Unionism Defined by WELS Leader Carl Lawrenz

Remodeled Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Chapel
Carl Lawrenz, who served as president of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, said that no surer sign of unionism was "sitting at the feet of false teachers."

President Lawrenz might wonder today why WELS leaders sit at the feet of such luminaries as C. Peter Wagner (Pentecostal Baptist), Leonard Sweet (Liberal Methodist), and Martin Marty (ELCA). WELS used the LCMS tolerance of Martin Marty, who was then LCMS, to break fellowship with the Missouri Synod.

Why would WELS leaders sit at the feet of Rev. Bill Hybels, whose Willow Creek Community Church inspired Dan Kelm's Divine Savior Seeker Services and Paul Kelm's experiments in DePere?

Prickly WELS pastors howl that Hybels is not their leader, since he is not a rostered member of that sect's clergy. WELS clergy condemn themselves with their own words. They despise Luther's doctrine but love Hybels' non-doctrine.

Pete Wagner Fans - But Why?
"For several years I've been a Pete Wagner fan. Although I don't see eye to eye with him on many important theological points (he approves of faith healing and speaking in tongues as long as it promotes church growth and he comes from a Billy Graham decision for conversion doctrinal background), he is the most eloquent spokesman of the Church Growth Movement. A prolific author on mission/evangelism/church growth subjects, Wagner is also an excellent teacher and a crystal clear writer."
Reuel J. Schulz, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980.

"Read these books and you might become a Wagner fan too."
Reuel J. Schulz, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980.

Wisconsin Seminary President Valleskey, Pete Wagner Fan
"So, what should the members of St. John evangelism committee do with [C. Peter Wagner's] Your Church Can Grow?...They can probably pick up a few helpful hints. They might, for example, appreciate research which provides an insight into the way unchurched people think."
Prof. David Valleskey, "The Church Growth Movement, Just Gathering People or Building the Church?" The Northwestern Lutheran, May 5, 1991, p. 185.

"2. The distinction between a witness and an evangelist. a. Some are evangelists (Eph. 4:11-12) 1) C. Peter Wagner: 'The average church can realistically expect that approximately 10 per cent of its active adult members will have been given the gift of evangelist' ("Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow," Glendale: Gospel Light, 1979, p. 176)...3) but don't expect everyone to have that gift - Wagner (op. cit.): 'It is a misunderstanding of biblical teaching, in my opinion, to try to convince every Christian that he or she has to be sharing the faith constantly as a part of their duty to the Master."
Prof. David J. Valleskey, Class Notes, The Theology and Practice of Evangelism, PT 358A p. 51. [GJ - WELS got into spiritual gift inventories, too. Fuller influence?]

Another Pete Wagner Fan
"In the words of C. Peter Wagner, Professor of Missions at the Fuller School of World Missions, Jesus at Bangkok was the 'prototype of an ideal social attitude,' the 'man for others' whose resurrection and lordship meant no more than that others should be inspired by His example."
Ernst H. Wendland, "Missiology--and the Two Billion," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, January, 1974 71, p. 11f.

Church Growth Principles, Overlooked by Hybels
"Church Growth Principles. Worldwide truths which, when properly applied, along with other principles, contribute significantly to the growth of the church."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

Pete Wagner: "I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with the church-growth principles we've developed, or the evangelistic techniques we're using. Yet somehow they don't seem to work."
Ken Sidey, "Church Growth Fine Tunes Its Formulas," Christianity Today, June 24, 1991, p. 47.

Pete Wagner's Pentecostalism
"The crudest extravagances of revivalism (Methodism, Pentecostalism, Holy Rollerism) have their root in this specifically Reformed doctrine of the immediate working of the Holy Spirit." [Fuller Seminary is known for its Pentecostal extremism, including C. Peter Wagner's "Signs and Wonders" course.]
"Grace, Means of," The Concordia Cyclopedia, L. Fuerbringer, Th. Engelder, P. E. Kretzmann, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1927, p. 299.

"These two lists give us two general categories of signs of the kingdom: Category A: Social signs or signs applied to a general class of people. These include (1) preaching good news to the poor, (2) proclaiming release to the captives, (3) liberating the oppressed, and (4) instituting the Year of Jubilee ('acceptable year of the Lord'). Category B: Personal signs or signs applied to specific individuals. These include (1) restoring sight to blind people, (2) casting out demons and evil spirits, (3) healing sick people, (4) making lame people walk, (5) cleansing lepers, (6) restoring hearing to deaf people, and (7) raising the dead."
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 16.

Snakes Are Pete Wagner Fans, Too
"The preacher, in fact, was a fascinating combination of eloquent and illiterate (by his own testimony). In the services I saw fervent singing, joyous clapping of hands, dancing in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, testimonies, prophecies, preaching of the Word, and as a climax the handling of deadly poisonous snakes and drinking of strychnine. I discussed this with several members of the congregation. When I asked why they handled snakes they replied, simply, 'Because Jesus told us to do it as a sign.' Another sign of the kingdom." [Footnote - See C. Peter Wagner, What Are We Missing?, formerly Look Out, The Pentecostals Are Coming, Carol Stream: Creation House, 1973, 1978.]
C. Peter Wagner, Church Growth and the Whole Gospel, New York: Harper and Row, 1981, p. 23. [GJ - Whole Gospel means Pentecostalism.]

"C. Peter Wagner is the Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth at the Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Missions in Pasadena, California. The School of World Mission became a part of Fuller Seminary in 1965 when Donald McGavran, father of the Church Growth Movement, moved his nonacademinc Institute of Church Growth to Pasadena from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. Since that time, Fuller Seminary has been the institutional base for the Church Growth Movement, first in its global expression and later in its North American expression."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271. pete

"Wagner invited McGavran to team teach with him, and the course was a success. Among its students was Win Arn, who almost immediately stepped out in faith and established the Institute for American Church Grwoth, also located in Pasadena. Both Wagner and McGavran were members of the founding board of directors. Arn has given brilliant leadership to the Institute for American Church Growth and ranks as the premier communicator of the Church Growth Movement in North America."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271f.

"Recognizing the need for professional church growth consultation, in 1975 he [C. Peter Wagner] invited John Wimber to become the founding director of what is now the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth. Wimber got the Institute off to an excellent start, then left to become the founding pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim and Vineyard Ministries Internation... Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Regal, 1979) is approaching the 100,000 mark... Church Growth and the Whole Gospel (Harper and Row, 1981) is a scholarly discussion of criticisms of the Church Growth Movement from the viewpoint of social ethics, in which Wagner did his doctoral work."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 271f. pete

"Wagner was instrumental in the organization of the North American Society for Church Growth, and became its founding president in 1984. In the same year he was honored by Fuller Seminary with the Donald A. McGavran Chair of Church Growth."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 273.

"In January of 1982, he [Wimber] taught a course at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he is an adjunct professor, called 'Signs, Wonders, and Church Growth.' Wimber taught this course for four years and it became one of the most popular courses at Fuller."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 275.

"Body Evangelism. A perspective which emphasizes the goal of evangelism as making disciples who are incorporated into the body of Christ, the result of which is church growth."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 283.

"Church Growth Eyes. A characteristic of Christians who have achieved an ability to see the possibilities for growth and to apply appropriate strategies to gain maximum results for Christ and the Church."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 284.

"Discerning the Body. Seeing a local church or a denomination as it really is and obtaining and analyzing information about it and its members."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 287.

"Felt Need. Describes the conscious wants and desires of a person; considered to be an opportunity for Christian response which stimulates within the person a receptivity to the gospel."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290. [GJ - Paul Kelm and Norm Berg promoted Felt Needs. Fuller influence? Berg studied there too.]

"Fluxuating Receptivity. The responsiveness of individuals and groups waxes and wanes due to the Spirit's peculiar activity in the hearts of people."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 290. [GJ - This is a blatant rejection of the Holy Spirit working through the Means of Grace, but WELS leaders have embraced the receptivity axis in print.]

"Life Style Evangelism. Role modeling by Christians so that non-Christians will identify with the life of Christ in the believer as well as the gospel message, and will better hear the message. This approach to evangelism is rooted in theology and sociology."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 293. [GJ - Paul Kelm endorsed a pan-Lutheran Life Style Evangelism confab. Quoting Kelm from the brochure was tantamount to slandering him, according to Frosty Bivens, another Fuller disciple.]

