No Creed But Willow Creek - That Is the Syn Conference Motto

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Henry Eyster Jacobs Explains the Word of God Trump...":

Continuing Education at MLC

Courses in jeopardy

Deadlines for some courses are coming up quickly. Without increased enrollment, the courses below will have to be cancelled. If you are interested, PLEASE ENROLL. A number of courses in the past would not have been cancelled if the “wait ‘n’ see-ers” would have enrolled.

REL 8509 A Closer Look at the Creeds, OL, Sellnow Needed: 3; Currently: 0

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GJ - Show me a WELS pastor who understands the Book of Concord and I will show you an outcast who will never get a "good" call. I hope his present congregation appreciates that fact and his worth to them.

There are some. Not everyone was confirmed with Kuske's catechism.

WELS Prepping for Adoption of NNIV: Professor Moo, Wheaton College Babtist, Helps

Pope John the Malefactor endorses the project, albeit from a distance.

NNIV

 ¹ Adam^[a] made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.^[b] She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth^[c] a man.”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 4:1 Or The man
2. Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
3. Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired

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    ¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[a] sins,^[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 18:15 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verses 21 and 35.
2. Matthew 18:15 Some manuscripts sins against you

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1 Corinthians 10:16 (New International Version, ©2011)

¹⁶ Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

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 http://jaredmoore.exaltchrist.com/2010/11/23/niv-2011-rejected-by-the-council-of-biblical-manhood-womanhood-cbmw/

The Council of Biblical Manhood & Womanhood has released their initial analysis of the 2011 New International Translation of the Bible (NIV 2011).  Although they are complimentary of various improvements in the new NIV over the 2002 TNIV, they still have numerous concerns for much of the same reasons they could not commend the TNIV.  Here is a summary of their response:

So, though we are genuinely thankful for the many positive changes in the new NIV (2011), and though we are deeply appreciative of the very different process by which our friends at the CBT and Zondervan pursued and unveiled this new version, we still cannot commend the new NIV (2011) for most of the same reasons we could not commend the TNIV.  Our initial analysis shows that the new NIV (2011) retains many of the problems that were present in the TNIV, on which it is based, especially with regard to the over 3,600 gender-related problems we previously identified.  In spite of the many good changes made, our initial analysis reveals that a large percentage of our initial concerns still remain.  CBMW will be releasing an exact percentage after we complete our full detailed analysis.  We are also still concerned about the frequent omission of the words, “man,” “brother,” “father,” “son,” and “he.”

No, This Approach Is Not Growing the ELCA Seminaries

Two ELCA seminaries are merging with other entities, so people are debating how and why.

ALPB - George Erdner

The "current turmoil" is the single, biggest, overriding thing taking place in the ELCA. It goes to the survival of the ELCA as an institution. Perhaps you'd like to ignore the rate at which the ELCA is taking on water and sinking and instead would like to blithely discuss how to rearrange the deck chairs as if there is nothing else happening.

As Pastor Keener pointed out to you in another thread, based on an average ELCA congregation size of 440 Baptized Members, the ELCA lost enough individual people to make 1,361 congregations since 2001. As I pointed out to you, it has lost or is in the process of losing over 550 congregations since the 2009 CWA, and the pace of new votes is showing no signs of abating. As large congregations lose members to the point where they are forced to reduce the number of pastors they have called, and smaller ones are going to have to learn to make do with only a part-time pastor who supports himself as a tent maker, the ELCA's need for new pastors is going to be diminished.

In light of that, what can anyone make of any suggestion that the ELCA seminaries should crank out even more unemployable graduates with student loan millstones around their necks and no congregations for them to find a call that can pay them enough to pay off that debt? In light of the reductions in available positions for ordained pastors to be called to vocational specialties where they can earn a living, is it good stewardship or good churchmanship to spread the over-optimistic rumors that common sense indicates are probably little more than wishful thinking?

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More from George Erdner

For the record, the ELCA has lost congregations with a combined total of 276,300 since the August 2009 CWA. That figure does not include the thousands of people who were in the "losing majority" of congregations that voted to stay who started 168 new congregations in the LCMC, NALC, and other Lutheran Church bodies. Nor does it count the people who left ELCA congregations to join already existing congregations in the LC-MS, AALC, ALFC, and all of the other alternative Lutheran Church bodies.

The ELCA lost 600,000 members between 2001 and 2009, before the effects of the errant vote at the August 2009 CWA were felt.

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Scott Yakimow:
FWIW, our local congregation has gained former ELCA members while the 2 local ELCA congregations remain in the ELCA.  I.e., that loss shows up on no statistics re: lay departures.  Neat folks, too.  Again, FWIW.

