1) FELLOWSHIP IS NATURAL - quote
Let our fellowship be “of spirit.” There is in man an instinctive and wholesome craving for the company of his kind, especially in sorrows, in the face of danger, or in the performance of a task which would overawe him if he stood alone. The tendency to crawl away into solitude, to lick one’s wounds or brood over one’s troubles, is often in evidence, but it is an abnormal, morbid tendency, the opposite of that spirit of Christian fellowship which Paul is advocating. But here a word of caution is needed and is supplied by the apostle. Not indiscriminate fellowship, not association merely for its own sake! That may result in a companionship which will do more harm than good, dragging down instead of lifting up.

(Commenting on Philippians 2:1-4)
SOURCE: Reim, Edmund. The Strength of Christian Unity, p. 18
Jahn, Curtis (Editor). Essays on Church Fellowship, 1996

2) IS LEAVING A CHURCH SINFUL?
If indeed your cousin clearly or adequately knows what confessional Lutherans believe and teach regarding the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, justification by grace and faith alone, and a number of other primary doctrines -- and then willfully and knowingly chooses a church that officially and consistently rejects such truths, then, yes, sin is involved. The same would be true if someone knowingly and willfully left any fellowship that is orthodox in its doctrine and practice to join a group that is heterodox in its doctrine and practice. It is a sin against our gracious Lord and his truth, not against a church body.

SOURCE: September 12, 2006. WELS Q & A – Is It A Sin To Leave WELS?

COMMENT: So church fellowship is a blessed gift, when it rests on the truth and spirit of God. But when a person breaks that fellowship for external reasons (doesn't like the pastor, isn't enjoying the worship services, etc.) and joins a church that teaches and/or practices things counter to God's Word, then this person's love is for themselves and not for God and his truth.

NEW TOPIC!!

1) COMING OUT WEEK - devotion
This week is “Coming Out” week on campus. What that means is that people are encouraged to step forward and admit that they have homosexual desires and that they are gay or lesbian or something else. As part of this the QueerCulturalCenter sets up a door and people are encouraged to step through and publicly proclaim what they are inwardly—they are even given free t-shirts so that all may know what they are.

Christians have a “Coming Out” day that happens every week. For many Christians that day happens to be Sunday. It is the time when they come out and publicly admit what they are inwardly. We stand together and we admit that we have sinned and failed and even chosen to do wrong—we admit it to each other and we admit it to God. And we also come out and together we hear God’s Word as he announces his forgiveness in Jesus, his love for us, his mercy that is new every morning.

SOURCE: Pastor J. Coming Out On Campus
October 19, 2006. WELS Campus Ministry Devotion – Colossians 3:16,17

COMMENT: Some sadly unite in their sin, boasting in their supposed freedom to do that which is morally wrong and forbidden by God. What we experience as Church Fellowship is also a unified spirit regarding sin. We together recognize our failings and rebellions. We stand united, not in rebellion, but in its admission, and our joint recognition of need for a savior. Then we revel in God's forgiveness and extend it to one another, finding new strength to take up anew the spiritual struggle within us.

2) DIDCACHE ON CHURCH FELLOWSHIP - quote
If anyone should come and teach you all these things that have just been mentioned above, welcome him. But if the teacher himself goes astray and teaches a different teaching that undermines all this, do not listen to him. However, if his teaching contributes to righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, welcome him as you would the Lord.

SOURCE: Didache – Holmes, Michael W. The Apostolic Fathers, #11, p 263
cited by: Siggelkow, Alan H. Pastoral Leadership from the Perspective of Church History, p 165
Summer 2004. WLQ Vol. 101, No. 3

COMMENT: The Didache (The Teaching of the Apostles), one of the earliest writings of the Church Fathers, repeats St. John's thoughts about false teachers... we are not to listen to them or welcome them. If we are going to pray with other Christians, worship with them, commune with them, or work jointly for the kingdom of God, we better make sure that we base our fellowship on the Word of God. To join with someone who promotes false teaching is to encourage them in their wrong-doing and to give a false impression to others that false teachings are simply different 'opinions' and what you teach isn't as important as getting along.

NEW TOPIC

SHARING CHURCH BUILDING WITH OTHER DENOMINATIONS - Question and Answer
Q: Recently over the summer, I attended two weddings at a WELS church in my area. However, the services were not WELS services. I believe they were Seventh-Day Adventists, although I could be mistaken. Apparently the denomination that held the services there was borrowing the church property for worship until they could build a building for themselves. Isn’t this a direct violation of the WELS church fellowship policy?

