I have been watching Feedjit at the bottom of my blog. I plugged it in long ago, when someone said no one was reading Ichabod, that I was writing my own comments!
Funny, whenever I get a really nasty anonymous comment, often using the word "ass," someone is on from Garland, Texas.
Sunday, this person wrote anonymously, "All the pastors I know agree you are an ass." And Garland Texas showed up on the blog map at the same time as the comment arrived. That suggested the individual was a WELS pastor, fond of Church and Change. Nothing spawned a really vile comment faster than my scholarly observations about the Chicaneries.
Sunday I Googled Garland WELS and found a congregation there - Divine Peace. It is only three hours away from Holy Word in Austin.
The WELS pastor is John Hering, whose 1989 class at the Sausage Factory was saturated with Church Growth. Hering was in world missions, which meant the Shrinkers approved his doctrine. He is now chair of evangelism in his district, more proof of Shrinker certification. His web page talks about being blessed by numbers.
"Truly the Lord has blessed Divine Peace where there are now 181 souls and 143 communicants. Come and grow with us during these exciting times."
Look at this church history, which includes most of the Shrinkers in WELS, including Kelm and Bivens. Dom Perignon Patterson came from this congregation and Hering served it.
"In the meantime, 16 more gentlemen over the next two years would receive the divine call to serve as Senior Pastor: Forrest Bivens-June 1991, Dennis Kliest-August 1991, Greg Otterstatter-September 1991, Mark Wessel-November 1991, Curtis Franzmann-December 1991, Pastor Pope-January 1992, Paul Kelm-February 1992, Alan Eckert-April 1992, Peter Kruschel-May 1992, Alan Schroeter-August 1992, Larry Zahn-September 1992, Samuel Clemons, October 1992, James Pope-December 1992, Vilas Glaeske-February 1993, Ted Lambert-April 1993, Paul Janke April 1993. Finally, in spring of 1993, Calvary decided to extend the Senior Pastor position to Pastor Vieths and to call again a Seminary candidate to serve as the Associate Pastor."
"1992 was also another busy year for sons of the congregation active in ministry. Donald Patterson, son of Calvary members Bill and Jerry Patterson, received his first call into the ministry to Holy Word Lutheran Church in Austin Texas, while Scott Bertram, son of members David and Nita Bertram was called to serve as evangelist at Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas."
"Already in late 1998, things began to return to normal for Calvary’s leadership. Pastor John Hering, missionary to Japan, accepted the call to serve Divine Peace and arrived in November of 1998. In early 1999, Pastor William Gabb accepted the call to serve Atonement Lutheran Church. However, after many months of assisting other congregations, the Lord of the Church decided it was time for Calvary’s staff to reconsider its work at Calvary. In the spring of the year, all the Calvary staff who were also recognized as 'heads of household' received calls to serve elsewhere."
Monday - sent to Ichabod:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change Hilarity Continues":
"Adam Mueller (son of Wayne) will turn your church around for you. CG has had 30 years to build up WELS, but has 30 years of shrinkage to show for it. Phone Adam collect. His websty link is Gunn's sect in Laveen (Phoenix), Arizona. Joe Krohn graduated from CrossWalk, Laveen, upgrading his status to RockMeister at The Church From Scratch in Round Rock, Texas. RockBlogger quit his blog and heard the gong on the Gong Show.
Jeff Gunn will build your church from Scratch. That is what people fear - Old Scratch in charge of another CG money pit. If Gunn knows so much about this, why did he look for a job at Wisconsin Lutheran College (Brigadoon WELS)? A better topic would be "How A Failing Non-WELS Congregation Can Take Over a College Board of Directors." Jeff is too modest."
You mix just enough truth with the lies. You're like your own analogy of mercury and gold. You are a fool and an ass. God has withdrawn His spirit from you just as He did from Israel. How appropriate the title of this blog.
Someone started a fake Ichabod blog and quit it, twice. Joe Krohn and Tim Felt-Needs were mirthful that I implied they wrote the fake Ichabod blog. They promoted it and got on as followers. I suspected a third person. Krohn lives not so far from Garland, so he may be buddies with Hering. I know he is friends with Patterson. Krohn graduated from the Jeff Gunn's CrossWalk (faux-WELS) Entertainment Center in Phoenix. Krohn and Felt-Needs never had that know-it-all scorn that infects the graduates of GA at Mequon, so I did not really think they wrote the fake blog.
Last night (Monday) I posted comments intended to provoke more from Garland. I was not disappointed. Here are comments from Tuesday (December 1, 2009):
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More Puerile Behavior":
What a crybaby. GJ, you really show your colors in a post like this. Put your big boy "Independant Lutheran" depends on. Do you really expect any kind of semblance on this blog?
"They are superb at destroying relationships."
There's some irony for you. Once again you have gone out of your to behave as an ass.
What a crybaby. GJ, you really show your colors in a post like this. Put your big boy "Independant Lutheran" depends on. Do you really expect any kind of semblance on this blog?
"They are superb at destroying relationships."
There's some irony for you. Once again you have gone out of your to behave as an ass.
And also on Tuesday:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Foundation Grant Allows For Needed Installation":
Now you see why I call you an ass. Don't you hurt yourself when you stoop this low? You cancel out what wisdom might be mixed in with the lies.
I cannot prove Hering is writing those comments anonymously, but there is a clear pattern of similar remarks being sent from Garland. Perhaps Pastor Hering would like to disavow anything coming from his location. I might believe the disclaimer if it came on church letterhead.
At least Dom Perignon Patterson signs his emails. I kelmed his message to me, from Gmail:
| hide details 12/10/08 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
bethanylutheranworship@gmail.comHey, Greg,
I am not a part of Church and Change Leadership. I went to one conference a few years ago and had my own reservations. Also, Robert Timmerman does not serve as a church council pres at our church. You are lying on your blog.
Don
***
GJ - Timmerman was the council president. Does that make me a liar? Patterson was at the Church and Change conference last month! He is not part of their leadership?
He has his own reservations? Sure - he made reservations at the hotel. Patterson will make a fine Doctrinal Pussycat or Synodical Pope. He is more deliberately ambiguous than DP Robert Mueller was.
