Preaching and election. The doctrine of election does not dispense with the necessity of preaching. On the contrary, it makes it essential. For Paul preaches and suffers for it (literally) 'in order that' they 'may obtain the salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory' (2 Tim. 2:11). The elect obtain salvation in Christ not apart from the preaching of Christ but by means of it. --- John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
February 27, 2015

When the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church gathers for their spring retreat meeting March 13 -- 17 at Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC., one wonders which bishop will have the courage (and he or she will definitely need a spine) to stand up and ask Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori what she makes of the two property losses in Quincy and South Carolina, recently, and whether, in light of the court reversals over the Dennis Canon, if she might reconsider not spending millions more dollars on a clearly failed litigation strategy.

What would it take for Gregory Brewer of Central Florida or Bill Love of Albany, perhaps even Dan Martins of Springfield to rise, and after a day of deep prayer and meditation on the PB's understanding of "God's Mission" and how much money is needed to fund it, and ask that question. It would be a Kairos moment for the Church.

*****

All in all, it was a horrible week for The Episcopal Church, by any definition. The Church got smacked down by Illinois and South Carolina judges with the Episcopal Church being accused of bullying and intimidation and told to stop.

In South Carolina, the court freed TECinSC to move on down the road toward the appellate highway where they hope to reverse several rulings against them saying they have no stake in the some $500 million worth of properties they claim as theirs.

VOL correspondent Mary Ann Mueller noted that The Episcopal Church (TEC) has a recurring triple-fold mantra: 1) The "hierarchical" claim; 2) Parishes cannot leave the diocese and dioceses cannot leave the church argument; and 3) The "What's mine is mine, what's yours is mine, too" mindset, as revealed through the Dennis Canon so therefore "we'll sue you until we get it our way through on-going litigation and break you financially in the arduous legal process." It doesn't matter what court or in which state the litigation happens, TEC's war cry is the same.

One Illinois circuit court judge has had enough. Three times last Friday (Feb. 20), he told The Episcopal Church to cease and desist in his court order seeking to bring The Episcopal Church under control. Adams County, Illinois Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Mark Drummond emphatically told The Episcopal Church that the top-down bullying and intimidation of the Diocese of Quincy and its financial institution will stop ... immediately.

Then a South Carolina judge denied TEC's motion for a rehearing. On Monday, the Diocese of South Carolina's (DIOofSC) Chancellor, Alan Runyan, with the still hot Illinois ruling in hand, filed a formal response to The Episcopal Church IN South Carolina's (TECinSC) to reconsider. He asked South Carolina's First Judicial Court Judge Diane Goodstein to have the Defendants (TECinSC) "move on down the road, in pursuit of whatever appellate remedies they seek ... allowing the Defendants to continue on the appellate highway they seem intent on traveling.

"The law is intended to be, and in fact is, a highway for litigants to travel until the destination of justice is reached," the DIOofSC chancellor reminded the South Carolina judge in his response to TECinSC's Rule 59e motion. "It is not a carousel on which litigants are to ride in never-ending circular journeying."

In a short two-page order, the South Carolina judge succinctly denied TECinSC's 180-page Motion to Reconsider her 46-page February 3 ruling in which she declared: 1) DIOofSC, churches belonging to the Diocese OF South Carolina, their vestries and wardens are in fact the true owners of the real, personal and intellectual properties of the Diocese; 2) that TECinSC have no legal, beneficial or equitable interest in DIOofSC real, personal or intellectual properties; 3) that TECinSC and The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (TEC) are permanently enjoined from using the identity names, seal and mark of The Episcopal Diocese OF South Carolina and its various congregations.

You can read the full story by Mary Ann Mueller in her brilliant historical overview of both legal cases in today's digest or here: http://tinyurl.com/q99l5e2

*****

A parish in Austin, Texas sought affiliation with the ACNA Diocese of Fort Worth this week. Bishop Jack Iker received a letter from the Rev. Canon Len Giacolone, Rector of St. Francis Anglican Church in Austin, Texas, saying that the parish voted unanimously at its annual parish meeting on Feb. 1, 2015, to seek affiliation with our Diocese. The parish was formed in 1993 as part of the Episcopal Missionary Church, then under the leadership of Bishop A. Donald Davies, who had served as the first Bishop of Fort Worth.

