Major Christian Denomination Dumping the word 'Church'

 WND

Group 'has apparently joined the pronoun movement. Of course, none of this should come as a surprise to anyone, but it is still a shame'

By Bob Unruh

August 19, 2024

For Christians who have not given in to the ultra-liberal, progressive moves some organizations that call themselves churches have adopted, this will not be a surprise.

It's that the "Church" of England apparently has decided it no longer is a church.

Some of those leftist entities, while originally established by Bible-believing individuals, have strayed. They have LGBT-promoting ceremonies, advocate for abortion and more.

The British institute, while not as far down the progressive road as some entities, still has made it clear that its future is liberal and progressive.

It is Fox News that is reporting it is dropping the word "church," "in the hopes of drawing in more crowds."

Westminster Abbey in England

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That's based on a study, "New Things: A theological investigation into the work of starting new churches across 11 dioceses in the Church of England," which was done by the Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research in Durham.

It looked at 11 dioceses and how they described the new organizations they started.

Westminster Abbey in England

The study found even though more than 900 new churches were established by 11 dioceses in the past 10 years, none of them used the word "church plant" or "church."

"Not one diocese used the term 'church' in their main descriptor. 'Church plant' is not used by any of the 11 dioceses. Only one diocese used 'fresh expressions' of 'pioneering' in its descriptor," the study found.

The study continued, "That the term 'church' is not used, in favor of other terms (community, congregation etc.) is worthy of theological reflection. We explore whether the question, 'what is church?' is worth asking."

Besides, "community" and "congregation," churches also were referred to as "worship."

A report at PJMedia noted, "The Church of England has apparently joined the pronoun movement. Of course, none of this should come as a surprise to anyone, but it is still a shame. According to a report in the Telegraph, the Church has decided to stop using the word 'church' in order to be more modern. I don't know what word they will use. Lodge? Club? Association? The Loyal Order of Water Buffalos?"

The report said that the word "church" was not comprehensive enough "to describe what it is that these dioceses have been starting," adding that the phrase "new things" might be more appropriate.

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