Are You Part of a Movement?

This post comes via Lora, originally posted on her blog The Rebellious Pastor's Wife. She contrasts the Ablaze^® movement with the original "movement" of the Holy Spirit. Republished with permission.


Some Thoughts on Ablaze

(in a discussion on Augsburg 1530, a person clarified that Ablaze wasn't a program, it was a movement designed to inspire Lutheran congregations to be on fire for sharing God's word, and invited us to embrace it. I took long enough typing this that I rationalized that it should be posted here, too (because it took as long as a blogpost does. After all, time is precious! I am simply trying to be efficient, not in the least trying to be lazy. I know you all will appreciate that, right? )


I am already part of a movement. I really trust this movement and think that it has done a very good job and it has one of the best and strongest traditions in existence.

It began when Jesus ascended into Heaven saying “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

It matured on Pentecost, when tongues of fire descended onto the heads of the disciples and they preached God’s Word to the masses, and the people who believed came together into congregations to learn God’s Word, to baptize, and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

I thank God that my parents were part of that movement, bringing me to the font when I was just a couple of weeks old, and I thank God for pastors and teachers who have been true to the Great Commission along the way, not seeing it as just as a command to the unchurched that stops when we have cast the seed. They also took the “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” seriously as well, seeing it as a lifelong nurturing process, and I am also part of that -- in teaching my children, strengthening my brethren, and being ready to account for the hope that I have when I am called upon to do so.

It is a movement that has lasted for over 2000 years now and it is still going strong. It is not based on statistics or gatherings, or techniques, or evangelical revival (which is what it sounds like you are hoping for). It is based on Scripture, vocation, and the life of the Church. It is based on how those who are a part of the body of Christ interact with the world.

It is also based on “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.” In Acts, Luke didn’t bother marking a “1″ by Phillip’s name when he proclaimed the gospel to the Ethiopian eunoch. Luke told the story of this man’s faith and his desire to be baptized. Paul didn’t mark down “30″ after a good night in Galatia. Instead, we are told what he said and the work that he did. Later, his letter to them tells us of the challenges that the church faced as it was under attack. It was real. It was not accounting.

It is not about how many times we share the gospel, it is that we do it when we are put in a place to do so. It is that we know what a precious gift Christ gave us in His Word and Sacraments. It is that we teach our children so that they walk in the faith and teach their children. Those who are already in the Church are very undervalued in Ablaze. Their continued strengthening in the faith is not talked about.

I will take Jesus’s movement, the Holy Spirit’s movement of saving each individual soul…of going after each little lost lamb one at a time, over Ablaze’s way of taking that and making it fit into the mold of today’s consumer culture and gauging success by quantity.

While I am not undervaluing the joy and the “combustion” of the excitement that happens when one discovers the gospel (I remember that, too). “Ablaze” is not what comes to mind when I witness how the Gospel is working in the lives of the strongest Christians that I know and admire. Loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, good, kind, faithful, gentle (humble), and self-controlled…really are what comes to mind. The fruits of the Spirit are clearly within them, and sometimes I am astounded to find that those fruits are stronger in me than I ever expected them to be. Strong Christians are not often “on fire” in the colloquial sense, but they share the love of Christ through their daily vocation, and it seems to smolder there within them…and the work that they do does not need “fanned into flames” it touches other’s lives and gives them warmth.

I don’t want to just see people come to Christ and experience that joy…I want to see them grow and partake of the meat of the faith, to have strength for when the fire doesn’t seem to burn (but is) and to have the strength to endure the suffering that Christ has promised. The count is not taken when the gospel is proclaimed or the seed is cast onto the field, it is taken when the names are read from the Lamb’s Book of Life and the harvest is brought in.

Rev. Zwonitzer's Continuing Book Review of The Best is Yet to Come: Chapter 2

This is the second post in the series of Pastor Rodney E. Zwonitzer's book review of Pastor John Kieschnick's book The Best is Yet to Come: 7 Doors of Spiritual Growth.



Review of Chapter Two: Witness: The Door of Opportunity

Kieschnick admits that this is the real impetus behind the book, that Christians become effective witnesses. He bases this on every Christian being a witness by what they do, say, act, etc. He seizes upon an Os Guiness quote as thematic: "Who we are determines what we do."

Problematic to this is Christian's compartmentalizing their world into the secular and sacred. Yet further many, he contends, feel that witnessing is for full-time church workers while the rest are second-class citizens in the God's kingdom. He feels that the world is watching each Christian, so they're looking not for perfectionism but consistency and authenticity as simultaneously saint and sinner. (here he has "simul lustus et peccator" which I've never seen before; likely just a typo, i.e. "lustus" for what should have been "iustus").

