Worship as foundation of counter-cultural witness

May 21, 2019 by

Worship as foundation of counter-cultural witness

by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. In an article for Metro, vicar and TV personality Kate Bottley argues that Kanye West’s new “Sunday Service” venture isn’t a proper church. There’s no sermon, Kanye himself is an egotistical pop star and celebrity not a proper priest, attendance at the ‘church’ is by invitation only, and the fantastically wealthy couple at the centre of it all don’t appear to be promoting a culture of helping the needy. While Kate may have a point, I think she’s missed...

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Some thoughts on church planting

May 14, 2019 by

Some thoughts on church planting

by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. Is the received model of full-time, housed and salaried pastor for each local church necessary or even biblical? How else do we ensure good teaching, pastoral care, leadership? Roland Allen was a high church Anglican who served in the Church of England and then as a missionary in China in the late 19th/early 20th century. He wrote his classic critique of contemporary mission methods in 1912 [helpful summary here], arguing that they were based on...

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Should we stop talking about ‘Cultural Marxism’?

May 7, 2019 by

by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. I’m going to have a go at a simple definition of Cultural Marxism (CM). The main contention of Karl Marx was that power is controlled by a class of rich people (the bourgeoisie), who oppress the much larger class of poor people (the proletariat) and deprive them of liberty and their true humanity. A revolution is needed to overturn this situation and create a new order of equality and justice. Once this has happened, the State needs to carefully control...

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An example of ‘good separation’ as new Anglican church is established outside the C of E

Apr 30, 2019 by

by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. For many faithful members of the Church of England, Christian experience is defined almost entirely by the local fellowship. The weeks just before and after Easter constitute the season for Annual Meetings in parishes and congregations. These deal with issues of finance and buildings, but many churches will also use them as an opportunity for a spiritual audit, looking at setbacks and successes over the past year, and putting forward strategies and vision...

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Easter is a message of hope for the penitent, not for those who pronounce themselves innocent

Apr 16, 2019 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. There is something about the idea of “no-fault divorce” which goes beyond the issue of how to regulate marriage and family in the 21st century. It can also be seen as an illustration of psychological and spiritual self-management in a post Christian culture. The argument which has won the day goes like this: few people nowadays believe that marriages should last forever; in reality relationships have a life span which when ended should allow people to...

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Bonhoeffer: the prophet against the culture-controlled church

Apr 9, 2019 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. Today (April 9th) is the 74th anniversary of the execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Nazi guards in Flossenburg camp, just a month before the end of the war. A doctor witnessing the hanging later said “I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God”. Eric Metaxas’ masterful account of Bonhoeffer’s life shows clearly how he was formed by insights gained during the early years of his ministry. The brilliantly talented young...

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