Fuller Theological Seminary alums: C Peter Wagner « Churchmouse Campanologist

Who listens to these frauds? WELS and LCMS and ELS and ELCA.



Fuller Theological Seminary alums: C Peter Wagner « Churchmouse Campanologist

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: C Peter Wagner

November 28, 2010 in Evangelical, Protestant | Tags: Protestant, Evangelical, church,Christianity, Michael Horton, Fuller Theological Seminary, C Peter Wagner, John Wimber,Donald McGavran

Before we look at the life of Charles Peter Wagner, 80, let us find out a bit more about his mentor, Donald McGavran(1897-1990), who served as Dean Emeritus and former Senior Professor of Mission, church growth, and South Asian studies at the School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary.

McGavran and church growth

McGavran was born around the time my late paternal grandmother.  That cohort — and this has been discussed by theorists of generational studies — had an openness towards new ideas, new ways of thinking and keeping abreast of the times.  Like McGavran, my grandmother died in her early 90s and our family concluded that, whilst she was conventional in so many ways, she always had a zest for life and an interest in what was happening in the world.

So it was with McGavran, the child of missionaries to India, who later became one himself.  He observed that the country’s caste system often acted as a barrier to conversion to Christianity.  He devised a system of evangelising and categorising potential converts.  This later became known as the church growth movement.  He explained these theories and methods in Understanding Church Growth, The Bridges of God and How Churches Grow.  In 1965, he instituted the School of World Mission at Fuller.  In 1970, McGavran gave an address in which he discussed church growth, aligning it with methods used in industry (emphases mine throughout):

We devise mission methods and policies in the light of what God has blessed—and what He has obviously not blessed. Industry calls this “modifying operation in light of feedback.” Nothing hurts missions overseas so much as continuing methods, institutions, and policies which ought to bring men to Christ—but don’t; which ought to multiply churches—but don’t. We teach men to be ruthless in regard to method. If it does not work to the glory of God and the extension of Christ’s church, throw it away and get something which does. As to methods, we are fiercely pragmatic—doctrine is something else.[1]

Thus, we see why many critics of church growth say it is more about numbers than faith.

For McGavran, borrowing quantitative methods from the secular world of industry must have had great appeal.  It tapped into the zeitgeist, had pizazz and was revolutionary.  Not unlike my grandmother’s penchant for the latest styles of the period, like being the first (and only) woman I knew who had a Pauline Trigere style A-line coat, a chic design which served her well for many years, and her eagerness to try the latest household products and eat at the newest restaurants.  I mention these things because she, McGavran and many others born around the same time seemed to think the same way.

Whereas my grandmother’s penchant for the new was harmless, McGavran’s church growth movement ended up giving birth to seeker-sensitive churches, man-centred services and a postmodern interpretation of Scripture.

Wagner follows in McGavran’s footsteps

C Peter Wagner attended Fuller in the 1950s.  He and his wife served as Congregational (United Church of Christ) missionaries in South America.  A year after McGavran gave his talk above, Wagner became a professor at Fuller’s — McGavran’s — School of World Mission, now known as the School of Intercultural Studies.  In 1981, he replaced McGavran as the head of the school and continued in that capacity until 1998 and was also a professor of Church Growth.

In Leading Your Church to Growth, published in 1984, Wagner wrote:

The Church Growth Movement has always stressed pragmatism, and still does even though many have criticized it. It is not the kind of pragmatism that compromises doctrine or ethics or the kind that dehumanizes people by using them as means toward an end. It is, however, the kind of consecrated pragmatism which ruthlessly examines traditional methodologies and programs asking the tough questions. If some sort of ministry in the church is not reaching intended goals, consecrated pragmatism says there is something wrong which needs to be corrected.[5]

Implied in that is the idea that a church is unsuccessful when it does not grow, that there is something inherently wrong.  It must be fixed.  This is, frankly, unbiblical.  Better a small, faithful congregation than a large one of lukewarm quasi-believers who think their involvement in church programmes will bring them salvation.

In 1 Corinthians 2:5, St Paul wrote:

When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit

Wagner categorised the Holy Spirit’s work in the 20th century and came up with the term, the Third Wave, which he discussed in his 1988 book, The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering the Power of Signs and Wonders Today. The first wave was during the Pentecostal Azusa Street Revival, the second with the charismatic movement in churches during the 1960s and the third took place starting in the mid-1980s.   

Growth is good

One of Wagner’s friends was the late John Wimber, former keyboardist for the Paramours and the Righteous Brothers, who began attending a Quaker church during the 1960s.  Wimber later became an adjunct professor at Fuller for theircontroversial ‘Signs and Wonders’ course.  By this time, he was already the pastor of the Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship, affiliated with the Vineyard Christian Fellowships, which became an international Vineyard Movement. Wimber would go on to write Power Evangelism.

Wagner admired Wimber’s church as well as Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral.  If a church was growing, it was good.  So, it is no wonder to read that he was the advisor for Rick Warren’s 1993 D.Min. project, for which the abstract reads in part:

NEW CHURCHES FOR A NEW GENERATION: CHURCH PLANTING TO REACH BABY BOOMERS. A CASE STUDY: THE SADDLEBACK VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH (CALIFORNIA)

A People magazine survey found that only 11% of Baby Boomers regularly attend church. The basic argument of this dissertation is that most Baby Boomers will never be reached by traditional churches. We must establish new churches to reach this new generation of Americans. It will require new churches that understand the Baby Boom mindset and are intentionally designed to meet their needs, tastes, and interests.

During the past thirteen years, I have been researching, testing, and implementing principles and programs to reach Baby Boomers. I began the Saddleback Valley Community Church in January, 1980 in my home … when I moved to the area. My target was to reach Baby Boomers. Today, the church averages about 6,000 in attendance. Over 50% of the members are Baby Boomers and nearly 70% were saved and baptized at the church.

Our church has sponsored 20 daughter churches since it began. In each of these new churches we have used the same strategy with good results. I believe the strategy we’re developing at Saddleback is reproducible in other new church starts.

Need we say more? Rick Warren has been tickling itching ears with astounding ‘success’.  As The Revd Bob DeWaay points out:

… if one follows the felt needs agenda, the church will inevitably have to take resources and attention away from gospel preaching and Bible teaching in order to create programs to meet these needs. When people are asked if they are “good people” and whether they think they will go to heaven when they die, the answer is nearly always “yes.” They feel no need for conversion. So hearing gospel preaching will not be one of their felt needs. Therefore the felt needs of the unregenerate will determine that the church puts the proclamation of the gospel on the back burner …

The New Apostolic Reformation for a new Millennium

In 1999, Wagner wrote a book, Churchquake, in which he posited the need for a New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).  DeWaay explains:

The New Apostolic Reformation is based on the idea that apostles and prophets as the foundation of the church were never meant to be only the Biblical ones, but that living persons should occupy these offices until the church is perfected.³⁵ Wagner argues that the church has made remarkable progress for centuries without apostles and prophets, but that so much more will happen with them …

Wagner himself claims to be the recipient of this type of apostolic revelation. He claims to have been given marching orders for the church to concentrate on the 40/70 window (missiologists use that term for the part of the world with the greatest numbers of non-Christians). He claims further that he knows that a principality of darkness named “The Queen of Heaven” is responsible for “neutralizing the power of Christianity in that area.”³⁹ The long and the short of it is that the release of apostolic power through later day apostles and prophets with new revelations for the church will bring about the success and triumph of Christianity in the world.

