Attendance at Koine Event - The Service of Woofer and Speaker

http://www.koinemusic.com/schedule/eventdetail/2615/-/the-400-block

This event:

Friday, August 15, 2014, 06:30pm
The 400 Block
Concert
401 Third Street, Wausau, WI 54403

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2014.Luke 16:1-9

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn # 628            Shepherd of Tender Youth               3:74

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #283            God’s Word               3:90

The Correct Use of God's Gifts

The Communion Hymn # 175            When I                        3:93

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 50                    Lord Dismiss Us                3:86

KJV 1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Ninth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast bountifully given us Thy blessing and our daily bread: We beseech Thee, preserve us from covetousness, and so quicken our hearts that we willingly share Thy blessed gifts with our needy brethren; that we may be found faithful stewards of Thy gifts, and abide in Thy grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall come before Thy judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Correct Use of God's Gifts

 KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 

"A certain rich man" - this is a parable

God has given each one of us certain gifts to get us through life, but also as believers to serve Him and His Kingdom. We have a tendency to envy what we do not have, and we are easily made jealous when we see someone who has similar but perhaps greater talents. If they are not greater, they may be praised and recognized when they are ordinary or even inferior, which also bothers us.

God created us and others that way, and we can see the wisdom when groups of people form to get a job done. It is said that 100 people can create a working village, even when picked at random, because the talents will be scattered among them so that they will have everything they need.

This rich man had a large estate therefore a steward or manager. The term steward is used for someone who has the responsibility of the owner but not the ultimate power. The estate does not belong to him, but he should run it as if it is while keeping in mind the will of the owner.

But this steward wasted the goods of the owner in this parable. We can imagine all kinds of things, such as speculation, poor planning, laziness, inattention to detail. The others could tell what needed to be done, but the opposite happened, which was very costly.

For instance, planting spinach in hot weather - as I did - will result in insect-eaten tough plants that do not taste good. The seed is wasted, except spinach makes good green manure when left to rot in the soil, covered up.

2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

There is a certain amount of humor in this, because we can imagine the steward being called into the main office to be questioned and fired. The calling may be a personal messenger sent to him, with this precise communication: 1) Prepare the accounts. 2) You are fired.

As Luther observed, this is the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward. We are not to imitate his unrighteous deeds but emulate his cleverness, employed for the right reasons.

This is clearly aimed at the way believers lead their lives. We are managers of what belongs to God. The Word is His and not ours. He has prospered us so we can live in peace and share with others. If we squander the talents and resources, we are unworthy.

God gives us so many opportunities. Each day is filled with ways in which we can teach or share God's Word in some fashion. Like gardeners, we do a little and see the vast multiplying effects of God's abundance. Kindly gestures lead to more of the same. As Judith Durham sings, "Treat the world kindly and be worthy of grace. Remember one day you'll see God face to face."

Helping someone in the work of the Kingdom is going to be honored by God. "Whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these will receive his reward." A cup of water is not much, but it feels so good at the time. It is the mark of hospitality among Mexicans, to offer water and to drink it. Yesterday our neighbors offered me something to drink and had a cold root beer. They said, "Free for neighbors" at their yard sale, but I went for my coins in the car, 100 feet away. I said, "Thank you for extending credit to me when I was hot and thirsty from walking with Sassy." The daughters grinned at me.

Publishing projects lead to poorly paid church workers being paid for their help in various parts of producing a book. People do not know where the gifts came from and the donors do not know, but they are appreciated.

I remember one time when Bethany needed $20 for the fuel bill, and a check arrived for that amount. We could have paid for the bill, but the thought meant a lot.

One person said this when others turned away his effort to give, "Don't take away my blessing." As we get older it is more easily felt - It is more blessed to give than to receive.

