Fragments of Reflections of a Pondering Priest...

The blogspace of Graham Hunter
(In case you were wondering, the Mazarine bible was one of the earliest printed editions, dated around 1450...)

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Rooted, Reformed & Renewed

For a little while now, I have been trying to develop a clear articulation of my personal manifesto for the church. I continually find myself drawn to this phrase, 'Rooted, Reformed & Renewed'. Below is an attempt to put flesh on the bones of this phrase. (I wrote this in August, and have been working on amended versions since... I intend to flesh this out fully over the next few years in a book bearing the phrase as its title...)

Rooted
I believe the local church should recognise and respect its place as a part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of God. In this way, it should live in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the Catholic Creeds, and find the pattern of its continuing life in the dominical sacraments.

Reformed
I believe the Church of Christ should be continually receptive to His voice in and through the reception of Holy Scripture. The continuing enterprise of seeking His voice in the prophetic and apostolic witness of Scripture may not be confined to the activity of the individual, but is a task for the corporate worshipping life of the local church.

Renewed
I believe that the local church should be seeking to live in step with the Holy Spirit. It must seek always to be subservient to the prophetic call of God by the Holy Spirit; the reception of the gifts of the Spirit for the service of the church and world; and must be seeking to undertake Christian discipleship in accordance with the fruits of the Spirit.

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