Calvin's Disciples Defend UOJ with Slogans, Not Scripture

John Calvin enhanced the crude theology of Zwingli, without changing it.

In Zurich, Zwingli began the departure from Biblical theology in Swiss Protestantism, by making his slogans normative for understanding Scripture.  For example, "The Holy Spirit does not need a vehicle, like an oxcart..." That smart-aleck statement attacking the Means of Grace should sound familiar to anyone who deals with the Shrinkers. Their slogans all begin with mockery and have the same hollow ring.

Zwingli thought he was a soldier too, so he died young, on the battlefield. Calvin followed later, in Geneva. Lutherans use the term "Reformed" to describe all groups related to Calvinism, whether five-point TULIP or decision theology Arminians. There have been some Lutheran-Reformed union groups, such as the old Evangelical and Reformed, which wandered into the United Church of Christ and into oblivion. The UCC's description of the Evangelical part of their history is enlightening.

Calvin is remembered for such slogans as:

"God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damnation."
(Double predestination was taught in his first edition of the Institutes and every subsequent edition.)

"The finite is incapable of the Infinite." (Denial of the Real Presence, which he mocked at great length in his Institutes)

UOJ is taught using the same slogans, and they also mock Biblical teaching. How strange it is to having Lutherans defend the Reformation's Biblical theme of justification through faith alone by attacking faith.

Below are some slogans of UOJ, which give away the pretenders, no matter how they slick up their presentations. Like Calvin's propositions, they float in the air without Biblical support. Sadly, Walther was influenced by this style of thinking, so it became a bad habit in the Synodical Conference.

1. "Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 4:25; that therefore not for the sake of their good works, but without the works of the Law, by grace, for Christ's sake, He justifies, that is, accounts as righteous, all those who believe, accept, and rely on, the fact that for Christ's sake their sins are forgiven." (LCMS, Brief Statement)
   
2. "God has already given the world His verdict, 'Not guilty!'" This statement is repeatedly mindlessly in WELS conference papers and FIC articles. It comes from Pieper: "Now, then, if the Father raised Christ from the dead, He, by this glorious resurrection act, declared that the sins of the whole world are fully expiated, or atoned for, and that all mankind is now regarded as righteous before His divine tribunal." II, p. 321.
   
3. The Kokomo Statements, used to kick two families out of WELS for not accepting them, are also used to defame those families, calling the Statements a "caricature" of justification. In other words, the Kokomo Statements are so stupid that WELS must use their own synodical confession of faith against the victims of Kokomoism.
   
4. "The world is reconciled, so that means everyone in the world has been absolved." This same argument can be used to support Universalism.
   
5. "UOJ protects the Gospel." This unfortunate statement comes from Hoenecke's Dogmatics.
   
6. "Jesus was raised for our justification, which means that the entire world was absolved when Jesus rose from the dead." (See Romans 4:24 and 25)
   
7. "Lenski is wrong on justification." (Common WELS pastoral claim, never supported by evidence)
   
8. "For God has already forgiven you your sins 1800 years ago when He in Christ absolved all men by raising Him after He first had gone into bitter death for them. Only one thing remains on your part so that you also possess the gift. This one thing is—faith. And this brings me to the second part of today's Easter message, in which I now would show you that every man who wants to be saved must accept by faith the general absolution, pronounced 1800 years ago, as an absolution spoken individually to him." C. F. W. Walther, The Word of His Grace. This sounds very much like Decision Theology.
   

To make their universal absolution sound valid, they have to attack faith in various ways.







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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Calvin's Disciples Defend UOJ with Slogans, Not Sc...":

Brett, Forgiveness is there whether believed or not. It gives no comfort or peace. Nothing. One must have faith to reap the benefits. Once one believes it becomes subjective. Its easy to come to your conclusions when you disregard the subjective. UOJ falls flat without SJ. There's that context issue again.

JK

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GJ - Joe Krohn, the Rock and Roll blogger (retired) illustrates two points.

One is that the Church and Changers love UOJ. Joe has a long history with the Chicaneries, going back to CrossWalk (soon to be retired) and some Schwaermer conference he enthused about on the Chicanery listserve.

The second point is the Calvinistic fondness for slogans without Biblical support, to wit, "UOJ falls flat without SJ." Is that from II Seymour 3:13? The repeated shibboleths of Pietism are not going to convince people without the Word, against the Word.

I need a break from junk-food UOJ. I need some good quotations for doctrinal nutrition.

"Zwingli, Calvin, and their adherents denied that the Word of God always possesses the same efficacy, and that God always operates through the Word." E. Hove, Christian Doctrine, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1930, p. 27.

"...it is exceedingly difficult to prevent this low view from running out into Socinianism, as, indeed, it actually has run in Calvinistic lands, so that it became a proverb, often met with in the older theological writers--'A young Calvinist, an old Socinian.' This peril is confessed and mourned over by great Calvinistic divines. New England is an illustration of it on an immense scale, in our own land." Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publication House, 1871, p. 489.