3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 

This is both funny and unnerving for a parable. He is too weak to dig and too proud to beg, so his answer is to cheat the owner out of his receivables. ?But this illustrates the way of the world. Unbelievers get tossed from their ability to earn money, so they quickly devise another way. Many times they are not honest pursuits, but no one lacks for ingenunity in this regard. Every single person is good at self-preservation.

This plan will allow the unrighteous steward to have employment in the estates of those he favors in his hour of necessity.

5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

This is what alarms people and preachers, too. Why should we imitate him? He is reducing the bill owed to the owner so these fellow crooks will employ him, due to their savings. This shows that he does something rather than just worrying about his fate. He has confidence, but his confidence is in the wrong things.

 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 

This is even harder to understand at first, because the lord of the estate commends his unrighteous steward for being so clever. However, this makes sense if we look at the word "unrighteous". The owner admired the steward for creating a deal, and that is not uncommon in business. If a bill is too large, even if deserved, it is cut back to retain a customer. If the goods were delivered late or in bad condition, the goods may be doubled or deeply discounted. I ended up with a lot of earthworms because the first shipment was delayed. That made me want to order from Uncle Jim again, and I recommended his little laborers to one of our readers, who bought them. The cost of goods is not as high as the loss of good customers who may talk loud and long about a bad deal.

The dishonesty is not commended but the cleverness in this parable. This shows the genius of Jesus' teaching, because this parable is impossible to understand for unbelievers and very difficult for believers. We have to study it anew each year to keep the lessons in mind.

for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light

The unbelievers seem to have all the street sense. They are very good at taking care of their business while the believers are wasting the resources God has given them.

I was thinking of the denominations starting a new mission with $1 million, with a great focus on the right plot of land, debt to the denomination, and all the old methods of starting a mission when it was relatively cheap and easy to do.  The social media age has shown that congregations can be formed on the Net and sustained for very little money. Many businesses and books are started that way - by unbelievers. Some call it crowd-sourcing. But the leaders are stuck in the 1950s.

9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

The conclusion is another head-scratcher, until it is explained. 

Luther wrote:
This is truly a Gospel for priests and monks, and will bring them money, unless we prevent it. Before entering upon the consideration of it, we must accustom ourselves to the language used, especially the word mammon.

The Jews were acquainted with this word from the Hebrew, and it has come down to us, just like other Hebrew words, as Halleluja, Amen, Kyrie eleison. In German mammon means riches, not simply riches, but a superfluity of riches, whatever is beyond our needs. However, that which is called mammon and that which is not called mammon are distinguished in a twofold way. First, if the estimate be according to that of our Lord God and of the truth, there are many who possess mammon. But if the estimate be that of the world and of man’s mind, there are few who possess it. For our leaders in thought have taught in the high schools and even from the pulpit, that everyone should see to his station in life, what he needs, and adjust his possessions accordingly. If he be a man with wife and children, he needs more, for where many persons are there much will be needed.

2. In the second place they have taught that one is not bound to help, except in cases of the greatest need. Such teaching entirely overthrows the Gospel, so that no one has been helpful to another; but they have in the meantime built churches; and yet in doing so they did not even wait for the greatest need, until the arches were rent asunder and churches became roofless, but they gave to great excess, spreading their gold upon the walls.

To sum up the whole matter, mammon properly means, that a man has more than he needs for his support, so that he can help others without injuring himself.

3. Hence the Lord calls it “The mammon of unrighteousness,” because it is daily made use of by the wicked; as it is said: riches develop courage, and the heathen have also called it irritamenta malorum, riches tempt to evil.

Again St. Paul says, 1 Timothy 6:10: “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil,” whence cometh strife, pride, war and bloodshed.

Therefore it is also called here the unrighteous mammon, because it is applied to such evil uses, and is a great cause of evil to men.

