ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Appleton Blogger - A Class Act
Appleton Blogger:
I sincerely ask that you take my posts with a light heart. They are not intended for people who are new to Dr. Jackson or his antics, or people who are just discovering his blog. I know from experience that WELS folks with tender hearts are often sincerely bothered by the extreme lack of even the most basic courtesies encountered there.
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GJ - The blogger seems unduly interested in vomit and excrement, with a photo of me as a cat sitting on a toilet, as if using it, and then another cat with its head in the toilet. Yes, he writes for the tender-hearted. The cat is labeled "church lady, bruce church, Brett Meyer."
Here is his riff on vomit: "For Greggy, the show usually consists of puking up a puddle half-truths about people, places and events with clever-yet-degrading nicknames, and then mentioning something about how intelligent he is -- usually relating to one of his degrees. (Greggy takes the WASP accumulation mentality to a new high. More titles = better than you.)"
Needless to say, this is typical juvenile Mequon behavior.
The Appleton blogger has tried to distinguish himself from the person who attacked my deceased daughters on the fake Ichabod blog -
"BTW, Greg. In answer to your speculation, I am not and never have been part of C&C. I'm not the person who made fun of your daughters, either. "
Yet he also writes this for the tender-hearted who like vomit and excrement posts:
"If you are such a person, please refer to the excellently written response-blog listed below:
http://ichabodthegloryisdeparted.blogspot.com"
Who were the first to be followers of the fake Ichabod blog?
Answer - Joe Krohn, the RockNRoll blogger, and Tim Felt-Needs, both ardent Church and Changers who also deny belonging to that perfidious bunch.
Krohn is Don Patterson's buddy, and Tim is the cheerleader for Victory of the Lamb, another movie theater entertainment style venue.
The Church and Changers must have to swear a secret oath that they will deny being Changers whenever asked - or even before they are asked.
Appleton blogger - keep posting. Your cowardice and deceit are on display for all Lutherans to read and admire.
I realize you are committed to entertainment, not the Means of Grace. You are entertaining people. That should not be confused with convincing them.
One person already wrote to the Appleton blogger:
Let the blogger in Appleton return to his vomit. We await his next revelation from his Father Below:
NIV Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. - Using the NIV for the reading-impaired graduates of Mequon.
The "New" Blogger Is From Appleton, Wisconsin - Capital of WELS Apostasy
with six other WELS church workers,
including John Parlow.
Fox Valley is the doctrinal sewer of WELS,
thanks to Witte, Parlow, Kelm, Ash, Ski,
and Deputy Doug Englebrecht.
bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "The Gnats Are Swarming Again: Shrinker Drama Queen...":
Hi Dr. Jackson, You can tell you've held the anonymous blogger's attention for a while. He uses the handle Anonymouse with an "e" on the end, and a search on your blog confirmed my recollection that this handle hadn't appeared for a while--since November 16, 2009 to be exact. So he's another satisfied reader that keeps coming back!:
http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/search?q=anonymouse
http://a-nony-mouse-shrinker.blogspot.com/
***
GJ - The tipsy drama queen is not very bright. I kidded him about his general incompetence - not just in spelling - and soon his comment came through on email, time-stamped the same moment Appleton was glowing in Feedjit.
Do y'all remember when I identified Garland, Texas as a place where regular, hateful comments came from? That stopped soon after.
The lily-livers do not like to be identified. But they do want attention and demand that their deathless prose be published. The (sic) drives them crazy.
Anonymouse has a long history. My key Lutheran friends noticed that he erupted into a tantrum every time I exposed Church and Change. I called him Anonymouse and began using various rodent pictures to depict his skittering about, nameless and soulless.
Mouse is trying to deny his Church and Chicanery credentials, just as Kudu Don Patterson did (before winging it to the latest C and C conference). But alas - Mouse has given himself away by using Shrinker in his title and complaining about my treatment of his Shrinker friends.
David Valleskey, another perennial liar, tried to distinguish between Fuller Seminary and the Fuller School of Evangelism when he denied going there - a distinction without a difference.
Those who understood WELS GA--their secret initiation rite, their only sacrament--also know that shading words is part of the WELS conformist tradition. The District Popes were taught to say, "We are not for Church Growth, but for Church Growth."
Denials from an anonymouse liar, who cannot spell, will not have much credibility.
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Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "The Gnats Are Swarming Again: Shrinker Drama Queen...":
I think we have another sputterer here! I notice only 1 person has commented, and that person disagreed with him. He has no followers. It was about as lame as the MLC video. I don't think he's long for the blogesphere.
Keep up the good work Church Lady!
The Shrinkers support him.
Everyone else knows the truth.
He is not Lutheran - he is WELS.
The Gnats Are Swarming Again:
Shrinker Drama Queen Reveals His Ugliness
or is it simply the same tipsy drama queen?
I assume this is the fake blogger from before, ashamed to reveal his name. If so, he is the same illiterate person who attacked my deceased daughters - brave, ethical soul that he is.
Here is the link.
He probably wanted to be ignored so he could play the martyr. I think people ought to read his blog.
I wonder what got his goat this time. Surely he realizes what the gay MLC video says about all of his fellow law-breakers.
He rages against using the Internet, which is what he is doing - anonymously.
He raves against photo satires, something he cannot do.
In the name of love, he has to attack people who comment on this blog, including the incredibly polite and deferential WELS Church Lady.
He writes in the style of a WELS church worker:
"Your blog made me decided (sic) that the high road isn't nearly as fun (or easy) as getting down in the muck with the name-callers."
I am glad he is so willing to reveal the nature of the Church and Changers. Some people think they are nice guys because they talk about love and outreach. They are nasty, vituperative, dishonest, greedy, and thick-headed.
The blogger has let on that their nest of vipers has been disturbed by the truth being revealed. Lutherans are laughing at the Church and Changers, too. They are a pathetic bunch: power mad, inarticulate, slow to listen, quick to anger.
One complaint has been heard around WELS - "Whatever topic we look up, the first post is from Ichabod."
