Teigen Fizzles at Historical Wit

Norm Teigen's Ad Hominem Argumentation

Norm Teigen, ELS, has decided to leave no thought unpublished. I really thought the ELS confined itself to whispering campaigns, but no, Teigen commits the typical ELS line to the blogosphere. Here it is verbatim:

Other bloggers
While my blog was not up, I spent time reading other blogs. There is a Lutheran Blog Directory that consists of many interesting sites. Give it a try.

There is another blog that I read, although I will probably give it up rather soon. The writer spends much time in condemning Lutheran groups of which he is not a member. He portrays himself as an informed insider about matters within the Wisconsin Synod.

Earlier this week the blogger, whom I call 'The Bloviator', said that he would not join the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

He persists in demeaning the leaders of both the Wisconsin Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

I think that this man has probably been in and out of a number of synods and is an angry person.

I was recently reading about John Winthrop, the leader of the Massachusetts Colony. Winthrop was a fair and honest man. Two of his problems were Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams. We know these two persons from studying freedom of religion in history.

Williams was a pain for Winthrop. He was constantly making trouble. Finally Williams moved out of Massachusetts into Rhode Island. Williams was so worried about associating with sinful people that he finally concluded that the only person with whom he could commune was his own wife.

The Bloviator reminds me of Williams. He has found so much evil in the various Lutheran synods that he finds himself alone. Alone and on the internet.

It's lonely to be in the right and all alone.

Now we know what ELS members do instead of dealing with doctrine. One time, ELS Pastor Kincaid Smith phoned, with ELS Pastor Paul Schneider on the line. Kincaid led the charge sneering that he agreed with a pastor (at some meeting), to wit, "Greg Jackson has no credibility anymore." I asked, "If I have no credibility, why are two ELS pastors phoning me long distance? If I had no credibility, you wouldn't care what I published." That silenced Kincaid for a moment. He also sneered, "You don't have a friend in the world." I wondered how Kincaid could determine the number of my friends from a distance of 1500 miles and no contact. Perhaps the Holy Spirit told him. I find that many former charismatics never lose their complex about being in the direct line of the Apostles.

When I happened on Teigen's blog today, I immediately thought, "He sounds just like Kincaid." The ELS is so tiny that everything bounces around, like sounds in a tiled bathroom. Every tenor thinks he is Caruso. Thus the ELS and its non-theologians. If a man is tossed from his LCMS seminary after a bad vicarage, he can strut around the ELS.

I have had a number of anonymous comments posted on Ichabod. Comments are moderated, so I can reject them. One individual has become more and more outraged that I did not publish his unsigned comments. My policy has been to publish intelligent, thoughtful comments, whether they agree with me or not, signed or not. Hysterical name-calling (much worse than the example above) is rejected.

I have had many intersting experiences with writing. Kincaid Smith, who often published in Christian News, phoned me to tell me to stop publishing in CN. WELS made constant efforts to keep me from quoting them verbatim.

To meet Teigen's high standards of publishing:
1. I should have stayed in a synod that no longer exists, cheering on their pro-abortion, Leftist, anti-Trinitarian doctrine.
2. I should never question the false doctrine of church leaders, even though that is the substance of the Book of Concord, affirming the positive and rejecting distortions of the Gospel.
3. I should be silent about felons in the ministry, church workers who murder their spouses, married vicars who have affairs with minor girls, and those who cover up for them.
4. I should make as many ad hominem remarks as I wish, hinting at but never naming my target, to avoid violating the Eighth Commandment.

My only defense against Norm's tirade is to quote my favorite author:

"Let him therefore who is concerned about his life not be taken in by the friendliness of heretics to agree with their doctrine. Neither let him be offended at my faults, who am a teacher, but let him consider the doctrine itself."
[Origen, Homily 7, on Ezekiel]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 154.

If someone says something unpleasant in the Lutheran Church, whatever sect, the point is refuted by a personal attack against the speaker or writer. If that is not ruthless enough, they attack the individual's family members as well. Is it not true that Rolf Preus' son could not finish at Bethany Lutheran Seminary, a school endowed by his grandfather with a priceless selection of rare Lutheran orthodox books? Robert and Jack Preus made Bethany Seminary famous. It took the pharoah much longer to know not Joseph (Exodus 1:8)

If someone is a blatant false teacher, his apostate buddies jump in and say,
"No, he is a nice guy."
"I graduated with him."
"I drank a lot of beer with him."

All three refutations are non sequiturs. They have nothing to do with the issue.

ELS pastors would have everyone think they have arrived in Rivendell. As tiny as the group is, the ELS still has sects and divisions. One is called "The Teigenites."