George Erdner:
What it is worth, though anecdotal, is a great deal. Multiply that times every LC-MS, LCMC, WELS, AFLC, and every other Lutheran church body out there, and you end up with a lot of people who will remain listed on the ELCA's membership statistics, but who aren't really in the ELCA any more.

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GJ - Erdner has been keeping track of ELCA defections. He drives the ELCA loyalists crazy by pointing out basic facts. The loyalists come back with the latest talking points, such as "Missouri is suffering losses too, without the gay agenda issue." But ELCA has people running out of the doors, screaming and starting new entities. The numbers are already staggering.

Take note, Ichabodians. WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie have been studying and worshiping with ELCA for decades, doing all kinds of joint work with them, all planned at the NoTell Conference Center, funded by Thrivent, blessed by their Father Below.

The so-called conservatives have learned to mimic the worst of ELCA: controlling and eliminating the dissenters, indulging in institutional suicide, wasting vast sums of money.

Hymn Video from Necessary Roughness

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GJ - WELS members may not watch this or sing along. CLC (sic) members may, as long as they deny they were watching it. They can say, for example, "I just wanted to find out what Satan was up to."

ELS members may hum along, because their canon lawyers have determined that humming is not the same as singing.

Promoting Sanity - Another Feature of Ichabod

LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Henry Eyster Jacobs Explains the Word of God Trump...":

These kind of posts keep me sane...

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GJ - I was thinking of several laity at once, not to mention some pastors. A scholar is not someone with a lot of degrees. The word scholar comes from the Greek term for leisure.

A true scholar uses his spare time to pursue learning. Many PhDs are not scholars. They rest on their diplomas and never do any original research. Most MDivs avoid scholarship, because learning creates turmoil and the cross. Nevertheless, some pastors are genuine scholars, and some help with this blog.

The Lutheran sects devote most of their energy to controlling people and parishes, keeping up appearances. They want their pastors and laity to be robotic cows that can be milked and finally slaughtered when convenient.

The synod suck-ups shun me, so they save me the time and energy involved in shunning them. Their behavior is udderly predictable (see above paragraph). No wonder they listen with awe and wonder to Dr. Moo excusing the NNIV porno-feminist Bible.

If a pastor or layman questions the latest idiocy of the sect (such as the NNIV), the individual is bullied and ridiculed if flattery does not work. Principled objection is countered with excommunication. In WELS, it begins with secret probation, when all comments and associations are scrutinized and recorded. Next is double secret probation, when friends stop talking or act surprised that said iconoclast is still breathing or showing up at church events. The last step is expulsion, accompanied by abuse of all family members and friends.

The Wisconsin sect and ELCA also punish congregations for opposing them in any way.

"Now he is on double secret probation."

Richard Gurgle Proves My Assertion

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Henry Eyster Jacobs Explains the Word of God Trump...":

"They teach their boys to worship Holy Mother Synod. No matter which sect they belong to, theirs is the best, the greatest, and the most perfect. The others are pitiful, even though they are remarkably similar in abusing people and teaching false doctrine."

Obtained a copy of the spring 2011 WELS Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, a publication of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Can you feel the love from reviewer Richard Gurgel of the LCMS' revision of Walther's Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible?

"...this reviewer had one concern. Especially in the front matter (biography of Walther, etc.), it is his impression that there was a strong reticence to say anything that would reflect poorly on Walther.... this reader was at times uneasy by what he felt bordered on the worship of men.... Along with the tendency to place Walther on a pedestal, at times in both front matter and elsewhere, this reviewer detected a related spirit of boasting about Lutheran orthodoxy. Those reading this book from other denominations might get the impression that the Lutheran church's nose is up in the air..."

So, this is "Holy Mother Synod worship" on both sides. On WELS' side with Gurgel's condescending comments re Walther and "Lutheran orthodoxy," and on the other side, if Gurgel's critique is correct.

Can the WLQ ever review something from the LCMS without some kind of "yeah, but" in it?

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GJ - No, they cannot avoid the "yeah, but," which they probably consider polite. The normal anecdote has all Missouri pastors as idiots. One theme is Missouri giving up their preps (just as WELS is doing now). Another theme is Missouri going easy on the Biblical languages (which WELS began with the Mary Lou College takeover of NWC).

WLQ has led WELS into the adoration of the Church Growth Movement. Wendland and Valleskey began the dishonest betrayal of Lutheran doctrine. Panning helped with his "the jury is still out" comment. That is simply too funny, given that the LCMS and WELS leadership studied together at Fuller Seminary.

Paul McCain says no one should believe Walther kidnapped children because the descendant of Bishop Stephan is a lesbian. All Cretans and synod suck-ups are liars, but orientation is not definitive proof of dishonesty. Either it happened or it did not happen.

