ABLAZE:God's mission or Man's promotion

[SPALATIN]

There has been a big stir on Lutherquest.org this past week regarding the LC-MS mission known as ABLAZE. This is the mission that my wife and I are applying to be part of right now.

The controversy is that ABLAZE is a theologically flawed program. That it promotes synergy in sharing the Gospel with 100,000,000 people by 2017, the 500th anniversary of the 95 theses. I am interested in hearing from those who are part of the LC-MS and what they think of this movement.

[LutherNut]

There has been a big stir on Lutherquest.org this past week regarding the LC-MS mission known as ABLAZE. This is the mission that my wife and I are applying to be part of right now.

The controversy is that ABLAZE is a theologically flawed program. That it promotes synergy in sharing the Gospel with 100,000,000 people by 2017, the 500th anniversary of the 95 theses. I am interested in hearing from those who are part of the LC-MS and what they think of this movement.

In what way does it promote synergy???:confused:

One of the things that we are all called to do is share the Good News with others. It is a fruit of our faith. That's not synergism. That's simply third use of the Law.


Jay:scratch:

[Melethiel]

Ablaze is silly. Especially the way I'm seeing it carried out.

[SPALATIN]

In what way does it promote synergy???:confused:

One of the things that we are all called to do is share the Good News with others. It is a fruit of our faith. That's not synergism. That's simply third use of the Law.


Jay:scratch:


Synergistic in its undertaking. Putting up a toteboard to keep count of how many we share it with. Making us keep goals and so forth.

[LutherNut]

Synergistic in its undertaking. Putting up a toteboard to keep count of how many we share it with. Making us keep goals and so forth.

I still don't see how that is synergism.
I see it as motivation.


Jay:)

[LutherNut]

Ablaze is silly. Especially the way I'm seeing it carried out.

Could you elaborate?


Jay:)

[Melethiel]

Could you elaborate?


Jay:)
Apart from the whole "million souls in X years" making it seem like an evanjelly campaign to fill the seats? And the obsession with numbers?

If what I've seen in local churches is any indicator, Ablaze goes hand in hand with making the service "seeker friendly". Guess what that means.

[KEPLER]

It seems to me that if we followed the example of the Church in the first three centuries, we could measure results after that fact by 'counting' how many people are off the streets: church growth through showing the poor and oppressed that God loves them...

Or perhaps I'm just one of those social justice do-gooder freaks...

Scott, I don't think you should feel bad just becasue your desire to go into missions service happens to coincide with a program which some people question. Go forth and do what you feel you are being called to do, and don't look back. The people who are so fast to criticize ablaze end up paralyzing those people who genuinely feel called, and in that sense the critics are erring heinously.

Perhaps ablaze is a flawed copy of some "evanjelly" program (I'm not saying it is or isn't), but I don't see any other suggestions coming from the critics. They usually respond by saying something like, "Whatever happened to just preaching the Gospel"? Simply "preaching the Gospel" is what we're called to do, no matter what. In other words, it's the baseline. And ONLY the baseline.

[SPALATIN]

It seems to me that if we followed the example of the Church in the first three centuries, we could measure results after that fact by 'counting' how many people are off the streets: church growth through showing the poor and oppressed that God loves them...

Or perhaps I'm just one of those social justice do-gooder freaks...

Scott, I don't think you should feel bad just becasue your desire to go into missions service happens to coincide with a program which some people question. Go forth and do what you feel you are being called to do, and don't look back. The people who are so fast to criticize ablaze end up paralyzing those people who genuinely feel called, and in that sense the critics are erring heinously.

Perhaps ablaze is a flawed copy of some "evanjelly" program (I'm not saying it is or isn't), but I don't see any other suggestions coming from the critics. They usually respond by saying something like, "Whatever happened to just preaching the Gospel"? Simply "preaching the Gospel" is what we're called to do, no matter what. In other words, it's the baseline. And ONLY the baseline.

Now that is what I call good advice. I think that what people are confusing is that the Synod is just as much a man-made institution as is any program it endorses. Christ however, endorsed the Church and told us to Go forth.

[FriarTuck]

I read somewhere recently that the church was one of the few organizations that was created specifically for people who DON'T belong to it.

[LutherNut]

Apart from the whole "million souls in X years" making it seem like an evanjelly campaign to fill the seats? And the obsession with numbers?

ABLAZE is not a "church growth" campaign as some people seem to believe. It is not a conversion campaign, either. It is a spread the Gospel campaign. Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, "So faith comesfrom hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." The Word is a Means of Grace. The Holy Spirit gives faith and works faith through the Word. ABLAZE is merely a Word spreading thing.

If what I've seen in local churches is any indicator, Ablaze goes hand in hand with making the service "seeker friendly". Guess what that means.

This is precisely why some have given it the monicker "Crash and Burn."



Jay:)

[BigNorsk]

What I've read of Ablaze, it seems fine to me as an outreach.

It isn't aimed at current LCMS members, if a congregation uses it for current members I think they are misusing it.

I would hope that most current members would find missionary outreach programs to be milk when they are desiring a bit of meat with their worship.

Marv

[KEPLER]

Scott,

Apropos of your post, may I suggest this blog entry?: http://incarnatusest.blogspot.com/2005/11/you-talk-too-much.html

Kepler