Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Economy of love

I just finished reading Economy of Love from the folks at Relational Tithe. It would seem that it was written by Darin Petersen, but I'm not sure (he and Shane Claiborne are co-founders of RT and it may have been co-written). There is also a dvd that goes with it that features Shane.

It was a great little book, in my humble opinion. But I happen to like books like this. Not only is it only about 100 small pages, but I actually kinda liked how it was set up. It's like the authors underlined and made liners notes for us already, and they made the print smaller and larger and in different ways to sort of change the mood depending on what was being discussed. At any rate, it didn't take long to read.

I also liked it because it is in the "new-monastic-jesusy" sort of mold. Yes, it is challenging, to be sure. But it's hard to argue with Scripture and simplicity and love (at least for me). Not that I am doing every little thing they suggest, and not that I don't even question some of their conclusions... but I generally like and agree with the thought of the book.

It is set up as a five-week study. Week 1 is on Tension - Being the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world; Week 2 is Enough - Christ's demand to love our neighbor through redistribution; Week 3 is Vulnerable - Living lives that collide with those of the marginalized; Week 4 is Filled - Is the gospel we preach good news for the rich and poor alike?; and Week 5 is Practice - Following Jesus with our hands, our feet, and our resources.

As the back of the book says,
Economy of Love will challenge individuals to join in community, journeying together as they begin to consider a new standard of living - a personal economic threshold oriented not around the size of a monthly paycheck, but around the value of enough.

I'm sure there are many who would find it too radical or too "liberal"... but to me this is what church ought to be about. Not that we need to do things exactly like them, but lets face it, most Christians don't live all that different from non-Christians. I think the point is, are we involved with a community of people seeking to act justly, that loves mercy, and that is striving to walk humbly with God. If not, why not try to find one... or start one yourself.

Good book.