Church and Change, RIP:Retreat In Progress

Bruce Becker, board member, Church and Change, has moved his operations to Church and Change Headquarters, St. Markus.


The triangles going up to the fish's mouth
represent synodical money, Thrivent and foundation grants,
devoured by the apostates at Church and Change.
The triangles leaving the fish's rear
symbolize the toxic waste left behind as they poop on everything sacred.

Mouse Remains A Daily Communicant at Ichabod

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "A Highly Trained WELS Pastor Writes His Sermon":

I have an idea! Perhaps it is because you don't take your neighbors words and actions in the kindest possible way.

WELS Liberals Always Misrepresent the Adiaphora Issue

The Wauwatosa Seminary building was influenced
by the Addams Family revival movement in architecture.

Several attitudes have led WELS into the Slough of Despond. One is the Wah-wah-tosa bewitchment. The original intentions were not so bad, but now the current products of The Sausage Factory use the Good Old Days as an excuse to avoid all doctrinal study, because "we only need Lenski, the Triglotta, and boxer shorts." The Triglotta is never opened and Lenski is panned for being wrong on justification by faith. The jury is still out on the boxer shorts.

Wisconsin pastors always use the Adiaphora as an excuse to do whatever they want, although "whatever they want" is consistently in line with Baptist and Pentecostal practices.

They miss the whole point of the article. When a minor point of practice (an adiaphoron - matter of indifference) is being used to promote false doctrine, then confessional Lutherans are bound to avoid--or bound to practice--that very thing.

This issue developed during Melanchthon's compromising attitude toward the Interims, when he tried to please the Romanists by giving in on what was called adiaphora.

Now the WELS pastors have dumped the liturgy, the Creeds, and sound Lutheran hymns in favor of appearing and sounding just like the Deformed pastors they envy. Every little point is an adiaphoron, they claim, so nothing is left. Somehow they even justify plagiarizing the sermons of false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing, more likely - faded bluejeans and a Mickey Mouse t-shirt.

The Key Passage, Book of Concord, Formula of Concord, Adiaphora:

10] We believe, teach, and confess also that at the time of confession [when a confession of the heavenly truth is required], when the enemies of God's Word desire to suppress the pure doctrine of the holy Gospel, the entire congregation of God, yea, every Christian, but especially the ministers of the Word, as the leaders of the congregation of God [as those whom God has appointed to rule His Church], are bound by God's Word to confess freely and openly the [godly] doctrine, and what belongs to the whole of [pure] religion, not only in words, but also in works and with deeds; and that then, in this case, even in such [things truly and of themselves] adiaphora, they must not yield to the adversaries, or permit these [adiaphora] to be forced upon them by their enemies, whether by violence or cunning, to the detriment of the true worship of God and the introduction and sanction of idolatry. 11] For it is written, Gal. 5:1: Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not again entangled in the yoke of bondage. Also Gal. 2:4f : And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage; to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you. 12] [Now it is manifest that in that place Paul speaks concerning circumcision, which at that time had become an adiaphoron (1 Cor. 7:18f.), and which at other occasions was observed by Paul (however, with Christian and spiritual freedom, Acts 16:3). But when the false apostles urged circumcision for establishing their false doctrine, (that the works of the Law were necessary for righteousness and salvation,) and misused it for confirming their error in the minds of men, Paul says that he would not yield even for an hour, in order that the truth of the Gospel might continue unimpaired.]

***

GJ - This is a time when no Lutheran church should ever appear to be Romanist or Reformed/Pentecostal, not even in the most minor details. To excuse praise bands and aping Andy Stanley as cutting edge evangelism is just plain tom-foolery.

The true legalists are those law-salesmen who really believe that they can reproduce a Lutheran version of Willow Creek by following the Willow Creek laws and joining the Willow Creek Association (as Parlow, Kelm, and Trapp have done). They only reproduce a third-rate version of a liberal, anti-confessional, soon to be Unitarian congregation. They are not shining the Gospel light but spreading falsehood behind a glistening screen of lies. Their Father Below is proud of their work.

Worthwhile Thoughts on Worship - From Finkelstein

Cover by Norma Boeckler

Freddy Finkelstein said on Bailing Water...

Anon @12:08 has a very good point. The Confessions do more than confess, they point to practice as proof of our confession. In the statement he cites, Melanchton (sic) answers the accusations of Rome, that we stand outside of the One True Church, by a) declaring the accusations False, "Falsely are we accused...", and by b) pointing the Romans to our practice as proof of our answer, as proof that we are catholic, "...for the Mass is retained among us..."

As for FC X (Epitome), it is elucidated further in Article X of the Thorough Declaration, stating directly that practices which would associate us with the heterodox are not adiaphora, but are to be avoided as prohibited by God (emphasis mine):

“When under the title and pretext of external adiaphora such things are proposed as are in principle contrary to God's Word (although painted another color) [such as, fundamentally anthropocentric worship practices replacing christocentric practices, which openly conceal the Marks of the Church by removing the Sacrament from the Divine Service, which adopt worship practices defining human acts of worship as a Means of Grace, or which promote human experiences as assurance of salvation --FF], these are not to be regarded as adiaphora, in which one is free to act as he will, but must be avoided as things prohibited by God [the practice of immersion, for instance, falls into this category --FF]. In like manner, too, such ceremonies should not be matters of indifference, as make a show or feign the appearance, as though our religion and that of the Papists [or the Reformed, or the Baptists, or the Pentecostals... --FF] were not far apart, thus to avoid persecution, or as though the latter were not at least highly offensive to us; or when such ceremonies are designed for the purpose, or required and received in this sense, as though by and through them both contrary religions were reconciled and became one body; or when a reentering into the Papacy [or turning to the Reformed, or the Baptists, or the Pentecostals... --FF] and a departure from the pure doctrine of the Gospel and true religion should occur or gradually follow therefrom.”

The point is, the Confessions point us, as well as our adversaries, to our Practices as proof of our Confession. Therefore, our Practices must manifestly prove our separation from the heterodox and from sectarianism.

JB states that it is abhorrent to put words in the mouths of the Confessors, to make them say what they do not say. I agree, but at the same time, I say, it is abhorrent to take words from their mouths, to make them say any less than they do, by failing to take their words at face value. Much of what the Confessions say is very easy to understand, if one is accustomed to didactic reading -- neither secret hermeneutic nor deep knowledge of dead languages is required to to unveil their "true meaning."

I ended my 03/11/2009-5:14PM comment by stating that the only winning play is to return to our Confessions. They require a Church Practice that proves them. In the Confessions we will find a degree of freedom in Practice, but no freedom to jettison manifestly catholic rites; and we will find the requirement to remove from them only what cannot be practiced without sinning.

Freddy Finkelstein

March 12, 2009 1:51 PM

A Highly Trained WELS Pastor Writes His Sermon

"Mmmm. Someday that will be me on that Imax screen."

Sitting in the theater working on my sermon watching Marquette on the big screen. I love have (sic) cable on the IMAX.
about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck

Don't Buy the Bull

Angus Dei, as spelled by the Music Man on Bailing Water.

The market rallied as soon as I predicted a Dow-Jones of 5,000. The Wall Street Journal also suggested that as the bear bottom. Since then the DJ has risen by about 600 points. That means a major rally has lifted the average so high it is 50% of the previous high - 14,000. Such good news.

In today's paper is the unsurprising news that many huge insurance companies are limping and begging for TARP money: Met, Prudential, The Hartford. Others are in good shape: Northwestern Mutual, Mass Mutual, New York Life, TIAA-Cref.

