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NAIROBI: Kenyan Archbishop accuses Western organizations of undermining faith

NAIROBI: Kenyan Archbishop accuses "powerful, well-funded organizations" of undermining historic faith
Paralysis in the Anglican Communion has intensified in last five years, says Wabukala
Anglican covenant has failed to bring discipline to the Anglican Communion

By David W. Virtue in Nairobi
www.virtueonline.org
October 22, 2013

The chairman of the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON), meeting here at All Saints' Cathedral today, accused what he called "powerful and well-funded organizations working to see Kenya and other African nations adopt the same values which are causing so much havoc to faith, family and society in the West."

African Anglicans must confront these challenges together as a truly global Communion, he told more than 1300 delegates to GAFCON. "Those of us in Africa and the Global South have no room for complacency," said Archbishop Eliud Wabukala.

"The challenge we face is that the nations which were once spiritual powerhouses of world-wide mission have now become deeply secularized and even hostile to the Christian faith and the churches of those lands have more often than not been strongly influenced by the societies in which they are set."

The archbishop said the threat of violence from Islamic extremism is not nearly as dangerous as the rot pushed by liberals from the West that is tearing at the fabric of the Communion. "This is a much more insidious process by which weak churches are gradually being taken captive by the surrounding culture."

The evangelical archbishop described the Global Anglican Future conference as a place where the gospel has taken root and, by its very nature, global - not merely because of our history, but because the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ to "all nations."

The GAFCON chairman likened what is happening in parts of the Anglican Communion to Kenyan wildlife which once roamed freely and are now located in special game reserves due to possible extinctions. "There are those who would like to see orthodox Anglicans allotted a reserve in which they must stay and not challenge false teaching. It is very sad to see faithful people struggling for a place to survive in such compromised churches."

He said orthodox Anglicans who feel themselves endangered should never settle to be thought of merely as an endangered species called "traditionalists" because our Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans links us together - a global majority.

"In 2008 we took the historic step of recognizing a new orthodox Province in North America, and it is a great joy to have the Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, Robert Duncan, at this conference. We need to continue to act with the same boldness.

"The meeting in Jerusalem was called in a sense of urgency that a false gospel has so paralyzed the Anglican Communion that this crisis must be addressed. The chief threat of this dispute involves the compromising of the integrity of the church's worldwide mission."

Wabukala said that in five years the paralysis has only intensified. "It has become clear that the Communion now needs new wineskins, a new way of ordering its affairs to fulfill the world-wide scope of the Great Commission.

"The Archbishop of Canterbury has now come to the conclusion by acknowledging that the Anglican Communion's now-colonial leadership structures need to be replaced, when he preached here at All Saints last Sunday."

Wabukala warned that a stable and effective leadership could only be developed if the depth of the spiritual crisis is recognized and acknowledged.

ANGLICAN COVENANT HAS FAILED

The archbishop noted that the Anglican Covenant has failed to win consent despite years of negotiation because of weak theological discipline. The Archbishops of Canterbury is no longer able to gather the Communion.

"We must deal now with the existence and tolerance of a false gospel within the Anglican Communion as identified in the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration."

He said GAFCON is gaining momentum as a movement and "We are right to assert the historic gospel of grace as the basis upon which we gather.

"From the outset this movement has sought to articulate what the Bible teaches and to act in obedience to that teaching. We cannot stand by passively as the cause of Christ is attacked and undermined. We are in a spiritual battle which requires prayerful action.

"The strategic global challenge within the Anglican Communion is the re-evangelization of the West. GAFCON should be to the Anglican Communion as the East African Revival was to this region. We are in a fierce spiritual battle, but we are confident of victory as we rededicate ourselves to the service of the Risen Christ, who has promised his presence 'to the end of the age.'"

END

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