The Little Colleges Are Falling Like Ten-Pins

 

An academic colleague (name withheld) was applying for a teaching job in science. One Christian school was cited and in the process of being considered. The entire department was dropped before it even got started, and I said, "Great! Do not count on a small college. Look for state jobs." That happened for this person and led to tenure, which is almost meaningless for small schools.

The Boomer era peaked a long time ago, so no one should be shocked by the closing or selling of colleges with spiraling costs upward and enrollment figures downward. Gone is the fantasy that simply going to college and getting a high-priced, loan-encumbered degree will promise prosperity.

The Lutherans - ELCA included - are closing or merging programs with haste, smoke, and mirrors. ELCA seminaries are easy to find but have devious statistics. Lots of seminaries claim distant students, so someone taking a single course is listed. In the golden days, someone was either a full-time student or not. The facilities remain while the cost of maintenance soars. No thought is given anywhere about spending on tuition reduction rather than polishing the marble in their beloved mausoleum. 

 This is the graphic posted on the first page for United Lutheran Seminary, ELCA.

Federal student loans are just too juicy for the schools to ignore - instant cash for the managers, lifelong debt for the eventual graduates and for the numerous dropouts.

The LCMS has been selling off its colleges wherever they can. HotChalk did not save one school, but the liabilities and lawsuits remain.

WELS and the Little Sect on the Prairie should have prepared for this, but no, they had the eternal gusher of Marvin Schwan money -

1. Library at Wisconsin Lutheran College, $50k annual tuition, room, board, booze
2. Bethany Lutheran College and Copper Top Chapel
3. Martin Luther College for Women Ministers.
4. Two seminaries shrinking like raisins.

In short, the failing ELS and WELS have three liberal arts colleges within a short driving distance, from Milwaukee to Mankato, a five-hour drive, not unlike the S.S. Minnow, and not including the CLC (sic) summer camp in Eau Claire.

In ancient days, higher education depended on the professors, not the buildings. A beautiful gym does not teach students - and sadly - there are bigger, better gyms all over. 

The biggest weakness is leadership. The ones pulling the strings are not capable, scholarly, or frugal. They grab for the short-term so the next generation can accelerate the closings.

Apostasy Is Not Limited to the Lutherans. American Spectator - "Where Bergoglio (Pope Francis) Buried His Communist Mentor"

Disgraced Milwaukee Archbishop and his priests gave a series of public lectures at Wisconsin Lutheran College (WELS). NY Times on Weakland.

My favorite Roman Catholic journalist, George Neumayr, published an essay on Pope Francis' affection for a Communist leader in his native Argentina - Where Bergoglio [Pope Francis] Buried His Communist Mentor.

Calling the pope "Bergoglio" - using his last name - suggests that Neumayr considers the papal seat vacant.

"Once a striking 19th-century church, Santa Cruz is now just a propaganda prop for Pope Francis’s gang of communist clerics. It is pitiful and puts me in mind of what a precocious teenager said to me the other day after I asked her what she thought of the pope: “He is so bad and ridiculous I don’t think he is the pope. Nothing he does is like what other popes have done.”

That is a common refrain in conservative circles here."

The Church of Rome is officially against socialism, but the pope ardently promotes it. The same fervor permeates many Roman Catholic institutions. Have the Lutheran clergy who sinuflected to Rome noticed this? Doubtless they have witty little comments to explain it away.

A successful meeting!

Pope Francis has such a way with words.

 2015

Area students help on mission trip

http://www.wdtimes.com/news/article_b6d4598e-4047-11e5-bafb-0bb1f468f9ee.html

WATERLOO -- During the week of June 22, 18 local students and three chaperones embarked on a mission trip to Mingo County, West Virginia. The event, organized by St. Paul's Lutheran Church, ELCA, was the largest trip the congregation had sent students on and contained a variety of individuals. Students from St. Paul's, St. John's Lutheran Church, WELS and Holy Family Roman Catholic Parish all of Waterloo and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, ELCA of Marshall participated.

The trip was the farthest traveled since the program began in 2010 with the participants spending a night in Columbus, Ohio on the way down and Champaign, Ill. on the way home.

While in West Virginia missionary work included: cleaning, painting, putting up siding and sharing meals with the families the group was serving. Students and chaperones also visited a local nursing home and worked with children at a kid's club, along with spending a couple of evenings learning about the mining wars of the 1920s and line dancing.

"It was great to see the youth working together and interacting with local residents. They really built a relationship with them throughout the time we were there. The youth expressed how much their eyes were opened through their experiences with the community in Williamson, W.V.," said chaperone Laura Crave.

"We worked with Zelma on painting her porch and cleaned her yard. She was 93 years old and loved to tell stories about her long life," said Austin Weber. "The members of St. Paul's have been generous in supporting our youth mission trips since 2010.

Support for the youth mission trips has been raised through individual donations, fundraisers within the congregation and fundraisers in the community. This year, the youth from St. Paul's invited several friends from other community congregations to join them, creating an extensive community outreach," said Rev. Robb Kosky.

