Protestant Church of the Withered Branch

This article is about the damage caused by the Gay Christian Movement to several mainline church denominations including the ECUSA, UCC, Presbyterian Church USA, and Evangelical Lutherans. It's an eye-opener to the magnitude of this problem in Christendom, where this issue is perhaps the greatest church-splitter since the Protestant Reformation.

Preamble

Jesus died for sinners. The purpose of the church is to spread this redeeming message to all sinners. Everyone sins and comes short of the mark. The church is supposed to be open to all sinners. Some of them just happen to be homosexuals. Homosexuals can be saved by Jesus Christ like any other sinner, just as the apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 6:11
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Christians welcome homosexuals to church, but we do not welcome doctrine that promotes a sinful lifestyle. Some liberal-leaning churches have embraced sin rather than the sinner and that is what this article is about.

Introduction

Liberal theology lacks a biblical message, and its purpose is to make the members feel good about themselves, and about their sinful lifestyles. No change is needed in the heart of the believer, rather everyone is being told they are fine just like they are -- that Jesus makes sin irrelevant -- or even worse than that -- nobody was a sinner to start with.

Biblical Background

Someone might ask why the sin-affirming liberal-doctrine is so bad. There are many answers but let me present an example that gives the picture. It's the Church at Corinth, and it's in the Bible. This church was well known for its temple prostitutes and sexual perversions. As the Bible put it -- even the world shuddered about the Church at Corinth. The apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 5:1
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.

Yes, a sickening picture where fornication was rampant. The Church of Corinth was utterly destroyed. Today, there is no Church of Corinth -- there are NO NEW MEMBERS. A dead church has NO MEMBERS, nobody sitting in the pews, nobody even preaches there anymore. And a dead church is measured by its MEMBERSHIP -- members keep a church alive. Are we getting the picture?


Attendance Statistics

Looking at the attendance numbers, it is clear that the liberal wing of the church is dieing. The following attendance statistics came from Church Executive Magazine regarding the main line American church denominations.

The winners typically have taken the more conservative approach regarding the sin-pandering gay doctrine:

24. The Orthodox Church in America, 1,064,000 members, reporting an increase of 6.40 percent.
10. Assemblies of God, 2,779,095 members, reporting an increase of 1.81 percent.
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5,999,177 members, reporting an increase of 1.74 percent.
1. The Catholic Church, 67,820,833 members, reporting an increase of .83 percent.

Churches with no change:

5. The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members, no increase or decrease reported.
6. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., 5,000,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
8. National Baptist Convention of America, 3,500,000, no increase or decrease reported.
11. African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
12. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
13. Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported
16. Churches of Christ, 1,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
17. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 1,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
18. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc., 1,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
19. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 1,432,795 members, no increase or decrease reported.
22. Baptist Bible Fellowship International, 1,200,000, no increase or decrease reported.
23. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 1,071,615 members, no increase or decrease reported.

Some of the losers are conservative and some are not:

20. American Baptist Churches in the USA, 1,432,840, reporting a decrease of .57 percent.
3. The United Methodist Church, 8,186,254 members, reporting a decrease of .79 percent.
14. The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS), 2,463,747, reporting a decrease or 1.01 percent.
2. The Southern Baptist Convention, 16,267,494 members, reporting a decrease of 1.05 percent.
25. Jehovah's Witnesses, 1,029,902 members, reporting a decrease of 1.07 members.


The worst losers are all gay-affirming, including gay clergy that are openly same-sex-partnered and practicing gays and lesbians:

7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,930,429, reporting a decrease of 1.09 percent.
15. Episcopal Church, 2,463,747, reporting a decrease of 1.55 percent.
9. Presbyterian Church (USA), 3,189,573 members, reporting a decrease of 1.60 percent.
21. United Church of Christ, 1,265,786, reporting a decrease of 2.38 percent.

News and Headlines

The news headlines and analysis tell us why the membership numbers are falling for these churches:


" Nashville's largest predominantly gay and lesbian church is joining a national Protestant denomination that has seen dozens of churches leave in the last year because of its support for same-sex unions.Holy Trinity Community Church in west Nashville officially will join the United Church of Christ in an installation ceremony Sunday. "


"The just-elected Episcopal presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, is a one-woman combination of all these things, having voted for Robinson, blessed same-sex couples in her Nevada diocese, prayed to a female Jesus at the Columbus convention and invited former Newark, N.J., bishop John Shelby Spong, famous for denying Christ's divinity, to address her priests."


"Katherine Schori, leader for the Episcopal Church denomination, calls homosexuality a gift rather than sin as Gene Robinson is ordinated."


"Who we are... Gay-affirming Baptists? No, this is not an oxymoron!Ten years ago, after the lgbt community had been dealt yet another blow by members of their denomination, a group of American Baptist pastors decided that it was time to stand up and declare their affirmation of glbt people. The network of churches they founded, the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists (AWAB), has now grown to more than 60 churches and organizations. AWAB members are Baptist churches, organizations, and individuals who have gone on record as being welcoming and affirming of all persons, without regard to sexual orientation."


"Church defies Presbyterian order to ban gay preachers."


"NEWS ANALYSIS: Methodists Divided on Gay Rights
Church leaders anguish over same-sex unions."


"Yet many conservative Presbyterians believe that passage of the so-called Fidelity and Chastity Amendment will end more than two decades of division over homosexuality. Describing the ordaining of gays as a "direct challenge of the scriptures," the Rev. Jack Harderer, a supporter of the amendment, said, "It has boiled down to the real watershed issue: (do) we believe in the authority of the scripture or do we not?"


"Lutheran leaders look to ease stance on gay pastors.


