Martin Chemnitz Press on Facebook, Twitter Soon

I added a Martin Chemnitz Press page to Facebook.

I will put updates and other material there and link them to Twitter.

A Reformed minister from Indonesia was pleased to learn about free PDF downloads from Martin Chemnitz Press, so he recommended them to his FB friends. That led me to set up a page on FB for the books.

If you go there and click "Like" you will move the page a few steps closer to competing with the pages of professional wrestlers and rock stars.

Church Is the Human Outworking of the Person of Jesus...Let's Be the Church

A meeting was called for those who missed the lecture on plagiarism and the evils thereof.


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: The COREspondence
From: The CORE <info@gotocore.com>
To: Lamb Led to Slaughter
CC:

___One Church - Two Locations
"Be The Church" Series_

   September 12th kicked off our vision sermon series with St. Peter Lutheran
   Church and The CORE, “Don’t Just Go To Church - Be The Church”. Pastor Ski,
   Pastor Sievert, and Pastor Tim preached on being devoted to God’s Word,
   People, and Mission. Here is what we learned:

   In week 1, we were reminded that church is a place that God uses to create
   and strengthen our faith. He does this through his Word and Sacraments.
   Church is also a place that God uses to draw us to Him. We don’t go to
   church because we are saints; we go to church knowing that we are broken
   sinners that need to be told and reminded what Jesus has done for us through
   the message of the gospel. We are thankful to our God for providing a place
   for his people to gather.

   In week 2, we learned that the church is about more than just the building.
   Christians belong to Christ and to each other. The CORE’s building has never
   officially “belonged” to them. It was during this series, that Pastor Ski
   announced another church has put in an offer on the Big Picture (The CORE’s
   current location) and that offer has been accepted. Thank you for all of the
   prayers and support during this transitional time. In the next few weeks
   Pastor Ski will be announcing where The CORE’s new home will be. Please
   understand that this does not mean that the ministry is ending, it only
   means that the building and location from which the ministry operates from
   will be changing.

   In week 3, Pastor Tim reminded all of us that God’s mission is to reach
   people who are lost. Pastor Tim also reminded us that have the privilege of
   sharing the gospel of Christ with all people. For it is that gospel that
   works faith and leads sinners to the cross. It is that message that broken
   sinners are told and reminded that Jesus is their Savior.

   The next sermon series at The CORE will be “... And Other Dark Things” the
   series starts October 3rd and ends October 31st.

   _Neighborhoods and Small Group Update_

   Our fall neighborhood groups officially kicked off on September 12th.
   Sign-up was held for 3 weeks in the lobby and has now ended. New group
   sign-up will resume after the first of the year.

_Nine New Members at
The CORE_

   The CORE was proud to welcome 7 new members and 2 confirmand students. As
   part of their welcome, we played videos of their story and how God led them
   to our church. We are all just a small part in the Lord's big story.

   Thank you to our new members for sharing their story and being a part of
   God's mission. It was in these videos that we learned just how big our God
   really is and the incredible ways that He moves in
   our lives.

   _Looking Ahead_...

   _"...And Other Dark Things"
   _October 3rd - 31st

   _"Gifted"
   _November 7th - 21st

   _Miss a Groeschel sermon? No worries. Click [1]here to listen to the podcasts or
   subscribe in iTunes._
     Links:
       1. http://gotocore.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bf54dca97f6ac1cc264aac89&id=5c88450955&e=0db9984276

_Join us on [2]Facebook_
     Links:
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Church isn’t where you meet. Church isn’t a building. Church is what you do.
   
Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus   Christ. Let’s not go to Church, let’s  be the Church. - 
Bridget Willard

   _Do you know someone who might be interested in hearing about what God is
   doing at The CORE?
   Forward this newsletter to them today._
    The CORE 215 E Washington St. Appleton, WI 54911
   920-364-0200
    _Check us out online! _[3]www.gotocore.com
     Links:
       3. http://gotocore.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0bf54dca97f6ac1cc264aac89&id=4ba44e775c&e=0db9984276


     Links:
       4. http://gotocore.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=0bf54dca97f6ac1cc264aac89&id=82083a9a88&e=0db9984276&c=c2935dd384
       5. http://gotocore.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=0bf54dca97f6ac1cc264aac89&id=82083a9a88&e=0db9984276
       6. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=0bf54dca97f6ac1cc264aac89&id=c2935dd384&e=0db9984276

Abortion on Demand, Global Terror - Funded by Thrivent

Remember, folks, Appleton is Thrivent.


Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "These Are Global Warming Propaganda Messages - Not...":

http://www.1010global.org/uk

This shouldn't surprise anyone. (W)ELS has been financing this through their contributions to LWR (Lutheran World Relief). LWR is a hobby horse of the newly elected "Conservative" LCMS synod president Harrison. Thrivent is the middle man in most of these monetary exchanges between the men and women in (W)ELS pews and the murderous horde who slaughter "other" people's children.

1 April 2008, New York
Ted Turner, Chairman of the United Nations Foundation (UNF), announced a collaborative effort with the United Methodist Church and Lutheran World Relief, to fight malaria in Africa. The announcement was presented during a special thematic debate of the United Nations General Assembly which took place on the 1st and 2nd of April. Together with the UNF, the organizations strive to raise US $200 million to fight the spread of malaria, and to contribute to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

At a press conference held jointly with Srgjan Kerim, the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Turner stated: "Had it not been for the UN, humanity would have gone a long time ago."
http://www.un.org/unop/

Ted Turner on forced population reduction - genocide
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=ted+turner+population+control&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=37132dca8f7438ee

Millennium Development Goals,
Include depopulating the world. United Nations estimates that 6 billion of the nearly 6.5 billion people on the planet need to be eliminated.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Millennium+Development+Goals+world+population+day&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=37132dca8f7438ee

In 1996, Turner stated in an interview with Audubon Magazine that a 95% population reduction would be ideal. Below is his quote. “A total population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline from present levels, would be ideal." http://www.jonesreport.com/article/04_08/28turner_911.html

These Are Global Warming Propaganda Messages - Not For Children

Imagine the mental deterioration of those who engage in this kind of communication. I cannot.

Angry, Bitter Apostates

The Church and Money Changers are eager to name-call. Anyone who disagrees with them is called angry, bitter, disgruntled, legalistic, crazy, hate-filled.

They often advise each other that I "hate the Wisconsin Synod." That is based on their reading of this blog. What they cannot face is 95% of the material comes from their own pastors and members.

One of them phoned me once, drunk and screaming. He wanted to know where all the information came from. I said, "From your own pastors." He took a few seconds to take it in, realized it had to be true, and slammed down the phone.