"Soil Testing. An evangelistic strategy that seeks out those people who are open to receiving the gospel at the present time." [Note the Mark Braun NWL article about the sower and the seed, employing this soil testing concept.]
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 300. [GJ - This rejection of the Parable of the Sower was endorsed by The Northwestern Lutheran.]

"Winnable People. Those who are considered receptive to the gospel; those who will respond. See HARVEST PRINCIPLE; RESISTANCE-RECEPTIVITY AXIS."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 302.

"Church Growth consultants also draw from the social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, social psychology, psychology, educational psychology, instructional technology, communications, organizational development, management, and marketing."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Chapter: "Church Growth Consultation," by Carl F. George, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 160.

"Church growth consultation began at the Charles E. Fuller Institute in 1975, when it was still called Fuller Evangelistic Association, under C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber. I took over from Wimber in 1978."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Chapter: "Church Growth Consultation," by Carl F. George, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 159. [GJ - WELS church consultants are trained at Fuller Seminary and stil promote this garbage.]

Occultist Cho - Peter Wagner Fan
"CHURCH GROWTH. FIND OUT WHAT REALLY WORKS! Attend the 11th annual Church Growth International Conference. Hosted by Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho. Speakers Include: Dr's Jack Hayford and Peter Wagner...Discover why some churches grow and others don't...Find fellowship and worship with hundreds of pastors and church leaders from around the world." Church Growth International 1990 mailing.

"A second example of this homogenization is Waldo J. Werning's Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, published by Moody Press in 1977." [Ed. note: The foreword is by C. Peter Wagner. Werning studied at Fuller.] "Werning is a Missouri Synod Lutheran executive. Although Werning's denominational publishing house did not publish his book, it is nevertheless an attempt by Werning to create an instrument for church growth among Missouri Synod Lutherans. If you read Werning, you can readily see that he is exceedingly eclectic, drawing from everywhere, including his own tradition."
Delos Miles, Church Growth, A Mighty River, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981, p. 33f. [GJ - A mighty river became Willow Creek.]

Win Arn, Pete Wagner Fan
Winfield C. Arn: "To acquire more expertise in Church Growth thinking, I visited the School of World Mission and Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary. When I inquired concering resources and materials for American Church Growth, I found that Dr. Donald McGavran and C. Peter Wagner were team-teaching a course applying world principles of Church Growth to the American scene. I immediately became a part of that group. As I listened and learned, I realized here was the effective approach to evangelism for which I had been searching. In those hours, I experienced my third birth--'conversion' to Church Growth thinking."
Donald A. McGavran and Winfield C. Arn, Ten Steps for Church Growth, New York: Harper and Row, 1977, p. 12.

"Not only does John Vaughan describe these large churches with fascinating detail, but he also analyzes them with church-growth eyes." [Foreword by C. Peter Wagner; book dedicated to Elmer L. Towns and C. Peter Wagner]
John N. Vaughan, The World's Twenty Largest Churches, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984, p. 12.

"Some 15 years ago, Peter Wagner's equation read 'Cells + Congregation + Celebration = Church.'"
Ken Sidey, "Church Growth Fine Tunes Its Formulas," Christianity Today, June 24, 1991, p. 46. [GJ - WELS and Missouri started cell groups with febrile intensity.]

Church Growth Eyes Are Blind to the Gospel
"Pastors and lay persons trained in Church Growth are leading Christians to discover their spiritual gifts. They are looking into the Scripture and discovering those verses in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 where some of the gifts are listed." [See C. Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow, 1979, "a discussion of gifts which relates specifically to the potential of mobilizing God's people for church growth," p. 33.]
Kent R. Hunter, Launching Growth in the Local Congregation, A Workbook for Focusing Church Growth Eyes, Detroit: Church Growth Analysis and Learning Center, 1980, p. 26.

Another Pete Wagner Disciple
"Incidentally, during my mission counselor days in California during the 80's, I did take a course at Fuller from Carl George and Peter Wagner. I am grateful for the opportunity to have done so because it helped me to see through the lousy theology espoused by David Luecke in "Evangelical Style and Lutheran Substance" a book, by the way, which has been roundly criticized in WELS circles as your own columns have noted."
Rev. Joel C. Gerlach (WELS) to Pastor Herman Otten, no date. [Gerlach taught at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and promoted the idea of disciples making disciples making disciples... That is now the official position of the Wisconsin sect, endorsed by Joel Fredrich, pastor, professor, former Lutheran.]

Another Pete Wagner Fan
"C. Peter Wagner writes that 'the indispensable condition for a growing church is that it must want to grow.'" [C. Peter Wagner, "What Makes Churches Grow?" Eternity (June 1974), 17.] Waldo J. Werning, The Radical Nature of Christianity, Church Growth Eyes Look at the Supernatural Mission of the Christian and the Church, South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975, p. 158.

"Waldo Werning has made an outstanding contribution to the church growth movement in America with Vision and Strategy for Church Growth...Working out of the models established by Donald McGavran and the School of World Mission at Fuller Seminary, Waldo Werning breaks new ground in developing ways that church growth principles can be applied directly to American churches." [Foreword by C. Peter Wagner]
Waldo J. Werning, Vision and Strategy for Church Growth, Second Edition, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, p. 5.

"Waldo Werning is director of the Stewardship Growth Center of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and an adjunct professor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. He teaches a seminar course and conducts seminars which focus on 'supply side stewardship,' integrating church growth principles with a stewardship program."
C. Peter Wagner, ed., with Win Arn and Elmer Towns, Church Growth: The State of the Art, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1986, p. 274.

World Religions at Martin Chemnitz Press Blog

Hagia Sophia, The Church of Holy Wisdom, An Engineering Marvel of the Byzantine Empire, Completed in 537 AD!

I am posting all material about world religions at the Martin Chemnitz Press blog.

All Saints Day Sermon

All Saints Day
KJV Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

TLH Hymns
656 – Behold a host
16 – Blessed Jesus at Thy Word
36 – Now Thank We All Our God
45 – Now the Hour

The Eternal-Life-Giving Word

Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Behold a host, arrayed in white,
Like thousand snow clad mountains bright,
With palms they stand. Who is this band
Before the throne of light?
Lo, these are they of glorious fame
Who from the great affliction came
And in the flood of Jesus’ blood
Are cleansed from guilt and blame.
Now gathered in the holy place
Their voices they in worship raise,
Their anthems swell where God doth dwell,
Mid angels’ song of praise.
Despised and scorned, they sojourned here;
But now, how glorious they appear!
Those martyrs stand a priestly band,
God’s throne forever near.
So oft, in troubled days gone by,
In anguish they would weep and sigh.
At home above the God of Love
For aye their tears shall dry.
They now enjoy their Sabbath rest,
The paschal banquet of the blest;
The Lamb, their Lord, at festal board
Himself is Host and Guest.
Then hail, ye mighty legions, yea,
All hail! Now safe and blest for aye,
And praise the Lord, who with His Word
Sustained you on the way.
Ye did the joys of earth disdain,
Ye toiled and sowed in tears and pain.
Farewell, now bring your sheaves and sing
Salvation’s glad refrain.
Swing high your palms, lift up your song,
Yea, make it myriad voices strong.
Eternally shall praise to Thee,
God, and the Lamb belong.

The Scriptures are the unified revelation of God’s will: His threats against those who violate His Law, and His promises for all those who believe in His Son. The two areas are not equally distributed. Everyone violates the Ten Commandments. The saints are not distinguished by being perfect, by being better than the rest. They are those who cling to the Promises of the Gospel.

This unified revelation means every passage of the Bible contributes to (and never contradicts) the other passages. How is it possible that a Jewish rabbi from a remote and troubled Roman province proclaimed a message that became the number one world religion in adherents?

The Feeding of the Five Thousand illustrates how God works through the Word. A few fish and some bread fed 5,000 people with man-sized baskets of leftovers. When Jesus blessed the bread, He multiplied the food to such an extent that a famished multitude ate all they could and still left far more than the original elements. So it is that Christ feeds us with His body and blood. So it is that the Word of God generates millions of believers, in spite of all obstacles placed by man and Satan.

