do we believe and not follow?

Many people have asked me over the past few months "what are you going to be doing after your internship?" I haven't had a good answer for them as of yet. Lately, however, I've been thinking and praying about something God is laying on my heart. That is, to move back to Raleigh and start an intentional community, connected with Vintage21. However, I have been reading this incredible book by this guy named Shane Claiborne, in which he talks about community, the gospel, and solidarity with the poor. All that to say this: When I say I am going to start a community in Raleigh, I don't mean another internship. I don't mean a place where people are charitable. Charity (while it can be a good thing) usually distances us from the needy. Jesus isn't going to tell us when we arrive in heaven "I was hungry and you gave money to the United Way and they fed me" or "I was naked and you gave clothes to the Salvation Army and they clothed me." The United Way and Salvation Army do great things, don't get me wrong. But too many times, Christians pretend like giving to those organizations somehow connects them with the poor. Sure, both needs are met; the rich feel good about giving and the poor get what they need, but there is no connection, there is no community between the two. It is only when the rich step down from their positions and join the poor that they will truly connect and fall in love with one another. That is what Shane is talking about in this book, and honestly, that is what Jesus instructed us to do.

So when I say I am starting an intentional community, what I really mean is I am joining the poor. I want to live nextdoor to them. I want to laugh with them, cry with them, join hands with them, fall in love with them. Not out of pity, but out of love! Because I am tired of being told how to "become" or "be" a Christian, but never being told how to live like one. American Christianity has made it so easy to be a "follower," without anyone actually having to follow anything! If we truly followed Christ, we'd follow him out of our suburban neighborhoods in a Uhaul and into the ghettos. We'd stop driving our Suburbans and our Expeditions, sell them, get a fuel efficient car (or God forbid, ride a bike or public transportation). We'd invite folks who have no food into our homes for dinner. We'd open up our spare bedroom to someone who sleeps on the street. How dare we claim to be "followers" of Christ when we ignore him on our streets daily. We haven't even begun to know Christ, much less follow him. I am realizing this more and more. It is not easy. This has implications for all of us. I don't claim or pretend to have it all figured out, or that my life always reflects what I have just said. I am selfish. I am materialistic. I am prejudiced. I am a sinner. But every saint has a past and every sinner has a future, and by God, I am determined that my future has to be different than my past if I'm to follow Christ.