The Presbyterian Church voted recently to permit openly gay men and women to be ordained as members of the clergy, making it the fourth U.S. Protestant denomination to do so.

The deciding vote was cast by the Twin Cities Presbyterian church at a vote of 205 to 56 (with three abstentions). This made
Twin Cities the 87^th presbytery to support the new policy on openly gay clergy, that was introduced last summer by the national assembly, Star Tribune said.

Under the rules of the church, a majority of the total of 173 presbyteries in the U.S. must vote to support new policies by the national assembly prior to its final approval. While 87 presbyteries agreed with the new policy, which takes effect on July 10, some 62 other presbyteries disapproved of it.

With the new rules, the Presbyterian Church (USA) which has up to three million members, will allow the ordination of openly gay members to serve as elders and deacons as well, Reuters said.

Near tears

Rev. Timothy Hart-Anderson, founder of Covenant Network of Presbyterians and pastor of downtown Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian told Star Tribune, “It’s very exciting. I found myself welling up with tears.”

Hart-Anderson told Star Tribune, “Up until now they’ve had to be closeted. Now they’ll be able to come out. It will honor them as individuals and as full human beings like anyone else serving the church.”

Not everybody is happy with the new policy. Peter Hwang of Korean Presbyterian Church told Star Tribune, “It’s very unfortunate we have to have this discussion today. I think we should be ashamed of ourselves. This homosexual issue is breaking our church. We need to abide by Scripture.”

The issue of the ordination of openly gay clergy had rendered sharp divisions in the Presbyterian Church in the last five years, with some 100 congregations leaving the denomination out of a total of 11,000 congregations, according to Reuters.

One issue cited by critics is the Presbyterian Church USA’s constitution, which stated that its clergy are required to live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness,” Reuters said.

However, the new policy overrides this and re-casted the former language to simply saying that clergy are required to live “joyfully submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,” Star Tribune said.

Other denominations that accept ordination of people in same-gender relationships are The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the largest Lutheran group in the U.S.), The United Church of Christ (which also allows same-sex marriage), and the
Episcopal Church.

On the other hand, the country’s biggest mainline Protestant denomination, The United Methodist Church (with eight million members), continues to disallow ordination of openly gay clergy and is likely to continue to require celibacy for unmarried ministers, Star Tribune said.

With the present vote it is expected that a 2008 controversy over Rev. Erwin Barron, former associate pastor of Westminster Presbyterian church, should be resolved, according to Star Tribune.

Barron, who is now a professor at a college in San Francisco, caused a furor when in 2008 he married his gay partner. Critics said the act violated the church constitution.

Barron was acquitted by a panel with a 3-3 vote and retains his church credentials with the Twin Cities Area presbytery. It was largely thought that the ruling would be appealed, but with the adoption of the new policy, the issue is expected to become moot, Star Tribune said.

The White House said recently that it was regrettable that an Evangelical leader would make absurd claims on Easter Sunday about issues that had long been belied.

Jay Carney, White House spokesman, said remarks by Evangelical leader Franklin Graham suggesting that President Barack Obama may have been born in a country other than the U.S. are unbelievable and sad, the New York Daily News said.

Carney said, “I think it’s unfortunate that a religious leader would choose Easter Sunday to make preposterous charges,” according to the New York Daily News.

Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, was responding to a question from Christiane Amanpour, who asked the son of Billy Graham if he was bothered by questions that have been raised by “Birthers,” Christianity Today said.

Graham replied, “Well, the president, I know, has some issues to deal with here. He can solve this whole birth certificate issue pretty quickly. I don’t—I was born in a hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, and I know that my records are there. You can probably even go and find out what room my mother was in when I was born. I don’t know why he can’t produce that. So, I’m not—I don’t know, but it’s an issue that looks like he could answer pretty quickly,” Christianity Today reported.

Graham told Christianity Today that the ABC program where he questioned Obama’s birth had actually been taped one week before Easter, and that his statements were merely in response to questions he had been asked.

Graham told Christianity Today, “I’m not going out making speeches about where the President was born. I could care less. I’ll continue to answer reporters’ questions.”

His statements however reflected that of Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn) who also suggested that Obama should produce a birth certificate. A few days afterwards, George Stephanopoulos of ABC presented Obama’s birth certificate to Bachmann. She replied, “Well, then, that should settle it,” Christianity Today reported.