Likewise, Stephan was known for being caught with women in the middle of the night, long before he led his pilgrims to Perry County. That could get a man shot in modern St. Louis. Back then it was especially notorious. Yet Walther swore life-long allegiance to Bishop Stephan - before being shocked to learn the man was a serial womanizer. Suddenly, Walther the disciple drove out Bishop Stephan.

Henry Eyster Jacobs Explains the Word of God Trumping a Seminary Degree

"Holy Scripture carries with it its own evidence of its divine source and authority. While the historical evidence of its claims is to be gratefully cherished, and affords the proof of highest probability, Holy Scripture speaks with absolute certainty to those to whom it portrays the deepest secrets of their hearts, and whose felt wants it completely supplies. The inner testimony of the Spirit is the strongest and most convincing of all arguments. The fact that this is always at hand and universally applicable, raises it above all arguments that depend upon the researches of the learned. Here is an argument that the humblest and most unlettered apprehend with no less force than the profoundest of scholars."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, The Elements of Religion, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1997, p. 28.

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GJ - This quotation explains why so many laity run circles around the clergy in Biblical knowledge and understanding. The clergy--especially the mediocre students--like to claim an MDiv as proof that they know more. Here Jacobs shows why the the power lies in the Word and not in the sheepskin.

An abusive priest-sect like WELS is always eager to bully the laity into submission, based on their descent from Mount Sausage Factory and their official positions in one of the fastest dying cults in the Western hemisphere. The CLC (sic) is racing it to the bottom.

I feel real sorrow for people like the attorney from St. Peter, Freedom. He knows the truth from the Word of God, but he is ordered to play by a set of rules that do not apply to the clergy, the Circuit Pastor or the Doctrinal Pussycat. The SP is working on it - give him another 30 years or so.

Here is the great shame of the Syn Conference seminaries. They teach their boys to worship Holy Mother Synod. No matter which sect they belong to, theirs is the best, the greatest, and the most perfect. The others are pitiful, even though they are remarkably similar in abusing people and teaching false doctrine.

The LCA had the same triumphalistic attitude. They took their superiority right into a black hole of rapid decline on all fronts.

When laity try to get the clergy to deal with justification by faith, they are ridiculed and intimidated. Luther explained this well - the apostles were not spared, nor was the Son of God. The cross is painful because it is the cross, not a temporary annoyance.

The cross is God's gracious plan, to purify our faith, to deepen our trust in His Word - not in human institutions. In Luther's day, the Catholic Church was the only Christian entity. The pope had spiritual and earthly power over his subjects. Clinging to the Word meant abandoning all the securities and verities of life. It is better today in many ways, but the feeling of jumping off the cliff is similar.

Those who trust in human institutions quickly adapt to the fad of the day, from Bible translations to various movements. They juggled the Word of God and impress themselves with their clever arguments, fed to them via the official synod talking points.

In contrast, those who place the Word of God above all will resist the fads and movements of the moment. They are taught by the Holy Spirit in the Word, not by wolves beating them with sheepskins.

Make Some Books Available at the Emmaus Syn Conference Conference

Brett Meyer will be our official delegate to the pan-Lutheran Emmaus Conference, May 5-6. The theme is "Be polite."

I can send him copies of Justification for $10. If you want extra copies to be available to those attending, send a check to:

Pastor Gregory Jackson
1 Silden Lane
Bella Vista, AR 72715.

Individual books and free downloads can be obtained from Lulu.com here. The PDF downloads are free.

Those who want 5 or more copies can get them through me at a reduced price.

I have recently been called Johnny-One-Note (by a Missouri pastor) for emphasizing justification by faith. I may have touched on some other topics in 6000 posts, but obviously one topic is grating to UOJ fans.

Likewise, one WELS pastor said the differences were minor and not worth arguing about. If that is so, then why have the UOJ Stormtroopers declared war on justification by faith for the last 80 years or so?

Inflate the Hours To Inflate the Salaries

bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "ELCA Can Learn from the LCMS System":

Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines only wants 111 credit hours for an M Div, and that's 26 fewer than Ft. Wayne wants, and 28 fewer than Concordia St. Louis wants. St. Catharines is much less expensive, too:

Academics
http://www.brocku.ca/concordiaseminary/academics.php

excerpt: Program Requirements - M. Div.:
Successful completion of 111 semester hours...

How Do You Like the Doctrinal Graphics?

Rev. Sallie and Pastor Sleazy have been given a divine call to be Planned Giving Counselors.

I have fun with satirical graphics, like the one above.

My favorites are the doctrinal graphics, based on the best quotations in Megatron, my ready-to-go database.

Let me know what you think of them. I may do a few with false doctrine, too, because we remember better with the words illustrated by a picture.

My aim is not to deliver great quotations, as such, although they deserve to be memorized. More importantly, the laity and pastors need to do their own studies. Some have said they began or renewed their study of the Book of Concord because of Ichabod. I am happy if only one person thinks that way.

