MichaelA says:

May 18, 2015 at 6:01 am

Thank you elves. Most of these entries concern the Church of England in some capacity, and rightly so â€“ developments in CofE have a disproportionate effect on the rest of the Communion, and lately things there have been moving in unexpected directions.

This is an article written by Prof Gerald Bray in the 2011 issue of “Churchman”, shortly after the founding of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE):
http://archive.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_125_3_Editorial.pdf

He expressed his doubts that AMiE can be of any significant assistance to conservative evangelicals in England. Events have panned out very differently to his predictions in the four years since he wrote, and this provides some significant pointers to what is likely to happen in future.

Prof. Bray has been loyal and diligent in the conservative cause within CofE over many years, but it seems to me that, at least in 2011, he was one of a number of people who just do not appreciate how the landscape has changed and in particular how the established nature of the Church of England is being rendered irrelevant.

He writes:

[blockquote] “The most likely future for the AMiE is that it will become a small denomination like the Free Church of England, with which it might eventually link up.”
[/blockquote]

The contrast with what has actually occurred couldn’t be more stark: AMiE did indeed link up, not with the FCE (which has less than 20 functioning congregations and has since been riven by an orthodox/liberal split) but with Reform and Church Society.

The three entities are working through the ReNew Conference which has become the focus and dynamo of conservative Anglican evangelicalism in England. The ReNew entities are quite open about their strategy, and the main plank of it could be described as: “plant more conservative evangelical Anglican congregations in England and network them.”

They have made it clear that they are not constrained by the established or institutional nature of the CofE â€“ churches will be planted inside CofE if the local bishop encourages it but outside otherwise.

Revd William Taylor is rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate, one of the larger evangelical CofE churches, and Chairman of ReNew. He recently wrote:

[blockquote] “At ReNew [in September] 2014 we reaffirmed the centrality of the local church in reaching the Nation with the Gospel of Christ. This year the focus will be on local churches working in Gospel partnership to win the Nation. I am convinced that this Biblical model of interdependent healthy local churches is vital for our goal of re-evangelising Britain in the 21st century. I pray that many church leaders, lay and ordained, will commit to stand shoulder to shoulder for this end”. [/blockquote]

I am aware of two more independent Anglican churches being commissioned in England in this month alone (Kings Church Guildford and Christ Church Sydenham), and there may be more. There are certainly more planned for in future months. The clergy for the new churches seem to move where they are needed, without regard for CofE boundaries

Prof. Bray also wrote in 2011:

[blockquote] “Another factor we must consider is the growing weight of conservative voices inside the existing Church establishment. The recent General Synod elections have shown this, and there are signs that more orthodox men will be appointed to senior positions in the future. Perfection is unlikely to be achieved, but it may well be possible to vote down unwelcome liberal initiatives in Synod and make it clear where the limits of tolerance for episcopal eccentricities lie. The danger at the moment is that conservative people will lose patience and leave the establishment just as they stand a reasonable chance of being able to influence it for the first time in a generation.” [/blockquote]

This exceedingly optimistic view has been given a bucket of cold water over the last four years. Conservatives have been outmanoeuvred in Synod on just about every point, and the miniscule numbers that have so far left for independent Anglican churches had no effect on this whatsoever. Prof Bray’s argument sounded good on paper but it never had a practical basis.

The reality is that people leaving CofE to found independent Anglican churches will help the conservative cause within CofE, not hinder it. That is because the significant political processes of CofE are controlled by the hierarchy (which mainly but not entirely means the bishops) and the hierarchy will act according to perceived threats and opportunities.

Prof Bray also wrote in 2011:

[blockquote] “As long as the Church of England remains the established church of the country, its character will be fundamentally different from that of other Anglican churches, and solutions developed overseas will have only minor relevance in the struggle against institutional liberalism here.” [/blockquote]

In this he has been both right and wrong. Right, in that the leaders involved in ReNew are overwhelmingly UK born and bred. Wrong, in that the ReNew entities (AMiE, Reform and Church Society) are pursuing a strategy which is leaving behind both the established church and those evangelicals who see it as the main game.

I get the impression that the hierarchy of CofE are in process of acknowledging that they have to work with the ReNew entities, despite knowing full well that they are planting independent Anglican churches, because CofE just cannot afford to lose any more parishioners. It has legal responsibility for the upkeep of 12,000 Grade I and Grade II listed heritage buildings, and it is strapped for cash. Even though Conservative evangelicals have lost just about every Synod battle (albeit it has often taken many years) they have ring-fenced many of their churches against episcopal and liberal interference, and their threat to leave if pushed too hard is now seen as a very real one.

In this respect AMiE has proved to be a game-changer â€“ even though it has barely started, the precedent that it could provide alternative episcopal oversight to dissident conservative congregations is seen as a major threat, and hierarchy of CofE know they have to cut deals. Bringing one of the most radical conservative evangelicals into the fold as bishop of Maidstone is an obvious step â€“ an assurance to conservative evangelical congregations they will be left alone if they will only stay put. Whether the individual congregations believe that assurance will be another matter.
MichaelA says:

May 18, 2015 at 6:48 am

Another example of an orthodox and highly respected conservative evangelical who I (very respectfully) suggest does not understand how the game has changed, is Revd. Peter Ould. I cannot presently find the link to Episode 176 of Anglican Unscripted, but those interested should be able to track it down via Google. It is entitled “AMiE Cause/Effect” and it is a webcam interview between Kevin Kallsen and Peter Ould.

Ould+ understands that AMiE, Church Society and Reform are working together, but he expresses great surprise that Rod Thomas has been put forward by them for the post of Bishop of Maidstone. He views the consecration of such a radical complementarian as being not good for building relationships with open evangelicals and moderate liberals within CofE. He opines that someone more congenial like Lee Gatiss would have been better and that Church Society, AMiE and Reform don’t really know what they are doing.

In response, I suggest that there are basically only two reasons that Rod Thomas is becoming Bishop of Maidstone: (a) because the senior bishops of CofE want him to; and (b) because Reform/Church Society/AMiE want him to.

The senior bishops want wealthy and successful complementarian congregations to stay in CofE. They know some clergy and parishioners are thinking of leaving. Therefore they want a radical complementarian who will minister to those churches and incidentally be less attractive to non-complementarians. Rod Thomas fits the bill admirably.

From the perspective of Reform/Church Society/AMiE, they have two main priorities: (i) preserving existing conservative evangelical congregations and (ii) planting new ones. Since most of their existing congregations are in CofE and don’t intend to leave, the appointment of Rod Thomas helps (i) and doesn’t affect (ii).