Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed: 06/15/16

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Breaking News - WELS Takes in All-Gay Congregation - And ELCA Pastor.
The Same Parish They Kicked Out.
Martin Luther College Will Be So Pleased.
SE Wisconsin WELS District

This is a win/win for Gay Pride Month.
Every day WELS is another step closer to ELCA,
under the leadership of SP Mark Schroeder.

The vindictive District President kicked Pastor Kevin Hastings out of WELS, but the congregation did not go along with the defenestration.

Hastings engaged in some silly vandalism, apologized, and paid for the damages.

So the DP kicked the congregation out of WELS.

The rest of the story is here - about Jeske clergy pals and two gay men taking over the property, grabbing the endowment, and locking out Pastor Hastings.

Here are more details from Tim Niedfeldt, a sorely missed layman who died when a truck driver hit him from behind.

March, 2013 - The Jeske gang helped seize the church
and endowment and shut down services planned for Easter Sunday.

The late Tim Niedfelt wrote about the theft.

Basic Facts Here - About the Theft of St. John's in Milwaukee via the Jeske Mob

WELS Discussions

Paul Birsching

7 hrs

When I was quietly left out of the ministry after two years, I had just been through two of the toughest years of my life. I was young, and I figured I had made a lot of mistakes. I was asked to sit out a year, and, for my own health, I did. That I was never spoken to again is another story. After two years or service, I had hardly proven myself.

But there are many, many others out there with proven track records and 25 or 30 years of service, who have also been summarily dismissed from the WELS consciousness. These people labored long and faithfully, often with little encouragement and less compensation, and received not the rewards to which the laborer is entitled. What they did receive was nothing, absolutely nothing, no explanations, not compensations, no thanks for service rendered, only a cold shoulder.

For 27 years now, I have watched while others much more approved for ministry and arguably much more talented and faithful than I have receive ghastly treatment with no so much as a raised eyebrow. And yet, we now wonder why we can't seem to find enough qualified candidates to be pastors in the WELS.

In 1996, St. John's Congregation, Vliet Street, Milwaukee, one of the very earliest and most historically significant churches of the WELS, voted to leave the WELS. Kevin Hastings, then ten years into his ministry, decided to stay with the church and soldier on, often taking half his meager salary and even more often putting his own hands to do the repair work necessary to keep the doors open for worship. Kevin, unfortunately, was sent to a doomed congregation of aging members who could not attract younger members. Because of unfortunately liberal politics that surrounded St. John's with housing projects that served to surround the church with transients of a decidedly Southern Baptist bent, all efforts to grow St. John's from the community were fruitless.

I'm not here to tell you that St. John's deserved the WELS to step in and save it in some way. I do think that the fact of its leaving the WELS received not even a mention speaks to how the WELS is ready to forsake all things old in search of the new. Perhaps this explains why the WELS loses people out the back door faster than they can get them in through the front door.

What I am decided needs to be addressed, however, is how Kevin Hastings, faithful servant of God, deserved to be curtly dismissed of his duties via letter, deprived of his personal effects, and how certain WELS pastors could have been complicit in this matter. I would especially like to know how these pastors were involved when they don't even reside, in some cases, within 400 miles of Milwaukee. And I finally would like to know why WELS pastors and other members have been applauding a former WELS pastor, turn ELCA pastor, taking over the church which is now lead by openly gay men.

There is certainly a time to say nothing to besmirch the character of certain people which would break the eighth commandment. But, in this case, the character of the person with no fault, Kevin, had been besmirched, while those openly living in sin have been applauded.

There is a growing undercurrent of mistrust and disgust with things happening in the WELS and being swept under the table. We had better start addressing these wrongs, making confessions where applicable, and making serious attempts at rectifying them, because the volcano of unspoken unrest is about to explode. The time to be silent on such things is no more.

Steven E. Anderson "And I finally would like to know why WELS pastors and other members have been applauding a former WELS pastor, turn ELCA pastor, taking over the church which is now lead by openly gay men."

