Episode 6: Everything in Common
INTERVIEW WITH SHANE CLAIBORNE
Discussion Questions
Shane identifies the phrase “There were no needy persons among them” as particularly important. Think about this in your own church setting. How aware are you of the needs in your congregation? How aware are you of the way your church addresses them? Is the information and process public knowledge in your church or highly confidential? What are the advantages and the challenge in the way your church does things?
Shane, like Steve above references Communism, a comparison that can be difficult to avoid when talking about this Acts passage. But Shane makes the point that the church in Acts is far more radical, and he shares two quotes to illustrate. What is your reaction to what these two saints say? Is that a legitimate way to describe the situation or is it over-the-top?
Shane goes on to talk about diversity in the Acts passage and in our churches and says we are all prone to monoculture. If it is appropriate, go around your group and have each person share the thing they fear most or find most difficult about relating to people outside their own culture.
Shane is part of a movement trying to intentionally live like the early church and one of the things they say is that they’re going to “Change the narrative by changing the narrators.” What do you think he mean by that? How is this approach different from what we often do in the church and elsewhere? Why do you think they choose this approach?