The Pirate Pastor Book and Zine Free Sample Pages March 2013 Overgrow the Government (page

3) West of Eden (page 11) The God Experiment (page 21) The Radical Pastor (page 27) My King (page 33) Kingdom Come (page 39)

Overgrow the Government Jesus, Empire, and Radical Resistance By Shawn Birss Publisher Proposal Edition 96 pages (26, 160 words) Red Card-stock Cover Staple Bound With numerous examples from the history and teachings of the early Jesus movement, a picture of a truly counter cultural community emerges from the bleak canvas of Roman imperialism. $8-15

Overgrow the Government

Jesus, Empire, and Radical Resistance

(7 page sample)
Shawn Birss
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Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 (Luke 1-4) - Introducing Jesus, and the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
-He has Brought Down the Mighty From Their Thrones, and Exalted Those of Lowly Estate -Good News of Great Joy for All People Everywhere -Every valley filled, every mountain made low, all flesh sees the salvation of the Lord -The Themes of Luke and Acts -Jesus defines his own ministry: Good News to the Poor. Liberty to Captives. Freedom for the Oppressed. Sight For the Blind.

Chapter 2 (Luke 6, 12-13, 17) - Jesus Teaches Radical Resistance

- The Sermon on the Plain - Practical, Non-Violent Resistance - Patience, Anxiety, and Resistance - Living Free and without Fear in a Contrary World - Overgrow the Government - The Living Kingdom of God - The Kingdom of God, Condemnation, and Judgment - The Kingdom Now and the Kingdom to Come

Chapter 3 (Luke 19-22, 24) - Jesus Demonstrates Radical Resistance

- The Journey from Galilee to Jerusalem - Jesus and his Followers Occupy the Temple - Jesus Authority to Organize the Demonstration is Challenged - Jesus Returns the Challenges - Warning against the Religious Elite - The Economy of the Great Reversal - The Kingdom Yet To Come - The Mount of Olives - Denial, Betrayal, Arrest, and Covenant - The Last Supper - Aint No Grave Jesus Resurrection

Chapter 4 (Acts 1-5) - The Followers of Jesus Continue in Radical Resistance

- A Motley Crew waits in Unity for their Coming King - Pentecost and the Radical Jesus People Community - The Radical Economy of the Early Jesus People - Power and Authority in the Kingdom of God - We Must Obey God Rather Than Men

Conclusion Humility, Conviction, Faith, and the Landmines of Scripture Social Justice Throughout the Bible About the Author
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The Sermon on the Plain The Sermon on the Plain in Luke collects some of Jesus' most wellknown teachings, and parallels the more commonly known Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. The two are extremely similar, but the differences show the marked difference between Luke's message compared to Matthew. Jesus comes down from the mountain in Luke, rather than ascending a mountain as he does in Matthew. Matthew's gospel emphasizes Jesus' sovereign kingship and authority, and his role as a new and greater prophet like Moses. Having him deliver teachings from a mountain accomplishes both. Luke emphasizes Jesus' humanity. In Luke, Jesus teaches and touches all of humanity, including outsiders and foreigners. In Luke, far less of a distinction is made between Jesus, the disciples and the multitudes. Jesus teaches a mixed multitude in Luke, including ethnic and religious outsiders, Gentiles from Tyre and Sidon, as a human and for all humanity in common. Jesus begins with Lukes great theme Justice for the poor. Luke 6:20-26 (ESV) 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

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Mary's prayer in Luke 1, John the Baptist's teachings in Luke 3, Jesus' sermon in Luke 4, and these Blessings and Woes make it clear that God's new Kingdom will cause a great reversal in the order of the world as it is. While Matthew's beatitudes can be (correctly) spiritualized and internalized, Luke's blessings and woes have great practical and measurable consequence to those that hear them. Matthew describes the "poor in spirit", and those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness". But when Luke says poor, hungry, weeping, rich, full, or laughing, he means practical circumstances in a material reality. The words "now" and "you shall" demonstrate that the circumstances if the materially rich or poor are temporary, and promises an eternal change in these circumstances. This is not to say that Jesus is suggesting that poverty in itself is a somehow holy or fortunate circumstance. If this were so, he would be proclaiming a woe to the rich about a coming circumstance to which they should aspire. Furthermore, it would not be at all congruent to the context of the great reversal described in the rest of Luke. So we conclude that it is the oppressive rich to whom he speaks, and the poor who suffer the consequences of their oppression. Since we do not interpret this passage as describing poverty as something inherently holy or pious, we also do not accept that it suggests that one should apathetically accept one's lot in life in the hope of some better life after death. On the contrary, Jesus is warning of a real, practical, measurable change that is coming into the order of things, one that will affect the redistribution of wealth and power. This change is a good thing. It would be right and good for the hearers of the message to get on the right side of the change now, to become active in seeing God's Kingdom demonstrated now, not sit back and suffer in hope for a better life later. There is an inevitable change coming by the power of the work of the Holy Spirit on the earth, and this is both a warning, and invitation to participate. John told the affluent to give away one coat if they have two. Jesus is pronouncing a severe woe on those who do not.

