An Evening with Paul Gerhardt

Borrowed from Norman Teigen's blog.

Quotes from Krauth

C. P. Krauth served as the first professor of the
General Council Seminary in Philadelphia.
I was nominated for a position at the Philadelphia school,
which Bergendoff had tried unsuccessfully to merge with Gettysburg.
Philadelphia already had their candidate selected, so 9 others were interviewed to make it look fair.
The spirit of Krauth was long-gone from that school.

I suggest reading The Finkelsteinery for some excellent selections from Krauth.

Krauth's life and work are summarized here.

Krauth and others led the Eastern Lutherans back to the Book of Concord, after S. S. Schmucker and others bewitched the General Synod over revivalism and American Lutheranism. The General Synod pioneered:

1. Dropping the liturgy.
2. Turning the Sacraments into ordinances (no efficacy of the Word).
3. Holding revivals.
4. Practicing unionism with the Reformed.

Have you heard those themes before? They sound just like the Shrinkers in WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie.

Luther Weigle was the first Lutheran professor at Yale Divinity School. He came from the General Synod tradition, so he remembered the Mourner's Bench (revivalism) at his father's congregation. He joined the Congregationalists - now the fast-shrinking United Church of Christ. The unionists at St. Paul Lutheran (WELS) in New Ulm, Mn, split from St. Paul and eventually formed a UCC church.

The ULCA was concentrated in the original 13 colonies as the General Synod, which split over doctrinal issues around the time of the Civil War. The South and North both had a General Synod and a (confessional) General Council. I have heard that some important city intersections had a General Synod church on one corner and a General Council church on another. The General Council had a positive influence on all Lutherans because of the excellent professors/authors at the school. Merger with the General Synod pieces, forming the ULCA in 1917, led to a slow, anti-confessional apostasy.

Looking for Krauth's picture, I just found this quotation:

When error is admitted into the Church, it will be found that the stages in its progress are always three. It begins by asking toleration. Its friends say to the majority: You need not be afraid of us; we are few and weak; let us alone, we shall not disturb the faith of others. The Church has her standards of doctrine; of course we shall never interfere with them; we only ask for ourselves to be spared interference with our private opinions.

Indulged in for this time, error goes on to assert equal rights. Truth and error are balancing forces. The Church shall do nothing which looks like deciding between them; that would be partiality. It is bigotry to assert any superior right for the truth. We are to agree to differ, and any favoring of the truth, because it is truth, is partisanship. What the friends of truth and error hold in common is fundamental. Anything on which they differ is ipso facto non-essential. Anybody who makes account of such a thing is a disturber of the peace of the Church. Truth and error are two coordinate powers, and the great secret of church-statesmanship is to preserve the balance between them.

From this point error soon goes on to its natural end, which is to assert supremacy. Truth started with tolerating; it comes to be merely tolerated, and that only for a time. Error claims a preference for its judgments on all disputed points. It puts men into positions, not as at first in spite of their departure from the Church’s faith, but in consequence of it. Their repudiation is that they repudiate that faith, and position is given them to teach others to repudiate it, and to make them skillful in combating it.

Charles Porterfield Krauth, The Conservative Reformation (Philadelphia, 1871) p.195ff.

And this one from another blog:

More Krauth Goodness

"Had our fathers surrendered the truth, even under that pressure to which ours is but a feather, how would we have cursed their memory, as we contrasted what we were with what we might have been. And shall we despond, draw back, and give our names to the reproach of generations to come, because the burden of the hour seems too heavy? God, in His mercy, forbid! If all others are ready yo yield to despondency, and abandon the struggle, we, children of the Reformation, dare not. That struggle has taught us two lessons, which must never be forgotten. One is, that the true and the good must be secured at any price. They are beyond all price. We dare not compute their cost. They are the soul of our being, and the whole world is as dust in the balance against them. No matter what is to be paid for them, we must not hesitate to lay down their redemption price. The other grand lesson is, that their price is never paid in vain. What we give can never be lost, UNLESS WE GIVE TOO LITTLE. If we give all, we shall have all. All shall come back. Our purses shall be in the mouths of our sacks. We shall have both the corn and the money. But if we are [stingy], we lose all--lose what we meant to buy, lose what we have given. If we maintain the pure Word inflexibly at every cost, over against the arrogance of Rome and of the weak pretentions of Rationalism, we shall conquer both through the Word; but to compromise on a single point, is to lose all and to be lost."

C.P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation, p. 21.

Luther Weigle became the first Lutheran to teach at Yale Divinity School, but he joined the Congregationalists. Weigle was a leader in the notorious Revised Standard Version of the Bible, similar to Jumpin' Jack Jeske and the notorious NIV.

Oddly enough, an Augustana Synod church moved to the bottom of the hill, next to YDS. That is where I worked for a year, where little Ichabod was baptized.

---

Kenneth J. Schmidt has left a new comment on your post "Quotes from Krauth":

For years I tried to convince people in the LCMS that Jerry Kieschnick was the intellectual reincarnation of S.S. Schmucker and it either went over their heads or people sneered at me. C.P. Krauth is the Lutheran hero for our time.

Worship Trends

Charles has left a new comment on your post "How Can I Question Paul Calvin Kelm":

Thanks for your insight.

I understand your point, and I'm sorry if I came across as disingenuous. I'm just trying to discern between two groups of Christians and I'm trying to ask the right questions.

On one side we have the liberal WELS and LCMS churches. The other side are churches in WELS and LCMS that identify themselves as "Confessional". I generally find that "Confessional" churches more often teach real spiritual meat, and have the strength of 2000 years of Christian tradition (hymns, liturgy, creeds) backing them. Clearly those churches are better than the Whoopee Worship tent meetings.

The disconcerting thing is that I hear a different brand of legalism coming from Confessional churches. There are many of that stripe who insist that the Western Rite is the only acceptable Order(s) of service; Many who insist (subtly) that the Worship Service is legitimized by a crucifix-processional and genuflection. One Pastor I know even says that the Book of Concord is essentially the Bible, because it is so congruous with it. That disturbs me.

This legalism is just as damaging to Sound Doctrine as it is for the liberals to be 'feeling' their way into ecstasy.

But I'm very stoked that you quoted Article VII. It's something that my pastor (at my LCMS confessional church) forgets. And it's not like I want some modern worship service or anything. The traditional service is as beautiful as it is rich. I just know it's not good to swear by one thing or the other.

Perhaps the liberals would be be more attuned to the confessionals if the confessionals could eradicate their own tendency towards legalism.

What do you make of the Conservative brand of legalism that I'm referring to? Do you find other Pastors in your circle tempted by this?
Thanks for your hard work

Charles

***

GJ - I am well aware of the Pharisaical legalism available in the dark corners of the Lutheran Church. I learned that no one is more antinomian than a legalist. For example, the Sleepy Eye CLC (sic) church was aghast that I wore an alb, and the circuit pondered the scandal of Shrove Tuesday pancakes under the discerning eye of Steve Kurtzahn. However, they had no problem with adultery or incest.

