Kelm Collection - Wisdom from Below

Fuller Seminary Advocate
"Our synod now has a fulltime executive secretary for evangelism. He's the Rev. Paul Kelm; and we need him. We need him to be our evangelism advocate."
Rev. Ron Roth, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Winter, 1985 p. 2.

Give Them TELL!
"TELL has served the church faithfully for 15 years. Three editors have served; Ronald Roth (1977-84), Paul Kelm (1985-88), and the undersigned since 1989...The lead article in the first issue of TELL was titled 'Church Growth - Worthwhile for WELS.'...The author of this article in April 1988 issue of TELL concludes, 'It's obvious by now that I believe we in WELS can profit greatly from the writings of the church-growth leaders.' ... TELL as a separate publication ends with this issue. Nevertheless, the focus of The Evangelism Life Line will continue for years to come as an integral part of the new Board for Parish Services journal - PARISH LEADERSHIP.
Rev. Robert Hartman TELL (WELS Evangelism) Summer, 1992.

"The publication TELL ('The Evangelism Life Line') has been inaugurated to promote the cause of church growth."
Ernst H. Wendland, "Church Growth Theology," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, April, 1981, 78, p. 105.


WELS Mission Counselors' NEWSLETTER, April, 1992: authors are - James Woodworth, Disciples of Christ; "Net Results," March, 1991; Roger K. Guy, Disciples of Christ; Arnell P. C. Arn, American Baptist Church; Jane Easter Bahls, Presbyterian; C. Jeff Woods, freelance writer and minister; Lyle Schaller, United Methodist; Pastor Paul Kelm; Pastor Jim Mumm, WELS; Pastor Peter Panitzke, WELS; Pastor Randall Cutter and Mark Freier, WELS; First Congregational Church, Winchester, MA."
Pastor Jim Radloff, editor, WELS Mission Counselors' NEWSLETTER, April, '92, 2929 Mayfair Road Milwaukee, WI, 53222.
[GJ - Cutter and Freir left the Lutheran Church altogether. Freier was at Crossroads Community Church, the stealth congregation started with the blessing of DP Robert Mueller. The congregation is honestly non-Lutheran now.]

"Church growth theory suggests the need for seven fellowship groups for every 100 members."
Pastor Paul E. Kelm, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Winter, 1985, p. 4.

"The mistaken announcement by a reporter from another Lutheran body was clearly repudiated in the March 15, 1992 issues of The Northwestern Lutheran. Yet you boldly state that the WELS continues to be a part of this project, in which it never participated. Dr. Jackson, I ask you to repent of your slanderous lie and retract it publicly. Galatians 6:1-2 leads me to ask this of you, for the sake of your spiritual life. Titus 3:10 urges me to ask this of you for the sake of the church. cc: District President Robert Mueller, Vice President Paul Kuske, Vice President Gerald Schroer, Rev. David Grundmeier, Rev. Gary Baumler."
Pastor Paul Kelm (WELS), Letter to Gregory L. Jackson, 9-23-92.
[GJ - I spoke to the ELCA leader of the Joy radio broadcast, which ELCA shared with WELS and Missouri. First of all, his secretary was shocked at the WELS denial. She saw the WELS man, John Barber, at all the meetings. She asked me to phone her boss, who was sick at home. The ELCA chairman was completely befuddled about the denial. Now most people realize that WELS works with ELCA and Missouri on many religious projects. The only group WELS will not work with is the ELS. WELS had a pan-Lutheran worship conference at Carthage College. They had a Roman Catholic speaker, ELCA speaker, someone from Wheaton College, Missouri speakers, women teaching men, but not one ELS speaker. Them there's " WELS fellowship principles" at work, courtesy of James Tiefel.]

"Your September 21 article in Christian News perpetuates a lie, slanders leaders of your church and risks spiritual offense to weak brothers and sisters. You describe a conference on leadership in which fellowship lines were clearly drawn and at which testimony to the truths which separate Lutherans was publicly given as 'a joint ministry conference with a liberal agenda.' Then you add, 'Months later, the three groups [ELCA, LCMS, WELS] joyfully announced a joint religious radio show, Joy, also funded by Lutheran insurance money. WELS participated in 'Joy' from the beginning and continues to be a part of the project.'"
Pastor Paul Kelm (WELS), Letter to Gregory L. Jackson, 9-23-92.
[GJ - As I recall, I combined the Snowbird story with Joy Radio. The three synods also did multi-cultural stuff together as well. AAL paid the three groups to do a joint evangelism program. Snowbird was difficult to deny because I had The Lutheran photo of Chilstron, Bohlmann, and Miskchke reprinted in Christian News. The photo caption said something like "Chiefs Confer." Kelm's hysterics are still a little difficult to comprehend, except perhaps the phones were ringing a lot.]

"Evangelism upside-down is starting with the subjective issues of perceived reality and working back to God's objective truths of ultimate reality - sin and grace. It's offering the attendant blessings of salvation as the 'hook' to gain an audience for God's plan of salvation." [felt needs used to sell the Gospel]
Paul Kelm, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 4.
[GJ - That's a good title for such pathetic content.]