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Patience, Anxiety, and Resistance Living Free and without Fear in a Contrary World Luke 12:1-3 (ESV) In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. Luke describes a great reversal. Jesus travels Galilee and then Jerusalem, gathering followers and preaching to the masses about a New Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, where everything is different. Mountains are brought down. Valleys are brought up. Rulers are removed. The humble are exalted. The proud are humbled. The rich are poor. The poor are blessed. The blind see. The deaf hear. Sins are forgiven. People are set free. Along with this radical message of freedom, he also pronounces deep warnings for those on the wrong side of the coming change. Jesus warns the oppressive rich and comfortable that their time of laughter is coming to an end. He pronounces judgment on towns that refuse his messengers. So far, he has reserved his strongest and most specific warnings of judgment for the religious and political elite, whom he calls hypocrites, unmarked graves, bowls buffed shiny on the outside but filled with greed (Luke 11). This is the scene we enter in this passage. Jesus does not leave his words of judgment hanging alone. He turns to the crowds, and explains the other side of the story. The rules and striving and control of the religious elite don't have the answer, but with the crowds Jesus willingly shares the freedom and good news of the Kingdom of God. After warning them with a quick summary that they should not be like the Pharisees in their hypocrisy, he tells the crowds that the truth of their inner lives will eventually be revealed. There is no need to put on a face as the religious people do. God knows our
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Overgrow the Government The Living Kingdom of God Luke 13:18-21 (ESV) 18 He said therefore, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. 20 And again he said, To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened. Mustard bushes are not pleasant plants. They are scrappy and tough little weeds, growing like short woody trees, overtaking any space where they are not kept at bay. In Palestine, they were known to take root and grow over graveyards if not tended well. Yeast, similarly, does not have a good reputation. On the contrary, it is almost exclusively used to represent sin in the Hebrew scriptures. Jesus himself used it to describe the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in only the previous chapter (Luke 12:1 - leaven is yeast). Jews often fasted yeast during seasonal festivals to represent repentance. Also notable is the unusual choice Jesus makes to use a woman to represent God. She was certainly an unlikely candidate for a divinity metaphor in his day. Yet Jesus uses yeast to describe the coming Kingdom of God, wherein the great reversal sets all things toward God's justice from the inside out. Jesus describes the woman as hiding the yeast in the dough. Both this yeast and the mustard plant are hidden, and both do their work outside of the light, but surely and steadily. Both are alive, bursting from within and affecting everything around them. Such is it with the Kingdom of God. The seed of the Kingdom, the living Holy Spirit of God, is planted in the disciples of Jesus. From the inside out they are changed. Their attitudes, desires, and motivations change. Their actions change. By their testimony, others also reject the sinful and corrupt spirit of the world, and join the living resistance. They become a body, working together in new, just community contrary to the power and control of the empire. As they grow and change, so do the effects of their lives change the very foundations of the empire in which they live. The
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roots of their living Kingdom wedge wider the cracks of the concrete and barbed wire until the entire dead structure comes crumbling down, revealing a living garden of True Community in Holy Spirit Kingdom life. But this good news has a sharp other edge. Those that cling to the cold, empty deadness of the old way will perish along with it. Those that prefer the injustice of the selfish world and their selfish and controlling heart within it will pass away just as it will. Luke 13:24-30 (ESV) 24 Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. 26 Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. 27 But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil! 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. These are extremely dramatic and sobering words. Yet it would be far less than the love that Jesus preaches for him to not warn people of the judgment that comes with justice served. Yes, there will be a great reversal. Be sure that you choose now which side of the line you stand on, or the good news of the Kingdom will not be good for you. Jesus said that the Kingdom was entered as though we are children. He said it is good news for the poor and hungry. He shares it in food and healing among the oppressed masses. Better to be among the poor and the oppressed, seeking their justice as the unstoppable reversal is made real in our resistance.

West of Eden Hearing Past our Intellectual Colonialism to the Voices of Wisdom in our Ancient Origin Myths By Shawn Birss Draft Manuscript Edition 88 pages (26, 176 words) Full Colour Cover Staple Bound A challenging exploration of how our modern assumptions may obscure the rich meaning in the familiar stories of Genesis 1-11. $8-15

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West of Eden
Hearing Past our Intellectual Colonialism to the Voices of Wisdom in our Ancient Origin Myths

(9 PAGE SAMPLE)
By Shawn Birss

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Table of Contents Introduction Part 1 Reading Genesis Again for the First Time Genesis and Moral Instruction Genesis and Science Genesis and the New Testament The Unified Text of Genesis The Themes and Motifs of Genesis Part 2 Genesis 1 and 2 The Creation Accounts Comparing the Creation Accounts Creation as Function The Six Days of Creation The Day of Rest Gods Temple in Time Creation of Man and Woman Priests in Gods Garden In Gods Image - Human Sexuality and Environmental Stewardship Applications and Conclusions Part 3 The Fall, the Flood, the Dispersion, and the Promise Adam and Eve - The Trees, The Serpent, The Seed, and The Curse Cain and Abel No gods. No kings. From Adam to Noah Adam and Noah - The Parallel Structure of Genesis 1-11 No monsters - The Nephilim Sons of god and daughters of man Noah and the Flood The Family of Noah (the Table of Nations) The Tower of Babel Gods Promise to Abraham Part 3 Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography and Acknowledgements About the Author

