ELCA Opposes the Doctrine of Creation, Loves Earth Day

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 2, 2007

Michigan Lutherans to Dispose of Hazardous Waste on Earth Day
07-050-GP*

MARQUETTE, Mich. (ELCA) -- For the third year in a row,
thousands of Lutherans will turn in hazardous waste during the
annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep on Earth Day, April 22, at
collection sites across northern Michigan. This year the target
is pharmaceuticals.

Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
will join an environmental army comprised of the vast majority of
Michigan's Upper Peninsula religious community, university
students, several environmental groups and an American Indian
tribe.

Nearly 400 tons of hazardous waste has been turned in during
the past two clean sweeps, including 320 tons of old computers
and cells phones on Earth Day 2006.

The Rev. Thomas A. Skrenes, bishop of the ELCA Northern
Great Lakes Synod, Marquette, Mich., said, "Prescription drugs
keep people out of the hospital, help many to heal and are an
important part of our health care system."

"But like all good things, when they are abused or even just
thrown away they can do damage to people and nature," said
Skrenes, who leads more than 39,000 baptized Lutherans in 94
congregations across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and six
counties in northeastern Wisconsin.

The 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep is targeting out-of-date
and unwanted medications of all kinds, according to Carl
Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed
Partnership.

The third annual clean sweep is sponsored by nine Upper
Peninsula faith communities with 130,000 members, the Central
Lake Superior Watershed Partnership, the Cedar Tree Institute,
and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

More than one-third of the ELCA Northern Great Lakes Synod
churches are participating in the clean sweep.

The synod also includes Finlandia University, Hancock,
Mich., Fortune Lake Lutheran Bible Camp, Crystal Falls, Mich.,
and Northland Lutheran Retirement Community in Marinette, WI.
Finlandia is one of 28 colleges and universities of the ELCA.

"We in the Upper Peninsula can protect our lakes and streams
with an ounce of prevention," Skrenes said. "The streams and
lakes demand our attention," he said.

"Earth Keepers is keeping the faith with God and with God's
creation," Skrenes said. "The Church of Jesus Christ is stepping
up to do its share with people of other faith communities to
preserve and protect this awesome Upper Peninsula."

The project involves more than 120 churches and temples
representing nine faith communities: Lutheran, Catholic,
Episcopal, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Unitarian
Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish and Zen Buddhist.

The leaders of all the faith communities and tribal
officials strongly support the clean sweep.

"God is at work in the beauty of our lakes and streams and
God is at work in the effort to preserve these waters by keeping
medications out of them," said Skrenes.

A pastor of the ELCA, the Rev. Jon W. Magnuson, Earth Keeper
Initiative founder and co-organizer of the clean sweeps, said
that combining religion and environmental protection is a perfect
fit.

"This will be another step of a deepening connection between
the traditions of faith and the critical challenges of the
environment," said Magnuson. "The clean sweep is one of many
signs of a new awakening, an historic shift of consciousness into
the mystery of God and a gentle love for the planet."

"This also has been a great witness to the secular community
that has dismissed religion as out of touch," said the Rev. Tari
K. Stage-Harvey, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, St. Ignace and
Trinity Lutheran Church, Brevort, Mich. "Our communities of faith
when touched by the Spirit become powers that create amazing
change."

Lutheran Earth Keeper team member Joy Ibsen, Trout Creek,
Mich., warned that "drugs have side effects that are very
dangerous if not properly understood and handled."

"Most of the environmental problems we have are side effects
of the way we live in today's highly technological, often toxic
and overly disposable world," Ibsen said.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said
trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are turning up in America's
drinking water because most treatment plants are not designed to
filter out these medications.

When pills or liquid medicines are poured down the sink or
flushed in the toilet they remain diluted in the water supply
after treatment, and these trace amounts are linked to health
problems, according to the EPA.

"As leftover and waste pharmaceuticals get flushed down
drains, research is showing that they are increasingly being
detected in our lakes and rivers at levels that could be causing
harm to the environment and ecosystem," said Elizabeth LaPlante,
senior manager for the EPA Great Lakes National Programs Office,
Chicago.

"Specifically, reproductive and development problems in
aquatic species, hormonal disruption and antibiotic resistance
are some concerns associated with pharmaceuticals in our
wastewater," LaPlante said.

"The Earth Keeper Pharmaceutical Collection event is an
excellent opportunity to prevent the introduction of these
chemicals into Lake Superior and other water bodies," said
LaPlante.

National studies show 80 percent of the rivers sampled
tested positive for a range of pharmaceuticals including
antibiotics, birth control hormones, antidepressants, veterinary
drugs and other medications.

Pharmaceuticals in some rivers are linked to behavioral and
sexual mutations in species of fish, amphibians and birds, and
compounds called endocrine disruptors are the apparent cause of
neurological problems in children and increased incidence of some
cancers, according to EPA studies.

WELS Endorses Church and Change Radicals

Church and Change is one of those rump groups, like Jesus First in Missouri, dedicated to making the standards of the Apostate Left the standards of the synod.

A short time ago there was a dust-up when this icky liberal named Leonard Sweet was invited to be the featured speaker at a Church and Change conference. I did my best to promote the Sweet adventure, but I must have been a tiny part of it. There was a big fracas and the conference was canceled. I was told that Church and Change was finished, disbanded, too much trouble. My source was trustworthy, but his source - the Wisconsin Synod - was not.

Church and Change rolls along as before. I was looking for the WELS convention dates when I ran into the Church and Change convention link - on the official WELS website. The Church and Change leaders remind me of orcs, those hideous twisted-men of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings:

Doom Has Come Upon Us All. Behold! Orcs Riding on Wolves!

I wonder if WELS would link this blog from their massive website. I realize the way to get approval from apostate leaders is to be an apostate. The best way to antagonize them is to quote Luther. That really sets them off.

Church and Change has its own website, its own domain name:

Serving Our Father Below.

Church and Change grew up during the Gurgel administration. They are the cutting edge, as they like to say.

WELS Financial Reports - Convenient Cuts and Add-ons

The latest WELS financial reports are posted. Click on the link below:

Now You See It - Now You Don't

I am no accountant and therefore not qualified to summarize all the figures. However, any layman can see that millions of dollars are being moved around to suit the purposes of the anti-school administration.

One of the synodical complaints is that they are only receiving $1 million per year in estate gifts. They are spending $2 million on Tetzels, or Planned Giving Counselors. So they would make $1 million net - just by firing the Tetzels and leaving those old people alone. Too much begging is counter-productive.

Why not fire everyone on the money staff? They are obviously doing a poor job.

The Apache mission is being strangled, but there is lots of money for Asia and other exotic places in the world missions budget. There are huge boosts for world missions.

Millions are spent on meetings. Various groups are flown to Milwaukee all the time. Here's a clue for those spending on technology: teleconferencing. It can be done by phone or even with video. By phone it is quite inexpensive. Video would be an enormous savings over flights, food, and motels.

The WELS website is good for $200,000 cost per year. The Ichabod blog is free. Some volunteer could run a blog that has one page, featuring: Lenski, Triglotta, Boxer Shorts. That's an old joke from the late Northwestern College. One professor used to say, "All you need to be an orthodox pastor is Lenski, the Concordia Triglotta, and a pair of boxer shorts." I thought some time ago that the WELS website was a self-perpetuating monstrosity, difficult to navigate, time-consuming to update. Permanent job security.

Note that Michigan has the most to lose this convention. They had tons of material on their part of the WELS website. The others have next to nothing, except for Southeast Wisconsin, with just a little information. A volunteer could put up plenty of useful information for each district. Dull stuff for so much money.

When my wife and I were cutting expenses, we did things like the following. A dinner out at Red Lobster was at least $30. Why not get some fresh fish at Sprouts and grill it? A pound of fresh fish is about $10, sometimes only $5 on sale. We have had salmon, catfish, and flounder from a hickory smoked grill for half the cost of dinner out. Besides, now we are spoiled. Nothing compares to freshly grilled meat. I make pollo asado for $3.50 a pound. The meat is already prepared at Sprouts. I can grill a week's worth of chicken for the cost of one dinner out, so I do that. Synods could improve quality while cutting costs, but they will not.