Martin Franzmann is widely admired but little noticed as a hymn-writer. One reason may be that modern musicians wedded his eloquent words to impossible music (apart from professional musicians). “O Kingly Love” is a powerful anthem, but no one will pick it as a favorite hymn. In contrast, “Thy Strong Word” is often sung because its beautiful Welsh tune is well known (sung to the dreadful “Once to Every Man and Nation,” a favorite among liberals). Franzmann knew Lutheran doctrine well and expressed the efficacy of the Word with complete clarity and conviction. “Thy Strong Word” is one example. Another one is this easy to sing hymn:

Preach you the Word and plant it home
To those who like or like it not,
The Word that shall endure and stand
When flowers and mortals are forgot.

We know how hard O Lord the task
Your servant bids us undertake
To preach your Word and never ask
What prideful profit it may make.

The sower sows, his reckless love
Scatters abroad the goodly seed,
Intent alone that there may be
The wholesome loaves that people need.

Though some be snatched and some be scorched
And some be choked and matted flat,
The sower sows, his heart cries out
“Oh, what of that, and what of that?”

Preach you the Word and plant it home
And never faint; the Harvest Lord
Who gave the sower seed to sow
Will watch and tend His planted Word.

(Martin Franzmann, 1907-1976; hymn printed in Christian Worship, the new ELS hymnal, and Lutheran Service Book (new LCMS hymnal)

“Preach you the Word” is not about the Feeding of the Five Thousand, but the two passages relate directly to each other. When Jesus fed the multitude, people flocked to Him and wanted more miracles. Although He fed everyone, not everyone believed. The vast majority thought, “This rabbi will keep us fed and startle us with miracles.” When Jesus taught the Word, the same people fell away in droves. The language of John is impossible to ignore:

KJV John 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

These were disciples. DISCIPLES! (Note, this doe not mean the 12 apostles.) I am emphasizing DISCIPLES to show that the Enthusiasts (Church Growth, Becoming Missional, Leonard Sweet-hearts, Joel Fredrich) are completely wrong about “making disciples.” There is no superior breed of Christian. Either people are believers or not. The term disciple in the New Testament means “a learner,” not “a soul-winner.” The only soul-winner in the Bible is the Holy Spirit working through the Word. When did the disciple-factories ever give credit to the quiet member of the Trinity? Never. Therefore, Jesus did not command the Apostles to “make disciples” but to “disciple all nations” and baptize them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus taught the true meaning of the Bread of Life, foreshadowed in the Old Testament miracle of the manna, the belly-bursters (as Luther called them) fell away. Nevertheless, the believing minority continued in the faith. Only some of the seed prospered.

So we can see the unified message in the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the Sower and Seed Parable. The Sower Parable teaches us that the Word should be scattered carelessly, that many different man-centered and Satanic difficulties will always impede the growth of the Word, yet the miraculous abundance produced makes up for all the losses. Human reason tells us that the enormous propaganda wars against the Christian faith should have wiped out all traces of the faith by this time. And yet the Word of God is active, energetic, and effective throughout the world.

The Scriptures teach us about afflictions and trials directly related to remaining in Christ. Notice the description in Revelation 7:

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

It does not say – “They shall be driven in limos no more, nor eat at 21 any more, neither bask in the sun in the Caribbean…and God shall thank them for being soul-winners.”

The experience of the cross drives people two different ways. The cross drives people away from the Gospel. The cross also makes people treasure the Gospel even more. The cross means far more than the afflictions everyone must suffer from time to time. The cross means those hardships directly associated with faithfulness to the Word of God. For instance, Luther is still slandered by academics and by Lutherans who should know better. He said once, “My friends have done more damage to the cause of the Gospel than the pope and the Turks put together.”

The older Lutherans probably memorized the Beatitudes, but the last one is more easily memorized than experienced.

Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.


(Luther makes the following general comment on Romans 2:6-10): "Patient continuance is so altogether necessary that no work can be good in which patient continuance is lacking. The world is so utterly perverse and Satan is so heinously wicked that he cannot allow any good work to be done, but he must persecute it. However, in this very way God, in His wonderful wisdom, proves what work is good and pleasing to Him. Here the rule holds: As long as we do good and for our good do not encounter contradiction, hatred, and all manner of disagreeable and disadvantageous things, so we must fear that our good work as yet is not pleasing to God; for just so long it is not yet done with patient continuance. But when our good work is followed by persecution, let us rejoice and firmly believe that it is pleasing to God; indeed, then let us be assured that it comes from God, for whatever is of God is bound to be crucified by the world. As long as it does not bring the cross, that is, as long as it does not bring shame and contempt as we patiently continue in it, it cannot be esteemed as a divine work since even the Son of God was not free from it--(suffering for the sake of the good He did) --but left us an example in this. He Himself tells us in Matthew 5:10, 12: 'Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake..Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.'"
Commentary on Romans, trans. J. Theodore Mueller, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1976, p. 55. Matthew 5: 10, 12.; Romans 2:6-10

"Christians should not, and cannot, have their glory in the things the world esteems and honors; for the world will not, not can it, honor even God and His Word. Christ's followers, then, should not be terrified at such treatment as Paul received nor feel disgraced. Let them rather rejoice, deriving comfort and glory therefrom, as did the apostles. We read (Acts 4:13) of their boldness, and (Acts 5:41) that they rejoiced in being 'counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name.' So it fared with Christ Himself, and Christians ought to be grieved if it be otherwise with them and if the world regard them in a kindly way. In proportion as the world persecutes them and heaps upon them its malice, should they rejoice. Let them accept persecution as a good indication, regarding themselves blessed, as Christ teaches in Matthew 5:11."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids Baker Book House, 1983, VIII, p. 266. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 3:13-21, Acts 4:13; Acts 5:41; Matthew 5:11

The association of the cross and the Word is expressed beautifully in this passage from “Behold a Host.”

Despised and scorned, they sojourned here;
But now, how glorious they appear!
Those martyrs stand a priestly band,
God’s throne forever near.
So oft, in troubled days gone by,
In anguish they would weep and sigh.
At home above the God of Love
For aye their tears shall dry.
They now enjoy their Sabbath rest,
The paschal banquet of the blest;
The Lamb, their Lord, at festal board
Himself is Host and Guest.

The modern leaders’ most common expression toward the faithful is contempt and scorn. They luxuriate in the spoils of apostasy, so they necessarily look down on anyone who would simply be an ordinary pastor. The host arrayed in white of Revelation has not arrived from the latest growth seminar, but from the toils and trials of life under the apostates.

A friend of ours calls and talks about the crypto-Calvinists who thrived after the death of Luther. They convinced the Elector to persecute the genuine Lutherans while promoting their own number. (Sound familiar?) A misdirected letter opened the Elector’s eyes and he had information seized and the crypto-Calvinists thrown out.

The experience of the cross after Luther’s death in 1546 made the Book of Concord necessary. The blessing of the 1580 Book of Concord is this - Lutherans have a unified confession of faith from the greatest theologians of the Church, great Biblical scholars whose faith was purified by the cross. The Word of God is eternal-life-giving wherever it is proclaimed, because the Gospel grants forgiveness to those who believe in Christ. Anxious hearts hear that Christ has paid for their sins with His innocent death and prepared the way to eternal life by His triumphant resurrection.

The very thing that makes us despair, especially in this Age of Apostasy, should encourage us several ways. First of all, we can see that Christ predicted our times 2,000 years ago. Secondly, we can recall that the Christian faith has endured and prospered in spite of active persecution and self-inflicted wounds. Satan has furiously persecuted the true Church but is even more active and hostile now that his time is growing short. Thirdly, we can see from the unified message of the Scriptures that we need not worry about the alarming experiences of today if we continue to scatter the eternal-life-giving seed of the Word carelessly.
On All Saints’ Day we mourn for those who have gone before us: parents, children, spouses, and dear friends. Christians grieve, but not as others. The message of eternal life gives us hope and purpose. We exchange a brief time of turmoil for eternity with Christ. Unbelievers and apostates exchange a brief time of comfort for an eternity of pain. The experience of the cross purifies our faith and unites us with the saints of the past, who also took up their crosses daily to follow Christ. If we look back on why we value the Gospel today, it is not because we heard a Be-Happy-Attitudes message from someone like Robert Schuller or Bill Hybels, but because a parent, Sunday School teacher, or lowly pastor took the time to give us the eternal-life-giving seed of the Word.

