Apparently, when individuals and societies seek love without God’s love, they will form new laws to protect and promote their idea of love. Sadly, these new laws of love jeopardize God’s holy and good law, erase true love, and secure a future for love that is nothing like what the songs of our nation promise.

In Plato’s Republic, that ancient philosopher declared, “Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its law.” Thankfully, in the Bible, God cares about laws and songs and he provided both.
Outside of the Bible, however, there is something to the wisdom of capturing hearts and imaginations with song. And it seems that for decades, the songs of our nation have been filled with love, love, and love me do.
From Elvis Presley to Taylor Swift, love has trained a generation to embrace love as love and love as life. If you go back to the British Invasion of the Beatles, you will find that in less than 5 years time, the Fab Four had four chart-topping singles with “love” in the title, as well as four more top forty songs with “love” in the title. And the focus on love has not abated in the decades since. Indeed, it is not too much to say that Top 40 love songs have formed the appetites and affections of our age, all the while obscuring what love really is or ought to be.
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Bishop Berlin is infamous for his speech on the floor of the 2019 General Conference where he referred to the Traditional Plan (the legislation adopted upholding accountability for a traditionalist understanding of marriage and ordination) as a “virus” that would infect the denomination. The logical extrapolation was that people who supported the traditional plan (i.e., theological conservatives) were also a virus. Moreover, the Southeastern Jurisdiction’s opening worship featured four giant dream catchers and liturgy that some felt had pagan overtones. The dream catchers were present for the entire meeting while, at times, there was no cross.

For months (years, really) bishops in The United Methodist Church, along with other progressive leaders, have pushed hard on two ideas:

The United Methodist Church is a big tent.
There is room for everyone, including theological conservatives, in The United Methodist Church.

From November 2-5, 2022, the five U.S. jurisdictions held their conferences and elected new bishops. The results are clear: the big tent has collapsed. The United Methodist Church now has the most liberal Council of Bishops in its history. Not one single traditionalist bishop was elected. Not one. Forget about these elections telegraphing the future of The United Methodist Church. They declare the denomination’s present state.
It should now be crystal clear that the two points above in reality are the following:

The big tent has collapsed.
It’s time for traditionalist churches to go…if they still can.

There’s Room for Everyone
If there’s truly room for everyone, wouldn’t you think delegates at jurisdictional conference would want to throw theological conservatives a proverbial bone and elect at least one traditionalist-leaning bishop? Yet they didn’t. Instead, here’s a sample of who they elected and the resolutions they adopted:

The North Central Jurisdiction elected Kennetha Bigham-Tsai. Bishop Bigham-Tsai will begin leading the Iowa Conference on January 1. Before her election, she served as Chief Connectional Ministries Officer at the Connectional Table. During an interview with a delegation as she was campaigning, she said, “No, it is not important that we agree on who Christ is.” She went on to further cast doubt on where she stands on the incarnation of Jesus when she said during the same interview “God became flesh, but not particular flesh. There’s no particularity around that. God became incarnate in a culture, but not one culture.” To read the article about this, including a recording of the aforementioned interview, click here.
The Western Jurisdiction elected Dottie Escobedo-Frank. Bishop Escobedo-Frank will begin leading the Cal-Pac Conference on January 1. Before her election, she was senior pastor at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church Arizona. On her biography on Paradise Valley UMC’s websiteshe is described in the following way:

Dottie believes we are living in a time of epochal change, which requires the church find sacred ways to die in order to be reborn. She calls for heretics and edge-dwellers to lead the church forward. Now is the time, she says, to push these new leaders to the forefront of church restarts. (Emphasis added)

The Western Jurisdiction elected Cedrick Bridgeforth. Bishop Bridgeforth will begin leading the Pacific Northwest, Oregon-Idaho, and Alaska Conferences on January 1. Before his election, he was the director of communications and innovation for the Cal-Pac Conference. Bishop Bridgeforth is a married, gay man. His husband is Christopher Hucks-Ortiz. The Western Jurisdiction now has two married, gay/lesbian bishops: Cedrick Bridgeforth and Karen Oliveto. You can read more about Bishop Bridgeforth in this article from the Western Jurisdiction.

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There is a direct link between creation and new creation, between this universe’s origin and its regeneration (Matt. 19:28). The good pleasure and power of God began it, and He shall complete it. His Word faithfully declares how it all began. Do not be mistaken. You cannot concede this point without undermining the foundation for others. 

Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker—Psalm 95:6

The doctrine of creation affects every area of life. We breathe created air, walk upon created ground, and look for the new creation to come. God revealed His glory to His creation and in this created world has unfolded the drama of redemption. Sadly, the biblical account of creation is under attack today. Some ridicule creation, others reject it outright. Should believers concede ground here? No, for compromising the doctrine of creation has far reaching effects for life and faith. This article will present five reasons creation is important while encouraging the reader to stand unashamedly upon the truth of the Word of God.
Creation Teaches Man about His Origins
One of the worst effects of amnesia is that people forget who they are. While we are more than the sum of our memories, the knowledge of birthplace, parents, upbringing—even our own names—all serve powerfully to shape our identities. Considering the widespread antagonism against the biblical account of creation, is it surprising that one of today’s most heated controversies focuses upon identity? So many are confused about who they are, and the answers the world holds forth are increasingly destructive.
The Bible explains both man’s identity and origin. God’s “Let there be” called forth and fashioned light, the seas, the earth, plants, and all living things. With man God did something different, “Let Us make man in Our image” (Gen 1:26). The Lord God fashioned man from the dust of the ground, molding him in unsearchable wisdom and making him a living being (Gen. 2:7).
Man is no soul-less product of evolution, but a fearfully and wonderfully fashioned person made to know and serve God in His presence (Ps. 139:14). Yet who can boast of being made from dust? Who can boast whose very existence is derived from another? An identity informed by creation is one of both dignity and humility. Man and women are not developed animals but dependent humans, made to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever (WSC 1).
Creation Calls Man to Trust God at His Word
“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Heb. 11:3). This faith is the reasonable foundation for knowledge. John Brown of Edinburgh wrote, “God has given us a revelation on this subject, and our knowledge rises out of our belief of that revelation.”[1] The Westminster Confession adds, “By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word” (WCF 14.2)
God spoke all things into existence and perfectly formed the universe in the space of six days (Ex. 20:11). However, through a combination of societal pressures, desire for academic standing, or fear of being called a fundamentalist, many believers have faltered on this particular point. But consider: if it is too difficult to believe God created the universe in six days, what about the more “difficult” doctrines God teaches? If a believer concedes to worldly pressure on creation, what about the resurrection? Some claimed the resurrection was incredible (Acts 26:8) and others mocked Paul for believing it (Acts 17:32). Yet Christians believe this, not because reason can uncover empirical evidence for doing so, but because God’s Word declares it to be true. Do not be ashamed. Do not doubt. Remember, “our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases” (Ps. 115:3).
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