Conclusion of first Task Force meeting

The Task Force this afternoon concluded its first-ever meeting, held in the Ft. Worth offices of Christ the Redeemer (the ACNA parish headed by TF chair Fr. Chris Culpepper). We had six (of the nine) task force members present (one virtually), as well as three visitors.

Left to right: Fr. Bill Wilson, Bp. Win Mott, Fr. Michael Brooks,
Cn. Dan Alger, Fr. Lee Nelson, Fr. Chris Culpepper.
Not shown: Bp. Keith Ackerman, Mr. J. West

Anchored in the context of today’s America, the two-day meeting focused on the intersection of vibrant Anglo-Catholic churchmanship with best practice in Anglican (or other Christian) church planting.

Our special guest was Cn. Dan Alger, who is the church planting canon for both the Anglican Diocese of the South and the ACNA. He discussed their new website (Always Forward) and new framework for church planting. From the AF website:

Canon Dan Alger

A healthy church planting network has four primary components for the support of church planting:

• Conviction. … A church planting diocese holds the conviction that church planting is a normative function of the diocese and pursues it with intentionality and passion.
• Culture. A diocese with a church planting culture values healthy risk and celebrates the work of entrepreneurial ministry; it celebrates its church planters and naturally raises up new planters from its ranks. …
• Collaboration. A church planting network does not see the work of planting as solely an individual endeavor, but rather the shared work of the diocese. …
• Constructs: … Always Forward will help to educate on the importance of the proper core systems … We define these core constructs as: A Leadership Pipeline, Planter Assessment, Planter Training, Coaching, Ongoing Support, Funding, Mission Oversight

We look forward to sharing the AF resources with our church planters, and also helping the AF explain Anglo-Catholic church planting to the broader ACNA audience.

On the second day, we focused on planning our session for Forward in Faith’s 2016 National Assembly in July. As with AF, we see our goal as both helping individual church planters, and also helping sponsoring diocese and parishes build infrastructure (and culture) that empowers these planters.

Bp. Stephen Scarlett from his California study

Committing to Spreading the Faith

By Father Christopher Culpepper

Surely, the veil between heaven and earth is most transparent as the Divine Liturgy unfolds, calling us to praise through song, to transformation by the Word rightly preached, and to Communion with the Most High God when the Sacrament is duly administered. These essential elements of Christian worship, combined with the accompanying rituals make worship in the catholic Tradition a truly transcendent experience for the faithful.

Is not our charge, then, to make this experience available to everyone, everywhere, at all times? Yet, my experience of catholic-minded clergy in the Anglican tradition of my generation is that there is a strong gravitational pull exercise their priestly ministry where all of the accouterments in worship, and otherwise, already exist. And, while it is true that not everyone is called to church-planting, I cannot seem to find hardly anyone who feels the call. Otherwise, on the rare occasion when I do find that individual who has contemplated church-planting, he lacks the confidence, support, and/or skill set necessary to achieve the task.

It seems, therefore, that we who call ourselves Anglo-Catholics, have some critical concerns to address. Can we clearly articulate who we are? Can we do that in a way that reaches this present generation? With what seriousness are our bishops considering church-planting? In what ways are they resourcing for the same? Are our parish priests and congregations considering planting? Are we identifying church-planters, and have we considered the training they will require? Are we willing to make the financial commitment necessary for the task? Are we willing to make the sacrifices necessary for a start-up enterprise; that is, breaking out of our own comfort zone and even wandering in the desert for a season, doing without some of the things we’re used to having in worship, to win the right for future generations to experience the beauty of holiness in worship?

This, then, is the purpose of the Task Force initiative of Forward in Faith, North America. In the wake of the fallout from TEC’s continued apostasy, and through the emergence of ACNA, and with the hope of drawing back together faithful groups of Anglicans, who have been separated for a season, now is the time for us to consider who we are and what we will do. For, as I have said in various venues, either we believe in what we are doing and should get on about the task of advancing it to the ends of the earth, or we should roll up the tents, and go do something else. I, for one, am committed to the proposition that catholic Christianity in the Anglican Tradition has a vibrant future, provided we put our hand to the plow.

