Mother Teresa

Churchmouse Campanologist: "For many  years I have been of two minds about Bl. Mother Teresa.  What turned me off was a roundtable discussion I had with my friends at university — all of us Catholic at the time.  One said, ‘She doesn’t even dispense aspirin.  They’re just lying there on pallets.  The nuns step over them.’"

Read more at the link.

"Our Constitution forbade us to beg for more than we needed, but, when it came to begging, the millions of dollars accumulating in the bank were treated as if they did not exist."
GJ - That reminds me of $2 million in the bank account of WELS Lutherans for Life (Christian Life Resources) - for the babies.

First Mid-Week Advent Vespers Service

The Word of God Incarnate, by Norma Boeckler.




Vespers, Mid-Week Advent Service, 2010

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Time

The Hymn # 457 What a Friend 2.24
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 100 p. 144
The First Lection
The Second Lection
The Sermon Hymn # 552 Abide with Me 2.11

The Little Gospel

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45
The Hymn #651 Be Still My Soul 2.17

KJV Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

KJV John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

THE LITTLE GOSPEL

We call John 3:16 the Little Gospel because the entire message of the Bible is summed up in one verse. That by itself should tell us a lot about that message.

Luther said we should write John 3:16 in golden letters on our hearts. Most children who have believing parents will learn this verse and know it better than any other.

I am sure that most adults will say that no other verse is quite so clear and so comforting as this one verse.

Old Testament Continuity

First we should observe the continuity between the Old and New Testament in this famous passage.

The sermon takes us back to Moses and the Exodus, the strange miracle of rescuing the people from poisonous serpents by raising up a bronze figure of a snake.

KJV Numbers 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Everything in the Old Testament was a prelude to the New Testament, with many Gospel passages throughout the Law and the Prophets.

The Gospel of John is the fulfillment of all those figures found in the Exodus: the water flowing from the rock, the bread of life from heaven, and the bronze snake raised up.

Everyone knew the story of the bronze serpent being lifted up. Jesus said he would be lifted up in a similar way, only He would give life and salvation to everyone who believed.

When we think of it, this comparison is quite odd and nothing we would ever consider or invent, but Jesus used it himself.

According to God’s Word, healing came from looking upon this bronze serpent. Therefore, it was a type of early sacrament. We find many of them in the Old Testament.

The rainbow is a physical reminder of God’s promise not to flood the entire earth again.

Circumcision is the covenant.

All the features of worship were tied up with physical objects people could see and touch.

The priests did not wear Hawaiian shirts and jeans (or the Semitic equivalent) but elaborate robes.

Blood sacrifice, for centuries, prepared people for the sacrifice of the innocent Lamb of God.

The reason why many Jews become Christians is the perfect fulfillment of the Old Testament found in the New Testament. The more one knows Judaism, the more one understands liturgical worship, appointed lessons, and the hundreds of ways Jesus fulfilled all the OT promises.

Every aspect of OT worship pointed toward Christ. And still does.

How would we summarize the message of the entire Old Testament, the foundation of presenting Christ as it does?

The Old Testament says – Everything comes through God’s Word, from Creation to the strangest little miracle (the fleece, for example).

God asked His people just one little thing – Trust My Word.

That is it, in three words. The Ten Commandments are His Word. Trust that they are good commandments, intended for the best.

The blessings in the OT – they are all real. Trust in them, too.

And trust that all the promises about the Messiah are completely true and will come to pass.

The OT teaches faith in the Word.

The Little Gospel teaches faith in the Incarnate Word. Jesus Himself is all the Promises of the OT brought together and fulfilled. Everything happens through Him alone.
Jesus is not 1/3 of God, for the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him. God chose to give to the Son that special role in dying on the cross and rising from the dead.

People try to figure these things out and fail, because they are mysteries revealed by the Holy Spirit.

John 3:16 answers the one question of all religion, but the difference is – this is the only correct answers. All other answers are wrong because they vary from this or are completely opposed to it.

The answer is so simple that only a child-like faith can grasp it. Whoever believes in Christ will not die but have everlasting life – that is God’s love for the whole world, that He graciously gives salvation to all those who trust in the atoning death of His beloved Son.

The message of the NT is the same as the message of the OT – trust in the Word. The difference is that the implications of all the OT promises became realized in Jesus, the Word of God Incarnate.

ELCA Pastor Bruce Foster Has Something To Teach WELS Pastors Like Jenswold and Lindemann

Bruce Foster,
Pastor

Welcome to Shepherd of the Bay

This Web site is designed for members of Shepherd of the Bay, new people to the community and visitors to Door County. Exploring its contents, you will be able to learn a great deal about this congregation and its ministry.
For those of you who are not familiar with Shepherd of the Bay, here’s a belief statement of who we are.

***

GJ - ELCA pastor Bruce Foster wrote. It's funny how SP Schroeder got a communication through (not about defamation) and BF sent an immediate email. I have not heard from Jenswold and Lindemann. They are probably polishing their sermons on the Eighth Commandment.

Foster cited the Eighth Commandment when he passed on the defamation from the two WELS pastors named above. I am not sure why he specializes in Ichabod. Most of the time I ignore ELCA, because total apostasy is so predictable.

But he is a shining light to Jenswold and Lindemann. What he says is signed with his name on it. He identified his church, his synod, even his LCMS past. He also discussed what they said in his own peculiar way.

The typical WELS pastor will anonymously attack other clergy (and family members), passing on accusations as fact, even when the speaker does not know the target or any information about him. For example, one WELS pastor in Colorado announced to a member that I did not know any Greek. Let's say I do not know any Greek, even though I majored in Greek and Latin in college, translated a large portion of the NT on my own, and took Greek exegesis at Yale, NT doctoral studies at ND, and Romans in Greek at Mequon.  That pathetic excuse for a pastor did not know me or anything about me, yet he claimed to know facts that were more appropriate for his classmates who ponied their way through classes (using a translation under the desk - sometimes called jimmies for the KJV).

One example was quite amusing and public. A WELS synod VP attacked me in public by name, after I was gone from WELS. He spoke at a pastoral conference and went after me hammer and tong. One pastor went up to him and said, "Too bad Jackson is not here to defend himself." The same synod VP propositioned a young woman in his congregation and got the boot, lying to his family about why he suddenly left the ministry at the peak of his career. Not only that, he lied about the note I wrote in CN, even though the facts were public knowledge. Since then WELS has been even more secretive about its many clergy scandals.

Bruce Foster says I can quote his emails, but only if I quote the entire text. Oh really? When someone sends me a letter or an email, that communication is mine - not his. Bruce should read "I Shot an Arrow into the Air," an edifying little poem most children learn.

Foster denied knowing who Jenswold was when I followed up with him. I expect another long, sarcastic email from him tomorrow. I find it strange he is such buddies with a WELS pastor or two. I wonder how that happened. He is really a cut above both of them, which is not so difficult with Wisconsin clergy.

The real slander-meister in Columbus was District VP Paul Kuske. I am not saying the others were Prince Charming - not at all. But no one got any lower than Kuske. I know that from many remarks passed on from church members and others who heard from DP Mueller's hatchet man.

I never attacked Kuske's daughters, so I do not know why he attacked mine. The Glende blogs are a good example of the continuing influence of Kuske. I have to add - those who listened to Kuske wanted to hang on every poisoned word, just as maggots are attracted to rotting flesh.

