Like Father, Like Son

JFK's Putative Love Child, left, JFK, right

A Canadian man has come forward to claim the late JFK as his father. Doubtless the Kennedy family will rush to provide DNA samples to prove or disprove the case.

The man does bear a striking resemblance to President Kennedy. Blood will tell.

That is also why so many WELS and LCMS congregations look and sound like the Community Churches that fathered them.

One WELS layman in Wisconsin told me about his congregation's staff being sent to Willow Creek Community Church to be trained. Now the church looks and sounds like Willow Creek.

WELS District VP Kuske midwifed Pilgrim Community Church. No liturgy. No Lutheran creeds or hymns. WELS Church Growth expert Roger Zehms warned WELS members not to join the congregation or even visit. Zehns and Stolzenburg were the two Church Growth gurus who guided the congregation toward its rapid and unlamented demise.

Phoenix has plenty of Community Churches. They actually have a denomination of sorts. They band together on the basis of no confessions. They are huge in Phoenix, unlike the copycat CrossWalk (Stealth WELS) in Phoenix or a similar lovechild in Chicago.

The Kelm/Parlow version in Green Bay, Wisconsin has carried copying to a new level, copying the very sermons of Evangelicals and publishing them on their own website. I am not sure whether the paternity has been disputed. Some WELS people noticed the shocking coincidence of WELS sermons being exactly like Baptist sermons published years before. But Kelm and Parlow have learned their lesson and now cite their plagiarism without shame.

The Michigan District was also mother to Crossroads in South Lyons. They began with Lutheran sheep being led to the slaughter by WELS pastors: Rick Miller, Kelly Voigt, Mark Freier. Then they turned honest and became generic Protestant. That was again during the immodest reign of Robert Mueller and Paul Kuske.

Missouri boasts of many love-children, fathered by Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek--or, shudder--by both. One is in the Midland, Michigan area. Another is in the Detroit metropolis. Doubtless more are scattered across the continent, a testament of Lutherans losing their nerve and their faith.

Reminiscere - The Second Sunday in Lent

God the Father, by Michelangelo

Reminiscere – The Second Sunday in Lent

KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

TLH Hymns
387 – Dear Christians One and All (Luther)
292 – Lord Jesus Christ, With Us Abide (Selnecker, Concordist)
142 – A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth (Gerhardt)
413 – I Walk in Danger (Brorson)

God’s Wisdom or Man’s

Luther summarized the public ministry of Jesus thus – He granted every single request brought to Him in the Gospels.

One is tempted to begin by saying how difficult this particular lesson is, since Jesus treats the Canaanite woman so roughly:
1. He is silent about her requests at the beginning. The disciples want her sent away.
2. He rejects her by race, secondly, saying He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel.
3. Finally, He uses a common and offensive comparison, asking if it was right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.

Let’s look at a similar passage.

KJV Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

The point of each passage is that we should never grow tired of praying to God.

In the miracle story, an actual event, Jesus acted out the experience of most people. They pray to God but seem to find no answer for their prayers, as if God is utterly silent. Then they conclude that God’s grace will not come to them since it is meant for others. Finally they conclude they are little more than dogs and not worthy to have a request answered.

In the parable, the one receiving the requests is an evil judge who did not believe in God and was not fair to man. The parable in Luke uses the familiar Jewish comparison, from the lesser to the major. If something is true on such a small scale, how much more true will it be on a large scale? So, if an evil judge listens to the cries of a woman for justice, then God Almighty will definitely listen to His own people when they cry for justice as well.

Both passages teach faith in God’s mercy, goodness, and power. They do not teach the virtue of the individual but the reason why people should have faith in God.

What is faith but trust in God in spite of all experiences and human reason? The reason we have so many timid clergy and Machiavellian laity is their lack of faith in God.

Man’s wisdom is the opposite of God’s wisdom. God has given us the power of reason with many practical advantages. Confronted with a problem like how to move traffic under or over a river, man can come up with ingenious engineering answers. Strangely, many people give no credit to God for their ability to figure these things out. They give all the credit to themselves.

