World Methodist Response to the Pope's Resignation

 

It is old news, now, I realize.  Everyone knows that the Pope has resigned, effective 28 February.  However, as I finished the previous post, I thought that it might be good to include on the blog the response made to this news by the World Methodist Council.

I posted a link to this article on my Facebook page, and on the Wesleyan/Anglican Facebook page.  However, I failed to mention it, here.

+Ivan Abrahams

In the article, General Secretary, +Ivan Abrahams recalls his time with Pope Benedict.  Also, the WMC offers prayers for the Pope, the Cardinals as they seek to elect a new Bishop of Rome, and to our sisters and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church.

I would encourage members from all of the World Methodist Council denominations, as well as members of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society and those who read this blog, to join the WMC in these prayers.

Anglican's in Assembly

I have made it a point to post concerning the various Methodist denominations meeting in General Conference this summer.  First was the United Methodist Church.  The Wesleyan Church has just concluded their General Conference, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church will begin their G.C. later this month.

However, I have failed to make any report on the Provincial Assembly 2012 of the Anglican Church in North America.  They began arriving in Ridgecrest, North Carolina this past Sunday, and they are scheduled to continue through tomorrow, Saturday, June 9.

For those who may be interested in ACNA happenings, news of the Assembly can be found, here.

Archbishop Robert Duncan's State of the Church Address can be read, here.

One disappointing note is that,  especially with the transition of former AMiA churches into the ACNA, they have had difficulty coming up with any accurate statistical information.  Another disappointing note is that there does not seem to be any word on the newly developed (or developing) Eucharistic services.  I don't recall if these were expected to be approved at this Assembly, or just prior to it, or if the approval had been expected next month.  (I suppose I could go back an read one of my earlier articles to find out!)

Nevertheless, despite these slight notes of disappointment from the perspective of this "outsider," it seems that God is at work in the ACNA!  For this we give praise to our Lord!

I am especially excited to watch two aspects of the ACNA's activities unfold.  First is their effort in church planting.  It is exciting to learn how they go about planting a church in the Anglican tradition.  While, certainly, there are those among them who plant churches that really don't look Anglican, there are others who plant churches that do look very Anglican.  It seems that the latter must, to some degree, work against what has become the dominant "church growth" model that makes cultural relevance the primary determinant for worship.  I am very interested in learning more about how they go about planting Anglican churches.

The second exciting thing for me is how involved the ACNA is with ecumenical dialogue partners.  This seems unusual for such a new church, yet their dialogue partners have tended to seek them out.  -  I would love for the Church of the Nazarene to seek to dialogue with the ACNA.  I do think that we have much to contribute, and, certainly, we could learn much about our Wesleyan/Anglican liturgical and sacramental heritage.  My concern, I suppose, is that we are really not used to such ecumenical dialogues.  We are used to cooperation with other Wesleyans, and we are members of the National Association of Evangelicals, but one-on-one ecumenical dialogues with those outside of our immediate tradition seems to be a bit new to us.  Still, I think it would be a great move.

According to ++Duncan's address, a new catechism is in development.  I look forward to seeing the finished product.  I also look forward to seeing how the groups that make up the ACNA solidify as one church, rather than just a federation of churches.  I did not find any word on how they are coming concerning the one divisive issue among them, viz., women's ordination (a topic recently discussed in other articles on this blog).

For those who would prefer to watch ++Duncan's State of the Church Address, rather than read it, the video has been provided, below.  -  May God's guidance and blessings be upon the ACNA!

Wesleyan General Conference (Updated)

The original article is posted, below.  However, the vote on the One General Superintendent Model has been cast.  The General Conference has passed the model 61% to 39%.

They have also suspended the rule concerning the election of an incumbent, so as to have an open ballot when they come to elect the person who will be the one general superintendent.

The original article follows:

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The Wesleyan Church is currently (until June 6) meeting in General Conference.  -  The schedule for the Conference can be viewed, here.

As of the typing of this post, the Wesleyan G.C. is currently debating the move to a single general superintendent structure.  The Conference can be viewed live, here.

Let us be in prayer for our sisters and brothers as they meet in Conference.

Holiness Leaders Form New Global Wesleyan Alliance!

The Wesleyan Church has reported that on December 2-3, 2011, leaders of the Church of the Nazarene, The Wesleyan Church, Free Methodist Church USA, Church of God (Anderson), Churches of Christ in Christian Union, The Evangelical Church, Evangelical Methodist Church, Congregational Methodist Church, Church of Christ Holiness (USA), and the Pilgrim Holiness Church have met together to form a new partnership group called the Global Wesleyan Alliance (GWA).

