I was pointed to this video, I would be delighted to come on this channel to talk about the Reconquista and to discuss the risks and benefits that may be associated with it. God bless, Redeemed Zoomer
Just be ready for a very long effort. Many faithful servants have preceded you in trying to encourage renewal in the PCUSA. May you live long enough to see the fruits of your efforts.
I remember back in the 1990s an Episcopal priest came to our small town in NE who was actually a born again Christian. He did stir the congregation with his preaching as some were disturbed and some repented to Christ. Don’t know who is there now but 30 years ago it was helpful.
My church is episcopal. Our priest came from the Church of England, an Anglican Church and when my priest shared with his bishop he was moving to the US and was going to the Episcopal, his bishop said “someone needs to go to Babylon”. Our episcopal church is biblically based. It is a rare finding.
This was a very powerful and thought-provoking conversation. God Bless You both for your ministries and for bringing this topic forward here. I'm praying God's blessing on this larger movement.
Wouldn't it be awesome here in America to see the church (that so many of the founding fathers of our country belonged to) to be revived to its old glory?
I walked into my local episcopal church and found an old, dying congregation, but a young, newly installed rector preaching the gospel and breathing life into the old church. He’s introducing them to reformed theology, building a playground to attract young families and organizing days to clean up the church. Retake a church with 20 parishioners, or retake it with one faithful pastor.
The best we do is help if you can and don't hurt if you can not help because God is the conscience in each believer and not just always in power or big body
Hi Jon, I’ve really been enjoying your podcast these past few months. I grew up in and am a member of a conservative congregation in the UCC that deliberately stayed to be a witness to the denomination . We were a dead mainline church before our previous pastor came in the 1960’s and brought us back to biblical faithfulness. One of the ministries that was formed by a former member of our church is called Overseed. It’s mission is revitalize mainline churches in New England by planting biblically faithful pastors in their pulpits. I thought you might find them of interest. Thank you and God bless you, Nathan
While I'm not a Yalie, my own experience is markedly similar to the Rev'd Mr. Dell -- I was raised in the old Southern Presbyterian Church that later amalgamated into the PCUSA and wasn't baptized until I was almost eleven years old (not because my parents were "nones," they just didn't get around to it). When I sensed a call to ministry I realized that I could not in good conscience do so in the PCUSA so I transferred to the Associate Reformed Presbyterians and attended their seminary, but was drawn to Anglicanism via the Reformed Episcopal Church, now a part of the ACNA. Now I understand that there is an inside and an outside strategy, but I've never been an Episcopalian. I have, however, watched as the parishes of the Diocese of South Carolina were forced to wage war to keep their property and in some cases had it taken from them. Now, Jon, when you and I briefly met at the Abbeville Institute last year and I mentioned that I was an Anglican you rather snidely commented "Enjoy being in a church with Beth Moore." Beth Moore is a laywoman and not in the Reformed Episcopal Church, so she has minimal impact upon my theological life. For the parishes that remained in the Episcopal Church in the old Diocese of South Carolina they now have a female bishop (married to a Unitarian Universalist minister), who will come a 'visiting every year. In the Diocese of New York, where Mr. Dell serves, one of they are currently served by Mary Douglas Glasspool, an open lesbian who recently referred to her partner as her "spouse of thirty-one years." Perhaps his small rural parish has an assurance that Bishop Glasspool won't come to visit but if they don't explicitly have that there is the very real possibility that she will come for an episcopal visit. As a priest-in-charge, who does not enjoy the security of a Rector, he may be led to resist that, but his ability to do so is limited. I love old church buildings. The parish that I serve, although not founded until 1968, formerly occupied a stately former synagogue until maintenance cost combined with severely limited parking and a very generous offer from a local college led us to relocate to our currently location (not a bad building at all with room to build, not very far from the Jewish folks who formerly occupied our former home) around 2000. God has been faithful. I don't doubt that they are still faithful Christians in The Episcopal Church (as it is now known) and I wish them well, but I found the picture that he painted a bit unrealistically optimistic.
Why on earth do the Episcopalians have women clergy? They have women clergy in the Anglican church here in the UK, and I just don't get why the male leaders would tolerate it.
@@jonathant6948 For the same reason any other egalitarian church ordains women. Hermeneutical gymnastics. The only reason it's a slightly more messy matter in the Anglican/Episcopalian world is due to their theology of the priesthood (which bears resemblance to the Catholic/Orthodox). Apostolic succession has always been a bigger deal to them compared to other Protestants and so messing with the ministry has greater implications both ecclesiologically and ecumenically.
The REC is now full-blown Anglo-Catholic and so is the ACNA. True Protestants are not welcome in either of those denominations. I would not recommend either denomination to any Bible believing Christian. The ARP is not much better because they ordain women as deacons. But so does the REC. And the ACNA ordains women as presbyters/priests.
It's heartening to hear a young man who is zealous for a work of God but let us not permit our flesh determine what ought to be done. We all are craving for saner, sturdier and happier days but God has to move, not us! Throughout church history God often builds new institutions in the place of the dying and hijacked ones. God does not put unshruken cloth on old nor put new wine into old wineskins (Matt. 9:14-17). Almost all of the Medieval Reformers, Waldensians, Albigensians, broke from the Roman Catholic Church. When Martin Luther broke from the Catholic Church Lutheranism was born. When the Church of England compromised with Popery and Catholicism, God sent the Pilgrims to the New World to start congregationalism. What is a church? It is a body of believers with a gospel at it's center, much like how the planets revolve around the Sun, united by the gravity of a spirit. Perhaps the mainline denominations will be restored and brought back to life; God can raise the dead but let God work! Seeking Him in prayer and meditating on His Word will bring us the answers. Who knows what the Lord is doing, we are called to be faithful, to be witnesses of the truth and marvel when His work is completed!
