Brett Meyer - On the Word of God and the Confessions

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post " bored has left a new comment on your post "Come...":

Bored, you may remember that I've agreed with you before that if an individual errs, but in his heart, by grace, he trusts in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins and salvation, he sins in his flesh but is not condemned as he's clothed in Christ's righteousness through faith. His new man in Christ does not sin.

Now that may be the case with your Vicar and other clergy who teach UOJ - I don't know. You seem to think you know, but that's not what this discussion is about for me. It's the fact that we have every right to test the spirits by applying the Word and the Lutheran Confessions. We have every right to say with Christ, if you believe and confess contrary to Christ's Word concerning the Gospel you remain under God's wrath and dying in that condition you will be damned. Is this not the Office of the Keys which all Christians have - to forgive or retain sins. Likewise when an individual comes to us in contrition to Christ over sin we give him the Gospel and assure him that through faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins he is washed of all sin in the righteousness of Christ as he has obtained Christ as his Mediator between the Father and himself. He stands forgiven, justified and saved.

A point where I still have a contention with you is that you acknowledge that these mistaken pastors (as you've identified them) are still unwittingly teaching the false gospel of UOJ, and yet, you do not admonish them to cease and repent but allow them to continue teaching the sheep. The spiritual safety of the sheep needs to take priority over your gentle engagement with the pastor who, knowingly or not, is teaching a false gospel and leading people away from Christ and placing their souls in jeopardy. It's like having a Glock with a broken sear. You don't continue to keep it in the rotation as lives are in jeopardy. You take it out of rotation until the sear can be corrected and it's safe for use. So much more important is the soul than a physical life.

You need to prove from Scripture and the Confessions that I can't make a blanket statement that unless a person, pastor, church, Synod or Global religion believes in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins - they will be damned to hell forever. I can also say that if a denomination's official teaching is contrary to the Gospel of Christ and therefore if anyone truly confesses it, neither are Christian and the individual will be damned if he dies with that confession in his heart. The Roman Catholic Church by it's official confession calls anathema on the Gospel of Christ and anyone trusting alone in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. I therefore can clearly say that by it's official doctrinal statements the Roman Catholic Church is not Christian. I know the MLC kids are spitting their Juicy Fruit on the floor right now. I ask them, how can a church be Christian if by believing exactly what they teach a person remains under God's wrath over sin and will be condemned to Hell for eternity if they die in that confession? Bueller, Bueller...

I hold no animosity toward you and appreciate this discussion - that said it's important to see that I am not the one reading peoples hearts in this discussion but you are. I am judging their confession and applying Scripture saying that if they truly believe what they wrote and confessed then XYZ. You however are reading their hearts and saying that they don't really believe (at least some of them) what they are confessing and therefore are deserving of special kid glove treatment. I have seen by my approach - and it's not the same for everyone - that those truly having faith in Christ will stop and review the Scripture and the Confessions with a sincere desire to know and confess the truth, having heard Christ's voice, their Shepherd, in Scripture.

Yes, it's possible I believe something wrong. That is why I remain in the Word and Confessions, enjoying the opportunities to discuss Christian doctrine. Just last night I shared my confession concerning specific points of Holy Baptism with Pastor Jackson, asking him if my confession was faithful to Scripture and the Confessions. I've publicly retracted false statements that I've made here on Ichabod in the past. I know I can be wrong but I will not shrink back because I'm still a sinful human being. I would rather not sign my name to any public posts but, by the grace of God, I am confident in Scripture and the Confessions of the Church, I will speak openly, sign my name and take the consequences. Again, I'm grateful for the opportunity to discuss this with you.

How To Wreck a Synod:Lessons from ELCA, WELS, Missouri, ELS

Many years ago, the LCA began promoting abortion on demand through its many different power centers. These included the women's association, the social ministry committees and agencies, and the World Hunger Appeal. They showed photos of starving children to raise money for "World Hunger" but funneled large chunks of it to its lobbyists across America. They also found ways to send money to the Communist National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches, not to mention the Lutheran World Federation.

Do not be too shocked or too smug. WELS sent money to the United Nations, through the Michigan District's charity fund.

The Pro-life Moment
At some point, so I can establish a benchmark, the LCA officially denounced abortion on demand. They added that statement at the 1978 Chicago convention, which said abortion was not to be used as birth control. That was not clearly pro-life, but they seemed to be moving away from their radicalism.

Neuhaus, then in the LCA, reported that the people responsible for the pro-life codicil were removed from their positions. A number of LCA pastors became Roman Catholic in time.

Later, my mother's LCA pastor, the senior minister of one of the largest congregations in the US, was also removed - one month after making a pro-life statement in an informal setting.

So 1978 was not the beginning, but the end of pro-life statements in the LCA. The Seminex radicals, who owed much of their ideology to Jungkuntz (WELS, Northwestern College; then Springfield; then LCMS doctrinal board; then Seminex board leader) turned upon the LCA, led the ELCA merger, and devoured it with their unified radicalism.

Parish by parish, the pro-abortion forces divided each congregation. The Lutheran magazine published pro-abortion articles. If a pastor reacted to their propaganda, he was identified and suffered for it.

One little girl said to me, "What if someone raped me? You would be against an abortion?" She was the treasurer's daughter.

For a certain segment, the issue was beyond debate or discussion.


Women's Ordination - The Fruits
Women's ordination, which could not even be discussed under Franklin C. Fry, began quite slowly under Robert Marshall, the darling of Fry. Marshall had the LCA ordaining women before Fry's tombstone was finished, but the yield was quite slow for a long time.

Quotas--thanks to Jungkuntz and Seminex and WELS--guaranteed that a newly ordained woman would have seniority over most men on all committees and commissions. The newly ordained women were consistently pro-abortion, and they log-rolled for homosexual ordination as well.

By that time, being pro-life was equal to being anti-woman. I was called a "red-neck," a "Bircher," and a "Right-to-Lifer." I did not join groups, but I was put down for expressing my opposition to the prevailing trends. The enlightened pastors had no qualms about interfering with another congregation, mine, because I was so ee-vul. Speakers at the last convention made a point of talking against me while glaring at me. I was also called a "moral crusader," so I responded, "That's better than being a crusader for sodomy."

I recall Pastor Vince Lavieri denouncing me at a meeting for not agreeing with the Leftist positions of the Michigan District. After all, I never went to the socialist ministry committee events, he said correctly. Recently Vince showed up on the ELCA gay roster. Mrs. Ichabod remembered him, "Wasn't he married?"

"Was."

Synod Minders
Back in the 1980s, much like today, most congregations were not filled with fire-breathing Marxists and former ballet dancers. But there was bound to be a small contingent who would take offense at traditional statements and report immediately to the synod. Every denomination has synod-minders, and the pastors know who they are. They do not necessarily go to the pastor and say, "I disagree with you because..." They do not need to, because they know that the minister who goes against the newest fads is ee-vul.

