Resource Review - Economy of Love

I wasn't even half way through the introduction to this book before I thought "This is a dangerous book". Dangerous to the complacent and the comfortable. Dangerous in the same gentle, loving way that the Gospel is dangerous.

The greatest struggle that faces the church in the western world isn't sexuality or child abuse. It isn't liberalism or fundamentalism. I believe that the greatest struggle for us is finding our way back from the culture of consumerism and wealth. Now for many people those have become trigger phrases that will inspire rolled eyes and "Here we go again" comments. The reality is that even a humble diocesan youth missioner working at 80% of full time is wealthy beyond the dreams of a great many, probably the vast majority of the world's population. I have a house to live in which puts me ahead of plenty of the world. With two bathrooms, running water, functioning heat, room for my family and guest beyond that. My freezer is so full that I had to buy a second freezer to store some of it.

Rich. Not "doing OK" or "getting by". I am rich. R.I.C.H. And in all likelihood so are you. Yet just outside your window, certainly within a few miles at most, are poor people. Homeless people. Hungry people.

And God expects you to do something about it.

That's an uncomfortable thought. Which is why so many of us just don't think about it. We assume "someone else" is handling it.

"Economy of Love" won't let you stay there. Written as a 5 week study session it combines written material with a video clip for each week. The videos feature Shane Claiborne. I've fessed up to my mini-man crush on Shane before. I think he's an important voice in the religious world right now. This work grows from his work with the Relational Tithe community he helped found. Relational Tithe says this about themselves:

"(We are) a way to live in an “economy of abundance.” They believed that there are enough resources to meet the needs of every person, and that the needs of each person are the responsibility of all people. The beginning of Relational Tithe can be boiled down to a question: “What would happen if we all set aside a tenth of our incomes to meet the needs of people we know?"

There's a real challenge in the questions posed for all of us. This is a great new resource to begin that discussion.