Groundhog Day - Crepe Mytle

Queen's Lace Picotee -
Crepe Myrtle.

Mrs. Ichabod loves Crepe Myrtle (also spelled Crape Myrtle) - and so do the beneficial insects and the Cardinals. The Cardinals nest in the tree and eat the seeds in the winter.

The company above had an offer on these, and sent a free one besides.

I treated the plants like roses. I soaked them in rainwater overnight, planted them with special soil - no fertilizer added - and watered them with more rainwater from the barrels.

The destruction of the front lawn is now complete. The future Butterfly Garden is completely mulched. One section of the front lawn is mulched over and waiting for the last few new roses.

The West side of the rose garden needed a more prominent natural fence, so Mrs. Ichabod picked that area for a Crepe Myrtle fence. Remaining grass will be composted by covering the area near the Crepe Myrtles with cardboard and that held in place with shredded wood mulch.

 The base of the Crepe Myrtle is a cupboard full
of pruning scraps, dead leaves, twigs, mulch,
mushroom compost, lumps of dead wood -
a haven for soil creatures and spiders.

Crepe Myrtle is a Southern favorite, blooming for months, loving sun, and tolerating drought. We had a straggly one near the mailbox, so I made a point of studying them on the Net, feeding the base with organic materials, and pruning.

Now the pink Crepe Myrtle is the talk of the neighborhood, nine feet tall and loaded with lush blooms last year. Underneath we planted a few matching Caladiums. Last fall I added some Lily of the Valley.

Feed the Plants
This only makes sense for Creation Gardening. The soil feeds the plant roots, and the sun feeds the leaves. Each plant has an incredibly complex arrangement for blooming and setting seed.

I do not add chemical fertilizer because those man-made nostrums only reduce true nutrient exchanges, which take place through root fungus, bacteria, earthworms, and other soil creatures.

The car shows how large this Cat is,
but the ratio of moles to bacteria is far greater,
and bacteria do all the digesting for earthworms.
Fungus? Human hairs are much thicker.

Last year a mole created a food tunnel under the bush, a perfect circle. Was I upset? No, because he was harvesting insect larvae and worms, mixing the soil as only moles can do. A mole is the Caterpillar of soil helpers, a giant in the world of tiny creatures - largely ignored and frequently abused by gardening fads.

Knowing the bush needed food, I began adding mushroom compost, lawn lump droppings from the mower, leaves, and wood mulch under the Crepe Myrtle. The bush seemed to devour the food set on top, but the soil creatures were eating fast and converting their food to serve the bush's roots.

When I piled up autumn leaves into a pyramid, under the bush, the entire pile composted down and disappeared - bacteria, fungus, mites, earthworms and other creatures raking the leaves down to the roots, not into plastic bags.

I also pruned the bush so the legs were bare - a custom in the Crepe Myrtle community. Little Ichabod laughed at it. Later, when the bush was in full bloom, like nothing he had seen in town, he said, "Wow."

We want to feed our children the best food for their growth and their health. When boys reach their growth spurt, they will empty a kitchen of any spare food, before or after the main meal. We used to leave leftover things out for friends' visits. "Are those for us? Thanks." Gone.

 I pruned the lower half of the Crepe Myrtle,
sparing the area where the Cardinals were nesting.
Readers can see the reblooming.
On top the early blooms are going to seed.

The soil creatures are just as eager for good food.

But denominational leaders, crack-heads addicted to Fuller Seminary recreational drugs, want to market their addiction to others. The only growth they see from this is the growth of problems, debt, and sullen conflict - because no one dares to speak out anymore.

Solomon learned from ants, so perhaps the great and wise who pretend to follow Luther will learn from him. It is obvious they have not done any gardening.

Now Shipping - Creation Gardening - Two Copies Each

 Creation Gardening is sold retail on Amazon
and their Kindle e-books.

Creation Gardening is in print now, but I have not seen the print copy yet.

Today I am sending out two free copies of Creation Gardening to each of our regular members and friends.

