It’s easy to get frustrated in Christian life and church ministry when our passion for the gospel and the local church is seemingly thwarted by opposition, disruption, relationship breakdown or just human error. Is that frustration wrong? Are we expecting too much?
As a member of the Church of England, it’s hard to make sense of the current state of play with the Living in Love and Faith process. It is an existential threat because it undermines Biblical teaching on marriage, but the process has been stalled by the misfiring appointment process for vacancy in Canterbury and the recent resignation of Martin Snow as chair of the steering group. It was supposed to be a period of discernment, but it is currently a period of suspended confusion.
Evangelical responses can’t offer much comfort, because it is impossible to anticipate a clear outcome. The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) continues to offer an alternative giving scheme – the Ephesian Fund – and alternative spiritual oversight, but these are holding patterns.
Four myths about contending for truth in the CofE
For evangelicals in the Church of England, and especially those in full-time ministry, “contending for the faith” has become a …