When I interviewed Dr. George Sumner, principle of Wycliff College recently at the Anglican General Synod, we had the following exchange about attempting to run a program like Fresh Expressions in a diocese that has, for all intents and purposes, abandoned the Gospel:<\/p>\n
David<\/strong>: I talked to another of your professors about Fresh Expressions. The concern I raised was what would the techniques he was teaching be used to express – would it be the Gospel?
\nRev. Dr. George<\/strong>:\u00a0 I think encouraging the church to let many flowers bloom evangelistically is good. You know, the flowers will thrive or they\u2019ll die – like the parable of the sower. The fact that the professor in question himself is a theologically grounded is not irrelevant. These things are not just techniques \u2013 the Gospel is never a technique.<\/p>\nDavid<\/strong>: My point is that that was all very well, perhaps, while he was still involved, but once it was handed over to a less than orthodox diocese, it would no longer be a Fresh Expression of the Gospel, but something else.
\nRev. Dr. George<\/strong><\/strong>:\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019m an optimist.<\/p>\nDavid<\/strong>: I\u2019m not accused of that very often.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is a recent video by the Diocese of Niagara extolling the eco-expiatory benefits of using green certified cleaning products. The email contact at the end of the video is fr**************<\/span>@*****<\/span>ra.ca<\/span><\/a>. I\u2019m tempted to send this to Dr. Sumner to curb his optimism.<\/p>\n