Walk more closely with God. Get nearer to Christ. Seek to exchange hope for assurance. Seek to feel the witness of the Spirit more closely and distinctly every year. Lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily threatens you. Press towards the mark more earnestly. Fight a better fight, and war a better warfare every year you live. Pray more. Read more. Subdue self more. Love the brethren more. Oh that you may endeavor to grow in grace every year, that the end of your Christian course may be better than the beginning!" --- J.C. Ryle

Of the thousands of "transitioned" people, none of them had gender dysphoria. It was about some underlying cause [where now] you just don't like who you are. --- Walt Heyer

Nail an LGBTQ+++ or BLM flag to your altar and you'll be celebrated as a progressive priest, but preach the Biblical truth that God made them male and female, and you'll be disciplined as incendiary and out-of-date. --- Calvin Robinson

One thing is clear, if things carry on as they are, the future of Christianity in England does not lie in the hands of the older denominations. These products of the Reformation and Puritan times have run their course. They have fulfilled God's purposes and are no longer part of his plan. The Church of England will cease to be a national church, and the Churches of Scotland and Wales will disappear by the middle of this century. Instead, God will work through the next cycle of denominations -- Pentecostal and Evangelical ones, picking up the pieces left by the extinct historic churches. --- John Hayward

"Mass shootings have become routine in the United States and speak to a society that relies on violence to feed the coffers of the merchants of death. Given the profits made by arms manufacturers, the defense industry, gun dealers and the lobbyists who represent them in Congress, it comes as no surprise that the culture of violence cannot be abstracted from either the culture of business or the corruption of politics."-- Professor Henry A. Giroux

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
May 27, 2022

A recent worldview survey was released from The Barna Group detailing what many have been saying for years: there is a fundamental issue in the church and it stems from the pulpits. The results of this report are particularly damning, as they indicate only 41% of lead pastors, 28% of associate pastors, 13% of teaching pastors, 12% of youth pastors, and 4% of executive pastors actually hold to a comprehensive worldview.

Taken on the whole, just under 2/3 of pastors embrace a form of syncretism, which is the blending of various belief systems together as one. In other words, purported ministers of the Christian faith don't actually hold to the Christian faith, but an eclectic grab-bag of ideological, philosophical, and theological ideas that are fundamentally at odds with one another. The impact this has upon the congregants cannot be overstated.

Most of this can be laid at the feet of what we once called liberalism, now known as progressivism. But some, including myself still call it revisionism. That is a complete turning on its head of doctrines that we once thought untouchable.

Take the doctrine of human sexuality which is now twisted to embrace a variety of sexualities. The atonement was once thought only to be substitutionary. The inviolate bodily resurrection of Jesus is now thought by many to be simply spiritual. Millions of millennials now reject the uniqueness of Christ as our only Savior. A recent survey found more millennials follow horoscopes than believe in an all-knowing God. The rise of Nones, people without religion, gathers speed by the day.

Perhaps our greatest concern shouldn't be empty pulpits, but rather empty pastors standing in them.

***

Christianity is declining in the UK. In particular, the numbers participating in churches are decreasing each year. Of course, not all denominations are declining. A few are growing. What is the pattern of growth and decline across the UK denominations? And what does the future look like for these churches?

Church analyst John Hayward says the Welsh denominations are doing particularly poorly: The Welsh Presbyterian, the Church in Wales and the Union of Welsh Independents. The main factor in church decline is the lack of conversions, he writes.

These churches then get older, and their losses get worse due to higher death rates. Why have the declining churches been unable to increase conversions? How have the growing churches been able to sustain conversions?

UK Churches. The reproduction potential shows that conversion is at its worst in the Welsh and Scottish churches. Is this weakness in recruitment a national trait? Is England somehow more "Christian"? Perhaps there is less theological diversity in the Celtic churches, quenching movements that would stress the need for conversions.

Three churches are increasing their numbers of enthusiasts; FIEC, Newfrontiers and the Elim Pentecostal Church. If they maintain this potential to convert, they could reach five times their current number by the end of the century. But they would have to keep this value for eighty years. Quite a challenge!

You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/growth-decline-and-extinction-uk-churches

Unless the Church of Scotland returns to the gospel it will die. Read more here:
https://theweeflea.com/2022/05/26/unless-the-church-of-scotland-returns-to-the-gospel-it-will-die/

***

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND is a unravelling, not only with declining church numbers but it is being accused of the very racism it says it wants expunged from the Church and state.

The Church of England is now finally dismantling its reason for existing at all, writes Melanie Phillips. The upside-down moral values of identity politics, with their terrifying inversions of truth and lies, right and wrong, victim and oppressor, have arisen from an ideological agenda to destroy the foundational principles of the western world.

Those principles are rooted in biblical religion, the onslaught upon which has been at the core of the West's precipitous and possibly terminal demoralization and decline.

