Stolzenburg, Kovaciny, and Jay Webber

Floyd Luther Stolzenburg: WELS District Vice Pope Paul Kuske and WELS Pastor Schuman endorsed him; WELS/ELS Pastor Roger Kovaciny solicited him for funds; ELS Pastors Jay Webber and John Shep received the funds with grateful and hardened hearts; WELS District Popes Robert Mueller and John Seifert saw and heard nothing; ELS Synodical Popes George Orvick and John the Malefactor did nothing.


Masonic Mother Church - Webber, Kovaciny, Stolzenburg
"Pastor Kovaciny, obviously excited about the possibilities, has agreed that the new church would be named Emmanuel Lutheran and would have a picture of the 'mother church' prominently displayed in the new building."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio #899 for August, 1999 1500 South Third Street Columbus, Ohio 43207.
[GJ - The money came from Stolzenburg with the blessing of ELS Pastor Jay Webber and ELS Pastor John Shep, with matching funds from the Schwan Foundation. That raises the question, "Who do I have to sleep with to get matching Schwan funds?"]

"About Missions" c. Thoughts of Faith through the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, d. St. Sophia Lutheran Seminary-Ukraine Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio August, 1996

"We supplied funds for our missionaries in the Ukraine, and the Gideons."
Sherry Huffman, Sunday School.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio February 1999

"From the Mission Committee...Good News from the Ukraine Reproduced at the bottom of this page is the masthead from the Ukrainian Lutheran, which has now been published by our mission in Ukraine for two years and grows in circulation with each issue."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November 1996

"EMMANUEL SAVES BIBLE SCHOOL! A SPECIAL MESSAGE was just received from Pastor Kovaciny to let us know that Emmanuel's Mission offerings have rescued their Bible School this summer!...[Pastor Kovaciny] writes to tell us about it. 'As we looked forward to an even more successful program this coming summer, we were told by our sponsoring organization that our Bible School budget had been cut by $8,000. It seems that some people in charge believe that we have been too successful and they need to put their funds toward programs in other areas which are lagging behind.' (Pastor Kovaciny)"
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio June 1998

"Since the salary of Pastor Kovaciny and their basic expenses are paid through the 'Thoughts of Faith' ministry, we will continue to include the overall work in our regular budget."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio October, 1994

"Pastor Kovaciny, in an effort to respond to our request, set a copy of the third quarter treasurer's report of the Ukrainian congregation, signed by the treasurer and written in his own hand. We thought you might enjoy seeing it! You should be aware that our budget offering goes to pay for Pastor Kovaciny's salary and expenses through 'Thoughts of Faith,' the radio ministry which has been bringing the Gospel to the Ukraine for many years...."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio January, 1995.

Roger Kovaciny's letter about seed distribution Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio October, 1995.

"All designated funds for Thoughts of Faith are spent on the program for which they are designated by the donor. Funds not designated by the donor are used to pay for administrative expenses. Thoughts of faith would like to thank our congregation for our support towards this important work in spreading the gospel throughout the world."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995 Recording secretary, Christine E. Scheiderer; treasurer, Charlotte Proctor. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995

"...the Ukraine project of Thoughts of Faith (Pastor Kovaciny)" Use of mission funds. Charlotte Proctor, treasurer.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995

Pursuing Emmanuel
"I would also convey to you that I will continue to commune lodge members as long as I feel assured that they know and believe that their salvation is by faith." "Please feel free to contact Pastors Kuske or Schumann or come and hear for yourself."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg Letter to Emmanuel Lutheran Parish Resources letterhead "Serving the congregations of the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod"

"Consultant, Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1985-1991, as a consultant for this program, I worked with the training of pastors and lay people for effective ministry in leadership skills, Sunday School organization and teaching, youth ministry, outreach, stewardship and care ministry. I continue to work with supervision of some of these programs. Senior Pastor, Salem Lutheran Church and School, Florissant, Missouri, 1976-1985. (nothing said about being removed from the ministry) Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church and School, St. Charles, Missouri, 1968-1976.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, 2904 Maryland Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43209-1157 614-235-5200.

"People Person: Have been recognized as a counselor and mediator. Brought harmony to what was once described as 'the most troubled Lutheran church in America. Personal: Born, December 6, 1941, Columbus. Married, three children. Spiritual gifts: Exhortation, teaching, administration and evangelism.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, 2904 Maryland Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43209-1157 614-235-5200.

Separation agreement, July 24, 1986. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg and Jane Dorothy Stolzenburg. Sole care, custody and control of the minor children given to Jane.