Yes, Kuske set up Floyd Luther Stolzenburg as a fake pastor in Columbus, Roger Zehms as another fake pastor. Both men were divorced when they came to Franklin County, Ohio, benighted by its lack of Church Growth insights. The third divorced CG pastor was Marc Schroeder, now LCMS, his second wife the daughter of Professor Johne (Sausage Factory emeritus).

The WELS theory was this. If they could cover me with enough slime, their Church Growth Movement could move ahead full speed, and their adulterous pastors would remain unharmed by the truth.

When WELS was done promoting Stolzenburg as their pastor, the Little Sect on the Prairie took over - led by John Shep and Jay Webber, Thoughts of Faith. (Isn't that an odd name for someone who believes in justification without faith?) Shep joined ELCA after being tossed out of the ELS. Kovaciny did his little bit, too, supporting Floyd and CG with all his might. Jay is the Halle Professor of UOJ at the Intrepid Lutherans blog.

Now the readers have the DNA of WELS factual analysis. I will be sure to announce any written, published apologies from Jenswold, Lindemann, and SP Schroeder.

PS - BF sent me another grumpy email, after all those compliments I gave him. Of course, I cannot see how anyone could be an ELCA pastor - unless he is working hard to take his congregation away from the Lavender Mafia.

More Snottiness from the Sanctimonious - Most of the Satire Comes from Anonymous Comments

Concernedlutheran has left a new comment on your post "A Roman Catholic Wrote about the Thanksgiving Serv...":

Thank you for your polite rebuke.

I have another question for you: Is the goal of this blog to bash and tear down the false ideas out there? Or is it to reach out with the Gospel, maybe even to help erring Christians?

I'm just curious. I have yet to see you politely and in true proper Christian love help redirect anyone who was apparently wrong on some matter.

And so I have a request: Would you mind during this Christmas season to refrain from tearing others down, but rather build others up? If you are speaking the truth, please try speaking the truth in love, hm?

***

GJ - The double question is a favorite logical fallacy for those who failed Critical Thinking 101. Is the goal of the anonymous comment producer to provide satire for me to publish, or is it to help an erring soul - me?

Some people write an anonymous comment with OpenID and remove even that identifier, all in a minute or so. When someone routinely uses OpenID, the link will normally say, "This person chooses not to disclose information." However, the second type of comment will not even say say that much. Perhaps that person is erasing the account altogether. I could guess who is doing those, but who cares?

Concerned Lutheran just registered today. Could this be Nick's long-suffering girl-friend, jumping in to bail him out? I am sure we will never know.

The trouble with real people posting is their habits (pot) and bad spelling (most WELS people) become a part of the Internet's vast store of knowledge.

---

LPC has left a new comment on your post "A Roman Catholic Wrote about the Thanksgiving Serv...":

Pr. Greg,

I was just about to go to your sermon broadcast when I read this. I have been needing to hear the Word myself and then I read the testimony of this RC lady.

This post from the lady illustrates my point of what I posted at Extra Nos...

http://extranos.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-we-need-dr-ichabod.html

Thanks for posting the lady's communication with you.

I believe I am not being unfair when I say that those who do not appreciate the humor sometimes found here need to mature in the field of Christian polemics/apologetics. They should stop being childish and man up with proper facts and arguments.

Those who get offended with the style found here will also get offended when they read Luther. The problem is that they do not read him, instead they read the work of Holy Men from their Mother Synod. Hence, they think Ichabod's style is offensive because they have not read Luther who in some of his works followed the same style.

LPC

David R. Barnhart: UPDATE 11/30/10 CONGREGATIONS VOTING TO LEAVE THE ELCA SINCE AUGUST 2009

David R. Barnhart: UPDATE 11/30/10 CONGREGATIONS VOTING TO LEAVE THE ELCA SINCE AUGUST 2009:




"The congregations listed below represent a net loss of baptized members for the ELCA of at least 228,845 since August 2009. Add to this number the membership of approximately 40 churches missing from our list, the tens of thousands who left to start new congregations, and the multiplied thousands who have left the ELCA on their own, and the numbers are staggering.

AWM’s list as of November 30, 2010 shows 307 congregations that successfully have taken their second vote to leave the ELCA, as well as 111 congregations that have successfully taken their first vote and now await taking the second vote.

At this point our list lacks the names of around 40 congregatons that have taken their first and/or second vote. If you know of congregations not listed here, please advise us at: wordabide@aol.com"

A Roman Catholic Wrote about the Thanksgiving Service

Faith is also multiplied by the Word of God. By Norma Boeckler.

"I watched your sermon in it's entirety and it was wonderful. I see were you did mention the children with Down's Syndrome and I love the part about the child being born blind, and how we would give up one of our eyes in order for them to see... None of us are promised tomorrow, but we are promised eternal life with Christ Jesus, as promised to us when he died on the cross for our sins. I often imagine what his Mother must have felt watching her son going through that and being tortured and ridiculed and spit at, mocked and just tormented as he was. It must have been so sad and painful for her, as any mother and father seeing their child suffer. You went through this too with your baby. Anyway, I just thought I would tell you that I really enjoyed the sermon and the singing too. Where was that, at the Church that you are a pastor at?? Wonderful and I felt it was just a blessing to me. Thank you Gregory God Bless you always, dear."

***

GJ - I get a lot of messages like this. I copied this to show people what happens when the Word is broadcast and saved for others. This FB friend knows someone who was in my junior high classes. I lose friends when I post pro-life statements, but this person was happy to have me write about Down's Syndrome, because her brother has it. She asked me for the link, which happens from time to time. Others find it on their own.

The humorless fail to realize that the purpose of polemics is to identify and destroy false ideas, false doctrine in this case. Since reading this blog is not mandatory, nor required for MLC/WLC graduation, it is surprising that students feel compelled to admonish me anonymously about writing polemics - something associated with Luther, Chemnitz, and Walther.

The college students seem especially immune to doing any homework on their own. They demand I prove something when books have been written about that topic and made available to them. Thy Strong Word is in the MLC library. The rough draft of the justification book is available free as a PDF from Lulu.com. And yet poor Nick is tired of this or that about UOJ. I believe he was still on a trike when I began reading about it.

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Richard Foster « Churchmouse Campanologist

Fuller Theological Seminary alums: Richard Foster « Churchmouse Campanologist: "Richard Foster is one of today’s leaders of spiritual formation.  Much has been written about the various forms of ‘Christian’ meditation, which have been sweeping America over the past several years.

From small acorns do mighty oaks grow.  Who would have imagined that a small non-profit started in 1988 and called Renovaré would have shaken so many Protestant denominations to their foundations?

Richard Foster is a Quaker — a member of the Religious Society of Friends — who put Renovaré and spiritual formation into play.  He earned his Bachelor’s degree at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, and his Doctorate of Pastoral Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary."

The complete article is at the headline link, as agreed in the recent out-of-court settlement with Church Mouse.

Students Who Not Idiots

More students "who not idiots."

Nick has left a new comment on your post "Martin Luther College":

Hello again Dr. Jackson,

Thank you for your quick response.
I never meant to imply that the students who not idiots (sic). What they did was foolish and reflected poorly on themselves and on the school, but most importantly on Christ of whom all Christians are ambassadors.

