The synods still control the news, because they follow the same rule as secular politics. Access is everything. A journalist who dares to tell the truth about a politician will no longer get interview time or a even a place in the reporters' pool.
Most Lutheran blogs follow the same principle. The leaders do not want anything except their version to come out. That applies to individual blogs, where pastors shut them down or try to control them. Synodical leaders, who cannot discipline the wildest heretic, will make sure that individuals do not post any independent thoughts or express support of anyone on the demi-semi-secret shun list.
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| Did Jack Preus, Ralph Bohlmann, Al Barry, and Matt Harrison get elected by chance? |
Christian News has always been as independent as the company Xerox room. I have been there more than once when various people were phoning and faxing to control the news flow. SP Schroeder used to email and phone me, to get his spin across. All of it was top secret, of course. That stopped when I no longer seemed useful. Ditto, DP Buchholz' charm offensive. Of course, Buchholz needed to devote his time and energy to the future discipline of Jeff Gunn, Church and Change emergent guru.
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| Jeff Gunn, WLC board member, bored of Lutheran doctrine. |
Since I heard about Gunn's upcoming discipline directly from DP Buchholz, I have been waiting and watching for years, only to see Gunn elected to the Wisconsin Lutheran College (WELS) board - one of three board members from the same congregation, and to observe Gunn serving as a leader at a WELS conference. Buchholz promoted the conference in his own newsletter. Buchholz does not write to me anymore - sob - and I blocked him on FB, because he thought it was his business who my FB friends are.
Schroeder and Buchholz were going to reform WELS. Sure. Buchholz signed the secret petition about dealing with Jeske, then endorsed the edited version that said the opposite. I hate to quote Paul McCain on anything, but I like this one. Jack Preus came into McCain's office at the Purple Palace, lit a cig, and said, "You younger pastors are all pansies." If anyone glaces at Bob and Jack Preus' battles, the pansy generation cannot compare in any fashion. They are the worst double-talkers, but Walther created the template for all of them.
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| Walther's Pastoral Theology. |
Walther's Double-Talk
Walther was a double-dealer with Stephan, the double-talking Pietist who thought he was in charge of the souls and bodies of the women in his congregation (court testimony). In Zion on the Mississippi we have the published statement that everyone knew about Stephan's adultery (long before In Pursuit of Religious Freedom came out). But Zion also contains the claim that Loerber sermon led to the shocking and surprising confessions of adultery with Stephan, a story impossible to believe - given the times and the closeness of the Saxon group.
In case anyone forgot, Stephan left his wife and most of his children in Dresden, but took his mistress along to America. The Saxons paid for the entire Stephan family to come over, but only his son and mistress came on board. Walther blamed Mrs. Stephan for the marital difficulties, even though court testimony shows that she was always willing to reconcile, in spite of her knowledge of his many infidelities. Stephan earned an STD in Dresden, and it was not a divinity degree. That is why he spent all the time in the spas with his groupies, getting treatment for his syphilitic rashes.
Walther pledged his fidelity to Bishop Stephan while working against the man, behind his back. Why did Walther travel from St. Louis to Perry County, "knowing" about the adultery, but never speaking to the bishop about it? Walther was secretly stealing land from Stephan (the 80 acres given to the bishop) and organizing his followers for the upcoming mob action. Walther's future mother-in-law, who hid the kidnapped minor children and went to jail, was included in the planning for riot, robbery, and next kidnapping.
Does anyone wonder why Synodical Conference leaders are so dishonest, unethical, and sanctimonious? They have descended from Walther and his in-bred Saxon clan.
We are supposed to believe that the Olde Synodical Conference has been a beacon of Lutheran orthodoxy in the midst of a Pietistic, unionistic Lutheran groups - who would not humble themselves to listen to Walther. The Saxon group was 100% Pietistic and only began to move toward Luther's doctrine later. Both influences can clearly be seen in their history (WELS and ELS, too). Some are Book of Concord Lutherans, loyal to Luther's Biblical doctrine. Others are Waltherian Enthusiasts. The dominant group follows Walther's unethical, devious power grabs.
That is why no one believes Missouri, WELS, or the Little Sect will be viable alternatives to ELCA, not that the new splits are more than retro versions of ELCA.
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| "And then we heard a shocking confession or two, so we gathered 300 people, rode down to Perry County, threatened the bishop's life, stole his land, took away his life savings, grabbed his library, and forced him into Illinois at gunpoint. We gave him a few bucks, a few implements, and a shack." Stephan's mistress arrived soon after to live in the first Love Shack. |
