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SP Schroeder's report is here.
ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
raklatt has left a new comment on your post "Monday Convention Thread":
Elections Committee - 1st Vice-president
James Huebner elected and is considering the call.
The comments should be directly related to the WELS convention in Saginaw. Post news, comments, spin.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Monday Convention Thread":
Wow, did you hear President Schroeder's address to the convention?
The first 45 minutes were a direct attack on the church growth movement within the WELS. He talked about efficacy of the Means of Grace, the theology of the cross, the dangers of contemporary worship, the proper use of Christian freedom, and more. I had hoped he would make at least some references to some of those things, but the things he said were far more and more powerful than anything I had hoped for.
Thank God for President Schroeder!!! For the first time in a long time I feel like my synod is on the right track.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Pietism, Hymns, and Francke":
A Pietist-Babtist sermon from Kudo Don..
Holy Fun
God Wants Us To Have Holy Fun
1. A fun without alcoholic intoxication.
2. A fun that is generated by the Holy Spirit.
3. A fun that meets needs and glorifies God
- Kudo Don - DP in waiting
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Coming to a Lutheran Church Near You":
"Coming to a Lutheran Church Near You" - Do you mean the dancing or the staff minister leading the service?
WELS Staff Ministry program
http://www.staffministry.net/directory.php
- Susan Bondow Minister of Music St. Peter Appleton, WI (Page 2)
- Ann Conley Staff Ministry Student Shepherd of the HIlls West Bend, WI (Page 2)
- Susan Fink Staff Ministry graduate (interned spring '03) St. Peters Mishicot, WI (Page 3)
- Vicki L. Hartig Time of Grace Ministries (Page 4)
- Diane Kumm Grace Lutheran Church Charlotte, NC (Page 5)
- Judith Metzger Outreach Coordinator/Campus Ministry Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel & Student Center Madison, WI (Page 6)
- Kristine Metzger Wisconsin Lutheran College Milwaukee, WI (Page 6)
- Marilyn Miller Deaconess in Staff Ministry Abiding Word Houston, TX (Page 7)
- Amanda Miller Apostles San Jose, CA (Page 7)
- Chrystal Moldenhauer Staff Minister/Chaplaincy Assistant The Lutheran Home Association (Page 7)
- Juliane A Naumann Staff Ministry graduate (Page 7)
- Lisa M Ohland Director of Family Ministry St. Peter's Mishicot, WI (Page 7)
- Sarah Owens Deaconess Wisconsin Lutheran Institutional Ministries Inc. (Page 7)
- Rebecca Palacios Deaconess of Hispanic Outreach St. Mark's Watertown, WI (Page 8)
- Jacqueline Phoenix St. John Antigua, West (Page 8)
- Sheila Pottorff Staff Ministry Student Martin Luther College (Page 8)
- Janeen Roska Minister of Music St Lucas Milwaukee, WI (Page 8)
- Connie Sauer Deaconess/Parish Nurse (Page 8)
- Jennifer Schuessler Deaconess St. Paul Amherst, NH (Page 9)
- Michelle L Weihing Staff Ministry intern Christ our Redeemer/Christo Nuestro Redentor El Paso, TX (Page 10)
- Donna M Wolle Staff Ministry intern St Paul's (Page 11)
This video is currently featured on the Beautiful Savior websty, Pastor Steve Witte, Church and Change founder; DMin, Gordon Conwell. Gordon Conwell is a double-Babtist merger. Seeing the C and C picture? Babtist Stetzer, Babtist Witte. Babtist Stanley, Babtist Ski.
07/20/09 WISCONSIN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNOD 7:09 am
P A S T O R - C A L L - R E P O R T
07/14/2009 through 07/20/2009
----------------- N O - D E C I S I O N S - R E P O R T E D ----------------
Witte, Rev Steven L - Asia Lutheran Seminary Board - 05/29/2009
Vice President
Hillside Christian Church
For your convenience, we've listed some of the most commonly asked questions. If you have others, please don't hesitate to give us a call at 806-457-4900.
Q: What type of church is Hillside Christian Church?
A: Hillside is a non-denominational church that desires to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Q: Do you have services for my children and teens?
A: Children and students best learn spiritual truth in ways appropriate and relevant to their age and life stage. We have designed environments for all age groups from birth through High School. Please click on Hillside Kidz or Hillside Students for more information.
Q: How often do you have communion? Who is welcome to participate?
A: We serve communion every week. Anyone who has given their life to Jesus Christ is welcome to participate in Communion whether you are a member, regular attender, or guest at Hillside Christian Church.
