Why Be Anglican? The Enduring Attraction of the English Church
A Complex Story of Ecclesiastical Evolution
I remember the furore when Beth Moore became Anglican, which I wrote about here. Poor sister Beth got the full “Jezebel treatment.” I remember thinking to myself, “Man, I haven’t seen Baptists in America this angry since Abe Lincoln set their slaves free!”
Last week there was a ripple in the American evangelical world when it was announced that noted Baptist theologian Matthew Barrett was joining the Anglican world and would be working jointly at St. Aidan’s Anglican Church and Trinity Anglican Seminary. Poor Matt copped a lot of, “I knew he was not really one of us!” on X and Facebook. But he’s written an open and honest account of why he’s chosen to leave the SBC and become Anglican.
As I say, “Anglicanism! All the cool kids are doing it.”
More seriously, I must confess that on average, I get about one email per month from Baptists in America, mostly Southern Baptists, and mostly women, about leaving the Baptist fold with a view to becoming Anglican.
Yes, one … per … month.
I don’t know why, but some days I feel like I’m the go-to guy for “I don’t know if I can stay here” for women at Southern Baptist seminaries.
Most questions are not about theology or polity but about culture. Some complain about the extreme complementarianism, or the thuggish behaviour of leaders, the fealty to Trump, the hypocrisy, the joy in tearing others down, and the like. And yet it is always with sadness as these people love their churches, their people, and their ministries. They love the church that brought them to Jesus, that baptized them, and encouraged them, but they feel betrayed or bullied simply by asking questions about behaviour or accountability. It is sad.
My counsel is always the same:
The grass is not always greener on the other side.
Anglicans have their own problems too.
There is richness and vibrancy in the best of the Baptist tradition.
If you want to be a force of reason and renewal, then stay for the long haul.
If you feel like you are being harmed by your church, then leave.
If you see no future for you in your church, then find a better one, doesn’t have to be Anglican.
Don’t pretend to be something you are not. If you’ve moved to a different place theologically, then you need to move on ecclesiastically where you are a better fit.
If anyone out there is interested in Anglican Identity and Anglican Prayerbook, you can audit courses on them, on-campus or online, through Ridley College.
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In the course of my church life I've moved from Baptist, to Presbyterian, to Anglican. People often ask me, "Why?" Well here goes!
First, I came to faith through a wonderful Baptist Church in western Sydney in the mid-90s, a new church, with an energetic ministry, and who shared the gospel of Christ and the love of Christ with me. I was well discipled, nurtured, I thereafter attended several Baptist churches with godly ministers and ministries, and I even graduated from a Baptist seminary. I'm happy that God put these people, churches, and institutions in my life and I'm all the better for it. Also, I have a deep appreciation for the Baptist tradition, it is the church of believers and for believers, big emphasis on conversion, preaching, and the priesthood of all believers. Biggest drawbacks were a big lack catholicity (as if everything before Luther was pure darkness and even Luther was a confused Christian), a fixation on fads (church growth, sensitive seeking something, homogenous churches, church health, inductive preaching, narrative preaching, missional churches, etc), and a view of the Lord's Supper that is so impoverished that it could qualify for theological food stamps.
Second, because I was theologically Reformed (well, Dortian at least, I loved my five solas and five-point Calvinism), Presbyterianism was a natural home, especially in Scotland where the evangelical scene pretty much is Presbyterianism of only two different flavours. Presbyterianism is great, God's sovereignty, solid confession of faith, some great churches and good people (esp. around Inverness and Dingwall), often with a high view of the sacraments, and there are some great Presbyterian colleges and seminaries. One particular Pressy church in Brisbane will always feel like a second home for me and the family. But again, a general lack of catholicity (though not as deficient as the Baptists in this), many churches are orthodox but spiritually dour, and it really isn't a safe space to hang out if one of your friends and colleagues is N.T. Wright (oh, the emails I have received!). Presbyterians take Protestantism seriously, its robustly confessional, they value theology, but sadly it was never going to last in the long term.
Third, then I became Anglican. Here's why.
(1) I read in F.F. Bruce's biography that he kept two books on his desk, a Greek New Testament and the Book of Common Prayer (even though he was life-long Bretheren). Well, it worked for him, so I started reading the BCP (a 1927 version), and it had me hooked, Bible readings, prayers, a liturgical calendar, I felt spiritually nourished by it.
(2) I had to admit that being Anglican was also the best platform - certainly in Australia - to be Reformed and Evangelical.
(3) As my interests became concurrently Reformed (in the sense recovering the apostolic gospel) and broadly Catholic (in the sense of recovering patristic sources for our theology) Anglicanism was the place to be since Anglicanism allows one to be both Protestant and Catholic. Or, as John Dickson puts it, Evangelicalism Anglicanism - high view of church and sacraments with passionate gospel preaching - is what the Roman Catholic Church would have looked like if it embraced the Reformation.
(4) All the cool kids are doing it, C.S. Lewis, Alister McGrath, J.I. Packer, and N.T. Wright, etc.
So I accepted a position at an Evangelical Anglican college in Melbourne (Ridley), I was accepted into the Anglican Church, and ordained as an Anglican priest (because I have the priestly calling of proclaiming the gospel as Paul says in Rom 15:16). It’s the church I love and it is where I love the church.
Now, of course, not everything in the Anglican Church is perfect. There is the whole Henry VIII-needs-a-fertile-wife thing, though I like to think Thomas Cranmer used the king's problem as the opportunity to indigenize the Reformation in England. The worldwide Anglican communion is fragile and fractious. I don't always get along with some progressive Anglicans and even some conservative Anglicans are not all that fond of me either. The GAFCON movement represents a real challenge to existing structures to ensure the discipline and orthodoxy of the Anglican communion and it elicits a range of responses (mine are positive with a few questions). Many in the western church are positively petrified of the Global South Anglican churches ever holding power, influence, or control over the instruments of unity (so colonialism is alive and well).
Furthermore, our liturgies are Trinitarian, rich, ornate, biblical, and beautiful. Before you trash the idea of bishops, remember, your multi-site church structure is a defacto diocese. Anglicanism is not a via media between Catholicism and Protestantism, it is more properly a via media between Wittenberg and Geneva. The 39 Articles are pretty robust without being confessionally claustrophobic. Anglicanism is broad enough that it can accommodate Reformed, charismatic, and Catholic flavours.
In sum, I love Anglicanism, the prayer book, the Diocese of Melbourne, and Ridley College.
My wife is Anglican and finds strength in that tradition. A lifelong Baptist, I appreciate the richness of more liturgical positions (although a fair amount of it doesn't make sense to me) and pretty much agree with your assessment of us. However, I am unable to get around the doctrine related to believers baptism vs infant baptism. Thank you so much! I enjoy checking out your thoughts. Blessings!
Interested to hear your thoughts on Methodism! Is Arminianism the only reason why you could never be a Methodist?