One article argues that developments in science are going to make our current understanding of Adam and Eve, original sin, salvation and eschatology look like the old doctrines of purgatory, indulgences, Papal authority, and transubstantiation. In the second article, the author argues for a looser stance on premarital sex. “If I read Ecclesiastes and the... Continue Reading

Small churches may not have the budget to hire other staff, but you have people. Once you have identified true leaders, and once you’re clear on your mission vision and strategy, you need to release people to accomplish it. Try to do it all yourself and you will burn out, leave or simply be ineffective.... Continue Reading

“Our attempts to negotiate the return of our property from the (Evangelical Presbyterian Church) congregation have not been fruitful, therefore we are left with no other option,” Dunn said.   The Presbytery of Boise, the local administrative arm of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), filed legal action Thursday afternoon in Canyon County to recover Boone Memorial Presbyterian... Continue Reading

“In response to our common belief that God’s grace and love is available to all persons, the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church states our belief that the United Methodist Church is in error on the subject of  ’homosexuality’s incompatibility with Christian teaching,’”   The United Methodist Judicial Council is set to decide on... Continue Reading

Earlier this month, Highland Park Presbyterian, which has approximately 4,000 members, filed suit in Dallas County District Court over the rights to the church property.   The leadership of the largest Texas-based congregation belonging to Presbyterian Church (USA) has recommended that the church leave the mainline denomination. In a unanimous decision, the Session for Highland... Continue Reading

I was recently talking to an elder who has left the Church of Scotland.  He spoke of feeling free and the shackles coming off…. It may be that you can operate with the shackles of a bureaucratic Presbyterianism in a declining church in an increasingly secular culture, desperately trying to relive the glories of the... Continue Reading

The declaration and questions outline the most pressing concerns raised by the group. CSW said they include the government’s continued refusal to extend official recognition to newer religious groups, the approval or denial of legal rights to registered groups based on perceived political support and cooperation, and the sweeping authority over religious organizations and activities... Continue Reading

Two suicide bombers who thought they were doing the will of Allah killed 81 people including many children.  81 men, women and children killed as they left church!  Can you imagine the horror and hellishness of that?  And yet if you live in the West, if you blink you will have missed it.   Last... Continue Reading

Another primate, Archbishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt, launched a harsh critique of the communion leadership’s unwillingness to deal with issues. Successive archbishops of Canterbury have tried to hold the communion together, but failed to use their influence to bring cohesion to autonomous provinces, he said.   Primates and bishops from the Global South attending a... Continue Reading

The departures, mostly for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, have been ongoing for some time now, but the cumulative impact is adding up. ECO reports that 60 congregations so far have formally joined its ranks, with more either in discernment or on the way.   The exodus from... Continue Reading