Using one of history’s great retreats as an illustration is always risky, especially when it concerns the diocesan plan for the next five years.
But Bishop-elect Peter Lin pulled it off, inspiring and challenging Synod members with the story of the “rag- tag, hodge-podge” evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II.
To be fair, Mr Lin’s first illustration had been the great vision of Revelation 7:9-10: “After this I beheld and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb”.
Mr Lin, a member of the What’s Next committee charged with formulating a new Diocesan Mission, moved “Mission 2020”, the document outlining vision, mission and priorities for the Diocese.
“What will we do under God?” he rhetorically asked Synod members on the first night of debate on the most significant issue on the 2014 agenda. Mr Lin then outlined the priorities of the Mission, which he said would be measurable according to information gathered from the National Church Life surveys (NCLS).
A series of graphs followed on church growth, multicultural mix and the number of newcomers in congregations. While churches were growing and the growth had kept pace with population increases, “We are not breaking new ground if newcomers are not coming to church,” Mr Lin said.
Likewise, churches needed to reflect recent immigration. “God has brought the world to us. He has brought the world here. But we need to be reaching more of them.”
Despite the Archbishop warning that no mission document could include everything, a string of questions and amendments followed on subjects ranging from salvation to ministry strategy and prayer. Key amendments included two changes, which several Synod members proposed as being “part of our DNA as Sydney Anglicans”. They were the addition of “and Saviour” in the vision statement and, in the mission section, the inclusion of the phrase calling “people to repent”.
The mission was discussed over three nights of the Synod, with Mr Lin describing it as “Not an edict but an encouragement. You may not agree with all of it but our hope is you will agree with the heart of it.”
The point of the bishop-elect’s Dunkirk illustration was not that it was a retreat but that a motley collection of fishermen, mums and dads and ordinary people saved 340,000 soldiers who were facing death or imprisonment. “Our churches are a bit of a hodge-podge, too,” he said.
The final form of the Mission was passed overwhelmingly on the last night of Synod. “In a wonderful family like this is, we can’t target every single thing – otherwise nothing is targeted,” Mr Lin said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t be creative. We want you to be. There are probably a thousand things you can think of to do that will bring glory to Christ that are not in this document. Please do them!”
Download a copy of the Diocesan Mission
