The country’s largest evangelical denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, announced this week that their membership fell for the eighth straight year in 2014. But as I recently explained, American Christianity, particularly evangelicalism, is neither dead nor dying.

There are numerous evangelical denominations, though, and many are thriving. The Assemblies of God, the second-largest evangelical denomination in the United States, reported their 25th year of growth this week.

Still, there is a correct perception that many evangelical denominations are declining, even as the number of evangelicals overall is growing.

Here are three ways to square that statistical circle…

Read it all from Ed Stetzer.

In summary:

Canonical change is coming which will allow people of the same-sex to marry. It will involve the removal of the theological description of what marriage is from Canon 31 (this bit: “The Doctrine of this Church is that Marriage is a physical, spiritual and mystical union of one man and one woman created by their mutual consent of heart, mind and will thereto, and is a holy and lifelong estate instituted of God“). There will be a conscience clause which will mean no clergy have to marry anyone they don’t want to. It will take two readings of the new canon in 2016 and in 2017 for the new economy to come into place. For the record – I dissent completely from this decision.

We must be grateful for the gracious way the Primus, David Chillingworth, tried to give some space to those who would disagree with this new direction. Sadly, there was little sign of grace from the majority of Synod members towards the Biblical vision of marriage which perhaps a quarter of Synod subscribe to. I hoped there might be some compromise, but those who want change scented victory and they got it.

I’m doubtful that the vision of “visible unity with functional diversity” is now attainable. This was the most extreme outcome imaginable, but at least we now have clarity and we can begin to plan accordingly.

Though I know that the Episcopal Church in the USA and the Anglican Church of Canada will no doubt applaud this innovation, I’m most interested in hearing how Christians in the two thirds will respond. I have a feeling it might not be positive.

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The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church has today voted to begin a process for change in relation to its Canon on Marriage. It has therefore instructed the Church’s Faith and Order Board to begin the two year process which may lead towards canonical change. That change would potentially allow the marriage of same gendered couples in Church in late 2017. The option which Synod voted for states:

Removal of section 1 of Canon 31. This option would remove section 1 from Canon 31* in its entirety so that the Canon was silent on the question of a doctrine of marriage.

General Synod also decided to add a conscience clause that ensures that no cleric would be obliged to solemnise a marriage against their conscience.

Commenting on the decision by General Synod today, The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church says “Our General Synod has taken two important steps forward today. We have decided that we wish to consider possible change to our Marriage Canon. We have identified one possible expression of that change. This potentially creates a situation in which Same-Sex marriages could be celebrated in churches of the Scottish Episcopal Church. That would also allow our clergy to enter into same-sex marriages. It is important to realise that at this point this is an indicative decision only. Any change to the Canon will require the normal two year process and two thirds majorities will be required. That process will begin at General Synod 2016 and cannot be complete until General Synod 2017.”

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A judge has ruled that a diocese in Texas which broke away from The Episcopal Church over theological differences is the rightful owner of its church property.

Judge John Chupp of Tarrant County ruled Wednesday that All Saints Episcopal Church belongs to the…Diocese of Fort Worth rather than the national denomination.

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The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane and Primus spoke of the Scottish Episcopal Church’s relationships and role within the world wide Church saying “Within our membership of the Anglican Communion, one of our most important and historic relationships is with The Episcopal Church of the United States. It’s historic because their first bishop, Samuel Seabury was consecrated in 1784 by the Scottish Bishops. In ten days time I shall go to Salt Lake City for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. It would be an exaggeration to say that I am greeted like one of the Pilgrim Fathers. But the feeling that we are an important and valued part of their history is very much alive today. When I go there on your behalf, I am greeted and honoured in that spirit.” Bishop David spoke about the role and responsibilities of the Office of Primus and highlighted a conference he attended earlier this year in explaining “in March this year, I responded to an invitation from Archbishop Thabo, Primate of Southern Africa, to attend what became known as the Eco-Bishops Conference in Hermanus, South Africa. We have had a tentative relationship around ecological/environmental issues with South Africa. I went partly to foster that link. Most of those attending came from parts of the developing world where climate change isn’t just a matter of debate but is a daily reality of life. I was particularly impressed by the contribution of those representing the indigenous people of the world ”“ particularly the indigenous people of Northern Canada. They have a way of seeing themselves in God’s creation which is revelatory for us ”“ but which also calls us back to explore again our roots in Celtic spirituality.”