And going into older mainline Churches is not “listening to the flesh.” It’s local missionary work, following the great commission. Paul went first to Jews then the gentiles. Well, if you want to do modern day mission work, you could first to the nominal/cultural fake Christians and if that doesn’t work, then go street preach or something else.
I cannot tell you how much I agree with this, how much I have thought EXACTLY the same and how much your words echo my own. We are living in some of the unbelievable, demonic, twisted, life-perverted times in all of human history though people may feel pre Christian pagan times were the same or worse - they were not, even the ancient Greeks restricted the holy ordinace of marriage to 1 man, 1 woman. I have often thought when things are this extreme is when the Hand of God is most ready to work, to turn it around in awe-inspiring fashion for His Glory and to create new types of "edifices" and institutions - I believe we're coming into such a time. There WILL be a turnaround for His greatest glory and by His undeniable and unendingly, merciful Grace. As you correctly said, though we work for the Kingdom we wait upon the Lord to lead as to how He wants us to work. I love your last 2 lines - Let God work! - Indeed, we are the humble, submitted servants giving glory and honour to the majesty of His Name when the revival work comes.
@@Psalm144.1 Queen Elizabeth, in order to appease the religious conservatives of her day, retained the ecclesiology of the RCC, the priestly vestments and titles like collars and "vicar" (Latin for "in the place of"), the liturgy and I believe some of the sacraments. Look up: "Elizabethan Religious Settlement" or "Elizabethan Compromise".
For those that don’t know, in England, presbyter (Greek for elder), was destroyed by Olde English accents becoming “preost” over time. The term stuck. An Anglican priest is a presbyter, not a sacerdotal minister as in Roman Catholicism.
That's the Reformed Episcopal Church view. Anglo-Catholics belie e in apostolic succession, just like the papists. And did I me tion 7 sacraments, not 2?
@@ThomasCranmer1959 The impression I get is that while conservative regarding social issues, REC has become mostly Anglo-Catholic. Do you know of any Evangelical REC parishes?
In 2020 I left a pretty conservative Episcopal Church where I even served on the vestry to a faithful Non-Denom (basically Baptist) church. I wish Father Jake all the best as he is in for a long road.
I think Jake's idea makes more sense for a pastor--which he is--than for parishioners. A pastor can have a meaningful impact on a local church through preaching and leadership, but parishioners are limited to their personal "evangelism" only. Mainline denominations are top-heavy and impervious to resistance to progressive theology, so "taking over" a few churches won't do anything at the denominational level. In exchange, the "missionaries" would not be able to expose their children to good teaching (at least at church) and would contribute money towards the maintenance of a building and denomination that is not friendly to orthodox Christianity. I am not sure what the point is. What's the endgame?
This, exactly. The endgame is the same Donald Trump is trying to convince America of... He is the robbed elected POTUS, etc. Same mantra!... To say the lieast the current US religious landscape is trying to mimic perfectly the US political landscape. The conservatives have long lost those "7 sisters" of the mainstream US protestant landscape and they won't return again. At most those groups will have perhaps a relative success on the deep south red states... Where those Churches are not that prevalent now that there are alternative more conservative denominations already existing. Moving those denominations would require several decades now, and I believe all of them will merge one day. It's such a delusional effort to say the least... And for the sake of us: TH-cam can be your friend and show you that those woke Churches in the blue and "purple" states are far from dead. They're actually coming back again in some ways. They'll be there like they're now for the next several decades to go.
This is a worthy goal. However, I would expect this to work much better in a denomination with congregational government. I think the PCUSA and other similar church governments would always be forcing unpalatable policies on you, and forcing you to contribute to unsavory programs.
All denominations at one point, and that includes all people with no denomination at all are converging to Revelation 14:12 In the mean time, while the different signs of the times affirm believers in the Bible’s doctrines according to their denominations, or make an even deeper separation between God and their faith, again we all are gearing toward Revelation 14:12. We don’t know how many more generations and time it will take to get there when we will have to make the decision to keep the Commandments of God and the faith of JC or obey the demands of men.
There could be a point here. Jerome observed, “The whole world groaned, and was astonished to find itself Arian,” so he and his fellow orthodox conservatives formed their own denomination. Oh, wait. That isn't what happened.
Better than "reforming denominations", God has a plan to "send 'Elijah' before the great and terrible Day of YHVH...to restore all things"... One Church; One Body; no "denominational distinctions." charis kai shalom
@@Christian-vq8rd yes, he was an initial and partial fulfillment of that prophecy, but there is a forerunner prophesied to come before Christ's second advent "to restore all things." May it be soon!!
@@Christian-vq8rd Jesus was the one who confirmed this--that there is yet one to come. See Matt 17:11 and Mark 9:12. John was already dead when Jesus declared this yet future "Elijah" to come. Important to note and to expect His Word to be fulfilled.
