Community and Creativity in Resisting Consumerism
Friday night we went to hear a talk from Shane Claiborne (author of Irresistible Revolution), on living counter-culturally in a very consumer driven society. Whenever we need or want something, we just go buy it. He talked a little bit about changes he has made in his life, some extreme and some that were pretty easy, and how that has helped him to love others. For example, Shane makes all of his own clothes (could be considered extreme), and gets most of his fruits and veggies from a community garden he helped to start (not as extreme). Because he has made his life simpler, he is able to give so much more away.
One of the things Ryan and I have been thinking about lately is what it looks like to live missionally no matter where we are in life. To us, that means being a missionary where you are, or as Aaron Story (our pastor) says "blooming where you are planted". Whether it's at work, in our neighborhood, at church or with friends/family, how can we be intentional about sharing the love of Christ through serving, sacrifice, experiencing others' joy/sorrow and just being bold in our faith. And what does that look like? Possibly living in community with others? Giving more? Serving the least of these? Loving others until it hurts? Like I said, Ryan and I have been talking seriously about these things a lot in the past few weeks, so hopefully there will be more on this to come!
I think Parke did a great job reflecting on our consumer driven culture in his blog ( http://www.parkeladd.com ...you should read his blog anyway, it was voted #19 in the top 50 blogs of Indianapolis!)
Never the Sinner: The Loeb and Leopold Story
On Saturday we went to see a friend, Krista, perform in a play at The Theatre Within (located at The Church Within). The play was about two young men that commit murder basically as an experiment to see if they are above the law. They are caught and the play follows the trial and outcome. One of the main themes of the play was capital punishment, and when or if it is ever appropriate to use. Talk about intense! The actors (and actress) did a fantastic job of really making you feel like you were there watching the trial, and seeing into the minds of the killers. The two murderers never show remorse over their actions and make a mockery of the trial, which leads to the question...should they be given a second chance? Or should they be put to death?
Afterwards, the cast comes out and the audience is encouraged to stay for a discussion. It was really interesting to hear everyone's perspective on capital punishment and if it should ever be used. We really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into when we went, but we definitely left with a lot on our minds.
the group discussion.
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