Here Is the Dirt on The Dirt Conference

Isn't it time for Ski and Bishop Katie to be at another schwaermer conference?

I checked and found out they were not too far away, at Little Rock, for The Dirt Conference. They still advertise Dirt, and it was over several weeks ago.

I linked it, as always, so the Mequon, New Ulm, and WLC students can look up the information.

The idea is to learn how these Emergent Church types emerge, so newbies can figure out how to copy them without soiling themselves:


Lifechurch.tv - Copying started a long time ago at The CORE - free downloads from Groeschel!
Church of the Highlands
Gateway Church
Seacoast Church
New Life Church
Healing Place Church
The Life Church of Memphis
C3 Church
Bayside Community Church
Celebration Church, TX
Newspring Church

Bishop Katie wrote: "11/16/09 - Brought To You By The Letter Y

Call it venting. Call it a rant. Call it “up on my soapbox” if you want. But, I have something I need to get off my chest, an observation I made last week at the Dirt Conference and realized is true for us most of the time."

Before the Dirt Conference was a story conference. I believe Ski and Katie have already gone to more conferences than I have in my entire life.

Ski must be recovering because he has not blogged since July.

I would write more, but most of The CORE websty is restricted to MEMBERS ONLY. That means only 15 or so people on the entire planet can read the good stuff.

Get a large mirror. Practice sermon drama with Craig Groeschel, Life TV.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Here Is the Dirt on The Dirt Conference":

So, Ski attends all these "conferences" that are outside of fellowship. The Core websty ain't cha(sic - GJ - her sic) average WELS church blog. There are no pictures of Luther. The web designer could have, at the very least, included a lamb.(No, can't do that, might make the Core look too spiritual.) Why, tell me why, has Ski not been stripped of his pastoral duties? My pastor has stated that worshiping with the Baptists is wrong!

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

***

GJ - How could they extend the Left Foot of Fellowship when David Valleskey called it "spoiling the Egyptians"? The Ohio Conference endorsed Valleskey's odious paper and WLQ (aka The Popes Speak) published it as the latest revelation from God the Holy Spirit. The blog is still active where Ski bragged about how he worshiped awesomely with Andy Stanley.

Do not forget - the Appleton Dumbling gang is still tolerating this circus. I imagine a pastor or two objects, but Fox Valley remains the navel of the Shrinkage Movement in WELS.

The CORE is endorsed by DP Engelbrecht, guardian of pure doctrine in Northern Wisconsin.
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"  - Juvenal.
Who watches the watchmen?

---

JR has left a new comment on your post "Here Is the Dirt on The Dirt Conference":

Not to mention that we're still waiting for that verdict on Jeske and the RSO status for Time of Grace.

I know finances are rough, but shouldn't these things be our synod's top priority?

***

GJ - The jury--his Doctrinal Pussycat--has returned a verdict: "Not guilty by reason of being fifth generation WELS."

The Jury

Rev. David Rutschow, Southeastern Wisconsin District

Global Warming Collection at the Finkelsteinery

 Here is the link to Freddy, also linked on the left column.

Kurtzahn, The Pancake Pope of the CLC (sic), Unloads on Lenski

Found on e-Bay. If you stare at this IHOP stack of pancakes long enough, an image of Steve Kurtzahn appears. Some call it a miracle, but others want their money back.

Steven Kurtzahn, WELS/CLC/WELS

Pooled Ignorance from LutherQuest (sic)

Dick Rockenbach (Drock)
Senior Member
Username: Drock

Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 6:57 am: 
http://www.logos.com/products/details/3910
do any of you folks have this? Like it?
What weaknesses does Lenski have?


Pr Rolf David Preus (Rolf)
Senior Member
Username: Rolf

Post Number: 4141
Registered: 5-2001

Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 7:29 am: 
Lenksi denies objective justification and teaches election in view of faith.


Rev. Stephen Kurtzahn (Hville79)
Intermediate Member
Username: Hville79

Post Number: 320
Registered: 6-2008

Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 12:05 pm:
I would recommend Lenski, having used him from seminary days, but with the caveats Pastor Preus mentions. Those who have followed Lenski in totality have really gotten themselves messed up in these two areas--just look at what's his name over at Ichabod.

Lenski has some very good insights into the Greek that I have utilized often in my sermon work. But what I find interesting is how he will often disagree with Synodical Conference exegetes. In working through a text in the Gospels, for example, I find that he will often take an approach just the opposite of Ylvisaker or Kretzmann (who really mirrors Stoeckhardt). He doesn't mention the SC guys by name, but he explains their exegesis clearly--and then disagrees with it. There are times when I do go with Lenski because he makes more sense with the Greek. But there have also been times I've thought he's way off.

