The Christian Faith

Luther always wrote about the Word of God and faith. That is the key point that explained so much to me. Why did the religious authorities rage against Him? The answer is seldom grasped today by the heirs of the Pharisees.

Jesus contrasted the righteousness of the Pharisees, based on their works, with true righteousness - faith in Him. Genuine righteousness is outside of us (extra nos) until we receive this grace in faith. The most damning work of the Holy Spirit is to say, "You do not believe in Him."

Unbelief damns. The foundational sin is not trusting in Christ for forgiveness. That is why so many Missouri Synod pastors are turning to Romanism and Eastern Orthodoxy: they do not trust in the Means of Grace. Their smells and bells, Roman mysticism, and Greek regalia prop up their insecurities. They do not realize their popish ceremonies are the gay equivalent of a rock band in the chancel.

Could these dramatists stoop to offering the Eucharist in a rude structure with base metal communion ware? What if they had to use a poor, drab robe instead of something destined for the Bad Vestments blog?

Joel Osteen, their opposite number, could never preach in a converted garage. They would detract from the snake oil he sells to the delusional. The Emergents use money as their incense, success as their sacrament, an incandescent grin as their benediction. Jeff Gunn will coach you for a fee, because he has great success at sheep-stealing from his fellow pastors. But he will not brag that his son is a professed atheist. After all, faith is not his message - success is. Anyone can be successful without faith. Look at all the popes.

That is why the entire world rages against faith, especially those in the religious world. The fury is Satanic, and they prowl about like roaring lions, seeking more people to devour. They rejoice over each person  made twice-more fit for Hell.


KJV Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to
make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

The evidence is freely available on the Net, in what is said and what is left unsaid.

Said
The mainline churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Synodical Conference cousins all glory in unfaith.

The heart of 19th century liberal Calvinist Pietism is  this - the entire world has already been forgiven.
One can find it in Knapp, Schleiermacher, Barth, Tillich, Rahner, Walther, Tholuck, Pieper, and the rest.

The Synodical Conference today is eager to preach unfaith to the elite. Let's face it - unfaith in Christ linked to forgiveness is a bleak theme for a sermon, useless in a hymn, and damaging in Sunday School. They never teach it in Sunday School because the children are too wise to fall for such nonsense.

Rome or Fuller Seminary is the last word in how to do church, how to manage the Sunday recruitment service, how to be a real, relevant, and relational Christian.

Unsaid
The unspoken is the most eloquent in all this, and the unspoken is often the most significant. Items:

• Luther is forgotten, abandoned, criticized gratuitously, but trotted out for an out-of-context quote.
• The Lutheran name is removed wherever possible, especially at the Christian academies marketed as outreach by--savor it, savor it--the conservative Lutherans!
• The Book of Concord, if mentioned at all, is subordinated to the chuckle-headed purveyors of UOJ, not one  of which could last five minutes with any BoC editor.
• Lutheran hymns are set aside for Pietistic ones, children's music, and rock.
• The liturgy has to be modernized by ELCA and Roman wannabees until no one can recognize it.
• Chemnitz and the other genius theologians of Lutheran orthodoxy are ignored.
• No one in a leadership position notices or cares.

The Transformation of Bushwick's St. Mark's Church, Part I: An Introduction - Local News - AllMediaNY

The Transformation of Bushwick's St. Mark's Church, Part I: An Introduction - Local News - AllMediaNY:

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Minister’s omnibus is postponed to complete discovery; attorney asks for delay | Park Rapids Enterprise | Park Rapids, Minnesota

Darwin Schauer

Minister’s omnibus is postponed to complete discovery; attorney asks for delay | Park Rapids Enterprise | Park Rapids, Minnesota:

The parishioners who were aware of Schauer’s past conviction in 1983 for a sex crime were under the impression the old charge had been expunged and that Schauer was an innocent man, Randall said.

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GJ - McCain repeated this fable in print.

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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Minister’s omnibus is postponed to complete discov...":

If you were the church elders, wouldn't you want to see some actual documentation that the accuser recanted? Also, if that were the case, why wouldn't he appeal the conviction? All that would be in writing and would be publicly accessible. Of course, no matter what the courts decide, the synodical conference has a history of informally exonerating themselves, since after all, they were forgiven before they were even born.

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GJ - Faithful church leaders in the past built up trust in synodical leadership. That trust has been whittled away by incidents like this. Someone spread the lie around about Schauer being innocent, knowing just the opposite was true. Leaders die and retire. There is always another Wormtongue who will lie for the synod and take everything down a few more notches.

