Responses and the ABC

I have had some interesting feedback about my posts, and my site www.boredwithchurch.info, so I think there are some responses to make. This is not intended to criticise anyone who has commented, or go back on anything I have said elsewhere or to people specifically. It is a chance to accept and understand these, and look a little bit closer at them.

Some people have expressed that I am opinionated or aggressive. Well, part of that is the nature of a blog, that I am trying to express strong views and opinions, to address one part of the argument, not presenting a completely balanced argument. That is the nature of blogging, of expressing opinions. It doesn't mean that I don't accept the existence of other views, just that I am trying to outline my views, and give perspective to those.

Others have told me that their church does not exhibit these features, their church is not like that. Excellent! But most of what I post is perceptions of the entire church, expressed in some local expressions. It does not mean that all churches are like that, but I try to take a wider view, looking at the wider church. A wider perspective is not focused on what a particular church is doing, but what is happening across the country. And individual churches will not survive the collapse of the church nationally.

Which brings me on to the announcement by Rowan Williams that he is retiring. I know that a lot of people think that Rowan has been a good Archbishop. I don't quite know how to judge him, because the church is still in turmoil, and the real challenges of women bishops, gay clergy and gay marriage are all still in the air. He has kept the church together through the last decade, but is the church actually in a better state now than it was? I have no idea. It will take some time, I think, to see whether his Archepiscopacy has been successful or not.

The real question is who will succeed him. There are all sorts of names being thrown around, but would any of them want the job? The problem is that the job is impossible. It is somewhat like the England football managers job, or even the Chelsea manager recently - very high profile, but the likelihood of being liked or considered to be doing a good job is minimal. The chances of having a disaster is extremely high.

The next Archbishop will have to tackle a shrinking - maybe even dying - church, riven by serious and important divisions. What is more,they will have to deal with the fall out of whatever the women bishops agreement is. What is more, however well the next archbishop deals with these and any other issues that come up in the next decade, there will be those who will criticse him. And maybe, his successor will be a female - that would cause even more problems.