Was Our Staff Infection There?

Willow Creek Community Church said, Experience the Contagious Church:

Staff Infection Leads to Contagion.

This raging infection is at least seven years old. Has anyone contacted the Center for Disease Control?

Swim in the Polluted Waters of Willow Creek

Pay to become contagious! Here's how:

Buy a Gift Copy for Larry Oh! and Pastor Jeff

Did Pastor Jeff buy this or was it bought with synodical offering money?

This Gunn for Hire.

Relax, o partisans of contagion. Pastor Jeff knows that this revolution will face determined opposition, not to mention puns and some laughter. He wrote about his pioneering efforts in Forward in Contagion, FIC.

They have a training team? Is Jay Leno writing this stuff?

Why Are These People Grinning?

Members and pastors: Do you see how the WELS leaders are thumbing their noses at you? More than that, they are pushing their thumbs into your eye sockets. Church Growth did not die a natural death when Pilgrim Community Church (Paul Kuske) deflated, when Crossroads Community Church (Rick Miller, Mark Freier, Kelly Voigt) turned honestly non-Lutheran. The Long March through the synod continues.

Area High Schools versus Prep Schools

Ichabod is being read in all the synods, so I am getting questions. Today I was asked about the difference between a prep school and an area Lutheran high school.

I think WELS made a big mistake in its failure to make a number of area high schools into prep schools. That would have provided a more unified system and a way of short-circuiting the us vs. them funding that will arise when an area school must be financially supported by individuals and congregations. For example, when WELS stupidly bought the failed Prairie du Chien school from the Roman Catholics, they moved the New Ulm prep school away from a dense population of members to an area where the WELS membership was not so dense. The first thing the New Ulm area did was create an area Lutheran high school, taking away the most likely students who would have attended Prairie. Besides, there is an aversion to having high school children so far from home. Prairie was merged into Northwestern Prep to become Luther Prep, but Prairie built a $500,000 music building during the shut-down. Pure genius.

One question involved the cost per student of a prep school education (synod subsidy). My brothers are CPAs, but that gene bounced right past me. I would have to look over all the reports, assume they are accure, and interpret them. That is not my forte, but more like my pianissimo.

I can talk about a prep school education since our son went to Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

Missouri once had a prep school system. Long ago, the Lutheran leaders knew that a proper college and seminary education would require a good high school. The European model provided students with a balance of all the disciplines with an emphasis on languages. Children learn languages easily and adults seldom have the time, energy, or inclination to learn them later. WELS and Missouri had similar schools but Missouri closed them down in the name of saving money and spending it on missions. Sound familiar? That is the argument in WELS today. Parts of the LCA had prep schools. My college, Augustana (sic), had a prep school.

As I understand it, Missouri started at the sixth grade. They would take a little boy off the farm and turn him into a Latin and Greek scholar. In Walther's day, all dogmatics lectures at St. Louis were delivered in Latin, with the questions and answers in Latin. That was really necessary because the good doctrinal books were in Latin. Much of Luther was still in Latin. And doctrinal discussions always used Latin terms. If the faculty is trained at Fuller, all one needs to do is wave arms in the air and pray, "Balla-llaala-sissa-bommba-achi-wawa."

A modern prep school means that a boy in the 9th grade will enter college with ability in German and Latin, able to start Greek and Hebrew. The college will do the Greek and Hebrew work so the young man can start seminary and follow Lenski and the other good commentaries, instead of reading Calvin and Handfuls on Purpose.

The LCA liberals argued against the value of Greek and Hebrew. They could not see the value of those ancient languages. As a result, the pastors are universally ignorant.

According to my reader, Martin Luther College faculty members could not tell the difference between area Lutheran high graduates and prep graduates. They soon will. Most of the MLC students come from prep schools. Once the preps are gone, MLC will become the Nursing Home on the Hill, next to the statue of Herman the German. "Used to be a college, I hear tell." MLC bought a nursing home to create an instant dorm. God has a way of recycling property.

Area high schools vary in their faculties and size. I have never visited one and have nothing against them. Their local nature makes them vulnerable to student population problems, finances, and quality of faculty. Teaching at a prep is an honor. Michigan Lutheran Seminary had an outstanding faculty when our son was there. The school had a great spirit. Dorms for young men and women meant that distant families could have their children stay there. We could not get our son home on weekends at first, when we lived only 25 miles away. He enjoyed MLS that much.

An education begins with the parents. I tutored Martin in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He helped upper classmen with their Latin, got passed out of intro Latin, and later aced the German test (his mother's contribution). Being good in languages was a plus at MLS, not an object of scorn. The school provided an atmosphere of learning. Math was tough. Science was challenging. Piano was required! The school constantly encouraged church vocations. No one was obliged to sign on for a hitch, but they were encouraged to consider it. Area Lutheran high schools, for some reason, do not have that motivating force.

Many Missouri and WELS pastors will say that they entered the ministry as a direct result of their prep school experience. At MLS pastors were respected and their work was considered the highest possible calling. Young women headed far away to Martin Luther College because they wanted to teach in parochial schools when a local state school was easier to attend and promised more opportunity. Not surprisingly, prep schools also promoted marriage and a distinct possibility of very bright but near-sighted kids in the parsonage.