As for UOJ, I've been following the dialogue for some time now and see the clear words of Scripture and can't argue against them.

I think you have a tendency to put words in to the mouths of WELS Lutherans.

Did Jesus take away the sins of the world? Certinaly. Scripture affirms this. (John 1:29)

Forgivness of sins-what else is that but do not have those sins held against you.

So if God's not holding sins against you, then he declares you not guilty. You are justified based not on your own works, but on the works of Christ, his active and passive obedience. (Isaiah 53)

Now this full and free declaration was made to the whole world. Does this mean all people are automatically saved?
No. Does this make sense logically, not exactly. I think this is where you get tripped up. You assume that since we affirm in the Scriptural teaching that the whole world had fallen short of God's glory and was justified freely by his grace (Romans 3) than clearly all must be saved.
Yet Jesus laments: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together,as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing."
People cannot accept the Holy Spirit. That Scripture clearly teaches. (I Cor. 12:3)
Yet they can reject the Holy Spirit and that saving message , thus spitting on that full and free declaration and choosing to continue in a life of sin.
So who is saved?
Those who believe by faith alone.
John 3:16 "...whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life."

We simply must let the clear words of Scripture stand. Just because a doctrine doesn't make sense logically doesn't mean it is false. If so, then please explain the Trinity to me.
We simply take it on faith.
Is this not what Luther taught, that we go to Scripture alone to find the answers? That we are saved by God's grace alone and this only comes to us by faith alone? Exactly.

God bless.

***

GJ - I agree with Robert Preus' last book, Justification and Rome - which his UOJ fans cannot comprehend.

I also agree with Luther, the Book of Concord, and the Scriptures.

UOJ is warmed-over Calvinism, mediated by Halle Pietism.

WELS Support of Lutheran World Relief Denied

From a source, somewhat edited for clarity:
"SP Schroeder is positive that WELS is no longer associated with Lutheran World Relief. It is true that the Wisconsin Synod was involved with that entity some years ago, but pulled out even before he became SP."

There you go, readers, another factoid from Ichi-leaks, your 24/7 news-gathering service.

WELS is now only in fellowship with:

1. ELCA and the Salvation Army through Thrivent's pro-abortion and gay-friendly insurance company.
   
2. Babtists Andy Stanley and Ed Stetzer, Methodist Leonard Sweet, Pentecostal C. Peter Wagner via Fuller.
   
3. Driscoll, Groeschel, Beeson, and a host of others.
   
   

Cardinal Rules: Going Galt at the Bird Feeder

Cardinals got me to purchase a serious bird-feeder, a squirrel proof bird-feeder from Duncraft. Bruce Church had a pair of cardinals feeding at his home in Michigan. I thought that was ideal. Cameras never capture the amused look of a male cardinal feeding. They cock their heads and seem quite pleased with themselves.

Two factors have increased business at the feeder, which is a few feet from my computer, just outside the window.

The first is cold weather, reducing easy access to the bug population while increasing energy needs.

The second is using single variety of seed. All the blended seeds promise a lot, but they use a lot of filler like millet. I threw the blend on the ground where it was eaten, sunflower seeds first. When I replaced the blend with safflower seeds alone, the feeding soon became constant.

Many use safflower because squirrels are not keen about raiding a feeder for that particular seed. The seed is rather expensive, so I was looking for a large bag of black oil sunflower seed. Walmart in Jane, Missouri had a 25 pound bag. Another bird watcher was looking over prices when I was. Safflower was over $1 a pound in seven-pound bags. Black oil sunflower was about 28 cents a pound in the large bag.

I am using the rest of my mixed seed for the planter near the front door and the window sills of the bedroom. The squirrels are welcome there, and the small birds alternate with them. When I scatter seed in the sheltered, dry rocks near the front door, small birds glean whatever they find.

Conversion to 100% Sunflower Seed
The least expensive and most popular option is sunflower seed. No other seed has so much nutrition, a combination of protein, oil, and minerals. I will use that for all locations soon, with the assumption that squirrels will stop by the low security zones (window sills, flower box, rocks). The bird-feeder has a bad reputation in the squirrel community. They do not even try it now.

Sassy
Our three-legged Sassy watches out of one bedroom window, where I put the seed on the sill. She goes on full alert when the squirrel is inches away, eating seed. She is blase about birds. We are regulars at the doggy bark park, where she is famous for shagging balls while alleged retrievers sit around and look dumb. Some retrievers wait several seconds to start and amble toward the ball, but Sassy tears off immediately, her back bent with the effort.

Sassy is quite the hero now. Everyone loves to watch her catch high pop fly-balls. The strangest trick is pulling it out of the air as she runs to catch the ball falling away from me. Planting herself under it and catching like a pro is impressive enough, but no one can figure out the running catch, since she cannot watch the arc of the ball. When the ball is deflected off a tree branch in our yard, she adjusts and catches it.

Sassy relishes her fame and munches on the ball extra times. She hands it back into my hands or rolls it to the feet of her latest friend. That is one of her signs of approval, letting someone else throw her ball. Recently we were ready to go home when a little girl showed up with her dog and mom. Little Annabelle threw the ball for Sassy until our wonder-dog was trying to rest on the way to the car.

The evolutionists like to say certain traits are bred into dogs like German shepherds and Australian cattle dogs - she is both. But Who instilled those traits in the original DNA?

One moment Sassy will sing the cattle dog blues with me. The next she will bay like a German shepherd. It is as if she is taking books out of the Sterling Library at Yale.

Sassy was looking at her favorite throwing and chewing ball at the bark park. Chris is in the middle.
Norma Boeckler, our artist-in-residence is on the right.

Fox Valley Endorsement - Anything Goes District President Confirms His Love of Ichabod

DP Englebrecht confirmed that he reads Ichabod, because his letter (left when he skipped the meeting) blamed Ichabod and me by name for the conflict in his district.

I never said he read this blog with comprehension or edification.

But he does read it all the time.

The Appleton light is always glowing on Feedjit.

Page reads are up by 25% since June. Can you top those numbers, boys?

Confidential to Tim - I linked your anonymous blog.

Yes, The Lutheran Hymnal Rocks - Joe Krohn Confirms It

LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "WELS Feminist Hymnal and Creed":

That old hymnal had more pluses than minuses when you compare it to CW. It was a self contained organizer and planner for worship and a great template for those who may have wanted to do something a little different. My biggest pet peeve besides the feminist leaning language was the omission of what scripture text the hymn was based on. The notes in CW in this regard to me at least are useless.

I've heard the comment as well from other church musicians that the harmonizations are weird in many cases. When I was taking music theory in college, old hymns were typically used to teach basic harmony; i.e. voice leading in regards to chord changes.

Joe

---

California wrote:

"Re: Comment from "Luther Rocks", Joe says when he was in college old hymns were typically used to teach basic harmony in college music theory classes. It brought to mind that when my daughter who was a music major at San Diego State University in the late 1970's, she was surprised when the 1941 Lutheran Hymnal with which she grew up, was used in a music theory class by a professor who considered it the best example available for study of harmony."

***

GJ - Oh my, Christian Worship went downhill from The Lutheran Hymnal? I thought the deep, deep insights from James Tiefel would be such an improvement. I remember him making fun of the "vermicular" hymns in the 1941 one, which the entire Synodical Conference once used.

