Kelm the Magnificent

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Willow Creek Wisconsin Lutheran College Hires Geez...":

Rev. Paul Calvin Kelm preaches more gospel in 5 minutes than Dr. Slander Jackson now in Arkansas? has his entire life. Hell has a deep hole for you, Gregory, and your ilk (infamous ed. of Christian News). Thanks be to God for Paul Kelm, DMin, Concordia Seminary!

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"This is God. Do you copy, Paul?"

"All the time, Boss."

My Sem Photo Is Missing

I asked to be photographed when the class of 1987 was being shot. Rick Miller, in charge of the class photos, cautioned me that I could not be included in the group montage. I thought that was really amusing. I believe colloquy students were sometimes included.

Rick Miller founded CrossRoads Evangelical Covenant Church, originally comprised of WELS and LCMS Shrinkers. WELS organized all kinds of training for pastors at Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek. Many of their CG starts left the Lutheran Church and the Christian faith.

I was unclean, but why? I did not go through GA but saw the secret hazing ritual in action later.

I went to accredited schools. That was it. In teaching the pastors of WELS that there is no finer education, they make the men conceited about what they know.

By offering repeat-after-me training, they reduce their ability to think through doctrinal topics. Like newly hatched ducklings, they imprint on the first synod stars they see and follow them to perdition. The evidence is there in the graduate photos.

Mequon Class Shrinkers

Mark and Avoid Jeske, Jerry Quiche-nik

I worked on the Mequon class photos, to highlight the CG professors and students. The librarians among the readers would like the photos in order, but I looked for the high-yield classes. They had to have a lot of Shrinkers in them or some very influential ones.

The way to find all of them at once is to click on the label "Mequon Class Photo."

Many of the Shrinkers have become atheists, Babtists, Pentecostals. They have destroyed more churches than the Chicago Fire.

Some future doctoral student will thank me.

Mequon Class of 1988, Kelly Voigt

Left-click to enlarge the Shrinkers.

1. Faculty members Valleskey, Tiefel, Johne, and Mueller made sure Church Growth was taught in a variety of ways.
2. Martin Spriggs was featured in Radloff's Shrinker newsletter, gave Willow Creek sermons verbatim, and now runs technology for the WELS Love Shack. Church and Change rigged the WELS.net website to register people for their conference in 2007. I wonder who did that.
   
3. Kelly Voigt turned into a CG star for WELS. He was in Coral Gables, if memory serves me, and was thanked for his help in creating an Evangelical Covenant Church in S. Lyons, Michigan. (Mark Freier, Rick Miller, Robert Mueller, and Paul Kuske all did their part.)
4. Mark Paustian, now at Mary Lou College in New Ulm, had the mega-church in Rockford that drew members from local WELS congregations. Paustian has been a featured speaker at Church and Change, writes books based on Fullerism.

Mequon Class of 1975: Tom Trapp, Aderman, Adrian

Left-click to see,
"Honey, I shrunk the synod."
Left-click to justify.
Wait - the whole world is justified,
thanks to CG thinkers.

This was not a high-yield class, as far as I can tell, but the weed seeds sprouted promiscuously from the few, the proud, the Shrinkers.

1. Professor Gerlach studied Neo-Pietism at Fuller and promoted the manufacturing of disciples making disciples making disciples.
2. Professor Becker continued the J. P. Meyer and LCMS error of the world's absolution, paving the way for Kokomo and Church Growth.
3. James Aderman helped found Church and Change. He has been the moderator of the secret Church and Change listserve. They now communicate through secret Yahoo groups. Aderman writes for FIC, which has been the Xerox department of Church and Change. Bivens, Patterson, Kelm, Valleskey, and other Shrinkers have also been paid to propagandize their alma mater, their nursing mother - Fuller.
   
4. Tom Trapp turned Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel into Willow Creek Chapel, joined the Willow Creek Association, and laid off his pastoral duties on his cell group disciples.
5. Fred Adrian studied at Fuller, shared the District Mission Board in Michigan with Wally Oelhafen (Fuller), got himself canned as chairman, and left the ministry not long after his vicar went to the Big House for abusing a minor girl. Someone that valuable had to be called back into the ministry, so Fred was. Think of the pastors DP Seifert has forced out of the ministry!
   

Mequon Class of 1971, Bivens and Stadler

Left-click to enlarge the Shrinkers.

1. Professor Becker took over UOJ Enthusiasm duties from J. P. Meyer.
2. Professor Gerlach studied at Fuller and promoted disciples making disciples making disciples making disciples making disciples. Only they did not.
3. Frosty Bivens partnered with David Valleskey, studied at Fuller, and helped make WELS safe for CG doctrine and unionism.
4.  Richard Stadler, divorced, was the featured speaker at the WELS youth rally in Columbus, Ohio, sponsored by the local CG beehive, LPR, run by two divorced CG ex-pastors, Zehms and Stolzenburg. Zehms is now a member of St. Marcus, Milwaukee. Iver Johnson, on the Stadler staff, was on Tiefel's hymnal project; divorced his wife, after 50 years of marriage.
   

***

GJ - As far as I can tell, Stadler's congregation is still independent. They added a Missouri pastor (Manchurian Candidate?) to the staff. The new guy replaced Iver Johnson.

On the navigation bar, Our Beliefs' (sic) has that pesky apostrophe added. Apparently most people think that we form plurals with an apostrophe.

Look at what Stadler's congregation supports:

1. Catholic Charities.
2. LCMS Campus Ministry.
3. Bible Faith Lutheran Church in India.
4. Portage for Youth. Theater - entertainment.
5. Lutheran Heritage Foundation, LCMS and Thrivent.

Mequon Class of 1962, Valleskey and Radloff

Left-click to find the portrait of the pastor

as a young Shrinker.

1. Professor J. P. Meyer taught UOJ and published Ministers of Christ, the source of three Kokomo Statements (almost verbatim).
2. David Valleskey made a career out of his Fuller experience, promoting Church Growth false doctrine with zeal and a complete lack of doctrinal discernment. For this WELS made him president of the Sausage Factory. And y'all think the End is not near?
3. James Radloff published Church Growth newsletters for WELS, which promoted all things Fuller, all the CG false teachers, and the WELS disciples who were most brain-washed.
   

Mequon Class of 1987, CrossWalk, Depere, and More

Right click to enlarge, clarify, and appall.

