Martin Marty on Pulpit Freedom Day

Martin Marty helped promote my PhD dissertation
when it was published as book. He was LCMS and is now ELCA.

Here is the link.

Bush Is Disappointed That the $700 Billion Bailout Failed in the House

Open borders, no problem.

The housing debacle began when mortgages for the poor were mandated by Congress. The Democrats were the major force behind expanding mortgages for those who could not afford them.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now called Fraudie Mae and Fonie Mac, are bankrupt because these government sponsored corporations guaranteed sub-prime mortgages, more or less.

These stinko mortgages were made to look good by packaging them as securities, so they were sold all over the world. Like cocaine dealers, the financial managers got high on their own supply, keeping a lot of the CMOs (mortgage securities) and generating that much more in fees.

Worst of all, insurance or swaps were sold to back these stinko mortgages turned into stinko securities. The more the institution lied about the swaps, the more fees and bonuses they invented. Earned is not quite a precise term for this fraud. They gave themselves billions in bonuses for defrauding everyone.

Where did these fraudulent mortgages originate? Among illegals. They got to live in homes for a year or so before being thrown out by the banks. It was the pressure from below that fueled the high home prices. Once the bubble burst, everyone had debt without equity. Mrs. Ichabod and I looked at a foreclosed home (double the size of our hut) now offered for less our home's price a short time ago. We stayed for an hour, chatting with those poor lonely salesmen. No one came in to look. I said, "Prices will go down for another year." You heard it here - financial forecasting done for free. The reason? Mortgage resets will continue through 2009. Foreclosures and other pressures will drive down prices.

Let us recap:
1. Fraudulent loans to illegals and other poor credit risks. NINJA loans - No Income, No Job - Accepted.
2. Government backed agencies buying up the loans.
3. Securities invented to make the mortgages look good. CMOs.
4. Swaps invented to insure these fraudulent mortgages turned into fraudulent securities.
5. Each stage actually leveraged and made worse the poor decisions made at the mortgage approval level. Each stage made it easier to give a mortgage to anyone, including people with criminal records. Each stage awarded bonuses to the most crooked.

House Defeats Banker Bailout

Animal Farm by Orwell. If porkers can learn to walk, then bankers can pig out on tax funds. Oink. Oink.

More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats voted against the bill.

Maybe constituents felt uneasy that one banker got $1 million per day bonus as his bank failed. Was that WaMu? I cannot distinguish one bank from another today.

Keep up those cards, letters, phone calls, and emails.

Another Squeak from Mouse

The public ministry of Rev. Mouse.

Rev. Mouse is afraid to use his name, but he is happy to squeak "Idiot" anonymously.


Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "What Have We Learned from Today's Websearch?":

"Our Valpo"? When did you rejoin WELS? Or maybe you are smearing someone else's words, too.

***

GJ - The WELSian nickname for WLC is "Our Valpo." Note the quotation marks, which signify that I was quoting someone or some people. Perhaps Limmer should have used quotation marks around his email, Kelm and Parlow around their sermons, Valleskey and Bivens around their careers.

WLC is the home of Church and Change. Whenever I tell the truth about Church and Change, Rev. Mouse sends one of his bitter, incoherent responses.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Another Squeak from Mouse":

You idiot. I put the quotation marks around "Our Valpo." In your original post you had parentheses--you know, they look like this ( ).

***

GJ - Thus we have the normal discourse of an Anonymous Church and Change addict. And I quote, because I am not Limmer, Kelm, or Parlow:

"Anonymity opens up split personality zone
Faceless communication online or over phone often turns nice people nasty

“It’s mind-boggling the things people will say and even the things I will say,” says Catherine McIntyre, a 38-year-old medical billing specialist from Houston. “People who’d never say something horrible in real life will do it again and again and again online. It’s like the behavior of crowds, or those mass beatings where no one gets blamed because everyone’s at fault.”

Sheri Pineda, a 59-year-old customer service representative at the Daily Breeze in Torrance, Calif., encounters the same bad behavior in the after-hours messages left by her newspaper’s subscribers.

