Application - Efficacy of the Word

Pietists grieve that I emphasize the efficacy of the Word alone. They glory in their own works, so they compare their glittering vices (as Augustine said) to my happiness in promoting Luther's doctrine.

The Pietists are easy to spot. Their authority lies in their imaginary and imagined accomplishments. They mention their parentage (my father was only a baker). They were born in a given synod (something beyond my control). They have titles, offices, and various awards given out among the many self-promoting Lutheran lobbying groups. The best unintentional parody is the Sword of Boldness award.

All I do is broadcast the Word with abandon (Mark 4, Isaiah 55, Romans 10). Once I thought of foreign missions, but now I am content to deal with pagans called Lutheran who despise Luther's doctrine while worshiping a wooden, carved idol called Holy Mother (fill in the blank) Synod.

So I publish around 50 sermons a year, offer Holy Communion 24 times a year, and publish books, content to let God manage what I cannot. I find it disturbing that a WELS pastor could call himself a failure after giving good sermons, baptizing plenty of children, and offering the sacrament of the altar throughout his life. The synods have failed in undermining and despising the Means of Grace. Ordinary pastors have not failed if they remain faithful.

When I read about conventions, I see how little they concern facing doctrinal matters, how much they are consumed with politics.

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing - Trinity 8

Trinity 8 – Beware of False Prophets

KJV Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

TLH Hymns
387 - Dear Christians One and All
260 – O Lord, Look Down
259 – Flung to the heedless winds
264 – Preserve thy Word

This passage from the Sermon on the Mount only makes sense if people believe in the efficacy of God’s Word. If they do not think God’s Word alone is effective, then this passage is just a place-holder in the Scriptures.

God’s Word belongs to Him and to Him alone. There is no franchise that allows people to change and water down what He has always taught. Therefore, the fruit of His Word belongs only to God. Only God can be glorified for what He has done through the Word. Any variation or departure from this is blasphemy against God, no matter how it might be expressed.

I heard some Lutherans discuss a new mission for the LCMS. They were in Southern Baptist territory, and I mean Baptist with a b – Babtist. One person expressed certainty in the failure of this mission. I decided to remain silent for once, but I thought:
1. The Sower and the Seed parable?
2. Luther’s admonition to go where there is opposition?
3. The implanted Word in James?
4. Isaiah 55?

Most people would not think of Blacks being Lutheran, but the old Missouri Synod did not know better. They had an extensive Black mission. The leaders were so foolish then that they thought the congregations should use the traditional liturgy, learn traditional Lutheran doctrine, and so forth. The end result was that Missouri had a powerful witness to Blacks long before the liberals thought of doing the same. I even found a booklet on the Black mission, printed in German, published by the old LCMS. How times have changed. Now these people have no trust in the Word and no results, except for shameful ones.

The work is not God-pleasing unless it is persecuted, according to Luther. Proof of that comes from the “conservative Lutherans” who hate, despise, and persecute Luther’s doctrine today while glorifying marketing methods, even while they fail.

The first effort in defending false teachers has always been, in my experience, “But he is a nice guy.” That is consistent with Matthew 7 and Romans 16. False teachers always wear several layers of fleece to hide the claws and slavering fangs. No matter how thick the woolies, the claws and fangs come out sooner or later. The nice guys are only nice on the surface. No one is more vicious behind the scenes, more deceptive, more manipulative. The fruits come from the tree. Someone who is not rooted in Christ through the Word is going to use the methods of his Father Below. The methods are deception and murder, constant lying and killing of souls. I often wonder how many atheists these clever men have created while glorifying themselves. One boy did not go to seminary after finding out that his pastor was an adulterer. His district president also covered up for the adulterous pastor, who was his friend.

Before we ask how God could allow those wolves to thrive, we have to ask why man has fed these wolves so dutifully while starving the faithful pastors. (No, I am not starving or in need of help.) The wolves are God’s judgment against man for allowing false doctrine to grow and prevail.

Missouri, WELS, and the ELS are parrots of ELCA now, eagerly working with ELCA because the giant, dying church body is so rich and powerful in comparison. ELCA requires an Episcopalian bishop be present to make an ordination valid. That alone is crazy enough, but even crazier is the lust for Missouri and WELS (and the Little Sect on the Prairie) to go along by cooperating in religious activities – now carefully hidden from view. Once they were exposed by Team Jackson (my wife and I working through the LB/AAL archives) the publications went silent on joint religious work.