YouthWorks, a group that organizes Mission Trips, including St. Paul's, generally charges between $250-$300 per person. St. Paul's has always paid for the adult chaperones from fundraising and families pay a deposit for each student. The other primary expense is transportation. This year there were some additional costs related to the distance traveled and the cost for the 2015 Mission Trip was approximately $9,200 or $512 per student. The trip could not have been made without the generous support of the congregation.

Individuals attending were chaperones; Arlene Schemm, St. Paul's; Crave, St. Paul's; Kosky, St. Paul's; Students: Logan Braunschweig, St. Paul's; Dawson Cole, St. Paul's; Lexi Duessler, St. Paul's; Tristin Duessler, St. Paul's; Brianna Farwell, St. Paul's; Laura Farwell, St. Paul's; Tyler Hargarten, St. John's; Cassandra Hollatz, St. Paul's; Christie Hollatz, St. Paul's; Cassidy Mattson, St. Paul's; Peter Miller, Holy Family; Bailey Stone, Holy Trinity; Hannah Stone, Holy Trinity; Morgan Stone, Holy Trinity; Wes Swarztrauber, Holy Family; Karley Tesmer, Holy Family; Austin Weber, St. Paul's; Cole Weber, St. Paul's.

Each WELS Synod President is worse than the one before,
because the laity and clergy will accept anything.

Q Updates - Rome as the Antichrist and All the Little Antichrists

Some say the D5 avalanche will start soon, but I think it has already started.

One segment of world corruption is child trafficking (and worse) - now being exposed in the grisly news about J. Epstein, Nxium, and Rachel Chandler.

When we were in Columbus, Ohio, the news often mentioned Les Wexner and his Limited conglomeration of clothing stores, including Victoria's Secret.

In Columbus wee heard about Senator McCain, whose second wife was rich from her dad's liquor business - more like their mob business in connection with Bronfman, another mobster. Thanks to Prohibition, Bronfman's Seagram whiskey was sold at premium prices to people like Joe Kennedy. And Bronfman money protected Nxium from prosecution for decades.

 Ghislane Maxwell, procurer of young girls for Epstein's schemes, posed with Murdoch, godfather of the NIV Bible. WELS and LCMS should be proud of this connection.

 Only a few attended the exclusive wedding of Chelsea Hubbell Clinton, and that included Ghislane Maxwell.  

Today I would like to emphasize the Church of Rome's participation in global corruption. Some like to think it is rather recent, but Rome has at least 500 years of tradition in that area, and the architecture of the Vatican proves how this is out in the open, slap-in-the-face real today.

The best way to get some grasp of the enormity of Rome's current corruption is to read articles by George Neumayr of the American Spectator. Clearly, the entire structure of Cardinals in Roman Catholicism is dominated by their homosexual princes:

• Spellman
• Bernadin
• Pell
• McCarrick
• Wuelr
• Many more.

The power of the Cardinals is so great that all the chatter about reform - for the last 30 years - has been an organized distraction. The noisy reform campaigns are like Werning and Kelm teaming up to get rid of Church Growth in the Missouri and Wisconsin sects.

Does anyone wonder how the WELS Wisconsin Lutheran College managed to invite Archbishop Weakland and his priests to give lectures to the public from the WLC campus? Yes, he was notorious for his boyfriend and his embezzlement of church funds to pay off the boyfriend. Such invitations do not happen by accident. The Lavender Mafia in WELS had to be involved, because colleges of any kind do not just happen to invite an archbishop and a bunch of his priest toadies to give public lectures.

Naturally, WELS lied about their scandalous involvement. They usually condemn anyone who tells the truth about their cover story, which was something like - it was only a private dinner. Sure, Roman archbishops go to private dinners at Lutheran colleges. Does anyone wonder why the Reformation's 500th was so weak in LCMS-WELS?

Pope Francis, SJ, is at the top of this global, organized crime family, known as the Roman Catholic Church.

Disgraced Archbishop Weakland, Wisconsin Lutheran College lecturer.

Pope Francis Honors Dutch Abortion Activist with Pontifical Medal of Knighthood. Ploumen Lobbied for the HonorThe UniSynod Loves This Pope - ELCA-WELS-ELS-LCMS-CLC (sic)

Pope Francis Honors Dutch Abortion Activist with Pontifical Medal of Knighthood:



"Pope Francis has conferred the title of “Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great” on Lilianne Ploumen, a Dutch politician and vocal agitator for abortion rights.
Last year, Ploumen founded a pro-abortion organization called She Decides, which offers funding and support for international NGOs that provide, facilitate or campaign for abortion.

In an email to the Catholic Herald, Ms. Ploumen said that she was “very honoured” by the pontifical medal, which was sent via the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs last month.

In an interview with Dutch radio, Ploumen said she views the honor as a sign of the pope’s progressivism, as well as acknowledgement for her work in supporting abortion rights.

Ms. Ploumen said that the award came after much personal investment in contacts with the Vatican, which she defined as “lobbying.”

“Yes, because you know, the Vatican, especially under prior popes, had a rather rigid attitude when it came to the rights of girls and women,” she said.

The Order of St Gregory the Great was founded by Pope Gregory XVI in 1831, under the patronage of Pope St Gregory I. It is bestowed on those who have distinguished themselves in public service or given support to the Church."