Obama had actually released his birth certificate as early as 2008 when he was campaigning for the presidency, the New York Daily News said.

Despite this, rumors of Obama’s birth continue to float with some saying he was born in Kenya, and others saying he was born in Indonesia or the U.K. According to the president’s birth certificate, he was born in Hawaii, New York Daily News reported.

The “issue” of Obama’s birth has been noisily banded about of late by Donald Trump, who is posturing to run for the presidency as a Republican candidate. Graham told Christianity Today that he sees Trump as a viable candidate.

Graham told Christianity Today, “Donald Trump, when I first saw that he was getting in, I thought, well, this has got to be a joke. But the more you listen to him, the more you say to yourself, ‘You know? Maybe the guy’s right.’”

Other candidates that get Graham’s nod are Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin. Graham told Christianity Today,
“We’ve got to have some new leadership, new Republicans, more Tea Party people.”

A congressman urged recently President Barack Obama to raise the issue of human rights violations in China stemming from its one-child per couple policy, when the president meets with China’s President Hu Jintao this week.

Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, in a press conference, said women in China are forced to abort their babies and oftentimes, because they can only have one child, they are pressured to abort females, Life News said.

Smith said, “[China’s one-child policy] is ‘marked by pervasive propaganda, mandatory monitoring of women’s reproductive cycles, mandatory contraception, and mandatory birth permits, coercive fines for failure to comply, and…forced sterilization and abortion,’” Life News reported.

Smith said that in China, “illegal children” cannot have access to health care, education and marriage. Fines to bear illegal children are ten times the yearly income of both parents, and families who fail to pay may be jailed or their child may be killed, Life News said.

Smith also said the family of an illegally pregnant woman who flees may be beaten and jailed, and neighbors and colleagues may be denied birth permits because of her. Women are also physically forced to have abortions, according to Life News.

Chai Ling, a former Tiananmen Square student leader, showed a petition of 1,500 signatures and photos of 300 people around the world urging Obama to raise the issue of abortion and gendercide with Hu, Christian Newswire said.

Chai said over 35,000 coerced and forced abortions take place daily in China, and a baby dies every 2.5 seconds. One of every six girls is aborted for her gender, and 500 women commit suicide, “five times the world average rate,” Christian Newswire reported.

Chai also said 3,000 baby girls are abandoned in street corners daily, while over 200 women and children are sold to slavery. Chai said, “The brutal and violent enforcement of the one-child policy is the largest crime against humanity; it is the inhuman secret slaughter against mother and babies,” according to Christian Newswire.

During the press conference Smith told the story of Wujian, a victim of forced abortion. Wujian hid from the population police but was found and brought forcibly to a hospital where she saw “hundreds of pregnant moms,” who were “like pigs in a slaughterhouse,” Life News reported.

Wujian’s baby was cut into pieces in her womb, and then sucked out. In her testimony she said, “I could hear the sound of the scissors cutting the body of my baby…one nurse showed me part of a bloody foot with her tweezers,” Life News reported.

Borrowing from the words of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Chai said she had a dream of children in China growing up with “brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts,” of  “mothers [who] mourn no more because they are with children, and of tears wiped from the “faces of parents whose children were taken,” Christian Newswire reported.

Chai also said she dreamed that “justice will roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream…that God would bless his promised land of China and the World,” according to Christian Newswire.

Don’t discount Billy Graham just because he is now 92 years old. If anything, the man who has counseled sitting presidents for some 50 years, starting from Truman up to Obama (who visited Graham in his home), still has a lot to say that all of us can benefit from, whether it’s about old age, or citing the most important issues today.

Graham spends most of his time at home, and receives round-the-clock care. His son Franklin Graham, as president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is now charged with giving sermons and making public appearances, Christianity Today said.

Billy Graham is having the normal trouble that a 92-year-old man would have with his sight, hearing and overall health. Four years ago his wife, Ruth Bell, died at the age of 87. But son Franklin said his father might preach again on video, although there is as of now no set date, Christianity Today reported.

About aging

The elder Graham did however take time to answer questions from Christianity Today. He acknowledged that being unable to do many things he used to be able to do is not easy, nor is having to depend more on others. At the same time he realizes that physical challenges “will only get worse,” he said.

