Radical Living, the cohousing community my wife and I founded in Brooklyn, New York, is on the cover of the current issue of the New York Press. Check it out in the newsstands or go online to read it.

The following is an article from the Agape Times, the official newsletter of Radical Living. My wife and I formed the Radical Living Christian Community in August 2007. It is an intentional community in Brooklyn, New York. There are 14 people who live in the community and many others who participate in community with us. We have recently published the second issue of Agape Times. We’ve been blessed to have prominent Christian authors as well as grassroots Christian organizers submit stories. Check out the summer issue here.

Guerilla Theater as Prophetic Expression

The prophets of the Holy Scriptures often performed guerilla theater to get their message to penetrate the hard hearts of an unrepentant people.

Jeremiah wore a yoke of wood, and then of iron, to express the gravity of Israel’s impending exile in Babylon. Isaiah walked naked and barefoot for three years as a witness to the coming slavery of Israel. Ezekiel baked bread on human excrement as a sign to his people that they would eat defiled food when driven into exile.

Today, in rural and urban settings across the nation, a new breed of prophets are using guerilla theater and other tactics to rouse the conscience of a people numbed by empire. In New York City (which happens to be in the Empire State), a handful of Jesus’ followers have begun dumpster diving as a way to get free grub and as a way to point to the unnecessary waste of this nation. While restaurants, delis, and grocery stores throw out tons of good food every day, there are approximately 1.3 million New Yorkers across the five boroughs that rely on emergency food programs to put food on the table for their families.

Another example of guerilla tactics employed by Christ’s followers can be seen in the subway system. Some years back, during Giuliani’s regime, NYC launched an intense campaign against the city’s most vulnerable poor. Posters in the subway state, “Give to charity, just not here,” and in March the city began calling on its residents to call 311 if they see a homeless person. Some radicals began placing stickers that read, “’Give to the one who begs from you,’ Jesus (Matt. 5:42),” on the city’s posters as a way to counter the unjust system that works to further disassociate the haves from the have-nots.

Followers of Christ are longing for justice and mercy, and they are finding creative ways to raise awareness of issues and to meet people’s needs.

God is the Father, yet it is deeper and more complex than that. He has the characteristics of both a mother and a father. In Gen. 5:2 it says: “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” He made both man and woman in His image.

God love us like a father and, as the Word of God makes clear, he also loves us like a mother. Mothers love a child in a way that is unique, even when the child is wrong. A mother is compassionate at times when the father is stern. In the Scriptures God has explicitly revealed the characteristic of motherhood in His personality.

In Isaiah 49:15, the Lord said, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?” Later in Isaiah 66:13 the Lord said, “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.”

Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34).

God is the Father and the Son, yet He is dynamic in His personality. He is compassionate and even expresses a mother’s need to nurture and comfort her children. Praise God today for His profound nature and sense of motherly compassion. Praise Him that mothers are made in His image.

give Your church a sense of urgency for Your kingdom.
give Your church a sense of longing for justice and compassion.

place kindling and logs on the altars of Your living temples.
send fire from heaven to consume the living sacrifices with renewed zeal for You.

no more conferences that encourage self-gratification, no more spiritual retreats.
pray Your church goes on the advance,
storming the gates of hell to set the captives free.
pray that the spiritually dead are resurrected unto abundant life.
pray that there is freedom and redemption in the name of Jesus!

pray that the glory of the Lord is established on earth as it is in heaven.

You may have noticed that I have not been posting much lately. My blogging is slowing due to number of things: 1) I have a new full-time job (I’ve left the world of freelance writing). 2) Since last August my wife and I have been key in the development of an intentional Christian community. 3) My wife and I are having a baby!!!

I have been writing quite consistently. I just need to find the time to post. It blows my mind that I continue to get an average 200 hits a day. Since people are visiting, please know that I plan to continue posting. I’m just slowing down on the blog.

I pray God blesses you and keeps you in His perfect will.

In Christ!

storbakken

My wife recently entered the second trimester of her pregnancy. In honor of this landmark in our life I’ve written a poem/reflection called “Meditation on Creation.”

I planted the seed that has become the fruit of my wife’s womb.
Marriage and fatherhood, gifts from God, reflection of Heaven, on earth as it is…
Marriage and fatherhood deepen life, joy, purpose,
and turns happiness into holiness.

Awed by the Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos.
Awed that His image is reflected in me,
that He presses into me with His Spirit,
that He allows me to see and hear His Word.

As I behold the vision the story unfolds.
East and West fade.
Catholic and Protestant disappear, as do Coptic and Orthodox.

