ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Tower of Babel Under New Management -
No, Just a New Name
Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "The Valley of Ashes - On Ash Wednesday, Ron Ash Is...":
"I'll be baack", said the Terminator in the movie. My fear is that Church and Change will be back with the same old garbage under a new name.
I also fear they have disbanded because they believe their work is done. They've gotten a portion of the WELS to believe popcorn and Pepsi are just fine for a worship atmosphere. Now they believe they can move on to other things.
Scott E. Jungen
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GJ - They got their hinies spanked, but good. Still, there is no repentance. If the money were shut off, they would be howling.
As long as false doctrine is not addressed in Missouri, WELS, or the Little Sect, nothing significant will happen.
Team Jackson was laughing about the contrast between the limited nastiness of corporate life, where there are rules and consequences, and the unlimited nastiness of the Olde Syn Conference.
One big loss in WELS is the passing of the fighting generation - men like Corky and Slick. They would talk to false teachers to their faces, not mincing words. Corky told the downtown Milwaukee pastors (who are all WELS leaders today) that they were "adulterers and false prophets."
When Slick showed up at The Guilt Factory, Ron Roth hid behind a divider, pretending to be gone. Slick said, "If he is not here, why are Ron Roth's feet behind that divider?" He loved telling that story. I did not know Corky, but Slick had a heart of gold.
The Shrinkers hated Slick and Corky. More on that later.
Plagiarist Tim Glende Unburdened Himself
On Ron Ash Wednesday
I am glad for the extra coverage. His parents must be proud of their plagiarist son.
From Tim Glende's Anonymous Blog:
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Dr. Gregory L. Jackson, the Charlie Sheen of Lutheranism
The postings on Dr. Gregory L. Jackson's blog are getting more ridiculous. Below is a fine example of the "pastor" without a call's visual rantings. He's reminding us of Charlie Sheen, the self-destructive actor who got canned from his job on a TV show and is now making a fool of himself on web videos and TV talk shows. Dr. Jackson got canned from several positions he has held, and now he has nothing better to do than ruin the reputations of others with ridiculous pictures and off-colored commentary. For someone with an earned doctorate, we would expect better. Dr. Jackson brags about all the visitors to his blog, "Ichabod the Glory Has Departed", but he has less (sic - fewer) than a handful who take him seriously. That number is getting less and less (sic - fewer and fewer), as his readers come to the enlightenment that this guy really doesn't know how to tell the truth.
***
GJ - Tim's member, an attorney, has written long letters about the lying, deceit, and plagiarism of Groeschel at St. Peter in Freedom. He has offered the evidence to prove that Tim steals his material from non-Lutheran Groeschel and does not attribute it, pretending he wrote the sermons. Glende's buddy Ski does the same thing, although I hear he admits to cheating.
Because of this plagiarism, both boys would be thrown out of school or their precious diplomas taken away, in any normal situation. Both boys would be fired and forced to work for a living, too. I say "boys" because their emotional maturity remains adolescent, as shown in their published poses with Katy Perry. Most married men with children would not think it cool to brag about posing with an untalented singer known for abandoning the Gospel to sing porno-songs.
But then, Ski is the only pastor I know who has to warn children away from his services, because of the porno-content.
The CORE is a choice example of smoke and mirrors. Ski's personal sandbox is not another congregation, but just another site for St. Peter, Freedom. Ski is on the staff of St. Peter, Freedom, but allowed to act as if he has a separate ministry. The money blown by Glende and Ski would float a number of schools or scholarships, but Glende came from a town (Columbus) where money bought false doctrine and rented false teachers. The net result of The CORE is gathering a bunch of WELS members from local WELS congregations.
Ash, Ski, and Glende set up their plaything in spite of objections from their brother pastors.
I do not get the Charlie Sheen connection. I do not keep a keg of beer on hand at the Ich-abode. I do not brag about knowing a porn princess (showing off her photos) or pose with a Playboy model. Pastor Tim should aim his volleys at Ski, Fox Valley's beery sexpert. The rock music they promote is not known for being background music to sobriety - just the opposite. Tim and Ski are in the entertainment business; I am not.
Tim's grasp of the facts is no better than his sentence structure, spelling, or doctrine. Let's say he was completely correct and I was far worse than anything he has ever posted. Would that absolve him of plagiarism, false doctrine, unionism, bullying members, and unbrotherly conduct with his fellow pastors? I think not.