Conclusion - The Ten Commandments

This (I say) it is profitable and necessary always to teach to the young people, to admonish them and to remind them of it, that they may be brought up not only with blows and compulsion, like cattle, but in the fear and reverence of God. For where this is considered and laid to heart that these things are not human trifles, but the commandments of the Divine Majesty, who insists upon them with such earnestness, is angry with, and punishes those who despise them, and, on the other hand, abundantly rewards those who keep them, there will be a spontaneous impulse and a desire gladly to do the will of God. Therefore it is not in vain that it is commanded in the Old Testament to write the Ten Commandments on all walls and corners, yes, even on the garments, not for the sake of merely having them written in these places and making a show of them, as did the Jews, but that we might have our eyes constantly fixed upon them, and have them always in our memory, and that we might practise them in all our actions and ways, and every one make them his daily exercise in all cases, in every business and transaction, as though they were written in every place wherever he would look, yea, wherever he walks or stands. Thus there would be occasion enough, both at home in our own house and abroad with our neighbors, to practise the Ten Commandments, that no one need run far for them.

From this it again appears how highly these Ten Commandments are to be exalted and extolled above all estates, commandments, and works which are taught and practised aside from them. For here we can boast and say: Let all the wise and saints step forth and produce, if they can, a [single] work like these commandments, upon which God insists with such earnestness, and which He enjoins with His greatest wrath and punishment, and, be. sides, adds such glorious promises that He will pour out upon us all good things and blessings. Therefore they should be taught above all others, and be esteemed precious and dear, as the highest treasure given by God. (The Ten Commandments, #330f, The Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

When the Supreme Court was deciding upon whether a state supreme court could have a monument to the Ten Commandments in a public area, no one seemed to notice that the US Supreme Court Building has always had Moses and the Ten Commandments carved in marble on its building. There is also a statue of Martin Luther in Washington DC - in a public place.

This summary by Luther is another example of his eloquence about the Scriptures. His warnings have come to pass. Many young adults have no real knowledge of the Bible. Two young women stayed after my class (introduction to the university) to discuss Christianity and how to grow in the faith. We had a long discussion about Christianity and religious training. One woman said her training consisted of "being placed on a bus every Sunday and taken to Sunday School." She had no training and home and felt somewhat lost with three children and a husband. The easy route for parents leaves the adult children in ignorance. Another generation is in danger from the spiritual inertia of the grandparents.

Lutherans need to remember this lesson. Early training after Holy Baptism is necessary. The Book of Concord says, "The head of the household..." That places the father in the teaching office of the home.

Michigan Lutheran Seminary Brochure

A layman mailed me the Michigan Lutheran Seminary brochure. I found it sad, touching, and disturbing as well. Doubtless the Luther Prep situation is almost the same, but I have direct connections to MLS through our son. Besides, MLS will be closed immediately if Wayne Mueller still has the last word on the subject. Luther Prep is slated to go as well, but that will take a few more months.

Whenever MLS students wear their logo around Saginaw, residents ask them, "Are they really closing your school?" A residential school develops quite a spirit among its students, faculty, parents, and alumni. Each question must be painful to hear. Naturally, this funereal atmosphere keeps enrollments depressed and gifts on hold. Why would someone give to a school that is closing?

I was still in the Michigan District, WELS, when the DP and his loyal robots provided the district meeting with four different ways to close Northwestern College. All four were soundly defeated, even though they were presented as if an angel from heaven wrote them. Nevertheless, the same DP, Robert Mueller, showed up at the WELS convention and spoke in favor of closing NWC.

MLS anticipated the budget pressures against the school. This is clearly a case of Wayne Mueller and Company funding their missionaries all over the world, a huge budget for technology, needless magazines, and other frills, while saying, "We cannot afford two preps, or even one." The Church Growth people will turn Luther Prep into Marty's Live Bait Shop as soon as they can get the sign painted.

MLS had a plan to create self-support for their school, but the synod leaders aborted that by announcing the closing. According to the brochure, members of the synodical council were kept ignorant of these plans when the closing was being discussed and approved. I sense personal animosity and vindictiveness behind the plans to close MLS.

I wrote this before: Church Growth people hate schools. This is the fruit of Church Growth tolerated and supported. More than one Lutheran pastor has been mugged while opposing Church Growth. Too bad so many fellow pastors stood by and watched. Now no one is left with any fight.

From a distance, I interpret the sudden drop in national giving to a complete rejection of the Mueller/Gurgel regime. The closings I interpret as retaliation by Mueller, the way school boards threaten communities with the loss of their favorite programs if the millage is voted down. As Wayne wrote on his gaseous blog, "Does it hurt enough yet?"

Coveting - The Firstfruits of Church Growth

Thou shalt not covet...

Therefore we allow these commandments to remain in their ordinary meaning, that it is commanded, first, that we do not desire our neighbor's damage, nor even assist, nor give occasion for it, but gladly wish and leave him what he has, and, besides, advance and preserve for him what may be for his profit and service, as we should wish to be treated. Thus these commandments are especially directed against envy and miserable avarice, God wishing to remove all causes and sources whence arises everything by which we do injury to our neighbor, and therefore He expresses it in plain words: Thou shalt not covet, etc. For He would especially have the heart pure, although we shall never attain to that as long as we live here; so that this commandment will remain, like all the rest, one that will constantly accuse us and show how godly we are in the sight of God! (The Ten Commandments, #309f., The Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

Coveting is certainly the fountainhead or energy behind many violations of the Ten Commandments. How many murders began in coveting? How many destroyed marriages and families? Coveting is the most dangerous sin listed in the Commandments because one can engage in no outward activity or words and still be guilty of coveting. In addition, as Luther noted, coveting is especially tempting for the most pious and outwardly observant.

Since the Church Growth Movement is rooted in man's wisdom, marketing, and false doctrine, we should not be suprised to find Church Growth leaders champions of coveting. What do they desire from life? Not fidelity to the Scriptures. The more they violate their own confessions (whatever denomination), the more they appeal to the Old Adam, the more popular they become. Fidelity to marriage is also optional. Their large congregations wink at their ability to switch spouses or play the field.

More than one layman has told me about Church Growth pastors who announce to non-members, "Please consider me your pastor." Clearly the ministers do this to entice members from another congregation into theirs, or at the very least, these unethical men want to involve themselves in another minister's divine call. Church Growth pastors are not content to have their trotters in the trough. They want every trough to be their own as well.

Coveting, like mercy, is twice-blest. The covetous minister attracts covetous members, who long to be associated with the mall-like church everyone knows and admires. What better place to network for business?

Reformed Doctrine - Heavy Metal Poison

One person wisely commented that Reformed doctrine, from Zwingli and Calvin and the Pietists, is more dangerous than Romanism among Lutherans. Many are infected with Romanism at Ft. Wayne, sometimes in the name of Eastern Orthodoxy. I find papal fever in the plaintive wail of someone justifying the title bishop in his micro-mini sect: "If we want to call ourselves catholic..." I understand the context of the complaint, but I wonder if this is the time to embrace or be embraced by Patristic Fundamentalism:

Gimme that old time episcopacy
Gimme that old time episcopacy
Gimme that old time episcopacy
It's good enough for me.

It was good enough for Augie (Augustine)
It was good enough for Jerry (Jerome)
It was good enough for Connie (St. Constantine, or Constantine the Great)
And it's good enough for me.

Reformed doctrine is like mercury, a toxic heavy metal often used in mining and still used in dentists' offices. Mercury clings to gold and silver. Oh no, the dentist never says, "Would you like mercury in your mouth?" He says he will use the words silver or amalgam*. Silver is too hard to be used alone, so it is blended, amalgamated with mercury to make it maleable. Gold is ideal because it is the most maleable metal and is non-toxic besides. Gold is a bit spendy, as they say in New Ulm. (Spendy in New Ulm means pricey.)

Lutherans who study Reformed doctrine and methods (the two cannot be separated) become Reformed, Pietistic, and even Pentecostal. Mequon, the LCMS seminaries, and Bethany have produced Church Growth Enthusiasts of the worst callibre. This does not happen by accident. As Rogers and Hammerstein might have written, had they studied Lutheran theology:

You've Got to Be Carefully Taught

You've got to be taught to love Church Growth,
You've got to be taught to be an oaf,
It's got to be drummed in your dear little brain.
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to quickly flee
From Means of Grace and efficacy,
And people whose trust is in God's Word.
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
You earn an M.Div. and you graduate,
To hate all the Lutherans your teachers hate
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be carefully taught.

Every single collapse of Lutheran doctrine (Prussian Church Union, Revivalism, American Lutheranism, Lutheran Pietism, Pentecostalism/Charismatic Movement, Church Growth) has happened because of Lutherans abandoning Biblical doctrine in favor of Reformed doctrine and those methods associated with the doctrine. Pietists believed in cell groups, not the worship service and the Means of Grace. Pentecostals believe in their own sweating-shrieking-spirit-baptism, not in the water/Spirit baptism of John 3.

Those converted from Lutheran orthodoxy to another religion have always masked their new doctrine while insisting that the true measure of genuine religion comes from baptism in the new authors. Find out what these people create for their reading lists and their doctrine will be revealed in a flash. Lutheran social activists were baptized in Walter Rauschenbusch, measuring everything by his set of filters. Thus we have the foundation for ELCA activism today. Even the same "parables" are used. Should we bind the wounds of the man robbed on the highway - or - make that highway safe? (The answer is obvious to them, because they cannot comprehend what the parable actually teaches. Besides, they also want to add a toll-both on the highway.)

Both the current cancers are Reformed in doctrine - Church Growth and Pentecostalism. Look at the required readings lists. Read the people they quote with such adoration in their lite books and kooky essays. They almost always reveal, at one time or another, a hatred for Lutheran doctrine, Lutheran hymns, the Creeds, and reliable translations.

