Another Diocese Leaves the Grasp of PB Jefferts-Schori: No Parallel in Lutherland

We need a ministry for tigers of color.

QUINCY: Diocese Votes to Leave TEC for the Province of the Southern Cone

By David W. Virtue

www.virtueonline.org

November 7, 2008

Peoria, Illinois: The Diocese voted to leave TEC today

The voting was 41 to 14 in the clergy and 54 to 12 among the laity.

More later.

Diocese of Quincy votes to re-align

Forward in Faith
November 8, 2008

The annual Synod of the Diocese of Quincy, Illinois tonight voted overwhelmingly to remove The Episcopal Church from the accession clause of the diocesan constitution and to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone.

The vote to leave The Episcopal Church was carried by 41 votes to 14 by the clergy and by 54 votes to12 by the laity. The decision to join the Province of the Southern Cone on a temporary basis was approved by 46 votes to 4 by the clergy order and by 55 votes to 8 by the lay members of the Synod.

END

PEORIA: Quincy members vote to leave Episcopal Church, align with Southern Cone

By Joe Bjordal,
November 07, 2008
[Episcopal News Service, Quincy, Illinois]

A majority of delegates to the 131st annual synod of the Diocese of Quincy voted on November 7 to leave the Episcopal Church and realign the diocese under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, which covers the southern portion of South America.

The action was carried out by the passing of two resolutions. The first formally annulled accession to "the constitution and canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America."

The resolution stated that the General Convention and leaders of the Episcopal Church "have failed to uphold the teaching and authority of Holy Scripture, have challenged or belittled core doctrines of the Christian faith, have refused to conform to the agreed teaching and discipline of the Anglican faith, have refused to conform to the agreed teaching and discipline of the Anglican Communion, and have rejected the godly counsel of the leaders of the Communion."

Members of Quincy's leadership, including former diocesan bishop Keith Ackerman, who retired on November 1, have been at odds with the wider church over such theological issues as the church's attitude toward homosexuality.

The vote on the resolution to leave the Episcopal Church was taken by orders. Members of the clergy voted 41 to 14 in favor of the resolution. Lay delegates voted 54 to 12 in favor of the resolution.

The second resolution stated that the Diocese of Quincy "wishes to accept the gracious invitation extended by the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone in November, 2007, to offer membership to extra-provincial dioceses on an emergency basis."

On the resolution to join the Southern Cone, clergy voted 46 to 4 in favor. Lay delegates voted 55 to 8 to approve the resolution.

Immediately following the vote, delegates were read a letter from Archbishop Gregory Venables, primate, or national bishop, of the Southern Cone, welcoming the Diocese of Quincy into his jurisdiction.

In the letter, Venables announced that he has appointed the Rev. Canon Ed den Blaauwen, a member of Quincy's governing standing committee, as Vicar General of the diocese, in the absence of a sitting bishop.

The Southern Cone includes the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. It also includes former members of the San Joaquin and Pittsburgh dioceses of the Episcopal Church.

Episcopal News Service will update developments as warranted. A full story covering the convention will be posted on November 8.

---Joe Bjordal is Episcopal Life Media correspondent for Provinces V and VI.

***

GJ - For those who graduated from prep school - this is another group of congregations voting to leave The Apostate Episcopal Church.

If conservatives do not show more spine in the old Synodical Conference (ELS, WELS, LCMS) the next Synod President will be Leonard Sweet's second wife.

One Reason Why Augsburg Fortress Cannot Sell Books - ELCA Cannot Spell Augsburg

How can we go live with our website if the URL is wrong?

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 7, 2008

Augsburg Fortress Publishers Announces Changes in Business Model
08-186-JB

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress, the publishing ministry
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),
Minneapolis, announced Nov. 7 significant changes in its business
operations. The publisher will focus its ministry on its "two
most important callings"-- group-use materials for congregations,
such as faith formation and worship materials, and textbooks and
monographs for higher education, said Beth A. Lewis, Augsburg
Fortress president and chief executive officer.

Based on a year of analysis of market and business research,
a strategic plan for the publisher's new direction was presented
and unanimously approved at a regular meeting of the board of
trustees for Augsburg Fortress Oct. 24-25 in Minneapolis.

The new business plan will result in some personnel changes.
Thirteen positions will be added to the company's information
technology, marketing and sales operations. Fifty-five positions
will be eliminated, Lewis said. The company has 242 full- and
part-time staff. Laid-off employees will remain on the payroll
through at least 2008 and some well into 2009, and the publisher
is providing outplacement services, Lewis said.