Church and Change justifies their false doctrine through the vilification of their critics. Nothing is too low for them, as Glende has already shown in his other anonymous blog, which he de-loused and removed when he was found out. The only creative graphic he could muster was a picture of people eating cat excrement from a toilet. That is Tim Glende's style. He also thought that attacking my sainted daughters would justify his behavior, but he never mentioned that he visited Erin Joy in the hospital.
Yesterday was a bitter one for Ron Ash and his young minions. WELS does not admit to any error, any mistake, any misuse of funds. It is utter humiliation for Church and Change to dissolve (officially at least) and the secret listserve to blow up (already replaced with another secret one, I am sure).
The deceivers will not stop deceiving, but they have been handed a public rebuke.
Sure, Tim, no one takes me seriously. A few years ago, I was the only one who wrote about this. Now three blogs or websites deal with the same issues at once. Bailing Water was another step in that direction.
I had a flurry of emails from various people, the moment Ron Ash gave another Toad of Toad Hall speech - about the glories of Church and Change.
When Aderman published another version of the same thing, I received a second flurry of copies.
Tim thinks he is watching this blog. The efficacious Word keeps hardening his heart and blinding him to the Gospel. Many people are watching him because Deputy Doug Englebrecht refuses to do his job.
Stay tuned for the next time Pastor Tim decrepitates on his blog. I will keep it linked.
Part Two - My Growtivational Statistics
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Did Jeske Do This With His Residence?
Did He Buy a House and Pretend It Was Still a Parsonage?
Lax regulation of property tax exemptions costly - JSOnline
more photos
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Angela Peterson
Freedom Assembly church, 9330 W. Appleton Ave., has a sign on its front door listing a 10 a.m. Sunday service. However, on a Sunday in January, there was no such activity. There also was a chain blocking off the parking lot.
Milwaukee property owners pay more when others fall off tax rolls
Angela Peterson
Freedom Assembly church, 9330 W. Appleton Ave., has a sign on its front door listing a 10 a.m. Sunday service. However, on a Sunday in January, there was no such activity. There also was a chain blocking off the parking lot.
Data on Demand
Click to enlarge
$800
Approximate added annual cost of tax exemptions to the owner of a Milwaukee home assessed at $175,000.
300
Approximate number of Milwaukee properties granted a property tax exemption in the past two years.
7,300
Total tax exempt properties in Milwaukee.
Every year hundreds of properties quietly fall off Milwaukee's tax rolls, the owners identifying themselves as benevolent institutions, churches, nonprofit hospitals and other organizations that state lawmakers have decided should not pay property taxes.
Far fewer are added to the tax rolls, strapping city budgets and sticking existing property owners with an ever-growing portion of the overall tax bill.
Just how much are these exemptions costing taxpayers?
Nobody really knows. Not local assessors. Not the state. And not homeowners and others who pick up the tab.
That's because exemptions are loosely monitored, and the system is rife with other problems, an examination by the Journal Sentinel has found.
Calculations based on the best estimate city assessors have - which come from vague and poorly reported data - show the exemptions are costly, driving up tax bills for average homeowners by nearly 20%. That's close to $800 for a Milwaukee property-tax payer with a home assessed at $175,000.
The newspaper reviewed applications for Milwaukee property tax exemptions in 2010, as well as some long-standing exemptions elsewhere, and found everything from properties listed as churches offering few if any services to profitable businesses operating out of tax-exempt properties.
Meanwhile, assessors across the state fail to properly monitor exemptions - snubbing requirements - while the state Department of Revenue does little to enforce the rules.
The Journal Sentinel identified nearly $500,000 worth of properties with suspicious exemptions while examining just a few cases from 2010 in Milwaukee.
Among the findings:
• Not all properties are being used as stated in their tax-exemption applications, casting doubt on whether they qualify for the exemption. The Journal Sentinel visited a dozen newly exempted churches and found three had little - or nothing - going on and did not appear to be operating as they promised when applying to get the exemption.
• Although the stakes are high, regulators don't routinely inspect the properties to ensure they are being used appropriately. For example, they don't go out on weekends or evenings to confirm that churches are holding services. And they rely on property owners to report if the use of their property changes.
• Cities, towns and villages across the state, including Milwaukee, have not been compiling exemption data and filing reports with the state Department of Revenue, as required by law. In 2008, more than 50% of taxing authorities did not submit the report, which was designed to provide insight into the number and value of tax-exempt properties. Milwaukee hasn't filed a required biannual report since 2006.
