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SERVINGGODINHISCHURCHINOURGENERATION:

LEARNINGFROMTHEPASTWHILELIVINGINTHEPRESENT

StephenClark

SUMMARY

ThisisagreatlyabridgedversionofapaperbyStephenClarkbearingtheabovetitle.The

abridgementwasnotcarriedoutbytheauthorbuthasbeenapprovedbyhim.Thefullpaperwhich

containsnumeroussectionswhichhavebeeneditedoutofthisabridgedversionandextensive

footnotesisconcernedwiththenatureofgospelfellowshipandco-operationamongstevangelical

churches,aspractisedbyAffinity.Theseissuesareexploredbiblically,theologically,andhistorically.

LessonsareappliedtothesituationinwhichgospelchurchesfindthemselvesatpresentintheUK.In

theareaofgospelfellowshipandco-operationamongstchurchestheBiblehasanegativeanda

positiveemphasis.Falseteachingmustberesisted.Ontheotherhandthetruegospeliswonderfully

inclusive,inthatitproclaimsasalvationwhichisopentoeveryone.AlongthewayIinteractwithand

pointouttheseriousmistakesandmisleadinginformationfoundinabookletbyRuthPalgravethat

waspublishedin2012entitledTheyHaveForgotten(hereafterTHF),whichchargedAffinitywith

compromiseinthesematters.Theauthorhasfailedtounderstandhowaprincipleconsistentlyheld

mayhaveadifferentapplicationinonegenerationcomparedtothatofanother.Shehasalsofailedto

understandtheprinciplesandpracticeofDrMartynLloyd-Jones.

Biblicalteaching

TheBibleachievesaremarkablebalanceinitstwinemphasesupontheunityofGodspeopleandtheir

consequentseparationfromthatwhichisfalse.OTIsraelwastobeseparateanddistinctfromthe

surroundingnations,butshewasalsotorememberthatshewasonepeopleincovenantwiththeLORD.IntheNTthepeopleofGodarenolongeridentified,inanexternalway,withanyonenation

but,rather,asthosewhohavefaithinJesusChrist.ThespiritualunitywhichexistsamongsttheLords

peoplederivesfromthefactthattheyhaveallbeengiventoChristbytheFatherandhaveallbeen

adoptedintothefamilyofGod.ThisiswhydisunityamongsttheLordspeopleissuchascandalous

thing.Theunityalreadyexistsandisagiven:itiscreatedbytheSpiritandnoeffortistobesparedto

maintainit.Weshouldnot,however,pittheSpiritagainsttruth:unityisalwaysunityinthetruth.This

meansthatGodspeoplearetobeconcernedtodistancethemselvesfromthatwhichisfalseasmuch

astheyaretomaintainunitywiththosewhobelievethetruth.

TheBiblesteachingonunityandseparationdoesnot,ofcourse,existinavacuum:gospelwork,while

requiringafidelitytothetruth,alsodemandsthatwebeculturallyflexible.Ifonerefusestobeflexible

onmerelyculturalissueswhicharenotrequiredbyGodslaworbythegospel,thenoneiseffectively

elevatingthoseculturalnormstothelevelof,andtherebyaddingto,Godslaworthegospel.Oneof

thegreatweaknessesofRuthPalgravesbookletisthatshedoesnotaddressthis.

History

ThehistoricalbackgroundtoallthisconcernstheriseoftheEcumenicalMovementandtheWorld

CouncilofChurchesinthe20thcentury.Howwereevangelicalstorespond?Americanfundamentalism

espousedaseparatistmentalitythatoftenwenthand-in-handwiththeologicaleccentricitiesanda

mindsetthatwasexcessivelynegativetowardscultureandlearning;theydividedfromliberalsbut

thenalsofromfellowevangelicals.Inthe1960sintheUKmanyevangelicalsbegantoreactagainst

thishardlineattitude,believingthattheymightbeabletowintheirdenominationsbacktothetruth.

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Althoughalaudableaim,manyadoptedthetacticofacknowledgingthatnon-evangelicalshadasmuch

righttobeinthedenominationsasdidevangelicals,especiallywithintheChurchofEngland.

