Why WELS Is an Abusive Cult

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "McGavran Influence on the Synodical Conference":

You wrote:

"I get appreciative emails (signed) from laity every day."

If that were really true, you would post them.

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GJ - As Marge Gunderson said in Fargo, "I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou."

I have posted many emails, without names. Anyone can post a comment with a name, and some do. If I posted emails and their signatures, the writers would be subjected to the abuse many have suffered before.

Believe me or not. I hear from pastors and laity. I have many sources who keep me up to date about many things. Obviously my view is limited, but I do provide plenty of support for my assertions.

I post the nasty comments so people know they are not alone. Missouri and ELCA are no better than Wisconsin, just slicker. The Little Sect on the Prairie is very much like WELS, but they will never admit it.

If someone wants to call me a liar, that individual should point out the deception. The same is true of slander, etc. All I get from anonymous comments is a string of names.

WELS has to pretend it is perfect. Anyone who questions this alleged perfection is ousted. Strangely, the Church Growth knot-heads have made a career out of attacking the former leadership and practices of WELS. They were going to make everything better. They used the WELS KGB (Jack Preus' term) to make sure no one got in their way. They achieved their victory. More in the next post.

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MLS Veteran has left a new comment on your post "Why WELS Is an Abusive Cult":

To call WELS an "abusive cult" I think is a bit out of line. I will admit, though, that our members tend to be some of the "coldest" Christians, on average, I have ever met.

I don't mean everyone has to be huggy-huggy, kissy-kissy with everyone. But we sure could stand to be a bit friendlier.

As a young person I was always struck by the macho posturing that many of the young men felt a need to display that went well beyond what I saw in my experiences outside of the WELS. Perhaps no-one wanted to seem to soft or be accused of being effeminate.

In general, I believe with the core doctrines of the WELS, I just wish we were sometimes a friendlier bunch of people.

GJ - Teaching God's Law would bring about genuine contrition. Then the Gospel would find receptive hearts, prosper, and the fruits of that preaching would be evident. Man-made law will never generate friendliness.

Out of line? No other denomination would accept an extensive hazing system that starts in 9th grade and extends into seminary. (I hear a secret GA still goes on, and my source is good.) A denomination where a tooth is knocked out in GA, a leg is broken, a prep school boy is dropped from the second floor window, a college student is knocked unconscious, a seminarian is thrown into raw sewage, etc - is abusive.

Whenever someone contacts me about being thrown out of WELS, I say, "That is a blessing."

Bailing Water Is Back

Bailing Water is back. Just click on the embedded link.

Bailing Water is written by a WELS layman. The Fiends will do everything possible to shut him down. They are already murmuring about the 8th Commandment! Telling the truth about published false doctrine and public false practice (a little girl preaching to a congregation) - those are not violations of the 8th Commandment. Falsely accusing people of slander is a violation!

History of Bailing Water: Aaron Peders a WELS delegate started the post after the WELS cut his imprint blog on wels.net. After about a week he just disappeared. Then a guy named Jared took up the site. He wanted to mostly receive posts about MLS. But he then dropped it this weekend. Another person is now the blogger.

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One person was very mocking toward me when I showed how a WELS pastor copied Presbyterian and Baptism sermons (bad ones at that) and claimed them as his own on his church website. This anonymous person wanted to know if I had talked to the plagiarist. My question would be - has the District Pope? That is illegal - to claim someone else's work as his own. Yet the WELS CG pastors do it with impunity.

Thou shalt not steal - that's a commandment too.

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Anony-mouse had this seething comment, which - according to his logic - I wrote:

Greg, I wouldn't be surprised if you posted your own comments on your blog. You make all these accusations and start all these rumors, but you offer no proof, no names, no documentation (such as the "WELS Curia" still trying to close MLS, or the pastor who used Baptist sermons, etc.) Nothing has really changed since your days on the pages of Christian News, has it Greg? I really feel sorry for the poor souls who take everything you say as gospel truth. I would only hope they could really get to know you and what kind of "professor" and "pastor" you really are, before it's too late for them.