"As you read, pick out the principles of Church Growth in this "FOCUS ON A GREAT CHURCH" (Acts 11:19-30)...11:26 tells us this studies the Word 'in great numbers.' How can we improve our numbers?" Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, "Church Growth - the Acts of the Apostles,"
Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio January, 1986.

"WELCOME TO CHURCH GROWTH. Our study is designed to help all of us gain a new perspective of what God has always had in mind for His Church. Church Growth is not new."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, "What the Bible Says about CHURCH GROWTH," Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio p. 1.

"We have discovered that the Early Church was an institution that unknowingly saw its world through Church Growth eyes. We have some benefits they did not have in that we can look back today and analyze their successes and failures."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, "Church Growth - the Acts of the Apostles," Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio.

***

Anonymous (Kovaciny?) has left a new comment on your post "Stolzenburg, Kovaciny, and Jay Webber":

With all your supposed readers, it shouldn't surprise anyone no one comments on your blog and that they don't sign their names. You just crucify them if they do.

***

GJ - In the Wisconsin Sect and the Little Sect on the Prairie, to crucify means to quote someone verbatim. Nothing is considered more unfair, more slanderous than copying the words of a Church Growth guru and publishing them.

A. Nony. Mouse Sometimes Signs His Name

The autobiographical comments remind me of Toad of Toad Hall.
See the PS below.

Kovaciny's Avatar Used at Answer Bag



Roger Kovaciny, January 8, 2008:
You think HE’s cheap–When a cereal box is empty, first we use the crumbs–for sweetner on other cereal if it’s sweet, for stew thickener if not. Then the box with liner becomes a garbage receptacle. When it’s full, staple it shut and out it goes–but the box does its second duty as a waste can. When it’s full of dirtynex and other paper stuff, it goes to the fireplace for kindling.

[GJ - Are the ashes saved for Ash Wednesday?]

***

A Mouse in Full:

Professor Roger Kovaciny
From UkrainianBible
Jump to: navigation, search
Professor Roger Kovaciny is a member of the Ukrainian Bible Translation Project's translation team.

Roger currently lives in Ternopil, Ukraine with his wife Ruth. Their five children are grown and living in the United States. Roger is the only member of the team who lives in Ternopil, which gives him access to St. Sophia Seminary's library and an English Lutheran congregation. Ruth directs the English choir at church.

Roger was born in Chicago and studied at Northwestern Lutheran College in Watertown, Wisconsin. After serving parishes in Tappen, North Dakota, and Columbus, Ohio, Roger moved with his family to Ternopil to start a mission church shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian Lutheran Church was blessed with quick growth and numerous congregations were founded around Ukraine. St. Sophia Seminary was established in Ternopil in the late 1990s and continues to produce new pastors for the ULC. Roger, who had been teaching Greek and Hebrew classes in the Seminary, switched to full-time translation work for the Ukrainian Bible Translation Project.

About Mouse....by Mouse
The composer Salieri, comparing himself to Mozart, supposedly said he was the "patront saint of mediocrity." In that case, he's my patron saint!

When the N.I.V. was translated, over 100 scholars took 14 years to translate it. Many were experts, the best in one narrow field. But if I were an expert in anything, it could only be at the expense of being not being good enough in several other fields. (With enough reference books and computer programs, "pretty good" is "good enough".)

I'm pretty good in many languages, but an expert in none of them. I've preached in five languages on four continents, without notes, and taught five languages while speaking a sixth or seven. Our meetings are conducted in up to six languages, and my work requires proficiency in all six (I'm proficient in seven, an expert in none). I mention all these things only to help you understand my colleagues, because I am an amateur and an adolescent next to Professor Turkonyak, Dr. Kachmar and Father Smuk. It is an honor and a privilege to be working with them, and I leave every meeting more impressed than before.

Does Anyone Need Kovo To Translate on His Own?

Donations
From UkrainianBible
Jump to: navigation, search
The Ukrainian Bible Translation Project is wholly funded by donations from individuals and church congregations. Please help us bring God's Word to Ukraine! Your donations are used to cover the cost of books and materials used during the translation process, and for basic living expenses for members of the translation team, some of whom do not have any other source of income.

Please contact us if you have questions about donating. Please let us know if you would like to be included on our list of donors.

Give online
One of the easiest ways to donate is using your credit card through PayPal. No PayPal account is required to donate, and any amount is greatly appreciated.

