Log in

Church series still creating ripples

Posted 6/2/15

As a six-week series hosted by eight churches reaches its midpoint, reverberations continue to be felt beyond Fountain Hills’ border.

A Valley television station, countless bloggers and various …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor

Church series still creating ripples

Posted

As a six-week series hosted by eight churches reaches its midpoint, reverberations continue to be felt beyond Fountain Hills’ border.

A Valley television station, countless bloggers and various Christian publications have weighed in on the “Progressive Christianity: Fact or Fiction?” series and its surrounding issues.

The question itself has drawn attention to a global “conservative-liberal” or “progressive-evangelical” divide within Christianity and even within various synods of the same denominations.

The latest salvo was fired by 150-plus clergy members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the same denomination of the Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church, pastored by the Rev. Bill Good.

Good is current president of the Fountain Hills Ministerial Association, which brought the eight churches together in the organized sermon series.

The Presbyterian clergy press release stated that Good, in his first sermon of the series, “mischaracterized” a distinction between Progressive Christianity and what he called Biblical Christianity, insinuating, they say, that Progressive Christianity is not Biblical nor a valid expression of Christian faith.

“We respectfully reject this false dichotomy and claim what is often labeled as Progressive Christianity to be a faithful expression of Christian faith in the spirit of Jesus Christ who crossed cultural boundaries and challenged traditional norms for the sake of God’s love, especially for the poor, oppressed and socially marginalized,” the release states.

“The entire spirit of this campaign is not in keeping with the teachings of Jesus Christ…

“We believe Rev. Good’s intentions violate God’s standards of love and seek to tear down rather than build up the Body of Christ…We believe Rev. Good’s actions are not in keeping with Jesus’ teachings, nor the teachings of our Scriptures.”

The Presbyterian statement appears to have originated from a blog post by the Rev. Eric Ledermann of the University Presbyterian Church in Tempe.

Good told The Times that it was a “great disappointment” to him that his “brothers and sisters in Christ” would choose to issue a public statement rather than contacting him privately.

“There isn’t much left in keeping with the Presbyterian tradition with what they’ve done,” he said.

“I’m embarrassed for them and what it says about our Presbyterian church.

“They chose to accept what has, in my opinion, been mis-reported in the press, rather than calling me and asking me what we’re doing. Or they could have listened to our sermons online.”

Reiterating beliefs

Meanwhile, pastors from the eight churches organizing the series say they are simply clarifying various issues from their point-of-view and educating members and visitors about what their Protestant churches believe.

They view these as “essential tenets” of Christianity, such as the deity of Jesus, Mary’s virgin birth of Jesus, the literal and physical resurrection of Christ, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and the reasons that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

In an initial press release announcing the series, Good stated, “It is our perception that there is great confusion concerning the vast differences between true, Biblical Christianity and so called, ‘progressive’ Christianity.

“We felt it worthwhile to address this issue as a united group of churches.”

“This series of messages is simply to clarify and to reiterate our beliefs,” Don Lawrence, long-time pastor of Christ’s Church, said in his first sermon of the series. The sermon is available online.

“We do not do this to slander or belittle the beliefs of others.

“Our objective is merely to answer some of the questions which have been presented to us concerning these issues.”

The Presbyterian pastors defending Progressive Christianity said they celebrate the “vast diversity” of expressions of Christian faith present in the Body of Christ – the church universal – and further state that “Rev. Good’s views do not represent our views, the views of the Christian congregations we serve, nor the views of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).”

The statement says that their denomination “protects” the voices of minority positions while still keeping to the “essentials” of Christian faith.

“We are hesitant to define these essentials, understanding that we will make mistakes and are still growing in our understanding of God’s will,” the statement adds.

“We tend to be cautious around any dogmatic statements or claims of absolute truth because God is infinite and cannot be contained by the limits of human understanding and language.”

Pointed at UMC?

Some have questioned the timing of the series and its focus.

In a second letter to the editor last week from the eight pastors, they reiterated their stance that the series was not directly solely at David Felten, pastor of the Fountains, a United Methodist Church.

“We have never mentioned (let alone ‘targeted’) any individual or church as the focus of our efforts,” the letter stated.

“…there is only one person in Fountain Hills who thinks this is about one person in Fountain Hills…as far as we are concerned, this is entirely about our Lord, Jesus Christ…”

Lawrence told another publication that this is a theology issue and not a personality issue.

