ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
"Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord!"
by Martin Luther, 1483-1546
1. Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord!
Be all Thy graces now out poured
On each believer's mind and heart;
Thy fervent love to them impart.
Lord, by the brightness of Thy light,
Thou in the faith dost men unite
Of every land and every tongue;
This to Thy praise, O Lord, our God, be sung.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
2. Thou holy Light, Guide Divine,
Oh, cause the Word of Life to shine!
Teach us to know our God aright
And call Him Father with delight.
From every error keep us free;
Let none but Christ our Master be
That we in living faith abide,
In Him, our Lord, with all our might confide.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
3. Thou holy Fire, Comfort true,
Grant us the will Thy work to do
And in Thy service to abide;
Let trials turn us not aside.
Lord, by Thy power prepare each heart
And to our weakness strength impart
That bravely here we may contend,
Through life and death to Thee, our Lord, ascend.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Add the WELS rule - "Always defend the classmate!"
and the interlocking relationships are easily forged.
Add feminist John Hartwig to the list, plus a few others.
Yellow means - known apostates.
Since WELS is
such a tiny sect, and the other players are small in number and tightly knit,
postings here on Ichabod are usually sufficient to expose this network.
In
the Austrian School of Economics, this can also be called the "Rothbardian
Analysis", so named after Murray Rothbard. Old Murray had a way of finding out
how unsavory characters were connected to each other and exposed it in his
writings.
I would affectionately call the vetting process here on this blog
the "Ichabodian Analysis".
***
GJ - Mr. Schultz often adds great insights from corporate life. This certainly fits WELS.
The unifying effect among all Lutherans is derived from a doctrinal source - UOJ - and a money source - Thrivent.
All the synod leaders (ELCA, LCMS, WELS, ELS) have been trained at Fuller Seminary and its anti-Lutheran clones. If anyone has remained pure and spotless (in his mind), he has condoned the training of his colleagues.
I know the insurance companies, now combined into Thrivent, have always used Church Growth MBO training, with the agenda set by ELCA.
How It Works for Shunning
The interlocking effect is perfect for pan-Lutheran shunning of all those who might rock the boat. The person who knocks Thrivent is a threat to all little WELS businesses that depend on mutual back-scratching. Drop kick him into the outer darkness. I know of one WELS pastor who was kicked out for questioning the influenced of the fraternal insurance businesses. No one in the Big Four will knock Thrivent, or Jeske, on the Thrivent board.
If someone questions Paul Kelm in a meeting, one of his minions will jump up to defend him. Long ago, DP Robert Mueller said Kelm was in trouble for false doctrine. Now Kelm is in charge of Leadership at Wisconsin Lutheran College, another salary on top of his undeserved position as college chaplain.
That is exactly why the Big Four are burning themselves down. They know precisely how to liquidate dissent. That is their only skill. But they do not know how to teach the Gospel, administer the Means of Grace, discipline the erring, and gather the spiritually inert.
Direct interlocks in business are illegal, but they happen all the time. The Big Four pretend that the others are tainted, evil, and perdition itself, so it is illegal to fellowship with the others - except all the leaders are gonzo for working with the rest.
Some of you will object and say, "But the Little Sect and the Wisconsin Sect are in fellowship. They cherish their fellowship. They say that all the time." But I know what they say in private. They really loathe each other. Nevertheless, WELS makes sure that the ELS leaders are their lapdogs.
Reform Leaders are Reformed Leaders
SP Schroeder and DP Buchholz were supposed to be different, but the machine that produced them is also the machine that controls them.
One WELS college student told me, "All the Church and Change leaders you write about on Ichabod are the big heroes brought to the campus. We are supposed to imitate them. And the same thing is true at the seminary." I told that to Buchholz, face-to-face, and he dismissed that as false. Whether he was delusional or covering up - it does not matter.
The Concordists answered the false doctrine of Huber, but Huber's error is clearly reproduced here. No wonder WELS hates the Book of Concord.
WELS Martin Luther College faculty are hotter than Georgia asphalt
for UOJ and Church Growth.
Larry Olson, on the far left, teaches on the strength
of a drive-by DMin from Fuller Seminary.
Is this a $72,000 degree?
One long-time observer of WELS behavior has noticed that the synod exists to line the pockets of a few.
The ones who benefit from this system have a series of overlapping businesses that draw from the loyalty of the synod while making money from the synod.
One way they make money is by manning the boards and delivering grants to their buddies.
Church and Change began with synod offering money, got their buddies into the juicy jobs at The Love Shack, and those people steered even more money their way.
The Planned Giving Counselors (estate grabbers) are licensed insurance salesmen who make commissions from their sales. Thrivent "sponsors" them. Is that funny?
Jeff Davis was on the Church and Change board,
rubbing elbows with Bruce Becker (WELS Perish Services)
and running his money-raising business with the late Ron Roth, CG Founder.
