Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Norman Teigen on the LCMS-ELS


Martin Chemnitz agreed with B. Teigen, but Jack Preus was the biographer of the Second Martin.



Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Preus-Otten-McCain-Barry":


Thank you for re-distributing this link. I think that the report is probably pretty accurate.

I was glad to see that the Preus-ELS connection was mentioned. There is no doubt that the ELS suspension of fellowship with Missouri in 1955 was engineered by the Preus brothers. The Preus brothers were brighter than any of the others in the ELS.

It was painful to my father and my uncle that the Preus brothers did what they did and then went to Missouri. It was opportunism at every turn.

The Jim Adams account of Preus and the ELS should be considered as completely reliable.

Of course, my father and my uncle were supportive of Jack Preus and his internal Missouri battles.

My uncle passed away in 1970. My father and Robert were reasonably close to the end.

Jack rejected my Dad's analysis of Chemnitz. Jack torpedoed the idea that CPH would publish his book. I think that it might be fairly safely put forth that Jack was in the tradition of Missouri receptionism when he passed away.

CPH in recent years would have published my Dad's book (I think that this is true) but we survivors decided to make the book freely available through LOGIA.

Robert Preus, the record will show, was responsive to my father's work on the Chemnitz question. Robert got beyond receptionism.

Robert was described by Bohlmann as a church politician. Who wasn't? I have always felt that the treatment of Robert Preus by the Missouri Synod was one of the saddest things to have occurred in that era.

Now, the Preus family continues to be prolific. Some might suggest that the Preus family gene pool has gone into decline. Old Governor Jake and then Jack and Robert were pretty strong guys.

I don't know the family but some think that the family isn't as bright as it had been in earlier times. These assessments are based on 'Luther Quest' posts.

Thanks again, for this post. I hope that the discussion of who owns the history of the church continues.

Norman Teigen
ELS layman

***

GJ - Receptionism is derived from Enthusiasm. To say, "We do not know when it is the Body and Blood of Christ" is an admission of Biblical apostasy and studied ignorance.

'Tis funny that the UOJ Enthusiasts know exactly when the entire unbelieving world was forgiven, at the death of Christ, or at His resurrection. Come to think of it, they have not figured that out. Continuing my thought, they think they know the Moment of Absolution, but they do not know the Word consecrates.

No wonder Lutherdom has fallen into such disarray.

People howl about how unfair it is that I discuss doctrinal issues out in the open, as if that is harmful. But they have no trouble ruining the careers of people through their covert actions, their shameful behavior, and their words hidden away.

I tried to explain to another high school alumnus that WELS pushed me out of the ministry for telling the truth while the same officials supported an abusive ex-pastor getting back into the ministry. WELS and the ELS worked together on that. But according to Gaylin Schmeling,* it "hurts the face of the church" to keep abusive clergy out of the ministry by addressing the Biblical issues.

That is why no one will hear WELS or the ELS admit that Holy Mother Synod has ever made a mistake, published false doctrine, moved around adulterous pastors, or promoted false teachers to positions of greater authority.

*Sem prez, The Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie, richly endowed by Marvin Schwan, who left his wife and married the wife of one of his subordinates, ending two marriages. There is no absolution more certain than one paved with gold, eh?



Lutheran Books Selling


I haven't heard from Church and Money Changers.


I listed the Lutheran books, so people can write at

gregjackson1948@qwest.net.

When I get done with the Lutheran books, I will list my fabulous collection of history and literature.

I have a lot of English and Medieval history. Literature includes classics from all over, from Chaucer to Dorothy Parker, some great novels and short stories.



Tuesday, June 8, 2010

I'm With the Plagiarist: CFW Walther Shirts


Preus-Otten-McCain-Barry


Justification in Rome is not a travelogue. Where is the UOJ?


Norwegian Pietists were hot for UOJ, but Robert Preus finally repudiated it in his last book.


Norman Teigen provided this link about the LCMS wars. The review is from Day Star, not exactly the confessional redoubt of Missouri. Still, it contains plenty of information and some dubious facts. America really favors liberalism, according to the article. That would have surprised Reagan.

I have met or known most of the main characters: Herman Otten, his sister Marie Meyer, David Scaer, Waldo Werning, Carl Hofmeyer, Fred Rutz Sr, Ralph Bohlmann, Al Barry, and that Jesuit Paul McCain.

Otten and his group played politics and won a few battles, losing the war.