Give by mail
Send your donations to:

Roger Kovaciny
c/o Grace Bartel
4718 Regent St 94-A
Madison, WI 53705

***

GJ - Kovaciny worked with ELS Pastor Jay Webber and ELS Pastor John Shep. I believe WELS Professor John Lawrenz was also at the Ukraine seminary, before the Holy Spirit argued with John and convinced him to run the portable Asian seminary. (Those were John's words in an interview. I am not kidding. The Holy Spirit was lucky to win that one. John is used to getting his way.)

Kovaciny left the WELS for the ELS. Later he resigned from the ELS. One must wonder exactly how that makes him a professor at the moment.

I suggest people save their money. Russia has had the Scriptures for quite a few centuries.

PS

From The Wind in the Willows:

SPEECH . . . . BY TOAD.


(There will be other speeches by TOAD during the evening.) ADDRESS . . . BY TOAD


SYNOPSIS -- Our Prison System -- the Waterways of Old England -- Horse-dealing, and how to deal -- Property, its rights and its duties -- Back to the Land -- A Typical English Squire. SONG . . . . BY TOAD.


(Composed by himself.) OTHER COMPOSITIONS . BY TOAD


will be sung in the course of the evening by the . . . COMPOSER.

The idea pleased him mightly, and he worked very hard and got all the letters finished by noon, at which hour it was reported to him that there was a small and rather bedraggled weasel at the door, inquiring timidly whether he could be of any service to the gentlemen. Toad swaggered out and found it was one of the prisoners of the previous evening, very respectful and anxious to please. He patted him on the head, shoved the bundle of invitations into his paw, and told him to cut along quick and deliver them as fast as he could, and if he liked to come back again in the evening, perhaps there might be a shilling for him, or, again, perhaps there mightn't; and the poor weasel seemed really quite grateful, and hurried off eagerly to do his mission.

When the other animals came back to luncheon, very boisterous and breezy after a morning on the river, the Mole, whose conscience had been pricking him, looked doubtfully at Toad, expecting to find him sulky or depressed. Instead, he was so uppish and inflated that the Mole began to suspect something; while the Rat and the Badger exchanged significant glances.

Oh-Bomber's Political Godfather

Bill Ayers married fellow bomber Bernadine Dohrn. They sponsored Barack Hussein Obama's political birth at their home.

"No Regrets for Terrorism" - Obama Political Friend, Fellow Board Member

A fawning bio can be found here, with pictures.

If you can overcome your gag reflex, the article has quite a few facts in it.

In 1980, Ayers and Dohrn turned themselves in. (The first words Ayers's father said to him were, "You need a haircut.") By then they had had two children together, and the bombing conspiracy charge against the couple had been dismissed due to government misconduct.

Dohrn plea-bargained to charges of inciting to mob action and resisting police officers. She was sentenced to three years' probation and a $1,500 fine. Ayers was not charged. Even then he showed a way with words: "Guilty as hell, free as a bird—America is a great country," he said.

The next year, a Weatherman killed a Brink's guard and two state troopers in a bungled armored truck robbery. Kathy Boudin, the daughter of an esteemed New York civil rights lawyer, was sentenced to 20 years to life for her role in the crime; Ayers and Dohrn adopted her infant son.

***

Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Oh-Bomber's Political Godfather":

How are you linking Barack Obama to these terrorists? I don't get it.

Norman Teigen
ELS layman

***

GJ - I am glad you asked, Norm. Others must wonder too. Here are the known facts:

1. Bombers Ayers and Dohrn introduced Barack Hussein Obama to political activists in 1995, at their own home. This was a political coming out party to prove that Obama was OK with the limousine Leftist set.
   
2. Obama, Ayers, and Dohrn attended a party for Rashid Khalidi, an Arafat apologist. Khalidi sponsored a fund-raiser for Obama when he ran for Congress.
   
3. Obama and Ayers served together on the Woods Foundation, which sent money to Jeremiah Wright's church and to Khalidi's organization. Anti-American does not mean anti-money. The aroma of loot is too sweet for them to ignore.
   
4. Obama and Ayers spoke on the same panel discussion together, an event arranged by Ombama's mouthy wife, Michelle.

More details and a few whitewashes can be found by Googling the names of Ayers and Obama together. Here is a summary from Town Hall.

***

Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Oh-Bomber's Political Godfather":

Where do you get all of these connections? I am still not sure if I get this. (Warning: I have been advised that I suffer from intellectual anemia.)

Norman Teigen
ELS layman

***

GJ - I have only summarized a few things about Obama. He is the apparent nominee, but I am still not counting Hillary out. The Internet has hundreds of informative articles about Obama, Ayers, and Hillary.