I enjoyed going to MLS with my wife. The atmosphere was great. The school had a wonderful spirit. Dinners meant that all the parents wore red sweaters, since they were Cardinals. The choirs would show off their great talent in music, each group separated by levels of ability. Our son was in the group nicknamed The Bonehead Chorus for their lack of singing ability. Nevertheless, we always got goose-flesh when the choir walked in singing, "God Word in Our Great Heritage" in perfect harmony, a cappella.

The MLS campus was very impressive at the time. The preps got money so that everything was attractive and well maintained. Tuition was a bite out of our tiny budget but not impossible. Another prep school concept is that no one is sent away for lack of funds. Some impoverished students are very bright. The Pieper boys were the sons of a poor widow who had a housekeeper's job at Northwestern College.

I see the prep system as a natural outgrowth of the value placed on the efficacy of the Word in the old days. WELS and Missouri were dirt poor in previous years but rich in their Lutheran heritage. MLS was once called the Plywood Palace because of its lack of funds. Now WELS and Missouri are incredibly rich in funds (really - more on that later) but impoverished in doctrine.

I am not in favor of prep schools as institutions. People worship every brick in some buildings because of their sentimental value. They often become white-washed sepulchres full of dead men's bones, like the soaring quasi-gothic structures of the Episcopal Church. If WELS faces its doctrinal problems and begins with a multi-year study of the Book of Concord, the money and school situation will straighten itself out. The Michiganders need to fight for doctrine rather than the school.

Northwestern College made the same mistake with a feeble effort to save the school. The faculty did not have the spine to make a doctrinal argument. They weakly argued that keeping two colleges was cheaper. That was like telling a murderer that bullets cost money. Church Growth was out to snuff NWC and everyone knew it. Silence was golden and NWC merged into DMLC to become MLC. (Another Northwestern name silenced.)

The first thing the new college did was water down the curriculum of the pre-seminary students by having one track for all students, whether future teachers or future pastors. And for once, the future pastors were taught by women. No wonder they are so sensitive about which coffee beans are used in their Church Growth cafes!

How To Be Contagious - Like Fuller Seminary

After flopping with Pilgrim Community Church in Columbus (sponsored by Paul Kuske) and Crossroads Community Church in South Lyon (three WELS pastors - Rick Miller, Mark Freier, Kelly Voigt - supported by DP Mueller), WELS has once again proven that its learning curve is flat.

WELS has blessed Phoenix with CrossWalk (get it? Cross Walk). I do not think they ever call it CrossWalk Lutheran Church. I looked up their website and had serious trouble finding what denomination it was. More on that slop later.

Phoenix already has a huge Church Growth Stealth Lutheran Congregation - Community of Joy, ELCA. Thousands of members. The senior pastor has a D.Min from Fuller, just like Lawrence Otto Olson, nicknamed Larry O! and Our Staff Infection. He has been contagious for years.

Back to this whole issue of being contagious. I read Jeff's column in FIC. Some of you public school graduates are wondering, "What is FIC?" The magazine used to be The Northwestern Lutheran, a fine name with a decided handicap - the name Lutheran. Boo hiss. How can we grow with Lutheran in our magazine title? And Northwestern? The reality is - half of WELS is in Wisconsin, the old Northwestern Territory, more or less. The other half of WELS is in Michigan and Minnesota, with pockets in Nebraska, which has the population of Rhode Island. WELS is no more a national denomination than is the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

Now that I have explained FIC, it seems entirely appropriate that a magazine ashamed of being Lutheran would feature a congregation ashamed of being Lutheran. That is one definition of contagious.

As soon as I saw Jeff's article in the June issue of FIC, I thought, "This smells like the latest craze at Fuller Seminary." That beehive is so predictable that I can ignore the place for 10 years and still have my Dreck-Detector (TM) go off. I googled "contagious Fuller Seminary" and got this link:

I Think I Am Going To Be Sick!

Good old Bill Hybels, WELS' favorite theologian and pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, is selling a kit on how to be contagious. They sell the kit at the Fuller Seminary bookstore, a sure sign of approval. The WELS leaders send their sheep-like shepherds to Willow Creek to be trained in being non-denominational.

So Jeff is contagious and has a contagious church. His article will amaze anyone interested in exploring the vanity of Church Growth wannabees. His authority is a book on Primal Leadership, Yale School of Management. Some emotions are contagious, he declares with authority.

Jeff, if I stand in front of an audience and begin throwing up, some people will gag and toss their cookies. If I laugh, they will laugh. If I repent of my criticism of Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek, dabbing my red-rimmed eyes, some women will start crying and say, "I think he means it, poor boy." I did not have to go to Yale University to learn that much.

Primal Church Growth Tactics

Why do these people love everything except the Word of God? Why do they trust every secular fad but reject the Means of Grace?

Now I will explain why I call a pastor Jeff and do not even use his last name. That takes us to the latest Church Growth experiment, CrossWalk. You must have a strong stomach to view their website:

WELS Double Cross.