A significant part of that problem has been the spiritual and moral weakness of the Christian churches -- particularly the more "progressive" denominations -- in the face of the attack from atheism and secularism. A man who has experienced this first hand is a black conservative trainee vicar, Calvin Robinson, who has been blocked from becoming a Church of England priest because he has dared challenge liberal orthodoxies.

Here are some take out lines: "Nail an LGBTQ+++ or BLM flag to your altar and you'll be celebrated as a progressive priest, but preach the Biblical truth that God made them male and female, and you'll be disciplined as incendiary and out-of-date. The Church is chasing societal norms, instead of holding true to the faith as handed down to us from the Apostles."

You can read his personal account here: https://virtueonline.org/woke-and-lefty-church-leaders-sneer-rest-us-our-beliefs

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has released the third in a collection of films designed to help churches engage with issues around human sexuality.

'How important are our differences?', is the latest film in CEEC's God's Beautiful Story series addressing the differences that exists across the Church of England regarding issues of marriage and sexuality. These differences were brought into sharper focus by the recent Living in Love and Faith (LLF) Consultation. To view the film, click here. http://www.ceec.info/gods-beautiful-story.html

The film suggests that differences in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) consultation are profound rather than superficial and that they cannot simply be 'covered up'. The film asks whether the way forwards for the Church of England can be built on the idea of 'agreeing to disagree'. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/ceec-film-suggests-scale-church-england-differences-views-human-sexuality-too-great-be-papered-over

***

The Dean of Canterbury, The Very Rev. Dr Robert Willis, announced that he ceased to be Dean at midnight on 16 May 2022, the eve of his 75th birthday. Dean Robert was installed in July 2001. Less well known, according to a source, is that Willis has been in a partnered relationship with another man.

And now you know why there will be no outrage when a number of Lambeth bishops, led by The Episcopal Church, will hold a queer Eucharist prior to Lambeth in the cathedral! They will get tacit support from the Dean. Welby, who must have known the Dean is a homosexual said nothing and he will certainly say nothing about the preceding Lambeth queer eucharist.

This is yet another reason why Global South and GAFCON bishops should not attend the Lambeth Conference.

***

The upcoming Lambeth Conference is posing more of a problem for orthodox bishops than ever. VOL has learned that a photo op will take place at the beginning of the conference not at the end, which puts orthodox bishops who believe Resolution 1:10 still stands, in an awkward position of posing with homosexual bishops who reject 1:10. What will they do?

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH grows more conflicted by the day. As much
as it wants to wrestle sodomy into the ground and declare victory with the passage of Resolution B012, (homosexual marriage) the issue won't go away.
It reared its ugly head again this week when the Diocese of Florida elected a neo-conservative in the person of Charlie Holt, an ALPHA driven evangelist, former American Anglican Council leader, latterly from St. John the Divine Episcopal church in Houston. Holt may now wish he had stayed in Houston.

Well, Holt got elected on the third ballot and then went about defending his election win with promises he would listen to the diocese's queers. He would honor Resolution B012 by allowing another bishop to come and do the dirty work of performing same sex marriages which he won't do because of his conservative position.

But then an objection was raised and signed by 37 clergy and lay deputies to the diocese's special election convention. They claimed that last-minute changes to the voting process violated diocesan canons and that technical problems disrupted the vote, rendering the election invalid.

A rebuttal letter from the Standing Committee & Chancellor said that it was all done according to the rules and regulations.

The objection will be forwarded to the presiding bishop, "who shall request the Court of Review of the Province in which the Diocese is located to investigate the complaint," according to the current canons.

But then it became apparent that it was not really about voting at all, but about Holt's less than affirming view of pansexuality that got the 10% all riled up. They went after him and said that his views on same-sex marriage and statements were intolerant or insulting to LGBTQ+ people and Black people.

Holt fired back if that is the only thing that we ever talk about all the time -- which, sometimes it feels like it is -- then we're a little sick. "Because you can't talk about sex all the time. That's not healthy. It's not healthy for the LGBTQIA people for us to focus on them all the time."

The result is that a campaign has begun by the queers and their queer followers to write to the bishops and standing committees, denying Holt consents and to call for a new election. Clearly inclusion and diversity are not on their minds for Charlie Holt. They want him gone. Former Albany Bishop Bill Love must be sitting back saying, "been there, experienced that." You can read more here:

https://virtueonline.org/new-diocese-florida-bishop-attempts-thread-needle-over-homosexual-marriage

...and here:

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2022/05/26/florida-bishop-coadjutor-election-challenged-with-formal-objection-effort-to-deny-consent/

And if you want figures for decline in Florida, they are: CONGREGATIONS in 2004 were 73, by 2020 they had dropped to 67. BAPTIZED MEMBERSHIP in 2004 was 32,371 by 2020 it was 23,734 a drop of 26.7%. COMMUNICANTS in 2004 were 28,760, by 2020 it was 17,710 a loss of 38.9%. AVERAGE SUNDAY ATTENDANCE in 2004 was 12,482. By 2020 it was down to 7,508 or a loss of 38.8%.

