Symptoms of Lutheran Pietism

Note the liberal, unionistic links at the WELS Prayer Institute.

Symptoms of Lutheran Pietism

One must generalize about Pietism, since its influence has been so extensive and damaging. But generalizing is an effort deeply resented by Lutheran Pietists, because it implies extensive reading, study, and years of experience. If we recognize the undercurrent of Enthusiasm among Lutherans, especially in the conservative synods, we can see why rejecting the efficacy of the Word and welcoming the doctrines and methods of Pietism go claw in claw.

Lay Led Cell Groups

The conventicle, as it was called then, was the chief method for promoting Pietism. Claiming that the visible church was dead or not active enough, Pietists gathered to study and pray. The ideal was and continues to be a higher or deeper spiritual life with an abundance of good works. Such gatherings can be very intense, intimate, and binding. A reader has pointed out that a small group is used quite effectively for Marxist cell groups and Navy SEAL teams. Since the Means of Grace are set aside in cell groups, prayer becomes the only means of grace.[43] The Reformed emphasize prayer groups and prayer as a means of grace, so Reformed material is extremely attractive to Lutheran Pietists.[44] In addition, since these groups tend to be open to outsiders, false teachers gladly participate. One Adventist minister attended a Missouri Synod Bible study group and dominated all the meetings until I complained!

When I warned a Missouri Synod congregation against all lay led cell groups, since they are typically anti-Means of Grace, one woman was very angry. She attended a Lutheran study group and did not see what was wrong with it. Later, she attended the lay-led group and brought up Baptism as a sacrament. The leader of the Lutheran cell group became very hostile and did not want to discuss the topic. The cell group leader did not believe in Baptism. Much later the woman admitted her anger about my comments and what had happened subsequently. She said, “Now I know what you meant.” She was impressed by the hostility expressed by a Lutheran leader about something so basic to all Lutherans.

J-767

"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."[45]
Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 126.

J-768

"The point being made here is that the reason for having home Bible study in small groups seems to have shifted from the Pietists' or parachurch groups goal of creating cells of people who will reform the church to having small groups as an integral part of a congregation's work."
Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 127.

Whenever cell groups meet, Pentecostals or charismatics see these groups as fertile ground for promoting tongue-speaking. If one can fervently pray for God’s grace and forgiveness, then how much better would it be to speak in tongues? Every glossolalia salesman acts as if he swallowed the Holy Ghost feathers and all, so innocent people are easily swindled by the talk of “love” and “Jesus” and “do not let them quench the Holy Spirit.” Many WELS and LCMS pastors enamored of the Church Growth Movement have abandoned Lutheran doctrine to be non-denominational, Reformed, or charismatic.

Whether the cell group is Pentecostal or not, spiritual pride soon sets in. The group is superior to the rest of the congregation, more loving, more generous, and more willing to witness. One advocate for koinonia groups in the LCA said, “ Who was in church every Sunday? The koinonia groups. Who showed up for work day? The koinonia groups. Who gave most of the offering? The koinonia groups. Before we had the koinonia groups, nothing was going on.”

J-769

"The church is no longer the community of those who have been called by the Word and the Sacraments, but the 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. The man who is really pious can and must stand on his own feet. 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.

Cell groups are also extremely divisive. They not only act superior, but also set themselves up against the congregation and pastor. Many Baptists will admit sheepishly that they have Sunday School leaders who have never set foot in church for decades and never plan to do so. Obviously, for them, the lay-led group is the real church. These words are often spoken by Lutheran Pietists: my church is the home Bible study group. The group leader often conducts himself as an opponent of the called pastor. At the very least, the Means of Grace are scorned or diminished in favor of experience, feelings, and the intimacy of the group.

Doctrinal Indifference

Spener’s program made personal experience the norm of the Christian. What someone thought, felt, or experienced was more significant than what the Bible revealed or the Confessions taught. Lack of trust in the efficacy of the Gospel was accompanied by an anxious need “to witness, to save all those lost souls.” In addition, Lutheran orthodoxy is seen as an enemy of evangelism, as cold and intellectual.

J-770

"But a cold heart can beat close to a correct mind. There are too many churches with impeccable credentials for orthodox theology whose outreach is almost nil. They are 'sound,' but they are sound asleep." Leighton Ford (Billy Graham’s in-law), The Christian Persuader. Valleskey asks: "true to a certain degree of us?"
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Pastoral Theology 358A, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, p. 24.[46]

Lutheran Pietists excuse their love of Reformed doctrine by saying, “Look at all the witnessing I am doing.” Their position is appealing, because it does not require much thought. Any adult could carry a handful of their books easily. Their works are physically and doctrinally light but long on emotions, appealing to the Me Generation. Their leaders learn to pipe their eyes, as one person described it so eloquently. At the right moment, they burst into tears. One pastor would wipe a tear from his eye, hold it up, and look at it during the sermon. The best sermons at that church were succinctly described in this way: “The treasurer wept.”

As Professor Reu stated so well, doctrinal indifference and unionism are closely allied. One requires or causes the other. Doctrinal indifference is so important to Pietists that they get angry when someone insists on doctrinal standards. The Pietistic rebuke is either, “You are loveless and divisive,” or “We all believe in the same Lord. Why can’t we get along?” However, this indifference is also a smokescreen. The Pietists are not ecumenical about anti-Pietists. They will travel over heaven and earth to silence one dissenter, often with personal attacks. Pietists have perfected the art of shunning and excommunication. Many a pastor or lay leader has found himself permanently excluded by these apostles of love and tolerance. They should consider it a blessing from heaven.

The Holiness Code

The Reformed view of sanctification leads to a list of rules for proving acceptable Christian behavior. The strictest codes bar dancing or the observation of anyone dancing, all forms of alcohol, including communion wine, all makeup and jewelry, all movies and theatre, girls wearing slacks or shorts, anything suggestive of gambling, and all forms of tobacco. Each group has its peculiar variations upon the holiness code, which tends to slacken over a period of time. At first the Methodists were very keen on the code but lax about doctrine. When the Methodists became more liberal, conservatives within their ranks broke away to form their own denominations, trying to recapture the buzz of the holiness tradition. Hence, we have such groups as the Wesleyan Methodists, the Nazarenes, and the Church of God.

Sanctification

J-771

"This doctrine concerning the inability and wickedness of our natural free will and concerning our conversion and regeneration, namely, that it is a work of God alone and not of our powers, is [impiously, shamefully, and maliciously] abused in an unchristian manner both by enthusiasts and by Epicureans; and by their speeches many persons have become disorderly and irregular, and idle and indolent in all Christian exercises of prayer, reading and devout meditation; for they say that, since they are unable from their own natural powers to convert themselves to God, they will always strive with all their might against God, or wait until God converts them by force against their will; or since they can do nothing in these spiritual things, but everything is the operation of God the Holy Ghost alone, they will regard, hear, or read neither the Word nor the Sacrament, but wait until God without means..."
Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article II, Free Will, 46, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 899. Tappert, p. 530. Heiser, p. 246.

No Drinking or Cards

Germans have formed Pietistic groups, but no German group has ever banned alcohol. One member of a German Canadian congregation remembered the time when the pastor, John Reble, also the president of the synod, stopped by for a visit and saw the boys playing a game of cards. The pastor said nothing but delivered a blistering sermon on Sunday about the dangers of playing cards. The same pastor had a drink at every home he visited, because it was polite to offer beverages, often home-made, and horribly rude to refuse them. The Augustana Synod banned cards and would have considered one drink per pastoral visit a sign of Satan’s visitation.

My wife made the mistake of having a glass of wine at the company dinner of the engineering firm where she worked. Seated next to her was a Fundamentalist, a good friend of ours. My wife left the party early with me and learned later that the engineers had turned the gathering into a wild bash, crashing another party and getting themselves thrown out. The Fundamentalist had no problem with the drunken revelry. He spent a lot of time condemning that solitary glass of wine. “You are a Christian. They are not.” Similarly, he was deeply disturbed by the concept of the Means of Grace. He could not accept the sacraments as anything more than symbolic.