The Alliance is supposed to be a means for providing greater cooperation without bringing about denominational mergers.  They list some of their initial objectives as including:

• Creating greater community through intentional relationship building;
• Collaborating to pool resources, share best practices and ministers, and generate new ideas and tools;
• Convening events to promote the personal experience of holiness and collective ministries for discipleship, church health and multiplication, leadership development, prayer and networking;
• Communicating with one another more intentionally and addressing contemporary issues and public concerns with a more united voice.

According to the report, the GWA’s first joint effort will be a call to prayer for spiritual awakening and revival. An exciting major effort is the establishment of procedures for the mutual recognition of minister’s credentials among the Alliance’s covenant partners.  The report indicates that an online, free library of classic holiness literature is already available at www.holinesslegacy.com.  The Alliance will also sponsor regional “Holiness Summits” (www.holiness-summit.org) in order to introduce others to the personal experience of entire sanctification.

Dr. Jerry Pence, General Superintendent in The Wesleyan Church, was elected as the GWA's first president.  He commented, “This alliance will enable holiness denominations to achieve a historic level of cooperation and unity for evangelism, discipleship, church multiplication, compassion and justice. Our passion is to pursue the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment—making Christ known through words and deeds and millions of lives filled with perfect love.”

Each of the denominations will, of course, have to officially approve GWA partnership.  According to the report, they are expecting several other denominations to participate in the GWA’s first official assembly when it is held in Circleville, Ohio, November 30-December 1, 2012.

This is exciting news!

Readers of this blog will recall that I, through my district committee, sent a resolution to the last Nazarene General Assembly that would have Nazarenes approach The Wesleyan Church and the Free Methodist Church to explore merger possibilities.  That resolution was amended to leave out merger, but seek greater cooperation.  -  Since that time, I have come to the conclusion that denominational merger likely is not the way to go.  I am very pleased with the news of this new Global Wesleyan Alliance!

Some question do remain.  Will this organization be the successor of the now dormant Christian Holiness Partnership?  It has been pointed out that the CHP was national in scope.  It is clear from the name of the new group that the intent is that it be global in scope.  Still, it should be noted that the denominations at this organizational meeting (even the global ones) are based in the U.S.  Even the Free Methodist Church is specified as the U.S.A. branch of the FMC.

Will Wesleyan-Holiness denominations based outside of the U.S.A. align with the GWA?  Will the GWA membership simply mirror the CHP membership?  Will the Alliance reach out to some of the more conservative World Methodist Council denominations?  Will this new Alliance have a negative affect on Nazarene, Wesleyan and Free Methodist membership in the World Methodist Council?  (I hope not!)  Will this "Wesleyan" Alliance be broadened so as to include Pentecostal holiness denominations, like the Wesleyan Holiness Consortium has done?  (Personally, I think that such a move may dilute the Wesleyan-holiness message.) 

For all of these answers, only time will tell.

For now, if anyone at the Nazarene Global Ministries Center happens to be reading this blog (yeah, right!), I would love to be a Nazarene representative to the GWA!  (In the past, I have been appointed by the General Secretary as a denominational delegate to the Christian Holiness Partnership and the World Methodist Conference.)

The full story about the GWA can be read on The Wesleyan Church's site, here.

Baptized into Christ's Church

Anglicans and Roman Catholics are currently meeting together for the third Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission.  Part of these early days is being spent re-examining their goal of seeking "restoration of complete communion in faith and sacramental life" and discussing how that goal should be understood today.  (I must confess, I would think this would be an interesting discussion given the new ordinariate!)

More about this meeting can be viewed in this article, and I'm sure the Anglican Communion News Service will continue to post updates.



What I found fascinating (and the reason for my post) was the report that Roman Catholic Biship Gabriele Mana of the local diocese of Biella visited with the Commission.  During that visit, he stated that within his cathedral there is a baptistery [sic.] with a font that predates the division of Christianity in 1054.  (Can you imagine!)  He went on to say that he had "given permission for all Christians to use this baptistery [sic.], for baptism is common to us all.  The more we love our Lord, he said, the easier it is for us to come closer to one another."



The Baptistery of Biella



I personally find this to be a powerful opportunity for Christians in that area to demonstrate what John Wesley called a "catholic spirit" (i.e., universal spirit) by taking advantage of the bishop's offer and reinforcing the truth that we are not baptized into a particular denomination, but into the Church of God.

What would be even cooler is if Christians from various denominations could (perhaps annually) hold a joint service of Christian baptism using this ancient baptismal font.  -  Way to go, Bishop Gabriele!

British Methodist & Anglican Leaders Meet

According to the blog of the President and Vice President of the (British) Methodist Conference, leaders of the Methodist Church (of Great Britain) and leaders of the Church of England, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, met together, as they do annually.

