A Simple Test for Any Denomination or Abusive Sect

 

This simple test is so basic that very few denominational big-wigs, professors, and felons will be able to pass it.

The test - What does the material focus on?

Here are some common alternatives:

1. Look at how great our latest worship hymnal is! You will want to fill your congregation and Christmas present lists with copies.
2. See our latest building projects and possibly drool over having your name on its cornerstone.
3. Join us in our latest restructuring and planning process. We do not know what the end product will be, but we need you to trust the process.
4. Give the backhand and stink-eye to those who would impede us - and tell us who they are.

That covers the agenda of most denominations and the Church of Rome.

The alternative is found here - from Genesis 1:1 to the end of Revelation - faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, risen from the dead, ascended into Heaven.

If the church body, synod, denomination, or cult does not emphasize this simple alternative, they should disband or at least be as honest as the Unitarians are. Unitarians do not even believe in God and they insist on their unfaith for all who might join.

Jesus - you remember Him from the last fundraiser? - taught about the good tree of faith in Him and the evil tree of non-faith. The good tree can only produce good fruit, and the evil tree can only bear sterile fruit. That is why spectacular failures like Kent Hunter, Robert Schuller, and David Valleskey should be mired in their own publications rather than admired by the miracles that never arrived.

Confidential to misled pastors who actually believed what their Damascus professors taught them - your members and potential members do not need pop psychology, lord-liar-lunatic sales pitches, self-esteem programs, or time management. They can get that from secular hucksters. They need what the Bible teaches - and many already know it well - but they have to keep on in the midst of Matt the Fatts, Mirthless Marks, and Liz Eatonuffs to remain believers. 

 A storm followed the ELCA vote, and more than a million ELCA members left their abusive sect.

 She went to Harvard? Of course, she went to Harvard. And the lupine pups follow her obediently.

After the 2009 ELCA debacle, one million ELCA members departed for good. They did not join the LCMS or WELS or the ELS or SHARONA. The dunderheads running those "conservative" synods - pardon me while I stop laughing, wheezing, and slapping my leg - had nothing more to offer than did ELCA. In fact, they are all in bed with ELCA and lovin' it, thanks to the united, wholesome, effects of DEI Thrivent. 

 Jesus and Thrivent go hand-in-hand, but not exactly as described in the New Testament.

Remembering Tyndale, Luther, and the King James Version

Alexander McClure

“The first decided steps, however, toward giving to the English nation a Bible printed in their own tongue, were the translations of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, made by William Tyndale, and by him printed at Hamburg [Germany], in the year 1524; -- and a translation of the whole of the New Testament, printed by him partly at Cologne, and partly at Worms, in 1525.”

Alexander McClure, The Translators Revived, Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry, p. 6.

***

GJ - I hasten to note what Lutherans realize - Tyndale's work was closely associated with Luther's Biblical translation team, not only geographically but also in time.

Tyndale was in Germany, in part, because he was under a death sentence in England. Just as Luther established the German language with his translation, so Tyndale established the English language with his genius work with the substance of the KJV. Tyndale was already killed for violating the King Henry's orders, but his clear and compelling translations became the heart of the Authorized Version.

PS - The other contributor to the English language was Shakespeare, the pen name of the Earl of Oxford. The translation of Shakespeare into German made that work a major contribution to the German language.

Preface to the King James Version

 

Trinitarian Bible Society

 Preface: 

The Original King James Version

• 22 It is not only an armour, but also a whole armoury of weapons, both offensive and defensive; whereby we may save ourselves and put the enemy to flight.

• 23 It is not an herb, but a tree, or rather a whole paradise of trees of life, which bring forth fruit every month, and the fruit thereof is for meat, and the leaves for medicine.

• 24 It is not a pot of Manna, or a cruse of oil, which were for memory only, or for a meal's meat or two, but as it were a shower of heavenly bread sufficient for a whole host, be it never so great; and as it were a whole cellar full of oil vessels; whereby all our necessities may be provided for and our debts discharged.

