Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] New Christian Observer Articles for June 2014
[2] University Reformed Church of Lansing, Michigan Votes to Leave Reformed Church in America, to Affiliate with the Presbyterian Church in America
[3] Exiting First Presbyterian Church of Oostburg, Wisconsin Balks at Paying PCUSA US$500,000 for Church Property
[4] Fellowship of Presbyterians and Presbyterians for Renewal Plan Merger That Would Offer a New Home to Evangelicals
[5] Another Belfast, Northern Ireland Presbyterian Pastor Speaks Out against Islam
[6] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[8] The Thinning Blue Line
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[10] The Religion of Peace
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[1] New Christian Observer Articles for June 2014
New Christian Observer articles for June 2014 include:
-- A Plea for the Most Literal Rendering of the “Faith of Jesus” Genitives - by Christian Observer Contributing Editor David Brand - Part twenty-seven in a continuing series examining the effects upon the church of the change in meaning of the Greek word pistis from faith to faithfulness by the English Revised Version Committee that began meeting in February 1870;
-- Progressive Condemnation of the Sin of “Racism” in Public Education - by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro - how the term “racism” has become a straw man set up to excuse the failures in contemporary public education;
-- Teen Talk: And Baby Makes Two - by Christian Observer Associate Editor Dr. Chuck Baynard – pastoral advice to a teenage girl who found herself pregnant;
Plus Daily Devotionals by T.M. Moore, dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] University Reformed Church of Lansing, Michigan Votes to Leave Reformed Church in America, to Affiliate with the Presbyterian Church in America
A 27 May 2014 The Aquila Report article by Kevin DeYoung titled “University Reformed Church Votes to Leave RCA, to Affiliate with PCA” reports that University Reformed Church (Reformed Church in America (RCA)) of East Lansing, Michigan, in a unanimous (14-0) vote of the consistory and a 282-9 vote of the congregation will file a petition with the Classis of South Grand Rapids to leave the RCA and become affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America.
The article author, who is senior pastor, wrote the following:
“From the adoption of the Belhar Confession, to the removal of the conscience clauses related to women’s ordination, to the growing acceptance of homosexual practice in the denomination, we believe the RCA has changed significantly in the last several years. The denomination has moved away from churches like ours. Our request is that we may be able to move too.”
+ The Aquila Report, c/o Reformed Churchmen Publications, Inc., Post Office Box 1164, Erie, Colorado 80516, daquila@theaquilareport.com
+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[3] Exiting First Presbyterian Church of Oostburg, Wisconsin Balks at Paying PCUSA US$500,000 for Church Property
A 2 June 2014 The Christian Post article by Michael Gryboski titled “Congregation Still Negotiating with Presbyterian Church (USA) on Appraised Half-Million Dollar Property” reports that First Presbyterian Church of Oostburg, Wisconsin is ending its affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), but is balking at paying the US$500,000 being demanded by the PCUSA’s Presbytery of Milwaukee for the congregation to be able to keep its church property.
+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ Presbytery of Milwaukee, 6767 West Greenfield Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53214, 414-292-2740, Fax: 414-292-2750, office@pbymilwaukee.org
[4] Fellowship of Presbyterians and Presbyterians for Renewal Plan Merger That Would Offer a New Home to Evangelicals
By Leslie Scanlon – The Presbyterian Outlook
The Fellowship of Presbyterians is parting ways structurally with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians and is joining with Presbyterians for Renewal to work with “gospel-centered” congregations and individuals in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
In a joint statement released May 30, the Fellowship and Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) announced that they are launching a “new movement” called the Fellowship Community, hoping to “nurture and connect gospel-centered PC(USA) congregations and expand relationships with our counterparts in other mainline traditions.”
The idea is to create a spiritual and theological home for evangelical pastors, leaders and congregations remaining in the PC(USA) ― “an environment of encouragement and joy that promotes gospel-centered discipleship and mission,” one of the documents states.
The Fellowship and Presbyterians for Renewal plan to work together at the 221st General Assembly, which starts in Detroit on June 14, and to fully merge their organizations by Jan. 1, 2015.
The statement also says that “the new Fellowship Community will be ending our corporate connection with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. We will, however, continue to nurture relationships through common values, the Essential Tenets ― a way of articulating our confessional faith created by theologians in the PC(USA) and ECO, Mission Affinity Groups, and other relational opportunities.”
