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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Double portion is really only two-thirds | 2 Kin 2:9 | Curtnsally | 33955 | ||
Hi Indiana Just a sidebar... I take it you are fellow believer in the PCUSA. Glad to know there's another one on this forum, as I am too. Actually, the vote is going quite well for evangelicals in the PCUSA right now, running about 2 to 1 in favor of leaving the "fidelity and chastity" verbage in the Book of Order. God is more mighty than the one of this world! I will also relate that I am on a search committee for a new pastor for our church, Central Pres Baltimore (www.Centralpc.org) Our pastor accepted a call to Highland Park Dallas, 3rd largest in the PCUSA... God is placing strong evangelical pastors in the "high steeple" churches of the denom... a great sign! Anyway, I have been very pleasantly surprised by the quality and number of evangelical pastors in the denom. I think we get disillusioned by all the noise coming from a very small group within the denom who are well versed at manipulating the system to their advantage. Did you know that the number of "more light" and "covenant network" churches... the openly pro gay churches... number less than 100 out of 12,000 churches in the denomination? Contrast this to the thousands of churches that have pro-actively signed on to the "Confessing Church" movement (the pro-evangelical position). In my study of the denomination, I have seen a very strong undercurrent moving back toward the authority of Scripture, the deity of Christ and the core values of the faith. While our church is often the lone voice in the very liberal Baltimore Presbytery, we did manage to get one of our elders elected to represent us at the next General Assembly. This is the first in almost 50 years. Though our church is one of the largest, we have traditionally been boxed out by the liberals. Not this time! My encouragement is growing. By the way, we anoint folks with oil at our healing service... yes, in the PCUSA! Blessings Curt |
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2 | Double portion is really only two-thirds | 2 Kin 2:9 | stjones | 34064 | ||
Hi, Curt; I'm happy to say our church joined the CCM several months ago. You may recall a pastor named Walt Ungerer who ran for Moderator a few years ago - a staunch evangelical. He was our senior pastor until he retired last year. Many congregations and presbyteries do remain faithful but the bureaucracy and the seminaries it supports seem beyond redemption. About a quarter of the "people in the pews" support the current pro-gay initiative while half of the ordained ministers do. Support is even greater among ministers who do not pastor a church. Come to think of it, I guess that's a good thing - the most misguided ones are not in a position to mislead a congregation week in and week out with their screwball theology. ;-) Still, the Covenant Network has promised to bring this up every year until they succeed. After a while, you'd think charges would be brought for willful disruption of the "peace, unity, and purity of the church" (a de-frockable offense, I believe). I'm not holding my breath. :-( Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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3 | Double portion is really only two-thirds | 2 Kin 2:9 | Curtnsally | 34269 | ||
Hi Indy I do remember Walt Ungerer... and we supported his nomination. One of our members is on the Board of Presby's Pro-Life, who I believe also supported his nominaton. Anyway, I can certainly relate to your frustration... b u t, I will take humble exception to your statement "bureaucracy and the seminaries it supports seem beyond redemption". Absolutely true, they s e e m beyond redemption, but as we both know, nothing is beyond the power of God! He is sovereign, even over the PCUSA. And I know you believe this, so don't go feeling like I'm calling you out... just making a statement about the biggness of our God and the smallness of the issue from that perspective. One of the things that we do struggle with is that the evangelicals keep trickling out, albeit for absolutely good reasons, but leaving behind fewer to press the battle. I don't say this as a downer, because I respect the decision of those who feel called to move on. I do believe that the victory, at some point, will be doubly sweet just because it has been such a long uphill battle. Right now, the Covenant Network is getting it derrier handed to it with the vote in Presbyteries, and there are several overtures coming up for next GA that will try to table the issue for 10 years. This might be the factor that sends Covenant Networkers to some other venue for their agenda. I agree that many of the offenses are defrockable, if we could get the PJC to do its job. Slowly, but surely, the money is drying up and Louisville is withering under budget cuts. it is also squeezing out some of the liberal cling-ons who are not active pastors. This will ultimately, I think, give the evangelicals an opportunity to regain a voice at the national level. As I mentioned in my previous note, we have just gotten one of our elders elected as a commissioner to GA. In ultraliberal Baltimore Presbytery, this is unheard of. But one voice at a time, the denomination will be (and is being)brought back. My family is Scotch-Irish Presbyterian back to the 1600's, with many pastors along the way settling from Philadelphia all the way down the Shenandoah valley and beyond. We built churches, founded schools and sent missionaries to far off places when they really were far off. I can tell you... I'm not giving up the denomination to a bunch of liberal new-age whackos who have a social agenda and don't know Jesus... I'll stay and teach five point Calvinism to whoever walks in the door, and when I'm done, either they'll know Jesus or they'll kill me! But that's just me. (Scots always were a little militant) As always, we continue to fight the good fight, try to love everyone into the Kingdom, and try to be faithful witnesses. Blessings Curt |
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