FRIDAY REVIEW

In the Wilderness

February 8, A.D. 2008

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).

The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt (Numbers 1:1).

We’ve been called to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. The more we commit ourselves to serious Lenten disciplines, the more we will be prepared to enter into a joyful celebration of the glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.

As we enter into our Lenten disciplines, I encourage your prayers for the people of Kenya who are suffering in the violent and chaotic aftermath of contested elections. Pray for Archbishop Nzimbi and the Church of Kenya as they work for a godly peace to be restored to that beautiful country. Pray also for Archbishop Orombi and the people of Uganda as the economic difficulties in Kenya have spilled over into Uganda and indeed into all of East Africa . Closer to home, I encourage your prayers for the families of all those suffering as a result of some fifty tornadoes that touched down in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Kentucky.  

All of the Lenten disciplines will be especially needful this spring as the Anglican Communion wanders in the wilderness of denial. Please pray against a spirit of denial.

It is no secret that the continuing unity of the Communion is in serious jeopardy as bishops, priests, and laity go about business as usual in the hope that if they just concentrate on mission all will be well. Some are hoping that a revised draft Communion Covenant will be enough to hold the Communion together although it seems thin on teeth with little prospect of discipline for TEC. Some bishops, indeed entire provinces, believe that attendance at Lambeth this July would be pointless while others call for full participation in the hope that an orthodox Anglicanism might hold sway. Some say that they cannot go to Lambeth out of conscience, and so they will attend GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) in June. Others say we must go to Lambeth for the sake of the Communion, so they will not give the wrong signal by attending GAFCON. Some say go to both, but a common mind seems elusive.

The tension and indecision are so high for many reasons. One key reason that many of us lose sight of, I believe, is that the stakes are so high. The Anglican Communion, after all, is one of the three great strands of God’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Along with the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches , we Anglicans are part of the historic Christianity that flows directly from Jesus and his Apostles. The permanent fracturing of the Communion would be tragic. God seems to be pruning His Church around the world and across denominations, and yet we don’t know the extent of His shaking for the sake of His Kingdom.

Nonetheless, it is a denial of reality not to face the issues head on.  Such denial is not the exclusive purview of bishops. Many American rectors do not want to follow the TEC heresies, and yet they still keep a low profile and try to keep their parish lids on by not leading godly teaching and discussion of the issues with their parishioners. They seem to have no immediate plans and to be waiting for deliverance from their dilemma from some unknown source. And while they wait, their parishes are hemorrhaging from within. These are indeed times that try men’s souls.

In these trying times, the vision of the Anglican Communion Network has not changed. We are still, more than ever, committed to building a united, biblical, missionary Anglican Church in North America . If we are to leave the wilderness for this promised land, we must put aside grumbling and rivalries and follow the leaders committed to this vision.

The vision is coming to fruition in the Common Cause Partnership, but we cannot leave the work of implementing this vision to the CCP leadership alone. Now is the time for the grass roots level to form Common Cause geographic clusters of churches throughout the country. Reach out and build cluster leadership structures. Enter into common fellowship, mission, and ministry together. Pray together and plan together as a cluster. If you are one of the many orthodox in an isolated part of the country, call out for help and we’ll come along side to help get you connected.

The alternative to cooperation among orthodox parishes is increased congregationalism, where there is a danger of churches working against each other instead of with each other. If we do not work at coming together for the future, we will fracture into multiple Anglican silos with little hope of a united, biblical, missionary American Anglicanism coming into existence.

The choices are costly and not easy, and yet choose we must. Pray, fast, examine yourselves, repent, and meditate on God’s holy Word. Pray and ponder alone, with your families, and in your churches. Pray and work together in your regional clusters. They will be essential for your future. And, as Common Cause Chairman Bishop Duncan has reminded us consistently: courage breeds courage.

Your brother in Jesus the Christ,

Jim McCaslin+