THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011
Change or Die - Update
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| What a fine way to support Christian marriage, posing with a Playboy model. This is Fox Valley Sexpert Ski, longing to be put back on the ministerial list. He has the support of SP Schroeder, DP Engelbrecht, and...the Jeske bagmen. |
Since our post last week in which we addressed the ill-conceived Change or Die conference scheduled for March 10th, we have not received any communication from Pastor Jeske or Pastor Skorzewski (Ski) in response to our letter.
When we approached members of the COP to see if they were aware of this conference, we were informed of the following:
As of this time, the conference brochure and registration form remain unchanged on the Siebert Lutheran Foundation website.
When we approached members of the COP to see if they were aware of this conference, we were informed of the following:
- The WELS Conference of Presidents had scheduled a meeting concerning this conference even prior to our post on Intrepid Lutherans.
- The WELS COP has unanimously requested that Pastors Jeske and Skorzewski not participate in this conference.
As of this time, the conference brochure and registration form remain unchanged on the Siebert Lutheran Foundation website.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2011
Dear Pastors Jeske and Ski: You are clearly in the wrong - 38 signers
(Both Pastor Mark Jeske and Pastor James Skorzewski have been sent the link to this letter. It is not intended to be gossipabout them, but a loving, public rebuke to them, according to the pattern of Paul’s rebuke to Peter in Galatians 2:11-21.)
The stated premise of the “Change or Die” conference is that, if a congregation properly “changes” its methodologies and image, then it will “live” in the sense of having enough members and financial resources to continue to function and grow. If a congregation fails to “change” its methodologies and image, then it will “die” in the sense of the congregation being forced to close its doors for lack of members and money.
This teaching does not come from the Lord Jesus. He says, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). It is Christ alone who builds His Church, not by man’s changes, but through the power of his Gospel alone, by means of the Keys given to His Church.
Sometimes, God will bless the use of the Means of Grace with outward numerical growth, as he did in many instances in the Book of Acts. At other times, God will bless the faithful use of the Means of Grace with terrible persecution and shrinking numbers (cf.Revelation 3:7-13). The message of Jesus to his Church is not “Change or die!” but rather, “Preach the Gospel, and you will surely die! You will be persecuted, killed, and caused to flee!” (cf. Matthew 10). This is precisely what Jesus has prophesied for the last days (Matthew 24:9-14, 2 Timothy 4:3). What God calls “flourishing,” man calls “failing.” And what man hails as “flourishing,” God calls “wretched, pitiful and poor” (Revelation 3:17).
“Change or die” stems from what Luther calls a “theology of glory.” The concept comes, not from the Scriptures, but from deceivers – false teachers and Church Growth promoters like Baptist minister Rick Warren, who writes,
Since the premise of the “Change or Die” conference is false and promotes a false theology, you are wrong to be participating in it. By doing so, you are leading the Church astray into a theology of glory, and we fear that many souls will be misled.
2) It is wrong to explore and promote “Lutheran ministry” methods together with pastors of the ELCA.
Equally troubling is that some of the “change agents” passing on their ministerial insights at the “Change or Die” conference are apostates who hate Jesus, and therefore you are wrong to participate in this conference together with them.
It is bad enough that you are joining together to promote the “Change or die” concept with two LCMS pastors who appear to espouse some of the tenets of Church Growth theology. Your joint involvement as an extension of the ministry of the LCMS, Pastor Jeske, is already a matter of record, given the official Recognized Service Organization status of your Time of Grace Ministry and your multiple appearances at LCMS churches, conventions and events.
But, ignoring all bounds of propriety and synodical affiliation,
you have now joined yourselves in this conference with two ELCA pastors in order that attendees may learn “Lutheran” ministry methods from them.
Lest anyone should assume that these ELCA pastors are staunch confessional Lutherans trapped in the apostate ELCA, the website from Rev. Wheeler’s church removes any doubt regarding his confession:
(“Reconciled in Christ” is an ELCA movement that openly welcomes practicing gays and lesbians into the full community of the church.)
We do not hesitate to call these ELCA pastors “apostates who hate Jesus.” This is not a judgment on the inner attitudes of their hearts, but rather on their public confession. By their own confession, they have abandoned God’s Word as the Truth. It is not possible for them to have a ministry that is in any way, shape or form “Lutheran” while denying the Word of Christ and embracing the doctrines of demons.
