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| Paul Wendland will substitute for Bill and Ted in this excellent adventure of smoke and mirrors. |
Beginning Sept. 12, Rev. Paul Wendland, president of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, will be leading an online, interactive Bible study of Romans 1-8. Titled "Justified by faith alone," this six-week study will be streamed live so congregations can hear and view Wendland as well as interact with him and ask him questions about the study.
WELS Commission on Adult Discipleship began offering these online studies in November 2011. Part of the Interactive Faith series, the studies allow congregations across the synod to join together in participating in the same Bible study—at the same time.
"If you could have an opportunity for your congregation to have an excellent study led by an excellent presenter, which would take very little work on your part, would you be interested?" asks Rev. Thomas Kock, pastor at Living Word, Johnson City, Tenn., and coordinator of the Interactive Faith series.
Many congregations have already answered, "Yes!" As many as 75 congregations have participated at one time during the studies that have taken place over the past year. Individuals are also participating in the studies from areas that are isolated from WELS churches, including places in the United States and around the world. Kock says that one woman from a major U.S. city was ecstatic that she could be part of a Bible study with other WELS members.
Wendland's study on Romans will be held Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. To join the study, you will need a high-speed Internet connection. For more details, visitwww.wels.net/adult-discipleship.
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This study is a good example of the UOJ Stormtroopers at work.
- First they obscure their true agenda, which is to teach universal absolution and salvation without faith.
- Second, they define justification by faith as Walther did - faith in their absurd, anti-Christian dogma of demi-semi-Universalism.
Thse EZ studies are not going over so well in WELS. They have had "as many as 75 congregations" participating at the same time. For a sect of 1000 congregations, that is not very many viewing at peak times. Perhaps they can urge congregations and pastors to switch off watching re-runs of the Packer games in favor of learning about what Luther never taught, what the Confessions never confessed, what the orthodox theologians never wrote.
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solafide (http://solafide.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Bill and Ted's Excellent Smoke and Mirrors, Versus...":
"quercuscontramalum said...
I predict a train wreck."
So do I. It would probably be more beneficial for people to sit in the back of the class playing iPhone games, it certainly would be less damaging.
"If you could have an opportunity for your congregation to have an excellent study led by an excellent presenter, which would take very little work on your part, would you be interested?"
Very little work?!?! Since when is it a good idea to try and skate by on as "little work" as possible? I guess we know another pastor who uses sermons from SAB verbatim... I guess taking the time to actually conduct your own bible study takes away too much time from reading Ichabod and making sure that none of your members are posting on it.
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GJ - False teachers get this angry and aggrieved look on their faces when selling their dogma as the truth.
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California wrote:
RE: New WELS interactive on-line Bible study...the promotional rhetoric entices: "If you could have an opportunity for your congregation to have an excellent study led by an excellent presenter, which would take very little work on your part, would you be interested?" Assuming that offer was directed to called congregational pastors, the rhetoric is an implication that they are seen by synod elite as less than capable of leading an "excellent" study in an "excellent" fashion, by not agreeing they somehow will be depriving their respective congregations. If they accept the offer, the implication will be admitting their perceived inadequacy, and lack of desire to expend more than a little energy to prepare. If they refuse the offer, they will be considered less than a team player or self important obstructionist. The wording of the "invitation" reveals a whole lot more about the attitude of the place of clergy in the local congregation, than it does about an on-line Bible study.
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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Bill and Ted's Excellent Smoke and Mirrors, Versus...":
Ichabod -
I see this pacifying effort by Wisconsin Lutheran seminary president, Wendland, as a knee jerk reaction to some of the "flack" WELS is getting from the false teaching of universal objective justification.
I would not doubt in the least that their will be the Wendland dual teaching of "justification by faith" and also the universalism bent. The emphasis on justification by faith is designed only to offer lip service while WELS will continue on its merry way of teaching, preaching and promoting universal objective justification.
Nathan M. Bickel
www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org
