Church and Change Jeff Davis

Jeff Davis, vice-chairman, Church and Change

Church and Change, 2007

107 CREATING A CULTURE OF GENEROSITY IN YOUR CHURCH

Jeffrey Davis (jeff@joyfulgiving.net) What is a generous church? How do we teach God’s people to excel in the grace of giving? When a congregation is transformed by Jesus’ message that “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), what does it look like? Preaching and teaching about money is not something we should ignore. Jesus, on numerous occasions, addressed the issue of money and possessions. He knew that God’s people throughout the ages would face challenges and temptations of wealth. The formula for creating a culture of generosity is very simple – through God’s Word preach it, teach it, and celebrate it! This workshop will share ideas and give examples for churches intent on creating cultures marked by strong financial stewardship and biblically guided generosity. Jeff’s ideas for God’s leaders on creating cultures of generosity within Lutheran congregations will be helpful and biblically based.Jeffrey Davis has served the Lutheran church as teacher, administrator and presently, as consultant. He is owner of Cornerstone Stewardship Ministry, a consulting firm that teaches stewardship.108 A POSITIVE VIEW OF BELIEVERFS (sic) IS REALISTIC…AND PRACTICAL!


Heart In Focus - Personal Finances Training Course

This repeating course guides individual members in the basics of wise faith-focused finances for their daily lives. The course will cover the Christian attitudes behind healthy financial decisions and practical advice for giving, saving, debt removal and financially wise lifestyles. Special workshops lead by Cornerstone Stewardship Ministry leader Mr. Jeff Davis and Adult Discipleship Administrator Rev David Kehl are offered throughout the WELS Districts upon request. Heart in Focus workbooks are now available at Northwestern Publishing House to train local leaders to lead this course as an ongoing part of an annual spiritual growth curriculum.

WELS Kingdom Workers

BOARD MEMBER
Jeff Davis
csconsultants@charter.net

"How about a juicy grant for Church and Change Doebler?"

FIC Author too? I thought these guys had no influence?

The bills will come

It's Christmas shopping season. Giving is part of our Christian life, but so is responsible management of our resources.


Author: Jeffrey Davis

Christmas is a time for gift giving. Many children of God love to give gifts as they imitate the greatest gift given to the entire world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Most view the Christmas season as a time to give and, in some cases, to lavish gifts upon their friends and relatives.

Yet how many times after Christmas do we receive our credit card statements or view the checkbook ledger only to realize that we spent much more than we intended? Then we realize that the added interest on the purchases increases what we spent. Often the credit card balances are already so high that we are unable to pay off the debt, and we end up only adding to our balance and going deeper into debt.

Member of http://www.stpaullakemills.org

Puto ut Kelm fio. I think I am becoming Kelm.

The triangles going up to the fish's mouth represent offering money
devoured by Church and Change buddies
(free vicars for Patterson, grant for Doebler, etc).
The triangles leaving the fish's rear end
symbolize Church and Change pooping on the synod
at every opportunity, fouling the water.

Blatant copying and pasting from Bailing Water:

Friday, October 24, 2008
WELS making use of ELCA's faith program

The WELS has formed a quasi-partnership with an ELCA program: http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=1147&contentID=57776&shortcutID=20408


Faith stepping stones: It is a reformed program with a dash of WELS flavor added.

http://www.wlcfs.org/equip/fss/fssfaqs.asp

Meet the ELCA leader of the stepping stones: http://www.faithink.com/About/richmelheim.asp

ELCA churches love it:

http://www.peacelutheranweb.com/plc/faithtoolbox/ftbstepstones.asp

WELS pastors and others that have given consent to this program: http://www.wlcfs.org/aboutUs/boardOfDirectors.asp


And these reformed leaders like it also:

http://www.steppingstonesministry.org/html/aboutus/news_acknowledgments.html

It has evolved from faith inkubators:
Faith Incubators pushes the new Gospel of Social Transformation
http://www.exorthodoxforchrist.com/peter_drucker_&_rick_warren.htm

“Faith Inkubators” was started by Rev. Rich Melheim (ELCA) who started a mentor-based program at Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater, MN.

By the Fall of 96 over 1000 congregations were experimenting with the program as living laboratories. “The movement currently involves 2/3 ELCA and 1/3 LCMS congregations and has its first UCC, Presbyterian, Methodist and Catholic test sites.” Yes, “Faith Inkubators” is a pan denominational, globalist, relational, catechism.

“Faith Inkubators” strives for transformation through “PROCESS”. Each child is assigned an adult mentor or “Guide” on their learning, serving, playing, praying, and growing journey. Pastors still teach content but a third of everything is taught through interactive small group learning activities. This writer evaluates the programs as enlisting spiritual guides, values clarification, and spiritual gift assessments. Melheim says he developed the program’s small group structure from Carl George’s Meta Church Model; its philosophy from William Glasser (a secular humanist and an expert in behavior modification); its business sense from MIT’s Peter Senge (author of “The Fifth Discipline”) and his own research. Theological “tips” come from Dr. Pat Keifert of the Leadership Network (www.leadnet.org).

The Leadership Network, who endorses Willow Creek as a model for American Churches of the 21st Century, is also advising the LCMS Council of Presidents on how to restructure congregations and the LCMS.

***

GJ - What are we learning today? WELS members and pastors must work harder and faster than Church and Change.

Step One - Be informed. The material is on the websites and in the official reports.

Step Two - Study the Book of Concord. These are all old heresies.

Step Three - Ignore the screaming. The personal attacks are the Church and Change way of deflecting attention from their apostasy.

And The Ironic Humor Award Goes To...Curtis Peterson and FIC.Wait! There's More!

Why Don't We Stop Calling Ourselves Lutheran?


Author: Curtis A. Peterson

Look up the whole article

In an effort to reach the unchurched, some Lutherans are opting to avoid labeling themselves as Lutheran when starting new churches. In one midwestern community a Lutheran mission took the name "Family of Faith Christian Church." Others call themselves community churches or take some other non-denominational name.


There is a reason for the name


When you think of it, no other mainline church body bears a person's name. Some names designate a form of church government--Presbyterian, Congregational, Episcopal. Others focus on a distinctive doctrine--Baptist, Holiness, Pentecostal. Many fast growing congregations adopt generic names such as Faith Fellowship, Grace Community, Fellowship Bible Church, or are named after the community (Elmbrook, Willow Creek Community Church).

***

GJ - The cover art shown is The Northwestern Lutheran, but now it is FIC. Forward in Christ is a real Lutheran magazine title! WELS is the only denominational with a stealth hymnal and stealth magazine.

More irony awaits the curious reader. Curtis Peterson loved the Church Growth Movement in the LCMS, but left to join the Wisconsin sect. Right away he was in a big church in Milwaukee and on a national board (world missions, I think - with Valleskey). No one else who joined by colloquy was graced with such preference. In fact, some long-time parish pastors might have wanted a little action like that.

Mrs. Ichabod and I were at his church, 21 years ago. He was later unhappy about my criticisms of Church Growth and reacted to them in a paper or two.

I think he is no longer a minister, at least not in WELS. (Not in WELS = de-rezzed, as in Tron, the Movie.)

Now WELS has done everything to submerge the Lutheran name. Ironic? Peterson would be thrown out today for being narrow-minded, legalistic, and disloyal to Church and Change.

---

Someone found this information about Peterson:

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Curtis A. Peterson holds a B.A. from Concordia Senior College, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and a M.Div and STM (l966 and l983 respectively) from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.

In almost 30 years in the ministry in both the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods, he was an activist with many published articles supporting the orthodox Lutheran cause in the "Battle for the Bible" in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and author of several articles in the Wisconsin Synod between l987 and l995. He also delivered several essays at pastoral conferences during those years.

He served congregations in Burlington, N.C., Rock Falls, Ill., Garland, Tex. and Gretna, La., in the LCMS and in Milwaukee, Wis. in the WELS.

A Foundation member, he is now retired, resides in Wisconsin and calls himself a humanist and a freethinker.

