Not your grandparents’ Episcopal Church

By J. West

Today US Anglicans — like other Christians in the Global North — must confront the fact that the Church of 50 (or even 30) years ago is not the church we will see in the 21st century.

Fifty Years Ago: The Establishment Church

It is said that the Church of England is the “Tory Party at prayer.” In the US, Episcopalians had a disproportionate share of leading politicians, including 12 of 41 presidents, four of the first five, and 7 of 22 in the 19th century. (Of this year's 16 GOP presidential candidates, one is an inactive Episcopalian while another is an active ANCA member.)

Almost 50 years ago, my future wife and I went together to confirmation class at one of the largest Episcopal churches in our metropolitan region, with multiple priests and a cathedral-style music program. Her dad and my mom were both raised in the Episcopal Church.

Back then the question was not whether you went to church, but which church you attended. The Episcopal Church where rich and successful people went to be seen: at our affluent, high church parish, we had at least two judges, as well as doctors, lawyers and business leaders. The church provided a culturally enriching way to fulfill one’s weekly obligation for the Sunday-morning Episcopalian (the Protestant equivalent to the GetReligion “Sunday-morning Catholic.”)

Twenty-Five Years Ago: Restoring the Lapsed

When I came back to church 25 years ago, our local Anglo-Catholic parish included cradle Episcopalians, lapsed Episcopalians and married couples that sought an acceptable compromise (typically between Catholicism and evangelical Protestantism). We had a picturesque location for weddings and strong children’s ministries, so we attracted many new parishioners who found their way back to the Church for marriage, baptism or Sunday School.

The church sought our “time, treasure and talents,” but most of the volunteer efforts were inwardly focused. Our outreach consisted of putting on good programs and waiting the arrival of more people (just like us) who loved what we were doing and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Today: Inculcating Belief in the Unbeliever

Times have changed. The churches we are planting and growing today are not our grandparents’ Episcopal Church, or even those of two decades ago.

Today, we can’t take for granted that our prospective members:

• Know the BCP or other aspects of Anglican liturgy;
• Understand how the historic Anglo-Catholic faith is different from other forms of Christianity;
• Are properly grounded in any aspect of the Christian faith —such as the Bible or the sacraments — or can communicate that faith to their kids;
• Have any particular loyalty to our parish or denomination.

With the decline of cultural Christianity, limiting ourselves to those raised in the Church would mean we’d be fighting for a small fraction of an exponentially declining pool of members.

Instead, it seems as though that seriously missional churches must inspire their members to

• Demonstrate their Christian faith not just on Sunday, but throughout the week;
• Accept the responsibility for lifelong learning to continually grow in their faith;
• Be willing to talk about that faith to non-Christians, whether in an organized (outreach, evangelism) or an informal (work, community) setting.

In short, the 21st century church must do more than just provide weekly liturgy and fellowship: these are necessary but not sufficient. Our local Anglican churches need to raise up non-believers, catechize them into the faith, and then form them to lead, evangelize and educate the next generation of Christians.

But to do this, we first have to get them in the door. How do we break through the cacophony of voices in our media-drenched culture to convince the lost that they need the Good Shepherd? And if we do, how do we convince them that a Reformed yet Catholic faith — with beliefs and practices rooted in the historic undivided church — is the path they should take to find Him?