In conclusion Bishop David said “I have also been serving as Chair of the Reference Group for the Continuing Indaba movement which attempts to develop a culture of ”˜honest conversation across difference’ right across the Communion. Continuing Indaba has attempted to foster conversation between provinces ”“ more recently it has moved towards conversation within provinces. We recognise that while ”˜headline’ disagreements in the Communion are often seen as inter-provincial, every province experiences and must work with its own diversity. Our own Cascade Conversations are part of that broader movement. That movement in turn is linked to reconciliation as one of four ministry priorities of the present Archbishop of Canterbury.”

The Rt Rev Dr John Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh, followed by speaking about the link of friendship and partnership between the Diocese of Edinburgh and Cape Coast, Ghana

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I have often said that there are two, or indeed more than two, dialogues involved here.

There is a dialogue with our diversity. We weave together in our lives and the make-up of our Church different strands of theological and church tradition. But it is the complex of issues around human sexuality above all which have the potential to turn that diversity from enrichment into division. Our Cascade process of dialogue shaped a space in which our diversity might be spoken and heard. It was a space for the kind of speech which is tentative because it is sincere and speaks of the deepest things in our lives.

There is a dialogue with our tradition – with our reading of scripture, with our theology and with our social and moral teaching. We created another kind of space in the report of the Doctrine Committee – conceptual space for consideration of our tradition. We shall discuss that during this meeting.

We are not yet in a legislative space – one in which we make canonical decisions. But we might say that this year we enter into a deliberative space when we decide whether or not we wish to consider change and what kind of change that might be.

Most of all we need to discern what the spirit may be saying to us at this time – speaking to us through one another, speaking to us through scripture and our tradition of faith, speaking to us and challenging us through the extraordinary social changes taking place around us.

Read it all [pdf]

Tasmania’s Anglican Church is the latest organisation to ramp up its focus on domestic violence.

Members of the church will be trained to recognise the signs of domestic violence and how to respond.

Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, said the Church wanted to deal with the issue head on.

“What we would like to do is better equip our people, both our ministers and our lay people, so that when they are in contact with people who are suffering domestic or family violence, and also with the people who are committing the violence, [they are] wise and trained,” he said.

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We are living through a period of extraordinarily rapid social change. I was in Dublin two weeks ago. It is the city of my birth. It was a remarkable experience to be there in the immediate aftermath of the Constitutional Referendum on same-sex marriage. One of the most conservative and Catholic countries in Europe voted decisively in favour of this change. No wonder the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin reflected that this called for a “reality check” among the churches.

A number of factors have brought that change about. Ireland’s young population certainly made its presence felt. It is clear that people’s views are being changed by their life experience. Irish Times journalist Fintan O’Toole referred to the “riveting eloquence” of the passionate advocacy of many. But he also described another kind of articulacy and said this: “What actually changed Ireland over the last two decades is hundreds of thousands of painful, stammered conversations that began with the dreaded words, ‘I have something to tell you.’ It’s all those moments of coming out around kitchen tables, tentative words punctuated by sobs and sighs, by cold silences and fearful hesitations.”

So people have been changed by the way in which gay relationships have begun to be in the best sense ordinary. They find it hard to do other than accept those relationships among people whom they love and care deeply about.

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THE SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH HAS OPTED TO DELETE ITS DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE AS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN FROM ITS CANONS

[Twitter and Livestream here when in session]

Judah’s leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.
I will pour out my wrath on them
like a flood of water. Hosea 5:10
To some people’s surprise, an amendment was put that would have allowed people who wanted to marry two people of the same sex to do so, but we’d keep the doctrine of marriage as being between a man and a woman. This would have put us in a similar situation to that of the Church of Scotland.

