Elder brother in the fight urges 'keep the main thing, the main thing' By Paula R. Kincaid The Layman Online Monday, July 24, 2006 TULSA – "I want to speak to you about keeping the main thing the main thing," Robert Duncan, bishop of Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, told those gathered at the New Wineskins Convocation. Calling himself "an elder brother in the fight," Duncan made 14 points under four headings – faith, the system, holiness, the mission – that he said were "crucially important as the Lord calls you in this battle." The faith "Our commitment is to the faith once delivered to the saints and to that faith without compromise," was Duncan's first point. "It is the whole of the faith, for the whole world and it's got to be without compromise and it must be spoken in love." His second point: "We offer a Savior who is actually capable of saving." Duncan said that people are looking for a Savior who can heal the sick and cast out demons. "We can't give the people anything less than that Savior. We just can't. … and in this battle in which we find ourselves, it is that Savior's power that is going to get us through." "It is time to accept the allies that the Lord gives us," was Duncan's third point. He said denominations need to let go of the old boundaries, like whose baptism is valid. He said the heroes for the Episcopal Church (USA) have been the archbishops of Uganda, Southeast Asia, Rowanda and the Southern Cone of the Americans – not the heroes of the past, and "not with skin that looks like mine." He mentioned the Apostles' Creed and how the church needs to live into the belief about "the church catholic and as the whole affirmation of the creed – one catholic church." The system "Our inherited systems are not nearly big enough," he said. The Episcopal Church does not have a court system, because "no one ever imagined that anyone would use anything other than the Bible as the court of appeal." "So what will emerge?" he asked. "For a lot of us that means thinking creatively, thinking humbly and sometimes coloring outside the lines. … the old wineskins won't hold. They aren't big enough." His second point under the system is that there are "a lot of wolves that come in in sheep's clothing. … There are those who offered a third way. They have the substance of the faith but are not acting on it." There is so much heartbreak and disappointment, he said. "Some days you have to grieve, have to weep. What has happened to our church is tragic." "It is also true that the way in which we will get through all of this is through prayer which carries us beyond what we can do," he said. "It's the only way through this, the only way past where we are." He said the answer was not in the system or in us, but the "answer is in the Lord's hands, and if we go before him, it will be resolved." Holiness Like Paul, who called himself the least of the apostles, Duncan said, "Unless I believe I am the greatest sinner, I'm not going to be great at leading, because I will be looking for someone else to blame." "We didn't speak up. We didn't act, didn't do what we should have done," he said. It was what "we didn't do that got us into this mess. … There's no point at looking at someone else. I'm as much as part of the problem as my presiding bishop is. I'm going to repent." "Holiness is at the very center of the mess we are in, and unless we understand that, Reformation will never come." His second point under holiness, was that "we keep no score of wrongs." Duncan said people are at different places in the spectrum as their beloved church falls apart. "Some folks are way ahead and some way behind," he said, adding that the church "needs humble leaders that when they get kicked are willing to be kicked again." He asked that everyone assume those who have made commitments are trying to do the best they can do, and if "they get there before you or after you, bless them." Personal discipline was his third point under holiness. "If we are not saying out prayers and studying the Scriptures daily," he warned, it won't work. "I suggest to you that we need to be a people of courage" was Duncan's fourth point. He quoted a saying, "Courage is fear that has said its prayer." He referred the third chapter of Daniel – the three young men in front of Nebuchadnezzar who said it "may be that our God will save us, but if not we will not bow down. What kind of courage does that take?" he asked. "It is the kind of courage our God will give us if we will ask." Mission "Do the mission no matter how bad it gets," Duncan urged, "Never turn away from mission either locally, nationally or globally," to which there was loud applause. He urged those attending to "practice the stewardship of what has been given to you." He said many people complain about how awful things are that they aren't even responsible for. "You always have stewardship of something the Lord has given to you … spend your time on that and not complaining about what everyone else has failed in." "God chooses places like Pittsburgh and Nazareth because no one else will chose them … He chooses you because no on else would chose you," he said. "Can you imagine what he would do with you if you would give yourself to him?" In matters of church property, he said "You may have been given the five talents, but if you have to surrender them, then do, and get on with the mission. Don't let anything other than the Lord, be your Lord." Duncan said that if we trust the word of the Lord and his promises, "we have nothing to fear … He always reforms his church. He is always victorious."

Respond to this article

Home · Archives · The Layman · PLC Publications Presbyterian Lay Committee · Feedback · Links