WELBY REAPING WHAT HE HAS SOWN!

Watching Welby reap what he has sown is confirmation of God's ultimate sovereignty over every situation. (Proverbs 19:21). The old boy network did not save Welby, thank God. Thousands of members of the General Synod (the Church of England's parliament) signed a petition calling for Welby to step down following the damning report about the church's handling of John Smyth, who is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser associated with the CofE. I don't hold out much hope for the CofE, but perhaps this situation will cause some to truly repent. (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Welby was initially rejected for ordination by the Cof E and was told by John Hughes, the then Bishop of Kensington: “There is no place for you in the Church of England.”1  Unfortunately, Welby persisted in his ill-advised ambition and was supported by his friends at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) the source of Charismania in the UK. HTB introduced the deadly "laughing revival" aka the "Toronto Blessing" to the UK in the 1990s. Sandy Millar, vicar of HTB and the founder of the Alpha course, and his successor Nicky Gumbel, are said to have had a profound influence on Welby’s ideas about Christianity and church growth.2 

For all his misplaced support of women bishops, it is ironic that the most senior member of the CofE, Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley, called for Welby's resignation in the strongest terms, stating that he had “a complete lack of awareness of how power dynamics operate in the life of the church”. Hartley: “It is right that Archbishop Justin has resigned. This resignation does not solve the Church’s profound failure over safeguarding and the ongoing trauma caused to victims and survivors of church-related abuse nor does it excuse others whose neglect of their duties is exposed by the Makin report."3  

Welby took the role of Archbishop in 2013. Legislation allowing female bishops was passed by the General Synod of the CofE at the second attempt. The first attempt, in 2012, just before Welby took office, failed narrowly to meet the required supermajority. Welby hailed the achievement and oversees the appointments of the first swathe of female bishops in the coming years.

The insane state of affairs is that the head of the CofE is at odds with his own denominational statement on marriage and sexual ethics. CofE doctrine states that "sexual intercourse, as an expression of faithful intimacy, properly belongs within marriage exclusively.” The doctrine of marriage, as set out in Canon B30 states that marriage is a lifelong union of “one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side”. Welby believes that sexual intimacy is not reserved for marriage and that sexual intimacy in same-sex relationships is not sinful. His clear departure from CofE doctrine on marriage and sexual ethics, from the Global Anglican Communion, and from the historic position of every other Christian denomination across the world, and the clear teaching of the Bible. In April 2023, Conservative Anglican leaders at a conference in Rwanda declared they no longer recognized Welby’s authority as the "first among equals" and de facto head of the Anglican Communion. Among other things, they were angered by the archbishop’s support for gay blessings in the CofE.4 

Welby's resignation statement ends: “For above all else, my deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my saviour and my God; the bearer of the sins and burdens of the world, and the hope of every person.”5 

Welby leaves a legacy of unfaithfulness and shame. He has made a mockery of the scriptures and has brought the gospel into disrepute. (2 Peter 2:2-11). The obvious question: How can anyone who blatantly disregards the scriptures possibly claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ? 

Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:46-49).

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

1. Justin Welby: Who is the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury forced to resign over sex abuse scandal? | UK News | Sky News
2. Holy Trinity Brompton: The London church associated with "the Toronto Blessing" - Holy Trinity Brompton
3. Bishop of Newcastle welcomes Justin Welby resignation but says Church has 'failed' - Chronicle Live
4. Welby: timeline of archbishop’s fall from grace - Religion Media Centre
5. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resignation statement in full