Evangelicals and the Church of England

Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing the article from a non-conformist, addressed to many Anglicans. The person writes seeking to be a good neighbour. It is evident they are trying to be friendly with their comments. In the same spirit of conversation, here is an offer of a cup of tea and a gentle, but firm, response.

The article displays ignorance of the way people come to Christ (we don’t choose our denomination) and grow. Most come to Christ through friendships, and almost all through their local church. Our unbelieving hearts neither choose the faithful Christian friends nor wisely select a perfect church (who can?). It is good that the path to maturity continues within that same fellowship, which will include bearing with others where there is disagreement on secondary matters, and (please God) rebuke and correction where there is error. Paul assumes there will be error in the church of Colossae and instructs them to teach and admonish one another, not leave. He also tells Timothy to instruct gently those who oppose him whilst having nothing to do with those who have a form of godliness but deny its power. Both need to be lived out, but we may disagree on how.

Moving town is usually the most appropriate reason to move churches. Herein lies an opportunity for the now-converted and growing Christian to make a wise choice. But the article presumes there are sufficient non-Anglican churches everywhere (if only!). So, when people move town, often the best choice, for good and maybe not-so -good reasons, is a Bible-teaching Anglican church.

I believe the article is also unkind towards ‘charismatics’. As someone converted in conservative evangelical circles at the end of the 1980s, one of these things I lament is the suspicion, or worse, between conservative evangelicals and charismatics in the 1990s. This has hindered our unity in Christ, which is real. I think we should repent with lament. I wonder out loud whether the divisions between brothers and sisters in Christ in the 1990s have meant we missed what Satan has been doing in sowing false doctrine in the church. We have also seen abusive practices by some church leaders, including in our own circles, which were allowed to flourish largely unchallenged.

Personally, I don’t see Christians being called to leave their churches where there is false teaching, but to stand and contend. I do see Scripture teaching us to speak out, and wonder what more we should or could have done. On this the article is right: the front door has been left open too long. We evangelicals should lament with repentance our indifference over too long a time. I speak as someone who was transparent in my orthodoxy with other clergy in Brighton a decade ago, and consequently suffered much vitriol from them, in my presence as well as what was reported to me.

Does that mean Anglicans should leave right now, or start making plans to leave, or resolve to stay and, please God, contend? These are questions being asked by many clergy and lay members daily. For the reasons explained above, there are no simple answers: there are, I suggest, as many as there are people struggling with them.

Here’s a thought to conclude: don’t stop talking with your Anglican friends but, perhaps for the moment, resist the urge to tell. Offer them a coffee and to pray. Ask good questions, without judgment. Read the Scriptures together and let them see your grace. Our loving heavenly Father has been infinitely patient with you in your growth in maturity. Seek to show the same to your brother or sister. When God’s time is right, He will make things clear and give us strength to do what is right in His sight.

From my perspective, I would still love it if the Church of England repents of these steps recently taken. We should be a church where all are welcomed, without exception, as we seek to come under the lordship of Christ in every way. As someone with much mission experience in Cuba, where the church is thriving and continues to grow, I can’t help but think of what a pastor friend told me years ago: ‘It took the Revolution to wipe out the Catholic Church in our country, and then 40 years of atheism for God to prepare the ground for the gospel to grow as it is now’. May the Lord have mercy, and so prune us as a nation, and – yes – as the Church of England, that the gospel might flourish here too.

Yours sincerely,

Carl Chambers
Wilmington

Dear Editor,

Although the article ‘A non-conformist view on CofE evangelicals’ (January en) was bruising and forceful, your writer was spot on.

The woke CofE has gone with the flow of a secular society and has ridden roughshod over Scripture, and its own Canon Law, hoping that when it returns to the Synod in a few years time it [same-sex blessings] will be widely accepted as the norm and rubber -stamped into Church law. How deceitful and dishonest.

The Archbishop of Canterbury wholeheartedly supports this, but will not perform the blessings out of a pastoral heart for the other side. Good for him!

However, the local vicar is hung out to dry with no backing or support if he declines to take such services.

What would happen if a church member asks for same-sex blessing and he declines, and his PCC don’t support him, and his local bishop doesn’t support him either?

One cannot say that it may or not happen; it will happen, and very soon.

Daniel dared to stand alone!

Not easy to swim against the tide.

Yours sincerely,

Haydn Daniel
Chandler’s Ford

Dear Editor,

I am a puzzled reader of your paper! I wonder if some of our brethren in the Anglican communion can answer questions arising in my mind as a result of your reports on the decision by their bishops – and now followed by the Pope – concerning the plan to offer prayers of blessing on partners in same-sex marriages. How can they be blessing what the LORD has condemned, and whose blessing is it? To whom are they praying ‘prayers of blessing’? Clearly the LORD God will not be hearing such prayers. Have I misunderstood the issue, I wonder? Thanks for any clarification on this matter.