Wagner was energised by the apostolic church and missional growth in Africa, South America and China.  He praises the high number of volunteers these churches have.  He likes the fact that the congregations yield up new ministers, ‘like cream on fresh milk’. In an excerpt from The Transforming Power of Revival which Talk to Action reproduced, Wagner noted that, for practical reasons, seminary formation would be out of the question for many hopeful preachers in the developing world.  Therefore:

New apostolic ordination is primarily rooted in personal relationships, which verify character, and in proved ministry skills.

Continuing education for leaders more frequently takes place in conferences, seminars and retreats rather than in classrooms of accredited institutions.  Little aversion is noticed for quality training, but the demands are many for alternate delivery systems.  A disproportionate number of new apostolic churches, especially the large ones, are establishing their own in-house Bible schools.

He adds:

On the other hand, new apostolic church leaders are vision driven.  In a conversation with a new apostolic senior pastor about his church, I once asked, “How many cell groups do you have?” I think that was sometime in 1996.

He replied, “We will have 600 by the year 2000!” I can’t seem to recall ever finding out how many cells he did have in 1996.  As far as the pastor was concerned, though, that apparently didn’t matter at all.  In his mind, the 600 cells were not imaginary, they were real.  The 600 was what really mattered.

And:

For many, praise marches, prayer walking, prayer journeys and prayer expeditions have become a part of congregational life and ministry.  For example, 55 members of one local church, New life Church of Colorado Springs, recently travelled to Nepal, high in the Himalayas, topray on-site for each of the 43 major, yet-unreached people groups of the nation.

What concerns me is what sort of biblical interpretation and teaching these people are receiving.  Also, for some, is there a danger that syncretic religious practices will creep in?  My reservations are many.  How many pastors are saying, ‘The Holy Spirit told me today that you should …’  Whilst it’s always a blessing for people to receive the Gospel message with open and joyous hearts, there is a real possibility that such zeal could be misunderstood and misused.

New apostles and dominionism?

As part of the NAR effort, Wagner founded Global Harvest Ministries.  The idea was to infuse the seven mountains of culture with Christian ideals and zeal, working closely with governments and business as necessary.  In August 2010, it morphed into a new organisation with the same objectives, Global Spheres.  On the Global Harvest site, Wagner tells us:

I officially turned GHM over to Chuck Pierce of Denton, Texas. Instead of continuing GHM, Chuck organized Global Spheres, Inc. (GSI), a new wineskin for apostolic alignment which will carry Doris and me into the future. Chuck is President and I am Apostolic Ambassador. As a part of this transition, we have closed the GHM website, and transferred our material to the GSI website.

On Global Spheres, Chuck Pierce says:

We must not slow down but accelerate, review, regroup, face giants, gain strategy, and “go up!” I have a team praying for you as you pursue a new level of dominion in your sphere of authority. We are presently designing an interactive Global Spheres website so we can post your current mission thrusts …

Then we will have the monthly report — Global Spheres: Expanding Our Dominion Month by Month in 2010. I will post these on the website and we will keep them updated for you to see. Another reason for doing this is that we want to support on a monthly basis each mission thrust that one of our associates have …

John Dickson and I are working on another Worship Book (As It Is In Heaven) with Regal Books. I am working on my third book for Charisma, Let Your Spirit Soar: Overcoming the Enemy’s Power of Vexation. Then as Glory of Zion International Ministries publications, I am working on two books. The first is The Triumphant Reserve, the vision the Lord gave me of every state in the USA and the 153 Sheep Nations …

As I write in November 2010, there is only one month of Global Sphere monthly reports — for January 2010.

Wagner was also the Presiding Apostle (2000-2009) of the International Coalition of Apostles (ICA). He is now their Presiding Apostle Emeritus. The Wagners and Pierce are council members. Its mission is as follows:

ICA is designed to connect apostles’ wisdom and resources in order that each member can function more strategically, combine their efforts globally, and effectively accelerate the advancement of the Kingdom of God into every sphere of society.

No comment.  Talk to Action lists a number of offshoots of this movement, many of which have some connection — direct or indirect — back to Wagner or his organisations.  Among them are prayer warrior groups, such as the kind which prayed for Sarah Palin in 2008.  Also ‘Bishop’ Thomas Muthee who prayed over Palin at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church.  He returned to speak to the church in October 2010.

Wagner Leadership Institute near Fuller

Wagner also founded the eponymous Leadership Institute.  It is located in Pasadena, the same city where Fuller is based.  Here’s a bit about the WLIwhich, by the way, does not ordain or licence students for the ministry:

Founded in 1998 by C. Peter Wagner, WLI reflects a new paradigm for unique training in practical ministry. Students learn in a creative,revelatory atmosphere of teaching, impartation and activation with opportunity for hands-on practical application and ministry. WLI provides the highest level of training and spiritual impartation through a successful faculty of internationally known leaders who walk and minister powerfully out of the five-fold ascension gifts. Students obtain a living, functioning impartation and activation from the Holy Spirit to walk in their divine destiny.

This may have even more implications than church growth.  Take a look at the courses, which include:

- Apostolic Breakthrough!

- Exploring the Nature and Gift of Dreams

- Biblical Entrepreneurship

- Current Topics for Kingdom Advance (this one taught by Wagner himself).

Dominionist?  You decide

We’re nearing the end, but, despite what Wagner says, did he know about Latter Rain and did he endorse it?  Deception in the Church has an interesting report, excerpted below (emphasis theirs):

C. Peter Wagner wrote a letter to Dr. Orrel Steinkamp on June 5, 2001 before Orrel wrote his article called “Spiritual Warfare Evangelism – How Did We Get Here?” in The Plumbline, volume 6, No. 5, November/December 2001.  Here is the salient quote from that article:

“So I never even heard of the Latter Rain, Kingdom Now .. Manifested Sons of God or any of those things…

However, in a conference called “Global Harvest Ministries Presents: Apostolic Church Arising” held at the Atlanta Metropolitan Cathedral, Atlanta, GA, June 14-16, 2001 C. Peter Wagner claimed that he was drawn into the process and started hearing about the Latter Rain back in 1993 …

… I myself knew nothing about those previous efforts I mean I couldn’t even spell “latter rain” … but in 1993 then God drew me into the process and I began hearing about these things even though I never experienced them now.

‘Never experienced them now’ is an interesting turn of phrase.

Deception‘s Sandy Simpson concludes:

… I have already pointed out, one of the two living proponents of the New Order Of The Latter Rain, namely Paul Cain, associate to William Branham, visited John Wimber and C. Peter Wagner in 1989 according to Wagner on the DVD series, and he had to have explained the apostolic movement to them at that time.

I leave you to draw your own conclusions on C Peter Wagner.  However, church growth plus NAR plus dominionism is a frightening combination.  This post illustrates why many Christians are suspicious of Evangelicalism.  To bring us back to Gospel truths, here is Dr Michael Horton, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary California and author of several books.  He says:

Long ago, the evangelist D. L. Moody responded to criticisms of his message and pragmatic methods with the quip, “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it”  … Yet the answer is not “deeds over creeds,” but to be re-introduced to the creeds that generate the deeds that are the fruit of genuine faith.  Getting the gospel right and getting the gospel out, as well as loving and serving our neighbors, comprise the callings of the church and of Christians in the world. However, confusing these is always disastrous for our message and mission.