Man’s reason is limited to the everyday, material world. Nevertheless, God can overrule these laws since He established them in the first place. In the medical field, the best doctors are often dismayed at their failures and overjoyed when dire predictions do not come true.

Children have no trouble with the miracles of Jesus. When I ask them how Jesus could walk on water, they say, “Because He is God.” But gather a bunch of academic theologians together and they will say, “He only seemed to be walking on water. He was really walking on sandbars or along the shore. The disciples thought they saw Jesus walking on water, but he wasn’t, because no one can do that.” The vast majority of academic theologians are apostates can talk about a topic they no longer believe.

The Canaanite woman never disputes the power or mercy of God. She continues to ask Jesus.

The Silence
We think God is silent because He works on a completely different scale than man. As Luther suggested, He is an old man who has run things rather well for a long time. We should trust His management skills. Paul said that no one is God’s counselor. In other words, God is so far beyond our comprehension that He can only be revealed, not explained. The Scriptures reveal the nature of God so that we trust in Him and see Him as He is, but we are very limited.

God allows us to think of Him as silent to strengthen and purify our faith. Those who keep an infantile perspective of God will turn away from Him for being God rather than an instant gratification machine.

Recently I have been reading about Jews of the early 20th century, as they moved to America. Many had ancient fables and superstitions embedded in their lore. For instance, one boy was told that bread dropped into the ocean would stop a storm. The father knew this was true because it worked for him once. The son tried it during a storm on the ocean and saw no results. That made him start to doubt how God worked. But God does not need amulets, tokens, and other objects to work. Instead of saying, “This is magic and wrong,” the superstitious person is inclined to say, “There is no God.”

How is this different from the Pentecostalism and Church-Growthism of today? They say, “Do this and God will give you what you want.” When people are disappointed, as they must be over time, they turn away from God, not from the frauds.

Waiting teaches us to be patient when God appears to be silent. Parents do the same thing in love. Their children demand something, harshly. No response. “Didn’t you hear me?” The father or mother says, “I am deaf until I hear the word please.” Repeated bouts of deafness teach children to use the word please.

I tried the same with my granddaughters. I insisted on “please” at the beginning and “thank you” after I said yes. For some reason, they were confident I would always say yes. The result was every request beginning, “Please and thank you…”

God’s apparent silence should not make us think God wants evil to come our way. Luther used his dog Blockhead as an example of prayer. A dog never expects any answer except yes and never becomes discouraged.

Our two Shelties, Precious and Treasure, assume that every meal includes tidbits for them. Even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. They assume a posture of extreme alertness whenever food is available. They wait for their treats with extreme patience and a friendly attitude.

And yet human literature is filled with examples of, “I prayed for this and did not get it, so I stopped believing in God.” Sommerset Maughm, who wrote Of Human Bondage, is one. Ted Turner is another. I have never seen a dog turn bitter and angry over waiting for a treat. If anything, they pour on the charm and grin even more.

The Miracle is For Another Group
It is easy to assume from the Bible that those days were full of miracles, that ours are not. Or one denomination will claim to have cornered the market on miracles.
A Roman Catholic showed a Lutheran woman a room full of crutches thrown away at their miracle center. Asked what she thought on radio, she said, “I don’t believe a word of it.”

Pentecostals claim all the miracles, spawning growth in another area – occultic religion. The occult religions in Asia claim that spirits will give humans whatever they want, as long as the claims are specific. That is the basic theology of Paul Y. Cho, who is a Church Growth hero. WELS Pastor James Witt (D.Min. in Church Growth, Concordia, St. Louis) bought a case of Cho books and passed them out at a WELS conference promoting cell groups. Doubtless he has repented by now.

Miracles happen all the time, to believers and unbelievers alike. Given the sinfulness of human nature, we should assume that the entire world would fall into chaos without the constant intervention of God. Look at what bankers all over the world did to the financial system! They did that with computers, CPAs, financial wizards, controls, oversight committees, state owned banks, central planning, and so forth.

