Things I thank God for about the Melbourne Anglican Diocese

[Valerie Ting]

So, I thought it would be helpful to start a thread reflecting on some of the things I'm grateful for about being part of a Melbourne Anglican church:

1) I thank God for the diversity of socio-economic backgrounds and personalities that we have within the Melbourne Anglican Diocese, and the testament that is to the fact that Jesus calls all sorts of people to be part of His motley crew of followers, not just Melbourne Uni graduates like myself!

2) I thank God for what I have learnt and am learning from the range of ways of approaching God and the different emphases within the Melbourne Anglican diocese. I appreciate being sharpened and broadened in my faith by interacting with others within the diocese who have different ideas about God from me - I am thankful for the way that this has enriched my faith by helping me to praise God for facets of His character and His mission that I may not have particularly engaged with otherwise.

3) I thank God for the blessing of having to think really hard and make sure that all my "theological non-negotiables" are really Scriptural and not merely sub-cultural - I am thankful that being in a diocese where evangelicalism is not 'assumed' means that I have had to make sure that I have reasons beyond 'this is what everyone else believes' to believe and proclaim certain beliefs as core truths of Christianity. For example, I appreciate the Melbourne Anglican context (among others) making me aware that I can't assume that 'substitutionary atonement' is what all Christians think Jesus' death was about - and therefore being stimulated to figure out what the BIble says on it, and ultimately being grateful that Jesus' death was 'about' many great things that we can thank God for, including substitutionary atonement and lots else too!

4) I thank God for having been shaped by a diocese that covers such a broad spectrum of 'faith' that I've been made to work harder on what it looks like to speak the truth in love in different contexts, and for the ongoing struggle to rely on God for wisdom, love and patience to be able to stand my ground on core theological issues with gracious confidence. I thank God that this has helped me to be able to start working out which areas I can leave 'grey' and which are truly black and white areas of faith. I am grateful that it has made me more committed to learning helpful language to be able to encourage others to see those black and white areas as fundamental in a way that connects with where they're coming from, while remembering that God's Word is piercing and counter-cultural enough to challenge all of our sacred cows.

Other people? =)

[JustinD]

Val,

Thanks for starting this discussion. It's easy to get wrapped up in the problems we see around us, but as you quite rightly say, there are many good things about our Diocese.

For me, this Diocese has been the place that I think of as having formed my faith most. I was a Christian before I came to Melbourne, but feel that Melbourne has been a place that has encouraged me to take my faith seriously. I am very thankful for the churches and people here that have pushed me to make my faith a central priority in life. In a strange way, I'm also grateful that little of what I believe is unchallenged by some people in the Diocese - you certainly need to be prepared to justify your position!

I'm also very glad to see a growing social justice movement from within the church, particularly when I see people who take the Bible seriously getting passionate about this. The old Evangelical 'three-stranded cord' of the world, the word and the spirit held together is still something we can aim and hope for.

Justin

[Cat Patrick]

Hiya Val

Good topic - it's easy to be so caught up in thinking critically (a great thing!) that we forget to be thankful.

I've been reading a history of the CMS Victoria branch, and have been struck by how many people within the Melbourne diocese were eager to be sent by CMS to share the gospel with others. There were stacks of missionaries both overseas and within Victoria - after six years of being established as a branch which could send people themselves, they had missionaries in East Africa, Canada, Arabia, Persia, India, Japan and China, as well as people working amongst Chinese, Jewish, Syrian and Aboriginal people in Victoria.

Along with Wei-Han's paper on the foundation of the ADOM, it reminded me of what a great heritage we have, of people who were convinced of the good news of Jesus and wanted to see that message proclaimed. I'm sure Wei-Han could tell us much more about it, but I think it needs to be mentioned as something to be thankful for as Melbourne Anglicans!

[Jenny George]

I grew up in a denomination that was always thought of as a bit "wierd" and had no social legitimacy. I think we can thank God that the Anglican church still retains enough social acceptance that we get some opportunities that other Christians don't. It's OK to go to someone's door (or hospital bedside or office) and say that you're from the local Anglican church and ask if they want you to pray with them. Vicars are especially blessed in this regard. It's not that everyone will say yes, but I think we're still given a hearing because we are seen as "safe".

I'm not sure how well I always use these opportunities but it's fantastic to have them and I thank God for them.

Jenny

[Joel Cardwell]

I agree Valerie, but my question is: what will we do about GAFCON? Will we continue to be a broad church or will we go the Sydney way or the American way or neither?

I'm concerned. I think the basic declaration of faith at GAFCON is probably useful but what do other Melbourne Anglicans think of it?

[Jereth]

Hi Joel,

Good question, but perhaps you've asked it in the wrong thread. I think it would be in keeping with the spirit of Val's OP to ask hard, critical questions elsewhere and keep this thread happy.

Jereth