Church Growth stars in the class where I studied:

1. Professor Becker was already beatified at Mequon, but not at Bethany.
2. Professor Tiefel began his cautious promotion of CG.
3. Professor Wayne Mueller was ousted, according to Slick Brenner, for being Reformed (a sin in WELS?), moved up to Perish Services, and First VP. Apparently, only Shrinkers can be First Veep.
4. Professor Valleskey, Fuller alumnus, was teaching a special CG course in the summer, to the unbabtized, as well as during the school year.
5. Professor Johne became a safari pal of Kudu Don Patterson. World missions went CG from the start.
6. Randy Cutter took part in the Coral Gables fiasco, turned Pentecostal.
7. John Parlow was a founder, mover, shaker in Church and Change - goes to Drive Babtist worship conferences with Ski, Glende, Bishop Katy, and other WELS workers.
8. Bill Favorite is working at CrossWalk, Phoenix (Jeff Gunn), which is not WELS yet, but they are working on it. Favorite presents for Church and Change.
9. Rick Miller started CrossRoads in S. Lyons, Michigan--with the blessing of DP Robert Mueller and VP Kuske--WELS first parish to join the Evangelical Covenant sect.
10. Nathan Krause slept on his Triglotta every day in class, joined the ELS, and now has a CG parish.

Graduation was immediately followed by a week of brainwashing in Church Growth, led by Robert Hartmann (TELL), Norm Berg (Fuller), Wayne Mueller, etc. More brainwashing followed at the summer evangelism program run by Paul Calvin Kelm, Larry Olson, David Valleskey, etc.

Mequon Class of 1978, UOJ and Shrinkage Galore

 Left-click to enlarge the Shrinkers,

highlighted in yellow.

1. Professor Joel Gerlach studied at Fuller, promoted "making disciples."
2. Professor Sig Becker taught UOJ, defended Kokomo, promoted Receptionism.
3. Mark and Avoid Jeske is the covert leader of Church and Change, godfather of The CORE.
4. Robert Schumann polarized St. Paul, German Village, with Church Shrinkage, and became an AAL agent.
5. Richard Starr took CG principles to Brazil instead of Portuguese language skills.
   
6. Mark Braun published "soil testing" from Fuller in FIC (nee Northwestern Lutheran).
7. Charles Papenfuss started the Kokomo crisis, the universalism which underlies CGism in WELS, Missouri, ELCA, ELS, and CLC (sic).
8. Rick Curia defended UOJ in a lengthy essay full of really frightening citations.
9. James Witt got a DMin in CG from Concordia, St. Louis, sold copies of Paul Y. Cho at a WELS conference on starting cell groups.
10. Elton Stroh promoted CG at the Love Shack, WELS headquarters, Perish Services.

The 1970 Founders of Church Shrinkage in WELS

Left-click to enlarge, clarify, and gasp in shock.

This class is truly the motherlode of Shrinkage leadeship in WELS. I have highlighted the names of the guilty:

1. Sig Becker, UOJ philosophy and Reformed Receptionism teacher.
2. Harold Haggedorn, Home Missions CGM Enthusiast.
3. Wayne Mueller, First VP of membership and financial shrinkage, SP presumptive.
4. John Lawrenz, MLS, DMLC, MLC, WLS, WRS in Asia, Church and Change.
5. John Huebner, Church and Change Board.
6. Paul Calvin Kelm, Chaplain Elect at Willow Creek College, Milwaukee.
7. Ron Ash, Church and Change Chairman, The CORE godfather.
8. David Rutschow, Southeastern Wisconsin District, protector of Mark and Avoid Jeske.
   

All Things To All Simians

Matthias is not a pothead, according to one of his Bethany classmates.

The person who sent the hundreds of obscene words as a comment has apologized. Apology accepted.

Someone asked who Slick Brenner is. The Synodical President John Brenner begat Slick Brenner, who served in Bay City, Michigan. Slick begat Sparky Brenner, who teaches at the Sausage Factory. All three are named John Brenner, hence the nicknames.

WELS nicknames are common. Panning was Panzer. John Jeske was Jester and Jumpin' Jack. Fredrich was Mudslide or Slide. Gawrisch was Gawa.

The Class of 1982 in Color

Click for the larger view.

Names are highlighted to show the Shrinkers.

Blush has been added to indicate

how ashamed they should be.

I will have to color code a few more classes. There is an unwritten law that a classmate cannot ever be wrong, so it is easy to see how a single seminary can leverage false doctrine. Left-click the photo to enlarge it.

Mark Henke, pastor of Bethany, Appleton, was not listed before. He agreed that the Andy Stanley book should be studied by the Fox Valley circuit: 7 Practices of Effective Ministry.

I thought the Columbus Ohio circuit was bad, especially because they did not even have circuit meetings for years - until I brought it up.  But we never sat around studying a Babtist book!

Good grief! Why bother to use the name Lutheran in Fox Valley? It is just a sham.

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+Diet O. Worms has left a new comment on your post "The Class of 1982 in Color":

Of course we're not surprised that the odious Jeske conference, "[Emasculated] Men [tired] of [listening to] His Word," will be held at Bethany, Appleton.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Class of 1982 in Color":

As a concerned Lutheran in the Fox Valley, I don't think it's fair to lump all pastors here in with Mark Henke. There are a few good ones, including the ones where I go. The pastors at Riverview are confessional and faithful, and they trust God's Word. I wouldn't trade them for anyone in the world. Word gets around very, very fast here and the word is that one pastor (conflicting reports as to which one, probably one of the guys from St. Paul's) took a hard stand at the last circuit meeting and lambasted everyone there for studying Andy Stanley and trying to model ministry in the Fox Valley off his principles. There still are guys with spines, even around here.

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GJ - They started a circuit study of a Babtist author, a notorious one at that, and they cannot be lumped together? Why aren't the Babtists in the circuit up on charges? They supposedly have a quia subscription to the Book of Concord, not Decision Magazine.

I am happy to hear about this story, but a lot more needs to be done than lambasting. This is where pastors and laity can write letters to the Synod President and copy the Doctrinal Pussycat, Deputy Doug. Every doctrinal issue debated is a victory, even when there are setbacks and delays.

I Support the Majority Who Are Oppressed by the Shrinkers

MLC Student has left a new comment on your post "Take the Poll on the Martin Luther College Gay Vid...":

Chalk me up as an MLC student who doesn't support the video.

But really, is it all that surprising that Jackson is able to find a few WELS young people who are acting immaturely (eg. MLC video, its defenders, M. Leyrer)? I think that for him to condemn all the youth of the WELS because of these people is unfair.

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GJ - I do not condemn all the youth of the ELS or WELS. Quite the contrary, I think the vast majority in the ELS and WELS would rather have traditional Lutheran doctrine and practice, with all that entails.

