In a church I served, one of the pillars of the congregation stopped by my office just before services to tell me he'd been born again.

You've been what? I asked. 

Yes, he said, last week I visited my brother-in-law's church, the Running River of Life Tabernacle, and I don't know what it was, but something happened and I'm born again.

You can't be born again, I said, you're a Lutheran. You are the chairman of the board of trustees. He was brimming with joy, but I was sulking. Why? 

Because spiritual renewal is wonderful as long as it occurs within acceptable, usually mainline, channels and does not threaten my understanding of God.