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?

Learning from evangelical campus ministry

By J. West

Everyone knows the importance of reaching the next generation of Christian believers. Often the focus is on educating and engaging children at home. But the Church also needs to engage students in college, when even the most devout young believers face threats and temptations (particularly if they were not fully formed at home).

On Saturday, the Diocese of Western Anglicans (ACNA) hosted a half-day workshop on campus ministry. An audience of 22 —  including Bishop Keith Andrews and clergy or laity from all four deaneries — heard a presentation by Rev. William Beasley, founder of the Greenhouse Movement near Northwestern University — along with two other rectors active in the Greenhouse Movement.

Greenhouse started in AMiA and is now part of ACNA, but it is not an ecclesial jurisdiction of its own. (I know the story of Greenhouse from an Anglican 1000 podcast by Beasley and Mike Neibauer, his first lay church planter).

Beasley and Greenhouse would be considered controversial (if not radical) in some quarters. Derived from his observation of African congregations where ordained clergy are in short supply, the Greenhouse model is to quickly plant lay-led congregations under the supervision of a regional priest. These lay leaders are more readily available and (others have noted) are younger and more rapidly deployed.

The model relaxes the need to have a big enough congregation to support a full-time priest (and a building). As Beasley (a cradle Episcopalian from Virginia) put it: “Where I grew up, you had to have $1 million to start a new congregation [to cover property and salaries]. We didn’t start any parishes because we didn’t have $1 million.  That was strong paradigm that affected how everybody thought about our mission.” While not all of us agreed with his solution, I believe everyone shared his diagnosis: no matter how the Church wants to improve the odds of church planting success, it can’t wait until the perfect time.

Still, many of the issues discussed at the workshop regarding campus ministry would be faced by Anglo-Catholic (or any other) campus ministers. These structural issues include:

• The linkage of the sponsoring parish to campus ministry, whether as a mother-daughter or the Greenhouse-style network.
• Working cooperatively with parachurch organizations (e.g. InterVarsity) and other Christian clubs and denominations. The two groups can publicize each other, and the parachurch may have programs to train or develop student leaders (e.g. to lead small groups).
• Overcoming potential hurdles or hostility from secular universities, including (at an appropriate time) jumping through hoops to be officially recognized on campus.

Like other church plants, a campus ministry faces a tension between hoping to grow rapidly and beginning regular worship prematurely. At the same time, Bp. Andrews noted that a congregation is more than just worship: it needs to be equipped to make disciples out of its members and evangelize new members.

The workshop discussed other topics related to working with potential members:

• Selecting ministry leaders. Beasley recommends finding someone already on campus rather than sending an outsider to campus; he has had particularly success calling recent alumni who have strong ties back to a specific campus.
• Differing approaches for evangelizing and discipling depending on whether the (prospective) member is Anglican, other Christian and non-Christian.
• The particular opportunities and challenges of international students, particularly those from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Beasley summarized the process they used to learn the Northwestern campus by using an unfamiliar term: “prayer walk.” Later Fr. David Montzingo (who is preparing laity to form numerous spinouts from his current parish) explained how he once used the same approach at nearby San Diego State to discern (and pray for) potential sites on campus.

It is not clear which parts of the overall Greenhouse strategy would work in the context of an Anglo-Catholic church ministry. From my own experience, a young church planter is unlikely to understand how today’s Anglican congregation relates to both to the historic undivided Church and the differences between Anglicanism and those traditions (notably Roman Catholic and Eastern) that also emphasize such continuity.

Some aspects seem a non-starter, particularly those that reduce the sacramental nature of the parish experience. It assumes that laity will be allowed to distribute reserved sacrament (controversial) or that the congregation will accept only occasional Holy Communion service (which has disadvantages and advantages).