The threads on "Steadfast Lutherans" were zapped, neutered. Cease and desist. No one within WELS has even discussed Hochmuth, except for Glende cheering for the cover-up and silence.

Attorney for Accused IGH Pastor Wants Alleged Admission of Guilt Suppressed - Inver Grove Heights, MN Patch

Attorney for Accused IGH Pastor Wants Alleged Admission of Guilt Suppressed - Inver Grove Heights, MN Patch:

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GJ - He was born forgiven, according to UOJ's great expert Eduard Preuss.

Thomas Jefferson's Cut-and-Paste Bible - WSJ.com

You can vote for the NNIV now or a little later.

Thomas Jefferson's Cut-and-Paste Bible - WSJ.com:


Last November, in response to protest, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery removed a video installation depicting ants crawling over a small crucifix. This coming November, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will exhibit a cut-and-paste Bible of a mere 86 pages. Were it the work of David Wojnarowicz (the artist behind the crucifix video) or Andres Serrano (of "Piss Christ" fame), this Bible would doubtless stir up a hornet's nest. But in fact, it was created by Thomas Jefferson.

During the election of 1800, Jefferson was denounced as a "howling atheist" and "a confirmed infidel" known for "vilifying the divine word, and preaching insurrection against God." But the Virginian also revered Jesus as "the first of human Sages" and was, according to one biographer, "the most self-consciously theological of all American presidents."


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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Good Questions from Nathan Bickel, WELS - About Mu...":

When a (W)ELS Northwest circuit congregation recently asked its pastor to lead them through a study of the NNIV 2011 and the differences between that and other translations the Pastor denied the request stating that there were far brighter people at Synod Headquarters who were capable of making the decision of which translation they should use.

The beatings by the clergy will continue until the Laity have had enough.

Anyone not in love with the NNIV will be Icha-flogged:
"You are a disciple of Ichabod! Kee-rack."
It restores a desirable, docile spirit.

Good Questions from Nathan Bickel, WELS - About Murdoch's NNIV

If this label makes sense,
you are 100% WELS.
Irony.

Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "WELS-LCMS Biblical Stance - An Exercise in Irony":

My wife and I are relatively new to WELS. And, hence, that is part of the reason I have to plead a dearth of awareness about the WELS effort to come up with an official new Bible translation.

But, be that as it may - it has been my understanding that the WELS Translation Evaluation Committee (TEC) was given the task of evaluating some modern English translations as WELS was convinced that a different one was [is] needed to be adopted, because the 1984 NIV would no longer be practically accessible for synod wide usage.

Some questions keep cropping up in my mind. Perhaps, someone could help fill me in:

1) Who and / or what process determined to place the new NIV 11 gender neutral translation into the mix of other translations for the TEC'S evaluation review?

2) Also, who, and / or what process determined that the TEC had the proper authority to give a thumbs up to the NIV 11 gender neutral translation?

3) Furthermore, who, and / or what process determined that the TEC had the proper authority to manufacture a (slanted) 4 part WELS (synodical / official) Bible study for the WELS membership, dealing with the translation issue?

Finally, this whole ongoing saga makes me think of the crude analogy [as no analogy is perfect] of entrusting some fox with some possible architectural hen house plans.

The NNIV!
Clap, clap. Throw me a fish.

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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "Good Questions from Nathan Bickel, WELS - About Mu...":

Thank you for the generous compliment - about asking some good questions. I was hoping that some WELS pastors "out there" might be able to help me out. But, then again, I get the feeling that you have a significant number of pastor visitors to your out of the norm website, but few who feel they have the freedom in Christ to speak plainly about certain pertinent issues.

But, be that as it may, - I'm sorry to bother you, Pastor Jackson, - but, I have another question: "Are you talking about that big money head cheese when you make reference to 'Murdoch?'" Is that the same Rupert Murdoch who tapes the lips shut of Bill O'Reilly, Hannity and the rest of the FOX Network crew about our unconstitutional White House Occupier's forgery deceptions and his US non natural born citizenship status?

Furthermore, are you suggesting that this Murdoch, possesses tentacle money grubbing paws to profit from the new NIV 11? Somewhere, I may have read or heard that he is connected to the propaganda push of the newest gender neutral Bible translation - unless, as a relatively new visitor to your website, I gathered, such? Please correct me if I have this wrong, or am just imagining all of this.....

Nathan M. Bickel - pastor emeritus

www.thechristianmessage.org

www.moralmatters.org

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GJ - Murdoch's media empire owns Zondervan, which owns the NIV, which owns the hearts and souls of the Church and Changers, the Jeske Group.