Their blog contains the highlights of the meeting.

I found two things to be of particular interest on the blog.  The first is that they reported hearing updates in the Anglican Communion and the World Methodist Council. 

As many of you know, I have been actively involved in as many World Methodist Council events as possible.  I approached the Board of General Superintendents of the Church of the Nazarene and petitioned for the Church of the Nazarene to seek membership in the WMC, which it did.  I am currently serving with Nazarene orders in the United Methodist Church, a sister WMC denomination.  (Though "sister" is probably not the right word for the UMC, since it is the "mother church" for American Wesleyans/Methodists.)

I only wish that the blog actually reported some of those updates!

The second thing, however, that I found interesting may be of interest to readers of this blog who are concerned about Methodist/Anglican relations.  The British Methodist Church and the Church of England, as many of you know, have a covenant relationship with each other.  The blog details the Anglican-Methodist Covenant with a listing of their Affirmations and their Commitments.

If you are unfamiliar with their covenant, you may want to take a look at their blog, or you can find the Anglican-Methodist Covenant information, here.

Holiness Denominational Leaders Meet to Strengthen Ties

The article, below, comes from the Nazarene Communications Network website, which apparently picked it up from The Wesleyan Church:


Holiness denomination leaders meet to strengthen ties

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Lenexa, Kansas

Superintendents, presidents, and bishops of 10 denominations and holiness bodies met for a two-day summit in Lenexa, Kansas, to discover ways to spread scriptural holiness and remain committed to the message in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition.

The Church of the Nazarene's Board of General Superintendents hosted the annual meeting of the Wesleyan Leaders Summit, December 3-4 at the Global Ministry Center.

Several task forces were appointed by this year's summit members to do follow-up work on topics of mutual concern, including development of an online, digital holiness classics library; procedures to allow for easier transfer of ministerial personnel and credentials for ministers in good standing between member bodies; statements for possible joint releases that address pressing social and moral issues; and cooperative scheduling of Holiness Summits (grassroots-led, regional events to encourage holiness evangelism and revival).

A subcommittee also was appointed to develop proposals for a voluntary global Wesleyan alliance that could foster greater cooperation and synergy among like-minded church bodies worldwide.

Wesleyan Leaders Summit representatives gather annually for professional enrichment, fellowship, sharing best practices, discussion of cultural trends and current issues impacting their ministries, and informal networking to encourage greater interdenominational cooperation.

Executives at this year's summit included representatives of the Church of the Nazarene, the Free Methodist Church, The Salvation Army, Church of God Ministries, Inc., The Missionary Church, the Churches of Christ in Christian Union, the Church of Christ Holiness (USA), the Congregational Methodist Church, the Methodist Protestant Church, and The Wesleyan Church.

Additional leaders from the Evangelical Church, the Evangelical Methodist Church, and the International Fellowship of Bible Churches anticipated attending, but were unable to do so at the last minute. The next Wesleyan Leaders Summit is scheduled for December 2-3, 2011, in Circleville, Ohio.
 --Board of General Superintendents, The Wesleyan Church Communications

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In reading the article, above, I would note that all but (possibly) three of the denominations listed were members of the Christian Holiness Partnership, which seems to no longer be a functioning organization. The denominations that were not CHP members include the Church of Christ, Holiness (USA), which seems to primarily be an African-American denomination; the Methodist Protestant Church (those who did not join in the 1968 union that formed the United Methodist Church); and the Church of God Ministries, Inc. I'm not sure who this latter denomination is (thus the "possibly," above). If it is the Church of God (Anderson), it is unusual that it was not listed as "Anderson." On the other hand, if it is not the CoGA, then it is unusual that they were not at the meeting.

I find several items in this article to be interesting, and I look forward to hearing about future developments. 

Among the things that I find greatly interest is the exploration of a "global Wesleyan alliance." This, I'm guessing would take the place of the national Christian Holiness Partnership. However, it will be important to pay attention to whatever terminology any future organization would use. These are obviously not the only "Wesleyan" denominations. Also considered Wesleyan denominations are such groups as the United Methodist Church, the AME, AMEZ & CME, none of which were involved in this meeting. For that matter, one can look at the World Methodist Council, itself, noting that three of the denominations in this meeting are members of the WMC. If one is simply looking for a global Wesleyan alliance, there it is! 

