I don’t make book recommendations very often…(OK, I make them all the time) but this one is a definite must-read.  I just finished Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical and it really left a profound impression upon my soul.

I don’t want to build it up too much, but this book made me really take a hard look at many of my Christian beliefs and ask the question, "Am I really following the radical path of faith/discipleship that Jesus calls me to OR have I just bought into the cultural lies that I’ve been told?  Am I active in kingdom business or am I really more concerned with my own comfort and entertainment?  Do I care for those whom the world couldn’t care less about?  If so, what am I doing about it?" 

Whether he’s working alongside Mother Theresa with the lepers in India, standing with the homeless in Philadelphia, or showing solidarity to the people of Iraq as they are being bombed by our government, Claiborne’s experiences and perspective on what it means to love God and neighbor will pierce your heart and open your mind.  At least that’s how the book affected me.  But you be your own judge…

I’ll probably be quoting from this book for a while, but here”s an interesting quote about our "God of little things":

Mother Teresa offers us that brilliant glimpse of hope that lies in little things: "We can do not great things, only small things with great love.  It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it." Above our front door, we have hung a sign that says, "Today…small things with great love (or don’t open the door)."

It is easy to fall in love with the great things whether we are revolutionaries or church growth tacticians.  But we must never simply fall in love with our vision or our five-year plan.  We must never fall in love with "the revolution" or "the movement". We can easily become so driven by our vision for our church growth, community, or social justice that we forget the little things, like caring for those around us.  An older charismatic woman told me.  "If the devil can’t steal your soul, he’ll just keep you busy doing meaningless church work."

There is a brilliant truth I have come to see, largely because of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, spiritual writer and fellow resister, whose words are now inscribed on my wall: "The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community [even if their intentions are ever so earnest], but the person who loves those around them will create community."  Many congregations are in love with their mission and vision and rip one another apart in committee meetings trying to attain it.  And many social activists I know tear each other up and burn themselves out fighting for a better world while forgetting that the seeds of that world are right next to them…

We have a God who enters the world through smallness–a baby refugee, a homeless rabbi, the lillies and sparrows.  We have a God who values the little offering of a couple coins from a widow over the megacharity of millionaires.  We have a God who speaks through little people–a stuttering spokesman named Moses; the stubborn donkey of Balaam; a lying brothel owner named Rahab; an adulterous king named David; a ragtag bunch of disciples who betrayed, doubted, and denied; and a converted terrorist named Paul.

This is just a taste…I guarantee this book will leave you a little bit changed (at least!)  Maybe even more.