The holier-than-thou attitude of Pietists is seldom hidden away. It may be based on never drinking, never smoking, or always being better than others in certain ways. Otto Heick (History of Christian Thought) was an LCA Lutheran but also a member of a Pietistic group. He told me his Pietistic group raised a large amount of money for missions, “quietly, in a week’s time.” He left no doubt that his group was superior in that regard to an ordinary Lutheran congregation. And he was a Lutheran seminary professor, with dual church membership.[47]

Proud Pietists

J-772

"Another very repulsive concomitant of the Reformed false teaching is spiritual pride. Because those who harbor the conception of an activity of the Holy Ghost apart from the means of grace are dealing in an illusory, man-made quality, they regard themselves, as experience amply proves, as the truly spiritual people and first-class Christians, while they consider those who in simple faith abide by the divinely appointed means of grace, 'intellectualists,' having a mere Christianity of the head; at best, second-rate Christians."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 162.

Some people think that conservative Pietists turn liberal over a period of time, but instead they simply become liberal Pietists. Being dominated by the Law does not change for Pietists, but the focus of the Law does. Conservative Pietists condemn alcohol, but liberal Pietists condemn big business, Western democracies, and the Republican Party, while condemning conservative Pietists. Those who wish to understand liberal Pietism should read Walter Rauschenbusch’s swan song, The Theology of the Social Gospel. All the Biblical doctrines are re-interpreted to deny the divinity of Christ. The book eloquently makes fun of the old Pietists while stating that congregations should be more careful about the kind of person they take in as members. A conservative Baptist church would supposedly turn down someone known to be a drinker, but a liberal Social Gospel congregation should turn down someone who is openly anti-union, in the view of Rauschenbusch.

At first, in the 1960s, the Pietists of The American Lutheran Church (TALC) were shocked at the liberalism of the Lutheran Church in America. Soon TALC leaders launched their own in-house attack on inerrancy and brought their synod up to speed, as they like to say. TALC leaders backed Lutherans Concerned with monetary grants and beat the LCA in declaring altar fellowship with the Reformed. Needless to say, some of the same TALC leaders became conservative dissenters in ELCA, when they found themselves shunned and rejected for being old fuddy-duddies. The legalism of the holiness code never ends. Each fad of the liberals is made necessary for fellowship and salvation, but fads quickly become threadbare and boring.

"Deeds Not Creeds"

Anti-Confessionalism and Missions

The Pietists have long had a slogan, “Deeds, not creeds.” Spener began this with his emphasis on good works, which is in harmony with the Reformed view of sanctification. It is at first gratifying, then terrifying to have people demonstrate outward signs of living a Christian life. Many times, as we can see from the Swedish Lutheran experience, it begins with a voluntary rejection of a damaging aspect of society. In 19th century Sweden, the founder of a temperance society began his work after a drunken fight broke out in his church during the sermon, and the two pugilists were women![48] The Augustana Synod in America, openly influenced by Pietism and the temperance movement, shunned alcohol. In the 1960s, the dean of women at Augustana College said in a huff, “No one ever drinks alcohol on this campus.” Everyone knew that alcohol consumption was a major factor in dorm life and social events, but the college officials would never admit it in public. After the first generation has passed on its rules for Christian behavior, the next generation feels a need to obey it outwardly. Eventually, the legalism is thrown out and the Ten Commandments with them, but the guilt remains. More than one person has said to me, emphasizing their pretense about not using liquor in so many words: “We have hidden the liquor while dad is visiting. Do not mention it. Do not even joke about it. I am begging you.”[49] The same college that officially banned alcohol in the 1960s now supports a homosexual activist group called Lutherans Concerned. Augustana College now has a Roman Catholic priest on its payroll to serve the Roman Catholic students. Pietism consistently degenerates into Unitarianism.

Pietists began the first mission societies, which were ecumenical, parachurch groups. Cooperation went both ways. The Reformed supported Lutheran Pietistic efforts, and Lutherans participated in Reformed works. Needless to say, when so many good things were happening through cooperation, people could not stop and fight over the sacraments and the efficacy of the Word.

Pietists do not like schools. They will say, “Schools benefit us, so they are not missions.” Pietists close down Lutheran schools to generate more money for missions. The Missouri Synod took the lead in this area, decapitating all their prep schools, which were designed to support church vocations. It helps men to have a head-start in languages by starting Latin in high school and Greek and Hebrew in college. The purpose of a prep school is to have an atmosphere where church vocations are emphasized in the context of a high quality, classical, but low cost school.[50] WELS bemoaned the stupidity of the Missouri Synod in closing their prep schools and then closed two of their four prep schools, also in the name of missions.[51] Now both synods have millions of dollars of foundation and insurance grants but fewer pastors and declining educational standards. No matter how intelligent a man is, he will gain far more from seminary if he enters pastoral training without the need to start cold in Greek and Hebrew.

The early Lutheran Pietists were fanatical about studying the Bible in Greek and Hebrew, as Heick’s work shows, but over a period of time, the educational requirements for Pietistic ministers slacken. ELCA candidates enter and leave seminary with a dash of Greek and no Hebrew. ELCA officials now admit that their future pastors enter seminary without even knowing the Small Catechism! WELS and Missouri leaders, look at ELCA. That is your future.

Fuller Pietism

Fuller Seminary in Pasadena was formed to teach inerrancy, although its initial position was really quite soft. Nevertheless, the faculty went through a revolution and Fuller adopted an anti-inerrancy statement. When The Battle for the Bible, about Fuller, was published, Harold Lindsell, the author, was attacked by Fuller for being “bitter and jealous” that he did not become president. In fact, the author was offered the position and turned it down. Notice how the amazingly successful president of Fuller Seminary, the late David Hubbard, defined the problem of inerrancy. Like most liberals in the driver’s seat, his words drip with sarcasm and scorn. The words are taken directly from the brochure Fuller mailed the author during a vain effort to recruit him.[52]

Fuller: The Bible Does Not Consider God’s Word Inerrant

J-773

"Were we to distinguish our position from that of some of our brothers and sisters who perceive their view of Scripture as more orthodox than ours, several points could be made: 1) we would stress the need to be aware of the historical and literary process by which God brought the Word to us...4) we would urge that the emphasis be placed where the Bible itself places it - on its message of salvation and its instruction for living, not on its details of geography or science, though we acknowledge the wonderful reliability of the Bible as a historical source book; 5) we would strive to develop our doctrine of Scripture by hearing all that the Bible says, rather than by imposing on the Bible a philosophical judgment of our own as to how God ought to have inspired the Word."
David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1-800-235-2222 Pasadena, CA, 91182. [emphasis added]

Inerrancy Misleading and Inappropriate

J-774

"Where inerrancy refers to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches through the biblical writers, we support its use. Where the focus switches to an undue emphasis on matters like chronological details, the precise sequence of events, and numerical allusions, we would consider the term misleading and inappropriate. Its dangers, when improperly defined, are: 1) that it implies a precision alien to the minds of the Bible writers and their own use of Scriptures; 2) that it diverts attention from the message of salvation and the instruction in righteousness which are the Bible's key themes;...5) that too often it has undermined our confidence in the Bible we have... 6)that it prompts us to an inordinate defensiveness of Scripture which seems out of keeping with the bold confidence with which the prophets, the apostles and our Lord proclaimed it."
David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1-800-235-2222 Pasadena, CA, 91182. [emphasis added]

Inerrancy Advocates Are Against the Bible and Tick Me Off!

J-775

"We resent unnecessary distractions; we resist unbiblical diversions… Can anyone believe that all other activities should be suspended until all evangelicals agree on precise doctrinal statements? We certainly cannot."
David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, 91182. [emphasis added]

The downhill doctrinal slide of Pietism begins with placing the good works of man above the truth of God’s Word. At every stage of the decline, the Pietists firmly believe that they must tolerate doctrinal laxity in the name of getting more done, for the glory of God, of course. Soon they find themselves helpless to stop the radicalism of the next generation. The last bishop of the Lutheran Church in America, James Crumley, begged his extremely liberal staff not to succumb to the radicalism of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Soon, those same staff-members were ousted for being too conservative by ELCA Bishop Herb Chilstrom’s network.

Road to Unitarianism.

From anti-creed to anti-Trinity

Pietism begins with the slogan of “deeds, not creeds.” In every case, Pietism has spawned Unitarianism in the next generation or two. The University of Halle was the mecca of Pietism in one generation and the headquarters for apostasy in the next. The American Lutheran congregations most devoted to unionism in the 19th century became Congregational or worse in the next. Fuller Seminary, somewhat conservative but ecumenical to a fault, became an anti-inerrancy school in only one generation. The Augustana Synod blended Pietism from the old country with orthodoxy from Capital Seminary (now Trinity, ELCA, in Columbus, Ohio). Lutheran orthodoxy was taught at Augustana Seminary until the 1930s, and then the old faculty was removed at once. The Pietists at Augustana were instrumental in bringing the Social Gospel Movement into their seminary, by calling A. D. Mattson to the faculty.