Before Clinton was elected, I told a lawyer, "There will be enough books about the corruption of the Clintons to fill a bookstore when he gets out of office." Every so often, the lawyer/professor said, "How did you know?" My reasoning was this - I already knew about Whitewater from various news sources. If something like that was out in the open, when a governor has so much power to destroy evidence, then a lot more would surface later. And it did. I also reckoned that Bill and Hillary would simply enlarge the franchise in the White House. And they did.

Exaudi Sermon

Built on The Rock, by Norma Boeckler

Exaudi – The Sunday after the Ascension of Christ

Live Lutheran Worship Service, Sundays, 8 AM, Phoenix Time


The Hymn #212 by The Venerable Bede – Lasst uns erfreuen
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 James 1:22-27
The Gospel John 16:23-30
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #341 – Diademata
The Sermon

Prayer the Fruit of Faith, Not the Cause

The Hymn #313 by Luther – Gott sei gelobet
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 #361 – St. Agnes

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God; if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks unto Thee, that through Thy Holy Spirit Thou hast appointed us to bear witness of Thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: We beseech Thee, inasmuch as the world cannot endure such testimony, and persecutes us in every way, grant us courage and comfort, that we may not be offended because of the cross, but continue steadfastly in Thy testimony, and be found always among those who know Thee and Thy Son, until we obtain eternal salvation through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Gaost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Comforter, The Spirit of Truth

Man searches for truth. The information has increased the distribution of facts and opinions, but people still wonder, “What is truth?”

In this Gospel, Jesus teaches us about the work of the Holy Spirit. This particular Sunday comes after the Ascension of Jesus and just before the Day of Pentecost. Most Christians think that Pentecost is a holiday unique to Christians, but the day is simply taken over from Jews who continue to celebrate Pentecost as they did in the past, as 50 days after Passover.

The Gospel lessons from John address the coming of the Holy Spirit several times. Jesus taught His disciples about the Holy Spirit before His death, resurrection, and ascension. Lutherans do well to understand the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. This doctrine gives us great comfort and confidence in the Gospel message. Knowing the this doctrine well also keeps us from turning to the false proofs offered by charismatics.

I find one description of the work of the Holy Spirit annoying, but it also fits very well. Once Northwestern Publishing House published a book about the Holy Spirit called, The Holy Spirit, The Shy Member of the Trinity.

This title comes from the Biblical witness that the work of the Holy Spirit is to witness to the glory of the Father and the Son. If you read many different passages in the Bible, you will see how often the Father and the Son are emphasized, while the work of the Holy Spirit is implicit.

Dr. Robert Preus taught at Ft. Wayne that Pentecostalism arose because modern Christianity was too interested in Jesus alone, to the detriment of understanding the Holy Trinity, especially in how the Holy Spirit works. This requires some explanation. The liberals attacked Christianity by denying the divinity of Christ and wondering out loud what He really thought about Himself. Their main code word was “the mind of Christ,” distorting a phrase from Philippians 2. What they meant by this was that Jesus did not consider Himself the Son of God, so we should have this same “mind of Christ.” This also became a good excuse to teach a new doctrine of salvation by works.

In the last two centuries, with this concentration upon Jesus, built upon distortions and the manipulation of facts, the work of the Holy Spirit was forgotten. In one verse we have two descriptions of the work of the Holy Spirit. One is that of Comforter, or Spokesman, or Advocate. In this role we know that those who are faithful in their study of the Word and careful in teaching the Word alone, without distortions or man-made additions, will speak God’s truth. That does not mean that any kind of blabber is the work of the Holy Spirit. But it does mean that “he who listens to you listens to Me.”

An individual could not on his own speak God’s Word. The Holy Spirit moves us to witness to the truth. Only the Spirit can plant faith in our hearts and nurture that faith through the Word and Sacraments. Knowing and believing this solves several basic problems. One is: how can I ever speak for God? The other is: how can I know what truth is?

The Christian faith is taught so clearly in the Bible that anyone can become an orthodox Christian through reading the Scriptures alone. We are helped by having other books, but the Bible does not require another book. What people often lack is not an understanding of the “difficult” Bible but a lack of study of the Word. The best professor of the Scriptures is the Holy Spirit. If we want to know what the Gospel of John teaches, the best books are not by Lenski and Luther, as good as they are, but by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

I remember how excited Time magazine got about hyper-linked texts, long ago. We are used to it on the Internet now. Click on a link about Moby Dick and it takes you to the Melville museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, next to the WELS congregation there. Click on a word in the museum site and it takes you to the complete text of the novel.