The ELCA publisher's new priorities will result in some
changes in traditional offerings, Lewis said:
+ A new Web site will feature improved navigation and search
capabilities. The http://www.augsburgfortress.org site will be
relaunched Dec. 1.
+ Augsburg Fortress will not accept or sell new titles in its
consumer-oriented book line, though it will continue to market
stocks on hand.
+ It will close nine bookstores by April 30, 2009. A store at
Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., is not owned by Augsburg
Fortress. The company will continue to rent space there and
market group-use resources to congregations. Augsburg Fortress'
Canadian bookstores will remain open.
+ Augsburg Fortress will no longer provide bookstore operations
at synod assemblies and most large ELCA churchwide events, such
as ELCA Youth Gatherings and Women of the ELCA Triennial
Gatherings. It will continue to provide a bookstore at ELCA
churchwide assemblies. Lewis explained that the publisher will
work in partnership with synods and offer services to teach
members about new resources and faith formation teaching
techniques. "This adds value for synods and for us," Lewis said.
+ Giving envelopes and worship supplies, such as communion wafers
and cups, and candles, will still be available. Items that don't
sell well will be dropped.

The company's refined priorities began with discussions, in
executive session, at the board of trustees' spring 2008 meeting,
Lewis said. "We questioned whether we should be in all markets or
whether denominational publishing is viable," she said. The board
encouraged the publisher's leadership team to start with a blank
sheet of paper and rethink the company's priorities for the
future, she said.

"Augsburg Fortress is undergoing important strategic changes
to focus our ministry and business -- and some are very painful
on a personal level as we say good-bye to wonderful colleagues.
We are confident that, while difficult, these changes are
necessary and will enable Augsburg Fortress to be a strong and
responsive organization for the future," Lewis said.

***

GJ - Mrs. Ichabod and I met Beth Lewis at the national communication conference of the LCA, in the good old days. At one point Fortress was the leading publisher of books used in the Notre Dame theology program (PhD, not DMin). A few years later they were publishing books by women Jewish rabbis and other oddball feminists. Their church materials went from liberal to atrocious. Ever since the merger in 1987 they have been revising their business model and hoping to make money again.

Here is the funny part. ELCA has a huge PR budget and lots of staff. They launched their new website with a notice giving this (below) as the address for Augsburg Fortress, the merger of the ALC and LCA publication houses.

"+ A new Web site will feature improved navigation and search capabilities. The http://www.augusburgfortress.org (sic) site will be relaunched Dec. 1."

Some of you are waiting for some gratuitous remark about a WELS apostate doing their proof-reading. No, I will not stoop that low...today.

Missouri Foreclosing on Their Own Church Properties

The story can be found on LutherQuest (sic)

The exact URL, as Bruce Church noted, is:

The exact URL is:
http://www.lutherquest.org/discus40/messages/13/78696.html?1226187191

Thirty years of the Church Growth Movement have been really...effective, haven't they?

I think the District Popes of the LCMS should sue Waldo Werning and Kent Hunter.

A Creed - American Thinker

Credo in Unam Nationem, Sub Deo

By Geoffrey P. Hunt




I believe in one nation, under God, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all.

I believe in the Constitution of the United States, a nation of laws not men.

I believe in the greatness of America, having no limit to what it may achieve.

I believe in America's manifest destiny and the obligation to use our resources and power to preserve and propagate liberty and democratic government around the world.

I believe the United States has the right and obligation to use military force, even preemptively, but judiciously, anywhere in the world whenever the vital interests of the United States and her allies are threatened.

I believe the United States is a nation without peer, whose sovereignty shall never be subjugated to nor compromised by any nation or nations anywhere on earth for national security, trade , economics or for any other purpose.

I believe in the sanctity of human life, including protections for the unborn and the infirm.

I believe in the right of consenting adults to make lifestyle choices, provided I am neither required to pay for such choices nor required to accept corruption of traditional family institutions in name or form, as a condition for accepting such choices. [GJ - I disagree completely with this, I copied this creed verbatim. It is in society's interest to preserve the family unit and natural law. Perversion is not a right: it is the fad that helped destroy the Roman Republic.]

I believe in free market capitalism.

I believe that private citizens and private enterprises can spend their own money more wisely than the government.

I believe taxes should support only those necessary and minimally essential government functions, not to underwrite an ever—expanding role of government intruding into our private lives nor enlarging the welfare state.

I believe tax burdens should be fairly distributed and proportional; no economic class should disproportionately subsidize another.

I believe tax policies should not confiscate the rewards of achievement; instead taxes should encourage entrepreneurship, inspire upward mobility and motivate wealth creation.

I believe in equal opportunities and if measured objectively I can accept unequal outcomes.

I believe in the self—esteem of achievement, not in patronizing generosity.

I believe in personal accountability where I am responsible for my own actions and where I will not blame the shortcomings and disappointments of this life on someone else.

I believe in freedom of expression, the competition of ideas in an open marketplace free from intimidation, prejudice, suppression and retaliation.

I believe in leaders who respect differences of opinion and reject the politics of hate, distortion and personal destruction.

I believe in leaders who are intellectually honest with me and who value my intelligence and common sense as much as their own.

I believe in leaders who are authentic and can make a personal connection with me despite our differences in personal taste and economic station in life.

