Justin Welby Throws the Towel In

You can read his resignation letter above.

In my own church we have a successful minister who, at a previous church to the one he’s in now, had a campaign for his church entitled “Trading Your Title for a Towel.” When he resigned his church for another appointment, I noted that the only thing he could do was throw the towel in.

That’s what Justin Welby has done. When he was appointed, quite a few in the ACNA felt a thrill up their leg at the idea of an “evangelical” becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, as they hoped it would ultimately result in the ACNA being in communion with Canterbury, a long-time goal for many.

Well, as was the case in 1783, we’re on our own, and I think that reality has sunk in around the ACNA and elsewhere.

I’ve never been enthusiastic about Justin Welby. I could not believe that the same government that passed the Equalities Act would appoint an orthodox Archbishop, and subsequent events have not disappointed. He has compounded that with a corporatist management style (not appropriate for a church.) His undoing was his misplaced confidence in the police; the UK’s law enforcement apparatus’ inverse priorities are all too evident these days.

I doubt that the government that appointed him–especially with Labour at the helm–will do anything but worse in the orthodoxy department, and the decline of the Church of England will continue.