To whom shall we go?
Jesus’ ministry was not universally accepted. In John 6, Jesus taught about the need for everyone to trust him alone rather than their own fleshly efforts at pleasing God. There was much grumbling as Jesus spoke and at the end of his words, we read that “from this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” (John 6:66) Jesus then turns to his disciples and asks them if they want to leave too. Peter responds for the whole group:
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!
There is no better person to trust in than Jesus. There is no better place to be found than in Jesus' arms. There is no better thing to do than to remain faithful to Jesus.
These realities stand at the centre of GAFCON23, the Global Anglican Future Conference currently underway in Kigali, Rwanda. Nicky and I have the privilege of being here with more than 1300 others from 51 nations who are committed to God’s word, God’s salvation plan in Jesus alone and God’s love for people regardless of tribe, nation, or language.
The Gafcon movement is a global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion. Its mission is to guard the unchanging, transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ and to proclaim Him to the world. It is founded on the Bible, bound together by the Jerusalem Declaration from 2008, and led by a Council representing the majority of the world’s Anglicans.
Gafcon works to guard and proclaim the unchanging, transforming Gospel through biblically faithful preaching and teaching which frees our churches to make disciples by clear and certain witness to Jesus Christ in all the world.
We are gathering this year in the shadow of the now untenable leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He has abandoned the authority of the Bible by providing for and supporting new prayers for the blessing of human relationships that God does not bless. This is a profound tragedy and has created a significant rupture in the Anglican Church globally.
True faith has always been rejected by the world. Remember, even Jesus’ words were rejected and he is the Son of God! So none of this ought to surprise us. But his words are words of eternal life. His words give life to the full. His words save people from hell and in the power of the Spirit bear fruitful lives in service of him.
The fabric of the Anglican Church is torn and irreparable. What happens next will be worth watching as there may be a radical realignment of the whole Anglican Church away from England and towards more faithful leadership.
Now, all that said, it feels very far away from Christ Church St Ives. We are in very little danger of having the Anglican Church in Sydney reject the word of God. Our leaders uphold the Gospel. Our College embraces the truth of God’s written word. So why are we here, a third of the way around the world?
Three reasons:
To support, encourage and pray with those who serve under Bishops and other leaders who have abandoned the authority of the Bible;
To learn the lessons from those who have seen their Bishops abandon faithful biblical leadership in the church; and
To express our partnership as true Anglicans who desire to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus even when the world and parts of the church does not want to hear it.
It is a great privilege to be here and I encourage you to check out what has been happening at gafcon23.org. I’ll have more to say when I get home but for now, let me encourage you to pray for wisdom, fellowship, truth and love in the church across the world.