 This pedophile Archbishop - Weakland - was the honored speaker at Wisconsin Lutheran College - WELS: Rembert Weakland. WLC tried to lie their way out of this, but it was a public lecture promoted all over Milwaukee - not that this particular detail mattered that much.

'via Blog this'

Wisconsin Lutheran College Name Change?

Dr. Jackson

A little bird told me that WLC is considering changing it's name from Wisconsin Lutheran College to Wisconsin Christian University.  According to my source (a employee of WLC) this proposal is being considered because the Admin claims that WLC is difficult to find when one searches "Christian Colleges in Wisconsin" in Google. Now, I tried that Google search, and that claim proved patently false.  Big surprise.   My source also states that this proposal is causing furor among the small contingent of remaining faculty that actually care about Lutheranism.  (I won't comment on the theological fortitude of those who would remain at WLC, but I suppose it is possible that there are a few Lutherans remaining...)  This small contingent of professors are, apparently, the same who've been unsuccessfully trying to keep WLC a liberal arts college.  Obviously, these are the profs with zero political clout, and my source is certain that the name-change will go through.

Now, I happen to know that WLC has yearly shortfalls of tens of millions of dollars.  Consider this along with the looming bursting of the Student-debt bubble and we can discern the thinking behind the name change.   "Let's give up any pretense of Lutheranism and we'll attract more people.  Survive at any cost."

Oh wait.  This has been the MO of the entire WELS for 20 years.  Ok.   Nothing to see here...  Same ol', same ol'...

...Yawn....

 Call in the Jelly-Tele-Tubbie Team.
They will fix things:
Parlow, Jeske, Kelm, and Patterson.

***

GJ - Small private colleges are on the brink, with so many charging too much money for degrees that do not earn enough to pay down the student debt. That is why all the seminaries are becoming empty, and yet the fixed costs are almost the same without the students to fill them.

All the schools thought that they students could borrow forever to pay the fantastic salaries of lazy, do-nothing professors. Bernie Sanders' wife bankrupted her little college by borrowing money to expand when the gifts were not coming in to service the loan. Even socialists have to face the music.

Bush Receives Divine Servant Award from WLC | Wisconsin Lutheran College

Bush Receives Divine Servant Award from WLC | Wisconsin Lutheran College:



"Former President George W. Bush was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Divine Servant Award in the Time of Grace Center on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) in Milwaukee on Friday. Mr. Bush was the featured speaker at the Divine Servant Award Celebration, appearing before a crowd of more than 600 guests who had gathered to honor the former president for exemplifying the qualities of Christian servant leadership and exhibiting Christian values through his service to the United States of America as the nation's 43rd President."



'via Blog this'

Bald Rabbit Comments on WELS

The LCMS websty featured this ad,
with the lopsided, ambivalent smile.
Don't blame Ski and Glende -
they were trained by Jeske.

It does not surprise me that a WELS facebook friend would unfriend you after the Jeske post.  Jeske is held in high regard by the WELS and is going nowhere.  I get why you posted it.  First, the presentation is awful, even from a business point of view.  The church point of view is non-existent.

Then, these same people who attended try to bring these new words and ideas back to their churches where the common folk get overwhelmed.  I know this, as being in WELS for over 31 years, these are the same type of presentations made at conferences, church help programs, and seminars.  I personally got tired of it and quit going, which helped lead my critics in our church to push me out.

In the WELS, I see too much cronyism, too much name recognition reward, too much taking the Word of God out of context to prove their new program (the church planning program by WELS put me over the top in taking things out of context), too much of ignoring those who do work hard in the trenches and do not take off evenings, weekends, and have conferences in hot spots.  We spend thousands and thousands on summer conferences like leadership and worship, while our own churches suffer to pay bills.  Ranks apply to the called workers, and when one goes down, little help can be found unless you have a name and good synodical friends.

One thinks that this can be changed by speaking truthfully, studying scripture and making corrections on the out of context use in books, conferences and sermons, and in church operations, but the truth builds enemies who can attack in the ways of the enemies of Christ.  "What is truth" was a question I often asked myself. In spite of my WELS background from birth, through WELS elementary school, through WELS Lutheran High Schools, through Dr. Martin Luther College, through years of teaching, principalship, conferences, summer schooling, school counseling, and the like, I had to resign after battling serious depression and anxiety for over 20 years, and then general frustration.

My law-oriented WELS background (now so obviously pietistic in nature) made be fearful of going against my WELS background out of fear of going to hell.  It is amazing to find many more in my profession who feel the same way, but out of fear of many things, refuse to quit or speak out publicly.

I really don't need to see the negatives about the WELS, as I new many of them, as was affected by some of them as were my children.

I am sure you are a man of faith who has experienced many crosses in your life.  I actually appreciate your humor and your effort to show people what is really going on.  Those who find out are either shocked or don't care and brush over it, as long as they continue to get paid or do not lose their comforts in their church homes.

I find your deep love for your God and the truth in your writings about nature.  If people would really read your articles, and not just turn you away because of what they hear or what somehow has told them, or because of threats, they would find you a truly loving man of God.

God's richest blessings to you!

Keep up the good work for as long as you can!

