How Is This For Transforming Lives?

From a reader:

There’s a true story about a Christian church, that was once what you would call a model congregation for anyone interested in church growth. They had a heated swimming pool for underprivileged kids.  They had horses for inner-city children to ride.  The church gave scholarships and provided housing for senior citizens.  It even had an animal shelter and medical facility, an outpatient care facility and a drug rehabilitation program.  Walter Mondale, who was vice-president under Jimmy Carter wrote that the pastor was an “inspiration to us all.”  The Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare said the pastor was an outstanding contributor.  We are told, “he knew how to inspire hope.  He was committed to people in need, he counseled prisoners and juvenile delinquents.  He started a job placement center; he opened rest homes and homes for the retarded; he had a health clinic; he organized a vocational training center; he provided free legal aid; he founded a community center; he preached about God.  He even claimed to cast out demons, do miracles and heal.”

But where is that pastor and church today?  What are they doing right now?  The pastor and church are dead.  Literally.  Death occurred when the pastor called the members to a pavilion, sat in his large chair and spoke into a hand-held microphone about the beauty of death and how they would all meet again.  But to insure that everyone would meet again real soon he surrounded the people with armed guards and had a container of cyanide-laced Kool-Aid brought out.  Most of the church members drank the poison with no resistance.  Those who did resist were forced to drink.  First it was the babies and children – about 80.  Then the adults – women and men, leaders and followers.  And finally the pastor.  In a few minutes it was all over.  The members of the People’s Temple Christian Church were all dead.  All 780 of them.  And so was their leader, Jim Jones.

More on Divorced Pastors - Why Pietists Cannot Be Trusted

Someone thought I was being too harsh when I said all divorced pastors should be removed from pastoral work, and that includes being booted upstairs as a consultant, mission counselor, or evangelism expert.

The writer claimed that some pastors are left by their wives, etc. Arguing from an exception is always going to promote weak principles. In fact, that is how so many divorced pastors kept their jobs--and often their mistresses--by making themselves the victims. Wives may be completely at fault at times (I doubt it), but the Bible still says "husband of but one wife," and not "one wife at a time."

What did divorced pastors do for WELS in Columbus? Floyd Luther Stolzenburg was promoted as a Church Growth expert and treated as a WELS pastor, even though he was kicked out as a Missouri pastor and never a member of WELS. The only cause he favored was himself and his false doctrine. Ditto Roger Zehms, another divorced pastor, but friends with Wayne Mueller. So he could promote CG too, even though he had no call, except one "directly from the Holy Spirit," as he said at one LPR meeting - explaining why he and Floyd answered to no one. Marc Schroeder divorced his first wife and married his girlfriend, but they were both children of WELS professors so that made it Scriptural. Marc loved Church Growth, got kicked out of WELS, and joined Missouri with his congregation. The Donor, as he was called, was also divorced. All were "Scriptural" divorces - the most common use of "Scriptural" in Columbus WELS churches.

A WELS member wrote: "I remember Columbus having all these divorced pastors. It seems to me these guys are always the ones that promoted the church growth issues. They talk about love but are unloving."

Marvin Schwan did a lot for WELS and Missouri, showing them how little a ton of money can do. Marvin divorced his wife and married his manager's wife. Marvin's second wife became a Lutheran, apparently proving money is a Means of Grace. But when he died, she became a Roman Catholic again, proving money is not as powerful a means as WELS/ELS once thought.

Christian News has another fine example of what I mean. A group photo shows Herman Otten grinning with David Menton (CLC - sic) and Phil Giessler (ex-LCMS). Giessler was carrying on an affair when he was the overpaid head of God's Word to the Nation Bible Society. What was supposed to be a revision of the Beck Bible turned into a Marvin Schwan funded bonanza for a few people, especially Phil. He was getting staggering sums.

At one point Giessler's long-suffering wife told her LCMS husband to choose between her and the mistress. He chose his mistress and his putative son with that woman. Rev. Phil announced his own ex-communication because he was unrepentant. His Bible empire went on life support.

Giessler was divorced for cause and joined a Pietistic ministerium. They did not allow divorced pastors, so they did not list him. But he served a church on their list. His second wife, who was his former mistress, got tired of living on very little (no Schwan loot) and left him, telling him, "He isn't your son after all."

Rev. Phil got married a third time, rising in Otten's esteem with each marriage. Otten even said on the phone once, "Phil is here with his wife." I said, "His third?" Herman said, "Third? Why do you say third?" I went through the history, as told to me by Otten and recorded somewhat in his tabloid. Herman said, "Oh yes. You are right. She is a nice person."

Otten contended that Phil was such a good teacher of the Bible. Readers can imagine what I said in response.

I wrote before - conservatives have lost credibility in America because they are just as loose as their Leftist counterparts, and conservatives excuse the worst behavior because "he is a nice guy" or something similar. Luther argued that men who abandon their families should be arrested. I doubt whether Luther would address Phil as "Dr." The latest CN article identifies Dr. Phil as a "Bible scholar." That must mean someone who makes a choice living from a book he never reads.

Pietism breeds legalism and antinomianism. A CLC (sic) layman like Menton will denounce people for publishing in CN, because the LCMS is evil and Otten is still in it. However, CLC (sic) pastors can publish in CN if they limit themselves to letters. And Menton can publish in CN because...well, just because. Now Menton is involved in an unionistic Creation museum. And the trouble with the LCMS is - they tolerate unionistic activities!

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More on Divorced Pastors - Why Pietists Cannot Be ...":

"Floyd Luther Stolzenburg was promoted as a Church Growth expert and treated as a WELS pastor, even though he was kicked out as a Missouri pastor and never a member of WELS."

How many children did Floyd have?

***

GJ - Pro-life pastors Jay Webber and Roger Kovaciny could answer how many children Floyd fathered. They worked with and supported Floyd, taking money from his Masonic church for their projects. Maybe VP Paul Kuske and Doctrinal Pussycat Robert Mueller would offer some facts. Both claimed to know all about Floyd before installing him as a CG guru for WELS without Floyd belonging to WELS - a synod devoted to fellowship principles.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More on Divorced Pastors - Why Pietists Cannot Be ...":

Hey Dr. Jackson do you agree that this is high tech gossip against your fellow christians (sic). It is not very pastor like.

***

GJ - No I do not agree. A divorce is a public matter, with legal documents filed for anyone to see - unless sealed by the court. WELS/ELS officials have shamed themselves by promoting and defending men who should be in prison instead of a pulpit. The alleged shepherds watching over the flock, the District Pussycats, are wolves in sheep's clothing. They are very harsh - but only with the people who find out the truth.

You will never hear from a WELS DP that one of their own went to the state prison for offenses against children in his own congregation, that two WELS church workers murdered their wives. But oh do they have a creative streak when it comes to making up stories about people who threaten to unfeather their nests. Woe unto those who cross DP Hategood and VP Corruption.

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Bruce Church has left a new comment on your post "More on Divorced Pastors - Why Pietists Cannot Be ...":

Dr. Jackson,

I know that you've pointed out that antinomianism runs rampant in the UOJ-lovin' synods, but perhaps it never occurred to your readers what antinomianism actually looks like in real life, or that the behavior some commentators engage in is actually various forms of antinomianism. For instance, the guy who wrote that you engage in high tech gossip is really just throwing out a red herring. In other words, he's trying to undercut and silence anyone who would try to apply the law to, or just plain point out, egregious situations in the synods.

Antinomianists undercut critics even though they must realize that someone has to raise a stink or else the situation in the Church would become intolerable in short order. Imagine what it would be like if public ministers knew they could have three or even four wives and no one would say anything
contrariwise.

Antinomianism (anti-law-ism) entails a person, or persons, making a lot of excuses why the law does not apply to him (or them), or to someone he or they like, as well as castigating, name-calling, or even slandering people who publicly object to public behavior that does not conform to the Scriptures, all in order to get critics to back off.

A favorite of antinomianists is to misapply Mat 07:01: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." However, verse five of that chapter shows that what is meant is hypocritical judging. Notice Jesus does say to eventually take the speck out of the brother's eye, not to ignore it forever, but first tend to one's own sin. Since Dr. Jackson is still married to his first wife, he can fire away at public ministers who've had more than one (1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Tit. 1:6).

