The divine person. Confidence in the divine-human person of Jesus is the one weapon against which neither the error, nor the evil, nor the force of the world can prevail---From "The Letters of John" John R.W. Stott

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
August 20, 2010

On his first day back on the job, pickets greeted Bishop Charles E. Bennison at the downtown diocesn headquarters in Philadelphia. Among them were Black clergy.

The return of the hated and despised Bennison is not going easily for the Sociopathic One. He has vowed to stay in office and he will not resign.

Any normal person would have scarpered with his or her pension a long time ago, but not Charles Bennison. He craves power more than money or sex. The whole world could despise him and Bennison would step back into his job like Stalin risen from the dead.

But Bennison is back and he says he will spend a lot of time listening to the people of the diocese. He also says he wants interim Bishop Rodney Michel to stay and help him make good decisions.

The deeper question is can a sociopath change that radically and quickly not to resume his old habits?

We shall see.

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The Diocese of Western Kansas is looking for a new bishop. Three candidates are seeking the job. However, the present Bishop of Kansas, the Rt. Rev. Dean E. Wolfe has written a letter to the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Western Kansas calling for a reunion of the two dioceses.

"We have a unique opportunity, in this brief moment, to engage in a crucial conversation and it is an opportunity which may not present itself again for many years. I believe if our two great dioceses were to join forces it would create an atmosphere of holy excitement and renewed hope throughout our state."

I am not sure what is "great" about a diocese (Western Kansas) whose weekly ASA is 800 - a few folk more than my own parish. Can a diocese this small even support a full time bishop? Bishop James Adams didn't think so and pulled out because the national church quit funding the diocese except for certain programs. So now they are going to elect a bishop who could run this diocese out of his home and spend four days a week doing a second job.

Both dioceses face serious financial shortfalls. Kansas itself lost its largest parish, Christ Church, Overland Park in 2004 following 8 months' of negotiations. The separation agreement specified that the parish would pay the Diocese $100,000/year for 10 years, which amounted to about 6x their annual diocesan apportionment. That indebtedness has now been retired. David Oliver Smart who was senior pastor at that time told VOL that he was deposed under the wrong name (they said his name was Donald) and they had to recant and start all over. "I believe I have 2 certificates hanging in the AAC Hall of Fame. "Wolfe found it hard to believe the congregation would leave. They voted 91% in favor; 9% against. He appeared stunned. Wolfe, fully vested, made one last visit to de-consecrate Christ Church and to oversee the removal of some persons from the columbarium garden. Feel the love." Wolfe desperately needs money. He can no longer rely on orthodox parishes to bail him out. If he can snap up a handful of parishes in Western Kansas he might have a viable operation for a time. An insider told VOL that Western Kansas has a couple of wealthy families associated with the corn feed industry and that would not go amiss with Bishop Wolfe. They should expect phone calls.

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The Episcopal Church got dissed not once but twice this week when they were told by a Catholic Church in Alaska and a Baptist church in Albuquerque that they could not use their churches as venues for two consecrations.

The Episcopal Church was told politely but firmly that they cannot hold the consecration of two Episcopal bishops because of the denomination's position on sexuality issues that are contrary to Scripture, tradition and history. Ya think.

A VOL reader wrote to say that the Diocese was supposed to have the ordination of its new liberal bishop at Hoffmantown Baptist Church, the largest church in Albuquerque. "When someone called them and mentioned that V. Gene Robinson, the activist homosexual Bishop of New Hampshire, would be attending the consecration they pulled the rug from under the feet of the Diocese and dis-invited them."

Ditto for a Roman Catholic Church in Alaska. Things are not going well for the Mitered One in New York.

FURTHERMORE, VOL received an unconfirmed report this week from a liberal bishop that about 35 bishops in the HOB are talking about Jefferts Schori. I was told they are very upset with how business is being conducted by the Presiding Bishop. An Anglo-Catholic priest who would like to leave with his parish has told VOL that perhaps because of this phalanx of bishops there may be a fairer and more relaxed attitude over properties. Here's hoping.

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Boundary crossing is almost becoming passé these days.Canadian ACNA Bishop ministers in Diocese of Worcester, England. came a headline out of the UK. Last Sunday Bishop Trevor Walters, Area Bishop (West Canada), preached at two churches in Worcestershire. In the morning, he visited the congregation at Christ Church Wyre Forest, an "extra mural" Anglican church plant near Kidderminster and then went on to preach at the parish church of Christ Church Lye in the industrial north of the county, according to the Rev. Charles Raven.

