Monday, January 3, 2011

Enthusiasts Agree That Their Pope Is the Means of Grace

His Grace, Pope John the Malefactor



Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "The Means of Grace - As Requested by Lito Cruz of ...":

Quote, The Book of Concord confesses, and Lutherans allegedly agree

I would suggest changing this to say, "and faithful Lutherans agree"

It's the same issue with Creation vs. Evolutionism. Those who pervert God's order of creation want to call it Creationism in order to deride the truth. I would argue that we need to protect the name Lutheran as it is faithful to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct explanation of Scripture. No need to give the house (the name Lutheran) over to the rats just because they've infested every corner (perverted the central doctrine of Christ, Justification By Faith Alone).

Same issue was exposed when the ELS decided to support the fledgling Antichrist, Pres. Moldstad. A few rejected his claim to the throne of Christ and they were told that if they didn't accept the new doctrine of the Public Ministry of the Word they should leave the Synod because they had broken with the official doctrine of the church. But it was Moldstad and the remaining churches that broke with the doctrine of the church and forced the change down everyone's throats in good Roman Catholic fashion.

Call them what they are - unfaithful apostates who have exchanged the faithful Lutheran Confessions for carrion served by the smiling faces and for the warm and cozy fellowship of false teachers.

Mayfair Mall closes early after tumult - JSOnline

Mayfair Mall closes early after tumult - JSOnline


Rubina Shafi

This image, submitted by a reader, of the inside of the Boston Store at Mayfair mall in Wauwatosa shows racks and mannequins thrown on the floor. Mayfair Mall closed down about a half-hour early Sunday evening amid unsubstantiated reports of gunfire. See more photos

Unsubstantiated reports of gunfire received

Mayfair Mall closed down early on Sunday afternoon as New Year's weekend shoppers were told to leave after witnesses reported seeing groups of unruly young people shouting and running in the Wauwatosa shopping center.
There also were unsubstantiated reports of gunfire.

The Means of Grace - As Requested by Lito Cruz of Extra Nos




Luther Taught Justification Through the Means of Grace


            Confusion and error about the efficacy of the Word have allowed a Halle University Pietist to trump the Bible and the Book of Concord with his strange concoction of double-justification, grace without the Means of Grace, forgiveness without the Word, without faith. A  general understanding of the unity of Christian doctrine is necessary to discern the truth revealed in the Scriptures as distinguished from the manifest errors of the Enthusiasts. Justification takes place only through faith, only through the Means of Grace, as Krauth and Pieplow wrote.

The Holy Spirit works through the Word and the Sacraments, which only, in the proper sense, are means of grace. Both the Word and the Sacraments bring a positive grace, which is offered to all who receive them outwardly, and which is actually imparted to all who have faith to embrace it.[1]
The Lutheran Church faces the world by clinging to the Means of Grace. The doctrine of the means of grace is truly a most timely subject. For just in these last times, according to divine revelation, there will be at work many spiritual brigands who will perpetrate the grossest kind of deception.[2]
This knowledge is a great comfort for all believers, especially those once led into confusion by Enthusiasm.
            Martin Luther is known both for his prolific writing and also for his consistency. He taught the same theology throughout life. Historians are not met with confusion caused by Calvin, who was also prolific. The Swiss Reformer contradicted himself throughout his writings, so the Calvinists continue to debate his doctrine and lack a unified, harmonious confession.
            The Lutherans Reformers were anxious to avoid splitting the Christian faith into many doctrines, as if they are individual concepts, a modular religion to be put together and taken apart in units. Luther grasped and taught the entire Bible as a unified truth, the Bible as the Book of the Holy Spirit. The Concordists likewise sought a harmonious witness to the truth, not one that bartered and swapped individual pieces.
            When UOJ advocates cry out, “You have denied Universal Objective Justification!” they emphasize their error, because they isolate one item and defend it by quoting other errorists, without ever connecting their concept to Biblical, Lutheran doctrine.
            Lutheran doctrine is not the result of a franchise being established. Lutheran doctrine is not synodical, regional, or bound by a nation’s borders. The Book of Concord confesses, and Lutherans allegedly agree – that the unified truth proclaimed in its pages is the historic Christian faith. Therefore, the Book of Concord begins with the Ecumenical Creeds:
  1. The Apostles Creed, so ancient that no one knows its origin.
  2. The Nicene Creed, fashioned to combat errors about Christ.
  3. The Athanasian Creed,  “the most splendid ecclesiastical lyric ever poured forth by the genius of man.” (D’Israeli).
Thus, any debate among Lutherans or with those of another confession should be considered as an argument about the truth of historic Christianity. We used to say “the Catholic faith,” when it meant the universal and orthodox faith revealed in the Scriptures. But so many Lutheran pastors have sinuflected to Rome that they have tainted the term Catholic.
The Concordists considered themselves theologians of the 1530 Augsburg Confession, as Luther did. The Augsburg Confession and the additional writings of the early Reformation established the difference between the historic truth of the Scriptures as opposed to Roman errors, all in the context of the faithful witnesses of the past.
The Formula of Concord, 1580, dealt especially with conflicts among the Lutherans and errors among the non-Lutheran Protestants. Doctrinal discussions must always reflect this miracle of harmony. If not the participants engage in the sectarian conceit of people belonging to “the church of the open Bible,” as if the Confessions were irrelevant, boring, and impractical. That attitude reveals a marked anti-Lutheran and anti-Biblical attitude, one which generally decays into Unitarianism or worse, unless awakened from its torpor of ignorance, synod-worship, and sloth.
Convention and conference essays have no authority over the Book of Concord. The Brief Confession of 1932 has no more credibility than a seminarian’s essay in doctrine class. Some parts seem good, but the justification section is dangerously false, rendering the rest of the Brief Confession toxic. Moreover, the Brief Confession contradicts other confessional efforts and catechisms by the Missouri Synod, where UOJ was never mentioned. The 1987 Theses are just as ridiculous as the 1932 Brief Confession, because they try to blend UOJ with justification by faith.
Robert Preus was wrong when he promoted UOJ in the 1980s, but he corrected himself in his Justification and Rome, even though his UOJ-loyal sons Rolf and Daniel edited it posthumously. That change of heart and misplaced filial loyalty should remind everyone not to make a man or a recent publication the last word on a topic, but to seek truth in ruling norm of the Scriptures and the ruled norm of the Book of Concord.
Some have asked how the Missouri Synod got this so wrong when the Muhlenberg tradition (LCA) and Lenski grasped the basic truth. The General Synod/General Council split took place because of anti-Confessional practices involving revivals, unionism with the Reformed, even the formation of union Lutheran-Reformed congregations.[3] The Henkels influenced the Tennessee Synod and others to take the Book of Concord seriously again. Thus the doctrinal division in the General Synod served to move many toward a Biblical understand of the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace.
These basics are beyond debate and remain absolutely at war with the Pietistic fad of UOJ.

