The Confessing Movement is a neo-Evangelical movement within several American mainline Protestant denominations to return those churches to what the members of the movement see as theological orthodoxy. The Neo-Evangelical movement was a response among traditionally orthodox Protestants to fundamentalist Christianitys separatism, beginning in the 1920s and 1930s. ... A new religious movement or NRM is a term used to refer to a religious faith, or an ethical, spiritual or philosophical movement of recent origin that isnt part of an established denomination, church, or religious body. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In the United States... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      A denomination, in the... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... “Orthodox” redirects here. ...

It relates and cross pollinates with other conservative Christian movements such as Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Holiness groups, Anabaptists, and Fundamentalists. Its members have a stated commitment to remain in their home denominations, unless forced out, to stay and work for reform from within, in contrast to what they see as other modern reform movements that splintered Protestantism into thousands of denominations. They acknowledge that full reform of their churches may not be achieved. Of particular concern has been a perceived lack of concern for, or non-evangelical approaches to, evangelism, to the deity of Christ, to questions of sexuality and homosexuality in particular. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Pentecostal can... Holiness is the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of God or gods. ... Anabaptists (re-baptizers, from Greek ana and baptizo; in German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the so-called radical wing of the Protestant Reformation. ... Fundamentalist Christianity, or Christian fundamentalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to modernism, actively affirmed a fundamental set of Christian beliefs: the inerrancy of the Bible, Sola Scriptura, the... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... This article is about human sexual perceptions. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ...

The Confessing Movement should not be confused with the Confessing Church, a Christian resistance movement in Nazi Germany, nor the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, an unaffiliated group of pastors and theologians promoting a return to historic Reformation principles within the Reformed and Lutheran churches. The Confessing Church (German: Bekennende Kirche) was a Christian resistance movement in Nazi Germany. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is an organization of individuals that believes Evangelicals have largely forgotten the foundations of the Christian Gospel and is dedicated to calling on the Protestant churches, especially those that call themselves Reformed, to return to the principles of the Protestant Reformation. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Zwinglian or Calvinist system of doctrine but organizationally independent. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ...

The Confessing Movement in the churches

A large group of laity and a somewhat smaller group of clergy within the mainline churches have protested that their denominations have been "hijacked" by those who, in their view, have 'forsaken Christianity' and embraced what they consider moral relativism to accommodate democratic pluralist society in America. They reject church leaders such as United Methodist Bishop Joseph Sprague of Chicago and Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong as apostate. In philosophy, moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances. ... The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... This article is about the Episcopal Church in the United States. ... John Shelby Spong (born 16 June 1931 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is the retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark (based in Newark, New Jersey). ... Apostasy (Greek απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is the formal renunciation of ones religion. ...

Although many issues are longstanding, the trigger that led to the formation of the Confessing Movement was the acceptance or the possible acceptance of practicing homosexuality. Other issues influencing some groups were the ordination of women, and the decline in attendance of many of the mainline denominations through the 1950s to the 1980s in the US, while many conservative churches were growing. Some of the difference may represent individuals moving from the mainline to the more fundamentalist or evangelical churches, while the rest simply reflects a general decline in organized religious participation. Leaders of the Confessing Movement claim the shrinking of mainline church membership as evidence of a wrong path taken. Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ...

In some instances, denominational leaders have sought to denounce, repress, or expel Confessing Movement members. ^{[citation needed]}

Grassroots or conspiracy?

Many moderates and liberals in mainline denominations accuse the Confessing Movements of being part of an attempt by well-funded outsiders such as Institute on Religion and Democracy (a group founded by the prominent neoconservatives Michael Novak and Richard Neuhaus) to silence the social witness of the mainline Protestant denominations, rather than being a series of organically arising movements within various Protestant denominations as the Confessing Movements' leaders often claim it to be. IRD logo. ... Neoconservatism describes several distinct political ideologies which are considered new forms of conservatism. ... Michael Novak (born September 9, 1933) is a conservative Roman Catholic American philosopher and diplomat. ...

Many of the laity in the confessing congregations, however, may maintain that the aim of these Confessing Movements is simply to maintain the received Christian doctrine of the denomination as they understand it to have been traditionally taught and understood.

Debate about outside money

The confessing movements state that they receive no funding from the IRD. The groups that accuse the Confessing Movements groups of conspiring with the IRD claim that they derive a significant percentage of their budgets from the IRD, and in turn, the IRD itself is funded largely the by Scaife Family Charitable Trusts/Scaife Foundations, and to a lesser extent by the Smith Richardson Foundation. Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3, 1932, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), a U.S. billionaire and owner–publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ... Richard Mellon Scaife Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3, 1932) is an American billionaire philanthropist and owner–publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ... The Smith Richardson Foundation is financed by the Vicks Vaporub fortune. ...

