I read Brian McLarens latest book, Finding Our Way Again, on the train back up to Glasgow yesterday. In it, he relates a story of being in a church one morning where they used a particular shared confession in the service. I was struck by it, and wanted to share it…
Gracious God,
our sins are too heavy to carry,
too real to hide,
and too deep to undo.
Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer
bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgement.
Set us free from a past that we cannot change;
open to us a future in which we can be changed;
and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image,
through Jesus Christ,
the light of the world. Amen.
How did you find the rest of the book? I had big concerns about his ‘muslim’ references on a few occasions, i think we have officially taken it off the shelves at FM
@ ally: I have concerns about it too. it was hard to follow what he was trying to say sometimes, to understand where he stood on the different religions, how they differ or overlap, work together. I’m not sure I agree with him on much of his views on the different religions! For that reason, I can understand why you have taken if off the shelves. Out of interest, would you order it in if someone asked for it?
That said, I think for people who want a conversational introduction to spiritual practices, it is a probably a good overview for them. there are other great books on spiritual practices that I would recommend if i thought mclarens views would be a problem, however most of those books are slightly harder to read. if i knew i could recommend mclaren to someone who is wise enough to test his words against Scripture, i probably would.
Thanks for the wonderful prayer I shall try and re-use it in worship some time soon