Rock Mom and Grannie on Mother's Day! Because St. Peter Cares

Busta Gut will be the featured singer on Mother's Day.
He looks adorable but he is 47 years old,
smokes cigars, and prefers Jack Daniels to milk.

http://www.stpetercares.com

MOTHER’S DAY – Sunday, May 9th, the group Koine will be singing here in the 9:15 & 10:45 worship services. They also will be doing a concert the next morning @ 9 am here at St. Peter church for our kids. This concert is open to anyone else who would like to come as well. See the insert in this newsletter for more information on the group Koine.

NORTH OUTAGAMIE COUNTY CHAPTER of Thrivent – This chapter is looking for someone (needs to be a Thrivent employee) who would be willing to serve on the chapter board. This is an opportunity to help give away Thrivent’s money to people in need. Anyone who might consider this position is welcome to attend any of the monthly meetings and/or contact Luann Balkman at 920-734-5934 or email her @ luannbalkman@new.rr.com.

The Thrivent chapter has helped St. Peter with many different events over the years.

The following Bible studies are being held in various places and are open to anyone that would like to attend. Please call the person listed by the study with any questions.

Bible Study @ FVL – Wednesday’s @ 6:30 am – Donuts and coffee are provided but more importantly it is a great chance to feed your faith! For more details call Pastor Tim @ 733﷓7225. This class will meet May 12 & 19th and will break for the summer. NO class on May 5th.

“Women’s Healthy Living” Bible Study – 9 am –Saturday’s at Joy Jochman’s home – call Joy @ 739-7472.

The “Living In Jesus” Bible Class is held every other Tuesday – 6:30 pm in the 1910 Centre – next study will be May 4th & the 18th and then will break for the summer months - call Audrey Zuberbier @ 731-5879.

A book by John Ortberg is being studied every other Tuesday starting at 10 am @ Bev Wichman’s home – next study is May 4 & 18th - call Bev.

***

GJ - From Wikipedia:

"Ortberg earned his undergraduate degree from Wheaton College, and his M.Div. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has also studied at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. From 1985 to 1990 he served as senior pastor at Simi Valley Community Church, and then from 1990 to 1994 at Horizons Community Church. He then moved from California to Illinois to serve as a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church until 2003, when he assumed his current role at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, a multi-campus church in Northern California.[5]"

He touched ALL the bases to write a book worthy of study under Glende's leadership: Babtist at Wheaton, Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, and Presbyterian Church duties. It is multi-site, which makes it kosher for Emerging Church.

For something to be kosher for Emerging Church, it has to be multi-site.

What a relief. I thought maybe Glende would have the women studying something irrelevant and out of date, like the Confessions, or something written by a faithful Lutheran.

Some clever pastors use the sheep-dip method. Take a WELSian or Missourian and get him thoroughly brain-washed at Fuller or Willow Creek, preferably both. Then have him write a book. Next present it as an exciting book by a faithful Lutheran pastor, Rev. Smiley. If a discerning layman or woman sees through the charade, shout, "Are you calling him a false teacher?" Look angry. Frown. Scowl. Rustle papers. Look disgusted. Shun the evildoer.

ELCA Lost Faith in Moline:And They Lost It Ugly

The Bishop got very nasty with Faith and their pastor,
citing the Eighth Commandment, as usual.
One of the bishop's finger-puppets suggested
that Faith's pastor needed a long vacation.
Even the Leftist ELCA theologians are crying "Apostasy!"

Faith moves, stays
Posted Online: May 01, 2010, 12:00 am Bookmark and Share
Comment on this story | Print this story | Email this story
By Leon Lagerstam, leon@qconline.com
MOLINE --Faith Lutheran Church, 1611 41st St., Moline, recently voted for a second time to sever its relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The 195-to-51 vote on April 18 completed procedural requirements dictated by church constitution. An earlier vote passed in mid-January, but a second vote was required after a 90-day period.

Members also approved a new constitution and by-laws, that ''other than removing synodical references, didn't really change anything,'' spokesman Bruce Dalfonso said. ''We still have the same services, committees, programs, staff and mission mindedness.''

Meanwhile, a segment called ''Saving Faith'' has gone its own way.

In a statement earlier this week, Bishop Gary Wollersheim, of the ELCA's Northern Illinois Synod, said, ''we are saddened at Faith's decision to leave the ELCA, but through Christ's love, we respect the bound conscience of those persons, who, through study and prayer, have reached different conclusions.

''Despite our differences, we remain brothers and sisters in Christ,'' he wrote. ''The congregation of Faith and its leaders have been, and will continue to be, in my prayers.

Members who decided to remain in the ELCA formed a Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community under the leadership of the Rev. Joe Robb, the bishop said in the release. "This group, Saving Faith, offers the continued presence of an ELCA worshiping community for all those who desire one.''

That group has been meeting in the multi-purpose room at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1330 13th St., Moline.

The counterpart group, named ''Moving Forward With Faith,'' says it's time to do just that, Mr. Dalfonso said.''We're now in charge of our own church, and that means we will have to do a better job of managing it ourselves.''

The church is affiliated with an organization known as Lutheran Congregations In Missions for Christ, but that doesn't change the church's regular day-to-day operations, Mr. Dalfonso said.

Church leaders plan to launch a new stewardship drive soon, and are planning worship services, church education programs, vacation Bible school, confirmation classes, benevolence and 60th anniversary celebrations.

Kudu Don's Book

Just give a rifle so I can shoot back.


WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "Gurgle and Kudu Don Patterson Go Multi-Site: Anoth...":

Hi Pastor GJ! I have to get your mind on something else. Now let me see...I know.....Christmas. Any gift ideas? I found just the thing: "The New" Bible Discovery series from NPH.(see inside cover of May Forward In Christ A Lutheran Voice) For under fifteen dollars($13.50)I could send GJ Bible Basics: Finding Tools to Read and Interpret Scripture by Donald W. Patterson. Here is a brief description: "Are you afraid of the Bible? Or so you shy away from reading the Bible because it seems irrelevant or weird? Maybe you never learned how to read it. With this proper introduction, you'll have a renewed understanding of the most wonderful book on earth. Find help in understanding Scripture, and enjoy what it has to offer. 96 pages."

For that price I could send you two copies.(you can hardly wait)

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

***

GJ - That will really help, but I can get it free as a review copy. I am glad NPH has the time and money to publish the heresiarch.

Here are the inspired words of your District VP:

kududon@gmail.com [Yes, he calls himself Kudu Don.]

Subject: You are a fool.