A leader of the foundation, Dan Baker. Here is his heart-warming story:

Dan Barker
Co-president, Freedom From Religion Foundation
Minister Turned Atheist

Dan became a teenage evangelist at age 15. At 16 he was choir librarian for faith-healer Kathryn Kuhlman's Los Angeles appearances. He received a degree in Religion from Azusa Pacific University and was ordained to the ministry by the Standard Community Church, California, in 1975. He served as associate pastor at a Friend's (Quaker) Church, an Assembly of God, and an independent Charismatic church. Dan was a Protestant missionary in Mexico for a total of two years.

Dan maintained a touring musical ministry for 17 years, including eight years of full-time, cross-country evangelism. An accomplished pianist, record producer, arranger and songwriter, he worked with Christian music companies such as Manna Music and Word Music. For many years, Dan wrote and produced the annual "Mini Musicale" for Gospel Light Publications' Vacation Bible School curriculum.

For more than two decades, Dan was accompanist, arranger, and record producer for Manuel Bonilla, the leading Christian singer in the Spanish-speaking world. He accompanied on the piano such Christian personalities as Pat Boone, Jimmy Roberts (of the Lawrence Welk Show), and gospel songwriter Audrey Meier, and was a regular guest on Southern California's "Praise The Lord" TV show (Spanish). One of Dan's Christian songs, "There Is One," was performed by Rev. Robert Schuller's television choir on the "Hour of Power" broadcast. To this day, he receives royalties from his popular children's Christian musicals, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (1977), and "His Fleece Was White As Snow" (1978), both published by Manna Music and performed in many countries.

Following five years of reading, Dan gradually outgrew his religious beliefs. "If I had limited myself to Christian authors, I'd still be a Christian today," Dan says. "I just lost faith in faith." He announced his atheism publicly in January, 1984.

Dan was PR Director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation from 1987 to 2004. He was elected co-president of the Foundation with Annie Laurie Gaylor in 2004. He is a contributing editor of Freethought Today and is involved with the Foundation's state/church lawsuits.

Books
Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist
Dan's autobiographical story of deconversion, and a critical analysis of Christianity and the bible. FFRF, Inc., 1992.

Godless: How An Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists Foreword by Richard Dawkins
A lot has happened in the 16 years since Losing Faith in Faith. Updating Dan's story of deconversion, Godless tells of lessons learned on the debate circuit, taking a lawsuit to the Supreme Court, and more bible criticism and debunking of theistic arguments. Ulysses Press, 2008.

Just Pretend: A Freethought Book For Children
Overtly freethought. Compares God and Santa, myth with reality, and celebrates atheism and freedom of thought. FFRF, Inc., 1988. (2002 new edition)

Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A Guide For Young Skeptics
Teaches the scientific method to children. Prometheus Books, 1990.

Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong: A Guide For Young Thinkers
Teaches humanistic morality to children. Prometheus Books, 1992.

Dan also has written a variety of educational booklets, brochures and "nontracts" for the Foundation.

See Dan's Online Writings

Media Appearances
Dan has appeared on many national television talkshows, including the Phil Donahue Show (twice), Sally Jessy Raphael Show (three times), and twice with Oprah Winfrey. He has also appeared on the national Morton Downey, Jr. Show, the Maury Povich Show, "NightTalk with Jane Whitney," "A Closer Look, with Faith Daniels," the "Shirley Show" (Toronto), Pat Robertson's CBN "Straight Talk," ABC's "Good Morning America" with host Joan Lunden, "Religion & Ethics News Weekly" hosted by Betty Rollin on PBS, the "Hannity & Colmes" talkshow on the Fox-News TV network, and Court TV's "Pros & Cons" show hosted by Nancy Grace.

Dan has been a guest on many regional TV talkshows and dozens of radio interviews across the continent. He regularly speaks and performs freethought concerts around the country at Unitarian-Universalist congregations, Ethical Culture, universities (including Harvard), and humanist conventions.

***

GJ - Sports fans. I have been saying this all along - young Church Growther, old atheist. Look at the WELS stuporstars of yesteryear. They are Pentecostals, Baptists, atheists, freethinkers. Church Growth principles at work.

Psst! I Heard This On the Grapevine

Actual graphic on the website. Looking for Lutheran or WELS on the graphic? Forget it.

Lutherans used to having sayings like Cross and Crown, showing how the path of the Christian was to bear the cross and share the crown of glory in eternal life. The Cross and Crown graphic is common in many older churches. The term crown is the word we use for Stephan, the first martyr, so many think the phrase crown of life was a deliberate wordplay.

But now we have a cross resting in a coffee mug and advertising aimed at coffee drinkers.

Besides that, the pastor is known for sheep-stealing from other WELS churches. The District Pope does nothing about it. The pastor (Latin for shepherd) goes to WELS members and says, "Join my church."

There in a capsule is the whole mindset of the Church Growth Movement, Church and Change. They do not convert. They sheep-steal. They undermine the discipline of other congregations, especially their own synod's, by claiming to make disciples.

The Church Growth Movement has had no positive impact on American Christianity. Millions of dollars have been spent. The only growth has been in apostasy (all denominations) and lawsuits (ditto).

I Was Sad That I Had No Shoes, Until I Met a Man With No Bio

Ski - going to bat for the Babtists.

Pastor Ski has a verbose blog, but no bio on the Church and Change website. That is carrying the stealth mode to a new level of security. Perhaps if we read Church and Change's website by the light of a full moon...

[Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Ron Ash, Chairman of Church and Change...":

The above-mentioned "congregation" that is being daughtered by St Peters is Solid Rock Ministries and Pastor Jim Skorewski has accepted the call to be its pastor....

PS It's not Pastor Timothy Glende anymore. It's "Pastor Tim"]

***

Solid Rock?

Built on a bluff the WELS doth hide
While Babtist churches are calling...

We know he worked at St. Marcus, home of the non-Lutheran Time of Grace program (Mark Jeske). We also know another person from St. Marcus is on the board of Church and Change.

Ski flew to the Drive 08 conference to hear Baptist Andy Stanley, son of the Baptist minister who went to Korea to study under Paul Y. Cho.

The Church and Change minders are saying in their anonymous comments, "Do not be hysterical. We are few. We are weak. We are inconsequential (or something close to that word). Just tolerate us for experimenting a little. All we want to do is win people for Christ. Why are you narrow-minded bigots against us open-minded pioneers?"

District VP Patterson took a group of WELS pilgrims to the Exponential Conference to hear Stetzer, and he has all kinds of synod positions as well as a fat synod grant to pay for his vicars. And--poof--Stetzer has Church and Change on his list of speaking engagements, a fact still hidden on the Church and Change website, a fact denied by Church and Changers though debated by the WELS DPs, who frowned.

So we have two clusters from Church and Change going to hear two famous Baptist salesmen.

Stanley calls his church Northpoint Community Church, a wee bit deceptive itself, as one person noted.

And all the cutting edge Church and Changers want to use Community Church or hide Lutheran and WELS from their gullible followers. That is pure coincidence.

The WELS world and American mission people have hidden their attendance at Fuller and Willow Creek from the membership, to the point of lying openly about it. Now they are so brazen that they brag about it here and there. No one will ever know how much money has been wasted on Fuller tuition, trips to Willow Creeks, Church Growth books, Baptist and Pentecostal seminars. And it has not even worked for them.

Stetzer Pilgrim, Church Growth Guru Get To Revise WELS Seminary Curriculum

Stetzer Pilgrimage leader Patterson edits for FIC and tells the seminary how to improve its curriculum. "We need a big ol' bathtub up front the chapel, jus' like those fast-growing Babtists." His latest vicar is the son of seminary professor James Tiefel.

Paul Kelm, DMin (Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Louis), Fuller Seminary veteran, gave a paper to advise the seminary too.


Seminary training

Awhile ago a WLS alumni wondered about the changes taking place in the Seminary curriculum. The curriculum developers are looking to make sure that the sem and its students are kept current on the cutting edge methods that are being used by "others" are also studied and used by new WELS pastors.

The president of the sem, faculty, students and others sat at the feet of the leading Church and Change promoters to hear what the Baptists are doing and how we should be following their lead.

Official Seminary Report:

Seminary faculty, the school presidents, representatives from current students, from pastors, from teachers, from laypeople, from various areas of ministry, from governing board members, and from district presidents will all gather on these two days to discuss these presentations given by Pastor Paul Kelm, President Paul Prange, and Pastor Don Patterson.