"We probably think first of such groups coming into being in the late 1600s in connection with Pietism. Spener promoted them as a vehicle by which pious laypeople could be a leaven for good in reforming the 'dead orthodoxy' of a congregation and its pastor." Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 126. "The point being made here is that the reason for having home Bible study in small groups seems to have shifted from the Pietists' or parachurch groups goal of creating cells of people who will reform the church to having small groups as an integral part of a congregation's work." Prof. David Kuske, "Home Bible Study Groups in the 1990s," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring, 1994. p. 127.

"They [the Zwinglians] divorced the Word and the Spirit, separated the person who preaches and teaches the Word from God, who works through the Word, and separated the servant who baptizes from God, who has commanded the Sacrament. They fancied that the Holy Spirit is given and works without the Word, that the Word merely gives assent to the Spirit, whom it already finds in the heart. If, then, this Word does not find the Spirit but a godless person, then it is not the Word of God. In this way they falsely judge and define the Word, not according to God, who speaks it, but according to the man who receives it. They want only that to be the Word of God which is fruitful and brings peace and life..." Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 664f.

"Meanwhile, back in Europe the corrosive effects of Pietism in blurring doctrinal distinctions had left much of Lutheranism defenseless against the devastating onslaught of Rationalism which engulfed the continent at the beginning of the 19th century. With human reason set up as the supreme authority for determining truth, it became an easy matter to disregard doctrinal differences and strive for a 'reasonable' union of Lutherans and Reformed." Martin W. Lutz, "God the HS Acts Through the Lord's Supper," God The Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972, p. 176.

"The term 'Reformed' has therefore become a distinctive name and denotes all those church bodies which follow the theology and particularly the church practices of Zwingli and John Calvin. It is correct when Lutherans insist that there are three large groups of Christians: the Catholics, the Lutherans, and the Reformed." F. E. Mayer, American Churches, Beliefs and Practices, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, p. 24.

"Luther protested against Rome's soul-destroying teachings and reformed the Church by restoring the pure doctrine of God's Word. Zwingli hoped to reform the Church by abolishing Rome's superstitious practices. Calvin believed that a complete reformation implied two things: First, it was necessary to abolish all ceremonies, even those which were in use in the ancient Church, such as the liturgy, the church year, pulpits, altars; secondly, a truly reformed Church must follow the pattern of the Apostolic Church in all its church practices and adopt the form of church government given to Israel in the Old Testament." F. E. Mayer, American Churches, Beliefs and Practices, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1946, p. 24.

"The divine power must never be separated from the Word of Scripture; that is to say, the Holy Ghost does not operate beside or outside the Word (enthusiasm, Calvinism, Rathmannism in the Lutheran Church), but always in and through the Word, Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23; John 6:23." John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 134f. Romans 10:17; John 6:23; 1 Peter 1:23.

"The doctrine of the means of grace is understood properly only when it is considered in the light of Christ's redemptive work (satisfactio vicaria) and the objective justification, or reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, which He secured by His substitutionary obedience (satisfactio vicaria). If these two doctrines are corrupted (Calvinism: denial of the gratia universalis; synergism: denial of sola gratia), then also the Scripture doctrine of the means of grace will become perverted." John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 442. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20.

"Calvinism rejects the means of grace as unnecessary; it holds that the Holy Spirit requires no escort or vehicle by which to enter human hearts." John T. Mueller, "Grace, Means of," Lutheran Cyclopedia, Erwin L. Lueker, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975, p. 344.

"Pietist preachers were anxious to discover and in a certain sense to separate the invisible congregation from the visible congregation. They had to meet demands different than those of the preceding period: they were expected to witness, not in the objective sense, as Luther did, to God's saving acts toward all men, but in a subjective sense of faith, as they themselves had experienced it. In this way Pietism introduced a tendency toward the dissolution of the concept of the ministry in the Lutheran Church." Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943.

"All those doctrinal questions which were not immediately connected with the personal life of faith were avoided. The standard for the interpretation of Scripture thus became the need of the individual for awakening, consolation, and exhortation. The congregation as a totality was lost from view; in fact, pietistic preaching was (and is) more apt to divide the congregation than to hold it together." Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943.

"Pietism greatly weakened the confessional consciousness which was characteristic of orthodox Lutheranism." Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1945.

"In other words, Zwingli and his numerous adherents declare that the means God has ordained are unnecessary and hinder true piety." Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., trans., Walter W. F. Albrecht, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 104.

I feel better now.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Calvin's Disciples Defend UOJ with Slogans, Not Sc...":

In the People's Bible Teachings, Christian Freedom, William E. Fischer had this to say about justification:

"AS a gracious God, he did not put any conditions on his justification of an alienated world. He did not say, "If you live up to my commands, then I will justify you." He did not even say, "I will forgive you if you believe in me." His universal justification stands whether people believe it or not. Some would have us believe that God justifies only those who believe in him. But that would rob us of God's grace and the blessed truth of our-and, yes, everyone's-justification."

"But God's grace was not finished; he left nothing to chance. He knew this marvelous gift would come only to those who believed in Christ, and he knew that none of us had the power to work faith in our own hearts. So he sent his Holy Spirit to convert us through the gospel. And through that faith we are justified; we have been truly freed from sin and its curse, from death and its fear, from Satan and his power."

Can Brett or GJ pick out the two contradictions? I am just a layman and I spotted it real quick.

