What kind of church?

‘To what kind of Christian, to what kind of Church, does the future belong?’

‘Not a Church that’s lazy, not a Church that’s shallow, not a Church that’s timid and weak in its faith, not a Church that expects blind obedience, not a Church that’s fanatical in its loyalty to one question or another, not a Church that’s a slave to its own history, always putting the brakes on, suspiciously defensive and critical of others, not a Church that’s quarrelsome, not a Church that’s impatient, not a Church that’s unfair in dialogue, not a Church that’s closed-minded. In short, the future does not belong to a Church that’s dishonest. But the future belongs to a Church that knows what it does not know, to a Church that relies upon God’s grace and wisdom and has, in its weakness and in its ignorance, a radical confidence in God, to a Church that’s strong in its faith, joyous and yet certain that it can be self-critical and survive, to a Church that has the courage of initiative, to a Church that has the courage to take risks, to a Church that’s completely open to the world in which it lives. The future belongs to a Church that is completely committed to Jesus Christ.’

- theologian Hans Kung

Reposted under permission by Facing the Challenge