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Part 1 Reading Genesis Again for the First Time Welcome to Genesis, an ancient and beautiful epic book of creation, rebellion, judgment, restoration, forgiveness, lust, power, poverty, and wealth. In my recent enriching exploration of Genesis, I have discovered and rediscovered a beautiful story that has for much of my life remained hidden. This book in the eyes and hands of many has collected a great deal of baggage, paintings on paintings that obscure its delicate and detailed forms. In my study, I have concluded that there are three common frameworks that people (especially us evangelicals) place Genesis in that serve to confuse its theologically robust message. These frameworks are as follows: (1) The popular Sunday School method of reading Genesis as a collection of morality tales. (2) Pressuring Genesis (especially chapters 1-11) into a modern scientific or historical understanding that did not exist in the ancient world of this book. (3) Reading Genesis only through a New Testament understanding and theology that had not yet formed when the book was written. I will briefly touch on each of these frameworks in turn. Consider these to be an introduction to my own framework, what it is and what it isnt. Whether you agree with me or not does not matter. My intention is to be forthright regarding my own paradigm from which I consider the text. Genesis and Moral Instruction First, I no longer believe that Genesis is intended to be a collection of morality tales. If it were so, it would be a bad one. No moral explanation or direction is given regarding Abraham lying about his wife Sarah being his sister (or any other of the many deceptions in Genesis), Lot choosing the plains, Isaac's preference of Esau, or Joseph's imprisonment of his brother, Simeon. Were these right or wrong things for the characters to do? The text is unclear. In the case of Abrahams deception regarding his wife, if Genesis were moral instruction we could easily interpret the story as Gods approval of Abrams prostitution of his own wife. She enters the kings harem, and he likely sleeps with her. Upon discovery of Abram and Sarahs real relationship, the king sends them away with animals and great wealth. This
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is, in fact, the beginning of Abrams wealth in scripture. Was God blessing Abram through the king? Why? Was he right in what he did? Once again, the text is unclear. Genesis does not display heroes whose lives we are to emulate or simple stories of their mistakes and what came of them. Sometimes the patriarchs did things that are clearly prohibited in scripture, without the text necessarily explicitly or even implicitly pointing out their error. Immoral behaviour by the characters in this book may lead to Godly ends. By no means should we follow their example. In a text as old as Genesis, written and read by an ancient people in another part of the world, the gap between its cultural understanding of ethics and ours is vast. In the thousands of years that Genesis has been read, every new culture in every new age has an opportunity to read into the text its current understandings and teachings about right and wrong. This can easily amount to isogesis, a sort of reading animal shapes into the clouds of scripture. We should be very careful not to interpret scripture according to our own whims and worldviews. At best, this obscures or muddies the intended meaning of the book, at worst this leads to outright unbiblical interpretations and heresy. Let us respect the ancient cultures and the Word enough to leap past this cultural boundary. The Bible does often teach morality, both explicitly and implicitly. If we find moral instruction elsewhere in scripture, we should teach that morality from that same scripture, and allow Genesis to stand alone to teach us what its author actually intends. Moral lessons are not the primary purpose of the text, and a most correct interpretation of Genesis should reflect this. When Genesis does not clearly and explicitly teach a moral, we should not assign one. If we are to understand Genesis, we should look elsewhere. Genesis and Science (Approaching Genesis as Ancient Cosmology) As Christians, its important when we read Genesis or any scripture that though we may believe that it was written for us, it was not written to us. Genesis is an ancient book, written to a people many degrees removed from us in culture, worldview, language, and (by at least one degree, but probably