The trouble with the four-letter synods (ELCA, WELS, LCMS) is the same with the three letter synods (ELS, CLCs, LCR). They consider the money their money. ELCA has had a corrupting influence. I once saw a book at the LCA seminary library - a training manual for bishops. I wish I would have hooked it and xeroxed it. The tips were worth communicating to to others. "Be a hammer, never an anvil." That explains a lot. If the leaders are always pounding someone, they are not being pounded. The result is not a happy one. Pastors with brains go silent or get out.

The money these people waste on themselves is truly sickening. Pope John the Malefactor (ELS) just went to South Korea with another ELS person, to be photographed with someone. The tiny sect is $80,000 short of cash for the current year, so the new budget has to be cut. Is there no shame? WELS is running $900,000 short for the current year, but they sky is filled with traveling DPs.

VP Wayne Mueller Explains the WELS Meltdown

Wayne Mueller, Voted Out of Office Two Years Ago, Then Voted Back In

Information assembled by Vice-President Mueller as of March 2007 COP



Financial Management of Synod Ministry Since 2001

What precipitated the synod’s crisis in ministry support in 2001?

•
Sudden loss of $8M per year in foundation support
•
9-11 and the subsequent recession
•
Much lower than projected bequest gifts for five years
•
Drop in enrollment sharply reduced schools’ income
•
Below cost of living averages in congregation mission support
Efforts to balance budgets and maintain schools with lowered income

•
Three million removed from Home Missions annual budgets
•
Lower budgets and enrollments force schools to vacate thirty professorships
•
Parish Services annual budgets trimmed in half by $1.5M
•
Over twenty World Missionaries returned home ($2M)
•
Cost-cutting measures implemented across all areas of ministry
•
President’s office staff cut in half; 11 administrative positions eliminated
Measures put in place to set our financial house in order

•
Special audit showed no illegal activity in regard to internal borrowing
•
New Chief Financial Officer hired
•
Independent accounting oversight committee put in place
•
New software and processes for gift and budget tracking
•
Additional staff hired for finance department
•
More detailed special funds reports; new transparency in financial reporting
Conference of Presidents efforts at maintaining offering support for our ministries

•
Annual Congregation Mission Offering encouragements
•
Stewardship programs through Ministry of Christian Giving/Adult Discipleship
•
Advancement offices opened at all schools
•
Annual “Walking Together” Sunday started
•
Focus of WELS Connection directed to synod budget ministries
•
Endowments started for schools and missions
•
Faith-Focused Finance seminars on the road
Current proposals to contain costs and effect savings

•
Limit cost of living and tenure raises to cost of living
•
Higher deductibles, co-pay and contributions for worker health care
•
Use unrestricted special funds to pay back internal borrowing loan
•
Look at forgiving or delaying loan repayments to ourselves
•
Use of replenishable restricted special funds for operating budgets
•
Proposal to synod convention to close Michigan Lutheran Seminary
Remaining financial challenges

•
All ministries operating at minimum levels
•
Lower enrollment has cut deeply into school funding
•
Synod support forecast for 07-08 lowered by $1.1M to reflect 1.4% CMO increase
•
Synodical Council is proposing closing MLS to meet rising deficits
•
A deficit of $2.3M faces 07-08 ministry budgets
•
Offerings are not meeting the increased costs of ministry
How may God bless us to maintain our ministries?

•
With honest repentance and renewed faith in Jesus
•
With thankful hearts that pledge support of congregation and synod
•
With specific goals for our personal and congregational offerings

WELS Pulls a Pentecostal Maneuver

I admit to being a little confused about this, due to lack of information. The Michigan District of WELS is loaded with information about the financial crisis, but I find only one other district (Southwest Wisconsin) addressing the matter from their WELS website location.

I picked links, then went to all links. The districts are found under groups. Each district has a link and some additional information on that linking page.

This is what I conclude. WELS seems to be angling for a change in the mission offering pledge, above what was already pledged before. The leaders want this new level to be the new status quo. Michigan has a slide show on this. No one else does. The plan seems to be - have a new set of figures for the WELS convention in New Ulm. They want another $5 million on top of the current pledges.

I call this a Pentecostal maneuver because this was described to me as a method used by professional pledge fund ministers at Pentecostal and Evangelical congregations. The Reformed have a big meeting and expect people to turn in signed pledge cards at its climax. The pledge cards are added up. Then one professional says, "I signed a card, but I am not happy with what I put down. I am going to tear it up and raise my pledge." The other man says and does the same thing. Then the cards are passed back to the audience so everyone can tear up a card and sign a new one. Some quick-thinking blog-readers are imagining they would put the same amount down. But no, the cards have been examined already. So the congregation feels the compulsion of the Law and signs new ones.

Someone wrote to a famous journalist about the congregation's fund-raising efforts. "We have had bake sales, slave days, donkey days, rummage sales, and many more things, but we still do not have enough money. What should we do?" His answer was, "Try religion."

Fooling WELS Members Part of the Time

WELS has been trying to fool all of the members all of the time, but the latest efforts of the leaders have torn the mask away.

The WELS Crisis Documents prove that the budget has been transformed for the last 27 years, tilting toward a top-heavy administration and world missions, away from their own school system.

How hard is this to picture:

1. Administration percentage steadily upward from 1980.
   
2. School subsidy steadily downward from 1980.
   
3. World missions trending upward since 1980?

The inevitable result is higher tuition costs. Here is a simple formula:

Tuition = Salaries = School Budget. Most of a school's cost comes from teachers' salaries. Most of the income is from tuition. All private schools are subsidized by endowments or by denominational transfers. When WELS began strangling its own school system, the tuition had to go up quickly. When WELS used school fees to balance the synod budget, tuition had to go up even more. When the tuition went up too fast, 600 students dropped out of the WELS system. That alone is an annual cost of 5 million dollars (more or less).

Another cost, difficult to calculate, is the price of alienating people. The top-heavy WELS administration has proven its incompetence year after year. Now matters are so bad that Gurgel will not run for president and rebellion has raised its head, albeit meekly. People do not give long-term from being scared to death, threatened, intimidated, manipulated. They give from Gospel motivation, sadly lacking for many years.

One WELS pastor said to me, "In the past the conventions were great because the pastors got together and made decisions. Now the Milwaukee guys tied up the debate and load the votes. Everythign is determined before the convention starts."

Evidence comes from the way the debate is being tilted toward - "Give more money or we will kill off another school. And your little dog, too!" (Wizard of Oz allusion. Ignore the frighened man behind the curtain.) This should not be a hostage situation. The synod has millions to use to reduce the administration by 75% and bring home the world missionaries that necessitate so many trips around the world.

They love their Management by Objective theory. Why not face the facts and do what is right, for once?

WELS Gets Scripture Citation Wrong

The WELS meltdown continues. Look for the WELS Crisis PowerPoint at the following location. I am picturing the Wicked Witch in Wizard Oz addressing Marvin Schwan:

I'm melting, melting! Who would have thought a little brat like you could destroy such beautiful wickedness!

Manifold and manifest are the ironies. Marvin Schwan died, leaving WELS in a panic. He was always bailing them out of their messes. Now what? Good news. He left his estate to his foundation, which owned all the Schwan stock. Marvin's brother then redeemed the stock with profits from Schwan Frozen Foods, year by year. Marvin's brother ran the trust and the company at the same time. The result was that WELS was flooded with incredible wealth at first, but that tapered off rapidly. If the money had built up slowly, the sect would have remained arrogant instead of becoming terrified of the facts.

The people who created this heart-wrenching PowerPoint made two huge mistakes. One is that they quoted from the Today's NIV. (Fred asks Martha: "You mean there is a translation even worse than the NIV?" Answer - Yes, Today's NIV.) Secondly, they quoted the cheerful giving verse and cited it as coming from 1 Corinthians 9 instead of 2 Corinthians.

