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Progressive message revitalizes Baptist church
...At a time when conservative evangelical churches are on the rise, a number of main-line Protestant churches are struggling with falling numbers and aging membership. But one of Seattle's oldest churches has found that an outspoken, socially progressive message is helping buck the trend by appealing to liberal Christians.

"I think the reason why mainline churches are declining is they've lost their nerve," said the Rev. Stephen Jones, the church's coordinating pastor. "We haven't."

While the church lost members after the departure in 2000 of a longtime and charismatic pastor, membership since has stabilized and is bouncing back, said Jones.

The church's progressive tradition stretches back decades. A pacifist pastor from the church protested the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The church in the mid-1990s tangled with a regional Baptist organization over the church's policy of welcoming gay and lesbian pastors and church members....