The Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) today released the final version of the “Ninth Trumpet: Communique from the First Assembly of the GSFA Churches.” You can find it here: www.thegsfa.org/news/communique-from-the-first-assembly-of-the-global-south-fellowship-of-anglican-churches

By contrast to previous Trumpets of the Global South and the latest Communiques from the GSFA Primates from Lambeth Conference 2022 [anglicanmainstream.org/communique-from-orthodox-bishops-at-lambeth-2022 and their Ash Wednesday 2023 Statement [www.thegsfa.org/news/ash-wednesday-statement-of-gsfa-primates-on-the-church-of-englands-decision-regarding-the-blessing-of-same-sex-unions], where they declared themselves out of communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the false teaching he represents, this Trumpet is rather short, but its brevity contains these important milestones:

·     It is “The Ninth Trumpet” (para. 1) to signify the uninterrupted continuity between the previous geographically based majority Global South Churches (1994-2019) and the now confessionally basedGSFA (2019-present). This is a major reset of the foundations of the majority Global South Anglicans.

·     Thanksgivings were extended in order of priority (pars.7-9) to the General Secretary of GAFCON, The Right Rev. Paul Donison, and the retired Primates of Kenya (Archbishop Eliud Wabukala) and North America (Archbishop Robert Duncan), and former members of the GAFCON Primates Council prior to a welcome to the General Secretary of the Anglican Communion Office (Bishop Anthony Poggo).

·     The GSFA Covenantal Structures (Primates Council, Bishops Council, Faith and Order Commission, and Assembly/Board) were formally launched and the new Schedules for Membership were ratified by the whole Assembly. This GSFA Cairo Covenant (2019) provides the structures for the great “reset” of the Anglican Communion, through genuine communion based upon a shared confession of faith (Sec. 1), mutual accountability and interdependence in shared mission (sec. 2), and discipline for erring members (Sec. 3). “The Cairo Covenant is an historic development, a new instrument for the Anglican Communion to bring true unity in diversity which honors the supreme authority of Scripture” (Para. 13, emphasis added).

·     False teaching and endless prevarication by Canterbury and its Canterbury-TEC led Communion leaders was condemned in the Chairman’s opening address: “Though Canterbury says ‘let us walk together, listen to each other and have a good disagreement’, the GSFA Primates and I say to you that ‘we cannot walk together in sin’…(and that) unless there is repentance by those who have gone astray, we cannot have unity at the expense of God’s life-giving love” (para. 14).

·     In paragraph 15, the GSFA reiterated its resolve from the Ash Wednesday Statement 2023 “to expeditiously meet, consult and work with other orthodox Primates in the Anglican Church across the nations to reset the Communion on its Biblical Foundations.” This GSFA resolve was embraced joyfully in the GAFCON Kigali 2023 Statement. The inclusion of this language in the Ninth Trumpet from the GSFA Ash Wednesday Statement is therefore noteworthy:

“We look forward to collaborating with Primates and bishops in the GAFCON movement and other orthodox Anglican groupings to work out the shape and nature of our common life together and how we are to keep the priority of proclaiming and witnessing to the gospel of Jesus Christ…foremost in our life as God’s people” (GSFA Ash Wednesday Statement, para. 4, emphasis added).

·     This first GSFA Assembly unequivocally stated the “defining mark” and purpose of the Anglican Communion reset: “RENEWED MISSION TO A LOST WORLD” (para. 17). They also stated: “we are determined to free our beloved Communion to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, to build one another up in our faith and to foster true unit” (para. 25). This echoes the vision the American Anglican Council has longed and prayed for many years—a Communion of Great Commission Anglican Churches undeterred by false teaching.

What then are we to make of this GSFA Assembly and this Communique? Is this a decisive turning point or just another meandering road whose end we never seem to see?

Reformations rarely happen in a day.

