A Communiqué from the Gafcon Primates Council meeting in Sydney– 6th May 2019

The GAFCON Primates, meeting in Sydney last week, have released a Communiqué at the end of their gathering. Global evangelism is a key theme:

“Our primary focus this week has been upon the great tasks of mission and evangelism. As a global fellowship we are uniquely positioned to support one another in ministry to a world where mass immigration and globalisation are reshaping our countries.

There are billions who have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, and the field is ripe for the harvest. In this new world every believer has a role in preaching Christ faithfully to the nations. There are even more who have heard, but not understood.  In many situations the main challenge is not ignorance, but unbelief.

We ask you to join us in prayer for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit’s power to break into the hearts and minds of those who have not yet believed.”

Also, the Primates speak of Lambeth 2020 and plan for a Gafcon Bishops Conference in 2020:

“On the one hand, we have no interest in attempting to rival Lambeth 2020.  On the other hand, we do not want our bishops to be deprived of faithful fellowship while we wait for order in the Communion to be restored. Therefore, we have decided to call together a meeting of bishops of the Anglican Communion in June of 2020.”

– Read the whole Communiqué here.

Federal election 2019: ‘Labor’s bid to ban anti-gay speech’

“Labor will consider expanding anti-discrimination legislation to shield gay and transgender ­people from harmful speech if elected, in a move that has alarmed lawyers and free-speech advocates. …”

– story from The Australian.

Related:

How Labor Will Impose the Queer Revolution – Quadrant Online:

“In December 2018, the ALP voted on the national platform they will take to the federal election. Among a suite of policies to advance the cause of LGBT rights, it included a statement of strong opposition to the deplorable practice of ‘conversion therapy’. On the face of it, there should be nothing alarming in this…”

What’s Next? Confidently Preaching Christ.

Archbishops Ben Kwashi (GAFCON General Secretary) and Foley Beach (GAFCON Chairman) are in Australia for the GAFCON Primates meeting which has just concluded.

After speaking in Sydney on Saturday 4th May, they will travel to Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth – details at GAFCON Australia.

Their topic is: What’s Next? Confidently Preaching Christ.

The Drive to reach Australia

“We all want to reach Australia with the gospel. We want to see our friends, family and colleagues come to know and love the Lord Jesus. That’s a rallying point that we can all get behind.

And yet, at present, we’re facing an increasingly uphill battle. The average church size is no more than 70 across Australia, and ‘No Religion’ is now the fastest growing category of belief in Australia (ABS Census). What’s more, 56% of Aussies say they don’t even know anything about their local church. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Andrew Heard announces the launch of Reach Australia, and passes on news of their first conference.

“Welby’s Lambeth invite apology smooths way for Anglican Consultative Council to walk together”

“Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, working with others, preserved the unity of the 17th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council on May 4 by apologizing for his 2020 Lambeth Conference decisions about bishops in same-sex relationships and agreeing to renew the communion’s 21-year-old promise to listen to the experiences of LGBTQ people.

‘I ask your forgiveness where I made mistakes,’ Welby said.

The April 28-May 5 meeting came close to breaking down during the afternoon of its last business day, not over the Lambeth Conference, but over the larger issue of how much the council ought to say about the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life of the church. …”

– This report from The Episcopal News Service speaks of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s apology for seeking to disinvite the spouses of bishops in same-sex marriages from the 2020 Lambeth Conference.

Photo: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.

For some historical perspective on the trajectory of the Anglican Consultative Council, see this post from ten years ago (June 2009) from the American Anglican Council:

Corrupting the Anglican Communion Listening Process:

“The next stage of the Anglican Communion’s attempt to resolve its differences over theology, sexuality and the authority of scripture will involve more “listening processes,” but this time those processes will be paid for by a retired Episcopal priest who advocates same-sex blessings. The money given by the Episcopal priest will be monitored by a group of sex “experts” who advocate a vision of sexual freedom and “justice” that bears little resemblance to mainstream Christian doctrine or tradition …“

and also this June 2009 statement from then President of the Anglican Church League, Rev. Dr. Mark Thompson –

Apostasy and deception: Statement on ACC-14 from the Anglican Church League:

“The reports from the 14th Anglican Consultative Council meeting being held in Jamaica make for depressing reading. ‘Assume incompetence rather than malevolence’, the old saying goes. That is becoming harder and harder to do, even for the optimists amongst us.

