It may be difficult for bishops of the Episcopal Church to ignore the overwhelming majority by which the resolution on sexuality was adopted by the Lambeth Conference [p. 6]. Even though that legislation rejects the idea of blessing same-sex relationships or ordaining non-celibate homosexual persons, there will be American bishops who return to their dioceses and continue to approve such blessings and to perform such ordinations. Lambeth is not binding, they will say to justify their actions. It is only advisory or recommendatory. The problem with that line of thinking is that it will ignore 82 percent of the leaders of the Anglican Communion. Those leaders have expressed themselves in the form of a resolution which says, in effect, this is what Anglicans believe.

The 13th Lambeth Conference was vividly illustrative of how the Anglican Communion has changed. Bishops of "the West" or "the North" no longer dominate the proceedings. The influence of the American bishops at Lambeth seemed minimal, and if the astounding growth of churches in Africa and elsewhere continues, the Americans' influence will be even further diminished. It is the bishops of the Southern Hemisphere, particularly the Africans, who now are in the majority. With their orthodox theology and strong spirituality, they gave clear indications that they were prepared to lead the church back to a more biblical faith.

Time will tell whether this resolution has much impact on the Episcopal Church. If it is ignored by the majority of American bishops, it will point out that the Lambeth Conference was a futile exercise and that much of the Episcopal Church is moving even farther away from mainstream Anglicanism. If American bishops pay heed to the resolution, it is conceivable that the church might be able to turn its attention toward such vital matters as evangelism and stewardship. Another decade of wrangling, name-calling and judgmentalism over issues of homosexuality will be a woeful waste of time, energy and stewardship.