• 25 In a word, it is a panary ((bread Pantry)) of wholesome food, against fenowed [mouldy.] traditions; a physician's shop [κοινον ιατρειον. S.Basil. in Psal.primum.] (Saint Basil calleth it) of preservatives against poisoned heresies; a pandect ((a complete body)) of profitable laws against rebellious spirits; a treasury of most costly jewels against beggarly rudiments; finally, a fountain of most pure water springing up unto everlasting life.

• 26 And what marvel? the original thereof being from heaven, not from earth; the author being God, not man; the inditer, the Holy Spirit, not the wit of the Apostles or Prophets; the penmen, such as were sanctified from the womb, and endued with a principal portion of God's Spirit; the matter, verity, piety, purity, uprightness; the form, God's word, God's testimony, God's oracles, the word of truth, the word of salvation, etc.; the effects, light of understanding, stableness of persuasion, repentance from dead works, newness of life, holiness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost; lastly, the end and reward of the study thereof, fellowship with the Saints, participation of the heavenly nature, fruition of an inheritance immortal, undefiled, and that never shall fade away.

• 27 Happy is the man that delighteth in the Scripture, and thrice happy that meditateth in it day and night.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2022.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Vimeo Player Here:

After the Service, Use This Link

Leupold Genesis Commentary - free

The melodies are linked in the hymn title. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The TLH melody site is linked here.
• TLH lyrics are linked at the Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog.

The Hymn #613           Jerusalem the Golden       

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Behold, God is mine Helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.

He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in Thy truth, O Lord.

Psalm. Save me, O God, by Thy name: and judge me by Thy strength.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Gradual

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth: 

who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: 

that delighteth greatly in His commandments. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #297         The Gospel Shows the Father's Grace

        

Only the Crooks Are Working Hard

The Communion Hymn #312        Lord Jesus Christ Thou Living Bread               

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #46              On What Has Now Been Sown

Prayers and Announcements

• Diane Popp's brother-in-law died after a long illness. Rest in Peace.
• Randy Anderson is being treated for a new growth.
• Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader; Kermit and Maria Way; Anita Engleman, Zach's mother.
• The book on the I AM sermons in John's Gospel is near completion.
• Funds have been donated for KJV Bibles of various types. Six more were shipped this week.

            

 Norma Boeckler's Christian Art

KJV 1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Ninth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast bountifully given us Thy blessing and our daily bread: We beseech Thee, preserve us from covetousness, and so quicken our hearts that we willingly share Thy blessed gifts with our needy brethren; that we may be found faithful stewards of Thy gifts, and abide in Thy grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall come before Thy judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Only the Crooks 

Are Working Hard

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

Introduction -

This is a parable where we stop and wonder why everything seems upside-down. This bears repeating - the Words of Jesus are concise, so a very important lesson is conveyed in just a few sentences. If we resist the passage, and it seems especially difficult or contrary to what we want, a great lesson is there if we study it often enough. Sometimes we have to mature to understand its basic meaning. By mature, I mean having experiences and seeing that what seems mysterious and difficult is really quite obvious and clear.

Hard Sayings Need More Attention

One famous Protestant preacher wrote a book on the Hard Sayings of Jesus. What seems difficult at first is actually hard to forget once the lesson is learned. A good example is Jesus' apparent harness with the Canaanite woman, who only wanted healing for her daughter. Jesus ignored her. The disciples begged Him to give her a miracle and send her home. Jesus reminded her she was an outsider (not Jewish) and asked if He could take away the bread and give it to dogs. She answered "Even the little dogs eat the crumbs from the Master's table." Jesus praised her for her faith and healed her daughter. That is a miracle story about faith when everything seems bleak and one only seems to get rejection and insults from God when pleading for help. The Canaanite woman is a miracle about faith (note ELCA, WELS, LCMS, ELS)!

