Are We Heading for an Apostate Church?

In last week’s editorial Dr Clifford Denton gave solemn warnings about the vulnerability to judgement of Church and State in Britain. I want to follow this by exposing some of the things that are happening in the denominational churches of Britain – particularly the Church of England and the Methodist Church.

Information comes into our office on a daily basis from readers all over the country showing the degree to which post-modernist beliefs and practices are entering the churches in Britain. We see it as our duty to share some of this information with our readers for two major purposes.

Post-modernist beliefs and practices are entering the churches in Britain.

First, it is our hope that those who have leadership influence in the churches will recognise the degree to which they are drifting away from the truth of the New Testament Gospel that has been at the heart of Christian mission followed by faithful believers for nearly 2000 years and is in grave danger of being lost. Secondly, we would like all Bible-believing Christians to be informed in their prayer life so that they can pray in line with the will of God for his church.

Church of England

Last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, informed Synod that it was his intention to lead the Church of England to become a ‘radically inclusive church’. He failed to define exactly what he meant by such a term, but before the end of the year he sent a letter to all Church of England Primary Schools telling the teachers to encourage the children to cross-dress in preparation for living in a pro-LGBTQ+ nation.

Anglican Primary Schools promote LGBTQ+ values

Some six months later a meeting was held in Church House Westminster to discuss education in Anglican Primary Schools where it was stated by the leader that it was Church of England educational policy to promote LGBTQ+ values in its schools. Only one voice was raised pointing out that this was a denial of biblical truth and the man who raised the objection was firmly told that this policy was not open for discussion.

No Discussion

A similar thing happened last month at an educational policy discussion in the Anglican diocese of Derbyshire where homosexual teaching is replacing biblical truth in Church of England Primary Schools. Bible-believing Christians are not only being side-lined but are being banned from raising any objections, or are simply being told that the Bible has got it all wrong and that the church is now teaching a different gospel.

Abandoned Church Organ / See Photo Credits

Methodist Church

It is not only the Church of England that is abandoning biblical truth – the Methodist Church has gone even farther. They have recently appointed an American minister from the United Methodist Church in Chicago USA to a key national position. This man and his ‘husband’, who is a lecturer at Queens College Birmingham, has been working as a minister among Methodist churches in Birmingham where he took groups on the Birmingham Gay Pride March, led training days and was working on planting a ‘radically inclusive church group’ in the City of Birmingham with a plan to establish eight more across the Midlands.

He has now left Birmingham for London where he has been appointed to a key national role in the Methodist Church as ‘Director of Evangelism and Church Growth’. This is described as “a new position aimed at supporting the development of these vital areas in church life”. This man is said to be “young, intelligent, personable, energetic and hard-working” and has “the ear of the Methodist Church leaders”.

Promoting Radical Inclusion

As the national Director of Evangelism for the Methodist Church in Britain this man is reported to be “preaching another gospel of radical inclusion where people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community are encouraged into fellowship and leadership without any requirement for a change of lifestyle. The LGBTQ+ lifestyles are promoted as completely acceptable.”

Our reader who wrote to us states –

“The gospel he promotes has other very worrying elements as well. A flavour of his theology can be seen by reading some of his Twitter feeds and also from the statements put out by the ‘Urban Village Church’ in Chicago where he was a pastor. They describe him as ‘A missionary to Europe and the UK’. From his blogs he is called a ‘Recovering Control Freak’ (whatever that means!). He also works as a coach with something called ‘Epicentre’ where he gets alongside ministers and clergy of all denominations to develop Mission and Church Growth.”

A false gospel will destroy the church, not build it.

Abandoning Truth

The truth of the gospel is under attack today from many different sources – not only from the secular post-modernist world, but from within the church where truth is being sacrificed on the altar of expediency. But a false gospel may promote church growth by increasing numbers in the pews, but once we abandon the gospel of ‘salvation only in the Name of Jesus’ we are entering realms that will destroy the church, not build it.

There are numerous warnings in the New Testament against preaching another gospel, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11). Paul also severely warned the Galatians, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal 1.7).

What we are seeing today is a destructive power of deception spreading through the churches. It will inevitably lead to their further decline and eventual collapse. Maybe it is God’s will to destroy the corrupt man-made denominations that we call ‘churches’ so that out of the rubble the true ‘ecclesia of the Lord’ will emerge.

Maybe we are already seeing the beginnings of this true church in the multitude of home-based small groups meeting for prayer and studying the word of God.