If the gigantic insurance companies become strapped for cash, they have to stop buying equities. They are a major source of funds for Wall Street. There could be a run on some companies, like the earlier runs on banks. That happened years ago with one company located in St. Louis. They had some bad financial news. Suddenly their stock became worthless and they were bought up by Met Life.

The five largest banks in America (Citi, Bank of America, Chase, etc) have recently been called "dead men walking."

A lot of bad news has not come out yet. My prediction of a 5,000 DJ is still a distinct but unwelcome possibility.

Obamessiah, St. Marcus, WELS

Wisconsin Interest
Volume 18, No. 1
March, 2009

Miracle at St. Marcus
On the Frontlines of reform with writer Sunny Schubert

Henry Tyson shows how urban education can succeed in the right setting.


"I never wanted to be involved in helping the poor. My mother was born in Africa and was always very sympathetic toward the poor and people of other races. But the whole inner-city thing came about during my senior year at Northwestern," says the superintendent of Milwaukee's St. Marcus School.

"I was majoring in Russian, so in the summer of my junior year, I went to Russia. I absolutely hated it - just hated it. So when I got back to school, I realized I had a problem figuring out what to do next," he remembers.

About that time, he was having a discussion with a black friend, "and she basically told me I didn't have a clue what it was like in the inner city. She challenged me to do an ‘Urban Plunge,' which is a program where you spend a week in an inner-city neighborhood.

"We were in the Austin neighborhood, on the West Side of Chicago. It was a defining moment for me," he says. "I was so struck by the inequity and therefore the injustice of it all. I couldn't believe that people lived - and children were growing up! - in such an environment, such abject poverty."

"I knew after that week that I wanted to work with the urban poor. I felt a deep tug, like this was what I was meant to do. In my view, it was like a spiritual calling."

Tyson's Journey

It was the start of several journeys for Tyson: an educational journey into the failing milieu of inner-city schools; a physical journey that would carry him to St. Marcus Lutheran School on Milwaukee's north side, and a spiritual journey that would lead him to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

The programs he oversees at St. Marcus are the embodiment of everything he learned along the way. Tyson's students are proof of the ability of poor black children to perform just as well academically as their affluent white peers when placed in a highly structured and challenging environment, and testimony to the power of the Christian Gospel to transform lives.

Tyson, meanwhile, has become a powerful spokesman for the successes of the 20-year-old Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. He is an eloquent and elegant speaker with a direct gaze that conveys the strength of his convictions. It doesn't hurt that he is Hollywood-handsome as well, looking like he might be actor Colin Farrell's older, smarter brother.

AmeriCorps Volunteer

The 36-year-old bachelor was 4 when his family moved to the United States from Britain, but three years later, his parents sent him back to attend Felsted School in the south of England. That decision, he says, was based partly on tradition - I had five older siblings, three of whom were at Felsted - and partly because they were disappointed in American schools. Years later, he would come to share that disappointment.

After graduating from Northwestern, he joined AmeriCorps and was assigned to work with Habitat for Humanity in Chicago. "I became involved with several Habitat families, and through them I became aware of how bad many of the Chicago public schools were."

Then his boss invited him to dinner, where Tyson met fellow guest Arne Duncan, who would eventually become the reforming CEO of the Chicago public schools and President Barack Obama's pick for U.S. secretary of Education.

That night, over dinner, Duncan convinced him that education "was a more involved, systemic solution than housing" for the problems facing the urban poor.
Tyson enrolled in DePaul University, earning a master's degree in secondary education. "I had a good experience at DePaul, but I did not learn what I consider to be the critical elements of great urban education there. I'm a firm believer that great urban educators aren't educated on college campuses - only in great urban schools."

Which the Chicago high school where he began teaching emphatically was not. His fellow teachers lacked passion and commitment. The students were out of control. The classrooms were chaotic.

After a year, he moved to a suburban high school, which was somewhat better. But then a former colleague, Kole Knueppel, called him up. Knueppel had moved to Milwaukee to become principal of St. Marcus Lutheran School.

"You've got to come up here!" Tyson remembers Knueppel telling him. "We're going to do great things!"

Testing His Ideas

St. Marcus was about to undergo a $5 million renovation that would allow the student body to expand from 220 to 330. But best of all, St. Marcus would give Tyson the freedom to put his ideas concerning urban education into practice, and he would be surrounded by fellow teachers who shared his passion and commitment.


That was six years ago. Today, Tyson is superintendent of St. Marcus. Knueppel has moved on to head Hope High School, St. Marcus' "sister" choice school.


"When I got hired at St. Marcus, the first thing they did was send me to New York to look at a KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) school." He has visited other excellent urban schools in Houston and Chicago as well.

"What I saw in those schools revolutionized my thinking. When you walk into a great urban school, you can tell the difference immediately."

"The kids are focused. The teachers are teaching with passion. It's happy and calm.
The school day is crazy-long. There's direction. You see college stuff everywhere. And if you talk to a student, they make eye contact. They talk confidently, and they're polite."

That's what St. Marcus is like. At first glance, it looks like any school, albeit cleaner and neater than some. But the difference between St. Marcus and an average public school becomes apparent when students are between classes.

There is no jostling, no yelling, no slamming each other into lockers. The students, wearing uniforms of blue pants, blue blazers, white shirts and red ties, walk swiftly and quietly to their next class.

And they are excelling. Tyson pushed for them to take standardized tests, which are not required for private schools, and they are testing far ahead of their demographic peers.

Like their teachers, they are serious about learning. They arrive at St. Marcus as early as 6:30 a.m., and middle-school students often stay as late as 8:30 p.m. Tardiness, truancy and any kind of disruptive behavior are met with instantaneous discipline.

In the early grades, the teachers eschew educational fads like the new math or "whole language" reading instruction. Instead, they focus on the basics. In the upper grades, the curriculum is rigorous. Students are expected to complete three to four hours of homework every night. Along with academic subjects (including Latin), they have daily religious instruction.

"The transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" is a crucial element of St. Marcus' success, Tyson says, and in his own life.

"I have never been a good Christian," he says. "Christ said only God is good. I am a miserable, broken sinner saved by grace, which brings me a tremendous amount of joy."

He and his colleagues are driven to share that joy with their students.
"We teach these kids that ‘God made you, God loves you, and God has a purpose for you. And when they know that, they will do anything to serve him."

"Love is absolutely the No. 1 ingredient" at St. Marcus, Tyson says. "The kids don't go nuts on us because they know we love them. There are all kinds of things you can do to kids in terms of discipline when they know that they are loved."

Long Hours, Hard Work

Likewise, St. Marcus teachers are willing to put in 12-hour days in service to God and their students.

"Any school that is successful has very extended hours," Tyson says. "That single point right there is absolutely critical. As long as the schools want to stick with the 6.5-hour day, we will never be successful.


"I never have to fight with my teachers. I think there are a lot of teachers out there who would jump at the chance to teach at a school like this. When you give a teacher the opportunity to change lives, the job becomes a consuming passion."

"Teaching is impossibly difficult. Period. You get better with practice. That's one thing that's wrong with our teacher training programs: Students don't spend enough time in the classroom, not enough time practicing.

"Urban education is not rocket science. Our model is largely stolen. People who are serious about school reform need to ask themselves why St. Marcus is more successful than most inner-city public schools at about half the cost," Tyson says.
"What we do here works. We should be replicating what works, but society has chosen not to."