I will still be reporting on apostasy. The Fox Valley bunch is pretty boring - utterly predictable. The entire district is a festering pool of gangrene, as predicted by the Word of God.

The leadership in WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect is appalling. But their salaries and perks depend on the consent of the governed. They are voted into office and paid in part with offering money. Who knows how much they get from Thrivent, Schwan, and the dead. Facts and figures are elusive.

The situation continues, not because the Doctrinal Pussycats are so bad - and they are - but because everyone makes excuses:

1. The SP does not have any power. Boo hoo.
   
2. The DP does not have any power. Boo hoo.
   
3. The CP is bossed by the DP and has no power. Boo hoo.
   
4. I am just a pastor and have no power. Boo hoo.
   
5. I am just a layman and have no power. Boo hoo.

The Word has power. The excuses above show that those who use them are not Lutherans and not faithful to the revealed, inspired, efficacious Word of God.

A Stone Thrown into a Pond

"The preaching of this message may be likened to a stone thrown into the water, producing ripples which circle outward from it, the waves rolling always on and on, one driving the other, till they come to the shore. Although the center becomes quiet, the waves do not rest, but move forward. So it is with the preaching of the Word. It was begun by the apostles, and it constantly goes forward, is pushed on farther and farther by the preachers, driven hither and thither into the world, yet always being made known to those who never heard it before, although it be arrested in the midst of its course and is condemned as heresy."

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 202. Ascension Day Mark 16:14-20.

Tell It Not in Gath

WELS Fox Valley Circuit, 2017

Theodore Schmauk Is Not Quoted in ELCA - But Luther Is Not Quoted in Any Synod Today

Augustana College gave Theodore Schauk an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for his great scholarship.

This sentence completes his brilliant statement in the graphic above.

The Purity of the Word and Its Effect

Johann Gerhard was a prolific orthodox author, letter writer, and father. He was not a Book of Concord author but worked with Martin Chemnitz as co-author of the gigantic Harmonia. I recall that he wrote around 10,000 letters, not to mention more theological works than anyone can imagine.

ELCA Can Learn from the LCMS System

bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Second ELCA Seminary To Merge, WELS and Missouri C...":

The ELCA needs to learn and implement the LCMS solution to keeping two seminaries with bloated faculties open with a minimum of M Div students. First, have alternative routes to the ministry to gain a sufficient number of paying students, and second, demand a minimum of 137 or 139 credit hours for a M.Div, and raise the tuition and fees to the same as that of prestigious schools like Yale Seminary. As it is now, PLTS only demands a paltry 90 hours, only 18 more credit hours than the 72 the accrediting agency demands for a MDiv. Also, make sure not to tell the alternative route students that they are probably doing enough coursework that they could obtain a MDiv if they had attended other seminaries:

Pacific Lutheran Theological School Handbook:
www.plts.edu/docs/student_handbook.pdf

excerpt: The MDiv degree program consists of 90 credit hours of academic courses.

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GJ - Famed plagiarist and former Concordia St. Louis prez Johnson told me, "A Missouri degree is not worth much outside the Missouri Synod." He had a ThD from Missouri (like Scaer) and earned a PhD from St. Louis U.

Any seminary degree is almost worthless in the job market. An academic version of the MDiv (for example, at Yale) can get someone into top PhD program in various disciplines.

An MDiv from Mequon means the potential doctoral student will need to take a year of make-up classes, the way John (Sparky) Brenner did, before being allowed into a state university program.

Try not to smile when a Sausage Factory graduate brags about his superior education. No one else seems to agree.

The Word of God Is Always Effective

Second ELCA Seminary To Merge, WELS and Missouri Continue as Bedmates with ELCA

ALPB

April 22, 2011

Dear Bishops and Associates in our Supporting Synods:

I’m writing to you, our close friends and partners in the synods of regions 1 and 2, to tell you about collaborative ventures under consideration at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.  I’d like to reassure you that there are no plans for PLTS to move. I’d also like to get ahead of the curve on rumors which are bound to be circulating and to solicit your help in giving your people good information.

At the PLTS board meeting in November 2010, we celebrated five consecutive years of solvency and the repayment of previous borrowing from the endowment. We also realized that we would be facing a deficit in the current fiscal year and would need to make staff reductions in order to balance the budget for next year.  We are in that painful process right now.   We are facing reduced income from our faithful synods and churchwide organization and downward enrollment trends in all our seminaries. We know we need a long term strategy that is going to contain costs and enable us to serve our constituencies with quality theological education that is more flexible and accessible.  We have been encouraged by an ELCA task force to explore options for collaboration with ecumenical partners and with Lutheran colleges and universities up to and including merger.  Here are two kinds of collaboration that are currently being explored.


