One Entire ELCA District May Leave, Join CORE's Start-up, NALC

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The ELCA clergy changes include transsexual and bisexual ministers.

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Some Good News 06/01/2010

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After exposing an anti-Israeli resolution being voted on at Metropolitan Chicago Synod Assembly, (read here) I am happy to tell you that the good people in the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod are standing up to the ELCA, while they boldly stand for truth and God's Word.

Below are a number of the resolutions that will be voted on.

Item One: Conference [One] Teaching Statement

We, the members of Conference One of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA teach and believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and sexual activities belongs exclusively within the biblical boundaries of a faithful marriage.

Item Two: Memorial on the Teaching of Marriage

BE IT RESOLVED that this synod teach and [confess] that marriage is between one man and one woman and sexual activity belongs exclusively within the biblical boundaries of a faithful marriage.

Item Three: Memorial to the Synod Assembly

WHEREAS, the decisions of the 2009 CWA in regard to the implemented resolutions of rostered leaders in Publically Accountable Life-long Monogamous Same-sex relationship have wounded the collegial relationships within our synod, therefore be it,

RESOLVED, that the 2010 Assembly of the Southwestern PA synod of the ELCA censure (to critize severely, to blame, as from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language) the decisions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in adopting the Social statement, ”Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust” and the four resolutions on Ministry Policies (CA09.05.23-24-26 & 27) as violations of the Confession of Faith, Chapter 2, of the ELCA Constitution, and be it further

RESOLVED, that the ELCA Church Council be advised of this resolution.

Item Four: Memorial to rescind the actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly

WHEREAS the members of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA regard the actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly on Ministry Policies and the actions of the Church Council to implement them to be violations of the ELCA’s Constitution (Confession of Faith, chapter two) be it

RESOLVED, that the 2010 Assembly of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA memorialize the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to rescind the four resolutions on Ministry Policies (CA09.05.23-24-26 & 27) and their implementation.

Item Five: Memorial to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly—Stand with Africa

WHEREAS the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania in its April 29, 2010 press release declared:

“This church does not accept reasons offered by advocates of same-sex marriage and its legitimacy unless it is based on the Word of God and Biblical teaching; therefore, we reject inappropriate and false interpretations of scripture produced to justify the marriage of people of the same gender.

“This church encourages and supports all those around the world who oppose churches that have taken the decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

The statement goes on to say:

“Those supporting same-sex marriages have started to do all they can to destroy one Biblical passage after another in order to legalize homosexuality and affirm that marriage is not necessarily between a man and a woman. They do so by putting forward their new and wrong interpretation – one which displays an attitude and understanding which differs from that which has existed for many years in the Church regarding the meaning of marriage in accordance with the teachings of the Word of God.”

“Some Bible passages that have been misused and given another interpretation to defend same-sex marriage are the following: Genesis 1:27-28, 2:24, Matthew 19:5-7, Romans 1:26-27, Galatians 3:28, etc.”

The statement goes on to say:

“The ELCA and otherpeople worldwide who support our stand on the issue of opposing same-sex marriage believe that the Bible cannot be interpreted according to people’s wishes or according to other authorities of to culture. Rather, the Bible is self explanatory and is merely translated into various languages without altering the meaning.”

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA stand in solidarity with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania’s statement.

Item Six: Conference [One] Declaration

We, the members of Conference [One] of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA declare this conference to be a Lutheran CORE Conference.

***

GJ - If the final resolution passes, it will have the effect of saying the entire district is leaving ELCA.

For decades various parts of the LCA, ALC, and ELCA have declared themselves dedicated to the homosexual agenda as "Reconciling in Christ." Entire agencies have done this. So have congregations. I heard barely a murmur about it.

This CORE resolution will will bring on the fireworks. Division of some type is certain.

This conflict is similar to the one in WELS, as I have stated many times before. The Church and Money Changers finally went too far in rubbing their apostasy in the face of traditional Lutherans. Now the Confessional Lutherans are willing to organize and fight back. The clueless WELS DPs want to promote the old Shrinker issues, just as the ELCA hierarchy wants to advance the gay agenda of the 1970s.

