If nothing can stop the revisionist juggernaut in the Western Church bent on self immolation, so nothing can stop the spread of the gospel throughout the continent of Africa, torn as it is by tribal wars, poverty, illiteracy, HIV/AIDS and so much more.

God is alive and well and his message of salvation is going forth with great power pushed by archbishops and bishops with front line evangelists who barely have more than a 12th grade education. No matter, God is using the foolish things of this world to confound the wisdom of the wise.

If the church in Africa were to be run by British and American theologians it would be dead in a decade. Theologians like Countryman and bishops like Spong, Griswold, Shaw, Bennison et al would lay it waste in no time at all. Toss in a panoply of theological "educators" from such liberal Episcopal seminaries as EDS, GTS or VTS and it would be a wasteland in no time at all.

Africa is in the springtime of the gospel and nothing can stop it. African Evangelical Anglicans know that it is a race against time and Islam. Will it be the Caliphate or Christ, that is the only question, and Anglican archbishops and bishops are arming thousands of evangelists to take the timeless message of Jesus and his gospel to the front lines that include the crowded city streets of Kampala, Nairobi and Arusha, in poor villages, on rainy mountainsides, on Masai steppes, in burgeoning urban slums, in dusty deserts, in many languages to many tribes in the teeth of growing Islamic strongholds.

Today Uganda has 9.2 million practicing Anglicans; Kenya has over 4 million and Tanzania some 2 million. These represent major portions of the general population and you can see it in the myriad other churches that dot the landscape.

The only fly in the ointment is the outrageous behavior of The American Episcopal Church in consecrating an openly gay bishop in the person of Gene Robinson - one man's personal desires for sexual fulfillment casting a long, dark shadow over the Anglican Communion, making a mockery of the gospel of liberation and transformation from sin and self.

When one member of the body suffers all are affected, and Robinson's homosexuality has driven a stake, albeit not fatal, into the heart of spreading the Good News, because other African churches call us "the gay church" and Islamic Mullahs mock Christianity and take up arms against us. Oh anal sex we know thy sting, oh ECUSA where is thy victory?

There is more than a touch of irony in that while The Episcopal Church endorses and promotes pansexuality, the Anglican Church in Uganda promotes ABC - Abstinence before marriage, Be faithful in Marriage and lastly Condoms as a practical expedient. But the first call of abstinence is working with dramatically decreased numbers of men and women getting HIV/AIDS. Now try preaching that message to The Episcopal Church's pansexualists who believe anything goes with all manner of sexualities like LGBT; no condoms please.

I have returned from East Africa and have posted a number of stories including interviews with an East African archbishop in Kenya, an American theologian-educator working in Uganda and much more in today's digest. This trip was made memorable for this writer traveling with the Rev. Jerry Kramer, a priest working in New Orleans whose parish and home was swept away by Katrina last year. Jerry was a missionary in Tanzania before he was abruptly terminated by a bishop and he and his family were forced out of the country when he revealed massive financial corruption by the bishop and his life was threatened.

It was a homecoming for the 38-year old priest as he speaks perfect Kiswahili and many of his old friends greeted him with great joy, including not a few leaders of para-church organizations like Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and Here's Life Tanzania.

Three things emerged very clearly from this trip to the three East African nations. The first was that African Anglicans are totally committed to the gospel and its clear message of salvation and they will not tolerate any compromise of its message whether it is from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, PB Frank Griswold or V. Gene Robinson.

Secondly their patience has run out with the Anglican Communion and sooner or later they will lead the vast majority of Anglicans out of the communion if push comes to shove and there is not total clarity from Dr. Williams about homosexuality in the church. They are done with Western pansexuality and post-modern renditions of the gospel.

The Rev. Canon Rosemary Mbogo, Provincial Mission Coordinator told VirtueOnline at the church's headquarters in Nairobi that when she and others asked Dr. Williams for his testimony at the South to South encounter in Cairo last year, he struggled, told stories, but totally failed to convince them as far as she and other African leaders were concerned about his faith. "We asked him for his testimony, to tell us how he came to faith; to illustrate a time when he led someone to faith. What was his stand about leading people to faith? He attempted but he never succeeded. For him it was all theoretical. His faith experience is by induction," she said.

Thirdly they believe that the orthodox in America must get their own province and deal with their problems, they cannot look to Africa indefinitely for cover, even though the Africans will continue to provide it.

But the African Anglican Church is not without its own problems. Corruption lies deep within a handful of bishops, which as Canon Mbogo and later Kenyan Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi told VOL can get one out from under the wing of God's protection.

Apart from the endemic problems of HIV/AIDS, massive poverty and unemployment, corruption corrodes some bishops and gospel witness. Here is how it works. An African bishop asks for $25,000 to build a church when it only costs $7,000. He pockets the balance. A bishop asks for $25,000 from three different churches for the same church construction that costs $10,000 to build and pockets the rest to buy property for himself for his retirement, arguing (in his own mind) that he does not get a fancy pension like American bishops. The answer for all American Episcopal donors is simple: trust but verify and ask for an accounting, with photos of construction being done. Pay in increments and not all at once. This is sound practical advice. Take it.

