Next week the American Anglican Council, in partnership with LeaderWorks (The Rev. Canon David Roseberry), will launch the Rector’s Summit for Vision and Planning (RSVP). 25 Rectors who lead multi-staff congregations with an average Sunday morning attendance of 200 or more, as well as younger leaders whose congregations are moving in that direction, will gather in Asheville, NC for four days. We covet your prayers that this will be an inspiring, refreshing, deep time of sharing, worship and prayer that will refresh visionary leaders of our larger Anglican congregations who will participate in this learning community.
I am literally pausing to write this while in my morning devotions. I am struck by the relevance of this morning’s appointed lesson in Isaiah chapter 1. I am currently reading from a wonderful NIV study Bible, the Maxwell Leadership Bible. In the commentary on this chapter it notes how God scolds the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem—even calling them “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah”—because they continued to perform religious rituals long after their hearts had grown cold and distant towards God:
“Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies…They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.” Isaiah 1:13-15
In other words, they continued to pursue a Godly vision, but far from the values that birthed it. And in this process they had become empty, hollow leaders.
I’ve grown up in the church all my life. I am a “PK” (preachers kid), which means I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of church life from the inside out. As a friend of mine remarked yesterday, the politics can be corrosive to your soul. And it’s not just in the Anglican world. For six years from boarding school through college I attended non-Anglican churches every Sunday, and I have many friends who are leaders in non-Anglican congregations who testify to the same reality.
As I look at the Anglican Communion, and particularly those largely “Global north” and western churches that align with the values of The Episcopal Church (TEC), and increasingly the leadership of the Church of England, I can’t help but face the conviction of Isaiah 1. The Biblical, apostolic catholic and conciliar values that birthed Anglicanism are given lip service while leaders of the Anglican status quo drift increasingly into heterodoxy and the outright denial of the very essentials of our faith. They justify this with technical and legalistic appeals to the fact that the original values have not been formally or officially repealed. “No one has abandoned the Creeds or the Thirty-Nine Articles,” they will say. But they are said with fingers crossed, and presented as meaninglessly as the offerings of Israel in Isaiah 1.
What if the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of the Church of England are preparing for an “about face” on their teaching of marriage, as some inside leaders of the Church are suggesting. There seems to be a growing inevitability that the leadership of the Church of England will sooner than later provide liturgical blessings for same-sex partnerships, perhaps even marriages. They may say that they are remaining faithful because they have not officially repealed the Church’s teaching that marriage is a lifetime covenant between one man and one woman. But in blessing same sex unions they will be repudiating the Biblical doctrine of creation, including marriage (see Gen.2:24; Matt. 19:4-6; Eph. 5:31).
However, we need not look for the speck in the eyes of Anglican leaders across the pond while ignoring the beam in our own eyes. In North America, even as our Anglican churches are growing in some places, they are declining in others. I am reminded by our actual numbers that we can fit every ACNA Anglican that worships on Sunday into a college football stadium. We have a long way to grow. What are we doing as Anglican followers of Jesus Christ to help heal the wounds and divisions in our own communities, especially post-election? In an increasingly and aggressively secular culture, is the Church becoming a hostage to yet another secular political-power movement? What are we doing to recapture the values of the Kingdom that are so radically different than the values of our culture– where human dignity and flourishing are rooted in our identity in Christ who restores the image of God in us, rather than the politics of gender and sexual identity? How can gospel values give us a compelling alternative to the ultimately “exhausted” and hollow vision of secularism?
And within our own Anglican ranks, how can we make sure that we are always refreshing those Biblical, apostolic, catholic and conciliar values that gave birth to the Anglican Church in North America, semper reformanda? How can we be sure that our vision matches our values so that we will not become the hollow and empty leaders that God protests in Isaiah 1?
These are among the questions we will be addressing next week at the Rector’s Summit. But they are also the questions we pose in our AAC “REVIVE!” workshops for clergy and congregational leaders at all levels of the Church. These are the questions worth asking—semper reformanda!
The commentary on Isaiah 1 in my Maxwell Leadership Bible ends with this compelling observation:
“God resents perfunctory behavior. He doesn’t want leaders who merely go through the motions. Leaders can look good while pursuing a worthwhile vision that they no longer consider valuable. Leaders find power only when…
Their vision and values match.
Their lifestyle and lip service match.
Their conduct and character match.
Their image and integrity match.
Their promises and production match.
Their strategy and support match.”
Please pray for us as we seek to raise up and encourage such leaders within the Church!
The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey is President & CEO of the American Anglican Council .
