Dan Greenfield

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Okaaaaay

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Dan Greenfield

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Gay churches don’t have the built-in ability to attract families with children, teenagers with youth programs, and young people with church services like rock concerts. There are no “crying rooms” for babies at Joy MCC or Sunday-school classrooms or a day-care center during the week.

…

“What I’m finding is they don’t want to go to a church where they are segregated by their sexuality,” said the Rev. Jenn Stiles Williams, who has about 50 young gays in her contemporary service at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando. “Their relationship with God is first, but they want a church where they can be who they are and not have to hide it.”

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Anthony Larry, a 23-year-old gay black man, said he also tried Joy MCC before joining St. Luke’s United Methodist, where he found an outlet for his desire for community involvement — and a rocking contemporary church service. “This generation, we want to be able to serve God through serving people outside the church. But it’s also about dynamic worship. Retire the organ,” Larry said.

…

One way for Joy MCC to prosper is to address the need that young people, gay and straight, have to express their spirituality in ways far different from the traditional church service. It might be through interest groups or book clubs or services that start at 5 p.m. on Fridays or midnight spirituality-discussion sessions.

To sum up, church should be about “me,” and the only way for “me” centered-churches to continue their existence is to continually adapt to the changing whims of “me.”

Source: Orlando Sentiel

3 responses to “Okaaaaay”

  1. Lawrence Noble Avatar
    Lawrence Noble

    Sir, Pastor Dan,
    It is clear, that you have a point, or just want feedback from those that read what you send. My initial comment would be that the folks referenced in your article are working on a false premise, as how could they expect to have a relationship with Almighty God, against whom they are fundamentally opposed, i. e. denying His Holy Word, i. e. rebelling against His Holy Word, and still expecting to have a personal relationship with The Judge of the whole Earth? I realize that God loves all men and women, and would not that any perish, but that all come to repentance. It may appear that these folks referenced in the article are attempting to be “politically correct”, and trying to have it both ways, i. e. appearing to being acceptable to Holy God, and man, but rejecting God’s Holy Word, and wanting to be acceptable to children of God, without first acknowledging that they are sinners, in need of salvation, and first need to agree with Holy Scripture, that they are sinners, in need of The Savior, our LORD, Jesus, The Christ of God The Father, The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the World, and receive the gift of eternal life from Him, who paid the price of their sin.
    I would like to be able to read your thoughts in the area that this article describes. Thank you. Larry Noble, Sr. Jn. 3:16-21 PTL

    Reply
  2. Dan Greenfield Avatar
    Dan Greenfield

    Hey Larry,

    Several things in the article had my attention:

    – that a group of individuals committed to an unbiblical lifestyle constitute themselves as a “church.” A church, however, is an assembly of baptized believers who have covenanted together to obey the Scriptures, particularly the NT. This is therefore not a church, merely a “religious assembly.”

    – a religious assembly that has no problem with homosexuality, in contrast to clear biblical doctrine, that is therefore not committed to obeying the Scriptures, is having to figure out how to keep going. The truths of the gospel message are rejected, but yet it is those very truths that give life, both to individual sinners and to congregations

    – in order to sustain what they have and “grow” (i.e. gain new people), they have to adapt who they are and what they do in order to attract new people. Again, the focus is on “me” rather than obedience to the commands and Word of Christ.

    – this “adaptation of the church for the purpose of growth” with its concomitant rejection of sacred worship for the secular sounds too much like what is followed by many evangelical (and sadly) some fundamental churches. This should be a warning as to where such a path could lead, not to mention that if a homosexual church rejects sacred worship and the preaching of the whole counsel of God, that would hopefully give one pause of following a similar path.

    – the motivation for such changes is essentially “I like it,” not does it please the Lord and is it consistent with His holiness.

    Those were some of my thoughts; thanks for asking!

    Reply
  3. Dan Greenfield Avatar
    Dan Greenfield

    …oh, and not to mention “why don’t we see children in our church?” Hellloooo….duh!

    Reply

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