12-10-2008

Hey, Greg,

I am not a part of Church and Change Leadership. I went to one conference a few years ago and had my own reservations. Also, Robert Timmerman does not serve as a church council pres at our church. You are lying on your blog.

Don

Call me sceptical, but Kudu Don went to the last Church and Change conference, in 2009, about a year after saying he was not part of the leadership. Should we believe him or our lying eyes?

Mrs. Ichabod said, when she heard the email read out loud, "I guess he made his own reservations again. He had them before."

He not only went to the Emerging Church pan-denominational Schwaermer-fest called Exponential - he organized a group of WELS workers to go together.

He and DP Glaeske are in charge of doctrinal discipline in Central South, WELS. Yet, he and Gurgle are taking the lead in promoting Emerging Church New Age philosophies.

Patterson and Glaeske have supported Rock N Roll Lutheran Church in Round Rock with great tenacity, and so has the Conference of Pussycats. But now Kudu Don is starting a Emerging Church worship site in Round Rock and moving his portable school there.

Church and Change and the WELS leaders waste prodigious amounts of time and money on duplicated, thoughtless, anti-Lutheran projects. It is bad enough that they hate Lutheran doctrine, but do they have to spread their hatred without anyone saying no?

Gurgle and Kudu Don Patterson Go Multi-Site: Another Latte Lutheran Church?

Pastor Gurgel's Message

Dear Fellow Believers, All praises be to God who continues to bless our efforts to move forward with the SPREAD the WORD project! Since the ministry expansion project began, I have received many questions. That is wonderful! The interest of you, our congregation members, and your commitment and desire to be involved is truly a blessing from the LORD.

This communication will be focused on providing answers to the questions that came up most frequently. In some cases we might not have definitive answers at this time. When this is the case, your leadership team has attempted to provide information as to what is being done to develop clarity and direction, eventually leading to answers.

If you would like to put your God-given talents and gifts to work on this project, please review the last few sections in this newsletter. You will find information about the teams that have been formed and who to contact to get involved.

As the leaders of Jesus' time said...."and pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should." (Colossians 4:3-4), your church leaders and staff request the same from each of you. First and foremost we ask for your prayers that Christ will guide our actions and decisions regarding this ministry expansion project.

In HIM, Pastor Gurgle Gurgel Ichabod is so pervasive I can't even spell my own name right.

It has been stated that this expansion project will result in a second site for Holy Word Lutheran Church. What does this mean?

God willing and the crick don't rise and with the approval of the Voters of Holy Word, we are planning to develop an additional church site. This should not be confused with starting a mission church. Unlike a mission church, which is a separate church initially support by a founding church body, a second church site will actually be an extension of Holy Word at an additional location. Our existing church site and this new church site will make up one church, with one body of believers. We will have one budget, one leadership team and one staff.

There are several examples of WELS churches that have experienced this type of growth. Your leadership team is working to gain as much knowledge and insight from these churches, so that we might leverage their experience to help guide our project.

What are the benefits of being a multi-site church?

The most obvious benefit to having multiple church sites is that we will be able to reach more people with the message of Christ's love and salvation. More specifically, the new site will allow Holy Word to expand and spread the gospel in the fastest growing part of Texas, while remaining and growing at our current location. At each site we will be able to better focus our ministries and programs to meet the needs of the communities in which we reside. As we have added the Spanish speaking ministry at our current Holy Word site, we will find different needs at the new location which provide opportunities for us to become a part of the fabric of the local community, while sharing the Good News.

Will the services and programs be similar or different at each site?

The intent is to have One Church with Two Sites. It is important that there be similarities and programs that draw us all together as one church body; however, we want to recognize and embrace local cultures and needs in the communities of each church site.

We have formed a team that will make recommendations to the congregation on the structure of our initial services and programs at the two sites. Initial discussions have centered around having the services at the current Holy Word site continue to use the current, traditional format. Discussions regarding the new site have centered around having a more casual service, with piano and guitar music, no organ and more variations in the service format.

We will continue to be mindful to strive to strengthen Holy Word as one church while utilizing different formats and unique aspects of each location to bring God's Word to more people.

When will services begin at the second church site?

God willing, and with the approval of the Voters of Holy Word at the May 30, 2010 Voter's Meeting, we will begin services at a second site in the Pflugerville area on September 12, 2010. New beginnings are often associated with the commencement of a new school year. We believe offering people a new option for worship at a time when they are adjusting to change could be a blessing for many.

Why are we starting out with a temporary site now? To finance another safari for Kudu Don.

We have two primary reasons for using a temporary second site now. First, we want current and future worshippers and school-families to begin identifying with our second site as soon as possible. Second, we want to use worship services at a temporary site to help us identify the exact area for the second site and begin reaching out to people without a church home in that new area.

Who will preach and teach Sunday School at each site?

Pastor Patterson will be the primary preacher at both sites. There will be a time or two each month when Pastor Gurgel, a Vicar or our staff minister Chad White will preach. This is similar to how it is today at the current location.

There will be a site leader that is consistently located at each site and this individual will lead the liturgy. This site leader will be a consistent, familiar leader that members and visitor can expect to always be at a specific site location.

Our current thought is that adult Sunday School teachers will vary at each location. Pastor Patterson will likely rotate between the sites, teaching a series at one site for a period of time and then teaching a series at the other site for a period of time. We've also discussed the possibility of having a Wednesday night bible class taught by Pastor Patterson. The thought is that this would be a method to help support the One Church feel, allowing everyone to participate in a class and keeping everyone familiar with both locations. We would be very interested in getting your feedback about this option.

Will there be things that no longer happen at our current site?

It is possible that as a result of the expansion we will have to schedule certain events differently. At this time we are working to gather information from the congregation to help understand the number of people to expect at each location. As time goes on, it will become clearer as to how best to schedule programs and services to ensure God's Kingdom grows and that all (members and visitors) are blessed with hearing God's Word and having opportunities to unite with fellow believers.

It seems like our current staff are already stretched with their current responsibilities. How will this temporary second site be staffed?

Our current staff are faithfully expending themselves with their current responsibilities. Initially we are recommending an increase in support staff to assist our called workers. In the future, as God blesses our planned efforts with increased growth, Holy Word will need to add more called workers. During the planning and implementation parts of this expansion, our called workers are also relying heavily on church members who are assisting in the many aspects of this project.

Will Holy Word School have two sites also?

God willing, and with the approval of the Voters of Holy Word, we will open a new school location and close the current school location. This new location will be co-located with the new church site. Please note that the decision to proceed with this particular part of the long term plan will not be voted on at the May 30, 2010 Voter's Meeting. It will be brought forward for consideration and approval at a later date.

Why are we considering a new Holy Word School site?