I am making a list, checking it twice. If I overlook you, let me know. Or, if you are anxious about getting your copies, just email me at greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com

Let me know right away if you want more than two.

They are full color on the inside, so they take more time to print and ship.

Our marketing efforts are designed to get free and low-cost books to people. Members and friends have been very generous, so it is far better to send out $5 gardening books than to expect people to pay $20 retail.

The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine is being finished, God willing, in the next few weeks.

Luther's Sermons

A recent discussion with a reader fixed me on a new target - publishing the Lenker set of Luther's Sermons, print and Kindle. I have seen outrageous prices for this public domain set, which makes it difficult for anyone to obtain it. In fact, I ordered the old seven-volume set for one person and they only delivered one volume of it.

Since it is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, vendors have decided to mine the gold for themselves.

In contrast, we can make it available at cost, four volumes for about $32.

Immediately after, a reader wrote this:
I read about your proposal to publish Luther's Sermons. That's the main reason I came and continue reading the blog - for his sermons, accessible in one place. I've already mentioned I'd much rather have a physical copy to highlight, underline and write notes in the margins. For $32, that's a real bargain. This is a great service to Lutheranism and I may have to pick up several sets to hand out. I'll be on the lookout for more information. 

From 2012 - The CORE Values of WELS, SP Mark Schroeder, and the Booze Brothers

WELS offering money provided a grant to buy this failed, 
closed bar.
And more money was loaned by WELS to convert it to The CORE's edu-tainment center,
a few blocks from St. Paul, WELS, in Appleton.

 The CORE fiasco was led by the Booze Brothers,
Glende and Ski.
If you do not like their sexual harassment of staff,
"See you in court." They sue.

Reader:
I saw WELS latest “bar room” sacristy 4 blocks down from St. Paul’s in Appleton last weekend. This is what they bought for $500,000.00 in a downtown that is actually dying to the point they have to conduct farmer’s markets on Wisconsin Avenue (main street downtown Appleton) to attract people to go down there on a Saturday? Otherwise it’s a ghost town? If they paid that much for that building, I want to go in the real estate business and sell exclusively to the WELS. I understand this was purchased through the “Core” (as in “rotten as”) and not St. Pauls. So how does this Christian bar and grill “shill” for St. Pauls? Or are they two distinct and separate ministries. If so how does that work 4 blocks from one another?

[GJ - I want to be the guy who sold WELS a second office building for almost $3 million when the old one was unsold. Most people sell their homes before buying a second one, or they place a contingency offer so they are not stuck with two at once.]

***

GJ - The CORE pretends to be a separate congregation, but it is the evening service of St. Peter in Freedom, a congregation with a huge budget and staff.

Ron Ash was the chairman of Church and Change and the pastor of St. Peter in Freedom. Glende was the assistant pastor at first. Now there are four pastors, counting Ski, who is not listed on the staff on the website. Dishonesty is policy at St. Peter in Freedom.

Somehow The CORE is treated as a completely different entity when convenient, but the sheep-stealing operation has members join St. Peter since The CORE is not a parish at all.

These Church and Change projects are approved and supported by SP Schroeder and the WELS Love Shack staff. Jeff Gunn has one in Phoenix (joyously welcomed by Jon Buchholz). Patterson's guy in Indianapolis has another one. DP Patterson is doing the same in Austin-Round Rock, with the help of ex-SP Gurgle. There are more besides.

The Missouri Synod does the same thing on a grander scale. One of their largest congregations was listed as a member of Willow Creek's denomination and Missouri at the same time - St. John in Ellisville. The parish even featured a video of a pothead Jesus "celebrating" Holy Communion in the stupidest possible way. The pothead Jesus was played by the senior pastor. 

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Wendy has left a new comment on your post "WELS Member Staggered by the Price of the Failed B...":

Wow I knew that there is scandal in the wels synod but my goodness this is too much. The more I hear the more sick I feel. The Holy spirit has been showing me things for years not only in my personal associations with this cult but others as well. Judgement starts the pulpit God help them. I personally have had enough I'm out I can't help these people they see only what they want to see I have been treated horribly by this church not only as a employee but as a member its PC not politically correct POOR CONDUCT!!!!!!!!

