Second Sunday after Easter. Shepherd Sunday. Misericordias Domini. 2024.

 

The Second Sunday after Easter, 2024

Bethany Lutheran Church

Shepherd Sunday, 10 AM

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

 

The Hymn #436         The Lord's My Shepherd

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord: by the word of the Lord were the heavens made. Psalm. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

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

Collect 

God, who by the humiliation of Thy Son didst raise up the fallen world, grant unto Thy faithful ones perpetual gladness, and those whom Thou hast delivered from the danger of everlasting death do Thou make partakers of eternal joys; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Then was the Lord Jesus known of the disciples: in the breaking of bread. Hallelujah!

V. I am the Good Shepherd: and know My sheep and am known of Mine. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #269    O Lord Our Father Shall We Be Confounded

The Unique Shepherd

The Communion Hymn #409   Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus             

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 #50              Lord Dismiss Us    

 

Prayers and Announcements

• Medical Care - Randy Anderson, Pastor James Shrader and his wife Chris, Kermit Way, Sarah Buck.
• Greek New Testament lessons will start soon.

 

 Second Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness hast been mindful of us poor, miserable sinners, and hast given Thy beloved Son to be our shepherd, not only to nourish us by His word, but also to defend us from sin, death, and the devil: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that, even as this Shepherd doth know us and succor us in every affliction, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, from our hearts obey His voice, and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

 

KJV 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

The Unique Shepherd

KJV John 10:11 I AM the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

This section of John 10 begins with the theme of the message, then repeats the same words to explain the meaning of Good Shepherd. Repetition is often used for emphasis. Simple words and phrases reveal two things at once - the Good Shepherd title and what that title means. First of all, I AM is the name of God, a word so powerful that Jesus used it when being arrested and again during the trial.

Mark 14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62 And Jesus said, I AM: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Just as there are many miracles, to show the power and compassion of Jesus, so there are many titles describing what this means. In this age of watering down everything while repeating the same things again and again, people use the name of God and the titles of Christ as expletives. These titles and descriptions are repeated endlessly as blasphemy, but no one seems to mind. That shows not only a lack of faith but also a lack of intelligence. 

The description of Good Shepherd teaches us how miraculous Jesus is. A normal shepherd guards the door and deals with thieves and wolves, but does not give up His life for His flock. The wolves and thieves shatter and kill the sheep - the ongoing persecution of the Christian Church - the Christ has given up His life for those individuals.

The Gospel of John is simple in words and yet profound in meaning. The descriptions and actions of Christ are so clear that we can easily grasp His message, or we might say - His sermon. That is a reason for teaching and learning the Greek of the New Testament. Maybe no one will want to learn a language new to them, but everyone who does will strengthen the Gospel and encourage a new generation. Like Zoom technology, what seems impossible at first is much easier with repetition. 

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

Shepherd Sunday, a nickname going back to the Reformation, is especially clear in these last days. Money pastors are not shepherds. (Pastor is Latin for shepherd.) Money pastors only go through the motions to have a deluxe home, a new car, and thousands of dollars in costumes liturgical garments. They have stacks of books behind them in their videos but seem to be entirely unaware of their value, except as props. A better term today might be "actors" because they know how to impress, such as wearing a pink sweater in a worship service - that sells for $2,000. That describes the Elevation Church, so maybe the pastor is an Elevator. Seriously, the list of mega-churches with mega-pastors eventually turn into mega-collapses. I have listed them - so many and I forget their names. The Internet has a long memory, so an Elevator today is likely going to be linked with a scandal from the past. Or maybe it happened and everyone denies it, like the very corrupt Milwaukee Roman Catholic archbishop, who spoke at a Lutheran college. 

13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

The wolf scatters the sheep because the hired hand has run away. Today many people will say they have given up on church and worship - the Christian Faith - because of the lies and spiritual abuse. Denominations tend to worship themselves and the "right people," but that is contrary to the Scriptures. The empty and abandoned churches have a lot more to do with being contrary to the Faith. 

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

I spoke with the neighbor at the grocery store. She had her newborn in the cart, and the baby was cooing, smiling, and paying attention. A bit later the grandparents were at my door, holding the baby, who was smiling and making happy noises. She knew I was talking about her. There is a tug between parent and child: the baby of the family is loved by everyone and everyone loves the child. 