KJV 2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Anyone could make a mistake like that. People often do. But normally one has extra readers to spot errors like that. Or, since WELS is so Biblical, as they keep telling everyone, someone could send them an email and fix this blunder. It's not the typo, WELS, it's the cover-up, the failure to fix a goof.

PS - If you look over all the material at the website you will see a trend I suspected years ago. Every since 1980 the administrative part of the budget has gone up and the school portion has gone down. The world missions area has trended upward overall. The one steady change has been a consistent downward trend for the school budget, now called Ministry Education. The teachers are all ministers. The male teachers are ordained.

Michigan DP Seifert on the State of the Synod

Subject: Re: COP Special Presentation
From: MiDPWELS@aol.com
Date: Mon, May 14, 2007 2:53 pm

Dear Brothers

In response to some good questions for clarification, I'll send this to all
of you -- in case you run into something similar:


Does the "Sudden Loss of $8 Million" mean $8 million per year, and was
that designated money or general money.
That was from the WELS Gift Trust Fund - Generally Schwann Offering. The $8
million was in a year and is reported around the 7/2001 FiC. The high was
about $14 million per year. Since the drop, there have been increases so
that now
it is about up to $7.9 million. Still below the high amount, obviously.
The decision was then also made to spend down the Gift Trust fund at an
accelerated rate instead of over a period of about 8 to 9 years. In a
couple of
years it was spent, in anticipation that everything would pick up to previous
levels. That did not happen.



I think I can explain the Gift Trust Fund and Accounting Transfer Error,
but it would be very helpful to have a paragraph summarizing what each is
about. ....."
Gift Trust Fund - see above.

The Account transfer went like this, according to my understanding:
CMO and Restricted Gifts flow into the "operating budget."
CMO plus about $7.3 million was available and budgeted to be spent in a
given year from the "operating budget." It was. However, the accounting
transfer
was not made so it appeared that there was $7.3 in restricted funds that
could
be budgeted and spent in the next year. It was put into the budget. When it
was realized that the transfer had not been made in the first year, the
transfer was made. This resulted in the $7.3 million shortfall which was
"borrowed" and is in the process of being paid back.


I think it would be helpful to have a few specifics on things like
"Increase in Synod Mission Code Salary"--how much has that impacted the
budget?
The new mission code is an increase over the old mission code of about $3
million per year. I checked with Mark Bannan. That was the number addressed
when he was on the SC.

Or "Lower Bequests."
The old actuarial tables that had been used anticipated about $4-5 million a
year in bequests.
We are receiving less than $1 million a year in bequests.


If I understand the line about "Reduced Operating Budget Support for
Ministerial Education," the increase in tuition led to decreased
enrollment which has resulted in a net loss in BME funds. In other words,
if we hadn't raised tuition, enrollment would be so much higher that BME
would have more money today. Is that right?
That is part of the problem. We can't say that is the entire problem, but
there has been a trackable correlation between increased tuition and fees and
decreased enrollment.


Does the "If We Do Nothing" slide mean that we will lose all the schools?
The "If we do nothing" slide means that we will shut down the school system
in the order of MLS / LPS / MLC - one would hope not WLS. the other factors
will kick in too. The actions may not necessarily be in the order listed.


Is the $4.7-7 million estimate of the stop-gap offering what the COP
thinks we need in order to save the synod?


That's not a permanent number but it will at least allow a status quo and
time to address all of this situation. The understanding / prayer is that
such
an offering will not be a one time offering, but an increase to CMO -- the
'new base' mentioned in the PowerPoint presentation.

Thanks for the questions.

John

Pastor John C Seifert
President, Michigan District
_WELS MI District website_ (http://www.wels.net/jumpword/dimi)
Office: 989-835-1776
Cell: 989-859-9028
907 Mattes Drive
MIDLAND MI 48642

WELS College Out of Funds - Worse, The College President Cannot Spell College!

Posted on the WELS website:

MLC Report – October 2005


I. ENROLLMENT
The official MLC enrollment for the beginning of the 2005-06 school year was 818 of
which 404 are men and 414 are women. 627 are enrolled in Studies in Educational
Ministry and 191 are enrolled in Studies in Pastoral Ministry. They come from 33 states, one commonwealth, and eight foreign countries. Forty of them are married.

Seventy of the 184 freshmen are from prep schools (38%) and 80 are from ALHS’s
(43.5%). Pastor track stats are: Prep schools 24 or 54.5% and ALHS’s 14 or 32%.
Teacher track stats are Prep schools 46 or 33% and ALHS’s 66 or 47%. This is very
close to the historical percentages at MLC, however, the numbers are down
considerably from both sectors.

Enrollment at MLC in the range to 900 to 1000 is essential to maintain the programs
and curriculum either mandated or deemed necessary for the education of its called
workers for the 21st century. This is not a time to be going backward in our enrollment. We all – college, prep schools, ALHS’s, and Lutheran elementary schools need to intensify our efforts at recruiting young men and women for service to the Lord.

Three reasons we are hearing as to why young people may not choose to study for
ministry are:

1. The cost is to (sic) high (room, board and tuition at MLC is $12,400)
2. There won’t be calls available when we graduate
3. The WELS is not healthy and by extension – because WELS is not healthy MLC
is not a viable institution.

II.
MANPOWER
Please confer the MLC Impact Statement

The primary concern for faculty members is how can MLC operate with its immense
deficits in the next two years. In fact, they are hearing from the students that MLC is closing in two years. While these things are on their minds, nonetheless, this has not affected either their teaching or their dedication. The staff at MLC has grown over the years into a cohesive family dedicated to serving the Lord in the commission given them by the WELS – to be the WELS college of ministry.

III. MISSION ADVANCEMENT
The Mission Advancement team is nearly complete. Our Public Relations Director is
William Pekrul who was a former English professor retooled for the job. Our two
Resource Development Directors are James Hahn (DMLC grad, business consultant,
business manager, Thrivant (sic) agent – from Salt Lake City, Utah) and Katherine Tohal (employed half time by planned giving, then half with planned giving and half with MLC, and now full time with MLC). The secretary serving that position, Arlene Stolte, was formerly in the Records Department at MLC. The position still vacant is VP for Mission Advancement. The Governing Board has asked the president of MLC to fill that role for the time being.

The Mission Advancement Advisory Team continues to meet quarterly to brainstorm on
strategies that the Mission Advancement Office might employ in it work.

Gifts are coming in at a record pace – not enough to bridge the variance between
revenue and expenditures, but surely a good sign of what might yet be developed in
time.

We still await a WELS Gift Planning Counselor in New Ulm and assigned to MLC.
Pastor Kurt Lueneburg has accepted the call and we anxiously anticipate his
participation as part of our Mission Advancement Team.

IV. BUDGET
When MLC did its original budgeting for this biennium, it did so anticipating 920
students. We are 100 below that projection which caused a good deal of revision and
rethinking especially in view of the fact that our operating subsidy went from 5.4
million dollars five years ago to .7 million dollars this year. All said and done MLC is anticipating a 1.7 million dollar deficit this fiscal year (and that is after exhausting 1.3 million dollars in spendable reserves which means our savings account is empty) and then a 3.6 million dollar deficit next year providing we don’t have another loss in enrollment.

There are a number of ways we hope to attack this problem in the present fiscal year
(wages, TGP, gifts, redesignation of certain funds), but the next fiscal year will
determine the future of MLC

Our new billing procedures seem to be working. The new procedure calls for one
payment for the semester, two payments per semester, or monthly payments via
automatic withdrawals. Evidence of this is the fact that we are chasing after fewer
students for past due payment. Thus accounts receivable will improve over our already impressive record.

V. CAPITAL PROJECTS
The last bids on the new MLC chapel came in at about 9.2 million dollars (includes full unfinished basement under the chapel, link from classroom building to the student center but excluding organ, spire, seating, and sound system).