What exactly shall we learn from Rev. Wheeler? How should we in the WELS “change” to be more like this apostate ELCA congregation? What trendy Lutheran ministry techniques or theology shall we glean from these apostates? How do you dare participate in a conference on Lutheran ministry side by side with those who hate Jesus? God has only one message for these men: “Change or die!” That is, “Repent or perish eternally in your sins!” How can God’s servants have any other message for them?
But instead of this clear witness to God’s Law, you are selling yourselves as fellow “change agents” together with them. You have gone too far. It doesn’t matter whether or not you pray together with them or kneel together with them at the Lord’s Altar. You are promoting the ministry of the Gospel together with those who deny the Gospel. You are pursuing methods to keep the Church alive together with those who have forsaken Him who is the Life. You are wrong to be doing this. And you are leading souls astray by being thus unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For “what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
You, Pastors Jeske and Ski, are clearly in the wrong. Your involvement in promoting “Lutheran” ministry with apostates who hate Jesus is wrong. And your involvement in promoting the “change or die” deception in the Church is wrong. We bring this admonishment to you, not as your superiors in the Church, but as fellow called servants of Christ and as laymen who are deeply concerned by your involvement in this conference. We trust that those who are entrusted with supervising the doctrine and practice in your respective districts will give you similar godly counsel. But as brothers in the WELS, we cannot remain silent as we watch you going down this path.
Trusting that you will take our words to heart, we are your brothers in Christ,
Rev. Thomas Bernthal
Rev. John F. Boehringer
Rev. Luke Boehringer
Rev. Edward Frey
Rev. Ken Frey
Rev. Rik Krahn
Rev. Paul Lidtke
Rev. Carl Otto
Rev. David G. Peters
Rev. Paul Rydecki
Rev. Paul Schulz
Rev. Steven Spencer
Rev. Jim Strand
Mr. Daniel Baker
Mr. Mark Bannan
Mr. Mark Beitz
Mr. Harry Bladow
Mr. Jerod Butt
Mr. Brian Heyer
Mr. Karl Hochmuth
Mr. Kenneth Jamka
Mr. Scott Jungen
Mr. Vernon Knepprath
Mr. Kurt Knurr
Mr. and Mrs. Tony Kubek
Mr. Douglas Lindee
Mrs. Rhonda Martinez
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Munson
Mr. Kevin Needham
Mr. David Paulsen
Mr. Kurt Peters
Mrs. Rebecca Quam
Mr. Richard Rocheleau
Mr. Joseph Schmidt
Mr. Kenneth J. Schmidt
Mr. Christian Schulz
* Signers listed in alphabetical order, grouping pastors and non-pastors. Some of the above asked that their signatures be added after the original posting.
Dear Pastors Jeske and Skorzewski,
Having seen the brochure advertising the “Change or Die” conference publicly displayed at theSiebert Lutheran Foundation website, we are compelled out of love for the Lord Jesus, for you, for our Wisconsin Synod and for the world, to offer this admonishment.
First, let it be said that we do not question your motives. We assume that you sincerely wish to see churches grow, and that you think this conference will help to achieve that goal. We further assume that you think you are acting in line with confessional Lutheran doctrine and practice, and that you do not intend to lead the Church astray. We question neither your motives nor your intentions. But we do consider your participation in this conference to be wrong.
1) The premise of this conference – and therefore your involvement in it – is wrong.
“Change or die” is not a Scriptural concept. It is certainly not a Scriptural mandate or counsel either to the Church as a whole or to a particular visible gathering of confessing believers.
The Lord Jesus does say, “Repent or perish!” (“Unless you repent, you too will all perish” – Luke 13:3). Likewise, he says in his Revelation to St. John, “Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:5). Also, Jesus says in Matthew 18:3, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” If the admonition to “change” or face the consequence of “death” were a reference to repentance for rebellion against the Lord, then we could accept it.
Indeed, we readily concede that if a body of believers strays from the truth of God’s Word even a hair’s breadth, or if a body of believers tolerates impenitent behavior in its midst, it is most surely in danger of “dying,” that is, being removed by the Lord Jesus, either by temporal judgment before the Last Day, or by eternal judgment at the Last Day. The Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation make this very clear. If a church has strayed from the truth of God’s Word, either in doctrine or practice, then we sincerely echo the call of Jesus to “change (i.e., repent) or die!”