***

GJ - WELS tried the group attack on this blog for years. When the kids from three colleges (Martin Luther College, Bethany College, Wisconsin Lutheran College) began posting at once, the main effect was to alert three student bodies about Ichabod. The faculty began warning them not to read it and discussed how to do things without the news getting published. Next MLC faculty denied ever talking about keeping things from Ichabod. So funny, that came from the same faculty who were discussing that tactic in front of others.

Although people can email their comments, the hostile ones hardly appear appear, except with some lame attempts to disguise the identity of one Joel Lillo, scorned on four different blogs for his abusive and toxic remarks.

This is where the Booze brothers, Ski and Glende,
worshiped in Atlanta - the new WELS model,
Andy Stanley's, gay Babtist advocate.

Our Attorney Friend Has Me Looking Up Old Posts - Elton Stroh, Kristen Koepsell, Randy Hunter, Buchholz. Results of a Google Search

Built of Straw (Stroh)

Church Growth is a foundation built of Elton Stroh.

SCH 1 Corinthians 3:12 Wenn aber jemand auf diesen Grund Gold, Silber, kostbare Steine, Holz, Heu, Stroh baut,
13 so wird eines jeden Werk offenbar werden; der Tag wird es klar machen,
weil es durchs Feuer offenbar wird.
Und welcher Art eines jeden Werk ist, wird das Feuer erproben.
14 Wird jemandes Werk, das er darauf gebaut hat,
bleiben, so wird er Lohn empfangen;

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Elderly Pastor Accepts Call to Wisconsin Lutheran ...":

December 2009 Forward IN Christ:

"The Conference of Presidents eliminated the positions of Pastor Paul Kelm, Parish Assistant consultant, and Pastor Elton Stroh, Parish Assistance administrator, because the Parish Assistance program has been discontinued."

Yes, this is old news, especially to the people on this blog. However, for folks who do not follow these things, they would have no idea that eliminated and discontinued actually means, "We KICKED them to the CURB!"

"A newly appointed committee will bring recommendations to the Conference of Presidents in April 2010 outlining the scope and function of a replacement to Parish Assitance, which may include its own commission with its own director."

I have a suggestion, if that WLC gig doesn't work out for Kelm, he can be the new director. Something tells me Kelm will NOT be on the top of that call list. SP Schroeder should make a recommendation.

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

***

GJ - I am told that Paul Calvin Kelm and Elton Stroh (German for straw) approached the WELS Kingdom Workers so they could raise Perish Services from the dead, or scrape it off the curb, to use the Church Lady's metaphor.

The COP nixed the idea.

When the Shrinkers ran the conventions, everything passed by the assembly had to be obeyed as canon law, no matter how anti-Biblical it was. They even had to merge the colleges, even though the voting results were flipped. Now that WELS is voting more sensibly, the convention must be ignored and disobeyed, because Kelm, Stroh, and WLC answer to a Higher Power - their Father Below.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Built of Straw (Stroh)":

Oh, so it is okay for you to make fun of the names of other people, but no one is to make fun of yours?

***

GJ - I was not making fun of Stroh's name, only making a point about Perish Services being built upon straw - false doctrine. The Biblical citation is clear. I left it in German so the Mequon graduates would not be able to read it.

The anonymous comment came in from Mankato, doubtless during computer lab at BLC.

Professor Weisacre: "Today's lesson is direct from the governing board. If you must make smart-aleck remarks on a blog, keep them anonymous. You do know the IP address can be traced back? You don't?"

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Built of Straw (Stroh)":

The men did not contact Kingdom Workers. Kingdom Workers contacted the synod first but most people externally and internally did not see a good fit nor the right leadership at KW to help.

***

GJ - Someone sent me the rumor. I was not sure it was true. Now that it is officially denied, we know it is true that Kelm and Stroh went to Kingdom Workers to reinflate their positions.

I also heard that Kingdom Workers dis-invited Jeske to their conference. That was their idea and it came from the laity.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Built of Straw (Stroh)":

Well, then by your logic you have proven the truth of Universal Objective Justification because you deny it.

"Now that it is officially denied, we know it is true..." -GJ

***

GJ - Now I know I am dealing with someone trained by WELS. I mean trained the way seals are trained to clap their flippers and bark for more fish. There is a wee bit of difference between denying a fact--typical for WELS Shrinkers--and rejecting false doctrine. Sound doctrine is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the Word, not deduced by logic.

The Shrinkers denied they hired Stetzer for the Church and Change conference. The Conference of Pussycats had already discussed it. I traced the invitation to Stetzer's own blog, twitter, and official schedule, all naming WELS Church and Change. The Shrinkers still denied it, calling their Babtist friend Stetzer a liar. Eventually the COP got them to dis-invite Stetzer.

Ditto the covert hiring of Paul Calvin Kelm as a Perish Assistant.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Another Strawy Epistle:
Perish Services Pleads for Business,
Third Time in Nine Months

From: Elton C. Stroh <ecstroh@frontier.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 8:48 PM
Subject: Time for Crossroads?
To: Undisclosed Recipients <ecstroh@frontier.com>

Dear brother in Christ:

I am pleased to announce the launching of a new Crossroads Consulting Ministry web sitewww.timeforcrossroads.com .

After visiting the site, let me know if you have questions.  Perhaps this would be a good time to begin a conversation.

