The Implosion of The Church
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep - Jeremiah 23:1
Follow: Twitter | Instagram | Telegram | Truth Social | Podcast Membership|
Broadcasts: Rumble| HappyHour |This Wk wDrT | Brighteon | Bitchute | Tues Coffee
Learn about ECP: Health Center Cleveland, OH | Health Center Ventura, CA
Websites: DrTenpenny.com |Tenpenny Apparel| Tenpenny Supplements
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Genesis 6: 11-12 (NASB)
The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
2 Peter 3:8-9 (WEB)
The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Three articles that came out just before Christmas were jaw-dropping for me:
From the NYTimes: (need subscription)
Title: The United Methodist Church, America’s second-largest Protestant denomination, is in the final stages of a slow-motion rupture that has so far seen the departure of a quarter of the nation’s roughly 30,000 churches.
At issue for Methodists is the question of ordaining and marrying LGBTQ people, a topic that has splintered many other Protestant denominations and which Methodists have been debating for years.
Now, as the deadline approaches, [moved several times due to COVID-19] remaining congregations and leaders are taking stock of their losses and looking ahead to a future in which the denomination’s footprint in the United States will continue to shrink (even as it grows overseas, especially in Africa). In Texas, a historic stronghold for United Methodists, more than 40 percent of churches have left... Next year, Methodists plan to vote on what will likely be their lowest quarterly budget in 40 years.
The church has a number of openly gay clergy and two gay bishops.
Title: Pope Francis approves Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, but not for marriage
Pope Francis, 87, has made liberalization toward LGBTQ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy. Since he became pope in 2013, he has urged the decriminalization of homosexuality. When asked in 2013 about gay priests, he famously replied: "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"
“Monday's declaration is a major step forward for the church in regards to LGBTQ people,” said the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit priest who has advocated for the LGBTQ Catholic community.
Also from the NY Times: (subscription needed)
Title: Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples
The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis will allow priests to bless same-sex couples, his most definitive step yet to make the Roman Catholic Church more welcoming to LGBTQ Catholics and more reflective of his vision of a more pastoral, and less rigid, church.
On Oct. 31, Francis approved another document by Cardinal Fernández’s department, making clear that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents, and be witnesses at church weddings.
But the new Vatican declaration argued that this was an overly narrow view of blessings, which are intended to evoke God’s presence in all facets of life and can be bestowed on people, objects of worship, places of work, ships, and much else. It makes the case that blessings are “a pastoral resource to be valued rather than a risk or a problem.” (see New Agey Christianity, part 1)
LifeSite News, a conservative outlet based in North America, wrote Monday that the document was issued “in contradiction to the unchangeable Catholic teaching that the church cannot bless sinful relationships.”
The normalization of sexual orientation because society says so doesn’t make it right in the eyes of God. But the trend has been headed in this direction for more than a few years.
I wrote at the State of Theology surveys in 2023. You can read the three parts here, here, and here. Survey participants (2022) were given 33 different statements and then were asked to assess their level of agreement using a four-point, forced-choice scale (strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree). There are many ways to sort the data, including if the respondent defined themself as Evangelical, Black Protestant, Mainline (Methodist, Lutheran, or Episcopalian), Roman Catholic, or Other.
I encourage you to go to The State of Theology website and play with the data of all the statements.
Statement No. 27: Gender identity is a matter of choice.
2016: 38% agree
2018: 38% agree
2020: 38% agree
2022: 42% agree
Statement No. 28: The Bible’s condemnation of homosexual behavior doesn’t apply today.
2016: 42% agree
2018: 44% agree
2020: 40% agree
2022: 46% agree
Statement No. 31: Religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth.
2018: 32% agree
2020: 23% agree
2022: 37% agree.
You can see from the trend of just these three questions where America is headed, and it’s not good from a Biblical/moral perspective.
And now, when the leadership of two of the longest-standing, largest Christian bodies is sliding in the direction of secular tolerance – Methodists and Catholics - how much longer will God tarry? Recall Romans 1:18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
What does the Bible say about homosexuality? A lot, actually. Here are just four of quite a few verses: (emphasis mine)
Leviticus 18:22 - You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
Leviticus 20:13 - If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Romans 1:24-27 - For this reason, God delivered them to sexual impurity as they followed the lusts of their hearts and dishonored their bodies with one another. They exchanged God's truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God delivered them to degrading passions as their females exchanged their natural sexual function for one that is unnatural. In the same way, their males also abandoned their natural sexual function toward females and burned with lust toward one another. Males committed indecent acts with males and received within themselves the appropriate penalty for their perversion.
Jude 1:7 - Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
The good news is that nearly a quarter of the nation’s roughly 30,000 Methodist churches have voted to exit the umbrella organization. According to the NYTimes article, conservative churches have launched a rival denomination, the Global Methodist Church, which says it will not ordain or marry gay people. As of fall 2023, the new denomination said that more than 3,000 congregations had joined.
Let’s pray this isn’t jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Let’s pray this new denomination will NOT embrace that 501C3 nonsense that got the church into the frying pan in the first place.
Let’s pray that the congregations of these churches will embrace Bible-preaching, discipleship-teaching, Spirit-filled pastors who are not just hirelings.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Father, as many of the old-line churches are breaking apart along cultural fault lines, encourage their leadership to follow You and Your Word. As they are standing against secular dogma, scoop them into Your arms. Give them Wisdom to find a new way, Your way...the old way. Give them eyes to see and ears to hear You clearly. Give their congregants a new and inspired fire in the belly to do what is right in Your eyes. Thank you, Lord, for the ones who have left to follow Your ways, and not the Ways of the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get in shape? Gluco-control will help balance your blood sugar and reduce cravings.
I believe the American people and others have been subject to mass formation in that all the TV shows and commercials are promoting the family in these ways - gay parents, mixed families, single parents, kids transitioning etc. it’s in every commercial and show. The thought is if you see it enough, it will become normal to you. Same with pharmaceuticals, every commercial is a drug promotion. People who watch TV constantly are lulled to sleep with it. I woke up to what the agenda was finally after the Covid lies and began questioning it all. It is so obvious to me now. Stay focused on the truth of the Bible, read everything & think for yourself. If something doesn’t make sense, it’s probably bad or wrong. It’s hard to distrust so much, but if you aren’t thinking through things, then you are one of the asleep. We are in a fight for our minds.
Very well written. 40 years ago I was very critical of church hoppers albeit I did not know why they made that choice. In the last ten years we have done the same. It is very difficult to find a church that does expository teaching.