Monday, February 21, 2011

Kelming Jacobs Is Good for the Soul

Here's a quote from H.E. Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith.

Chapter XXXI, The Church's Confessions. Question 14 (pp.454-455) Are not the controversies settled in our Confessions merely such as belonged to the Church in Germany over three hundred years, and, therefore, of no very great importance to us in America? The errors controverted reappear wherever the Gospel is preached. The questions of the XVI Century are just as living and important today, as they were then. A Church which assumes to be independent of the labors and testimony of its fathers, in so far as they are true, will ultimately be called upon to pass through the same experience, and to return to their testimony which it had deemed unnecessary.

Rich People Do Not Like Babies

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Herescope: The Great Heretical Idea:":

LifeNews.com reveals that the recent "Billionaires Club" meeting ended in population control which means for them abortion.

"Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Some of the richest people in the world met secretly in New York recently and talked about their favorite causes. The group, which includes some of the most well-known business people in the world, adopted population control, which would undoubtedly include abortion, as their main cause.

http://www.valuesvoternews.com/2009/05/oprah-winfrey-warren-buffet-bill-gates.html

ELCA Provides Input for Federation Regional Committee Work, Coordination - News Releases - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

"Leave your friends with the recording equipment behind, Brett.
And then maybe we will not prosecute you this time."

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 21, 2011

ELCA Provides Input for Federation Regional Committee Work, Coordination
11-020-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) joined other regional Lutheran World Federation church leaders here Feb. 11-12 to develop proposals for how they will work together to fulfill the Federation's mission in North America. The church leaders shared updates on their respective church bodies and provided input into the Federation's strategic planning process.
     Committee members expressed "strong affirmation" to strengthen the Lutheran communion, said the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, assistant to the ELCA presiding bishop for ecumenical and inter-religious affairs.
     The Lutheran World Federation, based in Geneva, is 145 member churches in 79 countries throughout the world. Together these churches represent more than 70 million Christians.
     Meeting participants were representatives of member churches of the Lutheran World Federation North America Regional Committee: the ELCA; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), Winnipeg; and the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad, Toronto.
     Joining McCoid from the ELCA were Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer, who also serves as the Lutheran World Federation treasurer and vice president of the North America region, and two members of the Federation Council, Mikka McCracken, ELCA Global Mission; and the Rev. Dr. Robin J. Steinke, dean, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.). The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, is also a council member but was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. The Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission, attended as a member of the regional committee.
     The Federation's North America region no longer has a designated staff person working in the region. In response, members of the North America Regional Committee agreed to present the proposals for shared work together to the governing bodies of regional Federation member churches.
     Committee members agreed that their purpose is to "strengthen the Lutheran Communion by bearing witness to the fullness of Christ’s body for and with the world as a global community exercising visible solidarity among member churches. This solidarity is expressed in altar and pulpit fellowship among all member churches."
     Members agreed that they will propose:
+ to coordinate decisions and actions of the Lutheran World Federation to entities within each North America region church body and monitor reception of those actions.
+ to creatively imagine ongoing ways for regional work in conversations and connections to unfold.
+ to commit to ongoing conversations to recognize "our mutual giftedness and mutual poverty, so that we receive the witness, gifts, prayers, and expertise from the (Lutheran) Communion."
+ to commit to revitalize and strengthen connectivity in the region to participate more fully in the life of the Communion.
+ to further the region's identity as Federation member churches and share this information at all levels (congregations, synods and national church bodies).
     Members of the North America Regional Committee agreed they will include representatives from the member church bodies and Federation Council members from each church body in the region. North America Regional Committee members also asked the Federation to designate a representative to the regional committee.

Updates from North America region church bodies presented
     Church leaders in the North America region reported changes in staffing and funding at the national level, along with work to improve and build relationships.
     ELCA: The churchwide organization recently announced a significant reorganization of its structure and staff. Jackson-Skelton said the organization has taken a "longer view" of its work. McCoid said the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, to be held in August in Orlando, Fla., will consider recommendations from an ELCA task force that has studied possibilities for the ELCA's future. Malpica Padilla said ELCA leaders have remained in conversation with a few global companion churches regarding the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly actions on human sexuality. Those contacts have helped improve some relationships, he said.
     Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada: The Rev. Susan C. Johnson, national bishop and Federation Council member, reported that the church is undergoing a reorganization process at the national level, and it will likely be a topic of discussion at its national convention in July in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A task force is preparing a draft of a social statement on human sexuality for presentation to the Church Council and the national convention, she said.
     Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad: The Rev. Hannes Aasa, Consistory representative and Canadian dean, reported that the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad and the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church agreed to establish closer ties, including one archbishop instead of two. Aasa said the Estonian Church Abroad prefers to keep its LWF membership as does the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
      North America Regional Committee members offered input into the Federation's strategic planning process. The Federation Council is expected to act on a proposed strategy in June, to be implemented in 2012 for six years.
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     Information about the North America Regional Committee of the LWF is athttp://www.ELCA.org/lwf on the ELCA website.

"Don't I look studly in this black outfit?"

***

GJ - Of course, Missouri and WELS have nothing to do with the Lutheran World Federation. Wink. Wink.

The denominations all have overlapping jurisdictions, which are handy for money-laundering. WELS does the same thing. So does Missouri. The ELS uses cookie jars, for transparency.

One group can give another group money, which is then distributed to another agency or multiple entities. Money moves outside the denomination that way.

I learned about this while studying annual reports and asking for information. The LCA wanted me to raise money but where it went was a big secret. Everything is missions, reaching out with love for the Gospel. When the money fails, dozens of staffers get fired. That is what they mean about love and outreach.

Synods are 99% salary-based. If you want to find the apostates, look at the money trail. The ecclesiastical Left is poor at giving but aggressive in finding and spending the loot.

The Hunger Walks, once popular in many communities, were ways to raise money for the gay-Marxist National Council of Churches, whose work dovetails with the World Council of Church, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Reformed entity - all the world agencies based in Geneva, Switzerland. The world groups overlap with each other too. The Mafia should study how this works.