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***

GJ - I had to laugh. Fuller Seminary's ad was at the bottom of the post, so I included it.

Many WELS leaders have been trained by Donald McGavran and C. Peter Wagner.

Kerwin Steffen

I'm a busy little devil,
and I only want to help."

From Paladin:
I was looking at Ichabod today and KW Steffen jumped off the page to me from a few weeks ago. Kerwin Steffen is a member (long standing) of the Chapel in Madison and is a key player in its identity change. He was one of the groomed ones who has become a key groomer in the Pietistic movement that has swept the Chapel. He was council president for years, and maybe still is.

It took a while to see it, but it came to fruition.

KW facilitated the changes - the typical ABC - things that must change, things that can't change, things that don't matter etc.

The cottage meetings were simply the best. Various point women and men got a list of Chapel names and would visit them and do a Bible Study verse or two at your house. This was done to be a way of opening up conversation and concerns about the new chapel building plan and eventual ministry changes. The new bigger, better chapel is only a shadow of itself, which at one point was a pretty good institution.

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1. Christ-like Leadership: Shepherd or Sheep Dog?

   Longtime organizational consultant Kerwin Steffen has facilitated more than a dozen weekend Servant Leadership Retreats for UW-Madison students. In this fast-paced, interactive workshop designed especially for the rally, he will help you explore leadership from a fresh biblical perspective. You will take home new tools that can transform the way you lead—right now and for the rest of your life.

Team Spirit - Timeless twaddle

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Fascinated for most of his life with how people get results when they get together, Kerwin Steffen specializes in helping organizations and groups of all kinds to achieve breakthrough performance.

He has been writing, speaking, consulting, and presenting workshops on organizational effectiveness, leadership development, and personal mastery for more than twenty-five years.

Kerwin has served as a teacher, a broadcaster, a professional musician, a member of the top-management team of a regional hospital and clinic and, for more than a decade, as a professional consultant.

In 1994, he established his own firm, K W Steffen Associates. The Spirit Edge™Team Technology, the team building system he developed, has helped groups in the U.S. and abroad to effectively manage and enhance their Shared Spirit Systems and lay an enduring foundation for breakthrough results.

Kerwin has provided performance consulting and facilitated learning for a broad cross-section of businesses, nonprofits, and community-based groups—from organizations involved in global manufacturing, financial services, health care, tourism, and downtown development to others dedicated to secondary and post-secondary education, animal welfare, wildlife management, civic journalism, volunteer service, race relations, and ministry to college students.

He has also designed and facilitated wide-ranging public participation processes for civic groups in large and small cities throughout the Midwest, as well as in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Leadership materials that he developed have been used by hundreds of organizations, including ITT Sheraton, Holiday Inn Worldwide, Aid Association for Lutherans (now Thrivent), AT&T School of Business, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Boise Cascade, Citicorp, CIBA Corporation, the U.S. Defense Contract Management Commission, Delco Electronics, Quill Corporation, Discover Card Services, Federal Express, and the Weather Channel.

Kerwin serves on the board of directors of the Bank of New Glarus and has served on the boards of not-for-profit organizations as well.

A sought-after public speaker, Kerwin calls on his years of management experience, his passion for high-performing groups, his insight into human dynamics, and his spirited musicianship to energize his audiences.

He and his wife, Marilee, have lived in New Glarus, Wisconsin, for more than forty-five years. They have two married children and two grandchildren.

K W Steffen Associates • PO Box 672 • New Glarus, WI 53574
Phone: 608-527-5896 • E-Mail: kws@kwsteffen.com

***

GJ - I wrote to Paladin that Steffen's website is gone, vanished. I linked it only a short time ago. Photos from Google? Cannot find any.

Ichabod effect? Or is the growtivational speaker so short of cash that he cannot pay his GoDaddy.com renewal fee?

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Kerwin Steffen":

"Leadership materials that he developed have been used by hundreds of organizations, including.......
Delco Electronics......."

I worked almost 29 years for Delco Electronics. Now called Delphi, they filed for bankruptcy five years ago and are still in it. You got to love it when those business models are ported into the ministry.

What did the churches ever do before the non-stop parade of stewardship, evangelism and leadership workshops?

The correct answer is that they trusted that the Holy Spirit would work through the efficacious Word.

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GJ - There is an incestuous relationship between the Media Mavens like Jeske and the business motivational speakers. They speak the same psycho-babble New Age lingo and cannot get enough of it. They hold seminars where they tell each other and the audience that they will all be soaring into the stratosphere with the newest insights.

One of the most famous is a former Methodist minister who leaks puddles of snake oil wherever he goes. His voice oozes condescension. Fortunately I got to hear him for free, so the pain was less onerous.

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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Kerwin Steffen":

I toured the Madison Chapel-Student Center. It cost the synod $4 million to build it in 2006. I assume the synod pays to run it. Here's a virtual tour:

http://www.wlchapel.org/about-us/virtual-tour/

With its underground parking garage under the chapel (see where the bollards are to keep your car from hitting the tower) and computerized video security system, it reminds me of the Bat Cave. Rev. Trapp would be Bat Man.

They promote church growth but they have an extravagant business model that most congregations can't afford. It's supposed to be missional and keep WELS students in the WELS, but it's real purpose may be to groom the next generation of WELS leaders into church growthism. After worshiping there, they'll want a big screen and projector in church.

By the way, the chapel is a surprisingly small part of the complex. It should be called the Wisconsin Lutheran Student Center with chapel annex. I'm sure it's easier to raise money by calling it Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel & Student Center, though.

When industry or the state do big projects, they always have to do an environmental impact study. I think the synod ought to do impact studies for its projects. For example, it should ask, "If the finite number of donors with their finite number of dollars is tapped to build and fund a student center in Madison, how much will the tuition rise at synodical schools compared to if we just buy a defunct church building and forget the student center?" Or, how much will the synod debt rise if we keep Mequon separate from MLC? Or not train our teachers at WLC, and our pastors back at Watertown?

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GJ - Doesn't Willow Creek run right past the front door? I heard the staff was swept away in the Willow Creek flood.

Faithful Pastor Needed

Dear Pastor Jackson,

I just read your catechism on justification. Thank you! This is exactly what the Bible (KJV) teaches.

Would you know anyone in the Chicago area that also teach justification correctly? I would be interested in contacting them.

Would you know any Lutheran pastors in the Chicago area who have the correct understanding of Justification?

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GJ - If anyone knows of someone who agrees with the Book of Concord and the Bible about justification by faith, send a comment for this post. The individual can check out who is recommended. You can also send me an email if you name the post. There are so many that I lose track of what is posted where, especially since I added kelming (Blog This!) to my bag of tools.

NY Post Covers Sent by Anonymous

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LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "NY Post Covers Sent by Anonymous":

This thread is funny in a sick kind of way...still I have to credit those who have the intestinal fortitude to not be anonymous. "That's how you get famous......"it was just a memo" - Jerry MacGuire

JK

No Other Book Can Comfort Us

By Norma Boeckler

"Other books may have power to slay us, indeed, but no book except the holy Scriptures has power to comfort us. No other bears the title here given by Paul--Book of Comfort--one that can support the soul in all tribulations, helping it not to despair but to maintain hope. For thereby the soul apprehends God's Word and, learning His gracious will, cleaves to it, continuing steadfast in life and death." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 43. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

The First Sunday in Advent

The Nativity, by Norma Boeckler.


