito my brother.  And we will do our best to make sure that other lives are not taken the way that yours was.

May God continue to heal all that is broken in our hearts, in our streets, and in our world.

For more information, see:
Heeding God's Call
Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership: A 10-Point Voluntary Code 
Vigil & Rally information 

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Shane, Jamie, & Logan went to Iraq. Shane was previously there with Christian Peacemaking Teams, Logan served in the US Army and was stationed in Iraq & Afghanistan, and this was Jamie's first time.  Along with 7 others, they are the first unarmed civilians to visit Rutba since the war began in 2003. Revisit Shane's 2003 Iraq Journal and standby for more stories.

This is what Jamie writes:

Brian, it was amazing.  We have an amazing story to share.  Love from the other side of the pond.  Be back in a few.

And Shane has a few words:

In March 2003, I spent a month in Iraq as a Christian peacemaker and wrote many of my reasons for going to Iraq. I just had a chance to look over them again. Unfortunately, not too much has changed in the world over the past 7 years, and many of my reasons for going then are exactly the same now. I am convinced as much as ever before that we must embark on new adventures of grace and reconciliation as a witness to Christ and his scandalous love on the cross. Otherwise we should confess that we have never believed the cross is truly an alternative to the sword. So that is why I am going.

There are a few new reasons I am going to Iraq. As we were leaving Baghdad at the end of March in 2003, we had a bad car accident on the desert road out of Baghdad, a few hours from the border, near a little town named Rutba. With each of us suffering injuries, from minor to life-threatening, --we were welcomed by this town in spite of the fact that their city had suffered deeply from the war and bombing. The managers of the hospital greeted us with warm smiles, but quickly told us with tears in their eyes that our government was dropping bombs on them, one of which hit their hospital. It fell on the children’s ward. But the doctors insisted: “We will still take care of you. We do not see Iraqi or American. We welcome you here as sisters and brothers. We want you to know we love you.” And they set up a shanty clinic with a bed for each of us.

As some of you know… the story ends with them offering the most moving and marvelous act of hospitality we have ever seen. They would not take any money, but insisted that it was all simply because they love us… and they told us to share the story of Rutba with the world. Some of us on that trip started a community named after the town (Rutba House in Durham, NC). Others of us have now returned to Iraq to connect with old friends in Rutba and to say thank you to those who saved our lives and touched our souls. It’s the next chapter of the story of Rutba. The latest word is that the people of Rutba are glad to have us return to their magical town. It sounds like we will be welcomed by the Mayor, and that one of the doctors from 2003 (no longer living in Rutba) will drive many hours to meet us at the hospital in Rutba, where we will will be staying while there.

We hope to listen to the stories, both brilliant and tragic, from the people of Rutba. We will continue to trust, as always… that love wins, and that mercy triumphs.

Photography by Jamie Moffett for the feature documentary, The Gospel of Rutbah

Our partner Yes! And... is putting on their annual winter show, A Winter Sort of Thing, Jan 28 - 31. Be sure to check out their website for more information and check it out! See you there!

Father Time has a problem. And when Father Time has a problem, we all have a problem. The Future is nowhere to be found, and without him Time is caught in a vicious loop. The world is trapped in the same seven minutes, reliving the good, bad and boring over and over. Father Time is relying on his faithful, if reluctant, cuckoo (from his cosmic cuckoo clock) to solve the mystery of The Future missing in action. Can the kids of Cooper County, and everyone else on earth, be saved from chronic déjà vu? Take a journey through the back halls of time in a mad dash to get time ticking again.

For a third year, Yes! And..., in collaboration withEastern University Theatre, has gathered children from all over the Philadelphia area along with professional actors to create and produce a Winter Sort of Thing, a wild, fun and magical musical for and by young people.

Reserve your tickets

If you haven’t reserved your tickets yet, what are you waiting for? Yes! And…’s Winter Sort of Thing only plays one weekend every January and we don’t want you to miss out on all the fun!

You can reserve tickets two ways:

The easiest way is to go to www.wintersortofthing.com and enter your information into the form provided. It is necessary to enter all your info so that we can contact you in case of a problem. In general, the form will be taken down approximately 3 hours before a performance.

The second way to reserve tickets is to call our office at 215-951-0330 x2117. Either leave your info on the voice mail or leave it with whomever answers the phone.

If you are bringing a group and are interested in group discounts, please email Michael at michael@yesandcamp.org.

The Cielo Azul Fund provides a basic living stipend for Salvadoran Baptist pastors Ruth and Alex Orantes, and supports outreach programs and development projects in communities they serve in El Salvador.  The fund is administered by an advisory committee from The Simple Way, Central Baptist Church (Wayne, PA), and Iglesia Bautista Shekina (Santa Ana, El Salvador) which is pastored by Ruth Orantes.   Ruth and Alex's  commitment to faith-based community development, justice, peacemaking, and healing has been a cherished model and inspiration for The Simple Way and for Central Baptist Church for many years.

The Simple Way was first introduced to Alex and Ruth in 2003 through our friends at Central Baptist Church (Wayne, PA) who have known this Salvadoran family since the 1980s.    Our lives have been increasingly woven together through visits with us in Philadelphia and our own visits and internships in their communities in Santa Ana and Atiquizaya.

From 2003 to 2009,  the original Orantes Fund supported the Orantes family in their pastoral work.  Beginning in 2010, the newly renamed Cielo Azul Fund is committed to an even broader level of support not only for Ruth, Alex and their son Victor Hugo, but also for the programs that have arisen out of their ministries in the communities where they work – construction of a community center at Iglesia Bautista Shekina, health clinics and social services, youth leadership workshops, art and music activities for children,  community Bible studies, education scholarships, and more.

In the weeks and months after the March 2009 election of Mauricio Funes as President of El Salvador (“the first President to support the needs of the poor in 150 years,” as one Salvadoran activist put it), that has been a new sense of great hope for the future of a people who have struggled so long for a dignified life free from political, economic and criminal violence.

Our choice of a new name (Cielo Azul means“blue sky” in English) is an attempt to symbolize this new reality. And there are signs of a move in that direction.  But continued reports of economic struggles and increasing violence in El Salvador remind us that hope can be very fragile.  (Read Alex's report on violence in El Salvador from Oct 2009)

More than ever, our friends in El Salvador need spiritual and material support to continue build communities based on faith, justice and service to all who are in need.  Please consider a gift to the Cielo Azul fund in order to send a message of solidarity to Ruth and Alex and the communities where they work. 

Visit our blog at CieloAzulFund.blogspot.com for current reports and information on how to contribute.

You can earmark donations for the Cielo Azul Fund by donating below

The 13^th Month Campaign is an experiment initiated by Relational Tithe in partnership with TURN, The Simple Way, YesAnd!, The Ooze TV, Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production, and The Work of the People to creatively assist groups that you are interested in and passionate about to raise funds needed to continue and/or expand their reach.

The 13^th Month Campaign is a challenge to either begin or to even more fully express our support for things we believe in, causes that share our same values and dreams of what the world ought to be.  It is an invitation, an appeal, and an opportunity to not only help support but partner with the things that we get excited about, works we would love to see thrive, things we recognize that without additional funding would likely cease to exist.

Participants in The 13^th Month Campaign speak their support of a local and/or global organization or cause by contributing the equivalent of an additional 10% of one month’s income, above and beyond their planned tithe for the month (either to the same or a different cause).

If you are part of a group and would also like to participate in this experiment feel free to contact us at getinvolved@13thmonth.org.

Please feel free to share ideas on how this opportunity could be enhanced. It is new to all of us.

Get all of the details and get involved at http://13thmonth.org/

If you're unsure who to contact, it's best to see our Contact Us page to make sure your message gets to the right person.

These are not “official” projects of TSW but close friends and folks we like a lot.

Local Partners

Yes! And... - Simply the best in collaborative arts education, Yes! And... works with some of Philadelphia's most underserved populations, bringing programs such as: Summer Theatre Camps, After School Programs, our Winter Sort of Thing new play workshop, High School Leadership Development and SHADOW Camp. Their programs strive for excellence in artistic and educational training. And they have a lot of fun while at it! Yes! And... equips children and young people with the tools to become better learners, to believe in themselves, their dreams, and their potential through the work of creating collaboratively with their peers and professional artists.

New Jerusalem

Jamie Moffett Media & Design - As a co-founder of The Simple Way, Jamie and his crew at the shop are intimately aware of the stories and struggles of our neighborhood and ones like it.  The Ordinary Radicals, Return to El Salvador, and the Another World is Possible series all come from the little barbershop turned production studio just across the street here.

