Todd D. Hunter - The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church

Todd D. Hunter

Bishop Todd D. Hunter (D.Min., George Fox University) leads Churches for the Sake of Others, a church-planting initiative of the Anglican Mission in the Americas. He is also a teacher, writer and consultant for his ministry, Society for Kingdom Living, which helps pastors and lay leaders reach a generation that has been disenfranchised from the church. Formerly national director at Vineyard Churches USA and then at Alpha USA, Hunter serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Alpha as well as on a number of other ministry boards, including Renovar and Soul Survivor.

Everybody wants to be spiritual. But nobody wants to be religious. Everybody is looking for a rich spiritual life. But nobody is looking to church.

As a pastor, Todd Hunter found himself disillusioned, burned out and needing to drop out of traditional forms of church. He experimented with house churches and other options but was still dissatisfied. Eventually he found himself sneaking off to worship services on Sunday mornings with surprising results.

What did the historic spiritual practices of church do for him? How did they lead to a life of centered peace, chart a path to simplicity and cause him to reach out to others while focusing on the glory of God?

Walk with Hunter on this journey to find spiritual riches in a surprising place. You might just give church another chance.

What If You Knew You Were Going to Live Tomorrow?

You've prayed the sinner's prayer. You know that if you die tonight, you'll go to heaven. But Todd Hunter believes Christianity is a life, not merely a secure death. Which means that eternal life--abundant life--begins on earth, as soon as we become a follower of Jesus.

Drawing from his leadership and ministry experience as president of Alpha USA and from his own study and life experiences as an ordinary Christian, Hunter calls us to reframe our salvation and discipleship to focus on life, instead of just heaven and hell. God's intention, he says, is for us to become God's cooperative friends, seeking to live consistent lives of creative goodness for the sake of others. These pages lead us into this abundant way of living, offering

• the whole scope of God's story and how you fit into that
• guidance on the Holy Spirit's role and power in your life
• creative ways to love, serve and respond to seeking friends
• help for starting a "Three Is Enough" small group

Jesus came that we might have life--not just in heaven, but here on earth where he walked and lived among us. And your friends who are hurting, hopeless or hungry for something real need to see what difference life in Christ makes. This timely, biblical paradigm from Todd Hunter will inspire and equip you to live your days with intention, participating in God's work in the world today. It just might change the way you look at life forever.

The Accidental Anglican

The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church

Todd D. Hunter

Forward by J. I. Packer

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400
Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com
E-mail:

2010 by Todd Hunter

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the The Message . Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Design: Cindy Kiple
Images: Anglican Robe: AngusImages

ISBN 978-0-8308-6832-2 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-3839-4 (print)

For Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini and Bishop John Rucyahana

These men embody Christlike leadership.

They live and lead for the sake of others.

Todd Hunters journeyunlike that of the 1980s evangelicals on the Canterbury Trailis a missional merging of Anglican resources and church-planting passion. Free of romanticized illusions, he offers a clear-eyed appreciation of the Anglican potential for mission after modernity.

David Neff, editor in chief and vice president, Christianity Today Media Group

Todds story is a fascinating, moving, honest and often very funny account of what God can do with one of his servants committed to growing his kingdom today.... Very inspiring.

J. A. K. Millar, vicar, Tollington Park, and assistant bishop, London

You hold in your hand a thoughtful and candid explanation of the many events and people that God used to draw a veteran evangelical church planter like Todd Hunter into the world and the witness of the Anglican church. One part autobiography and one part apologia, this book provides an outsiders perspective on the richness of authentic Anglicanism, and the treasures of this particular branch of the Christian church that have captured his heart and made him, in his own words, an accidental Anglican. In telling this story, Todd challenges us all to begin to connect the dots in our own lives and discover the powerful, if seemingly accidental, calling that God has for each of us.

Chuck Murphy, chairman, The Anglican Mission

Todd is a missionary and knows the attraction of ancient future in todays culture. This remarkable book tells a remarkable story. A story of how Todd became an Anglican bishop. I was gripped as he uncovers the treasures of this ancient spiritual pipeline. So gripped, it reminded me why Im an Anglican! This is a deeply personal story, written by an amazing man. It will challenge and inspire.

Mark Russell, CEO, Church Army, and member of the Archbishops Council of the Church of England

Todd Hunters passion for church growthand his many insights into how it can be achievedhas had a profound influence on many church leaders around the world. His story is a fascinating one.

Nicky Gumbel, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton Church and developer of
The Alpha Course

F or a moment, let us all play. (Eh? Yeah.)

Imagine the following: Before you lies a new edition of Kenneth Grahames classic for children from nine to ninety, The Wind in the Willows, in which Mole realizes the richness of the riverbank and Mr. Toad tastes the boomeranging trauma of unbridled locomotion. You open the book, and the first thing you see is a foreword, a set of remarks as from an authority introducing the book and celebrating it as a tale for our times, signed by Ratty. Having flipped through it, you move into the book itself and find to your surprise that Ratty is one of the characters in Grahames story.