The Bible did this many centuries ago. Every verse is linked to all other verses. We are confident that the entire Bible is God’s truth, but also that it is a unified truth. The tiny book of Jonah relates directly to the death and resurrection of Christ. The expulsion of Adam and Even from the garden includes the first Gospel promise of our Savior. The New Testament is filled with verses that contain a phrase from the Old Testament. Then we can see how God prepared His people for centuries to see and believe in the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus our Savior.

The Bible is the Book of the Holy Spirit. We can say the Holy Spirit does not get much credit, but to have that One Book on His resume is quite an achievement. After all, the Bible is not judged by any book. Instead, it judges all books. Recently I have been reading a massive book on Charles Darwin, who was quite a genius and student of biology. Nevertheless, Darwin’s works do not stand above the Bible even if Darwin is the smartest of all scientists. (I find it ironic that he studied the earthworm for 40 years and missed its unique role in improving the soil, emphasizing instead its ability to create soil and bury all the creations of man.)

The explosion of information makes people uncertain about the truth, but every believer can open the Scriptures and test the latest claims with what the Bible has always taught. This is a great comfort for adults and children, because we can be thrown into all kinds of educational turmoil and remain believers by clinging to the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Although we have many faults, weaknesses, and sins, and fall into doubt about God’s power and goodness, the Holy Spirit constantly teaches us and strengthens our weak faith. As one person said to Jesus, “I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.” We believe. We trust in Christ, yet we fall into turmoil from the assaults of Satan, our weak flesh, and the unbelieving world.

How is an individual forgiven? Most of the confessions of Christianity are in confusion about this, but the Bible speaks clearly. Forgiveness comes only through the appointed Means of Grace: the Word, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. In each case, the Holy Spirit works exclusively through the Word to bring us forgiveness: through the invisible Word of teaching and preaching, the visible Word of Baptism and Holy Communion.

The source of that forgiveness is the reconciliation or Atonement won by Christ. How do we know our sins are forgiven? The Holy Spirit teaches us through the Word that Christ died for each and every one of us, that His righteousness becomes ours through faith, through trusting in this Gospel Promise.

We have consistent worship throughout the Lutheran Church (that is the ideal, no longer in effect) for a reason – to call attention to the Holy Spirit’s work in worship, creating sorrow for sins through the Law and rejoicing in forgiveness through the Gospel. The worship service should be consistent from congregation to congregation, so that people do not whisper to each other, “I like the congregation’s pit band better than ours. We really need some bongo drums and better sound. I think I will donate some loud speakers in memory of my mother-in-law.”

Christianity Today was forced to admit that the traditional Lutheran worship service glorifies the grace of God more than any other. Isn’t it odd to have people gibbering in tongues to prove they have the Holy Spirit when the Word, baptism, and communion are welded to the Holy Spirit. In fact, God never works apart from these means of grace.

This is important to realize in terms of forgiveness. The entire world may refuse to forgive you, but every believer knows he is forgiven by God because of the promises given by the Holy Spirit. Ultimately what matters is God’s forgiveness and not the world’s forgiveness.

I know that many pastors and laity are facing great difficulties today. I cannot mention details, because they are confidential. But there is little respect for the Word of God today, especially among church leaders who no longer recognize the divine call of the pastor. Nevertheless, as bad as things may be, we still know that the Holy Spirit guides us through the Scriptures. God will judge all these things in time and the judgment will begin in the house of God.

KJV 1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

It is easy to be in a position of power and gloat over the harm done to others through bullying and abuse of power, but God sees all and understands what is in the heart of man. Many a poor Lazarus will be in the bosom of Abraham in the age to come. Many a rich baron will cry out for a drop of water when his unrepentant sins toss him into the eternal flames of Hell.

The Holy Spirit warns us and comforts us. If we love the truth, the Spirit of Truth gives us confidence and peace. If we hate the truth, the Spirit of Truth will seem to be a burning fire, a hammer, a terror, and wrath without end.

Synod Monopoly Games

The Game of Monopoly
The game of monopoly was invented to teach lessons about capitalism and greed. The game proves one of the rules of invention: "They throw bricks at the first one who thinks of it, gold at the second one." Ask Bill Gates, who never had an original technology development in his life. But I digress.

The second inventor failed to sell his game at Parker Brothers, marketed it himself, and found himself back at Parker Brothers. They saw it was a success, got behind it, and bought up the rights to the original didactic game and another version based on it. Monopoly saved Parker Brothers during the Great Depression and made the streets of Atlantic City famous.