Graham also said aging is a lonely time with the loss of spouse and friends, and children living independently and having families of their own. “But God has a reason for keeping us here (even if we don’t always understand it), and we need to recover the Bible’s understanding of life and longevity as gifts from God—and therefore as something good,” Graham said.

Noting that the bible often mentions those who died at “a good old age,” Graham told Christianity Today that it’s important to “learn to be content, and that only comes as we accept each day as a gift from God and commit it into his hands. Paul’s words are true at every stage of life, but especially as we grow older: ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’ ” (1 Tim. 6:6).

Children of aging parents

To children of aging parents, Graham says one should be prepared for this stage of one’s parent’s life and accept it, along with the new responsibilities that go with it. He said the changes will call for patience and sometimes children will have to take charge for the safety of the aging parent, Christianity Today said.

“They [elderly parents] may resist, and you need to put yourself in their shoes and realize the turmoil these changes can cause them. But they need to realize that you’re doing it because you love them and want what’s best for them,” Graham told Christianity Today.

Graham also said children should pray for the aging parent, “that they will experience God’s peace and comfort as they grow older,” Christianity Today reported.

Most important issue today

Billy Graham has had an insightful experience into politics, having counseled so many sitting presidents, but he said if he had it to do over again, he would have kept away from politics, according to Christianity Today.

Instead, he says the most important issue today is not economic, social or political, but rather moral and spiritual. He told Christianity Today, “Our calling is to declare Christ’s forgiveness and hope and transforming power to a world that does not know him or follow him. May we never forget this.”

An organization that is a frequent foe of religion demanded recently that the top officer of the U.S. Air Force Academy be ousted for planning to invite an evangelical Christian to address the school’s prayer luncheon.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation took issue with the academy’s selection of retired Marine First Lt. Clebe McClary, a multi-medaled soldier, to speak at the school’s National Prayer Luncheon scheduled for February, according to Fox News.

The MRFF said McClary (who among other awards was given the silver star and bronze star by the President of the United States, three Purple Hearts and The Outstanding Young Man of America Award), is too evangelical.  

The MRRF said the academy’s superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould should be removed as head of the school because he invited McClary. Mikey Weinstein, MRRF founder said, “We’re done. Gould needs to go,” Fox News reported.

A letter that was featured in Veterans Today, and which the staff cosigned, said the academy’s prayer luncheon is “provincial, hateful and exclusionary,” and said the school’s culture is “dominionist.”

Veterans Today also cited Article VI of the Constitution which says, “[N]o religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

Weinstein said McClary is too evangelical adding, “To him, USMC will always mean a U.S. Marine for Christ,” referring to McClary’s website. He called this “anathema” adding that it is not globally inclusive, The Gazette said.

According to Spero News, a 2005 report indicated that in terms of religious liberty, the academy showed no “overt religious discrimination.” At the time, Weinstein complained that evangelical Protestants receive preferential treatment.

Courage under fire

McClary won the Silver and Bronze Awards from the President for showing courage under fire and concern for his men when he was in Vietnam. In 1968 he was critically wounded by enemy fire, his website says.

His website says McClary lost one eye, one arm, and was told he would never walk again. He spent over two years in military hospitals and underwent 30 major surgeries. His dedication to overcoming circumstance, however, has made him an inspiration to others.

Lt. Col. John Bryan, spokesman of the academy said McClary is “a nationally recognized motivational speaker,” and an inspiration for “overcoming obstacles rather than religious philosophy,” according to The Gazette.

Initially the academy invited former Secretary of State Colin Powell, but he declined due to schedule conflicts. As keynote speaker, McClary will be paid $2,500 plus airfare reimbursement, The Gazette reported.

The academy stood behind Gould, noting that the luncheon is optional and “McClary is part of a broad spectrum of religious views,” according to The Washington Post.

In the recent past, Weinstein took issue with the academy because he was not included during a conference that was held regarding the school’s practices with regard to religious tolerance, The Gazette said.

William Donohue, in a commentary he wrote on Spero News, said The Catholic League stands by both Gould and McClary. Donohue wrote, “What’s at stake is religious liberty.”

Forty-eight years ago, Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, I Have a Dream, brought the issue of discrimination and segregation to the public fore, and made him perhaps the greatest speaker of all time. What is less widely known is that the speech was completely off the cuff.

