Posted on 11/23/2022 11:52:20 PM PST by Morgana
Fifty-eight congregations in Louisiana have officially disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church, as the second-largest mainline Protestant denomination in the United States continues to experience schism due to its ongoing debate over homosexuality.
The UMC Louisiana Conference held a special session on Saturday, approving the votes of 58 congregations who decided by at least two-thirds vote to leave the UMC.
The Rev. Todd Rossnagel, the director of communication strategies at the Louisiana Conference, told The Christian Post on Monday that the 58 churches came after nine other congregations had disaffiliation votes approved at the annual conference in June.
Earlier this month, the New Orleans-based CBS affiliate WVUE reported that 47 churches in Louisiana voted to leave the UMC. According to Rossnagel, the additional 11 congregations filed their paperwork for the special session shortly after that report was published.
Rossnagel put the total number of congregations still belonging to the Louisiana conference after Saturday's special session at 379, although that figure doesn't include other ministries.
"There are some new start ministries," Rossnagel said. "They haven't technically been chartered yet. They don't technically have a building yet. So, it's very close to 400 when you include that and Wesley Foundations on college campuses all across Louisiana."
Among Louisiana congregations disaffiliating from the UMC is St. Timothy on the Northshore in Mandeville, which boasts approximately 6,000 members. The congregation held a disaffiliation vote earlier this month.
In recent years, the UMC has been embroiled in a divisive debate over whether to allow the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianpost.com ...
It should be clear by now that what started as the homosexual agenda decades ago was never about inclusion, but rather about destruction. If it were about inclusion the disaffected would have started their own denominations to do as they wish, but then they wouldn’t have had access to all that money they wished to dispense to their chosen progressive organizations. This is exactly what happens when good people don’t defend what they know is right.
He definitely exposed a weakness in his character and faith by approving of his daughter.
He didn't have the guts to set an example with tough love when it was called for and, in doing so, he ruined whatever Christian "witness" he might have had.
Love it.
But regarding the practice of lying to gays about their sex habits as a way to lie to yourself about your own straight sexual history, anyone who can't look at their sinful history and feel disgust is not in touch with or isn't listening to the Holy Spirit. If he were, he would realize (as you say) that nothing short of coming to Jesus on hands and knees would assuage the pain.
“..It should be clear by now that what started as the homosexual agenda decades ago was never about inclusion, but rather about destruction.....”
^THIS^
The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy..
In the last days, even the very elect will be deceived.....
Thanks, that clears it up for me, too. I also was wondering which faction was leaving. I’m not Methodist, but I’m certainly on the side of the minority…
Had a service buddy who lived in North Carolina and this was 20+ years ago, and he was mentioned the Methodist Church that he attended was an independent Methodist Church, he also remarked if Wesley was alive today he’d be rolling in his grave at the commonly adopted Methodist Dogma. That was 20+ years ago.
The only ones fighting were the Africans.
I left when they went anti 2nd amendment.
Going down the woke road has only splintered denominations and never led to membership gains. These people don’t seem to realize that the lgbt agenda is not to attract more people, it is to destroy orthodoxy. There has never been a big rush of gays wanting to get in and worship God. The few who do are already there.
‘By their fruits’, and all that.
The living are separating from the dead. It will happen in all churches.
The problem is less “We are going to ordain LGBTQ+” and more “You are not allowed to disagree”. That’s what drove me out of my previous UMC. Only one view was allowed. The pastor even tried to have a “discussion” but the SJW’s shouted him down. They wanted a lecture, not a discussion.
Regards,
The leavers are those who believe in Scripture and disapprove of homosexuality. The ones who remain are supporters of homosexuality (in the ministry and elsewhere).
It appears that the LGBTQ has effected a hostile takeover of the UMC. If you don’t like it, your church can take a vote and “disaffiliate.”
Exactly what has happened with several (former!) UMCs, in our area, thankfully. They have left the homo supporters.
This division is also happening in Methodist churches in North Carolina and as often as not, the leftists win and the traditional christians leave.
Hey, Jane. Happy Thanksgiving!
I grew up in an Independent Baptist church and experiences there scarred me for a long time. 30 years ago we found the UMC felt like we had found a home. It didn’t take long to figure out there were gay people there just like everywhere else. Our conference and district were openly progressive and during the pandemic shutdown the Bishop and administration closed the church with no explanation but they were making moves by placing conservative pastors in smaller churches and putting the progressives in larger ones. Many conservatives began attending churches that were actually meeting in person for worship. The progressives went to Episcopal services and the conservatives went to Baptist. Big surprise when they reopened the church for attendance they had to close large areas of the building because there was no one there and they weren’t coming back. If they hadn’t shut everything down, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make the changes they did.
A friend of mine attends a UMC church in Ohio. I think they are voting this weekend. He said they held a “pre-Vote” in which about 98% voted to separate.
Good.
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