Methodists' focus on activism may be clearing out pews

Minneapolis StarTribune (aka The Red Star) ^ | 6/05/06 | Katherine Kersten - Columnist

[MplsSteve]

The United Methodist Church of Minnesota, which held its annual conference in St. Cloud last week, has a knack for detecting and embracing the "social justice" cause du jour.

When Minnesota Methodist leaders congregate, buzzwords like "celebrating diversity" are generally front and center. "I believe when you embrace diversity," ran a recent United Methodist advertisement, "you embrace God."

In the past, Methodist leaders have often focused on racism and sexism. This year, however, gay issues jumped to center stage. The Minnesota Annual Conference outdid itself, passing nine petitions on various aspects of the topic.

[MplsSteve]

I love Katherine Kersten, the sole voice of Republicanism and conservatism at the Red Star. Rarely does she write a column that doesn't result in many letters of denunciation written to the editorial staff.

This one is no exception. But truth be told, I wasn't aware the Methodists had swung so firmly to the Left. Were they always this way? Or is this a more recent turn in their thinking?

Comments or opinions - anyone?

[Recovering_Democrat]

YUP. I quit the Methodists (in part) because of the national leadership's leftist bent.

[3dognight]

I just read this article in our employee break room and thought WOW. The lefties must be breaking keyboards with their angry reply letters as we speak. The numbers speak for themselves.

[lesser_satan]

But truth be told, I wasn't aware the Methodists had swung so firmly to the Left. Were they always this way? Or is this a more recent turn in their thinking?

I wasn't aware there were any Methodists here at all, I thought we were all Lutheran and Catholic with a small smattering of Jews. >8^)>~

[2banana]

Clearly, Methodist Church leaders are an energetic lot. Why, then, is United Methodist membership heading south? Here in Minnesota, church membership fell from 121,000 in 1980 to 95,000 in 2000, according to the Atlanta-based Glenmary Research Center. Minnesota Methodists reported 86,000 members in 2004.

Nationally, the United Methodist Church lost about 3 million members between the late 1960s and 2003, according to church figures -- a nearly 30 percent drop. During the same period the U.S. population grew by roughly one-third.

Well, that certainly is NOT working. But liberals will run their churches or businesses into the ground before they change (becuase they just know they are right and EVERYONE else is wrong). And "conservative" churches like the Baptist are growing by leaps and bounds...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I don't know if I've quit. I quit going.

[PetroniusMaximus]

From the article:

"But there may be a deeper answer. Most people -- whatever their politics -- don't flock to churches, synagogues and mosques to find outlets for political and social activism. Instead, they seek answers to life's most profound questions: What is the purpose of my life? What is the meaning of my suffering? What is my connection to the transcendent, to God?

If rank-and-file church members believe their leaders attend too little to these eternal questions, and focus too much on political advocacy, they may look elsewhere for spiritual nourishment."



"Every tree that my Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." - Jesus

[bcsco]

My wife & I quit the ELCA last year for exactly these reasons; their anti-war, anti-Bush and pro-gay stances. I had enough pulpit politicizing and almost walked out on a visiting pastor one Sunday.

Now, we're back to the LCMS and loving it.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Already posted here

:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1643539/posts

[IncPen]

About 15 years ago we were attending a Methodist church which had a large German congregation. I wasn't impressed with the Pastors' politics, such as they were.

Then one Christmas they had a service with 'updated' hymns, in which they rewrote the songs to be gender neutral and 'affirming'.

I took out a red marker and wrote in big letters on the back of the pew envelope: "This is how the Nazis got started" and never went back.

[rod1]

Same here.

[arkfreepdom]

The Catholic church has benifitted from this as well.

[GOP Poet]

Hilarious! Good for you.

[Retired Chemist]

It's why the Evangelical churches are growing by leaps and bounds

[mewzilla]

Methodists' focus on activism may be clearing out pews

Not just the Methodists...

[Gingersnap]

There is almost a sort of calculus for this type thing: the more active in social justice a denomination becomes, the steeper the decline in membership.

And of course we see that opposite is often also true. Denominations or off-shoots that embrace a more traditional view find themselves growing.

Although I'm Anglican myself, I can hardly wait until the ECUSA membership becomes so thin that it is no longer considered "mainline".

[flaglady47]

President George Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton are both Methodists.

[Little Ray]

Yup. The leadership of the United Methodist Church embraces all sorts of liberal "social justice" BS.

But they don't shove it down the member's throats, which makes it surivivable. Members don't have to abide by it. As long as the theology is sound, I don't care about "social justice."

[oyez]

All "social justice" amounts to is the establishment socialism. If my church started going an about peace and justice, my family would be out of there in a New York Second. The church has the function of spreading the gospel and to minister to is congregation. Nothing more.

[BnBlFlag]

The Methodist Church has been trending Left since the thirties. The worst (and final) mistake te Methodist Episcopal Church (South) made was to merge with the Northern Methodists to form the Leftist United Methodist Church.
My Mom was raised an Episcopalian and My Dad a Southern Methodist.I was "Christened" in the Methodist Church and Confirmed in the Episcopal Church. Today, I don't know which one is worse.