Every year on the first weekend of November, certain members of the diocese gather together to conduct business required by the constitution and canons. This business meeting is called "Convention," and about 175 people, clergy and laity are "delegates" who attend.
As announced last month, Bishop Jim Hobby is implementing some changes to the Diocesan Staff that he believes will allow us to better serve the clergy and congregations of the diocese.
After a few days of recovery and reflection, here are some final thoughts about GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem.
1. From the overall experience (worship, teaching, fellowship, networking, etc.), I believe that Gafcon is a vibrant, global missional movement. To see African, Asian, and Latin American leadership was thrilling. Colonialism is over and the fruit of sacrificial mission work has fully matured, producing more sacrificial mission. Awe-inspiring! God is using the crisis in the Anglican Communion to forge a missional movement led by the Global South.
Dear Friends,
Today was again filled with great teaching, inspiring worship, and encouraging fellowship.
Our Bible exposition focused on the story in Luke of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Our preacher exhorted us to preach Jesus in the Old Testament and to preach well.
Dear Co-heirs with Christ,
On this day at GAFCON we reflected on the biblical story of Jesus’ resurrection. While it is easy for its wonder to dissipate, the fact of the resurrection is a startling reality. Jesus actually rose from the dead and promised that we would join Him in His victory over death. Therefore, we should be the most joyful, most unflappable, most hopeful people in the world; not even death can beat us. Check out the GAFCON website to hear Bishop Tito Zavala, who is known by many in Pittsburgh, open the Scriptures (gafcon.org).
Dear Friends,
During the second day of GAFCON 2018, we continued to worship the Lord enthusiastically under the leadership of a Nigerian choir. We walked carefully through the trial and death of Jesus in our Bible exposition, seeing in them the heart of the Gospel, Jesus substitution for us. And, in our final morning session, we saw clearly God’s love for the Church and its mission in the world. Woven between the plenary presentations were opportunities to meet new friends from around the world and to rekindle old acquaintances.
Dear Partners in the Gospel,
What a privilege it is to be here at GAFCON 2018, gathered with almost 2,000 Anglican believers from around the world! As I share some of my impressions and highlights, you can follow what’s happening in Jerusalem though the GAFCON website (www.gafcon.org/events/jerusalem-2018).
Dear Members of the Diocese,
After 2 years of observing, listening, praying and testing lots of hypothesis, I'm making some changes to the Diocesan Staff that I believe will allow us to better serve the clergy and congregations of the Diocese.
Congregations (and even small groups within congregations) have 6 basic ministry dynamics: worship/prayer, evangelism/mission, discipleship, pastoral/mutual care, communication, and administration. Therefore, I am structuring diocesan staffing around these 6 ministry dynamics.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The Reformers consistently emphasized the biblical teaching that Christ’s work on the Cross is complete. We can add nothing to what He accomplished through His sacrifice of Himself on our behalf. As we say in our liturgy, “He made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world.” This emphasis on the finished work of Christ on the Cross has led some to think mistakenly that Christ’s work is finished altogether.
I am deeply committed to church planting. I believe it is the best way to reach people with Jesus’ love. I want to see church planting become normative in this diocese and in the ACNA. But, I wasn’t always an advocate.
