By The Rev. Phil Ashey, Esq.
In the afterglow of Bedford, confidence and hope
I have just returned from the first Provincial Assembly of the Anglican Church in North America where we "constituted" what is now in effect the 39th Province of the Anglican Communion. I'm basking in the afterglow of an incredible time of worship in the Anglican tradition - Catholic, Charismatic and Evangelical, all streams flowing together in praise and glory to God. I watched so many of our bishops stop to pray for people as needs arose, and to publicly affirm their faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible, modeling in word and deed what we have longed to see and experience for so many years. It was a joy to rekindle and renew friendships with old friends (some I had not seen since seminary days!) and to make new friends across jurisdictions in this one, united, missional Anglican Province for North America that holds so very much promise. I was overcome with joy as we processed in to Christ Church Plano among thousands of friends and supporters - reminded that our six year journey from "Plano I" had come full circle to a new day, a new church, and a new Province.
I'm still in that afterglow, but I want to reflect on this question: what did we really accomplish? There are at least four things we can rejoice in as significant milestones for the realignment of Anglicanism in North America:
1. North American Anglicans united in their affirmation of the uniqueness and Universality of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of all
Applause was frequent, loud and sustained whenever any speaker proclaimed the lordship of Jesus Christ, the centrality of His substitutionary and atoning death on the cross for our sins, his physical and bodily resurrection from the dead, and the timeless inspiration and authority of His word written, the Bible. These are the non-negotiables for Anglicans in the Anglican Church in North America. They are at the heart of our "Fundamental Declarations" in Article I of the Constitution. They are the reasons for which we have joined together as a Province, despite conscientious and reasoned differences over holy orders and worship. We have drawn a line in the sand on the uniqueness and universality of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of all, and this line will not be crossed or blurred in any way.
Our detractors in the "Torn Communion" and in the media insist that we are preoccupied with sex. They need to take a look in the mirror and stop projecting their preoccupations on us. Sexual disorder in the Anglican Communion is merely a symptom of the deeper problem of the denial of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of all. It is the result of a willful defiance of Biblical norms and authority. It betrays a defective understanding of the power of Christ's love to transform every measure of our life.
Why did the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America publicly reopen a dialogue with North American Anglicans that has been suspended for many years? Why did he publicly announce the possibility of reunification of our two churches? Because the Anglican Church in North America has chosen to affirm and proclaim the fullness of Jesus Christ as God and man, and the fullness of his transforming love, by reaffirming the authority of Holy Scripture, the Councils of the Church, the Creeds, and the essential doctrines of the Christian faith concerning the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Now that's significant!
2. Evangelism, discipleship and mission will be "the main thing"
Quoting the great Casey Stengel, Archbishop Robert Duncan reminded us time and again that "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." And the main thing is nothing less than extending the transforming love of Jesus Christ to North America - making disciples of Jesus Christ, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to do everything Jesus has commanded us (Matthew 28:16-20). Pastor Rick Warren reminded us that "a great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will build a great Communion." Edwina Thomas of SOMA USA reminded us that we need the power of the Holy Spirit, and all the gifts he would give us, to fulfill this mission and to stay focused on it. Bishop-elect Todd Hunter of AMiA began to lay out a vision and a strategy for fulfilling our provincial target of planting 1,000 new churches in the next five years.
The main thing will not be legislation and resolutions and parliamentary maneuverings at provincial and diocesan gatherings. That's the old DNA. I think we have rediscovered something during our Exodus and our oversight by Anglican brothers and sisters in the Global South. We have rediscovered the DNA of Confessing Anglicanism - it is the sheer joy of leading people into a personal and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. It is evangelism, discipleship and mission in and through the local church - in the words of Pastor Rick Warren, to move people from "Come and see" to "Come and die" to "Go and tell."
This will be much more exciting - and challenging - than anything we have done so far in birthing this new province. Nothing will be more rewarding than planting new churches where people will come to know Jesus Christ, put their whole trust in his transforming love, and become fully devoted followers who make disciples and plant more churches!
Just as we did for Plano I, and the Anglican Communion Network, and GAFCON, the American Anglican Council will continue to help organize leaders and churches in the Anglican Church in North America, locally and regionally, to pursue evangelism, discipleship and mission as "the main thing." We will have more details about this in the coming months - count on it.
3. We ratified a Constitution and Canons that are genuinely Anglican, and that will support and sustain the mission of the Province
Just over a year ago, the GAFCON Primates gave the green light for the formation of the Anglican Church in North America. At their strong suggestion, we began a process of drafting a Constitution and Canons that are recognizably and authentically Anglican. We did so. It was a labor of love and prayer and mutual submission. It was a process with the input of the GAFCON Primates, every Common Cause Partner, every representative of the Provincial Council, Anglican theologians, canon lawyers, bishops, priests, deacons, examining chaplains, and many other Anglicans in North America whose conscientious comments helped shape these documents.
It is a testimony to prayer and the providence of God that this Provincial Assembly approved them in two afternoons - not in a rush of emotion, but in recognition of the greater good which they secure through the Fundamental Declarations, the Declaration of Mission, and the structures they set in place to extend the transforming love of Jesus Christ to North America. Theological differences remain. We will need to address the "hermeneutics of suspicion" that often distort a plain reading of the Constitution and Canons. Bishops especially will need to help rebuild trust by pastorally addressing conscientious concerns, and reminding us to be shaped not by the betrayals of the past, but by the call to mission. As we live into this new Constitution and the Canons, we will discover what needs to be changed. I fully expect that the Standing Committee on Constitution and Canons will be ready to meet and receive recommendations and propose changes that will further enable us to fulfill the mission God has set before us.
4. Provincial recognition has begun
Barely five minutes after the Canons were ratified by the Provincial Assembly, Bishop John Guernsey rose to announce this news he had just received from the House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda:
"Concerning the formation of the Anglican Church in North America, the House of Bishops resolved that it warmly supports the creation of the new Province in North America, the Anglican Church in North America, recognizes Bishop Bob Duncan as its new Archbishop, and declares that it is in full communion with the Anglican Church in North America.
Likewise, the Bishops resolved to release, effective immediately, the Bishops, clergy and churches in America under its ecclesiastical oversight and to transfer them to the Anglican Church in North America. The House of Bishops further resolved to continue its partnership and friendship with them in mission and ministry, extends its hand of fellowship, and wishes them well."
This announcement is significant for two reasons. First, it signifies (with the Church of Nigeria's recognition of the new Province) a communion-wide process of recognition by Primates and Provinces that will result in the recognition of the Anglican Church in North America as the 39th Province of the Anglican Communion. It is this Primatial recognition that determines whether a body becomes a recognized Province in the Communion. The best way we can secure that 2/3 recognition by Primates is to BE the church - by planting churches, evangelizing, discipling and extending the transforming love of Jesus Christ to North America.
Secondly, the announcement by the Church of Uganda signifies the end - the necessary end - of cross-provincial interventions. The Anglican Church in North America will now become the only Anglican body in North America that is fully compliant with all three of the moratoria recommended by the Windsor Continuation Group and endorsed by the Anglican Consultative Council. This fact needs to be impressed upon every Primate and every province in the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Church in North America will not be "more or less" compliant... not "two out of three"... it will be FULLY compliant with all Communion moratoria.
In the meantime, we have a mission to fulfill. We can hope for Canterbury's blessing, but we cannot wait. Multitudes and multitudes are in need of the transforming love of Jesus Christ. As Anglicans with so much to offer from our great tradition, let's go forth and bring them home!
Yours in Christ,
Phil+
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