Read And Weep - Lutheran Big Five - United Methodist Budgets Are Racing Downhill

WELS college students anticipated the social trend that led to Bud Light.
ELCA turned their almost vacant seminaries into the latest thing.

The Lutheran Big Five - ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC (sic) are looking at the budgets and asking, "Is the United Methodist Church our canary in the coal mine? - the Bud Light in our social ministries?"

The UMC budget was $604,000,000 in 2016, when the break-out of conservatives began.

The current proposal is $346,700,000 - and that may be too much.

The Big Five should explain their waste of money on Church Growth fiascos, exciting new projects, and the rest of blather they ferment at their favorite anti-Lutheran feminist schools.

Why Read Luther? Lutheran Seminarians Do Not Really Want To Know.Notice How Fitting These Luther Quotes Are.

 

I am glad the Daily Luther Sermon Quotes are appreciated by so many. The early morning excerpts  from Luther's Sermons (Lenker edition) always encourage me and often make me laugh. He established the German language and his Reformation gave William Tyndale even more background for what became the King James Version. No wonder the Big Five - ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC (sic) - loathe and ignore Luther and the KJV.

This statement about the Holy Spirit and the Word should teach seminarians the efficacy of the Word. The mast majority of Protestant pastors - all denominations - brush this aside. What they should treasure the most is met with an intricate ballet dance around the Word of God, always making someone say, "That is something new. I never heard it before!"

The seminarians are not taught faith but success. Their lack of Biblical and doctrinal study makes it easy to grab a new opportunity to be new, fresh, exciting, and different, even if they are simply behind the fads by 10 years or more. Notice how often they apply the word effective to their apostasy. It is a nod to those who want to undermine the only good Bible and the best Luther teachers.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Lent 3 - "Then he gathers up his armor, the powerful, wise, rich and holy people, and sets them all to attacking God’s Word, as we see in the persecution of the teachers of the Gospel."

"Then he (Satan) gathers up his armor, the powerful, wise, rich and holy people, and sets them all to attacking God’s Word, as we see in the persecution of the teachers of the Gospel."

Complete Luther Sermon Here -> Oculi. 

Third Sunday in Lent - Luke 11:14-23.  

II. THE ALLEGORICAL OR SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THIS GOSPEL.

14. This dumb, deaf, blind, and demon-possessed man represents all the children of Adam, who through the flesh are possessed of Satan in original sin, so that they must be his slaves and do according to his will. Hence they are also blind, that is, they do not see God. They are deaf, for they do not hear God’s Word, and are not obedient or submissive to it. They are also dumb, for they do not give him one word of thanks or praise, nor do they preach and proclaim Christ and the grace of God. But they are all too talkative about the teachings of the devil and the opinions of men. In these things they see only too well and are wiser than the children of light in their undertakings, opinions, and desires. In these things they hear with both ears and readily adopt the suggestions of flesh and blood. So then, whatever we do, in word and deed, as to both body and soul, is of the devil, whether it be externally good or bad, and must be redeemed through the work of God. We are in his kingdom and therefore we acknowledge him, see, hear, and follow him and praise and proclaim his name. All this takes place through the Spirit of God in his Word, which casts out the devil and his kingdom.

15. The Jews called the chief of the devils Beelzebub. The Hebrew word “sebub” means a fly; “baal” or “beel,” a man or ruler, as a householder. When the two words form a combination, they mean an arch-fly or chief-fly, or, in plain German “Fliegenkoenig oder grosse Hummel,” that is, king-fly or the great drone. They gave Satan this contemptuous epithet as though they were entirely free from him, secure against him, and lords over him. That is the way all conceited, corrupt hypocrites do; they imagine they are so pure and holy, that the devil is a helpless, feeble fly compared with them, and that they do not need the grace of Christ nor the Word of God.

Still they think he is strong enough for others, yet, that whatever godfearing people teach and do must be the devil’s own work, and they consider it such a trifling thing as though it were a dead fly. The devil can well endure such contempt, for by it he is placed above the true God in their hearts.