The message of eternal life in Christ gives us purpose in all our labors. He lived and died for us, so we can live in forgiveness and serve others as a reflection of our gratitude toward God.

Quotations about the Word and the Cross

"But when our good work is followed by persecution, let us rejoice and firmly believe that it is pleasing to God; indeed, then let us be assured that it comes from God, for whatever is of God is bound to be crucified by the world. As long as it does not bring the cross, that is, as long as it does not bring shame and contempt as we patiently continue in it, it cannot be esteemed as a divine work since even the Son of God was not free from it--(suffering for the sake of the good He did) --but left us an example in this. He Himself tells us in Matthew 5:10, 12: 'Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake… Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.'"
Commentary on Romans, trans. J. Theodore Mueller, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1976, p. 55. Matthew 5: 10, 12.; Romans 2:6-10

"The apostle says 'our,' 'our sins;' not his own sin, not the sins of unbelievers. Purification is not for, and cannot profit, him who does not believe. Nor did Christ effect the cleansing by our free-will, our reason or power, our works, our contrition or repentance, these all being worthless in the sight of God; he effects it by himself. And how? By taking our sins upon himself on the holy cross, as Isaiah 53:6 tells us."
Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 180. Hebrews 1:1-12; Hebrews 1:3;

"But now, since the prince of this world and the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the devil, are directly opposed to one another, and the Holy Spirit is not willing that anyone should parade his own deeds and praise himself on account of them, the holy cross must soon follow. The world will not consent to be reprimanded for its blindness. Therefore one must willingly submit and suffer persecution. If we have the right kind of faith in our hearts, we must also open our mouths and confess righteousness and make known sin. Likewise we must condemn and punish the doings of this world and make it known that everything it undertakes, is damned."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 120. Fourth Sunday after Easter John 16:5-15.

"If, here upon earth, the body is unwilling, not capable of grace and Christ's leading, it must bear the Spirit, upon which Christ rides, who trains it and leads it along by the power of grace, received through Christ. The colt, ridden by Christ, upon which no one ever rode, is the willing spirit, whom no one before could make willing, tame or ready, save Christ by His grace. However, the sack carrier, the burden-bearer, the old Adam, is the flesh, which goes riderless without Christ; it must for this reason bear the cross and remain a beast of burden."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, I, p. 53. First Sunday in Advent Matthew 21:1-9.

"Human works and doctrines at all times yield much revenue and carnal gain, while the doctrines of God and the work of Christ bring the cross, poverty, ignominy, and all kinds of calamity, which the holiness of Herod cannot endure. Thus it happens always, that they who have ensnared and oppressed the poor with an erring conscience and with human doctrines, do not like to hear that poor, miserable consciences receive instruction, attain a right understanding, and seek the simple pure Word of God and faith."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, I, p. 376. Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12.

"Not only is Christ hidden from the world, but a still harder thing is it that in such trials Christ conceals himself even from His church, and acts as if He had forgotten, aye, had entirely forsaken and rejected it,since He permits it to be oppressed under the cross and subjected to all the cruelty of the world, while its enemies boast, glory and rejoice over it, as we shall hear in the next Gospel." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 67. Second Sunday after Easter John 10:11-16.

"Not only is Christ hidden from the world, but a still harder thing is it that in such trials Christ conceals himself even from His church, and acts as if he had forgotten, aye, had entirely forsaken and rejected it,since He permits it to be oppressed under the cross and subjected to all the cruelty of the world, while its enemies boast, glory and rejoice over it, as we shall hear in the next Gospel." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 67. Second Sunday after Easter John 10:11-16.

"Observe, God and men proceed in contrary ways. Men set on first that which is best, afterward that which is worse. God first gives the cross and affliction, then honor and blessedness. This is because men seek to preserve the old man; on which account they instruct us to keep the Law by works, and offer promises great and sweet...But God first of all terrifies the conscience, sets on miserable wine, in fact nothing but water; then, however, He consoles us with the promises of the Gospel which endure forever." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 69. Second Sunday after Epiphany, John 2:1-11.

Good Samaritan
"But wine is sharp and signifies the holy cross that immediately follows. A Christian need not look for his cross, it is always on his back. For he thinks as St. Paul says, 2 Timothy 3:12: 'All that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.' This is the court-color in this kingdom. Whoever is ashamed of the color, does not belong to this king."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 30. Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 10:23-37; 2 Timothy 3:12

Rejoice/Votum
"This, mark you, is the peace of the cross, the peace of God, peace of conscience, Christian peace, which gives us even external calm, which makes us satisfied with all men and unwilling to disturb any. Reason cannot understand how there can be pleasure in crosses, and peace in disquietude; it cannot find these. Such peace is the work of God, and none can understand it until it has been experienced."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 111. Fourth Sunday in Advent, Philippians 4:7 John 16:20 -

"Such people, however, do not understand divine things, they think they will suddenly enter death with Christ, whom they have never learned to know except in words. Thus was Peter also disposed, but he stood before Christ like a rabbit before one beating a drum. Notice, how the old Adam lacks courage when under the cross! The new man, however, can indeed persevere through grace."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 85. Third Sunday after Easter John 16:16-23

Romans
"On the other hand, we are outwardly oppressed with the cross and sufferings, and with the persecution and torments of the world and the devil, as with the weight of heavy stone upon us, subduing our old sinful nature and checking us against antagonizing the Spirit and committing other sins."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VIII, p. 145. Sixth Sunday after Trinity, Romans 6:6

TLH
"O Lord, look down from heaven, behold And let Thy pity waken; How few are we within Thy fold, Thy saints by men forsaken! True faith seems quenched on every hand, Men suffer not Thy Word to stand; Dark times have us overtaken. (2) With fraud which they themselves invent Thy truth they have confounded; Their hearts are not with one consent On Thy pure doctrine grounded. While they parade with outward show, They lead the people to and fro, In error's maze astounded. (3) May God root out all heresy And of false teachers rid us Who proudly say: 'Now, where is he That shall our speech forbid us? By right or might we shall prevail; What we determine cannot fail; We own no lord and master. (5) As silver tried by fire is pure From all adulteration So through God's Word shall men endure Each trial and temptation. Its light beams brighter through the cross, And purified from human dross, It shines thru every nation."
The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #260. Psalm 12.

"This is a true definition of marriage: Marriage is the God-appointed and legitimate union of man and woman in the hope of having children or at least for the purpose of avoiding fornication and sin and living to the glory of God. The ultimate purpose is to obey God, to find aid and counsel against sin; to call upon God; to seek, love, and educate children for the glory of God; to live with one's wife in the fear of God and to bear the cross; but if there are no children, nevertheless to live with one's wife in contentment; and to avoid all lewdness with others."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols. ed. Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 884. Genesis 24:1-4

"If we would be Christians, we must surely expect and count on having the devil, together with all his angels and the world, as our enemies. They all will bring misfortune and sorrow on us For where the Word of God is preached, accepted, or believed, and where it produces fruit, the dear, holy cross cannot be wanting."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 357. Large Catechism

"This a true definition of marriage: Marriage is the God-appointed and legitimate union of man and woman in the hope of having children or at least for the purpose of avoiding fornication and sin and living to the glory of God. The ultimate purpose is to obey God, to find aid and counsel against sin; to call upon God; to seek, love, and educate children for the glory of God; to live with one's wife in the fear of God and to bear the cross; but if there are no children, nevertheless to live with one's wife in contentment; and to avoid all lewdness with others."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 884. Genesis 24:1-4. 07-049

“The deeper a person is sunk in sadness and emotional upheavals, the better he serves as an instrument of Satan. For our emotions are instruments through which he gets into us and works in us if we do not watch our step. It is easy to water where it is wet. Where the fence is dilapidated, it is easy to get across. So Satan has easy access where there is sadness. Therefore one must pray and associate with godly people."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1243. 1532

Luther Barely Beats Werning as Greatest Lutheran Theologian

Who is the most famous Lutheran theologian?

Martin Luther 25 (52%)

Martin Chemnitz 5 (10%)

C. F. W. Walther 3 (6%)

Waldo Werning 15 (31%)

***

GJ - I rest my case about who is leading WELS.

Which WELS Leader Said This?

"Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for."

The answer is here.

