Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Thy Strong Word Is in Production


By Norma Boeckler


My editor is cheerfully getting Thy Strong Word ready for Lulu.

Mentor Kujath used to say at NPH. No, he shouted, "Everyone needs an editor. I don't care who you are!"

He was right.

This will bump the other waiting books into the Lulu website, too: Liberalism and Jesus Priceless Treasure.

---

Garrett has left a new comment on your post "Thy Strong Word Is in Production":

I would love to see UOJ discussed on Intrepid Lutherans. Yet I've seen some of the opposite of Brett Meyer.

Fact: There is a lot of fingers-in-ears syndrome concerning justification in WELS: some refuse to call it UOJ, some demand it be called UOJ, and some have never heard it called "universal objective".

But among each of those three groups there are pastors/teachers that teach the false doctrine, and there are pastors/teachers that teach the truth.

It was little surprise to see the poll on Intrepid Lutherans reveal concern over a "deeply divided" synod.


...and before I forget: Huzzah! for the coming of Thy Strong Word to Lulu.


---

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Thy Strong Word Is in Production":

UOJ is still all the rage and will continue to be so until Christ returns.

It would be interesting to see if Intrepid Lutherans care to address the doctrine of UOJ on their (W)ELS blog site. It would be a worthwhile effort while the book is in progress. UOJ is (W)ELS' central doctrine and the very foundation of their religion. So far there may be disunity in regards to the teaching of the pure Word and rightly administering the Sacraments but there is full and complete unity around the false gospel of UOJ.


The Two Funniest Comments Ever Posted on Ichabod





ONE

Unsigned, from Anonymouse:

"You are a gutless coward."

Everyone laughed at him.

TWO

This just in:

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Another Baby Step for a Man, One Giant Leap for Mi...":

Relax. Jeske's just going to the CPH bookstore to tell them why they should leave the LCMS to join the WELS.




Another Baby Step for a Man, One Giant Leap for Missouri


Jeske denies basic Biblical doctrine in the video on this page.

Christian Television Host and Author to Appear in St. Louis-Based Bookstore

Meet the Author: Pastor Mark Jeske for a Time of Grace in the Concordia Publishing House Bookstore on June 25

06.23.2010 – St. Louis, MO—Work, laundry, dishes, and children often leave little to no time for devotions. Many find themselves wondering how they’ve gone so long without personal time with Jesus. To help, Concordia Publishing House has released Time of Grace by Pastor Mark Jeske.

Time of Grace is filled with “Bible studies for busy people” in the hope that these short meditations will soothe the soul, give encouragement, and provide hope for tomorrow. The dominant theme of each devotion is grace—the amazing promise of Scripture that God chooses to love unlovely people.

This new resource makes it easy to start or end the day right with devotions that are relevant, timely, and applicable. Note lines are provided for the reader to write thoughts and reflect on what was read.

Friday, June 25th, enjoy a thought-provoking devotional and a book signing with Pastor Mark Jeske. The event takes place at 2:00 pm in the Concordia Publishing House bookstore (3558 S. Jefferson Ave. St. Louis, MO 63118). Take an afternoon break and start your weekend off right with God’s Word.

Pastor Mark Jeske has served as the senior pastor at St. Marcus Lutheran Church, in Milwaukee since 1980. He has written a Bible commentary (General Epistles, People’s Bible Commentary) and more than a dozen daily devotional booklets. Pastor Jeske is also an accomplished instrumentalist, historian, teacher, cultural enthusiast and media outreach leader.

Time of Grace is also a 30-minute Bible study that delivers straight answers about the concerns of daily life, based on the Gospel. Watch Time of Grace on KDNL ABC Channel 30, Sundays at 7:30 am CST.

Recommit yourself to prayer and meditation today with Time of Gace or give the devotional companion to someone you love.

Visit cph.org to order your copy, or call 1.800.325.3040.


News Facts
  • An accomplished instrumentalist (piano, but also guitar and mandolin, among others), Pastor Jeske enjoys touring with his church’s regionally known choir, United Voices of Praise. He especially appreciates jazz, blues, and gospel music.
  • Pastor Mark Jeske has been bringing the Word of God to viewers of Time of Grace since the program began airing in late 2001.
Tags
Concordia Publishing House, CPH, Time of Grace, Mark Jeske, pastor, Reverend, daily devotional, devotion, companion, Gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lutheran, Lutheran Bible, media outreach, television ministry, prayer book, Bible, Christian, christianity
Concordia Publishing House - 124353.jpg



Mark shows how Schwaermerisch he is, a real Enthusiast.
Just as he avoids the odious word Lutheran,
he also avoids the Means of Grace,
and hints at Pietism's UOJ.
"Jesus is what makes the Gospel happen." - Pastor Mark Jeske.
"Error loves ambiguity."- Professor Charles P. Krauth.




The Syn Conference Is Too Gutless To Say This about Fuller Seminary


Something is terribly wrong with this photo.
Can you see it?
Conservative Lutherans cannot see what is wrong
with Church Growth and its eructations.


I remember a few years ago a brother pastor rightly pointing out that evangelicalism never really renounced its humanism, which is why the horrid Church Growth Movement vomited out of Fuller Theological Cesspool Seminary could take root.

Now in this new article I explain how contemplative spirituality, which is but a romanticized version of Roman Catholic mysticism, was used by the wolves in the Emerging Church to now capture the mainstream of nearly spiritually comatose evangelcialism.

Sadly, this contemplative fad going on within pretending to be Protestant evanjellyfish is a spiritual version of snake handling.




It takes a closer look to reveal the ugliness.
Just like Church Growth.
Am I being abrasive? Am I being undiplomatic?
All I did was turn the warped photo upside down,
for a closer look.
Some call this research.
Maybe a haiku.



Can the Babtists Say This about Holy Baptism?


Stop quoting Luther.
Quote Leonard Sweet.



Living with Luther

"There is no greater comfort on earth than baptism. For it is through baptism that we come under the judgment of grace and mercy, which does not condemn our sins but drives them out by many trials.

