Keeping a Corrupt System Corrupt

This is all you will learn after spending $100,000 on WELS tuition.

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Suspending the Doctrinal Pussycat in WELS":

Seems to me the disciplinary procedure is too distributed. One would have to be a master politician to work that system and get results. Moreover, the synod is too small and interconnected to assume that all the people who had to concur to oust a DP would be impartial or recuse themselves for conflict of interest. Anyway, everyone knows that if a student makes some noise, he won't make it through seminary, and if some called worker makes some noise, he'll be out of a call, or never get another call, and his extended family may be out of favor for decades. So the whole system is corrupt and un-reformable (except by forces the synod doesn't control, such as the police). What usually happens is if someone can't keep his peace about some abuse, he'll write a letter and just drop out of the ministry or out of teaching, knowing that by trying to do or say anything, he forfeits his call, so he might try to go to another synod, or get another line of work. A case in point is Michael Schottey, who obviously knows the system, wrote a couple posts ago:

"I graduated from MLC but part of the reason I did not attend WLS was my inability to "stick my head in the sand."

***

GJ - The net result of WELS corruption will be the wrong people graduating from The Sausage Factory - lazy, ignorant bullies who know how to milk the system, grab foundation money, copy and paste like their beloved mentors.

I know good pastors have graduated and will graduate from Mequon, but they are the exceptions, sorry to say.

Suspending the Doctrinal Pussycat in WELS

Place your bets on this happening before Phoenix freezes over.

wistex (http://wistex.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Response From Michael Schottey":

From the WELS Constitution, Section 8.20 (c):

"The two district vice presidents with the concurrence of the district circuit pastors may suspend the district president from his office. The president shall have 60 days thereafter to appeal this suspension. If there is no appeal within 60 days, the action shall be final and the officer is removed from office. If he appeals, the appeal will be heard by the District Board of Appeals."

In case you're wondering, the Northern WI District's two VPs are Rev. Joel Zank (pastor.zank@mountoliveappleton.com) and Rev. Mark Gass (redeemertomahawk@verizon.net).

***

GJ - CP John Seifert suggested that I put DP Robert Mueller and VP Paul Kuske up on false doctrine charges. Of course, he would not lift a finger, since the "CPs had to judge the matter."

I thought, "The good old boys have done nothing for decades and the new guy is supposed to do it for them - solo? Sure."

I published the quotations and wrote the articles, signing my name. Absolutely no one wrote in to CN to support the facts, even though I knew the people supplying me with extra documents. They did not have the courage to say, even as "Name Withheld" that the information was accurate, the data far worse than anything published.

Doctrinal Pussycats love pussyfooting around. "Oh please, Your Excellency, Platitudinous Beatitudinous DP, consider the stupid and probably wrong impressions of an idiot like me, but perhaps maybe someone might be making a mistake - correct me if I err."

That might be too bold.

Godless Contrition - Abundant in WELS

C. F. W. Walther distinguished between godly and world contrition.

Bethany (WELS) in Appleton apologized for stealing the work of Swindoll and presenting it as a pastoral effort. However, no one apologized for presenting false doctrine as Lutheran doctrine. Spoiling the Egyptians, in the words of Valleskey, cannot be bad when it feels so good.

Bethany soon took down the faux-apology. There is no evidence that those pastors or any others in WELS have turned away from Enthusiasm.

Walther distinguished between godly and worldly contrition. World contrition is "I am so sorry I got caught." After all, Bethany's staff did not apologize on its own but only after the evidence was presented and the group stated they would publish that evidence.

Godly contrition is "I am sorry I violated God's Commandments." Certainly the more important ones are the First Table. I suggest reading the Large Catechism on the first three Commandments. The lying and stealing are just symptoms of the systemic sin of violating the First Table without compunction.

False teachers always lie and often steal. The foundational sin is attacking the majesty and authority of God's Word.

One of the excuses presented was being "so busy." Nevertheless, anyone could have said, "I was busy so I decided to copy this great message from Walther, Hoenecke, Luther, Jacobs, Lenski..." These people can copy and paste in a jiffy. Why not something good, worthwhile, and edifying, instead of more Schwaermer law-mongering?

The gay video boys at Mary Lou College offered the same stunt. They pretended to be sorry and feigned ignorance of the very sodomite moves and gestures which they copied and even improved upon. They took down the video, for the sake of others, not acknowledging wrong, and offered to forgive a certain blogger. Soon the video was back. WELS members and pastors can likewise expect Swindoll to return with a flourish at Bethany, in one form or another.

The statue fight video guy was deeply offended that people found his effort obnoxious and blasphemous. Mary Lou students find it hilarious to have "Luther" fling the Scriptures away and to hear the "Sprinter" curse. Just as above, WELS members brought it to my attention, but somehow I was the bad guy for saying it was wrong. Of course, with the statues, I did not "go about it in the right way."

When their imperial majesties (the Doctrinal Pussycats) want to stop anyone from questioning Holy Mother WELS, they are on the phone or in the car, perhaps sending vile letters or dispatching VP Hategood and CP Wormtongue to do their dirty work.

But - if someone has a false doctrine factory running at full speed, it's:

1. We are concerned about the many souls involved. We do not want to harm their tender consciences.
   
2. These matters take time.
   
3. I will refer this to the right person.
   
4. This is between you two.
   
5. You are being divisive.
   

Response From Michael Schottey

Whoopee Worship Leaders. Do not worry. DP Buchholz is doing something about CrossRoads Covenant Church. [Repeat CrossRoads message every 12 months.]

Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "Blinded by the Vision":

Ahh silly Bored,

You are quite late to the party. I'm not going to trumpet my "resume" here, but here is a quick refresher course.

I've been fighting battles with church and change types for years--coordinating groups and constantly making sure the people of God are informed. I graduated from MLC but part of the reason I did not attend WLS was my inability to "stick my head in the sand."

Until you start signing an actual name to things I would ask you kindly to keep your words to yourself and to peddle your "discernment" jabs elsewhere, go ahead.

As for me, I will wait until something is actually done before I start calling it schwaermer.

For all we know, Worship 2.0 is going to involve adding an extra hymn or using the new supplement more. Maybe they're just going to reinvest in choir groups--singing more than once-in-a-blue-moon.

Furthermore, it looks like they're planning a reeducation of their people on the historical background of the liturgy--something ALL our churches should be doing!

Frankly, until then, all we know is that whatever they've been doing is being done poorly.

***

GJ - I respect Michael for posting his comments with his name on them. Sometimes I disagree with him, but at least I know I am dealing with a named person, not a nameless mirage.

Knowing how the Shrinkers pound anyone who dares think for himself, I welcome anonymous comments. More people are naming themselves. Given the behavior of the WELS Doctrinal Pussycats, I do not blame anyone for remaining anonymous.

We need more Lutherans like Michael Schottey and Brett Meyer, not to mention a few more laity and pastors who have used their own names.

Michael has indeed opposed Whoopee Worship, has gone out of his way to do it. That deserves respect.

The LCMS pastors (real, fake, and Roman) are more likely to attack using their own names. Unfortunately for them, their aim is poor, and they make themselves look ridiculous.

Women Bishops in the Episcopal Church - Wowser

The guy on the extreme Left is Presiding Bishop Katie. The guy on the far right is another woman. The middle three are women, the one next to Katie is "ambiguous,"the very first woman bishop, Barbara Harris.
The Episcopal women get together to empower each other,
just like the men and women at the recent feminist conference in WELS.

Five women bishops (one a Presiding Bishop) have not made a single church grow. (The ASA in all their dicoeses is down. Jefferts Schori does not have a diocese)

They do not believe in "the faith once for all delivered to the saints."

At least one bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori has publicly repudiated the need for personal salvation (GC2009).