Read this out loud Shrinkers, so you can remember this - This blog is fueled by what you have done to destroy the Lutheran Church. Members and pastors of your synod forward me links. They do research on their own. They phone and email me. Somehow they find me instead of talking behind my back (no they are not like you cowards).

That means I get perspectives from all the synods except ELCA, and I am in contact with those who have left ELCA. Can you imagine that? An ELCA member I have never met can contact me directly and yet the whiners, boozers, and skirt-chasers of the Synodical Conference cannot.

I use my own recollections to show "the child is the father of the man" as the poet once said. The cowardly, greedy actions of 25 years ago are bearing fruit today. I should suppress those facts?

---

 Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Huge ELCA Church Votes To Leave - WELS Is Also To...":

Forgot to mention Pastor Jeske (W)ELS and his TV program Time of Grace working with LCMS Recognized Service Organization status, and being promoted as an LCMS program, while still a member of the (W)ELS. (W)ELS heads are still spinning from the blinding speed at which decisive action was taken by the Synod SP and DP's to correct that blatant display of unionism.

The New Age Church and Change group has taken over the (W)ELS and they're making an absolute mockery of the synods. History will record what has occurred and will list the names of so many people who helped make it happen, who rolled over in their sleep while they're kids were taught to pervert the Gospel of Justification by Faith Alone, view the Confessions as just another error prone book written by just another group of sinful human beings and in exchange they'll worship the swollen feet of the Synodical false teachers and sell their souls for a few years of warm fuzzy fellowship void of the oppressiveness of doctrine but with nostrils full of the stench that comes from the rotting carcasses of the Synods.

How's that for over doing it? Sad part is, it's true. Look your children in the face tonight and tell them you, by the grace of God, are doing everything you can to expose and refute false doctrine and practice in your church and Synod for the benefit of Christ's Church. Tell them you are, by the grace and mercy of God, doing everything you can to promote and defend the pure Word of Scripture as it's correctly explained in the Lutheran Confessions for the eternal benefit of Christ's Church.
---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Angry, Bitter Apostates":

All of us must remember to walk by faith and not by sight. When we refute error and stand by the truth of God's Word, we may not see the fruit of this within our short lives here on earth. Furthermore, we do not do this to gain recognition. All glory goes to God, who gave us eternal life by faith in Christ. We have been warned to expect mocking and abuse. Those who treasure their status and position in a Holy Mother Synod are weak kneed. They do not stand on Christ, the Solid Rock.

Huge ELCA Church Votes To Leave - WELS Is Also Too Gay For Them

"We didn't know we were copying a gay video."

Marion congregation votes to leave ELCA, second vote required

Molly Rossiter/SourceMedia Group News, 03 October 2010, No comments
Categories: human interest, religion and belief

MARION – In what was likely the narrowest margin possible,  one of the largest ELCA congregations in Eastern Iowa voted today to leave the denomination.

The vote of the congregation at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 8300 C Ave., Marion, required a 67 percent majority. The congregation voted 67 percent plus one vote to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 309-151. There are more than 1,800 members eligible to vote on church issues.

A second vote is required to confirm today’s vote. That vote has not yet been scheduled but has to be at least 90 days from today, according to the Rev. Perry Fruhling, the church’s pastor.

“Ultimately it was this congregation’s decision whether or not to leave the ELCA,” Fruhling said in a statement released today. “Our congregation has participated in numerous forums and heartfelt discussions on the issues. This is the congregation being ‘the church,’ and St. Mark’s has always exhibited a genuine way of dealing with difficult issues.”

Although less than a third of the voting members of the congregation voted today, Fruhling said he felt the vote was representative of the congregation as a whole.

“I think everyone would say the people there were representative of our larger congregation,” he said.
The congregation started a year-long series of discussions and forums following the August 2009 decision of the ELCA’s Churchwide Assembly to allow non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy to serve as pastors within the church. During a church meeting in January 2010, the St. Mark’s congregation passed a resolution declaring that marriage was between “one man and one woman.”

“Within our own church, faithful people have arrived at two very different places on interpretation of Scripture,” Pastor Fruhling said. “Some believe that the Scriptural texts we’ve studied do not refer to present-day same-gender, lifelong monogamous relationships.  Others state that Scripture is clear, pervasive, and consistent in constituting homosexual sex as sin.” 

St. Mark’s has more than 2,300 members in its congregation. The church has been a member of the ELCA since 1988 when the former American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church in America and the American Evangelical Lutheran Church merged. 

“We will move forward knowing that our own church values will not change,” Fruhling said in the statement. ”We will continue to emphasize a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and proclaim salvation by grace through faith in Him.”

The Unity of the Lutheran Church Will Not Come from Public Relations Efforts

Sasse.

The unity of the Lutheran Church can come only if our churches return to the diligent use of the means of grace, to a serious study of the Word of God and the confessions of the Reformation.  Hermann Sasse (LW II, 265)
---

LPC has left a new comment on your post "The Unity of the Lutheran Will Not Come from Publi...":

Pr. Greg,

You have been echoing this now for so many years, still no one likes to listen.

LPC


***

GJ - It is the sound of one hand clapping, to coin a phrase.

Many of us find it discouraging that the Lutheran leaders will not even talk in Biblical, Lutheran, Confessional terms. They have nothing to confess.

I know how to avoid the Third Rail topics that infuriate the Reformed. I could sell a lot of books if I avoided those topics.

The terms are: baptismal regeneration, infant baptism, the Real Presence, the efficacy of the Word alone, the Means of Grace.

The Lutheran leaders dance around these terms because they do not want to annoy the Enthusiasts in their midst. Avoidance has made these synodical leaders Enthusiasts, if they ever were Lutheran - I doubt it.

The seminary professors comprise a capon chorus singing the praises of their (fill in the blank) synod while mocking the Word, Luther, and the Confessions.

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

KJV Luke 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
Art by Norma Boeckler.


The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn # 239 Come Thou Almighty King 2:72
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 #269 O Lord Our Father 2:56

Built on the Word

The Communion Hymn # 315:11-15 I Come O Savior 2:66
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 #651 Be Still My Soul 2:17

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Thy will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech Thee, shed Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Thy Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him, and in willing obedience to Thy will lead holy lives on earth, until by Thy grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Built on the Word, Built on the Gospel

Matthew 22: 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Lenski had extensive parish experience and was also a district president. He edited a periodical for German Lutherans, taught at the seminary in Columbus, wrote a complete commentary on the New Testament, and published other books as well. A Baptist missionary doctor brought up the fact that he loves Lenski’s work. Augsburg-Fortress let it go out of print, but it came back because people appreciate his scholarship.

Lenski had a unique perspective when he said that “Programs come and go, but only one thing builds the church – the Word of God.”

