This is the beginning of a series on the efficacy of God's Word. The quote above is an excellent expression of the Bible's extensive teaching about the term, starting with Genesis 1.
I was disgusted by the embrace of Church Growth in WELS (and other foul places) in 1987. The Change (as in Church and Change, Inc) is no better 36 years later, except for the transition of many advocates to the place where they belonged. Their alma mater (nursing mother) continues to be Pasadena - though they denied studying there, drooling, lit up like freshmen on their fifth bowl of weed.
Pastors were actively exchanging essays on what was wrong in the 1980s. Their insights about worship, Law and Gospel, and other Biblical issues were good, but the authors were scared away by the Church Growth Movement saviors bullies. I found that efficacy was foundational and Biblical, from the term itself often used in the New Testament to the many other ways it was used in both Testaments. An LCA bishop said to a group of us, "It's all about the Word. Nothing happens without the Word." But the WELS-ELS-LCMS-ELCA leaders cannot get their minds or mouths to say that.
The issue of efficacy is not exclusively Lutheran but applies to all of Christendom, whether the people and pastors agree with that or not. Unfortunately, the others are even worse.
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The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry is a treasure-trove of great authors who have been abandoned, ignored, or forgotten. The online books are free and easily shared with others at no cost. Consider along with Schmauk:
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