20. Now one thought remains: How will they receive us into the eternal tabernacles, as the text here says? Will they lead us in by the hand? No, but when we come before the judgment seat of God, poor persons whom we have assisted here, will stand in heaven and say: he has washed my feet, he gave me drink, food, clothing and the like. He will certainly be my friend and a witness of my faith, whatever words he may use to declare it. Then a beggar will be more useful to me than St. Peter or St. Paul, for there none of these can help. But when a beggar comes and says: My God, this he has done unto me as thy child! that will help me, for God will say: Whatsoever you have done unto these, you have done unto me. Therefore these poor people will not be our helpers but our witnesses so that God shall receive us. By this I would not object to your honoring St. Peter and other saints, for he is a member of Christ and of God. But you do better by giving your neighbor a penny, than by building a church of gold for St. Peter. For to help your neighbor is commanded, but it is not commanded to build a church to St. Peter. Now everything is twisted the wrong way, one goes to a certain passage in St. James, another to Aix-la-Chapelle, another to Rome, to seek help from the departed saints. But the poor people, who are the real sainthood, are left behind lying in the streets.

Making friends means to act kindly toward others so that when we reach eternal life, they will speak up for us and welcome us to heaven. The families of many ministers, missionaries, and teachers will say, "This individual gave us what we needed, just in the nick of time." Or - "This one showed kindness when everyone else was shunning us." Or - "She babysat our child so we could have some rest from her terminal illness. And she said she often wanted just a little rest herself with young children, and no one was there. Instead of getting even for what was not done, she made things better for us."

And these kindnesses multiply in various ways. Because some ministries continue, more hear the Gospel, and the mustard seed becomes a vast tree where many are sheltered.

I just read that Genghis Kahn has about 25 million descendants in Asia, because he had so many concubines. A believer has the same potential, because the Word of God is multiplied among many people who also multiply it, especially today.

Our daily classroom has 4,000 views, doubtless because many people expand the reach through their use of social media. As I told my wife Chris, if 50 people send one post to their 100 best friends, 5,000 people have the chance to read it. There is no way to measure the ultimate reach of the Word.

Luther:
13. The Scriptures in some passages speak of the outward conduct, and in others of the inner. Now if you will apply that which is said of the outward to the heart and confuse matters, you pervert it and do wrong. Hence you must let the distinction remain, and observe it. These expressions: I have been hungry, thirsty, shelterless, naked, sick and in prison, and you have shown me no work of mercy, refer to the external conduct, and signify as much as: you have never exhibited any outward conduct by which you have shown your faith; and to prove this, I appeal to the poor as witnesses.Therefore, faith alone must be present first to make us good, after that good works must follow to prove our piety. This now is one point, namely, concerning works. 

Harvested Beans Yesterday

Our fence garden is now a riot of vines and blooms. I picked a large handful of beans for Mrs. Ichabod. Several things will provide a daily supply. When I harvest them, they tend to bloom and produce again. Secondly, I planted them at three different times. Finally, I keep them watered, since rainstorms are over-promised in Springdale.

Many gourds are forming now. The flowers close up when they begin to produce. The dried flower turns into a tiny gourd, then quickly changes over to a hanging gourd acquiring the colors of a mature gourd.

The roses for today's service are exquisite. Some slow-growing hybrid teas are producing mature blooms, with a wide range of colors. Pruning has made them grow taller, so the big purple rose was reaching five feet tall when I cut the stem for our non-gardening neighbor.

I published a listing of WELS blogs, which prove that the sect is reaping what has been sown for decades. The weed seeds have created a lush, sterile, and dying garden of woes. They need some gardeners and Creationists at their headquarters.

One borage plant has six flowering heads like this.

WELS Blogs and Links List

Shattered Pulpit - Posts the author's first-hand accounts of being sexually abused by a WELS pastor.

Polluted WELS - Publishes often about the severe problems in WELS.

Intrepid Lutherans - Publishes lengthy and thoughtful posts about the state of the Wisconsin Eveangelical Lutheran Synod.

Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed - Provides occasional typos so the apostates can avoid dealing with justification by faith; clergy plagiarism, rape, molestation, and porn file swapping; false doctrine; synodical theft of property; abuse of pastors, misuse of offering funds; rich and adulterous synod heroes.

WELS Discussions Facebook Page - Features regular discussions about WELS topics, with a wide variety of contributors, from the thoughtful to the robotic.

This is a meme.

Confessional Lutheran Memes Facebook Page - Specializes in memes that provoke discussion about doctrinal topics and worship.

Luther is being re-buried by the "conservative" Lutherans.

End the WELS/ELS Abuse - Share The Shattered Pulpit Blog with Others

One of Many Examples of Abuse in WELS

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Lies & Deception

These relationships are often built on secrets, gradually creating a situation where the abuse may become sexual. The woman should not be made to feel that her conversations with the pastor are “just between the two of them” and not for discussion with her spouse, friend, etc. Offending Pastors will use this secrecy as a way to draw you in, to exclude others and to avoid accountability. 

He told me frequently that my husband didn’t care about me the way he did so don’t tell him about the counseling sessions; I should trust him instead because he would never "hurt" me the way my husband did. He wanted to show me how to "feel good" and confided that when he was stressed he used porn to make himself feel better, therefore, he knew it would also help me. He was SO controlled and consumed by his porn addictions, I think he actually believed that to be true. In his mind, he really thought he was helping me feel good. That was very early on and how the pornography initially started.

When he graduated from Seminary, this was probably the furthest thing from his mind. But over the years, he became hooked and porn took on a life of it's own. It wasn't long before it was the driving force in life. Everything centered around pornography. This is why it's important to me to share my story - so people see first-hand how it escalates and what happens if it's ignored.

It was so subtle when it started that it wouldn't even be considered pornographic material. It would be a fully clothed woman in a sexy and a some-what revealing outfit and he would say, "Isn't she pretty" or "I find her attractive". Looking back now, because it was so gradual, I think it dulled my reaction also. If he, or any man, had shown me an x-rated photo out of the blue I would have been shocked and appalled. But this was so gradual, that it must have dulled my senses along the way because by the time the extreme photos came, it wasn't a leap at all...it was just another picture. I didn't even think to report it because I had become so accustomed to them. I guess that makes me equally to blame.

That is how much of this happened. It was so gradual and the steps were so minimal that I didn't even recognize them half the time. Would I have recognized things sooner if I hadn't been in the situation that I was in at home? I have asked myself that a million times. I don't know. His porn addiction was extremely powerful making him relentless in his quest but what if I had been at a stronger point in my life? Even now, I kick myself and second guess myself for not saying "no" more forcefully. I was weak, depressed, exhausted, and a pushover. I wish I had been stronger. Maybe I could have stopped it.

He pressured me to make “excuses” and sneak out late in the evenings. I hated being pressured to lie to my family to go meet him. I tried to make excuses on why I couldn’t, but I couldn’t endure the relentless pressure so I would give in. I was emotionally exhausted from dealing with things at home, that when he pressured me to lie; I didn’t have the strength to keep saying no over and over again trying to resist. I knew he would not give up till I agreed to meet him. 

I remember the very first time I went out to meet him, which also happened to be the first time I knew, without a doubt, things crossed the line. It was about 11:00pm at night and he was still working at his church office alone. He pushed and pushed and pushed for me to come over. It was relentless. I kept making excuses that I wouldn't be able to get away without my family wondering why I was going out so late. But it was so relentless and even though I didn't want to, and felt so guilty doing it, I found myself going because I was drained from the non-stop pressure and just wanted to make it stop. It was late. I was tired. And I drove to his office just to make it stop. BIG mistake. Worst ever. 

I don't know how I could have been so stupid. Why didn't I try and hold out longer saying that I couldn't go. Maybe he would have eventually given up. But he was driven with such force by the  porn that I don't know if he even could have stopped pressuring me. I really don't. It seemed to consume his every waking breath. I firmly believe that he was driven more by pornography than the bible.  

