Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Typical Church and Change Pastor's Response to Pub...":
First of all, my comment wasn't directed at Greg Jackson, it was directed at the person who felt they (sic) no longer had a church home.
Secondly, my post was a response to a comment that was left; quite a different thing than making an assumption and posting on it.
Thirdly, the assumptions I was referring to were not Ski's attendance at conferences with which you take issue. Those are fact, and who cares? The assumptions I'm taking issue with are the inference that somehow by taking initiative to learn outside of official GJ-approved channels, that he's automatically in fellowship with those who teach at the conference! THAT, my friends, is an assumption, and I'll stand by my assessment that the assumption is WRONG.
Here’s more evidence of the assumptions made on this blog. I am not a pastor. I have not been educated in ANY Lutheran institution...ever. I'm not even lifelong WELS - I'm just a midlife convert who has surrendered his life to Christ. I am WELS because I believe that despite the shortcomings, it is still the most Biblically based church out there. If they weren't, I wouldn't stay.
And before you accuse me of not believing in the efficacy of the Word, I do believe it. I also believe that insistence on traditions that have no relevance to those not raised in a Lutheran church can (and often does) prevent people from hearing the Word.
This is why I will defend the actions of Ski, Parlow, Doebler, and any other pastor willing to take the risk of angering their "fellow brothers” in the Synod. These people are doing great things for Christ and I am a personal testimony to those actions. Removing those barriers opened a door for my personal walk. Stubborn, bullheaded insistence on tradition would have driven me away at that time in my life.
This is what the anti-Church and Change crowd fails to understand. To many people, the liturgy means nothing. The hymns mean nothing. And it’s not because of the content lacks depth, it’s because the setting is irrelevant to modern ears.
Mind you, I’m not condemning tradition, just supporting more avenues to reach people. I have come to appreciate the traditions over time. For many others though, that same tradition, administered by the same people in the same church and in the same manner can drive people away. I have been to many churches, traditional and otherwise. The greatest thing these pastors deliver is their adherence to Scripture and the Confessions, they’re just doing it differently. The confession is still there. The absolution is still there. The sermons are still there. The creeds and the prayers are still there. These men are doing it in a way that I can translate directly into my life…no barriers.
My assessment is based on fact and FIRST-HAND observation. And that’s the criticism –the hallmarks of this blog include hearsay, assumptions, name-calling, gossip, and a generally vitriolic tone. This isn’t correcting and rebuking – it’s sinful pride, pure and simple.
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GJ - According to Ski's own Drive 08 blog, hidden from view, he did in fact worship with Babtist Andy Stanley. He provided the photos, but those do not copy and paste. Memo to self - ask Kelm how to do that with certain media.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "See Below--Another Loving Response from People "Do...":
I almost busted a gut when I read the phrase, "He improvised again and again." The Word in flesh..improvising!!?? Like when He went to the synagogue and decided not to read the appointed lesson because it wasn't relevant? Like when He opted for prime rib instead of lamb at the Passover because lamb was just too boring?
I, too, am a convert to Lutheranism. I took the initiative to learning the meaning of the liturgy, without the help of my pastor, thank you. And, like fine art, I learned to appreciate it. Sorry, it's really not all about you.
Artie
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GJ - We are more likely to appreciate a church where God is worshiped and the Gospel comes to us through the Means of Grace alone if we have left a non-liturgical, personality cult sect.
This just in: Babtist Stetzer is OK to teach WELS pastors and laity because he is critical of the Emerging Church. Don't fail to miss his lectures at the C and C conference in November.
