Comments on: Whatever Happened to Jesus?

By: Steve Davis

Steve Davis — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:23:37 +0000

To Graham Lawn,

Thank you Graham. That is a pretty sad situation. You would think that the mainstream would attend the meetings to put up some sort of resistance to the liberalism. I must admit that if I knew a liberal minister was about to run for a senior position at my Anglican church I would be down there to raise my objection.

Steve Davis

By: Graham Lawn

Graham Lawn — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:59:53 +0000

In answer to Steve Davis, it is partly a mystery to me but I think that many evangelicals are not knowledgeable about Church politics or/and can’t be bothered to attend meetings which are non-spiritual. Hence more liberals stand for leadership positions and get elected. Thus the members do get the leaders they deserve!
Graham Lawn

By: Steve Davis

Steve Davis — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:40:02 +0000

Graham,

Are you able to fill me in on the points raised in my posting on the 5th?

Steve Davis

By: wayne pelling

wayne pelling — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:06:06 +0000

I attended a UCA last Sunday as my own church – because it meets at a community centre which closes over January – also has to go into recess at this time. I was priviledged to sit under a sermon that was soul-stirring, evangelical and Biblically based – yeah in my dreams. One example was “the slaughter of the children in Bethlehem, if that is indeed where Jesus was born, was probably written into the Gospel account from the Exodus, because the writer wanted people to know about what jesus had done for them and not really worried about history” or words to that effect. This preacher was an example of what Francis Schaeffer called the use of the upper storey and the lower storey-contained history, with no connectedness between the two storeys – except as this minister probably meant to convey an existential irrational leap of faith, rather than the belief that the God of History had stepped into the Human condition.
Wayne Pelling

By: Steve Davis

Steve Davis — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:29:56 +0000

This is a very good site, congratulations Bill for putting it together. In reply to Graham Lawn’s recent posting, I just need some clarification here. If approximately 80% of members are Bible-believing then how are these liberal minded members getting into positions of authority in the UC? Who votes them into these positions? Has the constitution of the UC been watered down to such an extent? It would seem that there is some serious work to be done if this institution is to prevail into the future.

Stephen Davis

By: Graham Lawn

Graham Lawn — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:03:22 +0000

As a former minister of the Uniting Church I believe that about 80% of the members are bible-believing evangelicals. However, a spirit of control exists whereby members who are liberal, knowledgeable and articulate tend to get elected to leadership positions. Some leaders seem to have abandoned the evangelical fervour of their younger days in order to get leadership and then become conformed to the world.
Church and Life surveys always reveal which churches are growing and they’re not those led by liberal clergy!
Graham Lawn

By: Patti Smith

Patti Smith — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:33:29 +0000

Happy New Year Bill – your article is insightful – your gift of discernment is always present in your writing and this particular article hits the nail on the head in arguing the “reason for the season” – the Christ Child.
Patti Smith

By: Roger Marks

Roger Marks — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:23:58 +0000

Doesn’t the scriptures say that the dead in Christ will rise first. Perhaps it was alluding to the Uniting Church. Just a thought.
Roger Marks

By: Trevor Grace

Trevor Grace — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:58:04 +0000

Perhaps someone could send this short video — of Linus (from Peanuts) explaining Christmas, to the Uniting Church moderator that is referred to in the article:
www.humanevents.com/gnpvideo.php
Trevor Grace (SA)

By: Trevor Faggotter

Trevor Faggotter — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:18:51 +0000

Uniting Church members have been surrounded by that sort of mush—especially from many of those who get voted into the high leadership positions—for some years now. It is rather pathetic. But it varies from state to state. Victoria is the worst, together with WA, and Tasmania. SA and NSW and QLD have embers burning.

It is true that, the Uniting church continues to have as members, many who hold fast to the genuine Apostolic faith. The ACC are a parallel ‘Assembly of Confessing Congregations’, in the UCA, who represent people who have fought for decades, and continue to fight for the gospel to be heard and obeyed—and they deserve our encouragement and prayer support.

Well known Australian church analyst David Millikan has recently written an excellent article in the ACC magazine, entitled ‘The Liberal Experiment and the Culture of Uncertainty’.

He is on the ball, when he says ‘Spong has so little of the flesh and blood Jesus left, that he is almost transparent’. He is hopeful, however, saying:” ‘Ultimately evangelical truth will prevail and the liberal experiment will wither away. In fact it is already happening. Spong’s star is on the wane…’. He also recognises that many did not respond well over the years, to the attacks that came: ‘We were intellectually lazy, and too often retreated into a defensive fundamentalism’.

I have sometimes quipped: ‘the Uniting Church will see revival first… because it is the deadest’. That may not be the case. But often we falter because we simply underestimate the power of the gospel… and forget the identity, and good timing, of the Lion on the road, who’s roar and tenacity none can confound.

May the Lion of Judah yet be seen, emerging from wilderness, and swamp. in the unlikely mushy haunts of the UCA.

Trevor Faggotter (Rev.) UCA, and C of C.