The ultimate happened with this scenario, because ELCA got exactly what it wanted with the Jungkuntz-Seminex quotas: total control of the agenda. So far, 900 congregations have left the Leftists, and the end is not in sight. ELCA has more goodies prepared by the Lavender Lobby. Moreover, their attempt to make an exit more difficult has only increased the pace out of the synod.

Two other methods are being used successfully by the traditionalists. One is to do nothing except affiliate (or not) with another group and stop giving any money to ELCA. Another is to give only those funds designated to ELCA, usually an enormous drop in donations. I count four ELCA seminaries (out of 10) in deep yogurt from lack of funds:

1. Berkeley.
   
2. Southern.
   
3. Chicago.
   
4. Dubuque - Wartburg.
   

ELCA Divided
The ELCA is polarized because the ELCA deliberately and maliciously pitted a minority group against the majority, constantly favoring the minority with quotas, funds, flattering articles, and promotions. Notice how well it worked in Missouri-WELS-ELS.

The Little Three Divided

Missouri, WELS, and the ELS did exactly the same thing with Church Growth, which was not unknown in the LCA/ALC. They all met at Fuller Seminary, their Mother Ship.

WELS did some things to lay the groundwork for going public about Church Growth, which debuted with TELL in 1977.

Step by step, all three groups introduced Fuller education to their ministers and leaders. They slipped their moles into committees and commissions. They promoted the new doctrines (old heresies) in their publications. They paid for training at Fuller and other doctrinal-brothels. Best of all, they rewarded everyone who bowed the knee to McGavran. They still do.

Anyone who opposed them was lazy, brain-damaged, senile, or--gasp!--against reaching out with the Gospel.

Anyone who questioned their doctrine was slandering them while violating Matthew 18.

No leader in WELS has identified the Church Growth Movement with false doctrine. SP Schroeder continues to reward the Shrinkers with promotions and extra calls. Kelm had two calls at the same time, so he could choose. Heather may have two mommies, but Jeske has two synods. The two WELS colleges are Shrinker-controlled, and so is The Sausage Factory.

I do not subscribe to FICL, so I am probably violating several commandments and 10,000 unwritten rules. As far as I can tell, the magazine is still the Xerox room for Church and Change, which continues to exist with the blessing of WELS and the SP and the Conference of Pussycats.

WELS is not dividing but shrinking. Ditto Missouri and the Little Sect on the Prairie.

No Religious Test for Federal Office - Unless the Candidate Is Named Michele Bachmann

Bachmann left church at pastor’s request, official says

View Photo Gallery — Campaign 2012: Michele Bachmann: Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has made a name for herself among conservative activists, but her ability to deliver for her district remains to be seen.

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By Sandhya Somashekhar, Published: July 15

The conservative church that Michele Bachmann officially left days before launching her presidential campaign said Friday that the Minnesota congresswoman’s decision came at their request.
“The impetus came from the church,” said Joel Hochmuth, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the denominational organization that includes the church. “For the pastor’s sake, he wanted to know where he stood with the family.”

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Bachmann (R) had stopped attending Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church two years ago but did not formally end her membership until June 21, a date first reported by CNN. The timing raised questions because it came shortly before she formally kicked off her presidential campaign in Waterloo, Iowa, and because the church has taken controversial stands on Catholicism and homosexuality.

Candidates have often come under fire for the religious company they keep. During the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama was forced to disavow his affiliation with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright after videos emerged of Wright’s more controversial sermons, which included statements critical of the United States and what many considered to be slurs against white people.

A spokeswoman for Bachmann’s congressional office said she now attends a non-denominational church in the Stillwater, Minn., area but declined to specify which one.

“As the family’s schedule has allowed, they have attended their current church throughout the past two years,” spokeswoman Becky Rogness said in an e-mail.

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is a conservative branch of Lutheranism that has about 390,000 adherents across the country. It has been criticized in part because it holds that the Catholic pope is the Antichrist. Bachmann has said emphatically that she does not share that view, and church officials recently told the Atlantic that it is not a central tenet of the faith.
 
The synod — a term Hochmuth defined as “a fellowship of congregations that hold to the same beliefs and doctrines” — also believes that homosexuality is a sin and can be changed.

Bachmann’s husband, Marcus Bachmann, has recently come under fire over his Christian-based counseling center’s treatment of gay clients. Several recent reports say the center practices “reparative therapy,” which seeks to “cure” gays and lesbians of their homosexuality.

On Thursday, Marcus Bachmann acknowledged in an interview with the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis that counselors at Bachmann and Associates do treat homosexuals who seek to become heterosexual, but that it is not the clinic’s main focus, and “we don’t have an agenda or a philosophy of trying to change someone.”

Michele Bachmann stopped attending services at the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church after she moved to a different part of town, according to media reports. Around the time that her campaign for president geared up this spring, the Rev. Marcus Birkholz asked that she make clear her relationship with the church, Hochmuth said.

The Bachmanns then asked the church council that they be removed from the membership ranks — a request that is not required of a person that leaves the church, but assists with recordkeeping and helps the church ensure that “you’re in the spiritual care of someone else,” Hochmuth said. “In other words, we would want to know if you are being ‘fed the word,’ as we say.”

Bachmann did not specify to which church she was moving, Hochmuth said.

Very Sad To Read This List - The Canadian Apostasy

Anonymoose warned me this was coming.

Canada has two church bodies. One is related to the Missouri Synod. They have the seminary at St. Catharines, Brock University. Rolf Preus joined this group. Some of his sons are attending the seminary there. This one is called the Lutheran Church in Canada.

The other Lutheran group is associated with ELCA, and it is called ELCiC.

ELCiC Bishop Susan Johnson
The ELCiC bishop, Susan Johnson, has almost no information on the Net, apart from her new role. She is associated with the Eastern Canada Synod, my old territory. I found a 1987 photo of her participating in an anniversary in the Maritime provinces. Two of the pastors with her were my classmates at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.

WLS began as a seminary blending orthodoxy with Pietism, just like the two Concordias in America. Robert Preus praised the dogmatics textbook written by that first seminary president.

As I wrote before, my vicarage supervisor at St. Peter's in Kitchener, the largest Lutheran congregation in Canada, was in tears when a future vicar came out as a homosexual. Old Henry Opperman, who called himself The General, was shocked to find out that the seminary he supported so often was willing to send him a gay staffer, without even telling him.

Liturgical Services
St. Peter's always had liturgical services. We stood for every verse of every hymn. We only sat during the Epistle and the sermon. The sermons were always Biblical. The confirmation class consisted of three years of mid-week sessions where the children were in class before or after the supper provided them. The first year was Old Testament. I taught the New Testament. The pastor taught the catechism. I also helped with the German services, as a lector.

