ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Dr. Jackson, thank you so much for responding! John 1:3 is one of my favorite scriptures. It implies the difference between what begins to exist versus the One who has always existed. In essence, there is one thing that did not come into being or just begin to exist. That is God!
When the 2022 Churchwide Assembly voted last summer to form the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC), which will recommend how to restructure the ELCA’s governing process, it reached back four decades for a name. The original Commission for a New Lutheran Church, which met between 1982 and ’87, was a mammoth research project that held forums across the country, reviewed over 12,000 letters from Lutheran faithful, and processed responses from the synod, district and national conventions of three Lutheran denominations hoping to merge. Its work led directly to the creation of the ELCA, so the branding of this new commission feels nothing less than epochal.
The new group of 35 rostered ministers and laypeople from across the church will conduct a more condensed version of the original group’s investigation, examining “statements of purpose” and “principles of organization” for all three expressions and conducting nationwide research and listening forums. Ten synods sent memorials to the 2022 Churchwide Assembly requesting the commission. “The governing documents, constitutions, bylaws, and continuing resolutions of the ELCA do not allow [congregations, synods and the churchwide organization] to reorganize quickly to meet the changing realities for effective mission in today’s world,” wrote the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod in language that was echoed by the other nine.
When the next churchwide assembly convenes, in summer 2025, the CRLC will present its findings and recommend whether the church should then mount a special reconstituting convention without delay.
“Church itself has changed. The people coming to church have changed, and the systems necessary to support the work the church is doing have changed”
Appointed in April, the commission met in person for the first time in mid-July, convening for three days at the Lutheran Center in Chicago. Not long after that, its co-chairs, Carla Christopher and Leon Schwartz, sat down for a Zoom meeting with Living Lutheran to discuss the commission’s work. Both expressed excitement at the first gathering of the commission and stressed the urgency of their task.
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GJ - The LCA pastors said their merger in 1962 was modeled after the General Motors corporate structure. The 1987 ELCA merger was more like the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, because the Seminex faction was given leverage for all the big decisions. They were the smallest in size and got the greatest proportion of everything. They were the radicals' radicals, who came close to removing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from ELCA constitution. The Holy Trinity won the title, but only by a small margin of votes.
Notice the ELCA box with the three-fold Change motif. That reminded me of the WELS' Church and Change stealth operation, where the WELS Church Growth stars predicted the utter doom of their abusive sect until and unless everything changed. They even sold trinkets and promoted their underground Church and Change movement on the WELS website.
Although WELS and LCMS have done everything right, according the genius con artists of Fuller Seminary, their church bodies have plummeted in numbers, no matter what they claim. How could all of them lose so many members at the same time. They had the doctorates (sic) in Church Growth from Pasadena, Ft. Wayne, and St. Louis. Yes, even Robert Preus endorsed the Ft. Wayne version of Fuller, although he said WELS was even worse than LCMS in Fuller intoxication.
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| Barna had Lutheran pastors giving this disgusting book to members. The clear message of Church Growth - "We will wreck the Gospel of faith in Jesus Christ by slowly increasing the heat until the old fuddie-duddies are boiled alive." Where were the animal rights people? I wondered. |
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| I had a lot of fun tracking down the main culprits: their conferences, their funds, their publications, and their flame-outs. Pasadena veterans did not appreciate being described with so much attention and so many curated quotations. |
Notice the parallel wisdom, ELCA versus LCMS and WELS - to wit
When the next churchwide assembly convenes, in summer 2025, the CRLC (Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church) will present its findings and recommend whether the church should then mount a special reconstituting convention without delay.
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| This sold well - WELS published it. Sadly, the Church and Changers did not approve and wanted it squashed. They were getting Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant ready to print when they suddenly changed their minds. |
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| Schmauk would have been expelled from Mequon WELS, Bethany ELS, and the Missouri fun factories. Let us avoid corny swag and goofy church names that hide their supposed confession of faith. |
| Rev James Skorzewski | Christ the Rock LC Hutto TX. Mascot - hippo. | Amazing Love LC Frankfort IL Associate Pastor | 4/1 |
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| Ski and Glende were very close at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, where they sponsor a cross-dressing cheerleader event each year, preparing them for GA hazing. |
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| Bishop Elect Timothy R. Oslovich: Tomorrow, May the Fourth Be With You. |
CHICAGO (April 30, 2024) — The Rev. Timothy R. Oslovich, Vernon, Conn., was elected April 27 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the synod assembly, April 26-28, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Anchorage.
Oslovich was elected on the fifth ballot, with 52 votes. The Rev. Susan Halvor, manager of the Spiritual Care Department at Providence Alaska Medical, Anchorage, received 49 votes.
The Reverend Shelley Wickstrom was elected to serve as Bishop of the Alaska Synod at the 2012 Alaska Synod Assembly at Joy Lutheran Church in Eagle River. The Rev. Shelley R. Wickstrom is retiring after serving as bishop since 2012. Her last day will be June 30.
Ordinations in the new, improved ELCA, can be like Dawn Bennett's.
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| Immediately after "The Vote," this happened at the ELCA convention in the Twin Cities, Central Lutheran Church tornado. |
Unbelievers - especially the apostate clergy and bishops, who have abandoned the Christian Faith - cannot understand or teach the Parables of Jesus.
The parables of Jesus were never designed to teach the masses, but only to obscure the stories and comparisons. Do not get angry, because Jesus stated that apparent contradiction for good reason.
KJV Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Then, as now, people seized on certain examples and did not absorb what Jesus was saying. Many errors blossomed in the first centuries after the Savior ascended to Heaven. The most obvious is the elevation of Mary which was gradually boosted by the new idea - that Mary had to be without sin of any kind, because the Son of God could not have been born unless the mother was immaculate (literally without spot).