Meanwhile in the Diocese of Connecticut they elected a homosexual bishop in the person of Jeffrey Mello, the seventh queer bishop to date. He will be consecrated on October 15 with nary a peep from any conservatives in the diocese, presuming of course that there are any. At that point he will become the third sitting male gay bishop along with Thomas Brown (X Maine); and Deon Johnson (XI Missouri). Bonnie Perry (XI Michigan); and Mary Glasspool (New York-assisting) are lesbians. Vicky Gene Robinson (IX New Hampshire) is retired.

The Diocese of Connecticut had the worst rate of membership decline in Province 1 from 2011-2020 (24.3% drop vs 20.6% overall) and second worst rate of attendance decline there (37.9% drop vs 34.7% overall). Once strongly #Episcopal, this is now very tough territory. The figures for the diocese read like the present-day stock market. The number of CONGREGATIONS in 2010 was 171, by 2020 it was down to 155 a loss of nearly 10 percent, including St. Paul's, Darien once a flagship charismatic parish in the Episcopal Church and spiritual home of the late Terry Fullam. Now closed. BAPTIZED MEMBERSHIP in 2010 was 59,261, by 2020 it was 43,373 a loss of 15,487 or 26.8%. COMMUNICANTS in 2010 was 47,101, by 2020 it was down to 29,980 a whopping loss of 17,121 or 36.3%. AVERAGE SUNDAY ATTENDANCE in 2010 was 17,767, by 2020 it was down to 10,612 a huge loss of over 7,155 or 40%. In all probability Mello will be the last bishop at the present rate of decline.

Episcopal Bishop Marc Andrus of California will offer House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holy communion, denied her by the Roman Catholic Church. In a Facebook statement Andrus said As the Episcopal Bishop of California, I want to speak to the public announcement that Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be denied communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and to say Speaker Pelosi is welcome to communion in all Episcopal churches in the Bay Area, as I am sure she is welcome to many faith communities everywhere. I support Speaker Pelosi in her clear commitment to women, children and families, her evident deep, personal faith and her embrace of a country founded on principles that include, importantly, separation of church and state. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/episcopal-bishop-california-offers-nancy-pelosi-communion-denied-catholic-church

***

ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT. The Episcopal Church of South Sudan consecrated the Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Lomoro Eluzai as the third Bishop of Rokon at a ceremony held at All Saints Cathedral in Juba.

A new bishop was consecrated for Bolivia. The Rt. Rev. Walter Toro Martínez was consecrated on May 1 to serve as Bishop of Bolivia to succeed the Rt. Rev. Raphael Samuel. Present were Bishop Samuel, the former Bishop of Bolivia, Frank Lyons and the primate of the Anglican Church of South America the Most Rev. Nick Drayson. Together they consecrated the new bishop at a service at Iglesia Anglicana Cristo Luz del Mundo in Santa Cruz.

A veteran politician in Uganda, Timothy Okello, has hailed Anglican Church leaders in Uganda for promoting unity, development and being morally upright.

Addressing Anglicans at a function on his 70th birthday held at St James Anglican Church in the city of Jinja in eastern Uganda, Okello said that unlike other religions, Anglican Church leaders in Uganda have always remained focused and morally upright.

***

TRINITY SCHOOL FOR MINISTRY has a new president. The TSM Board of Trustees announced the appointment of The Rev. Cn. Dr. Bryan C. Hollon, Ph.D., as the eighth Dean President. He succeeds The Very Rev. Dr. Henry L. Thompson (Laurie) who announced his retirement at the beginning of this academic year. Dr. Hollon is Professor of Theology at Malone University in Canton, Ohio, Director of the C.S. Lewis Institute of Northeast Ohio, Canon Theologian of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Society of Anglican Theologians. As an accomplished scholar, pastor and administrator, the Board of Trustees is enthusiastic and confident in Dr. Hollon as he accepts this new call. You can read more here: https://virtueonline.org/trinity-school-ministry-announces-rev-cn-dr-bryan-c-hollon-its-next-dean-president

NASHOTAH HOUSE Dean Dr. Garwood Anderson delivered his annual State of the Seminary address this week and said that his institution was on a roll and had doubled its intake of students from 2017 and was a on sound financial footing.

Since 2017 NH had doubled its enrolment in residential program and online programs advanced degree programs. 67 in 2017 to 127 in 2021. From 52 to 101 in online enrolment a 90% growth. He said NH was up against it as general trends in theological education were going in the opposite direction. Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary had declined by half and was selling their campus. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) was letting faculty go. Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando was selling their campus. "The general trend is down but NH has doubled its enrolment."