I believe in leaders who appeal to my hopes instead of reinforcing my fears.

I believe in leaders who identify with my dreams and aspirations instead of reminding me of my failures, misjudgments and infirmities.

I believe in American democracy where voting is a valued privilege, not a right afforded to every inhabitant, regardless of citizenship, criminality, or inability to fill out a ballot.

I believe in voting as a sacred duty where on that day all qualified American citizens are equal with power and authority to judge and choose.

I believe in the unique American ideology of liberty, freedom of thought, assembly, speech and worship; of political power used to protect private property and promote economic self—determination.

I believe the unique American ideology transcends and binds the racial, ethnic and religious diversity in America and offers hope for millions of oppressed people around the globe.

I believe in Almighty God who shed His grace on this great nation, from the beginning, and who pours His blessings upon us and our descendents, now and forever,

Amen.

Geoffrey P. Hunt is an executive in the electronics industry.

on "Credo in Unam Nationem, Sub Deo"

Thirty Years of Fuller Training For LCMS--->Stetzer Worship

Stetzer-Vision. Why is anyone listening to a Babtist without a pulpit?

Welcome to Missional Journey

...thoughts on Missional churches, missional people and how a church planting movement might be fostered in the Texas District, LCMS.

Some have been gleaned from others who are writing, speaking and living with church planting everyday. Some are my own thoughts from my own experience with church planters and missional churches. Your comments and reactions are welcomed.

God's Blessings as you continue on your own missional journey.
Paul Krentz
Mission Facilitator
Texas District, LCMS

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Facilitating Church Planting Movements #4 - Factors for Higher Attendance in new church plants
Stetzer has done significant research into factors that contribute to higher attendance in new church plants. Here is what he found

Factors for Higher Attendance

• Meet in a school for first year
• Meet in a school or theater in subsequent years
• Conduct special children's' events (e.g. fall festival)
• Mailing invitations to services, programs, events
• Conducting regular new member classes
• Use a membership covenant signed by new members
• Plant at least 1 daughter churches within 3 years of initial church plant
• Having a proactive stewardship development plan enabling the church to become financially self-sufficient
• Having multiple staff members (can be volunteer or part-time) rather than a single staff member at beginning of church plant
• Financial compensation for planter (from a variety of sources)
• Planter receiving health insurance, whereby majority of premiums were paid by church plant, sponsoring church, and/or denomination
• Conducting block-party as outreach event (in neighborhoods)
• Working full time over part-time or half-time as church planter
• being assessed prior to planting the church as the church planter
• Having the church planter's expectation realized

What Stetzer says does not work: You do not get a church planting movement by creating non-reproducible models. i.e. - you can't reproduce a plant in which you invest $500,000. The denomination can't do it and the planted church can't do it. Planters and churches reproduce in the way that they were produced! If the investment is too high – expectations for next plant are so high that reality can never match (Ed Stetzer has planted 5 churches and never received more than $20,000 from the denomination)

Probably no church plant has all of the factors that Stetzer has found contribute to higher attendance. Some of them are out of the control of the planter or planting congregation. But, many can be done no matter what kind of plant is being pursued.

In the Texas District, LCMS we have been saying that the right person, the right place and the right plan need to be in place in order to receive funds from the Board of Mission Administration. Stetzer's list affirms those three criteria.
Posted by Paul Krentz at 4:02 PM
2 comments:
pastorp said...
As I read the "higher attendance" insights, I was genuinely amazed at how perfectly they lined up with our own personal experiences at Water's Edge (mission plant in Frisco). Paul, you're right, this dude knows what he's talking about!

September 28, 2007 3:32 PM
Paul Krentz said...
I'm glad Ed Stetzer has been researching and writing. People like you know intuitively what needs to be done. Stetzer's research affirms it. The good news is that his work also helps those who don't have that intuition to benefit from his work and not have to reinvent the wheel every time a new mission starts

September 29, 2007 8:00 PM

Only a Futurist Could Claim This

Two hundred years from now, he will be voted one of the 50 most influential Christian thinkers in America. True. Read it below.

From his own bio page:

"One of the church's most important and provocative thinkers."
Voted "One of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America" (2006, 2207)

"No church leader understands better how to navigate the seas of the 21st century."

"A writer of vast imagination, poise and charm."

"I can't imagine a Christian leader in America who hasn't read one or more of Leonard Sweet's books."

"Some statistician-types will drown you in doom and gloom. Sweet's message is uplifting, hopeful and relevant."

These are but a sampling of responses to Len's three-ring mission: as a historian of American culture; as a futurist/semiotician who "sees things the rest of us do not see, and dreams possibilities that are beyond most of our imagining;" and as a preacher and writer who communicates the gospel powerfully to a postmodem age by bridging the worlds of academe and popular culture.

