Charis - Church and Change

From the source:

Research Update: Factional Attributes in the WELS
By Dr. John E. Bauer
Dr. Bauer is the former Executive Director of The CHARIS Institute, Inc.

Introduction

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has experienced steady rates of decline over the past two decades that have produced financial and organizational stress. With the exception of 2004, baptized and communicant membership saw 21 straight years of decline. Sunday school attendance has dropped for 32 years straight and Lutheran elementary school enrollments have declined for 25 years in a row. Fiscal shortfalls, first made public in 2002, have led to reductions in the number of world missionaries, the number of college and seminary professorships, and numerous other cost-cutting measures.

When an organization experiences decline, it is common to observe denial and avoidance on the part of organization members and leaders on the one hand, and agitation forinnovation and change on the other. Both are occurring in the WELS. Within the last decade, growing divergence is occurring between two distinct factions.

One group, characterized by The CHARIS Institute and The Center for Church and Change, reacts to decline and loss by seeking creative and innovative approaches to ministry, by trying to develop networks for sharing ideas, and by combating the forces of legalism that restrict the free expression of the gospel.

The other group, characterized by the “Issues in WELS” conferences, the now defunct journal, Motley Magpie, and blogs such as “WELS in Crisis” react to financial and cultural changes in the denomination by returning to the safety of orthodoxy. Judging from the articles, papers, and postings of these organizations and groups, the preferred reaction to decline and demise is a clearer refinement of the church’s doctrine of church fellowship, rejection of anything thatseemingly resembles “church growth,” and a rejection of things contemporary or innovative in favor of the more traditional modes of pastoral ministry and worship.