    * We are in conversation with two of our partner schools within the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) about coordinating our academic programs and sharing faculty.  The strongest expression of that consolidation would be for the three schools to form a single faculty with a common dean.  We would develop a common core of classes, provide denominationally specific classes, and continue to give our students access to the wide variety of classes from the 9 seminaries in the GTU.  The schools would each retain their separate identity, denominational relations, traditional constituencies and governance.  Our active partners in this discussion are Pacific School of Religion (PSR) and Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP).  Other GTU schools might join in this closer collaboration.



    * We are also in conversation with the Lutheran university in our region, California Lutheran University (CLU) about a closer relationship. One possible result of these conversations is a merger in which PLTS would become the school of theology or “divinity school” of CLU.   At this point, all of these discussions assume that PLTS would stay in its present location and retain its invaluable relationships within the GTU.  We have been following closely the movement of Lutheran Southern Theological Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina, toward a likely merger with Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina.  In this case, both schools will retain their locations.  We see possibilities here for economies of scale, delivery of educational programs on both campuses, and new joint-programs emerging out of the enriched resources of the two schools.


We are very excited about the possibilities of both these options and do not see them as mutually exclusive.  We are very grateful for the generous, creative and cooperative spirit of our partners. Nothing is decided, but we are hopeful.  At its April 28-30 meeting, the PLTS board will be discerning whether either or both of these possibilities should be taken to the next step, that is, from discovery to negotiation.  We will keep you updated from time to time along the way.  We hope to have a lot more clarity by this time next year.

We welcome your questions, suggestions, concerns, encouragement, and prayers.  We are living in very auspicious times when patterns for the life of the church and its treasured institutions will be adapting to new circumstances.  We are all learning to thrive in new ways.

Peace,

Phyllis Anderson
President

Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
2770 Marin Ave, Berkeley, CA 94708
TEL: 510-559-2710
FAX: 510-524-2408
www.plts.edu

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Within the space of a few months, PLTS now joins Southern in looking to merge, one path to join California Lutheran University (similar to Southern joining with Lenoir-Rhyne), while the other path is much murkier. Should the choice be to merge with the Graduate Theogical Union,  PSR is the seminary which has offered "Seeing the Goddess  in Worship" and seeking the "Divine Feminine within a Lesbian Context" as summer courses.

I received this as an alum of PLTS.

And so the aftershocks of CWA 2009 [ELCA convention] continue. Of course, it is all the economy, I am sure.....

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Southern Seminary News

Seminary and Lenoir-Rhyne University Plan to Unite

March 29, 2011

COLUMBIA, SC – Planning is under way for Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) to unite with Lenoir-Rhyne University (LRU), a Lutheran liberal arts university in Hickory, N.C., according to the Rev. Dr. Marcus Miller, seminary president. Under the proposal, the seminary will become the university's school of theology. It will continue to operate in Columbia, S.C., and remain a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). 

The plan for union emerged following a study into the feasibility of partnerships between the two institutions. "This opportunity to be a part of Lenoir-Rhyne University enhances the seminary's ability to fulfill its mission to the church," said Dr. Miller.  "The seminary understands that to meet the needs of the church in today's environment we must create innovative solutions that are sustainable and effective.  The partnership will allow the seminary to develop a new and more effective administrative model, make theological education more accessible for a greater number of people, and will allow the seminary in Columbia to continue its historic tradition of preparing women and men for ministry in the church."
The boards of trustees of each institution, at their spring 2011 meetings, affirmed the intent to pursue a merger after hearing the report of the partnership feasibility study authorized in the fall of 2010.   The committee to study the feasibility of stronger partnerships consisted of senior leadership at the two institutions.

"We are fortunate that both of these institutions are excelling in their respective areas and because of this we are able to enter into this agreement," said Dr. Wayne Powell, LRU president.

"Throughout the feasibility study, conversations were rich and fruitful.  The seminary appreciates the high quality of the Lenoir-Rhyne program and the seminary welcomes the affirmation we have received from the university.  We believe this alignment will strengthen the mission of both schools," said Miller.
The trustees also approved a preliminary timeline for completion of the merger.  Beginning in the Summer of 2011, the two institutions will identify areas where they can combine operations to become more efficient and effective.  As part of this process, LRU and LTSS will initially begin to combine their administrative responsibilities and operations in enrollment management, financial aid, and advancement.  These will occur through management contracts or enhanced partnerships within the existing seminary structure.  In March of 2012, the trustees of each school will receive a final recommendation for an agreement and plan to merge LTSS into LRU as its school of theology, with the earliest possible effective date for a completed merger being in the Summer of 2012.

