Insights from Kathy Escobar – Down We Go (Part 1)

Posted on Nov 9, 2011 in Spirituality, The Church | 1 comment

I know this is going to sound arrogant, but Kathy Escobar wrote her book, “Down We Go: Living into the Wild Ways of Jesus”, just for me.  Even though she does not know me, I do believe throughout the book she was speaking directly to me.  This assumption is confirmed in the dedication which reads,

“Inspiration and challenge for ecclesial dreamers, church burn-outs, missional practitioners and ordinary people who want to live the ways of Jesus in practice.”

Yep, that pretty much describes me.  If you recognize yourself in any part of that dedication, I suspect you will find Kathy’s book as challenging and hope-filled as I did.  There were far too many powerful quotes and insights to fit them all into one post, so over the next few days, I will be sharing some of my favorites.  This is really hard because I basically highlighted the entire book.  Today I will share some of the framing statements that describe what Kathy means by the “downward journey.”

“Jesus doesn’t call us into a life of ascent where we move further and further away from the things of this world. Rather, I believe he calls us to a life of descent, of downward mobility, where we move down into the trenches of real life, real pain, real hope in our lives and in the lives of others.”

“Everything points toward people above programs, relationships above power, and risk above comfort.  We must break down the walls that separate people, which create an “us vs. them” mentality, and actively resist the upward pull of comfort and away from pain.”

“The world is not desperate for new knowledge; there’s plenty of that to last many lifetimes. The world is aching for authentic people willing to be Jesus’ hands, feet, eyes, and heart and boldly go where he goes – to those on the margins of life and faith.”

“The Kingdom of God isn’t going to drop out of the sky; we will have to be active, intentional participants in revealing it.  This begins with expanding our view of God beyond our limited experiences and seeing the spirit at work in unlikely places.  When we put relationship with people above everything, we will cultivate authentic transformational community – little pockets of love – instead of spending our energy, building ministries or lifestyles that don’t reflect the humble spirit of the beatitudes.  These pockets of love help teach us interdependence, a critical characteristic of Kingdom living.”

“There is nothing more beautiful to me than seeing hurting people find authentic, healing community…When I am with my friends in the darkness and pain, I am acutely aware of God’s presence more than in my comfortable places.”

“It ‘s hard to live in the dark places of people’s experiences. It’s sometimes brutal to be tangled up in real life, fear, shame and debilitating struggle.  But the truth is…I’ve learned more about God and myself than through all the years I’d spent going to church and seminary, attending small groups and Bible studies and trying to learn about being a Christ-follower.  The journey down has forced me away from just talking about loving others to actually practicing love with others.”

Can you see why I love this book!

So, what do you think? Is the downward path, the way of Jesus?

While Kathy’s insights into the downward path are brilliant, her book does not simply call us to this path, she provides wisdom into living it based on her own ministry called “The Refuge.”  I hope to share some of those insights later this week.