ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Here we have the beginning of theological double-talk, where "grace" means whatever the master says it means. ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC tak about grace, but they mean universal forgiveness and salvation, just like the Unitarian-Universalists.
WELS and Missouri probably thought they would be building new congregations filled up with escapees from ELCA in 1987. Lyle Schaller said so, and they believed it.
But they decided long ago to emulate and imitate the methods and dogma of the LCA and ALC Left-wing, so WELS-LCMS-ELS pushed forward with UOJ, women's ordination, and gay liberation.
Now all the seminaries are shrinking faster than Clinton's credibility rating, whether LCMS or WELS or ELS or CLC.
Luther Seminary in rejoicing in selling off land to two different entities.Not long ago they fired their president at Christmas. Christmas! They are so deep in debt in the middle of the year.
Likewise, Wartburg has been in crisis, firing tenured professors. Berkeley is selling its deluxe location, Southern Seminary moved already. Chicago is in trouble, and Philadelphia's land may be sold to help fund this new United Seminary.
Philadelphia Seminary interviewed me when I was still a doctoral student, so I visited the campus. They were formed when the confessional Lutheran part of the General Synod had enough of the revivalism and Pietism of their Mother Church. They formed the General Council and built the Philadelphia Seminary.
The General Council emphasized Luther, the Reformation, and the Book fo Concord. They also had great leaders. They became influential in the old Muhlenberg tradition, 1918 merger that formed the United Lutheran Church in America (General Council and General Synod, United Synod of the South). The twain became one, more confessional and more liturgical, but the Pietistic and unionistic segment took over again as the LCA was formed in 1962.
Those returning to Lutheran doctrine are well advised to know about Krauth, Passavant, Jacobs, and
Schmauk. ELCA has forgotten them. The doctrinally discerning will find more to value in those writers than in Martin Stemphan, CFW Walther, and the LCMS sycophants.
WELS is another example, making Hoenecke and Gausewitz disappear so they can promote snickerdoodles like Kelm, Jeske, and Olson.
(RNS) Two Lutheran seminaries in Pennsylvania are planning to close and launch together a new school of theology in 2017 with hopes of slashing costs and reversing years of declining enrollments.
The decision came this week from the governing boards of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. The plan will cut the number of seminaries affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from eight to seven.
David Lose, president of the Philadelphia seminary, said the move would create opportunities for redesigning everything from faculty and curriculum to calendars and relationships with donors.
The board votes came quickly after a recommendation from a joint task force, which held its first and only meeting last month.
Gettysburg was projecting yearly deficits above $200,000 and could not keep eliminating faculty positions by attrition, according to board chair James Lakso.
“We have too many people and too much physical capacity to be viable and sustainable in the long term,” Lakso said.
Combining into one institution, distributed across two locations at Gettysburg and Philadelphia, could solve the thorny problem of what to do with tenured faculty, whose salaries and benefits weigh heavily on each school’s budget.
The logic: if a school ceases to exist, then it’s no longer obligated to retain faculty members, even if they had tenure. A new school has flexibility to start over.
“Part of that flexibility would be exploring the possibility of having faculty who are both teachers and practitioners,” said Philadelphia board chair John Richter. “Is it possible to have practicing clergy or laity teaching stewardship, church administration or worship? There’s the possibility.”
Reducing the combined faculty size from about 30 to 15 or 18 at the new institution could achieve seven-figure savings. Some building space might be repurposed, and larger decisions about real estate holdings will be considered in years ahead, Lakso said.
The new plan comes as mainline Protestant seminaries take steps to weather financial storms caused by an average drop in enrollments of nearly 24 percent since 2005, according to the Association of Theological Schools. About 80 percent of the nation’s 100 mainline seminaries are likely to feel financial pressure and might consider revamping their models in years ahead, according to ATS Executive Director Daniel Aleshire.
Since 2012, other Lutheran seminaries have found shelter inside universities. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary merged with Lenoir-Rhyne University in Columbia, S.C., and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary became part of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Church leaders hope the new school can pass savings along to students and help motivate more to attend seminary.
Bishop Jim Dunlop of the ELCA’s Lower Susquehanna Synod says he needs as many as 15 graduates per year to fill pastorate vacancies, but last year there were only three. If the new school can shrink average student debt from more than $30,000 today to less than $15,000, then more might enroll and become the “first-call,” or first-job, pastors he needs.
“Some of our first-call pastors are under real financial strain,” Dunlop said. “I’m hopeful and excited that we’re open to new possibilities. This is a way forward in that.”
(G. Jeffrey MacDonald is an RNS correspondent)
Why not introduce beach worship, a surf board on a garbage can? The Episcopalians deftly blended traditional communion with surf and sand. Ski, Ski? Anyone?