Not long ago, St. Peter's announced they would perform homosexual marriages, in spite of mild warnings from the spineless district president.

Canadians I Knew
The newest shocker is a long list of pastors endorsing the ELCiC proposal to parrot ELCA's change in homosexual policy. Some of them were pastors I met as a student. One was a New Testament professor. Some were students at the seminary. One was in my confirmation class. I remember his father, a humble and pious man who carefully taught his children. Some of the youth were on the wild side, but not his children.

One signer was Dutch Reformed, taking the clinical pastoral quarter with us. He became a seminary professor at WLS. 

There were no female clergy in Canada when I was there. My former confirmation student is married to a female pastor. One thing follows another. Women's ordination is the precursor to gay ordination and abortion on demand as a religious obligation.

Some people think I am too harsh, too extreme. I see a regression from anti-Confessional apathy to complete apostasy.

I have watched it take place in congregations, pastors, and schools - with no one seeming to notice. There is no lack of harsh and aggressive action - against faithful Lutherans. The Little Three have their shunning skills polished to the max, applying them only to faithful Lutherans.

I have been too mild, too irenic, too willing to hold back.

Holy Baptism and the Evangelicals

Various people have been discussing Holy Baptism. A Trinitarian baptism is valid and remains valid, so one of the debates today concerns those who avoid "In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" due to an excess of sensitivity about gender. I remember when that began in the LCA. The directions for women's Sunday, when they took over the service (in ideal circumstances), stated that certain hymns were not to be sung, because they contained such odious terms as "prophet, priest, and king."

Anyone with mote of doctrinal sense would call alternative baptism formulae "pagan."

The term Evangelical is broad enough to include many sub-confessions. A Christian minister will not repeat a Trinitarian baptism from any other denomination. Roman Catholics are not supposed to re-baptize.

Those who practice believer's baptism or adult baptism will probably insist on immersion, since they emphasize the amount of water rather than the efficacy of the Word. However, I have also noticed blended confessions, where a congregation says, "We do not believe in infant baptism, but we will still provide them if you ask."

Many are moving toward a generic faith-without-belief stance, where it is important to have faith in something without having any clearly defined beliefs. Schuller polished this art form, giving us a new version of Norman Vincent Peale. Rob Bell has revived it again. Schuller and Bell are closely associated with Fuller Seminary, the Mother Ship of Missouri and WELS.

The Pietists and Neo-Pietists call their approach "deeds, not creeds." The Babtists say "No creeds but the Bobble."

Luther rightly emphasized the effect of the Gospel, even in the midst of opposition and heresy. With so many people taking an independent stance, it is not shocking to find a Roman Catholic who denies all the important articles of papism: the infallibility of the pope, Mary as co-Redeemer, Purgatory as a blessed place of endless waiting and torture, justification by faith plus works.

Most Evangelicals, following Zwingli and Calvin, make baptism an ordinance, a law to be obeyed.

The Little Three (Missouri, WELS, ELS) have fallen into the vortex of Evangelical doctrine by:

1. associating with them;
   
2. promoting their books;
   
3. attending their schools - Fuller, Trinity Divinity, Willow Creek;
   
4. learning how to "do church" with them;
   
5. copying their watered-down services;
   
6. singing their vapid hymns;
   
7. plagiarizing their law-based sermons;
   
8. promoting their horrid books and magazines;
   
9. eliminating the Creeds;
   
10. removing the Sacraments from worship.
    
11. never acknowledging they have changed from Lutheran doctrine and practice to Zwinglism and Thrivent boot-licking.

The Little Three are a feeder system for the great finishing school - Fuller Seminary. When presidential candidate Bachmann left WELS for a community church, she could not tell the difference! Nor did she know about the Antichrist!

The Scriptures divide people into believers and non-believers. We are justified by faith, not by church membership. However, constant teaching against God's appointed Means of Grace will eventually have its effect, although not necessarily on every single person.

Theology is the grammar of faith. The MDivs like to run around, blabbing about this and that, without study or research, especially in the very place where they would learn the most - the plain, clear, efficacious Word of God. That is why many laity outdistance the clergy in spiritual understanding. Few laity have their understanding darkened by the talking-points memorized from seminary classes and clergy conferences.

I have noticed the UOJ clergy retreating from the battle about justification by faith. They are nastier than ever, as befits their rejection of the Gospel, but they no longer dare to sneer at Luther's doctrine and the Book of Concord.

So, if we neglect sound doctrine, we will be led astray by the wolves and hired-hands, the belly-servers who use flattery to continue their predation.

The demi-semi-quasi-Zwinglians are more dangerous than the loud atheists. Their enablers, protectors, and defenders--the DPs--are the most dangerous of all.

Sermons Are Not for Whining and Guilting

Ben Wink has left a new comment on your post "Nominated for Worst Sermon Ever. Worse Than Ski an...":

There seems to be an element of whining here as well. I believe that no one ever said that the life of the minister was supposed to be easy.

How can one encourage activity in the church when your own pastor belittles the work volunteers can do? Picking weeds and shoveling is nothing a PASTOR should do. What self-respecting minister of the Word would do that? Oh no. But you over there...the maroon that didn't learn Greek...grab a weedwhacker! Everyone's a minister...except when there's gardening to do because I can't be bothered with it, I'm saving souls.

Guilt through the Gospel. That should be a training series title. I heard it so often in quickly conceived half-hearted sermonettes from MLC, the high school after high school.

Where does it end? "You didn't buy an Easter lily. So our church is that much less beautiful in celebration of Christ's resurrection. So visitors are effected that much less by our flowered decorations on the altar. So they seem to doubt the Easter message because of the lack of lilies. So you've caused that person to fall away from the message that would've saved them from hell. I hope you're happy, soul-damner! I don't have time to bring flowers, I'm saving souls!"

Sounds ridiculous right? Is it that far off from what some congregations hear everyday? What should motivate a Christian? The Word in Law and Gospel motivates. Christ motivates. The Holy Spirit motivates. The Means of Grace motivate. Pulpit whinings turn people off. The only thing missing was asking for a handout at the end, because that would have sadly made it even more typical.

***

GJ - I heard a sermon like that in homiletics at the Sausage Factory, when I was there.

The senior said:

"Do you know why our congregation is not growing? It is because you are not out there witnesses. Statistics show that the churches that grow do so because the members are out witnessing..."

I knew that was straight out of the Shrinker books. Balge was appalled and said so. Of course, his own colleagues were teaching it.

I believe the speaker is the one who left Lutherdom altogether and opened a storefront church for healing.

I know that many of the students in 1987 were being brain-washed by Valleskey and others. After the year was over, a full week was devoted to CG propaganda. Soon after, I was expected to attend Kelm's School of Enthusiasm.

Holy Baptism

bored has left a new comment on your post "Come On, WELS - I Have the Graphics You Need To Co...":

Howdy Brett.

