Bp. Iker to the Diocese of Fort Worth

From his convention address:

"There is no such thing as the faith of the Episcopal Church or the creeds of the Episcopal Church. The Holy Scriptures are not ours to alter as we wish by majority votes of national conventions. Nor do the threefold orders of ministry, of bishops, priests and deacons, belong to us, that we may alter them as we desire. Scripture, creeds, sacraments, and orders are all part of the Apostolic Tradition, the Apostolic Succession that we have received, and we must hand them on to others as we in faith have received them.

"The highest authority in this church is not the General Convention, my friends, but Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the divinely inspired and revealed Word of God, containing all things necessary to salvation. Our highest loyalty is not to a denomination, but to the Lord Jesus Christ. However much we might love our church, we must not love it more than God. It becomes idolatry when we place anything else before Him.

"I say this because some would make an idol out of The Episcopal Church, it appears, and claim for it an infallibility that they deny the Holy Scriptures. If we deny biblical infallibility and papal infallibility, surely we must deny General Convention infallibility. Councils of the church can and have erred. It is troublesome to me when some talk more about why they are an Episcopalian than why they are a Christian.

"Evangelism is not bringing more people into the Episcopal Church, but bringing more people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We are first Christians, who follow the Anglican way of being evangelical catholics, and we must be careful that denominational loyalty does not lead us away from biblical truth and order. I love The Episcopal Church most when it talks least about itself and more about Jesus Christ. I love The Episcopal Church most when it is true to our heritage as a biblical church, standing under the authority of the Word of God, not as an American denomination, but as an integral part of the historic church of the ages that is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

"As your bishop, it is my first duty to guard and defend the faith, unity and discipline of the historic church, as we have received it, and when the time comes, to hand it on intact to my worthy successor. But no bishop contends for the faith on his own, and I am deeply grateful for the support and faithfulness of the clergy of this diocese. I am also blessed and encouraged by you, the faithful lay leaders of our diocese, who stand with me in making our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Convention is an invitation for us a diocese to say once again that we will continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, that we will accept the challenges presented to us by difficult times, and that we commit ourselves once again to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives."