Some Views from The American Spectator

From The American Spectator:

Staid Lutherans never get as much attention as the more flamboyant Episcopalians, but the 4.7 million Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will meet in August at its quadrennial General Synod in Minneapolis. Currently the ELCA affirms that "all single rostered people, including those who are homosexual in their self-understanding, are expected to abstain from sexual relationships" and, by common understanding, prohibits same-sex unions. A denominational task force, liberal dominated as such committees always are, is urging the Synod to authorize ordination for persons in "lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships." Wary of following the Episcopal Church into schism, and cautious by nature, Lutherans may refer this recommendation to still more stupefying study and dialogue.

More decisively, the 7.9 million (in the U.S.) United Methodist Church has consistently voted to prohibit same sex unions and sexually active homosexual clergy, while affirming sex only within traditional marriage. Its General Conference last year reaffirmed these stances, but thanks to votes by delegates from Africa, where there are 3 million United Methodists. Virtually unique among U.S. Mainline denominations, over a third of United Methodism's members are outside the U.S. If current demographic trends continue, the denomination will have a majority overseas in the near future.

Liberal United Methodists, most of them from declining churches, realize they will never persuade conservative Africans. So liberal bishops and others have proposed partly separating the U.S. church from the Africans with a new U.S. only "regional conference" to decide U.S. church business without African interference. This Spring, local United Methodist conferences in the U.S. and around the world are voting on this plan. Approval by two thirds of all individual votes is required, and so far, the "global segregation plan" is falling short. If it fails, United Methodism seems dead set against accommodation of same-sex unions.

Moving in the opposite direction, the 1.1 million United Church of Christ (UCC) became the only major U.S. denomination formally to endorse "equal marriage rights for all" at its General Synod in 2005. It urged local churches "to consider adopting Wedding Policies that do not discriminate against couples based on gender." But the loosely confederated denomination cannot enforce its policy on member congregations, and probably most local UCC churches do not celebrate same-sex unions. After the vote, the UCC's more traditional Puerto Rican synod voted to withdraw from the UCC, as did over 250 local churches, helping to make the UCC one of America's fastest declining denominations.

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GJ - We left the LCA before the ELCA merger took place. ELCA began with 5.3 million baptized members and now boasts 4.7 million members. Many ELCA leaders were involved in Church Growth too, along with parish pastors. Norm Berg rattled off the names of ELCA leaders he worked with, and Robert Mueller knew the top dogs from his board membership with Lutheran World Relief.

I think the radical new proposals will pass at the ELCA convention.