If you wanna go on record saying the WELS, LCMS etc are not Christian churches I suppose that's up to you.

Since you're not claiming that these churches are devoid of Christians perhaps you ought to consider your choice of words. There are plenty of churches of every denomination in which true justification is being taught (despite however much the pastor thinks he believes UOJ). To those churches, the "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" attitude will look arrogant and ridiculous, because it is, and because their experience with the WELS (for example) is something far different than yours: you see far more of the seedy and heterodox "intelligencia" who work tirelessly to corrupt truth than do ten average welsmen.

Jesus spoke in a totally different way to the woman at the well than he did to the pharisees. We sinners can take note of that, and add on several more tons of humility because we each are corrupt. It is possible to be kind without degrading the substance of what you're saying. And being charitable and sensitive is not attempting to usurp the Efficacy from the Word.

It's neither charitable nor accurate to say that there are no Christian Churches in the WELS or LCMS or the Roman Church. Better than telling a Roman Catholic or WELsian that technically they aren't Christian, would be to gently show them how their church departs from Scripture.

Save the edicts and the ire for the people who are trying to make antichristian churches of the very very many Christian churches.


***

GJ - These matters are worth debating.

Ichabod is devoted to discussing apostasy, and the Synodical Conference parts are apostate, including the micro-mini splinters. Even the ELS is little more than a splinter, consisting of a dead ice-cream maker, his endowed mini-college, and a few elderly parishes.

Although WELS is officially a UOJ sect, I know from various contacts that church workers reject and repudiate it, just as they reject and repudiate the Church Shrinkage Movement. Wisconsin deviancy is proven by the fact that the Wisconsin Sect persecutes faithful pastors, teachers, and members. The Krohn and Techlin excommunications are two obvious examples, but there are many more.

I have also documented WELS church workers murdering and molesting, a worship professor engaged in drunk driving, and other notorious crimes. Does anyone think I Google the Net for WELS crimes? No, people report the facts and help me document them.

The only proper way to address the problems is to apply the Word in the context of the Lutheran Confessions. That is done in various ways.

Many can only serve as faithful church workers where they are, but they are happy to see their ideas and insights in print. For various reasons, they cannot be out in the open as I am. In the past I used Christian News, which all the synods use, too. But they did not want me to use Christian News to tell the truth.

They really worked overtime to silence me, and the effort continues, poisoning the well. The idea is to make anything associated with me or this blog so toxic that it is dismissed out of hand. The weakness of this gambit is the abundance of Internet evidence. The poor slobs cannot help bragging and posting, so I have the facts in their own words, Tweets, and blogs.

If Brett seems harsh, it may be from his attempts to make up for all the silent Lutherans. Brett's words may remind Lutherans of how little they have done. He went to various clergy to address their perversion of justification. He set up the video services, which have been denounced repeated by... (the pope? ELCA? the UUA? the Babtists?) the "conservative" Lutherans. Doing something positive, even on a modest scale, makes them angry, bitter, and jealous.

But that is the problem with opposing falsehood. The meek compromiser seems to be the harbinger of peace, but he is really the worst trouble-maker, kicking the problems away for a moment, allowing them to return in worse form later.

No one shuns the get-along-go-along guy. They like him and clap him on the back.

Church and Change opponents volunteered me to go to two different C and C conferences. If I had been nearby, I would have gone, for the entertainment value alone. But why did they not go? And if they did, why did they not scream to heaven above? I know the Changers howled in unison, just like a pack of wolves, every time I identified their tactics when I was in WELS. They still snarl, growl, and bite where they can.

Brett Meyer went to Emmaus Conference. He could have excused himself, told me he was too busy. He might have said, "I tried their parishes and gave up." Instead, he helped in the purchase and distribution of 60 books on justification by faith. He spent the time talking to everyone who care to spend the time. Many laity were shocked at the perversion of justification being taught in their synods.

Perhaps if Harrison, Schroeder, and Pope John spent less time denouncing this blog and more time in study and teaching, their members would know more than "Holy Mother Synod is infallible." Harrison, truly the big dog of the three (in money, members, schools) had a chance to have a long discussion with Brett. Instead, Harrison exchanged a few words, glanced at one book, and walked away. Out of touch with the laity, he chose to stay out of touch.

Oh, those danish roll and coffee Thrivent-funded meetings - so much more comfortable, albeit fattening!

If the day came, when people like Brett were in the majority, or at least represented a significant group, the false doctrine would be beaten back and adulterous millionaires would be on the run.

But that has not happened yet, so a few of us will make up for the rest, signing our names, accepting the consequences.

Harrison, Schroeder, Pope John - you are rebuking the wrong people.

WELS Excommunicated Rick Tecklin, Joe and Lisa Krohn, For Supporting the Alleged Position of WELS

Responses to Rick Techlin's Excommunication:

1. Scott E. Jungen

   Rick,
   As tempting as it is to say what I want, I won’t. The Lord’s blessing to you.
   Scott E. Jungen
   
   
2. on July 9, 2011 at 12:24 am Daniel Baker

   I am very sad to hear this, Rick. I am still behind you 100%. If there is any way in which I can be of assistance to you, please let me know.
   
   
3. on July 9, 2011 at 11:26 am Aaron Palmer

   There is no justice in this, not even basic fairness. I’ve actually spent most of my career as a historian studying justice and law (often its abuses). Even the 1740 South Carolina Slave Code stated the following: “Natural justice forbids that any person of what condition soever be condemned unheard.” Yet this congregation and this district appeals board have done so, violating a principle that even slave owners felt compelled to write into law. I am ashamed of my synod and most especially the wolves in sheep’s clothing who have perpetrated this travesty.
   Lord’s blessings to your and your family in these difficult times. I wish I had the power to do more than just offer encouragement.
   Dr. Aaron Palmer
   
   
4. on July 9, 2011 at 11:44 am Joe Krohn

   Dear Rick…May the Lord go with you as well. You are in our prayers. This is all so troublesome. Your situation will need to be dealt with. The dispute can not go on between you, the pastors who are communing you and the leadership of the district in which you reside. In Christ, Joe
   
   
5. on July 9, 2011 at 12:08 pm Tony Kubek Jr

   Dear Rick,
   Those holding positions in our circuit, the Northern Wisconsin District and the synod level have abdicated their responsibility to preserve doctrinal purity. They have lost their credibility among some they are to serve. As enablers, those who allow the issues surrounding your situation to continue unresolved should be held accountable.
   Tony Kubek Jr
   
   
6. on July 9, 2011 at 4:03 pm CS

   ‘As enablers, those who allow the issues surrounding your situation to continue unresolved should be held accountable.’
   Doesn’t that go straight to the top of the synod? To whom shall the case be appealed? A word or two directly from Pres. Schroeder is in order. To me alot is riding on this situation and that of the Krohn family in Texas. These being the two most prominent cases since you both graciously keep the rest of us informed via your blogs. How many other similar cases are out there now flying under the radar that we are not aware of, I wonder? To me, there is alot riding on the on the outcome that eventually must be addressed in some sort of a higher appeal. I think the synod leaders know the division and split that will be brought about should a definitive answer and so-called resolution be brought about. Although I’m not hopeful for anything to be resolved by the Synod in convention at the end of the month, these and matters like these should be top priority in my humble opinion. I’m just a one girl, but one girl whose entire family are life-long WELS members who have supported this synod in countless ways. Sad to say it but I am on the brink of removing my membership from the WELS. Not that I want to leave, but sadly ~ it has left me.
   
