Ecclesia Augustana: WELS to Porth: Tear Down Your Name!

This bus don't carry no Lutherans, this bus.
Gausewitz is road-kill in WELS, even though he was the SynCon president.

Ecclesia Augustana: WELS to Porth: Tear Down Your Name!:

Thursday, February 7, 2013

WELS to Porth: Tear Down Your Name!

If you haven't noticed, there is one less author on the right side of this page. That author is David Porth. It all began a couple of months ago when it was announced that there was going to be a Christmas Vespers at St. John's Evangelical-Lutheran Church -- an independent parish in downtown Milwaukee. David had performed a couple of organ concerts at the church and had agreed to help direct the choir for the regional Christmas Vespers.

This magnificent church and pipe organ have been put on display
by young Lutheran men. This is the mother church of the Wisconsin Synod,
but a vindictive Church Growth DP got rid of the pastor and congregation.

Those in charge at Martin Luther College, the WELS ministerial school where David attends, got wind of the event.  Apparently there was pressure from the Seminary to do something about this. David was then asked to meet with MLC President Zarling and Vice President Schone. At the meeting they told him that he should not participate in the Vespers at St. John's. This was to be expected and is in accordance with the WELS' fellowship doctrines. The problem comes, in my opinion, when they, in addition, said that he could not perform organ concerts at St. John's either, in spite of the fact that he has participated in concerts at other non-WELS parishes along with MLC's own music Professors, who do so as well in their local AGO chapters. In the same meeting, they brought up this blog, Ecclesia Augustana. They suggested that he take his name down and listed the reasons: my name (Christian Schulz) is on here, which is problematic since my home congregation voted to leave the WELS. They also mentioned how Daniel's post on fellowship was a little "out there" and that it should be read with caution.

So David agreed to refrain from participating in the Vespers at St. John's. He did not, however, take his name down from this blog, because participating in a collaborative blog is not a declaration of church fellowship and thus not a violation of the WELS' fellowship doctrine. But as I'm announcing today, there seems to be an ex cathedra "blog fellowship" according to the WELS. VP Schone asked David for another meeting this week. They met and he told David that his name must come down because it will affect his future (in the WELS). He was told that the "DPs" (District Presidents) would be leery about seeing his name on a call list.  Schone cited the fact that Pr. Rydecki's name has shown up in some posts at this blog and that David should be aware that "he was removed from the WELS."

I ask the reader: since when is there any such thing as "blog fellowship?" How is this blog any different than a free conference (although more informal)? It's a group of people sharing their personal musings on Lutheran doctrine. It's understood that we may not all agree; it is, after all, our thoughts posted under our own names. How is this any different from Intrepid Lutherans (or Brothers of John the Steadfast)? Why haven't they asked the three MLC students listed on Intrepid Lutherans to take their names down (four if we include David)? Not to mention the WELS pastors and other laymen that have their names on there. (They have actually begun with the pastors as described here)

What's more, why should David take any threats about his future in the WELS seriously? We all know Pr. Jeske from Time of Grace gets to do whatever he wants without discipline. He participates in seminars with heretics on how to "do" Ministry. Even after the Conference of Presidents (CoP) told him not to participate, he did it anyway. And guess what happened? Absolutely nothing. The CoP supports him. They won't actually discipline him. But the WELS powers that be will find the time to pick on a college student who hasn't written a single controversial article here (very few articles at all, really).

I submit, as my personal opinion, that they're feeling the heat. The evidence is mounting more and more every day against their man-made doctrine that the whole world of sinners has been justified (imputation of Christ's righteousness) without the means of grace, therefore without faith. They're feeling the heat now that people are catching on to how the means of grace are downcast in the worship formats they encourage to grow the Church -- formats imported from heretical sects. They want to clamp down on him before he gets a mind of his own. Before he reads the Confessions and the Christian Church Fathers. Before he might agree with the whole catholic Church on justification and the theology of worship.

Alas, David has complied with their requests for fear of losing all the precious time and money he has applied to his degree at MLC.  As such, Ecclesia Augustana and I must honor his request and remove his name from our list of authors. We bid him adieu and thank him for participating in this free enterprise while he could.

MLC featured Randy Hunter, godfather of the Latte Congregation that closed , in spite of WELS promotion, Stroh's help, and multiple staff.

'via Blog this'

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GJ - I changed the title because I asked myself, "What would Reagan say?"

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Adolph Hoenecke has left a new comment on your post "Ecclesia Augustana: WELS to Porth: Tear Down Your ...":

Hmmmm, maybe this poor MLC student can get himself adopted by Mark Jeske. Then he can be on TV and do and say anything he wants. [GJ - Except - nothing Lutheran - Jeske rules]