Recently I was shocked to read an email my parents forwarded me: a pastoral letter from Chip Edgar, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, Recently I was shocked to read an email my parents forwarded me: a pastoral letter from Chip Edgar, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, addressing a kerfuffle at this year's Mere Anglicanism conference. Edgar's response essentially amounted to a takedown of the patriarchy, and I was inwardly fist-pumping. The context for his email was an explosion of prejudice from Calvin Robinson, a speaker at the conference. Over the past couple weeks, I've been elated to see more ACNA bishops speak out. I am so thankful for the moral leadership of these men, who, in rebuking patriarchy – or, at minimum, the bad behavior of a priest supporting it – took a stand befitting the love to which Christ compels us.
(RNS) If you ask the Rev. Shawn McCain Tirres, the story of Resurrection Anglican Church is much more about a local church than denominational politics.
A congregation of the Anglican Church in North America, a theologically conservative denomination comprised mainly of former Episcopal Church congregations, has voted to pursue affiliation with The Episcopal Church.
One of the most popular and thoughtful evangelical bloggers on the web, Scot McKnight discusses theology and current events in conversation with others.
Never may the theological and the pastoral be separated.
I know, never say never. But the above stated rule is an exception. Why? Theology is inherently pastoral, and the pastoral is by definition theological.
The recent upheaval within the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) about “gay Anglicans” stems from ignoring this rule. It was sadly unnecessary, for recent history is strewn with ecclesial examples of exactly the same thing. Invariably, the path to a liberal sexual ethic begins with the argument: “We know the theology. But let’s be pastoral about this.”
The “but” is the problem. It’s just not the case that theology is hard-nosed theory, while concrete circumstances demand gentle pastoral implementation. On such a view, the pastoral tail invariably ends up wagging the theological dog, and the theology gets adjusted to the pastoral setting. The outcome, in terms of sexual morality, is invariably the same.