The Fellowship and ECO still will co-sponsor a joint “From Consumerism to Community” national gathering Aug. 18-20 in Dallas, where “an ecumenical conversation group will be commissioned to explore the ways our new community can intersect with our counterparts in other denominations,” according to the statement.
In an accompanying document, leaders of the Fellowship Community describe themselves as “apprentices of Jesus” who are “beginning in the PC(USA) and reaching out in every direction, irrespective of denominations and labels, to welcome, challenge, befriend and embrace anyone who seeks to grow in joyful obedience to our Redeemer and in service to the world he is redeeming.”
That document also states that “the Fellowship Community is not a club, or an agency, or another association to join ― it is not designed to rescue institutions or advocate ideologies. The goal of the Fellowship Community is to create and sustain a movement within the Church that will replicate itself in a thousand different locations and give contemporary disciples the community we so desperately need as we love and serve Jesus Christ and embrace the mission to which God has called us.”
There’s also acknowledgment of the pain some Presbyterians have felt as evangelical churches have left the PC(USA) for ECO and other denominations.
“Departure from the PC(USA) will not be getting easier,” the document states. “Even the process of discernment may cause more harm than good in many congregations. The Fellowship Community is not a waiting room for departure. It is a community for those God has called to prosper where they are (Jeremiah 29).”
The Fellowship of Presbyterians and ECO both took root after a group of Presbyterian pastors published a White Paper in February 2011 declaring the PC(USA) to be “deathly ill” and inviting Presbyterians to seek a new approach.
In January 2012, the Fellowship convened a Covenanting Conference, and in April 2012 ECO began accepting member congregations. More than 100 churches, including some of the denomination’s largest, have left the PC(USA) for ECO over the last two years.
From the beginning, the organizers made it clear there was room under the Fellowship umbrella both for those planning to stay in the PC(USA) and for those who did plan to leave, or were trying to discern what path to take.
The ties between the Fellowship and PFR also have been close — with Paul Detterman serving for roughly three years now as executive director of both groups. Now, the Fellowship is executing a structural shift — ending its formal connection to ECO and aligning with the PFR to form the new Fellowship Community, while continuing to nurture ministry commitments and relationships among evangelicals across all of those boundaries.
Language in the documents hints at the sense of dislocation many evangelicals in the PC(USA) have felt in recent years, as the denomination has permitted gays and lesbians in committed relationships to be ordained and is on the cusp of taking another vote on whether to allow Presbyterian ministers to perform same-gender marriages.
The documents refer to the importance of “authentic community” ― a multicultural community “where we can truly belong” and where there’s humility, mutual accountability and a recognition of radical change in the world and the institutional church.
“Our current denominational structures are becoming a thing of the past — and so are ministries designed to work with them,” one of the documents states. “Yet the mission field of the former mainline church — including liturgy and holy mystery — is where many are turning in their search for answers to significant questions of life and faith. The gospel has those answers. We are committed to sharing gospel truth in love.”
Among the elements of the new Fellowship Community:
- Pastors would participate in a “defined and structured ‘order’ with clear expectations and accountability for a rule of life, and participation in a Pastor Covenant Group which nurtures that order.”
- Sessions would participate in a Mission Affinity Group with the same expectations.
- Congregations would provide “substantial support through both prayer and financial resources.”
- All who participate would be expected to understand the Fellowship’s essential tenets “as a reliable guide to identifying and explaining the core teachings of our confessional heritage.”
- The Fellowship would offer gathering and retreats to support alternative approaches to ministry.
The Fellowship also would involve “reaching out” as an ecumenical expression.
“Imagine an organization totally unencumbered by the day-to-day details of denominations; either creating them, “renewing” them, or providing hospice care for them — connecting the great minds and hearts of pastors, theologians, spiritual directors, and missional leaders across traditions, building on their vision and dreams, addressing their needs, and helping bring their ideas to fruition,” the document states.
It describes a “disciple-making network whose roots are in the former mainline world.”
