"The chairman of the Theology Department of Concordia Teacher's College of River Forest wrote similarly. That chairman was Dr. Ralph Gehrke, who himself was found guilty of teaching contrary to the Word of God. But that's another story."
"The executive director of the CTCR, Dr. Richard Jungkuntz, urged the board to grant tenure, as did the former President of the Northern Illinois District, Pastor Erwin Paul." (Both quotations, Walter Otten, Steadfast Lutherans)
Two martyrs of the Seminex movement in the LCMS were Ralph Gerke and Richard Jungkuntz.
Both were forced out of Northwestern College, (WELS), Watertown, for their apostate views on the Scriptures.
I was told that Jungkuntz would encourage Gehrke to go out on a limb, then let poor Ralph go it alone. That is typical WELS pastoral behavior. Ralph left first, but look at how well he did soon after. He was chairman of the theology department at Concordia, River Forest, LCMS.
Jungkuntz got away with teaching apostasy at tiny NWC and was discovered only by accident when papers from his class were recycled at Mequon. The substitute professor wanted to know where the students learned all the historical-critical nonsense, and they said "Jungkuntz." That was the beginning of the end for Poor Richard.
Jungkuntz moved from being an embattled college professor, in a tiny college and sect, to being a seminary professor in the LCMS - Springfield. Soon he was chairman of the theology board of the whole synod. When he got into trouble with Jack Preus, a long story by itself, he left for the ALC and became second in command at one of their colleges.
More background to read.
Seminex was more involved than the teaching of two professors from Watertown, but one alumnus told me of NWC alumni meetings where the parking lot was full of cars with Seminex bumper stickers on them. Jungkuntz and Gehrke were icons of the movement, their martyrdom and sainthood frequently mentioned in the tabloid printed by Seminexers. Roger Zehms, divorced Shrinker, now with Mark Jeske Inc, said Jungkuntz was his favorite among all his professors. Zehms almost left for Missouri when the split came.
Jungkuntz and Gehrke taught a generation of WELS/LCMS pastoral students, with their colleagues either comatose or cheering them on. The Boomer apostate church leaders are a testimony to their influence in Missouri and WELS. Both men slid into Missouri and proto-ELCA easily because they shared the doctrine of all mainline apostates - universalism in the form of UOJ - Gospel reductionism. Everyone is forgiven.
Leftists protect their own. That is the takeaway for today. Ski copies down takeaways at his Schwaermer worship rallies, so I wanted to underline one.
Jungkuntz and Gehrke were not stigmatized as troublemakers, apostates, or fired college professors. Instead, they were preached into heaven while still alive, given better jobs each time, and remembered with great fondness - except for the bitterness expressed toward those who extended the Left Foot of Fellowship.
Conservatives surrendered to the Left many decades ago. Now there are too many interlocking dependencies for apostates to be dislodged. The Word could do it, but the Word is not employed. Instead, a new image is marketed to synodical disciples, who have been taught to worship Holy Mother Synod. All is well.
I have searched the vast archives of Ichabod to determine if anything has changed in WELS with a new administration.
- FIC became FICKLE but retained the same Shrinker authors.
- Shrinker Wayne Mueller was replaced by Shrinker Jim Huebner as First VP.
- Paul Calvin Kelm, Leonard Sweet fan, was unemployed for several minutes - until Willowcreek's Little College invented a chaplain's position for him in his dotage.
Bruce Becker, former Perish Services chairman, got hisself a new job with Mark Jeske before anyone could fire him The Guilt Factory (formerly known as The Love Shack). - Mark Jeske joined the LMCS but remained in WELS, while studiously ignoring the ELS convention in favor of celeb appearances with Missouri.
- The SORE has served as a visible reminder that WELS pastors need not fear unsafe sects. Only those who object to The SORE are disciplined.
- WELS still teaches Enthusiasm, so the rump group organized to oppose The SORE became overnight a cheerleader for the theology of Church and Change.
- The last prep standing in WELS, LPS in Watertown, welcomes all the Shrinkers to their campus, where they are hailed as heroes and models to emulate.
- MLC and WLC are Fuller franchises, now more than ever before, no less gay than ELCA colleges.
- Church and Change continues, unmolested, sprouting new tentacles, as all the activities above indicate.
- Nothing has changed for the better, but the SP is hailed as "confessional."