“It’s appalling the way people talk,” Pineda says. “They’ll rant and rave and cuss at us with extremely foul language. And I think a lot them specifically wait until we close the phones. They’re looking to let it all out and then get on with their day. And then they’re surprised when I get back to them. They’re like, ‘You actually heard that?’ and will be embarrassed.”

Hello. You have reached the split personality zone. Press 1 to melt down. Press 2 to hang up and act like a normal person again.

I, anonymous
Between out-of-control customers, vituperative online posters and road-raging drivers, it’s hard to find an individual who hasn’t succumbed to the siren song of faceless, consequence-free communication. Online boards are clogged with insults hurled by readers hiding behind deceptively mild screen names — (“I hope you rot in hell!” signed Kittyface) — and customer service reps endure blistering tirades from disembodied voices week in and week out.

These days there are a dozen ways to communicate without actually having to look somebody in the eye. As a result, not only have we developed an abrupt, abbreviated way to chat (IMHO), but our technological advances have spawned new psychological terms such as “online disinhibition effect” to explain our tendency to open up — in both good ways and bad — when we’re sitting in front of a screen.

But our split personalities aren’t limited to the Web. They tend to show up whenever no one’s looking.

In a February 2008 study published in the journal Psychological Reports, researchers found that out of four groups of participants, only those in the anonymous group took part in antisocial behavior — in this case defined as violating rules to obtain a reward.

“I definitely believe that anonymity affects the frequency of antisocial behavior among individuals to some extent, even when these individuals have a reasonable sense of morality — so-called ‘ordinary people,’” says study author Tatsuya Nogami of Nagoya University in Japan.

“In my personal opinion, people generally try to comply with social norms in everyday life, even when such compliance with norms and rules conflicts with their personal self-interests. However, if you can get what you want without receiving any punishment or negative evaluations from others, are you still 100 percent sure that you’ll always refrain from engaging in that kind of undesirable behavior?”

Rage against the machine
Cindy Helgason, a 48-year-old soap maker from Des Moines, Iowa, says she can’t stick a sock in her anonymous persona no matter how hard she tries.

“Normally I’m a goody-two-shoes,” says Helgason. “But whenever I get in the car, I yell and cuss a blue streak. Everybody who drives slower than me is an idiot and everybody who drives faster is a maniac. The worst part is this isn’t a very big place. My kids will say, ‘Gosh mom, that’s Mrs. So-and-So,’ and I’m like, ‘Oops!’ That’s one of the reasons I took the sign for my soap-making business off the back of my car. I don’t want to be associated with the person I am behind the wheel.”

According to psychologist Patricia Wallace, senior director of information technology at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, a car can offer us the same kind of psychological distance — and/or personality-cloaking capacity — as a computer.

“When your windows are rolled up, you feel relatively anonymous,” says Wallace, author of the book “The Psychology of the Internet.” “Not long ago I saw someone I knew going down the street furiously honking at the car in front of them. I turned the corner and waved and suddenly they weren’t anonymous anymore. You could see the incredible shame come over them because they’d demonstrated this behavior that from their perspective was out of character. Anonymity can draw out some very troubling behavior.”

McIntyre, the billing specialist from Houston, says the online news forums she’s participated in over the years have led her down many a dark and dysfunctional corridor."

I was waiting for Mouse to squeak again so I could quote that article for everyone except him to enjoy. A number of blogs have turned off comments because of behavior like his, but I enjoy letting people experience the slavering fangs of Church and Change.

And yes, the parentheses, a distinction without a difference. Even the Sausage Factory graduates who cannot spell or use spell-check know that Our Valpo is the WELS nickname for Wisconsin Lutheran College. Herman Otten repeated that comment to me. I can't remember if he used air quotation marks or not. The APA should study the matter and issue a 50 page report. WLC is the center of apostasy in WELS, spawning Church and Change, furious when they could not get away with making Leonard Sweet their keynote speaker. Harumpf!

Nevertheless, they got away with registering people from the WELS website and having their own jumpword on the menu, in spite of Gurgel saying Church and Change was gone, finshed, kaput, given the Left Foot of Fellowship. How cool is it to have their own CG guy running technology for WELS? Check it out.

