Posted on 07/21/2005 2:29:28 PM PDT by sionnsar
A commenter, "Phred," on a post below referred to a response to The Purpose-Driven Life, called "The Fad-Driven Church." Not being familiar with this, I did a search via Google and came up with this essay by Todd Wilken, who I gather is writing from a conservative Lutheran prespective. I have to say that Mr. Wilken makes some good points about "fads" in the Church:
The Church has something better than any fad. The time has come. Ears are itching. Ears are turning. The Church must take up Paul's charge. Now more than ever the Church must preach the Word and ignore the fads.Whatever one may think about The Purpose-Driven Life, I think Todd Wilken makes some good points in his essay, and I'd say it is worth reading, as Anglicans, unfortunately, are not immune to the worship of "relevance" as an idol.
Many in the fad-driven church believe that preaching the Word is impractical: "If just preaching the Word worked, people would be lining up at the door." Others in the fad- driven church believe that preaching the Word is outdated: "It may have worked 50 years ago, but not today." Others believe that preaching the word is just too simple, Rick Warren has said as much:We've all heard speakers claim, "If you'll pray more, preach the word; and be dedicated; then your church will grow." Well, that's just not true. I can show you thousands of churches where pastors are doctrinally sound; they love the Lord; they're committed and spirit-filled and yet their churches are dying on the vine.This is nonsense. How can a church that is preaching the Word, of God be "dying on the vine?" Paul tells the Church to preach the Word not because it is the most practical way, or the most current way, or the simplest way. Paul tells us to preach the Word because it is the only way. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God. God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified; to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
G.K. Chesterton said, "The Church always seems to be behind the times, when it is really beyond the times; it is waiting till the last fad shall have seen its last summer. It keeps the key of a permanent virtue." That key is the Gospel, the message of the forgiveness of sins purchased at the Cross, with the blood of Jesus.
That key is the Gospel proclaimed to every sinner every Sunday... Yes, this Gospel is popularly believed to be impractical, outdated, and simplistic. But it isn't. Rather, this Gospel is "power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
Yessss.
LakeWood church was Joel's fathers church and it is not a fad!
I understand you have a problem with his style, but this is a Christian man doing God's work!
Why don't you fly down and actually sit in sometime.
I swear I don't get you LakeWood bashers??
Check out Joel's website and tell me what the problem is, please.
http://www.joelosteen.com/site/PageServer
Yessssssssss!
False prophets never survive. The Anglican church will be dead in the mext 10 years.
Learn to think the way that God thinks, set your mind for success, overcome negative habits, and experience increase in every area of your life.
I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, who/what/where/why/how Lakewood Churck and Joel Osteen are, or any of the rest -- just in case you were directing this to me and not Todd Wilken, who isn't reading this unless he reads FR, and I have no idea about one way or another about that because I don't know who Todd Wilken is either.
bttt
Yes, he is. I happen to know Todd quite well; we were classmates at seminary. He is a fellow pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Todd Wilken hosts an excellent radio/Internet program called "Issues, Etc." Here are the links:
Very good article by Mr. Wilken. (My cousin married a Wilken ... nice man.)
A few years ago, I stopped in a Catholic bookstore run by a good friend, a deacon in our parish in Tulsa. I'd left the kids in the car, and just ran in to pay for a book I'd asked him to order. As he was ringing up, I said, "If reading made you perfect, I'd be it!" and he said, "Yeah, me too!" As I went out, he called, "See you 'round the Big House!" and I waved. That was the last time I saw him; he died of a brain aneurism the following week, 52 years old.
What's the point? The point is that, as a compulsive book-buyer (Lee would call me when he had something he thought I'd want, even if I'd hadn't asked!) I understand the lure of spiritual fads. It's the idea that somehow, there's a magic formula that will make us what we should be, what we honestly want to be ... something other than the daily drudgery of loving the unloveable, forgiving the unforgiveable, taking up the Cross daily and walking to our death with Christ. Well, there's not.
Thank you sir! I will have to try to listen to his webcast sometime.
The Fad driven stuff is something that concerns me in the LCMS. It appears to be one of the more polarizing things going on right now.
Hm. Okay. I still don't know who Joel Osteen is, but that's okay.
Here in Texas, in Houston to be exact, his church (Lakewood) bought out the former Compac Center where the Houston Rockets use to play. It seats 16,000 at a time and is now the largest church in America. They just had their Grand Opening a week or so ago. A
t the expense of being torn apart by the FR groupies of Lakewood or another Word-of-Faith church, I will tell you that his ministry focuses on self improvement and obtaining material riches. Their is very, very little scripture mentioned and has often been called "fluff". He was on Larry King recently and denied Jesus being the only way to heaven and then had to apologize for it. There is a string going on now (there always is) pertaining to his church. It is the one about a church packing them in.
My note to you was to explain why someone would immediately jump on you about Rick Warren or Joel Osteen even when you did not mention him - the followers are VERY dedicated andtheir is always a string going on about it.
Denying Christ on national TV is God's work?
Interesting.
Pastor Joel is doeing God's work. You should be ashamed!
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