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Be Steadfast: A Letter... |
October 28, 2002 This statement was presented to the 650-700 conference participants (representing at least twelve mainline Protestant denominations) of the Association for Church Renewal's "Confessing the Faith" Conference which was held October 24-26, 2002. The American Anglican Council was a co-sponsor of the event. "God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and, 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.'"-- 2 Timothy 2:19 Sisters and brothers in the Lord: God alone renews and continues to bless his people. God has not abandoned his church, and calls us to keep faith with him and those dear to him. We are called to be obedient to the faith once for all delivered to the saints. In thanksgiving for God's promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we seek to humble ourselves before him, pray, seek his face, and turn from sin, that he may hear, forgive, and heal. We all stand under divine judgment; we all are in need of divine grace. We give thanks also for this, the first North American gathering of renewing and confessing movements. Your conveners have asked confessing theologians to address three urgent questions facing all mainline renewal movements. Why should we remain in our churches? Why do our churches need faithful confessors? Why does our society need faithful Christian confessors? The challenges facing our churches today are indeed immense. We have all seen declines in biblical and theological literacy, catechesis, and spiritual formation. Our churches have experienced severe declines in numbers of congregations and in absolute numbers of members. We have also seen our churches rent by contentious argument, exhausted by never-ending conflict. Many grow weary, and wonder if they and their congregations should stay. Our own experience speaks to this question, too. We have all passed through long seasons of anguish and travail, and we anticipate more. We are still here. The Holy Spirit has not abandoned our churches, neither will we. Resignation, quietism, and despair do not serve the church catholic and the communion of saints. We urge our brothers and sisters not to withdraw, but mutually to encourage one another to a struggle in which there is good hope. Our Lord reminds us, "God removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes to make it bear more fruit" (John 15:2). We pray God will give us courage, perseverance, and mettle for the task. Much work has been begun by the various renewal movements among our churches. We note with thanksgiving the revival of Bible study, renewed interest in evangelization, fresh seasons of prayer, and renewed concern with the plight of the poor. We have committed ourselves to the ongoing life of the churches in which God has placed us, and we pledge our best efforts as theologians of the church to those who are engaged in this divine work of reform and renewal. It is a beginning, and must continue, commending ourselves and our denominational leadership to God with fear and trembling. But ultimately the reason we cannot and must not leave our denominations is that the Gospel can still be freely proclaimed in them and the sacraments administered without hindrance. However true it may be that "other gospels" are also heard in our midst, none of our churches have legislated against the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In such a situation, it is unnecessary for congregations to turn their backs on their churches. Churches need faithful confessors for one essential reason: a church that is unable to confess its faith is a lame and withered church. The church needs faithful witnesses in order to be the church of Jesus Christ. We believe that God's call to be faithful witnesses within the churches requires not only truthful confession, but also a long-term effort to reform our institutions. Our deliberative, legislative, administrative, and educational structures in many instances do not faithfully serve the church's mission and pastoral obligations. The work and witness of faithful confessors helps to reclaim and redirect these institutions toward their proper ends. We, therefore, believe that confessing movements are necessary if the institutional forms of our churches are to be tied to God's purposes for his church. We note with joy how renewal movements in many churches have led to the discovery of a common bond in the faith of the church catholic and mutual encouragement in the Gospel. Across the renewal movements, we rejoice in the recovery of sound doctrine, for example the doctrine of the Trinity, and the doctrine of the unique, saving significance of Christ's person and work. God has enabled many to recover their intellectual nerve. God has also blessed our churches in other ways through the work of the renewal movements. In some quarters, we see fresh vitality in worship and in preaching. In other quarters, we witness new ventures in mission, the renewal of personal piety, and an increase in enthusiastic discipleship. In still other places we see increased reading of Holy Scripture, deepened petitionary prayer, and a more profound embrace of God's concern for the poor. God has given us a spirit of repentance and shed abroad his love afresh in our hearts. Be Steadfast - pg. 2 | |
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