Church and Change: Clone Wars in Texas

FIC editor, Church and Change cloner Don Patterson is a VP of his district,
but he took a bunch to hear Baptist Ed Stetzer.
Staff minister Chad White went along, too.
Vicar Tiefel probably went,
but we won't know for sure until there is an official denial.

Patterson is filling the synod with Church and Change vicars. He gets a special grant from WELS, so the vicars do not cost. Look at the list, from the website:

The Lord has provided faithful shepherds to guide and teach his Holy Word lambs: pastors James Radloff (1970-84), Silas Krueger (1985-88), Bruce Bitter (1988-91), Larry Ellenberger (1997-98), Harold Johne (1998-2001), and Donald Patterson (1992-present); and vicars Todd Engel (1994), Michael Geiger (1995-96), Nathan Buege (2000-2001), Caleb Schoeneck (2001-02), Robert Guenther (2002-03), Steven Prahl (2003-04), and Andy Mueller.

Andy Mueller is the son of Wayne, very active in Church and Change.
Nathan Buege is in Texas. Tim Felt-Needs loves his church.
Caleb Schoeneck is in Texas.

Patterson has let a woman teach a "co-ed" Bible study. He allows a youth female to deliver the children's sermon. He is on the Church and Change most-loved list as he was the synod convention Bible study leader at the '04 convention.

"Patterson has a regular factory of vicar clones going. And he gets 'em for free (under the cloak of vicar in mission setting grants)." WELS observer

FIC, the official magazine of Church and Change, says:

Meet the editorial staff—uncut: Don Patterson
Ever ask yourself, “Who are these people who write for Forward in Christ magazine? Through this series you can find out. Read on:

If you regularly read Forward in Christ, you probably already know quite a bit about contributing editor Don Patterson, because he frequently peppers his writing with real-life experiences. Past articles reveal that Patterson has four sons, he once tried riding a bronco at a high school rodeo, playing Candy Land bores him (but he plays it anyway because he loves his sons), he lives in Texas, and he can’t read music.

Meeting Patterson in person reveals more of the same—a friendly man with a southern drawl who loves his family and loves his Lord. Born and raised in Garland, Texas, Patterson now serves as a pastor at Holy Word, Austin. He and his wife, Mary, are both active in sharing their faith with others. They have presented at many marriage and family retreats across the United States. Last year, they even presented in Sweden to members of our sister church body. In January, the couple helped build houses as part of WELS’ relief efforts in hurricane-ravaged Grenada.

Patterson credits his parents for inspiring him to serve in the public ministry: “Their absolute love for God’s Word and the church taught me that the ministry of Jesus’ gospel to his people is the best way to spend my life.”

Yet Patterson didn’t take the traditional route to the pulpit. First he graduated from East Texas State University with a degree in Agricultural Education. While there, he started thinking about using his life to share the gospel full time. So he then attended Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn., for two years to prepare him for his studies at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis. In 1992, Patterson graduated from the seminary and was called to serve Holy Word.

Want to know more about Don Patterson? Just keep reading Forward in Christ.

South Central District - Election results:
President: Rev. Vilas Glaeske
First Vice President: Rev. Donald Patterson
Second Vice President: Rev. Mark Bitter
Secretary: Rev. Christopher Goelzer

WELS Church and Changers Prefer Baptists to Lutherans

Jim Skorzewski:
"So they said to me, Ski, if you are going to publish a blog, don't start telling the truth. You're a Church and Changer. We don't do that."
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 Pastors First Went To Baptist Ed Stetzer for More Better BMs

Pastor Ben Golish, Maitland, Florida went to the conference where Stetzer spoke.

Pastor John Stelljes, Maitland, is a young Church and Changer, fresh out of the Sausage Factory. He went, too.

Vicar Mark Tiefel, Holy Word, Austin, Texas. Did he go? He gets CG free from Al Sorum at Mequon.

Why would district VP Patterson spend money to hear a bunch of
Baptist-Pentecostals despise the Means of Grace? He gets vicars for free each year and helps populate Texas with Church and Changers. Guess where Wayne Mueller's kid vicared? Yup, ri-cheer in Austin. Patterson wants to be DP when Vilas Glaeske retires.

A significant group of WELS pastors went to hear Baptist Ed Stetzer (r.) before they rented him for the Church and Change conference. Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly.

Let's untangle a few more lies from Church and Change.

Part I. WELS Pastors take a pilgrimage to Stetzer.

The issue of Baptist Ed Stetzer speaking at the next Church and Change conference did not originate with Bailing Water or Ichabod.

