Photo by Jeff Ackley on Unsplash

Just over a year ago, the Archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Kaziimba, invited me to address the bishops of the Church of Uganda about how and why they could join the current biblically-faithful “re-set” of the Anglican Communion through the new Covenantal Structures of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (the GSFA Cairo Covenant 2019). I immediately accepted the invitation because the Church of Uganda is my second home. In 2005, the Church of Uganda under then Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi received me and our South Riding, VA church plant as a “theological refugee” from the false, unbiblical teaching and practices in the Episcopal Church. The Church of Uganda was a “lifeboat” that rescued us and many other departing Episcopalians until we were encouraged and recognized by the GAFCON Primates (Jerusalem 2008) to become the Anglican Church in North America in 2009.

The current biblically faithful “re-set” of the Anglican Communion through the GSFA Covenantal Structures of the Cairo Covenant restores our Anglican identity on the basis of a shared, reformational, and biblical Anglican faith rather than historic “bonds of affection” with the Church of England. It also establishes, for the first time, a covenanted communion of Anglican churches at the Global Communion level based on interdependence and mutual accountability, with discipline and a mission-focus to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. So, in January 2023, we travelled to the Lweza Conference Training Center near Entebbe to share with the archbishop and bishops of Uganda about this Global Communion re-set through the GSFA Covenantal Structures. As the second largest church within the Anglican Communion with over 11 million members, they unanimously resolved to join the GSFA Covenantal Structures and, more importantly, called for all biblically faithful global Anglicans in both GAFCON and Global South to work together for the good of this great Global Anglican “re-set.” You can find their statement here and our full report here.

After preaching to the House of Bishops from the book of Daniel, I was asked to return on behalf of the AAC to teach bishops and clergy expository preaching. Although I was blessed by the invitation, I knew of one person in our AAC family who would be perfect for the job, the Rev. Marcus Robertson. He has been a dear friend and supporter of the AAC long before I arrived in 2008 and, over the years, we became friends through Christ Church Savannah’s exodus from the Episcopal Church. Through our partnership in Gospel ministry, I discovered that he once taught expository preaching as an adjunct professor of homiletics at Trinity School for Ministry! We drew upon his years of preaching and leadership for our AAC Anglican Missional Pastors learning community for clergy in the ACNA Anglican dioceses of the South and the Gulf-Atlantic. So, when I returned home from Uganda, I contacted Marcus to see if he would accept this invitation on behalf of the AAC.

I am so pleased and delighted that he did! In the video from Church of Uganda National Television, you will see and hear the extraordinary way the Holy Spirit moved upon hundreds of people for commitments to Christ, baptisms, and marriages. There were 15 sermons given, including a baptism and a six-couple joint wedding, and 400 people responding to a call for healing prayer at the cathedral during a conference in the Diocese of Soroti, as well as 11 hours of training in two workshops on preaching for the clergy in the Diocese of Kampala.

The mission of the American Anglican Council includes building up, as well as defending, Great Commission Anglicans all across the globe! To that end, we will again be traveling back to Uganda February 16-28 to inform and prepare new bishops from throughout Africa on how they and their dioceses can also participate in the great “re-set” of the Anglican Communion through membership in the GSFA Covenantal Structures (the Cairo Covenant). God willing, we will also have the opportunity to share with all of the diocesan chancellors of the Church of Uganda the sources and principles of Anglican Canon Law and how these Anglican conciliar principles shape the development of doctrine in biblically faithful ways that prevent false teaching and misconduct. Please pray for the American Anglican Council and our travels as we bring clarity out of confusion so that believers at every level of the Church may be the faithful, courageous, and resilient leaders God has called them to be—for the glory of God and Christ’s Great Commission!