"At Christ Church, Bishop Trevor took as his text Jesus' words in Luke 12:32 'Be not afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.' He spoke powerfully about the way that the expectation of Jesus' return as a real event in history underpins the Kingdom's reversal of worldly values and how we need to guard against a lazy reading of the Bible which accommodates it to what is fashionable," wrote Raven.

Bishop Trevor continues to be rooted in the congregation of St Matthew's in Abbotsford, BC, where he was previously rector and under whose leadership a series of new churches was planted, despite a long running, continuing and costly battle to resist ejection from the church's property by the leadership of the Anglican Church of Canada.

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St. Stephens Anglican Church, the first Anglican Church in the City of New Orleans, opened its doors this week. It is a member of the Diocese of the Holy Spirit (Woodbridge, Virginia), a Diocese of the provisional Province of the Anglican Church of North America under Bishop John A. M. Guernsey.

Dr. David Aiken, a retired physician told VOL, "We are a house church at present, looking for suitable quarters. We are under the mentorship of Fr. Robert Seawell, Rector of the Church of the Apostles in Daphne, Alabama. "We are in discussion with a small Baptist Church in the neighborhood for use of their Sanctuary for an hour or so at sometime on Sundays."

A "welcome" notice from Bishop Guernsey of the Diocese of the Holy Spirit, which is part of ACNA, said, this: "Greetings in the great Name of Jesus Christ, the only Lord and only Savior of the world. It is with joy that I write to inform you that I have received St. Stephen's Anglican Church, New Orleans, LA into the Diocese of the Holy Spirit of the Anglican Church in North America. I am placing St. Stephen's under the supervision of the Rev. Robert Seawell as Rector of Church of the Apostles, Daphne, AL. I praise God for your faithful ministry in service of our Lord Jesus Christ. You remain in my prayers. Faithfully yours in Christ, The Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey."

The Anglican Province of America announced this week that the Rev. Canon Chandler Jones was elected to fill the position of Bishop Peter Brewer, who is retiring, as Suffragan Bishop for the Diocese of the Eastern US. Bishop-elect Jones will be consecrated on September 18, 2010 at 11AM at St. Alban's Cathedral, Oviedo, Florida.

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Anglican Mission in the Americas Bishop Philip Jones is turning his hand to church planting. In a letter to his congregation in early August, Bishop Jones announced he will be stepping down as Rector of St. Andrew's, Little Rock, Arkansas, in order to plant a congregation in the heart of Dallas, Texas.

A core group who lives in the Park Cities area, many of whom have attended Christ Church Plano (CCP), has long dreamed of beginning a new work in the Dallas city limits. Bishop Jones describes these individuals as having the "same heart and passion as the group that started St. Andrew's Church 14 years ago." The group issued a unanimous call to Bishop Jones which he accepted with great anticipation.

"They have asked for our help to lead them," says Bishop Jones. "It is clear God is calling me to be their founding senior pastor. Having grown up in Dallas, I never believed I would be moving back for any reason, much less to plant a church. Claudia [a native Texan] and I have never planted a church, but the call is upon us. We must obey that call."

CCP Rector Canon David Roseberry and Canon Ron McCrary have provided guidance and assistance in making this dream a reality. In its 25 year history, CCP has sent church planters into the mission field to begin new congregations in Allen, Frisco and Addison. Canon Roseberry envisions the birth of even more new congregations and communities of faith. He has expressed enthusiasm for this "exciting call" for Bishop Jones, describing it as a "natural" for this "great bishop of the Anglican Church."

Bishop Jones has served as Rector at St. Andrew's since 2005, and he will continue to provide oversight to the congregation as their Bishop. He asks that you pray for St. Andrew's and the emerging church in Dallas.

It should be mentioned that the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas is orthodox under Bishop Jim Stanton.

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All Saints Anglican Church, Baton Rouge part of the Anglican Mission and Anglican Church in North America has begun worship in its new home (14141 Airline Hwy. Building 4 Suite Z in the Barringer Foreman Technology Park).

On Sunday, August 8th, they held a service of celebration and blessing for their new church home, and began full operations there this past Sunday.

