The Next Archbishop of Melbourne must be Confident, Compelling, and Courageous
In May, we have an opportunity – and a responsibility – to begin turning the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne around. Of course, God can do miracles in our cities with or without us (and, indeed, with or without Anglicans). But he often works through ordinary people who find themselves in “such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). This is our time. (It may well be the last chance for a generation.)
While we should not pin all our hopes on an Archbishop, we urgently need a confident, compelling and courageous diocesan bishop to complement the good work happening in our parishes, at Ridley College, and in parachurch ministries such as CMS. (See Wei-Han Kuan’s quadrilateral on what makes a healthy Anglican diocese.)
What do we need done that only an Archbishop is in a position to do?
First, we need a CONFIDENT vision for a different future. Too many bishops around the world have resigned themselves to managing decline towards graceful extinction. We need someone who believes that God, in his mercy, might have a different story for us – churches growing, lives transformed by the preaching of the gospel, and youth groups and children’s ministries bursting at the seams. We need a leader who has experienced this kind of revitalisation, and can show us a path forward.
Second, we need a COMPELLING leader of leaders, to recruit and ordain godly and capable clergy for that future. Good clergy are hard to find, and once you find them they have a nasty habit of retiring. Recruiting enough leaders to replace them, while keeping standards high, is a constant challenge for any organisation. We have been steadily losing ground for decades. I seriously doubt sometimes whether there will be any left to run my funeral, let alone pastor my grandkids.
Third, we need a COURAGEOUS leader, who is prepared to make the decisions only they can make. To govern is to choose. Of course, wise leaders consult widely, and engage divergent perspectives. But we can little afford the luxury of indecision. Courage is required, because even good decisions have downsides, and it takes strength of character to accept responsibility for them.
While it’s foolish to pin our hopes on a superhero bishop, many problems cannot begin to be solved without a courageous leader in the bishop’s chair:
There are many good and godly people working at head office. Compared to the size of our diocese, we employ more staff at head office than almost anywhere else in Australia. But the culture needs root and branch reform if it is to succeed in empowering and enabling parishes.
Our diocesan budget is out of control and threatens the future sustainability of the whole diocese. In 2022, my Synod motion to balance the budget was carried. It was an urgent and unprecedented response to a $1.5M deficit. In 2024 synod approved a $4.2M deficit – an unwillingness to make hard decisions has only increased overspending. Future generations will look back and wonder what we have to show for their inheritance we spent.
We know we have too many parishes that are unsustainable, yet we continue to burn through assets and people postponing the inevitable.
Of course, there are other non-negotiable requirements for an Archbishop. Like all clergy, they must meet the highest standards of conviction and character. They must hold the best of our Anglican traditions with respect, celebrating the brilliant diversity of worship styles within our diocese. They must enthusiastically support the settled local custom of ordaining women as deacons, priests and bishops – and they should have a track record of actively encouraging women into leadership. They must be prepared to resist attempts to change the church’s long-settled doctrine on marriage, which would inevitably cause catastrophic schism within the church.
But in God’s kindness, the risk that we will have to compromise on these non-negotiable qualifications is lower than ever.
The real risk is that Synod will opt for a dangerous “low-risk” option – a candidate who appeals to our risk-averse Anglican preferences, but fails to act in time to turn the diocese around. We simply do not have time to appoint a caretaker, or a compromise candidate who keeps everyone equally happy (and equally unhappy!), or a well-known and well-liked figurehead who promises not to change anything.
We have run out of road to kick this can down. Now is our time. Are we ready to elect a confident, compelling, and courageous leader?