The most effective weapon is the Word, which is hardly used. The WELS district meetings will probably be proxy fights, with people hoping everyone gets the hint about what they are saying on the floor or in conversations. It is a mortal sin to be direct in WELS, scaring the apostates half to death. More obviously, it makes them resentful, and they get even.

Meanwhile, it is no sin to copy directly the so-called sermons of Babtists who deny the efficacy of the Word, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, baptismal regeneration, and infant faith. Their attitude toward Holy Communion is the same - denying the Sacrament, denying forgiveness.

This week I am teaching an MA class about plagiarism and copyright laws. When a minister publishes a sermon on the Net or anywhere else, it is copyrighted by default. When another minister copies that sermon, changing a few words, and publishes/preaches it as his own, he is a liar, a thief, and a plagiarist. WELS does absolutely nothing about that.

But dare to question Holy Mother WELS...



Money Changer -
It's My Potty and I'll Cry If I Want To


More bad news for the Church and Money Changers

mark has left a new comment on your post "Too Little and Too Late?":

Notice how few readers Jackson has these days?

Maybe it's because he's to (sic) angry to do any good. Or maybe because he's wrong?

Well at least no one's reading the site anymore.

***

GJ - Exactly how does this illiterate son of WELS know how many readers I have? My only source is Google Analytics. I trust he does not have the secret password for those statistics.

In the last year I have had 56,000+ unique readers.

Over 350,000 pages have been read.

Comments decreased when people realized they would be tracked for their unique identities. Some had trouble getting OpenID to work. Still, comments come in and I get more personal email than ever before.



Too Little and Too Late?


This WELS pastor loves Leonard Sweet.*


Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Proxy War":

The question is whether the apostates can be converted or expelled by the politeness of the Intrepid Lutherans.

This is one half of the issue. Can they convert those who are manipulating the Synod and laity, to achieve their New Age Emergent success, with polite discourse on issues that are a result of the core problems and not the core problems themselves? Note that the apostates who have ushered in the New Age doctrines and practices have been exposed to and confronted with the refutations of their actions with Scripture and the Confessions by concerned laity, and have at one time taken an oath to uphold the teachings of Scripture and the BOC before. They have already rejected these for the wisdom and success of men.

The other half of the issue is the laity. Can the IL overcome the effect of doing nothing for years by discussing the fringe effects of the core problems? Can it be accomplished without offending anyone? Without giving specific examples? IL is waging a gentle 30 year campaign in a war that has been waging for years and will be over in 5-10 - it may already be over. Combine that with the fact that the majority of the (W)ELS clergy and laity take their sole lead on what to believe and confess from the authority of the Synod and not Scripture and the Confessions. The fact that IL represents only a few hearty souls means that the laity will feel far safer following the same old path than to take a chance on Scripture and the Confessions. Fear replaces faith and the (W)ELS have destroyed faith with their central doctrine of UOJ. Unless IL starts at the central article of Christian faith they will simply be rearranging the chairs and ironing the linen on the Titanic.

This is not to say that Scriptural and Confessional efforts are without benefit as God works through the Means of Grace alone and the Word purely taught and Sacraments rightly distributed always work to either harden sinful hearts or create contrition and saving faith in those God has called by His grace. The application of the medicine needs to exceed the extent of the infection.

*Leonard Sweet is also adored by Paul Calvin Kelm and the president of Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Louis.



Proxy War


The Lutheran synods have become a house of cards.


Herman Otten recently decried Lutheran groups splitting, but he comes from the era of synods modeled after General Motors - a fact well known about the LCA corporate structure. The LCA, now ELCA, has gone the way of GM.

Someone asked about Intrepid Lutherans and the discussions on the liturgy.

In WELS especially, every battle is a proxy war. The real topic is not the subject mentioned. It stands for something else.

Those emphasizing liturgy are criticizing Church and Change. They imply this without saying it.

For Church and Change, promoting the liturgy is a legalistic stance, their way of dismissing the confessional Lutherans as false teachers. They imply this without saying it.

The Church and Money Changers are nasty, unscrupulous, dishonest, and greedy. Their love of false doctrine is exceeded only by their lust for loot.

The question is whether the apostates can be converted or expelled by the politeness of the Intrepid Lutherans.

I see three positive signs, in spite of my general gloom (based on the evidence) about Lutherans in general:

  1. WELS laity and pastors are working together in the open and expressing themselves on a group blog.
  2. The Anything Goes district is giving the Book of Concord as a confirmation gift. That is like finding out that the Billy Graham Crusade is reprinting What Luther Says.
  3. WELS is promoting the Confessions from the top down, a complete reversal from the apostate leadership of the last 33 years, when Ron Roth's Church Growth was allowed to sow its toxic seed.