To me, the riskiest element of this plan is that it reduces (if not eliminates) the ability of trained clergy to disciple and mentor both individual parishioners and congregation leaders. Rural parishes in the UK and US sometimes share a priest, as do some Catholic parishes in Europe. However, it seems as though both Schism I and II parishes have been successful this century in identifying and training (bi)vocational deacons who have the training and discipline necessary to lead a parish in the absence of a full-time rector.

At the same time, Anglo-Catholics (who have not planted a lot of campus ministries recently) can learn from the issues, opportunities and challenges faced by the evangelical and charismatic streams of Anglicanism. In that regard, there is an opportunity to learn by studying such approaches (just as one can gain insight from reading Joel Osteen), as long as the leader has the maturity and judgment to recognize which ideas are appropriate and which ones are not. In particular, if a campus ministry does not have its own ordained clergy, then the making key decisions about which ideas to follow and which to ignore would seem to be the crucial responsibility of the sponsoring parish and its pastor.

Anglo-Catholics as Evangelistic Church Planters

By Canon Lawrence D. Bausch
Special to VIRTUEONLINE
www.virtueonline.org
November 5, 2015

Anglo-Catholics are grateful for the significant role we have played in Anglican history, especially in reminding Anglicans that our church is an organic portion of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that was established by God's action in the first century. In previous centuries, we have participated mightily in missionary work, church planting and serving those in need, all centered on the glorification of Christ and His presence and action in the Sacraments. We have contributed to enriching our worship, restored the Religious Life to our church, reintroduced Retreats, Sacramental Confession and Spiritual Direction, and the riches of the personal prayer life from all ages of Christian history. We, as members of Forward in Faith North America (FIFNA) rejoice that we have a share in this wonderful heritage. However, we in North America are facing challenges to our continued participation in the fulness of this inheritance, and I would like to address one of these here: Church Planting.

Whether our FIFNA members are in TEC, ACNA, or one of the various continuing Anglican jurisdictions, we all face obstacles which can blind us to a vision of ministry which includes the importance of church planting. This situation is brought about by several reasons, three of which we will consider here. First, those of us who came into church life or ordained ministry a generation or more ago were largely brought into a church in which priests were primarily seen as chaplains to the faithful, whose job was to lead the faithful in worship, teach, and care for those in need. (Think of Fr. Tim in the delightful "Mitford" books, especially the early ones.) Church Planting was largely something determined by Dioceses, as "missions" became less often the work of local parishes. Mission to the unchurched was largely overlooked.

Second, those Anglicans who have been intentional in Church Planting over the last generation or more have most often been from the evangelical/charismatic elements of the church. Indeed, a "model church plant" has come to be perceived in many quarters as something most Anglo-Catholics would hardly recognize as church, most significantly in the use of language which defines worship as music, and where the actual celebration of the Eucharist becomes almost a sidebar to the music (and possibly the preaching). This distortion has led some to simply write off church planting, believing that it only serves to undermine what we believe and practice.

A third factor to consider is the understandable focus on simply preserving what we have. Many of our people are in parishes which perceive themselves to be "too small" to consider Church Planting, and struggle to keep what they have. Some serve in TEC dioceses in which they are permitted to teach and worship in their own tradition, but are essentially limited to their parish. (This number includes some who have been told by bishops that when their rector leaves or retires, things will change.)

In spite of these obstacles, the Gospel is clear that all Christians are called to be evangelistic, including support for Church Planting. Jesus has come out of love for all people, and we are His Body sent to reveal Him (Luke 2:29-32; 24:45-47, etc.). How then can Anglo-Catholics become good evangelists and support Church Planting? My first action upon my election to President of FIFNA was to appoint Fr. Chris Culpepper as Advisor to the President for Church Planting. He has started two congregations in the Diocese of Fort Worth, as well as advising other church planters in the Diocese and in the REC. He has recently formed a task force which will disseminate best practices in Anglo-Catholic Church Planting and provide individual coaching for leaders of future FIFNA congregations; more information is at the task force website at http://bit.ly/FIFNAcp. This ministry in support of the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the Church is crucial not only for Anglo-Catholics, but for the broader Apostolic and Conciliar Church.

