ACL President’s Address 2016

Posted on June 16, 2016 
Filed under Sydney Diocese

The Rev Gav Poole, ACL PresidentOutgoing President of the Anglican Church League, Gav Poole, gave this address at the Annual General Meeting on 16th June 2016.

ANGLICAN CHURCH LEAGUE AGM

PRESIDENT’S REPORT  

1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth it appears that it was racked by a party spirit based on personalities. People were following and aligning behind different leaders in a way which divided the body. They were carried away by human impressiveness.

We may be impressed by people who can persuade the masses with eloquence, knowledge and charm but God is not impressed.

Human pride is a great enemy of the gospel, as is boasting which promotes human achievement and wisdom. No one can experience renewal and reconciliation in Christ until they are humbled, have repented and turned their backs on human pride.

Isaiah prophesied that God would take the prideful city, Jerusalem and destroy its wisdom and frustrate its intelligence. His means of salvation would affront their understanding of greatness and superiority. He would choose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. He would choose foolish people to proclaim a foolish message which could only be accepted and embraced once it is acknowledged that the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.

The cross is foolishness to conventional wisdom. It is inconceivable that God would save by the death of his own son. How could such weakness be God’s answer to sin and death?

The message of the cross is rejected by many as outlandish and weak.

The messengers of the gospel may not be wise by human standard. They may be lacking in influence and nobility. In and of themselves they are not persuasive but God chooses the lowly things of this world to shame the wise. Human intelligence, ability or achievements can never be credited for salvation.

Many of us are fortunate enough that we will never be distinguished as “great ones”. The most we can expect is to be remembered for faithful, humble service in Christ to our loved ones, our churches and communities.

The ACL has a long history of serving our dioceses. Many individuals put in much hard work. We experience some wins and some losses. Our wins surpass the impressiveness of our council and executive. They are undeserved. However the ideals and values that we stand for are ultimately deserving of success. Our goal is that no one boast but in the Lord alone.

Politics has been a part of the Sydney dioceses for as long as can be remembered.

The Record (now The Australian Church Record), 9 May 1891 reported, ‘… the proceedings of the Diocesan Synod were more than once enlivened by speakers shuddering at party-spectre.’.

It appears that this was a baptism of fire for the newly appointed Bishop Smith who was described by Archdeacon Boyce as, “humble minded to a fault”.

This was well before the ACL’s formation around 1909. It is Bishop Robinson’s contention that the evangelicals were not the first to organise and that groups like the Sydney branch of the Anglo-Catholic English Church Union preceded any evangelical party organisation.

Regardless as to who drew first blood, politics has long been a part of the Sydney diocese and the ACL has played a dominant role.

Where ever a group of people are asked to make decisions by majority vote, you can be assured that there will be alliances and some organisation. It is naive to think otherwise. Any organisation that aligns along matters of principle, and has a long history will be a force to be reckoned with. It is important that the politics be open and accessible, that the leadership be elected and not self-appointed. The motivation for being a part of such an organisation should be the advancement of the gospel and not for personal gain or promotion.

It is also important to remember that our fellowship is wider and deeper than the party and our unity is based in Christ, not the organisation. The organisation is pragmatic and is not a marker of membership in the kingdom of God.

I am encouraged to report that once again the ACL has faithfully served this dioceses for another year.

The ACL has continued to operate on behalf of its members by nominating the best people to various vacancies through the Standing Committee.

November last year we hosted a workshop on good governance. We are grateful that Archbishop Davies, Dr Tong and Canon Morrison helped us to think about a model of governance that best serves the gospel.

The ACL has come a long way since it was critiqued by members in 2014 for not communicating well. Many thanks to the Communications and Membership taskforces who ensure that we are kept in-touch through emails and social media. Colin Mackellar ensures that the ACL website is an up-to-date platform for evangelical news from around the world. It is potentially one of the most visited websites among the evangelical community. There is still improvement to be made but we have come a long way.

One of the most significant decisions of the year was to merge Anglicare with the Anglican Retirement Villages. This decision was championed by the organisations boards, executive and the Archbishop himself. Standing committee ensured that the board was theologically beefed-up and that the decision was deferred until Synod had enough time and information on which to base the decision.

Time will tell whether or not this was a good decision however the process of the Episcopate, Diocesan Organisations, Standing Committee and Synod all working together is a model for the future. Standing Committee’s role is not merely to rubberstamp or to block progress. Sometimes it plays an important role in modifying decisions and ensuring that Synod is properly informed and respected.

It has been my pleasure to serve the ACL as President for the last four years. Although I intend to remain active in the ACL, I will not be standing for President this year. It is important to keep the role fresh and injected with new blood. I look forward to supporting whomever you elect to this role.

There is the joke about the two men and the one Boy Scout who were on an aeroplane. The plane was plummeting out of control toward the ground and the three had just minutes to respond. There were only two parachutes in the plane and they had to decide who would strap them on. The first man, whose name was Donald Trump, said, “I am clearly the most important and powerful person on this plane. I am the voice of many Americans and potentially the next President.” With that he grabbed a pack and jumped off.

The second man turned to the Boy Scout and said, “You’re a boy who has the whole of his life ahead of him. You take the second parachute and save yourself”. The Boy Scout replied, “There are enough parachutes on this plane for both of us. The most important and powerful person in the world just jumped off the plane with my backpack.”

It is an old joke but the name of the silly old fool keeps changing. Just when one fool dies, resigns or drops off the map, another one takes his place. There is always someone who can run an election campaign but can’t make a simple choice to save himself. And no one seems to talk about the fool who didn’t put enough parachutes on the plane in the first place. Is it too much to expect there to be as many parachutes as there are people?

I’m thankful for the fools of the past and the fools of the future who will serve this diocese. May they remember that our salvation and future depends on Christ alone. “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Gav Poole

President

16 June 2016