His Eminence is quoted here.

Several thin-skinned WELS members need to work on reading comprehension. They are howling that Hybels is not on the clergy list. Someone who leads WELS, as Hybels certainly is doing now, is a WELS leader. Another WELS leader is C. Peter Wagner, who said, "Church Growth principles do not work."

Paul Kelm does DePere. Dan Kelm did Divine Savior, Indianapolis. Both are Willow Creek clones. Dan bragged that he modeled his service after WC.

This story is hilariously funny because Willow Creek skimmed all that money off clergy to teach them how to "do church." The Love Shack is only about 90 miles away, so it was only a matter of time before they were trained too. Proof is that American mission pastors in WELS were given 100% scholarships by WELS to be trained at Willow Creek.

If Hybels is training WELS clergy, he is a WELS leader. If C. Peter Wagner and Leonard Sweet are training WELS clergy, they are WELS leaders. So is Martin Marty, once dissed by WELS for being ecumenical-liberal.

More importantly, if The Love Shack admires and emulates these false teachers, the false teachers are definitely the true leaders of the Wisconsin sect.

After years of coveting Willow Creek, copying Willow Creek, cloning Willow Creek, WELS leaders should confess how many millions they have wasted.

The Missouri Synod, under Al Barry, had a large number of congregations belonging to the Willow Creek Association. Unionistic? They did something about it at the Purple Palace. After I mentioned this in Christian News, the list was no longer available (Ichabod effect - the apostates duck and hide).

Bishop Dearest! Are Lutheran District Popes Different?

From Virtue Online:

PENNSYLVANIA BISHOP CHARLES E. BENNISON INHIBITED!

Special Report

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
10/31/2007

The Bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison has been inhibited from ordained ministry and must cease all episcopal functions as bishop after November 3 diocesan convention. The Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori inhibited Bennison Oct. 31 from all ordained ministry pending a judgment of the Court for the Trial of a Bishop. The Title IV Review Committee earlier issued a presentment for conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy against Bennison on October 28.

The Committee found there was enough evidence to send Bennison to trial on two counts of the presentment centering on accusations that when he was rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upland, California, he did not respond properly after learning sometime in 1973 that his brother, John, who worked as a lay youth minister in the parish, was having an affair with a 14-year-old member of the youth group. John Bennison was married at the time, according to the presentment.

The bishop is accused of not taking any steps to end the affair, not providing proper pastoral care for the girl, not investigating whether she needed medical care, taking three years to notify the girl's parents, not reporting his brother to anyone, not investigating whether his brother was sexually involved with any other parishioners or other children, and seeking no advice on how to proceed. The presentment says Charles Bennison reacted "passively and self-protectively."

A second Presentment account accuses Bennison of continuing to fail in his duties until the fall of 2006. John Bennison was ordained during this time. The bishop is accused of not preventing his brother's ordination, or his ultimately successful application to be reinstated as a priest after having renounced his orders in 1977, or his desire to transfer from the Diocese of Los Angeles to the Diocese of California. John Bennison was forced in 2006 to renounce his orders again, when news of his abuse became public.

The Standing Committee of the diocese met in special meeting October 30 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and consented to the inhibition, as is required by the Title IV, Canon 3, Section 45 of the Episcopal Church.

Bennison must cease "all episcopal, ministerial, and canonical acts" effective at 12:01 a.m. November 4, according to the inhibition Jefferts Schori sent to Bennison. The diocese is set to hold its 224th annual diocesan convention November 3. At that time, the Standing Committee will become the ecclesiastical authority in the diocese. Bennison will continue to be paid during the time he is inhibited. He will have an opportunity to respond to the presentment charges. A date for the trial will be set.

The exodus of Bennison, from both the Diocese of Pennsylvania and the ordained ministry, ends a decade of gross incompetence, ineptitude, clergy mistrust, alleged fiscal incompetence, sexual cover-up, and theological obfuscation, which eroded his base among his liberal backers even as Bennison inhibited and deposed a dwindling handful of orthodox clergy in the diocese.

Events grew so bad between himself and the Standing Committee that they repeatedly asked him to resign. Bennison equally and steadfastly refused to go. The frustration of his clergy reached fever pitch at last year's diocesan convention when repeated calls for his resignation and allegations of his brother's sexual dominated the convention.

In many circles, Bishop Bennison's pronouncements made him the brunt of laughter, disappointment, or anger. Bishop Bennison became the village idiot of ecclesiastical pronouncements. His list of theological heresies and apostasies guarantees him a place forever in Dante's Inferno, or as a cathedral gargoyle overlooking Philadelphia's Schuylkill River.

He wrote a Visigoth Rite for two (or more) persons of the same sex who wanted to tie the nuptial knot in Philadelphia's cathedral. He also could not affirm basic doctrines of the Christian Faith, when challenged to do so by Fr. David Moyer, Anglo-Catholic rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont.

Bennison said Jesus was a sinner (not sinless) who forgave himself - becoming the first bishop in the 2,000-year history of the church to make such a statement. (Not even Arius said such a thing.) It was Bennison who said the church wrote the Bible and can therefore rewrite it, and it was he who said that Jesus is "a Christ" but not the Christ. His latest inanity, that Jesus "winked at sin," was uttered two months ago. In the "Pennsylvania Episcopalian' (February 2006), Bennison doubts the "historical accuracy" of the four gospels and compares Mark, Matthew, Luke and John to the words on the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin calling both "propaganda"!

In any other setting, Bennison would simply have been written off as a buffoon in Holy Orders, but his insistence on bringing into the diocese such notable heretics as John Shelby Spong, and the Episcopal Church's First Consecrated Sodomite, Bishop, V. Gene Robinson from New Hampshire to ordain the next generation of priests, marked him out as both spiritually hazardous and dangerously heretical to the orthodox.

By most ecclesiastical reckonings, his statements alone would be enough to get rid of him. But in a church as theologically lackluster as the Episcopal Church, whose theology ranges from Trinitarian to Unitarian and whose sexual beliefs range from hetero to homo (and anything else in between), apparently not.

His disconnectedness and divorce from reality was highlighted at the recent Diocesan Convention when he said: "This was the best convention" (after they had voted down his budget and mandatory assessment) and "The Diocese has never been in better shape" (after he was asked to resign).

Those who were behind the call for his resignation were clear that the issues were not theological. However, even with accusations of fiscal mismanagement, misleading his leadership and the distrust of his clergy leadership, the Rev. Bill Wood chairman of the Diocesan Standing Committee said that they could not force him out "by canon law".

"We passed a motion asking him to retire or resign as our advice to the bishop," he said. "That's the best we can do," he told VirtueOnline in February. The hope was that a massive public relations campaign and a resolution by members of Concerned Episcopalians (the diocese's loyal opposition) to get rid of him at a specially called Diocesan Convention in March (to deal with the diocese's fiscal problems) might do the trick.

When I asked Wood about Bennison's heretical utterances, and why they would they not be enough to get rid of him, he answered, "We are not doctrinal watch dogs".

The Rev. Glen Matis, past chairman of the Standing Committee and a current member, said it was a "matter of trust" that led to the standing committee's seeking his ouster. It was "beyond fiscal", he said, but there was still no proof that he had done anything illegal.

Too many of us, the decline and longed for ouster of the Bishop of Pennsylvania comes as no surprise, as we have watched with pain, shame, infinite credulity and wonderment at a man so infinitely unqualified to shepherd the people of God as a bishop of The Episcopal Church.

That he should have made his way up the ecclesiastical ranks to become the Bishop of Pennsylvania, speaks volumes about those who pick such men (and women), the unbelievable level of theological and spiritual dysfunctionality of clergy and laity alike who push their cause, fulfilling the truism that "like picks like," climaxing in the triumph of charm and conviviality over substance and the "faith once delivered to the saints."

Charles Bennison was and is the perfect composite of today's imperial Episcopal bishop - a man devoid of substance, filled with empty rhetoric, - "I am here to embrace and affirm" he once said. In truth he is a hollow man with only mediocre academic and social credentials, badly hidden behind a mask of spiritual vacuity and theological emptiness.

His rise, like his fall, was utterly predictable. He is the perfect example of the disconnected sociopathic bishop. It was only a matter of time before the Standing Committee and Bennison's liberal backers came to the same conclusion: that he was the proverbial bishop with no theological clothes.

