Pope John the Malefactor is crowing about a $100,000 gift, possibly more coming from an ELS donor. His leadership caused the sect to cut $80,000 from the budget as congregations left with their property and benevolence donations. The permanent damage is difficult to assess.
Pope John will be remembered for creating a new Lutheran denomination by his determined application of the Left Foot of Fellowship.
The ELS and WELS have a nifty solution for the problems they create. Instead of facing their own doctrinal incompetence, they invent new rules. The ELS solution is "No more LCMS colloquy pastors!"
That was the problem. Pastor Rolf Preus came into the ELS (where his father and uncle both served) with the same concept of the congregation as many ELS pastors held. But lo, the Wisconsin sect wanted to impose its Fuller Seminary papism on the ELS through Moldstad and Schmeling. Those two lapdogs immediately began telling the clergy what they would believe, teach, and confess. Years later the lapdogs finessed a vote. Some clergy objected, so Pope John took action.
Norm Teigen confessed to being doctrinally fatigued. Doctrinal debates should be welcomed, not shunned. The trouble is, the papal-Lutheran leaders--like other apostates--cannot tolerate any dissent. Clergy should be able to discuss polity without threats, defenestrations, shunning, excommunication. Pope John walked up to one pastor and said, "Do not take communion with the rest of us." (I am paraphrasing.) Exactly what convention, resolution, or confessional document gave Pope John the Malefactor the power to do a drive-by excommunication? The clergy should be ashamed of themselves for tolerating his oppressive yoke.
Lutherans should look at the Episcopalian Church to see what lies ahead of them if they continue their cowed, subservient attitude toward the hierarchy.
Here is a note about church history. The Lutheran Church was vital and growing when there were dozens of little groups based on ethnic ties to Europe. The more they merged to form large synods, the more they engaged in navel-gazing and power plays. ELCA is the largest and worst.
The Little Sect on the Prairie has been known as the Little Norwegians because they refused to take part in the 1917 merger of Norwegian groups, a merger based on doctrinal compromise and ambiguity. The big Norwegians eventually merged into ELCA.
"Error loves ambiguity." Krauth.