Was Prange used to balance the non-Lutherans or is he another Church and Change Cheerleader?

Kathie Wendland, Church and Change

Women Leadership - Conference Breakout 202....
WELS “Women Leaders – No Longer an Oxymoron”


Kathie Wendland

Join us for a reprise of the WELS Women Leadership Conference originally held July 7, 2007, at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Discuss the keynote address Kathie presented at this conference and the three Bible studies led by pastor/laywoman teams. Teaching styles and methods more prevalent among women will be used. This will be a Bible study of leadership styles used by women in Scripture, a sort of an “ugly, bad, and good” look at them.




Email: ehwend@lakefield.net

Matt Doebler, Church and Change, Stetzer Pilgrimage

WELS has money for aping the Baptists: "10) Christ the Rock – Round Rock, Texas. Pastor Matthew Doebler. The ministry has been enriched by a generous grant ($13,000) from the Kingdom Workers National Project program."

Website - Ministry Resource
Matt Doebler


Develop a website, which shares ministry resources (such as special services, Bible studies), for different areas of ministry. Find someone who has web-developing skills. Does not need to be an expert. Basic skills are needed. Find a free or cheap web server. Figure out your goals. Who is your target audience? What do you want to share? Find some dependable contributors who will submit quality material. This will save you some time on reviewing everything that you are given to publish. Use MS Word format for submitted material and "save as ... web page". Can import easily into web pages. Other technical issues, consult an expert. Keep updating periodically - an unchanging web site is a dead web site. Promote by any means possible. I have tried the WorldWide Winkel & conferences



Email: doeblermc@yahoo.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Women - Aerobics and Bible Studies to Mix!
Matt Doebler


Offer a Bible class, which strengthens the body & spirit. Find an aerobic woman who enjoys working out and studying the Bible. Aerobic training is a plus, although she could just use videos. It could be 2 leaders - 1 physical and 1 spiritual. Find a Bible study, which can be broken up into 20-minute sections (one section per session). Break the class up into 20 minute Bible study and 40-50 minute aerobic workout with toning. Use a gym or larger classroom for workout and studying on the floor. Meet weekly. Keep to 7 or 8-week sessions.


Email: doeblermc@yahoo.com

Stelljes, Church and Change: Pilgrimage to Baptist Stetzer

Drama - Conference Breakout 503.... Oh, the Drama of It All!
(Drama in Worship for Beginners)


Pastor John and Angela Stelljes [GJ - This implies Angela is also a pastor.]

Props, people, lights, scripts, cues, transitions. . .and God’s Word. If you’re thinking about doing drama in worship but don’t know where to begin, this workshop is for you! In the midst of the drama that comes with doing drama learn some tips, tools and techniques for focusing on the one thing needful.


If you are interested in getting your hands on this conference workshop PowerPoint or want more information, email the speaker by selecting the link below!

Email: butterfly.peapod@gmail.com



----------------------------------

Drama - Conference Breakout 504.... Dramalogue
(Advanced Drama in Worship)


Pastor John and Angela Stelljes [GJ - This implies Angela is also a pastor.]

You’ve written sketches for the church? Perhaps you’ve played a shepherd boy more than once. Want to share what you’ve learned about drama in worship with others? Come join us for an in-depth dialogue of what works and what really doesn’t
when using drama in worship. Bring scripts and experiences
to share.


If you are interested in getting your hands on this conference workshop PowerPoint or want more information, email the speaker by selecting the link below!

Email: butterfly.peapod@gmail.com

WELS Pastor Ron Ash, Chairman of Church and Change

Church and Change has set itself up as the self-appointed agency running the Wisconsin Synod. That is handy, since the drones at The Love Shack are deeply involved in this festering boil of false doctrine. WELS members are paying the salaries and benefits of Love Shack employees to promote Church and Change.

Church and Change Bio - Ron Ash

Chairman, Appleton, WI

Ron started his ministy by serving three congregations in Colorado. He has since served for 30 years at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Appleton, WI. During this time he has been Circuit Pastor, Chairman of the Board of Regents at FoxValleyLutheranHigh School, Secretary of the Fox River Valley Conference, on the Governing Board at LutherPreparatory School, and Circuit Chairman. He has been a promoter of creating innovative ministries for a changing world. His wife, Renate, and he have three children.

[GJ - The assistant pastor is Tim Glende, from St. Paul, Columbus, the congregation which took in Floyd Luther Stolzenburg when he was kicked out of the LCMS ministry. Floyd helped organize a Church Growth seminar, attended by the St. Paul's staff, and started "the first WELS Church Growth agency - Lutheran Parish Resources."]

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Ron Ash, Chairman of Church and Change...":

The above-mentioned "congregation" that is being daughtered by St Peters is Solid Rock Ministries and Pastor Jim Skorewski has accepted the call to be its pastor....

---

PS It's not Pastor Timothy Glende anymore. It's "Pastor Tim"

From their website, St. Peter Cares:

History
St. Peter congregation was founded by a group of Lutheran immigrants from [GJ- From? From? Please let us know.]. It was organized on October 5, 1868.

From Bailing Water:


Anonymous said...
A small clip from a WELS church bulletin in an area about 20 miles from St Mark Depere..... Is this the direction WELS wants to go???

"Some people from our church have approached our pastors about starting a daughter congregation in the Appleton area. These WELS people would fund the entire project for a certain number of years. It will not be financed by our congregation. This daughter congregation would have its own pastor and a part-time music director. The main feature of this church would be: 1) contemporary worship only; 2) small group ministry; 3) lay-driven; 4) Appleton area focused; 5) and will reach out to the unchurched. This congregation will be directed by a separate executive committee. It will have a different name than St. Peter and will worship in facilities outside our campus and not at FVL.
We will have two open hearings to discuss the concept of a
daughter congregation between the services on June 8 & 15, 2008, in church.
We will vote on this proposal at our June 23, 2008 voters’ meeting."

May 19, 2008 4:55 PM
Anonymous said...
Thanks for the laugh!

The 40+ WELS congregations in the Appleton area really need help getting the word out????

May 20, 2008 1:22 PM
miket said...
Anonymous (5/19 - 4:55 pm):

Your comment refers to a church growthy outreach proposal and asks whether this is the direction the WELS wants to go. Obviously, it is the direction that at least some in one congregation want to go. I trust that you are not ascribing the thinking of these few to the whole synod. I think most of the people in WELS would have concerns about starting the kind of mission described in that bulletin note.

The history of the WELS is full of cases of liberal pastors leading their congregations in directions not consistent with God's Word. Some of those pastors came to see the error of their ways; most are no longer WELS.

Seeing a bulletin note like this does not alarm me. What would alarm me is false doctrine that goes undisciplined. Do you know of anything along those lines that needs to be addressed?

May 20, 2008 1:35 PM
Anonymous said...
"The main feature of this church would be: 1) contemporary worship only; 2) small group ministry; 3) lay-driven; 4) Appleton area focused; 5) and will reach out to the unchurched."

Am I missing something? What is not consistent with God's Word in those four? The only false doctrine that needs to be addressed in this vain is elevating personal preferences to the level of Scripture and addressing those who are not in agreement with your opinions "false teachers'. That's called legalism and that is a sin -- period. That is also an issue that also needs to be addressed in the WELS.

I live in the Fox Valley, the number of people we are reaching in our 40+ congregations, the number sitting in His house regularly, and the number of adult confirmations are in most cases, not rising. The synod stats, which I have a copy of, indicates a need to at least look at different ways to gain an audience so that God's means can be shared.

Just shout'in

May 20, 2008 7:59 PM
Anonymous said...
Just shout'in,

Who promised that your congregations would grow?

May 21, 2008 6:01 AM
Anonymous said...
Wow, even Wels is wandering to Rick Warren (and his ilk...ever notice, ilk is never a good thing)
So how does Wels measure success?
Nickels and Noses or faithful preaching of the Gospel and administering the Sacrements? Since numbers aren't going up, do you leave the Gospel for a marketing plan??
Just askin'

May 21, 2008 7:37 AM
rlschultz said...
"Who promised that your congregations would grow?"

