Crazy Christians

Michael Curry's Crazy Christians is the kind of exuberant expression of the Christian faith that you would expect from Bishop Curry, Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church and the first African American to hold that post. (Curry, of course, hit the UK headlines with his powerful sermon on love at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.) His enthusiasm has much to commend it, as does his clarity of thought - "being a Christian is not essentially about joining a church or being a nice person, but about following in the footsteps of Jesus, taking his teachings seriously, letting his Spirit take the lead in our lives, and in so doing helping to change the world from our nightmare into God's dream."

I have to say that I find Curry refreshingly straightforward. I think we need to put the challenge to be disciples out there and encourage our church folk to really make a difference. The apostle Paul talks about our being 'fools' for Christ's sake. Curry talks about our being crazy.

"What the Church needs, what this world needs, are some Christians who are as crazy as the Lord. Crazy enough to love like Jesus, to give like Jesus, to forgive like Jesus, to do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God - like Jesus."

Curry reminds us that, essentially, discipleship is about what we do. It can look difficult, but we need to remember that God promises to accompany us. There is plenty of Biblical evidence for God asking what might seem impossible. Noah, Abraham and Sarah, and Esther could all tell stories about that. Other prime examples are David, as he faced Goliath, and the pregnant Mary. Bishop Curry reminds us - "We can be part of that impossible-sounding mission, especially and only because we are part of something greater than ourselves", adding, "discipleship is really about what you do with your feet."