WELS is tiny, so changing direction is more a case of digging one oar in a little harder.

WELS and Missouri have abandoned the Confessions so long that people are hungering for something doctrinal rather than listening to practical advice from the Babtists and New Agers.

That will put pressure on the Little Sect to have doctrinal leadership. Orvick and Pope John were both products of the WELS CG faction.

Ruling Norm and Ruled Norm


Knapp is saying, "I'm with the plagiarist."



John has left a new comment on your post "Un-Emerging Theology Book Given to Confirmands in ...":

WELS Church Lady says: "...our friends at CPH allowed for the word objective justification. No place in the body of the book is this term mentioned. Needless to say it is not found in the Concordia Triglotta."

Isn't Scripture the norm?

Aren't there many things that the Book of Concord does not address, specifically?

Does the Book of Concord specifically address abortion?

I am not commenting here on any subject other than what the norm is.

John



***

GJ - Scripture is the ruling norm, while the Confessions are the ruled norm.

Lutherans are the only ones with a coherent, harmonious confession of faith, but the BoC is neglected by all the synods today.

Father Neuhaus called himself a confessional Lutheran, right up to the point where he became a Roman Catholic priest. He was an ELCA pastor when he called himself confessional. I wrote to him, "You are really just less liberal, not confessional." He conceded that point.

John is flirting with the logical fallacy called the "argument from silence." There is no OJ content in the BoC. What people claim for that is always another passage about the Atonement of Christ.

The argument from silence has been used for Preus' Justification and Rome, where UOJ is clearly repudiated. I would love to see the original manuscript, before Dan and Rolf Preus got their UOJ hands on it. Nevertheless, the doctrine of justification by faith alone comes through clearly.

There is only one justification, justification by faith, as Preus wrote.

UOJ Stormtroopers are avoiding two key issues:

  1. George Knapp invented double-justification, which is a testament to the Calvinistic basis of Pietism.
  2. Robert Preus repudiated his earlier stance in favor of UOJ.

There may be UOJ fans who tell the truth, but I have not found one yet.



Sunday, June 6, 2010

Luther Blesses the Church and Money Changers:
Heretics Provoke Us To Study





Whatever is Scripture is either law or gospel. One of the two must triumph: the law leads to despair, the gospel leads to Salvation. I learn more about this every day...The gospel is life. The Pope drove me to this; he opened my eyes to it. It is as Augustine said to himself: the heretics provoke us to search the Scriptures. Otherwise nobody would think about them (Luther on Being A Theologian)


---

grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Luther Blesses the Church and Money Changers: Here...":

I like this picture of the young Luther...he looks resolute, determined, and tough.

His expression says: "If you rip this down you better have a sound theological reason or we are going to have a "talk" ".

You would want to have this guy on your side during a theological fight...

Grumps



Un-Emerging Theology Book Given to Confirmands in the Anything Goes District:
Will Englebrecht Discipline the Offenders?


In a previous post entitled Concord and Confirmation 2010, all WELS congregations in the Northern Wisconsin District that did not already give copies of the Book of Concord to their confirmands were invited to receive free copies. This offer resulted in forty-seven copies of the Book of Concord being given to WELS confirmands in the Northern Wisconsin District.

Cindy Ramos, a reader, sent in the above picture and the following comments:

Today was Confirmation Day at St. Paul. We attended the early service, and confirmation was happening in the late service. The Books of Concord were already on a table at the front of the church, ready to be handed out to the confirmands during the service. I took some photos, since I figured that’s what you would have done.

Pastor Zabell included a couple of paragraphs in the bulletin explaining the Book of Concord

I heard one lady mention that she wished somebody had given her one, and I was happy to tell her that she could borrow it from the church library. Another lady told me that she wants to read the Book of Concord after she finishes the book she’s reading now. At least one of them said they had never heard of the BOC before. It seems this gift to the confirmands really helps to raise awareness of the Lutheran Confessions, and hopefully some of our laypeople will be moved to find out more…

May God bless those who received copies of the Lutheran Confessions and all confirmands throughout the WELS.



2 Responses

  1. on June 5, 2010 at 12:26 pm Rebecca Quam

    The Lutheran Church was grounded in the confessions of the Book Of Concord. Without these teachings we would be the Generic Reformed Synod. All confirmands and adult new members should recieve a copy. The sectaian groups that are rebuked in the BOC, are still with us today.(only repackaged) Too many of our brothers want to change the church. Gold pendants are luxuries and T-shirts with your church logo is a nice gesture. However, Confessional Lutheran teachings are priceless and a must have. May God bless all the new confirmands!

