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 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 National Council of Churches.
The Lutheran Church in America modeled its organization after General Motors. Nobody was ashamed - they were proud of copying Management by Objective. I heard Peter Drucker's MBO in the LCA and - surprise! - WELS. Drucker enchanted denominations by promoting the clownish pratfalls of Fuller, Willow Creek, the Hour of Power, etc.
Just as business devoured itself with MBO, so the synods spat on the Means of Grass and the KJV - to make themselves cool (!?) and waste everyone's money but not theirs. Oh no.
The Waltherian Four - LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC - wanted to preen their feathers and strut around showing off their superiority. Given their unified (Fuller etc) stupidity, they have nowhere to hide their colossal failures, clergy arrests, and bankruptcies.
Tis funny - Thrivent gives a lot of money to the Luther-dumbs by waving their irrevocable charitable trust annuities [beware this investment vehicle] to the grandparents, rewarding the clergy for selling something they don't understand, and giving some loot to the synods.
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. [ The 50th day, Jewish Pentecost]
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. [Already taught faith through Jesus]
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. [Foreign language - "dialectos", not the same as ecstatic speech in 1 Corinthians]
εαν ταις γλωσσαις των ανθρωπων λαλω - glossais
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Peter Addressing the Crowd
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Denominations are now quite certain they are best in managing their menageries. Before the Great Depression, mother churches tended to establish their own sister churches, where the land and buildings were funded built up by people from the original parish. Later, the headquarters argued that they could handle the costs of similar projects and take on the burden of those wanting to expand.
The Michigan District President, LCMS, said they had more money in their expansion fund than the entire Lutheran Church in America had - $40 million at the time. One Michigan LCA district had a mission supervisor so drunk he could not hold onto the desk phone when someone phoned. Lunch with him was not much better.
This went on everywhere, not just among the Lutherans. Those who objected to Holy Mother Church were punished by exile from the choice congregations while the apostate or cool guys, a tight-knit group in many cases, got the best deal.
The know-it-all executives mess things up and blame everyone else. They follow the trends. The future executive pooh-bahs flew to Fuller Seminary or drove to Willow Creek, checking out how the Hour of Power became Purpose Driven. One hilarious brainstorm had LCA-ALC-LCMS-WELS gathering together for a great, holy, getting along great pratfall, financed by LB-AAL->Thrivent.
The parish pastors did not stand up for anything.
The college and seminary professors idolized the ELCA stars.
The laity whimpered and became even more passive.
The Means of Grace vanished in the face of the Next Big Thing.
The worst Bibles made the most money so they were OK!
Worship and the liturgy evaporated slowly.
They all leaned to fads instead of dwelling on the Word.
"For if I perish, no great harm is done; but if I let God’s Word perish, and I remain silent, then I do harm to God and to the whole world." Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe.
6. What does Christ do here? His life he abandons to shame and dishonor, is silent and suffers them to call him a Samaritan; while he takes pains to defend his doctrine. For the doctrine is not ours, but God’s, and God dare not suffer in the least, here patience is at an end; but I should stake all that I have and suffer, all that they do, in order that the honor of God and of his Word may not be injured. For if I perish, no great harm is done; but if I let God’s Word perish, and I remain silent, then I do harm to God and to the whole world. Although I can not now close their mouth nor prevent their wickedness, I shall nevertheless not keep silent, nor act as if they are right, as I do about my good life, so that they retain their right. Although they do me injustice at the time, yet it remains right before God. Further, Christ excuses himself, and says: “I have not a demon,” that is, my doctrine is not of the devil’s lies; “but I honor my father,” that is, I preach in my doctrine the grace of God, through which he is to be praised, loved and honored by believers. For the evangelical office of the ministry is nothing but glorifying God, Psalm 19:2: “The heavens declare the glory of God” etc. “But you dishonor me,” that is, you call me the devil’s liar, who reviles and dishonors God.
7. Why does he not say: I honor my father, and ye dishonor him; but says: “Ye dishonor me?”Impliedly he proves by this, that the father’s and his honor are alike and the same, as he and the Father are one God; yet along with this he also wishes to teach that if the office of the ministry, which God honors, is to be duly praised, then it must suffer disgrace. In like manner we will also do to our princes and priests; when they attack our manner of life, we should suffer it and show love for hatred, good for evil; but when they attack our doctrine, God’s honor is attacked, then love and patience should cease and we should not keep silent, but also say: I honor my Father, and you dishonor me; yet I do not inquire whether you dishonor me, for I do not seek my own honor. But nevertheless be on your guard, there is one who seeks it and judges, that is, the Father will require it of you, and judge you and never let you go unpunished. He seeks not only his honor, but also mine, because I seek his honor, as he says in 1 Samuel 2:30: “Them that honor me I will honor.” And it is our consolation that we are happy; although the whole world reviles and dishonors us, we are assured that God will advance our honor, and therefore will punish, judge and revenge. If one could only believe it and persevere, he will surely come. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my word, he shall never see death.”
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