Sunny Schubert is a Monona freelance writer and a former editorial writer for the Wisconsin State Journal.

More about St. Marcus


Located on Milwaukee's near north side, St. Marcus Lutheran School and its adjoining church and parsonage occupy a whole city block in the Brewer's Hill neighborhood.


The school, 2215 N. Palmer St., opened in 1875 to serve the children of the German immigrants who founded the church. Decades later, white families began leaving and were replaced by black families, most of them low-income.

Today, the neighborhood is again changing, with poor people moving out as the area gentrifies. "When I first started teaching here in 2002, most of our students came from the neighborhood," Tyson says. "Today, the only students from the neighborhood are our pastor's kids."

St. Marcus School has 330 students, up from 220 when Tyson started. Most are black; 85% are low-income students who bring with them $6,500 vouchers through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. St. Marcus' per-pupil expenditures are about $7,500 a year, compared to $13,000 per pupil in the Milwaukee Public Schools.

There are 45 full-time teachers and staff members. Teachers are paid almost as much as they would receive in the public schools, but are expected to work much longer days.

The school offers classes from four-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade. Admission is selective only in that returning students and their siblings are given priority. Any remaining vacancies are filled by a blind lottery among applicants.

St. Marcus does not cherry-pick its students, and Tyson says more than a handful would be considered "special needs" by the public schools because of learning, emotional or behavioral problems. Almost all respond to St. Marcus' formula of love and discipline.

In his six years at St. Marcus, Tyson says, "there have been about 10 kids we just couldn't reach. I very much regard it as our failure, not theirs."


For more about the school, go to: http://www.stmarcus.org/school/

***

GJ - Pay close attention to St. Markus and its relationship to Church and Change. Al Sorum, the heresiarch of The Sausage Factory, is also involved in this.

The voucher program seems like a great way to have heavily subsidized religious schools. The program began because industry leaders were appalled at the products of the public school system. But this is still a government-controlled school system. Liberals like Jeske and Sorum are quick to pounce on the government buck and plead for foundation funds. Then they sell this as a conservative program.

Surprise us some day and do something with your own money, St. Markus.

The best solution is to return to no taxation for schools and no funding for schools. Every family can fund its own education, whether at home or in convenient groups of home-schoolers, or private schools.

Public school teachers are so passive that they let grade school children hit them and spit on them. "Nothing can be done," I was told. I said, "Anyone who puts up with that is a fool." An education major asked, "What would you do?" I said, "Walk out. Eventually there would be a shortage." I went on to shock and appall the class by saying all tax money should be withdrawn. Schools are major centers of the illegal drug trade and also serve as promoters of legal but excessive drugging of students.

Social Security was invented in Europe to make people dependent upon the government and prevent social unrest. Most people would agree now that government control of any entity eventually freezes initiative, cost-cutting, and independent thinking.

FAQs: Frequently Avoided Questions

There is nothing like this aroma to get people
into the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock.


Q: Did you have a mid-week Lenten service?
A: We were planning for our small-group ministry.

Q: How much money are you getting for this circus?
A: None of your business because it is Other People's Money.

Q: Why does it take two full-time people to do so little church work?
A: The job is not done until the grant money is gone.

Q: Why start a mission one block from a huge congregation already working in the downtown?
A: Because we got the money to do it.

Q: What is the monthly cost for the lease, electrical, and other overhead items?
A: This is God's work and well worth it.

Q: When is your website going to have some original Gospel content?
A: As soon as we get some from Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley.

Mid-week Lenten Service

Paul Speratus wrote one of the first Lutheran hymns, #377, facing death for his teaching of Gospel truths.

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 6 PM Phoenix Time

The Hymn #552 Eventide 2.11
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 1 p. 123
The Lection John 15:1-10

The Sermon Hymn # 377 vss 1-5 Es ist das Heil 2.1

The Sermon – The Treasures of Heaven

The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45

The Hymn #377 vss 6-10 Es ist das Heil 2.1

God Gives the Increase in 1 Corinthians 3:4-9

1 Corinthians 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.


St. Paul’s mission to the Gentiles placed him in danger many times, even though he did not run away from God’s presence. The apostolic letters to the Corinthians leave little doubt that he encountered a host of major problems—from childish strife to gross immorality and desecration of the Lord’s Supper. This particular passage deals with the party spirit dividing the congregation, 1 Corinthians 1:11. Some identified with Paul, some with Apollos. [26] It should not surprise us that today conflict in the congregation is caused by exactly the same problem—an emphasis upon the person and a lack of trust in the efficacy of the Word.
Paul first attacked the problem of strife by negating the effectiveness of the individual. The ministry does not derive its divine power from personalities but from the Word. Our temptation to rely upon salvation by works, in spite of our confession, is revealed by the tendency to compare and contrast men when they are only instruments of God’s power. One cannot even compare the type of word, as Paul stated:

I have planted, Apollos watered;
but God gave the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:6

Many people find their gardening efforts thwarted because the seeds they planted did not germinate well. The proper amount of moisture needed for germination is taken for granted in America, unlike in Paul’s world. [27] We do not plant the last of our seed (Psalm 126:5) with tears. But where rain is rare and food is precious, the watering of the sown crop is essential. Paul’s comparison reminds us that planting and watering are both necessary, yet only God can give the growth.

J-230
"On what has now been sown
Thy blessing, Lord, bestow;
The power is Thine alone
To make it spring and grow.
Do Thou in grace the harvest raise,
And Thou alone shalt have the praise."
John Newton, 1779, cento, alt., "On What Has Now Been Sown," The Lutheran Hymnal, #46, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941.

J-231
“The work in Corinth was that of obtaining a spiritual crop. To Paul’s lot it fell to break the ground and to plant the seed of the Word; God caused the seed to strike root and to spring up. Then came Apollos and tended the young plants by developing the life of faith, by confirming the believers in their Christian knowledge; God’s merciful power accompanied his efforts and caused the plants to bring forth fruit. It follows, then, that neither he that plants nor he that irrigates is anything; they are mere instruments in the hand of God, the Lord of the harvest, who alone gives the growth, and to whom, therefore, all glory must be given: He is everything, He alone remains, all others are excluded.”
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible, The New Testament, 2 vols., St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, II, p. 99.

The negation of the person is repeated in 1 Corinthians 3:7. Neither the sower nor the one who waters is anything. The only One Who causes growth is God. Paul’s inspired argument destroys the foundation for any strife about the abilities and labor of various people. The missionary who begins a congregation is nothing. The man who helps to germinate the work of the congregation is nothing. God causes the increase while we go through the motions.

J-232
"But ye have not the power to create faith. For there is a great difference between planting and giving the growth; as Paul says to the Corinthians: 'I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.' 1 Corinthians 3:6"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 362.

J-233
“The two aorists: ‘I planted,’ ‘he watered,’ point into the past—the men did their little work and are gone. So it is still: each performs his little instrumental task and leaves. When he is describing God’s activity Paul writes the imperfect hu;xanen (gave the increase) which refers to an act begun in the past but going on and on indefinitely, for the tense is open and sets no terminus. Paul and Apollos have left Corinth, God is still there and causing the growing. Why quarrel about men when the Corinthians should unite in praising God?”
R. C. H. Lenski, Corinthians, Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1947, p. 128.

