UOJ - Above the Fold in Christian News

I got the new Christian News, August 20, 2007.

They are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Brief Statement.

"Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ., Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthiasn 5:18-21; Romans 4:25..."

Thanks to academic incest, everyone kept being trained in this nonsense until it permeated the conservative Lutheran synods.

Ichabod readers will note that the cited passages from Scripture do not teach the proposition at all. That is the kind of legalism I wrote about earlier. The proposition becomes the ruling norm (norma normans) and Scripture is interpreted and twisted to fit the proposition.

The cited passages teach the doctrine of atonement. Christ died for the sins of the world. This is what the Book of Concord calls the treasure of the Gospel. But the treasure is in one heap until it is distributed by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace. Luther and the Book of Concord are consistent in teaching exactly what the Scriptures reveal. Therefore, people do not have grace, forgiveness, and righteousness until the Word, the instrument of forgiveness, plants faith in their hearts.

UOJ supporters are no different from those who teach Gospel reductionism in ELCA - everyone is forgiven. Period.

UOJ Enthusiasts also love the Church Growth Movement.

UOJ fanatics do not defend their doctrine - they personally attack critics of their false doctrine. They go into a feeding frenzy. Nevertheless, they do not defend their false doctrine. When they begin their attempts, their deceptions and manipulations are easily revealed to everyone.

***
Right after I posted this, the message below appeared as a potential comment. It is a typical personal attack from a Minister of the Gospel, vituperative, avoiding all doctrinal issues. Thank you, Anony-mouse, for proving my point so quickly.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "UOJ - Above the Fold in Christian News":

Well, Greg, you've finally shown your true colors. In the WELS and CLC you have been self-destructive as far as your ministry is concerned, and, unless it had been for the grace of God, you would have destroyed the congregations you served. Now you call the doctrine of universal justification "nonsense" and "legalism." I wish your readers would see you as you really are--and its not as a champion of confessional Lutheranism!

Those who want to study the only large collection of material on this subject can read the chapter I wrote about justification. Lutheran laity prodded me to deal with the issue. I know one parish pastor who vocally opposed forgiveness without faith.

UOJ and Church Growth go together like apple pie and ice cream.

Robert Preus rejected UOJ in his final book.

Justification by Faith, Thy Strong Word

"Nowhere in the Bible is any man constituted or declared righteous ‘without faith, before faith.’” R. C. H. Lenski, Romans, Augsburg Publishing House: Minneapolis, 1963, p. 382. Romans 5:19-20.

Sermon - Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Ministers of a New Testament
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

KJV 2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

KJV Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity


The Hymn #199
The Invocation p. 15
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 2 Cor. 3:4-11
The Gospel Mark 7:31-37
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #207
The Sermon
Ministers of a New Testament

The Offertory p. 22
The Hymn #195
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #188

KJV 2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

The present situation in the Lutheran Church prompted me to choose the Epistle for today. More about that later.

A key term in this passage is testament. I used covenant when I first wrote out the title, knowing it was the wrong term. Then I checked the KJV and the NIV. The precise KJV uses testament and the Reformed-Pentecostal NIV uses covenant. The distinction in the New Testament was significant then and remains just as significant.

A testament or will is a one-sided agreement. I can leave to any person or any organization I choose, without their knowledge or agreement.

A covenant is quite different because it involves both sides of an agreement. Familiar covenants are zoning restrictions. The city agrees that a certain type of home may be built on property, but the owner of the property also agrees that a public business will not be established there. Nations have treaties or covenants, with the idea that both sides will keep the agreement.

This distinction between testament and covenant is significant because of the difference between the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith (testament) and the Reformed distortions (covenant).

God willed that His Son would die for the sins of the world. Man did not request this ultimate blessing, did not plan for it, did not agree to it in advance. God also willed that the Means of Grace would be the instruments for giving the Gospel message to people across the ages. The First Gospel was delivered to Adam and Eve. The Old Testament is full of Gospel passages: the Psalms, the Prophets (especially Isaiah 40ff). Before the Incarnation the Gospel created and sustained faith. When the Word became Incarnate in the Virgin Mary, people were able to see the human face of God, to hear His voice.

Jesus represented the Gospel already in the manger, when shepherds came to worship Him as the Savior. Jesus spoke the Gospel in Temple when He was still a boy, planting the faith in the very city that would reject Him as the Messiah.

After Jesus was baptized by John, He suffered in the desert wilderness, tempted by Satan, and then gathered the disciples. He performed many miracles to show people the authority of His Word, but people also knew from His teaching that He had divine authority “not like the scribes and Pharisees.” The religious leaders, those not converted by His Word, were His enemy. Jesus taught that their righteousness must come from without, from God, not from within, from their works.

The Bible is very clear about the power of the Word in converting people. Every believer is the creation of the Word, whether by Holy Baptism or by the spoken Word. In some cases the written Word alone converts people to Christ.

What passages prove this?

KJV Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

If we reverse the order of this great passage from Romans, the preachers sent from God proclaim the Gospel, and people believe from hearing this great message. Every single person who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

KJV Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

How does God work, except through the Word. Man does not work out the means to will (to decide) and to accomplish His will. God moves man through the Word alone.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

This is where the Reformed-Pentecostal Church Growth guys should put their hands to their faces and say, “Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!” Their entire agenda is destroyed by 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (and hundreds of similar passages) The remedy to their false doctrine lies in that little word effectually, which is King James for effective. Effectiveness is their claim to fame. Statistics make them effective. Entertainment makes the Sunday seeker service effective. A zippy, how-to, fix-it message (not a sermon) makes the minister effective. Friendly ushers make the congregation effective. According to Paul Kuske’s Church Growth guru, Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, the “best Law and Gospel sermon will do no good unless the ushers are friendly.” A crypto-Baptist said, “Amen” to that absurdity.

The message of the Reformed is simple – God’s Word is not effective unless man makes it effective.

The Bible says just the opposite. As long as it is God’s Word, man and Satan cannot hinder it. But, neither can man brag about God’s work, although Paul comes perilously close to that at times.

KJV 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

What I love most about Paul’s letters is the humanity coming through at all times. The Gospel-writers are very much in the background, so much that John, the disciple Jesus loved, is often disputed as the author. The other authors have been debated, too, except for Luke. The debates are easy to generate because of this lack of information. That is, liberals use whatever wedge they can find.

Liberals hate Paul because we know so much about him from his letters. Paul believed in his own works and lived accordingly. That meant God could use him most effectively in teaching against our human nature, in teaching against salvation by works. To this day Rome and the Eastern Orthodox avoid this topic in Paul.

Sincere believers, once they are detached from faith in the Word alone, gradually become attached to salvation by works. It may take more time that the first generation, but one event leads to another. I was reading about Fenton, the man who left the LCMS ministerium for Eastern Orthodoxy and his former church (Zion, Detroit). Zion, Detroit was once the biggest Lutheran congregation in the LCMS. When they confronted the Lodge in the early days, a group of people left and formed a church that is now United Church of Christ. The big WELS church in New Ulm and the independent Lutheran church in Columbus, St. Paul’s, both had their early Reformed-Lutheran union days and their final split (only to welcome false doctrine back). The defectors became the United Church of Christ and are now Unitarian (recognizing all faiths as equal). What happens to institutions happens to individuals.

KJV Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

Notice that she did not open her heart. She did not make a decision. The Lord opened her heart. People who do not trust God’s Word to accomplish His will turn to human methods and devices. When ministers start defending methods, they are always headed toward rationalism and trusting in themselves.

These devices are always Law oriented and must fail in time. The Law is like going to a hospital and having all kinds of diagnostic tests. Then the doctor comes in and says, “According to the tests, you have all these things wrong with you.” And you say, “How are you going to cure me or help me?” The doctor replies, “We are going to do even more tests.” That would be appalling, but the Law/Law people do it all the time. They say, “This is where you are sinful.” And then, “To overcome this sin, you must do this and this.” A Pentecostal minister’s wife walked into our house and began saying, “You must confess your sin…” Thus many live and die in the Law.

In contrast, the ministry of the Gospel is far more glorious. Paul uses the comparison with Moses after receiving the Ten Commandments. Moses’ face shone so brightly that people could not even look at him. But that was the ministry of the Law, of condemnation, which can bear no fruit.

9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

I chose Easter hymns (the same ones as last week) today because the Gospel, forgiveness, and Easter are different aspects of the same power of God. Because the Son of God innocently died on the cross for our sins, He rose on the third day, changing the first day of the week to the Lord’s Day from that time on. The early Christians were known for gathering at dawn on Sunday to remember and celebrate the resurrection of Christ. In Moline we had Easter sunrise services attended by huge crowds. Wharton Field House, across the street, would fill with people, who were anxious to get there early to have a seat.

Wherever the Gospel is taught, death is defeated by the eternal life given through the forgiveness won by Christ. We should remember that the early Christians had little and could not measure their success by new buildings, parking lots, and balanced budgets. They were concerned about government attacks on their homes, being arrested, tortured, and killed. They were more like the Christians in Red China today.

The Word of the Gospel must never be slighted or forgotten in our zeal for the Law. I have mentioned before that an adult study group member got very angry when I quoted Walther saying the Law bears no fruit, (Law and Gospel lectures).

The Law necessarily makes people anxious and afraid because of their sin. If they never hear the Law, they have no feeling of need for the Gospel. When we have a sore throat and cough, we will pay any price for relief, for the right medicine. But when the infection goes away, we forget to take the pills.

The Gospel brings Jesus to people, to show them for the first time, or once again, that He died for them, that the entire price has been paid for their sins. The true Gospel must be free of all traces of the Law, as Paul taught so many times. Gospel tainted by Law is still Law. The pure Gospel is all forgiveness and without price.

