Thrivent Has Money for Racing, So Why Ask the ELCA Lapsitters for Pro-Life Funds?

My racing career ended early.

Thrivent Financial jumps into Nascar sponsorship, strikes five-race sponsorship deal with Leavine Family Racing

http://www.startribune.com/business/269311541.html?page=all&prepage=2&c=y#continue

As it looks to turbocharge its outreach to the broader Christian community, Thrivent Financial is dabbling for the first time in national sponsorships, starting with a NASCAR race team and some Christian music festivals.

The Minneapolis-based Fortune 500 company announced Wednesday that it will sponsor Leavine Family Racing and its driver Michael McDowell for five races on the circuit this year, including the much-anticipated Bristol Motor Speedway event next month.

The move comes as the financial services company looks to expand its awareness within the larger Christian community since it opened its membership ranks last year to all Christians — not just Lutherans.

“We are definitely on a growth trajectory,” said Craig Stacey, Thrivent’s director of content marketing. “The common bond vote in opening up our membership to the broader Christian community was the first step. Now we’re doing things to tell our story more broadly.”

NASCAR seemed like a good fit because about 76 percent of its fans — or 57 million people — identify as Christians, he said. And half of them have a financial investment and half of them have incomes of more than $50,000, he added, citing figures from NASCAR.

It helped, too, that McDowell, the 29-year-old driver, often speaks about his Christian faith, sometimes tweeting verses from the Bible to his more than 60,000 Twitter followers.

Thrivent’s new heart logo, which was unveiled earlier this year and is prominently emblazoned on its downtown Minneapolis headquarters, will be plastered on McDowell’s car at the Bristol race in eastern Tennessee. In addition, McDowell and the pit crew will be decked out in Thrivent-logo’d gear. The company is also an associate sponsor for four races where its logo will not get as much prime real estate on the car.

As part of the agreement, Thrivent will also get some mentions on K-Love, a Christian radio network, which also sponsors Leavine Family Racing. The racing team, which fields the No. 95 Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series, has its race shop in Concord, N.C.

Jeremy Lange, a vice president for Leavine Family Racing, said he reached out to Thrivent as the team was looking for sponsors. He didn’t know at the time that Thrivent was also interested in broadcasting its message.

“It was a perfect storm,” he said. “We were reaching out to companies that we feel fit our mold. We felt we could provide them a lot of exposure.”

Thrivent’s NASCAR spon­sorship drew a mixed response on its Facebook page. Some thought it was a great idea, but others wondered whether Thrivent’s money could be better spent in other ways.

“This is distressing,” wrote Mary Shaima. “We were told earlier this summer that Thrivent does not have as much money to distribute to congregations for mission — specifically, “God’s Work Our Hands” — because more congregations are asking for support.”

But Stacey said no other programs were cut to pay for this sponsorship. He added that Thrivent’s employees were “overwhelmingly positive” when the news was announced to them earlier this week.

Thrivent did not disclose how much it was spending on the NASCAR partnership.

A tax-exempt fraternal benefits society, Thrivent sells insurance, annuities and other financial services to its nearly 2.4 million members. The firm wrestled for years about whether to open its membership to those beyond just the Lutheran faith as the number of practicing Lutherans has shrunk amid declining loyalty to church denominations. But a majority of members who voted last year finally agreed to open up its ranks.

So earlier this year, the company introduced a new logo that dropped the “for Lutherans” reference from its name.

Stacey said that since the firm began welcoming all Christians last year, about half of its new members have come from the broader Christian community.

---

Thrivent has been funding Jeske's projects with ELCA for years,
so what is the beef?
Write a letter.
Hahahahaha.

Board of Directors

Under the Articles of Incorporation(Link opens in new window) (PDF, 545K), the board of directors is Thrivent Financial's supreme governing body.

The board directs the management of the fraternal benefit society's affairs and has oversight responsibility in all matters involving Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Board Members

Brad Hewitt President and Chief Executive Officer
N. Cornell Boggs Board Member	Frank H. Moeller Chair of the Board
Kenneth A. Carow Board Member	Bonnie E. Raquet Board Member
Kirk Farney Board Member	Alice M. Richter Board Member
Mark A. Jeske Board Member	James H. Scott Board Member
Frederick G. Kraegel Board Member	Allan R. Spies Board Member
F. Mark Kuhlmann Board Member	Adrian M. Tocklin Board Member

Contact our Board of Directors

Busta Rhyme Has the Answer for All Synods - Just One Answer. Please Pay Your $10,000 Fee

Long, Slow Rain in the Gardens

Borage produces plenty of seed, food for the bees,
medicine for the discerning.

