LCMS and WELS in Fellowship with Many Besides ELCA

"If I could only get one of them Thrivent grants,
everything would be hunky."

Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "Not Impressed with the LCMS/WELS Public Relations ...":

How many LCMS people know that they are also in default fellowship with ELCA through LWF? "We don't belong to that rotten LWF." Really? The LCMS is in fellowship with ten church bodies who are LWF members.

Bishop Obare, of the Ev. Lutheran Church of Kenya, was awarded an honorary doctorate from Fort Wayne for "taking a stand" against the LWF. To this day, however, ELCK is still an LWF member, and the LCMS is in fellowship with ELCK. Don't condemn it, though, lest you be accused of not caring about poor and starving people.

"Membership doesn't equal fellowship, so there." Really? According to the LWF, membership equates to full altar and pulpit fellowship. An LCMS member visiting Kenya could commune at an ELCK parish with an ELCA member also visitng. "Who is going to Kenya?" That's not the point, and you guys know it. Of course, Benke will gladly commune with ELCA folks in this country.

Bonus question of the day for extra credit: How many of you LCMS pastors in the North look the other way when you know some of your parishioners who winter in Florida commune at ELCA churches, then come home to your altar in the summer months?

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GJ - Many challenged me on Facebook when I posted originally. Dave Peters (WELS, Union Grove) insisted that I provide proof, but never answered the many links I provided. Others were also silent.

WELS even gave funds to the Salvation Army, through Thrivent. One WELSian responded, "But it was for the children." Why not raise money for milk for Muslims too?

Another broad and winding way, paved with good intentions, is Lutheran Social Services. The last I heard, Missouri and ELCA were joined at the hip through LSS.

For those who are innocent, blind, or willfully stupid about this - SP Harrison worked the charity career for a long time before becoming The Boss. He has always worked with ELCA and will continue to do so. That kind of work entails work with many other denominations, because the big organizations overlap through various meta-sect agencies: Lutheran World Relief, Hunger Funds, CROP Walks, Lutheran Social Services, National and World Council of Churches.

Missouri voted to work with ELCA, yet Missourians squeak and holler about this simple fact - voted on at  their last convention. WELS leaders sit on boards with ELCA leaders. They go to conferences with ELCA leaders, as do Missouri executives.

Mark and Avoid Jeske is on the Thrivent board, whose leaders have taken a somewhat conservative Lutheran company (AAL) and made its assets a tool for marketing in ELCA, where all the loot is.

ELCA members make more money, and there are lots more of them. Thrivent is smart. LCMS and WELS get-along-go-along-guys are dumb.

• Jeske now has more power than any SP, because his board gives Missouri $50 million a year. 
• ELCA must get at least $100 million a year from Thrivent. 
• The ELS gets $15,143, plus free napkins.
• The CLC (sic) gets a couple of gift cards to Starbucks. 

Yes, the CLC (sic) does participate in Thrivent, in spite of their claims otherwise.

Cardinal Hats Look Like Carry Out Chinese

Fox Valley - WELS - Pastors

Teaching and Writing: Adult Education Around the World

These montages are being shared around the Net.
I find this one especially funny.

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I have a lot of trouble figuring out how pathetic and insignificant I am, according to "conservative" Lutherans who do their best to silence and shun me. Glende pops off with the same post every so often, making people think he has a macro button set up by one of his children.

McCain has denounced me, hilariously, on his CyberBully blog, LaughQuest, Steadfast Enthusiasts, and the WELS discussion forum. How many employees have that much time to monitor the Net?

Meanwhile I am teaching at two universities online and applying to the local community college (online). I am especially happy about a number of publishing projects, already started, and some future possibilities.

I am really small potatoes, so I wonder why my blog posts fill synodocrats with such horror and loathing. The main problem for them is that their claims can be matched against clear evidence to the contrary. Before, people had to mail material back and forth to prove a case. Now it is already there.

My advantage is Every Day Low Costs (EDLC). Because no one works for $100,000 plus benefits, the overhead is almost zero. Those who are working on publishing projects are doing so for the love of Lutheran doctrine. I never imagined I would be creating books that could be read for free over the Net with a click of the button, illustrations and text.

The Church and Changers, and their Missouri equivalents, are busy doling out huge grants for one another, each wolf gobbling up more than his share and recommending other wolves for the feast.

Meanwhile, many ordinary pastors are on the brink, debating whether to buy medicine or food when the check is late. They live frugally and do not enjoy deluxe vacations paid by Schwan and Thrivent. They see offering money "for missions" skimmed off for free vicars, so Don Patterson can gallop around the country acting important.

Perhaps Matt Harrison and SP Schroeder should extend the Left Foot of Fellowship to their overpaid false teachers.

