Augsburg Confession - Anniversary Today

The Augsburg Confession was largely the work of Philip Melanchthon. Luther had to stay away because his life was in danger. Imagine that. The typical Lutheran pastor today is afraid he might miss lunch, or miss being appointed to the nominating committee of his sect.

The Confessors of the past were in danger of losing their lives. Many were driven out, as Chemnitz was. Many pastors were exiled and imprisoned.

June 27th also marks the death of our dear friend, Brenda Kiehler. She died of osteogenesis imperfecta, which caused her bones to break and disappear. She had more physical problems than Job, but she could say and sing, "I know that my Redeemer lives." Her favorite hymn was "Beautiful Savior." She cared deeply about everyone and she loved Lutheran orthodoxy. She said, "I don't have anything else. I don't have health or money."

Brenda is an example of what the Gospel creates in the form of spiritual fruit. The world saw nothing but a tiny woman in a powered wheelchair. People treated her as deaf and retarded. Those who knew her realized she had a genius IQ, excellent observational powers, and a wicked sense of humor.

A day without an email from Brenda (during her health crises) was a day without sunshine. Now she rests in the bosom of Abraham, receiving all the good things for eternity.

How Norm Berg Killed Martin Luther College

I remember the old days, when WELS was entirely foreign to me. No one paid attention to WELS because the synod was almost absent where I lived and worked. I used to walk by a WELS church near a cornfield on my way to college. In my second call there was a small WELS church in Sturgis. I went to meet the pastor there.

A WELS church usually opened with a small school. Apparently they funded the building, the pastor, and a teacher. Bronze Age Lutherans remember schools with no tuition - it was part of the budget. When schools turned to tuition, they soon became private schools or even reform schools for the general public. That is the source of the lawsuit against California Lutheran High (WELS). Girls were kicked out for allegedly being lesbian, on very shaky grounds. The school was not all-WELS, so the normal excuses for abusing authority could not be used. California has strict laws about public institutions. One may expect this case to cost a bundle.

Getting back to Norm Berg, veteran of Fuller Seminary. How did I know? Do I have video of him on the campus? Do I have his tuition bill? No, I have a letter from him where he confessed. Berg was the head of Home Missions for WELS. He promoted "New Mode" evangelism, based on felt needs. Google "felt needs" and you will get Fuller material. I attended a brain-washing session where Berg bragged about taking mission church money away from the teachers. If the buildings were tinier (WEFs) and only one person funded with a pitiful salary (the pastor), then Berg could conquer North America with his missions. I was at a conference where Berg hoped out loud that he could defeat higher salaries for mission pastors to have more money for his missions. Pastors were costly overhead, but home office drones were not.

So WELS wasted millions on the ugliest, cheapest WEFs and stopped building schools. They did overfund one church in Coral Gables, Florida, filled it with Church Growth gurus, and sold the beautiful church building to Catholics when the experiment collapsed. Those gurus are not even Lutheran today.

So Berg effectively took away the need for Dr. Martin Luther College as a teacher's college. After a few decades, the need for training parochial school teachers dropped. DMLC refused state certification for years, so a degree from DMLC was pretty limiting.

WELS schools are closing right and left now. The parochial schools are closing for various reasons (costs, greying of the denomination). The preps will probably be gone soon, throwing more teachers into the secular workplace. "You mean we can't haze students in public school? Drop them upside-down from a window on the second floor? I miss my prep school."

Norm Berg is not the only Church Growth leader to put a hex on the school system. His work at 2929 N. Mayfield (The Love Shack) was all Church Growth. If you seek a monument for Church Growth in WELS, look around you. Count the empty pews, the empty buildings, and the many lawsuits.

Third Commandment Refutation of Kent Hunter, Lawrence Olson, D. Valleskey, Paul Kelm, Waldo Werning

For let me tell you this, even though you know it perfectly and be already master in all things, still you are daily in the dominion of the devil, who ceases neither day nor night to steal unawares upon you, to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against the foregoing and all the commandments. Therefore you must always have God's Word in your heart, upon your lips, and in your ears. But where the heart is idle, and the Word does not sound, he breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware. On the other hand, such is the efficacy of the Word, whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, that it is bound never to be without fruit, but always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness, and produces a pure heart and pure thoughts. For these words are not inoperative or dead, but creative, living words. And even though no other interest or necessity impel us, yet this ought to urge every one thereunto, because thereby the devil is put to Right and driven away, and, besides, this commandment is fulfilled, and [this exercise in the Word] is more pleasing to God than any work of hypocrisy, however brilliant. (Third Commandment, #100ff, Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

One WELS pastor was kicked out of the ministry and excommunicated for believing this passage. WELS members now refuse to fund the clowns who turned a denomination into their private sandbox for Church Growth experiments (Lutheran Parish Resources, Crossroads Community Church, CrossWalk, ad nauseam).

I realize how little one individual can do against these tyrants. Many laity have said, "They ignore me because I am a layman." I always say, "I am a pastor. They still ignore me." I had the advantage of publishing my thoughts in various forms. Besides, I mailed proof of false doctrine so often that my son called it my Xerox Ministry. I told Church Growth guru James Huebner about my ministry of mailing documents to people. His faced turned pale. I wondered why.

Nevertheless, we should read this passage as the greatest possible comfort in dealing with the apostates of the Lutheran Church. All we need is the pure Word. Everything will follow from that. Nothing else is effective. Only the Word will produce the fruit God desires. Apart from that Word, nothing can be accomplished, no matter how it is packaged or forced upon the unwilling and gullible.