I am happy to link the lily-livered blogger for now, if he keeps producing. Previous blogs against me have sputtered and stopped.
Meanwhile, I am waiting for a single Church and Change website or blog to link Ichabod. They will not because they are already frightened of the traffic going here.
Avoid the Seminary Swindle
Joseph Schmidt has left a new comment on your post "Lutheran Pastors Getting Swindled":
The cost of seminary education is one of the main reasons I decided not to go into the pastoral ministry. Why pay $40,000 - $50,000 to sit at the feet of professors in love with Reformed doctrine, when I can study Lutheran doctrine at home?
More cowbell?
More Leonard Sweet?
Lutheran Pastors Getting Swindled
bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Not Legal - More On the WELS Video and Stolen Musi...":
Compare Kieschnick's response to the looming pastor shortage and this Methodist bishop's response to the looming pastor shortage and high seminary debt. Bishop Hayes says set up a fund to repay pastor's student loans in order to get the best and brightest straight out of college, not out of a second career.
Kieschnick just instructs the seminaries to recruit harder, and spends a wad of cash on CG programs that don't work. That halfway solves the problem by shrinking the synod to equal the size of the potential pastor pool.
Unfortunately, Kieschnick and pals spent all the LCMS's spare cash, so the LCMS probably wouldn't be able to make LCMS seminaries less expensive, or repay student loans for a called worker, even if it wanted to.
The WELS situation is different. They recruit anyone with a pulse to be a pastor, but kick them out pronto as needed. No need to worry about getting quality students from the start when DPs can terminate them by certified mail.
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Money and the ministry: Methodist leader proposes a solution to seminary debt
by: BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer, Thursday, June 03, 2010
6/3/2010
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100603_18_A9_Bishop6508
excerpt: The average United Methodist seminary student graduates with $40,000 to $45,000 in educational debt and steps into a low-paying job.
Under his plan, the state conference would work directly with seminaries to repay a student's loan.
More than half of United Methodist clergy members are 55 or older, and 95 percent of new clergy members are older than 35, many of them in their second careers, Hayes said.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Not Legal - More On the WELS Video and Stolen Music
Quotes - find your own links. I won't list them.
The Gays: cultural driving force, socially active influencers, Miley Cyrus lovers. This week a guy named David Fudge and six of his apparently homosexual friends (uh, just parroting here) posted a video on YouTube entitled "Party in the FIP" and it's blowing up like whoa. Why? Entertainment value! Never has a Cyrus song, in this case "Party in the USA" been better used, in our estimation.
The video is, as the Times blog MediaDecoder put it, flamboyant. And as we know, flamboyance is bliss to watch.
And the Disney got involved, sort of, and in doing so did something impressive. They left the video alone, except when Rich Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide called Fudge (yeah, we know) to say he enjoyed the video.
Apparently Cyrus herself Tweeted about it as well, saying "I am OBSESSED with this video! Let's make one!"
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Miley Cyrus' hit song 'Party In The USA' was remade as 'Party In The F.I.P' starring guys dancing on the beach at gay and lesbian resort Fire Island Pines in New York. On Twitter, Miley said she is 'OBSESSED' with this video.
Disney did not seek legal action to have the video removed from YouTube. Creator David Fudge told New York Times: 'I assumed it would be taken down pretty much immediately, particularly because of the music rights issue.'
Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross even called him: Fudge said: 'I was like, who? He just said that he loved it and wanted to tell us that. He was extremely nice.'
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Mainly we're posting this because it's a Friday afternoon and rainy (at least here in New York). We figure you need some entertainment to launch you into the weekend. But there is a legal angle to this music video. It might have spawned intellectual property litigation , if Disney -- and Miley Cyrus -- didn't have such a good sense of humor. Enjoy! (Feel free to discuss "fair use" issues in the music...
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Currently, a parody of a Miley Cyrus video is an Internet phenomenon. “Party in the FIP” is a take-off on Cyrus’ hit “Party in the USA,” which is on Hollywood Records, a Walt Disney Company. “FIP” refers to Fire Island Pines, a famously gay New York beach. The video features, in the words of MSNBC host Carlos Watson, “guys dancing on the beach in Speedos.”
In a segment on August 31, Watson said, “It appears that Disney is in on the joke, or at least they’re laughing at it too.” He turned to cohost Kerry Eleveld, of gay publication The Advocate. “What do you think about Disney, who doesn’t always seem to be the most progressive company in the world, seeming not only to be to be okay with it but making phone calls to the creator of it?”
“They might not be incredibly progressive,” Eleveld said, “but they’re smart business people. It never hurts to have gay men on your side.”---
The video, renamed Party In The F.I.P, centres (sic) around guys having fun at gay and lesbian resort Fire Island Pines in New York, dancing and miming to Cyrus' song.
The singer admits she's "obsessed with this video," and Disney chiefs, who are usually quick to seek legal recourse against all copyright infringements are reportedly keen to get hold of the man behind the promo, so that he and Cyrus can hook up for publicity.
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Normally, this would be where Disney steps in with swift legal recourse for copyright infringement, but instead both Cyrus and Disney are eager to find the culprits of the gay dance video – “Party in the F.I.P.” – for publicity.
***
GJ - In brief, stealing music and remixing it is a legal issue. Of course, the burden is on Disney to have a video yanked.
Martin Luther College, owned and operated by WELS, is guilty of breaking the law. They sponsored the video contest, had the video shown to the student body, and did not even ask that the video be taken down - according to the video stars, who lie a lot - part of their training.
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Not Legal - More On the WELS Video and Stolen Musi...":
A parody mocks a song or play, but knock-offs just dub the music and insert a new singer(s). The Fair Use Act covers parodies but not knock-offs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody
A parody (pronounced /ˈpærədiː/; also called send-up or spoof), in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation.
***
GJ - The Martin Luther College gay video is not even a parody - it is almost a frame-by-frame copy of Party in the Fire Island Pines. Mike Fudge did not do a Michael Jackson move, but the MLC gays men did. That is the limit of their creativity.