Monies available include around 6.8 million in FIC funds and 1.4 million in MLC funds which means we are once again short. Taking into consideration that approximately 1.2 million of the MLC funds are Governing Board designated and may need to be redesignated toward operating expenditures, the chapel project is on hold.

A designated offering for air conditioning for our gym, student center area, locker
rooms, exercise room, and offices has been received and we are in the process of
completing installation of the AC.

Gift money has allowed the creation of a “professors emeriti” room in the library. It will provide space for the emeriti to visit and work while they are on campus.

A grant from the Auxiliary designated for refurbishing the children’s literature room has been used to update the room and to make it more attractive to students.

The ongoing project of refurbishing Concord Hall (one floor per year) has been
completed. This is the first refurbishing since the dormitory was built some 40 years ago.

There are a good many projects which were scheduled through program maintenance
that remain on hold because of the shortage of monies in that BME fund.

Theo. Olsen
MARTIN LUTHER COLELGE (sic)

WELS Pod People

In "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," innocent people keep trying to tell others that aliens are assuming the form of humans and taking over the world. Each time the listener turns out to be one of the pod people.

One WELS observer wrote me that this has been the story of WELS for the last 40 years. No matter who is elected for what office, no matter what he says he will do, he turns into one of the pod people and is worse, if anything.

The bureaucracy has become self-perpetuating. The bigger it is, the more it wants for itself. "Feed me." That's another picture - "Little Shop of Horrors."

Like my friend, I doubt that any election will change matters in WELS. All the synods are coming unglued. That is not exactly tragic, given the damage they inflict on people.

WELS President Gurgel Will Not Run for Re-Election

May 14, 2007



Dear called workers,

President Gurgel has announced he will decline nomination for reelection at the synod convention this summer. He mailed a letter to all of you late last week explaining his thoughts. If you have not yet received it, it should be arriving shortly.

Sincerely,

Joel Hochmuth
Director of Communications
WELS
414-256-3230
joel.hochmuth@sab.wels.net

**********************

GJ - This is not exactly a surprise. However, before the WELS people starting high-fiving, I want to remind them that Gurgel was first elected because he was against the merger of DMLC and NWC. As soon as he was elected, he told the convention he was for the merger. Someone there said he looked like a changed man. The claim was - and I only report this as a rumor - that some people took him aside and explained how it was going to be. I really don't know.

And again, Wayne Mueller was voted out of office - almost impossible in WELS. His replacement refused to serve as First VP, so they had more votes and Wayne got back in. Was there another taking aside of the officer elect? I don't know.

The issue is doctrine, not bricks, mortar, and money. If WELS cannot get out of bed with ELCA, if WELS cannot kick the false teachers out, then it really does not matter who is elected to any office.

Waldo Werning - From Ft. Wayne to Fuller Seminary

Endorsed by Robert Preus
Robert Preus: "This is not a handbook on how to do certain things, not offering us gimmicks, procedures, models, and the like, although there is much of practical material to be found throughout. It is rather a theology of church growth and missions." [foreword by Robert Preus]
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 9.

Endorsed by Pentecostal Baptist Wagner
C. Peter Wagner, Pentecostal Baptist: "Waldo Werning has made an outstanding contribution to the church growth movement in America with Vision and Strategy for Church Growth...Working out of the models established by Donald McGavran and the School of World Mission at Fuller Seminary, Waldo Werning breaks new ground in developing ways that church growth principles can be applied directly to American churches." [Foreword by C. Peter Wagner]
Waldo J. Werning, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, Second Edition, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, p. 5.

Who’s Who in Church Growth!
"Waldo Werning is director of the Stewardship Growth Center of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and an adjunct professor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. He teaches a seminar course and conducts seminars which focus on 'supply side stewardship,' integrating church growth principles with a stewardship program."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 274.

Like A Mighty Shallow Creek
"A second example of this homogenization is Waldo J. Werning's Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, published by Moody Press in 1977."
"Werning is a Missouri Synod Lutheran executive. Although Werning's denominational publishing house did not publish his book, it is nevertheless an attempt by Werning to create an instrument for church growth among Missouri Synod Lutherans. If you read Werning, you can readily see that he is exceedingly eclectic, drawing from everywhere, including his own tradition."
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 33f.

OK, I Joined to Get the List
Lutheran members of the North American Society for Church Growth: Harold S. Drageger, Grace Lutheran, Visalia, CA; Bradley Hoefs, King of Kings Lutheran, Omaha, NE; Kent Hunter, Church Growth Center, Corunna, IN; Elmer Matthias, Emeritus Concordia St. Louis, MO; Dale Olson, Cross of Hope Lutheran, Ramsey, MN; Waldo J. Werning, Stewardship Growth Center, Ft. Wayne, IN; Gregory L. Jackson, Columbus, OH. Doris M. Wagner, Fuller Theological Seminary, December 10, 1991.

WELS Noticed and Liked
"There are other church growth programs which have been developed along more conservative lines. Here we are thinking of adaptations of McGavran's principles such as developed by Waldo J. Werning of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In his study entitled Vision and Strategy for Church Growth Werning has modified some of McGavran's extreme positions. Using some of his own adaptations Werning has conducted many seminars and workshops in applying church growth principles to a local congregational setting in America."
Ernst H. Wendland, "Church Growth Theology," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, April, 1981, 78, p. 117.

Valleskey Loves Werning’s Doctrine
"Introduction to the Church Growth Movement by Lutheran authors, Hunter, Kent R., Foundations for Church Growth (New Haven, MO: Leader Publishing Co., 1983) - the author, an LC-MS clergyman who has now set up his own church growth consulting service, performs the valuable service in this 204 page book of presenting an introduction to church growth goals and terminology. Werning, Waldo, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977) - Werning, active for years in LC-MS stewardship work, explains the foundations, presuppositions and principles of church growth and then shows how a congregation can benefit from making use of certain church growth principles - of the two books listed in this category, Werning's is the more practical."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A. p. 6.

Be Silent, Jackson!
"I would not say this publicly, but I will tell privately that I received a phone call from a WELS pastor who said that some claim that there are several WELS pastors in your Circuit who are into church management and some kind of church growth (and possibly even funded by some agencies) and that some believe that you are trying to get at them and a few others in WELS, and that is why you are writing the articles. Whatever the facts are, your entering into this fray, it seems to me, will not open up channels for God to use your very good talents in WELS in profitable ways."
Waldo J. Werning, Letter to Gregory Jackson, August 23, 1989 (Letter stamped in red: CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL)

Werning on Werning
"A basic resource to study is Waldo J. Werning, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, available from the Stewardship Growth Center, 1914 Wendmere Lane, Ft. Wayne, IN, 46825."
Waldo J. Werning, Renewal for the 21st Century Church, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1988, p. 160.

Gimme That Old Time Ecumenism, It Was Good Enough for Waldo and It's Good Enough for Me
"False ecumenism wants organizational unity instead of Scriptural unity."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 101.

Like Studying at Fuller Seminary, At the Feet of Pentecostal Ninnies?
"Unscriptural fellowship means acceptance of differences in doctrine, which are ignored by conducting joint religious acts and worship."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 102f.

Exit the Means of Grace
"Churches fail to grow when leaders become victims of a fatalistic attitude and defeatism. Also, they fail to grow when they become prisoners of their buildings and lose their mobility, confining their activities within the walls of the sanctuary."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 157f.

Who Needs the Gospel As Long As People Want Growth?
"C. Peter Wagner writes that 'the indispensable condition for a growing church is that it must want to grow.'" [C. Peter Wagner, "What Makes Churches Grow?" Eternity (June 1974), 17.]
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 158.

The Holy Spirit Has a Strategy, SMART Goals from Drucker
"Mission outreach and church growth are thwarted and retarded by too much dependence on paid workers, by too little training and participation of lay people, by too little sensitivity to the authority and strategy of the Holy Spirit, by acceptance of small results long after the large response should have been expected. The church is also hurt when goals are inarticulate, inadequate, immeasurable, or unattainable."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 158.

So Where Did You Get Your Book Title?
"Donald McGavran offered us the following essay on 'The Unique and Radical Nature of the Church Growth Movement.'"
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 159.