My weed in the rose garden has bloomed, and it is the borage that I planted earlier. I will make sure our helper looks over this weed, so he is not tempted to remove it in the future. The plant started out ugly, and insects chewed on it, but it failed normal weed identification tests - not grassy (witch, duck, saw), not broad-leafed (dandelion), not coarse and dedicated to seeding (plantain, crab), not a ground cover (jill-over-ground and various low growing weeds).

"By their fruits ye shall know them." Various blogs have been dedicated to posting frowns about the fruit of false doctrine without addressing the false teachers themselves. No, this timidity is not due to the delicate feelings of the bloggers, who take unwarranted swipes at me. They fear retribution  from those false teachers, the ones who cause their anguish. Their fears make me think they never heard of -  "What man meant for evil, God intended for the good."

Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Luther wrote too, that the Holy Spirit is so powerful that He can use the greatest evil for the greatest good, as He did at Calvary.

I continue to marvel at the people who lock themselves in the synodical jail by accepting the abuse handed out to them. They sit in their CRM status and whine about CRM status, which means they will never get a call from the popes who administer the CRM status. They could associate with one another, form new worshiping opportunities (no established synod) and experience life outside the synodical prison system. 

They also grieve over the fruits without addressing the noxious weeds. "But Pastor Weed and I were in the same seminary class. VP Crabgrass was two years ahead of me, and my wife is related to his wife, Poison Ivy."

I will invoke the horticultural subjunctive - "Lettuce begin anew. The Word is far more powerful than the decaying institutions of man."

The Rain
The long, slow rainfall gave us about 1/2 inch, which has greened up the grass, the crabgrass, and the gardens. As you remember from previous post, rain brings fixed (usable) nitrogen to plants and lightning adds to that.

I took out the Epsom Salt bag and sprinkled the inexpensive soil amendment on all the gardens and on the crepe myrtle bush.

Large crabgrass can produce 150,000 seeds per plant in one season.
The family is called digitaria, for the finger-like joints.

I keep crabgrass cut low and spray whatever begins in the cracks of the sidewalk and driveway. My neighbor on the corner let his crabgrass get away from him  in his raised rosebeds, so now he has ugly, green plants - instead of mulch - around the roses. All my neighbors are good about mowing, but many leave crabgrass growing and seeding in their sidewalks and in the cracks in our paved roads.

That should not surprise the theologues, who have left the weeds undisturbed in their gardens while eyeballing ones 200 miles away, screaming invectives at the non-threats. Besides, from that distance they often identify weeds as flowers and flowers as weeds. 

The virtue of weeds is their ability to fend for themselves in good and bad weather, spreading quickly to provide for the next generation. False teachers do that too, so they grow if they are not stopped early and often.

The best remedy for lawn weeds is regular cutting and letting the grass push out the weeds, allowing weeds  no room to grow, fighting the fecundity of weeds with the fecundity of grass. The roots  of lawngrass are closely entwined and eager to send out new shoots via stolons. I mulch the grass as it is cut, so the grass fertilizes itself and the red wigglers do the digging, tunneling, digesting, chewing, and casting (manuring). 

Yesterday, most of my gardening work consisted of watching the rain and planning more jobs. My  Fiskar manual pruning saw came, so we will add new prunes to the pile of branches that fell during our windstorm (70 mph). The backyard has changed from dungeon doom to large areas of sunlight, due to the removal of overhanging, dead, wind-tossed, and crossing branches.

"I am, you are.
We are Australians."
Hugh Jackman, Australian, added to his fan base 
when he spoke at Walmart and sang Gloria in Excelsis Deo.

Sassy's Trip
We had a number of brief medical stops, so Sassy went along. She was alarmed by one drugstore, which was a new stop for her. She does not like to see her Mom leave the car, so she was restless the whole time. However, at the Neighborhood Walmart, she was calm, since we stop there so often and I run into the store. 

This time I stayed in the car with Sassy to teach her Waltzing Matilda. The key verse has the itinerant (swagman) killing a sheep and putting it in his tuckerbag ( knapsack) for food. The owner (squatter) arrives on his fancy horse (thoroughbred - showoff) and has three policemen arrest the swagman.