Very good question which needs to be asked in a situation like this or any other which relies upon "M&M's" - marketing and methods. Furthermore, where is numerical growth even made a requirement of the so-called Great Commission? So much of this type of approach demonstrates a lack of discernment.
The final, default argument for all of this nonsense is that they are just trying to save souls.

May 21, 2008 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...
John,

Your blog has been quoted extensively over on Ichabod the past day or two. If you want people to take you even in the least bit seriously, you need to talk to Jackson and tell him to stop. The guy is a jerk of a pastor and a false prophet (denies objective justification). There's a reason why he's all by himself.
[GJ - Feel the love? This must be a Church and Change board member.]

May 21, 2008 3:42 PM
Anonymous said...
Rev. Jackson has many more supporters than this person knows. What makes him think he all alone?

May 22, 2008 12:27 PM
Norman Teigen said...
Some of us in the ELS are concerned about the confessional integrity of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. I believe that this will be discussed in the upcoming ELS convention. At least, I hope that it is.

Norman Teigen
ELS layman

May 23, 2008 4:29 PM
Anonymous said...
Norm, how is this going to be discussed? I can't see someone getting up on the floor and saying: "We better check out the WELS!" How will this happen?

May 23, 2008 6:47 PM
Anonymous said...
Norm, how is this going to be discussed? I can't see someone getting up on the floor and saying: "We better check out the WELS!" How will this happen?

May 23, 2008 6:47 PM
Norman Teigen said...
I accept the challenge. I will go to Mankato and ask for the floor and raise the question myself.

Norman Teigen
ELS layman

May 24, 2008 10:02 AM
Anonymous said...
Norm, this wasn't a challenge. You yourself wrote on this blog: "I believe that this will be discussed in the upcoming ELS convention." My only question was, "How?" I wasn't challenging you in any way.

May 24, 2008 5:05 PM

---

Church and Change:
Women's Advent Candlelight Service
Pastor Ron Ash


Each lady decorates a table with a Christmas theme using their own decorations for a table of six. They provide a dessert and coffee for their table. The ladies draw up and conduct a worship service - all by candlelight.Cost is low - donated food; ladies provide decorations for their table; men volunteer to take down tables after event. It takes 60-70 ladies to put on this event.


Phone: (920) 733-7225

Church and Change in The Little Sect on the Prairie

Preaching to a PowerPoint. I wonder where that came from.

Pastor Nathan Krause in his Sunday suit.

ELS Pastor Nathan Krause gave a presentation at the last Church and Change shindig.

Trouble in Paradise by ELS Bad Boy

September 22

Abiding Shepherd's website-A review

I spent a bit of time looking over the website for Abiding Shepherd in Cottage Grove, the first congregation of the ELS to implement (and bold enough to call them) contemporary services.

In assessing the site the only thing Lutheran about it is they at least maintain the name Lutheran in their church name. That's more than many WELS congregations, periodicals, etc. do. At one LWMS rally I actually heard one report from the national rally that it is more advantageous to not use the name Lutheran and if we insist on retaining the name Lutheran, we are being selfish.
The name of Jesus is mentioned once on the site (at least I could find no other mention). This is on the "mission statement" page, and the mention of Jesus Christ is found in the now defunct mission statement. This is only one of two places the name Christ is mentioned (on this page as "Jesus Christ") The other mention is on Family Education Night under the Bible Study link. Here it mentions "Christ's sacrifice" as part of the study on the Chronicles of Narnia movie. This will probably be an interesting study, even if led by a layman instead of the called shepherd, er, spiritual administrator. Ugh. Business models for the church. Yuck. Ick.

If the contemporary service is anything like this contemporary church website, I don't think there is much of substance here. Hopefully the website is incomplete and the good stuff is coming right around the corner.


contemptible service again
A real quick note. The fact that many do not see the connection to the 1 Corinthians verses I quoted in the previous post and the Divine Service is exactly why we have a problem in Lutheranism today. Those verses have everything to do with the Divine Service. Typically (admittedly, I can't speak to Krause's service, I've never been to it) the "service" of contemptible services focuses on man's service to God rather than God's Service to man through the Means of Grace. It is based on a theology of glory rather than the theology of the Cross. I would expect this of the reformed, but the Lutheran Confessions make it clear that even a sanitized version of a heretical service does not make it right to use it. More when I have more time.

---

Krause's Mission Statement:

BRING THEM IN!

LIFT THEM UP!

SEND THEM OUT!

[GJ - A plastic surgeon in Scottsdale has the same mission statement.]



Our mission statement until January, 2003 was "As God's children, united by faith, we are committed to praising God with our worship and our Christian lives, and to use the Gospel of Jesus Christ to nurture fellow believers and to reach out to others, all to the glory of God."

While this statement is still true and at the very core of our ministry here at Abiding Shepherd, the church leadership developed this simple statement that our friends and members could carry in their hearts as we meet throughout the week with each other and our community.

***

GJ - Confidential to Norm Teigen. The ELS is directly involved in Church and Change.

PS - Norm Teigen has been told this is "an experiment," so aping the Reformed is fine in an "experiment." WELS has been experimenting with Church Growth for three decades. Even with common law marriage, living together for seven years constitutes a marriage enforceable by law. I think the Little Sect has watch the common law marriage of WELS and Fuller/Willow Creek with envy and awe. Now they want to shack up with Deformed theology, too.

Becker and Bucks: Church and Change

Patterson, Church and Change kingpin, gets a huge grant each year to pay the cost of his vicar. These vicars are trained in Church-and-Changeology. Tell me, this is not giving money to Church and Change? Wake up and smell the rot.

Church and Change board member Bruce Becker is pulling down a princely Administrator's salary (higher than a seminary professor's) while fighting the duly elected Synod President. And, to top this off, Becker is using synod money to install his Church and Change ally, Paul Copy-and-Paste Kelm, at The Love Shack. Where does it end?

From Bailing Water:

Anonymous said...
I remember that last year there was a link on the WELS official website that allowed registration for the Church and Change Conference. (I am sure they would not provide a link to something they did not approve).
Hopefully they will not supply that link for the November, 2009 conference.
It did appear to have synodical backing last year. Also men in WELS leadership positions were and still are a part of Church and Change. These are people we lay people look up to for guidance in our spiritual lives. When the leaders lead us in this direction.....it does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out. If it walks like a duck.......

October 23, 2008 12:30 PM


Anonymous said...
From wels.net and other internet research, it appears that local congregations support C&C conferences and they get grants from places like Thrivent (besides charging for their conferences), is that correct? They meet once a year? And, also, there is some connection/accountability with DPs, COP and/or Parish Services? C&C is made up of WELS pastors and like-minded participants, so besides promoting CG methods, what influence do they have on the synod (apart from within local congregations and supportive ministry)?

Rob

October 23, 2008 1:01 PM


Anonymous said...
PER: Bruce Becker, Administrator
WELS Parish Services (also a member of the Board of Directors for Church and Change)

Church and Change is a grassroots organization comprised of WELS pastors, teachers, staff ministers, and lay people. Through its conferences, participants learn from one another, share ministry ideas, and explore new ways to bring the changeless gospel of Jesus Christ to a ever-changing world. It provides a rare opportunity in our circles for called workers and lay people from various districts to get together to talk about gospel ministry. Church and Change, in its organizing documents, has a stated desire to be connected directly to WELS synodical ministry through the Board for Parish Services. When hosting conferences, the Church and Change chairman apprises the district president of the district in which the event will be held. The organization also follows the guidelines established by the WELS Conference of Presidents for publicizing and hosting such events. In short, Church and Change is accountable to WELS on several different levels.

October 23, 2008 1:18 PM


Anonymous said...
here's my 2 cents worth...
anyone who's a member of c&c should remove themselves from the WELS membership list. start your own touchy feely church and rock on. leave the rest of us alone. i designate my church offerings go specifically to anything but the general fund. they're not going to send a penny of my offering up there to milwaukee to dole out back to this kind of nonsense. it's a church within a church. time to cut 'em loose. if the synod uppity-ups can't do that, i'll cut myself loose after 59 years of active WELS membership. it ain't what it used to be and as far as i can tell, those we've put in charge don't really care.

October 23, 2008 2:30 PM


Anonymous said...
Thank-you for saying that, Anonymous of 2:30 PM.

