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.
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Arkansas college's finances evidence at kickback trial
Arkansas college's finances evidence at kickback trial:
"The government did not request a copy of the college's long-range strategic plan to put into evidence, both Benca and defense attorney Shelly Koehler of Fayetteville brought out in cross-examination of Novak. Koehler is an attorney for Shelton. Yet the long-term plan is what the college was fundraising for, Novak testified under Benca and Koehler's cross-examination.
Ecclesia executives, including him, expected Shelton's efforts to take at least two years to begin to bear fruit, Novak testified. Little over a year passed between Shelton's first contract and the appearance of federal investigators at Paris' office, case records show.
News of the investigation, with federal agents first interviewing Paris in late 2014, also cut off enrollment growth, Novak testified. The college had as many as 130 students on campus before the investigation and has about 100 now, he said. Properties bought by the improvement fund grants were for additional student housing, but the need eased because enrollment went down, he said.
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| A staff recruiter told the blogger that the costs were still $30,000 for a student to attend Ecclesia, with Third World dorms, no sports facilities, a tiny library, and this strange combo-building as its main location. They already had plenty of land, but spent all the money on kickbacks and 50 more acres for a shrinking enrollment. |
Woods directed a $200,000 grant to Ecclesia in September 2013, grant records show. Neal, of Springdale, supported a $50,000 grant to the college and Woods another $150,000 in December 2014, also according to grant records. The amount of money Woods is accused of receiving as a kickback isn't specified in the indictment. It claims much of that money was paid in cash, except for one transaction made to Woods by wire transfer for $40,000.
In one transaction, Paris authorized $50,000 to Shelton's firm on Sept. 27, 2013 -- the same day Paris signed an agreement for the college to accept a $200,000 state General Improvement Fund grant, the indictment says. Shelton used the $50,000 that day to open an account for his business, which had been incorporated the day before, the document reads.
Less than a week later, on or about Oct. 1, 2013, Shelton transferred $40,000 by wire from that business account into the personal bank account of Woods, according to prosecutors. Defense attorneys have said the money transfers to and from Woods were loans and money to pay back loans."
'via Blog this'
WELS Genius Lessons - Still Flunking Grammar and Spelling
Prayers and God's Blessings for the changes that are taking place with the Time of Grace broadcasts. After Easter Sunday 2019, Pastor Mark Jeske will be transitioning out of the role as lead speaker on the Time of Grace television program. As part of that transition, and to capture the next generation of viewers by injecting new energy into their core message, the role of lead speaker will be assumed by Pastor Mike Novotny of Appleton, Wisconsin—a stellar and talented pastor who adheres to the same messages of spiritual growth and renewal they’ve proclaimed all along. You may already be familiar with Pastor Mike because he has been a Time of Grace contributing writer, a regular speaker on the Your Time of Grace video devotions, and a host and occasional speaker on the Time of Grace television program. Production will be moving to 922Church The CORE in Appleton. In fact, filming already began there in early January 2018. Pastor Jeske's letter, in it's (sic) entirety, is below. We thank Pastor Jeske for his faithful service to our Lord through this ministry for the past 17 years and we welcome Pastor Novotny.
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| Jeske must be exhausted from giving the same "We ran out of Germans" lecture for the last 20 years. |
GJ - it's means - it is.
To show possession, use its. I thought all the Mordor graduates were genius level linguists.
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GJ - I find it amusing that they still pretend The CORE is a separate congregation when it is just another campus for the Tim Glende show.
Paul Defeats UOJ in the Introduction to Romans
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
16 ου γαρ επαισχυνομαι το ευαγγελιον του χριστου δυναμις γαρ θεου εστιν εις σωτηριαν παντι τω πιστευοντι ιουδαιω τε πρωτον και ελληνι
17 δικαιοσυνη γαρ θεου εν αυτω αποκαλυπτεται εκ πιστεως εις πιστιν καθως γεγραπται ο δε δικαιος εκ πιστεως ζησεται
Last night we worked on Romans 1 in Greek.
One point I made was that the Christian Church does - or should not - declare doctrine based on a few words, or a partial verse, or even a favorite verse by itself.
The Bible teaches one doctrine, not many doctrines, so there are no bargaining chips. The Scriptures are the Book of Holy Spirit, one Truth revealed by God.
One of the old rules is often stated in seminary class but seldom observed - Scripture interprets Scripture. If we have trouble with the meaning of a passage, the "bright" passages illuminate the "dark" ones. The Word is quite plain, but given our era, our inclinations, our traditions, some passage may seem dark to us until compared to one more helpful.
I am convinced that many passages called "hard sayings" are especially clear and easy to teach once they are explained properly from the Word of God.
Universal Objective Justification - or just plain Objective Justification - is taught as "God declaring the entire world forgiven and saved" - based on Paul's teaching. Romans 1 is a good example of that dogma being exploded in advance, as the Gospel of John does many times over.
Do the sleeping sheep wonder why the "conservative" Lutherans celebrated the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation without saying Justification by Faith Alone? Instead, they slighted Luther as much as possible while selling Luther trinkets and gee-gaws.
Paul clearly teaches that the Gospel of Christ is the efficacious power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
If we look at word order in the original text, which is often an indication of emphasis -
- Gospel of Christ
- Power of God
- For salvation
- Everyone who believes.
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
That is why the current crop of crypto-Calvinists - neo-rationalists all - fuss around with if/then statements and all their little slogans that fill their little minds. They have completely given up the efficacy of the Word and no longer trust the Gospel to do the work of the Holy Spirit, so they turn to gimmicks, cheesy music, and the latest trends sold by the Fulleroids (a Fuller student who is a pain).
Paul teaches that the Gospel belongs to Christ and is the unique power of God that grants salvation to those who believe, Jew and Greek alike.
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
Verse 17 is somewhat mysterious to those who lack a KJV or the Greek text of Romans. We are justified by the faith of Jesus.
Romans 3 22 δικαιοσυνη δε θεου δια πιστεως ιησου χριστου εις παντας και επι παντας τους πιστευοντας ου γαρ εστιν διαστολη - Stephanus edition
But the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all and upon all those believe, for there is no difference - Jackson Literal
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: KJV
Did Jesus not have faith? We should not overlook His human nature. We say He grew thirsty, hungry, angry, and amused - that He suffered and died. Did He not have faith in God the Father, that what was commanded and taught by the Father must be carried out and taught by Jesus?
The moderns are influenced by the spirit of Calvin, so they make up a grammatical rule and say, "According to our rule, that must be faith IN Jesus." A genitive (of Jesus) is a genitive. There is no way to determine if Paul meant an objective or subjective genitive, a category we apply after the fact. I did not know - until being at Mordor in Mequon - that defining a genitive could answer a doctrinal question.
So I think this verse is best answered by saying the righteousness of God is first revealed in the faith of Jesus and then creates faith in us (the Faith of Jesus Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes).
The entire Bible is about faith, not unfaith. If we want to discover salvation without faith, we have to start with Calvin's election without faith, which sounds strangely like Walther's election without faith.
And holy moly (a Greek herb, by the way) - Samuel Huber, a Calvinist in Lutheran clothing, taught Objective Justification at Wittenberg until Polycarp (fruitful) Leyser and Hunnius crushed him like a bug.
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| Someone can kidnap three people, steal land and gold and books after organizing a riot, and still be called The Great...? Only in the LCMS. |
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