The Grace of God – or the World of the West? – Dr Mike Ovey

mike-ovey-nairobi-gafcon-ii

At the CMS NSW Summer School today, Rector of St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, William Taylor, paid tribute to Dr. Mike Ovey as “one of the great generals of the Christian faith”.

Take the time to thoughtfully watch this challenging and Christ-honouring address, given by Dr. Ovey, at GAFCON II in Nairobi in October 2013, to see why. Watch it here, courtesy of Anglican TV.

“My first really significant encounter with worldwide Anglicanism came at theological college.

It was 1990 and an east African priest was on secondment with us. He preached in the college chapel. He posed a question. Which gospel, he asked, which gospel do you westerners want us to believe? The one you came with or the one you preach now? Which gospel? I was horrified, not because what he said was not true. I was horrified because it was true.

My east African brother’s question has nagged away at me ever since. But how has it come about that we have a different gospel now from the one we first preached. What is this difference between what we westerners say now and what we said then? …”

Full text PDF from GAFCON.

GAFCON Chairman’s New Year Message for 2017

abp-nicholas-okoh-nigeria“As you will have seen from our end of year review, GAFCON is increasingly active. We are extending our reach, growing in influence, standing with the marginalised, strengthening our organisation and equipping key leaders, but all these things are the outworking of faithful prayer in the power of the Spirit. We are a spiritual movement in a spiritual battle and at the heart of the struggle is the challenge to the Word of God.

This is nothing new. Right at the beginning of bible history, the serpent says ‘Did God really say?’ (Genesis 3:1) and this is the question the traditional leadership of the Communion seems unwilling or unable to resolve. For instance…”

– Read Archbishop Okoh’s New Year message for 2017.

Is GAFCON the problem?

Abp Peter Jensen“An interview with the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, was recently published as an article in the Church of Ireland Gazette. The newspaper’s website carried the audio of the interview in full here.

For a self-confessed Ambassador and reconciler, Archbishop Josiah Fearon uses some undiplomatic language. The frank expression of his views on the Anglican Communion and the sexuality debate, and his sweeping dismissal of GAFCON and African church leaders have caused considerable dismay. However they reveal the thinking of the Anglican Communion Office and presumably those who endorse its leadership…”

– Archbishop Dr Peter Jensen, GAFCON General Secretary, responds to strong criticism of GAFCON, and what that criticism appears to say about the senior leadership of the Anglican Communion. Well worth taking the time to read. (link fixed)

GAFCON Review of 2016

gafcon-review-2016GAFCON General Secretary, Dr Peter Jensen, writes,

“As 2016 draws to a close we thought you might like to join us in reflecting on some key moments in the Gafcon year. You can find a short review of 2016 here. [PDF file.]

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh says in his introduction ‘we give great thanks to God for his grace at work in us’.

Please, therefore, use the review to fuel your prayers of thanksgiving and praise.”

GAFCON 2018 ‘To free our churches’

Charles RavenGAFCON has confirmed the dates for its third international conference. Between 17-22 June 2018 it will return to Jerusalem, the venue of the first Global Anglican Future Conference in 2008 (from which the movement takes its name).

The GAFCON announcement explains that ‘The city stands as a constant reminder of the birth of the gospel and the movement’s determination to remain true to the teachings of our Lord and his Word’ and so, to appreciate the significance of the 2018 conference, it is worth recalling how it all began. …”

– Charles Raven writes at Evangelicals Now, via Anglican Mainstream.

A statement from the GAFCON UK Task Group — 8 Dec 2016

gafcon-uk-1“We are grateful to God for the gracious, unsolicited affirmation of the recent activities of GAFCON UK given by Archbishop Okoh, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council.

Archbishop Okoh’s Pastoral Letter of 6th December 2016 makes clear that, despite attempts from some in the Church of England leadership both to obfuscate the real situation on the ground in the Church, and to undermine the significance of Lambeth Conference Resolution I.10, the GAFCON Primates are in no doubt either as to the breakdown of discipline in the Church of England or as to the standards for human sexuality that the majority of the Communion expect the Church of England to uphold…”

Read it all here.

GAFCON Chairman’s Letter for Advent 2016

abp-nicholas-okoh-gafcon-photoI thank God that Archbishop Greg Venables will be re-joining the GAFCON Primates Council now that he has been elected to serve again as the Primate of the Anglican Province of South America in succession to our greatly esteemed colleague Presiding Bishop Tito Zavala. His ministry demonstrates that courage which is so central to the GAFCON story. In his previous term as Primate, despite much opposition, Archbishop Venables bravely supported orthodox Anglicans in North America and stood with the Diocese of Recife in Brazil after it had to withdraw from the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil.

We are now seeing similar courage in England as GAFCON UK, led by Canon Andy Lines, endures hostility simply for speaking the truth about the increasing breakdown of church discipline in the Church of England.  There are now clergy and bishops who openly take pride in their rejection of biblical preaching and have even launched a website to encourage the violation of the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution I.10 on human sexuality.

But more disturbing is the response of the Church of England at its highest level. …”

– Read Archbishop Nicholas Okoh’s full pastoral letter here.

Peter Jensen — Against the charge of Homophobia

Abp Peter JensenIt’s a pretty heavy thing to be accused of homophobia. The word is not an intellectual judgement but a more damning moral one.