I don't quite understand the connection between WELS and ELCA. Who is supporting homosexual leadership in which synod and church?

7 hrs · Like
Paul Birsching St. Johns dwindled to a very few members. At some point, the leadership came out. Shortly thereafter they issued a dismissal by letter to Pastor Hastings. After this, they invited a former WELS pastor who, for various reasons, became ELCA. Since he...See More

7 hrs · Like
Paul Birsching And the new pastor has personally slandered both Pastor Hastings and former Pastor Brenner to me with absolute lies.

Paul Birsching I'm sure that there are a lot of financial factors that are different today, Paul A. And I'm also sure that we lack the faith of our forebears, mostly because the media plays upon our fears and we listen. But fear had nothing to do with this particular instance. Nor did economics. If Kevin hadn't bent over backwards to keep the church going, it would have failed a long time ago. No, this was a dastardly deed, one which defies explanation. And, again, I'm not saying it was a good situation in any sense, but the WAY in which this was done and the WAY everyone looked the other way are quite disturbing. And also the way that so many have been duped into thinking that all is now well. A lot of people spend a lot of time talking hypothetically. Here is a real live case, and none of the hypothetical champions for the truth ever became real ones. Where are the dogmaticians on this one?

The altar at Historic St. John, 8th and Vliet, Milwaukee.

***

GJ - I knew this was coming, about six months in advance, when Pastor Kevin Hastings told me this - His friend, one of the WELS pastor, told him to have an exit strategy. I advised him that WELS was going to steal the congregation. He should get an attorney pronto.

Hastings did not act until after the congregation was stolen and the two men had him locked out, with their hands on the endowment, one in the parsonage, his personal belongings stolen for the time being. Got a problem with this? Talk to our law firm.

The episode reminded me of the Menendez brothers, who shotgunned their parents to death and used the estate cash to pay for their criminal defense.

One WELS laymen wrote me lately that my blogging about this shameful episode is the only record of anything happening.

The account above is another perspective, from someone I do not know and with whom I have had no contact.

Synod President Mark Schroeder did nothing and said nothing, as far as anyone can tell.

Mark Jeske has organized many Thrivent events, starring Mark Jeske, sharing the limelight with ELCA pastors. He is also on the board of Thrivent, so he has no qualms about financing abortion on demand through Planned Parenthood grants, no compunction about ELCA's pansexual views on ordination.

No one in the Synodical Conference should be shocked, because this is exactly how CFW Walther got his start in the papacy. Instead of meeting with Bishop Stephan about the man's adultery and syphilis, Walther organized a mob of his supporters only, came down to Perryville, threatened Stephan's life, robbed him of his gold, land, and books, and kidnapped him at gunpoint, forcing him over to Illinois. The Perryville-St. Louis mob profited greatly from these criminal acts, covered them up, and wrote themselves up as heroes.

---

The district has taken the congregation back into WELS. The current pastor is ELCA and the only two members are the gay men who took over the property and endowment.

Matt Harrison Re-Elected.
Reviewing the June 30 Christian News
Reading CN So You Don't Have To

Obesity Growing in America The June 13 CN (p. 5) suggested that when churches hold tension filled conventions it would be good for at least some delegates and the fat cat bureaucrats to begin the day before sessions with a walk or jog. Obesity is growing in America. “More than 4 in 10 U.S. Women Obese” an AP story in the June 8 St. Louis Post-Dispatch said in part: “New York – The nation’s obesity epidemic continues to grow, led by an alarming increase among women. For the first time, more than 4 in 10 U.S. women are obese, according to new government health statistics.

“Obesity rates for men and women in the U.S. had been roughly the same for about a decade. But in recent years, women have surged ahead, and now just over 40 percent of women are obese, compared with 35 percent of men."

Matt Harrison Re-Elected
The new issue is rather anti-climactic, since it looks ahead to the election finalized today. Harrison won by a large margin.