Overall, if you're looking to purchase Lenski, I think it would be a good investment that you will use for years to come.


***


GJ - I do not know which guy is funnier - Rolf cannot comprehend the book he supposedly edited - Justification and Rome.


Kurtzahn was so bad in the CLC that David Menton did not want to be in the same room with him. Ask Kurtzahn about the sin of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, or whether incest is a sin. The first one is a crucial theological matter. The second is an adiaphoron.

Kurtzahn is a good example of someone who flips for career advantage. Here is an earlier letter, from Kurtzahn.1, before he become Kurtzahn.2 and Kurtzahn.3.

[GJ - Pastor Steve Kurtzahn wrote this letter April 30, 1996, when he was a circuit pastor in the CLC (sic). The letter is written to CLC Pastor Paul Tiefel, who shares the same grandfather and nickname (Teufel) as Mequon Professor James P. Tiefel. Paul Tiefel did not enjoy my CN  review of Valleskey's disastrous Church Growth textbook.]


St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC)
2100 Sixteenth Street South West
Austin, Minniesota 55912
507-433-8191

April 30, 1996

Pastor Paul Tiefel
2015 N. Hastings Way
Eau Claire, WI 54703

This is in response to your April 27th letter.

First, let me say that when you phoned me you wanted to know what problems I had with Valleskey's book. You also mentioned on the phone that you felt Greg Jackson broke the Eighth Commandment.

It is because of the accusation you made on the phone against Greg that I spent so mujch space in my letter speaking of the review. You were the one who brought it up on the phone with me. Now you want to discuss it "only with Jackson's approval?" Let me repeat myself, Paul : I see no instance how or where Greg did such a thing as break the Eighth Commandment. [emphasis in original]

It is very disturbing that you and [David ] Koenig speak to false teachers in other church bodies like Valleskey, [James] Tiefel and Harstad (sp?) concerning the truthfulness of what Greg Jackson writes. Since when do you think they will agree with Greg? He has laid bare in the past few years the fact that many in the WELS and the ELS were Church-Growth oriented. Do you honestly think they would corroborate Greg's statements after that?

Allow me to make an analogy. Think back to the formative days of the CLC. What if you or Dave were on the floor of the WELS conventions back in the 1950's when it disregarded Romans 16:17, 18. Would you have gone to O. J. Naumann or Carl Lawrenz to see if Edmund Reim or Egbert Schoaller or C. M. Gullerrud were telling the truth concerning the error of the WELS/ELS? What do you think the response would have been if you had asked them, "Is Reim (or Schaller or Gullerud) telling the truth?"

When it comes to my pointing out the false doctrine of David Valleskey, Paul, it needs to be said that a false teacher can be recognized not just by blatant and clear statements of falsehood, like you are searching for when it comes to his book. But a false teacher can also be recognized when does NOT say something that he should, or when he says something in a confusing manner, or even when his writings exude a false spirit. For example, a person can be classified as a legalist and still say all the right words. But you know he's a legalist by the way he says these them or by what he does not say. Going back to the 1930's and 40's, particularly with the "Statement of the 44," many recognized that something was going terribly wrong in the Missouri Synod, but no one could really put a finger on the problem until after the fact. There are many things in the "Statement" that you and I could also p;robably have agreed with, but looking back upon that history we recognize now that there was an underlying liberal agenda being carried out in the LC-MS. Hindsight is always 20-20.

Getting back to Valleskey's book:

1. Unless I missed it somewhere, does Valleskey repudiate the Church Growth Movement taught by Fuller Theological Seminary by name? If he does, show me the page number.

2. On pages 199 through 204 Valleskey deals with the so-called "Seeker Service." He goes into a tremendous amount of detail about how Seeker Services are done. He raises many good questions that Lutherans should ask themselves before they become involved in such Seeker Services. But if Seeker Services are dangerous by trivializing and by even ignoring the Means of Grace, why does he leave the door cracked open by saying on page 204, "Althought it must be said that congregations may in Christian freedom utilize at least certain features of this outreach method..."

3. On page 201 Valleskey states, "The gospel is proclaimed at the Seeker Service, but not as a means by which the Spirit miraculously draws people into the church..." From what I have read from many different sources in the past and from what I have seen on television documentiaries, the Gospel of Holy Scripture is NOT proclaimed at many, if not most, of these Seeker Services. So why does Valleskey say, "The gospel is proclaimed..."?

