A Simple Thought About A Simple Man: Today would have been the 100th birthday of Clarence Jordan, one of the most inspirational people to have walked on this earth. Clarence was a farmer with a Ph.D. in New Testament Greek, not a usual combination. He used both of those skills to help start Koinonia Farms outside of Americus, Georgia in 1942. Koinonia is the Greek word for community, and the farm drew people who were looking for a simple life of equality through subsistence farming. Amidst the racially segregated south, Clarence and those who joined him, tried to build a community that more fully resembled the Kingdom of God. They were threatened, bombed and shot at. In 1965, a couple by the name of Millard and Linda Fuller stopped by Koinonia Farms for what was to be a few hour visit. They stayed three years, and then moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo where they assisted in the building of homes for the poor. It was their experience at Koinonia Farms and in DRC that led them to begin a program here in the United States called, Habitat for Humanity. Koinonia Farms remains an amazing place where compassion, hospitality and simplicity are embody for the sake of making a little heaven on earth. Clarence Jordan is missed, yet the seeds he planted (figuratively and literally) are still producing an amazing harvest.