BELIEFS
God is Creator and Ruler of the universe. There is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is Holy and Righteous. The only way to have an authentic relationship with God is through Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1:1; Psalm 145:21; Colossians 1:16; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14.
Jesus Christ was with God in the very beginning, and God created the universe through Him. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, took on flesh and blood, and made His dwelling among us. His physical death on the cross saves us from our sin. His bodily resurrection changed the course of history and created the path to eternal life with God.
Colossians 1:15-20; Matthew 1:18-2; John 1:1-4, 14:6, 3:16; I Corinthians 15:1-8.
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He makes us aware of our need to follow Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He lives in every Christian from the moment that person gives his or her life to Christ. He gives us guidance and leadership on a daily basis so we can obey God’s Word and do what is right. He gives each of us spiritual gifts for the purpose of serving the Body of Christ. We seek to live under His control in all situations.
John 16:8-9; Acts 2:38; Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 1:13-14, 3:16, 4:30, 5:18; Galatians 5:16,25, I Corinthians 12,13.
We believe that man, created by God, willfully sinned, and as a result, is lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1:27; Isaiah 53:6, 59:1-2; Romans 3:23, 5:8.
Salvation is a free gift of God. The death of Christ on the cross is the only sufficient payment for our sins. Every person has sinned, but every person also can be forgiven and saved by Christ. This salvation is available for any person who puts his or her trust in Christ as Savior. Those trusting Christ should ask Him for forgiveness of sin, believe in Him, confess their faith in Him, and be baptized. We show our faith publicly through baptism.
Romans 3:23, 6:23; John 3:16; Romans 10:9; Acts 2:38; Matthew 28:19; Matthew 3:13-17.
We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and the final authority for all matters of faith. The Bible is God’s Word to all people.
Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; Psalm 119:105,160.
The church is the body of Christ on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue the task of leading others to faith in Christ and teaching followers of Christ to obey and serve Him. Involvement in a local church is critical to individual growth, fellowship, and support for life’s day-to-day challenges.
Matthew 28:19-20; I Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 2:19.
"Flower Patterns and Fibonacci Numbers
Why is it that the number of petals in a flower is often one of the following numbers: 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 or 55? For example, the lily has three petals, buttercups have five of them, the chicory has 21 of them, the daisy has often 34 or 55 petals, etc. Furthermore, when one observes the heads of sunflowers, one notices two series of curves, one winding in one sense and one in another; the number of spirals not being the same in each sense. Why is the number of spirals in general either 21 and 34, either 34 and 55, either 55 and 89, or 89 and 144? The same for pinecones : why do they have either 8 spirals from one side and 13 from the other, or either 5 spirals from one side and 8 from the other? Finally, why is the number of diagonals of a pineapple also 8 in one direction and 13 in the other?
Are these numbers the product of chance? No! They all belong to the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc. (where each number is obtained from the sum of the two preceding). A more abstract way of putting it is that the Fibonacci numbers fn are given by the formula f1 = 1, f2 = 2, f3 = 3, f4 = 5 and generally f n+2 = fn+1 + fn . For a long time, it had been noticed that these numbers were important in nature, but only relatively recently that one understands why. It is a question of efficiency during the growth process of plants.
The explanation is linked to another famous number, the golden mean, itself intimately linked to the spiral form of certain types of shell. Let's mention also that in the case of the sunflower, the pineapple and of the pinecone, the correspondence with the Fibonacci numbers is very exact, while in the case of the number of flower petals, it is only verified on average (and in certain cases, the number is doubled since the petals are arranged on two levels)."
http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm
This is the Calvinistic view of the Resurrection, found on the front page of the Beautiful Savior (WELS) website, Green Bay. Calvinists believe Jesus could not leave the tomb until the angels let Him out. John Calvin himself said - Jesus entered the locked room through a secret entrance. Calvinists also reject the Real Presence - in fact, Calvin mocked it in his Institutes. Calvinism is rationalistic and always leads to Unitarianism at best.
Pastor Steve Witte has a DMin from Gordon Conwell. Witte was a founder of Church and Change. He has a call to serve in Asia for WELS missionary work. The CLC (sic) did the same thing with David Koenig, they sent a Lutheran-doctrine-hater overseas.
"Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
for the study and renewal of worship
Worship Renewal Grant Recipients—Year 2009
Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Green Bay, Wisconsin
To initiate avenues for teens and young adults to become involved in planning and leading worship for a growing multicultural congregation."
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GJ - Witte is so broke he has to run to the Calvinists for money. Send him overseas - the heretics in world missions won't even notice.
"The staff minister who did a brief stint at my mother's church ran the WELS chapel services at her senior citizens' residence, complete with Holy Communion."
