For those of us old enough to remember black and white television may also remember one of my favourite television western series from the more than half a century ago - "Wagon Train"! I now liken the Progressive Christianity movement to being on a wagon train as we move from what we know into the excitement and danger of the unknown.

 Some of us are like the wagon train scout: going ahead of the train, finding the way forward. This role can be lonely and dangerous, but having found a way through the scout returns to lead the train onwards. The scout can be someone who is a leader of fellow travellers from across a number of churches or denominations, but it can also be members within a church attempting to liberate their fellow congregation members.

 Some who set out on the journey into the unknown will decide that they have had enough of the travelling and when they find a place that offers comfort without danger, they decide to settle. Even though some will choose to settle where they are, the wagon train scout continues to do the work of pioneering and the remaining members of the wagon train continue to follow because the benefit of moving into the unknown is perceived to be greater than the benefit of staying where they are. But we are moving on into the excitement and dangers of the unknown.

 This is living in the New Reformation of Spirituality that I experience as being a global movement transcending all religions. This is no less than a paradigm shift. I use the word 'paradigm' because it indicates a 'foundational' way of living that is accepted by most people as being 'the way we do things around here'. The paradigm is so intrusive of all thinking and action that we never think that it can be challenged because it never dawns upon us that there is any other way of thinking.

 I love the Church but I fear for its future as an institution in Britain. Unless it abandons the old paradigm of its ancient but increasingly irrelevant creeds and doctrines, yes, even its insistence upon the blood sacrifice associated with the death of Jesus in our place, as Jesus paying the price of our sins, then the Church will surely die. The Church, in whatever form its future might be, will have to adopt a new paradigm that I see emerging amongst progressive followers of the Jesus Way.

 But I hasten to add that this 'new' paradigm is not new at all. Increasingly I see it as the genuine message of Jesus the Jew before the gentile Church got hold of his memories and made Jesus not only into the Christ of the Church but also into the substitution in my place on the cross. Nor is this 'new' paradigm new for Quakers. George Fox developed many of its insights four centuries ago.

 The more I study the Gospels of Thomas, Mark, Matthew and Luke the more I experience the Spirit in Jesus the reforming Jew who welcomed and respected difference, especially where people were sincere in their search for truth. But as I look at so much traditional Christianity and its illegitimate and dishonest offspring, 'Churchianity' I see an institution that maintains a flawed perception of reality in that it so often sees it self as the 'only way and therefore seems to 'outlaw' alternative visions of reality, including Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, etc. It also 'outlaws' liberal and progressive Christians as the root cause of the decline in church attendance over the past century or so.

 I am associated with the Progressive Christian Alliance based in Atlanta and on a recent forum exchange I read the following words from Kelly Martin-Shirk: "I've known many who studied God for years - who had their theology and doctrine all jot-and-tittled - but they knew not Him - they did not partake of Him - they were not drawn any closer to 'knowing' Him than one who studies the moon is automatically close to and part of the moon."

 Mary McMahon, Vice Chair of the Progressive Christianity Network Britain, has recently conducted three regional meetings consulting group convenors. The meeting held in Windermere is echoing at least two aspects of what I am finding through my ministry both in UK and North America:

1. Many progressive Christians have tried to remain in the Church but are now finding it increasingly difficult so to do. Many have chosen to leave conventional Christianity but are struggling as to where the journey will take them.
2. There is an increasing emphasis that the time to talk is over and progressive Christians should major even more on living and doing the Jesus issues of compassion and justice.

 As part of the second issue let us take for a moment the parables attributed to Jesus. In the old paradigm they were all too often presented as earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. Sadly they were over spiritualised when, as I understand them, they were originally social commentary upon which different sacred understandings could be applied. Perhaps many continue to over spiritualise them because it is easier to raise their meaning to a 'higher plain' than it is to get in the gutter alongside the poor, the rejected, the exploited and the abused - those who were so often the characters within the parables?

 Perhaps it is easier to talk about some "pie in the sky" rather than some "bread in the stomach" kind of God? Perhaps it is easier to pray quietly about a situation than it is to take to the streets and to demonstrate, or to write to our MP on behalf of the poor and exploited in the uncertain hope of getting a reply? Mother Teresa once said, "Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them."

 But I detect that the paradigm shift is underway. It is a global progressive movement of the Spirit that is beginning to break the barriers that divide religions and peoples. It is encouraging sacred hospitality as a starting point in dialogue. Such dialogue builds respect between people of different perceptions of reality expressed through their particular religious standpoints. It is a sacred movement that transcends religions without it degenerating into a 'melting pot' philosophy in which we all go into the melting pot with our vibrant sacred experiences and come out the similar shade of grey!

 From my experience it both reinforces and encourages the rightness of each individual sacred perception of reality, but the commitment is to sharing as sisters and brothers within the One God of all people. No one is expected to adopt the ways of another. The starting point for this dialogue is not some hidden agenda of conversion of someone from this religion to that. It is about transformation of self to live more like the example of Jesus of Nazareth. It is committed to recognising, respecting and welcoming what the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sachs has termed the 'dignity of difference'. If one wants a strap line for the concept of this paradigm shift it is the 'dignity of difference'. But it is more than that…

 One of the major 'wagon train' scouts in this whole paradigm shift is C3 Exchange in Spring Lake, Michigan. Ian Lawton leads the worshipping community there. Personally I consider Ian to be one of the most visionary spiritual leaders of our generation. However, some of you may have felt that Ian was too far down the road towards that paradigm shift and actually left a few of you concerned or perplexed. Now, some 20 months on Ian is living this new paradigm with his church while others of us only have the opportunity at the moment to talk about it.