"For this reason no one should be terrified if he feels evil lust or love, nor should he despair even if he falls. Rather he should remember his baptism, and comfort himself joyfully with the fact that God has there pledged Himself to slay his sin for him and not to count it a cause for condemnation, if only he does not say Yes to sin or remain in it. Moreover these wild thoughts and appetites, and even a fall into sin, should not be regarded as an occasion for despair. Regard them rather as an admonition from God that we should call upon God's mercy and exercise ourselves in striving against sin, that we should even welcome death in order that we may be rid of sin."

(The Holy and Blessed Sacrament of Baptism, 1519, Luther's Works, Vol.35, page 34,35)


Kelmed from The Gadfly



It Could Get This Bad: Rap Motion at Southern Babtist Convention




Why does this ham switch to Black lingo for his rap motion?

A Black comic said this, some years ago. "You white people want to dress like us, walk like us, talk like us, dance like us, and rap like us. Everybody wants to be Black until the police arrive."



WELS Contrition Reeks of UOJ: Appleton Blogger, Gay Video Stars, Al Just, Ed Werner, Fred Adrian, Etc.



Add a few jabs to every heart-felt apology,
just to show the brethren you never meant it.
They will appreciate what you really meant. Wink.


For those outside the Wisconsin cult - "brethren" means fellow pastors.

The Appleton WELS pastor--who started and stopped his anonymous blog in one day--is another good example of WELS contrition.

I am glad he has not erased his posts on vomit and toilets. Notice his typical WELSian eye-pokes, where he blames me for his own miserable posts. Yes, I held a gun to his head and forced him to reveal the blackness of his vindictive soul. The problem with that scenario is - I do not know who he is.

UOJ teaches them they are already forgiven. That gives WELS pastors leverage in alcoholism and adultery. Sig Becker was appalled at their behavior when he joined, even though he backed the Kokomo Statements himself.

Here is the formula for a WELS apology, which is nothing like a real apology:
1. Express sorrow and make a long face.
2. Deceitfully explain it was all an accident or someone else's fault.
3. Blame someone if at all possible and express forgiveness for that dastardly individual for causing the sin.

The MLC gay video stars used the same formula, because WELS trains for conformity.
A. They did not know they were copying a gay video!
B. They blamed me, although I made it clear I posted it for a disgusted WELS layman.
C. They were taking it down on their own. (They posted it on Facebook and put it back on YouTube.)
D. They were willing to forgive me for objecting to their video sodomy.

WELS teacher Al Just blamed his dead wife for turning over and over on a steak knife in bed. No one ever said WELS guys were good liars. Bad lies are OK in WELS - they just do not survive a court trial. The president of DMLC helped defend Just, but the jury found Al guilty. Because Al never confessed in public, many WELS workers still claim he was innocent. They all have the status of guilt-free saints, so that makes sense...if someone is permanently three sheets to the wind.

When DP Ed Werner was arrested, it was because a confirmation girl mouthed off to him and he slapped her. DP Free's son told me that whopper and added, "At least I hope that is the reason."

DP John Seifert put Fred Adrian back into a divine call, imitating the doctrinal and moral discipline of DP Robert Mueller - less than zero. (Check with Deputy Doug Englebrecht for additional tips, such as pretending to meet with clergy and laity but sending a letter instead.)

One WELS member wrote about the drama queen blog from Appleton:

Unbelievable. They all end (all, being probably the same guy) with some sort of claim like "having their conscience pricked because they're acting like Jackson," and with a confession of some sort of pious enlightenment allowing them to rise above the sin of others by quitting their endeavor. The fact is, they are not motivated by love -- love for God, for God's word, and concern for the souls of men -- but from bitterness. Perhaps their consciences rightly are pricked as a result. They don't know what righteous indignation is, since their weak theology won't permit them to be indignant over error. Good riddance.

The Appleton WELS pastors all know who their drama queen blogger is. He posts from a Mac OS X, and I am sure he brags about who he is.

Joe Krohn and Tim Felt-needs knew who he was, long ago. I called him Anonymouse because he was frightened about using his own name and always sent extremely nasty posts. I figure he has an addiction problem because many comments in the past have been completely jumbled up. Anonymouse used to rage when I posted his worst comments with all the corrections noted.

The drama queen blogger chose to use the Anonymouse name I gave him at the beginning, often using mouse graphics for fun.

Various readers noticed how venomous he was when I criticized Church and Change, but especially when I wrote posts about Appleton.

Here are old Anonymouse comments:

It is amazing for someone who is no longer WELS and who is so doctrinally correct, that the direction to "mark and avoid" has been swapped for "mark and antagonize." The latter attitude in the heart is sinful spite. You talk about others whining and venting. Look in the mirror, dear Ichabod. The WELS is far from pure (no visible church body or congregation is) and will always be so ... but the Gospel is proclaimed in Word and Sacrament. As I recall those are the marks of the Church (big C) and believers are gathered there. I don't think that WELS is a place of either white-washed tombs or a body of folks that serve the devil below (as Brett likes to chide.)
Back to whistling while I work. This blog would be funny if it wasn't (sic) so sad. I'm praying for both Mr. and Mrs. Ichabod's needs this morning. Peace in Christ.


Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post ""Judge Us By Our Results" - WELS Church and Change...":

No wonder Mrs. Icky has a heart problem. It is filled with hatred much like the Ichabod faithless.

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Popcorn Cathedral of Rock Ready To Go Live":

“PROCLAIM HIS WORD and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit. You don't need to help Him.”
---------------------

I have heard this from WELS pastors for years while they side-step the question of “to whom?” The statement calls for disambiguation.

WELS pastors enjoy proclaiming his word over and over to fellow WELS members, children of members, the choir, etc. Generally speaking they are not talking about sharing the Word with the unchurched, non-members, etc. Without clarification the listener must infer or guess at what the pastor is saying or intending to say.

Along come pastors like Ski who strive to reach out to the unchurched in need of the Word. Anything he does is threatening because it makes the typical pastor look lazy by rehashing sermons to existing members.

What to do about it? The coup de grace results in attacks on Ski stating that he is not proclaiming the Word in the one and only acceptable way – like fellow pastors preaching to the choir.

No wonder WELS members feel confused!