    In Christ,
    Rebecca Quam-WELS


  2. Many who are not well-informed about the Lutheran Confessions wonder, “Isn’t the Bible enough? Why do we need the Book of Concord?” I recently came across one of the best short defenses of the Lutheran Confessions that I’ve ever read:

    It does not suffice simply to assert, “I believe what the Bible teaches.” The earliest creeds of the Church were formulated against the claims of heretics who firmly and clearly stated they were teaching what the Bible teaches. The Bible is God’s Word to us. Confession is our clear response and accounting to God and to the world regarding what His Word says.

    (Matthew C. Harrison, Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith in Action, Concordia Publishing House, 2008, p. 160.)

    Between man and God, the Bible is enough – enough for faith and salvation. Among men, additional confessions are needed when our understanding of the Bible differs.



***

GJ - WWJD? What Would Jeske Do?




May the Angels Lead You to Paradise






In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

May angels lead you into paradise; upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you and lead you to the holy city of J erusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, the poor man, may you have eternal rest.

I deny kelming this.




District Convention Advice




Someone asked for WELS district convention advice. Here it is:


  1. Rebuke their false doctrine at every stage.
  2. Stop them in the hallways.
  3. Speak from the floor.
  4. Have lunch with them and apply the Word.
  5. Ask for a multi-year study of the Confessions.
  6. Expect false teachers to be removed rather than promoted.
  7. Deny WLC any recognition as a synod-approved school.
  8. Treat Thrivent the way Thrivent treats conservative Lutherans.
  9. Reconstitute the school system with affordable tuition and Lutheran instructors - both lacking at the moment.
  10. Sell the Chapel of St. Marvin to ELCA.
  11. Break fellowship with the Little Sect on the Prairie, until and unless they replace Pope John the Malefactor.

The First Sunday after Trinity


As Luther wrote, the birds sing praises to God each morning, and they do not know where their next meal will come from. By Norma Boeckler


The First Sunday after Trinity


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn # 427 How Firm a Foundation 2:18
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #429 Lord, Thee I Love 2.54

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

The Communion Hymn # 311 Jesus Christ 2:79
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #347 Jesus Priceless Treasure 2:77

KJV 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

KJV Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

First Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we beseech Thee so to rule and govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not, like the rich man, hear Thy word in vain, and become so devoted to things temporal as to forget things eternal; but that we readily and according to our ability minister to such as are in need, and not defile ourselves with surfeiting and pride; in trial and misfortune keep us from despair, and grant us to put our trust wholly in Thy fatherly help and grace, so that in faith and Christian patience we may overcome all things, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.


Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

The apostle John is associated with the church at Ephesus, which was a center of the Christian faith and the mother church of many others. Jesus commended His own mother to John’s care, so we know how important John was to Jesus’ ministry. According to tradtion, John lived to an old age and was known for saying to the believers in Ephesus – Love one another.

The apostle must have placed a great deal of importance on faith, since this lesson begins:

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

The “we” refers to the apostles. John is teaching as an apostle. Lenski has this interesting point about this verse – knowing and believing go together. Someone who believes this love also knows it to be true. Faith in God’s love produces an effect, so this love is experienced.

The charismatics and Pentecostals have drawn the wrong conclusion, based on their Enthusiasm, dividing the Holy Spirit from the Word. They count an emotional response as their key to the certainty of salvation. In contrast, we can rely on the objective truth of the Means of Grace. They create the bridge which brings Christ to us and us to Christ. We know we are forgiven through the Word and Sacraments, so we also trust in this message.

The 1960s were an institutionalized version of Enthusiasm. Anything was true if someone felt good about it. Anything was bad if someone felt bad about it. That meant there could be no truth. Eastern Pantheism is another version of this fallacy.

The verse before is significant –

KJV 1 John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

Like Romans 10, the point is knowing and confessing, because that confession shows what we trust.

KJV Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

This Christian faith we share is confessional. We confess the truths together, and those eternal truths remain so in spite of anyone’s emotions.

What does scandal or offense really mean? Someone hears some part of the Word and has an emotional reaction against it. For instance, Paul’s commands about women usurping authority and teaching men – they can be taken two ways. One is a continuation of God’s Word, consistent with the Old Testament and God’s will. That also insures that men will remain spiritual leaders instead of defaulting to women and sneaking away to the pub.

