The Evangelical Lutheran Synod Repudiates the Word of God, the Lutheran Reformation, and the Book of Concord. Christian News Agrees. The ELS Likes To Hide Its Universalism

Pope John the Malefactor is infallible,
and he extends the Left Foot of Fellowship willy-nilly.
http://els.org/about/what-is-a-lutheran-2/

Lutherans believe in God’s grace.

All people are sinners and would perish eternally without God’s help. The good news is that God has provided all of this help as a free gift. God’s saving grace is His undeserved love for all people through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. God loves all people, of every nation and race equally. It is God the Father’s desire for all people to hear His Word, to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, as their only Savior, and therefore to have eternal life. Jesus lived a holy life in our place and died on the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins. Through this completed work of Jesus [GJ - universal absolution without faith], God the Father sees the whole world as not guilty, or justified. This teaching of “justification” is the central truth of the Bible. [GJ - Not one citation, because there are none.]

Lutherans believe that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for eternal salvation.

This faith in Jesus, who is both God and man, our Savior, comes only as God, the Holy Spirit, works through God’s Word and Baptism in a person’s heart. We believe we sinners cannot come to faith through our own power, but that our faith is accomplished only by the power of the Holy Spirit as He connects us to Jesus as the Savior.[GJ - Fairly lame and clumsy, even for the sidekick of WELS.]

One more time, class -
Who first said this? - Luther.
Who seconded this? - Melanchthon.
Who reiterated this? - the Formula of Concord.

Who Redefined the Chief Article - Cheaply. Dishonestly. Cowardly?

The Primary Doctrine in Its Primary Setting: Objective Justification and Lutheran Worship [Prepared for the WELS National Conference on Worship, Music and the Arts Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin, July Wisconsin, July 23, 1996. By Forrest L. Bivens]

The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our consciences before God. Without this article the world is utter darkness and death.”1 Luther’s appraisal of the doctrine of justification is also ours. We hold it to be the primary doctrine of Scripture, that is, the central and most important teaching revealed by God for us sinners.2

The truth of justification, above all others, distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. If this teaching were obscured or lost, attempts to show significant differences between the Christian religion and others would ultimately prove to be futile. Also, as revealed and emphasized in the Bible, all other doctrines either prepare for or flow from this chief article of faith. Without this truth, all others would mean little. This doctrine is the source or basis of the benefits and blessings which mankind receives from God. 

[GJ - Oh, Oh, Oh, Frosty - define the Master and Prince, the Lord, the Ruler, the Judge of all kinds of doctrine for us.]

What precisely is this “master and prince, lord, ruler and judge” over other doctrines? Justification is a declaratory act of God, in which he pronounces sinners righteous. As revealed in the Bible, this declaration of God is made totally by grace and on account of Jesus Christ and his substitutionary life and death on behalf of mankind. To phrase it somewhat differently, God has justified acquitted or declared righteous the whole world of sinners. He has forgiven them. They have been reconciled to God; their status in his eyes has been changed from that of sinner to forgiven sinner for the sake of Jesus Christ. Since all this applies to all people, the term universal or general justification is used. In our circles an alternate term, objective justification, is also used. If justification is universal, it must also be objective - sinners are forgiven whether they believe it or not. This is precisely what Scripture teaches in Romans 3:23-24, when it says, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

This is the Roman Catholic approach to dogma,
which appears as needed.

Writing and Education Plans Have Been Expanded

Long ago I read that clergy were often under-worked. One can try to look busy without accomplishing much. I kept adding to my higher education quota until I finally found it rather tedious to sit through another class, even online. Nevertheless, I have to keep learning to stay in tune with higher education. I still teach MA classes in adult education, an experience that informs what I do now through the congregation, books, and the blog.

I advise PhD students now, so thanks, Lutherdom, for keeping me out of your navel-gazing, Walther -worshiping systems. My students love hearing about Luther and Gerhardt, and I quote them without being castigated or silenced.