This is what Clarence Jones, King’s speechwriter and lawyer, says in his book, Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech That Transformed a Nation, which Jones co-wrote with Stuart Connelly, published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Today, Jones is scholar-in-residence at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Institute. He is also one of the last living close friends of King, and the only one, he tells Politico, “who was with Martin Luther King Jr. 24/7 in the weeks before and during the March on Washington.”

He is referring to the August 28, 1963 March at the Lincoln Memorial, where the words I Have a Dream became identified with the civil rights movement. According to Politico, King actually had a speech prepared for that day, which Jones helped draft.

But as King stood before 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson yelled, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” And King shoved his notes aside. Jones told Politico neither the notes, nor any previous draft of the prepared speech had the words, ‘I have a dream.’”

Jones stood behind King that day. He told Politico, “I turned to the person next to me and said, ‘These people don’t know it, but they’re about ready to go to church.’”

Turned King down

According to AJC, when one of King’s counselors first approached Jones for legal assistance, the lawyer turned him down. At the time, Jones was only interested in making money.

King needed legal help because the government was trying to pin a dubious tax evasion charge on him. Jones thought at the time, “Just because some Negro preacher got his hand caught in the cookie jar, that is not my problem,” AJC reported.

Jones’ wife, Anne, was alarmed and openly expressed her dismay, so Jones grudgingly accepted King’s invitation to go to church. King was slated to speak at a Los Angeles church near Jones’ home. After that, Jones became his disciple, AJC said.

No Blackberry generation

The behind-the-scenes story of the 1963 March is, in itself, compelling. Jones told Politico, “I don’t think the public knew, but up until 24 hours before the March, there was a little bit of skepticism among the organizers. There was anxiety about how many people might attend. We didn’t have Blackberries or cell phones, or anything like that. The best we had was spotters near major highways saying, ‘There seem to be a lot of people coming in.’”

There was also concern that only a few white people would attend. The message of the March, Politico reported, was that “an integrated, multi-racial society could work.” There was great relief when a quarter of all who came were white.

Politico said there were economic concerns, too. The organizers culled a large debt preparing for the March, and the only way they could recover would be through the sale of posters, buttons and other souvenirs at the rally.

The lesson, co-author Connelly told Politico, is that “the key to change is to take action. Even if it isn’t planned perfectly, it’s better than waiting.”

Free national parks

Martin Luther King’s Day will be celebrated this weekend up to Monday. All the national parks will be free, The New York Times said, which would make it a great time to go to Yosemite or to visit the Grand Canyon.

The Martin Luther King website suggests rendering service, and one can look for projects near one’s community by visiting the site. One can also share one’s plans or become an e-reporter for that day. (Go to http://mlkday.gov/ if interested).

Jones said King would be happy if he were alive today, to know that minorities are moving up the economic ladder, and that the U.S. has elected its first African-American president.

But he suggests much still needs to be done, and I Have a Dream is still relevant. He told Politico, “There is nothing more powerful than the words themselves, all I seek to do [with 'Behind the Dream'] is fill in the blank space.”

The split continues to widen in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over the ordination of gays who are in committed relationships.

According to The Gazette, the ELCA still remains strong, in that out of 10,000 churches in the U.S., only 291 have left as of 2009 to join other, more conservative Lutheran denominations.

However, while the number of those who have left ELCA remain small overall, what is significant is the speed at which groups which leave, manage to reorganize–and their tremendous rate of growth outside of ELCA, according to The Gazette.

Last August, defectors from ELCA formed the North American Lutheran Church, just one year after ELCA decided in a General Assembly to permit homosexuals in committed relationships to become ordained clergy, The Gazette said.

What’s more, the speed of growth of NALC is unprecedented. When it was launched it had 18 churches in its group, including St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. Within four months, the number has more than tripled with a total of 70 churches, and 17 more undergoing the process to join, The Gazette reported.

This is incredibly quick, considering that it took six years for former Episcopalians to create the Anglican Church in North America after a gay Episcopal bishop was elected in 2003, according to The Gazette.

Paull Spring, former bishop of ELCA’s Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod and current head of NALC said the speed of their reorganization was the result of a consultation he had with Episcopal Church dissenters, The Pulpit reported.

Spring told The Pulpit, “They felt they didn’t move as fast and lost lay supporters. So we wanted to move fast.” He added that NALC and ELCA do not communicate saying, “They don’t respond, don’t talk.”

Other churches that have undergone great internal friction over the issue of the ordination of gays are The Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and the American Baptist Church USA, The Gazette said.