Antinominists may resort to other red herrings, like saying a person is not in fellowship with the WELS, or another synod, and therefore it is none of his business. Another red herring is charging a critic with violation of the 8th Commandment, or a violation
of Matthew 18 where one is supposed to go to the brother privately first. Both the 8th Commandment and Matthew 18 pertain to dealing with private sins privately, but the Ministry of the Word is public for the most part, and public sin and
false teaching must be rebuked publicly.

Schmid's Doctrinal Theology for Free

Sorry, pal - no UOJ in Schmid.
He only quotes orthodox Lutheran authors.

Get Schmid's Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church on Google Books.

Click here for the text.

Anonymous Clown Tries Hand at Ichabod

Baby Bee is not happy with the real Ichabod.

Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

Someone has anonymousely started a fake Ichabod blog, with a slightly different name.

Click here for a few laughs.

Bad formatting.

Copying my copyrighted Photoshops. Did I give permission in writing? I don't think so.

Very touchy about the rollicking good humor on this blog.

Yes, of course - calling me a terrible sinner for publishing satire. He has his facts wrong, but thinks he can publish deliberate slander while invoking the Eighth Commandment.

Big, bad defense of Universal Objective Justification. This girly-man fraidy cat is already forgiven, according to his Enthusiastic opinion, so anything he does anonymousely is absolved in advance. His adulterous Church Shrinker friends have comforted themselves with the same spiritual advice.

Maybe after the Saginaw convention this soldier of the cross will be so angry he will actually sign his name.

Can the Shrinkers ever get away from their need to copy, to ape, to be what they can never be? They make terrible Babtists, so they are necessarily going to be even worse Lutherans.

The Church and Chicaneries are worried sick. That is clear. They know everyone is reading the real Ichabod, so they think a little sissy sniping will serve their needs. This is just a foretaste of the upcoming convention, folks.

EastCoast and Freddy Finkelstein on Love

Greg,

That "Christopher" guy on Ichabod is a perfect example of what is wrong in WELS. I have such members. I believe all WELS churches do. I confront mine with the hard truths. Most don't like it one bit, and many leave for LCMS and ELCA et al. The "turnover" at this congregation has been nearly 80% in the years I have been here, with a net gain of maybe ten good, faithful members.

Most - almost no - WELS Pastors, even the really good ones, will not confront their mamby-pamby members. Its not just that they're afraid of losing members and offerings, but that they feel they must be super-tolerant and patient with these folks and not be too hard on them. If they were "shacking-up," or drunks or something, they would come down on them like a ton of bricks. But because their sin is a misunderstanding and misapplication of God's directives to His Church, and very often some quite false and dangerous beliefs as well, these members are allowed to stay for years and years. In turn, they contaminate many others in the congregation. Very slowly, over time, more and more people get the "warm fuzzy" disease. This then leads to calls for "contemporary," "casual," or "alternative" worship, among other nonsense. At first, this is supported only by 20 to 25% of the congregation. But then Confessional members quit or move, new and weaker members take their place, and in a decade or so, a once Confessional and orthodox congregation is starting a "coffee-house church" downtown, and looking for all the world like your typical "community, non-denominational" church. This has happened dozens of times already, and the poison has infected hundreds of WELS churches. The problem has become systemic. As WELS' roots are deep in Pietism, this infection is latent in nearly all WELS leaders, Pastoral and otherwise. The only cure is the theological equivalent of heavy pruning and copper sulfate - tough discipline on both members and the Pastors who tolerate them, and the anti-viral of the true pure Law and Gospel, properly divided and applied.

The point is - there are places and churches for these "limp Lutherans." I don't say they're going to hell. Probably not. But that's because of what Luther called "the blessed inconsistency," people don't often follow their false beliefs to their faith-destroying, and soul-damning conclusions. Praise the Lord! However, that doesn't mean we want them in our congregations! They are still dangerous, and their support, participation, and offerings are not worth giving up one iota of the Bible or the Confessions. This is what we in the WELS need desperately to understand and act upon. But, frankly, I don't think it will happen. Most likely, it is already too late. The Convention next month will tell the tale.

If you want to use this on Ichabod for Christopher, that's fine.

EastCoast

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Freddy Finkelstein has left a new comment on your post "Guess What Just Emerged from The CORE?":

Luther on the "Role of Love" when doctrinal error is involved:

"In the church, however, as far as the Word is concerned, it is not a matter of the forgiveness of sins; but this is the mathematical point and the highest purity. The Word is so irreproachable that not a single iota can err in the Law or the divine promises. For that reason we must yield to no sect, not even in one tittle of Scripture, no matter how much they clamor and accuse us of violating love when we hold so strictly to the Word. The beginning of all love is that the scepter of equity remains. If there is no other way of achieving this, then love or anything else must be broken, be it ever so great, just so the Word remains pure" (in his commentary on Psalm 45).

"We are prepared to preserve peace and love with all men if only they will permit us to keep the doctrine of faith entire and uncorrupted. If they will not promise this, they will demand love from us in vain. Damned be that love which is maintained at the cost of the doctrines of the faith! ...If a single one is set aside, they will gradually all be lost. They form one single, harmonious whole..." (from his commentary on Galatians 5:9).

Luther was such a fine influence in his day. Too bad he is culturally outdated and no longer relevant in ours. Fellowship used to be "the immune system of the Church," now it is an impediment to numerical growth.

Freddy Finkelstein

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 8, 2009

ELCA Pastor Brings Words of Promise to Wichita Congregations
09-129-FI

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Attitude is everything" was a phrase that Dr. George Tiller had made into buttons. Many mourners wore those buttons to his funeral June 6 at College Hill United Methodist Church, Wichita, Kan. Tiller was shot and killed the previous Sunday morning before worship at nearby Reformation Lutheran Church, where he was a member.

"Attitude is everything ... but not our attitude," said the Rev. Lowell R. Michelson, Tiller's pastor, during the funeral sermon. "God's attitude ... an attitude of love."

***

GJ - Killer Tiller murdered 60,000 defenseless babies.

Luther versus Universal Objective Justification

From Brett Meyer:

LUTHER:
12. To accept as true the record of Christ--this they call faith. The devils have the same sort of faith, but it does not make them godly. Such belief is not Christian faith; no, it is rather deception.

22. Now, the Cain-like saints have not, as they themselves confess, the Christian faith which would assure them of being the children of God.

37. Note, Paul everywhere teaches justification, not by works, but solely by faith; and not as a process, but instantaneous. The testament includes in itself everything--justification, salvation, the inheritance and great blessing. Through faith it is instantaneously enjoyed, not in part, but all. Truly is it plain, then, that faith alone affords such blessings of God, justification and salvation--immediately and not in process as must be the case with works--and constitutes us children and heirs who voluntarily discharge their duties, not presuming to become godly and worthy by a servile spirit. No merit is needed; faith secures all gratuitously-- more than anyone can merit. The believer performs his works gratuitously, being already in possession of all the Cain-like saints vainly seek through works and never find--justification and divine inheritance, or grace.

74. But what is the process whereby Christ gives us such a spirit and redeems us from under the Law? The work is effected solely by faith. He who believes that Christ came to redeem us, and that he has accomplished it, is really redeemed. As he believes, so is it with him. Faith carries with it the child-making spirit. The apostle here explains by saying that Christ has redeemed us from under the Law that we might receive the adoption of sons. As before stated, all must be effected through faith. Now we have discussed the five points of the verse.