All of them have a near pathological hatred of orthodox Christianity.

At least two of these bishops have participated in "gay pride" parades cementing a behavior that has the potential to kill people.

Two of them have been divorced.

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Women Bishops Will Sink the Church of England As They Have Done In the Episcopal Church

News Analysis

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
July 12, 2010

If anyone had any doubt that the spiritual and ecclesiastical trajectory of the Church of England is towards The American Episcopal Church, their doubts were erased this past weekend in York.

The Synod of the Church of England voted to consecrate women to the episcopacy. They also voted summarily not to allow any sort of delegated episcopal pastoral oversight for Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics who in conscience do not want to have a woman bishop reign over them.

Wrote one orthodox Anglican blogger in the UK, "...The absolute refusal to compromise to the smallest degree signifies the rigidity with which women bishops will demand full recognition from everyone in the Church." He is right.

The Church of England ought to think seriously about women bishops and look hard at what has happened in the American Episcopal Church over the last 20 years.

Women Priests and Bishops

In July 1974, The Episcopal Church in the person of two retired and one resigned bishops irregularly ordained the "Philadelphia Eleven" to the presbyterate. The event caused great consternation among the church hierarchy. Later, the House of Bishops called an emergency meeting, denounced the ordinations and declared them invalid. Charges were filed against the dissident bishops. Attempts were made to prevent the women from serving their priestly ministries.

In 1990, 20 years later, Barbara Harris was ordained Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts and the die was cast.

It was understood at that time that it would be optional for parishes and dioceses not to have a woman bishop and that no one would be coerced into having a woman bishop preach, confirm or celebrate communion. Consciences would be respected.

In July of 2000 at the 73rd General Convention, Harris successfully called for defeat of an amendment that would have allowed four dissenting bishops to continue denying ordination to women as long as they held office. She said, "The message such an amendment would send to the women of this church and those who support the ordained ministry of women in this church is that once again this house is engaged in a delaying tactic...To engage in further delay says to the women of this church, 'We do not value your ministry, even though God has called you.' "

It was the end of the road for any kind of toleration for the Anglo-Catholic bishops of San Joaquin, Quincy and Ft. Worth. In time, all three dioceses would leave the Episcopal Church. For liberal and revisionist bishops, exclusion became the operative word in the name of a higher inclusion, of course.

Today, there are 17 women bishops ranging from Harris, the first female bishop, to Glasspool, the last. Harris, now 80 and divorced, once described her sexuality as "ambiguous". Glasspool is an avowed lesbian. Only one, Bishop Geralyn Wolfe of Rhode Island, might be described as orthodox. It was she who deposed a black woman priest who declared she could be both an Episcopal priest and a Muslim at the same time. This took guts, as one doubts that a liberal or revisionist white male bishop would have had the temerity to dump her for fear of the Black Women's Caucus coming down on top of him for lack of inclusion.

Today, TEC has a woman Presiding Bishop who many think is about the worst of the worst. Not only is she not remotely orthodox in faith and practice, she preaches "another gospel" (Gal.1:7) that is no gospel at all. She believes that social amelioration through Millennium Development Goals will bring about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth where, presumably, she will be made CEO alongside our Lord, if indeed He is necessary at all.

So the big question is this, what have women bishops achieved in The Episcopal Church for the last 20 years?

A review of the dioceses where they have "ministered" is instructive.

TEC Dioceses with Woman Bishops and Average Sunday Attendance

Diocese of Connecticut: Bishop Laura Ahren Suffragan 2007-Present In 1998 the figure was 23,242.
In 2008: 18,747, a drop of 19%.

Diocese of Maine: Bishop Chilton Knudsen Diocesan 1998-2008 In 1998 the figure was 5,509.
In 2008 4,804 a drop of 13%

Diocese of Massachusetts: Bishop Gayle Harris Suffragan 2003 - present and Bishop Barbara Harris (not related.)
In 1998 the figure was 23,949. In 2008 the figure was 19,351 a drop of 19%.

Diocese of New York: Bishop Catherine Roskam Suffragan 1996-Present In 1998 the figure was 23,049.
In 2008 it was 20,459 a drop of 11%

Diocese of Newark: Bishop Carol Gallagher Assistant 2005-2007 In 1998 the figure was 10,961.
In 2008 it was 9,289 a drop of 18%

Diocese of Southern Virginia: Bishop Carol Gallagher Suffragan 2002-2005 In 1998 the figure was 13,150.
In 2008 it was 11,055 a drop of 16%

Diocese of Washington DC: Bishop Jane Dixon Suffragan 1992-2000 & Pro Tempore 2001-2002 --- Barbara Harris Assisting 2003-2007 In 1998 the figure was 16,911.
In 2008 it was 15,364 a drop of 9%

Diocese of Indianapolis: Bishop Catherine Waynick Diocesan Sept. 10, 1997 - Present & Coadjutor June 2007
In 1998 the figure was 5,087. In 2008 4,241 a drop of 17%.

Diocese of Vermont: Bishop Mary McLeod Diocesan 1993-2001.
For this period the numbers were 3,280 and concluded in 2001 it was 3,073 a drop of 13%.

Diocese of Rhode Island: Bishop Geralyn Wolf Diocesan 1996-Present.
In 1998 the figure was 8,174. By 2008 the figure was 6,078 down 26%.

Diocese of Texas: Suffragan Dena Harrison 2006-Present In 2006 the figure was 29,611.
In 2008 27,290 a drop of 10%.

Diocese of Eastern Oregon: Bishop Bavi Riveria Provisional 2009-Present --- Term ends 2012
The overall drop has gone from1,216 to 1,158, a drop of 5%

Diocese of El Camino Real: Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves Diocesan 2007-Present
In 2007 the figure was 5,279 by 2008 it was 4,750 a drop of 10%

Diocese of Los Angeles: Bishop Diane Bruce Suffragan 2010-Present & Mary Glasspool Suffragan 2010-Present No record

Overall trajectory of diocese:
1998 it was 23,654 by 2008 it was 19,991 down by 10% and 15% (First percentage change is 2003-2008; second percentage change is 1998-2008)

Diocese of Nevada: Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Diocesan 2001-2006
In 2001 the figure was 2,561. By 2006 it was 2,223 a drop of 7.5%.

Diocese of Utah: Bishop Carolyn Irish Diocesan 1996-Present --- Retires November 2010
In 1996 the figure was 1,924. By 2008 it was 1,612 a drop of 16%

Diocese of Olympia: Bishop Bavi Rivera Suffragan 2005-2010
In 2005 the figure was 12,227. By 2008 it was 9,944 a drop of 23%.

2009 figures, not yet released by the national church, will indicate further decline owing to the emergence on the national scene of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) which has siphoned off more than 100,000 Episcopalians in 800 parishes and four dioceses. 2010 will reveal no upward trend.

In terms of Average Sunday Attendance and general population growth in those dioceses, the losses have ranged from 21% (Maine) to 49% in Nevada (former diocese of Jefferts Schori).

The answer as to what women bishops in The Episcopal Church have achieved is nothing. If they were CEO's of small corporations, they would all have been fired for failure, at the very least, to maintain growth and expand it, that is, show a return (on the plate) for future growth. All these dioceses are contracting with an average parishioner age in the low to mid 60s with the average size congregation now below 70.

Research VOL has conducted shows that in every diocese where a woman has been made bishop, it has sunk deeper into the numerical quagmire. They have become infatuated with their own power (Barbara Harris being one of the best or worst examples, depending on your point of view) and they have followed the theological trajectory of white western liberal males with the added touch of empowerment, rights and tampons.

