The Red Queen shook her head, ‘You may call it “nonsense” if you like,’ she said, ‘ but I’VE heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!’

Yesterday, an Alice in Wonderland story appeared online alleging all kinds of things about why AMiA split and Chuck Murphy eventually fled church discipline. Amongst many other charges in the Pravda-worthy article is one from Retired Archbishop Kolini, who “noted that Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo of Gahini Diocese took money from Trinity Wall Street.”

When contacted in Rwanda where he is preparing for an international conference with the Conseil Protestant du Rwanda (CPR), Bishop Bilindabagabo said, “I did not ask for and I did not get any money from TEC since 2004, the year our Province decided to stop receiving money from TEC. This includes even money for the then ongoing projects. In 2004 we as a diocese and I as a person stopped any kind of contact with TEC and of course Trinity.”

One wonders if this latest article in any way alters the perception of those who drafted the Winter Conference Communique, when they wrote: “We are thankful that our leaders have committed to healthy internal communication and support their decision not to respond to negative characterizations in the media.”

Curiouser and curiouser…

You (CJ) continued by saying that Larry “must confine [himself] to the that point in order to leave peacefully.” In other words, you could accept Larry telling the movement he was abruptly and prematurely pulling out of the disciplinary process because he disagreed with our assessment of his character. You would not allow him to explain his departure in terms of doctrinal differences. But then you went further. You told Larry if he included doctrine as a basis for leaving “we will go into more detail regarding your sin and if necessary Justin’s sin.”

C.J. then went on to blackmail the Tomczak’s in a phone call where he threatened releasing details of their son’s confessions to him as a pastor to the public; this was in 1997. Mahaney acknowledged this in a confession to Covenant Life Church, but he called it ‘coercion’:

It grieves me to report to you that in a particular phone conversation I sought to coerce Larry to present his leaving as I thought was right.

Sovereign Grace has looked at this and many other things and essentially said “no problem”! Get back in the saddle and go get them big guy! Mahaney has repented of this sin and has confessed it, let’s be clear. But that does not mean that he is fit to serve any more. Imagine confessing your sins to a pastor and then having him use them against you or your family to get you to act in a certain way. Is someone who does that fit to be a pastor let alone a functional bishop?

But, C.J. is a Reformed big wig so he gets a pass. Disgusting, reprehensible and arrogant.

1. What do you do during the week?
2. What things are most important to you? Why?
3. What do you think is wrong with the world?
4. What do you think is the root cause of the problems in the world?
5. Would you describe yourself as religious?
6. What do you know about Jesus Christ?
7. If you could ask God one question, what would it be?
8. If it were possible to know God personally, would you want to?

He also referred to these courses. It’s worth looking into for we who are evangelism-challenged.

1. Full participation in an existing diocese of ACNA

2. Remaining affiliated with PEAR while also forming a subjurisdiction of ACNA

3. Remaining affiliated with PEAR by establishing a missionary jurisdiction in North America

I would think, although I am not sure of it, that the first two options will be the most popular. Some churches may want to simply be part of the new province in North America and will move accordingly. Others may desire to have a part in ACNA and do what Archbishop Duncan called for in planting churches with Anglican 1000, still maintaining ties with our Rwandan brothers and sisters.

The option of creating a missionary jurisdiction in North America is what the AMiA was supposed to have been, before all the talk of a ‘personal prelature’ came about. What I don’t understand about that option is why PEAR would want two separate entities within the USA? Also, what would the difference be on the ground between option two and option three? I’m sure time will bring clarity to these options.

Christians in the modern age have often ridden the wave of sacrificial politics, and American Christians have shown as little resistance as any. Christians are among the most patriotic Americans. So seamless is our union of American ideals with Christianity that it is difficult for us to consider even the possibility that our nation is a sacrificial system competing with God and the church for our loyalty. It is virtually unthinkable that God might call us to the sacrifice of martyrdom in opposition to America rather than to sacrifice in defense of America. No wonder activist Christians are so readily folded back into the system. Until we get sacrifice straight, until there are actual martyrs, our resistance to statism will remain anemic.

His article describes nation states as transformed churches, demanding ultimate loyalty.

This is the man who led one wing of the “family values” party back in the Nineties. A man who attempted to impeach another philandering con artist who sat in the Oval Office for lying about his own “inappropriate intimate contact.” He may be a forgiven man, although I would bet that he is now lying about what he asked his former wife. However, if he is truly penitent I think he would want to fade away, serve somewhere insignificant and out of sight. Instead, we see him back at center stage, inflicting himself on the nation again.

And Republicans who blithely support men like Newt and Herman Cain cast doubt on the integrity of the entire Right. If it had been Bill Clinton up on stage wagging his finger at an anchor last night, the Right wing universe in bold array would have been in an uproar today, calling down wrath on him. Newt would probably be at the front of the line! However, if it’s one of “our” guys, well then let’s cheer him on as he attacks the media. What a farce! I hope that over time our better instincts kick in and he suffers the fate of Mark Sanford, Herman Cain and Larry Craig.

Ultimately, this same story of amoral leadership has dominated politics throughout my lifetime, from Gary Hart(pence) to Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich to John Edwards. Most of these men are social grafters who are obsessed with making money and moving up to ultimate positions of power and saying whatever it takes to get there. I’m starting to think that anyone who is upwardly mobile cannot be trusted in politics. The patricians like Romney and Bush Senior have the manners to avoid tawdry affairs like this. Moreover, Romney’s Mormonism more and more shows itself to be a compass of clarity for his personal morality – something that is tragic when you think about it. If Gingrich is the nominee, I will vote third party or stay home.

strive not to outdo in evildoing.

