History and the Church Today

Introduction
The following was written to give an historical overview of the goals of Christ the King Anglican Church in Jacksonville, Florida. As such, I think it has relevance for all Christian Churches everywhere, although its context is the Church in North America. Its essential point is that the Church needs to encompass the best of the evangelical, catholic, charismatic, and social justice traditions. I believe this because the best of these traditions are all found in Scripture.

The essay is written in the context of Anglicanism. Anglicanism took characteristic form in the 16th century as part of the Protestant Reformation. In my view, this reformation preserved and recovered aspects of the great Christian tradition, but did not develop or even abandoned aspects of that same tradition. These need to be recovered in our time because they are found in Scripture.

Since this was written, Christ the King has merged with another Church to form Christ Church Anglican..

An Historical Overview

What sort of Church is Christ the King Anglican Fellowship? What do its members believe, or what are they trying to do? Why do they, for example, belong to the Anglican Mission in America rather than another denomination or an independent church? What sort of music do they employ? what do they think of the Holy Spirit? do they believe in miracles? do they baptize infants, and if so, why? Answers to these specific questions can be found on this web site. In this essay, however, I wish to locate Christ the King in an historical context. This will show the place of Christ the King for the overall mission of Christ in the world today.

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Spirit the early Christians set out to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. They entered a pagan world, a world dominated by the Roman Empire, pagan religions, and sophisticated philosophical systems. They conquered that world through the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit. They cast out demons and healed in the name of Christ. They led holy lives, loved God in the wonder of their worship and formulated rigorous systems of theological thought. Within a few hundred years Christians had transformed the ancient world into a new form, a Christian civilization which lasted up to but not including the present era.

As Christians encountered the ancient pagan world they developed certain ways of life which enabled them to prevail in an alien environment. Among these forms, certain features were critical. First, they preserved the Scriptures as the apostolic witness to Christ. Scripture was and is the authoritative Word of God. Secondly, they came to an understanding of how Scripture was to be interpreted. They reached this understanding as they combated false ways of understanding the Bible. Thirdly, they developed organization forms, the ministries of the laity, of deacons, priests (presbyters), and bishops. These ministries were led by godly persons, known for their holiness, wisdom, and commitment to Jesus Christ. Specifically, bishops were charged with faithfully handing on the great traditions of the faith rooted in Scripture. Fourth, they developed beautiful and powerful liturgies which set forth the risen Lord Jesus in ways that raised the heart and mind to God. Fifth, since their converts came from the pagan world and were accustomed to worshipping idols, consorting with spirits, and corrupted by immorality and lusts, they required that new converts be educated and exorcised prior to their baptism into the Christian faith. Further, they taught initiates how to grow in grace by adopting such disciplines as confession before a priest, lectio divina, contemplative prayer, and spiritual direction. Sixth, they developed rigorous theological systems that enabled the church to set forth Jesus Christ in ways that countered alien forms of thought. These theological ideas were summarized in Creeds and used for worship and education in the faith. Seventh, they developed disciplinary measures by which bishops and general councils excluded false teachers and grossly immoral persons from the fellowship of the Church. Finally, they set out to transform their world, their civilization, their towns and cities, into an image of the Kingdom of God. They believed that all of life, social, economic, personal and political, needed to be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The critical claim of this essay is this: We no longer live in a Christian world. We live in a pagan, post-modern world. In this world Christians assumptions about God, morality, and the nature of truth, no longer hold. We cannot, for example, expect people to believe in God simply because they hear a good sermon or receive fine teaching. These things are important, indeed critical, but many people also need evidence of God. They need to see his transforming power at work in their lives or encounter him in worship. Or, in the Christian world of our recent past, people did not resort of the occult or practice pagan rituals. Now they do, and anyone coming into the Christian faith must be cleansed of occult influence. Or, certain moral norms used to be universally accepted. They no longer hold. Many people today have been damaged by their lifestyle. They need healing, education, and the liberating power of Christ. Our world, the world we live in today, is a pagan world, similar to the ancient pagan world. Therefore, and this is the critical point, if we are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ today, we can do no better than to learn from the church of the first few centuries.

What would a Church look like that recovered this ancient heritage and expressed it in a contemporary idiom? First, like the great churches of the Reformation, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, or Reformed Churches, it would be centered in Jesus Christ and the preaching of the gospel. Such a church would hold to the supreme authority of Scripture as is the great evangelical tradition. Secondly, like the great historic churches, Roman and Eastern Orthodox for example, such a church would embody the best of the ancient liturgies. Thirdly, it would return to the world view of the New Testament and the ancient church. In this view there is a spiritual world, a world in which God miraculously intervenes, a world of spiritual forces, the devil and his angels, a world in which the Holy Spirit baptizes believers and gives them authority to conquer the world, the flesh, and the devil through the mighty name of Jesus. This is also the world view of charismatic and Pentecostal churches. Fourth, it would not expect its members, coming from a pagan culture, to automatically reflect Christian values or a Christian world view. It would educate its members in the faith and it would insist that its leaders be chosen for their vitality of their commitment to Christ. There would be opportunities for spiritual growth, education, fellowship, and mission. This is well done in small groups where converts can work with others to grow spiritually and serve the Lord. Special attention would be given to families, to the nurture of children and their growth in Christ. There would be requirements for leadership, spiritual, moral, and financial. Further, given a pagan environment, such a church would set theological and moral norms. Its leadership would publicly affirm those norms and its members invited to live into their reality. Finally, it would recognize that their are many Christian Churches whose members are believers. It would be open to working with believers from other churches to transform the area in which it is located.

