Friday, July 28, 2017

A Little Good News Today - Comfort for Christians

A Little Good News Today - Comfort for Christians:

"A Little Good News Today

1 minute read
Some of you will remember this song from 1983. The times were hard in the Eighties, and are demonstrably darker now. But here’s the thing: you and I are witnesses to the good news Anne Murray is asking to hear. It’s true that many are not interested and don’t even recognize it to be good news. But some will.

The best antidote to the sadness and disappointment the spirit of the age offers is to return to the truth again and again. Thank God that he loved the world so much that he gave his Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but will have eternal life.

Who can deny that that is more than, A little good news, today?

Lyrics

I rolled out this mornin’ the kids had the mornin’ news show on
Bryant Gumbel was talkin’ ‘bout the fighting in Lebanon
Some senator was squawkin’ ‘bout the bad economy
It’s gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy

There’s a local paper rolled up in a rubber band
One more sad story’s one more than I can stand
Just once how I’d like to see the headline say
“Not much to print today, can’t find nothin’ bad to say”, because

Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD’ed, nobody burned a single buildin’ down
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today

I’ll come home this evenin’, I’ll bet that the news will be the same
Somebody takes a hostage, somebody steals a plane
How I wanna hear the anchor man talk about a county fair
And how we cleaned up the air, how everybody learned to care
Whoa, tell me

Nobody was assassinated in the whole Third World today
And in the streets of Ireland, all the children had to do was play
And everybody loves everybody in the good old USA
We sure could use a little good news today

Writer(s): Rory Michael Bourke, Tommy Rocco, Charles Frank Black, Thomas Rocco

Originally published at: Comfort for Christians."

'via Blog this'

So Much Interest in the WELS Church Growth Fulleroids

Nine years ago, I posted this material about WELS and its love for the Church Growth Movement from Fuller Seminary. When I reposted it a week ago, the material quickly gained almost 1,000 views.

I do not consider Google or Facebook numbers to be be infallible, but the numbers do indicate trends. Two categories get a lot of attention on this blog - doctrinal posts and quotations gleaned from the Megatron database, which - like the USS New Jersey - can be taken out of mothballs and activated at any moment.

Since Church Growth loves numbers so much, can they answer what they have done for the numbers? Look at how old these quotations are -

"The publication TELL ('The Evangelism Life Line') has been inaugurated to promote the cause of church growth." Ernst H. Wendland, "Church Growth Theology," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, April, 1981, 78, p. 105.

"In the light of church growth principles as they are promulgated in many mission schools these days, the question naturally arises as to whether or not our approach to world mission work is in need of reassessment or improvement." Ernst H. Wendland, "Church Growth Theology," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, April, 1981, 78, p. 108.

But wait - TELL began in 1977, so WELS has had 40 years to bestow the blessings of Church Growth on this little sect.

Millions of dollars have been spent.
Many Church Growthers have spawned lawsuits.
The honest numbers are in the basement and going lower.
The latest and worst Synod President is a Fulleroid and his First VP is a Fuller alumnus - Jim Huebner.

GJ - "Jim, where did you and Kelm and Larry Olson learn to be church consultants?"

Huebner, gulping - "Fuller Seminary."

WELS Church Growth Excretions Lead the Month after Only One Week

Jeske struts for the Martin Luther College students,
spouting the same old tirade for the last 20 years -
We ran out of Germans!
His real message is, "Gimme more grants and gubmint money.
I want to be...wealthy."
The carefully dressed and posed students are amused.