Church and Change Takes Off the Mask, Reveals the Slavering Fangs

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "The Ichaslang Lexicon":

I think that you should be angrier, more negative. I love the way that you quote Luther as if he were God. Do you have any scripture quoted in here? You talk about growth as if it were a plague - fine, go ahead and ignore it, and 20 minutes after you start moldering in your grave (something everyone can celebrate) - the last Lutheran can turn out the lights.

You are so dim. It's about saving people by preaching Christ and him crucified. The word can go out in so many ways. It is his message, not the methods - you worship the methods, not the message. It's about changing lives through the Gospel, not about keeping sad old traditions alive. It doesn't have to come from a pulpit, with organ music droning in the background with lifeless stiffs mouthing the words from their comas. Get real.

***

GJ - I hope the innocents see the real spirit of Church and Change in this comment.

---

Some Scripture for Mouse, via Brett Meyer:

2 Peter 2:12-22, "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

1 Peter 3:12-17, "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing."

Jude 1:10, "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves."

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change Takes Off the Mask, Reveals the ...":

"It doesn't have to come from a pulpit, with organ music droning in the background with lifeless stiffs mouthing the words from their comas. Get real." And yet "it is his message, not the methods." Such logical inconsistency! If the method supposedly doesn't matter, why such disdain for historically tried and true methods, which are centered on "his message" (better said, the Word of God)? It reminds me of postmodernism - there is no absolute truth... but if you don't believe that, you're wrong.

It is just the same pattern of upheaval as always: tolerance, acceptance, dominance, oppression. First they sought "only tolerance" of their false ways, but then they wanted acceptance on an equal footing. And now, apparently, they have both an attitude of dominance and even the gall to oppress God-centered worship. Hopefully it is just the conceited attitudes and oppression of some and not the reality among the church at large.

-K

Lutheran Notes - On Kieschnick Suing His Own Pastors

"Ignore the fine print. That doesn't apply to you anyway. Hurry up and sign."

Read the semi-annual Lutheran Notes update.

Google Lutheran Books and Periodicals

Copied from LutherQuest (sic):

The Lutheran Watchman (1866-7) (a predecessor to the Lutheran Witness)
http://books.google.com/books?id=zGEVAAAAYAAJ

Concordia Cyclopedia
http://www.archive.org/details/concordiacyclope009 499mbp

The Concordian (1916)
http://www.archive.org/details/concordian1917conc

The Concordian (1917)
http://www.archive.org/details/concordian1917conc

The Concordian (1918)
http://www.archive.org/details/concordian1918conc

Taps (1922)
http://www.archive.org/details/taps_1922conc

The stewardship life (1929)
http://www.archive.org/details/MN41380ucmf_5

Touring with God: devotions for Christian pilgrims (1927)
http://www.archive.org/details/MN40286ucmf_2

Here I stand! : narratives and sketches from Reformation days
http://www.archive.org/details/hereistandnarrat00g raeiala

Into all the world; the story of Lutheran foreign missions (1930)
http://www.archive.org/details/MN41448ucmf_0

Church finances: a handbook for the pastor and the layman (1922)
http://www.archive.org/details/MN41699ucmf_13

Four Hundred Years: Commemorative Essays on the Reformation of Dr. Martin Luther
http://www.archive.org/details/fourhundredyear00da ugoog

Luther Discovers The Gospel New Light Upon Luther S Way From Medieval Catholicism To Evangelical Faith (1951)
http://www.archive.org/details/lutherdiscoverst013 337mbp

Popular symbolics: the doctrines of the churches of Christendom and of other religious bodies examined in the light of Scripture (1934)
http://www.archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1

Why Should a Lutheran Not Join Any Sectarian Church?
http://books.google.com/books?id=OPL0XZG7j70C

Spiritism: A Study of Its Phenomena and Religious Teachings (1919)
http://www.archive.org/details/spiritismastudy00graegoog [Mild Colonial Boy - thnx]

Victory Through Christ Radio Messages Broadcast In The Tenth Lutheran Hour (1943)
http://www.archive.org/details/victorythroughch011 911mbp

Patrick Hamilton. The first Lutheran preacher and martyr of Scotland (1918)
http://www.archive.org/details/patrickhamiltonf00d all

Sermons on the Gospels of the ecclesiastical year (1902)
http://www.archive.org/details/sermonsongospels00s iec