KJV Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Objections to the Gospel show where the sects and Rome invade and take over.

What if I am not sorry enough?
Answer – Forgiveness is not based upon the degree of sorrow but Christ’s atonement.

What if I have not suffered enough?
Answer – Christ suffered in our stead. We cannot pay with suffering when the price has been paid.

What if I feel I am not worthy?
Answer – No one is worthy. Christ makes us worthy, giving us His righteousness with His complete and free forgiveness.

Forgiveness means eternal life. All people die because of sin, but Christ gives us eternal life through this Gospel message of forgiveness.

When Leonard Klein Went to Rome

This came from LCMS Pastor Al Loeschman, who dared to quote Paul McCain:

Last Sunday, Pastor Leonard Klein announced to his congregation that he was resigning in order to become a Roman Catholic priest. Pastor Klein has been an outspoken critic of the revisionist agenda in the ELCA, and a prominent leader within the ELCA. He has met with the ELCA Church Council and others within the ELCA leadership to express his dismay with the ELCA's revisionist direction. He has published articles in Lutheran Forum and The Lutheran stating his position. He has been a faithful witness to the gospel. And for his faithful leadership we must honor him.

Klein is not alone in giving up on the ELCA. My dear friend Jay Rochelle, a former professor at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, joined the Orthodox Church two years ago. Richard John Neuhaus, a writer, editor and outspoken leader within the Lutheran church, became Roman Catholic some years ago. Jaroslav Pelikan, a noted author, professor and editor of Luther's Works, also converted to the Orthodox Church. We can likely come up with numer ous other cases as well.

In addition, it is also likely that many of struggle with whether we can long remain within the apostate and bleak ELCA, or whether we must also give up and move on to greener pastures.

Unfortunately, the exodus is not over. It has just begun. While many of us continue to stay and fight within the ELCA, many of the wisest and most courageous among us have seen the writing on the wall. They see the coming tempest and are departing for fairer waters within the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. We may miss them. We may wish we had their fellowship and support as we continue to resist the assaults of Satan within the ELCA. But we must also honestly conclude that we cannot either blame or judge them for making such a decision within the horrid conditions in which we all serve these days. Someday each of us may also find ourselves stepping out of the ELCA circle as well. In the meantime, it is good to know that the fellowship of the gospel is not limited to our faithful witness within the ELCA, which increasingly appears to seem like enemy territory. There is good news in realizing that the church continues in other places as well. We pray for courage to remain and resist the forces of evil which assail us daily.

We also may pray for courage, that when the time comes for us to depart for another shore, that we may also venture forth with the call of God. But for the moment we still remain. We work diligently to organize our resistance. We pray to God. We comfort one other. We still the anger, the pain and the fear in our hearts, as we await God's abundant and tender mercy. Since Sunday, the word has spread quickly regarding Pastor Klein's decision. I have received many inquiries regarding whether the rumors are true. Since this letter was presented publicly, I therefore pass it on for your own information.

May we pray for Pastor Klein and his family as they face the challenges of the coming months. We pray for their journey, yet know that they are not really departing from the one true church in which we all serve together under the Fatherhood of God.

And may we also pray to strengthen each other as we continue to resist the insidious forces of the foe who continues to assail God's holy church with chaos and false teachings.

The Rev. Dr. Christopher Hershman



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Pastor Leonard Klein:

Dear Friends in Christ:

After twenty-two years of service in this wonderful congregation and after a lengthy period of prayer, discernment, and study I have reached the decision to end this phase of my ministry. With humility and thanks to God and to you I am submitting my resignation from my call as senior pastor effective July 15, 2003.

I know that this will come as a shock to many of you, but I must add a second piece of information that will, I fear, aggravate that feeling and require considerable explanation. It is this: I will on the same day resign the office of pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A few days later Christa, Renate, and I will be received into the Catholic Church by Bishop Michael Saltarelli of Wilmington, and I will begin a process of study and formation for the Catholic priesthood. This may cause yet further astonishment among those of you who are not aware that the Catholic Church makes provision for the occasional ordination of married converts who were ministers in other church bodies (usually Lutheran or Episcopalian). If you have noted my growing dismay over the ELCA, my leaving will not be a complete surprise. It might help if you think of my situation as comparable to that of a military officer who thinks the nation’s policies insupportable. In such a situation an officer must resign his commission.

As a congregation Christ Church has the independence to continue on its faithful path, and I wish you every blessing as you continue to do so. But as a pastor I am tied to the officer corps of an army for which I can no longer fight.

I am not fleeing conflict. I have played a leadership role in the fight for orthodoxy in the ELCA for the fifteen years of its existence and in extensive criticism of the plans for the merger for several years before 1988. If anything, the desire to stay and continue the battle is a temptation that has great appeal to my personality. I have never been good at walking away from a fight. So if I were convinced that I could stay Lutheran, even as a lonely minority, I would do so.

I have, however, become convinced that I am no longer a Lutheran. Over the past several years I have had to come to grips with the fact that I am a Roman Catholic, and that is the positive reason for this radical move. Let me try to explain as briefly as I can.

It is not that I think Luther was misguided or wicked. No sensible Catholic thinks that. But I have come to believe that in the Reformers’ proper intention to fix genuine problems in the late medieval church, they made a number of serious mistakes that cannot now be corrected. We lost the ancient apostolic form of governance by bishops, a vibrant sense of a communion in prayer with the saints living and dead, and a full understanding of how God changes people through the Gospel and leads them to holiness. We lost continuity and we lost a clear understanding of the role of holy Tradition. Because Luther expected the world to come to an end soon, he thought that the inertia of the past would sustain the basic doctrines of the Church and that biblical authority by itself would suffice to reform the Church until Christ’s return. It has not turned out that way.

Now, after nearly 500 years it has become clear that you cannot simply appeal to the Bible or count on inertia to sustain the life of the Church. What Luther intended as a necessary reform on biblical grounds has turned into a free for all of private interpretation, and our own denomination is a sad case in point.

There is to me an evident alternative to this moral, doctrinal and ecclesiastical chaos, the Catholic Church. Slowly I came to realize that I have actually believed for a long time that the Second Vatican Council was correct when it said that the Church “subsists in the Catholic Church.” That means that it exists there in its fullest and proper form. I find that claim to be consistent with my study of theology, scripture and church history. That language was drafted with sincere ecumenical intent and meant that valid church life could surely be found outside the Catholic Church. So I have felt no impropriety in continuing to serve as a Lutheran pastor. This congregation is a true and Christian Church. However, I realized that my view of Lutheranism as a reform movement for the Catholic Church meant that if I was really going to practice the best insights of the Reformation, I belonged inside the Catholic Church -- not outside it trying to make the Lutheran Church Lutheran.

So it was a positive realization that I held the Catholic doctrine of the Church and not just the negatives of the ELCA that led me to this point. Many fine pastors agree about the negatives, but because they do not share my understanding of the Catholic Church, they can and will continue as Lutherans. I am confident that you will find an excellent next pastor from among them, but my continuance as an ELCA pastor has become morally and intellectually impossible.

The easiest course would have been to continue another seven or eight years until retirement and then to walk quietly into the Catholic Church, but there are many good reasons why I should not do that.

First, this congregation is an important institution with a rich tradition and history. It would have become increasingly difficult for me to lead it effectively, and I do not wish to harm Christ Church.

Second, I have been here a long time, and I believe that it could be good for someone to look at things with a fresh set of eyes.

Third, there is a great danger that the ELCA will endure a schism over the question of blessing homosexual unions and ordaining people who are in them. I have lived through one church division in the Missouri Synod. It turned out badly. I will not take part in another.

Fourth, I feel good about the life and vitality of this congregation. I believe that my reservations about the denomination have not seriously harmed my ministry here and may have strengthened it. At this point I can leave you in good shape to discuss the next phase of your life. There is faithful and competent staff in place to continue parish life, and you are blessed with many fine pastors in the membership. I hope they will be willing to provide some service in the interim.

Fifth, I could not be your pastor forever, and as I approach the age of 58 that is increasingly apparent. If I were to stay until retirement, I would soon be entering upon the last quarter of my ministry among you. I had reached the point where a decision to leave or remain until retirement was becoming necessary.

Sixth, I need to face the question of what I will do with the rest of my life. If God grants me the years he is granting to my father and granted to my grandfathers, I have a third of my life to go. I have never intended to go out to pasture at age 66 but to continue to serve, to preach and to celebrate the sacraments in some context. I could not see doing that in the ELCA.

Seventh, I do not wish to be a guru. In mainline Protestantism that is the danger every pastor faces. I earnestly believe that I have faithfully presented a sound Lutheran position, but in the end the system leaves you having to take my word for it. We are perpetually asking you to trust us because you trust us. I hope that I have been trustworthy, but I prefer not to stand on my own authority. Also, it is because I do not wish either to be a guru or to harm the congregation that I have kept my deliberations private. I want to leave the legitimate heritage of this congregation intact. This is your spiritual home. Pastors on the other hand must come and go.

Eighth, this was a relatively good time for the family. My wife Christa has worked with and studied Catholic institutions for a long time and has been reaching the decision to become Catholic in parallel fashion. Our daughter, Renate feels the affinity between Lutheranism and Catholicism. Both are deeply grateful for this parish, and even as they look ahead, it pains them to leave. Our family history is entwined with Christ Church.

It is not that I am personally unhappy here. There are challenges, some of them difficult, but that is true everywhere.