I Planted, Apollos Watered, But Members Gaveth the Growth
"Your church will grow by God's grace because members will want it to grow in obedience to God's will and because you are using strategy and methodology in making disciples. Then nongrowth will be called nongrowth, and growth will be accepted as a gift from God."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 159.

Werning Cautions Against Foolish Discussions and Anger!
"Steer clear of foolish discussion which lead people into the sin of anger with each other. 2 Timothy 2:14, 16 Living Bible."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 200.

Someone's Cell Grouping, Kum-by-ya
"The New Testament tells of this koinonia as a togetherness to share, to participate together, with Jesus in the center. This it is that makes it the church and not just another organization."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 92.

Beehives Are Cell Groups, Too
"Cell groups of Christians fellowshiping together date back to the first century, for it was largely through the activities of little groups or cells of believers that the message of Jesus Christ spread throughout the Roman Empire."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 93.

Explosive Koinonia Rather Than the Efficacious Word
"Koinonia should always be explosive or radical, driving one deeper into the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then driving one out into the world to fulfill the mission of the church."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 94.

Luther's Garden of Roses

"He allows the affliction to remain and to oppress; yet He employs different tactics to bestow peace; He changes the heart, removing it from the affliction, not the affliction from the heart. This is the way it is done: When you are sunk in affliction He so turns your mind from it and gives you such consolation that you imagine you are dwelling in a garden of roses."

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 285. John 14:23-31.

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.

Cicero - Also True of Denominations

Marcus Tullius Cicero:

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.
An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly.
But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through
all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor;
he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments,
he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation,
he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body
politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear.”

Your Confession - And Mine - The Book of Concord

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Concordia Triglotta. p. 1095).

Cited in Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65.

Church Growth Eyes - Is Anyone Else Laughing?

"The Institute for American Church Growth has created a card game called 'Church Growth Eyes.' The game may be used in groups to learn how to see through church growth eyes."
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 51.

"As we consider various factors and principles relating to Church Growth we need abundant, accurate information about the members of our churches. This basic principle of Church Growth is called Discerning the Body. Pastors and lay people need to discern the Body in the congregation in which they are serving. For this, Church Growth eyes are essential."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 61.

Robert Preus: "This is not a handbook on how to do certain things, not offering us gimmicks, procedures, models, and the like, although there is much of practical material to be found throughout. It is rather a theology of church growth and missions." [foreword by Robert Preus]
Waldo J. Werning, LCMS, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 9.

"Church Growth is not another program. It is a process. The pastor and people who have 'Church Growth eyes' make up a church that sees the task of ministry as an outreach process that affects every aspect of the church: from ladies' aid to elders."
Kent R. Hunter, LCMS, Launching Growth in the Local Congregation, A Workbook for Focusing Church Growth Eyes, Detroit: Church Growth Analysis and Learning Center, 1980, p. 11.

"We have discovered that the Early Church was an institution that unknowingly saw its world through Church Growth eyes. We have some benefits they did not have in that we can look back today and analyze their successes and failures."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, "Church Growth - the Acts of the Apostles," Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio.

"In the autumn of 1985 and the winter of 1985-1986, a truly momentous step was taken by the five Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) congregations in the metropolitan area of Columbus, Ohio. The five pastors and lay representatives of those churches organized and incorporated Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc., the first Church Growth institute in the WELS."
David G. Peters, "Lutheran Parish Resources: Pilot Program in Church Growth," Mequon: Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, April 27, 1987 p. 1.
[GJ - St. Paul's was never a WELS congregation, so there were only five WELS congregations there at the time. Prince of Peace was kicked out, so now there are three.]

"Several of our brothers have been warning us to be careful about the leaven of The Church Growth Movement and the insidious Reformed doctrine contained within. Not a few of us have heard their warning and have thought to counter the danger by saying we will weed out the erroneous material and use only that which is proper and beneficial to the Lord's work in our congregations. Fellow-shepherds, there is some evidence to show that that is exactly what the devils wants us to think. That seems to be used to lull us and our members into sleep, and without our intending it, the soul-harming false doctrines creep in undetected, under the guise of religious printed materials and programs."
Michigan District President Robert Mueller, (WELS), "President's Report to the Conferences, Spring, 1991, p. 2.
[GJ - DP Mueller and VP Paul Kuske set up Floyd Luther Stolzenburg in Columbus, to run Lutheran Parish Resources.]

Here Is One Stealth Congregation Set Up by Mueller/Kuske
"Since several brothers have asked about the status of Rick Miller, I provide the following information. Rick has asked for a release from his call at Huron Valley Lutheran High School in order to serve a group of people as their pastor and to help organize them as an independent Christian congregation. The group is composed of some former members of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Plymouth, of some former members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Livonia, and some people who have left LC-MS churches. The group has stated that it has a different philosophy and style of ministry, which includes drama, contemporary music and a thematic form of worship and liturgy, which allows for greater personal participation by its female members. The group has also stated that it would like to retain fellowship relations with our Wisconsin Synod…."As an independent group it does not plan to use the name 'Lutheran' in its title. It will be known as The Crossroads Christian Church...For the present, Rick Miller is still a pastoral member of the WELS...At that time [January 31, 1992, submission of a constitution] the fellowship question will be determined on the basis of the group's doctrinal statements and practices."
WELS District President Robert Mueller, President's Report to the Conferences, Fall, 1991, pp. 2-3.
[GJ - Rick Miller, Kelly Voigt, and Mark Freier all passed through Crossroads Community Church as pastors.

Mega Church Growth Quotation Collection

"Some 15 years ago, Peter Wagner's equation read 'Cells + Congregation + Celebration = Church.'"
Ken Sidey, "Church Growth Fine Tunes Its Formulas," Christianity Today, June 24, 1991, p. 46.

"But perhaps church growth's greatest challenge in North America comes from research that shows that more than 80 per cent of all the growth taking place comes through transfer, not conversion. The statistic strikes at the heart of McGavran's brainchild, now come of age. Whether by computer or spiritual power, the church growth movement must improve on those numbers. For if it does not, it will stand to lose the credibility and acceptance it has worked so long to gain."
Ken Sidey, "Church Growth Fine Tunes Its Formulas," Christianity Today, June 24, 1991, p. 47.

C. Peter Wagner: "I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with the church-growth principles we've developed, or the evangelistic techniques we're using. Yet somehow they don't seem to work."
Ken Sidey, "Church Growth Fine Tunes Its Formulas," Christianity Today, June 24, 1991, p. 47.

"In the words of C. Peter Wagner, Professor of Missions at the Fuller School of World Missions, Jesus at Bangkok was the 'prototype of an ideal social attitude,' the 'man for others' whose resurrection and lordship meant no more than that others should be inspired by His example."
Ernst H. Wendland, "Missiology--and the Two Billion," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, January, 1974 71, p. 11f.

"Dr. Donald McGavran, Dean Emeritus and Senior Professor of Mission at the Institute of Church Growth, Pasadena, California, is very much concerned about the Two Billion. He severely censures the leaders of the World Council of Churches as having 'betrayed the Two Billion.'"
Ernst H. Wendland, "Missiology--and the Two Billion," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, January, 1974 71, p. 9.

"CHURCH GROWTH. FIND OUT WHAT REALLY WORKS! Attend the 11th annual Church Growth International Conference. Hosted by Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho. Speakers Include: Dr's Jack Hayford and Peter Wagner...Discover why some churches grow and others don't...Find fellowship and worship with hundreds of pastors and church leaders from around the world." Church Growth International 1990 mailing "The Church Growth Movement has not yet paid enough attention to a critical self-assessment of its methodological presuppositions. Critics of the movement have raised important questions that need to be addressed."
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 149. (Original title - Look Out, The Pentecostals Are Coming)

"These two lists give us two general categories of signs of the kingdom: Category A: Social signs or signs applied to a general class of people. These include (1) preaching good news to the poor, (2) proclaiming release to the captives, (3) liberating the oppressed, and (4) instituting the Year of Jubilee ('acceptable year of the Lord'). Category B: Personal signs or signs applied to specific individuals. These include (1) restoring sight to blind people, (2) casting out demons and evil spirits, (3) healing sick people, (4) making lame people walk, (5) cleansing lepers, (6) restoring hearing to deaf people, and (7) raising the dead."
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 16.