Things are changing for the better under SP Schroeder. Church and Change lost their link and got their wings clipped. No, their claws trimmed.

Congress Agrees on Plan To Replace Capitalism with Socialism

"Nancy, we did it. Now watch the stock market rise."
Nancy: "George, it sank 300 points from the start. Wachovia Bank has been devoured by Citibank, and Citibank is in trouble. Fortis is having its own crisis. Maybe they all need more money."

Read and Repent, Church Shrinkers

Fuller fools condemned in a few words. Whoda guessed?

Negative Theses.
Rejection of the False Opposite Dogmas.

11] 1. Therefore we reject and condemn the teaching that original sin is only a reatus or debt on account of what has been committed by another [diverted to us] without any corruption of our nature.

12] 2. Also, that evil lusts are not sin, but con-created, essential properties of the nature, or, as though the above-mentioned defect and damage were not truly sin, because of which man without Christ [not ingrafted into Christ] would be a child of wrath.

13] 3. We likewise reject the Pelagian error, by which it is alleged that man's nature even after the Fall is incorrupt, and especially with respect to spiritual things has remained entirely good and pure in naturalibus, i. e., in its natural powers.

14] 4. Also, that original sin is only a slight, insignificant spot on the outside, dashed upon the nature, or a blemish that has been blown upon it, beneath which [nevertheless] the nature has retained its good powers even in spiritual things.

15] 5. Also, that original sin is only an external impediment to the good spiritual powers, and not a despoliation or want of the same, as when a magnet is smeared with garlic-juice, its natural power is not thereby removed, but only impeded; or that this stain can be easily wiped away like a spot from the face or pigment from the wall.

16] 6. Also, that in man the human nature and essence are not entirely corrupt, but that man still has something good in him, even in spiritual things, namely, capacity, skill, aptness, or ability in spiritual things to begin, to work, or to help working for something [good].

Formula of Concord, Article 1, Original Sin, Epitome

---

4] 3. God the Holy Ghost, however, does not effect conversion without means, but uses for this purpose the preaching and hearing of God's Word, as it is written Rom. 1, 16: The Gospel is the power of God 5] unto salvation to every one that believeth. Also Rom. 10, 17: Faith cometh by hearing of the Word of God. And it is God's will that His Word should be heard, and that man's ears should not be closed. Ps. 95, 8. With this Word the Holy Ghost is present, and opens hearts, so that they, as Lydia in Acts 16, 14, are attentive to it, and are thus converted alone through the grace and power of the Holy Ghost, whose 6] work alone the conversion of man is. For without His grace, and if He do not grant the increase, our willing and running, our planting, sowing, and watering, all are nothing, as Christ says John 15, 5: Without Me ye can do nothing. With these brief words He denies to the free will its powers, and ascribes everything to God's grace, in order that no one may boast before God. 1 Cor. 1, 29; 2 Cor. 12, 5; Jer. 9, 23.

9] 2. We reject also the error of the gross Pelagians, who taught that man by his own powers, without the grace of the Holy Ghost, can turn himself to God, believe the Gospel, be obedient from the heart to God's Law, and thus merit the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

10] 3. We reject also the error of the Semi-Pelagians, who teach that man by his own powers can make a beginning of his conversion, but without the grace of the Holy Ghost cannot complete it.

11] 4. Also, when it is taught that, although man by his free will before regeneration is too weak to make a beginning, and by his own powers to turn himself to God, and from the heart to be obedient to God, yet, if the Holy Ghost by the preaching of the Word has made a beginning, and therein offered His grace, then the will of man from its own natural powers can add something, though little and feebly, to this end, can help and cooperate, qualify and prepare itself for grace, and embrace and accept it, and believe the Gospel.

12] 5. Also, that man, after he has been born again, can perfectly observe and completely fulfil God's Law, and that this fulfilling is our righteousness before God, by which we merit eternal life.