Eventually people connected the Hunger Walks with the NCC, and I understand the NCC had to separate from its social do-gooder agency (legally at least). Once that happened, the NCC was really on a starvation diet - no loot for their staff. They were charging a fee to the do-gooders, which used up a lot of the Hunger Walk money before the do-gooders got their hands on it.

A Leftist pastor phoned me to participate with my church in a Hunger Walk. When I identified it with the NCC, he went ballistic denying it. I said, "Even if my congregation approved, and they never will, I would not participate in any form or give to the NCC."

Are the Intrepids Catching On or Catching Up?
Dealing with the Nasty Changers

There is a God has left a new comment on your post "Worship at The SORE: Multi-Sites Are Parasites":

Glad to see Intrepid Lutherans picked up the idea:

http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2011/02/come-to-our-church-where.html

***

GJ - The Intrepids are far too deferential. They are obeying the rules laid down by Church and Change but always ignored by Church and Change.

Why not question their motives after decades of false doctrine? The title of the scrofulous money-making group gives it all away - Church and Change. They want to change the doctrine, and they have.

If the Intrepids want to play Elmer Fudd, they will get the same results they always have - none.

"P-p-pardon me. I am just a b-b-bum. And I know n-n-nothing. May I b-b-bother you to ask a single, solitary, unworthy q-q-question?"

The Church and Changers have Deputy Doug backing them up. What's to fear?

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revfrsds has left a new comment on your post "Are the Intrepids Catching On or Catching Up?Deali...":

Hey! I resemble that remark!

"Shhhhh!" Be warry warry qwiet. I'm hunting heretics!"

Heretic season. Doug season. Heretic season. Doug season. Heretic season. Doug season. FIRE!

Spence

Your Christian Apostasy Calendar -
Learn It.
Remember it!

The Great Physician, by Norma Boeckler

I have read extensively about intellectual history, especially as it relates to Christian theology. The following is a summary of major trends, showing how we got to this miserable situation, where "conservative" Lutheran leaders promote New Age happy-clappy entertainment services, man-centered for the Me Generation. The links provide general information for the typical reader. Google the topic for millions of websites on these topics.

Reformation. The Socinians were the Unitarians of the 16th century, but not very significant at that time.
Sixteenth Century, Swiss Reformation. Rationalism spread from two sources. One was the Swiss Reformation, because Zwingli and Calvin had rationalistic tendencies that grew in Calvinism.
Seventeenth Century. The second source for Lutherans was Pietism, which blended Calvinism and Lutheran doctrine, supplanting orthodoxy with "love," cell groups, and ecumenical missions.
Eighteenth Century. In the European universities, like Halle (citadel of Pietism), the professors taught the Bible as a book written by and selected by man, subject to rationalistic analysis. Nothing miraculous in the Bible could be true, and Jesus was just a good man who died. Reimarus was the first of these professors. Schleiermacher (Halle student and professor) was the most significant theologian, because he bridged the gap between the old Pietism and the new Rationalism (19th century until now).
Nineteenth Century. Wescott and Hort, plus Tischendorf - these men undermined trust in the traditional text of the New Testament (see the ending of Mark). By discovering sources without a real history (Tischendorf) and inventing rules for validity (Wescott and Hort), they made the New Testament text a fun puzzle anyone could put together or take apart. Read the Wescott and Hort link if you want to find out how heretics completely undermined the KJV.
Nineteenth Century. Various Evangelicals accepted Darwin's evolution, forging a compromise doctrine that allowed for God working through evolution. This amalgamation sabotaged the doctrine of Creation, the efficacy of the Word, but it was consistent with the rationalism of Calvinism, making the faith reasonable and attractive.
Early Twentieth Century. The Lodge Movement reached its peak in America, promoting New Agism and prosperity religion via the Masonic Lodge and various other lodges (Modern Woodmen, Odd Fellows), plus the copy-cat lodges - the KKK and the Mormon sect.
Twentieth Century. The adulterous theologians Karl Barth and Paul Tillich wowed the academics and journalists. Like Karl Rahner (Roman Catholic), they used theological terms to deny the articles of faith.
Late Twentieth Century. The Barthians took over Fuller Seminary's faculty and kicked inerrancy out altogether. Robert Schuller's New Agism (via Norman Vincent Peale, who plagiarized his best-seller from an obscure New Ager) and McGavran's sociology statistics completely replaced Christian doctrine with CG principles.
The "conservative" Lutherans, profoundly influenced by liberal academics in their midst, kicked the KJV out of the publishing house and pews. They slowly abandoned the historic liturgy in favor of entertainment seeker services.
Twenty-first Century. Except for a few, no one really fought Church Growth. Now the coast is clear for New Agism to dominate, in the name of Emergent Church, Becoming Missional, "transforming lives," and so forth. This is a blend of motivational business-speak and Asian paganism. The powers of the universe (spunky little obedient spirits) will give you everything you demand, if you demand it in great detail. Like the Masonic Lodge, every Christian term used has pagan content behind it. The Christian terms used are camouflage for New Agism.

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LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Your Christian Apostasy Calendar - Learn It. Remem...":

Matthew 24:24 (King James Version)

24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Herescope: The Great Heretical Idea:

The Great Heretical Idea:

Oprah and Eckhart Do the New Age Shift

Part 1

By Warren Smith

“Get ready to be awakened.”[1]

– Oprah

“The twenty-first century will be the time of awakening, of meeting The Creator Within. Many beings will experience Oneness with God and with all of life. This will be the beginning of the golden age of the New Human, of which it has been written; the time of the universal human, which has been eloquently described by those with deep insight among you.

“There are many such people in the world now – teachers and messengers, Masters and visionaries – who are placing this vision before humankind and offering tools with which to create it. These messengers and visionaries are the heralds of a New Age.”[2] [bold added]

– “God”
Neale Donald Walsch
Friendship With God

“…[T]his book itself is a transformational device that has come out of the arising new consciousness. The ideas and concepts presented here may be important, but they are secondary. They are no more than signposts pointing toward awakening. As you read, a shift takes place within you.”