The health and growth of the Holy Word School has always been a vital part of our church's ministry. In 2003 Holy Word engaged with Forward with Lutheran Schools (FWLS), a consulting ministry that existed to help WELS congregations advance the gospel of Jesus by starting and strengthening early childhood ministries. FWLS, in coordination with Holy Word's staff and Council, held several member focus group meetings to gather feedback and gain insight into future directions for Holy Word's school ministry. FWLS project leaders also conducted research to learn more about the surrounding area demographics and growth patterns. The outcome from this effort was a recommendation that Holy Word look to relocate the school to the Pflugerville/Round Rock area. It is believed that this move will maximize the number of souls we are able to reach through our school.

Why are we targeting to move the Holy Word School to the Pflugerville/Round Rock/Hutto area?

Currently 75% of our students come from the Round Rock, Pflugerville, and Hutto areas. We believe that by moving towards our target area we will be moving closer to where our current students reside. However, the plans to move the school to this area is not just to support our current student body. We believe that the growth in population of this target area will allow us to reach out to more families who are moving to eastern Round Rock, Pflugerville, and Hutto. In addition to positioning our school so that the majority of our current families are better served, we will also be better positioned for outreach in a high growth area. Finally this new location will also more easily allow for our school families to reach out and promote a school that is close to where they currently live.

If the existing school is closed, what will become of that facility?

There are numerous ways in which the current school site can be used to provide new relevant outreach into the surrounding community. Current possibilities being discussed include the development of an Early Childhood Program and expansion of our Spanish speaking ministry. The specific answer to this question will develop over time, as the project progresses. If you have suggestions and input, please pass them along to your church leaders and staff.

What are the key milestones & dates for this project?

We have three major milestones for this project.
God-willing and the crick don't rise and with the approval of the Voters of Holy word, our basic milestones are:

1. to begin worship services at the temporary second Holy Word Site in September 20102.
2. to purchase land for the permanent second Holy Word Site during 20113.
3. to begin operations of Holy Word School at the second site for the 2011-2012 school year.

How will this project be financed? You pay!

Holy Word is blessed with people who love to read, study and hear God's Word. Motivated by the Word they also have been eager to Spread the Word to others. Anchored in the Word they have also, personally, committed themselves in the past to monetarily supporting the Ministry of Holy Word Lutheran Church. Monetary challenges have often encouraged them to increase their support for the Lord's Ministry. The extent and timing of this effort to Spread the Word needs to be the subject of our personal and church prayers, asking God for his guidance and blessing.

Who is on the Leadership/Coordinating Team for this project and what are their roles?

Leaders from the current Church Council and standing committee were asked to serve on the Spread the Word Leadership/Coordinating Team. By forming the leadership team in this manner, these individuals will be well positioned to coordinate proposed expansion plans with what the Church Council and standing committees are currently doing. The overall coordinator for the project is Holy Word's Church Council President, Brad Johnston. The Church Council is also represented by Jason McLerran, the Assistant Treasurer. Nathan Steinke serves on this team from the Elders and Jonah Paul serves representing the Evangelism Committee. The Board of Education representative is John Harrington, Tim Moll is from the Property Committee and Jeff Slavin represents the Technology Committee. Pastor Gurle. Tarnation! I did it again. Gurgel serves as the Lead Advisor and Consultant to this Leadership/Coordinating Team, supporting our current staff, Pastor Patterson, staff minister Chad White and principal Kyle Raymond.

Thank the vicar for doing my spell-check for me. MS Word is so complicated.
PS - Rock N Roll in Round Rock is toast, once we get started.

***

GJ - Fortunately I was able to get an early draft, along with the strike-outs.

Kudu Don and the ex-SP have imbibed deeply from the false doctrine of Emerging Churches. Does anyone doubt now that Gurgle was a Church and Change leader from the beginning? Patterson? Gurgle's numbskull brother Rich at the Sausage Factory?

Quoting my source:

"http://apprising.org/2010/01/06/multi-site-church/

http://multisitechurchrevolution.com/ --- Third, multi-site churches are all about ego

Neil Cole indicates that pastors of multi-site churches are primarily concerned with getting more butts in seats and bringing in more money in the offering plates."

Manufacturing Schwaermer Disciples Instead of Feeding the Sheep and Guarding the Sheep

"You have no claws for alarm, I mean, cause for alarm."

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Denigrating Faith Accompanies Rejection of the Mea...":

Another failed Synodical Pope, Gurgle, flogged his sect with regular editorials using the same theme. He denigrated the real treasure of the Church, the Means of Grace, so he could gather and waste the material treasure of the members.

The Lutheran clergy picked up the ball and ran with it. The command to make disciples led them to ignore a command Christ actually did make which was "feed my sheep" spoken in a Trinitarian declaration in John 21. Generally all activity is focused toward bringing in new members, new money. The churches do not operate on what God has given but on what they think God wants them to do in order to accomplish making disciples. The churches lead, God is to follow with His blessings. No great surprise when they've perverted the central doctrine. Likewise they abandon the sheep God did give them for whatever they think is at the end of the rainbow. Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Rick Warren, Mark Jeske they are at the end of the rainbow. LCMS Pres Kieschnick's quote above is much the same as you will hear all around the (W)ELS on any given Sunday. Not feeding the sheep gathered with God's pure Word and Sacraments but charging them to go and gather more any way they can. The seed, God's Word, is discarded because in vain they do worship God(me), teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:9

In reference to the Lutherans "Making Disciples" here is Christ's command which is pure Efficacy of the Means of Grace Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: KJV

---

California wrote:

"Brett Meyer hit the nerve center which opened the gates to the rocky path for synods and congregations since they have all dispatched the KJV to the dust bin of history and took up using the contemporary translations of the day including NKJV which distort Matthew 28:19 among other things. It's been downhill all the way making man responsible for making disciples rather than exercising the means of grace and leaving the making of disciples to God. Even with an awakening beginning to stir in Lutheran Synods in reaction to the fruits of apostasy, it will be for naught unless the issue of Bible translations is revisited in view of the the influence of false prophets who prevailed in the late 19th Century to undermine the Word itself through Bible Translation of perverted manuscript evidence. It took awhile for the effects to be felt in U.S., but when it did, consequences are becoming obvious for even the complacent to see. Dealing with the symptoms is useful, but If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do?"

Denigrating Faith Accompanies Rejection of the Means of Grace

I use this photo from the Rat Temple in India
in world religion class,
to show that pagan religion can be more than a little disgusting.
It is considered a great honor to feed the rats
and to have one run across the adherent's feet.

