Come, Prince of Peace and reign in our hearts, in this school, and in our lives, this day and forevermore. 
Amen. Amen.

I don't usually take my dreams very seriously, but I had one last night that was very interesting and provocative. In the wee hours of the morning, I found myself in a very dark place. It was not a pleasant place. I wanted to get out of there. There was a little pinpoint of light at the end of what looked like a very long tunnel, And I knew I had to get there. And I began running toward it and running toward it and running toward it. And I finally got there and it was this kind of dark cavernous room. And there were a couple of candles sputtering.

And there was a man with a long beard. And he had this huge book in his hands. And it had my name on it.

And I looked more closely and I said, Peter? And he sort of nodded.

And then I noticed there was a hole in the floor with a ladder going down.

Quickly looked up. I was glad to see it continued through another hole in the ceiling.

And then he spoke to me. First word was,

But.

I said, and he said, I said, well, but for every sin you have ever committed, you are to take this piece of chalk and make an X on one of the rungs of the ladder. So I went over and I got this huge, huge boulder of chalk and lifted it onto my shoulder and made my first X and started up the ladder, made another X and started up the ladder. About four hours later, chalk is getting down to manageable size.

I'm going up, reach up, and somebody's standing on my hand. I look up, it's Bill Fry coming down for more chalk.

It must have been something I ate.

The lections for this morning are for the feast day of Justin Martyr.

And Justin lived in the middle of the second century, as you know, and he wrote his first apology in part as a response to Marcion.

Marcion, you remember, was best known for his attempt to decide which of the New Testament books are authoritative and which he could dismiss.

He was famous for attempting to completely sever the Christian faith from what he perceived as Old Testament legalism.

and he denied there was a real incarnation. I don't know if you consider that any of those issues are with us today,

but I thought you might be interested in Justin's comment regarding Marcion.

He said he preaches another god besides the fashioner of the universe, and likewise another son. Many are persuaded by him as if he alone knew the truth and make fun of us, though they have no proof of the things they say, but are irrationally snatched away like lambs by a wolf and become the prey of godless teachings and demons.

There aren't any new issues. You do know that. I had the very great honor of delivering the commencement address at this school back in 1984,

and I want to repeat, I want to begin by repeating what I said at that time, namely that I am intensely interested in all of you and ferociously proud of what God is doing in and through you. You may know that Thomas Jefferson wrote his own epitaph, which is inscribed on his tombstone at Monticello. It reads simply, Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia.

No mention of his diplomatic duties in France, his remarkable array of mechanical inventions, his negotiation of the Louisiana Purchase, or even his two-term presidency of the United States. All he mentioned was two things he had written and that he played a critical role in the founding of the University of Virginia.

Well, when the time comes, I hope that one of the things that is remembered about me is that I had a small role to play in the founding of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry.

In the summer of 1965,

a handful of evangelically-minded Episcopalians gathered together for a meeting in a place called Carroll Lodge in Pauling, New York. Our purpose was to discuss the possibility of starting an American branch of the newly formed Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion. Convener of the meeting was a young priest by the name of Peter Moore. And emerging as the clear and obvious choice as the first president of the fellowship was the expatriate British scholar Philip Edgecombe Hughes. and the youngest member of the conference was a 22-year-old seminarian by the name of John Howe.

The following summer, Peter Moore invited Karen and me to a dinner party on Long Island to meet a man whose life and ministry and witness he thought would be a great encouragement to us, and so began a lifelong friendship with the missionary statement, Bishop Alfred Stanway.

It wasn't until more than a decade later that Alf told me that I had been on his daily prayer list since that first meeting in the summer of 66.

In 1972, I came to this church as John Guest's associate rector, and in the fall of that year, the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion took a new name for its American branch and called itself the Fellowship of Witness, and it elected John Guest as president, Peter Moore as vice president, and John Howe as secretary treasurer. And the question we were constantly asking ourselves was, how can we influence the Episcopal Church for the cause of the gospel? How can we influence the Episcopal Church for the Lord Jesus?

And the answer that began to emerge was fourfold. Number one, we hold national and regional conferences to encourage the troops. Number two, we get involved in publishing, a newsletter, a magazine, books, articles, pamphlets, whatever.

Number three, we raise up new leaders. In John Guest's words, we create our own heroes. Can't you hear him say it?

And number four, especially, preeminently, inexorably, we were driven to the conclusion that you can't change the church without changing the clergy, and you can't change the clergy without changing theological education, and you can't do that without a new seminary.