Jeff is the pastor there. If we look up "Jeff's Weekly Hello," we find out he has a last name, Gunn, a wife, and five children whose names all begin with "A." But there is no indication of his denomination. The message about Virginia Tech is Reformed in nature, quoting the favorite bad translation of the unionists, the NIV. People are invited to church Sunday for "a great message" (no sermon?) and "terrific music from Jonathan" (no worship?). There are many commands to pray, which the Reformed love. Prayer is their one and only Means of Grace.

CrossWalk is going to have a vision event (another Fuller and corporate management tool) to envision the next 15 years. Most of us do not know what our cell phone carrier will be in the next six months, but these vision things are handy ways to manipulate while seeming to listen. "Fritz, you want to return to the historic liturgy and the Book of Concord? Does anyone have an idea that won't scare away our prospects? Yes, Velvet, how is that dance job working out? Great. You want to teaching dancing at CrossWalk? What a vision!"

The statement above is satire, purely for the amusement of our pan-Lutheran readership.

In reality, the website is another sad, sick manifestation of the Fuller plague.

KJV 2 Timothy 2:17 And their word will eat as doth a canker (transliteration - gangrene, also translated as cancer).

I once visited a woman with gangrene. She was very close to losing her leg. She was so contagious that I had to visit her wearing a gown and a mask.

Look at how contagious Fuller and Willow Creek have been. The WELS magazine ejected Lutheran from its title. The hymnal does not have Lutheran in its name. Hymns in CW are often the old Baptist warblers that TLH never allowed. Doctrinal verses have been cut out of Lutheran hymns. Feminists have reworded the Creeds. Sheep-like shepherds are told to appear as Reformed as possible to embrace the vast hordes trembling to join WELS as soon as Luther's doctrine is neutered. What a disgrace to Christianity.

Wednesday - Why Men Hate Going to Church. (My answer - Because sensitive Church Growth fanatics have sissified church with pandering messages and VBS ditties passed off as hymns.)

Hiking Group - I cannot imagine Christ dying on the cross to set up hiking groups.

Guitar workshop - Ditto.

Online giving - "God has a claim on you!" Rubric: "We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and Amex."

And you thought I was being cruel about the vision workshop? Reality is far more piercing than anything I could make up.

Food - "Join us early and bring an appetite! Our CrossWalk Cafe serves bagels, donuts, fruit and our own special blend of coffee (we use only "fair-trade" coffee beans!) or fresh juice. The CrossWalk Café opens at 8:30 a.m. on Sundays. We'd love to get to know you!" (I am glad they are sensitive about fair-trade coffee.)

Common Questions - "We're friendly! We strive to create a warm, friendly environment for you. We won't surprise you by asking you to stand up or stick out in any way. We also won't ask you to give us any money. We want you to be able to check us out without feeling singled out. No pressure!

We're relevant! Our messages are meant to apply to your everyday life. They're practical and filled with comfort. We believe that everyone needs to know what God expects of us, and what God offers us in his love. If you come to CrossWalk, you'll hear just what God has to say about this - straight from his Word, the Bible! With our upbeat music and our fun and creative worship, you'll go home encouraged and equipped each week!"

Willow Creek pioneered "We won't ask you for money." But the website asks for online giving. Hmm.

I finally found a definite affiliation with WELS on the Common Questions page. The cafe is mentioned on TWO pages and affiliation on only one.

This contagious leadership and contagious church baloney are supposed to be new and revolutionary, but this is the same old Dreck served up 20 years ago and failing everywhere. C. Peter Wagner, the Pentecostal Baptist, admitted that Church Growth principles do not work.

The Yale School of Management will not help. Perhaps this might:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,
but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:8-12

Mueller versus Brenner - You Read It Here First

I am risking my reputation for calling elections (Crumley, Kieschnick, Kieschnick re-election, Dan Preus out) to predict the WELS Synodical President results.

The California DP has been mentioned as a candidate backed by the Church and Change people. That would go against the unwritten rule, that the First VP (Mueller) gets the job. Secondly, no one has more clout than President-in-Waiting Mueller. He has been the power behind the throne for years. He was able to get voted back in as VP after being voted out, a phenomenon worthy of a dissertation (Ph.D., abnormal psychology, Wayne State University).

The recent letter sent by the seminary faculty, opposing the close of MLS, tells me that Brenner definitely has a base there. Church Growth people in WELS want to close the schools. For instance, closing Martin Luther College would make Wisconsin Luther College (far more liberal) the only WELS college. WLC has plenty of Schwan money. MLC is flat busted, due to synod support money being withdrawn by the synod. The budget has been manipulated against the schools for more than 20 years.

Brenner has the added advantage of being from Michigan, where his father Slick served as a pastor and opponent of the liberals. The original John Brenner--three John Brenners in a row, almost as confusing as Constantius, Constantine, Constantia, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans--was synodical president during the most trying times, the Great Depression. He was also known as the scourge of the liberals. He detected the changes in Missouri before anyone else noticed. SP Brenner has always been held up as the ultimate bogeyman by the Church Growth fanatics, a singular honor in the eyes of many.

John Brenner was a popular dean of men at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, before he was called to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. For those of you who do not know WELS history, MLS was a seminary. When the Wisconsin Synod merged with Michigan, the seminary was turned into a prep school, with the promise of synodical support, the funds now being yanked away to support the hobbies of the Church Growth leaders.