He hints at confusion between the office of the public ministry and the priesthood of all believers as he falls into the CGM trap of talking about all believers not as servants of the gifts the Lord has given but as "ministers," e.g. music ministry, etc. He further applies 2 Cor. 5:20 as each and every Christian being equally 'an ambassador" rather than as it correctly should be to the called and ordained servants of the Word. They are charged with speaking the Word for Christ, they are the sent ones. This is the "Everyone A Minister" dilemma that has been brought into the LCMS from without and continues to be falsely spread. This confusion of who and where speaking for God is to occur confuses everything. I myself am into imploring all Christians to seize opportunities to witness and share their faith when God presents the opportunities (Col. 4:1-6) but I do not encourage this by saying falsely that everyone is a minister and everyone is an ambassador. These are not our calls for the taking, but God's for the giving.

This again like most of the previous comments on this book are a mixed bag. I am all for every Christian being a 24/7 believer, and sharing their faith when given opportunities and serving the Lord with all their time, talents and treasures, but Kieschnick in this chapter has not come as clean with all his comments thus far on witnessing. He is committed and passionate about his sharing Jesus with all that he comes in contact with and encourages the rest of us as Jesus' disciples to do the same. However, he mixes this with troublesome confusion about ministry. We continue to struggle in our confessional body with these doctrines and terms, confirming evidence of this is his chapter opening Scriptural quote of 1 Peter 2:9.

Honestly I was surprised at how much of this chapter I can relate to and affirm, yet with the noted reservations. All Christians need to be encouraged to live their faith out in their vocations and calls and share Jesus with friends, family and acquaintances. The discerning Christian will be able to amen much of this chapter, while carefully noting some doctrinal drift.

Rich blessings in Christ!

Pastor Rod Zwonitzer

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Shock and Awe

Dear Friends,

Please forgive me while I brag a little bit...

Our daughter Paige graduated from Cascade Christian High School last night. Cascade has been a blessing for us and our daughter. Paige got a good education, and made a lot of wonderful friends as well.

She and Nikki were the two salutatorians (the person with the second highest grade point average) - they tied. Chad was the valedictorian, a great guy with an award-winning smile, athletic, and nice too. All three of them got one A- somewhere along the way in their four year high school experience, and all of them had better than a 4.0 GPA (if you get an “A” in an Advanced Placement class it counts as a 5.0). Chad had the highest GPA because he took one more AP class than Nikki or Paige.

The best part about all three of them is that they’re Christian. Each of them knows that through Jesus’ death and resurrection they are justified, forever freed from the curse of the Law. If you meet any of the three of them, you’ll know why they are all something special, not because of brains, but because of their attitude.

“For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:20

About the only concern that we’ve had with Cascade has been that it’s a “generic” Christian school, meaning Reformed/Evangelical. Lots of Law and exhortation. For Paige, at times it’s been a living four year apologetics course. She would occasionally come home after chapel and mention that the message was often the same - rededicating your life and being “on fire for Jesus.” She was able to figure out from her own observations over the years that these messages were useless. Nobody’s behavior changed - they were all still sinners. This was a good opportunity for us to discuss what the Bible has to say about our lives in Christ and instill in her a truly confessional Lutheran understanding. It’s also been an opportunity for her to present her Lutheran beliefs in what she says and writes in the course of her normal school work. There might be a teacher or two at Cascade that now has a true understanding of what Baptism is all about because of Paige.

This is where the “shock and awe” part comes in. Since Paige was one of the salutatorians, she had the opportunity to present a speech. She was tasked with giving her classmates some kind of a challenge. Her challenge, (coincidental to the name of the blog), was stand firm. At this point, her speech departed the realm of anything anybody had ever heard before in this particular building (a big auditorium-like church named “Champions Center”). It was a beautiful witness of her faith and a clear presentation of Law and Gospel. She had the whole thing memorized, and presented it slowly, clearly, with a smile on her face, and with feeling. Rather than try and summarize it I’m posting it below.

The few Lutherans who were there raved about it afterwards, including our pastor, who said it was a better sermon than some he’d heard from Lutheran pastors. He was nice enough to spend his Friday night at Paige’s graduation; he truly is a servant.

I pray that all of her fellow graduates listened carefully to what she was saying, because it was the opening for them to true Christian freedom. I hope they’ll take that speech with them and remember it for the rest of their lives.

We praise God for blessing our daughter with a sure trust in His promises, and for blessing her with her wonderful ability to proclaim the true light that gives light to every man.


Here’s the text of her speech:

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Breaking News From Reporter: IE Canceled

The Reporter Online, the official newspaper of the LCMS, has breaking news. Issues, Etc. has been canceled. What do you mean you already knew that? It isn't news until it's in The Reporter!

There's nothing new in the article. IE was canceled for business reasons. So sorry.

They do acknowledge that somebody somewhere was unhappy with the cancellation:

Disappointment over the elimination of the program manifested itself in various ways. Numerous e-mails were sent to Strand, to BCS members, to district presidents, and others within the Synod. An online petition netted more than 7,000 signatures, including not only Lutherans but signors from other Christian denominations. On April 14, a peaceful demonstration was held outside the LCMS office building in St. Louis to protest the decision to cancel the program. Meanwhile, several district pastoral conferences or boards of directors petitioned the BCS to revisit the decision. These appeals were answered individually by the chairman of the BCS.

