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When Liberal Churches Shrink and Merge

11/15/2021

3 Comments

 
(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
​
​I passed this church today in the Twin Cities and it appears to be a merged church of two very liberal denominations, the United Church of Christ and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since the 1960s the UCC has shrunk more than any mainline denomination and for good reason. One can deny the Trinity, affirm a Unitarian view of God, and be a pastor in the United Church of Christ. Both the UCC and ELCA ordain practicing homosexuals and transsexuals, and pay for abortions with offering dollars in their churches healthcare plans (you will note in the picture below the church’s gay-affirming rainbow banner). Both denominations have many pastors who teach that all people will go to heaven and faith in Christ is not necessary for salvation.

As liberal denomination shrink, they merge. Two ELCA seminaries in Pennsylvania had to merge, my alma mater ELCA Luther Seminary in Saint Paul had to sell off buildings, and the building which housed the ELCA seminary in California was sold to Muslims. The UCC’s United Theological Seminary in New Brighton, Minnesota, had to be sold and now houses an evangelical ministry. 

The second picture below is the large banner outside this merged congregation saying what it means to “Be the Church”. You will notice Jesus, evangelism, and disciple-making are not mentioned. It’s basically “let’s all be nice”.
Picture

​It once again reminds me of the three pillars of liberal theology that are killing the Church:

1. God is nice

2. We too should be nice

3. Isn’t that nice?

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock
​


(Rev. Brock continues in a follow up article) 
​
I just went to the website of the church mentioned in the previous post to see what they believe. Below is their statement of faith. You will notice, not a word about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and nothing about salvation through Christ. Again, it is "Let's all be nice." I checked their calendar to see that they offer a Progressive Christianity Study Group and a drumming group.
​
One would never dream from their statement that there will be a Judgement Day and that we need Christ. If one believes in Heaven and Hell and that the Church should help people be ready for the Last Day, their nice statement of faith isn't very nice.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock


THIS WE BELIEVE
We believe the umbrella of God’s love, as exemplified in Jesus the Christ, is big enough for everyone to be welcomed.
We believe that love, not doctrine, holds us together.
We believe the deepest expression of our faith is found in the way we treat others.
We believe you don’t need to take the bible literally to discover God’s profound truths and message.
We believe it is important for faith to value both the mind and the heart.
We believe that we learn from one another’s diverse experiences and perspectives, and it’s okay if we don’t share the exact same beliefs.
We believe listening to others and respecting them is a deeply spiritual act, even when we disagree.
Not all claims to truth are the same, to be sure, but we believe every claim should be measured by love.
We believe the wisdom offered from other faith traditions can complement and enrich our spiritual journeys.
We believe church should be a place of peace that welcomes those who believe in God some of the time, or none of the time, or all of the time.
Picture
3 Comments
Didaskalos
11/15/2021 10:30:31 pm

"BE THE CHURCH. . .Fight for the powerless..."
Unless, of course, the powerless are God's preborn creations, in which case these churches' soulless fight is to preserve the cold-blooded status quo of unfettered murder in utero.

The Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon, knew every pretense of fake churches and fake believers:

“That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors.”

“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”

“If Christ has died for me, I cannot trifle with the evil that killed my best Friend.”

“There is no repentance where a man can talk lightly of sin, much less where he can speak tenderly and lovingly of it.”

“O prejudice, prejudice, prejudice, how many hast thou destroyed! Men who might have been wise have remained fools because they thought they were wise. Many judge what the gospel ought to be, but do not actually enquire as to what it is. They do not come to the Bible to obtain their views of religion, but they open that Book to find texts to suit the opinions which they bring to it. They are not open to the honest force of truth, and therefore are not saved by it.”


Reply
Rebecca
11/17/2021 05:08:56 pm

Let's be nice. I guess there is no nice where unbor;n babies are the topic. These people will have a terrible price to pay.
I've mentioned it before but I was in a group that chose the insurance for the pastor. It does contain abortion and sex change options.

Reply
Didaskalos
11/18/2021 02:41:04 pm

"We believe that love, not doctrine, holds us together...We believe you don’t need to take the bible [sic] literally to discover God’s profound truths and message."

ELCAspeak translation: “We wouldn’t dream of letting the Bible judge us. We, the ultimate authority, judge the Bible.”

The moribund ELCA is determined to hit the ash heap still shaking its tiny fist in God's face:
“The ELCA itself has made clear it is on the path to collapse: by 2041, denominational officials project a Sunday morning attendance of only 16,000 worshippers.”
https://juicyecumenism.com/2019/09/25/mainline-protestantism-decline-continues/

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  • Home
  • ELCA Exposed News
    • on The Bible
    • on Homosexuality & Sex
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    • on Goddess/Mother God/Gender Neutral Lang.
    • on Israel
    • on Abortion
    • on Social Media (ELCA Wolves Blog)
    • on Radical Hospitality and Prophecy
    • on Transgenders and Drag Queens
    • on Social Justice
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    • on Other Critical Issues
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