Worth a read

Back to matters principally ecclesiastical, here are three articles worth reading.

The first two pertain to the ongoing Anglican wars, and both from sensible conservatives.

Fr. Tony Clavier blogs about the assorted time warps he experiences. His most telling line, to my mind:

By natural inclination and not virtue I am not inclined to shun those with whom I disagree, for I actually like people, all sorts and conditions of people and my experience informs my unwillingness to join “starter-churches”.

I think that is because he really is Anglican to the depths of his soul.

Fr. Dan Martins blogs about the impasse we currently experience. He concludes by reflecting on the way inwhich the current issue will inevitably be superceded.

For what it’s worth, I am persuaded that, generations from now, neither “side” in the present conflict over sexuality will be proven “right.” Rather, I suspect that both sides will have been shown to be wrong. What our descendants will recognize as “right” will probably be something we are not now imagining. If we are who we say we are as the Church of Jesus Christ, and if the Gospel is what we believe it to be, we will persevere in humble generosity in anticipation of that day.

The third article considers the state of the Church (generically, not merely Anglicanism) in light of business and institutional analytical theories. His most telling comment:

Over the centuries, religion has become institutionalized, and in the process encrusted with elaborate hierarchies, top-heavy bureaucracies, highly specialized roles and reflexive routines. (Kinda like your company, but only more so). Religion won’t regain its relevance until church leaders chip off these calcified layers, rediscover their sense of mission, and set themselves free to reinvent “church” for a new age.

I find things in each article with which I agree and with which I disagree. But all three are worth reading.