Jesus Christ is saying that there is a constant connection between Him and His sheep. Each one knows the other. It is important to trust in this verse and dwell upon it. Our emotions and attitudes vary all the time. We can be faced with dread, sorrow, anger, and many other oppressive thoughts and feelings. We can always count on the Savior to be in touch with us and to help us in every need. We access faith when we believe in Him, and that is priceless.

15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

These are interlocking circles, so just as Christ is with us and we are with Him, so the Father is attached to us and we are attached to Him. That is taught by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Atonement of Jesus is the primary focus of the Easter resurrection.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

This reveals, as we should know, that the Gospel will spread over all the lands, starting with Jewish believers converted, reaching out across the Western Roman Empire (Rome - Europe) and the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium, now Instanbul). There remains one true Christian Church which is made up of those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Good Shepherd.

Three of Luther’s sermons on this text:

• Misericordias Domini. Second Sunday After Easter. John 10:11-16. Christ’s Office and Kingdom; or How Christ is the True Shepherd
• Second Sermon: Preachers, Civil Authorities, and the Knowledge of Christ
• Third Sermon: The Good Shepherd and his Sheep; or Christ’s Person, Office and Rulership

The end

The Four Waltherian Cults - LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - Are Models of Hypocrisy, But Don't Tell - They Smash Folks and Slither Away

 

The Four Waltherian Cults - LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) should be called the Tiny Four, because the size of ELCA impresses them so much - like the fragrance of a city dump in July.

Let's just calm down and figure out what I am saying through experience, attendance at their meetings, serving in the WELS and the much worse Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic).

All Four Waltherian Cults are loyal (but dishonest) concerning their doctrinal virginity. But Missouri and WELS, even a bit of the ELS favored Justification by Faith and taught it. 

Stretch out the time frame - Carl Gausewitz produced a Small Catechism used by the entire Synodical Conference, one of many catechisms like the Schwan, no doubt. 

Missouri produced a beautiful set of Luther's works in German, a work of art in publishing. Modern Missouri sold Luther trinkets in 2017, probably made in Red China.'

The ELS left the Big Norwegians over their fondness for Objective Faithless Justification. 

The Four Waltherian Cults are so anxious about getting near an outsider (except ELCA) that they wash their sanctified and sanctifying hands if anyone questions them, especially when the manages are blatantly lying.

But - as indicated - they grovel before ELCA and the Church Growth lords. Isn't it odd, Waltherian members, that they hate Luther so fiercely (Justification by Faith) and love Fuller graduates so lovingly? The least qualified Waltherian cult leaders are the most elevated, the quickest to be given fake doctorates and DNA protection.

I found DP Patterson managing Easter Egg hunts and his fellow pastor promoting pet the bunnies. Patterson and Kelm gave papers to the Mordor faculty about improving the ghastly results of their teaching.

Another Megachurch Southern Baptist For Lutherans To Follow - Steven Furtick

 

Another Example for Shepherd Sunday - the Hireling in a $2,000 pink sweater.

Steven Furtick is the newest mega-pastor in the media. Put his name in a search engine and see how little is said about him. He graduated from the Louisville, Kentucky Southern Baptist Seminary. Christina and I drove there for dissertation research. Their library gladly gave me a box of books for my project. At our alma mater Augustana, I had to beg the librarians to let me borrow some books for my dissertation. 

Furtick began his mega-church in 2006. His Elevation Church produces Elevation Music for Elevation Worship.

Furtick speaks at events all over the world including the 2011 Global Leadership Summit hosted by Bill Hybels,^[9] the C3 Conference 2012 hosted by Ed Young Jr.,^[10] the Hillsong Conference 2012 hosted by Brian Houston,^[11] and the Presence Conference in 2012 and 2013 hosted by Phil Pringle.^[12] 

 This link will provide a rich supply of links about Steven Furtick. 

 

 

These false teachers, including a Roman Catholic Archbishop and a few Baptists, are or were idolized by the Wisconsin Synod and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. District Pope Patterson (WELS) flew a bunch loyalists to a mega-gathering of fellow travelers in Florida. Was that the Exponential Conference? Email me if you were there.

WELS has spent money on The Unstuck Group, too.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Second Sunday after Easter - "Accordingly, they are never true shepherds who, in preaching, have their own popularity, profit and advantage in view."

