Tell it like it is

The Standing Committee of the American Diocese of Bethlehem has voted unanimously to oppose the consecration of Father Mark Lawrence as the new Bishop of South Carolina. Father Lawrence (who is sound as a pound) has caused concern amongst revisionists as his new diocese (and his old one as it happens) are both manoeuvring to cut their ties with the uber-liberal leadership of the Episcopal Church. What’s interesting for me is one paragraph in the Bethlehem statement:

“We consider the consent question to be an ecclesiological, not a theological, question. Neither Father Lawrence’s nor Canon Robinson’s theology is relevant to the consent process.”

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzztt. Thank you for playing Bethlehem.

Do they not get it? Ecclesiology is ALL about theology. It’s about who Jesus is and who we are in him and how we live that out as community. This paragraph more then any in Bethlehem’s statement shows that for the revisionists the issue is NOT about the truth of who God is and who we are in front of him, it is about raw naked power over the buildings and people of TEC.

I find myself praying each and every day for my orthodox colleagues in the USA. They truly understand what standing for the Gospel is really about.