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "WELS Member Staggered by the Price of the Failed B...":

This is why I tell everyone that Appleton is the armpit of the WELS. The lack of transparency is unsettling to those WELS members with a conscience. It is not surprising that the CORE purchased this for a princely sum. What is more surprising is that a bar actually went out of business in the state of Wisconsin. The WELS member is on to something when they point out that downtown Appleton is not what it used to be.

"we don't know where we're going".
This reminds me of the Synod Convention where it was announced that they wanted to start a Staff Ministry program at MLC. When asked what it was going to be, the answer was something like "well, we don't know just what it will be, but we need it".
The fact is that they knew all along what they wanted to do, they just were not disclosing it. 

***

GJ - A first step would be demanding to know how this money was spent on The CORE. Their one-man fan club, Joel Lillo, has been unusually cranky lately, so I imagine the attention is getting to them.

Three Years Ago - Under the Leadership of Synod President Mark Schroeder

Vermiculatus Rex - The CORE's mascot.





Check out this link for videos posted by The CORE.


The CORE by the Numbers:

The CORE held its grand opening on April 19, 2009.

* $250,000 spent
* 200 average weekly attendance since the grand opening
* 15 members

The information for the above attendance numbers was gathered at St. Peter’s open forum on June 16, 2009 A.D., and the above numbers are current as of that date.

As of this week, The CORE has yet to serve the Lord’s Supper, and is waiting until special hand made communion-ware is manufactured. According to Pastor Glende, most new congregations do not serve the Lord’s Supper for several months. Once The CORE begins to serve communion, then they will have a better idea of how many of its attendees are members of other area WELS congregations.

---

Quotations from the recently entertained:

This church just is totally alive, and you can feel that it’s blessed by God. And like the sign up here says … “To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things no one else is doing.” And how Pastor Ski … will do anything short of sin to reach people.

--

The idea of getting real and talking about the issues that really matter. There are so many people that are struggling, and they don’t know where to go; and God is there, he wants to help us, he is just waiting for us to cry out to him.

--

It was so awesome when I walked in, and I heard the airport sound effects going. The whole atrium was set up to look like an airport, and we got to pick up our tickets. It was just so much fun.

The whole concept of “Baggage,” and being able to deliver that to Jesus is just fantastic.

***

GJ - The facts and quotes listed above came from a member of the sponsoring congregation, St. Peter in Freedom, Wisconsin, part of the Fox Valley or A-town area. The retired pastor, Ron Ash, chairs Church and Change.

The material about The CORE makes me sick and extremely sad. I do not think I can joke about this fiasco anymore. Partly it is the money wasted, but even more it is the money lavished on creating a Groeschel franchise. For any of the WELS leaders to think this is a work of genius, an enormous amount of study with false teachers is absolutely essential.

The Shrinkers like to send anonymous comments like, "Why is this your business?" Of course, the Wisconsin sect feels free to comment disparagingly about all denominations, especially the ELS. Non-membership does not suggest a barrier to commentary. My despair comes from the decades of deliberate Lutheran abandonment of Biblical doctrine and worship. This abandonment has taken place in ELCA, Missouri, WELS, and somewhat in the wee little ELS. The Little Sect on the Prairie also has a Church and Change congregation, but I am sure their Board of Doctrine has jumped on that like a hobo on a hotdog.

Apathy and somnolence have created this problem. The watchmen on the towers of Zion have dosed off or taken bribes to play dumb.

The Word of God and the Confessions can set the course right again.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The CORE Numbers":

I wouldn't be so sure about ELS's Board of Doctrine jumping on their C & C congregation. That congregation even had a vicar last year.

