Lent 2026 Small Groups - Jesus for President
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18th and goes through Easter Sunday on April 5th. We annually offer small group learning encounter and community meet-ups during this season.
This year Monte is going to be using a book Jesus for President as the foundation for what we do on Sundays and also for discussion groups. Written by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, Jesus for President is a radical manifesto to awaken the Christian political imagination, reminding us that our ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options but in Jesus and the incarnation of the peculiar politic of the church as a people "set apart" from this world.
It's written in a curious way with engaging graphics and backgrounds on each page, almost as if it's a work of art personal journal.
One of the authors Shane Claiborne continues to be influential in moving people past and out of evangelicalism, and helped to created The Simple Way: a powerful Christian community in New Jersey that still has great impact. Claiborne is also a creative agitator and activist for peace - unashamedly and creatively preaching the Way of Jesus on Wall Street, in Baghdad during the 2nd Iraq War and elsewhere.
What I love about it is that it sets clearly and simply the overall message of Jesus - and how radical it is and was...nonviolence, love, solidarity, community creation, grace and forgiveness. It's one of the earliest and most accessible popular books emphasizing how Jesus overthrows empire and the negativity of imperial theology - which is what is often used to described the theology and structure of our country, in particular MAGA nationalist theology.
If you want to pick up a copy of this book and start reading you can do so online at Amazon | Zondervan | Cokesbury | East Bay Booksellers
If you have any questions get in touch with me. This promises to be a fun, creative, and life-transforming book to share together.
Monte