"The preacher, in fact, was a fascinating combination of eloquent and illiterate (by his own testimony). In the services I saw fervent singing, joyous clapping of hands, dancing in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, testimonies, prophecies, preaching of the Word, and as a climax the handling of deadly poisonous snakes and drinking of strychnine. I discussed this with several members of the congregation. When I asked why they handled snakes they replied, simply, 'Because Jesus told us to do it as a sign.' Another sign of the kingdom." [Footnote - See C. Peter Wagner, What Are We Missing?, formerly Look Out, The Pentecostals Are Coming, Carol Stream: Creation House, 1973, 1978.]
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 23.

"Church growth is that science which investigates the planting, multiplication, function and health of Christian churches as they relate specifically to the effective implementation of God's-commission to 'make disciples of all nations' (Matt. 28:19-20 RSV). Church growth strives to combine the eternal theological principles of God's Word concerning the expansion of the church with the best insights of contemporary social and behavioral sciences, employing as its initial frame of reference, the foundational work done by Donald McGavran." [Constitution, Academy for American Church Growth]
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 75.

"In 1980 the Church Growth Movement celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. The historical even now regarded as the beginning of the movement was Donald McGavran's publication of The Bridges of God in 1955."
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. x.

"Lyle Schaller, for example, now characterizes the emergence of the Church Growth Movement as 'the most influential development of the 1970's on the American religious scene." [In the Foreword to Donald McGavran and George G. Hunter III, Church Growth Strategies that Work (Nashville: Abingdon, 1980) p. 7.]
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. xi.

[McGavran became a professor of missions in Indianapolis in 1957, at the College of Missions, where he got his M.A. in 1923. He began teaching at Northwest Christian College in Oregon in 1961. McGavran was invited to move his Institute of Church Growth to Fuller and become the founding dean of Fuller's School of World Mission.]
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 10f.

"The bulletin to which I refer is the Global Church Growth Bulletin, which McGavran began in 1964...One should not confuse McGavran's Global Church Growth Bulletin with Church Growth: America, a magazine edited by W Charles Arn and published by the Institute for American Church Growth."
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 11.

"Church growth theorists are not opposed to applying Management by Objectives (MBO) in their work. McGavran is bold to advocate planning as much as fifty years in advance."
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 79.

"The fountainhead and headwaters of the church growth river are to be found in a man, an institute, a bulletin, a school, and a book." [But see C. Peter Wagner, "Church Growth, More Than a Man, a Magazine, a School, a Book," Christianity Today, December 7, 1973, pp. 11ff.]

"The man is Donald Anderson McGavran, the son of missionary parents, born in India on December 15, 1897, who was himself a third-generation missionary in India for more than thirty years under appointment of the United Christian Missionary Society (Disciples of Christ). He has a Ph. D. in education from Columbia University."
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 9f.

"Church growth consultation began at the Charles E. Fuller Institute in 1975, when it was still called Fuller Evangelistic Association, under C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber. I took over from Wimber in 1978."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Chapter: "Church Growth Consultation," by Carl F. George, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 159.

"Church Growth consultants also draw from the social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, social psychology, psychology, educational psychology, instructional technology, communications, organizational development, management, and marketing."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Chapter: "Church Growth Consultation," by Carl F. George, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 160.

"Win Arn, president and founder of the influential Institute for American Church Growth, is widely respected as a pioneer and major spokesperson for the American Church Growth Movement...He has produced or coproduced almost every film now in use in the area of church growth...'For the Love of Pete.'"
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 230.

"W. Charles 'Chip' Arn is the foremost designer of church growth training curricula and resources used by individual churches and regional districts across the Protestant spectrum...Arn's most significant contribution to date is probably his work in The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, which is the first strategy of evangelism building on and incorporating the principles of church growth into a practical method for equipping laypersons and congregations to effectively reach their unchurched friends and relatives."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 230.

"Kent Hunter is director of the Church Growth Center, Corunna, Indiana... Hunter sees his major contribution to the Church Growth Movement in the area of theology...Kent Hunter contributed two chapters to this volume: chapter 7, 'Membership Integrity: The Body of Christ with a Backbone,' and chapter 11, 'The Quality Side of Church Growth.'"
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 240f.

"Roger Leenerts is an executive with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, serving as associate executive secretary for North American missions on the Board for Mission Services. He has been a key instrument in introducing church growth principles and practices into the LCMS through sponsoring church growth seminars and workshops for key denominational personnel. Under this new emphasis, church planting became the primary mission emphasis for the synod. In the mid seventies only twenty new congregations were being started per year. Currently the number is over 100, and the goal for 1990 is 500 new congregations per year."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 246.

"Donald McGavran is the founder of the Church Growth Movement. See chapter 1, 'A Tribute to the Founder.'"
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 248.

"Elmer Matthias is associate professor of practical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, an institution of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod...While serving the parish [Zion, Anaheim, California] he enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program in church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, receiving his degreee in 1977. At Concordia Seminary he became the first trained church growth seminary instructor in Lutheran circles, teaching church growth, evangelism, and parish administration."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 250.

"Lyle Schaller has been parish consultant since 1971 with the Yokefellow Institute, a retreat center in Richmond, Indiana, founded by D. Elton Trueblood. He has conducted approximately eight hundred workshops on church growth, parish planning, leadership, and related subjects."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 260.

"C. Peter Wagner is the Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at the Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Missions in Pasadena, California. The School of World Mission became a part of Fuller Seminary in 1965 when Donald McGavran, father of the Church Growth Movement, moved his nonacademinc Institute of Church Growth to Pasadena from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. Since that time, Fuller Seminary has been the institutional base for the Church Growth Movement, first in its global expression and later in its North American expression."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271.

"C. Peter Wagner is the Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at the Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Missions in Pasadena, California. The School of World Mission became a part of Fuller Seminary in 1965 when Donald McGavran, father of the Church Growth Movement, moved his nonacademinc Institute of Church Growth to Pasadena from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. Since that time, Fuller Seminary has been the institutional base for the Church Growth Movement, first in its global expression and later in its North American expression."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271.

"Recognizing the need for professional church growth consultation, in 1975 he [C. Peter Wagner] invited John Wimber to become the founding director of what is now the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth. Wimber got the Institute off to an excellent start, then left to become the founding pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim and Vineyard Ministries Internamtion... Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Regal, 1979) is approaching the 100,000 mark... Church Growth and the Whole Gospel (Harper and Row, 1981) is a scholarly discussion of criticisms of the Church Growth Movement from the viewpoint of social ethics, in which Wagner did his doctoral work."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271f.

"Wagner invited McGavran to team teach with him, and the course was a success. Among its students was Win Arn, who almost immediately stepped out in faith and established the Institute for American Church Grwoth, also located in Pasadena. Both Wagner and McGavran were members of the founding board of directors. Arn has given brilliant leadership to the Institute for American Church Growth and ranks as the premier communicator of the Church Growth Movement in North America."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271f.

"Wagner was instrumental in the organization of the North American Society for Church Growth, and became its founding president in 1984. In the same year he was honored by Fuller Seminary with the Donald A. McGavran Chair of Church Growth."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 273.

"Stephen A. Wagner is senior pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Texas. In addition he serves as chairman of the Church Growth Task Force of the Texas District, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod...He is the author of Heart to Heart: Sharing Christ with a Friend (Corunna, Indiana: Church Growth Center). He is also a contributing author to the Church Planting Manual (North American Missions Department of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 1985), and he has written articles for denominational publications. Currently he is a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree in church growth from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 274.

"In January of 1982, he [Wimber] taught a course at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he is an adjunct professor, called 'Signs, Wonders, and Church Growth.' Wimber taught this course for four years and it became one of the most popular courses at Fuller."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 275.

