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The greatest single reason for the church's evangelistic disobedience centres in the church's doubts. We are not sure if our own sins are forgiven. We are not sure if the gospel is true. And so, because we doubt, we are dumb. We need to hear again Christ's word of peace, and see again his hands and his side. Once we are glad that we have seen the Lord, and once we have clearly recognized him as our crucified and risen Saviour, then nothing and no-one will be able to silence us. --- From 'The Great Commission', in "One Race, One Gospel, One Task", ed. C. F. Henry and W. S. Mooneyham
Again and again an opportunity presents itself to speak for our Lord Jesus Christ, but we hold our peace. And what is true of us as individual believers seems to characterize and paralyze the whole church. What are the causes of our guilty silence? No doubt any answer to this question would tend to be an over-simplification, because the reasons are legion. But I believe there are four major causes. Either we have no compelling incentive even to try to speak, or we do not know what to say, or we are not convinced that it is our job, or we do not believe we shall do any good, because we have forgotten the source of power. --- From "Our Guilty Silence" John R. W. Stott
The words 'witness' and 'testimony' have been much devalued, and are sometimes employed to describe what is little more than an essay in religious autobiography. But Christian witness is witness to Christ. And the Christ to whom we have a responsibility to witness is not merely the Christ of our personal experience, but the historic Christ, the Christ of apostolic testimony. There is no other Christ. So if Scripture leads to witness, witness also depends on Scripture. --- From "Understanding the Bible" John R.W. Stott
Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
10/27/2009
News of the Vatican's offer to Anglican traditionalists continues to reverberate around the world. Opinions range from jubilation to anger and frustration. Among the frustrated is the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, who branded as "inexcusable" the Catholic Church's failure to warn his successor of their plans to admit disaffected Anglican priests.
Carey told "The Times" that he was "appalled" that Dr Rowan Williams only learned two weeks ago of Rome's intention to publish a new Apostolic Constitution to allow the move. "I think in this day and age, this was inexcusable that Rome decided to do this without consultation," he said. "He should express his unhappiness with the process."
On the other side of the Vatican coin, the jubilant Forward in Faith UK Bishop of Fulham, John Broadhurst took advantage of the situation and used the occasion to berate the Church of England's lackluster leadership. He said this was not a direct result of the pope's new policy, but a reflection of widespread unhappiness with liberal Church of England policies. He was especially vocal about women priests and future women bishops. He also said that he believes roughly 1,000 Church of England clergy, who are totally disenchanted with the position on women bishops, will seek to join the Roman Catholic Church.
Stephen Parkinson, director of FiF-UK, said that a figure of 1,000 Church of England priests who might defect, as reported in the media, was "credible." Estimates of laity are "much harder." He said he would be surprised if any dioceses in England moved over. The Church of England could not comment on numbers likely to convert, with one source adding, "It's all guesswork."
Of bishops who might go to Rome, he said he would not be at all surprised at a dozen bishops in England switching. However, in England, bishops are more likely to move individually rather than take their entire dioceses, which tend to have diverse views, with them. Some Anglican clergy anticipated numbers would not be great, pointing to the early 1990s when about 500 switched over the ordination of women priests. Some later returned to the Anglican fold.
Reports that the Rt. Rev. John Hind, Bishop of Chichester, was considering becoming a Catholic, as reported in "The Sunday Telegraph" turned out not to be true. A statement from the bishop said that was not the case. "The report appears to come from a misunderstanding of an answer I gave to questions from the floor at the recent 'Forward in Faith' assembly, at which I spoke.
"A questioner had asked about the Papal condemnation of Anglican Orders. I responded by speaking about the subtlety of the position. I referred to the moment when it seemed as if the issue of how the Roman Catholic Church sees Anglican orders might be reopened but how the ordination of women to the priesthood and other developments have now made that impossible.
"In the light of that I stated that in the event of union with the Roman Catholic Church I would be willing to receive re-ordination into the Roman Catholic priesthood but that I would not be willing to deny the priesthood I have exercised hitherto."
A report that the Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir Ali was ready to cross the Tiber was equally incorrect. A statement from his office read, "Bishop Michael is not becoming a Roman Catholic. He intends to continue as a bishop in the Church of England and to encourage orthodox people, evangelical and catholic, in the world-wide Anglican Communion. As a long standing member of both ARCIC (Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission) and IARCCUM (International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission), he prays for principled unity based on the Bible and theological agreement between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. He believes that such unity may be achieved through continuing dialogue."
The English press was not exactly getting it right. Words like "poaching" and "Rome's Tanks on Rowan's Lawn" did not sit well with Britain's elite.
