ELCA Shrinking: Too Much Church Growth? Or Too Much WELS-ELS-LCMS?

Here is an interesting article on ELCA shrinking.

A major reason is that, in 20 years, the ELCA hasn't achieved a clear identity. Ask anyone what an ELCA Lutheran is - including ELCA Lutherans - and they will be hard pressed to tell you.

Ask someone what a Baptist or a Roman Catholic is and right away, you have a pretty fair idea what those terms mean. Not so with these Lutherans.

Inskeep says one reason is the ELCA never has come to terms with what it takes to live in the modern world. The endless debate about the role of gays and lesbians in the church is an example. Other denominations - Roman Catholics, Reformed, Baptists - have, for better or worse, addressed the issue and moved on.

Tradition also plays a big role. An unspoken commandment: "We've always done it this way. Why change?"

Some ELCA churches are growing and doing well. But Inskeep says overall, 72% of congregations lost worshipers between 2000 and 2006, and the number of churches where less than 50 people worship regularly jumped from 18% in 1988 to 26% in 2005.

Two decades ago, a few observers feared the ELCA would become the "General Motors of Lutheranism."

Turns out they were right, but not in the way they intended.

Lie Down With Dawgs Get Up With Puppies

The WELS-ELS-LCMS combine works with ELCA on a host of religious projects, including worship and evangelism. Look at the links for ELCA's full communion partners:

News from Full Communion Partners Episcopal News Service/Episcopal Life Online Moravian Church in North America Presbyterian News Service Reformed Church in America News United Church of Christ News

Why work with ELCA, WELS leaders? Do they feed your faith?

Why work with ELCA, LCMS leaders? Do they feed your faith?

Why work with ELCA, ELS leaders? Do they feed your faith?

The WELS AnswerMan says no.

In View of Faith

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fruits of UOJ":

Dr. Jackson:

Since you don't agree with the old Synodical Conference on objective justification, what is your position on election? Are you a follower of the "intuitu fidei" theology?

Thank you.

***

GJ - It does not follow that rejecting one false doctrine means embracing another one. I know many are on the lookout for intuitu fidei while comatose about Reformed doctrine and Church Growth marketing madness, not to mention UOJ. I can usually predict where someone is going in an essay when the experts cited are Walther, Pieper, Walther, more Pieper, and a recent seminary professor or two. Daniel Preus has an essay posted where he embraced the magical and non-existent Easter Absolution (from Walther's sermon). Am I the only one to think it strange to base a doctrine on a recent sermon? I know the Methodists do that with Wesley's sermons, but at least they admit how weak they are in doctrine.

"In view of faith" comes from truncating the original formula, that we are saved "by the merits of Christ apprehended by faith." Leaving the merits of Christ out left a phrase "saved in view of faith"

From Thy Strong Word, Justification by Faith:

If the new Lutherans are correct in claiming ancient truths, then their doctrine should be found consistently in dogmatic statements about justification. Error is not proved by its popularity or unpopularity, but we can expect that the central doctrine of Christianity has been taught properly by various church fathers through the ages. However, we can also assume that some statements are misunderstood or distorted in time, perhaps in spite of good intentions or as a result of doctrinal shorthand. The issue “in view of faith” (intuitu fidei) began with a correct statement truncated and repeated until it became institutionalized.[46]

a. Correct – We are saved in view of faith apprehending the merits of Christ.

b. Incorrect – We are saved in view of faith. The shortened version made people think that faith itself saves, as if faith were a virtue or a frame of mind generated by man.

If we are to avoid being tangled in endless disputes about words, we must avoid being wedded to each word of every single dead Lutheran, since our confession rests upon the Scriptures as the ruling norm of faith (norma normans) and the Book of Concord as the norm ruled by the Scriptures (norma normata).


The false view was promoted by the catechism of Erik Pontippidan (1698-1764), the same catechism used later to justify the Church of the Lutheran Confession’s “holy self-love” doctrine. Pontippidan was a Danish-Norwegian Pietist. The truncated “in view of faith” issue led to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in 1918 when the majority of Norwegian Lutherans merged by compromising on this topic. In time, “in view of faith,” became the majority view in the larger Norwegian Lutheran Church. The larger Norwegian church eventually became part of the ELCA.

I have not involved myself in denominational history for some time, so feel free to correct me if I am rusty on the details.

I was asked about this in WELS colloquy, but I should have questioned the people questioning me. Professor Brug has supported the Church Growth Movement and women's ordination (women's ordination in the Quarterly, no less). DP Mueller supported Church Growth, stealth missions, but rejected the Sixth Commandment as obsolete in practice.

Fruits of UOJ

Universal Objective Justification (grace without the Means of Grace) bears fruit, in a manner of speaking.

