Anglican record on sharing the Gospel questioned
12 July 2006
In his final commissioning address to new evangelists, Philip Johanson OBE, Chief Secretary of Church Army controversially questioned the commitment of the Anglican Church in the west to the sharing of the good news of the gospel.
Speaking to around 200 people at the Church Army's in Sheffield on Wednesday 12th July, Johanson urged the church not to remain silent about the privilege of sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Captain Johanson said, "Whatever happened to the Church of England? Anglicans in the west do not have a very good track record of telling the good news and one can only conclude that they do not know it, they are not convinced by it, or it makes little or no impact on their lives. They are not sufficiently excited by it as to want to share it. If we follow the example of St Paul we cannot remain silent."
Johanson went on to tell the story of James, a new Christian who came to faith through friends rather than church, and claims to know a lot of Christians as "real people and true friends. Now church does not seem relevant and the people don't accept you for who you are."
A recent Online Survey conducted by Premier Radio on behalf of Church Army found that 47% of Christians who responded found it difficult to share their faith, yet 75% felt that home mission was an important issue for the church to address. Johanson's sermon encouraged the church to get involved in on 24th September - with its theme of Get Out More as a campaign focussed on reaching out in relevant ways to those who needed to hear the good news.
This is not the first time the Chief Secretary's words have caused a stir. Last year in a series of articles for the Church of England Newspaper, Johanson asked if the church was up to the challenge of meeting the implications of the ground-breaking mission-shaped church report. He urged the church to provide leadership and resources for new ways of doing mission and wrote, "It is time to be bold, risk taking and entrepreneurial and catch the spirit of what God is doing in the church and the world."
Later this year Philip Johanson moves on to a new role as the first International Secretary for Church Army International where he will facilitate communication and co-operation between Church Army Societies and encourage the growth of Church Army worldwide.
The previous day, The Most Revd Dr Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales told the fourteen new evangelists at a packed Sheffield Cathedral that it was not possible to call yourself a Christian and leave out the awkward bits as the Christian faith needs to face the facts in a society where the majority of people have little or no contact with church. "We have to be able to connect if we are to really immerse ourselves within the world as God's agents of change", said the Archbishop
To read the full version of the sermons of Philip Johanson or Barry Morgan check out Commissioning 2006
