WELS Nenbers Alert - Conference of Pussycats Meeting in Puerto Rico. Notes from Deppity Doug Hisself

Notes from Depitty Doug, verbatim.

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GJ - I wanted to check some facts so I clicked on the WELS.net website for some documents. The official list for the Synodical Conference calls them Synodical Conference Nenbers. They cannot spell "Members" at headquarters? WELS is so bad that I suggest viewing any document with suspicion if it lacks egregious spelling errors. That could be a sign that it is a clever forgery from the LCMS or the ee-vul ELS.

Here is the update from Doug. How did I get it? Loose lips sink ships.

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From: welsnwpd@aol.com

Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 11:43 AM

Subject: COP summary

 

Brothers,

 

Below is a summary of the recent off-site meeting of the COP.  As always,if there are any questions about the things you read in the summary, do not hesitate to e-mail me or give me a call.

 

DOUG

 

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Conference of Presidents

January 7-11, 2012

San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

A G E N D A

 

Saturday, January 7

 

8:30 a.m.         Bible study (wives welcome!)                                           Joel Petermann

District President Joel Petermann led us in a devotion based on Matthew 9:9-13.  The title of his devotion was:”Battling With Jesus For The Basement Of My Heart”.    He pointed out that we need to battle together with Jesus (not battling against Jesus, but along with Him), empowered by the Holy Spirit, against the attitude that may lie at the bottom of our heart that we are not necessarily in the same category as the tax collectors and “sinners”.    Through daily confession we can remind ourselves of the fact that we are among the sinners that Jesus came to call, and that we are not “the righteous”, for no one is righteous apart from Christ.   We can find great comfort in the fact that Jesus came to call sinners such as we, and that He is the physician, who alone can cure us of our sinful condition.  We closed our devotion with the singing of What Grace Is This! (CWS 715) and prayer. 

 

9:00 a.m.         Plenary session – preliminary business

           

            Consent agenda

CA.01 Minutes, October 2011 meeting and November and December  2011

            teleconferences1  

A motion was made and carried to accept the consent agenda.

P.01     Approval of the agenda

A motion was made and carried to accept the agenda as presented.

P.02     President’s report

President Schroeder gave an oral report on things going on in the synod:

·         An ad hoc committee is working on putting both of the synod buildings that we now have up for sale to resolve the problem of having two properties; there is great commercial value in the 2929 property, but the timing is not the best right now, although there is some interest from several parties.    The Pewaukee property is very marketable and would be listed at present value, which is above the short-sale purchase price.  The former prospective buyer of the 2929 property would have had to put down earnest money at the end of the due diligence period, but backed out the day before that period was up. 

·         CMO subscriptions to date (only 20% in at this point in time) are up from last year; 2011 gifts are considerably lower than budgeted;  the “lock box” closes on Monday and the hope is that year end receipts will come in strong. 

·         There are a number of personnel changes taking place at the SAB due to retirements and people accepting other positions; more “pooling” of staff is being considered; Jon Flannigan, who has handled HR duties previously, is taking care of the HR matters until someone is hired to replace former HR director, Roger Crawford, who resigned for health reasons. 

 

P.03     Preview and initial discussion of committee tasks

 

P.04     Future meetings and significant dates

            March 26-28 @ SAB          8:30 AM Monday to Noon Wednesday

May 17-19 (at MLC)

May 17-18:                   Assignments (begins 8:00 am)

May 18                          MLC Commencement concerts (4:00 &7:30 PM)

May 19                          MLC Graduation (10 AM) and call service (2:30 PM)

May 21                          Meet at SAB

May 22-25 (at WLS)                         

May 22:                         Vicar assignments (begins 8:00 am)

Vicar call service (7:00 pm)

May 23:                         Pastor assignments (begins 8:00 am)

May 24:                         WLS Call day service (10:00 am)

May 25:                         WLS Graduation (10:00 am)         

October 8-11                        COP meeting in Milwaukee

January 11-16                     Off-site COP meeting

 

P.05     Green sheet review and update 1

The district presidents went through the list of men in their districts who could benefit from a call, listed those who should be considered CRM, and presented the names of those who should not be considered for calls at this time due to health concerns, family concerns, or special situations. 

