Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Episcopal Candidates for Bishop Love "Party in the...":
Dr. Jackson never said anything about Fox Valley pastors "starting a revolt." He used the phrase "fed up," which, according to laymen in the Valley, is correct.
I am a layman at Riverview Lutheran in Appleton. I care not only about my own congregation, but about my neighboring churches, and I've been concerned about this whole CORE thing from the get-go. I listen to whatever information I can get my hands (ears?) on. My pastors and the other pastors around don't share much at all with laypeople about this whole thing, but you still hear things now and again...from people I consider very reliable.
St. Peter Freedom had a level-headed pastor come and go within five months, fed up with "deceit" (HIS WORD), in the St. Peter/CORE conglomeration, and insisting that he feels sorry for the members of those churches, who hear nothing more than recycled Baptist theology every week. I'd call that pretty fed up.
While most pastors in the area still remain silent (there are a lot of wimps up here), there are at least 5 pastors in the area who, for now at least, are still voicing objections "through appropriate channels." Apparently they are doing so louder and louder, to their district leadership and synod leadership. If their voices are ignored much longer, though, "fed up" will become a "revolt."
***
GJ - The CORE is really the Rosetta Stone of Church and Change. Ski and Bishop Katie knew each other from St. Marcus, Milwaukee. Ski was a board member of Church and Change, but he is no longer listed. Bruce Becker, of Perish Services fame, was also a board member, but is no longer listed. Becker joined Mark and Avoid Jeske as soon as he realized his PS job would soon be PM...post-mortem.
The CORE is the essence of Church and Change - spending tons of money, running off to Schwaermer conferences every few weeks, hiding the evidence when it surfaces, shamelessly copying the most blatant false teachers. The entire operation is a sham, aimed only at entertaining the Fox Valley WELS members who will go to evening services, but scared skitless about having regular Sunday or Advent services.
The claim - "Ski will do anything--short of sin--to reach the unchurched."
The reality - "Ski will do anything except rely on the pure Word of God, so he reaches no one but the WELS Pietists."
Here is the history of Church and Change, oddly missing some key names, so y'all can see how you were suckered with your own offering money:
From the Church and Change websty history:
History of Church and Change
In 1995, a group of about 10-12 men gathered at Wisconsin Lutheran College to discuss current methods of sharing Jesus which were commonly being used in the WELS at that time. Many at the first meeting felt that those methods of sharing Jesus were not “keeping up with” the rate of change in society. The message of the Bible was not, therefore, penetrating society very well.
In 1998 two men who had attended the first meeting planned a Church and Change conference in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The next year there was a second conference in Green Bay. About 20 people attended each year.
In May 2001, WELS Perish Services applied for and received a Forward in Christ grant to conduct a three-year pilot program to address the issues surfaced by the previous two Church and Change conferences. The three-year pilot program was designed to be a grassroots gathering of individuals who were pioneering new innovative methods of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with a changing culture.
Three annual conferences were planned and held beginning in 2001. At the first conference, approximately 50 WELS members attended. The attendance grew to 150 in the second year and 180 in the third year. By the third year, the attendees included more than just individuals who were actively pioneering new and innovative methods for sharing Jesus. Many in attendance wanted to learn about how to better share the gospel with the changing culture in which they served. In addition to the three annual conferences a variety of other workshops and gatherings were held dealing with specific ministry issues such as leadership, worship, and women’s ministry.
At the final conference of the three-year pilot, held in November 2003, the conference participants enthusiastically encouraged the organizers to continue Church and Change. A steering committee was subsequently formed from among the participants to address the future direction of Church and Change.
From November 2003 until the present the steering committee has met and drafted a proposal that addresses the future of Church and Change.
***
GJ - Church and Change made a lot of progress. Mark Jeske is now featured on the LCMS websty, and Time of Generic Grace is a Missouri Synod Registered Service Organization. He has done this without mentioning on the air that he is Lutheran. In that respect, Jeske is honest and above board - he is not Lutheran. DNA does not a Lutheran make.
