SEARCH Summer issue
The Summer issue of SEARCH will be available in late May from the Good Book Shop at the price of £6.00 per copy.
Editor, the Revd Canon Ginnie Kennerly describes the latest issue...
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THE MISSION of the Church had inevitably to be the major theme for this issue of SEARCH, given that this summer marks the centenary of the World Missionary Conference of Edinburgh 1910, which set as its aim "the evangelisation of the world in this generation" and was decisive in the development of the ecumenical movement of the last century. Ian Ellis, whose book on the Edinburgh Conference A Century of Mission and Unity is hot off the press, has contributed an informative article on the Conference and its influence.
The present century has brought new challenges to Christian mission, many of which are considered in the articles which follow by Drew Gibson, Ian Poulton and Fergus Ryan, each one writing from his own particular standpoint. Fergus Ryan's article also explores the rise of the new independent evangelical churches in Ireland, in terms of their provenance and their membership as well as their style of mission. Questions of mission, especially those which relate to dialogue with those of other faiths, will continue to be explored in our autumn issue.
One area closely relevant to mission is that of the Bible, the context in which we read it, and the ways different cultures approach and interpret it - a matter of crucial importance in the Anglican Communion today. David M Allen of the Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham is the European representative on the ACC’s Bible in the Life of the Church team; so we are particularly grateful for his article “Approaches to the Bible Today”, bringing us up to date with some of the new reading strategies of the past decade as well as noting earlier ones. We plan to explore some of these new approaches in detail in future issues of SEARCH.
The Anglican Communion and its current conflicts are also examined by Andrew Pierce, who asks to what extent the current managerial style of authority can be reconciled with the more theological approach of the unity-seeking Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. As Anglican provinces consider and respond to the final draft of the proposed Anglican Covenant, he gives much food for thought.
Finally, looking to matters nearer home and of immediate concern to all, economist Tony Brown helps us look to our responsibilities as Christian citizens in the current financial crisis. Challenges all round then. Enjoy the read!