In 2007, the IRD released a report [1] that showed that in fiscal year 2005 the National Council of Churches mainline umbrella organization actually received more money (US$1.76 million) from secular foundations and other non-church organizations than from member communions. (US$1.75 million). IRD remarks, "We should be clear that there is no necessary sin in a Christian organization—the NCC, the IRD, or the Salvation Army—accepting contributions from or forming alliances with persons or groups who may not themselves be Christians. The problems come when the non-church funding and alliances loom so large that they cannot help but change the nature of a Christian organization. Then serious questions arise: Are the non-church funders and allies determining the programs and positions of the Christian organization? Or are organization leaders reshaping their programs to fit the priorities of the funders and allies?" The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) is an association of 35 Christian faith groups in the United States with 100,000 local congregations and more than 45,000,000 adherents. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In the United States... An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. ...

United States of America

Presbyterian

One of the fastest growing Confessing Movements is within the Presbyterian Church (USA). In February, 2002 more than 800 laity, pastors, deacons, and elders gathered in Atlanta, Georgia for the first National Celebration of Confessing Churches. Participating churches affirm that Christ is the only way of salvation, that the Bible is infallible in its teachings, and that sexual relations are exclusively for marriage. Emblem of the PC(USA) The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or PC(USA) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... “Atlanta” redirects here. ... Christ is the English term for the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Sexual behavior is a form of physical intimacy that may be directed to reproduction (one possible goal of sexual intercourse) and/or to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. ... Marriage is an interpersonal relationship with governmental, social, or religious recognition, usually intimate and sexual, and often created as a contract, or through civil process. ...

More than 1,300 of the denomination's 11,000 congregations have adopted such declarations and become part of a loosely knit Confessing Church Movement.

The books Union in Christ: A Declaration for the Church (1999) and A Passion for the Gospel: Confessing Jesus Christ for the 21st Century (2000), both by Mark Achtemeier and Andrew Purves have served as rallying cries for Confessing Presbyterians. The Rev. ...

See also: Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is an organization of individuals that believes Evangelicals have largely forgotten the foundations of the Christian Gospel and is dedicated to calling on the Protestant churches, especially those that call themselves Reformed, to return to the principles of the Protestant Reformation. ...

Methodist

The Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church quotes Methodism's founder, John Wesley, who said: The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      For school of ancient Greek medicine... John Wesley (June 28 [O.S. June 17] 1703 – March 2, 1791) was an eighteenth-century Anglican minister and Christian theologian who was an early leader in the Methodist movement. ...

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out. A sect is generally a small religious or political group that has branched off from a larger established group. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus (breath). // The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath (compare spiritus asper), but also soul, courage, vigor, ultimately from a PIE root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate, the Latin word translates Greek (πνευμα), pneuma (Hebrew (רוח) ruah), as... For other uses, see Discipline (disambiguation). ...

Leaders have included Thomas C. Oden, Maxie Dunnam, Bill Hinson, John Ed Mathison, Karen Covey Moore, William Abraham, and James Heidinger. Good News Magazine is the main publication of Methodists members of the movement. The movement has been very successful in maintaining doctrinal standards and traditional United Methodist positions on theology and practice at the General Conferences in Cleveland (2000) and Pittsburgh (2004). Dr. Thomas C. Oden Thomas Clark Oden (October 21, 1931 - ) is an American Christian theologian associated with Drew University in New Jersey. ... Maxie Dunnam is a former president of Asbury Theological Seminary and chair of the World Methodist Council Evangelism Committee. ... Cleveland redirects here. ... “Pittsburgh” redirects here. ...

Episcopalian/Anglican

The newly-formed American Anglican Council states: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Here are the facts about the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) as it currently exists. It is a Church that is no longer in relationship with the majority of Anglicans worldwide. It is a Church that no longer turns to Holy Scripture for its guidance. It is a Church that has chosen the ways of man over the ways of God. It is a church that has undermined the institution of marriage. It is a church with which many worldwide Christian denominations have broken relations. It is a church that has lost its heart and soul and its commitment to making disciples and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. This article is about the Episcopal Church in the United States. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... This article or section is missing needed references or citation of sources. ...

See also: Continuing Anglican Movement and Anglican Communion Network. The Continuing Anglican Movement is a group of Christian churches which follow the Anglican tradition but which split from one or another province of the Anglican Communion because of their rejection of perceived orthodoxy. ... The symbol of the Anglican Communion Network combines the arms of the Church of England with the compass and mitre of the global Anglican Communion. ...

Church of the Brethren

Brethren Revival Fellowship was one of the earliest evangelical concern movements among the mainline Protestant denominations. It says:

Many within the Church of the Brethren have set aside a firm belief in the trustworthiness and authority of the Bible, and knowingly or unknowingly have embraced the historical critical views of biblical interpretation. There has been a drift from a balanced Biblical-Anabaptist-Pietist and Brethren oriented understanding of church and state, war and peace, church discipline, and New Testament ordinances (such as the three part love feast). The Church of the Brethren has moved from preaching the Gospel of reconciliation of individuals to God through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, to a human centered program of political involvement. We believe that cultural renovation begins one by one with personal conversion to faith in Jesus Christ. We are concerned about the diminishing membership and the need for revival and evangelism within the Church of the Brethren. It seems that many of our church officials are not ready to accept the fact that doctrinal beliefs and morality issues are affecting the giving and are contributing to the membership decline. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Church of the Brethren is... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Anabaptists (Greek ανα (again) +βαπτιζω (baptize), thus, re-baptizers[1], German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the Radical Reformation. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Church of the Brethren is...