Here is what Fr. Mark Turner said at that time, "I am so excited about what God is doing with All Saints. Each week is a new adventure as we seek to be faithful to Gospel. The Lord has added to our numbers in the past year and we look forward to His adding more new faces in the year ahead. Anyone interested in helping to shape the direction of a new Anglican church like All Saints are most welcome to come and be a part of our work for the sake of the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Christian Education is held at All Saints at 9:30 on Sunday morning, followed by worship at 10:30. In the Fall All Saints will launch a Morning Prayer service on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a midday Eucharist service on Wednesdays. Their website is www.allsaintsbr.org.

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The former archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, has proclaimed that there is an anti-Christian bias pervasive in the judiciary, setting himself, and the Church of England, on a direct collision course with the judiciary. The challenge comes about after several persecuted Christians have been unsuccessful in their claims pursuant to the employment equality (religion or belief) regulations 2003.

Although the religion or belief regulations came into force in 2003 they are still very much in their infancy. According to the most recent statistics from the employment tribunal service employment tribunals accepted 151,000 claims in 2008/9 of which only 832 where brought pursuant to the religion or belief regulations, and the average compensation award for those successful at tribunal was £10,616.

Many employment law cases have now been portrayed as being brought under the vague all encompassing umbrella of "religious discrimination", rather than a specific strand of the religion or belief regulations. Those cases have received massive publicity. So much publicity in fact, that some members of the judiciary have felt the need to explain what the specific legal issues and principles are, in a particular case.

Several "persecuted Christians" wrote to the Daily Telegraph last week to offer their support to Gary McFarlane whose appeal is currently being considered. One of the main points in their letter was that it is "highly unsatisfactory that Christian beliefs are not tolerated in the workplace, often because the beliefs are themselves considered intolerant."

Many of the cases thus far concern situations where an employee asserts that his or her belief (or the manifestation of that belief) prevents them from carrying out certain elements of their job. Most poignant is the conflict between the belief held by some Christians that homosexuality is sinful, and the laws relating to sexual orientation.

Lord Carey has also called for specialist judicial panels "with an understanding of religious issues".

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A minor in murder. Terrorists were killing Americans on American soil before 9/11. Starting in the 1960s, homegrown radicals committed robberies, kidnappings, and murders during their "revolution" against U.S. imperialism and racism. These terrorists were not swarthy, and they spoke in perfect American dialects. Sometimes they were even pretty college co-eds like Marilyn Buck.

The daughter of a liberal Episcopal priest in Midlands, Texas, Buck threw over the Bible and the Prayer Book for the works of Marx, Lenin, and Che, and walked the walk of the true communist revolutionary. The private-school honors student went to Berkeley, where she marched against the Vietnam War and for civil rights and eventually joining both Students for a Democratic Society and the Black Liberation Army, of which she was the only white member.

Buck's marquee performance came in 1981 when she drove a getaway car for the radical gang that held up a Brink's armored car in upstate New York, leaving a guard and two policemen dead. For that and other crimes, including yet another fatal armored-car heist and the bombing of the U.S. Capitol, she got a 60-year sentence in 1979. The next freedom she saw was a month ago when authorities released her to die of uterine cancer, which she did Aug. 3.

In prison she wrote poetry lamenting the persecution of every group beloved of Marxist orthodoxy from Palestinians to Paiutes. She evidently never had a self-examining thought, or a leavening human emotion for anyone not on that list--least of all other nice college kids whose fathers never saw them graduate because they had guarded payrolls or worn blue in the Age of Marilyn Buck.

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As Nigeria marks its 50th anniversary, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, the Primate of All Nigeria, has advised the federal government to avoid extravagant spending. Archbishop Okoh, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, criticized the N6 billion proposed by the government for the 50th independence anniversary celebration. He advised that instead of huge spending on the event, money should be channeled to remarkable development projects that would remain after the celebration.

"If the money is meant for squandermania, it does not worth it at all," he said, and called for reflection on how well the country had fared during its 50 years of self-governance. He urged the government to rather control and develop the solid materials base adequately while making effort to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company.

According to Okoh, efforts should also be intensified in developing mechanised agriculture and farm settlements in different states to absorb drifting youths and empower them to contribute to society.

