ACNA and the hard work of leadership

Just days ago, the Anglican Church in North America’s College of Bishops met in Plano, Texas. The bishops had a lot on their plate, and a good bit of their business had to do with those of their own number. Several ACNA bishops were called to account for their actions.

For one, the College deposed Derek Jones from the Sacred Ministry. Jones had been the bishop of the Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, and the reports about his conduct in that role are hair-raising. “The facts now established show that over a period of many years he has offended against God and the Body of Christ through acts of wickedness, cruelty, and abuse of power against chaplains with limited recourse,” the College’s statement declared. What comes after is even more jaw-dropping: “The pain and destruction to these chaplains and their families is loathsome, and we are deeply ashamed and lament that members of this body who knew about this behavior neither urgently nor robustly addressed concerns and complaints regarding Mr. Jones.”

Yes, you read that right: Some bishops in the college knew, and they didn’t do much about it to start with. This confession is astounding, and so is the attitude of penitence: “As part of our collective repentance, we recognize the culture of our College must change and we are seeking to understand how this abuse was allowed to happen.”

Additionally, the College censured Bishop Chip Edgar of the Diocese of South Carolina, with no accompanying pastoral admonition. In late August, Bishop Edgar had participated in a chapel dedication service at the Porter-Gaud School. He did so with Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, the Episcopal bishop of South Carolina, even participating in a Communion service with her while vested. As institutions, the ACNA and The Episcopal Church (TEC) are in broken communion over profound differences regarding doctrine and morals, and Bishop Woodliff-Stanley supports abortion and sexual immorality. This public stunt left orthodox Anglicans angered and confused, and it was made worse by what Warren Cole Smith rightly called Bishop Edgar’s “non-apology apology.”

Well, things changed in short order. On Sept. 2, Julian Dobbs, dean of the province (who has been fulfilling Archbishop Steve Woods’s duties, who himself is on trial in the church) announced that a complement of ACNA bishops submitted a presentment against Bishop Edgar. Bishop Edgar agreed with the charges and consented to be disciplined by the College. Thus, a censure without pastoral admonition.

So what does all this reveal? Well, the honeymoon stage is certainly over for the ACNA. The heterodox errors of The Episcopal Church need to be kept in the rearview mirror, with lines of orthodoxy clearly drawn and enforced, perhaps with explicit directions to guide ACNA clergy who find themselves in ecumenical situations. Our doctrinal and moral commitments must remain firm and clear. I am guessing this might be addressed by the newly announced faith-and-order standing body, the Custodia Fidei. But ACNA must also avoid and root out bad models of episcopal ministry, rejecting megachurch CEO-ism, charismatic guru-ism, or warlord-ism. These are quite tempting to fall into because of the province’s geographically overlapping dioceses, some of which hold to incongruous values and practices, resulting in competition and confusion.

As a province, we must move beyond vibes to principles. If the ACNA is to have a healthy institutional future, it must ground itself in the historic Anglican Formularies of Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Ordinal, and the Books of Homilies. Likewise, we must have the rule of canon law, not just the rule of strong personalities and tribalism. That means more uniformity of doctrine and practice, and that includes the issue of women’s ordination. I worry that a lot of powerful people and institutions within the province aren’t going to like this at all. Too many have come to love Anglicanism as a wax nose, characterized by vagueness, wiggle room, and liturgical window dressing. Good order means some people don’t get to do what they want. And the church must require good order.

Let me finish with this. Despite their unsettling aspects, the Jones and Edgar situations do offer some glimmers of hope. I was pleased to see decisiveness with regard to the Edgar situation. I think it indicates that the bishops are working harder to police themselves, correcting a weakness that seemed to have made the Jones case (and other crises in the past) worse. That is why the contrite tone of the letter regarding the deposing of Jones encouraged me. I earnestly pray the bishops follow through on this. The bishops do need to be able to speak with openness and honesty with each other without fear of leaked, out-of-context information erupting on social media. However, while the cloak-and-dagger of secret conclaves and intrigues may make for profitable Hollywood thrillers about the Vatican, they are a poor fit for a faithful and protestant Anglicanism in the United States.

The Anglican Church in North America will grow into an ever-stronger force for the Kingdom if she embraces the Anglican Formularies, clear and candid communication, and decisive leadership that remains accountable. And all this can be done, God being our helper.