Pass the Smelling Salts

Methodist New Ager Leonard Sweet has been featured at a number of LCMS gatherings, including a recent youth conference and a gig at Our Lady of Sorrows Seminary, St. Louis. Sweet is a favorite at The Love Shack (WELS) too. Both synods also pay big money to hear Babtist Ed Stetzer. So there is doctrinal agreement - hatred of Luther's doctrine.

The Great Salt Gathering

Featured Speaker Information


LCMS President, Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick will lead the gathering worship service and will be a featured speaker multiple days, LCMS C-N-H District President Bob Newton will be a featured speaker and will lead scheduled Bible studies, and theologian Leonard Sweet will be a featured speaker and address the entire assembly at the banquet.

Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, President, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

The Rev. Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick was elected to his third three-year term as president of the 2.45-million-member Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in July 2007, an office in which he has served his Lord and Church since September 2001.

Just prior to becoming LCMS president, Kieschnick had been president of the Synod’s Texas District for 10 years. He also served that district as a circuit counselor from 1978-81 and as director of public relations from 1977-86. Prior to his Texas District presidency, Kieschnick was director of development of the Lutheran Foundation of Texas from 1986-88 and then served as its executive director from 1988-91. From 1998 until his election as LCMS president, Kieschnick chaired the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations, and served on the executive committee of the LCMS Council of Presidents.

Born in Houston on January 29, 1943, Kieschnick attended Texas A&M University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1964. He is a 1970 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, IL, obtained his Master of Divinity degree in 1977 from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN, and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1996 from Concordia University, Austin, TX.

After his ordination in 1970, Kieschnick served as pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Biloxi, MS, until 1973; pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Beaumont, TX, 1973-81; and mission developer and pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, Georgetown, TX, 1981-86.

Rev. Robert Newton, California-Nevada-Hawaii District President

A 1977 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Robert served as an evangelistic missionary to the Kankanaey people in the Philippines from 1977-83. He and his family lived in a remote mountain area of northern Luzon, the largest island in the Philippine archipelago. The ministry involved planting new congregations and outstations along with training men to serve as pastors, elders, and evangelists.

The Newtons returned to the States in July of 1983 in order for Robert to pursue graduate studies at the School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. While there, he assisted the Pacific Southwest District in developing a cross-cultural leadership training program. He completed his doctorate in education in 1993 at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL.

Robert served as professor of world missions at Concordia Theological Seminary from 1985 until 1998. For the 1996-97 academic year he was on sabbatical with his family serving the Gutnius Lutheran Church in Papua New Guinea under the Board for Mission Services. In 1998 he accepted a call as senior pastor to First Immanuel Lutheran Church, an urban, multi-cultural congregation in San Jose, CA and continued in that ministry until being elected president of the CNH District in 2003.

Robert and his wife, Priscilla, grew up together in Napa, California and have been married since 1971. They have six children (Matthew and wife Sheila, Rachel and husband Adam, Alicia and husband, Eric, and David) and five grandchildren, (Jessica, Patrick, Timothy, Jack and Kiahna).

Leonard Sweet, “theologian, author, and futurist” [GJ - WELS Church and Change Keynote Speaker, until the sect woke up]

Currently the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School (Madison, NJ), and Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University (Portland, OR), Leonard Sweet is the author of more than one hundred articles, 600 published sermons and thirty books, most recently The Gospel According to Starbucks (2007).

Sweet's web-based preaching resource UWikiletics.com is the first open-source preaching resource on the web. Founder and President of SpiritVenture Ministries, Sweet is a frequent speaker and conversation partner at conferences both in the US and around the globe. In both 2006 and 2007 he was voted "One of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America" (Uwww.thechurchreport.com). His current projects include a preaching text entitled Giving Blood, The Leadership Myth (with Joe Myers), Pay Attention: Every Bush is Burning, and later in 2007, Outstorming The Perfect Storm. His weekly free podcast is called "Napkin Scribbles," and a longer subscription-based weekly podcast is available from WiredParish.com.

---

Continuing Education in False Doctrine, Our Lady of Sorrows Seminary, St. Louis
MAY 2, 2007 (WEDNESDAY)
Day of Homiletical Reflection
Main Presenter: Dr. Leonard Sweet

***

GJ - Sweet was president of the school which trained Jeremiah Wright, Obama's previous preacher, famous for "God d____ America!"

Trying Out For a Gig At Rock and Roll Church (WELS)

I love Rock and Roll,
Put another dime in the offering plate, baby!

***

GJ - Book him, Matt. He has no talent, but he is loud.

Maybe This Is Why the Church and Change People Want To Oust SP Schroeder

Synod President Mark Schroeder was elected to make a difference.

Q: I have one grandfather that was an LCMS minister and another was a WELS minister. I understand the history of their division and I accept the need. What I fear there is a trend in WELS to follow the same rout as LCMS. In the desire to increase church attendance many WELS congregations are not making a solid doctrinal stand. Law and Gospel are still present but one must look for it. Do these same concerns exist at our seminaries and synod offices?