The unofficial poll shows that most condemn the MLC party video. The comments mirror what I have experienced. The smart-aleck antinomian rebels have been protected and promoted within WELS until recently. Their time is growing short and they rage. Better they take it out on me. I have heard the script before.

Let's face it. MLC and WLC are union shops, and so is Mequon. All three are run by the Shrinkers and benefit the Shrinkers. The attributes of all three schools are those of ELCA. I am not sure of Bethany. The ELS had to live with the Shrinker slop-over from WELS, under Mischke and Gurgle - not that they fought against it. They murmured in the coffee hours and quieted down when it mattered.

Financially, three little colleges are not going to continue long into the 21st century. If they are going to be ELCA-bound, why subsidize them at all?

Mrs. Ichabod and I graduated from Augustana in Rock Island. The college was named for the Augsburg Confession because the Swedes tired of the Church Growthers of the 19th century and returned to the Confessions. They were greatly influenced by Passavant, who had gone through a similar experience, moving from revivalism to the Confessions. The revivals were unionistic and Reformed.

Today Augustana is purely secular. They had so many Roman Catholic students at one point that they appointed a priest as one of their campus chaplains. The old Christianity department became the Religion department years ago. The required Old Testament and New Testament courses were semester-long studies of the fading Historical-Critical Method. I remember a Missouri Synod student saying, "Whatever I believe, I say the opposite on the exam, and I get an A."

I took my name off the Augustana mailing list a long time ago. My mother graduated from there. So did my sister-in-law. My wife and I discussed today that we never considered sending LI to Augie. He went to the late NWC, which was closed by the Shrinkers.

There is no reason to keep a school going if it cannot live up to its charter. No one voted to turn the WELS schools over to the Shrinkers. They grabbed the cushy positions for themselves. If they could not elbow others away, they walked on them or shredded their reputations. Then they screamed "Eighth Commandment!" whenever their false doctrine was brought up, whether privately or publicly. And it hardly ever happened in public.

Slick Brenner said to me, "How come you get it and our guys don't?" I liked him. He was gruff but genuine. That is far better than those who are smooth on the outside and evil on the inside, where it counts.

The Shrinkers have taken advantage of the abusive side of WELS and Missouri. Both groups have all the characteristics of sadistic, abusive sects - but the bad side is not 100% of the synod. The kindly and gentle side of WELS got pre-empted by the Fullerites, starting in the 1970s. They abused the trust placed in them and enjoyed the honor given to those in teaching or synodical positions. The same could be said for Missouri, although others know that story much better than I do.

There are plenty of good, sincere pastors who are fruitful in their ministry, not gathering acclaim, but simply performing the difficult labor of being a shepherd, feeding the flock and guarding against the wolves. God knows who they are, even if the synodical magazine does not.

I understand college students are turning away from--and are bored by--the pop music and rock and roll fads of their aging hippy spiritual leaders.

Cannot Get a Joke

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Take the Poll on the Martin Luther College Gay Vid...":

So much for this blog's "Last two posts about the MLC video".

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GJ - A family joke has revolved around all the final episodes of movie franchises, like Nightmare on Elm Street. Why explain a joke to the humorless?

Ho Hum. Someone Pressed the Eighth Commandment Macro in Word

"Maybe Bethany Should Be Sold or Closed Too: The Ap...": 

This is so low. You've really outdone yourself this time. The eight commandment obviously doesn't protect anyone anymore - except yourself. The minute someone says something bad about you - a defensive hissy fit occurs. Continually breaking the eighth commandment is something is called "living in sin". Your blog is proof that you continually break the eighth commandment. "living in sin" means you reject the gospel. Rejecting the gospel means you go to hell. Oh, wait, maybe I'm not taking your words and actions in the kindest possible way. I will be praying for you and your selfish, arrogant, sinful behavior. May God have mercy on you. I forgive you - but I wish we could see some fruits of repentance. 

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GJ - "It is to laugh," as Bugs Bunny used to say. The latest rant comes from an anonymous pastor. He has appointed himself as the nameless accuser.

I never felt protected by the Eighth Commandment in the Wisconsin Synod. The antinomian pastors feel free to do anything they want  - while savaging anyone who gets in the way of their adultery, intoxication, abuse of members, and (a minor point for them) their false doctrine. Simply approaching one of these felons is a violation of the Eighth Commandment. Sure, talk to one of these thugs - then Matthew 18 was not done in the right way, another invented sin of the lawless ones. Since it was not done in the right way, the evil person who violated subsection w of Matthew 18 is subject to all the vile abuse they can pour on him...anonymously of course.

I am speaking about something that preceded my experience with the UOJ/CG Stormtroopers. That is how they dealt with anyone who questioned the heresiarch Ted Hartwig, who was promoted and puffed from then on.

Take the Poll on the Martin Luther College Gay Video

MLC students do the modern version of blackface comedy.

William Z has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

***NEWS FLASH***
Not everyone at MLC defends the video. Don't believe me? Post a poll on your blog.

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GJ - OK, if you are a student or staff at Martin Luther College, post your opinion about "Party in the MLC."

The comments will be anonymous.

Anyone else can vote. Just post your affiliation (WELS layman, WELS clergy, interior designer, etc.)

Appleton Shrinker Writes

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

Hey Jackson,

[GJ - I cut out several hundred four-letter words and obscene, x-rated words and expressions. But I sent the whole message, intact, to a Circuit Pastor of WELS.]

How's that for an obscenity laced post?

Publish this comment.

Reject this comment.

Moderate comments for this blog.

Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Reborn

Instead of: Pueri pueri erunt (boys will be boys).
Pueri puellae erunt (boys will be girls - video).
Puellae pueri erunt (girls will be boys - pastors).

The Wisconsin Synod should stop wasting its money on Wisconsin Lutheran College and Martin Luther College. Both schools should be cut loose from all funding and synodical affiliation, with the few good faculty and students moved to Bethany in Mankato.

I am not the biggest fan of Bethany, but the other two make it look like a bastion of orthodoxy in comparison. Perhaps Bethany would not want to be tainted with an influx of WELSians.

Reposting the Withdrawn MLC Video
WLC and MLC think the gay video is just great. In fact, the entire WELS school system is supporting the video with a fan page on Facebook. At this moment, the page has 1,059 fans, drawn from the WELS schools, prep and area Lutheran high schools included. Others join, so they can see how hip the Wisconsin Synod is.

The fan page has linked the Martin Luther College video and the original Fire Island Pines version.

Neither school has shown the slightest interest in discipline, so WELS is supposed to be straight on the outside and gay on the inside. Are the WELS leaders uncomfortable with Martin Luther College on the title of the video and the fan page? Parents? The college will not budge, so why not drop the school entirely?