Efficacy of the Word

            God has bound His Holy Spirit to His Word and never works apart from that Word. Any person who claims otherwise is an Enthusiast, a false teacher participating in the foundational evil of all doctrinal error. The Holy Spirit works through the Law to convict us of our sin, but the primary emphasis in this section is justification through the Means of Grace.
            The Word of God has been described as:
  1. Invisible in teaching and preaching,
  2. Visible in the sacraments.
The Gospel conveys Christ to us in both forms, and grace only comes from these appointed Means or Instruments of Grace.
            Forgiveness through God’s grace is the issue in justification, which is God’s declaration of forgiveness. The Gospel’s divine power creates and sustains faith in each individual, but UOJ Pietists avoid the terms and the application of the Means of Grace, disparaging faith in the Gospel as if that were a sign of orthodoxy.

The Preaching Office

            Luther observed in a sermon that the shepherds and Wise Men must have wondered at God directing them past the marvelous Jerusalem Temple to find the Savior in a manger. God has chosen foolishness to shame the wisdom of the wise. How bizarre to find Lutheran church leaders rejecting the spiritual wisdom of the Word to embrace the alleged wisdom of statistical analysis, marketing, and entertainment.
            Nothing seems more foolish to the world than preaching and teaching the Gospel. Nevertheless, God Himself has chosen this instrument as the primary channel for His grace. The Enthusiasts of Luther’s day wanted to extol the Inner Word, as if someone could sit alone in a room and wait until the Holy Spirit came to him with inspiration. Quakerism is based upon this notion. In contrast, Luther followed the Biblical example of the External Word, the Holy Spirit always united with the Word. No better example can be found than that of the Savior. In each and every case Jesus converted people to faith through the Word, His teaching confirmed by miracles.
            The Old Testament leaders preached, not just as the Law, as some might imagine. The prophecies and blessings are all Gospel. The Old Testament has more Gospel content than the New Testament, due to its size, about three times that of the New Testament. Jesus and the apostles preached the Gospel, His way prepared by the preaching of John the Baptist. The illegal, persecuted Church in the Roman Empire had no mass media methods to ease its way into the world. Instead, they relied on preaching and teaching until Rome itself was converted and Constantinople became the center of a Christian empire for eleven centuries.[4]
            The Pietists preach about the carnal sins of the world, which is exactly what the Church of Rome did to scare people into paying for indulgences. Jesus, in His farewell message to the disciples, emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit in preaching, but placed an emphasis on sin that is almost always lacking today.
            The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, “because they have not believed on Me.” The problem—or opportunity—of carnal sin preaching stems from its ineffectiveness. The Law condemns the problem without providing a solution. Threats and punishment can stop the outward sin while inflaming the inward rebellion. Thus, one church may say, “Gambling is a terrible sin, so you must not gamble.” Another one says, “Drinking is a terrible sin, so you must not ever drink alcohol.” They apply more Law, which is no solution, and continue the cycle.
            Jesus did not say, “Ye gamblers and ye drunks!” but “O ye of little faith.” Faith in Christ is forgiveness of sin, justification by faith, God’s proclamation of absolution through the Word. The foundational sin is not trusting in the atoning death of Christ. The Gospel message is simply Christ crucified for the sins of the world. This message of grace reveals to the unbeliever that the price has been paid. The proclamation means, “Not only for the world did He die, for also for my sins.” The Promises of God create faith, which receives the benefits of forgiveness. Although our sinful, selfish nature continues, the Gospel helps us in resisting temptation and following God out of love rather than fear.

