Dunker Journal

THE ANGLICAN BISHOP OF PITTSBURGH, Robert Duncan, has replied to the letter sent to him earlier this week by participants in the Association for Church Renewal:

Dear Friends,

To all of you who signed the Letter of Support for me I want express my deepest gratitude.  These have been trying days, but the Lord has carried me and my wife Nara through this with the peace that passes understanding.

We are in the midst of a great Reformation of the Christian Church in the West.  Each of us is doing the work to which we have been called.  I thank each of you too.  More than that, I thank God for our partnership in the gospel.

God bless you all.

Faithfully in Christ,
+Bob Duncan

FELICE D. GAER AND MICHAEL CROMARTIE SAY, Don’t Lend Despots the Veneer of Peace. And Pacifist churches under fire for Ahmadinejad dinner:

“Ahmadinejad represents a rejection of everything these religious groups stand for,” said Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “Their breaking bread with President Ahmadinejad is a perversion of the search for peace and an appalling betrayal of religious values.”

A Church of the Brethren denominational leader, Stanley Noffsinger, will be a part of this meeting. See also President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his Own Words.

PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE they have the greenest lifestyles can be seen as some of the main culprits behind global warming,

Stewart Barr, of Exeter University, who led the research, said: “Green living is largely something of a myth. There is this middle class environmentalism where being green is part of the desired image. But another part of the desired image is to fly off skiing twice a year.”

ALSO FROM the post by Phil Johnson referenced below:

If the charge is that I have a very high view of Scripture, I plead guilty. Christ likewise had a high view of Scripture. To suggest that a high view of Scripture constitutes a kind of “idolatry” is a lie that strongly echoes the father of lies himself.

PHIL JOHNSON TELLS a real(?)-life moral tale with some poignant lessons for our post-evangelical friends.

WHEN READING the various writings at another place on the Internet populated by liberal Brethren, one comes to the sad conclusion that their lives are wrapped up in politics, that they have no problem with filthy language, and quite a number have a tenuous hold on the name Christian.

An Alert Reader e-mails:

[N]ot[ing] your brief blog regarding the (almost inevitable) deterioration of the already-marginal [another place on the Internet] in certain areas - - mainly, the degeneration into a political argument, the use of vile language, and the disavowal, by a few posters, of the central tenets/beliefs of orthodox Christianity.  It is almost uncanny, that I had just reached a conclusion about it when I saw your brief post on the Dunker Journal website.  Though I am convinced that there are others, like me, who read much of what is written there with consternation and amazement, there comes a point when Jesus does ask His disciples to “shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them” and continue on with one’s life in other ways.

I WONDER if Stanley Noffsinger, a Church of the Brethren denominational leader, in his meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will bring up this:  A Christian jailed for converting to Islam, and may be executed. Something to think about when being told “Islam means peace.”

CANDIA, New Hampshire, Sept. 23 /Christian Newswire/ — More than twenty Executives and Leaders of renewal movements and ministries within the mainline denominations of the U.S. and Canada sent a letter of support today to Bishop Bob Duncan, Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh who was “deposed” Friday by the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church at the insistence of Presiding Bishop Katherine Schori. In their letter they also issued a strong rebuke to The Episcopal leadership. Bishop Duncan has been a faithful advocate for Biblical Christianity in the Episcopal Church for over two decades.

The mainline renewal leaders wrote to Bishop Duncan, “We stand with you in solidarity as you endure this trial of your faith. Your patient, courageous, and steadfast witness has been an inspiration to all of us who desire to see our Lord Jesus Christ glorified in his church.” They went on to say, “It grieves our hearts to see those entrusted with church leadership such as Bishop Schori and the Episcopal House of Bishops, engaged in such divisive and destructive behavior. Like other denominational officials in the North American mainline denominations, they have acted with callous disregard for the authority of scripture, the witness of the historic church, and the sanctity of human life, sexuality, and marriage. We are most deeply grieved for the millions of Christian believers who have been forced out of the churches of their childhood by those they trusted to lead.”

Association for Church Renewal President, David Runnion-Bareford said, “This action is tragic for the whole ecumenical church. Katherine Schori and those who voted to depose Bishop Duncan are emerging as the new fundamentalists of the left. Their legalism and separatism appear to be birthed from much the same defensiveness that marked the fundamentalists on the right in a previous generation. Their disregard for faithful submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the authority of scripture, the unity of the church and holy living has divided and torn the church irreparably.”

