Friday, April 1, 2011

Conquistadors

There Is Only One Road

Notice that Steve Witte calls himself "Dr." by virtue of his drive-by DMin from Gordon-Conwell, two facts conveniently omitted from this promotion from Church and change. Note also that he co-founded the WELS Prayer Warriors, just as he helped found C and C. The Intrepids pretended not to notice when SP Schroeder allowed Witte to start misleading the Asians about Biblical theology. Here are the facts.



Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "More Than Photoshop Practice":

You are so true that the WELS is in a doctrinal war. I do believe both sides are fighting. The problem is the Intrepid side is taking the "high road" and expects the "Changer" side to do the same. We know what happens when one side expects the other to fight fairly, don't we?

Scott E. Jungen

***

GJ - The Intrepids imagine they are taking the high road, by pulling their punches all the time. In effect, they are doing PR for Church and Change.

Church and Change is still running and their board members are still posted.

The milquetoast Intrepids had no opinion when Witte became president of the portable WELS Asian seminary. Who allowed that? Not Gurgle, but SP Schroeder.

There is no high road or low road. The only road is doctrinal. If the Changers who run WELS are so smitten by false doctrine, that doctrine should be addressed all the time, in every location and venue, in the blogs and private conversation, in the pulpit and classroom. There is a reason God started the Reformation in the 16th century. The Church still had men who were willing to study the Word and trust the Word. That no longer applies.

More Than Photoshop Practice

Groeschel, Tim Glende's favorite theologian, knows how to rock a pair of faded jeans.


One Ich-addict wrote about the relative drought of posts this week. I seem to be outproducing ELCA, Missouri, and WELS combined, but that is not so difficult. I do not enjoy three martini lunches. Nor do I devote all my spare time to Packer-mania (not that there is anything wrong with that).

I get peeved at the relentless onslaught of anti-Christian behavior in the Olde Syn Conference. Even when caught and feigning repentance (gay video) the dogs return to their vomit - following the Word in their distinctive way.

Sausage Factory students used to declare angrily that no one outside of the Pietistic haven could criticize them. They never applied that rule to themselves, because they were always eager to run down every denomination, especially the ELS. More hilariously, they could not abide criticism from inside of WELS either.

My favorite bromide from that era was, "Missouri will have to get ministry straight before we can be in fellowship with them again." That was always said exactly the same way, with great fierceness, as if repeating a statement from the musty mummified classroom. And it was. Of course, the professors were studying doctrine with their Missouri counterparts at many locations, including Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, and Trinity Divinity in Deerfield.

As Arizona Babtist said, "Dropping the F-word is scary to WELS." The F-word is Fuller. The Fuller grads start lying as soon as they hear it.

One Eponymous Archon (https://me.yahoo.com/oneeponymousarchon) has left a new comment on your post "Harrison, Schroeder, and Moldstad To Issue Apology...":

Great spoof, Dr. Jackson! This would be really funny if it weren't so sadly and pathetically true and accurate. In fact, is it indeed frighteningly right on! I was in WELS for a long time before I realize how sick and demented they all are. I'm still wary of them, which is why I don't use my real name. I have relatives still stuck in that fetid swamp of unholiness! Keep up the good work of unmasking these heretics! I am merely -

One Eponymous Archon

***

GJ - WELS is very sick as an organization. The corrupt and immoral are constantly rewarded while the faithful are slapped around. One ex-WELS member is shocked that I know some good Wisconsin pastors. There are some, but not very many. The system is so evil that the faithful must stay under the radar so they are not spewed out like last night's ingestion of beer.

I understand why people do not want to be identified when they speak the truth about WELS. This is the only public place where that can happen.

The Intrepids try every so often, but that is obviously a managed blog, managed by SP Schroeder. They are on a tight leash, like puppies waiting to be housebroken.

This is a doctrinal war, with only one side (the Changers) fighting.

Cry havoc and unleash the dogs of war.

Going, Going, Gone from ELCA.
Not an April Fool's Joke

"We have thousands left, Brett, so don't get all smirky."