4. On page 174, Valleskey quotes Joseph Aldrich approvingly. Where in the quote is there mention of the Means of Grace? The quote sounds very Reformed ot me ("He desire to build into you and me the beauty of his own character, and then put us on display...").

5. On pages 237 and 238 Valleskey speaks of the role of women in evangelism. I felt very uncomfortable with the two paragraphs because he is making a distinction between evangelism calling "in the name of and on behalf of the congregation" (p. 27, fifith line from the bottom) and "the ministry of the gospel conducted in the name of and on behalf of the congregation" (p. 238, fifth line from the top). Why would he make such an artificial distinction? Why would he also make the contrast in the statement "They go out, not as one with authority over the man, but as ones with a message to share"? Why would a man with his seeming intellectual prowess resort to such confusing language? WHAT IS HIS UNDERLYING MOTIVE? Are these paragraphs laying the groundwork for some new revelations to come out of the WELS in the future in connection with the role of women in the church? These are very legitimate questions we should all be asking!

When I read Chapter Five, beginning on page 213, I thought I was back working at the brokerage firm in Milwaukee, sitting at the feet of motivational speakers who were using Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. These concepts of planning, mission statements, etc. the Church Growth people at Fuller lifted right out of the business world and have applied to the church. All sorts of companies have mission statements today. I've seen them in the lobbies of hospitals and in many other public places. But the Church has its "mission statement" in Matthew 28:18-20. There is no need for a new one!

On pages 217 ff. Valleskey speaks of the value of a mission statement. He shows what happens "without a clear sense of mission" and he shows what can happen "with a clear sense of mission." Paul, take a very close look at Valleskey's points. [emphasis in original] All of this is being stated on the basis of A MISSION STATEMENT rather than on the basis of THE MEANS OF GRACE, THE GOSPEL IN WORD AND SACRAMENTS.

On page 221, Valleskey speaks of "congregational self-study." At the end of that first paragraph under step two he speaks of "a community profile." We used to refer to such activity as the canvass, so we could find out what neighborhood families are unchurched so we could share the simple Word with them. The Church Growth people speak of such "community profiles" so they can fill the "felt needs" of an area. From the way Valleskey is writing it woudl eappear that he is again going the Church Growth route. If he's not, why doesn't he make himself clear?

Valleskey speaks a lot about goals, action plans, policies and procedures, etc. Note the comment in the middle of page 225, "It is good for a congregation, and likewise its boards and committees, to ask and answer the question, 'Where would we like to be, under God, five years from now?' and then begin to take specific steps to achieve that goal.'"

The reason the CG people like such statements is that many times their goal is an increase in church membership. It is true, Valleskey warns about this on page 224, "A part of the goal, however, cannot be that as a result of this concerted effort, X number of people will be brought to faith and fellowship hurch." But then why does he spend so much time talking about it? Why do we need action plans, goals, etc. to figure out where we would like to be five years from now? The answer from every confessional Lutheran congregation should be: Five years from now we pray that we will continue proclaiming the Word of God in its truth and purity and administering the Sacraments as Christ instituted them. Period. [emphasis in original] Valleskey is lifting all of this stuff from the CG literature and interspercing comments such as the one on page 224 to salve the consciences of those who are still concerned about being faithful to the Word.

On page 230 in his example of developing policies and procedures, objective 1 is described as "To develop and maintain an evangelism awareness in our congregation." NOtice how this objective is to be implemented: articles (what should be in them?), greeter teams, adopt-a-goal, maintain tract rack (whould kind of tracts?), promote an evangelism Sunday, etc. All of these man-made methods are listed, but where in the world is there any mention of the faithful proclaimation of Law and Gospel? That is how true Scriptural evangelism awareness is developed and maintained.

Greg has already spoke of the differences in exegesis on Matthew 28 in his review, and how Valleskey is inconsistent in that regard.

There are other examples I could probably offer, but the above should suffice.

Paul, there are good things in Valleskey's book. I also learned when I read it. There are some good common sense suggestions in the second part of the book. But as you can see from the above references, ever so slyly, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Valleskey is promoting the Church Growth Movement. [emphasis in original] I will argue that with anyone. God forbid, but my guess would be the next such book out of WELS will be even more CG oriented and even more blatant in its CG statements.

I hope this will finally put to rest the discord, mistrust and animosity this book has caused among brethren.