Our favorite family vacation took place on the ocean at Atlantic City, before legalized gambling was established. We were given a house by the sea for a week of relaxation, bagels, and fun along the shore.

The Monopoly Synods
Norm Teigen found the hilarious cards posted above. They describe exactly how all the synods behave. Each one is an oligarchy, and that includes the mini-micro sects. The so-called leaders see the synod as a place to enjoy security, power, and status. They look down on ordinary pastors and loathe laity who dare to question their decisions.

The pastors and laity allowed to serve in positions of leadership must be slavish followers or they are dismissed. When a Lutheran district pope is installed, people claim the spine is removed. No, no - that is a slander. The spine has already been removed. Otherwise he would not even be considered for such an office.

The rest of the pastors and laity could move mountains, if they had faith in the Word. That does not mean they would change the synods. At this point they can only harden and blind the synods with the Word. Apostates hate the Word even more than the Confessions they supposedly cherish.

The Synod Monopoly Game teaches us all about greed. Where have all the millions from the Schwan Foundation gone? I know the administrator, an LCMS pastor, earns a salary of $400,000 - plus benefits and another $40,000 for additional work. He is the son of a Missouri pastor who tried to change the synod with a conservative paper, a forerunner of Christian News.

The LCMS, WELS, and ELS have received many millions of dollars from the Schwan Foundation. The reports are all available from Guidestar. The synods also receive huge Thrivent grants to work with ELCA on a number of projects. When Mrs. Ichabod found some of the reports at the Luther Seminary Library, she said, "Now I've got you, Bob, you fat little liar." (You will have to guess which Bob it was.)

Rest assured - how much money has come from Schwan, Thrivent, and other sources is none of your business. It is their money, not yours. They are forced to spend the money a certain way, they claim. (They advise themselves on how to spend the money, of course, forcing themselves to spend the money they are forced to spend, etc. etc.) As WELS deceptively claimed, "Others will get the money if we do not spend it their way." That comes from the synod still bragging about how they did not get the loot from Europe when they decided to move away from unionism. However, we know the 19th century truth has little impact on the 21st century lies. Unionism pays. Kissy-face with ELCA is far more lucrative than listening to faithful pastors and laity.

Elitism reigns in the synods. That is because the men claw their way to positions where they no longer need to be pastors. They do not want to visit the sick, teach the confirmation students, and give sermons every Sunday. Paul McCain MDiv gives away his elitism by posting a You Tube video mocking the preaching office of the Church. He must think it is hilarious. The very expensive video, with high production values, shows a buffoon with a fake wigged comb-over acting ridiculous. The congregation makes hateful remarks in response to his stupid ones. The camera pans over a the legs of a man who has hanged himself during the sermon. That is so funny, Paul. Suicide is hilarious. I wonder if you ever had to deal with suicide in your three years of parish ministry. You ranted about a satirical video done at a Lutheran church or chapel, Valpo or Concordia, Mequon. The one you posted was obviously produced by atheists to show how they despise the Christian Church.

Luther made an important point about preaching. Satan is furious that a mere, weak man with all his failings is allowed to wield the all-powerful Sword of the Word. One little Word will fell Satan, so he aims all his weapons at faithful ministers. The unbelieving world (including the synod) despises his office. Ministers' families have more illness than any other profession, I am sure. Not only that, Satan taunts the faithful with the persistence of his attacks.

Today, because we are in the Age of Apostasy, toward the end of all time, the faithful churches of every stripe are tiny. The apostate gatherings are huge, gloating and slavering as they rip, tear, and devour more souls. They plagiarize each other's sermons and even post their thefts as their own work.

Preaching is the most powerful office of the world. Where else can someone teach the pure Word of God without interruption? Even Herman Melville, a free-thinker, paid tribute to the sermon in Moby Dick.

Nor was the pulpit itself without a trace of the same sea-taste that had achieved the ladder and the picture. Its panelled front was in the likeness of a ship's bluff bows, and the Holy Bible rested on the projecting piece of scroll work, fashioned after a ship's fiddle-headed beak.

What could be more full of meaning? - for the pulpit is ever this earth's foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear; the pulpit leads the world. From thence it is the storm of God's quick wrath is first descried, and the bow must bear the earliest brunt. From thence it is the God of breezes fair or foul is first invoked for favorable winds. Yes, the world's a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete; and the pulpit is its prow.

...