1. God does not seem to care.
2. God is silent in the midst of pleas for mercy.
3. The crowd is insulting, saying, "You are not worthy." (Jesus is testing her.)
4. Instead of giving up, the woman will do anything to help her daughter.

So the Canaanite woman's miracle is not a downer but a great boost to show that faith receives the grace and mercy of God.

Back to the Crooks

The owner represents God - having extensive wealth but not bankrupted by the manager's cheating and lying. The steward or manager has wasted his master's wealth and admits it. The term steward means someone who has authority to carry out the owner's wishes but is not the owner and must answer to that person about his conduct.

In the olden days, steward kings were men who had the throne but only until the royal child was old enough to rule.

"Wasting his goods" is a phrase that makes us think of sure-fire ways to make a fortune - bitcoin, hemp oil, lottery tickets, gambling. 

The steward is not "about to be fired" - he is fired on the spot. He has to turn over the books, which will reveal the exact amount lost.

3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Since he was a hard-working thief, he did not know what to do, because his extra income came from wasting the estate, contrary to his job description. Two alternatives are unwelcome - he is too ashamed to beg (everyone would say "Weren't you the steward for the Jackson Creation Gardens? Besides, he was not strong enough to dig.

4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

The steward had two very good qualities - 

1. hard-working and 
2. shrewd.

Had he only been pilfering a little at a time, no one would have noticed or cared. Food emporiums always allow a certain amount of food and drink to be enjoyed. One of our friends stopped drinking colas as a waiter and lost 40 pounds. He could have as much as he wanted, so he was not dishonest - just foolish.

8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 

The owner of the estate was no slouch. He knew what it took to keep a vast enterprise going. He was like the person who could buy goods at the bottom of the market and hold them for high profits. The emphasis here is on hard work and shrewdness.

This is a perfect case of ironic humor, which makes us think about this parable many times before getting the real picture. It is a way of saying, "Isn't it odd how hard the unbelievers work to take care of themselves?"

More than one gang has acquired the tools, made plans, and burrowed into the safety deposit boxes of a bank. They pick a weekend when the bank in closed, follow maps available for underground work, buy high-powered tools, and enter where the vault is weak. 

In many large church corporations, there are dozens of titles, jobs, plans, studies, and so forth. One person worked at a synod headquarters. They had a fund-raising campaign with no particular goals. People wrote in and asked for money for various things. Because the money was pouring in, they sent it away just as fast, to impress everyone. But what was accomplished?

Colleges and universities have become greedy endowments where they expect $72,000 a year for room, board, and tuition (with some kickbacks) while going back to donors to invest even more money to make money.

Of course, taxes have to be raised everywhere to "pay for the needy" but they end up with the greedy instead.

9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Mammon means having more than enough money. Some guard it like it might evaporate. Others see the value of caring for their neighbors. Many times some help will make an enormous difference for someone. 

I have always enjoyed being a volunteer para-legal, where someone with no power in society needed someone with some clout. Picking up the phone, dropping by the billing office, or sending a note can change matters instantly. The reaction may take a few days. I have seen large amounts of money erased from an individual's bill. Other times, I just asked, "You expect to be paid?" (Yes, I do.) "You expect that person to keep his word?" (I definitely do.) "Then shouldn't you keep your word?"

The idea in this parable is to use the surplus of what we have for others. We can work shrewdly to accomplish things for almost no cost, too.

Our Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry is #1, instead of "Lutheran Libraries" from multi-million dollar publication houses. Alec Satin has done that on his own.

I do not know of any parish that distributes Christian art at the volume Norma A. Boeckler publishes it for free. No one knows where that influence stops - it continues for generations.

In faith, we know that the good tree must produce fruit, so individuals and congregations will emphasize faith in Christ as the way to generate the most good.