The First Sunday in Advent

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn # 245 God Loved the World 4:6
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
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 290 We Have A Sure 4:89

Put On the Lord Jesus Christ

The Hymn # 305:1-6 Soul Adorn Thyself 4.23
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 # 657 Beautiful Savior 4:24

KJV Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering [lewdness] and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

KJV Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

First Sunday in Advent - The Collects of Veit Dietrich
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee, we bless and praise Thee forever, that Thou didst send Thy Son to rule over us poor sinners, who for our transgressions did justly deserve to remain in the bondage of sin and Satan, and didst give us in Him a meek and righteous King, who by His death became our Savior from sin and eternal death: We beseech Thee so to enlighten, govern and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may ever remain faithful to this righteous King and Savior, and not, after the manner of the world, be offended with His humble form and despised word, but, firmly believing in Him, obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Put On the Lord Jesus Christ

Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Believers do not need to be reminded about the Christian Church straying from its own beliefs. The latest headline I mentioned was that few younger people even know what the King James Version of the Bible is.

One reader said this about the story:

Beginning of Quotation
“Is this a surprise to anyone? The atheists, secularists and the other anti God minions couldn't erase the effect KJV's "thus saith the Lord" from souls and minds in the English speaking world. It took the churches, seminaries, synods, et al only a few generations to accomplish it, and WELS only a couple generations to by convincing the flocks that the unchurched could never be reached with KJV, then convincing the flocks themselves that KJV was incomprehensible to themselves as well. Never mind that current generations' parents, grandparents and great grandparents didn't converse in Elizabethan English but had been brought to faith through baptism or instruction, nourished and grew in faith with KJV until mid 20th Century. The hew and cry to ditch the KJV did not come from the pews. It came from leaders and change agents in seminaries. The orchestration was obvious to the few who understood and recognized the management by objections process used to first get students, students then people in the pews to accept moving away from the KJV. At first to no specific translation just as long as it wasn't KJV. Then when enough confusion prevailed, it was decided (not by, but for the people in pews) that NIV would reign supreme. Just "coincidentally", liturgy, hymns et all had to be realigned with the new order of things.

Much the same process has gone on in all denominations. Lutherans were latecomers to the created funeral for KJV. And we are surprised that 35% of people under 35 never heard of KJV? How could they, when the world has tried for nearly 400 years to defeat it without success until the churches themselves worked overtime not to expose anyone over 35 to KJV? A remnant of mature adults and even smaller remnant of young didn't dispatch KJV to the dustbin of forgotten history. But to accommodate KJV with contemporary translations in general use in churches today with a blended or scattered use of a smorgasbord of translations is to capitulate to the idea that it doesn't matter what family of manuscript evidence is used by translators even when they say different things. Contemporary translations all use to some degree or another, different manuscript evidence than what Luther and KJV translators used. The results are the statistics we read and what we see.”
End of Quotation

I grew up at the end of the KJV era. It was the Jet Age, the Atomic Age, and no one thought the KJV was misleading us children. The RSV led the way, translated in cooperation with the National Council of Churches. The NCC had been the Federal Council of Churches in the old days, but the ecumenical group was so obviously Marxist that they disbanded completely and reformed with the same leaders under the name National Council of Churches.

The mainline denominations are doing their best to go along with the worst in American life. They are pro-abortion, opposed to the Biblical restrictions on women usurping authority over men and teaching men, so they are naturally out front in promoting homosexual ordination.

The traditional Christians funded the institutions which are being used to drive them out of their own denominations. Sleep is a good metaphor. I have asked more than once, “Where were you people when this was out in the open 23+ years ago?”

WELS and Missouri pretend to be against this, but they have worked with ELCA the entire time and still do – for the money.

I find it difficult to imagine the apostles working with the lowest elements of Roman paganism (which celebrated the same rites of sodomy) – for the money.

We now see the weeds in full bloom, the seeds sown by the enemy—working within the churches—after 100 years of hard work, with almost everyone asleep.

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Lenski does not like the emphasis placed on clothing. According to him, “casting away” is better than “casting off.” He has a good point, because the apostle is stating the situation in the strongest possible terms. There can be no dealing with the works of darkness because people fall victim in the very act of saying they can withstand temptation and not go too far.

Jesus also said to remove temptation in those famous amputation verses – if your right arm causes you to stumble, cut it off.”

The armor of light is a parallel reference to Ephesians. Romans was written afterwards. The readers probably memorized the entire armor listed by Paul, because it was written for that purpose and easily associated with the Roman occupation troops everywhere. In Rome, the center of the Empire, they were everywhere.

KJV Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

To show how bad things are, I hesitate when I see “armor of light” because light is used so often in association with the occult, with evil. I even had one of those people, a Lutheran professor’s daughter, say she was “sending me light” during a meeting. She was in love with necromancy - but not in a harmful way, of course. (That is always the excuse.)

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering [lewdness] and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

Paul follows up with an explanation of what it means to put on the armor of light. Behavior is often conditioned by daytime and night, although it should be the same. At night, in the big city, people feel anonymous. Whatever they do and say will be forgotten or the witnesses will be confused. That is also why so many evil things are said anonymously on the Internet.

We were probably more frightened at night in downtown Chicago than any other time. We were walking back to the hotel and someone was behind us. We walked faster. I kept glancing back. Then I said, “Is that you Jack?” It was Jack Preus, President of the LCMS. We felt a lot better. During the day I would not have been nervous at all or looked back.

Almost all the violent crime reports in Phoenix began, “At 2 AM, outside a downtown bar.” A large share of the crime could have been prevented by following Paul’s admonition.

Paul did not simply list the common descriptions of vice, but also the interior crimes of strife and envying, the origin of so many problems, based on the two commandments against coveting. An evil desire to have something else, whether property, money, or the affections of another person, will lead to many sins. So will coveting the members of another church. Some ministers use their snake-oil charm to lure members away. One even said to a couple from another church, “I want you to consider me your pastor.” That is a strange and evil concept of the divine call, and it has led to a great deal of strife and unhappiness. The same minister also coveted another wife.

14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Lenski made an interesting point that we pray for the one thing God provides anyway – our daily, material needs. That is, we worry too much about what God already does for us – and for unbelievers as well.

But we do not pray for help against the greatest danger – the spiritual evil that is around us, all the dangers of false doctrine wrapped up in glittering rags to make it appealing. I saw several ministers on a TV show. One had 3,000 in church on Sunday. The other had 6,000. The worst one today had a whole stadium. I wondered if the minister with 3,000 felt like a loser, a failure. Or maybe he was coveting the larger numbers – exponential growth.

Pilgrim’s Progress, my favorite allegory, deals with false doctrine throughout the book. Bunyan was very much like Luther, showing the dangers of Christianity where it promised something good while displacing the Gospel of Christ. Christian sees Vanity Fair, the outward display of the vices described in today’s lesson, but most of the book involves the subtle temptations – to despair, depression, works-righteousness, trusting in the Law.

