In an impassioned sermon at Edman Memorial Chapel in Wheaton today, Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria spoke against sexual sin, saying unity must come from obedience to God.
“Those who are working for the unity of God’s people lack one thing: the word of God,” Akinola said. “Whoever loves God will obey God.” “Fornication is fornication. Adultery is adultery. … These are the areas of primary evangelism.”
Akinola, who leads the largest church in the worldwide Anglican community, is the fiercest critic of the Episcopal church’s liberal stance on homosexuality. His controversial visit comes at a time when Episcopal bishops are meeting in New Orleans to respond to a demand they stop consecrating gay bishops.
This truth to power stuff isn’t so exciting when you have the (financial) power and someone calls you on it, is it? Sounds so wonderful and hurts so bad. The ECUSA/TEC or General Convention Church power brokers clearly do not like this.
I was present at the service. It was a joyous celebration of the Eucharist. It is always interesting to me what sound bytes are picked up by the press. I am not a supporter of Archbishop Akinola’s stance on homosexuality, but found nothing to disagree with in his sermon.
Interesting. The Tribune’s approach to this reminds me of the Papal sound-bites we get from the media every Christmas and Easter, suggesting that the Pontiff’s remarks are merely about world peace, while ignoring the main thrust of what he says.
I was at Edman Chapel this morning, along with some 2000 other worshipers. (I saw the protesters from a distance, and although I didn’t count, there didn’t seem at that moment to be many more than about 6 to 10 of them.) I happen to be a compulsive note-taker, so here is an attempt at a summary of what the Archbishop said, staying as close as possible to his own words:
John 17: where is the unity that Jesus prayed for in today’s world? We see fragmentation and disunity. Why? I believe that if we were true to the Word of God written, things would be better. We need to appropriate the power of the Word of God. You can only get unity from God. Romans: the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Without that power each goes his own way. The Gospel transformed the land of my forefathers. The Gospel has power to transform culture. We must put first things first: transformation has to come before unity can arise. Look in the Scirptures — the woman of Samaria (John 4) who had changed men as if she were changing dresses was changed by Jesus. Consider Zaccheus. Constantine, Luther, Wilberforce all did what they did because the power of the Gospel was alive in them. These people became new creatures. This is not a theory — it is real and tangible. Have you been so transformed? To please God is the most difficult thing for a Christian, but with the Gospel in our lives, it becomes second nature. What do we find in society today? Excuses, claims of superior knowledge, attempts to rewrite the Bible or follow it selectively. When we do these things, we deny the Godhead, because our agenda stands above His. There is only one evidence of our love for God: obedience. If you claim to love God and live contrary to Him, you are a liar. We need to call a spade a space, to call sin sin. Whatever in our lives does not conform to God is a mission field. The mission field is not just in Asia or Africa, it is here in this room right now. You can’t give what you don’t have. Where the power of the Gospel is manifest, there is unity. Do two walk together unless they are agreed? Unity is not created by fiat or wishful thinking. There is no alternative to thye power of the Gospel. Millennium Development Goals are good, worthy things, but we must get first things first. An MDG that is not a response to God’s leading in our hearts is no better than anything given by anyone else. Ask yourselves if the Gospel has taken effect in your lives. Are you saved? Are you transformed? Am I doing charity to cover up, or as an alternative to being changed? The church can keep very, very busy doing plenty of nothing. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. (End of homily.)
The archbishop later taught us a praise chorus about the Holy Spirit, and led a prayer for healing, prior to the final benediction. I was personally uplifted and deeply moved by the entire morning. I am glad to have been with so many passionate Anglicans, and to have heard God’s servant Peter.
3. DuPage Anglican:
Thank you. I was actually hoping to be there this morning but a strange move of providence caused me to be in a pulpit, myself, this morning. I feel odd as I read your notes as there are several themes that I also incorporated this morning. The key one being: “There is only one evidence of our love for God: obedience.” This is not strange, really, as that is the theme of Christ’s entire ministry.
For a long time I have had a profound respect for the man Akinola. May God preserve him for the help of many, many souls.
DuPage Anglican, sounds like you experienced firsthand what many of us have also encountered when we hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached by one of the faithful Archbishops from the Global South. There is real power in the Word of God preached by these men. It is so humbling to think about what God is doing by sending orthodox Anglican bishops to pour out God’s gift on the parched mission field of North America, and to think about the amazing impact God’s actions through these bishops will have in the years to come.
There are still Priests that have been ordained through TEC that do preach the Gospel and the Truth of God’s Word as powerfully as ABP Akinola. I am blessed to have on at my parish. God bless him and ABP Akinola!!! That more had the courage and faith to preach the “hard” truth that this nation and this denomination so desperately need to hear.
I can confirm the reports of Catharine+ and DuPage Anglican. In a sermon on a wholy different subject, the one passing mention of sexual sin — and not, let us be clear, homosexuality, but rather the kinds of sexual sin that anyone can be guilty of — becomes the lead in the Trib. It is hard not to see this as simple dishonesty.
The purpose of the gathering (whose formal name was “Midwest Anglican Awakening”) was to exhort Chicago-area Anglicans to bring the Gospel power of life-transformation to the people around them. Archbishop Akinola’s chief message was that this is where we find true unity: in the common experience of being transformed by Christ, and the common task of sharing that transformation with others.
The part of ++Akinola’s sermon that struck me was his insistence on the transforming power of the Gospel to conform us to Christ. The mission field is whatever in the world is not conformed to Christ. That mission field is found first of all within me, in those areas in myself that are not conformed to Christ. When I have been fully transformed by the power of the Gospel only then can I take the power of the Gospel into the mission field around me to transform the culture.
The other part that so impressed me was at the very end just before the benediction He wanted to teach us a Nigerian song about the Holy Spirit that asks God to send down His Holy Spirit, his anointing, his healing down from heaven. He said he wasn’t much of a singer so he began to recite the words and asked if anyone knew it. All the Nigerian hands shot up immediately and they sang the first verse with the Archbishop and then started the song over so we non-Nigerians could join in as one — and it was indeed as one. We were even then enjoying the first fruits of the unity he had preached on. Then after singing down the power of the Holy Spirit, he prayed for all those who were in need of healing –physical, emoitional or spiritual. He said the Lord is present here to heal, He has the power to transform you now.
Then as he stood by the altar, he asked us all to kneel for the benediction, including the numerous clergy and musicians on stage who knelt as well. I thought surely this is what it must have been like in the first-century church when the apostle Peter gave his blessing to the believers gathered around him after preaching the power of the Gospel.
It is sad to see the press pick up on the one mention of sexuality in ++Akinola’s sermon in a vain attempt to link to the message of the protesters outside and the issues dividing Anglicans. I’ve offered some more observations–and pictures–here.