Half Toward the Next Rice Trip Already Given

Pastor Palangyos needs $700 for transportation costs and rice for the next rice trip to the mission.

As of tonight, $350 has been sent.

Pastor Palanyos reported on his blog that the lockdown has been hard on everyone but has also opened up more opportunities in their home neighborhood.

How to Send Money to the Bethany Philippine Mission

WELS Essay Files Are Offline. Seminary Fears Sound Doctrine Will Break Out If Not Fixed Immediately!

THE WELS ESSAY SERVER IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE. OUR I.T. DEPARTMENT IS WORKING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN.

Bethany in the Philippines - From Pastor Jordan Palangyos

This pandemic changed the world and introduced many changes. It may be very difficult for some to adjust to the new normal specially that the number of new COVID 19 positive cases are rising day by day specially in our city. Most places here in the Philippines have been under lockdowns for five months already; thus, the difficulty for mobility and company bankruptcies. Most companies like bus companies, malls, restaurants, schools and others have suffered much and the fear of economic recession is escalating every day.

Churches are closed and church activities are cancelled. Mission works are halted as well. I cannot go to the mountains due to lock downs. However, God is still good. He indeed works in mysterious ways.

Churches may be closed and my mission in the mountains may be temporarily halted but some families in my neighborhood here in the city have opened their houses for us to study God’s Word.

This pandemic closed some doors but it also opened some windows of opportunities. The bonding in our neighborhood began because God’s Word is operating.

Bethany Lutheran in the city began during the pandemic.

The world may be scary right now and we don't know what the future brings but we are still joyful and at peace because we are assured of our salvation and we know God is always with us in all seasons of life.

ear of economic recession is escalating every day.

d. He indeed works in mysterious ways.

ir houses for us to study God’s word.

This pandemic closed some doors but it also opened some windows of opportunities. The bonding in our neighborhood began because God’s Word is operating.

Bethany Lutheran in the city began during the pandemic.

Thank God there are trained lay leaders in the mountains to take over in my absence. Three laymen are now serving in the mountains while I can't go there due to lockdown. They embraced their roles so the works will remain strong and fruitful. The pandemic set the fire burning and leaders rediscovered their roles.

nd strength in this time of global crisis .

ation and we know God is always with us in all seasons of life.

Shalom Bethany World Mission!

Sassy Balks at a Little Sprinkle, So I Pruned

Sassy loves her morning walk, so I should have been aware of her lethargy as I put on my shade hat and shoes. Hmm, the driveway was damp.

I felt a light mist falling and turned around to see "Nope" in Sassy's eyes. Snow and ice are fine with her, but not rain. She has her own internal weather station. On one walk, when she usually wanted to turn around at Pat and John's, she headed home.

The sky did not seem threatening to me, because it is often overcast - clouds without rain, like the OJ salesmen. We got home and a tremendous thunderclap made us jump. Sassy knew.

Sassy stayed inside. Her funniest look is at the door, with me ahead of her on the driveway, with that "I am staying on the porch look." Being inside is even better when it is hot or rainy.

I was geared up for some pruning, so I grabbed the rose shears and began. I aimed at the finished Joe Pye blooms, which were turning to seed and the finished Bee Balm blooms (say that fast, three times).

I piled up the cuttings to use as mulch around some new roses. They inhibit grassy weed growth. That is the Ruth Stout method - use weeds to prevent weeds while feeding the soil. If the weeds look predatory and aggressive, I put the cut ones in the Blackberry patch. The only weeds growing out from that patch are the Hog Peanuts, a soil enhancer that cannot be pulled out by humans.

The doughty little Clethra creates an atmosphere of sweet spice.

Pruning also opens up the Clethra shrubs to more air. They are doughty little plants,about 5 feet tall, always looking 100% healthy, never begging for water or rain. With more space around it, the Clethra will exude more sweet cinnamon fragrance as the one and only Cinnabon tree.

 "Resist the beginning." I introduced Sassy to Frosty Paws. Every night she looks into my face and licks her jaws dramatically. It is a lot of fun to see her various expressions as I promise to get some - boredom, joy, exultant, smug. 

Watching the Water - Others Are Watching the Fires

Mrs. Ichabod I viewed the problems of the Three Gorges Dam in a video when the news was tilted toward big fires all over the globe, seemingly at once. Fires are horrible, but floods seem far more powerful - impossible to stop.

