At every level of church life from the local congregation to worldwide denominations, Christians can find themselves in turmoil and divided over a range of important issues. Many conclude that harmony is not achievable, and never will be. Can we, as Archbishop Justin Welby has asked, transform 'bad disagreement' into 'good disagreement'? What would that look like in practice? This book is designed to help readers unpack the idea of 'good disagreement' and apply it to their own church situations. It doesn't enter into specific contentious debates, but instead considers issues such as reconciliation, division, discipline, peacemaking, mediation and mission. It asks what needs to happen for those from differing viewpoints to both listen and be heard, and does not shy away from hard questions about unity in the gospel and the church's public witness. The book draws lessons from the New Testament, church history, and contemporary experience, with chapters from a dozen theologians and practitioners. They are editors Andrew Atherstone and Andrew Goddard, Tory Baucum, Martin Davie, Lis Goddard, Clare Hendry, Toby Howarth, Ashley Null, Ian Paul, Stephen Ruttle, Michael B. Thompson, and Tom Wright.

Can the Church of England find a way of disagreeing without being disagreeable - or splitting entirely?

About the Author
Andrew Atherstone is research fellow of the Latimer Trust and is involved in a ministry of writing and speaking. His main research explores aspects of Protestant and Evangelical history. His first two books are The Martyrs of Mary Tudor (Day One 2005) and Oxford's Protestant Spy: The Controversial Career of Charles Golightly (Paternoster 2007). Andrew Goddard is a well-known speaker and writer on Christian Ethics. He has recently been appointed Associate Director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics (KLICE), based at Tyndale House in Cambridge. The Institute is part of the Public Leadership Programme of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) and aims to provide resouces for academics, Christian professionals and church leaders. He is also editor of the Anglican theological journal Anvil, a fellow of the Anglican Communion Institute (working to support Anglican orthodoxy within the Anglican Communion), and a member of the Church of England's Faith and Order Advisory Group. He is also a member of the Leadership Team of Fulcrum (renewing the Evangelical centre within the Church of England), the Board of Directors of the International Jacques Ellul Society and the Ethics Group of Grove Books. In November 2012 he was installed as an Honorary Canon of Winchester Cathedral in recognition of his services to the Anglican Communion. He is married to Lis, who is also ordained, and they have two children. They are based in London where Lis has a parish post. Andrew taught full time in Trinity until the end of the 2009-10 academic year; he continues to teach part time and to supervise reasearch students.


Book Information
ISBN 9780745968353
Author Revd Dr Andrew Atherstone
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Lion Books
Publisher SPCK Publishing