He said most of the information concerning the progressive movement came from the website www.progressivechristianity.org.

Good told The Times, “It has never been our intention to attack anyone or any church. It’s been our intention to put forward in a straight-forward manner the good news of Jesus and compare and contrast it with issues in more contemporary circles…

“We’re out to present the Gospel. We’re confident it’ll do its own job.”

Yet Felten has been the subject of local pastoral controversies before, since he has co-authored a book on Progressive Christianity, organized various seminars on the topic and promotes inter-faith services and projects.

In a February 2015 announcement concerning a UMC seminar, Felten labeled the virgin birth as an “outdated myth.”

This prompted follow-up letters to the editor from Lawrence and First Baptist Church Pastor Tony Pierce.

Lawrence wrote at the time, “His hypocrisy is clear for all to see. His tolerance is very selective, and thus, is not truly tolerance at all.”

Pierce called the progressive movement an “apostate religious movement to get answers.”

Felten told The Times he has received much support since the series was first announced, including from his bishop and from people of other faiths.

“I think the general public has lost patience with the old triumphalist attitude often associated with conservative Christianity,” Felten said.

“From the online reactions and responses across the board -- and literally around the world -- people have a gut feeling that this is just a plain and simple case of bullying, writ large.

“Despite what the eight say about not targeting one church, the Presbyterian Church handed out a flyer on Progressive Christianity that attributed the contents to The Fountains’ website, so I think it’s pretty clear to everyone what’s going on.”

Good said a flyer was distributed at his church outlining the eight tenets of Progressive Christianity, citing links to a website along with The Fountains’ website, which also features a link to www.progressivechristianity.org.

Felten acknowledged there are divergent views within the United Methodist Church, too.

“But we’ve hung together so far,” he said.

“Part of the UMC’s DNA is that we celebrate diversity of opinion and try to work together despite our differences.

“That’s not to say that the denomination won’t be facing a major crisis in 2016 when we have our next General Conference. The issue of LGBTQ rights and inclusion will likely be the catalyst for a major shake-up — just like the (Lutheran) ELCA and Presbyterian (USA) in recent years.”

The eight pastors and their congregations participating in this series include: Pastor Dr. Steve Bergeson, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church; Pastor Todd Forrest, Fountain Hills Christian Center; Pastor Rod Warembourg, Desert Creek Fellowship; Pastor Tom Daly, Trinity Lutheran Church LCMS; Pastor Rick Ponzo, Calvary Chapel Fountain Hills; Pastor Tony Pierce, First Baptist Church Fountain Hills; Pastor Bill Good, Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church; and Pastor Don Lawrence, Christ’s Church of Fountain Hills.

Faith Network

The Rev. Erin Tamayo, executive director of the Arizona Faith Network, released a statement regarding the local series.

The network’s website explains its mission is to “bring People of Faith, under the inspiration of God, as a bridge to understanding and action – Being Together, Talking Together, Acting Together.”

The statement concerning the series said, “This sounds like an intriguing query which will doubtless engage many faithful Christians in the ongoing, time-honored search for truth about the nature and call of God.

“Knowing that differences of perspective exist among us, Arizona Faith Network affirms the need and benefits of civil discourse where participants show mutual respect and differences are shared without judgment.

“Under the inspiration of God we believe this can lead to a richer understanding of one another. It is our conviction that when discussing matters of theological doctrine, it is vitally important to keep all interested persons at the table.

“We hope and pray that future conversations in Fountain Hills will evidence this same commitment, which is born out of love of God and our neighbors.”

Going vegan?

The series even brought out a statement from “Jesus People for Animals,” a Christian outreach division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The division says it rushed a “peacemaking offer” to all parties involved – a banner and a “tasty” vegan dinner that all “compassionate people” can stand behind.

The banner reads, “Fact: Eating Meat and Dairy Supports Cruelty to Animals. Be Kind to All. Go Vegan.”

“No matter what denomination one is, we can agree on one very real truth — that cruelty to animals is wrong, and as stewards, we are called to stop it,” says PETA Director of Christian Outreach and Engagement Sarah Withrow King.

“’Jesus People for Animals’ suggested banner will remind all congregations in the community that three times a day, we have the opportunity to make the world a kinder and more compassionate place simply by leaving animals off our plates.”

No Jesus People for Animals vegan banners have yet been spotted at a Fountain Hills church.