Does it fall from skies above?
Is it underneath the Willow Creek tree
That I've been dreaming of?
Peace in Loves Park, Rev. Olson's former parish, the one that's trying to move now, has never really liked their location from the 1970s. Now, however, the synod probably made the relocation necessary due to their church growth program.
The WELS wanted to plant a church in S Rockford since there were none there. The nearest WELS churches were in Loves Park in N Rockford, which is a fairly large city, and Belvedere five miles to the E. The exploratory congregation started out at a college on E State Street near the center of the city.
To everyone's consternation, instead of building in S Rockford as planned, the synod insisted that the new Church Growthy-style church be built along the main N-S freeway (I-90/39) on the E side of Rockford. It was purposely built with a steeple with a lighted big glass windows so travelers would see it from the freeway day and night. Also, if you look at the New Life Website, it is all the relational, relevant CG-type stuff.
New Life was started around 1989 by Pastor Mark Paustian. Sometime in the early 90s
after building that new building off the freeway, he got a call to New Ulm to be a Communications professor. NPH published Paustian and Pastor Rick in Corona reads Paustian.
New Life is just 5 miles S of Peace in Loves Park which has been there since the 1970s. Also, it's just 5 miles W of the WELS Belvedere church which has been in existence since 1967 (see attached map). Needless to say, New Life wicked up about half the members of Peace and half the members of Hope, and continues to be a big draw. It's just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Love's Park probably wants to get away from the latest growthy WELS church. Perhaps that's why they have to raise their own money and the synod won't cough up the funds, because it makes CG look bad.
Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church 501 Bellwood Rd Belvidere 815-544-6606 New Life Evangelical Lutheran Church 1100 N Lyford Rd, Rockford, IL - (815) 227-0855 Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church 5183 Pebble Creek Tr Rockford 815-633-6197
Peace in Loves Park (S Rockford, IL)
http://www.peacelutheran-wels.org
New Life
http://www.newliferockford.org
Hope, Belvidere
http://www.hopebelvidere.org
***
GJ - The Church and Changers at The Love Shack want to teach WELS all about stewardship, but they are the biggest wastrels in Christendom. Those are WELS offering dollars at work, draining members from two established congregations to create a C and C parish - just in time for a split? Stay tuned.
14 comments:
Insanity reigns in the name of God. WELS leaders view thought before a decision to be a waste of time. Just say it is the will of God, instead.
BTW, members should be giving more to cover the waste of the leaders.
What fools!
My guess is that New Life "wicked" up the members of Peace and Hope that were ready to move on anyway. The fools are probably the leaders of Peace and Hope that didn't see it coming. If Peace and Hope were surprised by the exodus then shame on them.
Disgusting. Start a church to pull down two existing churches. This insanity in WELS needs to go.
WELS leadership is far too incestuous.
Destruction by replacement.
Stay tuned for the next destructive move of Church and Change. It will be a real hoot!
You're right. Google Maps shows you can see New Life from the interstate:
Google Street View (New Life is just to the right of the far road barrel):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=new+life,&sll=42.279928,-88.961706&sspn=0.005414,0.009302&ie=UTF8&t=h&radius=0.24&rq=1&ll=42.279841,-88.964936&spn=0,359.990698&z=17&layer=c&cbll=42.279751,-88.964933&panoid=CVkCIKZ1vgEcKscwMOHu8w&cbp=12,86.13,,0,5
------------
Google Satellite View:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=new+life,&sll=42.279751,-88.964933&sspn=0.005414,0.009302&ie=UTF8&t=h&radius=0.24&rq=1&ll=42.279865,-88.961556&spn=0.005414,0.009302&z=17
Am I missing something?? Since when is it "wrong" to locate a church near a highway so that it can actually be seen by those who pass by? You know, the "city on a hill" thing?
And since none of these congregations receives a single penny in WELS subsidy, what's your problem? Would you rather they now merge into one congregation? (Wait, that would create a "mega-church" and that's the greatest of all Jackson evils.)
Even if mistakes were made in the past as you obviously believe, none of us can undo the past (even Greg Jackson can't undo his past!) so why is this page even posted? We're living in the present, Greg. Got that? Most of the world is living in the present in preparation for the future. We move on. We get over it. We learn from the past but don't live in it.