Brenner is one of the rare men who would gain support from the Michigan District (grew up there, taught there) and from the Jurassic Age of WELS, when his grandfather was synodical president on a shoestring budget. Therefore, he would have plenty of support in the State of Wisconsin, where WELS pastors and members are densest.

Mueller would necessarily line up the bureaucratic support, the Church and Change people, the ordination of women advocates, and the extensive network of Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek alumni. Many Wisconsinites want MLS closed as a matter of principle (Wisconsin versus Michigan, really puerile). The dissenters would gladly cut out the very people who will support Mueller to avoid those cuts.

Right now I would give the odds to Brenner to win, but only if his people watch the ballot counting. The DMLC-NWC merger vote was flipped, a narrow defeat turned into a narrow victory. Retiring SP Gurgel then went to the disctrict conventions and promised, to win the second (necessary) district vote, that it would cost only $8 million. The Michigan District bought this line from Gurgel - "If it goes over $8 million, we will pull the plug." Sure. Some say the cost-saving merger cost $30 million. Do the Michiganders remember being goosed the last time? You bet.

Brenner should win a honest vote. The disgust toward the Mueller-Gurgel reign is so great that Wayne should not be able to stop the urge to throw the rascals out.

Immune to the message given by the disastrous drop in mission offerings, WELS has instituted an emergency pledge drive to close the gap between the $28 million given the previous year and the current $20 million mission offering. One might expect news releases urging people to die faster so the Grim Reapers (Planned Giving Counselors, aka Tetzels) could harvest faster. "The fields are white for the harvest," as Don McGavran told a slack-jawed Lawrence Otto Olson. "You must harvest with a sickle, not a pen-knife."

Two Cities - St. Augustine

Two Cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, “Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.”

City of God

WELS Room, Board, Tuition

Luther Prep, Watertown, is just under $8,000 per year.

Martin Luther College is about $14,000 per year.

Four years of prep and four years of college will cost $88,000. Some scholarships and grants are available, so results may vary.

Seminary room, board, and tuition is about $11,000 per year. A new pastor will have spent $121,000 on his education, minus grants and scholarships.

These enormous increases happened because the management experts at headquarters ordered a 30% increase over a span of two years. For some reason, 600 students were lost to the educational system from this self-destructive act. That alarming loss decreased the tuition income, which precipitated the collapse now called the WELS crisis.

Not to worry. WELS used this extra tuition money and fees to help balance the books.

Western Wisconsin - Just Say No to MLS Closing

From the MLS website, the text, ipsissima verba:

Report of the Floor Committee on Synodical Matters

Memorial I -

Vote “NO” to Synodical Council Recommendation to close Michigan Lutheran Seminary

WHEREAS,
1) During most of our synod’s history, we have been richly blessed by our Synod’s Ministerial Education system; and

WHEREAS,
2) At the 2005 Synod Convention, an extensive study on our preparatory system was overwhelmingly received with great favor, and the two prep schools, Luther Preparatory School and Michigan Lutheran Seminary, were again endorsed as vital for our synod’s ministry; and

WHEREAS, 3) By God’s grace, and with His guidance, we continue to look to prepare
future called workers through Michigan Lutheran Seminary and Luther Preparatory School, therefore be it

Resolved, a) That the Western Wisconsin District direct the synod in the 2007 convention to defeat the proposed recommendation to close Michigan Lutheran Seminary after the 2007/2008 school year, and be it
finally

Resolved, b) That the Western Wisconsin District endorse our current two prep schools as vitally important for our synod and its ministry in preparing called workers to work in the harvest field.

Memorial II -

Funding 2008/2009 Synod Budget

WHEREAS, 1) By voting “No” to closing Michigan Lutheran Seminary, there is a deficit
budget of $2.3 million for the 2008/2009 fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, 2) The synod constitution directs us to have a balanced budget; therefore be it

Resolved, a) That the Western Wisconsin District direct the synod in the 2007 convention to make changes such as these to the WELS Operating Budget in the allocation of funds for the 2008/2009 fiscal year:

1) Communications budget becomes $332,959 (proposed is $402,700) -69,741
2) Christian Giving budget becomes $1,732,435 (proposed is $2,153,334) -420,899
3) Technology budget becomes $1,339,181 (proposed is $1,497,012) -157,831
4) Financial Services becomes $1,368,140 (proposed is $1,649,094) -280,954
5) Reduce SC, COP, Support, Convention budget by 2% -19,440
6) Reduce District budgets by 1% -8,522
7) Lower MLC repayment of debt to $250,050 -750,000
8) Lower internal borrowing repayment to $698,000 -1,500,000

-3,207,387

and be it finally

Resolved, b) That the Western Wisconsin District direct the Synod in the 2007 convention to
make these allocations from the $3,207,387 that is available:

1) Michigan Lutheran Seminary $2,300,000
2) Home Missions $400,000
3) World Missions $507,387

Memorial III – “Reclaim the Mission”