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Measuring WELS by the Numbers":

Same old, same old from you, GJ. What I think is so interesting is that you always talk about faithfulness to the Word, but I never EVER hear you share the gospel on Ichabod. You've replaced the good works of catholicism that you learned at Notre Dame with the "good work" of being faithful to the Word. A real Lutheran would always tie in faithfulness to God's Word with the gospel of Christ that Word contains. Your own words condemn you.

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

So numbers do make a difference when you want them to make a difference

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "The Four Horsemen of St. Marcus":

GJ, have the men in white jackets come for you yet? Keep posting your terribly ridiculous pictures, and they'll be knocking on your door sooner than you think!

***

GJ - I do get a few anonymous outpatients sending comments. Thanks for the encouragement.

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "More WELS By the Numbers":

Who appointed GJ to be the conscience of the WELS? He hasn't been a member of the synod for over a decade. He publishes his site simply because he has an axe to grind.

***

GJ - Who required Mouse to read this blog daily? Who held him at gunpoint and made him comment daily? Perhaps VP Don Patterson needs a minion to do his work for him. Kudu Don Patterson's only communication was limited to name-calling (You are a fool and a liar) and denying his safari guy was still a congregational president.

Who taught Mouse mind-reading? I know the Church and Chicaneries specialize in long-distance diagnosis of everyone who is onto them. Corky wrote his essay (posted on the left) because "he was brain-damaged." The former seminary president was against amalgamation because "he was senile." And so forth. Who is the first to say, "That's not loving"? Answer - the Church and Chicaneries.

Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Church and Change Day at Martin Luther College":

Don't you feel this is misleading to copy the MLC Evangelism Day speakers list, label it as Church and Change Day at MLC, and post it with this sign? "Get rid of all bitterness" Eph 4:31

***

GJ - You are right. I should have labeled it - Crypto-Babtist Day.

What happened to "mark and avoid," or "beware of false prophets," and false doctrine being like gangrene or cancer?

Anonymouse has left another clueless comment on your post "Conversation with a Layman":

Poor guy. You're the last person I would ever ask advice from. I bet that really feeds your ego when someone who doesn't know you calls, seeking your "wisdom."

Anonymouse, revealing his Church and Chicanery education, has left a new comment on your post "Anonymouse Yells "Coward" Again":

Nice one, ya putz. As always you never addressed my charge about the sacraments. Instead you just parrot more of your own garbage. I looked at the viewer stats mostly in single digits. You call that reaching the world? Certainly you could do more in your community if you made half the effort you do now.

You are no more a Lutheran than those you run down and are just as guilty. You don't administer the sacraments because you can't and won't.

Anonymouse has left another clueless comment on your post "Rev. Kristen Administers the Means of Grace":

For someone who claims to be such a staunch Lutheran, your Ascension 'communion' service was a joke. You call that administering the sacrament? How do you do a baptism?

You may not agree with how some people are conducting church, but at least they can administer the sacraments. You should be ashamed of your behavior and hiding in your little box. Get out in the world. Start your own church instead of hiding your light.

I have posted on this subject before and I'm sure you will in cowardly fashion delete this as you have the others because you know that I am right and you have no defense. But you still have to read this and maybe some day it will sink in. Your arrogance will do you in.

---

From a signed email:

Good evening Pastor,

What a beautiful Ascension Service! Thank you! It was very interesting the way you used the four Gospels and showed how they are each separate books but yet all mesh together. I really enjoyed everything.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Grumps Asks about Shrinkers Working


UOJ Stormtroopers need to rest up to do more planning.



grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Shrinkers Against Working Hard":

Here's a question...how many of your pastors show up for work days when your church has a clean-up, do some yard work, paint, etc. work day?

Some have said that their pastor's are usually busy with their families on those days, while members who also have families and work full time come almost every time there is a call.

When at prep school (MLS), freshmen and sophmore were required to shovel the walks and driveways of the professors. Sometimes these professors had children (teenagers) who had their walks shoveled by their dorm living classmates.

Is there a tendency for called workers to consider themselves exempt from the lowly grubby work of the church?

I have seen cases both ways (won't say which seems to be the more COMMON way), I was curious as to how other churches perceive this.

Grumps


***

GJ - The Sausage Factory paid students to mow the lawns of the professors. Same deal - the professors had plenty of kids to do that.

By the way - this comes from someone on the Sausage board - no school is safe from the money crisis. Mequon is sitting on some mighty fine residential property, which was once a farm of some 165 acres. Mequon is a wealthy suburb and the seminary is out of money, more or less.





---

grumpy has left a new comment on your post "Grumps Asks about Shrinkers Working":

Just an addendum Dr. Jackson...no pay was made to MLS preppies...it was just one more tradition...

I had no qualms about it when it was for an eldery professor without resident able bodied children.

For some others...well....

Grumps

***

GJ - The tradition reminds me of dwarf tossing. Who thought up free work for the profs? The students?



Shrinkers Sermonize on Their Pietism


PETA endorsement



Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "What the Shrinkers Hate, Part II":

The enthusiasm of the (W)ELS would not have grown such deep and wide spread roots if they hadn't rejected the efficacy of Christ's Word.

From a UOJ/Pietistic [BM - my opinion] sermon given by a WELS Pastor on June 6, 2010 "I can go from door to door throughout the Seattle area telling everyone I meet about Jesus but it wouldn’t do even a fraction of the good that you are able to do by sharing your faith with your family and friends."

Sermon
http://www.htlc-wa.org/ministryinc/filedownload.aspx?master_sec_id=140004986&sec_id=140004986&libfolder=140047070&filename=Microsoft Word - 060610 Sermon.pdf

Sermon Website location
http://www.htlc-wa.org/site/cpage.asp?sec_id=140004986&cpage_id=140014787&secure=&dlyear=0&dlcat=0

Want another example?

***

GJ - Sure.



