“Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark, to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.“ – Genesis 7:6-10
This scripture reminds us that God made provisions to save all of his creation and that these wondrous species are worthy of protection. Not only did God set these provisions in motion, but also entrusted Noah to carry out his will. God has entrusted us with taking care of his creation, from giving the animals their names to making sure that they are given the best chance of survival. Especially in places where the impacts of our lifestyles destroy their habitats.
There are many struggling species that are still waiting for Endangered Species Act protection. The Endangered Species Act provides agencies with the power and authority to protect fragile species. These fragile species are called candidate species and are ones that scientists have determined to be at risk of extinction. The Endangered Species Act can provide protections to such species and work to stop them from spiraling toward extinction.
On July 27, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of protecting species through upholding the strength of the Endangered Species Act.
Now we have a great opportunity to say thank you to those Representatives who voted yes for protecting the fullness of creation.
The Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production staff is pleased to announce The Ordinary Radicals feature documentary is now available through the iTunes Store.
“It’s a remarkable chance to share this critically important film with a wider audience,” said Director Jamie Moffett. “A film such as The Ordinary Radicals takes many years of hard work to create. We’re excited to share this story through iTunes.”
The Ordinary Radicals documentary examines a growing movement of revolutionary Christians who break the traditional 21st Century stereotypes surrounding their 2,000 year old faith. In the film, Shane Claiborne and a rag-tag group of “Ordinary Radicals” interpret biblical history and its ties to the current state of American politics while embarking on a US tour to promote the book Jesus for President. Authors & Speakers interviewed: Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw, Tony Campolo, Ron Sider, Jim Wallis, Brian McLaren, Lisa Sharon Harper, Leroy Barber, Brandt Russo, Brian Walsh, Becky Garrison, Logan Laituri, Rick Perlstein, Zack Exley, John Perkins and many more.
Authors & activists Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw write in their book, “This is not a set of political suggestions for the world; this is about invoking and embodying the alternative. All of this is an invitation to join a peculiar people- those with no king but God, who practice jubilee economics and make the world new. This is not the old-time religion of going to heaven; this is about bringing heaven to the world.”
Click here to view The Ordinary Radicals on iTunes.
Jamie Moffett Media Design and Production launches their Facebook petition to bring the feature-length films Return to El Salvador and The Ordinary Radicals to Netflix,giving the world of online users a voice to be heard and the power to influence a business as successful as Netflix.
By creating a Facebook page entitled, “Netflix, add Return to El Salvador and The Ordinary Radicals,” supporters, fans, and anyone with a general interest in social issues, documentaries, religion, politics, or new media can ‘Like’ the page. Something as simple as the click on a Facebook ‘Like’ has come to represent a signature or vote that businesses take into great consideration when making decisions. With enough ‘Likes’ on this Facebook page, Netflix will likely accept both films into their collection, convinced by your actions that the films are notable.
Recently, another independent film successfully found its place on Netflix.com only after their Facebook page exploded with ‘Likes’ from supporters advocating the film’s importance on the popular website Netflix. Fans also flocked to the Facebook site of Netflix to leave a short, simple comment requesting the film be made available. Reacting to the requests of the facebook crowd, Netflix added the film to their list.
If all of our supporters take that second to click ‘Like’ on our Facebook page, “Netflix, add Return to El Salvador and The Ordinary Radicals,” we have no doubt that your demands will be met. Spread the word via Facebook,Twitter, and blogs and, with little more than a click or two, you could bring two films created by a small, independent film maker to a website as large as Netflix.
With your support, we can continue to create films that raise awareness about social issues that are often forgotten or swept under the rug by the media, and bring to light the stories of those who have such unforgettable experiences.
At the inner Washington offices of the American Enterprise Institute, I pitted the question to Shane Claiborne and Peter Greer, both Christian advocates for the poor. They had just participated in an in-depth discourse moderated by Eric Teetsel at AEI about the existential nature of charity.
Claiborne is a lanky, tall fellow with long dreadlocks, earrings and a goatee.
The founding member of the Simple Way community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, responded: “Jesus wasn’t anything that ended in “ist” – he was an existential lover – but I think that he was challenging all these systems, and he was pulling the best of the people in those systems out.”