Taking offense or being scandalized involves seeing those verses as oppressive, dangerous, and something to be overturned. That is an emotional, anti-confessional response. But it is not limited to women. The libraries are filled with theological books written by supposed male believers who reject the Atonement of Christ and write against God’s Son dying for the sins of the world. The official ELCA doctrinal text says the death of Christ has no meaning. But since they also reject the divinity of Christ, His Two Natures, and His virgin birth, that follows. We know it is true (I guess) because the authors feel it is true. It is true for them, so they do not need to address their complete departure from the Christian tradition.

That same group, plus their fans, are yelping about the current state of affairs in ELCA. From paganism comes pagan behavior.

Faith, belief, trust – all covered by the same word in Greek – are found throughout John’s Gospel and his epistles.

The Gospel and Epistles of John are so easy to understand, and yet they are profound in their spiritual meaning. I always suggest John’s Gospel for learning a new language and for understanding the Christian faith.

This lesson is a classic in the Christian church.

I also remember it as the first one I read in a giant church—over 3000 members—when I was a student assistant in seminary. It was very traditional in those days. Now they perform homosexual weddings and brag about it. If anyone wonders why I sound the alarm about cultural degeneracy, they might want to check out that old church in Kitchener, Ontario. People I know are still there and one of my confirmation students is on the district staff, his wife serving as the pastor for the chapel at the seminary.

I remember being almost unable to breathe during that reading, which just had to use the term “fear” more than once.

Fear is the opposite of faith, and love comes from faith.

This lesson is another example of how words can be moved around. Love does not convert people, but it is the primary fruit of the Gospel.

KJV 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Through faith we receive all the benefits of Christ, chiefly the declaration that our sins are forgiven.

In contrast is the parable about the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man did not pay attention to the Word of God. Because of that, he had no love for his fellow man, Lazarus, who lay outside, longing for a few crumbs of food.

Love cannot exist without faith, because agape-love is fueled by God’s agape-love.

As sinners, we are inherently selfish and self-centered. That never goes away completely. Those who pretend otherwise are deceiving themselves, as the Apostle John has written.

KJV 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

However, God’s selfless agape-love is revealed perfectly in His sacrifice of His Son for the sins of the unbelieving world. He did not wait until the world believed in Him, nor did He demand that the world be good enough for such a sacrifice. He first gave His Son and then entrusted the Gospel to the apostles, so that His agape-love Word would convert unbelievers and energize the same agape-love, first toward Him and then toward his neighbor.

The Gospel Promises produce faith and that believing heart responds with love toward God for this great and gracious gift of forgiveness. Knowing that our sins are forgiven and that God has done everything for us, materially and spiritually, we are moved by the Gospel to care for our neighbor.

Here the perversity of human nature can be viewed.

The Word of God belongs to Him alone and cannot be adulterated or changed in any way whatsoever. Nevertheless, people are amazingly patient toward those false teachers who distort and undermine the pure Word of God. In fact, the more they work against the revealed Word of God, the more people adore what they have to say and reward them for saying it.

I have visited and observed several me-centered churches. One time it was to help bring a young woman back from that sect, if possible. The other time was to see how this famous CG church operated in Phoenix. What disturbed me the most was the so-called sermon based on the personality of the speaker. The audiences literally cooed with approval as the two different ministers talked about themselves. People love what Luther calls wolf-preaching. Some of the wolves even brag about how they rip and devour the flock, living in splendid luxury while demanding everything from their victims.

God’s Word says – confront those who hate and abuse the Gospel. There is no room for any toleration of false doctrine. It is a cancer or gangrene that can only spread. The apostolic age shows that false doctrine.

We are to be patient with the faults of others, but unbending about the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit.

The contemporary attitude, which was no different during the Reformation, is this – we should be flexible about God’s Word but inflexible in defending false teachers, because of friendship or kinship. That is always going to be the attitude of the church as a human institution, just the opposite of being confessional.

It takes constant attention and study to remain true to God’s Word. Otherwise, it is clear that an entire group of people (a congregation, a synod, a nation) will move in the direction of the charismatic and manipulative leaders. When that happens, the Bible is still quoted but only in ways that will support that new direction away from its meaning.

The Roman Emperor Nero was so degenerate that he rode through the streets of Rome with his “wife,” a young man. The people said, according to Seutonius, “If only his parents had been the same.” (Obviously, there would have been no Nero.) Even then, as Rome fell apart, the intellectual leaders were disgusted. But in America, it is now a Constitutional right. In many denominations, it is also the will of God and the heart of the Gospel.