His very beginnings as the son of a bishop speak volumes.

Bennison's claims to theological idiocy come naturally. He was rejected for postulancy by his father's examining chaplains, when he sought to go to seminary because he barely knew the books of the Bible. He only got in because his mother insisted and his father, also a revisionist bishop, was bullied by his wife. That should have tipped the hands of the search committee looking for a new Pennsylvania bishop, but Bennison had long since learned that smiles, charm and a brand name could replace sound doctrine. He easily wooed those "examining" him. He had come from the Cambridge, Mass-based Episcopal Divinity School, whose president at the time, the former Utah bishop Otis Charles would later dump his wife and five kids to "marry" a four times married man.

With standards fast declining in the now liberal controlled seminaries and where knowledge of the Bible and theology was fast evaporating, (seven of the nine seminaries no longer really believe the Atonement matters), Bennison sailed through effortlessly. Charles E. Bennison was on his way.

The first public signs of his disconnectedness would now become evident.

Though superficially connected with the content of Holy Scripture, and believing as he later articulated, that the church wrote the bBible and could therefore re-write it, Bennison went on a campaign of saying and doing anything he felt was in his own interests, those of his liberal peers in the House of Bishops, and occasionally, but not always, of those he considered the dioceses' power brokers.

Both his pastorates in California and Atlanta ended disastrously. He was asked to leave both parishes, but not before he managed to cut deals demanding their silence on why he was being dumped. Heaven forbid that anyone else who might employ him should ever find out the truth!

A couple formerly from St. Luke's parish in Atlanta where Bennison was the rector, and not bound by such an oath of silence, told VOL that their minimal experience with him was disastrous. "He was disruptive. He was not popular and he had a hard time with the bishop, Frank Allen. The problems could not be worked out. The vestry decided he needed to go." And go he did.

His penultimate landing, and a fitting weigh station to his final destination in Pennsylvania, was the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an institution described by one orthodox theologian as a "proto-Marxist, any orifice, feminist, institution", that neither St. Paul, St Augustine nor Athanasius, would ever recognize.

Needless to say, Bennison felt himself right at home. With a title of professor of "Pastoral Theology and Congregational Studies," he set about indoctrinating the next generation of students into the joys of theological pragmatism, with no historic base. (If the Bible could be re-written, why not re-write it to say whatever you wanted it to say, including matters of human sexuality, especially if it was congenial to the cultural zeitgeist). Bennison was at home in his new milieu. At the seminary, Bennison was happy to push the church's official pansexual line.

But his eye and goal was always to be a bishop - like his father.

An opening in the Diocese of Pennsylvania proved too alluring. The outgoing Allen Bartlett, a weak, liberal bishop, but more understanding of the orthodox parishes in his diocese, had cut a deal, allowing the "seven sisters" as they were known, a flying bishop in exchange for money and peace. The arrangement worked.

When Bennison presented himself to the various committees and groups that made up the complex diocese, he promised to continue the same arrangement with the Anglo-Catholic priests. Within weeks of being consecrated, he reneged on the deal saying that it violated his authority to have another bishop come in from the outside. The betrayal of the orthodox rectors hit them hard. They had voted for him, rather than the evangelical rector Dave Thomas. Now Bennison had turned on them.

It was the first sign of his disconnectedness, but only one of many during his tenure as bishop.

This began a series of long, expensive, drawn out legal battles over inhibitions, depositions, and property ownership with three parishes. It was a nightmare without end. And it will not be over, even if Bennison is shown the door. Fr. Moyer's lawsuit for fraud, concealment of evidence, and denial of due process will continue whether or not Charles Bennison is the bishop of the diocese. It should be noted that Bennison is charged with concealing evidence in both Fr. Moyer's lawsuit and in the presentment.

From the beginning, Bennison went on a spending spree, estimated by one priest at close to $20 million, which included a makeover of the cathedral, the purchase of Camp Wapiti, worthless education programs that yielded little or nothing, high-priced consultants and more, with the promise that it would all come back in a Capital Finance Campaign he would undertake. The campaign never materialized even though over $500,000 was spent on consultants. Bennison went on spending like there was no tomorrow. It was further evidence of his increasing disconnectedness that he did not hear the rumblings of discontent from his leaders over this free spending of diocesan funds, with many of these expenditures having no support from the Standing Committee. It is still unknown if there is $4 million or nothing left in the unrestricted funds held by the diocese.

Even in his disconnectedness Bennison was shrewd and cunning. He formed a finance and property committee that answered only to him and not to the Standing Committee. This hand-picked group allowed him almost carte blanche access to unrestricted diocesan asset. Bennison made the most of it. It is reported that the chairman of that committee once said, "It is my job to find money for the bishop."

At the same time, he began to bully and arm-twist the larger parishes for more money to pay for his spendthrift ways. He came down on them hard with threats and more, but many held their ground knowing the diocese had no mandatory clause demanding they HAD to give. They balked. Bennison lost.

Bennison tried unsuccessfully to change that. At the most recent Diocesan Convention, he tried to push through a mandatory assessment clause, but a coalition of conservative and liberal priests, smelling a financial rat let loose in the diocese eating at their precious assets, shot him down. A coalition of liberal and conservatives, uniting under the banner of Concerned Pennsylvania Episcopalians, successfully fought back the "mandatory assessment" (deep sixing a $4.8 million budget with it) setting Bennison back on his heels. It was the final straw for the Standing Committee and the beginning of the end for Charles Bennison, the disconnected bishop of Pennsylvania.

If his financial mismanagement was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, his earlier theological statements uttered from pulpit and newspaper alike, revealed an even deeper disconnectedness.

From his earliest statement to an orthodox congregation in Paoli, Pennsylvania, "that the church wrote the Bible and the church could re-write it", to even more outrageous statements that "Jesus was a sinner (not sinless) who forgave himself" and "Jesus winked at sin", the disconnectedness, bewildered liberals and angered orthodox clergy alike, who felt that Bennison was now in better company with Arius than Athanasius.

Bennison's so-called diversity of viewpoints (allowing all voices to be heard) slowly saw an extinguishing of the orthodox voice, and in its place he openly supported the acceptability and blessing of deviant sexual behavior, promoting these behaviors as "civil rights." A clergy couple caught promoting Wicca (white witchcraft) got little more than a wrist slap from Bennison. The husband finally departed the priesthood while the wife stayed on in her parish.

Then there was the case of Fr. Edward Garrigan, the longtime rector of St. Paul's Church in Doylestown who was caught publicly masturbating in Peace Valley Park in front of two park rangers. He pled guilty and was fined $300. When Bennison was confronted with the evidence, he said, "In terms of his guilt, I was not able to make a determination. I do not know what happened in the park that day." Really.

That didn't stop Bennison from going after the property of St. James the Less. The orthodox Anglo-Catholic parish priest, Fr. David Ousley was forced out of his parish after 22 years, and a school was closed, because Ousley couldn't take any more of Bennison's heresies and simply wanted out.

Bennison's inarticulate heresies and apostasies, which he believed to be embracing of all, appeared regularly in his own diocesan newspaper, "The Pennsylvanian Episcopalian." They were truly alarming, providing endless grist for this writer, but few if any of his clergy publicly said or did anything to oppose him or raise an outcry for his removal.

Fear settled over the diocese. Diocesan headquarters was a revolving door of consultants and staff. Hardly anyone stayed on the staff too long. If you were a financially poor congregation that depended on diocesan funds, you risked losing that diocesan money if you dared to oppose the bishop. If you were a financially independent parish and tried to refuse Bennison the right to visit, or refused to share Eucharist with him, you risked being inhibited and deposed. There was always uncertainty how it would go, as several orthodox parish priests found out.

One priest who went out on a limb and publicly challenged Bennison was the Anglo-Catholic rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Rosemont, Pa., the Rev. Dr. David L. Moyer.

Moyer asked Bennison point blank if he would or could affirm a number of basic doctrines of the Christian Faith like the bodily resurrection of Jesus, Christ's atoning sacrifice for sin and more. Caught in the headlights, Bennison knew that by saying that he did, he risked being called a liar, and by saying he didn't, he risked being called a hypocrite. Bennison punted.