I agree with you about the offerings and it is the same in my household. I wish it was not so but I cannot support this stuff with a clear conscience.

I am being patient (so far) and hope this clears up but I have started my letter of resignation and will need to submit it if something cannot be done about the Church and Change group and all the stuff they are doing to "unLutheranize" WELS. I don't understand why they want to be part of WELS.

I came into WELS as an adult, was instructed and confirmed. I thought I had found a church and first learned of my salvation. I am so very very confused and upset with all that is happening. This is not how I was instructed that WELS' believes. I'm not even sure of my salvation anymore. The Church and Change group is leading me to view church and the instructions I had as if it was all a big joke. I took the pastor instructing me as serious. This is very painful because now I need to look for a new church and I don't even know where to start looking.

October 23, 2008 3:42 PM


Anonymous said...
Dear anonymous of 3:42:

While the concerns about C&C are real and justified, I believe that the information and discussion on this blog can give an overstated impression as to the importance and influence of this somewhat inocnsequential (sic) group. The group is not supported by synod dollars. It has a self-appointed board of six or seven people. They hold a conference every two years, attended by about 200 people (many of them lay people). In general, the vast majority of pastors in the synod do not and would not participate in what they have to offer. I would suggest that you talk to your pastor and other pastors you know before you make any quick decisions.

While discussions such as this can be helpful in identifying problems, it is really disturbing to that the unrestrained (and sometimes unfactual) talk is really harming individuals in their faith and causing them to question the sincerity of the pastor who instructed them in the Word and to doubt salvation itself. Perhaps in seeing the hurt and reaction of anonymous 3:42, commenters should weigh their words more carefully. By seeking to solve a problem, you may be creating greater ones.
October 23, 2008 4:06 PM

[GJ - The passage above is utter nonsense, deliberately misleading, and manipulative. Dealing with false doctrine will harm believers? Surgery and chemo hurt, too, but they are needed to remove a cancer. All false doctrine is cancer.]

Anonymous said...
Thank you 2:30pm also,

I believe that I will also start giving my offerings to my church's designated funds until these slippery mission grants are monitored more closely.

3:42...

I would start by talking to your pastor to see his take on the situation. Invite him to look at this blog. Ask him what his position is on Church and Change and pastors sitting at the feet of Baptists experts.

October 23, 2008 4:09 PM

Anonymous said...
Norman-

You didn't know that the pastor of our own C&C congregation, Nathan Krause at Abiding Shepard in Cottage Grove, WI., was a PRESENTER at the last C&C conference?? The cancer is in us, too. Krause even had a vicar in the past year or so.

ELSer

Official Denial

Mark Tiefel, in denial.

Mark Tiefel has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change: Clone Wars in Texas":

You may consider this my "official denial." I did not attend the conference.

***

GJ - I believe it. He means the Ed Stezter (Ketzer) conference, which led to the Church and Change invite. Patterson took a bunch there, including a staff minister.

However, District VP Patterson (Church and Change kingpin) is getting synod grant money each year to pay for his vicars. How many WELS members knew that?

Bucks for Baptists - Your Offerings at Work in WELS

District VP Patterson, Church and Change: "Baptist Stetzer fans. Gather round. My buddies have some loot for you, fresh from the suckers at Kingdom Workers. Offerings for Lutheran missions? No, we camoflage as Baptists down heah in Texas, yall. The rubes don't know this."

VP Patterson wanted to be a good example, so he took a bunch of WELS clergy to hear Baptist Ed Stetzer, who will now present at the next Church and Change conference, though C and C is keeping it a secret for now. Doebler went along. Notice how Church and Change Baptists get all the loot for themselves?

10) Christ the Rock – Round Rock, Texas. Pastor Matthew Doebler. The ministry has been enriched by a generous grant ($13,000) from the Kingdom Workers National Project program. The ministry plan uses this funding to assist with salary and related expenses for the mission’s Administrative Assistant. http://www.ctrtx.net/ (related expenses: trip to see Ec Stetzer and buy an electric guitar....Patterson's rock and roll church)

"14) Vicars in Mission Settings. This program is designed to place vicars into a congregation with a mission setting and under the supervision of a pastor with a mission mindset." (ie cloning Church and Change vicars)

http://www.welssc.org/Reports/2008/2008-10%20DMB%20Report.pdf

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Bucks for Baptists - Your Offerings at Work in WEL...":

This is just one example of abusing synod grant money. Patterson has known about this process for years (it also helps that he has well-placed laymen on district and synod boards).

Patterson, Gunn, and R. Hunter all play this game well.

The Logic of Church and Change

Telling the truth about WELS makes me a Grinch.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "What I Learned at Drive 08 - by Ski":

Maybe someone should write an article about you: "What I learned at Notre Dame," and then they can insinuate that you worship Mary, believe in purgatory and are semi-Pelagian.

***

GJ - The problems with your argument are Legion, like so many demons ready to jump into some obliging and suicidal pigs.

Ski is a WELS pastor, closely connected to Church and Change via St. Mark's (Jeske Church and Change branch) and his new stealth congregation. Ski bragged on his blog that he went to a Baptist conference with a group of WELS pastors, avoided a real Lutheran conference, and loved every second of his time with the Baptists.

What I believe about Roman Catholicism is published in Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, a book heavily promoted by Northwestern Publishing House, sold all over the world. Rev. Mouse might find some material about Enthusiasm in the same book. Some old, old quoations on this blog concern Romanism and the Protestant version of Enthusiasm.

I wish all the crypto-Enthusiasts would gush in public, like Ski. Valleskey was known for gushing in private, among friends of CG, but acting like Church Growth was a UFO when he was in public. He actually postured being forced into a study of CG when he spoke in Ohio (spoiling the Egyptians - couldn't even find an original excuse - had to borrow it from Fuller).

The longer the ELS-WELS-LCMS leaders avoid their doctrinal cancer, the worse it will be.

Norm Teigen - Am I My Brother WELS' Keeper?

WELS/ELS - Both have to explain to everyone why the ruling party is
non-Lutheran, and even anti-Lutheran in doctrine.


Bailing Water:

Norman Teigen said...
I will direct a message to President Moldstad on this subject and ask him for a clarification.

Remember that the ELS is a little synod and that every one knows every one else.

I don't think that the fact that the two synods, ELS and WELS, are in Fellowship means that each synod is responsible for what the other does (or doesn't do).

Can we not live with the idea that we are in agreement on most things but then recognize that the cultural differences that are part of our individual synods allow for some differences of emphasis and expression?

We have separate educational institutions and separate hymnaries. We have different histories. We like to sing different hymns. Some of us go to church on Christmas Eve and some of us do not. Some of us sing 'Jeg er saa glad' and others sing 'O Tannenbaum' on Christmas Day.

Doesn't that mean something?

Norman Teigen
ELS layman
{I am a member of the ELS but I do not presume to speak for the ELS. I am thinking of identifying myself as an ELS spokesman in the new year upcoming.]]

October 22, 2008 10:37 PM

***

GJ - Many years ago, Robert Preus, who was once ELS, sent a poster to Herman Otten about Church Growth. He wrote on it, "WELS is worse than we are about Church Growth." I wrote about the false doctrine in WELS 15 years ago. Every false teacher has been rewarded and promoted. At what point does a denomination admit that it has reduced itself to xeroxing the worst from Fuller, Willow Creek, and the Baptist marketeers?

The ELS has been complicit in the spread of Church Growth doctrine. Both sects stood up to Missouri in the old days. Now neither one can face the truth within its own ranks. They know what has happened. It is just too rewarding to let false doctrine spread.

Why should the ELS leaders risk their free world travels for a little thing like doctrine?

Norm knows that when his father published the correct view on Holy Communion, the Wisconsin and ELS leaders treated him like garbage. Have the leaders been any different with Church Growth? Yes - they have been far worse.

The silence of the lambs continues.

Follow the Money

Funding Church and Change? I don't see that happening. You have violated the 8th Commandment just by thinking that.