AlthoughtheBritishEvangelicalCouncil,whichwasformedin1952,wasananti-ecumenicalbody,

manyofthoseinchurchesorchurchbodieswhichwerepartofBECwerehappytobepublicly

involvedwiththosewhoremainedinmixeddenominations.ThisincludedDrLloyd-Joneshimself,

whowasministerofWestminsterChapel,achurchwhichwasformanyyearsinamixeddenominationwhichwaspartoftheWorldCouncilofChurches.(Thesefactsareexpandedindetailin

thefullpaper.)

ThefactisthatarangeofpositionsontheseissueswasheldwithinBEC.ThiswasevidentataBEC

StudyConferencein1985,onthesubjectofUnionandSeparationwhereacleardivisionwasseento

existbetweenthosewhowerecommittedtoprinciplesofsecondaryseparationandthosewhowere

not.ThiswasnotadeparturefromearlierBECprinciplesonsecondaryseparationforthesimple

reason,aswehavealreadynoted,thatatatimewhenDrLloyd-Joneswasministerofachurchwhich

wasstillpartofamixeddenominationandalsopartofWCC,BECchurcheswerehappytohavehim

preachandnoobjectionsweremadetothis.RuthPalgravehasgivenusasnapshotofacertainperiodinthehistoryandlifeoftheBECandwishestosetthisinstone,asifiteverwasandevershouldbethe

positionthatBECstandsfor.Butitwasnoteverthus,andthefullpaperseekstoprovethatitdoesnot

alwayshavetobethusforthosewhoarefaithfultotheprincipleswhichlaybehindtheformationof

theBEC.

ManywhohavewrittenonDrLloyd-Jonessteachingconcerningtheissueofthegospelandseparation

haveconcentratedattentionparticularlyuponhiscelebratedaddressinOctober1966totheNational

AssemblyofEvangelicalsandtohissubsequentmessagesatBECConferences.However,ifoneisable

properlytoappreciatewhatLloyd-Joneswassayinginthoseyearsitisessentialtoplacehisteaching

withinthecontext,notonlyofthespiritualandecclesiasticalsceneofthattime,butalsowithinthecontextofhistotalministry.Theworldof2013is,incertainrespects,verydifferentfromthatofthe

60sand70s.IftherewasonethingwhichremainedtrueofLloyd-Jonesthroughouthislongand

remarkableministryitisthefactthathestayedabreastofallthatwashappeningandofthechanges

thatweretakingplace.

Whilesomewereleavingtheliberaldenominationsintheearly20thcentury,DrLloyd-Jonesoptedto

stayinwhenhebecameministerofaWelshCalvinisticMethodistchurchin1927.Thisdidnotreveal

anyweakeningofhiscommitmenttothegospel;unlikethosewhohadcomeout,hebelievedthat

therewasagreatopportunityforhimtoinfluencethedenomination.EverythingwasseenbyLloyd-

Jonesthroughthelensofopportunityforthegospel.Thisledhim,onatleastoneoccasion,tocounsel

amantoentertheChurchofEnglandministry(seethefullpaperfordetails.)In1969,threeyears

afterhis1966address,Lloyd-JoneswrotetoEricAlexander,whowasaministerofthemixedChurch

ofScotland,urginghimtoaccepttheinvitationtobecomepastorofWestminsterChapelafterhim.For

him,theneedtomaintainabiblicalministryattheChapeloutweighedallotherconsiderations.Itis

thisgospelemphasiswhichanimatedLloyd-Jones,ratherthanfinerpointsaboutsecondary

separation.