"OK Sassy. Up rode the squatter, riding on his thoroughbred.
Down came the troopers, one, two three, Bark three times  - bark, bark, bark."

We practiced a little and she came in on the three barks. That verse is ironic because why put three officers on one itinerant for grabbing a sheep?

Where's that jolly jumbach you've got in your tuckerbag?

You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.

The jumbach is a sheep, and the Matilda is an all-purpose blanket.

Dr. Lito Cruz and his wife Lyne - Australians.
http://extranos.blogspot.com/

I told Mrs. I, "Sassy has to learn her culture, since she is half Australian." 

The Seekers are the ultimate Australian group, the first to become famous and easily the best pop group ever.

Presenting the Stealth Awards to Ichabod, the Glory Has Departed

"I did not read Ichabod, Holy Mother.
My paws are clean."

I keep noticing the same thing on various blogs. People discover something days after I have published it. But there is no link to this blog, no indication that anyone has learned anything from 12,000+ posts, all the Luther sermons and Lutheran resources.

I have to concede that the Intrepid Lutherans blog posted and linked from time to time.

Meanwhile, the other blogs keep giving each other awards, kudus, amens, and glowing references.

Did anyone mention I published reams of research about Tim Glende's and Paul McCain's blatant plagiarism? I gave the examples, verbatim quotations from each websty, and the URLs. The LCMS and WELS support plagiarism, so there is reason not to thank me.

If I post a comment on another blog, with my name on it. everyone ignores it, unless someone takes the time for  gratuitous and unwarranted accusations.

But some are saying, "You publish the leaks we send so stealthily," and they are right. Several have said, "I could let 20 people know or thousands know, so I choose to let it be posted on Ichabod."

That is another part of the Stealth Awards. I would like to thank them by name, but I know they want to remain unknown and unknowable. No hints. No nicknames.

Have you ever noticed how many regulars from the past no longer send a comment, which they can easily do by email? They have gone silent.

This is my Byzantine way of saying that the silence is the greatest acknowledgement of all. For a long time I have followed a forgotten expert who said:
1. If everyone agrees with you, there was no reason to write it in the first place.
2. If it makes people angry, you are getting close to the truth.
3. If the reaction is utter silence, you have really struck the nerve.

So - thanks. I appreciate it. I get friendly phone calls and emails, and best of all - ranting, raving, bitter emails packed with accusations and ending with - "You are so negative. I am praying for you."

Stealth Award Nominations

• Ichabod - Most defenestrations.
• Ichabod - Most invocations of the Eighth Commandment.
• Ichabod - Most examples of gratuitous shunning by friends.
• Ichabod - Most prayers offered to repent from writing about sound doctrine.

Have Your Brain Washed by Elton Stroh, Full of Straw and Strawmen. Lead Pastor in Latte Church Failure. Bad Metrics or Bad Coffee?

http://www.christlead.com/stroh.php

Elton's Money Machine

Elton Looking for Work

Lookee Who Shows Up To Lead a Kelm Conference

This Is Obviously Made Up - But Still Shockingly Funny

Elton Stroh at Word - Or, Picking Up a Paycheck for Metrics

Pastor Elton Stroh Return to Speakers

Presentation Description Sessions 2A and 3B Building a Strategic Ministry Plan For ministry planning to be most productive it must be comprehensive (so it is well-informed and grounded in reality), engaging (so it has widespread ownership and participation),compelling (so it generates energy and enthusiasm), and cyclical (so both short- and long-term ministry goals are apt within an ever-changing context).  Strategic planners will want to: Lay a firm foundation for planning Accurately analyze ministry context Form and cast a captivating vision Gain measurable traction with implementation    Do Metrics Belong in the Church? This question is likely to raise some eyebrows and create some tensions.  Some ministry leaders could not imagine functioning within a church without discernible metrics.  Metrics and related words (e.g. measurables, scorecards, and outcomes) are mentioned routinely in their weekly staff or monthly elected leaders’ meetings.  Other ministry leaders balk at the use of such terms in the church. What is at the root of these tensions? Why does having meaningful metrics matter? Which metrics belong in your congregation?

Joe Krohn Wonders Why Kudu Don Patterson Does Have a Gig At the Jeske Gag Fest

Many of us think having live bunnies to pet
on Easter Sunday is a cutting edge idea
for evangelism.
That is what Easter Sunday is all about - cutting edge stuff.