*When the Church Growth liberals decided to close Northwestern College and merge it with Dr. Martin Luther College, they did not call it a closing or a merger. They called it Amalgamation. One wit called it the Anschluss. The German word was a better description. The liberals promised that the pastoral track would remain and not be watered down. As soon as the shot-gun marriage was forced, after years of resistance from all parties except the Love Shack bosses, the pastoral track was abandoned. One friend called up and said, "They lied to us." I asked, "Was this the first time? Stop drinking the Kool-Aid and face reality."

Eighth Commandment - The Forgotten Paragraph

All this has been said regarding secret sins. But where the sin is quite public so that the judge and everybody know it, you can without any sin avoid him and let him go, because he has brought himself into disgrace, and you may also publicly testify concerning him. For when a matter is public in the light of day, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying; as, when we now reprove the Pope with his doctrine, which is publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. For where the sin is public, the reproof also must be public, that every one may learn to guard against it. (The Ten Commandments, #284The Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

This paragraph covers two matters. One is law-breaking. The other is doctrinal. Clearly, a district president, minister, or vicar who has been convicted by a jury and sent to prison would be identified and shunned under this rubric. However, the organizations cover up for these people so that the blue-haired ladies who give all the money do not have a stroke and cancel their pledges. ("Thank heavens," say the Tetzels, "for irrevocable gift trusts.") Therefore, we find actual criminals given the best possible PR, silence, encouraging others to follow their example.

The second part is passed over quickly in this passage but occupies all of Luther's writing. As someone mentioned years ago, Luther did not discover the Gospel. He did not become the first of his generation to teach the Gospel. His distinction was to teach the Gospel and declare what was contrary to the Gospel. The Antichrist could tolerate the Gospel alone, but he could not tolerate being called a false teacher. Luther did this throughout his writings and sermons. The Book of Concord is known for its antithetical statesments as well (Formula of Concord).

The false teachers today constantly run under the shelter of the Eighth Commandment. They are being slandered when their doctrine is questioned. One notable experience took place when I identified Paul Kelm endorsing a pan-Lutheran Church Growth conference. Frosty Bivens immediately stood up and said, "I want to defend Paul Kelm's good name." I wondered to myself, "What does that have to do with the truth?"

I was asked to prove Kelm's endorsement. I produced it in its original form. Bivens then said, "Maybe this was printed without his permission." Slick Brenner noted that this was not an isolated accident with Kelm. The Church Growth chorus always chimed in for each other and knew the DPs would always be their Amen Corner. Moreover, the Church Growth chorus is pan-Lutheran: their loyalty knows no bounds.

Yelling "Slander" falsely is itself a personal attack, and it is perversely evil. However, to counter by saying, "No you are a slanderer" is a gigantic waste of breath. Readers of Ichabod would be surprised at how nasty some Lutherans are in secret when they pose as mild and moderate in public.

Any attempt to deal with false doctrine will be met with demonic rage. If someone has published an error, such as Valleskey's disastrous We Believe, Therefore We Speak, his halleluia chorus for the Church Growth Movement, then his words are worthy of being dissected. I have published the verbatim quotations of these Fuller students many times. Oh my, how they howl in protest. "They were published out of context!" That encouraged me to quote even larger sections. The cries of injustice grew even louder, reaching the ears of their Father Below.

R. Schulz posted an excellent comment already. He is correct. The false teachers demand that their published errors be addressed privately, confusing the Eighth Commandment with Matthew 19. That does not work either. When I talked to various WELS pastors about what they were doing, a future DP told me, "You are so direct that it is causing great consternation."

WELS Pastor Stadler called me up in a fury because I published something against his published essay, called Heirs Together. I renamed it Errorists Together. He told me wrathfully that I should have "withstood him to his face." Very KingJamesish. It sounded well rehearsed. So I said, "Do you want to know what I think about your essay?" He said, "No."

When pastors went to Paul Kelm about his Church Growth fanaticism, nothing happened.

When ELS pastors had trouble with the sect's Public Ministry of the WELS document, they were defenestrated. I do not have the newest editions of the Book of Concord, but I suspect that the PMW is not there...yet.

Everyone benefits when doctrine is discussed and debated. The apostates knew what they were doing when they outlawed any form of dialogue about their errors. That is a sin against the Holy Spirit. The nasties are saying right now, "There he goes again." I have heard WELS pastors say, "The Holy Spirit put the circuit pastor in that office. Who am I to question his decisions?" Questioning any errorist in WELS is a confrontation with God Almighty. Count on it being something other than a still, small voice.