Currently there are 115 parishioners at St. Francis with an average Sunday attendance of 60-70 worshippers and an annual budget of $185,000. It is a traditional 1928 Prayer Book church, sharing the theological and biblical stance of the Diocese of Fort Worth.

*****

The waffling Archbishop of Canterbury put his foot in his mouth again this week by saying to
Birmingham pupils on a question about gays, "Who am I to judge them for their sins, if they have sins?"

Justin Welby got grilled by children in Birmingham. The leader of the Church of England told the kids he has "a lot of gay friends" when they quizzed him during a trip to their school.

Asked about his views on gay marriage and homosexuals working in the church by sixth form students at St Alban's Academy in Highgate, he replied, "Marriage is between one man and one woman for life and sexual activity should be confined to marriage, that's in the Church of England's laws. I'm equally aware I have a lot of gay friends and I know gay clergy and they are doing incredible work."

The married father-of-five admitted that he "struggled" with his views on homosexuality, adding, "I'm listening very, very closely to try to discern what the spirit of God is trying to tell us. We shouldn't demonize and dismiss and hate each other as that is so dangerous."

No, but Scripture is abundantly clear that any and all sex must be confined to heterosexual marriage. His constant waffling on the issue only hardens Global South Anglican leaders like Nicholas Okoh, Archbishop of Nigeria, and Eliud Wabukala of Kenya, to name but two (add all of GAFCON), that they will not accept his ability or authority to run the Communion nor will they show up for any Primates meetings or future Lambeth conferences, if he should one.

*****

There are moments in a nation's political history when there might come a time for a College of Bishops to make a stand against some political extremism -- from either the left or the right --in the name of a humanity that is made in God's image; a theological intervention as a matter of holy principle, writes the Rev. Dr. Gavin Ashenden.

But that is not the case in England, now. There is an election coming with political power up for grabs, and the bishops have entered the electoral fray. They have, however, dressed their intervention up in a lofty way, suggesting they are helping along a conversation that they alone can facilitate.

They have based their 52-page letter on the supposition that they have an angle to bring to election discussions that no one else can provide. But their presentation of neutrality is false. Behind a cosmetic front, crafted with care in the first few pages, their real political prejudices seep out.

In their haste to attack the present Government, they present figures that are false. Ashenden called it the "Bishops' Betrayal".

Seemingly unable to bear to tell the truth about the real fall in the numbers of the unemployed under this Government, they disguise the fact; they appear to want to believe that in-work poverty has fallen -- so they say, contrary to other facts, that it has risen.

They choose to attack aspects of globalization the Left typically decries, and are silent on the advantages the Right celebrates.

They have views on the complexity of nuclear deterrent. They choose to attack the Trident program, which the Left has always done, without any accompanying analysis of wider or compensating defense issues.

They claim the poor are being discarded, as the Left always does, and ignore the claims of the Right to have defended the poor from a dysfunctional Welfare system, and to have made substantial improvements.

You can read Gavin Ashenden's brilliant analysis of the Church of England's bishops' letter in today's digest.

*****

There are some stories I write that leave me bewildered and angry. This is one them. It is a story like this that forces me to question God's love, especially for those who have poured out their lives for Him; and at the end of their lives an accusation is made and in a heartbeat it is all over.

Such it was with a dear friend of mine, the Rev. Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo. We have known each other for more than 45 years since being in theological college together in London in the 60s. He went on to found the Barnabas Fund, one of the largest organizations in the world, involved in exposing and helping the persecution of Christians by Muslim extremists.