TheBECwasformedin1952yetitwasnotuntil1967thatLloyd-Jonesbecameidentifiedwithit,

almostcertainlybecausehefearedthatitmightbetoonegative.Buttheperceivedthreatposedbythe

EcumenicalMovementinthe1960swasveryrealindeed.Thedenominations,whichhadbecome

largelyliberal,werebeingpushedtojointhismovement.InthissituationLloyd-Jonessawaunique

opportunityforthegospel:itwasthatevangelicalcongregationswithinshouldseparatefromtheir

liberaldenominations(andtherebyseverlinkswiththosewhodeniedthegospel)andcometogether

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insomeloosefellowshipofchurches,eventhoughonsecondarymatterstheymightstillmaintaintheir

owndistinctivesatrue,evangelicalecumenicity.Thevitalpointtograspisthis:itwastheprimacyof

thegospelwhichwastheissue .TheburdenofLloyd-Jones1966messagewasthepositivedutyoftrue

believerstocometogether.Itwasnotananti-Anglicanoranti-Baptistmessage.Thetoneofhis

teachingwasthusverydifferentfromthetoneofTHF.Hewascallingforthosewhowereagreedon

thegreattruthsofthegospeltojointogetheronthebasisofthosetruthsandmakethem,inpractice,

non-negotiable.Althoughinthecontextofthe60sand70sthisinevitablyinvolvedacallforseparation

frommixeddenominations,inadifferentcontextthosesameprinciplesmightwellworkoutina

differentway.

Lloyd-JonespositiononsecondaryseparationwasfarmorenuancedthanTHFsuggests.Hewas

preparedtohavepublicfellowshipwithmenwhostayedintheirdenominationsandtohavepublic

fellowshipwithmenwhocontinuedtohavepublicfellowshipwiththosewhonotonlystayedinbut

whowerefullycommittedtotheirdenominations.Theevidenceforthisclaimislaidoutinthefull

paper,referencingmensuchasSinclairFerguson(ChurchofScotland),GarethDavies,JohnThomas&

EurfylJones(PresbyterianChurchofWales),JohnCaiger(WestminsterFellowship)andsuch

organisationsasIFES,OperationMobilisationandKeswick.Lloyd-Joneswasnotadenominationalman,inthesensethatheputthatbeforeoronaparwiththegospel.Butneitherwasheaseparatist

inthesensethatRuthPalgravemeans.Thereistheworldofdifferencebetweenseparating,withasad

heart,aftergreatandpatientefforts,andhavinganuglyseparatistmentality.

Theyhaveforgotten

VariousmenwhohavewrittencommendationsforTHForwhoseviewsarequotedinsupportofits

thesisareinconsistent;theyareknowntohavebeeninvolvedinpublicmeetingsaddressedby

Anglicansandothersinmixeddenominations(detailsaregiveninthefullpaper).Forexample,those

whoopposedDickLucasspeakingatFIECgatheringswerehappytohavemenfromnonconformist,mixeddenominationsspeakattheirownevents.Thereasongivenwasthattheseweregospelmen,

despitebeingintheirdenominations.ButisDickLucasnotalsoagospelman?Wasthedifference

perhapssimplythatweknewtheonemanbuthadbuiltsuchwallsthatwedidnotknowthesame

sortofmenintheAnglicanChurch?

RuthPalgraveacknowledgesthatin1987theBECwelcomedanAnglicanChurchintomembershipand

shejustifiesthisonthebasisoftheviewofitsvicarthattheycouldnotremainintheAnglicanChurch

atallcosts(sevenyearslateritlefttheChurchofEngland).YetshecriticisesAffinityforwelcoming

intomembership,in2006,achurchwhichwaspartoftheUnitedReformedChurchandachurch

belongingtotheBaptistUnionastheywerenotintendingtoleavetheirdenominations,butshe

producesnoevidencetosupportherstatementabouttheirsupposedintentions.

Thesituationtowhichgospelprinciplesaretobeappliedhaschangedsignificantlyoverthedecades.

ForthefortyoneyearsofwhichhewasthepastorofachurchLloyd-Joneswasinamixed

denominationforallbutoneofthoseyears.Buthewhocouldseenothingagainstamanenteringthe

ChurchofEnglandministryinthe1940swouldnothavebeenthuscounsellingmeninthe1960sor

1970s.ThesituationhadbeendeterioratingthroughouttheyearswiththeriseoftheEcumenical

Movement.Butthesituationhaschangedagainsincethe1970s .SuggestionsthatUnitywithAnglicans

isintheendunitywithRomearetypicalofTHF:itisstilllockedintothesituationwhichobtainedin

the60sand70s.Buttheworldisverydifferenttodayfromwhatitwasthen.

