An Old Doctrinal Bulletin about Pietism

Pietistic Pussycat never misses dinner.

PIETISM

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Martin Chemnitz Doctrinal Bulletin

David Rinden, in Faith and Fellowship (Church of the Lutheran Brethren), published a review of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, reprinted in CN (12-22-97, p. 21). He took issue with my criticism of Pietism, saying that I ignored such leaders as Carl Olof Rosenius. Rinden wrote: “Certainly this pietism emphasized prayer groups—a good practice—and at the same time did not disparage the Means of Grace and orthodox doctrine.”

Rosenius is not an unfamiliar name to me. His influence upon the Augustana Synod was part of my doctoral dissertation at Notre Dame. George Scott, an English Methodist came to Sweden in 1820 to promote religious revival. Rosenius (1816-1868) came to Scott in 1840 and found his religious questions answered. Rosenius joined Scott’s work. Together they established the periodical Pietisten in 1842. When I worked at the Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.) library in the 1960s, one of my jobs was to move old copies of Pietisten (The Pietist), considered sacred relics.[1] The Augustana Synod had no qualms about identifying with Pietism, but some significant early leaders were trained in Lutheran orthodoxy at Capital in Columbus, Ohio. The Augustana Synod tried unsuccessfully to blend orthodoxy and Pietism.

I am glad that Rinden pointed out my criticism of Pietism. In my opinion, no Lutheran synod exists today in America.[2] The ELCA, LCMS, WELS, (The Big Three) the ELS, and the CLC (The Tiny Two) all suffer from various stages of doctrinal degeneration from the influence of Pietism. Many fine Lutheran pastors and congregations exist in the conservative groups, but their synodical leadership is committed to the goals, methods, and doctrines of Pietism. Published proof is available for anyone dedicated enough to read synodical news releases or wander through a Lutheran college library.

PIETISM DEFINED
What is Pietism? Although some may want a multi-volume answer, filled with opaque footnotes, time does not permit such a luxury.[3] I would define Pietism in this way:

1. The Law dominates rather than the Gospel, often in a changing code of holiness that may forbid adiaphora (wearing lipstick, watching any movie, playing cards – even Old Maid) or require certain activities (political activism) to prove one is truly a Christian.

2. Orthodox doctrine is ridiculed as “head religion” while Pietism is taught as “heart religion.”

3. Love is used as an excuse for overlooking doctrinal errors.

4. Emotion judges thought, so correct teaching is condemned if it makes someone feel bad. False doctrine is commended if it promotes good feelings.

5. Because of the dominance of the Law, everyone feels compelled to act perfect, so hypocrisy abounds. One of the best examples is the LCMS and WELS criticism of ELCA while the “conservative” Lutheran leaders work hand-in-claw with ELCA. In worship! In evangelism! In leadership training!

6. Pietism is unforgiving, due to the emphasis upon salvation through works of the Law.

7. The doctrinal indifference of a self-proclaimed heart religion encourages unionism.

8. Missions and evangelism dictate the goals of the denomination, at the expense of liturgical worship, education, and sound doctrine. Liberal Pietists are untouchable if they are engaged in political activism (saving the world). Conservative Pietists are untouchable if they wrap themselves in the Church Growth Movement (saving the world and funding Fuller Seminary).

9. Genuine Lutherans see through liberal and conservative Pietism, so Pietists respond accordingly. Pietism is always at war with Lutheran doctrine.

10. Pietism is anti-liturgical, anti-confessional, anti-intellectual, anti-Means of Grace, and anti-clergy.

11. Levels of Christian faith taught by Pietists lead to the distinction between “mere believers” and “soul-winners” or “disciples.” See the quotations on Pietism and Making Disciples at the end of this essay.

EFFECTS OF PIETISM
a. Rationalism

The term “unionism” comes from the Prussian Union, when the Calvinists and Lutherans were forced together at the expense of Lutheran doctrine and practice. Unionism in Europe encouraged a rationalistic approach in theology. The rationalism of the historical-critical method of studying the Bible is laughed at today, but the effects have taken root in the ELCA and in much of the LCMS. Blame Pietism.

"Meanwhile, back in Europe the corrosive effects of Pietism in blurring doctrinal distinctions had left much of Lutheranism defenseless against the devastating onslaught of Rationalism which engulfed the continent at the beginning of the 19th century. With human reason set up as the supreme authority for determining truth, it became an easy matter to disregard doctrinal differences and strive for a 'reasonable' union of Lutherans and Reformed."

Martin W. Lutz, "God the Holy Spirit Acts Through the Lord's Supper," God The Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972, p. 176.

b. Anti-clericalism

The Church Growth experts in WELS, LCMS, and ELCA have promoted cell groups because their Fuller mentors have told them it will stop the rapid numerical decline of their synods.

"Wouldn't it be terrible to sleep through the Second Reformation? Cell Group Churches. The New Lifestyle For New Wineskins. Cell Group Churches Are Really Different! A 'Cell Group' Church is built on the fact that all Christians are ministers, and that there is no 'professional clergy' hired to do the work of ministry. According to Ephesians 4, God has provided 'Gifted Men' to equip 'Believers Who Are Gifted' to do the work of ministry...The life of the church is in its Cells, not in a building. While it has weekly worship events, the focus of the church is in the home Cells."
Touch Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box 19888, Houston, TX 77079, 1-800-735-5865.

"Pietist preachers were anxious to discover and in a certain sense to separate the invisible congregation from the visible congregation. They had to meet demands different than those of the preceding period: they were expected to witness, not in the objective sense, as Luther did, to God's saving acts toward all men, but in a subjective sense of faith, as they themselves had experienced it. In this way Pietism introduced a tendency toward the dissolution of the concept of the ministry in the Lutheran Church." [GJ - The CORE values.]
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943.

c. Anti-intellectualism

Dr. Robert Preus once spoke about the time when the Norwegians decided not to discuss doctrinal issues. They were avoided for fear of causing conflict. Missouri grew during its time of greatest doctrinal debate. Now the conservative Lutheran pastors are afraid of discussing issues in public, because it might hurt the synod…and their careers.

“All those doctrinal questions which were not immediately connected with the personal life of faith were avoided. The standard for the interpretation of Scripture thus became the need of the individual for awakening, consolation, and exhortation. The congregation as a totality was lost from view; in fact, pietistic preaching was (and is) more apt to divide the congregation than to
hold it together."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943.

"One who had experienced the wonder of faith in his inner life is the true witness, even if he had not been called in an external sense according to the order of the church. It now was relatively easy to introduce lay preaching, though it remained somewhat incompatible with the Lutheran Confessions."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1944.

d. Anti-Confessionalism

Pietists believe that “doctrinal extremism” will hurt evangelism and missions. They will says things like this, “I don’t know the answer. All I know is that Jesus is Lord.”

"Pietism greatly weakened the confessional consciousness which was characteristic of orthodox Lutheranism."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1945.

e. Unionism

Spener, Rosenius, Francke, and others were unionists whose ecumenical efforts brought together people of different confessions. Muhlenberg studied at Halle, the capital of Pietism, then came to America to do mission work.

"The pietism and unionism of Muhlenberg and his colaborers was the door through which, in the days of Wesley and Whitefield, revivalism had found an early, though limited, entrance into the Lutheran Church."
F. Bente, American Lutheranism, 2 vols., The United Lutheran Church, Gen Synod, Gen Council, Un Syn in the South, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1919, II, p. 78.