ELCA is more honest - and falling apart at the seems. That is, seems everyone is heading out the door, as fast as possible. What makes people think WELS is different? ELCA tiptoed around the tulips for some time, but finally came down on the predestined side of apostasy.

Brassier Than the Anglicans
The Episcopal Church began with some illegal women's ordinations - the women were legal but the ordinations not. Consternation! Abomination! They studied it for a long time and found it a blessing, but women could not be bishops. Oh no. That changed with their first woman Suffragen (assistant) Bishop. Purdy soon they had women bishops. Finally The Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori's mannish hands grasped the crosier with righteous wrath, vowing to make her church into HerChurch, a place for equal opportunity for everyone except straight white males.

And your little dog too!

WELS is brassier than the Episcopal Church because the synod has not bothered to ordain women. No need. They created Women Staff Ministers (no objections)and a College of Ministry (a few bleats from the Little Sect). MLC is the College of Ministry and Ballet Dancing.

They encouraged these Women Staff Ministers to consecrate Holy Communion and distribute them to the shut-ins. The Lord knows the WELS pastors were too busy planning growth to visit their own members with Holy Communion.

The ELS squeaked and WELS graciously imposed a moratorium - WELS-Latin for "We will get this going later. Wink. Wink."

But lo, that was not enough. The Latte Church set up their own Lady Pastor who "administers the Means of Grace" under the watchful eye of the Circuit Pussycat and Doctrinal Pussycat. She is not even certified as Woman Staff Minister. She was hired behind the back of the local clergy, which was unbrotherly, if not unsisterly.

But lo, even that was not enough. Mary Lou College made the Lady Pastor a special guest their Evangelism Church and Change Day.

Issues Define ELCA
Most would say that three or more issues define ELCA:
1. Women serving as pastors.
2. Homosexuality.
3. Unionism with Rome and with the Reformed.

Both colleges meet these criteria as ELCA schools. Put them up on eBay.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

If you ever wondered what Israel was like when the prophets had to hide in caves, looking at that Facebook page with its members gives you an idea. Even the religious class was hopelessly mired in immorality.

I thought the morality of the WELS schools was bad when I went there, but apparently it has continued its slide so WELS members are only slightly better than mainstream, which isn't very good in this day and age. At least they aren't rappin' and hiphopping while using foul language and misogynistic slurs.

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GJ - They proudly list their Lutheran schools. The worst German adjective is "shameless" and these fans hardly know what that means.


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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

Yes, I see that under their mug shots and names, they even list their WELS and Concordia schools. I'm not sure why a future Lutheran educator or pastor would even be interested in his bit of pop culture with its relative morality.

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GJ - Seminex became the official seminary of the Metropolitan Community Churches, whose founder wrote The Lord Is My Shepherd and He Knows I'm Gay. In breaking with the LCMS, Seminex also began training women pastors.

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mjleyrer has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

Good thing your little blog has so much weight on what the synod does. I bet they will cut all funding tomorrow because of your genius blog post.

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GJ = Mr. Leyrer - I think your comments alone would be enough to make them pull the plugs. Thanks again for confirming everyone's suspicions about the quality of a WELS education.


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mjleyrer has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

Hey, if I went to a WELS school than maybe you would have a case! Hmmm open mouth insert foot appropriate? I think so.

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GJ - Did I say Mr. Leyrer went to or graduated from a WELS college? I think it is highly unlikely that he never attended a WELS educational institution. His reading comprehension skills are almost at Mequon levels. Really. That low! And his self-esteem (which we used to call conceit) is that high. Mequonisch high.


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mjleyrer has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

Well, you weren't advocating closing all the WELS schools were you? No, you weren't. Just the colleges. My point still stands. Hey, you almost got out of it though. Keep trying, maybe someday you'll win.

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GJ - I just did. Thanks.


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MLC

Vice President Phil Leyrer and ten MLC students observed and participated in the ministries of Risen Savior, St. Marcus, and The Hope Schools of Milwaukee on our Urban Ministry Field Trip April 20-22.

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Prof. Philip Leyrer
Vice-President for Enrollment Management
leyrerpm@mlc-wels.edu

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Evangelism Day Church and Change Day

Rev. David Valleskey: Rev. Valleskey is a graduate of Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Northwestern College, and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. He was assigned in 1962 to St. Paul, Livingston, Montana. He accepted a call in 1965 to start a congregation (Apostles Lutheran Church) in San Jose, California. He left San Jose in 1984 upon accepting a call to serve as professor of New Testament and Pastoral Theology, with emphasis in evangelism, at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. He served as vice-president of the Seminary from 1985—1996, and as president from 1996—2004. He continued to teach courses in evangelism and the Pastoral Epistles during his presidency. He retired in 2004 and lives in San Marcos, California, with his wife Janice. In his retirement he is serving as chairman of the Humanitarian Aid Committee of the Board for World Missions. The Valleskeys have three married daughters, all of whom have been or are involved in the WELS teaching ministry. They have ten grandchildren. [Fuller trained - denies it, brags about it]

Prof. Phil Leyrer: Prof. Phil Leyrer is a 1980 graduate of Dr. Martin Luther College. Prof. Leyrer has served on the faculties of Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School and Lakeside Lutheran High School and as the Minister of Discipleship at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Middleton, WI.* In 2000 he came to MLC where he teaches in the English Division and serves in the administration. He has had the privilege of serving on the Evangelism Committee in a previous congregation and on the Western Wisconsin District’s Evangelism Commission.
*

Pastor Randy Hunter

Minister of Worship, Kristen Koepsell - MLC Lady Pastor Speaker

Minister of Spiritual Growth, David Hochmuth

Vicar, Alex Groth

Prof. Lawrence Olson: Prof. Lawrence Olson was the pastor of Peace Ev. Lutheran Church in Loves Park, IL, from 1983 to 1993. Since that time he has been a professor at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN, where he directs the Staff Ministry Program. He also directs the Congregational Assistant Program, which trains individuals to serve as assistants in ministry in their own congregations. Other service to the church has included membership on the National Board of Christian Life Resources, the Wisconsin Lutheran College Board of Regents, and the WELS commission on Youth Discipleship. He was a member and chairman of the Western Wisconsin District Commission on Evangelism. In addition, he served as the chairman for several national conventions for the WELS, two dealing with evangelism and one dealing with Sunday School. From 1989 through 1991 he served two-thirds time as a Parish consultant for the WELS Board for Parish Services, a role that he continues to fill on a part-time basis.[Fuller drive-by DMin]

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Brain Washing Day, 2008

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WLC Board of Directors

Mr. Philip Leyrer - New Ulm, Minn.

