PCUSA Claims Pennsylvania Megachurch's Vote to Leave Denomination Is 'Invalid'

Scores of more theologically-conservative PC(USA) congregations have left the denomination and joined ECO [ http://eco-pres.org/] instead. ECO now has at least 285 affiliated churches, most of which have left the PC(USA).

Here in Minnesota, these are two such churches:

Hope Presbyterian (Richfield) [ http://hope-pc.org/] , a church of about 1,000.

Christ Presbyterian (Edina) [ http://www.cpconline.org/] , a church of about 3,500.

…I came out of one of the “liberal” churches, the United Methodists, and it’s striking how great the gap is between the seminaries, the leadership, and the churches, especially in more conservative areas. To draw a picture, I’ve got some of the theology books my late mother had, and not one of them is from a UMC author or press—the theological lifeblood in the pews appears to be significantly evangelical in nature, things like Intervarsity and the like. In the same way, I get daily notes from my step-dad’s wife (my “two-step” mom?), and those are also evangelical in nature—she’s in a PCUSA church. The intellectual spirit that dominates their seminaries doesn’t make it to the pews, or sometimes even the pulpit.

I would guess the leaders are well aware of this, and that they know they cannot win the votes. Hence the only way to keep their “church taxes” and position is through legal nit-picking, and it would follow that things are very likely to get very ugly going forward.