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Evangelical Response to TEC in the Church of England - Division or Unity?

2009-07-15T13:15:52+00:00

I’ve been mulling for a few days on the response of the Church of England generally and CofE evangelicals more specifically to all that is happening at the moment in TEC.

The recent pronouncements by Fulcrum and Tom Wright were, I thought, excellent when they arrived and yet the anxiety rapidly returned. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it and then John Richardson (the Ugley Vicar) goes and writes a piece that nailed it perfectly:

The declamations by Bishop Wright and Fulcrum are truly to be welcomed for their clarity. And yet one cannot help, along with Bishop Broadbent, wondering why it took so long for the penny to drop.

There it is in a nutshell!

Having decried GAFCON/FCA for a “lack of unity” by pushing ahead with their responses to the crisis in North America and for raising awareness of where similar moves were occuring in the CofE, Fulcrum now look like they’re saying what the FCA have been saying all along - that TEC must be disciplined properly and something done for faithful Anglicans (i.e. an alternate structure that is fully recognised).

Pete Broadbent (Bishop of Willesden) put it this way on the Fulcrum website forums:

I know it’s going to play out from now on like a slow motion car crash, but I rather hope that we can be a bit more nimble footed from now on in our attempts to rescue the rest of the Anglican Communion. The “let’s all wait and see what happens” approach to church brinkmanship has probably had its day.

To which I feel like saying “nimble footed from now on???!!!!!”

Surely one must concede that GAFCON/FCA saw the car crash coming a long way off (and, let’s face it, who here actually hasn’t seen it coming for the past 3 years or longer?). As RIchardson puts it:

Yet for someone who has been aware of ‘schismatic’ tendencies across the Atlantic for thirteen years, Bishop Wright has been slow to sound the alarm, and even slower to embrace those who have themselves been expressing such alarm for some considerable time.
...
Thus at the end of his piece, Bishop Wright tartly observes,
Contrary to some who have recently adopted the phrase, there is already a “fellowship of confessing Anglicans”. It is called the Anglican Communion.
Yet everything he has written prior to that demonstrates this is not so. The Anglican Communion is not (certainly not as FCA understands it) a fellowship with a unifying confession. Rather, it has contained people (in Wright’s words, initiators of schism) who are willing to write their own ‘confession’ and to override the concerns of those committed to the original, and explicitly affirmed, confessional stance.

Can you sense my frustration rising? It’s nothing compared to his Ugleyness…

It is a sad fact that throughout a period when Traditionalist Anglicans should have been united, they have been bitterly at loggerheads, sometimes over policies, but often, one suspects, over personalities. In this, we have seen the besetting sin of Evangelical fissiparity writ large. Thus Bishop Graham Kings has been able to put his hand to the Fulcrum statement calling for action whilst at the same time lambasting Canon Chris Sugden personally and the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans generally for the actions they have taken. Opposition is allowable, it seems, so long as we ‘do it my way’:
I believe the way forward for the Church of England, and the Anglican Communion, is through the glacial gravity of the Anglican Covenant rather than through the setting up of opportunist, autonomous fellowships.
The mention of setting up ‘opportunist, autonomous’ fellowships, however, will be greeted with wry amusement (at best) by those who remember how Fulcrum itself was launched on an unsuspecting fourth National Evangelical Anglican Congress in 2003.

Thanks John. I don’t think I could have put it better myself (and probably would have been a lot more ham-fisted about it).

So where do Church of England evangelicals go from here? It’s an important question that our American friends will be keen to hear the answer to. Again, John RIchardson has the answer:

However, at some stage bygones must be bygones. Now is the time to heed the words of another Evangelical Anglican Bishop, J C Ryle, written in a different age, but to similar problems of disunity:
If we would hold fast the truth, we must be ready to unite with all who hold the truth, and love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. We must he ready to lay aside all minor questions as things of subordinate importance. Establishment or no establishment, liturgy or no liturgy,—surplice or no surplice,—bishops or presbyters,—all these points of difference ... ought to be regarded as subordinate questions. [...] The Philistines are upon us. Can we make common cause against them, or can we not? ... Surely it is not right to say that we expect to spend eternity with men in heaven, and yet cannot work for a few years with them in this world.
Perhaps it is time for Bishops Kings and Wright to get on the phone, rather than the keyboard, and instead of lobbing more brickbats to speak to the organizers of FCA and ask, “Where do we go together from here?” He will be a truly great man who can do this.