What the modern Church needs is a New Covenant Revival (Heb. 9:10) in which members of various denominations are willing to re-examine everything they believe and see if it agrees with the Bible, instead of the traditions of men. We need to be like the Bereans. It will be a battle between our flesh and the Holy Spirit. It will not be easy. If you get mad and upset when someone challenges your man-made Bible doctrines, that is your flesh resisting the truth found in God's Word. Nobody can completely understand the Bible unless they understand the relationship between the Old Covenant given to Moses at Mount Sinai and the New Covenant fulfilled in blood at Calvary. What brings all local churches together into one Body under the blood of Christ? The answer is found below. New Covenant Whole Gospel: Let us now share the Old Testament Gospel found below with the whole world. On the road to Emmaus He said the Old Testament is about Him. He is the very Word of God in John 1:1, 14. Awaken Church to this truth. Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by husband unto them, saith the LORD: Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Is the most important genealogy in the Bible found in Matthew 1:1 (Gal. 3:16)? Is God's Son the ultimate fulfillment of Israel (John 1:49)? Why has the modern Church done a pitiful job of sharing the Gospel with modern Orthodox Jews? Why would someone tell them they are God's chosen people and then fail to share the Gospel with them? Who is the seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15? What did Paul say about Genesis 12:3 in Galatians 3:8? Who is the "son" in Psalm 2? Who is the "suffering servant" of Isaiah 53? Who would fulfill the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34? Who would fulfill the timeline of Daniel chapter 9 before the second temple was destroyed? Why have we not heard this simple Old Testament Gospel preached on Christian television in the United States on a regular basis? Once a person comes to understand the New Covenant promised to Israel and Judah in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is found fulfilled by Christ during the first century in Hebrews 8:6-13, and Hebrews 10:16-18, and specifically applied to the Church in 2 Corinthians 3:6-8, and Hebrews 12:22-24, man-made Bible doctrines fall apart. Let us now learn to preach the whole Gospel until He comes back. The King of Israel is risen from the dead! (John 1:49, Acts 2:36) We are not come to Mount Sinai in Hebrews 12:18. We are come instead to the New Covenant church of Mount Zion and the blood in Hebrews 12:22-24. 1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. The following verses prove the Holy Spirit is the master teacher for those in the New Covenant. Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. Watch the TH-cam videos “The New Covenant” by David Wilkerson, or Bob George, and David H.J. Gay.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 I don't know his activity in that way. I think his congregation is conservative too. I doubt he is passive. I've had a lot of positive interaction with him. I haven't heard him say anything that is theologically off base. I'm a Particular Baptist so I am very particular about doctrine 🤣🤣🤣
Anglo-Catholicism is most definitely a problem. For some reason America just doesn’t produce very many JI Packer / John Stott type Protestants leaders.
If you look directly behind the Pastor, above his head on his bookshelf, I see the same looking books that I have which are Bishop JC Ryle’s books printed by the Banner of Truth.
@@Psalm144.1 That proves nothing. Even if true, I have an Evangelical Anglican friend from Australia who says that Ryle was a four point Calvinist. The Sydney Anglicans do not believe in particular atonement. They hold to a hypothetical atonement.
well thats strange considering the official name of the episcopal church is "The Protestant Episcopal Chruch." If u deny the validity of the popes, u are in some sense "protestant". the prayer books of anglicans have all called the pope the "anti-christ", called catholics "papists" and called the mass "repugnant to the word of God". sounds pretty "protestant" to me. some do like the ritual-ness of catholicism, apostolic succession etc of the oxford movement, but many lutherans hold the same beliefs and they are "protestant" i suppose i understand where ur coming from tho, because as a Baptist, many of us would say we arent protestant either
Too much of main-line religion is "complexity" which is the opposite of what Jesus was all about! When religion has a theology that alienates people, this is an anti-Jesus Church! It is not the laws, practices and theology of religion that should convert people, but the love, acceptance, and charity of the people of that parish who set the example of the charity Jesus showed when He lived on Earth!!! His priesthood (ministry), his parishioners and what they do for the poor and helpless is what religion is all about! Mainline denominations should not have the "You are saved" or "You are not saved" in their scripts. Being saved is strictly in God's hands and being salvation-oriented does nothing but alienates people and makes young people "run for cover."
IV. This catholic church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less visible.h And particular churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them.i V. The purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error;k and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan.l Nevertheless, there shall be always a church on earth to worship God according to his will.m h Rom. 11:3. Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thy altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. Ver. 4. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Rev. 12:6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Ver. 14. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place: where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. i [Rev. Chapters 2 and 3 throughout.] 1 Cor. 5:6. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Ver. 7. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. k 1 Cor. 13:12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. [Rev. Chapters 2 and 3] Mat. 13:24-30. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also, &c. Ver. 47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind. l Rev. 18:2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Rom. 11:18. Boast not against the branches: but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Ver. 19. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Ver. 20. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. Ver. 21. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Ver. 22. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. m Mat. 16:18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Psal. 72:17. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed. Psal. 102:28. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee. Mat. 28:19, 20. [See in letter g.] Westminster Assembly. The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition. Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851. Print.
Conservatives did successfully reform the SBC back in the 80s and 90s. But then Calvinists turned those successes upside down with their own reformation... I think big organizations one way or another tend towards corruption. They seem to have just too much power and resources, and too many people willing to manipulate them to gain the power and resources. Local government tends to be better than big government.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 that was the attitude that let conservative Calvinists ignore it when it was the Calvinists. If conservative Calvinists were willing to look at the Calvinist problems 10-15 years, the SBC might not be shifting to the left as it is now. Calvinists lead the SBC to the left...
Local Congregational Church polity is no more immune to liberal/ social justice heresy than Episcopal. What happened to the New England Congregational Churches? Many of them turned into Unitarian and left their Savoy Declaration behind perhaps over a hundred years ago.
