Word Alive is no more

The organisers of the ‘Word Alive’ Bible study holiday have decided to remove themselves from the ‘Spring Harvest’ Christian Butlins holiday because they do not like Steve Chalke. Instead they are setting up a new more Biblical Bible study holiday in Pwllheli and Steve Chalke will not be invited. Well, that is my amost certainly flawed understanding of the situation based on this statement from the UCCF on Adrian Warnock’s site:

“Steve Chalke has made his dislike of penal substitution very clear by likening God’s act of punishing Jesus in our place to a cosmic child abuser. In good conscience, we simply could not allow Steve to teach during the Word Alive week. We’re very sad that after 14 years of fruitful ministry, Spring Harvest has decided to end the Word Alive partnership because we feel unable to shift on this position.”

This all might seem terribly uninteresting to many readers, but I look back with fondness on my various trips to both Word Alive and Spring Harvest during my time as a human being. It is sad that they cannot get along. I would very gladly go back to Spring Harvest given the opportunity. Spring Harvest organisers (if you are reading) – if you would like me to come and talk about doing drawings or draw during the sermons I will do so. I am prepared to stay in a budget chalet, though those ones that look like log cabins look quite nice.

This is a picture I did back in 1997 whilst at Spring Harvest. Warning: by today’s standards it is not very funny, and it is not very good by any standards.

Links for those who want to read further:
Website for Spring Harvest
Website for Word Alive as it was
Website for the ‘New, more sound and biblical Word Alive’
Dave 42’s site, where I found out about this. He makes good points about why this is a sorry state of affairs.

Update: UCCF Statement
Further Update: Bishop Pete Broadbent has posted a response in the comments below.