Under-cover work does not fool anyone. |
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Pastor Paul Rydecki - A. Hunnius on the truly conf...":
Great post and another great question,
"How long will the truly confessional Lutheran pastors in the WELS remain in voluntary fellowship with the synod that officially condemns the Gospel of justification by faith alone in Christ as heresy?"
Another question - How long can they stay in fellowship, and honestly remain Confessional, with a Synod which officially teaches in harmony with the Antichrist by damning to Hell all those who believe men are forgiven solely by faith in Christ alone.
Matthew 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
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GJ - The recent American Lutheran approach has been to ask which is the best group to join. Each sect (while in union with all the others) argues, "We are the best and the others are nothing but Dreck." It is funny to hear ELS and WELS pastors play that with each other. And WELS pastors play that within their own ranks, too, since the Jeske Church and Change faction mocks and degrades all others.
The LCMS pastors have more religious orders than the Roman Catholics - David-Scaerians, Marquart-Memorialists, Walther-da-Infallibilists, Ft-Waynians versus Louisans, and Certify-Ottenites.
Luther never asked that question. The only thing he did was teach the Word of God. He believed everything would follow from the power of the Word. He did not leave. He was excommunicated and hunted as a heretic to be burned at the stake. Even then the Word was efficacious.
Lutherans today admit, "If I went that far, I would be kicked out and lose my benefits and be trashed by all my friends and relatives."
That is true. WELS will not tolerate anyone who questions clergy adultery, child molestation, murder, sexual harassment, or false doctrine. But the better question is, "Who is stronger - God or Holy Mother Synod?"
I have seen many guys make deals with the synod, to be quiet, to feign ignorance. Holy Mother Synod dumped them anyway, when they were no longer useful.
As a WELS pastor recently wrote, and I experienced, "WELS District Presidents are extremely nasty. They never forgive and never forget. And they keep punishing the same person forever." The DPs' imaginary honor is offended just by being questioned. The DPs invite questions and letters and meeting so they can get rid of anyone who dissents from their infallibility. And this method goes all the way up to the Synod President.
Many have told me about taking their concerns to Mark Schroeder, only to be told, "Write a letter." And yet, Mark Schroeder does not even acknowledge letters.
WELS reminds me of a furniture company - do it yourself. If the box is short on parts, the phone message tells people to hang on for customer service. There is none. Or use the website. The website asks for the part numbers missing, but what if the parts are missing - along with the instruction manual where the numbers are listed? Phone customer service, where the call is never answered.
WELS has been playing this game for decades and collecting millions for
- High salaries,
- Deluxe vacations in tropical resorts, and
- Lawyers' fees to fend off legitimate lawsuits.
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Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "How Long Will People Stay with Sects That Deny the...":
Ichabod -
You stated about Lutheran pastors:
<<<<<< .......Lutherans today admit, "If I went that far, I would be kicked out and lose my benefits and be trashed by all my friends and relatives."....... >>>>>>
This is the reason for the various Lutheran synod's tentacles reaching into Lutheran congregations and having in place pension systems for its pastors.
The long and short of it is:
Some Lutheran pastors will ride their time out with their perspective synods; and then retire. It's the "pension glue" which keeps them with these synods, of which promulgate the false gospel of universal objective justification.
Nathan M. Bickel
www.thechristianmessage.org
www.moralmatters.org
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GJ - Congregations worry about their property and "Where will we get another pastor if we leave Holy Mother Synod?" Once again, they fail to see how God can provide.