The Sacraments

            Preaching the Gospel offends the world, and the sacraments offend most Protestants. Most Protestants call the sacraments ordinances, to say that these instruments of God do not offer what they promise – forgiveness of sin. These Protestants are sarcastic about the Real Presence, although Jesus said, “This is My Body.” They deny the effect of Holy Communion, neglecting the meaning of “given for the forgiveness of sin.” They stumble at the variety of the Means of Grace, asking “Why does God need so many?” as if forgiveness is God’s necessity and not man’s. J. T. Mueller addressed the question by quoting the Book of Concord.
If the question is put, “Why did God ordain so many means of grace when one suffices to confer upon the sinner His grace and forgiveness?” we quote the reply of Luther who writes (Smalcald Articles, IV: “The Gospel not merely in one way gives us counsel and aid against sin, for God is superabundantly rich in His grace. First through the spoken Word, by which the forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world, which is the peculiar office of the Gospel. Secondly through Baptism. Thirdly through the holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourthly through the power of the keys and also through the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren, Matthew 18:20.”[5]
The question of need applies to man, not to God, and we should not question His abundance of mercy.
            These Enthusiasts are just as antagonistic about Holy Baptism. Baptists and Pentecostals wonder, “How can a baby believe?” and call baptismal regeneration a Roman heresy. These opponents of infant baptism dedicate their newborns, reading the Scriptures, but do not allow water to be used. Many others baptize infants but still call it an ordinance, an empty symbol that does not accomplish what God has promised in the Word. Still others oppose infant baptism but will offer it in the name of increased membership and diversity of doctrine.
            Lutherans occasionally try to persuade others that their prejudice against the sacraments is wrong. Whether they start from Holy Communion or Holy Baptism, the debate is thwarted by a vast but often overlooked gulf. Confessional Lutherans should believe in the efficacy of the Word alone. The sacraments are visible expressions of that effective Word.
Holy Baptism and Justification
            Infant baptism is always discussed in the context of justification by faith, in the Scriptures and the Confessions. Luther captured the power of Holy Baptism in this Large Catechism passage, which we confess:
Comprehend the difference, then, that Baptism is quite another thing than all other water; not on account of the natural quality, but because something more noble is here added; for God Himself stakes His honor, His power and might on it. Therefore it is not only natural water, but a divine, heavenly, holy, and blessed water, and in whatever other terms we can praise it,—all on account of the Word, which is a heavenly, holy Word, that no one can sufficiently extol, for it has, and is able to do, all that God is and can do [since it has all the virtue and power of God comprised in it]. Hence also it derives its essence as a Sacrament, as St. Augustine also taught: Accedat verbum ad elementum et fit sacramentum. That is, when the Word is joined to the element or natural substance, it becomes a Sacrament, that is, a holy and divine matter and sign.[6]
The continuous value of Holy Baptism should be clear to all believers:
Thus it appears what a great, excellent thing Baptism is, which delivers us from the jaws of the devil and makes us God's own, suppresses and takes away sin, and then daily strengthens the new man; and is and remains ever efficacious until we pass from this estate of misery to eternal glory.[7]
This sacrament has so much power and effectiveness because it is the work of God upon us, not man’s witness to others.
            David Chytraeus is often forgotten as an editor of the Book of Concord. His statement about infant baptism is a fine summary of justification through this sacrament.
The purest and best part of the human race, the special nursery and flower of God's Church, is tender youth. Youth retains the gift of the Holy Spirit which it received in Baptism; it learns eagerly the true doctrine about God and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ; it calls Him God with a chaste mind and with a simple, pure faith; it thanks Him with a quick and joyful heart for the blessings received from Him; in its studies and the other parts of life, it carries out the duties commanded it; and it obeys God and parents reverently. Particularly God-pleasing, therefore, are the studies of one's earliest age: prayer, obedience and praises which honor God, regardless of how weak and stammering its voice may be.[8]
Luther’s reflections on infant baptism are equally sublime:
I still maintain, as I have maintained in the Postil (SL 11, 496f.) that the surest Baptism is infant baptism. For an old person may deceive, may come to Christ as a Judas and permit himself to be baptized. But a child cannot deceive. It comes to Christ in Baptism as John came to Him and as the little children were brought to Him, that His Word and work may come over them, touch them, and thus make them holy. For His Word and work cannot pass by without effect; and in Baptism they are directed at the child alone. If they were to fail of success here, they would have to be entire failures and useless means, which is impossible.[9]
How strange to have conservative Lutheran leaders claim they want to evangelize the world, while hanging out with Enthusiasts who condemn infant baptism, reject the sacraments, and prefer their own glittery gimmicks to the efficacy of the Word![10]

The Word Conveys Forgiveness in Holy Communion

Nothing communicates shame in the Gospel’s effectiveness more than hiding and avoiding Holy Communion, with the excuses that it takes time and offends the non-members.
And just as the Word has been given in order to excite this faith, so the Sacrament has been instituted in order that the outward appearance meeting the eyes might move the heart to believe [and strengthen faith]. For through these, namely, through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Ghost works.[11]
In an era where people are endlessly confused about forgiveness, the perversion of this sacrament is disgraceful, no matter how much the false teachers want to promote their version of God’s grace. As Luther wrote, they talk about Jesus all the time, but they destroy the bridge to the Savior, rejecting the Means of Grace, divinely commanded to serve that purpose.
            Taking Holy Communion away from the regular and special services of worship is no less than removing the greatest spiritual help from our daily lives. The Lutheran Pietists argued that the sacrament was too special to be offered all the time, but their actual agenda was sponsoring lay-led cell groups to serve as the real church, their Enthusiasm endorsing prayer as their Means of Grace and anything-goes doctrine as their guide. The strange notions of Lutheran Pietism are easily corrected by the Book of Concord. Luther wrote about the value of Holy Communion and its efficacy in forgiveness in this passage from the Large Catechism.
On this account it is indeed called a food of souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are first born anew; but (as we said before) there still remains, besides, the old vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and there are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes also stumble. Therefore it is given for a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger. For the new life must be so regulated that it continually increase and progress; but it must suffer much opposition. For the devil is such a furious enemy that when he sees that we oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over by force, he prowls and moves about on all sides, tries all devices, and does not desist, until he finally wearies us, so that we either renounce our faith or yield hands and feet and become listless or impatient. Now to this end the consolation is here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too heavy, that it may here obtain new power and refreshment.[12]
Given the nature of the Confessions as a proper interpretation of the Scriptures, written Luther himself, how can any pastor—who calls himself Lutheran—keep the efficacious Body and Blood of Christ from his own members? Not surprisingly, the pastors who do not want to be known as Lutheran are also the leaders who cannot bring themselves to ruin their entertainment evangelism with this medicine for souls.


           




[1] Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publication House, 1871, p. 127.
[2] Edwin E. Pieplow, "The Means of Grace," The Abiding Word, 3 vols., ed., Theodore Laetsch, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, II, p. 322.
[3] One union congregation was St. Paul, German Village, in Columbus, Ohio, which eventually joined the Wisconsin Synod. Another was historic St. John’s in Milwaukee, which became a leading church for the Wisconsin Synod and was eventually kicked out of the synod due to the spitefulness of the liberal, unionistic WELS leaders.
[4] Ancient Rome still loved their pagan rituals and gave them up with great reluctance. Constantine moved noble families to his new capital, old Byzantium, and styled himself Equal to the Apostles, replaced a pagan capital with a Christian one. Nevertheless, the Byzantine Empire is the least known among historians and believers.
[5] John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 447. SA, IV, Concordia Triglotta, p. 491.
[6] The Large Catechism, Part Fourth, Of Baptism. #17-18. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 735f. Tappert, p. 438. Heiser, p. 206.
[7] The Large Catechism, Part Fourth, Of Baptism. #83. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 751. Tappert, p. 446. Heiser, p. 209.
[8] David Chytraeus, A Summary of the Christian Faith (1568), trans., Richard Dinda, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1994. p. 9.
[9] What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 50. Letter to two ministers, 1528.
[10] At one point both the LCMS and WELS had contracted to pay Baptist Ed Stetzer to teach them about evangelism. The WELS Church and Change contract was canceled only after repeated admonitions from Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed (blog) and the WELS Conference of Presidents.
[11] Apology Augsburg Confession, XXIV (XII), #70. The Mass. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 409. Tappert, p. 262. Heiser, p. 123.
[12] The Large Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar. #23-27. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 759. Tappert, p. 449. Heiser, p. 211.