Today’s lesson is a good example of how this happens. This section of Matthew shows a typical Passover type setting, still employed today, where questions are asked, first by the audience, finally by the rabbi. This tradition encouraged the teacher and the audience to study the Word of God, and it applied to the head of the household as well. Fathers can do the same thing today with their own families. That is God’s design, which is often neglected.

The audience was supposed to stump the rabbi and the rabbi was supposed to ask them a question they could not answer. Jesus led the religious leaders into a difficulty they could not resolve, and it clearly indicated He was talking about Himself.

--

Lenski:
Already the ancient fathers saw that Jesus here renews the supreme question he had a few weeks ago addressed to his own band of disciples, 16:13–16. Peter had given the true answer; the Pharisees refuse to give that answer. Until Palm Sunday Jesus had avoided use of the name “Messiah” because of its political and nationalistic implications. Now the time has arrived to disregard all such implications. On Palm Sunday Jesus had entered Jerusalem and the Temple as David’s son, Israel’s King, the Messiah. The pilgrim multitudes had shouted his great titles, the boys marching in the Temple courts had echoed those shouts. As the Messiah Jesus now asks the Pharisees this question, and they know that it is not an academic or a theoretical inquiry but the supreme question concerning his own person. It is put objectively, in the third person: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” It is thereby made easier to answer; but it pertains to Jesus himself nonetheless.


Luther finds a natural connection between the question concerning what makes a commandment great in the law (v. 36) and the answer Jesus gave (v. 37–40) and this great question which Jesus now asks and answers from Ps. 110. This connection has been denied, and yet it is only too obvious. Why would the covenant God of Israel, Yahweh Eloheka, ask his people to love him as he did if that love could never be realized in their hearts because of their sin and their doom under sin? His very covenant name points to the covenant promise of the Messiah in and through whose grace Israel would, indeed, come to love the Lord their God with the whole heart, soul, and mind (Jer. 31:33, 34). “The great and first commandment” (v. 38) and the Messiah, David’s son and David’s Lord, will ever belong together.


Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN. : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 884.

--

The first question in this lesson concerns the love of God (First Table of the Ten Commandments) and the love of our neighbor (Second Table). The famous religious leaders of Israel agreed that this statement summarized the entire Old Testament, and that is Jesus’ answer as well.

Left unspoken, as Luther observed, is how this love relationship is resolved when all of us are sinful. When people are sinful and only expect divine justice, their response to God is hatred and fear, not love. Notice how hardened criminals respond to the police. They only see punishment in the police, so they hate and fear them. If an honest citizen sees a police vehicle, he feels safe, but a criminal runs. One Chicago policeman made a name for himself because of his own checkered past. He knew where to show up, and when suspects ran for no apparent reason, he chased them down and solved crimes.

That is how many people view God, and atheists are especially strident in their remarks. They are not indifferent. They use up their lives getting people to stop believing in God. This hatred and fear is obviously fueled by the Word hardening and blinding them.

KJV 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [Greek word – Apostasy, believers becoming atheists] first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


And we would be in the same darkened place, without faith in the love of God, which is shown to us in Christ crucified for our sins.

When Jesus asked about the Messiah, He brought up a subject He avoided until then. Hundreds of articles have been written about why Jesus did not want to discuss His Messianic role when He performed miracles.

One example explains it – the crowd wanted to crown Him as king (Messiah). Their political ambitions were opposed to the role of the true Messiah. The strength of this popular feeling can be measured by the Zealot war 40 years later, which cause the destruction of the Temple and the enslavement of the people who were not killed. And yet, another Messianic revolt started up another 50 years later.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/revolt1.html

Hundreds of rationalistic articles and books by “scholars” claimed that Jesus suppressed His messianic title because He did not consider Himself the Messiah. However, the truth is that almost no one could understand Him at that point, so He spent three years instructing the disciples. Even then, all but John ran away during the crucifixion.

Jesus asked this question using the assumptions of the religious leaders.

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.

Their assumption was that the Son of David was inferior to King David, the model of the Messiah for his military might and political savvy.

43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

This seems quite puzzling to the newcomer to this passage, so I will put it in more familiar language –

If you assume the Son of David is inferior to King David, then why does King David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, call Him Lord? How can the son of the king be the Lord of the king?

That silenced the religious leaders.

Silence is the most telling form of opposition. It shows a great level of anger, anxiety, and hatred than shouting and carrying on.

This silence led to opponents to put an end to Jesus. He not only had great power, divine power, but He also had popularity with vast crowds and the ability to teach the Word. He was a threat to them, and they could use His messianic claims as a threat to Rome.

Thus Jesus knew from the beginning how His ministry had to proceed. He had to gather disciples and plant members of the Christian church in various places. He did this through teaching the Word, inspiring faith in Him, and gathering disciples to organize the Christian Church after His resurrection and Ascension.

This Gospel creates and sustains faith in Jesus when it is taught in context. As I said before, hundreds of scholars have looked at this passage and missed its meaning. They know the words, they know the language. Without faith in Christ they might as well be reading blank pages. That is exactly what Jesus warned against – not having a child-like faith.

Someone said recently, “The synods have lost the Gospel by attacking faith.” I added my version. I said, “If everyone is born forgiven, why bother with any article of faith. The Confessions are meaningless, too.” That is being acted out on all fronts. The most obvious show it with their obvious contempt for the Word. The least obvious are the ones who want to politely engage over tea and cookies, anxious lest anyone take offense at their objections. Would anyone accept a 30-year plan of renewal if they knew they had five years left?

The Word of God is like seed. It will grow where it is broadcast, and we cannot tell exactly where that will be. I talked to someone about tomatoes, so I brought up dill. I said, “Plant dill.” Dill seed is very cheap. I bought a large envelope and scattered it all over the yard in Midland. Dill is weak the first year and reseeds itself after that. I did not examine each seed or determine where each one would land. I scattered the dill and saw it grow and seed itself.

The Gospel seed is exactly the same. When the Gospel of forgiveness is proclaimed, faith springs up in some for the first time and faith is renewed in others. This Matthew passage has Jesus teaching with authority that He is the Messiah. He is the one predicted by the Holy Spirit in Psalms of David. The mightiest king of Israel foresaw the coming of Christ and exactly how He would die and become our Good Shepherd.

Read Psalm 22 and 23. Notice the Messianic predictions in Psalm 22 and the great comfort proclaimed in Psalm 23.

In the midst of a dark, dying world, the Word of the Gospel builds up the invisible Church and gives eternal-life to all those who hear and believe that Jesus is their Savior, that He died for their sins, that He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.

"The New Testament is the inerrant record of the revelation of Jesus Christ in word and deed, and of the truths and principles proceeding, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, from that revelation. The Old Testament is in like manner an inerrant record, having the express and often repeated testimony and authority of Christ, of the preparatory and partial revelations made concerning Him before His coming. Hebrews 1:1." Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General Council Publication House, 1913, p. 3. Hebrews 1:1.