All the New Testament passages about prayers are accompanied by verses praising God for His goodness and mercy. For example –

KJV Romans 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

The Canaanite woman’s story says to us – We may think miracles come to everyone but us, but still we pray in faith, knowing the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Take from the Children, Give It to Dogs?
The last apparent rebuke for the Canaanite woman speaks to the feelings of unworthiness felt by those whose prayers seem unanswered. Why would God answer my prayers?

"What God Ordains Is Always Good"
by Samuel Rodigast, 1649-1708
1. What God ordains is always good;
His will abideth holy.
As He directs my life for me,
I follow meek and lowly.
God indeed in every need
Doth well know how to shield me;
To Him, then, I will yield me.
2. What God ordains is always good.
He never will deceive me;
He leads me in His own right way,
And never will He leave me.
I take content What He hath sent;
His hand that sends me sadness
Will turn my tears to gladness.
3. What God ordains is always good.
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my Physician sends me.
My God is true; Each morn anew
I'll trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.
4. What God ordains is always good.
He is my Friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm,
Though many storms may gather.
Now I may know Both joy and woe,
Some day I shall see clearly
That He hath loved me dearly.
5. What God ordains is always good.
Though I the cup am drinking
Which savors now of bitterness,
I take it without shrinking.
For after grief God grants relief,
My heart with comfort filling
And all my sorrow stilling.
6. What God ordains is always good.
This truth remains unshaken.
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
I shall not be forsaken.
I fear no harm, For with His arm
He shall embrace and shield me;
So to my God I yield me.
Hymn #521
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Deut. 32:4
Author: Samuel Rodigast, 1675
Translated by: composite
Titled: "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan"
Composer: Severus Gastorius, 1681
Tune: "Was Gott tut"
http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/lyrics/tlh521.htm

Another, even greater hymn, from Paul Gerhardt:

"If God Himself Be for Me"
by Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676
1. If God Himself be for me,
I may a host defy;
For when I pray, before me
My foes, confounded, fly.
If Christ, my Head and Master,
Befriend me from above,
What foe or what disaster
Can drive me from His love?
2. This I believe, yea, rather,
Of this I make my boast,
That God is my dear Father,
The Friend who loves me most,
And that, whate'er betide me,
My Savior is at hand
Through stormy seas to guide me
And bring me safe to land.
3. I build on this foundation,
That Jesus and His blood
Alone are my salvation,
The true, eternal good.
Without Him all that pleases
Is valueless on earth;
The gifts I owe to Jesus
Alone my love are worth.
4. My Jesus is my Splendor,
My Sun, my Light, alone;
Were He not my Defender
Before God's awe-full throne,
I never should find favor
And mercy in His sight,
But be destroyed forever
As darkness by the light.
5. He canceled my offenses,
Delivered me from death;
He is the Lord who cleanses
My soul from sin through faith.
In Him I can be cheerful,
Bold, and undaunted aye;
In Him I am not fearful
Of God's great Judgment Day.
6. Naught, naught, can now condemn me
Nor set my hope aside;
Now hell no more can claim me,
Its fury I deride.
No sentence e'er reproves me,
No ill destroys my peace;
For Christ, my Savior, loves me
And shields me with His grace.
7. His Spirit in me dwelleth,
And o'er my mind He reigns.
All sorrow He dispelleth
And soothes away all pains.
He crowns His work with blessing
And helpeth me to cry,
"My Father!" without ceasing,
To Him who dwells on high.
8. And when my soul is lying
Weak, trembling, and opprest,
He pleads with groans and sighing
That cannot be exprest;
But God's quick eye discerns them,
Although they give no sound,
And into language turns them
E'en in the heart's deep ground.
9. To mine His Spirit speaketh
Sweet word of holy cheer,
How God to him that seeketh
For rest is always near
And how He hath erected
A city fair and new,
Where what our faith expected
We evermore shall view.
10. In yonder home doth flourish
My heritage, my lot;
Though here I die and perish,
My heaven shall fail me not.
Though care my life oft saddens
And causeth tears to flow,
The light of Jesus gladdens
And sweetens every woe.
11. Who clings with resolution
To Him whom Satan hates
Must look for persecution;
For him the burden waits
Of mockery, shame, and losses,
Heaped on his blameless head;
A thousand plagues and crosses
Will be his daily bread.
12. From me this is not hidden,
Yet I am not afraid;
I leave my cares, as bidden,
To whom my vows were paid.
Though life and limb it cost me
And everything I won,
Unshaken shall I trust Thee
And cleave to Thee alone.
13. Though earth be rent asunder,
Thou'rt mine eternally;
Not fire nor sword nor thunder
Shall sever me from Thee;
Not hunger, thirst, nor danger,
Not pain nor poverty
Nor mighty princes' anger
Shall ever hinder me.
14. No angel and no gladness,
No throne, no pomp, no show,
No love, no hate, no sadness,
No pain, no depth of woe,
No scheme of man's contrivance,
However small or great,
Shall draw me from Thy guidance
Nor from Thee separate.
15. My heart for joy is springing
And can no more be sad,
'Tis full of mirth and singing,
Sees naught but sunshine glad.
The Sun that cheers my spirit
Is Jesus Christ, my King;
That which I shall inherit
Makes me rejoice and sing.