P.06     Interviews, inquiries, and colloquy update

P.07     Special situations

A number of special situations were discussed, including the Milwaukee Hope Schools and congregations in other districts with special needs or problems.  

P.08     Retirement calls

P.09     Vacancy profile        

The district presidents presented the pastoral vacancies that they have in their districts as well as vacancies for theologically trained individuals in institutions, world missionaries, and synodically called individuals.  Totals are:  37 vacant parishes,  3 semi- retired,  1 foreign missionary,  3 professors, and  3 other.     

There are approximately 22 vicars  and 34-35 graduates that will be available in May for assignment.

 

1:30 p.m.        Plenary discussion (see list)

Sunday, January 8

 

Morning        Worship at area churches

                        San Juan (times unconfirmed)                    Guayama

2 vans                                                 3 vans

9:30 a.m. Worship service                9:15 a.m. Bible study

10:30 a.m. Fellowship                                   10:00 a.m. Worship service

11:00 a.m. Bible study                      Schroeder

Rutschow                                                       Buchholz

Guse                                                                Treptow

Huebner                                                         Naumann

Prahl                                                   Engelbrecht

Lambert                                              Seifert

Degner                                                            Voss

Pasbrig                                                Petermann      Glaeske

                                                                                   

    The trip to Guayama at the south end of the island to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ there was very uplifting.   District President Jon Buchholtz, who was a former vicar in Guayama, preached the sermon in Spanish.  After the worship service, we were invited to join in fellowship with the members and stay for the noon meal before returning to San Juan.  We had a chance to meet with many of the  members, including the two sons of Pastor  Sergio Cortijo, who are studying to be pastors in the Lutheran Church of Puerto Rico. “How good it is and how pleasant to live in unity and peace.  How good it is and how pleasant to live together in one Lord!”   (CWS 773)                                                                            

Monday, January 9

 

8:00 a.m.         Bible study                                                                           Joel Petermann

District President Joel Petermann continued with the theme “Battling With Jesus For The Basement Of My Heart.   His second study was based on Matthew 12:1-8.    The devotion brought up the subject of rules obscuring the mission. The Pharisees were more concerned about following the ”rules” and not very concerned about the purpose of the Sabbath, because they did not see Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath.   We closed our devotion with the singing of hymn # 737 “God’s Own Child I Gladly Own It” and prayer. 

 

The members of the COP had the opportunity to spend Monday afternoon with their wives touring various places on the island. 

Tuesday, January 10

 

8:30 a.m.         Bible study                                                                           Joel Petermann

In the third devotion District President Joel Petermann brought out the matter of “pretense” and how the type of pretense displayed by the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-28 is actually there in all of us.  Because pastors want the Gospel to be seen in a good light, we tend to wear a mask that does not let our people see what we are actually like, i.e. sinners like everybody else.   The cure for such pretense is confession and trust in the blood atonement of Christ.  We closed our devotion with the singing of hymn # 738 “In Hopelessness And Near Despair”. [GJ - Appropriate.]

 

9:00 a.m.         Presentation and discussion on Ministry Issues          Paul Wendland

Since the parameters of our off-site meetings each year call for them to involve elements of  leadership  training,  Seminary President Paul Wendland was invited to lead us in a presentation entitled “Walking Together, In Step With The Truth Of The Gospel” (Reclaiming the “E” in WELS).   Details of that discussion and various exercises that we went through are summarized in the section below entitled “Discussion on Ministry Issues”.

 

10:00 a.m.       Open discussion with area pastors

We were thrilled to have time to meet with the pastors and leaders of the Lutheran Church of Puerto Rico with whom we share fellowship in the gospel.   The men from the Island of Puerto Rico introduced themselves:

• Sergio Cortijo,  the president of the Lutheran Church of Puerto Rico, who also serves three congregations.
• Raphael Alvarez, president of the Lutheran church in Guayama, and treasurer of the Lutheran Church in Puerto Rico. 
• Manuel Munroig, the pastor at True God Lutheran Church in San Juan. 
• Jean Rivera Monthouel,   a member of the church in Guayama. 