"The general population does not understand the extent, number and scope of property tax exemptions," said Curt Witynski, assistant director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. "People are not aware of what the impact really is. I think they would be surprised."
Freedom Assembly - Parking lot chained off
A sign in front of Freedom Assembly encourages passers-by to "Come worship Sunday at 10 am." A cross hangs on the outside of the one-story building, near Timmerman airfield on the city's northwest side. At 10 a.m. on a Sunday in January, a chain stretched across the driveway, blocking the entrance into the parking lot. There was still no sign of activity an hour later.
Lettering on the door invited people to Bible study on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m., but nobody was there when a reporter showed up.
The Journal Sentinel visited Freedom Assembly on two other Sundays at 10 a.m. and found two cars in the parking lot each time.
John Marshall, pastor of the church, said he owned the building for several years before "giving" it to the board of the church in July 2009.
"I used to have to pay taxes on that baby," Marshall said.
Marshall said his church is legitimate.
"We're no fly-by-night," he said, noting the neighborhood's population is transient, and he has a hard time getting a steady flow of people.
"We're taking baby steps," Marshall said. "I don't think I'm doing nothing wrong."
Paperwork from the assessor's office shows someone from the office questioned Marshall in November 2009, about four months after the building was transferred to the church.
"Spoke with John Marshall," a note in the file read. "He explained Freedom Assembly is owned by him."
Yet the exemption was granted in early 2010 by Milwaukee's Chief Assessor Peter Weissenfluh.
Weissenfluh said the property was on record as being owned by the church and that the note - made by an appraiser who has since retired - didn't raise a red flag.
The Freedom Assembly property had an assessed value of $160,000 in 2009. Marshall paid $4,149 in taxes on the property before receiving the exemption.
The state assessors' manual requires local assessors to inspect all properties seeking exemptions. But assessors have little incentive to do so.
Why?
Exemptions don't affect the total tax collected, known as the levy. In Milwaukee, that amount is set by Mayor Tom Barrett and the Common Council. It is then spread across all property-tax payers, with their proportion determined by the assessed value of their property.
Adding properties to the tax rolls doesn't increase overall revenue. It just means more properties are sharing the tax load.
"We just don't have the time to drive around and see what's going on with every property. . . . It takes a lot of time and effort for nothing," said Mary Reavey, Milwaukee's assessment commissioner. "Normally when the applications and supporting documents are filed, we accept the organization's word that the property is being used as stated."
Reavey said her office is greatly understaffed.
The number of workers in the assessor's office has dropped from about 80 to 47 in the last couple of decades. Two full-time staff positions dedicated solely to processing and monitoring exemptions were cut in the past several years.
Meanwhile, the number of tax-exempt properties in the city has swelled by about 300, to a total of nearly 7,300, in just the last two years.
Reavey's office sends out a form every two years asking property owners about the use of the property. If an owner reports no changes or merely writes "religious services," it's cleared for another two years.
A quarter of the property owners never even responded to the form in 2010, yet they maintained their tax-exempt status.
Free Will - Lot not plowed, yard littered
When Jessie Lee Jr. sought a tax exemption in 2010, he told Milwaukee assessors that Free Will Church of God in Christ, near N. 92nd St. and W. Silver Spring Drive, would hold services Sundays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Journal Sentinel went to the church during those times on five occasions from September to January and never found anyone there.
The parking lot wasn't plowed after snowstorms, and a smashed computer screen, old cabinets and other debris littered the front yard of the spacious corner lot.
Lee lists the house next door as the pastor's parsonage. It, too, is exempt from property taxes. Nobody answered the door, and Lee did not return phone calls from the number listed on the application for the property tax exemption.
The religious exemption for those two properties cost other taxpayers about $6,000, based on 2009 figures.
The same church owns two other properties that also are exempt from property taxes. One is a home on N. 87th St. assessed at about $85,000. Lee also listed it as his address on the application for the church's property tax exemption. It's unclear where he actually lives.
The other property is a small church on N. 33rd St. assessed at $150,000.
Free Will Church does not even have an occupancy permit to hold worship services at the building on Silver Spring Drive, according to the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services.
State laws require property to be owned and used by an exempt organization to qualify for the exemption. If a property is under construction, the assessor's office is supposed to monitor the progress to ensure it doesn't wind up sitting vacant. Vacant properties are not eligible for tax exemptions.
Restoration Church - Meal seekers find door locked
A message in the front window of Restoration Church promises a meal program on Sundays at 10 a.m. The tiny church is built into a hillside beside a rundown apartment building in Walnut Hill in central Milwaukee.