I heard a former LCA pastor claim that the Book of Concord was infallible because it was a correct exposition of the inerrant Scriptures. He even tried out his new doctrinal insight on The Surrendered Fort faculty in Ft. Wayne. No one felt edified. Later he was against Creation, turned UCC, and who knows what followed that.

I attended an Augustana Synod congregation, upgraded to LCA, where no one would have considered a non-liturgical service or hiding the Lutheran name. The sermons were Biblical. Many people today would love to have a congregation nearby where Lutheran doctrine and worship are not under regular assault by synod-sponsored, foundation-funded experiments.

There is a historic liturgy with many variations, such as using a chorale service or substituting hymns for parts of the liturgy. The real dividing line is between a genuine worship service (original sermon, real hymns, a Creed, liturgy) and a Sneaker Service (pop music, plagiarized sermonettes, no creed, no liturgy).

I am suspicious of Lutheran pastors sinuflecting toward Rome or Constantinople. How strange that Missouri and ELCA pastors are debating the same issue at once, whether to pope or semi-pope. Some Lutheran pastors cast their longing eyes across the way, claiming to be Lutheran while coveting Bathsheba, who bathes so delightfully in full view: incense, really cool robes, chanting, and no women's ordination...ever. The trouble is, they have to murder Bathsheba's husband (the Means of Grace) to have her.

I appreciated the worship services at Concordia, Ft. Wayne and St. Louis, when I was there, but I wondered about how far they wanted to go. Certain faculty members have been teaching Patristic Fundamentalism, that Lutherans must do whatever the Syrians or Antiochians were doing in 300 AD. Many Lutherans have sensed that this papistic legalism is deadly and wrong.

In contrast, my worship professor, Ulrich Leupold, taught this way. "Do not say the worship must be chanted or cannot be chanted. If it hurts the pastor's throat or the congregation's ears, it should not be chanted." We had some proto-Romanists in the class, who loved robes a bit too much. They wanted the professor to back their new-found laws, but Leupold resisted.

How Can I Question Paul Calvin Kelm

Charles has left a new comment on your post "WELS Leaders Against the Efficacy of the Word":

Kelm:
"A last word on sound doctrine is in place. Sound doctrine must be distinguished from tradition, praxis and preference. The liturgy, translation of the Bible, vestments and organizational policies of the church are not equatable with sound doctrine."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 3.


Jackson--Are you suggesting that sound doctrine demands a specific style (praxis, liturgy, organizational policy etc.) of worship and church? Are you saying that the above quote is wrong in and of itself, or only because you know what Kelm means by it?

***

GJ - First of all, the title gives away the agenda - How To Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good To Mission Prospects. Calvinists make the Word of God appealing and reasonable.

Secondly, there is Kelm's well known Calvinistic bent, such as raving about Josh McDowell's Lord, Liar, Lunatic argument.

Lastly, there is the common WELS tactic of hiding behind adiaphora (implicit above) while getting it exactly wrong, and invoking the Mystical Incantation of Wauwatosa - the Gospel creates its own forms.

Here is a question, Charles - Can you find an unqualified Lutheran statement in anything written by Kelm?

---

Charles has left a new comment on your post "How Can I Question Paul Calvin Kelm":

With all due respect to your call, education and age I must insist that there's no need to get defensive. I'm on your side. But you didn't answer reasonable and valid questions.

I don't like Kelm--I think he's a Liar and a Lunatic. But can I find an unqualified Lutheran statement in anything written by Kelm? Probably, yes; That is why he's so dangerous. Satan and friends always mix truth with lies, making it difficult to differentiate.

When you get down to details about things, (like worship practice etc.) being able to illuminate exactly how or where the heretic mixes truth and falsehood goes along way in exposing the heretic for who he is.

Now, by my lights the Kelm quote in question is not wrong, though the paper (I read it) as a whole is hideous. Sound doctrine is not equatable with tradition, praxis, preference, vestments, organizational policy, liturgy etc. The Western Rite is not prescribed in Scripture. People throughout the world may well worship God in a million different ways and still adhere to sound doctrine.
But I'm not an expert on Lutheranism, and you are an authority. I put my questions to you again:

Are you suggesting that sound doctrine demands a specific style (praxis, liturgy, organizational policy etc.) of worship and church? Are you saying that the above quote is wrong in and of itself, or only because WE know what Kelm means by it?

***

GJ - The biggest problem is not Kelm but hundreds of clergy and thousands of laity letting him get away with it. One pastor, now deceased, said he heard Kelm at a WELS gathering through the PA system. He kept thinking, "They will murder him for all that false doctrine." The pastor got into the main auditorium and people were cheering what Kelm said.

For decades the only thought condemned as false doctrine was hinting that Holy Mother WELS might be wrong about something. The Shrinkers wrapped themselves in synodical infallibility and had a blast with it.

Obviously, Kelm delivered that particular thought as a Trojan Horse.

One of the tragic notions peddled in WELS is this: "That could be understood correctly," with could drawn out into three syllables. That one often alternates with "That is a gray area of Scripture," with gray drawn out with philosophical gravity.

Most statements in my favorite Roman Catholic dogmatics book are correct by themselves, but they are not correct in the context of Roman theology. So I see Kelm using the satis est* of the Augsburg Confession to make the world safe for Calvinism, which he adores.

Picking one statement and saying, "Isn't that correct?" is disingenuous, but I appreciate the chance to say a little more.

*Article VII: Of the Church.

1] Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

2] And to the true unity of the Church it is enough [satis est] to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and 3] the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. 4] As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4:5-6.

Augsburg Confession

How The Liturgy Killed Pentecostalism in One Assemblies of God Minister

This quotation is from The Lutheran Witness:

"How I Come to Be a Lutheran: The liturgy had a lot to do with it," by Robert Shreckhise. ”Christ–centered, Gospel- centered, Word–cen-tered worship. These phrases sound familiar to people who've grown up in The Lutheran Church … But I didn't grow up Lutheran.

From my childhood, until only a few years ago, the only kind of worship services I had ever attended regularly were the fundamentalist and pentecostal kinds (emphasis added).

I had been a minister in the Assemblies of God for 16 years when my family and I came to St. Louis three years ago, so that I could pursue further studies in the Concordia Seminary graduate school. Our plan was to locate a congregation of our own denomination after we had settled into our new home.

As things turned out, though, our apartment was only half a block from a Lutheran congregation, Concordia, in Maplewood, Mo. So on our first Sunday in St. Louis, mainly for the sake of convenience, we attended services there. What a surprising, captivating and revolutionary experience it was for us!

My initial impressions of the Lutheran liturgy were that God's Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ were honored and given primacy within the servics. The promise of the forgiveness of sins for Christ's sake came in many different forms.

Kneeling in confession, I heard the words, "Almighty God in his mercy has given his Son do die for you and for his sake forgives you all your sins.

We sang in the Kyrie, "Lord, have mercy," and in the Gloria, " O Lord God, Lamb of God, ¼ who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us."

The sermon spoke of my sins and Christ's forgiveness. In the Apostle's Creed we confessed together our faith in the Triune God, who gives us salvation. Even though I was not yet confirmed, the Words of Institution [of the Holy Communion] and the words of distribution that I heard promised forgiveness "— shed for you for the remission of sins."