In Christ,
from WELS church lady aka trying not to be lazy

***

GJ - Church Lady, the laity have no problems understanding the Biblical teaching of justification by faith. "Only a layman" is a mantra taught by insecure pastors who want to dazzle a layman with their feeble grasp of Greek. Someone could do the same thing back with Unix commands (grep) or knitting instructions (knit two, purl two). Justification in the Bible only means "justification by faith." Justification in the Book of Concord only means "justification by faith." The Pietists made up double-justification, but they have yet to articulate their opinion convincingly.

The paragraph quoted is absurd. I can condense the nonsense as "Everyone is justified but no one is justified until he believes."

Here is a brief description of justification by faith -

The Gospel is the message that Christ has redeemed the world by dying on the cross, paying for everyone's sins. This Gospel message creates and nurtures faith. We call the Word and Sacraments (the visible and invisible Word) the Means of Grace because God has pledged to work only through the Word. Thus the Holy Spirit brings this treasure of the Gospel to individuals, who receive it in faith, apart from any merit, work, or virtue.

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L P has left a new comment on your post "Calvin's Disciples Defend UOJ with Slogans, Not Sc...":

I think what Walther and Pieper saw were much decision theology of their day. Now to counter this faith in faith, they being influenced by UOJ sharpened its message making atonement = justification, a blunder of infinite proportions.

I hear UOJers and they seem to hate faith with much hatred, it makes one sick.

This is astounding, considering Jesus is the author of faith!

The UOJers I encounter hold Walther and Pieper as their heroes - I am not kidding. They hold them higher than Luther! You can disagree with Luther and that would be ok with them, but wait till you disagree with Walther and Pieper and let us see what happens.

LPC

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GJ - That is true. Once Pieper and Walther are questioned, the lights go out. Nobody is home. There is nothing left to do but shun the poor slob who has stepped on the Third Rail of the Synodical Conference - founder-worship. If the founders are not worshiped as infallible, the SC becomes fallible. Luther's doctrine is expendable. He is not related to anyone in the hierarchy. Anyone who wants sound doctrine can be assailed with "Luther complex!" and pastors snicker. But no one says "Pieper complex!" Mark and Avoid Jeske has a Pieper complex. He cannot be wrong or corrected, because he is "fifth generation WELS." Ooh.

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L P has left a new comment on your post "Calvin's Disciples Defend UOJ with Slogans, Not Sc...":

Faith is righteousness! Because it grabs a hold of Christ the Righteous One who paid for the sins of the world. This is the reason why faith justifies, so the BoC says. This faith that believes that for Christ's sake God forgives us, the Bible says is a gift.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Heb 11:6.

Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Heb 12:2.

Hence, no faith, no justification, no righteousness.

LPC

Prosperity Gospel Promoter Oral Roberts, Dead at 91: Will His Idiot Son Take Over Empire?

Prayer as THE Means of Grace? Say it ain't so, Oral.

"Evangelist Oral Roberts, founder of Oral Roberts University, has died. Roberts rose from humble tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar ministry and a university bearing his name. He was 91.

Oral Roberts death is due to complications from pneumonia.

Below is the full text from the Press Release sent out."

PRESS RELEASE:

Dr. Oral Roberts, a legendary evangelist who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th century, died today in Newport Beach, Calif., due to complications from pneumonia. His son, Richard, and daughter, Roberta, were at his side. The founder of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University was 91.

There will be a private family internment. Arrangements for a public memorial service in Tulsa are pending and will be announced soon.

I thought of this Bagdad Saddam Hussein monument.

"Oral Roberts was the greatest man of God I've ever known," Richard Roberts said. "A modern-day apostle of the healing ministry, an author, educator, evangelist, prophet, and innovator, he was the only man of his generation to build a worldwide ministry, an accredited university, and a medical school.

"Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he was not only my earthly father; he was my spiritual father and mentor. The last member of his generation in the Roberts family, he had a passion to bring healing to the sick.

"His name is synonymous with miracles. He came along when many in Christendom did not believe in the power of God and His goodness. Oral Roberts was known for sayings such as ‘God Is a Good God,' ‘Expect a Miracle,' ‘Release Your Faith,' and ‘Plant Your Seed for a Harvest.'

"The Bible teaches that when a Christian dies, he or she is instantly transferred into the presence of God. The past few months, my father has talked about going home to be with the Lord on a daily basis. He has run his race and finished his course. Now he is in heaven, and we as Christians have the Bible promise that someday we will be reunited. My heart is sad, but my faith in God is soaring."

Granville Oral Roberts was born into poverty in Bebee, Okla., on Jan. 24, 1918. He began stuttering as a young child and then, as a teenager, contracted a potentially deadly case of tuberculosis. Bedfast at 17, he was carried to a revival meeting by his older brother, where a healing evangelist was praying for the sick.

On the way, he clearly heard God speak to him, saying, "Son, I am going to heal you, and you are to take My healing power to your generation. You are to build Me a university based on My authority and on the Holy Spirit."

Roberts was miraculously healed of tuberculosis and stuttering at the revival meeting. His healing ministry was born several years later. "If a former stuttering, tuberculosis-ridden young Indian boy in an obscure county in Oklahoma can see the invisible and do the impossible—and still do it—so can you!" Roberts once said.