Eighth Commandment - A Price To Pay

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Next, it extends very much further, if we are to apply it to spiritual jurisdiction or administration; here it is a common occurrence that every one bears false witness against his neighbor. For wherever there are godly preachers and Christians, they must bear the sentence before the world that they are called heretics, apostates, yea, seditious and desperately wicked miscreants. Besides, the Word of God must suffer in the most shameful and malicious manner, being persecuted, blasphemed, contradicted, perverted, and falsely cited and interpreted. But let this pass; for it is the way of the blind world that she condemns and persecutes the truth and the children of God, and yet esteems it no sin.(The Ten Commandments, #262, The Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

Martin Luther consistently taught a theology of the cross: the Word brings persecution. When people leave ELCA for a conservative Lutheran body, they are shocked by the way in which Lutherans pounce on other Lutherans. Seminarians used to be surprised after they got their first call. What they did as seminarians was lauded previously. So many would say, "I am so glad you are training to be a minister." Suddenly, a Scriptural sermon creates an earthquake.

Much of that has changed since Missouri, WELS, and the ELS began aping ELCA in filtering out candidates for the ministry. In the old days, seminarians were welcomed in all denominations if they had the basic qualifications. Then the wise guys realized that one must be very picky about the ultimate harvest. Pre-seminary interviews in the LCA allowed bad attitudes (pro-life, etc.) to come out in the open. No certification for seminary in the LCA/ELCA meant the road was blocked. The pan-Lutheran leadership gatherings let the backward synods catch on to the political value of blocking candidates.

So many stories could be told about the evil practices of today. Most of them would open old wounds in friends. Much of this comes from the top down - synod officials and seminary drones thinning out the competition. After, if intelligent and highly trained men entered the ministry with an independent spirit, what become of the addled politicians who run the show? Even the dumbest church official knows when his job is threatened. Usually, everything except abject submission threatens him.

The sad harvest of shame is this: faithful laity can hardly find shelter in an orthodox congregation. Their pastor must goose-step to the tune of "Beautiful Sunshine" (the start of McGavran's career at Fuller) or find themselves suddenly declared "out of fellowship."

Bang the Doors Shut On Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Wayne!

On pages 20 and 21 is the Synod Convention discussion - Pre-Convention Coverage. One can easily infer that MLS closure is a foregone conclusion. There are two interesting paragraphs.

Under Ministerial Education concerns ---

"If Michigan Lutheran Seminary is closed, efforts will be made to replace the number of graduates that it sends to Martin Luther College. 'We need future workers in the church', says Mueller. 'Institutionally we have committed ourselves to recruitment.' This means implementing an aggressive recruitment strategy at Martin Luther College; working with area Lutheran high schools on recruitment; and encouraging current and future MLS students to attend Luther Preparatory School, the preparitory school closer to the greater concentration of WELS members and whose campus can accommodate more students."

Under Stewardship emphasis --

"A 21 percent increase (or $3.9 million) in 2008-2009 will allow WELS to maintain all of its current ministries, including MIchigan Lutheran Seminary. Once Congregational Mission Offerings reach that level, support needs to continue to grow 5 to 6 percent annually (for inflation) in order to maintain ministry. But this is no small task. Current commitments for 2007 were up only 1.4 percent over receipts for the last calendar year."

I am no CPA and Wayne did not send me the spreadsheets, but...

I wonder why so many budget items are non-negotiable. Technology seems way out of line for a small potatoes sect like WELS. Do the DPs have to enjoy assistants? The WELS DPs are just like Episcopal bishops. They have parishes but an underling does the congregation work.

I noticed from various news releases that the Chosen Ones fly all over the map for special projects. These too are dire necessities, I am sure.

New foreign missionary projects are run by Al Sorum and Company, another black hole of expense.

The WELS budget, as presented by Wayne Mueller, reminds me of the lawyer at the end of a tort lawsuit? "Only $500,000, Judge? Doesn't my client deserve something?"

I may be the first to notice that the 1.4% increase is a message to The Love Shack - new occupants wanted, at a lower occupancy rate.

WELS Different from LCMS?

The WELS AnswerMan has done it again. I suspect AnswerMan also wrote the letter being answered. The basic content is - We visited an LCMS congregation and could not wait to get back to the oasis of orthodoxy that is WELS/ELS.

I will allow that some WELS/ELS members are so brain-washed that they actually believe this nonsense. The laity I know are a bit wiser. They judge matters congregation by congregation, pastor by pastor.

The denominational label means nothing now. A significant number of LCMS congregations are Pentecostal. Others long for the embrace of ELCA. (Get your shots first, and always, always, wear your galoshes.) WELS has had a number of pastors go Pentecostal. The Love Shack bureaucrats would love to be in ELCA. Here and there pastors want to be Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox.

Missouri, WELS, and ELS all practice open communion or semi-open communion. The confessional congregations practice demi-semi open communion. ELS MDiv theologians Jay Webber argued for giving communion to ELCA members because "it prevents a lot of conflict."

I would never join the ELS now. Their toleration of Pope John the Malefactor shows a studied indifference toward sound doctrine and a timidity alien to their history. No sect is in greater need of a regime change.

