Dear Sir,
I read with interest the article by John McLernon on mission strategy (en, May 2017); he presented well some of the challenges and competing claims that we experience as we aim to remain faithful to our calling to make disciples in a rapidly changing world.
As a minor point I would take issue with his reference to the well-known ‘quotation’ from St Francis of Assisi: ‘Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.’ The problem is that it seems unlikely that Francis ever said this; apparently until comparatively recently there are no references to it at all. On the contrary he preached – verbally – himself, and trained his followers to preach the Word. The nearest there seems to be is a statement that ‘All the Friars … should preach by their deeds’; taking this in context it is simply probably repeating the exhortation we have to live our lives worthy of the calling we have received.
