Rehearsing for the Ed Stetzer Church and Change Conference,
November, 2009
devoured by Church and Change buddies
(free vicars for Patterson, grant for Doebler, etc).
The triangles leaving the fish's rear end
symbolize Church and Change pooping on the synod
at every opportunity, fouling the water.
Church and Change, yea verily, all Church Growthers in WELS, have followed the six secret steps promoted by Charles Arn, one of the pioneers in ruining American Protestantism. His actual words are reverently reproduced in italics below, with insightful commentary added. By me.
FIRST SECRET:
Introduce the idea as a way to reach an agreed upon goal.
The perish assistant gets the group to say something like, "We want more attendance," or "We need more youth here." Magic is misdirection of the eye, and Church Growth is misdirection of the brains. No matter what the people say, the answer is, "Contemporary Services!" Then the new program becomes what people asked for, prayed for, demanded, and paid heavily for. Perish Services wants thousands of bucks to ape Fuller and Willow Creek entertainments.
SECOND SECRET:
Introduce the idea as an addition, not a replacement.
Paul Copycat Kelm will say, "No, we are not going to take away the traditional service, where the pastor wears a rob (sic). You will add an contemporary service. More is better." The traditional service will probably be moved to 8 AM, which is earlier than the older members care to get up. Later, someone can sigh and say, "People just prefer the contemporary service." Schuller put his traditional service up in the chapel far away, at an odd time. You will never see that on TV. Besides, very few attend his traditional service.
THIRD SECRET:
Introduce the idea as a short-term experiment, not a long-term commitment. Members who question whether the change is an appropriate or wise move for the church will be more open to accepting a "trial period" in which the new idea is implemented and then evaluated.
Paul Kuske introduced his Pilgrim Community Church as "an experiment." Lutheran Parish Resources was "an experiment." CrossRoads Community Church was another VP Kuske and DP Mueller "experiment." Now the Church and Change people are experimenting all over the map. It's just like the phrase "experimenting with sex," which means doing it while pretending otherwise. Norm Teigen said the Little Sect on the Prairie did not have Church and Change congregations. When one was pointed out, he said, "It's an experiment." That is not Norm's fault - it's what Pope John the Malefactor told him. The Left Foot of Fellowship is not extended toward Church and Changers, eh, Pope John?
FOURTH SECRET:
Encourage enhancements to create ownership. Good goals are my goals; bad goals are your goals.
Group facilitation is often group manipulation. The leader frowns when the wrong suggestion is made, lights up when the right one is voiced. The group is reminded that they are voicing and voting on their own goals, but they are being guided to the kill point, just as the German tanks were at Kursk. Keeping a group going to the point of exhaustion is another good way to manipulate the outcome. They are more irritated with dissent, more passive about change.
FIFTH SECRET:
Sow seeds of creative discontent. Here is a principle of change that applies to all of life, including the church: "Voluntary change only occurs when there is sufficient discontent with the status quo."
The first thing I heard in WELS was - They are a page 5 and 15 church. The face where these sounds came from was always wrinkled in disgust, as when walking into a mess from a dog. Discontent with "boring" liturgical services was a necessary introduction to "exciting" contemporary services. This has reached its ultimate level (we hope) with that LCMS church where Satan broadcasts absurd messages on billboards. The ultimate outcome is the casting aside of anything edifying in worship. Everything is casual, entertaining, anti-traditional, and superficial. These Antinomians throw out the Ten Commandments but they replace the tablets of stone with their own myriad laws, which cannot be broken.
Adultery among the leaders? - "God forgives sinners, especially the unrepentant." Liturgical service with Holy Communion - "You are destroying our lovely church!"
SIXTH SECRET:
Start with the leaders. "A wise leader," observes Doug Murren, "will subscribe to a basic 3-step process in presenting new directions to the church: 1) explain the idea to the core group, 2) collaborate with the committed workers, and 3) share with the entire congregation,"
Ron Roth, Paul Kelm, David Valleskey, and Frosty Bivens were the first initiates into the secretive cult of Church Growth in WELS. They always jumped up to defend one another and reject any involvement with Church Growth, even to the point of denying Fuller three times. They were able to get District Popes brainwashed. World mission and American mission leaders were all sent to Fuller for total cranial cleansing, which took only a few minutes in some cases.
Church Growth apostates were installed at every level of the synod. Here is one survey of the situation by a WELS observer:
"It's in every generation back to 60s sem grads (they're some of the worst!), both Preps, the college, the Sem, every district, every state, every conference, every mission district, every area high school and day school, and probably 75 to 80% of the Circuits, half the Pastors, 90% of the teachers, and maybe even up to two thirds of the congregation leaders."