One final note: It is a great joy to be able to report that the recent Church Planting leaders appointed for the ACNA by Archbishop Foley Beach, The Rev. Canon Dan Alger and The Rev Alan Hawkins, are incorporating two elements to the basic characteristics of Anglican church plants which FIFNA can heartily endorse: First, church plants need to be connected with the larger church; and second, they need to be sacramentally based. We are delighted that they share these concerns.

The Rev. Canon Lawrence D. Bausch is President, Forward in Faith North America

Announcing task force members

After being appointed in July by Fr. Lawrence Bausch (president of Forward in Faith North America) to lead FIFNA’s church planting efforts, Fr. Chris Culpepper has named the founding members of the FIFNA church planting task force:

• Canon Phil Ashey: CEO, American Anglican Council
• Fr. Chris Culpepper: president of the task force and Rector, Christ the Redeemer (Ft. Worth, Texas)
• Rt. Rev. Chandler Jones: Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of the Eastern United States and Rector, St. Barnabas (Dunwoody, Georgia)
• Rt. Rev. Win Mott: Bishop, Diocese of the West (REC)
• Fr. Lee Nelson: Vicar, Christ Church (Waco, Texas)
• Canon Steven Saul: Director of Church Revitalization and Coaching, American Anglican Council
• Rt. Rev. Stephen Scarlett: Bishop, Diocese of the Holy Trinity and Rector, St. Matthew’s (Newport Beach, Calif.)
• Mr. J. West: communications coordinator for the task force
• Fr. Bill Wilson: Curate, St. Andrew's (Round Rock, Texas)

These nine represent four jurisdictions — ACNA, ACC, APA and REC — as well as the AAC parachurch organization. All have an interest in developing and supporting Anglo-Catholic church planters.

The task force will also be working with the ACNA’s church planting efforts — in particular, with Canon Dan Alger who now canon for church planting for the ACNA, Anglican Diocese of the South — as well as a church planter and rector of Anglican Church of the Redeemer (Dacula, Georgia).

For more information about the task force, contact Fr. Culpepper.

Why Plant Churches in University Towns?

By Father Lee Nelson, SSC

I am completely convinced that if Saint Paul paid the United States a visit today, he would head straight for a university campus and plant a church among college students. Why?

American Universities: a Unique Opportunity

American universities are astounding places. Millions of students flock to them from around the world to participate in the most effective platform for learning and the exchange of ideas the world has ever seen. They are filled with hand-selected future leaders in our culture. They have large populations of students on student visas, who will return to their home countries to lead and innovate. 

Students have come to the university with learning in mind. They know that they will be taught, and formed, and leave with a significant set of tools at their disposal. They will have higher incomes, and nestle into the fabric of American life as teachers, engineers, physical therapists, nurses, doctors, and architects.

They are also searching for truth and meaning. Much as English universities sparked an Anglo-Catholic revival in the 19th century, it is time for us to bring these eternal truths to American university students in the 21st century.

The majority of these students grew up in American churches, but they didn’t become Christians. In fact, they have no idea what the Gospel really is. They believe in the distant, yet therapeutic god in the sky, who leaves them alone but will punish the truly evil. It was this god in whom they were taught to believe by their youth groups and pastors and they have become disillusioned with him.

What will it take to evangelize these students? New parishes, planted to make disicples and catechize this generation in the enduring truth and tradition of the Catholic Faith, parishes which play an active role in the intellectual and social life of the university and its students. It will take well-educated clergy, who can proclaim the Faith on the campus, modeling the Incarnation and the sacrificial outpouring of the self which we see on the Cross. And late nights on the phone, and a stomach for greasy pizza, and deep maturity, and the ability to like Paul, show forth Christ in the midst of an unbelieving, but inquiring world.