I have continued to be happy to show up for work each morning and many nights. I have no regrets about the hours or energy I have expended. It would be hard to imagine a finer, more motivated, and more responsive congregation. You have been generous with your support, your encouragement, your personal warmth, and your prayers. Many of you are an example to me. I have been grateful for the role I could play in your lives and through Christ Church in the affairs of this community. No pastor could ask for a better opportunity than the one I have enjoyed for these many years.

I have been blessed, and I am not bitter, even about the ELCA leadership. Already at my ordination I knew that the road for Lutheranism would be bumpy. Like many other orthodox clergy in mainline denominations I have long wondered whether or when I might have to leave. You should know that the conversation “Could you go to Rome?” or “Would you go to Orthodoxy?” is painfully common among mainline clergy of traditional beliefs. In the last few years at least a half dozen pastors have had lengthy conversations with me on this matter. Three of them are now Catholics. That so many have seen me as an obvious person to talk to required me to be honest about where I really stood and finally to act.

As I close, I ask of you only that you make your best effort to understand the decision I have made. I ask no special considerations or favors as I leave. You have been most kind and generous in every way up to this point. I do ask your prayers and your continued friendship. We will for some time continue to live in York. I look forward to greeting you and talking with you, even after formal pastoral relations come to an end. Also, I want you not to be afraid to ask me questions and press me about my decision, if you feel the need to do so.

I want also to make one pledge to the council and staff: not only will I make every effort to help with a smooth transition but I will also be more than willing to answer questions about details of parish operations at any time in the future.

I continue to affirm many of the insights of the Lutheran Reformation, wishing only that the necessary reforms might have moved ahead without a schism. I wish I had never had to make the decision to stay or to leave. I wish that I had done a thousand things better. I wish that many of you had done a lot of things better! Which is to say I wish for the Kingdom of God. But until it comes, our lives will be shaken by the consequences of sin and by circumstances we never bargained for. By the grace of God even in a broken world and broken Church we can live with hope and joy. I am stepping forward in hope and joy, and I pray that those virtues, inculcated by the Holy Spirit, will continue to carry each of you and this fine congregation forward into the future that God has in mind for you.

Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Leonard R. Klein
14 May 2003




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed. It is surprising to see our own Rev. McCain decrying the loss of a former Seminexer to Rome. There are some observers on the right and most certainly the Jesus Firsters who have noticed that there are an awful lot of so-called "confessionals" who seem more Roman than Lutheran. It is a favorite refrain of the Jesus First crowd, and it must be admitted that there is a grain of truth in what they say.

Although the Jesus Firsters are influenced greatly by Reformed church growth principles, try to make out that every graduate of one of our seminaries leans toward Rome or Constantinople. It simply is not true. There are a very, very small minority of pastors (some newly ordained and some, like Klein, older men) who fit the description that Jesus First libelously proclaims. Most new grads from both seminaries are conservative and confessional Lutherans to the core. That is why the District Presidents are afraid of them.

And to tell the truth, this editor is a little afraid of them, too. Not them personally, for they are generally gentle souls, but their theology leans toward Rome. Check out the discussions on some of the LCMS email discussion lists about the Office of the Public Ministry, the Real Presence and the Church. Some do defend doctrine that, at the very least, looks Roman Catholic. Some hide behind pseudonymns, but some are open. Some seem to elevate the early Church Fathers and even the confessions above the simple words of Christ. The confessions become the Lutheran equivalent of "sacred tradition" when they are used to interpret the Word of God, instead of begin faithful and subserviant witnesses to the Word.

So, Brother McCain, let us encourage each other to "examine" ourselves "to see if we are in the Faith." And let us let go of those who have properly gone out from among us because of conscience while powerfully prodding those who hypocritically say they are LCMS at heart but are not, to "do the right thing" as Klein has done - join the ELCA or Methodists or Rome.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Pastor Loeschman,

I'm really surprised by the remarks about me I just read on your web site where you say I am "decrying" the Seminex guy leaving for Rome. Decrying? Did you even read what I said?

Next time you want to take a pot shot at me, you might consider doing me the courtesy of sending your comments to me to at least offer me the chance to respond.

Somebody just pointed out your remarks to me.

I criticize both Rome and Seminex in my article and you make me out to be a Roman sympathizer?

You owe me an apology brother. I expect to see your comments about me withdrawn from your www site as soon as possible!

From a clarifying followup post:
The way you speak critically of my "decrying" the loss of Klein to Rome and then how you go on to speak about how JesusFirst has a point about Romanizing tendencies among some of our pastors clearly lumps me in with all that and I did not appreciate it.

Thanks,
PTM

Rev. Paul T. McCain
Interim President/Chief Executive Officer
Concordia Publishing House
St. Louis, Missouri




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is another sad legacy of the Seminex conflict." ....."A sad turn of events" ..... "Leonard was clearly a leading voice in the ELCA, courageously batting the ever increasing pro-homosexual agenda."

I certainly apologize for the misreading of Rev. McCain's tone. However, I was apparently misled by the above sentiments witten about one with whom McCain is on a first name basis.

I have lots of classmates and semmates who went to Seminex because that is where their hearts were. Good, but they were and still are in error that is a danger to their souls. But they were honorable. Many who stayed in Missouri should have left, but didn't. Their souls are in even greater danger, since they have a god, the synod, who cannot save them though they trust that it will if they just can bring it out of the 16th century and into the enlightened age.

I didn't call Brother McCain or anyone else by name in my criticism nor was I taking a "pot shot" about something we have not discussed; but I simply say: "If the shoe fits, wear it." And I repeat: "Let us encourage each other to "examine" ourselves "to see if we are in the Faith."

Pr. L.

In Defense of Ft. Wayne

Brian Westgate has left a new comment on your post "In Defense of Rev. Fenton":

The Bride is pretty much dead. Fenton pretty much killed it. Nor is Gottesdienst pro-Rome/Constantinople.

As for Zion, it can't be blamed for Fenton or Neuhaus, and I presume she would prefer to be known as incarnational and sacramental.

And I know graduates of the Fort who care more for Luther's doctrine than for Rome and the East. Why are you so sure of students becoming fond of them BECAUSE of certain professors?
Brian Westgate

***
GJ - So we have a bunch of effects without causes? My role as Informaton Maven is to sift through mounds of data and come up with opinions.

I have studied at Concordia, Ft. Wayne, attended conferences there, and talked with graduates of the school. I attended a David Scaer class. I know about Ft. Wayne faculty members promoting Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy from its graduates. When a seminary has defections from its graduates on a regular basis, something is definitely going on.

Previously, under Robert Preus, Ft. Wayne had a D.Min. program that was 100% Church Growth, according to Kincaid Smith. The faculty endorsed Church Growth principles, according to Kurt Marquart. The faculty also voted that it was 100% orthodox. The faculty is mixed, like all Lutheran seminaries, thanks to political judgments meaning more than doctrinal decisions.

I looked over the Zion, Detroit website. There are many indications of those tendencies. There are LCMS circles headed out of the Lutheran Church and ELCA circles headed the same way. There will be more polarity and more desire to get rid of those pastors. I recall the polarity starting in the LCA when a worship professor at LSTC was turning out graduates who told their congregations they had never worshiped properly before.

Church Growth services are so assinine that people would be inclined to look for something that is real worship. The plethora of new hymnals has made any given form temporary.

Some pastors can use terms like confession and mass without bowing ultimately to Rome. However, the ones who study worship incessantly - without knowing Luther's doctrine - are going to fall over on the other side. I think they should leave the Lutheran Church as soon as they reject Lutheran doctrine.

I see Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy constantly promoting their confessions, such as they are. Meanwhile, the Lutheran leaders are either Baptist-Pentecostal or halfway to Rome, and promoting both errors. Many pastors are serious and faithful, but the overall situation is absurd. No?

In Defense of Rev. Fenton

Paul McCain and others denounced Fenton for leaving the LCMS ministerium:

Fenton's Admission
I just finished listening to John Fenton's radio interview about his decision to leave Lutheranism and join the so-called "Orthodox" Faith. Several important things jumped out at me:

1) He had serious doubts and reservations about Lutheranism before he went to the seminary. He had visited an Orthodox parish and read Ware's book on Orthodoxy and as he admits in his interview he had "considered dropping out of the seminary" several times, but did not. Here we have to be concerned that there was not a much more careful screening process at the seminary. Men who have these kinds of grave doubts and reservations about Lutheranism simply should not be permitted to continue in their studies. One should never be permittted to attend seminary as a way to work through such grave doubts and reservations.

2) Fenton clearly rejects the Biblical confession of the Gospel in rejecting the doctrine of vicarious satisfaction and wishes simply to chalk up the propitiation of God's wrath as an Anselmic theory. He has replaced the pure Gospel with adiaphora. In other words, for Fenton the "law of faith" is trumped by the "law of praying." Pretty liturgy is no substitute for the beautiful truth of pure doctrine.


3) Clearly this was a calculated and well orchestrated move out of his parish. A home was purchased, plans were made, and "Bishop Mark" of the Antiochian Diocese has green lighted the development of a "Western Rite" Orthodox parish in the Detroit area and Fenton's eventual ordination. Pastors who are aware of fellow clergy dabbling with Orthodoxy would do well to be aware that this is not simply some innocent "questioning" but often part of a well planned effort to leave Lutheranism, and there is, as I indicated, a clear program under way to recruit others. To laity and pastors: if you suspect a person is being tempted by the siren songs from Istanbul ask the pastor in question to tell you, in full and thorough detail, why they believe Eastern Orthodoxy is wrong. If they demur, there's a problem.

