LutherQuislings and the ALPB Ovaltines - Insipid Warriors in the Battle for Mediocrity

 

LutherQuest - is hilariously named - they have yet to find Martin Luther in their quest for the truth.

The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau Online Forum earns the longest group blog title name, because no one wants to make matters worse. The Ovaltines are typical wannabee Roman Catholics, praising one of their own upon leaving the Lutheran Church to become priests - like Leonard Klein. When I searched "Lutheran pastors who turned into Catholic priests," the list was long and quite Ovaltine-centric, starting with Richard John Neuhaus.

Both organizations kicked me out, "an honor devoutly to be missed," as Shakespeare might have written. The ELDONUTs were worse, getting rid of my books, which were offered free of charge by a postulant. Donated Bibles disappeared too, not a good sign of devotion to Lutherdom. Bishop-for-Life Heiser sold Thy Strong Word earlier, but failed to pay for them.

Soon after 2000 AD, Bishop-in-Waiting James Heiser was selling copies of Thy Strong Word, which concentrates on the efficacy of the Word in Justification by Faith. The Ichabod post was 2017. "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8 KJV.

LQ began its invitation to me - by inviting and then piling on me - with their bad manners and worse grammar. My Internet friends had some fun battling those routine windbags, so LQ locked down its precious forum. 

What Do These Barnacles Have in Common?

The talk about "the Word" but they despise the efficacy, clarity, and precision of the KJV Old and New Testaments. No wonder they scoff at the KJV, mock and reject it, lest someone get at glance at their cloven hooves. They cling to their sinking ship.

They are all "Confessional Lutherans," although their "distinctly Lutheran concepts" reject the Book of Concord, yea even the Augsburg Confession and the Apology. But this only increases the harmony of the apostates. Yes, they walk like contestants in a three-legged race, falling down and rising up in shame, but they are at least going the same way with the same results.

Lastly, the LQuislings and ALPB Ovaltines are singing this tune in harmony - 

1. We are losing readers, shrinking fast.
2. We used to be much more interesting in our discussions.
3. We will never quote Ichabod, unless we "bury the lead" (journalism talk) on page 1057. 

Drowning in Drivel - Disloyal Lutherquest and Perfideous Ovaltines

 

The misnamed LutherQuesters studiously avoid the Scriptures and Luther. Their problem comes from being stuck on Stephan-Walther and their fervid opposition to the Scriptures. Currently, Rolf Preus is super-charged to counter any possible hint of Justification by Faith on an Australian Confession Lutheran Forum. If they let me into their enormous chat-circle, I would be eager to quote the Chief Article of the Christian Religion and hope they would respond.

I replaced the Statue of Liberty from Planet of the Apes, with a Luther statue from the LCMS. WELS has one Luther statue (for jesting about faity), and they all bow to the sainted Schwan.

The Ovaltines of ALPB Online Bore'em are even less interesting. They monopolize their little squabbles so only a few people can waste everyone's time with their chatter. I was enjoying a great run about David Benke's revelation that he was the real star of the Augsburg Confession's annual celebration, which is all about Luther, Melanchthon, the brave lay leaders, and Benke. Since then, Benke has been almost silent. I miss how everything nestles on his broad shoulders and celebrated personal history. He has been saying "It's OK to pray" ever since he gilded the wonderful Yankee Stadium pan-religious prayer circle with his personal thoughts. Before that moment, few accepted the efficacy of worshiping with every religion except Christianity. His Missouri Synod mentors declared, "One small step for a prayer circle, one giant leap for Benke."

ALPB Ovaltines Say - The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, June 25th, Is All About Benke's "It's OK To Pray" at Yankee Stadium

 

They had hats too - church merch before its time.

Former DP Dave Benke

Benke made a point about the Augsburg Confession anniversary's date this year - by linking it with his defenestration as a Missouri Synod district president.

Now that thread is boiling over with discussions about Benke and who did what when.

I know Benke's OK To Pray was used as an excuse by ELDONUTs, to storm out of the LCMS. Of course, that was after Bishop Heiser's LCMS benefits were vested. One must be a steward of his benefits when shaking a fist at the LCMS.

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

How Soon the Preus Clan Forgets Justification and Rome!How Quickly They Spread Their Errors!

Dr. Robert Preus wrote this book to counter the Roman Catholic trends of his own Ft. Wayne faculty and to repudiate Objective Faithless Justification. The Preus sons opposed both themes in Justification and Rome. Rolf no longer cites it, though he claims to have edited it with Daniel, another victim of incomprehension.