Many delegates, mission partners, special guests, and observers came with an expectation that this would have the same energy, unity, and fervor that they experienced at GAFCON Kigali. Many came with hopes of dramatic action that would signify the reset of the Anglican Communion. They were disappointed. This GSFA Assembly achieved its objectives of formally launching the GSFA Covenantal Structures, electing office-bearers in each of the ecclesial bodies (Primates, Bishops, Assembly) and mobilizing for mission (see para. 11). But it was, in fact, more of a reset of the Global South than a reset of the Anglican Communion. There were debates, mixed messages (at times), disagreements, and hard work in the sweltering heat of the desert.

I was reminded from my time in Germany with our Fellows that the Reformation took more than a week! Some historians say that the Reformation began in 1517 when Luther posted his 95 Theses and ended with the last Council of Trent in 1563. Others say it began when Henry VIII left the Catholic Church in 1534 and ended when Elizabeth 1 died in 1603. The point is that reformation takes a long time. We are in the middle of yet another one. This one isn’t about how we can find a gracious God (Luther’s question) or how we can learn to love God more than our own sin (Cranmer’s question). The question at the heart of this reformation is what does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? What does it mean to live a good life and be a good citizen? All of these questions, including those about human sexuality, are wrapped up in how we approach biblical anthropology.

The ratification of covenantal structures for an Anglican Communion that is confessionally based and includes a robust understanding of what it means to be made in the image of God and under his Word is historically significant. Much like in 1517 when Luther posted his 95 Theses, it marks a turning point, but we have much more work to do. God is calling us to persevere in advancing a reset of the Communion on biblical foundations

Clarity comes through conflict, not compromise.

For whatever reasons, the GSFA decided to platform two speakers, Abp. Ole Sapit of Kenya and Abp. Titus Chung of Singapore, who both brought confusing messages. Abp. Sapit said that we shouldn’t engage with stupid arguments but get on with mission.  To many, this sounded as if we should not challenge false teaching at all. Abp. Chung used the code language of “deep listening” as the primary motif of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. As I wrote last week, this language is used by Canterbury for prevarication, hermeneutical skepticism, and a near infinite deferral of decisions for the sake of “good disagreement.” The archbishop may not have intended that perception, but that’s what many delegates heard.

The Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson rescued us with his plenary section on human sexuality where he declared that clarity actually comes out of conflict and that our goal in all these discussions is to develop a deeper, more winsome, and more beautiful vision of what it means to be human.

The church fathers were writing theology in the face of pagan assaults on the Christian faith. In the midst of conflict, clarity emerged and benefitted the Church for generations to come. Perhaps this is a time when we should draw more from the apostolic time of pagan persecution and let the questions that we face from a new paganism sharpen our theology. This is the challenge that the Gafcon and Global South primates will need to address.

At the end of our Assembly, representatives from GAFCON offered a resolution reaffirming the need for GAFCON and Global South primates to work together to advance the reset of the Anglican Communion. There was much confusion over whether that particular paragraph would be allowed for discussion and voting. In the end, it won by a vote of 24 to 12. No doubt that resolution helped shape the final draft of the Communique, which singles out from the GSFA Primates’ Ash Wednesday statement, their pledge to work with the GAFCON primates.

How can they work together?

In February of this year, GAFCON held a Bishops Training Institute within two weeks of a Global South Bishops Training Institute. Why can’t both organizations pool their resources and have one together?

The language of the Ash Wednesday statement was very strong about no longer participating in Canterbury’s prevarications. Did the platforming of some speakers signal a step back from that statement? Or does the Communique indicate that the GSFA Primates are all fully embracing and acting upon their pledge to reset the Anglican Communion on its biblical foundations?

The GSFA primates now have a structure within which global Anglicans can do mission together in a confessional and conciliar way. And yet, the primates’ covenant review committee indicated the need for some changes in the structures that might eliminate those checks and balances that make for a genuine and participatory communion.

Will the GSFA and GAFCON Primates be prepared when an Anglican leader seeks to bless same-sex unions in the Church of England? What will they do together to make sure that we have an Anglican Communion undeterred by false teaching and committed to proclaiming Christ faithfully together to all nations? These are the questions, much like those in the Reformation, that will need to be addressed in the days that unfold.