Matthew: I saw the Evangelical Manifesto mentioned elsewhere. As I’m not an American evangelical I probably don’t have much standing to comment on it, and I will be interested to hear what others think.

However, as a general observation, I suspect that the issuing of “manifestos” and similar documents has been part of the problem of evangelicalism rather than being the basis for a solution. I also have problems with a document which purports to be a “declaration of evangelical identity” and yet makes no mention of baptism and no mention of prayer. Christians are baptised people who pray!

Michael: While obviously I don’t approve of attempts to escape the law/gospel paradigm (jn), Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship is the go-to book for escaping the misuse of the law/gospel paradigm as a means of evading what Jesus is actually saying.

Having listened to your latest podcast yesterday, Discipleship will probably also be a very useful book to take with you on sabbatical as part of your deliberations on the subject of a “Jesus-shaped spirituality” – not least the way in which Bonhoeffer seeks to integrate the contemporary ministry of Word and sacrament with the “Follow me!” of the gospels (rather than setting them at odds with one another, as has happened too often in the church’s history).