Dotted Line T-Shirt Company - Dotted-Line T-shirt Company and The Simple Way have kissed (in fact we now have a committed relationship. After the fire, we have taken time to step back and map out some goals and priorities (in fact our whole community and Board of Directors will go on a retreat together this month). Our t-shirt company Cottage Printworks went up in the flames, and it allowed us to think through our goals with this micro-business. Adam Woods and our friends in Camden have a vibrant and classy grassroots t-shirt company called Dotted-Line T-shirts with whom we have been long-time co-conspirators. Now we¹re making it a little more official. They¹ll be taking on our t-shirt business and helping us keep dream about this as a sustainable cottage industry. Like Cottage Printworks, they are a faith-based missional business committed to using fair-trade t-shirts, eco-friendly inks and energy, as well as hiring folks from the neighborhood. We are so excited about this collaboration and the adventures ahead. Thanks Adam!

Alternative Seminary - The Alternative Seminary is a little underground seminary here in Philadelphia area. Visit the website for more information and keep an eye out for upcoming events. We are grateful for all the tireless work of our friend and TSW board member Will O’Brien for facilitating the Alternative Seminary all these years. Keep an eye out for ongoing events, especially if you don’t mind a little homework here and there.

Global Partners

Relational Tithe - Relational Tithe is an interactive platform for connecting and meeting needs across socioeconomic and geographic barriers. It is also a place to explore, to meet, to share dreams and ideas, to ask and discuss questions, to learn and to grow together.

Mission Year - Founded by Bart Campolo in 1997, Mission Year offers an amazing opportunity for hundreds of young adults to live and work together as full-time urban missionaries in inner-city neighborhoods throughout the United States.

Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education - EAPE, which seeks to inspire and enable followers of Jesus to live out God’s love for the poor and oppressed, manages the speaking and writing ministries of Tony and Bart Campolo (and their good friend Shane Claiborne, as well), and uses their considerable experience and connections, along with the financial resources entrusted to us by their donors, to initiate and support a dynamic array of creative ministries around the world.

Red Letter Christians - Red Letter Christians is a group of itinerant speakers and writers engaged in an ongoing conversation about the social implications of Jesus’ teachings and how to best communicate them.

1) Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire.

2) Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.

3) Hospitality to the stranger

4) Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.

5) Humble submission to Christ’s body, the church.

6) Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate.

7) Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.

8) Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.

9) Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.

10) Care for the plot of God’s earth given to us along with support of our local economies.

11) Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.

12) Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.

Our friend and co-founder Jamie Moffett put together a video of our neighborhood during the recent snow

When we began The Simple Way, we sent regular newsletters to our friends, family, and supporters. After ten years, we wanted to include more voices in our conversation so we transformed our newsletter into Consp!re magazine.

2008

Spring 2008

2007

Winter 2007

Fall 2007

Summer 2007

Spring 2007

2006

Christmas 2006

Fall 2006 (Text-only, sorry.)

June 2006

Spring 2006

2005

Winter 2005

Fall 2005

Summer 2005

Spring 2005

2004

Winter 2004

Fall 2004

Summer 2004

Spring 2004

2003

Winter 2003

Fall 2003

Summer 2003

Spring 2003

2002

Winter 2002

Summer 2002

Spring 2002

2001

Winter 2001

Fall 2001

Spring 2001

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Winter 2000

Fall 2000

Summer 2000

1999

Summer 1999

UPDATE 09.01.10

Many thanks goes out to all of you that helped make this neighborhood park reality by donating financially and volunteering your time. We invite you to come back to this space to read stories, view photos, and videos.  For many of us in the neighborhood we still cannot believe that it's completed. So if you would like to stop by and spend some time in the park feel free to do so, simply let us know.

To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The other night I headed into downtown Philly for a stroll with some friends from out of town. We walked down to Penn's Landing along the river, where there are street performers, artists, musicians. We passed a great magician who did some pretty sweet tricks like pour change out of his iPhone, and then there was a preacher. He wasn't quite as captivating as the magician. He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don't know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, "God is not a monster." Maybe next time I will.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, "I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ." A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That's the ugly stuff. And that's why I begin by saying that I'm sorry.

Now for the good news.

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion, or politics, for that matter. (If there is anything I have learned from liberals and conservatives, it's that you can have great answers and still be mean... and that just as important as being right is being nice.)

The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it... it was because "God so loved the world." That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven... but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name. At the core of our "Gospel" is the message that Jesus came "not [for] the healthy... but the sick." And if you choose Jesus, may it not be simply because of a fear of hell or hope for mansions in heaven.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe in the afterlife, but too often all the church has done is promise the world that there is life after death and use it as a ticket to ignore the hells around us. I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God's Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." On earth.

One of Jesus' most scandalous stories is the story of the Good Samaritan. As sentimental as we may have made it, the original story was about a man who gets beat up and left on the side of the road. A priest passes by. A Levite, the quintessential religious guy, also passes by on the other side (perhaps late for a meeting at church). And then comes the Samaritan... you can almost imagine a snicker in the Jewish crowd. Jews did not talk to Samaritans, or even walk through Samaria. But the Samaritan stops and takes care of the guy in the ditch and is lifted up as the hero of the story. I'm sure some of the listeners were ticked. According to the religious elite, Samaritans did not keep the right rules, and they did not have sound doctrine... but Jesus shows that true faith has to work itself out in a way that is Good News to the most bruised and broken person lying in the ditch.

It is so simple, but the pious forget this lesson constantly. God may indeed be evident in a priest, but God is just as likely to be at work through a Samaritan or a prostitute. In fact the Scripture is brimful of God using folks like a lying prostitute named Rahab, an adulterous king named David... at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey. Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again.

After all, Jesus says to the religious elite who looked down on everybody else: "The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom ahead of you." And we wonder what got him killed?

I have a friend in the UK who talks about "dirty theology" — that we have a God who is always using dirt to bring life and healing and redemption, a God who shows up in the most unlikely and scandalous ways. After all, the whole story begins with God reaching down from heaven, picking up some dirt, and breathing life into it. At one point, Jesus takes some mud, spits in it, and wipes it on a blind man's eyes to heal him. (The priests and producers of anointing oil were not happy that day.)

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay "out there" but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, "Nothing good could come." It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society's rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors... a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, "I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you." If those of us who believe in God do not believe God's grace is big enough to save the whole world... well, we should at least pray that it is.

Your brother,

Shane

We have a dream of a village in the middle of the urban desert – with a little cluster of row homes sprinkled about and a neighborhood where folks are committed to God and to each other. Some are indigenous to the neighborhood. Some are missional relocators. Some have gone off to school, trained as doctors, lawyers, social workers, business folks… and they have returned to the neighborhood to offer their gifts to the work of restoration. The houses are small, and that is all we need – a place to lay our heads… because most of our life is lived on the streets, on the stoop, sweating in the practice of resurrection, planting gardens on abandoned lots, rehabbing vacant houses, and making ugly things beautiful again. Every morning we greet the day with prayer, and in the evenings we share a meal or grill out on the street.

We have a dream of a village and it’s coming to life. Maybe sometime there will be a village center where folks can cook healthy breakfasts for the kids as they head off to school. Maybe we’ll have a tool library so folks can check out a saw or drill for the day… maybe an exercise space to lift weights, run on the treadmill or do an aerobics class to keep our bodies healthy. Perhaps in that center there are laundry machines that we can all share and a game library where kids can borrow a game for the afternoon. A place to gather and dream and plot goodness.

It’s a dream for a village that shares things in common, that laughs in the face of a recession… a space that makes sure possessions and privileges are available for all… and when something breaks there are many hands to fix it. Call it new urbanism… or intentional community. We call it a village that gives the world a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. May God continue to breathe life into our dreams and to move the universe towards the beloved community that God is longing to see come on earth.

We call them layers. As we have matured grown over the past few years, we have developed several different layers of communal commitment (we say "layers" because "levels" connotes a progressive movement upward, which is not the case). We believe defining these expectations and accountability will allow for a healthier family as we grow together, rather than people feeling they need to take on more responsibility than they are comfortable with, or not feeling the freedom to take more responsibility. This new skeletal structure for our community will allow more intentionality for people entering in and transitioning out of our community. It is not something that we are imposing from the outside, but something that has emerged from our midst. The structure itself works no miraculous healing, but hopefully it will facilitate the space for wholeness to take place. And in fact it is nothing new. We are just putting words to something that has existed in fragments of ambiguity.

As you can imagine, at each layer we have different commitments, expectations and accountability.