"There is still a lot of work to be done before this process can be finalized," said Miller. "We are diligently studying every aspect of the seminary, from budget and personnel needs, to accreditation and ecclesiastical requirements.  From what we know right now, we believe we can work through all of the details and be prepared to move forward by this time next year."
The trustees of both institutions will be briefed regularly and the applicable accrediting bodies (the Association of Theological Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools), as well as the ELCA churchwide organization and Synods of Region 9 of the ELCA, will continue to be engaged and consulted [bullied into submission] throughout the process. Supporting synods of the ELCA for LTSS are the Virginia Synod, North Carolina Synod, South Carolina Synod, Southeastern Synod, Florida-Bahamas Synod, and Caribbean Synod.

Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, founded in 1830, is located in Columbia, S.C.  One of eight seminaries of the ELCA, the seminary offers graduate and post-graduate degrees to men and women from many Christian denominations and traditions.  

Established in 1891, Lenoir-Rhyne University is a private, coeducational university located in Hickory, N.C. It is affiliated with the N.C. Synod of the ELCA and is open to students from all religious backgrounds seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees.

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GJ - As I wrote before, Mary Lou College has made itself irrelevant--oh, the irony--by becoming a Willow Creek campus. Once WELS cut support for schools from 50% of the budget to 25%, tuition had to zoom upwards. State schools are cheaper and offer useful degrees.

The Wisconsin and Little Norwegian sects do not need three little colleges within a day's drive, so they will not have them in the future. One campus could easily provide everything needed.

The enormous investment in buildings at all three locations will be seen as Schwan's Folly, because the ELS will no longer exist in 20 years (their study). WELS may continue a little longer, but not much.

Thus the two sects have repeated what the Church of Rome does so well. They sold indulgences to Schwan, and those indulgence bought them buildings to glorify Marvin's name. After Vatican II, Rome was left with an enormous surplus of irrelevant, expensive buildings, which they rented out hither and yon to help pay the expenses. Willowcreek's Little College was a Roman Catholic school. Prairie was a Roman Catholic school backed by the Kennedy mob. Concordia Mequon was a Catholic school.

The Church Growth revolution in WELS/ELS has done more damage to them than Vatican II did to Romanism. Vatican II was quite conservative, but the Catholic Left used it to promote and support their agenda.

WELS-ELS-LCMS: all three are just pathetic imitators of Rome. No wonder pastors escape for the Real Thing - the Church of Rome Herself. They already worship Holy Mother Church, they only need to find the ultimate example.

Zorro Has Uncovered a Significant Factoid about UOJ, So Listen Up

I happened upon this reference in G.C. Knapp in working through Heick's "A History of Christian Thought." It occurs in Book Four, The Disintegration of Confessional Theology; chapter seven, German Rationalism; section head, The Theologians of Rationalism. The page reference is 128.


"Frequently all the theologians of this period have been thought of being as one stripe. This is not quite correct. Two main schools of thought can be distinguished among them: the Supernaturalists and the Rationalists proper. The former exerted a kind of restraining influence in the earlier period of the Enlightenment; they marked the transition from Orthodoxy and pietism to rationalism...Relying on Kant's axiom that pure reason cannot establish religious truth, the second group of Supernaturalists emphasized that reason cannot deny the claims of Christianity. Among the proponents of this view were F.V. Reinhard at Wittemberg and Dresden (d. 1812) and G.C. Knapp at Halle (d. 1825). They labored to prove by rational means the possibility, necessity, and reality of the content of supernatural revelation. Truth was to be proved by Scripture. The idea was that Scripture, not reason, was to decide in matter of religion; but reason establishes what the teaching of Scripture is."

The rationalizing tendency sticks close to pietistic outbreaks, most notably in the argument that we can hinder the divine operation of the Holy Spirit working through the Word by our human foibles. From there, it is a quick jump to we are responsible for relative success or failure in the empirical growth of church organizations. Very rational.

Z

Franchise Owners Are Not Really Owners, Just Working for the Franchise If They Remain Robotic

AC V has left a new comment on your post "The Priesthood of All Believers":

Thought for the day. Luther defines ordination as "calling to and entrusting with the office of the ministry" (LW 38:197). As I understand, there was a time when a pastor was ordained in a service or at the graduation service at the Seminary. He was then installed at the first parish he was called to and subsequent calls of service, whether in the parish or some other field of service of the Word in the Church. This practice, it seems to me, upholds the idea of AC XIV that insists pastors must be "rightly called" (Latin: rite vocatus). AC XIV does not refer to a call from a congregation therefore as much as it declares that pastors must be both "regularly called" by the church and "ritually called" through the rite of ordination.

The practice today in WELS is to ordain and install a pastor at his first call. At subsequent calls he is simply installed. This practice of virtually equating ordination with installation dilutes the importance of AC XIV.