Floods also set up a system where evaporating water can easily come down again as rain. We saw that in St. Louis, with 60 straight days of rain, flooding, and recycling of the water. We saw hogs floating in the floodwaters, looking like inflated rubber toys.

Three Gorges was built in haste, bypassing many safety features.

Epoch Times says today -

The seizure of fake IDs is on the rise, and Customs and Border Protection says most of the fake documents come from China.
So far this year, the agency has seized almost 55,000 fake documents.
CBP Memphis Port Director Michael Neipert told The Epoch Times that they are "high-quality fake IDs because they can definitely fool the average person."

Apparently, the Chinese are perfectionists when it comes to fake IDs.

One region of the dam's drainage will have 50 inches of rain, which will move toward the dam this Saturday. News is difficult to obtain, but that looks like the final test this year.

We do not get the rough parts of storms as they pass through Sprindale. The storms go north toward Joplin or south through Ft. Smith. 

I had Poke Weed in distress before the last big rain. To make one a star weed with neat flowers and fruit, I covered the base with coffee diapers full of used grounds. That became messy, so I covered it with cardboard and a layer of wood mulch. Special plants got stored rainwater and so did this Poke. 

The weed stretched out its branches to collect as much sun as possible - like an umbrella. Of course, plants in the shade would normally have little chance to grow. The cardboard and mulch made that safety zone even better. The Poke flowers are becoming fruit now and the leaves are filled with moisture instead of hanging like old rags, the fate of a nearby - but neglected - Poke Weed.

Those who look down on piles of weeds, dead grass and leaves should consider the ability of organic matter to absorb and hold moisture while the soil denizens do their work. Plants like cool feet. Swimming pools provide "cool decks" so tender feet are not burned in August. Plants make their own cool desks by dropping leaves and collecting organic matter. I recall that organic matter holds four times its weight in water. Those who love to rake leaves into plastic bags know how much wet leaves weigh compared to a bag of dry ones. I simply leave them in place and watch them disappear into the soil - turning into soil.

August is like winter - I think about gardening I will do when the weather is friendlier. I am going to cut down some of the big flowers in the Rose Garden where the bees and butterflies have finished their work. The Joe Pye flower becomes brown and fuzzy as the individual flowers are pollinated by the insects. Seeds form next. 

Joe Pye and Bee Balm are bully plants that take over their space quickly and eliminate ground weeds. I do not think Joe Pye will grow a second set of flowers, but Bee Balm will.

The mailman cut some Bee Balm in his way, blocking his reach into the mailbox. The presence of Bumble Bees might have motivated his project. Now the little stalks are presenting new flowers for the bees, near the ground floor rather than the mailbox itself.  As I say apologetically to visitors, "It's a mint. Can't stop a mint."

Close to Creation, Close to the Word. "Little We See in Nature That Is Ours."

The most important event is not being covered. The largest hydro-electric dam is close to collapsing, and another flood is working its way down the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Dam poses a disaster many times greater than the high-rise "luxury" apartment building sinking and stinking in San Francisco. Neither one was built directly on bedrock. The high rise will be fixed with $100 million and "a plethora of building permits." They could not get me into that lobby with a cattle prod in my back.

Man-made disasters prove the arrogance of humanity, as if "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God" could be set aside for our convenience. I asked Ranger Bob, who always looks at safety first, "Would you be content living downstream from a 100 year-old sod dam?" Or two. That is what brought everything to a halt in the Midland, Michigan area. Norma Boeckler was flooded a third time but she has largely recovered.

 China - "everything is fine," but don't waste food.

The more I looked at the Three Gorges Dam situation, the less I found in the news. Data is scarce and fairly old in most outlets. The most alarming stories are obviously crafted by the government. Everything is fine and there is plenty of food, they say. America has some shortages with few problems apart from virus laws and fears.

Pastor Palangyos and I talk via Facebook most days. We were talking about rice there and gardening here. He learned my grandfathers were farmers, one with an agriculture degree from the University of Illinois. My parents grew up while electricity was being brought to farms, so they were organic farmers when the adjective was not needed. Farming was organic and the rules were basic.