Hymn #528
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Rom. 8:31-39
Author: Paul Gerhardt
Translated by: based on Richard Massie, 1857
Titled: Ist Gott fuer mich, so trete
Composer: Melckior Teschner, 1613
Tune: Valet will ich dir geben
Gerhardt’s hymn combines the greatest Gospel proclamations with his faith in God’s goodness.

Gerhardt was an usually gifted hymn-writer and theologian, firm in his opposition to Reformed doctrine but gentle in his personality. He deserved none of the abuse he endured throughout his life. And yet it was out of this tribulation that the most influential of all hymn-writers came.

After all, how many prosperous and plump, devious and devilish church politicians ever wrote a hymn worth singing? One person just noted that the newest LCMS hymnal is loaded with hymns from their own bureaucracy, just as the WELS feminist hymnal is. But will they last any longer than a July frost? Can anyone imagine the head of East Indian missions dying while singing the WELS hymn on Management by Objective? No?

The head of East Indian missions, C. F. W. Schwartz, did die while singing “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” surrounded by his Indian converts. Supposedly a German chorale is deadly and should be rejected by all other cultures. But one man died singing, with his foreign pupils:

10. Be Thou my Consolation,
My Shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy Passion
When my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee,
Upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfold Thee.
Who dieth thus dies well!

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #172
Text: Is. 50: 6
Author: Paul Gerhardt
Based on the Latin poem "Salve caput cruentatum"
By Bernard of Clairvaux, 1153, asc.
Translated by: composite
Titled: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden
Composer: Hans L. Hassier, 1601
Tune: Herzlich tut mich

Some Recent WELS Comments

Happy WELS people read Ichabod.

I hear from all over, including two ELCA pastors. I appreciate all the positive comments, emails, phone calls.

Here are some recent comments from WELS members and pastors, paraphrased:

1. I agree about UOJ. The leaders are too proud to admit they made a mistake.
   
   
2. Columbus, Ohio is orthodox now. The pastors won't let the Planned Giving Counselors in. You would be comfortable here now.
   
   
3. I like the cat pictures.
   
   
4. I think the pastor is shunning me because I read Ichabod.
   
   
5. SP Schroeder is doing a good job so far.
   
   

Many people are not prepared for the impact of blogs. Two blogs reported the plagarism of sermons by Parlow and Kelm. After a short time the sermons started listing their sources (a modest improvement).

WELS was used to controlling the news for decades. Jeb Schaefer, a fairly good editor for a liberal, told me his job was to tamp down little WELS scandals. They were not big deals, but they suggested the sect was less than perfect.

If the District President turned a big gift into a liability (MilCraft - Gurgel), the incompetence could be spun thus - "We have to be careful about the gifts we accept from now on." The same approach was used to blame Schwan for the bankruptcy of WELS. A Schwan bagman said, "We can give the money to another synod, if it's a problem." Yuk. Yuk. WELS took that one back.

If a few more people have the spine to talk about doctrinal issues, WELS will start facing its notorious weaknesses. Secret emails will not do it. The doctrinal problems need to be out in the open.