The most recent "power play" was the "nyet" imposed by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Jefferts Schori in refusing her the "right" to wear her miter in Southwark cathedral. It was thought that if she did wear it, thousands would flock to the altar, following a vigorous sermon on sin and salvation, and give their lives to Jesus in the midst of the third rendition of "I come to the Altar Alone".

The sad truth is the Church of England will follow The Episcopal Church. They will slowly collapse together as the Global South continues to present an unalloyed Biblical gospel and watch as "the Lord adds daily those who are being saved" to His church.

The Episcopal Church's homosexual agenda with its numerous "gay" priests and two openly "gay" bishops has followed the trajectory of women bishops. In the Church of England, the same homoerotic theology will follow the trajectory of women bishops. In both cases, the end will be the same.

Orthodox Anglican Fr. Michael Gollop said this, "We have seen the future in the U.S. and in Sweden, and only by the kind of linguistic gymnastics which would make Dr Goebbels blush could it be described as "inclusive" or "consonant with the Christian tradition."

The "rights" agenda is indivisible from the essentially secular philosophy and secularized theology of post-Christian Western countries that has lead to the ordination of women. By its own logic, it will have to include the gay and "transgendered."

As the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus once said, "Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed." That is clearly now what will happen in the Church of England. It has already occurred in The Episcopal Church.

Mary Ann Mueller contributed to this story.

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US lesbian bishop Mary Glasspool is ordained

By Jessica Geen • May 17, 2010 - 11:14

The second out gay bishop in the US has been ordained.

Mary Glasspool, 56, was ordained as assistant Los Angeles bishop at a ceremony in California on Saturday.

She is the first gay woman bishop to be ordained in America and follows Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson, who was ordained in 2003.

She was ordained alongside the other elected assistant bishop, Diane M Jardine Bruce, and the pair will be the first female assistant bishops to serve Los Angeles Bishop J Jon Bruno.

Rev Glasspool was photographed smiling widely at Saturday's ceremony, which was accompanied by song and dance from Filipino, Chinese and African American groups.

A man and a young boy had to be ejected from the premises before the ceremony began for shouting anti-gay epithets but applause broke out when someone shouted back: "We're praying for you."

Rev Glasspool told a press conference on Friday that her ordination was "a benchmark for the whole church".

She said: "We are being the church that we say we are. We're not just saying it, we're doing it and there's something very powerful about that. It's bigger than the both of us.

"So I'm looking forward with great awe as well as joy and some 'wow' to whatever the Holy Spirit has in mind."

Her ordination went ahead despite a call from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to reject her.

In December, just after she was elected, he called her appointment "divisive" and suggested that diocesan bishops should not approve it.

In February, he said he was "profoundly sorry" for the way he had phrased his remarks.

Rev Glasspool has been with her partner Becki Sanderson for more than 20 years. She has served congregations in Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

She has written before of her struggle to reconcile her sexuality and her faith, saying she questioned whether she could become a clergymember during her college years and whether God loved or hated her.

In the background is Presiding Bishop Katie.
In the foreground is the new lesbian assistant bishop.

Funny Comment

Someone heard that the Shrinkers are not spending much time writing to the Intrepids. Of course, they have to sign their names!

A better explanation - they are too busy erasing content on their church websites!.

Send This Clown the Cockroach Letter

One man took a flight to a distant city. During the flight he saw a live cockroach. He wrote an angry letter to the president of the airline.

He got this reply:

"Thank you for informing me about the terrible incident on your flight. I have issued orders to change the cleaning of all our aircraft. The cleaning crew in charge of yours has been fired. The pilot has been demoted. I trust this will never happen again because the entire corporate staff has been warned and put on probation for six months."

The passenger was gratified, until a slip fell out of the envelope. It read: "Send this clown the cockroach letter."

How many of you have received the cockroach letter from your synod? Are the wolves bugs still winning? At one point do shepherds become wolves, feeding the lambs to their fellow lupines?

***

Part Two - Because I Can't Think of a Clever Headline for a New Post

I published Blinded By the Vision just after midnight today. Within an hour there was an anonymous post defending the congregation.

If only the confessional Lutherans were as fast to react.

In Western stories, the cowboy watches his horse's ears to see if the animal detects any danger. In the church, the wolves detect danger to their cause right away and start growling. That scares most people, because shepherds are not supposed to growl, slaver, bite, and tear. I think the growling is a good sign, time to get out the Sword of the Spirit and do some work.

***

GJ - Ichabod pageviews are more like 60,000 a month now, so the annual total would be about 750,000.

Fox Valley readers are daily communicants.

One DP said, "You have access to information that I don't have." That's because I don't mail out cockroach letters.

The best connected Lutheran I know just wrote, "Once again, you know before I have even heard about it."

As long as comments contribute something to the discussion, I let them through. The antagonists fell off when they had to use OpenID. When they do, they leave no information on that link, and it is often broken.

When this was building I suddenly began receiving about 60 spam emails a day on my gregjackson1948@qwest.net account, the one I use for this blog. I know that software could have done it, but I wonder if someone wanted to get even. If so, I have to mention my spam software. It moves all the junk into a folder and deletes it. I enjoy watching all that work wasted on me. If you want to keep adding that email to your favorite spammers, feel free. I am sure your parole officer or shrink would approve of any activity that keeps you from anonymouse phone calls and peering in windows.

Blinded by the Vision

Eastside's vision (#1 goal) for 2010 is called "Worship 2.0". Think of it as an overall upgrade to what happens when we gather on Sunday morning or Monday evening for worship. Here are some details about why we believe this deserves our focused efforts and what it means practically for your next visit to Eastside.

Why a worship upgrade?--Eastside has been blessed with a rich history of Bible-based teaching and preaching. Many guests comment on the warm welcome they receive the very first time they come to a worship service. By God's grace, many amazing things are happening here. But that doesn't mean we don't have our problems...

Through some honest and straight-forward conversations, we uncovered some of our weaknesses. They include orders of service (liturgies) that are not always understood, some hymns that have great words, but are difficult to sing, a lack of time to gather and get to know each other after worship, little youth involvement, and more.

Since more people come to our worship services than anything else we do, we set our vision on making Sunday and Monday the best they can be. With God's help, here are some things you may notice throughout the next 11 months:

1. Explanations about why we worship the way we do/Historical background of the traditional liturgies
2. Better sermons that explain the details of Bible texts and apply those texts to our challenging lives
3. Musical variety that uses more instrumentation and more of the musicians God has brought to us
4. Easier ways for guests and members to gather and get to know each other
5. Gifts for guests that show our appreciation for their presence and tell them what we're all about
6. Youth involvement in as many levels as possible
7. Great songs that everyone can sing, yet have a strong biblical message
8. Simple invitations that current worshipers can use to invite friends and coworkers
9. And much more!

We pray that by December 31st, 2010, Eastside will be an even better place to "grow in Jesus" and "tell of his love."

Pastor's Blog

Sex and the Bible

Fri, 08/06/2010 - 12:01pm — Pastor Mike

Last night I read Genesis 4 before I went to bed. I didn't get through the very first verse before another one of "God's big ideas" hit me in the face. Here's what I read--

"Now Adam knew his wife Eve and she conceived."

He "knew" her? And then she conceived? So...to "know" must mean to...ahem...well, you know what I mean..wait, not you "know" like Adam "knew" Eve...ummm...this is a little awkward

Okay, I'll just type it! They had sex!

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Fresh Whoopee Worship - As Opposed to Stale, Liturgical, Christ-centered Worship
Steve Collins definition of alternative worship on the web site www.smallfire.org is "Alternative worship is what happens when people create worship for themselves, in a way that fully reflects who they are as people and the culture that they live their everyday lives in." A generation are (sic) growing up for whom the ethos of Web 2.0 is their world. So we should expect and celebrate Worship 2.0 – creative, highly participative, valuing community as the content, open source, low control where the expert worship leader is replaced by teams self publishing creative content. [Web 2.0 forces Worship 2.0 - no follow the logic]

---

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
General:

Q: How do you pronounce Worship 2.0?