In the Agnus Dei, we sang again, "O Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." The several hymns during the liturgy, the Pax and Benediction added to the overall impact of the liturgy, reaffirming that all who believe are forgiven for Christ's sake and have peace with God!

The forms of the liturgy of the Word and of the liturgy of the Lord's Supper, which are as old as the church itself, are alive and full of meaning! What our [Lutheran] forefathers held to be true may be considered by some to be unimportant today. However, as one who has recently come to appreciate the Lutheran liturgy with its richness of history, meaning and comforting hope, I am convinced that the Lutheran church is in possession of a great treasure.

God, in His mercy and grace, has brought my family and me to this richness. After … adult [catechetical instruction], we now call The Lutheran Church … our home." The Lutheran Witness, Dec. 1998.


Question from Pastor Jackson – Then why did President Al Barry and His assistant Paul McCain allow the LCMS to have 500 or more Pentecostal LCMS pastors? View the Renewal in Missouri website: Renewal in Missouri.

Against the Confessions? Next Step - Against the Word of God

Easier to destroy than to put back together.

"The modern radical spirit which would sweep away the Formula of Concord as a Confession of the Church, will not, in the end, be curbed, until it has swept away the Augsburg Confession, and the ancient Confessions of the Church--yea, not until it has crossed the borders of Scripture itself, and swept out of the Word whatsoever is not in accord with its own critical mode of thinking.

The far-sighted rationalist theologian and Dresden court preacher, Ammon, grasped the logic of a mere spirit of progress, when he said: 'Experience teaches us that those who reject a Creed, will speedily reject the Scriptures themselves.'"
Theodore E. Schmauk and C. Theodore Benze, The Confessional Principle and the Confessions, as Embodying the Evangelical Confession of the Christian Church, Philadelphia: General Council Publication Board, 1911, p. 685.

WELS Leaders Against the Efficacy of the WordNotice the Yes, But Argumentation

Count the buts below.
First something Lutheran is stated, followed by a but statement qualifying and undermining what might have been faithful to the Word. This is deliberately deceptive and manipulative.

FROM MEGATRON

WELS TEACHES AGAINST

THE EFFICACY OF THE WORD ALONE



A WELS pastor asked for proof that the Wisconsin Synod teaches against the efficacy of the Word. Below are a few examples. WELS closed down a mission and got rid of a minister who teaches the efficacy of the Word alone.


Olson’s False Doctrine IS a Barrier

"We cannot add anything to the Word, but we may be able to remove the human barriers which might be in the way of the Word."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "See How It Grows: Perspectives on Growth and the Church," EVANGELISM, February, 1991, Parish Consultant for the WELS Board of Parish Services and his district's Coordinator of Evangelism. p. 3.

Think What Fuller Seminary Could Have Done for Luther

"We can't do a thing to make his Word more effective. But surely we can detract from its effectiveness by careless errors and poor judgment. It just makes good sense to utilize all of our God-given talents, to scour the field for appropriate ideas, concepts, and material (sic), to implement programs, methods, and techniques so that we do not detract from the effectiveness of the gospel we proclaim. Church growth articles, books, seminars, and conferences can offer such ideas and programs."
Pastor James Huebner, Spiritual Renewal Consultant, Notebook, School of Outreach IV, Seventeen Ways to Keep Your Church from Growing, p. 178.

Kelm – Ashamed of the Gospel

"Don't let the world paint us into a corner of antiquarianism on subjects like a six-day creation or verbal inspiration."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," J-027,303 p. 13.


Kelm – Browbeat Them into the Kingdom

"Thesis Seven: Sound Apologetics Can Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good...Logic never converted anyone; but Christianity is logically defensible, once one makes reason ministerial to God and His Word...Read C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer and Josh McDowell for practical apologetic tools. In fact, lend your copy to the prospect whose intelligence and education have become his curse. Once you've read Josh McDowell's 'Lord, Liar, or Lunatic' argument for the deity of Christ, you'll find yourself using it."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 14.

Kelm – Sound Doctrine Has No Effect on What He Practices

"A last word on sound doctrine is in place. Sound doctrine must be distinguished from tradition, praxis and preference. The liturgy, translation of the Bible, vestments and organizational policies of the church are not equatable with sound doctrine."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 3.

Kelm – Not the Word, But Felt Needs

"Non-Christians usually become good prospects for personal reasons or as I like to say: 'They come for sociological reasons and stay for theological reasons.'" [Note: this is the felt needs approach of Fuller, also endorsed by Pastor Forrest Bivens, now a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.]
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," J-438 p. 4.


Kelm – Think Big, Be Big…So Why Is WELS Shrinking with Such Big Thinkers?

"Small churches need not be small thinkers, but small-thinking churches will always remain small. Churches and people seldom go/grow beyond their expectations."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," See Waldo Werning and Robert Schuller for the same thought. Did the Apostles know this? p. 6.

Kelm – People Are Effective; the Word Is Not Efficacious

"Thesis One: Sound Doctrine Sounds Good When Good People Sound it. Normally, people respond to other people before they respond to doctrine."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 7.


Larry Oh! WELS Staph Infection –

I Only Have ONE Degree from Fuller, and It Isn’t Much

"Please stop exaggerating the amount of study that I have done at Fuller. After four years of study at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, which involved sixty-two different courses and a year of vicarage, I graduated in 1983. From 1987 to 1989 I took four courses where I was in a classroom with a Fuller instructor. That is the extent of my Fuller coursework...In addition, I have taken two courses at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and one at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Because of Fuller's liberal (would you expect anything else?) policy on transfer of credit, and because of two independent studies I undertook, I could complete the degree by simply writing a dissertation."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23

Olson – Methods Are Effective

"While only the Word is efficacious, the methods we use to minister to people with that Word may vary in their effectiveness."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "See How It Grows: Perspectives on Growth and the Church," EVANGELISM, February, 1991, Parish Consultant for the WELS Board of Parish Services and his district's Coordinator of Evangelism. p. 2.

Olson – the Word Needs Human Wisdom to Work

"Contemporary social and behavioral sciences are a working out of the reason which God has given to humanity. Granted, the assumptions of some sociologists or anthropologists may be inconsistent with the Christian faith. That calls for discernment, but it does not invalidate the proper use of the social sciences by the church; it is, however, essential that they be used in a 'ministerial' manner."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "See How It Grows: Perspectives on Growth and the Church," EVANGELISM, February, 1991, Professor, Martin Luther College, (WELS), p. 3.

Olson – See How WELS Has Shriveled with MY Pietistic Ideas from Fuller

"It is appropriate to make use of educational research to improve the functioning of our small group Bible studies."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "See How It Grows: Perspectives on Growth and the Church," EVANGELISM, February, 1991, Parish Consultant for the WELS Board of Parish Services and his district's Coordinator of Evangelism. p. 3.