Pastors and laity only need a good Bible (not the NIV, but something in the KJV family), a Book of Concord, Luther's Sermons, and a few other books. Opposition will follow a return to the basics. From that antagonism will come a new appreciation for the Confessions.

The Book of Concord was meant to be studied and absorbed during a time of crisis. That time has arrived.

Third Commandment - Large Catechism

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

For the Word of God is the sanctuary above all sanctuaries, yea, the only one which we Christians know and have. For though we had the bones of all the saints or all holy and consecrated garments upon a heap, still that would help us nothing; for all that is a dead thing which can sanctify nobody. But God's Word is the treasure which sanctifies everything, and by which even all the saints themselves were sanctified. At whatever hour, then, God's Word is taught, preached, heard, read or meditated upon, there the person, day, and work are sanctified thereby, not because of the external work, but because of the Word, which makes saints of us all. Therefore I constantly say that all our life and work must be ordered according to God's Word, if it is to be God-pleasing or holy. Where this is done, this commandment is in force and being fulfilled.

On the contrary, any observance or work that is practised without God's Word is unholy before God, no matter how brilliantly it may shine, even though it be covered with relics, such as the fictitious spiritual orders, which know nothing of God's Word and seek holiness in their own works. (The Large Catechism, Third Commandment, #91ff, Book of Concord)

The problems of the Lutheran Church could be solved with the proper application of the Large Catechism, especially the section dealing with the First Table of the Ten Commandments. In Luther's day the simple were bedazzled with hilarious claims about the saints, many who never existed. The saint stories were designed to stir up good works leading to partial salvation (a bit less of Purgatory) in the Medieval Church.

Now with Lutheran ministers poping (joining Rome) and semi-poping (joining Eastern Orthodoxy) we have that old problem plus the curse of Church Growth marketing disguised as Reformed doctrine. Classical Reformed doctrine and worship are both far above Church Growth circus acts. One friend put it this way, "Our Fundamentalist church was fine until a Fuller graduate came and ruined it." Fuller graduates are equal-opportunity Satanists. They have destroyed more churches than the Chicago Fire, and just as indiscriminately.

The central thesis of this gem from the Large Catechism is the efficacy of the Word. We are not to remember the Sabbath passively, by not working, but actively, but studying the Word. God's Name and Satan are incompatible, just as Satan's trick's and God's Word are in a constant state of warfare.

Church Growth addicts, who are often Pentecostals, fool people with their constant invocation of Jesus, church, and Holy Spirit. Every Pentecostal (all denominations submerged by their common identity) is an apostle, it is thought. God speaks to them directly. They have the confidence of the totally deluded.

Pastors and laity did not stand up to the false teachers. First the false teachers assailed the text of the New Testament. And the compromisers merged Creation with Evolution. Next they questioned the canon of the Bible and its inerrancy. Naming Jesus and blaming Him for their need to create apostate mergers, the followers of their Father Below prepared everyone for the Church Growth Movement through the catastrophic losses they inflicted on their various church bodies.

A hero emerged - from the most liberal denomination - Donald McGavran, Disciples of Christ. He worked in obscurity until he was elevated to his post at Fuller Seminary, a school that openly rejected inerrancy. McGavran had no theological education beyond seminary, but that was fine. All the church politicians are M.Div.s as well.
McGavran's doctorate was secular. His book is so full of doctrinal stupidity that one can only laugh. His most notable disciple, C. Peter Wagner, is so dumb that he makes McGavran look like a theologian. Wagner is a Pentecostal. He swallowed the Holy Ghost, feathers and all, as evidenced by his grin and book titles: Look Out! The Pentecostals Are Coming!

The Fuller marketing experts got denominational leaders frightened with statistics. They got the world mission leaders (ELCA, LCMS, WELS, ELS) and the home mission leaders (ELCA, LCMS, WELS, ELS) to study their nefarious doctrines. Many of those politicans were either neutral about doctrine or against anything from Luther. Soon they trust in spread-sheets, statistics, demographics, and the prophetic utterances of Donald McGavran. The cancer spread as pastors learned that the path to success started at Fuller, not their own seminaries.

What did the timid Lutheran pastors and laity do? Almost nothing. Their punishment is to live with the consequences of 30-70 years of false doctrine (depending on where we begin). Their donations are being wasted. Congregations are closing and merging (a stealth closing). Criminal pastors are defended while confessional pastors are defenestrated.

When there is a concerted attack on God's Word, consequences will follow.

To Fumigate the Devil

Besides, it is an exceedingly effectual help against the devil, the world, and the flesh and all evil thoughts to be occupied with the Word of God, and to speak of it, and meditate upon it, so that the First Psalm declares those blessed who meditate upon the Law of God day and night. Undoubtedly, you will not start a stronger incense or other fumigation against the devil than by being engaged upon God's commandments and words, and speaking, singing, or thinking of them. For this is indeed the true holy water and holy sign from which he flees, and by which he may be driven away. (Introduction, The Large Catechism, #10, Book of Concord)

Wallace Schulz pointed out in his article that LCMS pastor's libraries, donated to the Concordia Historical Institute, are now comprised of non-Lutheran books, for the most part. I used to look for library sales at Trinity Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, because the retiring ALC pastors left such valuable books to be grabbed. I often took home boxes of old classics to be given away. The Gentiles gathered during their apostate chapel service, lined up first, and grabbed the Luther, Walther, and General Council books. We were banned from being first in line. The students (male, female, and in transition) wanted to gather some old classics to be used as lucky charms and coasters for their future offices.