That is the trouble with same sect's hymnals. They reflect the weirdness and political alliances of a few mediocrities.

The WELS hymnal slavishly copied the format and texts of ELCA's old Liberal Book of Weirdness. But the confessional Little Sect on the Prairie...slavishly copied the texts of the LBW. Everyone is copying the Roman Catholic three-year readings cycle.

In the 1960s, all the Lutherans in America were using liturgical services - either the Service Book and Hymnal or The Lutheran Hymnal. Now we have chaos, mediocrity, and plenty of excuses for rolling out the movie screen in church.

Coming Soon - Thy Strong Word - Martin Chemnitz Press

Thy Strong Word may be available as soon as this weekend.

The final Word file for the English-only version of Thy Strong Word is finished. Some additional touches are needed, but it should be available this weekend, God willing.

The Greek and Hebrew passages have been removed.

Perhaps the original version, flaws and all, will be uploaded to Lulu fairly soon. I no longer have any copies of the original, but some are floating around on the used market. There was a printing problem with duplicated pages. Those were "fixed" but the fixes tended to come loose, as one person told me.

The upcoming library liquidation sale is intended to finance TSW and the promotion of Justification by Faith.

The opposition to Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure was nothing compared to the blackout imposed on Thy Strong Word. I told Brett Meyer that it seemed all that work on TSW was for naught. His response was, "Silly pastor."

Although Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant has sold 5,000+ copies, TSW is influencing people to turn against the theology of Church Shrinkage and UOJ. Skirmishes continue about guilt-free Hottentot saints in Hell.

The latest dust-up has been out in the open, for once. The Intrepid Lutherans introduced up the problem, backed down, parried the question, and started over again. I have to take Dramamine whenever I read their blog, because my head goes back and forth more quickly than it did at Wimbledon last year.

Justification by Faith will be in good shape just after Christmas. Good news in that department - a subsequent edition will include extra material on the topic, making the volume a useful resource for future debates. Some original research is being finished by a Lutheran, and I hope to have some exegetical essays from a Missouri pastor who never was refuted or disciplined for opposing UOJ.

All my books will continue to be available as free PDF downloads. And they can be shared with as many people as you wish.

Justification will be an e-book. Perhaps TSW will be too. There is a $200 cost for each one being produced as an e-book. Hip techies tell me that is the way most are going to read them as books.

Grumpy Cheers Up

ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson: "Give me ten men, give me stout-hearted men.
Loved, loved, loved Party in the MLC.
Seriously, Grumpy, we cannot keep our own colleges open."


grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Martin Luther College":

I would agree in the common sense of combining those schools, and yes, WISCONSIN would be the likely location given that it is the WISCONSIN Lutheran Synod.

It might be a benefit to enrollment as well as for the quality of education to have a single school that has colleges of education, arts and science, divinity, maybe business and health sciences also. Those planning secondary teaching careers could actually get a strong major in their chosen field of concentration. Those in divinity school might be able to pick up a few basic accounting and business classes (some pastors are woefully ignorant of anything dealing with simple finances and bookkeeping).

However, when common sense comes up against tradition and nostalgia in the WELS, 9 times out of 10 common sense loses.

Just saying....

What Will LCMS, WELS, ELS Look Like in 2017?

Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Corporate News - Thrivent Financial for Lutherans ...":

The Arminian-wannabes in the mainline Lutheran synods are probably right at home with the Salvation Army. The Ablaze movement is proof of that, as the Means of Grace take a back seat to that "critical moment," which is just decision theology worded in a way so as to not offend us old, grumpy Lutherans.

The old saying, "Birds of a feather...," is quite applicable to Pietists. Perhaps Missouri and WELS should openly allow their parishioners to be Freemasons, since they also do nice things for the community.

And let's not forget being in fellowship with church bodies that are LWF members while we condemn LWF. Sorry, you better scratch this remark, as I was told that membership doesn't equal fellowship. LWF says differently, though: "LWF member churches...are united in pulpit and altar fellowship."

Bored in a WELS Sunday Service

bored has left a new comment on your post "Martin Luther College":

I went to a WELS church this past Sunday:

The message: "Be Ark builders". But the pastor said that (paraphrase) faith is the ark that carries us the through the troubled waters of this sinful world.

??? (sigh)

But my real purpose for commenting is bring attention to the WELS worship supplement. The service I went to used the supplement exclusively. Lemme tell you, it is rotten.

I didn't nick a copy from the church, otherwise I could offer some examples. If someone could print the words to hymn # 703 I'd appreciate it. #703 was pretty gnostic. Then of course we also sang the Holst (astrology) version of Jerusalem the Golden.

Several others had terrible theology too, but I didn't want to disturb the service by tearing out pages and burning them.

One question: Why is the Kyrie before the Absolution in WELS liturgy? Isn't it traditionally after the absolution?

***

GJ - I told 29a that the synods have ruined Lutheran worship with all their money-making new hymnals, each one worse than the previous one. The synods have made it easier to go to  movie screen services and Entertainment Evangelism. Perhaps they wanted to accomplish that all along.

I understand the Kyrie is misplaced because the Pietists did that. So you may ask, "Why follow the Pietists?" I think Tiefel did that and many other barbarous things as a message to traditionalists. I suggested to Tiefel a modest revision of page 5 and 15, as an alternative for those he was going to leave behind with his ELCA-lite hymnal. He looked at me like was I blob on the windshield of his Mercedes.

Tiefel's erratic driving may be a result of the guilt he feels for the damage he has done. That is putting the best construction on it.

Martin Luther College

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "NY Post Covers Sent by Anonymous":

Grumpy, You say MLC closing is a far off pipe dream, but as I recall, no one was seriously talking about closing Northwestern College in Watertown until early 1992. The mid-1993 synodical convention approved the merger of the two colleges and the two prep schools by 1995. The main reason given was "finances". Wikipedia said the idea was discussed for "several" years, but I think it was only WIDELY discussed for a year and a half.

In 2007 before the financial crisis, Rev. Mark Schroeder said that the synod was chopping programs and yet the financial situation of the synod was getting worse. So imagine what he's saying now! Even after his "get rid of the debt" campaign, WELS still has $15+ million in debt, or thereabouts, and that's with the constitution and bylaws saying the WELS is supposed to be a pay-as-you-go operation!

To me it only makes sense to go the route other denominations have, that being, running as many tracks as one can at one school to eliminate redundancies and introduce economies of scale. The 1995 merger put two tracks at one school, but they could do better than that:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_College#History

The new school, named Martin Luther College, opened its doors for the 1995-1996 school year.

http://www.watertownhistory.org/Articles/NorthwesternCollege.htm

The synod voted earlier this year to consolidate Northwestern College of Watertown and Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN, into one college at the New Ulm campus and to consolidate Northwestern Prep School of Watertown and Dr. Martin Luther Prep School of Prairie du Chien into one high school at the Watertown campus.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=schroeder+%22But+the+financial+problems+have+only+persisted+and+grown+worse%22#q=schroeder+%22But+the+financial+problems+have+only+persisted+and+grown+worse%22&hl=en&safe=active&prmd=iv&filter=0&fp=94fb864a6b447b62

Mark Schroeder. May 17, 2007: "But the financial problems have only persisted and grown worse."