Missouri is infected with papalism. Much of it comes from Ft. Wayne. That is good medicine for them, so they can avoid real issues. Picking the right incense and arguing for titles will keep them from discussing Biblical doctrine. I actually heard a presentation from a future Ft. Wayne professor where he condemned the use of individual Holy Communion cups! Patristic legalists are another version of Pietistic legalists - why talk about the Gospel when the Law is so much more fun?

Here is a favorite story from Pietism. An Augustana (the real Augustana, not the new fake one) leader visited a church, where the young pastor gave a blistering sermon against tobacco. At the dinner afterwards, the visitor lit up a cigar. The young Augustana pastor said in shock, "Why are you smoking after that sermon I gave?" The old man said, "Simple. This is give young pastors something to preach about when they cannot give a Gospel sermon."

The high church people might want to consider this point:

When Lutherans pastors are falling over each other to join Rome or to get their Fuller Seminary/Willow Creek tattoos, the time has arrived to avoid, in the clearest way possible, any assocition with both errors. That is the meaning behind the article on adiaphora in the Formula of Concord. I will post more on that later.

I fear too many pastors want to please that invisible seminary professor in the pew. This was a problem at Yale Divinity. Every seminarian wanted to give a sermon on the Binding of Isaac because of one particular professor and course. They failed to give a sermon for the professor and certainly missed the congregation. The senior pastor said, "I never want to hear another sermon on the Binding of Isaac." Some young pastors try to please their Fuller-trained professors and their Fuller-trained mission board zombies. Others think they will succeed when they get their congregations to call them Father, demand incense, and ask - "Would you please chant the announcements from now on?" Why would a Lutheran use the term Mass, which carries so much Roman baggage and so many associations with Purgatory? Is not Holy Communion a perfectly clear term for all Lutherans?

In the future, honest Lutheran pastors will either join Rome or the Assemblies of God. Then the remaining ones can study the Book of Concord in relative peace and harmony.

Fuller Seminary The Thread Uniting Apostate Lutherans: ELCA WELS, ELS, LCMS

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 2, 2007

ELCA to Offer Worship Jubilee 2007 in Chicago, August 3-6
07-119-LL*

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) second Worship Jubilee is August 3-6 here at Navy Pier. The event precedes the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Organized by the worship staff of the ELCA, the event will draw more than 700 people involved in worship and music throughout synods and congregations of the ELCA.

The event will celebrate the publication of Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW), and the future of renewing worship under the theme, "Thanks Be to God." ELW is a new primary worship resource developed by the ELCA, released Oct. 3, 2006.

"Worship Jubilee 2007 will reflect the diversity of the worship practices of the ELCA. Although this will be the culmination of our year-long celebration of ELW, this event is where the family of resources that the ELCA offers will really begin to unfold," said the Rev. Michael L. Burk, ELCA executive for worship and liturgical resources.

Worship Jubilee 2007 will feature worship, workshops, five primary presentations, and educational opportunities for children and adults. Pre-Jubilee events Aug. 2-3 will include tours of some Chicago congregations for "pilgrimage and prayer."

Workshops to be offered include: "Worship in Bilingual Assemblies," "Preach It, Pastor -- A Preaching Primer for the Person in the Pew," "Gathered for Worship in a Wounded World," "Liturgical Drama: Enacting the Sacred Stories" and "Living Chant: The Heartbeat of the Assembly's Song."

On Aug. 4 the Rev. Gladys G. Moore and the Rev. Clayton J. Schmit will present papers on the sending sentence, "Go in peace -- Share the good news." Moore is an assistant to the bishop of the ELCA New Jersey Synod, Hamilton Square, and Schmit is associate professor of preaching, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif. Moore and Schmit will discuss the relationship between worship and what it means to be an evangelizing church.

On Aug. 5 the Rev. David J. Lose and the Rev. Glaucia Vasconcelos Wilkey will each speak about benefits and challenges related to the promise that Christ is with people as they are sent out from worship with "Go in Peace-- Christ is with you." Lose is an academic dean at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and Wilkey is founder and director of the Summer Institute for Liturgy and Worship, Seattle University.

On Aug. 6 "Go in peace -- Remember the poor" will be the focus of a presentation by the Rev. Raymond L. Schultz. He has been the national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), Winnipeg, since 2001 and will leave that role Aug. 31.

Worship Jubilee 2007 will conclude Aug. 6 with opening worship service for the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, will preach and preside at the service.

Question: Will James Tiefel (Mequon) be there, taking notes? He loves unionistic worship conferences.

Seventh Commandment - For the Rich and Poor

Thou shalt not steal.

Therefore they are also called swivel-chair robbers, land- and highway-robbers, not pick-locks and sneak-thieves who snatch away the ready cash, but who sit on the chair [at home] and are styled great noblemen, and honorable, pious citizens, and yet rob and steal under a good pretext.