WELS Area High Schools Push MLC

"I should pay $100,000 so you and your pals can produce gay videos?"



rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "More About Mary Lou College":

From what I have observed, Mr. Baker's comments seem appropriate. Our youngest daughter is a junior at an area Lutheran high school. This means that they get a meeting with the guidance director. They really push MLC on these unsuspecting students and their parents. Please consider the following scenario: The area Lutheran high schools were there to provide a Christian alternative to the allegedly evil, secular public high schools. They were never intended to be prep schools. Yet, the prep schools have fallen out of vogue. The ALHS is now supposed to fill the void. The ALHS is supported by federation congregations. Yet, many have a "development director", whose purpose is to recruit from the community. At the junior level religion class, they are getting exams with fill in the blank questions from the Small Catechism. One would think that they would be on to the Large Catechism or anything else from the BOC. Like most of the WELS, the BOC has been relegated to the status of an ancient relic.

***

GJ - Wayne Mueller and SP Gurgle rocketed the tuition up for preps and the colleges. That provided cash flow for a failing synod. More than one person said they lost a generation of students from such genius leadership, and that was after St. Marvin of Schwan blessed them with millions and millions to mismanage.

Before, a student could go to a synod prep or college and consider a church vocation, because the tuition was not burdensome. Now it is.

People have to wonder if synod schools are really an alternative. They are not high quality in education, whether measured by doctrinal teaching or basic educational skills (like spelling).

Sunday, January 2, 2011

More About Mary Lou College

The gaydar dish was installed with a grant from Thrivent and the Salvation Army.
Sgt. Mother Jones (Salvation Army) said, "We like to give back."



Daniel Baker has left a new comment on your post "MLC News - Or Not News":

I have noticed that some of the kids I knew in high school (most of whom I never considered interested in - or necessarily fit for - the Ministry) are going to/applying for admittance to MLC.

I suspect that the faculty of the high schools are encouraging any student with primitive (though not necessarily correct) knowledge of Scripture to attend MLC (i.e. if you've got better than a C in religion class, you're qualified). But, that is merely unsubstantiated conjecture.

However, I can assure you that a proper understanding of Lutheran theology is not a requirement for pushing the youth into the Ministry, as I was encouraged by numerous teachers on multiple occasions to attend MLC as a prime candidate for pastor tract; of course, this was when I was in my Reformed, never-heard-of-the-BoC phase.

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bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "MLC News - Or Not News":

Grumpy, Lately 12 students were eligible for calls, and only 2 received calls. You can see why someone might get the idea that the WELS doesn't need a full-blown college campus to produce enough teachers. A teacher track at WLC could handle these numbers and be much more cost-effective:
December 17, 2 010
MLC Update
http://www.mlc-wels.edu/home/administration/offices/ma/wu/wu20101217/

excerpt: A total of 12 students were eligible for assignment and were considered by the Assignment Committee. Five were December graduates, and seven were previous graduates. Two received assignments into the teaching ministry. For updated information visit our website and follow the link
labeled “assignment lists.”

Another WELS Parasitical Church



A report from the field:

Here's another (W)ELS mission church that has a lot in common with the (W)ELS emergent church The Core.
 
Jarod Oldenburg is the pastor and church planter assigned by the Synod.  Things in common are sheep stealing to start the church.  The church name avoids any reference to Lutheran or WELS, although it can be found by looking.  They are using Baptist theological books for education and inspiration.

 I had a run in with Pastor Oldenburg years ago following his attendance at a Reggie McNeal (Baptist) training seminar.  He returned and was promoting the idea that if we didn't communicate God's word in the language of today we just wouldn't be communicating.  He was also working on writing new creeds for his mission - Light of Life in Covington, Wa.)  

Once a month preview services for the reasons given below.  One year of preparation before the first service is to begin.

Starting a (W)ELS church called Eternal Rock.  Quotes from Pastor Oldenburg's blog:
"Up until this point, our primary goal has been to locate mission-minded WELS members who would like to help our effort"

"During the Launch meeting, we will be sharing the Eternal Rock mission:  “Follow Jesus: Live Love.”"

"To help us align, we chose to go through the book Essential Church.  The book is not gospel truth, but it did provide some great points for discussion."

Once a month Preview Services - "will allow us time to follow-up on guests and make any necessary changes (location, timing, equipment, etc.)"

"September 2011 - Sometime after Labor Day we will launch our weekly services."

Timeline
2009SeptemberThe WELS Board for Home Missions decides to fund the exploratory mission in Castle Rock, Colorado.  This decision is based on funding and the presence of an interested core group of families that live in and around Castle Rock.

2010MayPastor Jared Oldenburg [grew up in Appleton], at the time serving the church he started in Covington, WA, accepts the call to serve as the church planter for the Castle Rock Mission.

2010JulyPastor Oldenburg arrives with his family (wife and three kids).
 
2010Augustfirst mission meeting to discuss schedule and general goals for the mission.  It is determined that the group will meet every other week and read/study together the book Essential Church.  The first meeting had 20 adults.

2010-SeptemberNew name!  Eternal Rock Lutheran Church. The other finalists were Rock of Life and Christ Our Rock.  New website is launched at www.eternalrock.org the same month as well as a serving Castle Rock task force.

2010OctoberServing Castle Rock task force starts the process of a “Community Needs Assessment” and makes plans to interview community officials and serve the community.
http://jaredoldenburg.wordpress.com/

Interesting factoid - Baptist Thom Rainer who cowrote the book Essential Church (which Oldenburg is using) has just finished his new book, Transformational Church which he co wrote with Ed Stetzer.
"Ed Stetzer and I provide the full story of our study and these churches in our recently released book called, of course, Transformational Church. More than anything, the study and the book is a story of hope."  Thom Rainer
 
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Houston, Prepare for Launch

December 22, 2010
by jaredoldenburg

Houston, Prepare for Launch

There are really about a thousand ways you can start a church. Some (in my opinion) are good and some, well, not so great.  To tip my hand a little, anything involving clowns, carnies or pyrotechnics is bad.  What follows is not some breakthrough model for church planting. What follows is simply an explanation of the approach we are taking to start Eternal Rock.