Those who doubt the power of the Word alone are exasperated by this explanation, saying, “If God can do everything and does everything, where do we fit in? Why even try?” In a world governed by Law, it does seem strange to say that God does everything, but nothing is more liberating than realizing we only need to be faithful. Pharisaical weakness makes us want to glory in our own deeds and not in God’s power, so we are inclined to adulterate the Gospel, sell it as a commodity, cheapen it, or make it appealing as a way of proving our worth. [28] The antidote is to boast about God rather than ourselves:

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:24)



J-234
"And it is of advantage, so far as can be done, to adorn the ministry of the Word with every kind of praise against fanatical men, who dream that the Holy Ghost is given not through the Word, but because of certain preparations of their own, if they sit unoccupied and silent in obscure places, waiting for illumination, as the Enthusiasts formerly taught, and the Anabaptists now teach."
Article XIII, The Sacraments, 13, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 311. Tappert, p. 213. Heiser, p. 95.

Verse nine concludes the argument with an invocation of the Triune God. Paul holds the distinct office of the preaching ministry, making him, with all of his faults, a co-worker with God. He would have been shocked beyond measure to have all the members considered ministers too. They, with all of their faults, are the cultivation of God and the building of God. The three-fold expression emphasizes the preacher employing the power of God’s Word while the congregation enjoys the growing and the edifying accomplished by the Holy Spirit working through the Word alone. Thus we have a simple, yet profound way to remember the faithful work of the Christian Church:
The Word and Sacraments – Of God
The Growth of Souls – Of God
The Strengthening of the Congregation – Of God.



About Paul Speratus – copied from http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Speratus.htm

About the year 1506 he began his activity as a pastor in the bishopric of Augsburg. He remained a Catholic priest for over ten years. In 1517 he even wrote a poem in honor of Martin Luther’s famous opponent, Johann Eck. But very soon Martin Luther’s writings and the reform movement in Wittenberg began to bear influence upon him. At first, however, he hoped, like Martin Luther, that a reform could be carried through within the Church, so that celibacy and monastic vows among the clergy might be abolished. With courage and hope he took up the reform measures, when he became dean of Würtzburg, where both the bishop and several other leading men agreed with him. Speratus even went so far as to marry. This was several years previous to Martin Luther’s marriage. But the district was placed under a new archbishop, who was a very strict Catholic. When he learned that Speratus had broken the law of celibacy, he deposed him from office in 1520. Speratus and his wife then left for Salzburg, where the archbishop was friendly to the Reformers. He was again given the office of dean and at once resumed his efforts at reform work. But Speratus was undaunted and outspoken, and when he reprimanded his bishop for penuriousness he had to give up his position. On the way to a new field of labor in Hungary he appeared in Vienna and agitated against monastic vows and celibacy. He gained many followers. But he was excommunicated and accused of heresy. His life was now in danger, hence he left Vienna secretly and set out for Wittenberg. He journeyed through the town of Iglau in Moravia, and there he found both the officials and the people very favorable towards the reform movement. He was elected their pastor and preached with great fervor concerning the grace of God in Christ. He gained an extensive following. But a complaint had been sent to the king, and Speratus was soon cast into prison. For the second time he was face to face with death. But these trials only had a ripening influence upon him. Until this time he had been undaunted and daring; from now on a quiet resignation settled upon his mind and actions. From his prison chamber he sent many fervent letters to his dear congregation in Iglau Here he also wrote his famous hymn “Es ist das Heil uns kommen her” using a chorale melody from the 15th century. His imprisonment did not last so very long, however. The young emperor took another view of the matter and ordered the bishop to release him on condition that he should leave Moravia. Then he went at once to Wittenberg, 1523. Speratus was heartily received by Martin Luther and his friends. It was just at the time when Martin Luther was laboring to furnish the people with hymns in their mother tongue. In one of the very first hymn collections, the so-called Achtliederbuch, three of the hymns of Speratus were included, together with four by Martin Luther and one hymn by an unknown writer. Speratus assisted Martin Luther in many ways. Martin Luther held him in high esteem because of his piety and great learning. When Duke Albrecht of Brandenburg sought Luther’s advice concerning the introduction of the Reformation in his state, Martin Luther recommended Speratus for this work. The duke acted accordingly. Speratus became the first palace chaplain of Königsberg, 1524, and from 1530 bishop of Marienwerder, Pomerania.

Cutbacks at Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Louis

Leonard Sweet, professor of wikeletics, futurist, and world-class purveyor of intellectual Spam, should have prepared Concordia, St. Louis for future upheavals when he lectured there.


March 11, 2009

SEMINARY REGENTS ADDRESS FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

ST. LOUIS—The Board of Regents of Concordia Seminary has received reports on how the current economic situation is affecting the Seminary’s finances, and it has responded. Meeting February 13, 2009, and again in a special telephone conference call February 26, the Board passed several resolutions to help the Seminary cope with the situation.


Faced with an expected $4 million operating deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, and a significant decrease in expected income for the following fiscal year, the Board has authorized trimming payroll expenditures by some 20%. Initially, the Seminary will offer regular full-time faculty and staff who are at least 55 years of age and who have served the Seminary for at least five years a voluntary early retirement incentive offer. “While those who choose this option will no longer be full-time employees of the Seminary, some will continue their service to the Seminary in a limited capacity through adjunct teaching and other activities,” said Dr. Dale A. Meyer, Seminary President. “Because those who retire can continue to teach, we are confident that the Seminary will retain its reputation for having an exceptional faculty and staff.”

In a previous action, in January, the Board froze salaries for Seminary employees, accepted voluntary salary reductions from the President and Vice Presidents, and placed some maintenance work on hold. Mr. James Ralls, Chairman of the Regents, indicated that the Board “worked hard and long to address the current financial challenges.” Among the options cited by Mr. Ralls were “increased tuition charges, deficit spending, and cutting further into the value of the Seminary’s endowment.” The Board determined that these options would not be wise at this time and could jeopardize the Seminary’s ability to follow through on important elements of its strategic plan for the future.

The individuals offered the early retirement incentive will have time to consider the offer, which also includes some Seminary assistance for health insurance for those individuals and their covered dependents. To help them in their decision-making process, Concordia Plans will have benefit advisors on-site to answer their questions. “We want to take the best care of our people that we can under the circumstances,” said President Meyer. “We regret that cuts are necessary, but we remain confident that God can bring good from this situation. When we come out of the recession, we’ll see that Concordia Seminary seized the present economic downturn to take giant steps into delivering 21st century theological education. When that future comes, our ‘refined’ Concordia Seminary will be fulfilling its mission in the ‘new normal,’ not lost in the new realities. For now, however, the Lord is allowing us to be painfully refined.”

The early retirement offer is the first step in reducing the personnel expenses of the Seminary, but other personnel reductions will most likely be necessary. Expense cuts are also being made in other areas of the Seminary’s operations. Delaying some maintenance projects, freezing salaries, and tightening program budgets will contribute cost savings to help offset the anticipated deficit.

Dr. Meyer met with faculty and staff members on March 11 to explain the actions of the Regents. “I am not happy with this unexpected situation,” he said, “but by taking these actions at this time, the Regents are seeking to avoid accumulating debt and other consequences down the road that could jeopardize the Seminary’s mission.”

The Seminary is nearing the final year of its How Will They Hear? Campaign that, to date, has “been blessed with so many gifts from so many kind friends and supporters,” said Dr. Meyer. “We pray the Campaign is successful, despite the current economic conditions, so that the Seminary can regain a strong financial position for the important work it is called upon to do.”