WELS District VP Patterson gets WELS grants to pay for his vicars, then trains them in Church and Change doctrine. They come back to Texas to take root, and to root for Sweet and Stetzer and Hunter and that troglodyte Werning.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Your Offering Money at Work - Supporting WELS Chur...":

I am demanding an audit of how Patterson spent the money he's received in the past. Is it being put to good use? I think not! I'd hesitate to give another dime to missions knowing it's going to fund field trips for what should be a responsible pastor to take young, impressionable minds to be twisted by Baptist theology. Are there no Lutherans that can offer their mission stories?

Can They Cancel the Church and Change Kelm Call?

Felines model the copy and paste ministry of Paul Kelm. The Church and Change gurus truly are copy cats. They run to Fuller and copy Fuller. They run to Willow Creek and copy WC. They run to the Baptists and copy them. Their best students turn Baptist and Pentecostal. Why? They are just copying their leaders.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Bruce Becker Has Declared War on SP Schroeder: Who...":

How is it possible for Becker to issue a divine call without SP knowledge or approval? Why must the rest of us pay for an extra guy when they gotten along without one for a couple years and money is tight as it is? Is there anything that can be done to cut Kelm's position before he gets there? And I'm still waiting for the answer to this $64,000 question ~ WHAT'S THERE TO CONSULT THE CONGREGATIONS ABOUT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!? Talk about your monumental waste of synod money....hmmmm.

***

GJ - A lot of people could make it impossible for this catastrophe to happen. Do not wait for the Little Sect on the Prairie to notice, or the District Popes to take action.

Blessed Baptismal Rite

"This Child We Dedicate To Thee"
by unknown author
Translated by Samuel Gilman, 1791-1858

1. This child we dedicate to Thee,
O God of grace and purity;
Shield it from sin and threatening wrong,
And let Thy love its life prolong.

2. Oh, may Thy Spirit gently draw
Its willing soul to keep Thy Law!
May virtue, piety, and truth
Dawn even with its dawning youth!

3. We, too, before Thy gracious sight
Once shared the blest baptismal rite
And would renew its solemn vow
With love and thanks and praises now.

4. Grant that with true and faithful heart
We still may act the Christian's part,
Cheered by each promise Thou hast given
And laboring for the prize in heaven.

Hymn #303
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Luke 18:17
Author: unknown
Translated by: Samuel Gilman, 1823
Composer: Lowell Mason, 1830
Tune: "Uxbridge"

Baptismal Regeneration

"He that Believes and is Baptized"
by Thomas Kingo, 1634-1703
Translated by George A.T. Rygh, 1860-1942

1. He that believes and is baptized
Shall see the Lord's salvation;
Baptized into the death of Christ,
He is a new creation.
Through Christ's redemption he shall stand
Among the glorious heavenly band
Of every tribe and nation.

2. With one accord, O God, we pray:
Grant us Thy Holy Spirit;
Look Thou on our infirmity
Through Jesus' blood and merit.
Grant us to grow in grace each day
That by this Sacrament we may
Eternal life inherit.

Hymn #301
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Mark 16: 16
Author: Thomas Kingo, 1689
Translated by: George A.T. Rygh, 1909
Titled: "Enhver som tror og bliver doebt"
Tune: "Es ist das Heil"
Melody: German, c. 1400

Infant Baptism

"Dearest Jesus, We Are Here"
by Benjamin Schmolck, 1672-1737
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

1. Dearest Jesus, we are here,
Gladly Thy command obeying;
With this child we now draw near
In accord with Thine own saying
That to Thee it shall be given
As a child and heir of heaven.

2. Yea, Thy word is clear and plain,
And we would obey it duly:
"He who is not born again,
Heart and life renewing truly,
Born of water and the Spirit,
Can My kingdom not inherit."

3. Therefore hasten we to Thee,
In our arms this infant bearing;
Let us here Thy glory see
Let this child, Thy mercy sharing,
In Thine arms be shielded ever,
Thine on earth and Thine forever.

4. Gracious Head, Thy member own;
Shepherd, take Thy lamb and feed it;
Prince of Peace, make here Thy throne;
Way of Life, to heaven lead it;
Precious Vine, let nothing sever
From Thy side this branch forever.

5. Now into Thy heart we pour
Prayers that from our hearts proceeded.
Our petitions heavenward soar;
May our warm desires be heeded!
Write the name we now have given,
Write it in the book of heaven.

Hymn #300
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Mark 10:13-16
Author: Benjamin Schmolck, 1704, cento
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier"
Composer: Johann R. Ahle, 1664
Tune: "Liebster Jesu"

What I Learned at Drive 08 - by Ski

"This is a way cool way to look at baptism. Deutschlander never taught us this!"

Pastor Ski and other WELS pastors (John Parlow, Jim Buske, and others) went to Drive08, a conference organized by a Baptist Church in Atlanta, deceptively called Northpoint Community Church.


WELS observer: "Have you noticed that, at the top of Ski's blog he calls it [Drive 08] a 'pastors conference'?"

This is what Northpoint Community Church believes about baptism:

What We Believe About Baptism

Who Should Be Baptized
Christians believe that the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, salvation occurs only when a person places his or her faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as the sufficient payment for his or her sin.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are ready to be baptized. Just like a bride and groom show others their love for one another by wearing wedding bands, your baptism is your opportunity to show others that you have accepted Christ and are now walking with Him.

If you have any questions about how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please contact baptism@northpoint.org.

What Baptism Symbolizes
Baptism is a way of showing others that you have entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It symbolizes what took place in your heart at the time of salvation:
* Accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
* Shared in His death and resurrection, illustrated by going under the water (dead to your old life), then rising again (new life).
* Were symbolically washed clean, and sins were forgiven by His death on the cross.

Because Jesus instructed us to be baptized, baptism is an act of obedience. While it is not necessary for salvation, it demonstrates submission to God. We immerse at North Point Community Church because we believe Scripture shows that Jesus modeled that for us as the way to publicly acknowledge our faith in Him. Infant Christening

Some denominations choose to christen infants. While we recognize the right of other churches to practice infant christening, we understand Scripture to teach that only professing believers qualify for baptism. Baptism does not make you a believer, rather it shows that you already believe.

The baptism process at North Point has been designed to be both simple and meaningful. From the registration form to the baptism meeting, each step has been carefully planned with you in mind:
1. Listen to the baptism message. You may request a CD at the email address below or listen to the message online.
2. Complete the Adult Baptism Registration Form. Once we receive your registration form, we will contact you to schedule your videotaping and baptism.
3. Read about making your video. We want you to be as comfortable and prepared for the video as possible.
4. Attend a meeting and film your testimony. After we receive your registration form, we'll contact you to schedule you for an informational meeting where you'll also have your testimony videotaped.
5. Get baptized! Baptisms take place during one of the Sunday services and include a showing of your prerecorded video.

For questions, please contact Beth Carson at baptism@northpoint.org.

Baptism Message
If you think baptism is the next step for you, take thirty minutes and listen to Andy's talk, "What About Baptism?" In the message, he answers the questions we are most often asked about baptism.
LISTEN TO MESSAGE - Windows Media
LISTEN TO MESSAGE - Real
WATCH ONLINE - Flash Video

What Does Fellowship Mean for the Little Sect on the Prairie?

Pope John is on the far left. Pastor Paul Schneider is on the far right. Paul's congregation in Midland is en-Dowed.

Norman Teigen said...
Greg Jackson went after Pres. Moldstad today and said that Moldstad has not disowned Church and Change. Can anyone help me here? Does the ELS have any kind of investment in Church and Change that we ELSers should know about? I know that one or two might have attended a C&C meeting or two but I am not aware of any links to C&C and the ELS. Please inform me of anything on this subject of which I am ignorant. [As I told GJ, my ignorance is vast and my understanding is thin.]

October 22, 2008 1:19 PM

Anonymous said...
Norm,
By the fact that ELS is in fellowship with WELS puts ELS in connection with Church and Change. It would be good if some objection was made in ELS like they did about women communing women in WELS. It would be like WELS being connected to Thoughts of Faith by the fact that WELS is in fellowship with ELS.

October 22, 2008 2:06 PM

***

GJ - The Preus brothers brought a motion to the floor of the ELS convention, about breaking fellowship with the LCMS over doctrinal issues.

For decades the ELS has worked in harmony with WELS to promote the Church Growth Movement. The ELS finally had a good paper on Church Growth in their Little Journal on the Prairie, but soon after one of their professors endorsed Valleskey's spoiling the Egyptians argument, which was copied from Larry Crab, of Fuller fame.