A while ago at a conference I heard a prominent British evangelical, reflecting upon Bishop Tom Wright, note that one should not just observe who people stand with, but also who they will not be seen to support. It is, I would suggest, to Fulcrum’s detriment that they have chosen in the past to position themselves against the FCA as providing a better and more productive way forward in our Anglican conflicts. Many of us have considered their “internal, softly slowly” approach as, at best, naïve and, at worst, an outworking of some defective ecclesiology (namely that the Church is the Church and unity should be maintained despite the obvious observation that there has long been no unity in the Communion - but I think that’s Richardson’s observation again).

Perhaps it sounds smug, but have not recent events vidicated the more direct approach of GAFCON/FCA? Does anyone honestly think there was going to be any other outcome to all of this than TEC giving the rest of the Communion the bird? And if the approach now beginning to be outlined by Fulcrum is essentially that proposed by GAFCON/FCA (and their equivalents) for some years now then perhaps Richardson is right, and some greatness is needed from Fulcrum.

Will that happen? I would like to think so. Yet I fear it may not. The reason it may not happen is that in Fulcrum and FCA we are increasingly seeing 2 different sorts of “evangelicalism”, the former “softer” or “wetter” than the latter (pick your descriptor depending on which side of the discussion you’re on). There are still major issues on which these two groups are poles apart.

From where I’m standing the latter appears more robust, more in line with the evangelicalism of our Anglican fathers. When I read Cranmer and Latimer, Ridley or Ryle I feel that they would have been FCA men. Shoot me for bringing it up (I know the fights it causes at SF) but the question of the ordination of women to the priesthood, let alone their consecration as bishops, demonstrates a deep distinction between us in the way that we read the Bible.

Thus the differences between CofE evangelicals have never been over the most effective way to deal with TEC, but more fundamental issues. It gives me no pleasure to say it but I don’t know if those disagreements will be going away anytime soon. I pray that I’m wrong.

TEC Update

2009-07-15T13:11:17+00:00

Not quite as fresh as I know some of you want it. Nevertheless, here it is. These 2 video reports from Stand Firm sum it all up well…

House of Bishops Confirm D025 - End of same-sex moratoria. aka “Goodbye Anglican Communion”

2009-07-14T04:19:51+00:00

At the end of the day the vote wasn’t nearly as close as I thought it might have been. The bishops of TEC vote more than 2-1 to affirm the resolution that has already been overwhelmingly approved by the House of Deputies. Matt gives us the lowdown:

Essentially the whole Convention has chosen to snub the Anglican Communion. Of course, over the next few days expect to see a plethora of statements from the same people about how much they cherish the Communion and how much they are committed to it. Which is, of course, about the same as a husband who moves his lover into the second bedroom and then tells his wife how much he loves her.

The next move will come from the English General Synod which votes today on recognising ACNA (Anglican Church in North America) - the orthodox Anglican grouping.

More fun times.

TEC Moves One Step Closer to the Edge

2009-07-13T12:01:02+00:00

Things are heating up at the TEC General Convention.

Yesterday the House of Deputies (ie clergy and lay delegates) voted in favour of Resolution D025, which reads as follows:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention reaffirm the continued participation of The Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion; give thanks for the work of the bishops at the Lambeth Conference of 2008; reaffirm the abiding commitment of The Episcopal Church to the fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion and seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention encourage dioceses, congregations, and members of The Episcopal Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the many instruments, networks and relationships of the Anglican Communion; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention reaffirm its financial commitment to the Anglican Communion and pledge to participate fully in the Inter-Anglican Budget; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm the value of “listening to the experience of homosexual persons,” as called for by the Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, and 1998, and acknowledge that through our own listening the General Convention has come to recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships “characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God” (2000-D039); and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention recognize that gay and lesbian persons who are part of such relationships have responded to God’s call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and are currently doing so in our midst; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm that God has called and may call such individuals to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church, which call is tested in our polity through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church ; and be it further

Resolved, That the 76th General Convention acknowledge that members of The Episcopal Church as of the Anglican Communion, based on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, and in light of tradition and reason, are not of one mind , and Christians of good conscience, disagree about some of these matters.

