What a tremendous honor and pleasure it's been to speak on the subject of evangelism at the Lambeth Conference being held here in Canterbury, England.
I know that most people think the "news story" here is about divisive controversies over sexuality, but my sense is that the real news story is very different. There is a humble spirit here, a loving atmosphere, a deep spirituality centered in Bible study, worship, and prayer, and a strong desire to move beyond internal-institutional matters to substantive mission in our needy world.
In every conversation and gathering I've participated in, the spirit has been kind and holy and positive. That sort of good news doesn't attract the media the way a salacious or pugilistic story does ... It will be interesting to see whether the press reports what is actually happening here, or if they need to rewrite the narrative to fit the shape of war-tales they are more accustomed to telling.
My sense is that the quiet, prayerful, and humble patience of Archbishop Rowan Williams is leading the way to better days for the Anglican Communion. It feels like the bishops gathered here are turning a corner together. I feel that I'm witnessing the emergence of something good, beautiful, true, and blessed ... Hearts here are sincerely open to the Spirit of God.
Thanks for all who prayed for me regarding my plenary session here tonight. Everything went well, and I look forward to my next two days here.
My friend Simon helped create this beautiful, moving video - just over two minutes long.
I've been posting quite a bit lately because I've had an unusually long stretch of time at home and at my desk. That stretch comes to an end tomorrow as I head over to England. Upon returning to the US, I'll be in Wyoming for about a week and blissfully disconnected from technology. So ... hopefully I've left enough to keep faithful readers occupied while I get some time away.
If I can send a brief post from England, I will ... We'll see! But blog-posting frequency will decrease for a few weeks at least.
Enjoy summer ... it passes quickly!
I like winning, but I’ve done a lot of losing in my life, especially when it comes to voting. I’ve got a pretty good track record of picking losers.
But recent history tells us that picking winners in presidential elections has its own dangers.
What happens if the presidential candidate you prefer wins this fall?
For those of you who missed our Everything Must Change Tour (or want to recommend it to a friend), we'll be doing one more event November 1.
For more information, go to the deepshift.org site ... here.