A good piece on what is becoming the increasingly chaotic situation in the ACNA. For those with ears to hear, listen and understand.

The College of Bishops bears the responsibility to fix this situation. They have to. They are the only ones who can.

Usually, Anglican polity balances power and decision-making with voices and votes from clergy and laypeople. There is no such counter-balance in the ACNA. Yes, the Province meets in session with delegates, but that gathering is not a venue for robust debate or problem-solving. It seems to me that the Province has yet another item stamped “TBD”: how to share power and authority.

Because there is no College of Clergy or Laity, the ownership of fixing these broader important issues—all of them—rests squarely on the bishops. There is no other group with the authority to act.

And to all the congregations and clergy who believe their activism, petitions, and conventions can sway the direction of the Province, I offer my own version of memento mori: “As you were, I once was; as I am, you will be.” Back in the TEC days, I too organized conferences, gathered petition signatures, and led resistance movements. It was to no avail. These are not rector-level issues. The bishops own these problems, and they need our prayers, God’s timing, and our patience to address them.

I remember years ago a phone call with the late Peter Toon, who told me I was being foolish. As the Rector of one of the largest churches in TEC, I felt it a duty to host seminars, conferences, summits, and write articles about “the issues.” And I did.

But he thought I was being over-responsible and, as he said more than once, foolish. “Bishops,” he said, “are like generals—they love to send their lieutenants (Rectors) into battle to draw fire and test the sentiments of the church.” It’s their problem and only they can fix it. They need to own it.

He wasn’t wrong.

The bishops need to act, and in time they will. They know there is no other group that can address these matters.

In the meantime, the rest of us have work to do.

The mission of the ACNA—though oddly absent from our current website—has long been stated as to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. I’ll admit, I’ve never had a deep love for the wording. I wish it said more.

But the most important part of that sentence, the single greatest word in it, is the first: Reach. That is our calling. And the world is ripe for it right now.

We could quibble over the phrase “transforming love” or how best to describe “the love of Jesus,” but we can all agree that we are in a moment when we must reach people.

Whatever stream your parish swims in, whatever lifeboat you once climbed into, how is your congregation reaching North America?

That is our job—the job of every parish, priest, and layperson. The bishops must clean up the mess we’re in. And they can. And I trust they will.

But our job is to reach.

Read it all.