Family

The broadest layer is "Family" -- that is you -- our supporters, relatives, Board members, neighbors... everyone who takes care of us and is on this adventure with us.

Visitors

Then we have "Visitors." These are people who come to check things out for a day or week -- wanderers, volunteers, summer groups.

Guests

Then we have "Guests." These are folks who come to stay longer and observe, help out, experience community life. At this layer people do a significant amount of reading and education, and commit to "Love God, Love People, and Follow Jesus."

Nomads & Novitates

Next there is a layer consisting of two groups: "Nomads" and "novitiates". Both of these share deeply in communal life and work, perhaps living with us a year or so. They commit to our Foundations and Functionality commitments. Nomads do all of this with the goal of taking what they experience elsewhere, and starting another intentional community or joining an existing one. Novitiates are intentionally working their way deeper into the simply way family with the idea of continuing to live here.

Partners

Finally, there are "Partners," those of us who have committed a large chunk of our lives to the simple way. Partners share the decision-making and vision-casting. They take vows to one another (not just to the simple way vision), and they are in rotating (every three months) small groups together to help facilitate community health and functionality.

Life Partners

There is one more layer still in the formation stage (as none of us are there yet), which would be life partners who are sharing a common pool and who have committed their lives together.

Folks are often asking us for resource recommendations. We've put together some things that have been helpful to us. Have your own suggestions? Let us know! 

To request a book endorsement from Shane, email a copy of the book and deadline to:

mdelong@eastern.edu 

Melissa will be in touch with you if Shane is able to endorse your book. Thanks!

Bestselling Author, Prominent Christian Activist, Sought-after Speaker and Recovering Sinner

With tears and laughter, Shane Claiborne unveils the tragic messes we’ve made of our world and the tangible hope that another world is possible. Shane graduated from Eastern University, and did graduate work at Princeton Seminary. His ministry experience is varied, from a 10-week stint working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, to a year spent serving a wealthy mega-congregation at Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago. During the recent war in Iraq, Shane spent three weeks in Baghdad with the Iraq Peace Team. Shane is also a founding partner of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped to birth and connect radical faith communities around the world.

Shane writes and travels extensively speaking about peacemaking, social justice, and Jesus. He is featured in the DVD series “Another World Is Possible” and is the author of the several books including The Irresistible Revolution, Jesus for President, and Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers. Shane speaks over 100 times a year in a dozen or so countries and nearly every state in the US. Shane has given academic seminars at Vanderbilt University, Duke University Pepperdine University, Wheaton College, Princeton University, Goshen College and Harvard University. Shane also speaks at various denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe. Shane’s work has been featured in everything from Fox News and the Wall Street Journal to CNN and National Public Radio.

Shane tries to keep a healthy rhythm for speaking and travel, held in sync with the rest of community life and activities here at The Simple Way and Potter Street Community. Because he so highly values his time in the neighborhood, Shane has a group of friends that help him carefully discern speaking engagements so that he is a good steward of his time. If you are interested in having Shane speak, please check out this form, complete it and send it by email to: mdelong@eastern.edu. We will consider this initial inquiry and get back to you in 3-4 weeks.

Please include:

• A detailed description of how you would like Shane to participate, including all possible times you would like him to speak.
• The attendance and type of audience you expect, and a description of the event and venue.
• The proposed date or dates for the event (please note if your dates are flexible, and give preferences).
• A full description of your organization/institution/community.
• Your complete contact information including name, address, phone, and email of the primary contact person.

Thanks!!!

(Shane generally plans 6-12 months in advance for speaking engagements.)

Speaking Details

Honorarium: Shane has no set fee for speaking, but rather asks the hosting group to suggest an honorarium (payable as a donation to The Simple Way) they think is appropriate. Because he is passionate about money not being the only determining factor for where he speaks, Shane often speaks for groups with little money to offer (or who take a freewill offering for The Simple Way). On the other hand, because he so highly values his time in the neighborhood, Shane seeks to be a wise and careful steward of his time away.

Travel: Shane requests travel for two. We have found great wisdom in the Gospel mandate to travel in pairs -- for accompaniment, accountability, and shared leadership. When within 3 driving hours, car rental or Greyhound is a good option.

Creation Care: Being mindful of the impact that our hyper-mobile pace and fuel use have on Creation, and of the fragility of the current patterns of consumption that have led to wars over natural resources and the degradation of God’s earth, Shane has a commitment to offset the ecological impact of his travel. There are two ways a group hosting Shane to speak can participate: either have a group of folks fast (go without) oil for a day the week Shane visits (a good guideline would be, at least one person go without fuel one day for every 100 miles Shane travels) -- this may mean something as simple as carpooling or biking to work or as imaginative as converting your car to run off used veggie oil (awip.us) –OR- (less exciting) you can add an additional $100 to the honorarium and Shane will donate that to a group dedicated to erasing the footprint his travel has on the environment. For more information on this, check out demotorize.org.

Lodging: Homes, not hotels. Shane does not like to stay in hotels. In the Spirit of the early Church's houses of hospitality, we request to stay in the home of someone in the community or congregation. Dorms are also fine.

Food: Not picky -- Shane prefers a vegetarian diet, and likes to have meals in people's homes, or prefers choosing small family-owned restaurants over corporate chains when possible.

Discussions: After a large group event, Shane often has "Talkback Sessions" with people who are interested, inviting questions and response to a message. Shane is very relational, and enjoys having group dialogues whenever possible – these can be incorporated into the large gathering (i.e. with an open mic) or can be scheduled as a separate post-session event.

Logistical Needs: We request a table setup to display photographs and literature. Copies will be made available. Depending on the event, we may also bring merchandise such as handmade buttons, t-shirts, or books and DVD sets, which will be available at a suggested donation.

For speaking, Shane requests a music stand or small podium (or just something to put papers on!), and prefers a handheld microphone.

Video/Audio: Shane usually uses video clips in presentations (VHS/DVD), and occasionally uses Audio (CD) clips. This can be worked out prior to the event.

Publicity: Shane has a biographical brief available to help with program material (usually included with this letter). Feel free to edit this appropriately for your context. Photos are also available upon request and are usually included here as well.

Contact info: Don't hesitate to call if you have questions or need anything further. This was just put together to help with details that usually come up initially. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact the office who handles Shane’s engagements by mail or by phone (610) 341-1735, or Fax (610) 341-4372. Or email Melissa Delong at mdelong@eastern.edu

Melissa handles speaking requests only, all other letters can be mailed to The Simple Way PO Box 14751 Philadelphia, PA 19134. Letters or donations to the community can be addressed to “The Simple Way community”, and personal letters for Shane can be to his attention at the PO Box. Shane reads all his mail, and responds to as many letters as he is able (granted it usually takes him several months).

Shane Claiborne

Simple Way Speakers & Facilitators

Darin Petersen is a co-founder of Relational TIthe and can facilitate workshops on tithing, God’s economy, and stewardship.

Jessica Schnoffer is the Simple Way’s resident gardener and can provide presentations on urban gardening, including practical tips, and can also assist in planning, logistics, and sustainability.

Speakers' Bureau

Our friends at EAPE have put together an extensive and enlightening collection of Christian speakers.  If you’ve already heard Shane and others from The Simple Way and are eager for more--you should definitely check out Red Letter Christian Resources!

This list is compiled by Shane. The answers do not necessarily reflect those of every member of tsw, but Shane has done his best to represent us here, and the things he's heard others say... so don't think he's this smart on his own!

Is The Simple Way a non-profit?
Yes, we are a 501c3 non-profit organization (sometimes we joke about being a 501c3 ANTI-profit organization). All donations are tax-exempt. We started the non-profit because we thought it could help us function better as a community (and because a friend flipped the tab for all the legal fees). However, we have also said from the onset that we are a community first and a non-profit second, and if the non-profit organization ever gets in the way of the community we will abandon it. It is simply a tool to help us function as a community.