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

A: Thank you for your concern about the centrality of Law and Gospel in our preaching and teaching. God has promised that his church will endure until Jesus returns again, but he has made no promises that individual church bodies or synods will always be blessed with the pure doctrine. That is why the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:2 are such an important reminder for our synod: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel which I preached to you and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain." In other words, our synod and its congregations will need to be vigilant in holding on to the truth of Scripture and careful to preach solid Law and Gospel boldly and consistently .

I assure you that I share these concerns, and I know that our seminary faculty would say the same. As we face declining numbers in worship and in church membership, we will want to avoid the temptation to resort to methods or "quick fixes" which rely on something other than the means of grace, which alone can bring people to know their Savior and through which the Holy Spirit will work. All efforts to increase church attendance and membership need to be carefully evaluated in the light of God's Word, not on the basis of "what works." If we water down the message of Law and Gospel, if we change the message to a generic message that simply tells people what they want to hear (instead of what they need to hear), we will eventually have no gospel message left. We may fill churches, but the danger is that those churches will be filled with people whose true spiritual needs -- the call to repentance and the assurance of full forgiveness in Christ -- will not be met.

Please keep our synod, its congregations, and its pastors in your prayers as we address these important matters. Thank you for your concern.

In Christ,

Mark Schroeder, WELS president [email: mark.schroeder@sab.wels.net]

Schuller Fires Schuller as Prime Preacher on HOP - ELCA's Kallestad To Preach

"Would it kill you to wear a tie, son? And that pink shirt is so..."

Schullers Part Ways at Crystal Cathedral's 'Hour of Power'

Son will remain senior pastor of Crystal Cathedral.

Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service | posted 10/27/2008 04:35PM


On upcoming broadcasts of the Hour of Power from the glistening Crystal Cathedral in Southern California, the face that will appear in the pulpit won't always be that of Robert A. Schuller, the son of founder Robert H. Schuller.

The elder Schuller, 82, announced Sunday (Oct. 26) that differences between them about the future of the ministry have led to a decision to expand the platform of the broadcast.

"It is no secret to any of you that my son, Robert, and I have been struggling as we each have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry as we move into the future," the elder Schuller wrote in an announcement made at a church meeting Saturday and posted on its website the next day.

He added that the disagreement was placing the ministry in "jeopardy" and that the two men would "part ways in the Hour of Power television ministry to each pursue our own unique God-ordained visions."

Church spokesman John Charles said the decision about the younger Schuller, 54, was a board decision.

"He's still senior pastor of Crystal Cathedral, the local congregation," Charles said of the younger Schuller. "He's just no longer the single pastor on the Hour of Power."

Charles said the younger Schuller had differed with the board, chaired by his father, about whether there should be more faces in the Hour of Power pulpit.

Already, that is changing, with Walt Kallestad, pastor of Community Church of Joy in Glendale, Ariz., preaching Sunday.

The elder Schuller said he hopes other ministers who, like, Kallestad, have taken part in his ministry's Institute for Successful Church Leadership, will be guest ministers. Other possibilities included Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, and Kirbyjon Caldwell, senior pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston.

Susan DeLay, a spokeswoman for Willow Creek, confirmed that Hybels had been invited but said he has no upcoming plans to speak at the Crystal Cathedral. Caldwell's plans could not be immediately determined.

The elder Schuller said he would continue to host the weekly service and preach occasionally.

Charles said Monday the younger Schuller and other Crystal Cathedral representatives were not commenting on the situation.

The church posted a statement from the regional body of its denomination, the Reformed Church in America, which Charles said is likely to play a greater role in the church's future.

"Our next goal is to see both Robert A. and Robert H. given any assistance they may need to continue to be passionate about their individual visions and remain harmonious in their relationships, not just as father and son, but also as co-laborers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ," the statement reads.

"They are not just television icons; they are precious individuals loved by God and millions of people around the globe and they deserve our utmost respect and support."

***

GJ - Kallestad is an ELCA pastor in Glendale, Arizona. I attended his service once. Community of Joy avoids the Lutheran name, to keep the prospects from thinking Kallestad is gay.

Kallestad earned a DMin from Fuller Seminary, just like WELS' Larry Olson.

Coup Against SP Schroeder Being Organized at The Love Shack

The Church Shrinkage Movement is not happy
with the elected Synod President. The WELS laity and pastors are.

The Church Shrinkage Movement leaders (aka Church and Change) are organizing a coup to get rid of Synod President Mark Schroeder, my sources tell me.

Blatant antagonism from Rev. Bruce Becker (Bored Member, Church and Change) was obvious in the calling of Paul Kelm to The Love Shack. No entity was supposed to call anyone, due to budget restraints. SP Schroeder advised against calling and especially against calling any polarizing figure. No one is more polarizing than copycat Kelm.

Church and Change cheerleaders tried to pretend SP Schroeder knew about the call before it appeared on the call list. Repeated contacts with him, from people I know, have shown that he did not know. Church and Change would lie? Shocker.