13] 6. Also, we reject and condemn the error of the Enthusiasts, who imagine that God without means, without the hearing of God's Word, also without the use of the holy Sacraments, draws men to Himself, and enlightens, justifies, and saves them. (Enthusiasts we call those who expect the heavenly illumination of the Spirit [celestial revelations] without the preaching of God's Word.)

[GJ - Notice that this last section rejects and condemns UOJ. WELS, Missouri, the ELS, and the Rolf Synod are all opposed to this clear teaching of the Word and the Confessions.]

17] But, on the other hand, it is correctly said that in conversion God, through the drawing of the Holy Ghost, makes out of stubborn and unwilling men willing ones, and that after such conversion in the daily exercise of repentance the regenerate will of man is not idle, but also cooperates in all the works of the Holy Ghost, which He performs through us.

18] 9. Also what Dr. Luther has written, namely, that man's will in his conversion is pure passive, that is, that it does nothing whatever, is to be understood respectu divinae gratiae in accendendis novis motibus, that is, when God's Spirit, through the Word heard or the use of the holy Sacraments, lays hold upon man's will, and works [in man] the new birth and conversion. For when [after] the Holy Ghost has wrought and accomplished this, and man's will has been changed and renewed by His divine power and working alone, then the new will of man is an instrument and organ of God the Holy Ghost, so that he not only accepts grace, but also cooperates with the Holy Ghost in the works which follow.

19] Therefore, before the conversion of man there are only two efficient causes, namely, the Holy Ghost and the Word of God, as the instrument of the Holy Ghost, by which He works conversion. This Word man is [indeed] to hear; however, it is not by his own powers, but only through the grace and working of the Holy Ghost that he can yield faith to it and accept it.

Article 2, Free Will, The Formula of Concord, Epitome

What Have We Learned from Today's Websearch?

Ski and Parlow teach innocent kittens how to worship awesomely in a mind-blowing and creatively Baptist-Pentecostal way.

Ichabodians - all I have to do is search on names to come up with more Church Shrinkage garbage than anyone could imagine. The facts are there in the words of the WELS Church and Change leaders (or copied verbatim from the teachers they admire most).

These people will fight SP Schroeder to the death to see who will guide the spirit of the Wisconsin sect. The strong will prevail over the weak. In the last 30 years, the few who follow the Lutheran Confessions have been weak, divided, meek, and easily mislead (there I go again, damaged from reading WELS posts. I meant - misled.)

I chortle when I see one name on the anti-CGM list. My only contact from him was a raving email against Thy Strong Word, a book written to destroy the Church Shrinkage Movement. He wanted a "free review copy" and got it. His response was typical WELS - see if Christ or Satan is winning at the moment, then go with the winner.

So it will take more than a frown to defeat these Church and Change people. One of their board members, Bruce Becker, is senior at The Love Shack. I recall when Wayne Mueller needed a job after being eased out of The Sausage Factory. Suddenly WELS needed a full-time leader of Parish Services. That happened to be Wayne Mueller. Soon the adult education and youth education people were replaced and the job names changed to Adult Discipleship and Youth Discipleship. Subtle? I think not. The Church Shrinkers have bet the farm on manufacturing disciples, which they learned at Fuller. Search "making disciples" or "The Great Commission" in the writings of WELS Enthusiasts and you will find Fuller doctrine verbatim. Kent Hunter and Waldo Werning, both Fuller vets, parrot the same things.

Wayne Mueller's son, Adam, is a key person at Church and Change.

The Church and Change leaders are rooted at The Love Shack (most of the staff), The Sausage Factory (Sorum, etc.), Wisconsin Lutheran College (Our Valpo), and Martin Luther College (Lawrence of Pasadena, etc). They run the District Mission Boards and World Missions. They have their own TV show, Time of Grace, Mark Jeske, where that evil word Lutheran is not mentioned. They have their own theological conference each year or so. They trot off to the Church Shrinkage conferences together, scorning the fellowship of their classmates and co-workers to drool at the feet of false teachers. Luther said, "I will not have any fellowship with them (the Enthusiasts)." Valleskey said, "They are Christians. We can learn from them, too."

