From the Rev. J Philip Ashey, Chaplain of the American Anglican Council:
The Chaplain's Corner
This week, I would like to turn to the hope for a new province in the Anglican Communion - the Anglican Church in North America, and its upcoming Provincial Assembly on June 22-25 to ratify the Constitution and Canons adopted by the Provincial Council on April 27-28, 2009.
This week I have also been shaped by that wonderful passage from Acts 1:12-26, which speaks into the season we are in right now - between Ascension and Pentecost, that uncomfortable "in-between" time waiting for what Christ has promised, and for what we so desperately need. Anglicans who have left TEC to form the new province are in such a time: waiting uncomfortably between the promise of an orthodox Anglican Church in North America that is united, biblical and missional, and the hope for an outpouring of God's blessing upon the vessel that has been prepared - including the constitution and canons around which that vessel is built. Will the Provincial Assembly be our "Pentecost" and not simply a warmed-over version of TEC General Convention with an orthodox veneer? What can Acts 1:12-26 teach us about how to prepare for a Pentecost rather than a parliament?
Let me suggest three lessons from the upper room that can help us prepare for Pentecost and the spirit-filled and empowered mission of reaching the unchurched that is at the heart of our hopes for this new province.
1. They were obedient to Christ's commands - especially to prepare for mission
Jesus gave his disciples this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about." (Acts 1:4 NIV) Jesus went on to explain the purpose of that waiting, which was to receive power to be his witnesses, power to reach unbelievers and turn them into fully devoted followers of Jesus (Acts 1:8). After his ascension, Jesus' disciples did exactly what he had commended them. They returned to Jerusalem, went upstairs, and waited for the gift (Acts 1:12-13).
One of the defining characteristics of the Constitution and Canons of the ACNA is their obedience to Christ's commands - and especially the Great Commission. Article III of the Constitution proclaims the mission of the Province: "So to present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that people everywhere will come to put their trust in God through Him, know Him as Savior and serve Him as Lord in the fellowship of the Church." Article III goes on to describe this mission in terms of equipping every member to reconcile the world to Christ, planting new congregations and making disciples of all nations. Canon I.10.1 repeats the language of Article III in describing the people of God as the chief agents of mission, and Canon I.6.1 the local congregation (not the Diocese, please note) as the fundamental agency of that mission. For this very reason, proficiency in basic principles of cross-cultural communication, mission strategies, and personal relational evangelism and apologetics are among the requirements for ordination to the priesthood and leadership of the local church. (Canon III.4.2)
Likewise, the gathering of the whole Province at Provincial Assembly has as its chief work the strengthening of the mission of the Church - and not legislation. (Canon I.2.1) Governance is the chief work of the Provincial Council (Canon I.1.1), and in order to safeguard the missionary focus of all the people at Provincial Assembly they shall either ratify or send back to Provincial Council the Constitution, Canons or amendments adopted by Council (Canon I.2.2).
This is a fact to be celebrated, not a conspiracy. The challenge of missional Anglicans in 21st century post-modern and post-Christian America is NOT how to mobilize more legislators and legislative processes. Leave that to TEC. Our challenge is how to mobilize more church planters, more evangelists, and more apologists and missionaries to reach the unchurched. This challenge is addressed by the Constitution and Canons of the ACNA.
2. They suspended their suspicions and came together as one body
Consider the list of those present in the upper room in Acts 1:13b-14. The list includes those who denied Jesus and abandoned him at his trial, as well as his own brothers who scorned and deserted him while he was alive. There was doubting Thomas who removed himself from the other disciples and would not believe their accounts of the risen Lord. There were faithful women who never deserted our Lord. And yet the bible says "They ALL joined together..." (Acts 1:14 NIV)
We cannot imagine them coming together as they did without each of them suspending their own grievances, dislikes, accusations and suspicions of the others. I suspect they were there with each other in a spirit of humility and repentance. Why? Because each recognized his or her own failures in following Jesus. As a result, they were able to extend grace to each other and overlook their differences in order to come together in obedience to Christ.
I must confess some discouragement as I have followed discussion of the Constitution and Canons on several blogs. Those who have drafted, listened, edited and redrafted the C&C have been accused of party spirit, conspiracy, theological ignorance and worse. One comment I read jumped from the recommendation of the tithe as a minimum standard of giving to the inevitable construction of a national church bureaucracy of bill collectors. The commentator could be forgiven for not taking time to inquire and discover the facts that the budget for the whole Province (covering all Anglican churches in the USA and Canada) is less than half of the total budget of the church where I worship outside Atlanta! But the willingness to impute the worst possible motives and the worst possible scenarios is not at all in keeping with the spirit that brought the 120 together in that upper room.
The Preamble to the Constitution contains this important clause: "We repent ourselves of things done and left undone that have contributed to or tolerated the rise of false teaching, and we humbly embrace the forgiveness that comes through Christ's atoning sacrifice." We added this clause in response to public requests for suggestions and amendments, and because we recognized our own need for humility, repentance and forgiveness.
I understand the hermeneutics of suspicion. I have seen the dark side of Anglican and Episcopal church life in ways that many have not. I've lived almost my entire life under the abuse of ecclesiastical power. But pride, anger and self-righteousness are not the solution. These things simply divide us and deaden us.
When are we going to get serious about our own sins, and embrace the same spirit of humility, repentance, forgiveness and mutual grace that animated the upper room?
3. They prayed together constantly
"They all joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14 NIV). Waiting for the promise requires prayer. Not only petitionary prayer but also listening prayer. If we want to experience a Pentecost birth for the Anglican Church in North America, we need to take some time out from the arguments and debates to simply gather in the upper room and pray. We need time to listen to the Lord for direction. We need time to petition Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit, without which all our efforts will be in vain. We need to be in a posture of dependence rather than a posture of pride.
I trust that each of us, every church coming into the ACNA, and all our friends will intentionally set time aside to pray for God to pour out His blessings upon us, and to give us that supernatural power to accomplish the mission He has given us.
If we can set our hearts to obey Christ's commands and the Great Commission, suspend our suspicions in a spirit of humility, and join together in prayer, we too will experience that Pentecost promise of power to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.
"Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)
In Christ,
Rev. J Philip Ashey, Chief Operating Officer and Chaplain
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