"The Old Testament dealt with the promises of God to the chosen people. Thereby God placed Himself in 'covenant' relation to Israel (berith). This relation, like the promises and the gifts of God to Israel, is always onesided. It is always God's covenant, not Israel's, and not a mutual agreement, not a suntheke. This promise and covenant indeed obligates Israel, and Israel assumes these obligations, but the covenant emanates entirely from God." R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Columbus: Lutheran Book Concern, 1938, p. 235. Hebrews 7:22;

"In view of their spiritual meaning the psalms are really lovely and sweet; for they are comforting to all depressed, wretched consciences, who are in fear of sin, the anguish and agony of death, and all sorts of trouble and misery. To such hearts the Book of Psalms is a sweet, comforting, lovely song, because it sings and preaches the Messiah, although one merely reads or recites the words without notes. Nevertheless, the use of notes or music, as a wonderful creation and gift of God, helps greatly to produce this effect, especially when the people sing along and do so with fine devoutness...Thus David, too, often dispelled, or at least checked or weakened, the evil spirit for Saul with his minstrelsy (1 Samuel 16:17ff.). For the evil spirit is not at ease when one sings or preaches God's Word in true faith. He is a spirit of sadness and cannot stay where a heart is spiritually joyful (joyful in God and His Word). What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 981. 1 Samuel 16:17ff.

Tim Glende's Anonymous Blog Described

Reaching out with our fangs fantastic programs,
soiling the Confessions spoiling the Egyptians.


rwakeman (http://rwakeman.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Fox Valley High School WELS Played This Video for ...":

One read of the Fake-O-Bod should tell you everything you need to know about WELS leadership. They are mean and nasty.

The Boomers Got Their Cheap Seminary Education, Only To Stick the Next Generations with Harvard Costs and Mudville Quality

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Twitter Advice Sought

Some of you use Twitter and know more about it. Clearly its use is omnipresent among the youth and very handy for instant communication.

I am using it now to promote the new posts. I would like to add the social networking buttons below each post but my efforts have failed so far.

One reason I got into this new format was the promise I could add the social network boxes easily. I pasted the code in the right place (I thought) but nothing showed up.

Let me know if you can help.

I do not use mobile devices, but lots of people do, so they can use Twitter for updates. So if you join as a follower you will get instant updates you can re-Tweet (as they say in Twitterland) Ichabod posts. I know The SORE backers are daily communicants at Ichabod and love to use Twitter.

A Reader Sent This Graphic

SIECUS Could Not Have Done It Better Than The SORE - Here Is Why

Paid fly-by.
SEEK US would be a good motto for this operation.


A keen observer of WELS and the cultural climate wrote:

I do have some observations re: the sex ed youtube. Outrageous as it is on the surface, obviously WELS hasn't a clue about Behavioral Psychology and the effect of "role playing" on those who assume the identity (role) of others and this time the role of the Devil. Behaviorists know that once ideas are verbalized by language a threshold becomes crossed by the person who might not otherwise verbalize or express what the character played says. It involves an element of giving ones self over to the characterizing of the character portrayed in order to be convincing. It is a dangerous thing to do especially with a subject having to do with a titillating subject for the purpose of "educating"?

The young man portraying the Devil is either a very well trained professional actor or he was enjoying playing the part of the Devil. Behaviorists know that repeated verbalization of words, phrases, and ideas once considered objectionable, become easier and easier to accommodate
and assimilate as acceptable and eventually "normal". They know that "role playing" works to break down barriers including moral barriers of society. That is why it is used so much in corporate, education, etc.(and yes churches) to create conformity and "group think".

The danger for the soul of an actor who plays the Devil exists not only for himself, but for the hearers who become accustomed to the language. In the case of the WELS youtube....SEICUS couldn't have done it any better. There can be a place for theater or drama, but many years ago Missouri Synod had provisional membership for people who were actors or involved in theater, for the very reason of the dangers to the soul when putting one's own "self" aside in order to assume the persona of a character played. Such display as this latest from WELS is soul destroying in more than one way.

When some of us who were opposing the Human Potential exercises being imposed on classrooms in public schools years ago, one exercise to make profanity and profane ideas acceptable and common place, was for the teacher (facilitator) to encourage students to shout out every "forbidden" word and phrase they could think of.

The teacher (facilitator) would write the words and phrases on the blackboard, then everyone in attendance was instructed to repeat all the words and phrases until saying the words and phrases was no longer uncomfortable. Dramatization such as demonstrated in the sex ed youtube will be just as effective to break down any Biblical moral restraints remaining in WELS..

My name appears on articles, letters to the editor etc., on a regular basis with unpopular and politically incorrect ideas, and if slings and arrows come, unless it is for a "fact" correction, I consider such as having succeeded in touching a nerve. When one is identified with one's own words, and when one's writing is proven to be correct, it is easier to say, "I told you so".

Mary Thompson

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samuelthrace has left a new comment on your post "SIECUS Could Not Have Done It Better Than The SORE...":

I can't recall a bigger load of psychological claptrap in my life! So does this mean that no one should play Macbeth on stage for fear of becoming a murderous pretender to the Scottish throne?

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GJ - OpenID - no profile. That is curious because WELS uses a role playing model to mold their sausages at The Sausage Factory. This secret initiation rite, called GA, is still being held in secret for the chosen few. The heart of GA is indeed role playing. The upperclassmen play one side or the other. The Softs or Pietists pretend to help the incoming students. The Hards aggressively persecute the students. The big climax is when the newcomers run through the doors, frightened of the Hards pursuing them. A big beer party awaits on the other side. Deception is theme, and WELS clergy forever play that game. Of course, GA is a big secret. No one can tell anyone. If someone begins GA knowing about the deception, he really gets it.

Role-playing is used to make the students fit in. Various other methods make sure all the students graduate just the same - like sausages; hence the ELS nickname for Mequon - The Sausage Factory.

I would hesitate to say no other clergy are two-faced, but WELS pastors do their sect proud in their double-talk. If the WELS pastor is taking a sympathetic approach with a layman, he is just as likely to switch sides when it really matters.

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Rev. Fr. Spencer has left a new comment on your post "SIECUS Could Not Have Done It Better Than The SORE...":

The current cesspit of the WELS is the Core in the city of Green Bay. Lest someone think this too harsh or unbrotherly, remember that a sewer is simply "a collection system that transports only the liquid portion of wastewater through small-diameter pipes laid at contour," while a cesspit or cesspool is "a pit, conservancy tank, or covered cistern, which can be used for sewage or refuse." [Thanks Wikipedia!] Thus, the Fox River may be termed the sewer of the WELS, transporting religious excrement, theological waste, and spiritual fecal matter downhill toward the Core located in Green Bay, which then becomes the collection point for such waste. An apt description of the situation, no? I think yes. But that's just my own personal opinion.