The WELS consultants charge huge fees to steer congregations into using Cornerstone, a WELS-LCMS business that charges commissions to raise money for costly building projects recommended by their fellow consultants.
WELS also has "education consultants" who charge huge fees, quite a racket.
The overlapping boards make sure that every synod entity is dominated by Church and Changers, who also end up on foundation committees as well. How convenient. WELS Kingdom Workers has millions to spend. Where does it go? Who decides?
Mark Jeske's question proves he left the Lutheran Church
a long time ago.
Mark Jeske has his Time of Grace tentacles in everything, because he is the man behind Church and Change, the big cahoona on the Thrivent board.
Supposedly WELS Lutherans for Life was started to keep the pure away from the taint of the Missouri Synod. But now it is generic Christian Life Resources, using WELS as a base to make money from all denominations - preferring 50's and 100's, of course.
Lutherans for High Lifestyle CEO spins gold at his non-profit organization.
When I was leaving the LCA, I pointed out that the entire organization was budgeted and programmed for failure. One of the pastors turned to a district staffmember and asked, "Is that true?" The staffer, who was in business all his life, said, "Yes, that is true."
WELS is in the exact same position. While the Church and Changers are looting the congregations to feather their nests, the whole apparatus is burning down. Considering the extraordinary level of abuse in the synod, that is good. More than one pastor will say so, too - but not in print.
Meanwhile, many will suffer from the incompetent doctrinal and moral leadership of the synod.
The Frog in the Kettle book argues
that congregations and synods can be changed slowly -
boil the frog before he notices the difference.
WELS-LCMS-ELS members are cooked
instead of being boiling mad.
KJV 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
KJV 1 Timothy 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Since WELS is
such a tiny sect, and the other players are small in number and tightly knit,
postings here on Ichabod are usually sufficient to expose this network.
In
the Austrian School of Economics, this can also be called the "Rothbardian
Analysis", so named after Murray Rothbard. Old Murray had a way of finding out
how unsavory characters were connected to each other and exposed it in his
writings.
I would affectionately call the vetting process here on this blog
the "Ichabodian Analysis".
I told Mrs. Ichabod that WELS had another video on YouTube, the one embedded above. I said, "Someone uploaded it. I never upload to YouTube."
She said, "No one will believe you."
I clicked on the link, since people have accounts with YouTube and upload on their accounts, so they
can have their own channel, as they call it.
SNAPWisconsin is the account holder. Click on that link and you will find videos associated with abusive clergy.
Congratulations WELS - after complaining--sanctimoniously--about ELCA and the Roman Catholics, you are now listed by the prime lobbying group - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests - SNAP. The Roman hierarchy hates SNAP because SNAP has networked the victims with great effect. The group uploaded the arrest video to YouTube, which combined the defense attorney's lie about adult pornography when the charge was swapping files showing man-boy rape.
SNAP Wisconsin is the state-wide group. If you have a problem with WELS, contact SNAP and an attorney, not the cover-up magicians of WELS.
Wisconsin Lutheran College (WELS when fund-raising) featured one of the worst archbishops, Weakland, as their speaker in a widely promoted series, which also included various priests. Weakland had an affair with a young man and used church funds to pay blackmail to his lover, claiming the funds came from his own account. WELS deceived everyone about the lectures, never explaining why an official of Rome was speaking on behalf of the Wisconsin Sect.
Years ago, Wisconsin Lutheran College featured Weakland as their speaker, along with some of his priests.
Weakland claimed that children invited sex with adults.
The Hochmuth story is full of holes. My vast intelligence-gathering network cannot find out where he got counseling, which is part of every news story. His wife caught him and they went into counseling. But counselors are supposed to report heinous crimes against children. Was it the WELS agency? Silence. Nobody knew this was going on? Silence.
This page used to link to the SP Schroeder/Hochmuth letter against ELCA for supporting homosexual clergy. Just as I expected, the page was removed. That is the WELS approach - hide the evidence, spin the story, and punish anyone who asks more than once about the corruption.
But relax. I found another copy on the Net, thanks to my extensive experience in tracking down synodical lies:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 21, 2009
Contact: Joel Hochmuth
Director of Communications
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
joel.hochmuth@wels.net
WELS president expresses regret at ELCA decision on gay clergy
Milwaukee, Wis.—Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), is expressing regret at the vote of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) convention regarding homosexual clergy. Friday, delegates approved a resolution committing the church to find a way for “people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships” to serve as professional leaders of the church.
“To view same-sex relationships as acceptable to God is to place cultural viewpoint and human opinions above the clear Word of God,” says Schroeder. “The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, along with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and other smaller Lutheran synods, maintains and upholds the clear teaching of the Bible that homosexuality is not in keeping with God’s design and is sinful in God’s eyes.”