However, what we have here are "Wesleyan-Holiness" denominations, and that is the alliance we are looking at.  That is important, because some of these groups would not identify, at all, with a group like the World Methodist Council.  In fact, the "Wesleyan" identity of some of the Wesleyan-holiness denominations seems to be focused only on the doctrine of Entire Sanctification.  Therefore, the term "Wesleyan-Holiness" would be much more fitting for such an alliance.
In general, I wish that there were talks of merger more than "alliances" (which will come as no surprise to those who have read my blog). However, I admit, when it comes to mergers, I would be in favor of merging with those who share and strengthen the Church of the Nazarene's Methodist identity, and I would be less excited about merger with those who would dilute that identity. - Still such a "global alliance" would be an exciting development, and any attempt at strengthening cooperation is always a good thing.

The Feast of St. John Chrysostom

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople. The Patriarch of Constantinople was, indeed, one of the great saints of the Eastern Church.

In his early days, John heeded a call to desert monasticism. When he returned to Antioch, after six long years, he was ordained a presbyter (elder). In 397, John was consecrated to the episcopacy as the Patriarch of Constantinople. His was a difficult episcopate, however. He was forced into exile twice. On September 14, 407, during his second exile, John died.

I had the opportunity to study John Chrysostom during one of my preaching classes during my doctoral work at Asbury Theological Seminary, under one of my professors, the Rev'd. Dr. Michael Pasquarello. It was a great class! The primary book on Chrysostom was Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom, Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop by J.N.D. Kelly.

The name "Golden Mouth," of course, refers to the bishop's preaching. Chrysostom has been referred to as one of the greatest preachers in the entire history of the Church. In fact, the name (or really, title), Chrysostom means "the golden-mouth." Chrysostom saw preaching as an integral part of pastoral care. He warned that if the elder (priest) was weak in the area of preaching the Word of the Lord, then the souls of those in his charge "will fare no better than ships tossed in the storm." Today, preachers have the opportunity to gain from the bishop's (and other Early Church Fathers') preaching insights through the wonderful commentary series, The Ancient Christian Commentary of Scripture.

Of special interest to readers of this blog are the insights into the liturgy which we can gain through Chrysostom's sermons. This is especially true concerning early Eucharistic practices. Chrysostom describes the liturgy as a glorious experience, in which all of heaven and earth join.

And so, on this Feast of St. John Chrysostom, I bid you, join with me in praying:

O God, you gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all bishops[/superintendents] and pastors such excellence in preaching, and faithfulness in ministering your Word, that your people may be partakers with them of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

___________________________________

The collect and much of the information, above, comes from "The Proper for the Lesser Feasts and Fasts - 1997," Church P., New York.

A wonderful quote from John Chrysostom can be found on the Rev'd. Daniel McLain Hixon's blog, Gloria Deo: Wesleyanglican Ramblings. - Thanks Daniel!

Theotokos; Mary, Mother of God?

Perhaps it is the fact that I recently heard a discussion (really an argument) on Catholic Radio between a Roman Catholic and a (fundamentalist sounding) Protestant. Maybe, it is due to the recent Lectionary passages focusing on Mary. I don't know, but the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been on my mind a bit lately.

It is unfortunate that so many Protestant Christians seem to be quite fearful of Mary (if not of her, at least of spending much time talking about her). As I have recently said in a sermon, Mary is a fantastic example for us of holiness of heart and life. She certainly is (or ought to be) a role model for Christians.

Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly the Protestant prejudice over against our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers (yes, our sisters and brothers in Christ), along with their seemingly inordinate attention to Mary, not to mention the popular notions of Mary-worship, that has left many protestants reluctant to spend much time talking about the mother of our Lord.

There are, of course, some real doctrinal issues concerning Mary, on which Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians do, indeed, differ significantly. Those issues only add to the Protestant "fear" of Mary.

However, it would likely come as a real shock to most contemporary Wesleyans to discover that the perpetual virginity of Mary was NOT one of those doctrinal differences for our spiritual forefather. The fact is John Wesley affirmed the perpetual virginity of Mary. (Check out his Letter to a Roman Catholic.) Still, that issue is not the particular focus of this article.

Rather, the focus of this article is the use of the term Theotokos. Ought Mary be referred to as the "Mother of God?" - Admittedly, I've not done much research, and in many ways, most of this is off the top of my head, but here it goes . . .

Rome and Constantinople, of course, affirm this terminology for Mary. Protestantism, almost universally, denies it. The question is, why? You see, the doctrines surrounding the natures and divinity of Christ as expressed in the Chalcedonian statement are accepted as orthodox among Protestants, as well as Roman Catholics and Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, Protestants have uniformly rejected the use of the term as being objectionable an misleading (cf. Christian Theology, Vol. II, p. 167. Wiley, H. Orton. Beacon Hill. 1952).

Of course, at least one of the objections has to do with the implications that Mary is somehow the mother of God in eternity. God, of course, has always been. God is not created. Mary has not always been. Mary was created. Thus, Mary ought not be call "Mother of God."