Our Hope Is Built On Nothing Less Than Thrivent Loot and Tax Largesse

Jeske

Republican governor candidate started HOPE Christian Schools

By Lee Bergquist and Erin Richards of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: May 30, 2010 |(65) Comments

Republican businessman Mark Neumann started his first taxpayer-funded school with 49 students, and in eight years enrollment has mushroomed to nearly 1,000 students in four schools.

Neumann, a candidate for governor who preaches smaller government and fiscal conservatism, has used his entrepreneurial skills to tap private and public funds - including federal stimulus dollars - to start schools in poor neighborhoods.

The former member of the U.S. House operates three religious-based schools in Milwaukee, a fourth nonreligious school in Phoenix and has plans to build clusters of schools across the country.

The Nashotah businessman is part of a growing national movement from the private sector that is providing poor neighborhoods an alternative to traditional public schools.

There are signs the schools are achieving one of their primary goals of getting students into post-secondary schools.

HOPE Christian's high school has had two graduating classes before this spring, and has posted acceptance rates at post-secondary schools of 85% in 2008 and 92% in 2009.

By comparison, a Milwaukee Public Schools study of graduating classes in 2005 to 2007 showed a post-secondary enrollment of nearly 46%.

Neumann has used education and his business experience to contrast himself with his two opponents - fellow Republican Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker and Barrett have spent most of their professional life in government.

Neumann's three HOPE Christian schools have received nearly $22 million since 2002 under the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, records from the state Department of Public Instruction show.

The Milwaukee schools have about 685 students and this year received $6,442 per child, state figures show. The Phoenix school - called Eagle College Prep - started in 2008 and has about 275 students.

Through Neumann's Waukesha-based nonprofit, Educational Enterprises Inc., Eagle College Prep tapped $174,007 in federal stimulus funds last year.

Neumann was critical of stimulus legislation in one of his TV gubernatorial ads and has lambasted the state's acceptance of $810 million for a high-speed passenger rail line that will link Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison.

When told by the Journal Sentinel that the school had received stimulus funding, Neumann said he wasn't aware of it.

Arizona Office of Economic Recovery spokeswoman Tasya Peterson said her state used stimulus dollars to replace state money for funding private schools such as Neumann's to ease Arizona's fiscal problems.

Neumann's son Andrew, a co-founder of the HOPE schools, oversees day-to-day operations.

After looking into the stimulus funding, Mark Neumann said that Arizona "plugged the budget in an inappropriate way - it's exactly the wrong thing to do."

Still, the company accepted the money and has no plans to return it unless Arizona finds another source of funding "to honor its contracts with us," Mark Neumann said.

Outside funding

Neumann's company also received $907,757 from the State of Arizona to run the schools, according to the 2009 tax return of Educational Enterprises.

The 2009 return shows that Educational Enterprises also obtained a $324,783 start-up grant from the U.S. Department of Education for Eagle College Prep, which in Arizona by law cannot provide religious instruction as a public school.

Neumann says his schools can operate at a lower cost than MPS. But the voucher payment through the Milwaukee parental choice program isn't enough, so the company pushes for funding from other government sources and foundations.

Last year, Educational Enterprises had a profit of $301,275 after recording a loss of $38,027 the previous year, tax records show. About half of 2009 revenue came from Milwaukee's voucher program and other government payments.

Neumann, a former high school teacher who has earned millions of dollars building homes, has also dug into his personal wealth to underwrite the schools.

In 2008, he made a five-year loan of $921,146 to the company at an 8% interest rate, federal tax returns show.

He says the interest he is receiving for his loan is more than made up by his personal donations to the schools. He and his wife, Sue, donated $362,873 between 2007 and 2009, his company's tax returns show.

HOPE schools are aligned with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and religious instruction is part of the curriculum.

"Religion is voluntary, but I am happy to say that the vast majority participate," said Neumann, who describes himself as a "strong practicing Christian."

Neumann served two terms in the U.S. House in the 1990s. He said the experience convinced him that public schools in poor neighborhoods were failing their mission.

"I watched millions of dollars go through Congress for inner-city problems, and all it seemed like we were doing was creating a generation of welfare," Neumann said.