God is saying – and I paraphrase Luther – you would not listen to Christ, so now you will listen to Satan. You would not give Jesus a penny, so now you will give Satan 10 dollars. You hated the “burden” of the Gospel, so now Satan’s disciples will flail you to the bone. And these false teachers are really obnoxious, self-centered peacocks, bright and showy, covering up their feet of clay with their fine feathers.

My friends and I sometimes discuss how seldom the “conservatives” will deal with doctrinal issues. The “conservatives” want to have political campaigns and fight over schools and budgets. That is because they know doctrinal agreement is lacking. The easy route is working to elect a “savior” - like Gurgel was when he was elected to be synodical president, WELS. This approach also shows a lack of trust in God’s Word. Besides, there is fear of the Satanic hatred unleashed when God’s Word is applied.

Although this fierce anger is intimidating at first, Satanic methods cannot work against God’s Word. Great blessings follow the application of the Word to problems. This effect is well known in Lutheran history, but forgotten today.

The right tree (sound doctrine) will bear fruit, and the wrong tree (false doctrine) will overproduce but with nothing of value.

One person asked why I was against the church growing. Apparently he thinks Church Growth theories increase the size of the invisible church. Their own Church Growth statistics prove otherwise. Statistics do not matter, but since the Church Growth Enthusiasts trust in them, they are condemned by their own measuring standards.

I am in favor of God’s Word bearing fruit according to His will, not mine. If we thought God wanted the visible church to be constantly growing, we would have to ignore church history and the plain witness of the Scriptures.

The Pietists/Church Growth salesmen claim that disciples make the church grow. Therefore, the falsely claim, Jesus commanded us to “make disciples.” In fact, He said “Disciple all nations” or “Teach all nations.”

If disciples are the answer and Jesus knew something about disciples, then He did something wrong in teaching the Word. According to John, Jesus taught some hard sayings, and disciples left Him for good.

KJV John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

The issue here is whether they believed or not. Those who no longer believed went back and no longer followed Jesus.

I wish I could show all the star-struck naïve people the temples built in honor of man but in the name of God. Time after time great monuments to ego have been piled up. A few decades later they are not even religious on the surface. They began as glamorous Christian buildings and ended up as secular mausoleums with Unitarian ministers. The sowing of weed seed will bring results, but the results will not be God-pleasing. Eventually the sterility of the weeds will become most evident.

Someone may say “Lord, Lord” but Jesus will likely say, “Depart from me, workers of iniquity.”

No matter what the apparent results may be, God will accomplish His will through His Word. The false teachers will be used by God to cull out the false followers and to punish them. But the Holy Spirit is so powerful that He can accomplish good from evil. In the Apostolic Era, the persecution of the Gospel led to the spreading of the Christian faith. The murder of Christians in the arena helped Christianize (to some extent) the Roman Empire. The roads helped the persecuted escape across the known world and populate new missions (without a mission board and an annul once-in-a-lifetime-giving-opportunity).

When we get smacked around for doing the right thing, we join with the Apostles and Jesus in bearing the cross.

Aardvark Listed

Aardvark has listed Ichabod among the Lutheran blogs. Here is a list of over 200 Lutheran blogs:

Lutheran Blogs

Now Ecclesiastes would say "There is no end to writing blogs."

FIC Errs, Publishes Worthwhile Article

It must have been a Monday morning decision. WELS' magazine, which used to have Lutheran in its title, published a good article by Paul Prange, President of MLS.

Converted by the Word

I can imagine Gurgel's reaction:

"What do you mean, publishing something worthwhile? We never do that. Our Church Growth people will be converted back to Luther's doctrine if you keep this up. We may lose Paul Kelm and Floyd Stolzenburg!"

"I am sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

Secretary: "President Gurgel. Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, is on the phone. And is he mad!"

Gurgel: "See what you've done."

WELS AnswerMan Leaves Them Laughing Again

Q: Having been in fellowship with LCMS for decades prior to splitting in early 1960, does WELS accept the 3 volume book of Francis Pieper "Christian Dogmatics" along with the Book of Concord as being consistent with their confessional teachings?

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A: No dogmatics texts including our own are placed on the level of the confessions. Neither are the writings of Luther. The confessions are the collective statements of the church. Pieper's dogmatics set is his private writing. The LCMS has never adopted it, as they did the Brief Statement.

We use Pieper's dogmatics and it is doctrinally sound, but there are some very poorly-worded statements in the section on church and ministry which are very difficult to understand in an acceptable sense. Pieper himself contradicts these statements in other writings of his.

