A warning from Frantz Fanon in The Wretched of the Earth (1963):
The unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of the people, their laziness, and, let it be said, their cowardice at the decisive moment of the struggle will give rise to tragic mishaps.
by tommy airey
We script & sing this Bethlehem Dream
Of Life reflecting divine Reality,
Light illuminating every dark cavity,
When the lion and the lamb
Dance to a silent tune sung by all humanity.
Continue reading “This Bethlehem Dream”
From comedian Ted Alexandro:
All you need to know about America is #TheInterview not being released inspires more outrage than the #TortureReport being released.
From political cartoonist Dan Wasserman:
by tommy airey
The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.
Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (1978)
Radical discipleship in North America entails much. A life devoted to spirituality, social analysis, simple living & suffering service can overwhelm us, leaving us with the same symptoms of the systems we are struggling against: addiction, alienation and anxiety. This final week of Advent season creates intentional space & time for us to reconsider and repent, alerting us to times we find ourselves sleepwalking an imperial trance. Here are 9 commitments that we can hold up to the light through Epiphany.
——————- Continue reading “9 Advent Practices For Radical Disciples”
From Paulo Freire in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968):
[T]he more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.
By Tommy Airey
…large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.
Martin Luther King
**This post was updated, edited and reposted on December 11 at 12:45pmEST.
Last week, an old friend checked in on me. He’s a kind-hearted, hard-working and sincere follower of Jesus. He sent me a series of texts in light of the Ferguson decision and in response to what I have written about it. Here’s a sample:
I don’t think the thought ever crossed my mind that the life of a person of color was somehow worth less than that of a white person. I doubt very much that is the mindset of many police or judges either. Hard to believe the kid from Ferguson was killed because of that mindset given the facts in that case. Would be interesting to research the number of black people killed by white people vs. black people killed by black people. God dislikes all taking of life from the womb to the point of natural death. #Alllivesmatter
I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.
Martin Luther King, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, December 10, 1964
Continue reading “The Nobel To King: 50 Years Later”
Two months ago, Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries and Word & World officially launched RadicalDiscipleship.Net, a daily-updated blog designed to chronicle and animate expressions of “Movement” Christianity in North America. The two organizations have had a deep and long history, partnering in the challenge of bridging the gulf between the seminary, the sanctuary, the street and the soil.
Headquartered in the Ventura River watershed of Southern California, BCM animates and builds capacity for communities of discipleship and justice through the work of theological animation and restorative justice, drawing on the giftedness and expertise of Ched Myers & Elaine Enns, respectively. Over the past decade, BCM has been experimenting with week-long institutes (twice per year) and webinars (once-a-month), in addition to mentoring, lectures, sermons & keynotes given around the world.
Through schools, retreats, and mentoring, Word and World draws faith-based activists from various movements into a community of discipleship focused on social & cultural analysis and biblical reflection for social transformation. The goal of W&W is to encourage and strengthen disciples to become “radically biblical and biblically radical” in their work for peace and justice. Since 2001, W&W has hosted a number of schools drawing on the depth of the Civil Rights movement (photo above), liberation theology, the peace movement and faith-based feminist, womanist, mujerista, and LGBT movements.
BCM and W&W are excited for two upcoming events in 2015 that will provide participants unique opportunities to wrestle with scripture, social analysis, movement history and discipleship practices “between the seminary, the sanctuary, the streets and the soil”: Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries’ Festival of Radical Discipleship in the Ojai Valley of California (February 16-20) and Word & World’s Land & Water School in Detroit (July 15-19).
Of course, virtually every community committed to radical discipleship finds itself, this time of year, staring wide-eyed at their dwindling budgets, asking: where will our financial resources come from this year? Indeed, to be conscience-strident is to be cash-strapped. In order to curate a truly community-and-gospel-rooted learning experience, we ask that you consider making a year-end contribution to either (or both) of these organizations. Thank you for participating in the Movement, in this blog project and for spreading the word.
In Loving Solidarity,
Lydia Wylie-Kellermann & Tommy Airey
Co-Editors, RadicalDiscipleship.Net
Click on to donate:
Leah and I have had a rich correspondence as we have both tried to grapple from our different social locations with the power of racism in our lives. The grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown left us both feeling outraged and hamstrung, with the question, what do we do now? And what do we tell our children? Leah has a daughter, Dance (10 years) and two boys, Michael and Gabriel (3 years). I have a daughter, Sylvie (4 years). I asked Leah what she would tell my child, and Leah asked me what I would tell hers.
Kate Foran, November 2014.
Tuesday we posted Leah‘s letter. Today we post Kate’s. Continue reading “Words to Our Children…Part 2”
Leah and I have had a rich correspondence as we have both tried to grapple from our different social locations with the power of racism in our lives. The grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown left us both feeling outraged and hamstrung, with the question, what do we do now? And what do we tell our children? Leah has a daughter, Dance (10 years) and two boys, Michael and Gabriel (3 years). I have a daughter, Sylvie (4 years). I asked Leah what she would tell my child, and Leah asked me what I would tell hers.
Kate Foran, November 2014.
Today, we post Leah’s letter and tomorrow we will post Kate‘s. Continue reading “Words to Our Children…Part 1”
Radical Discipleship 