On this side of the pond, there is virtually no movement towards Rome by any diocese, bishop or priest that VOL can discern. Those bishops who have ever contemplated crossing the Tiber have already done so. They include bishops Daniel Herzog, Jeffrey Steenson, Clarence Pope (he has a yo-yo approach with Rome that must surely frustrate even them) and John Lipscomb.
Forward in Faith North America now has its own bishop and is a constituent member of the Anglican Church of North America. VOL has been told that bishops Jack Iker, John-David Schofield and Keith Ackerman have no interest in crossing the Tiber. No prominent priest or parish in The Episcopal Church has announced its intention of leaving TEC at this time. The Pope's offer in North America, it would seem, is dead on arrival.
The most likely Anglican leader in Canada, the Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey, an Evangelical Catholic caste in the same mold as Archbishop Robert Duncan and who heads the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), rejected the offer saying the Pope's offer raises more questions than answers.
He asked three questions, "Will the Roman Catholic Church require Anglican priests who choose this option to be re-ordained? Will people who accept this invitation have to subscribe to Roman Catholic dogmas to which the Anglican Formularies are diametrically opposed - such as "Papal Infallibility", the "Immaculate Conception" and Transubstantiation? Will Anglican priests - especially married ones - choosing to accept the Roman Catholic Church's invitation have equal status with existing Roman Catholic clergy and will their ministry be interchangeable and welcomed in Roman Catholic parishes?"
Harvey took advantage of the Pope's offer to take a crack at the ABC. "We are encouraged to see the Archbishop of Canterbury working with the Vatican to accommodate these Anglicans. We urge him to do the same for us by joining with the Anglican Primates who have already officially recognized and endorsed the Anglican Church in North America." He went on to rub it in saying, "This action recognizes how deeply broken the Anglican Communion has become as a result of the abandonment by some Anglican leaders of historic Christian teaching and discipline. Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church in North America - of which ANiC is a part - has also provided a means for those within North America to remain faithful Anglicans."
Concluded Bishop Harvey, "As for me and my house, we will remain ever faithful to the authority and primacy of the Holy Scriptures and the Faith and Order of the undivided Catholic Church. I need not become a Roman Catholic to be a Catholic Christian. As an Anglican, I am a Catholic Christian."
I don't think Bishop Harvey should be waiting by his mail box for a gilt-edged invitation from Lambeth Palace for lunch or high tea any time soon.
The Most Reverend Robert Duncan, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, response was more cautious, saying in part, "We...thank God for the partnership that orthodox Anglicans have long enjoyed with the Roman Catholic Church...While our historic differences over church governance, dogmas regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary and the nature of Holy Orders continue to be points of prayerful dialogue, we look forward to an ever deepening partnership with the Catholic Church throughout the world."
Canadian Anglican Archbishop Fred Hiltz brushed off the Pope's offer saying, "This is not an entirely new phenomenon. For a number of years, Rome has made provisions for individual Anglicans to be received. What is unique about this provision is that it responds to groups of Anglicans who have made special enquiries. Who these groups are has not been announced." To date, none of his bishops to date have said they would leave the ACoC.
CANA bishop Martyn Minns took the Vatican's offer as a way to press the case for Lambeth Palace's recognition of ACNA. He wrote, "This move by the Catholic Church recognizes the reality of the divide within the Anglican Communion and affirms the decision to create a new North American province that embraces biblical truth.
"While we welcome the positive response from the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury regarding the Vatican's provision, we urge Lambeth Palace to move swiftly to fully endorse the efforts of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and the Anglican Church in North America to keep the Anglican family together."
The real winner it seems from this offer is The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) with 400,000 members and 38 bishops. Its Archbishop John Hepworth resides in Australia and is clearly elated by the news. "We are profoundly moved by the generosity of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. He offers in this Apostolic Constitution the means for "former Anglicans to enter into the fullness of communion with the Catholic Church". He hopes that we can "find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to us and consistent with the Catholic faith".
But there is a price to pay.
Bishops in the new Anglican structure will be unmarried. This is out of respect for the tradition of Eastern and Western Christianity. But priests who come from Anglicanism will be able to serve as priests in the new structure, whether married or not, after satisfying certain requirements. The truly radical element is that married men will be able to be ordained priests in the Anglican structure indefinitely into the future. It is anticipated that Anglican bishops who are married when they join the new structure will still be able to serve as priestly ordinaries, exercising some of the responsibilities of bishops.