Beyond the issue of sexual orientation

David Wendel, pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran and one of 17 regional deans of NALC (charged with Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah) said that the issue is beyond that of sexual orientation.

Wendel told The Pulpit, “The sexuality issue is not really the issue. We did not discuss that. The issue is the change in biblical understanding in the ELCA. There are some pastors who don’t believe in the resurrection.”

Wendel said that with NALC, gays can be ordained, however, “A homosexual person who is single could be ordained and is expected to be celibate,” The Pulpit reported.

NALC and other ELCA defectors will be able to keep their property, so long as they remain aligned with a Lutheran denomination. Wendel told The Gazette, “We don’t call this a schism. Lutheranism has a flexibility that allows for this realignment.”

As of now, NALC has no U.S. central location, as it is only four months old and NALC positions will only hold until next August. Spring said he will not likely run for reelection, The Gazette reported.

Spring told The Gazette, “It’s been a very stressful time, personally. There is sorrow over a lost relationship. But what are you supposed to do when the parent body goes against Holy Scripture?”

Amid a media onslaught from CNN to National Public Radio and elsewhre, anti-gay bullying has been blamed for teen suicides, and Christians have been blamed for anti-gay bullying, The Christian Chronicle noted.

For example, The Christian Chronicle cited an NPR headline that said, Religious Undercurrent Ripples in Anti-Gay Bullying.

To further strengthen the link between Christians and bullying of gays, NPR quoted a graduate of a Minnesota high school who said, “People say things like, ‘Fags should just disappear so we don’t have to deal with them anymore’ and ‘Fags are disgusting and sinful.’ And still, there was no one intervening. I began to feel so worthless and ashamed and unloved that I began to think about taking my own life,” The Christian Chronicle reported.

Big Hollywood noted that TV personality Kathy Griffin has stated her sympathy for gay children who are forced to stay in a “Bible-belt closet because of evil Republicans practicing trickle-down homophobia.” Griffin has also stressed the wrongness of Prop. 8.

Conjecture vs. fact

The Christian Chronicle noted that the NPR story is short of facts and does not prove that bullies are bible-carrying Christians. One clear example of bullying is the work of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas who is fond of going to funerals where members hold up anti-gay slurs.

However, this is more of a cult rather than a legitimate Baptist church, and its members are mostly of the pastor’s family members and relatives. Westboro is not affiliated with Southern Baptists, The Christian Chronicle said.

Of Kathy Griffin, Big Hollywood said she bullies overweight people. In general, Hollywood tends to bully anyone with a different point of view. Big Hollywood commented, “you can’t take the noose off one group of people and place it around the neck of another just because you feel the way they live is wrong. That’s just being a bully, Kathy.”

The Christian Chronicle noted that Christian youth also get bullied for their faith, but this is not receiving news headlines. Neither does the news cover stories about believers who try to emulate Jesus’ love and compassion for abused gays.

Cyber bullying

A larger issue of bullying mentioned by The Christian Chronicle is cyber bullying. One of the students who committed suicide from Rutgers, Tyler Clementi, immediately did so after an incident of cyber bullying, and the bullying was not done by Bible believing Christians.

The New York Times also mentioned cyber bullying by adolescents, saying it is more potent because the bully’s identity is hidden and parents are not internet savvy enough to be able to adequately address the issue, The Christian Post said.

In fact, many parents are not aware that the phones their children have are “little computers” that get them online and allow them to send messages online as well, The Christian Post reported.

Christian position on gays, bullying

The Christian Chronicle quotes Gateway Minister John McCranie who said “There is no disputing that some faith systems in America are hostile and even belligerent to those in the homosexual lifestyle. We grieve over this and feel compelled to compensate by showing authentic Christian love to victims of all types.

“Recent media reports have over-focused on gay victims only. Unfortunately, this issue also occurs to Christian youth who are being bullied because of their faith. What is not reported is (the story of) the believers who are emulating Jesus’ compassion to abused gays and other victims of this global issue.”

The first edition of a Christian literary magazine was released recently to cater to readers and writers who are interested in Christian literary fiction; even as a movie conference is slated for early next year.

Athanatos Christian Ministries released recently the first issue of Literary Apologetics.Mag, which is focused on apologetics through the venue of literature. It is their view that this can lend to the cultural climate and be a strong vehicle for ministry.