108. Paul adds "through Christ" to avoid the implication that the inheritance is bestowed upon us without any merit or cost whatever. Although it costs us nothing, and although it is bestowed without merit on our part, yet Christ was placed under great obligations. For the sake of that inheritance he was put under the Law for us; he paid the cost to secure, or to merit, the inheritance for all who believe in him. (EMPHASIS: "for all who believe in Him" Christ died for all, but only those who have the Holy Spirits faith in Christ are reconciled, forgiven, justified and declared righteous because they, through faith, have Christ as their mediator.)

http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/Galatians4_1_7.html

YOUR LOCAL WELS SCHOOL:
"If forgiveness were dependent on faith in the sense that God does not forgive until we believe, we would always have to be sure that we are believers before we would be sure that we are forgiven." (p.60)

"And yet many Lutherans still labor under the delusion that God does not forgive us unless we believe. Instead of seeing faith as nothing more than the spiritual hand with which we make the forgiveness of God our own, they see it as a reason why God forgives us. They believe that Christ has indeed provided forgiveness for all men, that God is willing to forgive them, but before he really forgives he first of all demands that we should be sorry for our sins and that we should have faith. Just have faith they say, and then God will forgive you. All the right words are there. The only thing wrong is that the words are in the wrong order. God does not forgive us IF we have faith. He has forgiven us long ago when he raised his Son from the dead." (p. 59) two quotes from Our Great Heritage, WELS and heralded by Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, WELS and Evergreen Lutheran High School, (WELS)

"I am in agreement with Pastor Humanns statements as printed in the paragraphs from Our Great Heritage. They are correct and consistent with Gods Word and the position of WELS." Greg Thiesfeldt, Principal, Evergreen Lutheran High School, (WELS)

"When Jesus rose, he rose as the substitute for every sinner. By his resurrection God declared sinners, all of them, forgiven. This is the good news Scripture reveals. This is the good news we proclaim to contrite sinners: “God has reconciled you to himself. Your sins are already forgiven. Calvary and the empty tomb are the proof of it.” Evergreen High School Board of Directors, Pastor Nathan Seiltz, Principal Greg Thiesfeldt (WELS)

"When speaking of salvation, we don’t want to turn a person’s attention inward to his faith, but outward to the grace of God. Preaching about faith will not produce faith, but proclaiming God’s love and mercy and forgiveness will produce believing hearts." Evergreen High School Board of Directors, Pastor Nathan Seiltz, Principal Greg Thiesfeldt (WELS)

"To justify in the Bible always has the meaning “to declare righteous.” Never do the terms denote a qualitative change in man, a physical or medicinal thing. The change which is meant is not a change in one’s person, but a change in one’s status before God." Evergreen High School Board of Directors, Pastor Nathan Seiltz, Principal Greg Thiesfeldt (WELS)

"A quick look at the terms ought to be sufficient to remind ourselves of the Lutheran doctrine of objective or universal justification–that God at the resurrection of Christ declared sinners justified, universally, excluding none, and objectively, whether they believe it or not." Evergreen High School Board of Directors, Pastor Nathan Seiltz, Principal Greg Thiesfeldt (WELS)

"Previously God viewed the world apart from Christ—and it stood condemned. Now God views the world in the light of Christ’s work of redemption and has declared the world righteous, forgiven." Evergreen High School Board of Directors, Pastor Nathan Seiltz, Principal Greg Thiesfeldt (WELS)

"But whoever molests the doctrine of justification stabs the gospel in the heart and is on the way of losing entirely Christian doctrine and personal faith and of falling into the arms of heathenism, even if he ever so much emphasizes justification by faith." August Pieper quoted by Evergreen High School Board of Directors, Pastor Nathan Seiltz, Principal Greg Thiesfeldt (WELS)

LUTHER:
99. In persecuting faith and defaming and condemning it as heresy and presumption, the unbelievers conduct themselves as their father Cain did to his brother Abel. Thus in themselves they slay Christ their brother. His innocent blood will not cease to cry toward heaven against them, as the blood of Abel cried against Cain.

http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLuther/MLSermons/Galatians4_1_7.html

Please Read This: Veterans of Drive 08 and 09, Willow Creekers, and Fullerites

Martin Chemnitz, editor of the Book of Concord,
primary author of the Formula of Concord,
student of Luther and Melanchthon

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Doug Englebrecht - It's 10 PMDo You Know Where You...":

Two years ago I joined the local WELS church after having been Baptist most of my life. I do believe what I was taught in confirmation classes and could see where my old church had gone astray. I am sad to watch as my new church is drifting slowly but surely to look and act exactly like my old church. What is the alternative? I am at a loss.

***

St. Paul, Muskego (WELS) has the logo for Fireproof Your Marriage on its front page. The graphic boasts that the movie came from the same folks who produced Facing the Giants. For those who missed Facing the Giants, the plot revolves around a football coach at a Christian academy who has a losing team, a disastrous car, a childless marriage, and a bummed-out look on his face all the time. He yields himself to God (the only sacrament among the Reformed) and:

1. His wife gets pregnant.
   
2. His team starts winning.
   
3. Grateful parents buy him a brand-new truck.
   
4. The entire campus of the school breaks into little prayer groups.
   
5. He smiles.

Needless to say, Peter Pan-denominational is a Church and Change activist, using The Simple Church, which is--naturally--Babtist.

Doug Englebrecht - It's 10 PMDo You Know Where Your Pastors Are?

Doug Englebrecht, DP, Northern Wisconsin--Anything Goes--District

Glende, Ski, and Katy are larning evangelism from the Babtists in Atlanta.

Buske is there too, but he is from Milwaukee.

Ski, Buske, and Parlow were there last year for Drive 08. Have you read Ski's blog about worshiping with Andy Stanley and how awesome that was?

WELS found enough spine to shut down the Waldo Werning-Kent Hunter love fest, but promotes Babtist touchy-feely decision theology?

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Doug Englebrecht - It's 10 PMDo You Know Where You...":

President Engelbrecht:
Please act on this.

Thank-you.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Doug Englebrecht - It's 10 PMDo You Know Where You...":

Pastor Englebrecht, where are your pastors and even more importantly - where is your spine? If you are not willing to do your job, please resign and let someone who is willing to keep a close eye on wayward pastors do that job for you! These pastors who prefer to learn from people with whom WELS is not even in fellowship with should be disciplined and made an example of as to keep others from getting the same idea. I personally am on the brink of severing my own lifelong membership with the WELS. Not that I am leaving WELS but that they have left ME. I anxiously await this upcoming synod convention and expect to see a harsh condemnation of this type of activity followed by not just lip service, but serious consequence to those who would try to hijack my church now or in the future. Without that, sadly I fear I can no longer associate with a church body that doesn't practice what it preaches.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Doug Englebrecht - It's 10 PMDo You Know Where You...":

Two years ago I joined the local WELS church after having been Baptist most of my life. I do believe what I was taught in confirmation classes and could see where my old church had gone astray. I am sad to watch as my new church is drifting slowly but surely to look and act exactly like my old church. What is the alternative? I am at a loss.

New Hope in Melbourne, Florida To Be Given the Left Foot of Fellowship

Not that New Hope Church in Melbourne, Florida.

Church giving 'great sex' sermons might get booted

MELBOURNE, Fla. – A church giving sermons about sex may have to find a new home. Brevard Public School District's risk-management department has threatened to boot New Hope Church out of Sherwood Elementary because of a worship series titled "Great Sex for You."

Church leaders mailed 25,000 fliers, asking residents "Is Your Sex Life A Bore?" The three-week program kicked off inside the school auditorium. Pastor Bruce Cadle had said the Christian church has been "shamefully silent" on the taboo topic.

Mark Langdorf, the director of risk management, says the mailers generated complaints, were not appropriate for elementary school children and shouldn't be used to advertise the sermon in the school.

Langdorf says the church's lease contract is under review.

***

GJ - I can find a wealth of material for Church and Change to copy at the other New Hope websty:

our pastor
Bruce Cadle: Pastor Bruce's casual teaching style, real life illustrations and sense of humor will help you not only learn the Bible but also apply it to your daily life.

Bruce has been married to Valerie for thirty-two years. They have two children and five grandchildren.

Bruce is also the ultimate Cubs fan!

internet campus
Welcome to the Internet Campus of New Hope Church! This Campus exists to help unbelievers and believers become followers of Jesus Christ.

Our Internet Campus is not meant to be a replacement for attending New Hope in person, but it is a viable option any week that you are not able to attend our Melbourne Campus.

While you are here please:

1.Submit your Connection Card so we'll know you you attended our Internet Campus today.
2.Submit your prayer requests at the bottom of the connection card so our Prayer Team can pray for you.
3.Listen to our streaming sermons, or download an mp3.
4.Download an outline of the sermon so you can take notes that will help you apply the message to your life.
5.Use the Online Giving link to give your tithe or offering. The technology and manpower required to offer our Internet Campus is very expensive and can only be provided with the generous gifts from our church family.
6.Tell A Friend! Use the Tell a Friend link to invite someone you know would benefit from a specific message.
Thanks for visiting the Internet Campus of New Hope Church! Please return often!

small groups
The best way to grow spiritually is by spending time with other Christ followers. Our Small Groups meet every week to have fun together, grow together, learn together, pray together... Try out one of our groups this week!

