It seems like there’s a simple way around this whole convoluted vote, meet with the bishop, vote process.
Rather than the congregation leaving, individuals leave in a large group and start a new congregation affiliated with whatever denomination they want. What am I missing?
David Barnhart writes, The congregations listed below represent a net loss of baptized members for the ELCA of at least 223,228 since August 2009. Add to this number the membership of approximately 40 churches missing from our list, the tens of thousands who left to start new congregations, and the multiplied thousands who have left the ELCA on their own, and the numbers are staggering."