Great leaders and great events, historical essays on the field of church history by various Lutheran writers (1922)
http://www.archive.org/details/greatleadersgrea00b uch

At the Tribunal of Caesar: Leaves from the Story of Luther's Life Vol 1.
http://www.archive.org/details/leipzigdebatein101d auw

At the Tribunal of Caesar: Leaves from the Story of Luther's Life Vol 2.
http://www.archive.org/details/leipzigdebatein102d auw

At the Tribunal of Caesar: Leaves from the Story of Luther's Life Vol 3.
http://www.archive.org/details/leipzigdebatein103d auw

Luther on education (1889)
http://www.archive.org/details/lutheroneducatio00p ainuoft

The voice of history (1913)
http://www.archive.org/details/voiceofhistory00som miala

William Tyndale : the translator of the English Bible
http://www.archive.org/details/williamtyndaletr00d all

Great religious Americans (1918)
http://www.archive.org/details/greatreligiousam00d all

Christian art in the place and in the form of Lutheran worship (1921)
http://www.archive.org/details/christianartinpl00k retiala

John Ludwig Krapf : the explorer-missionary of northeastern Africa
http://www.archive.org/details/johnludwigkrapfe00k retiala

Education among the Jews from the earliest times to the end of the Talmudic period, 500 A.D
http://www.archive.org/details/educationamongje00k ret

Evolution : an investigation and a criticism (1922)
http://www.archive.org/details/evolutioninvesti00g raeuoft

Evolution: An Investigation and a Critique (1921)
http://www.archive.org/details/evolution19321gut

Luther Examined and Reexamined: A Review of Catholic Criticism and a Plea for Revaluation
http://www.archive.org/details/lutherexaminedan163 22gut

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal (1896)
http://www.archive.org/details/evangelicalluth00st atgoog

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal (1891)
http://www.archive.org/details/evangelicalluth01st atgoog

Sunday-school hymnal (1901)
http://www.archive.org/details/sundayschoolhyml00u nknuoft

The Fourth Reader
http://books.google.com/books?id=Y9ROAAAAMAAJ

American Lutheranism v.1
http://books.google.com/books?id=A4oSAAAAYAAJ

American Lutheranism v.2
http://books.google.com/books?id=booSAAAAYAAJ

Schwan Catechism
http://books.google.com/books?id=l9MPAAAAYAAJ

English District Convention Proceedings, 1912-19
http://books.google.com/books?id=YoW5nWGuTuUC

Homiletic Magazine 1876-1921 (some articles also printed in English, in my opinion this is more likely in the later volumes)
http://books.google.com/books?q=editions:LCCNsc760 00448

Half a Century of Sound Lutherianism in America
http://books.google.com/books?id=MooAAAAAMAAJ

Ebenezer: Reviews of the Work of the Missouri Synod During Three Quarters of a Century
http://books.google.com/books?id=fIgSAAAAYAAJ

Yes, I Joined Facebook

One of my courses for journalism is advanced digital media, and that includes social networking, for example - Facebook, LinkedIn.

Facebook uses software to connect people with common interests (work, school, hobbies) and makes it easy for them to share links, photos, messages. Facebook's policy is: "We own everything you give us." For those who value privacy, that is a real downer.

LinkedIn is another approach, which is far more left-brain (logical, text-oriented) and is often used for professional networking for jobs. I keep track of some people because of their LinkedIn updates. Academics can keep track of professionals who move and get job referrals that way. With online teaching, distance is no barrier to income, but time and eyestrain are.

Both approaches use the email directory to identify friends. I found out about where some relatives were, since it takes so much effort for them to send an email.

---

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Yes, I Joined Facebook":

No wonder you get things so back asswards, Greg. The right brain is the logical reasoning side. The left is the creative freeform side of the brain. This has been well accepted in our society.

---

From the Herald Sun, and many other sources:

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

***

GJ - That is why I get the big bucks for teaching. I can keep the two straight, unlike Anonymouse, who is letting his disturbed nature show through in his use of foul language. Crude words may seem eloquent at Hooters, but not in print. I thought they taught better at DeVry. Here is how to keep it straight: l or left is for logical. R or right is for r-tistic.

Do Lutherans Have Any Subscription to the Book of Concord?