Our original idea was to form a partnership with Trinity College, Bristol, England, in which we would send American students over there to do their academic studies, and then they would send both Americans and Englishmen back here to do their practical fieldwork in the Pittsburgh area. So off we went to England in March of 1974 to explore that idea, the possibility of creating an Anglo-American training program with such persons as Alec Mattia, J.I. Packer, John Stott.

Oh, yes, we also visited a fellow who was doing some postdoctoral studies by the name of John Rogers.

And for a while, it looked as if the Anglo-American training program was a go, but the Lord made it abundantly clear that he had something much more interesting in mind.

At the first National Renewal Conference, sponsored by Pew's Action, this one was held in Atlanta in the fall of 1974, John Guest stood up and made a quiet announcement. He said, we in the Fellowship of Witness are committed to seeing the establishment of a new theological seminary in the Episcopal Church, one that is thoroughly evangelical and biblical. The delegates jumped to their feet, and there was a thunderous standing ovation.

I trust you know the history since then. In less than a year, Bishop Stanway and Marjorie came out of retirement, don't you love it, for the second time.

He never really did retire, did he? He isn't retired now, let me tell you. Moved into a little house just around the corner. Began collecting books for the library and promised to open the school by the fall of 1976.

On September 26, 14 and a half years ago, at the opening convocation, Bishop Stanway said, I remember when we were being trained for the compulsory military training we had in Australia. He said there was a chap next to me who was waving his gun around wildly. The sergeant major said, man, if you aim at nothing, you're bound to hit it.

Then he asked, what are you aiming at?

are you like Paul who said I make it my ambition to please Christ in all things

I remind you of that little history first of all to give thanks for all those who have had a hand in birthing and then shaping this school and its ministry for faculty, staff, trustees, donors, prayers,

for Bishop Alden Hathaway and his support of this school, for your three extraordinary dean presidents.

And secondly, to underscore the clarion call of that opening convocation. In all things,

aim to please Christ. That's it, isn't it? In all things,

aim to please Christ.

You've run a remarkable race in the last decade and a half. Even before full accreditation was granted, this school began setting the standard for the general ordination exams. For the past dozen years, you've been producing some of the finest clergy and lay leadership in the church, in my opinion. But I want to say this to you today. The Episcopal Church is in far, far worse condition today than in 1965 when we formed the Evangelical Fellowship and the Anglican Communion. the Episcopal Church in my opinion is in far far worse shape today than in 1976 when we opened the doors of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in the past quarter century we've lost a third of our church you know that from an all-time high in 1966 when we had 3.6 million people we've lost more than one member every ten minutes to this very moment.

If we had merely kept pace with the population explosion, the church would be nearly double the size that it is right now. And the remarkable thing is that while we have experienced that horrific decline, we now have half again as many clergy in 1991 as we did in 1966.

Time Magazine says you project those trends very far into the future, and we're going to end up with one clergy person for every lay person in the church. Maybe then we'll get a hand on pastoral ministry.

My solution is that we ordain them all at baptism. I mean, just have done with it.

Or better yet, discover that that's what baptism really is. An ordination.

May I say this to you? The issue is not merely good grades and right theology, though both are enormously important. The issue is not merely good grades and right theology. The issue is men and women on God's business, playing to an audience of one and anointed and empowered by the Spirit of God.

I want to call your attention to the words of Jesus himself in this morning's gospel reading. He said, I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who has sent me himself has given me commandment about what to say and what to speak.

Jesus played to an audience of one, to his Father, and he let the crowds make of it what they would.

Two chapters later, he says, the words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. My words are his works. Did you get that? My words are his works. I want to say to you that the only words we dare speak are his words. And the only projects we dare embark upon are His works.

You have nothing else worthwhile to give to anybody.

I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does His works through me.

Back in the fifth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus makes an even more sweeping statement than that. Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever He does, that the Son does likewise. Extraordinary statement. I believe it is the key to the ministry of our Lord Jesus. The Son can do nothing, underscore that, nothing on His own accord.

But only what He sees the Father doing for whatever He does, that the Son does likewise. I look around to see what my Father is doing, and when I discover it, I enter into it. And I bless it. I participate in what the Father is doing, because that's where the anointing is going to be and nowhere else.

And how often we get it exactly the other way around in the church. We come to the meeting. Whatever the meeting is. Vestry, Board of Trustees, Congregational Meeting, General Convention.