We are what we consume. If we do not dwell on the few excellent Lutheran books available along with the text of the Scriptures, we will become theologians of the sects we admire so much. WELS and Missouri pastors want to call themselves Lutheran, but they walk and talk like third-rate marketing consultants for moderate Reformed sects.

My good friend Dan warned WELS leaders they were dealing with "powers and principalities." They did not want to hear that, so they pushed him out of the ministry, a calling he loved. A fellow pastor, in the same city with the same qualms about Church Growth, also found himself pushed out. Pimps for the Church Growth Movement retire in peace, but those who read the Confessions are hounded out of the Preaching Office of the Church. "The glory has departed from Israel."

Warming Trends in LCMS Election Race Heats Up Slightly

I believe Kieschnick will be re-elected with an overwhelming vote this summer. His slate will probably win, too. LCMS will meet July 14th.

People should read about the issues.

This link is a paper about Yankee Stadium by Pastor Wallace Schulz:

Yankee Stadium.

The Schulz essay about how Missouri got so mixed up is here:

It is written.

Statistics

I saw some interesting statistics for Missouri. They have 1,000 more pastors than they did 20 years ago, but far more pastoral vacancies. I wondered how that could be. Then I saw that the number of pastors serving in non-parish positions had tripled, from around 250 to 750.

Just like WELS - pastors want to flee the Predigtamt (Preaching Office) for a real office, a big salary, perks, no catechism class, selective preaching (bonus cash) giving the same sermon a zillion times.

The denominations immune to any suggestions are the ones with the most bureaucrats per member.

Latest WELS Offering Scheme Fails

"Dear brothers,

Today the Conference of Presidents (COP) met in teleconference. They learned that 105 congregations have responded to their appeal to review 2007 Congregation Mission Offering subscriptions and to consider increasing CMO subscription for 2007—and possibly to enter a preliminary subscription already for 2008.

The COP is asking you to report this information via the WELS Web site, www.wels.net/jump/cmorevision even if you have decided not to make any changes. (NOTE: any special offerings collected for CMO beyond your congregation’s original subscription can be included in the revised CMO figure).

This appeal from the Conference of Presidents was launched after a forecast of CMO for 2007 projected an increase of 1.4% over the 2006 calendar year receipts. While the increase is greatly appreciated, it doesn’t keep pace with the increasing cost of maintaining current ministry—about 5.5% each year. If the projected increase for 2007 remains at 1.7%, WELS will not be able to meet its adopted budget. If support for synodical work does not increase further, the reality is that WELS will have to gradually dismantle the ministry we are carrying out (including further reductions in missions, ministerial education, and publications).

In order to maintain WELS ministry status quo, the synod needs to see an 8% increase in each of the next four years starting in 2008. If we boost the increase to 17% right away in 2008 we could consider restoring the portions of our ministry lost over the last five years.

Again, if you haven’t already, please visit www.wels.net/jump/cmorevision by the end of the day Friday, July 20th to complete this process according to the directions given at the site.

On behalf of the Conference of Presidents, thank you for your time and consideration. God’s blessings to all of you as you “proclaim peace through Jesus” to all those you touch with your life and ministry.

In Our Savior’s Service,
Pastor Dave Liggett
WELS Ministry of Christian Giving Director"

***

Perhaps the congregations are giving a no-confidence vote to the WELS leadership. The congregational response is beyond pitiful, more like defiant. Long ago, when a comedian was asked if he voted, he said, "I don't vote for politicians. It only encourages them." Why encourage the administration to close more schools?

Reading the tea leaves, the economic analysts at Ichabod predict that this will seriously hurt the chances of President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller to upgrade his role and salary.

The Second Commandment

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.

But, the greatest abuse occurs in spiritual matters, which pertain to the conscience, when false preachers rise up and offer their lying vanities as God's Word.

Behold, all this is decking one's self out with God's name, or making a pretty show, or claiming to be right, whether it occur in gross, worldly business or in sublime, subtile matters of faith and doctrine. And among liars belong also blasphemers, not alone the very gross, well known to every one, who disgrace God's name without fear (these are not for us, but for the hangman to discipline); but also those who publicly traduce the truth and God's Word and consign it to the devil. Of this there is no need now to speak further.

Here, then, let us learn and take to heart the great importance of this commandment, that with all diligence we may guard against and dread every misuse of the holy name, as the greatest sin that can be outwardly committed. For to lie and deceive is in itself a great sin, but is greatly aggravated when we attempt to justify it, and seek to confirm it by invoking the name of God and using it as a cloak for shame, so that from a single lie a double lie, nay, manifold lies, result.

For this reason, too, God has added a solemn threat to this commandment, to wit: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. That is: It shall not be condoned to any one nor pass unpunished. For as little as He will leave it unavenged if any one turn his heart from Him, as little will He suffer His name to be employed for dressing up a lie. Now, alas! it is a common calamity in all the world that there are as few who are not using the name of God for purposes of lying and all wickedness as there are those who with their heart trust alone in God. The Large Catechism, Ten Commandments, Second Commandment, #54-58, Book of Concord

The enormous evil of the Church Growth Movement is unmasked in this passage from the Book of Concord. Apostasy wears the cloak of spirituality. "This is for the good of the synod."

