[/caption] There are few leaders in the church that I know personally (although I’m sure there are many out there) that have squarely positioned themselves in the intersection between ‘whole-life’ Christian faith and holistic, sustainably-minded living. Claudio Oliver is one such man. I have had the privilege of connecting with Claudio over this past year and I am richer for having him as a friend. Though we have not met in person (he lives in Brazil and we are in the U.S.) we have Skyped and emailed and Facebooked and together with our friend Ragan Sutterfield (another long-distance friend) we have discussed how our Christian faith leads us to renounce the gluttony of the hyper-consumerist lifestyle and embrace our human limits; we talk about what we are doing to live more intentionally and sustainably; we talk about theology and ‘parishes’ and intentional Christian community; we talk about Anabaptism, agrarianism, post-modernism, Wendell Berry and Ivan Illich; we talk about urban living and living within the radius of a bicycle drive; we talk about chickens and children and food and living locally and “post-carbon” congregations. Although I don’t get a chance to talk with Claudio all the time I am always encouraged by his ability to challenge and inspire me towards Kingdom living- towards a life of devotion to Jesus within the context of where GOD has planted me- a life of faithfulness and purposefulness – a life that is lived out of the box of excuses and accesses. I was first introduced to Claudio through the video ‘Claudio Oliver: Turning Grease Into Gospel‘ on The Ooze Tv. Let Claudio inspire you as well as you watch this video and conspire ways to “do small things with great love” in your neighborhood that model and embody GOD’s redemption and reconciliation. ]]>