Craig Warren Greenfield - Subversive Jesus: An Adventure in Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness in a Broken World

From the manger to the cross, Jesus announced the ultimate subversion of powerthe last will be first, the first will be last; the mighty will be cast from their thrones, and the lowly will be lifted up. This book is about that Jesusthe holy troublemaker, the revolutionary Messiah. Craig dares you to join Jesus in the trenches and to reorient your life around the upside-down kingdom of God. What you have here is nothing short of an invitation to join the revolution of the subversive Savior who was born a refugee in the manger and executed as a rebel on the cross.

SHANE CLAIBORNE, author, Irresistible Revolution and Executing Grace

Its time to embrace a grown-up picture of Jesus. For many of us, the Sunday school picture of passive Jesus needs to be retired. So does the adolescent picture of my private personal Jesus. It is time to meet subversive Jesus, the Jesus who draws the ire of the elite by standing with and drawing attention to those who have been cast to the margins of empire. Craig introduces us to the Christ of the Scriptures, whose words and actions bring a corrective to the Darwinian society we have become. This book challenges us to love the prophets more than we love the profits and to hear with new ears how Jesus subverts the status quo of empire.

SCOTT BESSENECKER, associate director of missions, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

After a lifetime of living among and working alongside some of the poorest people in the world, Craig knows a thing or two about the upside-down nature of the kingdom of God. Subversive Jesus comes riding a donkey, carrying a towel, welcoming children, feeding the hungry, and serving the least. And Craig knows himreally knows him.

MICHAEL FROST, author, Jesus the Fool

This book is a wonderful example of the more honest reading and following of Jesus that is invading all of our churches today. It seems many have come to recognize that the churchified and pious Jesus many of us grew up with had little to do with the man and ministry revealed in the Gospels.

FR. RICHARD ROHR, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, NM

Craig is a modern-day St. Francis of Assisi. Whether in one of North Americas poorest zip codes or in the slums of Cambodia, Craig preaches the gospel through his life, not just his words. This is Craigs story, but as you read it, you may discover Gods new call on your life. User warning: dont read this book unless you want to be challenged and your life changed. Do read it if you want to be inspired to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

KEN SHIGEMATSU, pastor, Tenth Church, Vancouver; author, international bestseller God in My Everything

Craig is a prophet of hope calling for an urgent return to embody the subversive memory of Jesus. Craig writes with a keen eye for the substance behind our religious rhetoric, showing us the way to live and love in a world of wounds. When too many authors write about ideals that we all aim to embody, Craig flips that script and reflects on the gifts of what his embodied ideals have meant in his life, inviting us to join him in bearing witness to hope.

CHRISTOPHER L. HEUERTZ, founding partner of Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism; author, Unexpected Gifts: Discovering the Way of Community

You will find deep practical wisdom in these pages born of vast, hands-on experience that speaks to the breadth of human lifefrom what hospitality and child-raising looks like among the homeless to how to challenge injustice on cruise ships. This must-read refreshes and inspires, reintroducing Jesus as the life-giving, subversive, troublemaking friend of sinners that he was and still is. Read and you will want to join Jesus in experiencing on earth as it is in heaven here and now.

BOB EKBLAD, founder/general director, Tierra Nueva and The Peoples Seminary; author, Reading the Bible with the Damned and A New Christian Manifesto

ZONDERVAN

Subversive Jesus

Copyright 2016 by Craig Greenfield

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition March 2016: ISBN 978-0-3103-4624-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Greenfield, Craig, author.

Title: Subversive Jesus : an adventure in justice, mercy, and faithfulness in a broken world / Craig Greenfield.

Description: Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015042431 | ISBN 9780310346234 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian life.

Classification: LCC BV4501.3 .G7425 2016 | DDC 248.4--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015042431

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with literary agent Jenni Burke of D.C. Jacobsen and Associates, LLC, an Author Management Company, www.dcjacobsen.com.

Cover design: Tim Green, Faceout Studio

Cover photo: Nigel Swift/Millennium Images, UK

Interior design: Denise Froehlich

First printing February 2016

For Kristin Jack: my friend and mentor in the subversive ways of Jesus.

And for my wife, Nay, who adds depth, wisdom, and warmth to my life and so many others.

CONTENTS

11. Subversive Vocation

Some people die at twenty-five and then they are buried at seventy-five.

ATTRIBUTED TO
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

I m glad you picked up this book, because we live in a broken world, and people like you are needed. You are needed urgently. This book is your invitation into an adventure infinitely more daring, more profound, and more revolutionary than the life you thought you had to live.

You might think that you already know all about Jesus and the Gospels. That he is nice, tame, and predictablethe kind of guy youd meet for coffee and a chat after a Sunday-morning church service. But I want to show you a side of Jesus that we have been too scared to embrace, the Jesus who sends tables and chairs crashing over because he is gripped by a passion to interrupt injustice. The Jesus who parties late at night with the wrong crowd because he is so radically welcoming of those at the bottom of the heap. The Jesus who turns water into wine because thats how he sees you and anyone on the edgesas water longing to become wine.

You might think that Jesus most mind-blowing teachings should be systematically laid out in a theological textbook. With plenty of dull footnotes. But Jesus knows well that we are people of story and grit. We need to see theological ideas in messy human form so they can spark something real in our imagination. We need to see other people screw up so we can laugh or weep and imagine that we might dare to risk failure too.