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Teaching and Writing: Adult Education Around the W...":

For the sake of the argument, I will create a category of ne'er-do-wells who have an exaggerated sense of self worth. Lumped into this group are the hot air merchants (Ichaslang) such as life coaches, motivational speakers and many others who have made minimal contributions. You could also include those who follow the premise that it is all about who you know and not what you know. They follow the networking concept to its logical conclusion. I will leave it to the Ichabodians to name names from their own powers of observation.

These individuals look askance at those who soil their hands with honest labor. Their ad hominem attacks are a cover for the envy that they have against those who actually accomplish something. They would rather schmooze and suck up as they climb the ladder and kick the rungs out under them. I have seen this a lot in the corporate world. Since so many churches have adopted the corporate model, it is not surprising to see it there also.

Not Impressed with the LCMS/WELS Public Relations Blitz. They Still Work with ELCA through LWR and Thrivent

My Facebook post: "LCMS members and pastors - if you dislike the Obama agenda, why continue to work with ELCA? Testimony before Congress is meaningless when actions speak louder than words. ELCA, WELS, and Missouri are so inter-twined that they are really one church body. Don't blame Obama for that."


A string of denials followed, including this from David Peters, from Union Grove (Issues in WELS).

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Rev. David G. Peters Sorry, Greg. Your hyperbole goes too far this time. WELS is in no way one body with the LCMS - much less the ELCA. If you're going to stipuate (sic) such things in this semi-public forum, you can only preserve your credibility by setting forth the evidence here as well. I doubt that many of your Facebook friends believe that this is the forum for such a tasteless task, so let's demonstrate Christian charity here, okay? - Your friend in Christ, David G. David Peters

***

GJ - I followed with a number of links to show how WELS and Missouri have been working with ELCA for decades.

LCMS shock came as a surprise to me, because the same convention that voted in Matt Harrison also voted overwhelmingly to continue working with ELCA.

Five minutes with Google will show that Thrivent is the Umbrella Lutheran Church that unites all the synods by giving them money to market their products. SP Harrison admitted last year, at Emmaus, to receiving some $50 million a year from Thrivent.

All the money goes into one pot, Thrivent's, and the insurance company doles out liberally to ELCA. When there are joint ministry projects with WELS, LCMS, and ELCA, it is always on ELCA's terms.

The real testimony is what WELS and Missouri do with ELCA, not what they claim in a cameo appearance in DC.

All three have worked with Lutheran World Relieve for decades.

The Synod Presidents are only too happy to shun someone who tells the truth about their fellowship with ELCA, but they will never shun ELCA.

"Greg's telling the truth.
Call us anything you want,
but meet us at the next Thrivent gathering.
And support LWR with your prayers and offerings."

Bad Vestments: GIANT DEAD SPIDER. Kalamazoo, Michigan Episcopal Cathedral

Bad Vestments: GIANT DEAD SPIDER:

I guess you could call this the ultimate bad vestment.  But it seems that the former cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan (AKA Far And Away The Ugliest Church Building In The Entire History Of Christianity From The Ascension Of Christ Into Heaven Until The Present Day) has been memorialized in a book.

***

GJ - Mrs. Ichabod and I were inside this church for an LCA installation. The interior is not ghastly, but the outside is a nightmare. This photo makes it look better than it appears live.

The diocese got so low in funds that they sold this to some sect.

'via Blog this'

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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Bad Vestments: GIANT DEAD SPIDER. Kalamazoo, Michi...":

I could never have guessed church architecture got this bad. This puts that WELS church eyesore in Columbus, Ohio, to shame--the one that got torn down in order to build a gas station/convenience store. Dr. Jackson knows the one I mean.

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GJ - Shepherd of Peace? That was the work of Norm Berg and Company. But no one dared make fun of it - badly built, badly designed, badly conceived, and overpriced. I am told the wrecking crane took one poke at it and the building went down faster than a UOJ argument.

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - PHILADELPHIA: Bishop Bennison Lays Down Law to Clergy on Same-Sex Marriages

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - PHILADELPHIA: Bishop Bennison Lays Down Law to Clergy on Same-Sex Marriages:


The disgraced, revisionist Bishop of Pennsylvania Charles E. Bennison has written to his diocesan priests saying that he anticipates General Convention will approve same sex blessings at its upcoming General Convention in Indianapolis this summer, and any priest in his diocese who fails to perform them on demand could face disciplinary proceedings.

"At least he is consistent in his pansexual gnosticism and his bullying manner until he gets his way," said one of perhaps 15 remaining orthodox priests in the diocese who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. "Charles is throwing yet another temper tantrum as he makes statements contrary to the canons of the Church let alone Scripture and tradition. He cannot make same sex blessings mandatory for his clergy. He possesses neither the authority nor the power. The lamentable captain of the Titanic stood in higher regard with his passengers and crew than Bennison is with God, the wider Church and the clergy of the Diocese."

It is a clear warning that Bennison, who was on the verge of being tossed out of the diocese for conduct unbecoming a bishop but slipped through the cracks because of the Statute of Limitations, is now firmly back in control with his trademark signature bullying and coercing the few faithful priests into strict conformity with his revisionist views.