“This book’s main purpose is not to add new information or beliefs to your mind or to try to convince you of anything, but to bring about ashift in consciousness, that is to say, to awaken…. It will change your state of consciousness or it will be meaningless. It can onlyawaken those who are ready. Not everyone is ready yet, but many are, and with each person who awakens, the momentum in the collective consciousness grows, and it becomes easier for others.”[3] [bold added]

– Eckhart Tolle
A New Earth

“Don’t get attached to any one word. You can substitute ‘Christ’ for presence, if that is more meaningful to you. Christ is your God-essence or the Self, as it is sometimes called in the East. The only difference between Christ and presence is that Christ refers to your indwelling divinity regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not, whereas presence means your awakened divinity or God-essence.”[4] [bold added]

– Eckhart Tolle
The Power of Now

I stared at the huge stack of books in the Barnes & Noble bookstore. The title of the book was A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life Purpose. The title sounded like a new book by Purpose-Driven pastorRick Warren, but it was actually the latest selection in Oprah’s Book Club. A colorful orange and blue paper band around the book invited the reader to “Join Oprah and Eckhart for a worldwide web event… Every Monday night beginning March 3, 2008 for 10 weeks… Register at Oprah.com/anewearth.” A personal message from Oprah stated: “Get ready to be awakened.”

It was clear to me that Oprah was no longer content to just popularize New Age beliefs, she would now teach them. This was a bold move by a woman who was obviously willing to do everything in her power – which is considerable – to convert the world to her New Age worldview.

The Shift

With friend and New Age author Marianne Williamson simultaneouslyteaching A Course in Miracles daily on Oprah & Friends XM Satellite Radio, Oprah now offers two very public New Age classes. Theseclasses are teaching millions of people that the way to save themselves and the planet is not by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but rather by accepting “the Christ within.” For someone who probably has an aversion to traditional proselytizing, Oprah is giving new meaning to the word “proselytize” as she continues to push her New Age beliefs upon the world. But, in defense of her role as a New Age proselytizer, Oprah would probably be the first to tell you – it’s all for the good of the world. She would also probably argue that what she is teaching is not New Age, but a “New Spirituality.” Curiously, that just happens to be the same term that some emerging church leaders like Brian McLaren are using as they introduce New Age ideas and language into the church.[5]

More can be found at the link.

Readers, if you learn the language of the New Agers, you will recognize the clever words in the false teaching of Mark and Avoid Jeske. The gutless leaders of Missouri, WELS, and the Little Sect will not do anything.

Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter - NYTimes.com

Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Michael McDonald of San Francisco used to post his videos on a blog, but now he uses Facebook.

By VERNE G. KOPYTOFF

Published: February 20, 2011

REPRINTS

SAN FRANCISCO — Like any aspiring filmmaker, Michael McDonald, a high school senior, used a blog to show off his videos. But discouraged by how few people bothered to visit, he instead started posting his clips on Facebook, where his friends were sure to see and comment on his editing skills.

TV Industry Taps Social Media to Keep Viewers’ Attention(February 21, 2011)

“I don’t use my blog anymore,” said Mr. McDonald, who lives in San Francisco. “All the people I’m trying to reach are on Facebook.”

Blogs were once the outlet of choice for people who wanted to express themselves online. But with the rise of sites like Facebook and Twitter, they are losing their allure for many people — particularly the younger generation.

A Seldom Read Book Among the Confessional Lutherans

"Son, you drank at each bar in Watertown in one night. Congratulations.
Now open up the Book of Concord, for pity's sake."

Grey Goose:

I had used the packing list that came with my used Triglotta as a bookmark. In returning to part of the Apology, I noticed on the packing list the seller's description of the book. The last two sentences: "The true doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Book appears little read."

If that doesn't say it all.....

WELS Layman Makes a Helpful Suggestion

Looking too far might end up spotting Knapp, the founding father of Universal Objective Justification.

raklatt (http://raklatt.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Jeski Change or Die! Inspirations: Rock MusicAnd T...":

This stuff really needs to be looked into. A thorough investigation. A Sigmoid Oscopy.

"Powerless" Lutheran Executives Make Me Laugh

Like the Colossus of Rhodes, the Colossus Corrodes is an engineering marvel, its precarious posture between three synods kept stable by boatloads of taxpayer money and foundation grants.

This familiar excuse for doing nothing comes from every synod executive:

"I don't have the power to do that."

I heard that from Paul McCain in the Purple Palace. Newly elected Al Barry did not have the power to do anything about Church Growth, McCain claimed. He explained more about the strange political structure of the LCMS.

I said then, as I do now, the power to teach the Word is the greatest power of all. That is the power never used by synod executives, professors, and seldom by parish pastors. The laity have been willing to pick up the unused Sword of the Spirit, the Word, tossed aside by the clergy.

I have heard for many months that the Gang of Four DPs (State of Wisconsin DPs plus the Minnesota DP) are blocking WELS SP Schroeder. Really? They keep him from writing to the entire synod? They prevent him from speaking?

The last I heard a Lutheran Synod President say anything definitive about doctrine took place when Jack Preus headed the Missouri Synod. The good that he did was doctrinal, because the political moves were temporary and undone by another convention or SP.

The decisions being made in Missouri, WELS, and the Little Sect on the Prairie center around money and political maneuvering. The love of money is the root of all evil, as Shakespeare said. And political battles are the devil's playground.

The Syn Conference has diapraxed itself into being a weak, indecisive, ineffective shadow of ELCA, always participating the same errors, forever in fellowship with the apostates, but constant in maintaining a holier-than-thou attitude about them.

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norcal763 has left a new comment on your post ""Powerless" Lutheran Executives Make Me Laugh":

YES!!! All Schroeder would have to do is commandeer the WELS Connection Infomercial one month and the captive congregations would hear it all on the same Sunday morning. Or put it in FICL-no, bad idea; nobody would see it. The e-letter would work, especially the bulletin-ready format. Point is that Schroeder addresses the faithful on a regular basis; all he has to do is man-up with what he says and he could begin to restore order immediately.

