It was the fourth meeting of our Bible Study Group and we are really relaxing into each other’s company. So far we have skirted around the gay issue, which is probably just as well as we need to secure our confidence and trust in each other before tackling it. But today was a powerful time as we talked about ”˜fear’, drawing on the story of Jesus walking on the water and the fear of disciples.
The stories of fear from members of our group who have been in the civil wars and strife of Africa were demanding. The two of us from the West really had little to contribute as, in truth, we live very safe and predictable lives. One of our number helped us understand that he fears that he would be deposed if he was known to have become soft on issues central to the thinking of his Diocese – and another piece fell into place in the jig-saw of the complexity of the issues which face the Conference.
The double dose of Indaba was clearly designed to get us in the mood for dancing together. There are certainly those who are very suspicious of this process, feeling far more at home with weighty reports, set piece speeches and a western style parliamentary approach to ordering the mind of the church – convincing them that Indaba will work may be an uphill struggle. But we all appeared willing to try and my group had a good go at establishing an ”˜Anglican Identity’. It was very much a first day at this and other groups clearly found the process frustrating.
A tantalizingly brief glimpse into the first day of indaba groups from this bishop’s perspective. Just compare +John Howe’s experience for a stark contrast. I note that the image of the Church as a slow-moving tortoise comes from Brian MacLaren, the controversial author and a leader in the so-called “emerging church” movement on the fringes of evangelicalism. I wonder who the hare is supposed to be?
David Handy+
Refusing to grapple with “the” issue…….how very, unexpected. NOT!
To call Brian MacLaren a ‘leader’ of the ’emerging church’ demonstrates your ignorance as to what the so-called ’emerging church’ is. Your calling him one on the ‘fringe’ of evangelicalism is also mistaken as he has been voted several time one of the most influential evangelicals alive.
The, as you call it, ‘so-called emerging’ church spans denominational lines as well as confessional lines. People that are part of the emerging conversation can range from Texas Baptists to Roman Catholics, from conservative Pentecostal to ‘liberal’ UCC. Because the ‘movement’ has NO CENTRALIZED STRUCTURE and is not confessional at all it is an oxymoron to call Brian a ‘leader’ of something which has no ‘leaders’.
I think that trust before discussion of the issue is important. Why should anyone back down if we don’t trust the other person has our best interests are heart?