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Immediately I see the new beginning, not of material substance, but of the creation. Its the beginning of the creation process. The material substance is already there. The New Testament books of Colossians, Hebrews, and John, written hundreds of years later have taught us that God created the world ex nihilo, from nothing. But this teaching is not the story of Genesis. Nowhere in these chapters does it insist that Gods creative act begins with something created from nothing. Of course, the assumption is made that some time before this beginning, the substance from which the Creator will form the world was also made by him. But this beginning is later. We do not know how much later, and we need not ask. The text does not consider this important to its message. The substance of creation is already present with the Creator, and that is all we need to know. This understanding of the word beginning is consistent with the original Hebrew. The beginning need not be the absolute beginning of all time, but the commencement of the event. Just as the audience, instruments, and musicians (and sheet music) all exist before an orchestra begins to play, and weeks or years of preparation may have preceded the performance; it is not until the conductors wand first falls after the expectant hush that the concert has begun. THE VOID In what state does the substance of creation exist? It is formless. It is void. Some have suggested that God would not create something in such a state, and have therefore suggested a period of time between the first and second sentence. But the language of the passage does not allow this. The beginning is the commencement of all that follows. It is an introduction to the story we are about to read. The answer to what the text means when it describes the natural world as void exists in the context of the chapter and the cultural context from which the book emerged. In my bedroom is a chest that Kate affectionately refers to as the void. I am a bit of a collector. Im not too bad, I think. I have it under control. But I just have a lot of trouble throwing away magazines. Sometimes I just like a single article, and Ill rip that out and hold onto it for a while. If someone gives me a business card, I just cant bring myself to toss it. I start a lot of books that I dont finish, and sometimes they begin cluttering up my side of the bed, each one with a bookmark that shows my good intentions. With each of these and countless other little gathered things, Kate fills the void.
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DAY 1 On day one, God separates light from darkness. He gives them both names, calling the light, day, and the darkness night. There is evening and morning, the first day. It is important to notice a few things in the word usage here. First of all, the English word day used both for the name of light and the period of time is without a doubt, a twenty-four hour period of time. This is the only way that the word is ever used in scripture. Secondly, if light is named day, then it follows that when he creates light by his word in verse three, it is day that he is creating. Light in this case is the period of light that we call day. Darkness is the period of darkness that we call night. Thirdly, we remember that we are reading this text as Gods creation of function, not material. We can assume that both day and light existed before this moment. In naming them, God has by his authority given them a purpose, and claimed them as part of his design. In conclusion, on Day One, God functionally creates time. DAY 2 On the second day, God creates what some translations call firmament and other translations call sky. To be quite literal in our translation, we must understand that the Hebrew words are specifically referring to the ancient understanding of the formation of the sky. The firmament is a large solid dome over the flat earth, held up by the furthest mountains. Beyond the dome are the waters of heaven. In the dome are windows or floodgates from which the rain falls. If it rained or was dry, the ancients believed that whatever water they received came from the firmament. Modern translations interpret this for us with the word sky, but I would like to suggest that this literal interpretation is actually more correct. We obviously do not believe that such a firmament exists, but this is not a problem if we read the text as creation of function, rather than material. In language and imagery that the ancients would understand, Genesis communicates that God has created the systems by which weather is created. By his word, he names weather, and directs it according to his design.
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Adam and Noah - The Parallel Structure of Genesis 1-11 Genesis is a beautiful book of rich and deep theology. It is also a beautiful and sophisticated piece of literature. Like the beautiful balance that is revealed in the six days of creation, or the poetic mirror that connects the two Creation accounts in Genesis 2:4, the narrative continues to find balance, order, and intention in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. These first chapters form a prehistory to the biographical stories of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in chapter 12-50. This second (and larger) section of Genesis also has a beautifully balanced literary structure, which we will explore later. The first section of Genesis reveals itself in two sets of parallel stories, each showing the sovereignty of God, the downfall of mankind, Gods judgment, and Gods redemption. Here is the parallel structure of Genesis 1-11. This will begin to form our study of the narrative of the Flood, Gods uncreation and re-creation. A - Creation (Gen 1-3) B - Sin of the sons of Adam (Gen 4:1-16) C - Human Development (Gen 4:17-26) D - 10 Generations Adam to Noah (Gen 5) E - Total Human Downfall Sons of God/Daughters of Man (Gen 6:1-7) Focal Event God says he will save only Noah Genesis 6:9-22 A2 - Flood - un-creation and re-creation (Gen 7:1-9:17) B2 - Sin of the sons of Noah (Gen 9:18-28 C2 - Human Development (Gen 10) E2 Total Human Downfall The Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-8) D2 - 10 Generations Noah to Terah (Gen 11:10-32) (We will allow the author licence to switch the last two parallel events) In this, and many other examples of literary unity and balance throughout Genesis, we see a story in the very structure of the book itself that speaks of a Sovereign Creator God who sustains all Creation according to his divine purpose. There are no accidents, no coincidences. God is behind it all. (I acknowledge my debt to the incredible scholarly contributions of Gary Rendsburg of Rutgers University, New Jersey.)
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I believe the most personally applicable doctrinal theme of Genesis is God's sovereign will and glory demonstrated in his choice of the most obscure, least likely, misfit people and chaotic circumstance. From these chaotic and misspent lives and circumstances, he creates order, purpose, and value. By his word, he creates form and purpose from the void in Genesis 1. Under and by his authority, a man created in his image names all the rest of the animals in his creation in Genesis 2. By the seed of sinful humanity he will destroy the evil one in Genesis 3. Chaotic and violent humanity is unmade, judged, and redeemed through the flood. God does what he wills with his own creation. What was made from a watery void may be unmade and returned to a watery void, yet he may turn it all back according to his purpose from the void, as he wills. While humanity devolves toward violence and chaos, God consistently turns the random and unlikely mess back toward redemption and peace. Infertile women produce sons, the ancestors of the Messiah. God chooses and uses second born sons and second married wives. Abram is plucked from his family and culture and made a patriarch of faith. Though he is a liar and maybe a pimp, God patiently reveals his will to Abram over a lifetime, making him a blessed man able to bless others. Jacob is also a liar, a runaway, and a sneak, and may even dabble in witchcraft and superstition. God pursues him to the ends of the world, despite his rebellion. His own wickedness toward his brother becomes an opportunity for God to demonstrate grace, forgiveness and reconciliation. Joseph, the youngest of eleven brothers, is taken from the depths of hopelessness in prison and slavery, up to the highest position of authority and power. His life foreshadows the history of Israel, and the plan of salvation. Through the once enslaved and imprisoned Joseph, God blesses all the starving and impoverished nations of the world. In a reversal of the reconciliation story between his father Jacob and Uncle Esau, Joseph is also reconciled to his brothers in his generation through radical forgiveness. God is the ultimate dumpster diver. From waste and detritus he creates his whole world.
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The God Experiment An Illustrated Short Story Words by Shawn Birss Illustrated by Kindra Birss A b&w, stapled half zine, 40 pages $3-8

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(The God Experiment illustrated short story FIVE SAMPLE PAGES)

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The Radical Pastor On the Pastoral Letters - 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus By Shawn Birss Second Edition 60 pages (20, 147 words) Staple Bound A bald, honest illumination of the early church's organization and structure, and a bold confrontation with the some of the more controversial passages in the early church letters. $5-10

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The Radical Pastor

(5 SAMPLE PAGES)
On the Pastoral Letters
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by Shawn D. Birss

The Radical Pastor 2/5 Contents Introducing the Pastoral Letters The Ideal Meets the Real 1 Timothy 1 Preach the Gospel 1 Timothy 2 A Controversial Passage and a Plea for Unity On I do not Permit a Woman to Speak 1 Timothy 3 - Qualifications for Church Ministry 1 Timothy 4 - Beware of False Teachers 1 Timothy 5 - Alms for the poor. Beer and paycheques for the pastor 1 Timothy 6 Slavery, False Teaching, and the Love of Money On Women and Slavery (and Patriarchy and Oppression) 2 Timothy 1 Suffering and Lonely, but not Alone 2 Timothy 2 - The Enduring, Faithful, Qualified Pastor 2 Timothy 3 Scripture Equips us to Live Differently 2 Timothy 4 - Preach the word, and bring me my coat back Titus 1 The Radical Pastor Titus 2 The Christian Example Titus 3 The Radical Christian

