What a fictional wizard and a real pastor have to say to each other
Like many other people this week, I have resided in that strange limbo which exists between Christmas and New Year – the end of one working year and the beginning of the next. As that period drew to a close yesterday I spent some time beginning to crank the handle of my working mind – reading leftover journals from last year. I also spent a little bit of time catching up on the programmes I had meant to watch. Yesterday I watched (again) the last part of the Harry Potter saga, and also read a journal on the Christian book trade. This is how Albus Dumbledore and Mark Driscoll came to stand next to each other in my mind. Below are the two quotes which are now jostling for position:
‘Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.’ (Albus Dumbledore, from J. K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
‘Dark days are ahead if we don’t stop the infighting and refocus our efforts on preaching the Gospel immediately’ Mark Driscoll A call to resurgence.
Whilst I am sure that there is no way these two characters could ever share the same page, I have to confess that I find the words of the fictional wizard somewhat more compelling than those of the real-life pastor. Words are powerful, and if we sling them incautiously at each other then someone is bound to get hurt. I could not agree more with Pastor Driscoll that our focus should be on sharing good news rather than generating bad feeling. The trouble is, I am haunted by those instances when his words have seemed harsh, or incautious to me. The way we describe women, fellow pastors or those who do not share our faith matters deeply – to the world at large and to the one who made it.
I’m all for resurgence – but let’s do it with more grace than fire. To do so works a charm, as Dumbledore might say.
Images: Wikipedia and es.wizardingworld