The Little Sect has always borrowed Church Growth gurus from WELS for presentations. The ELS is known for its pockets of Church Growthism, just as the CLC (sic) is known for theirs.

Norm is a kindly, gracious man. I love his blog. I did not "go after" Pope John the Malefactor. I simply addressed the issue. I did not have Pope John removed from his position. I did not rob Pope John of a living under false pretenses. I did not have Pope John shunned by all his brothers. I did not even slander Pope John. I slandered the real Pope by making the comparison. The Holy Father in Rome never got away with giving as many ministers the Left Foot of Fellowship as Pope John the Malefactor did. So, B-16, I apologize.

Speaking of Fellowship - Read This
When it was thought that Wayne Mueller had a chance of becoming the WELS Synod President, current Bethany Seminary President Gaylin Schmeling said on the floor of the ELS convention, "If they elect Wayne Mueller, we will have to break fellowship with WELS." ELS SP George Orvick frowned when this was said.

So I would call this blog pretty dag-gone mild compared to ELS conventional threats.

Bruce Becker Has Declared War on SP Schroeder: Who Will Win?

Mark Schroeder was elected Synod President as a protest against the Wayne Mueller-Gurgel regime.

Church and Change board member Bruce Becker was appointed in the previous regime and is now the truculent Administrator of Parish Services.

Let me explain what has happened since the election of SP Schroeder.

WELS was broke and using money dishonestly from its designated funds to keep things going. Gurgel fired the treasurer for telling them it was wrong to do so. Then Gurgel blamed the treasurer for the problem. And they made up another story, just as fanciful. Gurgel was urged to leave office before the forensic accountants arrived.

The Love Shack was and is packed with Church Growth (Church and Change) leaders appointed in the old regime. SP Schroeder inherited a blooming mess, a synod on its last legs. The districts responded to his leadership by boosting offerings at a phenomenal rate. From all reports, pastors and laity enjoy and respect Schroeder's leadership.

SP Schroeder urged the boards not to call anyone new to any position, due to the financial crisis, which was real and still hangs over their heads. Moreover, he urged them not to try to call a lightning rod who would be divisive.

The Board for Parish Services (Bruce Becker) said repeatedly that they would do whatever they wanted. I believe SP Schroeder made about five requests and then told them he was no longer meeting with DPS on purpose, because they would not listen.

To show their defiance, Bruce Becker and the DPS called Paul Kelm, the most notorious lighting rod, to an expensive position not needed and not even used for the last two years. Does WELS really need one more Church Growth/Church and Change/Becoming Missional guru running around promoting Deformed doctrine?

So the Kelm call was a Purpose-Driven pot of poo flung in the face of the entire synod - "You can pay for our Reformed agenda to be promoted. So there."

The Church and Change wing, which is much more connected and extensive than imagined before, will work to put in their man for First VP, the position Mueller vacated in a huff. They will look for someone who can fool people into thinking he is conservative. Up until now, Patterson would have been ideal. His vicars have the right DNA. He is a district VP, which means in WELS that he is the next District Pope. He has an editorial position with FIC. He has other synodical brownie points. Someone like Patterson will walk into the next convention with a block of votes and a bevvy of subtle kudos from his wiley supporters.

If a Church and Change VP is elected, write off WELS for good. Everything possible will be done to neutralize Schroeder's leadership from that time on. And I would not be surprised to see someone take on Schroeder for the SP office itself. If someone has a block of votes for SP on the first ballot, that is the Manchurian candidate to deliver WELS to Fuller, Willow Creek, and the scrofulous bosom of ELCA.

Another bad event would be a refusal to accept the changes suggested by the study committee. I hate reading boring stuff like that, but I get the impression that they want to tame Parish Services, which has existed and grown in parallel with Church and Change.

Your Offering Money at Work - Supporting WELS Church and Change, Baptist Pulpit Sniffing VP

District VP Patterson: "Hey suckers. Pay for my vicars with your offering money, so I can train them in Church and Change and take them to hear Baptists teach us how to do mission work."

Synod mission money supports the C&C movement: (the missions in Texas our pure and simple C&C)

Patterson continues to beg for more synod mission money: (Mission enhancement)

http://www.welssc.org/Reports/2008/2008-10%20DMB%20Report.pdf

Field Reports: Mission Enhancement

2) Holy Word – Austin, Texas. Pastor Don Patterson. Holy Word’s Hispanic Ministry Coordinator (Staff Minister) is an example of Mission Enhancement. The idea is to enhance a congregation’s current mission work by adding staff or resources. Holy Word will be resubmitting their request to the DMB on January 16, 2009.


Maybe rather than using his congregations money to see Ed Stetzer Patterson should have his church pay for their own staffing needs.

How Al Sorum Began Teaching at WLS, aka The Sausage Factory

Step One: WLS President Wendland joined Al Sorum's congregation.


Step Two: Al Sorum, Heresiarch of Church Growth, got a job teaching false doctrine at The Sausage Factory, Mequon.


Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "My Predictions for WELS":

FYI
The current president of the Sausage Factory is also as growthy as they come. When he came to Mequon he chose to join -- out of all the WELS churches in Southeastern Wisconsin -- Garden Homes, pastored by none other than overt growth guru E.A. Sorum. Not long after, Sorum was called to case sausages under Wendland at the factory. Coincidence?

Also, it's well known that Valleskey picked Wendland to be his replacement as Factory Foreman.

Administrative Officers
Prof. Paul O. Wendland
President

Prof. Forrest L. Bivens (Bragged about going to Fuller, now has position Valleskey held before V. became WLS president)
Vice President, Financial Aid Officer

Prof. John M. Brenner (Certainly not as tough on doctrine as his father, Slick)
Dean of Students, Recruitment Officer

Prof. Paul E. Zell
Academic Dean

Prof. Richard L. Gurgel
Secretary

Prof. John D. Schuetze
Registrar

Prof. John P. Hartwig
Library Director

Prof. John F. Brug (Women's ordination? No problem. Church Growth - no problem.)
Managing Editor, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly

Prof. James P. Tiefel (Mr. Ecumenism)
Dean of Chapel, Director of Student Field Services

Prof. E. Allen Sorum (Proof that cream does not rise to the top)
Director of Pastoral Studies Institute

Bailing Water Comments - Worth Reading

Church and Change removed the traditionalists.

Bailing Water blog

Anonymous said...
I give up.. We now have WELS pastors jetting across country soaking up reformed methods. We have C&C inviting speakers from these conferences. We are dropping the name Lutheran. And you, Tim, and others say keep on rolling.

Maybe it is time to leave this synod!

October 22, 2008 8:12 AM


Anonymous said...
Thank-you, Anonymous of 8:12 AM.
I am watching for awhile yet and hope that President Schroeder will lead and take a stand against all this that is happening. I cannot figure out why the C&C group even wants to be part of WELS.
My conscience is bothering me too much to continue being a part of the WELS while C&C is operating within WELS. I am unable to commune at the altars of some WELS' congregations due to my conscience.
If WELS wants to continue the direction C&C is taking then I need to leave. If Ed Stetzer does give the keynote address at the C&C Conference in November, 2009 then I will definitely leave. For me it would be a sure sign of the WELS' praesidium giving approval to this direction. I cannot be a part of that. This is really getting very painful to watch.

October 22, 2008 8:59 AM


Anonymous said...
"I am watching for awhile yet and hope that President Schroeder will lead and take a stand against all this that is happening."

All what you fear comes out of the Seminary. This is where this stuff is taught and tolerated. There is no Christological or sacramental focus given the students and so when they get out they have to try to come up with something to grow the church.

Been there, know that.

October 22, 2008 9:52 AM


Anonymous said...
When did that change at the Seminary? What would be the appropriate way to approach this before I leave WELS? Why is there no Christological or sacramental focus anymore? Aren't there enough members and pastors to get us back on the right track even if it means that we separate?
Synod is supposed to mean "Walking Together" but WELS has pastors and congregations and members walking in all different directions. I was taught in adult instructions that WELS was uniform in doctrine and practice. It definitely is NOT. It seems that more and more congregations are looking at the things of man instead of the things of God. I have started my letter of resignation but hope it does not get to the point that I need to submit it. I'm not sure I can commune anymore because it would be publicly showing that I am in agreement with all of WELS.

