For orthodox theologians such as Larry Gember, pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Greenfield, the ELCA’s decision went a step too far.
“The primary issue is not sexuality,” Gember, 59, said Wednesday. “It’s that the authority of Scripture is being undermined.”
There have been several here in South Dakota who have split.
[blockquote] “A Greenfield church is the first in the Indianapolis area to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) over the issue of allowing clergy who are openly gay…” [/blockquote]
The secular press are not fools and they have absorbed the lesson of TEC and ACiC: If a church endorses the ordination/consecration of practicing homosexuals, it will be wracked by desertion and dissent. Hence the journalist writes “the first in the Indianapolis area” – its easy to see that there will be more.
Of course it is about sexuality – homosexuality. This is why the qualification exists. The speaker simply doesn’t have the courage to say so. Larry
In communion with EcUSA, eh? Right down to the abyss. Thucydides proven right again.