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| "A staggering performance!" |
Crossing the Center Line
KJV Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not
given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
Lenski:
Nor is anyone to be able to charge that he is “quick-tempered,” easily flaring up in anger; or that he loves to sit long beside the wine (see 1 Tim. 3:3), a winebibber; or that he is “a striker,” quick with his fists in a dispute; or “out for shameful gain” (see 1 Tim. 3:3, 8). These the candidate for overseership is not to be, his record on these points must be clean.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus and to Philemon. Columbus, O. : Lutheran Book Concern, 1937, S. 897.
I used the term wine-bibber in church today. Here is where that word is used:
KJV Matthew 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and
a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (Luke has a parallel.)
Lenski:
With the same slanderous tongue that attributed a demon to John they viciously called Jesus “a glutton of a man,” the two nouns being used like one term, and “a winebibber,” one who ate and drank to excess. Wine was the common drink at meals and was used at the Passover and in connection with sacrifices. The climax is reached in the addition, “a friend of publicans and of sinners” (9:10, etc.; Luke 15:1, etc.). The viciousness of the charges, both against John and against Jesus, is apparent. Jesus scorns to enter into any sort of defense.
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solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Wine Bibbers":
When I was at MLC, I and my roommate had to help the student body president (a pastor track student) up the stairs to Summit Hall after a late-night McDonalds run because he was he was too intoxicated to climb them . He nearly vomited in my car, missing the interior by millimeters after opening the door. What a fine example for all the students!
I never understood why 95% of those who over-indulged in alcohol were allowed to continue to do so without even a warning or stern-talking to; even to the extent that missing a morning language class or some "professional" course because of a hangover was acceptable if you had "synod connections," yet if someone without those connections missed it, even for sickness with a doctor's note, it was an automatic grade deduction, and you would usually get a nasty letter placed in your file suggesting that you "prayerfully reconsider" being in the public ministry. Then, despite all that, if you did manage to make it to graduation, you are rewarded with a 1-year assignment that is generally a maternity leave situation (so no hope of continuation beyond the "temp substitute gig"), or if you were really "bad," no assignment; or no recommendation for Seminary.
Unfortunately, the attitude of some on the MLC faculty is exactly the opposite of what Scripture enjoins on servants of the church. It is even more unfortunate that those same faculty members are dismissing qualified candidates for the ministry because of silly man-made rules and regulations such as supposedly "equally applied" attendance policies (or worse, simply not fitting their description of a called worker), while allowing those who are specifically disqualified by Scripture to pass through with no hassle. These are not the attitudes of servants of the church, they are instead the attitudes of those who serve their own agendas and egos.
MLC will deny it, but any student or faculty member who doesn't drink the cult kool-aid knows what is going on and sees it every day and is either hiding in the shadows trying to not get noticed, or counting the days until their turn to get booted out in some way.
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GJ - The special rules allow for homosexual and bi-sexual church workers, too.
solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left
a new comment on your post "Wine
Bibbers":
As a "PS," I wasn't kidding about the student body president being too drunk to make it up the steps to the dorm. He will soon be awarded a fine vicar assignment, and upon graduation from seminary, will be given a top-notch call. Watch out, he could be coming to your church!
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN. : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 443.
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GJ - I find it odd that an entire denomination would brag up their habit of excessive drinking - and honor as gods those pastors who are alcoholics. Should someone who keeps a keg of beer in his fridge be extolled as a leader of youth?
That may explain the kinds of decisions made in the last few decades. The same style continues.
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solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Wine Bibbers":
When I was at MLC, I and my roommate had to help the student body president (a pastor track student) up the stairs to Summit Hall after a late-night McDonalds run because he was he was too intoxicated to climb them . He nearly vomited in my car, missing the interior by millimeters after opening the door. What a fine example for all the students!
I never understood why 95% of those who over-indulged in alcohol were allowed to continue to do so without even a warning or stern-talking to; even to the extent that missing a morning language class or some "professional" course because of a hangover was acceptable if you had "synod connections," yet if someone without those connections missed it, even for sickness with a doctor's note, it was an automatic grade deduction, and you would usually get a nasty letter placed in your file suggesting that you "prayerfully reconsider" being in the public ministry. Then, despite all that, if you did manage to make it to graduation, you are rewarded with a 1-year assignment that is generally a maternity leave situation (so no hope of continuation beyond the "temp substitute gig"), or if you were really "bad," no assignment; or no recommendation for Seminary.
Unfortunately, the attitude of some on the MLC faculty is exactly the opposite of what Scripture enjoins on servants of the church. It is even more unfortunate that those same faculty members are dismissing qualified candidates for the ministry because of silly man-made rules and regulations such as supposedly "equally applied" attendance policies (or worse, simply not fitting their description of a called worker), while allowing those who are specifically disqualified by Scripture to pass through with no hassle. These are not the attitudes of servants of the church, they are instead the attitudes of those who serve their own agendas and egos.
MLC will deny it, but any student or faculty member who doesn't drink the cult kool-aid knows what is going on and sees it every day and is either hiding in the shadows trying to not get noticed, or counting the days until their turn to get booted out in some way.
***
GJ - The special rules allow for homosexual and bi-sexual church workers, too.
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| Fun for the whole in-bred family. |
As a "PS," I wasn't kidding about the student body president being too drunk to make it up the steps to the dorm. He will soon be awarded a fine vicar assignment, and upon graduation from seminary, will be given a top-notch call. Watch out, he could be coming to your church!
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| WELS PR - a clean sweep. |