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GJ - The graduates of The Sausage Factory are allowed to buy a franchise in WELS, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Family Enterprises, which also owns and manages the Little Sect.
Said graduates invest many years and many thousands in earning their license to do business in WELS.

A franchisee runs his own business but he can be kicked out at any moment.

Suggesting that the Book of Concord relates to the Wisconsin Sect's pastoral business is invidious and harmful. The Book of Concord has nothing to do with the WELS or ELS, or - they have nothing to do with it.

Faith Is That My Whole Heart Takes To Itself This Treasure

AC V has left a new comment on your post "The Gospel Teaches Justification by Faith":

concordiarocks, I think Luther sums it up well:

"It is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things. But the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested. Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our hearts to believe and say: I, too, am one of those who are to have this treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying: Dear Father, if it is Thy will to show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom, then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do what pleases Thee. Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes, does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the Holy Spirit came...."

- Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 279. Pentecost Sunday. John 14:23-31.

Faith--And Nothing Else--Justifies

Those Who Deny That Faith Justifies

The Gospel Teaches Justification by Faith

Rules Against Unionism Are Easy To Create, Even Easier To Ignore

Confessional Lutheran Theology Does Not Tolerate Weasel Words

Pastor Steve Spencer asked me to comment on his upcoming sermons, to be posted on the Intrepid blog.

Brett Meyer commented already, and I posted it. I wanted to go over the sermon, line by line, before I said anything. Since the sermon is published, I do not need to sit down with Steve, hold his hand, and tell him his sins (Matthew 18).

First of all, I am extremely disappointed that the Intrepids vowed to unite against Church and Change, but devoted most of their energies to teaching against justification by faith. Rydecki began by reversing himself, within hours. Lindee caviled and joined the retreat. Jay Webber should be renamed Blister, because he always shows up after the work is done.

Their blog has been eager to republish the non-Lutheran opinions of the UOJ circle of favored authors: Zorn, Kretzmann, etc. They carefully avoid the real issues.

Spencer's sermon reminded me of the one written by Kretzmann. The favorite slogans were muted but present. As they once said about Paul and emancipation, "UOJ trembled on their lips but was not spoken."

Here is the critical paragraph from Spencer:

Yes, according the Bible Christ had to rise again. The Victor over death could not remain a prisoner of death. Peter told the Jews, "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the FACT!" (Ac. 3:15) God did this because He was pleased with the Son's work on earth on behalf of all people. And through Jesus' resurrection God made known His divine pleasure. "Christ was raised for our justification," Paul tells us. (Ro. 4:25) We know that God has totally forgiven all our sins. Therefore, by our faith, given to us through the Means of Grace – the Gospel in Word and Sacrament – Christ's resurrection assures us that our religion, which preaches Jesus' resurrection, brings to us sinners victory over death. We do indeed have the "sure and certain" hope of everlasting life!

The partial citation of Romans 4 is dishonest, especially because the verse has been used fraudulently ever since the 1932 Brief Statement to prop up universal absolution. There is nothing wrong with the passage, so why is it truncated and used as a UOJ motto?

KJV Romans 4:22 And therefore it [faith] was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

The ending of Romans 4, an entire chapter about Abraham being justified by faith, transitions into this classic statement:

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Quoting Spencer again - "God has totally forgiven all our sins."

Our is ambiguous. All the sins of believers, or all the sins of the world? The statement is double-minded. UOJ fans will say "of the world," but the Bible teaches "of believers." One must reject UOJ to teach justification by faith; one excludes the other.

As Reu noted, using a statement two ways at once is one sign of unionism.

The treatment of the efficacy of the Word is lacking, although there is a passing mention of the Means of Grace, one which is also ambiguous, taking its clue from Jon Buchholz, who wants to eat his cake and still have it. Everyone is forgiven, according to DP Jon, so people need the Means of Grace to tell them this.

The UOJ fanatics merge and confuse atonement and justification.

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LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Confessional Lutheran Theology Does Not Tolerate W...":

Much worse they teach a Gospel separating the Spirit from the Word and the Means of Grace. I know this as I was told that my sins were forgiven before I was born. I ask you then...for what good was my baptism?

Intrepids Attack Justification-by-Faith Rather Than Church and Change.They Fight Without Courage and Run Without Shame

The Intrepids are preaching the false gospel of UOJ again. This time Pastor Spencer is teaching, in complete harmony with the false teaching of UOJ, that Christ did not die for the sin of unbelief. He teaches that no one in the whole world will ever go to Hell because of their sin. They only go to Hell if they die guilty of the unforgivable sin of unbelief.