A: We generally say "Worship two-point-oh" (as in the letter "O"). [GJ - Thanks!]

Q: Why is it called Worship 2.0?

A: Because it's newer than Worship 1.0. Worship 1.0 (or worship as we understand today) is our term for the worship that takes place in many churches on Sunday mornings. Worship 2.0 is an attempt to augment Sunday morning church with a focus on giving people a chance for extended worship time.

Q: How long is Worship 2.0?

A: We meet for approximately one hour.

Q: I thought that Worship 2.0 was a chance for extended worship time. Isn't an hour a little short?

A: We feel that an hour allows for plenty of time given that there are no announcements, communion, offering or sermons. Remember, Worship 2.0 isn't a substitute for church. It's meant to be different than the worship we experience on Sunday mornings.
Childcare:

Q: Is childcare provided?

A: No. Worship 2.0 tries to be friendly family and even involve children as part of the worship experience. We think the unqiue approach of Worship affords the opportunity for familes to meaningfully worship together.
Different Worship:

Q: So how is Worship 2.0 meant to be different?

A: Many churches today have had to incorporate many different items into their morning worship services with each item getting a small portion of the available time. It is a compromise at best that many churches have had to do in given today's busy culture. This tight timeline has resulted in a strict calculation of the entire worship service and in some cases has almost removed spontaneity and the opportunity for congregational sharing.

Worship 2.0 is a chance to focus just on worship primarily through music with additional time spent in sharing and prayer. Many churches have prayer meetings or prayer groups that fulfill that desire for more prayer time than what a Sunday morning service can afford. Likewise, Worship 2.0 is meant to fulfill people's desire for more music worship time than the handful of hymns and songs that are capable of being worked into a Sunday morning service. It's hard to experience an attribute of God or to tell the epic story of God's love for us to Christ's death to our ultimately victory over death in just five songs.
Style:

Q: What style of worship is Worship 2.0?

A: We'd like to think that the style of worship at Worship 2.0 is uniquely Worship 2.0. You might be inclined to think that it is a modern worship service but we'd rather shy away from that since we certainly have reservations in some cases about what modern worship music has become. There are a few artists who could be classified as modern in their style that we draw from. However, their philosophy is downright old-fashioned and for that we are grateful.

However, we're not saying everything written up to this point is insignificant. The second most important piece of theological reference and witness in our opinion is the book right next to the Bible in the pew in your church. You may have heard of it before; it's called a hymnal. And for whatever reason it seems to have some pretty good longevity as far as we can tell. We heavily use the hymnal and other resources of worship choruses to plan out our worship music in addition to modern worship songs.

Q: So you still haven't answered what the Worship 2.0 style of music is.

A: No, we haven't and that's somewhat deliberate. We don't feel that only one style could ever be sufficient and we plan to vary the style - even within the span of one Worship 2.0. One of our hopes is to be able to share in the many different ways we can worship Jesus. One time might be very modern sounding, the next time very southern folk-gospel in nature and the third time something completely different. You'll have to come and decide for yourself!
Association:

Q: I read in your "About Us" page that you're affiliated with High Point Church. Does that mean that only people who attend High Point Church can attend Worship 2.0? Does that mean that people who do attend Worship 2.0 might be expected to call High Point Church their home church?

A: No and no. High Point Church developed Worship 2.0 as a means of satisfying those who would argue that you can never have too much music in a worship service. We quickly realized though that the nature of this event easily lends itself to being a tool to reach the greater Christian community as a whole. Madison has greatly enjoyed past efforts of unified cross-denominational worship. Unfortunately, these have tended to be one-off special events. Our hope is that this would be a means of regular worship for people from all Christian churches in the area.

Q: If you are associated with High Point Church, then why do you have your own website?

A: Because we wanted Worship 2.0 to serve as a means for bringing together area Christians in worship regardless of denomination, we felt it was best to have this be presented as separate from High Point Church's website. We felt it was something a new person to the area (whether a student or an adult) might just type into their web browser to see what Madison had to offer. We also felt that people searching the Internet or hearing an announcement on the radio for Madison city-wide cross-denominational worship would be more inclined to visit a website that did not appear to be tied to one particular church but rather was intended for all Christians from many different denominations. It obviously must have worked because otherwise you wouldn't be reading this right now.

---

They start to sound more and more like The CORE:

The ChapelNext program, a contemporary and casual worship service designed to cater to a younger generation, is coming to Fort McPherson Sunday at 9:19 a.m. at the Post Chapel (Bldg. 42). The service, which has already been implemented at installations throughout the country, will be more interactive and feature contemporary music and technologies such as multimedia clips.

It might not make sense to a mathematician, but the Fort McPherson chaplaincy is adding through subtraction. With the ChapelNext program, the chaplaincy hopes to add a contemporary worship experience by subtracting some previous traditions.

The program, while new to Fort McPherson, is not new to the Army, said Chap. (Lt. Col.) Robert Phillips, U.S. Army Garrison chaplain.

The program is designed to be causal, encouraging and relevant with the goal of catering to the younger generation, said Chap. (Capt.) Brad Godding, deputy garrison chaplain.

Phillips said reaching out to the youth is important because statistics show people between the ages of 19 to 28 see church as irrelevant and too steeped in tradition. The relevance of these statistics was revealed on Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem after observing those attending services, Godding said.

"We looked across the chaplain community and it wasn't representative of the entire community. The majority of the parishioners were older or retirees," he said. "It is important to offer something the younger generation can relate to and be a part of and support themselves."

"We're trying to meet needs of a younger generation," Phillips added, explaining how the chaplaincy ministers to all of the community. "We're going to be more creative, change things up."

One way ChapelNext aims to broaden its reach is through the incorporation of more technology.

The service will employ video clips and other multimedia presentations, Godding said. Music will be energetic, upbeat and more contemporary.

The atmosphere, where people are encouraged to come as they are, will also be more casual, said Phillips.

Although the first service will take place in the Fort McPherson Post Chapel, the possibility of future services outside the chapel is being considered.

Sermons will also be different, being more interactive and allowing for discussion among the congregation, Phillips said. Such discussion will allow people to give their own testimonies.

"Testimonies preach louder (than sermons)," Phillips said. "We want more people to get involved."

Such involvement is intended to create energy in the community and build relationships and bonds with others in the congregation.

"Relationships are important; a lot of the time (in church) you don't even know the people around you," Phillips said. The differences are not just limited to the way the worships will be run.

Even the starting time, 9:19 a.m., is designed to make an impact. "It (9:19 a.m.) stands out; people remember it," Phillips said. "It breaks the convention. Let's just be different."

Not everything will be different about ChapelNext, however.

Like other worship services, the service will be designed to help bolster an individual's spiritual nature, giving them the spiritual boost to make dealing with life's difficulties easier.

"These are tough days for Soldiers and Army Families. (There's) higher stress, suicides and domestic violence cases. We'll try to equip them to deal with life's problems more effectively," Phillips said. "We'll put tools in their tool bag to make them a better person."

Phillips said he hopes to deliver the first of such tools by pasturing his series of sermons called "Answering Life's Most Important Questions," which focuses on Jesus' interactions with people in the gospel of Mark.

"Sermons will address real-life issues, like parenting, marriage, faith, finances and deployments," he said. "Together, we will explore what the Bible has to say about these very important topics and find some tools to better equip us as we face life's challenges."

Although aimed at the younger generation and for those with needs not met by current services, all are invited to attend, Phillips said.

Those comfortable with current services do not need to worry, as they won't change, he added. Children's programs and child overwatch will be provided during the ChapelNext service. Attendees can come as they are and are encouraged to bring a friend.