Anonymous said...

I guess we need to define what "fellowship" is and "worship". Evidently they don't mean we think it means. (You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means...)

Bill Clinton had his own definition for "sex" and "smoking". Is there a similarity here?

--Joe K.

July 30, 2014 at 9:00 AM

 Joe Krohn said...

BTW...I am saddened to see that Don Patterson wasn't on the bill. This leadership stuff is right up his alley...

Luther is rolling over in his grave; 'Lutherans' who have lost touch with the left and right hand kingdoms.

Comfrey - Or Knitbone: Big Relative of Borage

Comfrey flowers quickly turn to seed - and even more comfrey.

I did not have to look for comfrey in Michigan. The herb grows everywhere, so people consider it a weed. Organic gardeners like its green growth and deep roots, which mine minerals from the lower layers of soil.

Most plants are happy with feeding in the top 12 inches of soil. The plants with deep roots bring up those minerals that are out of reach of most plants. Tree leaves are a source of minerals, and so are the big green weeds often cursed, doused with Roundup, and cut down down with electric flails - weed-eaters indeed.

The big velvety Comfrey leaves are attractive, good for composting and mulching.
I suggest caution in using herbs for medicine,
since  opinions flourish on the Net.

Comfrey is on my list for the backyard next year. Near the alley, it will be a good screening plant and source for compost and mulch. Pumpkins will grow back there, too. I may grow very large butterfly bushes for a screen with sunflowers helping out while the bushes grow.

If it looks like the foot of a goose, it is goosefoot and good to eat.
I am a weed eater, when I know the weed is a good, healthy plant, related to spinach.

Learning the difference between good weeds and bad ones will help gardening projects. Goosefoot is big and green, with deep roots. Pigweed is similar, but not so nice. If compost and mulch producing plants are growing on their own and sheltering birds, why mow them down and bag them up for garbage?

This could become the official herb of the Church Growth Movement,
started by Karl Barth and Charlotte Kirschbaum,
imported by Fuller Seminary.

Daily Bird Care
Later I want the back part of the yard full of plants that will feed and shelter birds.

For now, I make sure there are many stations for drinking and bathing. A dozen total in the front and back yards always have fresh water from watering, and I dump out dirty water that could shelter mosquitoes.

If there is human food to share, I toss some out among the flowers, to encourage them to stop by regularly. The resident population will be based on food, shelter, and water, so an abundance and variety will encourage more birds and more species. Sassy spits out crust - she will only eat  medallions of cinnamon toast, and she leaves some snacks when they do not suit here. Crackers and stale bread might go out in the garden, but I like to toss a few peanuts instead.

Cardinals love to bathe but they are shy, so I will see one at the far end of the yard at this time, but eating at the feeder during the winter.

One Instance of NYT Plagiarism Is Worth an Article, But WELS-ELS-LCMS Plagiarism Is Supported

N.Y. Times investigating plagiarism charge

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/07/ny-times-investigating-plagiarism-charge-193057.html

The New York Times is reviewing an accusation of plagiarism against veteran reporter Carol Vogel, who was charged with lifting a paragraph from a Wikipedia article for a story about Italian Renaissance painter Piero di Cosimo.

The paragraph, discovered by FishbowlNY on Monday, appears in a July 24 article and is almost identical to a passage from the Wikipedia entry on di Cosimo, with minor word swaps and grammatical changes. Gawker's J.K. Trotter flagged the Fishbowl report on Tuesday.

“We’re aware of the situation and are looking into it," Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy said in a statement.

The charge against Vogel comes just days after BuzzFeed Editor Benny Johnson was fired for serial plagiarism. In many instances, Johnson lifted passages directly from Wikipedia. He also copied from news sites, including the Times.

***

WELS Church and Changers cannot write,
so they copy and paste their material,
much of it from the Fuller-Willowcreek-Groeschel-Stanley crowd.

GJ - The blessing of plagiarism among LCMS-WELS-ELS clergy should make everyone stop before launching a defense of Holy Mother Synod.

Deputy Doug Engelbrecht--guardian of doctrine at the Anything Goes District of WELS--endorsed and excused plagiarism in a formal essay where he wiggled around more than an Episcopalian bishop.

