Tuesday, December 8, 2009

WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ichabod

WELS Pastor Mark Walters, from Abiding Word, Ottawa, Canada:

Greg:

Thanks for the stimulating conversation.  Would you be willing to help promote confessional Lutheranism in Ottawa by posting our website on your blog…I hope you have some nice cartoons for me.

I also pray that you discover grace…not intellectually but that it melts your heart to breathe the love of the Gospel of Christ,

Thanks,

Mark


[December 8, 2009]



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GJ - The following is an email from Pastor Mark Walters, pictured above. I phoned him in case the email was fraudulent. He called back a few days later and confirmed that he sent it, that he meant to shut down Ichabod. "I am going to contact some people in the States and see what can be done. You are harming the Kingdom."

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Subject: Let me know one thing (December 2, 2009)

pastor.abidingword@rogers.com

Greg Jackson:



My name is Mark Walters. I think I went to school with your son, Marty.



I am a pastor in the WELS and serving at Abiding Word Lutheran Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada



I am a VERY supportive brother of Jeff Gunn, Ski, Tim Glende, and many others that you seem to enjoy trashing.



How do I get my picture on your website so that I can join your toxic hall of fame?????????



I’m very sad that you spend your time putting up such a legalistic, judgemental (sic) website, without knowing the true facts about things.



I will do everything in my power to shut you down because you are destructive to the kingdom.



Please contact me soon.



613-824-2524



Mark Walters

***

GJ - Walters had no problem with his friend Ski going to Groeschel, Stanley, Beeson, etc for training. "Name one false doctrine from Groeschel," he demanded. I said, "Everything."

He tried the "spoiling the Egyptians" argument on me, not using those words but the concept. He claimed - Christians need other Christians and they can use their discernment, which he found somewhere in Paul. He did not seem to connect with Matthew 7, 1 Timothy 4, or 2 Timothy 4.

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-----Original Message-----
From: Gregory L. Jackson
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 11:33 AM
To: pastor.abidingword@rogers.com
Subject: Your wish has been granted



Were you at the latest Church and Change conference? Or previous ones?



This is my regular email account.



In Christ,



Greg Jackson, PhD

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Not at the last one…at previous ones.

Thanks,

Mark

"God: Never Get Too Big For Him." Ben Carson

Pastor Mark Walters

1575 Belcourt Blvd.

Orleans, ON K1C 1M3



Phone: 613-824-2524

Fax: 613-824-2905

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Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

"Supporting brother of Jeff Gunn, Ski....etc"

That means he went to school with the whole group.

Mark Walters--WLS Class of '97
James "Ski" Skorzewski--Class of '98
Tim Glende--Class of '98

Its hard to disagree with someone when you sat next to them in class or drove them back from the bar late one night. At least, its hard when you don't have a backbone.

The reverse Ad Hominem support system of classmates is a ridiculous system. The guy is good...so he must be doing things the right way. Then you base all arguments on the guy's sterling character.

"Supportive Brother" just means these men were in COS together.

Rev. Mark Bitter on "Spoiling the Egyptians:" "While the Lord was telling Moses exactly how he wanted to be worshiped, the Israelites were worshiping like the Egyptians did."

He then went on a 10 minute binge against churches who want to use praise songs instead of psalms.

It was easy to see the classmates who were grinning and those squirming in their seats.

This was all at Evangelism Day...somewhere down the hall "Ski" was torturing minds. I skipped Kelm's key note for my own sanity.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Congratulations!
It's just noon and you took out 2 minor trolls and now they send in the "Creeker Errand Boy" from Ontario.
Pretty good and it's just noon.

More cow bell puhleez, Pastor Jackson

I'm ROFL, keep slingin that sword
Blogging and Scholarship what a combo, only a REAL Lutheran could pull that off!

--The LCMS Church Lady

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mjleyrer has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Nothing like empty, unexecutable threats to get your morning going eh Jacko?

If someone did shut you down I would be upset because if there's one thing that I care about as much as the church it Constitutional Liberties. This would definitely be an infringement of one.

I don't even think he could file libel against you if he wanted to. Maybe he could.

See Jacko, even the guys who don't agree with you want you stay up and running. Because if you went away, who would I have to argue with?