Church and Change arranged for Babtist Ed Stetzer to be the main speaker for their confab in 2009. Stetzer twittered this fact in July, bragged about in in August, and posted the date and information on his website. The COP discussed it, and furrowed their massy brows, but did nothing. Then Church and Change denied there was a conference and a date with Ed Stetzer. They wouldn't be lying again, would they? That would be so-o-o-o out of character for them.

Pastors and laity will have to support sound doctrine if they want to get rid of this cancer called the Church Growth Movement, Church and Change, Becoming Missional, Purpose Driven, or whatever fleece they want to hide under.

For the last 20 years confessional Lutheran pastors (if they can be called that) have been content to throw their own under the bus. If they remain gutless, motionless, and speechless, The Love Shack will win and WELS will become another Unitarian sect in a few years.

The WELS Church Shrinkage leaders have been: Ron Roth, Hartman, Valleskey and Bivens, Paul Kelm, Hagedorn, Wayne Mueller, Bruce Becker, Larry Olson (DMin, Fuller), James Huebner, and many more. Some of the newer ones to emerge are Mark Jeske, Don Patterson, Ski, Stelljes, Doebler, Gunn, Rick Johnson, and Borgwardt. Martin Spriggs was a WELS pastor addicted to Willow Creek. Now he is charge of technology at The Love Shack.

There are plenty more Shrinkers: just connect the bread crumbs to the ones listed above.

What do the Shrinkers love and promote?

1. Willow Creek Community Church.
   
2. Andy Stanley's Baptist Northpoint Church.
   
3. Management by Objective.
   
4. Marketing the Gospel.
   
5. Fuller Seminary (Olson's DMin, the seat of learning for all the world and American mission board people. Valleskey's and Bivens' alma mater.)
   
6. Waldo Werning, embalmed or not.
   
7. Kent Hunter, DMin, Fuller Seminary.
   
8. Leonard Sweet.
   
9. Hiding the name Lutheran.
   
10. Hiding the sacraments.
    
11. Rock and roll music.
    
12. Cell groups.
    
13. The ordination of women.
    

Church and Change 2007 Beehive Report

Bruce Becker, Bored Member, WELS Church and Change. Perish Services, Church Shrinkage Unit, WELS


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.

The faint-hearted Tendrils paper lavished praise on the fabulous worship services of the Church Shrinkers.

One of my sources described the experience of two WELS members who actually attended the 2007 conference. Here is the summary:

1) Sheer volume of blatant Church Growth.

2) Church Growth being covered with comments like, "Oh yeah, we think Law and Gospel is important, but..."

3) They weren't even good at Church Growth. The services were sloppy, the preaching sucked, the praise bands sucked.

The layman said that you could close your eyes and say "non-denominational" one time fast and you were immediately transported into a magical land of apostasy.

Things may not be good in the WELS, but some congregations have their head on straight and are speaking out against Church Growth.

CGM Alive and Purring in WELS - WELS AnswerMan

Borgwardt: "We're not gay - we're generic."

WELS Q and A

Q: On your recent WELS Web site homepage, you highlighted www.crossroadschicago.org, the Web site of a new WELS mission. When I researched the site, I discovered that the Church Growth Movement is alive and well in WELS. I could not find any reference to WELS anywhere on the site, and the copyright is by Crossroads "Christian" Church. If I didn't know better, I would think I was looking at a Disciples of Christ website! In its statement of faith, which is vague and subject to a great deal of misinterpretation, it states that Crossroads is "a Christian community with roots in the Lutheran tradition." That's the language of the ecumenical movement! What's happening to my WELS? As WELS members, are we now ashamed of the word "Lutheran"? Are we becoming just like the vague and generic evangelical churches that offer a generic gospel so as not to offend anyone? Tell me what's going on in the WELS. This isn't confessional Lutheranism at all!

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A: The best answer to your question will come by directly contacting your brothers and sisters at Crossroads Christian Church.

What I know about the congregation is that it was founded recently by some very dedicated and solidly Lutheran young people who are interested in outreach with the gospel, especially to others their age. They perceived that the name Lutheran would dissuade many from even looking to their Bible-based message. In the Chicago area "Lutheran" means liberal, homosexual-supporting, pro-abortion, women voters, denial of biblical inspiration, and false ecumenism.

Of course, to you and me Lutheran means something entirely different. But the fact that this group of Christians called a fine, young, conservative WELS pastor to be their shepherd speaks to me more loudly than their choice of names.

After you speak with them directly, you will have to judge which is the greater risk: Using the name Lutheran in an area where Lutheranism denotes all the things we deplore, or not using the name Lutheran and risking the suspicion of their brothers in other parts of the country that they have joined the Disciples of Christ.

