Anglican evangelism - isn't that an oxymoron?
Interesting thoughts on Mission in North American Today by the Rev. Dr. Canon Michael Green, theologian, author, and evangelist. Here he gives an overview about evangelism in the U.S., including ECUSA and Anglican efforts. He now heads up the Anglican Communion Network Good News initiative, which promotes evangelism and church planting.
Some excerpts:
The Pentecostals are on the move. They are growing almost everywhere, although the far west is the most stony soil for them as for other denominations. Their passion for lost people, their willingness to sacrifice, their enthusiastic worship, their reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, and their encouragement of initiative in congregational members all combine to produce a healthy, outward looking church which is making big inroads in American Society. . . It is estimated that two out of every five converts in the world these days are either Pentecostal or charismatic.
I come now to evangelism within the Episcopal Church. And I have to confess that this part of my presentation is going to be very short. Because it is almost impossible to speak of Evangelism and the Episcopal Church in the same breath in the USA. . . During the Decade of Evangelism the TEC took no part but instead lost scores of thousands of members.
The church is moving in the direction of an undifferentiated Deism. Belief in the deity of Jesus, an objective atonement and the reality of the resurrection are constantly discounted among influential Episcopalians, while the people in the pew prefer not to enquire too closely. And the PB herself has made it plain that all religions lead to God.
Most of the bodies which have dissociated themselves from TEC have joined the Common Cause, and it may well be that we shall see the new American bishops being sent to look after congregations which have fled to overseas jurisdictions such as Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda coming together if the TEC walks away from the requirements of the Windsor Report in September.[all boldface and italics mine]
Read it all.
You can check out ACN upcoming events at AnglicanEvangelism.org.
(hat tip to Kendall Harmon via Northern Plains Anglicans)

No comments:
Post a Comment