Keep Out

Oops. The planning meeting for GAFCON has got off to a rotten start. What the Jordan Anglican bishop cannot do the Jordan State can do - Keep Akinola out. As reported by Ruth Gledhill (yeah, and GAFCON does not represent 75 % of Anglicanism) and re-reported, this is what Jordan has done. Archbishop Akinola picked up a Chance card and had to go direct to Israel (do not pass GO, do not collect £200). Let's hope that his embarrassment does not lead to anger and further anti-Muslim sentiment as the others come more quickly behind him. Well, Akinola going on ahead can be looking for some more bed and breakfast for the other core organisers who decided they'd also leave for extra time in Israel. Oh, it's hotels - scattered about the city perhaps, a Palestinian area here with Muslims and Christians and a Jewish area there?

Episcopal Café has this conference resource book by which GAFCON rewrites texts it wrote before (sort of thing).

Here are the non-negotiables:

the authority and supremacy of Scripture
the doctrine of the Trinity
the person, work and resurrection of Jesus the Christ
the acknowledgement of Jesus as divine, and the one and only means of salvation
the biblical teaching on sin, forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation by the Holy Spirit through Christ
the sanctity of marriage
teaching about morality that is rooted and grounded in biblical revelation
apostolic ministry

(page 15)

the goodness, love and mercy of the living God who eternally exists in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit;

the creation of men and women by God in his image, with all that this means for the dignity and value of every human life;

the distortion of creation, at all levels, by the decision of the first man and woman to turn aside from trust in God’s goodness, expressed in the word he had given them;

the lostness of the human race, as the result of the fall into sin, which manifests itself in our natural guilt, corruption and enslavement to sinful desire;

the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God, and as the only Saviour for sinful men and women;

the central saving reality of judgement being borne in our place by Jesus Christ on the cross, which is his great victory over all that stands against us, and that also stands opposed to the rightful rule of God;

the historical actuality and theological indispensability of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, on the third day after his crucifixion, leaving empty the tomb in which he had been laid;

the necessity of the Spirit’s work in bringing about repentance and faith in the human heart, so as to unite us to Christ and enable us to share in the salvation he has won;

the right standing with God which is given freely, and which now belongs to all who, by faith, are united to Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection;

the expectation of the bodily return of Jesus Christ, to bring God’s purposes of salvation and judgement to their consummation;

the significance of the Church as the gathering of the redeemed people of God around the word of God and in the Spirit of God;

the supreme authority of the Scriptures as the word of God written, and as the source of true teaching about God, his purposes, and the appropriate response to God’s mercy in Jesus Christ;

the purpose of Christian ministry within the churches to nourish faith and obedience through careful teaching of the Bible in the context of genuine personal relationships;

the generous provision of the Lord’s Supper and baptism which, as sacraments, visibly represent the promises of the gospel of Jesus Christ to his people;

the legitimate exercise of authority within the churches which is characterized by unreserved obedience to the teaching of Scripture and Jesus Christ’s own pattern of service;

the importance of fellowship between Christian congregations in the common cause of living as disciples of Jesus Christ and as his ambassadors in the world;

the priority of evangelism for all Christians in response to the great commission of Jesus Christ.

(18-20)

The thing about authority is that it needs someone in charge, and it ain't going to be them. Some debating points, though, in those two lists provided - parts worth a discussion now and again.