As California wrote, this is just one symptom of much bigger problems.
The Third Sunday after Trinity
The Third Sunday after Trinity
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time
The Hymn # 652 I Lay My Sins on Jesus 1.24
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 #436 The Lord’s My Shepherd 1.33
Rejoicing in Heaven
The Communion Hymn # 190 Christ Is Arisen 1:52
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 # 350 Jesus the Very Thought of Thee 1:53
KJV 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
KJV Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. 8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Third Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we all like sheep have gone astray, having suffered ourselves to be led away from the right path by Satan and our own sinful flesh: We beseech Thee graciously to forgive us all our sins for the sake of Thy Son, Jesus Christ; and quicken our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may abide in Thy word, and in true repentance and a steadfast faith continue in Thy Church unto the end, and obtain eternal salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end Amen.
Rejoicing in Heaven
“This chapter and the next one are Luke’s two immortal parable chapters which are filled (with the exception of one brief section) with parables, none of which have found a place in the other Gospels, the entire group being arranged in an obviously natural order, in the order in which Jesus spoke them.”
“Luke 15” – when we hear that chapter mentioned, we should immediately think of the three parables in a row, each one showing us how God reaches us, how God acts alone, how God shows us His lovingkindness.
If we ever doubt God’s mercy and forgiveness, Luke 15 answers those doubts in three specific ways. The Gospel for today offers two. As Lenski say, these are doubtless in the order they were given. One follows the other naturally.
I think of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin as the introductions for the Prodigal Son. The Lost Sheep engages the men, because it was their job to find the wandering sheep and rescue them. The Lost Coin involves women, because everyone has cleaned up an entire house looking for one lost item.
“Luke again offers only enough information to indicate how Jesus was prompted to utter the following parables. The time, the place, and the other circumstances are immaterial. Once before, in 5:30, the same class of men raised the same objection. See 3:12 on the publicans; the ἁμαρτωλοί (obvious or open sinners) were classed with them, being notorious sinners of various kinds in a society that was very different from ours, in which the Pharisaic, ostentatious type of holiness dominated the public and by contrast made men like these tax collectors, etc., practically outcasts.
One of the marked features of Jesus’ ministry was the attraction of these outcasts to him. The Pharisees and the scribes only scorned and damned them, but the holy Jesus had a way of salvation open for them, one that, indeed, condemned their sins in no uncertain terms but at the same time opened the divine way of remission for all sins. So they drew near to him in numbers (πάντες - all) and did this continuously at the present time as the periphrastic imperfect states. They kept drinking in his words eagerly, therefore we have the durative present infinitive.”
Only two forms of righteousness can be found in the entire world. One is righteousness from within, which we earn for ourselves. The other is righteousness from outside of us, which we receive through faith in Christ.
All world religions (except the Christian faith) teach righteousness from within, or works righteousness in one form or another. False teachers within Christianity also promote righteousness from within. It is our default attitude and so natural, in the bad sense, that we must be constantly warned against it.
The scribes and Pharisees had those attitudes and they surface again in the visible church.
In contrast, Jesus spoke God’s Word to everyone, showing them that righteousness came from faith in Him. This attracted enormous crowds to Jesus and made the religious leaders jealous. The religious leaders also feared losing their influence on the crowd, their pose of being super-pure examples of righteousness. They made everyone else feel inferior and loaded down with guilt, their only hope being a series of righteousness-earning works of their own. Loading works onto people burdened with sin only makes them feel more hopeless.
In Luther’s words, the only reason for the crucifixion was Jesus’ teaching that righteousness came from outside, from Him, rather than from inside, from works done to merit salvation. That alone caused the fury and the need for revenge among the religious opponents. That also drew the crowds.
Similarly, Luther taught the Gospel and repudiated the works righteousness of the Medieval Church. Everything by Luther was a best-seller all over Europe. The pope’s answer was, “Find him, kill him.” Luther had to be kidnapped and hidden away as if dead to survive the pope’s wrath. Even in 1530, 13 years after the Reformation started, Luther had to avoid the Augsburg gathering to stay alive.
The Lost Sheep
Many people know the characteristics of sheep. As one Lutheran wrote me, “If a sheep found a hole in the fence, the rest of the flock would follow him out that hole and get lost.” In contrast, our dog Sassy will come outside and wander around, but she comes back to the sound of my voice or just shows up at the back door, cooling herself in the shade.
The Bible describes us as sheep – “All we, like sheep, have gone astray.”
KJV Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
In this part of the parable, Jesus puts each person in the role of a shepherd with 100 sheep, 99 safe, one wandering away and lost. This is His way of showing us His role as the Good Shepherd, which is so clearly described in John 10.
KJV John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.
The response of the Good Shepherd is completely from God, not from the wandering sheep, who is lost and bound to die in its confused state:
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
1. He leaves the safe flock in the desert to find that one lost sheep.
2. He pursues the lost sheep until He finds it.
3. He places the sheep on his shoulders, rejoicing.
4. He invites his friends and neighbors to rejoice with Him.
The Law is all condemnation, but the Gospel is all forgiveness. The false teachers answer the problem of sin with more Law, as indicated by the key words – must, have to, in addition to. Some cleverly blend faith with works, the essential of Roman Catholic salvation: works must be added to faith, and those works are never enough, so plenty of work and suffering is left for Purgatory.
The true Gospel is God’s work alone. God comes to us through the Means of Grace. When we are lost, He pursues us until He finds us. Rather than meet us with even more condemnation, which we already feel, He rejoices. He gathers the invisible Church to rejoice with Him in this one lost sinner who is found again.
Each person can identify with the tender mercies of God because we have all found one of our animals in a pickle, one way or another. We see the fright and confusion. The animal hears our voice and feels calmer. We speak softly and happily, and we rejoice that the animal is safe. We even tell our friends.
