Posted on 07/08/2010 2:30:43 AM PDT by xzins
Me thinks the prez should read the scriptures at least one more time. He apparently missed the part where Jesus gave what is called "the great commission."
You better believe the Muslims will be right there to fill the gap in people’s spiritual longing.
Silly me I think the Great Commission still has meaning.
A few years back Larry King had as guests a UMC bishop and John MacArthur...The bishop insisted that it wasn’t the place of a Christian to say that Muslims weren’t going to heaven. I was pretty shocked and disappointed...MacArthur, of course, rattled off a few pertinent scriptures to disprove the bishop’s silliness. I hope the UMC can pull out of this rampant liberalism.
I'm losing hope fast.
As an ordained minister in the UMC, are you finding many in that denomination sympathetic to your concerns?
There are those sympathetic, but there are organizational things based on our structure that haven’t changed in decades and are unlikely to change in my lifetime, and even in the lifetime of a 30 year old.
At some point, you want to experience what a positive environment is like.
Has he ever heard of he great commission?
The Methodists headed out into the wilderness years ago. Will no one lead them back?
Where does Campbell think all the Methodist Churches came from that were established on the Chesapeake Bay?
What does Campbell attribute the succes of the Mega churches to? The power point slide showa and rock bands?
What happened to the circuit riders that brought the word of Jesus traveling from hamlet to hamlet?
Guess their waiting in an empty church somewhere.
Would this guy yet have the Aztecs cannibalizing their neighbors?
How is Methodism in the US at the moment? I mean in terms of numbers - not that that is the be all and end all of course, but usually the most immediate evidence that a church or a denomination is losing its way is that it starts haemorrhaging members.
8 million or so
Hopefully he’ll come to his senses and repent.
Maybe God will grab him.
Left to himself, he’s not going to repent. He thinks he’s right.
So about 3% of the population, tops?
Is that going up, down, or staying much the same?
It’s definitely going down, especially since it’s closer to the 7 million side of 8 million. When the EUB and Methodists combined in 1969 or so, it was at 13 million. Given a population growth rate of 2.5%, keeping their own kids, the denomination should be in the neighborhood of 20 million or so. It’s closer to 7.9 million, so they’ve lost 66% since the 1969 merger.
Not so hot is it?
Better than here in the UK. Methodists made up about 8% of the population twenty years back. I dont know what it is now, but at the current rate of decline they reckon the Church will be at zero members by as early as 2020.
we went from 8% to 3%
nothing to brag about
and we’re estimated to be gone by 2050
however, mainlines will die if they don’t get their morality in line
As for basic morality, well if that is wrong any organisation will eventually fail. It's one thing that gives me hope about the gay lobby :)
other denominations have failed in the past. there’s nothing preventing the failure of Methodism or any denomination if they stop being a place where the light of Jesus can be found
There’s a lot about them that I love, but, in my heart, I know that within 5 years I’ll no longer be a United Methodist. My only concern is my calling to minister and going someplace that’s both an improvement and that will acknowledge my calling.
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