In a note to the clergy on The Commemoration of Absalom Jones, Bennison wrote to "clergy colleagues" saying, "I am very concerned that to date only 43 of us have registered for the Conference on Rites for Blessing Same - Gender Relationships on February 21- a week from tomorrow. This means that a large number of us may not be adequately prepared to respond pastorally, either to people's reactions to this summer's General Convention vote on rites proposed by the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music in response to Resolution C-056 at the 2009 General Convention, or to same gender couples who may ask us to use the rites for the blessing of their relationships if, as seems likely, Convention adopts them.

Bishop Robinson a Hero in New Hollywood Treatment

Bishop and Mrs. Robinson.

'via Blog this'

Another Eructation from the Bronzed One

Bronzer is is so Snookie.

From Glende's anonymous blog:
What a joke. Jackson is posting the lulu.com coupon because he undoubtedly joined the lulu.com affiliate program.

***

GJ - Glende's publishing background is limited to copying and pasting from Craig Groeschel and lying about it. His own member, an attorney, talked to him about it, so Tim excommunicated him. In the Anything Goes District of WELS, that is a demi-semi-excommunication. Nevertheless, Tim had to get even with his own member for telling the truth.


The whole matter of The CORE has been a deception. It is played up as a separate congregation, but it is just an operation to skim members from other WELS congregations, to pretend to be the only "Emergent Church" when it is a copy of several others in the area.


I wonder if The CORE is scarfing up Thrivent funds, too, since the insurance company loves pan-religious and Leftist operations.


I figured there would be another violent torpedo of lies from Glende when I exposed the scam at Parlow's congregation.


Glende's link came as a shock to me. I am busy writing and publishing books, so I do not bother with side ventures. I thought about ads from Google, but I did not want to follow the example of WELS and Missouri in prostituting myself for a few bucks.


So I undoubtedly joined the affiliate program? I was not aware of it, so I did not and would not. Glende has tangled himself in another lie. And he does not have the guts to sign his name to his lies.


People are buying books now, unlike last year, so I provide the banners to let people buy at the best prices for them. One reader worried that she was cutting into my tiny revenue. But Lulu.com provides them, as I wrote before. I discount a lot of books anyway, and also give them away free, the complete copy, as a PDF.


I appreciate Glende's cowardly approach. He and Paul McCain are good for readership.

This Fox Valley location is handy for
picking up feeds from the televangelists,
so the WELS pastors can have sermons to give on Sunday.

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Febreze has left a new comment on your post "Another Eructation from the Bronzed One":

I commented on their recent post with the following (paraphrased):

If Jackson is so wrong then follow Luther's logic:

"I am convinced that nothing more irksome and harmful could possibly be done to Mohammed or the Turks (more than with all weapons) than the publication among Christians of their Koran. By reading it Christians may see what an utterly accursed, shameful, wretched book it is -- full of lies, fables, and all abominations....Therefore my kind and Christian petition to you, my gracious and dear sirs, is: Be pleased to allow this book freely to circulate, without hindrance, for the glory of Christ, for the good of Christians, for the harm of the Turks, and to the disgust of the devil. (W-Br 10, 162)

We'll see if it gets published.

John Maxwell - Calvinist Hot Air Merchant

Mike Geiger, John Calvin Maxwell Disciple

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Leverage Your Income By Joining the Don PattersonC...":

In case you skimmed over the reference, Mike Geiger "has been certified with the world-renowned leadership personality, John (CALVIN) Maxwell, as a speaker, trainer and coach."

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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Leverage Your Income By Joining the Don PattersonC...":

From the John Maxwell Team web site in the top bar:

"It is not only important what you learn but who you learn it from..."

http://johnmaxwellteam.com/

Who is John Maxwell? Read here:

John Calvin Maxwell (born 1947) is an evangelical Christian author, speaker, and pastor who has written more than 60 books, primarily focusing on leadership.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Maxwell

Combine Calvinism with Lutheranism and what do you get? Calvinism!

John Maxwell

***

GJ -

I heard Maxwell speak--live!--at a business meeting. As LI observed, these motivational speakers have a certain number of things to say, and they all repeat the same maxims. They are such golden drops of wisdom as, "Leaders have to lead!" and "Set your goals. If you have no goals, you have no future!"

At the business meeting, people were writing these things down. I was groaning audibly. My friends probably thought I was having revelations direct from the Master Hisself, but I was in pain.

Thrivent's only goal is to make more money, which is perfectly fine. But when churches create an agenda to be as Thrivent-friendly as possible, they are no longer Christian. They are just using their congregations and titles to make more money for themselves.

The Church and Change network is the most obvious skimming operation I have ever seen. They have all their little businesses within their group, which they started with offering funds.

Team Geiger sells their coaching business within WELS, recommended by other Church and Changers.