How can we not see Jesus as the Good Shepherd when this is taught so clearly and supported by hundreds of Biblical passages? He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep, weak-willed and prone to wander. God does condemn our lack of trust in Him, but He also builds that faith with His repeated forgiveness and guidance. He rejoices in forgiving, which is the nature of God. “God is love.”
And yet this parable is not without the condemnation of the Law, because the scribes and Pharisees are justly condemned for their works-righteousness, which is not unknown today in the church –
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
The forgiven sinner knows the mercy of God, while the works-righteous person has no concept of mercy and shows none.
KJV Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
The Lost Coin
The lost coin captures the same concept with another example. Here is some important background, children and adults. Homes were very dark, even in the daytime. In a barter society, cash was valuable. A coin today is just another hunk of metal. We can often find coins under the couch cushions and everywhere else. I just picked up about 60 cents in coins from a parking lot. A coin in Jesus day was quite valuable in comparison, and a candle would not be burnt in the day (or night) unless there was an emergency. The woman has lost one coin out of 10, but makes sure she finds it.
We all lose things and go through files and bookcases looking for the lost objects. This is not simply aimed at women, but it shows the feeling Jesus had for his audience that he would use a male oriented parable and a female oriented one, to include everyone.
The lost coin prompts the woman to do three things:
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
I once vacuumed a car, removing the entire back seat, because a little boy lost the black gun from Darth Vader in the black blackness of a black Fury III with black upholstery and black carpeting. After vacuuming I examined the dust bin of the Kirby and found the gun. We rejoiced.
Recently I have heard of two soothers lost in similar circumstances. One was described on Facebook as a tragedy in three acts.
The happiness and relief of finding the lost object is common to us all, so Jesus reminds us that justification by faith is not the cause for condemnation by God but a reason for heaven and earth to rejoice:
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Finkelstein - On WELSian Problems:
Organize, Publish, Withhold Funds
Freddy Finkelstein has left a new comment on your post "Wise Words - Sad Words":
In my humble opinion, the only thing that can be done at this point, pragmatically, is for members of WELS congregations to apply pressure by working cooperatively from outside Synod structures, to broadcast non-Lutheran CGM practices as they have witnessed them in our Synod, and to develop and disseminate sound theological perspectives and educational material and the like, that will make the laity aware of the issues so that they can act. The high-road of working within channels has been taken by many noble individuals over the past decades, by laymen and pastors alike, with the result that these individuals have all but disappeared. Today, the false ideas responsible for the approval and exploitation of CGM error permeates the thinking of most Synod leaders -- men who have spent "past decades" under the influence of CGM, tarrying after positions of power. The Synod as an organization, as powerful as its structures have been in shielding the Synod from error, now protects error from being corrected. That is because the problems related to this error are systemic; leaders whose thinking has been poisoned by CGM are entrenched up and down the authority chain and in the schools, they mentor future leaders and otherwise have themselves replaced by those sharing the same CGM perspectives, with the result that CGM errors function as operating principles in practically every institution of the Synod. The pastors know it -- how effective have they been in thwarting the advance of this stuff? The laity will need to act. That's a scary thought -- kind of like calling out the militia. Untrained, unreliable, lacking discipline and resilience, they are just as likely to scatter and run under fire as anything else. But it's all we got. Besides, they generally have the heart for it, if nothing else, and that's worth quite a bit.
In the end, organizationally speaking, it won't be the Seminary who decides orthodoxy, it will be the laity. They are the ones who pay the bills (for now). CGM acolytes know this as well. That is why they are eagerly seeking the development of various trusts to pay for operating and/or other expenses. Such trusts provide a relatively steady cash flow that is under the direct control of Synod leaders. Thus, depending on the principal, such trusts serve to reduce, or cut out entirely, the only tangible influence the laity has -- their financial influence. As long as we laymen are critical to current financial operations, we have a say in what goes on in our Synod. Remember, were not members of Synod proper -- only members of member congregations. Only pastors, male teachers and congregations as corporate entities are members of Synod. Laymen are not members. The desire to be emancipated from the opinions of the laity, and from dependence on their direct financial contributions, is also a source of consternation regarding the longevity of our elderly -- they're not dying quickly enough to build these trusts and cut out the influence of the laity. Once the trusts are in place, and sufficiently funded, Synod leadership won't need or seek or pretend to care about input from the laity at all.
Now is the time for the laity to act, to tell their fellow laymen what is going on, to form groups like Intrepid Lutherans, to begin publishing their opinions online, to even develop print materials targeting retirees with literature regarding the error that is infecting their Synod. In addition, giving needs to stop until the DPs take these issues seriously, until they give public evidence that they take these issues seriously, and show publicly that they are taking steps to correct the errors of CGM that infect our Synod.
My Opinion,
Freddy Finkelstein
***
GJ - Freddy is correct. The Shrinkers did exactly what he said to take over the synods. ELCA had CG fanatics too, but the gay agenda elbowed them aside.
In WELS:
1. Starting with TELL, from Ron Roth, Robert Hartmann, and Paul Kelm - Church Growth had an official (albeit pathetic) magazine coming right from The Love Shack, paid for with offering money. That expanded until every publication and every staff job was completely Fuller-ized.
2. Willowcreek's Little College organized Charis, which begat Church and Change, funded by the synod. C&C officials are synod officials and senior, Boomer pastors - like Ron Ash. This cancer has never been treated. That is why the Fox Valley circuit looks Ashen.
3. The money is controlled by the Changers, whether synodical, Thriventicle, foundational, or congregational. You can bet that any move against the Shrinkers is met by shrieks of "I will take my money away" - courtesy the organized Shrinker wealthy.