Elton

Pastor Elton C. Stroh

Executive Director  |  Crossroads Consulting Ministry

608-837-3819  |  elton.stroh@timeforcrossroads.com  |  timeforcrossroads.com

Crossroads Consulting Ministry is directed by Pastor Elton C. Stroh. Pastor Stroh served as a WELS parish pastor for 24 years during which, under God, he launched a new congregation, served as senior pastor in a turnaround congregation, and was privileged to serve in a number of district and synodical positions. Most recently he served as a church consultant and directed WELS Parish Assistance – a consulting ministry that became a blessing to about 500 congregations with the assistance of both full- and part-time lead consultants and well over 100 associate consultants. Pastor Stroh also conducted the Turnaround Churches in the WELS research project.
  

Crossroads Consulting Ministry offers both a comprehensive and streamlined ministry planning process, both of which are custom designed around the needs and desires of client congregations. Each planning process includes the following: (1) analysis of current reality, (2) development of short- and long-range ministry goals, and (3) strategic implementation. Special services are also provided as requested. Examples of these services include developing multi-site ministries, coaching/mentoring, leadership development, organizational realignment, organizing staff for maximum effectiveness, teambuilding, and assisting with conflict management.      

Randy Hunter - Pastor
Kristen Koepsell - Minister of Worship
David Hochmuth - Minister of Spiritual Growth
Elton Stroh - Pastor/Crossroads Consulting

Randy Hunter - Pastor

Family: Married to Karen (Janke) for 24 years. Three children, Philip, Paige and Jack.
Education: B.A. from Northwestern College ('81), M.Div. from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary ('85)
Hobbies: Sailing, raquetball, walking with Karen, reading, writing
Quote: What do churches and snowflakes have in common? It's not the color. It's not always the beauty. It's that both are one-of-a-kind.
If you've visited a few churches you know all about it. The music, style, people, architecture, strengths and weaknesses are different from one to the next. God made it that way...He loves variety. At St. Andrew we're glad for that. It helps keeps "church" from becoming what it should never be: boring.
One thing, though, that never changes: God. He is. He just is. In His Word we find the unchanging solid things for life. It's a place to stand, a place of retreat and a place from which to launch. That, too, keeps church alive.
We invite you to discover both with us: God's changing church and God's changeless truths. We're curious also about your response. See, we've discovered people are like snowflakes, too!
Contact Pastor Hunter

Kristen Koepsell - Minister of Worship

As Staff Minister of Worship, Kristen is responsible for planning and implementing all worship opportunities at St. Andrew. She also oversees the large corps of worship volunteers who serve in many and varied capacities each week. Music is the largest part of the worship ministry at St. Andrew, but the worship ministry also includes lay readers, dramatic and visual arts, hospitality ministries and audio/visual tech support. Kristen works with Pastor Hunter to study biblical worship principles and practices, evaluate current worship practices at St. Andrew, and define future directions for St. Andrew's worship ministry.
Kristen has been involved in worship ministry since she began singing in church with her Sunday school class at four years old, and greatly enjoys carrying on that part of her family's legacy. She graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2003 with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Communication and Theology, and is currently pursuing Staff Ministry certification from Martin Luther College. When she's not writing services or running rehearsals, Kristen spends her time reading (her favorites being science fiction, classic literature and contemporary non-fiction), playing piano, writing music, running, and staying connected with friends and family.
Contact Kristen Koepsell (now working for DP Love Letter Steinbrenner)

---

June 2, 2011 7:24 AM
Delete
Blogger bored said...

What does snow and the Church Growth Movement have in common? Both are made up of flakes.

Did anyone else get the fullness of what Hunter is saying here? According to him, God made churches with their strengths AND weaknesses because God doesn't like to be bored. And here I would've thought sinful man was responsible for the weaknesses in churches. hm...

Randy, I'm remarkably bored by you because you seek to make God from an image of yourself--and call me crazy, but if we're going to remake God according to the strictures of contemporary populism I just don't think you are quite qualified.

By the by: The Latte Lutheran churches aren't just filled with young hipsters who only have themselves to blame if they lose their faith while sipping the double-whip false doctrine of Enthusiasm. I happen to know that in Hunter's congregation there are several cognitively vulnerable children--whose eternal souls are in the hands of Pastor Randy and their idiot parents.

Let us pray for these.

June 2, 2011 7:37 PM

Elton Stroh – Pastor/Crossroads Consulting

As Executive Director of Crossroads Consulting Ministry, Elton invests much of his time assisting WELS congregations with ministry planning and responding to other requests. Trained and experienced lead consultants (including Pastor Hunter), as well as associate consultants assist with this ministry on a part-time basis. Prior to launching Crossroads, Elton served as a parish pastor and directed WELS Parish Assistance – a consulting ministry that became a blessing to about 500 congregations. He also conducted the Turnaround Churches in the WELS research project.

Elton received a B.A. degree from Northwestern College ('74), a M.Div. degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary ('78), and is currently enrolled in a D.Min. program (leadership and ministry management). He is married to Gail, a horticulturist employed at The Bruce Company. Both were raised on farms and enjoy the outdoors. Elton and Gail have two married children, a fantastic daughter- and son-in-law, and eight grandchildren. One family resides in Pewaukee and the other in Wauwatosa, which makes family gatherings fairly convenient.
Contact Pastor Stroh
Visit Crossroads Consulting’s web site

***

GJ - Elton, babee. I am trying to be hip. I know - it does not work well. The same is true for Lutherans who try to be Babtist.