"one little Word shall fell him"
Jim Becker

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Jeski Change or Die! Inspirations:
Rock Music
And The Sigmoid

Since Mark Jeske and Ski are hotter than Georgia asphalt for rock music, this little assault on the brain and eardrums is probably well known to them.

Using a rock song as a title for their pan-Lutheran ministry conference shows how cool they are (in their imagination).

Kerwen Steffen has this sigmoid growth curve concept in his materials.

Here is an earlier Ichabod post about Steffen, a Jeske buddy.

A short reference to it is found here.

I hope they present the sigmoid concept at the Jeske conference. Perhaps Dr. Ben Dover will be able to discuss it. He should bring his lovely nurse, Ann Kauf.

Staff Infection:
You Are Paying for the Valleskey-Olson Agenda
From Fuller Seminary

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Fuller Wrecked the Synods - That Is What I Publish...":

I remember when the Staff Ministry Program was a mere twinkle in the eye of some after a synod or district convention back in the 90's. I asked a called worker just what it was that they hoped to accomplish with an SMP. The reply was something like, "we are not sure what we want, or how we are going to achieve it. But, we need staff ministers". I found that answer rather veiled and elusive. The timing also seemed suspicious. It came up right after the NWC/DMLC amalgamation. I would have been accused of being a conspiracy theorist if I had surmised that there was an agenda.

***

GJ - The WELS ministerium limits its criticism of the Fuller agenda to calling Lawrence Otto Olson "Larry Oh!" and "Our Staff Infection."

One of the Intrepids said, "Everyone knows he is a heretic, so he is harmless."

By establishing "Staff Ministry" at Mary Lou College, under the direction of Larry Olson, DMin, Fuller Seminary, the Church and Changers were able to create their own ministerium on the cheap. The list of women and men serving as "Staff Ministers" is enormous for a small sect.

Various other alternative programs and Church and Change Seminary of Asia do the same thing. The people in charge are Changers, with Changers running the supervisory boards. The results are predictable, and WELS members pay millions for it.

SP Schroeder supports all of this folly, by going along with and saying nothing.

Septuagesima Sunday - Part II

By Norma Boeckler

Septuagesima Sunday, 2011

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 361 O Jesus King 4:1
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior 4:24

God Is Gracious, Not Fair

The Hymn #462 I Love Thy Kingdom 4:21
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #277 I Heard the Voice 4:57

1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

KJV Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Septuagesima Sunday
Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy holy word hast called us into Thy vineyard: Send, we beseech Thee, Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may labor faithfully in Thy vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Thy word and do Thy will, and put our whole and only trust in Thy grace, which Thou hast bestowed upon us so plenteously through Thy Son Jesus Christ, that we may obtain eternal salvation through Him, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

God Is Gracious, Not Fair
Luther said, humorously, “Mean-spirited people will use this parable.”

Lenski:

But the chief point is that these laborers insist on a definite wage, so much per day; and not until this agreement is reached do they go to work. Such a contract was not demanded by the other laborers who went to work later. These first laborers thus manifest a mercenary spirit. We hear the voice of Peter in 19:27, “What, then, shall be ours?”
Since this is a parable which was composed in order to teach certain facts about the kingdom, the entire first group of laborers is pictured as being mercenary. This is done, not only to show how in the end some first shall find themselves last, but also to accord these laborers the highest justification, such as it is, for their mercenary expectation that they ought to receive more pay than the rest (v. 12). Jesus lets this group alone work the entire day.
The moment we ask what is meant by the denarius we must consider a variety of interpretations. The interpretation of this detail necessarily involves the entire parable and centers in the main thing Jesus intends to teach. Thus, if the denarius is Christ himself as our sacrifice, the parable merely says that in the end all workers will be alike, no matter whether some were mercenary and murmured when they received their pay. We have the same result when the denarius is thought to mean the image of God, or as many still think, eternal life. This view leads those who interpret thus to dissociate the words about the first and the last spoken in 19:30 and 20:16 from the parable, or they interpret these words so that the first become last only by receiving a rebuke, and the last first by receiving no rebuke. Then Jesus should have said, “Thus there will be neither first nor last, but all will be alike.” It should not be difficult to see that these interpretations are unacceptable. How can anyone who has Christ, the divine image, or eternal life, murmur in the end? What can any man expect to receive more (v. 10) than these treasures? If this “more” is to be an especial degree of glory in heaven, the parable itself in no way mentions this glory. Then, too, these interpretations teach that by our labor we earn Christ, the image, or life eternal, a doctrine that is contrary to the teaching of Christ and of the Scriptures.
In the face of this Luther gives up the effort to interpret the denarius: Man muss nicht achten, was Pfennig oder Groschen sei. Few have cared to follow him. Melanchthon, Luther’s associate, found the solution. The denarius stands for the temporal blessings, the bona temporalia, of the work in the church; and the goodness (“because I am good,” v. 15) is life eternal and grants the bona spiritualia. The laborers who regard themselves first receive only the former and thus become last; the rest, who are considered last, receive both bona and are thus made first. No man who enters the visible church and accepts the call to work in this church shall be left without his due pay. The Lord will not have it said that any man worked for him without pay. The blessings of even an outward connection with the church are many. All her associations and her influences are highly beneficial. They shield us against evils that ravage the world and cause endless harm; they surround us with the highest morality and with all that is best for mind and for heart in this life. And often the church offers social, business, and other advantages of no mean value. They are all included in the denarius of the parable. But eternal life is not one of these.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN. : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 765

Not Fair!
The first appeal children learn is, “Not fair!” They apply the rule of the law, or tradition, to the upset being faced. Often law is debated by more law.

This parable offers us a bizarre example of hiring people to illustrate that God is not man, that He rules by grace rather than Law.

The parable is also a rebuke to those who trust in the righteousness of works, those who “labored in the burning sun.”

People remember this parable because the householder hired people for a specific wage at the beginning of the day. He continued to invite people to work during the day but made no specific promise after the first one.

