Last week\u2019s Anglican Way Institute (AWI) hinted at the hopes and goals of traditional Anglicans in the United States. Ecumenical outreach, evangelism, and catechism dominated several lectures and discussions in Dallas. We can expect members of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and other Anglican bodies to be dealing with these trends in the years to come.<\/p>\n
The three featured plenary speakers gathered at the end of the week for open questions and answers. Bishop Ray Sutton of the Reformed Episcopal Church, Bishop Keith Ackerman of Forward in Faith, and Father Lee Nelson of the ACNA\u2019s Catechism Taskforce. Much of their talk focused on AWI\u2019s main theme of catechism. Ackerman noticed that, during the Oxford Movement, high churchman enacted their reforms on the seminary level with theology and on the parish level with catechesis. Unfortunately, today\u2019s church lacks many of the right cultural avenues for thorough spiritual formation. Ackerman summed up the beliefs of the AWI nicely: \u201cOur model and standard is the undivided church.\u201d\u009d All too often, Christians have to choose between revivalistic evangelicalism and activist Social Gospel, both of which are innovations incongruous with the early church. The young Fr. Nelson complained about facing \u201cspiritual birth defects\u201d\u009d in his congregants, which came from \u201cthe weird way they\u2019ve been discipled.\u201d\u009d Functioning under a hubristic individualism, too many American Christians deride ancient understandings, creeds, and practices in favor of their own (often unlearned) interpretations of the Scripture and church discipline. \u201cSometimes people need to be told to shut up and listen,\u201d\u009d Nelson announced, \u201cWe have this idea we can riff on the Christian faith. And that requires clergy to exercise their authority.\u201d\u009d Bishop Sutton added, \u201cDon\u2019t make dogmatic what the Church has not.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n