However, this gracious compromise was roundly rejected by around two thirds of the Synod.

I don’t know that people understood just how costly this amendment would have been if it had been accepted..
Read it all and for background read here
————————–

Update latest from GadgetVicar on Twitter and SEC:

General Synod 2015: Motion passed to proceed to debate the options for canonical change in relation to Marriage. Vote was 92 for, 35 against

Synod now discussing the options for change to Canon 31 relating to Marriage. Motion passed to proceed to vote on its preferred options. voting on Motion 20B to include a conscience clause in the options before Synod.

Synod Members now voting on options for change to Canon 31 relating to Marriage.

Motion passed to include a conscience clause in the option before Synod.

Option A has been passed by Synod. [Votes: Option A 88 out of 125 voting including 6 abstentions]

[Option A: Removal of section 1 of Canon 31
This option would remove section 1 from Canon 31 in its entirety so that the Canon was silent on the question of a doctrine of marriage. Page 46

The SEC’s official teaching on marriage is enshrined in Canon 31:1.
”˜The Doctrine of the Church is that Marriage is a physical, spiritual and mystical
union of one man and one woman created by their mutual consent of heart,
mind and will thereto, and is a holy and lifelong estate instituted of God.’ – page 50 of above link]

Motion 23 instructing Canonical Committee to prepare the necessary canonical changes to effect this deletion passed on ballot 110 to 9

Motion 24 on religious registration of civil partnerships in church failed 30 to 82

Further Update: Report on SEC vote to leave the Anglican Faith

Even Further Update: GadgetVicar – The General Synod Votes For Equal Marriage

So what’s going on?

Twitter is at a crossroads when it comes to its evolution. While it aspires to be as big as Facebook, connecting fans to celebrities, sports fanatics to game information, and the media to, well, the media via short 140-character bursts can only grow this social media company so large.

With 300 million users, Twitter is still more than a billion shy of Facebook. And with ad revenue growth now slowing, investors want to know if there’s an actual plan in place or if all of this Facebook talk is just wishful thinking.

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When Ed Britt saw Bob Robinson coming out of the terminal exit at the Charleston International Airport on Thursday, there was nothing that could stop him from running into the arms of the man that he fondly called his big brother, even if it meant running past the “Do not enter” sign that guarded the exit.

“Forty-six years!” That was all Britt could get out as the pair stood hugging and weeping.

“All this time looking,” Robinson said.

Read it all and you have to love the picture.

Under a law that took effect Thursday in North Carolina, employees who issue marriage licenses can refuse to complete paperwork for gay couples by invoking their religious beliefs ”” a move that could mean longer waits at courthouses for all those who want to wed, especially in rural counties with small staffs.

Gay rights groups and some Democrats said legal challenges were likely to come soon for the new law, the second of its kind nationwide. Utah passed one this year.

North Carolina’s law took effect as the state House voted to override Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s earlier veto. The Senate already had voted for the override. McCrory said though he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, no state employee should be able to break his or her government oath. His position puts him at odds with social conservatives aligned with his party.

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Of more than 190,000 abortions, 51 per cent were medical, where a pill is taken to end a pregnancy. Ten years ago medical abortions made up only 20 per cent of procedures, while in 2013 the number was 49 per cent.

The total number of abortions last year was down slightly from 190,800 in 2013, and has fallen every year since 2007. Ninety-two per cent of abortions were performed at less than 13 weeks, and 80 per cent were carried out at less than ten weeks, compared with 60 per cent a decade ago.

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Thinking of oneself as “Church of England” or “Anglican” is increasingly irrelevant, clergy have suggested, responding to last week’s statistical analysis indicating that Anglicans were in steep decline in the UK….

The Dean of Chelmsford, the Very Revd Nicholas Henshall, writes (Letters) that parish priests and deans are leading “increasingly post-denominational” communities.