At the end of the day, the first-hired reckoned they would get much more than the penny a day promised, because they worked all day and the others worked far less than they did. In terms of paying laborers, that was fair.

So they grumbled loudly to the owner, telling Him how unfair He was.

This is how we respond to God without the Gospel, or when we forget the Gospel. We say, “Not fair!” But God is gracious rather than fair.

This parable is an additional illustration of Isaiah 55, often called the Means of Grace chapter. God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.”

Mankind understands fairness in religion. That is why every world religion, every pagan religion of old, and every perversion of the Christian faith is based upon works earning God’s forgiveness.

In our natural (un-converted) state, we think this way. We easily revert to it too. People will mock believers and say, “Why do Christians have so many troubles if God is so powerful and loving?” That seems terribly unfair.

Believers also realize that they face constant temptations, which they never have if they believe nothing and do whatever they wish. That is also why the Christian frauds of today turn Christianity into a cornucopia of material benefits, since people will flock to have what their itching ears desire.

The grace of God means that He has taken care of our salvation, first by having His beloved Son Jesus die on the cross for our sins. Secondly, He appointed the Means of Grace so that we would be converted and sustained by the Word. He also saw to it that we would have His clear, infallible Word to be our guide, and faithful ministers and leaders to preserve the Gospel in each era.

One Catholic girl tried to defend Purgatory to Little Ichabod, many years ago. Her argument was right out of the Catholic textbook. “It’s only fair that we pay for our sins after we die. It’s not fair to have many sins forgiven, just the same as a few sins.”

LI said, “It’s not fair to have the sins of the world paid for on the cross. God is not fair. He is merciful.” The girl’s argument collapsed.

Owner’s Rebuke
The Owner’s rebuke is a lesson by itself.

13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

I run into this as a teacher. I am supposed to show students how to write better. Recently a student told me off for doing exactly that. About 90% of the class liked exactly what I did, but he saw it as evil. Thus many ordinary roles are seen as evil – parent, police officer, minister. Many people see ministers as condemning them. They also see the Scriptures as a message of condemnation.

On a much larger scale, people look at God as evil because He does not conform to their demands.

Christians do that too. Clergy will wheedle and play politics for the job they think they deserve. Or they cringe in their studies, afraid to do their job of rebuking with the Word, lest they find punishment instead of a free trip to the Holy Land.

The evil does not come from God but from the works-righteousness of the individual. Either the person turns away from the Christian faith because it is not a rewards program according to his demands, or he gives up on the Christian faith because the cross is “not fair” and evil people seem to get all the glory.

WELS Layman Comment

I think the lay (LCMS) staff (WELS) ministry thing ,if you will, is a back door to women preachers.

When we let non-Lutherans(Fuller,etc) train our pastors, what can be expected but false doctrine and practice?

29a

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Doctrinal Morons Sell the Fuller Seminary Toxins -
For a Hefty Fee

old-curmudgeon (http://old-curmudgeon.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Marketing Sees Through Fuller Seminary - Lutheran ...":

While Fuller provides misguided education, it took lame-brained pastors with their political shenanigans to soak it up and peddle it to their flocks.

***

GJ - I contend that the Enthusiasm of the Syn Conference prepared the leaders to receive the nonsense of Fuller Seminary with joy and approbation. These leaders got synodical offering money and Thrivent grants to pay for even more education, until the Syn Conference became a super-saturated solution of apostasy.

WELS does not have the doctrinal spine to shut down Church and Change or to mark and avoid Jeske. The faux-Lutheran New Ager straddles two weak synods at once, a Colossus of Toads, far more eager to share his ego than we are to partake thereof.

Jeske's Church and Change operation is the management of WELS. When the Wisconsin sect needed a new president for their tiny Asian seminary, a founder of Church and Change took over from another Changer (Witte from Lawrenz).

The expensive but seldom read FICL is a Church and Change newsletter, printed at synod expense.

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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Doctrinal Morons Sell the Fuller Seminary Toxins -...":

Mideast dictators, Rev. Jeske and C&C are all shaking in their boots this week. The apostasy in the WELS may finally be defunded by Republicans in Wisconsin, and shortly, in other states.

Jeske's school is premised on the idea that it's giving a quality education at cut rate pricing that public schools can't provide. However, as soon as the state can provide it, courts have ruled that the state must pull funding to private educational entities.

If the teachers union loses its collective bargaining rights, quality education at more reasonable prices will follow, and then the state will pull the plug on St. Marcus school, and also on 4th grade kindergartens and daycare centers run out of churches and parochial schools. These are all "marks of the C&C churches" since they are into grants more than anyone else.

BIDDLE: Day of reckoning for unionized teachers’ pensions
States facing retirement deficits are forcing reductions

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/18/day-of-reckoning-for-unionized-teachers-pensions/

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/62661862.html

Marketing Sees Through Fuller Seminary -
Lutheran Doctrine Destroys It

Valleskey, Bivens, Larry Olson, Paul Calvin Kelm, VP Heubner, Reuel Schulz, Wally Oelhafen, Fred Adrian, Waldo Werning, Kent Hunter, and many more studied at this citadal of apostasy.
And they loved it.

Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Fuller Wrecked the Synods - That Is What I Publish...":

"Testing the Claims of Church Growth," by Rodney Zwonitzer refers to Fuller as the LCMS's "third seminary." This guy was a marketing expert in his first career. Funny how a marketing guy shoots down the marketing gimmicks in the Church. Funny how CPH ceased printing his book.

http://www.mtio.com/articles/aissar57.htm

Fuller Wrecked the Synods -
That Is What I Published from 1988 On

To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come...
Rub my tummy. I need a longer nap. Thanks. Meow.

Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Fuller Seminary's Imprint Can Be Found in "Lay Min...":

The "everyone's a minister" mentality is destroying the synods. Is the janitor working at the Lutheran school "divinely called?" This is not said to degrade the janitor, as his earthly vocation is indeed potentially very God-pleasing. But is he "called" to administer Word and Sacrament? Certainly not.