“Put on Christ” means to trust in the spiritual power of the Gospel, which is our primary protection. First of all, it defeats Satan by giving us the righteousness of Christ through faith. Justification by faith means God declares us completely forgiven by virtue of the cross of Christ. This justification is received only in faith and never apart from faith. When we stop believing in Christ’s merit, we lose that justification. Worst of all, that loss is often step by step, so that most people do not realize they are straying until they live and walk in utter confusion.

Many people poisoned by false doctrine are almost impossible to reach, because the filaments of those ideas cling to spirit and react with alarm when sound doctrine is taught. For instance, communing with the apostates sound appealing when done “only once a year.” I challenged that with “why not murder someone, just once a year”? That can come across as mean, abrupt, abrasive, snarky, etc. The response was visiting all the family and getting them out of an apostate church body, ELCA, long before the major eruptions took place.

We still have a body of orthodox Lutherans in America because they were trained that way by the clergy who are almost all dead now. The new, hip clergy did not want to do the hard work of admonishing false doctrine, of dealing with bad, sinful behavior. Being young and hip meant that their denominations are full of the elderly, who stayed with the Gospel anyway. Many keep their peace because they are alone and scattered now, abandoned by the very church body they supported all their lives.

Luther said it is good to be disillusioned by church leaders, because that teaches us to trust in the Word alone. The Gospel will not fail us. Paul did not urge them because he was a charter member of the Christian Church. He admonished them to follow the Word of God, even if an angel from heaven taught them differently.



Quotations

The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. "By the word 'night' we are to understand all doctrines apart from the Gospel. For there is no other saving doctrine; all else is night and darkness." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 15f. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

"For the Holy Spirit aids us, fortifying our hope and enabling us not to fear nor to flee from the disasters of the world; but to stand firm even unto death, and to overcome all evil; so that evil must flee from us and cease its attacks. Remember, it is hope in the power of the Holy Spirit, not in human weakness, that must do all this through the medium of the Gospel." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 63. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

"Hence, you see, the ecclesiastical traditions that flatly forbid the eating of meat are contrary to the Gospel." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 27. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

"It is our duty to allow the body all necessary food, whether wine, meat, eggs or anything else; whether the time be Friday, Sunday, in Lent or after the feast of Easter; regardless of all orders, traditions and vows, and of the Pope. No prohibition contrary to God's command can avail, though made by the angels even." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 26. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

"The other class is represented by the blind saints who imagine the kingdom of God and his righteousness are dependent upon the particular meat and drink, clothing and couch, of their own choice...Upon this subject Paul says (1 Corinthians 8:8): 'Food will not commend us to God; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better.'" Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 25f. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 8:8.

"We are to place our whole confidence in God, and in Him alone, being very careful not to devote any portion of it to the mother of God or any saint and so set up an idol in our hearts." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p.54. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

"Using a convenient term, he calls Christ a 'minister,' as he calls all preachers and apostles ministers. 'What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed.'" 1 Corinthians 3:5. Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 57. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 3:5.

"Paul in Romans 12:7-8 devotes the office of the ministry to two things, doctrine and exhortation. The doctrinal part consists in preaching truths not generally known; in instructing and enlightening the people. Exhortation is inciting and urging to duties already well understood. Necessarily both obligations claim the attention of the minister, and hence Paul takes up both." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 9. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14; Romans 12:7-8.

"But, being deceived by the devil, we forsake the light of day and seek to find truth among philosophers and heathen totally ignorant of such matters. In permitting ourselves to be blinded by human doctrines, we return to the night. Whatsoever is not the Gospel day surely cannot be light. Otherwise Paul, and in fact all Scripture, would not urge that day upon us and pronounce everything else night." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 17. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

"Other books may have power to slay us, indeed, but no book except the holy Scriptures has power to comfort us. No other bears the title here given by Paul--book of comfort--one that can support the soul in all tribulations, helping it not to despair but to maintain hope. For thereby the soul apprehends God's Word and, learning His gracious will, cleaves to it, continuing steadfast in life and death." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 43. First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14.

Some of Us Remember the Lutheran Church

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "WELS, Little Sect, and Missouri Are Mainline Denom...":

"They pretend to teach, but there is no teaching where doctrine is set aside for the easy, smooth way. The surest indication of that is the refusal to identify false doctrine. If a congregation or denomination cannot identify false doctrine, it rapidly descends into apostasy."

There was a point in time when pointing out the errors in false doctrine, and their side effects, was done on a regular basis. Many of the statements in the Lutheran Confessions are worded in this manner: positive - we believe and teach.......; negative - therefore, we reject......

This emphasizes the perspicuity of Scripture. Each doctrine is specific in its nature, although they are all connected in some manner.

"3. God's Word will accomplish His purpose in abundance and power. The Word will save multitudes who trust in the merits of Christ and condemn multitudes who do not. The Word will open the eyes of those who listen to the Gospel in sincerity and cling to its message, but blind those who judge and condemn the saving work of Jesus. The Word will convert unbelievers and harden the hearts of those who oppose His will."

This Biblical truth has been all but forgotten, or never even learned, by so many today. It is a mistaken assumption that all will be saved. Yet, Scripture tells us that God's Word will accomplish what He desires. Is it any wonder that those who trust in their own efforts are so frustrated? They look at the delinquent member list, paltry offerings, failed programs and say "we have got to do more". Sometimes, the best way to understand false doctrine is to take it to its logical conclusion. It starts with "all can be saved" (False) > which leads to "it is our job to do it" (False)> which leads to "do whatever is possible, short of sinning, to save them" (False)>which leads to "just preaching the Word must not will not turn unbelief into belief" (False)>which ultimately leads to "all are saved, even when they do not know it"(False). The readers here at Ichabod understand that last statement as UOJ..

Many doctrinal errors start out microscopic in size and significance. Yet, Scriptures uses the analogy of a little bit of leaven working its way through all of the dough. Lenski rightly warns us to resist the beginnings.

Paul Kuske on the Ever-Changing Attitude of WELS/LCMS/LCMS on Fellowship with Fuller

twissted_sisster has left a new comment on your post "Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Rob Bell « Chur...":

WELS Lutherans taking classes, earning degrees, and even attending seminars at Fuller seem foreign to what I was taught while at student at MLS. I remember clearly when the question of fellowship came up in our religion class, taught by none other than Prof. Paul Kuske. One of my classmates was a member of the LC-MS and someone asked how can we pray with her, a member of another Lutheran synod. The answer we were told was that it was okay because we were not praying with her, she was praying with US. The things that pass for kosher these days would have been unacceptable what seems like a few short years ago. What has changed? Everything except God's Word.

Someone Thanked Ichabod - Really Bruce Church - For the Coverage on Seminary Tuition Swindles

All we need is a chapel to teach worship properly. Would you and your mistress beautiful new wife like to donate a few million?
You will feel so much better.

Someone wrote to thank this blog for the coverage about Lutheran seminary tuition swindle, especially in the Missouri Synod.

The first part is telling men that there are 600 vacancies in the LCMS. That lie has been spread about for the last 20+ years. I heard it in the 1980s.

The second part is leading students along until their last penny is spent, with the wives working to keep the whole system funded. At the end the seminary denies men a chance for a call.

They also find multiple excuses to keep men from finishing seminary, not allowing a repeat vicarage year, not even allowing a return to the seminary or the other one to make up for alleged deficiencies.

Bruce Church has posted all the research on this. I received the thank-you, but it really belongs to him.

