Welby must now face the fact that if he cannot win them over, therefore the next best thing is to undermine them.

Welby must now employ his considerable secular management skills to achieve the end for which he hopes for.

Start at Westminster Abbey for a small reconciliation conference, then proceed to Jordan for yet another attempt with the Primates to square the circle over homosexuality. Then go for the jugular and head right into Kenya and talk unity with the Kenya House of Bishops. In the course of things, make Kenya Archbishop Ole Sapit one of five primates elected to serve on Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council, even though he is a GAFCON primate who says he will not be attending the Lambeth conference. He will allow some of his bishops to attend if they so choose. A small victory for Welby.

Undermine, undermine, undermine.

So, is the strategy working?

One thing is for sure it is sowing confusion and that might be the best strategy of all.

If Welby is going to succeed, never talk about Lambeth resolution 1:10, never let it cross your lips. Keep any talk about the position of The Episcopal Church on sexuality issues out of the discussion and stay mum about Archbishop Foley Beach.

Try to make sexuality a second order issue. Play it down, if raised, while talking up climate change.

Keep the focus on plastic in the oceans, not poofters in the bed.

Blur the lines between the open acceptance of homosexuality and pastoral care for those with distorted sexualities. Above all never say 'the Bible says' about homosexuality.

Look facially concerned about the subject of homosexuality, but defer talk to a lot of theologians with their theological mambo jumbo from their ivory towers who have never witnessed men dying of AIDS as I have.

Never discuss the medical consequences of anal sex, the broken and shattered lives of fatherless men who sought comfort in the arms of men, only to find out too late that it was a death sentence.

Keep the pressure on by continually talking up unity in the body, but never hint that the body might be spiritually sick and in danger of dying.

Murmur that the CofE's official position is still marriage between a man and a woman, but nod nod, wink wink when two men or two women live together in sexual sin. Keep saying this is not the preferred position, but who am I to judge.

Never let it be known that you have no fixed position on homosexuality because you want to show a (misguided) compassion for those caught up in this behavior just in case your son announces he is a homosexual, and that you will attend his wedding to another man.

Show deep concern and patience with those who won't conform to your changing worldview on sexuality matters. Above all fudge, fudge, fudge and keep everyone at the table.

And then the Lord will say in that Day, depart from me I never knew you.

END