Leonard Sweet Disciple - On WELS Worship Wars

Leonard Sweet: "That's my boy."

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Worship Wars, by Pastor Rick Johnson, WELS

Lately I've been reading the discussion on another blog about worship in Lutheran churches. The title of the first blog post that sparked the discussion was "Worship Wars in the WELS." Some of the posts are thoughtful and thought provoking, even if I have reached a different conclusion. Some of the posts reflect an attitude that seems to be, "if only I present my way of thinking with enough force, make unsubstantiated and often times false accusations and resort to sarcasm, I win the day." [GJ - Straw Man fallacy alert] Most of the posters believe that traditional worship using traditional liturgy is the only way in which Lutherans can and should worship. Some even go so far as to state that those who offer other worship styles such as contemporary are not really Lutherans or at the very best, suspect in their theology. [GJ - Straw Man fallacy alert] It comes very close to making a New Testament ceremonial law. [GJ - Straw Man fallacy alert] As one brother pastor put it, their argument is the "dirty dog" argument. There is no New Testament law regarding worship but "you're a dirty dog if you don't do it my way." [GJ - Straw Man fallacy alert] A few have expressed the belief that when it comes to worship in our church body, it's "my way or the highway." [GJ - Straw Man fallacy alert] They would rather see the Synod be divided than allow that other churches have the Christian freedom to select a worship style of which they do not approve even if they know nothing about the ministry context of those churches and probably will never worship there. [GJ - Straw Man in a run-on sentence]

Here's my take.
1. It seems that the "worship wars" are only being fought by one side. Churches such as Crown of Life that offer worship choices to members and visitors are not fighting the worship wars. We understand that in Christian freedom, we are able to be flexible in how we proclaim the Gospel. In order to get people before the Word, if we have to do it in a different language, so be it; if using visuals, so be it; if a more contemporary musical style, so be it. The harsh words, judging hearts and fighting the worship wars is coming only from the side of those who see no other way but their way. The worship warriors are fighting but they are all alone in the battle. Is it really a war if there are not two sides fighting?
2. God is his mercy and grace is bringing new worshipers to our church in both the traditional service and the contemporary service. He is honored in both services. The Word is preached. The Sacraments are administered. The Holy Spirit is working through His means. All of this in both services. Last Sunday, one member who sometimes worships at the traditional service and sometimes at the contemporary service told me, "I love how the same Jesus Christ is preached at both our services."
3. I am thankful that at Crown of Life, we do not have worship wars. Most of our worshipers attend the same service, be it traditional or contemporary, whether out of personal preference for the style, force of habit or just because they like the service time. New people show up at both. However, thank God that we are blessed with no rancor about personal preferences couched theological arguments.

As an aside, I am also thankful that especially our contemporary service provides an opportunity for many Christians to use their gifts and talents to serve God and their brothers and sisters. Last Sunday, the band included a high school sophomore on bass who has been playing now for almost a year and a junior high student singing for her first time. A lead guitarist in his fifties plays with one of our bands. High school students, college students, young adults and adults in their prime (how I like to describe middle age) also play. There are young adults who run the sound, videos and lights. We are blessed with keyboardists, guitar players, drummers, singers and even a sax player. While I would love to have a piano player or organist to play at our early service (we used to have two but they both moved to different cities), I believe that the organ or piano is not the only God-pleasing musical instrument.

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GJ - I believe Rick Johnson is talking about Bailing Water, where another Church Growth advocate is making fun of the historical liturgy and those who favor worship based on the efficacy of the Means of Grace.

Ichabodians may remember Johnson as the pastor who removed a gushing mention of the latest Leonard Sweet book from his blog (without mentioned that fact) while complaining I discussed his published offering figures.

He said it was "unclassy" to mention his offerings.

RJ said it was "unclassy" to publish them in the first place.

At another WELS Church Growth site, the sermons went from being plagiarized, to being plagiarized and footnoted, to being removed from the website altogether. Printed copies are now available in a plain brown wrapper at an undisclosed location.

Readers will notice the typical WELS argument that everything is an adiaphoron, a matter of indifference. If so, then why does Rick Johnson use the Straw Man logical fallacy to argue against traditional worship? A Straw Man fallacy constructs a parody of the other position and then attacks the parody. Voila. What brilliance. As I often tell my college classes, a Straw Man argument only convinces the people who agree. Using the Straw Man is a sign of intellectual weakness.

As Augustine noted a few centuries ago, error progresses through three stages:
1. We have a right to be heard.
2. We deserve an equal voice.
3. We will not tolerate any opposition.

Pastor Rick is proud of his contemporary services. I, for one, would be happy to have a saxophone honking his way through the Gloria in Excelsis. But why not substitute "Morning Has Broken" for the Gloria? A good recessional would be "Time To Say Goodbye" with Cousin Brunhilda belting out the high notes.

Lutherans wonder why the Eastern Orthodox services are filling up with their former members. I have been at a few Greek Orthodox services. Nobody played the sax or snare drums.

A Moment for the His-tory Books

Watch this video.

Warning. Try not to laugh while enjoying that snack at the computer.