This is a major problem that is developing in the WELS "staff ministry" program. Staff ministers are not trained for this level of soul care, but to an increasing extent they are being asked to provide it anyway. This is disorderly. Examining would-be communicants, and admitting them (or declining to admit them) to the Lord's altar, is a distinctive act of pastoral oversight. It is a very weighty matter. One gets the impression, though, that those congregations that authorize men who are not trained or called to be pastors to do this pastoral work are not appreciating the full seriousness of what is happening, when communicants are guided in their preparation for the sacrament, and when the Lord's Supper is then administered to them.
David Jay Webber (Djw)
Member
Username: Djw
Post Number: 157
Registered: 12-2004
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Posted on Saturday, July 25, 2009 - 11:08 am:
Jay, it is not primarily a question of training. It is a question of office. There is a simple response to the staff minister who presumed to administer the Lord's Supper at WELS chapel services.
1. God instituted the pastoral office.
2. Pastors are to administer the Lord's Supper.
3. A staff minister is not a pastor.
That's quite simple and easy to understand.
Pr Rolf David Preus (Rolf)
Senior Member
Username: Rolf
Post Number: 3738
Registered: 5-2001
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GJ - No one is going to admit that WELS/ELS "staff ministers" come from the fertile copying efforts of the Shrinkers who went to Fuller Seminary. Everyone graduating from Mary Lou College is a minister. It is the WELS School of Ministry. For a time they ordained male teachers too, because male teachers wanted to be ordained. Are they still? Does anyone care?
The ELS is deservedly famous for communing ELCA members, which Jay Webber advocated himself, because it was "easier." Therefore, three years of seminary training and a vicarage are not sufficient to teach someone the basics of historical Holy Communion practice. I know The Surrendered Fort is fabled for its obsession with Eastern Orthodoxy. Real EO priests would choke at open communion.
I never communed anyone outside of WELS/ELS when I was confined to those sects. My mother and father (y'all know that argument) did not receive WELS communion until they were members. One prospect said he was going to commune with his ELCA relatives only once a year, so the infrequency made that OK. I countered with committing only one murder a year. I also said that would convince his extended family there was nothing wrong with ELCA. In fact, he had retained that idea himself since he communed without problem in Florida - at an ELS church.
The prospect joined and convinced his entire family to leave ELCA. We still communicate.
Debating doctrine on LutherQuest (sic) is like going to court to solve family conflicts - an admission of defeat, a hopeless task.
Our Old Adam does not like the cross. Nevertheless, God gives each person a cross to bear because of the Word. It may be a Chicanery or Babtist conversion in the family, a spouse who takes the opposite position, or another problem. Several Church Growth leaders are now facing an old Jewish curse - "May you marry a pious woman and then lose your faith."
We would like to see nothing but love, happiness, prosperity, and the esteem of the world from adhering to the Word, but instead we find hatred, rejection, loss of income, and shunning as a reward.
St. Therese, the Little Flower, told God in her confusion, "This is why You have so few friends - you treat them so badly!"
Paul Gerhardt and John Bunyan saw things differently, because they had saving faith. Gerhardt's hymns and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress are filled with spiritual wisdom about the cross. Lutherans are telling me that they are reading the Deutschlander book on the cross.
The political solution is to say, "If it's bad for me at this moment, I won't do it - If it's good for me at the moment - I will." Thus the blind lead the blind into a pit. Many momentary calamities are blessings, but we never see the blessings develop if we want to invent our own, and manage the world better than God can.
How can we admire Lutheran clergy who were thrown into dungeons and threatened with death for being faithful, if we worry about missing a meal or a committee assignment?
When I was a student at The Sausage Factory for a semester, the faculty was a rainbow coalition of various confessions. Valleskey was a secretive proponent of Reformed doctrine while Gawa (Gawrisch) led the class through orthodox quotations. The church history professor (Slide) knew what was going on but was afraid his pension would be taken away if he talked. Other professors did what was best for their careers.
In August at The Sausage Factory, Bruce Becker will lead the troops of the WELS Prayer Pietistic Institute to rally them for the real deal - the Church and Chicanery convention in November.
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SceleratissimusLutheranus has left a new comment on your post "Unionistic Study":
I love that picture! Instant classic.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Unionistic Study":
"Valleskey was a secretive proponent of Reformed doctrine...."
Today we see the effects of giving Valleskey a podium for his false beliefs. He operated like a thief in the night for far too long. Meanwhile, the other shepherds leading WELS turned a blind eye.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Unionistic Study":
"When I was a student at The Sausage Factory for a semester, the faculty was a rainbow coalition of various confessions."