@@tuxamation That's a big question. I still haven't figured this all out. It's kind of a depressing topic. I am a former Calvinist, and after I left Calvinism and joined a SBC church, I then lived through the Calvinizing of the SBC. I left the SBC when a deceptive Calvinist pastor from Southern seminary took over my church. Here are my thoughts. The how question can refer to the process, or the beliefs behind it. I'll try to address both. Process: The process was, the Conservative Resurgence (80s-early 90s) against liberalism primarily was by non-Calvinists along with a small minority of Calvinists like Al Molher and Founders ministries. The leaders of this movement were almost all non-Calvinists. After the victory, Al Mohler used his appointment to Southern seminary to only hire Calvinist and make it the hub of spreading Calvinism. Founders ministries worked on their "quiet revolution" to reform the convention. They claimed that Calvinism was the best, real conservativism. When non-Calvinists Peter Lumpkins confronted Al Mohler at the 2011 SBC convention about his left shift, I don't recall any Calvinists supporting Peter. Calvinist Russell Moore replaced the more conservative Non-Calvinist Richard Land at the ERLC. There were continued replacements like this culminating in Adam Greenway from Southern replacing the last conservative resurgence leader, (and a leading non-calvinist Traditionalist/Provisionist) Paige Patterson and Calvinist JD Greear becoming president. Only as the Calvinists were achieving complete Calvinist dominance did the conservative Calvinists really start pushing back. Conservative Calvinists either assumed that Calvinism would necessarily be conservative and all the liberal problems would just go away, were blinded by their Calvinism to the liberal problems till they got huge, got upset that they were left out of the division of the spoils by the more dominant left-leaning calvinists, or they thought the liberalism was worth Calvinist dominance, so they held their fire on that problem till they achieved Calvinist dominance. Or some combination of the above. Beliefs: I think there was a transition between the Calvinist thinking to the left based on the shared overlap of their approaches. 10-15 years ago, I would call certain leading Calvinist thinkers "right wing liberals", they had conservative beliefs but liberal beliefs and processes. The overlap between Calvinism and the left is a common denial of free will, often a distain for common sense, looking down on the regular people in the pew (who pay the bills), denial of common sense morality, an academic driven movement, top-down authoritarian leadership, professors targeting young people who go to college or university, taking money from people in the name of cooperation but using it against them, a "vision of the anointed" or pro “elite”, anti- “normal” approach, infiltrating the youth departments of churches, giving people on their own team a free pass as long as it's good for the movement, an attitude that whatever is good for the movement is right, a power based ideology, and using deception to take over churches (stealth Calvinism). I have yet to hear conservative Calvinists openly and clearly condemn the above behavior when Calvinists were doing it for Calvinism the last 20 years. It seems they are only upset now that these tools are being used against them. This seems to imply they do not see these tools as bad, but neutral, or even a good that has been turned bad. This indicates something seriously flawed in the Calvinist movement. As Calvinists like to say, behavior flows from worldview/theology. I think their view of God as someone who acts, in what we would say in normal language, as deceptively, his number one focus is his glory, uses people, in the way we might describe dark triad personality (narcissistic/Machiavellian/psychopath) tends to promote more followers that engage in these behaviors. As one apologist put it, we become like what we worship. As one Calvinist theologian put it, we become like what we love most. Again, these are my thoughts based on my experiences and trying to figure out things.
So, Jon, what if this guy is nothing more than another high church Anglo-Catholic who advocates for 7 sacraments, prays to the saints, and believes in transubstantiation???? WHAT does he confess as the Gospel? Does he believe in the 5 solas of the Protestant Reformation? If not? Well, you might as well accept Roman Catholicism as well.
@M J Leans? No. That seminary is full-blown Anglo-Catholic. Secondly, the Tractarians totally twist the 39 Articles to make them fit with their semi-papist theology. The 39 Articles are not a middle way between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was a Protestant and believed in the doctrines of sovereign grace, not semi-pelagianism. Even John Henry Neuman converted from Anglo-Catholicism to become a papist cardinal. J.C. Ryle was a Protestant, but even he was only a 4 point Calvinist. He rejected definite and particular atonement.
@M J I was a deacon with the Reformed Episcopal Church before the ACNA formed. I was forced out for refusing to compromise with the Tractarian heresies.
I was pointed to this video, I would be delighted to come on this channel to talk about the Reconquista and to discuss the risks and benefits that may be associated with it.
God bless,
Redeemed Zoomer
Just be ready for a very long effort. Many faithful servants have preceded you in trying to encourage renewal in the PCUSA. May you live long enough to see the fruits of your efforts.
I pray the Lord bless and multiply this dear man’s efforts.
I remember back in the 1990s an Episcopal priest came to our small town in NE who was actually a born again Christian. He did stir the congregation with his preaching as some were disturbed and some repented to Christ. Don’t know who is there now but 30 years ago it was helpful.
My church is episcopal. Our priest came from the Church of England, an Anglican Church and when my priest shared with his bishop he was moving to the US and was going to the Episcopal, his bishop said “someone needs to go to Babylon”. Our episcopal church is biblically based. It is a rare finding.
This was a very powerful and thought-provoking conversation. God Bless You both for your ministries and for bringing this topic forward here. I'm praying God's blessing on this larger movement.
Wouldn't it be awesome here in America to see the church (that so many of the founding fathers of our country belonged to) to be revived to its old glory?
I walked into my local episcopal church and found an old, dying congregation, but a young, newly installed rector preaching the gospel and breathing life into the old church. He’s introducing them to reformed theology, building a playground to attract young families and organizing days to clean up the church. Retake a church with 20 parishioners, or retake it with one faithful pastor.