Cornerstone, a joint WELS-LCMS business, charges enormous amounts of money to "hep you with stewardship." (Hep is Texan for help.) Mostly they hep themselves. Cornerstone is Church and Change. Patterson is Church and Change. If you question Cornerstone's fees and approaches, Patterson extends the Left Foot of Fellowship.

Mark Jeske, the secretive head of Church and Change
will dedicate your new Habitat project,
which Thrivent is funding with your insurance dollars.

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "John Maxwell - Calvinist Hot Air Merchant":

I have yet to figure just what the appeal is about motivational speakers. Today at work, one of the mechanical engineers explained to me the principle behind the planetary gear drive system. If any one of these hot air hucksters would have invented something like that, they might actually have some bragging rights.

Leverage Your Income By Joining the Don PattersonChurch and Change Network. Mike Geiger's Experience

Philosoraptor is a popular theme for Internet comments.

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Youth Groups Want To Know":

About Christy Geiger of Synergy Strategies:

Christy Geiger is a business coach and trainer based out of Shakopee MN. After getting her BA in Psychology, masters in Marriage Family Child counseling and working in corporate America in HR, Christy became certified in life coaching and started her own coaching company, Synergy Strategies, in 2002. In training Christy focuses on life balance and design, time management, goal setting and strategic thinking. In all things, Christy seeks to take the best from the “personal growth and development” field, and through collaboration with her husband, Mike (pastor at WELS church, Good Shepherd Lutheran in Burnsville, MN) take the relevant skills, process and principles and apply them in a way that God-pleasing, consistent with Christian principles and biblical teaching. As a ministry, Christy hopes to share these relevant life principles to support pastors, church leaders and Christians to have more effective and contagious faith lives. Christy enjoys time with her family: Mike and their two daughters (Mikylie, age 5 and Mikenna, age 2) and doing activities like scrapbooking, gardening, volleyball, and coffee with friends. Christy will present a workshop focusing on how the Treasure supports us in our daily lives.

Info obtained from the "Got Peace" Women's Retreat 2010 Loves Park, IL. Her husband, Mike, is on the WELS Institute for Worship & Outreach.

http://www.peaceevangelical.org/site/cpage.asp?cpage_id=180021884&sec_id=180003491

http://worshipandoutreach.org/person/rev-michael-geiger

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From the latest Martin Luther College (WELS) Day of Enthusiasm:

Pastor Mike Geiger currently serves as the pastor of Outreach, Adult Discipleship and Worship at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Burnsville, MN.  Prior to coming to Minnesota, he had the opportunity to begin a congregation in Cary, North Carolina.  Moving a group through the startup and development stages allowed for many leadership challenges and opportunities.  Outreach and leadership has always been at the center of his ministry both locally and synodically.  He served for 10 years as the North Atlantic District Coordinator for Church Growth and currently is a member of the WELS Commission on Evangelism.  With a love for leadership and helping others grow in this area, he has been certified with the world-renowned leadership personality, John Maxwell, as a speaker, trainer and coach.  His dedicated wife Christy is not only active in various ministries, but owns her own business coaching company, Synergy Strategies.  Together with their two girls, Mikylie and Mikenna, they love being part of growing God’s people and God’s kingdom.


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Mike has left a new comment on your post "Waves of Nausea Swept Over Me - Church and Change":

I debated whether this blog was worthy of a response, but for one who speaks so freely and with seeming "authority", you seem free to sin against those of whom you write by publishing comments that are neither accurate or substantiated. I can only speak for myself, but what happened to Matthew 18 and approaching the person before making an issue public? Before you post my pictures and assumptions about me, my vicar year, and my wife that are inaccurate at best, I would have appreciated you calling me. I invite you to do so and ask that you do the same for all the people you mention in your blog. For one who seemingly wants to promote the truth of the Word, this practice is anything but godly.(919) 465-4400 - if you wish. Mike Geiger.

***

GJ - Typical WELS Church Growth - a string of vague and unsubstantiated accusations plus a command to phone. But did Mike Geiger phone me? 

At this point it is fair to assume that any speaker for Church and Chicanery is firmly in their doctrinal grip.

Mike, you should read your Book of Concord. As Luther explained in the Large Catechism, public error does not require private admonition. Church and Change has been promoting its doctrinal errors in public for some time now.

Anyone in Lutherdom is free to criticize the substance of Ichabod. I noticed that the Church and Chance list-serve was quite verbose about me when Joe Krohn asked, "Are we really inviting a Baptist, Ed Stetzer, to speak at our next conference?" Apparently Krohn did not believe Stetzer's twitter, Stetzer's blog, or Stetzer's published schedule. So Church and Change answered Joe by attacking me, not addressing a pertinent question from one of their most devoted disciples. A few more exchanges like that and Joe may drop his bass guitar in favor of a Triglotta. Think of the loss, Mike! [January, 2009 - and it came true]

I think the odious Don Patterson Network has decided to fight back.


