Bearing the cross is no longer just a sermon topic, but also a daily experience for many within the visible Church. The facts are too numerous to summarize. Congregational property is stolen by power-intoxicated Leftists. The Fuller disciples continue to prey upon every denomination, board, and parish in the land. The Lutheran leaders are too gutless to admit they have been completely snookered and robbed by these ecclesiastical thugs. One reason is that they have eagerly participated in the same fraud and larceny.
The innocent should consider that all the glorious programs portrayed are mostly money-makers for synodical buddies. Every program needs someone to run it, and he has a budget plus helpers. When Thrivent or a foundation donates money, the administrators consider it their own loot to dole out to bootlickers and hatchet-men, who sell their souls for a pittance.
The flood of money, from the insurance business and foundations, has altered perceptions. One friend observed that companies with little extra cash find all kinds of ways to do things on very little money. The opposite is true of corporations with plenty of cash. They often get into ludicrous schemes because the figures are so large.
Although WELS and the LCMS are small potatoes, the money from outside sources is quite large. The synods do not figure out how to preserve their capital but how to maximize the grants. They can invent positions for friends and fund them with grants. Soon the race for more grants is joined, with the same bunch elbowing out everyone else.
In the good old days, the synods were dependent upon parish giving, which was limited. One parish had separate envelopes for those who cared to give to the synod. That got turned into a sacred obligation to support the fabulous work the synod was doing all over the world - such as payoffs to settle lawsuits, luxurious booze-fueled conferences, tax-sheltered housing, salaries and benefits. Does anyone know the salary and benefits of the Synod President and staff? None of your business!
God will accomplish His will through His Word. I can tell various ministers that the abuse they have received is to be expected in the Age of Apostasy. Luther is the most influential theologian in history, the best expositor of the Bible, but also the most reviled of all Christian leaders. His approach was to teach the Word and trust in its efficacy, without judging immediate results.
I challenge everyone to find a Luther sermon where they discover no new insights. The latest for me was his comment that people normally prosper in their work, no matter what it is, the longer the work and the better they work. In the ministry just the opposite happens - fidelity and hard work lead to poverty instead. My friend said, "You can tell the good pastors - they don't have any money."
So when you see a pastor crowing about his money and global trips, his perks and luxuries, just say, "Oh, you are an apostate."
