The Underground Church

In his book The Underground Church, my colleague in the United Church of Christ, Robin Meyers writes:

The cruelest of American myths is that everyone has exactly the same opportunity to succeed. In the Underground Church we know that the truth can set us free, but only if we speak it and then live it. Not only does the marketplace not solve all the problems of life, but it also creates some of the worst ones. If the church is to have a future, followers of Jesus will have to consider creating an alternative economy in the church. That’s something we haven’t thought about, or wanted to talk about for a long, long time.

What I admire most about Robin and his ministry is that he doesn’t preach, teach, and write in northern California or somewhere in New England. His prophetic ministry takes place in Oklahoma City, despite the fact that Oklahoma was recently ranked the most conservative/red state in the nation.

Throughout this week I have been raising issues that some would call “political,” and I know that makes some of us uncomfortable. Perhaps it should, but, if we are disciples of Jesus, we must acknowledge that much (some would say most) of his teachings were political. He repeatedly and persistently talked about economic values that, if we took them seriously, would change much of what we accept as “the American way.” He challenges the military-industrial complex so seriously that early Christians refused to serve in Caesar’s army. From the song that Mary sang upon learning she was pregnant, to the commission given to disciples before he departs, Jesus turned the world and its systems on its head.

The question is what will it take for us to let Jesus turn our values and lifestyle on their head? That may take more courage than challenging capitalism in Oklahoma.

by Michael Piazza
Center for Progressive Renewal