For those of you not familiar with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the latest greatest evangelism program is named Ablaze!. The mission statement statement is as follows;
LCMS World Mission Purpose Statement Praying to the Lord of the Harvest, LCMS World Mission, in collaboration with its North American and worldwide partners, will share the Good News of Jesus with 100 million unreached or uncommitted people by the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
Now, our beloved Synod has set up a counter so that every time one of us tells the the good news to one of the "unchurched", "unreached", or "uncommitted" we can log into the official Ablaze! website http://www.lcms.org/pages/default.asp?NavID=5247 and tell everyone about how we are bringing people to Jesus. The Rev. Dr. Norman Nagel would ask at this juncture "who's running the verbs" but that is another post. My priest had a delightful sermon a few weeks ago where he included this little "Nagelism".
Now, less than a month ago, after the Abaze! program had been active for two or three years, the little counter that was set up that registers how many people we tell about Jesus was only at about 116,000. Today that same counter sits 1,532,839. Is it just me or is something seem a little odd here?
I think a couple of things could be going on here. First, maybe the counter was broken to start with. Maybe people tried to register how they brought people to Jesus but were unable properly log in and record their stories. Second, maybe folks are just now telling others how they can be brought to Jesus and are just now recording their stories. This would be nice if we have that particular ability. A third option is that maybe the counter is broke and is showing an incorrect count. I sincerely hope this is not the case as such inflated numbers would only serve to puff us up. But I'm sure everything is on the level here and I'm sure there is a good explanation for this. I'm sure...
1 comment:
looks like our synods are accomplishing the same thing in opposite ways. The ELCA is setting itself Ablaze, making a holocust, and burning family, future and house to the ground, but there is no interest in NUMBERS, the hundreds of thousands they are forcing to become refugees and exiles.
But the root cause is the same; pride. The ELCA wants to glory in political and social victories, while the LCMS wants to glory in evangelical and growth success. What ever happened to counting the cost, warnings of building up treasures on earth instead of heaven, and throwing pearls before swine. They set themselves up as god, playing the part of the merciful father running out to meet the prodigal, falling all over themselves to offer cheap grace, though the prodigal has yet to see his depravity, let alone realize his need for repentance. What will those, who fancy themselves proactive, forgiving, and accepting fathers, find on their return? At best an empty house. At worst, God have mercy, that the wolves have been there and their land is littered with the corpses of their faithful, elder sons. And the unrepentant prodigal filling the house with more like himself. In blind pride they will declare themselves persecuted prophets and declare the Lord is doing a New Thing.
Forgive my sarcasm/ bitterness. I hate it in myself right now.
Not only am I having to abide this destructon of my church family, (Though, Praise God, not The Body of Christ) by these Bishops, but I am in a FIGHT TO THE DEATH to rescue my children, barely adults (18 and 20), from the clutches of these false prophets. And it is A DIFFICULT TIME in the child/parent relationship to try to convince them they are being misled.
But my daughters have been marked by the Cross of Christ in Baptism, and GIVEN THE TRUE GOSPEL. I must trust He can guard His own and that no one can pluck them out of His hand. But I will weep and pray for them for them daily until their eyes are opened.
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