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| Mark Schroeder wrote for TELL, the WELS Church Growth publication, long ago. Later, he wanted to distance himself from Church and Change, but look where he is today, promoting the WLC program (down below). |
Copied from the Church and Change websty verbatim, with some comments added:
The Secret History of Church and Change: No Names Given
In 1995, a group of about 10-12 men [GJ - who?] gathered at Wisconsin Lutheran College to discuss current methods of sharing Jesus which were commonly being used in the WELS at that time. Many at the first meeting felt that those methods of sharing Jesus were not “keeping up with” the rate of change in society. The message of the Bible was not, therefore, penetrating society very well. [GJ - Cuz the Word cannot do it without Schwaermer help.]
In 1998 two men [GJ - who?] who had attended the first meeting planned a Church and Change conference in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The next year there was a second conference in Green Bay. About 20 people attended each year.
[GJ - Witte and Parlow, doubtless, the rotten apples in Appleton. Parlow is still in Appleton, with Mark Freier as a coach/consultant. Witte is head of the Asian seminary - another co-inky-dink of the Scroeder administration.]
In May 2001, WELS Parish Services applied for and received a Forward in Christ grant to conduct a three-year pilot program to address the issues surfaced by the previous two Church and Change conferences. The three-year pilot program was designed to be a grassroots gathering of individuals who were pioneering new innovative methods of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with a changing culture. [GJ - You suckers paid to get Church and Change going, so they could network for synod, Thrivent, and foundation grants. No WELS funding, eh?]
Three annual conferences were planned and held beginning in 2001. At the first conference, approximately 50 WELS members attended. The attendance grew to 150 in the second year and 180 in the third year. By the third year, the attendees included more than just individuals who were actively pioneering new and innovative methods for sharing Jesus. Many in attendance wanted to learn about how to better share the gospel with the changing culture in which they served. In addition to the three annual conferences a variety of other workshops and gatherings were held dealing with specific ministry issues such as leadership, worship, and women’s ministry.
At the final conference of the three-year pilot, held in November 2003, the conference participants enthusiastically encouraged the organizers to continue Church and Change. A steering committee was subsequently formed from among the participants to address the future direction of Church and Change.
From November 2003 until the present the steering committee has met and drafted a proposal that addresses the future of Church and Change.
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Church and Change Board of Directors - Ski bailed out officially, but was on the board earlier.
| Pastor Ron Ash | Chairman |
| Jeff Davis | Vice Chairman |
| Barry Spencer | Treasurer |
| Sarah Owens | Secretary |
| Pastor John Huebner | |
| Brian Arthur Lampe |
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This was linked from the WELS.net websty, so once again, Church and Change is directly linked to the WELS site while WELS leaders lie and say, "Church and Change? We don't have no Church and Change anymore!" Church and Change came from WLC and Jeff Gunn is on the college board of directors.
Now all the congregations of WELS have Church and Change live-streamed to them, if they pay up:
Center for Christian Leadership
Leadership Conference 2013
WLC's Second Annual Leadership Conference
LEADLIVE
- Sponsored by the Center for Christian Leadership at Wisconsin Lutheran College, in cooperation with the Commission on Congregational Counseling of the WELS.
- Saturday, May 4, 2013, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in the Raabe Theatre of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, and simulcast via the internet to participating congregations.
- Opening presentation by Dr. Richard Gurgel of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary on the theological rationale for sharing best practices in ministry.
- Five sessions - each with 30 minutes of presentation, 25 minutes of application to their congregation's ministry by participants, and the introduction of a book to assist leaders in follow-through. The five sessions will be:
- DEVELOPING LEADERS by St. Andrew in Middleton, Wisconsin. Pastor Randy Hunter and a key lay leader.
- CREATING MISSION MINDEDNESS by Immanuel in Greenville, Wisconsin. Pastor David Scharf and two key lay leaders.
- SMALL GROUP MINISTRY by St. Paul in Muskego, Wisconsin. Pastor Peter Panitzke and a key staff leader.
- RECRUITING AND ENGAGING VOLUNTEERSby Hope in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Pastor Jason Ewart and a key lay leader.
- GETTING THINGS DONE by Faith in Sharpsburg, GA. Pastor Jonathan Schroeder and a key lay leader.
- The goal of the conference is to provide church leaders practical examples and tools that they can adapt to their own ministry context in the most user-friendly format possible. A secondary goal is to demonstrate the ability of technology to facilitate leadership development and ministry enhancement for the future.
- Congregations participating via simulcast will be provided step-by-step technological instructions and a test date in advance.
- Cost: $60 per "live" participant at the college, which includes continental breakfast and lunch; $150 per congregation participating via simulcast with as many leaders as possible.
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GJ - Notice the quotation marks around live in the original announcement - they are not mine. Normally quotation marks are used to mean so-called, so does this imply the participants are dead until filled with Enthusiasm by Church and Change?