Roberts was a legendary and beloved figure in a segment of Christianity that emphasizes healing, speaking in tongues, and other gifts of the Holy Spirit, as described in the New Testament.

Dr. Jack Hayford, president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, said of Roberts, "If God had not, in His sovereign will, raised up the ministry of Oral Roberts, the entire charismatic movement might not have occurred. Oral shook the landscape with the inescapable reality and practicality of Jesus' whole ministry. His teaching and concepts were foundational to the renewal that swept through the whole church. He taught concepts that spread throughout the world and simplified and focused a spiritual lifestyle that is embraced by huge sectors of today's church."

After his healing at age 17, Roberts spent a dozen years pastoring churches in Oklahoma and Georgia, and preaching at revivals around the country, while also studying at Oklahoma Baptist University and Phillips (Okla.) University.

Then, in 1947, he founded Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (OREA) and began conducting crusades across America and around the world, attracting crowds of thousands—many who were sick and dying, and in search of healing. Through the years, he conducted more than 300 crusades on six continents. OREA officials estimate that he personally laid hands in prayer on more than 2 million people. The ministry continues under the leadership of Roberts' son, Richard, who has ministered in the U.S. and around the world for almost 30 years.

In 1954, Oral Roberts revolutionized evangelism by bringing television cameras into services, providing what he liked to call a "front-row seat to miracles" for millions of viewers. Years later, he began a television program, "Oral Roberts Presents." More than 50 years later, the ministry's daily program, "The Place for Miracles," continues to minister to millions on over 100 television stations, multiple cable and satellite networks, and can be seen around the world via the Internet.

In 1958, Roberts founded the Abundant Life Prayer Group to address the around-the-clock needs of those suffering and requesting prayer. More than 50 years later, prayer partners continue to receive calls from around the world seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Over the years, they have received more than 23 million phone calls for prayer, along with astounding reports of miracles in answer to prayer.

Roberts answered God's call to build an institute of higher learning in 1963, founding Oral Roberts University on 500 acres in Tulsa, Okla. Longtime friend Billy Graham officially dedicated ORU four years later. In the 1970s graduate schools, including Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Law, Education, and Theology, were added. Roberts served as school president until 1993, when he became chancellor.

In 1981, Roberts founded the City of Faith Medical and Research Center, merging the healing power of medicine and prayer. The facility closed after eight years, leaving a lasting impact on the understanding by many medical professionals of the importance of treating the whole person—body, mind and spirit.

Roberts wrote more than 130 books, including such classics as "If You Need Healing, Do These Things," and "The Fourth Man." His book "The Miracle of Seed Faith" has more than 8 million copies in circulation. This book's key principles—God is your Source, sow your seed out of your need, and expect a miracle harvest—formed a fundamental part of Roberts' ministry and legacy.

"After I'm gone, others will have to judge how well I've obeyed God's command not to be an echo but to be a voice like Jesus," Roberts said. "As far as my own conviction is concerned, I've tried to be that voice with every fiber of my being, regardless of the cost."

Roberts was preceded in death by his wife, Evelyn, a daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca Ann and Marshall Nash; a son, Ronald David Roberts; a grandchild, Richard Oral Roberts; his mother and father; two sisters, Velma Roberts and Jewel Faust; and two brothers, Elmer and Vaden Roberts.

He is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Lindsay Roberts; a daughter and son-in-law, Roberta and Ronald Potts, all of Tulsa; as well as 12 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Oral Roberts Ministry Healing Missions Fund, as part of the ongoing goal of Oral Roberts Ministries to take the saving, healing, delivering message of the Gospel into all the world until Jesus returns. Gifts can be sent in care of Oral Roberts Ministries, P.O. 2187, Tulsa, Okla. 74102, or online at www.OralRoberts.com.

Another story can be found here.

***

GJ - Richard Roberts, who now looks just like daddy, divorced his first wife to marry his second wife. His second wife spent an inordinate amount of time texting college boys in the middle of the night, according to her cell phone records.

Some details are listed in Wikipedia:

Other allegations against Roberts include claims he used university funds to pay for his daughter's trip to The Bahamas by providing the university jet and billing other costs to the school, maintained a stable of horses on campus and at university expense for the exclusive use of his children, regularly summoned university and ministry staff to the Roberts house to do his daughters’ homework, remodeled his house at university expense 11 times in the past 14 years, allowed the university to be billed both for damage done by his daughters to university-owned golf carts and for video-taped vandalism caused by one of his daughters, later alleged to be Chloe Roberts (along with benefiting from school property she allegedly stole during the same incident, even after he was informed) and acquired a red Mercedes convertible and a white Lexus SUV for his wife Lindsay through ministry donors.[9][10]

Lindsay Roberts, who was referred to in ORU publicity as the university's "first lady," was accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars of university funds on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to the children of family friends and sending text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."[9] The lawsuit also alleges a longtime maintenance employee was fired for the purpose of giving the job to an underage male friend of Lindsay Roberts.[11]

"Smile, harder, smile like you mean it, Lindsay."

How Pietists Think

As the founder of Lutheran Pietism, Spener was the first union theologian among the Lutherans,
but not the last.