The person who believes will enter eternal life welcomed by those who were helped, comforted, visited, fed, clothed, housed, and helped with illness.

One way to expand the benefits is to name the needs of individuals in daily prayers and ask God for help, healing, peace, comfort, and joy in their lives. We should always pray for the little ones in our congregation and circles. 

(Luke 18:1-8) Jesus has a parable about that - the woman who keeps asking the unrighteous judge for help.

Luke 18: 18 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

ELCA Also Sent Their Genius Leadership to Fuller Cemetery and Willow Crick

"The ELCA remains the largest Lutheran body in North America at 3.26 million members, despite shedding more than 1 million members — or 25% of membership — across the last reporting decade, down from 5,288,048 members at the denomination’s founding in 1987." 

From Juicy Ecumenism

WELS Is Way Ahead of the Babylon Bee

 

 The Babylon Bee

+++

WELS Is Way Ahead of the Babylon Bee - 

This Was Published on the Parish Website

Abusive Pietistic Cults: ELDONA - LCMS - WELS - ELS - CLC

The Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) is simply a smaller, dumber, meaner version of WELS. Sin for the CLC is not agreeing they are the best, the purest, the most orthodox. And they have the best Donkey Basketball team.

I was going to write about WELS-LCMS being equals as Pietistic cults when someone sent me the letter of Paul Rydecki about leaving ELDONA.

The Missouri Synod came from the hyper-Pietism of the Martin Stephan cult. The Loehe group actually started the organization and invited the Perryville/St. Louis fanatics to join, but the Walther fan club has always claimed the fame. Walther - for all his posturing - was a dictatorial fake who did not know or teach Biblical Lutheran doctrine. My understanding is that Stephan-Walther's Objective Justification was slowly introduced but kept down by the Germanic nature of the LCMS and their ease of reading Luther in German. 

Pope Walther bypassed the rules to install Pieper as the dogmatics professor. His Holiness split the Synodical Conference by promoting Objective Justification in the form of Calvinistic double predestination - the Election issue.

Walther's chosen yes-man, F. Pieper, had the power and influence of being professor and president of the Missouri Synod. He used that to blend OJ with the Means of Grace. Read his mish-mash of dogmatics. It is all there.

The essence of Pietism is found among conservative Babtists, ELDONA, LCMS, WELS, ELS, and the CLC (sic). They expect total conformity with their group and shun anyone outside of their cult. The stink-eye precedes total, absolute shunning.

 Whee! Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, Kent Hunter, Waldo Werning, Paul Calvin Kelm, Unstuck, Fireproof Marriages! Something has to work.

It is a pity that the so-called conservative Lutherans have their Boswell - Ichabod - without their approval. They would be less inclined to run off the cliff into new and old Enthusiasms.

Heiser stayed with the LCMS to vest his pension with them, similar to Kincaid Smith's antics in borrowing money from the LCMS parish to start an ELS congregation. 

However, Heiser expected everyone to join him and bow down to his episcopal authority. A purple clergy shirt was enough at first, but that soon turned into the regalia and rule of Romanism.

I have two accounts of Heiser's obnoxious behavior with laity who belonged to ELDONA. One layman innocently brought copies of my books and some KJV Bibles to an ELDONA meeting. All those books disappeared. ELDONA (Heiser) was horrified and did not want those books and Bibles distributed. Everything purchased disappeared - and no thankyous followed.

That was not enough for them. One ELDONA pastor followed the layman around, listening to every word spoken. He was warned, "If you want to get along here, you better shape up." 

The layman went to Heiser's office to ask what was going on. After all, I had given extensive blog space to ELDONA for explicitly teaching Justification by Faith. I had previously given up on ELDONA for embracing the Rolf Preus OJ group and another OJ fanatic.

Why would I join and agree with someone clinging to the LCMS for money and soliciting their OJ dogma?