I hope that other LCMS Districts will continue to voice their disapproval regarding the cancellation of IE, and the way in which it was handled.

The “Old Me” is Back

The “old me” is back. There’s no place like home. I’d been working on upgrading my stolid old diction, but it seems most people liked the “old me better than the “trendy me,” the “bureaucratic me,” or the “emerging” me.

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool well catechized Lutherans for very long. Sooner or later they rise up with one mighty voice, the voice of the Gospel, to rid themselves of falsehood in their midst. I think that’s what’s about to happen on a very large scale.

I was able to meet some nice people on my journey. I met people with some really stupefying acronyms, and some other people that speak fluent bureaucratese. I also met one Lutheran pastor who speaks a mean Emerging Church dialect. But I also found that trendiness can often get in the way of the real message. Trying to make the message appealing by using the most chic words often detracts from the message itself. Trying to make the message appealing by using modern business techniques turns the message into a pre-packaged slick looking box, but once you unwrap the box, there’s nothing inside. Trying to make the message appealing à la Emerging Church turns the message into a social Gospel, full of “the love of Jesus” but lacking the means of grace, repentance, and the forgiveness of sins.

The other thing I noticed on my journey is that while contemporary trendy charlatans of all breeds, while they often talk about the Gospel, forget to preach the Gospel. They’re too busy focusing on the lingo of their particular method to actually get around to preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I don’t want to make that mistake. No amount of worldly appeal is worth forfeiting your soul, or anybody else’s.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 1 Corinthians 15:1-9

Thanks to all my friends who stood by me and led me back to the straight and narrow. I promise I’ll never stray again - I recognize the voice of my shepherd.

Becoming the Unchurch for the Sake of the Unchurched

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier is the Pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Los Alamos, NM. He presented this paper at the Small Church Conference in Monte Vista, CO in May of 2008. Thanks for sharing it, and thanks to Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller for pointing it out.

Becoming the Unchurch for the Sake of the Unchurched

Over the short span of my life, I have noticed that people tend to pick up the lingo of those with whom they associate. People tend to take in the language of the land in which they live. This tendency is no different when it comes to the church. You can tell when someone comes from a Roman Catholic background, because they refer to the Divine Service as the Mass. You can tell when someone comes from an American Evangelical background, because when they pray they repeat the following phrase over and over, “Father God, I just want to…” Likewise, you can tell when someone comes from a Missouri Synod Lutheran background, because they pray the so-called common table prayer rather than the before and after meal prayers suggested by the Blessed Reformer in the Small Catechism.

In our American context, it is easy to get caught up in slogans, programs, methods, movements, and theologies of other non-confessional groups. Like a sponge floating in a dirty sink, we are absorbing the identity of the American Evangelicals. Lately, the strange language of “unreached,” “uncommitted,” and the “unchurched” has come into common usage. We are now even confessing sins of no-mission. It used to be that when we confessed sins of commission and omission, we were covering all the bases. Now all the efforts of the church are focused upon reaching the unreached and churching the unchurched. The focus is placed upon the activities of the church. We are trying so hard to reach the unchurched that we end up turning the church into the unchurch for the sake of the unchurched. The result is that the sheep are starving because they are not being fed the Word, while the goats are getting fatter on the offered programs. All of this is done by proof texting with the so-called Great Commission. Please note that just about anything can be justified by quoting those last verses in Matthew.

In fact, the Christ Care Small Group model (which is used by some of our LCMS congregations) quotes Matthew twenty-eight as the rational behind why they exist. Ironically, they are adamant about stating that such small groups are discussion groups that are facilitated by a person who is not a teacher. Their group meetings consist of discussing what the Scripture means to each individual member. There is no teaching only discussion. Likewise, they do not baptize in these meetings. So the question must be asked, if they are not baptizing and they are not teaching, then how are they making disciples?

We hear the same logic when people say that the heart of the so-called Great Commission is sharing the Good News with others. I thought that the heart of our Lord’s words was to make disciples by baptizing and teaching. Is sharing really the same things as making disciples? Others say that they are “mission minded” and that the purpose of the church is to reach the unchurched. What does it mean to reach? Is reaching the same as baptizing or teaching? Apparently, the term “reaching” means persuading the unchurched to become churched. The best way to persuade someone to become churched is to make the church the unchurch. All of a sudden, everything has been turned upside down, rather than converting the unconverted, we are playing the game of converting the church into something that it is not.

In this way, we see that we have lost the language of conversion. We have lost the language of faith. Our concern is not unbelief, but rather church attendance. When our goal is to church the unchurched, we neglect to realize that there are unbelievers in the midst of the church. A hundred new faces, does not necessarily equate to a hundred believers. We are no longer talking about people being converted to the Christian Faith, but rather people being invited to have a relationship with Jesus.