 I am not the official spokesperson in UK for Ian Lawton or for C3Exchange but what I have witnessed on my two earlier preaching and speaking visits to Ian's church is that the paradigm shift is actually happening. C3 Exchange is an inclusive spiritual community that offers resources to enrich and empower the lives of all people in body, mind and spirit. An important issue is that it recognises that it will get some things wrong because it is an open and evolving community in which all are accepted for who they are and where they are on life's sacred journey.

 The community does not seek to convert but to encourage attendees to reflect on their own beliefs and values. However, the intention is not for the community to be a cerebral melting pot but to be a place of support and encouragement, inspiring people to be the change that they wish to see in the world on a day-by-day basis.

 Another aspect of this paradigm shift towards the 'dignity of difference' is the Charter for Compassion. This is a movement gaining momentum under the guidance of people such as Karen Armstrong and the Dalai Lama. Although probably you are aware of the Charter I quote it in full, as it is a major public statement of the new paradigm:

 The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

 It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

 We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings, even those regarded as enemies.

 We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

 One of the problems for the Church today is that we 'ring fence' the continued use of descriptors of a spiritual experience and reject other descriptors. God is experienced and explained as Father, Son and Holy Spirit [1]. Yet these descriptors are too small. 'God' is beyond these and cannot be defined. 'God' is a living reality, and each religion has its own descriptors of their particular 'God' experiences. This is right and proper. However, the problem comes when a particular religious group claims exclusivity in that their descriptors are the only correct descriptors; the only genuine way to the 'God' experience. To claim exclusivity is to limit the 'God' beyond all things and within all things, and is arrogance beyond belief.

 As Jack Spong often reminds us, any descriptors of the God experience are human attempts to describe the indescribable. In many ways, descriptors can and should be provisional and changeable as life's experiences develop. In trying to describe 'God' I am still looking through the dark glass, glimpsing but a tiny part of whatever 'God' is. I use the word 'God' as shorthand for the eternal Kingdom Values that constitute Perfect Love. These are universal, dwelling within and beyond all Humanity. I have discovered something of this Perfect Love that is 'God' through the pilgrimages of faith of Christians and members of other religious communities. This God is the Indwelling Spirit summed up in my experience in the Hindi word 'Namaste: may the God in me welcome and respect the God in you.'

 The Perfect Love that I know and name as 'God' is made known to me in Jesus of Nazareth. This is the same God who is experienced and explained by the Church as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is as I experience the teachings and unique life example of Jesus of Nazareth that I also experience more of what 'God' is, both in my pilgrimage of faith and in this post-modern world.

 And on the matter of the old paradigm of theism: theism is the belief in God as a 'Being' who controls and determines what happens in our lives and in the progress of earthly and heavenly matters. (By the way, did you know that there is a second definition of theism? It is, "A morbid state resulting from too much tea drinking…." I never drink tea and I have grown to reject the concept of a theistic god.) The all-powerful 'God Being' that we have been taught about is no longer the God I know or experience.  Such theism has either died or is dying in the thinking and experiences of most people today. But God, experienced and understood as Compassionate, Sacrificial and Unconditional, Perfect Love is eternally alive. 'God' as the Indwelling Divine Namaste Spirit has replaced the 'God Being' relic of my past.

 Rather than 'all-powerful' this new paradigm 'God' is impotent and powerless unless we become its metaphorical hands, feet, eyes and ears, doing the work of Kingdom transformation in individuals and community, and in protecting Creation. As such, God is not the 'old Man above the sky', the Universal Master Chess Player, moving the pieces around to bless one and to condemn another. From pastoral experience this is where people can make so much pain for themselves in seeing God as the all-powerful manipulator of human life.  The 'why did God let this happen to me?' question is thus often the first question to be asked, but it is the wrong question.

 'God' does not make things happen or intervene so that some things do not happen. 'God' is the Divine Spirit of Life itself, indwelling all people, sharing with us in our joys and sufferings. This is the Compassionate, Sacrificial and Unconditional, Perfect Love that is 'God' for me.

 Again, as Jack Spong often reminds us, whatever God may be, no one can describe God - only our experiences of 'God'. This is, for me, the starting point of the new paradigm. Spong's statement can be our springboard into the praxis of the 'dignity of difference' in which compassion is the key that unlocks the door to the sacred future. And whatever the chosen descriptors of your 'God' experiences may be, the time has come for us to move beyond the words and into living the change that we wish to see for ourselves and for the world about us. But to change self and others has nothing to do with coercion, only with the loving practice of what we preach.

 To follow Jesus is not so much concerned with 'right belief' as it is about what one does and how one lives. Jesus accepted people as they were and gave the outsider and the rejected both dignity and personal worth. To over spiritualise the stories of and about Jesus can assist us in avoiding the hard cost of discipleship or addressing the underlying root causes of hunger and poverty in a world of plenty. It is important to recognise that the good news of Jesus was never about converts to Judaism, and certainly not to Christianity as that was still at least a decade beyond his execution.

 The good news of Jesus was and remains concerned with personal, social, judicial, political and economic transformation for the benefit of all. And that is part of the new paradigm of the compassionate 'dignity of difference'. But the great and important question is this, "How do we put the new paradigm of a compassionate 'dignity of difference' into practice and does it need an institutional church to ensure that the message survives?"