Martin Chemnitz was the principal author of the Formula of Concord and the primary editor of the Book of Concord, 1580. He studied under Luther and Melanchthon.

I enjoy watching the humorless taking issue with obvious satire. No, I don't mean Norman Teigen. One person raged about the World Headquarters of Ichabod, a hyperbole so obvious that I did not think it needed an explanatory note. Another thorn was the use of "Mrs. Ichabod," surely a major thorn in his anonymous side.

When I began reading news blogs, I noticed the trend of using the blog names for family members. Instapundit referred to his wife as Instawife and his daughter as Instadaughter. BlackFive called his son Little BF. If something makes my friends laugh and my opponents rage, I am going to continue.

Here are some things which edify or enrage, depending on the reader:

1. Funny photos of animals.
   
2. Quotations from orthodox Lutheran writers.
   
3. Quotations from false teachers.
   
4. Writing about the past.
   
5. Writing about the present.
   
6. Writing about the future.

Back to the Book of Concord. This is serious but may cause some to smile.

If Lutherans really subscribed to the Book of Concord, they would drive intellectually lazy pastors out of town, pelting them with dog manure, a statement the Synodical Conference (or its twitching corpse) subscribes to:

12] And what need is there of many words? If I were to recount all the profit and fruit which God's Word produces, whence would I get enough paper and time? The devil is called the master of a thousand arts. But what shall we call God's Word, which drives away and brings to naught this master of a thousand arts with all his arts and power? It must indeed be the master of more than a hundred thousand arts. 13] And shall we frivolously despise such power, profit, strength, and fruit-we, especially, who claim to be pastors and preachers? If so, we should not only have nothing given us to eat, but be driven out, being baited with dogs, and pelted with dung, because we not only need all this every day as we need our daily bread, but must also daily use it against the daily and unabated attacks and lurking of the devil, the master of a thousand arts. Introduction to the Large Catechism, Book of Concord

I would love to catch sight of a Doctrinal Pussycat chasing a Church Shrinker out of town, pelting him with dog manure, followed by the entire District Mission board, laity and clergy alike.

Instead, a DP serves both as criminal defense lawyer (for the false teacher) and prosecutor (for the person who dares to question the false teacher). The false teacher is defended, kept in place, or promoted. The person who questions this is pounded like a tent peg into the ground or given the Sisera treatment with tent peg and mallet (Judges 5:24).

The various Lutheran entities are not only unLutheran. They are anti-Lutheran. Those were the gold old days, when a favorite hymn chosen was Methodist. Now the rock band is mandatory for aging Boomers who should know better by now. It's bad enough to watch ancient reptilian bands like Rolling Stone slither onto stage. Now we are supposed to be converted in church by cheap imitations of a bad concept.

Now that I have a digital organist, I enjoy picking the finest Lutheran hymns without regard to the number of sharps or flats, the novelty of the melody, or the popularity of the hymn.

I get to watch the second counter on Mr. Bose, to help me repeat a verse. That has taught me something. Many hymn verses take 30 seconds to sing. A longer hymn verse is 1 minute. Every so often, one hymn will take 1 minute, 30 seconds to sing. If a hymn verse takes all of 1 minute to sing and has 10 verses, the congregation takes 10 minutes to sing the entire hymn in all its eloquence and beauty. More likely, 10 verses will take 5 minutes, which we often waste watching a string of commercials on TV: "I believe in miracles!" featuring sobbing fast-foods.

Nothing reflects our true confession of faith more than the worship service. Missouri and the ELS have made sections of the Book of Concord part of the worship service. WELS tends to make the explanation of the Second Article of the Creed replace the Creed, a novelty I never understood, especially in the light of "everything is adiaphora."

Lutheran hymns--and all great hymns--glorify God and teach the Word of God. If the goal of church music is to entertain, then only that goal will be attained. I observed a Willow Creek service one Sunday. The deadness of the service and the total lack of a Gospel message was most impressive. No cross was seen on the building or in the worship area.

But Willow Creek services cannot be condemned by someone who has never been there, as one Northwestern College professor said, and even if someone has been there. The Synodical Conference Lutherans have to admit that have spent millions of dollars joining the Enthusiasts in disparaging Lutheran doctrine and worship.