In simple terms, “we are pushing ahead with this homosexual thing, full throttle”. Any restraint that was shown 3 years ago is now jettisoned.

The only question now is whether the House of Bishops will approve the motion.

Sarah gives us the rundown:

Apparently Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, isn’t happy:

Rowan-Williams-2_587762a The Archbishop of Canterbury told General Synod today that he ‘regrets’ the decision by The Episcopal Church house of deputies to overturn the moratorium on the ordination of gay bishops. At the same time, the Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori has warned the Church of England that it should not recognise the new Anglican Church in North America, arguing ‘schism is not a Christian act.’

Responding to a question by Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream, Dr Williams said: ‘As for General Convention it remains to be seen I think whether the vote of the House of Deputies will be endorsed by the House of Bishops. If the House of Bishops chooses to block then the moratorium remains. I regret the fact that there is not the will to observe the moratorium in such a significant part of the Church in North America but I can’t say more about that as I have no details.’ Dr Williams also responded to concerns about the funding for the ‘listening process’ saying that he had been personally involved in securing that funding and had been completely unaware of any ‘agenda’ attached to the funding.

Schori’s line is laughable, isn’t it? You push ahead with a total innovation of doctrine - affirming stuff that Christians have denied for 2000 years, and then you claim it’s “schism” when others want to recognise those who want to remain faithful to orthodox Christianity.

She may have reason to be worried. Kendall Harmon reports the following....

Breaking News: C of E Synod ACNA members Motion Gains Over 100 names, Including Six Bishops

It is on the Fifth Notice Paper, and reads as follows:
Anglican Church in North America
Mrs Lorna Ashworth (Chichester) to move:

‘That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America.’

The ACNA, of course, is the newly formed grouping Anglican Church in North America. A bunch of Christians who were formerly part of TEC and the Canadian Church but could not stay because of the institutional apostasy they saw around them.

Fun times. I’ll let you know what the TEC Bishops decide and the CofE General Synod (which is, fortuitously, meeting at the same time) decide on their respective motions.

A Little Bird Told Me - what they’re tweeting at General Convention

2009-07-12T03:28:47+00:00

One of the new media that wasn’t anywhere like as fully used three years at the last TEC General Convention as it was now is twitter. Never before have delegates had such a free and instant way to interact with one another.

For those not familiar with how that works, tweeters will use a hash-tag (#) to mark their posts as specific to a certain topic. At StandFirm we use the #sfgencon tag for our daily live video feeds.

At General Convention the hashtag of choice appears to be #ecgc, standing for “Episcopal Church General Convention” and following the conversation is an insight into what the deputies are thinking. Matt has spoken before of how the House of Deputies is by far the more radical of the two houses at Convention and the twitter stream coming out of the HoD certainly seems to back that up.

There’s a bunch of sharing of different viewpoints (and @WhatOneCanDo appears to be doing the best job of providing a balanced range of opinions, despite her own apparent left-leaning) and also a little bit of sparring by a few conservative (swimming against the tide, I would suggest).

On Friday all the excitement seems to have been about the Integrity Eucharist. Integrity are an advocacy movement pushing for “All the Sacraments for All the Baptised”. Essentially this is a push for full participation for all LGBT members of the church whilst resolutely affirming their chosen lifestyles.

Here’s some of the stuff posted beforehand…

Usual round of parties tonight, punctuated by the Integrity Eucharist. +Barbara Harris in the pulpit and +Gene Robinson at the altar.
integrityusa 30 minutes till doors, and this place is jumpin! ALL are welcome. #ecgc #integrityusa
integrityusa The place is packed! We r surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses! We r ALL children of G-d, and tonight we break bread with YOU! #ecgc