We have a 3-D color motion picture running all the time, front and back yards. I have been adding berry plants and pollinator plants to both areas for years. There are always birds to view - Cardinals, Hummingbirds, Goldfinches, Robins, and Hawks. The insects are plentiful and fun to watch - Bumble Bees, Honey Bees, Butterflies, Hover Flies, Tachinid Flies, and Ichneumon Wasps. Some of the Butterflies are large, like F-15s, while others are tiny.

We waited for the Bee Balm, Clethra, and Joe Pye to bloom at the same time, like the climax of a July 4th fireworks display. When that happened, the air was alive with flights. The Military Gardening Group takes note - no one else has a theater in their front yard with pour-over coffee provided. PFC does have a relative's home where 30 Hummers hover around the feeders.

The cause and effects are obvious. We cannot change the big picture, but we can enhance what is already promised to us. An ordinary yard can be a paradise of flowers and creatures. We cannot help but learn from them. The Lord of Creation gave us every item we see and enjoy, from mineral and water wealth to plant and animal abundance. Then He gave us sermons and parables of Creation to explain how God works.

Matthew 6

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

New Rice Trip in the Philippines - Pastor Palangyos Helps His People

 Pastor Palangyos is preparing for the next rice trip. They have $150 toward the $700 needed.

As many people know, the Philippines are one of many countries where rice is the basic food, the staple of life. We might have rice once or twice a year, but they build their meals around it.

Weather has been terrible this year and the crops thin. Pastor Palangyhos was able to start payments on a car to deliver the rice, which he takes to the mission.

They also have far more restrictions than we do about the Wuhan Flu (Corona) virus.

Some people give directly through PayPal. Others would rather send a check here, to the Bethany Lutheran Church account. When checks come earmarked for the Philippines, they are sent the same day on PayPal. Sending checks directly is expensive and cumbersome because of the exchange rate and bank complications.

 Jordan and Amabel Palangyos. They have two children.
They are bringing the Gospel and food relief to their own people, where they grew up.

The email for using PayPal is

amabelpalangyos@yahoo.com

Our address is:
Pastor Gregory Jackson
1104 Letha Drive
Springdale AR 72762-2727

One Sentence Teaches Us All We Need to Know

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

"Like many Fathers who seemed to be sound on the Godhead, Cyril promoted errors in other areas. He stressed the "real presence" in the communion elements, and the saving efficacy of baptism."

J. A. Moorman, Early Manuscripts, Church Fathers, and the Authorized Version, p. 344.

As many know, the Lutherans abandoned the King James Version long ago. WELS even kicked out pastors who questioned the NIV, but LCMS joined them in hugging the NIV like it was the answer to Biblical clarity...and all their problems.

The author is clearly a Calvinist, a Fundamentalist. He writes in favor of the traditional text and the most precise translation (KJV) but cannot abide certain "errors" in Cyril.

That is the beauty of the KJV, which is more accurately called the Tyndale, or - The English Luther Bible. Nothing is squelched because the KJV editors sought accuracy rather than dumbing down, altering, and rephrasing for those offended by the efficacy of the Word and the Sacraments.

That is all the difference between Luther and Calvin. The Geneva prophet pretended to agree with Luther (that is - agree with the Bible). Calvin removed the connection of the Holy Spirit with the Word (always) and made it a matter of God's fickle nature. The sermon might be effective on Sunday or not - depending on where the sovereign Spirit stopped by. 

Notice that Sovereign has a special meaning to Calvinists - the denial of the Spirit/Word connection, though that connection is clearly taught throughout the Bible, especially in Isaiah 55 and John 3.

I hope most people will see the doctrinal implications in these dark days, when most of the denominations fiddle while burning to join Rome.

The liberals and self-described conservatives believe the same thing, that the Spirit does not work through the Word. Therefore, the Bible is nothing more than a platform for their ideas. 

 St. Tony Morgan of Unstuck. He will show you the light.

St. Tony has all his Church Growth certificates and awards. He has the typical Calvinist approach of examining all the facts and figuring out a method for reaching yet another level of excitement.

That is why young Calvinists become old Unitarians. The same is true of denominations. The LCA embraced Bratten-Jenson's idiotic Christian Dogmatics, which was the last gasp of people speaking about God language. The clergy found comfort in planning smells and bells services - without the Word - and heading for Rome where they could take serving the Antichrist seriously.