   
7. on July 11, 2011 at 11:49 am Aaron Palmer

   I received an interesting phone call this morning from a member of Trinity Lutheran in Neenah (Pastor Englebrecht’s congregation) who I will not identify. He was none too happy about my comments in support of Mr. Techlin and seems to think that I am a “piece of work” to use his exact words. Thanks for the pleasant conversation Mr. X. No morning is complete without a good berating through my cell phone!
   Dr. Aaron Palmer
   
   
8. on July 11, 2011 at 12:42 pm Joe Krohn

   With God all things are possible and it is my prayer that WELS will take a hard look at the bad doctrines that are leading the synod away from the Confessions, but more importantly the Scriptures. In reality I am not at all confident in our situation based on what has happened to Rick. Our issue is much deeper seeded with an unrelenting, long and sordid past surrounding it. It is my honor to go with those who have gone down before me standing on the truth of the Word.
   Joe Krohn
   
   
9. on July 11, 2011 at 9:13 pm Scott E. Jungen

   Dr. Palmer,
   When they squeal, you know you’re on the right path! From what I’ve read from you, you are a “piece of work,” a good one! Rick, hang in there!
   Scott E. Jungen
   
   
10. on July 12, 2011 at 10:34 am Matthew Vik

    I pray that those of you commenting please contact the other individuals as well in keeping with the 8th Commandment.
    thank you.
    
    
11. on July 12, 2011 at 2:59 pm Aaron Palmer

    Mr. Vik,
    I will allow Luther to respond to this talking point about the eighth commandment. I say talking point because I have heard almost the exact statement you have made over and over again regarding this and other similar issues:
    

    
    

    “All this has been said regarding secret sins. But where the sin is quite public so that the judge and everybody know it, you can without any sin avoid him and let him go, because he has brought himself into disgrace, and you may also publicly testify concerning him. For when a matter is public in the light of day, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying; as, when we now reprove the Pope with his doctrine, which is publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. For where the sin is public, the reproof also must be public, that every one may learn to guard against it.” (Luther’s Large Catechism, 8th Commandment, Paragraph 284, http://www.bookofconcord.org / Concordia Triglotta).
    
    I do not think any of us are commenting here or elsewhere out of an evil desire to be vicious or spiteful, but stern words are sometimes needed. Do not mistake indignation for malice.
    Dr. Aaron Palmer
    
    
12. on July 12, 2011 at 4:41 pm Daniel Baker

    Matthew,
    I hope that you are not using the 8th commandment as a veil for indefensible doctrine and practice. I also pray that you think the best of your brethren (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:7) and assume that we already have contacted the individuals accused of these heinous crimes.

Antinomianism Comes from Univeral Objective Justification.Just Ask ELCA, Jungkuntz, Kelm

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Come On, WELS - I Have the Graphics You Need To Co...":

The term Legalistic Antinomian may seem to be a paradox. It is accurate because it describes the logical outcome of straying away from the Means of Grace and the Lutheran Confessions. The Legalism comes from the Pharisaical use of the Law. The Antinomianism comes from always trying to find loopholes in the Law.

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Nominated for Worst Sermon Ever. Worse Than Ski an...":

These wrong use of the law admonitions are a dime-a-dozen in the cesspool known as American Evangelicalism. This is what you get when you have lazy pastors who leave evangelism visits up to a visitation committee. This is what you get when you have an expensive expansion program and you cannot get warm bodies fast enough to fill up the coffers. This is what you get when your doctrine of vocation is faulted and you preach that everyone is a minister. The final result is unduly binding the consciences of the laity. I would not be able to stay for the entire sermon. I would be in the men's room retching.

Reading J. P. Meyer Again.Fatal UOJ Flaws

Do not overlook $50 to 60 million a year from Thrivent, just for the Missouri Synod.

Northwestern Publishing House has re-issued the infamous J. P. Meyer commentary on Second Corinthians, Ministers of Christ.
I will publish a review soon.

The book has all the weaknesses of lecture notes being published.

I wanted to see how the Panning-improved version read. He was supposed to sand down the rough parts, the controversial passages, but there is little evidence of that.

The book proves that the UOJ Enthusiasts will never comprehend their errors, because Meyer-Panning places UOJ next to justification by faith and sees only UOJ.

Meyer quoted Luther, Gerhard, and Calov--all justification by faith theologians--and pulled UOJ out of them, like a magician who finds coins in ears and scarves in his capacious cloak.

I used to pull coins out of ears, a trick I learned from my mother. (Simply palm a coin and pretend to tug on the ear-lobe. The child sees what he is told he is seeing.) An engineer's son kept each coin and placed it carefully on the table, watching the pile grow. That trick was slowly impoverishing me.

The problem is basic and obvious. The UOJ fanatics turn every Atonement passage and term into justification.

Justification in the New Testament means God's declaration of forgiveness. That is also true of the Book of Concord, Luther, Melanchthon, Chytraeus, Chemnitz, Gerhard, and Calov.

Many advocates of UOJ have conceded this fact - that justification in those instances is exactly what R. C. H. Lenski said - justification by faith. But that does not deter the UOJ Enthusiasts.

Circular Reasoning
Assumptions lead to conclusions, and conclusions can easily create assumptions. Whether we call it circular reasoning, begging the question, or special pleading, using assumptions to prove a conclusion is a logical fallacy.

For example, some clergy were debating which Gospel was written first. I believe the issue cannot be solved and is irrelevant anyway. John is clearly last because the Fourth Gospel assumes knowledge of the others.

To prove his case, one pastor said, "Matthew and Luke had to have a document before them." I kept questioning them. Why assume that document? Yes, there is historical evidence for Matthew being first, but most of history has vanished from war and neglect. Before books became the norm, which happened in modern times, people used their memories to contain entire works of literature.

One possible answer to their problem is this:

1. Matthew was first, the Jewish Gospel, modeled after the Five Books of Moses.
   
2. Luke was second, a Gentile Gospel for non-Jews.
   
3. Mark wrote a harmony of the two, with only two brief passages being unique to Mark: the seed growing secretly and the great robeless escape.
   
4. John wrote his unifying Gospel, assuming the reader's knowledge of the previous Gospels, but adding essential material.
   

