Shoulder to shoulder

In 1995 the Irish rugby authorities commissioned a song to unite players and supporters from all four provinces of Ireland as they played as one team in the Rugby World Cup.

No doubt we’ll hear the resulting song on numerous occasions over the coming weeks:

Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder
We'll answer Ireland's call.

At the end of September over 400 Anglican leaders will meet together for the third ReNew Conference. Now, I have to admit when someone suggested calling the conference ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ I was unconvinced, but I’m coming round to it.

One of the extraordinary things about ReNew is the spectrum of people it includes. It is a gathering of those committed to an orthodox Anglican future in England, but no one could describe us as clones of one another. Some are more catholic, or more charismatic, than the average en reader. Some believe their long-term future lies within the Church of England and others have already sought a different path. It is exciting to contemplate this gathering of men and women, lay people, clergy and bishops all standing together.

What draws the delegates at ReNew together? It is a commitment to pioneer, establish and secure healthy local Anglican churches in England. A commitment that stems from the knowledge that the gospel is the only hope for our country and a belief that, for us, confessional Anglicanism is the best expression of the Protestant Reformation.

Local congregation

Article 19 of the The Thirty-Nine Articles recognises the Church as ‘the local congregation in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance’. Yet there is a tension between this and Article 20 that talks of the authority of the Church, under God’s Word, to make decisions about rites, liturgy and ‘controversies of the faith’ – a task that has historically been administered at a provincial rather than congregational level.

As the delegates at ReNew consider what it means for their churches to stand shoulder to shoulder, we are aware of the practical implications of this tension. We know that at times our focus on our patch or parish has distracted us from sacrificially supporting gospel work in other parts of the nation. We are also aware of the increasing pressures on the provinces of the Cof E to follow Anglicans in the USA, Canada and Scotland in rejecting biblical doctrines, including introducing same sex marriage. The continuing Shared Conversations on Scripture, Mission and Human Sexuality are just one part of this dynamic.

More immediately, the Conference takes place against the background of elections to the General Synod and the consecration of both the first female Diocesan Bishop and of Rod Thomas, as a Suffragan bishop with special responsibility for conservative evangelicals.

We will have to wait to see the impact of these changes to the leadership of the Church of England. It has been encouraging that many evangelicals are prepared to put themselves forward for election. There has, however, also been an orchestrated campaign to encourage ‘church-goers who represent the inclusive instincts of most people in England’ to stand for election and to persuade those voting to ‘scrutinise’ those who claim to be faithful, orthodox or supporters of Bible-based teaching. Please pray that the faithful, biblically orthodox candidates will have the patience to be clear, winsome, faithful and successful.

There is, however, one thing that we can be sure of – God will build his church. And for that I am grateful!