WELS-LCMS Biblical Stance - An Exercise in Irony

The Synodical Conference and its unlamented dying fragments (CLCs, etc)
are dedicated to opposing Luther's doctrine and promoting Zwingli's dogma.
Irony.

Even more ironic - Lutherans are afraid to take a stance on the horrible Biblical distortions being marketed by WELS and Missouri as "translations." An apostate who hated the Word of God offered up his new theory, the bedrock fallacy for most modern versions. Nida is the main thinker for all the modern work, which means those mainline leaders saw an opening and took it. The apostates have made millions of dollars for themselves by undermining the Word of God - in the name of the Word of God. How delicious to be an atheist living off the proceeds of Biblical piety.

WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie are mainline. They are eager participants in this charade. If you think the roof has already collapsed, you are a legalist who must be removed.

Luther on Various Kinds of Pastors and Synodical Leaders - From His Easter 2 (Second Sermon) Baker Series

I. OF TEACHERS.

1. This Gospel offers us instruction on the authority called spiritual or church authority, about which some severe things have been taught and preached, especially in our times, in order that the church authorities might never be despised; and they wish to be equal to Christ in authority, and exalt themselves too highly. Of this we will speak in brief.

2. First of all we should observe that as Christ in this Gospel speaks of one shepherd, so there shall and must be only one shepherd; and as he speaks of one fold, so there shall and must be only one fold. Therefore, whoever advocates many shepherds and many folds does wrong. As Christ is, and calls himself a Shepherd, so should he who holds his office be and be called a shepherd. Just as Christ is a King, so are all his Christians kings; for all Christ is and has is ours, and we possess all too, if we believe in him.

Loehe was dumped in a small village and did all this.
This graphic is dedicated to those faithful pastors who labor
without recognition, work in spite of bad health, teaching sound doctrine
and battling false doctrine. 

3. To be a shepherd, however, is not to exercise great pomp and glory; but it is a service one is wont to render another, as a servant in a household, who does all in his power to please his master, freely, without any restraint, and is in all other respects faithful. Thus Christ did all in harmony with his office and his name. When he was here on earth he carefully tended his sheep and provided them with every thing needful for body and soul, with good and honest teaching and deeds of mercy, as the Evangelists record.

4. Thus also ought those do who boast of filling the office of Christ. To this St. Peter, who faithfully followed Christ the Lord in his office, as the Lord had commanded him in John 21:15, diligently exhorts them, when in his First Epistle,1 John 5:1-4, he says: “The elders, therefore, among you I exhort, who am a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

5. There are three kinds of shepherds: good or true shepherds, hirelings and wolves. Good shepherds are like the good Shepherd Christ, who tends the sheep, goes before them, cares for those that are sick, scabby or have the snuffles; who does not flee when the wolves come, but “who giveth his life for the sheep,” as Christ here in this Gospel describes. It is not enough that we preach correctly, which the hireling can also do; but we must watch over the sheep, that the wolves, false teachers, may not break in, and we must contend for the sheep against the wolves, with the Word of God, even to the sacrifice of our lives. Such are good shepherds, of whom few are found. And they are now the righteous apostles and preachers, who are but the mouth-pieces of Christ, through whom Christ preaches.

6. This the hirelings do not; they care not for the sheep, they receive temporal wages, riches and honor, and feed themselves; yet they are good to a certain extent and Christ also preaches through them; but they are not true to the sheep. This may be seen in our shepherds today who almost entirely subvert their office. In times past the princes gave the bishops and priests great treasures, besides land and people, so that pious bishops did not want to accept the office, they even fled from it; but that is entirely changed at present and there is a running and racing after the best bishoprics. The greatest rush is for the offices, which afford the best livings. They all seek their own, not the things of Christ. Philippians 2:21. This is clearly seen, when trouble comes, when the wolves break in there is no one who remains faithful to the sheep. Then that occurs of which Christ here speaks: “He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, be-holdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them; he fleeth because he is a hireling and careth not for the sheep.” This is a lamentable and a miserable state of things.

They imagine they are the real Lutherans,
but they work with ELCA and promote the Thrivent insurance company.
They persecute Luther's doctrine;
their sects promote Leonard Sweet, Stetzer, Groeschel, and R. Warren.

7. In the third place, there are the wolves, which also give the sheep some attention. Who are these wolves? It is plain that they are the tyrants, both ecclesiastical and secular, that can tolerate neither shepherd nor hireling.