4) Finally, and most tragically, Fenton indicates to the interviewer that in spite of years of "discerning" and "studying" he said he realized he simply had to embrace Orthodoxy in spite of things he "doesn't understand" about it, simply on the basis of "trust" that it must be right. Isn't that both pathetic and sad?

Let us pray that in spite of the error he has embraced by joining "Orthodoxy," John Fenton will be preserved in the saving faith and pure Gospel he learned at his father's knee in the Small Catechism. And let us all take heed and warning from this episode.

***

Fenton's resignation statement is posted, with responses, in this link.

From the Free Republic - this comment is revealing: "A few times recently, Fr. Daniel (the senior priest of the Antiochian Archdiocese) has been away from our little mission and our mother parish for missionary work--specifically discussions with LCMS clergy contemplating conversion to Orthodoxy."

An intelligent response to Fenton's assertations can be found at this LCMS pastor's blog.


A Mass will be celebrated to install Fenton's replacement:

The Installation Mass.

***

GJ - I suspected, and confirmed, that Fenton graduated from Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne. Weinrich, David Scaer, and others prepare Lutheran pastors to become Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic. (By the way, I found links to independent Romanist congregations, including Romanist women priests with Sophia blogs, papal togs. Just Google search on John Fenton LCMS and you will run into it - no fault of his.)

Recent graduates of Ft. Wayne are inordinately concerned with everything except Luther's doctrine. Their infatuation with Roman/Eastern worship is parallel to the WELS fascination with Baptist-Pentecostal seeker services.

I speak in defense of Fenton's move because he was honest in leaving. Instead of dancing along the tightrope, he joined the association closest to his beliefs and practices. I wish more clergy would do that. That would rid WELS of its crypto-Baptist-Pentecostals, LCMS-ELS of its crypto-Papists, ELCA of its crypto-Unitarians. But no, instead of joining what they believe, these foxes and weathervanes pretend to be what they loathe while trying to change the confession and practice of their church bodies.

Moving to Eastern Orthodoxy or Rome was unthinkable in the past. Now it is rather common to find high profile people doing this. I read Zion, Detroit's history and found Richard Neuhaus had worked there. The congregation has a tradition of being high church, as anyone can see from the church website.

I imagine there will be increasing reaction against the high church groups like Bride of Christ and Gottesdienst, leading more men to leave the LCMS/ELCA/ELS for Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy.

WELS Budget Fiasco - The Gurgel-Mueller Years

Verbatim from the Kuske Report:

1. From 1996 to 2003 over $30 million of non-recurring funds were spent
2. Off-budget, almost $1.7 million in non-recurring funds was assigned to missions in Russia and Bulgaria. Off-budget means that it does not appear on the reports of the Operating Fund (See Appendix A).
3. The $22 million in the WELS Gift Fund (a.k.a. Gift Trust Fund) had been considered a “rainy day fund.” It was spent down to nothing by 2002. (See Appendix A for details)
4. In May of 2003 it was reported that $8.1 million (Later reports said $7 million) had been borrowed against trust funds and that there was a $1.5 million shortfall in the current fiscal year. The money borrowed against trust funds was scheduled for repayment, but repayments have been delayed.
5. One example of starting on-going programs with non-recurring funds is the addition of 19 world missionaries during this period. (See Appendices A and D.)
· By 2002 the consequences of the imprudence of using non-recurring dollars to fund on-going programs was very evident. A prescription for the serious problems that follow: More commitments, less income!
1. The “rainy day” fund was no longer available, when the cyclical economic downturn in late 2000 (exacerbated by 9/11) had adversely affected the WELS and the country. Further, after 2002 the Schwann Fund was not contributing the sizable gifts it had been sending to WELS. Restarted several years later.
2. The non-recurring funds that had accumulated over the year had been gaining interest that was used to support the budget. For each $20 million removed from the non-recurring funds $1,000,000 (or more) income in some form needed to be obtained. But the reality was that CMO offerings weren’t even keeping up with inflation. (See Appendix G.)
· The consequences of the imprudent use of non-recurring income resulted in budget cuts on the order of 25% to 30% starting in 2003. Use of non-recurring funds, both directly and indirectly, continued to the present and another $30,000,000 was disbursed, producing a total expenditure beyond income of $60,000,000. (See above)
1. More work of the Synod was moved off-budget (e.g. evangelism and youth ministry, which are now funded by the Revolving Funds) so that the non-recurring income and its income were reduced even more.
2. The world missionary corps was reduced by 17, but there were still more world missionaries in 2003 than in 1995. (Appendix D)
· The Board for Ministerial Education (BME) bore a disproportionately large proportion of the cutbacks.

McCain Count Seriously Wrong

According to Paul (Do you know who I used to be?) McCain:

Gregg, you need to tell the truth. The only reason I agreed to see you at the International Center was because you were without a position in the ministry an were selling insurance and tried to sell me a policy. This was before you alienated absolutely every person and every Lutheran Synod, micro-Synod and Lutheran congregation in the USA. Name even one single Lutheran pastor who supports you Gregg. I feel sorry for you.

This eruption came just because I mentioned that I knew him. Imagine if I had admitted he gave me a personal tour of the Purple Palace and got together with me a second time! Egads!

McCain makes it sound like he found me outside the doors of the LCMS office building, pushing my shopping cart full of personal possessions and aluminum cans, brushing away lice and fleas. After he claimed to have a $1 million AAL policy, I tried to sell him something?

I will put it this way - McCain is consistently wrong.

I recently had a long, friendly conversation with Pastor Herman Otten, McCain's former friend. I wonder if McCain alienated his former political ally - the very person who got the Barry-McCain administration into place - by constantly promoting Barry in his paper through secretly leaked materials from McCain. McCain publicly denied working with Otten. We don't really know it's true until we have an official denial from McCain.

Drifting back to my main point - I had a an exceptionally friendly email from a WELS pastor. He reads Ichabod every day and loves it. Before that it was an email from a pastor's daughter, whose father enjoys Ichabod as well. Yesterday I also had a long conversation with a pastor about all kinds of things.

McCain knows from his extensive study of politics, that a motion to make a decision unanimous fails from one negative vote. Therefore, his main contention is seriously wrong, as people must have guessed.

Laity are writing and signing their emails while synod minders are posting anonymously. Both encourage me.

I am trying to encourage people to stand up for the truth rather than continue in their synod-worship. The only ones gaining from synod-worship are those who have lived off the synod dole and hope to continue in their life of luxury and ease.

Intelligent Post on LQ

Rev. Ed Wright (Thewrightrev)
Member
Username: Thewrightrev

Post Number: 58
Registered: 4-2007
Posted on on LutherQuest, Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 11:44 am:

--------------------------------------------------------
We look upon our ELCA 'brothers and sisters' with disdain, but we will follow in the same footsteps unless we look at ourselves first (the LCMS). I see women's ordination just around the corner, then who knows what's next? Oh, I want to be optimistic about our synod, but little by little we have compromised God's Word with poor exegesis so we/I blame the current administration, but in reality all of us pastors and members are guilty of wanting either our ears tickled or to tickle others ears. So, let's pray for our friends in the ELCA and at the same time understand, but by the grace of God go I.

ELCA News Service Still Silent

I routinely go to the ELCA News Archives for their news releases.

I expected plenty of news after the convention, such as:
1. Mobs surround ELCA headquarters, wave pitchforks and torches.
2. Last congregation leaves ELCA - now only staff left.
3. ELCA merges with ELS - Moldstad excommunicates Bishop Hanson.

Nothing has been posted since the convention. Perhaps everyone went on vacation - or into hiding. I expect something every day, at least a few new stories a week. So far - nothing for over a week.

Yes, the National Council of Churches Lives

The United Church of Christ - bellwether for the Lutherans - has been shrinking and losing the PR race for decades.

So has the National Council of Churches. There were some major efforts to unite all Protestant groups in the 19th century. One result was the Federal Council of Churches, renamed the NCC when the FCC got too Marxist and too loud about it. Of course, renaming the group solved that problem.


An ELCA pastor has been named to an NCC post, proving they have some cash left in their faltering budget. Her name is Ann Tiemeyer, graduate of Yale Divinity. The ELCA news blog is a good way to keep up with their news.

WordAlone - LCMC

WordAlone/LCMC
We are rapidly running out of names for Lutheran groups. I cannot remember exactly what LCMS is, but I know they are congregations from the ELCA. Some congregations within LCMS are completely out of ELCA. Others have a dual-membership. Apparently, WordAlone/LCMC had two main groups, charismatic and non-charismatic. The two factions have parted ways.

No one (except Ichabod) wanted to leave ELCA when it began in 1987. Now the exits are being stampeded. During the last 20 years, WELS and Missouri have done their best to identify with and work with ELCA. No wonder people are not rushing to join either WELS or Missouri.

Augustana Ministerium
One Lutheran name has already been recycled. The Augustana Synod was a group of Swedish-American Lutheran churches. They chose their name to distinguish them from the generic, non-confessional Lutherans of the time. My wife, my mother, and I all graduated from Augustana College. Conrad Bergendoff wrote a book about the ministers of the denomination, called The Augustana Ministerium. Now a group within the LCMS has called itself The Augustana Ministerium.

Sounds High Church To Me

For your information:

St. Andrew House - Center for Orthodox Christian Studies invites you to attend

"Faith of Our Fathers: A Colloquium on Orthodoxy for Lutherans"

An educational conference designed to present the basic precepts of
Orthodox Christianity to Lutheran clergy, spouses and lay leaders.