Sincethe1967KeeleCongressofAnglicansclearlyindicatedthatmanyevangelicalAnglicanswere

headinginaverydifferentdirectiontotheirforebears,theProclamationTrusthasbeenformed.

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TypicaloftheTrustsstancewerethecommentsatitsannualEvangelicalMinistryAssemblyinthe

1990sbyPhilipJensenwhoassertedthatKeelehadbeenahugemistake,thatAnglo-Catholicismwas

pagan,andthatthegospelwastobeproclaimednotmimedorenactedindrama.Alsolinkedtothe

ProclamationTrust,RichardCoekinisanAnglicanvicarwhosestrenuousadvocacyofevangelical

principlesledtotheBishopofSouthwarkwithdrawinghislicencetopreach.Thisissurelythesame

sortofthingwhichwashappeningtotheevangelicalAnglicansinthe18thcentury.

InSeptember2012theRectorofStHelensBishopsgateaddressedtheAffinityCouncilonthestateof

evangelicalAnglicanismtoday.Itwasclearthathisaffinitieswerewiththosegreatleadersofthe18th

century.Heresyandhereticsareopposedbyhimandmenlikehim.Hespokeofyoungermenwho

cannotgetachurchandwhoare,therefore,preparedtoplantchurchesinparisheswherethevicaris

notevangelical.Thisislightyearsremovedfromthekindofdenominationalmenwhowereso

prominentinthe1960sand70s.Hemadeclearthatheandmenlikehimtakethebiblicalcallfor

separationfromthosewhoteachfundamentalerrorveryseriouslyindeed.Withintheirchurchesthey

seektoimplementthisteaching.AtthispointCalvinsobservationthattheRomanCatholicChurchwas

notatruechurchbutthatthereweretruechurcheswithinitisofhugeimportance.Imaypersonally

believethatafairapplicationofsomeofthepassagesquotedbyTHFrequiremenottobepartofadenominationwhichintentionallyandconsciouslyallowshereticswithinitsranks.Indeed,thatismy

position.Butisitnottobespirituallyandtheologicallymyopictofailtoseethatanotherbrothermay

takethoseverseswiththesameseriousnesswithwhichItakethembut,inhissituation,applythem

somewhatdifferentlyfromthewayIdo?

JustasIinallconsciencecouldnotbaptisethechildofabelieverbutrespectbrotherswhose

convictionsonthisdifferfrommine,soIcouldnotimaginehowIcouldfunctionasanAnglicanvicar

butcanrespectthosewho,ingoodconscience,understandhowcertainpassagesaretobeappliedina

differentwayfromthewayinwhichIwouldapplythem.ThiswassurelyhowamanlikePoole-Connor

oftheFIECcouldfellowshipandco-operatewithLloyd-JoneswhenLloyd-Joneswasstillinamixeddenomination,justasLloyd-JonescouldhaveencouragedamantoconsiderenteringtheAnglican

ministry.Inotherwords,wemustdistinguishbetweenthosewhoreallyareinvolvedinmassive

compromisefromthosewhoarelikeWhitefieldinthe18thcentury.

Whilethefalseunityadvocatedbytheecumenicalmovementisalwaysathreat,onesurelyneedsto

realisethatwearefacingpossiblygreaterthreatstodayfromsecularism,materialism,militant

atheism,Islam,andutterignoranceof,orindifferenceto,thegospel.

ItwasthesechangedcircumstanceswhichgaverisetotheDirectorofAffinityseekingtodevelopthe

Anglicanagenda.ThisisalsowhyOakHillCollegehasbeenacceptedasanAssociatePartnerof

Affinity,somethingelsetowhichRuthPalgraveobjects.Butitisafactthatthefullestdefenceofthe

doctrineofpenalsubstitutioninrecentyearshascomefromOakHill.Inthepastitwasnotunknown

forstudentstoattendaBECchurchwheretheministerdidnottreatthetextofScriptureascarefully

asdidthevicarinanearbyAnglicanchurch.Whatdoyoudoifyouliveorstudyinanareawherethe

non-denominationalchurchengagesintheatricalsandsuperficialnonsense,whendowntheroadina

churchstillinadenominationtheWordistrulypreachedandappliedthoughtfully,helpfully,and

powerfully?Forexample,thereareevangelicalchurcheswithintheChurchofEnglandwhichare

spirituallyvibrant,demonstratingpracticalgodliness,andwhoseministersareearnestinreachingthe

lostandfaithfulinbuildingupthesaints.LifeisalotmorecomplicatedthanTHFwouldsuggest.