The UOJ Gestapo police the synods and discussion boards so they can attack anyone who questions their toxic opinions. They do not defend their notions because they cannot.

UOJ fanatics are always angry. If they found peace in their apostasy, they would be mellow instead of agitated, furious, and spiteful.

UOJ is like mercury, a heavy metal that attaches itself to gold and silver. When the UOJ leaders speak about justification, they are promising gold and silver while offerig a heavy metal poison.

KJV John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

In contrast, to John 3:36, which UOJ fanatics cannot answer, the Wisconsin Synod ran a failed evangelism campaign where they said, "I am saved, just like you" to everyone - via banners, etc. Luther said that proclaiming the Gospel without the Law will make someone stare at you the way a cow looks at a newly painted fence. If there is no knowledge of sin, there is no need for forgiveness.

On LutherQuest (sic) one UOJ fanatic claimed that he told this to people who confessed their sins, "You were forgiven before you came in here." What a powerful motivation for all kinds of evil!

"In like manner Moses must precede and teach people to feel their sins in order that grace may be sweet and welcome to them. Therefore all is in vain, however friendly and lovely Christ may be pictured, if man is not first humbled by a knowledge of himself and he possesses no longing for Christ, as Mary's Song says, 'The hungry he hath filled with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away,' Luke 1:53."
Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 149. Matthew 15:21-28; Luke 1:53.


One District Pope told his adulterous VP pal, "You are forgiven and I will lie for you, as you requested."

UOJ lends itself to complete doctrinal apathy. Take away the Means of Grace and all denominations are much the same. Look around at the Lutheran synods. They let Pentecostalism and Evangelicalism run rampant. They work gladly and continuously with the Universalist-Unitarian-papal ELCA leaders. But these same synodical leaders have no forgiveness for those who doubt that everyone is forgiven already. WELS says everyone in Hell has the status of a saint, but WELS damns anyone who questions this bizarre opinion.

To Justify Believers
"The Third Article the adversaries approve, in which we confess that there are in Christ two natures, namely, a human nature, assumed by the Word into the unity of His person; and that the same Christ suffered and died to reconcile the Father to us; and that He was raised again to reign, and to justify and sanctify believers, etc., according to the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, III. #52. Of Christ, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 119. Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:19ff. Tappert, p. 107. Heiser, p. 32.

UOJ Filter - Very Useful
"They [the false teachers] fared like a man who looks through a colored glass. Put before such a man whatever color you please, he sees no other color than that of the glass. The fault is not that the right color is not put before him but that his glass is colored differently, as the word of Is. 6:9 puts it: You will see, he says, and yet you will not see it."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 644. Isaiah 6:9.

Can Bivens, Valleskey, Wayne Mueller Say This?
"The apostle says 'our,' 'our sins;' not his own sin, not the sins of unbelievers. Purification is not for, and cannot profit, him who does not believe. Nor did Christ effect the cleansing by our free-will, our reason or power, our works, our contrition or repentance, these all being worthless in the sight of God; he effects it by himself. And how? By taking our sins upon himself on the holy cross, as Isaiah 53:6 tells us."
Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 180. Hebrews 1:1-12; Hebrews 1:3.

Two Roads Diverged in the Wood and I

There are two types of church people, whether they are clergy or laity. The normal division (clergy and laity) is all wrong.

The two estates really are:
1. Political.
2. Apolitical.

The political clergy and laity do a lot of posturing, but they will never endanger their perks by taking a stand on anything. They are constantly apologizing for the synod, defending error, attacking anyone who questions His Holiness the District Pope, His Eminence the Circuit Pope, or His Awesomeness the Synod Pope.

They have their recognition signs, so the other politicians know they are safe. They will say:
A. "That could be interpreted correctly" (when a blatant false doctrine is mentioned).
B. "That is one of the g - r - e - y areas of Scripture." It is important to draw out the word grey, to show how absolutely ambiguous the Word of God is. In fact, God is so unclear that it will take a synodical commission several years and $10,000 to figure out one verse.
C. "Do you have proof of that?" - then they quickly change the subject when the proof is offered. The ability to change the subject in two shakes of a lamb's tail is greatly admired by all who covet a higher office.
D. "Are you equating the Book of Concord with the Word of God?" This howler was forged in the dark recesses of Vice Pope Kuske's mind, useful for any mention of the Confessions, which the Wisconsin Synod rejects. Such statements are more powerfully communicated with a red face and quivering jowls.

