And The Ironic Humor Award Goes To...Curtis Peterson and FIC.Wait! There's More!

Why Don't We Stop Calling Ourselves Lutheran?


Author: Curtis A. Peterson

Look up the whole article

In an effort to reach the unchurched, some Lutherans are opting to avoid labeling themselves as Lutheran when starting new churches. In one midwestern community a Lutheran mission took the name "Family of Faith Christian Church." Others call themselves community churches or take some other non-denominational name.


There is a reason for the name


When you think of it, no other mainline church body bears a person's name. Some names designate a form of church government--Presbyterian, Congregational, Episcopal. Others focus on a distinctive doctrine--Baptist, Holiness, Pentecostal. Many fast growing congregations adopt generic names such as Faith Fellowship, Grace Community, Fellowship Bible Church, or are named after the community (Elmbrook, Willow Creek Community Church).

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GJ - The cover art shown is The Northwestern Lutheran, but now it is FIC. Forward in Christ is a real Lutheran magazine title! WELS is the only denominational with a stealth hymnal and stealth magazine.

More irony awaits the curious reader. Curtis Peterson loved the Church Growth Movement in the LCMS, but left to join the Wisconsin sect. Right away he was in a big church in Milwaukee and on a national board (world missions, I think - with Valleskey). No one else who joined by colloquy was graced with such preference. In fact, some long-time parish pastors might have wanted a little action like that.

Mrs. Ichabod and I were at his church, 21 years ago. He was later unhappy about my criticisms of Church Growth and reacted to them in a paper or two.

I think he is no longer a minister, at least not in WELS. (Not in WELS = de-rezzed, as in Tron, the Movie.)

Now WELS has done everything to submerge the Lutheran name. Ironic? Peterson would be thrown out today for being narrow-minded, legalistic, and disloyal to Church and Change.

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Someone found this information about Peterson:

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Curtis A. Peterson holds a B.A. from Concordia Senior College, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and a M.Div and STM (l966 and l983 respectively) from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.

In almost 30 years in the ministry in both the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods, he was an activist with many published articles supporting the orthodox Lutheran cause in the "Battle for the Bible" in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and author of several articles in the Wisconsin Synod between l987 and l995. He also delivered several essays at pastoral conferences during those years.

He served congregations in Burlington, N.C., Rock Falls, Ill., Garland, Tex. and Gretna, La., in the LCMS and in Milwaukee, Wis. in the WELS.

A Foundation member, he is now retired, resides in Wisconsin and calls himself a humanist and a freethinker.

A leader of the foundation, Dan Baker. Here is his heart-warming story:

Dan Barker
Co-president, Freedom From Religion Foundation
Minister Turned Atheist

Dan became a teenage evangelist at age 15. At 16 he was choir librarian for faith-healer Kathryn Kuhlman's Los Angeles appearances. He received a degree in Religion from Azusa Pacific University and was ordained to the ministry by the Standard Community Church, California, in 1975. He served as associate pastor at a Friend's (Quaker) Church, an Assembly of God, and an independent Charismatic church. Dan was a Protestant missionary in Mexico for a total of two years.

Dan maintained a touring musical ministry for 17 years, including eight years of full-time, cross-country evangelism. An accomplished pianist, record producer, arranger and songwriter, he worked with Christian music companies such as Manna Music and Word Music. For many years, Dan wrote and produced the annual "Mini Musicale" for Gospel Light Publications' Vacation Bible School curriculum.

For more than two decades, Dan was accompanist, arranger, and record producer for Manuel Bonilla, the leading Christian singer in the Spanish-speaking world. He accompanied on the piano such Christian personalities as Pat Boone, Jimmy Roberts (of the Lawrence Welk Show), and gospel songwriter Audrey Meier, and was a regular guest on Southern California's "Praise The Lord" TV show (Spanish). One of Dan's Christian songs, "There Is One," was performed by Rev. Robert Schuller's television choir on the "Hour of Power" broadcast. To this day, he receives royalties from his popular children's Christian musicals, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (1977), and "His Fleece Was White As Snow" (1978), both published by Manna Music and performed in many countries.

Following five years of reading, Dan gradually outgrew his religious beliefs. "If I had limited myself to Christian authors, I'd still be a Christian today," Dan says. "I just lost faith in faith." He announced his atheism publicly in January, 1984.

Dan was PR Director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation from 1987 to 2004. He was elected co-president of the Foundation with Annie Laurie Gaylor in 2004. He is a contributing editor of Freethought Today and is involved with the Foundation's state/church lawsuits.

Books
Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist
Dan's autobiographical story of deconversion, and a critical analysis of Christianity and the bible. FFRF, Inc., 1992.

Godless: How An Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists Foreword by Richard Dawkins
A lot has happened in the 16 years since Losing Faith in Faith. Updating Dan's story of deconversion, Godless tells of lessons learned on the debate circuit, taking a lawsuit to the Supreme Court, and more bible criticism and debunking of theistic arguments. Ulysses Press, 2008.

Just Pretend: A Freethought Book For Children
Overtly freethought. Compares God and Santa, myth with reality, and celebrates atheism and freedom of thought. FFRF, Inc., 1988. (2002 new edition)

Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A Guide For Young Skeptics
Teaches the scientific method to children. Prometheus Books, 1990.

Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong: A Guide For Young Thinkers
Teaches humanistic morality to children. Prometheus Books, 1992.

Dan also has written a variety of educational booklets, brochures and "nontracts" for the Foundation.

See Dan's Online Writings

Media Appearances
Dan has appeared on many national television talkshows, including the Phil Donahue Show (twice), Sally Jessy Raphael Show (three times), and twice with Oprah Winfrey. He has also appeared on the national Morton Downey, Jr. Show, the Maury Povich Show, "NightTalk with Jane Whitney," "A Closer Look, with Faith Daniels," the "Shirley Show" (Toronto), Pat Robertson's CBN "Straight Talk," ABC's "Good Morning America" with host Joan Lunden, "Religion & Ethics News Weekly" hosted by Betty Rollin on PBS, the "Hannity & Colmes" talkshow on the Fox-News TV network, and Court TV's "Pros & Cons" show hosted by Nancy Grace.

Dan has been a guest on many regional TV talkshows and dozens of radio interviews across the continent. He regularly speaks and performs freethought concerts around the country at Unitarian-Universalist congregations, Ethical Culture, universities (including Harvard), and humanist conventions.

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GJ - Sports fans. I have been saying this all along - young Church Growther, old atheist. Look at the WELS stuporstars of yesteryear. They are Pentecostals, Baptists, atheists, freethinkers. Church Growth principles at work.