As I wrote to a reader, I never expected this blog to be read by many people. When 100 views a day expanded to 200 views, I was shocked and happy. Now a typical day is 2,000 views with multiples of that number on certain days.

Various circumstances have increased my desire to spend all my energy on Lutheran education, God willing.

• New book titles will continue.
• Lulu books are being moved to Create Space, so a huge book like Thy Strong Word can be used effectively on a digital device for $6 and available in print form for a low, low author's price.
• There will be a much better author's price for those classic titles moved to Create Space.
• I work with various people with the idea that digital publishing will be expanded by many other Lutherans who share concern for precise Biblical translations, the Lutheran liturgy, and Lutheran doctrine according to the Reformation, not according to the Halle University and the Pietists.

I am not sure how to measure the interest in Martin Chemnitz Press books, except I have never seen so much interest among younger men who evidence doctrinal acuity and a thirst for knowledge. I used to ask, "Where are the men? The most interested people are women."

Now the men are writing and want to share books with others. I have run a book-sharing service with people for decades now. I acquired books from sales and put them on shelves for pastors to take home. In WELS they knew about free books and asked for them, boxes and boxes of them. They stopped by and shopped for them. And, when they might have spoken up, they were strangely silent.

And yet the seed is sown, whether it falls on rocky paths, on very shallow soil, or among thorns. The good soil will make up for the supposed failures. 

If I can get a classic Lutheran book to someone, I do. Often a used book is not only a bargain ($5) but also inscribed by some famous Lutheran. Those are especially fun to pass along.

Don't worry WELS, your students
cannot translate this, even with help.
A WELS person created this graphic,
so enjoy beating the bushes to find out who.

Bald Rabbit Comments on WELS

The LCMS websty featured this ad,
with the lopsided, ambivalent smile.
Don't blame Ski and Glende -
they were trained by Jeske.

It does not surprise me that a WELS facebook friend would unfriend you after the Jeske post.  Jeske is held in high regard by the WELS and is going nowhere.  I get why you posted it.  First, the presentation is awful, even from a business point of view.  The church point of view is non-existent.

Then, these same people who attended try to bring these new words and ideas back to their churches where the common folk get overwhelmed.  I know this, as being in WELS for over 31 years, these are the same type of presentations made at conferences, church help programs, and seminars.  I personally got tired of it and quit going, which helped lead my critics in our church to push me out.

In the WELS, I see too much cronyism, too much name recognition reward, too much taking the Word of God out of context to prove their new program (the church planning program by WELS put me over the top in taking things out of context), too much of ignoring those who do work hard in the trenches and do not take off evenings, weekends, and have conferences in hot spots.  We spend thousands and thousands on summer conferences like leadership and worship, while our own churches suffer to pay bills.  Ranks apply to the called workers, and when one goes down, little help can be found unless you have a name and good synodical friends.

One thinks that this can be changed by speaking truthfully, studying scripture and making corrections on the out of context use in books, conferences and sermons, and in church operations, but the truth builds enemies who can attack in the ways of the enemies of Christ.  "What is truth" was a question I often asked myself. In spite of my WELS background from birth, through WELS elementary school, through WELS Lutheran High Schools, through Dr. Martin Luther College, through years of teaching, principalship, conferences, summer schooling, school counseling, and the like, I had to resign after battling serious depression and anxiety for over 20 years, and then general frustration.

My law-oriented WELS background (now so obviously pietistic in nature) made be fearful of going against my WELS background out of fear of going to hell.  It is amazing to find many more in my profession who feel the same way, but out of fear of many things, refuse to quit or speak out publicly.

I really don't need to see the negatives about the WELS, as I new many of them, as was affected by some of them as were my children.

I am sure you are a man of faith who has experienced many crosses in your life.  I actually appreciate your humor and your effort to show people what is really going on.  Those who find out are either shocked or don't care and brush over it, as long as they continue to get paid or do not lose their comforts in their church homes.

I find your deep love for your God and the truth in your writings about nature.  If people would really read your articles, and not just turn you away because of what they hear or what somehow has told them, or because of threats, they would find you a truly loving man of God.