The standard academic solution today is:

1. Mark was first, supposedly lacking the Virgin Birth.
   
2. Matthew and Luke used Mark as the outline, adding material from the mysterious and never-found Q document.
   
3. John was written 300 years later! That is a farce, since a scrap of John's Gospel was found dating the actual written version to 100 AD or earlier.
   

Syn Conference Assumptions There are so many Syn Conference assumptions, which pre-determine the conclusion of any argument. Here are just a few:

1. Walther was the great orthodox Lutheran hero, who saved the Saxon migration from destruction, created the Missouri Synod, led the Synodical Conference, and never even broke wind his entire life.
   
2. Walther was infallible so questioning anything related to him or his life means automatic excommunication.
   
3. The Wauwatosa professors (WELS) were trained by the Walther disciples, so they could not be wrong about anything. In fact, they improved on everything.
   
4. Every Atonement passage in the Bible is really a UOJ passage, but the early writers (like Paul) did not realize it yet, because the issues had not been raised until much later.
   
5. No American Lutheran leader, apart from the Walther circle, could possibly be right about anything, because that individual was not part of the Walther circle.
   
6. The LCMS, WELS, and ELS are always correct in doctrine and practice, no matter what they teach and practice.
   
7. The LCMS, WELS, and ELS dedicate themselves to strict fellowship practices, even while romping with ELCA homosexuals, lesbians, and high-church atheists. They do so to help, improve, and ejucate ELCA.
   
8. The papacy is the very Antichrist, unless Missouri, WELS, or the ELS wants papists to lecture them.
   
9. ELCA is just pathetic, unless Missouri, WELS, or ELS wants to work with them.
   
10. Christian News is disgusting, unless the synod leaders want to flatter Otten into spinning and spiking the news for them.
    

Robert Preus quoted this with approval, but Rolf claims his father never departed from Norwegian Pietism.

Come On, WELS - I Have the Graphics You Need To Counter This Antichrist Nonsense.You Don't Believe the Pope Is the Antichrist!

Roman Catholic homosexual Archbishop Weakland and his prieststaught the Word of God at Wisconsin Lutheran College, WELS.
Bishop James Shannon walked in procession with the Little Sect faculty and spoke at their religious assembly.
Come on, WELS/ELS. You are just as ecumenical as ELCA.More about Bishop Shannon here.
" If and when the Pope accepts Shannon's resignation as Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and as pastor of St. Helena's Church in Minneapolis, he will remain a bishop—but without portfolio."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941693,00.html#ixzz1S3e9yIhk

Michele Bachmann's Church Says the Pope Is the Antichrist

By Joshua Green

Jul 13 2011, 4:25 PM ET 240

The Iowa front-runner for the GOP nomination was a longstanding member of a strict Lutheran synod with controversial views of Catholicism

Michele Bachmann is practically synonymous with political controversy, and if the 2008 presidential election is any guide, the conservative Lutheran church she belonged to for many years is likely to add another chapter due to the nature of its beliefs--such as its assertion, explained and footnoted on this website, that the Roman Catholic Pope is the Antichrist.

Bachmann was a longtime member of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Stillwater, Minn., which belongs to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), a council of churches founded in 1850 that today comprises about 400,000 people. WELS is the most conservative of the major Lutheran church organizations, known for its strict adherence to the writings of Martin Luther, the German theologian who broke with the Catholic Church and launched the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. This includes endorsing Luther's statements about the papacy. From the WELS "Doctrinal Statement on the Antichrist": 

Since Scripture teaches that the Antichrist would be revealed and gives the marks by which the Antichrist is to be recognized, and since this prophecy has been clearly fulfilled in the history and development of the Roman Papacy, it is Scripture which reveals that the Papacy is the Antichrist.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama's relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright nearly derailed his quest for the Democratic nomination after video surfaced of Wright's extreme pronouncements. Similarly, the views of Bachmann's church toward the papacy--which are well outside the mainstream of modern political discourse--could pose a problem as she pursues the Republican nomination.

Seeking to better understand WELS theology and how voters should regard it, I called the Rev. Marcus Birkholz of Salem Lutheran Church in Stillwater. When I identified myself, he hung up. Turning the other cheek, I called WELS and had slightly better luck. While I didn't get to speak to a pastor, as I'd hoped, Joel Hochmuth, the communications director, did his best to oblige. On the matter of the Antichrist, he said, "Some people have this vision of a little devil running around with horns and red pointy ears. Luther was clear that by 'Antichrist' [he meant] anybody who puts himself up in place of Christ. Luther never bought the idea of the Pope being God's voice in today's world. He believed Scripture is God's word." Hochmuth hastened to add that despite the lengthy doctrinal statement, the belief that the Pope is the Antichrist "has never been one of our driving principles."

Hochmuth also revealed that Bachmann is no longer a member of the WELS congregation. "I do know that she has requested a release of her membership," he said, adding that she took the unusual step of formally requesting that release in writing. "She has not been an active member of our fellowship during the last year." Hochmuth wouldn't speculate on whether her presidential ambitions factored in this decision -- the nation's 70 million Catholics (who lean Republican) might not respond kindly to the Pope-as-Antichrist stuff -- but he did emphasize that "it's not something you're going to hear preached from our pulpits every Sunday."

Nevertheless, the statement alarmed prominent Catholics. "Clearly, that is anti-Catholic," said Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, a national organization devoted to protecting Catholic civil rights. "This kind of hatred is reminiscent of Bob Jones. I believe [Bachmann] has in the past condemned anti-Catholicism. But there's no question -- all you have to do is read it -- that they clearly have anti-Catholic statements up there." Donohue said he would refrain from making any judgments until he heard from Bachmann, who he said must address the matter promptly. "We never went after Obama for sitting there for 20 years listening to Rev. 'Goddam America' Wright. I don't want to give him a pass, but I saw no bigotry on Obama's part. Similarly, I have see none on Bachmann's part. But it's clear that the [synod]'s teachings are noxious and it's important for her to speak to the issue. Obama had to answer for Wright, McCain had to answer for [the Rev. John] Hagee, and this is something that Bachmann has to answer for."

For context, I spoke to theologians familiar with Lutheran church history, who generally agreed with Hochmuth's characterization of Luther's views on the Antichrist. Some suggested that it would be useful to think of WELS as sitting well to the right of the two other major Lutheran organizations in America, the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (4.5 million members) and the conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (2.4 million). "The Wisconsin Synod is a relatively small, conservative church body," Terrence P. Reynolds, the chair of the Theology Department at Georgetown University and a Wisconsin Synod member, told me. "They believe that the Christian Church's task, and their role, is to proclaim the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. For some church bodies, the understanding of the pure gospel can be largely limited to the proclamation that we are 'saved by Christ'; for others it can involve a rich and substantial context of doctrinal understandings that surround that claim. The WELS understanding of the pure Gospel would fit well in the latter category."