---

Nick has left a new comment on your post "WELS Is Not Going To Admit the Obvious":

As for the MLC video, let's not make the college equal to its students. Are we human? are we sinful? Certinaly.

 Will there be students at MLC not fully invested towards the ministry, using their own 'cleverness' to commit blatant sins? Certainly.

For the talent night, sadly there was a time when screening the videos wasn't needed. Since the gay video came out, screening is a must.

Let's try to keep all the facts in check, please.
Were those students wrong? Yes.

By their actions of posting the video later via Facebook, they have shown that they were clearly impenitent.

***

GJ - Nick, the prosecution will stipulate that the students are indeed idiots, and they are impenitent liars. They are also plagiarists who have broken the law by using protected music without permission. Disney approved the homosexual Fire Island Pines group using the music, after the fact, because it was a good promotion for a girl with limited talents. I have not seen any evidence that Disney also approved Martin Luther College stealing the music.

The ongoing broadcast of the stolen music via YouTube and Facebook constitutes a violation of the law.

The problem lies with the college and synod leadership. Pueri pueri erint does not cancel the legal responsibilities of a synod-owned school, not to mention its stated relationship with the Scriptures and Martin Luther himself.

Far worse was the statue fight, also proudly uploaded to YouTube by Martin Luther College students. They were quite grumpy with me about taking it down. In both cases, the original complaint came from WELS laity. They knew the best way to protest without having their teeth knocked in was to publish via Ichabod. That speaks volumes about Matthew 18 in WELS.

I have not seen the statue video since it was taken down, but the homosexual video has appeared all over. It continues to be played, featured, and described on homosexual websites. WELS alumni must be proud that they are mentioned so often around the world.

I see from your other post, Nick, that you are a UOJ fan. No wonder you dismiss objections so easily. Everyone is already declared forgiven, even without faith - and it seems, especially without faith.

Feminist Flops in Failing Mainline Sects

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "WELS Feminist Hymnal and Creed":

The main problem is keeping men and boys active in church, not so much keeping women and girls in church. That way Sunday morning doesn't have, say, 80% women and 20% men, attending. Gender imbalance leads to a shrinking church since emasculated Christianity won't attract men, and a feminine church won't attract that many people. As proof that conventional thinking is wrong, colleges thought that if they only recruited women by emasculating the university and provided them services (free medical clinics, women studies, clubs, etc.) that men aren't interested in, they wouldn't have to recruit men since they'd be pounding on the door trying to get where all the educated women are, but what happened is the idea of college became a turn-off to many men, and so now colleges are heading toward 60% women and 40% men.

Now the campuses have an anti-male feel and are totally unromantic because, for example, every parking lot and every 100 yards along the sidewalk there's a pole with a blue light where people can call campus police. It all works together to put the kibosh on the idea of finding a wife in college. The same thing could be said for marriage. They thought that liberated women with careers making as much, or more, money then men would attract men to marry women, but the latest Time magazine has statistics that show where that has got us. Of course, Time tried to put a PC spin on the data so they could say in their subtitle that men need marriage more than women. They can say what they want in the magazines and in the universities, but it always has and will be the case that women are the ones who more often try to drag men to altar, not vice versa. By the way, the reason the liberals are so big on the pay gap between men and women is they say their programs will be beneficial for society once complete parity is achieved. It's like the undaunted Marxist professors who still say that communism didn't work only because it was never really tried, since Stalin ruined it.

***

GJ - Many of my classes are 80% female. Some areas have more males than females - computers, MBA. Adult education is mostly feminist.

Also - women are now the achievers in education because they are career oriented. Their interest in having children is diminished by the potential income loss.

Women like going to church where men are leaders. Feminist churches repel feminine women and masculine men, so places like HerChurch.org are small operations for the fringe element. MLC is definitely training ministers for the future, and a bleak future it is.

Corporate News - Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Salvation Army Heretics:Your Thrivent Premiums at Work

Their all-religion stained glass window.
Does anyone wonder why Appleton Lutherans are so mixed up?


Corporate News - Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

News Releases

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Another $125,000 match in the making this year

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans announces $125,000 Red Kettle Match Day Challenge

APPLETON, Wis. (Nov. 17, 2010) – On Dec. 3, quarters dropped into The Salvation Army red kettles throughout the Fox Cities, Wisc. could result in a quarter-million dollar contribution, thanks to the seventh-annual Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Red Kettle Match Day Challenge. Thrivent Financial will match donations dollar for dollar up to $125,000 at more than 50 Fox Cities Salvation Army red kettles on Friday, Dec. 3. If all $125,000 is matched this year, Thrivent Financial and the Fox Cities community will hold the national record for Salvation Army giving a third-consecutive year. Thrivent Financial’s Red Kettle Match Day Challenge remains the largest matching day event for The Salvation Army. This pledge sets the stage for an even bigger challenge to the community - repeating the results from the historic match days that occurred in 2008 and 2009, when community contributions, combined with the Thrivent Financial match, set and maintained the national record for single-day giving for The Salvation Army. Match day tradition approaches $1.5 million mark Thanks to community response each year, what started as a $25,000 match grant in 2004 has increased to $125,000 in 2008, 2009 and 2010. According to The Salvation Army, it is also the largest continuous community match day in the United States. To date, Thrivent Financial match days have generated nearly $1.3 million. A full $125,000 match would bring that amount to over $1.5 million. “Thrivent’s Red Kettle challenge inspires people to give generously,” said Peter Gianopoulos of Thrivent Financial. “We know that the funds raised help the Salvation Army serve many people in need – and that strengthens our community for everyone.” Employee, community volunteers Bell ringers play an instrumental role in the success of the Thrivent Financial Red Kettle Match Day as donations are much greater when a volunteer is present. Thrivent Financial employees will be among those volunteering to ring bells in the community and (more) at area Thrivent Financial facilities on Dec. 3. This will also be the fifth year for the Thrivent Financial “Red Kettle Idol” contest. “Red Kettle Idol” is a friendly, festive competition for Thrivent Financial employees to help trigger donors to drop a few more coins and bills into the red kettle. Participants will showcase their talents by singing or playing holiday songs, demonstrating unusual skills or simply dressing up in holiday costumes. Thrivent Financial employee Sue Uitenbroek was on a winning team in last year’s Red Kettle Idol competition, dressed as a mismatched Christmas present in a group called the “Musical Misfits.” She encourages anyone in the community to get involved in bell ringing on this year’s match day and throughout the holiday season. “Ringing the bells is rewarding in so many ways,” Uitenbroek said. “It’s a great feeling to spread holiday cheer and see the outpouring of support come from community members at the kettles, and it’s a lot of fun.” How to donate, ring bells There are several ways to donate to The Salvation Army – Fox Cities red kettles - either in person at one of 50 sites across the Fox Cities, online at www.safoxcities.org or by calling 920-734-3324. To become a bell-ringer, you can sign up for a kettle site at www.safoxcities.org or call the bell-ringer coordinator at 920-955-1225. Those interested can also host a virtual kettle online to encourage friends and family to contribute. About The Salvation Army The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the Christian church. As a faith based organization, The Salvation Army also provides physical aid such as food, clothing and shelter, in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. Nearly 29 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. About 83 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army - Fox Cities has been located in Appleton since 1917. They serve the Fox Valley area in Neenah, Menasha, Kimberly, Kaukauna, Combined Locks, Larsen, Grand Chute, Little Chute, Appleton and Darboy. The Salvation Army - Fox Cites is not a participating United Way agency. For more information visit us on the web at safoxcities.org About Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a not-for-profit, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping approximately 2.6 million members achieve financial security and give back to their communities. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services including life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, disability income insurance, bank products and more. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial creates and supports national outreach programs and activities that help congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. Also, you can find us on Facebook andTwitter.