Waukesha - A former Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod official was placed on probation for 10 years Monday and ordered to serve one year in jail with work-release privileges as a condition of probation for possession of child pornography.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Kathryn W. Foster withheld imposing a prison term on Joel W. Hochmuth, 52, of Waukesha, who had faced up to 15 years behind bars followed by 10 years of extended supervision for the crime.
But she warned Hochmuth that if there was any hint of him "going back to any kind of behavior like this," his probation would be revoked and the full "25-year prison sentence will be staring you in the face."
Hochmuth used the Internet to download hundreds of images of boys engaged in sexual acts with other youths and men.
Hochmuth, who was the communications director for the synod, was charged in November with three counts of possession of child pornography. He was fired by the synod one day after the charges were filed against him in Waukesha County Circuit Court.
As part of a plea agreement that avoided a trial in the case, Hochmuth on March 9 pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. The two other counts were dismissed.
Before Foster made her determination, a tearful Hochmuth apologized for the double life he was leading. Just before he spoke, family and friends told Foster that Hochmuth was a warm and caring person, a hardworking father and husband, and someone who was worthy of a judge's mercy and a second chance even though what he did was detestable.
"I appear before you today guilty of an abhorrent and violent crime. I have offended my god, betrayed my wife, shamed our son and dishonored my church. To all of them I apologize. I also apologize to the victims portrayed in the images I viewed and downloaded. That I could have been so drawn to what I was looking at today disgusts me," Hochmuth told Foster.
He said he is in a treatment plan that he began after his arrest.
"For the first time I'm being equipped with the tools to fight my sinful habit," Hochmuth said.
"Finally, I'd like to express my hope that something good come out of all the evil I have done and the heartache I have caused. I pray that when I'm well I will be able to use whatever skills, talents and abilities I've been given to help eliminate this unspeakable form of abuse and to help men struggling with this or similar addictions take action before it destroys their lives and puts wives and their families through the hell I have."
According to the criminal complaint, investigators found several hundred images on his home computer and 310 photographs and 38 videos on a thumb drive at his WELS office in Wauwatosa. Hochmuth denied downloading any explicit material while at work, or creating his own pornography, the complaint states.
Hochmuth told investigators that he had been "struggling with an addiction to viewing pornographic photos and videos of young boys in sexually explicit poses," and that he had gone to counseling after his wife caught him viewing them, the complaint says.
He was investigated by the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force after an undercover agent identified a residence in Waukesha that was distributing child pornography, according to the complaint. Hochmuth was using a software program that allows individuals to connect to each other's computers and browse and download files as well as chat online, according to the complaint.
The complaint also states that the agent engaged Hochmuth in chats and that in one Hochmuth told the agent that he liked pictures of males who were 10 years old or older, the complaint states.
The FBI informed Waukesha police, who made the arrest.
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GJ - Left unanswered - Who provided the earlier, failed counseling? Was it the WELS counseling agency? One WELS pastor asked SP Schroeder, who did not answer.
Why was this crime not reported by his wife and the counseling agency?
Notice that he had to go outside his Antinomian UOJ church for help with his addiction.
The former communications director for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod will spend one year in the work-release jail after he was sentenced Monday on one count of possessing child pornography.
Joel W. Hochmuth, 52, of Waukesha, was sentenced Monday to 10 years of probation the year of jail time is a condition of his probation. Other conditions of probation include sex offender treatment and registering on the state’s sex offender database, according to online court records.
Two additional felony charges of possessing child pornography were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.
Hochmuth was charged in November after detectives from the Waukesha Police Department met with a special agent from the FBI, who told detectives that Hochmuth was using the Internet handle “Skiguy10101” had child pornography on his computer depicting “pre-pubescent and adolescent boys engaged in various sexual acts,” according to a criminal complaint.
Hochmuth told authorities that the number of images found on his computer in Waukesha “was nothing compared to what they would find in his office,” the complaint states. Hochmuth denied downloading pornographic images on his work computer but police located three thumb drives at the WELS office in Wauwatosa, 2929 N Mayfair Rd., that had nine images and videos of young boys engaged in sexual acts, the complaint states. Authorities believe boys shown in the graphic pictures ranged from 10 to 14 years old.
Hochmuth was terminated from his position when the allegations came to light.
Congratulations WELS - after complaining--sanctimoniously--about ELCA and the Roman Catholics, you are now listed by the prime lobbying group - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests - SNAP. The Roman hierarchy hates SNAP because SNAP has networked the victims with great effect. The group uploaded the arrest video to YouTube, which combined the defense attorney's lie about adult pornography when the charge was swapping files showing man-boy rape.
SNAP Wisconsin is the state-wide group. If you have a problem with WELS, contact SNAP and an attorney, not the cover-up magicians of WELS.
Wisconsin Lutheran College (WELS when fund-raising) featured one of the worst archbishops, Weakland, as their speaker in a widely promoted series, which also included various priests. Weakland had an affair with a young man and used church funds to pay blackmail to his lover, claiming the funds came from his own account. WELS deceived everyone about the lectures, never explaining why an official of Rome was speaking on behalf of the Wisconsin Sect.