Shrinkers Against Working Hard


The cross in a cup of coffee is the perfect symbol for Church and Change in WELS.


bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "What the Shrinkers Hate, Part II":

Hi Dr. Jackson, You asked for links about the shrinkers making comments against canvassing and handing out fliers in the comments section. It's been a while since I had these conversations, so they are hard to find (if they even exist anymore online). But here's a good example from Bailing Water in 2007 (below). I just said that our pastor refused to do any evangelism citing money problems, but then he refused to hand out flyers or even have the members hand out flyers because it wasn't a recommended CG method, probably because going door to door isn't "cool." Anyway, one CG guy sneered that I should have just handed out leaflets rather than bother the pastor about doing evangelism, and another said I was fixated on it. I guess that's the CG way of saying anyone who wants to do evangelism the old-fashioned way has a psychiatric problem (or is lazy or cheap or whatever smear their Old Man can think of off the cuff):
-----------
http://bailingwater.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-now.html

excerpts:

Anonymous aaid...
Your difficulties with talking about new approaches to ministry simply does not recognize that methods can change, while the Word we proclaim remains unchanged. (For example, door to door canvassing in outreach simply doesn't work anymore in many communtities. We can reach so many more today via the Internet and other media with Law and Gospel. But to even discuss such newer methods is evidence of the infiltration of false doctrine in our midst, according to you and your blog.)

Anonymous said...

Hey Bruce--

Just think of how much precious canvassing you could have done on your own with the time you spent jerking your pastor around by the pocketbook. Just imagine what it would be like if laypeople spent their time talking about the Savior with their friends and coworkers instead of griping about how the pastor isn't doing any evangelism.
November 12, 2007 5:35 PM

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "What the Shrinkers Hate, Part II":

cont'd from previous post:

----
UP said...
Also, I am not against a church advertising or canvassing, but I don't understand why you are so focused on those.
----
Anonymous said...

Actually canvassing really doesn't work. Think about it--who canvasses? Annoying salespeople and Mormons. I don't want my church being associated with either of those groups. In my experience there's only one thing that really works: members talking to their friends and coworkers and neighbors about the good news. Everything else is a far, far second. Oh, and by the way, I wouldn't be so quick to pit church growth against canvassing. Canvassing was popularized by the church growthers.
November 11, 2007 10:04 PM
----
Anonymous said...

Bruce Church has no idea what he's talking about!
November 11, 2007 10:21 PM
-----
Anonymous said...

"Funny. That´s what the last pastor said before we got rid of him--about this very issue. Our new pastor canvases in addition to other activities, and he`s doing well."

Pastor as lackey? That's a problem with the WELS doctrine of church and ministry. If I'm in the Madison area I will definitely avoid your congregation.
November 12, 2007 6:49 AM
------------
Anonymous said...

As someone who has been on Travel-Canvas-Witness trips from MLC, I agree that canvassing does not work. After leaving thousands of fliers and talking to hundreds of people in a week for some mission congregation, you know how many new people showed up for worship on Sunday? None. Ever. A lot of money and time went into sending us to "help" the pastors of these missions and not one new person ever set foot in the church because of it.

At the congregation of which I'm currently a member, they do not do canvassing but are growing. Many of the Lutheran churches in the area have chosen to act like Methodists, Baptists, and Pentecostals. New converts are not stupid and see through the shallowness. Many, especially young families, have joined our congregation BECAUSE they can hear the Gospel preached and receive the Sacrament of the Altar every Sunday in a high liturgical setting.
November 12, 2007 9:21 AM

---

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Shrinkers Against Working Hard":

One problem is the CG people only think of instant results, it seems. One commented on BW that he took a trip from MLC to hand out flyers on a mission trip somewhere, and on Sunday they got zero results. However, when I hand out a flyers (which I've done), I'm just trying to raise the visibility of the church in an area, knowing nothing may come of it for week, months and years. It's similar to having your cross lit on your church. It's not going to cause people to break down your church doors, but over the years it will bring some people in, though they may not even be conscious of that reason for coming there as opposed to somewhere else, or nowhere. At least they can't say I never saw your church until I looked it up in the Yellow Pages, and then plugged the address into my GPS and drove over.

***

GJ - People will drive 50 miles or more for a real Lutheran church because there are so few around. The Gospel produces the fruit of the Spirit, according to God's will. The need for instant results will always cause people to seek fad solutions, just as steroids will build big muscles while making other things very small.





What the Shrinkers Hate, Part II




The Shrinkers despise any congregation doing well because of its traditional Lutheran message and worship.

Their loathing of real outreach is revealed in their mockery of congregations doing what they cannot, even though the others lack the funds greedily absorbed by the Church and Money Changers. How much loot does a congregation like Patterson's need? The parish is affluent and well established. Why it is being subsidized at the expense of others?

The alleged growthers hate their brother ministers. Ski announced that A-Town was finally going to have a church that made Jesus real and relevant. He moved in with the big bucks, almost next door to another WELS congregation, in spite of protests and hard feelings engendered by his arrogance.

They hate the Lutheran name, doing everything possible to get rid of it. That is not because the name is an adiaphoron. The hatred comes from the Fuller/Willow Creek dogma. They hate Lutheran doctrine and loathe Lutheran worship, so they reject the Lutheran name. One WELS pastor conceded, "I will use the liturgy, once a month, but I will go outside and puke afterwards."


---

wildcard (http://wildcard.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "What the Shrinkers Hate, Part II":

WELS pastors who despise preaching and teaching like to blame membership shrinkage on the word Lutheran. It must be the word Lutheran because it certainly cannot be them. At least they will never own up to it.

***

GJ - Pastors? The synod leaders got rid of Lutheran on the magazine title page (now reversed), the main hymnal title, Lutherans For Life, and as many missions as possible. Try to find Lutheran on Time of Grace.



Pope John the Malefactor Was Just Re-Elected: Little Sect on the Prairie -
"Can't Teach and Can't Preach"


This pope is another world traveler.


From a reader:

"Pope John The Malefactor was just elected to a third 4 year term at President of the ELS."

Another reader expressed hopes that the Holy Father would be removed, adding, "We don't know what to do with him. He can't preach and he can't teach."

That is why the world is full of mini-popes.

"Apt to teach" is not a requirement in the ELS ministry, and definitely not at the Little School on the Prairie.