***

GJ - How many unwarranted assumptions are in this answer? I stopped counting. I hope all the conservative Lutheran congregations have erased "Lutheran" from their websites, or prospects will expect the clergyperson to come dancing out in lavender hose and rainbow stoles.

I believe this is an old Q and A because the Chicago stealth congregation was featured in the stealth magazine some time ago, before SP Schroeder was elected. The answer sounds pure Wayne Mueller.

I wonder how many Church Shrinkers met with pastors and laity first before savaging them behind their backs - for the crime of criticizing Fuller doctrine. I think the grand total of Matthew 18 meetings is zero.

NPH - You Should Read Babtist Andy Stanley

Ski: "Tolja."


Babtist Andy Stanely, Mentor to WELS Pastors Ski, Parlow, Buske

Northwestern Publishing House:

"Fields of Gold, A Place Beyond Your Deepest Fears; Andy Stanley; Tyndale; Hard Cover; Practical Life/ Finance; For pastors, adults, young adults; $13.99; Babtist, conservative: The author presents a fine case for determining giving practices. Christians need to be trained in trusting God enough to be able to support His work with his offerings. The author bases his reasons on Scripture and presents some stories from his experiences. It is an easy read with much food for thought. Pastors would find some good ideas for commitment/stewardship sermons."

Bush-Clinton Era Over

The first Bush was elected Vice-President in 1980. For 28 years we have had either a Bush or a Clinton at the top. McCain was Bush's pick for president. When McCain was finished financially, Bush introduced McCain to his top supporters and gave McCain access to his mailing lists.

McCain never hid his contempt for conservatives, but they were willing to vote for him to prevent a bomber's friend from becoming president. Many think McCain would have won except for the manufactured financial meltdown. Revulsion was almost universal about the immediate response of President Bush, Treasury Secretary (Goldman Sachs vet) Paulson, and Congress - to bailout the criminals who created the mortgage crisis.

This rush to give financial incompetents and crooks $700 billion+ was far too much to be accepted by voters who were fighting to save their homes, to keep their credit available, and to maintain an income with so many industries failing.

The financial crisis will deepen with the new Congress and President. We need another Reagan.

Church and Change Evangelism Workshop

3 / 7 / 2009-Evangelism Workshop-Coordinated by Share Grace Consortium ...

http://www.churchandchange.org/site/search1.asp?sec_id=2384&search_assoc=&zoom_query=2009+conference&zoom_page=1&zoom_per_page=10&zoom_cat=-1&zoom_and=0&zoom_sort=0

These are the congregations in Share Grace.

I did a search and found this on the Church and Change calendar, so it is safe to say the congregations are friendly with Church and Change. One of them, Jim Aderman, has been deep into Church Growth for many years.

Funny, the Ed Stetzer Babtist Conference for 2009 is not listed anywhere on the site, even though Stetzer listed it on his schedule (as WELS Church and Change no less), blogged about it (I Like Lutherans) and twittered when he got the contract.

The cloaking device must still be on at Church and Change headquarters, a secure, undisclosed location.

Church and Change - Stealthy to the C.O.R.E

Ron Ash, Chairman of the Bored, Church and Change,
Pastor of St. Peter, Appleton

Pastor Ski, Member of the Bored, Church and Change
Ski: "Solid Rock Ministry? That's too hard to say. Let's try C.O.R.E."

Welcome Pastor Ski & Family!!

Pastor James Skorzewski (you are encouraged and free to call him Pastor Ski for the sake of ease) accepted the call to serve as the pastor of our daughter congregation and he and his family have now officially relocated to the Appleton area. Pastor Ski and his wife Janinne have been married for 13 years and have 3 children; Abbie (11), Megan (9), both of whom are in our Christian Elementary School, and Jackson (21 months). We are excited to have them here in the area and wish them all God’s blessings as they serve the Lord here in Appleton and as Pastor Ski begins his ministry at The CORE (this is the new church’s official name).

Pastor Ski will be installed in the 10:30 a.m. service here at St. Peter on November 16th. The service will take place in the gymnasium and there will be light refreshments served before and after the service allowing everyone the opportunity to meet Pastor Ski and his family. The service will be similar in style to what the daughter congregation might be like. Make plans to be there on that day to welcome Pastor Ski to the area and wish him God’s blessings on his outreach efforts at The CORE.

The CORE has no members (other than Pastor Ski’s family) to officially welcome them, so to welcome them to our area, we are going to collect canned goods and other food to help stock their food pantry as well as any household paper products (paper towels, etc.) that can be used by them in their new home. There will also be a box out for the next few weeks to collect monetary gifts which we will put towards a gift card to a local grocery store. Please mark the bags for this with the words "SKI FAMILY". Once again, welcome Pastor Ski and family.