October 22, 2008 11:27 AM

Episcopal Bishop Shows How Apostasy Works - Warning to Lutherans

NORRISTOWN, PA: The Trial of Charles E. Bennison - Day Two

By David W. Virtue

www.virtueonline.org

10/21/2008

Charles E. Bennison, the deposed Bishop of Pennsylvania took the stand in the second day of his trial today and adopted what has became famously known as the (Alberto) Gonzales Defense.

On innumerable occasions, while being grilled by Fr. David E. Moyer's attorney John H. Lewis, Jr., Bennison replied, "I don't recall," "I don't remember," or "I don't know."

In 2002, Bennison inhibited and later deposed Fr. Moyer, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, PA using the Episcopal Church Canon Law [Title IV, Canon 10, Sec. 1], barring Fr. Moyer from serving his congregation and exercising his ordained ministry.

Fr. Moyer accepted the inhibition and stood down from his ecclesiastical duties for the six-month period.

The bishop cited "abandonment of Communion" as grounds for his action, a charge Fr. Moyer consistently denied. Under cross examination, the Anglo-Catholic priest turned the tables on Bennison saying it was Moyer, not the bishop who was upholding the faith, saying the bishop could not defend Jesus as "the way, the truth and the life," the deity of Christ or traditional views of the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.

Judge Joseph E. Smyth incredulously asked, "I can't believe that a bishop of the Christian church believes that Jesus could only be 'a way'." Moyer responded saying that he felt angry and betrayed by Bennison. The inhibition and later deposition cost him dearly in friends, suffered personal rebuffs, was left alone and was snubbed, and was financially strapped as he had been a priest for over 25 years.

As a result of the deposition, Moyer suffered a number of physical ailments, including severe back aches. At times he was reduced to tears by Bennison's actions.

Under relentless examination by Lewis, Bennison admitted that he had visited the Church of the Good Shepherd some 10 times from 1997 to 2004. Moyer and the vast majority of the congregation graciously accepted Bennison each time.

Lewis: Did you worship in the congregation?
Bennison: I worshipped and met with the vestry.
Lewis: Were you given communion?
Bennison: Yes.
Lewis: After you attended a church service did you talk with congregation? Were you ever offered the opportunity to address the congregation?
Bennison: I don't recall.
Lewis: Did you ever offer an opportunity to Fr. Moyer for Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold to make an official visitation?
Bennison: I did not.
Lewis: Did you have a Public Relations program designed to get Fr. Moyer?
Bennison: I did not. I did it for the entire diocese.
Lewis: What was the strategy of the PR program?
Bennison: Because of the worldwide publicity we needed to inform members of the Anglican Church globally what we were doing to effect reconciliation.
Lewis: Did you edit a background paper against Fr Moyer?
Bennison: I did participate in the authoring of the paper. Lewis: Did you edit it?
Bennison: I don't recall.
Lewis: There was a background paper on the discipline of Moyer. Was it revised and edited by you? Were these your views?
Bennison: It is not one particular view. The conversation sought wisdom from the most prudent people we could find.
Lewis: There was a disclaimer...you signed off on it. Is this your signature?
Bennison: I suppose so.
Lewis: Did you have a conversation with Moyer about the Parsons Plan for visitation by a traditionalist bishop for traditional parishes instead of yourself?
Bennison: I said I would have no problem with the Parsons Plan.
Later, when he took the stand, Fr. Moyer said Bennison reneged on the Parson's Plan that he promised the eight traditionalist priests at the time he ran for bishop. He was elected with the help of these priests. Moyer said he felt betrayed when Bennison halted the plan.
Asked by Lewis if he was photographed joking with the Rev. Bill Wood, president of the Standing Committee at the signing of the deposition, Bennison replied that he had no recollection of any humor.
Lewis: What witticism or joke did you tell? Bennison: It was one of the bleakest days of my episcopacy, an incredibly dark day.
Lewis: You held two meetings (there were four) around the diocese following the deposition of Moyer.
Bennison: I can't recall.
Lewis: In October 2002? Bennison: I don't recall. I did not make any statement. Lewis: Did you have to depose Moyer since the Presiding Bishop had asked you not to? Did you ever think to give him a trial? Bennison: We initiated a process...to delay in order to avoid a trial. Lewis: Did you think of giving Moyer a trial rather than deposing him under Canon 10?
Bennison: Canon 10 seemed less draconian and would give him more time to respond. I did not want to put ourselves into a polarized situation. I did not want to go there.

The trial will continue tomorrow.

***

GJ - This trial is a mirror of how Lutheran district presidents work. Pope John the Malefactor (Little Sect on the Prairie) did the same things with a number of pastors and congregations. His basic threat was - If you disagree with me, I will toss the congregation out of the synod, so get rid of your pastor now. Some caved in to the dictator. Others left the ELS. Did cardinals elect Pope John the Malefactor? No. Did pastors only? No. The whole ELS convention, as tiny as it is, elected him and asked for more.

Has Pope John the Malefactor objected to Church and Change? There is no record of it happening. If it does, Ichabod will report the miracle, which will be bigger than Fatima and Lourdes rolled together.

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Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Episcopal Bishop Shows How Apostasy Works - Warnin...":

GJ: 'Church and Change' is a WELS problem. How are you linking President Moldstad to C&C? What is there about this situation that I might be ignorant of. [My ignorance is vast, my understanding is small]

Norman Teigen
ELS layman
(Disclaimer: I am a member of the ELS but I do not speak for the ELS.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Episcopal Bishop Shows How Apostasy Works - Warnin...":

I agree 100 per cent with GJ. ELS is in doctrinal fellowship with WELS and the silence of the ELS on Church and Change and the shenanigans within WELS' "unLutheran" congregations points to agreement. Norm, where is the speaking out against this kind of stuff in the ELS? Doctrinal fellowship connects the ELS to all of WELS. You cannot pick and choose what to agree on and what not to agree on.
WHY, oh WHY, did Issues in WELS disband?? It implies all is well within WELS.

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GJ - The ELS is in fellowship with WELS. That is why WELS (under Wayne Mueller) forced the Little Sect to adopt their strange ministry theses. So does this work both ways? The silence of the lambs in the ELS tells me they have no problems with Church and Change.

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Episcopal Bishop Shows How Apostasy Works - Warnin...":

Wasn't there a similar type of scenario with Pastor Kevin Hastings of St. John's? Kevin Hastings is confessional and was objecting to the rampant enthusiasm in the Metro North conference (Milwaukee). My guess is that they were laying low to hang this one that they had deemed was the troubler of Israel. The vandalism incident at gracechurch was the rope that he was hung with. When I asked one of my co-workers who was WELS-connected if he could give me some of the dirty details of the defenestration of Hastings, the answer that I got was both telling and compelling. "Talk to the DP" was the reply that was supposed to satisfy my curiosity. Now I see said the blind man. Go get the official story from the DP. That smelled awfully fishy. This forced the hand of the small membership of St. John's to decide whether to stay in the Holy Mother Synod (and have to depend upon the DP and the tainted calling process) or go on their own by retaining Pastor Hastings. Depending upon Holy Mother Synod to find a replacement for Pastor Hastings would have been a crap shoot at best. This historic congregation, once the home of Johannes Bading, was out of place compared to nearby gracechurch and Time of Grace St. Marcus, home of Ski. I could only speculate that beautiful old St. John's would have faced a quicker demise in the hands of the synod masters.

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GJ - I know Pastor Hastings and I have been in that church. Tagging Grace Church was pretty juvenile, but the real crime was disagreeing with Holy Mother Synod. Has anyone else noticed that the churches closest to the Vatican (any denomination) are the worst, the most apostate?

In contrast, WELS organized a bus trip to defend teacher Al Just, who murdered his wife. The father of the pastor of Grace, DMLC President Huebner, defended the murdered on the stand. Call me legalistic, but I think murder and adultery are worse than tagging. Just married his children's baby-sitter, while biding his time in the hoosegow, but they divorced.

I could list a wide variety of official coverups, including the Tabor murder.