"Cell. Sometimes called a kinship circle; a small group of 8-12 believers; an important part of the church's struct which has the primary functions of spiritual accountability and intimacy and secondary functions of Bible, prayer, and healing."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283.

"Body Life. The clustering of Christians together in a shared intimacy to achieve growth by all members of the body working together and building up one another." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283.

"Body Evangelism. A perspective which emphasizes the goal of evangelism as making disciples who are incorporated into the body of Christ, the result of which is church growth."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283.

"Church. An assembly of professed believers under the discipline of the Word of God, organized to carry out the Great Commission, administer the ordinances, and minister with spiritual gifts."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283f. Matthew 28

"Church Growth Principles. Worldwide truths which, when properly applied, along with other principles, contribute significantly to the growth of the church."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

"Church Growth Conscience. The conviction that God's will is for the body of Christ to grow."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

"Communicant Members. The hard core of the church, those members who principally finance and support the church's existence."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 285.

"Conversion Church Growth. Those outside the church come to rest their faith intelligently in Jesus Christ and are baptized and added to the church."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 286.

"Conversion. Participation by non-Christians in a genuine decision for Christ, a sincere turning from the old gods and evils spirits, and a determined purpose to live as Christ would have people live."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 286.

"Discerning the Body. Seeing a local church or a denomination as it really is and obtaining and analyzing information about it and its members."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 287.

"Faith Projection. A projected growth goal based on present growth patterns, plus a trust in the Lord for an increase in the harvest. Usually a five year projection." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 289.

"Fluxuating Receptivity. The responsiveness of individuals and groups waxes and wanes due to the Spirit's peculiar activity in the hearts of people."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290.

"Follow-up Gap. The difference between the number of persons who make decisions for Christ in a given evangelistic effort and those who go on to become disciples."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290.

"Felt Need. Describes the conscious wants and desires of a person; considered to be an opportunity for Christian response which stimulates within the person a receptivity to the gospel."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290.

"Harvest Theology. The presentation of the gosple which results in the actual decision of nonbelievers to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 291.

"Life Style Evangelism. Role modeling by Christians so that non-Christians will identify with the life of Christ in the believer as well as the gospel message, and will better hear the message. This approach to evangelism is rooted in theology and sociology."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 293.

"Perfecting. The process of nurture and development (following discipling) that is required to take believers from the initial acceptance of Jesus Christ to mature faith and obedience; sanctification."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 296.

"Planned Parenthood. A congregation decides to become a mother church and plants a daughter church. Intentional church planting."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 297.

"Social Action. Christian involvement in changing the structures of society in order to help the poor and oppressed."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 299.

"Soil Testing. An evangelistic strategy that seeks out those people who are open to receiving the gospel at the present time." [Note the Mark Braun NWL article about the sower and the seed, employing this soil testing concept.]
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 300.

"Winnable People. Those who are considered receptive to the gospel; those who will respond. See HARVEST PRINCIPLE; RESISTANCE-RECEPTIVITY AXIS."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 302.

"Pastors and lay persons trained in Church Growth are leading Christians to discover their spiritual gifts. They are looking into the Scripture and discovering those verses in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 where some of the gifts are listed." [See C. Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow, 1979, "a discussion of gifts which relates specifically to the potential of mobilizing God's people for church growth," p. 33.]
Kent R. Hunter, Launching Growth in the Local Congregation, A Workbook for Focusing Church Growth Eyes, Detroit: Church Growth Analysis and Learning Center, 1980, p. 26.

"Donald A. McGavran, who has been called the father of the modern church growth movement, states in Understanding Church Growth, 'Men and women do like to become Christians without crossing barriers' (p. 227). This experienced scholar and missionary states many examples of the homogeneous principle working in his research throughout the world."
Dr. Paul Y. Cho (with R. Whitney Manzano), More Than Numbers, Waco: Word Books, 1984, p. 46.

"There is no doubt the Body rightly understood, reverently discerned, and scientifically described assists Christian leaders in being better stewards of the grace of God and effective communicators of the gospel of Christ."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 110. 1 Corinthians 10.

"To acquire more expertise in Church Growth thinking, I visited the School of World Mission and Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary. When I inquired concering resources and materials for American Church Growth, I found that Dr. Donald McGavran and C. Peter Wagner were team-teaching a course applying world principles of Church Growth to the American scene. I immediately became a part of that group. As I listened and learned, I realized here was the effective approach to evangelism for which I had been searching. In those hours, I experienced my third birth--'conversion' to Church Growth thinking."
[Winfield C. Arn] Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 12.

"For the Love of Pete,"...presents "The Master's Plan for Making Disciples"...."Planned Parenthood for Churches"...Church growth principles are communicated with warmth and humor.
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 132.

"A Church Growth principle is a universal truth which, when properly interpreted and applied, contributes significantly to the growth of churches and denominations. It is a truth of God which leads his church to spread his Good News, plant church after church, and increase his Body."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 15.

"Discover new ways of thinking about your church and community, develop Church Growth eyes that see more accurately the various parts, the homogeneous units, the responsive segments of the community which can be won."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 17.

"As we begin developing Church Growth eyes and see the possibilities, as we discover methods that prove effective and discard methods that are clearly ineffective, we will find ourselves in a new age."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 19.

"As Christians refine their methods, develop Church Growth eyes, feel church growth responsibility, communicate the Gospel, and educate those who are won until they become responsible Christians, the church as a whole will receive the abundant blessing God wants to give."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 21f.

"God wants his church to grow!" Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 22. "They must not only believe in Jesus Christ but must become responsible members of his church The Bible requires that. If we take the Bible seriously, we cannot hold any other viewpoint."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 30.

"If a person claiming to be Spirit-filled is not evangelizing, one must doubt how full he or she is and wonder what kind of spirit he or she is full of."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 58.

"As we consider various factors and principles relating to Church Growth we need abundant, accurate information about the members of our churches. This basic principle of Church Growth is called Discerning the Body [in italics]. Pastors and lay people need to discern the Body in the congregation in which they are serving. For this, Church Growth eyes are essential."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 61. 1 Corinthians 10.

"Discerning the Body begins with Church Growth eyes. Unfortunately, this is what many leaders, many Christians, do not have."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 63. 1 Corinthians 10.

"I was thinking some hard thoughts about my Presbyterian friends when the Lord said to me, 'Donald, you sat on the executive committee of the Indian Mission of the Disciples of Christ for twenty-five years, didn't you?' I said, 'Yes, Sir.' He said, 'How much time did you spend describing the growth or nongrowth of your church?'"
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 65. It sounds like God graduated from Fuller Seminary!

"How can my congregation develop Church Growth eyes?"
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 72. 1 Corinthians 10.

"Churches grow as they reproduce themselves through planned parenthood." [Title of chapter 8]
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 93.

"The crudest extravagances of revivalism (Methodism, Pentecostalism, Holy Rollerism) have their root in this specifically Reformed doctrine of the immediate working of the Holy Spirit." [Fuller Seminary is known for its Pentecostal extremism, including C. Peter Wagner's "Signs and Wonders" course.]
"Grace, Means of," The Concordia Cyclopedia, L. Fuerbringer, Th. Engelder, P. E. Kretzmann, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1927, p. 299.

"Not only does John Vaughan describe these large churches with fascinating detail, but he also analyzes them with church-growth eyes." [Foreword by C. Peter Wagner; book dedicated to Elmer L. Towns and C. Peter Wagner]
John N. Vaughan, The World's Twenty Largest Churches, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984, p. 12.

"Winning the winnable while they are winnable seems sound procedure."
Donald A. McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1980, p. 291.

"In 1963 he [McGavran] planned to add to the Institute of Church Growth at Eugene an American Division headed by an American minister of church growth convictions, but the plan did not mature. In 1967 the annual Church Growth Seminar at Winona Lake, Indiana, drew in about 20 American ministers and heads of Home Missions Departments."
C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 14.

