Sound doctrine sets us free. The Reformation needed to happen, not just because there was a debate to be won but because souls were in the balance. Bad doctrine leads to bad pastoring. Sometimes, we forget that Anglicans have a fantastic statement of faith in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. The same exact brilliant men…
Choir Dress: The Vestment That Is Never Wrong
Though you may be accustomed to seeing your priest in an alb and stole, choir dress is always an appropriate vestment in the Anglican tradition. Indeed, I would argue that there are many reasons it may be the preferred choice! Choir dress is the vestment that is never wrong.
Faithfulness in Contentious Times: The 12th Homily in the Digital Age
It is no secret that we live in contentious times. Strife and dissension are part of the air we breathe. The tools of the day, particularly social media, serve as rich soil where much of this strife is sown. We generally do not have our arguments down at the local pub or even in local…
Martin Luther and the Christian Life
Luther’s concern didn’t remain in the ivory tower of abstract theology. Indeed, in many ways, Luther’s aim was a robust recovery of the Christian life.
What is Apostolic Succession, Anyway?
What does it mean be in a church that had an unbroken line of succession to the first Apostles, namely to Peter and finally, to Jesus Christ?
Anglican Worship: Where Does It Say In the Bible to Do That?
As an Anglican priest, parishioners often ask me where the Bible commands certain Anglican worship practices. The assumption is that we should only do what the Bible expressly commands us to do. The thinking goes: If the Bible doesn’t say to burn candles, then we shouldn’t burn candles. If the Bible doesn’t tell us to…
Anglicans & Roman Catholics
Anglicans are sometimes said to be “a little bit Protestant and a little bit Roman Catholic.” That’s probably true to some extent as a description of what people see in a worship service. We Anglicans see ourselves as both fully catholic and as a church of the Reformation at the same time. Because we are…
Is Anglicanism Catholic or Protestant?
Roman Catholic? Reformed? Protestant? Most American evangelicals experience a church world that is either protestant and Reformed or Roman Catholic. You have to be one or the other. For many, ‘catholic’ means “Roman Catholic”; ‘Reformed’ means “Calvinist.” “Protestant” means “Non-Roman Catholic.” The Eastern Orthodox churches in these discussions are largely unconcerned. Anglicanism, however, had a unique, rich history…
Cranmer and the Book of Common Prayer
Author and theologian J. I. Packer says of the Book of Common Prayer‘s influence on the British people, Long before the age of fish and chips, the Book of Common Prayer was the Great British invention, nurturing all sorts and conditions of Englishmen and holding the church together with remarkable effectiveness. Before the Book of…