 

Complete Sermon -> Misericordias Domini. Second Sunday After Easter. John 10:11-16. Christ’s Office and Kingdom; or How Christ is the True Shepherd

II. CHRIST ILLUSTRATES HIS OFFICE AND KINGDOM BY COMPARING THE GOOD SHEPHERD WITH THE HIRELING.

25. Now, he contrasts the good shepherd with a wicked one, or a hireling, and says: “The good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them and scattereth them: he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”

26. In the strictest sense, he alone is the shepherd; and yet, as he alone is Christ but nevertheless calls us by the same name — Christians — even so, though he alone is the shepherd, he designates all those who exercise the office of the ministry among Christians by that name also. In like manner in Matthew 23:9 he forbids us to call any man on earth father, for one is our father, even he who is in heaven, yet Paul calls himself a father of the Corinthians when he says: “I begat you through the Gospel.” Corinthians 4:15. Thus God acts as though he alone would be our father, and yet he attributes the name to men also, so that they are called fathers.

But they have no right to this name in themselves; only in Christ is it theirs: even as we are called Christians though we have nothing of our own, but all we have has been given to us, in him. Now, “the hireling,” says he, “whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth,” etc. That is a hard saying, indeed, that some who truly preach and administer the Gospel and strengthen and heal the sheep, finally allow themselves to be carried away and leave the sheep when they are most in need of help. As long as no wolf is in sight, they are active and. tend the sheep; but when they see the wolf breaking in, they forsake the sheep. If the sheep have been well kept, till they are strong and healthy and fat, they will then be all the more acceptable to the wolf, for whom they have been kept.

27. How does that happen? Well, says Christ, in my kingdom, whose whole object is to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, comfort the sorrowing, and so forth, the holy cross will not be wanting. For, if we preach that Christ alone must receive, strengthen, heal and help us poor sheep, and that we cannot, by our own strength and works, help ourselves, and that, therefore, all works and whatever else the world pretends to offer in its many religious services are of no avail, the world cannot abide such preaching. Hence, it is but natural that the Gospel should bring with it the holy cross, and that they who confess it before the world should risk their necks in so doing.

28. Because this is so, the good shepherds are thus distinguished from the hirelings. Whoever is a hireling will preach the Gospel only so long as they say of him that he is a learned, pious and good man; but when he is attacked, and men begin to denounce him as a heretic and a knave, and challenge him to a dispute, he recants or runs away, and abandons the poor sheep in their distress, and things are in a worse state than they were before. For what advantage has it been to the poor sheep that they had once been well kept? Had the shepherds been faithful, they would have sacrificed their bodies and lives for the sake of the sheep, and would have given their necks to the executioner for the Gospel’s sake. Accordingly, they are never true shepherds who, in preaching, have their own popularity, profit and advantage in view. They are surely hirelings; for they seek their own advantage, even when they dispense the true doctrine and Word of God. Therefore they continue only as long as they are honored and praised.

Hence they retract, and deny the Word, when the wolf comes, or flee and leave the sheep in the lurch. The sheep bleat for pasture and for the shepherd to protect them from the wolves, but there is no one to succor them; thus they are deserted when they most need some one to help them.

29. Such will be the result when men once begin to lay hands on and persecute us in earnest. There will be preachers who will hold their tongues and flee, and the sheep will be pitiably scattered, the one running here and the other there. God grant that there may be at least some who will stand firm and risk their lives to rescue the sheep. Thus Christ has here portrayed the hireling. He then proceeds: “I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own.”

30. There is a great deal contained in these words, far too much to be exhaustively treated here. He speaks here of his own peculiar calling. “I know mine own,” he says, “and mine own know me.” How is this to be understood? That he explains further when he says: “Even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father.”

III. THE SPECIAL OFFICE CHRIST ADMINISTERS EXPLAINED.

31. How is he known of the Father? Not with an earthly, but with a heavenly, knowledge. Of that we have spoken more fully before, and the substance of it is this: Christ recognizes us as his sheep, and we recognize him as our shepherd. Now, we have heard what a good shepherd is, and also who the weak sheep are. He knows us to be such sheep as are weak, sick and broken. That is: It does not make any difference in his regard for them that they are weak and sickly, and he does not despise and reject them on that account; but he pities and heals them, even though they be so diseased that the whole world concludes they are not his sheep. Such is the world’s knowledge, but that is not the way that Christ distinguishes them.

He does not look upon their condition, but looks to see whether they are sheep, whether they may be designated sheep. He looks at the sheep, not at the wool.

32. Now, they are good shepherds who imitate Christ and know the sheep in the same way; who look at the person, not at the faults, and know how to distinguish between the sheep and the disease.