Wake Me Up When It’s Over

"Wouldn't it be terrible to sleep through the Second Reformation? Cell Group Churches. The New Lifestyle For New Wineskins. Cell Group Churches Are Really Different! A 'Cell Group' Church is built on the fact that all Christians are ministers, and that there is no 'professional clergy' hired to do the work of ministry. According to Ephesians 4, God has provided 'Gifted Men' to equip 'Believers Who Are Gifted' to do the work of ministry...The life of the church is in its Cells, not in a building. While it has weekly worship events, the focus of the church is in the home Cells."
Touch Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box 19888 Houston, TX 77079 1-800-735-5865 "Cell Groups For Reaching The Unchurched Are Called...SHARE GROUPS. Touch Outreach Ministries has spent many years experimenting with the best way to train Cell Group members to form 'Sub-Groups' called SHARE GROUPS which specifically target evangelizing the unchurched. SHARE GROUPS are 'pre-Bible study' Cells, which bond relationships between three Christians and six unbelievers. A series of three small books are used over a 27-week period of training. The first book, called 'BUILDING BRIDGES, OPENING HEARTS,' guides the SHARE GROUP Team through the first part of the strategy." Touch Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box 19888 Houston, TX 77079 1-800-735-5865 p. 7. [Promoted by WELS]

Cell Groups Make the Word Effective

"The point being made here is that the reason for having home Bible study in small groups seems to have shifted from the Pietists' or parachurch groups goal of creating cells of people who will reform the church to having small groups as an integral part of a congregation's work."
Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 127.

Olson - Methods Are Effective

"Faithfulness is the standard by which God judges those he calls into the public ministry. That faithfulness may or may not be 'effective' in terms of visible results; results are up to God, not us. But part of faithfulness ought to include striving to be as 'effective' as we can be in the methods that we use to take the Means of Grace to people."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23.

Olson Talks Down to Lutherans

"To believe, teach, and confess that truth is not inconsistent with being able to recognize that one approach to ministry may be more effective than another. It is more effective to hold worship services at 10:30 am on Sunday than at midnight on Tuesday; this is true, even though it is the same Gospel that is preached at either time." [another example, preaching in German to an American audience]
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23.

Olson Slimes the Doctrine with Reformed Garbage

"Paul says that people can, in some way, 'adorn the doctrine' (KJV). Does that mean adding anything to the Gospel, thereby making the Means of Grace more 'effective'? Of course not. But it does mean that a Christian, a Christian slave in the original context, can discredit the Gospel--and thus erect a human barrier--through actions and words that contradict the profession of faith."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23. Titus 2:9-10

Olson Blows Smoke in Our Eyes, But We Still See Fuller Diplomas

"You may reply that by 'Fuller-trained' you mean anyone who has attended a workshop presented by the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth, an agency which is independent of the Seminary. If that is the case, your attribution of 'Fuller-trained' is still simply not true. It would surprise me if even half of the two dozen people on your 'WELS/ELS Who's Who' list have attended a Fuller workshop; I personally know of only five who have."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23.

Olson – Adding Up the Fuller Boys

"To the best of my knowledge, only three WELS pastors have ever taken classes at Fuller Seminary: Reuel Schulz in the 1970s, and Robert Koester and I in the 1980s."
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, "A Response to Gregory L. Jackson, Ph.D.," Christian News, 3-28-94, p. 23. [What about being trained with Kelm and Huebener? Or Bivens and Valleskey? Or everyone in missions?]

Finding the Receptive: People in Transition, by WELS Pastor James Witt –

"The Bible illustrates the people-in-transition receptivity principle very well. Converts such as Naaman, a leper; Ruth, a widow; the woman at the well, a five-time divorcee; the thief on the cross, a convict near death; were all people who in a period of transition were receptive to hearing the Gospel. The Receptivity-Rating Scale shown at left...
Paul Kelm, editor, The Evangelism Handbook, WELS Evangelism Appendix III,


Valleskey Explains Why No One Is Receptive to WELS

"a receptivity rating scale (adapted by Win and Charles Arn in 'The Master's Plan for Making Disciples,' p. 91...."

Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 58.


Peterson Leaves the Ministry on a Low Note

"In my opinion, therefore, Church Growth receptivity and 'soil testing' techniques are often unfairly criticized as if they were by definition synergistic. It is a fact that some fields are, for various historical and sociological reasons, more receptive to the preaching of the gospel and church planting than others. Our home and world mission boards make these judgments all the time in deciding where to begin churches or send missionaries."
Rev. Curtis Peterson, former WELS World Mission Board, "A Second and Third Look at Church Growth Principles," Metro South Pastors Conference Mishicot, Wisconsin, February 3, 1993 J-222 p. 12 Mark 4. [Peterson is now an avowed, publishing atheist.]

Kelm – How To Adulterate the Gospel with a Hook

"Evangelism upside-down is starting with the subjective issues of perceived reality and working back to God's objective truths of ultimate reality - sin and grace. It's offering the attendant blessings of salvation as the 'hook' to gain an audience for God's plan of salvation." [felt needs used to sell the Gospel]
Paul Kelm, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 4.

Luther – Remember Him from Church History Class?

"Likewise, in the matter of preaching, we must make selection that order may be preserved. But since all who are Christians have authority to preach, what will be the outcome? for women will also want to preach. No so. St. Paul forbids women to put themselves forward as preachers in a congregation of men and says: They should be subject to their husbands." [WELS has women in authority over men, contrary to the efficacious Word.]
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 375. Pentecost Tuesday 1 Timothy 2:11-12.


A Contrast – The Book of Concord and the Word of God

"And this call of God, which is made through the preaching of the Word, we should not regard as jugglery, but know that thereby God reveals His will, that in those whom He thus calls He will work through the Word, that they may be enlightened, converted, and saved. For the Word, whereby we are called, is a ministration of the Spirit, that gives the Spirit, or whereby the Spirit is given, 2 Corinthians 3:8, and a power of God unto salvation, Romans 1:16. And since the Holy Ghost wishes to be efficacious through the Word, and to strengthen and give power and ability, it is God's will that we should receive the Word, believe and obey it."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #29. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1073. Tappert, p. 621. Heiser, p. 289. 2 Corinthians 3:8; Romans 1:16.

Did Aderman Preach for Ski?

Someone posted that James Aderman recently preached for Ski.

Aderman helped found Church and Chicanery, serving on its board.

Ski is a board member, so they must know each other.

So far, it is just a rumor, although the Google street camera did catch the interesting photo above.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Did Aderman Preach for Ski?":

What did CORE do if anything for this out-of-work person?

***

GJ - Suffragen Bishop Katie is looking forward to another conference - on the Net. It must cost oodles of money because the sponsor can help people SAVE $100 in registering.

What did CORE do? Apparently they hired an out-of-work Chicanery to preach because Ski is so over-worked.

If you kiss enough frogs, says Aderman,
you can shrink your congregation to 50% of its size.
Of course, that takes time and a lot of work.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Did Aderman Preach for Ski?":

That man will starve before CORE gives him food.

***

GJ - I am sure they would turn on the popcorn machine - if the right grants come through.

Emergent Church Flow Chart

Will this blogger be denounced by fake-Ichabod?
Click the image to enlarge it.

The Emergent Church is the new fad, creating a place (you dasn't call it a church) for people who hate church.