Heiser at first refused to answer any questions, because "he was too busy." But then he unleashed a series of bizarre claims. One was that I violated copyright laws (no explanation). My crime was quoting some of Heiser's reprints verbatim and including the precise source of the quotations. That is called research, perhaps an odd exercise for a bishop who took 20 years to finish an STM.

Heiser appreciated and sold Thy Strong Word, published in 2000. He was totally convinced that OJ was wrong, but then sought out union with Rolf Preus and the other OJ guy. That is exactly why I gave up on ELDONA and Heiser's sinuflection to Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy, or any other folly.

Missouri Holiness Principles

We know that Walther and his circle knew all about Stephan's adultery with many young women. He suffered from syphilis and gave it to his partners, who discovered the non-academic meaning of an STD. The Walther bunch staged a riot to topple Stephan, steal his land, grab his gold, and claim his library. Seminex carried out the library book thefts in similar fashion, claiming the books belonged to them, not "801" as they called Concordia Seminary St. Louis. A true Pietist will not even use the offending word.

Graduates of St. Louis and Ft. Wayne look down their noses at the other school. ELDONUTs are almost all from the Ft. Wayne seminary. The lone St. Louis member there apologized for not graduating from Ft. Waye! - way too funny for outsiders to comprehend. I have seen the same loathing with graduates of Gettysburg versus Philadelphia, WELS versus ELS. 

WELS-ELS Holiness

By now most readers know that WELS-LCMS-ELS are working with ELCA all the time, bowing and scraping for cash from Thrivent, Schwan, and other sources. Pan-synodical projects have been going on since the big Church Growth project headed by LCMS-WELS men and ELCA female clergy executives. The Woke stuff everyone is complaining about was the substance - and the beginning - at Snowbird. I got that into Christian News too, and WELS sent flunkies around to explain it away.

"The pulpit leads the way," as Herman Melville wrote. Mischke (WELS) was kissing up to Chilstrom (ELCA) with the help of Bohlman (LCMS). I not only wrote about it, but got Herman Otten to publish it in Christian News.

ELS Pastor Jay Webber knows that I gave Otten the Forbes story on Marvin Schwan divorcing his wife and marrying the wife of one of his managers. Webber told his ELS bosses. Here is Webber's claim - "No one reads Forbes. Everyone reads Christian News."

Nota bene (note well - for those who failed Latin) - The greatest sin in the LCMS-WELS-ELS was not Marvin Schwan's serial adultery, nor Forbes publishing a grinning Marvin getting his divorce for $1 million plus a Cadilac. The unforgivable sin was the reprinting of the story in a publication (CN) no one admits to reading. 

The sycophant clergy were quick to blame me for the consequences when they were the enablers who led the Schwan family into tragedy. 

Webber was happy to move to the Ukraine, with Roger Kovaciny (!) and take over the faux-seminary there. Schwan gave them $15 million and a cheese factory, as I recall from my notes from a John Shep phone conversation. 

Webber, knowing all about Floyd Luther Stolzenburg - removed from the LCMS ministerium for cause, hailed as savior for WELS in Columbus, Ohio - gladly took money from Floyd's new/old congregation. This will bring tears to your eyes - as it does mine - the Ukrainians named their church after Floyd's. Is that not sweet? - recapitulating the start of the LCMS, with Bishop Stephan. Read this without laughing out loud - 25 Years of Grace in the Ukraine. "Fellowship with WELS and ELS has been very fruitful in establishing good, solid, pure Lutheran doctrine in Ukraine. Not all churches have this blessing." They even quoted the foundational passage on the efficacy of the Word, Isaiah 55, while making this absurd claim for themselves in the dying ELS and the absurd WELS.

 Ukraine cat - "So that's where all the money went!"