***

2012 Update. 

What Have We Learned Today? 

Don Patterson, at Holy Word (WELS) in Austin, Texas, gets free vicars every year, although the parish can also afford to send him to Africa to hunt the dreaded kudu deer. That is why his email name is kududon! How about lionking? or lyin_king? Geiger is one of those free vicars. All them end up Church and Change, perhaps because they started Church and Change.

Don loves, loves, loves Time of Grace, which LCMS pastors call Time of Wrath.

Don is not a Church and Change leader, according to Don, but the same names linked to him (including his own) keep popping up. Geiger went to the "last" Church and Change confab, although that was another smokescreen.

Every year, Martin Luther College's Evangelism Day has been a Church and Change convention. The only differences in 2012 were: 1) They hid the agenda, though not carefully enough. 2) Paul Calvin Kelm was not the keynote speaker.

Church and Change started in Appleton, which is Thrivent-City. The insurance business is dedicated to sales, not Lutheran doctrine. Some of the founders of Church and Change are: 1. John Parlow.
2. Jeff Johnson.
3. Steve Witte.


Note that Parlow got the Thrivent grant, so he hired Jeff Johnson (from his own parish) and Mike Geiger, Inc to use up more Thrivent grant money. Witte is busy running the Asian porta-seminary.

Mark Freier, covered in the post below, was one of the Shrinkers promoted by WELS, turning a supposed Lutheran mission (CrossRoads, S. Lyons) into a Evangelical Covenant congregation. The non-Lutheran pastor of the non-Lutheran congregation used to thank three (3) WELS pastors for the gift, but that thank-you was erased from their history.

In keeping with all lying Shrinkers, CrossRoads claims to be non-denominational but identifies with the Evangelical Covenant Church on its own page. The only non-denominational claims I believe are from WELS and LCMS Shrinker locations. They truly have no confession of faith, no affiliation except to Mammon.

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Leverage Your Income By Joining the Don PattersonC...":

When I hear the title coach, I think of a sports team. Perhaps this concept is easy for some to identify with as so many in this country are rabid about spectator sports. I am curious. What professional organization certifies life coaches? I understand that in some professions, certification is a feather in the hat as there can be a lack of consistency between degreed programs. But, one does not get a BA in Life Coaching. It seems like this whole coaching nonsense started in the corporate world and has crept into the trendy churches.

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GJ - Note my latest post, showing that people still refuse to believe how bad things are in WELS and Missouri, even though they can find out for themselves in five minutes of Google searching. I even did that for them on Facebook, and no one responded.

The life-coaches make people spend a lot of money to be certified as life-coaches under them. TV did an expose of them, so naturally the Church and Change guys adopted the scam. Kudu Don Patterson is a life coach. Kudu Don's African safari buddy is behind Grace in Action, too.

For only $1300, Don will coach you for a year.

One of the Moldstads is behind "Grace in Action," and it seems to have plenty of support from the Minnesota WELS. The usual Church and Change nogoodniks are at Grace in Action: Time of Grace, Jeff Gunn, CrossWalk, Elton Stroh.

Mike Geiger and his wife, veterans of Kudu Don Patterson's church, are life coaches selling their services, via Thrivent, to Parlow's Church Growth hive in Fox Valley.

PS
Good news - fans of the English language. I looked up the list of leaders of WELS, and they are no longer "nenbers" as they were for many months.

Someone is reading Ichabod and saying, "Fix those bloopers."

ELCA still has one of their fired executives being raised on an Iowa diary farm, and he has been gone from the Chicago executive job for months.

Youth Groups Want To Know

John Parlow worshipped with the Babtists at Drive 08,
an Andy Stanley business.
Ski, Bishop Katy, and Tim Glende were there
with a total of 8 WELS workers.

About Transformational Discipleship | Transformational Discipleship:

About Transformational Discipleship

Jesus invited twelve unlikely people to spend three years watching and learning from him how to live life in the Kingdom of God.  They were truly changed – transformed from the inside out – their minds and behavior reflected a maturity of faith and purpose for living.

As they were with Jesus they received His coaching. They were mentored, encouraged, and challenged to develop a way of approaching the world from a Kingdom of God perspective. So much so, that when Jesus asked them to make disciples they knew what it was like to pursue a deeper relationship with Christ and then train others – lead them, coach them – to be disciples also. Disciples becoming disciple-makers

This had a ripple effect in their communities. In fact, disciple-making became the strategy for the early church to reach out to people so that they too could not just hear but experience Good News of the Kingdom of God.

What if…a congregation intentionally built a strategy of leadership development based more closely on Jesus model?

What if…a small group of people committed to a process of training, where they are equipped – coached – to learn how to be disciple-makers in their everyday life; in their families, their congregations, and their communities?

