Four Ways

Alison Morgan, in her chapter in “Mission-shaped Questions” (Church House Publishing, 2008), entitled “What does the gift of the Spirit mean for the shape of the Church”, suggests “four ways in which we might think about the gift of the Spirit and the shape of the Church.” The first thing is that we need to focus on Jesus. The Church is about following Jesus, or it should be. The story that we have to tell is the Jesus story. Jesus calls us to an alternative way, and that is what we should be focussing on. Secondly, we need to stress unity. What Christians share is far more important than the things that divide us. We need to be open to the contribution of other Christians. “It means sharing ideas, exchanging stories. It means being willing to take risks, to trust one another, to be humble.” Third, we need also to emphasise diversity which is not the opposite of unity, but part of it. We might define diversity as “letting a thousand flowers bloom”. “We live in a pick ‘n’ mix age, and we have an astonishingly diverse spiritual heritage to draw on. Let’s borrow from one another and borrow from the past. We have much to learn and much to share.” And, fourthly, we need to depend on the Holy Spirit. Too often we are concerned about what we can do, instead of relying on the God-given resources that are available to us.