NEAC 2008: an Evangelical Dutch Report

NEAC 2008:

a Evangelical Dutch Report

by Wim Houtman

pre-published, with permission, from Nederlands Dagblad, 17 November 2008

“This morning was good: an atmosphere of reflection and unity. But this afternoon things went wrong.” Bishop Keith Sinclair of Birkenhead, speaker on a conference of evangelicals within the Church of England on Saturday, could not say whether he was surprised by the outcome. “I didn’t know what to expect.” What’s for sure is that the meeting ended in a slight chaos, and defeat for the leadership of the organizers, the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC).

Those who took part had been expecting a day of talking – ‘consultation’, was the official phrase – but on entry they were greeted to their surprise by the sight of a draft resolution on their seats (and not even all of them). It expressed support for one specific – let’s call it the ‘right wing’ – line in seeking a way out of the crisis in the Anglican Church.

Part of the audience, which were given the floor in the afternoon, were unhappy with that. Critical speakers formed a neat and quiet line – they remained English, after all. “This motion is being forced on us”, one said. “This will only deepen division”, said another. But Richard Turnbull, the CEEC chair, refused to withdraw the resolution.

Then somebody tabled a motion from the floor calling for the resolution not to be put. This was carried, by raising of hands, with 123 in favour and 104 against. Which, in itself, did not exactly produce a picture of unity either.

What was it all about? The Anglican Communion has verged on the brink of a schism for five years now. In 2003 a bishop in a homosexual relationship whas ordained in the American sister church. At the same time, several American and Canadian dioceses gave the nod to the blessing of same-sex relationships.

This provoked fierce protest especially from African Churches. Attempts by the official so-called Instruments of Unity to call the Americans and Canadians back into line got stranded in unwillingness and bureaucracy, the Africans felt. In June they held a conference in Jerusalem, where they founded a ‘Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans’, with its own Primates Council. They also formulated a basis of faith in fourteen points, called the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’.

All of this has delighted conservative evangelicals within the Church of England. But other orthodox groups are willing to go several extra miles along the official Church route; they are not prepared to give way to liberalism by – as they perceive the line of the conservative ‘Fellowship’ to be – retreating strongholds of their own.

Saturday’s draft resolution now suggested that English evangelicals endorse the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’. That in itself contains very little which evangelicals, whatever their colour, would feel uncomfortable to adhere to. It’s about salvation through Jesus, mission, helping the poor, sexual ethics, Anglican essentials. “I cannot for the life of me understand why an evangelical meeting could not subscribe to this”, Turnbull summed up his feelings. “That would be very sad.”

But critics say that with the Declaration comes the entire context of that conference in Jerusalem, which in effect turned its back on the rest of the Anglican Communion preferring its own basis of faith and Church leadership.

Temperatures soared at some moments last Saturday. “If you don’t want a vote, fine”, said Turnbull from the chair. “In that case the Church of England Evangelical Council will take its own decision.” From the audience: “Then why consult us?” Turnbull: “I would appreciate if you did not interrupt me.” Someone else in the audience: “Depends what you say.”

There were other speakers who pleaded for the resolution. One reason given was to support beleaguered American and Canadian churches and dioceses. Four dioceses have left the US Episcopal Church, as have tens of congregations in the US and Canada. Some of them are being persecuted by their Church leadership with court cases around Church property and the defrocking of their clergy.

“Those churches are living in the wilderness”, said one congress-goer. “ ‘Jerusalem’ has given them a feeling that they belonged again. In the Jerusalem Declaration they recognize their ordinary orthodox faith, and the African Church leaders provide them with oversight. Let us support them by endorsing that declaration, too.”

But the majority wouldn’t have that. In spite of pleas for unity, mistrust and resentment appeared to run deep. ‘Off the record’ reproaches were being exchanged. Critics of the resolution said the CEEC leadership were deploying surprise assault tactics, to press through the conservative line. One supporter of the resolution said, while packing up after the conference had ended, that he felt the outcome had been ‘engineered’ by the critics.

According to Turnbull, the Church of England Evangelical Council will now take its own vote on the resolution. That will not mean a split away from the Church of England, but it does mean the right of orthodox churches to break away from their liberal bishops.

That will result in chaos, conference-goers said: it will enable liberal churches to step out of an evangelical diocese, to realign with the American Church for example – and chaos in England will be complete. “That would be disastrous to the opportunities for the gospel here”, Bishop Keith Sinclair said. He is hoping that CEEC will take a decision that reflects a broader perspective of parties that strive for Anglican unity on the basis of the truth of the gospel.

In the morning, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali of Rochester had called the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans “a movement under God”. “God is always providing movements when the Church needs them: the missionary movements of the nineteenth century, the charismatic movement in the last century, and now this movement which is calling the Church to remain faithful to the gospel.”

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Wim Houtman is Religion Editor of Nederlands Dagblad the evangelical daily newspaper in the Netherlands, [email protected]