Update from ALPB:

Reported today in the NC Synod's email newsletter:

Congregation Update - March 29, 2011
Across the ELCA's 10,400 congregations (as of March 3, 2011):

    * 551 congregations which have taken the first vote to disaffiliate, received the necessary 2/3's majority
    * 240 first votes failed
    * 414  congregations have had a second vote to disaffiliate, receiving the necessary 2/3's majority
    * 23 second votes failed

In the North Carolina Synod's 238 congregations:

    * 22 congregations in North Carolina have voted to disaffiliate and their departure has been approved by the NC Synod Council:
          o Mt. Hermon, Statesville
          o Spirit of Joy, Matthews
          o St. Paul's, Salisbury             
          o The Well, Charlotte
          o Center Grove,  Kannapolis         
          o New Jerusalem, Hickory
          o Christiana, Salisbury         
          o St. Matthew, Salisbury
          o Grace, Newton             
          o Trinity, Landis
          o Miller's, Hickory             
          o Union, Salisbury
          o St. James, Newton             
          o St. John's, Statesville         
          o Mt. Calvary, Claremont         
          o Christus Victor, Fayetteville
          o Bethel, Lincolnton             
          o Concordia, China Grove
          o St. John's, Asheboro         
          o Atonement, Wilkesboro
          o Holy Trinity, Troutman         
          o Redeemer, Charlotte

    * Three congregations have taken a second vote to disaffiliate and their request will be considered during the June Synod Council meeting: Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Dallas; Holy Trinity, Gastonia; Organ, Salisbury.
    * Six congregations have taken a first vote and received the necessary 2/3's to disaffiliate, but have not yet received a second vote.
    *  Eight congregations have voted and will remain in the ELCA

Harrison, Schroeder, and Moldstad To Issue Apology

"No, your Holiness, you are not John Moldstad.
For the sake of the Church, show some humility."


LCMS Synod President Matthew Harrison, WELS Synod President Mark Schroeder, and ELS CEO John Moldstad are issuing a joint press release today, apologizing to their members.

One copy was leaked to this blog. I have copied the relevant parts below:

Dear Members and Pastors, Victims and Co-Conspirators,

We are issuing this communique jointly because we have been committing the same sins for the last 50-100 years. Some of you have changed synods in the hopes of escaping this, but you got it all over again, worse, because we keep track.

We have sinned so grievously that we should issue several volumes rather than one press release.

First of all, we twisted, distorted, and rejected Luther's Biblical doctrine of justification by faith. We worked so hard at this error that our own confessional leaders will attack anyone suspected of teaching Luther's doctrine.

Robert Preus was onto us and repudiated UOJ before he died. We thought we could trust his sons to edit all that out of Justification and Rome, but they botched it. We had to amp up the personal attacks to take people's mind off the truth. We are sorry for that.

All three of us realize that our little groups began in Pietism and drifted back to Halle's doctrine. For a long time we were able to call upon a sentimental attachment to Holy Mother Synod, since we cannot rely on the Blessed Virgin Mother to raise funds for us. Tragically, that was like crack cocaine. We could get all weepy about our Founders and rake in a few million at a time. Some of you share the blame. You wanted buildings rather than doctrine, so we gave you big new buildings with your names inscribed on them. Our bad.

We thought we could teach Enthusiasm and yet contain it. Now we see how wrong it was. Pastors started teaching that the elements of Holy Communion changed the moment they were touched by the faithful.

We really tried to keep the Lutheran substance while we polished up the Fuller style. We paid so much to learn all that, and now we are spinning out of control.

Everything else has followed, because we did not trust the Word of God to accomplish His will.

We were so greedy for money that we did whatever the insurance companies told us, so ELCA ( or the previous church bodies) did not get our share of the kitty.

We sold a few indulgences to impenitent sinners, just to get those buildings our members love so much. We reasoned that everything belonged to God, so it naturally belonged to us, as the Servants of the Servants of God.

Worst of all, when our clergy buddies abused members or stole money, we absolved and promoted them. When our critics found fault with our doctrine and methods, we pounded them and drove them away as evildoers. We got really good at it too.

Video link - not WELS, so it is decent.