once the service got started the tweets started flooding in…

tarasaurusrexx Barbara harris is giving the best sermon i’ve ever heard. #ecgc #integrityusa
gaytheologian @integrityusa eucharist is PACKED! the incense smells delightful, & tonite i celebrate w/ my spiritual family in honor of my abuelito! #ecgc
integrityusa “It’s God’ own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites!• #ecgc #integrityusa
heidomaine Bishop Barbara Harris ten minutes ago: “the baptismal covenant is the only covenant we need to remain faithful” Amen! #ecgc
integrityusa “Don’t initiate us into the church and then PRETEND we’ve only had a half-assed baptism.” - The Right Reverend Barbara Harris #ecgc
integrityusa Santo, santo, santo es el Señor. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna en las alturas. #ecgc #integrity
gaytheologian “Don’t initiate us into the church and then PRETEND we’ve only had a half-assed baptism.” - The Right Reverend Barbara Harris #ecgc
DrABL “no more eccliastical navel gazing” regarding what B033 calls “manner of life”—Bsp. Barbara Harris #ecgc
trinity20s30s Jesus took the bread and the wine, and gave thanks. Take, eat, drink. Do this in remembrance of me. #ecgc #integrityusa
integrityusa May G-d bless you w/ discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, & superficial relationship, so that we may live deep within our hearts. #ecgc
dlmcniel @integrityusa I love this blessing! I’ve used is at commencements a few times. #ecgc

afterwards there was continued excitement:

melsoriano #ecgc Integrity Eucharist ROCKED. Amen
integrityusa The @integrityusa Eucharist was a huge success! Over 1,300 people in attendance! #ecgc #marriageequality #integrityusa
SCOTTAGUNN Integrity Eucharist was fantastically inspiring; sermon by Bishop Barbara Harris monumentally wonderful. #integrityusa #ecgc
analliecat +Barbara Harris is awesome integrity is important for all people, and bed is simply wonderful #ecgc
peculiarhonors was incredibly moved by the serendipitous way I ended up distributing communion at Integrity Eucharist this evening #ecgc #integrityusa
WhatOneCanDo RT @episcopalcafe: The Integrity Eucharist: Lynette Wilson reports on the Integrity Eucharist http://tinyurl.com/lcsvc9 #ecgc

All of which tells us a great deal, but most of all that Integrity are well-supported at General Convention. It was hard to find people tweetingwho weren’t tweeting about this event. If the claim of 1,300 is true then it is hard to imagine any short of a hard-line resolution on same-sex issues coming out of the House of Deputies.

And look out for those soundbites again. Twitter is perfect for soundbites and I expect to hear some of the juiciest ones from that service on the lips of Susan Russell within the next few days!

The tweeters are also using the medium to tell each other what they and others are saying, and it’s nearly all pushing in one direction:

robertpjones ECGCCrnch: 72% of Episcopal clergy support ordination of gay & lesbian clergy w/ no special requirements. #ecgc http://bit.ly/t7yrZ
robertpjones ECGCCrnch: 49% of episcopal clergy support same-sex marriage, 38% support civil unions, & only 13% support no legal recognition. #ecgc
keepercaines34 I have a new blog post called “Episcopal Church: The Time is Now” #ecgc I welcome your feedback & comments http://bit.ly/kwekE
dlmcniel Bonnie Anderson’s sermon yesterday was outstanding. I blogged about it here http://tinyurl.com/knkxc6 #ecgc
CarlosRAlvarado Read Gene Robinson: My sense is that the place of the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion is not in danger. http://bit.ly/OP4TE #ecgc

As Saturday pushed on the chat turned to other topics, in particular unity and also the possibility of actually getting a result on same-sex issues despite what the rest of the Communion might think:

judystark All those hymns today with themes of unity—very moving, hopeful and inspiring. #ecgc
loribythesea @judystark sounds wonderful! when you sing you pray twice #ecgc #episcopalian #ecgc http://twubs.com/ecgc
judystark Rust never sleeps, and neither do GC deputies. Let’s be gentle with each other. There’s bigtime work to be done in the next few days. #ecgc
judystark Interesting how often GC deputies express regret over absence of conservative voice in our discussions. We need all parts of the body. #ecgc
ktkimble Much chatter about how HOD will vote to move beyond B033 but HOB much more reluctant. I think way too early to tell. #ecgc
ktkimble RT @WhatOneCanDo: RT @TexasBishop: Youth presence challenged HOB 2 become fishrs of men and not keeprs of aquarium. #ecgc
WhatOneCanDo RT @frdanmartins: HOB just narrowly defeated an attempt to make it more difficult to call for a vote by orders. This is good. #ecgc
CarlosRAlvarado Read Gene Robinson: My sense is that the place of the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion is not in danger. http://bit.ly/OP4TE #ecgc
gaytheologian just spoke with mary ann mueller from virtue online 4 an hour. when two people who r so different can do that, i believe g-d is there. #ecgc
todompol07 Episcopal Church cutting ties with Anglican Communion, Catholic Church? - http://bit.ly/fuRiV #ecgc
SCOTTAGUNN Te Paa says HoD should not worry about the place of TEC in the Anglican Communion. #ecgc
SCOTTAGUNN Te Paa thanks HoD for magmamity after poor treatment by the Ang Communion. #ecgc
Liturgy @scottagunn you mean just do what God is calling YOU to do? What do you think? #ecgc
SCOTTAGUNN HoD gives Te Paa a standing ovation. #ecgc
todompol07 @scottagunn Wow, that’s awfully telling, and tragic. #ecgc

