"Another Gospel?"

"You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you." C.S. Lewis 

Part 1 

I know I blog a bit about the prosperity gospel, but today I'm headed in a different direction. 

I'll return to the word of faith theology in future blogs because having been a part of that movement, I'm aware of the history and its foundation that run parallel to metaphysical thought and that needs to be explained and warned against. 

In the WOF church the Farmer and I attended in Texas, we were encouraged to read recommended books on these subjects stocked in the church's bookstore. The Farmer even applied to Rhema Bible College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, that promises to "help equip you to live successfully." Because that's our purpose as believers, isn't it? So, yeah, we were in deep. 

I personally just wanted to deconstruct from all of the brainwashing and move on; however, I'm beginning to realize that the word of faith message is picking up momentum in certain circles packaged under different names with a younger generation of rising "stars" being trained to take over the aging founders. Even though Kenneth Copeland "prophesied" that he'll live to 120. We'll see how that turns out for him with his hearing aids and pacemaker. Remember, do as he says, not as he does.

I'm sorry, I'll try to behave for the rest of this. It's just that this false gospel has hurt and exploited so many desperate people when all we needed to do was give them the truth instead of another gospel. Then they would be truly healed enjoying a blessed relationship with Jesus with their names written in the Book of Life. What's better than that? 

As Christians we are mandated by our Lord Jesus to spread the true gospel and make disciples. In countering these false narratives, as Scripture commands us to do, we are helping people to see God's truth. ( Matthew 28:16-20 ) 

That's why I'm compelled to share my story of yet another gospel - the one I believed first in my childhood church. And mixed in between these denominational narratives were hyper-charismatic and grounded Baptist churches. Seriously, ya'll, it's been real. Some people have been in the same denomination their entire lives, but that's not my story. Maybe it gives me a unique perspective, I don't know. I hope some good comes from it. 

Several years ago I embarked on a personal research study into American Christianity that has led me all over the theological map, meandering along paths I hadn't planned to travel, but that's the way research journeys usually proceed, into unchartered, but enlightening depths. 

The whole project started innocently when I realized the Presbyterian church I had grown up in had changed dramatically, or had it? 

As way of foundation: 

Shortly before this venture, I had been listening to the Gospel in Life podcast. My man children introduced me to Dr. Tim Keller's ministry. I shared already about having my heart opened to the gospel at a Passion Conference during a John Piper sermon. God can and does use anything to reach us, doesn't he? Middle age me sitting in the midst of hip college students. 

Well after that, both boys thought separately that Dr. Keller would be a good fit for me and my theological questions. lol GIL runs his old sermon series, three messages per week. 

Dr. Keller, who passed away in 2023, was a Presbyterian pastor. And that was the thing that puzzled me. 

Not that I was even remotely a biblical student back in the day as a teeny bopper, far from it, but Dr. Keller's church, Redeemer in NYC, his sermons not so much the liturgy, weren't anything like the Presbyterian church I remembered from my childhood.  

During the summers as a young girl and then teenager, I spent several weeks with my grandmother in the New River Valley, and we would attend her Presbyterian church together. Dr. Keller's church wasn't like hers either. 

Then one day, listening to a Becket Cook podcast, Becket told how he was taking Church History classes on line from a professor named Dr Robert Godfrey and how helpful it had been. I enrolled before the podcast ended because that was something I was profoundly ignorant, but interested in. 

This was through Ligonier Ministries, so of course I was introduced to the late Dr. R.C. Sproul's teaching, then Sinclair Ferguson and eventually Derek Thomas - all Presbyterian pastors and theologians, and all unlike the church I remember. 

You might be asking, "What was so different?" I'm sure people associated with the denomination probably have a good idea of what I'm getting at, but to be as concise as I can, I would say, "meat." I was hungry, and they were feeding me something that filled my soul. Prior to this, I had been feeding on the cotton candy theology diet of the prosperity gospel and word of faith sermons, as the Farmer so eloquently puts it, "big nothing burgers," so I was quite famished. We both were. 

I began to dig. 

