View from the Pew of AMIA - Christ is Still the King

As a six year member of the Anglican Mission, I remain confused and saddened by the recent divisions in our leadership. To put the matter in context here in Columbia S.C., our congregation had just completed a very ambitious building project when the week before our opening celebration we learned that our Bishop Glenn had resigned. To his Credit and our delight, Terrell did celebrate the opening of our church building with us and shared our joy on "Christ the King" Sunday, but, of course, a few short weeks later we all learned that Bishop Murphy and several others had apparently decided to go too, though it is not at all certain exactly where they are going and who may be following. As these events unfolded, I found myself, a cradle Episcopalian who left the national church over the issue of poor leadership, particularly within the House of Bishops, wondering indeed whether I had been duped by a brand of even worse leadership, and to use a bad, morbid, modern analogy, whether I "drank the kool-aid", indeed, had I distributed the kool-aid to others, my family, my friends?

Honestly, the answer is yes and no. Yes, because we all feel a bit foolish over these late events. Yes, because we see the same flaws in our new leaders as we see in the leaders of other broken churches, and yes, because we have been led astray. I have read Bishop Murphy's plans for the missionary society, and it is a structure of executive leadership with limited accountability. To put this in context, could you even imagine the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church or indeed any diocese in the church which is "episcopal" in organization, even conceiving of such a major sea-change without consultation or communion with the flock they presumably lead? Such a thing is so preposterous, audacious and so very presumptuous as to make one sober up rather quickly. The analogy of being led out of Egypt does not do me, personally, much good, particularly when it feels a bit more like Jonestown than the Negev.

I say these things not to be mean or critical, I say these things simply because the pastoral aspect of leadership has been utterly lacking. There has been no meaningful pastoral response to any rank and file members from AMIA on either side of the Atlantic. There has been a "cease fire" declaration which sounds, to some extent as a declaration of censorship, and in all of this the is the nagging perception that the people in the pews are dumb pawns, not worthy of consultation, forced to follow a leader, pick one side over the other, and the monumental rift is over....personality...control...tithes to Africa....egos...money? To read more, click here.