Some years ago I wrote a piece in response to the book ‘Jesus Calling’. I won’t repeat that here but will say I was not favoring the book. On the other hand I read every word written by The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston who posts frequently on Facebook and I frequently share what he writes. I have never found anything he has written to be a problem while I found much in ‘Jesus Calling’ to be … troublesome.
Today as I read another post by Bishop Charleston I got to thinking about the title of this item – Who do we listen to? and more importantly who do we trust to give us information that we find uplifting, worthy and to be inspirational. Why does my heart resonate with his writing and not with some others?
I think first there is Authority – Bishop Charleston is exactly that…a Bishop in my church and therefore I grant him authority because The Church has! Another important item is that word ‘resonate’. What he has to say feels right because it matches up with what I feel and believe to be right.
Of course I could be wrong in my opinion in which case I look to see what others I trust register concerning a source. In the case of ‘Jesus Calling’ some I have trusted think the book to be wonderful and even ‘better than the Bible’ according to one person in particular. Sorry but saying that, ‘better than the Bible’, immediately sets my teeth on edge and puts that opinion in the UNTRUSTED category. So what of other sources regarding Bishop Charleston? Well ‘Bishop Charleston is widely recognized as a leading proponent for justice issues and for spiritual renewal in the church in both the United States and Canada.’ according to Day1.org which is a source I trust! He taught at Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) in Cambridge, MA and also was President and Dean of EDS. Yup – I can get behind that! and I can get behind what he has to say. I learn a lot about myself as I find what he writes to be ‘me’ put into much better words than I could possibly manage!
