The Rev Dr Mark Thompson has been working with GAFCON's Theological Resource Group to draft a commentary applying the Jerusalem Declaration to church life.
Speaking after his return home from a three-day conference at Uganda's Christian university, Dr Thompson said the group, part of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, had gathered to put together a commentary for use by churches.
The commentary " which is expected to be circulated in the coming months " will lay out the theology of GAFCON and its practical outworkings in church life, Dr Thompson says.
"A number of people who had seen the [Jerusalem Declaration] statement greeted the statement positively but needed to know what it meant and what were the implications of saying yes to this statement " they wanted those things spelt out," he says. "Here was an opportunity for a group of theologians to help unpack the statement for people."
"We were told we were writing essentially for people within the churches who are part of the fellowship, but while writing for them, also keeping in mind others who may want to understand further what's been said in order to join that fellowship," Dr Thompson adds.
From Sunday night September 28 through to Wednesday October 1, seven sub-groups each took on a part of the Jerusalem statement to work through, with some groups still to finalise their conclusions in the next month.
People with particular expertise and interests were assigned topics that related, with Dr Thompson part of the group addressing Scripture and authority in the church.
A small drafting committee will draw the different sections together into a cohesive commentary.
The spirit of GAFCON continues
While the GAFCON conference confirmed the need for this group and the commentary, the Theological Resource Group had met twice prior to the conference, Dr Thompson says.
"From the beginning there has been a concern that this movement needs to be driven by a common theology rather than simply driven pragmatically or as a reaction to specific events. This is a gospel movement that needs to be driven by the theology of the gospel."
It is expected the Theological Resource Group will meet regularly and provide theological resources on an ongoing basis, including its first offering, The Way, The Truth, and the Life, which was made available at the June conference.
"[The group] is not going to be a one-off meeting " the expectation is that it will continue to meet and continue to produce various resources to strengthen the larger movement," Dr Thompson says.
The strong bond of fellowship and the process of inclusion that characterised GAFCON has been especially evident at the Theology Resource Group's meetings, he adds.
"There were large plenary sessions where everybody had a chance to speak, and everyone had a chance to comment on the work being done by various groups,” he says.
"This was in keeping with what had happened in Jerusalem" the same sort of process ensured that everybody around the table, all 38 people, had the opportunity to comment, contribute, or amend the final product so that it is not just one or two people's ideas but really belongs to the whole group."
Dr Thompson is the sole Sydney Anglican in the group, which is made up of 38 members across the Anglican Communion who were elected by their provincial leaders.
However while members have different perspectives, he says the overall unity and agreement within the group was unmistakable.
"There's quite a bond of fellowship with people from various parts of the world who last year I didn't know at all. There's a very strong commitment to each other as a group and also to the task."