Appendices Colossians 4 - Empire. Slavery. Chains. Freedom. Philemon - Slavery, Freedom, and Equality

About the Author

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The Radical Pastor 3/5 Introducing the Pastoral Epistles The Ideal Meets the Real 1 Timothy 1:1-2 (ESV) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) tell the story of Jesus, his life and ministry, and his central message of the coming Kingdom of God. He taught that the Kingdom had come, was near, was indeed among the people he taught. He spoke of a Great Reversal, where the rich would be humbled, the oppressed set free, the last made first, rulers removed, sinners forgiven, and blind see. He taught people to live the truth and life of the Kingdom now, in this life. He promised that the Great Reversal would permeate the world like a yeast would dough, grow over the empire like weeds through the sidewalk, tearing it's deadness down by the life of Spirit-filled communities of justice. In his death and resurrection, he planted the life of God in the heart of humanity, by grace offering a free invitation into this new Kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of any background or origin of any kind. Acts tells the story of the first steps of this living community. They wrestle with how to share their abundant life with the diverse people who join their numbers. In their practice, the ideal of the Kingdom that Jesus taught met the reality of life lived in resistance to empire as it was around them, and the spirit of empire in which they had always lived by habit. In the collision of Jesus' universal, eternal, and highly ideal declaration of Kingdom Come with the temporal, complicated, unusual, and unexpected life lived in diverse community the members of community were changed. In both conflict and cooperation, the Holy Spirit among them used every circumstance to further grow them individually and as a community toward the fulfillment of Jesus' Kingdom promises. The Kingdom had come. People shared everything they had with reckless generosity. Poor people were fed, taught, and equipped in community to be free. The very economy and power structures of empire and religion were confronted and sometimes dismantled by the influence of the growing communities. But the Kingdom is also still yet to be. The teachings of Jesus are universal, but the diversity of these early Kingdom communities meant there were differences in understanding and application of these commands. The members of community still had habits and expectations from their previous lives in bondage to the spirit of empire. Selfishness and pride sometimes led to conflict. These communities still lived (and today, still live) in a world where the empires and powers have influence and control. Resistance was (and is) difficult at best. At worst, it leads to persecution by the powers of the world.

The Radical Pastor 4/5 As the ideal of the promised Coming Kingdom meets the reality of practical demonstration now, every community had to wrestle with how they each would best demonstrate the gospel in their context. These communities were called churches (a gathering). The practice of Kingdom life was called the Way. Members of these churches were called Followers of the way, or Christians, after Christ, which means Messiah, or chosen one. Letters were written between the churches, especially by the apostles (which means sent ones), the people who travelled between the churches and beyond to plant new ones. These letters were called epistles. The diversity in backgrounds within the churches is matched by a diversity of gifts administered by the Holy Spirit within its members. At its best, every member of the community is enabled to give according to their unique gift and calling. Every member contributes to the whole, each supplying to others the ability to all operate to their full function as parts of a body all contribute to the healthy function of a whole person. Since every church was unique in its cultural context, membership, and gifting, the epistles (the letters to the churches) each dealt with very specific issues unique to each gathering. While Jesus' teaching were universally true and applicable, not every instruction to every church was necessarily so. What may have been assumed in one church may be a sharp controversy in another. As such, the epistles must be interpreted carefully according to their cultural context and intention. Among the epistles, Romans and Hebrews both stand out as very broad and thorough in the scope of their messages. Romans, an epistle of Paul, has a very thorough and complete theology of salvation (called soteriology). Paul wrote this letter to a church he'd never visited, so he started from scratch and grew a well formed story of the gospel for the Romans. Much of the New Testament is seen through the theology of Romans, once called the grand cathedral of Christian doctrine. Hebrews has a well formed Christology, a study of the person of Jesus the Messiah. It also traces the history of Covenant from the beginning of Hebrew scripture until the Kingdom age. Most of these epistles are addressed to a church or churches of a region. Church members would read the letters to the community, probably in full, and the gatherings would then wrestle in word and deed over how to put the instructions into practice. Letters would be copied and distributed widely, so the best opportunity could be given for a wide audience to benefit. Over time and practice, certain books would be recognized by the churches as especially helpful for teaching doctrine or instructing practical community life. These are the books that remain in the New Testament today.