I feel sorry for the SMP guys. I have been criticized for bad-mouthing the SMP, but is is mostly the synod that I fault. They are putting guys out there with a subpar theological education. The handy-dandy NIV/ESV translation isn't going to cut it. They don't even need to know Greek. For example, how are they going to handle Acts 2:40 (be saved vs. save yourselves), which every English translation I know of gets wrong, with the exception of the NASB, which is bad in other areas? From my elementary Greek knowledge, the text clearly appears "passive" in the Greek.

***

GJ - There is a place for the SMP type of training, but the synods seem to be putting LPNs in charge of thoracic surgery. The impetus is Fuller training. All the synods ran to Fuller like Garasene pigs. They asked for demonic possession, paid for it, and got it.

Blunting the Sword in Intrepidville

ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS! They have so many Fuller-trained leaders that they can do their own Fuller seminars now.
They keep the moolah for themselves.

The Intrepids led the charge against the Jeske-Ski gay ministry meeting, another outgrowth of Church and Change.

I saw one sanctimonious comment, then a second, then only one, now nine comments. Going, going - stuck at nine.

Ten clergy have signed the statement, excluding Steve Kurtzahn (pancake pope) and Poppin Jay Webber. Kurtzahn and Webber posted but did not sign. On Wall Street, this is called a Bear Straddle, to protect against bad results by taking two positions at once.

Almost no one has signed onto the Intrepids' open list. I know of one professor who is a secret Intrepid. Crypto-Intrepids! If you believe the Wisconsin and Little Sect ministers (and I don't), they are all crypto-Intrepids. They would really like to come out in the open, but Muffy and Buffy need orthodontic work, etc.

They are working quietly in the background, so quietly that no one can hear them.

Comparing the numbers - more pastors show up for Change and Change conventions than sign onto the Intrepids. In fact, more show up for a Church and Change coffee hour in Nebraska than sign onto Intrepids.

Moreover, the Intrepids kill each discussion by limiting the comments. That has been the case for decades. The so-called dissenters are so eager to placate the apostates that they do their work for them.

Some people really dig theses, so I will leave some for people to ponder:

No one can challenge apostasy while avoiding the doctrinal problem of UOJ, which was not taught in the LCMS or WELS until recently. Walther imported it, but the real launch-point of UOJ came with the 1932 Brief Statement, Pieper's Dogmatics, and Kuske's over-priced UOJ catechism.
Avoiding, downplaying, and rejecting the efficacy of the Word will only increase the influence of Enthusiasm.
Taking money from adulterous millionaires to build buildings and pad salaries will never be a good bargain. The foundation of the Kingdom of God is Christ conveyed in the Word of God, not money.
The emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of vulnerable members will haunt Holy Mother Synod until there is true repentance.
The synods abuse the clergy because the synod leaders despise the Means of Grace. Troubled congregations see clergy as handy targets for their dysfunctional problems, because they know the CP and DP will help them out in the worst way possible.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Fuller Seminary's Imprint Can Be Found in "Lay Ministry," SMPs, Etc.

C. Peter Wagner, Pentecostal Babtist at Fuller Seminary, knew a goldmine when he found it.
Fuller Seminary trained Lutheran doctrine and worship out of LCMS-WELS-ELS. ELCA pastors went there too and lapped up the toxins of Enthusiasm.
BC should see the endless list of male and female "staff ministers" in WELS.
David Valleskey, former Mequon president, studied at Fuller.
Valleskey "helped" Brug with The Ministry of the Word.
Frosty Bivens is also a Fuller student, and he is still misleading students at WLS, while writing for FICL.

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Will Anyone Address the Swindle at the Seminaries?...":

Part of the reason for the LCMS seminaries having so few M Div students, and at the same time a glut of M Div graduates, is a 1989 (21 years ago) LCMS convention resolution said that lay ministers certified by the DP were kosher for life. This broke up many multi-site parishes which would otherwise have supported an ordained pastor with an M. Div or higher degree:

In 2007 the faculties of the seminaries said this practice was against the Augsburg Confession (much less common sense and spiritual sense). The practice is still common and official in the LCMS, however.

Issues Etc had a program on it in Oct 2010, and Steadfast Lutherans posted about that show today, 18 Feb:

More from Pr. Curtis on AC, XIV
February 18th, 2011Post by Todd Wilken

http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=13892
----------
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Lay “Ministers”
Pastor Heath Curtis of Trinity Lutheran-Worden, IL
http://issuesetc.org/2010/10/
------------
Book of Concord (Triglotta) PDFs here

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"For several years I've been a Pete Wagner fan. Although I don't see eye to eye with him on many important theological points (he approves of faith healing and speaking in tongues as long as it promotes church growth and he comes from a Billy Graham decision for conversion doctrinal background), he is the most eloquent spokesman of the Church Growth Movement. A prolific author on mission/evangelism/church growth subjects, Wagner is also an excellent teacher and a crystal clear writer."

WELS Pastor Reuel J. Schulz

The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980,

"Read these books and you might become a Wagner fan too."

WELS Pastor Reuel J. Schulz

The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980,

"In 1963 he [McGavran] planned to add to the Institute of Church Growth at Eugene an American Division headed by an American minister of church growth convictions, but the plan did not mature. In 1967 the annual Church Growth Seminar at Winona Lake, Indiana, drew in about 20 American ministers and heads of Home Missions Departments." C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 14.

"The Church Growth Movement has not yet paid enough attention to a critical self-assessment of its methodological presuppositions. Critics of the movement have raised important questions that need to be addressed." C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 149.

"The basic responsibility for the seminar is mine, but I am also assisted by Donald McGavran, Win Arn and John Wimber of the Fuller Evangelistic Association." [Two week Doctor of Ministry seminar every winter at Fuller School of Theology, on church growth] C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 15.

"The conscious attempt to apply church growth philosophy to America was stimulated in the fall of 1972 by Pastor Charles Miller, then a staff member of Pasadena's Lake Avenue Congregational Church. At Miller's urging, I organized and asked McGavran to team-teach with me a pilot course in church growth designed specifically for American church leaders. We did it only as an experiment, but the results were remarkable: One of the students, Win Arn, left his position with the Evangelical Covenant Church and founded the influential Institute for American Church Growth." C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books 1976, p. 15.

