Jesus For President

Shane Claiborne

Last night, hundreds of people packed Lockerbie United Methodist Church (UMC) to hear author Shane Claiborne on his latest book tour, Jesus For President.

My friends and I went because we felt it would be interesting to see Shane, as he is an interesting character to say the least. I came in not knowing what to expect. Having read Shane’s last book, Irresistible Revolution, I had a pretty good idea on what Shane’s thoughts would be on politics, but it was still interesting nonetheless.

If I were to describe Shane, I would often think back to the flower children of the ’70s: anti-war, anti-establishment, communal type of thing. This is in no way a bad thing, just trying to give you my impression of Shane.

Shane and his group started out really well, telling the audience about how Jesus came into this world during a big political time and how he handled things. He then went on to talk about politics today, how we handle things, how sometimes we allow patriotism to take presidence over God, how America isn’t a truly Christian nation. One of the quotes that stuck out to me was from Frederick Douglass:

Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels. Never was there a clearer case of “stealing the livery of the court of heaven to serve the devil in.” I am filled with unutterable loathing when I contemplate the religious pomp and show, together with the horrible inconsistencies, which every where surround me. We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church members.

– Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

One of the things that struck me during the whole time was how almost “anti-government” Shane was. He told us a story about a kid who joined the military because it was the only way he could afford to pay for college. And as this was at boot camp and was handed a gun while standing in formation, he felt the gun getting heavier and heavier. And so this soldier decided to break formation, go to the commanding officer and say, “I feel God does not want me to kill, he wants me to love my enemies.” To which the commanding officer makes this soldier kneel down, have his fellow soldiers march around him and tell him what a “sack of shit looks like.”

The story doesn’t end there. They put this kid in the brig, but didn’t lock the cell, nor did they take away this cell phone. So this kid decided to go AWOL (absent without leave), he deserted the military. I had to ask myself, “is this the kind of witness that we’re giving to the world? Telling drill sergeants that ‘God told me that I don’t belong here’ and then jump ship?”

Photo by Neil Cox, IndyChristian.com

My main issue with this is that there are ways of going about things, especially in the military. There is protocol and ways of going about things. Breaking formation, not properly addressing your superior, and deserting the military is not an honorable way of doing things. As Christians, if we’re going to be the light of the world, we can’t do it by disrespecting those around us. We must be ambassadors for Christ and in order to do that, we must be respectful of others rules, customs, to work through issues.

I would say that for the most part, I appreciate Shane and his viewpoints. That’s the great thing about living in a world with many different perspectives and viewpoints! We can learn from eachother, adapt the way we do things. I hope Shane would say, “this is how I’m doing things, you don’t have to do it in the exact same way, but I hope the spirit of what we’re doing at ‘A Simple Way’ is a model for your ministry.”

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 says this:

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

Somehow I feel that Shane fits a certain mold and isn’t one to break that mold. Could Shane walk a mile in a soldier’s shoes? Could he walk a mile in a politician’s shoes? More importantly, would he be willing to change some of his views after walking a mile in those shoes?

The overall message that I got from Shane was a very important one. Our loyalties first and foremost go to God, and I totally agree with that. I think where Shane and I may differ is how to be “in the world, but not of the world” (Romans 12:2). And I appreciate Shane and the questions and dialogue he brings, because it’s important for us to ask questions, to have this type of conversation.

Links
Jesus for President (Official Site)
The Simple Way
The Psalters (Band who is touring with Shane)
IndyChristian.com – Jesus For President…