Greenville College Welcomes Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove for 2012 Convocation
Published: April 13, 2021
New Monasticism: (n.)-movement of Jesus followers who are committed to a new way of life in community. See also: new-monastics, ordinary radicals, intentional Christian communities. (As defined on newmonasticism.org)
Radical Christianity may have been the last thing on Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's mind when he faced a homeless man on a street in Washington D.C. Immersed daily in "government as usual" as an intern in the U.S. Senate, Jonathan fixed his sights on power and politics as the playing field for his faith. He planned on learning the ins and outs of the system to eventually become President of the United States for Jesus. The homeless man was inconsequential - but only for a moment. Jonathan looks back on the encounter as radically life changing. Now, the author, speaker, and New Monastic lives with his family in Durham, N.C., with a community of "radical" believers. They pray, eat, and live together, welcoming neighbors and the homeless. Rutba House - named for a town in Iraq where Jonathan and his wife once traveled as members of the Christian Peacemaker Team - is located in Walltown, a historically poor and crime-ridden neighborhood in Durham.
Jonathan directs the School for Conversion, a nonprofit organization that works to foster community and form people in the way of Jesus. From youth work on the streets of Walltown to adult education in North Carolina prisons to seminars in new monastic communities around the country, School for Conversion works to water the seeds of a new creation that is already being born.
Jonathan has authored several books and contributes to numerous publications and websites including Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, and CNN.com. He is editor of the New Monastic Library Series, associate editor of the Resources for Reconciliation Series, and associate minister at St. Johns Baptist Church in Durham, N.C.
Jonathan will deliver a message titled "The Awakening of Hope" during Greenville College's Convocation service August 29 at 9:30 a.m. in H.J. Long Gymnasium. Convocation is free and open to the public.
Bible Belt To New Monastic from The Work Of The People on Vimeo.
