In this piece, Christian Concern's Communications Officer, Camilla Olim, responds to the news that the Church of Scotland has agreed to formally unite with the Church of England, via the Columba Declaration.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, delivered an address to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on Wednesday ahead of the Columba Declaration, which has formally united the Church of England and the Church of Scotland. It will now be permissible for ministers to be exchanged between the two denominations, and for members to be welcomed into one another’s congregations.
At Christian Concern we are committed to praying for Justin Welby; for strength and wisdom as he bears a heavy mantle of responsibility in leading a global denomination.
But we must also discern carefully when our leaders speak or make major decisions, particularly when there are primary gospel issues at stake. We have previously responded to comments from the Archbishop on unity, which he made at February’s General Synod address, raising concerns that unity cannot stand if it is not grounded in scriptural truth. These comments were made with regards to the ongoing ‘discussions’ around same-sex ‘marriage’ within the Church of England.
Unity was once again a key theme of the Archbishop's address on Wednesday, centering around the necessity of unity between believers in order to be effective witnesses for Christ.
Justin Welby was right to encourage relational unity between believers of different denominations. The book of 1 John repeatedly exhorts us to love our brothers and sisters, for this is how the love of God in us is made complete.
On the surface, the Archbishop’s address is full of grace and wisdom, reminding us of the need for Christians to unify in addressing suffering, poverty and inequality. But when examining his words in context, there are several questions that need to be asked.
Justin Welby said:
“The assumption is that we are not and never can be united by the process of doctrinal discussion and agreement alone. It is essential, but it is not sufficient. Because we are always already united by a person, Jesus Christ, in whom we worship the Trinitarian God and to whom we bear witness in word and deed. Not a lot else matters if we are doing those two things (worship and witness, and all that flows from them) -- and nothing is worth doing unless its rationale and grounding are in those two vocations.”
Of course it is right that we ground all that we do in worship and witness. But John 4:24 calls us as believers to “worship in spirit and in truth”. How is this to be done when we cannot agree on the truth? Last week, ministers in the Church of Scotland were permitted to enter into same-sex ‘marriages’. For some, marriage is a secondary or even tertiary matter – but it is in fact a key component of the gospel, as a reflection of Christ and His Bride, the Church. How are we to worship in spirit and in truth when disobedience to the Word of God is not only condoned, but approved? (Romans 1:32).
What sort of witness can we offer when there is increasing confusion about the gospel message?
The Archbishop asked if we would “show good disagreement” against a backdrop of suffering due to religiously motivated violence. He said that “Jesus sits with the poor, as we stand before them, in judgement on our disunity.”
Once again he is right to compel us to action in such matters. But it is perhaps odd that he did not state unequivocally that Jesus is not only the Head of the Church, and the One in whom we are united - He is also the Living Word. To be truly united in Him means being united in His Word, in its entirety.
Justin Welby also said: "The key sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in the life of the church is the creation of a dynamic ordering and profound love amidst welcomed diversity."
Yet the Holy Spirit never contradicts His Word. There is beauty in diversity of background, and love between members of different denominations is Godly. But churches do not flourish when the gospel is compromised. Indeed, historically, the opposite is true, explaining the decline of many churches in the West.
There are issues on which the Word is clear, yet on which we are not united. We cannot pretend as though we can live together, in institutional unity and ‘good disagreement’ on primary scriptural matters, and continue to offer the world a powerful witness. The witness of the Church of Scotland has been significantly diluted by the introduction of same-sex ‘marriage’ among its ministers.
On this, the Archbishop said in his address:
“We won't always necessarily find ourselves walking in step with one another, something I've been particularly conscious of, as, like you, we have been considering the issues around same-sex marriages, and following your earlier debate on ministers in same-sex marriages. But what we believe we are providing in this report is a sound framework for us to affirm and build on the agreement we have, for the sake of our common witness to Christ.”
It is one thing to acknowledge the existence of disagreement on this primary gospel issue, but quite another to gloss over the need to make a clear biblical declaration about what God says about it in His Word.
Sadly, the Church of England is displaying a similar watering down of the gospel and increasing acceptance of unbiblical practices. Only weeks ago, it was revealed that York Minster is offering Zen Buddhist meditation classes within its premises, by a clergyman who claims to be “religiously bilingual”. Clergy who have entered into same-sex ‘marriages’ within the Church of England, such as Andrew Cain, have not been disciplined, even though this is against the Church’s teaching.
What will the Archbishop do to address these concerns?
In his speech, Archbishop Justin uses the word ‘unity’ 9 times and ‘united’ 11 times. Clearly this issue of unity is very important. However, despite its importance, it is not properly defined. It is unclear what he means by ‘unity’. If the Archbishop is referring to relational unity of believers, based on worship in spirit and in truth across different backgrounds, ethnicity and churchmanship, I would completely support him. It would be reassuring, however, to know that he means this, rather than any form of institutional unity.
When the apostle Paul was confronted with immorality amongst members of the church in Corinth, his response was to express grief, and in love, to call them to repentance.
Our response should be similar. As believers we need to continue to pray for the Archbishop, that he would also uphold biblical truth in love, and for the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to the Church.
Related Links:
Archbishop Justin Welby's speech to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (Virtue Online)
Churches of Scotland and England seal deal uniting worship (Times £)
'No unity at the expense of truth': A response to Justin Welby's Presidential Address