Mon 6:30 PM Beachside led by Rusty and Kristy Stuart (321.777.5138) map
Mon 7 PM *Young Couples/Singles led by Pastor Luke (321.591.5905) map
Wed 10:30 AM Seniors led by Ralph McLaughlin
(321.327.4566) map
Wed 7 PM *North Melbourne at Brian Odaffer’s
(321.508.4853) map
Wed 7 PM *Prayer Team map
Wed 7 PM *Financial Peace University [get more info] map
Thu 7 PM Celebrate Recovery [get more info] map
Thu 7 PM Ladies Group at Judy Wirth's
(321.242.9965) map
* Nursery Provided

student ministry
New Hope is a cool place for teenagers!

Our Youth Group meets Sundays at 6PM at Club625. Your teenagers will discover God's purpose for their lives and experience God's power in their lives.

Internet Conversion by Making a Decision

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "New Hope in Melbourne, Florida To Be Given the Lef...":

Your readers can see for themselves with this post, GJ, how deceptive you really are. I hope the readers who think your on the up-and-up will finally have it sink in what kind of person you really are. Too bad they have never met you personally. It would take even less time for them to figure out what makes you tick.

***

GJ - Someone has a bad case of the Mondays.

Thank You For All the Information

Typical Church and Change member, sniveling, whining, and crying.

I would like to thank all of you by name, but I do not know a lot of names. I know a few, and they are people who are not bigshots in WELS. They are laity.

WELS created an inversion over the last few decades. Only the Fuller/Willow Creek zombies and their robotic lay followers could have any influence. They are quite impressed with themselves and their power network. For a long time they had a grip on all communication. For instance, there was a massive effort to keep people from learning about the first WELS pan-denominational worship workshop at Carthage College (ELCA): only the ELS was excluded!

Now people can learn the facts in minutes, and quite a few people are providing the data.

The Northwestern Lutheran Forward in Christ remains a Church and Change shop because The Love Shack is. The drones at 2929 are like New Yorkers who say, "I never met an Evangelical in my life." The Love Shackers cannot imagine anyone questioning Fuller, Willow Creek, Leonard Sweet, or Waldo Werning.

In the past, anyone who questioned this C and C inversion was forced out, frozen out, or given a Sisera counseling session. Questions at a clergy meeting met with denunciations or coffin-like silence. Now, I am told, people read Ichabod daily and laugh very hard. My source used a more graphic expression.

The laity like to imagine themselves as leaders. That means they need to lead, not wait around for the pastor to do something right and mean it. Too many pastors are welded to the Church and Change promotion system. How they howled when I quoted them!
Kudu Don Patterson wrote to me that he had issues with C and C, but when John Lawrenz oozed about doing new things in the Third World, Patterson responded: "Pure gold. Thank you, Brother John. May your Fuller tattoo and my Willow Creek tattoo meet in Paradise." (I added the last sentence, just for fun.)

I would love to see a list of WELS leaders, especially Love Shackers, who have never studied at Fuller, Fuller Evangelism Institute, Fuller Missions, Win Arn, Kent Hunter, Willow Creek, or Trinity Divinity in Deerfield.

One of the all-time upper lip curlers is study at a Missouri Synod school. Orthodoxy in WELS requires a sneer whenever Missouri is mentioned, accompanied by a story which shows how vastly superior WELS is to big brother. However, Paul Kelm, age 64, earned a drive-by DMin at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and that got him a job at The Love Shack. Why didn't upper lips curl into a sneer for that?

Schwaermer Input Equals Schwaermer Output

Youth Trip.

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Clueless Times Two":

I thought they were marketing to an older age group. Sure sign of shoddy evangelism when what should be good solid Christian demographic marketing of the gospel actually brings in the wrong target group. Equally appalling, and likely to come as a complete shock, is that they may not be prepared to speak in the language of 12 year olds today. The gospel given in the language of today's 25 year olds would never be understood. What's a Methodist Baptist Universalist Lutheran to do?

That "language of today" position was actually presented by WELS Pastor Jared Oldenburg (Mission pastor to Covington, Wa.) in a church news letter titled, "Multicultural Urban Missionary?" May, 2005. He had just returned from a two day Leadership Seminar in Milwaukee that featured speaker Dr. Reggie McNeal (Baptist Church Growth disciple and Fuller Seminary instructor). Quote, "I can't explain the whole two days in 400 words, but it comes down to this: Generations are different and to connect you almost need to speak a different language. Different generations have different ideas, they have different ways of communicating, different job choices and sometimes even different core values. There is no doubt that the seriousness of sin and the wonder of Jesus dying for us is necessary for every generation. However, if we try to communicate this wonderful message in the language of a different generation, we may not be communicating at all. Obviously this is a scary thing - but with the Lord's help we will have the courage to learn the language of every generation in our multicultural ministry."

Pastor Oldenburg was also active in having his new mission congregation create new creeds and using Lyle Schaller and Herb Miller's The Parish Paper articles in directing church efforts. One such presentation to the church elders was, "Recovering Inactive Members" (June 2002) which began, "I'm glad we're getting a new pastor," she said. "Yes," her friend replied. "Maybe she can get some of our inactive members to come back."....... The article goes on to point out 20 reasons people drop out of church and how to respond - none of which dealt with using God's Word.


Reggie McNeal is another Fuller Seminary gasbag.

***

GJ - Lyle Schaller (another leader I met and spoke with) has some interesting ideas never mentioned by Church Growth feminists. He is a liberal and says so. He also pointed out that every church position occupied by a woman will never be taken by a man again. It becomes a woman's position and no man will take it. Notice the WELS churches with council secretaries who are women. Wait for a man to take the position. Ditto Sunday School superintendent or children's sermon speaker (a woman at St. Mark Depere). The old fuddy-duddy position of WELS forced men to do the spiritual work and kept more men coming to church. Feminist churches quickly become all-women churches. One woman talked about this with my wife. Her church had a woman pastor and an all-woman council. Hardly any men attended. Mrs. Ichabod said, "How do you like that?" The woman, after bragging a bit, said, "I miss them."

People can flip all the rules around but human behavior remains the same. A girl will ride a boy's bike, but a boy will not ride a girl's bike more than once. His friends will see to that.


Church and Change favors Lyle Schaller over John Schaller. Grace in Milwaukee used to have John: now they have Lyle.

---

dk has left a new comment on your post "Schwaermer Input Equals Schwaermer Output":

That Hideous Strength
A quote Reggie McNeal quote cited by Brett:
“Different generations have different ideas, they have different ways of communicating, different job choices and sometimes even different core values.”

This lie is spread by Educators everywhere, who indoctrinate their pupils to think that humanity can reinvent itself every twenty years. If this statement were true we would not be able to understand “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and other ancient literature, not to mention The Holy Scriptures, since we're so far removed from ancient culture.
McNeal is just one more liar fooling around with language for his own purposes.

Quick book review: I cannot recommend C.S. Lewis’ theology, but Lewis is very observant about language problems of our modern age. In his fictional story “That Hideous Strength”, which I highly recommend, (A great metaphor for the current WELS problems) Lewis shows how the manipulation of language is used and why manipulation of language is so powerful.

For the folks on the fence—the ones who are disturbed by the liberalism in the WELS but yet are unsure of who to listen to—“That Hideous Strength” would be a good choice. Lewis’ characters are understandable; we find them thinking and reacting the way we have thought or reacted. We see real tension and real inner introspection happening in the characters that compare quite easily to our own experiences. Lewis vividly and accurately depicts how groups of people work—and how people work groups.

It’s not theology; it’s very readable. (not to say that theology is unreadable) It is a great analysis of the modus operendi (sic) of Pastor Kelm, and the other heads in the basement of 2929 N. Mayfair.

How To Adulterate the Worship Service:WELS, Of Course

No, not adulterating. We are blending, blending.

Worship Ideas You Can Use
Messiah - WELS in South Windsor, Connecticut - www.messiah-ct.com

The pastor Tom Mielke referred to at Messiah is no longer there. He has been at St Matthew (WELS) in A-town since December.