But we do not understand the conference admonition to “Change or Die” to be a call to repentance and a return to sound Lutheran (and therefore Scriptural) doctrine and practice. Instead, the brochure makes the meaning of “Change or Die” plain:
Having seen the brochure advertising the “Change or Die” conference publicly displayed at theSiebert Lutheran Foundation website, we are compelled out of love for the Lord Jesus, for you, for our Wisconsin Synod and for the world, to offer this admonishment.First, let it be said that we do not question your motives. We assume that you sincerely wish to see churches grow, and that you think this conference will help to achieve that goal. We further assume that you think you are acting in line with confessional Lutheran doctrine and practice, and that you do not intend to lead the Church astray. We question neither your motives nor your intentions. But we do consider your participation in this conference to be wrong.
1) The premise of this conference – and therefore your involvement in it – is wrong.
“Change or die” is not a Scriptural concept. It is certainly not a Scriptural mandate or counsel either to the Church as a whole or to a particular visible gathering of confessing believers.
The Lord Jesus does say, “Repent or perish!” (“Unless you repent, you too will all perish” – Luke 13:3). Likewise, he says in his Revelation to St. John, “Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:5). Also, Jesus says in Matthew 18:3, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” If the admonition to “change” or face the consequence of “death” were a reference to repentance for rebellion against the Lord, then we could accept it.
Indeed, we readily concede that if a body of believers strays from the truth of God’s Word even a hair’s breadth, or if a body of believers tolerates impenitent behavior in its midst, it is most surely in danger of “dying,” that is, being removed by the Lord Jesus, either by temporal judgment before the Last Day, or by eternal judgment at the Last Day. The Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation make this very clear. If a church has strayed from the truth of God’s Word, either in doctrine or practice, then we sincerely echo the call of Jesus to “change (i.e., repent) or die!”
But we do not understand the conference admonition to “Change or Die” to be a call to repentance and a return to sound Lutheran (and therefore Scriptural) doctrine and practice. Instead, the brochure makes the meaning of “Change or Die” plain:
- Anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention to Lutheran church life in American cities will note with sadness that there are serious numerical declines. Once-thriving congregations and schools are now small or gone. Why is this happening? Is this decline inevitable?
The “Change or Die” conference, hosted by the Siebert Lutheran Foundation and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, strenuously believes that Lutheran ministries can indeed flourish and grow in the 21st Century. You are invited to come and meet six change agents and entrepreneurs who have exciting stories to tell.
The stated premise of the “Change or Die” conference is that, if a congregation properly “changes” its methodologies and image, then it will “live” in the sense of having enough members and financial resources to continue to function and grow. If a congregation fails to “change” its methodologies and image, then it will “die” in the sense of the congregation being forced to close its doors for lack of members and money.
This teaching does not come from the Lord Jesus. He says, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). It is Christ alone who builds His Church, not by man’s changes, but through the power of his Gospel alone, by means of the Keys given to His Church.
Sometimes, God will bless the use of the Means of Grace with outward numerical growth, as he did in many instances in the Book of Acts. At other times, God will bless the faithful use of the Means of Grace with terrible persecution and shrinking numbers (cf.Revelation 3:7-13). The message of Jesus to his Church is not “Change or die!” but rather, “Preach the Gospel, and you will surely die! You will be persecuted, killed, and caused to flee!” (cf. Matthew 10). This is precisely what Jesus has prophesied for the last days (Matthew 24:9-14, 2 Timothy 4:3). What God calls “flourishing,” man calls “failing.” And what man hails as “flourishing,” God calls “wretched, pitiful and poor” (Revelation 3:17).
“Change or die” stems from what Luther calls a “theology of glory.” The concept comes, not from the Scriptures, but from deceivers – false teachers and Church Growth promoters like Baptist minister Rick Warren, who writes,
- Hebrews 8:13, in the Phillips paraphrase, says, “When a thing grows weak and out of date, it is obviously soon going to disappear.” That's also true of churches. If a church cannot change, it will eventually die. (FIRST-PERSON: Stifled by Structure, Rick Warren.)
Since the premise of the “Change or Die” conference is false and promotes a false theology, you are wrong to be participating in it. By doing so, you are leading the Church astray into a theology of glory, and we fear that many souls will be misled.
2) It is wrong to explore and promote “Lutheran ministry” methods together with pastors of the ELCA.
Equally troubling is that some of the “change agents” passing on their ministerial insights at the “Change or Die” conference are apostates who hate Jesus, and therefore you are wrong to participate in this conference together with them.
It is bad enough that you are joining together to promote the “Change or die” concept with two LCMS pastors who appear to espouse some of the tenets of Church Growth theology. Your joint involvement as an extension of the ministry of the LCMS, Pastor Jeske, is already a matter of record, given the official Recognized Service Organization status of your Time of Grace Ministry and your multiple appearances at LCMS churches, conventions and events.