The WELS district responded to a lawyer's charge of plagiarism against Glende and Ski - by excommunicating the lawyer. WELS' blessing upon this dishonest and illegal behavior is signaled by Glende being a featured speaker at the WELS Teachers Conference. Nota banally - Plagiarism is one of the biggest issues in academics today.

Paul Kelm, David Valleskey, and Waldo Werning led the way by copying what they loved at Fuller Seminary and marketing it as their creativity. WELS-LCMS-ELS rewarded their dishonesty with star status, protection, and baskets of cash.

Jack Cascione and Herman Otten are so dumb that they regarded Paul McCain's verbatim plagiarism from Roman Catholic sources as signs of scholarship. McCain's boss at Concordia Publishing House saw nothing wrong with McCain's plagiarism,denying it reflected on the integrity of their very rich publishing house. Ironic twist - McCain pursues any example of using CPH copyright material. He even blocked an independent book where the accidental use of one (1) CPH graphic had already been removed.

I am still waiting for the email that says,
"You were right."

No public action was taken regarding McCain's repeated plagiarism from The Catholic Encyclopedia and his friends' blog. McCain boss unfriended me on Facebook and told me to stop being so unChristian. Finally McCain erased his entire blog without a word of apology - only lame excuses and more bragging than Toad of Toad Hall.

Cascione, who brandishes his anti-Catholicism, never admitted that he aided and abetted McCain by posting the links to the plagiarism on his dreadful SpenerQuest blog. 

I have noticed this about WELS-ELS-LCMS. They pose as eagles glaring at the evil of the world, thousands of miles away, but cannot identify the vermin in their own nests.

Remember the plagiarism flowing from the Great Cloaca of LCMS-ELS-WELS the next times someone is kicked out the ministry and robbed of his income, simply because he dared to question the holiness and infallibility of Holy Mother Synod.

Build a Customer-Centric Church Business To Make More Money. Even Better - Listen to Pagan Gods Teaching You How To Be Rich!

http://www.christlead.com/speakers.php

From Polluted WELS:

 Der Schwarz Schaf said...

This is nothing less than a complete betrayal of everything that is truly and properly Lutheran. That it is put on by various semi-official entities of the WELS, and features at least 2 District Presidents, shows that it has the blessing of the entire administration. Thus, the rot in the synod goes all the way to the top, even if it didn't start there. This is absolutely disgusting. A petition should be started to condemn this. WELS Pastors - where is your confessional loyalty?!

July 30, 2014 at 5:26 AM

 Gregory Jackson said...

Buchholz signed the secret Internet petition against Mark Jeske, then endorsed Mark Jeske soon after - at the WELS convention. Hysterically funny and so typical of WELS and Buchie. He did the same with Jeff Gunn, who went from leper to lapdog under the watchful gaze of DP Buchholz.

Ann Rhoades

Founding Executive Vice President of People, JetBlue Airways; President, People Ink and Best-selling Author, Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition

Exclusively WSB

Ann Rhoades is a corporate executive with over 25 years’ experience in a variety of service-based industries and is president of People Ink, her consulting company that helps organizations create unique workplace cultures based on values and performance. She held the position of vice president of the People Department for Southwest Airlines and executive vice president of Team Services for Promus Hotel Corporation and most recently, the executive vice president of People for JetBlue Airways where she currently remains as a board member.

Rhoades has a respected reputation in the industry for her creative approach to creating customer-centric cultures. During her tenure with Doubletree Hotels, later Promus Hotel Corporation, she built a service culture focused on delivering outstanding service to guests. During the time Rhoades headed the People Department at Southwest Airlines, she solidified Southwest’s reputation of retaining and hiring the best people in the airline business despite Southwest’s rapid growth during that time.

As one of five founding executives, Rhoades took responsibility for the creation of JetBlue Airways Corporation’s People Team in New York. In her role as head of human resources, Rhoades has been a key member of the executive team, and is extremely successful in her role as internal counsel to executives in every discipline in the organization.

Rhoades is a popular speaker on the subject of customer service and how to build a strong high-performing culture.

Her community involvement includes director on the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Board, University of New Mexico Alumni Association Board, University of New Mexico Presidential Award Advisory Committee, chairman for Safer New Mexico Now and board member of New Mexico Appleseed. Rhoades has formerly served on the boards of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, HireVue, Inc., Restoration Hardware, Accion New Mexico, Albuquerque Community Foundation and the University of New Mexico-Robert O Anderson School of Business National Advisory Board.