On a drizzly Sunday morning in September, a man and woman walked for blocks along W. Lisbon Ave. When they reached the church, they pulled the door handle and found it locked.
It was 10:10 a.m.
Worship services and Sunday school hours are listed in the window and on the MySpace page of Joann Weed, the pastor of the church.
The Journal Sentinel visited the church on four other occasions from September to mid-January and found no activity at the church during the scheduled hours for meals or services.
On one other Sunday, Weed, her two sons and a handful of other young adults - who arrived together in one van - were in the church. Weed was passing the collection plate, encouraging visitors to make an offering.
"We want every one to plant a seed every Sunday, even if it's a penny," she said.
In an interview, Weed said the main mission of the church is to feed people and help them connect with Jesus. She said the church feeds hot meals to 75 to 80 people every Sunday morning. While Restoration Church has an account with Feeding America, a national hunger-relief charity, and has collected roughly $2,500 worth of food in the past 15 months, the church does not have a permit to serve meals, according to city officials.
It's unclear when or if meals are actually being served.
The property was assessed at $76,000 in 2009, and Weed paid $1,990 in taxes on it before being granted the exemption in 2010.
Exemption guidelines - Onus is on property owner
While state statutes and court decisions have defined religion and churches loosely, assessors are expected to consider the organization's dominant purpose and actual activities - including how often churches hold services - when determining whether they are justified in getting and keeping an exemption, according to state guidelines.
"The assessor should be more concerned with what the organization actually does than what it says it does in its constitution or by-laws," the state's assessors' manual reads.
"Not all are going to have a bright line," said Scott Shields of the state Department of Revenue's division of state and local finance. "Some might be clear and apparent. Others might be a social gathering at someone's house. The assessor needs to look at it.
"The onus is on the property owner to provide information as to why they should be exempt," he said.
Reavey, of the Milwaukee assessor's office, said she was not aware of any issues with Restoration Church, Freedom Assembly or Free Will. She called the newspaper's findings troubling and said her office would investigate.
In Milwaukee, about 5% of all the parcels have tax exempt status, ranging from small churches and theaters to major hospitals and universities. But the parcels carry a much larger value. If they were on the tax rolls, they would represent about 20% of the city's tax base.
Statewide, property taxes generate more than $9 billion in revenue every year, roughly 70% of which comes from residential property owners, the rest from commercial and other properties.
As homeowners pick up a growing percentage - only 50% of property tax revenue came from residential properties in the 1970s - state regulators and assessors around Wisconsin are failing to keep tabs on tax exemptions.
The state Department of Revenue requires cities, towns and other taxing authorities to report every two years the value of all the exempt properties in their jurisdiction. Yet fewer than half the 1,476 taxing jurisdictions in Wisconsin filed the report in 2008, according to data from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Those that didn't faced no consequences.
"The Department of Revenue does not have the authority to issue penalties to municipalities who do not file," department spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said in a written statement.
Further muddling the issue: The reports required by the state are vague, with categories on assessment values ranging from millions of dollars. For example, assessors are supposed to mark how many property owners reported values from $6 million to $12 million. And there is only one category on the form for all properties over $25 million.
As a result, the information isn't accurate. Nobody locally or at the state has a true grasp on the value of potential tax revenue being waived.
So while Milwaukee assessors - relying on vague reports - estimated the value of exempt properties jumped nearly 50% to about $5.5 billion from 2002 to 2006, nobody can verify that information.
"It would be nice to know, to get a sense of the entire picture and see where there might be a problem," said Dale Knapp, research director with the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
Ben Poston of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Ash Wednesday, 7 PM Central
Ash Wednesday, 2011
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Time
The Hymn #552 Abide with Me 2.11
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 1 p. 123
The Lection Joel 2:12-19
Matthew 6:16-2
The Sermon Hymn # 17 O Worship the King 2.44
The Sermon – Ashes and Treasures
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
The Hymn # 429 Lord, Thee I Love 2.54
KJV Joel 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
KJV Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Collect
Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst manifest Thyself, with the Holy Ghost, in the fullness of grace at the baptism of Thy dear Son, and with Thy voice didst direct us to Him who hath borne our sins, that we might receive grace and the remission of sins: Keep us, we beseech Thee, in the true faith; and inasmuch as we have been baptized in accordance with Thy command, and the example of Thy dear Son, we pray Thee to strengthen our faith by Thy Holy Spirit, and lead us to everlasting life and salvation, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen,
Ashes and Treasures
Portrait One –
Joel 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Portrait Two -
Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.