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California wrote:
God may still have souls left in WELS and other synods who will wake up if only they knew what was going on, but Freddy's well intentioned suggestions about salvaging WELS by "working cooperatively to apply pressure from outside synod structure, to make the laity aware of issues so they can act, form groups, stop giving to synod", etc. all imply that the "laity" are willing to become informed, willing to act, willing to form groups, willing to cut the umbilical cord from the comfort of generations in "Mother Synod" in many instances. The plan of action suggested would work only if the idea that "if only people knew, they would see the light and act
to correct a bad situation". History and experience however indicate that is wishful thinking, for there have been others over decades who tried that not only in WELS but other synods. None of the synods have been retrieved. If enough members of a given congregation are indeed informed, willing to act, willing to form outside group, willing to withhold funds,etc., the most effective and productive way to demonstrate "pressure" would be to withdraw membership in WELS. Then the message would be loud and clear, and the members could truly give witness "outside the synodical structure". WELS congregations don't even have the potential for
battles over property ownership such as complicates ELCA unless they have building debt to the synod. Even then, isn't the admonition to "come out from among them" more compelling than brick and mortar and comfort level of belonging to a bigger umbrella association such as synod? Educating about Church and Change, Church Growth Movement, et al, won't wake people up who don't want to be troubled by being awakened, and even then, C &C, CGM, etc., are only symptoms of deeper issues.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Six Former ELCA Bishops Are Leaders among the NALC Come-Outters
Common Confession Blogspot.
"✙ Among the members of the Ministry Processes Working Group are six former ELCA bishops."
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GJ - Why are there no current ELCA bishops? I imagine Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson controls his mini-bishops or makes sure only the safe ones get elected.
In the Episcopal Church, active bishops are leading their entire diocese out of the denomination, which may be a little less Lefty than ELCA. Not much, just a little.
Wise Words - Sad Words
Church and Change bio: Ron started his ministy (sic) by serving three congregations in Colorado. He served for 30 years at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Appleton, WI and is now retired. During his ministry at St. Peter he served as Circuit Pastor, Chairman of the Board of Regents at Fox Valley Lutheran High School, Secretary of the Fox River Valley Conference, on the Governing Board at Luther Preparatory School, and Circuit Chairman. He has been a promoter of creating innovative ministries for a changing world. His wife, Renate, and he have three children.
John has left a new comment on your post "What Can Anyone Do - WELS and Other Disasters":
Maybe the pastors and laity of the ELS and WELS refuse to confess the truth and fail to replace the scoundrels because many of the Church and Changers are the more senior pastors.
It's easy to say that the laity must do their part. The problem is that in many cases the laity has had the same pastor for many years. They have come to trust him. Why should they not?
Then, slowly but surely the pastor introduces Church and Change into the congregation. The leaders of the congregation are first sucked in. After a while, the pastor has his supporters, also folks trusted in the congregation.
I've seen it happening. It's an awful thing to behold.
When there is resistance, the C & C'ers back off. Just to re-group, mind you. They will be back.
Who's going to challenge these senior, trusted pastors? No one. Once the lay leadership of a congregation is sucked into C & C by the pastor, the congregation will follow. It may take awhile, but it will happen.
What Can Anyone Do - WELS and Other Disasters
was re-elected DP of the Northern District, WELS.
Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "Not Everyone in WELS - Party in the MLC":
I realize this is the way the WELS is. I've personally watched as DP Engelbrecht stood by and allowed a false teacher to run rough-shod over a congregation. It cost my wife her ministry. She dared to stand up to the false teacher and the DP.
Now I'm a former teacher, and am just the member in the pew. How so you suggest the average WELS member respond to an Englebrecht, Kelm, Jeske, Olson (sadly the list can go on and on!) Or, in other words, what can we do?
Scott
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peeved (http://peeved.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Not Everyone in WELS - Party in the MLC":
What irks me is that WELS and MLC do almost everything in their power to vindicate their critics – the critics who call WELS a bunch of crackpots.
***
GJ - I resisted WELS' corruption in Columbus in the 1980s. The apostates were blaming me then, just as they are now. I even heard that Deputy Doug blamed me for the mess he has created with his incompetent leadership. That is a minor compliment, showing that people do read this blog. The Fox Valley map lights up with every post.
What can anyone do? I follow Luther in applying the Word. I cannot judge what God will do with His Word. A corollary is Chytraeus warning - Never doubt the goodness of God. When troubles come because of the Word, that is also an important part of God's gracious work.
I have been deeply disappointed in WELS clergy and laity, and disappointed in the micro-minis and independents. However, stumbling about in the minefields of apostasy has yielded many benefits.
I found it especially galling that DP Robert Mueller and his paid assassin Paul Kuske moved heaven and earth to get a known multiple adulterer and abuser of teens into the ministry. False doctrine? - proven in front of witnesses and denied, even to the point of "I don't have that in my notes." WELS is pro-life? Ask them about the abortion. Etc.
And the conservative candidate to replace the disgraced Mueller was someone who went along with it completely, John Seifert. The way to become a DP is to go along with false doctrine, not oppose it. Robert Mueller's only sin--in the eyes of the Michigan district--was to vote to close Northwestern College.
The politicians are all the same, so why trust a DP or SP? Synodical politicians are the result of God's Word, not the guardians of God's Word.
If pastors and laity refuse to confess the truth and fail to replace the scoundrels, they buy their own troubles. False doctrine is also efficacious. It pounds, destroys, eviscerates, and delivers people to their Father Below.
The Book of Concord says, in the words of Luther:
12] And what need is there of many words? If I were to recount all the profit and fruit which God's Word produces, whence would I get enough paper and time? The devil is called the master of a thousand arts. But what shall we call God's Word, which drives away and brings to naught this master of a thousand arts with all his arts and power? It must indeed be the master of more than a hundred thousand arts. 13] And shall we frivolously despise such power, profit, strength, and fruit-we, especially, who claim to be pastors and preachers? If so, we should not only have nothing given us to eat, but be driven out, being baited with dogs, and pelted with dung, because we not only need all this every day as we need our daily bread, but must also daily use it against the daily and unabated attacks and lurking of the devil, the master of a thousand arts.
The indolence of WELS, at these current district meetings, tells me that no one is willing to drive the false teachers from town, to pelt them with dog manure. They are only too happy to pelt someone who agrees with the content of the Book of Concord.
