A funny thing happened in Nnewi, Nigeria, last week. (Nnewi is a bustling city in southeast Nigeria.) Archbishop Peter Akinola presided over a remarkable meeting of the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), but nobody from the world media noticed. It wasn\u2019t that it was a closed or secret meeting \u201d\u201c it\u2019s hard to keep a gathering of a thousand church leaders quiet, and preparations had been public for months. So why didn\u2019t any of them care? For one thing, he didn\u2019t talk about anything that would make a good headline; instead he focused on a call to personal and corporate holiness. He told all those present that they were too attached to the ways of the world and they needed to change. He reminded them that they have been called to \u201clive in the world but not of the world.\u201d\u009d Nobody blinked when he challenged his listeners to look inward and deal with their own sin instead of looking at everyone else. But it didn\u2019t make news.<\/p>\n
He talked about the Global Anglican Future Conference (affectionately known as GAFCON) that he is leading in Jerusalem later this year. He carefully explained the long history behind the decision to gather with other provinces of the Anglican Communion that refuse to spend any more time agonizing about sex but instead want to get on with the work of the Gospel and celebrate transformed lives. He announced that everyone going from Nigeria has already been paid for \u201d\u201c and here\u2019s another funny thing \u201d\u201c paid for by generous Godly people in Nigeria! They have raised all the money from inside their own country!<\/p>\n
During the meeting they also took time to dedicate a brand new marble-lined church that seats more than a thousand people, debt free thanks to a local benefactor who wanted to do something beautiful for God. Everyone was pleased but no one seemed surprised.<\/p>\n