Who is this Keith Getty guy who appears in our new Hymnal Supplement?February 25, 2009 at 1:23 pm · Filed under Music, Worship Music ·Tagged Hymnal, Keith Getty

I’ve written about Keith Getty’s music in the past, particularly those new songs that have been included in our new Hymnal Supplement, most notably “In Christ Alone”. Keith and his wife Kristyn were interviewed recently. You readers just have to read this interview. Copyright laws prohibit me to reproduce it in its entirety so I am including a few excerpts to whet your appetite. You can read the entire interview here:

http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/2009/winter/withonevoice.html

“If I’ve got non-Christian friends coming to church, I’d far rather give them four verses of comparatively heavy theology with some theological words which explains the gospel, than give them twenty repeated words that could be said about your pet horse or your girlfriend.” - Keith

“It seems to me that if a church splits up over music, that music has become more important than togetherness in itself. Music is merely a servant to the body of believers.” - Keith

“Every generation needs music in its own vernacular.” – Kristyn

“Also, when we write hymns, we deliberately try to tell stories, because people will sing doxological truth and theology within a story ’til they’re blue in the face. Take “In Christ Alone” for instance. A lot of people are moved by the fact that through the verses, Jesus takes on flesh as a helpless babe and ends up on the cross. They’ve sung through half of Romans by the end of the song, but because you’ve taken them through a story rather than just giving them didactic truth, it really communicates to them.” – Keith

“As we write, we’re also aware of where a song would fit in the service. That has led us write things like “The Communion Hymn” and “Speak, O Lord,” which is like the old hymns of illumination that could be used immediately before or after a sermon.” - Kristyn

“We often cite “Be Thou My Vision” as an example. The lyrics date to around the sixth century, but it’s still being sung. And you’ve heard it with a big rock band, and you’ve heard it just voices and nothing else. It’s incredible what you can do with that folk melody. That’s a great example of how a song continues to be relevant. It’s not bound by any generation or style. “ - Keith

“On paper, the pastor and musician are a great partnership, because one has a bent towards theology and message, and the other is creative and has a bent towards the arts. When the two work well together, like the Wesley brothers or Cliff Barrows and Billy Graham, it’s a one plus one equals three.” – Keith

“Our primary motivation is the need for twenty-first century hymnody that articulates the truths of the faith and builds up the young, vibrant, and increasingly persecuted church worldwide.” - Keith

How to Start a Blended Worship Service Program at Your ChurchFebruary 21, 2009 at 9:05 pm · Filed under Blended Worship, Worship, Worship Tools, contemporary christian music ·Tagged Blended Worship

How to Start a Blended Worship Service Program at Your Church

Note - You can download a copy of this file in my “file download area” (right column, grey box at the bottom)

At our church, we used to do only Traditional, Liturgical, Lutheran Worship. We used the various liturgies included in the hymnal, but we never varied from the organ-based accompaniment and the singing of hymns. And by the way, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this.

Two or three years ago, we hired WELS Parish Assistance to evaluate our worship practices and to assess the needs of our local community. Included in their recommendations was a suggestion to consider using more contemporary music in worship. We were a bit bewildered with this idea and only knew of one contemporary artist and one or two songs; i.e. Amy Grant. Being a guitarist and a servant at heart, I volunteered to spearhead the effort. I still remember our Pastor at the time (Tom Mielke) sitting down with me and telling me that there was more to contemporary music than “Amy Grant.” Of course he was right, but neither of us knew where to turn. I started out by buying compilation CDs (WOW Worship for example) and building up a personal music library. I cannot overemphasize the importance of listening to a lot of music and paying attention to lyrics. Following is a chronological list of what we did; along with some other suggestions should you want to consider trying this yourself. The italicized paragraphs are personal reflections that I have experienced in our journey down this road.

The first thing you will need is someone who is passionate about contemporary Christian music (CCM). And this does not have to be a pre-existing character trait, as it wasn’t with us. You simply need someone who is open minded, enjoys music and is willing to really get into it. It would be helpful if this person is also a musician but it isn’t required. This person will become the driving force behind your blended service initiatives and will ultimately work closely with the Pastor. This person needs to be solid in their faith, have a heart for God and leadership qualities. Pastors, pray whole heartedly for help in finding this person. It’s critical to your success.

If possible, attend a blended service at a nearby sister congregation and talk to their leaders. Go to lectures and seminars if they are available in your area and run by our Synod.

Try a sample service. Keep it simple at first. Do a traditional service with all of the usual worship elements, including things like organ-backed psalm-of-the-day singing. The only thing different is the substitution of contemporary songs in place of hymns. Do your best to pick songs that go along with the readings and it goes without saying that your Pastor needs to review the lyrics for doctrinal accuracy. Since it’s your first service, most people will be forgiving when it comes to lyrical and thematic adherence to the readings. We actually held our first blended service on the night before Thanksgiving because evening, mid-week worship formats are often more contemporary feeling to begin with. And, Thanksgiving, by nature, is a praise-focused service so it went well. I remember one song was “Father I Adore You” because it was familiar and wasn’t in our hymnal!
For help in evaluating CCM songs, check out “Text, Music, Context: A Resource for Reviewing Worship Materials” by LCMS Commission on Worship (ca $5 from CPH item# S05505).

You will need at least a pianist and it helps to also have a guitarist and a few lead singers who can sing contemporary styled music. You will find that singing contemporary style is different than singing hymns. It takes a while to make this transition so be patient.

Be sure to get the music into the hands of the instrumentalists and singers at least a week in advance and plan for some group practice time before the actual worship service as well as encouraging individual practice time at home.
We actually struggled for more than a year with just a guitar, or using MIDI, or asking our organist to plow through the songs on the piano as best they could. The results were satisfactory, but I prayed like mad for more musicians. My prayers were answered; at least in part. A music teacher by trade, pianist and vocalist with a passion for contemporary music was transferred to us from another congregation, the results of a job transfer. Interestingly enough, she had not been using her talents much, because her church hadn’t tried blended worship. It was a blessing to both of us and to our congregation. To God be the glory.

Pick songs that are easy to learn and to sing. Once you find music, you will need to obtain permission from the publishers to copy the lead sheets for your bulletins or for overhead projection. Some publishers will be accommodating, especially if you explain that you are just giving this a try, while others might not. Ultimately, you will need to purchase a copyright license agreement or songbooks but we’ll touch on that later. There are a plethora of music resources on the WEB and some are free and offered legally. Look around.
I’ll never forget the opening song of our second attempt at blended worship. We now had me on guitar and six ladies (including two teenage girls) who helped out with singing. We did not yet have the luxury of a pianist. As a pre-service selection, we sang Tim Hughes’s song “Here I Am to Worship.” It was an incredible worship experience for me. There I was, the lone accompaniment, and to me, it sounded like there was a full band behind me. Right in the heat of the moment; I was genuinely “affected.” I was supposed to sing with the ladies, but I couldn’t. I was too choked up. Twenty five years of attending WELS worship services just came crashing down on me. Twenty five years of holding back my gifts to the Lord just started to gush. I was moved. I don’t think anyone else in the congregation felt the emotions that ran through me at that moment. Thank you God for allowing me to praise you through my gifts, which you gave to me and for forgiving me for waiting so long to use them to glorify your name. Thank you for filling me with your spirit on that glorious day.

Another option might be to use MIDI accompaniment if you have that capability. Again, there is a lot of free, high quality, MIDI files available on the WEB for most of the popular contemporary songs.

After the service, poll your congregation. Did they enjoy the music? Did it enhance their worship experience? Do they want to try it again? What do they want to do differently?

Assuming that you get positive feedback, you next need to decide on the frequency of your blended worship services. We started with one blended service per month and are still doing it that way. We chose the second Sunday of the month which happens to be a non-communion service for us. I think this is important because Communion has additional liturgical musical pieces which are more work to convert to contemporary accompaniment. Having a regularly scheduled format is also better for your congregation because they can plan around it. Especially if you have more than one service per week because people might want to make adjustments, either being sure to be at the blended service, or, choosing to go to the alternate traditional service on that week.

We also added a small group of volunteer singers to belt out the lyrics over the congregation. This helps to teach your congregants the new songs quicker and it helps to change the musical singing style from hymn-like singing to contemporary singing. Don’t be afraid to have your “band” sing the song first, followed by congregational join in, especially for new songs.

It is helpful to get your singers listening to the songs that you will be learning. There’s several ways to do this. For the more popular songs, each singer can search for the song on YouTube, at their leisure, and usually find a version that they can listen to for free. Some of your singers might have the funds and the means to download their own MP3s. There’s also a Christian MP3 download service called “Songtouch” that allows you to make up to 10 copies of each downloaded song for your band members. “Songtouch” is associated with CCLI and is accessed through their website but I don’t believe that you have to be a contract holder to use it.