Missourians - your benevolence money is NOT at work. It arrives at the district office and stays there. The statistics are appalling.

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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Someone Thanked Ichabod - Really Bruce Church - Fo...":

Thanks for the compliment! Glad it helped. The pages on the seminary costs are here:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2010/10/boomers-got-their-cheap-seminary.html

Spreadsheets are downloadable here. (Don't try to view them on Scribd though due to browser/server rendering errors):

http://www.scribd.com/bruce_church

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Tony Jones « Churchmouse Campanologist

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Tony Jones « Churchmouse Campanologist

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Tony Jones

November 26, 2010 in Evangelical, Protestant | Tags: emergent church, Evangelical,Fuller Theological Seminary, Protestant, Tony Jones

Tony Jones not only earned his M. Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary but is now one of their adjunct professors at the Lowell W. Berry Center for Lifelong Learning.

Since 2008, he has been the ‘theologian-in-residence’ at emergent Doug Pagitt‘s church — rather, ‘holistic, missional, Christian community’ — Solomon’s Porch, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Jones and Pagitt co-founded and co-own JoPa Productions.  JoPa has organised emergent events and has since branched into multi- and social media consulting and training.

I probably should have used one of Jones’s recent ‘mean and moody’ photies, but you can catch enough of those on his blog and related sites.

Fuller course in 2011

In June 2011, Jones will be leading the D.Min. cohort in Christian Spirituality(emphases mine throughout):

Year One:
Co-taught with Lauren Winner (& Featuring Phyllis Tickle)

… Tony Jones will work with the students to develop a personal “theology of Christian spirituality” which will guide the student throughout the course of study. Phyllis Tickle, compiler of The Divine Hoursand general editor of the Ancient Practices Series will also guest lecture in the class.

Year Two:
Co-taught with Brian McLaren

In the second year, the class will meet in Minnesota and explore the connection between Christianity spirituality and nature, including possible forays into the north woods and Boundary Water Area Wilderness, with a special emphasis on Jürgen Moltmann’s theology of creation.  Brian McLaren, long-time pastor and author of many books will join the class for the canoe trip, and he will teach from his long-time passion for creation care and the spirituality of the wilderness.

Poll: Most under 35 never heard of King James Bible

Poll: Most under 35 never heard of King James Bible

'Yet this is work far more influential than Shakespeare in spread of English'

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Posted: November 26, 2010
11:45 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Reproduction of original King James Bible

A new poll taken for the occasion of the 400thanniversary of the King James Bible reveals that a majority of those under 35 in the United Kingdomdon't even know about the work, which has been described as a significant part of the estimated 100 million Bible sales annually, making it the best best-seller, ever.

"Yet this is a work which was far more influential than Shakespeare in the development and spread of English," a spokesman for the King James BibleTrust told the Christian Institute in a recent report.

The Christian Institute's report said the translation, which will celebrate its 400th anniversary next year, was the subject of a poll commissioned by the Bible Trust, and a spokesman said it was clear "there has been a dramatic drop in knowledge in a generation."

Visit the WND Superstore Bible store.

The results revealed that 51 percent of those under 35 never have heard of the King JamesBible, compared to 28 percent of those over the age of 35.

The institute reported that Labour Member of Parliament Frank Field said, "It is not possible to comprehend fully Britain's historical, linguistic or religious development without an understanding of this great translation."

According to officials who are working on a series of events marking the 400th year of the King James Bible, work on the translation into English of God's Word started in 1604 at the request of King James I. Work continued on the project until 1611, when the team of 47 of the top Bible scholars of the time finished their work.

UOJ Is Like Magic - Misdirection of the Mind, Not Eyes

The Ich-abode is always open for business.
Mid-week Advent services? Clearly not Emergent Church!

Magic is nothing more than misdirection of the eyes. I enjoy watching live magic acts, because I know what they are doing. I look at the bulky clothes, the flowing capes, the large capacity hats.

The magician gets the audience to look one way while he does something quickly and without notice. (Without notice is a litotes. See the post below.)

Universal Objective Justification is misdirection of the mind, and it works.

UOJ uses a simple technique, blending two different terms from the Bible.

The first term is the Atonement, which has many synonyms in the New Testament: ransom, redemption as purchase, redemption as being set free, propitiation, and expiation. These words all express the crucifixion of Christ, paying for the sins of the world.

The second term is justification. This is not the same action or concept. Justification expresses how God declares us forgiven through faith in Jesus, which means trust in the atoning death of Christ.

The UOJ magicians unite the terms without distinguishing them, so that the Atonement of Christ becomes the absolution of the world, every single person being declared guilt-free. The efficacious Word is forgotten. The Means of Grace are omitted. Faith is suddenly bad, even though it is the most frequently found word in the New Testament.

Their UOJ magic is so dazzling that the magicians find themselves confused. They have to invent two justifications - one without faith (their favorite, UOJ), one with faith (although faith is bad in their darkened minds). Since this is an obvious attack on the clarity and efficacy of the Word, the magicians have to deny they are juggling two justifications. Oh no, the two justifications are really two sides of the same coin. Justification is a coin. They always get back to money.

Two become one. That reminds me of the Ted Kennedy Professor of Safe Driving and Worship, who once saw identical twin boys in a stroller. Straightening up and trying to look sober, he said to the mother, "What a beautiful boy!"

UOJ has had almost a century to polish its act, so there are many automatic responses to justification by faith. To wit

:
1. "If I do not say I am already forgiven before I believe, I make God out to be a liar." Pity the man who cannot distinguish the cross from justification by faith. The two are not the same. The statement is foolish and slanderous at the same time.
   
2. "UOJ protects the Gospel." Unfortunately, this error comes from Hoenecke, a product of Halle University. The Word of God belongs to God alone and does not need protection. The Word is a double-edged sword and shield, with divine power to convert and harden, to enlighten and to blind.
   
3. "Your faith is in faith." This shopworn accusation fails to acknowledge that faith is in Christ, in the Word, in the mercy and grace of God toward sinners. The UOJ Calvinists are using the Calvinists' argument against the Arminians, proving once again that UOJ descends from Pietism, Pietism from Calvinism, Calvinism from Enthusiasm.
   
4. "Both sides are talking past each other." If that is so, then why does the UOJ faction constantly parade its favorite Syn Conference articles in front of the public while refusing to deal with objections to its false doctrine? Inventing a false unity is one of the sure signs of unionism, as Reu wrote. WELS Pastor Tim Glende denounces Reu because Reu did not live long enough to plagiarize Groeschel. In fact, the Germans were in awe of Reu's scholarship. He traveled from America and ate their lunch in catechetical studies, in their language! Someone who copies and pastes from LifeChurch.tv would not know that.
   

WELS, Little Sect, and Missouri Are Mainline Denominations - Epic Fail Mode.Litotes* Is Your Word of the Day

They trembleth at their big donors' names, and obey.

The Little Three (WELS, LCMS, ELS) are dwarfed by ELCA, so they covet the prestige and money of their big, disease-riddled sister. All four work together, always according to ELCA's rules.

All four are failing together, for the same reason. The symptoms are similar because the cause is identical - turning away from the Word of God - apostasy.

First of all, the four refuse to admit that they abandoned the Scriptures and Confessions many years ago. That kind of honesty is not allowed at any level. They posture about being unique, different, and better than the alternatives, but they are just slightly different flavors of the same blend.