The pope and the bishop, together with their officials, likewise the secular princes who cling to them, are now arising and taking captive, excommunicating, anathematizing, putting in the stocks, and on the block, garroting and murdering everywhere both shepherds and hirelings. These are the bold manifest wolves that may be recognized, that do not go about with cunning and flattery, against whom one may indeed still guard himself.

Bishop Stephan's underlings took over his tyranny,
rejecting the title, rockin' with the power.

8. There are other wolves, however, who come to us in sheep’s clothing.

They are the false prophets, who under the form of pious and religious instruction feed pure poison to the sheep of Christ. Against these Christ warns us, that we may be constantly on our guard, lest with sugar-coated words and flattering religious expressions they mislead us, deceive us, by their cunning, and draw us to themselves, as he says in Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” In the same way Paul warns the elders at Ephesus, when he left them and he said in Acts 20:28-31, “Take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.

Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish everyone with tears.” That I think is an earnest warning.

O, I would to God that we might take it to heart, for it is greatly needed in our day.

9. Hence the wolves are none other than those who would outwardly in deed, and inwardly by false teaching, persecute and suppress the Gospel; as the secular tyrants, the pope and all heretics do.

Everyone...has been declared.
Bad grammar, worse theology - LaughQuest on display.

Why is an Official LCMS Publication Promoting Lectio Divina? - Letter of Marque

"I am Pope Paul the Unlearned,
and I approve Lectio Divina."

Why is an Official LCMS Publication Promoting Lectio Divina? - Letter of Marque:


WHY IS AN OFFICIAL LCMS PUBLICATION PROMOTING LECTIO DIVINA?
If Matthew Harrison is serious about promoting unity in the LCMS around our confessions then he's going to have to do the hard work of Thesis AND Antithesis. That being said, I was extremely disappointed to see Dr. Bruce Hartung, of the St. Louis Seminary, promoting Lectio Divina in the April edition of the Lutheran Reporter.

Lectio Divina is a form of mysticism that is not compatible with Biblical Christianity and a right use and reading of scripture. At its core, it is an enthusiastic practice that comes out of monastic mysticism and the Lutheran Confessions' antitheses against the anabaptists and their errors rule this practice out.

Promotion of this practice by Dr, Hartung and the Lutheran Reporter is divisive and contrary to sound Biblical doctrine, sound hermeneutics and the Lutheran confessions. If there is going to be true unity in the LCMS then practices like this, which cannot be squared with scripture or the confessions are going to have to be publicly repudiated because this is NOT adiaphora.


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http://www.soundwitness.org/evangel/Downloads/lectio_divina.pdf

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Pastor Ware makes some good points, but very unnecessarily throws the baby out with the bathwater. On the other hand, it is unfortunate Dr. Hartung pointed readers to poor resources on Lectio Divina.

Here's far better resources:

http://www.cph.org/p-486-grace-upon-grace-spirituality-for-today.aspx?SearchTerm=grace+upon+grace

http://www.cph.org/p-17407-light-of-life-cd.aspx?SearchTerm=Light+of+Life

POSTED BY: REV. PAUL T. MCCAIN | 04/13/2012 AT 11:40 AM

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Pastor McCain,

I appreciate you taking time to comment here and I think it would be helpful for you to be more specific.

In which way(s) did Pastor Ware throw the baby out with the bath water? Please be specific.

I also have a question, do you think that Dr. Hartung's error was a matter of poor bibliographic citing or is there a deeper theological problem here? The reason I ask is because I'm familiar with the writings of Christine Valters Painter and cannot think of a single reason why I'd recommend any of her books because she is a Roman Catholic contemplative mystic. Her books are in the "defense against the dark arts" section of my theological library. Her bio reads:

Christine Valters Paintner is the online Abbess at http://www.AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery without walls offering a variety of classes in contemplative practice and creative expression and the author of six books on spirituality, contemplative practice, and creative expression.

She is a Benedictine Oblate, writer, artist, spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and teacher. Her fields of expertise include Christian spiritual practices, monastic spirituality, and the expressive arts. Christine earned her PhD in Christian Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and her professional status as Registered Expressive Arts Consultant and Educator (REACE) from the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (http://IEATA.org ).

I'm not trying to be hyperbolic here, but the question that comes to my mind is what communion does light have with darkness? Contemplative mysticism is not compatible with Sola Scriptura and their ideas regarding the work of the Spirit are clearly rejected in our confessions.