"Despite its brokenness in the Anglican tradition what we are offering is working. We serve two church bodies that hold each other in mutual contempt but are also at war within themselves. NH is now one of the largest episcopal seminaries."

***

The Episcopal Church. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies, have endorsed a reduced schedule and list of attendees to better protect participants against the COVID-19 virus for the next General Convention. While the recommendations need to be endorsed by the Joint Standing Committee on Planning and Arrangements and the church's Executive Council, it seems clear convention will be shorter, smaller and concentrated on the basics of church governance, such as passing a budget.

***

Reacting to an explosive report that accuses some 700 leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) of grossly mishandling claims of sexual abuse, and intimidated victims while resisting any suggestions for reform measures for over 20 years, a columnist for Christianity Today labeled it the beginning of the "Southern Baptist Apocalypse". That columnist admitted he was taken aback by the depth of treachery within the church.

According to the devastating report from Guidepost Solutions, "Survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action, even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation."

Those accusations led Russell Moore who heads the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today to conclude, "It's even more than just a crime. It's blasphemy. And anyone who cares about heaven ought to be mad as hell."

According to Moore, "... as dark a view as I had of the SBC Executive Committee, the investigation uncovers a reality far more evil and systemic than I imagined it could be."

***

The United Church of Christ reports its membership dropped from 914,871 in the 2016 statistical profile to 773,539 in the 2021 profile. That's 141,332 members (15%) that vanished in only five years. ucc.org/wp-content/

***

The story I did not write at the last synod of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word was the appearance of Bishop Emmanuel Chemengich and Mama Dorcas of the Diocese of Kitale in the Anglican Church of Kenya. The visiting mission partners were welcomed by the ADLW Synod under the auspices of Bishop Bill Love.

"Since its inception in 1997, the Diocese of Kitale in the north-western part of Kenya has continued to witness many divine blessings and exciting growth, numerically, spiritually, and physically," said the evangelical bishop. Over the past 25 years, Kitale has helped spawn two other dioceses, bringing the current number of dioceses in ACK to 41. Originally starting with 20 parishes, 4 missionary areas and 29 full-time clergy, Kitale currently has 82 parishes (each parish consists of 3-5 separate congregations sharing the same clergy), five missionary areas in 11 arch-deaconries and a total of 105 canonically resident clergy.

The diocese, according to the bishop, has a vision that is to be "a vibrant and healthy diocese fulfilling the Great Commandment and Great Commission." Its seven core values include: Bible Centered, Prayer, Excellence, Integrity, Humility, Compassion, and Partnership. As witnessed by the above, God is blessing the efforts of Bishop Emmanuel and the clergy and people of the Diocese of Kitale.

While episcopal dioceses are sinking, the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ADLW) synod announced that it had added four new congregations. They include: Bread of Life, Niskayuna, New York; Holy Redeemer, Greenwich, New York; St. Mary's, The Bronx, New York; St. Peter's, Souderton, Pennsylvania.

***

COMPARING DEATHS. Overall, to date, it has been corroborated that in the Ukraine there have been 7,061 civilian casualties, with 3,381 killed and 3,680 injured across the country since the beginning of the armed attack by the Russian Federation.

In America, by contrast, every day, more than 110 Americans are killed by guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded. The effects of gun violence in America extends far beyond these casualties--gun violence shapes the lives of millions of Americans who witness it, know someone who was shot, or live in fear of the next shooting. Per year, average deaths total 40,620! It would appear you are safer living in the Ukraine than the United States!

***

MEMORIAL DAY PRAYER: ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in Whose hands are the living and the dead; We give Thee thanks for all those Thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them Thy mercy and the light of Thy Presence, that the good work which Thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, 1928)

A NEW BOOK, jointly written by myself and former Episcopal layman Brad Hutt with input from canon lawyer Allan Haley, titled The Great Episcopal Church Robbery: 6,400 Congregation Properties Heisted by Radical Clergy is out. I am offering it to readers for a tax-deductible donation of $30.00 or more. This book follows my earlier book THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The Great Episcopal Church Robbery tells the story of the purposeful take-over and co-opting of the Episcopal Church by radical clergy. As active participants of this 45-year-old Episcopal church dispute, the co-authors witnessed Dioceses, parishes, and congregations struggle to maintain Biblical orthodoxy and keep their church property in the face of an aggressive Episcopate hell bent on making the Episcopal church over in their own image by:
Ordaining women and homosexuals in violation of scripture.
Forcing churches to bless same sex marriages.

As the voice for Anglican orthodoxy - the Gospel is unequivocally central

You can make a tax-deductible donation for the book and to keep the news coming to you. You can donate here by check, credit card or PAYPAL.

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