"Church growth consultation began at the Charles E. Fuller Institute in 1975, when it was still called Fuller Evangelistic Association, under C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber. I took over from Wimber in 1978." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Chapter: "Church Growth Consultation," by Carl F. George, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 159.

"These two lists give us two general categories of signs of the kingdom: Category A: Social signs or signs applied to a general class of people. These include (1) preaching good news to the poor, (2) proclaiming release to the captives, (3) liberating the oppressed, and (4) instituting the Year of Jubilee ('acceptable year of the Lord'). Category B: Personal signs or signs applied to specific individuals. These include (1) restoring sight to blind people, (2) casting out demons and evil spirits, (3) healing sick people, (4) making lame people walk, (5) cleansing lepers, (6) restoring hearing to deaf people, and (7) raising the dead." C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 16.

"Church Growth consultants also draw from the social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, social psychology, psychology, educational psychology, instructional technology, communications, organizational development, management, and marketing." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Chapter: "Church Growth Consultation," by Carl F. George, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 160.

"When the roster of pioneers of church growth in North America is drawn up, three individuals will deserve a prominent place on it: One is Win C. Arn, one of the students in the first Fuller Seminary course in American Church Growth...Another pioneer is Paul Benjamin, who in 1974 left his position as Professor of New Testament and Church Growth at Lincoln Christian Seminary to establish the National Church Growth Research Center in Washington, D.C." C. Peter Wagner, Study Questions by John Wimber, Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: Regal Books, 1976, p. 17.

Professional church growth consultant: "A pioneer in this field is Pastor John Wimber of Yorba Linda Friends Church in Orange Country, California. Wimber has recently resigned his pastorate to head up the newly-created Department of Church Growth of the Fuller Evangelistic Association." C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books 1976, p. 20.

"The preacher, in fact, was a fascinating combination of eloquent and illiterate (by his own testimony). In the services I saw fervent singing, joyous clapping of hands, dancing in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, testimonies, prophecies, preaching of the Word, and as a climax the handling of deadly poisonous snakes and drinking of strychnine. I discussed this with several members of the congregation. When I asked why they handled snakes they replied, simply, 'Because Jesus told us to do it as a sign.' Another sign of the kingdom." [Footnote - See C. Peter Wagner, What Are We Missing?, formerly Look Out, The Pentecostals Are Coming, Carol Stream: Creation House, 1973, 1978.] C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 23.

"Win Arn, president and founder of the influential Institute for American Church Growth, is widely respected as a pioneer and major spokesperson for the American Church Growth Movement...He has produced or coproduced almost every film now in use in the area of church growth...'For the Love of Pete.'" C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 230. ip is the son of Win

"W. Charles 'Chip' Arn is the foremost designer of church growth training curricula and resources used by individual churches and regional districts across the Protestant spectrum...Arn's most significant contribution to date is probably his work in The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, which is the first strategy of evangelism building on and incorporating the principles of church growth into a practical method for equipping laypersons and congregations to effectively reach their unchurched friends and relatives." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 230. Chip is the son of Win

"Kent Hunter is director of the Church Growth Center, Corunna, Indiana... Hunter sees his major contribution to the Church Growth Movement in the area of theology...Kent Hunter contributed two chapters to this volume: chapter 7, 'Membership Integrity: The Body of Christ with a Backbone,' and chapter 11, 'The Quality Side of Church Growth.'" C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 240f.

"Roger Leenerts is an executive with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, serving as associate executive secretary for North American missions on the Board for Mission Services. He has been a key instrument in introducing church growth principles and practices into the LCMS through sponsoring church growth seminars and workshops for key denominational personnel. Under this new emphasis, church planting became the primary mission emphasis for the synod. In the mid seventies only twenty new congregations were being started per year. Currently the number is over 100, and the goal for 1990 is 500 new congregations per year." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 246.

"Donald McGavran is the founder of the Church Growth Movement. See chapter 1, 'A Tribute to the Founder.'" C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 248.

"Elmer Matthias is associate professor of practical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, an institution of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod...While serving the parish [Zion, Anaheim, California] he enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program in church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, receiving his degree in 1977. At Concordia Seminary he became the first trained church growth seminary instructor in Lutheran circles, teaching church growth, evangelism, and parish administration." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 250.

"Lyle Schaller has been parish consultant since 1971 with the Yokefellow Institute, a retreat center in Richmond, Indiana, founded by D. Elton Trueblood. He has conducted approximately eight hundred workshops on church growth, parish planning, leadership, and related subjects." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 260.

"C. Peter Wagner is the Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at the Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Missions in Pasadena, California. The School of World Mission became a part of Fuller Seminary in 1965 when Donald McGavran, father of the Church Growth Movement, moved his nonacademinc Institute of Church Growth to Pasadena from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. Since that time, Fuller Seminary has been the institutional base for the Church Growth Movement, first in its global expression and later in its North American expression." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271.

"Recognizing the need for professional church growth consultation, in 1975 he [C. Peter Wagner] invited John Wimber to become the founding director of what is now the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth. Wimber got the Institute off to an excellent start, then left to become the founding pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim and Vineyard Ministries Internation... Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Regal, 1979) is approaching the 100,000 mark... Church Growth and the Whole Gospel (Harper and Row, 1981) is a scholarly discussion of criticisms of the Church Growth Movement from the viewpoint of social ethics, in which Wagner did his doctoral work." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271f.

"Wagner invited McGavran to team teach with him, and the course was a success. Among its students was Win Arn, who almost immediately stepped out in faith and established the Institute for American Church Grwoth, also located in Pasadena. Both Wagner and McGavran were members of the founding board of directors. Arn has given brilliant leadership to the Institute for American Church Growth and ranks as the premier communicator of the Church Growth Movement in North America." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271f.

"Wagner was instrumental in the organization of the North American Society for Church Growth, and became its founding president in 1984. In the same year he was honored by Fuller Seminary with the Donald A. McGavran Chair of Church Growth." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 273.