Another objection is that "Mother of God" talk could easily lead to Mary-worship, as, indeed, it has done among many Roman Catholics. (The question of whether such is truly the teachings of Rome is moot, in this regard. The reality of popular practice cannot be denied.)

A further objection is that such a title has brought about the lifting of Mary to doctrinal heights which are not found in Scripture.

Again, since I have not spent much time in any real research, I could be missing the truly significant objections. I would be happy for others to fill in the blanks!

Protestants have affirmed that Mary is the Mother of our Lord, but have objected to calling her Mother of God. However, when one looks at the term, itself, not the abuses nor the unnecessary, objectionable implications, I find little reason to object to the term, itself.

First, the title is not a new invention. It was widespread in the ancient Church, long before the Protestant Reformation. Second, even Rome defines the term in such a way as to fit the Chalcedonian statement. They make clear that the intent of the term is to affirm the full divinity of Jesus. The rest of the objectionable implications of the term, itself, they deny.

Third, the concept, though not the term, is found, even in popular Protestantism. An example of this is the popular Christmas song, Mary, Did You Know?. In that song, the question is asked, "Mary, did you know . . . when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God?" - Any Roman Catholic or Orthodox Christian who understands the concept would quickly declare that the song is expressing exactly what is affirmed by the title, "Mother of God."

Finally, we Wesleyan Christians are happy to affirm the same concept in our own hymnody. After all, don't we (thanks to Charles Wesley!) enthusiastically sing, "Amazing love! how can it be That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?" That "God" who died for us (viz., Jesus the Christ), we also confess to be "born of the Virgin Mary."

So, what is the point of all of this? Do I intend to start using the title, or am I advocating the use of it by others? - Not really. There are still far too many confusions and possible, unintended implications.

However, I think the point is, this is not really something Protestants ought to get worked up about. This ought not be something that divides Protestant Christians from their Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers. We ought to allow them the liberty to use the terminology when we, while refraining from the terminology, nevertheless affirm its intended meaning through our own doctrine, as well as hymnody and popular expressions.

. . . Of course, as I have said, if I'm missing something, feel free to jump in with your comments!

Big News for Anglicans & Roman Catholics

Anglican Mainstream is reporting that the Bishop of Rome (i.e., the Pope) is preparing to offer the Traditional Anglican Communion a personal prelature. (The full article can be read here.) What that apparently means is that the TAC would be a kind of semi-autonomous, global diocese without boundaries. It would retain its own clergy and laity and be headed by its own bishops, but it would be in full-communion with Rome.

The report indicates that this would be the most significant ecumenical event in Anglican-Roman Catholic relations since the English Reformation when King Henry VIII brought about the Church of England's split with Rome.

There are a couple of points that need to be clarified in this report in order to understand more fully what is going.

First, this is not a "done deal," as of yet. The main sticking point may be the issue of married bishops. That is to say, while Rome does not ordain married priests, they have accepted married priests who have joined the RCC. However, Rome has never accepted married bishops. On the other hand, the TAC has set no pre-conditions to their being accepted by Rome. They apparently have been willing for their clergy, not only to receive "conditional ordination," but outright re-ordination. They apparently have not set any preconditions concerning the acceptance of their married bishops. All they have wanted is the possibility of having and intact Anglican identity while being in communion with Rome (exactly, it seems, what this personal prelature would provide).

Second, the Traditional Anglican Communion is NOT the same thing as the Canterbury based Anglican Communion (i.e., the "official" Anglican Communion). Rather, they are a group of some 400,000+ traditional Anglicans that broke with Canterbury over issues such as women being ordained as priests and their further consecration as bishops and over issues of homosexual practice. They are, obviously, Anglo-Catholic in orientation. Their United States member is the Anglican Church in America.

This really is a huge event and could have repercussions throughout the Canterbury based Anglican Communion, including repercussions in the Church of England, the newly forming Anglican Church in North America and Anglo-Catholics around the world.

***A further article has been posted by Anglican Mainstream, here.

The Feast of St. Luke

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. Luke, by the inspiration of God, is responsible for the writings of the Gospel According to St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Luke was a Gentile Christian, a doctor (i.e., physician), and a companion of St. Paul's during his missionary journeys.

St. Luke is symbolized by the winged ox; one of the four living creatures described in the book of the Revelation. (The picture to the right is taken from the new Order of St. Luke t-shirts and is based on the rendering in the Book of Kells.)

Whether at our annual retreat, or in diaspora, as members of the Order of St. Luke, this is the day that we reaffirm our vows to:

Affirm the Apostolic Hope

Live for the Church of Jesus Christ

Magnify the Sacraments

Seek the Sacramental Life

Promote the Corporate Worship of the Church

Accept the call to Service as put forth by the discipline of the Church and the Practice of the Order

and

Abide by the Rules of the Order and Indicate that Commitment by Study, Service, Gifts and Practice.