"Doctrinal indifference is at once the root of unionism and its fruit. Whoever accepts, in theory as well as in practice, the absolute authority of the Scriptures and their unambiguousness with reference to all fundamental doctrines, must be opposed to every form of unionism."
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern,
1940, p. 20.

f. Law Domination

Some try to downplay the difference between Lutheranism and Pietism, but Hoenecke, who helped rescue the early Wisconsin Synod from blatant Pietism and unionism, had this to say about the subject:

"Wohl scheint auf den ersten Blick die ganze Differenz recht unbedeutend; aber in Wahrheit gibt sich hier die gefaehrliche Richtung der Pietisten zu erkennen, das Leben ueber die Lehre, die Heiligung ueber die Rechtfertigung und die Froemmigkeit nicht als Folge, sondern als Bedingung der Erleuchtung zu setzen also eine Art Synergismus und Pelagianismus einzufuehren. (At firstglance, the total difference seems absolutely paltry, but in truth the dangerous direction of Pietism is made apparent: life over doctrine, sanctification over justification, and piety not as a consequence but declared as a stipulation of enlightenment, leading to a kind of synergism and Pelagianism.)"
Adolf Hoenecke, Evangelische-Lutherische Dogmatik, 4 vols., ed., Walter and Otto Hoenecke, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1912, III, p. 253.

g. Promotion of Cell Groups; anti-Means of Grace

Spener promoted cell groups in his little book, but his followers put them into action and caused tremendous conflict and harm. Conservative Lutherans now promote cell groups, following the example of Fuller Seminary, Paul Y. Cho, and ELCA.

"We probably think first of such groups coming into being in the late 1600s in connection with Pietism. Spener promoted them as a vehicle by which pious laypeople could be a leaven for good in reforming the 'dead orthodoxy' of a congregation and its pastor."
Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 126.

"Furthermore, it must be admitted that the Reformed teaching of the means of grace filtered, particularly through Pietism, also into the Lutheran Church."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 143.

"In so far as Pietism did not point poor sinners directly to the means of grace, but led them to reflect on their own inward state to determine whether their contrition was profound enough and their faith of the right caliber, it actually denied the complete reconciliation by Christ (the satisfactio vicaria), robbed justifying faith of its true object, and thus injured personal Christianity in its foundation and Christian piety in its very essence."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 175.

"Only little weight is attached to the ministry of the Word, to worship services, the Sacraments, to confession and absolution, and to the observance of Christian customs; a thoroughly regenerated person does not need these crutches at all. Pietism stressed the personal element over against the institutional; voluntariness versus compulsion; the present versus tradition, and the rights of the laity over against the pastors."
Martin Schmidt, "Pietism," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1899.

h. Making Disciples

The current fad for manufacturing disciples comes from the Reformed concept of the prayer group saving people by providing an emotional experience of “making a decision for Christ.” Sunday worship is fine, but the real church is the cell group or home study group.

"The church is no longer the community of those who have been called by the Word and the Sacraments, but association of the reborn, of those who 'earnestly desire to be Christians'...The church in the true sense consists of the small circles of pietists, the 'conventicles,' where everyone knows everyone else and where experiences are freely exchanged."
Martin Schmidt, "Pietism," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1899.

"Conversion was seen as a one-time act, consisting of God's offer of grace and man's decision to accept it, as 'the breakthrough of grace.' Perhaps it was not said in so many words; at any rate it was a tacit assumption."
Martin Schmidt, "Pietism," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1899.

[Fresenius and levels of Christianity.]
"(As if an unconverted person could seriously pray for conversion! He should have said: He must hear the Word of God. But that he has put into his third rule. His whole scheme makes conversion dependent on man's own effort to obtain grace.)"
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 144.

"As a matter of fact, any one who has been quickened, that is, raised from spiritual death, is converted. After his conversion he must, indeed, pray and wrestle. His faith at the beginning is like an infant that can easily die if it is not given nourishment. Praying and wrestling is not an exercise for unconverted, however, but for converted persons."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 144.

"What may be the reason why the Pietists, who were really well-intentioned people, hit upon the doctrine that no one could be a Christian unless he had ascertained the exact day and hour of his conversion? The reason is that they imagined a person must suddenly experience a heavenly joy and hear an inner voice telling him that he had been received into grace and had become a child of God. Having conceived this notion of the mode and manner of conversion, they were forced to declare that a person must be able to name the day and hour when he was converted, became a new creature, received forgiveness of sins, and was robed in the righteousness of Christ. However, we have already come to understand in part what a great, dangerous, and fatal error this is."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 194f.

[Francke, Breithaupt, Fresenius] "These men were guilty of that more refined way of confounding Law and Gospel. They did this by making a false distinction between spiritual awakening and conversion; for they declared that, as regards the way of obtaining salvation, all men must be divided into three classes: 1. those still unconverted; 2. those who have been awakened, but are not yet converted; 3. those who have been converted."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 363.

DEFEATING PIETISM

The best antidote to Pietism is to love what Pietism hates, hate what Pietism loves, do what Pietism avoids, and avoid what Pietism does.

Love What Pietism Hates

a. The Book of Concord.[4]

b. The Sermons of Luther.[5]

c. The Lutheran Hymnal.


Hate What Pietism Loves

a. Cell, home study, koinonia, care, share, groups. Lay-led conventicles.

b. Books by non-Lutheran authors.

c. Tongue-speaking.

d. Fuller Seminary, its crafts and assaults.


Do What Pietism Avoids

a. Sing the liturgy and Paul Gerhardt hymns.

b. Discuss doctrine.

c. Relax and enjoy God’s blessings with like-minded friends.[6]


Avoid What Pietism Does

a. Unionism.

b. Making disciples.

c. Signing up for a course at Fuller Seminary, the Church Growth Institute, or their clones.

d. Mission statements, vision statements, and Mission Vision statements.


PIETISM AND MAKING DISCIPLES

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

“In the Great Commission, Jesus makes clear that the command to 'go and make disciples' includes the concept of winning [in italics]. Today the term 'discipling' has almost universally evolved to mean the process of spiritual perfecting--tutoring, learning, growing, maturing. Few 'discipling' programs in churches today accurately reflect Christ's vision to make disciples, or measure their success on the basis of new disciples they produce."
Win and Charles Arn, The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, How Every Christian Can Be an Effective Witness through an Enabling Church, Pasadena: Church Growth Press,
1982, p. 10.

"His words, now called the Great Commission, were simply a restatement of His entire life and teaching, as He endeavored to make the matter as simple and easy to understand as possible...'go and make disciples.'"
Win and Charles Arn, The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, How Every Christian Can Be an Effective Witness through an Enabling Church, Pasadena: Church Growth Press, 1982, p. 20.

"A new convert's commitment to Christ included the assumption that he/she reproduce themselves and continue in the disciple-making chain. New disciples were instruments used by the Holy Spirit...in making disciples."
Win and Charles Arn, The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, How Every Christian Can Be an Effective Witness through an Enabling Church, Pasadena: Church Growth Press, 1982, p. 21.

"His plan for making disciples included more than lesson plans. It included a relationship. In fact the quality of that relationship with his disciples had to be one of the primary factors in transforming them into disciplers."
Pastor Joel C. Gerlach, "The Call into the Discipling Ministry," Yahara Center, April 24-25, 1987, p. 15.

"Jesus did not send his disciples out to make disciples without first making them disciples. He gave them a course in disciple making by making them disciples. He knew that you have to be a disciple yourself before you can help someone else to become a disciple."
Pastor Joel C. Gerlach, "The Call into the Discipling Ministry," Yahara Center, April 24-25, 1987, p. 6.

"Doctrines in controversy and applications to those doctrines are a disciple's meat. They are swallowed only after patient doses of discipling milk. The art of mission work is to preserve that sequence despite a prospect's desire to chew what he can't swallow."
Rev. Paul Kelm, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 3.

"In the third place, false teachers flay their disciples to the bone, and cut them out of house and home, but even this is taken and endured. Such, I opine, has been our experience under the Papacy. But true preachers are even denied their bread. Yet this all perfectly squares with justice! For, since men fail to give unto those from whom they receive the Word of God, and permit the latter to serve them at their own expense, it is but fair they should give the more unto preachers of lies, whose instruction redounds to their injury. What is withheld from Christ must be given in tenfold proportion to the devil. They who refuse to give the servant of truth a single thread, must be oppressed by liars."
Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VII, p. 111f. 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9.

"Pastors become disciples so they can make disciples. As a proud Pentecostal I thought I had everything because I belonged to a Full Gospel church. Little did I know how much I had to learn until I came together with other pastors--Baptists, Presbyterians, Plymouth Brethren, and Catholics. As a proud Pentecostal I had to become a humble elder of the church."
Juan Carlos Ortiz, Call to Discipleship, Plainfield: Logos International, 1975, p. 100.