In His service,

Steve

Stephen C. F. Kurtzahn

cc: [CLC President] Dan Fleischer, [current world missionary] Dave Koenig


***

GJ - Does anyone wonder why I put (sic) after the Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) ?

Under Construction

The Church From Old Scratch websty is under construction.

Public service announcement from Ichabod World Headquarters.

Pigs cannot fly very far.

They Do Sound Like Parlow, Ski, Jeske, Valleskey, Huebner, and Kelm

Dom Perignon Patterson caught a big one.
Gurgle helped him reel it in.

Guilty As Charged: Quotes from the Eco-Fraudsters
various ecocriminals

Posted on Thursday, November 26, 2009 1:32:27 PM by reasonisfaith

"No matter if the science is all phony, there are collateral environmental benefits.... Climate change [provides] the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world." Christine Stewart, Canadian Minister of the Environment in a quote from the Calgary Herald

"Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing -- in terms of economic policy and environmental policy." Tim Wirth , while U.S. Senator, Colorado. After a short stint as United Nations Under-Secretary for Global Affairs. Served as President, U.N. Foundation, created by Ted Turner and his $1 billion "gift"

"On the one hand, as scientists we are ethically bound to the scientific method, in effect promising to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but - which means that we must include all the doubts, the caveats, the ifs, ands, and buts. On the other hand, we are not just scientists but human beings as well. And like most people we'd like to see the world a better place, which in this context translates into our working to reduce the risk of potentially disastrous climatic change. To do that we need to get some broadbased support, to capture the public's imagination. That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. This 'double ethical bind' we frequently find ourselves in cannot be solved by any formula. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest. I hope that means being both." Steven Schneider, Climatologist, Stanford University. Quoted in Discover, pp. 45-48, Oct. 1989; see also (Dixy Lee Ray in 'Trashing the Planet', 1990) and (American Physical Society, APS News August/September 1996).

“A massive campaign must be launched to de-develop the United States. De-development means bringing our economic system (especially patterns of consumption) into line with the realities of ecology and the world resource situation.” Paul Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, “Population, Resources, Environment” (W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1970, 323) This quote has also been attributed to John Holdren, Erlich's co-author, who now works with Obama in the White House.

“People are the cause of all the problems; we have too many of them; we need to get rid of some of them, and this (ban of DDT) is as good a way as any.” Charles Wurster, Environmental Defense Fund.

“We can and should seize upon the energy crisis as a good excuse and great opportunity for making some very fundamental changes that we should be making anyhow for other reasons.” — Russell Train (EPA Administrator at the time, and soon thereafter became head of the World Wildlife Fund), Science 184 p. 1050, 7 June 1974 "Scientists who want to attract attention to themselves, who want to attract great funding to themselves, have to (find a) way to scare the public ... and this you can achieve only by making things bigger and more dangerous than they really are." Petr Chylek (Professor of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia) Commenting on reports by other researchers that Greenland's glaciers are melting. (Halifax Chronicle-Herald, August 22, 2001)

“The world has a cancer, and that cancer is man”. Alan Gregg, former longtime official of the Rockerfeller Foundation

“Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialised civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?” Maurice Strong, head of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and Executive Officer for Reform in the Office of the Secretary General of the United Nations.

“Man is always and everywhere a blight on the landscape.” John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club

“Phasing out the human race will solve every problem on earth, social and environmental.” Dave Foreman, Earth First! and Sierra Club director (1995-1997)

Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi - Recessional Lutherans Will Leave

Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi - literally means law of praying, law of believing, law of living. The phrase is often translated as "The way we worship is the the way we believe and the way we live." Often only the first four words in Latin are used, but the last two are especially fitting when applied to the Shrinkers in Lutherdom. They leave behind them - lawsuits, divorce decrees, and ruined congregations. They are stealth exterminators.

Architecture always reflects faith and worship.

1. Roman Catholic churches feature elaborate altars and diminished pulpits, because they feature the abomination of the Mass, a priest's unbloody sacrifice of Christ to reduce one's time in Purgatory.
   
2. Babtist churches feature a wading pool, inside or out, because they are stuck on immersion. Altars are minimal because they have ordinances, but no Sacraments. Non-Lutheran Protestants have baptismal fonts.
   
3. Pentecostals replace altars and pulpits with stages, to feature their amateur bands and singing artists. Others have followed this trend, which has degenerated to entertaining and snacking people at movie theaters.
   
4. Confessional Lutherans balance the altar and font with the pulpit, to emphasize Word and Sacrament. One does not overwhelm the other.