Signatories included church leaders from the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church USA, The United Church of Christ, The Church of the Brethren, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Disciples of Christ.

UPDATE 9/25/2008: The press release says, right at the top, that it was renewal leaders [of which I am one] who sent the letter to Robert Duncan. It does not purport to say anything else.

Also, if you have been keeping up with Bob Duncan’s situation, you know that he was deposed in contravention of canon law–that is, he was denied his due process under Episcopal church rules. He did not “separate himself” from that denomination.  If anything, this whole event has further intensified the feeling of the Pittsburgh Diocese to go ahead with its vote to leave the ECUSA, in order to remain Anglican.

According to the official website of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh,

“This is of course a very painful moment for Pittsburgh Episcopalians. The leadership of The Episcopal Church has inserted itself in a most violent manner into the affairs and governance of our diocese. While we await the decision of the diocesan convention on realignment to a different province of the Anglican Communion, we will stand firm against any further attempts by those outside our boundaries to intimidate us,” said the Rev. David Wilson, president of the Standing Committee.

Bob Duncan is still an Anglican bishop, having been nearly immediately received as a bishop in the Southern Cone. So, he remains in communion with Canterbury and all other bishops of the Anglican Church. After October 4, I am pretty sure he will be reinstated as Anglican Bishop of Pittsburgh.

THOUGHTS ON the Northern Indiana District Conference held at Camp Mack on September 19-20, 2008. Of course, these remarks may be revised and extended:

Bro. David Shumate, Annual Conference Moderator, delivered an interesting sermon on Friday evening that could appeal to just about anybody in the Church of the Brethren. The worship team led in a good variety of traditional and contemporary songs.

In the Saturday business session, an attempt was made to demonstrate the “consensus” model of decisionmaking. It was a mite confusing, and an (trifling) item of business was passed that did not appear on the approved agenda for the session.  That experience merely solidified my doubts about its usefulness for Annual Conference. Has anyone figured out that the reason Robert’s Rules are used widely for all manner of large group events, is that they work? While some complain that peoples’ feelings get hurt and not everyone is heard under Robert’s Rules, my estimation is that the same thing happened at the District Conference under the consensus model. My observation has been that when the liberals were able to use Robert’s Rules (and get their way), the rules were fine. Now that the environment has turned away from liberalism, the consensus model is the attempt to keep the church from moving to a more Biblical stance. I doubt we will see this model tried in this manner for a while again. [Yet I wonder why the District Conference leadership didn't use the consensus model on the query? Hmm. And hmm. Q.E.D.]

It was disappointing that the query from Beacon Heights was passed through to Annual Conference. The vote was roughly 60% Yea (to send it on) to 40% Nay (to return it to Beacon Heights). There was a good, respectful discussion, though the pro-query advocates resorted to some verbal sleight-of-hand and emotionalism.

This is the query:

Whereas the Church of the Brethren has a history and practice of seeking reconciliation; and

Whereas the Church of the Brethren has experienced deep division and brokenness related to the language from the 1983 Human Sexuality Paper that same sex covenantal relationships are not acceptable; and

Whereas members of the Church of the Brethren are not of one mind on what it means to practice and promote justice in human relationships; especially same sex covenantal relationships;

Therefore, we, the Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren, gathered in Council on May 18, 2008, petition Annual Conference through the Northern Indiana District to consider whether it is the will of the church that this language will continue to guide our journey together.

It was hard to believe that the Northern Indiana Standing Committee delegates (Jan Long [from Beacon Heights] and Margaret Pletcher [from Lincolnshire]) were unaware that the Standing Committee paper on the 1983 Human Sexuality paper is public information.  It was also incredible that the Northern Indiana District leadership hadn’t seen the Standing Committee paper and they were not even aware of it until the most recent Messenger came out.  The paper was mentioned and excerpted on the Annual Conference news coverage on the Brethren.org website. If the official press of the Church of the Brethren has it, it’s public information.  That the District Board (in Northern Indiana, only nine persons) would be unaware of the Standing Committee action, and that the Standing Committee delegates would keep the Board and DEM uninformed, seems inconceivable. If the reaction of District officials to this was true, then they aren’t paying attention to what’s going on–particularly when they knew this issue was coming to District Conference!

Earlier this year, a licensed minister in Northern Indiana (from Beacon Heights) had her licensing removed by the District Ministry Committee because she identified herself as a lesbian [according the the 2008 Northern Indiana District Ministry Committee report in the delegate booklet]. That action came about prior to or roughly the same time as the query. The Beacon Heights representatives denied that the two situations were/are related.

