New Trend in LCMS Cradle Rolls

The Lutheran News Aggregator Link

"This user has elected to delete their account and the content is no longer available."

I found the story the software tried to link.

Suspicions confirmed.

Poof.

Can't Be Blamed

Same sects attraction, Katy and Miley.

Miley Cyrus has a new video, where she crawls out of a Christmas wreath, spreads 500 pound wings, and warbles, "Can't Be Tamed."

MLC students will pounce on this and copy it right away. That is a strength of the WELS education system - illegal copying.

Bonus - MLC can test their new gaydar installation, which should sound the alarm when the homely teen kisses a girl. That could be a photo-op for Ski in the future, to add to his collection, next to Katy Perry's photo with him.

Imagine how proud the future Betty Ford Clinic patients will feel when they consider how many celebrities Ski and Glende have posed with. "And to think, we knew them, before they joined Thrivent."

Sasse and Mary

Sasse!

What Sasse Said - Note the URL - http://sassedotalist.blogspot.com

High Churchism, Mary and the Gospel

A devotion written by Professor A.C. Piepkorn of St Louis* is an especially disturbing indicator of the dangers of the 'High Church' tendency. It is entitled 'Blessed Art Thou Among Women'**, and is an attempt to set forth the true Lutheran position on Mary in opposition to the extremes of Roman Catholic veneration of Mary on the one hand and modern Protestantism's 'excessive downgrading of the Mother of God' (Piepkorn's words) on the other. This is indeed a worthy task, and the three Marian festivals set down in the old Lutheran church calendar, which are simultaneously Christological celebrations, provide ample opportunity to do this. But in light of these celebrations we must note that the position taken on Mary will always be a reliable indicator of the presence of a true or false understanding of the Gospel. In modern Protestantism the Nestorian denial of the doctrine of the Theotokos reveals that this position, even if it bears the name 'Lutheran', no longer understands the doctrine of the person of the God-man. On the other hand, the confession that Mary is indeed the Theotokos isn't yet solid evidence of a true understanding of Christ - for it can be combined with the veneration of Mary, which is always a sin against the 1st Commandment and a challenge to the unique mediatorship of Christ. The cult of Mary (which also took root and grew among the Nestorians), along with the Marian doctrines which have grown from it, is most definitely to be rejected as being in contradiction to the Gospel***.

From Liturgy and Confession, A Brotherly Warning Against the 'High Church' Danger, first published in Lutherische Blaetter (Christmas 1959). [trans. mine]


* Arthur Carl Piepkorn (1907-1973), a scholar and theologian of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, sometime professor of historical theology at the Concordia, St Louis seminary, translator of some of the Lutheran confessional documents for the Tappert English edition of the Book of Concord, and an official participant in the early rounds of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue in the US. Piepkorn was a man of prodigious learning who served as a mentor to a number of LC-MS pastors who later styled themselves 'Evangelical Catholics', some of whom would convert to Roman Catholicism, notably Richard John Neuhaus.

***

GJ - I highly recommend the Sasse blog, and Sasse's writings. The ALC published Sasse until merger, and Sasse wrote the best book about the Real Presence - This Is My Body. David Preus led The ALC and consequently the ELCA into communion with the Reformed. Augsburg-Fortress got rid of Sasse and Lenski books and began selling books by female rabbis.

Mary-obsession is one of the first signs of a Lutheran pastor leaving for the Church of Rome. In the blogosphere, Weedon gushes about Mary and the pope, while McCain gushes about Weedon. McCain's last gusher was Fenton, who left the LCMS for Eastern Orthodoxy and denounced justification by faith in the process. McCain, who loves UOJ, is a man of many Enthusiasms. He dresses as a pastor for formal portraits even though he is a book blogger for CPH - (Mark Jeske's publisher).

More Hilarity from Beast Vollerslime

ELCA Bishop Vollerslime organized the rump group Saving Faith,
and now wants Faith Lutheran Church in Moline to give up its name.
Most people think ELCA should drop Lutheran in its name.


May 4, 2010


The Reverend Mark Gehrke &
Church Council
Faith Lutheran Church
1611 41st St.
Moline, IL 61265-3499

Dear Reverend Gehrke and leaders of Faith Lutheran Church,

Grace to you and peace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who is and who was and who is to come. Amen.

The Northern Illinois Synod Council, having noted that the congregation at Faith has elected to withdraw from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, kindly requests your consideration of a change in the name of your congregation. Our request is based on the following rationale:

Ø Faith Lutheran Church has been associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for more than two decades. A change in the congregation’s name may assist you in developing your new identity as a congregation affiliated with another body of Lutherans.
Ø A congregational name change may assist the people of Moline and the surrounding communities in coming to know the difference between the Faith Lutheran Church congregation and Saving Faith, the Synodically Authorized Worshiping Community.
Ø Finally, a change in your congregation’s name will be of mutual assistance to you and to the Northern Illinois Synod in marking an end to our long-standing partnership.

