Divisiveness persists at Grace Lutheran - Leader-Telegram: Front Page

Divisiveness persists at Grace Lutheran - Leader-Telegram: Front Page:


Grace Lutheran Church again is attempting to break away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to its senior pastor.

During a special meeting Sunday, the congregation voted 236-0, with "a handful of abstentions," to rescind the large Eau Claire congregation's ELCA affiliation, the Rev. Rolf Nestingen said via email.

However, Drew Ryberg, an Eau Claire attorney who is representing nearly 70 estranged members of Grace Lutheran Church in a civil lawsuit, questions the validity of the vote.

"What they did was improper, completely improper," said Ryberg, whose clients are asking a judge to intervene in the dispute over church affiliation.

Nestingen doesn't see it that way. The most recent vote - the historical church's second attempt at disaffiliating with the ELCA in less than a year - was prompted by "recommendations" from the Synod Council of the ELCA's Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, he said.

The Synod Council in January sent a letter to church officials detailing its final decision in an adjudication process resulting from the dispute - that Grace Lutheran Church immediately recognize its sole affiliation is with the ELCA, terminate affiliation with the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ or any church other than the ELCA, immediately restore full voting memberships to all members moved to associate member status since Jan. 1, 2011, and immediately recognize that anyone who meets the required criteria and who does not want to remain affiliated with the LCMC is a voting member.

"It occurred to us that there was a fifth option, to which the judge agreed, that we take another first vote to disaffiliate in order to clearly express the will of those members remaining at Grace," Nestingen said.


'via Blog this'

"I was NOT invited to Emmaus, Brett,
but I was there in spirit.
The Synodical Conference leaders are my buddies."

Thoughts about UOJ - From Lito Cruz, PhD

WELS leaders wanted to feature Kent Hunter (Fuller drive-by DMin)
and Waldo Werning at a conference.
People rebelled enough to have it cancelled.
UOJ is the dogma of the Church Growth Movement.

LPC has left a new comment on your post "Enoch as a Man of Faith":

Dear Dr. Greg,

I have just been thinking.

UOJers do not take seriously Luther's critique of human beings. Luther taught that we neither fear, love nor trust God. To Luther this was the problem.

UOJers rather than confronting the problem eliminates faith by definition and fiat.

UOJers teach that effectively we are saved by grace, period. This is contrary to Eph 1:8 which says we are saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves. That passage itself also teaches that even faith is not of ourselves, yet the argument of Walther and Co says that if faith is emphasized, faith is from ourselves. So they have imported their own philosophical paradigm into the discussion which is foreign to the way Scripture teaches about faith.

UOJ is insidious in that it maligns faith. For UOJ faith is empty and there is nothing to it. Thus in practice, it does not encourage the believer to deal with his lack of faith, to pray , to knock at God's door, to seek, to ask from God. Yet Jesus encouraged us towards these things.

LPC

***

GJ - You are right again, Lito. No wonder you were banned so early from the Steadfast Lutherans (sic).

Their double-talk has them emphasizing grace, which they pronounce GRACE! But they are saying that everyone is already saved - they only need to realize it (rationalism) and "accept God's acceptance," to use Paul Tillich's wording.

As the woman said to Peter, "You are a Galileean. I know that accent."

KJV Matthew 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also
art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.

"Your accent makes it obvious." Jackson Living Translation.

I know the accent because I spent years studying modern Protestant theology while attending conferences where the same language was spoken. The complaint about the old fashioned TV evangelists was "They never teach GRACE!" That meant - "They never teach the absolution of the world, that everyone is already forgiven."

I have heard or read various UOJ gurus expressing this sentiment - "We are justified by GRACE!" That needs to be said with emphasis and a frown, as if correcting a small child.

Throughout the Word of God, we are justified by faith. Throughout the Confessions, we are justified by faith. After the Book of Concord, the Huber opinion was eviscerated by Leyser and his orthodox Lutheran group. Huber was kicked off the Wittenberg faculty for teaching the current WELS-LCMS-ELS-Andrew-Preus position.

Justification by faith does not war against God's grace, but UOJ turns God's grace into a tragic farce. Hitler is a guilt-free saint. Every child in the world is born forgiven, but only some are baptized.

By Faith Abraham, When Tested, Offered Up Isaac

KJV Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even
from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

But Now They Desire a Better Country

Abraham, the Man of Faith in Romans 4

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Noah's Faith, The Genesis Flood, and Holy Baptism. Why Hide the Baptismal Font?Why Deny Baptismal Regeneration with Andy Stanley, Ed Stetzer, and Rick Warren?

Enoch as a Man of Faith

Creation by the Word. But the UOJ Enthusiasts Do Not Trust the Word.Neither Do the Shrinkers