It looks like it is not only Anglicans establishing new, non-traditonal church structures in the US. The following article from Crosswalk provides details about the new non-geographic presbytery which was formally approved at the recent Evangelical Presbyterian General Assembly.<\/i><\/p>\n
New Wineskins Yearn to be Filled with the Spirit<\/b><\/p>\n They left because they were tired \u201d\u201c tired of merely standing in the pews on Sunday, tired of leaders who denied the truth of Scripture, tired of seeing their numbers dwindling. They were also thirsty — thirsty for a filling of the Holy Spirit and thirsty to reach out in their communities. The men and women who formed the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) \u201d\u201c a splinter group of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) \u201d\u201c saw the new wine of the Holy Spirit being poured out across the world. They saw lives being transformed and longed to be part of the movement.<\/p>\n Gerrit Dawson, co-moderator of the New Wineskins, says, “We realized we needed new wineskins and it\u2019s not really about denominations at all. It\u2019s about being missional, out-turned congregations. That\u2019s where the real deal is. The rest is peripheral to our calling.”<\/p>\n According to Dawson, conservative Presbyterians have for years been troubled by signs of increasing liberalism in the PCUSA such as drifting from the Trinity and the denial of absolute truth. Some tried to take a stand within the denomination. But actions by the PCUSA’s 217th General Assembly, such as a move toward the ordination of homosexuals, rang a final warning bell for the conservative Presbyterians. “For years we have mourned our denomination\u2019s unfaithfulness and we have grieved its actions,\u201d\u009d says Dean Weaver, a New Wineskins co-moderator. \u201cWe have labored faithfully for renewal.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n So, on Feb. 9, 2007, representatives of the New Wineskins voted unanimously to pursue refuge within the conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) after the EPC proposed to establish a temporary, non-geographic presbytery for dissident PCUSA congregations.<\/p>\n According to EPC Moderator Paul Heidebrecht, \u201cThe Holy Spirit drew us toward the New Wineskins. We are truly impressed by the mission-driven polity of the NWAC.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n On June 22, the move became official when the 27th General Assembly of the EPC officially created a New Wineskins Transitional Presbytery. Transitional membership commenced on the adjournment of the 27th General Assembly and will end on June 30, 2012. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n The full article is here.<\/a> (h\/t Pat Dague)<\/p>\n Some background links from “Reformed Pastor” David Fischler:<\/u> And from the EPC website, there is this:<\/u> ———<\/p>\n Interestingly enough, after we had prepared the above text as a draft for posting, we continued our “blog crawl” and reached “The Lead,” one of the blogs that make up the Episcopal Cafe site. They’ve posted a short entry yesterday on a June 24 Washington Times article<\/a> about how the EPC is coping with explosive growth. Here’s what The Lead has to say:<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n We, of course, don’t hear about the small denominations that folded or merged. Denominations that start from a tiny base – and have survived – more than likely are experiencing high growth. No doubt PCUSA has lost some members due to controversial issues – and gained or held onto others for the same reason. But what newspapers rarely mention, when pointing out the declining membership in the mainline denominations, is that conservative denominations tend to have higher birthrates, and in mainline denominations the birthrate hovers at or below replacement.<\/p>\n Besides, PCUSA isn’t merely following the times. It is following its moral compass – even if that means those more attracted to religion are turned off by the change in direction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Is anyone surprised by this spin? But it really does strike this elf as pretty incredible denial.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It looks like it is not only Anglicans establishing new, non-traditonal church structures in the US. The following article from Crosswalk provides details about the new non-geographic presbytery which was formally approved at the recent Evangelical Presbyterian General Assembly. New…<\/span><\/p>\n
\nNew Wineskins Press Release<\/a> (June 22)
\nDavid Fischler’s June 22 live blog of EPC Assembly vote on the Transitional Presbytery proposals<\/a>
\nEPC General Assembly Q&A on Transitional Presbyteries<\/a><\/p>\n
\nStructure for Receiving Churches and Pastors Transitionally, Approved by the 27th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, June 2007<\/a><\/p>\n