The Radical Pastor 5/5 Slaves of the first century in Palestine were not considered to be fully human, in the sense of their moral self or rational ability. This view is not uncommon among societies that advocate slavery. This is necessary to create the paradigm that will justify slavery. If certain people are somehow just morally inferior, incapable of making wise or right choices, incapable of living without the direct supervision of a superior, then slavery is not only justified but even humane. I visited a friend in jail last week. In the same week, we had visitors in our home who hop trains, sleep in tents, and eat in a day whatever they find. These acquaintances all had stories of their ill and even violent treatment by police, security, or other figures of authority. I would submit that these same attitudes that would allow for slavery in first century Palestine still exist to justify our behaviour of the marginalized in our own cities today. One of my new friends was present at the 2010 G20 protests in Toronto. She witnessed and experienced gross disregard for Canadian law by police as they brutally detained, searched, stole from, and arrested innocent nonviolent protesters. Some justification that these people were an exception to normal society and deserved this treatment must have been present for it to occur. In 2011, Macleans reported on an Angus Reid Poll done for the Salvation Army. The poll sought to discover what Canadians think poor people are like and what kind of support they deserve from the government. It found that there was a strong correlation between a high percentage opinion that the poor do not need assistance, and a high percentage opinion that poor people are somehow also morally impoverished. Alberta received one of the worst marks in Canada on this front. If we judge my friend's moral compass in order to justify her violent and illegal treatment by police, or see ourselves reflected in these opinions about the poor, we are holding the same prejudice as the slavery-justifying Romans. In the light of this cultural understanding, and in the context of a radical antiauthoritarian document, how do we interpret these uncomfortable passages? Before the writer ever addresses the masters with his brief command, in the previous chapter, he first speaks to the slaves. Imagine the offense that it could be in a society like the one just described for a slave to be addressed as a capable and worthwhile equal before ever the eyes are raised to the master they serve. By giving slaves moral counsel and direction, the writer acknowledges that they are human, valuable, and perfectly able to make thoughtful and moral decisions. He also acknowledges that the authority that they work in is not their earthly master, but God. He gives no appeal to earthly authority or consequence. Finally, in his appeal to the only authority that they truly serve, he reminds the slaves that vengeance will be paid by that authority on anyone who has done wrong, and that this final judge does not see class, race, or earthly perverted prejudices.

My King A reflection on the Kingdom of God as revealed in the gospels A b&w, stapled half zine, 36 pages. Contains the text of Thats my King, a sermon excerpt by S.M. Lockridge, a collection of all the gospel passages about the Kingdom of God, and Overgrow the Government, a sermon excerpt by Shawn Birss. $1 (plus shipping)

(5 Sample Pages)

My King

My King 2/5

David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork." My King is the only one of whom no means of measure can define his limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of his shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder him from pouring out His blessings. He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's imperially powerful. He's impartially merciful. Thats my King. He's the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son. He's the sinner's Saviour. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands in the solitude of himself. He's august. He's unique. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. Hes the loftiest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. Hes the supreme problem in higher criticism. He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology. Hes the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion. Thats my King. He's the miracle of the age. He's -- yes he is He is the superlative of everything good that you choose to call him.

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S.M. Lockridge To listen, Google S.M. Lockridge My King or go to this address for links to the full 66 minute sermon: pirate-pastor.blogspot.ca/2012/12/my-king-by-sm-lockridge1976-detroit.html

My King 4/5

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you. (Lk 17:20,21) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 18:1,3,4) Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Mt 19:14) [Jesus] said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Mk 10:14,15) But Jesus called the children to him and said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Lk 18:16,17) Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mt 19:23b,24) Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go

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through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Mk 10:23-25) Jesus looked at him and said, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Lk 18:24,25) I tell you the truth, Jesus said to them, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life. (Lk 18:29,30) For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it. (Jesus, Mt 19:12) For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. (Jesus, Mt 20:1) While they were listening to this, [Jesus] went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' (Lk 19:11-13) "What is it you want?" [Jesus] asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." Jesus said " . . . to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father." (Mt 20:21,23)

Kingdom Come - The Gospel of Luke and the Acts How the Early Jesus Movement Overgrew the Roman Empire By Shawn Birss Draft Manuscript Edition 276 pages (72, 112 words) Full Colour Illustrated Machine Coil Bound or Handcrafted Vinyl Hardcover and Coil Binding A new, complete commentary on the Gospel of according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles by the writer of Overgrow the Government Jesus, Rome, and Radical Resistance. $20 - Machine Coil $25 - Hardcover Hand Coil

Kingdom Come

The Gospel of Luke and the Acts How The Early Jesus Movement Overgrew The Roman Empire

(8 SAMPLE PAGES PDF)

Shawn Birss

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Table of Contents Introduction page 7 Acts 3 page 157 Acts 4 page 161 Acts 5 page 167 Acts 6-12 page 171 Acts 6 page 175 Acts 7 page 179 Acts 8 page 185 Acts 9 page 189 Acts 10 page 193 Acts 11 page 199 Acts 12 page 203 Acts 13 page 207 Acts 14 page 211 Acts 15 page 215 Acts 16 page 219 Acts 17 page 225 Acts 18 page 233 Acts 19 page 239 Acts 20 page 243 Acts 21 page 247 Acts 22 page 251 Acts 23 page 255 Acts 24 page 257 Acts 25 page 259 Acts 26 page 261 Acts 27 page 263 Acts 28 page 265 Conclusion page 267

Part 1 - Luke Luke Chapter 1 page 9 Luke Chapter 2 page 11 Luke Chapter 3 page 15 Luke Chapter 4 page 19 Luke Chapter 5 page 25 Luke Chapters 5-6 29 Luke Chapter 6 page 31 Luke Chapter 7 page 37 Luke Chapter 8 (pt 1) page 39 Luke Chapter 8 (pt 2) page 43 Luke Chapter 9 page 47 Luke Chapter 10 page 55 Luke Chapter 11 page 63 Luke Chapter 12 page 69 Luke Chapter 13 page 75 Luke Chapter 14 page 79 Luke Chapter 15 page 83 Luke Chapter 16 page 91 Luke Chapter 17 page 95 Luke Chapter 18 page 101 Luke Chapter 19 page 107 Luke Chapter 20 page 113 Luke Chapter 21 page 121 Luke Chapter 22 page 125 Luke Chapter 23 page 135 Luke Chapter 24 page 141 Part 2 Acts Acts 1 page 147 Acts 2 page 151

