Now there are surely those who think that I believe no new idea is a good one. They are wrong. I use Instagram and blog and utilize technology more than most. But I do not attach to these any hope that they will make the Gospel or my ministry relevant or successful. I am fully convinced that God and His Spirit make things happen and that our role is to faithfully proclaim the Word so that God can do what He has promised. I think there are plenty of good ideas out there but the ideas are not our savior, they will not rescue a moribund church, and they will not transform us from faithful minority into mighty majority. Confidence that God will work through the means of grace and courage to be faithful to the Word of the Lord -- these will be our hope, our future, and our victory if only we will manifest such confidence.
There is a certain naivete among many in the progressive wing of most all churches. We saw it in the LCMS in the 1970s and our conflict, we see it in Rome and its less than fruitful Synod on the Family. This naivete seems to devalue the means of grace and God's work through them and to expect that culture, society, trend, and what people think in the moment are the places we need to focus to reinvigorate the church and her mission. There is no down side in this way of thinking. The progressives have made their peace with change and have rested their hope for the future in that change. Everything is awesome if we just get along, celebrate our differences, flaunt the values of diversity, and adapt to what is happening and what is being thought right now.
The theme song of the progressives in every church seems to be the same: Everything is awesome!
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