Rhoades has a Master of Business Administration degree in Management from the University of New Mexico and her book Built on Values was released in January 2011.

Sharon Buck sells Mary Kay Cosmetics and has a prize-winning (for ugly) websty.

See the Mary Kay content here.

http://www.helmsangels.com/Mundy%20Area%20Debut.pdf

***

Did this blog warn about Mark Jeske being involved in occult philosophy? Yes - and above is an example of one of his keynote speakers teaching men. Her claim to fame is the cosmetics company run on Napoleon Hill's occult religion.

Napoleon Hill and Mary Kay - Principle 3.

Mary Kay supporting Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill

Updated Think and Grow Rich
In the original Think and Grow Rich, published in 1937, Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate his principles. In the updated version, Arthur R. Pell, Ph.D., a nationally known author, lecturer, and consultant in human resources management and an expert in applying Hill's thought, deftly interweaves anecdotes of how contemporary millionaires and billionaires, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and Sir John Templeton, achieved their wealth. Outmoded or arcane terminology and examples are faithfully refreshed to preclude any stumbling blocks to a new generation of readers.

Money Changers at the Religious Conference

Did you think we would forget the loot?
Conferences are all about cash benefits - for us - the noble hosts.

http://www.christlead.com/sponsor.php

2015 Christian Leadership Experience: SPONSORSHIP

A Christian leadership event focused on: Organizational Leadership, Global Health Ministry and Mission Volunteerism.
Our sponsorship program helps to defer expenses and keep the registration cost for our attendees as low as possible.

Presenting Sponsor - $10,000

• Logo listed on our event website with link to your website
• Premium Booth – Two 8ft. skirted tables in Vendor Foyer in high traffic area
• Five (5) Conference Registrations
• Introduce Keynote or General Session speaker with 2 minutes to talk about company
• Invite to Special Presenters Breakfast or Lunch
• Company literature inserted in each attendee folder
• Logo on Front of Attendee Folder
• Print recognition on select marketing materials and signage
• Recognition in Event PowerPoint Presentation
• Listed in the Event Program

Gold Sponsor - $5,000

• Company name Listed on our event website
• Booth – 8ft. skirted table in Vendor Foyer
• Three (3) Conference Registrations
• Introduce 5 breakout sessions
• Company literature inserted in each attendee folder
• Logo on Front of Attendee Folder
• Print recognition on select marketing materials and signage
• Recognition in Event PowerPoint Presentation
• Listed in the Event Program

Silver Sponsor - $2,500

• Booth – 8ft. skirted table in Vendor Foyer
• One (1) Conference Registration
• Logo on Front of Attendee Folder
• Print recognition on select marketing materials and signage
• Recognition in Event PowerPoint Presentation
• Listed in the Event Program

Bronze Sponsor - $500

• Booth – 8ft. skirted table in Vendor Foyer
• Listed in the Event Program

General Contributor - $20-499

• Listed in the Event Program

Ichabod Contributor - $0

• Denounced by name while others pat themselves on the back for being Confessional.

---

Highway robbery,
without the Good Samaritan to help.
Jesus works among believers,
Satan among apostates.

---

Kelmed from Polluted WELS:

 Anonymous said...

Ok, I don't want to sound too "over the top"....but there is a real pecking order in the WELS. For most called ministers, they have quite a bit of latitude with who and where they associate. But God forbid that one of the lowly parishioners goes to one of their relatives churches (outside of WELS) and admit to reciting the Lord's Prayer, participating in the liturgy, etc...No way, they are too uneducated or unlearned not to be enticed away by other denominations. Oh, but let the "elite" in the WELS associate with whoever they want...if there is an issue, it will be "studied" by the district prez or circuit minister or whoever.

Thanks for letting my vent.

Signed,

Mt Vesuvius

July 29, 2014 at 6:21 PM

 Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm missing something, but what exactly is the point of this conference thing?

July 29, 2014 at 7:05 PM

 Anonymous said...

Church Growth conference: How to make your congregation indistinguishable in doctrine and practice from the local non-denominational mega-church.

July 29, 2014 at 7:38 PM

 Anonymous said...

ok.. so I see the BIG names in WELS. Stroh, Jeske, K. Wendland and a few ELS thrown in. So are these all Lutherans or are there a few "others" thrown in?

July 29, 2014 at 8:09 PM