The original Wisconsin Synod was as Pietistic and unionistic as a Lutheran group might be. Many congregations offered both Reformed and Lutheran communion, both Reformed and Lutheran catechism.[53] Some congregations, like St. Paul’s in Columbus, were named “German Lutheran and Reformed.” Many congregations, like old St. John’s in Milwaukee, had Reformed splits in their early days. The Wisconsin Synod, later influenced by the great theologian Adolph Hoenecke and the synodical leaders Bading and Brenner, who rejected Pietism and unionism, joined the Synodical Conference. However, the Pietists within the Wisconsin Synod were beaten down but not conquered. They lost, too, when the Wisconsin Synod finally voted to break with the Missouri Synod after two decades of dithering. However, the Pietists did not give up. They quietly networked and got their men into key positions, using training at Fuller Seminary as their uniting force. After years of denying that anyone ever went to Fuller Seminary, even though their own Lawrence Otto Olson bragged up his D. Min. degree from Fuller, the Church Growth advocates finally came out of the closet and said, “Yes, we love Church Growth. Yes, we love religious projects with ELCA. Yes, we want women to be ordained. Now try to stop us.”

Ordination of Women

The ordination of women is a natural step for Pietists, a necessary outgrowth of the cell group. In the cell group, which is anti-Means of Grace and anti-confessional, anyone may serve as the leader. In general, women tend to be more spiritual than men and enjoy taking these positions. Cell group method books call them “lay pastors” so there is little difference between serving as a pastor in a cell group and serving as one in the congregation. Although ordination is far more important than the Pietists allow, they have already accomplished their goal when they have women teaching men and women in authority over men in the church.

Historically, women’s ordination has begun with the anti-Christian cults, whenever an alpha female can gather a group together. The Pentecostal groups follow, since they believe the Holy Spirit calls them directly in their dreams and visions. One Pentecostal woman baptized herself in a bathtub, got her tongue-speaking going by saying “yabba-dabba-doo” repeatedly, and announced she had the gift of preaching, according to her submissive husband.

If we concede that the Confessions are old-fashioned, boring, and irrevelant, even though they are not, and we claim that doctrine is divisive, then there is no particular reason why women should not be ordained and called to serve as pastors of congregations. The Lutheran Church in America took the lead in dismissing the inerrancy of the Scriptures and in teaching the flexibility of the Confessions, so they naturally, as liberal Pietists, ordained the first women pastors in America, in 1970.[54] The American Lutheran Church followed. Acknowledging the ordination of known lesbians and homosexuals followed soon after.

Method Actors

Since Pietism rejects the Confessions, the efficacy of the Word, and the Means of Grace, advocates of Enthusiasm must trust in methods. The key to understanding the Enthusiasts is not only in realizing their separation of the Holy Spirit from the Word but also in seeing the implication of that concept. The Reformed do more than imply what their Enthusiasm means. They teach it quite openly – The Word of God is dead and lifeless without human aid. Here is the secret to cell groups, tongue speaking, the seeker service, entertainment evangelism, friendship evangelism, child evangelism, mission vision statements, and all the flotsam of the Reformed. Why must the ministers pretend to be used car salesmen, talk show hosts, or stand-up comedians? In their eyes, God’s Word is dead without a boost from them to make it appealing and get results. Since they have no faith in the Holy Spirit working through the Word alone, they measure their success by visible results they can put on a graph. They take people out to their parking lots and tell them how many acres they have paved. That is good news for the National Asphalt Paving Association,[55] but it means nothing to God to watch these people clown around and carry on to win the approval of people, who are not even given the chance to hear the saving Word of Truth. In a word, these men are ashamed of the Gospel.

Pietistic Methods

J-776

"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."
Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943.

J-777

"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.

We might as well start on the bottom of Pietistic practices with the “holy laughter movement,” also known as the “Toronto Blessing.” Pentecostals wore out speaking in tongues, singing in tongues, as well as dancing and being slain in the spirit. They have done every rock version of every spiritual ditty one could imagine. What was left? Holy laughter! (They are actually reviving an old Pentecostal fad.) The minister begins a Toronto Blessing service by telling some lame jokes. People are already set to laugh their heads off. After a few jokes, people begin falling out of their chairs laughing. It helps if the minister does this too, as Richard Roberts, son of Oral Roberts, has done on television. Instead of piping their eyes with tears of contrition, yelling “Glory, glory, glory” on their backs on the floor, the Pentecostals now howl and bellow with laughter, with their backs on the floor. This too will fade and become wearisome. In contrast, the historic Lutheran liturgy is always uplifting to man because the worship service glorifies God, always emphasizing His grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Promise Keepers, a cancerous growth from cell groups and Pentecostalism, has also run through its time of excitement, its “movement of the Spirit,” and its roaringly high income. Wildly ecumenical and emotional, it offered to bring Protestants, Catholics, and Mormon men together in one big hug and cry. Stadiums were filled. Now they are not. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Visible and Invisible Church

J-778

"No one will open his eyes to the fact that mere human devices and doctrines are ensnaring souls, weakening consciences, dissipating Christian liberty and faith, and replenishing hell. Wolves! Wolves! How abominably, awfully, murderous, how harassing and destructive, are these things the world over!"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 32. Second Sunday in Advent Romans 15:4-13.

Divisive Preaching

J-779

"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.



[42] Prayer or Bible study groups are also called koinonia, share, care, or home study groups. WELS kept changing the names, but not the method.

[43] The soviet in Soviet Union refers to councils based upon cell groups.

[44] The Peretti novels found in Christian book stores portray God’s angels as energized by prayer. Towns lacking in “prayer warriors” are set upon by demons. Lots of prayer will strengthen God’s angels enough to drive the demons away. This obviously causes people to think in terms of salvation by works.

[45] "In an article on the small group movement, J. A. Gorman notes that 'both the Church Growth Institute of Fuller Seminary and the American Institute of Church Growth became centers for influencing the use of this means for evangelizing." (Christian Education, Moody Press, 1991, pp. 509, 510) Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 126. "This writer's acquaintance with this current phenomenon is threefold: 1) he has attended one of the workshops held by Lyman Coleman; 2) he has read about a dozen books in the last ten years coming from evangelical sources [i.e. false teachers] that deal with small groups either wholly or in part; 3) he has also inquired about why a number of WELS congregations have begun to conduct small group Bible study and how they have structured these groups." Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 127. "Definition: 'A small group within the church is a voluntary intentional gathering of people, varying in number, regularly meeting together for mutual Christian purposes.' - Serendipity WELS Campus Pastors, Small Group Training Conference, Jan. 7-9, 1991, Madison. p. 2. "Bible studies from Serendipity. Serendipity makes available Bibles (with outlines and discussion questions) and topical study booklets for adults and teen-agers. See appendix D for sample study courses. Order a SERENDIPITY SMALL GROUP RESOURCES CATALOG from Serendipity, P.O. Box 1012, Littleton, CO, 80160 or call 1-800-525-9583 (In CO call 1-303-798-1313)." Notebook, School of Outreach IV, p. 225. "Introduction to Small Group Ministry outline. Evangelism Office. Buy the book Good Things Come in Small Groups, Intervarsity Press. Small Group Bible Study Materials, Serendipity, Littleton, CO (1-800-525-9563)." WELS Evangelism Workshop IV, LOCATING THE LOST, Five Year Plan For Outreach, p. 177.

[46] The CLC Church Growth salesmen yelped that I could not quote Valleskey’s class notes, which are published and kept by his students, since I did not take his class. Valleskey claimed to have inherited his notes from another professor, so he would not take responsibility for the content. However, if we examine his small body of publications, no doubts are left about his love for Reformed authors and the Church Growth Movement.

[47] Heick’s History of Christian Thought was used throughout Lutheranism for a long time. He was the most Lutheran of the professors at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, but he did not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. He was kind to various students, including me and my wife Chris. Unlike others, he would analyze what students said during their chapel talks.

[48] Some of you think you are in difficult parishes.

[49] One successful CPA always hid his boat when his dad visited, because his father did not approve of such frills. When he thundered at voters’ meetings, one was tempted to think, “You hide your boat from your daddy?”