Yours sincerely,

John Peet,
Guildford

Dear Editor,

I would imagine this edition of your excellent and encouraging newspaper will have the latest update on the horrors and abominations being unleashed in the Church of England as its hierarchy lurches into a post-Christian state. As someone who sadly (due to both local and national issues) felt the time had come to leave the CofE but faced the challenge of living in a rural area, might I say all is not gloom and doom. Many of your readers will be more knowledgeable than I, but I would suggest that we have never been better prepared for the planting of Biblically faithful home fellowships who will be able to (subject to paying appropriate licence fees) have access to both excellent worship resources (iSing for example), online teaching and many other resources to facilitate continuation in faithful study and application of God’s word. There is a future post-Anglicanism if it becomes unavoidable, even in rural areas

Yours sincerely,

Toby Braddick
Church Stretton

Dear Editor,

We read with dismay the extensive article entitled ‘A non-conformist view on CofE evangelicals’ in January’s en. (Does this represent the view of Baptists, Methodists, FIEC Evangelicals?) The points raised are not new and will have been considered carefully already by faithful Anglicans, pro-active in opposition to recent developments. The article does not appear to have considered that those remaining in the CofE for the present, will have sought God’s direction with much prayer over this matter.

It was truly uplifting and encouraging to see a gospel witness proclaimed boldly once more at the November General Synod, as speaker after speaker explained clearly why ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ are inconsistent with Biblical/Anglican doctrine and must be rejected – almost half of the clergy and laity, and one third of the bishops did not support the motion. The battle is raging, now is not the time to walk away without irrefutable divine guidance.

Concerned non-CofE Christians can best support their hard-pressed brothers and sisters by upholding them in prayer as they contend for the faith once delivered, whilst reminding them it is Jesus who builds His church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it (Matt. 16:18).

Yours sincerely,

Helen & Mark Sims
Wellingore, Lincolnshire

Dear Editor,

Regarding ‘A non-conformist view on CofE evangelicals’ in the January issue.

I am praying for our evangelical brothers and sisters in the Church of England in their current dilemmas over ‘Living in Love and Faith’ and same-sex church blessings. You have published many useful critiques of the Synod decision, by Wallace Benn, George Crowder, your editor David Baker and others. However, I was disappointed by this anonymous op ed that you published in January’s newspaper [p.6]. I divide my comments into the Process and Contents of the article.

Process: I am disappointed by your decision to publish a piece without attribution to an author. I can understand this in issues of abuse or some other criminal wrongdoing in church life, but not for that of an opinion piece on theology and practice. In church leadership it is common to receive second-hand reports of the concerns of others, but it is very difficult to act upon such hearsay until one is able to talk openly with the other party, to explore the issue in all its nuance and balance. An unattributable piece does not allow for this. I believe it should either have been published with author, or not published.

Contents: 1. Description of a house on fire and householder blocking eyes and ears to their situation:

This is not the case. CofE evangelicals clearly see and hear the gravity of the situation that has developed as being a gospel issue. This somewhat ungracious picture does not help them in their difficulties.

2. CofE evangelicals holding on in the denomination to pastorally care for their flock:

A vicar pledges to be ‘the cure of souls’ in their parish. Now, this may seem quaint language and somewhat geographically limited, but is a solemn charge to witness and minister to all those in the surrounding area of their church, and to do so in the power of the risen Lord. Those choosing to do so do not deserve to be described as ‘hanging out with Jezebel’ [p.23].

3. Replacing CofE evangelicals with Muslims in addressing anti-discrimination legislation:

From the viewpoint of living, working and worshipping in Leicester I do not believe this is a position held by many non-conformist evangelicals. We have a burden of witness and ministry to Muslims, that they might come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, but I would not see them as a ‘better bet’ [p.23] than our evangelical brothers and sisters in the CofE in challenging anti -discrimination legislation and policy. We remain as brothers and sisters together in the Lord Jesus.

It may be that alignment with CEEC pastoral provision within the CofE, or with GAFCON and the Global South outwith the CofE is the future for our CofE evangelical brothers and sisters. As non-conformists it will be even more important that we work with our evangelical brothers and sisters in regional gospel partnerships and other such initiatives. But I don’t believe that questioning their individual integrity from an outside vantage point is a helpful way forward. Oh, and I rather like to shop in Lidl when I can’t get to Waitrose, so I don’t mind those items available in the centre aisle!

Yours sincerely,

Paul Whalley
By email

Dear Editor,

There have certainly been some interesting and varied articles about the Anglican church recently. Regarding Wallace Benn’s article in the January issue of en, I don’t quite see the logic of what he says regarding pastoral oversight, more specifically, the oversight of Bible-based evangelical vicars and bishops. Before I go any further, I have benefitted from reading at least one of Wallace’s books and enjoyed his contributions to en over the years. I respect both him and his views. But, somewhere along the chain of oversight, isn’t a Bible-believing vicar or bishop going to end up reporting to one who is  non-biblically based? If the man at the top, Justin Welby, is playing fast and loose with the Bible, surely someone somewhere along the line is going to be receiving suspect oversight aren’t they?

Moreover, isn’t the whole denomination under Justin Welby’s oversight?

If I am missing the point here, someone, do explain it to me, please.

My main church is FIEC. We have prayed for the CofE at our midweek prayer meeting on occasion. I hope we will continue to do so. Also, I am often in prayer individually for those who know and love the Lord in that denomination.

Yours sincerely,

Pete Whale
Rugby