Do you recommend other communities becoming a non-profit organization?
We don’t necessarily recommend (or discourage) other communities from establishing themselves as a non-profit. There are lots of pros and cons either way, and plenty of communities like the Catholic Workers reject official non-profit status on principle (in that it means lots of beaurocracy and regulation). Others umbrella themselves under a congregation or establish a fund within the congregation – that’s a great model (church within the Church). For us, we like the accountability and transparency that being a non-profit and having an official “Board of Directors” demands on us (by the way our financial records are public documents that we are proud of, and we view our budget as a moral document… which we invite you to look at). Nonprofit status means that we don’t have to pay taxes, which is attractive to us as Christians since nearly half of every tax-dollar goes towards weapons. Non-profit status also allows us some privileges that bear fruit for neighbors, such as having access to local food banks and other resources (like free tickets to the circus!) that might be difficult to come-by otherwise. Finally, being an incorporation allows us to function as a single entity rather than a bunch of individuals. Homes, bank accounts, vehicles, and personal property can be held in common. But there are plenty of other ways to do this such as a “doing business as” account, a 501d3 (non-tax-exempt) apostolic order (this is what many of the Anabaptist communities do, and you can certainly incorporate without all the hoorah of setting up a nonprofit, which can allow for much of the stuff above without all the work… of course on tax day you’ll have to give some of your coins to Caesar (or at least pull them out of a fish’s mouth).

Are you ever scared?
There are certainly times we are scared, but they aren’t always where we expected to be scared. One of the scariest moments in our community was when the police raided our house (on “accident”) and the SWAT team threw everyone on the floor and ripped one of the women’s shirts. Those are moments where you think, “Who do we call now?!” And there have been times where drug dealers have protected our homes and cars from theft or vandalism. We’ve certainly had scary things happen. Folks have been mugged, jumped, even beat up… sometimes that has happened in our neighborhood and sometimes not (some of us have had bikes and cars stolen in the fancy neighborhoods here in Philly). One of our mom’s said, “I used to pray that you would be safe… but now I pray that you would be careful – and those are not the same.” That’s a beautiful distinction. Just because we are not called to be “safe” does not mean that we should not be wise. We have created many important guidelines for life here in the neighborhood. Some have come from mistakes. Others have come from Jesus, like always going out in pairs. That’s wise no matter where you are. At the end of the day, the best security is knowing your neighbors. And we are proud to be a part of a tight-knit neighborhood where we have dozens of families that are always looking out for us (and we for them). The Gospel does not promise us safety, but only that God will be with us in the danger. That doesn’t mean that nothing bad will happen (look what happened to the disciples… and Jesus… and Christians throughout history!) When Jesus speaks of fear he talks about how we can fear those things that can destroy our bodies (like guns and knives), but he says we should fear all the more those things that can endanger our souls… and those are the more subtle dangers, and the suburban demons – like insulating ourselves from suffering or cluttering our lives with possessions while others live in poverty. These are the things that can destroy our souls. We are more scared of the suburbs than of the ghetto.

Should I give money to homeless folks or beggars?
Jesus said give to everyone who asks. That’s a tough command. Sometimes we wonder what Jesus would do in the Calcutta slums or in these heroine-haunted streets where folks ask for change on every corner. What we can say with confidence is that we are to give something to everyone who asks – dignity, attention, time, a listening ear. Sometimes we may give money, sometimes not. But we can always give love. And there are times when giving money can even be a way to insulate ourselves from friendship or the messiness a real relationship might demand. So you can toss a few coins to a beggar or write a check to charity precisely as a way of insulating ourselves from relationships (and still appease our consciences)… but at the end of the day Christ’s call is to relationship and compassion. When Jesus speaks in Matthew 25 about caring for “the least of these”, the action he speaks of is not about distant acts of charity but personal actions of compassion – visiting the prisoners, caring for the sick, welcoming the strangers, sharing food with the hungry. Better than sharing money is sharing life, a meal, a home. Having said that, most Christians need to get taken advantage of more. And we can usually spare some change. Sometimes folks say this question about giving to beggars and panhandlers with suspicion, speculating that homeless folks will just use their money for drugs or alcohol… which happens sometimes. But we don’t always ask what CEOs are doing with our money when we give it to their companies (and the recent events on Wall Street raise some flags about how responsible they are!). In the end, if we cannot take someone to dinner or give them a ride when they ask for money, we might as well give some money. It’s better to err on the side of grace than on the side of suspicion. And we doubt that Jesus is going to reprimand us for giving too much money to addicts… more likely, we will discover we could have been a bit more generous than we were.

Are you a cult?
We have discussed all changing our last name to “Simple” but I’m not sure that makes us a cult. And there are lots of communities that still sacrifice animals. Just kidding (about both of those). The word “cult” actually comes from the same root from which we get “culture” or “cultivate”. So while we are not waiting for a UFO landing, preparing for a mass suicide, or stockpiling weapons… we are forming an alternative culture, a culture where it is easier to be good and where the fruits of the Spirit are cultivated. We have seen many communities come and go, and many that have developed unhealthy foundations and theology because they lack accountability and support from the larger Church. This is also why we do not try to stand as “churches” on our own but join the rest of the Church.

What do you believe? Are you all orthodox Christians?
As a community, we know that the things we believe are very important. That’s why you’ll find “Our Commitments” posted here. However, we also know that Christianity is not just a set of beliefs but a way of living, that we are not simply sent into the world to make believers but to make disciples. And that means creating disciplines and practices modeled after Jesus and the way of the Gospel. So you can find some of our Foundations and Functionality that articulate what our beliefs look like as they flesh out each day. Orthodoxy, meaning right belief, and orthopraxis, meaning right practice” must always go together. And to often we have only seen Christianity as a set of doctrines or beliefs. So congregations end up with a “statement of faith” but without a “statement of practices”. We must have both or else we get sloppy with our theology or we get sloppy with how we live and lose the distinctiveness of what it means to live the way of the Gospel. Just as it is important not to compromise core doctrines of our faith like the bodily resurrection of Jesus, it is also important not to compromise the core practices of our faith like non-violence and enemy love. Several years ago there was a gathering to try and identify some of the marks of the contemporary renewal we see in the church, and out of that gathering came the 12 Marks of a New Monasticism.

How many people are part of the community?
Another trick question. That number is either really small (6-8)… or it’s enormous. Over the years, our intentional community house(s) have averaged about 6-8 people at any given time. That number seems to work pretty well as we seek to function like a little family. But there have been hundreds of folks live at in the intentional community for a day or a month or a year over the past decade. And there are hundreds of neighbors who we consider a core part of The Simple Way and who help lead everything we do here in the neighborhood. Just as Jesus had a fairly small (and ragtag) core in his community, he also had crowds of folks who were participating in the work along the way (and a fair amount of spectators who stood by and watched). Not much is has changed.

Can I visit?
The simple answer: Attend one of our Schools for Conversion. This question is tricky, because on the one hand our entire life is about community, hospitality, and opening our homes to others. On the other hand, we have felt a tension at times between providing quality hospitality for folks inside our neighborhood and providing quality hospitality for folks outside our neighborhood who want to visit. Making community life accessible has always been an important value of ours, And we are thankful for all the folks over the years who have invited us to “come and see” their communities and to learn from them. In order to ensure a quality immersion into our communities, we decided to formalize these visits in the form of four-day experiential schools, living and learning in the context of an intentional community -- in order to try and do the kind of spiritual formation that produces fruit that lasts and relationships that have strong roots.  Over the next year we will have Schools for Conversion hosted every other month by a different community.  Giving exposure to the many beautiful expressions of community that are out there is one of the most important things we can do.  We encourage you to carefully consider the gifts, locality, and charism of each of the other communities hosting the Schools for Conversion as you prayerfully consider a visit. – newmonasticism.org/visit.php

What about a youth group or spring break trip to visit?
Short-term trips can be important catalysts for long-term change, and for lots of us that is where it all started, where we developed “new eyes” and begin to rethink how we live. Over the years we’ve hosted hundreds, even thousands of visitors and groups. For the time being we are taking a break from hosting groups, and are only allowing cameras in on special occasions (if you are a journalist, shoot us an email and we’ll get back to you. We began to see something emerge that we call the “fishbowl phenomena” – the danger of turning our neighborhood into a fishbowl or zoo that folks look in on, take pictures, and leave. There are some friends of ours who do short-term trips well, and who are good stewards of the money they generate from these trips, giving large amounts back to grassroots organizations working everyday in the neighborhoods. When it comes to bringing a group, we encourage you to explore folks like Faithworks and Center for Student Missions who do great work. Keep doing those trips that get us outside the gates and walls of insulation and challenge us to live a little closer to the margins. And also consider eventually choosing a neighborhood or village to grow roots in and live among. That’s radical… after all, commitment is not a cultural value.

