Lutheran (EL C S*A) Ping!
* as of August 19, AD 2009, a liberal protestant SECT, not part of the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH.
Keep a Good Lent!
Posted on 02/25/2010 8:08:38 AM PST by mbarker12474
Funny, this is a problem as old as Christianity itself. When Jesus dealt with it, He simply told the laity to do it His way.
If my church or Pastor did not, I'd find another church.
Lutheran (EL C S*A) Ping!
* as of August 19, AD 2009, a liberal protestant SECT, not part of the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH.
Keep a Good Lent!
What is the distinction between a “mainline” Protestant or Baptist and an evangelical Protestant or Baptist? Is there a doctrinal distinction that I am unaware of?
SnakeDoc
I am not astounded by that. What astounds me is that there are any Bible believing, professing Christians that are liberal and support candidates who are pro abortion, no matter if Catholic, Protestant or what ever, claiming Christ.
These so called "Christians" will be wishing for a mill stone around their necks instead of what they are destined to receive.
Love how the author chides at the end.
Phooey. Everyone knows that American churches are country clubs. A half-hour of watered-down "I'm okay, you're okay," a bunch of shallow love songs about Jesus, the same prayer Baldy the Car Salesman has been praying for twelve years, and then pass the plate and get the club dues.
There are no polarizing politics, or any other polarizing behavior. It's all designed to make people feel like sitting in a pew for an hour a week is "Christian," keep their money coming in, with zero demand for work or learning.
>> Perhaps it is no coincidence that the United Methodists >> and the American Baptists are the two oldline
>> denominations that seem most likely to hold
>> firm in traditional Christian doctrines.
> If my church or Pastor did not, I’d find another church.
In the UMC, the difference between pulpit and pew in the UMC may be small, but the difference between pew and conference staff, conference committees (Board of Church & Society, Board of Global Ministry, United Methodist Women) is large. Likewise, the difference between pew and General church leadership and General board/agency membership is huge. The UMC is a progressive political organization, with the explicit mission to “transform the world.” Pay attention to your tithe.
James 4:4
paraphrased - there are no “liberal Christians”
There are no polarizing politics, or any other polarizing behavior. It's all designed to make people feel like sitting in a pew for an hour a week is "Christian," keep their money coming in, with zero demand for work or learning.
A bit of a broad brush, don't you think?
Republicans outnumber Democrats by an astounding . . . percent among . . . pastors [i]n the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the margin is 64-4.
I am an LCMS pastor, and I can attest to the fact that most all my peers are politically conservative. Even fellow LCMS pastors I disagree with theologically--they're liberal in terms of their Lutheran doctrine and practice (e.g., worship practice)--I would guess are conservative socio-politically (e.g., on abortion, homosexuality).
Among Lutherans, the LCMS, like the WELS and ELS, is overwhelmingly conservative, both clergy and lay, in social-political matters. Only the ELCA is Looney Left, and that, more so in their clergy hierarchy.
Leftist thrologues play Jesus, insisting that they are the perfect expression of Jesus. Evangelicals insist that they do things Biblically, according to the teachings of Jesus. The former point to themselves . The latter point to scripture. Methidism is broken down more by Conference than denomination. The Baltimore annual Conference is essentially Marxist with Homosexuals filling pulpits and abortion taught with no regard for God's Will. Conservative, Evangelical and Charismatic pastors are routinely expelled from their ranks. Witch hunts are the norm in this as well as in northern and western conferences. Southern conferences in the UMC are more attuned to biblicism and evangelicalism.
Not our local congregation. They voted in favor of same-sex partnerships. Only 12 voted against the issue. Sheesh!
I'm confident I already know the pitiful answers to those questions. I'm confident you know too.
I should add, I do find some LCMS laypeople, mostly older, who still vote Democrat—not because they are truly leftist in their thinking, but because they are “old union guys” who were raised to think that the Dems are “on the side of the little guy,” or they are ladies who “like” the smooth-talking candidate on an emotional level because he says nice stuff. But they don’t analyze the issues in any depth. They’re brainwashed by the pop culture.
The fruit of those efforts is that their membership has left in droves-- some to evangelical conservative denominations, some to quit attending church at all.
The later category is, unfortunately, the end objective of the socialists in the pulpit. Most fully realize they are destroying once great denominations by driving people away, but they do it anyway because government power has become their false God.
Look for the same clique of termites to infest the evangelical denominations now that that's where most of the church attendance is moving. Christians need to be willing to do whatever is necessary to keep these termites out of their pulpits and, failing that, be willing to leave for a denomination not thus infested.
Fortunately, out here in the hinterland, the system pretty much lets us ignore the stupid so-called leaders higher up in the Conference. We just go on with the time honored traditional worship. Don’t know how long they will leave us alone, but if they interfere too much, we just pull out of the conference and go independent Bible Church. There are several around here who did that when the EUB and the Meth. merged in 68.
I doubt it. It would be interested to take a deeper look at actual church attendance and involvement. I bet the democrats reported in these church bodies actually bother to show up for worship at a much lower rate than their numbers would suggest. Ditto for actual involvement in lay ministries. (After all, why volunteer when it's redundant - the government nanny is already supposed to be meeting everyone's needs.)
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