Few If Any Takers on Australian Calls

I would start recruiting at an Outback Steakhouse. If that doesn't work, buy a bloke a few beers. When he can no longer say, "Bonzer Beer!" ship him out.


Bruce Church has left a new comment on your post "Get Rid of Your Troublesome Conservative Pastor, W...":

This is strange. Now Rev. Cascione is no longer seeking names of pastors to go to Australia even though he said the response was insufficient. I'm guessing that while there's a need, there's no money to get the pastors halfway across the globe:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reclaimnews/message/137

March 10, 2009

"Response for Names of Lutheran Pastors to Australia Insufficient"

A request has been sent out to help fill 30 vacant Lutheran congregations in Australia. We have had that number reconfirmed. In fact, in the next few years the number may soon go to 40 vacant congregations.

It is possible that no American Lutheran Pastors are interested in going to Australia.

At this time Reclaim News is withdrawing its request for more Lutheran Pastors who wish to serve a congregation in Australia.

Maybe they saw this photo.

Bartz Paper Needed

If you have a Word or PDF of the Tom Bartz paper on making disciples, please email it to me. I will post it. Thanks.

Origin of Whoopee-Worship

"TELL has served the church faithfully for 15 years. Three editors have served; Ronald Roth (1977-84), Paul Kelm (1985-88), and the undersigned since 1989...The lead article in the first issue of TELL was titled 'Church Growth - Worthwhile for WELS.'...The author of this article in April 1988 issue of TELL concludes, 'It's obvious by now that I believe we in WELS can profit greatly from the writings of the church-growth leaders.' ... TELL as a separate publication ends with this issue. Nevertheless, the focus of The Evangelism Life Line will continue for years to come as an integral part of the new Board for Parish Services journal - PARISH LEADERSHIP.
Rev. Robert Hartman TELL (WELS Evangelism) Summer, 1992.

Schulz studied at Fuller Seminary.

"For several years I've been a Pete Wagner fan. Although I don't see eye to eye with him on many important theological points (he approves of faith healing and speaking in tongues as long as it promotes church growth and he comes from a Billy Graham decision for conversion doctrinal background), he is the most eloquent spokesman of the Church Growth Movement. A prolific author on mission/evangelism/church growth subjects, Wagner is also an excellent teacher and a crystal clear writer."
Reuel J. Schulz, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980.

"Read these books and you might become a Wagner fan too."

Reuel J. Schulz
The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980.

DP Rutschow guards the doctrine of the district.
"Not that Word and Sacrament are ineffective in incorporating new souls into our fellowship. Not at all! But according to some serious Church Growth studies, as many as one-third of the people gained for protestant church membership today do not feel they really belong."
David N. Rutschow The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Winter, 1985, p. 3.
Rev. David N Rutschow
Southeastern Wisconsin District President
sewdp@aol.com
630-852-7914.

Paul Kelm made a career out of promoting Deformed doctrine, so he came back to The Love Shack.

"Upside-down evangelism follows the path of least resistance to the God of gracious acceptance."
Paul Kelm,
The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

"It's just easier for many people to work backwards from the subjective to the objective in their thinking. In fact, upside-down evangelism may start with gospel and work back to law, stating the solution as a prelude to the problem and clarifying both at the cross." [This is Moravian Pietism, as shown by Walther's Law and Gospel.]
Paul Kelm,
The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

"Upside-down evangelism doesn't begin with personal sin and guilt, but rather with the consequences of sin. Societal consequences (for which each day's newspaper provides evidence) are the 'perceived need' door to understanding the alienation of life and people from God."
Paul Kelm,
The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

"Upside-down evangelism may begin with different diagnostic questions. What do you want out of life? lets the other person pick the path for witness. How do you feel about where our society is heading? uncovers fears and needs without becoming too personal. What makes people happy (or unhappy) do you think? allows someone to express preceived [sic] needs in the third person."
Paul Kelm,
The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 5.

"Evangelism upside-down is starting with the subjective issues of perceived reality and working back to God's objective truths of ultimate reality - sin and grace. It's offering the attendant blessings of salvation as the 'hook' to gain an audience for God's plan of salvation." [felt needs used to sell the Gospel]
Paul Kelm,
The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Fall, 1985 p. 4.

Ron Roth: "No Church Growth in WELS, Wayne? I started it in 1977, as editor of TELL. Get a clue, Wayne."
"The publication TELL ('The Evangelism Life Line') has been inaugurated to promote the cause of church growth."
Ernst H. Wendland,
"Church Growth Theology,"
Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly,
April, 1981, 78, p. 105.

"Our synod now has a fulltime executive secretary for evangelism. He's the Rev. Paul Kelm; and we need him. We need him to be our evangelism advocate."
Rev. Ron Roth,
The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Winter, 1985 p. 2.

Warty-lipped Aderman was a board member of Church and Change.

"When was the last time you kissed a frog?...'Lifestyle Evangelism and Follow-up,' a Navigator video seminar for the church, makes a solid case for Christian frog kissing as a way of life."
James A. Aderman, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Summer, 1986 p. 2.

Olson is the Ken doll on the upper right. This photo proves birds of a feather do flock together. Note Jeff Gunn, the stealth pastor in Phoenix.

"But when our Lord told us what our mission should be, he was quite clear: 'Make disciples.'
Lawrence Otto Olson, D. Min., Fuller Seminary, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Summer, 1988, p. 3. Matthew 28:19.

"The term 'spiritual breathing' originated with Dr. William Bright in his booklet, 'Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-filled Life?'"
David Valleskey, Forest Bivens, New Life in Christ, September, 1981 p. 1. [Does anyone wonder why so many Mequon graduates have turned Pentecostal?]

"2. The distinction between a witness and an evangelist. a. Some are evangelists (Eph. 4:11-12) 1) C. Peter Wagner: 'The average church can realistically expect that approximately 10 per cent of its active adult members will have been given the gift of evangelist' (Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow, Glendale: Gospel Light, 1979, p. 176)...3) but don't expect everyone to have that gift – C. Peter Wagner (op. cit.): 'It is a misunderstanding of biblical teaching, in my opinion, to try to convince every Christian that he or she has to be sharing the faith constantly as a part of their duty to the Master."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 51. [C. Peter Wagner is a prominent Church Growth leader.]

"Assignments:...2. Prepare a term paper on the subject of evangelism and/or church growth."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 3.

"Useful Ideas for My Ministry from the Church Growth Movement...The Church Growth Movement—Strengths and Weaknesses...The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation ...Church Growth Sounds Good, But...Dangers of the Church Growth Movement...Friendship Evangelism...Rationale for Friendship Evangelism..."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A.

Theses very close to Valleskey's Quarterly article (Spring, 1991, p. 117). Questionnaire mentions CG "underemphasizing the Means of Grace as the power of the Holy Spirit." [That is like saying that Lutherans underemphasize the Assumption of Mary.]
David J. Valleskey, P.T. 418, The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation, Summer Quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, June 23-July 11, 1986.

"This downplaying of the importance of the means of grace on the part of many in the Church Growth Movement would seem to stem from several factors." [That is like saying that many Lutherans downplay the infallibility of the pope.]
David J. Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1991 88, p. 105. Holidaysburg, 10-15-90.

"There is a fourth option, which is the choice of this writer. It is the same kind of approach Lawrence Crabb, a Christian counselor, advocates over against the use of secular counseling resources. He calls it 'spoiling the Egyptians' (Exodus 12:36, KJV), after the action of Israel at the time they left Egypt, when they took from the Egyptians what would stand them in good stead on their journey."
David J. Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1991 88, p. 115. Holidaysburg, Pa, 10-15-90. Exodus 12:36.

