Debate video

Information regarding The Narrow Path Ministries.
User avatar
mattrose
Posts: 1920
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:28 am
Contact:

Re: Debate video

Post by mattrose » Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:17 pm

Haha, yeah, I think that is a pretty extreme evaluation of the UM Church

Sure, there are probably some really bad UM churches. And maybe quite a few who are, at least, PRACTICALLY atheistic.

But there are some really good UM churches out there too. And some really great UM Pastors.

User avatar
featheredprop
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Somerset, PA
Contact:

Re: Debate video

Post by featheredprop » Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:10 am

mattrose wrote:...Thre are some really good UM churches out there too. And some really great UM Pastors.
I was a UM Pastor for about eleven years and didn't consider myself, or my church, atheist. :)

I started watching the debate but may have to wait for the audio file to be made available. I can focus better when I just listen ... (Steve's good looks are just too distracting! )

peace,

dane
"...the hope of the whole world rests on the shoulders of a homeless man" Rich Mullins

User avatar
mattrose
Posts: 1920
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:28 am
Contact:

Re: Debate video

Post by mattrose » Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:45 am

Dane,

I've been doing a master's program at Houghton College and about half of my fellow students are UM pastors. They've assured me that not all UM pastors are as theologically conservative as they are, but they are certainly great guys and I know they are not alone.

User avatar
JasonK
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:42 am

Re: Debate video

Post by JasonK » Thu Oct 08, 2009 1:19 am

Darrin,

Of course that was probably a few decades ago, and I'm not saying all the churches in the denomination are that bad, but from everything I hear, there are very few Christians still in it.

My uncle has been a member of a United Methodist Church for about 15 years with my aunt. They are total atheists. But he does like replacing the carpet and playing the harmonica there. They just go for the socializing.

I heard on Christian radio that now you don't even have to believe Jesus ever existed to be a member in good standing with the United Methodist Church?

Do you know if there's any truth to that?
"We must obey God rather than men!"
- Acts 5:29

http://www.personhoodusa.com

User avatar
featheredprop
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Somerset, PA
Contact:

Re: Debate video

Post by featheredprop » Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:03 am

JasonK wrote:...My uncle has been a member of a United Methodist Church for about 15 years with my aunt. They are total atheists. But he does like replacing the carpet and playing the harmonica there. They just go for the socializing.

I heard on Christian radio that now you don't even have to believe Jesus ever existed to be a member in good standing with the United Methodist Church?

Do you know if there's any truth to that?
Hey Jason ... I'll jump in on this one, though we are getting a little off the intended subject of this thread.

Sadly, there are probably many people like your aunt and uncle in chruches everywhere - they don't have a faith in Jesus, but they enjoy some benefit from attending a local church. What is sadder still is that no one in the local church confronts them on their disbelief!

There are probably some denominations that do a better job of keeping unbelievers out, than does the UM Church. But it is my guess that you will find unbelieving memebers in many churches in our country. Though that says something about the already sad state of denominationalism in our country, I believe that it says something even worse about the state of Christianity here.

You said that you heard a person could join the UM Church and not believe Jesus ever existed. Since the UM Church recognizes infant baptism occurring in another church, it is possible that a person could "fly under the radar" and be accepted into full membership of a UM Church based upon that baptism. However, the UM method of receiving a member into fellowship is to have that person publically declare their faith by confessing to a number of questions asked them. At that point a person could lie, but the blame would be with them, not the church (in my opinion).

Although I am not closely connected to the UM Church at this point, and cannot say for certain, I seriously doubt that that they would accept a member who announced that he or she did not believe that Jesus existed. (I would allow that there are probably some renegade pastors out there who would not hesitate to accept an unbelieving person.)

peace,


dane
"...the hope of the whole world rests on the shoulders of a homeless man" Rich Mullins

User avatar
mattrose
Posts: 1920
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:28 am
Contact:

Re: Debate video

Post by mattrose » Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:55 am

I will just add that a few years ago I would have had a pretty low opinion of the UM church as a whole based on my experiences. My mom is actually the secretary of a local UM church (though she attends the same church as I do), so I've had a fair amount of contact. In fact, I have filled the pulpit at that church twice in the past three years when they were in a jam. There were certainly some genuine Christians in attendance (some of them commented after the service that they loved actually hearing from the Bible).

But my thoughts on the UM church have changed a lot in the past year and a half. That particular church got a new pastor who is a very godly man. The first time I met him he shared his 'born-again' testimony with me and I with him. Granted, he is from the free methodist tradition, nevertheless he is now a pastor in the UM church (point for them!).

Furthermore, I joined the Master's Program at Houghton College and have made strong friendships with a few very conservative young UM pastors. I've also had opportunity to meet some of the higher up UM leaders in the district. Bottom line, there is a conservative/liberal divide in the UM church. The liberals seem to speak the loudest, but that shouldn't cause us to think the conservatives are not there. They are. And they are not all nearing retirement. In fact, it seems the younger the UM pastor, the more conservative.

Post Reply

Return to “Announcements”