Before we get into too many details, some general church planting principles ought to be laid out.  First, it is generally good to start a church in the fall because many people are settling down into some routines after a busy/distracted summer.  Second, if you are going to write about planting your church, make sure you use exaggerated blog titles that make it sound like you are about to send something to Mars. Third, in this day and age, it makes some sense to get to know/serve a community first and launch second.

Alignment (July-December)
Up until this point, our primary goal has been to locate mission-minded WELS members who would like to help our effort.  It is not that we don’t care about the unchurched, but instead we figure we can best serve and reach the unchurched in the future if we strengthen our core group.  To help us align, we chose to go through the book Essential Church.  The book is not gospel truth, but it did provide some great points for discussion.  It looks like we have just over 20 adults who are committed to our efforts and excited to help make it happen.

Prelaunch I (January-May)
Starting in January, our primary goals will move towards the planning aspects of launching a church.  This will be divided up into two types of meetings: Launch and Planning.

Launch
During the Launch meeting, we will be sharing the Eternal Rock mission:  “Follow Jesus: Live Love.”

The first meeting will cover the mission of Jesus and in turn our mission as a church.  During successive monthly meetings, we will be explaining and expanding each of the parts.  For example, “Follow Jesus” would mean follow Jesus through worship and by studying His Word.  During the meetings, we will discuss/present what this will look like at our new church. 
Anyone who may want to be involved is invited to these meetings. The first is January 16th at 4:00pm at the Castle Oaks Church (across from Nike) in the Castle Rock Outlet Mall.

Planning
If you think of the launch meetings as casting a vision for the new church, the planning meetings will focus on the business end of launching a church.  Couples and individuals will be encouraged to focus on either worship, outreach, education, or service as we get ready to have our first preview service in May.  If the Launch meetings focus on what it will look like, the planning meetings will focus on what it will take to make it happen.

Prelaunch II (May-August)
During this time we will be holding worship once each month.  The weeks between preview services will allow us time to follow-up on guests and make any necessary changes (location, timing, equipment, etc.).  This is also a time when we will start to emphasize outreach and service to the community.  Not only will we have something to invite people to (worship), but we will also be mobilized to do some things in the community.


Launch (September 2011)
Sometime after Labor Day we will launch our weekly services.  The idea is that by this service date and with the help of the preview services, we will have the location, signage, welcome, timing, equipment, etc, ready so we can focus our greatest efforts on reaching those who are far from God.

***

GJ - Somebody should do a census on the emergent churches already in the area. This congregation is another example of Stetzer-based work. "What we believe" is so watered down and vague that any denomination could post the same words.

Their pre launch meetings are being held at Castle Oaks Church - Evangelical Covenant
http://www.castleoaks.org/Home.aspx


I noticed the links to WELS do not work, although the website is "crazy easy" to maintain.

If you do not like this development, write a letter!

If you did not speak to the pastor first, you will be accused of violating Matthew 18. If you did speak to him first, you will be accused of not writing a letter first.

If you meet with other members and pastors and try to do something, nothing will happen, even if the DP meets with you. He probably will not. If he does meet with you, he will blame this blog for getting you upset.

You will not be taken seriously. The DP will retaliate against you, your family, and your friends. Former friends. They will desert you as soon as they find out you questioned Holy Mother WELS.

Or send an email to the Synod President. He will send a secretive message back (if you are lucky) saying that he is working on it.

MLC News - Or Not News



grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Fight Synodical Misinformation":

Alas, Dr. Jackson was incorrect in his assertion that Martin Luther College would be closing soon.

Also, just in from MLS, future freshman enrollment for 2011-2012 seem to be much higher than in recent years. Recently posted on the MLS web site (12/27/2010):

Between last school year and the current year MLS experienced considerable growth in numbers, by God's grace. If current application figures are any indication, that growth will continue next school as well. Our applications for next school year have now hit sixty.

No gift card for Dr. Jackson this year. Perhaps he will be more critical in filtering out misinformation in 2011 ?

***

GJ - The source about Martin Luther College is Pastor Jenswold, now in Fox Valley. You will have to take it up with him.

Someone already posted that the contingency plans had been discussed at MLC.

Of course, I have no idea if your information is correct, Grumpy. You do not even sign your name.

This is a clearing house where people can post what they want, anonymously, with very little filtering.

Given the WELS propensity for lying and covering up felonies, they should not be too eager to press the nyah-nyah macro button. How many denominations have spouses murdered and they cannot even let their members know?

The Sunday Before The Epiphany

This Transfiguration scene is the cover art, designed by Norma Boeckler, for Thy Strong Word.




The Sunday before the Epiphany, 2011

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn # 126 Arise and Shine 3:67
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 # 128 Brightest and Best 3:29

Luther Taught Justification Through the Means of Grace

The Hymn #95 Savior of the Nations 3:42
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 #81 O Jesus Christ Thy Manger 3:60

KJV 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 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? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

KJV Matthew 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. 19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Sunday Before the Epiphany
O Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst suffer Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, to become a stranger and a sojourner in Egypt for our sakes, and didst lead Him safely home to His fatherland: Mercifully grant that we poor sinners, who are strangers and sojourners in this perilous world, may soon be called home to our true fatherland, the kingdom of heaven, where we shall live in eternal joy and glory; through the merits of Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Luther Taught Justification Through the Means of Grace