Great and important discussion in an era of rampant apostasy and an epidemic of empty, unbelieving churches--thank you Jon!!
The best we do is help if you can and don't hurt if you can not help because God is the conscience in each believer and not just always in power or big body
Hi Jon,
I’ve really been enjoying your podcast these past few months. I grew up in and am a member of a conservative congregation in the UCC that deliberately stayed to be a witness to the denomination . We were a dead mainline church before our previous pastor came in the 1960’s and brought us back to biblical faithfulness.
One of the ministries that was formed by a former member of our church is called Overseed.
It’s mission is revitalize mainline churches in New England by planting biblically faithful pastors in their pulpits.
I thought you might find them of interest.
Thank you and God bless you,
Nathan
What you call conservative is liberal by most Evangelical standards.
Praise God for breathing new life into your church
While I'm not a Yalie, my own experience is markedly similar to the Rev'd Mr. Dell -- I was raised in the old Southern Presbyterian Church that later amalgamated into the PCUSA and wasn't baptized until I was almost eleven years old (not because my parents were "nones," they just didn't get around to it). When I sensed a call to ministry I realized that I could not in good conscience do so in the PCUSA so I transferred to the Associate Reformed Presbyterians and attended their seminary, but was drawn to Anglicanism via the Reformed Episcopal Church, now a part of the ACNA.
Now I understand that there is an inside and an outside strategy, but I've never been an Episcopalian. I have, however, watched as the parishes of the Diocese of South Carolina were forced to wage war to keep their property and in some cases had it taken from them.
Now, Jon, when you and I briefly met at the Abbeville Institute last year and I mentioned that I was an Anglican you rather snidely commented "Enjoy being in a church with Beth Moore." Beth Moore is a laywoman and not in the Reformed Episcopal Church, so she has minimal impact upon my theological life. For the parishes that remained in the Episcopal Church in the old Diocese of South Carolina they now have a female bishop (married to a Unitarian Universalist minister), who will come a 'visiting every year. In the Diocese of New York, where Mr. Dell serves, one of they are currently served by Mary Douglas Glasspool, an open lesbian who recently referred to her partner as her "spouse of thirty-one years." Perhaps his small rural parish has an assurance that Bishop Glasspool won't come to visit but if they don't explicitly have that there is the very real possibility that she will come for an episcopal visit. As a priest-in-charge, who does not enjoy the security of a Rector, he may be led to resist that, but his ability to do so is limited.
I love old church buildings. The parish that I serve, although not founded until 1968, formerly occupied a stately former synagogue until maintenance cost combined with severely limited parking and a very generous offer from a local college led us to relocate to our currently location (not a bad building at all with room to build, not very far from the Jewish folks who formerly occupied our former home) around 2000. God has been faithful.
I don't doubt that they are still faithful Christians in The Episcopal Church (as it is now known) and I wish them well, but I found the picture that he painted a bit unrealistically optimistic.
Why on earth do the Episcopalians have women clergy? They have women clergy in the Anglican church here in the UK, and I just don't get why the male leaders would tolerate it.
It's abominable and essentially a sin expressly against God and HIs Word.
@@jonathant6948 For the same reason any other egalitarian church ordains women. Hermeneutical gymnastics.
The only reason it's a slightly more messy matter in the Anglican/Episcopalian world is due to their theology of the priesthood (which bears resemblance to the Catholic/Orthodox). Apostolic succession has always been a bigger deal to them compared to other Protestants and so messing with the ministry has greater implications both ecclesiologically and ecumenically.
The REC is now full-blown Anglo-Catholic and so is the ACNA. True Protestants are not welcome in either of those denominations. I would not recommend either denomination to any Bible believing Christian. The ARP is not much better because they ordain women as deacons. But so does the REC. And the ACNA ordains women as presbyters/priests.
Beth Moore is SBC.
It's heartening to hear a young man who is zealous for a work of God but let us not permit our flesh determine what ought to be done. We all are craving for saner, sturdier and happier days but God has to move, not us!
Throughout church history God often builds new institutions in the place of the dying and hijacked ones. God does not put unshruken cloth on old nor put new wine into old wineskins (Matt. 9:14-17).
Almost all of the Medieval Reformers, Waldensians, Albigensians, broke from the Roman Catholic Church. When Martin Luther broke from the Catholic Church Lutheranism was born. When the Church of England compromised with Popery and Catholicism, God sent the Pilgrims to the New World to start congregationalism.
What is a church? It is a body of believers with a gospel at it's center, much like how the planets revolve around the Sun, united by the gravity of a spirit.
Perhaps the mainline denominations will be restored and brought back to life; God can raise the dead but let God work! Seeking Him in prayer and meditating on His Word will bring us the answers. Who knows what the Lord is doing, we are called to be faithful, to be witnesses of the truth and marvel when His work is completed!
When the Church of England was comprised of Popery? What? I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.
And going into older mainline Churches is not “listening to the flesh.” It’s local missionary work, following the great commission. Paul went first to Jews then the gentiles. Well, if you want to do modern day mission work, you could first to the nominal/cultural fake Christians and if that doesn’t work, then go street preach or something else.
