Mainline Denominations

“The stakes are high. The coming General Conference faces multiple proposals to resolve longtime debate over homosexuality by splitting the denomination along theological lines.” - C.Leaders

“At the United Methodist Church, money’s tight, factions are readying exits, and social justice takes priority in witness. However, the denomination’s ‘traditionalists’ — so named for their support for the accuracy and authority of the Bible, especially regarding LGBT marriage and clergy — are growing in number and telling others how Jesus saves.” - CPost

“A Title IV Hearing Panel, which focuses on issues of ecclesiastical discipline when a clergy is accused of misconduct, released a unanimous opinion last Friday finding Love guilty.” - C.Post

“In a report released Thursday, Pew found that 80% of evangelicals surveyed had a teenage child who shared their religious identification; 81% of Catholic respondents reported the same. However, mainline Protestant respondents … 55%.” - C.Post

“From 2018 to 2019, PC(USA) went from approximately 1,352,000 active members to approximately 1,302,000 members….The number of congregations belonging to PC(USA) also declined, going from 9,161 in 2018 to 9,041 in 2019. This is around 400 fewer congregations than the denomination had in 2016.” - CPost

“It almost seems counterintuitive. While significant portions of the country jettison religion, others are increasingly identifying with a more devout expression of the faith.

“…the Mainline vision of salvation is alien to the Evangelical mind. Without diving in depth into each of the ‘Five Solas’ of the Reformation, most Evangelical Protestants understand salvation not through works of compassion but rather through faith alone, by the grace of God alone, working through the atoning sacrifice of Christ alone.” - The Dispatch

“At a Council of Bishops meeting on November 6, the five active Western Jurisdiction bishops announced a Safe Harbor Declaration for LGBTQ clergy.

“UM-Forward submitted their proposal called the New Expressions Worldwide Plan…. introduced as a way to resolve the years-long divisive debate within the UMC over the mainline Protestant denomination’s stance on LGBT issues.” - Christian Post

“The UMC’s General Conference 2020, to be held in May in Minneapolis, will consider the structure of what church leaders hope can be an amicable, and orderly, breakup of a worldwide church that is the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States.” - RNS