Martin Luther College Chapel Blows Budget

McGavran Chapel at Martin Luther College has blown through its initial budget. Obviously they were looking at a low-cost church, with rubber mats instead of red carpeting, for only $7 million.

The bids came in $800,000 above the budget, so WELS leaders did what everyone expected. They said, "So what! We'll take $300K here and $500K there, and pay the difference."

At $8 million, the building deserves to be called a cathedral. McGavran Chapel sounds so pedestrian. But imagine the PR value of this title - The Cathedral of Church Growth.

MLC Costs 2008-2009
Tuition $10,350
Room & Board $4,020
Total $14,370

They never had a place to worship before.

Mrs. Ichabod is reading over my shoulder again. She says, "The college is almost 125 years old. Surely they had worship services before."

I knew that. They got by for 125 years without the Cathedral of Church Growth. They need a separate building, they say, to continue their progress in the Church Shrinkage Movement.

Larry Olson (DMin, Fuller)--the Waldo Werning Professor of Church Shrinkage--should be the preacher at the dedication.

Progress, as Kelm, Olson, Huebner, and others have claimed, should be specific, achievable, and measurable. Kelm used a longer acronym, but I cannot remember it.

Here are the S.A.M. results of the Church Shrinkage Movement in WELS:
1. Lower baptized membership every year since 1970.
2. Lower communing membership every year since 1970.
3. Vastly increasing number of staffers at the Love Shack.
4. Huge increase in budgets, deficits, and skims (internal loans from designated funds).
5. Closing and merging of congregations.
6. Closing of synodical schools (two preps and one college already).
7. Closing of parochial schools.

Meta-Funny at Bailing Water

Paul McCain, MDiv

Paul McCain said...
I realize it is essential for the continuing existence of the WELS to continue to put distance between itself and The LCMS, but slander is now way to do that.

This statement:

[i] A conservative Concordia Seminary professor recently affirmed that no one he knows at the seminary still teaches that all of the Bible is God’s inspired and inerrant word.[/i]

Is absolutely and completely false and slander.

WELS folks need to be extremely careful not to permit the right-wing newspaper Christian News shape their opinions of The LCMS.

It is disgraceful that you would spread such slander and lies on your web site.

August 3, 2008 6:41 PM

***

GJ - Who sought out and leaked to Herman Otten when he was campaign manager for Al Barry? Paul McCain! Who sent materials to Otten secretly, so Christian News could publish them promptly while denying they were leaked by Barry? Paul McCain!

Who denied working with Otten? Paul McCain! Who bragged to me that he did this? Paul McCain!

Who confirmed to me that Otten and McCain worked together? Herman Otten!

Once McCain got what he wanted from Otten, he told me the news that he was the assistant to Barry (after three years parish experience). He said, "Don't tell Otten."

I ended up seeing Otten soon after. He told me all about their work together and that McCain was Barry's assistant. I told him I knew. Otten said, "How did you know?" I told him what McCain said.

Otten also denied working with McCain - in print, no less.

Bailing Water gave me a good laugh today.

---

Anonymous on Bailing Water said...
"The people in the Missouri Synod have big enough messes in their own synod to deal with before they start worrying about what's going on in the WELS."

Ain't that the truth. Here's a perfect example: "Non Lutheran Female Pastor Featured at LCMS Youth Retreat" (www.ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.
blogspot.com)

And the WELS is supposed to take advice on church and ministry from the LCMS?!? I don't think so.

August 4, 2008 5:11 PM

***

GJ - I also find it amusing that McCain's attitude toward Missouri is the same as Wisconsin's pastors toward their own sect. How dare anyone say Holy Mother Synod is less than perfect!

I have my own little anecdote about seminary professors. One of the St. Louis professors said to me, "When Karl Barth was the president, we had to be so careful about what we taught. Now under Johnson we can teach anything we want."

When I asked this seminary professor about the supposed shortage of pastors, he said, "I don't know and I don't care." Later in the conversation, he said, "So, you are that Greg Jackson?" He took some copies of CLP from me.

We can judge the tree by the fruits. Missouri produces Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox priests and WELS produces ELCA, Pentecostal, and Baptist ministers - both while teaching Church Growth doctrine and denying they have departed from their oh-so-strict doctrinal standards. Not one Lutheran sect today teaches justification by faith in harmony with the Book of Concord (the ruled norm) and the Scriptures (the ruling norm). They stand around the statues of their dead synodical leaders and bow to them.

Non Lutheran Female Pastor Featured at LCMS Youth Retreat

The next frontier, but only legalists will oppose it.

Click here for the link about the LCMS Youth Conference.

This should not be a big deal for the conservatives. LCMS SP Al Barry had no trouble with a husband and wife giving a joint Bible study (so they would not seem to be leading a service). The Sunday service - no, Bible study - looked just like a regular worship service. The Biblical phrase is - a woman in authority over men, or teaching men. She was definitely teaching men.

Women teach men throughout the old Synodical Conference. Women exert authority over men throughout the old Synodical Conference. Changing the issue to voting and ordination is a red herring.

Also, when ELCA Pastor Barb Lundblad preached at an LCMS congregation, nothing was done. I recall that was during the golden Barry era.

I tried to tell Paul McCain that ELCA women vicars were preaching, baptizing, and consecrating at LCMS congregations, but he did not want to hear it. They wrote up their vicarage stories for the Trinity (ELCA) Seminary Libary in Columbus. I read the stories myself.

Doctrinal discipline in the old Synodical Conference (and the nano-sects) = excommunicating anyone who tells the truth. Extending the Left Foot of Fellowship is reserved for conservatives alone to enjoy receiving.