We have two portraits of repentance here. One is true repentance based upon God’s mercy. The other is phony repentance, based on making a show for people to see.
Phony repentance is quite popular, fun to view and attractive to the Old Adam. In one movie a man dragged around a heavy burden as he climbed up a mountain with everyone else. He was paying for his recent sin. Suddenly he let them all go crashing downward, because he felt forgiven. That is a pathetic picture of worldly contrition, as Walther calls it, putting on a big show, its foundation coming from a false view of God.
The Roman Catholic Church and all false views of sanctification depend on this idea of man paying for his sins (but never enough) and redeeming himself with good works. Nothing seems quite so attractive and knowing that someone can pay for his sin immediately afterwards. As customers used the say at my father’s doughnut shop, “The doctor says I should not be eating this.”
Doing, paying, and earning all detract from the glory of God.
Godly repentance has two parts. The first is Godly contrition, true sorrow for sin related to violating God’s Word. The Ten Commandments cover all possible sins, so we should always be suspicious when new commandments are invented and enforced instead of the original Ten Commandments.
Godly contrition is depends upon the Gospel, because repentance is not “feeling sorry” but contrition and faith in the Promises of God.
Our Old Adam wants us to think we feel sorry enough and express that with enough energy, the debt is paid. Knowledge of sin against the Word is good, and that is a useful, practical step. That knowledge comes from the work of the Holy Spirit, not from us.
But the true remedy for sin can never be the Law and Godly contrition alone. That stops with the diagnosis of the illness, lacking the treatment and the healing.
The Gospel portion is the most important and the only solution. Only through the Gospel can we find forgiveness and strengthening against temptation.
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16), because we do not utterly trust in our Savior. That is quite different from the normal conception of sin and forgiveness, because the typical view is Old Adam’s: “I have done something wrong, so I feel terrible. Now I must do something to make up for it.”
That attitude obliterates the work of Christ in dying on the cross for our sins. Even worse, that attitude overshadows and supplants the Biblical teaching of justification by faith. Believing in Christ alone is forgiveness.
That trust comes from the Promises of God being preached and taught. That Word-created faith embraces and treasures the forgiveness promised.
In all kinds of relationships, forgiveness is essential. Without that, no relationship can last. Peace of mind comes from forgiveness, the peace God bestows because God is the true cause and the guarantor of forgiveness.
We know we are forgiven of our sins because of the objective truth of the Gospel conveyed to us by the Word. That means:
1. Forgiveness is not based on how sorry we are. Sorrow does not earn forgiveness. Christ has already atoned for our sins.
2. What we do to deserve forgiveness. Christ has done that.
3. Promises we make, since God keeps His and we do not keep ours.
Forgiveness comes from the power of the Gospel, which does even more than take away sin, so that it is forgiven and forgotten by God.
The Gospel heals us because it is God’s divine medicine for strengthening our souls. The many examples of physical healing and raising three people from the dead are metaphors for what the Gospel does for us. We taken from being dead in Christ, unable to do anything to help ourselves, to being restored, given new life, and strengthened.
The Gospel strengthens us against temptation. The Law can make us feel the weight of sin and its condemnation, but it cannot heal and cannot strengthen us. Yet both work together, Law and Gospel, because we need both.
Quotations
"For the Word of God is the sanctuary above all sanctuaries, yea, the only one which we Christians know and have. For though we had the bones of all the saints or all holy and consecrated garments upon a heap, still that would help us nothing; for all that is a dead thing which can sanctify nobody. But God's Word is the treasure which sanctifies everything, and by which even all the saints themselves were sanctified. At whatever hour, then, God's Word is taught, preached, heard, read or meditated upon, there the person, day, and work are sanctified thereby, not because of the external work, but because of the Word, which makes saints of us all. Therefore I constantly say that all our life and work must be ordered according to God's Word, if it is to be God-pleasing or holy. Where this is done, this commandment is in force and being fulfilled."
Large Catechism, Preface, #91, Third Commandment, Concordia Triglotta, 1921, p. 607. Tappert, p. 377.
"For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which could not attain ourselves."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta, 1921, p. 689. Tappert, p. 415.
Luther: "True, the enthusiasts confess that Christ died on the cross and saved us; but they repudiate that by which we obtain Him; that is, the means, the way, the bridge, the approach to Him they destroy...They lock up the treasure which they should place before us and lead me a fool's chase; they refuse to admit me to it; they refuse to transmit it; they deny me its possession and use." (III, 1692)
The. Engelder, et al., Popular Symbolics, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 5.