Intrepid Pastor Steven Spencer:
Christ's resurrection assures us of the truth of our religion in His victory over death, and it also assures us of the victory of our religion over this evil world. Christ is the savior of the world, that is, He has covered the sins of all people of all time, yes, even those who reject Him. No one goes to hell because of their sins. Those that go to hell do so because of their unbelief. This is why He commanded that His Gospel be preached to everyone everywhere until the end of time. There is no reason for anyone to be damned. All sins have been paid for. All can be saved. But the true and beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ must touch them so that the Holy Spirit can do His work and turn their hearts to faith and salvation.
http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2011/04/festival-of-christs-resurrection-sermon.html

There are clear and Scripturally faithful responses to the public false teaching of Pastor Spencer.

First, Pastor Spencer declares, "No one goes to hell because of their sins." In Scripture Christ rejects this teaching when He declares in John 8:24, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." Romans 14:23, "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." And, here in Mark 4:12, "That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them." Contrary to the false gospel of UOJ those who do not have faith in Christ are not forgiven of their sin and dying in this condition they stand judged by God for their sins and are condemned to Hell.

Second, Pastor Spencer declares, "Those that go to hell do so because of their unbelief." So Intrepid UOJ Pastor Spencer teaches that Christ didn't pay for the sin of unbelief. He teaches that all other sins Christ died, paid for and forgave but not the sin of unbelief. Yet, the whole world, Pastor Spencer included, was born in unbelief! Outside of the Means of Grace working contrition and faith all men are guilty of the sin of unbelief. So is unbelief the unforgivable sin as UOJ teaches? No. Christ declares in Romans 11:23, "And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again." UOJ perverts the Scriptures and Christ's atonement, God's righteousness, man's sin and teaches another gospel.

In contrast to the false teaching of UOJ, Christ died and paid for the sins of the whole world, yet, He is only our propitiation through faith in His blood worked graciously by the Holy Ghost through the Means of Grace in Word and Sacrament. Through faith in Christ an individual instantaneously dies to sin, is raised as Christ was to live under God's grace, has Christ's righteousness and the forgiveness of all sins, including the sin of unbelief, is declared justified and has salvation that comes from the forgiveness of sins. All this He bestows to those He has called through righteousness of faith.

Yet, UOJ and it's advocates continue to teach that the whole world was justified, forgiven of all sins, before and without faith in Christ worked by the Means of Grace.
BOC: 6] Let any one of the adversaries come forth and tell us when remission of sins takes place. O good God, what darkness there is! They doubt whether it is in attrition or in contrition that remission of sins occurs. And if it occurs on account of contrition, what need is there of absolution, what does the power of the keys effect, if sins have been already remitted?…" http://www.bookofconcord.org/defense_10_repentance.php

ELCA Pastor Appointed at Valpo To Work with LCMS Pastor

Planet of the Apes, Episode IX, The Nightmare Continues

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 21, 2011
Valparaiso University Appoints ELCA Pastors to Campus Ministry Roles
11-059-JB
     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Valparaiso (Ind.) University has appointed the Rev. Charlene R. Cox as university pastor.
     Cox, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was appointed this week and will join the staff of the Chapel of the Resurrection in mid-July, according to the university.
     Last month, the university appointed the Rev. Brian T. Johnson, also an ELCA pastor, to the new position of executive director of campus ministries. Johnson will join the Valparaiso University staff June 6.
     Both Cox and Johnson have extensive experience in campus ministry.
     Cox will succeed the Rev. Darlene E. Grega, who pioneered the role of ELCA ministry leadership at the university. Grega died in April 2010. The Rev. Phyllis N. Kersten, Forest Park, Ill., has served as interim pastor during the 2010-2011 academic year.
     "Part of what drew me to Valpo (Valparaiso University) is that Valpo is trying to model how to do something different," Cox said. "After hearing President Mark Heckler's concept that we must move beyond hospitality and embrace a table large and wide and fully include all voices in faith and the search for truth, I'm very excited to be a part of an institution and academic community with such a central focus."
     Cox will work collaboratively in chapel ministry alongside the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod university pastor, the Rev. James Wetzstein, and the chapel staff.
     For the past two years, Cox has served as campus pastor at Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa, one of 26 ELCA colleges and universities. From 2004 to 2009, Cox was campus pastor at Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa, formerly of the ELCA. She was campus pastor for University Lutheran Ministry at Illinois State University, Normal, from 1997 to 2000. She also served ELCA congregations in Bellevue, Wash.; Richland, Wash.; and Brooten, Minn.
     Johnson has served 15 years as campus chaplain and as artistic director of "Christmas in Christ Chapel" at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn. He is widely recognized for his work in enhancing worship, music and the arts.
     Previously, he was chaplain at the Lutheran/Episcopal campus ministry at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, pastor of St. James Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, and chaplain at United Hospital, St. Paul, Minn.

Enthusiasm versusThe Means of Grace

Adam and Eve Were the First Enthusiasts

Ethusiasm, The Old Dragon