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Back in the 1930's and 1940's in Oxford, England, a group of scholars got together at a local pub (The Eagle and Child), and their expressed purpose was to discuss the implications of living out their Christian faith in the world. This group contained both Catholics and Protestants, but their shared concern was communicating the essence of the Christian faith to a materialistic world...and challenging the ineffectiveness of the Church in doing the same. This group referred to themselves as "The Inklings," and its membership included C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and Dorothy L. Sayers.
It is my conviction that what the American Church--especially its mainline denominations--needs today is a new group of Inklings willing to engage in theological conversation and find creative ways to transform the presentation of Christ's message, while maintaining its integrity and truthfulness. As it is, mainline leaders appear to be more interested in appeasing the various warring factions within their institutions. Regardless of what these leaders say about "our common bond as Christians," the various factions have NO shared epistemological foundations or like-minded vision of what the Church ought to be. In such a situation, those denominations have little chance of offering a united pastoral voice to a deeply troubled world.
So I'm opening this blog to post my thoughts on the future of Christianity, specifically on how we can communicate the message of Christ intelligently and compassionately, without selling out its substance, and without trying to limit the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. If you share these concerns, please join me!
