I was asked to speak today at an ecumenical Guild on the subject of a ‘Crisis in Anglicanism’ as part of a day exploring Church and Culture. I’d been invited some time ago, so the irony of the timing coming at the end of the General Synod week was not lost on me.

It was an encouraging event with contributions from ecumenical partners from Catholic Friars to Anabaptists to Anglicans from all sorts of backgrounds – each longing for renewal in the Church.

My talk summary is below

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Firstly a quick word as to why I am here. 

I became an Anglican while studying in 1998, after asking the Lord to destroy the CoE and start again! Within a month He had introduced me to wonderful people: from Sandy Millar at HTB to Graham Kings here in Cambridge and to Datuk Yong Ping Chung the Archbishop of South East Asia who was speaking for Graham at an event and was an inspirational man who I got to spent several hours with. I was then mentored by college chaplain David Goodhew and by retired Bishop Simon Barrington Ward then patron of SOMA UK, the mission agency I am now National Director for and a former General Secretary of CMS a mission agency I am now a trustee for. 

I was ordained in 2004 years later and within two years was on the Standing Committee of the House of Clergy at General Synod. In recent years I have been a chaplain at the London General Synods, attended the Lambeth Conference in 2022 as stallholder, the GAFCON conference in Kigali as a participant and the GSFA conference in CAIRO as one of 9 invited observers. Our teams in the last few months have been in Lebanon, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Egypt and Ireland. 

You may notice the irony on being asked to speak on a crisis in Anglicanism this week of all weeks, and this year of all years, as 25 years on there is still so much in our beloved denomination that simply does not please the Lord. 

10 Crises: 

Global Church

  1. One mother, many god-parents? – we exported more than just Jesus and Cranmer… exported much mess as well – power / prestige / positions / masonic cults / modernism / liberal theology.
  2. Colonialism and post-colonial reaction – ‘mile wide/inch deep’ paternalism and now the counter instinct and desire to overthrow that control. 
  3. Money, money, money – control and undue influence.  

Church of England 

  1. Proximity to power + Fear of losing influence – ‘won’t fall apart on my watch’
  2. Spirit of confusion – when the middle way is not the ‘narrow way’, when words mean little and doublespeak prevails. 
  3. Spirit of the age – drowning the boats built for calm not choppy waters. 

Charismatic Anglicans in the UK

  1. Success culture + Marketing the message – ‘preaching the positives’ truncates message. 
  2. Me, me, me / Now, Now Now – focusing on my felt needs in the here and now. 
  3. Generous ‘agnosticism’ + losing sight of eternity – unite on choruses/courses/conferences ‘milk’ but agnostic about ‘solid food’ and deeper theological essentials

Overall

  1. A loss of the Fear of the Lord (in our liturgy and theology) and thus a loss of true wisdom 

Some solutions

Some of the solutions I would recommend are some that the Guild yourselves are promoting: Prayer, forgiveness, repentance, renewal….  I believe it is a time for those of us who have felt we have power and promise to head into the wilderness: This is a Jacob moment, where in some desperation we need to head apart from our warring household for a time, so that all may not be lost in our family connections. This is a time to build the lifeboats within the larger ship, lifeboats that do not take on water. Lifeboats that do not sink. 

Read more:

yournameislikehoney.com | Richard Moy 

Letters to the Charismatic Church | Healing | Contemporary Church | Success Culture

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