It's not a home run for orthodox Anglicans as the old fault lines between reformed and catholic still remain, but it does indicate that the Anglican realignment begun in 2000 with the birth of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) has just escalated to a whole new level. It does mean that Anglo-Catholicism has died and Catholic Anglicanism has been born.
I have posted the most recent stories, commentary and analysis of this offer from the Vatican. This digest will give you the latest news as well as the brightest and best commentary from around the world.
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If you want to listen to what a group of leading Anglo Catholic and Reformed leaders have to say about the recent decision by the Roman Catholic Church to accept traditionalist Anglicans, you can hear the Rev's Stephen Trott, Geoffrey Kirk and Rod Thomas talk about the momentous news out of Rome. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/listen_again/default.stm
Vatican's Overture To Anglicans Rankles, Delights. Archbishop Bob Duncan and others speak their minds. Go here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114149773
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On the domestic front, the gathering storm of diocesan intransigence towards The Episcopal Church continues, this time in the DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. Bishop Mark Lawrence called a special convention to which the press was not invited. This is a silly action as the news always gets out. Whatever spin the bishop or his diocesan henchmen might want to put on it soon gives way to the truth.
It was no surprise that the 300 delegates who met at Christ Church in Mt. Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston, approved four of five resolutions, one of which declared General Convention Resolutions D025 and C056 "as null and void." Three other resolutions were equally as sobering including one that said the diocese would authorize the bishop and standing committee to begin withdrawing from all bodies of the Episcopal Church that have assented to actions contrary to Holy Scripture, the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this church has received them.
Anticipating this, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson wrote a few days earlier issuing a warning to the Standing Committee that any such action would invite retribution from the national church.
Basically the argument goes something like this: If you belong to the club, then you abide by the club's rules. If you don't, then you should get out or resign. How long this cat and mouse game can continue remains to be seen. Right now the ball is squarely in the courtyard of TEC.You can be sure the High Command is weighing its options. Bishop Lawrence should not be at all surprised if he looks out his window one day and notices an unmanned drone over his diocese.
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At the other end of the ecclesiastical scale, The ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF SAN JOAQUIN had its 50th Anniversary Annual Convention at St. James' Cathedral where The Rt. Rev. John‐David M. Schofield, Bishop of the Diocese announced that he plans to retire in October of 2011. The 2009 Convention welcomed four new Churches into full membership, including the first congregation from Nevada. The expansion of the oversight under Bishop Schofield's jurisdiction is expected to continue as numerous other local Anglican Churches continue to petition the Diocese to accept them as full member congregations.
The diocese welcomed four new congregations including Jesus the Good Shepherd Anglican Church, Henderson, Nevada; St. Andrew's in the Desert Anglican Church, in Lancaster, California; St. David's Anglican Church, in San Rafael, and a Spanish speaking congregation in Seaside, California, Santa Maria de Juquila. Six other congregations in California, and an additional number in surrounding States, are in the process of aligning themselves to become part of the Diocese. Most of them are expected to come into union with the Convention at this time next year, said The Rev. Canon Bill Gandenberger, Canon to the Ordinary Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.
The diocese is still in the midst of a legal battle with the national church over property issues.
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The Global South continues to grow and thrive, even as the West shrinks and contracts. On Oct. 24 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDAN elected seven new bishops in All Saints Cathedral, Juba.
Five of the seven bishops-elect will serve the newly created dioceses of Terekeka, Pacong, Akot, Twic East and Nzara, while two are replacing bishops who have retired this year from the dioceses of Wau and Rejaf.
The bishops-elect are:
* The Rt. Rev. Micah Leila Dawidi, Diocese of Terekeka;
* The Rt. Rev. Joseph Maker Atot, Diocese of Pacong;
* The Rt. Rev. Isaac Dhieu Ater, Diocese of Akot;
* The Rev. Samuel Enosa Peni, Diocese of Nzara;
* The Rev. Moses Deng Bol, Diocese of Wau;
* The Rev. Canon Enock Tombe Stephen, Diocese of Rejaf; and
* The Rt. Rev. Ezekiel Diing, Diocese of Twic East.
Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul closed the elections in prayer, asking that the new leaders will further unite and develop the Episcopal Church of the Sudan.
The various consecrations and enthronements will take place in the respective dioceses over the next few months, beginning in Terekeka on Sunday, November 1.