After that, it didn’t take long before everything around us was centered on secrets. We had secret codes on the computer, on text messages, on email, in person. Everything was in code and secret.

My entire life and existence was one giant secret with lie on top of lie to cover up what was happening. And the guilt… the guilt was unbearable along with the tremendous shame I felt. I was a nervous wreck and suicide was even more of a constant thought now because of the unbearable hopelessness. I had nowhere to turn. I didn’t know who I could trust or what would happen if I told someone. Who would they believe...the pastor or me? Not knowing the answer to that question and the ever-present fear was enough to keep me silent. However, the longer I kept silent and kept the secrets the more it escalated until I no longer even felt human. I was an object going through the motions of life.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Secrecy and Multiple Women

Eventually, I realized that I was trapped for good unless something drastic happened -  obviously no one was ever going to question why or recognize the red flags. I was too afraid to say anything. And, he kept escalating which killed more of my soul. I was completely alone - thinking I must be the "cause" of this "holy man of God" falling from grace and going against the vows he took with his wife. That feeling of shame topped off with guilt kept me silent, helpless, and extremely suicidal. During the day I lived in shame and at night I dreamed of death - that was my life.

The verbal manipulation was always there for me to keep the secret making me feel even more ashamed. The guilt trip was unbearable. He knew exactly what to say, how to say it, and when to say it to make me do exactly what he wanted. He had me in utter fear of saying anything to anyone. I can't even find the words to express how intense the guilt trip was.

In most cases this secrecy opens the door for multiple relationships with several parishioners at once. It is unlikely that a perpetrator will have just one victim. In Paul Rutter’s book, "Sex in the Forbidden Zone, when Men in Power … Betray Women’s Trust", Dr. Rutter states that conservatively there are at least three victims to one perpetrator; though he infers there are probably more. 

I eventually learned of other women. There was another woman that he was also counseling where physical contact took place. She told a friend of mine, who asked me what to do about it. It was ironic because neither of them knew it was also happening to me (I never told them either). And little did they know that they were asking one of the most depressed messed-up women in the city for advice.  

I knew immediately her story was a 100% true because there were several key phrases that she said he told her that were almost verbatim what he had told me. My heart sunk. Confusion filled me to the breaking point and was more than I could tolerate. He had always told me that I was the only one and it only happened because: "He couldn't help it". "He had needs". "He was addicted to pornography and more". But then how do you explain the second woman and the third? It made no sense to me. My heart filled with the realization that I was just an object to him. I felt non-human. By now though, there was no one I trusted in the church anymore so I had no where to turn and started to self implode while my fear continued to keep me silent.
 I also remember another incident in the church office, when I happened to be there, and he told a very sexually explicit joke in front of a female church employee. I could see her cringe with feeling awkward and not knowing how to respond. He laughed at his own joke and I could see her blushing with embarrassment. I remember the entire incident like it was yesterday because it was one of the most awkward and embarrassing moments that I have ever witnessed. 

As things escalated with me, so did his boldness with other women. He kept wanting more. With each level of escalation, however, it would never stay at that level for long. He would stay at that level for awhile but soon that wasn't enough and he would be wanting more. He started encouraging me to “invite” women he found attractive to join his committees. I hated that and dragged my feet trying to avoid it; but he was always right there with the pressure and the guilt trip and that I needed to help him because he had addictions. He was controlled by his addictions. I was controlled by him. And God was no where to be found.

Why Is Plagiarism Encouraged at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary? Perhaps Because the Faculty Has Slavishly Copied Fuller Seminary

Football Players at Notre Dame Investigated for Plagiarism

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Four Notre Dame players, including two starters, will not be allowed to participate in football activities as the university continues an internal investigation into academic misconduct, the school announced Friday.