Only Jesus remains.
Fiery vision of the throne.
“Look, the Lion who conquers,” says the strong angel.
Behold, the Lamb of God.

You own the cattle on a thousand hills
and uphold billions of stars in countless galaxies.
And yet you consider me
and give me gifts
and bless my wife’s womb.

To know You is to love You.
All creation bows before Your throne.

Amen.

(I visit New Orleans in mid-December to learn about the plight of the homeless. The following is a journal entry from my first day there.)

An airline worker woke me up around 7:30 a.m. this morning and told me that if I was going to New Orleans I better take an early flight as a winter storm was heading to New York. I got up, brewed a pot of freshly ground Mud, called the taxi and ate a bowl of granola and yogurt. Thirty minutes later, I was in a taxi on the way to the airport. The plane departed around 10 a.m. There was a layover in Atlanta, but I stayed on the plane. And I arrived in New Orleans by 2 p.m.

My first impressions of New Orleans were forced upon me by billboards advertising nudey bars, fast food and gambling as I rode in the shuttle bus from the airport to my hotel. After checking into the hotel I decided to wander down Canal Street, which was only a few blocks away, and find some good Cajun food. Canal Street, the business district and the French Quarter are very built up. I was told that those districts weren’t affected by Katrina like the Ninth Ward and other working poor neighborhoods had been. The reason being that the Ninth Ward is located in the immediate vicinity of the levee.

I heard a booming voice from a couple of blocks away as I walked down Canal Street. As the voice grew louder I saw that it was a street preacher. We struck up a conversation and I encouraged him in the Lord’s work and even prayed over him. Little did I know that this initial meeting would lead to five hours of fellowship and evangelism.

The street preacher’s name is Brother Keith and he’s been preaching in New Orleans for thirty years. He has also evangelized in almost every state in the U.S. (including Alaska) and two other countries. Bro. Keith has a salt-and-pepper afro, a busted out front tooth and a joy that only Jesus can give. I asked him if he knew a reasonably priced restaurant with good local food and he pointed me to Joe’s. He offered to join me and together we went to Joe’s.

Everyone seemed to know him and many referred to him simply as “Preacher.” At Joe’s I ordered a pound of rib tips and Bro. Keith ordered ribs (the owner footed his bill). Before eating he asked me to pray for us and after praying the owner asked if we would pray for her as well. I prayed and then Bro. Keith prayed a mighty prayer for her, her restaurant (which is a relatively new business) and the poor and hungry of the world. It was some of the best rib tips I’d eaten in a long time. (New York doesn’t have many, if any, good barbecue places).

After eating I told him that I wanted to visit City Hall and talk with the homeless people who’ve been camping on the City Hall’s lawn since July. We walked there and arrived just as the sun set. There were well over 100 tents sprawled over the lawn and one person told me that the most recent headcount was 171 homeless people living there. Across from the lawn were hummers and other military vehicles owned by the National Guard. One homeless man told me that the city is still under martial law and the National Guard has as much authority as the police.

Tents in Duncan Plaza

Bro. Keith sat and talked with people on a park bench as I wandered around the lawn and met people. I simply listened to their stories, encouraged them and prayed over them. I met a group of people, three guys and a woman, sitting outside their tents. The woman said she’d been there for six months. They’ve all been homeless since the storm. They said that there is crime and violence every night on the City Hall lawn and last week a man was stabbed to death for trying to skip ahead in the chow line. The man pointed to a section near a forested area that lurked ominous and told me that’s where the drug users stay. I walked there and sensed the utter desperation of the people and prayed for them. They laid, almost lifeless, on the lawn and muttered to each other in hushed tones. Everyone I met received me warmly and welcomed my prayers.

Several of the homeless people told me that the City is forcing them to leave by Monday. There were signs posted around the lawn, but it was too dark for me to read them. The park has very limited lighting and some areas are completely dark. The population of homeless is single adults and some couples. After walking around the lawn and praying with the outcasts, despised, poor and lonely, I returned to meet Bro. Keith. We returned to Canal Street and he asked if I wanted to get coffee to which I gladly agreed.

We went to McDonald’s, I ordered a coffee and he got water. He told me he lives in his brother’s trailer and hasn’t lived in a home since Katrina. He told me that he preaches to the kids every morning as they go to school, then he takes an hour coffee break, and then he preaches for the rest of the day on the corner where I initially met him.