16. The tyrant in the court or palace is the devil, as I said before. He is in peace, however, as long as God’s Word and finger do not oppose him, and just like this deaf-mute, his people do whatever he wishes, for they know no better. His weapons and armor are the carnal conceit, doctrines and traditions of men, by which he terrifies the conscience and protects himself.

17. But when the stronger man, the Gospel, comes, peace flees, and he rages like a madman, for he resents being condemned, unmasked, punished, and publicly branded. Then he gathers up his armor, the powerful, wise, rich and holy people, and sets them all to attacking God’s Word, as we see in the persecution of the teachers of the Gospel. Such rage and persecution signify that the devil retires very unwillingly and raves in his whole body; for as he acts in the body and its members when he must depart, so he also behaves in the whole world, resisting with all his power when he is to give place to the Gospel; but it is all in vain, he must be expelled.

 Philipp Jakob Spener is considered the father of Pietism. ELCA, LCMS, WELS,

and ELS came to America as Pietists.

LCMS Concordia Publishing House sold doggie shirts in honor of the Reformation.

WOW! More Than 80 People Came To Observe the 225th Birthday of the Worst "Lutheran" Ever.

 S. S. Schmucker is the spiritual father of all the dumb Schmuckers who call  themselves Lutheran but are really generic Protestants wanting to shed the burden of Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz. The ELCA contingent has proven themselves eager to work with LCMS and WELS, to worship together at Fuller Seminary, Trinity Divinity, and other melting pots of toxic Schmuckerism.

Seminary, college founder Schmucker's 225th birthday marked

• By Michael Cooper-White For the Gettysburg Times
 
• 23 hrs ago
 
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More than 80 gathered Saturday at Gettysburg College to observe the 225th birthday of local Lutheran leader Samuel Simon Schmucker. (Photo Courtesy of Michael Cooper-White, now working at Union Seminary, NYC.)

More than 80 people gathered at Gettysburg College Saturday to honor the 225th birthday of one of Gettysburg’s most famous citizens, Samuel Simon Schmucker.

As a young man in the 1820s, Schmucker had three goals: to establish a theological seminary, a preparatory academy, and translate a German theology book into English.

Within a decade after his arrival in Gettysburg at age 27, he had founded both the Lutheran Seminary and today’s Gettysburg College, as well as helped establish Christ Lutheran Church. Major campus buildings are named in honor of Schmucker at both the seminary and college.

Schmucker’s legacy expanded beyond his initial goals as he became a prominent citizen involved in founding Evergreen Cemetery, where his grave resides on a high point of the burial grounds.

Other callings would come Schmucker’s way, which propelled him to become a nationally and internationally recognized church leader.

He played a major role as Lutheran congregations formed the General Synod, including writing its constitution. Schmucker traveled to Europe to raise funds and collect books from continental Lutherans for his fledgling seminary.

The Schmucker legacy was celebrated by a series of speakers at Saturday’s commemorative event, sponsored by several college departments, Christ Lutheran Church, and the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic.

Leading off was the Rev. Dr. Maria Erling, Professor of Modern Church History and Global Mission at United Lutheran Seminary (ULS). In her lecture on “Schmucker’s Long Shadow,” Erling described how the pioneering leader confronted challenges posed by a divided Lutheran church and polarized American society.

Lutherans in the 19th century disagreed fervently over matters of doctrine, and Americans were divided over slavery. While taking a stand against slavery, Erling said, Schmucker attempted to preserve unity among Lutherans and forge collaboration with other protestants as well.

“Schmucker concluded the western frontier demanded a new approach that was not exclusively Lutheran,” Erling said. But his new approaches were not embraced by more conservative ecclesial contingents, so Schmucker ended up being “skewered in both doctrinal debates and over slavery.”