The Episcopal Church of the Sudan is one of the 12 Anglican provinces in Africa and includes approximately four million members. Source Episcopal Church of the Sudan
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In his recently released "manifesto," Jack Spong, the former Bishop of the DIOCESE OF NEWARK declared the battle is over and "it is time to move on." He pledges never again to debate the issues of homosexuality or homosexual rights. Spong's new manifesto is a sign of the times. For the past three decades, Bishop Spong has staked out a theological position that is so far outside the realm of Christian orthodoxy that it defies description. In a succession of notorious publications, Spong has denied virtually every conceivable doctrine and has embraced almost every imaginable heresy. His abandonment of biblical Christianity is both intentional and straightforward - what this bishop demands is nothing less than the total reformulation of the Christian faith. In other words, Bishop Spong would replace Christianity with a new post-Christian religion while continuing to be recognized as a bishop of the Episcopal Church.
And what has this done to his former diocese? Why decimated it of course. The Diocese of Newark is in total free fall. Only 25 percent of churches can afford full-time clergy. Median average Sunday attendance has declined to 61, the number of pledging units has dropped and are declining. Average Sunday attendance has gone down diocese-wide for six consecutive years, so have the number of pledging units to the parishes, said the reigning Bishop Mark Beckwith. The diocese's portfolio has been degraded to near $600,000 with more than 60% of its congregations reducing their pledge for 2009. This is the legacy of John Shelby Spong.
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The LUTHERAN CHURCH OF SWEDEN fell off the wagon this week and announced it would conduct ceremonies for homosexuals. Some 74 percent of Swedes are members of this church. The governing board of the Synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Uppsala, Sweden, passed the gay wedding proposal 176-73, the Swedish News Agency TT reported. The decision came three days after the 30th anniversary of the date homosexuality stopped being classified a disease in Sweden. "The Synod's decision takes a stance in favor of an inclusive view of people. Regardless of whether one is religious or not, this affects the entire social climate and the view of people's equal value," said Asa Regner, the head of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education. The association is Sweden's largest gay-rights group. Individual pastors will still be permitted to refuse to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples. Representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox churches in Sweden expressed their disapproval of the decision in a joint letter to Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd. Church of England spokesman Steve Jenkins said relations between his church and the Church of Sweden may become strained because of the decision. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches of Sweden have responded with "sadness" to the Swedish Lutheran Church General Synod's decision to hold homosexual "weddings" in churches, saying the move departs from the Christian tradition and will widen the gap between the churches.
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The truth of substitutionary atonement, lost on liberals for a variety of reasons, can often take a contemporary and human take that brings it home with great clarity. This video of a father sacrificing his son is a moving portrayal of what it means to give one's life in order that many might be saved: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sTy26XYyN4&feature=fvst
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Who is this man, named by TIME magazine in 2005 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world? The father of the modern Evangelical Anglican movement in the Church of England, and whose influence has reverberated around the world for more than 60 years has been brought to life in a new book INSIDE STORY, the Life of John R. W. Stott by Anglican biographer, writer and author Roger Steer.
The story of Dr. Stott's life is one of faith, discipline, careful Bible study and scholarship that made him England's premier preacher and Bible teacher for more than four decades.
I was privileged to obtain a copy of this book by the author in England recently. I will write more about this at a future time, but if you need a book that will galvanize you to action to seek and save the lost, and then evangelize, counsel and disciple people to Christ, buy this book. It will transform your ministry whether you are a lay person or clergy.
In the UK the book can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Inside+Story+-+John+Stott&x=0&y=0
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In a stirring new book STAND AND FIGHT: IT'S TIME FOR A SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION (TRI Press, 2009), constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead calls on Americans to stand and fight for their freedoms-particularly religious freedom. "For those who love this country, these are far from the best of times. Yet we are far from helpless and this is not the time to surrender our rights," says Whitehead. In this new book, Whitehead urges Americans to stand and fight for their rights-particularly their right to religious freedom.
In STAND AND FIGHT, Whitehead provides readers with a step-by-step plan for fomenting change and safeguarding their constitutional freedoms. Whitehead is nationally recognized as one of the nation's most vocal and involved champions of religious freedom and civil liberties.
"Freedom in general is under attack. But in the area of religious freedom for Christians, the battle is particularly fierce," writes Whitehead. "In virtually every segment of society, the culture has become so secularized that Christian expressions in public are on the cusp of being seen as illegal. Furthermore, the battle for religious freedom has shifted in such a way that it is now the individual Christian who is being silenced by the state and consequently suffering the loss of religious liberty."
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The digest is once again going out twice this week because of the overwhelming news flow. Please go to VOL's website for the latest news as it breaks. www.virtueonline.org The website can be read in one of 34 languages. Just hit the Google Translate link. You can also follow VOL on Twitter.
Yours in Christ,
David