The Order of St. Luke is an ecumenical religious order, based in the United Methodist Church, but interdenominational in membership. It is open to clergy and laity, men and women. It is dedicated to "Liturgical and Sacramental Scholarship, Education and Practice." For more information of the Order of St. Luke, I invite you to click on the link provided in the side bare under Religious Orders.

Celebrating Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1556

October 16 is the day we remember and celebrate Thomas Cranmer the Archbishop of Canterbury. One of my seminary professors once commented that, as we look back to John Wesley as our spiritual father, we ought to look to Thomas Cranmer as a spiritual grandfather.

Cranmer was appointed to the See of Canterbury by the Pope and consecrated as such on March 30, 1533. Nevertheless, he had studied the new (Lutheran) Reformation doctrines intensely while at Cambridge, and became responsible, to a great degree, for the Reformation within England. Of course, his involvement with the annulment of King Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and the King's subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn did not play well in Rome. Additionally, Cranmer believed the King was supreme, not only in civil matters, but also in religious matters, and the Church of England soon broke from the Roman Church.

Under King Edward the Sixth, Cranmer was free to shape the worship, doctrines and practices of the Church of England. Most importantly, Thomas Cranmer was responsible for the very first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, as well as its revision in 1552. All subsequent Books of Common Prayer throughout the Anglican Communion, including John Wesley's The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America, look back to Cranmer's Prayer Book, and all who use a version of the Book of Common Prayer or a liturgy that has been influence by one of the Prayer Books owe an immeasurable debt to Thomas Cranmer.

Even non-liturgical Nazarenes owe an immense debt to Cranmer. Our own ritual for the Lord's Supper in our Manual (Book of Discipline) was an abbreviated form of the Methodist Episcopal ritual, which came from Wesley's Sunday Service, which was a version of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. Closer to home, Wesley's understanding of holiness was, in many ways, shaped and supported by the liturgy of the Anglican Church, and the Collect of Purity at the beginning of the Communion service has been said to encapsulate our understanding of holiness.

Let us give thanks to God for "Grandpa" Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury! (For more information, see Lesser Feasts and Fasts - 1997.)

AME Zion Makes History

As pointed out in the comments on my previous post, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church did, indeed, make history by electing their first female bishop! The Rev'd. Mildred B. Hines was elected to the episcopacy during their recent General conference.

With the AME, the AMEZ, the Church of the Nazarene, the UMC, and The Wesleyan churches all having taken the step of electing women to the episcopal role, one wonders if the CME and the Free Methodists churches will do the same during their next General Conferences.

In addition to electing Rev'd. Hines as bishop, I am happy to report that one of the other two elected to the episcopacy was the Rev'd. Darryl Starnes. Bishop Starnes previously led the evangelism wing for his denomination. I know Bishop Starnes through the Order of the FLAME, World Methodist Evangelism/World Methodist Council, and I congratulate him on his election!

May God's grace, anointing and wisdom be upon all Methodist/Wesleyan Bishops/General Superintendents.

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For an interview with Bishop Hines click here.

For an interview with Bishop Starnes click here.

For a different perspective concerning women in holy orders, read the statement put out by the Anglican Province of America entitled, The Male Character of Holy Orders: Dogma Not Discipline, or see the blog article entitled, An Icon of Christ, written by Fr. David Straw who ministers in a United Episcopal Church located in Evansville, IN.

More Church Meetings

Earlier I wrote concerning the general conference of the United Methodist Church and The Wesleyan Church, both of which are sister Wesleyan/Methodist denominations to the Church of the Nazarene (though the latter is, of course, much closer to us). In addition, the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) just concluded their general conference, last week, and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church began their general conference yesterday.

A.M.E.
There seems to be very little that took place at the AME general conference that would be of much interest to those outside of the AME Church. One exception is that they did discuss the institution of a permanent order of deacons. Such a move would bring them in line with the UMC, as well as the Church of the Nazarene. However, they declined to do so, retaining, instead, their transitional deacon orders.

One other note of interest in these political times is that Senator Barack Obama spoke at the general conference. It was reported that Senator John McCain received an invitation to speak, as well, be failed to accept it.

A.M.E.Z.

Upon the heals of The Wesleyan Church's election of their first female General Superintendent (though probably without reference or even any thought given to The Wesleyan Church's action), it has publicly been asked if the AMEZ Church is ready to elect their first female Bishop. - Time will tell.