The WELS Shrinkers, following their peers in ELCA and Missouri, began by ditching the name Lutheran. I saw this circus being acted out in Columbus, with Stolzenburg, Kuske, and Zehms in charge. Laity saw it as dishonest at the very least. The Ohio Conference and Michigan District had a chance to fight this in the open, as I did. They chose to clam up and list "Pilgrim Community Church" on the roster so someone could ask about it on the floor of the district meeting. Kuske's answer was, "That shouldn't be there." That was it. The Doctrinal Pussycat Robert Mueller and VP Kuske also got CrossRoads started, same agenda. Pilgrim foundered on the rock of indifference, while CrossRoads finally turned honest and became Evangelical Covenant.


In their ignorance, Pilgrim and CrossRoads both stumbled onto well known denominational trademarks, in the name of avoiding the denominational stigmata. Under the toxic tutelage of Kelm, Valleskey, Bivens, Mark Jeske, James Huebner, and Wayne Mueller, WELS abandoned the name Lutheran with alacrity and without remorse: the hymnal, magazine, Lutherans for Life, and congregational names. They kept saying, as Kuske did, "We can leave out the name Lutheran," but no one wanted to ask why they itched to do so. The faux-answer was, "So we can grow faster."


The real answer was Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. They did not trust in the efficacy of the Word and Sacraments, so they saw name Lutheran as a barrier to becoming generic Protestants. These jokers have advertised their lack of faith, through their Sunday services, for decades. They consciously avoid the liturgy and hymnals while featuring entertainment and half-baked musical performances. Sound systems get them excited. Holy Communion is avoided entirely. Ski/Glende's The CORE, Jeff Gunn's CrossWalk are typical.


WLC Board Member Gunn gives cogent reasons for attending his sect: food, casual dress, friendliness, and relevance. Not content to compete with the club scene, they covet the restaurant and bagel business as well.


What do these Shriners read and where do they go for spiritual edification? They love CG books and recommend them to gullible members. Valleskey suggested a string of CG textbooks in The Northwestern Lutheran and still became The Sausage Factory president. Kelm, Jim Huebner, and Olson made careers out of promoting Reformed doctrine. In the foulness of time, Mark Jeske appeared, with an excellent chance to make an unknown name well known through TV. He did the opposite. No one can tell he is Lutheran or WELS (or Missouri) from his edu-tainment shows. His cronies are the worst of the anti-Lutheran clergy in WELS. Ski's monthly need for Schwaermer conferences (with Glende and Bishop Katie in tow) are testimony to Jeske's influence. Ditto Patterson and his fondness for Exponential.


The Jeske-Parlow-Kelm style of worship will lead them out of WELS, perhaps to Missouri, but ultimately to a non-Lutheran sect. Parlow and Kelm are already ministerial members of Willow Creek Community Church (no discipline from DP Engelbrecht). I predict that Willow Creek will be the ultimate destination for many. Jerry Kieschnick could create a non-geographical district for WELS exiles. They would be allowed to eat tiger meat and continue secret GA hazing routines.


Marc Schroeder (LCMS, not the SP) had an assistant when they were both still WELS. The assistant gave a sermon where he said people had to make a decision for Christ. Soon the assistant was in the LCMS, followed by Marc. The assistant then joined the Babtists. Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. The men who slavishly copy Reformed sermons and Sneaker Services will not remain nominal Lutherans because they are anti-Lutheran in thought, word, and deed. They were able to move WELS into their orbit by leading Mischke and Gurgle around, but everyone finally woke up when they found the accounts empty (lex vivendi). Church and Change was more effective when they operated secretly.


What do the Chicaneries stand for? Read about their conference materials, the leaders they adore, the books they read, the conferences they attend, the fellow Shrinkers they promote, the grants and subsidies they grab.


The Shrinkers have picked a bad time to strand themselves. Dubai's financial meltdown has spooked money markets and made people wonder, "If an oil-soaked kingdom is in trouble, where will the rest of the countries go?" The Shrinkers do not depend on their own success but the prosperity of others. This is old stuff for Lutheran church historians. The 19th century anti-confessional Lutheran churches (with their own anti-confessional synods) became United Church of Christ congregations, if they survived at all.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi - Recessiona...":

It must be "nice" to be an independent Lutheran Pastor- then you never have to be challenged by what your colleagues say or do, you can just throw brick bats at everyone else who is not as enlightened as oneself. (Actually, it seems pretty lacking in courage)

***

GJ - It is even better to indulge in anonymous name-calling.