Years ago, Wisconsin Lutheran College featured Weakland as their speaker, along with some of his priests.
Weakland claimed that children invited sex with adults.
The Hochmuth story is full of holes. My vast intelligence-gathering network cannot find out where he got counseling, which is part of every news story. His wife caught him and they went into counseling. But counselors are supposed to report heinous crimes against children. Was it the WELS agency? Silence. Nobody knew this was going on? Silence.
This page used to link to the SP Schroeder/Hochmuth letter against ELCA for supporting homosexual clergy. Just as I expected, the page was removed. That is the WELS approach - hide the evidence, spin the story, and punish anyone who asks more than once about the corruption.
But relax. I found another copy on the Net, thanks to my extensive experience in tracking down synodical lies:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 21, 2009
Contact: Joel Hochmuth
Director of Communications
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
joel.hochmuth@wels.net
WELS president expresses regret at ELCA decision on gay clergy
Milwaukee, Wis.—Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), is expressing regret at the vote of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) convention regarding homosexual clergy. Friday, delegates approved a resolution committing the church to find a way for “people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships” to serve as professional leaders of the church. “To view same-sex relationships as acceptable to God is to place cultural viewpoint and human opinions above the clear Word of God,” says Schroeder. “The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, along with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and other smaller Lutheran synods, maintains and upholds the clear teaching of the Bible that homosexuality is not in keeping with God’s design and is sinful in God’s eyes.” At the same time, Schroeder says WELS congregations stand ready to support those struggling with same-sex attractions. “As with any sin, it is the church’s responsibility to show love and compassion to sinners, not by condoning or justifying the sin, but by calling the sinner to repent and by assuring the sinner that there is full forgiveness in Jesus Christ,” Schroeder says. WELS, with about 390,000 members and nearly 1,300 congregations nationwide, is the third largest Lutheran church body in the United States. In Wisconsin alone, there are more than 201,000 members and 417 congregations. “It’s unfortunate that many headlines have referred to the recent decisions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as something ‘Lutherans’ have decided,” Schroeder says. “In fact, the ELCA is only one of many Lutheran denominations. We are saddened that a group with the name Lutheran would take another decisive step away from the clear teaching of the Bible, which was the foundation of the Lutheran Reformation.” Schroeder says that WELS is firmly committed to upholding God’s design for marriage as outlined in Scripture—a design intended for one man and one woman. “We believe, and the Bible teaches, that God designed this relationship to be a blessing for men and women and for society. Any departure from what God himself has designed does two things: it denies the clear teachings of Scriptures and it undermines God’s desire that the man/woman relationship in marriage be a blessing.”
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On the WELS.net site I found a reaction to that news release, but not the news release itself.
Feedback to a WELS news release quoting Pres. Mark Schroeder's reaction to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) decision to allow homosexuals in "lifelong, monogamous" relationships to serve as pastors continues to flow in.
On Aug. 21, the day the ELCA churchwide assembly approved the resolution, Communication Services posted Pres. Schroeder's response expressing WELS opposition based on clear biblical principles on the synod's Web site. A news release was also sent to Religion News Service for worldwide distribution.
So far, the reaction has been almost universally positive, with statements of support coming from both WELS and non-WELS members. "I appreciate your statement and share your disappointment," writes one woman from Michigan. "Thank you for posting the statement with a clear Biblical viewpoint."
"As a member of an ELCA church, I applaud you standing up for the Word of God and having the backbone to speak up and put your 8/21 letter on your Web site," writes another woman from Minnesota.
While it is impossible to gauge precisely how widely published Schroeder's comments were, the news release was printed virtually verbatim on more than a dozen blogs. Schroeder's comments were quoted in an MSNBC.com article (link no longer available) on the reaction to the ELCA decision from both WELS and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
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Hochmuth was not excommunicated, but Rick Techlin and the Krohns were.
SP Schroeder:
Christians are not immune to Satan’s temptations. David, Paul, and Peter all knew from personal experience that believers can and do commit terrible and unspeakable sin. But they also knew and experienced the restoring power of God’s grace. Joel Hochmuth knows this as well. Joel is receiving pastoral care from his pastors and others. We are confident that the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in God’s Word has brought him to recognize and repent of his sin, and we also know that he has sought and received the comfort of forgiveness in the redeeming sacrifice of our Savior. Please pray that Joel will continue to be assured of forgiveness at the foot of the cross and that God’s grace will restore him, renew him, and strengthen his faith.
Serving in Christ,
Rev. Mark Schroeder, WELS President
"There is only one commandment in WELS, and you have broken it. Now begone!"
A WELS lady marveled that two pastors could be the cause of so much trouble in one little synod. Thank Mark Schroeder and the other clergy, like Patterson and Zank, for bailing the Booze Brothers out so many times.