"Waldo Werning is director of the Stewardship Growth Center of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and an adjunct professor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. He teaches a seminar course and conducts seminars which focus on 'supply side stewardship,' integrating church growth principles with a stewardship program." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 274.

"Stephen A. Wagner is senior pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Texas. In addition he serves as chairman of the Church Growth Task Force of the Texas District, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod...He is the author of Heart to Heart: Sharing Christ with a Friend (Corunna, Indiana: Church Growth Center). He is also a contributing author to the Church Planting Manual (North American Missions Department of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 1985), and he has written articles for denominational publications. Currently he is a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree in church growth from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 274.

"In January of 1982, he [Wimber] taught a course at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he is an adjunct professor, called 'Signs, Wonders, and Church Growth.' Wimber taught this course for four years and it became one of the most popular courses at Fuller." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 275.

"Cell. Sometimes called a kinship circle; a small group of 8-12 believers; an important part of the church's struct which has the primary functions of spiritual accountability and intimacy and secondary functions of Bible, prayer, and healing." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283.

"Body Life. The clustering of Christians together in a shared intimacy to achieve growth by all members of the body working together and building up one another." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283.

"Body Evangelism. A perspective which emphasizes the goal of evangelism as making disciples who are incorporated into the body of Christ, the result of which is church growth." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283.

"Church. An assembly of professed believers under the discipline of the Word of God, organized to carry out the Great Commission, administer the ordinances, and minister with spiritual gifts." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283f. Matthew 28

"Church Growth Principles. Worldwide truths which, when properly applied, along with other principles, contribute significantly to the growth of the church." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

"Church Growth Eyes. A characteristic of Christians who have achieved an ability to see the possibilities for growth and to apply appropriate strategies to gain maximum results for Christ and the Church." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

"Church Growth Conscience. The conviction that God's will is for the body of Christ to grow." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

"Communicant Members. The hard core of the church, those members who principally finance and support the church's existence." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 285.

"Conversion Church Growth. Those outside the church come to rest their faith intelligently in Jesus Christ and are baptized and added to the church." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 286.

"Conversion. Participation by non-Christians in a genuine decision for Christ, a sincere turning from the old gods and evils spirits, and a determined purpose to live as Christ would have people live." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 286.

"Discerning the Body. Seeing a local church or a denomination as it really is and obtaining and analyzing information about it and its members." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 287.

"Faith Projection. A projected growth goal based on present growth patterns, plus a trust in the Lord for an increase in the harvest. Usually a five year projection." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 289.

"Fluxuating Receptivity. The responsiveness of individuals and groups waxes and wanes due to the Spirit's peculiar activity in the hearts of people." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290.

"Follow-up Gap. The difference between the number of persons who make decisions for Christ in a given evangelistic effort and those who go on to become disciples." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290.

"Felt Need. Describes the conscious wants and desires of a person; considered to be an opportunity for Christian response which stimulates within the person a receptivity to the gospel." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290.

"Harvest Theology. The presentation of the gospel which results in the actual decision of nonbelievers to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 291.

"Life Style Evangelism. Role modeling by Christians so that non-Christians will identify with the life of Christ in the believer as well as the gospel message, and will better hear the message. This approach to evangelism is rooted in theology and sociology." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 293.

"Perfecting. The process of nurture and development (following discipling) that is required to take believers from the initial acceptance of Jesus Christ to mature faith and obedience; sanctification." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 296.

"Planned Parenthood. A congregation decides to become a mother church and plants a daughter church. Intentional church planting." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 297.

"Social Action. Christian involvement in changing the structures of society in order to help the poor and oppressed." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 299.

"Soil Testing. An evangelistic strategy that seeks out those people who are open to receiving the gospel at the present time." [Note the Mark Braun NWL article about the sower and the seed, employing this soil testing concept.] C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 300.

"Winnable People. Those who are considered receptive to the gospel; those who will respond. See HARVEST PRINCIPLE; RESISTANCE-RECEPTIVITY AXIS." C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 302.

"I know these questions are real because I was asking them myself when I first came, during my second missionary furlough from Bolivia, to study at Fuller under McGavran. Frankly, I entered his program in 1967 as a skeptic. But I emerged an enlightened person." C. Peter Wagner (study questions by Rev. John Wimber), Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: G/L Regal Books, 1976, p. 35.

"Church growth is that science which investigates the planting, multiplication, function and health of Christian churches as they relate specifically to the effective implementation of God's-commission to 'make disciples of all nations' (Matt. 28:19-20 RSV). Church growth strives to combine the eternal theological principles of God's Word concerning the expansion of the church with the best insights of contemporary social and behavioral sciences, employing as its initial frame of reference, the foundational work done by Donald McGavran." [Constitution, Academy for American Church Growth] C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 75.

Acknowledgments to: Donald McGavran, Win Arn, John Wimber, Paul Benjamin, Dennis Oliver, Harold Lindsell...Jack Hyles...Robert Schuller.... C. Peter Wagner, Study Questions by John Wimber, Your Church Can Grow, Glendale: Regal Books, 1976, p. 9.

"In 1980 the Church Growth Movement celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. The historical even now regarded as the beginning of the movement was Donald McGavran's publication of The Bridges of God in 1955." C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. x.

"Lyle Schaller, for example, now characterizes the emergence of the Church Growth Movement as 'the most influential development of the 1970's on the American religious scene." [In the Foreword to Donald McGavran and George G. Hunter III, Church Growth Strategies that Work (Nashville: Abingdon, 1980) p. 7.] C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. xi.

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Monday, February 21, 2011

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Martin Luther Sermons

Bethany Lutheran Church P.O. Box 6561Springdale AR 72766Reformation Seminary LecturesUSA, Canada, Australia, Philippines10 AM Central - Sunday ServiceWe use The Lutheran Hymnal and the King James Version

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Bethany Lutheran Church P.O. Box 6561Springdale AR 72766Reformation Seminary LecturesUSA, Canada, Australia, Philippines10 AM Central - Sunday Service
**We use The Lutheran Hymnal and the King James Version**