I ran into this WELS congregation by Googling "WELS, Leonard Sweet." I saw that he was drooling over the latest Sweet book and publishing his weekly offerings. The offerings were catastrophically bad, gushing red ink. Overnight he was warned and the Sweet reference disappeared with the offerings. I was scolded (not by name) for mentioning his offerings, which he listed for everyone to see. That was not classy, he claimed.
I could tell there was a network of Church and Change informants, and now I know a number of them. They all squawk in a raucous chorus, a cacophony of bad manners, worse doctrine, and disgraceful spelling.
Before I get into Corona aping the Babtists - there used to be a tradition among Lutheran congregations. They did not try out something new unless the others were informed and in agreement. The idea was to show respect for worship and not undercut others by going freaky for the sake of attendance bumps. Someone might be able to cite a source for that. I remember reading it, but of course that was just a joke in Columbus.
Here is the new Crown of Life, verbatim from their webpages:
Worship
Crown of Life is now meeting in two places for worship. We would love to meet you and to have you as part of our community.
Sunday Mornings at our Corona Campus
8:30 a.m. ~ Traditional Worship called Heritage of Faith where Pastor Rick wears vestments, we make use of the liturgy, and a pianist leads our worship with hymns.
9:30 a.m. ~ Adult Bible Study led by Pastor Rick.
10:30 a.m. ~ Contemporary Worship called Faith for Today. The service is led by Pastor Rick and our own COL Adoration Band, using video projection, and singing the best of today's Christian music. Children's education and nursery are offered foloowing (sic) the children's message. Pastor dresses more casually at this service--no gown or vestments.
Sunday Mornings at our Beaumont Campus
9:00 a.m. - Sunday morning worship begins in Beaumont on March 15, 2009. Style of music is contemporary/coffee house -- today's best Christian music with an acoustic sound and light percussion. Service also include video projection. Children's education and nursery are offered following the children's message.
What to wear? You will find people dressed in shirt & tie and dresses. You will find people wearing jeans and polo shirts, shorts and tee shirts. Come dressed in whatever way you find comfortable and appropriate for worship. The Bible doesn't prescribe a dress code for worship and neither do we.
After the Service please stay for coffee and a snack. In Corona, that takes place on our shaded patio where you'll also find the CommUNITY Center with booklets, magazines and a place to plug in and sign up for activities. In Beaumont, the coffee is close by, along the side buffet in the Oak Valley Room.
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GJ - Going multi-site means going Mars Hill. The Church and Chicaneries cannot admit that their guiding lights are Leonard Sweet, Mark Driscoll, Craig Groeschel, Andy Stanley, and other peddlers of spiritual Spam. Their idols plagiarize each other and the motivational circuit, and the C and C followers plagiarize them. Lutheran worship services glorify God by offering Christ crucified through Word and Sacrament. The Church and Chicaneries offer:
And:
8 comments:
The majority of Lutheran churches have abondonded the Christian faith. The Scriptures have become gray and uncertain to them. The Lutheran Confessions have become too divisive and contentious. They have left the One Rock and sure Foundation of Christian faith to follow another that is a lie which soothes the carnal flesh. Objective Justification is a gospel for those who have rejected the Holy Spirit's faith for a comfort of forgiveness and righteousness that's declared as theirs without and before faith. The Holy Spirit's faith is the only thing which gives the assurance and comfort that they lack. But their attempt to climb into the fold by climbing over the fence is condemned by God and they are reaping the reward for their rejection of the Holy Spirit and Christ.
Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
With their lust for temporal security they no longer bear the Cross of Christ which brings the worlds derision. In a time when more and more Christians are falling away they look away from Christ and look to false teachers who tell them that only if your church is growing is it faithful to God. In the time when they should be putting on the full Armor of Christ they have laid themselves bare to be plucked and plundered by the god of this world.
Matthew 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
Matthew 7:17-27, "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."
2 Thess. 2:7-12, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
"....And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."
In Christ,
Brett Meyer
Why the protest? It takes money -- and lots of it -- to do the Work of the Lord. There are many buildings to build, teachers to train, pastors to train, savings that get misused, etc. The list goes on and on. No one should be surprised by the need to come up with new ways to get a little more money. It is all about money. Nothing gets done without it. And little gets done with it.
Forget about witnessing or sharing the Word. Hire a professional to get a church erected providing a place for people to worship.
At the end of their wits, WELS leaders desperately look for new ways to better server the Lord. If only the members would listen to their pastors and open their wallets, WELS would not be in a financial mess. How many members are really Christians are heart? Few members will say with their actions.
Sadly very typical of WELS congregations in southern California.
The WELS spends money that they don't have. They spend money they think they're going to get. Exactly how much could anyone give to be able to catch up to that kind of financial strategy?
DP Buchholz helped get Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in debt to the tune of $1.4M in order to build a new church which WELS Parish Services promised would increase attendance by 14%. The increase was supposed to offset the loan burden. The project was called "Let the Children Come". They didn't. So in the ultimate act of irony the church used restricted funds dedicated for the childrens school to pay the churches bills. Not to mention the numerous people who were urged, and complied, to take second mortgages to help finance the construction.
The WELS assumes the Lord's will and forges ahead (this whole assuming of God's will in matters not commanded in Scripture is not Christian by the way - Romans 11:34 and Isaiah 55:8). Once the money is spent they expect the Lord to provide the money to pay. When it's not forthcoming they curse God by hammering on His children - "IF YOU REALLY LOVED GOD YOU WOULD GIVE MORE, YOU ARE STINGY. DO YOU NOT APPRECIATE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU?" The horse calling the kettle black.
If the Lord would have you build a larger church than He will provide the means to do so before His church becomes a borrower, a servant to the lender.
So what happened at Holy Trinity? Offerings changed from a fruit of faith into a function of the law. Pastor Buchholz was rewarded by the Synod with a Sr. Pastor position in AZ and following his defense of the false doctrine of UOJ at the 2005 WELS Convention he was eventually given a position as district president. The Synod provided HTLC a list of Seminary trained Church Growth pastors to choose from. The synods have learned the Hegelian dialectic, thesis plus antithesis equals synthesis.
It will only change when, by the grace of God, the laymen serve God rather than men.
In Christ,
Brett Meyer
The poor quality of the sermons does not help matters.
I am ready for some change. I am tired of jumping up and down like Nancy Pelosi.
It will only change when, by the grace of God, the laymen serve God rather than men.
In Christ,
Brett Meyer
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Brett's remarks hit the target when it comes to what is going on in WELS. The source of the malaise is another matter. Sure, we can dump it on the Devil, but pastors were sowing the fool ideas that created the mess. As with our government, the little guy is now supposed to be burdened with the fix. It looks to me like WELS is aping our government, or our government is aping WELS. This is what you get when you abdicate responsibility to others -- others who are supposed to think and protect you. I wish life were that simple.
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