Confusion and error about the efficacy of the Word have allowed a Halle University Pietist to trump the Bible and the Book of Concord with his strange concoction of double-justification, grace without the Means of Grace, forgiveness without the Word, without faith. A general understanding of the unity of Christian doctrine is necessary to discern the truth revealed in the Scriptures as distinguished from the manifest errors of the Enthusiasts.
Martin Luther is known both for his prolific writing and also for his consistency. He taught the same theology throughout life. Historians are not met with confusion caused by Calvin, who was also prolific. The Swiss Reformer contradicted himself throughout his writings, so the Calvinists continue to debate his doctrine and lack a unified, harmonious confession.
The Lutherans Reformers were anxious to avoid splitting the Christian faith into many doctrines, as if they are individual concepts, a modular religion to be put together and taken apart in units. Luther grasped and taught the entire Bible as a unified truth, the Bible as the Book of the Holy Spirit. The Concordists likewise sought a harmonious witness to the truth, not one that bartered and swapped individual pieces.
When UOJ advocates cry out, “You have denied Universal Objective Justification!” they emphasize their error, because they isolate one item and defend it by quoting other errorists, without ever connecting their concept to Biblical, Lutheran doctrine.
Lutheran doctrine is not the result of a franchise being established. Lutheran doctrine is not synodical, regional, or bound by a nation’s borders. The Book of Concord confesses, and Lutherans allegedly agree – that the unified truth proclaimed in its pages is the historic Christian faith. Therefore, the Book of Concord begins with the Ecumenical Creeds:
1. The Apostles Creed, so ancient that no one knows its origin.
2. The Nicene Creed, fashioned to combat errors about Christ.
3. The Athanasian Creed, “the most splendid ecclesiastical lyric ever poured forth by the genius of man.” (D’Israeli).
Thus, any debate among Lutherans or with those of another confession should be considered as an argument about the truth of historic Christianity. We used to say “the Catholic faith,” when it meant the universal and orthodox faith revealed in the Scriptures. But so many Lutheran pastors have sinuflected to Rome that the term Catholic is permanently tainted.
The Concordists considered themselves theologians of the 1530 Augsburg Confession, as Luther did. The Augsburg Confession and the additional writings of the early Reformation established the difference between the historic truth of the Scriptures as opposed to Roman errors, all in the context of the faithful witnesses of the past.
The Formula of Concord, 1580, dealt especially with conflicts among the Lutherans and errors among the non-Lutheran Protestants. Doctrinal discussions must always reflect this miracle of harmony. If not the participants engage in the sectarian conceit of people belonging to “the church of the open Bible,” as if the Confessions were irrelevant, boring, and impractical. That attitude reveals a marked anti-Lutheran and anti-Biblical attitude, one which generally decays into Unitarianism or worse, unless awakened from its torpor of ignorance, synod-worship, and sloth.
Convention and conference essays have no authority over the Book of Concord. The Brief Confession of 1932 has no more credibility than a seminarian’s essay in doctrine class. Some parts seem good, but the justification section is dangerously false, rendering the rest of the Brief Confession toxic. Moreover, the Brief Confession contradicts other confessional efforts and catechisms by the Missouri Synod, where UOJ was never mentioned. The 1987 Theses are just as ridiculous as the 1932 Brief Confession, because they try to blend UOJ with justification by faith.
Robert Preus was wrong when he promoted UOJ in the 1980s, but he corrected himself in his Justification and Rome, even though his UOJ-loyal sons Rolf and Daniel edited it posthumously. That change of heart and misplaced filial loyalty should remind everyone not to make a man or a recent publication the last word on a topic, but to seek truth in ruling norm of the Scriptures and the ruled norm of the Book of Concord.
Some have asked how the Missouri Synod got this so wrong when the Muhlenberg tradition (LCA) and Lenski grasped the basic truth. The General Synod/General Council split took place because of anti-Confessional practices involving revivals, unionism with the Reformed, even the formation of union Lutheran-Reformed congregations. The Henkels influenced the Tennessee Synod and others to take the Book of Concord seriously again. Thus the doctrinal division in the General Synod served to move many toward a Biblical understand of the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace.
These basics are beyond debate and remain absolutely at war with the Pietistic fad of UOJ.
Efficacy of the Word
God has bound His Holy Spirit to His Word and never works apart from that Word. Any person who claims otherwise is an Enthusiast, a false teacher participating in the foundational evil of all doctrinal error. The Holy Spirit works through the Law to convict us of our sin, but the primary emphasis in this section is justification through the Means of Grace.
The Word of God has been described as:
1. Invisible in teaching and preaching,
2. Visible in the sacraments.
The Gospel conveys Christ to us in both forms, and grace only comes from these appointed Means or Instruments of Grace.
Forgiveness through God’s grace is the issue in justification, which is God’s declaration of forgiveness. The Gospel’s divine power creates and sustains faith in each individual, but UOJ Pietists avoid the terms and the application of the Means of Grace, disparaging faith in the Gospel as if that were a sign of orthodoxy.
The Preaching Office
Luther observed in a sermon that the shepherds and Wise Men must have wondered at God directing them past the marvelous Jerusalem Temple to find the Savior in a manger. God has chosen foolishness to shame the wisdom of the wise. How bizarre to find Lutheran church leaders rejecting the spiritual wisdom of the Word to embrace the alleged wisdom of statistical analysis, marketing, and entertainment.
Nothing seems more foolish to the world than preaching and teaching the Gospel. Nevertheless, God Himself has chosen this instrument as the primary channel for His grace. The Enthusiasts of Luther’s day wanted to extol the Inner Word, as if someone could sit alone in a room and wait until the Holy Spirit came to him with inspiration. Quakerism is based upon this notion. In contrast, Luther followed the Biblical example of the External Word, the Holy Spirit always united with the Word. No better example can be found than that of the Savior. In each and every case Jesus converted people to faith through the Word, His teaching confirmed by miracles.
The Old Testament leaders preached, not just as the Law, as some might imagine. The prophecies and blessings are all Gospel. The Old Testament has more Gospel content than the New Testament, due to its size, about three times that of the New Testament. Jesus and the apostles preached the Gospel, His way prepared by the preaching of John the Baptist. The illegal, persecuted Church in the Roman Empire had no mass media methods to ease its way into the world. Instead, they relied on preaching and teaching until Rome itself was converted and Constantinople became the center of a Christian empire for eleven centuries.
The Pietists preach about the carnal sins of the world, which is exactly what the Church of Rome did to scare people into paying for indulgences. Jesus, in His farewell message to the disciples, emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit in preaching, but placed an emphasis on sin that is almost always lacking today.
The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, “because they have not believed on Me.” The problem—or opportunity—of carnal sin preaching stems from its ineffectiveness. The Law condemns the problem without providing a solution. Threats and punishment can stop the outward sin while inflaming the inward rebellion. Thus, one church may say, “Gambling is a terrible sin, so you must not gamble.” Another one says, “Drinking is a terrible sin, so you must not ever drink alcohol.” They apply more Law, which is no solution, and continue the cycle.
Jesus did not say, “Ye gamblers and ye drunks!” but “O ye of little faith.” Faith in Christ is forgiveness of sin, justification by faith, God’s proclamation of absolution through the Word. The foundational sin is not trusting in the atoning death of Christ. The Gospel message is simply Christ crucified for the sins of the world. This message of grace reveals to the unbeliever that the price has been paid. The proclamation means, “Not only for the world did He die, for also for my sins.” The Promises of God create faith, which receives the benefits of forgiveness. Although our sinful, selfish nature continues, the Gospel helps us in resisting temptation and following God out of love rather than fear.
The Sacraments
Preaching the Gospel offends the world, and the sacraments—the visible Word—offend most Protestants. They are sarcastic about the Real Presence, although Jesus said, “This is My Body.” They deny the effect of Holy Communion, neglecting the meaning of “given for the forgiveness of sin.” They stumble at the variety of the Means of Grace, asking “Why does God need so many?” as if forgiveness is God’s necessity and not man’s.