No documentation about plagiarizing the Baptists? I copied the "WELS" sermon and the Baptist sermon, the "WELS" sermon and the Presbyterian sermon. All posted.

If you want to know what Michigan District pastors are thinking, ask them. My source is from the Michigan District, WELS.

I am the same person. I document the facts while cowardly synod minders attack anonymously. You only hurt yourself, Anony-mouse. You are angry, full of false ideas, and probably potty-trained at gunpoint.

I appreciate the opposition, Anony-mouse. I sign my material, unlike you. I document with verbatim quotations and my eye-witness experiences, such as talking to the Kokomo excommunicants. I have published many books and hundreds of articles in 30 plus periodicals. I have earned six degrees from accredited institutions most people have heard about, so I must know something.

Here are some recent comments, sent by email and signed:
WELS pastor - "I love Ichabod. I read it every day."
WELS layman - "Time will tell. we think you deserve alot of credit for bringing issues to the attention of many. And that's putting it mildly."

UOJ - Above the Fold in Christian News

I got the new Christian News, August 20, 2007.

They are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Brief Statement.

"Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ., Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthiasn 5:18-21; Romans 4:25..."

Thanks to academic incest, everyone kept being trained in this nonsense until it permeated the conservative Lutheran synods.

Ichabod readers will note that the cited passages from Scripture do not teach the proposition at all. That is the kind of legalism I wrote about earlier. The proposition becomes the ruling norm (norma normans) and Scripture is interpreted and twisted to fit the proposition.

The cited passages teach the doctrine of atonement. Christ died for the sins of the world. This is what the Book of Concord calls the treasure of the Gospel. But the treasure is in one heap until it is distributed by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace. Luther and the Book of Concord are consistent in teaching exactly what the Scriptures reveal. Therefore, people do not have grace, forgiveness, and righteousness until the Word, the instrument of forgiveness, plants faith in their hearts.

UOJ supporters are no different from those who teach Gospel reductionism in ELCA - everyone is forgiven. Period.

UOJ Enthusiasts also love the Church Growth Movement.

UOJ fanatics do not defend their doctrine - they personally attack critics of their false doctrine. They go into a feeding frenzy. Nevertheless, they do not defend their false doctrine. When they begin their attempts, their deceptions and manipulations are easily revealed to everyone.

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Right after I posted this, the message below appeared as a potential comment. It is a typical personal attack from a Minister of the Gospel, vituperative, avoiding all doctrinal issues. Thank you, Anony-mouse, for proving my point so quickly.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "UOJ - Above the Fold in Christian News":

Well, Greg, you've finally shown your true colors. In the WELS and CLC you have been self-destructive as far as your ministry is concerned, and, unless it had been for the grace of God, you would have destroyed the congregations you served. Now you call the doctrine of universal justification "nonsense" and "legalism." I wish your readers would see you as you really are--and its not as a champion of confessional Lutheranism!

Those who want to study the only large collection of material on this subject can read the chapter I wrote about justification. Lutheran laity prodded me to deal with the issue. I know one parish pastor who vocally opposed forgiveness without faith.

UOJ and Church Growth go together like apple pie and ice cream.

Robert Preus rejected UOJ in his final book.

Justification by Faith, Thy Strong Word

"Nowhere in the Bible is any man constituted or declared righteous ‘without faith, before faith.’” R. C. H. Lenski, Romans, Augsburg Publishing House: Minneapolis, 1963, p. 382. Romans 5:19-20.

Another Belly Laugh for the Readers

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fiend Flares in Anonymous Attacks":

By the way,
There are definitely more than one of us critics out there. I am one, since somewhere around August 4th. This will be somewhere around the 5th or 6th time visiting the blog and commenting each time. My comments have ranged from civil Christian encouragement to very hostile. They gradually got more hostile as I realized that the blog you run here really is a one-sided propaganda campaign, just as some of your other critics accuse you. (Of course, in your mind we are all one delusional follower of WELS.) None of my good comments or observations about synod leaders or decision made it onto your blog. Why is that? Too objective for you? Not venomous enough?