Purgatory grew from false notions, that people died in a sinful state, no matter how much was done (reparation offerings - literally repayment; self-punishing; merits - faith needing works.) The demands and punishments of Purgatory grew so much that even the living were enlisted to cut down on the time required.
The concepts of Immaculate Mary and Purgatory were woven together, since Mary was turned into the comforter of those who were paying for their sins. Jesus became the angry judge who had to be restrained by Mary. Fear and emotions created a vast world-wide community of dogma.
The parables are for believers who study and hear the Word of God. Their faith in Jesus Christ is mocked, and those mockers love to say, "Nobody knows what the parables mean."
KJV Matthew 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Matthew 13 is the treasure trove of parables, but they are found elsewhere, often with slight differences (mocked by apostates).
This article is filled with shocking examples of the Pope's corruption and abuse.
When Francis first took office, most cardinals shared the popular enthusiasm for his informal style: his preference to be known as plain “Bishop of Rome” and his abandonment of some of the more comical trappings of his office such as the red shoes. But they quickly discovered that this “informal” pope, in contrast to his predecessors, liked to rule through executive fiat.
Francis has issued a torrent of papal rulings known as motu proprios (literally, “of his own accord”) — more than 60 so far, six times more frequently than John Paul II. They have made massive changes to liturgy, finance, government and canon law. They often land without warning and can be brutal: the Pope has used this mechanism to seize control of the Order of Malta, for example, and to strip away the privileges of the secretive but ultra-loyal organization Opus Dei.
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| Victor David Hanson, now retired, is one of the few conservative professors in America. Faculties are so slanted that only the Left-wingers are promoted and given tenure. |
Meanwhile, from 1980 to 2020, room, board, and tuition increased by 170 percent.
Skyrocketing costs cannot be explained by inflation alone, given that campuses have lightened faculty teaching loads while expanding administrative staff. At Stanford, there is nearly one staffer or administrative position for every student on campus.
At the same time, to vie for a shrinking number of students, colleges began offering costly in loco parentis counseling, Club Med-style dorms and accommodations, and extracurricular activities.
As applicants grew scarcer and expenses went up, universities began offering “full-service” student-aid packages, heavily reliant on government-subsidized student loans. The collective indebtedness of over 40 million student borrowers is nearing $2 trillion.
Worse still, an entire new array of therapeutic majors and minors appeared in the social sciences. Most of these gender/race/environmental courses did not emphasize analytical, mathematical, or oral and written skills. Such course work did not impress employers.
Faculty hiring had become increasingly non-meritocratic based on diversity/equity/inclusion criteria. New faculty hires have sought to institutionalize self-serving DEI and recalibrate higher education to prepare a new generation for self-perpetuating radical ideologies.
WELS is way ahead of the United Methodists. The Wisconsin sect gave divine calls to all the participants in the plagiarized, gay, Party in the USA, courtesy Fire Island.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers.
Delegates voted 692-51 at their General Conference — the first such legislative gathering in five years. That overwhelming margin contrasts sharply with the decades of controversy around the issue. Past General Conferences of the United Methodist Church had steadily reinforced the ban and related penalties amid debate and protests, but many of the conservatives who had previously upheld the ban have left the denomination in recent years, and this General Conference has moved in a solidly progressive direction.
Applause broke out in parts of the convention hall Wednesday after the vote. A group of observers from LGBTQ advocacy groups embraced, some in tears. “Thanks be to God,” said one.
Applause broke out in parts of the convention hall Wednesday after the vote. A group of observers from LGBTQ advocacy groups embraced, some in tears. “Thanks be to God,” said one.
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Andy Stanley, son of Charles Stanley, is adored by Babtists and WELS, too. United Methodists paid to get their conservatives leaving, which the conservatives did. The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) are together, and they accept gubmint mandated laxity in their schools. |
Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, has issued a statement on anti-LGBTQIA+ bills that have recently been introduced in the United States. “As we approach March 31, many people are preparing to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility, an international day to celebrate the contributions of transgender people and raise awareness about the deadly injustices they face,” the statement read, in part.
The statement continued: “As bishop of this church, I am concerned that the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans have been targeted all over this nation. Nearly 400 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills were introduced across the United States in 2022, most of them targeting trans youth. That is twice the number from 2021 and almost eight times the total from 2020. The language in many of these bills attacks the humanity of trans and nonbinary people, often erasing the dignity that should be afforded to everyone.
“While members of our church hold various convictions regarding gender, the teaching of our church supports legislation and policies to protect every person’s human dignity and civil rights. (Human Sexuality, p. 19) As Christians we believe every human being is created in God’s image, and we must honor and celebrate God’s creation. Our church teaches that we affirm transgender and nonbinary siblings as God’s children, who are loved unconditionally. Our social statement Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action (2019) also declares that this church commits itself to ‘advocate for and support laws, policies, and practices that respect diverse bodies rather than discriminating against, objectifying, or devaluing them’ (p. 60).
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Queer Seminarians & Rostered Ministry Leaders in the Lutheran Church |
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| Those quasi-Lutherans who covet Rome are fueling the rage for Catholic Smells and Belles. There is the Antichrist and the Antichrists, the sycophant followers. |
“I urge us, as people of faith, to love our neighbors, care for the vulnerable and marginalized, and work for justice and equality. We may have differing opinions on ‘matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity,’ (FSJ, p. 61) but we must always uphold the dignity and humanity of everyone. These disagreements do not allow us to accept actions that dehumanize, discriminate against or objectify any individual or group.”