***

GJ - LCMS, WELS, ELS, and CLC (sic) support the Salvation Army, which is a church teaching heretical ideas about Christ.

But they do a lot of good things.

And they have jumped into Church Growth too, so they must be good.

Another Celebrity Endorsement

Electronic Computer Invented in My Hometown Area

The Atanasoff-Berry Computer, known as the ABC, was invented in 1937 and ignored by Iowa State, Ames.
Few people realize John Vincent Atanasoff invented the electronic computer, because his plans were copied by another scientist and marketed eventually as the Eniac.

John V. Atanasoff was a remarkable scientist who did valuable work for the US during WWII.

As an applied physics professor at Ames, Iowa, he was looking for ways of doing math calculations, the most laborious part of his work. He kept thinking about it and trying various methods for years. Meanwhile, others were working on a calculating device.

One December day in 1937 he took off in his car and drove to relax and think about the solution. He crossed the Mississippi:

"I had reached the Mississippi River and was crossing into Illinois at a place where there are three cities...one of which is Rock Island. I drove into Illinois and turned off the highway into a little road, and went into a roadhouse, which had bright lights...I sat down and ordered a drink...As the delivery of the drink was made, I realized that I was no longer so nervous and my thoughts turned again to computing machines." Jane Smiley, The Man Who Invented the Computer, The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer, p. 2.

During this stop in Rock Island he thought of four basic concepts to make a computer work. He wrote down his ideas on a napkin, went back to Ames, and asked for funding for this project. He received $200 for parts and $450 to pay his assistant, an exceptionally able Clifford Berry.

The computer worked, so when John Mauchley found out about it, he visited Ames, stayed at the Atanasoff home, took copious notes, asked all about the machine, and stole the idea. Sperry Rand owned the patent rights, because Ames did not pursue the patent case as it should have. Also, Atanasoff seemed especially naive about Mauchley's early intentions. One reason was - everyone but Mauchley ignored him.

The apparent murder of Berry, never solved, made Atanaoff much more involved in the difficult case of overturning the patents owned by Sperry Rand. In 1973, the judge in the federal case gave the credit to Atanasoff and took away Sperry Rand's claims.

Others made significant contributions to the invention of the computer. One method was used to help crack Enigma during WWII, in England. Konrad Zuse, a German scientist, did astonishing work, but he was ignored by the Nazi military.

The first computers were destroyed. The original ABC was taken apart because it was using up valuable space at Ames. The future head of computer science at Ames took it apart. The ABC was later rebuilt for a small fortune!

The English computer was destroyed to hide the evidence about how they read the German Enigma messages in WWII.

Konrad Zuse had his early computers bombed by the Allies in WWII.

Atanasoff will never get a Nobel Prize, because he did not submit a paper for publication, a requirement of the committee. He died in 1995.

John Vincent Atanasoff
Let's quote the Iowa State University Associate Professor of Physics John Hauptman opinion about Atanasoff:
"I came here from Berkeley," Hauptman said. "You know Berkeley must have 20 Nobel prizes and they are proud of them; poets, physicists, chemists... When I found out Atanasoff's story and read his paper... It occurred to me that if Atanasoff had been at Berkeley in 1939 (with the Atanasoff-Berry Computer) he would have gotten a Nobel prize right away. Berkeley would not have waited a minute before going after a Nobel Prize and becoming known as the birthplace of the electronic digital computer. Here at Iowa State, it was just dropped."

What Sasse Says

What Sasse Says: "Why Are There Different Interpretations of Scripture?

How it is possible for Christians who really want to obey this Word, and seriously ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten them, to arrive at contradicting conclusions as to the meaning of a certain passage no one can know. The reason is not, as the Catholic churches claim, the lack of an infallible teaching office which through the unfailing enlightenment of the Holy Spirit is able to decide authoritatively which exegesis is right and which is wrong. Otherwise, one should expect that the churches which reject the sola Scriptura, the church of Rome and the Eastern churches, would agree which that infallible teaching office is. The reason is rather to be found in the nature of God's revelation. God's Word always comes to us hidden in his humanity. Thus, not by our own reason, but rather by the grace of the Holy Spirit, can we perceive the divine truth in faith. This applies also to the understanding of God's Word by the Reformers. They are fallible like us.

From This Is My Body, Luther's Contention for the Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Altar (Revised Australian Edition, Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, 1977) p.232."

***

GJ - This Sasse quotation seems a little tentative, but it is only an excerpt. Overall, he is quite good.

Difference in interpretation comes from the wrong view of the Word. Inerrancy is not the main issue. An inerrancy conference can feature 57 varieties of the Christian confession. They only agree about inerrancy - at least they think so.

When the Holy Spirit is divorced from the Word, any foul error can creep in and take over. The basic issue is treating the Bible as an old-fashioned textbook, a classic, but not taken seriously the unified Truth, the Book of the Holy Spirit.

Thus we are taught by yahoos who disagree with what the Word of God teaches about itself. They have more respect for the owner's manual of their SUV. The so-called conservative Lutherans are among the worst offenders. That explains why they love worshiping with Andy Stanley, Driscoll, Leonard Sweet, Stetzer, and Martin Marty.

---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "What Sasse Says":

It is very popular today to view the Bible as an owner's manual for life. As Luther said, "doctrine is heaven, life is earth". Now, we have "Bible studies" for everything, because the church must always be relevant. Those influenced by the Church and Money Changers like to peddle their snake oil as Bible-based financial planning. All of these methods are sanctification based, with a wrong view of sanctification. You may as well put a yellow cover on the NIV and sell it at Barnes and Noble as "Life....for Dummies".

***

GJ - Randall Schultz is correct, and that is the common thread uniting the fraud named Joel Osteen with the make-me-rich folks at LCMS/WELS Cornerstone. WELS pays consultants to tell them they need expensive buildings for masonry evangelism, which means they will need to pay consultants to show them how to raise all that loot.

Sceleratissimus Lutheranus: Reformation Theology: Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will

Sceleratissimus Lutheranus: Reformation Theology: Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will

Extra Nos: Why go to church?

Extra Nos: Why go to church?

Churchmouse Campanologist

Churchmouse Campanologist:

"The gentleman on the left is John Ortberg, 53, the senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in California.

His congregation’s demographics are very much in line with PCUSA findings.  For those who don’t know, Menlo Park is near Stanford University and Silicon Valley.  Therefore, many of the 4,000 people attending his services each week are no doubt high-earners, extremely intelligent and, quite possibly, looking for that much more out of life."

For more, click on the link...

WELS Feminist Hymnal and Creed

Fully human? You already forgot.

Steven has left a new comment on your post "Just Say No To the Abusive Cult Called WELS":


James, I believe "the new feminist Creed" refers to the Nicene Creed in the WELS hymnal Christian Worship. The phrase "for us men" is reduced to simply "for us."

