Posted on 06/13/2023 6:13:41 AM PDT by jaydubya2
NDIANA (WNDU) - The size of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church (INUMC) is somewhat shrinking after nearly 200 congregations cut ties with the Protestant denomination.
Last week, the annual INUMC meeting saw 174 disaffiliations approved. Regional and local pastors cite human sexuality viewpoints as the main reason behind the split.
Pastor Vickie Van Nevel, of First United Methodist Church in South Bend, said current UMC rules forbid pastors to perform same-sex marriages within a church and don’t allow openly gay Methodist pastors to minister.
“As we’ve all spoken, there are plenty of pastors who’ve not come out because they know what the ramifications are,” remarked Van Nevel.
Late last year, an additional 100 or so churches left INUMC. 700 Hoosier churches are still affiliated with the United Methodist Church, according to Rev. Dr. Marti Lundy, Superintendent of the North District of the INUMC.
Van Nevel’s congregation isn’t leaving.
(Excerpt) Read more at wndu.com ...
False teachers...Jesus speaks of this often. The devil uses sex as his biggest tool to destroy everything....even the churches.
Should have read “perverted sex...”
That’s interesting. I haven’t heard that story before.
“Van Nevel’s congregation isn’t leaving.”... “Pastor Vickie”...
Why am I not surprised by that?
An example of the healthy flesh leaving the infection.
If they’re still claiming a 501c3 then it’s merely virtue signaling.
My great, great grandfather helped to found a Methodist Church out here in a very small town in the Bible belt around 1850.
My family was graciously invited back to celebrate its 150th anniversary in the early 2000’s.
I took my father who was in his eighties and who had left his Methodist church for a Pentecostal church.
But it was a moving moment as this church appeared to be true to its foundations as the Methodist churches that my father had attended had long since fallen away.
But then again that was twenty years ago.
Why do some people demand that a former faith change instead of admitting their beliefs do not conform to that faith, and then go out and form a new faith/church/religion.
Is this another case of “follow the money”. Is it just that they want the property formed by the faith as it was for centuries? And instead of honoring that faith, they want the property and the different faith as well?
Over and over there were reports up and down the colonies of people getting excited that Asbury was coming to town. There'd be a packed house with the windows open in part for the people outside to be able to hear. Over and over the people outside told each other they couldn't wait until Asbury finished and came outside so they could congratulate him on his awesome sermon, only to be surprised that it probably wasn't Asbury. (remember Hoosier's nickname was Black Harry LOL)
Hoosier was known to preach abolition to the whites, even wile preaching in the deep south. Of course, the blacks amen'd him. Then he'd preach abstinence to the single blacks and told the married blacks to quit cheating on their wives. He pulled no punches with anyone, yet he was very respected.
This is part of America's (and England's) shift back towards God in the First Great Awakening. This is part of the whites being emboldened to stand up to the crown even though King George was technically the head of the Anglican Church (a reason Methodists and other non-Anglican churches gained in popularity). This is part of why the U.S. was thiiisssss close to being an abolitionist country even with the Declaration of Independence (look up Jefferson's first draft) and a decade alter with the Constitution. According to Jefferson (and IIRC Hamilton) in both the Declaration convention and the Constitution convention, 11 of the 13 states were willing to start the country getting rid of slavery. Only Georgia and South Carolina put their foot down and said they weren't starting a new country unless slavery could continue. IMHO, that's an amazing almost accomplishment for the 18th century and led the way to things like later the Slave Trade Act of 1807 banning the import of new slaves beginning in 1808 (and of course eventual abolition as the abolition movement kept growing).
So what happens next? What if those of us who are Christians today take on Hoosier's live it like ya mean it attitude?
There are quite a few Methodist congregations that haven’t drunk from the Whore of Babylon’s cup. They’re leaving the UMC as fast as they can extricate themselves from the corrupted episcopacy. Pray for them. Blessings in Christ!
The ‘United Methodist’ Church doesn’t seem too ‘United’. In fact, they should rename “Divided Methodist Church’.
The big business side of the various Christian denominations from the oldest and largest to the newest and smallest makes me very fearful of trusting my immortal soul to damn near any of them. They all seem to have become very fluid in their beliefs & dogma. What was a mortal sin just a few years ago is now part of the Sunday lesson.
I now believe, me & my Bible are much better off on our own.
I grew up in the country. Church was a part of the town. People doing things for others in the town. Money tithed stayed in the town.
After not going to Church in college, I searched for the fellowship of the community in church again as I began my adult life. Meaningful helping of others, positive messages, positive growth, etc. Found nothing of the sort. Sermons are hour long solicitations for donations. Lot of political fighting - left and right like everything else. The whole going to Church scene in the suburbs is not what it used to be. Hard to explain. No longer for me.
“plenty of pastors who’ve not come out because they know what the ramifications are”.
Might have found a better way to put this.
Not even that - they want to alter or change the faith, to be something it’s not, and cannot be.
Whether they are deluded, mislead or inherently that evil, they (willingly or otherwise) intend on destroying the church.
These actions of the ‘tolerant’ are demonic in origin.
Church’suse to represent morals
Now the church’s seek donations and to hell with morals
The story just came out yesterday afternoon.
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