Shane Claiborne doesn’t look — or live — like an average preacher. This author, Christian activist and sought-after speaker wears no tie, not even a blazer and jeans, but casual, comfortable clothes and has dreadlocks that hang past his shoulders. Raised in east Tennessee, he now lives and serves among the homeless in inner-city Philadelphia in community with others who share resources and live frugally on about $150 per person per month. He ministered in Iraq during the bombing of Baghdad in 2003 and spent one summer among the poor in Calcutta with Mother Theresa.

Claiborne recently spoke at Germantown United Methodist Church, at an event sponsored by the student ministry, which is led by Alison Bocking.

He began his talk by acknowledging that the Christian church in America is in the midst of an image crisis. Rather than grace and love, many churches foster an environment that feels exclusive to those with struggles, addictions, or just questions and doubts. Claiborne’s goal is to urge Christians to see others as brothers and sisters and to view them “with new eyes. We need the eyes of Jesus to see others as He sees them,” he says. Passionate about social justice and Jesus’ mandate to His followers to care for the poor, Claiborne says, “We are made for more than just caring about ourselves. The secret to finding our life is to give it away.”

When asked how his East Tennessee upbringing helped him in his work in Philadelphia, specifically around the issue of race, Claiborne explains that he grew up in a segregated church, which he says, “should break our hearts, as the church should be a place where we celebrate the diversity of God’s people.” When he left his insular, white world, it lit a fire in him for justice and reconciliation. He cites author John Perkins as he says, “God’s love is not only about setting the oppressed free; but also about setting the oppressors free.”

Claiborne encouraged the audience to find creative ways to minister to the poor and emphasized the need to form relationships. “The problem is bigger than just shelters and professional service providers, it has to do with us being places of hospitality … let’s love one person well. Figure out how to build a relationship with someone and we can learn from them and work with them to make the situation different.” He quotes Mother Theresa who, when asked how she managed to lift 50,000 people off the streets of Calcutta, replied simply, “I started with one.”

The message resonated with at least two audience members. Mary Ann Gibson, of Germantown, and her 16-year-old daughter, Maddie, skipped Sunday worship services at Germantown Methodist. Instead, they traveled downtown to be the church, as they served coffee and hot chocolate and provided hospitality to homeless Memphians in the warming tent provided by the City’s Emergency Management Agency.

God intends for the church to be the hands and feet of Jesus in today’s world and the Bible calls for believers to be the “light of the world.” Claiborne hopes that “when the next generation thinks of the church, they will think of compassion, justice, peace, reconciliation, gentleness and love and that Christians will be known not for who we are against, but for whom we love — everyone.”

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A noted author, speaker and activist for social justice, Shane Claiborne speaks more than 100 times each year and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, on Fox News, National Public Radio and CNN. He founded The Simple Way, a faith community in inner-city Philadelphia that has helped to birth and connect radical faith communities around the world.

Video edited by Elizabeth Sanders, graphic design intern and freelance video editor in Oxford, Mississippi.

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