Meanwhile, members were duped into believing that WELS remained a monolithic bastion of Lutheranism. Are the WELS leaders atheists at heart? They certainly have acted like it with all their greed and duplicity. Too many of them serve their Father Below.
Why are things quiet? The more happening, the less said. When there is such an apparent calm, both sides are active.
The message from Church and Change, just before the convention, announcing their next glorious festival of apostasy, was their effort to cheer the troops.
I am happy to mention what I have told many people -
I have been publishing about these topics for over 20 years. Before, the only people who contacted me were elderly. Now the vast majority are younger men. And I hear from pastors all the time. Various people have told me about church leaders reading Ichabod. A few clergy have said, "Everyone reads it, but they do not say it outright."
The Shrinkers can only thank themselves for proving me right.
The apostates will try to make me the issue, because I insert plenty of hilarious commentary about their buffoonery. But I also provide all the evidence so people can see for themselves.
My verbatim quotations make Beavis and Butthead howl with rage, because those nasty little boys are the finger-puppets of Kelm, Huebner(s), Parlow, Patterson, and Becker - the SP Gurgle crew. Listen to their cries of rage - and do the opposite. That is sound doctrine.
The clergy and laity that I know love to read the orthodox Lutheran quotations provided. The quotations were all carefully typed into my ancient database, Megatron, labeled, edited for accuracy, and studied repeatedly.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Determination":
WELS leadership played it safe in not saying that it is promoting the closure of Michigan Lutheran Seminary (MLS). Instead, it is giving alternatives. One alternative would not close MLS, but shows the significant, negative financial consequences on the rest of the program of not closing it. The other alternative would anticipate that funding for MLS would not be available in the second year of the two year budget adopted by the convention, but did not rule it out completely. This was a clever move by the WELS leadership because they can honestly say they did not recommend the closure of MLS. Since they did not recommend it, it is not overly controversial going into the convention. It will be the convention, not the WELS leadership, making the recommendation. However, the obvious innuendo behind both options is that MLS will need to be closed at the end of the next fiscal year, barring a financial upswing before the end of 2009. Without improvements in finances by then, the decision for closure will have to be made before enrollment would start for the fall of 2010.
To quote Luther, "It was a false, misleading dream" to think that this convention will [do] anything about the cancer of the Church Growth Movement in the WELS, at least in my opinion. I see nothing that hits it head on in the Book of Reports and Memorials or in the unpublished memorials I have seen to date. I believe a lot of the lay delegates are not aware of the issue. The male teachers would by and large be in favor of it because it has permeated the WELS school system through team ministry, using our schools as "mission arms," and the welcoming into our schools of the Reformed and sometimes the clearly heathen, not to mention the "international student" programs in many of the Area Lutheran High Schools (which I personally know in some cases is driven by financial need and not by a desire for mission work, even though that is the public justification for the program). The pastors would be divided on the Church Growth Movement, but I do not see a lot of recognized leaders among the conservatives on the roster of delegates. If the Church Growth Movement is brought up at all, it would easily be buried in a committee, tabled to a future convention, or, at best, referred to a committee assigned by the Synodical President. However, I think very little will happen at this convention with the Church Growth Movement, other than it being a topic in the halls or around a keg of beer.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Sound of One Hand Clapping":
Our pastor uses that term "Spoil the Egyptians".
What does that actually mean?
Does that mean take from non-churched to support the churched?
I am too embarrassed to ask my pastor, but it sure doesn't sound very nice....
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GJ - This looks like a soft lob, so I can hit a homer. Glad you asked, for whatever reason.
Valleskey feigned doing an analysis of the Church Growth Movement, which he took as an opportunity to gush about the undying fad. He chose to name Larry Crabb (a favorite at Fuller Seminary) and Crabb's use of the term "spoiling the Egyptians." Apparently the phrase is as old as Augustine, but I doubt whether Augustine figured much in Valleskey's education.
Valleskey and the rest of the Shrinkers use the term to excuse their wholesale borrowing of false doctrine from Fuller, Willow Creek, Mars Hill, Granger, Northpoint Crypto-Babtist, and the rest of the Enthusiasts.
As the introduction to the History of Pietism says, the Crypto-Calvinists tried to hide their allegiance to the Swiss Reformer. Now all hiding is gone.
Church and Change is devoted to spoiling the Egyptians.
I pointed out to Valleskey, in front of the Ohio pastors, that the Israelites took the gold and precious jewels of the Egyptians, not their garbage. Valleskey was not happy.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastors Getting Unionistic Degrees":
Why was all the skulduggery in WELS not exposed years or decades ago? Pastors routinely deny that there is skulduggery while they solicit support and pay tribute to the synod. This smacks of a complete sham.
