On the Notorious Iver Johnson - Editor of WELS' Christian Worship

WELS Pastor Stadler, divorced and remarried, was the featured speaker at the Columbus WELS Youth Rally.
He was buddies with Wayne Mueller and Paul Kelm - big surprise.
Iver Johnson was on his staff.Albrecht still is.


Kentucky Born wrote:

Iver Johnson was an ELS pastor and professor for many years. He moved on in his career to become a pastor in a WELS church in W. St. Paul MN. While serving as pastor he conducted a 15 year affair with a church secretary. He was immediately divorced by his wife of some 40 years.

He continued to serve as pastor in W. St. Paul. His congregation was either removed from WELS, or voluntarily removed itself from WELS, over the issue of women in the church at some time during Iver's tenure.

Johnson and his co-pastors prepared a document on the subject. This document Is held in contempt by WELS and ELS because it does not repeat the official WELS spin on the subject. Iver Johnson was considered to be a liberal because of this document.

One of his co-pastors, who was co-officiant at his funeral, is editor of a well-known conservative Lutheran theological journal.

Women now vote in this W.St.Paul congregation. The congregation uses the WELS hymnal. High schoolers attend the nearest WELS high school. No mission moneynor financial goes to WELS HQ.

Iver's children were at the funeral and one of them spoke eloquently about his father. The mother was not in attendance. The second wife, the former church secretary, was there.

Those old acquaintances from Iver's past don't take Iver's thoughts on the question of women in the church very seriously because no one ever accused Iver of being a theologian.

What was felt at the funeral was a sense of great sadness about the wife whom Iver set aside so rudely. There was no mention of her at this funeral. It was as though there were a cloud of acid rain hovering over the assembly.

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Pastor Richard Stadler Office (651) 457-6343 Mobile (651) 338-8621 email: rstadler@saintjameslutheran.com

Pastor Stadler was born in Flint, Michigan, graduated from Swartz Creek High School and attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, majoring in political science and economics, before transferring to Northwestern College, Watertown, Wisconsin, to prepare for the Seminary.  Before beginning the seminary, he taught English Composition for a year at Dr. Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minnesota. He then completed his training at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, graduating in 1971. During his seminary training, he served part-time vicarages for congregations in the San Francisco Bay area, Lake Geneva and West Allis, Wisconsin. He also coordinated the inner-city evangelism project for seven inner-city congregations in Milwaukee in 1970 and 1971.

Stadler was assigned as the first pastor of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Tennessee, serving Rock of Ages Lutheran Church in Nashville, and planting a WELS mission congregation in Memphis, Tennessee. He also served as a civilian chaplain to WELS military personnel at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky and Millington Naval Air Station, Memphis, Tennessee.             In 1975, he accepted the call to serve as associate Pastor at Saint James, together with Pastors Carl Bolle and Iver Johsnon, with special responsibility for evangelism and youth ministry. He also served as a part-time campus pastor at the University of Minnesota from 1976 to 1980.   He participated in an archeological dig at Tel Gerisa, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1982, earned a degree in Jewish Studies from the University of Minnesota in 1985, and continues to study Hebrew, Arabic and Jewish studies.              The congregation called Stadler to assume the responsibilities of Senior Administrative pastor in 1990, when Pastor Johnson moved into partial retirement.  In 1995, he and his colleagues, Pastor Johnson and Pastor Albrecht, were suspended from membership in the WELS, as was the congregation in June, 1995.  He and Pastor Albrecht and Saint James continue to serve as independent, evangelical, confessional Lutherans, not affiliated with any Synod.  In 1999, he spent a 3-month sabbatical in Jerusalem studying the architecture of the temple in first century Judaism and exploring the Dead Sea Scrolls with Scrolls translator Dr. Martin Abegg, at Jerusalem University College. He has also visited the Seminary and congregations of the Bible Faith Lutheran Churches of India three times to teach in the Seminary, preach in the congregations and remind them of Saint James’ support. Since 2001, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Metro Lutheran, a pan-Lutheran newspaper published in Minneapolis.               During his free time, he enjoys traveling with his wife Cheryl to interesting places, especially Israel, making memories with their grown children and grandchildren, reading, writing songs, taking and collecting photos, and playing golf, tennis and basketball.

Pastor Michael Albrecht Office (651) 457-6796 Mobile (651) 746-4842 email: malbrecht@saintjameslutheran.com

Pastor Michael J. Albrecht was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1955. His father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather were Lutheran ministers.   After graduating from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1982, Pastor Albrecht taught German and American history on the high school level for one year. Then he was assigned to start a new mission congregation in Houston, Texas. That is where he met his wife, Donna. All five of their children were born in Texas.   Pastor Albrecht came to Saint James in 1990. He currently works with the Education Committee and the Missions Committee. He recently visited the Bible Faith Lutheran Church of India for the fourth time. He has also made two trips to Prague in the Czech Republic, where our missionary friends, Pastor David Jurech and Pastor Dusan Tillinger are working. Pastor Albrecht has a special interest in church history, especially Martin Luther and the great Reformation of the 16th century. He has also done research in the writings of Prof. J. P. Koehler and the Wauwatosa Theology, which flourished in the 1920s.

Pastor Ralph Rokke Office (651) 457-3955 Mobile (612) 281-0808 email: rrokke@saintjameslutheran.com

Pastor Ralph M. Rokke was born in 1951, and grew up at Strandquist, Minnesota, graduating from high school there in 1969.  He attended Bemidji State College, and graduated in 1973, with a B.A. degree in English and German.  Then he attended the Association Free Lutheran Theological Seminary, and graduated in 1976, with a B.Th. degree.  Following ordination on June 13, 1976, Pastor Rokke served a three-church parish at McIntosh and Fosston, Minnesota, for three and a half years, and then a parish in inner-city Minneapolis for sixteen and a half years.   While conducting those ministries, he also earned an S.T.M. degree in 1989, and a D.Min. degree in 1995, both from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.  In 1997, Pastor Rokke was received onto the roster of Ministers of Religion-Ordained of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, and in 1998, he was called to serve at Saint James, an independent Lutheran congregation, through special arrangement between Saint James and the LCMS.  At Saint James Pastor Rokke shares the preaching and teaching responsibilities with the other pastors.  He also works with the Stewardship Committee, and focuses on ministry to seniors, making many home visits and conducting many services at nursing homes and senior residences.  Pastor Rokke and his wife, Kathi, have two children and five grandchildren.  His hobbies include woodworking, and enjoying and making improvements on the family’s woods-cabin.

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GJ -Stadler was known, early on, as the pastor who scooped up members who were being disciplined in their own WELS congregations.

How interesting that the Columbus pastors (three divorced, out of six) were so keen on having Stadler be the featured speaker at the WELS youth rally. Pastor Jon Balge said to me, after Stadler preached a weird sermon in his baby-talk lisp, "Thanks for not puking on me during the sermon, Greg."

Since Iver was devoting so much pastor care to their own church secretary, Albrecht and Stadler must have known about it for years. I heard Iver dumped his wife on their 50th anniversary, telling her about a 10-year affair. The numbers blur when these things happen.

Can anyone figure out how Christian Worship became the worst hymnal ever? Iver had connections with the covert SP of WELS, Wayne Mueller.

UOJ excuses everything. Even atheists are appalled by marital infidelity, especially among the clergy. WELS rewards it, and honors the trophy second wife as well.

More on WELS as an abusive cult in the next few days.