Pastor Paul Rydecki and His Congregation Withdrew from ELDONA - Letter

 Rydecki and Steve Spence, WELS circuit meeting

May 16, 2022 

Dear Bishop Heiser and brothers in Christ in the ELDoNA: 

Ten years ago, when I was suspended from the WELS, I was, for a brief time, an independent pastor, and you know the challenges that come with being alone in the ministry (not that we are ever truly alone), the main challenge being perhaps the tendency of each of us to stray from pure doctrine and salutary practice when there is no brother in the ministry to caution or encourage us. I prayed that the Lord would guide me to a group of pastors with whom doctrinal fellowship could be recognized, who would help one another remain faithful in doctrine, practice, and Christian living. 

 Walther signed the document making Martin Stephan their bishop. Heiser began with the intention of declaring himself bishop and acting as the Pope.

Nine years ago, Bishop Heiser and those of you who were in the diocese at that time, and one who has now fallen asleep, served as the Lord’s instruments of comfort to me and my congregation in Las Cruces after the turmoil we faced leaving the WELS. I will not say that you supported me. I will say that, together with me, you supported the good confession about Christ and His vital teaching of justification by faith alone, which required a repudiation of the false teaching of Objective Justification as it has been defined and taught by the synods. I will never be able to express the joy that filled my heart when I heard the Theses on Justification read for the first time. I was so thankful to God for giving me a group of Christian brothers who not only believed as I did, but who were willing to confess the doctrine of Christ openly and receive me into their fellowship, in spite of the reproach you suffered from the synods because of it. I still give thanks for it. 

Pope Heiser in the Philippines

The idea of an ecclesiastical bishop, as I understood it and as I found it described in the ELDoNA Charter and related Theses, seemed like a fine way to ensure that all the member pastors taught and lived well, and would continue to teach and live well, in accordance with the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. We cannot all be looking into one another’s practice and life on a regular basis, nor, I dare say, would any of us welcome such a constant intrusion coming from every pastor in our fellowship, so having one man appointed for this task seemed good to me. I happily applied for membership in the diocese and have enjoyed interacting and working with you all over these past nine years. 

Over the past year, it has become increasingly clear to me that the office of bishop, as understood by the bishop and others in the ELDoNA, includes more than the Scriptures or Confessions include or than the founding documents of the diocese spell out. Having a “Church Order” handed to us and “authorized” by the bishop in 2021 took me off guard. Certain statements in the Church Order troubled me, such as, “No variation from the text of the creeds set forth in the Service Book…may be used in the Divine Service” (Missal, p.40), “It should also be noted that the selection of the Office Hymn is to be strictly adhered to as appointed for use in this diocese” (p.41), and “Under no circumstances may any unauthorized form of general prayer be substituted for those appointed for use in the diocese” (p.42). Exchanges with the bishop over the past year also pointed in this direction. 

But this understanding was solidified in the Episcopal Address and ensuing discussion that took place at the 2022 Synod. I am very disappointed to discover that it is, in fact, the prevailing understanding and expectation within the diocese that the bishop’s responsibility of “oversight” and “administration” “encompasses all that has been associated with this [episcopal] polity in the historic sense,” as stated in the Bishop’s Episcopal Address, including “obliging the parsons and deacons of their superintendency to conform in all things according to our ‘Church Order.’” 

This came as a surprise to me, because episcopal polity in the historic sense is not what we have ever known in the ELDoNA. The Evangelical Episcopacy, as, for example, in the superintendency of Martin Chemnitz (explained in his Church Order of 1569), was a human arrangement set up for that time and place in history in response to the recent finding that “a large portion of [the pastors and ministers of the church in that principality] were not real pastors, but rather unlearned and unfit mercenaries, acting as hired hands” (p.4). The Superintendency described by Chemnitz was made up of many specific superintendents, five general-superintendents, and a consistory made up of superintendents, theologians, and political appointees, all of whom were answerable to Duke Julius. (Indeed, it was the duke who authorized and mandated the use of Chemnitz’ Church Order within his territory, not the superintendent.) We have never had anything resembling this situation. For one thing, our ministers have not been found to be “unlearned and unfit mercenaries,” necessitating strict enforcement of a Church Order. As for the individual superintendents of the 16th century, they had far less authority than the ELDoNA bishop is claiming for himself, as important decisions were made within the consistory and not by any individual superintendent. 

