The State Of ABC
Things seem quiet across the country the last several weeks, but several things are going on that will help people decide what direction they want to take.
Parchment Valley
The Parchment Valley Group has had another meeting. These Evangelical leaders want to develop a new way of relating that allows greater autonomy for the Regions. This will allow the Regions to engage ministry and serve the churches in their regions without carrying the baggage from less Biblically oriented regions. It will also mean that the center of denominational unity will no longer reside in the General board. Speculation about their proposals would suggest that at some time soon the General Board will have outlived its usefulness and be defunded by a number of Regions. This proposal for decentralization was first brought to light from the Region of Michigan and seems to be picking up steam. The proposal called for the abolition of Roy Medley's office and would require a major reconstruction of National and International Ministries. Churches that want to get on board shoulod contact an executive minister from the Parchment Valley Group. (which includes, Mich, Indiana KY, Ohio, WV, PSW, Maine, GreenLake, NorthWest).
PSW
The future is still unclear for PSW. On the one hand Roy Medley is alleged to have promised not to play hardball. On the other hand it looks as though a new Region is being planned. Sam Chetti may not want to take the new churches in as they could overwhelm his region and certainly would destabalize the current structure of Los Angeles. Estimates are that up to a third of the PSW churches will be members of the new Region. If PSW is split that catastrophically it may be that they are unable to maintain the current level of service to their churches. In addition there are issues of state law which have led some to begin threatening talk of law suits. Even if one party or another wins a law suit, it garauntees that energy will be diverted from the kingdom during a time when there isn't much to spare. Please pray for PSW.
Collapse of Liberal Regions
Regions with decidedly liberal leadership are feeling the pinch. Genesee Rochester can no longer afford to maintain offices and have moved into the seminary. Mid America has been forced to let its Area Ministers go because of financial considerations. Other Regions with liberal leadership are just beginning to feel the pinch that is directly related to leadership gaffes.
Collapse of United Missions
In 2005 Jeff Woods is alleged to have said that United Mission has bottomed out. Unfortunately the free fall is just beginning. United Mission is plummetting. In the Central Region for January the total ABMS fell by over 40%. The head in the sand wishfull thinking of denominational leadership has led to a collapse and now it is too late to avert disaster for denominational structures.
ABE
The silence from the Cornerstone Network is barely broken by the shell of a web page and the promise of a few regional meetings. This is too little too late for CCN to make a difference. They may be able to help pick up some of the pieces as the denomination collapses, but only if they establish a trust level with the Parchment Valley Group. To date this does not exist at a level that would enable them to do anymore than gather a few hundred churches into a loose confederacy.
Reformation at Regional and Associational levels
In many parts of the country ABC churches are developing a new sense of connectedness and mission. In regions where there is adequate leadership this is happening at the Regional level. In Regions which have been betrayed by their leadership this is happening between pastors and churches at an Associational level. It is still too early to tell how many of these lifeboats will carry people from the wreckage of the denomination to a new sense of legitimate family. Our prayers are with you. Churches that go it alone are especially vulnerable. It is like leaping from the Titanic with only a life jacket. Better to be in the lifeboat with likeminded churches.
