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| WELS was born orthodox Lutheran, according to Mark Schroeder, MDiv, but he is like Jay Webber, calling rationalistic Pietists "orthodox Lutherans." |
SP Mark Schroeder's buddy and classmate said WELS had a scandal blowing up every day, which does not shock me. Forgiveness-without-Faith (UOJ), adultery, Fuller's Church Growth, alcoholism, and scandals go well together.
Ichabod had so much material about Hope in Oconomowoc that I had to create a navigation page for myself and others. A reader helped me find "What's Cooking, Doc," published in 2009, about the previous and the new pastor.
So here is the problem. St. Mark Jeske is above and beyond reproach, because he is the son of a deceased Mordor professor, the grandson of a Pieper, a buddy of millionaires, and a board member of Thrivent. Like most WELS leaders, he does not give, but takes at every opportunity - from the taxpayers, from the synod, from the Siebert Foundation, and from the Thrivent board - salary, benefits, and juicy grants.
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| The parable of the Change or Die!r and the Means of Grace pastor. |
Jeske was the leader of WELS Church and Change, until he organized the ELCA-WELS-LCMS Change or Die! He sneeringly introduced Ewart at a Change or Die! coven in 2016. Ewart snarled and fumed about what a great parish he had, compared to that lowly other one - not named. Oh my. Did we just hear the Pharisee and Publican parable, with Ewart playing the Pharisee? I think so. Justification by Works, but not a word about the Means of Grace.
Sidebar it was not Team Kolander but the Western District of Wisconsin -
Just FYI. Hope Oconomowoc (Jason Ewart) was in the Western WI District, not the SE Wisc. And so the DP who exercised discipline on him was Michael Jensen, not Dave Kolander. You can read DP Jensen's district convention report here: http://welswwd.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/4/1/10412170/wwd_dp_report_-_conference_2017.pdf
Hope, Dousman
It’s with sadness we report to our district conference the suspension of Hope Ev. Lutheran, Dousman, WI from membership in our district. This suspension took place on May 26, 2017 only after having been informed by Hope’s leadership several times that Hope’s voters had voted and were determined to retain Pastor Ewart despite his February 9th suspension from our ministerium. While Pastor Ewart had the right to appeal within 60 days of his suspension, he chose not to exercise that right. Like any other member of the district, Hope has the right to appeal this suspension and 60 days to exercise that right, although they have indicated they will not be doing so. We are saddened by the suspension of Pastor Ewart as our goal was to gently correct and restore a brother who had departed from evangelical Lutheran proclamation in favor of something else. We are saddened by misinformation as that only makes a heart-wrenching situation more difficult. We’re saddened that the district was never allowed the opportunity to speak to the members of Hope Lutheran. And, now we’re saddened by the suspension of Hope from our synod and the hurt this brings to many families. A copy of an Open Letter to Hope’s members has been sent to all district pastors and is available through them to anyone. Having not been allowed to come and speak to the membership directly, it’s an invitation for any member who would like to speak with us. We ask that you distribute this letter to any interested individual. When necessary for the care of souls, Circuit Pastors have additional resources. Regarding the suspension of Pastor Ewart, allow me to quote from that Open Letter to Hope’s members: First, what we say we say before Christ our Savior, who has called us to be faithful to Him, His Word and the precious souls He has purchased with His blood. It is love for Christ, His Word, Pastor Ewart and the members of Hope that has been our motivation from the start right up to the present. The matter is of the utmost importance because it involves Christ, His Church, His Word and His people. We, therefore, call upon Christ as our witness that we have been speaking the truth in love. Next, the suspension was not about traditional vs. non-traditional worship or congregational forms as some have suggested. Nor was the suspension about personal or congregational jealousy as others have suggested. The true nature and cause of Pastor Ewart’s suspension from our district’s ministerium is his departure from the evangelical Lutheran proclamation and his dishonesty in the matter. Please also note that this determination was not made lightly or hastily. This assessment was made by two different district presidiums and suspension came only after over a half-decade of observation, study and conversations. As we strive to be faithful to Christ and His Word, we know this raises legitimate questions of fellowship and pastoral care for those who serve near Hope, Dousman. Our best counsel during the weeks to come is loving patience. Our prayer is that in the weeks to come God grants opportunities for conversations with members from Hope who are seeking answers. May Christ grant and bless those conversations. No longer being in church fellowship with the members of Hope causes heartache. It’s sad not to be able to worship, pray, commune and work together and have a partnership in gospel ministry, especially when it involves family and friends. Still, even as we will no longer be in church fellowship with the members of Hope, the debt of Christian love remains. We continue love them deeply and pray for them, as we do for all God’s children. And, as we continue to meet and greet them in our daily lives may we do so with kindness and Christian love.
Words of Thanks • To Christ • To All of You • To Circuit Pastors • To VP Ewings, VP Brauer, and Sec Riediger Christ’s servant to you, Mike Jensen
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| DP Jensen |
Pastor Michael Jensen - Coordination - Email
Pastor Jensen was called to St. Mark’s in the fall of 1998 and currently serves as the congregation's coordinating pastor. He also currently serves as the District President of the Western Wisconsin District of our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
Pastor and his wife Jane (Willitz) were married in 1988 and have been blessed with seven children, two daughters-in-law, two grandsons, and a granddaughter. Pastor Jensen is a 1988 graduate of Northwestern College of Watertown and a 1992 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon. Prior to coming to St. Mark’s, he served congregations in Green Bay, WI and East Brunswick, NJ.
Someone Steve Harveyed me - here is Team Kolander.
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| "Don we now our gay apparel, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la." |
Fake News Alert - It was not Kolander, but the rest of this is fun to read.
The new District President, who extended Ewart the Left Foot of Fellowship, was once elected to replace Wayne Mueller as First VP of the Wisconsin Sect. Kolander felt immediate remorse and resigned his post at the convention. Feeling the heat, the convention voted in the very guy they voted out - Wayne Mueller. That was about 2007.
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| The district Sanhedrin includes two (2) Kolanders. |
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| How long was this tiddly-wink DP? Mark Jeske was on the district Sanhedrin when he helped with a Jewish funeral. Note that - kids. Apostasy is a resume enhancer in the sect. |
The old DP, Rutschow, was all in for Church Growth, so it is fascinating that the old boy left and - boom - Ewart was out. As I recall, Rutschow had a traditional, liturgical parish but forced CG on all the other parishes.
The out and in ceremony was rich with WELS tradition. Jon Balge, son of a Mordor professor was MC. Two Kolanders now serve on the district Sanhedrin. Jason Free--as in DP Free and American Missions Free--is the free staffer that Kolander gets for being a parish pastor and DP at the same time. That reminds me of the Episcopalians, where the bishop has a parish, but the staff does the work. WELS is notoriously Episcopal, lax about doctrine, devoted to man-made traditions.