[50] Herman Otten told me that his father, a painter, sent him to prep school to turn him into a pastor. It is also worthwhile if students learn at an early age that church vocations are not for them. Seminaries should not be used as group therapy for the spiritually confused to find the meaning of life.

[51] WELS tried to turn another prep school into an ordinary area high school. The two surviving schools are now deemed inadequate for the supply of students. “We need another prep school,” one official said.

[52] Every so often, Fuller Seminary would phone and I would think, “They are going to chew me out for my latest article.” Instead, they were soliciting me to spend thousands of dollars to earn a degree, because I requested a catalogue. Many WELS pastors jumped me about Fuller Seminary, so I always asked them, “Have you ordered a catalogue? Do you want the latest one, to show you what they are teaching the WELS, ELCA, and LCMS leaders?”

[53] The oldest part of the Muhlenberg tradition, the General Synod, formed many union congregations, which were being de-unionized in the 1970s for a period of time. LCA pastors might serve a Reformed congregation, or a Reformed minister might serve an LCA congregation. Both would be on the ministerial roll of both denominations. After years of agonizing de-unionizing efforts, ELCA began forming new union congregations, with the Reformed, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics. One ELCA story has a photo of a Roman Catholic priest grinning at his associate, a stunningly beautiful ELCA woman pastor. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

[54] Women’s ordination required the death of LCA president Franklin C. Fry. He would not even discuss the topic. At least one of his granddaughters is an ELCA pastor. Fry led the United Lutheran Church in America in rejecting inerrancy and refused communion from an ALC leader who advocated close communion.

[55] National Asphalt Paving Association, 5100 Forbes Boulevard, Lanham, Maryland, 20706. Toll free phone: 1-800-HOT-MIXX.

Spener and PietismFrom Thy Strong Word

Part Three: Jacob Spener and Pietism


Pieper on Pietism

J-756

"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.

Hoenecke on Pietism

J-757

"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 first glance, 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.

Walther on Pietism

J-758

"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. Thesis IX.

"'Pay more attention to pure life, and you will raise a growth of genuine Christianity.' That is exactly like saying to a farmer: 'Do not worry forever about good seed; worry about good fruits.' Is not a farmer properly concerned about good fruit when he is solicitous about getting good seed? Just so a concern about pure doctrine is the proper concern about genuine Christianity and a sincere Christian life. False doctrine is noxious seed, sown by the enemy to produce a progeny of wickedness. The pure doctrine is wheat-seed; from it spring the children of the Kingdom, who even in the present life belong in the kingdom of Jesus Christ and in the life to come will be received into the Kingdom of Glory."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 21.

J-759

"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.

If the reader has a good grasp of the Reformed rejection of the Means of Grace, then this section will explain how Pietism served as the midwife to deliver Reformed doctrines into the Lutheran Church. This is a key area, because the Church Growth serpents use Pietism as their litmus test. If a Lutheran has a favorable view of Pietism, he can be depended upon to be a supporter of cell groups, subjectivism, heart religion (with no connection to the brain), revivals, lay or staff ministers, Seeker Services, unionism, and judging success by outward appearances. All positive references to a heart religion are a signal that the speaker has a heart and is loving, in contrast with the cold, heartless orthodox who make sound doctrine the priority. If a Lutheran criticizes Pietism, then he can be safely described as an enemy of the Church Growth Movement.

Characteristics of Pietism

The Lutheran Pietists of today do not necessarily call themselves Pietists. They may even use the term Pietist in a disparaging way, a common occurrence in the Wisconsin Synod, where Pietism dominates.[31] I told one young pastor who woke up to the Confessions and phoned me, years after I left the synod, “You are not in a Lutheran Synod. You are in a Pietistic Reformed sect that has some Lutherans in it.” In fact, the Lutheran Church Growth Pietists are so burdened with self-loathing that they accuse their opponents of being Church Growth advocates, a logical short-circuit if there ever was one.[32] It goes like this, “We hate you because you criticize the Church Growth Movement. You actually support the Church Growth Movement, so you cannot say anything against us.”[33] Nevertheless, it is not difficult to detect the Lutheran Pietists, even if they throw out a smoke screen and a few stink bombs to avoid being spotted. The characteristics of Lutheran Pietism are:

1. Doctrinal indifference. Pietists are annoyed and infuriated by doctrinal discernment.

2. Unionism. We find an unseemly zeal in Pietists to have all manner of denominations in religious projects together. Some examples are James Tiefel’s pan-denominational worship conference, Bethany College having a Roman Catholic bishop as a featured speaker, and Wisconsin Lutheran College aping Bethany by promoting Roman Catholic Archbishop Weakland as a special speaker, along with other Roman Catholic priests![34] The Missouri Synod has featured ELCA women pastors preaching in their pulpits, always with a feeble and toothless response.

3. Lay led cell groups. According to Pietists, this is the real church. They feverishly promote cell groups under a variety of names: home Bible study, prayer, koinonia, care or share groups. Lutheran Pietists need congregations to support their work, but they regard those who attend cell group meetings as the only genuine members. Waldo Werning and Kent Hunter, both listed in Who’s Who in Church Growth, heavily promoted cell groups in the Missouri Synod and WELS. Cell groups manufacture disciples, they claim.

4. The ordination of women. Cell groups have by-passed normal synodical restrictions on women teaching men and usurping authority. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio, introduced Serendipity cell groups in the 1980s with a husband and wife leading the sessions. Soon the husband disappeared. Then, when a man questioned how the group was being managed, the woman snarled at him, “I’m in charge here.”

5. Promotion of Reformed publications. Look up the Northwestern Publishing House website and look at the evangelism books. Examine the reading list for the Missouri Synod’s evangelism committees and synodical commission. Read the Church of the Lutheran Confession’s While There Is Day. Study footnotes in evangelism books. You will find the muddy footprints of the Reformed. You will not find these characters promoting orthodox Lutheran authors.[35]

6. Spiritual gifts inventory. Lutheran leaders borrowed this from the Pentecostals, dreaming that it would beef up their congregation’s size.[36]

7. Denigration of the ministry, worship, and the Sacraments. Everyone is a minister, so the divinely called pastor becomes a hireling to manage cell groups. Worship must generate fuzzy feelings, so the Law/Gospel sermon, the liturgy, creeds, pipe organ, and vestments must go. Baptism can remain for now, but Holy Communion is pushed into the background as an obstacle.

Reading Habits of Lutherans

Recently, someone took an informal survey about the reading habits of Lutheran clergy. The pastors who hated the Church Growth Movement read the Triglotta, the King James Version, Luther, Walther, and other confessional writers. The pastors who loved the Church Growth Movement read the NIV and books by Reformed authors. The genius of Pietism is that it can inject itself into a Lutheran body slowly while allowing the membership to think they are still Lutherans. When Pastor Tim Buelow was newly ordained in WELS, he looked at my library in astonishment. He said, “You really have a Lutheran library. Most of us have lots of Reformed books.” I asked why. “Because they were required reading at Mequon.” For that reason I have tried to get pastors to read kosher, to expend energy on Luther, Chemnitz, Gerhard, Chytraeus, and Walther, and to sing kosher, using hymns by Luther, Selnecker, Jacobs, Loy, Gerhardt, and Nicolai.

I would like to take credit for inventing one new doctrine in the Lutheran Church: the non-reciprocity of false teachers. The Reformed do not promote Lutheran books and Lutheran doctrine at their seminaries, headquarters, and congregations, so Lutherans should not promote Reformed doctrine and books at any time. If Lutherans enforced this one rule, God would bless their work once again. I am outraged when so-called Lutheran presses publish and promote Reformed works.[37] Lutherans must also write in such a way that no one doubts their trust in the Means of Grace, even when they happen to publish with non-Lutheran presses. I understand the temptation to submerge Lutheran doctrine, because I could publish books in Grand Rapids and make a lot of money if I only suppressed infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, the Real Presence, and the efficacy of the Word. I could write around these subjects if I wanted to follow the example of Lutheran leaders today. However, I cannot write anything religious and surgically remove those doctrines that give eternal life to me and my family.

J-760

"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.

Jacob Spener published his Pia Desideria (Pious Wishes) in 1675 when he was 40 years old. The famous book was simply an essay, published as a preface to one of J. Arndt’s sermon books. Spener had the advantage of a free promotional ride in a very popular and respected book. Much later, Arndt was still regarded as highly as Luther, so Spener had the benefit of this association. The Muhlenberg tradition regarded Pietism favorably, but the Missouri Synod did not. Nevertheless, for all the sound criticism aimed at Pietists by name in Law and Gospel, Walther did not name Spener in his classic work. Although I am guessing, I believe that Walther spared Spener because of the man’s iconic stature in the Lutheran Church. Spener’s proposals in Pia Desideria are summarized by Heick below.

