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ACL News March 2001 Bible, There Are Also Unusual Signs New A.C.L. NEWS Newsletter of the Anglican Church League www.acl.asn.au March 2001 Build on the past, seize this moment, create the future At the ACL’s annual Synod Dinner in October, more than 200 Synod members packed the Town Hall Food Court to hear Dr. Peter Jensen, Principal of Moore Theological College give the address. In response to many requests for copies, we are printing the full text in this issue of ACL News. The critical moment of my Leaders such as Archbishop My theme is that we must, or we life was the 1959 Billy Mowll, Bishop Clive Kerle and will fail God, his people and our Graham Crusade. Bishop Marcus Loane disregarded nation. criticism by other Anglicans and Two things happened. First, I welcomed the Graham team. became a definite, committed, Around the country, some other Who we were evangelical Christian, living for Anglican leaders were half hearted the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a critical moment for the or outright critical of Mr Diocese. Let me explain who we Second, a challenge from Mr Graham, his methods and his were, so we can see who we are, Graham led me to the ministry message. Our own leaders were and who we should be. of God’s word. clear, supportive and involved. We praise God for them. Being from The 1950s saw large church and I was sixteen. I did not know it at Sydney, they were used to such Sunday School attendances. The the time, but, humanly speaking, criticism, and they made exactly churches seemed to be flourish- the Diocese of Sydney was basic the right choice. ing. But an acute observer would to the success of the Crusade. have been very worried even then. They, in their generation, put the Many Anglicans of the day Bible and the Gospel of the Lord The Christianity of the people scorned and even attacked the Jesus first. My question tonight was not evangelical. It was a sort so-called fundamentalist, Billy is: are we going to do the same of ‘common Christianity’, a Graham. in our generation? ‘lowest common denominator’ Their materialism was no defence, society, but in an ignorant and Christianity. It had a strong as our society mocked God open- rebellious culture. Genuine Chris- moral emphasis; Christianity was ly and embraced public blasphe- tianity offends the opinion- about behaviour not belief; par- my, promiscuity, abortion and makers of this culture. We must ents sent their children to Sunday drugs. The twin ideologies of the expect the culture to demand School in the hope that they gay and feminist movements, not that we change the gospel to suit would grow up decent citizens to mention greed for money, its version of the truth. rather than committed Christians. became far more important in To be born once was enough; to shaping society than the teaching How have we survived the be born again was excessive. The of the Bible. The young were hon- cyclone so far? ranks of church-goers were swol- est and turned the indifference of In general terms, the mainstream len with the unsaved. The real their parents into clear rejection Christian movement in Australia religion was materialism. of the gospel. has not survived all that well. Its Naturally, there were many fine, constituency is aging; its numbers born-again Christians in the are in significant decline; what it churches. But the evangelistic Where we are stands for is a mystery to most of its fellow citizens; ordinands are strategy matched the need of the The promise of personal autono- moment: it was therefore aimed at fewer and older than ever before; my fuelled the rebellion against the missionary spirit is in neu- nominal Christians, the church- God. We are now living through going unsaved; the nominal tral; we are selling the assets left the equivalent of a spiritual to us by earlier generations of uncommitted. It had its successes, cyclone, a cyclone of a far greater but the next decade saw a massive Christians. These are the outward intensity than Cyclone Tracy, the and visible signs of decay. change. This sort of evangelism destroyer of Darwin. Do not be was about to lose its audience. The culture has offered to smooth the pillow of a dying church. If we promise not to be missionary, not to believe in the “To be born once was enough; to wrath of God, not to say that the Lord Jesus is the only way to be born again was excessive. God, not to order our lives according to God’s will, not to preach biblical ethics, not to The ranks of church-goers were oppose the gambling, materialis- tic ethos which surrounds us – swollen with the unsaved. The then we may come in from the cold, we may be accepted back real religion was materialism.” into polite society. To this pressure, many Christians have capitulated; indeed whole churches have capitulated. They In the 1960s, Australia awoke to alarmed or surprised if your have become captive to culture, the fact that it was non-Christian. church is tiny and struggling, if rather than captive to the word The moralistic ‘common Chris- the vast majority of the people of God. tianity’ was shown to be empty around you are indifferent to spir- and even hypocritical. In one itual truths, if it has proved Let me focus on the Diocese of decade – that is all it took – nomi- immensely hard to pass on your Sydney. nalism was dealt a death blow, faith to your children, if the We are not exempt. No doubt we and the churches began to lose media are hostile to your leaders have compromised; certainly we their constituency. and to your faith. have suffered; we have also re- Those who were born once had All this, is what we must expect sponded inappropriately. But, as no answer to the massive assault and get used to. We are not living with other churches who have on Christian belief and practice. in an even nominal Christian taken their stand on gospel and 2 ACL News March 2001 Bible, there are also unusual signs new. I can show you the same of hope and progress. criticisms being made in the 1880s, 1904, 1933, 1958 and so We can actually see progress be- on. This is because the Diocese of “I can show you ing made under the good hand Sydney throughout its long of God. We should recognise that history has virtually always stood the mere fact that we exist at all, for gospel and Bible first, and the same criticisms and that most of our churches other church people, let alone the are self supporting even if small, world, do not like it. They did is a miracle of God-given tough not like Billy Graham; they have being made in the mindedness. Gloom is out of never liked Moore College. But order: we believe in a sovereign these are the concrete manifesta- God. In this spiritual cyclone, tions of gospel and Bible. survival is good news; progress is 1880s, 1904, 1933, better. Third, the criticisms are often ignorant of Anglican history. But this progress is no accident: 1958 it has stemmed from a commit- Fourth, we should respond gra- ment to Bible and gospel, and it ciously and winsomely. has been the consequence of will- and so on. Rather than being frightened or ingness to engage in change, and dismayed, therefore, let us under- thoughtful planning for the stand our own history and be future. This is because the true to our principles. I am say- ing that we have a history, one marked by a determination to be Diocese of Sydney true to Bible and gospel. As a result, we have also been willing to change and engage in strategic throughout its long thinking about how to survive and grow for the sake of Christ. history has For example, let us note four points about the strategy (out of the very many) which have kept virtually always us going. First – the evangelism of the nominals in the fifties and stood for gospel “Leaders such as Archbishop Mowll sixties. (pictured), Bishop Clive Kerle and and Bible first, and Bishop Marcus Loane disregarded Thank God this was done. It criticism by other Anglicans and meant that there was vigorous welcomed the Graham team.” church planting, and a good number of converted people to other church How do we cope with the pretty witness for Christ in the next dec- strong criticism that we some- ades. During these decades the people, let alone times receive? nominals flooded out, making our churches seem small; but Let me make a few points. smaller had advantages in strength and determination. We the world, First, sometimes we are being older converts have been very condemned for our true faults active in the community, in the and there are always things to re- do not like it.” schools and in the churches since pent of and amend. the 1950s, and we promise to Second, the criticism is nothing keep it up in the various nursing ACL News March 2001 3 homes to which we shall shortly be consigned! “The church is the local congregation; But the danger is that, in late the real action takes place in the middle age, we will fail the gospel by being too conservative for the parish, not head office. needs of this hour. Second – the pioneering of However important the Diocese, the new ways of evangelism and nurture in the 70s. episcopacy and the liturgy (and all People like John Chapman, Dud- are important), they exist to serve ley Foord and Paul Barnett saw that evangelism would have to change; they worked very hard at the congregation and not the other re-equipping us.
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