Imagine what it would mean for the families in the local church and the community to have leaders guided by such a deep passion and have such clarity of purpose!

The Ministry Governing Board of St. Mark Lutheran Church, De Pere, WI, imagined it early in 2011. After studying it, they invited Thrivent Financial to imagine it with them. The response was so affirming that in August, 2011, Thrivent – as part of their Lutheran Grant Program – awarded St. Mark a grant of $50,000 to identify and recruit at least fifteen partners to engage in a two-year leadership development program calledTransformational Discipleship.

Living Hope Christian Counseling, Whatif Enterprises, and Synergy Strategies has been invited to lead this two-year leadership development program.

* * *

Transformational Discipleship is about the believer and the church growing in maturity in the faith. It is about the formation of our minds and our behavior.

 Transformational Discipleship understands and lives out the call of Jesus to produce disciples. This is a proactive approach in helping each person to pursue a deeper relationship with Christ and then in turn, is able to train others because of what God is doing in each one.

Transformational Discipleship is a pursuit to develop a Kingdom worldview; enabling the church to interact with issues that are facing our culture as we form strategies to reach out to people; seeking to be truly missional.

'via Blog this'

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What If?

What if, you had the perfect strategy to stop feeling frustrated and start achieving your goals?
What if, you could reach your full potential personally and professionally?
What if, you could clarify your inner purpose and direction and feel inner peace and happiness?
What if, an enlightened person could guide you to transform your life and fulfill your calling?

What do the most successful people do differently than everyone else?

They get a coach…

“Best Advice I ever got, ‘Get a coach!’.”
Eric Schmidt, Former CEO of Google

Transformational Performance and Life Coach, Business Coach, and Executive Coach Serving Michigan



Mark Freier is a highly-sought-after transformational personal coach serving a broad range of areas, including metro Detroit, Novi, Northville, Livingston County, Grand Rapids, and Michigan at large. He guides his clients along a path to realizing their inner-potential by teaching them how to be purpose-centered, inner-directed, other-focused, and externally-open to growth in the world around them.



With professional experience ranging from business to church ministry, and a global view shaped by helping people in different cultures and countries see their personal value and unique contribution to the world, Mark Freier brings a well blended mix of seeing value in every human being and coaching them to their fullest potential. Mark believes the greatest gift he offers people is his “own joy of living, his own inner peace, his own silence and solitude, and his own sense of well-being.” These values were not only learned from author Henri Nouwen, but also gained with wisdom through successes and challenges in his own life. This experience has given Mark depth and credibility in creating environments where he invites individuals to life-change in personal coaching sessions as well as inspiring and challenging groups of people in creative learning sessions; educators, corporate workgroups, business owners, non-profit leaders, students at Central Michigan University, and now as an Adjunct Professor at Cleary University.



Adopting Ken Blanchard’s view that “in today’s changing world people are looking for principles and philosophies that actually work” he tested his principles for five years as the general manager of a conference center where he was responsible for building a healthy culture, focusing on personal and team development.



A native of Michigan, Mark is a continual learner who holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and a Masters of Divinity, which provide a solid foundation for him as an accomplished teacher who communicates with passion and conviction and as a coach who carefully listens and genuinely guides his clients. He spends significant time each week in one-on-one conversations over a cup of coffee or on SKYPE and has dozens of engagements a year speaking to large audiences.



Mark’s people skills and speaking skills were honed over two decades of pastoring large churches to small turn-around and transition situations in Milwaukee, Florida, and southeast Michigan during which time leaders in the States and Mexico sought Mark’s counsel and afforded him opportunities to write curriculum, teach courses, train at conferences, and inspire teenagers at International Youth Rallies.



Mark lives in Howell, MI, with his wife and best-friend Deb; enjoying their relationship with three adult children and daughter-in-law. He enjoys reading, riding bikes, his HD television, a good cup of coffee, conversations over a cup of coffee, listening to music – especially classical and jazz, slow-walks through the parks, travel, water sports, and…a good cigar. Oh…and any location near water, especially Lake Michigan.


***

GJ - Mark Freier was one of many WELS pastors at CrossRoads in South Lyons, Michigan. During Mark's   tenure I asked a friend to visit. Mark had young women inviting visitors over to the swimming pool party afterwards.

Mark earned a nickname in WELS - "P-boy." That is not the complete nickname. It came from his ability to talk about one part of his body during his religious messages. I heard it myself at the Michigan youth rally. Many considered him a one-man wrecking crew, but WELS thought he was the bomb and invited him to speak at all the youth conferences.

Oh No! - Another Lulu Sale. 30% Off the Order. Feb 19th Deadline.

I just ordered some books on the current free shipping sale.

This new one appeared in email, so I ordered more at 30% off.

The banner ads do not cut into my revenue. Lulu offers the reductions to encourage new customers. Like many, I wait for the next offer to come along.

Free Martin Chemnitz Press PDFs are here, so you can look over each title first.