What if we just show up?
We’d rather you not. Feel free to keep an eye out on the site and our calendar for public events, work days, celebrations and gatherings… but we’d rather you not show up on our doorstep as we cannot promise to be available (or even home)… you may experience homelessness first hand ; )

Who are some of your heroes and teachers?
We are grateful to be surrounded by a great cloud of saints (and sinners) who have formed us as a community. Mother Teresa, Francis and Claire in Assisi, Dr.King, Gandhi, Henri Nouwen, Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day are a few of the heroes and sheroes whose words are written on our walls and flow from our lips. Other contemporary friends who have visited us here on Potter street and mentored us over the years are folks like Tony Campolo, John Perkins, Sr. Margaret McKenna, Ruth and Alex Orantes, Jim Wallis, Ched Myers, Tom and Christine Sine, and Ron Sider. And of course there are local heroes like our neighbor Ms.Sunshine, and all the folks who drop by the house and teach us courage and hope every single day.

Do you all have a worship service
We have chosen not to “start a church” but to join the Church in our neighborhood. We saw that what most inner cities need is not more churches, but a Church. Rather than do our own worship services we join local congregations in this area – that may mean joining the pentecostals around the corner or going to Mass down the street. Many of us here at The Simple Way are connected to Circle of Hope and you are always welcome to join us for public meetings there – circleofhope.net. We also host periodic “Nights of Celebration” where we gather folks together to sing, share stories, share some good grub, pray and have communion… those are posted on the site here. (and if you are looking for some fine biblical study and are in the Philly area, make sure you check out The Alternative Seminary.

What do you all do about health care?
We are challenged by our vision and Gospel mandate to “love our neighbors as ourselves”, especially when millions of people in the US don’t have adequate healthcare (48 million to be exact), one of them was a five-year-old on our block that died of asthma a few years back. And while we are grateful for the tireless labor of folks working toward health care for all, we are not willing to wait for the government to do what the Church is meant to BE. We are excited by the creative initiatives to create structures of mutual care, ways of bearing each others burdens like the early Church…. One of those is called Christian Healthcare Ministries. Each month folks contribute money to a common fund of which over 90% goes directly to meet needs. Members receive newsletters that tell who is in the hospital and how to be praying for one another. CHM now has over 20,000 members who have collectively paid over 400 million dollars in medical bills over the past 20 years. Check them out: www.chministries.org. And this is not an ad for CHM, but more for the idea of CHM and so many others… see it as an invitation to join a Christian medical collective that is already out there, or to start one… 48 million folks are waiting.

Do you do mailings or newsletters?
Pretty much from the get-go we started sending out newsletters with updates and stories, and you can find them in our newsletter archive. Now the newsletter has evolved into projects likeConspire! magazine, where we add some new voices to the choir. Check it out, we think that you will find it true to our vision of “dreaming big and living small” and that you will find the same ideas, imagination and holy stunts that have marked our community… and you will also find some folks even wiser and more creative than we are. And we will keep the website updated so that you can follow the news, needs, and stories here at TSW.

How can I join the community? Do you have internships?
We are currently developing a new Apprenticeship house which we hope to start in the next year. Keep an eye out for that and for the application process (coming soon). For now we encourage you to check out some of the other communities that have structured internships. And if you are on the youthful side (18-30 years), we invite you to check out Mission Year (missionyear.org), which is designed for folks ready to dive into community for a year, spending the year living in an urban neighborhood, hanging out with neighbors, pouring into local congregations and volunteering in grassroots organizations – loving God and people.

Do you know of a community in _______________________?
This is a great question. Once we had a couple fly in from Oakland, California to visit and they were asking all sorts of questions about raising their kids in intentional community and in a tough area, and all that. We told them about three communities within a half-hour from them out there in California (that had families who have been raising kids together for decades). We realized one of the most important things we can do is begin to create resources that link people up with communities near them, connecting the dots of beautiful little holy experiments happening all over the place. So check out our directory of communities -- www.communityofcommunities.info. You’ll see all sorts of communities that have been around for a while and some just getting going, and you can see ways that people share money and life, and create covenants that allow goodness to flourish.

Do you think everyone needs to live like you all?
There are certain things we can say are clear Gospel mandates – like caring for the poor and sharing the salvific love of Jesus with others. But Jesus doesn’t tell everyone the same thing when he invites them to follow. One person he says, “be born again.” Another he tells to sell all they have and give it to the poor. There is an unmistakable call in Scripture to “not conform to the patterns of the world”…. But just because we are called to be radical non-conformists doesn’t mean that we all end up doing the same thing. Nonconformity doesn’t mean uniformity. We are all called to carry a cross, but that doesn’t mean all the crosses look alike. Consider the two tax-collectors who follow Jesus, Matthew and Zacchaeus. Even though they are both tax-collectors their responses to Jesus are not identical. Matthew leaves everything and follows Jesus, barefoot on the streets. Zacchaeus doesn’t. He sells half of everything and gives it to the poor, and then he begins paying people back four times what was owed them. He is a different kind of tax-collector, doing Jubilee economics and spinning debt on its head. Neither of them are conforming any longer to the patterns of their world and the oppressive systems of taxation they found themselves in. But they responded in different ways. As we “seek first the Kingdom of God,” some of us may lose our jobs. Some of us may redifine them. Others may turn the systems on their head as we pursue the upside-down Kingdom of Jesus. What we can say is that can be assured that an encounter with Jesus will mess us up and transform not only what we believe but who we are – our economics, our politics, our families, even our very lives. So don’t follow us. Follow Jesus, and follow us in as much as our footsteps lead closer to Him.

What’s an average day look like at The Simple Way?
It’s a little easier to describe an “average” week. We have prayer each morning (at 8am). Then we dive into days that are filled with things like hanging with friends in the neighborhood or folks living on the streets, helping kids with homework, and helping folks get to appointments. We’ve got some lovely gardens and a little neighborhood thrift store. Most of us work jobs part-time and that frees us up to do other stuff we don’t get paid to do, but love. Activities and programs change from time to time, but we share food with lots of families, and try to be good neighbors. We have dinners together each week, and we have a Sabbath one day each week where everything rests. There are times where we have other things that grab our attention around some of the systemic injustices around us. Right now we are working hard to end gun violence on our streets, and to create some local jobs and more stable housing for folks. It’s not always sexy. In fact, we had some visitors that lived here for a week, and at the end of it we asked them what they learned. They said, “We learned it’s not that spectacular, and that we can do this right where we are.” That’s a good word.

Money

it is generally our policy to not give out money. When necessary, we go with the person. If giving out money, we check with at least one other community member.

Drugs

No illegal substances are allowed in the house under any circumstance.

Relations

We do not allow ourselves to be alone with a new guest to the house. As relationships develop, community members' discernment is respected, but aloneness with a guest is strongly discouraged. It is generally our policy to not be alone with kids. If this is necessary, we check in and out with another community member.

Alcohol

We recognize the implications of buying and using alcohol, especially in our neighborhood. When alcohol is to be consumed in the house, this is to be discussed with the other community members.

Weapons

No implements of death allowed, regardless of race, creed, religion, or perceived level of power or authority (including police officers).

Donations

Suggested donation for living in the intentional community is $150 a month or $50 a week.

Guests

There are several levels of commitment for guests. Initially, we generally invite anyone to visit anytime. Any overnight visits are decided as a community. If individuals want to become permanent community members, this is to be discussed after previously visiting. Them must commit to Loving God, Loving People and Following Jesus, and to the vision, commitments, Foundation, and Functionality of the community and The Simple Way.

Non-violent civil disobedience

There are times when we must choose to stand in solidarity with the oppressed rather than follow the law of the world. We choose non-violence because the Powers choose violence. Our resistance is always born out of relationships where the people most affected are in leadership.

House meetings

Mandatory, once a week..."points" meetings designed to connect with information, dates, ideas, struggles.

Prayer

Sometimes scheduled, sometimes not... highly suggested, not mandatory even when scheduled.

Family Dinners

Mandatory, bi-weekly... scheduled dinner time for the family to check-in with one another and be together. Community members often share meals together outside this scheduled time.

Roundtables (guest dinners)

Bi-weekly dinners, often inviting guests... for the purpose of discussion or special activities (i.e. visiting communities).

Re-Evaluation

Times of reflection to keep connected as individuals and as a family, often scheduled when a new member comes into the community (after 2 months...)

Sabbath

Time of rest and/or reflection and/or playing... done sporadically during the week as individuals and as a family. One day is also set aside as a Sabbath, typically Sunday. The community rests (as well as routine activities).

Emergency

Must be willing to be flexible and sacrifice when there are special needs requiring a meeting, discussion, or simply bonding.

Simplicity

Striving to live with only what one needs, not wants. We are not driven by simplicity (or we still serve money), but we are committed to love, which demands simplicity.

Non-violence

Driven by love which does not express itself in violence towards people... absolute community and individual commitment to not use violence.

