Bad Sentence Construction, Worse Theology

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change Cannibals:Outreach Means Po...":

I agree with many of your reports of symptoms but I must add, certainly not all. Nevertheless I fundamentally disagree with your diagnosis of the cause. If Lenski's Ohio synod doctrine of election intuitu fidei with its concomitant limited atonement were the solution, then there'd still be an Ohio Synod today instead of generic ELCA congregations and a miserable excuse for a seminary in Columbus. Furthermore, while some theological clods make statements naively implying receptionism, the fact is one can, and MUST not go beyond Scripture to determine an exact time of the real presence. The correct doctrine is that the real presence is effected by the Words of Christ, repeated by the pastor, and that nevertheless, there is no sacrament apart from the sacramental use, which includes 1. Consecration, 2. Distribution, and 3. Reception. Lutherans have always confessed this and therefore refused to accept private masses with no communicants as the papacy promoted.

Theology is a refined enough matter, that it is not to be "fought" with mere "slogans" and clodhopper formulations. Hab vorsicht mit deinen theologischen formulären. In so doing the true statements you make will be much more "effective" (even though you seem to reject "effectiveness" out of hand).

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GJ - The thesis falls apart with the author's lack of knowledge about Lenski. They replaced him at the seminary, deliberately, with a liberal who taught the opposite. That paved the way for ELCA's merger. They also formed a committee to silence Lenski on inerrancy, so the old ALC began in 1930 with a compromised statement. That also greased the skids for ELCA.

Receptionists have two mottoes defining their error -
1. "We don't know the exact moment the elements are the Body and Blood of Christ." I agree that the Enthusiasts do not know and will never know. See Teigen's excellent book on the topic. The Synodical Conference was in error and remains in error by dancing around the issue.
2. "The elements become the Body and Blood when received by the communicant." I heard that from a WELS pastor. Normally I discuss things like that, but my jaw dropped open and stayed open. Before that, I had trouble believing anyone defended or taught Receptionism. Even Gawa, in WELS, admitted the old Synodical Conference was wrong. However, the compromising dance "We don't know" is not the answer.

I read a lot of "repeat after me" WELS slogans from the Sausage Factory in the post above.

Another red herring is the intuitu fidei charge against Lenski. He is the only American Lutheran to produce a complete New Testament commentary, very well written, with an extensive knowledge of Lutheran dogmatics. I do not think Lenski is perfect, but he overshadows anyone else in America. The Book of Concord is my ruled norm, not Walther, Lenski, Valleskey.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Bad Sentence Construction, Worse Theology":

So do you approve of bells to signify the exact moment that you claim to know?

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GJ - My, my - a Straw Man fallacy enclosed in sarcasm - that sounds so Mequonisch.

I approve of B. Teigen's fine book.

And I approve this - from Luther's Large Catechism:

"On the other hand, such is the efficacy of the Word, whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, that it is bound never to be without fruit, but always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness, and produces a pure heart and pure thoughts. For these words are not inoperative or dead, but creative, living words."
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Bad Sentence Construction, Worse Theology":

Confessing orthodox Lutheran, thank you for the full elaboration of the initial anonymous poster. You are right, it is only in our limited human thinking that we try to take apart the one divine action of the Sacrament of the Altar, and begin all sorts of worthless logomachia. (Yet it is true, there are numbskulls on both sides of the issue that can't master the simplicity of Holy Scripture and the Lutheran doctrine as presented in the Bool (sic!) of COncord (sic). This is nothing new of course. Cf. the "Hamburger Streit") Thanks again.

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GJ - I like that - both sides of the issue. Therefore, a compromise that will appeal to two sides at once is best. But see below the conclusion of the Formula of Concord.

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Triglotta, p. 1095)
Cited in Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65.


In fact, the Enthusiasm of the Synodical Conference, which emerged from Pietism, created the war and division. The Enthusiasts still insist on their own interpretation. Their answer in the ELS was to silence B. Teigen's position and treat him badly.

