A Final Word on Altar Dances, Fire Juggling, and "Three Streams" Anglicanism
Embryo Parson Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2015 at 02:09PM Referencing the discussions below.
I want to preface this blog entry on something of a positive note. Mr. Alspach concluded his interaction at the Facebook discussion by saying, "For the record, Bishop Ruch is one of the godliest and creedally orthodox men I've ever met, and apart from his charismatic views of worship, he's a fantastic bishop." I would say the same thing about my own AMiA bishops. Mr. Alspach and I simply question certain aspects of Pentecostal theology and the propriety of altar dancing, fire jugglers, etc., that's all.
Furthermore, I personally don't mean to single out either Bishop Ruch or Church of the Resurrection for critical treatment. As should be evident by this discussion, what we're talking about here is the much broader phenomenon of "Three Streams" Anglicanism, and I want to say a couple of words here about that.
I know a priest through Facebook who once wrote that he left AMiA because of its "Three Streams" orientation, which he wryly described as, "You know, the charismatic, the charismatic and the charismatic." If that's a characterization, it's probably an unfair one, but if it's meant to be hyperbolic, I for one can understand its point. There does seem to be an overemphasis on the "signs-and-wonders" manifestations of the Holy Spirit in certain quarters of Three Streams Anglicanism, one that could be rectified by both a more balanced trinitarianism and a healthier balance with the "biblical" and "Catholic" streams.
Now, I am not a cessationist, for three reasons: 1) there is no sound exegetical case that Spirit-wrought miracles were confined to the time of the apostles; 2) there is testimony throughout church history of miracles. In his City of God, St. Augustine recounts a number of miracles he had observed in his day. At least two of them, from what I remember, were Eucharistic and relic-related miracles, the same kind of miracles to which modern Roman, Orthodox and Anglican Catholic Christians have attested; 3) in my experience as a chaplain, I have witnessed what appears to have been a miraculous recovery from the death process. The lady, a Roman Catholic, was actively dying, but suddenly woke up and was discharged a day later. The hospital staff were blown away. So, the Holy Spirit still "does stuff" in this day and age.
However, it does not follow from any of this that everything that purports to be miraculous activity of the Holy Spirit is indeed so. Both the Old and New Testaments are abundantly clear about the need to exercise discernment when it comes to prophecy and miracles. One of the things that stand out to me about the history of charismatic Evangelicalism is all the many times it has failed to exercise proper discernment. One can think of any number of stories about fraudulent televangelists and clearly fake miracles, and shake his head in wonderment why so many charismatics were so gullible about these things.
Nor does it follow that just because the Spirit still "does stuff" in this day and age mean that every "Spirit-filled" worship service is an authentic manfestation of the Spirit's activity. Take the Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey, for example. So, the other criticism I have is that so much of what happens in charismatic worship is based on emotional manipulation, usually accomplished by cues from either the "worship leader," the "worship band" or both. As a friend of mine familiar with one such church explained his experience to me, "It's a weekly thing. . . . There's about 10-15 songs that they routinely play throughout the year too that trigger it."
There's nothing whatsoever in the New Testament that would justify this kind of emotionalist worship centered on a "worship leader" and a "worship band." Throughout her history, the Church's worship has been liturgical only, centered around Word and Sacrament only. The only "worship leader" known to the Catholic Church, of which we Anglicans are a branch, has been the priest acting in persona Christi. For most of its history, the Church's music was sung or chanted a cappella by choirs generally not visible to the congregation. This is how Anglicans worshipped until the late 20th century, when Pentecostalism and "contemporary Christian" music were embraced by many Anglicans.
Not all Anglicans, however, and when looked at historically not most Anglicans. What's more, the advent of "Three Streams" Anglicanism has only served to introduce yet one more divisive "party" into an already divided church. For me personally, this and the problems described above have prompted a major rethink about the "new things" said to be the work of the Holy Spirit.
Reader Comments (5)
Merry Christmas brother! I have to say I'm a bit shocked that you joined AMiA considering their perception for being heavily Pentacostal in influence. But I suspect the UECNA and REC must be strict cessationist?
Hello AAA. Good to hear from you again, and Merry Christmas to you as well!
Keep in mind that both charismatic and more traditional Episcopal bodies affiliated with AMiA when it was founded in back in 2000. My wife and I, having left the Continuing Anglican parish through which we were received into Anglicanism, started searching around for an Anglican parish nearby that did not feature all the "blended" worship and "enthusiasm" you'll find in much of the Realignment. We eventually found a very small church that worshiped the traditional way, though with Rite 2. We immediately fell in love with the people, and having a call to ministry I naturally pursued holy orders. At the time, the local priest who is the official gatekeeper asked me if I had any problems with the sign gifts, because if I did that would be a deal breaker. I told him that I am not a cessationist, but that I personally have never exercised any of those gifts. That was acceptable to him, and I entered the process shortly thereafter.
I'm pretty sure I'm not alone, though it's clear that AMiA is predominantly charismatic. At the candidate's retreat, we were told that AMiA is intent on planting Three Stream churches and only Three Stream churches. My sense is that since 2000 AMiA has forged close relationships with the Vineyard churches and other charismatic bodies and has drawn a number of young men from those bodies into holy orders.
I have heard through the wire that there are a small number of Anglo-Catholics in AMiA. Our canon lawyer Kevin Donlon is an AC and active in FIFNA North America. So it appears that while AMiA is predominantly charismatic, it is not monolithically so.
UECNA is not part of ACNA but is a Continuing jurisdiction in communion with both the ACC and APCK. Its Presiding Bishop Peter Robinson is a Facebook friend. REC, however, is affiliated with ACNA. For a time I was toying with the idea of pursuing holy orders in REC, but the closest parish is 5 hours away and I would have been expected to be there fairly regularly. That, and sensing that God had brought us to this little church in the Denver metro area led me to conclude that I should bloom where I am planted.
All this could change, of course. We have plans to retire in TN or NC, and I will probably need to transfer if there's no AMiA presence where we end up. The other possibility is that we stay here for the fore the foreseeable and something happens that leads to a transfer from AMiA. There are small ACC and APCK parishes relatively nearby. Even though I left the ACC, I didn't burn any bridges. I'm in touch with some folks in a new ACC church plant here and I correspond with their bishop from time to time. So who knows? It's all in God's hands, and I am thankful for that.
Until then, I plan to remain loyal to AMiA. They've been very good to me so far.
Thank you brother for explaining the state of AMiA as I haven't heard much in quite some time. I can tell from your blog you are extremely thoughtful in your move from continuing Anglicanism to the Realignment and I pray and wish you Godspeed. It is always a pleasure to read your blog and I've been delighted to see how active you have been lately.
"I can tell from your blog you are extremely thoughtful in your move from continuing Anglicanism to the Realignment. . . ."
Well, I have worked a few things out since then. I am a staunch classical Anglican, and there's a case to be made that here in the US classical Anglicanism can only be found in the Continuum and in ACNA jurisdictions like DFW and REC.
Agreed on parts of the REC and parts of the Continnuum are classically Anglican. There's a decent presence also in parts of CANA. I wish FACA would grow into a solid classical Anglican version of SCOBA.