The intervention of the Archbishop of Canterbury at crucial points to serve the interests of TEC and its presiding bishop and to thwart the attempts to bring real accountability to bear on those who have abandoned the teaching of Scripture and are pursuing the property of faithful Anglicans through the courts, undermines any suggestion that he is providing genuine leadership at this crucial time. The activities of other officials from the Anglican Communion Office were even more openly serving the revisionist agenda. …”

Plus this report from Canon Phil Ashey in 2012 –

A Report from the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Auckland:

“In terms of what schemes seem to be emerging, I would respectfully suggest the following as a ‘pincer’ movement that ACC/ACO is going to place upon confessing Anglicans:

1.  Through Continuing Indaba dialogue and stories, bolstered by the work of the BILC resources, Biblical interpretation of human sexuality and its limits will be rendered value-neutral with no limits on Biblical interpretation within the Communion. Lambeth 1.10 will be declared in effect non-binding;

2.  Then, through the new Code of Conduct and the Safe Church resolution, any objection to sexual expressions that are not Biblical will be deemed ‘harassment,’ chilling any speech and bringing consequences to those who, in Anglican communion meetings, dare to raise the subject.

I pray I am mistaken, but that is my best look into the future. …”

– and many other posts on our website.

GAFCON Affirms it will not attend or observe Lambeth

“At an event hosted by GAFCON Australia today here in Sydney, Archbishop Foley Beach (Primate of the ACNA and now chair of the GAFCON Primates Council) reaffirmed that they will be turning down Archbishop of Canterbury’s invitation to attend the 2020 Lambeth Conference. …”

– David Ould reports.

EFAC Press Release – 02 May 2019

THE EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION
PRESS RELEASE BY THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion (EFAC) have read reports of the address by Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the General Secretary of the Anglican Communion, to the Anglican Consultative Council currently meeting in Hong Kong in which he attributed the crisis in the Anglican Communion to “largely autocratic Primates and bishops in the Global South who do not behave as Anglicans” and asked the questions, “’How should we respond to GAFCON?” – the Global Anglican Fellowship of conservative Provinces that has been acting increasingly independently in recent years, after a split over sexuality. ‘How do we handle this to prevent schism in our Communion?’”

The Trustees have written to Archbishop Josiah stating that we will want to unpack with him in due course his criticism of GAFCON in circumstances where it is not disputed that the crisis within the Anglican Communion was started by the Episcopal Church acting independently over the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson and has been driven ever since by the independent actions of the Episcopal Church and other liberal provinces, acting against the advice of the Instruments of Communion.

In his address, Archbishop Josiah also suggested that, for a solution to the present crisis, one should look to the example of EFAC “which, in the 1960s, had deliberated breaking away to form an independent Evangelical Church, but had been dissuaded by the late Revd Dr John Stott”. In our communication with Archbishop Josiah, the Trustees of EFAC have stated that this is an inapt and unhelpful analogy, even if it were correct in fact (which it is not). The current crisis in the Anglican Communion is caused by a different issue, same-sex marriage and partnerships, an issue on which the views of the Revd Dr John Stott were clear:

“If you want me to stick my neck out, I think I would say that if the Church were officially to approve homosexual partnerships as a legitimate alternative to heterosexual marriage, this so far diverges from biblical sexual ethics that I would find it exceedingly difficult to stay. I might want to stay on and fight a few more years, but if they persisted, I would have to leave.” (John Stott, Balanced Christianity, p. 63)

This is also an issue on which EFAC is clear. EFAC’s constitution provides expressly, inter alia, as follows:

“We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.”

There is no division between EFAC and GAFCON on issues of human sexuality and any attempt to create division will be resisted prayerfully and strenuously.

We have asked Archbishop Josiah publicly to correct the false analogy (in the same way as he has corrected his perceived critique of the Roman Catholic Church).

Bishop Keith Sinclair (Chairman)
Stephen Hofmeyr QC
Revd Canon Dr Chris Sugden
Carl Hughes.

Received by e-mail. Text extracted from this PDF file.

File image: Anglican Communion crest.

The critics are wrong: religion has a place in the classroom

“There is much misinformation about special religious education, or SRE, in NSW public schools, propagated primarily by those who are anti-religion and have an ideological agenda to force their views onto the majority of Australians.

Yes, the majority. Despite Australians becoming less religious, the latest census data tells us that 70 per cent of Australians still identify with a religious faith. …”

– Murray Norman (CEO of Christian SRE) writes in The Sydney Morning Herald.

(Photo: ICCOREIS.)