Gradually, your blended service formats will start to change. At our church, we completely phased out the organ during contemporary services. The entire hymnal sung responses were eliminated. You need to work with your Pastor and your worship team to add in contemporary replacements. For example, for the psalm of the day, we sometimes read the psalm responsively or sometimes the pastor reads it followed by a contemporary song based on the text of the Psalm. Keep all of your current traditional worship elements, things like the prayers, benediction, creeds, confession of sins and absolution of sins. These are vitally important. You will find that you are doing more talking and reading than singing. You will also find that your people are reading more scripture as opposed to being read to. This is OK. This is part of the package.

As you pick up steam, you will need a permanent solution to your copyright needs. This actually needs to be addressed fairly early. There are a number of options. Here’s what we did:

We purchased a CCLI license agreement, identified a Lay coordinator of the contract, and assembled our own songbooks from music that was downloaded off the WEB through the CCLI songselect service.

Each month, we added four or five new songs into 3-ring binders that were used as our congregational songbooks.

The CCLI coordinator worked with the Pastor to identify good song choices, downloaded the song sheets, tracked song usage, reported copy activity to CCLI (when asked to do so) and got all the necessary copies made.
We did this for about a year, then decided to purchase song books. Again there are several choices. NPH offers a songbook called “Let All the People Praise You” and there’s another book called “the Best of the Best” from Fellowship Ministries. We actually use both, and still maintain a CCLI license and a Onelicense agreement as well. This gives us maximum flexibility but it’s not necessary. There are additional song resources on the WEB, for example “Sovereign Grace Ministries” and “Getty & Townend” offer digital sheet music downloads for reasonable prices and their lyrics are usually beautifully crafted.
We had another memorable moment when it came to songbook purchases. These can be expensive. We covered most of the cost of our books by a memorial donation from a member who had passed away; a member who enjoyed the contemporary services and even played guitar. But we fell short, and needed an additional couple hundred dollars. Two retired ladies, who both prefer traditional worship approached me and volunteered to purchase the remaining books. I don’t remember their exact words but the sentiment they voiced was that they prefer the hymnal and the traditional services but they saw the passion that the Lord has stirred in me and the excitement of several members, especially teens, over the new music and that they wanted to help out. Now that is a loving heart and a wonderful outpouring of faith.

As you grow, you can add more contemporary ideas into your blended services. Our Pastor started to use PowerPoint for his sermons for example during the blended services thinking that the people are more tolerant of “new ideas” in the more relaxed contemporary mood of the blended worship services.
We also started a children’s message during the blended service that eventually led into a weekly offering at our church.

On occasion we use worship videos for either sermon illustrations or for sing-along musical accompaniment. There are many products available from outfits like Integrity, Igniter Media and Worshiphousemedia.com.

On two occasions, we have even used art in worship. One was a sermon based on a Renaissance piece by Matthias Grunewald titled “the crucifixion” and the other was using a piece of art from one of our teenage members depicting the seraphim in the Isaiah 6 account.

Don’t forget to include occasional hymns in your blended services. Give some of the newer arrangements a try. Indelible Grace offers song sheets for free off their website that includes many of our Lutheran hymns.

We had another memorable service once when we included “Amazing Grace” but accompanied it with piano and guitar. It was another one of those worship moments when you just felt God’s fire inside of you. At some point in the song, our pianist just stopped playing. I continued strumming and the congregation continued singing. On the very next verse, the pianist joined back in but the Lord started to affect me. I got choked up again. I’ve been playing guitar for 35 years and this three chord song was all of the sudden beyond my reach. I was humbled right there before God and stopped strumming. Something inside me just said to “stop”. As the last verse rolled around, I joined back in. After the service, I asked our pianist what happened to him. He said, “I don’t know, I just couldn’t play.” Incredible!

Use pre-service music and Offertory music as a vehicle to introduce new songs to your congregation. We used to use “next month’s” new songs as pre-service for “this month’s” blended service. This requires you to do worship planning a few months in advance but it is worthwhile.

We also use a lot of Lay readings and other Lay participation during the blended services. This is exciting and should be encouraged.

Build up a library of favorite songs and after several months, try to limit new songs to only one or two per blended service. Phase into this, after two or three months, your library will be small, so try to have one familiar song per service. After six months, have two familiar songs, then finally, after a year, maybe limit yourself to one new song per service.

Be mindful, loving, respectful and considerate to those in your congregation who oppose the new music and/or instrumentation. Pastor Mielke once told me “keep your lyrics biblically based” and you can’t go wrong. It’s good advice. Make sure that you keep attending the traditional services and keep your energy and spirit levels up while singing those hymns! It’s not about favorites or our personal likes and dislikes. It’s about God and God is infinitely above style. Style doesn’t matter to Him, nor should it to you. This should not become a divisive issue. Something’s wrong if it does escalate.

If your Pastor sings, ask him to solo or duet a contemporary song with you. This “buy-in” will go a long way with people that are opposed to the musical style.
It also helps if your Pastor quotes the lyrics of a contemporary song in his sermon where appropriate – even during the traditional services.

I’ll never forget the time that Pastor Mielke quoted the lyrics of Richie Mullen’s classic song “Awesome God” in a sermon. I was smiling from ear to ear because it showed open mindedness on his part, some acceptance, and it made a good point with respect to what he was saying.

There are sound system and visual projection issues that come with contemporary media that will need to be addressed. I’m not going to do that in this posting but be forewarned that you will need a good sound person to man the soundboard or to listen in the congregation (during sound check and during the service). His or her job is to make sure that there is good volume and a good mix, so that the singers are loud enough to lead the congregation and the instruments (in the background) are loud enough to be heard (but not too loud that they distract).

If you are the lead musician and work with your Pastor, become familiar with how worship is designed around a theme. Learn to use the Lectionary Calendar, read your bible, and use your songbooks scriptural and thematic indices. After you do this for awhile, you will begin to see common threads running in all three scripture readings for each Sunday. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as you select music.
Exercise your religious freedoms in these services. You are not following a rigid script as its printed in your hymnal. We have done such things as “Earth Day” creation based worship services in April, flag folding ceremonies on Veteran’s Day and Mother’s Day Litanies in May. Just keep the focus on God.


Here are some web resources mentioned in the above list and other resources that you might find helpful as you consider blended worship:



Copyright Resources:



http://www.ccli.com/



http://www.onelicense.net/



Songbook Resources:



http://online.nph.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?servingyou/music/songbook



http://www.thefellowship.com/?page=bob_songlist



http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/category.aspx?categoryID=842



http://www.gettymusic.com/usa/shopindex.asp



http://sjbrown58.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/which-contemporary-songbook-should-we-choose/





MIDI Resources:



http://www2.mlc-wels.edu/dbauer/resources.htm



Video Resources:



http://www.ignitermedia.com/home



http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/



http://www.sermonspice.com/



http://www.integritydirect.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category__10151_-1_10051_15735_15735_Y



http://sjbrown58.wordpress.com/2009/02/01/music-videos/





Song Sheet & Lead Sheet Resources:



http://www.leadworship.com/resources/songbook.html



http://www.worshiptogether.com/



http://www.greatworshipsongs.com/



http://sjbrown58.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/ministry-tool-where-to-find-free-legal-sheet-music/



New Hymn Arrangements:



http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/home.html



http://www.freewebs.com/sonsongs/



http://hymncharts.com/



Song & MP3 Resources:



http://musicstore.songtouch.com/



http://www.greatworshipsongs.com/



Choosing and Evaluating Contemporary Music:



http://www.cph.org/cphstore/Find.asp?find%5Fcategory=WEB%5FALL&find%5Fdescription=&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc=



http://sjbrown58.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/a-few-of-my-favorite-contemporary-song-choices-for-the-church-year/



http://sjbrown58.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/how-to-choose-music-wisely/



http://sjbrown58.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/files-for-download/

(CCM Songs.xls by John Kehl)



“Blended Worship that Works” by James Tiefel (Forward in Christ, January 2004)



“The Church and Its Ministry - Music/Worship (01) WELS available here:

http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=65&cuItem_itemID=2078



“Lutheran Hymnody: Orthodoxy in Song (Lutheran Worship: Why we do what we do) by Dr. Chad Bird available here:

http://www.lmsusa.org/tt-05-03.htm#05034



“Pietism: Past and Present” by John Brenner available here:

http://wlsessays.net/files/BrennerPietism.pdf



“Choosing Hymns” available here:

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2755



“It’s about Substance” by Pastor Johnold Strey available here:

http://pastorstrey.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/its-about-substance/



“Proclaiming the Gospel in Worship” by Johnold Strey, available here:

http://pastorstrey.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/gospel-in-worship-version-4-3-wlq-corrected5.pdf



Source: A special note of thanks goes to John Kehl (from Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Appleton, WI) for proof reading this document before publishing and for adding comments and additional helpful information.

