Dirty Alabama-West Florida United Methodist Deal

In the church split wars it is hard to imagine dirty dealings on a par with what went on during the Episcopal and Anglican conflict. The United Methodists (UMC) have pulled a move that would make Episcopalians proud.

From the Christian Post,

In 2019, at a special session of the General Conference, the UMC added a temporary measure to the Book of Discipline known as paragraph 2553, which created a process for churches to leave the denomination due to its decades-long debate over LGBT issues.

From 2019 to 2023, approximately 7,500 congregations left the UMC, with most of them affiliating with the recently launched theologically conservative Global Methodist Church.

According to numbers compiled by UM News, 248 congregations based in the Alabama-West Florida Conference were granted disaffiliation during that four-year time period.

In October 2023, 42 churches filed suit against the Alabama-West Florida Conference, arguing that the conference was wrongfully delaying the dismissal process.

“After laying out the plan by which Plaintiffs could disaffiliate with their property and invoking Plaintiffs’ reliance on that plan, Defendants have now revoked that plan and are attempting to prevent their disaffiliation, exercising leverage over Plaintiffs by holding their church buildings and property hostage,” the lawsuit claimed.

A couple of weeks later, however, the Montgomery County Circuit Court ruled against the departing congregations, arguing that, as a secular court, it held no jurisdiction in the matter.

And finally the Supreme Court of Alabama chimes in, 

Alabama Supreme Court rules against 44 churches trying to leave the UMC

“But the churches' central claims turn entirely on the interpretation of [paragraph] 2553 and whether their efforts to leave the UMC were consistent with that church law. Under existing First Amendment law and our precedent, that interpretive issue constitutes an ecclesiastical question that courts do not have jurisdiction to decide.”

Pray for those congregations that they wipe the dust from their feet and find alternative worship spaces.  

We have seen some lateral movement locally in the form of UMC members joining our ACNA church. 

 

Feed My Sheep

This Sunday's reading from the Revised Common Lectionary is Mark 6:30-34,53-56. Notice the huge gap.

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

So what did the Sunday pewsitters miss? Did they even notice?

They did not get to hear about the miracle of the loaves and fishes feeding 5000 men, and they did not hear about Jesus walking on the water. I guess those things were felt by the editors to possibly strain the listeners belief, and we can't have that. 

Serve us up the whole Gospel. After all, When Jesus said, "Feed my sheep", do you think he meant a watered down meal? 

 

 

The DOJ's Pro-Genital Mutilation Lawfare

Remember when politicians were frequently referring to "the children" as a group that must be cared for through various social programs? Remember when "It takes a village" to raise a child was the buzzword? Did you ever think that those politicians really understood what they were proposing?

Jesus had words of warning for us, 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,  but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:1-6 

While other countries are banning puberty blockers and genital mutilation surgeries for minors, the practice continues in much of the U.S. Many states are taking the lead in banning these procedures in children, but the federal Department of "Justice" is finding ways to intimidate people so that the practice can continue in spite of such laws. 

There is a case in Texas that is a particularly egregious example. 

From The Christian Post,

Such was the realization Dr. Eithan Haim had when he came forward after Texas legislators said ‘no’ to trans-ing children via a bill restricting so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors. Texas Children’s Hospital claimed that as a result of the liability risks that the approved legislation posed, they were ending the transgender program at the hospital. But the opposite was true. Speaking anonymously at first, Dr. Haim told Christopher Rufo in May 2023 that the hospital was continuing it in a stealthy manner. Among the atrocities still being carried out were surgical procedures to implant hormone blockers in children’s arms, some of whom were as young as 11. 

Even though he redacted the identities of the young patients being harmed, Dr. Haim is now being targeted by the federal government, leveling charges against him for allegedly exposing private information. The feds are now threatening this man with potentially 10 years in prison on what amounts to a technicality while doctors are chemically castrating children. What is encouraging though is that the general public has rallied behind the 34-year-old surgeon, raising over $1 million in funds via a crowdfunder for his legal defense expenses. 

According to nurse Vanessa Sivadge, it was because of the conviction of the Holy Spirit that she, too, knew she could not stay silent about the medical scandal that is trans-ing children. As she told Allie Beth Stuckey in a July 2 Relatable podcast interview, this was something that she came to understand as one of the “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” referencing Ephesians 2:10. 

Although she did not know Dr. Haim at the time, it was her testimony that corroborated what he exposed. FBI agents showed up at Sivadge’s home, and tried to intimidate her into cooperating with them. Sivadge also revealed how doctors fraudulently miscategorized the treatments in order to do these procedures as a legal workaround given the ban that Texas Medicaid had instituted on such practices. 

I understand the law that the DOJ is applying. It is called a violation of HIPAA rules that were made to protect patients' private information. I suspect the physician accessed the hospital computerized record system for some of his information. This should not be done without a patient's consent or a consultation request from another physician. I also suspect that someone in the hospital's administration or staff reported this as retribution. Believe me, I know how this works. 

The doctor should be hailed as a hero for stopping these crimes against children. Instead, he faces persecution by the DOJ and probably by the hospital as well. 

The lawyers in the DOJ would be well advised to take heed of Jesus' words.