The WELS response to any doctrinal issue?

1. You are a bad person.
   
   
2. Where did you hear that? He is a bad person.
   
   
3. Why don't you join the Missouri Synod? They are bad people, like you.
   
   
4. Was that in Christian News? Otten is a bad person.

Archbishop and Sharia (Islamic) Law

Proof That Bishops Do Not Necessarily Help the Church

Is it over for the Imam of Canterbury?

News Analysis

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
2/8/2008

Rumors have been circulating for some time that the Archbishop of Canterbury might resign following the Lambeth Conference.

Sources in the UK have told VirtueOnline that mounting pressure from nearly all quarters in the church make his job untenable since he has single-handedly offended almost every group in Anglican Christendom.

But will he? In his latest missive, the Imam of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, called for Islamic law to be recognized in Britain. He declared that Sharia and Parliamentary law should be given equal legal status so the people could choose which governs their lives.

This raised the prospect of Islamic courts in Britain with full legal powers to approve polygamous marriages, grant easy divorce for men and prevent finance firms from charging interest.

His comments sparked a furor of responses, mostly negative from media, religious and secular pundits and some Islamic leaders, with one Church of England bishop calling on him to resign.

The Prime Minister, early on, distanced himself from Dr. Williams's remarks. Gordon Brown's spokesman said, "Our general position is that Sharia law cannot be used as a justification for committing breaches of English law, nor should the principles of Sharia law be included in a civil court for resolving contractual disputes.

"The Prime Minister believes British law should apply in this country, based on British values."

Dr. Williams's words opened a chasm over Islam between Church of England senior leaders, who are already trying to deal with an Anglican war over gay rights which broke out after Williams was appointed archbishop.

Within hours of the BBC interview being posted to their website, hundreds of commentators had written in to the site protesting, some calling for Williams' to resign.

The Bishop of Rochester, Pakistani-born Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, said this, "English law is rooted in the Judaeo-Christian tradition and, in particular, our notions of human freedoms derive from that tradition. In my view, it would be simply impossible to introduce a tradition, like Sharia into this corpus without fundamentally affecting its integrity."

Nazir-Ali is under police protection after receiving death threats for writing in January that Islamic extremism had turned some British communities into "'no-go' areas" and that there are ongoing attempts to "impose an Islamic character on certain areas."

Damien Thompson, editor of the Catholic Herald newspaper and a blogger at the Daily Telegraph, wrote that the Archbishop's comments were the "most monumentally stupid thing I have ever heard an Archbishop of Canterbury say. In fact, it's more than stupid, it's disgusting.

"The idea that 'one law for everyone' is 'a bit of a danger', as Williams argues, goes against every tradition of English law and culture that the Primate of All England is supposed to uphold." Thompson wrote that if he had been quoted accurately, the Archbishop of Canterbury "is lending his support to the establishment of a non-Christian theocracy in Britain."

"Has the Archbishop gone bonkers?" asked Ruth Gledhill, the religion correspondent for the Times. Gledhill said that "commentators of every variety," have been "stunned into blunt expression by the Archbishop of Canterbury's uncharacteristically clear comments on Sharia in Britain." Williams, she wrote, "wants women, children, all of us in fact, to have to kow-tow to some of the strictest, harshest and most draconian laws dreamed up by any religious system, ever, anywhere in the world."

"There might not be no-go areas for non-Muslims in Britain...But this is certainly the way to go about creating them." Thompson pointed out that Williams' credibility "is in tatters" in his struggle with the Anglican leadership in Africa over acceptance of active homosexual ministers that has threatened to destroy the Communion. "Anglicans in parts of Nigeria live under what is, in effect, totalitarian Sharia.

"What will the Archbishop of Canterbury's fatuous remarks about Sharia do to his authority as head of the Anglican Communion? Pretty well finish it off, I should think," Thompson concludes.

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said Dr Williams's comments gave "succour to extremists".

"He needs to understand that his words carry enormous weight," he said in a Channel 4 interview.