Spirituality

The community shares a common desire for spirituality, often expressed through work, worship, prayer, and sharing of the sacraments.

Relationships

Commitment to balance time inside the intentional community as well as building relationships outside... balance between inward growth and relationships and outward growth and relationships.

Jobs

Commitment to balance work inside and outside The Simple Way, individually and communally.

Kingdom of God

Commitment to building the Kingdom of God, through ending poverty.

Together

TSW will strives to work with, not for, people -- allowing the people most affected by problems to lead the way in the struggle for their solutions.

Healing

We are all broken. And we are all on a journey towards wholeness. This healing is individual, communal, and social.

Accountability

Community members are held accountable to one another by love. With open permission and intentional commitment to actively hold one another accountable, we work toward loving God and loving people.

Local assembly

The community worships with and builds relationships with congregations.

Non-profit

The non-profit is an instrument to systematically function as a Body, but if this system hinders the Spirit of the community or its vision, it will be abandoned.

Structure

The community recognizes the necessity and danger of structure, and establishes structures not as a prescription for community but as a description of how the body and family function, often driven by individual roles rather than systematic delegation.

The creative and performing arts

We recognize that we are created Imago Dei to be creators. Each individual has unique and special creative abilities that add to communal "art". Also, we value the role that art has in breaking the cycle of poverty and liberating emotional and spiritual deprivation.

Projects

The community may find projects to do as a Body and family, which all persons commit themselves to (in different capacities), and individuals initiate personal projects with the community involvement in mind. All projects are born out of love, not out of the desire for programs.

Growth

The nature of love is to grow. There are both opportunities and dangers in growth. Everyone is invited to "come and see". Anyone desiring to join the community or a new Simple house must first have a journey with the existing community members.

Balance

The community will continue to struggle for transformation both on the systematic (in the macro and micro) level and on the personal level... small things with great love, great things with great love.

Play

The community is committed to playing... creating foolishness as we dance together; never forgetting to cry and always remembering to laugh.

Rest

Action must be accompanied by reflection, and reflection by action. Rest is done as a community and as individuals, distinct from playing.

Justice

Hope

Beauty

Scripture

We recognize the Bible, composed of the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, as inspired of God, the supreme and final authority in faith and life. We submit ourselves to carrying out our mission under this authority and seek to apply biblical principles to all facets of human aspiration and action.

The Church

We affirm that the Church is a unit with many parts, forming one body (1 Cor. 12:12). The Church is the body of the followers of Jesus, inclusive of persons of all cultures, races and nationalities. We value and unite with local congregations in establishing the Kingdom of God and carrying out the work of Jesus.

The Trinity

We echo the Nicene Creed in our belief in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, both perfectly divine and perfectly human, the Son of God, begotten from the Father, God from God, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things came into being, in Heaven and on earth, and who because of our sins became human, suffered, died, rose, ascended, and will come again to judge the living and dead; and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, one with the Father and the Son, and to be worshipped and glorified.

Humanity

We believe that people are created in the image of God. We believe people are created to love and to be loved. We also believe that humanity is fallen, and Jesus died and rose in order to save humanity. Humans are incapable of holiness and perfect love without the sacrifice of Jesus.

Evangelism

We affirm the importance of calling all persons to personal faith and faithful discipleship in following Jesus Christ. We recognize that this is done both with words and without them.

Justice

We acknowledge with sorrow the brokenness of the world at personal, national, and international levels, and we seek justice, reconciliation and transformation in all arenas of life. In these politically, economically, socially, and religiously decaying times, justice is needed to bring hope, wisdom, and grace. We also realize that the evils of poverty and oppression exist on two levels, the individual and the structural, and we work for justice in both facets.

Need

We believe that there is enough. Those with plenty can meet the needs of the poor, if s/he who can gather much will not gather too much (2 Cor. 8:13-15). We believe that the Kingdom of God is free of poverty and oppression. We echo and attempt to live out Christ’s prayer that the “Kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We believe that begins now, with Jesus’ followers, and continues throughout eternity.

Community

We believe that humanity is created for community. God is a community, a Trinity, a plurality of oneness. And we are created in that image. Jesus modeled this community with His disciples, as He lived and as He sent them out and taught them to live. We wish to return to the community like that of the early church in Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35. We believe that in this type of community, reconciliation happens. God is establishing a new community, a new Kingdom.

Love

We recognize the mystery of love. Ultimately, our mission is to love—to love God and to love people. This is the greatest commandment, embodying God’s law. All sin stems from not loving God or not loving people. Loving God and loving people are intricately connected and utterly inseparable. We also acknowledge that pure love is God. The greatest act of love is introducing someone to Love, in the person of Jesus.

Eastern Trip update! We took a few kids from our neighborhood to hear about the school and other opportunities to get them excited for college. Hear what they had to say.

One of the houses was a house being used for drug activity. Here’s what happened. We talked to some of the folks involved in the drug trafficking, many of them are kids we know and love dearly, and we let them know that we cared about everyone living in this house which is the very reason we needed to see something different happen in it. We offered to help anyone who wanted off the streets get into a recovery community and help through detox. Then we informed everyone that we would not call the police, but we would board up the house in 6 days. As we walked through the needle-strewn house we had a deep sense that this was the right thing to do. So we did it, and left a note for the owner. Within a few days he called us, and we gently but assertively told him this was not the kind of environment we wanted to cultivate in the neighborhood and that we were willing to offer him fair market value for the drug house. To cut to the chase… after lots of conversations and meetings, not only did we acquire the drug house, but all 3 of the houses he owns on the block which we will be renovating and stabilizing with solid neighbors here. It’s one of those things we just could not NOT do – so thanks for making it possible to respond to crises like this one. Take a look at some of the pictures (before and during) the clean-out process.

We were able to purchase 3 houses on our block here on Potter street that belonged to an absentee landlord in New York. One of them was a house being used for drug activity. We are gutting the house to start from scratch in renovating it and making much needed repairs to the other houses (which have folks living in them!). If you would like to be a part of the restoration process, you can sign up here and we’ll contact you with more details about your specific area.

After much blood sweat and tears (ok, maybe just a sleepless night or two), Shane compiled some TSW “frequently asked questions.” If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Reading the FAQs before you send an email means you get a response quicker! Check ‘em out here.

Philadelphia City Paper wrote an extensive cover story about us. You can read it on their website.

They started out as good Christians. They thumbed through their Bibles, were concerned with sex and feared God. Then they started taking Christianity seriously.

“This thing Jesus called the Kingdom of God is emerging across the globe in the most unexpected places, a gentle whisper amid the chaos,” writes The Simple Way co-founder Shane Claiborne in The Irresistible Revolution, his manifesto on the movement. “The truth is that much stands in the way of God’s will for our world, beasts like what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the giant triplets of evil: racism, militarism and materialism.”

But in a broken down, post-industrial neighborhood in Philadelphia, a group of young people are attempting to pave the way for that Kingdom of God.

A Look Inside the House

Founded eight years ago in an abandoned row house on a block known for drug dealing and prostitution, The Simple Way is an alternative Christian community with six semi-permanent members and a few dozen others who have passed through its doors. Members live and pray together, dedicate themselves to work with their poor neighbors, contribute part of their outside incomes (everybody has a part-time regular job) to maintain the house and generally aspire to upset the established order through acts of radical Christian love. Those acts of Christian resistance have included running an art camp for their inner city neighbors, opening the door to prostitutes in crisis and visiting Iraq to perform circuses for war-battered kids. These acts are equal parts punk rock and monastic.

The house has the laid back but frenetic vibe of a college share. The emphasis in the kitchen is on ease of use, not design, with open shelves for ready access and a massive dry erase board for keeping track of schedules. Posters and art are plastered everywhere and anywhere on the walls: Che Guevara’s iconic visage with a quote about love, an enlarged newspaper clipping about the homeless in Philadelphia, protest placards denouncing war, a prayer from Mother Teresa. On the roof they are growing lettuce and basil and tomatoes. In the basement someone is silkscreening T-shirts and fashioning the stark stencils one sees on blank walls in hip neighborhoods and at anti-World Bank rallies.