ELCA Pastor’s Re-naming Rite for a Transgender Church Member - Exposing the ELCA

http://photos.elca.org/keyword/nadia%20bolzweber/1/971860676_5vcLg#!i=971860676&k=5vcLg

ELCA Pastor’s Re-naming Rite for a Transgender Church Member - Exposing the ELCA:

The ELCA leadership loves ELCA Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber.  She is the face and voice of today’s ELCA.  Bolz-Weber pastors a church whose website states it is “queer inclusive,” “social justice oriented” and “irreverent.”

'via Blog this'

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GJ - LCMS loyalists are fainting with joy over Matt Harrison's testimony in DC.

My question is: "Why are you still working with ELCA, if you have such scruples?"

I could not stomach copying more of the content of the renaming ceremony, etc. That is what ELCA leaders are promoting. It is not the fringe. The fringe is ELCA, yet WELS and Missouri work with them.


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LPC has left a new comment on your post "ELCA Pastor’s Re-naming Rite for a Transgender Chu...":

LCMS loyalists are fainting with joy over Matt Harrison's testimony in DC

Indeed, marketing wise, that is called exposure and free advertisement.

LPC

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LPC has left a new comment on your post "ELCA Pastor’s Re-naming Rite for a Transgender Chu...":

The Olde Synodecrats might hate the Pentecostals for their media attention but in reality they imitate their values, publicity is good.

LPC

Aardvark Alley: + Philipp Melanchthon +

Aardvark Alley: + Philipp Melanchthon +:

16 February AD 1497 – 19 April AD 1560

Philipp Melanchthon, a brilliant student of the classics and a humanist scholar, was appointed to teach along with Martin Luther at the University of Wittenberg in 1518. At Luther's urging, Melanchthon began teaching theology and Scripture in addition to his courses in classical studies.

In April of 1530, Emperor Charles V called an official meeting between the representative of Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism, hoping to effect a meeting of minds between two opposing groups. Since Luther was at that time under papal excommunication and an imperial ban, Melanchthon was assigned the duty of being the chief Lutheran representative at this meeting. Thus, he made the primary verbal and written defenses of the Evangelical (Lutheran) position. We especially remember and honor him as the author of the Augsburg Confession, which was officially presented by the German princes to the emperor on 25 June 1530, as the defining document of Lutheranism within Christendom. Following the Roman Catholic response, Melanchthon wrote the Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession.

'via Blog this'

Publishing Projects - Thanks to Helpers and Donors

I remember when publishing was entirely by mail. I submitted manuscripts by mail and waited for answers and checks by mail.

Here are some current publishing projects, made possible by extra help:
1. Lutheran hymns.
2. A new book on justification by faith.
3. Another new book on justification by faith.
4. A catechism.
5. Improvements in Luther versus the UOJ Pietists: Justification by Faith.
6. Apologetics mystery - in the future.
7. Moving all titles to Amazon.
8. Possibly a world missions version of Thy Strong Word.
9. I am writing a satire, which should be done soon.
10. Amazon e-books will be the new platform, but everything will still be available in print as well.

The moment I made all the Martin Chemnitz Press books easily available - free - from this link, a world missionary began using them.

Norma Boeckler attracted attention with her beautiful art. One person asked her to create an art book for everyone to enjoy. That is being produced now.

Although I "do not have a friend in the world," according to the Shrinkers, my 1400 Facebook friends enjoy Norma's Christian art, which is published almost daily on Facebook.

Exponential Conference: Orlando, FL. Will Team Don Patterson Attend Again?

Exponential Conference: Orlando, FL:

Bishop Katie and Ski went to Granger,
where they met former members of Mark Jeske's church.

Mark Beeson - Back in the 80s, adrenaline junkie and visionary Mark Beeson, and his wife Sheila, moved against all advice and counsel to Granger, Indiana with their young children. They didn’t have extended family or friends waiting for them, just a vision to start a church for people who didn’t go to church. They started in their living room with 10 people and, after 25 years, Granger has thousands of people meeting across two campuses and several online experiences. After all that, things aren’t slowing down and Mark’s focus hasn’t changed: people matter to God, even if they don’t know it yet. Well-known for his empowering leadership and gifted communication skills, Mark is motivated to encourage church planters and leaders with new vision and purpose in fulfilling the Great Commission.  He holds a B.S. from Ball State University, a Masters of Divinity (M.Div.) from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, and a Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min.) in leadership development from United Theological Seminary in Ohio. He blogs at MarkBeeson.com.

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I thought Ski and Glende were transforming the world,
starting with various celebrity tarts.