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Learn a Song - Bless the LordFebruary 20, 2009 at 9:38 pm · Filed under Guitar, Music, Worship Music, Worship Tools, contemporary christian music ·Tagged Free MP3, Guitar, Laura Story

If you’re a guitar player (especially a beginner), videos like this one below can be very helpful:



If you are a member at “Greatworshipsongs.com” you can grab a free lead sheet of this song and the MP3 as well. They run these give-aways often. They also include the story behind the song as well! Its a great way to build up your library! Here’s their link:

http://greatworshipsongs.com/

Consider joining today. They require you to register with an email address. It’s also a great place to download sheet music for very reasonable prices.

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Happy Valentine’s DayFebruary 13, 2009 at 11:21 am · Filed under Scripture ·Tagged Isaiah 43

Near as I can tell, there is only one place in the bible where God specifically says the three words together “I love you.”



This is what the LORD says—

he who created you,

he who formed you,

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.



When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.



For I am the LORD, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;



Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,



- Adapted from Isaiah 43


Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society






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A few of My Favorite Contemporary Song Choices for the Church YearFebruary 12, 2009 at 10:54 pm · Filed under Blended Worship, Music, Song Ideas, Worship Music, contemporary christian music ·Tagged Song Choices

For Advent, we play “Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel”

For Christmas, we play “Joy to the World”

For Palm Sunday, we play “All Glory Laud and Honor”

For Easter, we play “Christ, the Lord is Risen Today”

For Trinity, we play “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty”

For Reformation, we play “A Mighty Fortress”

For Thanksgiving, we play ”Now Thank We All Are God”

For Saint’s Triumphant, we play “For All the Saints”



These are all no-brainers; but what about some contemporary “stand-bys”? Not so easy. Here’s some help:



Advent: “El Shaddai”* by Michael Card or “Light One Candle”*(B) by Natalie Sleeth

Christmas: stick with Carols and Hymns because that’s what people like and expect to sing.

Epiphany: “One Small Child”*(L) by David Meece or “A Joy Has Dawned”* by Keith Getty or “All Hail King Jesus”*(B) by Dave Moody

Ash Wednesday: “At the Foot of the Cross (Ashes to Beauty)” (1) by Kathryn Scott

Lent: “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”* by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, or “Amazing Love”*(B) by Graham Kendrick, or “Above All”*(B) by Paul Baloche and Lenny LeBlanc or “Once Again”*(B) by Matt Redman or “On My Cross” (1) by Jeremy Diebler or “the Power of the Cross”* by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty or “the Coloring Song”*(L) by David Eden

Palm Sunday: “He is Exalted”*(L) by Twila Paris or “We Bow Down”*(B) by Twila Paris

Easter: “Celebrate Jesus”*(B) by Gary Oliver or “On the Thrid Day” (1) by Matt Maher & Marc Byrd, or “Resurrection Hymn”* by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend or “Happy Day” (1) by Tim Hughes

Trinity:“Glorify Thy Name*(B)(L)” by Donna Adkins, or “Father, I Adore You”*(L) by Terry Coehlo, or “Our God Saves” (1) by Paul Baloche, or “Song of Love” (1) by Rebecca St. James

Ascension: “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” *(B) by Rick Founds

Pentecost: “Holy Spirit” * by Keith Getty or “Shine, Jesus Shine” *(B)(L) by Graham Kendrick or “Revival Fire Fall” *(B) by Paul Baloche

Reformation: don’t do it! J

Thanksgiving: “Give Thanks” *(B)(L) by Henry Smith, or “Forever” (1) by Chris Tomlin

End Times: “Days of Elijah”* by Robin Mark or “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?” *(B) by Martin Smith

Mission Festival or Friendship Evangelism: “Shout to the North”*(B) by Martin Smith or “We Speak to Nations” (1) by Israel Houghton, or “Here I Am, Lord”*(B) by Daniel Schutte, or “Pass it On”*(L) by Kurt Kaiser, or “People Need the Lord”*(L) by Phill McHugh and Greg Neslon

Baptisms: “Father Welcomes”*(B)(L) by Robin Mann

Communion: “What is This Bread”*(B) by Jean Neuhauser Baue

Stewardship Sunday: “the Heart of Worship”*(B) by Matt Redman, or “Offering” (1) by Paul Baloche, or “You Are” (1) by Mark Roach

Contemporary Arrangements of hymns: “Amazing Grace – My Chains are Gone” (1) by Chris Tomlin, or “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – the Wonderful Cross” * by Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman, or “Take My Life and Let it Be”* by Chris Tomlin

Call to Worship: “Here I Am to Worship”* by Tim Hughes



I’d also like to mention two versatile songs that can be used on a number of occasions: “In Christ Alone”* by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend and “Shine Jesus Shine”*(B)(L) by Graham Kendrick.



And finally, I am a fan of responsive songs. Two of my favorites are “Victory Chant”*(B) by Joseph Vogels and “Lord Most High”*(B) by Don Harris and Gary Sadler. I like responsive songs because the smallest children can sing along.



Notes:

* = Congregational Friendly

(1) = Solo or praise band only

(B) = in the “Best of the Best” Songbook

(L) = in the LAPPY songbook




One final note, as a general rule, you can listen to most of these songs by going to http://www.youtube.com and searching on the title of the song enclosed in quotes.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have some favorites!


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How the Digital TV Transition Might Affect Your Wireless MicsFebruary 10, 2009 at 9:41 pm · Filed under Equipment ·Tagged Wireless Mics


UPDATE - THIS WILL NOW OCCUR ON 6/12/2009!




I’m not sure where the US stands on the 2/17 Digital TV transition as I’ve heard some rumors that it might be postponed. If it does happen on 2/17 as planned, those of you that use wireless microphones or in-ear monitors need to look at the operating frequency range of your devices. If they operate in the 700MHz band, you will need to replace them. This is described on the Shure website here:



http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/PressRoom/WhiteSpaces/index.htm



As I understand the situation, if you do have 700MHz in-ear monitors, they will stop working completely and your microphones will sporadically drop-out if they also operate in the 700 MHz range. All brands of wireless microphones operating in the 700MHz band will be affected. I’m only commenting on Shure because they have addressed the situation on their website.



The good news is that Shure will offer rebates of up to $1,000 to upgrade your wireless equipment. See details at this website:



http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Rebates/us_pro_rebate_wireless



I’m told that any wireless microphones purchased before 2/1/2007 are potentially affected.



If you’re currently shopping for new wireless equipment, stay out of the 700 MHz range and look for products that operate in the 500-600 MHz band. Be sure to ask the salesperson if the new equipment is compatible with the upgrade.



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When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Isaac Watts meets Chris Tomlin)February 9, 2009 at 10:46 pm · Filed under Blended Worship, Lent, Music, Worship Music ·Tagged Chris Tomlin, Isaac Watts

BACKGROUND OF ISAAC WATTS & “WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS”

Isaac Watts was born in 1674 in Southampton England. “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is thought, by many, to be the greatest hymn ever written.

The eldest of nine children, he was the son of an educated deacon in a dissenting Congregational church. At the time of Isaac’s birth, his father was in prison for his non-conformist beliefs. Young Watts showed an unusual aptitude for study and learned Latin at the age of five, Greek at nine, French at eleven and Hebrew at thirteen. He began to write verses of good quality when he was very young. Watts is frequently referred to as the father of English hymnody. One of his early concerns was the deplorable state to which congregational singing had degenerated in most English-speaking churches. The singing consisted of slow, ponderous Psalms in which each line was first read by an appointed deacon and was followed by the droning of the congregation. Watts was a revolutionary producing “futuristic music” for his time. Because of this bold departure from the traditional Psalms, Isaac Watts was often considered to be a radical churchman. Watts not only rewrote the Psalms in this way, but he also wrote a number of hymns based solely on personal feelings. These hymns were known as hymns of human composure. Such hymns were very controversial during his lifetime. “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is an example of this type of hymn written by Watts. It’s the first known hymn to be written in the first person, introducing a personal religious experience rather than limiting itself to doctrine.