WELS Church and Change Cannibals:Outreach Means Poaching WELS Members

Training for The CORE's expensive staff includes two Drive conferences, a Dirt conference, Mark Driscoll in Seattle (above), Granger Community Church, Catalyst (Stanley and Groeschel), and who knows what else.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fox Valley Fed Up":

I think the best thing for WELS members in the Fox Valley to do is shun the churches and pastors who are in bed with the C&C crowd. Also, those of you who are in non C&C infested congregations should ask your pastors about the state of the district. Why, for example, is CORE being allowed to poach member from real WELS churches in the area? (I know for a fact that CORE is actively poaching members). Is CORE even really a WELS parish? Ask these kinds of questions, and don't stop asking until you get answers. Ask them do do something about it. Raise the issue at council and voters' meetings. Put the pressure on them. The best hope is that the voices raised against C&C in the Fox Valley will get too loud even for the derelict DP to ignore.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fox Valley Fed Up":

"In May 2001, WELS Perish Services applied for and received a Forward in Christ grant to conduct a three-year pilot program to address the issues surfaced by the previous two Church and Change conferences."

A three-year pilot is now permanent. This shows how deceitful the leaders are. Their efforts nearly bankrupted the synod, and still they continue. They cannot be trusted except to destroy what has been built up over generations.

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GJ - The real problem is doctrinal, but the obvious problems grow out of that false doctrine. WELS (like the ELS and Missouri) laid the doctrinal foundation for Shrinkage by publishing faked studies about how wonderful it was. That was just the third stage of Enthusiasm. The previous two manifestations were Receptionism and Forgiveness Without Faith.

How long has St. Mark Depere been a member of the Willow Creek Association. The Jeske connection with the LCMS is far less obnoxious than a Lutheran congregation establishing open unionism with the Reformed. And nothing has been done by anyone. But they would march with pitchforks and torches if I preached at a local WELS church.

Ski, as I recall, was rendered kosher before he even started, giving a presentation on evangelism to the Northern District. The entire program was Church and Change, in fact. He returned a year later to give another presentation to that venue. I understand he invited the WELS youth of the district to his congregation. Is that outreach or cannibalism?

Fox Valley Lutherans ought to investigate how much money has been misspent on this venture and the source of these funds. The CORE reported to St. Peter Freedom an outlay of $250,000 and a net gain of 9 members. That may even more expensive than Schwan's Ukraine Church, at a cost per member. If those 9 new people are just transfers....

This Might Sound Familiar

From the Brothers of John the Steadfast:

(Editor’s Note by Pastor Rossow: Carol Wysocki is a lay-woman from the Chicago area. After enduring the saga detailed below she began doing countless hours of research into the loss of the traditional Lutheran church. She has as business background and has noticed that a lot of warmed-over corporate trends are being followed in the church. We are hoping that she will be able to take the time and expand on each of the significant points below so that we and others can benefit from her study on how LCMS leaders, pastors and layman are hi-jacking the historically strong Biblical and confessional church and turning it into a feminized, trendy community determined by market forces and cultural preference.)

Here is the saga of my recent experience in a LCMS church. I was the victim of a “bait and switch” in the Northern Illinois District. I thought I was joining a LCMS church and I ended up in a Willow Creek style clone church. Thank you for the opportunity to warn or alert other unsuspecting Lutherans.

I was catechized back in the day when LCMS pastors did not hold back on teaching difficult doctrines to their catechumens: like syncretism, ecumenism, and unionism. I was taught properly. I remember the material. I drifted away from the church, and I put myself in the “unchurched” classification for a long time. In 2003, I commenced a five-year period of confinement taking take care of an aged parent. It was during that period with a lot of discretionary time that I renewed my mind and read the Scriptures.

When released of my caregiver responsibilities I attempted to reconnect to the church and checked into the local LCMS parish. The LCMS is still generally reputed to be a faithful denomination. I chose the brand, not the church. I was not acquainted with anyone in that church or either pastor. My time there lasted about 15 months and my experience began in the June 2008.

Upon completion of my re-education class in Lutheran doctrine in December 2008, I was made to pledge to join a Bible study or Small Group. I chose Bible study. The small group idea did not appeal to me. Small groups are not consistent with my recollection of LCMS church practices. From that time forward I would see a lot of things not consistent with my childhood experiences in the LCMS church.