Then God spake unto the fish; and from the shuddering cold and blackness of the sea, the whale came breeching up towards the warm and pleasant sun, and all the delights of air and earth; and "vomited out Jonah upon the dry land;" when the Word of the Lord came a second time; and Jonah, bruised and beaten - his ears, like two sea-shells, still multitudinously murmuring of the ocean - Jonah did the Almighty's bidding. And what was that, shipmates? To preach the Truth to the face of Falsehood! That was it!

"This, shipmates, this is that other lesson; and woe to that pilot of the living God who slights it. Woe to him whom this world charms from Gospel duty! Woe to him who seeks to pour oil upon the waters when God has brewed them into a gale! Woe to him who seeks to please rather than to appal! Woe to him whose good name is more to him than goodness! Woe to him who, in this world, courts not dishonor! Woe to him who would not be true, even though to be false were salvation! Yea, woe to him who, as the great Pilot Paul has it, while preaching to others is himself a castaway!"

A New Version of the Gatekeeper

Katharine Jefferts-Schori, Presiding Bishop, Episcopal Church

VANCOUVER, BC: Apostolic Gospel Must be at Core of our Beliefs, says Priest Theologian

By David W. Virtue in Vancouver
www.virtueonline.org
4/27/2008

Read this last paragraph first:

The evangelical cleric told VOL that St. John's Shaughnessy, a parish valued at some $16 million is under 24/7 watch by guards just in case Bishop Ingham makes a lightning strike to change the locks on the doors. He did that once before with a parish in North Vancouver.

The priest of the largest Anglican parish in Canada, who is under ecclesiastical siege from revisionist New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham, says his denomination has lost faith in the gospel. This is evidently revealed in the diocesan newspaper, which gives the impression that the gospel is about being nice, being compassionate, recycling "and we will even bless your pets."

"The eternal gospel of redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus' death and the power of his resurrection has been replaced with a gospel which is about approval, affirmation and acceptance. The apostolic gospel of sins forgiven, of rescue from eternal punishment has been smoothed and soothed to be more acceptable and relevant," said the Rev. Dr. David Short, pastor of St. John's, Shaughnessy in Vancouver.

Addressing some 400 members of the Anglican Network in Canada, Anglicans who have broken away from the mother church, Short blasted the denomination's Anglican seminaries saying that the gods of our culture have taken up residence in the seminaries of Canada. "They have spokesmen and spokeswomen in the House of Bishops who have managed to rewrite the gospel and to promote their worship."

Short said the three central myths of Canadian culture include pluralism which translates into thinking that there is one right and true faith; that one religion cannot be right, one gospel cannot be true and thus all religions have part of the truth. The second myth is tolerance, which used to mean I accept you, but not your view. It now translates into meaning I must accept you and your view and if I do not accept your view, I cannot really accept you.

In the area of human rights, Short said that originally human rights were based on the fact that we are made in the image of God. "Our charter recognizes the supremacy of God as the basis of rights. That has shifted. Now it is my personal rights and freedoms, which have been cut free from any religious foundation.

The supremacy of God has been replaced by the supremacy of my rights. "We cannot overthrow the gods and idols of our culture, but the gospel can. We do not have the power or brains to depose these idols, but the gospel is the power of God for salvation." The evangelical rector said the gospel is characterized as Christological, that is, Christ centered. It is not a vague idea about the love of God or general belief that god exists. It is fully biblical including both Old and New Testaments; the Gospel is theological, it is more than just historical events. It is the interpretation of those events. It is about Jesus as Lord; it is cosmic that is to say it is universal and eternal and it is personal.

The Gospel is above all the news that in the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has worked out our salvation. He offers us new life and new hope. Everything we do, based on the gospel, will last forever. Repentance is the basis of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all, said Short.

The evangelical cleric told VOL that St. John's Shaughnessy, a parish valued at some $16 million is under 24/7 watch by guards just in case Bishop Ingham makes a lightning strike to change the locks on the doors. He did that once before with a parish in North Vancouver.

***
GJ - Confidential to Paul McCain, MDiv - It is customary to spell names correctly, especially church leaders. The head of the Episcopal Church is Katharine Jefferts-Schori, not "Catherine Schori." I noticed how you borrowed my idea of having fun with her rainbow garments, so I borrowed one of your pictures.

When James Crumley was elected president of the LCA, various publications kept spelling his name as Crumbley. They were in shock that the nearly invisible man was elected. I thought he had a good chance at the time. That was my first electoral prediction.

May Day! May Day! All Engines On Fire! Emergency Landing! May Day!

