...GAFCON came into being as a rescue mission for a Communion threatened by rebellion against the biblical gospel and during Lent we should learn from Daniel and intercede for God’s mercy as we see so much spiritual desolation.
I believe we are seeing such prayers being answered. GAFCON sponsored the Anglican Church in North America after our first conference in Jerusalem and we endorsed the Anglican Mission in England last year here in Nairobi. Now, at its Annual Convention last week, the Diocese of South Carolina has aligned itself with the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and, as a step on the journey, accepted provisional oversight through the Global South group of primates. Once again we see that the radical liberalism of western churches requires Provinces from elsewhere to authenticate and recognize those who are being marginalized, as our Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans has done and is doing.
The presence of leaders from the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) at the South Carolina Convention was a sign of hope for the future. As a false unity that is based merely on institutional history breaks down, a new unity is emerging which finds its inspiration in the great historic truths of Anglican faith. GAFCON is a movement for unity, both within its fellowship and with other orthodox groupings. Orthodox Anglicans should expect to find themselves converging as they share a common allegiance to the gospel and GAFCON’s Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, a clear and contemporary statement of faithful Anglican believing, is a key contribution to building this godly unity.
The need for repentance, without which we cannot have true unity, is obscured when the authority and clarity of Scripture come into question. Sadly, this is the inevitable result of the Continuing Indaba project. By assuming that all differences are matters of context and interpretation, it becomes a way of affirming a false gospel. Much of its funding comes through the Episcopal Church of the United Sates.
We see here the repetition of a subtle and ancient strategy. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent says to Eve ‘Did God really say…’ (Genesis 3:1) and the consequences are tragic. By grace, we have been rescued from the power of death and sin. So how then can we once more set ourselves above its truth, we who are a made a new creation through hearing and obeying the Word of God?
I do therefore need to make an important clarification. Contrary to the claim made on the website of the London Anglican Communion office that there is a Kenyan ‘Resource Hub’ for Continuing Indaba, neither the Anglican Church of Kenya nor any of its learning institutions are participants in this project. We are strongly committed to the work of reconciliation within the Church and within civil society, but the gospel ministry of reconciliation is given to us by God and must not therefore compromise the Word of God.
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I believe we are seeing such prayers being answered. GAFCON sponsored the Anglican Church in North America after our first conference in Jerusalem and we endorsed the Anglican Mission in England last year here in Nairobi. Now, at its Annual Convention last week, the Diocese of South Carolina has aligned itself with the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and, as a step on the journey, accepted provisional oversight through the Global South group of primates. Once again we see that the radical liberalism of western churches requires Provinces from elsewhere to authenticate and recognize those who are being marginalized, as our Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans has done and is doing.
The presence of leaders from the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) at the South Carolina Convention was a sign of hope for the future. As a false unity that is based merely on institutional history breaks down, a new unity is emerging which finds its inspiration in the great historic truths of Anglican faith. GAFCON is a movement for unity, both within its fellowship and with other orthodox groupings. Orthodox Anglicans should expect to find themselves converging as they share a common allegiance to the gospel and GAFCON’s Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, a clear and contemporary statement of faithful Anglican believing, is a key contribution to building this godly unity.
The need for repentance, without which we cannot have true unity, is obscured when the authority and clarity of Scripture come into question. Sadly, this is the inevitable result of the Continuing Indaba project. By assuming that all differences are matters of context and interpretation, it becomes a way of affirming a false gospel. Much of its funding comes through the Episcopal Church of the United Sates.
We see here the repetition of a subtle and ancient strategy. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent says to Eve ‘Did God really say…’ (Genesis 3:1) and the consequences are tragic. By grace, we have been rescued from the power of death and sin. So how then can we once more set ourselves above its truth, we who are a made a new creation through hearing and obeying the Word of God?
I do therefore need to make an important clarification. Contrary to the claim made on the website of the London Anglican Communion office that there is a Kenyan ‘Resource Hub’ for Continuing Indaba, neither the Anglican Church of Kenya nor any of its learning institutions are participants in this project. We are strongly committed to the work of reconciliation within the Church and within civil society, but the gospel ministry of reconciliation is given to us by God and must not therefore compromise the Word of God.
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