The Jerusalem Declaration

Here are 14 statements from GAFCON worth reflecting on:

THE JERUSALEM DECLARATION

In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit:

1. We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, have met in the land of Jesus’ birth. We express our loyalty as disciples to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. We joyfully embrace his command to proclaim the reality of his kingdom which he first announced in this land. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation for all. In light of the above, we agree to chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly declaring the following tenets of orthodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity.

2. We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.

3. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.

4. We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

5. We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.

6. We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Saviour from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.

7. We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.

8. We recognise that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the classic Anglican Ordinal as an authoritative standard of clerical orders.

9. We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.

10. We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptise, teach and bring new believers to maturity.

11. We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.

12. We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognise the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration. We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.

13. We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.

14. We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.

GAFCON

Church Planting Masterclass No.3

This is just a reminder of the third church planting seminar by Nigel Gordon.

Thursday 3rd July 7:45pm at Church.

This evening will particulalry focus on the details of Nigel and Liz's church planting venture for next year. There will be an open forum with Nigel to discuss the plans for the church plant he will be leading in 2009. This is an important meeting to get informed about the new Church plant. This is for both those who might be interested in joining Nigel and those who will support through prayer and interest back at St. Matt's. Everyone is invited.
GP

Some commentary on the GAFCON Final statement

Tony Payne reflects on the final statement of GAFCON

the Statement itself says

"Our fellowship is not breaking away from the Anglican Communion. We, together with many other faithful Anglicans throughout the world, believe the doctrinal foundation of Anglicanism, which defines our core identity as Anglicans, is expressed in these words: The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. We intend to remain faithful to this standard, and we call on others in the Communion to reaffirm and return to it. While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Building on the above doctrinal foundation of Anglican identity, we hereby publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of our fellowship."

For a brief useful comment on the final Statement

see Tony Payne

We look forward to Kanishka's reflections when he returns.

Click here for full text

GP

GAFCON: The final statement

Here is an extract:

"The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which was held in Jerusalem from 22-29 June 2008, is a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it. The movement is global: it has mobilised Anglicans from around the world. We are Anglican: 1148 lay and clergy participants, including 291 bishops representing millions of faithful Anglican Christians. We cherish our Anglican heritage and the Anglican Communion and have no intention of departing from it. And we believe that, in God’s providence, Anglicanism has a bright future in obedience to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to build up the church on the foundation of biblical truth (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:20).

GAFCON is not just a moment in time, but a movement in the Spirit, and we hereby:

• launch the GAFCON movement as a fellowship of confessing Anglicans

• publish the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis of the fellowship

• encourage GAFCON Primates to form a Council. "

Click here for the full text

GP

Websites for Gafcon updates

Here are a couple of websites for good information and commentary on GAFCON

The Anglican Church League

http://acl.asn.au/

The Sola panel

http://solapanel.org/

The GAFCON Website

http://www.gafcon.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=29


Cheers

Gavin

Oprah's Jesus

Oprah has stirred up Christians in the US recently with her comments about Jesus...

One segment of the YouTube video, taken from Oprah’s show, is a prime example of what angers many evangelical or traditional Christians. “There are many paths to what you call God,” Oprah says. When someone in the audience challenges that Jesus said he was the only way, Oprah retorts, “There couldn’t possibly be just one way.”

Widaman said the beliefs of other entertainers, such as Tom Cruise and Madonna, have come under quite a bit of scrutiny. “But because Oprah is who she is, the media is much less willing to tackle her strange beliefs because of the power she holds through her production company, television show and magazine,” he said. “We thought her views warranted examination as anyone who is using their power to spread them,” he said. “She really is using her television show as a pulpit for her gospel.”

In his investigative article, Steve Rabey gives further reasons for Christian discontent. “Oprah speaks less about salvation through Christ than she does Christ-consciousness,” he writes. “Likewise, she describes heaven not as an eternal destination but an inner realm of consciousness.”

For the full Article Click Here


What do you think?

GP

Reflections from GAFCON on Anglican identity

Australian christian writer Tony Payne reflects on Anglican identity at GAFCON.

"What is a true blue Anglican? And what is the positive basis for Anglican unity and identity?
The workshop I’ve been attending on ‘Anglican Identity’ has been very stimulating on this crucial question, especially the addresses by Ashley Null and Andrew Shead on the common authority that Anglicanism rests upon. According to the norms and rules of the conference, I’m not allowed to report in detail on what happens in the these workshops. What I can tell you is that Null and Shead brilliantly outlined and reaffirmed that Anglicanism has an overarching, identity-shaping, unifying authority in its doctrine of Scripture.

When we look at the core documents of Anglicanism (the 39 Articles, the Homilies, and the Book of Common Prayer) a very clear picture emerges. Scripture alone is the authority, and the ‘church’ (viewed as the denomination here) is but a keeper and witness to ‘Holy Writ’, and has no power to over-rule Scripture, dismiss it, or bypass it. And although the church and its councils may resolve controversies and make decisions about matters of ceremony and order, this authority is ruled and circumscribed by Scripture..."

For the Full text Click Here ....

Go Cranmer!

GP