 

It was a joy to hear their confession of faith as well as the challenges that the Lord has placed before them and the victories He has granted them through the gospel.  It was interesting to note that many of the challenges to ministry that they face in Puerto Rico are the same ones we face in the United States.

 

12:00 noon     Lunch with area pastors and church leaders

                       

1:00 p.m.        Presentation and discussion on Ministry Issues          Paul Wendland

President Wendland continued his presentation to the COP.   We discussed the difference between DOCTRINE, PRACTICE, and APPLICATION, utilizing an exercise that helped us discuss various practices/applications by rating them E – Essential, D – desirable, N – neutral, or U – undesirable.  Several other exercises helped us discuss the efficacy vs. the stewardship of the Word.   An important question in connection with these discussions was:  what does a church body do when individuals/minorities adopt different practices than “the norm”?  It is clear that communication is vitally important among brothers.  It is also clear that the solution to the issues we face in this respect is not to establish a set of rules or make policies for everything, but to continue to talk brother to brother as members of the COP in order to come to consensus and a resolution if at all possible. 

 

3:30 p.m         Continue Presentation and discussion on Ministry Issues    Paul Wendland

                                                            Or     Committee time

Wednesday, January 11

 

8:30 a.m.         Bible study                                                                           Joel Petermann

The last of devotions was based on Matthew 22:34-40, the story of the expert in the law trying to trip up Jesus by asking which, in His opinion, was the greatest of the commandments.  Jesus’ response to the question the Pharisees asked brings out the need to fight against love of self.  The great commandment is to love God, the love we have for our neighbor is the application of the great commandment.  It is comforting to know that Jesus not only spoke these words, but also did what they say…in our place!  We closed our devotion with the singing of hymn #727 “There Is A Higher Throne” and prayer. 

 

9:00 a.m.         Plenary discussion and/or resolutions

• The members of the COP summarized the leadership sessions it had with President Wendland and further discussed issues related to the material we went through.
• We discussed the procedure for replacing MCG director Dave Liggett, who has announced his retirement in the fall of 2012.
• VP James Huebner gave us an update on the plan to have an every member visit by every congregation in the WELS in the fall of 2012 or spring of 2013.  The program will be introduced at the district conventions.

 

12:00 noon     Adjournment

 

Plenary Discussion items:

            PD.01  Vicar selection priorities (Called Workers:  W.4)

The seminary has a committee working on a recommended list of places where they feel the best possible situation would exist for training a vicar.  We are in a transitional phase.  Self-supporting congregations requesting and fully supporting a vicar are can no longer be the criterion that guarantees a congregation will receive one.  The seminary and the COP are more interested in the quality of the vicar experience than in congregations providing the support for the program.  The hope is that all the funding for the vicar program can become part of the regular allocation of budgetary funds given to the seminary for its over-all program.   The seminary desires the input of the members of the COP as well when recommending places for vicars to serve.  The DP’s made a preliminary list of the three congregations in their district, in priority order, that they feel would provide the best place for a vicar to be assigned.   A summary will be provided by February.

 

PD.02  Translation issues, including discussion of possible ballot format (for benefit of the Presidium); possible new translation; reaction to ELS Doctrine Committee resolution (Doctrine:  D.1)

District President Petermann gave a report on the recent symposium held at the seminary on translations.  After the participants did their own exegesis of various passages, they were asked to rate translations of the passages that they had worked on, not being told what translation they came from.  The participants voted the NIV 2011, by a wide margin, over the HCSB, the ESV, and the participants’ own translations (in that order)  as the preferred translation.    The TEC has come to the conclusion that more time is needed to make a decision and would prefer not to have a vote taken at the district conventions.  There was considerable discussion on whether or not it is wise to proceed with the resolution of the convention to take a vote at the 2012 district conventions. [GJ - How best to manipulate this democratic process until we get the opponents to surrender?]