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Rev. Zwonitzer's Book Review of The Best is Yet to Come: 7 Doors of Spiritual Growth

Pastor Rodney E. Zwonitzer, author of Testing the Claims of Church Growth, in response to the request of one of his parishioners at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Dearborn, Michigan, is writing a confessional chapter-by-chapter review of Pastor John Kieschnick's book The Best is Yet to Come: 7 Doors of Spiritual Growth. We've been granted permission to peek over his shoulder.

Rev. Kieschnick was formerly the pastor of Gloria Dei, the Houston Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod megachurch, and is now with the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF). He was also one of the original Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI) Board of Directors members. Rev. Kieschnick is the cousin of LCMS President Jerry Kieschnick.

Someone pointed out several quotes from the book to me last week. One really stood out: "But there's good news: God will accept us if, and only if, we accept his gift of grace." (pg 32) That quote ought to trigger an alarm in your head. Is something amiss in this book? I'm thinking this will be a good learning opportunity for me as Pastor Zwonitzer reviews each chapter, so I plan to follow along. I hope you will too. And now, Pastor Zwonitzer:

I've been asked to read this book by one of my members and comment, so will just share my comments here as I read in the hopes that it will bless.

Comments from the Introduction:

One notices right away that with each chapter the author quotes the Bible followed by a quote from a non-biblical author. Some of these authors (10 in all) I'm familiar with: Martin Luther, Os Guinness, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther, Mark Twain, Mother Teresa, Leo Tolstoy. Yet the rest I am not acquainted with in any involved way: Henri Nouwen, John Piper, William Barclay. So out of the lot we have only one Lutheran, one politician, two authors, a Catholic nun, and the rest non-Lutheran theologians. What heightens my suspicions for the rest of the reading already is from an old adage among pastors that by finding out what one is reading, one can very quickly approximate that person's theology. In other words, what influences a pastor is where he spends his time reading. Seems the author is in to lots of very mixed influences.

The main theme of this work is hereby revealed to be "doors of opportunity begging to be opened every day for the Christian!" (page 12) He quickly tempers misunderstanding though by stating that this is not about worldly success, but the way of faith, of the cross. We and God want more out of our lives, and we find it in Jesus. However, many disciples are not finding and opening these opportunistic doors. Some find something missing is their faith walk, others find that that it has become stale. They have settled for a "bland, lifeless form of Christianity. They sing the songs and hear the messages, but they are distracted by the cares of living." (page 14) This has all the indications of being a Church Growth type tome.

To come to the rescue of such meaningless Christianity, Kieschnick proposes to talk then about authentic "spiritual growth," or sanctification will be the main topic. He will do this by discussing seven doors of spiritual growth: witness, worship, connections with other believers, prayer, Bible study, service and giving. He emphasizes these are not techniques or ways to receive God's grace, but because we have His grace we want to know Him better. (page 14)

His diagnostic for lack of spiritual growth in many Christians is that the doors are always there and Jesus is beckoning us to open them and walk in, but for various reasons we are timid, and only at best crack the door. We are afraid of what we'll find by truly opening them. At this very point, he seems to offer what will be the major theme of the book: MAKE US MORE LIKE JESUS! "I believe God is behind every door, and he delights in us when we open those doors and walk through boldly. He stands behind every door to meet us, greet us, confront us, change us, mold us, and transform us. He wants to make us more like Jesus." (page 15)

And to do this, what is necessary? CHANGE!!! Here we go down Church Growth path. He goes on to say that these doors of opportunity will challenge our attitudes, behavior and direction, and they can be threatening. The question remains: do they challenge our Lutheran beliefs and confessions? We'll see.

All this starts to make one think that this just might be a Lutheran attempt to put the Lutheran spin on Rick Warrens' Purpose Driven Life. Kieschnick even ends this introduction with comment about receiving rewards to changing and going through these opportunistic doors. (page 17)

This is lining up to be yet another book on Sanctification, or what one preacher called: Third Base Ministry. If the spiritual life of a Christian is compared to running the baseball bases, then home plate would be the Law, first base is Gospel, second is Faith and third is Sanctification. I'll speculate right now that Kieschnick is a third base pastor. Lutheran pastors want their sheep to run the bases, not stopping on third!

So much for now. Next installment we'll look at Chapter One: Jesus Behind Every Door.

Blessings in Risen Christ!

Pastor

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This Isn’t Working Out

My attempts to reform my diction to a more popular “winsome” form so far have been a limited failure. I thought everyone would love “trendy contemporary terminology,” or “trendy contemporary bureaucratic terminology,” but so far, it’s had limited appeal. Maybe Lutherans just aren’t “mission minded” enough. Here are some of the comments I’ve received with less-than-subtle hints regarding my efforts:

You can say what I wish I could say, so please go back to your usual speak.

