At a Ft. Wayne conference, Stadler spent so much time talking to Herman Otten's sister, Marie Meyer, that some thought they were married. Mrs. Meyer is an advocate for women's ordination. Someday, Richard, the women pictured above could be your bishops.
Independent Lutheran congregations face challenges as well as opportunities for mission and ministry
01/30/08
Robert Ylvisaker (An ELS Ylvisaker!)
Nearly all Lutheran churches in the metro area claim membership in a synod or similar organization, but two St. Paul suburban congregations have bucked the trend and are operating as completely independent parishes.
The pastors of both St. James Lutheran in West St. Paul and Grace of God Evangelical Lutheran in Woodbury say they’ve seen a surge in enthusiasm and involvement among members since going it alone, and they also report increases in membership. They acknowledge, however, that there can be problems, both short and long term.
The roof certainly didn't fall in as some had predicted when St. James was suspended from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in mid-1995, said the Rev. Richard Stadler, senior pastor. The issue that led to the break was the role of women in the church and society.
The three pastors at the time, including Stadler, said WELS leaders maintained in discussions leading up to the suspension that men must be the leaders and women subordinate to them in all areas of life. These roles had been established as part of God's moral law at the time of Creation, and to ignore the requirement was a sin.
The pastors argued that they could find no justification for the synod's position in Scripture, even though their ministry was very much Bible-based and conservative theologically.
“The energy level of the congregation went up 200% the summer after WELS suspended us,” Stadler said. “Our energy had been focused on theological controversy, and now the congregation put that behind them, opening a new chapter — a sort of adventure.”
Three years after leaving WELS, the St. James parish completed a $1.8 million expansion of its striking Romanesque church building. And while membership has remained at the 1,500 level of 1995, it’s actually been growing continuously as young families join the congregation, offsetting losses from death and other natural causes, Stadler said.
***
GJ - Have you noticed how all the apostates are "conservative"? Richard Jungkuntz was conservative too.
Stadler's congregation was known for taking on disciplinary cases from other WELS congregations. Stadler is divorced and remarried. Iver Johnson left his wife after 50 years of marriage. Stadler always eluded disciplinary action because he was best buddies with Paul Kelm and Wayne Mueller. The former wives must be touched deeply by the Heirs Together essay posted on the church website: Full equality for second wives! The three pastors will defend that to the death.
Stadler was the featured speaker at the WELS youth rally in Columbus, Ohio. His "sermon" was so bad that Professor Balge's son said, "Thank you for not vomiting on me, Greg." Stadler filled a jar with muck and then added a chemical to make the water clear again, like a Tide commercial in the guise of a children's sermonette. I was captivated by Stadler's lisp - very pronounced.
Another divorced and remarried pastor spoke at the rally - Marc Schroeder (no, not the SP Schroeder). Mark touched many hearts when he said he was more qualified to address family issues because he was divorced. Best (CGM) buddy Floyd Stolzenburg was similarly qualified and helped organize the rally, with Roger Zehms, also divorced and remarried.
Marc Schroeder was the son of a DMLC professor and married a seminary professor's wife the second time. Even then, DP John Seifert extended the Left Foot of Fellowship when Marc continued the same ecumenical endeavors loved by WELS leaders.
Prince of Peace went out with Schroeder, so there is some karma with one divorced pastor hosting another divorced pastor via LPR's two divorced pastors. Stadler became independent. Schroeder became independent. Stolzenburg attached himself to another independent church. All of them were held up as leaders of youth in WELS.
Take note of Stadler's Lutheran links - none. Is that an oversight or just a slight?
Such spiritual wisdom suggests a future WELS youth rally with Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Ozzy Osbourne speaking on drug abuse; Mark Freier on the dangers of pop music; Randy Cutler on the errors of Pentecostalism; and former SP Gurgel on financial planning.
PS - Has anyone known of false teachers starting on their own, from scratch? They take over a congregation built up with the mission money and the labor of others, then pronounce themselves great heroes for going it alone.