Alan Hirsch - Alan is the founding Director of Forge Mission Training Network. He is the co-founder of shapevine.com, a ministry of Christianity Today International and an international forum for engaging with world transforming ideas.  Currently he shares in leading an innovative learning program called Future Travelers helping numerous mega-churches become missional movements.  He has also been part of the leadership team of Christian Associates, a missional church-planting agency with focus on Western Europe.  Known for his innovative approach to mission, Alan is a teacher and key mission strategist for churches across the western world. His popular book The Shaping of Things to Come (with Michael Frost) is widely considered to be a seminal text on mission. Alan's recent book The Forgotten Ways, has quickly become a key reference for missional thinking, particularly as it relates to missional movements. His book ReJesus is a radical restatement about the role that Jesus plays in defining Christian movements.  Untamed, (with his wife Debra) is about missional discipleship for a missional church, On the Verge (a process for missional movement for mega churches with Dave Ferguson), Right Here, Right Now (Everyday mission for anyone), The Faith of Leap (on the theology of risk).  His latest book, The Permanent Revolution is about apostolic ministry and the significance of Eph 4 for the church in the 21st Century. His experience in leadership includes leading a local church movement, among the marginalized, developing training systems for innovative missional leadership, as well as heading up the Mission and Revitalization work of his denomination. Alan is and adjunct professor at Fuller Seminary, George Fox Evangelical Seminary, and Wheaton, among others, and lectures frequently throughout Australia, Europe, and the U.S.

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WELS and LCMS leaders trained at Willow Creek and Trinity, Deerfield.
Hybels trained at Trinity.
Common thread? - Pietism and doctrinal indifference.

Bill Hybels - Bill is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association.

The best-selling author of more than twenty books, including The Power of a Whisper. Axiom, Holy Discontent, Just Walk Across the Room, The Volunteer Revolution, Courageous Leadership, and classics such as Too Busy Not to Pray and Becoming a Contagious Christian, Hybels is known worldwide as an expert in equipping and training Christian leaders to transform individuals and their communities through the local church.

Hybels received a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity College in Deerfield, Ill. He and his wife, Lynne, have two children and two grandsons.

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Warren denied being influenced by Robert Schuller the Bankrupt.
But the epochal moment is preserved in history.
Lesson learned - "All Shrinkers lie."

Rick Warren - Rick is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, a Christian community that he and his wife began in their home in 1980, with just one other family. Today Saddleback is one of the most prominent churches in America with more than 20,000 members attending four campuses each week, reaching out through some 200 ministries. Rick is author of the wildly popular book, The Purpose Driven Life.


'via Blog this'

Drive Conference is taking a year off. | Drive Blog

Craig, "How long can we make this scam last?"
Andy, "As long as the grants last."

Drive Conference is taking a year off. | Drive Blog:

Andy Stanley, Babtist guru of Tim Glende, Ski, and various WELS pastors - Parlow, Buske, et al - you will be missed.

'via Blog this'

This is an obvious Photoshop.
Groeschel  would never pose with Ski.

Write-up of the Drive 08 Experience.

This is the photo of Stanley and Ski, posted in his blog,
which is still there on the Net.
Ski will take the blog down at the end of the 30 year plan
to make WELS a Lutheran sect.

Anti-Intellectualism Is American and Pietistic

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Hazing in WELS Affects Enrollment":

With UOJ, even academic sins are forgiven, it appears.

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GJ - America's religion is Pietism. All the Lutheran groups began in Pietism, from the colonial Muhlenberg (Halle Unversity graduate) to the LCMS (Bishop Stephan - Halle student) to the Wisconsin Synod (Hoenecke - Halle graduate).

Pietists are allergic to sound doctrine, so they are also opponents of academic achievement. They still like to parade around with fake doctorates - the drive-by Doctor of Ministry, from various schools that will sell an easy degree to the gullible.

One sure sign of a Pietist is his claim to "heart religion versus head religion." They always say that with a smirk, as if their ignorance makes them more pure in their Christian faith. Although the Pentecostals love to use this phrase, WELS clergy also use it. Unionists teach one another the rhetorical tricks to prop up their pan-Protestant religion.

This policy allows the semi-educated to achieve positions that would otherwise be denied them if they had to qualify. Therefore, MDivs posture as if they are Doctors of the Church when they are not done learning (if anyone could be).

To be important in Lutherdom today, one only needs to parrot the themes of Holy Mamma Synod.

To face exile, simply question the infallible degrees of the Home Office. Or kick Thrivent its tender but greedy shins.

More Glende Plagiarism

Used in April, 2009 -
much funnier with my caption.

Tim Glende and his illiterate pals are creative only when they are copying somebody. If course, the poor boy has to copy this blog's name. He even has tried his hand at Photoshop. But the hand that rocks the kegger rocketh not the graphics department.

I have posted my graphic, above, from almost three years ago. The fake blog is trying the same thing, without wit, without effect, years later.

What can anyone expect from Groeschel's plagiarist, who copies everything from the Methodist screamer and denies it? The motto on the wall at The CORE sheep-stealer campus was directly from Groeschel. "We will do anything short of sin to introduce people to God."

Plagiarism is a sin. So is lying about it.