The two LCMS seminaries went through this phase first. The rebellion against the Shrinkers at both LCMS schools is now slavishly Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Thus they imagine the solution for low-church Enthusiasm is high-church Enthusiasm, moving from rock bands to smells and bells.
Walther warned the Missouri Synod against idolatry, which is why I keep a statue of Ferdy on my desk. Farsighted (in this regard), he warned them against saying "At least my district or conference is orthodox." I heard one future Doctrinal Pussycat say that, even though his neighbor was a proud Fuller grad.
Synod idolatry is the main reason for doctrinal apostasy today. No one was allowed to question any synod, because Holy Mother (fill in the blank) Synod is indefectible, incapable of error. That is worship of a graven image, a sin against the First Commandment, just as common among Lutherans today as among Roman Catholics, but more subtle.
No one would guess that "Do Not Fear, Little Flock" was once an influential hymn in the Lutheran Church. I am trying to imagine people singing that hymn at The CORE
Lutheran Church. That would be honest and compelling, because the newest outpost of the Groeschel/Stanley franchise only had 15 members total after spending $250,000. After deducting the Ski family and Suffragen Bishop Katie, CORE gained a total of 9 members, which is $27,777 per member. I have not seen numbers that impressive--or depressive--since Thoughts of Faith in the Ukraine.
I am not fond of synod conventions. They strike me as a bad copy of our political conventions. However, the recent WELS convention completely changed the agenda by emphasizing Lutheran doctrine (except for UOJ outbursts).
The Shrinkers have been saying for 30 years that they want the institution to grow, that this can happen:
- Only by expelling anyone who disagrees with them,
- Only by spending vast amounts of money to import Enthusiasm from Fuller, Willow Creek, Groeschel, Granger, Stetzer, Sweet, and Stanley.
Their failure is apparent. Apart from enforcing a Full Employment Act for False Teachers, the Shrinkers have devastated the coffers, scattered the flocks, and murdered souls while dabbling in doctrinal and carnal adultery. Needless to say, until WELS elected a new Synod President, they were in bed with ELCA and loving it, glad to hold joint religious conferences with ELCA while denying the facts as slander against Holy Mother WELS/ELS. The only answer is the Word of God and the Confessions. One is the revealed truth of the Holy Spirit, Who only works through the Means of Grace and never apart from the Means of Grace. The Confessions are man's acknowledgment and exposition of these truths. The Book of Concord has not been tried and found wanting in the last 50 years. It has barely been tried at all. Why not delve into the treasures of the Confessions instead of rooting in the pigsties of Enthusiasm? A Lutheran congregation has three main purposes:
- To worship God in the beauty of His holiness.
- To catechize the young and teach the adults.
- To visit the shut-ins, hospitalized, and spiritually indifferent.
The Shrinkers fail in all three categories but never tire of bragging about themselves and their lupine associates. The heroes held up by Mequon are the Shrinkers of Church and Change!
Faithful pastors do not feather their nests with synod dollars. They gather offerings for genuine Gospel work, which also includes schools.
Faithful pastors do not covet the approval of the press and the roar of the crowds. They glory in Christ crucified. They extol God's divine activity through the Word, even when the Word brings the holy cross, as it must.
Faithful pastors spend time in visitation, making that a priority, instead of fobbing their pastoral work onto the laity in the name of "everyone a minister." If everyone is, then why not lead from the front instead the air-conditioned office?
