DBB 6.22.2018 GAFCON/Jerusalem Diary (final entry)

Our Nigerian friends left for home and they were replaced with a group made up of folks from all over:

 Morning Prayer was according to the Church of England’s Book of Common Worship and the Bible exposition was from Bishop Rennis Ponniah from Singapore. During Bishop Ponniah’s teaching I wrote my sermon for July 8.  This may sound rude, even irreverent, but I have done this a number of times. I find that listening to sermons tends to unlock my heart to hear the Spirit in a way that I wasn’t able to before.  This has been my practice even for my quiet times.

Rarely do I just launch into Bible reading and prayer.  If I find my mind wandering or the spirit of my prayer cold, I take up an edifying Christian book or listen to a sermon.  It nearly always begins to remove the numbness of heart and I am able to engage in the reading of God’s word and prayer.

When listening to a sermon, reading the Bible, or praying, if God begins to speak, I stop what I am doing and write it down immediately. If I wait until later, it is lost.  This is a practice that I have followed for years and has benefitted not only my preaching, but my walk with the Lord Jesus.  If you find yourself in similar circumstances, do not force it, but wait upon the Lord.

Archbishop Laurent Mbanda then took the platform in order to read the final statement from this 2018 GAFCON.  (You can find the statement here: https://www.gafcon.org/news/letter-to-the-churches-gafcon-assembly-2018.  I encourage you to read it.)

Archbishop Okoh, the chair of GAFCON, and primate of Nigeria, then asked the delegates for their approval or disapproval of the statement: it passed unanimously.

We had a tea break and I was able to follow up with an Episcopalian brother who was also encouraged by the week and began to say my goodbyes.

We then headed in to a service of Holy Communion, I sat next to Melvin Tinker (probably a bad idea), and the place was packed.  Until they were vested, I wasn’t aware of how many bishops were with us.

Archbishop Stanley Ntgali preached and Archbishop Okoh officiated.  The service was from the Book of Common Prayer, Church of Nigeria.

I had lunch with Tony Jones, rector of Christ Church, Durham (U.K.) at a local restaurant and then back to the convention center for goodbyes.

Bishop Sam Mugisha, Melvin Tinker, and I headed to the Old City where we toured around for the afternoon.

A group of us finally broke out for dinner.  Great to be with Jonathan Fletcher (longtime rector of Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon), Rod and Lesley Thomas (Rod is the Bishop of Maidstone in the CofE), John and Judith Mason (longtime friends from Sydney), Johnny Juckes (principal of Oak Hill Theological College, CofE), and  Steve Rockwell (teaches at George Whitefield College in South Africa).  Also saw at the restaurant Mark and Allison Lawrence (Bishop of South Carolina) and Alan and Beth Runyan (former parishioners of mine from St. Helena’s, Beaufort).

I’m now waiting to catch a 1am bus to the airport where I will board a plane in order to meet up with Lauren and the girls—I can’t wait.

There will be a lot of reflecting to do on GAFCON.  At this point, let me just say that I’ve never been to a conference so thoroughly bathed in Scripture.  It is clear that not only are the folks here living under the authority of God’s word, they are walking in it.  All week long, when someone would begin to quote Scripture in a talk or sermon, the audience/congregation would finish it for the speaker.

Thank you for praying for me and I look forward to sharing more when I return home.  Until then, know that I am praying for you and I long to be with you.