Only one poorly and angrily written comment of mine was posted by you. Why is that? So you can give the impression that all your critics are morons? Because we didn't go to Yale on daddy's ticket - only to find out that the Synod won't bow to us?

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Brave Anonymous knows my motivation and even my finances, but he would lecture the masses on the Eighth Commandment. I borrowed the money to attend Yale and earn a master's degree. I worked. My wife worked. Even little Ichabod worked, albeit prenatally. After he was born at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where President Bush was also born, little Ichabod went with me to work at Yale Medical School. My parents did not pay for my education, as if that mattered.

I also worked and borrowed to finish a Ph.D. at Notre Dame. They were kind enough to give me a full scholarship, but I had to buy such luxuries as food, didies, and medicine. The facts will produce more outrage from courageous and contagious Anonymous, but I post his comments to let the public know how the synods are run.

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

Seldom do I recommend a book hot off the shelves, but The Tipping Point is an unusual study. The author offers theories about why mass movements happen and why they stop suddenly.

The book has certain titles for people. I end up being a Maven, someone who collects and dispenses information. Another is the Connector, like EastCoast, who knows everyone - and I mean everyone.

The Synod Minder's plea for sources is amusing. I published a 650 page book with roughly 1500 references - Thy Strong Word. The book is being read all over the world. The book is posted free on the Internet.

WELS is still selling Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure.

Around 5,000 copies of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant sold. The book is being reprinted now.

Unlike the people who run the "conservative" synods, I have a number of earned degrees in theology. That means I defended my ideas and research before people who were not my blood relatives and did not agree with me doctrinally.

I have attended many conferences and schools, so there is a good chance that I have met or listened live to people on various required reading lists: Laurens van der Post (Prince Charles' guru - long conversation with him), Billy Graham, James Kennedy, Paul Y. Cho (shook hands with him), Krister Stendahl (also worked with his son at Yale), Herb Chilstrom, James Crumley, David Preus, Robert Preus, Jack Preus, Herman Otten, Paul McCain (invited by him to the Purple Palace), Nils Dahl, Robert Wilson, Elie Wiesel, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon (shook hands with him), Chuck Colson (shook hands with him at Wheaton), and many laity and pastors from various synods. Two of my professors at Notre Dame (Schussler-Fiorenza) are in endowed positions at Harvard University. My ethics professors were the sainted Paul L. Holmer and someone he taught, Stan Hauerwas. Stan was at Augustana and is now at Duke. I knew him at Notre Dame. Experts say he is the leading theologian in America now. Hauerwas and the late Roland Bainton are my examples in publishing a lot everywhere. I knew Bainton at Yale, attended his lectures, and got his help for my dissertation.

I probably left out quite a bit. I am just saying that I enjoy being a Maven. I will never tire of it. When I post something, it is the result of a lifetime of research, publishing, and various theological conferences.

Fiend Flares in Anonymous Attacks

AAF has left a new comment on your post "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay Bridge":

Dear Mr. Ichabod,

I am a recent reader of your blog. I think you're really on to something, but there is a term you keep using that concerns me. You often describe WELS headquarters as the "Love Shack"? Isn't that a reference to an illicit trysting place from a song by the B-52's? As a pastor, are you saying it is okay to use immoral song lyrics to point out corruption? In other words, does the end justify the means? Are you also saying it's okay to listen to that kind of music?

An Adoring Fan

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GJ - This adoring fan sounds like the same guy again, full of accusations and falsehoods. Add a dirty and delusional mind. I quoted no lyrics from this group he seems to know too well. The Love Shack is my nickname for WELS headquarters because they talk about love so much and never show it to anyone but Fuller alumni.

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Vissaronavich has left a new comment on your post "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay Bridge":

Again, to be credible, you need to cite your sources. I would be interested to see the approach, methodology, and conclusions of "the one study" that found as many "Lutherans" outside of the Lutheran church as inside it. Could you post a link or reference?