Some More ELCA People Will Be Fired Soon


ELCA Bishop Gary is just like the WELS DPs,
and he was re-elected too.
He had to start five rump congregations to replace
ones fleeing his tender mercies and gay agenda.


ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 21, 2010

ELCA Leaders to Revise 2010 Churchwide Budget, to Create Restructuring Plan

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will prepare a revised 2010 budget and spending plan for consideration in August, and they will create a plan to restructure the churchwide organization in 2011 in response to continuing declines in income, said the Rev. M. Wyvetta Bullock, ELCA executive for administration, in a June 21 e-mail to churchwide staff.

Bullock wrote that the churchwide organization's Administrative Team, the Cabinet of Executives, ELCA Church Council, the ELCA Conference of Bishops and other partners will work with the presiding bishop and staff on the restructuring plan.

In her message to staff, Bullock wrote that she wanted "to inform you of challenges we are facing related to the work of the churchwide organization as we move forward in mission with decreased financial resources. I also want to let you know how we plan to respond to those changes."

"As of the end of May, mission support income continues to decline," Bullock wrote. "You may recall that mission support represents approximately 80 percent of our churchwide organization's general operating budget." Mission support is income sent by congregations through synods to the churchwide organization.


"We anticipate preparing a revised 2010 budget and spending plan for action by the ELCA Church Council at its August meeting. The reduced budget plan will incorporate the underspending plan already implemented earlier this year," she wrote. The council will meet by conference call Aug. 4, she said.

"As we plan for 2011, given the depth of the changes necessary, we will be creating a plan to restructure the churchwide organization to align our work with anticipated income," Bullock wrote.

"Over the past 12-18 months we have faced significant changes in the churchwide organization. We are also mindful that challenges are being faced by synods, congregations, institutions, agencies and ecumenical partners. I continue to be thankful for your partnership and commitment to serve this church. Our prayers for one another and this church are needed as we walk together in the days ahead," she added.

She explained that the reasons for the income declines include a 30-year trend in declining revenues, the struggling U.S. economy and declines in congregational income due to the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly's decisions on human sexuality.

Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer, said in an April 30 report that declines in mission support income in 56 of the ELCA's 65 synods, compared to the first quarter of 2009, "merits careful attention."


"The annual mission support budget for 2010 was reduced by $4.6 million or 7.7 percent from the amount received in 2009," Jackson-Skelton's report said. "The decline of 12.5 percent in the first quarter 2010 compared to the same period in 2009 exceeds the rate anticipated in the budget proposal and is unfavorable to budget by 3.5 percent."

Jackson-Skelton added that in 35 synods, mission support at the end of April was down by more than 10 percent compared to the same period in 2009.

The churchwide organization began its 2010 fiscal year with a current fund spending authorization of $69.3 million, including $55.1 million in mission support funds.



Balance the budget by recycling more?
I love the smell of compost in the morning.


***

GJ - Unfortunately, ELCA is making everyone look wise, prosperous, and confessional.

WELS and Missouri should be saying, "This is where we will be in a few years."

I never expected a migration out of ELCA by entire congregations. Even less did I think bishops would leave. Too bad some of you did not lay bets with me. I would have bet a million that Ken Sauer would never leave, and he is a leader!

I need Scott Jungen's prophesy stone.

Bishop Gary is blowing up his district and getting re-elected to do more. See a pattern?

Deputy Doug Englebrecht was also re-elected.

This just in - Pope John the Malefactor was elected to another term. The Little Sect on the Prairie remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of Church and Change.



Scott Jungen Is a Prophet


"I love the smell of blown up blogs in the morning.
It smells like...victory."


Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "Brett Meyer Answers":

Wow! Did I call that or what? A blog down in a day. Is that a record? Gee, I was hoping to end up like Church Lady, Brett Meyer and bruce-church. Now my chance is gone.

Scott

---

On June 21, 2010, less than 24 hours ago, Scott wrote:

Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "The Gnats Are Swarming Again: Shrinker Drama Queen...":

I think we have another sputterer here! I notice only 1 person has commented, and that person disagreed with him. He has no followers. It was about as lame as the MLC video. I don't think he's long for the blogosphere.

Keep up the good work Church Lady!

***

GJ - Four blogs have been set up to rage against my poor, feeble effort. Four blogs are down hard. All of them have been UOJ and Church Growth.

My secret is using the Sword of the Spirit while they try the heel of their boots.



Ask the DPs To Observe Matthew 18 and the Eighth Commandment





rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Not Apt To Teach":

The Matthew 18 portion of the "8 and 18 switch" always works the first time around on naive and unsuspecting laity. The problem is that the apostate leaders keep using it, no matter what the circumstances. This prompted one member to jokingly refer to it as the favorite Bible chapter at our former congregation. Here is a seemingly strange coincidence. The circuit pastor recommended a face to face meeting with the pastor and a group of concerned members. The pastor refused to attend, just like Deputy Doug. An elder was there, who attempted to make an audio recording of the meeting. That almost set a lynch mob into motion. Fortunately, no blood was shed. Little did any of our members realize at that time that the improper application of Matthew 18 was synod wide and not relegated to just one congregation.

***

GJ - The District Popes all pretend to be be quivery balls of Jello. They are good at feigning shock, timidity, confusion, forgetfulness to the point of senility. They are quite different behind closed doors. Nothing is too low for them to try. Meddle with the congregation? - their right. Demean the pastor? - no problem. Defend false doctrine? - well, it c-a-n be understood properly. Murder, adultery, and embezzlement? - where did you hear that.

Suddenly, the DP awakens from his bout with old age dementia, swallows a couple of Aricepts, and remembers everything wrong with the questioner - back to his conception. The porcine eyes fill with rage as he recounts every sin, real or imaginary, most of them committed against Holy Mother WELS (such as doubting GA). At the end, this Rev. DP asks, "What was your question again?"

WELS is an abusive sect. Get used to it. Those spared the abuse are the false teachers, unionists, murders, and adulterers. Unfortunately for the protected class, being sheltered is just a rocket down to the Inferno.