If the WELS clergy and laity confront these Church Shrinkers with the plain, clear Word of God, with the Confessions, the wolves in sheep's clothing will rage and gnash their fangs, but retreat finally to the sects where they belong. They will follow Mark Freier, Randy Cutter, Kelly Voigt, and many others they trained to be anti-Lutheran, anti-Means of Grace, anti-Word of God. Some may even convert to Lutheran doctrine.

The Holy Spirit is so powerful that He can use the worst of experiences to raise up pure doctrine again. That could even happen in the LCMS. WELS has more opportunities than Missouri to defeat the CGM scorpions. Every circuit meeting, conference, and gathering is a chance to address the issues with the Word. The first two articles of the Formula of Concord alone can leave the Church Shrinkage Movement shattered and twitching.

Boomers in WELS - you grabbed the best calls and drove out the opposition. It was fun and profitable for you and your pals. Now you are getting closer to the greedy grave. What will you finally say in your defense?

1. "My parking lot covered six acres"?
   
2. "I earned a DMin at Fuller?"
   
3. "We won the making disciples debate"?
   
4. "No one can tell we are Lutheran"?
   

Church and Change Board Member Evacuates to Appleton

Jim Skorzewski:
"Appleton? Is that, like, near anywhere?"
Drive 08 Conference "Who went that you might know:
Pastor Ski, John Parlow, Jim Buske"

[GJ - Buske is a Church and Change presenter. So is Parlow. And so is Ski: 506...... In the Beginning…Your Guide to Starting
Your own Alternative Worship Experience
–James Skorzewski and Brian Davison.]

What is Drive ’08? That’s a great question. Drive is a two day conference for church leaders. During these two days church leaders from the three North Point campuses will share what they have learned over the last twelve years about creating and maintaining awesome ministry environments. The entire conference has been designed around questions from churches all over the world.

Over the two days Andy Stanley (Lead Pastor at North Point) will address the attendees in three main sessions. There will be five break-out sessions that will revolve around questions asked by the attendees. These sessions allow those in attendance to get pretty specific on certain areas of ministry as well as get great feedback.


I invite you to check out my blog while I’m gone. I’ll try to update the blog daily and share what I’ve learned. Please feel free to share your comments.


I’ll see you all when I get back!


After we registered we headed to the 5 Seasons for lunch. While we were there we heard this voice behind us at a table. Well, we turn around and sure enough there at the table is my old German teacher, Prof. Daniel Deutschlander sitting & eating bratwurst & drinking a beer. As it turns out he is speaking at the Peachtree Conference (I think that is what it is called - WELS churches in the ATL - Tennesee - Alabama area). He asked if we were down for his presentation. I had to say unfortunately, no. The conversation was pretty interesting after that. I mean, telling your old prof. that you are in town, not to hear him is bad enough, but on top of that you are in town to attend a non-denominational church leadership conference... Not normal WELS practice. By the way, he’s drinking a Maibock in the picture.

Breakout Session #3 - Connecting Adults To Small Groups

This session was lead (sic) by Jenny Boyett. She is in charge of Group Link, which is one of the Small Group programs at North Point. This was a pretty good session. I guess I was looking for more of a how to instead of this is what we do or this might work for you. Most of the information that was shared was theory. They have three types of groups.

Main Session #2 - Andy Stanley - Becoming A Great Staff


This was just awesome. The opening music could be confused with a rock concert. Lights, guitars, confetti, etc... The staff also ran through the aisles and threw out blow up guitars and microphones for the audience. I used the word audience, simply because congregation sounded kind of weird. To me what was interesting about the opening music portion, was it goes against everything that I have been taught as a Lutheran. We are called to put our emotions in a box. To not be emotional about the music, unless it is a moving hymn. This is tough, I mean, I may not be jumping around with my hands up, but should I look down on someone who does? Is their worship any less acceptable to God? I don’t think so. Maybe, we need to look at this, emotions are good as long as they don’t get out of control. I think that sometimes we also put down music because it is a repeating chorus and doesn’t have the depth of a hymn. Do we always need to do that? Can’t we have different kinds of music? Isn’t there a danger in saying that there is only one way to do things? I personally like variety. Think about it like this, Cherios (sic) are good, I like them, they are nutritious, they are good with or without milk. But let me tell you, I love Fruity Pebbles. They are colorful, tasty, & packed with sugar. Does that mean that I want to eat them every day? Probably not, but it doesn’t automatically mean that I want Cherios (sic) every day either. Maybe some days i want Frosted Flakes. I like variety.