Bente Introductions Here

Martin Chemnitz, Chief Editor of the Book of Concord, 1580

Eric Gutz has posted a comment: The Bente Historical Introductions to the Book of Concord can be found here:

http://www.bookofconcord.org/historicalintros.html

You can find the whole Book of Concord here:

http://www.bookofconcord.org.

What if they had a free conference where the greatest Lutheran theologians in history all gave presentations? I believe the attendance would be even greater than having the Church and Change boys invite Waldo Werning and Leonard Sweet.

The Book of Concord is that conference, starring:

1. Martin Luther (Small Catechism, Large Catechism, Smalcald Articles).
   
2. Philip Melanchthon (Augsburg Confession, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Treatise on the Pope).
   
3. Martin Chemnitz (Formula of Concord writer, Book of Concord chief editor).
   
4. Jacob Andreae (Book of Concord instigator and editor).
   
5. David Chytraeus (Book of Concord editor, Formula of Concord writer).

Apart from J. Gerhard, who came along later, the men listed above are the greatest Christian theologians who have taught the Word. Gerhard was almost completely unavailable to English readers until recently. Jack Preus (not alone) made Chemnitz available and also wrote a fine biography of The Second Martin. Chytraeus is now available too.

Someone wrote, "Why are you the only person quoting Chytraeus?" Answer - Because I am one of the few who reads the great theologians. The rest are getting their copies of Sweet, Maxwell, Hunter, and Werning signed. That does not make me superior: it means the others are lazy, deserving to be "deprived of food, baited by dogs, driven out of town, and pelted with manure." (From the Large Catechism, but you knew that already)

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Brian P Westgate has left a new comment on your post "This Brief BoC Section Destroys the Crypto-Calvini...":

Bente is sold in a separate volume at both the WLS and CTSFW bookstores, and it's still published by CPH.

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GJ - That is good news. Is it bought and read? The Surrendered Fort is not exactly a bastion of Lutheran doctrine.

This Brief BoC Section Destroys the Crypto-Calvinist Church Growthers

One must properly distinguish the cat from the dog.

Book of Concord, Smalcald Articles. VIII. Of Confession

3] And in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with the preceding outward Word, in order that we may [thus] be protected against the enthusiasts, i.e., spirits who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word, and accordingly judge Scripture or the spoken Word, and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as Muenzer did, and many still do at the present day, who wish to be acute judges between the Spirit and the letter, and yet know not what they say or declare. 4] For [indeed] the Papacy also is nothing but sheer enthusiasm, by which the Pope boasts that all rights exist in the shrine of his heart, and whatever he decides and commands with [in] his church is spirit and right, even though it is above and contrary to Scripture and the spoken Word.

5] All this is the old devil and old serpent, who also converted Adam and Eve into enthusiasts, and led them from the outward Word of God to spiritualizing and self-conceit, and nevertheless he accomplished this through other outward words. 6] Just as also our enthusiasts [at the present day] condemn the outward Word, and nevertheless they themselves are not silent, but they fill the world with their pratings and writings, as though, indeed, the Spirit could not come through the writings and spoken word of the apostles, but [first] through their writings and words he must come. Why [then] do not they also omit their own sermons and writings, until the Spirit Himself come to men, without their writings and before them, as they boast that He has come into them without the preaching of the Scriptures? But of these matters there is not time now to dispute at greater length; we have elsewhere sufficiently urged this subject.

9] In a word, enthusiasm inheres in Adam and his children from the beginning [from the first fall] to the end of the world, [its poison] having been implanted and infused into them by the old dragon, and is the origin, power [life], and strength of all heresy, especially of that of the Papacy and Mahomet. 10] Therefore we ought and must constantly maintain this point, that God does not wish to deal with us otherwise than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. 11] It is the devil himself whatsoever is extolled as Spirit without the Word and Sacraments. For God wished to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken Word; and no prophet neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments [or spoken Word]. 12] Neither was John the Baptist conceived without the preceding word of Gabriel, nor did he leap in his mother's womb without the voice of Mary. 13] And Peter says, 2 Pet. 1, 21: The prophecy came not by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Without the outward Word, however, they were not holy, much less would the Holy Ghost have moved them to speak when they still were unholy [or profane]; for they were holy, says he, since the Holy Ghost spake through them.

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GJ - Several people have mentioned the close connection between the Crypto-Calvinists described in Bente (Concordia Triglotta, Historical Introductions) and the Church Growthers. I noticed Paul McCain, MDiv, trying to sell his CPH Concordia cheap. I did not see any reference to Bente's Introductions. James Heiser, MDiv, another graduate of The Surrendered Fort, expressed a loathing for Bente. Now Missouri has safely buried the work. To get one, someone needs to hover around used book sales or find a Triglotta.

I am glad these two Lutherans mentioned the Crypto-Calvinists and Church Growth, because I made the same point some time ago. I am pleased at how obvious this is to anyone who reads the history of the post-Luther era, a time few people study or know.

The post-Luther era gave us the Book of Concord, thanks to the unraveling of the Lutherans into many different factions. The Book of Concord united the factions by condemning false doctrine and teaching sound doctrine from the Scriptures. Both are necessary.