For evildoers will be destroyed,

but they who hope in the Lord shall possess the land.

Our risk, even at this very early stage of our development, is that as we establish this new expression of biblical missionary Anglicanism it becomes so much an expression of the former structures that it is very difficult to observe the difference between the past and the present.  Hierarchical structures, infighting, power struggles, committees, attorneys, insecurities, leaders who say one thing and do another while some take care to secure their own positions at the expense of others.

[...]

I want to prayerfully and carefully caution our new Anglican movement, let us not be complacent and reinvent the less effective structures of the past.  We must be constantly vigilant against an all-too-human temptation to feel that ‘the past was good enough;’ to live in the continual ‘afterglow’ of the great acts of God in past decades.  The constant, forward movement of God the Holy Spirit is ever dynamic. Relationships are new and different and this is to be celebrated.

I am humbled as a native born New Zealander and now a new American to serve as a bishop in the Church of Nigeria, [Anglican Communion] while serving as a bishop of the Anglican Church in North America by right of my standing as a Bishop in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America; a Suffragan to our Missionary Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns. These are unusual relationships, but they are kinship that strengthen our shared mission as Anglican Christians in the world who believe that Jesus still says ‘go and recognize our necessary and shared dependence upon Almighty God and the global Anglican family.’

In the past I have felt that CANA and the AMiA should end and fold into ACNA. Having observed the catastrophe of the last few months however, I now see the value in Bishop Dobbs’ admonition. We have made a mess of things in a few short years. So while I believe we can and must become an integral part of ACNA, I now think we should maintain these African connections for another decade or so. Bishop Dobbs is right: we don’t need a linear and defined structure at this moment of chaos.

Second, I was directly challenged about evangelism. To quote Bishop Julian again:

A determined dedication to evangelism is not an occasional chat about Christ with your buddy in local golf club or the brief mention of church with the local walking group.  We must be committed to a revolutionary dissemination and proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ across North America and, in fact across the globe. The Lausanne Covenant, a declaration agreed upon by more than 2300 evangelicals said evangelism is…“the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ, as savior and Lord with a view to persuading people to come to him personally, and so to be reconciled to God.”…It is indivisibly linked with Christian discipleship and it is one of the primary reasons why the church exists at all, and yet, and yet, the fact is the vast segments of the Church (perhaps even some of you here today) appear to be less than enthusiastic about regularly and faithfully declaring the Gospel which has been entrusted to us!  [When do you last share the Gospel message with someone at the grocery store, or your non church relatives and friends?]

Someone else asked me why we want to be linked with Rwanda? In my mind it has been because we need a connection to the Communion and we need to learn about suffering from them. But, this individual asked me, what about the East African Revivial? What about a passion for evangelism and expanding the Kingdom? Combining the old time religion message of Bishop Dobbs with the questions from this brother, I was clearly convicted that my “passion” for evangelism has been weighed and found wanting. The call to die to self and proclaim Christ has been missing in my life for some time and I thank God that the Assembly revived the call to take up the cross and follow.

Thirdly, I was confronted with the need to again examine myself in regards to potential call to the ministry. Bishop Dobbs said, “Each one of us must ask: What gift have we received?  Each one of us has received a gift, serve, serve like good stewards using those gifts and we must consider church planting as one of our highest priorities.”

He challenged us to ask ourselves if we are called to ministry and to church planting. I like to avoid this question and think about other things, but this short life is passing me by and will soon by over. Why not give yourself to something that will so clearly expand the Kingdom and fulfill the Great Commission? I along with all of us should reconsider the question of what God is calling us to do.

The Anglican Church provides a place of worship—common prayer for all people. One of the greatest strengths of the Anglican Church is the rich tradition of liturgical worship, which provides an opportunity for all people to connect with the Living God through prayer, sacrament, the public reading of the Bible, teaching, the creeds of the church, song and dance. The Anglican Church recognizes the primacy and centrality of the Bible and is enriched by reason and tradition. Reason and tradition must always be subservient to the Bible, however they help us understand and comprehend the word of God and the function of the church.

Thad said that we did not come to Raleigh to start a new movement but to submit to our elders. He said that we are under authority, that is a part of being Anglican. Yes, it is the Quadrilateral, the sacraments and the episcopacy, but it is also submission to authority. He told a moving story of the bishop that he was ordained under, a liberal who tried to discourage him by assigning him a difficult chaplaincy. He wanted to lead an insurgency against this bishop, but his rector told him rather to submit to his authority. He did submit, and God used it to lead him to a place of humility. God worked through this horrible bishop to bring about a good result in Thad’s life. Thad’s emphasis was that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.

He said that we (the bishops) did not come to Raleigh with a plan to give to the Rwandans, but rather to be subject to them and to listen. In this, he pointed out one of the key themes of this conference: collegiality. There was clearly grief on Terrell and Thad’s part, and there was also great honor for our Rwandan bishops who have been so mistreated and dishonored.

When Bishop Rwaje closed the Assembly and issued the statement, he asked the new transitional leaders to come onstage. He then asked Daniel Adkinson from Anglican 1000 to pray for us. This was just another example of the spirit of cooperation at the Assembly, and a fitting end to our time there. The future is yet to take shape, but key values driving the months ahead are transparency, getting feedback from all involved parties, honoring each other and rebooting a humble, Biblical and missionary Anglicanism in North America.

Asides

It was good to meet the famous Robin Jordan at the Assembly! I was also able to say hello to Kevin Kallsen, the Tom Brokaw of Anglicanism.

Wendell Kimbrough led worship and did a first rate job. Congratulations to him and all the guys.