Blaming me shows that WELS leaders cannot face their own horrible, dishonest, even criminal behavior. Yes, criminal. When someone feeds adulterous pastors and teachers into the system, lying for them, they are copying the Church of Rome while clucking their forked tongues about the papalists. Do not forget the WELS church workers can marry, so that excuse is out the window.
Fox Valley is a case study in the spread of apostasy - with the blessing of the leaders, the clergy, and the laity. The circuit has a long, inglorious history - bad stewards of the mysteries of God. Not their mysteries, not their personal sandboxes and their personal meat markets - God's mysteries.
Fox Valley boasts, among other crudities, two parishes (or is it one?) where Craig Groeschel's disgusting drivel is copied and promoted and passed off as sermons, as worship. Ski and Glende, football buddies from Michigan Lutheran Seminary, tag team as Groeschel copiers. Is this a secret? No. Have countless people told them how wrong it is? Yes. Has Deputy Doug done anything? Yes - he has scolded those who object to this plagiarism, laziness, and false doctrine.
I heard that a VP of the Northern District visited Ski's CORE, so he could join in the whitewash. I used to watch Michigan District capons doing the same thing. Some would object strenuously at first and have a sudden conversion experience at the right moment. WELS clergy are famous for that.
So WELS clergy guys - do you know how disgusted the laity are with you? I don't mean the get-along go-along corporate laity types that you covet for committee work. I mean the ones who cry when they read the latest outrages. You are all responsible because you do nothing about it. The prosecution (moi) will stipulate that everyone knows about Larry Oh, Ski, Glende, and Kelm being false teachers (and WELS has a deep bench). What have the WELS pastors done? Exactly nothing. And the ELS? Same thing - nothing.
The Blessings
Enough on the jeremiad. There are countless blessings to applying the Word, even if the barbarians extend the Left Foot of Fellowship. I am happy for all the friends I have in the various synods, even happier for those who no longer waste my time with their posturing.
If we have to see the ugliness of demonic hatred when we bear the cross, we also get to see another side of life, hidden from the belly-servers. Truly miraculous things happen all the time, and God does provide. He even provides until He provides. I wish more people could see that.
I have asked men, "Why do you need a synod to make you a pastor? Start a Bible study in your home. Worship with a group. If a congregation develops from that, fine." That is not the only way. I have nothing against men working through Lutheran groups, as long as they apply the Word and Confessions. That could even work in ELCA, although expulsion would follow sooner than most venues.
Unlike most WELSians, I was well qualified to teach but not looking for that. VP Hategood assured me I would never teach - an odd introduction indeed. Contrary to the sage advice from Rev. Hategood, WELS led me into teaching a wide variety of courses to people all over the world. The obnoxiousness of WELS made that possible, and I still enjoy higher education. Many people wish they could work exclusively from their homes, as I do.
Even though I needed medical coverage for Mrs. Ichabod, very good coverage came along in various ways, first from her work when she became disabled, then from a special policy in St. Louis, next from an unusual provision in Minnesota, finally from Medicare Advantage, each one when needed. God provided. LI did very well in his chosen field with many contributions to his local (independent) congregation.
Writing about theology works best when there are doctrinal conflicts, and those have never ceased. I enjoy that and many people seem to appreciate it too.
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Eastcoast:
"As far as I have heard, all the district conventions were mostly blather and that's about all. Ours sure was. Besides myself - numerous times - no one else got up to argue for Confessionalism. At least not that I heard...."
Not Everyone in WELS - Party in the MLC
Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church Lady Dreaming":
Dr. Jackson, I totally agree with what you say about the video. I just wanted to add that on top of it all, it just wasn't very good.
I too realize that the days of "what happens on The Hill stays on The Hill" are loooong gone.
Point of clarification: When you say "MLC is proud of this effort", do you mean students, administrators, or a mixture of both?
Scott
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Garrett has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church Lady Dreaming":
Well, of course the music is protected, but DMCA cannot remove such a video protected under fair use: one common use being 'Parody'. Not necessarily illegal, but still shamefully copied. Certain CLC and LCMS members (certainly pastors) still give me a funny look when I mention MLC or that I am a WELSian.
I still don't understand where guffaws come from when college students watch. When I sat at the debut, I was facepalming and headdesking the whole nine minutes. I ended with a very concave forehead.
This will probably haunt MLC for a long time. Sin is very, very, attractive. If PinMLC gets taken down, men will either complain loudly enough to get it put back up, or will do it themselves.
***
GJ - When I did some research on Party in the Fire Island Pines, the first issue was whether the owner of the music objected. The owner decided to let that pass, giving their permission after the fact. I question whether MLC sought or received permission after the fact. I do not believe "parody" allows them to steal music and re-broadcast it. The homosexuals in the original knock-off were pleased at being copied by a Wisconsin Lutheran College, but that does not give the college a free pass to steal the music for itself.
Many videos are pulled from blog sites because the blogger does not have permission to use the material, and that includes music remixes. I loved one where two girls lip-synced a mod version of White Christmas. That was yanked for legal reasons. Bing Crosby's estate is tough on copiers.
Miley Cyrus' hit song 'Party In The USA' was remade as 'Party In The F.I.P' starring guys dancing on the beach at gay and lesbian resort Fire Island Pines in New York. On Twitter, Miley said she is 'OBSESSED' with this video.
Disney did not seek legal action to have the video removed from YouTube. Creator David Fudge told New York Times: 'I assumed it would be taken down pretty much immediately, particularly because of the music rights issue.'
Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross even called him: Fudge said: 'I was like, who? He just said that he loved it and wanted to tell us that. He was extremely nice.'
To clarify - MLC and the video
Point of clarification: When you say "MLC is proud of this effort", do you mean students, administrators, or a mixture of both?
Scott
If MLC wanted the video gone, it would be as far away as East from West. It would be like the Al Just and William Tabor murders - never happened.
This video and its strange history are examples of WELS Antinomianism. They are lawless on the big issues but legalists about the small ones. Like WLC, they love flaunting their loathing of Lutheran doctrine and worship.
