Timothy Buelow has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change Still Rules at the WELS Love Sha...":
Dear WELS church lady,
When Northwestern College and Dr. Martin Luther College were being amalgamated, Pastor Nathan Pope quoted his father, Rev, Reinhard Pope, as saying "The problem with those guys is they don't teach catechism class any more," meaning, they are out of touch with ordinary people, their level, and how to teach them the basics. Having worked at Bethesda Lutheran Home during my summers at Northwestern College, I can say, that at least on this one, Dr. Jackson, my old friend, hasn't had the privilege of teaching the retarded. Jesus Cares, as you write, is just such a program designed to reach the retarded. Teaching MUST be at their level. (The WELS Simplified Catechism is a wonderful starting point, as are some of the Sunday School Bible story materials Bethesda Lutheran Home used to send out and maybe still does.) If I arrange a Saturday program for the retarded in my city, and their parents come to that program, I too, will reach out to the parents on that day with "frivolous" programs like water balloon tosses, or whatever, to get them to feel at home so I can share the Gospel with them. Then on Sunday morning, I will conduct my proper Lutheran mass.
So thanks for your comment. I'm glad Greg published what you said. Before we properly question things, it's good to know the context.
Pastor Timothy Buelow
pastor@faithcarthage.org
www.faithcarthage.org
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GJ - I love the patient, condescending tone used by WELS/ELS pastors when addressing the errors of the hoi polloi.
Around 1971, when some people were still new to two-wheelers, my wife and instituted a confirmation class for special needs students at the largest Lutheran church in Canada. There was no program, no materials, no supporting organization, just a need.
The class went well and the students recited the Apostles Creed from memory as part of their confirmation service. Afterward, one student with Downs Syndrome, knelt at the communion rail praying, because he was so happy and grateful.
As many know, our daughters suffered from a neurological degenerative condition from birth to death, so there was a period from 1974 to 1987 when we were always dealing with major medical issues and visiting with many parents who also had extremely rare health issues with their children.
WELS, in its infinite capacity for wisdom and compassion, has used our daughters' illness and death to attack me, including a recent rant on the fake (anonymous) Ichabod blog from Appleton. I do not recall any WELS or ELS pastor posting an objection to those gutter tactics, which they use to cover up for their adulterous pastors, murderous church workers, and false doctrine. I probably would have remembered it if someone had. In fact, WELS is not even ashamed of trotting out this canard whenever useful.
By the way, a WELS member pointed out the post on the official website. He objected to the way the material was presented, not to the education of retarded members nor to Jesus Cares in particular
An objection I shared with this reader was this implication - we need to address their felt needs to get them inside, a message more odious when voiced by a Church and Change leader.
Perhaps one day WELS/ELS leaders will start with the Word, emphasize the Word, and stick with that.
The article reminds me of the LCA evangelism expert who urged everyone to organize baseball teams because that is how his church grew.
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change Still Rules at the WELS Love Sha...":
Hi Dr. Jackson, You wrote about a C&Cer at Kokomo. That got me Googling and I found the WELS was covering their tracks on UOJ.
First, the WELS church behind the Kokomo scandal no longer exists. It was Faith Lutheran, which is ironic because UOJ is about justification without faith. Faith only makes a person conscious of every person's 30 AD justification, UOJers teach.
Second, I found that the C&C Adam Mueller moved a rural congregation, Peace, into Kokomo proper, so in effect the two churches were joined. Now, when one church moves into another church's location and merges, it usually takes the name of the church that didn't move, right? So they should have kept the name Faith and ditched the name Peace. But to cover their UOJ tracks, they chose the name Peace. Of course, someone might claim Faith closed first, but it would counter that's just part of the WELS mechanizations to rid itself of Faith Kokomo.
Third, Rev. Adam Mueller's taking the reins for the synod on this project is just another way C&C is trying to position itself as defender of Synodical Conference's old time religion orthodoxy, something I've sensed has been going on from statements C&Cers have made, i.e., claiming that the real reason they are being attacked is their belief in UOJ.
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http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2010/07/church-and-change-still-rules-at-wels.html
GJ - Sending a Church and Change leader to Kokomo must be the equivalent of shipping a gambler to Las Vegas. Does it get any better?
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http://www.churchandchange.org/home/2384/2384/files/CanCprogram.Web.pdf
From 2007: Adam Mueller serves Peace Lutheran Church in Kokomo, IN. He recently led his rural congregation
to relocate inside the city and is now spearheading aggressive outreach initiatives.
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http://welslocator.locatorsearch.com/
http://www.peacekokomo.com/
http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/sitelist/02/churches_list.asp?st=IN
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Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change Still Rules at the WELS Love Sha...":
Church Lady, to my knowledge the Jesus Cares is just what it says, helping people with disabilites. I spent several years working with a young man with Down's Syndrome. To him, Jesus was "Ge-ge". He professed his faith by signing "Jesus loves me". He answered questions by pointing to pictures. Yet I knew the Word is powerful, and the Holy Spirit was strengthening his faith. The things described are perfect for a Jesus Cares service. However, when they become the worship service of your members without "Special Needs", then you have... C&C!
Scott
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Maybe Someone Has Some Experience in This Issue":
I found out from a source that "about five years ago Faith in Kokomo changed it's name to Peace." So Faith never closed before it changed its name.
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GJ - That reminds me of a film, Bruce: "They didn't move the cemetery - they just moved the tombstones!"
WELS never repudiated their Kokomo Statements. They just blamed the Statements on the people they kicked out of WELS for not accepting them. One sardonic WELS member just wrote me -
There must be a typo in my Book of Concord.
Epitome, Article IX "Christ's Descent into Hell" includes the sentence, "It is enough to know that Christ went to hell, destroyed hell for all believers, and has redeemed them from the power of death, of the devil, and of the eternal damnation of the hellish jaws."
Seems to me the church fathers accidentally included "for all believers" when what they obviously meant was, "for all."