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ The Presbyterian Outlook, 1 North 5th Street, Suite 500, Richmond, Virginia 23219, 800-446-6008, Fax: 804-353-6369, info@pres-outlook.org
+ Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, 8134 New LaGrange Road, Suite 227, Louisville, Kentucky 40222, 502-425-4630, email@fellowship-pres.org
+ The Fellowship of Presbyterians, email@fellowship-pres.org
+ Presbyterians for Renewal, 8134 New LaGrange Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40222, 502-425-4630, 502-423-8329
[5] Another Belfast, Northern Ireland Presbyterian Pastor Speaks Out against Islam
A 2 June 2014 Belfast Telegraph article by Rebecca Black titled “Preacher at Ian Paisley's Former Church Denounces Islam as a 'Wicked Religion'” reports that two weeks after Presbyterian Church in Ireland pastor the Rev. James McConnell came under fire for speaking out against Islam in a Sunday sermon, Free Presbyterian Church in Ulster the Rev. Ian Brown in a recent Sunday service came to McConnell’s defense, calling McConnell a ‘prophet’ and describing Islam as a "violent intolerant wicked religion".
Brown preached:
"Now the allies and sympathisers of Islam are up on their hind legs; what we can call that secularist Taliban who dominate our medium, they are sharpening their literary sabres and they are swinging for him, their attempt at their own version of a verbal hanging with a couple of blistering attacks which were passed off as interviews on the Nolan radio and television shows."
"People in the west need to know that the image of Islam as a violent intolerant wicked religion is in fact true and growing more so every day.”
"[Islam] is violent, it is religion that was born out of violence.”
Brown additionally turned his attention to Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness’s condemnation of McConnell’s sermon, saying:
“Is it not hugely ironic that one of [McConnell’s] loudest critics is Martin McGuinness, of IRA/Sinn Fein, who now has the nerve to stand up and present himself... whenever the terrorists organisation, of which he was a part, murdered people in this city, such as the young academic Edgar Graham.”
"They were judge, jury and executioner in this country, so this is so sweet coming from a leader of a band of murderous thugs who rode to political power on the back of a campaign of terror which left hundreds murdered and thousands injured."
+ Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EB, Northern Ireland, 028-9026-4000, writeback@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
+ Free Presbyterian Church in Ulster, info@freepres.org
[6] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
-- Pro-Abortion Vandal Hangs “Aborted Baby Jesus Dolls” throughout Hobby Lobby Store
-- Pro-Lifers Shocked That Britain Allows Midwives to Do Abortions
-- Skeletons of 800 Babies Found in Mass Septic Tank Grave near Former Home of Unwed Mothers in Tuam, Ireland
-- Dallas, Texas Judge Orders Hospital to Reinstate Abortionist’s Admitting Privileges One Day after Botched Abortion
-- 300 Violations Found at Virginia Abortion Clinics and Governor McAuliffe Wants to Reverse Health Standards
-- Euthanasia Activists Pushing Starvation as “Death with Dignity”
-- Belgium: Euthanasia Deaths Skyrocket as Doctors Now Kill Five People Every Day
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- Denver, Colorado Christian Baker Must Make ‘Wedding’ Bakes for Gay Couples, Court Rules
-- U.S. Taxpayers to Fund Sex Change Operations for Seniors through Medicare
-- Relationship Problems, Not Family Rejection, Leading Cause of Higher Gay Suicides: Study
-- China Still Targeting and Murdering Religious Minorities for Illegal Organ ‘Donations’: Expert
-- More Than 130 Pro-Life Candidates Elected in Ireland after ‘Vote Pro-Life’ Drive
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[8] The Thinning Blue Line
-- Atlanta, Georgia Baby Seriously Injured When SWAT Team Throws Stun Grenade in Crib during No Knock Raid
-- Round Rock, Texas Officers Fatally Shoot Family’s Dog after Responding to Home’s Alarm System
-- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Dad Goes To Jail for Four-Year-Old Daughter’s Drawing of a Gun
-- Loma Linda, California U.S. Veterans Administration Hospital Police Brutally Knock Veteran to the Floor, Killing Him
-- Minneapolis, Minnesota Police Used Taser on Pregnant Woman
-- Austin, Texas Police Arrest and Charge Man for DUI after Testing Negative on Breath and Blood Tests
-- Oregon Cops Arrest Nine-Year Old Girl, Book Her in Adult Jail
-- Cleveland, Ohio Cop Stands on Hood of Car, Fires Fifteen Rounds through Window, Kills Two Unarmed People
-- West Sacramento, California Cop Shoots an Unarmed Man in his Own Home, Then Lies about It
