Weekly Update from the AAC

July 3, 2014

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. - Revelation 3:20

The Next 5 Years in the ACNA

From left to right: Mrs. Allison Beach, Archbishop-elect Foley Beach, Mrs. Nara Dewar Duncan, Archbishop Bob Duncan, Archbishop Tito Xavala

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, friends of the Anglican realignment,

Much has already been written about the meetings of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) last week-especially about the Bishop's conclave, the election of +Foley Beach as our new Archbishop, the unity of all those gathered at Provincial Assembly and the great celebration of a race "well run" (2 Timothy 4:7) by Archbishop (emeritus) Robert Duncan. The election of +Foley Beach shows that the ACNA will live and flourish beyond the doomsayers who said we'd never make it this far. The addition of 12,000 new members, 488 new church plants, and several thousand adult baptisms shows that we are a church looking forward into mission and being true to our God given mission received through ++Robert Duncan-to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

So let me offer just three observations, from my standpoint:

1. Together, we have changed the conversation: No, we did not plant 1000 churches in five years (2009-2014).But we planted 488 more than we would have if we had kept looking in the rear view mirror at our past and our exodus. And those 488 new churches are in addition to somewhere around 100 plants that did not succeed. Church planting experts like Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Ministries told us at Assembly that this accomplishment is extraordinary by any measurement, and that what we need to be thinking about is how to build on this momentum in the next five years. We are no longer defined by what we are NOT-we are defined by the Great Commission and the imperative of reaching people who do not yet know Jesus Christ. This is perhaps the greatest legacy Archbishop Duncan leaves us-changing the conversation from conflict with The Episcopal Church (TEC) to Christ's Great Commission-and we are all much better for it spiritually, emotionally, and institutionally. Archbishop Foley's sermon calling us to personal, relational evangelism, witness and discipleship in the workplace and beyond builds on that legacy with crystal clarity. Here at the American Anglican Council, we stand ready to promote this vision and mission of the ACNA as we continue to develop faithful leaders at all levels of the Church and equip local congregations to fulfill Christ's Great Commission to make disciples...read more.

Article 11: On the Justification of Man

Article 11: On the Justification of Man

Do we have ANYTHING we can give God? Canon Ashey looks at Article 11 of the 39 Articles of Religion.

XI. Of the Justification of Man.

We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only, is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.

Transcript of Q&A with Archbishop Foley Beach

Titus 1:9 Blog

July 3, 2014

AB Beach: Let us pray together please:

Father, we ask in Jesus' name that you would use this time for your glory; that you would give us better insight and understanding on your church and what you are doing in our lives together. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Before I say a few words I wanted to introduce my wife, Allison. Many of you have seen her around. Alison and I have been married 31 years and we have 2 children. James is 25 years old and is a senior at an American university getting his masters in International Relations and Arabic; and our daughter is getting ready to be 23 and she is entering the University of Georgia to get her masters in Children's Literacy. And so we are very blessed to have a wonderful family. Allison, do you want to say anything?

Allison Beach: I just thank God for you all and I thank you for the prayers that we already feel. You know there is so much power in prayer and this is a high calling and a high privilege and you all are right there with us and we thank you for what you are going to do for this whole movement to grow closer to the Lord and to bring others to Him. And I just thank you and we both thank you from the bottom of our hearts for what you are doing.

AB Beach: Thanks [Applause]

I thought I would begin by just telling you just a little bit about myself, so that you kind of know some of my history. People keep saying, 'we don't know anything about you.'

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia and was living what I thought was a normal childhood until about age 8 when...

my dad happened to be home one day, when I got home. I rode my bike home back from school. Yes back in those days we could ride our bikes as an 8 year old to school. And he was in the little garage area where we would park our bicycles, and he said, "I need to talk to you." And he began to share that he and my mother were going to have a divorce and that he would be leaving. And of course, I was devastated, didn't quite understand what was going on. Later I did some study and discovered that my mother had been running around sleeping with all kinds of men - she had issues with alcohol - and he just couldn't take it any more.

Well back then the courts always gave custody to the mother and so my five brothers and sisters went to live with her, and she immediately got involved, at that time in the culture, the drug movement and the hippy movement [you all remember the wildness of the late 60's] swept through our town, and my mother became what you would call a hippy. Some of you all may remember that, some of you may not remember that, but you should remember that...Read more.

Big Shoes to Fill
The Living Church
By Jeffrey Walton
June 28, 2014

Early this week Bishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America's Diocese of the South was elected in a bishops' conclave to succeed Archbishop Robert Duncan, who has completed a five-year term. On the day before a Holy Eucharist marking the transfer of authority from Duncan to Beach, the archbishop-elect paused for an interview with The Living Church.

You are the first successor to a founding primate. What are some of the challenges that you foresee?

Number one is just filling Duncan's shoes. He has some really big feet. All of the responsibilities that are currently with the office of the archbishop are broad, and there is a lot to it. That's going to be a challenge - discerning what to delegate and when to delegate.

There is no way, especially as we continue to grow, that the archbishop can do all of this by himself. He's got to have other bishops helping him, and that's my plan. You've got the whole international piece, the ecumenical piece, both of which are continuing to grow, and good things are happening.

Then you have the domestic piece, which is how we grow and multiply our congregations and are effective doing mission in this country. What Os Guinness said today about "taking back the West," that's what we need to be about here, and how to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ, and be a small part of a true spiritual awakening in our countries...read more.

Bishop of Sheffield orders Welby Facilitated Conversations on Sexual Immorality in Communion/CofE

Church of England General Synod

July 3, 2014

Shared Conversations on Sexuality, Scripture and Mission

1. The Pilling Report, published in November 2013, recommended that the church's internal dialogue on the subject of human sexuality might best be addressed through a process of conversations across the church and involving others in the Anglican Communion. This recommendation was endorsed by the College of Bishops in January. The outlines of the process were agreed by the House of Bishops in May.

2. The House agreed in May that the process should be managed centrally for the sake of consistency and clarity in reporting back. It also approved a shape and timescale for the discussions, and authorised its Standing Committee to consider and sign-off final materials and arrangements. The Standing Committee met on 18 June and this note records its conclusions ...Read more.

The Hobby Lobby Decision: A Big Win for Religious Liberty - and a Very Revealing Divide on the Court

Albert Mohler

June 30, 2014

Today's decision in the Hobby Lobby case represents a huge win for religious liberty in America, and the 5-4 decision will now stand as a landmark case that will reshape the religious liberty debate for generations to come. At the same time, the deeply divided court also revealed in startling clarity its own internal debates over religious liberty - and that division of understanding at the nation's highest court is very disturbing indeed.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito declared that the Obama Administration had profoundly failed to meet the demands of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA] and, more importantly, the demands of the U. S. Constitution. By mandating that corporations provide all forms of contraception or birth control for all female employees at no cost, the government had burdened the consciences of the Christian owners of Hobby Lobby, Mardel, and Conestoga Wood, the three corporations involved in the decision...read more.