Notre Dame said in a statement that there was "evidence that students had submitted papers and homework that had been written for them by others." That evidence was reported to the athletics compliance office on July 29, and an immediate investigation was launched. The NCAA was notified Friday.

The group of players includes KeiVarae Russell, the team's best cornerback, leading returning receiver DaVaris Daniels, and defensive end Ishaq Williams, expected to be a key contributor on the line.

More at the link above.

The Chief Article Remains - In Spite of the Apostate Lutherans

They do not agree about clergy collars,
but all three oppose justification by faith.
Carl Braaten of ELCA agrees with them.

I was reading What Luther Says, II, p. 702ff - about justification. I will copy it here.

The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our conscience before God. Without this article the world is utter death and darkness. No error is so mean, so clumsy, and so outworn as not to be supremely pleasing to human reason and to seduce us if we are without the knowledge and the contemplation of this article.
What Luther Says, ed. Plass, 3 vols, II, p. 703. W 39, 1, 205.

The article on which the Church stands or falls:
We don’t have record of Luther using the exact phrase, but very close: quia isto articulo stante stat Ecclesia, ruente ruit Ecclesia—“Because if this article [of justification] stands, the church stands; if this article collapses, the church collapses.” (WA 40/3.352.3) [Source: Alister McGrath] - The Gospel Coalition

Does Luther always mean justification by faith, never without faith?
John teaches mainly the sublime and chief article of our Christian faith: believing in Christ. Because of this article we are called Christians. Besides this, we do not find many sermons on the Ten Commandments in this Gospel. Rather it is his greatest task to establish well the sublime article of the righteousness of faith and to impress it deeply on the people. For there is no danger when this article remains pure and unadulterated and stands firmly. But when it is overthrown, we are lost and are no better than Jews, heathen, Tartars, and Turks, aye, we are as bad as the papists. For this reason, because he so diligently teaches this chief article, the evangelist John deserves to be highly praised.
What Luther Says, ed. Plass, 3 vols, II, p. 702. W 33, 82. E 57, 298. SL 7, 2252.

Lutherans manage to write volumes about worship while ignoring justification by faith. They get fussy about Holy Communion and the sacraments without articulating the purpose - justification by faith. They publish many volumes about preaching but avoid justification by faith.

Polluted WELS began a discussion about justification by faith versus UOJ, but abandoned the thread.

We do not require Luther to see that the purpose of the Bible is to teach justification by faith in Christ. But it is good that we have as our putative teacher one who understood the entire Bible as a whole. If Luther actually taught the Lutherans today, the results would be different. But they have McGavran, Wagner, Driscoll, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, and the rest as their beloved faculty.

They could rely on the Holy Spirit teaching through the Word, but they have their spreadsheets and metrics. Let them read them.

Past the Tipping Point

I wonder how often people sing the Huss hymn quoted above. The melody is unusually beautiful. When people sing it, they should think of Huss burned at the stake to preserve the truth in the face of corruption. His own clergy condemned and killed him.

Below is the Huss monument in Prague, which was a symbol of freedom during Communism's reign in Czechoslovakia.

People have contacted me recently. Some have new information. Others wonder what is happening in Lutherdom.

When someone posted one of my graphics on Facebook, the demons from WELS Hell began screaming in pain. One person initially asked what my Bethel Bible style picture meant. That was an opportunity for a new series of personal attacks from WELS. That is how they responded when Corky K. criticized Church Growth, when their former seminary president objected to NWC closing. In other words, they use standard slander campaigns which do not spare their own leaders who depart from the Fuller agenda. The trained seals still bark in unison at any threat, as they were trained to do throughout the schooling system.

I was happy to jump in and answer them. Various WELS people have told me about their eyes being opened by this blog. I could add details, but I will leave it at that. I see many indications that the sect has passed the tipping point and will be taking on a new identity, not unlike ELCA and The Episcopalian denominations, which seemed immune to the abuse until they fell apart.