Look at the senior ministers of the LCMS, WELS, and ELS. They are the ones who have deliberately ignored--even defended--the growth of false doctrine. Perhaps their conscience is bothering them now, so they are starting to murmur against the Church Shrinkers. Too bad their fellow pastors, whom they shunned as vermin, cannot join them in finally addressing apostasy. You see, when those dissenting pastors were extended the Left Foot of Fellowship, these surviving senior pastors joined the shunners and made their classmates unpersons.

I told my friend, who was fired by one District Pope and called a jerk by another, "If you want a friend in the Lutheran Church, buy a dog."

From L P Cruz

L P has left a new comment on your post "My Doubts about the Quia Subscription to the Book ...":

Pr. GJ,

This is one of your best posts.

I could not wipe off the grin ;-)

LPC

---

His blog is Extra Nos.

The CORE on Facebook

"Performance stage, rock band, popcorn, gourmet coffee, Danish.
What am I forgetting?"

WORSHIP AT 5:30PM and then PARTY from 6PM - 9PM

Join us for the unveiling of The CORE website. There will be lots of food, a brief presentation to highlight the functions of the website, and stand up comedy entertainment. This is a night at The CORE you will not want to miss. Everyone is welcome so spread the word and bring a friend.

Follow the CORE on Facebook.


The CORE (http://www.gotocore.com/) updated their profile. They changed the following: Phone and Location.

First of all, a huge "thank you" to everyone who came out tonight for the first worship service at The CORE. We will continue holding worship on Sunday nights at 5:30. Worship right now consists mainly of a sermon and prayers. We will add the band on April 19th.

http://www.gotocore.com/
http://www.twitter.com/gotocore
General Information: The CORE exists to transform lives for Christ through faith that is real, relevant, and relational. We are a WELS church in Appleton that loves the city of Appleton but recognizes it is sick with sin. We strive to live as a city within that city in order to transform the city for Jesus. We love Him, and we want to show His love to others.

Fox 11 video.

February 2nd: Big shout out to all who came and helped out tonight. I'd say 35+ isn't bad for our first "event." Thank you for your time and service.

January 29th: that is indeed the old IMAX theatre:) what better use for a failed business than a church, right?

From the website:

core (n): (1) the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything; (2) the deep and superficial muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body

We now have a presence on Facebook - follow the progress or just say hi, click here to check us out on Facebook.

Services are being held at 5:30 on Sundays - we'd love to see you!

Join us for the website launch party - Its February 22nd at 5:30 pm at The CORE. [GJ - Their worship time - when most congregations launch their websites. Commune with the Internet.]


You may be asking yourself, The CORE? What kind of a name is that for a church? The idea behind it is simply that Christ will be at the core of everything we do as a church and ought to be at the core of everything we do in our day to day lives as Christians here on earth. At The CORE we will focus on strengthening our most important core - that is our spiritual one.

At The CORE we strive to connect people in a personal, intimate, and lifelong relationship with their Savior. We will do that through worship that is relevant as well as through small groups where Christians can be real and relational, and live their faith together to bring others into a relationship with their Savior. Our goal is to create an environment where people can connect on a personal level with their Savior and other Christians.

We are opening soon! For more information please contact us at: info@gotocore.com
Or call Katie at: 920-540-5298.

Jim Buske (fellow worshiper at Andy Stanley's Babtist conference) and Matt Doebler (Rock and Roll Church) are fans. What a surprise. Tim Glende is listed.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The CORE on Facebook":

The band is coming April 19th. When will the Lord's Supper make an appearance?

A half hour "worship service" followed by a three hour party. Do we really need to know more?

Oh, wait, just in case we did: success of the first night measured in...(drumroll, please)...NUMBERS.

Wu Through

"I'm too sexy for my church, too sexy..."

While Willow Chicago searches for a new campus pastor, Todd Katter will be serving as interim campus pastor, according to the Tribune. Meanwhile, Wu has been removed from the church's web page. Christian Post


Willow Creek to Open Downtown Chicago Campus on October 1

Orginally published on Monday, August 07, 2006 at 3:08 PM

by Todd Rhoades

Named for the Palatine movie palace in which the suburban megachurch got its start, Willow Creek Community Church now plans to establish a city home in a theater of a different kind. Beginning Oct. 1, the historic Auditorium Theatre's gilded walls and massive archways will become home to Willow Creek Chicago, the church's newest campus, under a handshake agreement reached by both parties Monday.