J-761

“It contains six proposals for a reformation of the Church:

(1) a more diligent study of the Bible;

(2) a more serious application of Luther’s doctrine of the general priesthood of all believers;

(3) confession of Christ by deed rather than a fruitless search after theological knowledge;

(4) prayer for unbelievers and erring Christians rather than useless dogmatic disputations;

(5) reform of the theological curriculum with emphasis on personal piety;

(6) devotional arrangement of sermons instead of formal arrangement after the manner of rhetoric.”
Otto W. Heick, A History of Christian Thought, two volumes, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966, II, p. 21f.

Pastor Mark Jeske offered almost the same program of Pietistic reform in the Wisconsin Synod, when he addressed a conference:

J-762

Here are the top ten areas of our ministries in which I would like to see changed.

1. Myself. I trust God too little....

2. We don't prize our synod and our ministry relationships enough....Our called workers at 2929 will tell you that they take a lot more abuse than encouragement.

3. We need to loosen up....Our public worship/praise/prayer style seems stiff, overly formal, unemotional, smotheringly doctrinal. I personally do not think that our synod in general has a good balance of head & heart in our worship life. There. I said it.

4. Our schools are not being fully utilized to draw unchurched people into the fellowship.

5. We need to love cities more.

6. We need to welcome diversity, prize new racial groups and the cultural and ministry treasures that they bring. New people groups coming in to the WELS will not pollute our "pure" (quotation marks in the original) Lutheran practices. but enrich them.

7. We need a little more sanity and calm in our discussions of church fellowship. Things I can't stand:

· Assigning a seminary professor a paper and then letting all applications and conclusions become canon law instead of each of us getting into Word [sic] personally.

· passing off crude oversimplification as WELS canon law, such as, "You can't pray with anybody who is not WELS," or "if anyone rejects a clear word of God, he is in rebellion against the most High God and you can't be sure that he/she is really saved.

· We have a very highly developed sense of what we can't do with other Christians, to the point that it is safer to have nothing to do with other Christians. We lack the positive side of dealing with other Christians in practical ways.

8. I think we need a little more sanity in dealing with men/women role issues in the church....sometimes the WELS position is described as asserting male headship in all relationships: in family, church and society. Scripture speaks only of the first two areas, and so should we.

9. We need to declare a moratorium on negative comments about public schools. It is possible to be proud of our WELS system without running down Milwaukee Public Schools. There are many wonderful educational programs and innovations happening in MPS that we would do well to study and learn from.

10. There is a price that we have paid for our unity of practice in the WELS, and that is we have only each other as ministry models. We have many weak areas of ministry, such as in cities, and need to get around more to learn from other successful ministries even if they're not WELS. It is not helpful if our attempts to learn from other Christians is ridiculed as "sitting at the feet of the Reformed" or "capitulating to the papacy.”

Remarks delivered at a conference on March 3, 2000 by Rev. Mark Jeske, vice-president of WELS' Southeastern Wisconsin District.

Heick called Spener the “first union theologian.”[38] Spener rejected Calvin’s double predestination but accepted his view of the Lord’s Supper. The Pietists also rejected baptismal regeneration so the effect of the movement was to keep Lutherans as nominal Lutherans while they embraced Enthusiasm and worked actively with the Reformed.[39] Some people will argue with this claim, but I am willing to say that American Christianity is inherently the religion of Pietism and that includes Roman Catholicism as well. True, one can find all kinds of distinctions that fill the pages of dissertations and journal articles. However, look at the history of American Christianity in the last two centuries and see if it is not within the pattern of Pietism, a fact which will become more obvious when this section is studied. As Patsy Leppien observed when writing What’s Going on Among the Lutherans?, it is difficult to describe Pietism and what is wrong with the movement. When Lutherans try to start a mission in the South, they are forced into this kind of argument, “The Southern Baptists are for prayer and against whiskey. We are for whiskey and against prayer.” That explains why Lutherans would rather join the Pietists than fight them. This is our history, America:

A. The German Lutherans and German Reformed tried to create a merger based on nationality rather than doctrine. Many congregations, including the Wisconsin Synod, began in this fashion.

B. The German merger failed to take place on a national scale, but the Evangelical Alliance sought to bring all Protestants together in the 19th century.

C. Revivalism has marked the American scene from the days of Whitefield.[40] The 20th century saw the hollow successes of Billy Sunday and Billy Graham.

D. American Pietism in the 19th century led to the union efforts of the more liberal denominations through the Federal Council of Churches, reorganized as the National Council of Churches when the FCC became too overtly Marxist.

E. Lutheran groups have often been as Pietistic as the Methodists, banning card playing, dancing, alcohol consumption, tobacco, theatre, movies, and insurance.

F. The most Pietistic groups in one generation become the most Unitarian in the next. ELCA’s Muhlenberg roots and Midwestern Scandinavian Pietism have collapsed into mindless activism.

G. All the mergers and pan-Christian efforts have been based upon teary-eyed emotional appeals. The American Lutheran Church Bishop David Preus, who established Holy Communion with the Reformed, admonished his audience not to “major in the minors.” He used the example of Lincoln telling his quarreling generals, “Gentleman, the enemy is over THERE.” One Lutheran leader used this story, full of enough holes to make a city slicker wonder: A little boy was lost in the fields. The entire town was called out and they could not find him in the tall rows of corn. Finally they joined hands and went down the rows together. They found him, too late. He was dead. The town leader cried out, “Why didn’t we join hands earlier?” The necessary, moist, heart-pounding conclusion was that Lutherans had to merge before someone died.[41] It is ironic that David Preus joined a host of former synod officials in howling about how the new ELCA leaders ruined their synod.

J-763

“Spener maintained that the doctrinal difference between the two churches of the Reformation, the Lutheran and the Reformed, was such that it should no longer exclude a mutual recognition in the faith. In this manner Spener and the Pietists in general did the spade work for the church unions of the nineteenth century.”
Otto W. Heick, A History of Christian Thought, two volumes, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966, II, p. 21f.

Two additional characteristics of Pietism mentioned by Heick are: 1) chiliasm, a focus upon the endtimes; and 2) an emphasis upon the blood of Christ. One early and important Pietist, Johann Bengel, taught that the blood of Christ was drained from His body on the cross, not reunited with His body, but stored in heaven for the sprinkling of sinners in justification. Bengel’s doctrine helps to explain why American Lutheran Pietists have had problems with millennialism and why Pietistic hymns are often so bloody.

J-764

“Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, My glorious dress;

Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,

With joy shall I lift up my head.”
Ludwig von Zinzendorf, “Jesus Thy Blood,” The Lutheran Hymnal, #371, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.

Pietism is a complicated and extensive subject to treat. The movement influenced all denominations in various ways and remains with us today in various ways. Many of our favorite hymns come from the Pietists. The common table prayer, “Come Lord Jesus,” was written by Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, a man so influential that Halle sent Henry Melchior Muhlenberg to America to counter his influence among Lutherans. This action created an ironic situation, where a Pietist was sent to keep Lutherans from following another Pietist. The Muhlenberg tradition in America became the largest segment of the Lutheran Church in America when it merged in 1962. Another significant group was the Augustana Synod, the Swedish Lutheran denomination formed to bring Pietism to America.

Muhlenberg and Pietism

J-765

"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, General Council, United Synod in the South, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1919, II, p. 78.

It was not possible to merge all the doctrinally indifferent Lutherans together in the 1960s. The Norwegian Pietists and conservative Germans of the old American Lutheran Church (1930 merger) formed The American Lutheran Church in 1960. Although the German side of the ALC merger was more inclined toward orthodoxy, we can find in Professor Lenski’s excellent commentaries a reference to the issue of dancing, an issue among Pietists. That reference does not make Lenski a Pietist, but it shows that dancing was an issue in his era as well. He also wrote books for pastors to use for Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services, also typical of the agenda of Pietism. Although one will now find Sunday and Wednesday evening services expected among the Fundamentalists, it is not part of Lutheran parish planning, except for mid-week services in Advent and Lent.