33. Even so the Father knows me also, says Christ, but the world does not know me. When the time comes for me to die a shameful death upon the cross, all the world will say: Well, is that the Son of God? That must be a malefactor, owned, body and soul, by the devil. And thus the world will look upon and know me; but my Father will say: This is my beloved Son, my King, my Savior. For he will not look upon my sorrows, nor upon my wounds, nor upon my cross and my death, but he will see the person that I am. Therefore, though I were in the midst of hell and in the jaws of the devil, I must again come forth, for the Father will not desert me. And thus I know my sheep and am known of them. They know that I am the good shepherd and know me; and therefore they come to me and abide with me, and they are not afraid because they are weak and sick, for they know that I will receive such sheep. He now concludes and says: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd.

34. Some have explained this passage in such a way as to make it appear that it will be fulfilled shortly before the last day, when the Antichrist appears, and Elias and Enoch. That is not true, and it is the devil himself who is responsible for this belief of some, that the whole world will become Christian. The devil did this that the true doctrine might be so obscured so that it might not be understood. Therefore be on your guard; for this passage was verified and fulfilled shortly after Christ ascended into heaven, and is still in process of fulfillment. When the Gospel was first proclaimed, it was preached to the Jews; that nation was the sheepfold.

And now he says here: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring.” Here he declares that the Gospel is to be preached to the gentiles also, so that they also might believe in Christ, that there might be one Christian communion, composed of Jews and gentiles. This was afterwards brought about through the apostles, who preached to the gentiles and converted them to the faith. Accordingly there is now but one church or communion, one faith, one hope, one love, one baptism, etc.

And this continues to be so at the present day, and will continue until the day of judgment. Hence, you must not understand this to mean that the whole world, and all men, will believe in Christ; for this holy cross will always be with us. They are in the majority who persecute Christ, and therefore the Gospel must ever be preached, that some may be won for Christ. The kingdom of Christ is in process of growing and is not something that is completed. This is, in brief, the explanation of this Gospel.

Martin Luther College - WELS - The Same College That Loved Party in the MLC, Now Singing in the Shower!

 

Inherit the stupid II: when a Martin Luther College homecoming video infected WELS with the gay

The reporting and reaction continue to Josh Moniz's story in the New Ulm Journal about the cancellation of a production of "Inherit the Wind." Dan Linehan supplies more details in Saturday's Mankato Free Press article, New Ulm theater cancels play after controversy, while free-thinking Christophobe and science professor P.Z. Myers takes it up in Martin Luther College looks like a total waste of time and money.

Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time that Martin Luther College  (MLC) students' self-expression ran into disapproval by the WELS faithful.

Party in the MLC

Rummaging through MLC closets, Bluestem has stumbled over an old social media tale that involves student self-censorship after a popular dorm homecoming video hit YouTube.  The September 18, 2009 MLC Update High School edition reported in Dorm Videos:

For Homecoming festivities, the four dorms put together a video to entertain the student body. (Well, not Augustana— they must have forgotten.) Concord, the frosh and sophomore men, starred NateWordell(West) in a series of misadventures to arrive at chapel on time. Centennial, the frosh and sophomore women, featured Claire Czaplewski (KML) and a team of students on a missionto conquer the Swine Flu Sprite. By far the crowd favorite was the Summit men’s video rendition(pictured)  of “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus.

That sounds innocent enough in the pre-twerking days of 2009.

Here's the video preserved on the Facebook page Bring back the MLC version of party in the USA!!!!!! :

Why did the video--which received over 80,000 hits before its makers pulled it--need to come back?

The Martin Luther College  (MLC) parody of a Fire Island Pines (FIP) parody

The "Party in the MLC video was based on the Fire Island Pines (FIP) parody tribune video of the Miley Cyrus music video for "Party in the USA."   Fire Island Pines:

. . .has been a jewel in the gay community for over 60 years, and continues to be the premier vacation destination for residents and vacationers. Located just 50 miles east of New York City, The Pines is home to the most expensive real estate in Fire Island.

Here's the FIP version:

While both videos are silly rather than sexy, the fact that the MLC version was based on a gay-friendly video didn't escape notice long from either the LGBT community online nor from the WELS faithful.

Queerty posted about the video in WATCH: What Miley Cyrus Hath Wrought: Party In the … MLC?

