The Revd. Dr. David Peterson, Principal of Oak Hill Theological College in north London, reflects on his work in the Church of England two years after coming from Australia.
'Evangelicals should not despair of the Church of England - but see the present time as one of great opportunity', David Peterson said to EN as he approached the second anniversary of his move from Moore College, Sydney.
Oak Hill trains Anglicans for ministry but also has a significant number of Free Church and international students. Fifty-three year-old Dr. Peterson spoke of the C of E and his impressions of British evangelicalism generally.
Good people
Asked about Anglicanism, Dr. Peterson said: 'We have to see the present time as one of great opportunity in the Church of England. We can look out and see some frightening possibilities for the future, but there is such strength in terms of good people in good places and an excellent stream of ordinands coming through. With God we need to be optimists.'
Dr. Peterson said he was excited by the opportunities for evangelicals to move to parishes with no previous opportunities for biblical ministry. And he urged evangelicals not to opt out of Church of England life but to engage - while remembering their priorities: 'We need to be involved in Anglican activities as much as we can to have an influence, but we need to balance that with the prior importance of good ministry in the local church'.
'We need to set rules for ourselves about how much we will be involved in things outside the parish. I used to have a rule of thumb that I might be involved in one diocesan activity and one other thing, which might, for example, be ecumenical - but then I would change them after a while. We have got to be out there having some kind of influence.'
Truth in love
Dr. Peterson said that the manner in which evangelicals put over their convictions should always be something about which they were careful. 'Ephesians 4 talks about speaking the truth in love. That's clearly meant to be the balance for Christians and it's a sign of maturity to do that. We must keep praying for courage to speak the truth, but to do that in a loving way. I don't know how else we do that except through prayer.'
Dr. Peterson also praised several Anglican bishops with whom he has developed particular links, for their support of Oak Hill, which has strongly re-established itself after being threatened with closure some years ago.
Leaving the church
Asked whether he could envisage any circumstances in which evangelicals might leave the Church of England, Dr Peterson responded: 'If anyone forces upon us any form of endorsement of homosexual practice, or the ordination of practising homosexuals, they will be creating schism. The only alternative to leaving would be a total re-ordering of the Church of England and episcopal oversight.'
'Some commentators have suggested that in such a situation, orthodox Anglicans might develop their own 'province' in which they would have oversight from bishops with traditional beliefs - but this is only speculation at the moment.'
Positive fervour
Turning to the wider evangelical scene in Britain, Dr. Peterson said he had observed over the last two years a fervour among British Evangelicals which I find very, very positive. British evangelicals are very zealous in winning people for Christ - but the question is how people are matured afterwards. Some prominent liberals were once evangelicals: what does that say about the nurture and teaching they received? There seems to be a particular problem in this country with biblical and systematic theology. We have got to be able to treat the Bible and doctrine holistically.'
He added: 'We also have to work very hard at teaching people how to pray when they become Christians and give them a devotional approach to the Scriptures.'
Free churches
While admitting his observation of Free Churches was limited, Dr. Peterson said his impression was that they were 'much more clear' about their theological stance. The problem for Anglican evangelicalism was that it was 'often confused theologically and quite superficial,' he said.
'I think a cause of the problem is inadequate theological training in Anglican circles. Students are not grounded well enough in exegetical and theological skills. A lot of congregations are definitely confused because of the poor teaching they have received. The standards and quality of theological education in Australia and America were generally higher'.
Main message
Asked what his main message to evangelicals of any denomination or none in Britain would be, Dr. Peterson called for clergy and pastors to spend more time in building up their congregations.
'There should come a time in the life of every Christian where they mature enough to teach others, as Hebrews 5.12 suggests,' he said. 'This should be our goal. If that is the case, then clergy need to devote themselves to adequate preparation and teaching and re-ordering their lives. That seems to be where the New Testament is heading. I think we need to take more seriously the education of God's people, and to have higher expectations of what people can take - and want and need - to be matured as Christians. Some clergy have very low expectations.'
Developing college
Oak Hill itself seems to be going from strength to strength, as Dr. Peterson builds on the foundations laid by his predecessors. Student numbers are up - and include significant numbers of Free Church people. 'We have some terrific people from non-Anglican churches. We are not just an Anglican college'.
Work is due to start on a new academic block (see below), and the college is developing a whole new range of resources for lay people through its Open Learning Centre, including a new course introducing people to Biblical Theology.
'We see ourselves as here to encourage clergy and other full-time workers in their ministries,' Dr. Peterson said.
Already this year, 135 people have attended Oak Hill's annual School of Theology, and a special day for ministers and musicians on the subject of Music and Singing is also being held. The college staff are also developing links with their counterparts at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford - another Anglican training college with an evangelical basis where the popular writer, Dr. Alister McGrath, is Principal.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peterson said he was enjoying living in England - as he had done when he lived here previously for four years, studying, among other things, under famed Biblical scholar Professor F.F. Bruce.
'I have always liked living in England,' he said. 'I quite like the English too! There is a graciousness about many English people. Sometimes Australians tend to be brash. Once English people become sure about you they become firm friends.'
David Baker
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