Monday - Tuesday, September 10 - 11, 2007
Detroit, Michigan


SPEAKERS:

Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit
Rev. Basil Aden - Rev. Calinic Berger - Rev. John W. Fenton
Rev. Gregory Hogg - Reader Christopher Orr
Rev. Gabriel Rochelle - Very Rev. Patrick Henry Reardon
Prof. A. Gregory Roeber

TOPICS:
Authority of Scripture - Trinitarian Theology
Nature of the Church - Virgin Mary and the Saints
Augustine's Influence on Lutheran Ecclesiology
Orthodox Confessions of faith - Justification

For complete information and registration,
visit us online at http//www.orthodoxdetroit.com.

Friends, look up that website.

Four of them are former Lutherans - two from ELCA and two from the LCMS.

Anonymous-Minder Blows Smoke

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Will SP Schroeder Be A Good Leader?":

The Kuske report never said tuition money was used for something other than the schools. If it did, he was wrong. All the tuition money goes to the schools. Unfortunately, this money is not enough to cover expenses. Synod subsidy was decreased from the schools.

Good work Mr. Jackson. Your fact checking makes we wonder if you work for the New Republic.

***

GJ - I suggest Anonymous-Minder reading what he pretends to cite. More money was collected in the name of the schools than forwarded to the schools. I am no accountant, and many things remain - shall we say - mysterious. The same can be said for many funds, which remain borrowed, as they used to say at Gurgel-Mueller's WELS-Enron.

Where did all that Schwan money go?

Verbatim from the Kuske Report:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2007/05/kuske-report-on-wels-mismanagement.html

1. More work of the Synod was moved off-budget (e.g. evangelism and youth ministry, which are now funded by the Revolving Funds) so that the non-recurring income and its income were reduced even more.
2. The world missionary corps was reduced by 17, but there were still more world missionaries in 2003 than in 1995. (Appendix D)
· The Board for Ministerial Education (BME) bore a disproportionately large proportion of the cutbacks.
1. The budget cutting for the BME was approximately doubled in percentage because the money that parents/students paid for tuition/fees was commingled with CMO. Details and illustrations are on Page 7.
2. The funds that had been given directly to the schools and were therefore in the Revolving Funds, were used to balance the budget over the last couple of years. (See Appendix C.)
3. After $20,000,000+ of these non-recurring funds was spent, it has been suggested that the schools should solicit a $300,000,000.00 trust fund to keep themselves going.
· In its November meeting the SC was planning to spending $5.8 million more of non-recurring funds. Of that amount only $2.6 million will be used to fund the prep school for one more year. Prior to that, the recommendation was made to defund the prep schools almost immediately, even though they serve a very significant function of recruiting and training (especially) future pastors, teachers, and lay ministers. (See Appendix I.)
· After serious consideration was given to defunding the prep schools, the SC and the President of the Synod decided to explore alternate methods of recruiting workers. (See Appendix I.)


And...

COMMINGLED NET COST TO BUDGET
Expenditures, BME $30,581,481 Expenditure, BME $30,581,481
Subtract tuition and fees ($13,507,707)
Subtract Activity fees1 ($2,000,000)
Net cost $30,581,481 Net cost $15,073,774
x 25% x 25%
Budget cut at 25% 2$7,645,370 Budget cut at 25% 23,768,443
1 Since I know of nothing outside of the BME that has “activity fees,” I have assigned $2 million here of the $14+ million reported for “Activity Fees And Retail Sales.”
2 In this illustration the difference between $7.6 million and $3.7 million is the distortion that would have occurred because of imprudently commingling tuition with CMO.

As shown in the chart, when the budget cuts were applied, a highly disproportionate reduction in the support provided to the Synodical schools occurred. Some of the budget shortfall was covered by increasing tuition and fees. As a result parents were expected, not only to offer their children for strong encouragement toward full-time ministry, but also to increase payments to the schools sharply. Many apparently could not afford the increases. Enrollments have dropped. The dropping enrollment adversely impacted the funding of the school even further. Since the decreased enrollment was caused ultimately by the imprudent use of non-recurring funds, as explained above, it is disingenuous to now fault the schools for the drop and therefore withdraw even more support.

The revolving funds, especially of WLS and MLC, were used to support the budget
After the predicted drop in enrollment became reality, the SC turned to another direction. The schools of the BME (especially WLS and MLC) had over the years received donations that weren’t specifically designated. These non-recurring funds were next used to shore up the Synod’s budget. The amounts that were taken from these non-recurring funds crept up from about $4 million to $13 million. Details are in Appendix C. The term to accomplish this transfer of funds is “reclassification.” The mechanism that makes it difficult to follow this reclassification (which was done openly in the 2003 report) is that the amount from income used for BME is reported in the Operating Budget. That amount plus the amounted used from non-recurring funds is reported as the total expenditure for BME in the report of Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. (See Appendix C.)

I Believe in the Efficacy of God's Word

God's Word is the only foundation for the work of the Gospel. As Lenski and others once said, the Church is built upon one thing only - the Word of God.

The Word, preached and taught, brings the Gospel to people. The Word conveys the Savior to us. We call the Word a Means of Grace because God grants forgiveness only through the Word (visible and invisible, the Word and Sacraments).

When the Word is correctly taught, the positive affirmations are not left to hover in the air without contrasting them with the negatives (rejections).

If the Word is efficacious, then Reformed doctrine is wrong. Fuller be damned.

If the papacy is the Antichrist, a Roman Catholic bishop cannot march in a religious service with the faculty of Bethany Lutheran Seminary. A Roman Catholic archbishop (gay or straight) cannot teach the Word at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Those who arrange, cover up, and explain away such monstrous behavior must be disciplined or expelled.

If Holy Communion an expression of doctrinal unity, open communion is nothing less than a repudiation of Lutheran doctrine.

Two Ingredients for WELS Reform

Put down your coffee cups and listen up. There are precisely two steps in cleaning up WELS. If either one fails, WELS is doomed, and I mean...insolvent, schools all closing, begging to merge with anyone who will take them in.

Here they are:

Ingredient I

Power is given away, not taken away. The synod, the District Popes, the Synod Council - no one can do a thing unless people let them.

The laity especially must take charge in leading a revolt against:
1) Sexual predator church workers;
2) Fellowship with ELCA, Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, and the Church of Rome;
3) Pastors/teachers who publicly teach false doctrine;
4) Useless, overpaid synod-workers.
5) Misuse of funds.

At the same time, the laity must vocally and consistently support the new Synod President's correct decisions.

Ingredient II

Doctrinal purity is the only path to accomplishing God's will. The clergy have been brain-washed in Church Growth unionism for several decades. The careerists will continue to push this dead fad because Ron Roth, Henry Hagedorn, and Wayne Mueller will smile upon them.

If the laity insist on doctrinal reform and the expulsion of false teachers, money (the least of all concerns) will make its appearance in miraculous abundance. Another money drive - lacking the doctrinal reform - will be Dead On Arrival, prompting the CG leaders to work for new leadership, their pope, Wayne Mueller.

Will SP Schroeder Be A Good Leader?

Email volume is up considerably, from laity in WELS who are not being fooled. One person wondered about how well the new SP Schroeder would lead.

Schroeder will have to struggle against the entrenched Church Growth Curia established for 20 years at The Love Shack. President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller remains in charge of that network. CG incompetents (and worse) find their careers are insinkable if they network with the right people.

Several things should be noted about the change in leadership in WELS:

1. Gurgel had no choice in leaving office, thanks to all the money that was used to prop up synod salaries, instead of going to the intended recipients. The Kuske report claimed that increased tuition was one such fund, where tuition and fees were jacked up but used by the synod for non-school purposes. This rapid 30% tution increase put both preps and the college in danger of closing. Also, the siphoned money remains borrowed - not paid back.
2. Thanks to grassroots support, Schroeder was the leader when he got to the convention. No one else had a chance. People worked hard to make sure Schroeder would get the votes. Ichabod pointed out how important family connections are in WELS elections. His family is respected as "the good Schroders."
3. I am guessing that the recent, enormous drop in mission offerings were due to an underground revolt against the Gurgel-Mueller team. For offerings to drop $8 million in one year, when the general trend is a 2% increase, something is happening synod-wide.

Everyone Is Noticing ELCA

From Townhall.com - http://www.townhall.com/columnists/FrankPastore/2007/08/19/sex_and_the_lutheran_youth_group

Sex and the Lutheran Youth Group
By Frank Pastore
Sunday, August 19, 2007

How do they do it?
I mean, how can the leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) tell their kids with a straight face not to be sexually active outside of marriage when they’ve just voted last Saturday to no longer enforce the celibacy requirement for their unmarried staff—both straight and gay?

Lutheran minister Robert Kreisat (R) is embraced by his partner of 37 years Edward Mather after hearing the New Jersey Supreme court decision on same-sex marriage in front of the Supreme court building in Trenton, New Jersey, October 25, 2006. Saying that times have changed, New Jersey's highest court on Wednesday guaranteed gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples but left it to state lawmakers to define how the state wants to define marriage. REUTERS/ Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES)

The ELCA and other pro-gay denominations have been ordaining gays for decades. That’s nothing new. What’s new is that now staff can openly have lovers while on the job and there will be no disciplinary action for violating the celibacy requirement.

The message to the kids is loud and clear: We can have sex with our boyfriends and girlfriends, but you can’t.

What hypocrisy.

This is what happens when sin and the Bible collide: either the Bible will change the sin or the sin will change the Bible.
In this case, it’s homosexual passion that’s changing the Bible.
Not only have they decided, essentially, to rewrite the Bible and declare homosexuality no longer a sin, but now they’ve gone beyond that to include fornication too. Adultery can’t be far behind.

Look for other liberal denominations to follow suit.

