Point of View

Ask four witness at the scene of an accident what they saw and you will receive four different answers, all based on their point of view.  You should, though, find a general consistency in their testimony.

A friend of mine at St. Andrew’s passed along this article given to her husband by his Aunt, who happens to be an Assembly of God pastor.  It offers a different point of view on the Episcopal/Anglican situation but tells the same sad story.  I found it interesting.

TWO DENOMINATIONS: TWO VERY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS

Since its inception, the Assemblies of God fellowship has generally seen continued growth. Even over the past 19 years, when other mainline churches have struggled to maintain numbers (with many reporting significant losses), the AG has posted gains in adherence and membership.

Recently, the growth of the Assemblies of God Church was compared to the dwindling numbers in the Episcopal Church – occasioned by the posting of two articles by Frank Lockwood, the Religion editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Lockwood, who is not an Assemblies of God adherent, pointed out that in 1964, the Episcopal Church membership was at 3.4 million, while the AG had fewer than 600,000 members. Today, the AG reports nearly 2.9 million adherents while in 2007 (the latest figures available) the Episcopal Church had plummeted to 2.1 million. Although Lockwood notes the reporting methods have changed for both groups over the years, the real disparity becomes clear when Sunday morning service numbers are compared.

In 2008, the AG had an average Sunday morning attendance of 1.8 million with an additional 443,000 attending Sunday evening services. In comparison, the Episcopal Church total average Sunday attendance had dropped to 727,822 in 2007 – well under half of AG Sunday morning attendance (and under one-third of total AG Sunday attendance).

“Forty-five years ago, Episcopalians outnumbered Assemblies of God adherents by as many as six-to-one, according to the ‘Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches,’” Lockwood wrote. “Today, Assemblies of God adherents outnumber Episcopalians.”

In the second article, Lockwood made note that since the election of “openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003,” average Sunday attendance in the Episcopal Church has declined roughly 10 percent. The Assemblies of God, as noted earlier, has posted gains for 19 consecutive years.

When contacted, Lockwood said he did not select 1964 to begin his comparisons by accident. During his research for the article, he discovered it was in 1964 that (according to the Episcopal Church News Service) the Episcopal Church began “focusing their energy on sexuality issues.”

He states that sexuality issues continues to be discussed in the Episcopal Church as at its General Convention in Anaheim earlier this month, “deputies and bishops winnowed a list of about 30 different resolutions pertaining to homosexuality, eventually passing resolutions supporting the ordination of gays and lesbians and the blessing of same-sex unions.”

“The decline of major denominations can be directly attributed to forsaking the authority of Scripture,” says AG General Superintendent, George Wood. “The Church should never get into an argument with Christ by permitting what His Word has forbidden. I am grateful that the Assemblies of God, while not perfect, has nevertheless sought to be faithful to our Lord in doctrinal and moral commitments based on His Word. Loyalty to Jesus and love for people impel us to share the good news that He forgives sin and grants salvation and eternal life to all who trust in Him. Those who trust Him seek to live in conformity to His will in all areas of belief and behavior.” (emphasis mine)

Thoughts?