"Every disciple had responsibility over two types of cells, one cell where he formed the lives of the new converts, and another cell where he took the most advanced of those new converts and taught them how to be leaders, knowing that cell would soon be divided and the most advanced disciples put over additional cells. So came the multiplication."
Juan Carlos Ortiz, Call to Discipleship, Plainfield: Logos International, 1975, p. 101.

"The cell groups are used to teach sound doctrine...Sound doctrine is not just belief in the millennium, the rapture, and the tribulation."
Juan Carlos Ortiz, Call to Discipleship, Plainfield: Logos International, 1975, p. 111.

"Everybody brings his testimony. That is why the cell meetings last four or five or six hours with only five people. We no longer have time for Sunday morning services. We're too busy learning sound doctrine to listen to sermons about Nehemiah."
Juan Carlos Ortiz, Call to Discipleship, Plainfield: Logos International, 1975, p. 113.

"Is the mission of the church to preach the gospel or to make disciples? The two--preaching the gospel and making disciples--are closely connected. Making disciples is the goal, or end result, our Lord had in mind. He does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance and faith. He wants all to be saved, to come to a heart knowledge of the truth. Preaching the gospel (employing the means of grace) is the means by which the Lord will achieve his goal of making disciples and so of gathering in his elect before he returns."
David J. Valleskey, We Believe--Therefore We Speak, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1995, p. 134.

“Your church will grow by God's grace because members will want it to grow in obedience to God's will and because you are using strategy and methodology in making disciples. Then nongrowth will be called nongrowth, and growth will be accepted as a gift from God."
Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library,
1975, p. 159.

Notes
[1] Every so often I would see Dr. Conrad Bergendoff in the stacks, doing research on his latest project. He is still alive, over 100 years old. He ended up being a reader for my dissertation.

[2] I am limiting the term “synod” to those groups large enough to have a pension fund. Many Lutheran entities are slipping into history unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown. Pastor Robet Wehrwein has an excellent study of the smaller groups.

[3] I am intrigued by pastors who claim that I “generalize” too much. Exactly what does one call an essay based upon years of research and many hours of conversation with leaders? If we say that the Reformation started in 1517 when Luther nailed his theses on the chapel door, is that not a generalization, a gross simplification?

[4] Subscribing to the Confessions is meaningless if one does not believe what they believe, teach, and confess. One cannot mock Lutheran doctrine in print and say, “I signed a quia subscription to the Book of Concord, the Triglotta no less.”

[5] I have been savagely criticized by Lutheran Pietists for quoting Luther so much.

[6] Pietistic Danes were called Gloomy or Sour Danes. Pietists are weighed down by the Law, so they seldom have a relaxed moment.

Word Alone Network

The Word Alone Network is the group dissenting from ELCA. Thousands have left ELCA through their congregations joining Word Alone and then morphing into the new organization.

One dissent from the ELCA convention is posted here.

Luther and the Scriptures - by Michael Reu (ALC)

Professor Michael Reu, taught at Wartburg Seminary (Iowa Synod, then the old ALC of 1930) for 44 years, 1899-1943.

The Old ALC of 1930 was comprised of the Buffalo Synod, the Ohio Synod, and the Iowa Synod. The Old ALC merged with the Liberal Norwegians to form The ALC (TALC) in 1960.

The LCA followed in 1962, with the Muhlenberg Tradition of the ULCA uniting with the Swedish Augustana Synod, the Finish Suomi Synod, and the Happy Danes (as contrasted with the Gloomy or Pietistic Danes).

Reu was a giant among scholars. He started out more liberal. If memory serves, he was the one who worked against inerrancy when the 1930 merger took place. Lenski in Ohio was on the opposite side, so a committee was formed to keep Lenski silent.

Reu's Luther and the Scriptures is an ironic turn, since Reu means repentance in German. The liberals never forgave Reu for backsliding into orthodoxy. The book is one of the few discussed from that era, but I also liked his lectures on fellowship. I have often quoted Reu on this subject.

"Here we discover the first mark of unionism: A difference in doctrine which hitherto has been regarded as divisive, is suddenly made to lose its divisive significance." (About the Augsburg Confession, Variata, Real Presence)
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 19.

"The second mark of unionism, therefore, is this: Differences in doctrine are made to lose their divisive significance with a view to uniting hitherto separate churches." (about unification of all Protestant forces) M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 19.

"The third mark of unionism, therefore, is this: A formula of unification is found which each of two hitherto separate churches may accept but which each of them interprets differently. An external bond is found for internally divided groups." (About Melanchthon using 1 Cor. 10:16 as the basis for uniting the Reformed and Lutherans, Luther's favorite text against the Reformed.)
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 19. 1 Corinthians 10:16.

"Doctrinal indifference is at once the root of unionism and its fruit. Whoever accepts, in theory as well as in practice, the absolute authority of the Scriptures and their unambiguousness with reference to all fundamental doctrines, must be opposed to every form of unionism."
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 20.

"We find this attitude of tolerance quite frequently among unionists. It is often used to assuage a troubled conscience, one's own as well as that of others; for the unionist declares that every one may continue to hold his own private convictions and merely needs to respect and tolerate those of another. This attitude is totally wrong, for it disregards two important factors: (a) in tolerating divergent doctrines one either denies the perspicuity and clarity of the Scriptures, or one grants to error the right to exist alongside of truth, or one evidences indifference over against Biblical truth by surrendering its absolute validity; and (b) in allowing two opposite views concerning one doctrine to exist side by side, one has entered upon an inclined plane which of necessity leads ever further into complete doctrinal indifference, as may plainly be seen from the most calamitous case on record, viz., the Prussian Union."
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 20.

***

GJ - Reu's ALC is now part of ELCA. Would he be impressed with ELCA today?

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Luther and the Scriptures - by Michael Reu (ALC)":

It is so fitting that today's version of Pietism has doctrinal indifference as one of its trademarks. It appears to have been this way for a long time. In The Complete Timotheus Verinus, Loescher points to doctrinal indifference as one of the first traits of Pietism.

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GJ - Pietism and doctrinal indifference go together well, with a side-helping of unionism. The Pietists claim to have a heart religion, which they insist is superior to the head religion of Lutheran orthodoxy. Notice that the leading apostates of Missouri call themselves Jesus First, another hallmark of Pietism. The Church and Chicaneries talk just like Jesus First.

Sad Day for Lutherans

The tent beer-hall at Central Lutheran was messed around by the tornado.


The steeple at Central Lutheran took a major hit.
That too is a victory for the agenda - it is no longer straight.

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 20, 2009

ELCA Assembly Action Draws Sharp Criticism, Praise from Advocacy Groups



MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) - Two groups with widely diverging opinions on the social statement adopted Aug. 19 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America praised the church for its action and denounced what some consider a departure from biblical morality.

"The church has supported families of all kinds and has acknowledged without judgment the variety of views within the ELCA regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusion," said Emily Eastwood, executive director of Lutherans Concerned/North America, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians in the church.

But the Rev. Paull Spring, chair of Lutheran CORE, a coalition of conservative ELCA Lutherans, said, "We mourn the decision by the Churchwide Assembly to reject the clear teaching of the Bible that God's intention for marriage is the relationship of one man and one woman." Paull Spring of State College, Pa., a former bishop in the ELCA, added "It is tragic that such a large number of ELCA members were willing to overturn the clear teaching of the Bible as it has been believed and confessed by Christians for nearly 2,000 years."

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,044 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."

CORE leaders said they would continue to work against future policies that would enable gay and lesbian pastors who are in committed relationships to serve in the church's public ministry. CORE also opposes the blessing of same-sex unions, which, while not specifically mentioned in the social statement, has become the practice in some ELCA parishes.

Eastwood said the document makes it easier for congregations to bless gay and lesbian couples. "The document recognizes the ministries of congregations which conduct blessings of same-gender relationships and same gender marriages where such marriages are legal," she said. "We celebrate in particular the emphasis of the social statement on the centrality of family in the life of church and society - all families without differentiation."

While the most controversial part of the statement was its greater acceptance of gays and lesbians, Eastwood also said the document would be a basis for "advocacy on issues related to families and sexuality" in church and society.