J-766

"Since the age of Rationalism and Lutheran Pietism a new spirit has crept into the life of the church which is un-Lutheran, un-Evangelical, and un-biblical. The Sacraments have been neglected at the expense of the Word."
Walter G. Tillmanns, "Means of Grace: Use of," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, II, p. 1505.

Not Really Dr. Kelm

According to Zoominfo, Paul Kelm obtained a D.Min. from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

The D.Min. degree was invented by seminaries as a way of getting ministers back into school. The pastors would not sign up unless they got a degree.

A few years ago the St. Louis WELS pastor was getting his D.Min. in Church Growth at Concordia, St. Louis. Kelm's degree probably focused on the same false doctrine.

The D.Min. is a quickie degree with little in the way of academic requirements or rigor. Try to get a university position with a D.Min. in Church Growth. The mirth will resound for months in the dean's office.

Ichabodians may recall that Lawrence Otto Olson once bragged about Fuller Seminary having more LCMS pastors enrolled than the two Missouri seminaries combined. Why not? Fuller is the path to glory among the so-called conservative synods. Needless to say, Olson was bragging about his own alma mater: Fuller Unionistic and Pentecostal Seminary.

Zoominfo is loaded with information about Paul Kelm, mostly from:

The Means of Grace Website.

Kelm is a favorite author for Church and Change:

Paul Kelm, D.Min., on Worship.

The unintentional humor award goes to these Wisconsin Synod knob-heads:

Church From Scratch - an amusing list of Who's Who in Church Growth in WELS.

Confidential to the webmaster of Church from Scratch - Scratch is a synonym for Satan.

Scratch

Pronunciation: (skrach), [key]
—n.
Old Scratch; Satan.

Actually, the name is quite appropriate. The CGM is the Church from Scratch. Once upon a time, where God built a church, Satan built a chapel (Luther). Now where God builds a chapel, Satan builds a cathedral.

Dr. Paul Kelm?

The Appleton Alliance pastor is pictured on the left.

Managing Change - Dr. Paul Kelm

Understand what drives change, why people resist change, and how they process change. Discover key principles for introducing, leading, and institutionalizing change. Realize that Christianity is all about change. Dr. Paul Kelm serves as the discipleship pastor at St. Mark Lutheran in De Pere, WI and served for over six years as a church consultant.

Dare To Lead - 2006 BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Pastor Bill Lenz
What does it take to be the servant leader of a large church in America (350+ weekend attendance)? What can be learned from the ministry pioneering done by the very large teaching churches, a growing variety of para-church organizations, and scores of entrepreneurial individuals? Discover key principles used by large churches in their approach to ministry. Pastor Bill Lenz serves as the senior pastor of Christ The Rock Community Church in Menasha, WI, a church where more than 3000 gather on a weekend.Strategic Planning -

Dr. Janet Moldstad
Why strategic planning for a church? Because a well-wrought strategic plan helps you set priorities and allocate the Kingdom resources needed to achieve your ministry goals. Strategic planning provides a framework for analyzing circumstances and quickly adapting to future challenges. Dr. Janet Moldstad currently serves as Professor of Business at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN.

Are you ready for the next turn?

Leading A Turn-Around Church - Pastor Dennis Episcopo -
85% of all churches today are in plateau or decline! If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got. This breakout group will address leadership changes that can be adapted to our ministry, focusing on the dynamics that can contribute to a turn-around strategy. Pastor Dennis Episcopo serves as lead pastor at Appleton Alliance, which has seen its Sunday attendance climb from 600 to 2200 in the last three years.

***

GJ - And people want to argue that WELS is not going to Hell? Holy cow. This confab makes Church and Change look orthodox in comparison.

So where did Paul Kelm earn a doctorate?

Some of you are thinking that Janet Moldstad is the wife of Pope John the Malefactor, but his wife is named Ruth.

***

GJ PS - Rev. A. Nony Mouse has left a new comment on your post "Dr. Paul Kelm?":

The spin and half-truths never stop, do they, Greg? The way you put this article together, you make it look as if Paul Kelm is the guy in the picture, and that he's the pastor of this Alliance church in Appleton.

Mouse is not very sharp. I captioned the picture as the Appleton Alliance pastor, not as Kelm. Google Blogger is limits my ability to place pictures and captions. The rest of the material is verbatim from Kelm's congregational website.

Confidential to Mouse - Why do you need to leave nasty personal attacks every day? I suggest not reading Ichabod for a few years. Or perhaps you could get more fresh air and sunshine. Prunes would probably improve your mood immensely. Nevertheless, I enjoy your personal validation of my blog each day.

***
Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "Dr. Paul Kelm?":

It is really Rev. A Nony Mouse? I wish I had someone personally leaving a message on my blog every day!

Anyway...(and I mean this not against you Rev. Jackson) this post has ruined my day. I've heard about such "leadership seminars" before, and the arguement that they aren't ecumenical.

This is apostasy! We have a immutable God but "DR" Kelm would rather believe Christianity is all about change.

We have God's Holy Word made incarnate and the Holy Spirit but no...Pastor Dennis will show us how to grow a church.

Anathemas!

***

GJ - The courageous poster always uses Anonymous, so I have tweaked his favorite name a bit. He reminds me of a mouse, popping out of his dark hole to take a bite and leave a deposit.

And yet he had to post again!

A. Nony Mouse has left a new comment on your post "Dr. Paul Kelm?":

You're right, Greg. I have better things to do than to read and respond to your garbage. I just wish your other 3 or 4 readers would realize that too.

Comment about Church and Change

Pastor Jackson,

I wanted to add a comment to your recent posting, "Church and Change Leading the Sheep". Here is an article taken from a presentation made during the WELS Church Door Symposium in 2004.

http://www.charis.wlc.edu/publications/charis_summer04/wendland.pdf

[GJ - Be sure to read the article by Mrs. Wendland above, especially the ending. You will burn your bra and march against oppression of men after finishing the essay. The illustration is so silly that she destroys any notion she should be taken seriously.]

Paul Kelm and John Parlow were featured speakers from the WELS also. I see from the Charis website that in August of this year they suspended operations. Fortunately most of their information is still online. It details the war they are raging against the Holy Spirit through the promotion of the Church Growth Movement. "Research Update - Effective Evangelistic Churches"

http://www.charis.wlc.edu/research/ResearchUpdate2.pdf

is another example.

Like other WELS groups Charis is involved with political agendas (view their links page) and working with the ELCA and LCMS.
(http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=4005) on funding Lutheran World Relief which is a United Nations supporting operation. The same Satan worshiping UN of which the Antichrist is head and through which they are working to create the New World Order.

Most lay people in the WELS shrug when they see doctrines change. Little do they know just how deep the iceberg goes.

New Poll: Which Synod Is the Most Pastor-Friendly?

Acknowledging the supremacy of the Voters' Assembly--as long as they agree with me--I have published a new scientific poll, at the bottom of the page.

I have only four choices available. Later I may do another one for some of the mini-micro sects.

Poll Results

When is clergy adultery allowed?

Always in WELS. 13 (31%)

Two strikes, you're out. (ELS). 2 (4%)

Not with women (ELCA). 19 (46%)

Everyone is already forgiven (UOJ). 7 (17%)

LCMS Stewardship: Selling at a Loss

I have to admire the genius of the LCMS. They bought the Christian Brothers College a few years ago. Now they are selling it for a $6 million loss. They have to borrow $2 million of that loss to cover the shortfall. The rest of the loss comes from operating funds.

I am still guessing that they had big plans but ran out of money to carry them out. The former owners must have laughed as Missouri borrowed heavily to finance their turkey.

That reminds me of Prairie, the WELS prep school bought in a panic because it failed as a Catholic school. No one knows exactly how much was sunk into that school. It was also sold.

We bought Prairie in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout.
We've been talkin' bout Prairie, ever since the fire went out.
I'm sellin' that prep school, I'm gonna lose some dough,
Yeah, I'm goin' to Prairie,
Look out Prairie du Chien.

Orthodox Anglican News

Here is an elaborate conservative Anglican website:

VirtueOnline.

Have you noticed that the mainline denominations get increasingly Left-wing and image conscious and yet hardly make a dent on the public consciousness? When was the last time anyone thought about the National Council of Churches or the United Church of Christ? Ditto, the Episcopal Church.

One conservative website can do more than an entire organization of highly paid professionals.