Isaac Watts, and his hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” helped to reshape the future of church music as we know it today. Mr. Watts would have been proud to know that Chris Tomlin is continuing his tradition.



The words of “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” tell a wonderful story. They tell of the paradoxical beauty of sacrifice. They tell a story of pain and suffering woven together with joy and love. Who would have ever thought that these polar opposites could come together and form a paradoxical statement that on the face of it sounds ridiculous, but when taken to heart and pondered makes so much sense that even the simplest of minds can understand it?



The lost Verse:



Watts, actually wrote 5 verses but one has been dropped through the years (including in our hymnal). Here’s is the missing verse (it’s actually meant to be the fourth verse):



“His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree:
Then am I dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.”



BACKGROUND OF CHRIS TOMLIN AND “THE WONDERFUL CROSS”

Born and raised in East Texas, Chris Tomlin grew up on a steady diet of country music, learning his guitar style by playing along with Willie Nelson records. Not that you would ever guess it from listening to the gentle smoothness of his vocals.

“I love the simplicity of drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitars,” Chris explains. “We’re not about putting on a big show. We don’t want to be rock stars. We’re about connecting with people and having a shared experience of coming before God and worshipping Him.

Credited with venerable church choruses such as “Forever,” “We Fall Down,” and “The Wonderful Cross,” Tomlin is considered one of this era’s top songwriters. With millions singing his songs weekly, Chris is recognized as a pivotal voice of today’s modern expression of Christian worship. Yet, Tomlin has masterminded several remakes of classic hymns including Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) and “Take My Life and Let it Be.”

Here is the chorus that Chris Tomlin added:



Oh the wonderful cross, Oh the wonderful cross

Bids me come, and die, and find

That I may truly live.

Oh the wonderful cross, Oh the wonderful cross

All who gather here, by grace,

Draw near and bless Your name.



CCLI Song No. 3148435 © 2000 worshiptogether.com songs\Six Steps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)\(Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Chris Tomlin / Isaac Watts / J. D. Walt / Jesse Reeves

The scriptural reference to “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is Galatians 6:14.



May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. - NIV



Tomlin’s chorus draws from Gal 2:20:



I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - NIV



You can listen to Tomlin’s version here (with a little help from Matt Redman):





Want to give this new version a try this year? Here’s a few places that sell the sheet music in digital form (can be downloaded instantly):





Here’s a free pdf of the lead sheet (no piano notation): http://www.musicatmars.com/worship/sheet/The%20Wonderful%20Cross.pdf



Here’s piano/vocal/guitar music for $3.99: http://www.sheetmusicdirect.us/search/productDetail.do?itemId=1000001419



You can also download a nicely done MIDI file of this arrangement for free here:

Listen to it here: http://www2.mlc-wels.edu/dbauer/midi%20files/oct%2024%202004/wonderful%20cross2.MID

Download the file by scrolling down to “Wonderful Cross” (right mouse, save target as) here: http://www2.mlc-wels.edu/dbauer/CCLI%20Resources.htm

Or, you can download it from my file download area (lower right hand column of this BLOG page).


Information Sources:

1. Isaac Watts Bio - http://www.webedelic.com/church/isurveyf.htm and other internet sources

2. Chris Tomlin Bio - http://pressroom.emicmg.com/artists/ChrisTomlin/files/uploads/filedownloads/Chris_Tomlin_Arriving_Bio.doc and other internet sources

3. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society






Please report song usage to CCLI if you have such a license. The song number for “the Wonderful Cross” is #3148435.

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The BeatitudesFebruary 6, 2009 at 3:42 pm · Filed under Music, Scripture, Worship Music ·Tagged Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12, Michael Schroeder, Music Videos

The Beatitudes are contained in Matthew 5:2-12. This video of the Beatitudes was made possible with the help of WELS musician Michael Schroeder and is presented here with his permission. Thanks Michael for sharing your song!

The video actually starts in silence for the first 40 seconds, so don’t turn up your speakers.



You can learn more about Michael Schroeder and his band here:

www.michaelschroeder.com

Or at his myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/michaelschroeder

And here’s his band members:

RANDY ERICKSON: ( Drums )

SCOTT BREAULT: ( Guitars )

DEB KNUTSON: ( Keys & Vocals)

BRODY KNUTSON (Video Tech )

MICHAEL SCHROEDER (Vocals, Keys, & Guitars)




Michael is a member at St. Paul’s in Wis. Rapids, WI


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Files for DownloadFebruary 3, 2009 at 10:11 pm · Filed under Worship Tools

I have added a new feature to my BLOG. At the bottom of the right column is a box where you can download files that I have posted for general use and distribution. There are two files right now. One is the revised lectionary from our Synod that goes with the Hymnal Supplement and the other is an EXCEL database of contemporary songs that has been compiled by BLOG reader and member of Mt. Olive Lutheran in Appleton, WI – John Kehl. John has listed many CCM songs, rated them for their lyrical content, identified themes, and included publisher information. It’s a great resource and thanks go to John for sharing. By the way, John’s band is known as “Joyful Noise” check them out if you are in or near Appleton.

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Music VideosFebruary 1, 2009 at 9:42 pm · Filed under Blended Worship, How To, Music, Song Ideas, Worship Music, contemporary christian music ·Tagged Integrity Worship Music, Music Videos

Several people have asked me for a good source of music videos to use as sing-a-longs either in worship or at youth events. These are great, especially if you have limited instrumentalists in your congregation. I have found the best videos to be produced by Integrity Worship. They have several families of music videos but the “iworship at home” series seems to offer the “best bang for the buck.” For about $15, you can buy one DVD that contains a half dozen or so professionally recorded song videos with lyrics to sing along with. You can purchase these at your local Christian Bookstore and on-line at Amazon.com (search on “iworship at home”)




You can also see the full line up of Integrity music videos at their website:



http://www.integritydirect.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category__10151_-1_10051_15739_15735



You can view individual songs at this website:



http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/index.cfm?hndl=producer&id=25

One note of caution, please review the songs prior to usage and make sure that the lyrics are in line with your doctrinal beliefs. I have found most of these songs to be good, but I have not seen all of the DVDs.



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Convention Packet Published - Without a Dime of Grant Money, Without Kissing Up to Thrivent

Ichabod makes disappearing papers reappear.

I started a new feature because several people wanted some older papers made available again. Searching Ichabod for one of 2050+ posts is rather tedious, even for the blogmeister, so I created a box where useful papers are linked. The list will grow with a little cooperation. Just send me a Word file and I will publish the paper.

The first three papers listed came from the Michigan District. In case someone wonders or would like to accuse, the authors did not stealthily send the papers to me. WELS laymen provided the copies. Others have asked how to find the earlier papers, so I knew the locations were becoming obscured by time.

Comments on 15 Years Under MOV
I am quite sure Manthey wrote the paper. I can almost hear him reading it. He married a Brenner, so that makes him part of that clan: John, son of John, son of John, ad infin. Reading between the lines of his exquisitely polite prose will reveal a very harsh criticism of WELS direction under the Church Growth gurus, whose names I highlighted in red. He has excellent comments about Strategic Planning as well (part of the same toxic waste dump). I know one woman who was extended the Left Foot of Fellowship for daring to criticize SP in WELS.

I thought of putting Gurgel's name in red, but he never was a leader of any kind. He was (don't laugh) the conservative dream candidate when he was elected upon Mischke's retirement. Conservatives were soon praying for Mischke to come back from retirement. Gurgel's team wasted the MilCraft estate when he was District Pope, then ran WELS into the ground after getting the Marvin Schwan money pot - enormous annual grants.

The original author may wince at my format enhancements, even the paragraph breaks, but I tried to break it up in an eye-appealing way, without changing any words. I was happy to see how he eviscerated "making disciples," which is the favored motto of the Church Growth fiends.

I was anonymousely accused of lying, because I wrote that I forgot the name of the WELS pastor who recently thanked me for my work. Soon, an anonymous comment was posted, claiming to be the author. I have Michigan DP memory. I immediately forget something when it is convenient for me to do so. In fact, I can no longer remember that Frosty Bivens bragged about studying at Fuller Seminary.