Schmucker

Mid-Week Lenten Service 2024

Bethany Lutheran Church

Third Midweek Lenten Service

7 PM Central Time

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

->Click Here for the Zoom Link<-

The Hymn #479          Zion Rise                                 
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody                 
The Lection                            The Passion History

The Sermon Hymn #381                       I Know My Faith Is Founded

Faith Is First, Prayer Follows

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #558            All Praise To Thee

                 Faith Is First, Prayer Follows

     People find ways to complicate the Christian Faith. If we look at the Fourth Gospel, it is clear that Jesus placed faith in Him as the starting point, the only starting point. The Gospel of John is very important in teaching us about faith, because the other details are already in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The apostate scholars love to dismiss John, but that is because the message is so powerful and clear.

    The effect of Gospel teaching and preaching is to plant faith in the hearts of people of all ages, even babies. I just watched a video where a very good singer vocalized for a very young baby. The baby listened to every word and note, trying to imitate the singer singing about love. Babies and small children learn very quickly, and faith is planted in their hearts and minds so they can grow spiritually. 

    Everything in Christianity, correctly taught, begins with faith. Trust means seeing and hearing the message of Jesus the Son of God just as He teaches it. I said to on FB friend, John's Gospel can be read easily in any language, and it is easy to learn a language through the simple words of that Gospel. The friends said, "I supposed that is what God intended." 

    Faith in Jesus means seeing Him exactly as He is, though too many are willing to drift away with their dreams and claims. One way to look at this is to ask why people hated him so much and tried to oppose Him at every opportunity. The thorn in their minds was this simple - Jesus taught the righteousness of faith in Him while they adhered to the righteousness of works.

    So this lingers in all of mankind. People want to know what they must do to be a follower of Jesus. That is because they come from the righteousness of works and only think that way. Jesus does not ask disciples to punish themselves or do all kinds of acts of contrition. He has already done that through His atoning death. As the Canaanite woman's story shows, Jesus wanted to pursue and hunt her until she gave the purest possible confession of faith in Him. "Even the household dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the Master's table." Jesus pushed her to the extremes of faith in Him, and she responded with faith. Her daughter's healing happened immediately.

    Of course that miracle clearly asks us to be patient about how God works. His time is not our time, because we cannot even imagine the majesty and complexity of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is so complex that only a child can understand. When I ask  children about all the miracles of Jesus, they have the same idea, such as walking on water and healing the sick - "Jesus is God. He can do anything." It takes many years of study to have the wrong idea and deny the truth. When a priest and a teaching brother asked me about the actual resurrection of Christ and the Virgin Birth, they were outraged and said, "There is no dealing with you!" We were in the classroom of Notre Dame's seminary, and they were completely in line with the teacher of that class, a PhD who became an honored professor at Harvard.

    That means, faith in Jesus Christ is beneficial, but nothing good can happen from unfaith. There are many worldly benefits that fall upon those who have rejected the truth, in spite of all the wisdom of the ages - when people believed - and when they denied. 

    The first benefit of faith in Jesus is forgiveness of sin. That is an ongoing process that benefits the individual and everyone else, because faith grows and brings fruit. People should easily find this lesson in the garden and lawn. We planted hundreds of daffodil bulbs over time and our winter rains were almost endless at times. Now the ugly bulbs have turned into beautiful varieties of color, size, and height. Girls live on each side of my house, and they gather on the  front fence near Porchie and Dustmop. I grabbed a few vases and gave them a vase of daffodils for each family. There is nothing quite like daffodils when most of the outside colors are brown and grey.

    If anyone wants to know more about Jesus, the Gospel of John is a great place to start, reading slowly and carefully. There the connection of faith and prayer go together. Jesus teaches us to pray about His work among us, and He never stops helping us and blessing us. 

    

    

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Lent 3 - “The last state is become worse with them than the first.” 2 Peter 2:20. And if we neglect the great light which we now have, it will come to pass in our case also, that we shall become worse than we were before, for the devil does not slumber."

 

Complete Luther Sermon Here -> Oculi. Third Sunday in Lent - Luke 11:14-23.  

