Peter Schiff Was Right - 2006 and 2007 - The Experts Laughed at Him

Ben Stein, Columbia and Yale: "The credit crunch is way overblown. The sub-prime is a tiny problem. It's a buying opportunity, especially the financials...Sub-prime is tiny. You are wrong about that."

Wall Street Journal:

Jan. 26, 2009

Lending at many of the nation's largest banks fell in recent months, even after they received $148 billion in taxpayer capital that was intended to help the economy by making loans more readily available.

Ten of the 13 big beneficiaries of the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, saw their outstanding loan balances decline by a total of about $46 billion, or 1.4%, between the third and fourth quarters of 2008, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of banks that recently announced their quarterly results.

Rules, Rules

http://www.livingbold.net/nf/uploads/Image/Conduct%20Covenant%20-%20Leader.pdf

In the spirit of Ephesians chapter 5, recognizing that I am to be an “imitator of God,” seeking to model Christ for those I am privileged to supervise and serve at this event, and understanding that my congregation and my group members’ parents have legally entrusted their youth to me (in loco parentis), I promise, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to . . .

• Personally participate along with my youth group members in all the spiritual growth presentations.

• Cooperate with rally officials and assist in whatever ways asked to help make the rally a success.

• Ensure that my group’s youth are attending the required spiritual growth presentations and breakout discussions and contributing in a positive manner to them.

• Ensure that my group’s youth are accountable and participating positively in all recreational and social activities planned.

• Ensure that my group’s youth are adhering to any and all rules, regulations, and requirements, i.e., wear required name tags, respect rally site property, follow curfews, not use controlled substances, no guys in girls’ rooms and no girls in guys’ rooms, remain on premises unless allowed otherwise, etc.

• Remain onsite and responsible for my group’s youth at all times unless rally schedule or circumstances require otherwise.

• Be physically present and remain in the lodging buildings when my group’s youth are required to be in them for the night.

• Refrain from personal consumption of alcohol.

I further acknowledge that my failure to abide by the above could adversely affect my youth group’s participation in future rallies.

I guess WELS has had problems with this type of behavior in the past, at least this is my pastor’s wife told me.

***

GJ - I went to all youth activities. At a regional youth rally, the pastors patrolled the dorms all night and behavior was excellent.

At the Columbus Youth Rally--run by Kuske's divorced Church Growth pastors--behavior was totally unsupervised and horrible. One teen did $800 damage to a taxi (bottle thrown from upper storey). No one fessed up. I guess they were already forgiven.

OSU officials said the WELS rally was the "worst ever" in youth conduct.

I think the pledge above is just plain silly. Adult attitudes are clearly communicated without a lot of verbiage. I believe in conveying an attitude that all unwelcome actions will have immediate and unpleasant consequences.

On a lighter note, when Pioneers acted up, I made them salute and say, "Sir, yes sir!" One boy was funny with his missing front teeth. He said, "Thur, yeth thur!" and saluted smartly.

On a trip in town, a police officer asked my van full of kids what we were doing. He was just checking everything out, so he was satisfied. He turned away so I told the boys, "He must have been in the military. Let's all do sir, yes sir." We opened the windows and shouted, "Sir, yes sir!" and saluted. He grinned and laughed.

Pastor of St. Paul German Village (Columbus, Ohio) Resigns

"Aww. Not the Eighth Commandment again."
The actor pictured above just died.

Kevin Cortez, pastor of St. Paul (WELS) in German Village, Columbus, Ohio, has resigned.

Kevin Cortez Bio.

***

GJ - The announcement was - "for cause" - with no details added. Of course, communicating the announcement was a good excuse for someone to violate the Eight Commandment by citing the Eighth Commandment.

Someone wrote, anonymously of course - "How very sad that so often on this blog the worst is assumed. Sorry for you scandal-lovers, but there is none here."

The worst is often hidden away. This blog only reports some of the stuff that floats to the top.

A pastor resigned in Columbus. I know nothing more than that.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Pastor of St. Paul German Village (Columbus, Ohio)...":

To Pastor Cortez if you read this, May your God bless you in whatever you do and wherever you go. I'm sure you had your own reasons for doing what you did and I hope you can find peace with yourself and God.

Comments like the above, though unintentional, tend to make things even worse.

"you had your own reasons for doing whatever you did"

Because no charges are explicitely (sic) made, people can imagine all kind of things...

Did he change the worship format?
Did he ask for too much money?
Did he through (sic) little puppies into heavy traffic?

The secrecy breeds even more wild rumors...

Now, if it was (sic) a layman, we could publish the information...

***

GJ - I would ask how much Floyd Luther Stolzenburg is in contact with members of St. Paul. After Kuske and Schuman wrote letters of recommendation for Floyd to be hired at Emmanuel, a sister church (former ALC, independent) nearby, Floyd was known for showing up at St. Paul's in his Roman collar.

Newly divorced, Floyd blew into Columbus, after being forced out of the LCMS ministry for cause, landing at St. Paul, German Village. He taught Church Growth at St. Paul. Paul Kuske set up LPR just for Floyd, a five year plan to make Stolzenburg a WELS pastor while he pretended to be a pastor anyway. Floyd came to all the WELS pastoral meetings and acted as if he were in charge. His finest moment came when he told the late Keith Roehl to start a gay ministry at St. Paul.

When LPR finally fell apart, Floyd got his gig at Emmanuel and WELS got Schuman to be assistant at St. Paul's. Wally Oelhafen was more excited about Schuman than a girl from convent school on her first date. Why? Schuman was crazy for Church Growth, hotter than Georgia asphalt for all things Fuller. Pastor Roehl died and Mike Nitz became the junior pastor. Soon Schuman had St. Paul polarized around the issue of whether he was Satan Incarnate or God Incarnate. When Schuman resigned over doctrinal issues, his acolytes preserved his office, intacta, as a shrine for when he came back. Instead he became a Thrivent agent and then vanished (from Google, at least).

Kuske and Company argued that I caused all the trouble in Columbus. True, I criticized the Church Growth Movement and emphasized the Means of Grace. I also thought a pastor should be "the husband of one wife." The Columbus group was 50-50. I did not think adulterers belonged in the pastoral office, but that also made me a legalist, a trouble-maker. I questioned Mike Nitz having a woman teaching men, which was a sin (for me to ask).

Floyd would not have been an issue if WELS had shown some spine and said, "You had your chance at marriage and ordination, and you threw both away." But no, they coddled him, financed him, and promoted him as a teacher of the Word. The Michigan District officially promoted him for WELS colloquy - the candidate's name offered up by DP Mueller at a COP meeting. This happened either once or twice. Floyd was divorced for cause, not a member of WELS, and clearly a false teacher. Yet Mueller and Kuske could not live without him. WELS apologists kept saying - "Money is the reason. Floyd is friends with the Donor."

Stolzenburg is prime evidence of the doctrinal rot caused by the Fuller and Willow Creek gang in WELS.

St. Paul's members are victims of that rot. They should have pelted him with vegetables on their own, but they mistakenly trusted in the synodical leaders. It is better to trust in the Word.