***

They no longer list parish membership on the WLC board - too embarrassing. Three came from the same non-WELS Church Shrinker congregation: CrossWalk in Phoenix. The facts are the same, just hidden from the hoi polloi.


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Apprising.org

EMERGING CHURCH, JAY BAKKER AND OUTLAW PREACHERS

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jan 25, 2010 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Emergence Christianity, Emergent Church, Features, Homosexuality/"Christian", Jay Bakker

Apprising Ministries has been warning you about the Growing Gay Agenda In Evangelicalism; therein you will see heretical theologian Tony Jones, unquestionably a leading spokesman for the sinfully ecumenical Emerging Church de-formation of the Christian faith aka Emergent Church—that’s now morphed into Emergence Christianity (EC)—speak of “a shift” toward full inclusion of GLBTQ people within evangelicalism.
Awhile back in Emerging Church To TransFORM Outlaw Preachers I talked about the EC group TransFORM, a network created by Steve Knight of Emergent Village. As I’ve said before, most all of the familiar names in the EC existential rebellion against the final authority of the Bible are to be found within; and it’s very important for you to realize that the EC has now also embraced a bunch self-described, largely gay-affirming, Outlaw Preachers (OP) who’ve come slithering up all around “pastor” Jay Bakker.

In Meet Outlaw Preachers I brought to your attention that this rather rapscallion bunch of largely biblically illiterate, *cough* group of “preachers” is currently working hard at Turning God’s Grace Into An Idol. OPs include such EC luminaries as Queermergent’s Adele Sakler and self-described “Queer Affirming” ELCA “pastor” Nadia Bolz-Weber, who was recently featured at the EC apostasia-palooza Christianity 21 put on by Jones along with his equally heretical quasi-universalist “pastor” Doug Pagitt.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Close the Two WELS Colleges: They Are Seminex Rebo...":

"ELCA is more honest - and falling apart at the seems...."

"seems"?

Hmmmm.... These are the kind of mistakes for which you crucify others...

***

GJ - The previous remark came from Milwaukee or New Ulm. In both cities, college students are reading Ichabod, their lips moving as they try to sound out the words.

I planted that pun just to catch a humorless Shrinker. Notice the second seems. That unites the thought. They probably do not teach this in the WELS colleges, where English is still a first language, and Latin is unknown. Puns can be based on homonyms, words that sound alike but have different meanings. The Old Testament has a number of puns in Hebrew, but I don't want to make this too deep for the college students.

I'm no Oxford, but I admire his plays. He made up more words than anyone else, had a larger vocabulary than John Milton. He also used puns. Some of you know him as Shakespeare, the son of a glove-maker, but that seams unlikely. There I go again.

I do not remember crucifying anyone over bad grammar, atrocious spelling, and hamfisted sentence structure. To the pure, all things are pure. To the illiterate, all things are just doggone confusing.


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KFax said...

I do not remember crucifying anyone over bad grammar, atrocious spelling, and hamfisted sentence structure. What a funny guy.

---

KFax

Me and Leah have been working on a project since the last week of school up at MLC, and that's watching all six of the Star Wars movies.

KFax

* Age: 20

* Gender: Male
* Location: Madison : WI : United States

About Me

I'm attending UW Whitewater for the Fall 2010 semester, most likely continuing my Education degree, but I wouldn't mind majoring in business either I guess.

False Teachers Ape the Christian Church

The pattern is the same in various denominations: giants of apostasy like the Episcopal Church or ELCA, and the itty-bitty buzz-saws like the CLC (sic). Sanctimonious clergy and their lay counterparts mouth the words of Scripture while violating the Word of God.

They howl about lovelessness, which is another word for telling the truth.

They are ruthless, nasty people. The smoothest operators get away with the most. They hide behind the worker bees, letting them get swatted. For example, everyone felt safe in calling Larry Olson a heretic, though no one did anything about it. But no one identified the false doctrine of David Valleskey until I did. Good ol' Dave certainly raged behind the scenes. He had his sock-puppets do his work for him, so he could smile and be untainted. He did not like having the truth come out.

The Shrinkers have expanded ever since Gerlach, Ernie Wendland, Valleskey, and Wayne Mueller set the standards for false doctrine being promoted. They have too many worker bees to swat all at once.

The Doctrinal Pussycats elected to support them have to go first.

Every doctrinal discussion is a victory for the Word of God and a defeat for them. That is why they want to continue their anonymous personal attacks forever. Even the gall of raising a doctrinal issue is worthy of a fresh round of ad hominem.

The Word of God is clear and plain, incapable of defeat. The efficacious Word has not been tried and found wanting. It has hardly been tried at all. (Apologies to Chesterton)

The Shrinkers are bent on proving the Scriptures to be true. "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?" They have even made faith into something bad.

Plagiarism Is a Disease of the Left

A program of sending identical letters to newspaper has been uncovered on this blog.

The Chicaneries have a lot in common with the political Left. The self-destructive and self-centered attitudes are common. Chicaneries and the Left also want to be subsidized by the people they despise.

The plagiarism cited above is interesting because the people who did it are amazingly stupid. It only takes a little Googling to find out where the original words came from. That is how the plagiarism of Kelm and Parlow was uncovered.

In the old days, last century, when I built up the database code-named Megatron, I did this with comparing texts side by side. Internet searches were crude in those days. I copied the material into ProFile, a DOS program I still use, and matched up ideas and words.

I showed how the leaders of WELS were copying the ideas of Fuller, Willow Creek, and other beehives.

The plagiarism continues, due to the laxity of the Doctrinal Pussycats in WELS. The Chicanery ministers copy sermons, even sermon series, and and post them on the Net as their own. When caught, they stop posting the information. Repentance among the Chicaneries is limited to hiding the evidence.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Plagiarism Is a Disease of the Left":

Speaking of plagiarism,I found a replica of your school bus PhotoShop on another site. In defense of Jeske, Engelbrect, and others, I would have them say, "DON'T HELP ME," to their younger counterparts.

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

***

GJ - The Shrinkers are lazy copy-cats. The anonymous fake, a Fox Valley WELS pastor and Ski friend, copies the name and the graphics, but he cannot equal the learning, research and wit of this blog. His cowardly pals, either from seminary or detox programs, try to drive traffic to the fake, anonymously.

I use the anti-anti-Church Growth blogs as a measure of my success. Three of them are trying, in their incoherent rage, to silence me. They fail to realize that I write for many laity and pastors.

One influential person wrote, "Your polemics help us feel sane."