16b God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Lenski pointed out that agape-love is a rare word in the ancient world, hardly used at all. The Word of God has given us a metaphor about God, one so familiar that we forget where it is from – God is love. The one attribute of God which describes Him more than any other is – love, agape-love, a love based on compassion and mercy rather than our notion of justice.

“God so loved the world” means that God wanted to rescue the world from its degenerate, corrupted ways. Instead of destroying everyone in His wrath, He sent His Son as the Gospel. Those who believe in Jesus also abide in love and abide in God. This is the divine consequence of the Means of Grace, so we do not need to measure whether it is true by our emotions. We know it is true and rejoice in its blessings.

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.

Boldness follows faith, just as fear drives out faith.

Put another way, if we trust our emotions, we throw faith away.

If we believe in Christ, we have boldness on the Day of Judgment.

Boldness is mentioned a number of times in the New Testament. When the apostle said there was no other Name by which anyone is saved, the audience responded:

KJV Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Paul wrote:

KJV Ephesians 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.


1 John 4:17b - because as He is, so are we in this world.

We are like Christ in this world because through faith we have His righteousness. We belong to Him. He is in us and we are in Him. Since He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, no power is greater than His.

The apostolic age faced the enormous power of the pagan, degenerate Roman Empire and began its gradual conversion, relying on the Word of God alone. Persecutions only spread the Gospel faster.

The fish originated as a secret sign of Christians. One person meeting a stranger would draw part of a fish, using his staff or a stick. If the other completed the fish sign, both knew the other was a believer. Fish in Greek (ichthus) spells out the titles of Christ
Jesus
Christ
Son of
God
Savior.

That was one of the first confessions. One woman recently wrote, “Now we are no longer afraid to confess the truth.” Boldness comes from relying on the Word and trusting in Him.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

The Final Verse




Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!



Church and Change Websty


Gurgle and Ski are famous for posting badly-spelled material on the Net.

IT'S ALL ABOUT US
The Church and Change group is interested in practicing and promoting innovation in ministry methods throughout the WELS especially at the "grass roots" level. There are a number of resources from which to choose. Sort through our Idea Exchange for the approaches to ministry that are at work in congregations. Select Articles that will stimulate your thinking about ministry. Click through our Link and Learn resource for websites that may offer your church some benefits.

The resources we offer here are intended to stimulate thinking about serving the Savior and His kingdom. Since these resources are not necessarily written from a conservative Lutheran perspective, sanctified discretion is required when evaluating these materials.

Thank you for visiting our site and we look forward to hearing from you.

Board of Directors
Pastor Ron Ash Chairman
Jeff Davis Vice Chairman
Barry Spencer Treasurer
Sarah Owens Secretary
Pastor John Huebner
Brian Arthur Lampe

When Ski was officially on the board, three members of St. Marcus were on the board at the same time. I haven't seen such a monopoly since CrossWalk in Phoenix took over the board of Wisconsin Lutheran College - and hid the evidence of their infiltration.

Barry Spencer and Brian Arthur Lampe are members of St. Marcus. For some reason, photos and bios disappear from a CG websty when I publicize it.

WELS members - you are the suckers who paid for this apostate lobby to get started. The Church and Money Changers skim the cream from the offerings, the Thrivent grants, Schwan money, and foundation grants. Want to find a liberal? - check out a foundation board or advisory committee. Oh - there is Ski again...Siebert Foundation.

At your district conventions -

tie a hundred dollar bill to a piece of string,

drag it through the hall,

all the Church and Money Changers will follow you out the door.

---

Marketing a Church a Target Community
Pastor Jeff Gunn


Pastor Gun is also a great resource for:

Non-Lutheran Churches - How to Build One From Scratch
Small Groups - Starting them Successfully
Contemporary Music - Doing it up
Outreach Methods - Getting Involved
Researching Alternative Ministry Methods and Models - How To Do It and Pull Workable Ideas From It
Controlling a WELS college without having a WELS congregation!

Email: jeff@crosswalkinlaveen.org
Website: www.crosswalkinlaveen.org/

---

Congregation -Conference Breakout 103.... Growing Your Congregation’s Staph from Within
Fuller Seminary DMin Lawrence Olson - Larry Oh! - Our Staph Infection


The WELS Congregational Assistant Program (CAP) encourages and equips members, men and women alike, for a broader ministry within a congregation.
WELS Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI), which guides and assists men from a broad cultural spectrum through their pre-seminary and seminary training.