"Yet this writer is confident we won't go astray in adopting a 'spoiling the Egyptians' approach to the various Church Growth Movement sociological principles and the research that produced them."
David J. Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1991 88, p. 116. Exodus 12:36.

"The instructor may find it best not to distribute the Spiritual Gifts Analysis (pp. 33-49) until the end of the course, when the time has come for class members to work through it."
David J. Valleskey, Gifted to Serve, Parish Services, WELS. [Spiritual Gift Analysis was widely promoted through Fuller Seminary.]

"So, what should the members of St. John evangelism committee do with [C. Peter Wagner's] Your Church Can Grow?...They can probably pick up a few helpful hints. They might, for example, appreciate research which provides an insight into the way unchurched people think."
Prof. David Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement, Just Gathering People or Building the Church?" The Northwestern Lutheran, May 5, 1991, p. 185. See Oct 15 NWL Jeb Schaefer editorial

Bob: "..I'd like to share with you a book I came across the other day. It's interesting, easy to read, and may be the answer to our problem..." [Could this be the Bible, The Book of Concord, What Luther Says?] "Its title is Your Church Can Grow, and it's filled with all sorts of practical hints that could help us turn things around here." Author: "Bob didn't realize it at the time, but in his browsing he had stumbled upon one of many similar books written from the perspective of the church growth movement, books with such titles as How to Grow a Church, Ten Steps for Church Growth, Church Growth: Strategies that Work, and Leading Your Church to Growth."
Prof. David Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement, Just Gathering People or Building the Church?" The Northwestern Lutheran, May 5, 1991, p. 184.

"Accordingly, when Christ says, Disciple (matheteusate) all nations by baptizing them, matheteusate can mean nothing other than to make disciples, to turn unbelievers into believers; for that is the Spirit-produced effect of baptism."
David J. Valleskey, We Believe—Therefore We Speak, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1995, p. 127. Matthew 28:18-20. [Fuller Seminary promotes the manufacture of disciples.]

"It is true that only God the Holy Spirit can effect the end result of making a disciple out of an unbeliever; all we can do is sow the seed. But it is also true that our Lord, by speaking specifically of making disciples in his commission to his church, is encouraging it to keep that intended goal in mind when it does its seed sowing."
David J. Valleskey, We Believe—Therefore We Speak, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1995, p. 135. Matthew 28:18-20

"Is the mission of the church to preach the gospel or to make disciples? The two--preaching the gospel and making disciples--are closely connected. Making disciples is the goal, or end result, our Lord had in mind. He does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance and faith. He wants all to be saved, to come to a heart knowledge of the truth. Preaching the gospel (employing the means of grace) is the means by which the Lord will achieve his goal of making disciples and so of gathering in his elect before he returns."
David J. Valleskey, We Believe—Therefore We Speak, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1995, p. 134.

"David Hubbard, president Fuller Seminary: 'Not all of us have the gift of evangelism. I admire people who can lead others to Jesus Christ right on the spot...."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 52.

"Introduction to the Church Growth Movement by Lutheran authors, Hunter, Kent R., Foundations for Church Growth (New Haven, MO: Leader Publishing Co., 1983) - the author, an LC-MS clergyman who has now set up his own church growth consulting service, performs the valuable service in this 204 page book of presenting an introduction to church growth goals and terminology. Werning, Waldo, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977) - Werning, active for years in LC-MS stewardship work, explains the foundations, presuppositions and principles of church growth and then shows how a congregation can benefit from making use of certain church growth principles - of the two books listed in this category, Werning's is the more practical."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 6.

"3. Establish your goals. a. definition: goals are those things that are required for an organization to carry out its objectives ('How') 1) short-range targets 2) SMART, Specific...Measureable...Acceptable...Realistic...Timed...."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 101.

"But a cold heart can beat close to a correct mind. There are too many churches with impeccable credentials for orthodox theology whose outreach is almost nil. They are 'sound,' but they are sound asleep." Leighton Ford, The Christian Persuader. Valleskey asks: "true to a certain degree of us?"
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 24.

"a receptivity rating scale (adapted by Win and Charles Arn in The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, p. 91...."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 58. [More Church Growth manufacturing of disciples.]


"There are other church growth programs which have been developed along more conservative lines. Here we are thinking of adaptations of McGavran's principles such as developed by Waldo J. Werning of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In his study entitled "Vision and Strategy for Church Growth" Werning has modified some of McGavran's extreme positions. Using some of his own adaptations Werning has conducted many seminars and workshops in applying church growth principles to a local congregational setting in America." [Werning is Who's Who in Church Growth]
Ernst H. Wendland, "Church Growth Theology," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, April, 1981, 78, p. 117.

***

GJ - When Valleskey gave his wretched analysis of the Church Growth Movement at the Ohio Conference in 1991, he pretended to be a Church Growth virgin who was forced into bed with all those Fuller authors. And yet, he was teaching Church Growth at The Sausage Factory five years earlier:

David J. Valleskey, P.T. 418, The Church Growth Movement—An Evaluation, Summer Quarter, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, June 23-July 11, 1986.

Strangely, after being thrown into the Fuller mosh pit against his will, Valleskey immediately decided we should "spoil the Egyptians" and borrow from the rich treasures of that scrofulous school. More likely, he was converted like St. Paul, only scales were placed on his eyes by his beloved professors at Fuller Seminary.

Was the Sarcasm Button Left On?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Some Elementary Ejukashun About Counting Lenten Da...":

"The Sundays are not counted as Lenten days, but they are Sundays in Lent. If it is not really Lent on Sunday, someone will have to explain why the paraments are purple."

Who needs paraments when you've got your own church body (and no, I'm not going to discuss whether or not your church "body" resembles Arnold Schwarzenegger's or not)?

cf.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

By the way, I was always taught that the 40 days in Lent bring to mind the 40 hours Christ was in the tomb. The "obvious"ness of the 40 days being in reference to the 40 days in the desert is something that was not so obvious to me. I suppose, however, that must be because I was brought up WELS, right?

Well, my WELS teachers taught me to look up references like Lent and to understand what they are and why we celebrate them. I'm sure you are familiar with Luther Reed. His take on Sundays in (not of) Lent?

In the book, "Worship," Reed explains that the oustanding feature of the season of Lent is preparation in fasting. He then describes how the Sundays in (not of) Lent are ALWAYS feast days. Now explain to me, please, how a feast day can be celebrated in the midst of a fast, unless it is not counted as part of the fast.

That is the importance of the word "in" rather than "of." The Sundays are "in" Lent, but not "of" Lent. They are at the time of, but not a part of, Lent.

The Sundays don't just have an "Easter-y quality." They are Easter.

Sorry it took me so long to reply. I am a pastor at a church and have been busy preparing joy-filled messages of Christ crucified for the Sundays in Lent.

***

GJ - I would post faster, but I teach 9 university courses and prepare services for Sundays and Wednesdays in Lent, plus adult studies.

Be sure to change your paraments to white during Lent, Anonymous.

I will add Luther Reed to the Book of Concord, right after the Brief Statement and the Kokomo Statements.

There are different explanations and varying traditions, just like the colors of the candles for the Advent wreath. I understand the Agnus Dei was added to the service for spite, because a rival leader did not like it. Still, it is a beautiful part of Holy Communion.

