This morning I received an e-mail from someone inquiring about our church. He asked for our doctrinal statement. Let me say from the outset that I commend this gentleman. It's an encouraging thing to find someone who wants to know up front what the church believes instead of how big our youth program is or the like. The theology of a church is much more indicative of the direction and ethos of the church than its building or programs or what have you. What we think about God determines what we think about everything else - that is, if our theology is also, as Tozer put it, our "practical, working theology." Simply having a creed or "doctrinal statement" is no guarantee that the church practices and experiences what it believes.
Since the main goal of this blog is to celebrate the good things about being Anglican, I can't help but comment on how little we need American church ministry doctrinal statements. Now it would not surprise me that there are Anglican churches out there with one of these doctrinal statements (I think I've seen some on the web, but the old memory is not what it used to be). But why? Doctrinal statements came into fashion with para-church ministries that had to identify themselves since they were not alligned with any established church and its heritage. Churches seem to have adopted them because they are just as much a part of our individualistic and fragmented culture as the para-church folks. Everybody has to have their own doctrinal statement. Sorry - not us. We have an inherited doctrinal position that connects us with saints of the past and throughout the world today. Our church doesn't need to have its own "personal testimony." Nor do we want one. We revel in our heritage and our connectedness.
Now that I think of it, the origin of doctrinal statements was also rooted in the fight against liberalism. Churches wanted to be sure everybody knew they believed the Fundamentals. It's understandable. We Anglicans have to assure people we are not like certain people in TEC. I sympathise with the need to distinguish, but, again, all we need to do is point to our doctrinal heritage and tell people, "We really believe it!"
All people need to know about us is the old 16th century formula that has served the Church of England just fine through the years: 1 Canon, 2 Testaments, 3 Creeds, 4 Councils, 5 centuries. Then there are the Formularies: Primary - the Bible - and Secondary - The Prayer Book, The Articles, and the Ordinal; all of which is conveniently (that's important for Americans) found in one volume. That's us. Sure, it's more to read than a simplified doctrinal statement, but then I'd say that makes it just that much more profitable for folks. They need to open the Prayer Book and discover the historic beauty and depth of Christian belief.
Alongside doctrinal statements has arisen the fad of mission statements. I'm sorry - I just think they are plain silly. I have yet to read one church or para-church mission statement that is not some reworking of the Great Commission or some passage from Paul about body life or something. True - it's personalised. Well, do you have to rewrite the Bible with your name in it for everything else it instructs your church to do?
If I seem a bit ticked about this, it is because I have had people in a certain denomination treat me as if I was an absolute buffoon and maybe even a heretic because my church did not have a mission statement. It was as if the work of God could not possibly go on without one. Is there no end to the hubris and tunnel vision of American evangelicals?
Besides all this, mission statements are just a borrowing from the business world and carry with them the spirit of commerce and competition, which we don't need. I get a bit scared about the future of Anglicanism when I see "church growth" gurus speaking at Anglican conferences. Brethren, let's be careful about this kind of thing.
Worship God. Preach the whole counsel. Seek to live the whole counsel. Administer the sacraments and love one another. Reach out to those in need, especially in spiritual need. Just as a doctrinal position is dead without application, so a mission statement is dead without these things. Let's just plug on with what God's given us to do and let the fads go by as the Anglican tradition lives on and on.
Since the main goal of this blog is to celebrate the good things about being Anglican, I can't help but comment on how little we need American church ministry doctrinal statements. Now it would not surprise me that there are Anglican churches out there with one of these doctrinal statements (I think I've seen some on the web, but the old memory is not what it used to be). But why? Doctrinal statements came into fashion with para-church ministries that had to identify themselves since they were not alligned with any established church and its heritage. Churches seem to have adopted them because they are just as much a part of our individualistic and fragmented culture as the para-church folks. Everybody has to have their own doctrinal statement. Sorry - not us. We have an inherited doctrinal position that connects us with saints of the past and throughout the world today. Our church doesn't need to have its own "personal testimony." Nor do we want one. We revel in our heritage and our connectedness.
Now that I think of it, the origin of doctrinal statements was also rooted in the fight against liberalism. Churches wanted to be sure everybody knew they believed the Fundamentals. It's understandable. We Anglicans have to assure people we are not like certain people in TEC. I sympathise with the need to distinguish, but, again, all we need to do is point to our doctrinal heritage and tell people, "We really believe it!"
All people need to know about us is the old 16th century formula that has served the Church of England just fine through the years: 1 Canon, 2 Testaments, 3 Creeds, 4 Councils, 5 centuries. Then there are the Formularies: Primary - the Bible - and Secondary - The Prayer Book, The Articles, and the Ordinal; all of which is conveniently (that's important for Americans) found in one volume. That's us. Sure, it's more to read than a simplified doctrinal statement, but then I'd say that makes it just that much more profitable for folks. They need to open the Prayer Book and discover the historic beauty and depth of Christian belief.
Alongside doctrinal statements has arisen the fad of mission statements. I'm sorry - I just think they are plain silly. I have yet to read one church or para-church mission statement that is not some reworking of the Great Commission or some passage from Paul about body life or something. True - it's personalised. Well, do you have to rewrite the Bible with your name in it for everything else it instructs your church to do?
If I seem a bit ticked about this, it is because I have had people in a certain denomination treat me as if I was an absolute buffoon and maybe even a heretic because my church did not have a mission statement. It was as if the work of God could not possibly go on without one. Is there no end to the hubris and tunnel vision of American evangelicals?
Besides all this, mission statements are just a borrowing from the business world and carry with them the spirit of commerce and competition, which we don't need. I get a bit scared about the future of Anglicanism when I see "church growth" gurus speaking at Anglican conferences. Brethren, let's be careful about this kind of thing.
Worship God. Preach the whole counsel. Seek to live the whole counsel. Administer the sacraments and love one another. Reach out to those in need, especially in spiritual need. Just as a doctrinal position is dead without application, so a mission statement is dead without these things. Let's just plug on with what God's given us to do and let the fads go by as the Anglican tradition lives on and on.
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