"These treasures are offered us by the Holy Ghost in the promise of the holy Gospel; and faith alone is the only means by which we lay hold upon, accept, and apply, and appropriate them to ourselves. This faith is a gift of God, by which we truly learn to know Christ, our Redeemer, in the Word of the Gospel, and trust in Him, that for the sake of His obedience alone we have the forgiveness of sins by grace, are regarded as godly and righteous by God the Father, and are eternally saved." Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III 10 Righteousness, Concordia Triglotta, 1921, p. 919.
"Early in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned, while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to where to get its breakfast. Later, when it is hungry, it flies away and seeks a grain of corn, where God stored one away for it, of which it never thought while singing, when it had cause enough to be anxious about its food. Ay, shame on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to eat."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 114.
"These means are the true treasure of the church through which salvation in Christ is offered. They are the objective proclamation of faith which alone makes man's subjective faith possible (Augsburg Confession, Article V). The Formula of Concord (Solid Declaration, Article XI, 76) states expressly that God alone draws man to Christ and that he does this only through the means of grace."
Walter G. Tillmanns, "Means of Grace: Use of," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, II, p. 1505.
"It is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things. But the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested. Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our hearts to believe and say: I, too, am one of those who are to have this treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying: Dear Father, if it is Thy will to show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom, then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do what pleases Thee. Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes, does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the HS came...."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 279.
"Thus we see what a very splendid thing Baptism is. It snatches us from the jaws of the devil, makes us God's own, restrains and removes sin, and then daily strengthens the new man within us. It is and remains ever efficacious until we pass from this state of misery to eternal glory. For this reason everyone should consider his Baptism as his daily dress, to be worn constantly. Every day he should be found in the faith and its fruits, suppressing the old man, and growing up in the new; for if we want to be Christians, we must practice the work whereby we are Christians. But if anyone falls from baptismal grace, let him return to it. For as Christ, the Mercy Seat, does not withdraw from us or forbid us to come to Him again even though we sin, so all His treasures and gifts also remain with us."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 61.
"(3) Hollazius (ib.): 'The Word of God, as such, cannot be conceived of without the divine virtue, or the Holy Spirit, who is inseparable from His Word. For if the Holy Spirit could be separated from the Word of God, it would not be the Word of God or of the Spirit, but a word of man. Nor is there any other Word of God, which is in God, or with which the men of God have been inspired, than that which is given in the Scriptures or is preached or is treasured up in the human mind. But, as it cannot be denied that that is the divine will, counsel, mind, and the wisdom of God, so it cannot be destitute of the divine virtue or efficacy.'"
Heinrich Schmid, Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, trans., Charles A. Hay and Henry E. Jacobs, Philadelphia: United Lutheran Publication House, 1899, p. 505.
Roman Catholic Indulgences
"Indulgences are, in the Church, a true spiritual treasure laid open to all the faithful; all are permitted to draw therefrom, to pay their own debts and those of others."
Rev. F. X. Schouppe, S.J., Purgatory, Illustrated by the Lives and Legends of the Saints, Rockford: Tan Books and Publishers, 1973 (1893), p. 195.
WELS Church Lady Says What No DP Will Murmur
WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "The Valley of Ashes - On Ash Wednesday, Ron Ash Is...":
- Hello! Is it April Fool's? No, March is not over yet.
- What about the Change or Die Conference?
- What about the Core.
- Cornerstone Ministries,
- Women's Ministries, and partners of the C&C are still with us.
- Oh yes, what is to become of Mark Jeske?
- Only God knows what lies ahead. Pray for synod healing.
In Christ,
from WELS church lady
The Valley of Ashes - On Ash Wednesday, Ron Ash Is Ashen As He Admits Church and Change Has Turned To Ashes
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, The Valley of Ashes:
a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally, a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight.
Church and Change List-serve killed today:
Subject: Aderman's C&C farewell
The C&C listserve is now dead. Here is Jim Aderman's farewell post:
A Final Word from the Moderator
Now that the Church and Change organization has come to an end, this discussion group will also end – in fact, the discussion group will cease to exist following this email.
Over my term as the moderator for this group, I have delighted in reading of the high regard members of our denomination have for God’s inspired and errorless Word, not to mention the grace in Jesus that the Bible proclaims. I am grateful for the iron sharpening iron exchanges that have gone on here. I have been encouraged by the sensitivity for others that some have shown in their posts. I have thanked the Spirit for the Christ-like love that has spilled out in our emails. I have rejoiced in solid ministry ideas shared, sincere questions asked, and faith in our Savior confessed.