So, this means an unmarried youth pastor can openly discuss the sex life he has with his boyfriend without fear of losing his job, while at the same time supposedly providing spiritual leadership to teenagers and counseling them to “wait until marriage?”

How Cheap!

A WELS pastor worked 35 years and retired with no Social Security. His pension check is $280 a month. That is a disgrace.

Yet the drones at the Beehive, aka The Love Shack, have run through millions and millions of dollars, paid themselves huge salaries, hired their pals to join the throng, and closed schools. Will they retire on so little?

Why not make the pay and retirement fit the work? Those who applied the Word through the Means of Grace should get the most and retire with the most. Those who drink coffee all day, lost track of millions of dollars, wreck Milcraft, promote false doctrine, and close schools - they deserve nothing.

God will reward His faithful servants. As Walther wrote, you were despised on earth, but you will shine like stars in heaven.

Is Contemporary Charismatic Music Anti-Christian?

I was charged with confusing my musical tastes with Biblical standards.

I would be entirely wrong, if:
1. Worship did not reflect doctrine.
2. Worship did not influence doctrine.

KJV Deuteronomy 8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.

What do we find in the classic Reformed church building? There will be a pulpit, a minimal altar, a pool for the Baptists and Disciples of Christ. A Roman Catholic church has a minimal pulpit and a maximum altar.

Lutherans emphasize both the Word and the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.

"Error loves ambiguity," as Krauth wrote, and unionists like Valleskey like to confuse people with ambiguity by saying the Reformed downplay the Means of Grace. That is how someone becomes president of WLS. No, the Reformed ridicule the Means of Grace and reject the efficacy of the Word.

Now let's look at Church Growth congregations. I have been in them. Oh yes. I write what I know. Willow Creek, where I visited the Sunday Seeker Service, has no cross at all. I walked around the building looking for one, finally found a picture of a cross in a basement Sunday School room.

Willow Creek has no organ and really no worship service on Sunday. The purpose of the Sunday gathering is to entertain. WELS leaders, slobbering at the size and glamor of Willow Creek, paid good money to have pastors study the same baloney emanating from Hybels. Therefore, WELS has instituted Seeker Services, hidden the Sacraments, and imitated - as maladroitly as possible - the entertainment side of evangelism.

The ELS has fallen for the same things, not as obviously. The LCMS and ELCA have tried all these silly methods as well. When I attended the Ad Fontes conference in Pennsylvania, one ELCA pastor got up to defend user-friendly services. I love the cute terms these people adopt.

One contagious pastor has not celebrated Holy Communion in years. Does his doctrine affect the worship at CrossWalk? Definitely.

Where does CCM come from? Not from the same doctrine as the Doxology, Old Hundreth. Some Calvinist hymns are so Biblical that they are Lutheran standards as well. CCM is from the Pentecostals first of all.

When Fuller began promoting the myth that they were converting people to Christ through marketing methods, they dumbed down everything they could pollute. Pentecostal music and non-threatening, passive Seeker Services became the norm. One Fundamentalist said, "Fuller graduates ruin every church they touch."

Church Growth leaders are pragmatic and non-theistic. Some may believe in God, but that is really irrelevant to them. They despise traditional Christianity in any form. Church Growth doctrine dictates Church Growth worship, only CG worship is the worship of man, his potential, his emotions. Leonard Sweet is the perfect Church Growth leader - that is why WELS loves him and pays him money to pollute their minds.

If a song in church is designed to make me emotional and sentimental, the song is not a hymn and does not convey worship of God. Read the lyrics of these songs as prose, with a straight face, and ask whether the same words could be read from the pulpit.

How many Reformed hymns have been written about Holy Communion? None. How many Baptist hymnals have a single hymn about Holy Baptism, especially about infant faith and the efficacy of the sacrament. None.

When the non-Lutheran Protestants speak about, preach about, and sing about the Holy Spirit, they separate the work of the Holy Spirit from the Word and Sacraments (the Visible Word). So how can a Lutheran sing -

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Repeat, repeat, repeat. (To be sung properly, FALL has to have a real thump to it, like jumping down from a dining room chair.)

The author of the song above, Daniel Iverson, is associated with the Billy Graham crusades and their hymnal. From their viewpoint, how does the Holy Spirit come to people? Not through the Word. Not through preaching - not exactly. Not ever through the Sacraments. The Holy Spirit pounces on people when and where He chooses, but more often when they dream dreams, persuade people with logic, and market the Gospel by studying and applying statistics.

Baptist worship is designed to move people to make a decision for Christ. They should get good and weepy, then come forward for a decision or rededication. I have been a Graham crusades and at his School of Evangelism in Wheaton. I have been everywhere, so listen up.

Josh McDowell (Lord, Liar, Lunatic - Kelm's favorite) is Graham on steroids and meth. If we can just throw enough facts and logic at people, we can argue them into the Kingdom.

All these variations are perversions of the Gospel and will necessarily change the worship service. Also, no one can worship that way (tongue-speaking, falling down in a trance, dancing in the aisle, arm waving, bawling or laughing inappropriately) and remain a Means of Grace Christian.

Willow Creek is far calmer. There is no real hymn singing, but there is pop music. The message is Law with no Gospel, a familiar characteristic of Reformed homiletics. Often the Law portion is followed by the prescription - more Law!

CCM is opposed to Lutheran doctrine and Lutheran worship. Just listen to the CG guys make fun of traditional worship. They get people to laugh in mockery with them. It sounds like the demons in Hell listening to stand-up comedy.

KJV Deuteronomy 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

Slick Brenner used to say that judgment was coming upon WELS. Many think that day has now arrived.

The Blind Leading the Blind - Abandoning the Role of Teacher and Preacher

Some Google searches will reveal the same WELS sermon being preached at various WELS congregations. A friend told me of attending a meeting where a Love Shack drone gave a meditation on a Biblical text. Later, at another meeting, a different staff-member gave the same meditation, verbatim.

Here is the basic concept - a minister studies the Word and give his interpretation based upon that effort. If he is in error or unclear, he can be corrected.

WELS has been plagiarizing the Reformed and Pentecostals for years. Valleskey and Kelm were famous for copying whatever they learned at Fuller. WELS even produced materials with the same title and similar content as Fuller programs. One was on spiritual gifts, rehashed by Valleskey. Werning (Who's Who in Church Growth) copied pages of materials into his books, and Werning books were heavily promoted by WELS mission (CG) counselors. They really helped. The more WELS relied on Fuller, the faster the sect shrank.

One WELS mission pastor gave Willow Creek sermons verbatim, with the same pauses and dramatic flourishes, week after week. He was supposed to stop but did not. He was let go, but the layman who objected was hounded out of the congregation. The Hybels-parrot was featured in Radloff's Mission Counselors Newsletter.

Do you remember how AnswerMan said the WELS Pentecostal praise bands should not rock and roll with the unwashed? Let's be honest. What's the difference between WELS singing Reformed lyrics and the Reformed singing Reformed lyrics? I know. The Reformed do it far better. I love the Assembly of God beehive hairdos and swirly gowns, too.

But, how much more toxic is a sermon preached and published on a Lutheran website, coming directly and almost verbatim from Baptists and Presbyterians? I would email AnswerMan, but I fear he is studying at Willow Creek again.

Claiming another's work as one's own is dishonest, grounds for firing in most businesses and academic institutions. If the WELS leaders were not such blatant plagiarists themselves, something might be done.

Sermon Dishonesty

Judge for yourselves. Here is a sermon sample from a website:

http://www.sermonsearch.com:80/content.aspx?id=13641

(Sermon)Following is an excerpt of "Daddy, Please Slow Down (14 of 17)" by Andrew McQuitty.

This content is part of a series. Daddy, Please Slow Down (14 of 17)E. Andrew McQuitty2 Samuel 13 and 14Introduction: A. ILLUS: 1. Ruth rode on my motor-bike/ directly in back of me;/ I hit a bump at sixty-five/ and rode on ruthlessly. That catchy little poem humorously describes a not-so-funny reality in our culture: many get going so fast in life that they leave their loved ones behind--and don't even realize it until it's too late. I think that's especially true of Dads. 2. According to U.S. News and World Report (10/28/85, pp. 46-49), 53% of teenagers report spending less than thirty minutes a day with their fathers. Of 1,000 teenagers interviewed, 25% do not discuss their daily activities with their parents, 42% had not received parental words of praise during the past twenty-four hours, 50% had not gotten a hug or kiss, and 54% had not heard the words I love you.B. Fathers in the fast lane1. Why is this? Many dads are just out of time. Pressured to do all and be all--a success in his career and a leader and a husband as well as a father, the typical dad today passes himself coming and going. He's a father in the fast lane, passing everyone on the freeway of life. And then he hits a bump. Maybe it's a health crisis, a problem with one of the children, a marital infidelity. Because he's been going so fast for so long, that one bump is enough to dislodge his wife or his children or both. Suddenly, he's tooling along the road of life alone, wondering what went wrong.2. Folks, that's precisely what happened to King David in our study of 2 Samuel, He was throttling along at a high rate of speed, conquering enemies, building kingdoms, enriching his treasuries. He was phenomenally successful. He was going hazardously fast. Then, his Harley hit a bump called Bathsheba. The impact tragically impacted his family, and he rode on minus three of his sons. What caused the destruction of David's family was not primarily the bump, but the high rate of speed with which he hit it. The Lord used the bump to discipline David into being a better father. The lesson for us dads from the life is David is, simply, slow down. This morning, let's look at what life in the fast lane did to David as a father--and how we can avoid following suit. I. David's life in the fast lane caused him to be. . . A. Out of line1. Scripture: a. Review 11-12. David's great sins flowed from his lifestyle of spiritual apathy, self-indulgence, and rationalization. As we've seen, that lifestyle made him vulnerable to a pretty woman bathing on a rooftop and to the mentality that justified covering adultery with murder. b. Result: 13, 14. Amnon and Absalom merely took some pages out of their father's playbook! These two were teenagers when they saw David model manipulative and treacherous behavior, cover up his sin, deny responsibility, and ignore the hurt that resulted from his actions. Thus when Amnon saw a beautiful woman, he figured he ...
There are 15270 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 3000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $3.50 or 1 credit

