Part of the answer lies in the Episcopal Church's definition of mission -- it is all about issues....the list is endless and indicates a complete loss of transcendence and supernatural faith. The loss of that faith has resulted in an immanentalism which has led to a complete emptying of faith in the vast majority of Episcopalians.

Therefore the sense of true mission -- pushing the Great Commission, the preaching of the Gospel of God's grace and salvation for the lost, and announcing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have all been debunked or abandoned, leading to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's infamous statement that "personal salvation is a Western heresy" and the abandonment of the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

The vast majority of Episcopalians are constantly being told that doing good works is what the kingdom is about and salvation (either in this life or the next) does not enter into it -- that has been settled by baptism. New life in Christ is not talked about; it is unnecessary.

The truth is the Episcopal Church has redefined mission leading to a near death of supernatural faith. This great lack of supernatural faith afflicting the Church today has resulted in there being no real sense of the Great Commission or even of Jesus Christ himself. Therefore there is no purpose for the huge number of Episcopalians to be Episcopal or even Christian! You could believe and affirm everything TEC believes without being an Episcopalian or even a Christian!

The Nature Conservancy Society, Greenpeace, Medicine san Frontier, Red Cross, Bread for the World, and Habitat for Humanity -- to name just a few organizations -- can all do a much better job than a handful of Episcopalians made to feel good about themselves for cleaning a house in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans.

(Former President Jimmy Carter retained a gospel driven faith, teaching Bible each Sunday even as he worked to build homes for Habitat for Humanity.)

This is true up and down the Church, from bishops down to laity and right back up again. While we are not talking about every single Episcopalian, there is simply no other truism worth considering at this point in the life of the Church. TEC's leaders have lost their sense of purpose, which is the salvation of souls.

When did you last hear a bishop even speaking in these terms? They don't even preach this and they don't convey the truth anymore.

As one Roman Catholic commentator commenting on his own church noted, "The supernatural realities have been replaced by the easier-to-preach-on temporal realities: immigration, economic policies, health care, unemployment and so forth."

The Episcopal Church's institutions -- its colleges and universities, for example -- have lost all sense of mission, and now churn out graduates with more knowledge about sex than about Christ or Christian conversion.

Witness the giant metal clitoris proudly displayed at Sewanee University, and the courses taught at Episcopal Divinity School that focus on queer theology, in fact interpreting the whole biblical story from the perspective of queerdom. Is it any wonder they let the last president go? It was too much even for the trustees to stand.

If you want to see what the end of the sexual revolution looks like in The Episcopal Church, look no further than the recent national scandal at St. Paul's (Episcopal) School in New Hampshire. With no barriers or standards in the national church, is it any wonder that something like "senior salute" is tolerated despite all the disclaimers about "safe places?" It's a huge lie. When will we hear about date rapes at Sewanee and homosexual rapes in these and other institutions? It's only a matter of time.

Does anyone think that graduates from these institutions are equipped to combat the spiritual depravity in the world? They can't even control the depravity in their own institutions for God's sake! And now we see Episcopal graduates actually being willing participants in this depravity!

Is anyone in TEC's seven seminaries or its schools being taught about spiritual warfare, or lectured on St. Paul's need to put on the whole armor of God to withstand the wiles of the Devil? It is now apparent that thousands of Episcopalians are in cahoots with the devil!

The truth is TEC has sold out to the culture lock, stock, and barrel. As we have written, those few remaining orthodox dioceses (like Central Florida) are fast rolling over to the sexual zeitgeist.

DIOCESE OF PA VERSUS DIOCESE OF NORTHERN INDIANA

I was intrigued to learn this week that two dioceses -- Pennsylvania and Northern Michigan -- are looking for new bishops.

From the DIOPA website, we learn that a bishop should be full of "inclusion and social justice, which are so central to the Gospel message and continue to be foundational components of our DNA. We are striving to be an anti-racist church, to support the full inclusion of LGBT people in the church and society at every level, and to acknowledge and celebrate theological and liturgical diversity. We are working to address inequities in the larger community, such as food insecurity and the crisis in urban public education. And, within the church, we're committed to reduce the inequalities in compensation and deployment that women clergy continue to face."