"What he seems to be talking about is a situation in which people are treated differently under the law according to their religion. People cannot be treated differently. Everyone should be equal in the eyes of the law. I don't doubt the archbishop's desire to accommodate diversity, but we cannot do so at the expense of our common values."

He described Dr Williams as "muddled" and "dangerous".

Williams' comments were condemned by Downing Street, the Tories and the chairman of the Government's Equalities and Human Rights Commission. They were described as a "recipe for chaos" by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham.

And on the continent a German Bishop protested Williams' comments saying a country needs a single legal system for everyone. " Bishop Wolfgang Huber, head of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany said integration can't be achieved through a dual legal system "Hoping to achieve integration through a dual legal system is a mistaken idea," Huber told Deutsche Welle in an exclusive interview. "You have to ask the question as to what extent cultural characteristics have a legitimate place in a legal system. But you have to push for one country to have one system."

A senior Church of England clergyman called for the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his remarks supporting Sharia in England.

***

GJ - The Archbishop of Canterbury is like so many of his peers. The way to be noticed is to make trendy statements.

Nothing is quite so bad as theocracy, especially a pre-Medieval system of laws within a democracy. CAIR in the US would like to establish Sharia here.


***

Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Yale Law School Political Nursery":

Thanks. I really enjoyed the compliment about being a proofreader for your blog. I've had a lot of experience, really, I have.

What is your take on the A of Cant. bit on the Sharia law controversy which I had on my blog today.

Also, I had a journalist's spin on the A of C and he used the phrase 'fools for Christ' in a way that I didn't think quite hit the mark. Could you enlighten for what St. Paul means about being a 'fool for Christ'?

Norman Teigen
ELS layman

Yale Law School Political Nursery

Yale Law School earned the nickname
Bowling Alley for its long interior court.


A regular reader enjoyed the Lutherans at Yale posts, so I decided to add one about Yale and politics.

For the longest time the only US president from Yale was Taft, famous for getting stuck in the White House bathtub.

Gerald Ford changed that when he became president. Hired as a Yale football coach, he earned a law degree in his spare time.

Next came George H. W. Bush, Yale College graduate, whose son W. was born at Yale-New Haven Hospital. W. became a Skull and Bones member at Yale, like his father and grandfather (Senator Prescott Bush).

W. graduated from Yale College and earned an MBA at Harvard. He is the first president to have an MBA.

John Kerry was at Yale College at almost the same time as Bush, earning worse grades and almost flunking out. He was tapped for Skull and Bones, too.

Bill and Hillary Clinton were both Yale Law students just before we got there. Many Clinton staffers were drawn from Yale friendships. Lanny Davis (Yale College and Law) is one.

Gary Hart was Gary Hartpence when he attended Yale Divinity and Yale Law. He became famous for Monkey Business in his run for president.

Senator Danforth also went to Yale Divinity and Yale Law, retiring from politics to resume duty as an Episcopalian priest. (His family created the Purina Dog Chow company in St. Louis.)

Senator Joe Lieberman graduated from Yale Law in 1967 and ran for president with Al Gore, who flunked out of Vanderbilt Divinity.

Poor Rev. Mouse

Perhaps if Rev. Mouse took up weightlifting?

Several times a day I get anonymous posts from a WELS pastor. He has convinced himself that I have hardly ever been a "real" pastor. That explains to him how I earned a few degrees here and there. From 1970 until now I have only had one (three-year) stretch where I was not serving as a student assistant, vicar, or pastor. I don't see how that is relevant from a Wisconsin sect perspective. The Wauwatosa Gospel "creates its own forms" - like life coach at St. Mark, DePere. What if that also meant a ministry of blogging?

Yet, I do conduct Holy Communion services 26 times a year for real, live people. The rest of the time I write sermons for the many people who care to read them. Needless to say, the sermons set off Rev. Mouse fiercely. He also detests quotations from orthodox Lutherans.

WELS workers murdering spouses? Old news to him! A DP in state prison for molesting his own members? So what. A vicar in another state prison? "You already mentioned that."