WHEREAS, 1) The document entitled “Reclaim the Mission” identifies and describes many of the problems and challenges facing the synod today; and
WHEREAS, 2) The document accurately reflects the heartfelt concerns of many WELS members, both lay and clergy; and
WHEREAS, 3) The tone of the document is positive in its attempt to avoid blame and to offer positive solutions; and
WHEREAS, 4) The document identifies five key areas of concern that must be addressed, namely

1. Reaffirming our purpose and priorities
   
   
2. Re-defining our method of support
   
   
3. Restoring clear, responsible, and responsive lines of authority
   
   
4. Re-establishing effective communication

Reviewing and revising current programs; and
WHEREAS, 5) There is now no viable comprehensive plan to address these problems other than to appeal to the synod’s members for increased offerings; and
WHEREAS, 6) This document offers a multi-part strategy to address the problems cited; and
Resolved, a) That we declare our support of this proposal and the steps it outlines; and be it further
Resolved, b) That this plan be presented to the 2007 synod in convention for study, discussion and;

and consideration be it finally

A closing word of encouragement to our Western Wisconsin District delegates to the 2007 WELS
Convention:

We realize that there are already many proposals and “solutions” being bandied about. We can all have ideas about what to do. We want our Western Wisconsin District delegates to understand the tremendous trust we have in you. We promise to pray for you. We ask this of you: Prepare well. Before convention, think about what you believe we should do. Get some rest before convention. Listen carefully to every idea. Be very respectful of the opinions of synodical officials, but do not be unduly influenced by them. Have courage to make decisions that take advantage of the best ideas you hear, no matter where those ideas arise. Understand that you are to make the decisions that provide for our common future.

Go with God. Lead.

Alberts, Frank, layman, LaCrosse
Arndt, Ken, pastor, Elizabeth, IL
Busse, Carl, pastor, Medford
Cortez, Kevin, pastor, Wonewoc
Degner, Dale, layman, Sparta
Fricke, Joseph, pastor, Mauston
Gut, John, layman, Schofield
Heth, Dwayne, layman, Milton
Heyer, Philip, pastor, Beaver Dam
Hoffman, Geoffrey, teacher, Tomah
Jensen, Michael, pastor, Watertown
Kingery, Vern, layman, Baraboo
Lehman, Kenneth, teacher, LaCrosse
Leonard, David, teacher, Eau Claire
Lindemann, Michael, pastor, Lewiston, MN
Miller, Arlan, layman, Janesville
Proeber, Kevin, teacher, Janesville
Reich, Terry, pastor, Rib Lake
Schaefer, Ken, layman, Rockford, IL
Schaller, Peter, layman, Chippewa Falls
Schalow, Robert, layman, Marshfield
Schlavensky, John, teacher, Fox Lake
Schmeling, Steve, pastor, Menomonie
Schumacher, Dave, layman, Monroe
Schwanz, Jerry, layman, Neillsville
Suffrins, Bill, layman, Pickwick, MN
Wolfe, Cletus, layman, Bloomer

Pastor Jerry Ewings, De Forest, chairman
Pastor Nathan Strutz, Galesville/Arcadia, secretary

MLS Responds to Synodical Sharks

This is a pdf from the Michigan Lutheran Seminary (prep school) board, posted on its website. I decided to link it rather than copy it. A graph is included about pastoral shortages.

MLS Board Responds to Shutting the School Down

The Wisconsin boys were actively seeking to close MLS in the early 1990's, about 15 years ago (for those who went to public school).

Hope Revival Church Likes the WELS AnswerMan

An independent revival congregation is copying the Q and A from the WELS website.

Another Church in Fellowship with WELS

One WELS pastor told his members to join a Baptist church if they moved to a town where WELS did not have a congregation. WELS has sponsored revival services, so this congregation would be ideal for the average victim of Church Growth in WELS.

Wisconsin Lutheran SeminaryWe Are Not AmusedBy the MLS Closing

Posted at the Michigan Lutheran Seminary website:

The Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary faculty sent its first letter to all pastors of the synod since 1927.

"What is it that leads us to send this unusual letter? First of all, it is the recommendation of the Synodical Council to close Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw. As men called to train pastors to serve in our church body, we cannot help but be concerned as we think about how closing MLS would impact our efforts to train confessional Lutheran pastors in sufficient numbers to serve WELS congregations in the future."

The faculty letter tells me that Team Brenner is mounting a challenge to President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller.

One WELS pastor stopped by to see a friend of his. The pastor commented that the Church Growth guys were shutting down the schools. This news is not exactly a shock to the informed, but it confirmed to me that pastors know what is happening.

You Dare Offend The Great and Terrible Oz?WELS Response to Dissent

The Wisconsin Synod is the only group where the tea leaves can be read on a daily basis. Only WELS has the daily Q and A on its webpage. My impression is that President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller writes these answers or has control of them. The answer I will dissect has I'll-Have-the-Last-Word-Wayne written all over it, either as author or final editor. However, to be fair, we do not know Wayne wrote it until he officially denies it.

You Dare Offend the Great and Terrible Oz?

Someone, we are led to believe, has asked AnswerMan about the proposals to fix the synod. The first proposal is identified as Mark Schroeder's. The Luther Prep president's proposal is well known and posted here at Ichabod. Schroder proposed establishing annual fees for congregation to cover basic synodical costs. Annual dues are generally seen as a step backwards in stewardship. Paul did not establish fees when he collected for the poor in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8 and 9), so why would WELS set fees for the rich in Milwaukee?