Many churches know the power of the Spirit and the spiritual world, but do not know the power of the liturgy. Many churches have the liturgy, but neglect the Spirit. Many churches preach the gospel but neglect the liturgy or avoid the Spirit. Some Churches lack spiritual discipline, and many are not aware of the great spiritual tradition that leads to holiness of life. Many believe in the Bible, but know little of how it has been interpreted over the centuries, nor are they aware of the critical importance of theology and Creeds that define orthodox belief. A living, dynamic church must include all aspects -- the catholic, the evangelical, and the charismatic -- affirming the Scriptures, the gospel, the great traditions, the power of the Spirit, the spiritual world, growth in holiness, the creeds, and godly discipline. All these are seen in Scripture as the revelation of a living God who is worthy to be proclaimed in word and deed and eternally praised in worship. Further, this great reality needs to be presented in ways that people can receive. This is especially true of worship which needs to combine contemporary expression with ancient content so that the people of God may meet the triune God in wonder, love, and praise.

At the time of the Reformation (16th century), the church of England formed the Anglican Church. This church, one of the great Reformation churches, understood itself as reformed Catholicism. The word "Catholicism" in this context does not mean the Roman Church. Rather, the term means universal, the original and universal content of the faith. Against what it saw as corruptions in the Roman Church, especially adherence to an unwritten tradition alongside Scripture, the Church of England returned to the Scriptures that informed the Church of the first few centuries. Unlike certain more radical Protestant churches, Anglicans preserved the ancient liturgies, the ministries of deacons, priests, and bishops, the place of creeds in the Church, and the importance of ancient ways of biblical interpretation. None of the beliefs held by the Anglican Reformers were against Scripture. All flowed directly out of Scripture. The Creeds, for example, were believed because they "could be proved by most certain warrants of Scripture" (Episcopal Prayer Book, p. 869). Or, the liturgies were preserved because their biblical language and content reflected God's glory in ways that lifted the congregation into the very heaven of God. Further, at the time of the Reformation, the work of the Spirit was recognized, but its wider biblical significance was not emphasized. Today, due to the blessings associated with the charismatic and Pentecostal churches, many Christians realize that Scripture teaches a full doctrine of the Spirit, that the gifts and fruits of the Spirit are as real today as they were in the time of the apostles. In fact, the gifts of the Spirit have been in evidence throughout Christian history, although strikingly so in our time. Finally, the Anglican Church was a national church, committed to the Christian transformation of society. It believed, as did the ancient church, that society can be and must be transformed socially, economically, politically, into the kingdom of God. In short, an Anglican faith open to the work of the Spirit would preserve the full integrity of the faith.

Christ the King is a member of the Anglican Mission in America. It is an Anglican Church. It was formed in part because American Anglicans, namely the Episcopal Church, had departed from the biblical faith. Unlike the Episcopal Church, it holds to biblical, moral, and theological norms and expects its members to do the same. Its members love Anglicanism and believe that an orthodox Anglican Church should exist in North America. Further, the Anglican Mission in America is open to the Spirit and embodies the fullness of God's revelation, the coming together of the catholic, evangelical, and charismatic streams of Christian faith. As it says in its statement on mission,

The AMiA is united in the essentials of the Christian Faith, obedient to Jesus Christ as the unique Son of God Who through His sacrificial death and resurrection provides the only way to the Father and is diversified in the expression of the Faith -- evangelical, catholic and charismatic -- as three streams flowing as one river in Jesus Christ to reach the world in Jesus' Name through evangelism, discipleship and service.

In light of the foregoing, Christ the King is:

Committed to Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior
Committed to the decisive authority of Scripture
Open to receive the Spirit, his gifts, fruits, and healing
Anglican in government and outlook
Liturgical, combining order with freedom of worship
Offering small groups for growth, service, commitment, love Especially concerned for people in need
Leadership, spiritually mature and dedicated
Committed to missions and discipleship
Kingdom minded, transforming Jacksonville by the gospel

We believe that anyone who seeks to know God as revealed in his Son Jesus Christ will find in Christ the King a place to live the Christian faith in all its fullness. We welcome anyone who wishes to know more about Jesus Christ, who is attracted to our vision, who wants to be healed and set free, or even to simply come and get to know us. We invite you.

The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.

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