Guess what I got in the mail?

I found a strange package at my door the other day. When I opened it up I remembered that it’s promotion time for Catalyst Conference. The huge tin contained a noise maker toy, a bendie toy thing, a promo DVD, and tons of posters. My eight-year-old son loves it.

One of the speakers promoted on the side of the tin is Shane Claiborne from The Simple Way, who speaks about simplicity and ministry to the poor. The irony of this sort of thing isn’t lost on Shane:

All the time, I get invited to speak at conferences on simple living, and I’m offered nice honorariums to do it! People write books on simplicity and make lots of money. It’s a weird thing…There is nothing more sickening than talking about poverty over a fancy dinner. Or how about this one: I once saw an advertisement for a dialogue on global starvation, and the sign boldly read, “Refreshments will be served.” (The Irresistible Revolution)