“There’s much about the emerging movement that I applaud.” Charles Colson to Andrew Jones on Tallskinnykiwi.
Charles Wendell “Chuck” Colson passed away today. It was good to see so many bloggers and Christian leaders speak well of his life and ministry for a few days before his death. I hope his family shared some of those compliments with him. Best article was “Setting the Captives Free” by Emily Belz on WorldMag.
Colson was a great man and a worthy critic of the emerging church and its dealings with postmodernism. Many of us responded to Colson’s critiques which were bold and sharp but not always on target.
One of the posts I had written in 2003 in response to Colson’s “The Postmodern Crackup” became a really well-read post, especially for those Princess Bridge fans. In fact, I still read this post to give myself a giggle.
In 2006, I responded to another of Colson’s articles, this time called “Emerging Confusion”. My response was very tongue in cheek and full of insider jokes – probably meaningless to people who have not read Colson’s books, but nevertheless quite fun to write.
“I just love how Charles Colson keeps bouncing back with more articles on the same thing, each time getting closer and closer. It’s a life sentence to habitually write these articles and a true act of loving God. What perseverance! The man is certainly born again.” TSK, Colson takes another shot.
It was always a joy to respond to Colson. He had an approachable manner, apparently something that he also carried in the White House. And unlike many EC critics who never turn up to discuss or defend their criticisms, Charles Colson interacted with us, influenced us, and was influenced by us.
I am grateful that Chuck took the time to talk to me in 2008 which helped to smooth out some misunderstandings. I summed up our correspondence this way:
“. . . [Colson] wrote an article on postmodernism and I don’t think we saw eye to eye. Later on, things came to a head when Colson wrote Soothing Ourselves to Death? and I responded with Reclusing Ourselves to Death? But it sounds like we are all in a happy place now, and its good to see emerging church people quoted in Colson’s book.” Link
Praying peace for the Colson family.
Respectfully, Andrew Jones
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Original Post: Watergate figure Charles Colson is not expected to live much longer. He had a brain surgery operation a few weeks ago and he is not recovering from it. Pray for Chuck!
“There’s much about the emerging movement that I applaud.” Charles Colson to Andrew Jones on Tallskinnykiwi interview.
It’s true that Chuck and I had a few clashes on the internet regarding the emerging church and postmodernism but these were friendly and congenial learning experiences and I look back on them fondly. It was a privilege to have Charles talk about his book “The Faith” on my blog.
Charles Colson leaves a huge legacy with his books, the worldwide Prison Fellowship movement, and what he might most be remembered for, his leadership alongside Richard John Neuhaus to produce the groundbreaking document called“Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium.”
Chuck, you did well, you rocked the world, you kicked ass! We applaud you!
DID YOU KNOW . . . that he “Born Again” book cover image of Charles Colson was based on a photo by my friend Spencer Burke?
