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Tag Archives: Activism
The author
Micael Grenholm, a Swedish charismactivist, apologist and author.
A Yankee Imperialist Pig Filled with the Spirit
Bob Ekblad
Bob Ekblad has for 30 years been a Christian activist, eagerly working for peace and justice – especially among poor immigrants, prisoners and Guatemalan and Honduran farmers. In the clip above, he shares that eight years ago, he realized that something was missing in his ministry for the poor and oppressed. Somehow nationalism and egoism seemed to be stronger than the Gospel he preached.
At this time, Bob’s younger brother got saved in the Charismatic movement, and simply told him: “You do miss something, you miss the power of the Holy Spirit!” Bob was very sceptical since republican agendas dominated among Charismatics, but eventually he went to the Catch the Fire Toronto Church to be filled with the Spirit.
And filled he was! A prophetic man said to him that he saw a vision of him sitting with men in red uniforms on blue plastic chairs. He said “I believe it’s in a prison, and that the Father says ‘I love how you love my prisoners’.” Bob was stunned. That was exactly how his prison ministry looked like! Then the man prayed for a healing anointing to be released in Bob’s life. (more…)
Shell vs Polar Bears
Photo: Chrstian Åslund/Greenpeace Sweden
Yesterday, this lovely picture appeared in my Facebook feed. Around the world, polar bears occupy Shell’s gas stations in a desperate attempt to save their home. Not only is Shell melting the Arctic through their fueling of climate change, now they want to go there to dig for more oil, although the ecosystem is extremely vulnerable in the area and Shell’s rutines to avoid oil spills are insufficient.
Photo: Christian Åslund/Greenpeace Sweden
Of course, polar bears aren’t allowed to occupy gas stations, so they got a bit of trouble with the police force (no polar bear who participated in the occupation depicted above got arrested though). I wrote a month ago about how Greenpeace stated at the Rio+20 fiasco that “we have to intensify civil disobedience” since the legal process to stop climate change s going far to slow. What does climate civil disobediance look like, you may have wondered. Polar bear occupation of gas stations is one example. Human occupation of oil ships is another:
Break the Law to Save the Climate!
The current global conference on sustainable development, Rio+20, is a fiasco. The draft text that’s being negotiated is extremely weak and lame, and at some points it’s even worse than the agreement at the first Rio conference on sustainable development 20 years ago. The NGOs represented at the conference say that ”the text as it stands is completely out of touch with reality”.
Boy, we’ve heard this story before, haven’t we? Many like to blame the UN at this point, but personally I think they do their job quite well – the leaders of Western countries, on the other hand, are out of control in their sinning behaviour. They cause the mess, and the poor countries will have to pay for it:
Acts of God
Once we start praying and working for a better world, there is a risk of struggling in our own strength and power. And since everyone are sinners (Romans 3:10-18), the human way lined with failures, accidents, discouragement and fatigue. The Bible says that through the power of God, we are able to more than in our own force (Philippians 4:13). And that can sometimes be a little bit more dramatic than getting some extra energy as by an invisible vitamin kick. Sometimes, it means walking on water or raising the dead.
Our biggest problem when we work for peace and justice is that we aren’t able to do the impossible. It is this which forms the border of our activism for a better world. But Jesus said: “With God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27). In what context did He said that? Well, concerning that the rich are going to sell everything and give the money to the poor. (more…)
Activist Animations on YouTube
I’ve been putting together a playlist on YouTube called Activist Animations. Using visual communication is very effective in mobilizing action for a better world, and so a well-performed animation can get a lot of impact. Please spread them on! Here are some of my favourites:
Sam Lee: A Pentecostalism Promoting Social Justice
Although I don’t agree with everything Samuel Lee writes in his book “A New Kind of Pentecostalism”, I think this part of a review by the author himself is pretty awesome:
As a Pentecostal pastor, I have been in this movement long enough to say with assurance that I have seen many Pentecostals who pray in tongues and who experience and perform miracles and manifestations and yet are full of arrogance, racism, ethnocentrism, or denomi-centrism.[1] They exclude others; they are overflowing with prejudices, yet they claim they are “filled” with the Holy Spirit. I wonder to which Holy Spirit they are referring.
The Pentecostalism that I promote is about humility and is not a commercialized, Hollywood-esque Christianity, where the hairstyle of the preacher and his/her wealth attracts the attention or where leadership becomes a pyramid system in which the superstar preachers become the new living icons and idols of the Pentecostal believers. I would love to see a Pentecostalism in which people learn to depend on God and on each other through love. I desire to see a Pentecostalism in which the leaders are servants and preachers of humility and grace. (more…)
A Pacifist Miracle Worker
One of my best friends, who is called Michael (just like me) is an inspiring example of the combination of signs and wonders with peace and justice. He is a peacemaker, active in the Swedish Christian Peace Movement and a prophetic voice for nonviolence and pacifism. We have made som films advocating for an international, strong, binding trade agreement on arms, since arms are lessed regulated than for example bananas in the international trade. An example of such a film is viewed below.
While Michael thus is a passionate activist, he is also a passionate Charismatic. He prophecies, lays his hands on the sick, speak in tongues and pray for revival. He has realised that Christians should follow Jesus so that the signs that characterised Jesus’ life: miracles and care for the poor, will characterise their life. Jesus said:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. (Mt 11:5)
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