After Luther died, the Crypto-Calvinists took over completely and pretended they were the real Lutherans. They got the Elector to persecute the genuine Lutherans while advancing their pals who hated Luther's doctrine. The Cryptos were liars and sneaks. They plotted their moves. One of their letters got into the hands of the Elector by mistake. He had the power to search the dwellings of the Cryptos. Plenty of evidence showed up. The tables were turned.

The same movement has taken place in all the Lutheran synods, big and small, from the lavender ELCA to the incestuous CLC (sic). In every case, the Crypto-Calvinist Church Growthers have claimed to be Lutheran, protested their methods were neutral, and actively persecuted the genuine Lutherans.

They quietly placed their buddies in positions of power. The turtles are not decorating the fenceposts by accident. Some details:

1. All the world mission leaders became CG.
   
2. All the American mission leaders became CG.
   
3. Evangelism was defined purely from CG books, especially the Crypto-Calvinist Hunter, Werning, and Valleskey books.
   
4. Significant bureaucratic positions were handed to Cryptos.
   
5. The seminaries--all of them--taught CG. Kincaid Smith got his DMin in Church Growth while Robert Preus was president of The Surrendered Fort.
   
6. The district popes were patiently taught that CG was good, Lutheran, and necessary because "We are wetting our pants in terror over our future loss of membership and money! Don't let critics get in the way! Mow them down!"
   
7. The periodicals and conferences were given over to promoting CG.
   
8. People like Valleskey became seminary president by promoting CG while denying it. No one got anywhere criticizing CG.
   
9. The CG people all promoted each other's writing, defended each other's honor, and rose in a chorus of Anathema Sit anyone who dissented from their Gospel-drenched and Spirit-anointed mission.

The get-along go-along Boomers are the worst advocates of this slimy campaign. The Love Shack in WELS is full of Church Growthers. Ditto the Purple Palace, because Al Barry and Paul McCain did nothing against Crypto-Calvinism. The Little Shack on the Prairie (ELS) has also sheltered and promoted CG. I found out (no suprise) that Norm Berg, the Fuller-trained WELS guy, knew Mac Minnick the Fuller-trained ELCA missions leader. How did they know each other so well? How could they spout the same inanities so fluently? They studied at the same school in Pasadena, the Great Sewer of Protestantism today.

Here is one little anecdote from WELS days, so illustrative of they way these things work. I was invited to give a paper to another conference, in Michigan proper. I was in Ohio at the time. I think it was the Northern Conference. Frosty Bivens was still in Saginaw. John Seifert was still a lowly parish pastor. Slick Brenner was retired but still active in all discussions. District Pope Mueller, guardian of the Cryptos, was present.

I mentioned in the paper that Paul Kelm endorsed a pan-Lutheran program being led by Kent Hunter (DMin, Fuller). Kelm was at the Love Shack at the time.

The first question was, "Do you have proof?" I quoted Kelm and cited the pamphlet sent to me. Doubtless everyone had the same pamphlet. I was prepared, carrying the the thing in my briefcase.

I passed the ipsissima verba of Kelm around.

Next question, "How do you know Kelm really said this, that he meant to endorse this? It could have been an accident?"

Bivens, who lated confessed and denied that he studied at Fuller, rose to speak: "I want to defend the good name of Paul Kelm." In other words, he was accusing me of slandering Kelm.

A hub-bub followed, more about me daring to quote Kelm verbatim than what Kelm actually wrote. Slick Brenner loudly mentioned that every time Kelm got into a mess like this, "It was an accident." Church Growthers really hated Brenner, who said what he meant instead of trying to be a chameleon.

Later, I spoke with Kent Hunter on the phone. He said he requested the endorsement from Kelm and got it. Even later, James Huebner (now a mucky-muck, another turtle on the fencepost) admitted that he, Kelm, and Olson (DMin, Fuller) were all trained at Fuller to be WELS Church Consultants.

Kelm earned his DMin at Concordia, St. Louis - in Church Growth.

Fellow Boomers - you let the Cryptos take over your synod. You stood around and dithered, cracked a few jokes during the coffee break, and ran for cover whenever a serious topic came up. Let's face it. Your methods worked well for you. You got to pose as Confessional Lutherans while suffering no harm and moving up the ladder.

You Boomers must accept a lot of the blame for the laity and clergy seeking shelter in the Church of Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy. They find no arguments against women usurping authority and teaching men in their own synods. They hear no statements against the absurd worship practices and false doctrine of the Cryptos. They are tired of the verbal abuse and shunning that comes from bringing up serious topics.

The answer is Lutheran doctrine. If someone heads for Chicago from Columbus and takes I-75 South, somewhere he is going to have to say:
1. I am headed the wrong way.
2. I need to read a map and find the right directions.

The Word of God is the map. The Book of Concord is the finest commentary, the best and clearest exposition of the Scriptures. The Book of Concord is even better than Your Church Can Grow! yy C. Peter Wagner, one of many books of false doctrine endorsed by Sausage Factory president Valleskey, who did/did not study at Fuller.