Church and Change has used this process all along, in cahoots with their apostate brethren and cistern. Now that they control the colleges and the Sausage Factory, they can bide their time.
The merger producing the ELCA (1987) was packed with "gathering input from all corners" and taking "every concern seriously." And yet, the end result of all this consensus building was the worst possible combination of Seminexers, ALCats (who started Lutherans Concerned), and papal LCA priestcraft.
When I questioned the ELCA merger, I was "the only one" who had such doubts. Several denominations have formed since then, comprised of thousands of laity and not a few pastors, all from ELCA, where everyone was united, I was told.
When I dissented from the Church Growth agenda of WELS in the 1980s, DP Mueller said I was "the only one in WELS who objected to Church Growth." Later he admitted that Kelm was removed as head of evangelism for the same reasons I cited about CG in general. But DP Mueller had two stories for every occasion, a true weather vane, double-minded and unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).
WELS pastors are especially quick to tell two opposing stories, often blending two opposing doctrines into one. For instance, Frosty Bivens could coo about reading Synodical Conference materials--"much fine gold"--and brag about attending Fuller Seminary before denying he attended Fuller.
DP Candidate Dom Perignon Patterson had reservations about Church and Change...although he led a session there! His reservations plagued his conscience so much that he purred "pure gold" as John Lawrenz explained the need for Emerging Church methods on Asians. That was on the Church and Change listserve! (I was denied membership on that spirit-anointed listserve, but I get their posts anyway.)
And where was DP-in-Waiting Patterson last month? He was at the Church and Change conference with the usual suspects.
4 comments:
"DP-in-Waiting"....I yield my comments to JR. We have not heard from JR, it could be that he is busy shopping for his friends and family.
from WELS church lady
They also use the Cascade Technique. Elders get sold on a proposal and then the Council. When the Voters finally get to review and approve such a proposal, they are made to look thick or like non-team players if they question it or express concerns. Many a congregation has been led to take on more debt than it can handle this way.
Don P. is as confessional as Ed Stetzer and Leonard Sweet. The C&C denial is a classic.
Church lady et al.,
Sorry, no shopping. I prefer to reflect on the gift God gave us during this Advent season rather than on exchanging differently-shaped Chinese plastics and electronics with family and friends. Call me Scrooge, I suppose.
If Pastor Patterson is so Growthy, then why is his church devoid of rock bands? Why does he use the liturgy and creeds in the hymnal? Why are his sermons written only by him and not kelmed from Lifechurch.tv?
I do agree with the "Cascade Technique" comment, though. I think this is the way that a lot of church business gets done, irrespective of where that particular church may fall within the confessional/growth spectrum.
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