Brett Meyer Answers





Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Nice To Meat You":

According to the fresh Anonymous blog post the individual is quiting. Giving up and is blaming Pastor Jackson for what he did, "His pattern is similar to that of the devil in this regard: He pokes, prods, and attacks until you lose all sanctified judgment and engage him." "I fell for it. I swore that I wouldn't but I did. It took less than a day. I was a fool for thinking otherwise. I couldn't sleep tonight, so I'm ending it."

I think it's a record, he started a parody blog and before Joe Krohn could become a follower he ended it. I did like the fact that he was using kitteh pictures in his posts.

You know who likes the kittehs Ski? ~ the ladies!

What the Shrinkers Hate: A List Based on Many Years of Publishing




Based on their published comments, the Shrinkers hate:

1. Being quoted.

2. Having their published false doctrine compared to the Dreck of Fuller, Willow Creek, and NorthPoint - their Meccas.

3. Humor.

4. The kitteh photos.

5. Luther quotations.

6. Material from the faithful teachers of Lutheran orthodoxy.

7. Justification by faith.

8. The truth about them, their conferences, their favorite books, their favorite religious leaders.

9. Laity who stand up to them.

10. Criticisms of Pietism and unionism.



Not Apt To Teach




The Matthew 18 excuse, long used by WELS to cover up their crimes against the Word and against their own members, shows the clergy are "not apt to teach." That is a requirement for pastors.

The apostate leaders cleverly demand Matthew 18, and they train the robots at the Sausage Factory to obey these novo-commandments. These wolves do not apply Matthew 18 to themselves. They constantly engage in backbiting to enhance their positions and to protect their fellow felons.

This approach works splendidly to turn false doctrine into synodical dogma, just as Matthew 18 does.

Even if someone is very careful to follow the steps of Matthew 18, the response, "You did it wrong, you black-hearted sinner." That is shared with the entire synod, of course, because of the Matthew 18 escape clause.

So, let us see Matthew 18 in action, even though it does not apply. Ski and Glende were blatantly copying Craig Groeschel in their sermons and proud of it. Glende was going to "save" St. Peter's in Freedom that way. Isn't it funny that the congregation needed to survive after 30 years of the Church Growth Master hisself - Ron Ash, chairman of Church and Change, holder of many synodical titles?

Public false doctrine can be and should be addressed publicly, as Luther taught, and we confess, in the Large Catechism.

False doctrine is not subject to the Matthew 18 rule. Nor does Matthew 18 protect the scandalous lives of criminal pastors.

Using Matthew 18 inappropriately, a group of Northern District WELS people addressed their concerns about false doctrine in a supposed meeting with the District Pope, Deputy Doug Englebrecht.

They had a meeting date set. Oh joy!

They could hash out these problems. WELS triumphant!

But Deputy Doug did not show up. He skipped the meeting and sent a letter. I don't have the letter, but I heard that Doug blamed me.

Can you believe that? He refused to carry out his duties as DP by skipping and blaming me. The district re-elected Doug, who has proven himself "not apt to teach."

For years I have been getting descriptions of the extent of corruption in his district. The facts have not come from pastors but from the laity, who are disgusted with WELS.

Some people think I am rough on the cowards, criminals, and false teachers.

Quoting someone from the distant past, "You serve God your way, and I will serve God His way."

Your way has smoothed the path for apostasy. Church workers can murder without having their names in the synod news. They can run off with millions and flimsy excuses (lies) are broadcast to keep the older people calm. They can turn an allegedly Lutheran group into a discount store for trashy Fuller programs and no one notices.

Your way is working wonders indeed. As I wrote one pastor, "Don't bring a squirt gun to a knife fight."


---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Not Apt To Teach":

The Matthew 18 portion of the "8 and 18 switch" always works the first time around on naive and unsuspecting laity. The problem is that the apostate leaders keep using it, no matter what the circumstances. This prompted one member to jokingly refer to it as the favorite Bible chapter at our former congregation. Here is a seemingly strange coincidence. The circuit pastor recommended a face to face meeting with the pastor and a group of concerned members. The pastor refused to attend, just like Deputy Doug. An elder was there, who attempted to make an audio recording of the meeting. That almost set a lynch mob into motion. Fortunately, no blood was shed. Little did any of our members realize at that time that the improper application of Matthew 18 was synod wide and not relegated to just one congregation.

***

GJ - The Matthew 18 against heresiarch Ted Hartwig did not work. Pastors were told to "mind their own business." I know of pastors who went to Kelm - no difference. The C and C list of WELS pastors begged Kelm to cancel Leonard Sweet. He would not even respond.

I recently sent three certified letters, two to pastors, one to an official. The signed receipts came back. Not one of them responded in any way whatsoever. Previously, an email went unanswered. The matter is not over just because the boys will not answer for their lawbreaking.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Nice To Meat You


WELS Tom Kitteh likes his mice tender-hearted and lily-livered.



Appleton Blogger - A Class Act



Appleton Blogger:
I sincerely ask that you take my posts with a light heart. They are not intended for people who are new to Dr. Jackson or his antics, or people who are just discovering his blog. I know from experience that WELS folks with tender hearts are often sincerely bothered by the extreme lack of even the most basic courtesies encountered there.




***

GJ - The blogger seems unduly interested in vomit and excrement, with a photo of me as a cat sitting on a toilet, as if using it, and then another cat with its head in the toilet. Yes, he writes for the tender-hearted. The cat is labeled "church lady, bruce church, Brett Meyer."


Posted on the Appleton blog.


Here is his riff on vomit: "For Greggy, the show usually consists of puking up a puddle half-truths about people, places and events with clever-yet-degrading nicknames, and then mentioning something about how intelligent he is -- usually relating to one of his degrees. (Greggy takes the WASP accumulation mentality to a new high. More titles = better than you.)"

Needless to say, this is typical juvenile Mequon behavior.

The Appleton blogger has tried to distinguish himself from the person who attacked my deceased daughters on the fake Ichabod blog -

"BTW, Greg. In answer to your speculation, I am not and never have been part of C&C. I'm not the person who made fun of your daughters, either. "

Yet he also writes this for the tender-hearted who like vomit and excrement posts:

"If you are such a person, please refer to the excellently written response-blog listed below:

http://ichabodthegloryisdeparted.blogspot.com"

Who were the first to be followers of the fake Ichabod blog?
Answer - Joe Krohn, the RockNRoll blogger, and Tim Felt-Needs, both ardent Church and Changers who also deny belonging to that perfidious bunch.

