I have observed that a Christian denomination (no less than an individual Christian, or a local congregation) can drift away from the central truths of our faith without actually denying any one of those truths.

D.A. Carson puts it like this:

‘I have heard a Mennonite leader assess his own movement in this way. One generation of Mennonites cherished the gospel and believed that the entailment of the gospel lay in certain social and political commitments. The next generation assumed the gospel and emphasized the social and political commitments. The present generation identifies itself with the social and political commitments, while the gospel is variously confessed or disowned; it no longer lies at the heart of the belief system of some who call themselves Mennonites.’

(The Cross and Christian Ministry)

Neglect leads to forgetfulness, and forgetfulness to denial.

Years ago, so the story goes, when all the talk in one major denomination was about ‘restructuring’, one leader is said to have remarked to another:

‘Well, once restructuring is over, perhaps we can get on with the job.”

‘What job?’ came the reply.