Like a Religious Order, but Not Quite

What distinguishes the house from other locales where cool, politically minded denizens split the rent is that these young adults gather expressly to share in each others’ religious lives and to follow Christ together. While members do not take vows and can stay for as long as forever or as little as a month, the best way to understand The Simple Way may be as a religious order, albeit an anarchist one with no Mother Superior and no dress code (although dread locks and piercings seem to be de rigeur). Living in community means conscientious dedication to each other’s spiritual journey. On the staircase, a diagram that looks like a brainstorming exercise from grade school features residents’ names connected with arrows and lines. This is the check-in chart, a system members devised to ensure no one got lost in the shuffle of work and life. In a religious order people have confessors or spiritual directors to advocate for them. Like everything else they do, the folks at The Simple Way are finding a way to do this in radical democracy, without soul-negating power relationships.

The Simple Way was inspired by the Catholic Worker movement, St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa. Mostly though, they model themselves on the early church, a church before hierarchy, dogma and the truce Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor, made with worldly power. Their Christianity is radical, calling members to live in communion with the poor and in obstinate opposition to consumerism and violence.

The Simple Way is part of a growing movement of mostly young evangelical Christians and Catholics who are dedicated to taking the Gospel—not Genesis— literally. The group makes common cause with Catholic Worker houses of hospitality and dozens of other alternative communities that operate below the radar of American Christianity. In 2004 two community members took a year-long trip across the United States visiting many of those groups. Some are animated primarily by environmental activism, or anti-war activities, or inner city challenges. All of them strive to build a City of God on earth, according to the values of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles.

They call themselves the New Monastics and they take their cues from the Desert Mothers and Fathers—fifth century mystics who searched for a truer Christianity when the early church was being co-opted by Rome. For founder Shane Claiborne, the comparison is apt. An evangelical Christian who attended Bible college and interned at a megachurch, he sees Christians seduced by the new Rome: the American Empire.

Taking Jesus’ Message Seriously

“I was attracted to The Simple Way because I wanted to see what it could be like to live as a Christian. What if we took Jesus seriously?” said Amber Christis, a 24-year–old community member with a pixie haircut who has lived at the house for four years. Christis’ path to The Simple Way is unique in that she wasn’t raised Christian, she says as she lounges on a battered sofa. She was a feminist and anti-globalization activist first, but felt a lack of spiritual nourishment. Her first encounter with Christianity was beautiful, she said, but without a social context. “Everything was a very pie in the sky when you die sort of theology,” she said. Then she discovered The Simple Way.

“As I’ve tried to study a little bit and looked at the New Testament, a lot of it has to do with economics. When you look at what Jesus said, you’ll see a lot of things about economics and how you treat your neighbor.”

In a typical week at The Simple Way members pack bags of donated groceries for their hungry neighbors, tutor kids in an after school program they run from a rehabbed squat down the street, tend a community garden on a vacant lot and worship together in morning prayer or alone in a chapel in the basement. On a recent Saturday, the thrift shop they operate out of the corner of their ramshackle row house was open more for barter than commerce, members prepared for a camping jamboree that was to include dozens of similar communities, and a visitor was getting an orientation on the work and prayer that animates the community’s life.

The Founder’s Tale

Claiborne recounts the founding of The Simple Way in The Irresistible Revolution. As a student at Eastern University, a Christian college outside Philadelphia, Claiborne began visiting the city to spend time with homeless people. Sometimes he and his friends drove into the city with backpacks full of sandwiches to distribute. Sometimes they simply sat with people on the street, listening to their stories and sharing friendship. When homeless families and their supporters set up camp in an abandoned Catholic church to draw attention to the lack of affordable housing and to keep out of the cold, Claiborne and his friends joined them. The scales fell away from Claiborne’s eyes when he saw that the Catholic diocese was summoning its power not to house the people, but to evict them. It was the beginning of a truly engaged Christianity, he says in The Irresistible Revolution. From that radicalizing experience, Claiborne linked up with homeless advocates—Christian, Catholic and secular—who were involved in the fight for the abandoned cathedral. A few years later, after a detour to Mother Teresa’s Calcutta hospice and after finishing college elsewhere, Claiborne and friends wanted to continue their adventure following Christ into the most forgotten places. Philadelphia felt like home.

Putting Down Philly Roots

The Simple Way originators found an abandoned row house which they bought outright, putting the mortgage on one member’s credit card and soliciting donations from friends. Later, they took over another house down the block, this time buying it from the city through a homesteading program designed to free abandoned homes from city control and place them into the hands of homeowners, Christis explained.

The second home was a squat. Simple Way members walked across rooftops from their own house and climbed in the squat’s ceiling. The house was filled with debris, drug refuse and tragedy. Two addicts had died inside. Over several years The Simple Way reclaimed it, putting up walls, painting murals, installing safe electricity and converting the ground floor into an arts center for local kids.

As the community continues to find its path, its message of truly life-changing Christianity is finding followers. The Simple Way has been deluged with requests from individuals and groups requesting a visit. And Claiborne’s book, which reads as a manifesto of the New Monasticism movement and a disarming memoir of his own spiritual development, ranks 50th on Amazon’s Christian booklist.

Read the original article online at Busted Halo.

The vision of Jesus is not spread through organizational structures, but through touch, breath, shared life. It is spread through people who have discovered love. 

Not long ago, I sat and talked with some very wealthy Christians about what it means to be the church and to follow Jesus. One businessman confided, "I, too, have been thinking about following Christ and what that means … so I had this made." He pulled up his shirt-sleeve to reveal a bracelet, engraved with W.W.J.D (What Would Jesus Do?). It was custom-made of twenty-four karat gold. 

Maybe each of us can relate to this man — both his earnest desire to follow Jesus and his distorted execution of that desire, so bound up in the materialism of our culture. It is difficult to learn to live the downward mobility of the gospel in this age of wealth. For the most part, those of us who are rich never meet those of us who are poor. Instead, nonprofit organizations serve as brokers between the two in a booming business of poverty management. 

I believe that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that they do not know the poor. Yet if we are called to live the new community for which Christ was crucified, we cannot remain strangers to one another. Jesus demands that we live in a very different way. 

I recently surveyed people who said they were "strong followers of Jesus." Over 80 percent agreed with the statement, "Jesus spent much time with the poor." Yet only 1 percent said that they themselves spent time with the poor. We believe we are following the God of the poor — yet we never truly encounter the poor. 

About five years ago, I became part of a community called the simple way, a group of Christians literally born out of the wreckage of the church. Dozens of homeless families and children had moved into St. Edward's, a cavernous, abandoned Catholic church in one of the most struggling neighborhoods of Philadelphia. A small group of us who were students at Eastern College, a suburban Christian school, decided to move in with them as a gesture of solidarity. From that initial step, one miracle followed another as those families mentored us in community, worship, and love. 

Eventually, we settled in a rowhouse in Kensington, a few blocks from St. Edward's. It is the poorest (but most beautiful!) district in Pennsylvania. There is no place we'd rather call home. Here, we play and dance. We plant gardens. We feed people. We cry. We have a community store. We help kids with homework. We live, and we spend our lives joining folks in poverty as they struggle to end it. Because we know that we cannot end poverty without ending wealth, we also spend time talking with Christian communities about our work and hosting visitors. 

Before moving to St. Edward's and then Kensington, I had worked in Calcutta, India, first at Mother Teresa's home for the destitute dying and then in a leper colony. A week after returning to the United States, I began a year at Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest, wealthiest congregations in the world — where a food court graces their worship center. Talk about culture shock! 

This contrast brought me face to face with Christ's radical love, a love strong enough to bring us together across chasms of difference. I longed for the two worlds to meet, for the lepers to know the landowners. I committed my life to trying to make that a reality. 

Over the years I have come to see how charity fits into — and legitimizes — our system of wealth and poverty. Charity assures that the rich will feel good while the poor will remain with us. It is important that the poor remain with us, because our capitalist system hinges on it. Without someone on the bottom, there is no American dream and no hope for upward mobility. 

Charity also functions to keep the wealthy sane. Tithes, tax-exempt donations, and short-term mission trips, while they accomplish some good, also function as outlets that allow wealthy Christians to pay off their consciences while avoiding a revolution of lifestyle. People do their time in a social program or distribute food and clothes through organizations which take their excess. That way, they never actually have to face the poor and give their clothes, their food, their beds. Wealthy Christians never actually have to be with poor people, with Christ in disguise. 

If charity did not provide these carefully sanctioned outlets, Christians might be forced to live the reckless Gospel of Jesus by abandoning the stuff of earth. Instead, thanks to charity, we can live out a comfortable, privatized discipleship. 

But when we get to heaven and are separated into sheep and goats (Matt. 25), I don't believe Jesus is going to say, "When I was hungry, you gave a check to the United Way and they fed me" or "When I was naked, you donated to the Salvation Army and they clothed me." Jesus is not seeking distant acts of charity. He is seeking concrete actions: "You fed me, … you visited me, … you welcomed me in, ... you clothed me.…" 

If we are to truly be the church, poverty must become a face we recognize as our own kin. 