In the beginning...a group of WELS pastors went to the Exponential Conference, which featured only Enthusiasts (Book of Concord term - unfamiliar to Sausage Factory grads). Baptist Ed Stetzer spoke there. All he does is speak - all over America and Europe too. Look at his schedule. He is a WELS Church and Change sweetheart, but also a Leonard Sweetheart. If his kids see him, they probably burst out crying because a stranger who looks like Michael Moore is kissing their mom.

Who were those WELS pastors?

The pastors at King of Kings in Orlando (Maitland) led by John Stelljes.

The 1st VP of the South Central District was there, Donald Patterson from Holy Word in Austin, TX along with some of his disciples (Doebler from Christ the Rock in Round Rock).

$200 for the next conference.

Other WELS pastors were also there, but those names have not been disclosed to my network of informants. When asked directly, the Church and Changers have refused to answer which other WELS clergy were there.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

KJV Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Part II. The District Presidents Find Out about Church and Change/Stetzer and Frown.

DP Englebrecht wrote in a letter to his pastors:

The next Church and Change Conference will be having Ed Stetzer, a person not of our fellowship, be one of its speakers. He is part of the "missional" movement. The members of the COP in looking at his theology and aggressive style of presentation have some serious reservations about his appearance at this conference and have asked President Schroeder to express our concerns to the leaders of Church and Change.

His comments were forwarded to me by...I forget.

Part III. I double-checked because I knew the Church and Changers would get nastier than skunks who haven't slept in a long time.

I started looking up Ed Stetzer because he was a nobody in theology. As diligent as I am, I had trouble locating his supposed "two doctorates" and "two masters" which appear on all the websites about him. This struck me as too bombastic, like Mr. Toad of Toad Hall, so I searched until I found him earning a DMin from one school (never heard of it) and a PhD from a liberal Baptist seminary.

I found Stetzer's schedule, which showed him teaching the Word of God to WELS at the next Church and Change meeting, followed by a stop at a Leonard Sweet event. He was also going to speak to LCMS executives.

To observe the permutations of the 8th Commandment, I looked over the Church and Change menu. I know it pretty well, since I copied most of its toxic content into Ichabod. Think of Ichabod as a mirror site, in case the server at Pasadena goes down.

I could not find any future Church and Change conference listed and said so.

The deception of the Church and Change website is now being used to attack people who ask questions about Stetzer. So, in effect, Church and Changers are attacking Englebrecht and the DPs who expressed concern about Stetzer. The DPs raised the issue. Englebrecht sent the letter. I am a mere journalist, a baby journalist at that, with only 20 credits at the end of December.

Church and Change made the news and hid the news. I reported what I knew.

Bruce Becker, DPS Administrator, owes WELS another apology for this fiasco. He is a board member of Church and Change. He needs to move out of the stealth mode and into honesty and transparency.

Baptist Stetzer To Teach WELS About Having More BMs

Does WELS Have Enough Becoming Missionals?

Let's Clear Up Some Falsehoods Spread about the WELS Church and Change Conference

Someone found out that the next Church and Change conference had scheduled Baptist Ed Stetzer to be the keynote speaker. All he does is travel and speak. A WELS DP addressed the situation at the COP meeting and I found out.

Alas and alack - the Church and Change site did not mention any future conference and certainly did not mention Baptist Stetzer's invite. Rev. Ed had them down on his website, so that means they paid their fee and locked him in. They could pay him what is indelicately called a kill fee to cancel the appointment. I doubt that will happen. Church and Change is going to fight to have their way and replace SP Schroeder.

This is what one Church and Changer brayed at Bailing Water:

Anonymous said...
John:

This is just another example of your breaking the eighth commandment. I'm sure you read about this first on Ichabod, where Jackson is shameless in what he posts. Ed Stetzer has the Church and Change conference on his schedule, but I didn't see anything on the C and C website about it. I'm assuming you verified his presence in 2009 with the leaders of C and C? Maybe he was invited a long time ago, and after the change in the conference last year (WELS and ELS presenters)maybe he was "disinvited" but he failed to change his calendar? If you posted this and made your accusations before you even verified it with our people, then you're just as shameless as Jackson.

As I wrote above, the WELS COP was concerned about this invitation. The invitation was verified by the Stetzer website and copied with my normal attention to detail.

The anonymous poster is attacking Bailing Water but also impugning the honesty of the DP and Ed Stetzer. I am energized by another reference to the 8th Commandment. This is great fun.

