A new Reformation? Or Just Another Shism?

Going through a stack of books on the coffee table in his office, the Rev. Briane Turley finds a copy of "The Next Christendom."

Written in 2002, it predicts that Christians from non-Western countries will soon outnumber believers in North America and Europe.

When that happens, the book concludes, it will trigger a religious upheaval as big as the Reformation.

"I've seen it coming true," Turley says, "right before my eyes."

He recently came back from the Global Anglican Future Conference, or GAFCON, in Jerusalem. Being white and Western, Turley found himself conspicuously in the minority.

"This is where the leaders of the church in Africa stood up and said, 'OK, we're taking our place at the table now.'"

If it was simply a matter of demographics, Western bishops would willingly, even gladly, make room for their African brethren,

Turley thinks.

But if the African church leaders get their place at the proverbial table, they'll have the majority of seats. They'll have the power. They'll start making changes.

"And the fact is," Turley says, "the Western powers-that-be don't want to see those changes happen."

If the Africans want to sit at the table, they'll have to elbow their way in. And that's exactly what Turley helped them do in Jerusalem.

'Many other straws'

  A new Reformation?
Tulsa World, OK