Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen has given his “last words” to his Synod (Church Parliament), challenging a packed Wesley Theatre to keep evangelism top of their agenda.  While Jensen remains Archbishop of Sydney into 2013, this week is the last time he will be “President” – chairing the Anglican Synod.

“We come to my last address as president to Synod. My last words.” Jensen began. “What is so important that I would want to impress on you tonight?”

“Ten years ago in obedience to the Lord we bound ourselves to our diocesan mission. (with the goal of reaching ten per cent of the Sydney population). What have we done what have we learned?”

He raised the issue of whether a first priority other than evangelism could be considered, posing defending the faith, holiness, social justice, and worship as alternatives. “These cannot be discarded. But for me the priority remains as it was in 2002: preach the word. I want to inspire you with Evangelism as the central task for the years ahead.”

Jensen sees the huge migration into Sydney as a positive. Migrants give Christians their mission: “we are here for them”.

But he asked “In a place of growing evangelistic opportunity and obligation, why is the work so hard?”

Atheism is not the problem, he said. “We face a widespread religious pluralism and nominalism rather than secularism”.

A “deadly individualism” is what confronts the gospel message. “Material wealth and technology makes this individualism possible”.

Charities and other ‘mediating institutions’ are breaking down. Citing politicians Rodney Cavalier and John Anderson’s observations that political party’s branches are emptying, Jensen asserted that “the solidarity of the left and the libertarianism of the right in which people freely joined together to help each other are faint memories”

“Instead of ‘thy will be done’ we have made it ‘My will be done’. Individualism turns spirituality inward. Love of neighbour becomes love of self. The cost of individualism – when we pay the bill – is relationships.”

The “chief mediating institution”, the family, is under attack. “Making family life more difficult is the technology of the information revolution. We have made it and it is making us. It hates community and it hates family.”

“The prevailing philosophy of individualism has wrought its malign work on families, including the families–our families–who reject it.”

But Jensen warned against idolatry of the family.

“I would rather be a tramp on the open road with Jesus than the patriarch of the best family I know without him.”

He got the gathered synod to listen to the recording by composer Gavin Bryers of an anonymous tramp singing “Jesus’ Blood never failed me yet”. Listen here

“What a contrast to the swansong of our generation ‘I did it my way’.

“Individualism promises much, but delivers alone-ness.

“But why is evangelism hard.? Precisely because it is a spiritual matter.

“Resistance to all relationships, especially relationship with God, is at the heart of individualism. But I think people are starting to get tired of it. Speaking personally I have had the best opportunities I have ever had to talk about Jesus in in tlast three years.”

Jensen gave a positive report card of his eleven years in office, acknowledging there were some setbacks including the loss of endowment money in the global financial crisis.

“The diocesan mission? We gave ourselves a big goal ten years ago. Reaching ten percent of the population. I set it because it was impossible.

“He has changed our mindset about evangelism. He has not given us the ten per cent as far as I know. Rejection has occurred. Disciples have been made. We have had numerical growth.

“In 2002 there were 74,900 attending (Sydney Anglican) churches. In 2012 it has risen to 79,700.

“We have had 109 new church plants, 105 other groups started. In earlier decades we were closing churches at an alarming rate. Now we are starting them. We are moving forward.

“We have proliferated workers. The biggest expansion, not the only one is 26 percent more clergy.

“More people involved in social justice work. Parish giving has risen from $47m in 2002 to $89m in 2012. I don’t think that is inflation.”

Jensen emphasised that these were not his achievements but especially those of the lay people.

“The media keeps saying our churches are dying off. The truth is that our churches are growing”.

From Tuesday the Jensen speech will be available here.