In language there is a class of nouns called abstract: they refer to an intangible concept, state or quality—often, the big ideas we take for granted. These nouns—happiness, say, or peace—feel nice, even expansive. We use them liberally and unthinkingly: they lolly around in the mouth, and dissolve on the tongue. But many are potent nodes in the consciousness of late modernity. Such is the word “Freedom”. As pervasive as a background hum—and as hard to isolate—the rapt idea of freedom permeates our thinking, so much so that it is hard to think well about. It’s used everyday to sanction all manner of things, including some appalling evils. Here, in this edition, we’re asking: What is freedom? And how might the gospel of Jesus Christ upend and transform the vague but powerful contemporary idea? It’s tricky terrain, one that needs a good guide.
We’re fortunate to have one such guide to hand for this edition’s lead article. To be sure, the mountainous country that Luke Fenwick invites us to traverse with him in “Returning to Freedom” is difficult, requiring us to stretch for new understanding. But the view is worth the effort. Through Jesus’s story of the compassionate father and his two sons, Luke opens to us the scope and dignity of Christian freedom. In contrast to contemporary ideals, it is only within God’s embrace, Luke suggests, that we can come to know true freedom. In “Like Treasure: A Letter On Freedom and Decision-Making” Sonya Lewthwaite agrees. “How do you make a decision?”, she asks, in this letter to a friend. The reflections she offers are kind, compassionate, and spiritually wise.
Alongside these reflective essays, we asked friends from the 2026 Venn Summer Conference, Tūī and Victor Lelo, and Wingyeung Szeto, how they’ve experienced freedom with God—a humble and encouraging snapshot. Poetry returns to Common Ground with Hannah Wedlock’s stunning prose poem exploring colour, “Creation in Six Swatches”. We’re also stoked to share a trial by the flatmates of King George Avenue of our latest resource, Welcoming the Sabbath, a new addition to our Keeping Sacred Time series, available in the Venn Store soon.
Finally, no edition would be complete without the Field Notes interview, our regular dive into the lives of people learning to follow Christ over the long haul, in all areas of life and work. Archbishop Emeritus Sir David Moxon, who wrote one of the forewords to Alistair Reese’s much-read book on the Treaty of Waitangi, He Tatau Pounamu, spoke to the 2026 Venn Summer Conference during the visit to Rangiaowhia. So we were delighted to talk at length with him. David’s life is marked by action: his life of wise, Christ-led leadership has been tested time and again, bearing good fruit in many, many places. But it’s his insistence on prayer—prayer as the wellspring of real action—that really stands out. This is a good challenge to the Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, one we need to heed as we seek to live into the freedom we have in Christ—for the good of this troubled world.
Ngā mihi nui,
Dr John Dennison,
Editor, Common Ground.