UOJ Stormtroopers claim they are "protecting the Gospel" when they promote forgiveness without the Word, when they attack anyone who dares to bring up the word faith. Luther warned that when the Means of Grace are rejected, all kinds of foul errors rush in.

The work of salvation belongs to God alone, and He has bound Himself to the Means of Grace. He preserves the true Church and sends out faithful ministers to proclaim the Gospel in the midst of error and apostasy. Wherever the Gospel is preached, faith springs up and receives the blessings of the Christian faith.

God does not work through programs and money, in spite of the claims made by church bureaucrats. They make it seem as if God desperately needs more buildings, more endowments, more cash flow, lest His work falter and fail. How often do the synodical drones urge people to trust in faithfulness to the Word? They may brag about "fifty years of grace" but they never let the doctrine of the Means of Grace penetrate their communications.

Congregations and pastors should find great comfort and assurance in every faithful sermon, every Holy Baptism, every service of Holy Communion. Those who sow with abundance with reap with abundance.

The recent article about Kieschnick's failing attempt to stay in office has this stink bomb embedded in it:

Kieschnick said. "That treasure is not intended to be hoarded. It's intended to be shared with the world."

The Synodical Pope has proven throughout His reign that He has no grasp of Lutheran theology. He is snidely using the typical wording of the Confessions. The positive - he supports the Church Growth Movement, which soaks up vast amounts of money. The negative - the treasure of the Means of Grace "is not intended to be hoarded." Who would guess that the Scriptures and the Confessions commend worship as that very place we receive the treasure distributed by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace?

Another failed Synodical Pope, Gurgle, flogged his sect with regular editorials using the same theme. He denigrated the real treasure of the Church, the Means of Grace, so he could gather and waste the material treasure of the members. While driving his own sect into insolvency, he organized a program of financial planning for the membership.

Meanwhile, Rock N Roll in Round Rock, Texas, is doing the same thing, devouring the wealth of widows and orphans while selling a Schwaermer financial planning seminar. Gurgle and Patterson raise their consecrated and consecrating hands in blessing. "Put us back into power so we can soak up the wisdom of false teachers, and kill a few helpless animals in Africa. But God cannot do it alone. He has no hands but yours, no checking account but yours."

Be Still for the Presence of the Lord

All Things Bright and Beautiful - Libera Boys Choir

Dahlia by Norma Boeckler

All Things Bright And Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows for our play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Click on this link for this song of Creation.

Tea for Two: Quiche-Niks on the Run;Steadfast Blog

Not my Photoshop. I think Mollie Z. created this.
A comment claims she published what was sent.



Tea Party insurgence ripples through Missouri Synod election

By TIM TOWNSEND
c. 2010 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS (RNS) When the nominations for president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod were tallied and released earlier this month, a collective gasp went up from Lutherans who pay attention to things like presidential nominations.

It wasn't just that nine-year incumbent Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, 67, received 755 nominations, but that the Rev. Matthew Harrison, 48, received nearly double that amount: 1,332.

Harrison, executive director of the church's World Relief and Human Care office, has the support of a group called the Brothers of John the Steadfast whose mission is, in part, to "defend and promote the orthodox Christian faith which is taught in the Lutheran Confessions..."

The group's website (www.steadfastlutherans.org) is one of the voices in the conservative wing of the synod that's unhappy with Kieschnick, and the group's analysis said Kieschnick's 755 nominations were the lowest number ever received by a sitting president.

"The nomination numbers were encouraging," said the Rev. Timothy Rossow, pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, Ill., who heads the Brothers of John the Steadfast.

Some observers say the movement reflected in Rossow's group is made up of as many as one-third of the denomination's 2.4 million members. Others say it's much smaller, though loud and influential.

Theological and doctrinal conservatives within the St. Louis-based Missouri Synod call themselves "confessional Lutherans." They are traditionalists who stress a strict adherence to the Book of Concord, the 16th-century work that defined the central doctrines of Lutheranism.

Confessionalists are critical of what they call Kieschnick's postmodern approach to the church. They say that for the last decade, Kieschnick has taken a nondenominational, evangelical megachurch approach, and in the process has diluted Martin Luther's theology.

"My vision for the LCMS is that the gift that God has given us --that we believe, teach and confess on the basis of holy Scripture -- is a treasure," Kieschnick said. "That treasure is not intended to be hoarded. It's intended to be shared with the world."

Dale Meyer, president of the Missouri Synod's Concordia Seminary, said Harrison "has more conservative supporters, who are active in the blogosphere."

"Rev. Harrison is seen as more confessional, adhering to the teachings and practices of the Lutheran confession," Meyer said.

"President Kieschnick is a very conservative person, but he is a little bit more influenced by the
evangelical stream in the church."

Church delegates will cast their votes at the synod's trienniel convention in Houston in July.

Missouri Synod presidents have no term limits. If re-elected, Kieschnick will serve his fourth three-year term. But in the current American political landscape, "incumbent" is a dirty word.

"The incumbency factor is out there with some people," Meyer said.

On steadfastlutherans.org, Harrison supporters are counting on people in the pews seeking a change at the top of the church.

"Another thing that I think helps us this year is the general climate in our country of being dismayed with incumbents," Neal Breitbarth wrote.

Rossow said Harrison's large number of nominations -- the most ever for a nonincumbent, according to steadfastlutherans.org -- reminded him of another grass-roots effort seeking change.

"There's definitely a sort of Tea Party feel to these numbers," he said.

"President Kieschnick tends to reflect a broader, wider tent that can also suggest tolerance and openness. It's openness for the sake of being open, and that's where the Tea Party groundswell against him may kick in."

One of the largest pieces of business for delegates in Houston will be a proposed sweeping restructuring of the entire denomination that would consolidate some of the church's boards and commissions. "This is not," Kieschnick said, "a consolidation of power."

But Rossow and others see the proposed restructuring as exactly that. The proposals, he said, "centralize power in the synod office. That's not necessarily bigger government, but it's certainly stronger government."

Like all important elections, the presidential contest in Houston this July will determine the immediate direction that Missouri Synod Lutherans will take.

"There's a strong grass-roots movement that the synod can do much better in its life all the way around," Harrison said. "There's a strong sense of desire for a change of course."

Not surprisingly, Kieschnick sees things differently.

The fact that so few churches cast ballots, he said, means that people are largely satisfied with the job he's done, and out of that sense of satisfaction, they simply figure not voting will ensure the status quo.

"I've been a part of this church long enough to know that if someone in office is doing a very poor job, we'd have more than 30 percent of them weighing in," he said. "Call it apathy or satisfaction, but they see no need to make a change."

(Tim Townsend writes for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in St. Louis,
Mo.)