What troubles me the most is that the person who Dr. Hartung is responding to said,"Most important for me is that this is not so much reading the Scriptures to gain more factual knowledge about what is in them, but rather the use of the Scriptures in a way that forms and changes me." Dr. Hartung, rather than point out the dangers of this approach to scripture and the obvious error in viewing the 'factual knowledge" of scripture as being separate and distinct and different from the work of the spirit in changing them, drove them further into that mindset by recommending Painter's book which is replete with this type of erroneous thinking.

I expect better theological discernment from our seminary professors than this. That Dr. Hartung could recommend Painter's book and by extension her Roman Catholic Contemplative Mystical practices is more than troubling. It makes me think that there is a much deeper theological problem here that needs to be addressed.

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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Why is an Official LCMS Publication Promoting Lect...":

The deeper problem is UOJ Antinomianism. UOJ says false teachers like Painter have already been declared righteous in Christ, so what does it matter? She has already been forgiven in Christ even if she is not in Christ. No need to be a rocket theologian to figure that out. 

Top Democratic staffer steps down amid claims of sexual harassment - State - NewsObserver.com. Missouri, WELS - Even the Democrats Show Some Discipline

Top Democratic staffer steps down amid claims of sexual harassment - State - NewsObserver.com:


RALEIGH -- The executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party resigned Sunday as questions mounted about a secret agreement to pay a former staffer to keep quiet about sexual harassment allegations.

Jay Parmley, who served less than a year at the helm of the party, denied harassing any employee and blamed right-wing political enemies for “spreading a false and misleading story.”

“Even though I have not done anything wrong, it is clear to me that I need to move on,” Parmley wrote in his resignation letter. “I refuse to be a distraction.”


But his quick departure – just two days after the matter surfaced – did little to answer questions about the settlement or quiet critics of party Chairman David Parker. A number of party activists, openly and privately, are calling for him to resign, too.

In a statement, Parker said he accepted Parmley’s resignation and defended his decision not to fire him, saying “there have not been grounds for termination for cause.”

“In this political world of rushing to judgment and the presumption of guilt, however, my legal and personal opinion has been outweighed by this having become a political distraction and issue,” said Parker, a Statesville attorney.

Watt Jones, a member of the state party’s executive committee, said Parmley made the right decision for the party. “Clearly I think there are others who should resign, too,” Jones said.

Democratic consultant Perry Woods of Raleigh agreed. “I think Jay did the right thing,” he said. “David Parker should join him.”

Rumors of a harassment issue have circulated for months, but the matter was pushed into the public spotlight by internal party emails obtained on Friday by The News & Observer. The emails included questions about a financial settlement and nondisclosure agreement with the former staffer. The documents did not identify the party official responsible nor the former staffer.

Parker’s statement did not mention any settlement or agreement with the former staffer who was fired in November. Parker declined to comment further, citing advice of legal counsel, but he defended Parmley’s tenure as a party leader in South Carolina and Oklahoma earlier in his career. “There have never been any complaints or allegations concerning Jay Parmley before or since the matter,” Parker concluded.

North Carolina is a battleground state in the presidential race and host of the Democratic convention, and activists suggested that continued negative publicity involving party leaders could taint the state party’s efforts in the 2012 election.

State Rep. Bill Faison, a candidate for governor who challenged Parker for the party chairmanship in 2011, said in a statement Sunday that Parker should resign “on behalf of the 2.7 million Democrats in North Carolina so that we can get on with the primary election without further distraction.”

The party’s turmoil made for tense conversations Saturday as local Democrats hosted dozens of county conventions across the state. At the Wake County event, Democratic activists introduced a resolution demanding Parker and Parmley resign or be fired. A similar resolution at the Durham County party convention called for a meeting to determine whether the party leaders should be removed.

The Wake resolution introduced by Woods said the party “must deal with sexual harassment claims in an open and transparent fashion.”

Muriel Offerman, treasurer of the state Democratic Party and a Parker ally, spoke against the resolution. “This is a personnel matter within the party,” she said in an interview afterward. “Personnel matters are not to be discussed in public.”

Other Democrats echoed Offerman’s remarks, and Woods pulled the resolution before a vote took place.

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, who is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, suggested party officials should resign or be fired if the allegations are true. “We cannot tolerate sexual harassment in the workplace,” Dalton said Saturday at the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party convention. “If there’s any truth to the allegations, somebody should resign or be fired immediately.”

Another leading Democrat seeking his party’s gubernatorial nomination, former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, issued a statement Sunday that said: “Mr. Parmley has done the right thing by resigning his position with party. I know that Chairman Parker will also do what is right. WELS has offered both men positions as Mission Counselors for the Anything Goes District."

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/15/2003701/nc-democratic-party-executive.html#storylink=cpy


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