I have a long post from someone about TOF. I will mention some things I know.
The Little Sect on the Prairie took control of Thoughts of Faith, which was largely funded by Marvin Schwan.
Little Printshop on the Prairie
A highlight of the convention was the program on two evenings when a representative of each church body told about its work – including the joys and difficulties it faced. Pastor "Martin Luther" Kim from South Korea stole the show with his exuberance and enthusiasm. He emphasized that he wanted to be called Martin Luther because our world is desperately in need of a second Reformation. He reported that his church has about 250 members, of which 50 are studying in the United States.
Rev. John Vogt
Thoughts of Faith, Inc.
Our 2008 synod convention adopted the recommendation that the church-related organization, Thoughts of Faith (TOF), "be brought into the organizational structure, direction, and control of the synod through its Board for Foreign Missions." For the 2009 convention a proposed structure will be presented. The date for the full implementation of the acquisition is January 1, 2010. Mr. Kermit Traska currently serves as the Executive Director for TOF.
John Shep began TOF as a para-church organization. The formerly empty website for TOF has plenty of content now. ELS Pastor Paul Schneider (Midland, Michigan) is president of the board. Schneider's congregation has Dow Chemical money behind it, so it is the only heir-conditioned Lutheran church in that city.
Roger Kovaciny, Jay Webber, and others gave Bishop John Shep the Left Foot of Fellowship, so he came back from the Ukraine.
Pastor John Shep is now serving a three-point ELCA congregation, not far from TOF headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. There are some interesting photo pages. He is involved in the Ukraine again. I recall that TOF was supposed to deliver Ukraine from the Commie Atheists, which is a good description of the current ELCA leadership. Update - the Vermont congregation has gone on its own, with Shep as the pastor, instead of being yoked with two others.
Has anyone noticed how ELS pastors become ELCA pastors? The Fuller-trained ELS pastor who was on the doctrine committee joined ELCA. I think that CG pastor was in Naples, Florida when Orvick dropped the hammer. Corrections are welcome.
David Jay Webber, once in the Ukraine, now serves in Scottsdale, Arizona and Queen Creek.
Roger Kovaciny resigned from the Little Sect on the Prairie. He denies being A. Nony Mouse, and I believe him. There were details that pointed to a WELS pastor. Kovo is translating in the Ukraine, somewhat on his own, with help from WELS/ELS Church Growth leader Floyd Luther Stolzenburg.
Stolzenburg was hailed as the savior of WELS in Columbus, after he was kicked out of the LCMS ministry for cause, divorced for cause, and sued for cause. He never joined WELS, but WELS treated him as a pastor with a proper divine call. Shep, Kovaciny, and Webber took money from Stolzenburg's Masonic CG congregation (a job supported by Kuske) and built a church in Ukraine, naming it after Floyd's. Awww, that is so sentimental and supportive of Floyd. Who says the love of money is the root of all evil? Oh, the Bible? Well, never mind. The NIV probably reads, "Mark and avoid poor people." That would explain the joint attitude of the ELS and WELS. They can agree on something after all. TOF even got matching funds from the Schwan Foundation to build that church named after Floyd's in Columbus. Friends, if you got turned down for a grant from Schwan - you just did not sink low enough.
Apparently John Lawrenz did some work at the Ukraine Seminary. The Holy Spirit ordered him to Asia, although John argued hard against it, according to the interview published on the Web.
One of the Schwan sons is on the TOF board. The Schwan Foundation is not as prodigal as it once was, so many projects have been tossed. If anyone suffers from thinking that money is a Means of Grace, think again. The eruption of Schwan money served mainly to get the old Synodical Conference (LCMS-ELS-WELS) into outrageous spending habits.
