# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S450 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 450 ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT derstanding of Christian vocation (Evangelism and Church Growth, CTCR 1987; pp. 42-43); and Wuereas, The Church Growth Movement often promotes wor- ship forms and practices which focus the worshipper on his feel- ings and experiences as evidence of God’s grace rather than on the objective and gracious work of God delivering His forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake through Word and Sacrament, as found, for example, in the historic liturgy of the Lutheran Church (Evange- lism and Church Growth, CTCR 1987; pp. 41-42); therefore be it Resolved, That circuit and District pastoral conferences, Dis- trict staffs, and congregations of Synod be urged to study the CTCR report Evangelism and Church Growth, the report from The Standing Committee for Pastoral Ministry titled Toward a Theo- logical Basis, Understanding and Use of Chureh Growth Princi- ples in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, as well as other re- sources which critically examine the Church Growth Movement, e.g., “Church Growth” As Mission Paradigm: A Lutheran Assess- ment by Kurt Marquart, and Dining with the Devil: The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity by Os Guiness; and be it further Resolved, That congregations, Districts and entities of the Synod which are using Church Growth materials and practices ex- amine them carefully and use them with proper discernment; and be it further Resolved, That The Lutheran Witness, Reporter and other pub- lications of the Synod report on the errors in some Church Growth materials and practices and also in fairness show how some mate- rials and practices may be used in the service of the Gospel and the advancement of the Kingdom; and be it further Resolved, That the President of the Synod consider appointing a committee to study and address how the truth of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions might be clearly proclaimed in light of the Church Growth Movement and the influences of American cul- ture and pluralism; and be it finally Resolved. That the findings of this committee. if appointed, be shared with all of the Synod as soon as possible. 2001 Convention Workbook Notes 1. Toward a Theological Basis, Understanding and Use of Church Growth Principles in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Prepared by The Church Growth Strategy Task Force of the Standing Committee for Pastoral Ministry (St. Louis: Board for Higher Education Services, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 1991); Evangelism and Church Growth (St. Louis: The Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 1987. 2. C. Peter Wagner, Win Arn, and Elmer Towns, eds., “A Glos- sary of Church Growth Terms,” Church Growth: State of the Art (Wheaton, IIl.: Tyndale, 1986), p. 284. 3. Kent R. Hunter, Foundations for Church Growth (New Haven, Mo.: Leader Publishing Company, 1983), p. 23. 4. Hunter, Fourtdations, p. 29. . 5. Ken Sidey, “Church Growth Fine Tunes Its Formulas,” Christianity Today (June 24, 1991), p. 45. 6. Donald McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, third edi- tion, revised and edited by C. Peter Wagner, (Grand Rapids: Eerd- mans Publishinig Company, 1990). 7. Sidey, p. 46. 8. C. Peter Wagner, Your Church Can Grow (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1976), p. 58. 9. Carl F. George, Prepare Your Church for the Future (Tarry- town, NY: F. H. Revell, 1991), p. 41. 10. Kent R. Hunter and David L. Bahn, Confessions of a Church Growth Enthusiast (Lima, Ohio: Fairway Press, | 997). 11. C.F.W. Walther, The Proper Form of an Evanglical Lutheran Congregation Independent of the State, translated by J.T. Mueller (St. Louis: Concordia Pulishing House, Reprinted 1987), Thesis 65, p. 185-186. 12. Carl Gaertner, The Means of Grace in an Effective Church Program in Volume III of The Abiding Word (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1960), p. 415.