You're an angry, bitter, lonely man, Greg Jackson. Your only pleasure seems to be making others angry too, and you do it in the name of Christian love. Most of us can see the demonic irony in that.
The above anonymous commentators don't know what they are talking about. I live in the area. I have worshipped at all the churches mentioned above. It would be nice if people familiar with the area (Rockford & vicinity) rather than people who think they know it all. I personally abhor "church growth", and I know the pastor of New Life (and have met the other above-mentioned pastors), and know that New Life Evangelical Lutheran Church has solid Biblical Theology, and my wife and I am looking forward to joining this congregation soon for this very reason. I have studied theology, so I know what I'm talking about, and I have never been a member of Peace, Loves Park or Hope, Belvidere. The members who attend Bible Study at New Life are knowledgable of God's Holy Word, and we praise God that this is their focus: Knowing God's Word and Making it Known.
Richard D. Eischen
Rockford, IL
The "facts" in the article "WELS overkill in Rockford area" are anything but facts. Whomever is ranting against God's work in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) obviously has too much time on his hands (in this viewers' humble opinion). Whatever happened to "Speaking the truth in love" and "putting the best construction on everything?" I see neither in the above article, and a good start would be, simply speaking the truth. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."
Richard D. Eischen wrote: "I live in the area. I have worshiped at all the churches mentioned above...and I am looking forward to joining this [New Life] congregation soon for this very reason."
The above statement only confirms what Jackson's source posits, namely, that the long-established churches have to move away from New Life because the WELS synod insisted on putting a Church Growth church so close between Peace and Hope. They have to move far enough away so that WELS members or prospective WELS members won't be able to justify the drive to New Life in terms of time and gas money. Hope and Peace will probably be praying for high gasoline prices and constant road construction near New Life!
Moreover, Anonymous at 10:30AM said the the facts presented in this blog entry are "anything but facts," but then doesn't point out the error. Basically, Jackson's source itemized while Anonymous 10:30 AM took the deduction without itemizing. If this blog entry and comments were tax returns, only Anonymous 10:30 AM non-itemized comments would be audited for fraud, while Jackson's source would not.
The author of the following comment seems to be confused:
"The above statement only confirms what Jackson's source posits, namely, that the long-established churches have to move away from New Life because the WELS synod insisted on putting a Church Growth church so close between Peace and Hope. They have to move far enough away so that WELS members or prospective WELS members won't be able to justify the drive to New Life in terms of time and gas money. Hope and Peace will probably be praying for high gasoline prices and constant road construction near New Life!"
First of all, New Life Ev. Lutheran Church on Lyford is NOT a Church Growth church, as you presume. Pastor Henselin and his congregation are commited to regularly using the means of grace. The liturgy is used regularly, not a substitute. Confession and Absolution are clearly a part of each sermon, and the hymns are carefully chosen to reinforce those Scriptural lessons.
"I live in the area. I have worshiped at all the churches mentioned above...and I am looking forward to joining this [New Life] congregation soon for this very reason."
This condensed statement takes my words out of context. "...for this very reason." has everything to do with New Life's faithfulness to Scripture and nothing to do with location. I am thankful for what God is doing at Peace Lutheran and Hope Lutheran as well. Unlike the tone of these comments, it is not about competition or drawing people away from one place to another. In all three locations (Loves Park, Rockford, and Belvidere) there are more than enough lost people in need of hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. While I can't speak personally for what the pastors at Hope and Peace are doing, New Life is not reaching out to WELS members as their focus--they are reaching their neighbors with the Gospel, in word and deed. I am confident the other mentioned congregations are doing the same in their area.
We don't build up the church by spreading rumors, especially false ones. For those who read these postings, I invite you to attend New Life and her sister congregations to find out for yourselves. Be prepared to hear the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not any "church growth" approaches and techniques. They are quite simply not needed at New Life, as God's Word is efficatious and it is the Holy Spirit who "calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies..." -Richard Eischen.
CORRECTION: "Confession and Absolution are a part of each worship service, and Law and Gospel are clearly a part of each sermon. The hymns are carefully chosen to reinforce the Scripture lessons." Sorry for the earlier error.
Post a Comment