Ancient:Future Faith

I am currently reading a number of books from the Emerging / Emergent church, especially some stuff by Ian Mobsby. I have just finished his book 'The becoming of G-d' and the main thrust was exciting and challenging but the devil is in the detail and some of that was a little disappointing (I will give a more thorough review at some point). That said, the whole Emerging / Deep / Ancient:Future Church movement(s) are fascinating and I believe a real hope for the future of a living Christianity that relates to a post-modern, materialist society and to disconnected human individuals who are seeking genuine community and yet find traditional church unreal or just plain unfriendly. Our churches are often lacking in that one fundamental ingredient COMMUNITY. I was raised in an evangelical Baptist chapel, which I recently revisited for a friend's funeral, whilst I could no longer cope with their exclusive theology, the sense of community was palpable and almost moved me to tears.

How do we in the mainstream churches get back to that sense of the Church as Community, an intentional community of prayer, worship and service. I believe that as Anglicans we should be best placed to offer this Ancient:Future mix, we have an evangelical proclamation and also the riches of the Catholic tradition, if only we could re-shape ourselves. We so need to put aside the labels of the past, evangelical, catholic, liberal to work together creatively for the glory of God and to present the real good news of the Gospel. I am in flux at the moment, all I really know is that we cannot stay as we are and that these movements are a possible way through... I wonder... more to come.

advance by retreat

I have just returned from a short stay at Burnham Abbey and I have to say it was a really good time, a necessary step out of the ordinary. The silence and regular pray was powerful and helped reflection. I was really struck by the silent meal with reading, it was a very different experience - eating slowly and contemplating some interesting theology at the same time! I am refreshed by the experience, it's been long overdue. We all need these moments where we are taken out of the ordinary, taken away from what is familiar and given space to think, to pray and to reorder oneself. The sisters have a ministry of intercession, I realize more than ever how important that is, how central their part in the body of Christ and their witness to the call of God.

http://www.burnhamabbey.org/

all inclusive?

Is inclusiveness a Christian category of thought? It's a basic question, yet one that needs to be asked as we hear so much talk about needing to be inclusive, about being an inclusive Church. Whilst I am very sympathetic to the basic proposition of seeking to include people,I wonder whether we are not better served by using more recognizably Christian categories such as hospitality, generosity and compassion.

one of my central questions

How do we articulate an Anglicanism that is authentically Catholic, missional and contextually rooted which seeks the best of the past with an openness to future possibilities?

Answers on a postcard.

conversion and conversation

Something is happening in the Christian Church, we are in a liminal time, a time of transition where the discussion is concerned with legitimate development and change, a proposition that is always unsettling. Where are going and what are we to do? I hope this blog may be, if nothing else, a diary of possibilities and my own musings as an Anglican priest formed in the Catholic tradition yet open to new possibilities and a real sense of discovery and wonder about the things of God.