The worst example of corruption in recent years was not Africa; however, it was the Anglican Church of Mexico where its former archbishop and one of its bishops made off with over $2 million from ECUSA's coffers. No one was watching the till or asking for an accounting at 815 in New York, who had dished out the money, and when VOL blew the whistle on this gang of thieves, these two made off never to be heard from again. The new Presiding Bishop and Bishop of Mexico Carlos Touche-Porter made a cameo appearance at GC2006 pleading for understanding and more money. Only a fool would be caught betting twice on a losing liberal-run province.

ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT things are moving in a white hot direction towards ever increasing disintegration. The Daily Telegraph reported recently that the Bishops of Durham and Winchester in England will attend a summit of leading American conservatives in Texas next month. The consultation will be led by the Windsor Bishop of Texas, Don Wimberley. According to the Telegraph, the meeting will explore ways to support the conservatives and will debate the possibility of introducing "flying" primates to oversee dissenting dioceses or appoint a retired bishop to act as a commissary for the archbishop. The meeting will explore ways to bolster the conservative bloc and may debate the possibility of introducing "flying" primates to oversee dissenting dioceses or appointing a retired bishop to act as a commissary for the archbishop. The bishops are also anxious to persuade increasingly impatient hard-liners to stay within a broad-based grouping rather than split away and form a rival province under an evangelical primate from Africa or Asia, said the report.

But this is fraught with problems. Flying primates would have to be approved by the whole House of Bishops not just seven or eight dissenting dioceses and we know from history that DEPO failed for fleeing orthodox parishes from revisionist diocesan bishops because they wanted AEO and never got it. Why should flying bishops suddenly become acceptable? Fr. David Moyer and the seven Anglo-Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Pennsylvania sought and failed to get them from Bishop Charles Bennison, why should things suddenly change because two British C of E bishops say so?

Furthermore a "rival" or Tenth province IS the answer to ECUSA's heresies and would in fact solve the problem of growing and splintering factions within and without The Episcopal Church. And if this story is true, will these two UK bishops then fly to New York and ask Frank Griswold about the "rival communion" he seems to be forming that was big news at the recent GC2006?

The seven conservative dioceses that have already appealed to Dr. Williams for "alternative primatial oversight" have now apparently pooled their requests into one single request to Dr. Williams. It was the Bishop of Dallas, James Stanton who first asked for direct APO from Dr. Williams while the others asked for primatial oversight from any Primate who would offer it.

When Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan spoke to the third annual council meeting of the Anglican Communion Network recently, he noted that after the individual requests had been filed with Canterbury, he asked that the "bishops of the seven dioceses work together on a submission to Lambeth Palace which unified and developed the original requests." Dr. Williams signaled that he was "hopeful" but "not necessarily optimistic" about the success of the appeal.

All these seven bishops and their dioceses want out from under The Episcopal Church and its innovations, but it seems the Archbishop of Canterbury is unable or unwilling to offer it. This raises the question, who does have the authority? The Rev. Canon Dr. Neal O. Michell Canon Missioner for Strategic Development in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas; believes the larger Communion that has the authority to determine when a matter is of such Communion-wide importance that the local province must submit to the request of the Communion.

The bishops also sought Archbishop Williams' intervention in "the creation of a practical cease-fire" in The Episcopal Church's burgeoning legal wars, in order to allow for a cooling-off period within the church and to all the "Communion Covenant process" to unfold.

But having been in Africa recently VOL is now totally convinced that all these measures are largely in vain and will not prevent the Episcopal Church fragmenting even further. We are seeing a repeat of what happened after the 1977 St. Louis Convention when the Continuing Church was formed. But the end result has been some 40 largely Anglo-Catholic Heinz variety jurisdictions with more purple than people. The answer is the formation of one single Tenth Province bringing all the orthodox diocese, parishes and groups under one umbrella and for Canterbury to recognize it, anything less than that is irrelevant and the splits will continue.

To make that point we have yet another group formed, calling itself the Federation of Anglican Churches (FACA) and it includes the Anglican Mission in America (AMIA), the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) and the Anglican Province of America (APA). The Archbishop of the Southern Cone Gregory Venables will act as its Patron. (See today's digest for the full story.) So now we have CANA, CAPAC, FIFNA, FCC, AAC, ACA, APA, TAC, ACN and now FACA. Trust me when I tell you that the vast majority of the laity doesn't have a clue what all this is about and they are more confused than ever by the plethora of organizations and acronyms springing up. Bring on a Tenth province please.

AND just to let you know how all inclusive the Episcopal Church has become, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Episcopal Church of Cuba in Havana hosted an early-August service of prayers for the health of President Fidel Castro. Granma newspaper reports that the service was attended by more than 300 people, including Caridad Diego, head of the Office of Attention to Religious Affairs of the Central Committee. According to Granma, Cathedral Dean Juan Ramón de la Paz, hosting the prayer meeting, "affirmed that Cuban religious leaders do not feel distant from Fidel, but see him as a friend and father of the great family of this nation." So all the Cubans who fled to Miami would like to see the former cigar chomping Communist leader six feet under, many of whom experienced persecution at the hands of the infidel Fidel, and the TEC wants to pray him back to good health! George W. should send a memo to Frank reminding him of a certain missile crisis in 1962.