The extent of Steadfast Lutheran cheerleading on the group blog was embarrassing. But that is why the group was set up, to promote Harrison agenda and buddies. Perhaps we will see another set of photos of McCain enjoying the furniture in the SP's office.

Big Money
Concordia Seminary in St. Louis is raising $180 million, much of it collected already. I wonder if that will reduce tuition or build even grander buildings.

LCMS Problems
Some think the solution is priestcraft, which is hilarious. Ask an Eastern Orthodox member about smells and bells. Many of them become Evangelicals instead or avoid the big show altogether.

Others imagine variations on a theme by Fuller Seminary or Trinity Deerfield or Willow Creek will do the job.

Neither side cares for the Augsburg Confession or the English version of the Luther Bible.

Hint - the KJV, aka the Tyndale, who was closely associated with the German Reformation, giving his life for Bible translating.

The LCMS-WELS-ELS rejoice in rejecting the Augsburg Confession IV and V, yet Luther called himself a "theologian of the Augsburg Confession." The Concordists agreed with Luther.

ELCA works with LCMS-WELS-ELS all the time, thanks to Thrivent and their incessant greed for more loot. UOJ unites them.

This is an important statement in preventing Lutheran sects, but each one has its own little set of imaginary rules and holds itself above the others for now agreeing with their obsessions. Moses is their Savior.

Gardens Continue To Work When in the Oppressive Heat

We had almost an inch of rain, followed by intense sunshine and an absence of additional, cooling rain. The result was 100 degrees of Real Feel or - Phoenix during the Inferno season. All the plants and trees were processing the abundance of rain and turning it into humidity.

The chiro and his wife asked how the roses were doing in this heat. I pointed out that roses enjoy cool, wet weather. They tolerate cold quite well. In this heat they bloom fast and the flowers are done quickly. That is when I prune most often, because the spent flowers are eager to turn into hips, seed pods that mark the end of bloom production.

The genius of one Dow Chemical CEO was to store up cash during boom cycles, spending it on rival companies or new facilities during recessions. Everything is relatively cheap during a recession, but many companies spend their cash expanding during boom cycles.

The garden is similar. Rain brings on the boom times in plant and bug production. Everything loves a drenching rain, liquid fertilizer, a pleasant and refreshing bath. I position my empty rain-barrels to catch as much as possible. They are emptied before a rain to give special plants an extra boost, filled during the rain, then emptied again during the dry cycle.

I have White Profusion blooming,
not as plump as these flowers.

The flowers are sweet like candy, attracting bees,
butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Current Targets for Stored Rainwater:

The Elephant Ears are above ground, mulched, and ready to grow. They need plenty of sunshine and rain.
Some roses need an extra boost. The $2 Rugosa roses have budded and need water to establish their roots.
The replacement bare-root roses will need a long soak before planting and some extra afterwards. They should arrive today.The thunderstorm is tomorrow - maybe.
Favorite plants get extra attention, like the new Mountain Mints and a Bee Balm that just bloomed.

Harrison Wins Re-Election as LCMS Synod President

He won re-election by a large margin.

Steadfast Lutherans (sic) erased the Darwin Schauer scandal and backed Harrison 100%. They must be as giddy as schoolgirls.

Harrison ordered them to erase the thread on Schauer - and they did.

===

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Bylaws of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) instruct the Secretary of the Synod to notify the candidates in the Synod’s presidential election of the results of the balloting at least two weeks prior to the convention. The candidates were informed earlier today, June 15, of the results of the June 11–14 ballot, and those results are now made public as received from Election-America, the Garden City, NY company that provided the Internet voting site and conducted the balloting.

For President:
Matthew C. Harrison 3,507 votes (56.96%)
David P. E. Maier 393 votes (6.38%)
Dale A. Meyer 2,257 votes (36.66%)
Total Votes Cast:6,157
Total Electorate:7,348
Percentage Voted:83.79%

A majority of votes cast is required for election. Matthew C. Harrison, having received 56.96 percent of the votes cast, is the President-elect of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod for a third term of office, 2016–2019.

