Further reflections on lawsuits, losses and turn-arounds         

In a news cycle dominated this week by the results of hatred and violence in Charlottesville and Barcelona, Spain, my heart and thoughts also turned to the news that my home church, St. James Newport Beach CA, has finally been sold to a developer. The Diocese of LA’s Bishop, Jon Bruno, contracted to sell the church despite his being under investigation by a disciplinary panel of The Episcopal Church. It seems that the developer plans to turn much of the current sacred space into a commercial café, its offices and Sunday school rooms into offices and conference rooms for businesses, and “rent-a-worship-space” for local churches. Frankly, it is heartbreaking.

As an attorney, I am tempted to dissect the injustices and corruption of this latest twist in the saga of St. James.  But I will simply defer to Allan Haley who has thoroughly exposed the greed that has driven both this sale and the unwillingness of the Diocese to undo it, the inability of the national church to do anything about it, and what that says about the character and future of The Episcopal Church USA.

Instead, I’d like to offer some personal observations about St. James and what we can learn from this saga.

My father, the Rev. John Ashey, served as Rector of St. James from 1966-1985. When we arrived, St. James was a rather conventional Episcopal congregation with a “country club” ethos, worshipping in a lovely resort community. But over those years I watched my father and mother lead hundreds of people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ—often through healing ministry. Those people in turn led others to Christ. They became disciples who discipled others—gifted Bible teachers, prayer ministers and caregivers. The congregation experienced explosive growth, not only in the “A-B-C’s” of ministry (Attendance, Buildings and Cash/Giving), but in its Gospel impact on the lives of individuals and whole families in the Newport/Costa Mesa area. St. James was one of the pioneering congregations of the charismatic renewal movement within the Episcopal Church in the 1980’s and forward.

But so much of that fruit was born from persistent, prevailing prayer. There were many discouraging moments. My mother and a dear friend, a widow, met at the alter rail of St. James every week, on their knees, to pray all morning for breakthrough. They prayed for my salvation too!  Don’t lose heart.  Always pray.  Never give up. 

As a result of those prayers I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ at St. James in 1968, and experienced the baptism of the holy spirit. I was encouraged and nurtured by my parents, youth pastors and the saints at St. James who loved me and called me to go deeper into Christ and the Bible. My calling to ministry, first as a layperson and then as an ordained priest, was shaped by my experiences at St. James.

Those blessed and grace-filled experiences and encounters with Jesus will remain with me forever—whatever happens to the building. I know that the church is the people, and not the building! No unjust bishop, judge, secular or church court can ever take that away from me, or any of the saints of St. James.  Don’t lose heart.  Always pray.  Never give up.

Nevertheless, it was heartbreaking to see the greed and vindictiveness of Bishop Bruno and the diocese towards the departing Anglicans of St. James. I followed their 2004 decision to leave TEC, and watched in dismay as events unfolded. Legal motions from Bruno, the Diocese and the national church were designed to inflict the maximum possible financial damage upon departing Anglicans. Individuals were sued in addition to the church itself.

When the Anglicans were evicted in 2016, my brother and I became concerned about the access we might have to my father’s cremains in the St. James Chapel columbarium. We decided that we could not depend on any grace from Bishop Bruno or his delegates, so we decided to remove my father’s cremains to the columbarium of St. James Anglican Church, which was then meeting in rented space and, like the Israelites, “in transit.” These Anglicans were facing many discouraging moments along the way to their new location—but they renewed their strength at the altar rail as many had learned to do so before. Don’t lose heart. Always pray. Never give up. 

We were deeply blessed when the Rev. Cathie Young and St. James Anglican not only provided space in their traveling columbarium, but a special prayer service of re-interment and blessing.

In retrospect, it was a wise decision.

I agree with Bishop David Anderson, who followed my father as Rector of St. James in the 1980’s and 90’s, and who wrote on the latest turn in the saga of St. James: 

“It’s a tragedy in so many directions. But in the larger picture the price we are paying in losing property all across North America is a pittance compared to what our brother and sister Christians are paying in Isis Iraq and Syria, and in almost every Muslim country, where they remain faithful and endure the most horrendous of prices.”

And what is the greatest lesson our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ are teaching us today?  Don’t lose heart. Always pray. Never give up.