I mention these things to let WELS/ELS members know that this nasty undercurrent is a significant part of the WELS ministerium. Not all of them are like Mouse, but many are. They like to stay anonymous, too.

Confused by Bivens? Romans Is Clear

KJV Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be
wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

In contrast, Bivens:

In fostering fruits of faith, keep in mind that sanctification is not to be equated with marriage and heterosexual activity. Christians who lack heterosexual impulses may please God with celibate chastity that might involve a lifelong struggle against homosexual tendencies. To counsel them to “go and get attracted to the opposite sex” betrays a misunderstanding of sanctification and invites unnecessary frustration for those already burdened.

WELS apologists cannot grasp that a Sausage Factory professor is teaching against the Word of God. The Creator established marriage and blessed it with many advantages. One cannot harmonize God's Creation with something against His Creation. If someone has murderous thoughts, are they not sinful too?

Two Commandments are aimed against inward sin - coveting. The New Moses, Frosty Bivens, would say - "They may covet as long as they do nothing about it. We cannot expect people to stop coveting."

***

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Confused by Bivens? Romans Is Clear":

wow- and this Bivens is a seminary prof?? let me get this straight- it's okay to be gay, just don't act like you are? keep those thoughts to yourself? i'm shocked.
why aren't THESE subjects brought up at synod conventions to be hashed over? they should be squelched right there on the convention floor rather than filling the heads of young pastors with this kind of garbage that they eventually pass along to the passive WELS member sitting in the pew who doesn't know or maybe doesn't care what God's position really is. It's all about that slippery slope and WELS is rolling down the hill. a little leaven...

***

GJ - All WELS leaders are appointed by the Holy Spirit, so they are incapable of error. I am not kidding. Even a circuit pastor enjoys this infallibility. One pastor said, "The Holy Spirit put him in that office, so who am I to argue with him?" Of course, the people who get appointed are totally safe synod robots, weather vanes, foxes. Therefore, no one will challenge Bivens because that means arguing with God Himself. And it is definitely a sin against the Holy Spirit to debate matters with God's chosen ones.

WELS got on the multi-cultural slippery slope a long time ago. They joined with ELCA and Missouri in a big, insurance-funded ecumenical project, which was hatched at Snowbird. Funny, I had to read about it in ELCA's The Lutheran. FIC (nee The Northwestern Lutheran) was strangely silent.

Multi-cultural does not mean Black, Mexican, East Indian, American Indian. The term means any and all sexual lifestyles.

Multi-ethnic means all ethnic groups. The terms are being merged together so that everyone is confused. An example is CORE, the Congress on Racial Equality. The old symbol was a black circle with a white equal sign. The newer logo has a pink equal sign. Human rights.

The traditional concept of natural law means that God (however defined) commands what is good. Thus some things can be against the law as a "crime against nature." The US Supreme Court upheld this concept until recently. Now they have ruled that the government has no business making decisions about morality. That could be interpreted as endorsing incest, beastiality, and everything else.

WELS is not on the cutting edge of this, but following behind, wagging its little tail. "Please, ELCA! Accept us as being sophisticated and metropolitan and metrosexual, just like you."

All Divorced WELS Pastors Have "Scriptural" Divorces

I love how Holy Mother WELS partisans immediately assume that all divorced WELS pastors have "Scriptural" divorces, which must be on par with "Scriptural" murders.

And if they engaged in sordid crimes, like murder or obstruction of justice, they are all repentant. Why, it's a violation of the Eighth Commandment to think otherwise.

In the bad, old forerunners of ELCA--the ALC and LCA--divorced pastors left the ministry. They were not allowed to play the game now served up so adroitly by WELS pastors.

I heard District Pope Robert Mueller claim that "husband of one wife" means "one wife at a time."

There is only one sin in WELS - telling the truth about Holy Mother WELS. That is indeed the unforgiveable sin against the Holy Ghost.

Amen? (Speak up, ELS)

Amen! cries the ELS chorus.

***

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "All Divorced WELS Pastors Have "Scriptural" Divorc...":

Had our synod leaders had more of a backbone while these crimes were being committed around them, maybe an example would have been set for the now spineless laity who are passively sitting in the amen corner today. Stand up and be heard...