"There Is No Church Growth Movement in WELS" - Wayne Mueller

VALLESKEY QUOTATIONS



"2. The distinction between a witness and an evangelist. a. Some are evangelists (Eph. 4:11-12) 1) C. Peter Wagner: 'The average church can realistically expect that approximately 10 per cent of its active adult members will have been given the gift of evangelist' (Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow, Glendale: Gospel Light, 1979, p. 176)...3) but don't expect everyone to have that gift – C. Peter Wagner (op. cit.): 'It is a misunderstanding of biblical teaching, in my opinion, to try to convince every Christian that he or she has to be sharing the faith constantly as a part of their duty to the Master."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 51. [C. Peter Wagner is a prominent Church Growth leader.]

"Assignments:...2. Prepare a term paper on the subject of evangelism and/or church growth."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 3.

"Useful Ideas for My Ministry from the Church Growth Movement...The Church Growth Movement—Strengths and Weaknesses...The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation...Church Growth Sounds Good, But...Dangers of the Church Growth Movement...Friendship Evangelism...Rationale for Friendship Evangelism..."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A

Theses very close to Valleskey's Quarterly article (Spring, 1991, p. 117). Questionnaire mentions CG "underemphasizing the Means of Grace as the power of the Holy Spirit." [That is like saying that Lutherans underemphasize the Assumption of Mary.]
David J. Valleskey, P.T. 418, The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation, Summer Quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, June 23-July 11, 1986

"This downplaying of the importance of the means of grace on the part of many in the Church Growth Movement would seem to stem from several factors." [That is like saying that many Lutherans downplay the infallibility of the pope.]
David J. Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1991 88, p. 105. Holidaysburg, 10-15-90

"There is a fourth option, which is the choice of this writer. It is the same kind of approach Lawrence Crabb, a Christian counselor, advocates over against the use of secular counseling resources. He calls it 'spoiling the Egyptians' (Exodus 12:36, KJV), after the action of Israel at the time they left Egypt, when they took from the Egyptians what would stand them in good stead on their journey."
David J. Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1991 88, p. 115. Holidaysburg, Pa, 10-15-90. Exodus 12:36. [The KJV is good only when backing a Fuller favorite!]

"Yet this writer is confident we won't go astray in adopting a 'spoiling the Egyptians' approach to the various Church Growth Movement sociological principles and the research that produced them."
David J. Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1991 88, p. 116. Exodus 12:36. [So they promoted him to president of The Sausage Factory.]

"The instructor may find it best not to distribute the Spiritual Gifts Analysis (pp. 33-49) until the end of the course, when the time has come for class members to work through it."
David J. Valleskey, Gifted to Serve, Parish Services, WELS. [Spiritual Gift Analysis was widely promoted through Fuller Seminary.]

"So, what should the members of St. John evangelism committee do with [C. Peter Wagner's] Your Church Can Grow?...They can probably pick up a few helpful hints. They might, for example, appreciate research which provides an insight into the way unchurched people think."
Prof. David Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement, Just Gathering People or Building the Church?" The Northwestern Lutheran, May 5, 1991, p. 185. See Oct 15 NWL Jeb Schaefer editorial

Bob: "..I'd like to share with you a book I came across the other day. It's interesting, easy to read, and may be the answer to our problem..." [Could this be the Bible, The Book of Concord, What Luther Says?] "Its title is Your Church Can Grow, and it's filled with all sorts of practical hints that could help us turn things around here." Author: "Bob didn't realize it at the time, but in his browsing he had stumbled upon one of many similar books written from the perspective of the church growth movement, books with such titles as How to Grow a Church, Ten Steps for Church Growth, Church Growth: Strategies that Work, and Leading Your Church to Growth."
Prof. David Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement, Just Gathering People or Building the Church?" The Northwestern Lutheran, May 5, 1991, p. 184.

"Accordingly, when Christ says, Disciple (matheteusate) all nations by baptizing them, matheteusate can mean nothing other than to make disciples, to turn unbelievers into believers; for that is the Spirit-produced effect of baptism."
David J. Valleskey, We Believe—Therefore We Speak, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1995, p. 127. Matthew 28:18-20. [Fuller Seminary promotes the manufacture of disciples.]

"It is true that only God the Holy Spirit can effect the end result of making a disciple out of an unbeliever; all we can do is sow the seed. But it is also true that our Lord, by speaking specifically of making disciples in his commission to his church, is encouraging it to keep that intended goal in mind when it does its seed sowing."
David J. Valleskey, We Believe—Therefore We Speak, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1995, p. 135. Matthew 28:18-20. [But He told His disciples to "teach all nations, baptizing them" not make disciples.]

"Is the mission of the church to preach the gospel or to make disciples? The two--preaching the gospel and making disciples--are closely connected. Making disciples is the goal, or end result, our Lord had in mind. He does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance and faith. He wants all to be saved, to come to a heart knowledge of the truth. Preaching the gospel (employing the means of grace) is the means by which the Lord will achieve his goal of making disciples and so of gathering in his elect before he returns."
David J. Valleskey, We Believe—Therefore We Speak, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1995, p. 134. [Cloaking Schwaermer doctrine.]

"David Hubbard, president Fuller Seminary: 'Not all of us have the gift of evangelism. I admire people who can lead others to Jesus Christ right on the spot...."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 52.

"Introduction to the Church Growth Movement by Lutheran authors, Hunter, Kent R., Foundations for Church Growth (New Haven, MO: Leader Publishing Co., 1983) - the author, an LC-MS clergyman who has now set up his own church growth consulting service, performs the valuable service in this 204 page book of presenting an introduction to church growth goals and terminology. Werning, Waldo, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977) - Werning, active for years in LC-MS stewardship work, explains the foundations, presuppositions and principles of church growth and then shows how a congregation can benefit from making use of certain church growth principles - of the two books listed in this category, Werning's is the more practical."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 6.

"3. Establish your goals. a. definition: goals are those things that are required for an organization to carry out its objectives ('How') 1) short-range targets 2) SMART, Specific...Measureable...Acceptable...Realistic...Timed...."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 101. [This is business advice and happens to be exactly the same as the LCA's and Fuller's. I heard this in the LCA in 1978.]

"But a cold heart can beat close to a correct mind. There are too many churches with impeccable credentials for orthodox theology whose outreach is almost nil. They are 'sound,' but they are sound asleep." [Babtist] Leighton Ford, The Christian Persuader. Valleskey asks: "true to a certain degree of us?"
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 24. [Dost we wonder why WELS is so Babtist today?]

"a receptivity rating scale (adapted by Win and Charles Arn in The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, p. 91...."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 58. [More Church Growth manufacturing of disciples.]

"The term 'spiritual breathing' originated with Dr. William Bright in his booklet, 'Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-filled Life?'"
David Valleskey, Forest Bivens, New Life in Christ, September, 1981 p. 1. [Does anyone wonder why so many Mequon graduates have turned Pentecostal? This book was so full of false doctrine, NPH would not publish it, but both authors were good enough to teach at The Sausage Factory.]

***

GJ - Why would anyone think WELS was full of Church Growth doctrine?