He started the nonprofit in 2000 and opened the first school in a strip mall at N. 25th St. and W. North Ave. two years later.

The other HOPE schools in Milwaukee are a high school at 3215 N. King Drive and the latest addition, a newly constructed $3.27 million building serving grades five through eight at 3601 N. Port Washington Road.

At the school on W. North Ave., a sign in the hallway says, "Hard Work Pays Off."

Students from kindergarten through eighth grade are required to walk quietly down the halls and follow a painted green line. But the strict decorum evaporated in a first-grade class as students gleefully shouted out words for their teacher.

At all of the schools, students are given the cell phone numbers of teachers. Voluntary Saturday school is held twice a month.

Different experiences

Lekeisha Reynolds, an 18-year-old HOPE High School senior, will attend Wisconsin Lutheran College in the fall - the first in her family to go to college.

Her mother, Cornelius Kirk, echoed the sentiments of several parents who said they are pleased with HOPE.

"They always pushed Lekeisha to strive for excellence," Kirk said.

But Shanyce Matthews, the parent of another graduating senior, said that her enthusiasm for the school waned over time.

Her son wasn't required to write a full-fledged research paper, she said. Matthews also said that women and non-Lutherans weren't held in as high regard as men and members of the faith. Matthews worked at HOPE, but she said she was fired when she began raising concerns.

A spokeswoman for HOPE declined to comment on Matthews' comments.

One of HOPE's local funders has been PAVE, a Milwaukee-based organization that provides financial support to urban schools

Typically, students arriving at voucher schools are a grade or two behind, according to Dan McKinley, president of PAVE. He praised HOPE's emphasis on discipline and creating an environment where students are expected to learn.

"An urban school that is successful is really quite an achievement," McKinley said. "That is why the culture of the school is so important."

Mark Neumann is one of three directors of the company and is not paid.

Andrew Neumann, who has a doctorate in math education, is president. He received compensation last year of $116,610, records show.

The third director is James Rahn, president of the Kern Family Foundation of Waukesha. He was formerly director of the Center for Urban Teaching at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Andrew Neumann said the company uses proven techniques, such as the phonics program for early grades that was pioneered by Chicago educator Marva Collins.

The performance of students remains slightly behind the state average, according to the school.

HOPE prefers to measure performance by testing how well students are improving. Test results show students are making progress ahead of the national average: in language at its high school, in reading and language in grades three through eight at the school on W. North Ave. and math and reading in grades five through eight at the school on N. Port Washington Road.

All voucher schools must give state standardized tests next year and make those results public.

Andrew Neumann said HOPE schools are built around the concept of providing a Christian education, developing character and preparing students for more education after high school.

"Money Love is at the center of what we are doing," he said.

Aggregator Link Is Back

ELCA Pastor Anita Hill, lesbian activist. Is she man enough to become bishop?

Lutheran News (not Otten's) is back. I added it to the list, for now. That depends on how it works and what it links. I find it convenient to see the apostates linked, saving time and trouble in searching for heart-stopping stories.

Ichabod is supposedly linked again.

Truth Defeats Deceit and Corruption

Jim Huebner, Fuller alumnus, illustrates why WELS is not Lutheran.
The faces represent WELS' favorite religious leaders.
Luther is missing, of course.
Chemnitz - who he?
Chytraeus? Spelling?

People email each other and send links to stories and websites. Once they had a confidential outlet, the lies stopped working. I used to think, "If only the Lutherans had the equivalent of the Roman Catholic network of clergy abuse victims (SNAP)." The journalists did not expose Roman Catholic cover-ups. SNAP did, and the journalists feasted on the facts.

When a journalist asked SP Gurgle about the adulterous pastor who was promoted to a posh job, the Schwaermer Pope wanted to know, "Who told you?" He phoned around, "Did you tell the journalist?" That is all he did about it. WELS discipline - promote the guilty while giving Lutherans the Left Foot of Fellowship. No wonder WELS grew so fast under Gurgle.

One pastor asked me, "Did you tell the journalist?" No, that was a typical WELS maneuver, staying in the background. I do not really blame anyone for avoiding a summary execution by the guardians of false doctrine. But the old regime is finished off, and I do not merely mean one attached to a name. Denominations simply cannot get away with it anymore.

