Today's blog is in the nature of a celebration of the new Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, who was my tutor at University. Last night he preached at the launch of Fulcrum. His sermon is well worth reading, as is a letter in today's Times. Both point beyond the division of the church into competing groups. It's a vision that we all need. (Sadly, to read the letter you have to scroll down past a rather less helpful letter from George Carey.)
Two quotations from Tom Wright's pieces may help explain why I think them so good:
"Gospel inclusivity is always a transforming inclusivity. But if there is a danger in a cheapened unity which glosses over real differences, there is just as great a danger in retreating into pre-packaged and culturally conditioned little boxes. Through the church God's wisdom in all its rich variety - the word in Greek is polypoikilos, a word you'd use to describe a flower-bed alive with every colour in the rainbow - God's many-splendoured wisdom is to be made known to the powers of the world" (from his sermon).
"It is time to forget evangelicalism and concentrate on the gospel; to forget catholicism and concentrate on the church and its mission; to forget liberalism and concentrate on clear thinking; to forget the charismatic movement and invoke the Spirit of the living God" (New Tasks for a Renewed Church, Hodders, 1992, quoted in his letter to the Times).
Two quotations from Tom Wright's pieces may help explain why I think them so good:
"Gospel inclusivity is always a transforming inclusivity. But if there is a danger in a cheapened unity which glosses over real differences, there is just as great a danger in retreating into pre-packaged and culturally conditioned little boxes. Through the church God's wisdom in all its rich variety - the word in Greek is polypoikilos, a word you'd use to describe a flower-bed alive with every colour in the rainbow - God's many-splendoured wisdom is to be made known to the powers of the world" (from his sermon).
"It is time to forget evangelicalism and concentrate on the gospel; to forget catholicism and concentrate on the church and its mission; to forget liberalism and concentrate on clear thinking; to forget the charismatic movement and invoke the Spirit of the living God" (New Tasks for a Renewed Church, Hodders, 1992, quoted in his letter to the Times).
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