MEANING of the name "The CORE"

The new daughter congregation will be called "The CORE". The idea behind that is first and foremost that Christ is at the core of everything we do as a church and should be at the core of everything we do as Christians. At The CORE we will help you strengthen your most important core, your spiritual core. The letters are also significant:

C = connected to others and Christ

O = overhauling your life with the Gospel

R = reconciled to God through Christ

E = engaged in the world with the Gospel

Ultimately that is what we are about – connecting people in a personal relationship with their Savior and other Christians which inevitably transforms their lives because of the power of the Gospel and then encouraging people to share that.

http://www.stpetercares.com/home/2440/2440/docs/Church%20Newsletter%20-%20November%202008.doc?sec_id=2440

***

GJ - Rev. Ron Ash is the pastor of the sponsoring WELS congregation, St. Peter in Appleton, Wisconsin. Someone said they already had 40 WELS congregations in the area, so C.O.R.E. must be meeting a vital mission need. Or maybe they just got a juicy grant from one of their Church and Change connections, like Bored Member Bruce Becker, head of WELS Perish Services. At any rate, Jeske's church has one less mouth to feed during a drought of donations. Ditto, St. Mark, Depere (Paul Kelm call to The Love Shack).

Overheard at a WELS' pastoral conference - "Ichabod is finally lerning how to spell."

November 4th

Eagle by Planet Web Design

And God Said - "I Think It Would Be Really Cool"

Bored Member, Church and Change, Ski

The Joe Biden of the Wisconsin Sect, about Rock and Roll worship:

Skorzewski said. "It's like God just said, 'I think it would be really cool if you went this way.' "

Other Change and Changers in the same story:

I.

"You have to get the difference between the way the evangelicals and Lutherans look at theology," said James Tiefel, dean of chapel and a professor of worship and homiletics at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. "The evangelicals will say that a human being has to make a decision to become a Christian. And so the way you get him to make that decision becomes very important. You have to find a way to raise his emotions or convince his intellect. Lutherans will say the Holy Spirit works through the word (Scripture) to create a Christian."

There has been some experimentation with full-blown praise bands in WELS churches for at least 10 years, but it is not widespread, Tiefel said. [Young Tiefel worked for VP Patterson, at WELS expense.]

II.

One of the noteworthy WELS examples nationally is St. Mark Lutheran Church in De Pere. About 80% of the music that its praise band plays comes from top-selling contemporary Christian music. The church, which has a $150,000 audio-visual system with two big video screens, has nearly 2,000 members and needs to expand beyond the new facility it built a few years ago, said Phil Boileau, its minister of music and family.

A growing number of WELS churches nationally are making at least some use of contemporary music and instruments beyond the organ, according to Tiefel and the Rev. Bryan Gerlach, administrator for the WELS Commission on Worship. At least 150 have gotten instruction at Gerlach's School of Worship Enrichment.

III.

Wayne Mueller, first vice president of synod mission and ministry for WELS, estimates that 25% of the denomination's 1,263 congregations offer some type of regular alternative worship.

IV.

From 15 people at the first Sunday night services, attendance now averages about 150, with many more for special services, said the Rev. Jim Skorzewski, who conducts the alternative services and assists Senior Pastor Mark Jeske in shepherding the diverse, growing congregation. Many are 18 to 35. Sunday's service drew about 300 worshippers.

St. Marcus has grown from about 500 members four years ago to about 800, Davidson said. The home of Jeske's "Time of Grace" television and radio ministry, the church has a 280-pupil school with a waiting list, a gospel choir, bible study groups for men and women, a bible-based Wandani Youth Outreach program and other groups for various age ranges.

***

Skorzewski, Rev James R St Peter - Appleton WI 08/11/2008
To start daughter congregation, Solid Rock Ministries

Bored* Member, Church and Change

Bored* Member, Church and Change, WELS Pastor Ski, formerly at St. Marcus, Milwaukee

From His Blog

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!

Blessings,

ski

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

WHO WENT THAT YOU MIGHT KNOW?
Pastor Ski - St. Marcus - Milwaukee
Pastor John Parlow - St. Mark - Depere
Pastor Jim Buske - Lighthouse Youth Center - Milwaukee. Another stealth operation. Find the word Lutheran, I dare ya'. Funded by Kingdom Workers, which has a Church and Change mole on its board.

HOW LONG WERE WE THERE?
May 3rd - May 7th

WHERE WAS THE CONFERENCE?
North Point Church, Alpharetta, GA [Psst - It's really Babtist.]

FAVORITE PART OF THE CONFERENCE:
Final Main Session with Andy Stanley [Psst - He's really Babtist.]

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*Bored with Lutheran worship, bored with Lutheran doctrine, he drops everything to go spend days with a Babtist minister. The Bored Members of Church and Change must have made a deal. Ski's bunch (Buske, Parlow) went to hear Babtist Andy Stanley. Patterson's group (Doebler, Stelljes, etc) sat at the feet of Babtist Ed Stetzer.

Stetzer has the biggest unionistic congregation of all. He only preaches to preachers of all denominations. And they are dumb enough to pay him for the honor of being his diciples (as he spells the word).

Young Sarah Palin