One thing is certain, it would be good for all of us in the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition to hold up our sisters and brothers in the AMEZ as they meet in general conference. - May God grant them wisdom and direction in all their decisions, and may God grant to them renewal and revival by the Holy Spirit.

THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

Across the pond, the Anglicans have begun their every ten year (or so) meeting of bishops at Lambeth. This meeting will take place with a quarter of the Anglican bishops declining to attend in protest of "liberal" actions of The Episcopal Church in America (especially regarding homosexuality) and those who share similar sentiments.

It is clear that the Anglican Communion is in very bad shape. Schism is not just knocking on their ecclesiastic door, but about to knock it down, and it appears that there is nothing that Archbishop of Canterbury can (or will) do about it.

Anglicanism has splintered in America, with the "orthodox" groups forming their "Common Cause Partnership." Many Anglo-catholics in England are on their way to Rome, after the Church of England voted to ordain women as bishops. - They certainly need the prayers of all faithful Christians.

SWID

Closer to home, and not nearly as significant globally or denominationally, my own Southwest Indiana District of the Church of the Nazarene prepares to meet at our annual district assembly, next week. - We, too, would appreciate any prayers prayed on our behalf.

Some Reflections on The Wesleyan Church General Conference, Part 3

During the General Conference, The Wesleyan Church had the opportunity to make a number of statements on current social issues. One of those issues was immigration.

I congratulate The Wesleyan Church on their statement concerning this timely issue.

On the one hand, given the denominations similarities to the Church of the Nazarene, and their social and theological conservatism (at times leading them headlong into fundamentalism), it may be a bit surprising to some where they come out on this issue.

However, for those who know their historical origin in the war against slavery, it is good to see that they have retained a bit of historical consistency.

The statement, itself, is a bit lengthy, but for those interested in their take on this important subject, you can find it, in its entirety, by clicking here.

Some Reflections on The Wesleyan Church General Conference, Part 2

In my previous post, I reflected upon the retirement of Wesleyan General Superintendent, Dr. Earl Wilson. That event, of course, meant that The Wesleyan Church needed to elect at least one new G.S. (and, as it turns out, the other two incumbents were re-elected).

It is with great joy that I congratulate The Wesleyan Church on the election of the Rev'd. Dr. Jo Anne Lyons (seen below, on the left). While The Wesleyan Church, like the Church of the Nazarene, has, from its very beginning, ordained women*, Dr. Lyons is the very first woman to serve that denomination as a General Superintendent.

The Wesleyans made this move on the heals of the 2005 General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene, when we elected the Rev'd. Dr. Nina Gunter (on the right side, in the picture) as the very first woman to serve our denomination as a General Superintendent.

Making this move a bit more exciting is the fact that Dr. Gunter was present, representing the Church of the Nazarene at The Wesleyan General Conference.

May God's grace, guidance and blessings be upon Dr. Lyons and the Board of General Superintendents of The Wesleyan Church.

For more information on this historic vote, click here

*The Wesleyan/holiness churches were ordaining women long before the "liberal" mainline denominations (e.g., it took the United Methodist Church a quarter of a century to catch up with the Church of the Nazarene on this point). However, it has taken the Nazarenes and the Wesleyans far too long to catch up with the UMC regarding women in the episcopal role.

Some Reflections on The Wesleyan Church General Conference

The Wesleyan Church is the closest "sister denomination" to my denomination, the Church of the Nazarene. In fact, I believe it is a shameful thing (and given Christ, our Lord's, prayer that we be one, perhaps even a sinful thing) that we have not affected a merger of our two denominations. - But that is another topic.

I, personally, have a number of connections with The Wesleyan Church, through family members and family history, as well as my own ministry opportunities throughout college and seminary.

Earlier this month, The Wesleyan Church held their quadrennial General Conference. During their conference, a few things took place that I would like to reflect (briefly) upon.

First was the retirement of Dr. Earl Wilson from his long-time position as General Superintendent (Picture [on the right] with his brother, Dr. Norman Wilson [on the left], who also retired as Director of Communications and the speaker of The Wesleyan Hour). Dr. Earl Wilson served in church leadership for the denomination longer than anyone else in their history.

I had the opportunity to personally encounter and talk with Dr. Wilson on a few occassions; once, while he preached at the Orleans (IN) Wesleyan Campground. I also have happy memories of his presiding during one of the sessions at the Millennium Event for the Methodists in North America held in Huston, TX.

During the Millennium Event, it was organized so that a Bishop from the various Methodist denominations would preside at each session. Dr. Wilson, as a Wesleyan General Superintendent, presided at one of those sessions. It was during that session that he said (this may not be a complete quote, but it's pretty close), "I wish our people had enough sense to call us bishops." He said that when he is asked what he does, and he responds he is a General Superintendent, people don't know if he works in a factory someplace, or if they should salute him. - I loved that comment (and heartily agree with him!).