I cannot tell you how much I agree with this, how much I have thought EXACTLY the same and how much your words echo my own. We are living in some of the unbelievable, demonic, twisted, life-perverted times in all of human history though people may feel pre Christian pagan times were the same or worse - they were not, even the ancient Greeks restricted the holy ordinace of marriage to 1 man, 1 woman. I have often thought when things are this extreme is when the Hand of God is most ready to work, to turn it around in awe-inspiring fashion for His Glory and to create new types of "edifices" and institutions - I believe we're coming into such a time. There WILL be a turnaround for His greatest glory and by His undeniable and unendingly, merciful Grace. As you correctly said, though we work for the Kingdom we wait upon the Lord to lead as to how He wants us to work. I love your last 2 lines - Let God work! - Indeed, we are the humble, submitted servants giving glory and honour to the majesty of His Name when the revival work comes.
@@Psalm144.1 I meant to say compromised.
@@Psalm144.1 Queen Elizabeth, in order to appease the religious conservatives of her day, retained the ecclesiology of the RCC, the priestly vestments and titles like collars and "vicar" (Latin for "in the place of"), the liturgy and I believe some of the sacraments. Look up: "Elizabethan Religious Settlement" or "Elizabethan Compromise".
Love the truthsccript intro.. just wish there was a few seconds more to read the sentence.
For those that don’t know, in England, presbyter (Greek for elder), was destroyed by Olde English accents becoming “preost” over time. The term stuck. An Anglican priest is a presbyter, not a sacerdotal minister as in Roman Catholicism.
That's the Reformed Episcopal Church view. Anglo-Catholics belie e in apostolic succession, just like the papists. And did I me tion 7 sacraments, not 2?
@@ThomasCranmer1959 The impression I get is that while conservative regarding social issues, REC has become mostly Anglo-Catholic. Do you know of any Evangelical REC parishes?
@Psalm 144:1 No. In South Carolina there are many black REC churches. The Diocesan office is in Summerville SC.
@@Psalm144.1 I do not know of any Evangelical ones.
In 2020 I left a pretty conservative Episcopal Church where I even served on the vestry to a faithful Non-Denom (basically Baptist) church.
I wish Father Jake all the best as he is in for a long road.
Call no man "father." But your calling your pastor father is a dead give away of your Anglo-Catholic theology.
I think Jake's idea makes more sense for a pastor--which he is--than for parishioners. A pastor can have a meaningful impact on a local church through preaching and leadership, but parishioners are limited to their personal "evangelism" only. Mainline denominations are top-heavy and impervious to resistance to progressive theology, so "taking over" a few churches won't do anything at the denominational level. In exchange, the "missionaries" would not be able to expose their children to good teaching (at least at church) and would contribute money towards the maintenance of a building and denomination that is not friendly to orthodox Christianity. I am not sure what the point is. What's the endgame?
This, exactly. The endgame is the same Donald Trump is trying to convince America of... He is the robbed elected POTUS, etc. Same mantra!... To say the lieast the current US religious landscape is trying to mimic perfectly the US political landscape. The conservatives have long lost those "7 sisters" of the mainstream US protestant landscape and they won't return again. At most those groups will have perhaps a relative success on the deep south red states... Where those Churches are not that prevalent now that there are alternative more conservative denominations already existing. Moving those denominations would require several decades now, and I believe all of them will merge one day. It's such a delusional effort to say the least...
And for the sake of us: TH-cam can be your friend and show you that those woke Churches in the blue and "purple" states are far from dead. They're actually coming back again in some ways. They'll be there like they're now for the next several decades to go.
This was very encouraging to hear. I'm the pastor of an evangelical church in the UCC, and President of Faithful and Welcoming Churches of the UCC.
There are no Evangelical churches in the UCC. Prove me wrong.
I know a very evangelical Black UCC church in Philadelphia and a Hispánic charismatic UCC congregation
@angelbonilla2255 That proves nothing. Liberals claim to be Evangelical or charismatic all the time.
This is a worthy goal. However, I would expect this to work much better in a denomination with congregational government. I think the PCUSA and other similar church governments would always be forcing unpalatable policies on you, and forcing you to contribute to unsavory programs.
EXACTLY! Why pay the devil to corrupt a denomination you want to renew???
All denominations at one point, and that includes all people with no denomination at all are converging to Revelation 14:12 In the mean time, while the different signs of the times affirm believers in the Bible’s doctrines according to their denominations, or make an even deeper separation between God and their faith, again we all are gearing toward Revelation 14:12. We don’t know how many more generations and time it will take to get there when we will have to make the decision to keep the Commandments of God and the faith of JC or obey the demands of men.
There could be a point here.
Jerome observed, “The whole world groaned, and was astonished to find itself Arian,” so he and his fellow orthodox conservatives formed their own denomination.
Oh, wait. That isn't what happened.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is another synagogue of Satan as is Rome.
Very interesting.
Better than "reforming denominations", God has a plan to "send 'Elijah' before the great and terrible Day of YHVH...to restore all things"... One Church; One Body; no "denominational distinctions." charis kai shalom
John the Baptist comes to mind
@@Christian-vq8rd yes, he was an initial and partial fulfillment of that prophecy, but there is a forerunner prophesied to come before Christ's second advent "to restore all things." May it be soon!!
@Suzan Holland I'm pretty sure that's Jesus and not another forerunner but okay.
@@Christian-vq8rd Jesus was the one who confirmed this--that there is yet one to come. See Matt 17:11 and Mark 9:12. John was already dead when Jesus declared this yet future "Elijah" to come. Important to note and to expect His Word to be fulfilled.
That was an awesome interview Jonathan.
What the modern Church needs is a New Covenant Revival (Heb. 9:10) in which members of various denominations are willing to re-examine everything they believe and see if it agrees with the Bible, instead of the traditions of men. We need to be like the Bereans. It will be a battle between our flesh and the Holy Spirit. It will not be easy. If you get mad and upset when someone challenges your man-made Bible doctrines, that is your flesh resisting the truth found in God's Word.
