The time has come to inaugurate the annual Chicanery Awards, given for the most outrageous promotion of Church Growth stunts in Lutherdom.
Some think the award will be called the Chicken, but there is a better name to use, as all good farmers know.
Missouri and ELS members may participate as well.
The nominations will be wide open and anonymous. Any suggestions will be weighed carefully before allowing the comments to come through. Since so many reader are WELS pastors, spelling does not count. Just git reasonable close.
My apologies to the offended, but this is LCMS CGrowthism.
6 comments:
"Just git reasonable close." Lol
I'll open nominations with the "CORE" in A-tizzown, Wisc.
It scores highly on both the "blow-through-cash-o-meter" and the "copied-life-coach-sermonator." (The lack of a Joel Osteen "just whistle while you work" series, though, weighs down the nomination.)
Since it's a d/b/a of St. Pete-Freedom, there's bonus points for emulating the multi-campus church empire building approach.
The pic with the pop tart is just gravy.
While this is old news... I nominate Jefferson Hills Church (LCMS and not proud of it). What $25,000 of Ablaze! money buys... JHC Billboards
I nominate WELS for becoming a reflection of a deceitful world.
Please remember David Valleskey for promotion Church Growth and all the damage that it has done. His surreptitious nature and behind the scenes activities provided fine examples for conniving pastors to follow.
Bad spelling, not knowing German, and CG all symptoms of the the WELS trying to educate men for the ministry on the cheap. The men know it, too, so enough of them aren't properly motivated to do better at studies, and learn German well--beyond the two-year requirement.
Here's the history of the rise and decline of the WELS (some details of which you mentioned before). Through the 1970s tuition was cheap, and one knew that he'd get back whatever he paid into the system once in the ministry. Then, once the 1970s crowd graduated, they changed it so synodical monies went toward missions and not so much toward synodical schools. So the guys who went through the system nearly free also got the synod to subsidize their careers!
So the inexpensive schooling ended, and then guys started working a lot during college and seminary just to make ends meet, even working all hours of the night and weekend, paying money into the system they knew they'd never see again.
Ironically, I met one of the guys who went through the system when it was nearly free. He made enough money to meet all expenses during college and seminary mainly by typing other guys term papers!. He was shocked that I didn't know German any better than I did. I told him that not only was knowing it better not required (two years German minimum), but after all the odd jobs I worked to pay to graduate, I had no motivation or time left for knowing German better. Moreover, I told him that if I had been supported like he had been in the past, not only would I have had the time for more academic pursuits, but I would be as impressed with the WELS system and theological system as he was, and thus I'd learn German well just to become expert in that system. However, from what I saw and experienced and know, the liberal theological schools and seminaries are just as cheap and provide a better education (accredited all the way).
What happened to the WELS is they started to believe their own propaganda, so they expect young men to be motivated purely by their message, which is the suped up Gospel, that is, UOJ-turbo charged Gospel, and that this is enough and they don't even have to spend much money on them. Anyway, they were wrong, and now they are putting out poorly educated clergy who spell bad, forgot whatever German they learned, and get involved in CG due to poor theology.
I nominate the bloated WELS district presidents. Without their help the malignant infection of false doctrine and practice could never have grown so quickly or damaged so much. Watch dogs are culled when they don't bark. They deserve the reward that they will receive.
Brett Meyer
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