-- Key West, Florida Police Attempt to Cremate Man Who Died While in Custody
+ CBS Houston, 24 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1900, Houston, Texas 77046, 713 881-5100, ryan.mccredden@cbsradio.com
+ The Liberty Crier
+ The Free Patriot
+ The Free Thought Project, contact@thefreethoughtproject.com
+ The Anti-Media, Contact Page
+ Prepper Chimp, Contact Page
+ Jonathan Turley
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Obama Preps Drones and Troops for War against American Citizens
-- U.S. Secret Service Requests Software to Track Social Media Trends, Detect Sarcasm
-- U.S. Federal Government Plans to Seize Financial Records of U.S. Mortgage Borrowers
-- New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission Agent Seizes Car of Volunteer Driving Cancer Patients to Hospitals for Free
-- It's Time for the Men of Houston to Occupy the Women's Bathrooms
-- The Three Step Plan by the LGBT Mafia to Destroy the Christian Church
-- U.S. National Park Service Initiative Seeks to ‘Celebrate and Interpret LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] Heritage’
-- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Review Board Rules Medicare Must Pay for Transgender Surgeries
-- Obama Issues Proclamation Declaring June as LGBT Pride Month
-- Tennessee to Roll Out ‘No Refusal’ Blood-Draw DUI Checkpoints
-- Libertarian Candidate for Governor of Minnesota Arrested For Gathering Signatures
+ YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@youtube.com
+ CBS DC, 4200 Parliament Place, Suite 300, Lanham, Maryland 20706, 301-306-0991, Fax: 301-731-0431
+ Ben Swann, Contact Page
+ AgainstCronyCapitalism.org, Contact Page
+ Godfather Politics, 457 Nathan Dean Boulevard, Dallas, Georgia 30132
+ Christian News Network, Post Office Box 30000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, Contact Page
+ GOPUSA, Contact Page
+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page
+ Police State USA
[10] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Nigeria Tops Christian Persecution Violence List
-- Obama’s Still Arming and Training Al Qaeda
-- Ugandan Pastor Attacked by Muslims Has a Message for America
-- Nigerian Capital Has Banned ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ Protests
-- Rochester, New York: Muslim Charged with Plotting Jihad Murder of U.S. Troops and Shi’ites in Western New York
-- Nigeria: Islamic Jihadists Murder Dozens with Bombs near School and Beer Halls
-- Islamists Torch Christians' Shops in South Egypt
-- Meriam Ibrahim Will Not be Freed, Attorneys Appeal Execution to International Court
-- Muslim Woman Beats Nine-Year-Old Oakland, California Girl at School with Hammer
-- ‘Islamophobia’ Thought Crimes at University of California Berkeley
-- Syria: Islamic Jihadists Murder 102-Year-Old Alawite and His Family
-- Israel to Permanently Deploy Nuclear-Armed Submarines off Iran Coast
-- U.K.: Muslim Doctor Struck Off Medical Register for Helping Arrange Female Genital Mutilation
-- Deadly Muslim Attack on Catholic Church in Central African Republic, at Least Thirty Dead, Including the Priest
-- Obama Broke Law by Refusing to Notify Congress in Gitmo Prisoner Swap
-- Renewed Fighting in Mali Revives Christian Anxieties
-- Syria's ISIS Crucifying Opponents, Justifying Horror with Quran Passages
-- Florida: Would-Be Jihad Mass Murderer Allowed Not to Stand When Judge Enters Court; Demands Taxpayer-Funded Islamic Clothing
-- U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan Mainly Hit Homes and Schools
-- Somalia: Islamic Jihadists Murder Thirty-Nine in Raid on Village
-- Under Sharia, the Maldives Set To Impose the Death Penalty On Ten-Year-Old Children
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Western Center for Journalism, 42104 North Venture Drive, Suite B-122, Anthem, Arizona 85086, 202-370-6366, Contact Page
+ YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@youtube.com
+ RELEVANT Media Group, 900 North Orange Avenue, Winter Park, Florida 32789, 407-660-1411, Fax: 407-401-9100, feedback@relevantmagazine.com
+ Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch
+ Assyrian International News Agency (Nineveh Software Corporation, 2317 West Farwell, Chicago, Illinois 60645, 773-575-5863, Fax: 773-761-8534)
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ The Free Patriot
+ FrontPage Magazine, Post Office Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, California 91499, Contact Page
+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ World Watch Monitor, Contact Page
+ Middle East Forum, 1500 Walnut Street, Suite 1050, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, info@meforum.org
+ Ben Swann, Contact Page