Nobody can completely understand the Bible unless they understand the relationship between the Old Covenant given to Moses at Mount Sinai and the New Covenant fulfilled in blood at Calvary.
What brings all local churches together into one Body under the blood of Christ? The answer is found below.
New Covenant Whole Gospel:
Let us now share the Old Testament Gospel found below with the whole world. On the road to Emmaus He said the Old Testament is about Him.
He is the very Word of God in John 1:1, 14. Awaken Church to this truth.
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Is the most important genealogy in the Bible found in Matthew 1:1 (Gal. 3:16)? Is God's Son the ultimate fulfillment of Israel (John 1:49)? Why has the modern Church done a pitiful job of sharing the Gospel with modern Orthodox Jews? Why would someone tell them they are God's chosen people and then fail to share the Gospel with them? Who is the seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15? What did Paul say about Genesis 12:3 in Galatians 3:8? Who is the "son" in Psalm 2? Who is the "suffering servant" of Isaiah 53? Who would fulfill the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34? Who would fulfill the timeline of Daniel chapter 9 before the second temple was destroyed? Why have we not heard this simple Old Testament Gospel preached on Christian television in the United States on a regular basis?
Once a person comes to understand the New Covenant promised to Israel and Judah in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is found fulfilled by Christ during the first century in Hebrews 8:6-13, and Hebrews 10:16-18, and specifically applied to the Church in 2 Corinthians 3:6-8, and Hebrews 12:22-24, man-made Bible doctrines fall apart.
Let us now learn to preach the whole Gospel until He comes back. The King of Israel is risen from the dead! (John 1:49, Acts 2:36)
We are not come to Mount Sinai in Hebrews 12:18. We are come instead to the New Covenant church of Mount Zion and the blood in Hebrews 12:22-24.
1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
The following verses prove the Holy Spirit is the master teacher for those in the New Covenant.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Watch the TH-cam videos “The New Covenant” by David Wilkerson, or Bob George, and David H.J. Gay.
I would say the social issues arise from bad theology.👍🏻
There are a few people with TH-cam channels who are sticking with their PCUSA churches. Redeemed Zoomer and Bruce Gore come to mind.
Bruce Gore is fairly conservative but he refuses to call out his own denimination.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 I don't know his activity in that way. I think his congregation is conservative too. I doubt he is passive. I've had a lot of positive interaction with him. I haven't heard him say anything that is theologically off base. I'm a Particular Baptist so I am very particular about doctrine 🤣🤣🤣
@@Robert_Sparkman_01 You're not wise to their doublespeak. I spent 2 or 3 years with these people. They are experts in duplicity.
No
29:00 What you’re saying is they really just want the approval of man.
None of the links show ANY doctrinal confession of faith.
Conservative Episcopalians and Anglicans are generally high church Anglo-Catholics, not Protestants.
Anglo-Catholicism is most definitely a problem. For some reason America just doesn’t produce very many JI Packer / John Stott type Protestants leaders.
If you look directly behind the Pastor, above his head on his bookshelf, I see the same looking books that I have which are Bishop JC Ryle’s books printed by the Banner of Truth.
@@Psalm144.1 That proves nothing. Even if true, I have an Evangelical Anglican friend from Australia who says that Ryle was a four point Calvinist. The Sydney Anglicans do not believe in particular atonement. They hold to a hypothetical atonement.
well thats strange considering the official name of the episcopal church is "The Protestant Episcopal Chruch." If u deny the validity of the popes, u are in some sense "protestant". the prayer books of anglicans have all called the pope the "anti-christ", called catholics "papists" and called the mass "repugnant to the word of God". sounds pretty "protestant" to me. some do like the ritual-ness of catholicism, apostolic succession etc of the oxford movement, but many lutherans hold the same beliefs and they are "protestant" i suppose i understand where ur coming from tho, because as a Baptist, many of us would say we arent protestant either
@@cranmer1959 It proves he reads books written by an Evangelical Bishop.
Too much of main-line religion is "complexity" which is the opposite of what Jesus was all about!
When religion has a theology that alienates people, this is an anti-Jesus Church!
It is not the laws, practices and theology of religion that should convert people,
but the love, acceptance, and charity of the people of that parish who set the example of the charity Jesus showed when He lived on Earth!!!
His priesthood (ministry), his parishioners and what they do for the poor and helpless is what religion is all about!
Mainline denominations should not have the "You are saved" or "You are not saved" in their scripts.
Being saved is strictly in God's hands and being salvation-oriented does nothing but alienates people and makes young people "run for cover."
Around the 32 minute mark Dell openly denies the Protestant Evangelical movement as a whole.
IV. This catholic church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less visible.h And particular churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them.i
V. The purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error;k and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan.l Nevertheless, there shall be always a church on earth to worship God according to his will.m
h Rom. 11:3. Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thy altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. Ver. 4. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Rev. 12:6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Ver. 14. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place: where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
i [Rev. Chapters 2 and 3 throughout.] 1 Cor. 5:6. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Ver. 7. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
k 1 Cor. 13:12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. [Rev. Chapters 2 and 3] Mat. 13:24-30. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also, &c. Ver. 47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind.
l Rev. 18:2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Rom. 11:18. Boast not against the branches: but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Ver. 19. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Ver. 20. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. Ver. 21. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Ver. 22. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
m Mat. 16:18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Psal. 72:17. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed. Psal. 102:28. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee. Mat. 28:19, 20. [See in letter g.]