How are those numbers looking, after all the SMART goals have been followed?

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post ""There Is No Church Growth Movement in WELS" - Way...":

I get the idea now. Shift the responsibility and work of the Lord to the disciples. That should eliminate any accountability of synod officials and pastors. Then blame the disciples for not making more disciples.

Church and Change: The Sacred Cow Is Hamburger

Church and Change overlaps the previous WELS leadership so much that one can say the two are synonymous.

For example:

1. The Love Shack backed every Church Growth project and pastor, such as paying for training at Willow Creek with offering money.
   
2. The Love Shack engaged in a series of joint religious ventures with ELCA, including a radio worship services (Joy!) and evangelism (Church Membership Initiative, etc).
   
3. Name changes just happened to leave out the word Lutheran - Northwestern Lutheran to FIC, WELS Lutherans for Life to Christian Life Resources, The Lutheran Hymnal to Christian Worship.
   
4. WELS just happened to find discipleship in everything. Wayne Mueller turned adult education and youth education posts into Adult Discipleship and Youth Discipleship. Jesus changed His mind, telling the apostles to go out and "Make disciples."
   
5. Fuller activists were constantly promoted and bailed out of their messes, while critics of the Fuller infection were driven out.
   
6. The worst false teachers--Kelly Voigt, Floyd Stolzenburg, Mark Freier, Paul Calvin Kelm, James Huebner, Larry (Staph Infection) Olson, Rick Miller, David Valleskey, Forrest Bivens, Norm Berg--were paraded as examples to follow while faithful pastors actually worked, finding their efforts blessed by God but cursed by meddling Shrinkers.
   
7. Wild hair spending bankrupted the synod, in spite of the enormous annual giving of the Schwan Foundation.
   
8. The synodical schools were strangled out of the budget to pay for all the ridiculous CG projects that used up money faster than the Prodigal Son. As the Kuske Report shows, synod spending doubled while giving stayed the same.
   
9. Mueller-Gurgle forced the synod school tuition up so high that a whole generation of students was lost. At least one school will be closed soon.
   
10. Project Airport--linked from the WELS.net jumpword list--is another example of pursuing the fads of Fuller and ELCA, wasting money, and enforcing Schwaermer orthodoxy. Airport is big on cross-culturalism, a way to spend huge amounts of money to assuage liberal guilt.
    
11. The Church and Change missions just happen to look like Andy Stanley Babtist efforts: dishonest names, big screens, expensive sound systems, rock music, and plagiarized sermons.
    
12. The sheep are directed by the false shepherds to read the works of false teachers among the Enthusiasts and the aping Enthusiasts among the Lutherans. The last Church and Change conference was promoted from the WELS.net website jumpword list while Gurgle told pastors "Church and Change is over, gone, finished, taken apart." Meanwhile, Gurgle has joined forces with Kudu Don Patterson and has an activist brother placed at The Sausage Factory.
    

The wolf-pack is howling now. The Chicaneries have been identified and quoted too often to deny their agenda, their cost to the synod, and their future doom.

---

Brian P Westgate has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change: The Sacred Cow Is Hamburger":

Well, technically the full title of Christian Worship is Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal." Though I'm not sure anybody uses the full title . . .

***

GJ - "The congregation will now turn to Hymn 100 in Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal."

Yeah, I hear that echoing throughout WELS, especially at Christ the Rock Lutheran Church and The CORE Lutheran Church.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change: The Sacred Cow Is Hamburger":

Holy cow! Pastors have almost killed that cow. They overdo it during hallucinatory binges that they are on a mission from God. Actually the greater fools of leadership have demanded it.

Ape And Essence

Fake Inchabod apes this blog because Church and Change has no originality: clouds without rain, WELS without water.

I am glad the fake-Ichabod is presenting his case--anonymousely.

First of all, he is a coward who is afraid to sign his name, either to his posts or his comments on this blog. I do not think Joe Krohn is the blogger, because he knows how to format and has a sense of humor. Tim Felt-needs is similar. Besides - both guys have signed their names to comments and their blogs while the new/old blogger never has.

Secondly, the fake-Ichabod has to ape this blog. Envy and malice are the fruits of Church Growth, but only when leavened with deceit, stealth, and timidity.

Thirdly, the doctrinal stances of Church and Chicanery are revealed - exactly as I have stated so many times. The three hobbyhorses are:
1. Universal Objective Justification.
2. The Church Growth Movement.
3. Valleskey's We Believe, Therefore We Sneak.

Does the fake Ichabod want to promote Deutschlander's Theology of the Cross and his comments on Whoopee Worship? No-o-o-o-o.

Does the fake Ichabod want to inform readers about Pietism? No-o-o-o-o-o.

Someone suggested that I complain to Blogger, but I love seeing Church and Change reveal itself in its simian glory.

WELS' Church and Change, started with a synod grant, is secretive, but they gather to do good works. Here they stock their Food Bank for missionaries soon to be fired for the budgetary disasters of...Church and Change.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ape And Essence":

The fake Ichabod has a mission: protect and preserve the misguided C&C, its minions, and the illusion that all is well by attacking any and all Truth.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ape And Essence":

Sadly synod leadership refuses to see that it is not only part of the problems but also the cause of so many problems in synod. This includes the Great Valleskey.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ape And Essence":

Pastors repudiate the examples of Christ. If they sought to emulate Christ, they would hand-pick Christians and go preach in shopping malls, or anywhere else for that matter. They don’t. Instead they wait for unbelievers to come to them in their churches.

***

GJ - The Pietistic agenda is to have the sheep find the sheep, apart from the Means of Grace. However, the Shrinkers are not interested in unbelievers. Most of their gathering is from other churches. They have not increased the numbers of Christians in America, as they admit. Look at shrinking WELS, after 32 years of Church Growthism. Some WELS/ELS hives have grown in numbers from being anti-Lutheran entertainment centers. Kelm-Parlow's St. Mark Depere is one of those.

C&C wants to gather where they have not sown. For example, The CORE Lutheran Church aims at the WELS members in Fox Valley, not the unchurched. The services Sunday evening allow people to go to their own churches and gather for a C&C revival at the Imax Movie Theater.

Confidential to Just Kidding

***

GJ - Aren't our Missouri friends glad the McCain/Barry administration rolled back the Schwaermer tide of Romanism and Willow-Crickism?

---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Confidential to Just Kidding":

I have never posted anoymousely. I have always used my name. Mr. Meyer shows a good working knowledge of the Bible and the Confessions, as exhibited by the quality of his postings. The assumption here is that Mr. Meyer and myself both suffer from some sort of multiple personality disorder.

***

GJ - Mr. Schultz, you have to understand Church and Chicanery thinking. Because they hide, they think everyone else does. From the beginning, one particular nasty person (cussing, using foul and crude language) has posted, always anonymousely, overflowing with baseless accusations:
1. No one reads Ichabod. (He does, every day.)
2. I post my own comments. (Sure, I have time for that.)
3. I should not write about the past, the present, or the future.

I think the same foul-thinking person is the mastermind behind fake-Ichabod. No wonder he has Just Kidding and Felt-needs as followers. CGM and forgiveness without faith - their motto.