He points to the decline in confirmations, even in churches that are growing, as “a version of the same story. . .

“Confirmation suggests an ownership of a specific denominational identity, which is simply not part of the deal for most people. I would suggest that even most people of my generation, and certainly those of my children’s, find denominational identity increasingly irrelevant.”

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The Iraqi city of Mosul fell to the Islamic State on June 10, 2014. When the militants laid out an ultimatum — convert, pay a tax or be killed — thousands of Christians and other religious minorities fled to neighboring cities, like the northern city of Erbil.

Even though it’s been more than a year, Erbil’s Chaldean Catholic leader, Bishop Bashar Warda, still vividly remembers what it was like to watch the streams of refugees enter his city.

“It was [a] really sad occasion,” Warda said in an interview with Vatican Radio. “The memories that we have is the queue of thousands of people arriving, tired, crying and leaving behind everything, memories and properties.”

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Blessed Lord, grant us thy Holy Spirit to work in us daily a true and lasting repentance, and keep us ever, as contrite Christian people, willing to acknowledge and lament our sins; yet also keep us ever, O Lord, steadfast and strong in our faith in the forgiveness of our sins, and in our purpose to amend our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.

–Psalm 69:1-2

Defying the governor, lawmakers here enacted a law on Thursday that allows state court officials to refuse to perform a marriage if they have a “sincerely held religious objection,” a measure aimed at curtailing same-sex unions.

The Republican-controlled House voted 69-41 on Thursday to override a veto by Gov. Pat McCrory, also a Republican, who refused to sign the marriage bill in May. Mr. McCrory said at the time that although he believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman, he vetoed the bill because “no public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the Constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath.”

The State Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans, voted to override Mr. McCrory’s veto on June 1.

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When jihadi forces over-ran Iraq’s strategic city of Ramadi last month, officials and analysts rushed to explain how militants could claim a major win nine months after the world’s most powerful military set out to destroy them. But for residents, the only surprise was how such a predictable attack caught everyone off guard.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known as Isis) used the same playbook it employed when it shocked the world with its capture of Iraq’s second city Mosul last summer: it set up sleeper cells and assassinated security officials months before it blitzed across Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

“We knew they were coming,” says resident Abu Abbas. “Everybody in Ramadi knew where they were, and we warned security forces for months, but it was useless. Eventually they spread messages to civilians saying ”˜Isis is coming to save you from the apostates’, and then the blasts came.” He fled Ramadi as at least five trucks driven into the city by suicide bombers exploded, and amid reports of the army retreating.

“Isis hasn’t changed at all,” Abu Abbas says, almost in disbelief. “They don’t need to.”

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The Bishop of Horsham announced today (June 10) that he has stepped down from a traditionalists’ committee following a period of strenuous theological reflection over the issue of women bishops.

The Rt Rev Mark Sowerby has resigned from the Society’s Council of Bishops, a Church of England body whose members will generally ordain women as deacons, but for theological reasons and as a matter of personal conscience are unable to accept women as priests and bishops.

Bishop Mark said today that he now wishes to accept women into all these roles and as a consequence he has written a personal letter to the Bishop of Wakefield, chair of the council.

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“How much trouble can one poet be?” That’s literature professor John Malcolm Brinnin’s rhetorical response to his buttoned-way-down colleagues’ fears about a writer’s proposed visit to New York in 1950. Today, the query can’t be heard as anything other than an inside joke. For the poet is Dylan Thomas, who was trouble for most of his 39 years.

Set Fire to the Stars takes its title from a line written by Thomas, who’s played by Celyn Jones, the movie’s co-writer. But the story is just as much about Brinnin, impersonated by Elijah Wood, the film’s most marketable performer and its co-producer. The script was fictionalized from a section of Dylan Thomas in America, a 1955 memoir by Brinnin, who facilitated several tours by the poet ”” including the 1953 one on which he died.

