by David Thurston

Fifteen years ago, The Briefing, in its 13th issue, went to town on denominationalism with such articles as, ‘How to Survive Your Denomination’ and ‘Denomination as Idol’.

The second paragraph of ‘Denomination as Idol’ said: “What is idolatry? The false worship of anyone or anything. An idol is a false god and the litmus test of idolatry is people’s willingness to do without. If something is a matter of indifference – you can take it or leave it – then it is not an idol. When it becomes a matter of great importance and cannot be removed, the particular item has become an idol par excellence.”

One can’t help but be struck by the irony of the present situation.

Here are questions that come to my mind: “Is a denomination more susceptible to being worshipped as an idol when it has problems or when it is successful? In other words, are you more given to bow down before an ‘old cow’ of a denomination that is still helpful, or to worship a sleek, rampant bull covered in gold? When the article was written in 1988, was the Anglican Church in Sydney an ‘old cow’ or a ‘golden bull’?

Despite the proclamation of ‘post denominationalism’ – Sydney Anglicanism is having something of a denominational revival. What is most extraordinary is that it seems to be happening among those who have been most critical of denominations per se.

The new ‘Archbishop’ is greeted with the enthusiasm of a Joshua leading the faithful to the promised land of power and influence within our society. So the older devotees of Sydney Anglicanism enthusiastically embrace the possibility of attaining a place of significance within our culture, but what is most surprising is the attitude of the once independence-minded acolytes who are stumbling over themselves to become ‘Anglican’, and in the process to receive all the ‘benefits and privileges pertaining thereto’.

I don’t mind people changing their mind, I really don’t – but if they do, they at least need to say they have changed as loudly as when they were shouting that the denomination was an idol.

I love my sorry, limping, denomination – no one would dare be caught worshipping it. There is no gold over our ‘bull’ and the ‘bull’ is all too obvious, but that is no longer the case with Sydney Anglicanism. It looks like it has is no longer the case with Sydney Anglicanism. It looks like it has ‘arrived’. It has leaders who are convincing, it has a vision that is visionary, and it is cashed up with the Glebe Trust. But there is the danger – the gold is thickly laid over the bull. Worship becomes plausible.

So then, my Anglican friends – those in new positions, those newly-made Anglicans, and those basking in the reflected glory of the golden age about to dawn. Was The Briefing wrong back then, are you wrong now, or is there a middle way?

The Rev David Thurston is pastor of Central Sydney Presbyterian Church.