An Important Post on Autism

Dan at Necessary Roughness published a good post on autism.

I keep his blog linked in the left column.

I have no direct experience with autism and I am not well read on the subject. Congregations need to relate to children with special needs, from the gifted to the profoundly handicapped. Autism is a major challenge for parents, so the congregation should be a place where the family experiences love, understanding, and genuine help.

Why speak about the Gospel producing good works among believers when special needs are neglected?

I have had someone disabled in my household ever since 1974, with a few no-problem years in the middle. That experience has brought us into contact with many rare medical conditions, dozens of doctors, and famous medical centers. It is a special privilege to know families dealing with unusual medical conditions. The numbers are much higher than people realize, because they tend to avoid contact.

Instead of saying, "Oh no," people should say, "Here is a chance for me to learn, to see the world from another perspective."

KJV 2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

---

JR has left a new comment on your post "An Important Post on Autism":

Jesus Cares (www.jcministries.org) is an organization that provides a worship service especially designed for the developmentally disabled. They have worship services in several WELS/ELS churches.

I was fortunate enough to attend some of these services, and it truly is wonderful to see the Word at work.

---
rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "An Important Post on Autism":

Thanks for the link to this posting. There are some congregations that have been able to enroll children who are in the Autism spectrum in their schools. I personally know of some cases. We tried to do this with our son, who is now eleven years old. He is in the Autism spectrum, is non-verbal, but is fairly high functioning compared to others. We began the process about one year ago. There were a lot of restrictions placed upon us. My wife and I believe that we were set up for failure from the start. One important point in the post states that the church should listen to the parents. That never happened with us. Here is an interesting coincidence. Yesterday, we received a letter from the Board of Education stating that our son would not be able to be enrolled in the school in the coming school year. My wife's dogged persistence with the Board of Education wore them out. Last week, one of the Board members told my wife that having an Autistic child could most likely shorten the careers of the two new teachers. I knew that the rejection letter would be coming soon when that little tidbit was told to us. There will be others who will come after our son. What will they do then? I will not even begin to list the challenges that many parents face with a special needs child. One of the pastors told my wife and I that he could not even begin to understand the challenges that we have. After I thought about this, I should have said, "maybe you ought to make a feeble attempt to try and understand". We have many members who have tried to give us support. This is so typical of the way WELS laity are. They will be sincere with you, but will cower under the authority of Boards and called workers. I have left the congregation. The way that we were handled with our son's situation speaks volumes about the leadership of this congregation. It is a symptom of a greater problem.

***

GJ - The congregation and pastor should not be one more burden for the parents and child.

---

Schottey has left a new comment on your post "An Important Post on Autism":

MLC has a class called "Teaching the Exceptional Child" where they cover the entire gamut of learning and developmental disabilities.

However, working in the direct support field (as well as having a mentally challenged and mentally ill adopted brother) I do not believe the run of the mill MLC graduate has the resources to tackle the average "exceptional child"

In my field, I've met many wonderful teachers who have gone to school specifically for the purpose of teaching in a special needs class room. Having a degree based around the situation is a lot better than one class.

---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "An Important Post on Autism":

JR,
First of all, the Jesus Cares Ministries does a great job in assisting parents, congregations, and schools with materials and resources. We have gone to two of their conferences that were in our area. We have also communicated extensively with many of their staff members. I have nothing but praise for JCM. The special worship services that they have formulated are still liturgical in structure.

Also, I agree with you that many schools are too small to take on a special needs child by themselves, especially full time. But that is where the parents and JCM can try to bridge the gap. This Board of Education had little contact with JCM and did the exact opposite of what JCM recommended. As parents, we did a lot of the homework for the Board. All that they would have had to do was follow our lead. We found out that in some of the schools, the Board of Education was barely involved with any of the details. In our situation, the teacher was not even solicited for her input. The Board exercised their authority, and that was it. It was not the outcome that was so distressing. It was more the way in which it was all handled. The comment about the teachers potentially shortening their careers is a fitting example of their attitude.

Nunes Dare Call It Treason

From the LCMS to Lutheran World Relief

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 2, 2009

Worship, Bible Study Leaders for ELCA Churchwide Assembly Named


+ Aug. 22: The Rev. John A. Nunes, president and chief executive officer,
Lutheran World Relief, Baltimore

The murder of an helpless woman and the subsequent cover-up.

Henstenberg was a member of Nunes' LCMS congregation. After the murder, Nunes left the congregation, joined ELCA, and became head of the Wheatridge Foundation (liberal Lutheran).


Interview with John Nunes

Nunes - Top Ten Books for the Globally Enlightened

***

GJ - These articles show what it takes to get ahead in the Lutheran Church. Nunes was the pastor of a church where the organist, Eric Henstenberg, murdered a defenseless woman and slandered her to justify himself. That same organist, recommended by Nunes, was involved in the worship planning for the upcoming LCMS convention. Instead of being sacked and left in limbo, Nunes was promoted to a posh foundation job and promoted again to head the Lutheran World Relief organization.

Was the LCMS upset about Nunes leaving for ELCA? Not at all. The flattering article about the top ten books was written by: "Travis Scholl, 35, is managing editor of theological publications at Concordia Seminary. A graduate of Yale Divinity School (MDiv), he is an ordained Lutheran minister. Despite some time away, he and his wife are native St. Louisans, as is the child they are now raising."

Beware the DP Two StepPretending To Oppose, Then Supporting False Doctrine

If the laity and clergy celebrate too soon after the WELS convention, they may find DPs using the doctrinal shuffle, Reformed two-step on them. A good example is historical, a matter of record.

Doctrinal Pussycat Robert Mueller Finally Exposes CG
"Several of our brothers have been warning us to be careful about the leaven of The Church Growth Movement and the insidious Reformed doctrine contained within. Not a few of us have heard their warning and have thought to counter the danger by saying we will weed out the erroneous material and use only that which is proper and beneficial to the Lord's work in our congregations. Fellow-shepherds, there is some evidence to show that that is exactly what the devils wants us to think. That seems to be used to lull us and our members into sleep, and without our intending it, the soul-harming false doctrines creep in undetected, under the guise of religious printed materials and programs." Michigan District President Robert Mueller, (WELS), "President's Report to the Conferences, Spring, 1991, p. 2.

A Few Months Later, Another CG Project Is Launched by the same DP
"Since several brothers have asked about the status of Rick Miller, I provide the following information. Rick has asked for a release from his call at Huron Valley Lutheran High School in order to serve a group of people as their pastor and to help organize them as an independent Christian congregation. The group is composed of some former members of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Plymouth, of some former members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Livonia, and some people who have left LC-MS churches. The group has stated that it has a different philosophy and style of ministry, which includes drama, contemporary music and a thematic form of worship and liturgy, which allows for greater personal participation by its female members. The group has also stated that it would like to retain fellowship relations with our Wisconsin Synod." District President Robert Mueller, President's Report to the Conferences, Fall, 1991 Note: the congregation has women lectors p. 2f.