Here is my problem. You identified two schools you attended as WELS. Next you mentioned a DMin program, Elton. But where is it? Most people name the school instead of hiding it. Fess up.

---

AC V said...

"Perhaps this would be a good time to begin a conversation."

Undisclosed Recipients: "Why did we get this spam?"

Objective Observers: "Hubris and need for an income."

Undisclosed Recipients: "We wish Crossroads would go away."

Objective Observers: "Perhaps this conversation should take place on the floor of the synod convention this summer."

---

From: Elton Stroh 
Date: Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Subject: [church_and_change] Comeback Churches - Media Clips
To: Church & Change Listserve 

Brothers and Sisters in Mission:

I encourage you to view and perhaps pass on to others the following media clips (if you agree they have value). The six headings are:

1. Introductions, The State of the Church in the U.S, Re-Focusing on the Lost (9:26)

2. The Bridge to What God Desires, The Keys to Change (6:06)

3. The First 100 Days of Change (7:15)

4. The Role of Leadership/Teamwork (8:44)

5. Mistakes to Avoid (7:33)

6. A Word to Denominational Leaders - Making it About the Mission, Not the Machine (10:58)



http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2009/07/comeback-church-videos-part-1.html



Dr. Ed Stetzer (currently President of Lifeway Research and author of “Comeback churches” and many others) is being interviewed by a couple of denominational leaders in the Illinois District of the Assemblies of God. Of course, we would have much more to say about the gospel, means of grace, faithfulness to the Word, etc. if we were participating in the interview. But still, these media clips have some excellent content, the likes of which we need to be talking about in WELS.

Elton

******************************************************************

Pastor Elton C. Stroh, Director

WELS Parish Assistance

251 Luther Drive, Sun Prairie, WI 53590

Email: Elton.Stroh@wels.net

Phone: 608-837-3819

Website: www.wels.net/pa 

---

From: 
Date: Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 1:34 PM
Subject: Re: [church_and_change] Comeback Churches - Media Clips
To: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com

Elton,

Thanks. This kind of stuff is invaluable, even when it comes from heterodox sources.

Kenn Kremer - Editor, WELS Parents Crosslink.

---

Kelm would not budge with the Leonard Sweet Church and Change conference. Could he also be backing this Stetzer promo?

***

GJ - This is what I mean, readers, about WELS Conventional Wisdom. Plenty of exposure got Stetzer dis-invited from the November 2009 Church and Change Conference. However, shortly after that, the secretive sect is promoting Stetzer as invaluable and excellent. Who is promoting this? Team Kelm - two synod staff members, Stroh and his Amen Corner - Kremer.

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A Right Strawy Epistle from Stroh

The Parish Assistance consulting ministry was authorized by the synod in convention in 1991, at which time an increasing number of congre­gations were seeking personalized onsite assistance with a variety of issues. Today our churches—mostly struggling ones, but some stable and even growing—continue to request the services of Parish Assistance, which focuses on “Assisting God’s people with pursuing his mission.”

We believe that, under God, as we help churches become healthier, we will also help our synod become a healthier church body. This, in turn, will position our synod to expand and support our ministry efforts at home and abroad, to train and send out more workers, and to increase our poten­tial to be a greater blessing to God’s kingdom.

Our core four-phase consulting service involves helping congregations accurately analyze current reality, create a compelling vision for future min­istry, prioritize and reorganize for action, and then pursue their preferred future with trust in the Lord to bless their efforts. Leaders are especially appreciative as we help them see with clarity

what must never change (God’s message and mission),

what may change (methodology), and

what must change (anything that gets in the way of proclaiming the gospel message and pursuing Christ’s make-disciples mission). 
Staffing challenges

For the past several years, but especially more recently, vacancies within Parish Assistance have presented challenges. Both full- and part-time lead consultants, in love for their Lord and for the con­gregations of our synod, overextended themselves to serve additional churches. Still, service to some congregations needed to be delayed, and now congregations are being told, "We want to serve you, but we don’t know when we will be able to because of our staffing shortage." This unfortunate situation has caused some leaders, who intended to request our services, to back away or to look for help elsewhere.

A pastor serving one of our client congregations recently sent this note: "I wanted to sincerely thank you for the long hours and dedicated, cheerful service you gave the Lord and his people here . . . I am certain the Lord will work many blessings from it! I will continue to hold you in my prayers that God will . . . enable you to continue to bring more blessings to more congregations! Thanks for the fruitful and enjoyable weekend." Bringing more blessings to more congregations is also our prayer, and we are planning for this to happen.

At this time Parish Assistance has two full-time consultants in place and two full-time vacancies. One of the two vacant positions was defunded a few years ago. The other posi­tion has funding, and we are continuing to call with confidence that the Lord will lead us to the person he has chosen. Meanwhile, plans are in place to increase our number of part-time lead consultants and to begin their formal training during the 2008 Summer Quarter at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Our active part-time lead consultants will also participate in this week-long training event.