Traditional worship was familiar to me except for the big Jumbotron screen in the front of the sanctuary and an empty pulpit. The biggest inconsistency with what I knew of the “old” LCMS was the semon content delivered to the congregants. I kept waiting for the pastors to proclaim the full gospel and never once did I hear any mention of sin, repentance, justification, heaven, or the certainty of God’s future judgment. Instead the senior pastor would regularly deliver a “sermonette” with sentimental platitudes and a superficial exposition of the NT reading. I began to notice there are not a lot of men attending worship, and my own husband of 37 yrs. would never sit through a “relational”, “nurturing” feminized sermon.

Sermons accompanied with ‘fill in the blank’ outlines are passed out to worshippers. There are almost always three big fill in the blank statements like: 
”God will bless me if I _______ and ________.” and 
”To overcome your fears, you must _______ and _____.” It is not my experience to have a pastor say, “Can I get an Amen?” for affirmation of a statement that he made during sermons or do hand holding prayers.

(In the second and concluding post of this telling saga we will hear how the sermons are focused on good works, how Chuck Colson, George Barna and other non-Lutherans are the “mentors” of the congregation, and the “contemporary service” that has very few young people attending and other bothersome characteristics in this parish that has rejected our grandfathers’ church.)

Inappropriate Channel

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fox Valley Fed Up":

Yup, the old "appropriate channels" where the complaint ends up in the circular file. That's why we need inappropriate channels like Ichabod.

WELS Pastor Jeske on LCMS Home Page

WELS members paid for Jeske's group, Church and Change,

to be established.

His switch to Missouri may be their reward:

LCMS Websty

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Jeske on LCMS Home Page":

As a WELS pastor, it's nonsense like this that has me seriously considering leaving the synod. They keep telling me that issues like this are being addressed, but I see no evidence that anything is actually being done.

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GJ - I am told his DP is standing in the way of any action. One must also consider the vast number of pastors and teachers trained in Church Shrinkage, all paid for through the mission offerings.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Jeske on LCMS Home Page":

Pastor Jackson wrote: "all paid for through the mission offerings". Is that an assumption? My gut feeling is that some of the money for C&C and Fuller educations came out of the general operating fund and gifts that could have went towards the ministerial school system and tuition there.

Also, I bet the pastors who went to Fuller and similar seminaries would never actually think of rolling up their sleeves and going to a mission in a third world country, so why should they dip into the missions till?

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GJ - I meant "missions" in the generic sense, anything given to the synod, not to mention Thrivent and Schwan money.

I know mission pastors were given free rides to "study" at Willow Creek, back in the 1980s. I doubt whether that money came from the officials' own pockets. Funny, I was never offered a Willow Creek scholarship.

Did Larry Oh, Fuller Bivens, David Valleskey, et al. pay the whole cost for their Fuller/Willow Creek/Trinity Deerfield educations? I doubt it.

Fox Valley Fed Up

Pastors who choose Gerhardt hymns to sing should also stand up against Reformed doctrine, as he did.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Episcopal Candidates for Bishop Love "Party in the...":

Dr. Jackson never said anything about Fox Valley pastors "starting a revolt." He used the phrase "fed up," which, according to laymen in the Valley, is correct.

I am a layman at Riverview Lutheran in Appleton. I care not only about my own congregation, but about my neighboring churches, and I've been concerned about this whole CORE thing from the get-go. I listen to whatever information I can get my hands (ears?) on. My pastors and the other pastors around don't share much at all with laypeople about this whole thing, but you still hear things now and again...from people I consider very reliable.

St. Peter Freedom had a level-headed pastor come and go within five months, fed up with "deceit" (HIS WORD), in the St. Peter/CORE conglomeration, and insisting that he feels sorry for the members of those churches, who hear nothing more than recycled Baptist theology every week. I'd call that pretty fed up.

While most pastors in the area still remain silent (there are a lot of wimps up here), there are at least 5 pastors in the area who, for now at least, are still voicing objections "through appropriate channels." Apparently they are doing so louder and louder, to their district leadership and synod leadership. If their voices are ignored much longer, though, "fed up" will become a "revolt."

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GJ - The CORE is really the Rosetta Stone of Church and Change. Ski and Bishop Katie knew each other from St. Marcus, Milwaukee. Ski was a board member of Church and Change, but he is no longer listed. Bruce Becker, of Perish Services fame, was also a board member, but is no longer listed. Becker joined Mark and Avoid Jeske as soon as he realized his PS job would soon be PM...post-mortem.

