An interview with Jeremy Halcrow (Anglican Media Sydney)

What do you think is the key issue for the Diocese at present?

The key issue is always the same: to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in all we do and say.

As part of this, we need to reach more people with the news of Jesus Christ, and establish them in churches which nourish and care for them.

There are great opportunities for the gospel in the current situation, especially in the development of more multi-cultural churches and the raising up of many able men and women to minister the gospel.

Have you any thoughts on how that key issue should be addressed?

There are no magic methods. Our strategy remains the word of God and prayer. We are called to faithfulness, love for others, and self-sacrifice (see John 12:20-26).

Since the first white settlement we have been an ‘establishment’ church. This has its strengths in giving us a place in the community. We should continue to occupy this role and use the opportunities - such as access to schools - which are available through this.

But we have to become a ‘missionary’ church as well. This involves a change in mind-set. We must think like missionaries in an unevangelised field. Congregations must be strengthened and multiplied. Young people and children need to be won. We should aim to provide christian teaching and fellowship readily at hand in every place and strata of society.

There are many practical consequences. Here are four for starters: We need to capitalise on the present supply of more young men and women for the ministry of God’s word. We should have more faith: the funds that flow from our investments and encourage self-supporting ministries. We need to develop and expand our pastoral and evangelistic opportunities through small groups, courses, dinners and house parties.

What is the greatest strength of the Diocese of Sydney and how can we build upon it?

Our greatest strength is God’s blessing on our work. We can build upon this by prayerfully asking for his continued blessing, and by faithfully continuing in the tasks he has committed to us.

We are in a spiritual conflict. Though we have the advantages of our heritage, it is the spiritual weapons which we must use - we must love the people as Christ did, and be prayerfully faithful to the scriptures.

What do you think should be the basis for the Diocese’s relationship with the rest of the Anglican Church?

Generosity and co-operation.

The difficulty of making Jesus known in a secular culture is shared by Anglicans throughout Australia. We should be eager to help - and receive help - in the evangelistic and church building activities of our fellow believers.

Some examples: the Youthworks material for Sunday Schools and scripture is available to the national church. Legal and financial skills are also of use to others. We should continue to be generous with offering our clergy and other workers for service in other dioceses. We should help ordinands from other dioceses come to Moore College.

What is your main hope for General Synod in July and what do you think will be the key issue debated there?

My main hope? That we will face up to reality - a quality often absent from our gatherings! Unity in basic beliefs and co-operation in mission would then be the chief topics.

As it is, the sort of issues which are likely to occupy centre stage (eg: sexuality) will act as a further deterrent to co-operation and to unity in Christ.

What is the best way forward for the ministry of women in the Diocese?

First, to recognise what progress has been made in the last decade in this Diocese by women in ministry. I would guess that Mary Andrews College and Moore College are now training as many fulltime women students as the rest of the Anglican Church of Australia - and the numbers are growing.

Second, to put behind us the futile and divisive debates of recent synods. Instead, we must continue the real task of encouraging and equipping women, and recruiting and training suitably gifted women into paid ministries of the gospel.

Today’s opportunities are greater than we can take up and we must move forward.

What is the best way forward for the issue of lay administration of the Lord’s Supper?

This issue is important for the development of appropriate local ministries. We should look for lawful ways of proceeding, and have the courage of our convictions.

How do you see the role of Archbishop?

The Archbishop is primarily a minister of God’s word and the sacraments. His role is therefore to teach and evangelise, to call the city and the church into fellowship with the Father through the Son.

He has a special responsibility for guarding the health of the local churches by providing for the ordained ministry and exercising discipline when this is needed. That is why an Archbishop needs the qualities of fairness, compassion and courage, matched by the passion for the honour of our Lord and Saviour.

The work of the gospel is done chiefly through the local church. The diocesan structure is the umbrella organisation in which these churches work in fellowship with one another. In the complex structure of our Diocese, the Archbishop’s role acquires many other tasks, some of which contribute to the leading of the diocese, and some of which are distractions. An Archbishop has to sort out priorities.

Above all, he is to model and lead by godly example and faithful teaching of God’s word.

What is your view of the sufficiency of scripture?

The Bible contains all the teaching we need for salvation. We must not reduce its teaching, or impose on the Christian conscience claims of further revelation.

What is your view of recent criticism of penal substitutionary atonement?

Such criticisms involve a tragic misunderstanding of the Bible, and obscure the gospel. They also illustrate the need for careful teaching of the truth and vigilance in its defence.

How would you define the gospel and how does the gospel relate to the doctrine of justification by faith alone?

The gospel is the glad news that Jesus Christ is Lord. Through the death of Jesus, God saves his people. God raised Jesus from the dead and he now has all authority in heaven and earth. We are related to God in repentance and faith. There is present forgiveness, and God’s people are thus acquitted, or justified by faith alone.

How did you become a Christian and how would you describe your personal relationship with Christ now?

God called me to himself through the preaching of Billy Graham in 1959. I have always been nurtured through the fellowship of the local church. Having peace with God my Father, I continue to have access to him through his grace. I confess that Jesus Christ is my beloved Lord and Saviour.

Would you have any reservations about accepting this role and leaving your current ministry?

Of course. I am intensely involved at a pastoral level in the lives of several hundred people, and have a heavy responsibility for the well being of the churches through the graduates of the college. I do not contemplate the possibility of leaving such a post without very good reason. But I have been persuaded by trusted and prayerful friends that I ought to be open to an invitation from the Synod should one be offered.

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