Here is a disclaimer for the Sundays in but of Lent:

"This is really an Easter Sunday and not a Lenten Sunday, in spite of the name on our pre-printed synod bulletins. You may turn in your Lenten offerings on Sunday even though Luther Reed says otherwise. To avoid confusion in the future we are becoming an Emerging Church with no liturgy, no hymns, and no creeds - with sermons copied from Groeschel and Stanley."

I imagine some people are not feeling the joy in your comment. It sounds more like:

1. I was born WELS and you were not.
   
2. I am part of huge--albeit shrinking and insolvent--synod. You are not.
   
3. I am taking time from my horribly busy schedule to set you straight.
   

Mega-Church Without Walls Beats Foreclosure

Pastor Hails Without Walls Foreclosure Deal
Without Walls International Church escaped the specter of foreclosure after its lender agreed to drop demands for control of its books, tapes and other intellectual property, Pastor Randy White said today.

March 2008 NBC Report on Without Walls International Church
White, the church’s founder, told his congregation during this morning’s service that the California-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union had agreed to a modified loan agreement Wednesday that took the church out of foreclosure.

The church defaulted on a $1 million loan due in August, prompting the credit union to begin foreclosure proceedings in November.

The foreclosure proceedings included another $24.5 million in loans for the Tampa ministry, headquartered at 2511 N. Grady Ave., and its Lakeland branch.
[...]

At a press conference after the service, White said attorneys had been negotiating since the lender announced the foreclosure but met a logjam on the credit union’s insistence the church give up rights to its intellectual property including its name, all tapes and books.

The church’s attorneys told him not to agree to the demand, White said.

“That’s your birthright,” he said.

The restructured agreement also calls for interest-only payments and no penalties, White told reporters.

The credit union announced the modified loan agreement last week but disclosed few details.
[...]

The church last week hired back three of seven employees laid off about two months ago, White said today. The seven people who lost their jobs make up about a quarter of the church’s staff.

He also said that the church had hired a Beverly Hills lawyer to explore a lawsuit against The Tampa Tribune.

From the pulpit and in statements, White has blamed critics and the credit union for trying to bring down the church.
[...]

---

Randy White Makes Emotional Return To Without Walls Pulpit


By JEFF SCULLIN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2007

TAMPA - Days after its founders announced they plan to divorce, Without Walls International Church got back to business Sunday.

The 9 a.m. service drew about 1,000 people - a typical crowd for the early service during summer months. After a typically high-energy service, few members wanted to talk about the impending split between Randy and Paula White, though.

One woman who did speak after the service, Katrina Singleton, 35, of Brandon, said the couple's separation might affect the church. Some members tend to follow Randy, while others follow Paula, she said.

'I was really surprised,' Singleton said

---

Without Walls

***

GJ - Big debt is going to crush a lot of mega-churches.

WELS Could Have $8 million deficit for 2009-10

The Popcorn Cathedral: relevant, relational, and rockin'.

Parochial schools are closing and larger congregational staffs are being trimmed.

One bright, shining light is the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock in Appleton. Who knows where the kiddies would go if they didn't have an Imax with free Wi-Fi?

After an all-day meeting, the staff at the Popcorn Cathedral decided to charge extra for butter on the popcorn.

Ski said, "Everyone must sacrifice in these dark times."

Wall Street Looking For Bear Bottom

When Obama was enthroned as the New Messiah, he began doing everything wrong, which was no surprise to me. The Dow Jones tanked so fast that Mrs. Ichabod and I began predicting where the bottom would be. It is not our wish to see this happen. Nevertheless, a Secretary of the Treasury who claims he cannot run Turbo-Tax is a clown and not one to inspire confidence.

Mrs. Ichabod and I agreed on a Dow Jones of 5,000. She added, "I don't read all the financials, so my prediction is better than yours."

Today, a month later, the Wall Street Journal predicted a possible 5,000 Dow Jones. Everyone I know has had major losses. I hope common sense returns to the government. A lot of new people need to be elected.

Dr. Doom's prediction.

Get Rid of Your Troublesome Conservative Pastor, Who Doesn't Get It: Nominate Him for a Call to Australia

People with convictions were transported to Australia in the 19th century.


Learn Why Transported Is More Than a Religious Experience in Australia

Rev Rolf Preus contact person for Lutheran churches in Australia
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reclaimnews/message/136
More names needed for Call Lists in Austrailia Message List Reply Forward Message #136 of 136 <> Reclaim News has been contacted by a group of Lutheran laypeople in Australia. There are an estimated 30 congregations that are looking for conservative Lutheran pastors. These congregations do no want the new liberal graduates from the seminary in Australia. If you are open to a call from Australia, please reply to our confidential list. Your name and email address will be forwarded to our contact in Australia. They have already asked us about Rev. Rolf Preus, whom they have read about in CN. We have received some names. We will need more names than these. People who remember Professor Kurt Marquart in Australia are trying to find more pastors like him. There are as many as 30 congregations who will be looking for pastors.

***

GJ - I read something about the Church of Defenestration (The Rolf Synod) having joint meetings with ELDONA.

Ashamed of the Gospel

The constantly repeating theme of Church and Change is: We are ashamed of the Gospel. Read what two favorite WELS authors have said, below.


"Paul...is speaking about methods of preaching the Gospel. He means to say that you can introduce methods into your Gospel work which on the surface do not appear as shameful, but which in reality disgrace the Gospel. He is harking back to 2:17, where he spoke about kapeleuein, about 'selling' the Gospel. To use a coarse illustration: Some ministers in their eagerness to bring the Gospel to the people, resort to entertainment to attract the crowds, in order to get an opportunity to preach to them. If you would tell such ministers that they are ashamed of the Gospel and that by their methods they disgrace it, because they manifest a lack of trust in its efficacy, they would resent the charge. Are they not doing all in order to promote the Gospel? The disgrace their methods bring upon it does not appear on the surface; that is why Paul speaks of secret things of shame."
John P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, pp. 62f. 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 2:17.

"The type of minister to which we referred above as using entertainment in order to lure the people is employing panourgia, and is therefore guilty of committing secret things of disgrace. The Gospel is the word of Truth. To resort to ruses in proclaiming it, even though with the best of intentions, is heaping shame on the Truth. Not only are the truth and lures incompatible in their nature, but to use lures in connection with the Gospel ministry treats the Truth, the eternal Truth of God, as though it were inefficient, not attractive enough in itself."
John P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, pp. 62. 2 Corinthians 4:2.

"What he has to announce is not designed to lead men to a deeper understanding of nature, it is not science; nor to train them in the rules of hygiene, to produce a more healthy population; nor to teach them to procure greater wealth, or to get more satisfaction and enjoyment out of life; it is not even to elevate them to more idealistic views and to morally cleaner habits. No, he addresses himself strictly to the troubled consciences, promising them relief and peace."
John P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 65. 2 Corinthians 4:2.

"Because such is Paul's ministry, he cannot, on the one hand, stoop to trickery or an adulteration of the Word, to practice the hidden things of shame; nor can he, on the other hand, ever grow weary of administering so wholesome and glorious an office."
John P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 65. 2 Corinthians 4:2.

"The very fact that we, being such cheap and fragile implements, continue in our service unbroken is proof of the excellency of God's power, and is an incentive to renewed cheerful efforts on our part."
John P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 72. 2 Corinthians 4:7.

"Paul offers no excuse for preachers who desire to eliminate certain teachings of the gospel on the plea that they can thus reach and attract more people than if they insisted also on these teachings. Paul intends to omit, even in his own mind, any addition to the gospel, any admixture, any sugar-coating of it by human, worldly wisdom."
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's First and Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1946, p. 89. 1 Corinthians 2:2.