The CORE is the essence of Church and Change - spending tons of money, running off to Schwaermer conferences every few weeks, hiding the evidence when it surfaces, shamelessly copying the most blatant false teachers. The entire operation is a sham, aimed only at entertaining the Fox Valley WELS members who will go to evening services, but scared skitless about having regular Sunday or Advent services.

The claim - "Ski will do anything--short of sin--to reach the unchurched."

The reality - "Ski will do anything except rely on the pure Word of God, so he reaches no one but the WELS Pietists."

Here is the history of Church and Change, oddly missing some key names, so y'all can see how you were suckered with your own offering money:

From the Church and Change websty history:

History of Church and Change

In 1995, a group of about 10-12 men gathered at Wisconsin Lutheran College to discuss current methods of sharing Jesus which were commonly being used in the WELS at that time.  Many at the first meeting felt that those methods of sharing Jesus were not “keeping up with” the rate of change in society.  The message of the Bible was not, therefore, penetrating society very well.

In 1998 two men who had attended the first meeting planned a Church and Change conference in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The next year there was a second conference in Green Bay.  About 20 people attended each year.

In May 2001, WELS Perish Services applied for and received a Forward in Christ grant to conduct a three-year pilot program to address the issues surfaced by the previous two Church and Change conferences.  The three-year pilot program was designed to be a grassroots gathering of individuals who were pioneering new innovative methods of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with a changing culture.

Three annual conferences were planned and held beginning in 2001.  At the first conference, approximately 50 WELS members attended.  The attendance grew to 150 in the second year and 180 in the third year.  By the third year, the attendees included more than just individuals who were actively pioneering new and innovative methods for sharing Jesus.  Many in attendance wanted to learn about how to better share the gospel with the changing culture in which they served.  In addition to the three annual conferences a variety of other workshops and gatherings were held dealing with specific ministry issues such as leadership, worship, and women’s ministry.

At the final conference of the three-year pilot, held in November 2003, the conference participants enthusiastically encouraged the organizers to continue Church and Change.  A steering committee was subsequently formed from among the participants to address the future direction of Church and Change.

From November 2003 until the present the steering committee has met and drafted a proposal that addresses the future of Church and Change. 

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GJ - Church and Change made a lot of progress. Mark Jeske is now featured on the LCMS websty, and Time of Generic Grace is a Missouri Synod Registered Service Organization. He has done this without mentioning on the air that he is Lutheran. In that respect, Jeske is honest and above board - he is not Lutheran. DNA does not a Lutheran make.

Climate Changers Act Just Like Church and Changers

Have you ever kissed a frog? asked Jim Aderman

Yes I have, said FIC contributing editor Jim Aderman.

Here is the link for the story below:

 

This is a handout photo of Toronto blogger Steve McIntyre.

Photograph by: Canwest News Service, Canwest News Service

Steve McIntyre, 62, is a Toronto retiree. He plays squash, dabbles with numbers and insists he never set out to stir up any trouble.

So why does his name appear again and again - in the most unflattering ways - in hundreds of e-mails written by the world's most influential climate change scientists, that were mysteriously taken from a computer in Britain last month and published on the Internet?

In these private messages, McIntyre is called everything from a "bozo" and a "moron" to a "playground bully."

"In my opinion," said one e-mail written by Benjamin Santer, a senior climatologist with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, "Stephen McIntyre is the self-appointed Joe McCarthy of climate science."

Tree-ring Fraud Detailed Here

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GJ - I have spared the readers most of the comments from anonymous changers, who are clearly WELS members and pastors. The name-calling above is quite mild and restrained compared to the language of the Chicaneries.

Deceitfulness does not like to be uncovered, so the climate changer frauds act just like the Church and Changers. They insist on getting of anyone in their way, so they pile more lies on top of their deceit.

For example, David Valleskey appeared to say something good about me in his odious "Figs From Thistles" essay published in the Quarterly. But he told a WELS pastor that he wrote that essay "against that legalist in Ohio." He did not call me a legalist in his essay, nor did he say anything against my hundreds of published articles. But his buddy DP Marcus Nitz soon jumped on my case like a hobo on a hotdog.

