Follow Me To Freedom

Didn’t realize it had been so long since I last blogged. Sorry about that. I just finished reading Follow Me to Freedom by Shane Claiborne and John Perkins. I did not receive it for free, so this is not a disclaimer. I actually bought it for a paper I wrote back when I was still in college (like three months ago) and I just finished it. (Come on, we all know that we’ve written papers for books we didn’t actually finish.)

It’s a really good book. It’s all about leadership and followership. I love the format, which is just a series of conversations between the two men ranging in just about everything from prayer to civil disobedience. Like all of Claiborne’s other books, it has the potential to mess you up inside. He challenges most assumptions Christians have about leadership and dwells in the land of gray (as opposed to seeing things in black and white).

Although they cover a variety of topics, the one thing that purveys throughout the entire book is theme of leaders entering into the pain and suffering of their followers. Christian leaders have almost tended to be too protected from their own people by board room meetings and planning committees. A great leader, the authors suggest, is someone who can deeply relate to the suffering of his/her people. Jesus was the ultimate example of this in coming to us to be a servant, not some highly exulted “leader”. God chose death for our sake. We must do the same. If we really want to be leaders, we must kill our selfishness and see the needs of those around us.

I loved this book because it really did read like a conversation. I had the privilege of hearing these great men speak together at a conference, and I could hear their voices as I flipped the pages. I had a hard time underlining things because you obviously can’t underline someone speaking.

Read it. It might not change your life, but it’ll probably at least make you think, which I’m sure is exactly what Claiborne and Perkins are hoping for.

Some snippets just from Chapter 1:

• Movements require deep faith and revolutionary patience.
• Jesus was always available and attentive to the interruptions and surprises. He was never so fixed on His vision for the Kingdom that He missed the folks right next to Him.
• Before we can lead we need to have confidence in God.
• There must first be leaders who can imagine a different world from the one in which they live.
• The content of your character will determine the caliber of your relationships.
• Stashing away our resources is not how we’re supposed to live. The best way to take away money’s power is to give it away. Keep doing that, and eventually it won’t be worth much.

Love and Peace,

Jeremy

P.S. If you don’t recognize the name of John Perkins, you should. Wikipedia him here. It doesn’t do a justice to his life, but he did incredible things for the Civil Rights Movement in the ’60s. He’s an 80-year-old man and the humility enough to write a book with a young dude who makes his own clothes. That is awesome.