SP Mark Schroeder complained to classmate (WELS bloodbrother) Steve Spencer that they were being out-organized.
When I was asked about my opinion, I suggested that they have a blog to air doctrinal concerns. If people were writing to me and I knew them, I suggested they participate. After all, Church and Change already owned synod headquarters, down to the website managed by Willow Creek fanatic.
That was the end of my involvement.
The group decided to create a blog and called themselves Intrepid Lutherans. If you care to keep the content there, use software to back the entire blogsite. It is not too difficult to do. I suspect the blog and the group will be gone in a few months.
WELS is now actively breaking up the group. Pastors are telling laity not to participate, to remove their names from the list. This is coming down from Mark Schroeder to the District Presidents to the pastors. The DPs are contacting the pastoral signers to get them to back-pedal at flank speed.
Part of the sales pitch is to say, menacingly, that "one of the pastors on Intrepid Lutherans was removed for false doctrine."
Many would call that innocence by association, a true merit badge for a sect that covers up for murder, adultery, child abuse, homosexuality, and embezzlement.
"How's about false doctrine in WELS? Do they cover that up in WELS?"
More than that - they reward false doctrine with promotions, honors, and speaking engagements. After Randy Hunter closed his Latte Lounge Church, Martin Luther (sic) College invited him to speak for Evangelism Day. That is like getting Iver Johnson for a marriage retreat, Gurgle for money management or English composition, James Tiefel for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving annual dinner.
The only god the Roman Empire would not tolerate was the One True God, Jesus Christ, as Luther observed. The one doctrine WELS will not allow to be taught is justification by faith.
Mark Schroeder is not really the boss of WELS. Mark and Avoid Jeske is. Schroeder is just the office manager and public relations man - and not too good at it. Jeske is also the boss and paymaster of the Missouri Synod. If you think Paul McCain is overpaid, think of the LCMS getting $50 million to $60 million a year to sell Thrivent Insurance to its members.
And they all do - from Herman Otten all the way up.