I could give many more examples of this behavior, with even worse cases in the notorious CLC (sic).

The key to the Climategate scandal (also called Climaquiddick) is not due to hacking the computer files. The evidence points to someone carefully sifting through the data and emails and leaking them. Someone on the inside probably grew tired of the scientific fraud, deceit, and slander.

The Chicanery problem is - they do not know who the leakers are. Various people send me information all the time. At first I had to do all my own legwork (so to speak) going through blogs, websites, and Google searches. Later, people began sending me links to look at. More recently, boatloads of material starting coming my way, high quality intell, from here and there. Now it is difficult to keep up with the information sent.

The Chicaneries can continue to call me names. I hope the student newspapers complain again about Ichabod. Traffic doubles when they get their lavender hose in a bunch.

The Shrinkers did not want me in a synod, so I am independent. They did not want Christian News publishing the truth, so I have a bigger audience now. Plenty of younger Lutherans are active in fighting the false doctrine of the WELS-LCMS apostates.

According to Christ, apostasy will come close to prevailing. "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"

Who has declared war against faith itself - the UOJ Stormtroopers of Church Growth!

He must not publish in CN again!

Handicapping the Easter Bunny Zebra Hunter - Kudu Don Patterson

Vilas Glaeske is the current Doctrinal Pussycat in the Central Southern Babtist District.

Yet  - Patterson dodged a bullet and got another free vicar

in the midst of the Second Great Depression.

Glaeske also called each free vicar back to their district.

Lions, tigers, and bears - beware if they vote in a Lutheran

If Glaeske retires as DP, Patterson may well become the next DP. For years Patterson has enjoyed African safaris and free vicars at his church. When those Patterson free vicars graduated from the Sausage Factory in Mequon, Glaeske gave them calls back to Central Southern Babtist.

In short, Patterson has a built-in network, thanks to the "conservative" Glaeske.

Likewise, the weathervane Engelbrecht is against Church and Change when he is away from them, but actively supporting them for so-called district evangelism events and wild hair projects like The CORE. Why is Ski openly kelming Groeschel? Do the Emerging Church leaders channel Luther or even quote him?

District Popes are enablers of Church and Change. They are like state governors, in the secular world - where politics are a little more honest. DPs have plenty of clout to promote Enthusiasm and to quash Confessionalism.

Patterson is on the board of WLCFS, a key node in the Church and Change network.

Patterson has been called to serve as a Mequon professor more than once.

Recently, he and Paul Calvin Kelm gave papers to the Mequon faculty on how to improve seminary education. And you think WELS has no sense of humor?

Here are some imaginary quotes (imaginary, as in satire):

Kelm: "We need to train our boys in how to copy Schwaermer sermons and entertainment services. Too much time is spent on learning dead orthodoxy."

Patterson: "The seminary should host an annual trip to Exponential. I took a bunch of church workers there, and they were impressed."

Kelm: "Maybe I am just sensitive about my middle name, but I think Mequon should stop criticizing Calvin. A waste of time."

Patterson: "I don't want y'all teaching grantsmanship. Leave my money connections alone."

Kelm: "As my mentor, David Valleskey, wrote - we can spoil the Egyptians instead of criticizing the Reformed. No more Christian bashing in class. We can learn from them."

Patterson: "Pure gold, Paul. Pure gold."

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Handicapping the Easter Bunny Zebra Hunter - Kudu ...":

Greg, c'mon if you checked yor facts, you'd see that Patterson isn't on the board of WLCFS and hasn't been for over a year. Ceck it out for yourself at www.wlcfs.org.

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GJ - Totally awesome. I looked up the Board of Directors. According to the logic of the above comment, Patterson ceases to have any connections if he is no longer on the board. I see. Very astute, for someone who just fell off the beet wagon. And Bruce Becker is no longer a leader in Church and Change because he is not listed on the board.

WLCFS is a node in the Church Shrinkage Network. I noticed that Mattek has been demoted from CEO to Director of Ministry. It appears a Missouri guy is in charge. The bios are brief, almost absent, so I will await corrections with bated breath.

Your Thrivent Policy Money At Work - Flip Gaydar Switch To "On"

Thrivent is outted on a Gay Lesbian Trannie Bisexual website.