They pretend to teach, but there is no teaching where doctrine is set aside for the easy, smooth way. The surest indication of that is the refusal to identify false doctrine. If a congregation or denomination cannot identify false doctrine, it rapidly descends into apostasy.

There is far more integrity in a Calvinist or Baptist group that condemns Lutheran doctrine than in a Lutheran group that refuses to acknowledge it is teaching anti-Lutheran principles. If a Calvinist denomination sorts out what is Calvinistic and what is Lutheran, it will remain Calvinistic. If a Lutheran group refuses to distinguish between the good, the bad, and the ugly, it will turn rabidly anti-Lutheran - and all the established Lutheran synods are now rabidly anti-Lutheran, including those micro-mini shards left over from various battles.

Jesus clearly distinguished between His doctrine and the doctrine of devils. As Luther pointed out many times--remember him from your annual Reformation service?--the antagonism of the opponents came from Jesus teaching faith in Him. He compared the righteousness of faith in Him with the works-righteousness of the Pharisees. He called them blind guides, hypocrites, and white-washed sepulchers full of dead men's bones.

Jesus identified the synodical leaders of today as wolves in sheep's clothing, thistles promising a harvest of figs, as David Valleskey did - to the applause of his fellow wolves. Missouri voted out their Church Growth fanatic president (Kieschnick) and subsequently voted overwhelmingly to continue working with ELCA.

The Bible uses exclusionary words to keep people from creating and enlarging loopholes in doctrine. Its simple eloquences shows us God's will with great clarity.

KJV John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.

This is a litotes, or double negative, a method of expressing a positive message without exceptions. (Without exceptions is also a litotes.) Can Moses be The Way, The Truth, and The Life? No. Can Mohammed or Buddha? No.

KJV Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

This is another litotes - no salvation can be found in any other person except Jesus. This statement also excludes the candidates frequently mentioned as the source of salvation. The issue is not whether we agree with the herd that salvation is found here, there, and everywhere, but whether we agree with and confess what the Word of God teaches without contradiction, without error, without fail. The last three are also litotes.

How does Jesus come to us, so that we believe in Him and have everlasting life? Romans 10 makes it clear that preaching the Gospel causes faith, that faith is salvation. The Word of God is the Means of Grace.

Isaiah 55 excludes any other Means of Grace, since God binds His Holy Spirit to the Word and excludes exceptions:

KJV Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
[This eliminates man's wisdom and experience from the lesson. Neither one applies. Begone rationalism and the magisterial use of reason. The Word judges man's reason, not the other way around.]

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
[Verse 9 repeats the same thought in another form, which God does in His Word, so the conclusion is unmistakable. Unmistakable is another litotes.]

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,
but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
[This is an analogy, revealing to us that the Word of God is like rain and snow. God's analogies are always clear and precise. When man makes up an analogy or metaphor, like comparing the Holy Trinity to a three-leafed clover, the expression will never be completely adequate because it originates with man rather than God. False teachers set aside God's analogies for their own.]

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
[The analogy is clear to anyone in any language. The Word of God is like rain and snow in three respects. The work of God is almost always expressed in groups of three, to remind us of the Trinity.
1. The Word shall not return void. This is another litotes, teaching us that the Word is always effective, without fail. Without fail is another litotes.
2. The work accomplished by the Word of God is always God-pleasing.
3. God's Word will accomplish His purpose in abundance and power. The Word will save multitudes who trust in the merits of Christ and condemn multitudes who do not. The Word will open the eyes of those who listen to the Gospel in sincerity and cling to its message, but blind those who judge and condemn the saving work of Jesus. The Word will convert unbelievers and harden the hearts of those who oppose His will.]

The alleged Lutherans of today cannot teach this to save their souls, whether they are in the grab-bag of ELCA or the remnants of the Synodical Conference. One can only guess what the departing groups from ELCA (LCMC, NALC) will teach, besides "We are not ELCA." I wonder how they can ordain women and call themselves Biblical. They will have to teach people that the Word of God is unclear, confusing, and full of contradictions, which will lead them back to ELCA-land in one generation.

A Lutheran, without the benefit of the Book of Concord, will necessarily teach salvation by Christ alone. He will also confess that Jesus comes to us through the Word alone, whether through the invisible Word of teaching and preaching or the visible Word of the Sacraments. Man is justified by faith alone, apart from the works of the Law.

If an ordained Lutheran minister cannot confess these simple truths, he is not a Lutheran. If he cannot denounce and repudiate false doctrine, he is not a Confessional Lutheran, even if he favors that title for himself.

The Synodical Conference leaders do their share of repudiation, and they discipline with a meat-axe. But they only punish people for disturbing the smooth operation of the corporation. They admonish attitude, not doctrine. Lupine leaders like ovine followers.

Nothin' says lovin' like mutton in the oven.

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*

"Understated instead of hyperbolic, [litotes] often seems to turn attention away from itself, like its cousin, paralipsis, which emphasizes something by pretending to ignore it, and it can disarm potential opponents and avoid controversy; yet it emphasizes whatever it touches."
(Elizabeth McCutcheon, "Denying the Contrary: More's Use of Litotes in the Utopia," in Essential Articles for the Study of Thomas More, 1977)

"Litotes describes the object to which it refers not directly, but through the negation of the opposite. . . . Grammar.com

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Rob Bell « Churchmouse Campanologist

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Rob Bell « Churchmouse Campanologist

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Rob Bell

November 25, 2010 in Evangelical, Protestant | Tags: emergent church, Evangelical,Fuller Theological Seminary, Protestant, Rob Bell

Rob Bell, 40, is one of Fuller Theological Seminary‘s top alums and a big name in the Emergent Church.

Beginnings

He founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a city better known as a centre of Reformed (Calvinist) theology in the United States.  His father, Robert Holmes Bell, is a US Federal Judge, first appointed in Ronald Reagan’s second administration in 1987.

Like his father, Rob earned his Bachelor’s degree at Wheaton College in Illinois.  Whilst there, he was part of an indie rock band and also met his future wife, Kristen.  He got his start in the ministry after volunteering to teach a Christian message to the counsellors at the college’s Honey Rock Camp when no minister was available.  At that time, he said, the Holy Spirit gave him a message about ‘rest’.  From that point on, he decided to pursue a calling in the church.

That compelled him to earn an M.Div. from Fuller and serve as a youth intern at Lake Avenue Church.  After he earned his degree, Bell and his wife returned to Grand Rapids, where he took the Saturday evening service at Calvary Chapel.  At the age of 29, he decided to break out on his own by founding the Mars Hill Bible Church.  Within a year, the congregation moved to what was a disused anchor store in a local mall.

In addition to his highly successful church ministry, he also makes short films.  The series is called NOOMA, the phonetic American pronunciation of pneuma, signifying the Holy Spirit.  (Here in the UK, we would say ‘NEWMA‘.)  He also tours the country to sell-out crowds.  His books include Velvet Elvis, Sex Godand Drops Like Stars.

Start with Barth

According to someone who knows and told Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries, Bell was more of a John MacArthur style preacher when he served at Calvary Chapel.  Then, he and his wife read one of Brian McLaren’s books, A New Kind of Christian.  From that point, he rejected sola Scriptura. He believes that the Bible needs reinterpretation.  He also said that the more one studies the Bible, the more questions it raises.