***

GJ - My typo! I meant the ELS Bored of Doctrine. You are right. They will do nothing. Besides, it is probably one of those experiments.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The CORE Numbers":

Dr. Jackson,

This news about the CORE (and the whole concept really) makes me feel ill as well. I was a member of St. Matthew in Appleton for over 20 years until I moved. I still have friends and family members there, though I have encouraged them to find a better church. That congregation has also been infested with Church Growth,and Ski was even allowed to preach there recently. That congregation was one large and vibrant. Since the CG crowd took over, the school has closed and the membership has probably dwindled to about half of what it once was. Meanwhile, the Shrinkers running the church have wasted a fortune on AV equipment and technology that has not done a single thing to expand the church's ministry.

If the synod had leaders had any spine, they would confront Ski now and force the CORE to close its so-called ministry. It should never have been allowed to happen in the first placel. One would think St. Paul, one block from the CORE, would be howling, but I've heard nothing.a Where is the DP? Where is the SP? Why are the other churches in the Fox Valley not fighting this thing? WELS leadership, churches, and members need to stand up now before it is too late, if it is not already.

$250,000 spent. How many teachers could that have kept in our schools or pastors in mission fields? When I read these things, I'm ashamed to be a member of the WELS.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The CORE Numbers":

"$250,000 spent. How many teachers could that have kept in our schools or pastors in mission fields? When I read these things, I'm ashamed to be a member of the WELS."

How much other money, millions possibly, has been hidden away for their special purposes? How much of the $8 million shortfall went missing the same way?

One thing for sure, the leaders are obstinate liars who care very little about WELS, WELS called workers, and you. While they revel in fantasized glory before God, they busy themselves destroying the church visible and invisible. They want it all gone for their Father Below.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The CORE Numbers":

Article VII of the Augsburg Confession had defined the Church as “the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.” It states that the Gospel taught rightly and the Sacraments administered according to the Gospel are the marks of the Church. Wherever these go one, there we know that the Church is present.
It's obvious that "The CORE" is not in fellowship with the rest of the synod and the leaders such as the District and even Synod Presidents should start taking immediate disciplinary action to remove them from the WELS roster. Anything less than that is unacceptable.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The CORE Numbers":

Regarding St. Paul's reaction to the CORE:

I'm a member of another WELS church (Riverview) close to the CORE and have friends who are members at St. Paul. Their pastors did howl about the CORE to their DP, SP, and circuit pastor. They even called the DP in for a special meeting to try to get some answers out of him.

My friends are not sure how far the pastors got in their objections. But they assume the complaining was mostly ignored, judging by the fact that absolutely nothing has been done to temper the CORE's enthusiasm (pun intended).

Thankfully, St. Paul has refused to compromise its traditional worship and strong teaching since the CORE moved in.

I have also heard from these friends that St. Paul is actually growing in membership and school enrollment, while the CORE's weekly attendance is already in decline as the novelty wears off for all of its WELS attendees.








Ski's DP Engelbrecht has CORE values. What does the Conference of Pussycats say?
They approved Rock N Roll Lutheran Church in Round Rock, Texas, and Randy Hunter's Latte Lutheran Church in Wisconsin. [GJ Update - The Latte Church closed, couches and lady pastor and all, but Randy Hunter is a featured WELS speaker.] ---

Why not pose with me for a FB photo?

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=blogs04&plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&U=9a8980f0-f726-439c-8c4e-1dc0f788941e&plckPostId=Blog%3a9a8980f0-f726-439c-8c4e-1dc0f788941ePost%3a3cf6aac3-07b0-4680-896f-c0c7cba770ba&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest


Reader question: I have driven past Revolution on Franklin Street a couple times recently and noticed that the “available” sign is down. Did somebody lease finally lease the building and what is going to be in there?

Answer: That vacant building at 222 W. Franklin St., at the corner of Superior Street in Appleton, was purchased in a deal that closed Friday.

The new owner is The Core, a church group that previously held services in the former Big Picture theater and then the OuterEdge Stage in downtown Appleton.

The Core is an outreach ministry of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Freedom.

“We’re not a standalone congregation. We’re a second campus,” said campus pastor Jim Skorzewski, who is known as Pastor Ski. “The Revolution building fell into our lap. It’s been a blessing.”

