Posted by David Virtue on 2008/11/4 11:00:00 at VirtueOnline:
State of Crisis Now Exists in Mainline Churches, say Leaders
From: Association for Church Renewal
November, 2008
Dear Companion in Christ,
We are writing to you today as brothers and sisters in Christ who share our passion for the renewal of the mainline churches in North America.
On October 20 & 21, Renewal leaders representing renewal ministries of several of the mainline denominations in the U.S. and Canada met in Washington as the Association for Church Renewal. We prayed for our churches and heard reports of the critical work of renewal that both encouraged and challenged us. We considered carefully the state, not only of the mainline denominations but also heard reports from our representatives to the National Association of Evangelicals and reviewed statistics from the latest Pew & Barna studies. Many of us believe that the entire North American church is in a state of crisis. There is hard evidence that the entire protestant church, both mainline and evangelical/charismatic is in decline.
The next meeting of the Association for Church Renewal is scheduled for March 9 & 10, 2009 at the Holiday Inn, Key Bridge, Arlington, Va. (Washington D.C.) from 9:00 A.M. Monday until Noon on Tuesday.
It is our prayer you will join us. In conjunction with that meeting we are prayerfully considering a joint statement to the press and the church, "Declaring a state of Crisis in the North American Church and a call for Repentance and Renewal". We are asking in preparation for that occasion if your ministry, movement or organization (or you personally), would prepare a short statement on your perception of the crisis in the church and what you believe the Holy Spirit desires of us. We want to compile statements from as wide a perspective as possible.
Meanwhile for the meeting in October we compiled key resources on the decisions, statements and timelines from all the mainline denominations and renewal groups on human sexuality. We know our initial compilation is not exhaustive. Therefore we would appreciate any resources you can offer us on key statements and decisions that impacted your denomination and engaged your ministry on this critical issue. We intend to publish this resource in the near future and your timely response would be greatly appreciated.
Finally, there is consideration being given to a joint statement calling for mainline denominational personnel to cease and desist from bringing lawsuits against congregations and jurisdictions that are alienated from their authority by conscience and their commitment to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Any input on the creation of such a statement or thoughts on its advisability would be greatly appreciated. Please keep us in prayer.
In the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Rev. David Runnion-Bareford President,
Assoc. for Church Renewal
No comments:
Post a Comment