The second proposal discussed is clearly Paul Kuske's. The former Michigan District VP has fallen on hard times. He did everything the synod ordered. In Columbus, he set up Lutheran Parish Resources as the first Church Growth institution in WELS, providing employment for Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, who had been kicked out of the LCMS ministerium for cause (and never was a WELS member). The Michigan District expressed their gratitude for Kuske's service by voting him out of office, a rare event and a singular achievement.

Clearly, AnswerMan has his crosshairs on the Kuske proposal, which was also posted on Ichabod. I could link it, but readers should spend more time looking through all the posts. Currently, Ichabod is out-producing all Lutheran blogs combined.

How does AnswerMan choose to refute the unnamed Kuske report?

He blasts the Michigan District!

What better way to win the hearts and minds of the Michigan District? Half of all WELS members are in Wisconsin. The other half are in Michigan and Minnesota. The rest are scattered throughout the United States. Ohio, where Kuske promoted Church Growth, has very few members altogether. Ohio is part of the Michigan District, but a very small part indeed.

AnswerMan roars that the proposal comes from the district with the lowest offering per communicant for the synod, tied for lowest dollar per communicant.

Probably DP Seifert encouraged the Kuske report. That is how he works, how everyone in WELS works. But did the whole district write the report? The AnswerMan refutation of the Kuske report is a fine example of a logical fallacy called a Genetic Fallacy.

"A Genetic Fallacy occurs when the origin a belief or idea is presented as grounds to accept or reject the idea." Genetic Fallacy

AnswerMan is saying, "The Kuske report comes from Michigan, with a disgustingly low mission offering. Therefore, the Kuske report is invalid."

However, the mission offering plummeted from $28 million to $20 million in one year, certainly not from the spiritual laxity of the Michigan District alone. Besides, do the stewardship geniuses of WELS think a district will increase its offering when the synod breaks its ancient promise to support a Michigan prep school? A show of hands - Who thinks closing Michigan Lutheran Seminary will increase offerings for the people closing it? Hmm. One hand went up - AnswerMan's.

What really offends the Michigan District (and Luther Prep) is that the last convention passed a resolution opposing such a move. No, the convention is not the highest level of decision making in the synod, in any synod. The Chair of St. Peter's, the papal office in any synod, is the highest level. Surrounding this synodical pope is the Curia, those sharks and apostates who gain power by manipulating power.

AnswerMan, who lives off the synod mission offering, says the administration is irreplacable. The schools are not. The administration has doubled in size (per communicant) while shutting down schools. Arguing for the absolute necessity of these boobs is a hard sell when they have done such a miserable job of administration.

Try this mental exercise. If most of the administrators were fired, could some be hired back again when people had more confidence in their work? Of course. Can the land sold from various school closing be bought back in the future? No? Oh, it is too expensive now. And creating a school is far more expensive than keeping one going.

Turning AnserMan's logic on his own bluster, why would anyone listen to a synod adminsitration going bankrupt after receiving the largest charitable gift in history (the Schwan Foundation's)? Why go to the people who "lost" $8 million for stewardship advice?

Twenty Years of Silence - Too Late for the WELS-tanic?

As I mentioned before, the defunding of the educational system in WELS was well known in 1987, 20 years ago (for those who went to public schools). I heard Voss, head of Worker Training, give a presentation on the decreasing share of the synod dollar. Worker Training was getting a smaller percentage each year, a drastic reduction already at that point.

Shortly after that presentation, Paul Prange became president of Michigan Lutheran prep in Saginaw and Mark Schroeder became president of Northwestern Prep in Watertown. WELS closed the debacle known as Prairie and merged it with Northwestern to make it Luther Prep.

The defunding continued but nothing was said. Prange and Schroeder are both good men, more than I could say for most WELS leaders. During the last 20 years, nothing much has come from either school, the boards running them, the presidents, the alumni, the parents, about the obvious fate of the schools. Now that both are vitually closed, with the college sinking fast, the muted howling has begun.

The Issues in WELS papers are so distant from the real issues that they amaze and confound anyone with sense. Reading Issues in WELS would make most people believe they were reading the minutes of the Ladies Aid Society aboard the Titantic.
1. Cabin Window Curtains - Should They Be Closed or Open During a Squall?
2. Red or White - How To Pick a Wine During a Formal Dinner.
3. Tipping Properly and with Discretion.

After hitting the iceberg, the final resolution of the Ladies Aid would be, modeled after Issues in WELS:

Resolved - We shall not break the 8th commandment while sinking.

Retired WELS Pastor Bartling - Ipsissima Verba

"Venom" (ala LutherQuest sic) or just the truth?

BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Part III

THE DOUBLE STANDARDS AND HYPOCRISY IN THE WELS
by
Pastor Mark F. Bartling

Ripley’s famous and interesting “believe it or not” oddities, filled with extraordinary and almost unbelievable information, still fascinate us yet today! Recent events in the Wisconsin Synod (WELS) may also seem unbelievable and the oddities will truly stretch your imagination.

