Last night we received word that our internet friend and Modern Reformation contributor Michael Spencer (also known as the “internet Monk“) had finally succumbed to the cancer with which he had been diagnosed shortly before Christmas. Michael’s theological journey mirrored many of our own: raised in one tradition, he began to read more widely and deeply in church history, and began to see that the Faith was much larger than his own experience of it. Michael spoke as an insider to other insiders–calling for reform in evangelical churches. Michael also spoke as a sympathetic outsider to other outsiders–his own questions had changed how he approached the church and he could speak to others who felt the same sense of alienation he often did.
Michael contributed several articles over the last few years:
- When Alex Doesn’t Believe (May/June 2005)
- Lifestyle and Discipleship (September/October 2009)
- A Roundtable Discussion on Inerrancy (March/April 2010)
Like many around the Internet and among his small Kentucky town, we will miss Michael. We will miss his irenic spirit, his application of Reformation insights to the contemporary church, and his willingness to engage those who thought differently in order to see the cause of Christ advanced. We pray that his wife, children, and son and daughter in law will be comforted with the hope of resurrection as they mourn his death.