He further deplored incessant power outages, the lack of well organized public transportation system and high rate of unemployment as well as poverty in the society. "Corruption is still growing in all segments of the society, leaving the most vulnerable completely dispossessed," he said.

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What sort of religious leaders do the young seek?

There's a growing cottage industry of people opining about how to make Church relevant to young people, many of whom have grown up in homes with little or no exposure to religion other than the negative views of the mass media. Someone finally decided to ask young people directly.

The Christian Post reports on the results of a survey of 1,200 "older" millenials (whose cohort represents to the largest sociological cohort in the US today): "Though we asked relatively few questions about leadership in our study, the intensity of their responses provided clear indication that this subject was one of great interest to many in this generation. At the conclusion of our study, we found four major leadership foci among the Millennials. We dubbed them simply "What Millennials Want in Leaders."

1. Mentoring. This generation has great respect for those older than they are. Most of them have good relationships with their parents. They have learned from older people all their lives, and they don't want to stop now. They want to be led and taught in their places of work, in their churches, and in their families. They particularly want to learn from couples who have had long and successful marriages. Many Millennials see such examples as heroes to emulate.

2. Gentle spirit. This category is easier to describe by what Millennials do not want in leaders. Divisive, loud, and acrimonious persons turn them off. They loathe politicians and political pundits who scream at each other. They are leaving churches to some extent because they see many Christian leaders as negative and prone to divisiveness. They are repulsed by business leaders with harsh and autocratic spirits.

3. Transparency and authenticity. I wish Jess and I had counted the number of times that Millennials used the word "real" to describe leaders they want to follow. As one Millennial told us, her generation "can smell phony and pretentiousness a mile away." They don't want phony; they want authentic. They don't want pretentio us; they want transparent.

4. Integrity. The Millennials are weary of politicians who don't keep promises. They are tired of Christian leaders who fail basic moral standards. They are fed up with business leaders who are more concerned about personal gain than serving others. They want leaders with integrity.

All of which, frankly, isn't all that different than what others age cohorts want. What do you think? Is there something new here?

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If you want to see where America is heading watch this video: http://biblicalpaths.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/the-fall-of-rome/

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To counteract the vile rumors of litigation that nasty cruel people will keep spreading and to prove that it is truly warm and cuddly, the Diocese of Niagara in the Anglican Church in Canada has embarked on a campaign of gratuitous hugging. It makes me tingle all over (or throw up) just to watch it: YOU TUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cpyxnTDZZE&feature=player_embedded

This is the same diocese that fought a group of orthodox Anglicans for their properties and is determined to broker in rites for same sex marriage and to ordain sodomite priests.

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In U.S., Confidence in Newspapers, TV News Remains a Rarity. No more than 25% say they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in either. Americans continue to express near-record-low confidence in newspapers and television news -- with no more than 25% of Americans saying they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in either. These views have hardly budged since falling more than 10 percentage points from 2003-2007.

The findings are from Gallup's annual Confidence in Institutions survey, which found the military faring best and Congress faring the worst of 16 institutions tested. Americans' confidence in newspapers and television news is on a par with Americans' lackluster confidence in banks and slightly better than their dismal rating of Health Management Organizations and big business.

The decline in trust since 2003 is also evident in a 2009 Gallup poll that asked about confidence and trust in the "mass media" more broadly. While perceptions of media bias present a viable hypothesis, Americans have not over the same period grown any more likely to say the news media are too conservative or too liberal.

No matter the cause, it is clear the media as a whole are not gaining new fans as they struggle to serve and compete with growing demand for online news, social media, and mobile platforms.

Implications. With nearly all news organizations struggling to keep up with the up-to-the-minute news cycle and to remain profitable in the process, Americans' low trust in newspapers and television news presents a critical barrier to success. The Pew report asserts that 80% of new media links are to legacy newspapers and broadcast networks, making clear that traditional news sources remain the backbone of the media. But so long as roughly three in four Americans remain distrustful, it will be difficult to attract the large and loyal audiences necessary to boost revenues.

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Sadly VOL reports the death of Dr. Clark Pinnock, 73, of a heart attack. From biblical inerrancy to open theism, the systematic theologian was not afraid to change his mind. The influential and often controversial evangelical theologian was a long-time professor of systematic theology at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. He had announced he was withdrawing from public life and revealed that he was battling Alzheimer's disease. I studied under this professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the mid 70's. While staying in the evangelical mainstream, he was not afraid to challenge minds on secondary issues. His books and students will be his legacy.