Furthermore, a bishop/superintendent in the historic sense had jurisdiction within the congregations themselves, including the examining and confirming of confirmands and the excommunication of parishioners who were not members of his own congregation. Indeed, the local pastor was allowed to excommunicate no one without the approval of the superintendent and the consistory. For that matter, the local pastor wasn’t even supposed to commune his own members unless he had followed the procedure prescribed by the Church Order of obligating the parishioner to submit to private examination every time he or she wished to receive the Lord’s Supper—something that clearly went beyond the Scriptures. In their attempt to keep “good order,” I believe that princes and bishops/superintendents in the historic sense often went too far. 

Thankfully, however, unlike historic Lutheran bishops/superintendents, the ELDoNA bishop’s jurisdiction has always extended only to the pastors who are members of the diocese. It has never extended to the flocks over which the Holy Spirit has made us all overseers (or “bishops”). 

Therefore, when seeking to understand what the ELDoNA bishop’s responsibilities were, I turned, not to history, but to the diocesan Charter and related Theses, where no mention is made of “obliging the parsons and deacons of their superintendency to conform in all things according to our ‘Church Order.’” The Charter of the Diocese clearly delineates how we pledge to work together within the diocese. It was to this that I agreed when I joined the diocese. I urge you all to reread what is actually written there, as opposed to what some claim to be the unwritten intention. “Therefore, we pledge ourselves to work together in the diocese as follows,” with nine points following, none of which includes agreeing that the bishop may determine all matters of adiaphora for us (in our worship or otherwise) or that we bind ourselves to follow his determinations in matters of adiaphora or church ceremonies within our own congregations. 

The first of the nine points is an agreement to “uphold those principles which Dr. Chemnitz affirmed regarding the Superintendency.” “Those principles” do not include everything Chemnitz wrote in his Church Order. The statement is followed explicitly by the four principles from Chemnitz which we agree to uphold. None of these four principles grants the bishop the authority to decide on all matters of adiaphora (or any matters of adiaphora, for that matter) within our congregations. When Chemnitz states that “each one does not build up himself or act as lord in his congregation and do what he pleases…” this does not imply that the bishop may then act as lord in our congregations and do what he pleases. It implies that we will each be careful not to act in ways that cause offense within our own congregations or among our sister congregations, but will take one another into consideration in love and not enact practices that are likely to cause offense. 

I agree with the Malone Theses when they state that “we seek to achieve a high degree of uniformity in the liturgical expression of our theological agreement.” I never understood this, however, to mean absolute uniformity or the imposition of a single service which must be strictly followed as published. I agree with the Malone Theses when they state that “we commit ourselves to endeavor over time, by common consensus, to minimize local deviations from common practice.” I never understood “common consensus,” however, to mean the necessary consensus with whatever the bishop determines to be best. 

Another of Chemnitz’ stated principles in the Charter is that “when some complaint arises, the matter must be put before the conference and settled while the meeting is still in session.” This is what I attempted to do during the Tuesday morning meeting at the 2022 Synod. I was later reprimanded (not by the bishop, but by his deacon) for bringing up the matter during the meeting, as if that were not the proper time or place to bring up such a complaint. Again, I urge you all to read what is actually written in the Charter. 

But if the Episcopal Address describes the actual polity of the ELDoNA going forward, then the Charter is flawed and should be corrected and expanded so that it says what it means. To expect pastors and congregations to understand from the Charter, as worded, that the ELDoNA bishop’s responsibilities “encompass all that has been associated with this [episcopal] polity in the historic sense” is both unreasonable and dangerous, because much has been associated with “episcopal polity in the historic sense” that is neither Scriptural nor beneficial to God’s Holy Church. 