End of AnswerMan Quotation

Sigh. Whenever I need something good to write about, WELS AnswerMan delivers a soft pitch across the plate.

The Wisconsin Synod is very much like the Latter-day Saints. People think the Mormon Bible is the Book of Mormon, but Mormons ignore that for Doctrine and Covenants and other strange writings.

A Wisconsin Synod pastor will claim they have a quia subscription to the Book of Concord, but that is another deception. Their own publications set the standards for many different Wisconsin Synod declarations, all in error. There is an essay claiming WELS is not bound by the Book of Concord, either in Our Great Heritage or the Wauwatosa set. Note that both sets are pure self-glorification. They cannot get Hoenecke published slow enough, but they have six thick volumes of their worst effluent bound and sold as confessional treasures. I owned both sets earlier, but I used them for kindling. They were so dry.

Their real position is that WELS alone determines the meaning of Scripture, apart from any other authority, statement, or book. Their fanaticism for the NIV, UOJ, the Church Growth Movement, and marketing the Gospel reveals their devotion to Lutheran orthodoxy.

No, Pieper's Dogmatics is not the last word in Lutheran orthodoxy. (Could AnswerMan observe the rules of journalism, capitalize the book title and use italics?) I would not call the set an official document of Missouri, unlike OGH and Wauwatosa for WELS, but it is hardly "private." CPH published Pieper, translated it, and still makes money from it. I had a German set that was built to last for centuries, like the Walther sermon books in German.

Pieper is way cool for Bronze Age Missourians and some ELS people today. I fear WELS has not forgiven Francis for leaving the synod and joining Missouri. His brother August stayed in the sect and apparently disagreed with Francis on church and ministry issues. I find these repristination people mega-boring, so I am not about to unravel the history of all this.

I do not mean to pick on these sincere men. I do find it disgusting that so many leaders today are willing to trace their doctrine all the way back - one generation earlier and stop there, ignoring Luther, Chemnitz, and the giants of the Lutheran Reformation. That is precisely why the so-called conservative Lutheran bodies are following ELCA around with their tongues hanging out.

Missouri, the ELS, WELS, and the mini-micros have their machine gunners ready for anyone who questions forgiveness without faith (Universal Objective Justification). They cannot defend their false doctrine. They are like Keystone Kops running around whenever they try. But they are still ready at the trigger, to fire away and make people fear their wrath. That is an tragic inheritance from Walther/Pieper worship.

Brug Action Confirms Ichabod Predictions

Seminary professor John Brug's material, posted at the Michigan Lutheran Seminary website, confirms an earlier Ichabodian prediction.

The traditionalists are lining up against the proposal to close Sem. The odd name (Sem, or Michigan Lutheran Seminary) reflects its origin as the pastoral training school for the Michigan Synod that eventually joined the Joint Synod of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Other States (Nebraska).

There has been talk about the Michigan District, WELS, taking over MLS and funding the school. That was supposed to be an action blessed by The Love Shack, 2929 N. Mayfield Road. MLS recognizes that this action would be doomed to failure. Far fewer people would support an aging campus during a time when the auto industry in Michigan is in worse shape than WELS.

Millions have been spent on three campuses (MLS, Luther Prep, MLC) and all are destined to close, due to the leadership genius of President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller. The answer so far has been - Have Another Fund-Raising Campaign!

It would have been better to take all the Schwan money and name the school system after his business, with various buildings having his name or his relatives' names on them. A marketing theme could have tied the frozen food business with the Wisconsin Synod:
The Marvin Schwan Frozen Food Schools. Many are cold, but few are frozen.

Means of Grace, Si! Church Growth Movement, No!

Ichabod will become bi-lingual, to comply with the rules of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Someone asked why I was against the church growing? I have to commend the late, liberal Donald McGavran. He was able to change church language so that people could make his pompous declarations beyond criticism.

McGavran solemnly declared, "God wants His church to grow."

This particular sentiment is nowhere in the Scriptures, but the slogan has much in common with Pentecostal language. For instance, the Holy Spirit had a conversation with John Lawrenz, published on the Internet. John recited it for an interview. John wanted to stay in the Ukraine, but the Holy Spirit told him, "John, I want you in Asia." They went back and forth a little, as good friends should and do, but the Holy Spirit won. After all, how can anyone argue with God?