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GJ - I was writing about it around 21 years go, but it was the sound of one hand clapping. Valleskey gave his Spoiling the Egyptians/Figs from Thistles paper to the Ohio Conference. The result was - those few who dissented were pushed out of WELS. Those who fainted with joy or silenced themselves were promoted.
Niall Good has left a new comment on your post "Your Pietism Detection Kit":
Could you be more specific and tell us what you real (sic) feel about Pietists?
Niall
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GJ - I have many posts on the subject. Click on the Pietism label for more information. For Lutherans, there are two major objections:
1. Pietism began with Spener, the first union theologian. When denominations set aside their doctrinal differences to work together, they fall into decline - first Unitarianism (service unites, doctrine divides), then atheism gilded with political activism.
2. Lutherans fool themselves when they imagine dabbling in something doctrinally neutral, as the Fuller Brush salesmen try to claim. Spener's cell groups produce doctrinal bastards. One thing leads to another. A glance turns into a stare, a momentary crush into an obsession. As James promised, the impulse leads to sin.
KJV James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
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Random Intolerance
Random Dan and Intolerant Elle unite their blogs in holy matrimony.
Monday, January 05, 2009
The Promised Rant
There were two pieces of news within the WELS recently that disturbed me.
The first is the WELS equivalent to Jesus First (Church and Change) has invited a Baptist, Ed Stetzer, to speak to them about, what else, missions! The problem, however, isn't that Dr. Stetzer wants to reach others for Christ, but that the man isn't Lutheran. He's going to bring his Baptist perspective to a Lutheran gathering. The man sees no role for the sacraments. We can think we can "spoil the Egyptians," but this type of thinking is leading us into the same place the American Church has now landed: Christless Christianity. Oh, there are people who do not like this. The District Presidents got together and grumbled a little, but nothing happened. No one was disciplined, and life goes on. I wish someone in the WELS would grow a spine.
The second piece of news is more disturbing. By digging a little, I also found more interesting side tidbits to this story. Paul Kelm received and accepted a call to Parish Services. The Director of Parish services, Bruce Becker, issued this call after being directed by Synodical President Mark Schroeder not to add staff due to the economic woes. President Schroeder didn't know about the call until Kelm's name showed up on the call list. How in the world am I supposed to put the best construction on that, especially when it has leaked that Becker kept President Schroeder in the dark on purpose.
Here's a few tidbits to the story (some of which you may already know). John Parlow, Pastor of St Mark Du Pere and Green Bay, WI, has been caught not once but twice plagiarizing sermons from Baptist websites. In case you are wondering, I still have in my possession the proof that this occurred. This is where Paul Kelm was called from. Even better, St Mark is a member of the Willow Creek Association as well as the WELS. This begs the question why hasn't President Engelbrecht and the rest of the Northern Wisconsin Praesidium come down on St. Marks and her pastors harder and with more fury than God came down on Sodom and Gomorrah? This is a clear violation of fellowship principles! Why aren't WELS pastors screaming their lungs out about this instead of just privately complaining about this when among themselves? Who will be our St. Nicholas, a man who became so angered by Arius' false theology about Christ that he stood up and slapped him?
Just to light a fire under some church workers, look at who else is part of the Willow Creek Association. Yes, welcome to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago! Parlow has somehow united us all to the ELCA, LCMS, the spawn of Calvin, the spawn of the Radical Reformation, and to Rome. Happy Day!
As another historical tidbit, the Gloria Patri (Glory be to the Father...) was brought into the Church's canticles to fight Arius' poisonous doctrines on Christ. That is why we sing it it in every Psalm and canticle.... Oh, wait. We use Christian Worship. They only left it in the Psalms. (Stay tuned for another segment of "why our hymnal sucks, especially after the LCMS put out the LSB" after these important messages).
Note: edited because the author can't spell Du Pere nor can he keep from using just one definite article.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More Admonitions Like This Are Needed":
(Thankfully I'm a member of a district that, so far, has been mostly free of the influence of CG heresy.)
Are you joking? Who cares what district you are a part of?? The SYNOD, of which you are a part, allows this apostasy to continue. Please wake up and shake up those pastors who are firmly grounded in God's Word. Encourage them to stand up and heed the admonition to 'Put on the armour of God'. If God be for you, who can be against you? Even the retired pastors, who can surely see the synod's decline from when they were on active duty, stand up and be heard! Help show where Synod has strayed and how to get back on track. Maybe a current pastor with a church fears some kind of punitive actions, but these retired guys have nothing to lose. God still has a purpose for them in His church and this very well may be it. STAND UP AND BE HEARD!!