What a gracious perspective. You will find it in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the author praises Christians who have suffered injustice in the courts: “You joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” (Heb. 10:34). I heard that same perspective in the voices of two friends and leaders of St. James Anglican with whom I spoke over the last two weeks. I was surprised when they said that they had no desire ever to return to the St. James Via Lido property—that its loss to them was even a blessing in disguise. The loss of property has turned the congregation from a preoccupation with property to focus on the greater mission field in the Newport-Mesa area to which God has called them.  It hasn’t been easy, but they are learning to travel lightly on mission (see Matthew 10:7-10).

I remember something that the late Dallas Willard said to us during a course on Spirituality and Ministry: “God is looking for a people whom he can trust with his kingdom, his power and his glory.” Is it possible that, in some cases, God is using the greed driven litigation of TEC to lovingly refine departing Anglicans—to prepare for himself a people whom he can trust with his kingdom, his power and his glory”?

Dallas also reminded us that Jesus Christ was the only human being God ever trusted with his kingdom, his power and his glory without any limitations.  So, if we want to be the kind of people whom God can trust with his kingdom, his power and his glory, Dallas reasoned, shouldn’t we focus instead on becoming more Christlike when injustice prevails, rather than in dwelling on the losses?

Jesus himself seems to address this very challenge in his parable of the unjust judge (or the persistent widow, depending on your perspective!), in Luke 18:1-8. A widow has had something taken away from her by an adversary.  She is trying to make her case before a judge who couldn’t care less.  Injustice has prevailed—thus far.  But she refuses to give up or lose heart.  She presses her claim until the judge yields out of sheer weariness.

But listen to Jesus deliver this striking “how much more” contrast:

“Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?  Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6-8)

What is Jesus’ answer to his people who cry out when injustice prevails?  “Don’t focus on the unjust judges putting you off; don’t focus on the verdict.  Focus instead on the greater character of your Father in heaven who will bring about justice for you in his way and in his time!”

Don’t lose heart.  Always pray.  Never give up.  In fact, that’s why Jesus offered this parable, to show his disciples that they should always pray and never give up (Luke 18:1).

But will we, as Anglicans facing lawsuits and losses, have the faith to trust God to give us the justice we need—to help us become, through these losses, the kind of people whom he can trust with his kingdom, his power and his glory?  Imagine what Gospel impact we might have in places like Charlottesville and Barcelona if we received everything God wants to give us, overflowing for the sake of others?

Many of us are already on the other side of lawsuits and litigation.  Some of us are still in the middle of them.  But wherever we are in the process, we have a long way to go!  The American Anglican Council has just compiled a survey of 250 clergy and over 500 lay leaders over the past 2 months. We are still compiling the comments of lay leaders, but you can see the findings from the 250 ACNA clergy we surveyed below.  The survey of ACNA clergy raises some challenging questions:

• With 61% of our clergy retiring within the next 20 years, how will we build a leadership pipeline to identify, recruit and equip younger clergy to help turn around our aging congregations?
• How can we help clergy develop the visionary, relational and practical skills to raise up leadership teams, so that the clergy will not limit the ministry but multiply it?
• How do we move congregations from an inward, maintenance focus to an outward, mission focus?
• How do we build confidence in Anglicans to share the transforming love of Jesus Christ with their friends and neighbors?

In other words, how do we help Anglican leaders and congregations not lose heart in the face of these challenges, but embrace God’s call to become the kind of people whom he can trust with his kingdom, his power and his glory?

Don’t lose heart.  Always pray.  Never give up!

We take these questions and challenges so seriously that we have added a gifted evangelist and “turn-around” pastor to our staff, the Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge, as our full-time Director of Church revitalization and coaching. Mark will continue to develop our resources to help congregations that are struggling to turn around, and to raise up more coaches to help clergy and lay leaders along the way.  It is our priority here at the AAC to help build Great Commission Anglican churches and leaders who will not lose heart, who will always pray, and who will never give up!

So, we grieve the sale of the St James church property in Newport Beach, yes –  but not as those who have no hope! (I Thess. 4:13) We stand with God’s pilgrim people wherever they may be who look like that persistent widow – Anglicans in Newport Beach, San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, Quincy, Ft. Worth and now South Carolina – who are on their way to a promised land, a better land, where we will learn again at an even deeper level how to trust him and become the kind of people whom he can trust with his kingdom, his power and his glory!

The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey is President & CEO of the American Anglican Council.