The Rev. Erma Wolf of Brandon, S.D., vice-chair of CORE lamented what she called the divisiveness of the issue. "The ELCA is a very divided church," she said, "This decision divides us even more. It is going to be very hard for faithful Lutherans to support the ELCA when the ELCA is willing to reject the clear teaching of Scripture."

Wolf called it a "sad day for Lutherans in the United States."

***

GJ - The two photos were kelmed from blogs cited in the comments.

ELCA Assembly Overwhelmingly Endorses Current Pietism Study at Bethany Lutheran Church

ELCA began in Pietism, with H. M. Muhlenberg, graduate of Halle University. Oddly enough, he was sent over to counter the efforts of Zinzendorf, who did some missionary work in America under an assumed name. (Parallels to Church and Chicanery noted. They hide their work too.)

Muhlenberg's work evolved into the General Synod and the seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The break causing the General Council (confessional, liturgical) erupted over the acceptance of a blatantly anti-confessional, Pietistic sub-synod, the Franckean.

The Pietistic General Synod was known for being anti-liturgical, anti-confessional, but very much in favor of revivals. One famous General Synod veteran (the first Lutheran professor at Yale Divinity) remembered the Mourners' Bench at his father's church, where people went forward to publicly bemoan their sins, a key part of revivalism. Billy Graham's Crusades and Pentecostal churches have used the same technique.

Pietism starts with an emphasis on outward works and emotions, so the movement is inherently vulnerable to rationalism.

ELCA's constant drumbeat against historic Christianity is typical of Pietism in the later generations. "Service unites, but doctrine divides."

The ELCA assembly has a motto that reminds me of Pietistic appeals - "God's Work, Our Hands." It is all up to us. God has no hands but ours, no feet but ours, no money but ours. When the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace is repudiated, God is in a state of paralysis without us.

ELCA is using the old TALC theme of "The Bible Book of Faith," which provided a smokescreen for the 1960 attack on the inerrancy of the Bible. The campaign worked.

Dishing the Dirt On Good Soil

Tornado at Central Lutheran! Run!
"During the recess, word circulated in the press section that the tornado had damaged the top of Central Lutheran Church, which is practically next door to the convention center."

Goodsoil's Faith
American Lutheran Publicity Bureau ^ | 19 August AD 2009 | Richard O. Johnson

I didn’t go, of course, but I got a look at the bulletin for the “Goodsoil Eucharist” tonight at Central Lutheran. Presider was Bp. David Brauer-Rieke, preacher was Barbara Lundblad, others involved included Robyn Hartwig and Gladys Moore. I thought you might like to see the “Affirmation of Faith” used in the service:

I believe in God,
Maker of an unfinished world,
Who calls us to participate in bringing about the fullness of Creation.
God, who created abundant resources to provide for all
. God, who has not divided people into rich and poor,
owners and slaves,
Nor pitted us against each other because of race, color, social class or sex.

I believe in Jesus Christ who was ridiculed, tortured and executed for the sins of humankind.
He has overthrown the rule of evil and injustice and continues to judge and redeem the hatred and arrogance of human beings.

I believe in the Spirit of God whose flame comforts us with divine presence and causes our hearts to burn for righteousness and justice.
I believe in the reconciling power of God in our lives and in the world.
I believe that God, through people, can bring peace and hope, justice and equality, the relief of suffering and pain, and the final triumph of love and grace.
Amen.

Hardly the faith once delivered to the saints, is it?

***

GJ - Goodsoil is one of many lobbying efforts within ELCA. Lundblad preached for a Missouri Synod congregation some years ago. She graduated from Augustana College in 1966 and from Yale Divinity in 1979. In the US, the most famous lectures on preaching are the endowed Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity. Lundblad was invited to give them in 2000.

*2000 Lundblad, Barbara K. "Marking Time: Stories Remembered at the River's Edge : Lecture 1: It Will Be All Right: New Rubrics in the Holy Man's Room; Lecture 2: The Camel and the Cash Machine: A Story to Take Literally; Lecture 3: Water on a Desert Road: Splashing in the Scroll of Isaiah.

Readers can probably guess that the recent Beecher lectures are to preaching what the Nobel Prize is to literature, a reward for being radical.

The Minnesota Independent sheds light on the lobbying effort.

ELCA Pleased with the Results of 22 Years of Lobbying

ELCA Bishop Hanson

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 19, 2009

ELCA Assembly Adopts 'Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust'

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" with a vote of 676 (66.67 percent) to 338 (33.33 percent) on Aug. 19. The passing of the social statement on human sexuality required a two-thirds vote.

Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust is the denomination's 10th social statement. It addresses a spectrum of topics relevant to human sexuality from a Lutheran perspective.

Social statements "guide us as we step forward as a public church because they form the basis for both this church's public policy and my public speech as presiding bishop," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, told the assembly.

An ad hoc committee addressed 13 proposals to amend the social statement from voting members and 42 "memorials" or resolutions from the 65 synods of the ELCA. They ranged from editorial amendments to changing the intent and coherence of the existing text.

With a 303 to 667 vote, voting members defeated an amendment to replace a section of the social statement about "lifelong monogamous same-gender relationships" -- a section that identifies the issues within the denomination about homosexuality, describing a range of widely articulated views. The proposed replacement language reflected the position of some in the church that believe the "practice of homosexual erotic behavior as contrary to God's intent."

The ad hoc committee recommended that the amendment not be adopted, since the position articulated implies "a consensus that no longer exists."

After considering 6 of the 13 amendments, voting members moved to accept the recommendations of the ad hoc committee on all other amendments and moved to consider the adoption of the social statement.

Speaking in favor of adoption of the statement, the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod, said she hopes the assembly does not become "so narrowly focused on the issue of homosexual sexual behavior that we missed the point that we're speaking a clear word that needs to be heard by our culture," particularly on topics about co-habitation outside of marriage, sex as a commodity, child pornography and more. She said the church has high expectations for all Lutherans, especially for ELCA professional leaders.

Speaking in opposition, voting member Curtis Sorbo, ELCA Eastern North Dakota Synod, said the social statement "should be a teaching tool. I don't think that it is. Instead we have descriptions of different sexual relationships that we are asked to accept by bound conscience," he said. "We are asked to affirm a description of sexuality in today's culture because of a new reality. Our church needs to address this issue based on the authority of the word of God, not a description of public opinion and personal desires."

"We took some risks in the writing of this in ways that we thought were appropriate for these times," the Rev. Peter Strommen said in a news conference following the plenary.

The statement was structured from a standpoint of "love of the neighbor and trust," he said.

Strommen served as chair of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, which developed the social statement under the directive of the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

In response to the vote on the statement's adoption Strommen said, "I doubt very much that I've ever been present at an election with that many votes cast coming out exactly two-thirds. Quite stunning," he said. "We're naturally very glad that it passed."

"I am very proud of this church," the Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director, ELCA Church in Society, said at the news conference. "It is a time of diminished joy," she said. "We know there is suffering all around on this issue."

Bow down.

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 19, 2009

ELCA Assembly Adopts 'Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust'
09-CWA-15-MRC

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" with a vote of 676 (66.67 percent) to 338 (33.33 percent). The passing of the social statement on human sexuality required
a two-thirds vote.

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."

Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust is the denomination's 10th social statement. Social statements assist Lutherans in their moral deliberation, govern the ELCA's institutional policies and guide the church's advocacy work. The statement addresses a spectrum of topics relevant to human sexuality from a Lutheran perspective.

***

GJ - If you feel compelled to read the statement, here is the link to all the pre-convention material on the topic.

ELCA is meeting in Minneapolis, in the People's Republic of Minnesota. Awesome coverage is linked here.

ELCA To Rewrite the Scriptures - Again

Thousands have voted already - with their feet.
ELCA lost a $40 million lawsuit because of one of their ordinands, a known predator before ELCA displayed its diversity.

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 18, 2009

ELCA Assembly Begins Work on "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust"
09-CWA-06-MRC
[Click for larger image]

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" -- a proposed social statement on human sexuality -- was formally introduced to the 1,045 voting members of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Aug. 18.

The Rev. Peter Strommen introduced the statement which, if approved by the assembly, will become the 10th social statement of the ELCA. Strommen chairs the Task Force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality, which developed the proposed document under the directive of the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."

