…the biggest hill to climb is that at every point in the church we might be so urged on by the love of Christ, the good news of salvation, that we break the historic pattern, which in many parts of our church goes back centuries, and become those who with all our faults, all our failings, all our divisions and sins and misunderstanding ”“ because, let us be clear, if we wait until we’re fit to witness, we will wait forever ”“ we become those who, with all those drawbacks, are nevertheless humble, gentle, transparent, hospitable witnesses to Jesus Christ, so that the world may know.
That is a challenge which takes us straight back to the life of the local church or chaplaincy, to the cathedral, to every point at which there is a Christian, because at every point at which there is a Christian there is a witness. And it takes us back here to be those who serve and love the witnesses, so that they are liberated to a joyful ministry of witness. All that we are doing here must be held in that context of the worship of God and the sharing of the good news.
[blockquote] “task groups are not the end: they are a means to the end”[/blockquote]
Truer words have never been spoken. 😉
“The end is determined, here’s how we get there.” Ah, genuine reconciliation! The new truth, new thang (r) gozpell is out, and the “task groups are not the end: they are (our) means to (our) end†– and the end of the shole former Anglican communion.
The overall theme of the sermon is laudable: The whole church needs to be motivated for evangelism, so that every member has a vision to share the love of Christ.
But as the Archbishop (barely) acknowledges, the Church of England is riven with dissension:
“We lose confidence in the good news when it stops being good news for us. And that is such a danger when we’re enmeshed in so many of the arguments and divisions with which we struggle. They may be necessary, but their danger is we lose sight of good news for us.”
A significant part of the Church of England’s witness comes from those who believe the Bible teaches that only men should lead congregations. That they believe so should surprise nobody, because it has been the historic belief of the Church of England and of the Church in general for 99% of its existence.
Yet the Archbishop of Canterbury and his predecessors and fellow bishops have made a decision that such beliefs have no long-term place in the church. That is their decision, and if the ABC wants to urge that the Church be united he may do so, but he and his fellow bishops have ensured that it is not.