At this point in my life, it dawned on me that in spite of being in church my whole life, I was the vineyard worker that showed up at 5 minutes to 5; nonetheless, the owner graciously and mercifully paid me for a full day's work. ( Matthew 20:1 -16 ) 

Better late than never. Better to be a late bloomer in the Kingdom of God than to never produce good fruit at all. It's humbling. And that's always a good thing - another biblical truth I would come to learn and experience. Over and over. 

The Presbyterian church is what is known as a "mainline denomination." The Farmer wasn't even aware of the mainline because he grew up in a Pentecostal / Charismatic setting. He said his tradition was birthed early in the 20th century, and he said they weren't encouraged to associate with other denominations. I inspired him to engage in his own homework. He said that's more than his school teachers could inspire. lol   

In case you're curious, America's mainline denominations, also known as the "Seven Sisters of American Protestantism," comprise of the Congregational Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Convention, and the Disciples of Christ. 

When I was in Atlanta last week visiting my oldest son and daughter-in-law, we got into this discussion as we strolled along the quaint downtown storefronts in some of the smaller, surrounding suburbs about the vintage looking churches that dotted the landscape. They told me that when they inquired into the churches, they were told from the pastors themselves that just a few white haired little old seniors still attended them. 

From my study I already knew that there has been a drastic "mainline decline" going on for decades, but I had no idea how bad it really was.  

Here's some data from an article first posted in "World" and then on a podcast entitled "Lessons from Mainline Decline" - the author centers on the Presbyterian church because that's the one he grew up in as well, but the same thing is happening in all mainline denominations.

"If you aren’t a baby boomer or a student of religious history, it can be hard to fathom the cultural influence and social cohesion that once resided in mainline Protestantism. At its height in 1965, mainline Protestant churches counted 31 million members out of a U.S. population of less than 200 million. Most Protestants were in the mainline denominations, and the country’s cultural norms were set, for better or for worse, by the old school Protestant establishment.

Almost 60 years later, all of that has changed. In its recently released demographic report, the Presbyterian Church (USA) announced it lost another 51,584 members. From a membership peak of 4.25 million in 1965, the PCUSA rolls are now down to 1.19 million. And that membership decline hardly conveys the severity of the situation. In the last reporting year, the denomination dissolved 104 congregations and dropped four presbyteries. More than 40 percent of the congregations have fewer than 50 members. Almost a third of the denomination is more than 70 years old, and another 26 percent are older than 55. Keep in mind that only 16 percent of Americans are 65 or older. The PCUSA is literally dying."

So why is Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian and the others unlike the above Presbyterian? Redeemer is a large, healthy, growing church, in a secular area, no less, with outreach ministries all over the city and world. That's because Redeemer is not PCUSA, it's PCA. 

What does that mean? 

Why is the PCUSA declining? 

The PCA is still a smaller denomination and even though it isn't necessarily growing exponentially, it is increasing yearly within all age brackets. 

I do not mean to imply that small churches can't be thriving and healthy, they absolutely can be! They are a blessing within their communities and globally as they serve the Lord and others with gladness, but within their small numbers they are more like a bubbling, fresh water stream than a stagnated pond. 

In fact, this very day at Heritage Home Lisda and the children are blessed to receive a visit from Cornerstone Presbyterian Church from Fairfax, Virginia. PCA and KPCW ( Korean Presbyterian Church of Washington. ) The Farmer has visited the church many times, and we learn much from God's Word, listening to Pastor Paul's sermons on line. 

So what is the difference in PCUSA and PCA? 

I wanted to know - PCUSA was where I was raised. It concerned and confused me. I had never heard of either - that's how unlearned I was. A quick look at my childhood church's website, and it revealed not only that it is a PCUSA church, but a beautiful, large sanctuary with only a handful of mostly white-headed seniors. 

What gives? 

I know there will be some who disagree with me, but I hope you will at least hear me out. Stay tuned for the backstory on the American Church's Mainline Decline. I'm not trying to create a cliffhanger here; I just want to keep my blogs short. I hope this has been helpful so far and possibly encourages you in your own study, creating a hunger for the Truth. 

💜