After getting a coffee we returned to Joe’s restaurant to pick up his megaphone, bicycle and bag and then we went to Arby’s to plug in his laptop computer and use the Internet connection from the Sheraton, located across the street. He asked me to show him some good Websites that have audio sermons and an online Bible. I hooked him up and even gave him a link to my blog, More Fire. Although some might consider Brother Keith to be an eccentric street preacher who occasionally dances to the Lord on Canal Street, I thank God for softening my heart and opening my eyes to meet this sanctified man of God who is the very image of a Christ-indwelled saint.

It was getting late and both he and I were tired, so we parted ways. We did exchange info and I’m sure I’ll see him over the next couple of days while I’m in New Orleans. God is good and provides guides in lost lands. Praise Him!

Some Christians today tend to be like the Pharisees who condemned Christ for sharing meals with sinners; they believe that sin is contagious and that being in association with a “sinner” defiles a person. A person is not a Christian by the mere exclusion of acts such as drinking, smoking and swearing, nor by excluding relationships with others who engage in such activities. In fact, a follower of Christ is defined by their love for God and their love for their neighbors. You might ask, Who is our neighbor? Every person on the planet, regardless of age, ethnicity, nationality or political bent, is our neighbor.

Christ said it is not what goes in, but what comes out that defiles a person. When Christ came from light into darkness he proved that holiness, compassion and love are contagious and that we, as Christians, are not to isolate ourselves from the world, but to extend grace to the lost, weak and broken just as the Father has extended grace to us through Jesus Christ.

We are to be a light in the darkness so that others might see, but if we covet the light we are a candle hidden under a box. We are not to distance ourselves from others simply because a person swears, stinks or smokes. Rather we are to deeply love them. When we judge and despise others we must run to the cross and let the blood of Jesus wash away our haughty, hateful nature so that it is replaced by a beautiful Christ-centered love. It is the light of Christ that shines within each believer that attracts the lowly and marginalized, as well as the dispossessed and perversely sinful.

Christ’s radical message of redemptive love is both subversive and anti-establishment. It is by this radical love that the Kingdom of God advances. And it is only through Christ that any person can be reconciled unto God. Praise him for his mighty mercy and enduring grace.

In ancient Israel the firstborn male, whether man or animal, was to be dedicated to God. The firstborn son was granted greater responsibility within the household and was expected to carry on the family lineage.

The LORD said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal.” Exodus 13:1-2

From ancient days to the the time of Christ the firstborn males were crucial to the structure of Israelite society. Luke, in his gospel, even reiterates the law: “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.” Yet, perhaps surprisingly, the most instrumental and dynamic characters in the Bible were often not the firstborn. David and Solomon were both the youngest sons and none of the patriarchs (Abraham, Issac and Jacob) were eldest sons.

The theme of second sons is prevalent, albeit subtle, throughout the scriptures. In Genesis we get our first glimpse of the younger, Abel, being favored over the elder, Cain. “The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering.” Later in Genesis 17, we see that God established his covenant with Isaac although he is the second son of Abraham (i.e. younger brother of Ishmael). And when we look later on in Genesis we see that Jacob, who happens to be the second son of a second son, bought his elder brother’s birthright and later stole his blessing.

When Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son it was the younger son who told his father that he wanted his inheritance. When the prodigal son asked for his inheritance he essentially said what angry children often tell their parents today when they are angry–I wish you were dead! Yet, the younger son returned (repented) from his carousing to his father’s house and his father received him with music and good food. Not all Second Sons mentioned in the scriptures are in need of repentance.

It might be said that Jesus is the most exalted of the Second Sons in that he is the Second Adam. As it is stated in the scriptures, Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, but, in effect, Adam was the son of God who did not fulfill his role. In 1 Corinthians 15 it says: “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” Adam thought he knew better than God when he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Jesus Christ remained in the will of God and thus allowed God’s will to be done through him. If we abide in Christ, we abide in God.

Jesus, conceived by a miracle of the Holy Spirit, was delivered from a very human womb into a hostile world. Mary’s painful birth, a result of Eve’s punishment for her part in the Fall, initiated Christ into the suffering of humankind. Although Jesus entered the world in a very real and very common way, he remained sinless throughout his earthly existence.

During Jesus’ life on earth, he faced temptation and overcame it. He hungered, wept, even defecated and, because he was fully man, he surely desired the company of a woman. The beauty of Christ is that he came into the world not to succumb to sin and ignorance, but to be the Overcomer so that all might live a more abundant life and, ultimately, have victory in him.

During this Christmastide, it is important to remember the reality of Christ. He came from light into darkness, humbled himself even unto death, and was so good that he asked forgiveness for those who persecuted him. Praise Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world, and follow him in action and not just word.