Foley Beach on Canterbury’s invitation to ACNA to observe Lambeth 2020

“Yesterday I received a letter from Archbishop Justin just moments before the invitation was reported online. I read the online report first and was disappointed to see that the original ‘news’ source had furthered a partisan, divisive, and false narrative by wrongly asserting that I left the Anglican Communion. I have never left the Anglican Communion, and have no intention of doing so. …”

– Via Anglican Ink, Archbishop Foley Beach (who is currently in Sydney, and will succeed Archbishop Nicholas Okoh as Chairman of GAFCON on Tuesday) responds to an invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Related:

Welby: British law prevents ACC from debating his decision to exclude same-sex spouses from Lambeth – Episcopal News Service.

Lambeth 2020 Descends into Confusion (20 February 2019).

Lambeth Hypocrisy: Disinviting the Spouses – Dr. Stephen Noll (17 February 2019).

A Statement from Archbishop Ben Kwashi, following the Easter Sunday atrocities in Sri Lanka

“Greetings to you in Peace.

Yesterday suicide bombers unleashed death and destruction as unsuspecting Sri Lankan Christians gathered to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. Together with those killed in hotels, the death toll has reached 310, with many more injured, and our hearts go out in prayer for all who have been caught up in these deeply traumatic events.

News of this atrocity came through just before I preached at All Souls Langham Place and let me repeat what I said then,

‘The resurrection of Jesus is a total defeat of death and of those who would want to use death to scare people off from faith in Jesus. His resurrection has made death powerless against all who believe in Jesus Christ.’

At our recent conference in Dubai, Gafcon resolved to stand with the Suffering Church and this will be a leading agenda item for our Primates Council as it meets in Sydney next week.

Meanwhile, in this Easter week let us remember that the one who drew alongside two sad and discouraged disciples on the Emmaus road was the Risen Christ who yet still bore the wounds of the cross. By death he has destroyed death and he will be with us until the very end in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Risen Lord be with you!

Archbishop Ben Kwashi,
Gafcon General Secretary.”

– from GAFCON, 22 April 2019.

Call to pray for Australia

The Bishop of South Sydney, Dr. Michael Stead, has written to all Senior Ministers in Sydney diocese, asking them to encourage their congregations to pray for our nation, especially for the 21 days leading up to the Federal election on May 18 –

“Christians across a wide range of denominations are joining in 21 days of prayer, commencing this Sunday (28 April). Each denomination will do this in their own way. …

In particular, people are being encouraged to pray for the following 4 things.

  1. Pray that God would rule over this election that righteous leaders would be elected to govern this nation in truth and justice because, “When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice.” Proverbs 29:2.
  2. Pray God’s blessing upon all our current parliamentarians and leaders, including their families and all the candidates of all the parties standing for this federal election. 1 Timothy 2:1-3.
  3. Pray for a multiplication of prayer and unity across the Body of Christ in Australia that people will wake up to the dangers facing our nation and respond in prayer. Ephesians 5:14.
  4. Pray for a Spiritual Awakening for Australia, Revival and Transformation for our nation and the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16.

The organisation behind the Canberra Declaration have prepared 21 daily devotionals, for optional use. People who wish to can register to receive a daily email here – https://canberradeclaration.org.au/prayer/election-2019.”

Archbishop Foley Beach, Easter 2019

The Anglican Church in North America has published this Easter Conversation with Archbishop Foley Beach, incoming Chairman of GAFCON.

(Hear Archbishops Foley Beach and Ben Kwashi in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth in early May 2019 – details here.)

An Easter message from Archbishop Ben Kwashi

Archbishop Ben Kwashi gives an update from GAFCON this Easter, and asks for your support.

Reflections on the Israel Folau affair

“Celebrity rugby player Israel Folau is in a complicated legal position. He shared a ‘meme’ on social media site Instagram recently, the text of which was: ‘Warning: Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators, Thieves, Atheists, Idolators: Hell Awaits You – Repent! Only Jesus Saves.’

To this he added his own personal comment: ‘Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him.’ …

His remarks were not well-received by many members of the public, and in particular by the peak bodies in rugby. …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster offers some comments on the latest news relating to Israel Folau.

Final Letter from Archbishop Okoh as GAFCON Chairman

“My dear people of God,

This month is the last time I write to you as Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council before I hand over later this month to my beloved brother in Christ and fellow Primate, Archbishop Foley Beach.

As I look back over nearly three years in which I have been privileged to serve the cause of the gospel in this way, I am full of gratitude to Almighty God for his continued favour. By His grace, we have gone far, but it is because the Lord has helped us. Just as Samuel raised his Ebenezer, the stone of remembrance, I also humbly ask that we remember and do not forget how God has blessed this movement far beyond what we deserve and far beyond what our own efforts could have achieved. …”

– Read Archbishop Nicholas Okoh’s full letter.

← Previous Page — Next Page →