Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne is not a feel-good book. His goal is to make you uncomfortable. Claiborne believes in taking seriously the teachings of Jesus, something which will, in Claiborne’s words, “mess you up.”
Claiborne is part of a group called The Simple Way. The members of this community seek to live among the poor and outcast, eschewing the comforts of suburban life. They do so, not out of a sense of masochism, but out of a deep conviction that they must live out Jesus’ words. They must help the poor and feed the hungry. They must seek social justice (part of which is avoidance of all goods produced through oppressive conditions). Claiborne makes his own clothes. He has gone to jail numerous times for his beliefs.
One of his most “radical” acts was to travel to Baghdad at the time the U.S. invasion was beginning. Arguing that pacifism is not passivity, Claiborne went to show the people of Iraq that Christianity was not attacking their country, that a nation was attacking their country.
The book is a biography of sorts. It’s mainly stories. What theology is present is presented through example, not Bible study. It’s a theology of the streets.
Sometimes Claiborne’s words come off a bit “holier than thou.” Sometimes, despite his claims to the contrary, you get the sense that Claiborne revels in the cool factor of what he does. But I don’t doubt his sincerity. I may not agree with all of his convictions, but I can’t accuse him of not living according to those convictions.
Which is something that we all need to do. We may not all choose such a radical response to the gospel (and Claiborne argues that not everyone has to), but I have to think that reading this book can help us seek out the stains of hypocrisy in our own lives.
I encourage you to read Irresistible Revolution. It’ll mess you up.
(As one who dabbles in graphic design on an amateur level, I have to say that the layout of this book is amazing, particularly the chapter transitions. And, for those who might be wondering, all of the proceeds from the book are donated to ministry)
Well, my books and blogs reporting has been heavy on the blog side. I’ve got some books to recommend, I just don’t seem to be organized enough to write about them. So we’ll stick with blogs for now. It only seems right to mention 
Matt Dabbs is, according to the About page on his blog, “associate minister at the Northwest Church of Christ in St. Petersburg where I work with adult education, involvement, young professionals, and LIFE groups.” He writes a blog called 
As I said last Friday, I’m going to use Fridays for talking about books and blogs. I’m considering slowing down my blogging schedule, but even if I do, I plan to stick to that topic on Fridays. For a while, anyway.