Whenonebiblicalcommandcomesintoconflictwithanother,onemustthengradetheprinciples

whichliebehindthecommandmentstoascertainwhichcommandmustprevail.Thisissomethingto

whichLloyd-Joneshimselfreferred.Inthisconnectionthecomplexsubjectofculturebecomeshugely

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important.Itispossibleforachurch,inarightconcerntodistanceitselffromtheworld,toconfuse

aspectsofculturewhichareneutralandnotatallworldlyinthebiblicalsensewithwhattheBible

meanswhenitreferstotheeviloftheworld.Theupshotofthisisthatthechurchthenisolatesitselfin

anunbiblicalwayandunbelieversarepresentedwithaChristplusmessage,whichis,ofcourse,as

muchadenialofthegospelastheRomanCatholicChristplusmessage:onehastoembracecertain

culturaldistinctives,whichhavenobiblicalwarrant,ifoneistobecomeaChristianorazealous

Christian.Thisisadenialofthegospel.YetIhavehadenoughexperienceofseparatistchurches

wheresuchhasbeenthecase.Ofcoursethereverseisalsotrue:someinaconcerntobeculturally

relevantmaywellacceptthingswhichScripturedoescondemn.Bothapproachesarewrong.

HywelJoneshassaidthatAftertheWestminsterFellowshipwasre-formed,wewereoftenrequired

bytheDoctortodotwothings.Thefirstwastolookatthesituationtoseeiftherewasanymaterial

changeinit.Nothingwasfurtherremovedfromthetruththantheclaimthathavingsecededwe

retreatedintoanisolationistghetto,continuingtopersuadeourselvesthatweneededtostaythereto

givecredibility,inonesowneyesatleast,tothestepalreadytaken.

Theseareimportantwords.Whydidtheyneedtolookatthesituationtoseeiftherewasanymaterialchangetoit?TheobviousansweristhatLloyd-Jonesdidnotregardthesituationasstaticbutasone

whichcouldchange.Thiswouldtheninevitablymeanthat,whilebiblicalprinciplesdonotchange,

theirapplicationdoes,dependinguponthecircumstancestowhichtheyaretobeapplied.Thenatural

questiontoraiseatthispoint,therefore,isthis:Isthesituationdifferenttodayfromwhatitwasthen?

TheanswerwhichIhavesoughttoargueisthatithaschangedandhaschangedsignificantly.Affinity

hasrecognisedthisand,whilestillholdingtotheprinciplesmaintainedbytheBEC,seekstoaddress

thesituationasitistoday,notasitwasfortyyearsago.Itisnotatallbecausetheyhaveforgotten,as

RuthPalgraveclaims.Quitethecontrary!Theyhaveremembered:inparticular,theyhave

rememberedthattheNewTestamentChurchhasexistedforovertwothousandyears,andtheyhave

rememberedthatitreallyisimpossiblyfoolishtotrytofreezethechurchofJesusChristintoaneraofnomorethanfourteenyears1967to1981inoneverysmallpartoftheworldwherethechurch

canhardlyhavebeencalledspirituallyvibrant.Buttheyhavealsorememberedsomethingelse,

somethingwhich,alas,RuthPalgraveseemstohaveallbutforgotten.Itisthesecondthingwhich,

accordingtoHywelJones,Lloyd-Jonesurgedthoseinthere-formedWestminsterFellowshiptodo:

Thesecondrequirementpresentedtouswastolookatourselvesandtofacethequestion,Werewe

closerandclosertoeachotheraschurches?Wasthereachurchfellowshipinexistenceoutsidethe

churchgroupingstowhichwebelonged?WerewecommittedtotheBritishEvangelicalCouncil?

