Ichabodians must enjoy how events like Emmaus are played in the synod media. The official press makes people believe these groups are together for the first time since--sniff--the big break in the 1960s. Unheeding Missouri went on to face Seminex while WELS/ELS fought the battle for truth, justice, and the American way.
The truth is far different. In the 1960s and beyond, the leadership of ELCA, Missouri, WELS, and the Little Sect eagerly sought training at their joint seminary - Fuller in Pasadena. All four synods spent millions sending their people through Fuller, and they promoted their Fuller graduates. That was one way they worked together as a non-geographical merger.
The funding apparatus of AAL/LB, merged into Thrivent, allowed formal joint operations. A few examples include the Membership Initiative, the Joy radio music ministry, and the Snowbird Leadership conference. Subtler still were programs like multi-culturalism, which sprang up magically after Snowbird, though The Lutheran (ELCA) magazine was honest about multi-culturalism coming from that event.
WELS took a sudden interest in various ethnicities because Thrivent paid them to do so. I am not sure how they worked this out with ELCA, but it was announced as a joint program.
The Joy radio ministry details became more obvious to me, because I phoned the ELCA man in charge, talking to his secretary and to him. They were appalled that WELS claimed not to be part of Joy. The man's secretary said, "But Barber (WELS) was at all our meetings." SP Mischke denied it in a letter to a WELS pastor. The ELCA man in charge asked me, "You believe me, don't you?"
Missouri admitted being part of Joy, then denied it as word leaked through Christian News.
For Snowbird, ELCA Bishop Chilstrom, the architect of gay activism in ELCA, posed with WELS SP Mischke and LCMS SP Bohlmann. ELCA ran the photo, but WELS and Missouri did not, for some reason. Then, as now, I had to do their research for them. I subscribed to The Lutheran and sent the photo to Christian NewsI for publication. An uproar followed. WELS DP Mueller defended the conference.
The four synods also work together through Lutheran World Relief, which overlaps the Lutheran World Federation, which overlaps the World Council of Churches. There are no real boundaries with staff and funding. You really think the terrorists invented money-laundering? Haha.
Jeske, The Colossal Bore
The press releases produced by Mark Jeske are even more fictional than Ed Stetzer's. At least Ed toned down on his "two master's and two doctoral degrees." The Jeske hot air balloon continues to soar ever upward.
He wants us to believe he is a great intellectual. But what distinguishes the public ministry of Mark Jeske, Fifth Generation WELS? He is an eclectic copy-cat, borrowing from fringe sects and clown ministries like Groeschel's.
Jeske is the secretive boss behind Church and Change. He does not claim the title but manages to dominate the board with his paid staff members, whose names and faces appear and disappear, like Brigadoon, on the Changer website. For instance, Ski was on the Changer board until I published that fact. Then, poof!, gone.
Ski and Bishop Katie went from working together at St. Marcus (Jeske, Inc) to working together at The CORE, a Jeske-funded operation. Katie and Ski tweeted away about their worship and study at various sectarian conference around their country, joined by their WELS colleagues.
Someone lavishly funded The CORE, which is simply a downtown parasite extension of St. Peter, Freedom, to draw members from other WELS congregations. The many trips of Ski and Katie were also funded and tweeted. Ski and Glende finally realized we were reading their public tweets, but Katie kept up the barrage.
The Ski-Katie pilgrimages matched the Jeske agenda exactly. Mark-and-Avoid said in one of his public proclamations that he was too good for WELS pastoral conferences, only going to those men who could show him how to be a gigantic success.
Jeske has both trotters in the government trough and relies on funds from WELS Daddy Warbucks from various parts of the synod. His school business could not exist without massive tax subsidies. His church business could not survive on its own, if he lacked Thrivent, foundation, and Warbucks grants.
Jeske is the Lutheran leader of the moment. His ideas are all borrowed and his funds are all skimmed. He has no problem offering a joint ministry program with an ELCA pastor, as long as he is the keynote speaker. WELS models itself after him, and it should, because WELS Enthusiasm produced him. WELS discipline protects him. "Touch not the Lord's Anointed!"
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Catechesis has left a new comment on your post "Cacophony Defined: WELS Emergent Church. Rock N R...":
CTR: "A church designed to meet you where you’re at."
And where's that, pray tell?
Lazy. "We’re casual!"
Shallow. "We're friendly!"
Narcissistic. "We're relevant!"
You can come and go as you are. We will not offend with Word (theology of the cross) and Sacrament.
http://ctrtx.net/ministries/worship-gatherings/
"Crumbled have spires......"