This strict adherence to doctrine, and an awareness of how sharply it conflicts with modern societal norms, probably accounts for the church's nine-page statement on the Antichrist. Hochmuth's protestations notwithstanding, the church's position on the Pope and the Antichrist is perfectly clear -- those who consider themselves strict Lutherans cannot simply dismiss Luther's teachings -- even as its discomfort with that conclusion is plain to anyone who reads the full statement. For instance, it goes out of its way to make clear its position that it considers Roman Catholics to be Christians (a point Hochmuth made to me, as well).

In fact, the only person really disputing any of this is Bachmann herself. Confronted during a candidate's debate in 2006, she denied her church's position on the Pope:

Pat Kessler, WCCO (debate moderator): We'll start with Senator Bachmann. Religion and politics that has crept into this campaign over and over again. The Minneapolis-based Star Tribune reports today, Senator, that the church you belong to is affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which, it says, regards the Roman Catholic pope as the Anti-Christ. Is this true, do you share the views of your church, and why should any Catholic in the Sixth District vote for you if it is true?

Bachmann: Well that's a false statement that was made, and I spoke with my pastor earlier today about that as well, and he was absolutely appalled that someone would put that out. It's abhorrent, it's religious bigotry. I love Catholics, I'm a Christian, and my church does not believe that the Pope is the Anti-Christ, that's absolutely false.

Bachmann's campaign did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment.

Reynolds, of Georgetown University, says that this view of the papacy, alarming though it may be to the modern political world, has, over the centuries, shaped the rise of Protestantism. "The discussion of the papacy arose during the vitriolic exchanges Luther had with the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation," he explained. "Luther thought [the Scripture] proclaimed clearly that we are saved by grace and that faith alone is what justifies us before God; for Luther those claims were the fundamental teaching of the Scripture and should be the focus of the Church's proclamation." 

But the Roman Catholic Church insisted that faith alone was insufficient, and that good works dictated and overseen by the church were necessary for salvation. "As the debates continued," Reynolds said, "Luther became more and more frustrated with Rome's rejection of justification by grace alone through faith and began to link the Church's intransigence on this matter with Scriptural references to the Antichrist. According to the Scripture, anyone who seeks to undermine the purity of the Gospel and the clear teaching of Scripture in the name of the Gospel--or anyone who becomes anti-Gospel--is the Antichrist.  So Luther made the claim** that the Pope is the Antichrist, insofar as the Pope insists upon obedience to his office and on work righteousness, both of which demean the atoning work of Christ."

That's the theological basis for the WELS claim. It may be up to Bachmann to furnish a political one.
--
**For anyone interested in further reading, Reynolds says the claim that the Pope is the Antichrist appears in the Lutheran Confessions, in the Smalcald Articles, where it is declared that "This teaching shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power, which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God " (Smalcald Articles, Part II, Article IV; Of the Papacy).

Nominated for Worst Sermon Ever. Worse Than Ski and Glende Copies?Worse Than Parlow/Kelm Xeroxes?

Hi Professor,

I've been trying to get my folks to leave their WELS church for some time now.  Last Sunday's sermon, I think, was enough to push them over the edge.  The sermon is not that surprising (typical crap-ola), but for some reason it made it into the Top-Ten-Worst-Sermons-I've-Ever-Heard list.  The absence of the Holy Spirit and the Means of Grace from evangelism is Epic.  Totally Anthropocentric.  Anyhoo, the pastor doesn't publish text versions of his sermons, so I took pains to write accurate notes while listening to the audio file.  The link to the audio file is below if you care to totally waste 20 minutes of your life.  But I figured your readers might want to read a random example of WELS rottenness.

http://www.myfaithlutheran.com/site/audiodownloads.asp?sec_id=180001587

Now Hiring, by Pastor William Monday

Starts with token story about farmers.

Hard work is the only way to get treasure

What does it take for the Church to bring in the harvest?  How much responsibility should we have (how much work ethic) do we individually need to put forth to save souls?

Do we see things like Jesus does, that hard work is necessary, or do we not yet see that it our responsibility to work hard to save souls?

Why is Jesus spending all his time preaching and talking to people?  Why doesn't he spend his leisure time on himself?  His motivation was that he had compassion on them.  His heart broke for them.  When he saw everybody without goals and without God and his heart broke for them.   So, Jesus spent all his time telling everyone that "God Loves You".

Jesus looked at all these believers (OT and NT) who are struggling be passionate about the lost, struggling to harvest souls....so what words does he have for us:  (Quote:  And I can imagine Jesus' voice cracking when he says this)  The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  So pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send worker

Can't you see the desperation in his eyes?  Yes, Jesus paid the price for everyone by dying on the cross but they won't all be saved because there aren't enough workers in the field to tell them of the great work already been done!

[insert cute non sequitur story about farmers and puppies:   4 healthy puppies.  1 puppy with deformed leg.  Little boy with prosthetic leg decides he wants the deformed puppy.  Boy says:  That puppy is going to need someone who understand him.  The farmer promises to give the lame puppy to the lame boy for free.]

The Moral of the Story?  The Love of the Lord--it is so important to sympathize with others...to understand people.  to be compassionate.  Jesus is unique because he came to earth to understand us.  To sympathize with us.  In fact, he came to take our place.  He sees our failure.  We're all cripples.  Everyone needs something.  Jesus sees that and becomes that except without sin.   And then goes to the cross and becomes crippled for us.

Doesn't that change us?  Doesn't seeing Jesus do this for us change us?  Change how we see other people?  Don't we begin to look through our Savior's eyes?  Don't we also have compassion for one another?  Doesn't that inspire us to go from town to town and be witnesses for Jesus?  Doesn't that give us the motivation we're looking for to call out to our Savoir who is Now Hiring?

Jesus thought so.  He went and called 12 disciples and gave them authority to heal people and preach the good news.  [Insert Great Commission.]  And this applies to all of us.

Let me sum up by asking a better question:  How many of you have been assigned to a task where you needed other people?  Can you lift a couch up the stairs by yourself?  I wouldn't advice doing it by yourself.  Can you play with a teeter totter by yourself?  Nope.  If you've experienced this then you can relate to Jesus in this text.  With desperation and a choked up voice  (verbatim quote)  Jesus says to us:  "There are souls that keep dying and there aren't enough people to go out and rescue them!!!"

How wonderful things are when people volunteer and bring donuts and clean up!  How wonderful things are when we have volunteers  for money counting and ushering!  How wonderful when people sign up for VBS and all the other things that are required (quote) to further the gospel ministry along for ourselves and the Lost!

But how tough ministry becomes when nobody signs up for anything.   How tough it becomes to make the place look good for visitors.  You know, when nobody signs up to pull the weeds around the front entry, those jobs still get done.  You know who does them?  The leaders who have been charged with preaching the gospel and reaching the lost.  They pick weeds and shovel snow instead of saving people.

I've come to find this out in ministry.  That the most pressing needs are the ones that get fulfilled...but not the most important.  In order for outreach to happen, in order for us to be able to till the soil and plant the crop and bring the harvest home we need all those other things to get done. (shoveling snow, picking weeds, making coffee, serving donuts)  We need all of us together to work.  We need all of these things to happen so that outreach, which always happens last, can take place.  So take a look at Jesus.  He's standing there.  The Kingdom is Now Hiring.  Let us be people of prayer.  Let us be the ones who are willing to do the work.  Let us be willing to go out into that field and dig up that treasure.  The treasure of lost souls.

Let's do it together so that we can make sure we can turn over the field so that the people charged with doing the one-on-one soul saving can save the lost.  Maybe we're not all evangelists, but we can all hold up the evangelist's hands can't we?  Let's work while it's still day.

Monday Monday

Syn Conference Hypocrites Pretend To Ignore This:Jimmie James Research

The Rev. Richard Andersen

Rev. Richard Andersen

Rev. Richard Andersen received his Life Coaching training from the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, California. He is a Certified Life Coach of adults and their organizational systems.  A graduate of Luther Seminary in St. Paul,  Andersen was ordained in 1986.  He was approved for reinstatement to the roster having served a Lutheran parish earlier in his life. His second career as a senior financial consultant at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans allowed him to help clients shape their futures. He draws on these life skills in his passion for coaching people through life-enriching change.

With colleague, Ruth Frost, Richard founded Third Act Life Discovery, a spiritual journey of the heart designed to help people live purposefully and embrace a full life. Andersen is working on a Doctor of Ministry degree at United Theological Seminary.  Richard is currently the Director of Congregational Relations for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.  

”My life has revolved around being gay and acknowledging my call to serve the church,” Richard explains.

---

Jimmy James said... 

 

Something hit me after I sent this to you, GJ. Note Andersen's quote at the end:

”My life has revolved around being gay and acknowledging my call to serve the church,” Richard explains.

Note that his life doesn't revolve around Christ. It resolves around bedroom gymnastics.

Also note that his call isn't to serve Christ, but "to serve the church".

Seems this poor fella might have more salvation issues than just his homosexuality....

***
GJ -

I saw that right away. I remember the LCA reversing itself in the last few years before I left. The Lutheran magazine published an article by a seminary professor (Philadelphia) saying that homosexuality was against Creation. I met that professor when I was interviewed at that seminary. His fellow professors were congratulating him about the article. ELCA now teaches the opposite and the seminary faculties are united in supporting that position. The former head of ministry in ELCA (via his wife, also a minister) posted a Yale alumni note about their adult daughter having a Lesbian partner.

That Yale PhD in New Testament studies, Stanley Olson, has been an LCA professor and bishop, one of the four divisional heads, and the chief of vocations in ELCA. He was just installed as the president of the ELCA seminary in Dubuque, Iowa (Wartburg, former ALC), which Loehe started.

Don't blame Loehe - he started the Missouri Synod too, and the seminary at Ft. Wayne.

Jeske-Jungend Rally , July 21

Become a chick magnet. This will be a good way to learn how to goose-step into the secretive and powerful Church and Change group.
Endorsed by DP Buchholz.
Led by Jeff Gunn, who confesses, "Jesus is my rice."

What Is the Difference? Bueller, Bueller, Anyone?

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Time of Grace Supporters Just Happen To Be Church ...":

Bethesda Lutheran Communities - Partner Congregations:

St. John Lutheran Church, Wauwatosa WI - Pastor: Rev. Joel Leyrer, also 2nd vice-president of WELS SE Wisconsin District.

http://bethesdalutherancommunities.org/page.aspx?pid=665

"Bethesda is a Lutheran human care ministry that maintains close and friendly ties with all the Lutheran churches."

"Bethesda is a Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod."

"...all joint expressions and demonstrations of a common Christian faith—call them church fellowship or by any other term ("partner congregations"? "close and friendly ties"?)—are essentially one, that they involve a unit concept, and that they are therefore all [also prayer] governed by one set of principles"(Proceedings, 1959, p. 165). - WELS "Unit Concept" of fellowship.

***

GJ - Missouri and WELS have been working with ELCA and its parent bodies for decades. That will not change.

More importantly, the leaders of both sects have shown an inordinate fondness for studying with and adopting the doctrines of the Enthusiasts. Their hand-scooped doctrine from the Great Kidnapper is pure Enthusiasm with Lutheran sprinkles. Look beneath the sprinkles - there it is.

Someone asked me, "Is there a reason not to join one of the LCMC or NALC congregations?"

1. Still in demi-semi-fellowship with nasty old ELCA? So are Missouri and WELS.
   
2. Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell Communion practice. Ditto WELS and Missouri.
   
3. Ordination of women? WELS and Missouri are eager to embrace it and already have women pastors.*

The LCMC (more like the ALC) and the NALC (the home for elderly ELCA bishops) are engaged in re-studying the Word of God, instead of taking everything for granted. I have no idea what the typical congregation is like, if that can even be determined. I would not be shocked to find both groups siphoning members from Missouri and WELS, simply because the doctrinal differences are slight. Few laity want to circle the wagons around the disputes of the 19th century Pietists.

Walther's approach was to offer his non-biblical theses as revealed truth, then dare anyone to dispute them. He was contentious, divisive, an unrepentant criminal with a lust for power. No wonder Syn Conference hagiographers want to begin with the Altenburg Theses, about Church and Ministry. Oh, Walther rescued the Saxon sheep from the ee-vul Bishop Stephan! Oh, he threaded the needle with his deft move between Romanism and Congregationalism. Oh, he took over the Synod Presidency and seminary presidency at once. Oh, Oh, Oh.

Starting with Altenburg means forgetting the two children kidnapped from their grandparents' home, the young man and woman who died in America. If I were those grandparents, I would not be so proud of that son (CFW) and his brother, both pastors. Starting with Altenburg allows one to forget that Walther willingly followed a known adulterer to America, pledged his lifelong support to the bishop, then organized a mob to rob, depose, and kidnap the bishop - for the crime of adultery.

* LCMS congregations hired ELCA women vicars to preach, consecrate Holy Communion, and baptize, already in the 1980s. I read their accounts in the Trinity (ELCA) Seminary library.
In WELS, the women "Staph Ministers" organized by Larry Oh! (DMin, Fuller Seminary) were consecrating Holy Communion and distributing it. The Revelation of John Brug (Glende's uncle, an Otten fave) was this - "It is not yet the right time." WELS did not condemn the practice but simply imposed a momentary delay. Brug has consistently supported women pastors, and he is the WELS dogmatician, smarter than JP Meyer, but no wiser.