"I think it will be a great service for anyone without a place to worship," Godding said. "I encourage you to check it out."

***

GJ - Try Googling "real, relational, relevant church" and see how many hits come through. Several people reported this:

Pastor Mike Novotny in your Worship 2.0 post preached at St Mark - De Pere this past weekend. He is a son of the congregation. He was shepherded by John Parlow. DP Doug's son is a member of Parlow's church, too.

The Parlow-Jeske Synod is confessional, orthodox, liturgical, etc. etc. etc.

The apologists overlook the fact that the language above (not the title itself) points toward the same whoopee worship spreading around the Syn Conference. The title Worship Two Point Oh! is rather goofy and will not last. Whoopifying the service does last.

---

Our Vision...

River Run Christian Church exists to connect communities to Christ and one another by being Relevant, Real and Relational.

Relevant. To present God’s message of hope and love in a way that is culturally understandable and honors God. Therefore, our messages are practical, our music is current, and our children’s ministry is exciting and educational.

Real. To be real people, living in a real world, dealing with real problems, trying our best to serve a real God.

Relational. To help people develop a personal relationship with God and one another. Therefore, our ministry is Christ-centered and people-oriented so that we can develop relationships with God and one another through worship, education, outreach, service and fellowship.
Please visit the following links to learn more about River Run Christian Church:


Pastor's Greeting | About Our Church | Our Core Values | What We Believe | FAQ's

Walther Recommended Doctrinal Discussion

Quashing doctrinal discussions is bowing to Spener,
not listening to C. F. W. Walther.

Organizations like to suppress discussion. Their favorite word is control. Silence and secrecy help them control everyone else.

Spener really had two major agenda items. One was his cell group method, which is found everywhere in Lutheran synods, whether left, right, or in the middle. Cell groups kill doctrinal purity by making pooled ignorance the key factor in small group happiness. Cell groups are also ideal for promoting the superficial feel-good experience of Pentecostalism.

Spener also promoted unionism at the expense of doctrine and faux-love at the expense of orthodoxy. Nothing promotes bigness like "why can't we all just get along?" I attended Lutheran meetings where the LCA element denounced the LCMS for erecting doctrinal barriers, making them seem trivial. If all the LCA members had known the full truth, most would have run out of the room screaming. Avoiding the issues helped the apostates.

Mergers require doctrinal suppression. Every denominational merger has worked against sound doctrine in favor of just getting along.

Listen for those crying out in pain that discussing the Fox Valley (Appleton) situation is damaging to WELS. Just the opposite is true. The more people engage in discussing the doctrinal issues, the better it will be for everyone. An infection needs to be drained, not sewn shut and covered with a flesh-colored bandage.

This much I know, because the truth comes out - months ago, a group of people made an effort to study the issues and to deal with them in the WELSian way. DP Doug sent his VP to whitewash Ski's Groeschel service. When the ultimate meeting was set, the group found out the DP Doug was not showing up at all. Some would call that a cowardly deception. I call it typical WELS. Instead, the group was treated to a letter from Captain Huffnpuff, where he denounced me and my little blog. In other words, the cowardly DP was telling the group - "I do not take you seriously. You are dimwits fooled by that horrible blog."

I wish I had more details, but everything is a secret in WELS. I found out only by little bits coming in from all directions - a WELSian bit torrent. My take on this is DP Doug's behavior led to the Intrepid blog being formed. DP Doug did something right, something like Carter getting Reagan elected president (not be design).

Did DP Doug solve anything by his amateur tactics? Not at all. The issues are bigger than ever, but that is good. The district is too controlled or frightened to remove him from the ministry, which is the natural course for pastoral incompetence. Now Appleton is a synodical issue.

I have no trouble commenting on all this. My sins have been publicly confessed by so many - in various denominations - that I can rise above them all, purified by the refiner's fire. Just kidding, folks. Once everyone has heard the same story from the same synodical drones, they dismiss the timorous experts and start listening to the facts.

Sound doctrine can withstand the gaze of the public. False doctrine cannot. Recently, Paul McCain's finger-puppet, Father Jack Kilcrease, posted a series of blunders on Extra Nos. Once exposed for his fraudulent argumentation, Jack withdrew, erasing all his comments.

In contrast, laymen Joe Krohn and Brett Meyer are willing to discuss justification by faith any time.

I see that the Intrepids are discussing the issues with their names on the posts. In contrast, the Church and Money Changers are alerting their odious network to start mowing down their opposition anonymously, as they always have. I think the Intrepids are far too polite and patient, but that is their blog, their style.

The apostates stay in their viper-holes for the longest time, hiding in the dark, which is their friend. People will know the serpents are alarmed when they come out hissing. That is the best possible sign of their reptilian defeat. Their poison will not harm anyone. No weapon devised by man can harm the Word of God.

Bishop Bennison's Brother - Sound Familiar, WELS? - Check Out DP Ed Werner, Vicar Scott Zerbe, LPR in Columbus

Opposing Bennison, Church attorney Larry White argued that the sentence was just and that the victim could have been spared 17 months of additional abuse had Charles Bennison alerted his bishop and the victim's parents.


"Bennison stumbled in on the two engaged in sexual relations and then did nothing, later telling his brother to 'get out', but not forcing him from the church and not reporting his conduct even to the point of saying nothing when his brother John was presented for ordination to their own father an Episcopal bishop", said White.


"At John's ordination he vouched for John's fitness. Out of concern for his career and to avoid embarrassment and scandal he failed to protect the victim. He wanted to bring a curtain of silence over these events."


White said Bennison suffered that abuse to continue to protect his own career. In earlier testimony, Bennison said he would have acted exactly as he did to protect the girl's privacy and her parents pain and to prevent scandal in the church.


Bennison failed to tell the search committee when he was a candidate for bishop, even until the trial of this case he did not once inquire of the victim even at the trial. He failed to comprehend the nature of his conduct, said White. "Bennison did not want to risk his own career."

Source - Virtue Online

[Yes, the great bishop, now restored to his throne, caught his own brother engaged in sex with a minor girl and did nothing about it, maintaining silence and allowing her to be abused another 17 months. Moreover, he said nothing about it before his brother was ordained.]

In 2008 Bennison was found guilty of covering up a sexual relationship that his younger brother, John, a youth leader in the church, began with a 14-year-old girl while Bennison was rector of St. Mark's Church in Upland, California in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Bennison appealed and lost. This is his final stand.

John Bennison was deposed in 1977 when his sexual relationship came to light, but was reinstated two years later. In 1993, he survived a church investigation by Bishop Williams Swing of California, whose diocese John Bennison was currently in. Bennison resigned in 2006 after Swing and other officials were pressured by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which had began protesting outside John Bennison's church in Clayton, Calif.

***

GJ - Parallels in WELS:

1. DP Robert Mueller, VP Kuske, Mission Board Chairman Wallie Oelhafen, and others knew all about Floyd Luther Stolzenburg being kicked out of the LCMS for multiple offenses. The ELS Thoughts of Faith knew just as much when Jay Webber, John Shep, and Roger Kovaciny gathered money from Stolzenburg's new Masonic parish in Columbus. They named a Ukraine parish after Stolzenburg's. Awww.
   
2. The district pastors knew all about their DP Ed Werner before he was arrested and convicted, after decades of molesting minor girls in his parish.
   
3. Scott Zerbe went to the Big House for his affair with a minor girl while serving as Fred Adrian's vicar. Adrian knew or he did not know. Both stories have been offered. The Michigan Good Ol' Boy network got Adrian back into the parish. Adrian was chair of the District Mission Board, another Fuller-trained Shrinker like Wallie. And boy did the Michigan District grow under them guys. Whew!
   
