Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash
What do you do if a snake enters your tent? You can either run away or drive the snake away. In his opening address tonight, Archbishop Justin Badi declared that the only sensible thing to do, of course, is drive it away. If you do that, you lose the snake. If you run away, you may lose the snake, but you’ll lose your tent and all your belongings as well as your dignity.
The snake that is in the tent of the Anglican Communion is the false teaching Canterbury and many western provinces promote in a Church charged with preserving the faith once delivered to the saints. In that spirit, Archbishop Badi stated unequivocally that the GSFA and all biblically faithful orthodox Anglicans, including GAFCON, were not leaving the Anglican Communion as a result of its declarations, teachings, and revised structures. It was those revisionist provinces who would have to leave. The tent remains with those who are faithful. The only way revisionist provinces should stay is if they repent, something for which we should pray continuously. Meanwhile, the GSFA will move on with its mission and ministry of being a light to the nations.
After giving thanks to the many Anglican leaders who paved the way, Archbishop Badi declared that the GSFA was now a home for all orthodox Anglicans. He stated that Canterbury says, “walk together and we will have good disagreement.” Archbishop Badi’s response: We cannot walk together in sin. He reminded us that our commitment to mission is anchored in Isaiah 49:6 which states that, in God’s eyes, it is too little for us to simply come together, reaffirm the faith once delivered, celebrate, and go home. God’s call is to be a light to the nations in a world he described as increasingly dark. Satan has loosed evil in every sector of the world, and Canterbury has now played its part.
Archbishop Badi’s message centered on how the three ministry tracks (evangelism and mission; theological education and leadership development; and economic sustainability and community transformation) can move forward through mission partnerships among GSFA members. Despite the snake, the work must continue. Archbishop Badi stated that the Anglican Communion respects the See of Canterbury but only if the one who sits on the seat is faithful to the Word of God. He declared that the world needs the Global South and its commitment to the Great Commission because it has never compromised the truth of the Gospel as much of the West in recent years. He called members to pray that the Church of England comes out of Babylon. Even if they do not, the GSFA must continue its focus on strengthening orthodox Anglicans by resetting the Communion on its biblical and apostolic foundations, the formularies of the English Reformation, and its passionate commitment to reaching the lost with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
To that end, he described the three spiritual objectives of this GSFA global assembly. First, we must worship the Lord and receive new strength for Gospel mission as we become a praying fellowship. He challenged attendees to participate in the 6:30 am prayer meetings to soak this gathering in prayer. Second, we will mobilize ourselves to defend and live out our biblical faithfulness. Third, we will elect godly leaders among the primates, bishops, clergy, and laity in this assembly to carry us forward in the years to come.
A transcript of Archbishop Badi’s remarks was released and almost everything reported here can be read in that transcript. What you will not find is his comment about the snake in the tent. He may have gone off-script, but there can hardly be a stronger or more vivid image for the Global South’s commitment to live into its identity as the true Anglican Communion and drive the snake of false teaching out. This will require what Archbishop Badi asked of us: to repent of our own sins, to seek the Lord’s face daily, and to reaffirm the covenantal structures of the Cairo Covenant. Now is the time for us to act in the spirit of Philippians 2:5-11—that we have the mind of Jesus Christ. For the sake of driving the snake out of the tent, we will relax our grip on whatever privileges we hold and do what Jesus calls us to do together.