The best feature of your posts was (is) the lack of "trendy contemporary terminology ."

Better stick with your old, honest self, Scott!:-)

...I don't think you'll ever "make it" in the contemporary Lutheran bureaucratic world, thanks be to God...

"I've searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees."
- G.K. Chesterton

You're not gonna get a statue if you keep this up.

Are you starting to see a trend? I don’t give up easily though. Must be the German in me. Most people call this behavior “stubborn.” I prefer to think of it as “tenacious” or “dauntless.” So I’m going to give it one more shot. If this doesn’t work, I guess it’ll be back to the original, rather dull, “me.” So here goes:

Terms You Must Use - Emergent Style

Here’s the list of trendy contemporary Emerging Church terms, followed by my first effort at incorporating them in a meaningful way. Please add any Emergent terms you can think of in the comments section. Also, you might consider voting on whether you prefer the “new” me or the “old” me. I’m a little conflicted at this point. Any comments will be greatly appreciated.


Ancient
Authentic
Experiential
God’s future
Imagine
Incarnate
Inclusive
Institutional Church
Intentional
Irenic
Kingdom
Metanarrative
Missional
Sacred space


Dear Reader,

I really need to get back to a more ancient form of worship, something more experiential and authentic. I need to be more intentional, imagining a more inclusive and irenic Church in a spirit of love, a metanarrative that encompasses a more missional stance, and that incarnates God’s future and His kingdom in the present, recapturing the sacred space the institutional Church has forgotten. What do you think?

A Pastoral View of "Ablaze!"

I’m pleased to present this essay on Ablaze!^®, written by Pastor Jack Kirk. He serves a dual parish in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Bremen, Kansas. Pastor Kirk was one of the people who first alerted me to some of the serious undercurrents of the Church Growth Movement many years ago, such as the strange world of “paradigm shift” and “Total Quality Management.” I was so impressed with what he had to say that I’ve kept in sporadic email contact ever since.

Pastor Kirk is uniquely qualified to discuss the Church Growth Movement (CGM) and Ablaze!^® He’s had extensive training in CGM during his twenty years as a Chaplain in the Navy, and as he mentions, “I lived it.” He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.

He originally wrote his essay for his own use to explain to others why he didn’t support Ablaze!^®, and was kind enough to share it with me, and now with you. Here it is:


I applaud the evangelistic and missionary fervor of our Synodical President (SP).

I believe that the Holy Spirit grows the Church through the faithful preaching and teaching of the Gospel and the right administration of the Sacraments¹ Christ gave to the Church.

However as a Lutheran I cannot in clear conscience endorse the “Ablaze movement,” and that for the following reasons:

First and foremost, I believe Ablaze to be a Lutheran synthesis of Church Growth Movement (CGM). It is my belief that Ablaze, in so far as it is CGM, synthesizes the “power of God unto salvation” with the tools of psychology, sociology, and the pragmatic of business and industry and essentially makes the success of the Gospel dependent on the behavioral disciplines. I understand and believe this because I have formal training in CGM. In my experience, the Church Growth Movement is not Lutheran, it is not theologically neutral, and it is not benign. CGM is deeply enmeshed in/with evangelical theology, its “theology” is behavioral pragmatic, and it effectively shifts the central doctrine of the Christian faith from Justification by Grace to The Great Commission,² anticipates the outcome in numerical growth, and equates its expected numerical growth with God’s blessing.

(I note that the question is never about the preaching and teaching, doctrine and practice; the question is always, “How many.” Growth is not the Mission of the church! Growth is the business of God the Holy Ghost! Acts 2:47)

The Mission of the Church is to confess and deliver the Gospel of the Justification of the sinner by the Incarnation, shed blood and Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ to a lost and dying world. CGM brings a perilous dual message that secondary issues (structural) are primary and primary issues (doctrinal) are secondary.³ Are we in danger of having an entire generation of pastors committed to clever programming instead of Scripture? I fear that very real probability. I lived it in the Navy/Marine Corps community.

The Church has
always
been rooted and grounded in the Gospel of Christ and Justification by Grace. Some years ago, The Report of the Church Growth Study Committee of the LCMS correctly stated, “The Church has never preached the sociological message of increasing numbers, the psychology of human behavior, or the application of business principles of profit and loss.”⁴ Judging from the financial difficulties of synod, the Ablaze financing initiatives, the removal of source funding for missionaries, the necessity of restructuring, and disunity over Ablaze’s CGM theology, Ablaze is betraying just such an application!

The fact of the matter is that CGM is the utilization of modern marketing techniques by the church, in order to draw and hold large numbers of people by meeting their “felt needs.” The church then “converts” them, and “disciples" them through the use of modern organizational management [Total Quality Management-style] techniques, so that they can effect "change" in the community, and the world.⁵ This is a new paradigm and is not centered in theology, but rather it is focused on structure, organization, and the transition from an institutionally based church to a mission-driven church.”⁶ This is the Church Growth paradigm. (I note that the Synod is currently moving to restructuring.) Ablaze is born of its parent, CGM, and I have every reason to believe that the kinship is very close.