"Upside-down evangelism may begin with different diagnostic questions. What do you want out of life? lets the other person pick the path for witness. How do you feel about where our society is heading? uncovers fears and needs without becoming too personal. What makes people happy (or unhappy) do you think? allows someone to express preceived [sic] needs in the third person."
Paul Kelm The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

"Upside-down evangelism doesn't begin with personal sin and guilt, but rather with the consequences of sin. Societal consequences (for which each day's newspaper provides evidence) are the 'perceived need' door to understanding the alienation of life and people from God."
Paul Kelm, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

"It's just easier for many people to work backwards from the subjective to the objective in their thinking. In fact, upside-down evangelism may start with gospel and work back to law, stating the solution as a prelude to the problem and clarifying both at the cross." [This is Moravian Pietism, as shown by Walther's Law and Gospel.]
Paul Kelm, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

"Upside-down evangelism follows the path of least resistance to the God of gracious acceptance."
Paul Kelm, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

Finding the Receptive: People in Transition, by James Witt - "The Bible illustrates the people-in-transition receptivity principle very well. Converts such as Naaman, a leper; Ruth, a widow; the woman at the well, a five-time divorcee; the thief on the cross, a convict near death; were all people who in a period of transition were receptive to hearing the Gospel. The Receptivity-Rating Scale shown at left...
Paul Kelm, editor, The Evangelism Handbook, WELS Evangelism Appendix III,

"MOTIVATING AND ORGANIZING THE CONGREGATION AROUND THE GREAT COMMISSION" [This is the Donald Abdon view of relating all church structures to evangelism, as noted in Valleskey's PT notes.] Paul Kelm, editor, The Evangelism Handbook, WELS Evangelism "PLANNING, long-range or short-range, should be S-M-A-R-T...specific...measurable...accepted...realistic...timed...."
Paul Kelm, editor, The Evangelism Handbook, WELS Evangelism p. 3.

"Don't let the world paint us into a corner of antiquarianism on subjects like a six-day creation or verbal inspiration."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 13.

"Thesis Seven: Sound Apologetics Can Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good...Logic never converted anyone; but Christianity is logically defensible, once one makes reason ministerial to God and His Word...Read C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer and Josh McDowell for practical apologetic tools. In fact, lend your copy to the prospect whose intelligence and education have become his curse. Once you've read Josh McDowell's 'Lord, Liar, or Lunatic' argument for the deity of Christ, you'll find yourself using it."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 14.

"A last word on sound doctrine is in place. Sound doctrine must be distinguished from tradition, praxis and preference. The liturgy, translation of the Bible, vestments and organizational policies of the church are not equatable with sound doctrine."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 3.

"Doctrines in controversy and applications to those doctrines are a disciple's meat. They are swallowed only after patient doses of discipling milk. The art of mission work is to preserve that sequence despite a prospect's desire to chew what he can't swallow."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 3.

"Non-Christians usually become good prospects for personal reasons or as I like to say: 'They come for sociological reasons and stay for theological reasons.'"
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 4.

"Small churches need not be small thinkers, but small-thinking churches will always remain small. Churches and people seldom go/grow beyond their expectations."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 6.
[GJ - See Waldo Werning and Robert Schuller for the same thought. Did the Apostles know this? According to Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, they did not.]

"Thesis One: Sound Doctrine Sounds Good When Good People Sound it. Normally, people respond to other people before they respond to doctrine."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 7.

"Small thinking churches typically budget to remain small."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 7.

"Lifestyle evangelism is the merger of visual and verbal witness, by the people Jesus intended, in the way that He modeled. It's the primary element in a church's strategy to win the lost." [Other endorsements from Rev. Burton Bundy, Church of the Lutheran Brethren, and Dr. Erwin Kolb, LCMS] Rev. Paul Kelm, Evangelism, WELS Your Invitation!
Kent Hunter, (D.Min., Fuller; S.T.D., LSTC) Church Growth Center, Corunna, Indiana 46730 Phone 219-281-2452 Invitation for Heart to Heart Workshop.
[GJ - Bivens claimed I was slandering Kelm to suggest Paul endorsed this ecumenical workshop. I then produced the brochure as proof. Next Bivens claimed that Kelm was quoted without his permission. I phoned Hunter and asked the D.Min. from Fuller. Hunter said he asked Kelm's permission and got it. False accusations of slander are in fact slanderous.]

Paul’s Brother Dan, Now in the LCMS

"The Network of WELS Small Group Leaders. 1. Information on active/interested small group leaders. 2. The Resource Sharing Network led by Divine Savior in Indianapolis, Indiana [Pastor Dan Kelm]."
WELS Campus Pastors, Small Group Training Conference, Jan. 7-9, 1991, Madison. p. 19.

"When planning the service, Rev. Kelm and the worship committee decided immediately that there wouldn't be any organ music and that the usual Lutheran liturgy wouldn't be used."
Carol Elrod, "Pastor Hopes Seeks Will Find Way to Special Church Service," Indianapolis Star, May 12, 1990 printed in CN.

"The role model for this carefully choreographed and rehearsed service, referred to by Rev. Kelm as a 'seeker service,' is Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Ill., near Chicago, an independent congregation formed 14 years ago...Rev. Kelm said he viewed a videotape of a service at the Chicago-area church before planning the first seeker service for Divine Savior, which is affiliated with the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod."
Carol Elrod, "Pastor Hopes Seeks Will Find Way to Special Church Service," Indianapolis Star, May 12, 1990 Reprinted in CN.