***
Here is a sermon from a WELS congregation's website:

http://www.holycrosstucson.org/Sermons/fathers%20Day%202007.htm

Father's Day Back
2 Samuel 13 and 14

Daddy, Please Slow Down

How many saw the story about the man strapped in his wheel chair getting the back of it stuck in the grill of a truck. The driver unaware, and in a hurry, fired up the rig and drove off. The truck was finally pulled over, and man rescued unharmed other than the fright factor. According to U.S. News and World Report, 53% of U.S. teenagers claimed they spend less than thirty minutes a day with their fathers. 25% did not discuss their daily activities, 42% had not heard parental words of praise in the last twenty-four hours, 50% had not gotten a hug, and 54% had not heard the words I love you.Why is this? Pressured to be and do everything in their career, be the coach of the kid's team, as well as a leader in the community or their church, a parent and a spouse, we often find ourselves in the fast lane, passing everyone else on the freeway of life. And then we hit a bump. Maybe it's a health crisis, a problem with a teenager, or marital infidelity. Because we've been going so fast, for so long, that one bump is enough to dislodge the entire family. Suddenly, we are riding the road of life alone, wondering what went wrong.That's precisely what happened to King David in our study of 2 Samuel, He was conquering enemies, building kingdoms, and enriching his treasuries at a phenomenal rate of speed, until he hit a bump in the road called Bathsheba. His sin tragically impacted his family, as he rode on, minus three sons. So, this Father's Day let's look at and learn what life in the fast lane did to David as a father, as well as the mercy of our heavenly father, who used David to build the greatest earthly Kingdom Israel has ever known. The lessons are as simple as what I heard and saw from a young child being dragged through the grocery store. At the beginning of aisle 8 I heard her crying Daddy, Please Slow Down. At the end of aisle 9 I saw her smiling and sitting proudly in the cart as dad pushed her slow enough past the mac and cheese boxes so she could put some in the cart. David's life in the fast lane caused him to get out of line with scripture. Earlier, God had Samuel tell us how David's sins came directly from his spiritual apathy, self-indulgence, and rationalization. It's a lifestyle that made David prone to the temptation of adultery, and a mentality that justified covering it with murder.The result was Amnon and Absalom merely took a page out of their father's play book! They had seen David model manipulative behavior, cover up his sin, deny responsibility, and ignore the hurt he caused others. So when Amnon saw a beautiful woman, he figured why not. That was Dad's strategy? Amnon raped his half sister Tamar which angered her full brother Absalom, who remembered Dad liquoring up and murdering a man in the way of the woman David wanted. So Absalom got Amnon drunk and murdered him.Watch out parents. What we rationalize, excuse, or even practice in moderation can tempt our children to indulge in excess. David seemed to think he could live one way and raise his sons another way. Not! Children can be impressed by our words but they are impacted by our lives. When it counted, Amnon and Absalom didn't ask what would Dad say? They simply did what Dad did. David's life in the fast lane meant he was no longer communing with God, writing psalms or giving God the glory. His life was out of line with Scripture. His sons simply followed David's ungodly ways.David's life in the fast lane also caused him to be out of touch with his sons. So out of touch was David, he ended up giving them permission to perpetrate their crimes. He allowed Tamar to go to Amnon and all his sons to go to Absalom's party where Amnon died! David didn't spend enough time with his children to really know them. Being out of touch made him incapable of practicing proper discipline.Absalom hated Amnon for raping Tamar. But Absalom waited two years for his dad to be a father. Even though it said clearly in Leviticus, and Deuteronomy Amnon's rape meant he was to be stoned or exiled, David, did nothing. And what about his daughter Tamar? After her molestation, she lived the rest of her life in desolation never marrying or having children which was an ultimate defeat and disgrace. Father's apathy sent a clear message of I don't care. Absalom despaired and took matters into his own hands.David wept when he heard Absalom murdered Amnon. But David didn't see what a monster his indecisive behavior created in the heart of his son? Absalom had already lost respect for David when he did nothing to discipline Amnon for the rape. Perhaps Absalom thought the murder of David's first born son, Amnon, would at least get a rise out of Dad! But no! Absalom was crying out for discipline, limits, and strength from his father. What he got was weakness and indecision. All this only fueled Absalom's plan for a full-blown revolt against his dad.According to most o chapter 14, David would have been content never to see his son again. His solution was to become an absentee father. Besides, David was a busy man. He had more important issues to take care of than a son who didn't like him. It took Joab and his scheme with the widow to shame David into just allowing Absalom back into Jerusalem. But even then, David wouldn't see Absalom for two years after he had been gone the precious three!All together it had been seven years since Absalom had any contact with his father. When Joab, who was responsible for getting Absalom back to Jerusalem couldn't get him an audience with the King Absalom burned Joab's fields. As time progressed, Absalom's hurt at his rejection and anger over David's lack of being a father boiled up into a civil war within Israel between the supporters of Absalom and David. This led to the grisly death of Absalom when his neck got caught in an oak tree and Joab's men finished him off. Dads in the fast lane often have less contact with their children. The lack of contact minimizes the conflicts which make it seem like things are O.K. But we don't keep kids out of trouble by leaving them alone! Problems don't go away because we avoid dealing with them. They usually get worse. Parental apathy is devastating to a child. Why? Because the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.So parents, as we get our lives back in line with scripture, remember Galatians 6:7,8, DO NOT BE DECEIVED: GOD CANNOT BE MOCKED. A MAN REAPS WHAT HE SOWS. THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE HIS OWN SINFUL NATURE, FROM THAT NATURE WILL REAP DESTRUCTION; THE ONE WHO SOWS TO PLEASE THE SPIRIT FOR THE SPIRIT WILL REAP ETERNAL LIFE. Godliness is making the outside line up with the inside. It is being what you want your kids to think you are! If we can't find, or don't make, time to shore up our own spiritual integrity, we are simply going too fast. Everyday our thoughts, words, and actions sow seeds God says will come to fruition. What seeds are we sowing? Seeds of lust, materialism, greed, bitterness and hatred? Or seeds of purity, righteousness, generosity, love and forgiveness? They all grow.Parent's, it's time we get back in touch with our children. Time alone does not heal if not accompanied by active, purposeful steps toward healing. We have to listen, and we should have something constructive to bring to the discussion. It's like the son raised by his grandparents. As a graduation present he went to see his father in N.Y. It was the first time in 20 years, since Dad divorced and left when he was 4. Walking to lunch in Manhattan the young man said, "I hear a cricket." His Dad called him crazy. But the boy insisted, reached into a concrete planter and pulled out a cricket. Dad asked, "How did you do that?" The boy said, "It all depends on what you're listening for. Then the boy took a handful of change and threw it on the sidewalk. Twenty people stopped. Ten were on their knees in seconds. The boy said, see, "It all depends on what you're listening for."Parents doing things for our children, is no substitute for doing things with our children. TV shows and movies may solve a family crisis in one sitting, but real people don't. It takes time, and lots of it. Teachable moments, heart to heart talks, and stories our children will tell their children do not occur on cue. They happen in the context of simply being together. Being together a lot! This is one where raising children and the golfers struggling this weekend have something in common. Error increases with distance. But the opposite is also true: Success increases with proximity. Show me a parent close to their child, and I'll show you an effective parent.Yes, life moves pretty fast for most of us, but if we are here today, out of control does not mean out of hope. There still is time to slow down! One of the great things about slowing down is that even when we hit a bump, nobody falls off! Parents getting their lives in line with scripture, in touch with their children as they spend time with them will still hit some bumps along the way. But having slowed down, the bump won't be fatal. We'll take our children with us down the road of life, until we enjoy eternal life together. Instead of Daddy please, how much more Godly to hear thank you Daddy for slowing down.Back

Here is the author's bio -


Bio for Andrew McQuitty
Dr. McQuitty spent his high school years in Paris, TX where his father served as Senior Minister of a Presbyterian church. He is a graduate of Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL and of Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, TX. Andy earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1997, receiving the C. Sumner Wemp Award in personal evangelism as well as the John G. Mitchell Award for outstanding scholarship and effectiveness in ministry. Andy has served as a youth pastor in Washington state, and as Associate Pastor of a Bible Church in Garland, TX. As Sr. Pastor of Irving Bible Church since 1987, he transitioned the church to a contemporary style of ministry with a strong emphasis on world missions and the arts. Under his leadership, IBC has grown from 300 to 1,500 in worship, with extensive children's and youth ministries. Andy is an avid reader, golfer, gym rat and writer. But his favorite pastime is passing time with his family. Andy is husband to Alice and father to Julie, Elizabeth, Bonnie, Jonathan and Jeffrey.
Find all content by this author.