Hey all,
Becky Garrison, author known in The Ordinary Radicals for her popular last line “Holy crap it’s us!” has her latest book in stores now. Check the book “Jesus Died For This?” out and get more info on Becky over at BeckyGarrison.com
Join us for a Good Friday service outside the local gunshop to stand up against straw purchasing and shady gun practices in the Philadelphia area.
The Vigil begins at The Salvation Army on 1920 E. Allegheny Ave. Our good friends at The Simple Way will be joining us there with the rest of the crew from Heeding God’s Call, who have been kind enough to set up and organize these vigils.
The march will then move together peacefully to the Shooter Shop. Dress code is black or dark colors.
If you can’t make it to the Shooter Shop today to participate, you can watch a live stream of the event at live.jamiemoffett.com.
Logan Laituri from The Ordinary Radicals is, along with other Iraq war vets, to testify in New York City at the Truth Commission on Conscience in War. Here’s the info you’ll need:
Wanted to make sure you heard about this: Shane’s posted an article on Jim Wallis’s Sojourners Blog about the recent escalating gun violence in our Kensington, Philadelphia neighborhood and what can be done about it.
***
One More Gun Death Too Many–and Three Things You Can Do About It
“At about midnight we heard the shots ring out. My friend ran to the door and I heard him yell, “Shane, a kid has been shot, come down.” As we looked down the street we could see a young man staggering as he walked down our block. Then his knees gave out and he fell to the ground. We called for an ambulance, and ran outside to be with the boy. My friend talked to him tenderly, looking into his eyes as they struggled to stay alert. We could see the wounds in his chest, torn by bullets. I grabbed his hand and held it as we prayed… and as we hoped. The ambulance came and drove him off. The next morning we heard that 19-year old Papito died that night from the gunshot wounds, on February 5, 2010. Papito was the fourth shooting in the last few months within walking distance from our house.”
Folks, this is why Christianity in the US has little credibility amongst the 6 billion of the rest of us. One giant step backwards. ~jamie
******** Flock Is Now a Fight Team in Some Ministries – NYTimes
MEMPHIS — In the back room of a theater on Beale Street, John Renken, 42, a pastor, recently led a group of young men in prayer.
“Father, we thank you for tonight,” he said. “We pray that we will be a representation of you.”
An hour later, a member of his flock who had bowed his head was now unleashing a torrent of blows on an opponent, and Mr. Renken was offering guidance that was not exactly prayerful.
“Hard punches!” he shouted from the sidelines of a martial arts event called Cage Assault. “Finish the fight! To the head! To the head!”
The young man was a member of a fight team at Xtreme Ministries, a small church near Nashville that doubles as a mixed martial arts academy. Mr. Renken, who founded the church and academy, doubles as the team’s coach. The school’s motto is “Where Feet, Fist and Faith Collide.”
Mr. Renken’s ministry is one of a small but growing number of evangelical churches that have embraced mixed martial arts — a sport with a reputation for violence and blood that combines kickboxing, wrestling and other fighting styles — to reach and convert young men, whose church attendance has been persistently low. Mixed martial arts events have drawn millions of television viewers, and one was the top pay-per-view event in 2009.
Recruitment efforts at the churches, which are predominantly white, involve fight night television viewing parties and lecture series that use ultimate fighting to explain how Christ fought for what he believed in. Other ministers go further, hosting or participating in live events.
The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries — and into the image of Jesus — in the hope of making Christianity more appealing. “Compassion and love — we agree with all that stuff, too,” said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. “But what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter.”
The outreach is part of a larger and more longstanding effort on the part of some ministers who fear that their churches have become too feminized, promoting kindness and compassion at the expense of strength and responsibility.
“The man should be the overall leader of the household,” said Ryan Dobson, 39, a pastor and fan of mixed martial arts who is the son of James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical group.
“At about midnight we heard the shots ring out. My friend ran to the door and I heard him yell, “Shane, a kid has been shot, come down.” As we looked down the street we could see a young man staggering as he walked down our block. Then his knees gave out and he fell to the ground. We called for an ambulance, and ran outside to be with the boy. My friend talked to him tenderly, looking into his eyes as they struggled to stay alert. We could see the wounds in his chest, torn by bullets. I grabbed his hand and held it as we prayed… and as we hoped. The ambulance came and drove him off. The next morning we heard that 19-year old Papito died that night from the gunshot wounds, on February 5, 2010. Papito was the fourth shooting in the last few months within walking distance from our house.”
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