***

GJ - Quiche-nik is the Gurgle of the LCMS. He has pursued all the fads of the Church Growth Movement, spent everyone's money, and blessed the most outrageous and sacrilegious "evangelism efforts."

What Barry and McCain planted, Quiche-Nik watered, but Satan has given the increase. Look up all the LCMS congregations that are also members of the Willow Creek Association. Problem? Not for the Quiche-Niks. Land-o-Goshen! I found St. John in Ellisville. McCain and Barry had no problem with the congregation being members of two denominations at once. Neither does the current SP.

People used to claim that the conservatives took over the LCMS again. More accurately, the Reformed doctrine of Neo-Pietism took over WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie.

I have been following the challenger, Harrison, for some time. He seems to have had a lot more practical experience than Quiche-Nik or Bohlmann.

Cruz: UOJ Splits the Verses To Fake the Message

UOJ busted.

L P has left a new comment on your post "LPC on Shunning":

Dear All,

This quote from the BOC is astounding ...
It is certain that sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ, as Propitiator, Rom. 3, 25: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation. Moreover, Paul adds: through faith. Therefore this Propitiator thus benefits us, when by faith we apprehend the mercy promised in Him, and set it against the wrath and judgment of God." "The wrath of God cannot be appeased if we set against it our own works, because Christ has been set forth as a Propitiator, so that, for His sake, the Father may become reconciled to us. But Christ is not apprehended as a Mediator except by faith. Therefore, by faith alone we obtain remission of sins when we comfort our hearts with confidence in the mercy promised for Christ's sake."

UOJers argue that Rom 3:24 is their verse. Yet the thorough examination of the verse along with Rom 3:25, shows that they ignore what the BoC says about justification through faith.

This setting aside on what the BoC says on Rom 3:25 is quite irresponsible.

What can be said but that there is coercion of the UOJ teaching upon the Sacred text and the BoC?

Church Lady,

I do have the Althaus book, I will go back to it. Thanks for the reminder.

LPC

***

GJ - The era of Pietism is being studied for its effect upon UOJ. I have found nothing promoting forgiveness without faith before the Pietistic era. Several are working on this.

---

F. Schleiermacher (haze maker in German)

Wickedpedia has a good summary about him: "Schleiermacher was born in Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia, the son of a Prussian army chaplain in the Reformed Church. He was educated in a Moravian school at Niesky in Upper Lusatia, and at Barby near Halle. However, pietistic Moravian theology failed to satisfy his increasing doubts, and his father reluctantly gave him permission to enter the University of Halle, which had already abandoned pietism and adopted the rationalist spirit of Friedrich August Wolf and Johann Salomo Semler. As a theology student Schleiermacher pursued an independent course of reading and neglected the study of the Old Testament and Oriental languages. However, he did attend the lectures of Semler, where he became acquainted with the techniques of historical criticism of the New Testament, and of Johann Augustus Eberhard, from whom he acquired a love of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. At the same time he studied the writings of Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, and began to apply ideas from the Greek philosophers to a reconstruction of Kant's system."

Marquart on Schleiermacher:

Not to be discounted in the acculturating distortion of “objective justification” is the pervasive influence of Schleiermacher and his multitude of followers. Hoenecke put it like this:

According to Schleiermacher there is only a universal [allgemeinen] eternal decision [Ratschluss] of justification, which in turn is nothing else than the decision to send Christ, and in the end is nothing else than the decision to create the human race, insofar, that is, as only in Christ is human nature completed. In the decision of the Redemption is implied [liegt, lies] according to Schleiermacher already that mankind [die Menschen] are pleasing to God in His Son; there is no need for an individual temporal act of justification upon each individual [einzelnen] human being. It is necessary only that the individual human being become aware of this, that in God’s decision of the Redemption in Christ he has already been justified and made pleasing to God (III:355, my translation).

***

GJ - WELS Church Lady went German theology on me, so I had to bring up Halle theologian Schleiermacher, the most important theologian for all of modern Protestant theology. UOJ led him into Universalism, just as it did for Tholuck (Hoenecke's professor at Halle). Knapp, as the last of the believers, laid the foundation. Tholuck and Schleiermacher built on it. Some people think UOJ did not survive the 20th century, except in the Syn Conference. But it did survive! - in Karl Barth (theologian of Fuller Seminary, thus CGM) and Paul Tillich - both shameless adulterers. UOJ has a mangy pedigree.

LPC on Shunning

Why faith gets a bum rap?

I noticed that Dr. Ichabod blog about how faith becomes a four letter word here.

Yes, I wondered about this phenomenon of making faith a foul word.

I came from a Charismatic background and I know how the concept of faith has been abused in that circle. For example, faith is seen as a force. Prosperity teachers spoke of faith that way. It is like an infused stuff. Since they have been influenced heavily by Arminian Evangelicalism, Charismatics in general believe that everyone has faith, even the pagans and it is just a matter of exercising it or not. It can be turned on or off. Though my Charismatic friends may affirm it is a gift, it is not really in practice.

Take now a look at Pieper said about faith:

"I would eliminate faith as a requirement that makes justification true. That would be making faith a work of mine." Franz August Otto Pieper, A Final Word, http://www.franzpieper.com/

This is the type of overstating the case that gives faith a bad rap.

Really Dr. Pieper? What about Mk 16:16? Peiper makes a non-sequitur fallacy, aside from what Dr. Maier pointed out in his paper - a tertium non datur fallacy too.

Indeed faith is a requirement, a condition! However, it is a condition that God meets for you the sinner by creating it in you through the Word and/or Sacraments. He does not give this gift without using means. It does not drop from the sky and zaps you neither is it something inside you such that you must pedal in your own steam to generate it. Like the Gospel - faith is EXTRA NOS. From the outside it comes to you. That is the payload of the Gospel (sorry for my little unsactified way of saying it).

So a few observations I make from say Eph 2:8-9 and Heb 12:2

1. It is a gift from God not internal to us.
2. It is not a work, you cannot work it such that you can produce it.
3. The author of your faith in the Gospel is Jesus
4. It cannot boast and if it can, then it is not the faith spoken of by the Bible.

I think what was happening during Walther's time and Pieper's time was that they have been surrounded by revivalism which uses faith like a tool and they wanted to correct this abuse. However, this wrong should have been corrected through the the Scripture of which the BoC expounds well specially on faith. It cannot be corrected by going off the other way.

Oops I criticized Dr. Pieper, a UOJ proponent. That is a no no.

One thing I notice with Pentecostal preachers and pastors. The moment you question the pastor, immediately the pastor gets offended and also his members too get offended with him and so watch out. They will no longer be your friend. You will be shunned like the plague. What can I say? Words like "immature and insecure" come to my mind.