Confidential to Bruce Becker, Church and Change, and the rest of the hooligans you hang around with - You cannot have it both ways. If you want to brag on your blog about shunning a WELS professor to attend a Baptist event (like Ski), then live with the consequences. If you want to book Baptist Stetzer, an event alarming enough to alert the somnolent WELS COP, then live with the facts getting out. Trying to blast people for telling the truth only emphasizes that you consistently deceive people.

What Is Becoming Missional? Go To the Next WELS Church and Change Conference with Baptist Stetzer, Find Out How To Multiply Your BMs

Save yourself $100 and memorize this chart. Sleepy, becoming very sleepy. Close your eyes. Imagine yourself in a monster, big, huge church. Big sound system. Laser lights. Pit band. Big mansion.

As one reader noticed - learn how to spell discipleship! "Hey Bruce, Paul, Ron, Larry - they spell worse than we do in WELS."


Ed Stetzer, far right, shows that travel is broadening.

NorthWest: What is the "Missional Movement"? Is it just Church Growth on Meth?

Answer: The Church Growth Movement keeps changing its name, but not its doctrine. Rick Warren at Saddlesore Community uses the term Purpose-Driven, but it is Church Growth with another label.

Becoming Missional is another label for the same thing. Baptist Stetzer is missional, but lacks a Fuller Seminary degree. Fuller is full of Becoming Missional themes today. CG on meth is a good description.

The BMs seem to be more anti-institutional. Stetzer blogged against Rome, not for doctrinal reasons, but because it represented the bricks and mortar, church hierarchy model.

Here are some links for those who are not already completely bored by this topic:

Becoming Missional Blog

Becoming Missional Online with Fooler Sem

My Predictions for WELS

COP, WELS, in the old days.

The Arizona-California-Las Vegas district of WELS is meeting in Glendale, Arizona today. Due to an unavoidable oversight, I was not invited to speak. This is what I would have said, and I always say when asked...

The Wisconsin Synod will not exist in 10 or 20 years if things continue as they are. The Church Growth people got in there long ago and leveraged all their pals into positions of influence long ago. The Sausage Factory had a CG president (Valleskey) and still has two professors (Sorum and Bivens). The Love Shack is mostly Church Growth, as evidenced by Bruce Becker calling Paul Kelm back. The mission counselors are all Church Growth. The parish consultants (Kelm) are all Church Growth. World missions and American missions - CG, too.

WELS is currently training members to be generic Protestants. The cutting edge of WELS is all CG (Green Bay, etc).

If the Lutherans start asserting themselves, the CG congregations will head for Missouri: pastors, property, and all. His Holiness, Jerry Kieschnick, will welcome them. WELS should say, as they would to Marvin K. Mooney: "Go in peace, but please go now."

The battle-lines have already been drawn. The COP is inert, as usual. The Love Shack is doctrinally united - against Lutheran doctrine. Unfortunately for them, the synod voted for the opposite direction at the last meeting.

The strong will defeat the weak, as Luther said. If people support Lutheran leadership, they will elect a First VP to support SP Schroeder. If pastors and laity want to continue the loosey-goosey Baptist-Protestantism of Wayne Mueller, Larry Olson, Paul Kelm, Bruce Becker, and Mark Jeske, they will elect a First VP like John Parlow or James Huebner.

Some kind of commission has already suggested that Parish Services be reduced or changed. As everyone knows, WELS did not need another Parish Consultant. Oodles of offering money will be used up to move Kelm to Milwaukee and pay for his salary and benefits. The SP suggested no new calls at all, bypassing his chance to have Wayne Mueller replaced by appointment. Of course, the money does not come out of Bruce Becker's pocket.

I wonder - was Kelm on the way out? Green Bay is behind in current funds and way behind in its building funds versus expenses, according to their newsletter. Having Kelm go is a way of reducing expenses in Green Bay while having an ear at The Love Shack. Holy mole-y.

Calling Kelm was a deliberate affront and insubordinate on several counts. If WELS pastors and laity want more divisiveness, they should support Bruce Becker, Paul Kelm, and John Parlow.

Apostate Lutheran Leaders Do This Too

ex-Bishop Bennison.

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

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
10/20/2008

Charles E. Bennison came dressed in a plain suit and tie.

Fr. David Moyer, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, came dressed in his clericals, an odd juxtaposition but understandable since Bennison has been officially deposed by The Episcopal Church. He is appealing his verdict.