The city satellite of the South Barrington church, which expanded its auditorium in 2004 to accommodate its 18,000 members in multiple services, was launched in March and has been drawing about 150 people on Sunday afternoons to the Union Station Multiplex on West Jackson Boulevard. The church now hopes to draw hundreds more to hear its pastor preach from a stage that has featured Frank Sinatra, Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and the Joffrey Ballet.

The unconventional location is not unusual for an evangelical church--especially one that hosts worship services that resemble Broadway productions.

But the Auditorium Theatre is a cornerstone of Chicago history, a granite monument to the days when the young city aimed to outshine New York as the nation’s cultural hub. A national historic landmark, the Romanesque building at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway was designed by legendary architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler.

Leaders of Willow Creek were conscious of the history of the Auditorium as they planned the megachurch’s urban expansion.

“It’s got Chicago written all over it,” said Rev. Steve Wu, who moved to the city earlier this year to lead Willow Creek Chicago.

Willow Creek members will be able to worship in the theater on Sunday mornings for one year, with the caveat that they must clear out before Sunday matinees, said the Auditorium’s Executive Director Brett Batterson, who declined to disclose financial details of the arrangement.

The goals of the two organizations are the same, he said.

“The [theater’s] mission is to make it accessible to all of Chicago,” Batterson said. “If the renter is a church or a Broadway producer, we’re more than happy. It’s an auditorium for everyone.”

The history of the Auditorium Theatre is as grand as its architecture. Even before it was finished, the theater hosted the 1888 Republican National Convention that nominated Benjamin Harrison for president. When the theater officially raised its curtain a year later, new President Harrison watched from a box seat. That night, star soprano Adelina Patti performed her signature song, “Home, Sweet Home.”

Recalling the nostalgia of that era and welcoming its neighbors, Willow Creek Chicago’s first series of sermons will be titled “A Place to Call Home.”

“We want to communicate that Willow is here in the city to provide a place to call home--as a church, as an outreach to the city around us, to the community that so desperately needs the great message of the Gospel,” Wu said.

Wu, 41, who moved from California’s Silicon Valley, said he discovered the Auditorium Theatre while wandering around downtown and praying.

“There would be days I’d walk around and absorb the city, feel the culture, emotion and heartbeat,” he said. “When I walked down in the theater district, I just had this sense in me that this would be a great place to land.”

The performing arts, including live music, dance and drama, have always been a hallmark of Willow Creek’s worship, and services at the acoustically perfect Auditorium Theatre will be no different. Worshipers will hear show tunes, jazz numbers, blues and gospel, Wu said.

“One of the things we believe musically is we need to have breadth of genres that resonate with the city instead of one wedge of Christian music,” he said. “We want to really resonate with the deep musical history of the city.”

Music does not have to be Christian to draw a listener closer to God, he said.

“Music is a great gift from God we can use to speak to each other,” Wu said. “When people hear a certain tune it evokes certain thoughts and emotions. The message might not be out-and-out Christian, but it resonates with the human soul.”

The art and architecture of the theater also stirs the soul, said Willow Creek Chicago member Kathryn Tack, 60, an executive coach and mother of three. Her first visit to the theater was to see a production of “The Phantom of the Opera,” she recalled.

“There’s just the awesome presence of the Creator,” Tack said. “The building in and of itself gives you so much to fill you intellectually and touches your heart. That’s part of what God represents to so many people. It would be really amazing to have church there.”

The theater has 3,800 seats, but Wu said he believes the house will soon be full. In addition to the performances, Willow Creek Chicago plans to develop its ministries for the homeless and prostitutes.

Wu said the expansion to Chicago is not only more convenient for city dwellers but enhances the partnerships Willow Creek already shares with social service agencies. In addition to its South Barrington campus, Willow Creek has regional sites in McHenry, DuPage and Lake Counties.

“Our dream and our hope,” Wu said, “is to really bring something wonderful here to the city.”

---

Wu, 43, began pastoring Willow Creek Chicago in 2006 with 22,500 attendees, according to a 2008 list of Outreach magazine. The Willow Creek megachurch community was founded by Bill Hybels and has six other locations in Illinois. [GJ - And one in Depere, Wisconsin]

Todd Katter has agreed to serve as interim campus pastor while church officials search for the next campus pastor. Records of Wu have been removed from the church's website. The Voice