Appendix (on interpreting scripture) page 269 About the Author page 275

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Luke Chapter 5 New Wineskin - Jesus touches lepers and eats with traitors Luke 5:30-32 (ESV) "And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' And Jesus answered them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.'" Jesus demonstrated and taught a way of life entirely contrary from the patterns of power and control that emerge from a society dependent upon them. In Luke 5:33-39, he calls this the "new wine" and the "new wineskin". Jesus says that both must be replaced. He came to change the hearts and minds of individuals, yes. But he also came to change the corrupt systems and patterns that keep those persons bound. Romans 12:2 says this about living according to the gospel of Jesus' Kingdom: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." The powers of this present age cannot conceive of the radical nature of this departure from the world's patterns. Our world teaches us to seek to strive upward, to gain more wealth, power, and control. But Jesus lives a downwardly mobile life. God's son came as an impoverished baby to an occupied and internally displaced people, yet he gains a reputation for seeking out and spending time with people even less privileged than himself. What possible benefit could be had from identifying with traitors and rebels, the world would wonder. But Jesus gives his life for the benefit of others, contrary to all common sense regarding the values of this world's systems. The religious elite would not understand why any respected Rabbi would risk their own orthodox reputation by claiming to forgive a powerless paralytic (vv17-26). Yet Jesus opposes these religious authorities publicly, calling a powerless man forgiven, and then healing him by the power of the Holy Spirit (v17). The religious leaders make a show of

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protecting orthodoxy, but they're really only protecting their power and position. Jesus makes himself of no position, and gives power to the powerless. The Law of Moses in which Jesus was raised forbids a good Jew from even touching someone with leprosy. But when a leper humbly submits his request that Jesus should heal him, Luke makes sure to mention that it is by touching the leper that Jesus makes him well. The law says that this would make Jesus unclean. But Jesus touch makes the leper clean. This is a new wine and a new wineskin. Jesus touches the untouchables. Against all odds, this backwoods rural working-class man has become a popular Rabbi, the rock stars of his day (vv1-3). Children were raised to memorize the Torah until they were ten years old. Only the best would be chosen to continue their education and memorize all of the Hebrew scripture. The rest would join their fathers in the family trade. Only the very best would go on to become the disciple of a Rabbi. The rest, though better educated, would return to their father and learn the family trade. Not all trades were equally respected. Carpentry was honest and valuable work. Jesus was fortunate. But shepherds and fishers were a despised lot, working odd shifts, and smelling terrible most of the time. Though the custom was for the most elite and successful of intellectuals to approach a Rabbi to be their disciple, Jesus breaks from tradition to ask Peter, James, and John, fishers who presumably had already been passed over and passed on to their family trade, to be his disciples (Luke 5:4-11) It is no surprise that they so quickly accepted the call to leave their undesirable trade to become the disciple of the town's most popular Rabbi. And Jesus goes even deeper under the mainstream to call his next disciple, Levi (vv27-32). As a tax collector, Levi was one of the most despised and hated of his society. The reputation of tax collectors was that they were thieves and traitors, working for the very empire that oppressed their own family and neighbours. Yet, Jesus called one of them to be among his closest company. Not only this, but Jesus did not shy away from Levi and his associates. Upon asking Levi into his inner circle, he joins him at a he joins him at a house party with a high enough

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Acts 6-12 The Kingdom of God is Bigger Than Us The Kingdom of God is bigger than us. In fact, the story of the message, demonstration, and growth of the gospel in Luke and Acts is one of explosive power that simply cannot be contained to one people group or region, whatever the consequences. The good news is that the Good News is for everyone. Our lives are lived out for the justice and love of others, a community facing outward to neighbours, strangers, and even enemies. It is hard to be inclusive. It is hard to invite someone new into your family. Adoption is emotionally complicated. In-laws are sometimes cause awkward relationships. Our communities and families have histories - shared memories both good and bad. With those we are closest we have experienced the same joys and the same sorrows. When Jesus spoke to his neighbours and comrades about loving their enemies, he spoke to people whose very identity was formed as a people rescued from slavery. Their nation as a nation was birthed from deliverance out of an oppressive empire that had held them enslaved. The history of Jesus and all the Jewish people was one of wrestling. They wrestled with God as their forefather Jacob had wrestled with the angel of the Lord until he'd been blessed. His name was changed to Israel that night, which means the one who contends with God. These Israelites, the God-wrestlers, knew what it meant to follow and honour their deliverer. Yahweh had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and then clearly defined their relationship by his covenant law. When Israel disobeyed that covenant, they would become enslaved by empire, the Babylonians or the Persians. But then they would repent, and God would deliver them again. Jesus now spoke to these people, with this rich history, under oppressive and violent occupation by Rome, the new empire and world power. This was a people who knew well who their enemies were. Their enemies had power. They had armies and kings and land upon