The political laity are eager to serve as synod minders. They are picked because they are safe, reliable, and quick to report to the synod. The more unstable a lay-minder is, the more valuable he or she is to the synod. Influence only seems to work one way today. If someone has a powerful friend or relative in the synod structure, that only seems to work against the faithful. Powerful lay-dad will pound his pastor-son into conformity with the synod - instead of son-pastor influencing his father to straighten things out. That is why the synods love corporate types on committees, commissions, and appeal boards. Corporate types know how to pivot, duck, weave, conform, and knuckle under. If they do not, they can be out-maneuvered by others and ousted for having a bad attitude.

The more political the laity or clergy, the less studious the individual is. The more political they are, the more they will be advanced in the synod structure.

The political ones are always on email or the phone. They do as little parish work as possible and cannot wait to escape it forever. Far better to be the visiting bigshot, giving the same sermon (for extra cash) at Steam Corners, Ohio or Buffalo Chip, Kansas.

Meanwhile the apolitical study, preach, teach, and visit. They are the true workers of the Kingdom, the poorest paid, the least regarded. They alone are worthy of double honor (double pay in Greek).

KJV 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. 18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

***

Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

The Road Not Taken


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

My Walther Idol

Somebody made little statues of Walther for Christian News to sell. I got one for free. The statue sits overlooking my computer, a good replacement for St. Christopher, who was erased by the Church of Rome.

I do not have a quia subscription to the writings of Walther (or Luther, for that matter). Walther had some good points, but he was completely wrong about UOJ. Unfortunately, many pastors and some laity are still messed up over UOJ - forgiveness without faith, without the Word, without the Means of Grace.

Nevertheless, some of Walther's sayings are good and worth following:

1. The nearer to Luther, the better the theologian. Notice that the Church Growth leaders and the crpto-Catholics are united in avoiding Luther. The Reformer is the greatest theologian of all time because of his integrated knowledge of the Bible, church history, and literatue. His unified view of the Bible is enough by itself to make him one of the greats in theology, but God granted him an overflowing of talent in church history, literature, and music as well.
   
2. Not many, but much. That means - Do not read all the books, but a few books over and over. The older I get, the less I want to read all the new books in theology, the more I want to re-read the best books of the past. I never tire of Luther's sermons. When I finish reading one of his sermons to my wife and write my own, people email me: "That was a great sermon." Pastors and laity would do well to lay aside most books and read the KJV (or a version thereof), the Book of Concord, Luther's Sermons, What Luther Says, Chemniz Examination of the Council of Trent. Synod leaders should be studying instead of traveling around the world at the expense of members who cannot afford such luxuries.
   
3. Attend to your reading. All pastors and synod leaders must be "apt to teach." They must study. Augustine is the foundational theologian for the Church. His City of God and Confessions permeate all theology. City of God is more of an encyclopedia, not a book to read through. People who appreciate Luther will see how much of Augustine is in Luther's thought.

The Artist for Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant

Norma Boeckler, the artist for Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, has her own art website:

Norma Boeckler

She designed the entire website for Jesus, Lord of Creation. Her art illustrates the book and the website:

Jesus, Lord of Creation

She lives in Midland, Michigan, so you may be able to see her work at various art fairs and galleries around the state.

Doctrinal Discipline: LCMS Style

I knew about the Kokomo Statements before I joined WELS, but they were never discussed afterwards. When I was in Panning's Romans class (Mequon) I do not recall him insisting that "God has declared the whole world forgiven." At the Hartman farm I learned Panning was on the appeal committee for Kokomo. The families spoke well of him.

So, after five years of WELS Church Growth and adulterous pastors, I resigned and joined a Missouri congregation recommended by Herman Otten. I got to know Larry Darby and his family at Trinity Bridgeton, Missouri. He was on a board at Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne, at one point. Larry ran into the Kokomo Statements and began studying them. At first Pastor Bischoff agreed that UOJ was poppycock. Read the UOJ quotations on this blog and judge for yourself.

Soon Bischoff changed sides. The UOJ Gestapo came out in force. They kicked out Larry, his wife and children. I wrote to an elder, asking him, "In your role as the Torquemada of Trinity, what made you think this little girl deserved excommunication?" The result of my innocent question was a refusal by Trinity to give money to Christian News because Otten printed my articles.

Darby and I agreed about the fallacy of UOJ, but he went his own way with doctrine. Thereafter I heard he was my disciple or I was his. Liars never tire of their lies. The UOJ people are especially fiendish.

I learned that Paul McCain got involved with Trinity. He sent a "confidential" letter to Bischoff, which was read to the members of Trinity. Then McCain did his best to distance himself from that letter. I heard I was mentioned in McCain's letter, so I asked him for a copy. No response at all.

I have two letters sent by McCain. One is dated January 3, 1995. The second letter from McCain states:

Therefore, in light of its inappropriate use by Pastor Bischoff, and in light of the apparent harm which Pastor Bischoff's reading of my letter caused, I want it clearly understood that I wholeheartedly retract my letter. Therefore, my letter must have no bearing on your congregation's decisions in regard to any member, present or former, nor should it every (sic) had any such influence.