God's richest blessings to you!

Keep up the good work for as long as you can!

***

GJ - WELS tried the group attack on this blog for years. When the kids from three colleges (Martin Luther College, Bethany College, Wisconsin Lutheran College) began posting at once, the main effect was to alert three student bodies about Ichabod. The faculty began warning them not to read it and discussed how to do things without the news getting published. Next MLC faculty denied ever talking about keeping things from Ichabod. So funny, that came from the same faculty who were discussing that tactic in front of others.

Although people can email their comments, the hostile ones hardly appear appear, except with some lame attempts to disguise the identity of one Joel Lillo, scorned on four different blogs for his abusive and toxic remarks.

This is where the Booze brothers, Ski and Glende,
worshiped in Atlanta - the new WELS model,
Andy Stanley's, gay Babtist advocate.

ChurchMouse Channels Pastor Joe Abrahamson Quoting Luther

Norma Boeckler - Feeding the Multitude

https://churchmousec.wordpress.com/2016/03/06/excerpts-of-martin-luthers-notes-on-jesus-feeding-the-five-thousand/

As my post yesterday concerned Jesus’s healing and feeding of the Four Thousand (and more) Gentiles, it seemed apposite to find a post at Steadfast Lutheransabout His feeding the Five Thousand (and more).

The Feeding of the Five Thousand is the traditional (pre-Lectionary) Laetare Sunday gospel reading. (Laetare Sunday is today, March 6, 2016.)

More at the link above.

The closer to Luther, the better the theologian.

Refreshing Roses and Other Cut Flowers

Norma Boeckler, our artist-in-residence, wrote me a thank-you for showing how to refresh roses, in another post, so I am repeating the advice.

The moment roses and other flowers are cut, the stems begin drawing up air instead of water. To make cut flowers last longer, cut several inches from the bottom of the stems, just before placing them in fresh water in a clean vase.

Cut flowers can be put into a dishpan of clean water to hydrate them, or floated in a tub. I would do this before cutting the stems and placing them in the vase. I became an immersionist when soaking rather dry bare-root roses before planting. I also heavily pruned them upon planting them. They began growing at once and bloomed quickly.

Soaking Because
This is why soaking works. The stems and leaves take up water. When I water rose bushes outside, it is often through a soaker hose at the base. However, I still spray them down completely, to hydrate the stems and leaves. Plants are like people, as one book argued. If you feel great after a shower, so do they. The leaves and stems take up water fast, so they have a crisp look and grow better. Rose bushes are like sponges in taking up water, and they like to have their pores clean rather than dusty.

Change the Water Daily and
The decomposing process begins the moment the stems touch the water in the vase. If you looked at the water in a microscope, a lot of swimming little creatures would entertain you. Given a few days, that mildewing water will smell like death. God is reducing the death plant into new chemicals for the soil.

For maximum benefit and long-lasting cut flowers, change the water daily and make sure the vase is cleaned out thoroughly. I am much more a fan of clean water and vases than magical chemicals added.

Refresh the Flowers Again Each Day
The way to make the flowers stay fresh is to soak them again each day and pour water into the blooms. Simply spraying the flowers will help too. A very low water pressure will avoid the sink hose giving the budding a florist a free shower.

Roses have so many petals now that the bloom will cup the water and hold it in place for more hydration.

Trained, experienced, certified in Linux,
and confident in all matters rosarian.

The Synodical Conference Is Doomed. They Cannot Relate Outside Their Own Cult

Someone opened up a can of 8th Commandment on me,
again.

When I published about one of those typical Jeske rants about church as a business, everything has to change, a speech devoid of the Gospel, one Facebook friend accused me of violating the Eighth Commandment. He blocked me, just to make it clear.

Another reader noted that Jeske has been giving the same speech for decades, which matches with my experience - hearing the same facts from the LCA 40 years ago. The LCA called it boats and babies, almost exactly what Jeske said - no more boats, fewer babies. Yawn.