His congregation tends to be on the young side, mostly under age 35. Worship includes live bands. The Core will continue to hold its Sunday evening worship services at OuterEdge until this building is ready in September.

“We were never looking for a building, but we we’re always looking for a building,” he said. “We didn’t want to be a church that gets a building and then its vision and mission fall to the back burner because everything turns into paying the mortgage. We wanted to put our dollars into beer and snacks flesh and blood, people and relationships.”

WELS members - you gave them a grant and a loan to buy this bar.
Ask Keith Free and Mark Schroeder about their use and abuse of your offering money.
Another WELS congregation is several blocks away,
and they already had a downtown ministry.

Online, real estate listings show the asking price was $850,000. Outagamie County records listed its 2011 fair market value at about $523,000.

“We paid closer to fair market value,” said Jeff Ulman, a member of the church’s executive committee. “George Karl worked with us and helped us out extensively.”

George Karl, head coach of the Denver Nuggets and former coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, owned the building.

The purchase was handled through a church extension fund, said Skorzewski.

“We received a wonderful grant and loan from WELS, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Our remodeling was covered by the loan from WELS.”

Church volunteers are already inside working on the renovation. The church draws about 250 people on a typical Sunday.

Revolution was the last nightclub that operated in the Franklin Street building. It was open for about six months, until July 2010. Prior to that, the club had been opened and closed by several operators under the names Tom’s Garage, The Garage and Pulse Nightclub.

Skorzewski said the church would not keep the full liquor license that went with the building. If they chose to host wedding receptions in the building in the future, he said they would apply for a beer and wine license.

This is at least the fourth building in the Fox Cities to be converted from a business into a church in recent years, including structures that previously housed the Vineyard (now Living Faith), SK Flooring (now the Mission Church) and Big Picture (now Christ's Church of the Valley).

Note that in the printed version of this story in The Post-Crescent, the church in the Big Picture was incorrect. It is correct above.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Stinky Old Bar Sold for $500-850,000! Savoy, Illin...":

Multiple choice question:

Which "church" is Lutheran?

- Living Faith
- Mission Church
- The Core
- Christ's Church of the Valley

Answer:... wait for it....wait for it....

Fascinating Post from Norman Teigen, 2006. President Moldstad may have acted precipitously in suspending Rolf Preus | Norman's Demesne

 The Rolf Synod sojourned with ELDONA for a long time,
but Rolf went back to the LCMS, after suitable penance -
and the Rolfians crawled back to the ELS.

President Moldstad may have acted precipitously in suspending Rolf Preus | Norman's Demesne:



"
JUL 21
President Moldstad may have acted precipitously in suspending Rolf Preus

I have learned from a reliable source that President John Moldstad did not do much consulting when he suspended Rolf Preus from the ELS a few months back.

Moldstad had first suspended Preus on the convention floor of the 2005 ELS convention. That suspension was quickly revoked when Erling Teigen (full disclosure compels me to say that Prof. Teigen is my cousin) asked every one to stop and to withdraw the statements of the previous several minutes.

In February after a series of some meetings (I don't know how many, or whom was in attendance) Moldstad suspended Preus. Moldstad has authority to suspend, but having the power and using it wisely are two different things.

My source (not a family members) tells me that Moldstad did not consult with the faculty at Bethany College. Moldstad might have been wise to do so as there is a reservoir of talent and experience there that would have helped him. The faculty consists of bright men and women with experience in civic work, military service, academics, and synodical board service.

I think that the suspension power which Moldstad has under the by-laws of the synod would necessitate that an emergency be present. No such emergency existed, as I understand emergency. No one was denying the Trinity or any essential doctrine of the Church.

Preus said that he did not agree with what the synod had done the previous summer and that he would not be bound by the resolutions. It was that that prompted his suspension by President Moldstad.

There may have been a personal animus between the two men. President Moldstad comes from the yeomanry of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The yeomen faithfully serve the congregations in which they are called to serve. The yeoman may not have felt comfortable with a man who came from a family of lords, spiritual and temporal.

