We respect the fact that since this statement was made (25/6/03) Dr John has withdrawn from this appointment. We urge Crosslinks supporters to continue in prayer for unity in truth throughout the Anglican Communion.


Statement from the Crosslinks Standing Committee on events in the worldwide Anglican Communion 25/6/03

The nomination of Dr Jeffrey John to be Bishop of Reading has caused disquiet amongst many Anglicans: a disquiet, which we in Crosslinks share. Dr John has made no secret of the fact that he is in a long-term homosexual relationship. We welcome his assurance that he is now celibate; however he evidently feels no regret about the sexual nature that this relationship once had.

We believe that the Bible consistently teaches that God intended the physical expression of sexual love to be found exclusively within heterosexual marriage. Our conviction does not rest solely on a few proof texts; it arises from the whole tenor of scripture's portrayal of human sexuality. The Anglican Church has historically upheld this understanding. 

Within the narrow confines of British and North American Anglicanism, this teaching is at present under challenge. The Dioceses of New Westminster and New Hampshire have already taken steps, which are incompatible with obedience to scripture. Nevertheless, the discipline of the Church of England remains unchanged at present. Dr John's acknowledged past homosexual relationship should be considered in the same light as a past irregular heterosexual relationship. It is not fitting for a person who continues to rejoice in such a relationship to be given office in the Church. We deeply regret the confusion, which has been sown, and the exposure given to Dr John's private life, by those who nominated him.

As a Mission Society, Crosslinks works in partnership with Christians worldwide. The leaders of the overwhelming majority of Anglicans warn that the Anglican Communion may fragment. They foresee that Western Anglicans who adhere to biblical teaching will find themselves out of communion with the hierarchies of their own dioceses. They are distressed by the damage, which this debate is doing to the Church's reputation, and by the obstacle, which it places in the way of mission. They urge the Church of England to return to its traditional, biblically-based teaching. We associate ourselves with the call of Anglicans worldwide, and with them we ask the authorities in the Province of Canterbury, and the Diocese of Oxford, and Dr John himself, to reconsider this appointment. We long for the Church to cease to be an object of unnecessary ridicule, and to return to its God-given task of proclaiming the gospel of the living Christ to a world in desperate need. 

Anglican Church of Kenya condemns first Anglican homosexual marriage