There have always been examples of unkind attitudes, bullying and discrimination towards people who appear to be, or who identify as, homosexual, just as there has always been racism, snobbery and other ugly traits. Sadly, Christians have sometimes been guilty of this, and in doing so we are failing to follow the way of Christ.

However, in recent years the accusation of ‘homophobia’ has been levelled not just at these unkind attitudes towards gay people, but also reasoned biblical convictions about problems associated with homosexual practice, and any expression of concern about the power and intolerance of pressure groups.…”

– GAFCON General Secretary, Peter Jensen, writes to encourage Christian people to speak the truth in love.

Related:

Open letter to the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council

david-holloway-jesmondDavid Holloway, Vicar of Jesmond Parish Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, has responded to last week’s letter from William Nye, Secretary General of the Church of England Archbishops’ Council:

I write this open letter to you following your open letter to Revd Canon Andrew Lines, the chairman of the GAFCON UK Task Force. Your letter alleged that a GAFCON briefing paper is ‘significantly misleading’.

The briefing was regarding irregular homosexual activities in the Church of England. In support of its criticism of named Church of England bishops and clergy, the briefing referred to a resolution of a former Lambeth Conference. You wrote to ‘correct some of the erroneous assertions’ in the paper. However, the supposed correction included the following statement …”

– Read it all at GAFCON UK.

Letter from Secretary-General of the CofE Archbishops’ Council shows why GAFCON UK is needed

gafcon-uk-1The open letter to Canon Andy Lines of GAFCON UK from the Secretary-General of the Archbishops’ Council is very significant. It can be taken as the official position of the C of E leadership. Helpfully, the letter moves away from matters of tone and motive which tend to dominate discussion and gets to the real issue, namely, what is, or should be, the teaching of the worldwide Church on sexual ethics, and how do we apply this in the Church of England?

Underlying the letter is an institutional mentality which does not locate ecclesial authority with the unchanging Scriptural principles of apostolic Christianity, as affirmed by the global Church. Rather it puts confidence in legal process, with the effect that what is not ‘legally binding’ can be disregarded or relegated to the respected status of a historical curiosity. More than ever, GAFCON UK with its clear confessional grounding in the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration has a vital role to play in our current context. …”

Read it all at the GAFCON UK website.

The perversion of Lambeth 1.10

Rachel Treweek, Bishop of GloucesterThe Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt. Rev. Rachel Treweek, will preside at an ‘LGBTI Eucharist’ on 15 Jan 2017, the diocesan chapter of Inclusive Church reports. …

Will this be a violation of Lambeth 1.10? A plain reading of the document coupled with the original intention of the authors would say ‘yes’.

The presence of the Bishop of Chichester at a Brighton Gay Pride march and the Bishop of Salisbury at a similar affair, was raised in GAFCON-UK’s paper, ‘The Church of England and Lambeth 1.10’, released last week. They were cited as examples of the problematic stance of the church hierarchy on issues surrounding human sexuality — and as a violation of Lambeth 1.10.

The Bishop of Salisbury denounced GAFCON-UK’s criticism as “outrageous” and a perversion of the spirit of Lambeth 1.10. In a letter to the Church Times the Rt. Rev. Nicholas Holtam said he too had offered prayers at a Gay Pride parade, explaining: ‘The blessing of Gay Pride in Salisbury was a joyful celebration of a people who are part of our community and among the rich diversity of all God’s children. This is in keeping with Lambeth I.10, which calls us ‘to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals’…”

– At Anglican Ink, George Conger provides some personal perspective on Lambeth 1.10. It’s clear that Lambeth 1.10 can’t mean whatever you want it to mean.

Photo: Bishop Rachel Treweek, Diocese of Gloucester.

The Lambeth I:10 Briefing: Process and Motive, Truth and Love

gafcon-uk-1We have received inquiries about the way the Lambeth I.10 briefing was developed, the reasons behind why it was created, and its accuracy.  Below is some more information about each topic …”

– Earlier this month, GAFCON UK released a briefing paper for GAFCON Primates. Its release has been criticised in some quarters. Here’s the GAFCON UK response.

GAFCON Jerusalem 2018 dates announced

GAFCON_Jerusalem_560GAFCON has announced that the Jerusalem 2018 Conference will be held 17th – 22nd June 2018.

Read the prayer bulletin here.

The Church of England and Lambeth 1:10

gafcon-uk-1This paper was recently presented as a briefing to the GAFCON Primates on the situation in the Church of England regarding attitudes, teaching and practice on sexual ethics, official and unofficial.

It argues that the Church of England has already ‘crossed the line’ by allowing a culture to develop where violations of Lambeth Resolution 1:10 are increasingly prevalent. It is published with permission…”

The topics covered are:

What is Lambeth 1.10?

The History of Lambeth 1.10 in the West

The Situation in England

– from GAFCON UK.

The heart of GAFCON

Peter JensenAt the heart of GAFCON is communion.

When I became Archbishop of Sydney in 2001, I had a lot to learn. Even though I had been ordained for over thirty years by then, had lived in England for three years and had been the Principal of a theological College with students from many places in the world, there was so much that I did not know.

Two of the many things I had to discover through experience may sound strange and you may wonder where I had been all my life. But I suspect that many of us are in the same position…”

– GAFCON General Secretary, Dr. Peter Jensen, on The heart of GAFCON.

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