Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "What Are Valid, Orthodox Approaches to Outreach?":
Very well put Greg. Very well put. I think I'll print this out and put in on my fridge when tempted to listen to those who "fan the flames of discontent" and sow seeds of the same among the formerly faithful.
Rather than doing what you present here, and being discouraged with carrying the cross of rejection, the majority now rely on trying to make it more palitable to the masses and a world that they cannot believe is rejecting the beautiful Gospel. "How could they" they claim, "we must be doing something wrong in our approach. How can we make it more appealing?" At this point it is worthy to remember Jesus' words...Matthew 5:13-15
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
So, why are so called "true to the Word" churches trying to hide their light? That is actually what is happening, when they have believed the deceptive words and works of those who have succeeded in telling them essentially that the Word is not enough.
Bullocks.
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GJ - The whole Shrinker crew in WELS, ELS, Missouri, CLC (sic) and ELCA operate from the same assumptions. They even use the same words borrowed from Fuller, Willow Creek, and the new/old Emerging Church types - Leonard Sweet, Ed Stetzer, Andy Stanley, Driscoll, Groeschel, and Beeson.
These Shrinkers are simply training people to leave the Lutheran Church, one baby-step at a time.
To make matters worse, the WELS Shrinkers use Lutheran terms to adulterate them with the Shrinker toxins. For example, Bruce Becker, as head of Perish Services, asked, "What--besides the Means of Grace--are you doing to grow your church?" (Paraphrased)
James Huebner, now First VP, openly mocked the efficacy of the Word in print, but I do not recall him ever retracting his error.
The WELS Perish consultants or assistants, Mission Counselors, and staff were all hired to promote the Shrinkage movement. They skimmed WELS offering money to start Church and Chicanery. (Did Thrivent think it was too ludicrous to fund?) The Chicanery conferences and The Love Shack Staff overlap one other in personnel, but the core leaders are Mark Jeske, Don Patterson, and the Appleton bunch.
The foundational error of all these false teachers is denial of the efficacy of the Word alone. For that reason, they shun the Means of Grace (except as a rabbit's foot) in favor of salesmanship and entertainment.
Luther said, "Satan is enraged that a mere man could stand up to him with the Word."
The false teachers ignore the doctrinal questions and say, "You are a bad person, so your comments do not count." They have a variety of methods to do this, and they are as underhanded as possible when busy helping their Father Below. That is why so many pastors and laity mute themselves on the issues.
Muting has not worked well for the last 30 years. Nothing much is left. God has promised that anything is possible with the Word. Lutherans must begin with trusting the Word alone and not being ashamed of the Gospel.