"Crafty conduct is paired with 'adulterating the Word of God.' These two ever go together. He who is not honest with himself will not be overhonest with the Word. The reverse is also true--and the writer may be permitted to say that he has witnessed it too often--he who is not really honest with the Word cannot be trusted very far with his conduct. Dolow=to catch with bait, to fix up something so as to deceive and to catch somebody. It is used with regard to adulterating wine. So here: 'adulterating the Word of God,' not leaving it pure lest people reject it but falsifying it to catch the crowd. Of all the dastardly deeds done in the world this is the most dastardly. None is more criminal nor more challenging to God himself."
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's First and Second Letter to the Corinthians, Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1957, p. 955. 2 Corinthians 4:2.

"It is the same thought as that expressed in 2:17. Some preachers, like hucksters, are ready to dicker about the Word of God as though they can discount something to make a sale, as though the deal is between them and men alone. This is what Paul also means by adulterating the Word of God, mixing in unrealities to make the Word acceptable to men."
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's First and Second Letter to the Corinthians, Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1957, p. 957. 2 Corinthians 4:2. 2 Corinthians 2:17.

"When the sun bathes the rose, its peals open; so conscience should respond the truth. A lack of their own full conviction weakens their effort to aid the truth with other means."
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's First and Second Letter to the Corinthians, Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1957, p. 958. 2 Corinthians 4:2.

***

GJ - I could tell from the beginning that this WELS group suffered from severe pulpit envy. They visited the heretics "to learn" and came back rapturous. If you think not, read Ski's tour of Babtist-land at Drive 08 and view the photos. Their ideology was on display before I even went to Columbus. I heard from various WELS leaders swooning about Church Growth: Paul Kelm, Larry Olson, Jim Huebner, etc.

What disappointed me about WELS from the beginning was this group's awe of ELCA with its vast sums of money available for public relations. That was brought up to me by victims of the Sausage Factory, whose heads were still be stuffed full of nonsense. They obviously coveted the sums ELCA had to spend, something they had to hear in class. I said, "What good has the money done? They are only in the news for their radical DMX group in Pennsylvania." Obviously, I didn't "get it."

A Woman Twits - The World Listens

Heard ppl tell Ski tonight "Love that u don't hide the fact u r Lutheran when u preach." love that we are true to doctrine & still reach ppl
about 2 hours ago from Tweetie.

***

GJ - That is why they call this mission The CORE, so everyone knows it is a Lutheran Church fronted by an Imax, a popcorn stand, gourmet coffee, and Wi-Fi.

The website URL does not hide the Lutheran identity at all:

gotocore.com

I hear the strains of "O Lord, Look Down From Heaven, Behold," every time I see the website address.

Since the Pricey Executive Assistant is communicating with Ichabod via Twitter, please answer these questions:

1. How can someone study under Babtist Andy Stanley, copy Craig Groeschel's sermons, and remain true to Lutheran doctrine?

2. The comments you record seem to come from area WELS members, so did Fox Valley need a 41st WELS outlet? Wouldn't it be cheaper to have a popcorn/latte service at St. Mark Depere and get a $1 million grant from Thrivent for innovation?

PS - Thanks for removing the duct tape Flash movie from the website. That kind of "evangelism" is so old that the two of you were on trikes when Rick Miller shopped it around in S. Lyons. And it was a foolish mockery of the Word then, too.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Woman Twits - The World Listens":

I think you really hit the nail on the head here. The CORE is designed to take WELS members who hate Christ-centered worship from surrounding congregations and plant them in a "relevant" church where Jesus is buried under popcorn kernerls.

It is obvious from Ski's website that he is targeting people who dislike their current church. I thought he was supposed to be targeting people who HAVE NO CHURCH!

Perhaps this explains what "Pastor Tim" of Ski's sugardaddy congregation, St. Peter, did after leading chapel at Fox Valley Lutheran High School. He actually invited the entire student body of Fox Valley Lutheran High School to the CORE for worship.

When something like that happens, are we really supposed to believe Ski isn't here just to sheep steal from WELS congregations? "Hey, kids, do you think worship with Christ at the center is boring? Well, we do to! So come on down to the CORE! What's that? You already attend a WELS church? Don't worry! You won't mistake us for one of those loser churches!"

That's how the CORE "reaches" people.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Woman Twits - The World Listens":

This statement really bothers me:
"love that we are true to doctrine & still reach ppl"

Would you expect anything less?
Are you implying that other WELS congregations are true to doctrine and DON'T reach people?

What do you really mean by that statement?

***

GJ - The pricey executive assistant is trying to say the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock is both Lutheran and reaching people. They seem to be reaching active WELS members at the moment, but the facts should not interfere with a good plan.

Tim Glende learned from Floyd Luther Stolzenburg that evangelism means taking active members from other congregations and calling it growth.

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Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "A Woman Twits - The World Listens":

I've got a question for all of you accusing these folks of not having Christ centered worship: How many of you have attended a worship service at The CORE? How many of you have heard Pastor Ski preach a sermon? Just curious.

***

GJ - Apparently, very few have heard Ski preach in Appleton. I don't need to travel there, because I can click on Craig Groeschel's or Andy Stanley's sermons.

Ski could provide a typescript of each sermon. I do that. I broadcast and save the the file. I don't have a huge grant and a price executive assistant, so why I can do this part-time when he cannot do it full-time? The fault is with Ski, not with his groupies.

Truth or Consequences: Ron Roth versus Wayne Mueller.Wayne M. Just Spoke in A-Town

Ron Roth works with Jeff Davis in charging a percentage when they raise funds through their business, which they advertise as stewardship training.

"TELL has served the church faithfully for 15 years. Three editors have served; Ronald Roth (1977-84), Paul Kelm (1985-88), and the undersigned since 1989...The lead article in the first issue of TELL was titled 'Church Growth - Worthwhile for WELS.'...The author of this article in April 1988 issue of TELL concludes, 'It's obvious by now that I believe we in WELS can profit greatly from the writings of the church-growth leaders.' ... TELL as a separate publication ends with this issue. Nevertheless, the focus of The Evangelism Life Line will continue for years to come as an integral part of the new Board for Parish Services journal - PARISH LEADERSHIP. "
Rev. Robert Hartman TELL (WELS Evangelism) Summer, 1992.

"There is no Church Growth Movement Program in our synod. Our church body is opposed to the false theology of the Church Growth Movement. We have no programs inside or outside the budget with that name. Nor do we have any programs with a different name which utilize Church Growth theology." Wayne D. Mueller, Administrator for the BPS, WELS, "A Response to 'Saving Souls vs. New Programs,'" The Northwestern Lutheran, November 1, 1991, February 1, 1992 p. 50.

***

GJ - Wayne, some day you need to sit down with Ron Roth, hold his hand, and tell him that someone is lying. Sort it out before you speak to another so-called Evangelism conference.

This is for all those who got their Brett Favre jerseys in a knot about publishing last year's agenda for the Anything Goes District Evangelism event: It is the same Church and Chicanery agenda each year. The faces may change a bit, but the doctrine is consistently Schwaermer. Ski spoke last year and this year, on the same topic. Next year will probably be: "Ski on alternative worship, based on his experiences at St. Markus, at the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock, and at CrossRoads in S. Lyons, Michigan."

"I'm Doug Englebrecht,
and everyone knows,
Anything goes!"