To further indicate to me that it was not an emergency, I consider that the synodical resolutions did not pass the 2005 convention with an overwhelming majority. In fact, the vote was close. Furthermore, Preus was not the only one to object to the resolutions. There are some 25 other pastors and 15 laymen who have publicly stated their disagreement.

President Moldstad was not unanimously elected to the ELS presidency in 2006 and this would further suggest that the Evangelical Lutheran Synod is less than unanimous on the issues and personalities of those involved in the present case.

President Moldstad probably consulted with people who encouraged him to suspend Preus. These people were not the academically trained of the Synod. I think that President Moldstad probably consults with people that he feels comfortable with. He probably consults with people who have had the same educational experiences as he has had.

He would also consult with others who have supported the past administration of the ELS. These would not be the academics from Bethany College.

There is a topographical divide on the Bethany Campus. On one side of the divide, the Elm Street Hill, is the Seminary and the Synod HQ on Browns Court. On the other side of the divide is the College. The two campuses are linked by Browns Court Road.

For many years the Seminary did not have any of the professors teach in the Seminary, even though they were fully qualified to do so. This was something of a scandal since there were Bethany College professors who were more qualified to teach in the Seminary than some of the seminary professors.

One of the glaring examples of this deficiency was Professor Dan Metzger. Metzger had a PhD from Marquette and should have been teaching in the seminary. He wasn't because, I believe, he could not be counted on to promote the specific interests of the administration. Metzger is now gone.

In recent years the Board of Regents, after President Moldstad had moved from the Seminary faculty to the synodical Presidency, took a firmer control of the situation so that college professors are no longer excluded from teaching in the Seminary.

Had President Moldstad done some consulting with the faculty of Bethany College, he might have learned that suspension was not the only way to proceed with the problem. I think that the ones who advised Moldstad were those who shared his vision of what the Synod should do and how it should proceed. I think that the pastors of those congregations who so quickly voted recommendations of support for President Moldstad were those who advised President Moldstad to suspend.

I continue to believe that President John Moldstad is a faithful Christian pastor and administrator who is deserving of the highest respect. I believe that Pastor Rolf Preus is also a faithful Christian pastor.

It is most unfortunate that this situation should have developed within the Evangelical Lutheran Synod at this time.
Posted 21st July 2006 by Norman Teigen"

'via Blog this'

***
GJ - Norman Teigen was ordered to stop blogging, and he definitely had the most interesting blog around. Paul McCain had a special laser beam of hate aimed at Teigen, a retired teacher. Infallible popes do not like the truth.

 Note the reference above to Pope John's education - minimal,
not even a bachelor's degree when he was called to teach
New Testament at the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie.
Readers - name another UOJ fanatic with no college degree.
Answer - Bishop Martin Stephan, STD, founder of the LCMS.
Pope John finished up his BA degree, so he does have
an undergraduate degree. Whew!

Lutheran Clericalism Suffers Badly from Their Doctrine of Infallibility

align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;">

Reading in context makes all the difference
between pixelating a phrase like "raised for our justification"
and understanding the Word of God.
Pope John 22 - not often mentioned - wisely rejected the Roman Catholic doctrine of infallibility, which some were promoting. He knew it would bind him to previous decisions and decrees.

Centuries later, a weakened and stumbling papacy insisted on papal infallibility, and Vatican I affirmed what Pope Pius IX wanted.

As I have shown many times before, WELS and LCMS have a history of teaching Justification by Faith and not UOJ - Justification without Faith.

Now that they are committed to clergy infallibility, the "conservative" Lutheran synods have to keep piling on more essays about their precious UOJ, even though they refuted themselves by citing Romans 4 - and even by citing anything from the Bible.

WELS has about 60 or so essays on their Satanic dogma of UOJ. The Emmaus Hootenanny will add more.

WELS Professor John "Sparky" Brenner will present at Emmaus. His nickname should be "Spineless."