 

Herodias the antihero

This Sunday's reading form Mark 6:14-29 contains the gruesome story of the execution of John the Baptist. It is one of those stories that when you first hear it as a child, you really remember it.

King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’

  For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’ Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

This was the brutal world that Jesus lived in. Jesus had to be aware of the fate of his cousin.

As for Herodias, she was divorced from her first husband and married his brother, Herod Antipas. Jewish law forbade a man to marry his brother's divorced wife. 

Divorce, an unlawful marriage, and conspiracy to commit murder make Herodias quite the antihero.

Church Weddings a Rarity in England

As The Organization in England continues its debate on same-sex marriages, it might be good to look at some wedding statistics from that island.

From The Telegraph,

 A record 204,982 marriages were sealed in civil ceremonies in 2022, crossing the 200,000 threshold for the first time, new data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

Almost 250,000 couples tied the knot that year in total, marking a 12.3 per cent increase on 2019 levels.

But religious marriages – those held on Church of England grounds or in other places of worship – are continuing their pattern of steady decline since they reached a peak of more than 400,000-a-year in the early 1970s.

Just 41,915 took place in 2022. Civil ceremony services, meanwhile, have proved much more resilient.

On the one hand, the soaring cost of church weddings is likely to be having an impact. 

With couples now spending  £20,775 for the big day on average, according to wedding planning app Bridebook, a scaled-back ceremony at the register office is a more financially palatable option.

On the other, the collapse in religious weddings is observed alongside the waning of religious affiliation more broadly.

In the 2021 census, less than half of the population (46.2 per cent) described themselves as “Christian” for the first time.

Religious ceremonies made up just 17 per cent of the total in 2022 – a record low outside of the pandemic, when the number of weddings plummeted due to successive lockdowns.

The legalisation of same-sex marriages in 2014 has also had an effect, just 1.2 per cent of which were held in religious premises in the latest year of data.

It remains against the law for Anglican clergy to wed same-sex couples in church, but many now offer “prayers of dedication” for those who want to “give thanks for their love in faith before God”.

It is, however, possible for homosexual couples to hold a civil partnership ceremony in a religious building that has been licensed by the council.

A record 7,800 same-sex marriages were held in 2022, of which only 91 were on religious premises of any kind.

The data also show opposite-sex couples electing to cohabit before taking their vows more than ever before, up from 59.6 per cent in 1994 to 90 per cent in 2022.

The wait before a first marriage is also growing longer, with the median age across men and women up by almost a decade from 23.3 years in 1970 to 32 in 2022.

The unchurched are not interested in a church wedding, and the homosexuals generally are not so inclined either. 

I wonder what the funeral statistics show.

 

The Twelve Sadhus

In this Sunday's reading from we hear about Jesus teaching in his home town, and then sending out the twelve to heal unclean spirits. 

He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

In India people like those Jesus sent out two by two are called Sadhus and are typically by themselves unless accompanied by a disciple. They survive on handouts. Jesus' disciples were to survive by faith as well as the kindness of strangers. Jesus warned them that they would face rejection. In today's age, followers of Jesus face rejection as well. While we may shake the dust off our feet in such a case, we must continue to pray that those unclean spirits depart that house.

Church of England members may seek "Alternative Spiritual Oversight"

 Back during the war of Anglican independence here in the United States, the Episcopal organization tried to keep the orthodox from leaving by offering "Alternative Episcopal Oversight". By this process, a congregation that did not approve of their bishop's position on same sex marriage or blessings could have a bishop from another diocese come in and "oversee" certain functions. History shows how well that worked... it didn't. Tens of thousands of Bible believing Christians eventually left and many formed the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).  

Now the "Church" of England (referred to here as "That Organization in England" or TOiE) is witnessing the same thing as they creep towards same-sex blessings and weddings. A group called the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) is offering "Alternative Spiritual Oversight" to those who wave the Bible at revisionist bishops.

"Many clergy and/or PCCs now feel in impaired fellowship with their bishops as a result of their bishop’s support for the Prayers of Love and Faith.

While they recognise the ongoing formal and legal role of their bishops, the reality is that many people (both lay and clergy) are feeling isolated, and long for support and spiritual oversight from people continuing to hold the biblical and Anglican view of marriage.

CEEC is therefore facilitating the provision of such support in order to help clergy and parishes receive spiritual oversight without having to look outside of the Church of England. This is a temporary provision which will support evangelicals until a settlement based on structural provision is made available.

We are pleased that a group of Honorary Assistant bishops have agreed to initiate this ministry and we will be discerning who God might be calling to join them in making this provision as non-consecrated overseers. We have appointed a diverse panel of experienced leaders from across the evangelical constituency (spanning charismatics and conservatives, egalitarians and complementarians) to discern whom God might be calling to such an role. This panel will be chaired by CEEC President Julian Henderson (the previous Bishop of Blackburn) and includes two other Honorary Assistant bishops. CEEC is inviting suggestions of people who might be called to an overseer ministry. 

Clergy and/or parishes, seeking alternative spiritual oversight, must continue to be accountable for safeguarding to their diocesan bishop and safeguarding officers.

This provision is both informal and temporary and will serve as a stepping-stone to the formal and permanent provision which we hope and pray will be agreed as part of a new structural arrangement and settlement."

"Temporary" is right if things go as they did in the U.S. 

The definition of insanity is....