Yes, here we might be silent about the trifling individual thieves if we were to attack the great, powerful arch-thieves with whom lords and princes keep company, who daily plunder not only a city or two, but all Germany. Yea, where should we place the head and supreme protector of all thieves, the Holy Chair at Rome with all its retinue, which has grabbed by theft the wealth of all the world, and holds it to this day? (The Ten Commandments, #229f., The Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

Nothing has changed. If a ne'er do well comes to church in his scruffy clothes, he is shunned. If the pastor has invited him, the pillars are outraged. If a rich man has built his fortune with sub-standard houses and breaking the law, the seas part as he enters church with his mistress.

When an even richer man has poisoned 250,000 people with tainted food, while giving a fraction of his wealth away, he is praised into heaven. If he has married the wife of his manager, he is granted a Scriptural divorce. Nevertheless, these robber barons have the worst kind of Midas touch. They want everyone to remember the golden era when they first parted with their riches. Instead, their malignant touch brings bankruptcy to the very church bodies they need to feel grateful to them.

Sixth Commandment -For the Young

Now, I speak of this in order that the young may be so guided that they conceive a liking for the married estate, and know that it is a blessed estate and pleasing to God. For in this way we might in the course of time bring it about that married life be restored to honor, and that there might be less of the filthy, dissolute, disorderly doings which now run riot the world over in open prostitution and other shameful vices arising from disregard of married life. Therefore it is the duty of parents and the government to see to it that our youth be brought up to discipline and respectability, and when they have come to years of maturity, to provide for them [to have them married] in the fear of God and honorably; He would not fail to add His blessing and grace, so that men would have joy and happiness from the same.

Let me now say in conclusion that this commandment demands not only that every one live chastely in thought, word, and deed in his condition, that is, especially in the estate of matrimony, but also that every one love and esteem the spouse given him by God. For where conjugal chastity is to be maintained, man and wife must by all means live together in love and harmony, that one may cherish the other from the heart and with entire fidelity. For that is one of the principal points which enkindle love and desire of chastity, so that, where this is found, chastity will follow as a matter of course without any command. Therefore also St. Paul so diligently exhorts husband and wife to love and honor one another. Here you have again a precious, yea, many and great good works, of which you can joyfully boast, against all ecclesiastical estates, chosen without God's Word and commandment. (The Sixth Commandment, #217f., Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

Luther's concept of Biblical law is as old as the Torah. Most people hear that the word Torah means Law. The first things we think of when we hear Law is:
1) You must not, or
2) You must.

The Hebrew word Torah really means teaching. Luther taught natural law, meaning - God commands what is good. The Calvinists never recovered from John Calvin's training in secular law. Karl Barth, the main theologian of Fuller Seminary, was an apostate Calvinist. His ethics volume begins, "The gift is a demand." Only a Calvinist could write that. Maybe his mistress Charlotte Kirschbaum wrote the sentence. She co-authored the Dogmatics, inspiring many at Fuller to follow the example of this lovely couple.

This passage from the Book of Concord teaches that marriage and children are good, intended for virtually everyone. Luther said in a sermon 500 years ago that people delay marriage simply to justify fornication. Now we have suspended marriage and avoidance of children. How can blessings follow from the avoidance of God's good teaching?

Being married young and poor is a great idea. When people wait until they can afford everything (their version), they become selfish, self-centered, and brittle. The poor years are often those times when a family can spend the most time together. When prosperity arrives, everyone is busier. Many babies now arrive (if they do at all) in a large house with two new cars and many more luxuries. Both parents work for the luxuries, so mom is back at the office in two weeks. The baby thinks, "What happened?"

We were stranded at home in Sturgis, Michigan, when the Great Blizzard of 1978 hit. No one went anywhere for one week. Church, school, work was called off for one week. The state highway was buried for one week. We all looked 10 years younger when we got back together, surrounded by mountains of bulldozed snow. We had a Sabbath for a week. Everyone looked back on it with fondness.

Our poor years were leveraged by graduate school. I earned half-tiime pay, if that, traveled three times a week to Notre Dame, and got by on student loans. We also had a very sick daughter, Bethany, who had many trips to the hospital. We had a lot of time together, in the parsonage and the car. Sometimes Martin and I would hang around Notre Dame together. The religious orders loved having a pre-K in the marble-clad library.

We thought young marriage and early children (in that order) were great blessings. We had the overwhelming blessing of being young grandparents, another distinct advantage, beating my siblings by 10 years. You can guess why. One relative could not get married until she promised to have no children for 10 years. I thought, "Well, she is already marrying one baby. Why have a second so soon?" Sure enough, he cried at the wedding.

I am fortunate to have taught thousands of adult university students. I mention every chance I get, "Babies are a great blessing." Sometimes I quote Luther, "They are the blessed fruit of marriage."