The verbal sleight-of-hand came from a delegate from the Goshen City congregation, who began by declaring that homosexuality is inborn (i.e., not sinful), and then going on to state that why would we single homosexuals out when we don’t do the same for gluttons, gossips, and the like (i.e., equating homosexuality with sin but then excusing it). Which is homosexuality–not a sin or a sin? It seems that the pro-homosex side cannot argue rationally on this issue, or that it deliberately fuzzies the issue, or maybe a little of both.

While homosex advocates certainly use statistics (some very old) to comment on the supposed population of homosexuals in the world, one at the District Conference decried the use of the most recent scientific survey of the Brethren (Portrait of a People, by Carl D. Bowman) indicating that 83% of the Brethren oppose same-sex marriage.

Many liberals in the Church have argued that Annual Conference is our final arbiter on interpreting our faith and practice–except on the issue of homosexuality. One delegate to the District Conference reminded us that Annual Conference spoke in 1983, affirmed in Standing Committee in the mid-1990s, and further affirmed and clarified by Annual Conference in 2002, and again in Atlantic Northeast, Atlantic Southeast, Southeastern, and South/Central Indiana Districts. Another delegate (in favor of the query) argued that all that was essentially meaningless, as it is God who is the decision-maker, and that God says that homosexuality doesn’t matter (no Biblical support for this was provided). Another pro-Bible delegate countered that with the fact that God has definitely given His answer on the matter, and that Annual Conference and numerous District conferences have simply affirmed the Scriptures.

Another Beacon Heights delegate said she wasn’t necessarily comfortable with homosexuality, but couldn’t bring herself to “judge,” and then seemed to get emotional over the issue.

I suspect that a fair number of delegates didn’t want to say “no” to this query, and seem uncaring. Some believe that surely there can be some compromise on the matter to allow congregations to do as they will on accepting and promoting homosexuality. Funny thing is, the compromise is to come all from the conservative and evangelical side.

Another observer at the District Conference writes:

One of the representatives (there were two representatives who discussed why Beacon Heights brought the query to conference) said we could go a different route. We could go the way of forbearance — allowing individual congregations to choose to be “open & affirming” if they want.

I think they would like to see the wording of the 1983 paper changed to be more accepting. Ultimately they would want the homosexual lifestyle to be accepted across the board. Of course, if that happens, the Church of the Brethren as we know it would cease to exist.

So, the query goes to the 2009 Standing Committee, who will make a recommendation on it to the 2009 Annual Conference. As I see it, there are at least four possible recommendations Standing Committee can make:

1) return it to Beacon Heights;
2) concern heard, but answered in the Standing Committee paper;
3) recommend that Conference re-affirm the 1983 Human Sexuality paper;
4) elect a study committee.

1 through 3 would be the preferred options to me, and essentially have the same result. Number 4 would likely be a disaster, and blow the denomination wide open.  As I wrote before, the Beacon Heights congregation is asking for this study, and therefore is aware of the possible powderkeg on which this places the Church of the Brethren. How can it be seen as anything other than divisive?

If a conservative congregation would have asked for this new study, with the intention of making the position of the Church of the Brethren more strict, I doubt that there would have been support of the District Board and the District Conference. [In fact, this was the case when a conservative congregation brought a petition to the Northern Indiana District in 1994 to make a Biblical declaration on the issue for the District. It flatly was turned away, without even going to District Conference.] We know what Beacon Heights wants when it asks if the language of the 1983 paper needs to be studied, based on its stance as an “open and affirming” congregation. The Northern Indiana District has now affirmed that.

This goes to the San Diego Annual Conference–so the need for eastern churches to represent is great–greater than in Boise in 2003.  It may well be that the location of Conference was in the calculus for this query. Conservative and evangelical congregations should make every effort to represent at San Diego.

UPDATE: A related note from the Northern Indiana District Conference, from another pastor who was there:

The reports that are shared about our colleges at District Conferences are always very positive. They don’t tell us about the groups that promote homosexuality or the fact that the colleges (at least Manchester College) offers a gay prom. One of the reasons the homosexual lifestyle is becoming more & more accepted is because our young people who go to our ‘Brethren’ colleges are taught to accept it. I’m a Manchester College graduate, but I’ve discouraged people from going there. … Everyone I know who goes through the Peace Studies Program comes out very, very liberal. The woman who gave the positive Manchester College report proudly said, “We are training the future leaders of our denomination.” That is a scary thought to me.