Bennison, 63, looked a sad and pathetic figure as he sat alone in court room No. 8 in Norristown, PA, surrounded only by his legal team. His wife was oddly absent as were all the clergy of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Nobody apparently wants to know him or be seen with him. Bennison, the once feared, loathed and despised former Bishop of Pennsylvania, is on his own.

This is his second trial within a matter of months. This time he faces multiple charges of fraud and deception in a civil court coming only months after being found guilty on an ecclesiastical count of conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy.


In his opening defense of Fr. Moyer, John H Lewis, Jr., laid out evidence that Bennison, in 2002, abused his position and authority as a bishop. As a result, Fr. Moyer was severely damaged emotionally, spiritually and psychologically and that his ministry was cut short by a curt fax machine letter informing him that he had been found arbitrarily guilty of abandoning the communion of the church. Fr. Moyer was inhibited for six months, which he accepted. Bennison later threw Moyer out of the priesthood while denying him a church trial.

According to Lewis, Bishop Bennison made jokes as he signed the deposition papers. Why did Bennison do this to Fr. Moyer? The Episcopal Church is divided over many issues. Bennison campaigned to get the job as Bishop of Pennsylvania making election promises to traditionalist priests to act as a traditionalist bishop, a promise he broke. No bishop is above the law."

Because Moyer made a fuss about this, Bennison decided to getting rid of Moyer saying, "this is between David and me".

Lewis said Church rules on removal of a priest entitle Moyer to a church trial. "Bennison decided never to have a trial. Bennison used Canon 10 so as to avoid a church trial. Moyer insisted that he was not leaving the Episcopal Church. Bennison knew that what he was doing was wrong and even the head of The Episcopal Church told him the plan was wrong. Bennison concealed the letter from Moyer."

Following his inhibition, Moyer stood down from his duties as a priest for six months. Bennison, however, was relentless in his desire to have Moyer removed.

Lewis said the plan against Moyer was carried out in several stages. "Bennison stirred up hatred and contempt against Moyer. He confused and mislead the Standing Committee, because the Standing Committee would not go along with a trial against Moyer. Angry at being deceived, Bennison hired a public relations agent and began a public relations campaign against Moyer, using his staff to get the media involved in hurting Moyer.

"As a result Moyer faced the loss of his position, his pension, he was in personal agony with other priests avoiding him all the while Bennison steadfastly refused Moyer a trial.

"In 2002. Bennison signed a document - a sentence of deposition - saying it grieved him deeply but just days before, as he signed the deposition he was photographed laughing and telling jokes to the Rev. Bill Wood, chairman of the Standing Committee. Bennison's action was condemned by the then presiding Bishop Frank Griswold."

As he concluded his opening statement, Lewis asked the jury to consider five questions: "Did Charles Bennison damage Fr. Moyer by interfering with his contract; did he issue false statements about Moyer? Did he deny him due process, did he conceal and distort evidence and did he resort to extremely outrageous conduct?"

Mary Kohart, Bennison's attorney, said the bishop was well within his rights as a bishop to hire and fire a priest. "The flying bishop arrangement ended in 1997," she told the jury. "Before becoming bishop, Bennison was told of the Parson's Plan, but it had expired in three years previous in 1997. Then Bishop Allen Bartlett did not renew it." She said a three year cooling off period did not resolve the question and schism was inevitable. She said that former bishops Turner and Bartlett even offered Evensong as an option to get around the visitation rights of the bishop, but to no avail. Moyer declined all options, she said.

Four pretrial motions to dismiss the case being heard before Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Branca last year failed with the judge siding with Moyer. Lewis claimed that there is no other remedy because Moyer had been improperly denied a church trial by Bennison.

The trial continues tomorrow when Bennison will stand before Judge Joseph A. Smyth and a jury of his peers.

END

***

GJ - As one wit said, "In chess, too, bishops move obliquely." For those who went to prep school - that is a nifty pun. Moving obliquely refers to the slanting direction of the bishop in chess and the deviousness of bishops in the church.

The above description is roughly how apostate Lutheran leaders work. If they want to cover up for an adulterous buddy--and they often do--they demand evidence, make excuses, or attack the person who knows the truth. They never move against false doctrine, which is the glue holding everything together: corruption, immorality, greed, peculation.

If someone ruffles their feathers--and it does not take much to do that--these bishops engage all their forces to destroy that person and isolate him from all friends. The timid clergy go along with it because they know the beneficent gaze of the bishop (or district pope) is essential for their call out of Bovine Gulch.

The Episcopalians are demanding better leaders. They are examples of what can be done with persistent laymen and brave clergy. All is not lost. "One little Word shall fell him."