Ugh.

OK so i finally get a breather between the financial meltdown, a diocesan convention, two client conferences (one of which I helped to put on) and basically taking a break from All Things Anglican (except for my own parish, of course), to find that we have a new Anglican-esque denomination that is calling itself the Anglican Church in North America.

What we have here is A Big Mess.

GAFCON, GAFFECON, GAFFE-MESS

Naturally I have been keeping an eye on what has been going on over in Jerusalem.  My own thoughts, at least until the end.

1)  I love the way how everyone at the other end of the table keep saying that none of this is about gay sex or homosexuality, and then launch immediately into this whole diatribe about the evils of homosexuality and how icky gay sex is, equating it to bestiality, incest, and of course, the ever popular pedophilia.  Let’s just be honest, shall we?  It is not about the authority of Scripture, it is about the homos.  End of story.

2)  The amount of fear and bile and even hatred at times coming from the other end of the table is appalling, especially in the comments area of two websites who shall not be named.  What is the reason for it?  It just seems so unfaithful to whom we are called to be as members of the Body of Christ.  To quote Romans 1, a passage which I have heard ad inifitum in trying to condemn who I am, I would almost venture to say that in many ways they have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie.”   Indeed, “since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind.  They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, and malice.  Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die — yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.”  This seems more in line with what is read in the comments areas of Those Sites Who Shall Not Be Named than anything I read at this end of the table.

3)  Speaking of the whole mess of GAFCON being in Jerusalem, I think that this just goes to show how arrogant and insensitive the organizers and leadership of that movement are.  The last thing Jerusalem needs is 1,000 or so Anglicans of any stripe traipsing around the most contested real estate in the world.  These sentiments have been expressed by the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem.  But, they went anyway.  It is clear the only thing they have any interest in promoting is their own agenda and making a show of power and flexing of muscles, and not in spreading the Gospel, and not even the Gospel they claim to represent.  I think the Bishop recognizes this on some level because his address to the attendees could be summed up in one sentence:  “You people better behave yourselves while you’re here.”

Enough for now ….

Prophecy in +Pittsburgh

(Hat tip to Fr Jake)

Normally I do not comment heavily on our issues in The Episcopal Church, but I thought this was very interesting ….

Bishop Robert Duncan is claiming to have received a prophecy, as stated here. It has been very difficult to log onto the page all morning, but here is the text:

Beloved in the Lord,
As the Februar y TRINITY was going to press, a prophecy was sent to us by the Revd. Mark Stibbe,
Rector of St. Andrew’s, Chorleywood, Diocese of St. Alban’s, England. Most of the clergy remember Fr.
Stibbe as the keynote presenter for our fall clergy conference. The conference was a spiritual high-
light of the year and extraordinar y time of fellowship and ministry among our ordained leaders.
Mark has of ten been to Pit tsburgh and is a great friend of Bp. Joseph Garlington and of our brothers
and sisters in Covenant Church. The prophecy speaks for itself in the context of the momentous events that swirl around us. Our God loves us and loves His bride, the Church. I hope you will find as much encouragement in these words as the Leadership Team did.

Faithfully your Bishop,

+Bob Pittsburgh

The Year of the Gate —

Pass through, pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.
Isaiah 62:10
In Hebrew, the number eight is rendered by the letter CHET, which is depicted in the form of a GATE
The number eight is related to new star ts and new life in the Scriptures – the most notable being the resurrection of Jesus which occurred on the eighth day…
Eight is the number of the gate… And I sensed the Holy Spirit saying simply this:
2008 is the year of the open gate. Prepare to pass through the gate. There are new beginnings ahead for those who have been waiting patiently for their moment to come. Obstacles are being removed. The Father is breaking his children out of a sense of captivit y to past restrictions. The anointing for new beginnings is on many in this year. The time of frustration and exile is coming to an end. This is the Lord’s time for his people to rise up and follow him through the gates of opportunity. New star ts are looming. Many are on the point of experiencing the new life that convergence brings. And the true church – even though it will know many trials – is on the point of experiencing new life, a new season of vitality and creativit y, a brand new Reformation. A highway is being built, stones are being removed, and a banner is being raised for the nations. So get ready… and do not be afraid. Do not be anxious. 2008 is the year of the gate… And there is a BREAKER ANOINTING on those who are pushing up to the threshold of their opportunity:
One who breaks open the way will go up
before them; they will break through the gate and go out.
Their king will pass through before them, the
LORD at their head
Micah 2:13

Now, some of you may know that I spent some time in the Assemblies of God and considered myself a Pentecostal for a number of years. At 17, quite by accident and totally unlooked for, I was “slain in the Spirit” and “Baptized by the Holy Ghost.” As such, I am familiar with things like speaking in tongues, healings, and prophecy.