I notice this type of behaviour is present amongst UOJ pastors too. They are quick to say that the anti-UOJers are wrong, they are quick to fly off with remarks of heresy and false doctrine etc. It is a type of bullying if you ask me. So what happens? Instead of people getting closer to the truth, having dialogue, the situation becomes a political play on people's affections.

My case in point is Dr. Maier's paper. That paper was written in a scholarly manner and I have found it to be well argued and well researched. His exegesis was not even peculiar. Yet did anyone take his thesis and work with it? Nope.

Is the Christian served well in this way? I doubt it.

Truth on the Scaffold

Not very smart or honest, the Changers are nevertheless persistent.

Nothing much is going to happen in WELS until people start openly applying the Word of God and the Confessions.

The Shrinkers spent WELS money to get their Church and Change organization going. They lost control of the Love Shack, but they still run Martin Luther College, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and the Sausage Factory in Mequon.

Like the unclean spirit, the Shrinker goes out and recruits more unclean spirits when he is expelled. Bruce Becker went to Jeske's LCMS media ministry, which is also the fetid womb of The CORE. Kelm went to WLC. Stroh got himself funded again. Wayne Mueller was un-elected and was replaced by Wayne Mueller. Finally Mueller quit and Jim Huebner, Fuller alumnus, replaced him as First VP.

Kelm would say, "Change I can believe in."

The Church and Changers have their annual get together -- remember Leonard Sweet? -- and no one has stopped them. Ex-SP Gurgle claimed he shut them down, but he was a member all along. The joke's on you WELS. And Rich Gurgle, his brother at the Sausage Factory, is another one.

And where did Gurgle land after his exile in a secure, undisclosed location? Patterson's Safari Center, furnished with a free vicar each year! Listen to this whopper of a lie - Patterson is not a Church and Changer, but he spoke at their convention, gathered a bunch of WELS workers for the Exponential pan-denominational fest, and traveled to the latest Changer convention. Patterson and the DPs support the Rock N Roll Church in Round Rock, made famous by its own blog.

In other words, these people are running circles around the typical WELS layman, pastor, and teacher:

1. The Changers have their own secret mailing lists, so they can network.

2. The Changers protect one another's jobs.

3. The Changers make no secret of what they represent and who is associated with them.

4. The Changers take turns beating up and expelling anyone who gets in their way or who even questions their precious agenda.


Tipping Point
I see WELS at the tipping point. The apostates are starting to feel the pain, but they escape to fight again (Kelm, Stroh, Becker). The duplicitous DPs in Wisconsin stand behind their apostate Boomer pals.

Some stay in the background (wink, wink) - like Kudu Don Patterson - and promote the cause relentlessly. Patterson is not that subtle, and he certainly howled when his actions and words got onto the Net. If it is sound doctrine, why be ashamed? If you are ashamed, Don, why are you doing it?

Other Shrinkers, like John Lawrenz, are in deep cover on the other side of the world. But when a Shrinker pioneer like Steve Witte, with a DMin from Buffalo Chip Divinity, gets a call, he gets an upgrade to full-time bureaucrat. Both men are working on your dollar, WELS members.

Power is not taken away but given up, as Stuckenberg taught in the 19th century. WELS members have given up their congregational power by being passive. The pastors and teachers have given up their influence by being silent.

The district conventions are a good time to expel flabby DPs and put in faithful men. The district conventions are an ideal opportunity to demand doctrinal reform, instead of waiting around for someone else to do it.

ELCA members let the Lavender Mafia control the agenda from 1987 to 2009. They are finally fighting and leaving, often without the pastor or the building. Now that they have seen the ugly backside of apostasy, literally and figuratively, they prefer the Gospel.

ELCA's Stan Olson started with endorsing joint communion with the Reformed and ended with gay liberation. Your future, too, WELS.

Where Is the Outrage?

Not another WELS program cloned from Fuller and Willow Creek!


WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "Contra - The WELS KW Heretics":

In response to Pastor Spencer:

You are absolutely correct! Serving in Arizona, you have a birds-eye-view of the 'goings on' of the Kingdom Workers. Why would a Christ Centered person want to use this "what was intended to be a worthy program" to line his own pockets. It makes a mockery out of out-reach and mission work. Stroh went after these folks because it was one of he few programs not yet taken over by the CG crowd. Are any pastors or laymen writing letters of outrage?

LWMS is our 'ladies aid group.' We are helpers not heads. This new Women's Leadership Conference is in a partnership with Church and Change! There will not be any work completed if there are too many chiefs and not enough indians. God made head and helper. Scripture says that greed is the root of all evil. Yes we need WKW and LWMS; however, they need to be conducted in a God-pleasing manner!

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

Stroh - German for straw. The Love Shack tried to build a foundation with hay, straw, and stubble, and it burned down. WELS members paid for this program of false doctrine, deceit, and unionism.

Why Is Faith Trampled by the UOJ Stormtroopers?

Forget that "must have faith as a child," kid. You were already forgiven. But to be really forgiven, you have to sign your name to Kokomo. Not the song. Look, if you only went to seminary and knew Greek like me, you would understand.

L P has left a new comment on your post "Justification by Faith Alone":

To the UOJers, faith is an idle thought. It does not produce new life. They hate it with utmost hatred.

Imagine, they hate the one whose author and finisher is Jesus.

LPC

***

GJ - UOJ suffers from mission creep. Each generation wants to outdo the previous ones in making forgiveness without faith more radical.

KJV Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The fanatics are not studious, as they admit in weak moments. They simply repeat slogans.

Krauth pointed out the motto - "Young Calvinist, old Unitarian." We can update it with "Young UOJer, old atheist." I have already experienced that with WELS Shrinker pastors. Every UOJ advocate is well on his way to atheism, because Law and Gospel are both obliterated by their Enthusiasm.

Did you notice that the WELS Kingdom Worker message started with UOJ and finished with febrile Church Growthism?

Another side of this turning away from sound doctrine is weakness and apathy about the efficacy of the Word.

Once Isaiah 55 and many other similar passages are grasped, there is no problem with the Holy Spirit creating faith through the Word. Nor is there a moment's hesitation about the Real Presence and Consecration by the Word. Nor about baptismal regeneration.

KJV Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

KJV Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

The Biblical emphasis upon faith is based upon the Holy Spirit's exclusive work through the Instruments of God's Grace - the Word and Sacraments. The Concordists understood this as well as Luther. The breakdown came after the era of Pietism, when the rationalism and emotionalism of Reformed doctrine crept into the Lutheran Church on little cat's feet.