Not all the tweeting from delegates was positive. There are still a number of questions and frustrations:

lmkosovich RT @sarahzygmunt: Disappointed that live feeds for leg sessions and HOB, HOD are not available at the HUB. #ecgc sarahzygmunt Hopefully, will have live feed for HOB, HOD when legislation comes back from committee. Fingers crossed. #ecgc http://twubs.com/ecgc frjonathan @ParisPike You’re not alone! I think most of us are having trouble with the live feed. #ecgc http://twubs.com/ecgc wnknisely Disappointing to learn that Children’s Ministry is being cut from almost 150k in 2009 to less than 25k in 2010. Not sure why. #ecgc #fb WhatOneCanDo ~RT @wnknisely Disappointing that Children’s Ministry being cut frm almost 150k in ‘09 to < 25k in '10. Not sure why." Any1 know why? #ecgc

Finally, 2 more things. 1. The Underground Volcano Lair has been discovered! We may have to move:

WhatOneCanDo Found it #sfgencon stands for Stand Firm General Convention #ecgc

and 2, for all those of you who find all this tweeting overwhelming, you are in good company…

sarahgbennett #ecgc following gencon can feel like olympics and I’m tired of archery and ready for 400m relay

I’m going for a lie down.

TEC General Convention Day Three - the Pressure Grows

2009-07-12T03:15:43+00:00

Pressure upon the House of Bishops, that is.

Over in Annaheim TEC’s triennial Genenral Convention is in full swing and the talk has finally got round to the big issues; homosexual behaviour, liturgy to support same-sex marriages, and the response of the Anglican Communion to such moves. Matt tells us what’s been going on…

So it moves forward slowly. The real question is whether the House of Bishops can be persuaded to move as quickly as the House of Deputies want them to move. Perhaps what will aid that movement is some well-structured motions and resolutions.

Over at the House of Bishops Matt tells us how those Bishops are dealing with it all and, in particular, how they’re feeling about this resolution B012 ...

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That this 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church acknowledge the pastoral concerns facing those dioceses in states civil jurisdictions where the civil marriage of same gender couples is legal; and be it further

Resolved, That in those dioceses, under the direction of the bishop, generous discretion in interpretation of The Book of Common Prayer is extended to clergy in the exercise of their pastoral ministry in order to permit the adaptation of the Pastoral Offices for The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage and The Blessing of a Civil Marriage for use with all couples who seek the church’s support and God’s blessing in their marriages; and be it further

Resolved, That in order to build a body of experience for the benefit of the church, each bishop in those dioceses where this pastoral practice is exercised provide an annual written report on their experience to the House of Bishops each March and to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music for its report to the 77th General Convention.

Episcopal Church General Convention - Will the Dam Burst?

2009-07-11T00:04:26+00:00

The Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC), one of the Anglican provinces in North America, is meeting right now at its triennial General Convention (GC) (OZ and British readers think “General Synod”). It’s a peculiarly American affair with their own sets of procedures and the like.

TEC has been, of course, one of the main reasons that the Anglican Communion is at the crisis point that it currently finds itself. In 2003 the GC voted to approve the consecration as bishop of Gene Robinson, a man openly living in a homosexual relationship. That single action was the catalyst for the mess we find ourselves in today.

Three years ago the Communion was in the middle of a process of trying to sort things out. The Windsor Report was written and some thought TEC might restrain themselves. The final day of GC’06 was incredible. A new Presiding Bishop had been elected - Katherine Jefferts-Schori, probably the most theologically liberal of all the candidates - and both houses (Bishops and Clergy/Lay Deputies) were meeting to decide TEC’s response to the requirements of the Windsor Report and the subsequent Primates’ meetings.