They have protected their apostasy and criminal acts by saying, "You must come to me, hat in hand, and sit down with me and tell me my sins privately." When someone does, they say, "You did it the wrong way. Now I will condemn you to everyone as a reprobate." And they do.
WELSians glory in the lying. They think "All men are liars" (Psalm 116) is a command.
The video reveals a much bigger problem. Its re-publication speaks volumes about what WELS and MLC will allow.
But there are no problems in WELS. I know because nothing happened at any district meeting to indicate difficulties exist. People went to DP Englebrecht to deal with lying, false doctrine, plagiarism, and more in Fox Valley. He did not even show up for the meeting, but sent a letter.
They love that in WELS. They re-elected a man who would be fired from K-Mart for pulling a stunt like that.
God does not need to punish WELS. They vote for their own afflictions.
Small People Respond to BP
BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg’s apologized Wednesday for "clumsily" referring to people impacted by the Gulf oil spill as "the small people."
WELS Church Lady Dreaming
and has always been on Facebook.
The owner could take it down, but there are no objections.
WELS discipline - awesome.
WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "Doctrine Divides - But Let's Not Let a Little Thin...":
Hello all. Sorry for not commenting earlier. It is rather warm in Texas and I have been suffering from delusions. For example, several WELS pastors and layman standing up, in the name of unity, against anti-confessionalism in the synod. Also, I dreamed that I attended the SCD convention. In the dream I spent the better part of twenty minutes speaking to Pastor Matt Doebler. Now why would a 'respectable' church lady be talking to a pastor who doesn't use the name Lutheran in his church title? Worse, the pastor utilizes cell groups, copies sermons, and does not even dress like a real pastor. To really top it off, he was a presenter at a Church and Change conference.
How about a list of nightmares! I had a vision that I viewed the Party In The MLC video. In the comments that follow the video, TWO young boys identified one of the students as his substitute teacher. Do you think that Scott Jungen would have made a video whie he attended DMLC? Like the LCMS, "You can't let a gay issue get in the way of more important projects."
In Christ,
fromWELS church lady
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#
bocubsfan
2 weeks ago
Justin Krause is a 3rd grade teacher at st.marks
mr123mrs321
3 weeks ago
the man called justin krause is a teacher at my school not even lying
#
marblony
6 days ago
dont ever take this down, it has been gone too long
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BestUtuberEver — April 01, 2010 — No I did not create this, just thought it was amazing and should still be on YouTube. Will be taken down if requested by owner.
Category: Comedy
Tags:
Party in the FIP Party in the U.S.A. USA Party in the MLC
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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church Lady Dreaming":
In case any (W)ELS members find the (W)ELS evangelism video 'Party In The MLC' to be simply harmless and creative remember that it was a parody of the Fire Island Pines 'Party in the Fire Island Pines' sodomy video that used the Cyrus song.
MLC students and faculty were not original but were copying the video and acting of the homosexual men at the Sodomy retreat called the Fire Island Pines.
Romans 1:24-32, Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
(W)ELS is repeating what they have sowed and allowed to be sowed.
Again - Resist the Beginnings - RCA
Schuller was a pioneer in dumping the denomination name.
WELS is copying the notions of Schuller's fading empire.
Jack Campbell has left a new comment on your post "Doctrine Divides - But Let's Not Let a Little Thin...":
From my infant baptism (circa.1959) to around 1983 I was a member of the Reformed Church of America. For most of its history the RCA was a middle-of the-road to Liberal denomination. The church began getting more radically liberal in the mid-seventies when they moved their national headquaters to New York City from some little town in Michigan. They rented space in this huge office building in Mnahattan which they shared with the Episcoplians and the World and National Councils of Churches. Before long, some kind of cross pollination went on and they started getting very kooky. When the church ushers started giving me Sandinista pamphlets at the end of the services, I left the RCA for the LCMS. As an aside, whenever my church uses the "Service of the Word" in the current WELS hymnal, I feel a strange mixed sense of nostalga and unease because it reminds me so much of the somewhat lame orders of service of the RCA.
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GJ - That is because James Tiefel is a lame RCA Church Shrinker. He never met a confession he didn't like, except one - the Book of Concord.
Doctrine Divides - But Let's Not Let a Little Thing Separate ELCA from the Reformed Sect in America
sex-changed pastors in their new policy.
One is serving in San Franciso.
Reformed Church Agrees to Discuss ELCA's Pro-Gay Actions
The Reformed Church in America adopted a resolution expressing "concern" over the Evangelical Lutheran Church's controversial action to allow partnered homosexuals to be on the clergy roster.
The resolution was approved during the RCA's 204th General Synod, which concluded Tuesday.
It comes nearly a year after the ELCA's highest legislative body voted to permit persons who are in "life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships" to serve as clergy. The ELCA also adopted a social statement on human sexuality, acknowledging that there is no consensus in the denomination on homosexuality and recommending that the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to recognize same-sex relationships.
The Lutheran body's actions have raised a red flag for at least one of its partners. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod – the second largest Lutheran church body after the ELCA – is reconsidering its cooperative relationship with its sister Lutheran denomination.
RCA leaders, however, have voted to dialogue more with the ELCA on the pro-gay actions.
The two denominations have been full communion partners for more than a decade, recognizing each other "as churches in which the Gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered according to the Word of God" and providing for the orderly exchange of ordained ministers.
When the ELCA opened the doors to noncelibate gay and lesbian clergy in 2009, the RCA – which currently does not affirm homosexual behavior and holds that it is contrary to the will of God – had no plans to end its relationship with their Lutheran brethren.
"Cutting ties with the ELCA over their Assembly’s narrow decision would witness to the world that Christians will fight and divide themselves from one another, and break the bonds of Christian fellowship, over such an ethical difference," RCA spokesman Paul Boice told The Christian Post last year.
Still, the RCA voted to express concern with the actions and to direct a panel to discuss and explore the ELCA's human sexuality statement with representatives from the ELCA "in the spirit of 'mutual affirmation and admonition' called for in the Formula of Agreement." The panel will report on the progress of the dialogue to the General Synod in 2011.
