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A NAME IS NO GUARANTEE
Thank you for the insight-inspiring article "The Spirit Hasn't Left the Mainline" [Aug. 11]. This subject has particular bearing on our family as we search for a new home church after our recent move from California. My husband comes from a Reformed church, my chosen denomination is Missouri-Synod Lutheran; but we have worshiped the last 12 1/2 years at a Disciples of Christ Church led by a Baptist-trained minister.

An analogy came to mind: Christianity is like bread, available in many renditions from bleached white to whole wheat to seven-grain. But it is a staple of life, no matter its iteration, and one is fed, no matter the brand. As far as switching brands, or denominations, Paul had this to say (paraphrased): We are not to swear our allegiance to any man or manmade institution, but to Christ alone (1 Cor. 1:10-17). We really couldn't care less what denomination our new church is so long as the pastor teaches straight from the Bible, the congregants love, worship, and faithfully serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit has filled the congregation with his presence. End of story.

Joanne Hagemeyer
Severna Park, Md.

* As one who directed the Biblical Witness Fellowship, the largest evangelical renewal group in the United Church of Christ, I read the article with interest. I had hoped to find some real rays of promise, but other than the recognition that God is sovereign and does work miracles, I found little hope.

But the article does not express the reality of the situation as I experienced it. First, I believe the evangelical witness in the mainline churches has already been marginalized at two levels. Those openly critical and sometime confrontational voices are politically excluded from denominational centers of power by the fundamentalists of the Left who control many of the centers of power. Second, I think those who answered Campolo's questions ought to take a reality check on what is happening in the mainlines. The ucc refused to pass a resolution at its recent general synod affirming faithfulness in marriage and chastity in singleness. The Presbyterian general assembly took the same action. At the United Methodist Church's general conference, ten bishops publicly dissented from the Book of Discipline's teaching on the incompatibility of homosexual practices.

These do not seem to be marks of hope for the mainlines.

Pastor Gerald M. Sanders
Parkman Congregational Church
Parkman, Ohio

Fry, Hestenes, and Willimon don their rose-colored glasses to present a far too optimistic view of the current crisis facing their denominations. One thing is clear: before a problem can be addressed, it must be brought into the light. Throughout this discussion, I could feel the darkness and hear these fine Christians whistling in it. I am pleased ct printed James R. Edwards's excellent essay on this same question ["At the Crossroads"]. Reading the two pieces at the same sitting is a study in contrasts. Edwards frames the question correctly when he speaks of a "battle for a denomination's soul." The trio of leaders on the panel would lead us to wrongly conclude we have a minor stain that ought to clean up nicely with a little club soda.

Rev. Gary W. Miller
Reedurban Presbyterian Church
Canton, Ohio

The article is best summed up by William Willimon's comment: "Our theological uncertainty makes us peculiarly vulnerable to groups with a vision, a cause." I experienced this uncertainty in the Methodist church.

"At the Crossroads" is a breath of fresh air. I do not believe a "Christian faith" that succumbs to society will stand the test of time, or is even worth pursuing in the first place.

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October 6 1997, Vol. 41, No. 11