Patterson's Sermon Made a Big Impression on 29A

I listened to Patterson`s sermon on Ichabod. love mercy. All I can say is where does the Bible or Luther or the BOC say that - "Love mercy"? I think patterson better ask Jesus for mercy preaching that kind of garbage. 

Joe Krohn should not be excommunicated BUT Patterson should.

29a---Deep underground in WELS.

Narrow-Minded on the Issues Etc Interview And Seminary Fraud

Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "More Details on LCMS Seminary Fraud":

Observations from the "Issues, Etc. " clip:

578 "non-calling" congregations today vs. 328 ten years ago: Okay, the rural population issues and health care costs are certainly valid points. While he admitted that many parishes are using emeritus pastors, what he did not say is that some parishes use vicars (yes, to administer the Sacraments with district approval). I wish I had numerical stats for this occurrence. Also, from the clip, many pastors are serving two congregations (and some even three). Yes, burnout is common. The overall observation is that no one wants to admit that the "numbers" are simply declining. I just read that the mean age of the Church of England (which will probably be all but gone in another generation) is 61.

199 congregations calling "sole pastors" today vs. 621 ten years ago: Wow! That's all one can say. At least he admitted that the "pastoral crisis" was "exaggerated."

Personal observations:

1. Although St. Paul said pastors are supposed to make their living by the Gospel, St. Paul himself also made it clear that he paid his own way. I think clergy or those aspiring to be pastors will have to accept the fact that they may have to also work in a secular vocation to supplement income. I believe this is the reality in this age. The cushy Concordia Plan ain't free.

2. As an aside, I was recently told that the Vicarage Program was instituted during the Great Depression to delay calls during those economically miserable times. I was also told that a recent vicarage candidate was denied a vicarage due to a scandalous life. What was his sin? Too much debt from student loans. This is almost funny, except that this guy and his family probably failed to see the humor.

3. Also not mentioned was the SMP Program. I can't readily find the stats on the number of SMP students vs. regular MDiv students, but I'm sure many parishes seeking an asst./assoc. pastor are going this route. Also note that the SMP students are not eligible for grants or Fed aid. I think the SMP is where the LCMS is headed. The "growthy" parishes will seek them, I believe. No Greek required. Since I have ranted in the past about the SMP and my dislike for it, I will abstain from further comment.

4. Although Herb Mueller claimed that there will be many pastors retiring in a few years when (if?) the economy recovers, I think the gaggle of calls will be short-lived. The percentage of the population that attends church is simply declining.

5. Yes, the mega-churches seem to be thriving, but when the "thrill" is gone and the people go seeking their next "high," they will also eventually fail. Those 3,000-plus churches are probably supported in the majority by a few families. Will they return to traditional church bodies? My money is on the negatory.

6. One of the LCMS sems will close [GJ - bazingo]. It is inevitable. There was scuttlebutt a few years ago about MDiv's starting their classes at the Concordia U level and finishing distance ed. Concordia U's, what a disaster, both theologically and financially. One can receive Evolution and homosexual tolerance brainwashing much cheaper elsewhere.

Works of Faith

Recently I have had to chide several laymen, for ascribing special powers to a doctorate in theology. I was fortunate to get a full scholarship and have the time to read hundreds of volumes of modern scholarship. However, the Holy Spirit does not work through graduate programs. A PhD is a union card for publishing, as Stan Hauerwas said when we spoke about it.

His colleague, John Howard Yoder, prepared the way for Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant by teaching a semester on the Radical Reformation. Therefore I learned about the Anabaptists from one of the leading Anabaptist scholars of the time, whose work with Hauerwas has become a cottage industry for publishing books and dissertations.

Those who study the Word of God with a sincere faith are building on the same foundation, whether laity or clergy. The worst damage has come through those people who have placed their denominational filters before their eyes, careful to be true to their school rather than the revealed Word of God. The Babtists, who insist that all babies are born sin-free, are no different from the glassy-eyed Syn Conference disciples who declare that we are all born forgiven.

The efficacy of the Word means constant opportunities for the Gospel. The Shrinkers amaze us all by ordering their followers to go out and find some heathen to befriend. Fuller alumni have an whole program of relational evangelism, the Pharisee in the temple thanking God, praising himself, and looking down on the publican.

One couple got married - American Indian and German. We sent them a large gift Bible, inscribed with their first names. Since then we have time and again how thrilled they are to have a family Bible, which they are reading. They did not have a Bible. Someone had some material in German, so we are sending that to the bride's parents. Norma Boeckler offered to send Jesus Priceless Treasure to anyone for free, so I asked her to send copies to this couple and her parents. We heard right away from both families that they were reading the books.

Various people are receiving Luther versus the UOJ Pietists, because they are deeply concerned about the false doctrine being promoted by Syn Conference leaders. Various people have made it possible to send printed copies free when the books are needed. The PDF of any book can be downloaded at any time.

Soon the final versions of The Story of Jesus in Pictures will be ready, with its companion - Coloring Book, The Story of Jesus in Pictures. The first one is full-color, inside and out. The second will have a color cover but line drawings of the art used in the full color book. Norma Boeckler, our award-winning artist-in-residence, created both books.

Only One Justification Is Possible: UOJ Is Just a Fiction

Universal Objective Justification is the reason for Lutherans lining up to study at Fuller Seminary and being promoted for their doctrinal waywardness. If UOJ is correct, then one must explain why the Fuller fanatics are also UOJ fanatics.

The double-justification scheme of UOJ comes directly from Professor Knapp of Halle University, a Pietist professor at the center of Pietism in Europe, established to promote Pietism. Halle quickly became the center of rationalism, eventually absorbing Wittenberg University, which no longer exists as a separate entity.

There can only be one justification, and UOJ Enthusiasts know that. They use justification by faith as veneer to hide the cheapness of their precious opinion. If the entire world has already been justified, absolved, forgiven, and saved, then justification by faith is no more than an afterthought. Reading a favorite UOJ essay will prove that the author cannot even deal with Biblical, Lutheran concepts. He is like Alice in Wonderland, lost in a land of make-believe, where declaring a truth makes it genuine.

Likewise, if we follow the justification by faith taught throughout the Scriptures, the Book of Concord, and Lutheran orthodoxy, UOJ appears as it is - a farce, an illusion, a cosmic joke played upon the gullible and practiced by the devious.

 

The ankle-biters complain that I am trying to collect followers. I am far more ambitious than that. I am trying to create readers of the Book of Concord and students of Luther's sermons. Once that good yeast begins to leaven the lump, the opinions of the Enthusiasts will be tossed aside.

The bottom-feeders think they can win by scaring people away from this blog. WELS pays its CEO about $250,000 a year (pay and benefits) to find out who is posting on Ichabod, so he can order that person to stop. The effect is just the opposite. The scent of illegality makes furtive blogging and intelligence sharing more appealing. Midnight instant-messaging. Secret signs and passwords. 

An overpaid ELCA pastor sniffs that I am running the WELS Witness Protection Program. I like that

I was busy creating a title recently when I left out one letter in justification - the a. The mistake was not easy to spot, so I was happy to find it before the Hooters crowd began railing at me. The change is symbolic. It should remind us what some mixing can do to the chief article of the Christian faith, justification by faith becomes just-a-fiction.

Justification by faith is a simple, plain concept - profound in all its implications. The pulpit steers the world, as Melville says. The preached Gospel creates and sustains faith through the power of the Holy Spirit in the Means of Grace. Faith in the crucified Messiah receives His forgiveness and strengthens us against temptation.

Contrariwise, UOJ is a profound concept - so deep and mysterious that its own adherents cannot fathom its meaning or explain it properly. This great enigma was revealed by Knapp in the fulness of time and interpreted through his Pythian prophetess CFW Walther. The implications of UOJ are simple - everyone is forgiven. Yup. Born forgiven. Already forgiven. No thought is required to determine this, because all the beetle-worshipers and tree-huggers are forgiven and saved. The atheists are absolved, too. UOJ turns all of Christian doctrine and worship into adiaphora - it is that simple.

UOJ is a doctrine for simpletons and charlatans. The simpletons believe it and the charlatans find ever-more complex formulations to state the same thing.