I think Lambeth is playing for what the Archbishop of Canterbury thinks is the middle ground, but he has sorely misjudged the reality. The middle is very small. Most of the American Episcopal Church is trapped under highly revisionist and pantheistic leaders, for whom Jesus Christ is not the only way. Thus, numbers-wise, TEC has little middle ground, with the revisionists in the majority, the orthodox secondary, and those in the middle last in number. In the international Anglican Communion, the majority of members are orthodox, especially in the Global South, and the revisionists are scattered among small provinces whose entire active membership would hardly be the size of an African diocese.

It is also quite possible that Dr. Williams is being disingenuous in his do-not-invite list. Already Kenneth Kearon, the Anglican Communion Office secretary-general, is reported as saying that Robinson might be invited as a visitor, but that Minns would not be invited as such. So, Lambeth Palace offers a possible back-door way for the homosexual activist Robinson to get on-site at next year's Lambeth Conference, while excluding Minns, a godly and moral leader, as well as the godly and moral leaders of AMiA. It will be up to the Global South to respond to the exclusion of the Nigerian and Rwandan bishops.

Speaking of godly and moral bishops who are being excluded, Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti of Recife (geographically located in the country of Brazil) is also being singled out by Dr. Williams. The very poor treatment of Bishop Cavalcanti by the Province of Brazil has nearly been matched by the poor treatment shown to Recife by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Province of the Southern Cone, led by Archbishop and Primate Gregory Venables, has taken Cavalcanti and his diocese under its wing for temporary primatial oversight, but the present Lambeth slam against Cavalcanti suggests that the Southern Cone needs to do more. This is the time when the orthodox need to close ranks.

One interesting observation is that Dr. Williams has said he is sending out 800-plus personal invitations to the Anglican bishops around the world to come to the 2008 Lambeth Conference. This action appears to be a departure from the past policy, which was to invite the PROVINCES as PROVINCES, and respect their internal hierarchies and order. If he sends these invitations directly to the bishops, he will be undercutting the authority of the provinces' primates and Houses of Bishops. Is this intentional? Is it the Archbishop's intention to create a personal fealty of bishops to him, bypassing each bishop's own archbishop and primate? His action would seem to have that effect, however intentioned. Furthermore, if even one bishop responded in the affirmative from each province, he could announce that ALL provinces had agreed to attend the conference. Would Williams do that? Perhaps he believes he has found the Anglican way for his office to be exercised: not as a pope, but as a feudal lord with individuals establishing loyalty to him. Then again, perhaps things will change and go in another direction before then. Stay tuned for further revelations from Lambeth!

Please remember, in spite of all the machinations of the worldly authorities, to stay firm in your prayer, stay grounded in the Word of God, take counsel with your godly brothers and sisters, and do the work of the Great Commission. The final test is finally not even about success, but about faithfulness. May Jesus be able to say to each of us, "Welcome, good and faithful servant"-for that matters even more than what happens to the Anglican Communion.

Blessings and Peace in Christ Jesus,

---The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson IS CEO & President of the American Anglican Council