11. He answers them fourthly, with pointed proverbs and teachings, as: “He that is not with me is against me,” and, “He that gathereth not with me, scattereth.” “The devil is not with me for I drive him out, hence he must of necessity be against me.” But this saying does not apply to the devil alone, but also to the blasphemers whom he here convicts and condemns, as being against him since they are not for him. “To be with Christ” is to have the same mind and purpose as Christ, that is, to believe in Christ that his works save us and not our own, for this is what Christ holds and teaches. But “to gather with Christ” is to do good out of love to him, and to become rich in good works. He that does not believe is, by his own free will, not with Christ but against him, because he depends upon his own works. Therefore, he that does not love, does not gather with Christ, but by fruitless works becomes only more sinful and drifts farther and farther from the faith.

12. In the fifth place, he answers with a threat, namely, that the last state always is worse than the first. Therefore we should take heed that we not only refrain from blaspheming the Gospel and Christ, who does such great things for us and drives the devil out of us; but with zeal and fear hold fast to them, in order that we may not become possessed of seven worse devils whereas one possessed us before. For thus it was with the Jews, who had never been so wicked as while the Gospel was being preached to them. So also under the papacy, we have become seven times, (that is, many times) worse heathen under the name of Christ than we ever had been before as St. Peter says: “The last state is become worse with them than the first.” 2 Peter 2:20. And if we neglect the great light which we now have, it will come to pass in our case also, that we shall become worse than we were before, for the devil does not slumber. This should be sufficient warning.

13. Finally, when the woman cries out to Christ and praises him, saying, “Blessed is the mother that bore such a son,” etc., he opposes her carnal worship and takes occasion to teach all of us the substance of this Gospel, namely, that we should not go gaping after the works or merits of the saints but rather see to it that we hear and keep the Word of God. For it does not concern or profit us in the least to know how holy and honorable the mother of this child might be, nor how noble this Son of hers may be; but rather what this Son has done for us, namely that, by grace, without any merit or worthiness on our part, he has redeemed us from the devil. This fact is proclaimed to us through the Word of God, and this we are to hear and hold in firm faith; then shall we too be blessed like this mother and her child. Although such a Word and work will be blasphemed, we should suffer it and give an answer with meekness, as St. Peter teaches, for the improvement of others. 

Jerusalem - by Edward Blake - Music by C. H. H. Parry

 

Working on the Zoom - Doc Lito Was Right - We Need Three Computers

 

The Best Buy computer helper came over to finish what we started with the "online repair" from overseas. We settled issues about sound, voice, and the saved video. I will practice more tomorrow. I can stretch earphones from the library but I will trade them for blue tooth.

Grand Canyon U. seems to be having the same shortage of students problems as other schools. I had a course dropped from my schedule because of low enrollment, which is more likely in the summer. I began to expect that after a short lapse (five weeks) last year.

The new priority in 2024 will be the Reformation Seminary, so I will be soliciting ideas for the way we work and start teaching very soon.

We can be using the chat feature soon.

 Mixed feelings about Zoom.

Who Won? The Champions of Apostasy - Slime Marches On

 

The Big Five - ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC (sic) - moved step by step into apostasy, which means they once were loyal to the Christian Faith and finally rejected it. The question is not whether this happened but how this was so massive in effect.

Here is a little factoid. ELCA began officially in 1987 with 5.4 million members. Wickedpedia has the current number at 2.9 million, almost half the size and going down rapidly.

Where did the 2.5 million - or, pick a number - go? The Big Four have lost members at the same time, so the promise of one consultant, "Expect a big chunk from ELCA members running to other Lutheran congregations" has failed.

That means all the Church Growth gimmicks have failed so badly - they could not even keep up their own precious numbers. Here are the reasons:

1. Their pastors do not teach faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2. The managers (they are not leaders) despise the KJV and promote atrocious, devious Bibles, three from the gay National Council of Churches - RSV, ESV, NRSV.
3. District managers (they are not leaders) and pastors hate Luther and his Biblical doctrine. 
4. Pastors do not visit their own members, at home or in the hospital.
5. The synods worship themselves, not the Holy Trinity.
6. The managers (they are not leaders) spend lavishly on themselves and gimmick specialists.