Freddy Finkelstein has already written on this topic. I started this post last night, went to sleep, and woke up to two comments he posted to "Awww - Ain't That Sweet!" I will kelm them below, to keep this thread a little organized.

Pietism began with Spener's program, which included two poison pills for Lutheran doctrine:
1. Love is more important than doctrine.
2. Conventicles, or cell groups, are needed to promote the fruits of Christianity.

Although he denied it, Spener borrowed conventicles from Labadie, who was previously a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest. Catholic spirituality encourages small group intensity, whether in a Marian society or other methods of small group prayer. Jesuits were organized and trained to exercise power in society. The cell group moves the Christian Church away from the Biblical Means of Grace to prayer as THE Means of Grace.

A standard anecdote from Lutherans under this spell will be told like this, as a "witness" to everyone. - I was worried about my son and his friends, because a lot of bad things happen in those fishing shacks in the winter. So I prayed about it. And God sent a storm and blew the shack down. (Triumphant smile.) Nothing is said about parental discipline or the likelihood of moving to another, better engineered shack.

Cell group members are superior, because the real Church for them is the conventicle. The Sunday service is an administrative necessity for offerings and recruiting, but it contains too many unwashed traditionalists to satisfy the Pietist. The cell groupie performs and works, while the Biblical Means of Grace service is one where we receive Christ and his forgiveness.

Unionism does not just set aside doctrinal discernment. The Pietists make doctrinal discernment a sin, because that leads to criticism of other denominations. Therefore, all denominations engaged in cell groups are good and worthy of emulation. On the doctrinal side, this leads to Pentecostalism and Romanism, because tongue-speaking and Marian excesses mine the emotions so effectively at first. Today's cell groupies will fall into three categories in the future: Roman Catholics, Pentecostals, and burnt-out atheists.

Pietists are works-salesmen and law-mongers. The first thing from a Shrinker is "Look at the numbers God has accomplished through me." Their heresiarch Rick Warren teaches them, "Faith is not enough. You need transforming love, too." The Shrinker Lutheran congregations brag they are transforming lives, making them real, relevant, and relational.

Pietists speak of love, but forcing love is like forcing a smile, not effective. The cell groupies are really full of hatred for and anger against:

1. Traditional Means of Grace worship services.
   
2. Lutheran hymns, music, liturgy, and creeds.
   
3. Real Law and Gospel sermons.

They tolerate false doctrine. In fact, they are giddy with excitement over the latest heresies. But they do not tolerate anyone who questions them. They may love-bomb them for a time, a typical cell group approach, but they shun them for life when their tender mercies fail. Shunning is not enough - they make sure their opponents cease to exist. Ask any minister who has dealt with charismatics. The Shrinkers are exactly the same, especially lethal when elevated to positions of authority (chairwoman of the missionary society, etc).

Pietists teach indifference toward the Book of Concord and the Means of Grace. They talk about Jesus and grace all the time but take away the Instruments of Grace (media gratiae). They deny the efficacy of God's Word but never stop blabbing about their word.

Cells are effective. The entire Soviet Union was organized around Communist cells. A Soviet is a cell, so the USSR was a union of social cells. The political officer made it his duty to murder any opponents of Marxist-Lenist socialism. The SEALs work in cells too. They are ferociously dedicated to helping one another, and their various teams are united in a common cause. Pietistic cells promote the unionism, Reformed doctrine, and destroying Lutheran doctrine. They have worked their way up the ranks in the Synodical Conference and hold positions of authority in all the synods, ELCA too.

The people opposing the WELS Synod President are Pietists. Read their favorite authors - all Reformed, Pentecostal, or secular business people. Read the websites of their favorite conferences - Drive, Dirt, Exponential, Catalyst, Radicalis, Mars Hill, Granger Community Church, Northpoint, Leonard Sweet, Rick Warren, and Craig Groeschel. Check out their favorite training centers - Fuller Seminary, Trinity in Deerfield, Willow Creek.

Look at the State of Wisconsin Doctrinal Pussycats. They have one thing in common. They are getalong-goalong guys. They look pleasant, friendly, and harmless. However, they do not like their Pietism challenged.

A lot of charges will be invented by the Pietists in the next year or two. Their favorite will probably be "loveless."

"Therefore, do not speak to me of love or friendship when anything is to be detracted from the Word or the faith; for we are told that not love but the Word brings eternal life, God's grace, and all heavenly treasures."  What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1411f. Ephesians 6:10-17. 

"In like manner we will also do to our princes and priests; when they attack our manner of life, we should suffer it and show love for hatred, good for evil; but when they attack our doctrine, God's honor is attacked, then love and patience should cease and we should not keep silent, but also say: I honor my Father, and you dishonor me; yet I do not inquire whether you dishonor me, for I do not seek my own honor." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 176. Fifth Sunday in Lent John 8:46-59.

"Doctrine is our only light. It alone enlightens and directs us and shows us the way to heaven. If it is shaken in one quarter (in une parte), it will necessarily be shaken in its entirety (in totum). Where that happens, love cannot help us at all." What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 414. Galatians 5:10.                  