Lutheran

Conservative traditions have always been strong in the Lutheran synods of North America. Over the last two centuries, most of the many new synods were started by members who felt their synod was straying from Christian orthodoxy. The Evangelical Lutheran Confessing Fellowship (ELCF) is one of the more recent of these "reform" movements, inspired by the other Protestant "confessing movements" described in this article. The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ...

The ELCF was organized in Hamilton Square, Pennsylvania, in June, 2002 by about 60 pastors and laypersons who belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest and perhaps most liberal Lutheran body in North America. The goal of the movement is to persuade the ELCA to move its theology and teaching rightward, rather than separation from the ELCA. According to their initial press release, a primary goal is to head off apparent movement toward formal recognition and ordination of homosexual clergy. [2] In 2005, the proposals to allow ordination of homosexual clergy and blessing of homosexual relationships were defeated at the ELCA's national convention. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      A pastor is an... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

The largest of these organizations is the WordAlone Network [3], organized in 2000 in opposition to the Concordat / Called to Common Mission agreement with the Episcopal Church USA. Under that agreement, the ELCA agreed to undertake the Episcopal practice of being governed by bishops in the historic episcopate. Many Lutherans saw this as contrary to Lutheran theology and organized in opposition to it.

While the WordAlone Network has had little impact on church governance, they had some success at the 2006 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA in slowing the efforts of those who sought to normalize homosexuality within the ELCA. This was accomplished in cooperation with others who did not oppose the historic episcopate through the Solid Rock Lutherans organization. WordAlone has now spun off a dizzying array of sub-groups for reform, including a new hymnal group, LC3 and Lutheran Core.

The most successful WordAlone outgrowth is Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ [4], a post-denominational association of 185 congregations in five countries, with 140 of them in the United States.

United Church of Christ

In the United Church of Christ the confessing movements include Biblical Witness Fellowship, formed in 1977 advocating local church renewal and national level reformation. Under the leadership of Executive Director Rev. David Runnion-Bareford, this movement has presented reformation initiatives before each of the last five Synods of the UCC, including a successful reaffirmation of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the denominations historic symbol the "Cross Triumphant" in 2005. "Focus Renewal Ministries" was founded as a charismatic expression within the United Church of Christ, and the more recent formation of the "Faithful and Welcoming" movement under the leadership of Rev. Bob Thompson(http://www.faithfulandwelcoming.org) followed the controversial synod of 2005 and seeks to keep churches from leaving the denomination. Disambiguation: This article is about the United States denomination known as United Church of Christ. ... Biblical Witness Fellowship is a conservative evangelical affinity group composed of members of the United Church of Christ. ...

Australia

Uniting Church in Australia

After a 2003 decision not to make an outright ban on the ordination of practicing homosexuals, conservative members of the church formed The Reforming Alliance in order to discuss the issues and work out a strategy. This process was helped by another group called Evangelical Members within the Uniting Church in Australia (EMU) which had been formed in the early 1990s as a conservative response to what is seen as the church's growing liberal stance. Logo of the UCA The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was formed on June 22, 1977 when the Methodist Church of Australasia, Presbyterian Church of Australia and Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union document. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... The Evangelical Members within the Uniting Church in Australia, or EMU for short, is a conservative lobby group within the denomination. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Liberal Christianity, sometimes called...

See also

• Homosexuality and Christianity

Christian leaders have written about homosexual male-male sexual activities since the first decades of Christianity; female-female sexual behaviour was essentially ignored[1]. Throughout the majority of Christian history most theologians and Christian denominations have viewed homosexual behavior as immoral or sinful. ...

External links

Groups calling themselves Confessing Movements (or analogs)

• The Confessing Movement within The United Methodist Church
• Unofficial Confessing Movement Page (United Methodist)
• The Confessing Church Movement Within The Presbyterian Church (USA)
• A confessing movement within the United Church of Christ
• American Anglican Council
• Word Alone Network - Building an evangelical, confessional Lutheran future in America
• Good News Movement - United Methodist
• Association for Church Renewal - Multi-denominational - a fellowship of renewing and confessing movement leaders within mainline Protestant denominations in the United States and Canada
• Anglicans United, Working for Orthodox Anglicanism (formerly Episcopalians United)
• Community of Concern within the United Church of Canada
• The Presbyterian Layman (Presbyterian Church USA)
• Brethren Revival Fellowship within the Church of the Brethren
• The Institute on Religion and Democracy