The result was a massive fudge. The bishops, who had a better sense of what was to be lost (for them, at least) effectively coerced the House of Deputies to vote for a non-resolution, B033. It set out a moratorium on certain contentious actions but left no-one happy. In particular the more liberal members of the House of Deputies felt betrayed. They had pushed their liberalising agenda for gay “rights” at the encouragement of those who were now backing off.

And so TEC has lived in tension for 3 years. On the ground things have only moved forward. As a whole there has been a knowing wink given to the radicalisers. But there is also a fear of putting anything down on paper officially. There has been a real discordance between the publically declared position and what parishes and whole dioceses have actually been doing.

And so now GC’09. At Stand Firm we have three people on the ground this year, Greg Griffith, Sarah Hey and Matt Kennedy. We’ll be rolling out reports constantly, particularly from the floor of various committees and debates.

It’s already looking interesting. Here Matt outlines the massive tensions operating within the delegates…

So will the dam burst? I suspect that it might. I suspect that the autonomous push for theological liberalisation may be just too much for the more institutional bishops to hold back. Bishops who, themselves, are actually in favour of the move but fear the consequences. It could just be that the fact that few of them will see Lambeth 2018 anyway may just make them decide that their successors don’t need to go either.

Watch this space.

Jean Calvin, 500 years old today

2009-07-09T23:55:22+00:00

Today would be Jean Calvin’s 500^th birthday. Calvin has, of course, left a massive legacy over western civilisation, for good and for bad (as some would argue). What can not be denied is the extent of his influence, particularly for us as Anglicans. Calvin had a major influence upon the first generation of Anglican Reformers.

There are, of course, a great number of sites dealing with this anniversary, not least Calvin 500 - A Quincentenary. The UK site, The Theoλogian, has a number of interesting articles that I wanted to bring to your attention.

Calvin and the Gospel
Calvin and Preaching
Calvin’s own hymn!
Calvin on the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper
Calvin and drive-by theology - his doctrine of “union with Christ” and the dangers of misrepresentation.
Calvin and the English Reformation - an old classic by the wonderfully-named Augustus Toplady

It appeared, by the subsequent revisal and reformation of that liturgy, that king Edward, his council, and archbishop Cranmer [or, as Heylyn himself there, for a wonder, vouchsafes to express it, “the godly king, assisted by so wise a council, and such learned prelates’‘] were entirely of Calvin’s mind. Doubtless, those good and great men reformed the first liturgy, more from a conviction of the force of Calvin’s arguments, than from a principle of mere deference to Calvin’s authority.

Mr. Heylyn, however, inclines to the latter supposition: and, by a concession which places Calvin’s authority with the reformers in the most exalted point of view, expressly declares, that “the first liturgy was discontinued, and the second superinduced upon it after this review, to give satisfaction unto Calvin’s cavils; the curiosities of some, and the mistakes of others, of his friends and followers.”

In such esteem was Calvin held at the English court, that Bucer (though invited hither by the king himself, and the archbishop of Canterbury) would not, on his arrival here, wait on the lord protector, till he had obtained, from Calvin, letters of introduction and recommendation to that personage. “Of this,” says Heylyn, viz. of the state of religion in England, “he (i.e. Bucer,) gives account to Calvin; and desires some letters from him to the lord protector, that he might find the greater favour, when he came before him: which was not till the tumults of the time were composed and quieted.”

Unangry

2009-07-09T11:26:13+00:00

The Prophet is starting up a Sunday evening congregation in the Sydney CBD. More power to him.

Here’s how he set out his criteria for the sort of people he’s looking for:

You will need to be first Christ’s. And then keen, humble , unangry, and passionate to see the lost won and the city transformed.

Unangry.

I love that. Too many people are somewhere because it is unlike the place they don’t want to be. It’s a negative reason to be anywhere and it brings the negativity with you. It’s the opposite of forgiveness.

Perhaps more on this later.

Logos Premium Bible Giveaway!

2009-07-08T03:11:29+00:00

More free stuff!

Logos are giving away tons of high quality Bibles! Here’s the details from their website:

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.