A survey they conducted dropped this morsel: "Our survey responses indicate clearly that members of the diocese currently have a low level of energy and a low level of satisfaction. The past decade has been exhausting and disheartening...members of the diocese are ready to be more engaged with one another and with the church. From the Holy Conversations, [you gotta love the language] it seems clear that any positive change within the diocese will require greater collaboration among parishes. The conversation participants stated clearly that they are tired of parish closures and want to prioritize resources for growth and renewal for struggling parishes."

There you have it, amidst all the phony baloney language of "holy conversations" is the truth. The real issue is parish closures...and more are on the way. No gospel, no growth. Nones are not interested in joining the Episcopal Church; they are sleeping in on Sunday morning and reading the Philadelphia Inquirer; consulting their twitter accounts; drinking coffee; and getting over last night's hangover while explaining to the person they slept with that this was just a hook up with no commitment intended.

The diocese laughably wants someone "anchored by deep faith in Jesus Christ, grounded in Scripture, prayer, and the sacraments." Really. Why wasn't that a requirement when Charles Bennison ran for office! He did an ISIS number on the diocese, drove it into the ground and then shot it in the head. He gave new meaning to the term sociopath.

Contrast this with the statement put out by the Diocese of Northern Indiana, where Bishop Ed Little is stepping down, about who they are and what they would want in a bishop: "The Diocese of Northern Indiana is a missionary diocese, 'Look around you,' Jesus said, 'see how the fields are ripe for harvesting' (John 4:35). The 36 parishes and missions of the diocese--found in urban areas of wonderful complexity, in rich farmlands, in burgeoning suburbs, in university communities--share a single purpose: to make Jesus known to a needy world. Every congregation is a missionary church. Our buildings are surrounded by people, hundreds of thousands of them, who hunger (perhaps not even knowing it) for the 'bread of life' (John 6:35)."

Night and day difference.

Most dioceses in The Episcopal Church are more like Pennsylvania than Northern Indiana. They are writing their own obituaries. These dioceses are selling out to the culture while a diocese like Northern Indiana is resisting it, seeing the "fields ripe for harvesting."

There will be no harvesting of souls in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Just more of the same old thing wrapped up in slightly better language, but nothing will change, nothing, because no one in the diocese sees the need to harvest souls, just to be inclusive and hope people will come as the red doors open even further with unbaptized people being offered holy communion!

Furthermore, there is no desire for purity in TEC, spiritual or sexual. If you look at the photos of those searching for a new bishop, you will see the same tired old faces hoping for a miracle. It won't happen. Two thirds of the Episcopal Church is women over 60, most of whom have never heard a clear enunciation of the gospel. They are more concerned with the altar guild, flowers and "being nice".

Mission is not about the Great Commission...it is everything but that.

Contrast that with the forces of darkness that surround the church - Planned Parenthood, Euthanasist proponents, and Islamic butchers. While they don't have a shred of truth to them, they are deeply committed to their world view and yes, they are mission driven, willing to give up anything, even lay down their lives (suicide bombers). Theywill go to any lengths to bring about the death of the West and ruin a once proud civilization with roots in the Christian Faith and drive it into oblivion.

The cultural elites of the church have no wish to go against the culture in sex or declaring an unequivocal faith or anything. They care only that the money keeps flowing in to keep the lights on and keep the Pension Fund afloat for themselves. Nothing shall come between a clergy person and their pension. Nothing.

There is no talk of radical discipleship to Jesus Christ and his message, just an endless list of social initiatives designed to placate our consciences. White privilege shall be stomped on for "Black lives matter." A white cop was slaughtered in the name of this slogan this past week. Where is Presiding Bishop-elect Michael Curry, TEC's first Black Presiding Bishop, on all these killings of whites? Silence. He is nowhere to be found. More anti-racism training please.

The Episcopal Church is living in Alice in Wonderland, a make-believe world where bishops ignore the obvious and preach the empty slogans of general convention resolutions. They are living in a fool's paradise.

Roman Catholic lay writer Michael Voris notes that "Whatever ideology is the most committed, the most passionate, the most internally pure is the one that wins out, because the other simply wears out. The most committed side nearly always wins because it wins the war of attrition."

The enemy of our souls rages around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He has been successful with The Episcopal Church.

Latest figures reveal that by 2025, the majority of Episcopal parishes will be empty and by 2055, TEC will close. No institution deserves it more. This is ultimately the judgement and wrath of God.

END