Pace e Bene Blog

Ordinary Radicals & not "re-inventing the radical wheel"

June 27th, 2008 - by Jarrod McKenna

Something’s happening. As I speak to thousands of young people I hear the cry and rumblings for the healing of our world growing. Our mates living community like us in the US called The Simple Way are documenting some of the stuff they see happening in their country. Jamie’s new doco is called “The Ordinary Radicals” and is well worth checking out. nbsp;And our mate Tom Sine has written a great article about what he has experienced with Speak in the UK, The Simple Way and Submergent network in the US and our Peace Tree Crew and EPYC in Australia.

Here in Australia a similar story. Diverse crew are feeling a stirring I can only put down to something the Spirit is doing with this generation (but not just this generation!!). And it’s GROWING!!! I’m continually amazed by the variety of people who are getting in contact with us; from the never-churched, to the over-church and leaders of large churches looking for a vision that is big enough to be good news to our hurting world. A longing for deeper life in a sea of market driven shallowness, more authentic community in cities of loneliness. A yearning to live on the land in ways that are good for the earth even amidst landscapes of environmental destruction and alienation. Hunger for real encounter with the Holy Spirit of-a-world-transformed! (Not simply a manufactured super-sized ‘McSpirituality’ of easy answers and smoke machines to distract us from the pain that would transform us.) There is an open ache for God’s presence of justice, peace and joy to flood into our world and a generation saying, “Let it start in me.” A movement of people praying “On earth as it is in heaven”!

And while some are trying to “re-invent the radical wheel”, there are amazing narratives of radical Christ-like Christian communities that have lived Christ’s original revolution of love they we can tap into throughout history. Recently my mate Greg Boyd wrote a great letter to Mennonites to encourage them to stop running from their prophetic history that so many of us feel drawn to! (thanks Jo Troyer).

For us Peace Tree crew, as well as Anabaptism some of those traditions that have shaped our shared life and spirituality include the Catholic Worker Tradition, the early Quakers and the monastic life of Eastern Orthodoxy. One of the joys of sitting at the feet of these great traditions is that they claim you as their own too! Cairon O’Reilly refers to us as the “Perth Catholic Worker”, Quakers invited me to be a representative for them at an International Peace Churches Gathering, The Holy Transfiguration Monastery pray for us daily and mentor us as a community.

One of the things we are really excited about is this gathering for crew to tap into one of these incredible traditions to enrich our own community life and witness. Peace Tree looks forward to seeing ya there!!!

AAANZ 2009 Conference: Communities of the Kingdom: The New Monasticism and Anabaptism
Mark your diaries now for the 2009 AAANZ conference.
Dates: Friday evening 23rd January to Monday afternoon 26th January 2009
Location: Oasis Christian Camp, 66 Monbulk Road, Mt Evelyn Victoria (Melbourne area)

“Christians from many traditions are learning from this vigorous alternative stream of church experience. This conference provides an opportunity to ‘immerse’ yourself in this radical and often untold story of the Anabaptist tradition and how they make sense in today’s church and world. We will explore the links between Anabaptism and new monastic movements in our two countries.”