John Shelby Spong

Hi Friends —

According to Wikipedia, John Shelby Spong (June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church, born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He served as the Bishop of Newark, New Jersey from 1979 to 2000. Spong was a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator, and author who called for a fundamental rethinking of Christian belief away from theism and traditional doctrines. He was known for his progressive and controversial views on Christianity, including his rejection of traditional Christian doctrines, his advocacy for LGBTQ rights, and his support for interfaith dialogue.

In sessions held at Unity Institute’s 2008 Lyceum, Bishop Spong shared his thoughts about the direction of Christianity, noting that Unity has a special part to play in this future. In March 2008, UWM's Contact magazine published a 2-page article about his remarks. Scroll down to read the full article and download a PDF. Here are some clips from what has to say.

A radical new turn in Christianity is taking place.

there is a truth that Unity seems to hold fast to for the benefit of the whole Christian faith.

And you are standing there holding it, and it must prevail, or there will be no Christian tomorrow.

Stand firm; you (Unity) occupy a critical place, and a fantastic turning, away from yesterday, and into tomorrow, of the Christian faith.

You have a lot of broken [Christian] people that come into Unity to be healed They might not stay. They might get healed and go back home. And that will happen. You ought to rejoice in that. That’s a part of your ministry....

my job is to build the Christian movement. That’s what Unity’s job is. You’ve got to put your own needs aside for the needs of humanity.

Unity is playing a very important part in the Christian reformation, but Unity won’t necessarily be the church of tomorrow.

There’s a lot going on, and Unity is a piece of that. The future of the Christian church is being nurtured in those voices, but won’t determine the shape of it. It will he something new ... All we have to do is be faithful to our vision.

You’ve got to give them something to hang onto, and let them develop it in ways that you may not always be sure are right. You (Unity) are doing something very important. I hope you feel vindicated. You’re holding up for all of us a powerful part of the Christian faith, and because you hold it, it won’t be lost.

I was Episcopalian. Back in the 1990s I thought Bishop Spong hung the moon, but I was fed-up with Episcopalianism. He spoke at Unity Hills in Austin back in 2008/2009. What a great day that was. I’m no longer Episcopalian, but in a way I am now a better Episcopalian than before. That is the power of Unity ... to raise up those in the mainstream church to be better. That was Spong.

Here’s my point. If any of these statements resonate with you, then why would we declare to 2.3 billion Christians that we have left Christianity and we no longer want to play a part in their reformation?

Mark Hicks
Sunday, February 4, 2024

Download PDF the March 2010 article in Contact magazine

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As we look to the future, many prophetic voices share their views. Perhaps none is more relevant to Unity than that of Bishop John Shelby Spong. In sessions held at Unity Institute's 2008 Lyceum, he shared his thoughts about the direction of Christianity, noting that Unity has a special part to play in this future. Still of great value as we begin 2010, here are some of his comments, paraphrased and adapted.

Consciousness is of God—when we broke through to self-consciousness, we became separate from God. It was a crucial mistake in religious history. We’ve built our whole religious system on our separation from God—our self-centeredness. We are seeing change in how people view the world. We are one with God. Not defining, but experiencing the reality of God. I no longer try to change God’s mind or manipulate God. We’re in a fertile field with new understandings. It’s the theistic definition of God that is dying, not God.

Differences are fading, oneness is growing. We don’t see ourselves as waging a war within ourselves, but being called into the healing of oneness. A radical new turn in Christianity is taking place. In this new turning of the Christian faith, at the heart of that turning is a vital, crucial role—there is a truth that Unity seems to hold fast to for the benefit of the whole Christian faith. That’s a vital vocation. And you are standing there holding it, and it must prevail, or there will be no Christian tomorrow. Spell out what your vocation is. Stand firm; you (Unity) occupy a critical place, and a fantastic turning, away from yesterday, and into tomorrow, of the Christian faith.

Unity’s Job

Unity churches that I see across the country are growing—there are veiy few that don’t seem to be growing. They’re growing because the message attracts people. You have a lot of broken people that come into Unity to be healed They might not stay. They might get healed and go back home. And that will happen. You ought to rejoice in that. That’s a part of your ministry.... I tried to build a church in a seminary in Durham, but after 3 or 4 years, they all left. I couldn’t build my church My ego got in the way.

My job isn’t to build the church in Durham, my job is to build the Christian movement. That’s what Unity’s job is. You’ve got to put your own needs aside for the needs of humanity. I think your message is growing. I talk about Unity a lot, and a lot of people don’t know anything about it—never heard of it. And once you get outside the major cities, you don’t find Unity churches.

We’ve lived in a model that doesn’t know how to move out there. I think evangelical religion is about forcing our religion on others where it doesn’t fit. I think it’s hostile. You can’t tell the good news of the love of God to anybody by being hostile. The only way you’ve got to do it is to live it.

Paul talks about the Christ experience that transcends the bounds that human beings have erected against each other. In Christ there’s no Jew or Gentile, etc. The purpose of the Christ is to give life abundantly. You don’t give life abundantly by denigrating the humanity of any child of God. It is proclaiming the Gospel to defend the humanity of any child of God. It’s the essence of the Gospel.

Church of the Future?

Unity is playing a very important part in the Christian reformation, but Unity won’t necessarily be the church of tomorrow. I don’t think there’s any church in existence that’s going to he the church of the future, so don’t take it personally. Church is not eternal, it’s a human institution, and all institutions get horn, grow old and die. Neither is a nation eternal. We are tribal people to our core, i.e., God bless America. There are elements of the tribal mentality in all our religions. The world, environment, interconnection of trade, all are drawing us closer together.

There’s an enormous evolution going on in the way human beings think about the world and in the way human beings think about God and themselves. As consciousness develops, you don’t go backwards. Nobody can turn the clock hack on freedoms that you’ve granted to people. Consciousness is a one way street, and I think we’re becoming more human. I don’t believe that it’s a straight line, that every day things are getting better and better. There’s too much evidence that it’s just not so. But there’ll always he interruptions and backward movements in the trend. The long-term trend is to a deeper, more sensitive kind of humanity.

De-Mythologize or Adapt

We’ve gone through a real revolution of language in the last 50 years. For instance, what do you do with the creed—it assumes a three-tiered universe? So what you do is recognize it for what it is. It’s a love song that 4th century Christians sang to God. I’ve no trouble singing a 4th centuiy love song. But it’s not a straight jacket. Once you begin to treat it as a straight jacket, then it becomes something evil. I can resonate with a lot of things that come out of the past, hut I don’t literalize them. And that’s the problem— we’ve literalized all these things. It doesn’t make much sense in the world you live in. Either de-mythologize or adapt.

No Longer a Division of Denominations

Those who will partner with Unity in this change will transcend all denominations— the division in the church today is not a division of denominations, it’s a division between those that are open to the future and those that aren’t. They’re in every church. Clergy that are open attract people that are open and inquisitive.

There are individuals everywhere, and organizations emerging. There’s a lot going on, and Unity is a piece of that. The future of the Christian church is being nurtured in those voices, but won’t determine the shape of it. It will he something new, appropriate to its time, and quite different from my time. All we have to do is be faithful to our vision and our generation and not worry about tomorrow. They’ve (our children) got to he faithful to their generation. You’ve got to give them something to hang onto, and let them develop it in ways that you may not always be sure are right. You (Unity) are doing something very important. I hope you feel vindicated. You’re holding up for all of us a powerful part of the Christian faith, and because you hold it, it won’t be lost.