After his illegal and fraudulent "deposition" Fr. Moyer was received into the Diocese of Pittsburgh, later received by the Archbishop of Central Africa, Bernard Malango. At one point, during his fight with Bishop Bennison, Fr. Moyer was so concerned for the souls and spiritual welfare of his people that he took a number of them to an Anglo-Catholic parish in Allentown in the Diocese of Bethlehem for church initiation. Bennison described that event as "abandoning the Communion of the Church."

Moyer was subsequently inhibited and deposed by Bennison, but the bishop's use of the wrong canon to get rid of Moyer cost him dearly. Two multi-million dollar lawsuits were filed by his attorney, John H. Lewis, Jr., against Bennison. Moyer is still in his parish, where he was recently consecrated a bishop in the Traditional Anglican Communion - the largest body of traditionalist Anglicans outside of the Anglican Communion.

For his outrageous actions towards Fr. Moyer, Bennison found himself publicly rapped by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Frank T. Griswold's private correspondence with Bennison revealed an unhappy PB, pleading with Bennison not to pursue his course of action against Moyer for fear that it would further isolate and alienate not only Griswold himself, but the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion. Ironically, Griswold's letter telling Bennison to stop the proceedings against Fr. Moyer was concealed by Bennison from the Standing Committee.

Citing the 13th century Mystic poet Sufi Rumi, Griswold abruptly told Bennison to find a way through the problem and "to meet me on a plain beyond good and evil" with the issue resolved. It never happened. Griswold made threats to act against Bennison, but he never went through with it. A stalemate ensued. It was back to business as usual.

On another occasion, Bennison tried to ram a "sin of heterosexism" resolution through the House of Bishops. It failed, but he was, he said, ready to marry two homosexuals in the cathedral.

"Bennison's statement goes against everything the Christian Church has taught," said the retired Bishop of South Carolina Dr. C. FitzSimons Allison, the brainiest bishop in the House of Bishops.

Quoting scripture, Allison said that, "'He who knew no sin, became sin for us in order that we might become the righteousness of God.' Bennison's statement contradicts Holy Scripture, the 39 Articles, denies the creedal affirmation, violates his oath of office as bishop and his baptism vows, his confirmation and ordination on the basis of no biblical evidence. His sole authority is his own solipsism.

"If the HOB believes in the historical faith and their consecration vows, he [Bennison] should be censured, tried and deposed," said Allison. Of course it never happened. The HOB has no stomach for heresy trials as the Righter Trial revealed and Bennison rightly surmised.

Earlier, British theologian, the Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Green, author and evangelist told delegates to the U.S. Anglican Congress in Atlanta that Canadian Bishop Michael Ingham and ECUSA Bishop Charles Bennison were so apostate that their Sees should be declared "vacant."

Green, who teaches at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, told more than 300 bishops, priests and laity that Spong went unrebuked for his consistent denial of every single Christian doctrine and that Bennison and Ingham are simply tarred with the same brush.

"These bishops have caused nothing but pain and a massive draining away of godly people. They have caused schism and despair and their Sees should now be declared vacant," said Green.

One incident, that pointed up the disconnectedness of Bennison from any kind of reality, took place when four orthodox Primates of the Anglican Communion, representing more than 40 million Anglicans worldwide, showed up in Philadelphia to inaugurate the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, a counter movement to the national church's Episcopal Relief and Development Fund.

The four primates gathered at a country club to address a group of local orthodox Episcopalians. Bennison showed up uninvited. The four primates were immediately herded into a separate room with a guard placed at the door so Bennison could not barge in and introduce himself. The Primates wanted it clear that they considered Bennison a heretic and wanted no fellowship with him at all.

Bennison stayed in the main room where most of the people were assembled and proceeded to lecture them on inclusivity and diversity and why he had come to "embrace all". At one point during his peroration, he placed his hand on this writer's shoulder and said, "This is my friend David Virtue!" causing eyebrows to rise around the room.

Everybody was stunned, so indeed was this writer. While I have always been cordial to Bennison on the occasions we have met, I have never regarded him as my "friend."

Mounting anxieties about Bennison's leadership were finally filtering through to the Standing Committee, itself a body of liberal clergy and laity disposed to believing in Bennison. The die was cast for asking him to go.

A former head of the Standing committee admitted to a reporter with United Press International that it was not just about the money, other "non-fiscal issues" were involved. Indeed they were. Many clergy tell stories of being lied to, publicly embarrassed, and their voices entirely disregarded.

Charles E. Bennison had been given the option of resigning or retiring. He had refused either option saying, after much prayer, it was God's will he should stay on.

Now that he has been inhibited, he still faces a million dollar lawsuit from Fr. Moyer for wrongful dismissal. His woes are not over.

The truth is, Bishop Bennison is not unlike a score of revisionist ECUSA bishops who long ago forfeited their right even to be called "bishop" for their theological and moral positions, and their failure to see Holy Scripture as authoritative for the church.

The depth of his disconnectedness is truly appalling and unparalleled. He is disconnected theologically, disconnected from the church's moral teachings, disconnected now from his priests, disconnected from how a diocese should be run, disconnected on how money should be spent, and ultimately disconnected from God.

Bennison is among the worst of the House of Bishops. The depth of his disconnectedness and venality was and is truly appalling and unparalleled.

With his departure, the diocese will have to repair itself. It is unlikely they will choose a new bishop of orthodox conviction, but at least for the moment, the remaining orthodox priests and parishes in the diocese can breath again.

END

November 1, 2007 - All Saints Day

Press statement by the The Rt. Rev. Dr. David L. Moyer

It is indeed a very serious thing in the life of the Church when a bishop or priest is inhibited from his ministry. Charles Bennison is in my prayers that this situation brings him to repentance, and back to the faith and order of the Church Catholic.

It is ironic that Charles Bennison will be put in trial before the Church for a pastoral failure to report his brother's sexual misconduct and to protect a young teenage girl and others from his brother where Bishop Bennison denied me a Church trial as I sought to report his theological misconduct and protect my people and others from him.

The Presentment shows the same pattern of conduct of the concealing of evidence that my attorneys discovered occurred in his actions against me.

Whatever happens to Charles Bennison in church proceedings, my litigation will continue unless resolved with a satisfactory settlement.

Willow Creek Repents A Bit - Will WELS-ELS-LCMS?

Bob Burney, Townhall

We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.

Incredibly, the guru of church growth now tells us that people need to be reading their bibles and taking responsibility for their spiritual growth.

Just as Spock’s “mistake” was no minor error, so the error of the seeker sensitive movement is monumental in its scope. The foundation of thousands of American churches is now discovered to be mere sand. The one individual who has had perhaps the greatest influence on the American church in our generation has now admitted his philosophy of ministry, in large part, was a “mistake.” The extent of this error defies measurement.

Perhaps the most shocking thing of all in this revelation coming out of Willow Creek is in a summary statement by Greg Hawkins:

Our dream is that we fundamentally change the way we do church. That we take out a clean sheet of paper and we rethink all of our old assumptions. Replace it with new insights. Insights that are informed by research and rooted in Scripture. Our dream is really to discover what God is doing and how he’s asking us to transform this planet.

Isn’t that what we were told when this whole seeker-sensitive thing started? The church growth gurus again want to throw away their old assumptions and “take out a clean sheet of paper” and, presumably, come up with a new paradigm for ministry.

Should this be encouraging?

Please note that “rooted in Scripture” still follows “rethink,” “new insights” and “informed research.” Someone, it appears, still might not get it. Unless there is a return to simple biblical (and relevant) principles, a new faulty scheme will replace the existing one and another generation will follow along as the latest piper plays.

What we should find encouraging, at least, in this “confession” coming from the highest ranks of the Willow Creek Association is that they are coming to realize that their existing “model” does not help people grow into mature followers of Jesus Christ. Given the massive influence this organization has on the American church today, let us pray that God would be pleased to put structures in place at Willow Creek that foster not mere numeric growth, but growth in grace.


Bob Burney is Salem Communications’ award-winning host of Bob Burney Live, heard weekday afternoons on WRFD-AM 880 in Columbus, Ohio.

Luther on Affliction

"He allows the affliction to remain and to oppress; yet He employs different tactics to bestow peace; He changes the heart, removing it from the affliction, not the affliction from the heart. This is the way it is done: When you are sunk in affliction He so turns your mind from it and gives you such consolation that you imagine you are dwelling in a garden of roses."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., Lenker, III, p. 285. John 14:23-31.