Now we are cursed with the filter of Pietism's watery dogma whenever someone discusses justification by faith alone.

Global Warming Satire

Justification by Faith Alone

KJV Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Dense Lutherans Foreshadowed
KJV John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

When Jesus answered the question directly, the crowd immediately demanded more. The work of God is to believe in the One He Sent, the Good Shepherd, to trust Him for the water of life (John 4), the Bread of Life (John 6), the fruits of the Spirit (John 15) and everlasting life.

"Nowhere in the Bible is any man constituted or declared righteous ‘without faith, before faith.’” R. C. H. Lenski, Romans, Augsburg Publishing House: Minneapolis, 1963, p. 382. Romans 5:19-20.

"They [the false teachers] fared like a man who looks through a colored glass. Put before such a man whatever color you please, he sees no other color than that of the glass. The fault is not that the right color is not put before him but that his glass is colored differently, as the word of Is. 6:9 puts it: You will see, he says, and yet you will not see it."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 644.

"To this incline your ears, and be persuaded that God speaks through men and forgives you your sins; this, of course, requires faith."Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 200.

Contra - The WELS KW Heretics

west59wy (http://west59wy.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "WELS Kingdom Workers Work-Righteousness":

The highlighted sentence drips of a proud, pietistic, boastful spirit that loves to pin awards on those who say they are "sharing the Word" while slamming those who, in their exalted view, aren't because they haven't enrolled in the latest evangelism training session, hung doorhangers, etc. Tell it to the widowed mother who is raising her difficult teenage sons, paying the bills by toiling at a thankless job, who comes home exhausted after she's punched out the clock, who maybe has a enough gas left in the tank to read a devotion before nodding off, and who manages to come to church but is not much "involved" beyond that. Calling her a "church watcher"? Her church is her home, her altar is her family, her font is her job! Making such artificial distinctions as that of "church workers and "church watchers" reminds one of the haughty Corinthian spirits who looked down on the apostle Paul because he didn't measure up to their pre-determined standards of what qualified for a real apostle and a fake one. Yet,God uses the lowly...

***

GJ - I wonder what happened to the memory of the housemother, a poor widow, who raised a bunch of boys while doing menial labor. Her last name was Pieper. I suppose that is forgotten when WELS leaders slaver over such names as Drucker, Stetzer, Beeson, Stanley, Wagner, Hybel, and Sweet.

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Rev. Fr. Spencer has left a new comment on your post "Contra - The WELS KW Heretics":

As much as I appreciate some of the work of WKW in the past, especially the Builders for Christ, I'm afraid they have now been completely taken over by church growth nuts and fanatics. Their material simply drips of Pietism. And watch out, ladies, LWMS could easily head off in the same direction. Be vigilant!

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KJV Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

WELS Kingdom Workers Work-Righteousness

WKW National Director, David Timm, from the WKW Spring Issue, 2010, volume 23, issue 1. Note the laying on, not lifting off of, guilt in the second to the last sentence.

"We all agree on the doctrine of justification – objective and subjective, that’s a safe topic for WELS Lutherans to discuss. The doctrine of sanctification is a bit more on the edge of the safe zone. If we focus too much on how we live as redeemed children of God, some will say we detract from Jesus and the gospel.

WELS and WELS Kingdom Workers (WKW) don’t have the resources we enjoyed in the past. Change has been forced upon us. Some believe new and different methods of reaching the lost with the message of justification are now necessary as part of a strategy to turn around the 20-year trend of decline in WELS. Some are against the idea of change. Others don’t want to argue about it, hoping things will get better if we all just get along. WKW is considering an association with the Center for Parish Renewal, formerly known as Parish Assistance. We are under the impression this is a good thing to do. As promoters of peace and harmony, we love the relationship we enjoy with WELS Boards for Home and World Missions. We are still providing people and money to serve WELS missions. If we can also help plateaued congregations see the mission field beyond their own property, if we can equip and empower lay people to actively serve their congregation and their synod, they will become value added kingdom workers when their life circumstances permit. It is said, “to be safe and avoid criticism, say nothing, and do nothing.” That’s not the model we see in Acts 7. Stephen spoke a straight forward message to the Sanhedrin. It wasn’t the safe thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. We are kingdom workers not kingdom watchers. Let us walk together (not just stand together) and ask the Holy Spirit to bless our action to reach the lost both near and far."

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WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "WELS Kingdom Workers Work-Righteousness":

WELS Kingdom Workers:
Be on the look out for Pastor Stroh! Unfortunately this warning is TOO LATE. Didn't SP Schroeder kick Stroh and buddy Kelm off their Parish Assistance apostasy? (Yes he did!) We need Kingdom Workers, we do not need Kingdom Exploiters. When these guys come knocking at your door, they are after the money. Stroh went looking elsewhere and he found WKW. Why does everything have to be a C&C program? I am not against the WKW, only upset over these "changes."

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

***

GJ - And they tried to deny they went out looking for money from WKW. If the Antinomian Chicaneries deny it, the disputed fact is true.

Froward Is a Better Word

Ski in Wonderland

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Time of Grace Is a Missouri Synod Ministry":

Perhaps the "foward" at the bottom of the Satan Sex ed should have been "froward". The Middle English word appears in the much despised KJV and means "habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition". That seems to be the case here.

How To Lick a Bowl, Part 1

Opportunity

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL,
PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNWAKENED" Unknown

How To Lick a Bowl, Part 2

Temptation

How To Lick a Bowl, Part 3

Sin

How To Lick a Bowl, Part 4

Contrition

Fireproof Your Congregation - Study the Book of Concord

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "He Denies UOJ! - Not in the Bible or BOC - But Wha...":

Here is another one. My former congregation is doing the "Fireproof your marriage" Bible study. This alleged Bible study is brought to us by a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia. It is small group in format, with video tidbits for those with short attention spans. I was under the impression that the WELS was not in fellowship with Babtists. But, they can use their material if they just eat the meat and spit out the bones. What was that about swallowing the bird, feathers and all? Aren't we always told that the WELS won't be the only ones in heaven? Babtists are Christians also. We have been admonished to learn from them also.

He Denies UOJ! - Not in the Bible or BOC - But What about Denying the Means of Grace?

But Andy Stanley denies infant baptism and the Means of Grace.

The ultimate put-down in the Syn Conference is "He denies UOJ." Their theological leaders, from Otten on up, choose the Brief Statement of 1932 over the Book of Concord of 1580. Otten recently stated his agreement with the Brief Confession about UOJ, which is at war with the Book of Concord and the Scriptures.