We did struggle, however, with maintaining a helpful tenor in some of our discussion. We didn’t always listen well or completely. We didn’t always respond with respect.
The posts to our discussion group have highlighted areas of tension that exist in our denomination at present. Tensions that we who love Jesus, his Word, and his people will want to continue to work to resolve. But resolution of those issues requires careful communication – not to mention Scripture study and prayer.
Seminary Professor John Brug recently commented in his introduction to the articles in volume 108 of the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly that, even though it is true that "love cannot exist where truth is absent," it is also true that "truth cannot survive where love is absent." I’ve attached the initial paragraphs of Professor Brug’s article . I found them important for myself. They are a call to repentance for my own failures to stand in loving support of my synodical brothers and sisters – especially when it seems we are not on the same page. Perhaps you will also find Professor Brug’s words of value.
Philippians 1:3-6, 9-11 seems an appropriate benediction and prayer with which to bring our discussion group to an end: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.... And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
In Jesus’ love,
Jim Aderman
Moderator
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LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Church and Chicanery Dies Quietly, Becomes a Zombi...":
Gotta love all the ash irony...
http://www.churchandchange.org/
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Foreword to Volume 108 (pages 4-6):
Where There Is No Love, Doctrine Cannot Remain Pure
The Walther Year
By John F. Brug
There has been a lot of debate within the church about the right relationship between doctrine and love. Some claim that the church should elevate love over doctrine. Doctrine is blamed for dividing the church. Love, some say, should overlook doctrinal differences for the sake of peace. This claim, however, cannot be harmonized with the scriptural teaching that truth and love must be inseparable partners. Real love can never be present wherever God's truth is ignored or set aside. Real love is not possible without the truth. No departure from God's Word can ever be labeled love, because every departure from the Word harms souls. Real love, on the other hand, never harms but always heals. "Love cannot exist where truth is absent." This is an important scriptural truth.
But in this article we are interested in examining the opposite truth: "Truth cannot survive where love is absent." Luther was vehement in his assertion that he could tolerate no "love" which compromised the truth (AE 27:38, 41), but in a sermon on John 15:9 he stated also the corresponding truth, "Where there is no love, doctrine cannot remain pure" (AE 24:244).
Holding truth and love together is a struggle. We must make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace because Satan is always working hard to tear that unity to pieces. Love is a bond which keeps a communion from being torn apart (Col 3:14). Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pe 4:8). When the unity of a communion is torn either by error or by arrogance, love is the bond that mends the tear before it rends the whole garment.
We can't prevent offense from being given and taken in the church. Luther said we can avoid offending each other as little as we can keep one toe from touching another. Sinners constantly rub each other the wrong way. Someone offends you. You do the same to him. Even the mission team of Paul and Barnabas was split by personal offenses and disagreement. Church history is littered with such sad stories.
Sometimes these offenses are caused by significant personal trivia. I am offended because someone has not given me enough praise. He is offended because he did not recognize how constructive my criticism of him really was. I have gotten some honor or position that he wanted, or vice versa. Our group accepted his proposal not mine. Such personal slights lead us to focus a more critical eye on the brother who offended us. One thing leads to another, and personal faults and theological misstatements are magnified. One brother takes a stand on an issue, and the other immediately knows, without much thought or reflection, that his stand should be the opposite. Sparks become fires, molehills become mountains, and through the magnifying glass of jealousy specks of sawdust look like beams.
We can't avoid giving and taking such offense, but we can reconcile and be reconciled. Love, which is biblically defined as doing what is good for the brother and for the church, heals little nicks before they become large wounds on the body. Love covers over such sins not by ignoring them but by healing them.
But what if the offense is real not imagined, and the offense is against God's Word? Certainly love does not cover over such sins, does it? "Love must confront error with the truth!" That is true. The medicine of correction must be applied to every ill, but a spoonful of love helps the medicine go down. Love remembers that our first goal is to win the brother, not just to win the argument. Love understands that how correction is applied sometimes has more impact on the outcome than whether the rebuke is true or false. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (1 Cor 13). This passage provides a good checklist for us to use when we are evaluating how we have responded to an offense against us.
What are some of the ways in which a lack of love endangers the preservation of the truth? They fall into the general categories of too harsh and too hasty.