The Northern Illinois Synod Council understands that it has no authority over the name by which your congregation is known. By this letter the Council simply and respectfully requests your consideration of this topic.

In Christ,


The Reverend Gary Erickson, Secretary

Hard Copy to Follow

Cc: Bishop Wollersheim
Mr. Bill Bartlett, Vice President
Posted by oneno at 7:13 PM
1 comments:

Anonymous said...

When the synod says changing the name would assist the people of Moline and surrounding communities in coming to know the difference between Faith Lutheran Church and the group known as Saving Faith are they saying this Saving Faith group is going to continue on?? This request is ludicrous, Faith Lutheran Church preceded the ELCA and it should continue as such long after.

***

GJ - I walked, biked, and drove by Faith in Moline 45+ years ago, on my way to Coolidge and MHS. I imagine they will change their domain name:

http://www.faithelca.org/pwsite/

Having ELCA in the domain name is not a good evangelism today today, unless the parish needs more people in the altar guild.

The LCMC formed out of The ALC churches that left ELCA immediately upon merger in 1987. The ELCA drones probably chuckled and said, "We only lost a few." But those few became a core of leadership for today. The LCMC is already bigger than the Little Sect on the Prairie (nee ELS).

The Core (not to be confused with The CORE) is forming another Lutheran group, and several others are also collecting entire congregations and groups of people who will never enter an ELCA church again.

Lutheran Allergies - Luther, Chemnitz, Lenski,

Lenski was the greatest author of the old ALC, and they formed a committee to silence him about inerrancy.
Read about him and his daughter Lois here.

I became a Lutheran at the age of 16, when there was great excitement about the publishing of Luther's work. In my seventh grade class at John Deere Junior High, Moline, the teacher mentioned Luther and half the class erupted in cheers.

The typical Syn Conference pastor does not read Luther or grasp his basic teachings. The professors are even worse, passing along their ignorance and veiled animosity.

The Hyper-Europeans of the LCMS seem to read every theologian except Luther.

Chemnitz is ignored. Chytraeus is unknown.

WELS makes a point of putting down Lenski, a man of remarkable achievement. He was a parish pastor, a district president, a seminary professor and dean, and the author of many books beside his famous New Testament commentary.

The authors mentioned above would be the best antidotes to the neo-Pietism buzz of today. No one who read Examination of the Council of Trent would think of joining Rome.

A study of Luther's basic writing would destroy UOJ forever.

The best one-volume companion to Lutheran theology is the Book of Concord, which contains the writings of Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz, and Chytraeus.

My favorite Book of Concord symbol is the Large Catechism of Luther, which was edited from his sermons.

A close second is the Formula of Concord, because all the topics of today are addressed in eloquent, clear language. You will never hear the UOJ fanatics quote from "The Righteousness of Faith" or even ponder the meaning of that sub-section. They have far greater authorities to quote, like J. P. Meyer from Cocoa, MO.

The Schwaermer are allergic to these authors because they detect the aroma of pesticide: they are the pests.

---

Shelby County History

In 1899, the Lenski family took up residence in the Anna parsonage as Pastor Lenski began his duties. In 1907, he saw the dedication of St. Jacob Evangelical Lutheran Church which he helped design and oversee in construction. Today this 92 year old edifice still stands as a testimony to his vision and foresight to build a magnificent house of worship.

In 1930, my father, Rev. F.J. Mittermaier, became the pastor of St. Jacob Church. He had been instructed at the seminary by Dr. Lenski. My father devoted all his energy to the work of the Lord. He loved to read scripture in the original Greek and would often have to be told to "put down his book and eat his oatmeal before it got cold." Receiving an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree as the most outstanding rural pastor in Ohio, he preferred not to be known by any title but that of pastor. Throughout the 33 years of his ministry in Anna, he maintained the deepest regard for his mentor, Dr. Lenski. For him it was a special blessing to be pastor of the Anna church. Often he loved to go to the church, sit in the pew, and watch the rays of the setting sun as it shone brilliantly on the head of Christ window above the altar.

In 1932, the congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary. Dr. Lenski returned to preach. As a small child, I clearly recall seeing this man who had olive skin, a heavy mustache, and intense blue eyes. Dressed in a white linen suit and Panama straw hat, he was a striking figure as he smoked a large cigar. After asking permission of my mother, he took my hand and off we went to the local ice cream parlor.