The Gadfly

Between This Video and the MLC Gay Video - Why Join WELS?

This video was also featured at Ski's sexucation class at Fox Valley High School - WELS.

Everyone invited. Aimed at minors.

Stupidity like this got Aaron Frey canned at Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

No wonder Glende blogged in support of Frey. Birds of a feather Tweet together.

Thrivent supported.

Groeschel produced it.

I am sure SP Schroeder will send a fierce email, carefully nuanced.


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"Special thanks to our promotional partners

1. Thrivent Financial - Joint Ministry with ELCA
2. WEMI - Schwaermer Family Radio
3. Christian Family Counseling - a ministry of WLCFS"

Fox Valley High School WELS Played This Video for Ski's Sexucation Class

Brought to you by the indolence of the COP, the hands-off of the SP, the protection of the DP, the spinelessness of the district, and Fake-O-Bod's Tim Glende.

I could only watch a few seconds of this tripe. I thought Beavis and Butthead swore off Groeschel. The DP lied and credibility died.

Groeschel Alive and Well at The SORE, Thanks To Englebrecht's Anything Goes District

Beavis: "So Doug says no more Groeschel outlines. Heh heh heh." Butthead: "But nothing about Groeschel videos." Slaver. Slaver.

A reader writes,

Deputy Pope Engelbrecht forced Ski to stop using Groeschel?   Were his fingers crossed?   

At the Fox Valley Lutheran  Sexed event last night, the tweens were shown Groeschel skit videos.  Two are linked. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxABegyOjHw 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGyWKjth0ek 

Is Satan really just a casual, humorous fellow?  Does the Devil wear sequins, or the flayed skins of Faithless sinners?  

Guess which insurance company down the road from FVL bought the  cookies for the festivities? 

Extra credit for guessing which downtown church FVL promoted in the fill in the blank lecture handout.

Commentary on the Stolzenburg Case

Tim Glende is the product of St. Paul German Village harboring and promoting Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, so do not say this is old news. This is current.

2010
ELS Pastor Jay Webber (also Board of Doctrine) has been busy contacting the Intrepid Lutherans about my low opinion of his work. He is claiming he explained everything to me - wrong. Using someone else as a go-between is a typical WELS/ELS tactic and does not speak well anyone going along with the tactic. Matthew 18 applies to the manipulator and the manipulatee.

Readers know I am in constant contact with the laity and pastors of the ELS, WELS, and LCMS. That means they know how to reach me directly - and do so with frequency. Various WELS leaders use WELS Pastor Steve Spencer as my social secretary, which says a lot about the leaders, all that Matthew 18 stuff they love to apply to others.

WELS Pastor Tim Glende has provided a surprising amount of fodder for this blog. He grew up at St. Paul German Village, where Stolzenburg planted himself and began promoting himself as a Church Growth expert. Stolzenburg and Zehms, both divorced, did their best to ruin Columbus--protected by WELS officials--before Zehms was given a job at WELS Lutherans for Life and Floyd was promoted to a Masonic, independent church.

I contend that St. Peter Freedom, Wisconsin, and The SORE are the direct results of WELS/ELS promoting false doctrine and clergy adultery in Columbus. Credit also goes to the Shrinkers at Mequon, The Love Shack, and Church and Change.

I could discuss many more details and name people. One woman was so terrified that the family moved to another location. That is all I need to say.

Thrown out of LCMS, Adopted by WELS

Stolzenburg was the senior pastor at Salem in Black Jack (Northern St. Louis) when the DP forced him to resign on Saturday and preached for him on Sunday. Floyd's first wife sued him for divorce and his girlfriend's husband sued everyone. Both lawsuits are public documents. Various other revolting details have been provided by the pastor who worked with Floyd at Salem, the DP who canned him, and some LCMS pastors.

The WELS members were told Floyd had a "Scriptural divorce," that anything said against him was persecution.

Floyd's first wife moved to Columbus and Floyd followed. He could not get a job in education so he drummed up the idea of a Church Growth agency, which was named Lutheran Parish Resources. The board did not want to hire him at all, so they hired another divorced Shrinker, Roger Zehms (now with Mark Jeske). The loot was doubled so Floyd could have his job. He attended all Columbus WELS meetings - the circuit never met for years until I mentioned that fact. That was a constitutional requirement but VP Kuske had his own rules from the GA Handbook of Malice and Deceit.

Floyd never worked with the Columbus WELS Lutherans For Life chapter. He assumed he was in charge of everything else, every parish as well. He butted into everything, even phoning prospects and warning them against joining my congregation. He promoted himself to give a paper at a WELS conference and claimed he was invited to do so.

Circuit Pastor John Seifert knew all the details and did nothing. He urged me to put DP Mueller on trial, but refused to help in any way. That is how DPs get elected. The District Mission Board (Wally Oelhafen, Fred Adrian) also knew. Wally said, "I am so glad you are there in Columbus, Greg. I hate to think what it would be like otherwise." He had a different story at meetings, joining Kuske in the Sisera method of counseling.

Thoughts of Faith, ELS
I mailed plenty of material to the ELS as well - George Orvick, Gaylin Schmeling, Jay Webber. I told future WELS VP Huebner that I had "Ministry of Xeroxing," which made him turn pale.

Shep was running TOF at that point, with money from St. Marvin Schwan. As I recall, Kovaciny was called to the Ukraine first. Somewhere around that time Shep contacted me, but my wife was already disabled. WELS pastors, subservient to the Eighth Commandment, said she was not sick at all. A weirder story came from Seifert's own daughter. I wonder where she heard it.

Zehms was invited to the Ukraine but Shep said his divorce and Church Growth fanaticism made him ineligible. There was some sort of dust-up and Zehms was very unhappy, according to Shep (who is now an ELCA pastor).

The last straw for me was WELS promoting Stolzenburg into a parish, knowing full well about his past and his false doctrine. After a few years of pounding by me, the officials finally admitted some of it, with a modified limited hang-out.

I resigned from WELS but DP Mueller/VP Kuske tried to ban me from preaching the last few Sundays. These were the same thugs who could not do enough to get Floyd back into the ministry. Of course, Seifert and all the capons of the Michigan District were silent.

Webber and TOF
ELS Pastor Jay Webber was outraged that Stolzenburg was working with Thoughts of Faith through Roger Kovaciny. He demanded to know if I placed the item in Christian News about this. He was going to oppose it. Pretty soon he was talking about going there himself. Later he had no problems with loot coming from Stolzenburg.

Kovaciny would travel back to the States and raise money for his own salary, preaching and teaching at Floyd's Masonic church while going around to WELS congregations.