To what cultural aspersions do we owe the phenomenon of remaking the remakes of music videos? The Fire Island Pines boys, who created the Miley Cyrus send-up “Party In The F.I.P,” receive their own homage with “Party In The MLC” from a bunch of dormmates at a “homecoming summit.” At, uh, Midland Lutheran College [sic]?

Keep watching, ’cause there’s a blooper reel.

Those commenting are divided about whether the video is homage to the FIP video, insulting to gay men because of the fem stereotypes that the schoolboys prance around, or totally inappropriate because the young Lutherans just aren't cute enough to be in front of a video camera.

A rather oddball Lutheran blogger posted about the video a few days later in October 2009  in Mary Lou College's Own Flock of Seagulls--or-- Girls Gone Wild:

A WELS member sent me the link to this video, which makes the previous one (the statue fight) look positively confessional in comparison.

Familiar names like Huebner and Krause star in this travesty, which includes prissy lip-synching and crotch grabbing. I thought Michael Jackson was sick when he felt compelled to do the same, but this is worse and comes from the WELS "College of Ministry."

Read the comments on the video and notice the great impression made on the audience.

The sound and the fury signifying whatever

Oh the outrage! The attention from both communities lead to the creators of the video to remove it, the blogger notes in a mid-November post, Wisconsin Lutheran College Paper Defends "Party in the MLC" Video On Its Front Page! As Wise As Doves, As Innocent As Serpents:

The Wisconsin Lutheran College (WELS when raising funds) student newspaper, "The Sword," ran a Front Page! editorial / story on the MLC video, quoted in part (blue type in original):

But once the video left the context of the MLC campus, it came under unforeseen criticism from some who failed to see the humor in the video.

The most pronounced critic of the video was independent Lutheran pastor and blogger Gregory Jackson. Posts from Jackson, as well as comments left by the blog's readers, labeled the actions of the MLC students featured in the video unbecoming to future WELS pastors and teachers.

These claims were based on the video from which the creators of "Party in the MLC" took their inspiration--a previous YouTube video known as "Party in the FIP." Set to the tune of "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus, "Party in the FIP" shows a group of men performing choreographed routines on a beach while lip-synching the lyrics of the song."

"Party in the MLC" is a parody of the video, using the same soundtrack and many of the same routines.

The controversy over MLC students parodying "Party in the FIP" is derived from the lifestyle associated with "the FIP."

But makers of the "Party in the MLC" agree with other viewers that none of the actions in the "Party in the FIP" video would be considered blatant homosexuality. They also admit no previous knowledge of the reputation of Fire Island Pines. Ben Reichel, MLC student and video contributor, revealed, "We didn't find out until two or three days after we posted it that that's what it stood for. After we learned that we were kind of taken aback."

After learning of the offense caused by the video, the students decided to remove the video "out of Christian love" for those who found the video inappropriate. The decision to remove the video was a personal decision made by the creators of the video.

Reichel stated, "We all got together as a group --the guys who were in the video--and we realized that this caused way too much commotion and way too much negativity, and we all decided together that we were going to take it down."

After meeting amongst (sic) themselves, the students sought the advice of college administration. Reichel continued, "We went and talked to the administration here at MLC--the president and vice-president--and we got their thoughts on it too. But we knew before we even talked to them that we were going to take it down."

Matt Rothe, classmate of Reichel and video contributor, along with the rest of the students involved with the video, are ready to put "Party in the MLC" and the attention it has received in the past; "The group of guys who made this video only wished for good to come out of this video, and I must express firmly we wish for no more negative attention from it."

GJ - The WLC student newspaper has a lot of facts wrong. They did not make any effort to seek clarification. They are now drawing even more attention to the video and revealing that the students were not at all repentant, just resentful they got caught.

First of all, a WELS layman was furious over the video, which was posted on You Tube for all the world to see. Many people provide information to this blog so the rest of Lutherdom can see it. This layman was unable to watch more than a minute of it. I posted the video so people could see for themselves, as he wished.

The MLC students jumped in to defend the video right away, and now WLC has joined them. Their defense is to attack me, but the video stands on its own as a dubious production, whether I like it or not.

The defense of the video was so ridiculous that I did a little more research and found the original, "Party in the FIP." They knew what they were copying, and they acknowledged it rather quietly in the notes. Apparently the original went viral right away, thanks to various homosexual websites.