This appalling doggerel praises the Virgin Mary rather than Jesus Christ. ELCA supports the same trifecta:

1. Genuflecting toward the Church of Rome
2. Opposing Justification by Faith
3. Worshiping the saints in lieu of the Savior, promoting radical social activism.

***

Pr. Austin,

You can tell a bit about a person by their art. Now, I don't know all Pr. Preus' sons, but I have known his son Mark for some years. He wrote this stunning hymn about the Virgin a while ago as he and I were going back and forth on "Ye Watchers." He suggests it be sung to Adoro Te. I wish I had thought to post it a few days back for the Nativity of Mary or for the Dormition.

1.

For Mary, blessed Virgin, do we sing

To Christ, who is her Savior and her King,

Who, born of God and with the Father one,

Came down and made her womb his holy throne.

2.

All generations now confess her blest,

As she by God the Spirit once confessed,

For God made her the vessel of His grace

From whom our Lord first showed His human face.   

3.

When Gabriel spoke then Mary's heart believed,

And by the Holy Spirit she conceived,

And God, who nurtures all and all things made,

Was nurtured and made man within a maid.

4.

As fire burned in the bush unharmed by flame,

And by this mystery God showed his name,

So Mary stays a virgin through the birth

Of Jesus, named Savior of the earth.

5.

What favor did our God in heaven show

To all who live in sin and death below

When God showed favor to the Virgin blest,

And from her flesh our flesh and blood possessed?

6.

The mighty are cast down from off their seat,

The rich are ruined and the proud retreat,

The hungry eat the flesh and drink the blood

That flows to lift the lowly up to God.

 7.

How blest is she whose faith was in the Word

That made her be the mother of our Lord!

God, grant us so to trust in what You say,

And with Your mother marvel at this day!

8.

Grant us, dear Father, such humility

As we within the blessed Virgin see,

That we with her may praise her holy Son,

With You and with the Holy Spirit One. 

+++

William Weedon, Assistant Pastor,

Former Chaplain of the LCMS Purple Palace

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hamel IL

Catechist on LPR Podcast: The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

A Daily, Verse-by-Verse Bible Study with the Church, Past and Present

www.thewordendures.org

Marvin Schwan Memorials Renamed Yelloh!ALPB Online Ovaltines, LutherQueasies Bury LCMS Higher Education Scandals.Three or More in Trouble.

Schwan ice cream and heavily salted food trucks will be Yelloh! now, after months of preparation and advice from Lutheran synod leaders. "We are all yellow ourselves, so this will remind us to duck the real issues and praise all the trinkets we get from Schwan Yelloh! and LB/AAL Thrivent.

Today the two most gaseous discussion sites are avoiding the issue of Missouri's crumbling higher education enterprise. Matt the Fatt seems to be muffling both groups - the ALPB Online Ovaltines and the LutherQueasies.

ALPB Ovaltines and LutherQuislings Battle Over Trivia, Avoiding Foundational Truths

This poor little girl model lost her teeth to cavities and her health to sugared milk.

The Ovaltines are elderly and retired ministers, plus one former LCMS District President who invited himself to a pan-religious worship fest, so he could participate. They are having a heap of fun going over the Seminex split - 50 years ago - and a new book about it. Click here to facilitate an afternoon snooze, after reading their blame-shame-game.

ELCA was repudiating the Scriptures - in their prehistoric synods - 100 years ago. They smoothly moved into Universalism, using the same dogmas as CFW Walther and other dolts - coming from the rationalism and Pietism of Europe. In short, ELCA dinosaurs came from Halle University's Pietism decaying into Universalism. LCMS-WELS-ELS dogma dinosaurs came from Bishop Martin Stephan, STD at Halle University - and his loyal bootlicker - CFW Walther. Walther attached himself to Stephan because his Pietist conventicle had lost their guru. Stephan wrote a letter to Walther and Walther said it saved his life (because he was killing himself with Pietistic extremism over his guilt). Stephan's forgiveness without faith became the be-all and end-all of Walther's American cult.

In short, the LCMS-WELS-ELS began by denying and repudiating the Scriptures, especially the Chief Article of the Christian Religion, Justification by Faith.