 Fifty years of Church Growth - and then some.

From Former "It's OK To Pray" DP Dave Benke. ALPB Ovaltines Discuss Their Failing Colleges

 

LCMS DP Dave Benke signs his posts - "It's ok to pray" - because he invited himself to the pan-religious 9-11 Yankee Stadium event and led in prayer there. LCMS ended up firing Wallie Schulz for finding Benke guilty. Benke was hired back from the Schulz verdict and so "It's OK to pray" is on all his Ovaltine posts - aka ALPB Online Forum.

Benke quote:

The new CUWAA Strategic Plan called, "Wholeheartedly, We Will" was worked on for a year by a hired external consultant and dozens of stakeholders. This plan was approved by the Board of Regents during their February 8, 2024 meeting.

*** 

GJ

My initial response was - Church Growth Management by Objective Strikes Again!

Examples -

This plan includes the following goals:

1.3.1 Within 3 years, the Enrollment and Academics Units will collaborate to ensure that the

university—across its campuses—serves the largest number of LCMS church work students in

the CUS.

1.3.2 Within 4 years, the Enrollment and Mission and Church Relation Units will collaborate to

grow the number of Christian traditional undergraduate students across its campuses to 90%.

3.1.1 Within 4 years, the Enrollment and Student Success Units will achieve an overall

enrollment of 8,500 students across the campuses. ( GJ - There's more, but this is enough.)

Graduates of Fuller Seminary have to be the dumbest of all, because they have caused a rapidly increasing downhill slide ever since 1980 or so. After 44+ years of shrinkage, they continue to pander to the Drucker MBO, its crafts and assaults. The hired external consultant (big salary) got various people to write exuberant statements about what would happen for their LCMS colleges in the years to come. 

All colleges, universities, and community colleges are shrinking - a fact which most people ignore. I might guess that they had a frenzy of expensive additions to aim for the country club effect, to attract more students. One idea, years ago, was to charge less tuition (via grants and scholarships) to make the first two years easier to pay. Student/parent payments go up for the last two years because course credit transfers do not work very well. 

One university said on the phone, "We can only count six hours of credit from your previous school." The student said, "Then I am not signing up." The counselor responded, "OK. All your credits will transfer."

Student loans are mortgages on the students' futures, so not to worry, students and parents. America has decided that lacking a four-year degree might not be so bad.

One can guess that all the Lutheran colleges will fade away in the next decade. Most - if not all of them - major in non-Lutheran students.

And one more item which again is astounding to me:  ENDOWMENT QUESTIONS
🚨IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION: Of the anticipated $9 million deficit in operations between the two campuses this fiscal year, it appears that over $7 million is in depreciation. In other words, not contributing to a cash flow problem. This is not to be ignored, but the operating deficit is largely depreciation and not a loss of cash.
RESEARCH
• (Updated 2/26) Comparative Data within a sample of 39 institutions in Michigan and Wisconsin: https://bit.ly/comparative-data-2-26
• (New!) Long-term trends for CUWAA (as a whole), Wisconsin, and Ann Arbor https://bit.ly/cuwaa-long-term-trends
Additional questions for consideration:
Would the money that has been raised for Ann Arbor campus projects such as the Maier Center and the Weight Room addition (some $10 million) be returned by Concordia University Wisconsin to those who provided the funds?
Would the dollars originally given by various Districts of The LCMS and the Michigan Church Extension Fund be returned to them by Concordia University Wisconsin? The assumption was that those funds were given for a long-term solution, not a 10-year-solution.
The endowments that are held by CUW for CUAA (now valued at some $27 million) were generally given by Michigan District residents for the benefit of Michigan students. Would those funds be returned by Concordia University Wisconsin to the Michigan District to use to defray expenses for Michigan students attending Lutheran high schools, or other Concordia universities, or the seminaries?

What in the world is going on here?

Dave Benke

It's OK to Pray

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Lent 3 Oculi - "And as that house must be conquered by a stronger man and thus wrested from the tyrant, so must man also be ransomed through Christ and wrested from Satan."

