Three Stages of the Church Growth Movement

Krauth

"When error is admitted into the Church, it will be found that the stages of its progress are always three. It begins by asking toleration. Its friends say to the majority: You need not be afraid of us; we are few, and weak; only let us alone; we shall not disturb the faith of others...Indulged in this for a time, error goes on to assert equal rights. Truth and error are two balancing forces...From this point error soon goes on to its natural end, which is to assert supremacy."

Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publication House, 1871, p. 195f.

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Stage 1 - A few useful ideas. Peter Wagner is a heretic, but you will be one of his fans, too.

Stage 2 - Opponents of Church Growth are legalistic.

Stage 3 - Church and Change Conference banned in 2005, promoted from the WELS website in 2007.

Value of Polemics

Jack Preus, Former LCMS President
The unionists and apostates cannot tolerate polemics, which raise the issues they want to avoid.

The word polemic comes from the Greek word for war. Robert and Jack Preus wrote polemics about the state of the Synodical Conference. Their work forced Lutherans to face some of the issues of the day. Special congregational meetings filled with people who wanted to hear about the issues. The Missouri Synod improved and revived from facing and studying the doctrinal issues.

The General Synod in the 19th century went through a similar battle. The liberals (then as now) hated Lutheran doctrine. The tipping point was reached when a new, unionistic synod was formed within the General Synod. The General Council erupted from the General Synod, roughly a 50-50 split. By 1917 the General Council had won over the liberals and they united again as the United Lutheran Church in America. Big mistake. The apostates quickly took over again.

The apostates are not tolerant. They are not loving. They are not forgiving. Read their favorite authors, the ones they quote so often and so lovingly. That is where their treasure is. They work tirelessly to drive away all opposition. For example, WELS drove three good pastors in Toledo out of the ministry. All three dared to oppose some doctrinal aspect of the Church Growth Movement, which is now Becoming Missional among the Leonard Sweet-hearts.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Value of Polemics":

"Three good pastors"? I suppose one of them was you?

GJ - No, but thank you for making my point.

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"Therefore, do not speak to me of love or friendship when anything is to be detracted from the Word or the faith; for we are told that not love but the Word brings eternal life, God's grace, and all heavenly treasures."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1411. Ephesians 6:10-17.

"Therefore nothing but a satanic, seductive, and sinister strategy is involved when we are called upon to yield a bit and to connive at an error for the sake of unity. In this way the devil is trying cunningly to lead us away from the Word. For if we adopt this course and get together in this matter, he has already gained ground; and if we were to yield him a fingerbreadth, he would soon have an ell."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1411f. Ephesians 6:10-17.

"However, if anything is undertaken against the Word, faith, and the honor of God, we are in no wise to preserve silence, are to bear it far less patiently. Then we should offer stubborn resistance."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1308. Sermon, 1523.

Luther to George Major...And to Conservative Lutheran Wafflers Everywhere

George Major

Martin Luther to George Major:

Luther to George Major:

"It is by your silence and cloaking that you cast suspicion upon yourself. If you believe as you declare in my presence, then speak so also to the church, in public lectures, in sermons, and in private conversations, and strengthen your brethren, and lead the erring back to the right path, and contradict the contumacious spirits; otherwise your confession is sham pure and simple, and worth nothing. Whoever really regards his doctrine, faith, and confession as true, right, and certain cannot remain in the same stall with such as teach, or adhere to, false doctrine; nor can he keep on giving friendly words to Satan and his minions. A teacher who remains silent when errors are taught, and nevertheless pretends to be a true teacher, is worse than an open fanatic and by his hypocrisy does greater damage than a heretic. Nor can he be trusted. He is a wolf and a fox, a hireling and a servant of his belly, and ready to despise and to sacrifice doctrine, Word, faith, Sacrament, churches, and schools. He is either a secret bedfellow of the enemies or a skeptic and a weathervane, waiting to see whether Christ or the devil will prove victorious; or he has no convictions of his own whatever, and is not worthy to be called a pupil, let alone a teacher; nor does he want to offend anybody, or say a word in favor of Christ, or hurt the devil and the world."
Martin Luther, quoted in Bente's Historical Introduction, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 94.