Pentecostals have that advantage. They walk up to someone and say, "The Holy Spirit told me you should leave the ministry." More likely, they tell everyone but the victim. Doubtless, the Holy Spirit told him to be discreet.

McGavran got everyone to think that anyone against his thriving business was against God. He and his apostle C. Peter Wagner (a Pentecostal) recruited all the world mission executives first, then the American mission executives, so all the denomination bosses went to Fuller Seminary. That is why the Mission/Vision statements of LCMS, WELS, and the Assemblies of God all sounded exactly alike. The statements came from the same source, Fuller Seminary.

I have a high regard for the Holy Spirit, but I am not God's counselor (Romans 8). According to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit works only through the Word and never apart from the Word. That Word is found in two basic forms: the invisible Word of teaching and preaching; the visible Word of Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and Absolution. We also list ordination as a sacrament in the Book of Concord. Chemnitz has a fine discussion about sacraments in his Examination.

If people want to be Spirit-filled, they should remain close to the Means of Grace (John 15). Then they will see the fruits of the Gospel. They will never receive or experience forgiveness apart from God's appointed Means of Grace. Despising the Means of Grace, a convenient term for the Gospel in its various forms, is opposition to God's Word.

God's will is accomplished only through His Word. People should let go of their slogans and marketing theories (all of which have failed) and listen to the Word, then apply it.

 Pete Wagner, mentor to Otten's favorite WELS pastor,
anticipated the dawn of the expert who is wrong about everything
and remains in a highly paid business, like
Karl Rove, Paul McCain, and Larry Olson.

Gay Schmeling? Luther Would Have Approved!

No, that is not my opinion.

A professor of women's studies has solemnly declared that Luther would have approved of gay Schmeling, the ELCA pastor disciplined for having a male partner.

An article about this can be found at

The American Spectator

Could this be another reason why LCMS and WELS members, peeking in the window at various pan-Lutheran conferences, no longer want to fund the ELCA disciples? Sure, gay Schmeling is being mildly disciplined, but various overlapping networks will protect and defend him. Nothing has really happened.

WELS Votes via the Offering Plate

Today, the WELS News bulletin insert gave the bar charts through June.

Michigan District: $890,289 down $99,681 from 2006 which is a $20,601 greater deficit from May ($79,080). So Michigan continues to fade.

Synod: $8,880,447 down $175,660 from 2006 but which is $121,920 more positive than the May deficit ($297,580). The synod appeal seems to be working a little bit in somewhere.

Only January and April (Easter) were on a par with 2006 with April somewhat greater (not in Michigan) for the synod totals...

Come on, Wayne, poke Michigan in the eye again. That really motivates giving.

Martin Luther Nursing Home and Live Bait Shop

Someone is sure that Martin Luther College (WELS) will continue forever, even without the preps feeding students into the school.

With both preps still in operation, MLC is already in desperate shape. The school has dropped below survival levels in its student population. Tuition = income = salaries. The synod has deliberately cut the subsidy, has no real endowment for the school, and is eliminating the feeder system for the school. Long ago, Fuller alumnus Norm Berg cut out the need for MLC by eliminating the parochial school from mission church budgets.

MLC is two colleges in one, pastoral and teacher training, but the enrollment is dropping from news of its future demise.

MLC may have trouble making it as a nursing home, so I propose selling live bait as well. Southern Minnesota is great for hunting and fishing. The lawns are a natural habitat for night-crawlers.

MLC might have survived by joining the online college revolution. My old community college asked me about my expertise in online teaching and web design. They already have large online classes, modeled after the University of Phoenix, somewhat larger with 300,000 students. UOP had enough cash to buy naming rights for the new stadium in Glendale, $7 million a year for 20 years, a small part of their budget. UOP began in 1976. MLC is older than dirt.

Couldn't the Church Growth Principles of Dr. Lawrence Otto Olson be applied to MLC? He wrote a dissertation on the topic. Sure, his own congregation never grew, but that is no problem for Church Growth fanatics.

Download Google Earth and put in the coordinates for MLC, Bethany Lutheran College, and Wisconsin Lutheran College. All three are close together. Two of them are lavishly funded by Schwan money. MLC is the exception. The college may hobble along from another fund drive and wait for a new synodical president to be their Dr. Kevorkian.

The Betrayers Betrayed - MLS

Closing the schools in WELS is clearly a Church Growth program. Not that the Church Growth leaders cause any real growth in the Kingdom. They just yak about it all the time. Church Growth is an ideology, a set of shallow doctrines, and an agenda.