Good News - Sixth Commandment Rescinded

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Therefore God has also most richly blessed this estate above all others, and, in addition, has bestowed on it and wrapped up in it everything in the world, to the end that this estate might be well and richly provided for. Married life is therefore no jest or presumption; but it is an excellent thing and a matter of divine seriousness. For it is of the highest importance to Him that persons be raised who may serve the world and promote the knowledge of God, godly living, and all virtues, to fight against wickedness and the devil.

Therefore I have always taught that this estate should not be despised nor held in disrepute, as is done by the blind world and our false ecclesiastics, but that it be regarded according to God's Word, by which it is adorned and sanctified, so that it is not only placed on an equality with other estates, but that it precedes and surpasses them all, whether they be that of emperor, princes, bishops, or whoever they please. For both ecclesiastical and civil estates must humble themselves and all be found in this estate, as we shall hear. Therefore it is not a peculiar estate, but the most common and noblest estate, which pervades all Christendom, yea which extends through all the world. (The Ten Commmandments, #208f, The Large Catechism, Book of Concord)

The Sixth Commandment is as unpopular among ELS/WELS leaders as it is in Las Vegas. ELS seminarians were taught that the synod had a "Two strikes, you're out" policy. That is, a pastor could commit adultery, destroying two families at once, and still count on getting another call. Leaving the state is a good way to keep the ELS insurance premiums from going up. Lawsuits from a distance are expensive. However, if he did not learn his lesson the first time, will he he learn it the second time? Wait a minute. He did not learn the catechism the first time, took a call to teach the Law and Gospel, violated his call and contract, and then got another call to escape the tar and feathers? Yes, the ELS is orthodox and confessional, as they never tire of telling people.

The pernicious Universal Objective Justification opinion of ELS/WELS/LCMS is probably foundational for these problems. How easy it would be for someone to say, "I know I am already forgiven," before the self-destructive acts begin.

Nothing eases the mind more than certain knowledge of another call waiting for the adulterous pastor. Adultery means another call. Criticizing the synod means defenestration. Which is more attractive to the Old Adam?

When WELS DP Robert Mueller's VP was caught in adultery in his congregation, the man was allowed to resign under false pretenses and accept a job managing a WELS nursing home. Doubtless the ladies were charmed, after watching The Producers in its first version. Mueller explained that he stopped telling congregations the truth when giving them adulterous pastors. "When I did, the men were voted down." A layman heard this and his jaw dropped to the table.

Paul Kuske, now riding in on his white charger to save MLS, was First VP of the Michigan District, WELS, when he helped create an agency to give Floyd Luther Stolzenburg a stealth pastor's job. Stolzenburg left the LCMS ministerium fast, for cause. His wife divorced him, for cause. Stolzenburg hated WELS, so WELS had to have him as a Church Growth consultant, $40k per year, plus benefits. Kuske made it happen. Then after years of teaching false doctrine to WELS members, Stolzenburg received a letter of reference from Kuske for a call to an independent congregation in Columbus.

Matters are no better in Missouri. One pastor told me of efforts he made to get a pastoral child predator out of the ministry. The Missouri DP slammed his briefcase on the pastor's desk and screamed at him. On his way out of the church property, the DP said to a member of the church, "Your pastor is one of the best ministers we have."

The pastor said, "You can imagine the rage I felt inside."

Above are examples of the destruction caused by church leaders who refuse to do their jobs, pastors and seminary professors who rewrite the Scriptures to suit the Old Adam.

Luther's explanation of the Sixth Commandment glorifies marriage as the highest possible calling. Nothing enrages the false teachers more than someone enjoying marriage. False teachers are never happily married and seldom happy about anything. Marriage disturbs their well-being because God's holiest estate is a bulwark against the most evil designs of men and their Father Below. That is why such people pick at the pastor, his wife, and his children. They hate the Word of God, but that is not a good conversation starter.

The cases of adulterous Church Growth pastors are so numerous that any minister could easily rattle off a number he knows. Church Growth puffs up ministers for several reasons.

1. First of all, they have the blessing of the ELS, ELCA, WELS, and LCMS, a bad beginning.
   
2. Second, people may respond to the marketing methods, confirming the minister in his error.
   
3. Third, certain women like to be groupies, probably out of hatred for ministers or revenge toward their husbands.
   
4. Fourth, Satan blinds false teachers so that they glory in their success until the scales are ripped from their eyes. The head of the National Association of Evangelicals had a huge church, wife and children, when a male prostitute announced their business relationship.

Lenski said this a long time ago. The men who are not faithful to the Word often fall into many other grave errors as well. He dealt with many cases as a district president. (That was when district presidents were theologians instead of being politicians.) Walther said that a man could commit adultery only if he had already lost his faith.

When pastors have talked to me about the misery caused by apostate leaders and the minority being stirred up in their congregations by these fiends, I always said, "There is something that requires no vote by any church council. No approval is needed from your DP. Enjoy your family. Enjoy your marriage."

Luther said, "God does not take the troubles from your heart. He takes your heart from the troubles."