"God wants his church to grow," said the late Donald McGavran, but apparently He also wanted His followers involved in Planned Parenthood, a suggestion by McGavran. Also, according to Church Growth gurus, God does not give a hoot about pure doctrine. Make up anything and call it God's Word. He does not care, as long as the buildings are bigger and the budgets are overflowing.

God spoke to McGavran directly, chiding him about his reluctance to use statistics in India. Or so McGavran told us. I suspect God does not sound exactly like McGavran.

When people claim that God speaks directly to them, apart from the Word, they are either fakes or delusional. One WELS leader claimed that God told him to take a new position, debating with him a bit. Too bad I lost the link. There is a lot of Pentecostalism in WELS, doubtless from immersion in Willow Creek and Fuller Seminary.

Bless Their Pea-Picking Little Hearts

Some pastors spend all their time trying to please the synod. An innocent may ask, "How can anyone know how to do that?" Believe me, pastors know instinctively that some things are never done. That is why they are so brave during the coffee break and so timid during formal sessions. They will swear to support something good, to oppose something bad, only to melt away faster than a July frost.

The agenda of every synod, from the four-letter groups to the micro-mini cults, is liberal. Organizations are pragmatic, not idealistic (at least not now). They are prime targets for apostates, who first argue for tolerance, then for an equal say. Finally, the apostates rule and show no mercy toward anyone who disagrees.

Denial is a good way to get along. WELS was deeply involved in promoting the Church Growth Movement when President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller denied it three times. Although a rooster did not crow, everyone knew it was a lie.

When I moved to Columbus, I already knew from a vicar's essay that LPR was established to promote the Church Growth Movement. The response of the officials was to exclaim, "What would a dumb vicar know about that?" They poured contempt on an eye-witness account of LPR being formed. A later vicar said, "I inherited the vicar's office and it was stacked with Church Growth books." The dumb vicar later enrolled in a doctoral program, to study the Reformation.

Pastors make a big mistake in recoiling from dissent. They should say, "Bless their pea-picking little hearts, I must be onto something." (Tennesse Ernie Ford) I published a little article on the origins of Church Growth - I was flooded with grateful mail. Getting one letter from publishing an article is unusual. I got dozens of positive letters.

Clergy opposition grew proportionately, especially from those with scarlet fever (the burning desire to become an official). Therefore, I had to study every aspect of Church Growth and the remedies for this toxin. Fortunately I already did a lot of comparitive dogmatics at Notre Dame. The only way to study the Book of Concord is when Lutheran doctrine is under attack. That is why so many clergy blogs are insipid. They want to tiptoe around every issue, to promote their careers, to avoid anything that would keep them from a free trip to Europe.

Always-Has-the-Last-Word Wayne got me to database every Church Growth quotation I could find - Fuller, Willow Creek, LCMS, WELS, ELCA. Five hundred in all. They matched up like, well, like peas in a pod. The WELS leaders were not liberals - they were plagiarists! They were parrots, repeating everyting they heard at Fuller and Willow Creek. When I visited a run-down congregation in Akron, the WELS worship bulletin said, "We don't expect visitors to contribute to the offering." Sure enough, the pastor had been pressed to study at Willow Creek for free - courtesy of the Mission Board of the Michigan District. Willow Creek invented that line, forgetting that no one ever expected visitor to give more than a token.

The pastors follow the synod line because they believe all good comes from the warming womb of Holy Mother Synod. That is a violation of the First Commandment, as Luther taught (and we confess) in the Large Catechism:

Let every one, then, see to it that he esteem this commandment great and high above all things, and do not regard it as a joke. Ask and examine your heart diligently, and you will find whether it cleaves to God alone or not. If you have a heart that can expect of Him nothing but what is good, especially in want and distress, and that, moreover, renounces and forsakes everything that is not God, then you have the only true God. If, on the contrary, it cleaves to anything else, of which it expects more good and help than of God, and does not take refuge in Him, but in adversity flees from Him, then you have an idol, another god. (The Large Catechism, The First Commandment, #28, The Book of Concord)

If a pastor believes in God, then he knows that only God can remove him from that call. If that happens, it is God's will. If God wills that he stay there, no one can move him. The idolatry begins when he connives to do and say those things that will preserve his comfort and security, as if they come from the synod rather than God. He may succeed in his manipulation of the truth, but this slowly turns a minister into a servant of his Father Below and his church into a Synagogue of Satan.

Job's Comforters will always show up when a minister is driven out. They are willing to scrape his sores with some broken pottery, pour salt in his wounds, and gloat. They are really angels in disguise. It is a good time to ask, "Is this what I want to be?" Their self-righteous gloating is a good sign that blessings will follow.

Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. 17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: 18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. 19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; 20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.

False teachers in power are the surest sign of God's wrath, as Luther taught. If the pastors and members will not serve Christ, then they will serve Satan instead. The four-letter synods (ELCA, LCMS, WELS) are apostate. They comprise about 95% of the Lutherans. The only sect left of any size is the ELS, keeping itself busy as the Amen Corner of WELS. The micro-minis are the locked wards and padded cells of Lutheranism. That there are any Lutheran left in those dark corners is a miracle.

The course of action is to follow the Word and accept the consequences, which must be from God. He accomplishes His entire will through the Word. Luther had no plans, but the largest Protestant denomination in the world bears his name.

