Apology

This will be the first in a series of posts. My hope is to encourage and assure the many of you who have impacted my life, and in whose lives I may have had some impact, if indeed the Lord has been gracious enough to allow me to participate in His good work.

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When someone in a position which carries some weight in your life makes a sudden change in direction, it can be unsettling. I feel a sense of weighty responsibility to those I have served as a worship leader and Bible study teacher over the years. I feel particularly responsible because the change seemed to come out of the blue for some of you. I want to personally thank one of my friends (you may know who you are!) for offering her perspective, graciously explaining the confusion and pain she felt when the Kneens suddenly and inexplicably left the worship community in which we participated for many years. I’m writing this because in an age where “deconstruction” is the next hip church trend, I want to assure you all that is not the path we are taking. We have not abandoned the core tenets of faith. We have not jettisoned the authority of scripture. We have not dethroned the Lordship of Christ.

I am also aware that we left at a time of great pain and great confusion for many of you. I am certain we contributed to that, and we are deeply sorry. It was not because we wanted nothing to do with you anymore, or despised the pain you were experiencing, or decided to bail when things got hard. We remained secretive about our reasons because we were led to believe that it would be better for you. I now see this was not the wisest or most loving course of action. However, realization in hindsight does not erase the pain in our wake. We ask your forgiveness, and are open to listening to ways we specifically hurt any of you or caused confusion. Please reach out to us, and we will strive to do what we can, as far as we are responsible, to aid in any restoration.

I am also aware that word gets around. You may already know that the Kneens have been confirmed in the Anglican Church. But if you are like me, I didn’t know much about the Anglican Church until recently. In the next several posts, I will offer you a glimpse into our journey. To be clear, we are not trying to convert anyone to the Anglican Church, although we would love for you to experience it! As I said before, I feel a weight of responsibility to those who have trusted both of us, and feel it both wise and loving to come out of the secretive shadows.

The next few posts will offer snapshots of our journey, one that seems to have begun several years before we took the first actual steps out of the Southern Baptist and Acts 29 world into the Anglican Church.