Watch it all and form your own conclusions and make your own prayerful evaluations (a little over 27 minutes).
Watch it all and form your own conclusions and make your own prayerful evaluations (a little over 27 minutes).
A good solid biblically based exhortation and consistent with all I have heard him say and do, both in public and private. “Lord, keep leading and protecting your humble servant, Archbishop Welby!”
The thing is that the Global South periodic gathering and its Primates’ Council, and GAFCON and its Primates Council are now the only functioning bodies left operational in the Anglican Communion thanks to the efforts of Welby’s predecessor. The Instruments have been emasculated, and there is no evidence there will be a Primates’ Meeting in the forseeable future, and perhaps even a Lambeth Conference in 2018 [for which there is no evidence money is being reserved or planning undertaken]. All that remains is the ACC and Standing Committee, manipulated to death by Western liberals and with no standing and without the confidence of the vast majority of the Communion.
It is good that Welby went to Nairobi, if only to get a reality check face to face with the leaders of the majority of the Communion Anglicans, and if he has any sense, to give him a chance to think about whether the Reconciliation/Manipulation/Indaba schemes he has spent his time on since taking office are really going anywhere. Perhaps his experience being with committed Christian leaders may have inspired him and made him think: yes, this is something I would like to be part of.
I have listened to his sermon given yesterday, or one of them anyway and while I applaud the biblical emphasis, I also note the subtext that the bible is read in a historical or cultural context, a patronising liberal opening for a contextualised Gospel, Indaba and maybe Reconciliation with the message that we are just all Christians who understand the Bible in different cultural contexts; rather than Scripture being the lively Word of God given to us for our salvation and whose message is true for all mankind whereever and whenever it is heard.
We are in great need of leadership, Christian leadership. I will look at what Welby does rather than what he says. I never forget that Welby contributed to the state of the Communion chaos at Coventry and later at Liverpool as a facilitator at the scandalously rigged Dublin Primates’ Meeting. I watch where his feet are headed, not his lips.
As for Gafcon, although I am not part of it, I wish them well in this conference and pray for the Holy Spirit to move in their gathering to renew, inspire and guide them, and perhaps with other GS leaders like wonderful Bishop Mouneer, show us how to be a conciliar and faithful church for all our sakes.
Would that the CofE Bishops be inspired too, but they are so focused on stuffing the place with liberal women bishops in November before they stuff the place with liberal gay bishops and gay blessings in December which is probably when they will find themselves in the same place as TEC, wandering in the wilderness on the periphery of the Communion and without any power.
Pray for a miracle.
I also think something else, rather wonderful is happening. Anglicans from all over the Communion who in the past would have never met, are spending time together talking, sharing experiences, and networking secure in their common witness to Christ. How extraordinary is that? But for the crisis, would that contact have ever happened otherwise?
Even in war and exile and return, God blessed the people of Israel as they travelled to new lands.
Indeed Pagentmaster, God used persecutions to move the Disciples and the Gospel out of Jerusalem to the world. It is not hard to see the fecklessness of Canterbury Inc being the catalyst to do likewise for the Anglican Communion.
At this moment, +++Welby sits on a precipice: he can turn to embrace an orthodox Communion, take the slings and arrows that will come from the revisionists. Or, he can refuse that suffering and paddle on into further irrelevance with all the transitory trappings of loveliness it will give to him. The choice is his and his alone. We orthodox are moving onwards. Those of us who can’t be at GAFCON have given sacrificially so our brethren can be there. So we are invested in this and are not going to be led aside by soothing words that are not backed up by determined action.
I agree, and I will reserve my opinion until such time as I see some positive action from ++Welby rather than his words.
As for Archbishop Welby’s “catching up,” there’s “a lot more to the doing rather than to the saying.
Indeed, look who’s been breakfasting at Tiffany’s?
Hmmph….why am I not surprised?