WEEKLY ARTICLE

Decision 2006: Facing the Crisis in the Church

Weekly Article by the Rev. Matt Kennedy
January 5th, 2006
The Church of the Good Shepherd

Many years ago in Babylon , King Nebuchadnezzar commissioned a large, gold plaited, statue or image of a god. After work on the statue was completed, Nebuchadnezzar published an edict.

The edict commanded every subject of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom to bow down and worship in the direction of the golden image whenever and wherever the sound of musical instruments could be heard.

The edict included a warning that all who did not obey this command would be thrown into a heated furnace and burned alive.

There were among the Israelite exiles in Babylon three devout men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

They knew that obeying King Nebuchadnezzar's edict would mean disobeying the Word of God. “And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ‘You shall have no other gods before me.'” (Exodus 20:1-3)

So, when the music played they remained standing. They did not worship the golden image.

When the king heard of their defiance he had them arrested and brought before his throne to be judged.

He gave them the following ultimatum:

"Is it true…that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of…music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" (Daniel 3:14-15)

If I were in their position I would find this an incredibly tempting offer. All I would have to do is bow, say a quick prayer, and I'd be free. Why not compromise and avoid the furnace?

But read Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's reply:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

These men stood firm.

If you have read the story, you know that God intervened and preserved their lives, rescuing them from the fire of the furnace.

But even if he had not, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to die rather than relinquish their faith.

The bible is filled with accounts of devout men women suffering trials and persecutions on account of their faith in God and obedience to his Word.

Through these stories we see that following the Lord sometimes means being willing to lose wealth, position, prestige, property, friends, health, and life itself.

While this may be easy to grasp in the abstract, the reality of it is, I'm certain, much more difficult.

It was hard for Peter. When Jesus told his disciples that he was not going to Jerusalem to take the city away from the Romans and establish an independent Jewish nation, but that he was going instead to die on a cross. Peter objected “Never!”

But Jesus said, “"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:34-36)

This year could, unfortunately, mark the end of the Episcopal Church as we know it.

It might also be the year we are called to take up the cross.

Not necessarily a cheery way to begin the first weekly article of 2006, but I want to be as clear as possible with you about the challenges set before us.

This year Good Shepherd will face testing, trial, and risk great loss on account of our faith in Christ and obedience to his Word.

Through it all, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we must stand firm, stand together, and not relinquish our faith.

Most of you already know about the events that have unfolded in the Episcopal Church since 2003, but for the sake of our new members and some who are just now beginning to look into these matters, let me provide a brief recap. If you are already familiar with what has transpired you may wish to skip down to my concluding comments.

Background:

In 1998, the Lambeth Conference, a conference of Anglican bishops from all over the world that meets once every ten years, passed a resolution (1.10) recognizing that homosexual behavior is a sin because it represents a clear violation of the sexual norms revealed in God‘s Word.

This is nothing new. The Church as a whole; Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant, has recognized homosexual behavior as sinful from the very beginning since it is clearly defined as such in both the Old and the New Testaments (Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:18-32; 1 st Corinthians 6:9...the list goes on).

Why pass a resolution about something the bible teaches so consistently and clearly?

Good question.

But the Church is often led to articulate biblical teachings clearly in the face of contemporary challenges. In the early centuries of the Church, false teachers rose up who questioned both the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ and distorted the nature of the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In response to these challenges the Church returned to the scriptures and produced the Nicene, Apostles, and Athanasian Creeds we recite today.

The Creeds are simply reaffirmations and re-articulations of what is taught in the scriptures.

In the same way, there were in 1998 as there are today, those who deny that the bible is God's infallible Word; that, as such, it holds primary authority in the Church; and that its teachings with regard to human sexuality remain authoritative and relevant.

In the face of these challenges, Lambeth Resolution 1.10 reaffirmed and rearticulated the timeless and clear biblical teaching that homosexual behavior is a sin.

Nevertheless, in 2003, The Very Rev. Gene Robinson, a man living in an active sexual relationship with another man, was elected bishop of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church (the US branch of the Anglican Communion). Because his election took place within six months of the 2003 General Convention, the canons of the Church required that it be confirmed by vote on the Convention floor.