***

GJ - The rest of the story is too boring to copy. The ELCA bishop is pretending to be hands-off on the agenda, "trusting the process," but the process is predetermined by how delegates are filtered.

WELS Post-Convention

Implementing convention decisions

From the office of President Mark Schroeder

It's only two weeks after the conclusion of the synod convention, but already work has begun to implement the various resolutions that were adopted.

Convention decisions directly affected the work of Parish Services in a number of ways. First, the Board for Parish Services has been replaced by a Parish Services council. The work carried out by Parish Assistance and the commissions on Evangelism, Youth Discipleship, Adult Discipleship, Worship, Special Ministries, and Parish Schools will now be carried out as a part of the Ministry Support area of the synod's work and will be accountable to the Conference of Presidents through the synod president. Second, the budget for the ministries of Parish Services was further reduced. Reductions had already been planned before convention; with these additional reductions, three more called positions and possibly one staff position will need to be eliminated. The specifics of those reductions and what programs might be reduced or eliminated are being identified and will be finally determined by the Conference of Presidents. In keeping with the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Commission and the resolutions of the convention, every effort will be made to preserve as many functions of the Parish Services ministries as possible.

The convention delegates received some unexpected good news when WELS VEBA announced that there will be a one-month premium holiday sometime this fall. In other words, for one month all calling bodies will not be required to send premium payments for their workers who are participants in the VEBA health insurance plan. The convention passed a resolution strongly encouraging congregations and schools to redirect the money they would have sent to VEBA to the synod instead. If all calling bodies follow the convention's encouragement, there is potential benefit to the synod of up to $2.5 million. Since congregations and schools have already budgeted for these payments, this step could provide the synod with significant additional financial support with no additional sacrifice from congregations. More information on this will be shared in the coming weeks.

New members of the Synodical Council
The Synodical Council supervises the mission and ministry of the synod between conventions. Several new members will be joining the Synodical Council when it meets in November.
Rev. Joel Voss (second vice president)
Rev. Phil Hirsch (chairman of the Board for Ministerial Education)
Rev. Jonathan Schroeder (pastor at large)
Teacher James Moeller (teacher at large)

Called workers without calls
As the budget was developed last year, there were concerns that the reductions would result in a large number of called workers without calls. In all, about 38 occupied and vacant positions for called workers were eliminated. Thankfully, our worst fears have not been realized. The Lord has provided other calls for many whose positions were eliminated. Only six pastor-trained men, two staff ministers, and six teachers have not yet received a call. All but 4 seminary graduates and 12 MLC graduates have also been assigned. We will keep all of these workers in our prayers until the Lord calls them to the field of service he has planned for them.

Not to be forgotten are the many faithful staff people across all areas of ministry whose positions have been eliminated. Our prayers are with them, too, as they struggle to find new employment.

Serving in Christ,

Mark Schroeder

ELCA Survey - Favorite Color - Lavender

ELCA was all over Fuller Seminary for training, too.

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 13, 2009

ELCA Clergy Support Gay, Lesbian Rights, Ordination, Survey Says
09-185-CD*

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Results of a national survey show that a majority of clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) -- 54 percent -- support ordination "with no special requirements" for people who are gay or lesbian, according to an Aug. 5 news release.

The Clergy Voices Survey was conducted in May 2009 by Public Religion Research, an independent public opinion research organization that provides "research-based" information and advice on religion, values and public policy. Public Religion Research is based in Washington D.C.

"ELCA clergy are generally supportive of a range of rights for gay and lesbian people both inside and outside the church," said Dr. Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research, which conducted the study. "ELCA clergy also strongly believe that the gospel message requires full inclusion of gay and lesbian members in the life of the church," he said.

Nearly one-third (32 percent) of ELCA clergy said that people who are gay or lesbian should be eligible for ordination only if they are celibate, according to the news release from Public Religion Research. Fourteen percent of ELCA clergy said that people who are gay or lesbian
should not be eligible for ordination at all, the release said.

The survey results showed that 46 percent of ELCA clergy support performing same-sex marriages in states where they are legal, according to the release.

The survey was conducted by mail among a national random sample of senior clergy serving congregations in the seven largest mainline Protestant denominations, the release said. The Clergy Voices Survey contained more than 250 questions and generated 2,658 respondents with a response rate of 44 percent, the release said.

Full results of the study are at
http://www.publicreligion.org/research/?id=208 on the Web.

The news release regarding ELCA clergy findings is at
http://www.publicreligion.org/blog/index.php?s=ELCA on the Web.

The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly -- the highest legislative authority of the 4.6-million member church -- will consider a proposed social statement for the church, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," and a report and recommendation for a process to changes ministry policies, Aug 17-23 in Minneapolis. If adopted, the ministry policies recommendation would make it possible for Lutherans who are in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gendered relationships" to serve as ELCA associates in ministry, deaconesses, diaconal ministers and ordained ministers.

Augustana Synod and Pietism

This is the pseudo-monastic walkway at the old seminary building.
Augustana Seminary merged into the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, in the 1960s, but LSTC dropped all the Augie profs. The ULCA element of the LCA hated Augustana, in part for its history of opposing the Masonic Lodge. Mention Augie and the Masons go into rants.

Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, where the Ichabods met on their first day of classes. Hearing this, Bergendoff said, "It was fore-ordained." Mrs. I. saw him again before he died at the age of 102.

The Swedish Augustana Synod was named for the Latin title of our first Lutheran symbol - Confessio Augustana - the Augsburg Confession of 1530.

Swedes came over in the 19th century to look for new opportunities. The Church of Sweden turned into the typical state church. Alcoholism was a major social disease in Sweden. The founder of the temperance society was a minister who witnessed a drunken fight in front of the pulpit during the sermon - the belligerents were women.

An English Methodist named George Scott was influential in bringing Pietism to Sweden. Many Swedish pastors saw the methods of Pietism as a solution for social ills. Pietistic cell groups grew so disturbing to the government that they enforced a anti-conventicle act. The Pietists loved to tell this story - Police broke into a place where a conventicle was supposed to be meeting. They saw cards on the table and liquor being served. Tobacco was evident. They said, "There is no conventicle here. These are good Lutherans."

Pietistic mission societies and the yearning for freedom motivated Swedes to take the trip to America. John Deere helped by inventing a plow that would throw off the sticky prairie soil of the Midwest, establishing his factories in Moline, Illinois. He hired Swedes coming over, and many Swedes established farms in the Great Plains.

Only about 20% of the Swedes made it into the Augustana Synod. The Bethel (Methodist) ship awaited them in New York City, helping the newbies and steering them into Methodist - not a tough battle for cell group members. Mormons were also successful with Swedes.

The Swedes came over as Pietists but they had many rude awakenings in America. In Sweden, it was the state church versus the people who took matters seriously (Pietism). In America, the free-wheeling religious atmosphere led to many disturbing events. The General Synod (Muhlenberg Pietistic tradition, later ELCA) was hotter than an Illinois cornfield for revivals. Some Swedish-American churches required a testimony about an adult born-again experience in order to be communing members.

Several people moved the Swedes into the confession orbit of the General Council, which opposed the revivalism of the General Synod. (Recall that the last straw was the General Synod letting in the Franckean Synod, the equivalent of giving Parlow the dogmatics professorship at Mequon.) Lars Esbjorn did not like what was going on, and went back to Sweden, but the grumpy guy had a point. He helped the change take place.

William Passavant, one of the great American Lutheran leaders, bumped the Swedes into confessionalism. They formed the Augustana Synod to show their new emphasis and allied themselves with the General Council.

Eric Norelius studied at Trinity Seminary in Columbus, Ohio (now ELCA). At that time, Capital Seminary was the orthodox Lutheran seminary of the Ohio Synod (1930 American Lutheran Church, 1960 The American Lutheran Church, 1987 ELCA - dizzy? I am, too.) Truly great men like Leupold and Lenski taught there in the early days. Norelius was introduced to repristination theology and took that into Augustana.

Augustana College floated around in Illinois for a time, suffering from money problems and getting established. The fourth location was Rock Island, overlooking the Mississippi River Valley. The prep school, college, and seminary were on one campus. My mother graduated from Augie, and we graduated in 1969.

