Giant Hogweed is a majestic but toxic plant - it reminds me of the Synodical Conference. |
The Wisconsin Sect revised the listing of calls, abandoning the old Courier font and old fashioned look, but also grouping all pastors, teachers, and Tetzels together. Everyone is divinely called, and everyone is a minister.
I am still shocked to see a Planned Giving Counselor - robber of widows and orphans - listed as having a divine call. But Tetzel was a priest, so we are back to the Reformation in a backwards way. Tetzel was a distinguished cleric and gonzo salesman.
The pope got half the proceeds for his new Love Shack, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Archbishop of Mainz got his half, for paying back the money he borrowed to buy his office. That is called simony and is still practiced today as well.
The WELS call list is like the Book of Revelation, hiding more than it discloses. The clergy kicked out for adultery, etc became such a scandal that they stopped listing those.
Although the new lists may seem dull, the number of teach resignations is staggering. Mark Jeske has two teachers off the list, and he has a stable of Daddy Warbucks. That decline of teachers suggests ObamaCare and other issues driving budgets up when income hardly changes.
Architects of Church Growth and UOJ - Bivens and Brug - are retiring. Brug endorsed women pastors many years ago, in The Popes Speak, aka The Wisconsin Legalists' Quarterly.
Your future pastors and DPs will look just like this, and you voted for it. |