I am fairly polite to my Papist and Orthodox friends, and somewhat less polite to other protestants. But where I reserve my wrath is for those Reformed Churches who have gone apostate.

Yes, Apostate.

I am angry with the entryists who have destroyed the Presbyterian Church. It took a couple of generations, but the entryists have now won. They now control the committees, and they are being appointed to high rank.

Which is going to kill the church.

Over the past few years, PCUSA has become increasingly accepting of homosexuality, passing at their General Assembly meetings measures allowing for the ordination of openly gay clergy and the changing of their definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.

Earlier this month, PCUSA held its first-ever same-sex wedding ceremony at its national headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky.

These changes have come with a cost, however, as over 200 congregations have voted to leave PCUSA over the past few years because of the theological direction of the mainline denomination.

When asked by PNS about the likelihood of working alongside people within PCUSA who may object to his same-sex relationship, De La Rosa replied that in his previous work with the Church he has “been blessed with nothing but respect and courtesy from those who might be otherwise discomfited by my service.”

“In my work within the Church, I have attempted to support and honor the views of others who may disagree with me with the same degree of respect and courtesy I have been shown,” continued De La Rosa.

“I would advise those anxious of what my appointment might entail to contact like-minded colleagues in New York or Seattle and hear from them directly whether my work has ever served to undermine their theological perspectives or ministries.”

At the same time, the PCUSA is seeking a new vision. If you go to the link, you are at the front of a survey about the church, and if you are not a member of the PCUSA you will be kicked out. Since I tend to answer surveys honestly, and I don’t live in America, I will say to you again: There is no Presbyterian Vision or tradition. There is but the Gospel. By the words of Christ we live or die. This is not something you can sort out by marketing or by sophism.

In a religious landscape that has been changing substantially in recent history, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its agencies have been wrestling with what these changes mean for the church, its identity, mission, and focus. The Office of the General Assembly seeks new ways to faithfully carry out the direction given by the General Assembly in the 21st century. In the midst of these changes and this collective discernment, the important question arises as to whether the purposes and mission of the agencies that have served the church in the past are right for our future as a church.

The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly has called for a church-wide consultation that seeks to engage the whole denomination in a conversation about what the church is called to be and do, what it means to be a connectional church, and what is our shared identity, so that the 222nd General Assembly in 2016 will be substantively informed by the insights and wisdom of congregations, councils, and agencies when it gathers in Portland to ponder these things.

What are we called to be and do as a denomination in the 21st century? The objective of this study is to engage the whole church in conversation, and to provide a summary of this conversation to commissioners at the 222nd General Assembly, where they will weigh important matters of purpose, function, mission and ministry. We have the opportunity to share our hopes and dreams about the church with the General Assembly. Will you join the conversation?

However, given what they want us to read, I don’t have much hope.

I am repeating myself here: if we do not preach the gospel, if we do not conform with scripture and deem it as the inspired word of God, we have no authority, and we will not be heard.

So to the leaders of dying and apostate church I say but two things:

You are in dire error, and your souls are at risk.

Repent and reform your church.

And to the laity I say this: Leave. Go elsewhere, find where the gospel is proclaimed. The PCUSA has isolated itself from the Reformed fellowship of churches and congregations as thoroughly as the Episcopalians have isolated themselves from historical Anglican theology and practice.

Unless the Spirit intervenes, this church will be at one with the Shakers, in a hell of its own making.