John Twisleton is Rector of St Giles, Horsted Keynes in Chichester Diocese, where he also led the diocesan mission and renewal team for eight years. He has also worked as an Area Missioner in London Diocese and as Principal of an ordination training centre in Guyana. He has written on issues including baptism, confession, priesthood, prayer, healing, and he broadcasts regularly on Premier Radio.
John Twisleton combines clarity of thought and a pastoral heart in
this book which lives up to its name. Based on his own experience
and conviction that it is both possible and life changing to meet
with Jesus, it will be of great use to individuals or to folk
gathered in small groups. Bishop Lindsay Urwin OGS
I long ago got used to the expectation that, if I pick up a book on
the Christian faith by an evangelical or grotty protty, I will find
a great deal of Bible-thumping and injunctions to get myself saved.
Whereas, in a Christian book by an anglo-catholic or spiky Joe, I
will see a lot about the Virgin Mary and the profound influence on
the writer of the high church theological college which prepared
him for the ministry. In John Twisleton's, lively book, we get both
- and this is part of what makes him so refreshing. Here is a man
with prominent evangelical virtues who yet calls himself not only a
minister but a priest. Meet Jesus is a basic introduction to
Christianity which works the minor miracle of combining
intelligent, persuasive teaching with the complete avoidance of the
patronising tone of voice. Yes, here is enthusiastic evangelical
preaching to the individual but also the reminder that, 'The faith
of Christians is sustained within a body, the church, formed and
authorised by God.' I can almost hear John Henry Newman adding his
loud Amen to that. And to this: 'The forgiveness that Jesus won for
us on the cross is freely available through the worship of the
sacrament of reconciliation (confession) as well as through
prayer.' This is more than refreshing: it is inspired. For it is
about time that Christians of all denominations put aside their
differences of emphasis and directed their fire towards the
aggressive secularism which attempts to displace Christianity from
public life and discourse. John Twisleton does not peddle cheap
grace. He teaches a commitment to faith in Jesus Christ which not
only encourages us in the sunshine of joyful worship and the
spiritual exhilaration which friendship with Jesus can bring, but
which calls on us to know that, in times of pain and difficulty,
'...you will be carried forward through all the perils of life by
one who loves you beyond reason.' How far does Twisleton's true
liberalism extend? Of the major non-Christian religions he quotes,
with approval, the Second Vatican Council: 'The Church rejects
nothing which is true and holy in these religions.' The author
knows that we can not only be enlightened by science but also
blinded by it. And this is why in his defence of the reasonableness
of belief in God, he asks tellingly of the cosmologists, 'If
everything started with the Big Bang, who could have caused this
event other than someone outside space, time and matter who created
space, time and matter, called God?' Twisleton strongly defends the
reasonableness of faith but he knows that the heart has its reasons
which reason knows not of. And here, in what for me is the most
impressive line in his book, the author declares, with Blaise
Pascal, 'Holiness is the church's greatest influence.' Reviewed by
Rev'd Dr Peter Mullen at St Sepulchre-Without-Newgate, London
Twisleton walks out an ancient-future faith as pastor-priest. He
straddles theological diversity in a fresh and compelling
visitation with Jesus Christ. Meet Jesus is a gritty and
warm-hearted introduction to Christianity with insight, truth and
warmth! There is a evangelical fervour beating here in the call to
the body-life and church family. It will stir your heart and
inspire your faith with the beauty of grace, truth of worship and
wisdom of gospel living. As Twisleton poetically pens...' in times
of pain and difficulty, you will be carried forward through all the
perils of life by one who loves you beyond reason.' There is
science, reason, cosmology, scripture and story woven well in this
title. The author echoes Blaise Pascal's high wisdom challenge,
'Holiness is the church's greatest influence!' Oh that we might
live up to this. Here is a lively, engaging and utterly reasonable
ask! Rev'd Dr Johnny Douglas for the Goodbookstall
From New Directions - January 2012 Anglo-Catholics have sometimes
struggled to find suitable material for teaching the faith, be it
for the Lent course, confirmation classes, or as a catholic
equivalent to the popular Alpha course. This book is not
pre-packaged for immediate use at any one of those events, but it
offers a solid foundation upon which priests, preachers and
teachers can build to create a course suitable for their particular
needs and circumstances. At the end of the book there is a guide to
using each chapter with groups, so that with a little effort at
local level, a seven-part 'Meet Jesus' course could be prepared and
delivered. An appendix also prints the Common Worship texts of the
Creed and the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and a list of
the Sacraments. Meditations, mostly from or based on Scripture,
punctuate the text, and each chapter concludes with a list of
bullet-points 'for action'. So the book could equally be used by
individuals, or given as a Confirmation present. The only practical
tools which are not provided are an index and bibliography, though
there are thorough notes which in themselves provide ample
suggestions for further reading. The author, a frequent reviewer in
these pages, is a parish priest and missioner, and those two
strands of his experience are woven into this introduction to the
exciting adventure which awaits those who take seriously the
invitation of Jesus to follow him. In addition to his own practical
experiences, Fr Twisleton quotes from an engagingly wide variety of
sources, from Teddy Roosevelt and Mark Twain to John Wesley and
Evelyn Underhill, via Teilhard de Chardin and the Cure d'Ars. Meet
Jesus begins by establishing the fact that faith in Jesus Christ is
reasonable; that is to say, it is not ludicrous to believe in Jesus
Christ. Important as the use of reason is though, belief in Jesus
Christ inevitably involves much more than that: it also requires
faith, which is the subject of the second chapter. 'As in any
friendship, there is a gradual revelation of oneself to another,'
Twisleton writes, before going on to give an account of what it is
that friendship with Jesus entails, an account of what Christians
believe. His exposition of the Trinity is particularly helpful,
concluding 'only when we talk of love does the mystery of the
Trinity make sense.' Thereafter, Twisleton examines in turn the
place of worship, prayer, fellowship, service and witness. He is
particularly good on worship, which is God-given and at the heart
of which lies sacrifice. He is also very helpful on prayer, which
he defines as 'the bringing of the whole self to God.' But this is
more than simply a theoretical analysis on prayer: there are lots
of good, practical tips about how to pray, an area in which even
the most dedicated Christians need all the help that is available!
Meet Jesus adopts a conservative (small 'c') stance, as typified in
the insistence that 'truth is something outside us that challenges
us, not just something we think out for ourselves'. It is never
nakedly denominational or factional, but does without question come
from a catholic, sacramental and liturgical perspective. Having
said that, Twisleton offers some interesting comparisons between
charismatic and more formal types of worship, concluding that both
are ways to Meet Jesus provided we approach them with open hearts.
The final chapter, on Witness, holds up Mary as the example par
excellence of contemplative, visionary, obedient, Spirit-led and
Church-nurtured discipleship of Jesus Christ. In discussing
mission, Fr Twisleton quotes Rowan Williams describing mission as
'finding out what God is doing and joining in.' This book is above
all a valuable reminder that to Meet Jesus is to be invited to join
in his desire for the coming of the Kingdom. God calls, we follow.
Our task is to open our minds, ears, eyes, hearts, lips, hands, and
ultimately our whole lives to enable us to respond to that call.
Meet Jesus will help people on all stages of the Christian journey
to do just that. Reviewed Fr Ian McCormack
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