When the bishop seeks to “authorize” Bible translations, orders of service, specific prayers, hymns, lectionaries, dialects of English, etc., for use within our congregations, branding some as “licit” and others as “illicit,” he is implying that the authority for us to worship as we do in our congregations comes from him. I do not find this to be a Scriptural principle. My understanding is that Christ has called me to shepherd the flock which He entrusted to my care through their divine call, which entails working with them to establish and enact forms of worship which are in keeping with sound Christian (i.e., Lutheran) practice. While I have always welcomed the counsel and advice of the bishop in these matters (and have usually followed his advice out of love), I do not believe he has a divine call to dictate or to mandate worship forms for my congregation. I did not call him to do this by the act of joining the diocese. My congregation also does not acknowledge having called him to do this. Nor was there a magistrate who appointed him to oversee my congregation. I asked him to be my overseer when I joined the diocese, to look over my life and my ministry and to correct me on the basis of Scripture if I strayed from what God would have me do as a pastor. That is all. 

To state the matter simply, I wish to pursue unity in the Holy Scriptures, as we have understood them in the Lutheran Church, and to be ruled and restrained by the Scriptures alone, in conformity with the Lutheran Confessions and in love toward my neighbor. And I am willing and eager for a brother in Christ to apply those Scriptures to me if I err, whether he holds the title of bishop, or pastor, or simply Christian. This is the kind of unity I seek and the kind of unity I thought we already had in the diocese for the past nine years. 

Others, however, seem to wish to pursue unity in the doctrines and traditions of men, seeking unity in the utter sameness of a single manmade Church Order imposed across an entire continent, which goes far beyond the Scriptural requirement of things being done “decently and in good order.” They seek unity in being ruled and restrained by one who is not only a bishop who holds the power of the Keys, as all ministers do according to the Gospel, but who also holds power delegated to him by human right. Indeed, they are willing to be disciplined by the bishop for things that are neither contrary to Scripture nor causes of offense to members of Christ’s flock. I cannot abide by such an arrangement. It is like building on the foundation of Christ with wood, hay, and straw. 

As far as I can tell, this is a fundamental difference of understanding among us that prohibits me from continuing as a member of this diocese. Therefore, I hereby resign from membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America. My congregation also met on Sunday, May 15th, in formal assembly and approved the following statement of their own composition to pass on to the diocese, together with their grave disappointment in the direction the diocese has taken: 

We the members of Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church support our pastor in his decision to leave the ELDoNA. As the Lord emphasizes humility for all of his people, He makes this a priority for his shepherds. This is one of the last lessons he taught his disciples by washing their feet on Maundy Thursday. The bishop’s “episcopal Address to the 2022 Synod of the ELDoNA” is inconsistent with Christ’s example. We recognize that it is our pastor’s decision to be made, but believe that it is appropriate and useful to support him and declare unity with respect to this matter. With a sad heart, we unanimously agree that he should leave the ELDoNA. 

I will continue to pray for you all and ask for God’s blessings on your families and on your ministry. To be clear, I am not declaring myself to be out of fellowship with you, as I consider you neither false teachers nor enemies of Christ nor my personal enemies, but as my friends and brothers in Christ who are going down a dangerous path on which I cannot follow. It is not safe to build on the foundation of Christ with wood, hay, and straw, which includes, in my opinion, yielding your God-given authority in your congregations to one who has no call to your congregations, and submitting to being disciplined in matters that God has left free. … 

May the merciful Lord guard and defend you from the dangers associated with this sort of polity, as it is being defined and as it is being conducted, and may He guard me and those with me as well, that we may all build on the foundation of Jesus Christ with gold, silver, and precious stones, and not with wood, hay, and straw. Whether you think of me as such or not, I remain your friend and brother in Christ. 

A servant of Christ Jesus, 

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki Emmanuel Lutheran Church Las Cruces, New Mexico