Email: OlsonLO@mlc-wels.edu

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Contemporary Worship - Conference Breakout 506....
Your Guide to Starting Your Own Alternative Worship Experience


Pastor James “Ski” Skorzewski and Staff Minister Brian Davison

Changes are taking place in the worship world. There still remains a strong interest in blended and contemporary worship among many in our midst. A number of WELS congregations have been conducting blended or contemporary services for years. This workshop will provide help and guidance from someone who has undertaken the process at St. Marcus in Milwaukee. Topics to be discussed include how to begin a blended/contemporary service in a small/traditional congregation so that everyone is blessed; recruiting musicians, vocalists, and technical persons; equipment needs; stage presence!; best rock music to use at the start; copyright matters; plagiarism tips; music/worship sources (websites, friends, etc…) ; use of contemporary liturgies; establishing a WELS network for those interested in helping each other with materials, ideas, and encouragement; and the awakening need for more joyful experiential worship in our midst.


If you are interested in getting your hands on this conference workshop PowerPoint or want more information, email the speaker by selecting the link below!

Email: brian.davison@stmarcus.com, james.skorzewski@stmarcus.com
Website: www.stmarcus.com

---

Finance - Conference Breakout 107.... Creating a Conflict of Interest in Your Church and Synod
Jeffrey Davis


This workshop will share ideas and give examples for churches intent on creating cultures marked by strong financial stewardship and biblically guided generosity.


If you are interested in getting your hands on this conference workshop PowerPoint or want more information, email the speaker by selecting the link below!

Cornerstone Stewardship Ministry
206 E. Mills Dr.
Lake Mills, WI 53551

Phone: 920-648-7997
Email: jeff@joyfulgiving.net
Website: www.joyfulgiving.net

---

Pietistic Cell Groups
Pastor Peter Panitzke


Two 40 day programs with daily devotions and small group sessions.

Email: ppanitzke@stpaulmuskego.org
Website: www.stpaulmuskego.org

---

Jail Mininstry - From the Inside
DP Ed Werner, Vicar Scott Zerbe, ALA Teacher Al Just, Pastor W. Tabor (outside advisor) - OK, that is a little humor, and only a small selection of WELS jailbirds.


Looking to get involved in jail ministries? WELS Special Ministries Administrator, Pastor Carl Ziemer, knows all about it!

Give him a call.

Special Ministries
2929 N Mayfair Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53222


Phone: 414 256 3241
Website: www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?csm

Not Everyone Is Thrilled with Church and Change


Mark Jeske has already created his own trans-denominational synod,
while soliciting funds from his own current affiliation.
Jeske is the dark force behind Church and Change.



Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "Junior Stormtrooper Lashes Out:The Uncle Fritz Def...":

Garrett,

I'm going to direct you to another blog, The Gadfly. It is hosted by Pastor Spencer, a WELS pastor in Arizona. He has written a section entitled, "A Dozen Don'ts and Dos for Orthodox Lutheran Pastors". I direct you to #3- "Don't assume any other Pastor is orthodox just because you roomed with him in prep or college, or he's married to your sister, or related in any way".
There are hard times ahead in the WELS. To think any other way is naive. It's not just you and your "uncle". I also face this challenge.

A month ago I went to the Church and Change website. Who's picture do I see as an officer? A guy with which I went to prep and college. I always thought he was a nice guy. But.... I don't believe in Church and Change and anything for which they stand. I have to come to terms that he might be a straying brother.

Twenty years ago I was a charter member of a WELS mission church. I consider the pastor a friend. Now he has removed the word Lutheran from its name. It is now a "stealth" church. Once again, this might get personal. Why? I recently happily threw my lot in with the people from Intrepid Lutherans. Might I have to confront friends and schoolmates on the opposite side of heated debate? Yes, and I pray for the strength to do it.

So Garrett, steel your yourself for the future. It could get ugly. As Luther wrote, "With might of ours can naught be done...".



Junior Stormtrooper Lashes Out:
The Uncle Fritz Defense


Note the spelling on the sign - probable WELS product.
Needs money - definitely a Church and Changer.


Garrett has left a new comment on your post "Trashing Me Will Not Help Your Cause, O Cowardly C...":

Truthfully, being able to research many claims as true is what drew me to like your blog. Instead, I should have mentioned that It's (sic) a danger of generalizing.

A "Cowardly DP" would hardly describe my uncle (who is often quick to point me to the relevant scripture or other quotations explaining his actions). Nor would it assign proper justice to a former DP who was one of my home church's pastor and even taught my grade school Confirmation classes.

