We went the the “Intelligent Church” conference at the Community Church this weekend with Steve Chalke as the speaker.
Personally, I am a big fan of his. First of all, he is willing to wrestle with questions that I think need wrestling with, and whilst people may disagree with his outworking or his answers, they must recognise that he is trying to do what is right. Too many of us are willing to settle for the status quo because it is easier. Easier is not necessarily good, though!
Secondly, he has given his life to serving the poor and the marginalised and has impacted thousands of lives in the process. He has earned the right to be heard. Jesus tells us to judge a tree by its fruit and not by its theological statements.
I think he can be a bit mischievous sometimes – he has a tendency to throw out statements that provoke people – but I think he has thought through what he thinks very clearly.
The thing that I wonder is whether we are so used to being spoon-fed that when someone provokes us – such that we need to do the work ourselves – we don’t like it. Stuart Murray Williams did something similar at the National Leaders’ conference a couple of years ago. People were furious because he trashed the iea of tithing but did not elaborate on what he thought. He even said that we should go away and try to look into it without prejudice but that was not really heard. If a group of leaders are not willing to study without prejudice to see what the Bible actually says then, Houston, we have a problem!
Maybe we need more provocation from speakers – if it provokes us to seek out answers and to know God better then all that is only a good thing.
I’m just trying to provoke! :o)
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