But, ignoring all bounds of propriety and synodical affiliation,
you have now joined yourselves in this conference with two ELCA pastors in order that attendees may learn “Lutheran” ministry methods from them.Lest anyone should assume that these ELCA pastors are staunch confessional Lutherans trapped in the apostate ELCA, the website from Rev. Wheeler’s church removes any doubt regarding his confession:
- Cross Lutheran Church is a diverse community of believers. We welcome and celebrate all people of every age, race, economic background, sexual orientation, and gender. Our mission is to share the Good News of God's Love in Jesus Christ. Our goal is to
represent Christ by serving our community and the world, and by advocating for justice. We are a Reconciled in Christ Lutheran Church.(“Reconciled in Christ” is an ELCA movement that openly welcomes practicing gays and lesbians into the full community of the church.)
We do not hesitate to call these ELCA pastors “apostates who hate Jesus.” This is not a judgment on the inner attitudes of their hearts, but rather on their public confession. By their own confession, they have abandoned God’s Word as the Truth. It is not possible for them to have a ministry that is in any way, shape or form “Lutheran” while denying the Word of Christ and embracing the doctrines of demons.
What exactly shall we learn from Rev. Wheeler? How should we in the WELS “change” to be more like this apostate ELCA congregation? What trendy Lutheran ministry techniques or theology shall we glean from these apostates? How do you dare participate in a conference on Lutheran ministry side by side with those who hate Jesus? God has only one message for these men: “Change or die!” That is, “Repent or perish eternally in your sins!” How can God’s servants have any other message for them?
But instead of this clear witness to God’s Law, you are selling yourselves as fellow “change agents” together with them. You have gone too far. It doesn’t matter whether or not you pray together with them or kneel together with them at the Lord’s Altar. You are promoting the ministry of the Gospel together with those who deny the Gospel. You are pursuing methods to keep the Church alive together with those who have forsaken Him who is the Life. You are wrong to be doing this. And you are leading souls astray by being thus unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For “what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
You, Pastors Jeske and Ski, are clearly in the wrong. Your involvement in promoting “Lutheran” ministry with apostates who hate Jesus is wrong. And your involvement in promoting the “change or die” deception in the Church is wrong. We bring this admonishment to you, not as your superiors in the Church, but as fellow called servants of Christ and as laymen who are deeply concerned by your involvement in this conference. We trust that those who are entrusted with supervising the doctrine and practice in your respective districts will give you similar godly counsel. But as brothers in the WELS, we cannot remain silent as we watch you going down this path.
Trusting that you will take our words to heart, we are your brothers in Christ,
Rev. Thomas Bernthal
Rev. John F. Boehringer
Rev. Luke Boehringer
Rev. Edward Frey
Rev. Ken Frey
Rev. Rik Krahn
Rev. Paul Lidtke
Rev. Carl Otto
Rev. David G. Peters
Rev. Paul Rydecki
Rev. Paul Schulz
Rev. Steven Spencer
Rev. Jim Strand
Mr. Daniel Baker
Mr. Mark Bannan
Mr. Mark Beitz
Mr. Harry Bladow
Mr. Jerod Butt
Mr. Brian Heyer
Mr. Karl Hochmuth
Mr. Kenneth Jamka
Mr. Scott Jungen
Mr. Vernon Knepprath
Mr. Kurt Knurr
Mr. and Mrs. Tony Kubek
Mr. Douglas Lindee
Mrs. Rhonda Martinez
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Munson
Mr. Kevin Needham
Mr. David Paulsen
Mr. Kurt Peters
Mrs. Rebecca Quam
Mr. Richard Rocheleau
Mr. Joseph Schmidt
Mr. Kenneth J. Schmidt
Mr. Christian Schulz
* Signers listed in alphabetical order, grouping pastors and non-pastors. Some of the above asked that their signatures be added after the original posting.
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FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011
Change or Die - Issues, Etc. Comments
We have very little to report so far on the Change or Die conference that took place on Thursday. We were told earlier in the week that Pastor Skorzewski had decided not to participate, for which we were glad. We are working under the assumption that Pastor Jeske did participate, as advertised, although we would be happy to learn otherwise.
Our post of two weeks ago was picked up by Issues, Etc. and was chosen as one of their two picks for Blog of the Week. They found the "Change or Die" concept to be as offensive and unbiblical as we did.