Anyway, Andy’s session was great. Like I have said. He has this great gift of making things seem so simple. Here are his main points from this afternoon:


1.A great staff is made up of “great leaders.”


2.Best practices for creating a “great staff.”


a.Do for one when you can’t do for all.


b.Systemize (sic? - may be a new CG word) top down service.


c.In response to your staff’s key objectives, ask “How can I help you?”


d.Create & maintain a sustainable pace.


e.Celebrate & reward greatness when you see it.


3.Signs that things aren’t so great.


a.Competition between departments.


b.Double standards.


c.Loyalty lectures.


This was great just to hear & to have to look at our ministry and ask the question, “Do we have issues here?” I think that overall we do pretty well. Are there areas that we can improve? Of course.

---

Andy Stanley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andy Stanley is the senior pastor of North Point Community Church, Buckhead Church, and Browns Bridge Community Church. He also founded North Point Ministries, which is a worldwide Christian organization.

Biography
Stanley was born in 1958. His father is Charles Stanley, who is the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta and founder of InTouch Ministries.

***

GJ - Andy Stanley's books are sold at Fuller Seminary. His daddy divorced his mom but stayed in the ministry. Charles Stanley was in the tank with Paul Y. Cho decades ago. This father-son duo is Baptist and awesomely Church Growth. They will blow you away. Sorry, I read the blog too long and my mind began degenerating.

A few people think I am too pessimistic about WELS. A Wisconsin sect pastor flies to Atlanta, where he might listen to a faithful Lutheran--Dan Deutschlander--but instead listens to a CGM Baptist minister and loves it. How cool is that? And he really seems to brag about it.

PS - Here is Parlow at Church and Change:

501.... Creating Irresistible Environments
with Contemporary Worship
Pastor John Parlow
(john.parlow@stmark-depere.org)
Explore transferable principles that will help you build a church for outsiders to come to and hear truth that makes a difference now and for eternity. Now is the time
to shed ethnic rationalizations, personal preferences, and doomsday attitudes that
are offered as excuses for outreach failures. The truth is the Gospel is timelessly relevant, the church and its representatives may or may not be relevant; the
Gospel is timelessly efficacious, the church and its representatives may or may not be effective. Let’s talk about building ministries that are dangerously
Christian.

John Parlow serves as the lead pastor at St. Mark in De Pere, WI. St. Mark worships over 1,200 people and is currently building a 25,000 sq. ft. addition for
children/family ministry and a sixth weekend worship service offering an “upper room” atmosphere. [GJ - The only thing missing from this Upper Room is Jesus.]

WELS Liberal Confab: Limmer Keynote Speaker

WELS Campus Pastor Bill Limmer

They call this group Share Grace.


Workshops offered:
Introducing Your World to Jesus
Workshop Particulars

February 2, 2008
8:00a to 12:30p

St John Lutheran Church
7809 Harwood Ave
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
414-258-7831

Keynote Speaker:
Bill Limmer
Pastor, Point of Grace Campus Ministry
Milwaukee, WI.

Approaches to
Personal Outreach
Presenter: Jim Aderman (long time advocate of cell groups)
Pastor, Fairview Lutheran
Milwaukee, WI.

Introducing Jesus to people of a different culture or faith
Presenter: E. Allen Sorum (makes Valleskey look like Chemnitz)
Professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Serminary, Mequon, WI.

Introducing Jesus to people I have just met
Presenter: Jim Skorzewski (Board Member, WELS Church and Change)
Pastor, St Marcus Lutheran
Milwaukee, WI.

Limmer, Aderman, Skorzewski, and Sorum are Church Shrinkers. Perhaps some Lutherans were asked to balance the ticket. Ask someone in the know.