"God may continue to curse and punish WELS/ELS with false teachers and weak-kneed leaders." This comes to me as an exhortation- and directed towards the (W)ELS as a whole! As I mentioned, there is far too much to consider the entire WELS apostate. And, again, all the objects mentioned are generalizations.

If using words such as "apostate Doctrinal Pussycats" is supposed to narrow this accusation to a more select audience, it still fails on my ears (GJ - ?) under the context of the entire article.

I'm done...Anyone can deconstruct and hyperanalyze text wielding their own preconceptions. Although, at least you have a little fun with your writing. The one that made me grin was the JRR Tolkien Reference: "nasty little pocketses."

"Thus too, did Baldus say that such harsh words are like maggots on firewood that appear with a gentle touch: but have very harsh teeth, and gnaw away at the core of the firewood, resulting that the wood appears unhurt on the surface." -- Loci Theologici - Locus on Poverty (GJ - Incomplete citation, APA epic fail)

***

GJ - No one knows who this anonymous person is. Other blogs have higher standards and demand real names. But I like to let people post under pseudonyms for my own nefarious reasons.

Once again there are many unwarranted claims. Uncle Fritz (my fill-in-the-blank name for him) is not a doctrinal coward - based on what evidence?

The Uncle Fritz gambit is the primary reason why I fear WELS will not overcome its doctrinal errors.

"This cannot be true because my Uncle Fritz is a DP" or "My uncle Fritz taught at Mequon." Avuncular infallibility is the bedrock of all WELS arguments, and everyone has an uncle in WELS.

I am mildly sympathetic, because my first inclination is to be sympathetic toward those I know and appreciate.

However, any mention of the Conference of Pussycats is bound to elicit groans of despair.

Did they object to Kelm's Leonard Sweet Church and Change conference?

Did they object to Kelm's doctrine?

Did they sit there like bumps on a log while Gurgle and Mueller pillaged the synod and played Kevorkian with the schools?

Uncle Fritz' nephew objects to harsh words delivered smoothly, a fine description of WELS communication efforts, like the one above. One must never be so honest as to say, "This is wrong because..." and give actual reasons. Vague accusations are enough.

Here is a DP argument, theme and parts:

Theme - WELS is perfect.
Part 1 - Greg Jackson has criticized Holy Mother WELS.
Part 2 - Greg Jackson is a bad person.


The DPs have another argument, equally sound:
Theme - WELS is perfect.
Part 1 - You remind me of Greg Jackson.
Part 2 - Therefore, you are a bad person.

Anyone who objects to anything must go, hat in hand, to Lord High DP Hategood and present his criticisms in a weak and trembling voice. He will be lucky if the DP even shows up.

The DP will immediately--often through subordinates--address the problem by getting rid of the person who dared to arouse the wrath of the great and mighty Oz. WELS has trashed many divine calls this way while protecting the lowest of the low, like that adulterous murderer who miraculously got a call out of town and saw his files disappear in time for a police investigation. (Felony - obstruction of justice)

WELS has created its own solution-proof problem by shutting down all avenues of honest communication. PR substitutes for doctrinal rebuke. Apostates are punished with new calls. Adulterers are promoted and defended - if they have the right DNA or something better - access to loot.

Harsh? I like that word. I was diagnosed with cancer years ago. Do not celebrate too quickly. It was only a basal cell carcinoma. Nevertheless, there were only three options:

1. Burn it with radiation.

2. Burn it with very nasty chemicals.

3. Perform surgery and leave a scar.


Letting it grow was not an option since it was already eating a hole in my skull.

The Holy Spirit describes false doctrine as a cancer (or gangrene) that devours.

KJV 2 Timothy 2:17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

NKJ 2 Timothy 2:17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,

YLT 2 Timothy 2:17 and their word as a gangrene will have pasture, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus,

That allows us to believe that false doctrine should receive harsh treatment. I could quote Luther all day on this topic, but those quotations bounce right off the flinty skulls of WELS clergy.

I have never heard the Doctrinal Pussycats describe anything in WELS as false doctrine. That would be "harsh." But I do know how they treat their own clergy, from many different examples. I am familiar with the crafts and assaults of Church and Change, an official agency tasked with promoting false doctrine, a cancer giving birth to many new growths, like the women's conference, The CORE, etc.

WELS will have to deal with the doctrinal problems or perish like the unionistic UCC. WELS will continue to exist, just like the UCC, but cease to matter - except as a minor lobbying agency for recent fads.