"But this tender mercy is to be exercised only toward Christians and among Christians, for toward those who reject and persecute the Gospel we must act differently; here I am not permitted to let my love be merciful so as to tolerate and endure false doctrine. When faith and doctrine are concerned and endangered, neither love nor patience are in order. Then it is my duty to contend in earnest and not to yield a hairbreadth." What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 637f.              

"It is self-evident that if the perfectio, or sufficientia, of Scripture be surrendered , the Scripture principle is given up. If a deficiency in the Bible must be supplied from some outside source, the Christian Church is eo ipso moved off its foundation, the Word of the Apostles and Prophets, and based on the Ego of the alleged supplementers." Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1950, I, p. 319.

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Trigl. p. 1095) Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65.    

"When a theologian is asked to yield and make concessions in order that peace may at last be established in the Church, but refuses to do so even in a single point of doctrine, such an action looks to human reason like intolerable stubbornness, yea, like downright malice. That is the reason why such theologians are loved and praised by few men during their lifetime. Most men rather revile them as disturbers of the peace, yea, as destroyers of the kingdom of God. They are regarded as men worthy of contempt. But in the end it becomes manifest that this very determined, inexorable tenacity in clinging to the pure teaching of the divine Word by no means tears down the Church; on the contrary, it is just this which, in the midst of greatest dissension, builds up the Church and ultimately brings about genuine peace. Therefore, woe to the Church which has no men of this stripe, men who stand as watchmen on the walls of Zion, C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 28.    

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Freddy Finkelstein has left a new comment on your post "Awww - Ain't That Sweet!":

After having spent nearly thirty years in the throes of pop-church Evangelicalism, of thinking their thoughts, of saying their words, of engaging in their false practices, and of wallowing with them in their doctrinal muck, it is easy for me to spot the dominance of this dying movement's influence in the words of the two authors quoted by Dr. Jackson at the head of this blog entry. In the case of the anonymous author from St. Marcus, the trifecta of smiling evangelical epithets is offered: (1) "my heart is wounded," (2) "you Pharisee," (3) but "I'm praying for you."

(1) The heart-wound is apparently inflicted as this individual is jolted by reality out of a dream that the Church Militant is a peaceful place. The reality is, it isn't. We are at war. The war is continuous. The war is waged among the Visible Church as much as it is anywhere else, as sinful man, continuously restless and lacking contentment with the Word of God in all of its finality, seeks to add to or subtract from it, as he gives in to the enticements of the World and seeks to follow in its ways, or as he otherwise falls prey to the wiles of the Devil. The Bible tells us in Romans 16 that man's motive in departing from pure Scripture teaching is ultimately to serve his own belly. God is not served by such innovation. In point of fact, the war that the Church wages is over Scripture teaching itself; its struggle is to keep it pure and unalloyed. Satan is content to settle either for half-truth's or full lies. Both serve his purpose equally well – to cause man to direct his eternal hope away from the objective promises of Christ to some other god, and to rob mankind of his Salvation. Yet, our job is not to battle Satan by working to grow the Church, as he works to shrink the Church through false teaching and dubious practices. Jesus Christ has fought that battle for us, and has vanquished Satan; rather, it is the Holy Spirit, working through the pure Word of God, alone, Who grows the church. If we cherish the Holy Spirit and His work, we must battle to keep the Word pure.

The claim, "you wounded my heart," is a safe accusation for an Evangelical accuser to make because it is entirely unverifiable "emotional schlock," (as cw, above, so aptly puts it). Unity among pop-church Evangelicals has very little to do with doctrinal agreement, but, rather, nearly entirely with peaceful association regardless of one's precise doctrinal stance. Divisiveness, rather than measured by pop-church Evangelicals against the teachings of Scripture (which are negotiable to varying degrees among them), is measured relative to "social oneness" – which is interpreted by them as "spiritual oneness." Pointing out the false teachings of others is to manifest something other than "oneness," dashing hopes (however false) and crushing spirits – the "unforgivable sin" of pop-church Evangelicalism.

(2) Thus the claim "you wounded my heart," naturally leads to its corollary accusation, "you Pharisee." Pharisees are big-meanies. They are unfair. Therefore they are wrong-spirited. Besides, they are the enemies of Jesus. Since the claim, "you wounded my heart," is fundamentally unverifiable and meaningless (as everybody well-knows), it is a safe accusation to make, requiring very little proof or explanation – and because it is anti-Jesus, it has the utmost “gravitas” and is taken seriously on the face of the accusation. In the mind of the pop-church Evangelical, heart-wounding is an act of disunity, it is therefore against Jesus, so the label "Pharisee" applies.

(3) Such accusations are usually followed by some form of reprimand. In this case, we read: What is it that bolsters Pharisees like I once was to pride themselves in defending their small lifeless congregations while at the same time feeling the need to lash out at and label larger congregations as being Ichabod for thriving? Could it be that these attacks issue forth from a place of unacknowledged (if even realized) fear because of not being as sure as they profess themselves to be that their numbers are small solely because they are God’s chosen "remnant", or because of whatever other supposed scriptural reason that they can come up with? Here we have the classic "we're big and you're small, so you're just jealous" reprimand. Regardless of the specific accusation, to solidify the moral superiority of the accuser, such reprimands are almost always followed by the classic and infuriating, "I'm praying for you." I recently had an acquaintance, offended by my confessionalism, say this to me. I ignored it, of course, but I might just as well have said, "Well, as long as you're announcing it, why don't you just elevate yourself in the center of the congregation and make a show of it?"