President-in-waiting Wayne Mueller has always been a Church Growth advocate, even while denying it. How delicious it must be to deny Church Growth in The Northwestern Lutheran while promoting Church Growth in the synod.

I remember John Brug covering for David Valleskey on the subject of Church Growth. Now he wants the preps to stay open.

Paul Kuske started a Church Growth operation in Columbus, Ohio, in his capacity as VP of the district. To run this destructive cause he had Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, recently forced to resign from the LCMS ministerium (and never a member of WELS, by the way).

Now Brug and Kuske want to snatch MLS from the jaws of the Church Growth gurus!

WELS is a genius at management, I must say. They have been Management-By-Objective-zombies for at least 20 years, but Drucker wanted to encourage leadership wisdom, not synodical stupidity. The Brug report listed the large sums of money recently borrowed for MLS and Luther Prep. Wayne Mueller would close both schools, making them worthless, while still owing for such things as new boilers, science rooms, and dorms. The college would close, too, so that would make all the money spent on Martin Luther College another rat-hole. They recently reworked the heating system, perhaps in conjunction with New Ulm's steam tunnel project.

Now everyone is tongue-clucking. WELS wanted to move from small potatoes to the Big Time with Church Growth. All those who studied at Fuller, who bowed their heads at Willow Creek, who agreed by being silent, who shunned pastors that knew better - all those betrayers of the Gospel are being betrayed now. WELS will not be small potatoes. WELS will be tater tots.

The Catholic Momentum

I enjoy the encouraging messages sent. I mean the positive messages from normal people, but also the insanely angry messages sent under various false names. The second group motivates me the most, because, as my Grandpappy used to say, "When the arrow hits the mark, feathers will fly."

Various people pretend to be offended that I had a Catholic education, just like Martin Luther and the faculty of Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne. Look at the faculty list at Ft. Wayne. They live close to Notre Dame so they finished their Ph.D. work there. John Johnson, once the buddy of Herman Otten while serving as president of Concordia, St. Louis, had a doctorate from the Jesuits at St. Louis University. What the complainers miss is my lack of obedience to His Holiness, the Antichrist.

Faithful Lutheran pastors owe it to their congregations to be well read in heterodoxy without falling prey to it. That requires constant study while ignoring Holy Mother Synod most of the time.

The marginally literate have trouble distinguishing between hearing someone and following someone. Thus it is easy to find out who has studied at Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek because they blab about the same things with the same vocabulary. Waldo Werning had "Church Growth Eyes" in the subtitle of one of his moronic books. Did he study at Fuller? Yes, he admitted it and also denied it. Those who defend Fuller doctrine are predictably alumni (Frosty Bivens, David Valleskey, Lawrence Otto Olson, Wally Oelhaven, Fred Adrian, Kent Hunter). Those who follow have previously heard that new gospel, preached by angels of marketing (Galatians 1:8).

How Roman Catholic are the synods today? The best measure is to look at what they are doing. ELCA and the old Synodical Conference synods (WELS-ELS-LCMS) have:
1. Adopted the three-year lectionary from Rome.
2. Killed the traditional names of Sundays wherever possible.
3. Changed the liturgical colors to be more gay-friendly.
4. Competed to see which Roman Catholic customs they can incorporate.
5. Obsessed over the title bishop and Rome's claim to apostolic succession.
6. Longed for acceptance by Rome, even while called defective and wounded.

Many pastors have followed these trends because their peers were running off the cliff ahead of them. The Gadarene swine episode was not meant to be prescriptive, I might add. One pastor asked me to make my sermons fit the Roman cycle. I said, "Why not switch back to the historic pericopes?" The publishing houses make it easy to follow the worn path.

Lutheran worship can be solemn and liturgical without genuflecting toward Rome.

WELS Seminary Professor John Brug Supports MLS

WELS Seminary Professor John Brug, who grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, has published a report in favor of Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

The PDF file can be found here:

Michigan Lutheran Seminary
along with additional material on the topic.

So far the synod's (Wayne Mueller's) answer has been that there is only one solution for the incompentence shown at the leadership levels - close the preps.

Everyone else seems to think otherwise. The district presidents and various assemblies oppose the closing of the preps, which will also close the college.

The booby-hatch pronouncements of the synod leaders have gutted the system, forcing tuition up by 30%, thus reducing the students and the tuition income. Now the whole system is tottering toward collapse while the booby-hatch leaders tell them - Have another Junk for Jesus Rummage Sale. Flogging will continue until morale improves.