Disagreeing Gracefully

Stumbled across Malcolm Duncan's blog this morning.  Malcolm is the Pastor at Gold Hill Baptist Church and in this particular blog post he is commenting on the vexed issue of same-sex marriages.  I don't pretend to quite understand everything he writes but I do recognize grace when I see it.  He commends Steve Chalke in a number of ways and also is unafraid to call him out where he feels that is right too.  He commends Steve for the grace that he has exhibited thus far and Malcolm displays it himself in his reply.  

This paragraph is pretty secondary to the whole main thrust of the article but generally very useful, I feel.      

"Why do we persistently look for men and women to be heroes in the church and take our lead from them? The best of men are men at best. Steve is a wonderful brother whom I am grateful for, but he is nothing more than a man. The best of us are people at best. Broken, flawed and in need of grace. Our words do not bring life. Our plans do not change the world. We are only under shepherds of the Great Shepherd. The impact of Steve’s article tells me that we must determine to move away from the celebrity driven culture that has invaded the church and we must each learn the art of wrestling with Scripture and seeking to live under is authority and power."

Malcolm Duncan's article  is quite long and complex but full of good and gracious comment.  It makes me feel hopeful for the church.