4. William Tabor was a known sex offender when he was welcomed into WELS and given several calls, the second one where he erased evidence by having his mistress shoot down his wife.
   
5. Likewise, Al Just was carrying on with his children's babysitter when he was convicted of murdering his wife with a knife. WELS jumped up to defend Al. Some of the dumber clergy still claim Al was innocent. Al married the babysitter while in prison but she divorced him.

The Same Thing Could Be Said To WELS Leaders - And It Has Been

Kicked out of the LCMS, welcomed immediately into WELS/ELS. Recommended for a call by District VP Kuske.
The Michigan Districts pastors knew - and did nothing.

Rector to Bishop Bennison: Please do not return to PA

The Rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia, the Rev. Timothy Safford, writes to ask newly restored Bishop Charles Bennison to resign:

8/7/2010

To the Friends and Member of Christ Church:

This past week, the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop effectively restored Charles Bennison as Bishop of Pennsylvania. Their new ruling allows Bishop Bennison to return to his office, which he intends to do on August 16. I have written a letter urging him not to, which is below. ...

The Rt. Rev. Charles Bennison,
Bishop of Pennsylvania
240 S. 4th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Dear Charles:

Now that the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop has overturned your sentence of deposition, and you may continue to be a Bishop in the Episcopal Church, you have the right to return as Bishop of Pennsylvania. But is it right to do so?

I urge you to give this question the deepest consideration with your best advisers before making your final decision on returning August 16.

Let me tell you my advice, so you know.

To be Bishop is to unify the Church, but your return would further divide our diocese. To be Bishop is to build up the Church, but your return would tear down the fragile foundations of trust and hope that have been built these past two years. My strong belief is that your return will do more harm than good, create more anger and less reconciliation, and hinder, not advance, the Church's mission in our diocese. These realities may be unfair and unjust, but I believe them to be true.

Further, to be Bishop is to be a pastor, and for you to be a pastor, there must be enough trust and sense of security so that "the sheep may safely graze."

As the opinion of the Court of Review said forcefully, accurately and rightly, you committed no acts of sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor. But that just doesn't matter at this point. Then and now, the Church is guilty of sexual abuse and exploitation of the young and the vulnerable. Then and now, the Church, promises to be the guardian of a gated, protected sheepfold of pastoral safety for its members. But, the shepherds charged with protecting the fold have yet been able to keep sexual abusers out. Then and now, those abusers have not climbed into the sheepfold, like the robber and the thief, "some other way," but have been let in by the very shepherds who promise that the sheep may safely graze. Consequently, the Church does not appear safe to those who might consider coming into our sheepfold, and it does not feel safe to those in the fold who have experienced the failure of the Church to protect our own.

It may not be right or fair, but you embody that failure. You were a shepherd then, and to those who have suffered abuse, or care about the safety of our Church, it will not matter that these crimes happened decades ago. If you return as our Bishop, many in your flock will not feel safe, and you will not be able to be our pastor. It doesn't matter that so many others were part of the failure, or that others have viciously used the abuse the woman suffered so long ago to accomplish their own ecclesiastical ends. Truly, I believe the most pastoral act would be, as a sacrifice for the creation of pastoral safety, not to return as our Diocesan bishop. Now that your ministry is restored, serve the Church to rebuild the shattered trust and safety we need to serve the sheep entrusted to us.

You said after the ruling, "I think I have shared in Christ's crucifixion." First, a visceral comment: Trust me, the woman so abused and exploited in the Episcopal Church while a member of St. Mark's, Upland has shared far more of the terror, shame, degradation, pain and humiliation of what Jesus experienced at Calvary. By His wounds, not by yours, will she be healed. We are obligated to her and the countless others who have suffered the reality of crucifixion at the hands, not of Pilate, but of our Church, to create a place of true safety within our sheepfold. Your return hinders, if not prevents, progress.

Second, Jesus willingly made the sacrifice of his life for the benefit of others. What Christ did for the world, we are called to do. To share in Christ's crucifixion is to die to self and selfish needs so that Christ will be raised in us. I ask you to prayerfully consider making the sacrifice of not returning as Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania for the benefit of many who want to believe that the Episcopal Church can be safe.

Your brother in Christ,

The Rev. Timothy B. Safford, Rector
Christ Church, Philadelphia

***

GJ - I told DP Robert Mueller the same thing over the phone. His response?

"Why don't you quit WELS then?"

Episcopals Restore Their Degenerate Bishop - Different from WELS?

Episcopal Church reinstates Diocese head after abuse cover-up case

By DAVID O'REILLY

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Related:

• http://www.philly.com/

Nearly three years after the Episcopal Church suspended him for covering up his brother's sexual abuse of a minor girl, Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. has been restored as head of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

In a ruling released Thursday, a church appeals panel reversed a lower church court's 2008 order that Bennison be defrocked and permanently removed from the helm of the 55,000-member diocese, comprising Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester Counties.
Although Bennison badly mishandled his brother's prolonged sexual abuse of a teenager in his California parish during the 1970s, the appeals court concluded, the church's statute of limitations on such wrongdoing had expired after 10 years.

"We find that (Bennison) committed conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy," the eight-member panel of bishops wrote. But "because the statute of limitations has run out ... we have no choice under the canons of the church but to reverse the judgment of the trial court that (he) is guilty."

Bennison, 66, described himself as "very gratified" in a teleconference call from Michigan, where he is vacationing. He plans to return to his duties as bishop Aug. 16.

"I hope I am a changed person," he said, adding that his immediate goal was to listen to the men and women who have led the diocese since his suspension in October 2007. He said he would likely devote more attention to the spiritual affairs of the diocese than to its finances or administration.

"My main reason for coming back is that I think I have something to offer along those lines ... preaching and teaching," he said.

Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori, national head of the denomination, had no comment on the ruling. The local diocesan standing committee, which has handled administrative matters in Bennison's absence, called on members to keep him "in your prayers." Bishop Paul Michel conducted sacramental duties during Bennison's suspension.

Bennison became bishop of the five-county diocese in 1998. He is allowed to serve until Nov. 30, 2015, when he turns 72.

In its original presentment, or indictment, church leaders charged Bennison with two counts of "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy" for failing to respond to signs that his brother John was abusing a girl - 14 when the relationship began - in their parish near Los Angeles in the 1970s. Charles Bennison was rector, and John Bennison was his youth minister.

The church also faulted Charles Bennison for failing to inform the girl's parents and church or civil authorities when he learned of the affair, and for not adequately counseling or comforting the girl.

After a four-day trial in July 2008 in Philadelphia - including anguished testimony from the victim and Charles Bennison's insistence that he had handled the affair adequately - a seven-member Court for the Trial of a Bishop ruled unanimously that he be permanently removed, or deposed, as diocesan bishop.

It also ordered him stripped of his ordained status as a bishop and a priest.

During the appeals process, begun in 2009, he retained his ordained status but remained "inhibited," or suspended. The Court for the Review of a Trial of a Bishop, which convened in Wilmington, heard oral arguments in May.

Bennison's attorney, James A. Pabarue, insisted that the statute of limitations had expired. Lawrence White, the church's attorney, was equally emphatic that the statute did not apply to anything related to child sex abuse, including a cover-up.

The appeals court sided with Pabarue and noted that Bennison was never charged with child molestation or immorality.

Although he only learned of the decision Wednesday evening, Bennison was officially restored as diocesan head July 28, when the bishops of the review court signed their ruling.

Bennison has long contended that some diocesan and denominational leaders, unhappy with his leadership, were using the abuse cover-up as a pretext to remove him. "This process should never have begun," he said Thursday.

Many clergy and laity in the diocese publicly complained that he spent millions of diocesan endowment funds in a failed effort to build a retreat center and children's summer camp. His defrocking of the Rev. David Moyer, a conservative rector in Rosemont who publicly criticized his liberal policies and barred him from his parish, was also controversial.

