The Accidental Anglican

I have written now and again about how in my own life I have experienced a spiritual renewal in recovering the liturgical practices that I forsook while in evangelical and Baptist contexts. So, a book with the title The Accidental Anglican certainly caught my eye, especially the promising sub-title “The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church.” Unfortunately, the title is a bit misleading. There is not as much a discussion of why liturgy should be so appealing it is taken for granted that the appeal of liturgy is self-evident to the reader.

That being said, this is a great book. It is part memoir, part apologia for conservative Anglicanism. Hunter’s journey from the Vineyard movement into an Anglican context is fascinating, and one that is affirming to those who are journeying back to more liturgical contexts.

The apologia Hunter presents in this book is the foundational beliefs for why he is now a missionary bishop within the Anglican church and how this role is an extension of his calling to plant churches. The churches Hunter is planting are inspiring. They are a microcosm of their bishop: charismatic, missional and deeply liturgical. In essence, they are a product of the ancient-future movement and the evangelistic and charismatic zeal of the Vineyard movement (see my review of John Wimber’s Power Healing). Having worked with Wimber for so many years, Hunter has the pedigree to lead such a movement, and the later portion of the book is basically a defense of his model of church planting, which I find convincing.

This book is a delightful memoir and welcome addition to any conversation about how Protestant churches can return to our liturgical roots.

The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church
Todd D. Hunter
InterVarsity Press
$10.28 (Amazon)