"As an independent group it does not plan to use the name 'Lutheran' in its title. It will be known as The Crossroads Christian Church...For the present, Rick Miller is still a pastoral member of the WELS...At that time [January 31, 1992, submission of a constitution] the fellowship question will be determined on the basis of the group's doctrinal statements and practices." District President Robert Mueller, President's Report to the Conferences, Fall, 1991 p. 3.

***

GJ - Rick Miller was obviously warmed up to Enthusiasm, because he soon began recruiting members with the following siren song:

"Church music doesn't have to sound 'different.' It can sound just like the music people listen to every day. At Crossroads you won't find a pipe organ, but you will find great music appealing to a variety of tastes...Who says church has to be boring? In many of our services the Crossroads Drama Team makes us laugh or cry, and take a hard look at ourselves."
Crossroads Community Church,
Pastor Rick Miller (WELS).

"Would you be interested in a church that offers...Practical and Relevant Messages? Contemporary Music and Drama? Friendly People Who Are Interested in You? A Non-threatening Environment Where You Can Investigate a Relationship with God? Maybe Crossroads Is For You!...Targeted for September, '92, Sunday morning 'seeker' service designed to introduce Christianity in the most practical relevant way possible!"
Crossroads Community Church,
Pastor Rick Miller (WELS).

Do not gasp in amazement, because David Valleskey himself, the Sausage Factory president, promoted Sneaker Services in his epic tome, We Believe, Therefore We Sneak. Any resemblance to The CORE, Rock N Roll, Latte, and Victory of the Movie Screen...purely a coincidence.

Crossroads became an Evangelical Covenant Church sharing the same doctrinal statements with CrossWalk in Phoenix. Is DP Mueller's mission morphing back into WELS - or is CrossWalk morphing into Evangelical Covenant Pietism?

Ski's DP is known for denouncing Church and Chicanery with one audience and purring over it with another group, depending on who is there.

Look for the Union Label

Marketing executives came up with the Edsel, a car no one wanted.
Synod executives fostered the Church Shrinkage Movement, draining the coffers to fund Fuller, Willow Creek, Trinity Deerfield,
and who knows how many other beehives.
In this Photoshop creation, Craig Groeschel is driving the car
that Huebner is trying to sell to everyone.

Ichabodians only need to look for the union label to find the church officials and professors who are indifferent to doctrine.

Spener's Pietism led to the creation of Halle University, the center of Pietism in one generation and a Unitarian school in the next.

Robert Schuller, who considers himself the founder of Church Growth, went from being liberal Reformed to being pan-religious. The only religion he rejects is orthodox Christianity. Schuller invented the entertainment style church with no denominational label in the 1950s, because denominational identification hurts recruitment. "Doctrine divides, but good works unite." WELS is currently aping the Schuller of the 1970s.

The unionist clergy are those who recommend Church Shrinkage materials for their members and underlings. Most of the WELS leadership came through Fuller, Willow Creek, Trinity Deerfield or all three. Since the executives all went for training, everyone else was excused for thinking it was unionism. Besides--and this is the fun part--it became their secret little club and a great way to fellowship with Missouri.

Now they can go to Mequon and get the same training. As I wrote before, the Sausage Factory graduates were loaded up with Reformed books required by their unionistic sem professors. That was true already in the 1980s.

"'Church growth.' I've seen people cringe when they hear those words. I think I know why. They react negatively because they feel 'church growth' implies an obsessive fixation with numbers and statistics."
Pastor James Huebner, Spiritual Renewal Consultant, Notebook, School of Outreach IV, Seventeen Ways to Keep Your Church from Growing, p. 178.

"We can't do a thing to make his Word more effective. But surely we can detract from its effectiveness by careless errors and poor judgment. It just makes good sense to utilize all of our God-given talents, to scour the field for appropriate ideas, concepts, and material (sic), to implement programs, methods, and techniques so that we do not detract from the effectiveness of the gospel we proclaim. Church growth articles, books, seminars, and conferences can offer such ideas and programs."
Pastor James Huebner, Spiritual Renewal Consultant, Notebook, School of Outreach IV, Seventeen Ways to Keep Your Church from Growing, p 178.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Look for the Union Label":

Yes, Jay Adams was all the rage in the WELS seminary, and he was and is only one of the Reformed writers that Mequon promote. Here's one of Adam's books I got rid of a while ago:

What to Do on Thursday: A Layman's Guide to the Practical Use of the Scriptures

Pietism Means Doctrinal Indifference and Unionism

Philipp Jakob Spener (1635 - 1705) was the first union theologian.
All the Shrinkers are unionists too.

Spener got his idea of cell groups from Labadie, a Reformed leader. The reason for inventing a method to develop piety is not mysterious. The Reformed do not trust the Means of Grace and often make fun of this basic Scriptural doctrine. They do not trust the Means of Grace because they follow Zwingli and Calvin in separating the Holy Spirit from the Word. That is the definition of Enthusiam, Luther's term. Enthusiasm is the foundation of all doctrinal error.

Schmid (History of Pietism, NPH) is excruciatingly fair with Spener, accepting the Pietist's denial of Reformed influence and giving details about Spener's Lutheran doctrine. However, there is also plenty of evidence that Spener was against or unconcerned about the Real Presence and baptismal regeneration.

WELS, the LCMS, the Little Sect on the Prairie, and ELCA have one thing in common--besides Thrivent--they all emerged out of Pietism and began sinking back into it.

Pietism always looks for results rather than Scriptural faithfulness. Note Bergendoff's motto, below, "Doctrine divides, but service unites." Arguing over doctrine is bad while uniting with anyone over good works is good.

Pietist Shrinkers cannot be convinced that unionism is wrong because their hearts are ablaze with the results they will get. Therefore God has denied them their dreams and delusions, leaving everyone else with the overdue bills.

Pietist/Shriners do not trust the Word, so they sell love as the cause of conversion and growth. This works well for them because any criticism of Pietism/CGM is unloving. They want to accept everyone, they say, but they denounce the orthodox as dead and unloving. After insinuating themselves into every nook and cranny of their synods, they cry out that the orthodox are divisive.

Doctrine divides - it divides the sheep from the goats.

Luther taught clearly, following the Scriptures - that the Word, not love, converts. Love is one of the fruits of the Gospel.

The fruitlessness of the Pietist/Shrinkers is shown in their hatefulness toward others, their relentless plagiarizing of the Reformed, and their burning desire to end Lutheran worship, doctrine, and practice.

Is it any wonder that the WELS Chicaneries--and LCMS Shrinkers--want to hear the wisdom of Babtists Ed Stetzer and C. Peter Wagner? Is anyone shocked that Shrinkers substitute gimmicks for the Word? Are Shrinkers not flattering, deceiving belly-servers, as Paul described in Romans 16?

Their movements--often renamed for marketing purposes--are foul and disgusting. The Church Growth Movement has ravaged Protestantism and withered the Lutheran Church. Warren made it Purpose Driven, even worse in doctrine. Someone came up with Contagious Churches (getting close to honesty, if we think of the Swine Flu). Now they are selling BMs (Becoming Missional) and the Emerging Church.

Spener's Reformed doctrine and his cell groups are at the center of it all.