The Illinois/Wisconsin district, which has seen several congregations close over the past several years, is continuing to do its best at continuing this trend.
After several congregations were unable to pass a query to their district conference, a new query has been proposed.
The Church of the Brethren Position on Sin Whereas, our Lord Jesus Christ warned us that we should "not think that" He "came to abolish the Law or the Prophets...but to fulfill" the Word of God since "not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law...." (Matt. 5:17-18); Whereas, there is continued confusion about the issue of sin in the Church of the Brethren; Whereas, there is more confusion about sin and much promotion of sinners in our culture; Whereas, there are leaders in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ inside and outside of our denomination who are refusing to call sin "sinful," who are allowing sinners to become official Church members and leaders in good standing, and who are uniting sinners in ceremonies; Whereas, the Scriptures plainly teach that those who do not repent of sin cannot become nor be members or leaders in good standing in the Church (Matt. 18:15-20, 1 Cor. 5:13); Whereas, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ compels our Churches to minister to sinners by calling them to repent so that they can become transformed as God intended and become new creatures in Christ (Luke 13:5, Acts 17:30, 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 2 Cor. 5:17, Rev. 3:19); Therefore, we, the undersigned Churches, meeting in our Church Councils do hereby bring the following query: Will the Church of the Brethren explicitly and plainly state that sin is sin, and will the Church of the Brethren forbid those persons who engage in or promote sinful behavior from becoming or continuing as members in the Church? Action: Proposing unanimous approval by the Astoria Church of the Brethren Church Council in Astoria, IL; by the Allison Prairie Church of the Brethren Church Council in Lawrenceville, IL; the Cherry Grove Church of the Brethren Church Council in Lanark, IL; the Walnut Grove Church of the Brethren Church Council in Noble, IL; the LaMotte Prairie Church of the Brethren Church Council in Palestine, IL; the Martin Creek Church of the Brethren Church Council in Fairfield, IL; the Oak Grove Church of the Brethren Church Council in Washburn, IL; the Romine Church of the Brethren Church Council in Salem, IL; the Oakley Brick Church of the Brethren Church Council in Cerro Gordo, IL; and the Virden Church of the Brethren Church Council in Virden, IL. |
2 comments:
Perhaps the Church of the Brethren should require a 75% vote on all queries....that we would help us have greater agreement on what is actually a "sin." Health benefit plans and sin require the same amount of unity.
It occurs to me that in at least one place the church has clearly stated what is sin. In 1932 we said that "all war is sin" and we have reaffirmed that several times since. It does not appear that a clear statement from Annual Conference about what is sin has very much effect in the life of congregations and individual members. I assume it does, however, for the churches bringing this query.
Post a Comment