Thank you.

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GJ - New name, but "again?" He has forgotten his cover. It is funny to see an anonymous person demanding that my blog follow his rules. The answer for that is to establish a blog and put your name on it, BraveHeart. The study is old, came from LCA/ALC sources, about 30 years ago. The situation is probably worse now.

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PM has left a new comment on your post "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay Bridge":

"Every group has a cult-like persona. Even the mildest comments threaten synodical infalliability, which must be maintained to promote synod worship."

Substitute "Greg Jackson's" for "synodical", and "Luther" for "synod", and the quote still applies. Notice that the word "infallibility" is misspelled. Is this a sign?

Even the mildest comments provoke an inordinately vituperous reaction from Herr Doktor on his precious little blog. Much like the street corner preacher who views the passing world as his audience, he becomes more vociferous when someone disagrees. Here is a challenge, dear Ichabod - can you make your case with specific, reasoned examples, rather than resorting to veiled references, ad hominem attacks, and your own brand of name-calling?

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GJ - As my grandpappy used to say, "When the arrow hits the mark, the feathers will fly." All three posts sound remarkably alike.

Oh! Oh! I misspelled a word. Welcome to the world of publishing. I go over my posts three times, normally, always finding things to fix and clarify. No published book has ever been error-free. No one can edit himself successfully. I do not think an extra letter from my fat fingering is Freudian, but PM does.

The final sarcastic paragraph is a marvel. Why discuss an article when snide comments are so satisfying?

All three comments came in rapidly with three different anonymous "names." I posted them to show people how Synod Minders work.

Still Cannot Read or Count

(Brom Bones)
I don't think you are capable of discerning intell... I don't think you are capable of discerning intelligent opposition - since anyone who disagrees with you is, by your definition, ignorant.

The quickest way to silence debate is by ridiculing those who disagree and refusing to provide an open forum for discussion. Oh, that's right - just what you've accused WELS of doing. Hmm!

(Brom Bones) 6:46 AM
Not sure how you decided that this means I can't r... Not sure how you decided that this means I can't read or count...Would you like to provide some concrete facts instead of opinion?

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GJ: Cannot count - various people have posted in support of this blog, not just one.

Cannot read - see above. Count them up and read their comments. Several have used their own names. The Fiends (probably one guy) are anonymous. A WELS pastor's wife and a WELS professor's daughter have more courage than you. They wrote emails and signed their names. The professor's daughter called me a bunch of names and said I violated the 8th Commandment. I guess she was taught Church Growth Principles instead of Luther's Catechism.

Cannot read - part II. This is not a forum to provide anonymous juveniles the chance to name-call and use obscenities, as if that would prove WELS is perfect after all.

Typical Liberal Defense: Name Calling, Intemperate Language

Anonymous said...
You've got an awfully large amount of free-time for a pastor. It's a good thing, though. Why, if you actually devoted time to shepherding God's people instead of spewing filth and venom - who knows - people might start to buy in on all this brotherly Christian unity crap.
Keep going, please, (I know you want to,) until all Lutherans everywhere bow the knee and worship Greg Jackson, their inerrant source of doctrine.

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That was his response to a sermon.

This Poor Guy Cannot Read, Cannot Count

Brom Bones has left a new comment on your post "Forward in Chicken Soup for the Soul":

A few of your recent posts seemed to be moving towards a more balanced assessment of Lutheranism. Unfortunately, in one day, you have returned to beating the same drum. Methinks I have a headache...

You will always look like a winner when you publish only those comments that support your point of view. Interestingly, you seem to have only one regular contributor (rlschulz). How about a real debate, not just a one-sided diatribe against WELS and other Lutherans?

An Anonymous Person Yells - Coward!

Brom Bones has left a new comment on your post "Another WELS Comment":

The fact that you rarely publish comments critical of your blog demonstrates the highest form of cowardice. Your unwillingness to debate in a balanced and logical way is evidence of your own sense of inadequacy.