Denny Burk, Professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce College, reminds us that what happened is a “sad but predictable result of a pastor who leads a church to apostatize from the Christian faith. Walking away from Jesus is not a catalyst for church growth. On the contrary, it is the catalyst for church death.” Burk begins his piece with a video that can be viewed on his page. Following is his perspective on this situation:
Two years ago TIME magazine highlighted an evangelical “megachurch” whose pastor had led the congregation to affirm gay marriage and to welcome LGBT persons as full members of the church (see the sermon announcement above from two years ago). The story made quite a splash at the time, even though many pointed out that the church wasn’t really a megachurch and could hardly be seen as a bellwether of things to come.
Yesterday, the website “Juicy Ecumenism” reported that the church has cratered over the last two years. From the report: