In Depth:  Andy Lines

Andy Lines

What are the ‘primary issues’, the essentials of the faith around which we unite as Christians; and what issues are ‘secondary’, or ‘adiaphora’? What do we do when sharp disagreements over these matters which, in theory, are seen as ‘indifferent’ compared to salvation, spill over into personal animosity and division?

Five years ago, colleagues and I began the project of forming a new church movement, Anglican in heritage, church order and global affiliation, but intentionally confessional and not aligned to Canterbury. At an initial meeting people from different backgrounds met to talk about the way forward. All were committed to the same understanding of the Bible’s authority and the same gospel; all had shown courage – in standing against revisionism in the official denomination; and in pioneering enterprise by church planting outside it. But it soon became clear that major divisions existed. Some agreed in theory that issues such as ordination of women, charismatic gifts, worship styles and administrative authority structures are ‘secondary’ or even ‘adiaphora’, but in practice they couldn’t see themselves part of the same church grouping as those who held different views.

Andy Lines

Bishops are supposed to be pastors and guardians of the Christian faith, teaching truth and refuting error, winsomely and compellingly if possible; by applying discipline if necessary.

They should be examples of godly character, leading people in worship and mission, selecting, training and ordaining clergy, promoting unity, and managing essential administration for a group of churches over a wide area.

Andy Lines

The global shape of the Christian church has seen a paradigm shift in recent years. Churches in the global south, originally planted with much sacrifice by missionaries in partnership with early indigenous converts, have multiplied exponentially. In contrast, Christian affiliation and influence and church attendance in the formerly Christian global north and west continues to decline rapidly.

In the more economically developed countries, mainline historic denominations have seen catastrophic collapse in attendance, despite retaining economic assets, while newer churches are holding their own or growing slightly. There is an undeniable close link between this decline and failure to hold on to and communicate the apostolic gospel.

Andy Lines

‘Ven. Ifeanyi Akunna asks for prayer as students travel back to the Abuja Diocesan Training College (Nigeria) for the beginning of term. The roads can be very dangerous, with armed robbers and kidnappers. Pray for divine protection.’

This was the featured prayer request on the GAFCON website for 8 January 2024. This section of the site– found at gafcon.org/ prayer – is a particularly helpful resource, especially for many Anglicans living in the UK. It opens our eyes and hearts to needs in different parts of the world, and provides a challenge to us by illustrating problems faced by fellow Christians which most of us in the affluent and comfortable West would find intolerable.

Andy Lines

As evangelicals in the Church of England are asking searching questions about strategies for continued participation in the denomination, it is more important than ever that those who hold to the authority of Scripture and seek to be obedient to Christ look in informed and honest ways about the pros and cons of being Anglican.

Problems with Anglicanism?

We can begin by hearing and answering criticisms from evangelicals outside Anglicanism: that there is too much attachment to, and dependence on, inherited resources such as buildings, and central investments funding ministry salaries and pensions. Historic close association with the ruling establishment means that it is difficult to challenge contemporary values and trends of the culture. Liberal theology has taken deep root over decades, so that evangelicals are in a minority, and Anglicanism is generally believed to be broad and tolerant, able to incorporate a wide variety of viewpoints, sometimes inherently contradictory.

Andy Lines

When the first GAFCON gathering was held in 2008 in Jerusalem, the delegates agreed that this historic conference, bringing together Bible -believing Anglicans from around the world, should not just be a moment, but a movement, wonderfully diverse, with a vision to bring together the faithful from this historic denomination to proclaim Christ to the nations.

And so the Global Anglican Future Conference, GAFCON, has been held every five years, most recently in Kigali, Rwanda, where I was privileged to attend along with around 140 others from Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe in a total gathering of 1,300. The GAFCON movement has been growing and developing since its inception. What are some of its chief characteristics which distinguish it from several of our familiar UK-based evangelical networks and mission organisations?