Robert Preus was the only synodical conference guy who repented at the end, in his book Justification and Rome. Just to show how dense the graduates of Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne are, two of his many sons - Rolf and Daniel - edited the book and did not understand its clear meaning and implications.

LCMS-ELS-WELS upholding the truth is the cackling sound of their Father Below, who knows the facts and watches over his apostate flock, urging them onward to Fuller, Trinity Divinity, and their precious little discussion groups.

All of you know the Chief Article of the Christian Religion, as confessed by Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz. This graphic will be repeated until Bivens and Valleskey agree and ask forgiveness.

LutherQuislings - When You Care Enough To Send the Very Best - And Lie

Richard Jungkuntz, who married the boss's daughter, was a WELS professor who actually earned a PhD. He was pushed out of WELS when his devotion to modern Biblical rationalism was exposed by mistake. A substitute teacher spotted repeat homework from Jungkuntz and its errors. 

Fired, Jungkuntz was upgraded to serving at the Springfield seminary and the LCMS doctrinal commission. Jungkuntz was chairman of the board of Seminex, which is seldom recognized as the first gay Lutheran seminary, in touch with the Metropolitan Community Church. He joined the ALC later. He was so rabid an Objective Justification promoter than he worried about WELS letting go of their precious dogma. 

The LutherQuislings are just as fanatical as ELCA, Walther, Pieper, and Christian News about Justification Without Faith. They are no different from their ELCA counterparts in distorting the Scriptures and just as sanctimonious.

Anyone with a memory will realize that Spineless Schroeder and Matt the Fatt have slidden downhill to ELCA ever since they took office. How can they object to ELCA when the current Michigan District President cross-dressed as part of hazing (GA) at the Mequon Seminary?

 We are one in the Thrivent
We are one in their dough.
We are won the Thrivent
We have claws in their dough.
And we praise that all unity has jolly been restored.
And they'll know we are OJ by our love, by our love.
And they'll know we are OJ by our love.

 Feline OJ.

These chaps - from the same class - helped to jump-start Church Growth in WELS. Ever since. they have multiplied like fleas in a neglected dog kennel. 

Seminex Won - Get Over It - The Proof Is Everywhere in the LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC, LutherQuest, Christian News, and the ALPB Ovaltines

 

"For radiant health." More Ovatine!

The LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC, LutherQuest, Christian News, and the ALPB Ovaltines

As their Father Below would say, in an ironic twist - "That they may be one, all mine."

Some of us remember Seminex, 1974 - when the established LCMS professors at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and most of the students started their own synod. They vowed they would win - and they did.

Look at the virtues of Seminex then and see how they are today.

• Seminex used the same formula as the ELCA - rejecting the Chief Article of Christianity, Justification by Faith and embracing Objective Faithless Justification. Everyone is forgiven and saved. 
• Seminex included a gay professor who had been arrested in a St. Louis park. Deppe and the Seminex profs joined the LSTC. Seminex became the official seminary of the Metropolitan Community Church, and former WELS professor Jungkuntz was chairman of the Seminex board. He was also a rabid promoter of Objective Faithless Justification.
• Jack Preus, LCMS, was good at driving Seminex advocates wild about the objective truths of the Bible. Jonah was a key point. Now all the groups vary between Romanism, Fuller boosterism, and outright denial of the Scriptures. Given their disgust with the Traditional, Apostolic New Testament text, the various groups love every "translation" except the KJV, every version of the Tischendorf-Westcott-Hort amalgamation but not the 5,000 traditional witnesses of the New Testament.
• Seminex had no trouble with their men wanting to be women and teaching the Scriptures, and their women wanting to be pastors and bishops. Many Seminex veterans became key leaders in the LCA/ALC, and they worked as one, a miniature version of the Jesuits. If three Seminexers were at a local LCA conference, they sat together! 
• When Seminex itself was broke, the professors moved north to mooch off the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, always voting as a block. Thus Seminex and their AELC mini-synod became an essential part of the ELCA merger, having a greater voice in the discussions than their total membership allowed. 

Left Unsaid - The Cause of the LCMS-ELCA-WELS-ELS Meltdown

From the Ovaltine Discussion Club for Cranky Elderly Pastors

In 1970.......The LCMS had 2,788,536 Baptized Members

In 2000.......The LCMS had 2,554,088 Baptized Members

In 2021.......The LCMS had 1,807,408 Baptized Members

In the past 50 years the LCMS has lost about 1 million Baptized Members and about 700,000 of those losses came in the past 20 years.  The last 20 years have seen
a significant decline as an aging membership is accelerating their death rate.  In
addition to that fact our congregations have not added new young members in any
significant way.  With a shrinking membership the LCMS has a real challenge to survive.

