Restless Wonderer

Anyone fed up with masks? As gospel people we should recognise the dangers of masks of both the physical and the psychological types. We hark back to the innocence of Eden, when all could be uncovered without shame (Genesis 2:25). We long for the restored innocence of the new creation, when everything will be laid bare as it already is in the sight of God (Hebrews 4:13; 2 Peter 3:10). In the middle, we look to the man who revealed the fullness of God to us in bodily form (Colossians 1:19) and who was exposed to all who passed by on the cross for our sins. It is right that we want to be without masks. In the unhindered gaze on a person’s face or the unhurried listen to a person’s heart we find intimacy and we can become instruments of healing in God’s hands. Think how often the Lord Jesus paused to look someone in the face and how tenderly He engaged with broken people at the level of their hearts’ longings. We who follow Him should long for the same. His way is the path of all minis

Sometimes (not always) a week has a theme.  This week did for me. Not as some weeks do because you spend them doing mostly one thing, but because a common factor emerged in numerous conversations with Christian leaders of different ages, theological persuasions and ministry spheres.  The theme was how our evangelical systems often promote the wrong kind of people into positions of leadership and influence. That might sound like sour grapes from jealous people, but these were all, in my estimation, godly servants of Christ with significant gifts to offer to the Church and God’s mission.   And we have had enough exposés of high-profile leadership abuses in recent years to substantiate their concerns. Each of these people, in one way or another, had experienced mistreatment or injustice within evangelical organisations. I wish I could say these were the few unusual cases, but they aren’t. Many evangelical organisations, and much of the subculture that surrounds them, are rife with un