Before the 2007 indictment, all 10 members of the diocesan standing committee and all the deans of the diocese had called for his resignation.

Last month, Pabarue asked the church to drop the charges against his client in view of revelations that a former presiding bishop of the church, Edmond L. Browning, had failed to report or adequately investigate another bishop's sexual abuse of several minor girls.
That scandal began to unfold July 11 when Bishop Sean Rowe, head of the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania, announced on his diocesan website that nine women had recently told him that the late Bishop Donald Davis - head of that diocese from 1976 to 1991 - had sexually abused them as children.

Browning was told of Davis' abuse in 1993 and the following year asked him to resign from the House of Bishops, refrain from public ministry, and seek counseling, which Davis did. Browning, however, never notified civil authorities or conducted an investigation.

Retired since 1997 and living in Oregon, Browning did not respond to requests for comment.
Bennison said Thursday that his first order of business when returning to his office would be to meet with Michel, the interim diocesan head.

He said he had not yet scheduled a meeting with the standing committee, but praised its work during the last two years and nine months. He was praying, he sai

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/05/2132119/episcopal-church-reinstates-diocese.html#ixzz0wLod05wY

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From Virtue Online - The Conservative Episcopal News Website:

The Second Coming of Charles E. Bennison Bishop of Pennsylvania

COMMENTARY

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
August 7, 2010

When a thoughtful Texas Anglican heard the news that Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison had won a reprieve from an ecclesiastical Court of Appeal over charges that he covered up his brother's sexual abuse of a minor, his response was sharp and to the point, "There's no surprise here - corpses generally do float to the surface to stink the place up [again]."

On August 16, Bennison will regain his Episcopal throne and continue the downward spiral of the diocese. Despite prayers to a God who might or might not be listening to liberal clergy and laity from the Diocese of Pennsylvania, the sociopathic Bennison will take charge and resume his pogrom against the Faith and the faithful in the diocese.

There will however, be one small difference. This time both the remnant orthodox and the majority of liberals hate Bennison enough to want him gone, or, failing that, thwart his desire to deliver death blows to the dwindling orthodox parishes. They might just gang up on him, even with their limited powers, to control the self-destructive desire of Bennison to kill off the remainder of the diocese.

One scenario is that the entire Standing Committee could resign in protest to Bennison's less than joyful return. Instead of the garland or lei around his neck, they could present him with a garland of razor sharp shark teeth in the hope that he will accept it, put it on and be made to feel the pain he has inflicted on others for more than a decade. Instead of Palm Sunday fronds, they could lay down spike strips to stop him from entering Diocesan headquarters.

Their real power however, is to tie down Bennison financially and make sure he isn't allowed to spend designated monies from Trust Funds for undesignated purposes, like spending millions of dollars on another Camp Wapiti fiasco. If he does so, they could bring another presentment against him. It should be noted here that Bennison has survived two presentment charges and clearly has the capacity to walk through a minefield blindfolded and carrying a bottle of Chateau neuf du pape in one hand and a plate of Brie in the other.

It is not without its significance that diocesan attorney Michael Rehill weighed in and said Bennison took one of the wealthiest dioceses in the Episcopal Church and made it one of the poorest.

Of course this could backfire. Bennison could play the martyr and demand that the richer parishes like St. David's in Wayne or Good Samaritan in Paoli cough up more money to support his "program". If they don't he could inhibit their clergy, just like Bishop Robert Gepert in Western Michigan has done with the Vestry of Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids.

Never underestimate the power of bishops. Many of them think that, like God, they are omnipotent with almost equal powers. (One bishop once told me he wanted to be a bishop because he would be closer to Jesus at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I politely told him - I think I was polite - that perhaps the char lady sitting at the end of the pew who put in her $2.00 in the plate each Sunday might be sitting closer to Jesus "in that day". ) Funny thing is he didn't like that answer. "We want to be at your right hand," cried two disciples, and we know how that ended. Bennison, on the other hand, will be waiting for an invitation that will never come.

The diocese will once again be inflicted with the Deconstructionist gospel of John Shelby Spong. This time they will be forced to hear it in a cathedral that could double as a Mosque anytime Muslims should take it over, or, in a moment of sanguinity, Bennison offers it to them as a sign of future ecumenical expectations.

A leopard cannot change it spots, so the cliché goes and a sociopath like Bennison won't change his ways unless he is struck by lightning on the Schuylkill Expressway. That is not going to happen. We have been given the testimony of the apostles and prophets (see the Book of Hebrews) and Bennison is not the slightest bit interested in what they have to say.

After all, it was he who said that men wrote the Bible and could therefore rewrite it. Perhaps Charles (AKA Chuckles) could help in the re-writing of the Bible and thus earn himself a place in the annals of Biblical history. As an addendum, he could add his very own personal Visigoth Rite alongside Spong's 12 Theses. Oh, what joy.

Bennison has likened his own second coming to the crucifixion of our Lord, an event he can barely acknowledge as historical and with no salvific purpose. "I think I have shared in Christ's crucifixion" he opined to ENS in a moment of touching humility.

One should point out that Bennison's crucifixion came with full salary and benefits while he did nothing except talk to his lawyers and plan his next strategy for reinstatement. Will he sue now for damages, costs etc.? A crucifixion without nails and full reinstatement at the Union League Club now awaits the Crucified One. "Gin and tonic, waiter and hold the ice." Who the hell needs bread and wine?

"I am less anxious about the church's future than I was when I first became bishop," said Bennison on learning the news he had beaten the odds on favorite for certain ecclesiastical death. Such humility.

Oh, but you can be sure that the anxiety levels of priests like David L. Moyer of Good Shepherd, Rosemont and Fr. Eddy Rix of All Saints, Wynnewood, are rising considerably on news that the "ol' Chuck is back" and he is carrying a load of TEC canons ready to fire at anyone who opposes him. Moyer already faces a property grab by the Standing Committee who have filed suit against him.

Now that the Litigious One has returned, Moyer can bet on the heat being turned up to full white-hot. With the Dennis Canon enshrined more highly than Holy Writ in TEC, (it appears to be almost as infallible and inerrant), there is little doubt that Bennison will regain the parish and toss Moyer to the wolves. The irony needs to be shouted from the housetops.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori had no difficulty removing Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan (without a trial) and stripping him of his sacerdotal powers, accusing him of "abandoning the communion of the (Episcopal) church" but she can't get rid of Bennison.

It should not be forgotten that it was Bennison who likened the growth of the Anglican Church in Africa to the growth of the Nazi Party. Over the next six years of his ecclesiastical reign (he's 66 and can serve till he is 72), he will make the diocese look like the last days of the Third Reich.

What has brought conservatives and revisionists together now is their common hatred of Bennison. With many conservatives and all of the liberals voting for Bennison, they have very little moral high ground. They could have elected the Rev. David Thomas, an evangelical, but turned him down for the smiling, vacant looking Bennison who conveniently forgot to tell them all about his dubious past. Thomas was not the sharpest nail in the box, but he was orthodox. He has since gone to be with His maker.

The Standing Committee, still in shock, has invited Episcopalians to gather at the Cathedral at 4:30 p.m. this Sunday afternoon, August 8, for Evening Prayer, a time of open conversation and an opportunity to share thoughts and feelings. The Dean, Judith Sullivan will lead worship and Assisting Bishop Rodney Michel will guide conversation. This is a study in futility. They have reaped what they have sown and now they must face the whirlwind. It will be Apocalypse Now.

Bennison will shortly be back in the saddle and the diocese will soon learn the bitter truth that Hell hath no fury like a Bennison scorned and the equal truth that is there is no place to run and no place to hide. The orthodox are history. The diocese is doomed.