WELS Avoids Defenestration Terminology

[205] PREACHING: CRMs/Resigned pastors (10/6) POLICY

Whereas 1 the Conference of Presidents (COP) has a number of items in our Guiding Principles and Past Practices regarding men with CRM status, and
Whereas 2 Questions continue to arise regarding the preaching privileges of men with CRM status, and
Whereas 3 It is the conviction of the Conference of Presidents (COP) that it is not in the best interests of the church to have “licensed” or “itinerant” preachers, therefore be it
Resolved a That the names of men who have CRM status not be listed in the Yearbook, and be it further
Resolved b that the names of men who have CRM status are regularly reviewed by the COP at its face to face meetings, and be it further
Resolved c that the appropriate District President list the month and year when names are posted on the COP CRM list, and be it further
Resolved d that men with CRM status are informed by their District President that their CRM status will lapse after three years on the COP CRM list, and be it further
Resolved e that men are informed, when their CRM status lapses, that they can petition their District Praesidium for one three year extension to their CRM status (a privilege which will not be granted automatically), and be it further
Resolved f that men with CRM status may preach in their home congregation and when needed as supply preachers so that their preaching skills may stay sharp, and be it finally
Resolved g that this supercedes and replaces [53] and [194] which shall be struck-through



Reporting Resignations:


[155] WEB REPORTING OF CHANGES OF MINISTRY (03-04)
The following is our adopted practice of reporting resignations or terminations of Divine calls. No detail has been posted on the web regarding resignations. (confer Policy Book, April 2001 #45)
Whereas 1) at times it is necessary for called workers to resign or to have their Divine Calls terminated; and
Whereas 2) it would be good for us to be as uniform as possible in reporting these resignations and terminations
Whereas 3) it is important for us to report in such a way that the truth is told and reputations are not harmed; therefore be it
Resolved, a) that we work with six basic terms: personal, health, cause, inability to serve, position eliminated and for the good of the ministry; and be it further
Resolved, b) that these terms be generally defined as follows:
1. personal reasons – financial, family & other non-table of duties matters
2. health reasons – physical, mental and emotional
3. cause – persistent adherence to false doctrine, scandalous life (not blameless); willful neglect of duty;
4. inability to serve; established inability to perform the duties of office
5. position eliminated.
6. for the good of the ministry.
Resolved, c) that this be communicated by the District Presidents as they feel the need within their Districts.
Resolved, d that each District President use only these terms in reporting resignations and terminations.
Since resignations and terminations are going to be posted on the web through the Synod President’s Newsletter, we recommend that when a termination takes place because a position has been eliminated it simply be reported as “position eliminated.” In their District President reports, such actions may be listed with both terms. Terminations for other reasons would be simply listed as “Divine Call terminated.”

GJ - I suggest that defenestration be used when a district pope has meddled with a divine call and forced a pastor out of the ministry in order to feed the DP's ego needs.

More Unintentional Humor - WELS Will Train People To Handle Money

Christian Giving Counselors Guide You In Giving Towards the Lord's Work

Each of the 12 WELS districts has Christian giving counselors who know well the principles of Christian stewardship and can assist churches or individuals with promoting or making gifts to support WELS gospel ministry. There is no fee for the services of a counselor. He is qualified to assist you with one or more of the following services:

Assistance to Members
Giving you the latest information about WELS ministry opportunities or projects of special interest
Giving you counsel in developing a plan for regular, faithful Christian giving
Advice on which gifts are best for family and which are best for ministry
Ways to reduce taxes and increase giving
Advice in putting together or reviewing your Christian estate plan
Providing information about donor advised funds, trusts and annuities and how they can be used to accomplish charitable giving
Helping you find the professionals you need to accomplish your Christian giving
Giving you information about how you can participate in designated giving, including becoming a Mission Partner with a synod ministry
Assistance to Churches
Preaching (if counselor is trained as a pastor): especially applicable for worship services emphasizing stewardship, Mission Partners, Walking Together, or opportunities within WELS
Presentations during Bible class or a special time during the week:
Synod work and opportunities
Stewardship and financial planning
Making planned gifts
Estate planning
Mission Partners
Assistance in setting up a planned giving committee that could educate members on the best ways to make planned gifts to WELS. One function of this committee could be to set up and manage an endowment fund.
Benefits of a Counselor
Confidential counsel with a fellow Christian whose only desire is to help you
Continued growth in understanding and living the scriptural principles of Christian stewardship
The joy of generously supporting the Lord’s work in your congregation, synod, or a WELS agency
Where He Fits Into Your Gift-Making Process
WELS Christian giving counselors are not attorneys, and they do not give legal advice. They offer information of a general nature about legal matters and provide counsel regarding Christian principles of stewardship.

However, he is the one you want to talk with before you meet with an attorney. Your counselor can help you get your thoughts and plans in good order before your appointment. He is a fellow Christian you know you can trust to give you good, solid advice.

Contact Your Counselor
To contact your counselor, take a look at the directory below. The file is saved in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You may need the most recent version of Adobe Reader to view it (this is a free download). Note that highlighted links within the file are interactive.

Vonfessional Lutherans Are God Exegetes

Wauwatosa Delirium

And I came away with an overwhelming sense that to truly be a Wauwatosa theologian, you've just plain got to be PRETTY DOGGONE smart. You need to know the vonfessional languages, you need to understand philology, you need to be VERY well versed in Scripture, you need to be a god exegete, you need to know the controversies that have preceded and the way they have been dealt with.

***

GJ - WELS pastors never tire of praising themselves. They do tire of spell-checking. See that ABC checkmark above the window for text? A little right of center? Try that. Perhaps the comment poster does not have spell-check. There is always the job of self-editing.

Spel Chek has left a new comment on your post "Vonfessional Lutherans Are God Exegetes":

The comment you excerpted was praising Professor Brug. The writer was not praising himself.

GJ - Using the slang "you" makes the statement ambiguous. Often "you" means "I" instead of "one." I understand the writer to be saying that only the Wisconsin pastors are smart enough to Wauwatosi. They are also the only ones who want to.

I know from experience that the Wisconsin pastors are trained to consider themselves far superior to all others, to scorn Missouri pastors, and to look down on ELS pastors. All good Wisconsin anecdotes about Missouri lead to the conclusion that Missouri gets everything wrong, except when a Missouri pastor expresses his awe about WELS. "You don't realize what you have here." (So I was told more than once, about a Missouri pastor observing a WELS gathering.)

More proof of what I was saying:

There's no way anyone with the watered down Missouri type system is going to become a Wauwatosa type theologian unless he does a LOT of study elsewhere. Wauwatosa theology involves a combination of Exegetical skills, and being able to "get it" as to what really is at stake. Luther, to speak anachronistically once again, was a "Wauwatosa theologian" --demonstrated so vlearly at Marburg,....

The 95 Theses of Martin Luther

Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther
on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences
by Dr. Martin Luther (1517)


Published in:

Works of Martin Luther:

Adolph Spaeth, L.D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds.

(Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company, 1915), Vol.1, pp. 29-38


Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.

In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.

3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.

4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.

6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.

7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.

8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.

11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.

12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.

14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.

15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.

17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.

18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.

19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.

20. Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself.

21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;

22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.

23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.

24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.

25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.

26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.

27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].

28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.

29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.

30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.

31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.

32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.

33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;

34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.

35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.

38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.

39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.

40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].

41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;

44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.

45. 45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.

52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.

53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.

54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.

55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.

57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.

59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;

61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.

62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.

64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.

66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.

67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.

68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.

70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.

71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!

72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!

73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.

74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.

75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.

76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.

77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.

78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.

79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.

80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.

81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.

82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."

83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"

84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"

85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"

86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"

87. Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"

88. Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"

89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"

90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.

91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.

92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!

93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!

94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;

95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.

Werning Tied with Chemnitz for Greatest Lutheran Theologian

Who is the greatest Lutheran theologian?

Martin Luther 21 (75%)

Martin Chemnitz 2 (7%)

C. F. W. Walther 3 (10%)

Waldo Werning 2 (7%)

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GJ - Werning is certainly one of the most influential (destructive). I will have to run another poll on the most influential, for weal or woe.