Darby added this note to the copy of the letter:

Gregg - He slams you also in his so-called confidential letter - says you contributed to my "fall from truth." I can't send a copy on advice of lawyer. L.D.

Thus a minister is inflated by being a campaign manager for the synod president, after having an M.Div. and three years parish experience on his resume.

Meanwhile - Who Was Watching DP Benke?

During the time (roughly) that McCain was meddling in Trinity's affairs and pronouncing judgment in a most underhanded way, who was watching DP Benke?

The office of Synodical Pope should begin and end with supervision of doctrine, yet everyone admits Barry did nothing about DP Benke's earlier crimes. McCain-Barry dodged their duty and left it to Wally Schulz to discipline Benke, leading to Schulz' being fired from The Lutheran Hour (as I predicted).

Religious Tolerance has a brief summary of the Yankee Stadium incident.

Doubtless McCain is burning with wrath against DP Benke, for worship with all kinds of religion at Yankee Stadium. Not at all. In his capacity as Number Two at Concordia Publishing House, McCain is soliciting a book from Benke.

I wonder if McCain has ever written to DP Benke, the Apostate, "I feel sorry for you."

Dividends from Dishonesty

The various synods are reaping dividends from their decades of dishonesty. The organizations are not run with integrity, and they are not Lutheran.

One successful businessman left the Lutheran Church. He said, "Synod officials make sure the Scriptures are not being followed."

When I was in the Michigan District, WELS, two members of the praesidium were engaged in adultery. One was promoted to an administrative position, his adultery covered over with a smokescreen of lies. The other one left with "all the divorced women in the church bawling their eyes out."

When District Popes like Janke (WELS) oust faithful pastors from the ministry, they start a series of reactions that will be felt for generations to come. The pastor's family is completely disrupted and disgusted. Will the children take up church vocations, knowing the sacrifices of their parents have been regarded as worth nothing?

When Pope John the Malefactor (ELS) tosses pastors and congregations around like wooden soldiers in a toy-bin, what does that do for trust? Because synods have taught synod-worship and fidelity to their popes/antichrists, people think they have lost the Kingdom of God when they are shunned by the synod.

People have told me how they became non-persons after their excommunication for daring to say the synod was less than perfect. One seminary student got the finger from his seminary professor.

Luther advised that it was good when church people disappoint us, because it shows we should trust in God's Word alone. Unfortunately, the poverty of Lutheran training has left people weak in faith. When every church or synod anniversary is labeled "Grace Triumphant" rather than "Bumblers Survive," people think grace comes from the institution, not from the Means of Grace.

Notice how adroitly the LCMS-ELS-WELS combine took away the Means of Grace in the last 30 years and substituted secular marketing from Fuller Seminary. Now if someone doubts their beloved Church Growth Movement, the synods react with fury. That is why nothing is ever said and errors continue to grow.

Where is David Jay Webber (ELS), the Lion of Scottsdale? He wants all the heretics punished, as long as someone else does the work for him.

Where is Kincaid Smith (ELS), God's Pitbull? Smith learned early that questioning Carl Mischke for meeting with ELCA (Snowbird Conference) was enough to bring on the WELS Ice Age. Mischke refused to endorse What's Going On Among the Lutherans? because of Kincaid's folly. So, instead of a version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, we got Rev. Smith Bows to Milwaukee.

Please do not say, "There is no discpline anymore.: There is plenty of discipline, all aimed at those who are faithful to the Confessions. As their predecessors used to say in concert, "Anathema sit! Anathema sit! Anathema sit!"

Pope John the Malefactor - On the Road Again

Pope John the Malefactor is taking a trip to Ukraine, only a few months after his syond-paid trip to Korea. The Little Sect on the Prairie must be a rich synod, to lose so much in offerings from kicking out congregations and pastors - and yet to afford so much international travel for His Holiness.

On the Road Again (with apologies to Willie Nelson)

Got a mission trip
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The synod life is spendin' money with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
Got a mission trip
Goin' places that you've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to spend your offerings again.

Got a mission trip
Like a band of bishops we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world is turnin' our way
And our way
Is on a mission trip.
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is spendin' money with my friends
And I can't wait to get on a mission trip.

Ludwig Fuerbringer, an earlier president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, said he refused to take trips because they took him away from his studies. If only synodical leaders would attend to their studies today!

Use the Labels

The labels at the bottom of each post are good for finding similar posts. Look at the label list on the left side. Clicking on a given topic will list every single post with that label.

If there are a number of verbatim quotations on a post, it is labeled quotes.