Opposition fuels study, writing, confessional thought. Turning oneself into synod-velcro induces torpor, intellectual shabbiness, and grotesque dishonesty.

WELS Management by Objective

WELS fell in love with Management by Objective, by Peter Drucker. It's not clear whether they got it from their unionistic activities with ELCA or from their study of Church Growth at Fuller Seminary.

How well is Management by Objective working for WELS?

Both prep schools and the college have recruiters to drum up more students.

The student population is dropping. Martin Luther College have to start home-schooling their students.

The schools were ordered to start Junk for Jesus rummage sales and other inanities with full-time fund-raisers. Isn't that working?

The budgets are gushing red ink.

But Church Growth is working, isn't it? They put all their chips on that red square marked Church Growth.

1. Membership has dropped ever since they found Fuller Seminary to be the new Mecca.
   
2. That is the good news - future decreases in membership will be even more rapid.
   

But Marvin Schwan died and saved the synod with the largest charitable gift ever, year after year, millions and millions of dollars. Where did it all go?

Next question.

The Tetzels are doing their job, signing people up for irrevocable gifts to the synod. That must make a difference.

The members are either not dying fast enough or they are not signing their estates away.

The First Table of the Ten Commandments

The First Commandment.

Thou shalt have no other gods.

What does this mean?--Answer.

We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

The Second Commandment.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.

What does this mean?--Answer.

We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

The Third Commandment.

Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day.

What does this mean?--Answer.

We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.

***

The Small Catechism explains why people should not worship an institution, whether it is a synod or a congregation. Sometimes pastors feel defensive because they have dared to say their synod is less than perfect. They say or write, "I love the synod."

That is the problem. The synod is sinful, an organization full of sinful people. In light of history, a Lutheran sect in the Midwest is not the highpoint of Christianity, the culmination of all theology.

The solution cannot possibly be the synod or the synod president, if anyone takes the Scriptures and Confessions seriously. Looking at how people express themselves, I would say that few Lutherans believe in the efficacy of the Word. I just got an email about relationships and culture while I was starting this. Both of those terms, relationships and culture, are fine escape hatches for people who do not or cannot talk about God working through the Means of Grace.

If pastors trusted the Word, there would be dozens of blogs where people would be addressing doctrinal issues. Instead, they trust the warm womb of Holy Mother Synod to give them that long-awaited, coveted assignment - if they resist rocking the boat. Perhaps one day they may be able to second the motion to adjourn on the final day of the convention.

Adopt-a-Synod Donor Needed for WELS

Designated gifts did not work well for ELCA, so WELS tried them.

Now WELS needs a donor to adopt the whole synod. The figures tell the story.

The Michigan District has now given, over the first five months, $744,560, $79,080 less than last year for the same period. The district had major gifts lined up for Michigan Lutheran Seminary, but those were canceled when the synod said they would close the school. Synod stewardship at work.

The Synod has received, for the same period, $7,262,780, $297,588 less than last year for the same period. Last year was a disaster. This year they cannot keep up with last year's disaster.

Some possible solutions are:

1. Adopt the Michigan District. Naming rights will be offered for any gift of $3 million per year for 10 years. If the gift is not renewed or replaced, the name will revert to the Michigan District. Imagine the pride in having a district named for your own family or your girlfriend. The Angela District might be hard to explain, but the Krankheit District would be difficult to spell and explain. Any district could be adopted, but the price would vary with the density of the Lutherans there. The denser districts would necessarily cost more.
2. Adopt a professor. If enough people would adopt a professor, each one could be forced to attend a graduate school to study the Book of Concord. Enough money would have to be included to pay tuition and to buy a butane lighter for burning up the Fuller diploma.
3. Adopt a district president. If the cash flow is sufficient, the donor may dictate decisions made by the DP. Do you need to buy a call for a friend or relative who should really be in prison and registered as a sex offender? Adopt a district president and a new call is assured. In fact, with enough cash, the call could include some district and synod honors, for self-esteem purposes.

Professor Olson Not Adopted

I heard that Lawrence Otto Olson, Waldo Werning Professor of Church Growth, was retiring from Martin Luther College. Needing solid proof, I googled various combinations and found this absurdity...Sadly, Our Staff Infection is not retiring as reported by a New Ulm resident. Ichabod apologizes to all who were momentarily elated.

Project Cost: $50,000 Project # WEL920.2107
Mission Partner Adoption Agreement with Adopt-a-Professor at Martin Luther College

FAST FACTS: WELS College of Ministry since 1995. Approximately 1,000 students, [more like 600 students] drawn from across the United States and several foreign countries prepare to serve the Lord as full-time ministers of the gospel. A faculty of about 90 Christian educators and 40 staff members. [Not mentioned – Soon to be turned into an Extended Care Facility by the Church Growth leaders of WELS.]

Learned readers - did you notice that women who graduate from MLC are full-time ministers of the Gospel? Women's ordination by fiat. "Let there be darkness. And there was darkness".

Professor Lawrence Olson is just one of a number of professors at Martin Luther College who has a story to tell. Here it is.

STAFF MINISTRY PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN WELS I direct the Staff Ministry Program at MLC, and thus my major role at the college concerns preparing individuals to work along with pastors and congregational members in areas such as evangelism, parish education, youth work, family ministry, visitation and administration. Responsibilities vary from parish to parish, but the common thread is that staff ministers focus on a few aspects of the ministry rather than being responsible for and involved with all areas.