Kingdom Come 6/8

land. They saw their enemies in uniforms, and were forced by their enemies to carry heavy loads without pay. They were taxed and abused. It is no surprise that the Pharisees would emerge, this sect of religious people that taught the people to obey every aspect of the law code to the finest detail. They believed that God would rescue them from their enemies, as he had many times before, when Israel would just show their repentance and turn back to their faith, as they had many times before. The sort of inclusion and universality of love that Jesus preached was so far beyond anything his people had ever imagined, even his disciples did not fully understand until long after Jesus was gone. When Jesus said they should love their enemies, he was including Romans. He was including forgiveness for all those who had ever done them wrong. The Gospel, the good news of the New Kingdom wasn't only good news for the oppressed and the poor. If they would receive it, the Gospel was also for the oppressor. The good news was that they no longer needed to oppress. They could leave the empire. The good news meant that the rich didn't have to be rich anymore. The uncertain and transient foundation of wealth could be traded for the sure foundation of true, God-empowered life in the Eternal Kingdom. The Great Reversal was good news for any who would receive it, no matter what it cost them. Their power and riches were nothing. Jesus died an innocent man, betrayed and accused of insurrection, executes unjustly by an oppressive empire like all the ones that ha oppressed his people before them. And from the cross, he forgave them. He forgave those agents of the old empire that put him up there on the cross, beat and mocked him, the agents that had refused his message of love. No injustice had ever been more severe than the one that was incurred on Jesus that day. In forgiving these outsiders, these enemies, Jesus opened the door for every one of those enemies and nations that had come before them. He opened the door to all who would come after. He recognized the machine. He condemned the machine. He even ()

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() In the spirit of empire, they appeal to fear and racism, using Silas and Paul's Jewish ethnicity as evidence against them. That both the Greek Luke and Timothy are spared is quite telling. Paul and Silas are thrown beaten and thrown in prison without a trial. It is in chains, at its weakest and most vulnerable, that the spirit of the Kingdom of God is able to be seen most clearly. Just as Jesus had taught in Luke 12, Paul and Silas are without anxiety, even when locked away. They sing hymns in the prison, praising their King and living as free citizens though in shackles. Just as the Kingdom was manifest in the doubly oppressed slave woman, it is manifest again here for Paul and Silas as they sing. An earthquake shakes the prison, and the doors are opened. Still, the missionaries remain to encourage the frightened jailer not to harm himself. Kingdom love is large enough to reach even an enemy. The jailer responds to the love of Paul and Silas by receiving their words and believing in Jesus as his King. The jailer brings the men to his house where he washes the wounds of his newly adopted brothers, and all of his family is baptized. Such is it in the Kingdom of God. In this Upside-Down Kingdom, slaves are freed and enemies become brothers. All are equal, and each considers others even before themselves. In the final act, Paul and Silas receive a free pass from the racist Roman authorities to leave the city. Still, Paul does not receive the injustice inflicted upon him without calling for an appeal. In their rush to condemn these Jewish resistors, the Roman authorities had not thought to even consider their citizenship. Both Paul and Silas were citizens of Rome. Their beating and imprisonment had been illegal. Paul knew his standing as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. But as a free citizen of that eternal Kingdom, he lived in resistance to the empires of the world. Paul knew the legal rights offered him as a citizen of this temporary empire as well, and freely used its legal system for his advantage. The corrupt authorities would not submit to the Law of true justice, but Paul held them accountable to their own. ()

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Appendix Humility, Conviction, Faith, and the Landmines of Scripture Not all passages in the Bible are as easy to understand as others. Though there is general agreement across most Christian traditions about the overall themes and messages of scripture, there are some hairy places where disagreements or confusion occur. Some parts of the Bible are largely ignored, or only come up as a curiosity, such as the unusual story of the Nephilim in Genesis chapter 6:1-4. Other portions are hotly contested, and form the foundation upon which denominational lines are drawn, such as Romans chapter 9 and the question of the will of humanity and the ultimate sovereignty of God. There are also, of course, details in story accounts that seem to contradict one another in curious ways as well. Most easy to point out are the genealogies, which hardly ever agree. One could not make a single, unified family tree using the genealogies in scripture without defying biology, physics, and the space-time continuum. One could also trip over silly questions when comparing conflicting accounts of how exactly Judas came to die, the day of the week of the crucifixion, the ethnicity of the slave traders that bought Joseph, or how many times the rooster crowed before Peter denied Jesus. These, however, are actually all trivialities in the grand scheme of the overall story. The unity of scripture vastly outweighs these questionable portions. The Bible is a very old book. It is, in fact, a collection of books, written in multiple languages from the perspective of multiple times and cultures. It is written in many different genres. Different portions of the Bible are separated by thousands of years, hundreds of kilometres. It is written by authors as vastly different as the oral tradition of a nomadic tribe is to an educated Greek doctor at the height of the Roman Empire. The fact that there is such incredible agreement about the nature of God and the story of Grace and Justice through a Messiah-King is far more astounding than the portions we perceive as contradictory. The truth is that we may believe the Bible was written for us, but in the most literal and practical sense it wasn't written to us. This is not a scientific or even historical document in the sense that we use either term in the developed world of the 21st century.

About the Author

My name is Shawn Birss. I am a follower of Jesus living simply with my spunky wife and precocious twin toddlers in the heart of Edmonton, the frozen capital of Alberta, Canada. I like punk rock and roots country. I am tattooed, branded, and bespectacled. Social injustice and oppression move me. I believe the world can be a better place, and intend to participate in seeing this become so. I want to directly interrupt and frustrate the building of the world's walls, actively steal the materials, and use them to participate in constructing bridges. I pastor a small church of wretched scoundrels and thieves, myself the worst of them. We represented punks and plumbers, hipsters and anarchists, alcoholics and straightedge vegans, artists and addicts, physicists and electricians, straight and otherwise, immigrants and the disabled, charismatics and conservatives, now rescued from ourselves and redeemed to true life by our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We are a crew of scallywags sailing through life together under the flag of the cross, the slaughtered lamb our King. We are all equals both in our skullduggery and our salvation. Our lives are forfeit to true justice and peace. Our hope is for heaven on earth. pirate-pastor.blogspot.com

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