Former members of that church (Emmanuel) were disgusted with Floyd being forced upon them, so they mailed me all his newsletters, quoted in the other post. Obviously Kovaciny was their pet missionary. The Little Sect on the Prairie was apparently hankering to add another church to their quiver. ELS SP Orvick had no problem with Masons. His Madison congregation grew by his welcoming of Masons. St. Paul German Village also communed Masons, one secretly.

Stolzenburg featured Thoughts of Faith all the time on his website, as if they had joined the ELS and were members in good standing.

Obviously something official was happening. St. Marvin Schwan gave Stolzenburg a matching grant for raising money to build a church in the Ukraine. According to Shep, that was about $35,000. They named the new church Emmanuel, after the Masonic one. Doesn't that make tears well up in your eyes? Mine too.

I heavily promoted Stolzenburg's connections with the ELS and TOF. Eventually his website went silent and no more photos were published about the Ukraine. That did not mean the relationship changed. The ELS and WELS are all about perception, not reality.

Kovaciny left the Ukraine for a time and came back. There was a concerted effort to toss Shep out, so he became an ELCA pastor.

Some people worry that I am a Shep fan. He sent my of my contacts an email asking what she knew about me, did she think I was normal. At the same time he sent an email to one of his generous financial supporters, praising me to the sky. I emailed the negative email to the supporter, who forwarded it to Shep and asked about it. He never replied.

Conclusion
Jay Webber belongs to that long parade of ELS/WELS clergy enablers who did nothing to stop Stolzenburg - who did everything possible to place him in another pulpit and parade him around as a good example, a pastor in their fellowship (without joining). They shut their eyes to his infidelity to his wife, his false doctrine, and his ineligibility to serve as a pastor. "Apt to teach" and "husband of one wife" are requirements, not suggestions.

KJV 1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

When people cluck their tongues about sexual abuse in the Church of Rome, I say, "But I saw the same cover-ups going on in the Lutheran church, and the clergy get married there."

Jay Webber, John Shep, DP Seifert, VP Kuske, Kovaciny and Shrinker Stolzenburg

Does anyone see the doctrinal connection between the Kuske/Stolzenburg stealth mission and The SORE?

Floyd Luther Stolzenburg was never a member of WELS, yet WELS paid him a fortune to be the Shrinker guru for Columbus WELS, with Roger Zehms, also divorced but a WELS ex-pastor. Jay Webber, John Shep, and Roger Kovaciny (all ELS pastors) took over fellowship with Stolzenburg after WELS got Floyd an independent church, where he still serves.


Results from searching the legendary Megatron database for Stolzenburg.

Commentary linked here.

First Stolzenburg Was Forced To Resign from the LCMS Ministry
Separation agreement, July 24, 1986. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg and Jane Dorothy Stolzenburg. Sole care, custody and control of the minor children given to Jane.

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Floyd’s Promise To Commune Masonic Lodge Members
While “Serving” WELS As a Non-WELS Member
"I would also convey to you that I will continue to commune lodge members as long as I feel assured that they know and believe that their salvation is by faith."

"Please feel free to contact Pastors Kuske or Schumann or come and hear for yourself."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg Letter to Emmanuel, 9-20-91,
Lutheran Parish Resources letterhead "
Serving the congregations of the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod"

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How Floyd Started LPR with Church Growth Doctrine
46 from St. Paul's attended the Win Arn Church Growth seminar, including Floyd Stolzenburg, George Skestos, Vicar Mike Nitz, etc. March and April, 1985.

"He has served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Missouri and Senior Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Florissant, Missouri...He is trained in the Bethel Bible Series, Church Growth program and Dialogue Evangelism. As a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Columbus, he now seeks a different form of Christian service, outside the pastoral office."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, "The Homewood Church Enrichment Program,"

"In the autumn of 1985 and the winter of 1985-1986, a truly momentous step was taken by the five Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) congregations in the metropolitan area of Columbus, Ohio. The five pastors and lay representatives of those churches organized and incorporated Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc., the first Church Growth institute in the WELS." David G. Peters, "Lutheran Parish Resources: Pilot Program in Church Growth," Mequon: Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, April 27, 1987 p. 1.

"Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc. (LPR) is dedicated to the concepts of the Church Growth movement only insofar as they agree with the Scriptures and as taught by the WELS--that is, Church Growth with Lutheran theology rather than Evangelical, and without the typical Church Growth emphasis on quantitative measurement of growth. Kent R. Hunter's definition of 'Church Growth' justifies the use of this term in describing LPR: 'Church Growth: That science which investigates the nature, function and health of Christian churches as they relate specifically to the effective implementation of God's commission to make disciples of all peoples (Matt. 28:19). Church Growth is simultaneously a theological conviction and an applied science,....' Foundations for Church Growth, p. 187.
David G. Peters, "Lutheran Parish Resources: Pilot Program in Church Growth," Mequon: Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, April 27, 1987 p. 1.

"Consultant, Lutheran Parish Resources, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1985-1991, as a consultant for this program, I worked with the training of pastors and lay people for effective ministry in leadership skills, Sunday School organization and teaching, youth ministry, outreach, stewardship and care ministry. I continue to work with supervision of some of these programs. Semior Pastor, Salem Lutheran Church and School, Florissant, Missouri, 1976-1985. (nothing said about being removed from the ministry) Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church and School, St. Charles, Missouri, 1968-1976. Floyd Luther Stolzenburg 2904 Maryland Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43209-1157 614-235-5200.

"People Person: Have been recognized as a counselor and mediator. Brought harmony to what was once described as 'the most troubled Lutheran church in America. Personal: Born, December 6, 1941, Columbus. Married, three children. Spiritual gifts: Exhortation, teaching, administration and evangelism.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg 2904 Maryland Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43209-1157 614-235-5200

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Thoughts of Faith, Webber, Kovaciny,
Shep, and Stolzenburg

"Since the salary of Pastor Kovaciny and their basic expenses are paid through the 'Thoughts of Faith' ministry, we will continue to include the overall work in our regular budget." Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio October, 1994.

"...the Ukraine project of Thoughts of Faith (Pastor Kovaciny)" Use of mission funds. Charlotte Proctor, treasurer. [The female treasurer of Emmanuel went to jail for embezzling.]
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995.

Recording secretary, Christine E. Scheiderer; treasurer, Charlotte Proctor.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995

"Pastor Kovaciny, in an effort to respond to our request, sent a copy of the third quarter treasurer's report of the Ukrainian congregation, signed by the treasurer and written in his own hand. We thought you might enjoy seeing it! You should be aware that our budget offering goes to pay for Pastor Kovaciny's salary and expenses through 'Thoughts of Faith,' the radio ministry which has been bringing the Gospel to the Ukraine for many years...."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio January, 1995.