DON'T CALL THEM CONSERVATIVES says Teresa Mathes the wife of the Bishop of San Diego. Mrs. Mathes is so upset by conservatives in The Episcopal Church that she waxed hot about it all and wrote a two-page blast at the AAC and the Network and posted it on the diocese's official website. It was removed almost immediately, but not before a quick-witted reader saw it and sent it to VOL.

Here are some of her choice quotes which clearly reflect her husband's thinking. "The American family is far more endangered by divorce and its attendant poverty than by monogamous gay couples." Or this, "To many conservatives, Gene Robinson's election represented a profound challenge to the traditional understanding of moral fitness for ministry, and it did so without even stopping to define what a new understanding might be. To people who consider preservation important, this is a reckless way to proceed. It is throwing out the baby and keeping the bath water in hopes that you'll find another baby beneath the surface. So how have these self-described champions of conservatives responded? Sadly, by throwing out even more of our venerable traditions. They have spent the last three years crossing diocesan boundaries to perform Episcopal functions, violating an understanding that dates back before the Fourth Century Council of Nicea, and they have actively worked to siphon church property to such cradles of Anglican tradition as the Diocese of Bolivia." Or this: "This is where the AAC and ACN fall farthest short in my view. The Internet (ah blame the Internet) now bristles with memos leaked to the press or uncovered during lawsuits that reveal a common theme: threats to 'separate,' plans to secure church property, commitments to 'realignment' and to guerrilla warfare.' There is nothing preservationist in this behavior, and it is especially repugnant for its air of secrecy and deceit. The memos are marked 'confidential' and 'for discussion only,' letters advice parishes to 'innovatively move around, beyond or within the canons' and caution against passing information electronically.' GUILTY AS CHARGED.

"The conservatives I know would be ashamed of such behavior. I know I am," writes Mrs. Mathes. She clearly has not met many conservatives largely because the number of real conservatives in her husband's diocese you can count on one hand. She like all the liberals and revisionists live in a dream world that will sooner or later come crashing to the ground.

AND just to make the point about how inclusive the DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO is, listen to what the BISHOP OF SAN JOAQUIN, John-David Schofield has to say about the impeachment charges brought against him by Bishop Mathes and two other California bishops. You can see it here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4572

THE HOB has postponed its next meeting until Feb. 2007 comes a report from a VOL reader, which means by then we'll know if San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield still has his job, if the seven dioceses looking for primatial protection in fact get it, if Bishop Drew Smith of Ct. faces impeachment for doing the nasty against a former priest in his diocese and by then, of course, we will have a new woman Presiding Bishop who will finish off, during her term, whatever remains of the TEC. Griswold apparently pushed back the HOB meeting from Sept-Oct of 2006 to Feb. 2007 because the early date was too close to GC2006 and more time was needed. Of course Feb. 2007 may be too late for TEC to matter as new alliances are developing very quickly.

FROM CANADA comes word from Anglican Essentials that the Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada, Bishop Donald Harvey is in trouble. It is has recently been brought to light that New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham is bringing action against Bishop Harvey for his ministering to the biblically orthodox congregations in the Diocese of New Westminster, particularly the congregation from Christ Church, Hope, B.C., who were essentially forced out of their building after their rector was similarly dismissed last January, after their vote to affiliate with the Anglican Network in Canada. Please pray."

AND IN ENGLAND the announcement came that Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, formally tied the knot with his long-term partner Grant Holmes, a hospital chaplain, with a civil partnership ceremony. Ruth Gledhill of the London Times writes in her blog that he was forced to withdraw from his nomination as Bishop of Reading for his homosexuality, even though his relationship with Grant is "abstinent", and he lives in accordance with the Church of England bishops' guidelines on civil partnerships and the 1991 Issues document. Its significance derives from the fact that the Reading dispute was the seminal moment in the primacy of Dr Rowan Williams when liberals realized to their lasting dismay that their cause was to be sacrificed by the Archbishop, their one-time standard bearer, and co-founder with Dr John of Affirming Catholicism, on the altar of Church unity.

But David Phillips of the Church Society said: "I think that it's wrong because the very fact of civil partnerships is undermining marriage. They are a mockery of marriage." Said Rod Thomas of Reform; "It is something that will only serve to deepen the crisis that the Church of England faces over the whole issue of human sexuality."

Church Society has stated consistently that those who teach that homosexual practice is acceptable should not be in ordained ministry in the Church of England. We have also called on the Bishops to rescind their guidelines and reject civil partnerships as contrary to Christian teaching.

Among today's stories are fleeing parishes in California and Minneapolis, and a must read is the Rev. Dr. Robert Sanders piece on Christ's Atonement and the Middle East Conflict.

VIRTUEONLINE wants to thank all its readers for your prayers for the safety of both myself and the Rev. Jerry Kramer on our recent trip to East Africa. It was an extraordinary time and you can read stories about what we did, who we saw and much more.

All blessings,

David W. Virtue DD

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