A House Divided...

This just came over the wire from CNN: "Episcopal Church Ordaining First Openly Lesbian Bishop." The article read as follows:

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Despite objections from conservative Anglicans, the Episcopal Church will ordain its first openly lesbian bishop Saturday.

The Rev. Mary Glasspool, 56, becomes bishop surrounded by controversy.

Conservative factions in the Anglican Communion, a 77-million member denomination worldwide, have opposed the ordination of gay bishops.

Glasspool is the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church since Gene Robinson took office in New Hampshire in 2004. Episcopalians instituted a temporary ban on gay bishops after Robinson's ordination but revoked that ban last summer.

The daughter of a priest, Glasspool was one of two openly gay candidates on the slate in the Los Angeles diocese. She has said that her sexual orientation is "not an issue."

Bishop Jon Bruno of Los Angeles said Glasspool was a "highly qualified and experienced" cleric.

"She's not afraid of conflict and is a reconciler," Bruno said, according to the Episcopal Church website.

He added that Glasspool and her partner of 19 years, Becki Sander, are an example of living service and ministry.

But her election drew opposition from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who said Glasspool's ordination would deepen rifts in the church.

It "raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole," said Rowan, according to the church's website.

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You know the Anglican Communion is in trouble when its leader — the Archbishop of Canterbury — opposes a lower-church decision and nothing changes. He warned that the ordination of an openly lesbian priest would further divide the Church. The Los Angeles diocese did it anyway.

So much for church unity!

Let me make one thing clear before I continue: the division in the Anglican Communion between the Episcopal Church and the more conservative Anglican Church has been growing for decades, so what is happening right now is nothing new. The church has slowly been unraveling as society pressures it to conform to modern morality and rid itself of its traditional values.

In fact, the Episcopal churches have become so tolerant of sin and ignorant of biblical truth that they are quickly becoming irrelevant as institutions of moral authority. No one looks at the Episcopal Church anymore and says, "Now there's a true defender of the traditional Christian faith." They just don't. Because they can't.

I'm shocked but not surprised at what a fellow L.A. bishop said about Glasspool, that she was a "highly qualified and experienced" cleric. Glasspool herself said her sexual orientation is "not an issue." I guess her personal morality has nothing to do with her ability to lead and shepherd a people. Hmmm.... It's very sad when a resume is valued greater than the character of a person.

This may be condemning, though I hope it's not, but I find myself rooting for a church split in the Anglican Communion. I want the conservative churches to cut ties with the churches who condone sin. Those who disobey God have been warned many times — even by their archbishop — and yet they continue in their transgressions. Our Lord and His apostle Paul recommended this. Confront them in love, then if they refuse to repent, cast them out of the fellowship until they turn from their immorality and come back, Jesus said in Matthew 18:15-17 and Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5.

A house divided may be saved in the Anglican Community. I know big shockwaves were caused by the decision of Christ Church in Plano to split from the Episcopal Church USA communion back in 2006 and temporarily join a conservative communion in Peru. The largest Episcopal Church in the U.S., Christ Church could no longer stand by while its denomination rejected God's truth and blended into the immoral world. Now it exists as a thriving evangelical church under the oversight of an Anglican bishop in Africa. Yes, an evangelical Anglican church. If I lived closer, I'd consider going there to check it out.

You see, sometimes church splits are ugly and unnecessary. But sometimes it is the right thing to do, especially when it comes to dividing truth from error. I'm not talking theological interpretation here but error involving sin. When a church splits, usually a lot of people get hurt and most times any God-given mission gets lost in the midst of bad feelings. I served at a church once that had gone through a church split and know first-hand how it can hinder ministry.

I pray for the Anglican-Episcopal Church. Pray that truth may conquer error. That the priesthood may be sanctified and not further soiled. And that the conservative parts of the Church may know how to godly and graciously part ways with their errant brethren. A house divided may stand firmer than one united in this case. At least for one half. It's clear that the other half is gonna fall.

— John