Westminster Assembly. The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition. Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851. Print.
Conservatives did successfully reform the SBC back in the 80s and 90s. But then Calvinists turned those successes upside down with their own reformation...
I think big organizations one way or another tend towards corruption. They seem to have just too much power and resources, and too many people willing to manipulate them to gain the power and resources. Local government tends to be better than big government.
HOGWASH... The roots of liberalism are always Arminian.
@@ThomasCranmer1959 that was the attitude that let conservative Calvinists ignore it when it was the Calvinists.
If conservative Calvinists were willing to look at the Calvinist problems 10-15 years, the SBC might not be shifting to the left as it is now. Calvinists lead the SBC to the left...
Local Congregational Church polity is no more immune to liberal/ social justice heresy than Episcopal. What happened to the New England Congregational Churches? Many of them turned into Unitarian and left their Savoy Declaration behind perhaps over a hundred years ago.
@@paulchamberlain4810 Please explain how Calvinists let the SBC to the left. Judging from the 1689, I would not have expected that.
@@tuxamation That's a big question. I still haven't figured this all out. It's kind of a depressing topic. I am a former Calvinist, and after I left Calvinism and joined a SBC church, I then lived through the Calvinizing of the SBC. I left the SBC when a deceptive Calvinist pastor from Southern seminary took over my church. Here are my thoughts.
The how question can refer to the process, or the beliefs behind it. I'll try to address both.
Process:
The process was, the Conservative Resurgence (80s-early 90s) against liberalism primarily was by non-Calvinists along with a small minority of Calvinists like Al Molher and Founders ministries. The leaders of this movement were almost all non-Calvinists. After the victory, Al Mohler used his appointment to Southern seminary to only hire Calvinist and make it the hub of spreading Calvinism. Founders ministries worked on their "quiet revolution" to reform the convention. They claimed that Calvinism was the best, real conservativism. When non-Calvinists Peter Lumpkins confronted Al Mohler at the 2011 SBC convention about his left shift, I don't recall any Calvinists supporting Peter. Calvinist Russell Moore replaced the more conservative Non-Calvinist Richard Land at the ERLC. There were continued replacements like this culminating in Adam Greenway from Southern replacing the last conservative resurgence leader, (and a leading non-calvinist Traditionalist/Provisionist) Paige Patterson and Calvinist JD Greear becoming president. Only as the Calvinists were achieving complete Calvinist dominance did the conservative Calvinists really start pushing back.
Conservative Calvinists either assumed that Calvinism would necessarily be conservative and all the liberal problems would just go away, were blinded by their Calvinism to the liberal problems till they got huge, got upset that they were left out of the division of the spoils by the more dominant left-leaning calvinists, or they thought the liberalism was worth Calvinist dominance, so they held their fire on that problem till they achieved Calvinist dominance. Or some combination of the above.
Beliefs:
I think there was a transition between the Calvinist thinking to the left based on the shared overlap of their approaches. 10-15 years ago, I would call certain leading Calvinist thinkers "right wing liberals", they had conservative beliefs but liberal beliefs and processes. The overlap between Calvinism and the left is a common denial of free will, often a distain for common sense, looking down on the regular people in the pew (who pay the bills), denial of common sense morality, an academic driven movement, top-down authoritarian leadership, professors targeting young people who go to college or university, taking money from people in the name of cooperation but using it against them, a "vision of the anointed" or pro “elite”, anti- “normal” approach, infiltrating the youth departments of churches, giving people on their own team a free pass as long as it's good for the movement, an attitude that whatever is good for the movement is right, a power based ideology, and using deception to take over churches (stealth Calvinism).
I have yet to hear conservative Calvinists openly and clearly condemn the above behavior when Calvinists were doing it for Calvinism the last 20 years. It seems they are only upset now that these tools are being used against them. This seems to imply they do not see these tools as bad, but neutral, or even a good that has been turned bad. This indicates something seriously flawed in the Calvinist movement.
As Calvinists like to say, behavior flows from worldview/theology. I think their view of God as someone who acts, in what we would say in normal language, as deceptively, his number one focus is his glory, uses people, in the way we might describe dark triad personality (narcissistic/Machiavellian/psychopath) tends to promote more followers that engage in these behaviors. As one apologist put it, we become like what we worship. As one Calvinist theologian put it, we become like what we love most.
Again, these are my thoughts based on my experiences and trying to figure out things.
So, Jon, what if this guy is nothing more than another high church Anglo-Catholic who advocates for 7 sacraments, prays to the saints, and believes in transubstantiation???? WHAT does he confess as the Gospel? Does he believe in the 5 solas of the Protestant Reformation? If not? Well, you might as well accept Roman Catholicism as well.
He went to Nashotah House for seminary which leans Anglo-Catholic, but let's be clear, the Anglican 39 Articles of Religion are solidly Reformed.
@M J Leans? No. That seminary is full-blown Anglo-Catholic. Secondly, the Tractarians totally twist the 39 Articles to make them fit with their semi-papist theology. The 39 Articles are not a middle way between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was a Protestant and believed in the doctrines of sovereign grace, not semi-pelagianism. Even John Henry Neuman converted from Anglo-Catholicism to become a papist cardinal.
J.C. Ryle was a Protestant, but even he was only a 4 point Calvinist. He rejected definite and particular atonement.
@M J I was a deacon with the Reformed Episcopal Church before the ACNA formed. I was forced out for refusing to compromise with the Tractarian heresies.