Just yesterday, Issues, Etc. commented again on the Change or Die conference in response to an e-mail they received from a pastor who attended it. What follows is a transcript of their commentary. (Listener E-mail and Issues, Etc. Comment Line, 30:30-34:35)
Our post of two weeks ago was picked up by Issues, Etc. and was chosen as one of their two picks for Blog of the Week. They found the "Change or Die" concept to be as offensive and unbiblical as we did.
Just yesterday, Issues, Etc. commented again on the Change or Die conference in response to an e-mail they received from a pastor who attended it. What follows is a transcript of their commentary. (Listener E-mail and Issues, Etc. Comment Line, 30:30-34:35)
Jeff Schwarz: Here’s an e-mail we just received in the studio here,
- I’m a former ELCA pastor now called to an independent Lutheran congregation in southern Minnesota. And I attended the Change or Die conference Yesterday, March 10th. This was supposed to be a pan-Lutheran event, however, one presenter pulled out due to pressure from the WELS leadership.
Sadly the event lived up to Pr. Wilken’s suspicions as he mentioned in blog of the week recently. Two presenters from the ELCA promoted their liberation and social gospel theology, nothing new here so I don’t know how this was seen as new and relevant.
What surprised me were the two LCMS presenters who proudly demonstrated how they worked outside of the orthodox understanding of the Lutheran Confessions. When I challenged one of these presenters during a small group discussion concerning his definition of “church,” which was not about the Word of God properly preached and the Sacraments properly administered from his point of view, he removed himself from the conversation.
The other LCMS presenter openly advocated the removal of confirmation instruction (I’ve heard this in the ELCA several times in the past) and insisted that the seekers who come to the second preaching point of his ministry were not ready to attend worship at the primary worship site which is a classic Midwestern church building and liturgy. He did not say why, and in keeping with the 8th Commandment, I will not speculate. The best part of this free conference was the fine dinner sponsored by two external organizations who sponsored the event. I guess you get what you pay for. I appreciate your work, and yes, Todd, you were right, sometimes others can do a great job in demonstrating what not to do,
Todd Wilken: Well, Kerry, thank you very much, and look, change is change. And when the attitude is “we must change or die, that the Church’s life, the Church’s ongoing life and existence depends not upon the living Christ present in his Word and his Sacraments, but upon our ability to change,” usually change with the times, which is just another way of saying, “Let’s let the culture call the shots.” Right? “Let’s just let the culture tell us what is relevant, what we should be talking about. The audience is sovereign,” all this kind of George Barna nonsense.
When change is the essence of the Church’s existence, then you have no stopping point. When you believe that the Church can only continue to exist if it continues to change, you have absolutely no boundary to limit what you will change. So, old definition of the Church? Sure it’s in the Lutheran Confessions, and sure we call ourselves “Lutheran.” I mean, what does that mean? We drink beer and wear Lederhosen and we talk to each other in German occasionally. That’s why we’re Lutheran, come on! The Confessions, what are you talking about? Definition of the Church? That needs to change, too.
And what dictates the change? The Word of God? No. Any faithful confession, be it Lutheran or otherwise? No. What dictates the change? Well, it’s going to be one of two things, isn’t it? It’s going to be our own imagination or opinion, or it’s going to be someone else’s imagination or opinion, neither of which are, well, solid ground upon which to build the Church.
And remember what I said when I talked about this in blog of the week. Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my Church” – Peter’s confession! – “and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” But if you build – well, you can call it a “church,” I don’t know what it is, — when you build upon change, when you build upon your own imagination or opinion, then that promise does not prevail.
What I’d like to see is a conference called “Change AND die.”
When change is the essence of the Church’s existence, then you have no stopping point. When you believe that the Church can only continue to exist if it continues to change, you have absolutely no boundary to limit what you will change. So, old definition of the Church? Sure it’s in the Lutheran Confessions, and sure we call ourselves “Lutheran.” I mean, what does that mean? We drink beer and wear Lederhosen and we talk to each other in German occasionally. That’s why we’re Lutheran, come on! The Confessions, what are you talking about? Definition of the Church? That needs to change, too.
And what dictates the change? The Word of God? No. Any faithful confession, be it Lutheran or otherwise? No. What dictates the change? Well, it’s going to be one of two things, isn’t it? It’s going to be our own imagination or opinion, or it’s going to be someone else’s imagination or opinion, neither of which are, well, solid ground upon which to build the Church.
And remember what I said when I talked about this in blog of the week. Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my Church” – Peter’s confession! – “and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” But if you build – well, you can call it a “church,” I don’t know what it is, — when you build upon change, when you build upon your own imagination or opinion, then that promise does not prevail.
What I’d like to see is a conference called “Change AND die.”
