Eastertide
(Updated with Links)
Bishop Martin Minns has been officially installed as the "Missionary Bishop" of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.
What is to be expected from churches whose bishops are suing them in civil courts? Can't we suppose that when these folks are taking such steps, they're no longer dealing with each other as if they were fellow Christians? And for some reason the ECUSA folks are upset that they're seeing the formation of a separate Christian church out of their ruins.
The Archbishop of Nigeria is worrisome to say the least, but what I think we'll see - what I pray we'll see and what seems to be happening even now - is the emergence of a renewed province of the Anglican communion, a group of Christians with a catholic and evangelical view of Christian mission in an emerging post-Christian culture that will be grounded in the broader history of the Church and and that will be passionate about God's future.
Akinola is not, and will not be the leader of such a church. It will be led by the Anglicans of this place and time. I believe Akinola to be deeply morally compromised because of his recent work against human rights in Nigeria, but if he serves as a midwife for the birthing of faithful Anglicanism in North America, so be it.
It really just sucks that issues of sex had to serve as the fuse for this. It's about what it has been about for decades - historic Christian faith, catholic polity, and whether the New Testament witness is going to be normative for our own convictions.
Maybe within a few years these folks can start talking about mission again, may it please God.
Anyway, gratuitous rant. Bedtime for me.
Update, Monday morning: Now that's funny, right there.
Comments
2 comments:
Gratuitous rant or not, thanks for sharing your perspective, Kyle. It's a breath of fresh air. I attend an Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Ft. Worth, and while I don't support the actions or direction of the national church, I am also uncomfortable with the actions and rhetoric of Bishops like Akinola, and even Iker. Thanks.
Kyle
you say much that needs saying. the question of homosexual relationships is really just a symptom of much deeper divisions that need to be brought into the open and thrashed out. And sometimes an artificail forced unity is worse than an acknoledgement that irreconciable differences exist. Your balance of blame (for want of a better word) and your pheonix-like vision for the future are encouraging.
Post a Comment