WELS, Missouri, the Little Sect on the Prairie, and the odious CLC (sic) have their designated Unquestioned Gurus. All opinions circle those figures, who do not appreciate being questioned in any way whatsoever. The LCMS is large enough to have their sub-groups, like

• Crypto-Rome, 
• UOJ Stormtrooper bros,
• ELCA-wannabee, and 
• Pentecostal.

The trouble is, they only relate to their own groups or sub-groups. They remind me of the two St. Louis questions -

1. Where didja go tah school? and 
2. What street do yah live on? 

Those questions categorize everyone in St. Louis. Even the private schools have their own special reputations, loyalists, and nicknames, like LaJew for Ladue. Learn to say "fork" as "fark" and you will fit right in.

The most insecure people worry most about their standing in the social order. When I was working at the Neighborhood Market, a very small minority would respond to my help by acting like "The help is talking to me? Let's keep it short so they know their place." I tried not to smile, because my inner voice asked, "And how many books have you written?"

This happened at a Yale Alumni meeting long ago. We introduced ourselves at the big table and told what we did for a living. One woman could not hide her sneering look at the prospect of having a mere minister at the table - most of the alumni were lawyers and corporate honchos. Later in the evening, when the president of Yale gave a statistic for divinity alumni as leaders in America, she seemed a bit shocked and chagrined, as if the country pumpkin had turned into a Lincoln Town Car.

So the Synodical Conference has made its mark by enforcing the franchise, acting as if all any other flavors of Pietism are low-grade. This is especially amusing the in the ELS and CLC (sic). The ELS is so superior to WELS, but they take all their orders from WELS and are completely subordinate to their Big Brother, who is always watching. The CLC (sic) has a 30-second repeating commercial they use about how keen they are about fellowship, but they covet and copy WELS in going down the drain. Church Growth from Fuller Seminary? - the CLC (sic) adores it.

The Synodical Conference has no more trust in the Word than the ELCA does, so they all chase the exact same Fuller fads. Whatever WELS is doing (like they invented it), ELCA is also doing. And lo, so are Missouri, the ELS, and the CLC (sic) aping Fuller at the same time in the same way. It is almost like they all went to Fuller, Willow Creek, and Trinity Divinity together. Waldo Werning admitted going to Fuller, then denied it. David Valleskey, who greatly admired Werning, denied Fuller and admitted it. Valleskey's UOJ/CG-bro Bivens bragged about Fuller and denied it. DP Seifert heard the Bivens confession and forgot it, and then remembered it, and then forgot it again.

The Synodical Conference parts rejoice in their unanimous rejection of justification by faith - just like ELCA, but in the name of grace, of course. Since one cannot separate justification by faith from the efficacy of the Word, the established Lutheran groups are stuck in their downhill cycle of Methodist methods.

This nonsense is considered spiritual wisdom at Ft. Wayne,
and posting it earned me a vulgar rant
from one of the Steadfast mafia.

Methodists built enormous congregations - and emptied them - by organizing along the lines of people pleasing activities. They had groups galore, special Sundays (Scouts, children, Masons, veterans, bakery) and an irenic, Biblical stance. The Methodists taught the Bible but never fought over any issues. They will people they also teach the Real Presence, even though they do not. They never had a confessional basis, only the sermons of Wesley, so they could never anchor their beliefs. This Methodist problem probably sounds just like WELS - and it is.

The Methodists also became famous for gay clergy without admitting it - just like WELS. I can go back in my time machine memory and recall barn-like Methodist churches with their little pit band setups in the chancel, their tepid timid clergy wondering why everything was going sour. They had no grip on future generations because they taught the youth nothing. That was 40 years ago, it has only worsened in all the mainline denominations.

Nevertheless, not learning from their mainline counterparts, the Lutherans sects talk about evangelism while making a point to stigmatize anyone who does not fit into their ghetto world-view. They do that especially with their overpriced educational system. And they wonder why their hazed, stigmatized, homogenized, repeat-after-me clergy cannot relate to people outside their little ghetto.

Why such a dumb sign?

It is probably a New Ulm store.