When I accepted the divine call and moved to New Ulm in 1993, I became a professor without any students and the director of a program that did not exist! But we developed the program, with both degree and certification options, and began our training of staff ministers.

There are three elements in the program: general education in the liberal arts, a religion component parallel to what teaching candidates take and professional courses designed to equip candidates with the competencies necessary to serve in parish ministry. The professional component includes an internship that helps future church workers learn about the ministry by working closely both with the called workers and with the members of the congregation.

During this past decade, God has blessed the staff ministry approach, and we are thankful to him for giving his people opportunities for kingdom work in offices other than that of the pastor or teacher, and for blessing the members of our congregations who are served by these called workers.

PUTTING FACES WITH THE PROGRAM Let me introduce you to a few people who can help you understand what the Staff Ministry Program seeks to do:

Brent Bitter was a 1998 graduate of MLC, and was the first candidate to complete the dual program that certifies a candidate for both staff ministry and elementary education. He received an Staff ministry student Jennifer Goodger, gained experience ministering to senior citizens during an internship in Cape Coral, FL. exciting call to serve along with Pastor Philip Hoyer in starting from scratch a mission church in Jacksonville, Florida. Their work has developed into Victory Lutheran Church, a growing congregation that has a current membership of 117 souls; they own six acres of prime real estate and have architectural plans for an initial facility of 7,600 square feet. They currently worship in the University Center on the campus of the University of North Florida and use their ministry center on Beach Boulevard for offices, midweek events and fellowship activities. Jacksonville is a rapidly growing city, which bodes well for the growth of the congregation.

Brent Bitter Brent’s responsibilities at Victory include youth and family education, outreach, fellowship and administration. He writes, My life wouldn’t be the same without the training I received in the MLC staff ministry program. My education didn’t just equip me to serve in a congregation; it prepared me to live as a Christian in this world. The staff ministry program didn’t just help me become a called worker; it helped me become a better Christian person. I pray that many other students will reap the benefits of the staff ministry program.

Amanda Meier graduated in 2003, and is also certified for both staff ministry and elementary education. Mandi grew up in a parsonage in Arizona, and had a good deal of experience in her home congregation: canvassing, evangelism, teaching Sunday School and involvement with choirs and the youth group. She attended Phoenix College for a year before transferring to MLC. Her first call, to Shepherd Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, combines responsibilities that utilize both kinds of training for ministry that she received: she was assigned to teach grades 3-5 and to serve in youth ministry.

Tom Benzing, a retired Technical Sergeant from the U.S. Air Force, is an example of the kind of second-career candidate that our program serves. Tom began taking correspondence and extension courses five years ago, and he had already met other program requirements through previous studies. When he retired after 21 years of active duty, he was in a position to come to New Ulm for one year to take the rest of his required courses. Tom graduated in 2004 and was assigned to a tent ministry position at St. Stephen in Fallbrook, California where he serves as the Family Minister. Thank God for our pastors and teachers. Thank God, as well, for his blessing of our efforts to provide other roles in which men and women can use their gifts and experiences to serve in the public ministry.

About the Professor Lawrence Olson Lawrence Olson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran High School, Northwestern College, and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. [Not listed – He earned the coveted D.Min. degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.] He served as the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Loves Park, Illinois from 1983 to 1993. Since that time he has been a professor of ministry and religion at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota where he directs the staff ministry program, a program that trains individuals to serve as staff assistants in congregations.

He also directs the synods Congregational Evangelist Program, which prepares men and women for service as evangelists in their own local churches. Dr. Olson's wife, Mary, is an early childhood special education teacher in the Mankato, MN public school district. Their six children range in age from 11 to 23; three are in college, two in high school, and one in grade school. [So why is he called Dr. Olson when no such degree is mentioned in his qualifications to teach?]

Mission Partner Adoption Agreement with Adopt-a-Professor at Martin Luther College I/We hereby agree to support MLC Adopt-a-Professor, Project # WEL920.2107 with a total of $_____________________ during the next __________________ years. My/Our gift will be sent $______ monthly $______ quarterly $______ semi-annually $______ annually Enclosed is my gift of $________________. ____ Bill my credit or check card $__________. ____MasterCard ____Visa ____Discover ____American Express Acct #_________________________________ Exp date:____________ Signature:______________________________ ____ I want the convenience of Electronic Funds Transfer. Please include a voided check. Date for automated transfer is the 20th of the month. Please make checks payable to WELS. Send to: WELS Ministry of Planned Giving, 2929 N Mayfair Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53222

Name:_______________________________
Spouses first name:_________________________ Address:_______________________________________________ Date:___________________ City:__________________________ State:_______________ Zip:_____________________ Home phone:__________________________ E-mail:________________________________ Congregation name:_______________________________ Congregation city:_______________________

Note: Gifts given to Mission Partners will be credited to your congregations mission offerings without indicating your name unless you request otherwise.

Please adopt me!

Charity Begins at Home

The current salary for Lutheran World Relief's president is $151,008 per year, according to

Charity Navigator.

Plagiarism in the Lutheran Church

One reader said he looked for daily updates to Ichabod. Fortunately, there is enough comedy material on Lutheran sites for hourly updates. My mortgage holder encourages me to make regular and timely payments, so I have to take a few breaks now and then, to work.

