Why Bishops Matter for Church Planting

When I share that we're planting an Anglican church in Memphis, the most frequently asked questions have to do with what “Anglican” even means. So over the past few months I've written about some essential elements of the Anglican way, like the Church calendar and the sacraments.

There's another element essential to the Anglican tradition that I believe is especially important in this cultural moment: bishops. Bishops provide accountability, oversight, and care, usually through leading a diocese.

Bishops?! Some may be wondering, "Why in the world are bishops so important?!" That's a question that we could spend a long time exploring! (In fact, if you want to chat more, let's connect!) For now, here are two reasons:

Bishops mean submission.

In an age when churches often exist with little accountability and church leaders often live outside of any authority, bishops provide much-needed guardrails. Not only do my bishops pastor and care for me, they also hold me accountable. In fact, when I was ordained I made a vow to "pay true and canonical obedience in all things lawful and honest to the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the South..." As Dan Alger writes, "Anglican church planting begins with submission."

Bishops mean connection.

Bishops connect us to churches in a region, churches around the world, and the Church throughout time. This connectedness means unity. In fact, in our Anglican tradition we emphasize apostolic succession. That means that we believe you can trace our lineage of bishops all the way back to the apostles and ultimately to Jesus himself. 

Here's what this looks like: I was ordained a priest by Archbishop Foley Beach. Here's an article and graphic tracing Archbishop Foley's apostolic lineage all the way back to Peter, Paul, James, and John, all of whom were commissioned and sent out by Jesus himself. Pretty cool! 

So bishops mean submission and connection. In our increasingly isolated and disconnected age, we all need a little more healthy submission and connectedness.

Here are our bishops: Archbishop Foley Beach and Bishop Frank Lyons.