Debate the issue, whatever the issue is. Cast our ballots. Majority wins. And then somebody says, oh yeah, we better pray. God, please bless what we just decided.

Jesus said every tree that my father has not planted will be rooted up and cast into the fire.

God has no commitment to bless that which he has not planted. He has no commitment, zero commitment to bless or to renew or to in any way prosper that which He has not planted.

It's not our task to make the decision and ask Him to bless it. It's our task to find out what He wants to do and for us to bless that.

I challenge you with that thought. Especially those who are going off into parochial ministry. I believe with every fiber of my being that God has a will, a plan, a desire, an intention for your particular situation. That is a little bit different from any other. It is unique to that particular place. God does not want you to replicate another St. Stephen's Sewickley. Learn from it.

Oh yes, learn from it. Learn from Truro, Fairfax. Learn from any church that has anything whatsoever to tell you about what God has done in their midst. That's the point of sharing our testimonies. That we can learn from each other, but don't try to replicate it. The issue is, Father, what are you doing here? What is your specific will for this particular place?

and God can reveal that if we'll just give him half a chance if we and our vestries would ask him to lead us to speak to us to show us what he wants to do and that indeed what he then immediately does the opposite have you ever noticed that

such as John chapter 7 when his brothers say are you going up to Jerusalem to the feast and he says no next verse he goes up to Jerusalem to the feast

or he says to his mother woman what have you to do with me no I can't save this wedding party my time has not yet come and three verses later there he is saving the wedding party you ever notice that what do you make of those episodes inconsistency untrustworthiness out and out lies no

God forbid no but Jesus is speaking the truth as he knows it to the highest of his understanding at the moment he speaks but he is open to a fresh word from God and he's willing to change direction immediately no matter what anybody else thinks about it willing to be misunderstood

because he's playing to an audience of one.

No, I'm not going up to... Oh, I am? I'll go up to the feast. Yes, sir.

My time has not yet... Oh, it has? Better change that water into wine.

See, Jesus had one eye on the circumstances and with the other He was looking to the Father. One ear listening to the folks around Him and with the other listening to the voice of the Father.

the son can do nothing

of his own accord but only what he sees the father doing for whatever he does that the son does likewise friend of mine is fond of saying Jesus Christ is the only man who ever lived who never did anything

long pause

on his own account

never healed the sick never walked on water, never stilled the storm, never preached to people, never told parables, never did any miracles, never died on a cross, never rose from the grave, never ascended into heaven, never did anything on His own account.

You can't say that. Neither can I. I do all kinds of things of my own devising. But Jesus said, I do nothing but what the Father is doing and what He's doing I bless. I enter into it, and that's why it prospers.

Well, dear friends, you go into a church that is divided, confused, wrestling with very troublesome issues.

What's your contribution going to be?

People are continually asking me these days, what do you think is going to happen at General Convention this summer? And I honestly have to say, I don't know. Yes, but do you think that the church is likely to pass some decision that we simply can't live with? I don't know. I do know that Anglicans have an astonishing ability to find middle ground where nobody thought it existed.

Yes, but what if we made some horrific decision? Could you stay in the church?

I don't know. There are certainly some things being proposed that I couldn't support.

Well, are you threatening to leave? No, no, no, no, no. I'm threatening to stay.

It has always been thus.

threaten to stay.

And in staying,

do nothing but what the Father is doing.

Dear friends, when we have bishops of the church proclaiming that the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement, the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, The anointing of the Spirit in power and the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead are all literal nonsense.

Our church is in deep trouble.

But I'm threatening to stay.

And I hope you will too.

This church is worth saving.

There's only one that can save it.

But He works through folks like you and me. Hang on to this. Hang on to this. In this morning's Gospel, the Lord Jesus Himself said, I do not judge anyone who hears My words and does not keep them. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. Listen. The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge.

On the last day, the word that I have spoken will serve as judge.

What I speak, I speak as the Father has told me.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it,

is to stick very close to Jesus.

In all things, aim to please Him. Play to an audience of one and let the chips fall where they may.

Don't threaten to leave. Don't look for the perfect church. And please, if you should find it, don't join it. You'll wreck it.

Bring all your energies to bear on discovering what the father is doing in your particular situation and enter into it and bless it ask him to continually anoint you with the power of his spirit so the work that you do is not yours but his and honor his word in season out of season whether it's popular or not because the word on the last day will be the last word.