Krohn is Don Patterson's buddy, and Tim is the cheerleader for Victory of the Lamb, another movie theater entertainment style venue.

The Church and Changers must have to swear a secret oath that they will deny being Changers whenever asked - or even before they are asked.

Appleton blogger - keep posting. Your cowardice and deceit are on display for all Lutherans to read and admire.

I realize you are committed to entertainment, not the Means of Grace. You are entertaining people. That should not be confused with convincing them.

One person already wrote to the Appleton blogger:

Jack Campbell said... All I know is that advocates of the church growth movement are a lot more ruthless than Pastor Jackson could ever be. If you don't like rock n' roll bands in the chancel and gospel-less sermons you are basically told to "find another church." I have suffered this kind of treatment myself in a 'Shrinker" LCMS congregation. The wannabee Baptists that have wormed their way into positions of power in WELS must be confronted and given a chance to repent of their Reformed enthusiasm!

Let the blogger in Appleton return to his vomit. We await his next revelation from his Father Below:

NIV Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. - Using the NIV for the reading-impaired graduates of Mequon.



The "New" Blogger Is From Appleton, Wisconsin - Capital of WELS Apostasy


Ski and Glende love to attend the Babtist Drive conferences
with six other WELS church workers,
including John Parlow.
Fox Valley is the doctrinal sewer of WELS,
thanks to Witte, Parlow, Kelm, Ash, Ski,
and Deputy Doug Englebrecht.

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "The Gnats Are Swarming Again: Shrinker Drama Queen...":

Hi Dr. Jackson, You can tell you've held the anonymous blogger's attention for a while. He uses the handle Anonymouse with an "e" on the end, and a search on your blog confirmed my recollection that this handle hadn't appeared for a while--since November 16, 2009 to be exact. So he's another satisfied reader that keeps coming back!:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/search?q=anonymouse

http://a-nony-mouse-shrinker.blogspot.com/

***

GJ - The tipsy drama queen is not very bright. I kidded him about his general incompetence - not just in spelling - and soon his comment came through on email, time-stamped the same moment Appleton was glowing in Feedjit.

Do y'all remember when I identified Garland, Texas as a place where regular, hateful comments came from? That stopped soon after.

The lily-livers do not like to be identified. But they do want attention and demand that their deathless prose be published. The (sic) drives them crazy.

Anonymouse has a long history. My key Lutheran friends noticed that he erupted into a tantrum every time I exposed Church and Change. I called him Anonymouse and began using various rodent pictures to depict his skittering about, nameless and soulless.

Mouse is trying to deny his Church and Chicanery credentials, just as Kudu Don Patterson did (before winging it to the latest C and C conference). But alas - Mouse has given himself away by using Shrinker in his title and complaining about my treatment of his Shrinker friends.

David Valleskey, another perennial liar, tried to distinguish between Fuller Seminary and the Fuller School of Evangelism when he denied going there - a distinction without a difference.

Those who understood WELS GA--their secret initiation rite, their only sacrament--also know that shading words is part of the WELS conformist tradition. The District Popes were taught to say, "We are not for Church Growth, but for Church Growth."

Denials from an anonymouse liar, who cannot spell, will not have much credibility.

---

Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "The Gnats Are Swarming Again: Shrinker Drama Queen...":

I think we have another sputterer here! I notice only 1 person has commented, and that person disagreed with him. He has no followers. It was about as lame as the MLC video. I don't think he's long for the blogesphere.

Keep up the good work Church Lady!


Deputy Doug won the election but lost the war.
The Shrinkers support him.
Everyone else knows the truth.
He is not Lutheran - he is WELS.



The Gnats Are Swarming Again:
Shrinker Drama Queen Reveals His Ugliness


Another abused and neglected WELS child has started a blog,
or is it simply the same tipsy drama queen?


I assume this is the fake blogger from before, ashamed to reveal his name. If so, he is the same illiterate person who attacked my deceased daughters - brave, ethical soul that he is.

Here is the link.

He probably wanted to be ignored so he could play the martyr. I think people ought to read his blog.

I wonder what got his goat this time. Surely he realizes what the gay MLC video says about all of his fellow law-breakers.

He rages against using the Internet, which is what he is doing - anonymously.

He raves against photo satires, something he cannot do.

In the name of love, he has to attack people who comment on this blog, including the incredibly polite and deferential WELS Church Lady.

He writes in the style of a WELS church worker:

"Your blog made me decided (sic) that the high road isn't nearly as fun (or easy) as getting down in the muck with the name-callers."

I am glad he is so willing to reveal the nature of the Church and Changers. Some people think they are nice guys because they talk about love and outreach. They are nasty, vituperative, dishonest, greedy, and thick-headed.

The blogger has let on that their nest of vipers has been disturbed by the truth being revealed. Lutherans are laughing at the Church and Changers, too. They are a pathetic bunch: power mad, inarticulate, slow to listen, quick to anger.

One complaint has been heard around WELS - "Whatever topic we look up, the first post is from Ichabod."

I am happy to link the lily-livered blogger for now, if he keeps producing. Previous blogs against me have sputtered and stopped.

Meanwhile, I am waiting for a single Church and Change website or blog to link Ichabod. They will not because they are already frightened of the traffic going here.



Avoid the Seminary Swindle


"Fuller is cheaper and accredited!"



Joseph Schmidt has left a new comment on your post "Lutheran Pastors Getting Swindled":

The cost of seminary education is one of the main reasons I decided not to go into the pastoral ministry. Why pay $40,000 - $50,000 to sit at the feet of professors in love with Reformed doctrine, when I can study Lutheran doctrine at home?


Patterson gave a paper at Mequon on improving seminary education!
More cowbell?




Kelm gave a paper at Mequon on improving seminary education!
More Leonard Sweet?



