Shannon Johnston: The Key to “Getting Together” is Repentance!

from Stand Firm by David Ould http://www.davidould.net

This is priceless.
From Bishop Shannon Johnston of Virginia’s 2013 Pastoral Address where he speaks about his relationship with Tory Baucum…

I’ll grant you that the tax collector and the Zealot getting together is an extreme example, but the point, of course, is that if even they could do it because they had JESUS “in common” then surely so can we with one another and still to others near and far.

And the key? What is it that would allow moving from human estrangement to a Godly commonality in Jesus Christ? Well, first of all, it’s grace, the gift of God to God’s repentant people. Repentant people.

Let’s be clear - Johnston says the key to reconciliation is repentance.

So here’s the obvious question that the rector and vestry of Truro Anglican need to address - what is the key issue over which they think Johnston should repent in order to be reconciled to them?

And has he done it? What does Johnston actually think he has repented of in order to restore this relationship? As he himself states,

We have compromised nothing of our core theologies

the same core theologies that caused Truro to split from the Diocese of Virginia, no less.

And then one more question (the same one again) - who has actually had to move and concede in this whole “reconciliation”?