The WELS AnswerMan has touched my funny button again. The issue is plagiarism. What if the pastor is plagiarizing his sermons? I knew of a case where a WELS pastor gave sermons verbatim from a Church Growth source, copying the inflections and pauses. He was supposed to stop, but he could not resist. Eventually he left the ministry, even though he was a favorite of the Mission Counselors' Newsletter. Many of the favorites of WELS administrators have left the ministry or the Lutheran Church.

Plagiarism describes the work of Lutheran leaders for the last 30 years. In the 1960's there was excitement over Luther's works. The editor of The Northwestern Lutheran told me in 1987 that WELS used to have giant Reformation services in Milwaukee. They no longer did. The same editor loved Church Growth conferences and promoted them in his magazine.

Everything coming from various Lutheran headquarters is regurgitated from Fuller Seminary, which is only repeating what marketing experts have taught in business schools: demographics, market share, statistics, advertising schemes. For years I matched up Fuller sources with verbatim quotations from the LCMS and WELS. Then, with the audacity of hope, I quoted Luther on related topics. Now that really set them off at the Love Shack, 2929 N. Mayfield Road.

A side order of plagiarism is always available - the Lutheran Church aping the Roman Catholic Church. Notre Dame is the center of worship education in America. People earn doctorates in worship and move to influential positions in various denominations. Therefore, Roman worship is the gold standard of piety just as Communism is the gold standard of socialism.

I would rather be in a high church service choreographed by an atheist than a Church Growth Seeker Service run by an atheist - for one reason. If all the ancient traditions are followed (historic liturgy, historic Scripture readings, Creeds, Sacraments, a real sermon), then Christ is conveyed through the Means of Grace.

If the recruitment effort (Friendship Sunday, Seeker Service, Revival) is led by an atheist, the ultimate result will be Unitarian or atheistic, no matter how grand the goals. Even if the poor, deluded Church Growth minister is a believer, the final results will be the same. Sowing weed seed will only yield a luxurious growth of weeds.

Let me offer one example. I received a large postcard in the mail. On one side were huge letters proclaiming: SEX, MONEY, POWER. On the other side, the card said, "Now that we have your attention, please accept our invitation to Blah Blah Community Church." The people who responded to this attack on their intelligence and emotional maturity would go up to the minister on Sunday, saying, "Oh we just had to attend a church that was so clever. You really got our attention."

The poor devil would be grinning like his Father Below at his grand schemes. More tricks would follow to keep the place going. Success (if it does happen) would follow the content of the message - pure Me-ism. What if all the methods failed? The poor devil is crushed. He did his best, earned his Fuller degree, went to seminars at Willow Creek, listened to tapes from C. Peter Wagner in his car. Now what? He says to his soul, "Soul, the only thing left is teaching staff ministry!" Or he joins the synod staff to lead others along the same path of plagiarism.

Here are some examples of Fuller-plagiarism from the WELS Home Office:

1. Friendship Sunday
   
2. Seeker Services
   
3. Getting Rid of the Denomination's Name Wherever Possible (FIC, CW, CrossWalk)
   
4. Pit Bands in the Chancel
   
5. Hiding the Communion Service So Visitors Are Not Offended
   
6. Pep Talks Replacing Sermons
   
7. Replacing the Organ with a Piano (a freak-out aping Willow Creek)
   
8. Puppet Shows
   
9. Staff Ministry So Women Can Be Called Ministers
   
10. Cell/Share/Care/Koinonia Groups

.

Nothing shows more hatred of the Lutheran Church and the doctrine of Christ than these plagiarized efforts. And yet, the Home Office drones condemn anyone who sees through their sabotage as Unloving and Hurting the Church (Damaging Our Salary Potential).

When Lutheran Pastors Cry

I was reminded of an incident when I ran into a news story, condensed below. I was talking to a WELS pastor when I was still serving in that sect. I mentioned that the synod had been an active participant in Lutheran World Relief for many years. He said, almost crying, "I can't believe that. I was born in WELS. I grew up in WELS. I never heard of that."

"OK," I went on, "your district president, Robert Mueller, serves on the board. He mentioned his recent meeting with the LCA Bishop Crumley and others. Besides, it is public knowledge, in published material, even a book."

He was stunned. The issue was how often and how joyously WELS worked with ELCA.

Our far-sighted Michigan District even gave money to the United Nations, for the CARE project.

Missouri members know enough about the world outside the synod womb to realize that their organization does not float above the earth, like so many legendary Roman Catholic saints. In fact, the Catholic saint stories sound remarkably like the hagiography of WELS and the ELS.

The true Church is invisible and not confined to the boundaries of any given sect, as many acknowledge but fail to believe. Lutheran leaders of the past were fairly self-less, as far as I can determine from the history books. Passavant was one of those heroes. There were many others. Now we have managers, not very good ones at that.

Long before the Clinton scandals erupted, with witnesses silenced, I saw the same methods used in the Lutheran Church. I documented some things for the future president of Bethany Seminary. He said, "If half of this is true, we are in trouble." I said, "All of it is true." The managers did me a big favor by challenging everything I brought up, so I stuck to what could be documented. The response has always been disbelief, shunning, and that old stand-by - the personal attack. They are not content to attack the bearer of bad news. They move on to slander every member of his family. Shunning is what Lutheran pastors fear, instead of trembling before God's Word.