I also had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Wilson on our trip to Brighton, England for the 2001 World Methodist Conference. During that trip, I had the idea that, since the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church were (then) moving toward merger, our two denominations (The Wesleyans & the Nazarenes) should seek to send observers to their discussions. - I figured something might come from those observations that might promote the merger of our two denominations.

I told Dr. Wilson about my idea, and told him that I would write our Board of General Superintendents about it. He immediately and enthusiastically expressed his support for such a proposal and indicated that they would certainly do so. - Unfortunately, talks between the AMEZ & the CME came to a standstill before The Wesleyans & Nazarenes had an opportunity to send observers.

In addition to the encounters above, Dr. Wilson graciously agreed to preach at one of our annual Aldersgate Services, while I served as pastor of the Greencastle (IN) Church of the Nazarene.

I was saddened to hear of Dr. Wilson's retirement. I know that he desired for a merger to take place between our two denominations, and he was a very active part of his denomination's involvement with the World Methodist Council. Further, he was quite open and willing to correspond with me about certain issues and opportunites.

My prayer is that God's blessings would be upon Dr. Wilson during his years of retirement.

The Bishop of Rome Travels to America

(For link to the Pope's U.S. visit click here.)

The Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict, arrives in the United States today. His theme for his U.S. visit is "Christ Our Hope." (Perhaps we, Nazarenes should listen in, since our quadrennial theme has been "Jesus . . . The Hope.")

As a Nazarene, I am well aware of some of the anti-Catholic sentiments that fill some Nazarenes and other Protestant Christians. I've heard reports at district assemblies about conversions, and it is often mentioned if the person experiencing the conversion was a former Catholic (as though their conversion is something to really rejoice about!). And, it doesn't help matters when missions materials spout things like, "This country is almost completely non-Christian; it is 90% Roman Catholic." Such attitudes may not possess all Nazarenes or Protestants, but they are expressed by far too many. - Often times these views have been reinforced by unfortunate (and I would argue unsound) interpretations of the Book of the Revelation which have identified the Church of Rome with "the great whore." - How sad! (But it does explain some of the attitudes of many Evangelical Christians.)

Oh, I know there are a number of things with which we and the Roman Church disagree. And I could enumerate them. However, I think far too many spend far too much time doing so. Besides, I just think that there are far more (significant) things that we have in common, including (but not limited to) our claim that Jesus Christ is our one Lord, the creeds (expressing our one faith), our practice of the sacrament of our one baptism, and our profession of our one God and Father of all (cf., Ephesians 4:5).

For my part, I pray that the visit of Pope Benedict will be used by God to draw people to God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our one Lord. I pray that the good Bishop would be used as an instrument of God to foster a more "catholic" (i.e., universal) spirit throughout Christ's one Church. After all, didn't Christ, Himself, pray that we be one?

For all Wesleyan/Methodist Christians, it might not be a bad idea to take a look at: John Wesley's, "A Letter to a Roman Catholic."

One should also read the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. This document, originally agreed on by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church, was also adopted by the World Methodist Council at their last conference. (It was a unanimous vote, including the delegates from the Church of the Nazarene. We are, of course, a denominational member of the WMC.)

Also of interest might be David M. Chapman's In Search of the Catholic Spirit: Methodists and Roman Catholics in Dialogue. Peterborough, Great Britain: Epworth Press, 2004. (This book was reviewed by John W. Wright in the most recent issue of the Wesleyan Theological Journal.)

For Nazarenes, in addition to the above, I would encourage a reading of Chapter 7 "The Roman Catholic Church" in either What Is a Nazarene? Understanding Our Place in the Religious Communion (Wes Tracy & Stan Ingersol. Beacon Hill Press, NPH.) or Here We Stand: Where Nazarenes Fit in the Religious Market Place (the latter being an expanded book that contains the former book). - The treatment of other Christian traditions in these books seems to be fair and in a spirit of Christlike generosity, identifying commonalities, as well as differences in the way that we understand the Christian faith.

In the meantime, I offer this prayer for the Pope (adapted from Wesley's ritual for "The Ordination of Superintendents"):

Most merciful Father, send down upon your servant, Benedict, your heavenly blessing, and so endue him with your Holy Spirit, the he, preaching your Word, may not only be earnest to reprove, beseech, and rebuke with all patience and sound doctrine, but also may be to believers a wholesome example in word, in conversations, in love, in faith, in charity, and in purity; that faithfully fulfilling his course, at the latter day he may receive the crown of righteousness laid up by the Lord, the righteous Judge, who lives and reigns one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen