Crystal Bridges Museum - $900 Million for American Art - A Few Miles from the Ichabode

Crystal Bridges Museum: "About Crystal Bridges

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art welcomes all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of landscape. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities."

'via Blog this'

Playing Games with Congregations and Pastors: Bishops Also Move Obliquely in Chess

"Let us pray we don't make the Bad Vestments blog for this outfit.
We did?"See Bad Vestments comments below.

ALPB Online Quote from: Charles_Austin on Today at 10:24:40 AM I ask again: What does a bishop have to gain by giving a congregation a pastor they do not want? What does a bishop have to gain by "weeding out" any pastors, except perhaps for those who are ineffective and persistent troublemakers or who mess up in parish after parish? What is the "up side" of weeding out anyone but that sort?

---

I am sure this has been answered "again" but here it is "again". It is called risk management, and it really is quite easy to understand. For example, as to why a bishop wouldn't give a congregation what it wants:

A large and mostly conservative congregation, that gives generously to the synod, is not happy with decisions of the ELCA. They enter the call system because their pastor retires, dies, or whatever. Even though this congregation has not indicated that it wants to leave the ELCA the bishop understands that if a vote were to take place it is likely they would have the 2/3rds majority necessary. So, instead of assigning an orthodox interum or recommending an orthodox pastor the bishop places a radical revisionist as the interim. This upsets many people and the most vocal opponents leave reducing the chances that the congregation will ever be able to achieve a 2/3rds majority. The bishop then recommends only moderate ELCA loyalist for the call (who, by the way, now look orthodox when compared to the interim). This formerly "at risk" congregation now has been effectively neutered and the benevolence dollars continue to roll in.

As to why a bishop would want to "weed out" orthodox pastors, again it is a risk management thing. I have to believe that many bishops see putting orthodox pastors into orthodox congregations as adding fuel to the flame. Then there is the emotional factor. I don't know many bishops who enjoy meeting with angry and frustrated traditional/confessional congregations who oppose the changes caused by HSGT and the changes in V&E. I also understand that with ever decreasing budgets it must be painful for bishops to lay off synod staff and reduce ministries. The cause of this emotional pain in their minds? - those darn orthodox clergy. I find it quite easy to understand why an ELCA bishop would not want well spoken orthodox pastors like Stephen and Erma at their synod assemblies, stirring things up and drawing attention to things they just want to go away?

----

Comments from Bad Vestments:

Some Recent Speakers and Entertainers, in Podunk Land, At the Saturday Morning Meetings Attended with Little Ichabod

***

GJ - From the fetid womb of Church and Change, Appleton, came this puerile comment: " I just think it's interesting that no matter how someone responds to your posts, you spin it in such a way as to make yourself look relevant to the discussion instead of someone stuck out in podunk country in Arkansas blogging away to fill up his empty life."

Another Satisfied Reader from Appleton

Samuel Thrace has left a new comment on your post "The Silence of the Wolves: No One Responds to the ...":

No, it's that I truly don't care about Walther one way or the other. I tried reading "Law and Gospel" and (like a fair number of people, I suspect) quickly got bored with the repetitious nature of the book and stopped reading it. Walther is just a name from the past to me. I just think it's interesting that no matter how someone responds to your posts, you spin it in such a way as to make yourself look relevant to the discussion instead of someone stuck out in podunk country in Arkansas blogging away to fill up his empty life.


***

GJ - People forget that the comments are time-stamped, just like the Feedjit notices. The Church and Changers are bitter, unhappy people. If their Luther consumption matched their alcohol consumption, they would have something to offer besides stale copies of Groeschel sermons.

The American Spectator : End of the Mainline

The American Spectator : End of the Mainline: "The Episcopal bishop whose acquittal in a church "heresy" trial 15 years ago ignited the ongoing schism within the U.S. Episcopal Church and the global Anglican Communion died last week in Pittsburgh.

Bishop Walter Righter, 87, set off a firestorm of controversy when he ordained an openly non-celibate homosexual man to the Episcopal deaconate in 1990. His heresy trial concluded in 1996 with a 7-1 dismissal of charges by a panel of fellow bishops. The episode further stoked disputes over scriptural authority and sexual ethics within America's once historically most prestigious Mainline denomination.

"I look around the Episcopal Church today where there are no impediments to the ordination of gay or lesbian members.… None of that would have happened without Bishop Righter's leadership," pronounced a prominent pro-gay rights California priest in a Righter obituary. "When the history of the movement for the full inclusion of the LGBT community in our church is written, there is no doubt that Walter Righter will be one of its great heroes.""


See ChurchMouse for more on this topic.


'via Blog this'

The Silence of the Wolves: No One Responds to the Historical Truth about Walther

The American Pope is a better name for Walther, according to 29A, a WELS member known only by a hexadecimal number..

Except for Artful Dodger, no one has responded to the posts about Walther as a Pietist, kidnapper, mob organizer, and thief.

This is actually the highest level of response to an concept.


1. Agreement - That is not worth posting. Most blogs post at this level, so they can exchange slobbering praise among the other bloggers who do exactly the same thing.
2. Anger - That post is worth publishing because it challenges the norms of self-deception.
3. Silence - They take great pains to avoid linking the blog and using the research in an obvious way. They pay their SP $250,000 a year in salary and benefits to keep people from posting with their real names. On Facebook, they unfriend the author while friending the people they supposedly oppose. They tremble in their rabbit warrens, fearful that someone suspects an association with Ichabod. And they sigh among their pals, many of whom are synod stooges, "Isn't it terrible how bad things are today?"

The Stephan family did not go away. Bishop Stephan's son became a pastor and architect, and many descendants served the synod with distinction. The idolatry of Walther is so toxic that Loehe's name sends the Bronzies into paroxysms of rage.