Simply stated for me, the Lutheran paradigm has always been that the Holy Ghost works faith in the heart through the faithful preaching and teaching of the Gospel of Christ, the message is Justification by grace!⁷ Where the Gospel is taught in its truth and purity and the Sacraments are rightly administered, there you will find the Church!

The Holy Ghost works faith in the heart. Faith in Christ comes by hearing the Word not by human reason or strength, to include the use of modern marketing techniques by the church, nor through the use of modern organizational management; but the Holy Ghost calls, gathers enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.⁸

Correctly understood, paradigm is a completely different way of thinking.⁹ Ablaze has all the marks of the CGM paradigm. By definition related paradigms in the same sphere cannot co-exist. My paradigm is Lutheran, not CGM. CGM and Lutheran cannot stand side by side by definition. A synthesis of the two into Ablaze will by definition yield something far different than either of the two original paradigms. For me the term mutation comes to mind.

This is why I believe that it is folly to attempt to “take the best out of this one, that one or the other thing, and somehow put them all together and you will end up with a “cracker jack” program or approach, or in this case, a “movement.” I can’t find anything wrong with Scripture’s approach of Baptism, the faithful preaching and teaching of the Gospel, and the same faithful confession of Christ by Christians in their daily lives. The Spirit motivates by the Gospel, not by “motivational movements.”

By definition, related paradigms in the same sphere cannot co-exist: this is a prime principle of CGM and one of the first things taught me by Win Arn from Fuller. Ablaze is a Lutheran-CGM synthesis. The parts designed for a Ford do not fit or work well on a Toyota. The clearest paradigm statement illustrating my example is from the SP himself: “This is not your grandfather’s church.”

I do not believe that numerical growth or bodies-in-the-pew are of themselves indicative of the blessing of the Spirit, nor do I believe it ought to be the goal. I believe where the Gospel is rightly preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered
there
you will find the Church. I believe the business of the church to be the faithful confession of the incarnate Son of God, not growth in numbers. The Word will accomplish that for which God sent it. Those added to the number are the Spirit’s business, and that may or may not be where “the big numbers” are. If it were otherwise, then I must perhaps recognize and give due credit to God for His expansion efforts in the LDS church and the Moslem world, both of which are growing in great numbers.

I do not endorse the elimination of direct LCMS funding of missionaries,¹⁰ to include salary, benefits and support, while at the same time placing so much of LCMS emphasis and resource to consultants.¹¹ J. David Schmidt & Associates, employed before the 2004 Convention, is a CGM consultant.¹² SP continues to use CGM consultants; the economic cost is high. And doesn’t the LCMS have current and severe financial difficulty? Has LCMS no “experts” of its own?

I believe it improper to direct funding efforts toward the Ablaze agenda, extending synodical bureaucracy to support it, while canceling radio evangelism and leaving missionaries to be trained as fund-raisers who must go out to raise their own funds.

CGM is primarily about breaking down any and all “barriers” to said numerical growth. LCMS is now clearly within the Ablaze-CGM paradigm. CGM proponents state that “Pure Doctrine” is the biggest obstacle to growth, that being defined as growth in numbers.¹³ Judging from the bringing of the “Purpose Driven Life/Church” into Lutheran pulpits and churches, the “approved” unionism of Dr. Benke at Yankee Stadium and even his 2008 “greeting” to the Pope, the rampant open communion across synod, the contemporary worship and hymnody, the cancellation of Issues, Etc, and much more, I am left to conclude that the breaking down of the barrier of pure doctrine is well under way.

I do not endorse the “marginalize, isolate, eliminate” approach to raised Doctrinal issues and to the conservative pastors and laymen who hold fast the Doctrine. Saying, as does the SP, that the synod is united and it is just a difference in practice betrays an agenda that defines solid Lutherans as “barriers” to numerical growth which must be broken down and eliminated.

I believe that importing the language of CGM also brings with the terminology the theology of CGM, its definitions and concepts. They come together. To think they do not is to not understand a paradigm shift. As Lutherans we believe in verbal inspiration of Scripture. The early church fathers, the Athanasian fathers, the Reformers, obviously understood this. They applied Scriptural terms and definitions and were careful to apply Scriptural doctrine where they “coined” a descriptive, such as “Trinity.” The words and terms chosen were of sound doctrine, and there was no compromise or synthesis.

In example, outreach is not the same as evangelism. Outreach refers to anything and everything that is employed to “attract” people into a particular church. The more colloquial term to describe outreach is “advertising.” Outreach focuses not on Law and Gospel but on the “felt needs of people” as defined by people themselves and determined through the tool of a “needs assessment.” Outreach can be viewed as the church’s response to the results of the needs assessment. Using the terms outreach and evangelism interchangeably does not make them interchangeable.