The Chicanery bunch remind me of smog, which happens when one layer sits on top of another and holds down smoke and pollution. For decades this inversion kept everyone from discussing the doctrinal issues. Younger men who grew up in this smog are ready to let some fresh air flow through the Valley of the Shadow of Werning.

When traditional Lutherans read how crazy their synod has been, they no longer feel like exceptions. They are not. The Chicaneries have raped the synod (Missouri too) while devouring the funds for themselves. Their results have been abysmal, and they wanted to be judged by results. Now they want to be judged by their intentions - they are besotted with outreach and no one else is. Anyone claiming intoxication with outreach is a good guy - no one else is. Given that level of discernment, the Mormons are the best of all.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Plagiarism Is a Disease of the Left":

I love to read Ichabod. As one who was schooled in the Synodical schools and grew up in the Michigan District, I know the cast of characters. Most of what I read on this blog only validates what I already knew. Keep shining the light on it, Pastor Jackson.

***

GJ - Izzat you, DP Seifert?

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Norma Boeckler

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn #44 Ye Lands 2.41
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 264 Preserve Thy Word 2.55

By God’s Command

The Hymn # 249 Isaiah Mighty Seer 2.75
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #45 Now the Hour of Worship 2.95

KJV Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

KJV Matthew 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Third Sunday After Epiphany
O almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all dangers and necessities stretch forth Thy mighty hand, to defend us against our enemies; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.


By God’s Command – Forgiveness

The one great issue in all of religion is this – how are people forgiven their sins? This lesson addresses the issue by showing us how God’s Word is the same as His will.

There are two miraculous healings in this Gospel lesson. The first one shows the faith of the leper, who said, “You can make me clean, if you will.” Jesus’ response is concise, “I will. Be clean.”

The man was immediately healed of his leprosy. Jesus told him to show himself to the priest for the ritual cleansing, “as a testimony.” This is another example of how the Gospel spread. Jesus did not burden them with the Law, telling them they had to convert people to faith to make God happy, that hordes of people were going to Hell without an effective—and expensive—evangelism program. Instead, He told the healed man to have the cleansing ritual performed. The process of showing himself to the priest would reveal everything, and people would discuss this miracle among all their friends and relatives.

The modern frauds invent miracles and call that evangelism, when they fake events and brag about their crowds. I ran into a photo of one of these frauds in my files. He was raising the dead in Florida, he claimed, although no evidence ever emerged. His felony record did show up and he went on the lam. Perhaps he is working his miracles in Haiti now.

Jesus performed miracles to confirm His Word, so people would see that His authority came from God the Father. The miracles themselves were secondary, because even the widow’s son (Nain) and Lazarus had to face death.

The leprosy cure was especially noteworthy because the man they knew as a leper, an outcast, was cleansed of his disease in a moment. The miracle was associated with the teaching of Jesus. As the news spread, people believed in Him before they heard Him speak, before they saw a miracle with their own eyes.

This leper worshiped Jesus and trusted in the power of the Savior. We do not know exactly when this happened. There are many similar examples in the Gospels. Jesus was clearly revealed as the Son of God, in many different ways, so the countryside was coming to see Him and to seek His healing.

The leper had the advantage, if we can call it that, of having nothing. Lacking the esteem of his own people, feeling nothing but rejection for his unclean state, the leper had nothing of his own to offer – wealth, power, or good works. The Word kindled faith in his heart and that faith trusted in the power of the Savior to make him whole again.

Jesus only needed to say, “Be clean” and the leper was healed.

The miracle strengthens our faith by showing us the power of the Word. With that established, we see in the next miracle how God’s Word is not limited by the visible presence of Christ.

An officer of the Roman army came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant. As everyone knew then, a Roman army officer had absolute power over his men. This power was far greater and more terrible than anything known today. He could order a decimation, where one soldier out of ten was beaten to death, to firm up discipline in the ranks. For that reason, and many more, the centurion knew how powerful a command could be.

The centurion also had faith in Jesus. Like Peter, he spoke of his unworthiness, and asked for his servant to be healed.

He offered his own perspective on God’s Word.

but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

Jesus marveled at the soldier’s faith, and healed his servant at that moment.

Before the healing was announced, Jesus gave this as a warning:

11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

In other words, people from all cultures will hear the Gospel and be saved, but the natural heirs, the Jewish people, will be cast into Hell for unbelief.

The unifying element is faith, not heritage. Nothing prepares people more for faith in Christ than Judaism. All the worship, Scriptures, and practices point toward Jesus as the Messiah. The initial Christian church was almost completely Jewish in its makeup. When the rejection and excommunication set in, the Gospel rain moved on to other cultures. God gave His own people abundant chances, from the shepherds seeing the angels to the Temple appearances and miracles.

Many Jews today are Christians, often “secret believers,” to use a term from F. Pieper. To be an open believer in their families would make them modern day lepers. We known someone who went to her husband’s grave for a rabbinic ceremony and had a Bible study at her house later. When someone says, “Bible study,” it is not from the local synagogue.

Most of us are from that outside group Jesus described. As I mentioned before, one part of my family was burdened by the Law demands of the Seventh Day Adventists (no pork, etc), so they joined an Evangelical Church. Apparently some of my Adventist relatives were bigshots, so leaving that behind was an issue in the extended family. I was attending a popular mainline church with my family when the whole youth situation and Church Growth style services made me cross the street to go with traditional, liturgical, Augustana Lutherans. One step leads to another, both toward the Gospel and away from the Gospel. The person I asked about the Lutheran Church is a Hindu teacher now. We lived in the same neighborhoods, attended the same schools, and were confirmed in the same Lutheran Church.

The Effective Word
These Gospel miracles show the power of God’s Word, essential to understand when we speak about forgiveness.

People easily lose their faith in the forgiveness of sin. Truly that is the greatest miracle of the Bible, after the Incarnation. God can and does provide miraculous healing.

How can God declare sins forgiven? That is the meaning behind that term – justification. There are only two kinds of justification: self-justification, our normal state; and justification by faith, taught in the Word.

Self-justification consists of making excuses or offering up good works in exchange for forgiveness. Sometimes people make future promises as well, as if the weakness of the first instance will be overcome by a newfound strength. Self-justification is the hardest thing of all, as a desert father once wrote.

Justification by faith is instantaneous and does not require anything of us. The Gospel plants faith in our hearts and nurtures that faith.

Like the healing of the leper and the centurion’s servant, God says – Be clean, and we are clean. He says – Be healed, and we are healed.

We offer nothing but receive everything through faith. This justification is continuous from the Gospel. The Holy Spirit daily forgives us our sin, fully and freely, as we confess in the Small Catechism. (When we say the Holy Spirit, it also means the Word. And vice versa.)