Going back to the Roman Catholics - now the trail of evidence has reached Pope John Paul II, fast-tracked on the road to sainthood. It is clear that he stonewalled any investigations, including the clear evidence indicting his pal, the head of the Legion of Mary. That man was a bi-sexual dynamo, with a bastard kid and a group of his boy followers abused as well.

Every Roman Catholic bishop story seems to include a case of massive cover-ups, just like the WELS DPs. Let me remind the forgetful - the only priest punished in the Boston debacle was the one who objected to the abuse. Cardinal Law was promoted to Rome. That is not Milwaukee, but he had to settle for the Eternal City rather than Tabor's love nest.

Recently a conservative Catholic and an anti-Catholic liberal agreed on one fact. Exposing the scandals is the only way to end them. The day will come when bishops will fear the results of a tempting cover-up more than the backlash from telling the truth...for once.

WELS is so corrupt that WLC invited the homosexual predator Archbishop Weakland--and his priests--to a series of public lectures. Weakland was totally smitten by his male lover and paid him $400,000 out of embezzled funds to keep the young man quiet. WLC featured public lectures from Weakland and a clutch of priests, then lied about it. In the Wisconsin sect, embezzling funds is not a crime. It is a hobby. Talking about it is a crime. Promoting the Antichrist is not a crime. Talking about it is a crime. Paying a homosexual, embezzling false teacher to speak is not a crime. Publishing the facts is a crime.

And all the WELS church workers are straight.

Criminal church workers will continue to frolic in the sheepfolds, as long as their bosses cover up for them. Every church worker deserves a fair trial when charged with a crime, but the members also deserve the truth when a pastor, DP, instructor, or church workers is indicted. Until then, the felons will have fun the garden of good and evil.

Someone likes my Weakland graphic. All I did was add an imaginary thought.

I know who is smiling right now.

Extra Nos - On Intrepid Lutherans

Intrepid Lutherans

Over here it is not unusual to have granny flats. It is a type of bungalow where a member of the family can stay with you but not with you. Well they are sort of staying with you in that they are in the same compound but not in the same roof.

What has this to do with granny flats? Well Christians and in particular most Lutherans, treat doctrine like a grandma living in a granny flat. She is there but nobody dares to bring her into conversation. She is ignored but everyone knows she is still alive. She is just avoided. No one talks to her, no one talks about her.

I am glad that some WELS folk have decided to blog about what everyone in WELS knows but no one bothered to talk about. I congratulate the people at Intrepid Lutherans for being so bold to face up and debate issues that matter to them the most.

In a way, I see this as analogous to recognizing that grandma is out there in the granny flat, now what are we going to do about her?

Good on Intrepid Lutherans, I admire their courage. I hope they produce a lot of meaty discussions. I made it a point to read the blog daily.

Lesson from Colossians: God Will Punish Deceit

"Where can I find a Lutheran church body?" - she screamed.
We have gone generic New Age, WLC explained.

We have been studying Colossians, at our little church, where people all over the world read the sermons and watch the videos.

Two passages came up last Sunday -

1. KJV Colossians 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
   
   
2. KJV Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

The clergy deceive people all the time. They pride themselves on their ability to get what they want by lying and manipulating others. They elect Doctrinal Pussycats who do even more lying than the normal quota.

This could apply to Missouri, the ELS, or the mini-micro sects, but I will focus on WELS, where lying is an art, a habit, perhaps an addiction.

The Wisconsin Synod is lying when it claims to be Lutheran. The same people who use the term when it is convenient will hide it. But that is not the fundamental issue. The leadership of WELS is almost entirely anti-Lutheran and thoroughly corrupt.

It is a lie that the colleges are Lutheran. They are packed with Fuller/Willow Creek wannabees. The last mission event featured heresiarch Paul Calvin Kelm and almost sneaked in their WELS female pastor (from Latte Lutheran Church).