At the same time, Schroeder says WELS congregations stand ready to support those struggling with same-sex attractions. “As with any sin, it is the church’s responsibility to show love and compassion to sinners, not by condoning or justifying the sin, but by calling the sinner to repent and by assuring the sinner that there is full forgiveness in Jesus Christ,” Schroeder says.
WELS, with about 390,000 members and nearly 1,300 congregations nationwide, is the third largest Lutheran church body in the United States. In Wisconsin alone, there are more than 201,000 members and 417 congregations. “It’s unfortunate that many headlines have referred to the recent decisions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as something ‘Lutherans’ have decided,” Schroeder says. “In fact, the ELCA is only one of many Lutheran denominations. We are saddened that a group with the name Lutheran would take another decisive step away from the clear teaching of the Bible, which was the foundation of the Lutheran Reformation.”
Schroeder says that WELS is firmly committed to upholding God’s design for marriage as outlined in Scripture—a design intended for one man and one woman. “We believe, and the Bible teaches, that God designed this relationship to be a blessing for men and women and for society. Any departure from what God himself has designed does two things: it denies the clear teachings of Scriptures and it undermines God’s desire that the man/woman relationship in marriage be a blessing.”
---
On the WELS.net site I found a reaction to that news release, but not the news release itself.
Feedback to a WELS news release quoting Pres. Mark Schroeder's reaction to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) decision to allow homosexuals in "lifelong, monogamous" relationships to serve as pastors continues to flow in.
On Aug. 21, the day the ELCA churchwide assembly approved the resolution, Communication Services posted Pres. Schroeder's response expressing WELS opposition based on clear biblical principles on the synod's Web site. A news release was also sent to Religion News Service for worldwide distribution.
So far, the reaction has been almost universally positive, with statements of support coming from both WELS and non-WELS members. "I appreciate your statement and share your disappointment," writes one woman from Michigan. "Thank you for posting the statement with a clear Biblical viewpoint."
"As a member of an ELCA church, I applaud you standing up for the Word of God and having the backbone to speak up and put your 8/21 letter on your Web site," writes another woman from Minnesota.
While it is impossible to gauge precisely how widely published Schroeder's comments were, the news release was printed virtually verbatim on more than a dozen blogs. Schroeder's comments were quoted in an MSNBC.com article (link no longer available) on the reaction to the ELCA decision from both WELS and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
---
Hochmuth was not excommunicated, but Rick Techlin and the Krohns were.
SP Schroeder:
Christians are not immune to Satan’s temptations. David, Paul, and Peter all knew from personal experience that believers can and do commit terrible and unspeakable sin. But they also knew and experienced the restoring power of God’s grace. Joel Hochmuth knows this as well. Joel is receiving pastoral care from his pastors and others. We are confident that the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in God’s Word has brought him to recognize and repent of his sin, and we also know that he has sought and received the comfort of forgiveness in the redeeming sacrifice of our Savior. Please pray that Joel will continue to be assured of forgiveness at the foot of the cross and that God’s grace will restore him, renew him, and strengthen his faith.
Serving in Christ,
Rev. Mark Schroeder, WELS President
The biggest problem with the Internet is total access to all the historical documents. Various Lutherans have found sources that reveal what the UOJ Stormtroopers want concealed (if they even know those sources exist).
I was going to buy the Vehse document about the Saxons when I found it anew on the Net. So I thought, "I have a coupon - I will buy a Stellhorn book instead." The Stellhorn was already on my hard drive as a PDF.
The first thing Vehse wrote about was Stephan's strange megalomania when they got to America. That fits with the diagnosis of third-stage syphillis. By comparing all the documents, easily available today, one can see that Walther was part of an immoral cult, which he was eager to take over as the new cult leader.
"The child is the father of the man." Walther's earlier exploits were duplicated in his later career as the American Pope. Questions about character applied to him and the other Stephan followers.
The bigger issue is the doctrinal one, because justification by faith has been a battle since the beginning. Anyone can trace what theologians have written for and against.
Luther anticipated the born forgiven and universal absolution errors of UOJ. The Concordists battled against the same.
Walther, like all unprincipled false teachers, skipped the main issue and burrowed into predestination in a manner that would alert the UOJ minions while keeping the vast majority comatose. When the discerning saw Walther's game, he denounced them as false teachers and drove them away. Walther locutus est, causa finita est - The pope has spoken, the case is closed.
The public statue in Missouri says it all. Stephan, who led the group to Perry County, is designated a false teacher. CFW is inscribed as the Great Walther.
The Holy Land (Perry County) says in their official, lying tours that Stephan was given three choices. In fact, the Walther mob invaded his home, threatened his life, forced him across the river at gunpoint, and left him to starve. Remember that the next time a pastor says "Matthew 18" or "Eighth Commandment."
