Universal Objective Justification teaches against faith and lives in fear. Why trust God's Word when men have all the cash? |
The self-named Intrepid Lutherans are tucked back into bed again. Mark Schroeder has rocked them back to sleep. They will not bother anyone again with their posts. They give every indication of closing down for good. Later, they will erase their files.
Protests in WELS have had a mild rather than a wild history. Issues in WELS (DP Free, Dave Peters) shrank in horror when pastors found out that SP Gurgle was actually attending a meeting. Most clergy were too scared to show up. Once DP Free was gone, so was IIW and its website.
Previous to IIW, the Orthodox Lutheran Forum (Steve Spencer) folded up when clergy got nasty over sensitive topics like doctrine and practice. The only acceptable theme in any WELS effort is "The Glory of WELS and the Sanctity of Its Leaders."
Several scandals should have been enough to send Mark Schroeder and Jon-Boy Buchholz packing. Instead, they have enjoyed a second chance as members of Team Jeske.
How many sects have had the FBI show up at headquarters to seize equipment and thumb-drives full of man-boy rape videos? Only WELS. And it was not some minor employee in the building but the head of public relations. After repenting several times while pleading non-guilty, Hochmuth went back to the slammer for backsliding and breaking all his promises. Why not? He is WELS. Find one WELS official whose word is his bond.
Likewise, Buchholz was elected (with Spencer's help) to purge his fetid district of Church Growth inanities like Jeff Gunn. Although Buchholz signed the "secret" WELS petition against Mark Jeske, Jon-Boy spoke in favor of Jeske at the convention. He looked and sounded like OJ Simpson pledging to find the real killer of Nicole.
Buchie not only switched on Jeske but soon found a strange affection for the same Jeff Gunn Warren-cloning parish he was keeping off the official rolls of the infallible Wisconsin Synod. Suddenly, they were welcomed into the district, synod, and Kingdom of God by the same man who kept talking and even working against them. Immediately, anyone who criticized Gunn was evil.
At one point Buchie had the funding for Gunn's parish down so low that Jeff went looking for a new job at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Instead they hired that retro-Luther figure Paul Kelm, whose cell groups would explode into Milwaukee and convert the city like lightning - so they claimed. But Gunn was given the consolation prize - a board membership at WLC, bringing the number of people from his parish on the board to three (3). When I published that fact, it was denied (of course) and the board no longer listed parish membership.
I could list dozens of people who are scared to death that I will thank them by name for all their help. They think Jeske and Gunn are the problem when in fact - they are.
Nothing helps the opposition more than criticism followed by reversals and support. Team Jeske loves watching the so-called Intrepids moonwalk away from their blog. That is a clever move - the moonwalk, The person seems to walking forward but instead moves backward.