Here are some of the recent WELS reactions, which tell me how badly the Jeske tribe is hurting. They are just like the bullies who sob and run home to mommy when their victims finally stand up to them. I lost track of the drunken tirades emailed to me or phoned in. "Where do you get all your information?" one screamed. I said, "From your own pastors." He howled in rage and slammed the phone down - back before cell phones.

No one reads Ichabod. Yesterday, there were 4,100 views - a new definition of "no one." Live by metrics, die by metrics, WELS Shrinkers. The total views are well past 3 million. If the blog did not matter, as these apostates pray, then the name Ichabod would never come up.
These are just old articles copied from the Net. The all-time list has a Churchmouse article, the Chesterton donkey poem, and a news story about Catholics. But that is one goal, to make people aware of news and other bloggers. The other seven are mine - so where does this fantasy come from (posted in Polluted, anonymousely, of course)?
I make up everything and list no sources. When I received a spreadsheet from WELS headquarters, I did not name my source or copy and paste the Excel tables. I used the material as background, many years ago. As readers know, I copy and paste what I find from bragging websites and link them. I do both because those pages disappear as soon as I quote them. That is how many things from

• Issues in WELS, 
• Cyberbrethren,
• Rogue Lutheran,
• SpenerQuest,
• Church and Change, 
• The CORE, 
• Facebook discussions,
• St. Peter in Freedom, 
• and other sites 

came to be preserved. My idea is - read the documents for yourselves. Make up your own mind.

The rote recitals of the same talking points tell me that these people are parroting what their handlers tell them to think and say. They have read almost nothing, perhaps just enough to build a head of steam. As the Earl of Oxford wrote, "A little pot is soon hot."

Why does Jeff Schone at Martin Luther College know what is on Ichabod? He reads it to find leakers and anyone daring to post a comment. Why do MLC officials hide the list of speakers for their Evangelism Day (Church and Change promotion)? One of their female ministers got dis-invited when her name came out. Don't worry, she will be preaching from the pulpit soon enough.

Nothing changes. Mark-and-Avoid Jeske mistakenly published his preening, bragging websty early - promoting his latest pan-religious venture, which runs the gamut from A to B: Napoleon Hill and metrics. No reaction? District President Jon Buchholz bailed out of the Jeske Mystical Experience immediately, explaining his sudden change of heart to various people who inquired about his state of mind. Is there any character left in his dry, dusty soul? Someone said Buchholz is so hated in his district that a little push from Schroeder would have given them a new, awful DP - possibly even worse than the last two or three. They have a deep bench out there. I laughed at the thought of wolves becoming disloyal to one another.

You are a fanatic about UOJ. I am sick and tired of both sides. Isn't that amusing. A soi-disant believer is nauseated and disgusted by doctrinal discussion! At least they reveal there are two sides instead of saying there really is agreement, a harmony destroyed by the evil Justification by Faith people. The avoidance of the Real Issue continues to amaze me. They write endlessly about worship trivial without addressing the fact that self-described experts like Jay Webber oppose the Gospel. There is no other way to put it. As long as people continue to avoid Justification by Faith as the Chief Article, I will lay that cross on their trembling, weak, shirking, and lazy shoulders.

Your disciples. Your lapdogs. I welcome the insults aimed at me. They are a litmus paper disclosing the caustic nature of the writers. The pious of WELS deny I am a pastor, a Lutheran, a worthwhile person. They say they will crawl through the mud (or through various pubs) to teach the Gospel, perhaps to collect mud to throw at people who alarm them. But - be warned. You Wormtongues are antagonizing your potential allies by denying them intelligence, spiritual discernment, and the ability to think on their own. That is not very persuasive. These alleged disciples see the wreckage caused by the Jeske-Valleskey faction and find no growth, no fruit, no blessings. They may read even more Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz from this point on.

Here is a Martin Luther College student,
consoled by Holy Mother Sect
and a nice, new car from mom and pop.