DBB 6.21.2018: GAFCON + JERUSALEM DIARY

I woke up early this morning to breakfast with my good friend and former Oxford classmate Lee McMunn.  Lee is planting a church in Scarborough, England (a lovely seaside town on the northeast coast).  He was, by far, the best preacher at college when we were there and a faithful leader.  Lee is heading up a church planting movement in the U.K.  Best of all, he’s a Scot.

As we have every day, we began with Morning Prayer and then a Bible study.  The service was according to a rite produced by the Anglican Church in North America, very similar to what we use at the Advent.  The Rev. Michael Raiter from Melbourne, Australia led the Bible exposition (Luke 24:13-35):

Michael Raiter

And, the only thing everyone reading this cares about….the choir’s outfits today:

I think I made a mistake in saying they were from the cathedral in Nairobi.  They are from a cathedral in Nigeria!  (The mistake was an honest one as they sang a lot of Swahili songs.)

The plenary session was led by the Rev. Canon David Short, rector of St. John’s, Vancouver, Canada.  David was born in east Africa (to missionary parents from New Zealand—his father was an Anglican bishop), trained for ministry in Australia, and serves in Canada:

St. John’s is a wonderful parish, formerly served by the great Harry Robinson (he’s worth looking up!).   David spoke on ‘God’s Strategy’ from Paul’s letter to Titus.  It’s worth listening to.

Dr. Glenn Davies, Archbishop of Sydney, was introduced to read the draft statement regarding the conference:

Today was a big day at GAFCON.  The conference is nearing its end and so a draft of the statement was presented and then delegates from their respective countries convened to discuss.  I do not care for this kind of stuff, so I ditched America to sit with Australian friends.  When I had enough of how they do this kind of stuff down under, I headed over the U.S. meeting—that was short lived.  I was snagged by an English friend to contribute to running commentary from the back of the room filled with folks from the U.K.  It was very interesting to see how differently the three countries discussed things.

I then rallied the troops for dinner out tomorrow night.  It’s a great group of folks and should be a fitting end to a wonderful week in Jerusalem.

All 2,000 of us boarded buses and headed to the Temple steps for the conference photograph and Evening Prayer.

I have already posted pictures of this, but one thing I forgot to mention is that these mikvah baths (for ritual purification before entering the Temple) are numerous.  And, in all likelihood is where the 3,000 were baptized on Pentecost after Peter’s sermon (Acts 2:41).  There’s no where else to do it and some archaeologists believe the baths could number near 1,000.  And, they’re right there:

Moving 2,000 people on buses is one thing.  Moving 2,000 people through the Old City of Jerusalem is another.  No doubt we wrecked an afternoon for some pilgrims by our presence.  We broke down into groups of 50 and I scored a great group.  I had a chance to spend time with Sam Mugisha (we’ve hung out a lot this week):

The bishop just outside the Joppa Gate.

We passed by the Cardo (the main road built by the Romans for Jerusalem):

You can see that the modern city of Jerusalem is three to five meters above the city of Jesus’ day.

Also in our group were David Bickell (an Episcopalian from Washington, DC), Hugh Palmer (rector of All Souls’, Langham Place—John Stott’s old church), and Rico Tice (one of the great evangelists in Anglicanism).  Rico is on staff at All Souls and is known for his development of the Christianity Explored study.

I had not seen David Bickell in years and was so glad to catch up with him.  He is a parishioner at All Saints’, Chevy Chase where the last three rectors have been dear friends:  Al Zadig, Paul Zahl, and Ed Kelaher.  David in his ‘retirement’ is finishing up his PhD in church history at the Catholic University in D.C. and is teaching at Mt. St. Mary’s College.

It was an honor to chat with Hugh Palmer for a few minutes as he serves such a vital church in the heart of London.  Their ministry is proof positive that gospel faithfulness with an emphasis on teaching and preaching bears fruit.

I had wanted to get to Rico Tice this week to confirm a story about a sign than hung on his door at theological college.  Rico was ahead of me at Wycliffe Hall, but he and I lived in the same room.  And years before Rico, Jim Packer had the room.  When Rico was there, someone placed a sign on the door that said:

J.I. Packer studied here (dates)

Rico Tice lived here (dates)

When I came along, someone caught wind of this story and posted the same sign on my door with this addition:

Andrew Pearson slept here (dates)

Rico confirmed that someone had placed the sign on his door and was glad to see my inhabiting it lifted his tenure to a higher level.

We arrived back to our hotels later than expected, but enough time for me to have dinner with Melvin Tinker, rector of St. John’s, Hull, England.  He has been there for more than two decades and it is a remarkable ministry.  Hull is where William Wilberforce, Samuel Marsden, and Robert Johnson were from, but the city’s evangelical heritage has waned.  St. John’s, under Melvin’s faithful leadership, has ensured that there is a witness still there, and growing.

Goodbyes have already started.  Ashley Null and I exchanged a hug and expressions of gratefulness to one another.  Ashley is a gift and his scholarship is an encouragement to the Advent.  His scholarship on Cranmer affirms that we are standing on the right shoulders.

As wonderful as this week has been I am looking forward to seeing my family.  But I would be lying if I didn’t mention I am looking forward to seeing my Advent family as well.