Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Convert from the Church Growth Movement




Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Convention Monday - Good and Bad":

...."In light of Pres. Schroeder's remarks, how can they even keep the Core - or others like it - open another day?...."

Well, they'll just continue on with what they are doing without question in most cases. They'll lay low for a while and consider that they are suffering for Christ and take assurance from the CGM teachers that "they will take all sorts of criticism from the nay sayers and just need to keep moving forward and undeterred."

BUT there IS hope. I was pretty well in the camp of CGM albeit unknowingly. I was a pretty good Pietist as well. But guess what? The confessions cleared up my thinking.

Interestingly I was feeling very uneasy about things I was doing and involved with - basically teaching and preaching without a call. I talked to some very well respected friends, pastors and people well grounded in confessional Lutheran doctrine. I started reading - even reading what the likes of Rick Warren and C. Peter Wagner had written, but mostly confessional stuff. I was convinced by the TRUTH that what I was doing was not right.

So there is hope for those well meaning folks out there who out of wholesome, yet misguided, zeal want to share the message of Christ. Through the Means of Grace this is accomplished. I have yet to see a CGM program that hasn't detracted from this and have seen the emphasis put elsewhere. Unionism seems to always follow or lead in these efforts as evidenced by some of our leaders going elsewhere to learn at CGM teachers' feet. They are missing the spirit of the doctrine of fellowship.

S.D.G.