As portrayed here, Thomas and Brinnin shared two enthusiasms: poetry and cigarettes. While the visiting Welshman drinks heavily, womanizes compulsively and offends promiscuously, the bow-tied, slick-haired Brinnin channels all his frustration into chain smoking.

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Declining numbers at services should not necessarily be a cause of despair for churches because people will still “encounter God” without ever taking their place in a pew, the Church of England’s newest bishop designate has insisted.

Dame Sarah Mullally, the former NHS Chief Nurse for England who has been named as the next Bishop of Crediton, said clerics must recognise that young people are as likely to hear the Christian message through social media sites such as Facebook or in cafés as in a church.

In a remarkably varied career, the 53-year-old mother-of-two has now risen to the top of two very different professions.

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Episcopal Church expansion in the region occurred in three phases””in the nineteenth century, in the 1950s, and in 1980. No new Episcopal churches have been planted in the region since 1980. One of the churches, which was planted in the 1950s, closed in 2005. There is only one self-supporting parish in the Jackson Purchase; the other churches are subsidized missions, except for the oldest Episcopal church in the region. It is a preaching station.

The last Episcopal church planted in the Jackson Purchase, the one planted in 1980, experienced a church split following the election and consecration of Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire. The group of conservative Episcopalians that broke away from the congregation affiliated with one of the Continuing Anglican jurisdictions. This group has experienced a number of splits of its own since that time and has been affiliated with three different Continuing Anglican jurisdictions. The Jackson Purchase’s two Continuing Anglican churches trace their origins to this group.

If any conclusion can be drawn from the experience of these two Continuing Anglican churches, it is that traditionalist High Church Anglo-Catholic congregations do not fare well in the region. Among the factors that may have contributed to their negligible growth is that the communities in which they are located are not diverse enough for them to find a niche for themselves in their respective communities. The two churches also have no connection with the communities in which they are located. While the Episcopal churches in the region are not exactly flourishing, they are, with the exception of the preaching station, doing better than the two Continuing Anglican churches.

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I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

So where does that leave us? Separated churches in themselves create a mindset, a separative one at its root, but in fact a similar one all across the board. And that is perhaps the thing we must confront. The question today is no longer, “What is a Christian?” This was the old question of the Reformation and its aftermath, and it focused precisely on doctrinal questions. Is a Christian one who believes this or that? Is a Christian one who follows this or that practice? Is a Christian one who is bound to this or that order or authority?

“What is a Christian?” was the old question. And it has left us with the shrivelled and unappealing answer: “A Christian is someone who separates from other Christians.” But the new question, the question of today, is not, “What is a Christian?” but, “Who is a Christian?” This question must be answered in a new way, and with new tools theologically. It is a single question that, if answered rightly, offers a single counter-charge to the separative mindset that we all still share.

The question, “Who is a Christian?” emerges from a range of factors. Let me note two. First, there is the obvious point that, as people have shed their doctrinal clothing, in the course of the various developments I have already noted, one is left with, as it were, a “naked” religious figure – the one we call “Christian.” But what is this naked Christian? “I am not really a Catholic or a Baptist or Lutheran or an Anglican or Presbyterian,” someone might tell the Pew Forum survey. “So, what are you?” one might ask in response. Are you a Christian? What in the world is that?

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Please go and check them all out there. David Ould gives a particular plug for the Ashley Null presentations, as does yours truly.

The film’s title alludes to the opening track of Wilson’s 1988 debut solo album. The film delivers both in spades. Mercy is certainly shown to Wilson in the film, which skips the darkest period of his life, a fifteen-year-stretch between 1968 and the transformation that came after Melinda Ledbetter (his wife-to-be) met him. During those lost years, he was in and out of psychiatric hospitals, battling auditory hallucinations, spending much of his time in bed, using drugs, and grossly overeating (his weight soared to more than 300 pounds).