• When I asked Brenner about Valleskey's essay - that drooled over Church Growth and lied in his claim about Evangelicals "downplaying the Means of Grace" - Spineless said, "Write a letter." I asked whether the faculty had any responsibility for their Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly. Frau Brenner scowled at me during the conversation, like, "How dare you question an infallible professor at Mordor!"
• By the way, when I published an essay in Christian News, taking apart Valleskey's Figs From Thistles essay, the Bethany Seminary faculty jumped all over Little Ichabod, as if he wrote it. I never heard from those weasels at all.  [By the way - Valleksey admitted to David Koenig, CLC, that he did attend Fuller Seminary, as Bivens did, but Valleskey lied about it when I asked him directly.]
• When two students went to speak to Spineless about the abuses of GA, the secretive hazing ritual at Mordor, the Dean defended GA, saying, "It has good benefits too."
• After one prospective student was sexually assaulted by a student when visiting the Mordor campus, he complained about it to Brenner. The response was "You are too thin-skinned."
• Anyone who complains to Brenner will find himself pushed out of the seminary program, as were all three students mentioned above - and yes, I know about these incidents from them.
• Spineless needed remedial work before he was accepted into the doctoral program at UW. WELS has such a superior educational program that no one recognizes it.

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--

The 10th Annual Emmaus Conference is Friday, April 28th, 2017, with a banquet the evening prior on Thursday, April 27th. The topic for the 2017 Emmaus Conference will be: “The Unsuspecting American Luthers”. The backgrounds, challenges, and impact of several Lutheran theologians in the 20^th Century will be explored and discussed.

• C. F. W. Walther, by the Rev. Dr. 5th VP Daniel Preus
• A. Hoenecke, by the Rev. Dr. Prof. John Brenner
• U. V. Koren, by the Rev. Prof. Markos DeGarmeaux

Daniel Preus

John Brenner

Markos DeGarmeaux

Swingers Gather Outside Our Window - Jackson EZ Birdswing Enlarged

I noticed the array of screw-hooks under the eaves would support a very wide birdswing - 72 inches. (That's six feet for those who graduated from Mordor Seminary in Mequon.)

I went to Lowe's for the express purpose of spoiling the birds and getting some potting soil for the latest plants. Yesterday was shirt-sleeve weather, 71 degrees.

They were discounting sunflower seeds already, so I also got a corn kernel block for the squirrels. The block went to the platform feeder and kept them away from investigating the new bird configuration. The squirrels also have their own feeder, but they epitomize greed and gluttony.

At Lowe's, I explained my need for a six-feet threaded rod, and the staffer found it at once. He was pretty old - at least as old as I am, so I explained my mission. Youngsters are so judgmental.

"I am expanding my birdswing to six feet. I hang two chains from the eaves and put the threaded rod through it."

He lit up and said, "Neat."

I expected the birds to stay away from the new swing, because of their shyness, so I filled the hanging feeder to the brim, spread seeds around the area, and added some to the corn kernel block.

This morning we had more Cardinals than ever before. It was cold and blustery, overcast with clouds. Several male cardinals and three female cardinals went back and forth, to the swing and Butterfly Bush and feeder.

One reader said, "If I had that set-up, I would not get any work done. I would watch them all day long."

Cardinals are enchanting.

Fourth - New Testament Greek Class - The Article and Pronoun. Today, Thursday, 7 PM Central Time

Ιωαννης μαρτυρεῖ περὶ αυτοῦ και κεκραγενλεγων                            15

Οὑτος ῆν ὃν ειπον

Ὁ οπισω μου ερχομενος εμπροσθεν μου γεγονεν

ὁτι πρωτος μου ῆν.

ὁτι εκ του πληρωματος αυτοῦ ἡμεις παντεςελαβομεν                     16

και χαριν αντὶ χαριτος ·

ὁτι ὁ νομος διὰ Μωϋσέωςεδοθη                                                             17

ἡ χαρις και ἡ αληθεια διὰ Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ εγενετο.

θεὸν ουδεὶς ἑωρακεν πωποτε ·                                                                 18

μονογενὴς θεὸς ὁ ων εις τον κολπον του πατρὸς

εκεῖνος εξηγησατο.