 

                        PD.03  Wider offering for 2017 (Congregations:  C.2)

Though we are hesitant to carry out special offerings in emergency situations as we have in the past, the question is, is there value in having a special offering in observance of the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 if there is a definite goal such as opening more missions, etc.   Discussion was held, but no decision was made.   

 

PD.04  Biblical principles of divorce in light of internet pornography (Doctrine: D.2)

President Schroeder asked for input into appointing an ad hoc committee to study the principles of divorce in light of the development of the internet and the problems that it poses through internet pornography.   The suggestion was made that a three-man committee be appointed consisting of a COP member, a seminary professor, and a parish pastor.   The committee would be preparing their work at the behest and for the  benefit of the COP so that a final COP document can be produced. 

 

                        PD.05 Status of Andrew DeGier 1 and Aaron West

The discussion of the status of these two previous seminary graduates, who requested deferment of a call, led to further discussion about how to handle requested deferments of seminary graduates for further study, special considerations, and personal situations. 

 

                        PD.06 Options for providing assistance to the president (Presidium:  PR.1)

                        PD.07 Time of Grace update

President Rutschow updated us on attempts of the SEW District Presidium to have a meeting with the leaders of the LCMS to clarify statements in the RSO agreement.  Scheduling such a meeting has proven to be difficult due to the full calendars of those who would be participants, but efforts are continuing.   A motion was made to request President Schroeder to be involved in further discussions.  Representatives of the LCMS indicated that they would like to have the presidents of each synod involved in the continuing discussions. 

                        PD.08 Update on MLHS choir matter

                        PD.09 Women professors at MLC

                        PD.10 More on Elton Stroh and other similar efforts

                        PD.11 Other items

                        PD.12 Pastoral questions

                                    a) general reports from districts

                                    b) issues in leaving a congregation

                                    c) communion practices

President Naumann will e-mail each of the DP’s with questions he has about unusual communion practices that he has noticed have been cropping up due to unusual circumstances, such as the use of  gluten free wafers, pastors communing themselves, use of something other than wine, etc.   He would appreciate comments from the members of the COP when they review his e-mail. 

 

                        PD.13 MLC candidates/urban ministry

President Rutschow spoke to us about the increasing need for urban teachers and the need for MLC to have a more formalized program for producing teachers who are capable of handling teaching in the inner city.   A week-end urban ministry experience is not enough to prepare a student for what he or she will encounter in an urban setting.  A motion was made and passed to recognize that assignments made to urban schools  may  be one-year calls at the discretion of the Assignment Committee in order to allow the candidate/calling body to determine whether or not they can handle the unique challenges of such a ministry, even though they may have indicated a willingness to teach in an urban setting.   

 

                        PD.14 Grace In Action

           

Presidium

            PR.1  Assistance for the president

            PR.2  District convention visits (final plans) 1

 

Doctrine Committee

            D.1 Translation issues

See PD 02.

            D.2 Biblical principles for divorce in light of internet pornography

See PD04.

 

Called Workers

            W.1  Status of retirement guidelines

            W.2  Principles and procedures for terminating called positions

            W.3  Every member visit plans (update on progress and plans for implementation)

            W.4  Vicar assignment process

            Since the number of vicars will be considerably smaller this year, each DP was asked to send in a priority     list of those congregations that are either requesting a vicar or would be a good place for a vicar to receive             his training.

 

Congregations

            C.1  Status of CCC efforts (E12, possible director position, etc.)

                VP Jim Huebner gave us an update on the efforts of the CCC program. 

            C.2  2017 synod-wide offering

            C.3  Email request re: Youth and Family Ministry from Tom Schneider 1

            The members of the COP acknowledged the importance of a director of Youth and Family Ministry as            well as the value of finding funding for continuing the Kid’s Connection videos.  Requests for such        additions to the budget, however, need to be considered along with other requests and prioritized.

We will continue flogging the sheep
until they express happiness with our leadership.