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| WELS stewardship repudiates the Means of Grace, because they imagine worship is giving to God, not receiving from Him. |
"Because nothing else mattered except the cross of Christ, Luther risked everything on earth. Because he did, you and I now understand the cross. Is that also true of you, as an heir of the Reformation? Are you ready to risk your financial future as Luther did? Are you willing to risk your good name, your family, even your life?" WELS Church and Changer Peter Panitzke, nicknamed Peter Pan, Forward in Christ, nicknamed FICKLE.
rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Reformation Sunday, 2011":
"The Medieval religious leaders discovered, like today’s leaders, that there is a lot more money in pounding people with the law than there is with teaching the Gospel."
"The result of this law religion was corruption."
We are admonished to contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints.
False doctrine, unchecked, ultimately leads to unbelief. The scandals of the TV preachers are evidence of the corruption brought on by law religion. The law pounding often wears a velvet glove in an effort to soften the blow. An example would be the following guilt inducing questions used as part of the WELS Stewardship theme:
Consider the following:
1) If God's people aren't regularly using their talents at worship, should it really be called worship?
2) If we don't invest our talents in raising our children and serving our neighbor, what will soon happen with our society?
3) If we aren't interested in using our talents to promote the preaching and teaching of Christ in our midst--and around the world--what will soon happen to mission work?
The point? God has blessed each member of his body, the church, with certain talents. When each member uses those talents to serve God and each other, the body thrives. If members leave their talents untapped, the body suffers."
(end of quote)
We used to be told the following truism. "The Law says DO, but the Gospel says DONE".
Well, I guess that it is time to jump on the treadmill and work up a sweat using your time and talents. After all, don't we want to make every effort possible for the benefit of the Body of Christ? Isn't one soul worth a multi-million dollar expansion? Don't we need listen to the community to best determine how we can serve them with OUR ministry? Isn't the neglect of a spouse and children by members worth getting new members?
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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Peter Pan and WELS $tewardship Have a Law Message...":
When I read Panitzke's article I thought that Luther might just disagree, just a little:
“We treat of the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given to us. Christ has achieved it on the cross, it is true. But he has not distributed or given it on the cross. He has not won it in the supper or sacrament. There he has distributed and given it through the Word, as also in the gospel, where it is preached. He has won it once for all on the cross. But the distribution takes place continuously, before and after, from the beginning to the end of the world. If now I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it given there. Nor must I hold to the suffering of Christ - as Peter Panitzke trifles (yeah, I know, Luther said Karlstadt, but they're the same) - in knowledge or remembrance, for I will not find it there either. But I will find in the sacrament or gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the cross.”
WELS is really off the beam.
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GJ - Peter Pan has proven, once again, what I have claimed about the UOJ message. Their world absolution is not the Gospel, so they have no Gospel message, only a distortion of the Gospel to disguise their man-made law obsession.
PS - Acey, always give a citation so people can verify the quotation.
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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Peter Pan and WELS $tewardship Have a Law Message...":
Interesting commentary on Luther's "Against the Heavenly Prophets":
Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt had been dismissed from his post at Wittenberg, but continued to get into trouble everywhere. He attacked images in the churches, spiritualized the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, and disparaged the entire system of education as the pretentious adversary of a simple trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This ('Against the Heavenly Prophets') is a long and vigorous polemic against Karlstadt. Karlstadt and his companions are the 'heavenly prophets.' Even Melanchthon complained about the violence of Luther's style. When Karlstadt was fleeing from the Peasant's War a few months later, he knocked at the door on Luther's wedding night and Luther gave him shelter. (Obviously Luther had not yet fully developed the "Unit Concept" of fellowship.)
http://collections.lstc.edu/gruber/luthers_works/1525.php
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GJ - The Olde Synodical Conference is in fellowship with every cult and sect, but excommunicates Book of Concord Lutherans.
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grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Peter Pan and WELS $tewardship Have a Law Message...":
Ever notice how it is always the laity that is not giving enough?
My experience with a former pastor is that there is sometiems almost a hypersenitivity about their financial packages.
He would hold forth about the 10 percent rule, and that it should be based on GROSS (pre-tax), not NET. He would brag about how he had given 10+ percent...of course, that did not include the substantial part of his package which included the tax-free use of an extremely nice church owned parsonage, absolutely no utility bills, and so forth.
He would say "You can only give what you are given"...but when someone would note that the taxes paid, by many, do NOT come back as year-end refunds, it was not an acceptable argument.
However, when those non-taxable items were included in his total income, his giving was in line with everyone elses.
And heaven forbid that someone would mention the issue of a pastor canvassing a neighborhood for potential members, or even holding office hours at the church office. That was simply old fashioned, and did NOT need to be done.
I suppose it is petty to argue these points...everyone should give as they would freely do to show their gratitude. There are certainly enough who could give plenty more....maybe that includes myself.
But EVERYONE should examine their use of treasure and talents, not just one group of people.
Grumps
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GJ - Grumpy is right. Pension payments are on the short side in some groups, not ELCA or Missouri. Medical and dental packages are very pricey - no independent businessman can get the same deals. A parsonage plus utilities is even better than a housing allowance, because equity in a home makes it hard to move. The tax free benefits are worth a small fortune. The synods use church property and clergy benefits as ways to keep laity and ministers enslaved to a decaying system.
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Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Peter Pan and WELS $tewardship Have a Law Message...":
Since we are all Law, this needs to be carried out to its conclusion. Ask, "Are you willing to risk being burned at the stake, like Luther, for Jesus?" Actually, we should be, with God's help, since we pledge this at Confirmation; but I don't recall pledging to tithe.
Propose to take away or reduce the benefits packages of these clergy and pencil-pushers to support more missions. We would have to build an ark due to the tears.
Since the Synodical Conference loves to follow business models, perhaps they should follow suit by outsourcing administrative bloat instead of shaming parishioners. "Press 'one' for English."
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GJ - Don't get me started on the salaries and benefits of synodical drones.