He was found guilty of sexual touching by an employee at his work place, - she had been with him for four years - (and his wife works in an office next door) and with two counts of witness intimidation. A jury of 10 women and two men found him guilty. To say I was stunned doesn't touch it. Patrick is 68, has bladder cancer, is not a touchy (let's hug) person and holds the highest government and military clearance in the land addressing Islamic extremism.

Trustees of Barnabas Aid International were "saddened" by Monday's verdict against Sookhdeo, who had disputed the charges. He has resigned as a Trustee of the organization.

"Our work to support suffering Christians is in no way impacted," Bishop Julian Dobbs, a board member for Barnabas Aid USA,said, "The important thing to note is that the work of Barnabas Fund remains strong. We're involved in over 60 countries around the world. The work is much bigger than one man." He emphasized that Sookhdeo was not placed on the sexual offenders register. He is confined to his home from 3pm to 7am for three months. It was the lowest sentence a judge could make.

"The work of the Fund is strong, and we want to say to people: We continue to support the suffering church," Dobbs told Christianity Today. "That really is the big story."

When I think of what happened to my friend, the Biblical story of Joseph with Potiphar's wife comes to mind. We all know how that ended for Joseph.

*****

An upcoming Anglican Congress in July will focus on Anglican difficulties. The problem is an ecclesial deficit according to Bishop Keith Ackerman. "Most of the problems we have today are the result of ecclesiology. Who has the authority to do certain things in the church today? Needs to be a worldwide ecumenical council. But there are real problems with this said Ackerman, we have to have some preliminary steps."

You can watch the full interview on Anglican TV here:
http://www.fifna.org/anglican-tv-interviews-bp-ackerman-congress/

*****

Two seminaries of the Episcopal Church -- the University of the South's School of Theology and Virginia Theological Seminary -- are among 27 named as Seminaries that Change the World.

The list is the work of the Center for Faith and Service at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. In 2014, the same year it launched, the center released a list of Service Programs that Change the World.

"Seminaries that Change the World is by no means an exhaustive or exclusive list," reported a news release [Word] by the center. "It represents a collection of institutions that came forward on their own initiative and [that] have demonstrated that they welcome idealistic and committed individuals who have demonstrated their engagement in the world or who seek to gain experience in justice work."

This is the 2015 Class of Seminaries that Change the World:

Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre, Massachusetts
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas
Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Indiana
Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas
Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Candler School of Theology in Atlanta
Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis
Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia
Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana
Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California
Garrett--Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois
Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut
Iliff School of Theology in Denver
Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota
Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago
McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta
McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago
Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey
School of Theology, University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee
School of Theology and Ministry, Seattle University
Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia
Union Theological Seminary in New York City
University of Chicago Divinity School
Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia
Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut

Your assignment is: SPOT THE ORTHODOX SEMINARIES; then ask yourself why America is no longer officially a Protestant nation what with all the liberal seminaries cited; and then ask yourself why seminaries like Trinity School for Ministry, Nashotah House, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Westminster Seminary, and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, -- the biggest seminary in America -- are not included.

*****

How will same-sex "marriage" affect your home? A lot, if you don't have one to come home to. That's the stunning predicament Barronelle Stutzman finds herself in after a judge found the Christian florist guilty recently. The popular grandmother, who's been a fixture in her Washington community for 37 years, knows the cost of conviction. If the state of Washington gets its way, she'll be paying it.

Benton County Superior Court Judge Alexander Ekstrom has officially made Stutzman's house, assets, and life savings fair game in the fierce debate over religious liberty. In a lengthy 60-page opinion, the court argues that Barronelle's "relationship with Jesus Christ" doesn't give her the freedom to turn down business -- even if that business violates her personal beliefs.

"Religious motivation does not excuse compliance with the law," Ekstrom wrote in his decision about the 2013 store flap. When long-time customers approached Arlene's Flowers about making centerpieces for their same-sex "wedding," Barronelle politely declined. But here's the catch. Stutzman didn't deny the men flowers, as the media wrongly suggests, but arrangements -- which would have required Barronelle to use her personal artistry to express what she believes is a sinful message.