The gap between reality and fantasy continues to grow. Every so often I search Lutheran blogs for something of substance. Instead I find stories like this:

John Nunes Named President of Lutheran World Relief

The name sounded familiar, so I read the story to find out more of his history. Did he previously serve any Lutheran congregations as a pastor? I find that earlier information missing. He seems to be LCMS, but lately has been earning a doctorate of sorts at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, aka The Devil's Playground. Kent Hunter earned a similar degree at LSTC, as well as a prestigious D.Min. from Fuller Seminary. Hunter was originally LCMS but belongs to the world now as The Church Doctor.

Please check out Dr. Hunter in his physician's garb. Physician - heal thyself. Study the Book of Concord instead of Understanding Church Growth.

Ah yes. I found a story, which summarizes various news sources. The material is from Jack Cascione but appears to be accurate anyway:

Nunes Organist and Kieschnick Convention Musician Murders Woman, Sets Fire to House.

Actual news releases are reprinted here:

Church Member Strangled

Various versions of the whole matter are here:

LCMS version and Rebuttals

Nunes' previous congregation was not named in the official LWR news release, perhaps because of unpleasant associations. As I recall, he joined the ELCA Wheatridge Foundation as a staff member soon after the scandal and will remain as a consultant for them while serving as LWR President.

Two congregations are involved. The organist knew the victim from working at her church, Grace, where Henstenberg resigned. Pastor Nunes then hired him at St. Paul's. Somehow this unusual person became the directly involved in the LCMS 2004 convention, due to his connection with Nunes, a responsibility canceled due to his arrest.

A sermon involving the alleged murderer is here:

Sermon

Another mention is here:

Offerings

Apparently the seminary is a joint Episcopal/ELCA effort.

His testimony at his trial is found below. The original news link is gone.

Testimony

Some interesting questions are asked here:

Why Was Nobody Warned?

Pan-Lutheran Lavender Mafia

Anonymous, the famous poet and donor, asked, "What is the Lavender Mafia?"

The Lavender Mafia is a nickname for the pan-Lutheran political activism already going on, comprised of many different organizations. Roman Catholics have their version. People should ready Goodbye Good Men for some insights into this.

Two Lutheran organizations out in the open are:

Extraordinary Candidacy Project

and

Lutherans Concerned/North America.

Don't miss the LC/NA Reconciled in Christ Program.

These groups have been quite successful. The multi-cultural project was launched at Snowbird in 1991, when Lutheran Brotherhood (now Thrivent) got ELCA, LCMS, and WELS together. Culture is not what you think, Anonymous. Culture is not Bach, French food, and silkscreens. Multi-ethnic in ELCA's vocabulary means many different racial groups. Multi-cultural means that the homosexual/lesbian culture is welcomed at the church or organization. Note that ELCA congregations will say they are both "multi-ethnic and multi-cultural."

WELS has some kind of homosexual ministry going on. When the schools were being defunded, WELS found funds to appoint someone for that position, which was announced. It would be interesting to see if they still have funds for it. Missouri probably has a person appointed, too. The LCMS follows ELCA fairly closely. Missouri posted a study on its website some years ago. Then the study disappeared. Studies are handy, easy to lose, easy to deny. WELS had someone bow in the same direction in a sermon at a convention.

Wake up and smell the latte.

Are They Leaders or Followers?

One of the fallacies of the Lutheran Church is that voting gives power to people, as if democratic principles have a positive impact on a church organization. People fail to notice how carefully controlled those votes can be. The organization is in love with itself. The people who live from the proceeds need the institution to be strong in money and weak in ethics. When someone is elected president or bishop, the election is arranged, whether the sect is tiny and inconsequential or large and inconsequential.

Years ago, in one district of the LCA the president was elected by having a whispering campaign against the strongest candidate's wife. She was disabled, so he could not be a good president. The campaign worked, defeating the more capable candidate. Compassionate, liberal pastors did this.

The ELS has the WELS unwritten rule of the VP becoming president when the president finally retires. The new VP was a threat to the tradition of the ELS being the lickspittle of WELS, so John Moldstad was promoted to replace him. The lickspittle faction rejoiced that they ejected one person in favor of Moldstad, who soon became Pope John the Malefactor. ELS pastors politicking? Oh no! Bragging about it? Oh no! So the naive sheep are led around until they are fleeced.

The people who run the synods are never the noisy ones. The real leaders are the people who work behind the figureheads. They may brag about it from time to time, as Kincaid Smith does in the ELS, but they mostly keep their mouths shut. They have the satisfaction of seeing their plans accomplished over time. They get their children or siblings into the best positions and then pile on anyone, like hobos on a hotdog, if someone questions the actions or doctrine of another member of the lickspittle faction (or Church Growth faction in WELS, or Lavender Mafia in ELCA).

That is the basic problem, easily observed in ELCA, Missouri, WELS, the ELS, and mini-micro sects. Therefore, those who care about sound doctrine are wasting their time playing the devil's game in politics. They can never win because God works through the Word, and Satan works through politicking. One example will suffice. An orthodox Lutheran woman asked a WELS pastor to speak out about Church Growth. He said, "I am not going to, because I want a teaching position at the college." He silenced himself to get the job. Now he has the job and the college is vanishing faster than liquor at a WELS ministerial meeting.

Luther argued that we should teach the Word and accept the consequences. Satan teaches people to aim for their goals and bend the Word to meet their objectives. Women are teaching men, pit bands are in the chancel, Fuller graduates are professors, and you ask me who is winning?