Well, that was actually pretty good. When I was senior warden of two different churches, I insisted that the financials be sent out to the Vestry in advance. The treasurer’s report was last on the agenda and only involved immediate concerns which required Vesrtry action/approval or specific questions about a specific line item. All three times I was a senior warden, as soon as I got off Vestry, the Vestry immediatedly reverted back to spending 2/3 of the meeting on the financials. The issue always is, are we the evangelical leaders of a missionary outpost or are we the Board of Directors of Jesuscorp? It is always easier to be a board of directors than to be Gospel warriors.
[blockquote]I think we have to put how other clergy and laypeople participate in the councils of the church, and more importantly, are encouraged to live out their baptisms by proclaiming the good news of what God has done in Christ by word and example on the table.[/blockquote]
[blockquote] “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,[f] to be with you for ever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”[/blockquote]
John 14:15
Aside: I can never figure out whether we are supposed to be ‘living [i]into[/i]” or living [i]out[/i].” IMHO, such jargon is merely a form of acting out.
In other words say something about what embracing the Gospel looks like rather than simply express a longing to say something about what embracing the Gospel looks like. As far as I can see, the closest he comes to the former is suggesting the formation of new committees, perhaps the suggestion of non-geographical dioceses, a suggestion about how often the HOB meets and how it works and I think a very veiled comment about General Convention. Such matters aren’t unimportant but they focus almost entirely on the internal governance of the Episcopal Church and in particular the 815 staff. It hardly reaches the highfalutin rhetoric of losing ones life.
When I tauight school for 20 years most of our parents were extremely supportive. However, every now and then we’d have a parent who always seemed to be out of sorts with the school and with the teachers. Ultimately, someone would suggest to these folks that maybe, since they were always unhappy, it was time to move on.
I like Kendall’s blog because of his choice of articles. But, it seems to me that the commenters are ready to snipe at anything that comes up. I honestly think Jesus couldn’t get a fair hearing among this crowd. I know many of you folks have moved on. God bless you. But give those of us you’ve left behind a break. I’ve got many friends who have left TEC, I don’t agree with them, but I don’t spend time sniping at them either.
God bless +Stacy for doing his best for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a hard job.
(And yes, I’m aware that if I don’t like the comments I don’t have to read them.) And happy Easter to you too.
RE: “But give those of us you’ve left behind a break.”
I haven’t left TEC and I won’t be giving my church a pass on its horribly corrupt, heretical and obviously *incompetent* leadership any time soon.
RE: “God bless +Stacy for doing his best for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a hard job.”
Bishop Sauls is one of the more desperately heretical bishops in our church. He and I do not share the same gospel, though he is certainly doing his best to promote his particular and oddly unique personal gospel.
Setting that reality aside — a reality that is easily demonstrated by scanning over *years* of posts about his actions and verified statements since 2003 right here on this very blog — it is interesting and amusing to watch him now, in his “leadership” at the national level after plunging his own diocese into disastrous ruin and decline, attempt to herd the other incompetents at the national level around and try to get them to actually do a few things that the most basic of leaders should know how to do.
There are plenty of nice revisionist Episcopal blogs around the blogosphere for you to go read comments about how awesome Stacy Sauls is and how hard he’s working. TitusOneNine isn’t a revisionist blog — it’s operated by a priest in the Diocese of South Carolina who believes and preaches the Gospel — and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll hear most Episcopal commenters talk nicely over here about various of our heretical, bullying bishops.
“But give those of us you’ve left behind a break.”
I supposed the interpretation of the phrase “left behind” depends upon who thinks who “left.”
From my perspective, I believe that the revisionists with their predominantly secular mindset and its consequent agenda have left the “…the Faith once given…” behind and have also left the Church Catholic.
I think a much stronger argument can be made for my belief than for anyone attempting to state that the traditional/orthodox Anglicans have “left.”
Driver8, thanks for pointing that out. Of the eight commenters on this thread, there are at least five members of TEC: two revisionists, three conservatives.
DK has left TEC, and I don’t know about tired and AnglicanFirst, though I’d assume so.
So, ironically, while Randy Hoover Dempsey is busy telling those who left TEC to give those in TEC “a break”, the majority of commenters here are still in TEC — and three of those five are busy pointing out the reality of the chasm between the two groups proclaiming the different gospels within TEC.
So we have *six* commenters here who are members of TEC, out of eight. And of those six, four of the commenters are conservatives and quite clear about the chasm existing within TEC.
It seems unlikely that Randy Hoover-Dempsey will get his wish over here at T19.
Sarah, I don’t believe we have ever met. I serve a mission of the Diocese of Tennessee. We have about 260 members, approximately 220 of whom are political refugees. Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord, and I seek to preach the Good News about Him each week. I am thankful to be a member of our diocese, and for the ministry of the other priests, deacons and laity of our diocese. Our bishop is a faithful servant and I believe He is working diligently to help us proclaim and live the servant ministry of Jesus Christ in our part of the state.
Well, that was actually pretty good. When I was senior warden of two different churches, I insisted that the financials be sent out to the Vestry in advance. The treasurer’s report was last on the agenda and only involved immediate concerns which required Vesrtry action/approval or specific questions about a specific line item. All three times I was a senior warden, as soon as I got off Vestry, the Vestry immediatedly reverted back to spending 2/3 of the meeting on the financials. The issue always is, are we the evangelical leaders of a missionary outpost or are we the Board of Directors of Jesuscorp? It is always easier to be a board of directors than to be Gospel warriors.