Homofascism is the new game in town and sodomites will stop at nothing to broker in their behavior.

*****

If you doubt what I say is true, consider what the Obama administration promoted this week. A new US envoy takes LGBT activism to the global stage. I kid you not.

On Monday, February 23, Secretary of State John Kerry proclaimed, "I could not be more proud to announce Randy Berry as the first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons."

Wrote Robert Reilly, "Come again? I have served in the US State Department and do not recall such a position being listed in its table of organization. Where did the creation of this position come from?"

It turns out that Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA, and Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-CA, introduced legislation in the last Congress to create such a position, but the bill died. The bill was reintroduced in the new Congress, with zero chances of passage. As we know, the Obama administration is not deterred by Congress' failure to act on outright opposition, so it has simply created the position by executive fiat. This has the added advantage of not requiring Congressional confirmation of the openly-gay Mr. Berry in the new position. It simply becomes an executive branch appointment.

See more at: http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/the_envoy_for_sodomy#sthash.29R7LsKf.dpuf

*****

A parishioner in an Anglican Church of Canada parish wants handshaking abolished at the passing of the peace.

Anglican Bishop Geoff Peddle of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador said the practice has been discussed many times before in his church.

"We have dealt with it over and over again," he said. "During SARS, the H1N1, we stopped all physical contact and refrained from drinking from the cup," he said.

By contrast, the Anglican Church of Canada is quite content to encourage men to have anal sex with one another by blessing the activity; that, after all, is so much more hygienic than shaking hands.

*****

There are now 23 states where the largest religious group is "unaffiliated" -- a testament, perhaps, to what many researchers describe as the changing religious landscape in the United States.

The Public Religion Research Institute captured many of these shifts in its American Values Atlas, which it released on Wednesday. The atlas features demographic, religious, and political data based on surveys conducted throughout 2014.

"The U.S. religious landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation that is fundamentally reshaping American politics and culture," PRRI Director of Research Dan Cox told The Huffington Post.

Beyond the 23 states with the largest religiously unaffiliated populations, there are 15 states where the second-largest religious group is religiously unaffiliated. Some states have multiple religious affiliations that share the position of largest or second-largest group. That includes Wisconsin, where the largest religious groups are made up of white Catholics (22 percent), the unaffiliated (22 percent) and white mainline Protestants (22 percent).

*****

The global aid industry is experiencing an unparalleled era of evolution and transformation. Globalization of media has increasingly brought the plight of the world's poor, disadvantaged, and disabled before our eyes. A growing awareness of the chasm between the privileged and the poor has spawned a tremendous burst of creativity in efforts to end poverty.

At the same time, there has been an increasing demand for heightened scrutiny over the impact of poverty programs. Do any of them really work?

New evaluation tools have been adopted by a generation of academic researchers keen to answer this question, and we now have an array of surprising results. In A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity, husband and wife Nicholas Kristof (columnist for The New York Times) and Sheryl WuDunn (a business executive and former Times journalist) chronicle these exciting developments. This is the best new book for those with a passion for understanding the most innovative and effective ways to love their global neighbor.

There is a need to restoring accountability. The size of the charitable aid industry would surprise most people. The 1.4 million charities in the United States alone receive $1.5 trillion in revenues every year, mostly from private donations and government grants. Kristof and WuDunn point out that just in terms of its sheer mass, the charity industry is enormous, more than twice the size of the U.S. defense industry. The central theme of A Path Appears is how charitable endeavors are being transformed by a series of welcome innovations.

*****

President Obama it seems is utterly committed to refusing to label Islamic terrorism as being Islamic. The undercurrent of that is that he does not want to upset Muslims who do not agree with the violent methods of groups like ISIS. The problem, however, is that ignoring the Muslim facet of the makeup of the terrorist groups will simply not work.