How do the ministers from the Emergent Church come to think that way?  Silva puts it down to the influence of Modernism, then Karl Barth.  Whilst Barth advocated a neo-orthodoxy, which in some way redressed Modernism, he did reject sola Scriptura and biblical inerrancy.  For him, Scripture contained words of God, not the Word of God.  Bell, too, rejects the truth of Scripture and loves the confusion his questions bring him.  Yet, for many of us, myself included, it was actually believing what the Bible said which brought a sense of relief and deepened our belief.

Divine dirt clods

Bell borrowed a phrase from Marianne Williamson and attributed it to Nelson Mandela.  One can imagine that his congregation lapped it up.  Ken Silva tells us:

If you’re still tracking with (in English that’s following) me I return your attention now to the supposed ”Mandela” quote where Guru Bell tells us “you may be a dirt clod, but there is greatness and power and glory that resides in every single human being.” Why is that; because ”this divine breath is in every single human being ever.” And what has Bell taught us all along; that “breath” is spirit—it’s the heart of his whole shtick right down to “Nooma” …

… as previously pointed out in Rob Bell and New Age Guru Marianne Williamson those words were actually penned by New Age Priestess Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles“.

What about homosexuals?

Scripturally speaking, there is only one way to truthfully respond when asked if a homosexual can continue his liaisons and become a Christian.  Yet, Bell obfuscates:

The Bible is very clear that the practice of homosexuality is a sin (see—Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) and for someone to become a Christian they must repent of [i.e. forsake, turn away from] their sin (see—Mark 1:14-15; Acts 20:21). But unfortunately an honest question to Rob Bell and MHBC on such a crucial issue of our time was met with a mere form letter from a “michelle” …

Then the recipient of this form letter from michelle of “Mars Hill Communications” is told:

We care deeply how Scripture is interpreted and how to discern living the way of Jesus, and in encountering differing viewpoints it is our aim to agree or disagree in love, keeping central a shared desire to know God and serve Jesus Christ. Regarding your comments or questions, we’d like to direct you to our mission http://www.marshill.org/mission, Narrative Theology http://www.marshill.org/believe,

Directions http://www.marshill.org/believe/directions[shared values], and serving focushttp://www.marshill.org/serving, available at marshill.org. You might also find our recent audio teachings http://www.marshill.org/teaching/podcast.php and archived series http://www.marshill.org/teaching/other.phpas well as Rob Bell’s recommended reading list http://www.marshill.org/about/rob/recommendedReadingList.phpto be beneficial.

After all, I’m constantly told how Jesus-centered and Biblical Bell’s teaching is; well Rob Bell, where do you stand; because Jesus answers the question—No.

Judge not

About online criticism, Bell had this to say:

When a Christian can find nothing better to do with their time [than criticize]…you start realizing that some Christians need to be saved. How a person would have energy to take shots at other Christians is just mind-boggling. You have to be so disconnected from the pain of the world to think that blogging is somehow a redemptive use of your time.

That sort of response doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.  I’m delighted that Ken Silva blogged (!) the following:

This would make me one whom Bell called “disconnected” from life because in his fickle fantasy I would only be thinking about how “blogging is somehow a redemptive use” of my time. But instead it looks like Bell’s entered the doghouse yet again feeling he’s just “a little more relevant” because he and his “tribe cares more about the poor” etc., etc. while buying into the myth that those who hold the doctrines of grace like me don’t have any such concerns.

And this is what an Anglican priest pretty much published in a parish newsletter a few weeks ago.  Paraphrased: ‘God doesn’t care about your religiosity or your doctrinal belief; He cares about what you do.’  Deeds, not creeds!  Oh, we have so much in this world to DO!  And you can’t redeem yourself in His sight unless your DOING things in His name. (That is, things which the church approves.  Blogging isn’t one of them, because your pastor cannot see what you are doing.) Wrong … it’s about living a life of faith through grace.  Our pitiful works alone cannot save us.

Hell defined

Bell is into utopia, always a bad sign.  Ken Silva explains:

Bell makes it clear that he is more concerned with “hell on earth” than with what happens after this life: “What’s disturbing then is when people talk more about hell after this life than they do about hell here and now” …

Bell’s teaching that heaven and hell come to earth depending on how we live now simply is not biblical. He says, “As a Christian, I want to do what I can to resist hell coming to earth. Poverty, injustice, suffering – they are all hells on earth, and as Christians we oppose them with all our energies.” [7] But the term for hell, Gehenna, is used 12 times in the New Testament, 11 of them by Jesus. Not once did He use the term to describe something that is now on earth or now coming to earth.

But, then, Bell’s not interested in biblical truths, just a social activist interpretation.

How evangelical is Bell?

Ken Silva observes:

Bell is a hero to the mystical interspiritual set who in their deluded spiritual pride think their neo-Gnostic meditation powwows ofContemplative/Centering Prayer will eventually unite all religions. But this now begs the question: If the so-called crossing of ”traditional boundaries of religious groups to build stronger communities” really was the message of Jesus Christ and His Apostles then why were all of them, save John, murdered? They should have been as revered as Bell is. But you should now be able to understand why we’re experiencing such a diluting of doctrine; you see, if they were to teach in straight Biblical purity it wouldn’t make them very good role models at all for these fickle “faith heroes.”

‘Nothing new under the sun’

Another pastor, the Revd Casey Freswick of Bethany United Reformed Church in Wyoming, Michigan, writes of Bell’s errors:

Ultimately, Rob Bell does not repaint the Christian faith. He paints a picture that is not a picture of the Christian faith or the truth of Christianity. But his new picture of error is not really new at all. It is old error. It is old false teaching. It is the same old errors of the past repainted. Rob Bell forsakes truth. He rejects it. He deceives. He is a false teacher. He repaints the errors of the past…

Rob Bell has embraced these and other errors and merged them into postmodernism, an anti-Christian philosophy teaching the impossibility of absolute truth. Both postmodern 21^st century philosophy and 20^th century “modern liberalism” have influenced Rob Bell. A more appropriate title for Rob Bell’s painting, his “Velvet Elvis”, is “Postmodern Liberalism” …

One key aspect of liberalism embraced by Rob Bell is the false view of the life of Jesus replacing faith in Jesus. For Bell “Christian” describes those devoted “to living the way of the Messiah, who they believed was Jesus. A person who follows Jesus … A way of life centered around a person who lives.” He writes, “I am far more interested in jumping than I am in arguing about whose trampoline is better.” What we do is essential, not what we believe.

It is hard to fathom someone professing a love for Christ yet rolling around in all that error.  I, too, embraced a lot of this before it was loosely codified as the emergent church.  You could get it fairly readily by finding out what the clergy read in their spare time, then taking the books out of the local library. At some point, you get to the point where you ask yourself, ‘If I believe the Beatitudes and charity are the way forward, why am I not predisposed towards believing the rest of Scripture?‘  And, at that moment, the real journey begins with Bible reading, solemn reflection and prayer.  I am today miles away from where I was then, which was not too far from where Rob Bell is now.

I have spent the past few hours reading through what Rob Bell says.  Nowhere was there any mention of the Cross, Christ’s propitiation for our sins, the Resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost or St Paul’s exhortations to the churches.  Maybe he’s wrestling with himself wondering whether or how they actually happened.  If so, that’s very sad, indeed.

Tomorrow: Another Fuller alum and his theology