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What Kind of Bishops Are We
Anglicans Looking For?
The Five Paramount Qualities of a Godly Bishop
The Rev. William A. Thompson
In June I had the pleasure to meeting with the clergy who are under the Diocese of Recife in the Northwest. It was a wonderful time together. During our meeting they brought up the upcoming consecration of three Americans for the purpose of providing oversight for Kenyan and Ugandan congregations here in the United States.
I think there are five paramount qualities that need to be recognized in anyone who would be a candidate for this office no matter what the faith tradition might be. In the past some of us have been abused by our bishops. Many of us, because of their defective theology, have wanted to have as little contact with our bishops as possible. You know the old joke.
What is the place of the bishop in the Church?
As far away as possible.
It may be funny, but it does reflect the feeling of many and is very sad. The time will soon come when we orthodox in the United States will be given the opportunity to lift up persons to be bishops for us as the realignment continues. It will be very important to have a clear idea of the kind of bishops we are looking for. It think the clear writing of a orthodox Global South Primate and the Word of God can give us a good blueprint to work from.
A bishop should be an evangelist and mission minded:
As Anglicans, much of the concept of the episcopacy is second nature to us, but periodically we need to take a second look at things we have taken for granted and look again with new eyes. Why do we need bishops? I think much of this has been answered very well by Archbishop Henry Orombi, Primate of the Church of Uganda, in an article he recently wrote for "First Things Journal" a couple of weeks ago. I commend this excellent article to you if you have not already read it.
In this article he writes that the episcopacy is,
to be apostolic in nature: faithful to the apostolic message, submitted to apostolic authority in Scripture, committed to apostolic mission and ministry, and devoted to apostolic worship."
Later in the article he also writes,
A bishop is the focus for the mission of the Church, following in the footsteps of Jesus, who commissioned his apostles to preach, to teach, and to heal. The bishop's apostolic ministry starts with evangelism, because transformation begins with the individual. The bishop himself must have a testimony and set a direction in his diocese for evangelism and church planting.
A Bishop must be a servant:
Let us see what Jesus says about leaders being servants.
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever want to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave ---- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt. 20: 24-28; cf. Mk 10: 42-45)
This clearly demonstrates that all of us who have authority within the Christian community whether lay or ordained are first called to be servants of others. A bishop, because of his enhance responsibilities, has the highest level of responsibility and highest need to demonstrate servanthood.
According to this model, when a bishop visits a congregation, it should all be about how the bishop can serve the clergy and people of that congregation rather than how the priest and congregation can serve the bishop. Sadly the majority of my experience in 36 years of ordained ministry has been the latter.
We need bishops who know how to serve and build up the church. We need bishops who understand that the lion's share of grass roots ministry takes place at the parochial level not at the diocesan level. The men and women in the pews are to be the prime ministers of the Gospel, and the job of the bishop is to support the clergy in enabling that to happen.
A bishop must be a defender of the faith:
Equally as important as being a servant, the bishop is the central figure of unity for the church, and thereby must be an ardent defender of the "…faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." (Jude 3). It is all too easy for us to "follow the devices and desires of our own hearts." We are fallen. We can go astray. It is a primary obligation of the bishop to preach the historic faith and to correct error where he might find it. A bishop must be willing to hold those under him accountable for any doctrinal error they may hold.
We have seen all too clearly what can happen when the bishop, who is supposed to guard the faith, does the opposite instead. The sheep are left to the wolves. Paul makes this also very clear in the Epistle to Titus.
[The bishop] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:10)
You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1)
If anyone ignores this call the cost will be very. To teach or to allow false doctrine is a serious offence before God.
Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves." (Lk. 17:1-3)
The bishop must have good character and morals:
The bishop is very visible. Many will know who he is as he represents the church. Therefore the manner of life of the bishop must be above reproach. As we all are, a bishop is a sinner, but a godly bishop knows he is a sinner in need of a savior. He seeks through discipline, prayer, and accountability to others to live a life that is pleasing to God. Paul reminds us of this as well.
Now the overseer (bishop) must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. (1 Tim. 3:2-7)
The bishop needs to set best example possible. Many will look to him seeking to find a life that is consistent with the Lord's teaching. If he is not of good character, his actions will provide license for others to behave in an ungodly manner. This is a heavy burden but a burden that all in authority in Christ must share with the bishop.
The bishop must be willing to be accountable to those under his authority:
This is crucial but frequently overlooked. Besides being under God's authority, the bishop must be willing to be cared for, prayed for, and to be held accountable by those under him. All of us in Christ must be willing to hear the hard word that calls us to transformation and repentance. That is as true for the bishop as for any Christian.
All too often, because of their office, bishops have thought that they were above criticism by anyone including those who are under them. That is not the biblical model.
A major reason our Anglican heritage in North America is in the shape it is today is that when clergy and laity participated in electing bishops, they did not have in mind these five principles. The next time you have anything to say about who your bishop will be (whether you are in TEC or out of it), it is essential to use these criteria when making that selection. If we do our church will prosper, if not, it will fail.
- A bishop must be evangelical and mission minded.
- A bishop must be a servant.
- A bishop must be a defender of the faith.
- A bishop must have good character and morals.
- A bishop must be willing to be accountable to those under his authority.
A caution to us all:
Even if we discern that a person has all of these qualities in abundance, and we endorse him to be our bishop, we all still run the risk of sabotaging his episcopate because of our behavior. Above I mentioned that most of us have been jaded and wounded by our unfortunate relationships with previous bishops. Consequently we have had a tendency to put physical and emotional distance between our bishop and ourselves, thereby becoming more and more congregational. Many of us, who are out of TEC, have gotten used to being separated from our bishop by four to nine thousand miles.
Will we be willing to come under the authority of a godly bishop? We will be willing to admit that we need a godly bishop for our own protection and care? Will we commit to eschewing an inappropriate parochialism that is due to our being starved of godly authority?
My position is that we must. If we do not, I fear the Anglican experiment in the United States will be doomed.
Nonetheless, I am optimistic. I think we can and will rise to the occasion. We will only do that if we continue to fall on our knees in repentance for the bad habits we have formed, and ask God to bring to us the bishops we need so that we can be the church that both He and we want to be.
The Rev. William A. Thompson
Dean, Western Convocation, Anglican Communion Network
Dean, Diocese of Luweero, Anglican Church of Uganda
Rector, All Saints Anglican Church, Long Beach, California
The Rev. Thompson is a Member of the Executive Committee of The Association of Western Anglican Congregations
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