By Robin G. Jordan
Anglicans who are faithful to the Bible and the Anglican
formularies and committed to the Biblical and Reformation faith of the Anglican
Church have a hard row to hoe if their church is a participating church in the
Anglican Church in North America. They are not only faced with increasingly
secular population in North America but also a denomination unsympathetic to
their faith and GAFCON leaders oblivious to their plight.
For those unfamiliar with the phrase "hard row to hoe," it
dates from the 1800s and perhaps even earlier and refers to the practice of
hoeing cotton fields to eliminate the weeds growing in the rows of cotton. At
one time cotton was the main crop grown in the southern United States. Hoeing the
weeds was backbreaking labor, originally done by slaves and indentured servants
and later by sharecroppers. Those who hoed the cotton fields worked from
daybreak to nightfall. Some rows were longer than others. Some rows had more
weeds than others
Like those who labored in the cotton fields, these Anglicans
cannot expect to see any lasting results from their efforts. They may reach and
engage the unchurched in their community, enfold them into a new church, and
disciple them, only to have a new pastor who does not share their faith come
along and undo their work.
The Anglican Church in North America has no mechanisms to
ensure that Biblically faithful, genuinely Anglican, gospel-sharing
congregations always have Biblically faithful, genuinely Anglican,
gospel-sharing clergy. The ACNA does not even extend official standing to their
faith. The official faith of the ACNA is a form of unreformed Catholicism,
close to Roman Catholicism in its teaching and practices.
Those leaders who are imposing this particular ideology on
the ACNA are making increasingly difficult for these Anglicans to practice
their faith. The same leaders give every indication of being only too glad to
see them leave. Their departure would eliminate an obstacle to these leaders’
vision for the denomination.
The same leaders would also be able to exploit their departure,
claiming that they themselves and their particular ideology represent genuine
Anglicanism, not the Biblical and Reformation faith of those who left.
The longer Biblically faithful, genuinely Anglican,
gospel-sharing Christians are exposed to this particular ideology, the greater
the likelihood they will compromise their own beliefs. Those leaders who are
imposing this particular ideology on the ACNA are fine with that too. Indeed it
appears to be a part of their strategy.
This is the predicament that such Christians face in the
Anglican Church in North America. They need the prayers of like-minded
Anglicans outside of North America. They also need their support and help. They
should not be left to twist in the wind.
No comments:
Post a Comment