Rumour has it that the Crown Commission are set to announce their recommendation for the new Archbishop of Canterbury tomorrow (Friday 3rd October). I saw one friend’s comment on this news, it was a prayer that God would make sure the new Archbishop will be God’s pick.
That’s a great thing to pray. Indeed, really., the prayer of many would have been that those making the decision would be asking the kind of questions that led them to think about what a church leader, especially someone with responsibility beyond one congregation should look like based in how God judges and evaluation. Whether or not they have been asking those kinds of questions and whether they were equipped to properly answer them though is perhaps up for debate. Indeed, it is maybe a bit late unless your theology includes some Tardis type timey wimey, wibbly wobbly outcomes to prayer.
However, I think the prayer is good because it helps us to recognise that the person announced will be God’s pick. It’s more about helping us to accept that. God is sovereign and so the person who becomes Archbishop of Canterbury will be the person he has chosen. This is true of other factors too. Keir Starmer and Donald Trump only hold the offices because God wills it.
However, we do have to be clear about what this means because we can’t second guess God’s purposes here. A friend of mine has been preaching through Habakkuk and that’s a crucial lesson from that prophecy. God has seen, has heard and will act but not in the way that the prophet expects or desires. In terms of what we would look for when choosing a leader and seeking to understand God’s will, we think in terms of his decreed will, where he tells us what he values. That’s why we look at things like character and gifting, are they self-controlled, of good reputation, what is their family life like and are they able to teach.
In the case of this appointment though, we don’t know what God’s purpose is. We know that ultimately it will bring glory to his name and be for the good of his people. God’s purpose may be reformation and renewal in the CofE. I suspect that’s what most of us are hoping for when we say, “let it be God’s pick.” We want someone with the gifts, character, knowledge and experience to bring the Church of England back to God’s Word and lead it faithfully even if that means that some people will not like it and walk away. For the record, whilst I’m not Anglican, yes, I would love that to happen. The thing is though that this might not be how God is going to glorify his own name and do good to us. What if God’s purpose is to further highlight where the church has lost its moorings or even cause it to experience further the consequences of bad decisions in the past. God’s pick might be someone more liberal and someone who proves to be a weaker leader. Indeed, arguably at times, the Church of England’s saving grace has been that its leaders were weak. What if they get a leader who is liberal, or even Catholic leaning who turns out to be a strong leader.
So, at this stage, our prayer should be even more:
“Lord help us to trust you that the new Archbishop is your pick. Even if they don’t fit our expectations and desires.”
Faithroots 