The Synods Are Building on Swamp Mud Too. Who Will Pay for San Francisco's Tilting, Sinking Millennium Tower? - Bloomberg

 No, they are Halle Pietists
who neither know nor love Biblical, Lutheran doctrine.

Built on swamp mud, the synods tilt,
That's why the steeples are falling;
Crumbled have spires that once were built,
Bells have stopped chiming and calling,
Calling the young and old to rock,
Never to play some hymns by Bach,
Off'ring  fresh popcorn and soda.


Who Will Pay for San Francisco's Tilting, Sinking Millennium Tower? - Bloomberg:


The 58-story tower's shine faded on May 10, 2016, when Agabian attended a homeowners association meeting and was informed that the building had sunk 16 inches into the earth and tilted over 15 inches at its tip and 2 inches at the base, according to suits filed by residents and the city of San Francisco. “You can imagine how distressed we were to know that, for one, our lifetime investment and savings are at risk,” she said. “And we have no idea whether or not there’s a fix to it, and if there is a fix to it, what it will entail.”

'via Blog this'

***

 Hunter is far more influential in the LCMS and WELS
than Luther and Melancthon put together.

GJ - No wonder what the synods claim - like dogs, they always return to their vomit. They are forced to acknowledge the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, but they do so by steaming ahead with their Fuller fads, undermining the ministry, and protecting false teachers and criminals. The greater the felonies, the more protection offered by the synod leaders.

 The Galatians Lectures are seldom read or understood
by the pompous peacocks who want to hector us about forgiveness without faith.

Only $40 for the Pastoral Theology of the UOJ Heretic - CFW Walther. Polishing the Missouri Synod Myths

 No hiding the unGospel in this ELS reprint - 

the entire world is forgiven - without faith -

pure Halle heresy.

Yesterday John Pless was promoting the $40 Pastoral Theology of Walther - on Facebook. On his post, I noted Walther's sordid history with the Martin Stephan sex cult, so he unfriended me. Other Walther disciples added their praises below as if they had not read anything or looked at the graphics I graciously shared with them.

Gregory L. Jackson I would buy it as a humor book - how to make a serial adulterer into a bishop, sign his bishop-for-life document, and organize a mob to threaten, rob, and kidnap him at gunpoint. And then - erase the facts and forget all that.

Concordia Publishing House is good at digging the gold out of the pockets of their pastors, teachers, and clergy. Herman Otten had a much cheaper version of this book many years ago.

My largest book, at about 650 pages is only $7.52 at the author's cost, at Amazon.

Thy Strong Word - $7.52 By Dr. Gregory L. Jackson Hardcover adds a little more cost, but not much. For Amazon to sell my book to me at the lowest cost, they must pay less than $7.52 to manufacture a copy. Most of my books are sent free to individuals or at the author's cost plus shipping. Each title is on Kindle Unlimited, which allows readers to get all the titles for "free" by paying $10 a month. By charging so much, CPH enables an enormous cash flow to pay the princely salaries of the boss Kintz and his wayward underling Paul McCain, the only person in the publishing business to get away with blatant plagiarism. Even those who confess and apologize are usually fired on the spot, but McCain did not even apologize. When I brought the plagiarism up to Kinz, he unfriended me too. The primary problem with Walther is his consistent history of teaching against Justification by Faith. Posing as a new Luther, Walther manipulated history to make himself the founder of the Missouri Synod and the One With All the Answers. As one of my Lutheran FB friends says, "The worship of Walther in the LCMS is nauseating." Does anyone say The Great Krauth and sponsor a Krauth League?  Does anyone say The Great Hoenecke and call youth groups Hoenecke Leagues? The LCMS has no less than two shrines to The Great Walther, plus a statue at the Purple Palace. But the LCMS does not have an official UOJ teaching, as one DP admitted. UOJ is not in their catechisms, so the Preus franchise is decidedly ignorant of their own doctrinal history. Likewise, WELS. The Gausewitz Catechism taught Justification by Faith, so they deep-sixed the author and the booklet.  If all of them taught exactly the same error, the false doctrine would remain.