To be finished later.

From Knapp's Double-Justification To WELS/ELS/LCMS UOJ:
The Path To Universalism


Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Everyone Relax - Jeske Teaches UOJ - No Need To Ki...":

It looks like the term Pre-Forgiveness was coined by Nationwide Insurance and used in a widescale advertising track. Most of the religious internet references to Pre-forgiveness reference this flyer that they received and then related it to their own doctrine. It's interesting to see who found the term appealing.

(W)ELS in the form of their LCMS advanced pastoral scout Mark Jeske have bound themselves to Universalism in their central doctrine of UOJ. The Ichabod linked (W)ELS essays, which constitute their official explanation of doctrine, clearly show the outlandish claims of forgiven saints in Hell are not caricatures of the doctrine but quotes from the (W)ELS' own theologians. The caricature is their feeble defense of the false gospel. UOJ has its foundation in Universalism and that is taught in many cults including the New Age World religion, Seventh Day Adventists, Unitarian Universalists etc. When the Satanic Taize new agers are referred to as Christian by (W)ELS pastors, there is little if anything to keep them from coming together.

Here's a UU website discussing the term Pre Forgiveness.

You’ve Been Pre-forgiven! (Open to find out how)” Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley."



Everyone Relax - Jeske Teaches UOJ - No Need To Kick Him Out of WELS


"Someone sent Jeske a question last week, asking about what he meant by pre-forgiveness. He said he meant universal objective love. He did mention faith but it made no sense because he said we are already forgiven. Just a rehash of UOJ. The thing that I was shocked by was the term pre-forgiveness. I wonder where he got that new term?

We just keep moving more and more away from the Biblical terms and the Book of Concord.

YOU now have pre-forgiveness. My cats have pre -forgiven me even before I hurt their feelings."
29A*

***

GJ - I am not sure if Jeske is drawing his language from the prevenient grace of Arminians and Roman Catholics.

More likely he is simply recasting UOJ into elementary language, a staple of boob tube entertainment. Universal Objective Justification, as a phrase on TV, makes the lights go out. That effect is good in the synodical classroom, but alarming in mass media.

Universal love is so much better, and pre-forgiveness is the best thing since indulgences.

No wonder so many WELS pastors fall off the wagon and into bed with their members. They are pre-forgiven.



*He is so deep under cover that he is only known by a hexadecimal number, 29A.

Fight Synodical Misinformation


SP Harrison gets a call? You read it here first.

Why spend time looking for idiotic, epic fail videos when they appear here, courtesy of expensive synodical colleges?

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Jesus, Lord of Creation - In Color - Now Published

This graphic is the cover art, which Norma Boeckler designed, along with all the illustrations inside.


Here is the Lulu storefront ordering link.

This is Norma Boeckler's website for the book.

I dreaded wrestling with the cover design software at Lulu, but one of the options was easy to use and provided explicit, clear instructions on making the graphic fit the cover.

Any PDF will contain the illustrations in their original color. I decided to make the printed version full color. However, I discounted the book to make it reasonable. All the books (except Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant) are non-profit, as much as Lulu allows. CLP also has a separate discussion guide.

The PDFs are all free and can be shared without fear of litigation, confiscation, or altercation.

If someone needs a number of CLPs, I can arrange a special price. I get the author's wholesale price and I can have them shipped directly from Lulu.

LPC, from Extra Nos, made an excellent suggestion for Justification. When that is completed, I will post an announcement. That will be very soon, since this is the fallow part of the teaching year. Relatively few classes are taught in January.

I expect a printable version of Justification to be ready in a week or so.

I have several improvements planned for Justification, so I will be labeling each edition and changing the title page somewhat to show the difference. If I wait for everything to be done and perfect, the manuscript will be in my estate rather than my Lulu Storefront.

Missouri Synod president to assist at Ladue parish church

Missouri Synod president to assist at Ladue parish church

Ladue is one of the wealthy suburbs of St. Louis.

The Emergents Hide the Sacraments



Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "What Sasse Says: Sasse to Hebart, Christmas 1948":

As I recall, the "Statement of the Forty-Four" came about in the WWII era, when the Lutheran decline was above noted as starting. Instead of solving the problem in the way of Acts 15, "We will just have to agree to disagree and go home." The Jerusalem Council, on the other hand, said, "We're going to sit here and hash this out until we unanimously agree and are true to God's Word in such agreement."

Another point that keeps going through my head is the issue of the Lord's Supper. We are so poorly catechized today that I think people often take the Calvinistic/Zwinglian approach to the "Real Presence." Are we being punished, per 1 Cor. 11 for not taking seriously Christ's presence in the elements?