I am a recent graduate of MLC having studied music education there. I took a course entitled Musical Heritage of the Lutheran church with Dr. Kermit Moldenhauer, who was on the committee that developed CW. He described the committee's goal to make some of the male references more gender neutral, but added that in hindsight he believes they may have gone too far on some counts. One lamentable change was in the translation of "A Mighty Fortress." The phrase "And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, let these all be gone they yet have nothing won" is replaced with "And do what they will—hate, steal, hurt, or kill—though all may be gone,our victory is won." There are many in the WELS that were upset by this text change. It will be interesting to see if they revert back to the former text when they publish the next hymnal.

***

GJ - The WELS apostates decided to use the liberal, ecumenical texts developed by a pan-denominational group, then claimed they were forced to use the new wording in the Creeds (note the plural).

The statement above is proof of the evil done, because the current college students have already forgotten the correct wording of the Creeds. "And became man" was replaced with "fully human." The original wording is clear and thus offensive to the feminists and their capon enablers. Nothing in the original text justifies "fully human." Jenswold said the new wording was correct because he was "an expert in Greek."

I wondered at the time, to myself. "If that is so, then what about John 3. "There came to Him by night, a fully human named Nicodemus."

The old heresiarch Ted Hartwig was the author chosen to defend the feminist Creeds in the magazine and journal. All the WELS pastors fell in line, bought the hymnals, and followed the wolf-pack.

Victor Prange said the entire hymnal was edited for the feminists. That really brought them in, eh? Their FICKLE editor Dorothy Sonntag left for ELCA.

By goofing around with everything, including Luther's hymn, The Sausage Factory and its cohorts in Church and Change signaled "Anything Goes!" in worship.

Bad coinage drives out good coinage. CW lowered the standards everywhere.

Brett Meyer Is Right about ELCA-LWR-LCMS-WELS

WELS in Appleton supports the Salvation Army, through Thrivent. They do a lot of good work too.

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Sweet to address LCMS educators in Cincinnati, Mar...":

I appreciate your correction Dan.

My position though is supported in part by the following links showing that not only is LCMS Pres. Harrison a board member of LWR (January 2010) but also fully supports their efforts as they fund the United Nations and their murderous activities around the world.

http://blog.lwr.org/2010/01/rev-matthew-harrison-submits-his-second.html

Pres. Harrison is Executive Director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care who partner with LWR who then support Ted Turner's efforts through the United Nations to actively depopulate the world through mass genocide and eugenics.

Through these organizations they work closely with ELCA, "LCMS World Relief and Human Care partnered with Lutheran World Relief and the World Hunger Program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to co-sponsor Stand With Africa"
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=14522

I think this statement from Pres. Harrison's is significant in respect to LWR's globalist agenda, "Missouri has a unique position in world leadership." http://www.wfn.org/2010/08/msg00020.html

"Also at its May meeting, the Board endorsed a joint proposal of the Synod and Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, to the United Nations Foundation that includes a grant of $4 million for joint work related to the LMI.

LMI is a movement including the Synod, LWR, the UN Foundation, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America."
http://www.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=17012

Pres. Harrison states, "What are these humanitarian activities? The range is very broad, but let me concentrate on just one. The LCMS is a partner with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Lutheran World Relief (LWR), based in Baltimore, Md.

LWR is NOT a mission agency; it is a humanitarian agency. LWR specializes in international aid and development. Through LCMS World Relief/Human Care, we provide $2 to $3 million a year for humanitarian purposes through LWR. LWR—through the LCMS, ELCA, WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) and government support—carries out some $30 million in international aid projects yearly."

http://mylcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=14512

More http://www.lcms.org/results.asp?q=united+nations

http://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=10809

***

GJ - Wikipedia:

"Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is an international nonprofit organization and a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod."

[GJ - And WELS. One life-long WELS member, then a pastor, almost cried when he found out his own DP was on the board of LWR. "I grew up in WELS and didn't know it." Thus the lambs are led to the slaughter and ELCA feels another surge of self-esteem.]

"LWR is a member of ACT Development, a global alliance of churches and related agencies working on development that are committed to working together."

There is only one Lutheran World Relief, and Missouri/WELS/ELS support it. Just like Act Development, there are many other overlapping funding agencies, so the trail of dollars given and spent requires a forensic CPA firm.

Church and Change is set up the same way, with many different overlapping groups. Motto for all these crooks: "Your money, their mission."

Yes they do a lot of good in relief efforts, but the Mormons do too. Why not join the Mormons in their work? Or the Shriners? I forgot, Lutherans do support the Masons and Shriners.

Embarrassing Walther

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Just Say No To the Abusive Cult Called WELS":

The Synodical Conference Lutherans have been a rough crowd since the start. It might have something to do with its heavily Prussian origins. When you read the history about the 19th C UOJ and election controversies, the Eastern Lutherans and the Iowa Synod Lutherans complained that the Midwest Lutherans were downright ornery and un-Christian in argumentation and how they treated dissenters and opponents. That's how one group of pastors who didn't believe in UOJ could call themselves the anti-Missouri Brotherhood, and no one thought the "anti-" part was the least bit uncalled for.

Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Just Say No To the Abusive Cult Called WELS":

I used to think that LCMS folks were defensive when criticizing their papacy, but I learned last weekend that one really has a tiger by the tail when having the audacity to suggest that WELS may not be the only holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

When this person started in about how liberal the LCMS is versus the "conservative" WELS, I questioned why WELS sends their clergy to Fuller. Of course, the 8th Commandment is the first thing to come up, as I was told that I needed to check my sources and had no idea what I was talking about. "Our guys only go to WELS sems," I was told in that tone of rebuke. Funny how the internet is okay for being critical of everyone but WELS.

The next subject I brought up was Thrivent, and, of course, the reply was, "Our parish has nothing to do with them." After encouraging this person to do some research, I hope this person does so and sees that the LCMS that they broke fellowship with due to its ecumenism supports their beloved Jeske.

As usual, it went to the CW issue, which this WELS person saw no big problem with (adiaphora is the "catch-all," you know). I ended the conversation with problems arising when church focuses on us and not on Christ. Amazingly, I got the last word.

This goes for Missouri and WELS: When Walther is elevated above Luther and regarded as inerrant, your problems are soon to follow, the first being the descent into pietism.

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Just Say No To the Abusive Cult Called WELS":

When someone is told to write a letter, and then they are ignored, is just plain rude. These bad boys need to learn some manners.

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Just Say No To the Abusive Cult Called WELS":

"That is because WELS pastors cannot admit ever being wrong."

In my many conversations with WELS laity over the years, this may bother them more than anything else. There is much better treatment of peers in the secular workplace. Although there was no mention of Matthew chapter 18 in these exchanges, the 8 and 18 switch is losing its sting. In fact, the end is rather tattered and worn from overuse.

Just Say No To the Abusive Cult Called WELS

Walther took someone to court for slander.
Defamation is defined here.

This takes some time, so I will list matters in chronological order.

1. I received this email from an ELCA pastor named Bruce Foster:

"----- Original Message -----
From: Bruce Foster
To: gregjackson1948@qwest.net
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 7:46 AM
Subject: orthodox rhetoric

Dear Pastor Jackson


I am writing this letter against the advice of a WELS pastor who claims to know something about you (he says he has a relative who served your WELS church in Ohio after you left). He says that you are unable to see any fault in your opinions or manner of stating them. He is also sure that you are mentally ill.