Raymond L. Hartwig, Secretary
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Thin-Skinned Bishop of 17 Pastors Creates Needless and Infantile Commotion

The problem is Heiser.

Jim Heiser hides behind his attack Yorkies, who yip about anything currently offending His Beatitude. He explained his opposition to the The Faith of Jesus being given away with a series of boneheaded personal accusations against me:

Crazy,
Liar,
Violator of copyright laws, and
Worst of all - a mild post from 8 years ago.

The Rev. Yorkie Oncken was handed the task of telling the donor to "make these books go away," interrupting a meal to have the desolating sacrilege removed. Yes, it was very personal for Heiser, but the Yorkies were doing all the barking. So the donor of the books asked Heiser directly what the problem was and got the response outlined above. "A little pot is soon hot." Shakespeare (Oxford)

I got these two messages from Rydecki and Stefanski -

Rydecki's message:
Let's at least call it what it is. It's not about "not liking" a post. It's about not liking it when the reputation of the diocese was harmed by you.

Stefanski's public demand:
BTW, regarding your other Ichabod post today: I do think that you should take down the ridiculous accusations against both the ELDoNA and Augustana Ministerium as gateways to Eastern 'Orthodoxy', as well as the one about Heimbigner's doctorate being from Baylor…but I never have objected to your labeling of me and what I learned to teach from the Ft. Wayne sem regarding UOJ, as what I taught was, indeed, wrong. I probably would have figured it out sooner, though, had nuclear strike been your last line of response instead of your first.

That said, this current post against the diocese is misguided and should be withdrawn. Again, I see no need for me to speak further, as you will either honor this request or not; your post was, simply, wrongheaded in every way.

The Word itself defends the truth
and smashes false doctrine.

Heiser, Rydecki, and Stefanski have this in common - they graduated from seminary believing in UOJ - absolution of the entire world, without faith. Granted, the seminary faculties are filled with political appointees who teach anything but Lutheran doctrine, but did anyone read Luther's sermons, Luther's Large Catechism, the Augsburg Confession?

I thought it was good that ELDONA saw through the errors of UOJ and began defending Justification by Faith. However, their websty leads with The Bride of Christ, the Church, as if that were the Chief Article of the Christian Faith. That also means they have no grasp of satis est, as taught in the Augsburg Confession.

Satis est - "It is enough to agree on Justification by Faith and the Sacraments,
but everyone has to agree with Bishop Heiser's obsessions, they claim.

The ELDONites contend that the only true Church (theirs) is the one that practices all ceremonies their way and all priests dress in their finest frocks. Yes, they make Roman-Eastern Orthodox robes a matter of confession. That also violates the Adiaphora article in the Formula of Concord, which they must have read as little as #3 when they were in seminary.

Heiser and Stefanski learned this buffoonery at Ft. Wayne,
but worse, the style of declaring everything ex cathedra as infallible,
because a "priest" said it, in true Scaer style.

The Chief Article is not The Bride of Christ
with its papal posturing.

Does anyone read the Formula of Concord anymore?
Jay Webber taught the opposite at Emmaus,
and LCMS-WELS-ELS-ELCA agrees with him - and UOJ.

Contrary to the sanctimonious claims of ELDONA, they spent an inordinate amount of time discussing my congregation, my blog, etc. They are just like this ELS description of WELS that a pastor's wife offered: "They think they can spot false doctrine 50 miles away but not when it's under their own noses."

I never expressed the least interest in joining their sect. As I wrote before, I offered help wherever I could. Until recently I suggested that people consider ELDONA. I have also suggested LCMS congregations if that parish is Lutheran (an iffy proposition everywhere). Little Ichabod attends an independent congregation, which are more abundant than people imagine. The dictatorial synods have robbed a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges.

My little job is to promote Luther's sermons and the theology of the Lutheran Reformation. Many years ago a little pamphlet by a little known pastor challenged me to always present doctrine from the Scriptures rather than in the form of theses (Walther style).