ACM is committed to the use of arts and film as a means to edify the church. Currently, aside from Literary Apologetics.Mag, they are hosting a Christian writing contest and entries are currently being accepted. There is a high school category and an adult category for those aged 19 and above. Poems are also accepted.

Literary Apologetics.Mag can be either read online or downloaded and printed. It is also available in Ebook and Kindle editions. Its first issue contains the award winning story “The Faceless One” by Robert Cely, as well as poems and commentaries.

Apologetics Conference on Culture and Arts

Another pending project under ACM is the Apologetics Conference on Culture and Arts, which will be held at the Athanatos Christian Ministry’s 2011 online apologetics conference on April 8-9, 2011.

Speakers include Jason Jones, co-executive producer of Bella, an award-wining, pro-life film. The conference will call on all Christians to use the arts to defend Christianity, marriage, family and life through movies and films, Christian Newswire reported.

The keynote address will be presented by Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Jr., a leading advocate for Christians in the arts. Another speaker scheduled is Dallas Jenkins, who created the newly-released film, What If? Dick Rolfe, CEO of the Dove Foundation will also be present, among others.

Anthony Horvarth, executive director of ACM pointed out the need to have a conference where the defense of family is key.

He said, “A defense of the family amounts to a defense of Christianity. Since the attack on the family often comes through the media and the culture, it makes sense to ponder how best to resist- and fight back.”

Because the conference will be held online, people from all over the world are invited to attend. It is hoped that included will be ‘culture warriors,’ artists, theologians, writers and film makers.

Those interested in participating may go to www.onlineapologeticsconference.com and register. There are special discounts for the first 50 registrants and for early birds, according to Christian Newswire.

A short film contest will offer more than $1,000 in awards and will be judged by sponsors, conference speakers, attendees and the general public.

Horvarth said, “Our video contest is our way to put our money where our mouth is, supporting Christians in the visual arts. Hopefully placing in our contest will open up other opportunities for them.”

Three more conservative churches split recently from the largest Lutheran denomination in the country and formed their own church, amid the more accepting position that has been taken by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America toward gay clergy, and their recent ordination of gay bishops who are involved in committed relationships.

The First Lutheran Church in Philip, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Long Valley, and Trinity Lutheran in Midland, who form part of the Lutheran Coalition of Renewal voted by an overwhelming margin of 98 percent to 100 percent to leave the 4.5-million strong ELCA and create the North American Lutheran Church, the Rapid City Journal said.

Meanwhile a fourth church, Deep Creek Lutheran Church of Midland/Hayes has already voted 12-0 to part ways with ELCA, and has its second vote scheduled for Sept. 5, the Rapid City Journal said.

Other churches that are set to break ties with ELCA are the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran church in Lead, and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Whitewood, whose first votes also showed vast margins, the Rapid City Journal said.

Lead’s second vote is scheduled on Sept. 26, while Whitewood will have its second vote on Oct. 10. Rev. Frezil Westerlund, pastor of the four churches said, “We are not divided on this at all. We just feel renewed, like the Holy Spirit is moving among us,” the Rapid City Journal said.

While NALC opposes the gay clergy directive that ELCA passed in its convention last year, they say their focus is less on sexuality and more on returning to Lutheran traditions while the gay issue was simply the last straw, the Rapid City Journal said.

Bishop Paull Spring, who will head NALC, cited for example ELCA’s incorporation of language that eliminated male references to God such as “Father” and “Son,” and instead using gender-free words like “Creator” and “Savior,” the AP said.

Spring said, “The broader issue [was]: Which is the authoritative voice of the church today? Is it holy scripture, which Lutherans have always confessed, scripture alone, or is supposed to be some combination, that as well as some mood of the times?” AP said.

In general, churches leaving ELCA perceive a gap with local congregations, and many departing churches would have left even without the 2009 gay clergy policy, the Rapid City Journal said.

So far 199 churches have left ELCA after two congregational votes, with another 136 who only need a second vote before it becomes official. There are 10,239 ELCA churches totaling 4.5 million members. Over the last 20 years some 500,000 church members have left ELCA but many individual congregations also prospered proportionately, that share the sentiments of NALC, the AP said.

Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE said, “The average person out there who’s interested in a Christian church wants the real thing. They want Jesus. They want the gospel. They don’t want something else,” the AP said.