Secessionwastheroadtounity,theDoctortaughtus,andnotthepathtoisolationismandexclusivism.

WesawthatwecouldnotgobackwithoutdenyingprinciplesoftruthwhichcouldnotbemorecloselyboundupwiththeGospel,butIwonderwhetherwesawasclearlythatwemustgoon.TheDoctor

impressedonusthatwehadbeenbroughtoutinordertobebroughtin.Unlesswewentontoshow

thegloryofthegospelinthechurches,howcouldweexpectanytojoinus?

Well,thesadrealityisthatsomeofthosewhohavecommendedRuthPalgravesbooklethavebecome

extraordinarilyexclusive.Whenchurcheswillhavelittleornothingtodowithotherchurchesunless

theytowthesamelineonissuessuchaswhichBibleversionorhymnbooktheyuse,thentheyhave

forgottenwhatLloyd-JoneswasallaboutandwhathesoughttoensuretheBECbecame.

Epilogue:anadmonitorystory

William(hisnamehasbeenchanged)wasayoungmaninastrongandlargeindependentevangelical

church.Whenhewenttouniversityhewasadvisedtoattendachurchinatownsomemilesfromhis

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university.Thefirstweekthebulkofthemorningsermonconsistedofatiradeagainsttheerrorsof

RomanCatholicism,thoughthishadlittletodowiththetext.Nobodyengagedhiminconversationat

theendofthemeeting,norwasheinvitedtolunch.Hetookthetrainbacktohiscampus,repeatedthe

journeyintheevening,whenthesermonagainconsistedofatiradeagainstsomethingelse,the

congregationvigorouslyandaudiblyexpressingtheirapproval.Again,nobodyengagedhimin

conversation.

Thispatternwasrepeatedforthreeweeks,andtheyoungstudentwaspuzzled:sinceeveryoneso

vigorouslyagreedwiththesenegativetirades,itseemedtohimthatthepeopledidnotneedsuchan

emphasisuponthesethingsbut,rather,neededmorepositiveexpositionthatstucktowhatGodwas

sayinginhisWordwithrelevantapplicationtotheirlives.Afterthreeweekstheyoungstudenthad

hadenough.ThefollowingSundayheattendedalarge,evangelicalAnglicanchurchinthecity,whicha

lotofstudentsattended.Hewaswelcomed;heheardfaithfulexpositionofGodsWord;afterwards

peoplespoketohimandhewasinvitedtolunch.Hehadbeentaughtinhishomechurchthatevery

Anglicancongregationwasapostateorhopelesslycompromised.Buthisownexperiencetoldhimthat

itwastheindependentevangelicalchurchwhichwasnotrightlydividingtheWordoftruthorbeing

faithfulinwelcomingandofferinghospitalitytoChristspeople.

Iknowofotherswhohavehadsimilarexperiences.RuthPalgravesbookletwillnothelpanyyoung

personinsuchapositionbecauseitsimplyrepeatsthemantraoftakingafaithfulstandagainsterror

andstandingapartfrommixeddenominations,thoughitsaysnothingaboutbeingfaithfulinshowing

hospitality,welcomingthestranger,etc.WhileIamnotamemberorministerofachurchwhichispart

ofamixeddenomination,Imustdistinguishbetweenthoseinsuchdenominationswhoare

wholeheartedlygospelmenandthoseevangelicalswhofudge.AndifIcouldnotdowhatsuchfaithful

gospelmenaredoingbystayingintheirdenomination,Imustsurelyacknowledgethemanypastoral

considerationswhichweighwiththemand,mostimportantlyofall,ifIstillthinkthemtobemistaken,

Imustsurelyshowthemamoreexcellentway.Intheseconddecadeofthetwenty-firstcenturythatmoreexcellentwayisnottoretreatintotheseventhandeighthdecadesofthetwentiethcentury.This

iswhereRuthPalgravewouldhaveusgo.Thankfully,Affinityisofadifferentmind.