Ablaze does not appear to me to focus on discipleship. Wasn’t the context and direction of Jesus to make disciples? In 2007 Bill Hybels confirmed through one of his “surveys” that his “outreach” technique was yielding large attendances but was not making disciples.¹⁴ Some years prior George Barna documented that churches were growing by the rearranging of the saints.¹⁵ Evangelicals are simply playing 'musical churches,' moving around to more exciting, larger churches.¹⁶ CGM was not reaching the un-churched as stated. If Ablaze applies this method it is most reasonable to presume the results will be the same.

The Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI) is a major connector to Ablaze. The primary objective of PLI is to assist pastors in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod to "Connect People to Jesus" in a more dynamic and effective manner. I thought this was the Gospel! Is Ablaze supposed to enhance the Marks of the Church by “sharing the Gospel” whatever that may mean and however one may define it? Does the “power of God unto salvation” really require such assistance? There is a significant implication here: The Gospel needs our help! What the LCMS has been doing all this time must not be dynamic or effective. I will not argue the sinner’s shrinking from confession of Christ in daily life, but for our church to even hint at what the above statement from PLI says frightens me to the core.

The formal CGM training(s) I attended were taught to Navy chaplains of 18 different denominations. Hey, everybody can use this, we were told. From a pragmatic standpoint CGM “looked” good . . . until examined. Understanding paradigms and paradigm shifts was basic. “Red star clusters” for me went off all over! If one wanted success, we were taught, meaning have people come to services, package the message properly and the people will come. Since chaplains from across the denominational span could all package as required, the prime emphasis would shift from content to package, from faithful preaching and teaching to externals. The message wasn’t anywhere as significant as the people and their needs, and the church meeting those needs by breaking down any barriers to those needs. My question is: Where does Scripture ever speak of/like this?

CGM Working presuppositions:

1. Barriers basically are anything that hinders attendance (Growth).
2. People will not attend or return if they “feel” uncomfortable or unwelcome.
Break down and deliberately remove actual/overt and perceived target audience barriers to growth.
Of the many areas to examine, the following sample areas are not immune, especially in light of “the purity of doctrine” comment:

a. Preaching the Law and sin, thereby making people uncomfortable.
b. Closed Communion
c. Prohibitions against women’s/lay involvement
d. Pastoral authority
e. Liturgical worship (vice “emotion” oriented and entertaining worship)
f. Lack of serendipitous character
g. Having conditions on membership and involvement vice full privilege from day one.
h. Thorough doctrinal training/instruction classes for membership

Does Ablaze do this? Does the philosophy of Ablaze allow for this? Well, because Ablaze is a Lutheran synthesis of CGM, the following are things I have heard from reliable sources, and things that I know. You tell me.

How about the church in Omaha that has the girls serve coffee during service? How about the church in California whose adult classes leading to communicant membership are two hours on an afternoon? What about the churches that have broken down the barrier against women and now there is a woman at the Nevada church who regularly assists at the distribution of the Sacrament? And what about the churches that now have women elders? How about Yankee Stadium? How about pastors who participate in unionistic and syncretistic services in their locales through ministerial associations, and that after publication of “Its OK To Pray,” and others who officiate jointly at weddings and funerals with pastors with whom there is no fellowship? What about the endorsement of the philosophy and theology of Rick Warren in his “Purpose Driven” series? What about the Lutheran Witness even publishing a letter to the Witness suggesting that what we ought to do is read Rick Warren with Lutheran presuppositions? What about Kansas District offering a “Purpose Driven” brief at the professional workers seminar in Manhattan? What about the 2002 graduate from Seward, a DCE, who was not placed because she was conservative and confessional and not an “Ablaze-type” advocate? What about the DCE who would not be placed because, she was told, she was not liberal enough, meaning she didn’t buy into Ablaze or CGM and held fast the profession of the faith without wavering! What about the foreign missionary whose missionary education was received at Saddleback? Why is synod not addressing doctrinal issues but is instead fully intent on organizational restructuring? I could go on.

Here is a statement from CGM: “This new paradigm is not centered in theology, but rather it is focused on structure, organization, and the transition from an institutionally based church to a mission-driven church.”¹⁷

Rick Warren describes this paradigm shift as the shift to a “21st Century church,” and he describes pastors as "change agents."

Now, you tell me! PLI most strongly tends to the “change agent” statement according to its web page. The LCMS did not adopt this synthesized CGM approach in convention; it was leader initiated. You can follow the change pattern of Ablaze in John Kotter’s article in Harvard Business Review entitled, Why Transformation Efforts Fail, and read Peter Drucker and Rick Warren. Does the 50 days Ablaze sound a little like Rick Warren’s 40 days in Purpose Driven? Structure and organization is right now under review; will it be “directed” to so facilitate Ablaze? I can read a map.

