 News Analysis African bishops meddling in America? By Paul Heidebrecht Special to The Layman Online Thursday, November 8, 2007 It was a most unusual worship service. Almost 2,000 people filled the chapel of Wheaton College on Sept. 23. Twenty churches from the Midwest sponsored or participated in the service. These churches were composed of evangelical Anglicans, many of whom had departed the U.S. Episcopal Church in recent years. Solemn liturgical worship blended with joyful singing and even dancing.
Outside the chapel, a small contingent of gay and lesbian activists from the Episcopal Church protested, calling the archbishop a bigot who preaches hate. Actually, Akinola preached about submitting to the authority of the Word of God and the transforming power of the Gospel. On this basis, he and other African and Asian bishops have called upon the Episcopal Church to stop ordaining practicing homosexuals and blessing same-sex unions. If not, African Anglicans will break their ties with the American (and Canadian) church, something that the archbishop of Canterbury is desperate to prevent. Akinola's stand for the purity of the church is earning him the reputation of causing a split in the worldwide Anglican Communion. He seems able to endure these attacks. Back home in Nigeria, he finds himself in the middle of violent clashes between Muslims and Christians, as well as political turmoil and corruption. Some leaders have no choice but to be bold and courageous. (For an insightful commentary on Akinola by Philip Jenkins that helps explain why Akinola is such a forceful critic of the Episcopal Church, visit Virtue Online.) The bishop of the Chicago diocese complained that Akinola had not informed him of this visit and that Akinola should not be stirring up unrest in the diocese by associating with malcontents. (It's hard not to see the irony of Americans complaining about interference and meddling by outsiders when we have a long history of interfering and meddling around the world.) Of course, proper protocol was not the real issue. The fact is that, from Akinola's point of view (and all those attending the service), the Episcopal Church has gone astray. The Gospel and the Word of God have been sacrificed to the prevailing secular culture. The leaders of the Episcopal Church are becoming like false teachers. This is an extremely serious charge, but it is being made by Africans against the Western church whose missionaries brought the Gospel to Africa. Of course, many in the Episcopal Church are incensed by the gall of the African bishops, but they should be even more concerned if the African bishops are right. How do we know when a particular branch of the church, or a denomination, has gone astray? At what point does truth and obedience trump unity? American evangelicals have a poor track record answering these questions. Too often, we have divided over non-essential doctrines and secondary cultural issues and acted as if our denomination or fellowship is the true church and everyone else is misguided. But we can learn from our mistakes. If I were a Catholic, I would not have a problem. The Word of God is authoritatively interpreted by the Church hierarchy and the true church is the institutional church no matter how much it fails or compromises. But I am a Protestant. I believe the church can always be judged and held accountable to the Scriptures even by an ordinary lay person. I also believe the church is the community of God's redeemed people and cannot be confined to any of the institutional structures we create. We are always free to leave those structures and create new ones. But the privilege of walking out and leaving behind a denomination or communion or even a local church has obligations. Humility is the most important one. We might be wrong in our judgment. Our past witnesses to that. Even if we are right in our judgment, we may not be loving to those opposed to us and so we negate the rightness of our stand. We can only depart with tears and prayers. And if we believe the church is more than its institutional structures, we must be willing to sacrifice the structures we cherish – land, buildings, programs, traditions. Let those who cling to their institutions have them. Put the Kingdom first and, as Jesus said, all the rest will be given to you as you need it. Watching historic denominations collapse because they have failed to remain faithful to the Word of God and to the Great Commission is not pleasant. But there is something deeply soul-stirring about the movement of the Holy Spirit to regenerate the church and break through all the barriers our disobedience and weak faith have erected. It would appear that people like Peter Akinola may be the agents the Spirit is using to both break down and rebuild. We will witness many strange events in this century, but one will certainly be the African church coming to the spiritual rescue of its former colonial masters and its missionary mentors. Dr. Paul Heidebrecht is the executive director of Christian Leaders for Africa. |
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