This is the typical modus operandi of church growth, and the progressives they will eschew doctrine because it is supposedly divisive. But when their innovations prove divisive the attitude is ‘can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs.’ Rick Warren is a pastor who ought to be grieved at the hint of causing division in his church, rather than dismissive of it. He seems to take the attitude of a CEO writing off a division of a corporation because it is unprofitable. The division the purpose drive life causes is when its introduced to people who want Biblical truth not psycho babble in God’s name.

What’s been forgotten in most of these attempts to “grow” the church is that the only real growth comes from the Father drawing people to His Son, the working of faith by the Spirit in each person, and Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Quite literally, it’s all about the Word and power – an the only way that works is through that “divisive” Word of God:
“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, [4] and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, [5] that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Cor. 2:3-5″
Without the presence and working of the Godhead, all you’ve got is a bunch of people in a building that looks like a church.
And no amoung of guitar riffs, sound, and lighting can change that.

Thanks to Cyberbrethren

This is a great blog in response to a Wall Street Journal article from Rev. Paul McCain. He does a beautiful job in his opening of pointing to faults on both sides of the isle when it comes to the whole church growth vs. traditional approaches and the cha

Hey, wait a minute! Who stuck Rick Warren’s face on my picture?
http://blog.higherthings.org/wcwirla/article/1621.html
McCain: Yes, yes, we are all very amused and impressed Pastor Cwirla, but apparently not as much as you are!!!

There is another side to this discussion, as there is another side to every discussion. There are people who seem to make it their express purpose to exclude newcomers, impede growth, and maintain the institutional status quo of the congregation (or synod) at all costs. I’m not talking about doctrine or liturgical practice here. I’m talking about manmade ordinances and ceremonies that are established for the sake of good order and love of neighbor.
Our Lutheran Confessions note that in such matters, “it is proper for the Christian assembly to keep such ordinances for the sake of love and peace, to be obedient to the bishops and parish ministers in such matters, and to observe the regulations in such a way that one does not give offense to another and so that there may be no disorder or unbecoming conduct in the church.”
Yes, there are heavy-handed pastors. And there are also stubborn, obstructionist members whose sole interest is to say “no” to anything they perceive as “new,” even if it is older than they are. As Robert Farrar Capon astutely observed, “There are people who leave the church because they hate the priest, and there are those who join the church in order to hate the priest.”
McCain: Yes, this is true. The focus of the WSJ was on pastors, not the members of the parish. There is plenty of sin to go around, that’s for sure. Thank God there is even more grace and mercy to go around!

Many congregations have lurking within them (cue the theme from “Jaws”) Clergy Killers. At my District Convention I met a pastor who had been chewed up and spit out by someone, who it seemed, was determined to ruin this pastor’s reputation and ministry. Still, what seems even worse are those situations where the flock (the members) are abandoned or are driven away by their shepherd (their pastor). I hadn’t been in the pastoral ministry for too long when someone gave me a copy of a book entitled “They Smell Like Sheep.” Although written with a different demonination and style of ministry in mind, I was still reminded that pastors are not CEO’s or equippers or enablers. The pastor is a shepherd who cares for the flock to which God has called him. He sees his flock not as giving units or demographic targets but as people who are in need of God’s Word – Law and Gospel – and God’s Sacraments. We can trust the Holy Spirit to grow God’s church. As undershepherds to the Chief Shepherd, what a blessing it would be if we pastors would just concentrate on smelling like the sheep we serve.

Hey, I have a question not a comment about the WSJ article. I too posted this on a website–did you get permission to do this or did you simply copy it (as I did)? I’m a bit unsure about what is legally right and I think you probably have a better idea.
McCain: The article, as quoted, appears on a web site that had no restrictions on its ability to be printed out. So, I assume that meant it was “fair game” for copying here. But perhaps you and I should not do that, so perhaps it is best just to link to the article, which I will do now. Perhaps you might want to take down your entire verbatim quote of the whole article if you wish, and replace that as well with a link.
It is a good article though. It is an interesting larger question: are there times that the church needs to change? How do you bring that change about?
But hey–you are bringing out a new hymnal. I don’t need to lecture the choir.
Thanks.

Making changes to “grow” a church organization strictly for number’s sake leads to all sorts of error and away from God, and is not what church is about -
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23″
One could almost include “didn’t we get large numbers of people to come to our worship services?” in the list of “supposedly” good works which has no merit in God’s eyes if it was done outside of Him and His Word.
Changing a what a congregation does or how it works should only happen because they believe in faith that God is leading them along a path in agreement with Scriptures, Barring a catastrophe like fire or flood, it should be done slowly. It should always happen with complete transparency, working to make sure none of the faithful are excluded or left behind.

I think the Rev. McCain is right that this kind of problem is not the problem of one side or another. I’ve been considering this a lot lately, after a church problem I lived through. There has to be some wisdom to bring to bear on the situation. The gradual change that McCain mentions is one thing that should be taken into consideration by people on both sides.
I think that it is also a warning sign when the change in question becomes the entire focus of the congregation. Some get worried, not even because they don’t like what is being changed to, but because they don’t want all church life they depend on to disappear to serve some new program, whether “missional” or “confessional.”

My only question is this. Are we now at the point in our society where we believe everything that is written in the WSJ? I believe we as Christ followers are called to a higher discernment than that.
As a participant in the above mentioned article, I would invite any of you here to attend a full conference where we talk about change in the church and you can receive the full context of the conference and not snippets from an obviously biased reporter trying to sell newspapers.
McCain: Thanks for your response, but I believe it is far too facile a reaction to the article. One might observe that CTI is obviously biased and just trying to sell its programs and products. The CTI web site does not seem to have a single word on it explaining your confession of the faith, your doctrine, your theology, not even a word about Jesus Christ on it. I do however read a lot of “buzz words” and hype that strikes me as not too much different from any secular corporation. I believe that merely assuming the Gospel is one step short of denying it. I’ve spent years watching “big programs” come and go, fad upon fad, one following the other. A Christian life built on fads and emotions and programs is a hollow one. I would love to see CTI promote a vigorous Reformation ministry to the church at large, where Christ and Him crucified are front and center and prominently displayed. But instead I find at CTI’s web site a lot of marketing hype. That’s fairly typical of what concerns so many of us about these kinds of “movements.” I am NOT suggesting you are not a follower of Jesus, but I am suggesting that there is a profound mixing here of medium and message. Long on style and short on substance, etc.