I agree with Klemet Preus. The Lutheran paradigm rests solely in the Gospel, Justification, the Sacraments. CGM paradigm rests in pragmatism based on the tools of psychology, sociology, business and industry. Synthesize them and you “come up with a very different animal.” It appears to me it is called Ablaze in the LCMS.

I am not against our church body. I am not, I repeat not, against evangelism. Dating back to my confirmation in 1963 evangelism issues have always been there, and on the “front burner.” There have been “programs” to encourage “telling others” every few years or so. I expect there will be more in the future. The encouragement is always needed, to all of us. But I am contra the use of CGM. If Ablaze is CGM I firmly believe it will continue to bring with it a theology and practice that is Calvinist/Reformed, American evangelical, pragmatic, sociological, business-like, and very foreign to faithful confessional Lutheranism. I lived it; I have seen it done; I have felt its sting. If Ablaze is CGM I cannot in good conscience participate.

My comments contained herein are not polished for publication, they are pastoral. I pray they help someone. I wonder: I read that SP, in response to a question on the future possibility of women pastors in LCMS, told the Ohio District Convention "You are not free to preach or teach publicly that Synod is wrong on any given issue." He wanted us to be sure we understand that, so he repeated it. Slowly. No one may publicly preach or teach that Synod is wrong on any issue, ever.”¹⁸ Any issue?


Some of my resources aside from the training I received:

The Scriptures

The writings of organizational management master Dr. W. Edwards Deming, leader in Total Quality Management.

Dr. Peter F. Drucker, a recognized and leading authority in the area of management in business and industry. I have a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and I have read Dr. Drucker in the past, often. He is very influential in CGM.

Dr. Robert Klenck’s work, “What’s Wrong With The 21st Century Church. Dr. Robert Klenck, an orthopaedic surgeon dismissed from Saddleback for his stand on Scripture vice CGM. His paper is on line.

Bob Buford of The Leadership Network. (Bob Buford, the founding chairman of the secular Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, also founded the "Christian" Leadership Network, which helps pastors and church leaders build "successful churches" based on Drucker's management policies and philosophy.)

The websites of Willow Creek and Saddleback College.

Thomas Kuhn,
The Structure of Change


Rick Warren

Dr. Ralph H. Elliott, senior pastor of the North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago in the Christian Century, August 1981.

The Theology of the Church Growth Movement: An Evaluation of Kent Hunter's Confessions by Klemet Preus.

Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church?
Chicago: Moody Press, 1992

The Report of the Church Growth Study Committee of the LCMS

Minutes, Board of Directors, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod August 2003, November 2006

Paradigm Shift in the Church by Christian A. Schwarz

Confessions of a Church Growth Enthusiast: An Evangelical, Confessional Lutheran Takes a Hard Look at the Church Growth Movement. By Kent Hunter. Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1997.

PLI website

Ablaze website



Endnotes


1. II Timothy 4, The Augsburg Confession
2. The Theology of the Church Growth Movement: An Evaluation of Kent Hunter's Confessions by Klemet Preus.
3. Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? Chicago: Moody, 1992
4. The Report of the Church Growth Study Committee of the LCMS
5. What’s Wrong with the 21st Century Church?, Synopsis Part 3, by Dr. Robert Klenck
6. Leadership Network, Bob Buford
7. Romans 1, Ephesians 2
8. The Theology of the Church Growth Movement: An Evaluation of Kent Hunter's Confessions by Klemet Preus, Logia, Epiphany 2001, Vol. X
9. Thomas Kuhn,
The Structure of Change

10. Minutes, Board of Directors, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, November, 2006
11.
The LCMS-Its Past and Future
by Rev. Wallace Schulz
12. Minutes, Board of Directors, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, August, 2003
13. Paradigm Shift in the Church by Christian A. Schwarz
14. Willow Creek website
15. George Barna, Marketing the Church, Navpress, Colorado Springs, CO
16. William Hull, Power Religion, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1992
17. The Leadership Network
18.http://schreibenvonschreiber.blogspot.com/2006/06/saturday-morning-at-ohio-convention.html

A Sneak Preview of the New Issues, Etc.

PirateChristianRadio.com has provided a luscious tour of Host Todd Wilken and Producer Jeff Schwarz' new radio digs in Collinsville, IL, plus a glance at an article written by Pastor Wilken for their upcoming journal. I can taste it already!

Here is the concluding paragraph to Pastor Wilken's article, "Playing the Pharisee Card":

Those who play the Pharisee Card hope to dismiss Christians like you and me as ultra-conservative doctrinal purists with no love for the lost. But like a fifth Ace up the sleeve, the Pharisee Card is a cheat. Those who play it ignore the real errors of the real Pharisees. They wrongly apply the name to those who stand in the way of false teaching, compromising change and a watered-down gospel. In the end, The Pharisee Card amounts to nothing more than name-calling. And, like the Race or Gender Cards are in politics, in the Church, the Pharisee Card is always the sign of a losing hand.