Interestingly, the anonymous St. Marcus author claims to be offended. And I agree – he has been offended. Yet, the source of his offense, as admitted openly by him, is not a direct telling of reality, but a false understanding of the Doctrine of the Church. The Unity he expects in the Visible Church, is manifest only in the Church Universal, invisible among the Church Militant yet fully enjoyed among the Church Triumphant. The source of offense is not the messenger of truth in this case, but the teacher he sits under who has poorly catechized him.

Otherwise, in the case of the Canadian Clergyman, Brett Meyer has offered enough research to suggest what sources have been informing his thinking in matters of doctrine and practice. I'll only add the following: the signature line at the bottom of his email, a quote from Sir Francis Bacon, pretty well sums up his entire theme. It says, If we are to achieve results never before accomplished, we must expect to employ methods never before attempted. Such is intended as a reference to the mission of the Church. Much like the Babylonians, it extols the heights of achievement humankind can reach and makes them Man’s objective. For a true Lutheran, such a statement ought to be as repugnant as the Tower the Babylonians constructed. Such a statement is rank anthropocentrism, and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Freddy Finkelstein

State of Wisconsin DPs - WELS

Minnesotans for Global Warming

Check out this information at the Finkelsteinery.

Mark and Avoid Jeske Admires Mark and Avoid Driscoll of Mars Hill

Driscoll, the Dark Lord of Seattle

Loved by Jeske, Ski, Bishop Katie, and Glende

Pastor Jeske's Blog

6/8/2009 - Cussing

Perhaps you’ve heard of Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill church in Seattle. A prolific author and speaker, he has a considerable national reputation. Some of his detractors, including equally famous Southern California pastor John McArthur, recently ignited some hoo-ha when they criticized his occasionally salty pulpit language as inappropriate “cussing.” McArthur even called for Driscoll to step down as Mars Hill pastor.

Apparently Driscoll has been heard to say “Damn” not in its Biblical sense but in the more common usage merely as an emphasis word. Some of what he is being criticized for is not cursing per se (i.e. calling on God to condemn something to hell) but vulgarity (“hell”, “I’m screwed”, “that sucks”). Even the notoriously hip Pastor Ed Young, Jr., piled on. I can resonate with Driscoll’s dilemma. I have been strongly criticized several times for saying “Dang” in a message.

On the one hand, you have Bible passages like Ephesians 4:29 that urge Christians not to let “any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,” or Ephesians 5:4, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking.” On the other hand, Driscoll’s defenders point out that he is not actually cursing, but merely using language the way his target audience uses it. The huge growth of Mars Hill is seen as proof that he is connecting with young people in metro Seattle.

Well, what’s a pastor to do? Do you have any advice for me?

http://www.timeofgrace.org/blog/?p=151

As a comment to Jeske's post below:

6/9/2009 - Posted by TF
I think light cussing maybe is alright to use in context to reach younger church goers, but it is a slippery slope. You may offend more than you attract. I am 43, and it would hard for me to hear a pastor cuss. I am from a traditional WELS background. Keep up the goodwork Pastor Mark. I wish I could find someone more like you in a local church.

What would we do without traditional WELSians

Why were Glende, Ski, and Katie in Seattle for seafood?

Driscoll? Did they tell their congregations the truth?

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Mark and Avoid Jeske Admires Mark and Avoid Drisco...":

WELS/LCMS Pastor Mark Jeske states, "On the one hand, you have Bible passages...On the other hand, ...The huge growth of Mars Hill is seen as proof that he is connecting with young people...Well, what’s a pastor to do? Do you have any advice for me?"

What's wrong with this world that WELS/LCMS Pastors such as Mark Jeske are made to chose between God's Word and huge growth.

WWSD? Yeah, he already did.

Jeske should be taken to the edge of town and pelted with .... Contemporary dog poo. (little nod to DK)

Everyone Is Buzzing - Meet the LCMS-WELS-ELS Shrinkers at Radicalis

Did the MLC boys learn from this photo?

These idiot poses never go away. Ask Rick Warren, DMin (Fuller) By the way, Warren is a Baptist, though he hides it, the way Andy Stanley does. Both leaders are bit deals for the Shrinkers in WELS and the LCMS.

Radicalis - 2009

Rick Warren is having a confab of confabs at his Saddleback Church. Mrs. Ichabod stopped at Saddleback and went in to listen to him speak to addicts.

