Justin Welby

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I was delighted to hear of the appointment of Justin Welby as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. I was even more delighted to hear it confirmed on Friday!

I don't know Mr Welby personally, but I've got quite a few friends who do know him from various places, and none of them has anything bad to say about him. He seems to be thoroughly committed to Jesus and his word, to be wise in the way he acts towards people and to be bold enough to try new things. I couldn't have asked for a better choice for Archbishop.

At the same time, we need to be careful not to get our expectations up too high. Justin Welby isn't the "head of the Church of England". He isn't the leader the Church of England needs. That is Jesus Christ - we should pin our hopes on him and pray to him for revival in this nation.

Justin Welby faces a horribly large task. The Church of England is a huge organisation (or 42 organisations, or 8000 organisations), and it will take a lot of effort and a long time for one man to turn it around. Mr Welby needs our prayers.

The text of Justin Welby's short speech when it was announced can be found here. It's excellent, often misreported, and well worth a read.

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