Additional consulting services

In addition to Parish Assistance’s core four-phase service, special consulting services have been provided over the years. Some examples of these services include team building, conflict transfor­mation, staffing level evaluation, lead­ership development, mentoring, coaching, merging ministries, and change management. It is now our intention to increase the availabil­ity of these and other services. To accomplish this, we are seeking the assistance of Dr. Ronald Heins (the former Parish Assistance director) and our part-time lead consultants—who by their previous ministry experiences and training are qualified to provide specialized assistance.

Forward with Lutheran Schools

Forward with Lutheran Schools is a major min­istry within Parish Assistance and is designed to assist congregations with starting new and strengthening existing daycares, preschools, Lutheran elementary schools, and high schools. Our Forward with Lutheran Schools consultant, who began his full-time service in July 2007, is Teacher Greg Schmill. He continues to serve congregations as they work through the pro­cess of analyzing the opportunities and chal­lenges of opening new preschools and Lutheran elementary schools. In addition, he is now piloting Second Wind, a streamlined school-strengthening process. As with our entire Parish Assistance consulting ministry, Forward with Lutheran Schools empha­sizes the use of programs within the church for outreach as well as nurture.

Parish Assistance had an opportunity in April to share information about its philosophy of ministry—why we do what we do the way we do it—with our Conference of Presidents. We appreciated their interest in and support of what Parish Assistance is striving to accomplish.

Turnaround churches

A future major project being undertaken by Parish Assistance, with funding from a Thrivent grant, will be a study of turnaround churches in WELS. Turnaround churches are defined as congregations between the years 1980 and 2007 that have declined at least 20 percent in worship attendance and then, by God’s grace and bless­ing, rebounded and rose above the original status (before the decline started) by at least 20 percent. In other words, turnaround churches experienced at least a 40 percent increase in worship atten­dance from the lowest point of decline.

An example of an imaginary turnaround congregation is provided in this graph.


The goal of this project is first to identify and categorize turnaround congregations—by setting, size, and age—and then study some of them in depth and discover what factor the Lord com­monly blessed among them. It is hoped that these findings will help inform and better enable our WELS consulting min­istry to assist additional congregations with pursuing turnaround. 

Potentially, the discovered factors could be pre­sented at our ministerial training college and seminary and at regional seminars and district conferences. At the same time, we anticipate that the findings will be helpful not only to congre­gations that need and desire turnaround, but also to more stable congregations that desire improved health for the sake of having greater spiritual impact among their members and in their communities.

Continuing to declare his praises

As we thank our Lord for his benevolent blessings on Parish Assistance, we also entrust our chal­lenges to him. Confident that he is in control, we will continue to work tirelessly for the benefit of his kingdom and, with all our brothers and sisters in WELS, declare his praises!

For additional information, contact Rev. Elton Stroh, 608-837-3819 or elton.stroh@sab.wels.net.

Rev. Elton Stroh, reporter

***

GJ - Wisconsin Lutheran College (nickname - Our Valpo) spawned Charis, and Charis begat Church and Change.

And lo, darkness spread across the land.

Church and Change members joined hooves to create stealth Church Growth missions across WELS. 

Church and Change members divert synodical offering money for their own salaries and their wild hair projects.

And there was weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

Church and Change members study and worship with false teachers, then conspire to have Lutherans listen to their favorite theologians:

Archbishop Weakland, Roman Catholic

Martin Marty, ELCA

Leonard Sweet, Methodist New Ager

Kent Hunter, Nominal LCMS

Waldo Werning, Nominal LCMS

Ed Stetzer, Babtist

Andy Stanley, Babtist

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Charis->Church and Change->Parish Services WELS":

Pastor:

Could you please not publish this, yet answer a question? I haven't seen your explanation of "babtist"? Is there an inside joke I'm missing? Why the second "b" and not a "p"?

Sorry...I'm a EE, not a M.Div. or PHD.

Thank you in advance sir.

***

GJ - I did answer this before, but I don't expect people to read every single post and memorize them as well. Lately I have been using the search function to find stuff I wrote.

I was at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College when the director made a distinction between Baptists and Ba-a-a-abtists. I laughed. The Baptists and the Ba-a-abtists did not.

Southern Baptists often say they are Ba-a-a-abtists. Northern Baptists are more liberal and do not affect the Southern accent.

I have been everywhere and heard the major Protestant and Catholic speakers, many of them now passed away. That, combined with doctoral studies in comparative dogmatics has given me a good perspective on what is happening. Unlike the Church and Changers, I can spell comparative.

The WELS Church and Changers think my doctoral work gives them permission to study at Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek. But I disagree.

I was in the LCA until 1987. WELS said, "Oh, unionism is so bad. People should not even study at those bad institutions." John Seifert (now DP) made a point of wrinkling his nose in disgust whenever Missouri was mentioned. Even now it is impossible to have a conversation with a WELS pastor without the typical We-are-so-superior-to-Missouri tale being shopped.

WELS talked a big story against unionism, but the clergy have been more unionistic than ELCA and completely dishonest about it. The Wisconsin Synod is listed at Trinity Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, as one of its corporate sponsors - in two different areas, including Parish Assistance. Connections? A Church and Changer runs PS which hires Parish Assistants like Paul Kelm.

