Posted on 09/26/2003 12:10:41 PM PDT by ahadams2
Lanny Geib Speaks out
Dear faithful members of St. Paul’s and our Lord Jesus Christ;
It is with much sadness and also with much hope that I am writing this letter, in response to the brokenness that hap-pened at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church at the beginning of August. As John Gibson reminded me, this is not about a liberal vs. conservative situation or misunderstanding – what took place was heresy. The Church threw aside 2000 years of bedrock Christianity on both the sanctity of holy marriage and “the two shall become one” truth of the Bible and fell to the constant shift and decline of societal moral standards. The climate of the society is “whatever is right for me and feels good” is what is relatively moral at the present time. The heretical sector of the Church is now saying, through reinterpretation of the Gospel, that the watchwords in the church are now “inclusion and affirmation,” all done under the banner of “love.” And when pressed by some of the “hard sayings” of Jesus and the Scriptures this heretical sector dismisses these passages of the Bible by saying they are not consistent with “Jesus self-giving love.” Listen to the Rev. Gene Robinson’s description of his unholy relationship with another man, “in his unfailing and unquestioning love of me, I experience just a little bit of the kind of never-ending, never-failing love that God has for me.” The new Gospel places feelings above facts, knowledge, and the evident truth in Scripture. As the Rev. Kendall Harmon, South Carolina [and in seminary with me at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry] said, “same-sex unions are relationships in search of a theology.” “Inclusion” advocates very little interest in consistent and tested doctrine {that which is the stated faith of the church for 2000 years – such as the Apostles Creed].
When we in the Church differ in opinions that are not doctrinal, [things like mode of baptism, or whether women should wear hats in church], those areas are open for honest and sincere dialogue. When heresy enters the equation then the Bible speaks to that – especially when it is heresy perpetuated and sustained in the ordained leaders. Ultimately the scripture tells us to break communion with these individuals [Eph. 5:6,7,11].
At the present I cannot speak entirely for the whole of St. Paul’s, but will speak for myself by saying that through prayer, and in love, following the guidelines of the Holy Bible I will break communion with the bishop elect of New Hamp-shire, the presiding bishop, and the 62 bishops who voted for the consecration. I will personally write each individual and no-tify him/her of that decision, while telling the Bishop of Texas of my actions [and hopefully receiving his approval]. Further-more I will make sure that none of my resources go to support them or their heresy. I will meet with the Vestry of St. Paul’s and we too will come up with a plan of action as far as our church is concerned [hopefully all of you will have given your input, also]. We will deal with the fact that the convention’s actions:
--Violate the teaching of Scripture
--Affects world mission and the meaning of the Cross
--Go against the prevailing faith of the Anglican communion {70 million vs. our paltry 2.3 million and declining – and showing American imperialism at its worst)
--Capitulate to the winds and whims of culture when what is needed is a strong and Biblical moral stand Confuse those who need strong guidance: i.e. those who are new to the fold, some already in the fold, but possibly weak in their faith, along with our children in the church
--Change doctrine by election instead of debate.
The General Convention has ignored the revealed word of God and the historic teachings of the church. We have a great bishop in Don Wimberly and we will also look to him for guidance and do whatever is necessary to keep the Anglican faith and God’s word viable in a time of moral failure of some of the leaders in our church. But let me assure you, that while this issue is extremely important and our response is absolutely necessary, we will not be deterred from the vision and mission that God has given to our church. We, as members of St. Paul’s are called to stay the course, willing to give our all for the Lord Jesus Christ while living in love with God and our neighbor. The work of the church is prayer – and we are all called to be on our knees imploring God to cleanse our church and ourselves [perhaps the rea-son why some of this happened is that we lost sight of that work in the church]. Secondly we are called to the mission of the church which is evangelism – the reaching out to the lost with the Good News of Jesus Christ who came to save people from their sins so that they may have transformation in their lives. Those who wish to change the 2000 year old faith want to “divinize” sin and the secular agenda and say to hell with the cross and suffering and transformation and unchanging truth. At St. Paul’s we do that through C.O.P.Y – cells [small groups], outreach, prayer, and youth. We will not change the mission of the church – this is our highest call, and we will not support the actions of the General Convention as long as I am rector of your church. In Jesus’ love
--The Rev. Lanny Geib is Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Katy, Texas.
Telling it like it is.
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