College students know how to use Google. Where else would they copy their homework from? Kelm, Parlow, and Limmer have shown that slavish copying is a good career move in WELS. To plead ignorance about Fire Island Pines is a bit absurd. All of the sudden these guys just fell off the haywagon when they landed in Metropolitan New Ulm.

And they thought the FIP video was straight? They should be on SNL, in a skit about their lack of gaydar. . . .

Bluestem is left to ponder what it means that "Party in the MLC" was the overwhelming favorite of Homecoming Dorm Videos at Martin Luther College.  We couldn't possibly comment on that.

Some really good comments on Party in the MLC here.

A Party in the MLC  Video had some comments here 14 years ago.

Denominations - Especially The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - Are Pursuing and Scattering Their Dwindling Members.

 

The faithful Christians were slaughtered by predator beasts. Their peaceful  and prayerful acceptance shook the pagan audience to their very souls, and this began the conversion of the pagan West.

The tide has reversed. Now the denominations - especially The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - are murdering the souls of their own members, driving them away and engorging themselves with the loot of foreclosed church buildings and endowments.

One church expert told a large crowd, "The prune churches, which used to be plums, are the easiest to lead. They have nothing to do!" I have seen that in church closures where the clergy staff hung onto their salaries until the end, trying to be busy with their social activism. For every 300 year old church (like the one next to the Philadelphia ELCA Seminary) there is another, like Historic St. John in Milwaukee, independent but grabbed by WELS and the Jeske posse. They changed the name a bit - "on the Hillside" - yuk, yuk.

ELCA planted their flag with the 2009 visit, which was soon followed by an effort to make each shrinking seminary into La Cage aux Folles.

The Big Five have repudiated their beginnings in the Reformation, a rejection proved with gusto in the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, 2017. Instead of shaking off the doom of Pietism, they pursued the toxins of Calvinism, Bogus Bibles, silly worship, and Druckerism.

"Am I cute? Or what!"

If Baylor University Is Not Baptist - Is Baylor's Truett Seminary Not Gay Affirming?

 

Truett Theological Seminary Hosts Gay-Affirming Speakers, Panelists

Protestia

George W. Truett Theological Seminary, or ‘Truett’ for short, is a Texas-based seminary operated by Baylor University (The World’s largest Baptist university) and associated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. [GJ -Truett was late in starting, so they avoided affirming Biblical inerrancy.]

With nearly 400 students, they describe themselves as an “orthodox, evangelical school in the historic Baptist tradition” with a mission to “equip God-called people for gospel ministry in and alongside Christ’s Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

We recently wrote about Baylor after Greg Garrett, their pro-choice, gay-affirming, trans-affirming professor of Literature and Culture who called a centuries-old hymn “sexist” for containing the word “brethren,” and after he chastised author J.K Rowling for posting a lengthy Twitter thread where she repeatedly called a bunch of trans-women “men” on Trans Day of Visibility, something he found intolerable. 

Garrett also appears to be a key organizer in the new annual “racism” conference at Truett Seminary. Whereas last year’s featured Jemar Tisby and Beth Moore talking about racism in the white church, this year’s “Racism in the world church” includes a bunch of antinomians lecturing believers about how to be better Christians.

As part of the conference “Racism In The World Church” 2024, Truett/Baylor’s held a panel that was composed of pastors at affirming churches (at least 2 of 3 speakers). Woke Preacher TV explains:

Sean Palmer, an Enneagram guru and teaching pastor at Ecclesia Houston, proudly declared in a 2018 speech that his church has accepted transgender individuals and same-sex couples into membership.

Timothy Peoples is senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, which advertises its affirming stance and is a member of the Association Of Welcoming + Affirming Baptists and participated in Dallas Pride last year.

(The third panel member, famed musician Jimi Calhoun, doesn’t really counter-balance the other men’s stances, as his “church,” Bridging Austin, appears to just be him, his wife, and a friend who have streamed a handful of brief “online liturgies” and held “meetups” advertised as “Taizé Contemplative Services” in the past few months.)

At the end of their conversation, titled “Black Pastors In White Spaces,” Palmer alludes to the objection of @NeilShenvi and agrees that adopting a critical social justice frame towards race will inevitably lead to compromise on “a whole constellation of other issues and topics that I also have to treat similarly.”

[From Wikipedia - Seminary faculty at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and other SBC seminaries were being required to sign documents indicating agreement with Scriptural inerrancy. The board of regents and trustees were able to avoid this requirement at Truett. Truett Seminary was and is more accepting of moderate theology.]