Posted on 09/10/2007 7:32:00 AM PDT by NYer
We are not a hierarchy. As an ordained elder in the denomination for these many years, I can assure you that we are not. We are a “connectional” system and not a “hierarchical” system.
The individual church does NOT report to the national church. It reports ONLY to it’s own district and region(annual conference.) Our highest officer is the bishop of our region (west ohio in my case) and my bishop is one of very many bishops. Each of them can tell the others to take a hike, and there’s no “arch”bishop over any of them who can tell them what to do.
I have NEVER sent one report to any national office ever.
LOL Okay you are ‘connetional’. But you still send money to the national leadership, and they still have spent it on some things I’m quite sure you wouldn’t be happy about.
So I guess this shows that breast “enhancements” aren’t the only
implantable item on the wish-list of some female pastors/ministers?
They’ve been advertising for years. I have always thought it was pretty dumb.
The sad thing is they rarely mention God or religion, they make it sound like a social club rather than a church.
In my town, the Methodist church is one of the largest (sq ft) and used to be filled every Sunday for 2 services.
They had pictures of each Sunday School class posted on a bulletin board and the largest child’s class had 3 kids in it. One only had one and a teacher. Sad.
Like all institutions in this world. The old saying goes that Hell is paved with the skulls of bishops. In part, that’s because bishops assume a certain responsibility when they take their posts.
On the other hand, I believe in papal infallibility. Twice in history a pope came very near to promulgating heresy, and twice drew back. There have been some wicked popes, without question, notably in the Renaissance, but they have not promulgated heresy.
The same with Church councils. Vatican II has had many undesirable effects, partly of course due to the efforts of dissidents to misinterpret it, but also partly because it does not strike me as one of the more effective or necessary Church councils. No heresy was promulgated, but that doesn’t prevent it from having become more of a source of trouble than of genuine reform and improvement.
Since the UMC is not governed in the same way as the Catholic Church, it may be harder to make these distinctions (ditto the Anglican Church). But there is still a difference between a sacred institution with its share of sinners and a corrupted institution that needs to close down.
I appreciate your good humor.
Honestly, though, we don’t send money to the national. We send money to our district and annual conference. The region (annual conference) has a “tax” they pay to keep denominational level cooperative agencies running (missionaries, charities, bishops’ fund and the like), BUT the region does not have to pay their entire bill. It’s voluntary.
The one exception is that one of the cooperative agencies might put out an appeal for something like Katrina Hurricane relief, and then an individual or a local church might send them money. But it is not required.
*snort* Now that’s a blast from the past! Wonder what Dennis Dugan is doing these days!
It is called 'voluntary' but during my time on the financial committee, the pressure on the local church and the district to 'pay up' was extremely high.
We chose to withhold our support for a time because of things the national leadership was doing, and they threatened things like changing our pastor's retirement allocation. The pastor left the church before that was resolved, and we left the UM soon after that.
Every denomination has in it those who do wrong.
I was actually surprised when I checked the IMDB and found he’s directting a lot, including several Adam Sandler films. Wasn’t he Richie Brockleman, PD?
Yes, but I refuse to financially support it.
Stop believing human silliness and start acknowledging the truth.
IE Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
That includes Popes.
Basics.
This is not the place to argue it, but you are confused. Of course all men are sinners, but Jesus also said that Peter was the Rock on which He would found His Church, and also that He would be with His Church until the end of time, and that the Gates of Hell would not prevail against it.
As the annunciatory angels said to both Abraham and the father of John the Baptist, “With God, all things are possible.”
It is perfectly possible for God to prevent any pope from spreading heresy, even though a few popes were serious sinners.
Has your congregation ever considered becoming a community type church if this stuff keeps going on in the UMC? Just curious; nothing more or less.
No, they have not.
My decision on those kind of things is that I would be straight up with the denomination and simply tell them that I am leaving.
I would not use the pulpit they gave me to attack them. I did not have to accept it.
If they lack integrity, that would be no reason that I would have to act with less than honor.
The Lord has raised us up from practically nothing once before; He can do it again.
We can preach in the highways and hedges and compel them to come in.
While God released many to go to the south, to Judah, after Idol worship was instituted in Israel, He did not release many prophets to do so. In particular, he did not send Elijah & Elisha to the south.
He said, “I have yet 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Ba’al.”
I am not yet released.
What a wonderful response and God must be very pleased to have you as one of his faithful servants. I will pray for you, your congregation, and your denomination that it, with your stand for the truth, will free the UMC from the evil that attacks it.
Time to make gender defined by DNA law.
Only in the Methodist church, and only in Baltimore. (rolling eyes emoticon here)
At least s/he does look like a guy!
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