Do you know the future? Unless you have a very distinct gift of predictive prophecy, it is unlikely any of us can declare with certainty how things in the Church of England will now unfold.
And that means that, under God, and prayerfully seeking much wisdom, we have an opportunity and an obligation to help make the future of UK Anglicanism as gospel-orientated as possible. Wisdom is key.
‘Some think… we will inevitably lose the battle to maintain orthodoxy,’ writes Lee Gatiss, director of the evangelical group Church Society, in the current edition of its magazine Crossway. ‘It is far from clear what will happen, but if evangelicals disengage from the structures of the Church of England they could make this a self-fulfilling prophecy. There are signs that a more sanguine stance might be justified, provided it is underpinned by realism and resolve. Why should we buy the revisionists’ own view that their victory is inevitable?’
He continues: ‘It has not proved easy to maintain robust views on the secondary issues which divide us as evangelicals while maintaining unity in gospel essentials. But that is the prize for which we must strive, both inside and outside the established church.’
But he warns: ‘There may be times when we will be forced to defend the truth of God’s Word in public; to disassociate ourselves from false teaching and those who propagate it; to disobey orders which contradict Christ’s or bless what God has not; to peacefully disrupt and financially degrade the capabilities of those who scandalise the church… and to deny the deadly doctrine underpinning such attempts.’
Patient teaching
Writing in the same magazine, Rod Thomas, the Reform group’s ‘floating’ Bishop of Maidstone, declares: ‘In the face of false teaching, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy to keep his distance from it, but also to continue in patient teaching. He recognises that this may involve suffering. The time may be on us where individual congregations and parishes have to take fresh steps to show that they are not following the trajectory of others. This may well involve them in difficult decisions, unpopular actions and awkward situations. However, the doctrinal foundations of the Church of England are worth protecting.’
He adds: ‘If we are clergy, we need to remember that when the Apostle Paul warned of false teachers, he didn’t urge the Ephesian elders to run away in order to avoid attack, but instead said ‘guard the flock’. So we need to stand firm, continuing to teach and do the work of evangelism, continuing to turn up at Synods in order to contend for the gospel, continuing to encourage one another by meeting together, and continuing to support those who run into difficulty.’
Surprised
I was surprised that neither of these two wise men seemed to have the opportunity to speak from the platform at last year’s ReNew conference for Anglican evangelicals. I am sure it must have been an oversight, but it would be great if it could be remedied this year.
So what will happen next? Well, it would be good to avoid a scenario where evangelicals who leave decry those staying as compromis-ers, while those who stay deride those leaving as deserters. God alone sees our hearts. Circumstances vary from parish to parish, diocese to diocese, and between individuals and families. And we need solid theology, not some of the silly sound-bites I have seen floating around. We need to pray for wisdom indeed.
