…GAFCON came into being as a rescue mission for a Communion threatened by rebellion against the biblical gospel and during Lent we should learn from Daniel and intercede for God’s mercy as we see so much spiritual desolation.
I believe we are seeing such prayers being answered. GAFCON sponsored the Anglican Church in North America after our first conference in Jerusalem and we endorsed the Anglican Mission in England last year here in Nairobi. Now, at its Annual Convention last week, the Diocese of South Carolina has aligned itself with the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and, as a step on the journey, accepted provisional oversight through the Global South group of primates. Once again we see that the radical liberalism of western churches requires Provinces from elsewhere to authenticate and recognize those who are being marginalized, as our Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans has done and is doing.
The presence of leaders from the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) at the South Carolina Convention was a sign of hope for the future. As a false unity that is based merely on institutional history breaks down, a new unity is emerging which finds its inspiration in the great historic truths of Anglican faith. GAFCON is a movement for unity, both within its fellowship and with other orthodox groupings. Orthodox Anglicans should expect to find themselves converging as they share a common allegiance to the gospel and GAFCON’s Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, a clear and contemporary statement of faithful Anglican believing, is a key contribution to building this godly unity.
The need for repentance, without which we cannot have true unity, is obscured when the authority and clarity of Scripture come into question. Sadly, this is the inevitable result of the Continuing Indaba project. By assuming that all differences are matters of context and interpretation, it becomes a way of affirming a false gospel. Much of its funding comes through the Episcopal Church of the United Sates.
We see here the repetition of a subtle and ancient strategy. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent says to Eve ”˜Did God really say”¦’ (Genesis 3:1) and the consequences are tragic. By grace, we have been rescued from the power of death and sin. So how then can we once more set ourselves above its truth, we who are a made a new creation through hearing and obeying the Word of God?
I do therefore need to make an important clarification. Contrary to the claim made on the website of the London Anglican Communion office that there is a Kenyan ”˜Resource Hub’ for Continuing Indaba, neither the Anglican Church of Kenya nor any of its learning institutions are participants in this project. We are strongly committed to the work of reconciliation within the Church and within civil society, but the gospel ministry of reconciliation is given to us by God and must not therefore compromise the Word of God.
A wonderful letter from Bishop Wabukala. So love Bishop Wabukala’s ability to write insightfully, very powerfully and yet so lovingly never being mean nor condescending. So glad the Diocese of SC has decided to become part of GFCA and accept oversight from the Global South Primates.
I note at the end of this excellent letter two items: Confirmation that Kenya is NOT participating in the Continuing Indaba nonsense, and a strong statement about the importance of seminaries. We should not let go of Nashotah House as an orthodox seminary without a fight.
There are many wonderful statements in the letter. I love his statement about [blockquote]”…… a false unity that is based merely on institutional history breaks down, a new unity is emerging which finds its inspiration in the great historic truths of Anglican faith”. [/blockquote]
Quite a contrast to what the PB of TEC has said acknowledging that a historical relationship to the Church of England as the *only* way to be Anglican. I truly believe that GFCA and GAFCON are already being used as instruments of godly unity among faithful Anglicans (which TEC sees as divisive) just as Bishop Wabukala states. Also, I like the no nonsense way in which he makes it clear that TECUSA is the funding source for the indaba discussions (which TEC sees as an attempt at uniting the various factions) that affirm a false *gospel* of “inclusivity” around the WWAC but will actually destroy it.
One sees the way to unity is thru a clear and contemporary statement of what faithful Anglicans believe and the other through a historical/institutional relationship to the Church of England. The contrast between the two bishops’ position on the future of the Anglican Communion could not be any more stark.
“We see here the repetition of a subtle and ancient strategy. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent says to Eve ‘Did God really say…’ (Genesis 3:1) and the consequences are tragic.”
That well describes the tactics used by liberalism throughout the western world over almost two centuries.
Ditto to all the above. An admirable, heartening, and very clear statement from the Kenyan primate and head of the GAFCON/GFCA Primates’ Council. It is so refreshing to see Anglican leaders who don’t hem or haw or waffle.
Besides what has already been said above, I note that ++Wabukala rightly celebrates that GAFCON I in 2008 called for the formation of the ACNA, and GAFCON II last fall likewise gave a huge boost to the AMiE. Furthermore, he rightly celebrates how the great Dioc. of SC has taken advantage of the offer to receive primatial oversight from the Global South. These are very promising developments.
Yes, while the polarization of the Anglican Communion as we’ve known it heretofore continues unabated, due to the stubborn refusal to repent on the part of those in gross, intolerable error (the relativists and revisionists on the left), a whole new stule of genuine Anglican unity, solidly grounded in the truth of the authentic gospel, is gradually taking the place of the false and superficial unity being pedaled by well-intentioned but spiritually blind leaders who still control large chunks of Global North Anglicanism. Real unity, based on agreement on the essentials of the Christian faith as we Anglicans have historically received them, is slowly but steadily replacing the mere appearance of unity, the sort of pseudo-unity still being promoted by old wineskin groups like the ACC and the ACO.
David Handy+