Lutheran Pastors Getting Swindled





bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Not Legal - More On the WELS Video and Stolen Musi...":

Compare Kieschnick's response to the looming pastor shortage and this Methodist bishop's response to the looming pastor shortage and high seminary debt. Bishop Hayes says set up a fund to repay pastor's student loans in order to get the best and brightest straight out of college, not out of a second career.

Kieschnick just instructs the seminaries to recruit harder, and spends a wad of cash on CG programs that don't work. That halfway solves the problem by shrinking the synod to equal the size of the potential pastor pool.

Unfortunately, Kieschnick and pals spent all the LCMS's spare cash, so the LCMS probably wouldn't be able to make LCMS seminaries less expensive, or repay student loans for a called worker, even if it wanted to.

The WELS situation is different. They recruit anyone with a pulse to be a pastor, but kick them out pronto as needed. No need to worry about getting quality students from the start when DPs can terminate them by certified mail.
-----
Money and the ministry: Methodist leader proposes a solution to seminary debt

by: BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer, Thursday, June 03, 2010
6/3/2010

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100603_18_A9_Bishop6508

excerpt: The average United Methodist seminary student graduates with $40,000 to $45,000 in educational debt and steps into a low-paying job.

Under his plan, the state conference would work directly with seminaries to repay a student's loan.

More than half of United Methodist clergy members are 55 or older, and 95 percent of new clergy members are older than 35, many of them in their second careers, Hayes said.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Not Legal - More On the WELS Video and Stolen Music



Quotes - find your own links. I won't list them.

The Gays: cultural driving force, socially active influencers, Miley Cyrus lovers. This week a guy named David Fudge and six of his apparently homosexual friends (uh, just parroting here) posted a video on YouTube entitled "Party in the FIP" and it's blowing up like whoa. Why? Entertainment value! Never has a Cyrus song, in this case "Party in the USA" been better used, in our estimation.

The video is, as the Times blog MediaDecoder put it, flamboyant. And as we know, flamboyance is bliss to watch.

And the Disney got involved, sort of, and in doing so did something impressive. They left the video alone, except when Rich Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide called Fudge (yeah, we know) to say he enjoyed the video.

Apparently Cyrus herself Tweeted about it as well, saying "I am OBSESSED with this video! Let's make one!"


---

Miley Cyrus' hit song 'Party In The USA' was remade as 'Party In The F.I.P' starring guys dancing on the beach at gay and lesbian resort Fire Island Pines in New York. On Twitter, Miley said she is 'OBSESSED' with this video.

Disney did not seek legal action to have the video removed from YouTube. Creator David Fudge told New York Times: 'I assumed it would be taken down pretty much immediately, particularly because of the music rights issue.'

Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross even called him: Fudge said: 'I was like, who? He just said that he loved it and wanted to tell us that. He was extremely nice.'

---

Mainly we're posting this because it's a Friday afternoon and rainy (at least here in New York). We figure you need some entertainment to launch you into the weekend. But there is a legal angle to this music video. It might have spawned intellectual property litigation , if Disney -- and Miley Cyrus -- didn't have such a good sense of humor. Enjoy! (Feel free to discuss "fair use" issues in the music...

---

Currently, a parody of a Miley Cyrus video is an Internet phenomenon. “Party in the FIP” is a take-off on Cyrus’ hit “Party in the USA,” which is on Hollywood Records, a Walt Disney Company. “FIP” refers to Fire Island Pines, a famously gay New York beach. The video features, in the words of MSNBC host Carlos Watson, “guys dancing on the beach in Speedos.”

In a segment on August 31, Watson said, “It appears that Disney is in on the joke, or at least they’re laughing at it too.” He turned to cohost Kerry Eleveld, of gay publication The Advocate. “What do you think about Disney, who doesn’t always seem to be the most progressive company in the world, seeming not only to be to be okay with it but making phone calls to the creator of it?”

“They might not be incredibly progressive,” Eleveld said, “but they’re smart business people. It never hurts to have gay men on your side.”

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-philbin/2009/08/31/gay-video-parody-miley-cyrus-disney-shrugs-msnbc-applauds#ixzz0rRvL5JTP

The company has apparently figured that out. Disney World theme park in Orlando, Fla. has been hosting “Gay Days” since 1991.And for Disney to wink at the use of tween-idol Cyrus’ material shows just how important the gay market is to the company.

As Reason Magazine’s Jesse Walker wrote in 2000, “In one of the most famous copyright cases of the '70s, it successfully halted sales of Air Pirates Funnies, a risqué underground comic by Dan O'Neill featuring the Disney characters, even though the comic was clearly a Mad-style parody.” Disney was also at the forefront of lobbying for the Bono Act of 1998, which extended U.S. copyright terms by two decades.
---

The video, renamed Party In The F.I.P, centres (sic) around guys having fun at gay and lesbian resort Fire Island Pines in New York, dancing and miming to Cyrus' song.

The singer

admits she's "obsessed with this video," and Disney chiefs, who are usually quick to seek legal recourse against all copyright infringements are reportedly keen to get hold of the man behind the promo, so that he and Cyrus can hook up for publicity.

---

Normally, this would be where Disney steps in with swift legal recourse for copyright infringement, but instead both Cyrus and Disney are eager to find the culprits of the gay dance video – “Party in the F.I.P.” – for publicity.

***

GJ - In brief, stealing music and remixing it is a legal issue. Of course, the burden is on Disney to have a video yanked.

Martin Luther College, owned and operated by WELS, is guilty of breaking the law. They sponsored the video contest, had the video shown to the student body, and did not even ask that the video be taken down - according to the video stars, who lie a lot - part of their training.


---

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Not Legal - More On the WELS Video and Stolen Musi...":

A parody mocks a song or play, but knock-offs just dub the music and insert a new singer(s). The Fair Use Act covers parodies but not knock-offs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody

A parody (pronounced /ˈpærədiː/; also called send-up or spoof), in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation.



***

GJ - The Martin Luther College gay video is not even a parody - it is almost a frame-by-frame copy of Party in the Fire Island Pines. Mike Fudge did not do a Michael Jackson move, but the MLC gays men did. That is the limit of their creativity.

As California wrote, this is just one symptom of much bigger problems.