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"Jawbone and Gums, but No Teeth" - by James K. McCaslin

"Jawbone and Gums, but No Teeth"

by James K. McCaslin, Jr.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". (Jeremiah 29:11)

I write to you with great thanksgiving to God in my heart and with many thanks to the Rev. Dr. Michael Carreker (Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, Savannah), the Rev. Dr. Marcus Robertson (Rector of Christ Church, Savannah), Mrs. Patti Victor, Mrs. Carol Rogers Smith, and the many, many volunteers from St. John's and Christ Church, for their very wonderful hospitality to the faithful who gathered in Savannah for our Southeastern Convocation meeting, "Realignment-Next Steps" October 24 through 26.

We praise God for these two congregations: for their joyful faithfulness to Him and for their eagerness to serve the Lord through serving others.

We praise God for the time of worship we shared in both churches. And we praise God for the intercessors who prayed diligently before and during the conference.

Almost 200 orthodox lay and clergy left the Savannah conference renewed nd recommitted to the work God has called us to "for a time such as this." Kneeling in the sanctuary of historic Christ Church, we closed our time together in free-flowing prayer for the sake of our Church and for God's gift of perseverance. Rejoicing in the LORD who has plans to give us hope and a future, we sang "Onward Christian Soldiers" with gusto and were blessed in dismissal by Bishop Alex Dickson.

The book of Jeremiah was a common background for the talks of many of our speakers. Each talk was informative and inspirational.

We were reminded that in the midst of the Babylonian exile, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, assured His people that He would restore them and bring them back from captivity. We are in captivity in our own day to a heretical Episcopal Church which has, by its arrogant disregard of the Anglican Communion and virtually all of Christendom, denied the bonds of its Communion. We are in exile in our own day because many leaders in the Episcopal Church have moved away from the authority of Scripture, which has always been recognized as the Church's supreme authority.

Many of us shared our frustration, grief, anger, embarrassment, and impatience with our exile and bondage caused by Episcopal Church leadership.

The good news is that we worship and serve the same God who kept His promise to liberate and restore His children in Jeremiah's day. Our unchangeable God will do no less for His faithful people today. I am convinced that our restoration will take far less than the 70 years of exile the children of Israel endured.

Our Anglican Communion Network will celebrate its first birthday in January. Already, Bishop Bob Duncan is recognized unofficially as the American Presiding Bishop in many parts of the Communion. I believe with all my heart that God will make our restoration path clear in the very near future. To paraphrase Numbers 9:23: "At the commandment of the LORD we will rest in our tents, and at the commandment of the LORD we will journey."

The long-awaited Windsor Report, which was released last week, points out that the Episcopal Church has made no serious attempt to offer a theology which could justify its recent actions. As Canon Michael Green, our keynote speaker, said: "They offered none because none can be offered."

Canon Green also noted that the Report "has put the jawbone and gums in place, but provides no teeth." Written in diplomatic British understatement, the Report has recommended to the Primates what the Episcopal Church might do if intends to remain in the Anglican Communion. In order to remain Anglican, ECUSA is invited to express regret for its actions and to put a moratorium on any further such actions. Although this is soft language, the very act of expressing regret and stopping sinful actions is repentance.

Early indications are that ECUSA has no intention of expressing genuine regret (genuine regret does not mean merely saying "I'm sorry I got caught and that I've hurt you"). Indications are that ECUSA has no intention of backing away from its homoerotic agenda. Its House of Bishops will meet January 12, 2005, to plan its strategy. The Primates will meet February 20, 2005, in Belfast for what most probably will be the last chance to add the enforcement teeth to the jawbone and the gums. If ECUSA will not comply with the official teachings of the Anglican Communion regarding human sexuality and the supremacy of Scripture (and again, there is no indication that they will), they most probably will exclude themselves from the Communion.

In the meantime, many individual lay members of the Church and many vestries will respectfully and gracefully call on their bishops to make clear whether they intend to remain faithful Anglicans as part of the world-wide Communion or whether they intend to support an unrepentant ECUSA.

Every layperson, parish, deacon, priest, bishop, and diocese will have to decide. To not decide is to make a decision.

Faithful Bishop Bob Duncan and our friends Ellis Brust and Martyn Minns are meeting with almost 300 African bishops this week. At the conclusion of their meeting, I expect these godly bishops to make some sort of statement in response to the Windsor Report. On October 27, with the conference barely begun, Archbishop Peter Akinola, the Chairman of the Conference of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) and the head of the Anglican Church of Nigeria said,

"The African Church has come of age....The church must now become self-sufficient to withstand unbiblical Western spirituality and the advances of militant Islam."

This African meeting, which represents the vast majority of the world's Anglicans, most probably will give us some idea of what the Primates will do in February. We don't know exactly what will happen then. Things might even become much clearer before February. I do not expect the Global South bishops to abandon the orthodox in North America.

So what will become of us? We will remain vibrant congregations committed to the historic Faith and Order of the Church. We will redouble our efforts, with God's help, to live out His purposes for each one of us and for our congregations as we carry out the Great Commission. And we will 'journey at the commandment of the LORD" wherever He may lead with faithful Anglican brothers and sisters who do not embrace or support heresy as Christian doctrine. The LORD has "plans to give us hope and a future," and I do believe that He will reveal them very soon.

James K. McCaslin, Jr. is Dean, Southeastern Convocation Anglican Communion Network and Rector, All Souls Church in Jacksonville, Florida.

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