A: The sharing of facilities--through a rental agreement or otherwise--is not normally understood to be a joint expression of Christian fellowship or doctrinal fellowship. Having different groups use the same building at different times is not in and of itself a joint activity. I see no “direct violation” of biblical fellowship principles in what you have described.

If there are circumstances that give you concern, it is your privilege and responsibility to speak with members of the congregations involved. Seek clarifications. Offer encouragements and express concerns lovingly and helpfully.

It is conceivable that allowing a group to use our facilities might be seen in the community as a blurring of doctrinal confessions. We do not desire to further the ministry of any group that is persistent in error. But sometimes offense might be taken even when none is given. And sometimes such an action may also give the community the message that we are willing to serve our neighbor in their need and no thought of compromising any Bible principle enters the picture. These are things the local congregation has to discuss with their understanding of the local circumstances.

May 5, 2005. WELS Q & A

1) WESLEY'S CONVERSION
In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society on Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

SOURCE: Wesley, John (founder of Methodism). His diary – May 1738
quoted by: Nitz, H.C. By the Way – Luther Accused of Blasphemy
October 23, 1960. The Northwestern Lutheran. Vol. 47, Number 22, p.346

2) WESLEY'S PRAGMATIC ELASTICITY
Though Wesley always wanted to remain within the Anglican Church, he took it upon himself to rewrite the Book of Common Prayer for the Methodists in America. In his revised version he left out 15 of the Thirty-nine Articles and dropped the Athanasian Creed (p 187). He allowed women to preach because of his feeling “that the call of God, known in inward feelings and outward success, overshadows other considerations” (p 175). Wesley was a pragmatist who was willing to adjust his theology and practice to suit what would work best for his Methodist revivals (p 160). He was willing to agree to disagree concerning “less essential doctrines” concerning which Christians had disagreed for centuries (p 172). He rejected Calvinism for Arminianism. Tomkins [Stephen Tomkins, author of John Wesley: A Biography] notes, “Grace—salvation as an unearned gift from God—was very important, but there was another side to the coin. Surely striving to do good helped sinners to receive the gift and it was essential if they were to hold on to it” (p 171).

SOURCE: Brenner, John M. p 317
Fall 2005. Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly –
Reviewers’ Desk, Vol. 102, No. 4

Comment: Wesley heard the same Gospel that Luther found in God's Word, but he characterized its working as a feeling inside himself. His focus on feelings and good works set him apart from Luther, who recognized that it is God's Word and Sacraments that give us the assurance of heaven - and not our feelings or the good things that we do. The feelings / works are the fruit of faith, not its source.

SUB-TOPIC...

1) INFANT BAPTISM
What does The United Methodist Church believe about baptism?
• Baptism is a sign of belonging to the family of God.
• We are not saved by baptism. It is a symbol of salvation, not the act.
• Methodists practice infant baptism because there is scriptural evidence that entire households, including children, were baptized, as recorded in the book of Acts. (Acts 16:15 )
• A person only needs to be baptized once, even if the baptism occurs as an infant.
• A person who was baptized as an infant and wishes to be baptized as a believer may do so by being baptized as a reaffirmation of what his/her parents declared years before.
• Baptism is one of the two sacraments of the United Methodist Church. The other is Holy Communion. A sacrament is a special command of the Lord, using outward signs (water or bread and wine) to convey the grace of God.
• Asbury offers a focused retreat, called Faith Steps, for all older children (baptized or not baptized) to help prepare them to receive Christ as Savior. This retreat culminates in New Life Sunday in which the retreat participants are invited to make a public profession of faith. Historically, the term used for this focused time of learning and commitment is called confirmation.

SOURCE: http://www.asburyumc.ws/about_us/beliefs/baptism.htm
Official Website of Asbury United Methodist Church in Madison, Alabama

2) LUTHER'S BLASPHEMY
I was utterly ashamed. How have I esteemed this book [Luther’s commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians] only because I heard it so commended by others: or, at best, because I had read some excellent sentences occasionally quoted from it! But what shall I say, now I judge for myself, now I see with my own eyes?… How blasphemously does he speak of good works and of the law of God – constantly coupling the law with sin, death, or the devil; and teaching that Christ delivers us from them all alike. Whereas it can no more be proved by Scripture that Christ delivers us from the law of God than that he delivers us from holiness or from heaven.

SOURCE: Wesley, John (founder of Methodism). His diary – May 1738
quoted by: Nitz, H.C. By the Way – Luther Accused of Blasphemy
October 23, 1960. The Northwestern Lutheran. Vol. 47, Number 22, p.346

COMMENTS: yet to come. As for now, know that I disagree with Wesley's position (and the contradictions of Methodism)