ELCA (LCA-ALC), WELS, LCMS, and others jumped on Fuller Seminary's Church Growth like hobos on a hotdog, accelerating their decline while unleashing their closeted wokeness.

Diversity Thrills and Chills

WELS leaders get Missouri degrees plus training at Trinity in Deerfield, Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek, and Granger in Indiana.

Stoked up on Ovaltine, the diverse ALPB Online clergy began discussing Seminex, ELCA, and seminary training. 

Last night I stumbled on two ELCA seminaries claiming to be operating as a union with 11 and 17 different entities. Will United Lutheran Seminary call and raise by two?

WELS had at least two seminary professors trained at Fuller Seminary, Valleskey and Bivens, both boasting and both denying it was so. Likewise, Larry Olson earned the precious D.Min. at Fuller, denying it - though his dissertation (haha) was in the Martin Luther College library.

Libraries are full of fun and explosive material. I found a volume at Trinity Seminary, ELCA, in Columbus, where the ELCA seminarians, men and women, wrote about serving in LCMS congregations, preaching, consecrating, and baptizing. Telling a Purple Palace official caused a detonation of denials.

Just for fun, here is a list of "diverse variety" in the LCMS seminary faculties - courtesy - Engebretson - ALPB Online -

"I think it should be noted that many of our professors in the LCMS have studied at a wide variety of educational institutions outside of not only the LCMS, but of Lutheranism itself. Looking at teachers from both seminaries one will find advanced degrees from:

University of Durham, UK
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
University of Michigan
Marquette University
University of Notre Dame
Yale Divinity School
Temple University
Harvard University
Calvin Theological Seminary
Washington University, St. Louis
University of Wisconsin, Madison
The Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen
Cambridge University in Cambridge, England
Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome, Italy
Salesian Pontifical University in Rome, Italy
University of Southern California
Drew University in Madison, N.J.
University of Birmingham, U.K.
Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Ill.
Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill.
University of Chicago in Chicago, Ill.
Capella University in Minneapolis, Minn.
Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Union Seminary in Richmond, Va.

I think this demonstrates that our professors have been exposed to a diverse variety of backgrounds and an understanding of academics and theology well outside the boundaries of our church body. I'm sure this is reflected in the breadth and depth of their teaching."

That reminds me of the film student at a Christian university who said in class, "There are many roads to the same God." The instructor said, "Amen, Brother!"

 "Keep this to thyself, OK?"

ALPB Online Forum Does It Again

D. Engebretson

• ALPB Contribution Leader
• 
• 
• Posts: 4692
• •   
  

Lutheran Forum - Preacing (sic) 

Today - Reverence for the Words 

that Proclaim the Word

« on: Yesterday at 05:25:10 PM »

Pastor Don Engebretson
St. Peter Lutheran Church of Polar (Antigo) WI, LCMS

***

GJ - The great, distinguished minds of the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau Online Forum have a long thread about preacing (sic). One author is an ELCA pastor who reminds everyone daily that he was or is a journalist. The thread continues for pages with this spelling. 

I can understand why one of their ELCA peers, who posted 10,000 times, was arrested on felony charges yet no one discussed the case.

ALPB Online Forum - Suspicions Confirmed. ALC President David W. Preus Died at Age 99

 David Preus, on the far right, died August 1, 2021, at the age of 99.
Cousin Jack Preus is on the far left.

Preus craved attention. He came to an LCA district conference, before the merger, and spoke to a lot of the pastors informally. When he was left stranded with no one to talk to, he looked lost. Note the lopsided, ambiguous smile.

The ALPB Online Forum features a curious collection of grumpy old men, who get even pricklier when described. 

They confirmed their nettlesome nature when someone started a discussion on "Lutheran Levity," which turned into a hissy fight with no theme or substance. Picture this - the entire directory was filled with "Lutheran Levity," but the contributions showed no levity at all.

Apparently someone realized they sounded like a bad day at the bingo parlor, so they switched to "Lutheran Creationists."

One frequent contributor is Floyd Luther Stolzenburg's co-pastor in Columbus.

 Herb Chilstrom became the first ELCA Bishop in 1987, and the Left took complete control of the leadership and assets. David Preus would have been just as bad.