Damage is done to the body of Christ when the method of correction is more destructive than the offense itself. A person who uses a cannon on every fly that goes through his house has no flies. But he soon has no house either. Not every misstep or misstatement leads to formal discipline Be calm and talk to the brother. Don't press too hard.
Don't press too fast. Work through the problem with the brother, giving him time to study and reflect. Don't involve others prematurely. It is for good reason that Jesus instructs us that the first step should be to talk to the brothers alone. Love does not hastily and prematurely involve others. Is an offense serious enough to sound the alarm at once or can it be handled quietly and privately? When people are asked to take sides and are polarized prematurely, a whole synod can be divided into armed camps. A little flame in a pile of leaves becomes a forest fire.
Pastors, don't nitpick on your people (or on your brother pastors). People, don't nitpick on your pastor.
Avoid word battles. Gerhard warned, "It is wicked to interpret a poor choice of words as error when you know that the right meaning was intended" (Good works, 38).
Instruct gently, with kindness and patience. The goal is to win the person (2 Tim 2:23-26).
Lack of love can break unity by being too harsh in the way we begin discipline, but we can also cause and maintain division by the way we finish discipline. Public doctrinal error which has endangered or offended others must in some way be set right with those who may have been affected by the error, but pressing for apologies or confessions of error, doubting the brother's sincerity or repentance unnecessarily, may prolong the division in the heart long after the statements have been clarified or corrected.
We are warned to watch our life and our doctrine carefully (1 Tim 4:16). In the context of this article "watching our life" applies to the way in which we deal with offense. It is important that we not only have the right doctrine but also the right motive, manner, and attitude in the way we correct offenses. We need to practice Christian love and forgiveness as we bear with the sins and endure the faults and shortcomings of others. In this way unity is preserved in the church, so that the family of Christ is not torn apart and disrupted. Divisions must sometimes come in order to preserve the truth, but we should take care that they are necessary, unavoidable divisions for the sake of the truth, not schisms caused by personal offense or loveless correction.
"As important as it is to be concerned about purity of doctrine, we dare not become irrational about it." This statement, which served as the springboard for this article, was made by C. F. W. Walther in his "Duties of an Evangelical Lutheran Synod" (Harrison edition, p 321). Certainly, no one could accuse Walther of being lax in his concern for doctrinal purity, but because he was as evangelical as he was, he also gave close attention to the opposite concern: Where there is no love, the doctrine cannot remain pure.
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GJ - This blog deals with doctrinal apostasy, not organizations. I see no hint of repentance in Ash or Aderman, no reason given for shutting down this cancer factory. All I see is some labored gloating and a few more eye-pokes aimed at confessional Lutherans.
Love! Who has spent more time being divisive than Church and Change? Who has vilified more people than their leaders? Who has grabbed all the loot available for themselves?
The apostles of love need a heartfelt confession of sin, not another display of posturing.
Church and Chicanery Dies Quietly,
Becomes a Zombie That Cannot Be Killed
Enabler of Tim Glende and Ski, St. Peter, Freedom, Wisconsin.
Within the last hour this was attached to an e-mail:
We invite you to celebrate with us! It was more than fifteen years ago that the first weed seeds were sown for Church and Change. Satan put it into the hearts of the Church and Change pioneers to find new approaches for setting aside the efficacious gospel of Jesus Christ with our communities and world. Church and Change brought together many WELS false teachers; people passionate about undermining sound doctrine and multiplying the lost and to better serve ourselves with grants and synod subsidies . Church and Change also helped the WELS stay market-focused as Fuller-trained leaders made the compelling case for Antinomianism. It is our revenge that Christian freedom will continue to be an excuse for our Lutheran follies as we foist our beliefs on the innocent.
Many were disgusted and depressed over the years through Church and Change. Ministry leaders improved and expanded their egos and networked with other false teachers leaders across the country, in many denominations. Those leaders who became part of Church and Change learned new approaches and methods to reach out and are now teaching and misleading others to do the same. The goals of Church and Change have been achieved: WELS is doomed.
So, it’s time for Church and Change to make a change of its own. It’s time to let other zombies take the lead. As of today, Church and Change has finished its run. We are confident that the “spirit of apostasy” will continue. We believe that Our Father Below, who called us to share his doctrine with as many as possible and in as many different ways, will continue to lead us. We pray that Old Scratch will give you strength and wisdom to march downward! It has been a privilege to get to know, work with, encourage, and learn from so many of you. We thank our true Master for the blessing of Church and Change and for you!
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