Several years ago, I attended a protest against sweatshops where the organizers had not invited the typical rally speakers — lawyers, activists, advocates. Instead, they brought kids from the sweatshops. A child from Indonesia pointed to his face. "I got this scar when my master lashed me for not working hard enough. When it bled, he did not want me to stop working or to ruin the cloth, so he took a lighter and burned it shut. I got this scar making stuff for you." 

I was suddenly consumed with the overwhelming reality of the suffering body of Christ. Jesus now bore not just nail marks and scars from thorns, but a gash down his face. How could I possibly follow Jesus and buy anything from that master? 

If we are content with discipleship that ends merely with generosity, we still serve money. Generosity is a beautiful response, but we should not confuse it with love. Generosity is merely what is expected; what is required is to return that which has been stolen. God did not create some of us rich and others of us poor. 

Basil the Great, writing in the fourth century, put it this way: "When someone strips a man of his clothes, we call him a thief. And one who might clothe the naked and does not — should not he be given the same name? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat in your wardrobe belongs to the naked; the shoes you let rot belong to the barefoot; the money in your vaults belongs to the destitute." Or, in the words of Dorothy Day, "If you have two coats, one of them belongs to the poor." Should we not, then, return our stolen goods with humility, like a child returning a stolen candy bar to the grocery store clerk? Should we not cry out, in the words of St. Vincent de Paul: "May the poor man forgive me the bread I give him"? 

Often wealthy folks ask me what they can do for the simple way. I could ask them for a few thousand dollars, but that would be too easy for both of us. Instead, I ask them to come visit. Writing a check makes us feel good and can fool us into thinking that we have loved the poor. But seeing the squat houses and tent cities and hungry children will wreck our lives. We will never again be the same. 

As we have done this work and have accompanied others new to it, we've come to see a pattern. People join us with the idea of "saving the poor." Later, they say instead that "the poor saved me." But both comments have one thing in common. They revolve around me — what I have to give poor people and what they can give me. God wants us to move beyond ourselves to join all of creation in groaning for liberation. There we face, perhaps for the first time, the reality that we, too, are poor. 

I believe the church has forgotten its identity. The church is not an institution, a meeting, or a building. It is not something we go to. The church is something we are — an organism, not an organization. 

Instead of living out this alternative vision, the church has been content to be a broker between the rich and the poor. Both those trapped in poverty and those trapped in riches view the church as a distribution center, a place where the poor come to get stuff and the rich come to dump stuff. No radical new community is formed. 

In this model, both go away satisfied (the rich feel good, the poor get fed) — but neither goes away transformed. They do not join together to discover a new way of living. 

In ministering in this way, the church has adopted the model of many of our nonprofit organizations. Functionally, many nonprofits act as brokers between the rich and the poor. They facilitate the exchange of goods and services, putting plenty of professionals in the middle to guarantee that the rich do not have to face the poor and that power does not shift. Rich and poor are kept in separate worlds. Charity does not feed fundamental change. 

Brokering poverty also seduces Christians into being gatekeepers to power. Our progressive movements are haunted by the temptation to facilitate power. If anything, the recent dismantling of the welfare system and the corresponding public praise of small attempts by churches, nonprofits, and other faith-based institutions to take up the slack has increased this pressure. Policies like charitable choice (where churches compete for federal funding to run social programs) allow our government to pat churches on the back: "You do a better job at managing poverty than we do, so we'll just discontinue our social supports and let you do the job!" And our churches, flattered and uncritical, scramble for the new state money like a prize. 

In that model, the power structure has not budged. The power has merely changed hands. But power does not trickle down. Just as trickle-down economics has failed, trickle-down politics does not bring change. 

Many beautiful Christians working for social change in a range of movements believe we can bring about fundamental change by using power benevolently rather than reworking the power equation. We see ourselves as the good guys who will use our influence for justice — and perhaps, in these terms, we succeed in getting our candidate on the ballot or elected. But the Christ we follow has a different, harder path--one of downward mobility, of struggling to become the least, of joining those at the bottom. 

Several years ago, I was at a meeting where a new movement to end poverty was announced. I looked around. The only poor people in sight were the handful of people I had come with. Launching a movement to end poverty without poor people in critical roles is like launching a civil rights movement without Black people, or a feminist movement without women. As long as the poor are not present and intricately involved in the process, ending poverty will remain an intellectual, political concept. It will not convert us. 

The church needs to stop talking about ending the pain of the poor and instead join the poor. All around us, the poor are crying out. They can no longer be silenced. Wherever that outcry is heard, the church must be present. 

All this does not mean that social-service organizations do not do a great deal of good. I am not calling for all these organizations to be dismantled. But I am calling Christians to ask critical questions about their relationshito God's poor people. 

I believe all our "programs" should have their genesis in true relationship. At our house, we tutor — but we did not start by deciding to do a tutoring program. We simply fell in love with kids who needed help with their homework. We feed people — but we did not begin with a decision to start a feeding program. We simply fell in love with our neighbors, and they were hungry. 

We have now established a nonprofit organization ourselves, but we did this in order for the organization to serve us. We are not committed to the organization, but rather to our fellowship together. 

I see many communities doing amazing things through established organizations. God can — and does — work through these organizations. But the reign of God dwells in people. 

Those of us who yearn for the kingdom of God must follow in the steps of Jesus. Jesus was not "in charge" of the poor. He was poor. The message of Christ from the manger to the cross is that the world is conquered through weakness, through leastness, through struggle--not from the top, but from the bottom. 

The people wanted a mighty Messiah. They got a baby refugee. They wanted a powerful king to take over Rome. They got a wandering homeless man. He could have saved the world with his mighty power, but he did it through his ridiculous love. The power of God lies in the brokenness of Jesus: naked, cursed, spit upon, with birds picking at his flesh as he died the rotten death of a criminal. 

The great temptation of the church, and of every believer, is the offer Satan made to Jesus in the desert: to win the world with power. But power will not end poverty. We must discover another way of living. 

Jesus did not set up a program, but rather modeled a way of living that incarnated the reign of God. That reign did not spread through organizational establishments or structural systems. It spread through touch, through breath, through life. It spread through people who discovered love.

I am haunted by the command of Jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves. I struggle because I sleep in a house while my neighbor sleeps in a cardboard box; I eat twice a day while my neighbor hasn't eaten once. I draw strength from following Jesus in community. I live with people who, if they pass someone with a worse pair of shoes, have taken their shoes off and switched; people who have quietly handed over winter jackets to someone they met on the street without a coat.

This is the reckless love of Jesus, which teaches us to see the connections between our wealth and our neighbor's poverty. The love of Jesus will teach us another way of doing life, a way that will bring God's reign to earth as it is in heaven. The reign of God is not for the future. It is something we live today.

Jesus reminds us that it is easy to love people who are just like us: "Even idolators do that" (Matt. 5:47). We are called to love those who hate us. Love those who create poverty, and love those who are trapped in it. See in each of them yourself — the same blood and tears We are all capable of the same evil, and we have potential for the same good. As one believer said, "In the oppressed I recognize my own face, and in the hands of the oppressor I recognize my own hands." From addicts I learn of my addiction, and from the saints I learn of my holiness. 

The God of love and the love of God know no bounds. The unending love of Jesus teaches revolutionaries to love police officers, anarchists to love politicians, vegetarians to love meat eaters, peacemakers to love soldiers. This is the love that makes us the church. 

Ultimately, only this radical love of Jesus can end the poverty-wealth dichotomy. When the rich meet the poor, together they will end wealth. When the poor meet the rich, together they will end poverty. 

People do not get crucified for charity. People are crucified for living out a love that disrupts the social order, that calls forth a new world. People are not crucified for helping poor people. People are crucified for joining them. 

Recommended

Few pastoral and practical guides help conscientized Christians to move beyond guilt, charity fatigue, or paralysis when they finally confront privilege that insulates. In Beyond Guilt (Adventure Publications, 2000), George Johnson addresses the struggles common to Christians as their social consciousness changes, moving through the natural emotional cycles of reflection, denial, and feelings of frustration and disempowerment to develop a commitment to justice that can be sustained. Though it sometimes diverts from its focus (moving privileged people into liberated, constructive engagement) to talk about the issues themselves, this is a good resource for individuals and groups who wish to make their privilege a tool of empowerment for themselves and others. 

This article was first published in the November 1, 2000 issue of The Other Side.