Spot the Typo

Robert Wilken's education:

Spertus College of Judaica (Modern Hebrew, 1975-1976)
University of Heidelberg, post-doctoral research New Testament (1963-1964)
Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1963, History of Christianity
M.A., Univeristy of Chicago, 1961
B.D., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, 1960
Washington University, St. Louis, 1958-1960 (completed courses for M.A. in Philosophy)
Tulane University, Summer, 1957, 1959 (Philosophy)
B.A., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, 1957
Concordia College, Austin, Texas, 1955-1957

I love it when someone else has a funny typo.

Otten: Katharine Jefferts Schori Should Read Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant

Katharine Jefferts Schori was briefly bishop of Nevada before becoming Presiding Bishop of the fading, splintering Episcopal Church, USA. She has done everything possible to accerate the decline of the Episcopalians.

Pastor Herman Otten has recommended that all Episcopalian bishops read Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant rather than join Rome.

For almost 20 years I read The Episcopalian newsletter, sent free of charge to me, wherever I lived. They followed me better than a bill collector. I mentioned that fact to the son of an Episcopalian priest and the free subscription stopped. Perhaps they ran out of money. The denomination had about 3 million members in 1978. Now they have 2.4 million, many of them headed for the exit.

But ELCA stepped in to validate the Episcopalians. Now an ordination in ELCA is not valid unless an Episcopalian bishop is present. Please do not ask me to explain. The new rule is connected to the historic episcopacy, which the Episcopalians seem to have and ELCA covets.

Confidential: I was ordained by an Augustana Synod pastor, and Augustana pastors were ordained by bishops from the Church of Sweden, where the historic episcopacy remains. Thus I could rent my historic episcopacy to interested parties, such as the new sects leaving Missouri and WELS. Look for the offer on eBay.

The historic episcopacy means an unbroken link remains between Christ, the apostles, and all ordained ministers. The concept is heart-warming but hardly Biblical. The historic episcopacy should be given proper respect, like pot-luck suppers and greeters at the door (who only greet their friends).

The heart of the ministry is orthodox doctrine, true to Christ and the revelation of Christ in the Holy Scriptures. As Luther taught, if the teaching is orthodox, the fruits of the Gospel will follow.

A Missouri Synod pastor just wrote: "It was with great enthusiasm I received your recent mailing regarding the book Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant. I have greatly appreciated your previous works in particular I find myself going back to Thy Strong Word again and again."

Slippery Labels

Father Richard J. Neuhaus, a graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, often used the term Evangelical Catholic when he was writing for the Lutheran Forum Letter. The Evangelical label slipped right off and he became Catholic.

Robert Wilken, (pictured above) another graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, a dear friend of Neuhaus, is now a Roman Catholic as well. Wilken was head of the graduate program in theology at Notre Dame when I was there. I never had him as a teacher. He left a distinct, negative impression on me.

The term Evangelical Catholic is still in vogue among Lutherans. Pastor John Berg uses it on his church website. There seems to be an entire ecosystem feeding people into the Church of Rome. Wait, I am not saying Berg is ever going to join Rome. However, with so many Lutheran and Protestant ministers embracing the whole smells, bells, and fancy clothing fad, some are bound to tip over and join Rome, listening to the enchantments emanating from His Holiness, the Antichrist, and all the little antichrists who partake in his murder of souls.

Avoiding the Foundation - Efficacy of the Word

I was directed to the website of the Motley Magpie. I read a fairly good summary of Receptionism in the ELS and WELS. The term Receptionism refers to the odd notion of the elements of Holy Communion being mere bread and wine until they are received by the communicant. That was taught and believed in the Synodical Conference and is still held (dishonestly) by the Little Sect on the Prairie and its big, Reformed Universalistic brother, the Wisconsin Synod.

Pastor John Berg is the editor of the Motley Magpie. District Pope Jahnke defenestrated him, but Berg's congregation left with him. His brother, another WELS pastor, was also pushed out of WELS. The Berg brothers are the sons of Norm Berg, former Michigan District Pope and former head of the synodical mission board. Norm Berg was trained at Fuller Seminary, as he confessed in a threatening letter to me, but his sons de-converted.

Norm Berg constantly promoted the Church Growth Movement, which is the engine running The Love Shack known as WELS headquarters. Not everyone feels the love. Anyone opposed to Church Growth experiences the Left Foot of Fellowship, even if they are well-connected sons of synodical officials.

I have a collection of Eighth Commandment letters from various WELS nabobs: Norm Berg, Paul Kelm, Lawrence Otto Olson, District Pope Nitz, etc. What do they have in common? Oh yes - all thoroughly brainwashed at Fuller Seminary.

Back to the main point - the efficacy of the Word. Berg's essay about Receptionism runs through the normal Book of Concord citations, all valid. The entire debate can be shortened to the foundational doctrine uniting all of the Scriptures - the efficacy of the Word.

The efficacy of the Word has become so strange and new to Lutherans that an older Lutheran layman just phoned me to say he was reading Thy Strong Word over again. He was fascinated by the first chapter. He also donated a copy to his brother, another active Lutheran layman. A WELS layman ordered the book as well. The entire book is linked on the main page of Ichabod, under links.

If God's Word accomplishes His will at all times, then there is nothing to debate about Holy Communion. The Words of Institution are Scripture. Christ is present, in both natures, because the Word has consecrated them.

To say that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ when they touch the hands of the communicants is hardly worth debating.

Citing the Book of Concord is not a good use of scholarship when the vast majority of clergy and laity are so ignorant of the Biblical, Christian doctrine of the Word. No one was clearer about this than Luther, the greatest of all Biblical expositors. The distinguishing mark of all the favorite Lutheran theologians people respect is that reliance on the Word.

WELS and the Little Sect on the Prairie cling to Receptionism because they utterly reject the efficacy of the Word. Rev. Mouse: "That's absurd! You are a bad person for saying that." Am I? WELS excommunicated a fine pastor for emphasizing the efficacy of the Word alone. First they ran Norm Festerling out of his mission congregation. Then they banned him from communion. He was one of three WELS pastors in Toledo pushed out the ministry. But if a pastor is having an affair with his music director at church, hey, who cares?

WELS and the Little Sect are confused about the ministry for two reasons. One is that Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek do all their thinking for them. Another is their rejection of the efficacy of the Word. If they studied the Lutheran doctrine of the Word, a host of problems would be solved. Look for an emphasis on everything except the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Yes, the words might be used, but the main thrust will be threatening and lashing with the Law.

Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant Sold Out

I ordered 30 copies of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, for initial orders. Some people did not want to order from Lulu.com, so I thought the supply would be good for a few weeks.

The first order was for 20 copies. Apparently a congregation wants the book for confirmation classes, adult classes, or both.

My able editor is working on the teacher's guide to go with the book.

Rome Calls and the Protestants Answer "Yes!"

I am not the only one noticing the decline of the mainline denominations. I read in Christian News that three Episcopalian bishops (two retired, one active) have joined the Roman Catholic Church. Considering how tradition-bound the Episcopalians are, that alone should shock the leadership. Bishops are not the type to jump out of their very comfy ship.

Rome is celebrating a number of celebrity conversions. Not without reason is Avery Dulles, SJ, the only cardinal in America without an archdiocese. His ecclesiastical honors are probably due to a chain of conversions, starting with Richard John Neuhaus, who studied at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis - when Otten and Marquart were students there.

At one time the Episcopalians were among the fiercest critics of Rome. Krauth wrote how many Episcopalians in his day wanted to throw themselves, weeping, on the pope's neck, hoping that the terms of reconciliation would not be too harsh.

We had a dear friend at Notre Dame, one of the few conservatives in the doctoral program. He wrote his dissertation on angels, but our advisor would not even read it. Charlie Caldwell was Episcopalian and taught Gaylin Schmeling at Nashotah House, the radical Leftist Episcopalian seminary where the Bethany Seminary president earned a master's degree. Mrs. Ichabod and I were driving in Wisconsin when we saw the sign for Nashotah House. Impulsively, we stopped and looked Charlie up. He spoke longingly about "Reunion with Rome."

I could imagine how a quasi-Roman denomination could want to be Roman Catholic again. I never imagined that Concordia, Ft. Wayne, would invite a convert (Neuhaus) to their seminary to beguile the students and pastors, who nodded in agreement as he seduced them. Or did he? Perhaps the audience was in his lap before he even started. That is truly sad, for those pastors will lead their congregations, in baby steps, back to Rome.

Little Boy on the Phone

A little boy used to call up our house every so often and stay on the line, anonymously. I used a trick that worked once before. I said, "Please stay on the line so the FBI can finish tracing the call." He snickered and said a couple of words, then quickly hung up.