As I have been reading your blog for the last few months I have not seen those two traits. You think you are right and everybody who disagrees with you is wrong. So what’s new? Everybody thinks that! But you aren’t beyond being corrected. NPH showed you how you misinterpreted their web site and you admitted it. And as to you being crazy, well, being nuts is in the eye of the beholder and being passionate isn’t being nuts even if it is sometimes confused with it.

So here it goes. I’m actually going to give you a constructive admonition, not a “brotherly admonition” since I’m a member of the ELCA and thus out of fellowship with you.

Dr. Jackson, why do you declare your love of Luther so much and never take seriously Luther’s explanation to the 8th commandment? I am not accusing you of lying, but rather of ignoring the second part of the explanation.

but will defend him, say good things about him, and see the best side of everything he does.

or

but defend him, speak well of him, and take his words and actions in the kindest possible way.

or

sondern sollen ihn entschuldigen, Gutes von ihm reden und alles zum besten kehren.

I am willing to believe that all these versions of the last half of the explanation of the 8th commandment are part of some vast Church Growth conspiracy and in your private set of original Luther documents you have a version that says,

but spend a lot of time dreaming up abusive nicknames for your enemies.

Unless however you can produce those documents and have them authenticated, I will have to stick to the version I learned in LCMS catechism class and which is found in the Triglotta."

2. I asked him to verify his source, so ELCA Pastor Bruce Foster wrote:

From: Bruce Foster
To: Gregory L. Jackson
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 8:09 AM
Subject: Re: orthodox rhetoric

The WELS pastor is Peter Lindemann Jacksonport WI. I didn't name him because it wasn't the point of my email. Love to hear your response to my actual email, email not an essay.

3. I saw that there was a Lindemann in Jacksonport, so I emailed him to see if he said this to the ELCA pastor. He did not respond and the email did not bounce back. I assume this is Jenswold's brother-in-law, the son of Dean Lindemann at the late Northwestern College.

4. WELS SP Schroeder had contacted me more than once when he wanted something corrected, so I wrote him about this. His only response was - contact them. That was late in 2009, when I was moving to Arkansas.

5. I wrote a certified letter in April of 2010, sending it to SP Schroeder, Pastor Jenswold, and Pastor Lindemann, who was in another parish. A copy of all three signed receipts is below. All three are signed May 3, 2010. But no one responded by phone, by email, or by letter.

6. When I pointed a total lack of response, SP Schroeder sent me an email denying this had happened. He said I did not need to issue a correction. He is keen on corrections. When I pointed that he signed the certified letter, so there was no need to change an accurate post, he said, on October 23, 2010:

"Since the certified letter was not addressed to me but sent as a “CC”, and since I had encouraged you to contact these men directly and you were doing so, I did not respond directly to your letter.

Regardless, I apologize if this appeared to be a lack of response. It was not intended to be.

Thanks.

Rev. Mark Schroeder

WELS President"

***

GJ - I have known about this slander campaign for many years. Various friends in WELS have told me about it. As I pointed out to all three WELS pastors, defamation is a crime punishable by the law. WELS is very big on slander. When I was writing about WELS involvement in Church Growth and Fuller, Paul Kelm and Norm Berg and Joel Gerlach all wrote to cry "Slander! Eighth Commandment!"

SP Schroeder is legally responsible for what his underlings do. So is DP John Seifert and other WELS leaders. Ecclesiastical leaders can get away with just about any defamation in their own sect. That is why the leaders, pastors, and members get used to abusive behavior. Nothing is done. But when someone is outside of their organization, defamation is a very serious matter.

Schroeder could have asked Lindemann and Jenswold to apologize, since neither one denied this happened. Both pastors could have apologized, but they did not. That is because WELS pastors cannot admit ever being wrong. They are so thin-skinned that they believe themselves entitled to slime anyone who disagrees with anything.

Schroeder himself could have apologized for the criminal behavior of his underlings, but he did not. WELS never admits wrong.

ELS Pastor John Shep (now ELCA) was caught doing the same thing via email. In an email to a generous donor to Thoughts of Faith, he praised me. In an email sent to another contact, he questioned whether I was normal or balanced. When the donor confronted him with a copy of his negative email, he did not respond at all. Shep, by the way, had never met me or talked to me, but he wrote, "How well do you know him?"

What I am reporting here is only the tip of the iceberg in WELS/ELS abusive behavior. They treat their members and pastors like trash, if it suits their immediate purpose.

I could detail many other items from my own experience with WELS, to show how pathetic their leadership is. When my wife was disabled with a life-threatening illness, they told others that she was not sick at all. As anyone can tell from the original report from Lindemann and Jenswold, they imagine they are medical experts too. Nothing is too low for them.

I showed up on the NWC campus one day, in the midst of Dean Lindemann being a tyrannical jerk with a group of students. He was being quite threatening with them about "a letter." I followed WELS procedure and invited him for a face-to-face meeting in his office. I asked about "the letter," which magically no longer existed. I told him how I defended WELS all the time, perhaps mentioning the whining the ELS Pastor Jay Webber, who wanted to break fellowship with WELS. (He is a born-again Intrepid now, Defender of the Unfaith.)

Later, students said Lindemann had a look on his face no one had seen before. They were all quite pleased. I am not saying the Lindemann clan nursed a grudge. Oh no. The entire sect nurses a grudge against anyone who does not fall down and praise them with glazed eyes.

I know from a dust-up between Paul McCain and Larry Darby that publishing a letter neutralizes it as evidence. Long ago, McCain sent one of his ugly letters around, which blamed Darby and me because a Missouri pastor failed to support UOJ. I did not even know the pastor named, so I wondered about McCain's omniscience and ethics. Darby would not give me the letter because the attorneys were dealing with it. He was not allowed to share it, even though I was named.

I discussed this matter with an attorney. I know church officials (who are often in court, due to criminal behavior) get all huffy about this. Dan Preus wrote about Walther's parallel experience.

"Walther himself initiated a lawsuit in the state of Indiana against a
fellow Lutheran of the Ohio Synod who had been guilty of slandering him. Through
his lawyer he even sought monetary damages from the man guilty of slander,
although stating that any damages awarded would not be used for his personal
benefit. Walther dropped his lawsuit only when the two individuals primarily

responsible for slandering him had retracted their slander and apologized in

writing, submitting their apologies for publication in 'Der Lutheraner.' (Der

Lutheraner, July, 1884, p. 109)
Daniel Preus,
"Christians, Lawsuits and 1 Corinthians 6,"
Affirm, June, 1991, p. 5-6.

In the last two years, Jenswold, Lindemann, and Schroeder have had many chances to man up.

Jenswold does not even know me. I visited Shepherd of Peace once. He was rude to me and my wife, which is typical of WELS clergy. That Sunday he talked about what an expert he was in Greek, so no one could question the new feminist Creed promoted by Christian Worship. I said nothing. There is an old saying, "Have regard for the pastor before you and the pastor who follows you." WELS is not aware of that saying. They are crippled in ethics.

I told the congregation when I resigned from WELS, "Don't bother to call a pastor if you cannot back him up." They remembered that during the last 17 years. The statement still comes up.