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GJ - I was shocked, shocked to find out Rev. Mark was a regular at Church and Chicanery conferences. And he links to Time of Generic Grace.

He confuses satire with slander. The funny Photoshops seem to rile him more than is healthy for someone so brittle and humorless. I tried to point out the long history of satirical cartoons, going back the the 19th century at least. But Mark is slow to listen, quick to talk, quick to anger.

My suggestion is that he go to court in Ottawa and get an injunction banning anyone in Ontario from reading Ichabod. That would be fair, eh?

Muslims in Canada went after Mark Steyn. Perhaps Mark is taking lessons.

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Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

OF COURSE Rev. Mark is a regular at C&C events. If my church offered to pay my way to a drinking date with my buddies, I'd take the money too!

I love when he asked about Groeschel...that quote needs to be sent, verbatim to every and all of his superiors from the Mission counselors to President Schroeder.

If this man can't test the spirits of a yahoo like Groeschel, I can't believe he is a fit expositor of God's word.

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Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Leyrer,

Speaking of logical fallacies...I didn't say he would be a bad preacher because he is trying to "shut down Ichabod."

I said I couldn't imagine a fit expositor of God's word who can't find fault with Craig Groeschel's filth pile that is LifeChurch.tv

If someone wasn't paying attention in class while Professors Fredrich and Schmidt were talking about the dangers of false teachers, how much else did they miss?

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rwiedenhoeft@wisc.edu

Pastor Jackons (sic),


What are your shortcomings?


Chairman Bob

***

GJ - I can spell. I can tell you are probably from UW Madison, perhaps a victim of Willow Creek Chapel.

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I. J. Reilly has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Brett--

I don't think your comments would convince Anders. I went to the web page he advertised on this blog and it is apparently the work of a group who believe that the real teachings of Jesus were corrupted by the church and "The Apostate Paul." (Wow, someone besides GJ knows how to compose insulting nicknames that reduces an opponent to a stereotype.) I don't think he'd find much creedence (sic) in your quotes from Romans, Titus, Galatians, and Ephesians. Noble effort, though.

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GJ - How delicious it must be, to post anonymous, gratuitous comments and be able to brag to fellow sots, "Look at what I published!" With enough comments posted, a semblance of proper spelling may emerge. No, wait, it hasn't so far.


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JR has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Wow, I'm on holiday for a few days, and look what happens when I return! Trolls abound, Jews enter the fray, and Canadian pastors threaten to turn out the lights. Ichabod is the place to be!

Mr. Leyrer, I gotta give it up to you. You took a beating, but you hung in there. Great last comment, by the way. Those were my sentiments exactly! +1 for you.

Mr. Schottey, how has your outspokenness affected your standing in WELS? I'd love to "come out," but I am wary of the backlash. I'm interested in hearing what has happened to you.

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GJ - Total freedom of expression in WELS: real diversity. Not to worry.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

GJ, all theological arguments aside, "judgmental" is in fact the proper Canadian spelling of the word. To poke fun at a pastor in Canada for using correct Canadian spelling is either intentional mean-spiritedness I'll wow the Americans who are ignorant of Canadian spelling rules) or just ignorance of Canadian spelling on your part. If one posts from the US on a British website, one is not expected to use the affectation of British spelling.

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GJ - I love the patronizing tone of these anonymous comments. Notice how one little (sic) can rustle their chicken feathers. That little Latin word means "thus" - not "this person is an idiot." Mark is not Johnny Canuck. is he? He had the benefit of 8 years of WELS higher education, in America. I am not sure if he is returning to the Motherland or just spending a few years in exile for threatening someone else. They have some good anger management classes in Ottawa, eh?

Here's a a conveniently located one for Mark -
Anger & Emotions Management Institute,
421 Gilmour Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 0R5, Canada
(613) 231-2051‎.

My wife and I earned degrees in Canada, so we spent a few enjoyable years there. The Canadians are great people. We have many relatives there, so we know how to say Chooseday, ask for serviettes (not napkins), and smile when offered biscuits (cookies). We learned to plug our lamps into the hydro when we sat on our chesterfield. We know about British/Canadian spelling, favouring the extra vowel, in Saviour or aluminium. Spelling is our speciality.

I relish the moments when some humorless Chicanery starts lecturing in stealth mode.



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