One of the liberals, Rev. A. Nony Mouse, posts almost daily. I would let his comments through if he signed his name, gave his synod affiliation, and listed his congregation's name. The messages are almost the same and remind me of the little boy who just had to phone our house and stay on the line.

The apostates do not like this blog. One the major complaints I have always had is - the Lutheran quotations. Why would Lutherans object to Lutheran quotations? The answer is simple - the Word is efficacious. The Word converts and hardens, always having an effect, never without results.

Sometimes an individual will try to pit Luther against Jesus. Since the Word conveys Jesus to us, we really need to have that confirmed through the greatest Gospel expositor of all time, Martin Luther.

The apostates like to use the terms "lies" and "half-truths." However, they never point out an error or a half-truth. Normally such unwarranted attacks would qualify as slander, but I try to avoid what the apostates have abused.

For examples of lies and half-truths, I commend the readers of Ichabod to any synodical budget. As one wit said about the book of Revelation, they conceal more than they reveal.

Church and Change Leading the Sheep

How Can Church and Change Lead the Sheep?

The spin-doctors of The Love Shack worked overtime to rescue Church and Change, the official WELS Apostasy Lobby, from the ash-heap of fad projects.

The group was so obnoxious that the word went out from the Gurgel administration that C and C was no more, dissolved, gone, scattered like dry autumn leaves. Apostates in WELS were distraught. "Who will feed the sheep to our Father Below? Who will beat them and fleece them?"

Before anyone knew it, Church and Change was grandfathered. Sure, they are iffy at best, but they are old and iffy, hence grandfathered. While people were still claiming that Church and Change was gone, Church and Change was advertising its conference on the offical WELS website.

Looking back in history, we can see how convenient it is to grandfather apostasy.

Augustine against Pelagianism: "Roma locuta est. Causa finita est. Rome has spoken. The case is closed."

Rome: "No, we have grandfathered Pelagianism. We know salvation by works is wrong, but they have been around for some time, several years in fact."

Augustine: "Oh."

Comments on Church and Change Upcoming Debacle

The Antichrist sets himself up in the Temple of God, but there are many little antichrists as well.

From Bailing Water:




John said...
Isn't it odd that Rev. Ash directs you to the church and change website to register. You go there and then you are redirected to the wels.net site to complete your registration.

I will anxiously await a review of the convention. Are any readers out there innovative enough to say that "yes" I am going?

If you do go I will post your unedited thoughts on bailingwater.

October 2, 2007 6:28 PM


Norman Teigen said...
An ELS pastor was going to attend the C & C conference but cancelled when another ELS pastor accused him and the WELS of false doctrine re C & C.

Isn't this a little bit crazy? It seems so to me. I wrote in my blog that I was getting false doctrine fatigue from all of this.

Norman Teigen
ELS layman

October 2, 2007 7:05 PM


John said...
For those of you wishing to purchase the DVD collection of the Church and Change conference, Rev. Ash has announced that for "a variety of reasons we will not be taping the conference."

October 8, 2007 5:46 PM

***

GJ - Church and Change (Official WELS Apostasy Lobby) acted as if the convention resolution was encouraging their efforts to undermine Lutheran doctrine and practice.

President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller was famous for never providing a written record of his talks. Whenever someone objected to his false doctrine, he said, "You misunderstood me." As I showed before, all the Church Growth false teachers begin with one concept and then write just the opposite. Look for the furtive but.
"We all know that the Word alone is effective, but..."

Those who view the Church and Change propaganda will see a number of husband and wife "ministry teams." They usually look like they inhaled helium too long before posing for their photos. Ministry teams are a way to slip women's ordination in the back door.

WELS is not alone in finessing these issues. I recall a non-worship worship service where Al Barry listened to a husband and wife lead a Bible study. One could almost say it was a woman teaching men, but no, the event was presented by the spin-doctors as something other than worship. The late Al Barry, the ultimate Chameleon Lutheran, did not object. However, when he spoke to the conservatives who fought to elect him, he was wroth. "Some said I should not even meet with you. But I am the president of all the people in the Missouri Synod." How touching to have His Grace speak to our little leper colony!

Peshtigo Fire Anniversary

From Norm Teigen:

Peshtigo WI fire has higher death toll than the Chicago fire

On Sunday, October 8, 1871, fire leveled a broad swath of Michigan and Wisconsin, including the cities of Peshtigo, Holland, Manistee, and Port Huron. At least 1200 people died as a result of the fire. Nearly half the fatalities occurred in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.

That same night, the Great Chicago Fire erupted in nearby Illinois.
Conditions were ripe for major conflagrations that year. Uninterrupted drought plagued the Midwest into early October and winds were strong. Vast tracts of forest burned for a week in parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. When the wind increased and shifted direction, fire fighters were unable to control the flames any longer. Within hours, several Midwestern cities and towns were reduced to charcoal and ash.

{source-The Library of Congress}


More on the Great Peshtigo Fire

GJ - Note: the Church Growth Movment has destroyed more churches that both fires combined.

Walther and UOJ

From a layman:

I've been reading Walther's sermons found in, "The Word Of His Grace" copyright 1978. In the sermon "Righteous Through Faith", page 4 it states, "And behold, on the third day after His death God the Father Himself awoke Him from the dead, confirming the word of victory of the dying Redeemer and calling to all sinners, "Yes, it is fulfilled!" And so he declared the whole world righteous. "I am reconciled! You are redeemed! Your debt is paid; and the righteousness that avails before Me is won for you."

Also, in the sermon " ", page 232 it states, "Are you saying that God has already in Christ absolved all men, including all the ungodly, all slaves of iniquity, all unbelievers, all mockers, all slanderers? Who could believe that? ---And yet it is so, dear friends"

***

GJ - Yes, Walther is the main source for Synodical Conference UOJ. The language they use is plagiarized from his sermons. They run back to Walther's Easter Absolution sermon whenever their UOJ is threatened. They like the man who turned Roman Catholic, too - Ed Preuss.

The Methodists use Wesley's sermons as their doctrinal textbook. That is why Methodists say, "We have no theology."

True, Lutherans used an edited version of Luther's sermons for the Large Catechism. But they also dealt with the doctrinal issues for years before issuing and signing the Formula of Concord and the Book of Concord, 1580. Lutherans do not use all of Luther's works as their confessions. We have plenty of Luther in the Book of Concord, but no one thinks every phrase of Luther must be preserved as official doctrine. Luther was opposed to that kind of treatment.

Did someone issue a set of Walther's sermons and make that the new Book of Concord? The current synodical leaders are being dishonest and slippery in assigning to Walther a primacy in doctrine above that of the Scriptures and the Confessions. If I remember correctly, Walther promoted the European Lutherans. He edited a compend for his classes. In that regard he was not a Waltherian but a Hyper-Euro-Lutheran.

Walther had many fine qualities, but he was messed up about justification by faith. He was converted through Pietism and never lost that foundation, as he confessed. UOJ comes from Pietism, not from the Bible, not from the Book of Concord.

ELCA is Pietistic in its roots. ELCA is also Universalistic, only more obviously and honestly so.

WELS had an evangelism campaign. The motto was, "I am saved, just like you." Did anyone object? The apostates have won.

Some Attributes of Pietism - From Spener

Pietism was a movement that emphasized works rather than doctrine. The Pietists were unionistic from the beginning, compromising with the Reformed. Some attributes of Pietism include:
1. The lay-led cell group, or Bible study group, considered the "real church" within the larger and less active church.
2. Scorn toward doctrinal orthodoxy and those who consider it important.
3. Willingness to give up the sacraments and the efficacy of the Word to work with the Reformed.
4. A holier-than-thou attitude created by the cell groups being the "real church."
5. Love-bombing those coming into the cells while shunning those who leave.
6. Always measuring the church and the individual by works.
7. A tendency to become Unitarian in the next generation.

Walther was converted by Pietism and never gave it up entirely. He could not bring himself to criticize Spener, the founder of Pietism.

ELCA was founded by the earlier Pietist, Muhlenberg. Later migrations of Pietists made up additional elements of ELCA (Augustana Synod - Swedish Pietists).

The foundation of the Wisconsin Synod was Pietistic.

The Little Sect on the Prairie was largely Norwegian and influenced by Pietism.

The attributes of Pietism are the same as the Church Growth Movement and the latest version of CGM: the Purpose-Driven Church.