It is a lie that the seminary is Lutheran. The Sausage Factory has been promoting Reformed doctrine for several decades while the clergy, the boards, and DPs, and the influential laity joined in pretending to be orthodox and faking fellowship principles. When I was there, a poster on Panzer's door advertised the Billy Graham School of Evangelism. Wanna go? "See Paul Kelm." Of course, Kelm had to be the mission speaker each year. Worse than that, the faculty filled the mushy heads of the Kinder with required reading from anti-Lutherans.

The man who sinned most in this regard was David Valleskey, who was promoted to the Mequon presidency for this work. The new guy is no better. The seminary board members are liars. The DPs are liars. And the Love Shack drones are liars. They cannot even run a Lutheran seminary.

SP Schroeder just advertised the feminist conference Church and Change is running, courtesy of the seminary president's wife. WELS does not ordain women? True, but that is also a lie, a clever one. They just set up women pastors who lead the worship services and celebrate Holy Communion. Larry Olson's entire program at Mary Lou College is aimed at blurring all distinctions until women are ordained by default.

See ELCA for the methods used so successfully in gay ordination. WELS parallels ELCA in using the same methods, including an in-house lobbying group whose tentacles include the Love Shack, the Sausage Factory, both colleges, and the synod magazine. WELS has that in Church and Change. Nothing has been done about that beehive or any other beehive.

WELS even lies about GA, which is a festival of lies. There will be more comments, perhaps, that GA is done. That is a lie. The secret GA continues and the Sausage Factory knows it. So do the others who pretend not to know.

Woe, woe, thrice woe upon anyone who tells the truth about the liars. The same spineless DPs and CPs who cannot deal with rank heresy will pound the truth-teller into the dirt. These leaders pretend to be helpless imbeciles who cannot remember their own last names, but they turn into savages when their apostasy is threatened. And they have such high and lofty knowledge that they read people's thoughts and motives, which are evil. And they talk while the slaves are supposed to listen. Wormtongue turns into a wrathful wizard in the stuffy confines of a pastor's office.

Here is a non-WELS example of DP behavior. One Missouri pastor was trying to keep a known sex offender from serving in another parish. The DP screamed at the top of his lungs at the pastor, in the pastor's own office. He slammed his briefcase down on the desk for emphasis. On the way out of the building, the DP said to a parish member, "You have one of the finest ministers in the whole district." No, it was not SP Jerry, but a DP known to be "conservative." Ha.

There are as many other examples as well.

Why are the Lutheran synods in epic fail mode? Forget all the sociological excuses. They are lies purchased from experts to excuse the corruption, dishonesty, and venality of the organizational leadership. Here is a great one from WELS - "The Masonic Lodge is losing members, too." As the lodge goes, so goes WELS, it seems. Why is no one laughing?

The Boomer DPs are telling the pastors, "You are not going to recognize the synod in five years." The heritage of the past has been squandered, to a large extent by the Boomer DPs. They are not useless. They are useful in backing Church and Change. Lots of perks, too.

I do not think much will change. It can, with God's Word and the Confessions. But I think people are too comfortable in the sleazy methods of the past. The ministry is pure socialism. If they get rid of pastors in a limited job market, there are more calls available for Pastor Hategood. The apostates circle the wagons. The conservatives form a circle and start firing.

The funny thing is - Church and Change telegraphs its intentions and hides very little.

Jeske is WELS? That is a lie. He is not even a Lutheran.

Something is being done about Jeske's anti-Lutheran "LCMS media ministry"? That is a lie.

Kelm was disciplined with two calls at the same time.

God has been punishing all this. I heard Mequon professors squeaking about how much they have lost in budget perks. Exactly what have they done to protest the doctrinal aberration of their fellow professors, their seminary presidents? Nothing. It is a good gig. Teach a few hours a week, finish at noon, take four months for vacation. Housing provided. Very few slots. Instant infallibility once appointed. Why rock the boat, especially when the skiff is so small? The classes are now so small that the faculty can finish their graduate work.

God will continue to punish the lies. One of the worst New Testament sins is "a respecter of persons." That means looking at the bank account of the layman or the DNA of the false teacher. WELS is very keen on both, but so are the other failing Lutheran groups.

Busta Gut, The Early Years

EMBED-Little Toddler Preaching at Church - Watch more free videos

Kelmed from Freddy Finkelstein