“Depend upon it, Sir,
Samuel Johnson, Sept 19, 1777
when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight,
it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
Michael Jinkins begins his book, “The Church faces Death” with this quote from Samuel Johnson. If there is any truth to it, than it’s little wonder those of us in the church are struggling to gain fresh and deeper understand of the church. We see the hand writing on the wall and it is “concentrating our thinking wonderfully.”
Though little more than 100 pages this book is no quick read. Jinkins draws heavily from Derrida, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard in inviting the church to embrace its death (as best as we can) to experience resurrection which we can’t create but is an act of God. He “de-scribes” the church in semiotic dialogue (a great chapter). Deals with ecclesial taxonomies in such a way that honors paradox and plurality and speaking hope to the church. Tackles the question, “what does it mean when we use the word ‘church’?”
Peace, dwight
