I have just participated in a Bible study led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Well, I say ‘participated’. What I mean in fact is that I have watched a recording of a 20-minute study he conducted live online a little while ago. If I am honest, I did so in order to write about it now.
Rather good
But I found it rather good. Perhaps the best indicator of its usefulness is that I quickly found myself stopping ‘assessing’ it as a writer for en and actively thinking about what was being said from the Bible, and finding it helpful.
The study is on John 1.35-42. If you Google ‘Justin Welby live Bible study’ you should find it. With him in the video is Chris Russell, the archbishop’s advisor for evangelism and witness, who begins with an extempore prayer.
Justin Welby then reads the passage and they spend time talking about it, including answering questions sent in. When I watched it, it had been seen more than 889,000 times, and shared almost 4,000 times.
Say what you like about the archbishop (and many do, of course) it is hard to imagine Rowan Williams or Robert Runcie doing anything quite so Jesus-centred, Bible-based and clear. I thought it was helpful.
Puzzling things
There are some things about Justin Welby that puzzle me. What does he really think about issues of sexuality? Is he, as one bishop who I trust recently told me, ‘straight down the line’ when you talk to him personally about it? Or has he changed his mind? Is he equivocating or, in the current Anglican processes, is he playing a somewhat risky long game in which he reckons traditional truth will ultimately win out? When, in his mind, does healthy diversity stray into encompassing error?
But he is clearly a man who takes the Bible at face value, who is clear on who Jesus is, is able to point people to him, is keen on prayer and witness, and who, on this at any rate, has done something really innovative and praiseworthy for someone in his position.
Anglican lectionary
Also new online is something else – ‘Lee on the Lectionary’ (again Google those words and you will find it) – from the director of the Church Society, Lee Gatiss. Each week the very personable Lee brings a five minute exposition of the Anglican lectionary readings for the following Sunday.
Again, it is really rather good. Used as an aid (rather than a substitute!) for preparation, the thoughts that Lee brings are very helpful; each video generally appears in the middle of the week, giving several days to have a look at it before Sunday.
The blurb on the website page reads: ‘As Jim Packer says: “It is good to follow a lec-tionary, because lectionaries exist to ensure that everything of importance in the Bible is, in due course, read aloud in church.” But there can also be problems and criticisms levelled at certain lectionaries of course; as Packer goes on: “the lectionary gives us the Bible in bite-sized pieces and this can create a problem”.’
The webpage continues: ‘More could of course be said on that subject. Nevertheless, the fact is, many if not most Anglican churches use the lectionary… We will therefore be providing here a weekly commentary /exposition of the set readings for Sunday. We hope that it will be of use.’ And it is!