ACNA Bishop Bill Atwood observes that the parallels in the Anglican Communion are strong. Innovating Bishops (and then later provinces) were not happy with the state of things, so they just acted. They did not believe that they were constrained by founding documents (i.e., the Bible), and pressed to force innovation. The consequences are terrible, with more division and spiritual damage than could be imagined. Self-described "moderates" refuse to label these heretical and destructive pursuits as sin. Euphemistic terms are applied, perhaps out of a pastoral heart, but the problem has not been addressed because it has never been admitted by institutional structures.

In England, Atwood notes, there has also been a mis-step. Archbishop Justin Welby has a wonderful grasp of what mission is. That of course is not a mis-step. If you listen to his testimony of coming to faith, it is clear that he underwent a radical transformation from Jesus Christ. At the core of his ministry as Archbishop is a desire to make that transforming power of Christ available to others. It is the heartbeat of much of the philosophy of the Alpha program from Holy Trinity, Brompton Road in London, through which the Archbishop was greatly and positively influenced. The rhythm of this salvation message is one that is needed, both in England and beyond.

Although it is certainly in a different category that what I've mentioned about Argentina or the USA, one of the steps that has just been envisioned in the Church of England to advance mission is for the creation of an Anglican Communion Mission Theologian post. Certainly, Bishop Graham Kings has the credentials and the intellectual gravitas to take on such a post and do it with energy and effectiveness. Without question, the motives and potential for this are excellent. There is, however, a potential mis-step that could undermine the fruit that could come from such a venture. It is a terpsichorean (of or relating to dance) transgression that is poised to step on toes. Some think it has already.

Biblically based Mission is a priority. It is a good thing. The problem is that English visionaries and institutions have conceived of a "program" to pursue mission in the Anglican Communion, but they have launched it without adequate consultation with the Communion. Even if there has been some consultation, it has not been broad enough.

It is clear that the Church of England has researched and implemented this program with extensive consultation within England, but the Communion extends even beyond the bounds of the United Kingdom. We are no longer in the situation where all the vision and leadership has to come from England (if we ever were). With due appreciation for the great gift that Anglican Christian faith is that emanated from the British Isles, this is not the day for the imposition of a "top down" English solution to mission. When there are other examples of Anglican Communion Provinces who are successfully impacting their surrounding culture with the Gospel, it is difficult to see how Provinces in the growing Global and GAFCON South would not be quizzical about a shrinking church launching efforts to offer leadership in mission. In addition, there is not a good track record of programs emanating out of London. Many Anglican Communion "programs" of recent years have been rejected as being manipulative. (Indaba comes to mind as one of those...) All is not lost, however.

With the universally admitted situation that the Instruments of Unity in the Communion are broken, it would be a much better move to say, "We have a great passion to serve the cause of Christ. In the Church of England we are committed to pursuing Gospel mission and are establishing a structure which we are glad to offer to our Anglican Communion Provinces to serve their needs and learn from their strengths. We hope that we can cooperate together to advance the cause of Christ." Surely that is what they really mean. Fine tuning the announcement will help it be well received in other Provinces. Maybe.

*****

If you think the Episcopal Church has a corner on stupid, venal, narcissistic bishops like Heather Cook and Gene Robinson, you would be wrong. An Anglican bishop in New Zealand, a Maori, got his license suspended over offensive remarks he made about Jews and Muslims.

Bishop John Gray lost the title of "bishop" when the controversial Anglican leader shocked visiting Jews in Christchurch last month when he told them the Holocaust "should have taught you a lesson". Yes, he really said that. He also didn't say what lesson exactly.

Gray, who was head of the Maori Anglican diocese in the South Island, also attacked Muslim speakers, asking what they were doing about the "slaughter of innocent people" by Muslims "under the banner of Isis and al Qaeda".

The Anglican Church apologized and Gray was demoted from his role as vicar general to Maori Anglican Diocese in Aotearoa. He has also been stripped of his title as bishop of Anglican diocese of Te Waipounamu, though retains the general title of bishop.

"The archbishops of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia are aware of complaints made recently about Bishop John Gray," the Anglican Church said in a statement.

*****

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In Christ,

David