NBC interviews Bp. Lawrence, asks: “Is liberal Christianity signing its own death warrant?”
Dean Robert Munday caught the story and blogged it.
NBC is refreshingly open to some reality checks:
“I see other mainline denominations that are fairly liberal, like the Presbyterians and the Methodists, just really being very careful about jumping over this hurdle,” David Hein, Hood College historian and co-author of “The Episcopalians,” a history of the church, told NBC News, “because it really wreaks havoc with the denominations for the national headquarters on down, the institutions, the seminaries, the parishes when you start to lose huge numbers of members.”
“I think churches that are fairly clear in their stance and are not either fundamentalist or way out there on the fringe are doing pretty well,” Hein added.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t call over to central casting for one of “the young people,”
But Jenna Guy, an Episcopalian from Iowa, said when the gay-rites vote was taken that the issue is important to the younger generation of Episcopalians and that the resolution would bring more people into the church.
I posted that one to Facebook and commented,
I understand that some folks really believe that the “agenda” is right, regardless of the outcome. BUT QUIT LYING TO US WITH STUFF LIKE THIS… The innovations constantly shrink churches. Just as in politics, “the young people” are notoriously long on opinion and short on reliable participation. LGBTQi are a teeny, tiny % of the population. So whatever reasons you might have for supporting “the agenda”, you are either willfully ignorant or lying if you assert that it is for church growth.
The article gives time to Bp. Lawrence and the principled stand of the Diocese of South Carolina,
Following the Episcopal Church’s decision to adopt gay-union rites last week, most of the Diocese of South Carolina’s delegation left the General Convention to show their concern.
“I had an issue of conscience in which I believed that a line had been crossed in the church’s teachings, that I could no longer pretend that nothing significant had happened,” Bishop Lawrence said, adding that the departure of the deputies should not be understood as a departure from the Episcopal Church.
“It’s not merely a matter of adapting the Church’s teachings about Jesus Christ, about salvation, about right and wrong to the culture,” he said. “The culture is adrift in sexual confusion and obsession.”
The article also cites the statistics of decline in TEC and other mainline denominations, but notes one of the standout exceptions:
Bucking the national trend, the Diocese of South Carolina experienced growth in 2011 in its average Sunday attendance, which rose 10.8 percent, from 11,086 to 12,286, according to the diocese.
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9 comments
I saw this the other day as well. Great story. One of the more thoughtful and accurate articles I have read about the decline of not only the Episcopal Church but of several protestant “mainline” denominations.
When a diocese is growing and doing what it can to proclaim the Gospel, should not that diocese be an example and a model to those dioceses that are in decline? While the diocese of South Carolina does get requests and indeed helps those from other dioceses in TEC, I doubt the Diocesan Ofice or the Bishops’s office is being inundated with request from dioceses like Upper Michigan or New Hampshire etc. I asked the same question asked above as an off-the cuff question to another visitor like myself at a diocesan convention. The answer was simple- They are too arrogant to see what they need to do. [They meaning those diocese that are in decline]. BINGO!!
I am glad did not re-interpret Bishop Lawrence’s words but left them as quotes for the reader to understand.
[1] Posted by SC blu cat lady on 7-22-2012 at 08:53 AM · [top]
The Diocese of South Carolina is a haven for those who are opposed to the innovations of ECUSA. It is an oasis of hope for those who are struggling to remain faithful and Episcopalian.
May God continue to bless the Diocese of South Carolina, Bishop Lawrence, all clergy and laity. May He give strength to stand to the other bishops who agree that ECUSA has crossed the line. May He open the eyes of those already on the other side of the divide.
[2] Posted by Jackie on 7-22-2012 at 12:53 PM · [top]
Well said, Jackie. It is especially important that we keep praying for those bishops, clergy and laity who also have fought and are still fighting to keep the faith alive in TEC. Sooo many more than just us in the Diocese of South Carolina. Sometimes it can seem like we are the only faithful left but we are not. Think of the deputies from Central Florida that spoke up at General Convention.
To those on the other side…... I pray that you will have a Damascus road moment where not only your eyes but your heart will be opened to and convicted by God’s true, unchanging love and mercy for you as a sinner.
[3] Posted by SC blu cat lady on 7-22-2012 at 01:43 PM · [top]
Very good points, blu cat lady.
The Global South have just issued their response to TEC General Convention (among other things - naturally their responsibilities and care go way way beyond North America). Communion Partners get a special mention: http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/blog/comments/communique_of_the_global_south_primates_bangkok_thailand_20_july_2012
Also, +Martins has published his blog of the Global South conference (which also mentions TEC GC) at http://movingdiagonally.blogspot.co.uk/.
[4] Posted by MichaelA on 7-22-2012 at 05:41 PM · [top]
Modern Liberal Christianity is neither liberal nor Christian. Signing a death warrant is not possible because it is already dead. The only question is whether the next step is resurrection by the Lord - or a visit from the coroner (to sign the death certificate) followed by the undertaker (to bury the remains).
Absent repentance and new life, any visible activity is merely bloating and consumption of the corpse by bacteria and parasites.
[5] Posted by Doug Stein on 7-22-2012 at 07:19 PM · [top]
WSJ, NYT, NBC… they’re not necessarily fans of traditional Christianity, but as they bother to look in, they are seeing that the mainline is an empty suit.
TEC’s spin and crowing works only for those already in the club. It’s ceasing to fool those outside, even those who might be invested in proclaiming the myths.
So do keep up the noise. Keep outing the lies.
[6] Posted by Timothy Fountain on 7-23-2012 at 06:44 AM · [top]
Anone else getting the type running over in to the right side bar underneath the ads? It is just awkward and difficult to read.Has something changed? I don’t remember this happening yesterday. Perhaps it is my monitor….
[7] Posted by SC blu cat lady on 7-23-2012 at 07:13 AM · [top]
My experience is that there are “faithful” Christians sitting in Episcopal churches all around the country. Why they hang on is up for discussion. There are two things that I believe should not be overlooked in this “discussion” of who “should” be where:
(1) There is a significant and important difference between error and evil. The homosexual agenda is a grand example of now institutionalized error. Blind error, grasping error. Error that reveals more and more how the homosexual behaves, in truth, like an addict. When this agenda steps over the line into evil is where the action of this group harm others in very real ways.
(2) There is a tendency in this group of readers to view church going as something that requires a clean house, an antiseptic church. And yet, Jesus said that he came to redeem the sinners, NOT the righteous. Those faithful Christians who continue to stand tall in their faith in the face of the decay are really following in His footsteps. I have a friend who doesn’t, won’t believe in Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. My friend cannot stand the thought of Jesus being “degraded” in such a way. We all need to be careful of avoiding our own degradation, our own acts of service to those who may eventually betray us again and again.
[8] Posted by JuliaMarks on 7-23-2012 at 09:49 AM · [top]
SC Blu Cat Lady, you are so ANGLICAN. “The letters have to stay within the lines”. How can you restrict the Holy Spirit in this way…?!
[9] Posted by MichaelA on 7-23-2012 at 07:01 PM · [top]
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