RCA delegates also approved a resolution that invites the ELCA, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ and the Christian Reformed Church to join in a "consultation on the interpretation and use of Scripture in moral discernment and ethical decision making."
The ELCA welcomes the dialogue and invitation, the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive of ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, told the ELCA News Service.
Notably, McCoid said that the discussions are not intended to alter the full communion partnership the denominations have.
"In the committee meetings, it was the expressed intention to have a dialogue with the ELCA and other Formula of Agreement partners. There was not any consideration to suspend or change the relationship of the RCA with the ELCA," he said.
The Rev. Douglas Fromm, RCA associate for ecumenical relations, also explained that the decision to adopt the resolutions was "to honor the full communion" relationship.
The RCA, ELCA, UCC and PC(USA) signed the "Formula of Agreement" in 1997 establishing a full communion partnership.
In other business during the General Synod, the RCA adopted the Belhar Confession as the denomination's fourth standard of unity to the Book of Church Order. The last time the church adopted a new standard was more than two centuries ago. Rooted in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the Belhar Confession confronts the sin of racism and affirms unity and reconciliation among Christians.
Habemus Papam - We Have a Pope!
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim was re-elected June 18 to a third six-year term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly June 18-19 at Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. Augustana is one of 27 ELCA colleges and universities.
Wollersheim, 59, was re-elected on the first ballot for bishop with 331 of 433 votes. He was first elected bishop in 1998 and re-elected to a second term in 2004.
Born in Chicago, Wollersheim earned a bachelor of arts in secondary education in 1973 from Augsburg College, Minneapolis. In 1977 he earned a master of divinity from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary (now Luther Seminary), St. Paul, Minn. In 1995 he earned a doctor of divinity from Luther Seminary. Augsburg College is an ELCA college; Luther is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Following his ordination in 1977, Wollersheim served as pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Cicero, Ill., and as pastor-developer and pastor at Hosanna! Lutheran Church, St. Charles, Ill. From 1990 to 1998, he was assistant to the bishop, ELCA Northern Illinois Synod, and was a mission director and stewardship specialist.
During his first term as bishop of the synod, Wollersheim served in numerous denominational capacities, including chair of the ELCA Evangelism Task Force. That effort resulted in the adoption of an evangelism strategy for the ELCA at the 2003 Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee.
Wollersheim and his wife Polly are parents of three grown children. The ELCA Northern Illinois Synod has more than 100,000 baptized members in 160 congregations. The synod office is in Rockford.
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GJ - All the sects love their little popes, and the little popes love their power. Pope Gary the Unready spent an inordinate amount of time trying to split Faith Lutheran Church in Moline while the parish was taking the legal steps required to leave the Lavender Mafia.
All the little popes behave the same way. When faced with blatant apostasy, they reply meekly, "But I have no power to deal with that." When they find someone daring to question their leadership in the slightest way, they will move heaven and earth to get even, not seven times, but seventy times seven. They meddle with the congregation, denigrate the pastor behind his back, and pull all kinds of illegal and dishonest stunts.
No wonder people are clamoring to join the mainline denominations! The bad news is - the Syn Conference is mainline, Methodist in doctrine, unionistic in practice.
promoting Martin Luther College as a citadel of sodomy.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thy Strong Word - News
The next Lulu project is Thy Strong Word, which is out of print and still in demand.
Cries have gone up to provide it in print, since reading 650 pages online is a bit tedious.
Are we going backwards here? See the previous post. Not at all. Getting TSW into Lulu will mean free PDF downloads for anyone who wants them. They can also print a version, too.
There will be a bit of editing for typos, but it will be the same book, except the Greek and Hebrew passages will be cut out to make it more useful for the laity. Those who object may look for the book on the used market, where it appears.
I have some books to get into Lulu right now. I expect to do that soon.
Online teaching is going well for now. I have seen two major cutbacks in the last few years, so I am not counting on that. As we all know, there is far less security in a country where idiots rule. I am not just talking about the Syn Conference leaders.
Lenski - "Resist the Beginnings"
I was getting my Lenski commentaries ready to ship, since someone wants them. I will attach a note - "He is great on justification, but wobbles a bit here and there toward UOJ."
I ran into some places where I noted excellent quotations in the book cover. One was "Resist the beginnings."
That should be the motto of the Syn Conference, but it is not. The beginnings of the current fiasco were decades ago and few resisted.
I often talk with Diablo, a WELS layman. He and I agree that the various Lutheran groups were far more in agreement (around Luther) in the old days, than they are now. Currently they are in agreement with Fuller, Rome, and every other fad.
Guess what?
Unsolicited, Grey Goose sent Lenski and Luther on disk, and I have installed both on my computer. The first thing I did was look up a commentary, open a page, and copy a section. That took a few seconds. The evidence is below.
Megatron is looking mighty creaky in comparison, but I learned a lot creating, tweeking, and using it.
This will be useful in all future publishing efforts.
Lenski from disk:
Luke wrote both of his books for a certain Theophilus, concerning whom, unfortunately, we know next to nothing. The address κράτιστε, which may be rendered “Your Excellency,” indicates knighthood, official position, or great wealth and prominence, it is uncertain just which. But we have no information concerning the contact between Luke and Theophilus, where the latter resided, and just why Luke wanted to write to him to give him the certainty that he ought to have. Some feel certain that this Theophilus was already a Christian, but this was not the case. In the Gospel Luke addresses him as κράτιστε, not so in the Acts. In all Christian literature, however, no brother Christian is ever addressed by such a title of earthly distinction. Hence when Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus, this distinguished man was not yet a Christian but was greatly interested in things Christian; but when Luke sent the Acts to him, Theophilus had become a convert. This conclusion is safe and not the other which is based on κατηχήθης in 1:4 and interprets this verb as if it meant that Theophilus had already been instructed in the Christian doctrine.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 11. <== The citation was created when I copied the section.
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