The apostasy of the Syn Conference can be measured by this very fact - that denying UOJ is the unforgivable sin, while attending conferences with the Enthusiasts is excused, welcomed, encouraged, and financially supported.

Andy Stanley denies infant baptism, yet eight WELS workers have attended his Drive conferences together, according to Bishop Katie, who was also there.

Fuller Seminary denies the Means of Grace and mocks Lutheran doctrine, but Missouri, WELS, and the ELS have promoted men just for studying there. In fact, Larry Olson (Mary Lou College) earned a drive-by DMin at Fuller, his only qualification for heading the staff ministry program at MLC.

Leonard Sweet denies the Means of Grace, but WELS Church and Change hired him to teach WELS/ELS his New Age concepts. Thank you, Paul Calvin Kelm.

Ed Stetzer, as a Babtist, denies infant baptism and the Means of Grace, but Church and Changers were hotter than Georgia asphalt to have him teach them. The Conference of Pussycats woke up briefly from their doctrinal catnaps and halted that one.

Archbishop Weakland, as a gay Roman Catholic archbishop, denies the Biblical Means of Grace, but Willowcreek's Little College hired him and his priests to teach a series at their Schwan-funded school in Milwaukee.

A former Catholic bishop (this one straight, or at least married) denies the Means of Grace, but the Little Sect on the Prairie marched in a religious procession with him and had him speak in their chapel. Thank you, Erling Teigen, doctrinal stalwart.

Rick Warren, as a Babtist, denies infant baptism and the Means of Grace, but a number of WELS churches are affiliated with him.

Bill Hybel, at Willowcreek, denies the Means of Grace, but dozens of WELS pastors have been trained there to import his false doctrine into the Lutheran Church. Two WELS churches have affiliated with him, which would be unionism, except they believe the same thing. The open affiliation got stopped. Repentance? Ha.

Trinity Divinity School in Deerfield denies the Means of Grace, but so many staff and workers from WELS have studied there that the synod is listed twice in the school catalogue.

Craig Groeschel, Mark Driscoll, and Mark Beeson deny the Means of Grace, but WELS and Missouri workers oink over to those centers of apostasy so they can get their trotters in the trough, too.

The Shrinkers shriek about lack of adherence to their false doctrine, because it is their only doctrine. Once someone embraces UOJ, the richness and wealth of the Scriptural treasure is lost.

No one will admit officially to those doctrinal crimes listed above, but they are all documented, even bragged about, so there is no issue about the facts.

Faith Is a Four Letter Word in the Syn Conference, But "This is the Work of God"

Ichabod is Y1580 compliant.

LP Cruz suggested the title, above, and I added the subtitle, from the Gospel of John.

I wonder what the UOJ Stormtroopers say about this passage from John's Gospel:

KJV John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

NKJ John 6:28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

Many have noticed that the UOJ Stormtroopers rail against faith. Suffering from mission creep, each one tries to outdo the other in denigrating faith. One partisan signed his post on the Net, "An believer." And he is a Missouri pastor.

John's Gospel may be the most humorous book of the Bible, full of ironic humor. Read John 9 and imagine the opponents as the Keystone Kops of the Bible.

The humor is often paradoxical, with a play on words: born again versus born from above, thirsting for water, bread from heaven.

John's Gospel teaches faith in Christ. The entire purpose of the Gospel is to produce faith in the Good Shepherd.

KJV John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The paradox of the Gospel is whether our faith is in man or God. The righteousness of man is based upon faith in man's work, in order to please or appease God. That is the context of the question: "What work must we do?"

That one work is to believe on the One Whom God sent. Jesus is saying, "You are looking for a works answer. Here is the work - Believe in the One Whom God sent.

Paul said we are either saved by works or by faith alone, apart from the works of the Law.

The UOJ fanatics are so allergic to faith that they constantly warn people against faith.

Christianity teaches that God has accomplished everything for our salvation through the atoning death of Christ, Who rose from the dead. His grace comes to us through the Instruments of Grace - the Word and Sacraments. This alien righteousness is received through faith alone, God declaring us forgiven of all our sins.

UOJ, which is pure Enthusiasm, teaches that the entire world has been forgiven, absolved of all sin, but their theologues have yet to tell us where this is revealed in the Scriptures. Forgiveness is salvation and eternal life, so they teach Universalism on one hand but add, as an afterthought, that people need to believe in this universal absolution. Hottentots, Hindus, everyone in Hell - all are guilt-free saints. E. Preuss and Kokomo-WELS said so.

This great doctrinal synthesis of Calvinism via Pietism is not from Walther originally, but from the Halle Pietist Knapp. Walther kelmed it from Knapp's lectures, which were a 19th century best-seller among all Protestants, English and German-speaking. Knapp is still in print. The double justification formula, so popular today, is found in the English translation of Knapp, published long before Walther landed in New Orleans and kept in print during that century.

UOJ Influence in the Syn Conference

1. UOJ has made all forms of Enthusiasm acceptable in the Syn Conference, so Pentecostalism, Reformed doctrine, and Pietism thrive.

2. UOJ destroys the meaning and purpose of the Lutheran Confessions. If everyone is already forgiven, each denomination is just a brand-name, all the more reason to jettison the name Lutheran.

3. UOJ teaches the works of man. All we hear from the Shrinkers is how much they do. They increase membership numbers (pause for ironic laughter), transform people's lives (by posing with Hollywood ho's), and work so hard at planning, visioning, and leading.

4. UOJ is unionistic. Because no confession of faith matters, no differences exist as a barrier to joint-worship, joint-education, and joint-apostasy.

5. UOJ is anti-worship. They love themselves and their works, so they do not condescend to worship God. Instead, they brag about themselves. They act as if nothing happened until they arrived in that location.

6. UOJ is anti-Sacramental. At places like CrossWalk in Phoenix (WELS) and The CORE in A-Town, the sacraments are hidden away.

7. UOJ detests the Confessions. They pay some lip service to the Book of Concord, but they dismiss it as out of date, irrelevant, boring, and not worth their time.

8. UOJ has declared war on the Scriptures. They use the prime justification by faith chapters, Romans 4 and 5, to argue justification without faith. They invent meanings which are nowhere to be found in the entire Bible, just to fit their slogans.


9. UOJ fanatics are dishonest, deceptive, manipulative, and Antinomian. Everyone is absolved, so there is no Law. Shrinkers love this part of UOJ, whether they are chasing women or the bottom of the bottle.

10. UOJ Enthusiasm has prepared those who hate CG Enthusiasm to join Rome or Constantinople for another version of Enthusiasm.


Shame on all the Syn Conference leaders who have denied their members and pastors a real education in the Confessions.