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Christianity Today, October, 2007 |

Anglicans Turn Inside Out

Episcopal renewal group's new strategy divides conservatives.

Sheryl Henderson Blunt | posted 9/11/2007 08:55AM

Since its founding in 2004, the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) has worked for renewal within the Episcopal Church. Now it is focused on getting conservatives out and keeping them united.

At a July meeting ...

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Nemo	Posted: September 20, 2007 11:55 AM

As a member of a church that was split over the issue, it has been very discouraging to hear the blatant lies that the so-called "conservative" priest has been spreading about the half of the congregation that chose to stay in ECUSA (for now). We saw through his "orthodox" move to oversight by an African archbishop as a smokescreen for serious misbehaviour, and as such, it discredits the organization that took him in. On many levels, this fight is not about orthodoxy but very much about grabbing for personal power; Seitz and Radner are nearly the only people with a voice who can also see clearly. And they have been bashed by both sides.

truthlover

Posted: September 14, 2007 5:32 PM

Good advice hp. I left the Episcopal ch*rch several years ago, an am a happy Anglican now. But my leaving was because of apostacy, of which validating sodomy is only one aspect. hp, if only 100 people had fled the Episcopal ch*rch it would not matter. Following men is deadly. Following the Christ of the Bible in a living relationship is life. The word of the day for the Episcopal ch*rch is "Ichabod".

JHatch

Posted: September 13, 2007 10:56 AM

I have served the Episcopal Church in East and West and I have never found widespread adoption Bishop John Shelby Spong's theology; many admire him for asking tough questions, searching for truth. Isn't that what the controversy is really about? How do we love God and neighbor in the 21st century? Do we allow God's continuing revelation to unfold? Do we even believe that the Spirit may let us hear a new word? Anglicanism's strength is its capacity to live the dance of Scripture, reason (which includes experience) and tradition. While Scripture is primary, there is no way to claim authoritativeness without viewing Scripture through the lenses of reason and tradition. Distortions come from turning what has been handed down (traditio) over the centuries, into lava rock. It is hard to imagine Jesus arguing over what divides us. For him, orthdoxy or "right praise" consisted in worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth. Perhaps more worship might make us all gentler in claiming truth.

Jared Cramer

Posted: September 13, 2007 10:41 AM


This article is disappointing in its statistical inaccuracies. Christianity Today should do a better job fact-checking statistics. (http://episcopalchurch.typepad.com/episcope/2007/09/anglican-schism.html)

Ryan	Posted: September 13, 2007 9:16 AM


Can anyone provide a list of the "at least 250 congregations have broken away from TEC since 2003, including more than 40 in 2006 alone." If not, this is pure propaganda. Check this post out for the debunking of these fake numbers: http://frjakestopstheworld.blogspot.com/2007/09/networks-imaginary-congregations.html

withheld

Posted: September 12, 2007 4:19 PM

As a Roman Catholic, it is with deep saddness that I observe the struggle of my Episcopalian/Anglican Communion sisters and brothers, many of whom are life-long friends. I find that the use of the terms "conservative" and "liberal" in the context of discerning where the Spirit who gives life and speaks through the prophets is leading the church to be not only unhelpful theologically but also to conflict with belief in a God who reconciles division through the redemption offered in and through Jesus Christ.

hp	Posted: September 12, 2007 3:40 PM

What gets me is that everytime I see an article in CT about the problems in the Episcopal Church, the "conservatives" are always referred to as "orthodox." Adopting a certain position on sexuality does not necessarily imply that one is orthodox. And, despite what some of the other commentators may think, John Spong does not speak for all "liberals" in TEC. I would hardly say that he is the voice of "mainstream theology." I for one find Spong outdated and reductive, but that is a different issue. The "conservatives" are right about one thing: they are not going to change the minds of people on the other side. Given this, I say they just get the inevitable over with and leave.

Matt	Posted: September 12, 2007 9:15 AM

It saddens me how divisive we allow ourselves to be. I'm currently a member of an Anglican church that I have attended for years: this church has essentially broken away from another church twice and has had another church break away from it. Overall, the original church, after having severed ties with TEC, has split into at least four different churches. I can't imagine this is God's vision for His Church. It's amazing and horrible how it seems that Satan at times uses Christians as much as God does.

hp	Posted: September 12, 2007 4:57 AM

Adrienne

Posted: September 11, 2007 1:46 PM

I began attending St. John's Episcopal Cathedral about 6 years ago after a 20 some year hiatus from church. What I found there shocked me to the core. A transsexual lay leader served communion to me in a white robe. The doctrine was in lockstep with a Unitarian Church I had attended in Boulder. Nothing made any sense. The hymnals and the Book of Common Prayer glorified God but the Priest's homily was inspired by Spong. I went to a Sunday School class for adults several times and the name of Jesus was never mentioned, not once. The director of Childrens' Ministries threw out all the little books containing Bible stories for children from the nursery. St. John was an evangelist, or am I mistaken? To make a long story much shorter, I left and started attending a fundamentalist church with my two little boys. It took some getting used to, but it was a port in a storm. I greatly appreciate Christianity Today's coverage on this difficult and devisive issue.

Pastor Art

Posted: September 11, 2007 1:23 PM

As a FREE Methodist Pastor and a former UNITED Methodist and a friend of an Episcopalian Priest who is following the Biblical direction in this conflict, I have many words to speak into this event unfolding in Church History but space will not allow. I have watched the heartache and reluctance of the men and women who have had to follow the authority of Scripture and come out. Those in this struggle are not in conflict with people or even events per say but over the foundational issue of the authority of Scripture. I have prayed and worshiped with people on both sides of the divide. These people have worked together for the Kingdom many for years some across generations. However the allegiance to Christ overrides temporal connections. i will put the rest on another post to follow - Pastor Art

John	Posted: September 11, 2007 11:31 AM

The Anglican Communion is deeply divided over all kinds of issues, and unfortunately it appears to be moving in the direction of more and more division. While I would never recomend it go fundamentalist or imitate some of the less progressive ideas of the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church needs to pull its act together and stop imitating the Unitarians unless it wants to have Unitarian levels of attendance. The great Anglo-Catholic tradition is a tradition of embracing the good in both the Catholic and Protestant churches, not peddling the latest New-Age anything-goes philosophy. As much as I admire John Shelby Spong as a back-bench bomb-thrower, when he becomes the voice of your mainstream theology, your Church might was well turn out the lights and lock the doors cause you are not going to survive as a denomination long. They need to look to Churches like the United Methodist and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as role models...

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