 

Complete Luther Sermon Here -> Oculi. Third Sunday in Lent - Luke 11:14-23.  

6. In the second place, he replies with a public example and a similar work, when he says: “By whom do your sons cast them out?” As if he would say: “Is this not simple idiocy? Just what you praise in your sons, you condemn in me. Because your sons do it, it is of God; but because I do it, it must be of the devil.” So it is in this world. What Christ does, is of the devil; if some one else did it, it would be all right. Thus the tyrants and enemies of the Gospel do now, when they condemn in us what they themselves do, confess and teach; but they must proceed thus in order that their judgment may be publicly approved, when they are condemned by all justice. The sons, of whom Christ here says that they drive out devils, were, I think, certain exorcists among the people, for God, from the beginning, had given this people manifold spiritual gifts and he calls them their “sons,” as though to say: I am the Son of God and must be called a child of the devil, while those who are your sons, begotten by you, do the same things and are not to be considered children of the devil.

7. “Therefore shall they be your judges,” that is, I appeal to them. They will be forced to decide that you wrongfully blaspheme me, and thus condemn yourselves. For if one devil does not drive out another then some other power must do it that is neither satanic nor human, but divine. Hence the words: “But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you.” This finger of God is called in Matthew 12:28 the Holy Ghost, for the words read thus: “But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons,” etc. In short, Christ means to say: If the kingdom of God is to come unto you, the devil must be driven out, for his kingdom is against God’s kingdom, as you yourselves must confess. But demon is not driven out by demon, much less by men or the power of men, but alone by the Spirit and power of God.

8. From this follows that where the finger of God does not cast out the devil, there the devil’s kingdom still exists; where Satan’s kingdom still exists, there the kingdom of God cannot be. The unavoidable conclusion then is that, as long as the Holy Spirit does not enter our hearts, we are not only incapable of any good, but are of necessity in the kingdom of Satan.

And if we are in his kingdom, then we can do nothing but that which pleases him, else it could not be called his kingdom. As St. Paul says to Timothy: “The people are taken captive in the snares of the devil unto his will” 2 Timothy 2:26. How could Satan suffer one of his people to take a notion to do something against, and not for, his kingdom? Oh, it is a striking, terrible and powerful statement that Christ here admits such a dominion, which we cannot escape except by the power of God; and that the kingdom of God can not come to us until that kingdom is driven out by divine, heavenly power.

9. This truth is proved in the case of this poor man, who was bodily possessed of the devil. Tell me, what could he and all mankind do to free him from the devil? Without a doubt, nothing. He had to do and suffer just as his master the devil willed, until Christ came, with the power of God.

Now then, if he could not free himself from the devil as to his body, how could he, by his own power, deliver his soul from Satan’s spiritual dominion? Especially is this the case since the soul, because possessed of sin, is the cause of all bodily possession as a punishment, and sins are more difficult to remove than the punishment of them, and the soul is always more firmly possessed than the body. This is proved by the fact that the devil permits the body to have its natural powers and functions; but he robs the soul of reason, judgment, sense, understanding, and all its powers, as you readily see in the case of this possessed man.

10. He answers them in the third place, by a comparison taken from life, namely that of a strong man overcome by one stronger, and robbed of all his armor and goods etc. By this he testifies also that no one but God can overcome the devil, so that again no man can boast of being able of himself to drive out either sin or the devil. Notice how he pictures the devil! He calls him a mighty giant who guards his court and home, that is, the devil not only possesses the world as his own domain, but he has garrisoned and fortified it, so that no one can take it from him. He rules it also with undisputed sway, so that it does whatever he commands. Just as little as a house or court may withstand or contend against the tyrant who is its master, can man’s free will and natural powers oppose sin and Satan, that is, not at all; but they are subject to them. And as that house must be conquered by a stronger man and thus wrested from the tyrant, so must man also be ransomed through Christ and wrested from Satan. We see again, therefore, that our works and righteousness contribute absolutely nothing toward our salvation; it is effected alone by the grace of God.