Methodist Defocking

A lesbian "minister" serving as the Associate Pastor of Philadelphia's First United Methodist Church (UMC) of Germantown had her ministerial credentials lifted this past Thursday for being a homosexual. In a vote of 12-1 the jury made up of 13 UMC clergy found that Elizabeth Shroud had violated the church's Book of Discipline where it says homosexuality is imcompatible with being a minister, and they they voted 7-6 to withdraw her ministerial credientials. The complete article can be read here: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=6983764

First problem i see is that even though the UMC's own foundational documents say homosexuality is imcompatible with being a minister, 1 lone clergy member on this jury voted to not only allow someone to violate this rule, but in essence is violating this same rule by allowing it. Next up for defrocking should be this single juror.

Second, the jury's vote was only 7-6 to withdraw this woman's credentials... only 7-6!?!?!?! I'm having visions of Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, "Yeah, Mr President, you broke the law and disgraced the Oval Office, but it's ok...". Not only did this woman commit a sin that the Bible speaks strongly against, but she also violated church protocol. Why are these 6 nitwits not preparing for their own defrocking?

And finally, Ms Stroud said this after her trial had ended, "I feel a lot of sadness but I also feel hope for the future of the church," Stroud said. "I feel that this is a teaching moment for the church."
I will agree with her somewhat, that yes, this is a teaching moment for the UMC. Hopefully they, along with other left leaning denominations (PC-USA, Episcopalian, UCC, etc) will finally decide to return to the truth of the Scriptures and clean house of those heretics, who not only do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but are also leading millions of unknowing church members straight into the pits of hell by their example of what living in sin really is.
And as for it being a teaching moment, it should be a teaching moment for Ms Stroud who needs to spend more time reading and teaching from the Word of God and less time in Reader's Digest as her sole commentary.

I would recommend Ms Stroud, members of First UMC of Germantown, the leadership of the UMC as well as it's members to spend some time in the book of Romans, expecially the first chapter.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corrptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exhanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exhanged the natural funciton for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own person the due penalty of their error. And just asthey did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those thigns which are not proper..." Romans 1:22-28, NASB

The Word of God is clear, homosexuality is a sin. Your spin of the above passage is not only wrong...its also a pathetic joke how you try to condone your sinfulness by attempting to change God's unchanging Word.

I pray for the UMC and their future.