The Augustana Synod grew and prospered, taking about 400,000 members into the LCA in 1962. The seminary was merged into Passavant's Maywood Seminary in Chicago and the confessional subscription once imposed on faculty at Maywood was dropped.

Augustana never denied its Pietistic roots. As a college library worker, I helped archive Pietisten, the Swedish magazine promoting Pietism. They tried to amalgamate Pietism with Lutheran orthodoxy, with mixed results. They taught traditional Lutheran orthodoxy--very much in the Walther mode--until a student revolt led to the replacement of most faculty members.

The subject of my dissertation at Notre Dame, A. D. Mattson, promoted the Social Gospel Movement, which advocated political activism in the church. The Social Gospel agenda became the political platform of FDR: child labor laws, pure food and drug laws, protection of labor unions, etc.

Pietism turns easily into rationalism, so the conservative methods of Pietism get converted into the liberal methods of apostates. "Service unites, but doctrine divides," as Augie's Conrad Bergendoff used to say.

Early in the 20th century, an Augustana College student could be expelled for owning a deck of cards. No due process was needed because having cards meant playing cards, and there was nothing innocent about that. Early Augustana leaders wrote about "the hellish lure of the card table," and fighting to the death against the repeal of Prohibition. After WWII, dancing on the campus was still an issue to be discussed at conventions.

The social ills were real, and we see the devastating results of various addictions today. However, the Pietistic approach of the Law turned into hypocrisy in the second generation and rebellion in the third. The Social Gospel Movement was even more unionistic than Pietism, uniting Augustana with the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. Bergendoff promoted such cooperation, and the liberals adored him for that.

Augustana Seminary graduate Herb Chilstrom became bishop of ELCA, speeding up its endorsement of homosexual activism. We talked about my dissertation over lunch one day. Like many, he was profoundly influenced by A. D. Mattson and the Social Gospel Movement.

Oddly enough, the dissertation work established for me how anti-Lutheran the LCA was. That began our change from LCA unionism to WELS unionism. Little did I know in 1987 that WELS was in bed with ELCA and loving it. However, SP Schroeder has stopped the insanity of practicing safe sects.

Today ELCA will be taking more steps in endorsing the homosexual agenda, moving in lockstep with its partner the Episcopal Church. I wrote about the Lavender Mafia in "Out of the Depths of ELCA," a complete issue of Christian News. Did I exaggerate? Read the news coming from the convention.

Life Coach Meter Is Running - Pay Up

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity

The Trinity, by Norma Boeckler

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time


The Hymn #142 A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining 1:21
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
The Gospel Luke 19:41-48
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #236 Creator Spirit 1:9

The Holy Spirit and the Word

The Hymn #479 Zion Rise 2:13
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #264 Preserve Thy Word 2:55

KJV 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

KJV Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. 47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

Tenth Sunday After Trinity
Almighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Holy Ghost hast revealed unto us the gospel of Thy Son, Jesus Christ: We beseech Thee so to quicken our hearts that we may sincerely receive Thy word, and not make light of it, or hear it without fruit, as did Thy people, the unbelieving Jews, but that we may fear Thee and daily grow in faith in Thy mercy, and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Holy Spirit and the Word
Fortunately for us, Corinth had a lot of problems, and Paul addressed them in his two epistles.

This particular problem involved their false understanding of the Holy Spirit.

First, I will restate what the Scriptures and Confessions teach about the Word and the Holy Spirit.
I. God’s Word is never separated from the Holy Spirit, so the Word always has a divine effect. Exactly how God works through the Word remains a mystery. One person may hear the Word of God and snicker about it for years, but find himself converted to faith in Christ in moments. Another person is baptized as a baby, taught the Gospel by his parents, and grows in understanding of the Christian faith.

II. Isaiah 55 teaches that God’s Word is always effective, so anything we say or do contrary to that teaching is false doctrine. There are many other passages teaching the same effectiveness, using different words. Hebrews 4 is another.

III. The word-group for effective is prominent in the New Testament, but this area has been neglected by all the modern scholars. Hardly anything is in print about the foundational concept of the Christian faith. Believers and those just beginning should be pointed to the Scriptures with a firm conviction that the Word is never without the Spirit and the Spirit is never without the Word.

IV. Separating the Holy Spirit and the Word is called Enthusiasm. Just as the efficacy of the Word is foundational for the Christian faith, Enthusiasm is the basis for all false doctrine, including the pagan religions of the world. Enthusiasm is repeatedly condemned by Luther and the Concordists in the Book of Concord.

Clearly some in Corinth were parading their supposed gifts of the Holy Spirit and holding themselves superior to the others. In addition, this led to a defense of ecstatic worship and anything coming from that as “from the Holy Spirit.” The typical believer was scorned while the Enthusiasts thought it proper to say “Jesus be cursed” in moments of ecstasy in worship.

Modern equivalents are the Pentecostal movement and the mainline version, the charismatic movement (where Pentecostals in faith stay within their denominations). One of the best descriptions of Pentecostalism came from a construction worker who said to his wife and later to me, “I know all about speaking in tongues, dancing in the spirit, and being slain in the spirit – that is how they worship the devil in Africa.” Ecstatic religions are not just from Africa. Fertility rites and sacred prostitution are part of ecstatic religions. But Pentecostalism came to America from Africa. It is not a racial weakness either. Blacks who grew up in liturgical Lutheran or Roman Catholic churches are quite scornful of putting on a show. I have talked to several who thought the noise and dancing were displays of entertainment, not worship.

1 Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

This is very important to understand in the negative (first part) and the positive (second part).


Part One, 1 Corinthians 12:3
False doctrine and blasphemy do not come from the Holy Spirit. In modern terms, our feelings do not verify the doctrine. Nothing trumps the teaching of God’s Word. The nice guy argument, and “he’s my friend” and “I drank a lot of beer with him at seminary” – all are irrelevant. Also, there is no Holy Mother Synod in the Bible. There is no institution to be defended because the only criterion is the Word of God, which judges and rules over everything. The Scriptures are the ruling norm of faith and conduct.

Part Two
Faith is the result of the Holy Spirit working through the Word. Therefore, anyone who says “Jesus is Lord” has been converted by the Word and shows the work of the Holy Spirit. (Some offer false confessions, as denounced by Jesus in Matthew 7:15ff, but Paul is talking about sincere faith here.)

Believers Glorify God
The Word of God and Lutheran authors have a lot to say about believers. Echoing Paul, they write that everything done in faith glorifies God, whether it is a baby soiling himself (Luther) or people going about their ordinary work. I find it strange when Lutheran clergy try to hold themselves above others, as if they have a greater portion of the Holy Spirit. They have the added burden of being held accountable for their stewardship of the mysteries (doctrines) of God.

Pastor’s Comment on UOJ
A WELS pastor phoned me, catching up on various things. He was struck—in a negative way—about the recent NPH book on being a Lutheran. The author (clearly a Shrinker, in my opinion) spends all his time on justification without faith and no time on the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. The pastor was confirming what Luther said about false doctrine supplanting sound doctrine. False doctrine is a weed that looks like sound doctrine, but it is sterile and useless. Many times in gardening I saw evidence of the slogan that “every good plant has a weed that looks like it.” I planted corn once and never realized the birds ate all my seed. I saw alleged corn plants growing where I turned over the soil and I rejoiced. I had lots of sun (Columbus) and plenty of rain. Soon I had a 8 foot stand of weeds growing – not one stalk of corn.

The Creating Word
Our trip to Los Angeles reminded me again of the power of God’s Creation. The scenery near the ocean is spectacular. The current theory is that continental drift led to land smashing against the coast. I am not qualified to say, but I wonder of the drifting took place suddenly during the time of the Genesis Flood. Regardless of how or when it happened, clearly God created our entire universe through the Word. “Nothing was created apart from Him.” (John 1)

The more I see of our Southwest, the more apparent the Genesis Flood is – especially when looking at the Grand Canyon, scoured out by the racing of gravel, stones, and boulders in a torrent of water.

There is a direct connection between the Creation and believers. Paul calls all believers “new creations,” rather than “new decisions.” The Word is so powerful that the Gospel creates faith and sustains faith.