"All designated funds for Thoughts of Faith are spent on the program for which they are designated by the donor. Funds not designated by the donor are used to pay for administrative expenses. Thoughts of Faith would like to thank our congregation for our support towards this important work in spreading the gospel throughout the world."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone, Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November, 1995.

"About Missions" c. Thoughts of Faith through the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, d. St. Sophia Lutheran Seminary-Ukraine.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio August, 1996.

"From the Mission Committee...Good News from the Ukraine Reproduced at the bottom of this page is the masthead from the Ukrainian Lutheran, which has now been published by our mission in Ukraine for two years and grows in circulation with each issue."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio November 1996.

"EMMANUEL SAVES BIBLE SCHOOL! A SPECIAL MESSAGE was just received from Pastor Kovaciny to let us know that Emmanuel's Mission offerings have rescued their Bible School this summer!...[Pastor Kovaciny] writes to tell us about it. 'As we looked forward to an even more successful program this coming summer, we were told by our sponsoring organization that our Bible School budget had been cut by $8,000. It seems that some people in charge believe that we have been too successful and they need to put their funds toward programs in other areas which are lagging behind.' (Pastor Kovaciny)"
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio June 1998.

"In the midst of all the positive, exciting things Pastor Kovaciny had to say about the mission work being done in the Ukraine, he constantly mentioned the most pressing problem, a lack of space...As he spoke to us about the many needs, he mentioned the possibility of building achurch of the approximate square footage of our sanctuary (though not nearly as elaborate) for $50,000...Pastor Kovaciny, obviously excited about the possibility, has agreed that the new church would be named Emmanuel Lutheran and would have a picture of the 'mother church' prominently displayed in the new building."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, "From the Mission Committee, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Kremnetz, Ukraine, Emmanuel Lutheran Church #899, August, 1999 1500 South Third Street, Columbus, Ohio 43207-1000 .

"We supplied funds for our missionaries in the Ukraine, and the Gideons." Sherry Huffman, Sunday School.
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Cornerstone Emmanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Ohio February 1999.

"Pastor Kovaciny, obviously excited about the possibilities, has agreed that the new church would be named Emmanuel Lutheran and would have a picture of the 'mother church' prominently displayed in the new building."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio #899 for August, 1999 1500 South Third Street Columbus, Ohio 43207 $50,000 to be raised.

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Stolzenburg and LPR

"Most pastors and members do not seem willing to pay the price for growth and new life." Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources

"The area L.W.M.S. annual retreat has been created and led by L.P.R. General successes in this area have been very positive."
Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources. [GJ – He was famous for his “work” with women’s retreats in the LCMS.]

"L.P.R. is due to play a major role in the West Side Mission." [Pilgrim Community Church] Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources "There is a strong feeling of strength in tradition. Even non-doctrinal issues bring fear to the membership and an unwillingness on the part of staff to 'buck the system.' In a church that opposes other groups who trust in traditions, are we raising 'We've always done it that way' to the level of Scripture? Is it possible for our faith to be exciting and still be traditional?"
Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources.

"In the doctrinal sense, the word 'fellowship' may have hindered some growth by the fear of new techniques and ministries. There seems to be an openness to new programs but also a fear that such new ideas may destroy some facets of the doctrine of church fellowship. Will that inevitably happen?"
Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources.

"CHURCH GROWTH. This program was basically the beginning of L.P.R. at St. Paul's. Certainly a church growth consciousness exists in all of the congregations which was not there four years ago. It is also evident that most of the congregations are not really willing to make church growth a major priority of their ministry. Some new people who visit our churches are turned off by the comments of church members. It would seem that many members will 'tolerate' growth if it does not upset the church's traditions."
Floyd Stolzenburg, Consultant's Annual Report, 1-12-89 Lutheran Parish Resources.

Stolzenburg, Kuske, and Zehms –
The Stealth Congregation That Failed
"Initial services will be less formal than our traditional worship services. LPR Director Roger Zehms has been requested by Beautiful Savior to serve as pastor of the new mission with Floyd Stolzenburg serving as evangelist and music consultant. Please include this new approach project in your prayers."
LPR UPDATE October, 1989.

"Our decision not to use the name Lutheran in the name of the congregation seems to have caused some concern. We point you to the Lutheran confessions which clearly state that a name is an adiaphoron. So only when not using the name is a denial of what the name stands for is there a problem. We reject the inferences that have been drawn that have been drawn that it is our intention to deny the biblical teach (ibid. conservative Lutheran teaching). Put in very practical terms our question is: Can we reach more of the unchurched if we can begin with sin and grace, guilt and forgiveness, rather than having to deal with lodge, scouts, the vagaries of ELCA, etc. at the beginning." [unchurched and at the beginning in bold print]
District VP Paul Kuske Letter to the Ohio Conference Pilgrim Community Church, sponsored from Grove City by Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Fall Conference, Gibsonia, 1989

"Mr. Floyd Stolzenburg will serve under Rev Zehms providing such services as are appropriate for a person who is not 'CRM.' As a layperson Mr. Stolzenburg can under appropriate supervision do anything that a layman in your congregation can. -- We also reject any inference that Pastor Zehms will not be able to stand up to pressure from Mr. Stolzenburg, or from the donor who provides the funds for LPR. -- We also question the procedure in which the reason for Mr. Stolzenburg's resignation has been broadcast, even though the issues had been addressed by LPR." [Not true. People were told Floyd had a Scriptural divorce, that the divorce was the fault of his first wife.] Pastor Paul Kuske Letter to the Ohio Conference Pilgrim Community Church, sponsored from Grove City by Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Fall Conference, Gibsonia, 1989

"The administrative committee has applied to Lutheran Parish Resources for the services of Rev Roger Zehms. This application is the equivalent of a (limited) call. The committee has also applied for the services of Mr. Floyd Stolzenburg to act in a supportive role in the mission. Both of these applications have been approved." Pastor Paul Kuske Letter to the Ohio Conference Pilgrim Community Church, sponsored from Grove City by Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Fall Conference, Gibsonia, 1989.

"The consultants were to be hired, so two men were interviewed. Roger Zehms was engaged first. Since George Skestos admired Floyd's gifts, he chose to provide an additional salary for Floyd as a second consultant...As the consultants serve in the congregations, they served under a 'limited call,' similar to the call of a Sunday School teacher or a church officer."
District VP Paul Kuske, Letter to the Michigan District Mission Board, April 21, 1990 p. 2.