On a separate note, was Robert Mueller numbered among the divorced pastors and is that why he spins scripture into a tortured knot to be able to come up with THAT kooky interpretation? I believe that there are pastors who sadly have suffered thru 'scriptural' divorces. They are human too and I would think for Satan to work a divorce in a pastor's marriage would be a pretty arrow in his quiver. But surely even the good Rev. can't even believe that himself. Maybe he was drunk on power when he said it.

***

GJ - DP Mueller was not divorced. When his buddy was caught in adultery, the pastor was allowed to lie to his congregation and wife, getting a plush job in a WELS agency. In the Michigan District, adultery, divorce, and remarriage looked good on the resume.

I heard a Concordia Seminary (Ft. Wayne) say the same thing as Mueller - one wife at a time. The fad at the moment was saying the Biblical passage was against polygamy.

Marvin Schwan, I was told with great seriousness, also had a "Scriptural" divorce. When he married the wife of one of his managers, she became a Lutheran. When Marvin reached room temperature, she became a Roman Catholic again. And yet, some deny the efficacy of money. I have no doubts after that transformation.

Yes, there are pastors done in by their wives, but I believe the number is tiny compared to the entire number of clergy divorces.

F. Bivens Should Counsel Him

Which Teletubby Does Pastor Ted Watch?

Ted Haggard's journey of "spiritual restoration" came to a halt this week at the request of the ousted New Life Church pastor.


Ted Haggard's Plea for Money Reproved

New Life Church Overwhelmingly Approves Ted Haggard's Successor

A year after Haggard agreed to enter counseling with four ministers after his sex scandal, he asked to end the team's oversight of his recovery program. But New Life Church officials believe the termination of the relationship is premature, according to a statement on Tuesday.

Early last year, just months into his recovery program, the overseers had indicated that the restoration process could take years.

"New Life recognizes the process of restoring Ted Haggard is incomplete and maintains its original stance that he should not return to vocational ministry," read the statement.

Haggard, founder of New Life in Colorado Springs, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals in November 2006 and was fired from New Life Church after a former male prostitute alleged a three-year cash-for-sex relationship. Haggard confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and to buying methamphetamine.

The former megachurch pastor now lives in Phoenix and is a member of Phoenix First Assembly of God. Pastor Tommy Barnett, one of the overseers in the restoration team, said he will maintain an "accountability relationship" with Haggard.

Barnett runs the Phoenix Dream Center, helping the homeless, recovering alcoholics, drug addicts and prostitutes. In August, Haggard had reportedly said he would move in to the Dream Center, saying he could identify with the people there. But Haggard's counseling team denied the report and said he will not be doing any ministry work.

Since early in the recovery process, the overseers have strongly urged Haggard to seek secular employment.

New Life's statement said Haggard's leadership of the church had been extraordinary "for many years" and wished him and his family success in the future."

The church would not make further comment about Haggard's "spiritual restoration," the statement further said.

Haggard was replaced in August by Brady Boyd, former associate senior pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. Despite a drop in attendance since the sex scandal, the now 10,000-member New Life congregation has been recovering under new leadership.

***

GJ - According to WELS seminary professor F. Bivens, Haggard should not be advised to go straight. Biven's guidance would doubtless confuse Ted's wife and five children.

Romans 1 is quite clear about this topic, but the Apostle Paul did not teach at The Sausage Factory, so he and the Holy Spirit must be wrong.

From Foward in Christ (WELS official magazine without the word Lutheran in it)

In fostering fruits of faith, keep in mind that sanctification is not to be equated with marriage and heterosexual activity. Christians who lack heterosexual impulses may please God with celibate chastity that might involve a lifelong struggle against homosexual tendencies. To counsel them to “go and get attracted to the opposite sex” betrays a misunderstanding of sanctification and invites unnecessary frustration for those already burdened.

Contributing editor Forrest Bivens, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Calvary, Thiensville.

Why We All Miss President Reagan

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?”

Ronald Reagan

Former WELS Congregation - St. James (Stadler)

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.