More than ever, we need to renew our vision of what it means to be an evangelical Anglican. My conviction is that not only is being evangelical the most authentic way of being Anglican ”“ we’ve been saying that for years – but also that being Anglican is a great way of being evangelical.
How come?
Firstly, because the Anglican formularies (the 39 Articles, the Prayer-Book and the Homilies) subject themselves at every turn to the authority of scripture. Though they provide an extraordinarily rich theological foundation, they also offer themselves to be tested against a scriptural norm.
Second, because Anglicanism has a great sense of what is of primary and what is of secondary importance. Other Protestant denominations have a tendency to make secondary issues ”“ like the manner of baptism or church discipline or church government ”“ a primary distinguishing mark. And they endlessly divide because of it. The Anglican formularies commit us to important things ”“ and allow us freedom under Scripture on the secondaries. What a blessing!
Third, Anglicanism is a great mission strategy. From the beginning, Cranmer and the others knew that they were in a battle for hearts ”“ hearts, like Catherine Parr’s, that needed conversion. Today, the opportunities opening up for mission because of our Anglican networks ”“ in Sydney and elsewhere – are extraordinary.
This is pretty disappointing stuff, especially coming from Sydney. I can’t count how many talks by Sydney Evangelicals I’ve attended where I’ve heard variations on the theme ‘there’s nothing about denominationalism in the Bible from beginning to end’, but since they got involved in Canterbury politics they seem to have lost the plot. What used to be an emphasis on the same gospel that Evangelicals proclaimed in every church of which they happened to be members has been replaced by a “bold and remarkable vision for an global Anglican movement.” What a tragedy it would be if all the strength that Sydney Evangelicals and Moore College has given to Evangelicals elsewhere over the years were to be devoted to denominational distinctives instead of the faith once delivered to the saints.
Philip Wainwright
http://canterburytrail.wordpress.com/evangelicalism/
My goodness what a colossal missing of the point, Mr Wainwright.
Perhaps the writer made more points than he intended. To judge by the comments at http://www.sydneyanglicans.net, I’m not the only one with this concern.