When we receive Holy Communion, God’s Word says – “for the forgiveness of sin.”

It is important to cling to the plain words of the Scripture, in spite of all our doubts and insecurities. The Old Adam wants to offer something in exchange, to make a deal as Gov. Hucklebee recently said on TV.

Christ has already given all for the treasure of the Atonement. The Holy Spirit distributes that treasure through the Word and Sacraments.

Church and Money Changers - A History of Bad Plagiarism

Class of 1982, WELS Sausage Factory

Some Shrinkers from this class of stars are: Paul Jahnke as DP protected Jeff Gunn (CrossWalk), cosy classmates; Mark Freier helped start CrossRoads, now Evangelical Covenant; Joel Fredrich endorsed the Great Commission as "manufacturing disciples," the Reformed view; James Mattek - WLCFS; Bruce Becker, Perish Services, Chicanery Board, Jeske Inc.; Peter Pan-denominational promotes The Simple Church, another Babtist fad. CrossWalk in Phoenix copies CrossRoads in Michigan - similar name, similar confession of unfaith, classmates.

The class of 1983 featured such Shrinker heroes as Lawrence Olson(DMin, Fuller), Mark Birkholz, Rich Krause (DMin under Larry Olson), Robert Fleischmann, Al Sorum, Dapper Don Pieper.

Wayne Mueller and David Valleskey were in the faculty line-up for the first time 1985, so CG advocacy preceded their teaching. Gerlach was last seen in the 1977 graduate photo. He was pushed out for Reformed teaching, according to Slick Brenner. Sparky Brenner happened to graduate that year.

In contrast, the class of 1981 has a number of known Confessional opponents of the Shrinkers.

Which professors started these guys on the road to perdition? The most likely candidates are Sig Becker, an Enthusiast (UOJ and Receptionism) and Ernie Wendland, from world missions. Fuller began their first assault on all denominations by training the world missions leaders, because McGavran and Wagner were from that field.

Their second assault was focused on American mission people. That is when Norm Berg, Joel Gerlach, Valleskey, Kelm, Bivens, and the Home Mission Board people of WELS were trained.

The ones listed above are simply the ones I know most about. Knowing how conformists the graduates of the Sausage Factory are, I have to assume they were carefully trained for the journey to apostasy.

TELL began already in 1977, with Ron Roth, so it is clear the Shrinkers had a little influence already at that time. Seminary training was clearly Reformed by 1982, judging by the well known results.

Inept Copycats
Bad plagiarism has been the saga of the last 33 years of WELS. I have shown copious evidence of WELS and Missouri copying their insights from Fuller and Willow Creek. (The ELS and CLC (sic) - ditto.) Kelm, Bivens, Valleskey, Huebner, and Olson have made careers out of echoing what they learned at unionistic, Pente-babtist training sessions.

In Missouri, WELS, ELS, and the CLC (sic) - the more they copied, the more they were advanced in their synodical careers. A drive-by DMin empowered apostates to call themselves Dr. and assume teaching roles to spread the cancer.

Mary Lou College and Mequon continue to be franchises of Fuller, Willow Creek, and Trinity Deerfield. Rich Gurgle shares his Trinity Deerfield insights with WELS/ELS clergy.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Church and Money Changers - A History of Bad Plagi...":

Fredrich?

Did you even read all 78 pages of his essay... or just scan it? I don't see any evidence of the former in your comments about him.

***

GJ - You disagree? You have to read all 3500 posts before you can disagree. "Making disciples" is the foundation of Church Shrinkage Pietism. That essay was another example of inept plagiarism.

I have nothing against plagiarizing Luther. Inept plagiarism involves echoing the Zwinglians, Calvinists, and Babtists.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Church and Money Changers - A History of Bad Plagi...":

To put 1981 and 1982 into perspective, the Kokomo Statements debacle was in 1979. In other words, by 1982 the seminary may have been hardened into enthusiasm after the Kokomo affair.

***

GJ - UOJ (Kokomo Justification) has a strange effect on people. Ministers first react to its absurdity. Once their brains are thorough washed, rinsed, and spun dry, they are eager to pounce on anyone questioning justification without faith.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Church and Money Changers - A History of Bad Plagi...":

"Wayne Mueller and David Valleskey were in the faculty line-up for the first time 1985, so CG advocacy preceded their teaching."

Mueller and Valleskey still remain culpable. Do not give them a get-out-of-jail-free card.

***

GJ - What? I am trying to find the Ur-Church Growth leaders, not all of Shrinkers who taught at the Sausage Factory. Valleskey and Wayne Mueller are obvious. Who got things going? I think Joel Gerlach and Ernie Wendland were the seminal apostates, the bad seed. Wendland wrote favorably about CG in 1974. Gerlach wrote to Otten and me that he was trained at Fuller Seminary. I will look up the Wendland quotes and publish them a little later today.

Fuller's strategy was to start with world mission leaders in all the denominations. They had such a roaring success at fooling them bozos that they moved to the home mission drones, who were equally gullible spendthrifts. WELS and all the other denominations (Catholics, Unitarians too) sent their clergy to Fuller and similar beehives.

The Enthusiasts of WELS, Missouri, and the ELS felt right at home at Fuller. They could greet their ELCA pays they knew from joint AAL-LB religious efforts. Those programs used to be called unionism, but under the new thinking they were called "using the money so's nobody else got to it."

One/Third Million Page Views in Last Year

The fake, imitation blog reminds me of Wile E. Coyote.


Google Analytics reports 324,692 page views in the last 12 months.

Unique visitors total almost 48,000.



When I posted a funny video for everyone to enjoy, one of the Shrinkers wrote:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Hilarious Baby Video":

The older child reminds me of you, GJ -- Sticking your finger into the mouth of slander and then crying when you are caught doing it.

That remark is funny, because I have often mentioned how comments like this encourage and motivate me. It is also sad, because this is a WELS member who finds comfort in making anonymous, peevish statements that have nothing to do with the post itself. Something has gotten under his skin.

Joe Krohn, for instance, started a blog to urge people to boycott this one. He gets about one reader per day. The reason for his tiny audience? - he is a follower of this one and comments almost daily.

Tim Felt-Needs has to blog about the Gadarene horde attending his movie theater, where people enter the entertaining Seeker Service with a drink and a snack in their hands.

In contrast, the early Christians entered the Coliseum with their hands folded in prayer - as the entertainment and the snack.

Christians were the entertainment and the snack

in the Roman theaters.