Christian Dogmatics, in two expensive volumes, denies all the articles of faith found in the Creeds. But at least they are talking about God. Worth $90, you betcha.

By removing the Spirit from the Word, the Calvinist Lutherans have chosen to rely on numbers, marketing, gimmicks, and the latest fads. And they make people pay dearly for it.

You Need To Be Unstuck - The Latest Gimmick WELS Is Buying - Maybe LCMS/WELS Too?

Experience

• 

  Founder & Lead Strategist

  Company Name

  The Unstuck Group

  Dates EmployedApr 2009 – Present

  Employment Duration 11 yrs 5 mos

  LocationGreater Atlanta Area

  > Provided consulting services to over 200 churches across the country and in the United Kingdom, Canada and Costa Rica.
  > Started coaching networks to equip and encourage hundreds of church leaders.
  > Author of five books published through Group Publishing, B&H Publishing and Thomas Nelson.
  > Self-published six eBooks that have been downloaded and viewed over 100,000 times.
• 

  Pastor on Lead Team

  Company Name

  West Ridge Church

  Dates EmployedSep 2009 – Mar 2012

  Employment Duration2 yrs 7 mos

  LocationDallas, GA

  > Served with the Senior Pastor and four other pastors on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT provides ministry and spiritual leadership for the church.
  > Responsible for overseeing the multi-site strategy and the opening the second location in western Paulding County.
  > Led the church through a merger with Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, Georgia to become a third campus.…
• 

  Chief Strategic Officer

  Company Name

  NewSpring Church

  Dates EmployedFeb 2007 – Apr 2009

  Employment Duration2 yrs 3 mos

  LocationAnderson, SC

  > NewSpring was identified by Outreach Magazine as one of America's top 100 largest and fastest growing churches with over 10,000 in attendance.
  > Serve with the Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, and three other pastors on the Senior Management Team (SMT). The SMT provides ministry and spiritual leadership for the church.
  > Responsible for implementing a multi-site strategy and helping the church open new campuses in Greenville, Florence and on the Internet.
  > Developed the church's communications strategy and implemented a new web strategy.
  > Responsible for marketing strategies to promote the church's annual leadership conference.…
• 

  Pastor of Administrative Services

  Company Name

  Granger Community Church

  Dates EmployedSep 1998 – Jan 2007

  Employment Duration8 yrs 5 mos

  LocationSouth Bend, Indiana Area

  > Outreach Magazine identified Granger as one of America's top 100 fastest growing churches in the 21st century.
  > Served with the Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, and three other pastors on the Senior Management Team (SMT). The SMT provides ministry and spiritual leadership for the church.
  > Helped provide leadership as church has grew from 1,400 to over 4,500 in attendance.
  > Responsible for overseeing these operational functions: facilities, grounds, technology, web strategy, communications, accounting, budget administration, office management, human resources, and business administration. Lead a paid staff of 26 and approximately 300 volunteers.
  > Obtained $15 million in financing to support four construction projects including two auditorium expansions, the new children's center, land acquisition, and office and café remodeling projects.
  > Launched WiredChurches.com, Granger's ministry to other church leaders in 2002. WiredChurches.com was equipping church leaders through an annual conference, workshops, newsletters, and other resources.
  > Led the development of the websites for both the church (GCCwired.com) and WiredChurches.com.
  > Helped initiate systems to streamline budget development, purchasing, staffing, facility scheduling, membership tracking, and ministry and small group connections.…
• 

  City Administrator

  Company Name

  City of Niles

  Dates EmployedJan 1998 – Sep 1998

  Employment Duration9 mos

  LocationNiles, MI

  > Niles was a community of 13,000 with a $20 million budget and 150 employees.
  > Initiated strategic planning retreat with the Mayor and City Council.
  > Initiated organizational study to review the consolidation of the City and Utility Department finance functions.…
• 