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The full itinerary of the Pope's visit to England has been released, and he'll be meeting Britain's political party leaders. As well as the expected formal meetings, there are a couple of more intriguing encounters timetabled. As expected, he will be greeted by the Queen at Holyrood House, and then meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury and conducting mass in various locations. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg will have the opportunity to make a "courtesy call" on the Holy Father at the Archbishop's House in Westminster, although Cameron has been timetabled for twice as long as Clegg.

Harriet Harman, as acting leader of the opposition, will follow Clegg in making her courtesy call on the Saturday morning of the visit. Given her previous clash with the Pope over his exhortation to bishops to fight her equalities legislation with "missionary zeal", the meeting could be an interesting one to observe.

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Saying that much of the financial strain facing struggling Episcopal Church congregations in the United States can be directly attributed to their buildings, the Episcopal Church Building Fund recently announced what it called "strategic and focused changes to its offerings to benefit strapped congregations and prevent closures."

To make loans more feasible for small congregations, the building fund said in a press release, it has increased loan amounts to $500,000, and the term may now be extended up to 15 years.

"We know that smaller parishes struggle to pay off building loans over 10 years," building fund President Julia Groom-Thompson said in the release. "The added term is designed to make payments less financially stressful."

"We realize today that building fund loans may serve as piece of the total funding for a project, they are used as leverage to secure other types of financing," she added. "Today, congregations often need more financial leverage than we had previously been able to provide. We hope that increasing our limit to half a million dollars will bring building projects, and additional financing, within reach."

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If you REALLY wonder what liberal Anglicans think about the Covenant - unvarnished and unedited - here is what someone by the name of Savitri Hensman in England had to say. He wrote an article called The Anglican power play. "The proposed Covenant is the culmination of a conservative and homophobic drive for power in the Anglican Communion. The Church of England's House of Bishops is urging it to accept an Anglican Communion Covenant. This would give top leaders of overseas churches more power over the C of E and (strictly in theory) vice versa. The Archbishop of Canterbury has been a champion of greater centralism among Anglicans worldwide, supposedly to strengthen unity. But recent events have exposed the tawdry reality behind talk of 'interdependence' and 'bonds of affection'".

There you have it. Almost uniformly across the board the only people who like the covenant though they remain suspicious of it, are orthodox Anglicans. For the most part The Canadian and US Anglican provinces hate it, seeing it as a document that proscribes sex outside of marriage and that puts the whole pansexual agenda at risk. They will have none of it. If you doubt my word talk to the folk at Integrity who have announced that they are launching a new offensive in TEC and Changing Attitude in the UK. They are furious at any talk that might say their behavior is sub-Christian and a Covenant would do precisely that.

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By the time you receive this digest I will be winging my way to Africa to a very special meeting of some 400 African Anglican bishops meeting in Entebbe, Uganda. (There will be a small handful from the West.) I value your prayers for this historic occasion, the second of its kind in African Anglican history. The Archbishop of Canterbury will show up to deliver a major speech and it will be interesting to see how he is received. You need to know, and I have said this before, that whatever African leaders think about Dr. Williams' theology and his moral views, they will be unfailingly polite and will receive him as their leader. That does not mean they will back down from their position on human sexual behavior and, as far as I can discern, this will not be a subject for discussion in Dr. Williams speech.

The Archbishop's Cabinet of ACNA has called for prayer and fasting for this historic conference.

"It is an important gathering not only for Africa, but for the Anglican Communion as well. We are asking for clergy in and church members to join us in prayer and in various types of fasting from now until the end of the conference," writes the Most. Rev. Robert Duncan. The cabinet includes The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, the Rt. Rev. David Anderson, the Rt. Rev. Bill Atwood, the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey, the Rt. Rev. Don Harvey, the Rt. Rev. Charlie Masters, the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, and the Most Rev. Leonard Riches).

I will be attending both as a reporter and as a delegate from the Anglican Province of Rwanda. I will post daily from Entebbe to VOL's website: www.virtueonline.org Time and Internet access permitting I will post a digest from Uganda or as soon as I return to the US.

Thank you for your prayers.

In Christ,

David