Melinda (played by Elizabeth Banks) is really the central character in the ’80s narrative, and her perseverance and genuine concern for Brian’s well-being ultimately get him out of his abusive relationship with Dr. Landy. Love & Mercy celebrates the gift of Wilson’s music by focusing on his most fertile creative period and the light shining through after almost two decades of darkness. What makes the Wilson story so wonderful is its genuinely redemptive arc. With Melinda he has enjoyed a newfound stability (they’ve been happily married for 20 years) and a return to the music spotlight with 2004’s Grammy-winning Brian Wilson Presents Smile and later with the long-awaited release of the masters for Smile in 2011.

While love and mercy may have both landed in the title, justice is also central to the film. In the scene that generates the largest applause, Dr. [Eugene] Landy is served papers for the lawsuit that ultimately cost him his license to practice psychiatry. That may suggest why Love & Mercy is so compelling. It avoids the formulaic quality of so many recent biopics, but it’s not ashamed to tug at our heartstrings. And above all, it captures the joy of creation.

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But then, in a very curious paragraph, [Mark] Galli stated:

“We’ll be sad, but we won’t panic or despair. Neither will we feel compelled to condemn the converts and distance ourselves from them. But, to be sure, they will be enlisting in a cause that we believe is ultimately destructive to society, to the church, and to relations between men and women.”

I have to admit that I do not understand how those two sentences can be combined. If the view of the “converts” to same-sex marriage and the acceptance of homosexual partnerships is “ultimately destructive to society, to the church, and to relations between men and women,” how can that distance be avoided?

The reality is that it cannot. This is a moment of decision, and every evangelical believer, congregation, denomination, and institution will have to answer. There will be no place to hide. The forces driving this revolution in morality will not allow evasion or equivocation. Every pastor, every church, and every Christian organization will soon be forced to declare an allegiance to the Scriptures and to the Bible’s teachings on marriage and sexual morality, or to affirm loyalty to the sexual revolution. That revolution did not start with same-sex marriage, and it will not end there. But marriage is the most urgent issue of the day, and the moment of decision has arrived.

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There are other elements to the spirit of the ages, not just disobedience. The spirit of the ages is not spiritual but materialistic. That is why Nicodemus was confused when Jesus said that he must be born again. Nicodemus stated, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” No Nicodemus, being born again is a spiritual birth not a physical birth. People confuse the kingdom of this world for the Kingdom of God. There is a bumper sticker that reminds me of this. “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Really, I believe that he who dies with the most toys is the biggest loser. He is the one who can’t pass through the eye of a needle.

Another element in the spirit of the ages is individualism. There are positive aspects to individualism like someone who does not conform to the pressures of society like Rosa Parks. She refused to go to the back of the bus just because she was black. Individualism in its worst form however is narcissism. Narcissists are people that believe the rest of the world is there to make them happy and to adore them. I think we have helped this along with the self-esteem school program called “I am special”. As Christians we are individuals but members of the body of Christ, the church. We all have spiritual gifts unique to each of us intended for service to other members of the body. Individualism may be one of the most dangerous elements in the spirit of the ages because folks believe that being an individual means they have a right to do whatever they please. Once again, the church is pointed at as discriminating and bigoted because we don’t condone behaviors legally engaged in by consenting adults. For example, just because Marijuana is legal does not mean that it is not harmful. As the electronic highway signs state, “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.”

Another element in the spirit of the ages is the loss of Truth….

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Engineering and design work on Boeing’s 787-10 ”” the longest member of the Dreamliner fleet ”” is months ahead of schedule, and the company’s North Charleston campus could start work on that line’s first jet as early as next year.

The accelerated schedule is due to the high percentage of common parts that will be shared by the 787-10 and its predecessor, the 787-9, said Beverly Wyse, vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina.

he North Charleston site will be the sole production facility for the 787-10.

“As a straightforward stretch of the 787-9, which entered service in 2014, we are leveraging the advanced design and disciplined development system of the 787-9 to create the 787-10 with high commonality and unprecedented efficiency,” Wyse told The Post and Courier on Tuesday.

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