DAVID RUNNION-BAREFORD INTERPRETS the recent Baylor/Gallup survey of mainline and evangelical Christians.  He is the executive director of the Association for Church Renewal.

New Baylor Univ./Gallup study reveals:

–Liberal mainliners are more superstitious and prone to the occult than evangelicals
–Megachurch worshippers are more engaged in evangelism, Bible study than believers in small churches
–Small church attendees are more likely to be mainline and have fewer friends at church:

In the second phase of a multiple part study of faith in the U.S. released Friday, “What Americans Really Believe” provides some startling insights.

Some 40% of those self identifying with liberal Protestant churches believe in the paranormal (communicating with the dead, ghosts, dreams foretell the future, pseudoscience, etc.) vs. only 14 % of Evangelical or Conservative Christians.
Wall Street Journal

Baylor University Study

A comparisons of small church and megachurch attendees indicated that while only 22% of Christians attend mainline churches,  “Liberal Mainline Denominations” account for 47% of small church attendees.

83% of Megachurch attendees indicated that they had shared their faith with someone else in the last month vs. only 52% of small church folk. 41% of Megachurch people said over half their friends attended their church vs. 25% of small church people. Some 12% of Megachurch attendees said they had no friends at church as opposed to 22% of small church folks. 52% of Megachurch congregants attended Bible study vs. 43% of small church people.

COULD IT BE that the Episcopal Church, USA, has crossed the line into apostasy? It surely looks like it. It has, effectively, officially inhibited the preaching of the Gospel.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY:

“What Americans Really Believe,” a comprehensive new study released by Baylor University yesterday, shows that traditional Christian religion greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of astrology. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, far from being resistant to superstition, tend to be much more likely to believe in the paranormal and in pseudoscience than evangelical Christians.

What’s the saying–”Some people are so open-minded that their brains fall out.”  Opening the circle does have its pitfalls.

JOE BIDEN LOSES Barack Obama the Catholic vote.

AT THE NORTHERN INDIANA DISTRICT CONFERENCE this weekend, the Beacon Heights Church in Fort Wayne is asking the Conference to send on a query, the purpose of which is to overturn the 1983 Human Sexuality proscription against same-sex marriages and homosexual practice. Please be in prayer about this.

THAT’S A RELIEF: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said there was no possibility of a war with the United States.  Well, no–not when they are concentrating on the Middle East.

HERE’S SOMETHING THAT UNITES Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

PEOPLE KNOW HOW to take advantage of low prices. This one does, too.

MIDWESTERN BRETHREN COLLEGE SEES another record year in enrollment.

AL MOHLER LOOKS at the attempts to demonize large families. In a way, the attempt is one way that people use to minimize and/or eliminate Christianity, as large families have been a primary means of expanding the Church. Just ask the Amish–one of the few Anabaptist groups to actually grow.

SO, MR. OBAMA DOES favor sex education for kindergarteners. Yuval Levin writes:

Given all the media outrage surrounding the McCain campaign’s “sex-ed in kindergarten” ad last week, you have to wonder why no one seemed to object when two ABC News reporters made the same point more than a year ago, and why no one in the press seems to have seen the video clip that accompanied their report.

HERE’S ANOTHER SIGN OF THE END…children needing experts to teach them to play during recess. If this isn’t more of the creeping (and creepy) nanny state (or nanny school), I don’t know what is. (via The Corner.)

IN CAPITALISM, failure is not a dirty word.

THE “COMING OUT” of Ray Boltz is another confirmation of premillenial understanding, says David Mohler.

SARAH PALIN’S FAITH, and Mine.

THE LATEST CARNIVAL of Homeschooling is now up.

EFFORTS TO DIGITIZE Brethren Publications Move Ahead.

THE FAMILY OF DAVID CLAPPER, a member of the White Oak Church of the Brethren and native of the Chambersburg, PA, area, and who died while serving as a missionary in Indonesia, will hold two memorial services next month.

The services will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 in Shalom Christian Academy in Marion, PA, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 5 at White Oak Church of the Brethren, Manheim, PA.

Clapper died in August when his plane crashed into a jungle-covered mountain while delivering food and supplies to Ndundu, a remote village in Papua Province.

THOSE WHO KNOW the least about America seem to hate it the most.

NEW FAITH THROWS OUT Ten Commandments…and everything else. This church is definitely opening the circle.

THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS ENABLED Islamic sharia courts to handle disputes amongst Muslims. Is this the proverbial camel’s nose in the tent?