***
Pastor Curt Grube lists the sermons as if they are his own. The sermon page has a link for sending the "new" ones.

Here is "In God We Trust" from the sermon website:

http://www.sermonsearch.com/content.aspx?id=25451

(Sermon)Following is an excerpt of "In God We Trust" by James Merritt. In God We Trust
James Merritt
Proverbs 3: 5-605-29-05Introduction1. At first glance, I thought it was a great victory. The past week a Federal Appeals Court ruled that the phrase "In God We Trust" on a government building, does not violate the separation of church and state. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled on May 13th that the national motto may remain on the facade of a county government building in Lexington, North Carolina.2. Then listen to what the court has to say and I am quoting Judge Robert King. "The Fourth Circuit has 'heretofore characterized the phrase 'In God We Trust' when used as the national motto on coins and currency as a 'patriotic and ceremonial motto' with 'no theological or ritualistic impact.'"3. Quite frankly, if those four words, "In God We Trust" have "no theological or ritualistic impact" then you could just have easily substituted Mickey Mouse for God.4. It raises for me a big "why?" I don't mind telling you that there are a lot of "why" questions that I carry around every day. For example:* Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii?* Why are there floatation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?* If a 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?* Why is it that when you transport something by car it is called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship it is called cargo?* Think about that little indestructible black box they use on airplanes - why can't they make the whole plane out of that same substance?* Why is it when you are looking for an address you turn down the volume on the radio?* Why do they sterilize needles that they use for lethal injections?* Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?* Why do they call it a tv set when you only get one?* Why do they lock gas-station bathrooms - are they afraid somebody is going to clean them?5. I want to raise two questions today. Why should we trust in God and if we really do trust in God, what would that mean for the way we live our lives? I am going to be very honest with you. It is a lot easier for me to stand up here and tell you to trust God than it is sometimes for me to trust God. I heard about a little boy who was envying his older brother's new bicycle and since he wanted a new bicycle too, he went to his big brother and asked him how to get one. His older brother said that he had prayed for this bicycle and he suggested that his little brother start praying for a new bicycle as well. After thinking about it for a little while, he realized his older brother was a lot better at prayer than his was, so he went back to him and said, "I've got a better idea. Why don't you just give me your bicycle and you can ask God for another one?"6. I could give you many reasons why you ought to trust God, but let me just give this one to think about. When we trust God, God guides us. God doesn't make Xerox copies ...
There are 18730 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 3000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $3.50 or 1 credit

Here is the Pastor Grube's "In God We Trust"

http://www.holycrosstucson.org/Sermons/pentecost_5_2007.htm

Pentecost 5
Proverbs 3:5-6
In God We Trust
As a country, we have a motto that appears in different places having to do with our government. You see it on documents, buildings, and on our money. "In God We Trust"Individuals and groups have worked hard in recent years to remove that phrase, but so far have been unsuccessful. As one Judge wrote, "The Fourth Circuit has 'heretofore characterized the phrase 'In God We Trust' when used as the national motto on coins and currency as a 'patriotic and ceremonial motto' with 'no theological or ritualistic impact.'"But wait a minute: If those words have no theological or ritualistic impact, why do we use them? Such a question probably belongs with, why are there interstate highways in Hawaii? If a place is open 24 hours, why do they have locks on the door? Why do they use sterilized needles for lethal injections? And if they can make an airplane's little black box indestructible, why can't they make the whole plane out of that stuff? Rather than speculating, rather than turning the 4th of July into a political rant, come with me today to the book of Proverbs as we consider trusting in God.Let me start by admitting, it's a lot easier to stand up here and tell you to trust God than it is sometimes, even for me to put it into practice. It's like the boy who envied his sister's new I Phone. Since he wanted one too, he asked her how she got it. She told him she had been praying for one, and suggested he start doing the same. He thought about it for a bit and responded, it's obvious you are a lot better at this praying thing than I am, so why don't you just give me your phone, and you pray for another.Now before we do the same with this Trust In God theme, let's get to our text. The passage we are going to look at is one of the more practical and helpful passages in all of the Bible. God used one of the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, to record His words saying, TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT. (Proverbs 3:5-6)There are really two simple parts to this passage - our part and God's part. Our part is trusting. God's part is guiding. When God has Solomon write TRUST IN THE LORD, He is having Solomon use a Hebrew word that literally means to "to lie down on" or "to stretch out on." For example last night when we went to bed, what did we do? Did we cautiously approach our bed, poke it a little to see if was real? Did we first put one foot in and wait to see if it would hold us. I suspect we simply laid down, stretched out, with our full weight on the mattress, never giving it a second thought. That is the same approach we take when it comes to trusting God.Thus God finishes the first phrase TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART. We are to put our whole heart into trusting God, because if our trust is only half-hearted, what is the other half? Doubt. There really is no such thing as half-hearted trust. You either trust God totally or you don't really trust God at all.We all know what an important part trust plays in relationships if they are going to hold together. If one spouse doesn't trust the other one that marriage is in for some rough sailing. It's like fictitious story about Adam and Eve. It starts out like Genesis where Adam wakes up one day to find this beautiful woman God had given him called Eve. Everything was fine until Eve began to get suspicious about Adam staying out late. She confronted Adam, asking him if there might be another woman involved? Adam assured her she was only one God had made for him. Not satisfied with his answer she tossed and turned till Adam fell asleep. When he awoke he found Eve poking him in the chest counting his ribs.There is a reason why God demands total trust and that is because, He deserves nothing less. Think about it. His Holiness makes it impossible for Him to fool us, because He cannot lie. His infinite wisdom makes it impossible for Him to fail us. He cannot make a mistake. Trusting in Him will never let us down.We are also told, LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.(Proverbs 3:5)This part of the verse centers around the Hebrew word "shan-ann", which means "to support yourself by leaning on something or someone else." While God never suggests we simply put our mind in neutral or ignore common sense, he is saying do not support yourself, do not build your whole life simply around what we think or what we feel we ought to do.For whenever we put what we think ahead of what God says, we will be walking in darkness, not the light. God has Solomon add in v.7 DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES. (Proverbs 3:7) And there is a reason for this statement. God explains it through Jeremiah in chapter 10 where the prophet declares, I KNOW, O LORD, THAT A MAN'S LIFE IS NOT HIS OWN; IT IS NOT FOR MAN TO DIRECT HIS STEPS. (Jeremiah 10:23) In other words, anytime we decide we are going to take matters into our own hands, call our own shots and leave God totally out of it, we are headed for disaster.Any of us who have been around for a few years have learned the Godly thing to do may not always be the reasonable thing to do, or what somebody else thinks you ought to do. People thought Noah was crazy to build a boat on dry land. Who didn't question Joshua marching around Jericho seven times. When David fought Goliath, Saul wanted him to use a sword and a shield, but God gave him a sling shot and a rock. But not one of these great heros of faith were disappointed in the outcome of trusting in God, and neither will we be.IIGod seals this deal when He has Solomon write in v.6 IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT. I hope we didn't miss the emphasis here? We are to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. That means, in our social, financial, recreational, vocational life, and personal life, we are to acknowledge God.The word "acknowledge" literally means to "recognize" or "to see". Simply put, in every part of life, look for God. It doesn't matter whether we are going to play or pray, work or worship, go on vacation or to our vocation, acknowledge the Lord? It's about letting God be seen through us. It's about letting God speak through us. It's about God working through us.Even though the promise, HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT may seem conditional, it isn't. As our Epistle reading reminded us, YOU ARE ALL SONS OF GOD THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS. There is that trust thing again. And then the rest of the verse, FOR ALL OF YOUR WHO WERE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST HAVE CLOTHED YOURSELF WITH CHRIST. Trusting totally in the Lord, or Clothed with Christ, HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT.Think about that for a moment - We can live our life on one of three levels. Level 1 is - I do what I want to do, which is where most of the world lives today. Level 2 is - I think I do what I ought to do, which is where a lot of Christians live today, but that is not the highest level. The highest level is - I do what God leads me to do. That comes from this ultimate trust in Him.One last example comes from the connections some of you have with the Air Force, Navy, or other branch of the military. An aircraft carrier is one of the tiniest landing strip a pilot will ever negotiate, and it's always, to some degree, a moving target. The real key to a successful landing is not the captain of the ship, it's not the technology of the plane, or the pilot, but the LSO officer, usually an experienced pilot who observes the incoming planes and signals the pilot at the last minute to set it down, or to pull back on the stick and try again. Pilots must put themselves totally in the hands of the LSO. For us who are HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE (Galatians 3:29) life is like waking up everyday on the deck of the U.S.S. God. Some days the sailing is smooth. Other days we fly through some real turbulence. But every day we carry our cross or, IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM. (Proverbs 3:6) We don't LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING (Proverbs 3:6) Instead, every day, including our last one we trust in the divine LSO THE CHRIST OF GOD (Luke 9:20 ) Peter confessed in our Gospel reading. He will see to it our trust in and commitment to His ways leads to a safe landing every time.

***

Here is the bio for James Merrit, who wrote the sermon -

Bio for James Merritt
A 21st century prophet, Dr. James Merritt, pastor of Cross Point Church near Atlanta, Georgia and host of the television broadcast Touching Lives. Sharing God's powerful message through a powerful medium, Dr. Merritt's purpose remains to bring lost souls to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Powerfully saved at the age of nine and accepting the call to preach at the age of twenty-one, Dr. Merritt received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University and his Master of Divinity and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. In June of 2000, Dr. Merritt was elected as President of the Southern Baptist Convention which currently hosts a membership of well over 15.8 million individuals and over 40,000 churches across the United States. Dr. Merritt has also previously served on numerous committees for the Southern Baptist Convention including Chairman of the Executive Committee and the President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Pastors Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Each week, viewers from around the country listen to the pure and simple presentation of the gospel message. Dr. Merritt's messages resound with a resonating call for personal evangelism and are characterized by their expository instruction. Delivering the transforming gospel, Dr. Merritt applies its relevance to your life!
Find all content by this author.