May Day Announcement

United Methodist Church Adopts Full Communion Proposal with ELCA



FORT WORTH, Texas (ELCA) -- By a vote of 864-19, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) adopted an implementing resolution April 28 that will establish full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Full communion will be fully realized by both churches should the same proposal be adopted at the next ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which meets Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.

The UMC General Conference, meeting here April 23-May 2, is the Methodist's chief legislative body and meets every four years. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly is the ELCA's chief legislative authority, meeting every two years.

The ELCA and UMC have been in formal theological dialogue since 1977, which led to beginning a relationship of "Interim Eucharistic Sharing" in 2005. That relationship called for members to pray for and support each other, to study Scripture together and to learn about each other's traditions in anticipation of achieving full communion.

Full communion means the churches will work for visible unity in Jesus Christ, recognize each other's ministries, work together on a variety of ministry initiatives, and, under certain circumstances, provide for the interchangeability of ordained clergy.

April 28 was "a banner day" because of the UMC General Conference vote on full communion, said the Rev. William Oden, ecumenical officer, UMC Council of Bishops, at an April 29 news conference. "This has been a long time coming. A lot of careful work has been done," he said. Oden emphasized that the proposal is a relationship between the two church bodies and not a "church union."

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, Chicago, said he eagerly awaits the ELCA Churchwide Assembly vote in 2009 and hopes that it, too, will be a strong affirmation of full communion with the UMC. Hanson also preached at an April 29 worship service at the UMC General Conference.

"This is about revival of two church bodies that are deeply committed to re-presenting themselves in a pluralistic, dynamic changing culture for the sake of mission," Hanson said.

The two church bodies must consider what they can do together as full communion partners that was not possible before, Hanson said. He suggested possible cooperative ministries in campus ministry, global mission, advocacy for justice and peace, to name only a few. He also agreed with Oden's assertion that full communion cannot be successful if it is considered to be a "top down" action. Full communion should be a relationship in which mission initiatives should "bubble up" in the two churches, Hanson said.

"I always think of full communion as merely a step along the way toward a new, possible future because of the relationship," Hanson said. "That new, possible future is the for the sake of the world. It's for the sake of mission. Full communion calls for ecumenical, missional imagination."

Full communion also gives "formal expression" to what is happening in both churches already, said the Rev. Greg Palmer, president, UMC Council of Bishops. "In one way we're leading, and in another way, we're following. We are catching up with people on the ground who are doing things in partnership, in mission and in ministry," he said.

Christians "must find meaningful, significant and substantive ways of honoring the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in one another and together, living that before the world. We must live before the world what God intends for the world," Palmer added.

Assuming the full communion proposal is adopted by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2009, a coordinating council with representatives of both churches will be appointed, said the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Chicago. That council will coordinate how the two churches will plan for mission together and consider practical matters such as interchangeability of ordained ministers, he said.

The ELCA's five full communion partners are the Episcopal Church, the Moravian Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.

While the ELCA has successful cooperative ministries with its full communion partners, it must improve how it receives and implements full communion agreements, McCoid said. "We need to do better with how we are able to be intentional (in) sharing ministry. Grassroots sharing is really very critical, and I'll just echo that again and again and again. The best way we can do that is by giving people permission and encouragement."

If adopted by both churches, this will be the UMC's first full communion agreement outside of the Methodist tradition.

The ELCA is one of 140 churches in the Lutheran World Federation and is the third-largest Lutheran church in the world with 4.8 million members. The United Methodist Church is a worldwide church with nearly 8 million members in the United States.

***

GJ - Who is more desperate - the United Methodists or the ELCA? No denomination is more anti-confessional than the Methodists. Their chief doctrinal book is Wesley's Sermons. The UMC bragging point has been this: repeated mergers have sent the more conservative followers off to create more traditional Methodist groups: Nazarenes, Wesleyans, etc. Each split has made the UMC more radical or wishy-washy. Just like ELCA. Now I get it.

The UMC pioneers were behind the Federal Council of Churches and the Social Gospel Movement. They were big supporters of abortion as a woman's religious right. Yes, a religious right. No one knows when unborn life is a baby, they reason. Everyone is different, they argue. QED, abortion is a religious right.

The UMC is more ecumenical than James and Paul Tiefel put together. That also suits ELCA, which partners with every hue of the doctrinal rainbow.

Update on Kieschnick Folly

Synodical Pope Kieschnick watches as the AALC submits to his infallibility.

Here is a good link on the Kieschnick clobbering of the radio show, Issues Etc.

The Augsburg 1530 blog seems to be worthwhile. Keep an eye on it.