[blockquote]I think we have to put how other clergy and laypeople participate in the councils of the church, and more importantly, are encouraged to live out their baptisms by proclaiming the good news of what God has done in Christ by word and example on the table.[/blockquote]
[blockquote] “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,[f] to be with you for ever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”[/blockquote]
John 14:15
Aside: I can never figure out whether we are supposed to be ‘living [i]into[/i]” or living [i]out[/i].” IMHO, such jargon is merely a form of acting out.
Do I take it to mean that +Sauls is going to stop avoiding the Gospel?
He speaks about how he longs he have a conversation. Why not just begin that conversation instead of speaking about longing to have it?
In other words say something about what embracing the Gospel looks like rather than simply express a longing to say something about what embracing the Gospel looks like. As far as I can see, the closest he comes to the former is suggesting the formation of new committees, perhaps the suggestion of non-geographical dioceses, a suggestion about how often the HOB meets and how it works and I think a very veiled comment about General Convention. Such matters aren’t unimportant but they focus almost entirely on the internal governance of the Episcopal Church and in particular the 815 staff. It hardly reaches the highfalutin rhetoric of losing ones life.
One final thought. For a speech that notes “Churches that turn inward will die”, it is remarkable, well, inward looking.
When I tauight school for 20 years most of our parents were extremely supportive. However, every now and then we’d have a parent who always seemed to be out of sorts with the school and with the teachers. Ultimately, someone would suggest to these folks that maybe, since they were always unhappy, it was time to move on.
I like Kendall’s blog because of his choice of articles. But, it seems to me that the commenters are ready to snipe at anything that comes up. I honestly think Jesus couldn’t get a fair hearing among this crowd. I know many of you folks have moved on. God bless you. But give those of us you’ve left behind a break. I’ve got many friends who have left TEC, I don’t agree with them, but I don’t spend time sniping at them either.
God bless +Stacy for doing his best for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a hard job.
(And yes, I’m aware that if I don’t like the comments I don’t have to read them.) And happy Easter to you too.
RE: “But give those of us you’ve left behind a break.”
I haven’t left TEC and I won’t be giving my church a pass on its horribly corrupt, heretical and obviously *incompetent* leadership any time soon.
RE: “God bless +Stacy for doing his best for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a hard job.”
Bishop Sauls is one of the more desperately heretical bishops in our church. He and I do not share the same gospel, though he is certainly doing his best to promote his particular and oddly unique personal gospel.
Setting that reality aside — a reality that is easily demonstrated by scanning over *years* of posts about his actions and verified statements since 2003 right here on this very blog — it is interesting and amusing to watch him now, in his “leadership” at the national level after plunging his own diocese into disastrous ruin and decline, attempt to herd the other incompetents at the national level around and try to get them to actually do a few things that the most basic of leaders should know how to do.
There are plenty of nice revisionist Episcopal blogs around the blogosphere for you to go read comments about how awesome Stacy Sauls is and how hard he’s working. TitusOneNine isn’t a revisionist blog — it’s operated by a priest in the Diocese of South Carolina who believes and preaches the Gospel — and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll hear most Episcopal commenters talk nicely over here about various of our heretical, bullying bishops.
“But give those of us you’ve left behind a break.”
I supposed the interpretation of the phrase “left behind” depends upon who thinks who “left.”
From my perspective, I believe that the revisionists with their predominantly secular mindset and its consequent agenda have left the “…the Faith once given…” behind and have also left the Church Catholic.
I think a much stronger argument can be made for my belief than for anyone attempting to state that the traditional/orthodox Anglicans have “left.”
Christians are an inherently fractious lot, aren’t we?
FWLIW I am very much a member of TEC. However that won’t stop me critiquing the leadership when it seems warranted.
RE: “FWLIW I am very much a member of TEC.”
Driver8, thanks for pointing that out. Of the eight commenters on this thread, there are at least five members of TEC: two revisionists, three conservatives.
DK has left TEC, and I don’t know about tired and AnglicanFirst, though I’d assume so.
So, ironically, while Randy Hoover Dempsey is busy telling those who left TEC to give those in TEC “a break”, the majority of commenters here are still in TEC — and three of those five are busy pointing out the reality of the chasm between the two groups proclaiming the different gospels within TEC.
“DK has left TEC, and I don’t know about tired and AnglicanFirst, though I’d assume so.”
I am still a member of one of the few remaining tradfitional/orthodox dioceses’ of ECUSA.
We still hold to the traditions and creeds of the Apostolic Chruch.
We are led by a truly godly bishop ( not a person living out a pretentious persona of piety) who still adheres to “…the faith once given….”
Thanks AnglicanFirst.
So we have *six* commenters here who are members of TEC, out of eight. And of those six, four of the commenters are conservatives and quite clear about the chasm existing within TEC.
It seems unlikely that Randy Hoover-Dempsey will get his wish over here at T19.
The problem with pseudonyms is that you never know who is saying what.
Some are priests, Randy Hoover Dempsey — under bishops of *your* theology and gospel.
Best for those bishops not to have the chance to further bully and attempt to silence conservative clergy.
I should say, some of those who use pseudonymns — can’t say about those on this particular post.
Sarah, I don’t believe we have ever met. I serve a mission of the Diocese of Tennessee. We have about 260 members, approximately 220 of whom are political refugees. Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord, and I seek to preach the Good News about Him each week. I am thankful to be a member of our diocese, and for the ministry of the other priests, deacons and laity of our diocese. Our bishop is a faithful servant and I believe He is working diligently to help us proclaim and live the servant ministry of Jesus Christ in our part of the state.