The Lutheran proposal, which is being spearheaded by Bishop Margaret G. Payne of Massachusetts, would maintain an official requirement that gays and lesbians abstain from homosexual relationships in order to qualify as ministers. But it would allow local church leaders to "refrain from disciplining" congregations that disregard that requirement and hire "partnered" gay or lesbian pastors."


"three years ago, the Presbyterian Church USA, at its general assembly in Birmingham, Ala., was turning itself into the laughingstock of the blogosphere by tacitly approving alternative designations for the supposedly sexist Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Among the suggested names were "Mother, Child and Womb" and "Rock, Redeemer and Friend." Moved by the spirit of the Presbyterian revisionists, Beliefnet blogger Rod Dreher held a "Name That Trinity" contest. Entries included "Rock, Scissors and Paper" and "Larry, Curly and Moe." "

"The Presbyterian Church USA is famous for its 1993 conference, cosponsored with the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other mainline churches, in which participants "re-imagined" God as "Our Maker Sophia" and held a feminist-inspired "milk and honey" ritual designed to replace traditional bread-and-wine Communion. "


"When a church doesn't take itself seriously, neither do its members. It is hard to believe that as recently as 1960, members of mainline churches — Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and the like — accounted for 40% of all American Protestants. Today, it's more like 12% (17 million out of 135 million). Some of the precipitous decline is due to lower birthrates among the generally blue-state main liners, but it also is clear that millions of mainline adherents (and especially their children) have simply walked out of the pews never to return. According to the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, in 1965, there were 3.4 million Episcopalians; now, there are 2.3 million. The number of Presbyterians fell from 4.3 million in 1965 to 2.5 million today. Compare that with 16 million members reported by the Southern Baptists. "


"When your religion says "whatever" on doctrinal matters, regards Jesus as just another wise teacher, refuses on principle to evangelize and lets you do pretty much what you want, it's a short step to deciding that one of the things you don't want to do is get up on Sunday morning and go to church."


"Despite the fact that median Sunday attendance at Episcopal churches is 80 worshipers, the Episcopal Church, as a whole, is financially equipped to carry on for some time, thanks to its inventory of vintage real estate and huge endowments left over from the days (no more!) when it was the Republican Party at prayer. Furthermore, it has offset some of its demographic losses by attracting disaffected liberal Catholics and gays and lesbians. The less endowed Presbyterian Church USA is in deeper trouble. Just before its general assembly in Birmingham, it announced that it would eliminate 75 jobs to meet a $9.15-million budget cut at its headquarters, the third such round of job cuts in four years. "


"The Anglican Communion is made up mostly of Bible-believing conservatives, while the majority of Episcopal parishes are characterized as liberal. The Episcopal Church has lost thousands of members over the years. Once 4 million strong, the church now has 870,000 parishioners, Schofield said."


Analysis

The following analysis comes from Rasmussen Reports. In summary the liberal congregations typically support the ordination of gay-lesbian pastors, but the supporting members typically don't attend church. The gay-pastorate doesn't get them back in church either.

From Rasmussen Reports June 30, 2006

Churchgoers Disapprove of Gay and Lesbian Pastors 86% Agree Government Should Stay Out of It.

Is it appropriate for gay and lesbian church members to serve as pastors and bishops in a Christian Church? Two thirds (67%) of those who attend Church weekly say no. Just 27% of those faithful worshippers say yes.

Self-identified Evangelical Christians oppose gay and lesbian pastors by an 80% to 15% margin. Other Protestants oppose such pastors by a 2-to-1 margin while Catholics are nearly evenly divided.

The only demographic group to favor gay and lesbian pastors are those who rarely or never attend church. Among this segment of the population, 49% believe such pastors are appropriate. Thirty-nine percent (39%) disagree.

Among those who attend churches that are growing, just 26% believe it is appropriate to appoint gay and lesbian church leaders. Sixty-six percent (66%) are opposed.

Opinion is more evenly divided in churches with declining attendance.Forty-four percent (44%) of those in declining churches say it is appropriate for gay and lesbian leadership appointments. Forty percent (40%) disagree.

Episcopal Meltdown

This section will be devoted specifically to the Episcopal Church's dilemma. Excerpts come from Reverend Earle Fox and his blog on the The Road to Emmaus.

Episcopal Crisis

This is a reflective write-up by Tucker Carlson, Episcopalian, news anchor, commentator, and pundit for MNBC. It looks at the progressive downward spiraling path taken by Anglican leadership in America.


Why the Episcopal Church has Self-Destructed

"Bishop William Winterrowd ("In the Head, but not the Heart" 6/4/06), makes, I think, precisely the error which has brought the Episcopal Church to its demise -- pitting the legislative against the reconciliation mode, thus putting unity above truth. "

The Episcopal Tragedy and the Coming of Clarity

"I am an Episcopal priest who has labored in that vineyard for over forty years, now watching the Church I loved and cherished self-destruct. There will be a resurrection of sorts, that is a division with one side conforming, more or less, to orthodoxy."

Conclusion

Jesus died for sinners, and that includes all of us. Carnal doctrine, on the other hand, preaches that we are not sinners or that sin no longer matters. Sin-pandering "gay theology" is carnal preaching at its worst. If you claim the name of Christ I hope you haven't fallen for this destructive lie.

Homosexuals have a moral challenge that is difficult. Don't surrender them to satan by telling them it's ok to practice this sexual perversion. It doesn't matter what humanistic psychologists or political special interests say about it. They aren't the experts on morality -- God is.

Don't be a Christian that goes for PC instead of JC. The Bible is clear on this issue. There IS NO debate. Those that raise issues with the Bible translations show their own ignorance. The Bible and Jewish history both tell us in very clear terms that sex with the same-sex IS SIN under ALL circumstances.

Good day and God bless.