That knowledge of God’s Word keeps us from despairing about our failings, which are many, and bragging about our accomplishments, which are few. Though the Gospel received in faith, we are declared innocent because of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. As one pastor said in rejecting UOJ – “There’s the Atonement and faith in the Atonement. Don’t throw in a bunch of stuff I can’t find in the Bible.”

As we can see in the Holy Spirit and the Word, the two are never separated, but they are not the same. Also, the Atonement and justification go together, but they are different. The Atonement is Christ’s one-time sacrifice for the sins of the world. Pronouncing an individual innocent (justified) is another work of God, not to be confused with the Atonement. The Atonement remains true even if no one ever believed it. But the Atonement is not justification. The Atonement is not a declaration of the whole world being innocent and guilt-free. God has provided Gospel teachers to distributed this treasure to individuals through the Word and sacraments. Babies are too young to be taught sanctification and the non-reciprocity of the second genus, so God places faith in their hearts with the Holy Spirit working with the Word in infant baptism. Their faith is genuine because they do not have the skill of adults in rationalizing away the mysteries of God. Infants grow in understanding and learn to hold fast to the doctrine of the Word.

Everything accomplished in the true Church is done by the Holy Spirit, and all work of the Holy Spirit is the effective work of the Word. Those who seek an abundance of the fruits of the Spirit will find that coming from an abundance of the Word. Anything else is sowing sparingly (mixing in man’s wisdom) and therefore reaping sparingly.

Sinuflecting to Rome: Father Hollywood Channels Father Neuhaus

"Thank you Father Neuhaus and Father Hollywood, for sending so many men our way. No, no. We will wait for some. Let them gather disciples and sinuflect gradually to us -das Frog in dem Kettle. Ja?"


Father Hollywood, a Missouri pastor, has the answers:

On Wednesday, we rose for breakfast followed by Mass in commemoration of our Society's patron St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, a disciple of the apostle John. St. Polycarp was martyred around the year 155 AD. Dr. John Stephenson, theology professor at St. Catharines Lutheran Seminary in Canada has called St. Polycarp the most important Christian saint for our times.

Our "preacher" for the service was Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, a portion of whose writing was read by Fr. Tim May, our celebrant. Fr. Cantalamessa is the remarkably evangelical preacher who is the pope's personal chaplain, a post he has held since 1980. Fr. Tim read from Cantalamessa's extraordinary book The Eucharist: Our Sanctification.

Following the service, Fr. Ben Pollock, SSP gave a brief but informative presentation on the monastic theologian St. John Cassian and his writings on the affliction of acedia (despondancy) - which is analogous to what we call depression today.

Br. Latif Gaba, SSP shared with us an advanced copy of his forthcoming published edition of an English-Latin Psalter, making use of the Coverdale English translation and the Clementine edition of the Vulgate for the Latin. The book is in its final revisions and will be available for purchase very soon!

I closed out the presentations with a brief roundup of Society business to consider in the future.

Nixon Library and Saddleback Church

We knew we would drive near the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, so we stopped there for a tour. The photo of Nixon and Elvis was a life-sized cardboard cutout near the main entrance. We bought a book about Pat Nixon, written by their daughter Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

Nixon's birthplace is preserved on that site, in its original location. The tiny house was built by his father from a kit. Sears used to sell house kits, but no one knew who manufactured this one. The original had water in the kitchen but no toilet.

My wife and I grew up in the Nixon era, remembering his VP days, his first presidential race--when Nixon shook my hand in Moline--and the later dramas. Nixon was a disappointment to conservatives, but he was a remarkable man, far more able than our recent presidents. We talked outside to a couple about presidential libraries we had seen (Hoover, Eisenhower) and the proximity of the Reagan Library. I said, "Reagan was a great president. We need another Reagan." Dead silence. Conversation over. I could hear ants moving in the grass beneath our feet. That is Los Angeles, where I-10 is besmirched by Leftist billboards and that hideous Valley of the Wind Machines - countless propellers inefficiently generating a little electricity. LA - where cigarettes are evil, unless they are made of marijuana, which is good to suck into lungs.

We stayed at the Off Ramp Inn, Mission Viejo, about 20 minutes from the ocean. We followed the directions to the ocean and found Saddleback Church only a few blocks away - on Saddleback Parkway, with Purpose Drive nearby. I wanted to tag an "n" on the end of the Purpose Drive sign, but time did not allow for a little joke.

Rick Warren was having a conference on addiction for 3500 people, many of them staying at the Off Ramp. We pulled into the back parking lot, walked up to the main building, and stepped in. The usher wanted to block us, because "this a paid-for conference." Mrs. Ichabod talked us in because I am a minister.

Rick did not look over at me and say, "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine." I am not on his radar.

He was clowning around on the stage. We left after he solemnly declared, "Take yourself lightly but God seriously." His Dephic pronouncement was greeted with applause, and I thought of Latte Lutheran Church. They take their coffee seriously, but Christian symbols, including the cross, are just marketing tools.

Rick is another crypto-Babtist, like Andy Stanley. Neither Babtist can endure having Baptist in the church title. Saddleback has a baptismal pool outside, where an abundance of water allegedly makes up for its lack of efficacy.

I noticed a list of "venues," various modes of worship delivery. That is common among CG congregations. I find the theatrical term annoying, but Church Growth has always modeled itself as an entertainment medium.

The spookiest approximation of LCMS/WELS/ELS Church Growth came from one insurance session. A Life Coach spoke to us for an hour. He is a graduate of Tony Robbins' coaching academy. I realized that The CORE tweets and blogs are echoes of modern coaching techniques, including the constant offer of a "takeaway." Andy Stanley is the product of this coaching, and his Babtist staff coaches Bishop Katie.

American Life Coaches approximate the Hindu gurus, who take over their pupils lives and order them around. A Hindu guru can be rude, obnoxious, and dictatorial,yet the student owes obedience and gratitude. Carlos Whittaker appears to be the Life Coach for Bishop Katie at The CORE. Carlos is on the staff at Northpoint Babtist Community Church.

The wife of one of the Patterson Network pastors is a life coach. Parlow's Willow Creek WELS church has a life coach. Fees are discussed here. Naturally, Church and Change promotes the concept at their confabs.

A coach will help me "take it to a new level." They talk in platitudes, not knowing they have already been spoofed by Geico commercials. Being coached is a first step in becoming a coach, much like psychiatric counseling. In fact, coaches are very much like shrinks. "I have a Life Coach" is the new version of "my shrink just phoned."

Two coaches showed up at the insurance social gathering, to offer their services to everyone "with issues." The speaker flew back from Phoenix just to attend, and he brought his friend, who sells coaching on the Home Shopping Network. No kidding. I don't need to write satire when simply reporting the facts is hilarious. I could drop in some quotes, but enough has been said.

We may end up being on a reality show called "LA Houswives" on Bravo. They were taping one session and also came to the party. We had to sign releases, so we may have signed away our residuals. Most were spooked by the camera and boom mike, but I said, "I have church services on the Internet every week."

---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Nixon Library and Saddleback Church":

Truth is stranger than fiction. Sanctimonious pop psychology has totally infiltrated the non-confessional churches. It manifests itself in the form of life coaches and other types of do it yourself programs. This past week I ran into some guys who were all worked up about the Boundaries series of "Bible studies". I immediately thought of Rick Warren. The claim was made that this Boundaries thing works no matter what the situation is. The same was said about the Purpose Driven drivel. All of this reminds me of Six Sigma and other types of agendas in industry. More often than not, it is embraced by those who are obsessed with process and lack problem solving skills.

With Warren's offerings and the other snake oil salesman out there, it is no wonder that laity are so lacking in discernment.

***

GJ - A WELS pastor phoned me today and we discussed this. His point was that the Changer congregations suffer from methodism (small m). They know they are plagiarizing - nothing wrong with that, they think. They copy because they believe the method will work.

When the CLC (sic) Committee To Silence Greg Jackson was meeting, one old codger sneered at me specifically on the point of methods.

The Greek root for the word method can be found here:

KJV Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive [KJV free translation of the phrase using methodeia;]

And here:

KJV Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [methodeias - methods] of the devil.

The ministers who believe in methods do not believe in the Word. They continue for a time as quasi-believers and say the right words from time to time, but the path to apostasy is steep and inevitable unless the cancer of false doctrine is removed.