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Anonymous WELS Pastor from Appleton has left a new comment on your post "One/Third Million Page Views in Last Year":

So what if a lot of people read this! In the words of the great proponent of confessional Lutheranism (and foe to anything that smacks of CGM) former Dean Ed Lindemann, these readers are nothing more than a bunch of "malcontents and whining puppies."

***

GJ - I met Dean Lindemann at NWC and talked to him once. He opposed the closing of the school. Did that make him a "malcontent and whining puppy?" The NWC faculty wrote a letter opposing amalgamation. I sent it to Christian News for them. Did that make them "malcontents and whining puppies?"

I am not sure of the purpose for quoting Lindemann. I do not think he was speaking about Ichabod. If he was, let me know, give it a date, and include your name, your mother's maiden name, and last 4 numbers in your social.

I am the only one who can say "so what" about the numbers. I did not start the blog to reach a lot of people. Gurgle and Wayne Mueller were still co-presidents when I turned the doctrinal newsletter into a blog. I expected about 20 regular readers.

When people claim "no one reads Ichabod" and thousands do read it, the Shrinkers are the liars.

The funniest deceptions are "Ichabod has no effect" and "so what!" A regular flow of comments claiming no effect is de facto an effect. God's Word blinds and enlightens, hardens and converts. His will and Word are united, so the results belong to Him alone.

I ignore most blogs because they have so little to say. I do not write daily anonymous comments to them. I do check on the fake once a day to see if he is out of detox or done talking to his parole officer. I hope it is helping him with his personal demons, which are legion.

Hilarious Baby Video

Interesting News for Roe versus Wade Day

Ironic!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Duggar Family Leases a Home with History

To be close to their 19th child, Josie Brooklyn, born three months premature, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have leased a house in Little Rock, Arkansas. The home is the historic Cornish House, built in 1919 by Ed and Hilda Cornish. Born as Brunhilde Kahlert, Mrs. Cornish started the state's birth control movement after the death of her husband. Her efforts paved the way for the establishment of Arkansas' Planned Parenthood Association. On the contrary, the Duggars believe that children are a blessing from God and desire to receive all the gifts He is willing to give them. They are thankful to have found a house to accommodate their large family, no matter what its history is.

Hope for a Pietistic Future in WELS: Church and Change Postulant Finds Gems at Mary Lou College Evangelism Schwaermer Day

"What does Hybels say about being original,

creative, and authentic?

Relevant, too."

Thursday, January 21, 2010
Evangelism Day Gems from T. Shinnick

Today was Evangelism Day at MLC. It's always been one of my favorite days of the year. There are a lot of good thoughts being shared, so I thought I'd share a few of them with you on here.

The first presentation that I attended was titled "Strategies for Congregations to Reach the Unchurched". The biggest takeaway I got from this presentation was that the ultimate goal of evangelism is not to bring members into our church. Rather, the goal is to bring people into contact with Christ. I appreciated this perspective. As we see financial troubles and declining membership, it can be a temptation for people to think about how more people into the church. Even more nobly, one might think that we should always pull people into our churches because of our true handling of God's Word. While this certainly is a blessing to those who come to our churches, God has asked us to preach a message. We plant seeds and he does the rest. If he causes that person to join our church, wonderful. If he causes that person to join another church in which the seed that we planted can grow, we'll be with them in heaven. That too is wonderful.

The next presentation I attended was a discussion of evangelism through worship. In this presentation, Pastor Limmer presented a gem that expressed a sentiment I've always had but have never really articulated. In our world there is a huge emphasis on being relevant. In order to reach people who are looking for relevance, we must present them with a relevant message. After presenting that thought he simply said, "Law and gospel are the most relevant things in the world. We have all sinned. We all need a savior."

Perhaps the strongest presentation I attended all day was Professor Gurgel's presentation on evangelism and homiletics. Much of his presentation was the result of his research for his doctoral thesis on homiletics. [GJ - I have seen a DMin paper mentioned. That is not a doctoral thesis. Which school? The WELS worship conference listed schools for many speakers but not Richard's. Gurgle is a Church and Chicanery advocate.]

The presentation started out with a small group discussion resulting in a list of factors in preaching that either hold or repel attention. The thought is that in order to help people hear the message, we ought to present it in such a way that will not cause them to tune us out. This is not to say that the method of presentation creates or contributes in the creation of faith. We want to be wise in the way we act toward outsiders; making the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5). Professor Gurgel said, "If how we go about preaching practically invites the birds to pluck the seed of the path (Matthew 13:4,19), we are frustrating the very purpose of preaching." It's with this thought in mind that we went into this entire workshop. I don't want to hear anyone saying that this denied the efficacy of the Word. It didn't.

Now, in this exercise of attempting to finwhat (sic) compels and repels attention in a sermon, we had the interesting task of having a roomful of about 40 life long WELS men trying to think like people coming into church for the first time in a long time, if not for the first time ever. Therefore, if you'd like to disagree with any of these, please feel free to do so. These were just our thoughts (Well, they're technically the thoughts that were presented in the room that I thought were worthwhile):

What in preaching repels attention?:
An agenda driven by the pastor rather than the Spirit/text.
Incoherent thought
Arrogance
Poor preparation

What in preaching compels attention?:
Passion
Polished presentation
Relevant connections

This list drove much of our conversation for the remainder of the hour. The thought that was hit on the most was authenticity. It was best summed up in a quote that he presented which said, "If I'm not authentic, then they may think that Christ isn't real either." Achieving that authenticity is something that we will all strive for probably for the rest of our lives. This is something that extends far beyond the pulpit. Professor Gurgel's advice, which seems so simple, but is not always easy to carry out:

Don't preach or teach anything that you don't believe. There is nothing that's more inauthentic than faking authenticity. [GJ - Ask Paul Calvin Kelm, or Limmer. Yeah, that's it. Read Limmer's plagiarized email.]

The final workshop that I attended was on welcoming people to our churches and schools. The main thought that I took from this was that churches, just like people, can be approachable or unapproachable. There are any number of steps that can be taken in order to make our churches more approachable. This can be anything from presentation to strategy. It's something that should always be on our minds.

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Pastor Fred Guldberg has left a new comment on your post "Hope for a Pietistic Future in WELS: Church and Ch...":

GJ, Thank you for finding this post. The article sounds great, though from your couple of comments it sounds like you don't appreciate it. I would love to hear more of your thoughts - for entertainment purposes.

(Ty, congrats! You have arrived, my boy! How did he find you?)

GJ - I just started Blogg'n too. Please examine my work for doctrinal clarity - there must be something for your to correction, rebuke, or instruction. I'm not sure what we would do without your watchful eye keeping our Synod from going off the deep end.

Fred Guldberg
Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church
www.wswelstar.org