In my thinking I am a radical, but in my living I often fall far short of my own values and ideals. I’ve been teaching through the Gospel of Mark this fall and find myself being convicted regularly. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in the United States?

 

I struggle with feeling like there isn’t enough I can do. I worry about having enough money to eat or to pay my rent and still feel like I should be giving more money away. I feel like I should be living communally even though even the idea of that exhausts me. I want to buy fair trade food and organic stuff but that stuff is also more expensive (and a longer bus ride away).

 

So what can I do? And are these things simply the excuses I use to keep myself from doing what I should be doing? What does it mean to live from a sense of “enough” instead of scarcity? How can I share my resources more effectively? How do I navigate my own privilege?

 

I want to spend some time thinking out loud about these struggles. Being honest about where I struggle and where I fall short. Brainstorm with other people who are trying to live as radical disciples of Jesus in the midst of empire and privilege. I’m hoping that by being open about all of these things I can start a conversation about what following Jesus really means. I’m hoping that we can share ideas and suggestions and guiding questions.

 

I hope that this can be a safe space for people at all stages of discipleship to share their struggles and what they are trying to do. I’ll probably put up some themes (food, money, clothing, etc.) as we go, areas where I am trying to discern a new way forward. If you have themes you want to explore, please add them in the comments or send me an email.

 

Let’s encourage one another to follow Jesus more closely and to live lives that are more just and that help to expose and overturn empire wherever it is found.

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