Impressions of the AMiA Winter Conference from Jacksonville, Florida by Fr. Robert Hackendorf, Rector of St. Andrews in Syracuse, New York (Day Three)
Friday, January 19, 2007

This is Friday, the third day of Winter Conference. A few attendees have gone home, but most of the faithful seem to be here still. There is a sense of expectancy in the air, in anticipation of hearing from the Global South Primates later this morning.

Once again, Morning Prayer was led by the Rev. Roger Salter, Rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Birmingham, AL. We used the office from the 1928 BCP and I was pleased to see many young faces joining us in prayer at such an early hour (7:15 am, which followed what have been two very late nights for many of us) Father Salter gave us a wonderful exposition of the theme verse of the conference, expanding the tent. I can only imagine that his flock is blessed to have such a fine expositor of Scripture as their pastor.

We left Morning Prayer to hear from J.I. Packer, who continued his outstanding exposition of First Corinthians. This session had the theme “Leaders under the light and power of the Holy Spirit.” Dr. Packer noted that when he first began his ministry as a Bible teacher there was seemingly little interest in the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the last 40 years have seen a surge of teaching and curiosity about this subject, due largely to the spread of the Charismatic Renewal. Dr. Packer said “The Holy Trinity is a team in which all three persons have a job to do. The Father is the planner, … the Son is Mediator and the Means of everything that happens… the Holy Spirit is the executive agent of the Godhead… everything that happens is “by” the Holy Spirit. Our Bible Study concluded with a three-fold charge from Dr. Packer: 1) Seek maturity for yourself and for those you lead; 2) Oppose rivalry, quarrels, tension and division; 3) Serve the Church with honesty and humility.

Following our studies in I Corinthians, Bishop Sandy Greene facilitated a panel discussion with Archbishops Tay, Yong Ping Chung, Kolini, Dirokpa, and Mtetemela. (Bishop Thad Barnum headed up a separate group with Archbishops Nzimbi, Akrofi, Ernest Malango and Ntahoturi.)

The first questioner raised the concern as to whether the DNA of the various fellowships of Orthodox Anglicans would allow for an eventual reunion in a unified Church some day.

++Tay pointed out the DNA metaphor, although very trendy these days, has its limitations, it seems to discount the free will decisions we all make that either promote or detract from unity.

++Mtetemela said that Christ calls us to unity, and our disunity is disobedience to Christ.

++Kolini said that “when we are here, we are in unity.” He recalled Christ’s statement that he did not come to bring peace, but division, even among families. Further, some divisions, such as the division between light and darkness, cannot be reconciled—one chases away the other. He mentioned how Rick Warren said that he had more in common with a believing Anglican than a Liberal Baptist. +Kolini went on to say that although there is division among the denominations, there is unity in the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. There can’t be real unity in the Church until there is separation from heresy.

The second and final question concerned the Primate’s meeting in Tanzania and the GS primates posture towards Katherine Schori.

++Yong Ping stressed the need for prayer. He said that we should pray that the Lord would “shut the mouth of the Devil…and open the mouth of the orthodox leaders in that meeting.”

++Mtetemela said that as a host in Africa, you do not kick out a stranger in your home, but you might ask why they are there. He asked for prayer since there is a certain amount of “righteous anger” on the part of many primates, that the Lord would give them grace to speak the truth in love. The focus of the meeting will be the entire Church, not Katherine. The issue is not ECUSA, but how the Devil is tearing apart the Church by distorting the truth.

++Kolini said that the problem with Katherine is not a gender issue, but a faith issue. The primates are going to Tanzania in obedience to the Holy Spirit. The GS primates will “do what the HS tells them to do.”

Bishop Greene concluded the panel discussion with a prayer for the Primates.

The panel discussion was followed by a wonderful presentation from Dr. Jack Deere of Wellspring Church. Dr. Deere is well known for his advocacy of the use of spiritual gifts in the life of the Church. He pointed out that Liberalism often discounts the role of the supernatural, but sadly many Evangelicals do the same thing. He talked about how the sign gifts can function within a parish without compromising the ultimate authority of the Scriptures.

The afternoon gave us time to attend more workshops and to gather with our Regional Networks. I attended the Northeast Network meeting, led by our Network Leader Ken Ross and Bishop Thad Barnum. Like the rest of the AMiA, we giving priority to new church plants. Our region also tithes 10% of our income to ministry to the poor. We are looking forward to our next regional gathering at Gordon Conwell Seminary in late April.

It was announced that the 2008 Winter Conference will be in Dallas. I can hardly wait.