I am a double pastor’s kid.
For 20 years of my life, both of my parents were pastors at a community church. Christians, especially Cumberland Presbyterians, place a heavy emphasis on text, especially the Bible as a text. I have distinct memories of the literary practices lectio divina and manuscript study of the Bible in intentional community.
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
— Matthew 19:16-22 NIV
From my parents to my god-parents, I was frequently told growing up that faithfulness as a christian looked like solidarity with the poor. My godparents cited the story of the “rich young ruler” (quoted above) as the reason for the liquidation of their savings and donating it the community based organizations. This core ethic of giving up everything to love your neighbor shaped where my parents chose to live, where I went to school and even shaped my career path today. One (incomplete) snapshot of this Christian intentional community can be found in Jonathan Tran’s book: “Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism” on pages 153-290.
The church I grew up in is closely connected to a inter-demoninational network of Christians who “have found life-giving friendship through a shared hope in the vision of God’s good shalom, [bearing] witness to the non-violent way of the cross.”1
As I have grown older, and the limits of the non-profit, alternative community and Liberal models have am finding life in Liberation theology texts. Particularly the writings of James Cone, Juan Luis Secundo, Egancio Ellacuria and others. These writers interpret the biblical texts through their social position and with a commitment to liberation.
Footnotes
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Ekklesia project homepage. ekklesiaproject.org ↩