"...there is no argument as to what kind of consolation and confirmation in our judgment brings surer, more beneficial, and more effectual results. For we certainly ought not arrogate this judgment to ourselves, we who ought to depend on the word of Him of whom the Father has said from heaven: "Hear Him" [Luke 9:35]. But because the proper, simple, and natural meaning of the words of the last will and testament of Christ teaches the substantial presence of His very body and blood in the Supper, and because from this so many sweet and useful comforts come to our conscience, which through the opposing opinion are entirely taken away or torn down, we therefore rightly come to the point that we must fight to retain the proper and natural meaning of the testament of Christ lest such comforts be taken from the church. For what kind of comfort and strengthening is best suited and most necessary for us in out infirmity no one knows better than our true Good Samaritan, who heals all our infirmities. In addition to all other remedies for our infirmity He has instituted in His last Supper, in the form of His last will and testament, this ever-present anecdote, when He says: 'Take, eat and drink, this is My body, this is My blood.' And we must give pious and reverent attention to its benefit, use, and efficacy." -From "The Lord's Supper/De coena Domini," by Martin Chemnitz, Second Edition, 1590, pg. 186.

***

GJ - I will be writing today about justification and the Sacraments. The Grow-ti-vational Lutherans hide Holy Baptism and Holy Communion because both take time, annoy the Babtists, and emphasize God rather than man. Now, that's a downer.
Anonymous Blogger Tim Glende with a tarted up Katy Perry.




Katy Perry does not look so good in the morning, as photographed by her new hubbie.

What Sasse Says: Sasse to Hebart, Christmas 1948

What Sasse Says: Sasse to Hebart, Christmas 1948

Sasse about American Lutheran synods:

That is the deep distress of our American sister churches, that they either live in a ghetto or that they sink into modernistic Americanism. I am deeply troubled over the development of the ULC in respect to theology since the dismissal and death of Knubel. What has occurred in Maywood, Springfield and Mount Airy, which I have visited again, can only cause concern for the future of these important branches of American Lutheranism. And in the ALC the decline is evident since Reu’s death. Bodensieck has taken his place.  

***

GJ - Sasse saw the old guard being replaced by the moderns in the ULCA and ALC (Iowa, Ohio, and Buffalo Synod merger). In each case, the orthodox men were replaced by unionistic liberals. This same thing happened in the LCMS, and everyone remained in quiet denial.

Before WWII, American Lutherans were quite close in terms of doctrine, worship, and the theologians they admired.

Sixty years of unionism have splintered the Lutherans groups, like a hammer hitting a puddle of mercury. Hymnals and translations have multiplied. Every sect is a rainbow coalition of Pentecostalism, Unitarianism, and Romanism. Lutherans are the exception.

Doctrinal knowledge is feeble and fading fast.

The seminaries used to take farm boys and teach them Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Now the task is too great, to get the city boys off their digital devices. Everything is dumbed down while tuition has reached Ivy League costs.

Happy New Year


Question: Why is this day not like any other day?

Answer: Because it is uniquely dated 1-1-11.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Welcome To The Waffle House - Missouri's Response To ELCA's Abortion and Sodomy Advocacy


ELCA News Release

As background reading for the meeting, Collver offered two papers he authored - one that discusses natural law and finds that it does not allow for homosexual behavior; and another that calls for "re-examination of the principle of 'cooperation in externals' … to consider what 'externals' can be cooperated in without compromising confession."

     Collver also offered what he developed as five "theses for cooperation in externals on the basis of natural law." The first two state that cooperation in externals "can only occur when there is agreement in natural law" and "when there is agreement in doctrine and practice, because such agreement constitutes agreement in natural law."
 
The Rev. Dr. Marcus Kunz, executive for discernment of contextual and theological issues with the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop, provided "A Brief Response" to Collver's papers for discussion at the meeting.
 
Kunz expressed appreciation for Collver's papers, but placed greater emphasis on the need for acts of Christian love that result from faith.

"The motivation for Lutherans in the United States to form and support these organizations -- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Lutheran Services in America and Lutheran World Relief -- has been a confident faith created by the Holy Spirit that, trusting God's promises in Christ, has liberated Lutherans to respond graciously, generously and joyfully to the needs of their neighbors in the United States and throughout the world," Kunz wrote.

The Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, told the group that while Collver's papers are not an "official response" to the ELCA, they address a "significant question." He said that question has to do with how to be sure that activities in which the two churches carry out cooperative ministries "aren't dominated in a way that is impossible for us (in the LCMS) to accept."

This was Harrison's first meeting with the Committee on Lutheran Cooperation as president, following his election by Missouri Synod's convention delegates in July. 

He said that while actions of the convention show that "the Synod is overwhelmingly in pain" over the ELCA's sexuality decisions, "the convention also said that it did not desire to discontinue all cooperative work."

***

GJ - Thrivent, WELS, ELCA, LCMS, ELS, CLC (sic) - all work together promoting the ELCA/Thrivent agenda - the sanctity of homosexuality and the necessity of abortion on demand.

The inter-locking Lutheran organizations (Thrivent, Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran World Federation) also share a communication of attributes with the National and World Council of Churches.

In other words, when WELS and the ELS commune with other sects, they suffer from all the sects those sects have had fellowship with. The WELS and ELS do not need to join the NCC, WCC, or LWF to suffer from the same sectsually transmitted diseases.

The ecumenical urge is a biological need for all apostate church bodies, as Brett Meyer observed in another context -

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Taize Information Center":

The Charis essay exposes an important fact concerning the New Age Emergent apostasy that is consuming the (W)ELS, "The key for this liturgical renewal is a clear proclamation of Christ crucified flowing from a means of grace theology. At the forefront of this movement, however, there seems to be a great deal of support and encouragement for a form of liturgical worship known as Taize."

The Satanic practice of Taize is at the forefront of the (W)ELS' liturgical renewal. The (W)ELS is not going to renew using the historic Liturgy which is Scriptural and Confessional. The (W)ELS is going to renew using New Age mysticism and the occult.

Consider this in light of the (W)ELS continued involvement in the Ecumenical movement (abolishing the critical importance of doctrine in order to have unity with people who hold to different doctrines - we could accomplish so much more for Jesus if we all work together!), their claim that the church of the Antichrist is Christian, their financing of worldwide murder of men, women and children through Lutheran World Relief, their financing the murder of unborn babies through Thrivent, calling Satanist Leonard Sweet to teach them how to do evangelism and worship, calling the New Age Emergent church growth experts to teach them like Reggie McNeal, continued fellowship with the well rounded apostasy of Pastor Ski and Glende, their confession of the false gospel of Universal Objective Justification with forgiven saints in Hell, the Roman Catholic Pope's (all Antichrists) having been declared by God's divine verdict to be forgiven and justified by Christ etc. etc. etc...