"The basic responsibility for the seminar is mine, but I am also assisted by Donald McGavran, Win Arn and John Wimber of the Fuller Evangelistic Association." [Two week Doctor of Ministry seminar every winter at Fuller School of Theology, on church growth]
C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 15.

"The conscious attempt to apply church growth philosophy to America was stimulated in the fall of 1972 by Pastor Charles Miller, then a staff member of Pasadena's Lake Avenue Congregational Church. At Miller's urging, I organized and asked McGavran to team-teach with me a pilot course in church growth designed specifically for American church leaders. We did it only as an experiment, but the results were remarkable: One of the students, Win Arn, left his position with the Evangelical Covenant Church and founded the influential Institute for American Church Growth."
C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books 1976, p. 15.

"When the roster of pioneers of church growth in North America is drawn up, three individuals will deserve a prominent place on it: One is Win C. Arn, one of the students in the first Fuller Seminary course in American Church Growth...Another pioneer is Paul Benjamin, who in 1974 left his position as Professor of New Testament and Church Growth at Lincoln Christian Seminary to establish the National Church Growth Research Center in Washington, D.C."
C. Peter Wagner, Study Questions by John Wimber, Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: Regal Books, 1976, p. 17.

Professional church growth consultant: "A pioneer in this field is Pastor John Wimber of Yorba Linda Friends Church in Orange Country, California. Wimber has recently resigned his pastorate to head up the newly-created Department of Church Growth of the Fuller Evangelistic Association."
C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books 1976, p. 20.

"I know these questions are real because I was asking them myself when I first came, during my second missionary furlough from Bolivia, to study at Fuller under McGavran. Frankly, I entered his program in 1967 as a skeptic. But I emerged an enlightened person."
C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 35. Acknowledgments to: Donald McGavran, Win Arn, John Wimber, Paul Benjamin, Dennis Oliver, Harold Lindsell...Jack Hyles...Robert Schuller.... C. Peter Wagner, Study Questions by John Wimber, Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: Regal Books, 1976, p. 9.

"Incidentally, during my mission counselor days in California during the 80's, I did take a course at Fuller from Carl George and Peter Wagner. I am grateful for the opportunity to have done so because it helped me to see through the lousy theology espoused by David Luecke in "Evangelical Style and Lutheran Substance" a book, by the way, which has been roundly criticized in WELS circles as your own columns have noted."
Rev. Joel C. Gerlach (WELS) to Pastor Herman Otten, no date. [Gerlach taught at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary]

"Church Growth Eyes Sometimes the term is used in conjunction with the phrase, 'discerning the body.' Professor McGavran uses the terms almost synonymously. Both phrases are examples of how church growth science appropriates the medical model to express itself. Church growth eyes are 'a characteristic of Christians who have achieved an ability to see the possibilities for growth, and to apply appropriate strategies to gain maximum results for Christ and His Church.'" McGavran and Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, p. 127.]
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 51.

"Donald C. McGavran died at home home in Altadena, California, on July 10, 1990. He was 92 years old. Dr. McGavran is widely recognized as the founder of the church growth movement, a movement which has sought to put the social sciences at the service of theology in order to foster the growth of the church. In August of 1989 I borrowed a bicycle and pedaled several miles uphill up from Pasadena to Altadena. I found Dr. McGavran in his front yard with a hose in hand, watering flowers."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "See How It Grows: Perspectives on Growth and the Church," EVANGELISM, February, 1991, Professor, Martin Luther College (WELS), p. 1.

"McGavran leaned toward me and said, 'The fields are white unto harvest. But you can't harvest a field of what with a penknife--you need a sickle, you need a scythe. Harvest intelligently."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "See How It Grows: Perspectives on Growth and the Church," EVANGELISM, February, 1991, Parish Consultant for the WELS Board of Parish Services and his district's Coordinator of Evangelism. p. 2.

"For several years I've been a Pete Wagner fan. Although I don't see eye to eye with him on many important theological points (he approves of faith healing and speaking in tongues as long as it promotes church growth and he comes from a Billy Graham decision for conversion doctrinal background), he is the most eloquent spokesman of the Church Growth Movement. A prolific author on mission/evangelism/church growth subjects, Wagner is also an excellent teacher and a crystal clear writer."
Reuel J. Schulz,The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980,

"Read these books and you might become a Wagner fan too."
Reuel J. Schulz,The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980,

"So, what should the members of St. John evangelism committee do with [C. Peter Wagner's] Your Church Can Grow?...They can probably pick up a few helpful hints. They might, for example, appreciate research which provides an insight into the way unchurched people think."
Prof. David Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement, Just Gathering People or Building the Church?" The Northwestern Lutheran, May 5, 1991, p. 185.

"2. The distinction between a witness and an evangelist. a. Some are evangelists (Eph. 4:11-12) 1) C. Peter Wagner: 'The average church can realistically expect that approximately 10 per cent of its active adult members will have been given the gift of evangelist' ("Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow," Glendale: Gospel Light, 1979, p. 176)...3) but don't expect everyone to have that gift - Wagner (op. cit.): 'It is a misunderstanding of biblical teaching, in my opinion, to try to convince every Christian that he or she has to be sharing the faith constantly as a part of their duty to the Master."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A.p. 51.

"Church Growth Eyes. A characteristic of Christians who have achieved an ability to see the possibilities for growth and to apply appropriate strategies to gain maximum results for Christ and the Church."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

"There are other church growth programs which have been developed along more conservative lines. Here we are thinking of adaptations of McGavran's principles such as developed by Waldo J. Werning of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In his study entitled "Vision and Strategy for Church Growth" Werning has modified some of McGavran's extreme positions. Using some of his own adaptations Werning has conducted many seminars and workshops in applying church growth principles to a local congregational setting in America." [Werning is Who's Who in Church Growth]
Ernst H. Wendland, "Church Growth Theology," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, April, 1981, 78, p. 117.

"A second example of this homogenization is Waldo J. Werning's Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, published by Moody Press in 1977." [Ed. note: The foreword is by C. Peter Wagner. Werning studied at Fuller.] "Werning is a Missouri Synod Lutheran executive. Although Werning's denominational publishing house did not publish his book, it is nevertheless an attempt by Werning to create an instrument for church growth among Missouri Synod Lutherans. If you read Werning, you can readily see that he is exceedingly eclectic, drawing from everywhere, including his own tradition."
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 33f.

"Waldo Werning is director of the Stewardship Growth Center of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and an adjunct professor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. He teaches a seminar course and conducts seminars which focus on 'supply side stewardship,' integrating church growth principles with a stewardship program."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 274. Lutheran members of the North American Society for Church Growth: Harold S. Drageger, Grace Lutheran, Visalia, CA; Bradley Hoefs, King of Kings Lutheran, Omaha, NE; Kent Hunter, Church Growth Center, Corunna, IN; Elmer Matthias, Emeritus Concordia St. Louis, MO; Dale Olson, Cross of Hope Lutheran, Ramsey, MN; Waldo J. Werning, Stewardship Growth Center, Ft. Wayne, IN; Gregory L. Jackson, Columbus, OH. Doris M. Wagner, Fuller Theological Seminary, December 10, 1991.

"C. Peter Wagner writes that 'the indispensable condition for a growing church is that it must want to grow.'" [C. Peter Wagner, "What Makes Churches Grow?" Eternity (June 1974), 17.]
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 158.

"Donald McGavran offered us the following essay on 'The Unique and Radical Nature of the Church Growth Movement.'"
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 159.

"Dr. McGavran offers the following 'Ten Prominent Emphases in the Church Growth School of Thought.'" [Six and one half pages of direct quotes from McGavran follow.]
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 160.

"Waldo Werning has made an outstanding contribution to the church growth movement in America with Vision and Strategy for Church Growth...Working out of the models established by Donald McGavran and the School of World Mission at Fuller Seminary, Waldo Werning breaks new ground in developing ways that church growth principles can be applied directly to American churches." [Foreword by C. Peter Wagner]
Waldo J. Werning, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, Second Edition, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, p. 5.