Apology Erased from Bethany, Appleton (WELS) Website

on

Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "What People Are Reading - Since the New Google Sta...":

The apology, [sic - which was on] the pastor's blog, has now been removed.

Permission Granted To Publish This Letter - Former WELS Member

I am the author of the letter to WELS President Schroeder that you referenced in January under the heading, "Write a Letter". In that entry I shared my admonishment of the Synod for its involvement with Thrivent and for tolerating the antics of Ski and Glende. In my letter I enclosed photos from their Facebook pages of them posing with Katy Perry and Mariqueen, as well as nude photos of Mariqueen from Playboy. I cited the WELS fellowship policy and the appropriate scriptural passages referring to scandalous conduct of pastors respectively. As I stated in my post, Schroeder's response was prompt and sympathetic, assuring me of his own concerns over these matters. He would refer my concerns about Thrivent to the Council of Presidents and take up the Ski/Glende matter with their DP.

As the months went by I realized that nothing was going to be done about either of the issues I addressed. I read the highlights of all subsequent COP meetings, most of which were attended by the SP, and if Thrivent was talked about it wasn't in the minutes. And as far as telling the Northern Wisconsin DP to get tough on the 2 delinquents in Appleton...that would be Doug Englebrecht. Since my admonition Ski has celebrated one year at The CORE and has presented a "how-to" series of sermons on married sex. (Uh, first rule, Ski-lose the pretty MLC coeds on your Facebook page and you will cut your foreplay time in half). I live in Nebraska, and as I look back the letter Schroeder sent me had a lot in common with the e-mails I received from our Honorable Ben Nelson in response to my PLEAS to him NOT to cast the swing vote for Obamacare-right before he did.

So I wrote my "Mark and Avoid" letter, to which I did NOT receive a reply, and left the Synod. This was followed by a letter to my pastor, who I had deliberately left out of the loop. He called wanting to talk, so my wife and I went to see him. I took the letters I had written to Synod and the pictures I had sent the SP. I was surprised Schroeder had not talked to him. He said these things take time and how did I know Ski and Glende wouldn't be punished? (Yeah, I'm sure "Forward in Crisis" will cover it start to finish and it'll be the September lead story in the "WELS Connection" Infomercial).

Since the pictures were long gone from Ski and Glende's Facebook accounts, I had to "Kelm" them from Ichabod, and the first thing my former pastor noted was, "Well, I see you got these from Gregory Jackson." I told him Schroeder got the originals, and they WEREN'T from Ichabod. Pastor had warned me about Gregory Jackson a year ago when I quoted him on some WELS issues. He had cautioned me that Dr. Jackson was a malcontent who had never really fit in anywhere. He repeated those accusations to a member of the Church Council who went in a few weeks later to back me up. He said that rather than 'camping out' on Ichabod, I should find other things to spend my time reading-like the Bible. Somewhere in the conversation I let my former pastor know that I had contributed material to Ichabod several times.

Then he turned on ME. "Who ARE you, WHAT are you? Are you a Confessional Lutheran, or are you a Baptist?" "A Baptist?," I asked. "Well, I'm hearing rumors you've been going to a Baptist church." My wife said, "Yeah, some really good friends of ours' daughter was baptized a few weeks ago." (We had stopped attending our WELS church by then, which is more than I can say of Ski and Glende when they worshiped with Andy Stanley). "What do you WANT?", he demanded. "I want OUT of WELS." "Then why are you here?" "Uh, you invited me?" I told him I thought the Synod was fundamentally secretive and dishonest.

It got worse. My wife accidently called Glende 'Jeske' and he jumped all over her. I finally said, "Look, this is just turning into 'shoot the messenger.' You're attacking us for petty stuff and I'm never gonna win on your playing field, anyway. Instead of 'he said/she said', let's just say the chemistry wasn't right." He grabbed a notepad and wrote so hard I thought his pen was going to snap in half. "Chemistry.. not.. right." "What's up with that?," I said. "Well," he said mockingly, "when anybody in the congregation asks why you left, I'll tell them.....the CHEMISTRY wasn't right." I reminded him of the first rule of WELS: NEVER attack the Synod.

On the way out he kept shaking his head and saying, "If that's true about those guys in Appleton, that's not right....it's just not right."

Right before we left the Synod, my pastor was giving away the old hymnals down in the basement. I took 6. I'm glad I did. They come in handy at our new church, Bethany Lutheran Worship.

Jim Becker, (former) WELS

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You can publish verbatim if you have room.

Thanks, Jim

Write a Letter

DP Engelbrecht.

Jim Becker WELS has left a new comment on your post "Fruit of the Stealth Mission":

I wrote to President Schroeder on the Ski/Glende issue and received his personal reply within a week. I told him I was admonishing the Synod in advance if these men were not removed from their posts within a month.

He replied that he became aware of the situation a few days before I wrote him. He forwarded it to the president of the Northern Wisconsin District, whose job Schroeder said it is to deal with this initially, and is awaiting a report from him. While he desires to have matters like this addressed very quickly and decisively, there are times when the process of dealing with pastoral wrongdoing may take a little longer. He asked that I have some patience as they work through those who are called to carry out evangelical discipline.

I also addressed the Thrivent issue, and will deal with his response on a later post. I felt Pastor Schroeder really understood my concerns and that his response was immediate and thoughtful.

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GJ - This layman is responding appropriately. For the first time in 30 years, there are leaders who will listen and respond - in WELS.

I have linked with a lot of LCMS ministers lately. I am impressed with the number who are Triglotta Lutherans. (Father Neuhaus called himself a confessional Lutheran before he poped, so I have to use a better term.) I am somewhat optimistic about the Quiche-niks being replaced.

ELCA Lutherans have a weak background in apologetics, but the Episcopal/gay crisis has thrown them into study. That is also good.

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dk has left a new comment on your post "Write A Letter":

I agree that errors in doctrine and practice need to be dealt with swiftly. But I've heard that within the WELS structure it is very difficult to deal with problems swiftly and this leads me to ask:

If the WELS CAN'T take care of problems immediately does it have the right to exist, under its own self-definition? According to the WELS, Synod=Church, correct? We all know that the legitimacy of a church depends on its doctrinal integrity. Maintaining doctrinal integrity means dealing with problems quickly so they don't spread. So if the WELS is 1 church, as they claim, how legitimate are they?

SP Schroeder has a big job, partly because of the WELS structure and partly because these problems have been festering for two decades or more.

The office of WELS synod president is not a dictator--no

WELS synod president has the executive authority to make changes (termination of calls etc.) instantly and based on his judgment alone. There's a well ordered system in place for the purpose of preventing quick changes. One must recognize that this ties the hands of Triglotta Lutherans when error does arise in attempts to guard against liberals who might hold the same office.

SP Schroeder is no exception. I'm under the impression that he has to play "the game" because of the limitation on his authority. While it's a shame that he's hampered, I'd rather have a Conservative as SP than someone like Kelm. God uses faithful men for his purposes in whatever situation they find themselves. I imagine Schroeder has a full plate and he can use our prayers--wishing him swiftness.

Remember though, that if you're WELS you ARE in close fellowship with Ski, Glende, Jeske, Kelm, Hunter, Gunn, and all the rest. YOU belong to the same church and by your testimony you are one in faith with them! At what point should you contest the legitimacy of the WELS based on an absence of church discipline?

Sooner or later something has to happen and people will have to be held accountable.

My new years resolution is to write the District Presidents who have errant pastors under them. CC your emails to president Schroeder so that Schroeder has more to refer to when he talks to the DPs about the problems. I'll just bet that by respectful protest (a flood of emails) the Triglotta Lutherans could really aid in the process of church discipline!