In baseball it is only asked that the umpire be consistent. Call a wide strike zone or a narrow one. But be consistent! Don’t call one pitch a strike, but another a ball, when both crossed the plate at the same place.

In politics, when a Democrat moves away from a pro-life to a pro-choice position, it is called “growing.” But when a Republican changes to a more pro-life position, well, that is called hypocrisy.

One can understand hypocrisy and a double standard in politics. That is what politics are all about. But not in the Church of God!!! There one is called to a higher standard.

Believe it or not! The WELS synodical president and Vice president refused to print in the Book of Reports and Memorials a memorial, from 86 pastors and 3 congregations, to the Synod’s convention asking for a study of the Synod’s position on fellowship. But at the same time they made available the synodical mailing list and e-mail addresses to the Church and Change group. This group is leading the way in undermining the Synod’s position on fellowship in inviting heterodox teachers to address their annual meetings. Talk about a double standard! It can now be said that WELS leaders official endorse and approve the modern Church Growth Movement.

Believe this or not! When synodical leaders are involved in situations concerning appearances of impropriety and improper behavior, -- well, that must be quickly covered up. Recently, one synodical leader was found spending a considerable amount of time alone with a woman in frequent “counseling sessions,” both at church and in her home. But here we are told to put the best construction on it and not sin against the 8th Commandment. But when a young pastor of a small congregation, and with no high synodical connections or relatives, is involved in practically the same type of situation – well, he must be put out of the ministry and his Call, for now he is no longer “blameless.” (I Tim. 3:2)
One is for synodical officials, another is for parish pastors.

Believe this or not! In the WELS today a situation exist that is not too much different from the time of the Reformation, when men like Luther were excommunicated for being “too Catholic,” but the sellers of indulgences were protected and defended, -- for they were bring in the money.

If some pastor talks about private confession, making the sign of the holy Cross in the name of the Triune God, the sacrament of ordination, every Sunday Communion, wearing full liturgical vestments, and publishes a “motley magpie” (all which, by the way, are taught in our Lutheran Confessions) – well, that is being Catholic and such pastors are quickly excluded from our fellowship. But when other pastors completely omit any type of confession, public or private, use no Trinitarian invocations, continuously confuse law and Gospel in their sermons, practice open communion, with women helping in the distribution, have women read Scripture lessons in public worship, and use every innovation of Church Growth methods, -- well, that is to be highly praised and no one even thinks of calling the practice “too Methodist.”

Believe it or not, but the WELS is becoming just another Protestant Church and many congregational worship services are not too much different from the Baptist and Pentecostals churches on the next street. Just read some of the mission statements and tell me whether they are Confessional Lutheran or just Protestant.
A sainted WELS pastor, from a past century, in deep distress concerning the direction of his Synod, lamented:
WELS, oh WELS, wherefore art thou my WELS?
Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
Oh foolish, WELS, who hath bewitched you?

All is not well, in WELS!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Gurgel and Mueller, President and VP of WELS, refused to print this memorial in the Book of Reports and Memorials.

To: The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Convention 2007

Subject: Definition of the expression “Framework of Fellowship”
WHEREAS 1) various groups within the Synod have arranged for speakers not in fellowship with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) to address them on matters relating to doctrine and on practical aspects of conducting the ministry; and

WHEREAS 2) some in our Synod question whether seeking such instruction from the heterodox is consistent with Scripture’s urging to “watch out for false prophets” (Mt. 7:15) and “keep away from” errorists (Ro. 16:17) and whether welcoming the errorist may constitute “sharing in his wicked work” (2 John 11); and

WHEREAS 3) groups inviting such outside speakers have defended the practice with the explanation that the speakers were addressing them “outside the framework of fellowship”; and

WHEREAS 4) references to “the framework of fellowship” are appearing more frequently in the literature of the WELS, but there exists neither a clear and commonly-accepted definition of what that phrase entails nor a thorough explanation of how the phrase is consistent with Scriptural principles of Christian fellowship; and

WHEREAS 5) disagreement over this issue is threatening the bond of peace within our beloved Synod; and

WHEREAS 6) it has been argued that a new study of the Scriptural principles might cast doubt on the Synod’s current position of Christian fellowship; and

WHEREAS 7) a review of those principles that aims to supply an element not currently addressed in our doctrinal statements would not cast doubt on the Synod’s current doctrinal position on fellowship; therefore be it

Resolved a) that the Synod instruct the conference of Presidents (COP) to conduct a thorough review of the Scriptural principles of fellowship with the aim of developing a clear and complete definition of what constitutes the “framework of fellowship” and a thorough explanation of how the phrase is consistent with Scriptural principles; and be it further

Resolved b) that the results of this study be published and shared broadly with the constituency of the WELS; and be it finally

Resolved c) That the COP be instructed respectfully to request that, in a spirit of brotherly cooperation, groups affiliated with the WELS defer from employing public speakers from outside the WELS fellowship who will discuss matters relating to doctrine and practical aspects of conducting the ministry until such a study can be completed.