Going back, it is easy to track where this came from. Ron Roth was the first openly Church Growther in WELS. Kelm, Valleskey, Bivens, Hartman, and Olson followed. The second wave of Growthers came with Wisconsin Lutheran College creating Charis, which created Church and Change, which sponsored even more of the above.

In the power structure it was Wayne Mueller at the center, with Parish Services (Bruce Becker) overlapping Church and Change. Love Shack employees are Church and Changers promoting Love Shack programs and eating up synodical offerings to pay for them.

So everyone should be laughing at how the Church and Change leaders (like VP Don Patterson and his circle) run off to see Babtist Ed Stetzer. Meanwhile, other key Church and Change leaders (Parlow and Ski) fawn and worship at Andy Stanley's Babtist church.

---

Have Your Brain Washed by Elton Stroh, Full of Straw and Strawmen.
Lead Pastor in Latte Church Failure.
Bad Metrics or Bad Coffee?

http://www.christlead.com/stroh.php

Elton's Money Machine

Elton Looking for Work

Lookee Who Shows Up To Lead a Kelm Conference

This Is Obviously Made Up - But Still Shockingly Funny

Elton Stroh at Word - Or, Picking Up a Paycheck for Metrics

Pastor Elton Stroh Return to Speakers

Presentation Description Sessions 2A and 3B Building a Strategic Ministry Plan For ministry planning to be most productive it must be comprehensive (so it is well-informed and grounded in reality), engaging (so it has widespread ownership and participation),compelling (so it generates energy and enthusiasm), and cyclical (so both short- and long-term ministry goals are apt within an ever-changing context).  Strategic planners will want to: Lay a firm foundation for planning Accurately analyze ministry context Form and cast a captivating vision Gain measurable traction with implementation    Do Metrics Belong in the Church? This question is likely to raise some eyebrows and create some tensions.  Some ministry leaders could not imagine functioning within a church without discernible metrics.  Metrics and related words (e.g. measurables, scorecards, and outcomes) are mentioned routinely in their weekly staff or monthly elected leaders’ meetings.  Other ministry leaders balk at the use of such terms in the church. What is at the root of these tensions? Why does having meaningful metrics matter? Which metrics belong in your congregation?

Monday, February 22, 2010

Stroh and Kelm - It Is All about the Money - Always Was

A foundation built of straw - Elton Stroh.

The following paragraph is from a WELS Kingdom Worker letter dated "February 2010" which was received today.

"Another historic development in 2010 will be the consideration of a new WKW program, The Center for Parish Renewal. If adopted, a call will be extended to Rev. Elton Stroh [Fuller alum, Church Growth] to serve as an administrator. WKW will be working with the WELS Conference of Presidents' Parish Assistance committee chaired by First Vice President Jim Huebner [Fuller alum, Church Growth] to assure complementary non-duplicating resources are available to congregations. Designated gifts to support this new program may be sent to WKW apart from mission project gifts."

WKW is going to grow by one staff member. Interesting when one considers the same letter also included the following:

"Due to the current economy and financial losses suffered by the Schwan Foundation, matching funds for national [WKW] projects will not be available in 2010. The generosity of the Foundation still provides for the operation of WKW. In 2009 WKW full-time staff salaries were reduced by 20%. Salaries are restored in 2010."

***

GJ - The WELS convention eviscerated Perish Services. Stroh and Kelm [Fuller alum, Church Growth] became unemployed at the end of December. Doubtless they got a few months of severance pay. They already have their new jobs lined up.

Remember when someone heatedly denied that Kelm and Stroh hit up Kingdom Workers for money?

What do the three men named here have in common? - Fuller alumni, Church Growth.

I am sure the ELS/WELS boards of doctrine will jump on this like hobos on a hot-dog.

No, not to thwart it - to support it.

PS - I heard that WELS started to grow for a few weeks, while Kelm and Stroh were unemployed.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Elton Stroh At a Crossroads.

Elton Stroh was invited to mislead the kiddies at Martin Luther College, WELS.
DP Buchholz did not believe me when I told him how the synodical schools
invited the Church and Changers, lauding them as heroes.
Note the online student listening in on the computer screen.

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Divinely Called by Whom":

I'm sure they're lining up:

Dear brother in Christ:

I’m anxious to announce that, beginning in 2012, Crossroads Consulting will offer another ministry planning option and begin using an all-inclusive planning tool which (sic) I recently designed.

Ministry Planning Options: Congregations now have the opportunity to consider which ministry planning approach (i.e. Comprehensive, Modified, or Basic) would be most helpful.

New Planning Tool: This unique instrument will be utilized with all three ministry planning approaches and will help congregations accomplish both long- and short-range planning at the same time, and a lot more.

I welcome you to browse the Crossroads web site where you’ll have access to recently posted materials.

As the New Year begins, you and your leaders may be discussing your congregation’s gospel ministry challenges and opportunities. If you would like to add a consultant’s perspective to your discussions, please let me know.

Assisting God’s people with pursuing his (GJ - whose? - Elton's or God's?) mission,

Elton

Pastor Elton C. Stroh

Executive Director | Crossroads Consulting Ministry

608-837-3819 | elton.stroh@timeforcrossroads.com | timeforcrossroads.com