"BUT I would suggest that some of the essential criticisms that have been used by Pastor Jackson and published are invalid. Please, examine the three column layout on the cherry sheet." [After conceding that Church Growth is Reformed] Note: the cherry sheet sets up a straw man argument which bristles which sarcasm, such as: "If Pastor Jackson is consistent with the criticisms he has published, he would have to say:...Paul really goofed. Look how few were converted. (Oops! I don't really mean to put a CGM argument into Greg's mouth.)"
District VP Paul Kuske, Letter to Michigan District Mission Board, April 21, 1990 p. 5.

"To Floyd's credit, it should be pointed out that Floyd could have tried to ingratiate himself into St. Paul's while Pastor Roehl's health was declining and taken over the pastorate and there would not have been a thing that WELS could have done about it."
District VP Paul Kuske, Letter to Michigan District Mission Board, April 21, 1990 p. 6.

"Are pastor's (sic) bound by the 8th Commandment? LPR knew about Floyd's background from the beginning. What right did Pastor Jackson have to assume that we were being duped? What right did Pastor Jackson have to investigate, without even asking people at LPR about their knowledge? What right did Pastor Jackson have spreading this investigative information to the young pastors of the Ohio Conference? What right did he have to spread it to the DMB?" [Note: Pastor Jackson was not told the truth about Floyd being removed from the LCMS ministerium, either by Paul Kuske, who led the call meeting at Shepherd of Peace, or by Wally Oelhafen, who discussed the call with Pastor Jackson. The mission counselor and others were told that Floyd had a Scriptural divorce. Pastors are supposed to protect their congregations from wolves, but the truth makes enemies, as Walther has said in Law and Gospel.]
District VP Paul Kuske, Letter to Michigan District Mission Board, April 21, 1990 p. 8.

"I think it was the last letter I wrote you in which I said 'It would be a disaster if you left the ministerium of the synod.' I retract the entire letter. I have owed you great debts in the past. I consider them all discharged by the times I have protected you from the consequences of your own bad decisions. I'm not going to run interference anymore. Suffer your own consequences hereafter. Speaking of consequences, I have never heard, or heard of, one of our brethren getting a public reprimand in writing such as the one Kuske gave. I wonder who Kuske was talking about." [The reference is to Kuske's remarks about Floyd Stolzenburg and Pilgrim Community Church.] Pastor Roger Kovaciny, Letter to Gregory Jackson, October 17, 1989.

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Stolzenburg at St. Paul, German Village (Non WELS)
Where Little Timmy Glende Grew Up Schwaermer

"What the Bible Says about CHURCH GROWTH," Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio p. 1.

"WELCOME TO CHURCH GROWTH. Our study is designed to help all of us gain a new perspective of what God has always had in mind for His Church. Church Growth is not new." Floyd Luther Stolzenburg.

"We have discovered that the Early Church was an institution that unknowingly saw its world through Church Growth eyes. We have some benefits they did not have in that we can look back today and analyze their successes and failures."
Floyd Luther Stolzenburg,
"Church Growth - the Acts of the Apostles,"
Taught at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio.

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WELS Ladies Had To Pay
To Listen To a Non-WELS Shrinker

"...Your share of Floyd's accommodations..."
[Floyd Stolzenburg leading the Buckeye Circuit LWMS retreat] Buckeye Circuit LWMS December 10, 1989

The Eighth Commandment Does Not Apply To WELS Pastors

"False doctrine? I say: EIGHTH COMMANDMENT and MATTHEW 18! Both trump your adiaphora."


Jukjs2 (http://openid.aol.com/jukjs2) has left a new comment on your post "Deputy Doug Rides Writes To the Rescue; Yeast Repe...":

I agree with Pastor Jackson. When confronting public errors of doctrine and practice, a public reproof is permissible without a private confrontation. Private sins are a different matter entirely.

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GJ - The question is whether we agree with the Book of Concord and the Scriptures.

WELS pastors cite the Eighth Commandment and Matthew 18 but do not feel constrained to follow either one. They use their backhanded grapevine to pass stories about anyone who crosses them, and it takes very little to irritate these touchy little men.

For example, I have had WELS leaders send personal, insulting remarks about people who posted comments they did not like. Either they state something is wrong with the person or they wonder aloud what is wrong. I said about one commenter, "He is one of many people WELS has crapped on."

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John has left a new comment on your post "The Eighth Commandment Does Not Apply To WELS Past...":

Matthew 18 and the 8th Commandment don't apply to pastors in synods that are in fellowship with WELS, either.

Do Not Celebrate The Popcorn Cathedral Victory Too Soon

I checked, and yes, Ski's brag about studying under and worshiping with Babtist Andy Stanley is still posted.

Here is the link if you graduated from Mequon and did not notice the link above.

Lots of photos are there. Lots of WELS workers were there.

Wouldn't most Lutherans want to hide the evidence when they have been exposed as Babtist believers? What does that say about Ski, Glende, Parlow, and the rest? Fox Valley? The Anything Goes District? The DP and SP?

Deputy Doug Rides Writes To the Rescue; Yeast Repents of Publicly Rebuking Public False Doctrine and Plagiarism

When pastors and laity had an appointment to meet with Deputy Doug, he skipped out and sent a letter! That shows how much he follows his own advice.

Response Received from District President

For those who are keeping tabs on this blog, in the interests of fairness I wanted to report that I have, at long last, received a response regarding my concerns about the CORE from District President Engelbrecht.

While I will not violate his confidence by sharing the contents of the letter, suffice it to say that I found his response thorough, charitable, honest, and sincere.  While many are probably skeptical of his motives, he assumed the best of my motives and I will return the same in the interests of Christian love.

I would also like to point out that, though I do not regret posting the information I did on this blog (after all, the reason I went to the CORE was for this very reason - to inform via a first-hand account whether or not CORE was as "bad as they say"), I should point out that it would have been more appropriate for me to have first voiced my concerns to Pastor Skorzewski in person, rather than immediately jumping the gun and going to his superiors.

Having said all of that, I encourage everyone to continue to examine the work of Pastor Skorzewski via the CORE's website to insure that the content is indeed in line with Christ-centered, orthodox Lutheranism, and that he in fact has ceased copying the sermon outlines of Craig Groeschel's LifeChurch.tv.  

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GJ - I think his blog entry was the final blow in knocking Groeschel's sermons off the stage. Of course, there is no telling what Glende and the rest are up to. Englebrecht defended sermon plagiarism as "many are doing it." That makes it right, of course.

Ski owes all Lutherans an apology for slobbering all over Groeschel, Stanley, Driscoll, and the rest.

Yeast did not owe Ski a private Come To Jesus meeting for dishonestly presenting a false teacher's sermon and graphics as his own. Englebrecht needs to crack open his Book of Concord and study what we all confess about Matthew 18 and the Eight Commandment. Hint - it is in the Large Catechism, under Eighth Commandment.

Like I said, everyone has to pound away on the doctrinal issues. The leaders are indifferent about doctrine, but they do care about public relations.