Mr. Richard L. Andersen, Anchor Point, AK
Prof. Richard D. Balge, Thiensville, WI
Rev. Terry G. Balogh, Mayville, MI
Rev. William Balza, South Haven, MI
Rev. Mark Bartling, LaCrosse, WI
Mr. Ross Bannister, Bancroft, MI
Rev. Jeffrey Berg, Oshkosh, WI
Rev. Spencer G. Biga, Freeland, MI
Mr. Thomas H. Buege, Greenville, WI
Rev. Carl Busse, Medford, WI
Mr. Brent Buzzalini, Mayville, MI
Mr. Steven Desek, Fostoria, MI
Prof. Daniel M. Deutschlander, Watertown, WI
Rev. Timothy J. Ehlers, Oakley, MI
Rev. Larry Ellenberger, Franklin, WI
Rev. Mark H. Falck, Grand Rapids, MN
Rev. Gerald Free, Neenah, WI
Rev. Keith Free, Plover, WI
Rev. Kenneth Frey, Appleton, WI
Rev. Marc P. Frey, New Carlisle, OH
Mr. Philip Frey, Black Hawk, SD
Rev. Daniel P. Garbow, Saginaw, MI
Rev. James A. Gorsegner, Pigeon, MI
Rev. Timothy H. Gumm, Loves Park, IL
Rev. Roy W. Hefti, Bangor, WI
Rev. Michael T. Jensen, Ixonia, WI
Rev. Christopher D. Johnson, Algoma, WI
Rev. Peter Kiecker, Watertown, WI
Prof. Roger Kobleske, Watertown, WI
Rev. Henry F. Koch, Manitowoc, WI
Rev. Robert Koester, Milwaukee, WI
Rev. Steven Korth, Bay City, MI
Mr. Allen Krause, Oshkosh, WI
Rev. David Krenke, Leesburg, FL
Rev. Arnold J. Kunde, Durand, MI
Rev. Stephen C. F. Kurtzahn, Coon Rapids, MN
Rev. James L. Langebartels, Imlay City, MI
Rev. Donald Laude, Marquette, KS
Rev. Herbert Lichtenberg, Milwaukee, WI
Rev. Earl Lindemann, Winner, SD
Mr. Larry Lindemann, Salem, SD
Rev. Carl A Lindemann, Bismark, ND
Rev. Edward Lindemann, Watertown, WI
Rev. Michael A. Lindemann, Lewiston, MN
Mr. Paul Lindemann, New Berlin, WI
Rev. Waldemar Loescher, Manitowoc, WI
Rev. Martin Luchterhand, Hustler, WI
Prof. Marcus Manthey, Saginaw, MI
Rev. Paul A. Manthey, Waukesha, WI
Rev. William Mayhew, Sebewaing, MI
Rev. Bruce McKenney, Lake Mills, WI
Rev. David Mielke, Mount Pleasant, MI
Rev. James W. Naumann, Vassar, MI
Rev. Paul S. Naumann, Benton Harbor, MI
Rev. Marcus C. Nitz, Placentia, CA
Rev. David Nottling, Fox Lake, WI
Rev. Carl T. Otto, Saginaw, MI
Mr. Carlton Palenske, Winona, MN
Rev. Bradley Pearson, Prairie du Sac, WI
Rev. Gary L. Pieper, Grove City, OH
Rev. James Plocher, Vassar, MI
Rev. Guy Purdue, Westland, MI
Rev. Marvin Putz, Fond du Lac, WI
Rev. Paul Reede, West Bend, WI
Rev. Theodore Sauer, Manitowoc, WI
Rev. Paul Schaewe, Bay City, MI
Rev. Paul D. Schleis, Green Bay, WI
Rev. Andrew C. Schultz, La Crosse, WI
Rev. Martin Schulz, Greenfield, WI
Rev. Gerhard F. Shapekahm, Fremont, WI
Rev. Gordon J. Snyder, West Allis, WI
Rev. Peter J. Snyder, Saginaw, MI
Rev. Joel Spaude, Ft Collins, CO
Prof. Cyril W. Spaude, Watertown, WI
Rev. Steven D. Spencer, Sierra Vista, AZ
Rev. Steven Staude, Onalaska, WI
Rev. John Strackbein, Oklahoma City, OK
Rev. Paul Stuebs, Platteville, WI
Rev. Frederick Toppe, Fond du Lac, WI
Mr. Frederick Uttech, Manitowoc, WI
Rev. Roger Wahl, Cambria, WI
Mr. Douglas Westenberg, Watertown, WI
Rev. Philip Wilde, Bristol, WI
Rev. Michael D. Zarling, Sturtevant, WI
Rev. Frederick Zimmerman, Kaukaulin, MI
Rev. Ronald Zindler, Wrightstown, WI

Church Council of Epiphany Lutheran Church, Racine, WI
Voters of Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church, Oklahoma City, OK
Voters of Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church, Oshkosh, WI

LutherQuest (sic) Piles On

"Mr. Carter,

I easily found the blog on google and I don't think Jeremy was attaching it to you specifically or personally.

While I find no fault with legitimate criticism of WELS, Jackson's blog is spewed venom - pure negativity and attack without anything positive."
Phyllis Whitten, teacher
Denomination: WELS

GJ - I wonder if this WELS member teaches reading comprehension.