On New Year’s Day, 43 congregations of the Reformed Church in America split from the national denomination, one of the oldest Protestant bodies in the United States, in part over theological differences regarding same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.
The departure of the theologically conservative congregations to the new group, the Alliance of Reformed Churches, leaves some who remain in the RCA concerned for the denomination’s survival. Before the split, the nearly 400-year-old denomination had fewer than 200,000 members and 1,000 churches.
At least 125 churches from various denominations are in conversation with ARC leaders about joining. Read More
Image Credit: The Alliance of Reformed Churches logo. Courtesy image
2 comments:
Is this new breakaway Church going to join up with the other Breakaway Protestant Churches that have allied themselves with the self-serving ex-President Trump, in order to get him back in office?
I don't think "breakaway" accurately describes these church splits any more, albeit it may have been an accurate description at one one time. What we are seeing in the United States is what Ed Stetzer and others have described as the sorting of Americans into tribes. Different groups with different values are going their separate ways. People are no longer tolerant of each other's views. The United Methodist Church is weighing a formal separation over the issue of same sex marriage and members of the LGBTQ community in ordained ministry. However, individual churches, liberal and conservative, are not waiting for the General Conference to act. Donald Trump, whatever we may think of him, is a consummate politician. He will play to whatever group that he believes will support his political ambitions.If he thought that the LGBTQ community would provide him with support without alienating other parts of his base, he would play to that community too. While churches within these conservative denominational organizations may lean toward Trump, they do not vote as a bloc. There are conservatives who would prefer a different candidate from Trump. Many of the so-called "evangelicals" who support Trump do not actually attend a church. Right now Trump is facing several different investigations. While his base loves him and the Republican Party has been won over by his popularity with a segment of the voters and fear of his base, the Republican Party may conclude in the future that Trump is too much of a liability.
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