  City Manager

  Company Name

  City of Knoxville, Iowa

  Dates EmployedSep 1994 – Dec 1997

  Employment Duration3 yrs 4 mos

  LocationKnoxville, IA

  > Knoxville was a community of 8,500 with a $6.5 million budget and 50 employees.
  > Initiated application process for Knoxville to be named one of only 30 finalists in the 1995 All-America City competition.
  > Prepared three budgets that lowered the City's property tax rate from levels.
  > Completed the City's first budget document that was submitted to the Government Finance Officer's Association for formal review.
  > Moody's rating upgraded from A3 to A2 during tenure.
  > Completed the hiring process for the police chief, public works director and finance officer positions and appointed a new volunteer fire chief.
  > Reduced from 9 to 5 the number of departments in the organization by creating a consolidated public works department.
  > Oversaw the completion of several street, traffic signal, and sanitary sewer capital improvement projects.
  > Developed and implemented a formal goals and objectives program for the City Council.
  > Established the City's first five-year capital improvement plan (CIP) and a vehicle/equipment replacement program.
  > Developed a policy statement to use tax increment financing to promote residential development.
  > Coordinated City's emergency response to June 1997 windstorm that resulted in a Governor's disaster area declaration.…
• 

  Administrative Assistant to the City Manager

  Company Name

  City of Galesburg, IL

  Dates EmployedFeb 1992 – Sep 1994

  Employment Duration2 yrs 8 mos

  LocationGalesburg, IL

  > Galesburg was a community of 33,500 with 225 employees.
  > Coordinated all personnel functions including hiring, labor negotiations, contract administration (AFSCME, IAFF and police unions), training, policy development and ADA, FMLA and FLSA compliance.
  > Developed and helped implement the organization's TQM effort.
  > Responsible for development of $13 million personnel budget.
  > Developed financial trends analysis report to analyze financial position of the City and recommended financial policies for Council's adoption.
  > Negotiated 15-year cable television franchise agreement and responsible for cable rate regulation.
  > Assisted the City Manager with administrative duties, council support functions, developing and tracking council agenda items and special projects.…
• 

  Administrative Intern

  Company Name

  City of Northwood, OH

  Dates EmployedJan 1990 – Jan 1992

  Employment Duration2 yrs 1 mo

  > Northwood was a community of 5,500.
  > Assisted with preparation of budget, financial reports and grant applications.

From Facebook:

We help churches get unstuck.

THE UNSTUCK GROUP·FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2019·

For 14 years, Tony Morgan served on the senior leadership teams of Granger Community Church, NewSpring Church and West Ridge Church. In that season, he started writing about leadership at tonymorganlive.com, while also authoring books and articles featured by Catalyst, Pastors.com and the Willow Creek Association.

His experience and writing often focused on having a clear strategy for ministry—a word few churches were embracing at the time.

In 2008, he started coaching pastors across the country. Through these coaching relationships, a theme became clear: Pastors felt stuck. In the following year, Tony was able to serve 10 churches, but more were requesting help getting unstuck than he could serve alone. So, he started building a team and developing a process that could help many more churches get unstuck.

Most organizations start, grow, thrive, lose momentum, decline and eventually end. We believe God desires that every church lives out its purpose at the pinnacle of sustained health. Our process is rooted in that belief, and we filter every aspect of our work through the lens of helping churches find health and effectiveness.

The Unstuck Group has served 300+ churches in the years since Tony first ventured out, and we continually work to refine and improve our process to serve churches’ needs better. It’s a spiritual endeavor of coming together as a ministry team to clarify where God’s called your church to go and how you’re going to get there. We walk with you through the process in four phases. Learn how our Unstuck Process helps churches get unstuck.

***

GJ - I would be shocked to find him mentioning the efficacy of the Word. Or faith.

Readers may recall that Ski and Bishop Katie went to Granger, Indiana to discover the secrets lodged therein. One of the members of Granger, not exactly Lutheran, had been a member of St. Peter WELS in Freedom, Wisconsin. It is an easy transition when the home church has has already removed all evidence of Biblical, Lutheran doctrine.

Ski and Katie were all over the US, attending conferences, often with Tim (do you know who my uncle is?) Glende. The three amigos worshiped with Andy Stanley, the Babtist gay activist minister. WELS was well represented there.

Mark and Avoid Jeske seems to be the epicenter of Church Growth fads, women's ordination, and merger with ELCA.

We can expect great things from Unstuck - great embarrassments, great costs, great cases of amnesia after everything has blown up or collapsed.

Martin Luther College - the WELS School of Ministry.
This graduate posted a Satanic symbol on Facebook.