This is why my wife and I left First Presbyterian Church (USA). While we had a good local congregation and Pastor, the National Presbytery were a bunch of Libs masquerading as evolved Christians.
Sadly, we also recently left our second church. They have embraced the “Seeker Friendly” Growth movement espoused by Rick Warren and other mega church leaders. The goal of these churches is not to offend anyone. The result is a Sunday Morning Coffee Shop with watered down, self-help messages. Sickening!
Please note: the Connectional Table has no authority to do anything beyond propose legislation, and General Conference will smack that proposal down again in 2016. Also please note that the CT vote was 17-15, and was packed with theological liberals.
As for the UMC itself, we’re a ship that steers slow, but we’re turning away from our liberal establishment past- Asbury Theological Seminary now graduates more UMC clergy than any two of our official seminaries, and United Theological Seminary is an official seminary in the midst of an evangelical renaissance.
Your prayers for us are always appreciated.
The goal of these churches is not to offend anyone. The result is a Sunday Morning Coffee Shop with watered down, self-help messages
...socializing under the vapid rubric of God...this is not limited to any one contemporary denomination, it affects all of them...including the Roman Catholic Church...
...I don’t disagree that church is a place to socialize, but all that should be done outside the sanctuary, or whatever one chooses to call the ‘worship space’, so as to maintain the concept of ‘divinity’as opposed to ‘secularity’...ditto with the language used in the worship itself, it should reflect an linguistic element not seen in common parlance...but of course, try selling all this to the current crop of congregants at any suburban church of any denomination, where the unstated creed is...’isn’t God lucky to have such people as ourselves for worship...’