Ichabods Going To Training Event - But Not the Pietistic Gathering at Mequon

Some have wondered about the alleged Texas Church and Change confab. I alerted my sources but no one could confirm a meeting at Patterson's church. One person theorized that having a secret meeting published on Ichabod was a good way to get it canceled.

The story may have been a mistake or planted to mislead. No matter - the Pietists will gather at Mequon in a few days. The liberal WELS leaders are especially dense in the Milwaukee area, so they can prey and pray at the same time.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Maintaining the Momentum":

I thought WELS already taught people to pray. Why does it need a separate prayer institute? Is it a form of advanced placement before God?

Church and Change will be in charge of games at the
WELS Prayer Institute meeting.
I feel the buzz already.

Meanwhile, my wife and I will be going to a training event in LA (free) and stop at the Nixon Library on the way. I gave up on journalism school earlier this year. I figured I was already a journalist, and I did not relish grading even more paper.

One of my business connections asked me about going active in life insurance again. I did a little in 2007-8, but teaching got so busy I dropped it. Besides, the time requirements did not mesh with online teaching at all. I had to drive various places in Arizona, very scenic but also expensive.

Oddly enough, the new version of life insurance is how I bought my last policy. I asked for a quote and ended up getting coverage for half the price of the policy I owned at that time - Northwestern Mutual.

So I currently work in eight states, mostly in the East, using the phone and the computer. Many people get their coverage without any paperwork at all, since insurance companies are catching up with the new technology.

I was the general agency's annuity expert before, so I plan to do that again. Retired people are leery about the stability of variable funds. I am glad many have seen the numbers go up again.

My plan is to create more freedom for writing. If I can help people work part-time or full-time from their homes, that will be a bonus. Many ministers are going to become tent-makers because of the flat economy and the disastrous leadership in Washington DC.

Sacred Music from the Most Villainous Lutheran

This beautiful song is based off of Isaiah 45:8.

Rorate, cæli, desuper,
et nubes pluant justum ;
aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem,
et justitia oriatur simul :
ego Dominus creavi eum.

Biblia Sacra juxta Vulgatam Clementinam. 2005 (Ed. electronica) (Is 45:8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Copied shamelessly from Sceleratissimus Lutheranus

Sceleratissimus Lutheranus - The Most Villainous Lutheran. The title given to the great Lutheran theologian, Martin Chemnitz, by the Roman Catholics after he wrote his masterful work, The Examination of the Council of Trent.

Jesus Priceless Treasure

J. S. Bach wrote the harmony to this hymn. No picture is available for Johann Franck.

A WELS pastor wrote -

Greg:

I was reading tonight in your book, Jesus, Priceless Treasure, and I came upon the observation you made on the parable of the sower and the seed. In chapter 11, p. 79, you note, “It is not unusual for dozens of faithful Christians to have descended from a Christian marriage 50 years before.”

Yesterday my family and I worshiped with my in-laws in church in our home state, as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Their request was that all their children and grandchildren be with them in worship—and all were. All continue to worship and be served regularly with the Means of Grace in their various congregations. It was a poignant example of the illustration you used in your book.

Ironically, the Hymn of the Day for the worship service yesterday was . . . “Jesus, Priceless Treasure.” (“Jesu, Meine Freude” has been far and away my favorite hymn in the hymnal since college days.)

I thought you might enjoy hearing of the connection.


***

GJ - I did.

"Jesus, Priceless Treasure"
By Johann Franck, 1618-1677

1. Jesus, priceless Treasure,
Fount of purest pleasure,
Truest Friend to me.
Ah, how long in anguish
Shall my spirit languish,
Yearning, Lord, for Thee?
Thou art mine, O Lamb divine!
I will suffer naught to hide Thee,
Naught I ask beside Thee.

2. In Thine arms I rest me;
Foes who would molest me
Cannot reach me here.
Though the earth be shaking,
Every heart be quaking,
Jesus calms my fear.
Lightnings flash And thunders crash;
Yet, though sin and hell assail me,
Jesus will not fail me.

3. Satan, I defy thee;
Death, I now decry thee;
Fear, I bid thee cease.
World, thou shalt not harm me
Nor thy threats alarm me
While I sing of peace.
God's great power Guards every hour;
Earth and all its depths adore Him,
Silent bow before Him.

4. Hence, all earthly treasure!
Jesus is my Pleasure,
Jesus is my Choice.
Hence, all empty glory!
Naught to me thy story
Told with tempting voice.
Pain or loss, Or shame or cross,
Shall not from my Savior move me
Since He deigns to love me.

5. Evil world, I leave thee;
Thou canst not deceive me,
Thine appeal is vain.
Sin that once did blind me,
Get thee far behind me,
Come not forth again.
Past thy hour, O pride and power;
Sinful life, thy bonds I sever,
Leave thee now forever.

6. Hence, all fear and sadness!
For the Lord of gladness,
Jesus, enters in.
Those who love the Father,
Though the storms may gather,
Still have peace within.
Yea, whate'er I here must bear,
Thou art still my purest Pleasure,
Jesus, priceless Treasure!

Hymn #347
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Matt. 13: 46
Author: Johann Franck, 1655
Translated by: composite
Titled: "Jesu, meine Freude"
Composer: Johann Crueger, 1649
Tune: "Jesu, meine Freude"

Maintaining the Momentum

Alert - The Chicanery reaction has already set in. Their November theme is Regaining the Lost Momentum. WELS members and pastors will have to continue to press the Doctrinal Pussycats to address the doctrinal errors and money-grabbing tactics of these insubordinate fakes.


From the WELS Prayer Institute

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) is a Confessional Lutheran Church body begun in 1850 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . The WELS has approximately 1,259 congregations with a total membership of 400,622 souls. See www.wels.net for details on the Synod and its various ministries. The WELS PRAYER INSTITUTE (WPI) is not an official organization of the WELS . WPI was introduced in November 2004 as another ministry “spun off” from Church and Change, an informal gathering of WELS pastors, teachers, staff ministers and lay leaders. “Church” refers to the one gospel ministry of Jesus Christ which he has entrusted to all of his people. The word “Change” refers to how we might proclaim the changeless gospel of Christ within the changing culture in which we live.

First - note that WELS got Church and Change started with a WELS grant, followed by the Chicaneries spinning off the WELS Prayer Insitute.
Second - note the slogan - the changless gospel in a changing culture - which can be found on all the websites of Chicanery congregations.
Third - contact information includes "Pastor Steve Witte: Phone# 920-499-7405, email pastorwitte0906@sbcglobal.net" who got a DMin from Gordon Conwell's unionistic seminary. He has recently accepted a call to the Asian mission board of WELS, just in case you think the Church Growth Movement has been killed. Witte was a founder of Church and Chicanery and remains a leader of that lobbying and grant-grabbing group.

WELS Prayer Conference

August 14, 15, 2009

at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

Friday Night Prayer Time: 7:30 to 8:30 pm

Saturday Registration: 8:30 -- 9:00 am

Saturday Conference: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Bruce Becker: Keynote Speaker [also at the C and C Conference in November)

Cost: $45 per person (includes lunch, materials, donation to support prayer ministry)

Bruce Becker is not going to stop leading Church and Chicaneries. He went from his overpaid position as head of Perish Services to Mark Jeske's Lutheran Time of Grace.

Dog Refuses Treat

If Everything Is Adiaphora, Then This New Blog Is Bad

Bad Vestments is a blog devoted to inappropriate costumes worn while leading worship. I immediately thought of the beach mass photo above, which I found somewhere. I believe it is Anglican. The costumes are set off by a surf board resting on a plastic-covered garbage can - the altar.

According to Safari Leader Timmerman, from Don Patterson's church, almost everything in worship is adiaphora, so people can do whatever they want.

I can imagine the Chicaneries vying for the honor of appearing on The Bad Vestments blog. There might be theme awards given, too:

1. Most outrageous set design (airport at The CORE, Ski).
   
2. Worst coffee brew served during worship (Latte Lutheran Church, Randy Hunter).
   
3. Most distracting movie screen.
   
4. Best effort at hiding the sacraments.
   
5. Loudest snacks served during the service.