Random Intolerance
Random Dan and Intolerant Elle unite their blogs in holy matrimony.
Monday, January 05, 2009
The Promised Rant
There were two pieces of news within the WELS recently that disturbed me.
The first is the WELS equivalent to Jesus First (Church and Change) has invited a Baptist, Ed Stetzer, to speak to them about, what else, missions! The problem, however, isn't that Dr. Stetzer wants to reach others for Christ, but that the man isn't Lutheran. He's going to bring his Baptist perspective to a Lutheran gathering. The man sees no role for the sacraments. We can think we can "spoil the Egyptians," but this type of thinking is leading us into the same place the American Church has now landed: Christless Christianity. Oh, there are people who do not like this. The District Presidents got together and grumbled a little, but nothing happened. No one was disciplined, and life goes on. I wish someone in the WELS would grow a spine.
The second piece of news is more disturbing. By digging a little, I also found more interesting side tidbits to this story. Paul Kelm received and accepted a call to Parish Services. The Director of Parish services, Bruce Becker, issued this call after being directed by Synodical President Mark Schroeder not to add staff due to the economic woes. President Schroeder didn't know about the call until Kelm's name showed up on the call list. How in the world am I supposed to put the best construction on that, especially when it has leaked that Becker kept President Schroeder in the dark on purpose.
Here's a few tidbits to the story (some of which you may already know). John Parlow, Pastor of St Mark Du Pere and Green Bay, WI, has been caught not once but twice plagiarizing sermons from Baptist websites. In case you are wondering, I still have in my possession the proof that this occurred. This is where Paul Kelm was called from. Even better, St Mark is a member of the Willow Creek Association as well as the WELS. This begs the question why hasn't President Engelbrecht and the rest of the Northern Wisconsin Praesidium come down on St. Marks and her pastors harder and with more fury than God came down on Sodom and Gomorrah? This is a clear violation of fellowship principles! Why aren't WELS pastors screaming their lungs out about this instead of just privately complaining about this when among themselves? Who will be our St. Nicholas, a man who became so angered by Arius' false theology about Christ that he stood up and slapped him?
Just to light a fire under some church workers, look at who else is part of the Willow Creek Association. Yes, welcome to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago! Parlow has somehow united us all to the ELCA, LCMS, the spawn of Calvin, the spawn of the Radical Reformation, and to Rome. Happy Day!
As another historical tidbit, the Gloria Patri (Glory be to the Father...) was brought into the Church's canticles to fight Arius' poisonous doctrines on Christ. That is why we sing it it in every Psalm and canticle.... Oh, wait. We use Christian Worship. They only left it in the Psalms. (Stay tuned for another segment of "why our hymnal sucks, especially after the LCMS put out the LSB" after these important messages).
Note: edited because the author can't spell Du Pere nor can he keep from using just one definite article.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More Admonitions Like This Are Needed":
(Thankfully I'm a member of a district that, so far, has been mostly free of the influence of CG heresy.)
Are you joking? Who cares what district you are a part of?? The SYNOD, of which you are a part, allows this apostasy to continue. Please wake up and shake up those pastors who are firmly grounded in God's Word. Encourage them to stand up and heed the admonition to 'Put on the armour of God'. If God be for you, who can be against you? Even the retired pastors, who can surely see the synod's decline from when they were on active duty, stand up and be heard! Help show where Synod has strayed and how to get back on track. Maybe a current pastor with a church fears some kind of punitive actions, but these retired guys have nothing to lose. God still has a purpose for them in His church and this very well may be it. STAND UP AND BE HEARD!!