At Convention his election was confirmed by the majority of American bishops and delegates including our bishop, bishop Adams, and the majority of our diocesan delegates.

Bishop Robinson was consecrated bishop in November of 2003 over the express objection of the Anglican primates who issued a letter in October of the same year pleading with the Episcopal Church not to proceed because the consecration would tear the very fabric of the Communion.

Following the consecration, the primates of the Anglican Communion commissioned a one year study on how best to respond when a member church unilaterally acts in direct contradiction to the express will and teaching of the communion as a whole.

The resulting report, called the Windsor Report, was subsequently received and approved by the primates of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Anglican Consultative Council.

The Windsor Report asks the Episcopal Church to place a moratorium on any future consecrations of people living in homosexual relationships; to put a stop to public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions; and to express regret for breaking the bonds of communion by violating the teaching of the Church.

The Windsor Report identified the next General Convention of the Episcopal Church (which meets this year, 2006, in June) as the primary venue for signaling compliance to these requirements.

Until then, the Episcopal Church has been suspended from the Communion. The primates, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, asked the Episcopal Church to remove its delegates from the Anglican Consultative Council, the primary administrative body of the Communion and the only international Communion body scheduled to meet before the 2006 US General Convention.

So the Episcopal Church has been given a very clear choice: either comply with Communion (and biblical) teaching and accept the requirements of the Windsor Report at General Convention 2006 or choose to disassociate from the Anglican Communion.

Most observers on all sides expect some sort of half-measure to pass through Convention that will neither satisfy the requirements of the Windsor Report nor the biblical mandate.

If indeed that is the result, the Episcopal Church will have cut itself off not only from the Anglican Communion, but from all of Christendom as well.

But There is Hope

The Anglican Communion Network is a network of diocese and parishes that have banded together to remain faithful to God's Word and faithful to the teaching of the Anglican Communion.

The Church of the Good Shepherd joined the Anglican Communion Network in 2004. We have pledged to remain true to Jesus Christ, true to the Word of God, and true to the teachings of the Church.

The Challenge of 2006

If, as is expected, the majority at General Convention votes to reject the Windsor Report either by passing a half-measure or rejecting it outright, all people, parishes, and diocese in the Episcopal Church will be forced into a very difficult position.

The Network will remain aligned with the majority of the Anglican Communion but the rest of the Episcopal Church will not.

Network parishes like ours in non-Network diocese like ours will need to make a decision.

Do we stand firm, remain in the Network and the Anglican Communion and risk persecution and the loss of property, assets, etc?

Or do we choose to compromise and follow the decisions of the General Convention?

On one hand there is the cross of Christ. There is sacrifice, trial, and tribulation.

On the other hand there is a superficial peace.

I hate to put it so starkly, but that is the truth.

Some things you need to know

1. Anne and I will never compromise the Word of God. After having discussed it together and spent many hours in prayer, we are prepared to give up everything we have rather than relinquish our faith and break our vows to uphold God‘s Word. We will not change our minds.

2. You need to know that if you choose to stand firm, we will stay and stand with you no matter what happens and serve and suffer with you throughout. We will not leave you.

3. We love you very much. You have become our family. More than that, you have become a strong people; ever more rooted in the Word of God and faithful to Jesus Christ. We are confident in your courage and faith and would count it an honor to stand with you through this struggle.

4. But, ultimately, our confidence must lie in Christ alone; his protection, provision, and promises. He is our fortress and our foundation and he will be our deliverer.

While we face a year of challenges and tough decisions, I know that God has a plan for Good Shepherd; that if we submit our future, our fortune, and our fate to him, his loving hand will guide us through the coming storm into a safe harbor.

Think of where we have been together and how much we have been blessed and grown despite the various crises of the past three years.

Through it all, God has delivered and provided.

I have no doubt our future will be even better so long as we stay rooted, grounded, and unmoved in our commitment to stand firm in the faith and true to our Lord Jesus Christ.

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