Church Discipline
buy replica bags online «We stand by the Confession of Faith» is a phrase I’ve heard from conference leaders, especially around discussion of Article 11 on Marriage, Singleness and Family. But what about Article 13 on Love and Nonresistance? Is the Conference standing on this article too? At the Pastors Credentialing Orientation I attended, new pastors openly challenged that commitment to nonresistance, saying they didn’t believe it. buy replica bags online
And then there’s Article 15 that says, «Good stewardshiprejects the unjust exploitation replica Purse of the earth.» Are we standing by the Confession of Faith if Replica Bags we’re silent on global warming and climate change? Maybe that’s a topic for our next Study wholesale replica designer handbags Conference.
buy replica bags I think it’s obvious we are interpreting replica handbags china the Confession of Faiththese articles are essential, these articles are optional. buy replica bags
replica bags In my congregation, some want to include https://www.handbagaol.com GLBTQ people, others say it’s a sin. Some would never use violence in self defence, others have guns. Some work for environmental justice, others don’t KnockOff Handbags give it a thought. replica bags
best replica designer bags We all love Jesus and we’re trying to follow him. Handbags Replica We Designer Replica Bags engage in sometimes very pointed discussions about these issues. We would like to have unity, but unity is a long time in coming. best replica designer bags
For a long time our congregation rejected women in leadership. Now we have two female pastors. The congregation could have split apart over this issue in the 1970s but we kept discussing and worshipping together.
replica bags from china If we can do this at a congregational level, I am confident that we can do this at a conference level. Diversity does not have to lead to division if we have love for one another. replica bags from china
So I am praying for the Holy Spirit to give the MB Conference an extra measure of love, to sustain us on the long march towards unity. And I am praying for wisdom for our replica handbags online leaders, because they are rightly trying to foster unity. And that’s a hard job in the MB church, sort of like herding cats.
replica bags online I think that cheap replica handbags unity will come not Fake Handbags through standing (or falling) Replica Designer Handbags on the Confession of Faith. Unity comes as a gift of the Spirit: «Beloved, let us love one another.» replica bags online
You could get unity on a certain topic next year by expelling everyone who disagrees with Article 11, but what is the point? Unity without love is nothing.
best replica bags online Love, Carol Penner, Lendrum MB Church, Edmonton, AlbertaAt the last provincial conference I was at, different leaders at three different times publicly said, «There are people/churches in our conference who want purse replica handbags to wear our jersey but they aren’t working for our team». I heard words like expulsion, dismissal, and removal. The Alberta conference is working on a policy Fake Designer Bags that will formalize how to remove churches from the provincial conference. The Faith and Life Team handed out drafts of that policy. best replica bags online
high quality designer replica I left the conference feeling very disturbed. Sports team analogies might resonate with our culture, but it is not a biblical metaphor and I am convinced it is not a wise Wholesale Replica Bags metaphor. A body. The body of Christ. That means when you talk about expulsion and replica bags removal, you are talking about amputation. You are talking about wounding high quality replica handbags Jesus again. high quality designer replica
good quality replica bags MBs have been in this province for 100 Replica Bags Wholesale years without a policy of expulsion. What has changed? Why do we need to expel people or groups suddenly? Is something changing in MB theology? Where is the biblical grounding for tearing the body of Christ? good quality replica bags
I believe that diversity in the body of Replica Handbags Christ is absolutely essential. Kidneys and hips are important in the body. If we didn’t have elbows, our hands would not be very useful in getting food to our mouths. Why cut off your elbow?
bag replica high quality I think every part of the aaa replica designer handbags church is a Designer Fake Bags gift from God. We can learn something from every part. I hope that the future of the MB church means deep dialogue, living with differences, and trusting that God can make this body work together bag replica high quality.