 |
| Rambach was an early proponent of UOJ. |
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Under the Radar a Bit, But Not Completely Stealth....":
In my opinion, E12 is a the (W)ELS COP's gateway drug into full blown New Age Emergent CGM use. It will be immediately addicting as it scratches the "I don't want to be a barrier to the Word" itch. An itch planted by the unfaithful in the Synod.
"The bottom line is if you don’t have worship or outreach leaders, that’s ok. Provide names of potential leaders, and E12 will begin to train them."
Q: Will you be promoting any specific “style” of worship? Traditional? Contemporary? A: There will be many options within the liturgical framework for congregations to choose. For example, congregations may choose to use the version of Psalm 118 found on page 108 in Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, with organ and brass accompaniment. However, other versions of Psalm 118 will be suggested as well, to be sung to piano, guitar, etc. https://connect.wels.net/AOM/ps/ccc/General%20Documents/E12/e12%20-%20Frequently%20Asked%20Questions.pdf
"Rev. Jonathan Hein, CCC chairman and pastor at Beautiful Savior, Summerville, S.C., says that while the program contains worship and outreach components, other major goals are to provide leadership training as well as to model a planning process that will help congregations conduct future outreach events. “Our goal is not only to give samples of what you can do but then also to help congregations do it again in the future,” he says."
"Programs like E12 fit in well with the CCC’s mission: to provide short-term assessment and advice to congregations seeking to find ways to improve their ministry. “People are going to see a lot of things like E12 from the CCC—real practical, nuts-and-bolts information that will immediately make an impact in your congregation,” says Hein.
Formed in 2010 by the Conference of Presidents, the CCC is one of seven commissions in the Congregation and Ministry Support Group. It currently has no director but is run by a group of six pastors." ELS is participating also. http://www.evangelicallutheransynod.org/synod-office/news/news/jan12
For a list of Who's Who in the (W)ELS Institute for Worship and Outreach: http://worshipandoutreach.org/category/institute-role/member
Note how their About page answers the question, "Is the Divine Service meant to feed Christ's sheep with His Word and Sacraments or is it an Evangelism tool for reaching the lost and gaining new members?"
"The Institute for Worship and Outreach is a group of WELS pastors who have become convinced, on the basis of study and ministry experiences, that worship forms and outreach methods can and must intersect confessionally and evangelically in efforts to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. With this perspective, they have come together to assist and encourage pastors as they strive for excellence in public worship and mission outreach.”
“2.While personal, educational, social, and service-oriented outreach efforts can and do attract people to our churches and its message, it remains a truism that most seekers will measure our churches and receive first contact with our proclamation of the gospel in public worship.”
3.Many people in our neighborhoods and communities are searching for the truth about life with God and are more interested in our message than in the customs that surround it. Many others, however, approach our church looking to fulfill personal needs that the gospel may not address. Every pastor struggles to minister to these people on their terms so that the Spirit may have an opportunity through the means of grace to touch their hearts and lead them to desire more of the message of Jesus.”
4.Since public worship invariably includes music and the arts, pastors without experience or skill in these areas feel the challenges more acutely, and not every pastor is able to rely on skilled church musicians to assist in this ministry. The worship inadequacies he may sense as he serves his own members are exacerbated when worship becomes a critical component in an outreach strategy.
6. The Spirit grows the Church through the means of grace, but every pastor searches for ways and means to invite and attract people to his church so the gospel might be heard and the sacraments administered.
Oversight The Institute is to be considered an arm of the Conference of Presidents and receives funding with the advice and consent of that body. http://worshipandoutreach.org/about
---
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Regurgitated WELS Church and Change - E12":
W. E. L. S. spells ENTHUSIASM
You can do this!
January 21, 2012
Congregations conduct surveys in preparation for Schools of Worship Enrichment (SoWE). Three items from these surveys regularly receive the lowest scores - no matter the type of congregation, no matter how rich their musical resources.
•My congregation’s singing is strong and enthusiastic.
•We use enough musical variety for the psalms, hymns, and liturgical songs.
•Our congregation seems to carry out its part of the liturgy (order of service) with enthusiasm.
Read the Rest »
Rev. Bryan Gerlach
Bryan Gerlach serves as the Director of the WELS Commission on Worship.
http://worshipandoutreach.org
---
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Regurgitated WELS Church and Change - E12":
Missionaries Who Need Music in Minutes
December 20, 2011
A local Atlanta newscast regularly boasts that it will provide “all the headlines and tomorrow’s forecast in the first five minutes.” I don’t know if you need your news freeze-dried and shrink-wrapped like that, but I do still hear that busy missionaries don’t really have the time to spend seven hours or more a week working with sequencers, sound modules and MIDI files in an effort to have some decent music for the weekend worship service.
Read the Rest »
Rev. Michael Schultz
Michael Schultz serves as pastor of Sola Fide Lutheran Church and School in Lawrenceville, GA. In addition to his congregational duties, Schultz has worked for the synod on Christian Worship: Supplement.
http://worshipandoutreach.org
---
AC V has left a new comment on your post "Regurgitated WELS Church and Change - E12":
Brett, you make a good point. The WELS Commission on Worship is just like the "contemporary worship" advocates when it emphasizes "excellence" in liturgical worship. By doing so, the CoW gives the impression that how the liturgy is performed is more important than what the liturgy delivers, namely, the forgiveness of sins.
All in all, I guess I'd rather have "excellent" liturgy than "excellent" Praise Band worship, which is questionable as to whether it actually delivers the forgiveness of sins.
***
GJ - "Excellence" is a favorite Huebner word, which he applies lovingly to his own work. As a Fuller alumnus he knows how to cast Shrinker-speak into words that appeal to everyone at once. "Error loves amibiguities."
The only appropriate word is "faithful." Pastors are not supposed to be found excited, enthusiastic, entertaining, appealing, or successful. They are to be found "faithful ministers of the mysteries of God."
---
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Regurgitated WELS Church and Change - E12":
The constant chatter about striving for excellence goes hand in hand with their loss of faith in the efficacy of the Word. A sure sign like a digit turning black in the cold winter. The irony is that they wind up serving putrid garbage instead of the pure Word which is the only excellence given by God through the Means of Grace for life here and Life eternally.
May they choke on the putrid refuse they force upon others.
***
GJ - Yes indeed. First VP Huebner mocks the efficacy of the Word and writes about excellence in worship.
He was another advocate for Floyd Luther Stolzenburg in Columbus. Those Huebners have a thing for murder and adultery.
