'Jesus for President' author Shane Claiborne speaks on Lipscomb campus, Sept. 29

Shane Claiborne, a well-known leader in the “New Monastic” movement, who inspired thousands through his first book, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, will speak in Collins Alumni Auditorium on Monday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come, first-serve.

 

In highly politicized times, prominent activist Claiborne is now dedicated to awakening the political imagination of Christians with his latest book, Jesus for President, released in March. Claiborne and co-author, artists and theologian Chris Haw, are redefining “political” as “simply how we relate to the world.”

 

“Amid all the buzz, we’re ready to turn off our TVs, pick up our Bibles, and reimagine the world,” Claiborne said.

 

Claiborne is one of the founding members of The Simple Way, a community in inner-city Philadelphia that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities around the world, many of which have become known as “new monasticism” communities. Claiborne and The Simple Way work to expose the fundamental structures that create poverty and to imagine positive alternatives.

 

Claiborne’s ministry has included, among other things, a 10-week stint working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, a year spent in Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago and three weeks in Baghdad with the Iraq Peace Team.

 

“It’s easy to have political views – that’s what politicians do. But it’s much harder to embody a political alternative – that’s what saints do,” Claiborne said.