Church and Changers will be there, fur shure. Look at the speaker list:

Speakers

Andy Stanley
Author and Pastor,
North Point Community Church

Brad Powell
Senior Pastor,
North Ridge Church

Buddy Owens
Teaching Pastor,
Saddleback Church

Dave Holden
Training Director,
Purpose Driven

Dino Rizzo
Author and Pastor,
Healing Place Church

Doug Fields
Author and Pastor,
Saddleback Church

Gerald Sharon
North American Director,
Purpose Driven Network

John Baker
Founder and Pastor,
Celebrate Recovery

Kay Warren
Pastor’s Wife and Author

Kerry Shook
Senior Pastor, Woodlands Church and Author

Mark Driscoll
Ex-Senior Pastor, Ex-Mars Hill Church and Author

Perry Noble
Senior Pastor, NewSpring Church

Pete Scazzero
Senior Pastor,
New Life Fellowship Church

Rick Muchow
Pastor of Worship,
Saddleback Church

Rick Warren
Senior Pastor & Author,
Saddleback Church

Steve Adams
Children’s Pastor,
Saddleback Church

Steve Gladen
Pastor of Small Groups,
Saddleback Church

Tom Holladay
Teaching Pastor,
Saddleback Church

Absolute Surrender, Sacrificial Lifestyle, Authentic Christianity...
A Radical Experience

Rick Warren and his team invite you and your team to attend Radicalis, February 9-12, 2010

Radicalis is really ten conferences in one that makes it possible to bring your entire church team for individual learning experiences.
Radicalis is a unique hands-on, comprehensive experience that will enhance each member of your team’s role in your church and build and inspire them to serve God in your community and the world. Rick Warren, the Saddleback Team and leading national pastors will challenge, develop, and expand your vision to be a moving force for God in today’s world.
They’ll help you understand the paradigm, learn the process and build relationships for expanding your ministry. They’ll enlarge your understanding of what “church” and “ministry” mean to enable you to affect positive, purposeful change for God. Imagine what would happen in your community, in your church and in our world if your church team collectively shared an experience guided by the Spirit of God in which we saw His calling and His will for your ministry.

Check out the TEN Individual Learning Experiences that will be at Saddleback's Radicalis February 2010:

• Purpose Driven Church & The
  P E A C E Plan
• Preaching for Life Change
• Purpose Driven Youth Ministries
• Purpose Driven Children’s Ministries
• Purpose Driven Small Groups
• Worship
• Leading Through Change
• Developing Emotionally Healthy Leadership
• HIV/AIDS/Orphan Care
• Celebrate Recovery

Special Featured Conference

• Life as a Pastor's Wife

Ichabod Is Being Followed

Darwin studied earthworms 40 years and still missed the big picture: Creation, purpose, intelligent design.

http://news.lutheranweb.net/

Your blog is being followed as a header on this site.  Four clicks down posted on the left side highlighted as blue button. 

***


GJ - I am surprised, since so many blogs reflect upon, copy, or oppose what is posted here. But they do not link or list. I find someone echoing my post and not giving credit a supreme compliment, so I do not mind at all. Several who were rather touchy about me at first are now good friends - but I forget their names.


I am going to link them in return, because they gather up a lot of news from Lutherdom.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ichabod Is Being Followed":

Wow. What a mishmash of stuff on that website. Leaves a pretty bad taste in one's mouth.


***

GJ - Some call those sites "conglomerators." They use software to pick up the latest posts and save the rest of us a lot of time.

I was doing a search on "Paul Kelm" and found the website listed all his information as coming from Ichabod! Readers will notice the same effect when they look for various photos on Google Images. The early bird gets the worm, as Darwin would say.

ELCA Dissenters Waking Up To Reality

Come home to Rome - Purgatory awaits.

This is creepy. A regular email friend sent me this link, which involves an LCA church I used to pass when I walked to high school in Moline:

http://www.faithelcainfo.blogspot.com/

The website also mentions Trinity, which is the sister church of Salem, where I was confirmed. I heard a missionary at Salem who was part of J. W. Montgomery's book on Lutheran decline. Mrs. Ichabod and I were discussing Trinity today, because a NYC lawyer (once a member there) just sent a Season's Greetings card.

Not surprising to me is the way in which the ELCA is behaving toward dissenters.

I also wonder where all these dissenters were in 1987, when ELCA was formed with the worst possible combination of apostate theologians and leaders, except they got worse with the help of the quota system.

Why Confessional Lutherans Are Giving Up on the Enthusiastic Synodical Conference

Not my PhotoShop - from Mollie Hemmingway, LCMS

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Awww - Ain't That Sweet!":

Attention: to person from St. Marcus

Wow, I'm impressed, could the name withheld be Herr DrEck?

When the Pharisee card gets played, am I supposed to go through someone's idea of an emotional hoop? Sorry whoever your name is, you sold out and got called on it.

Just like the now expired 'Race card', that argument doesn't work anymore.

Just for integrity sake with your new religion why did you not have the decency to remove yourself? Us faithful would like to keep our church pure and keep the heterodox ecumenical schlock outside.

You should have moved on and started your own religion instead of piggy backing on Lutherans and pushing this stuff on us by stealth. The laity never asked for this, it came from the top down.

Lots of folks running around calling themselves Lutheran, the denominational name on the door doesn't mean much anymore and that goes for pastors, too.

Spare me the martyr stuff, I'm not buying, I read the Purpose Driven playbook, too.

I'm not giving an inch on doctrine, that doctrine stuff keeps my salvation helmet chin strap on real tight so when I encounter church growth baloney I can deal with it.
.

cw from Chicago
LCMS in exile

***

GJ - I do not know who this person is, but the comments should resonate with anyone who has encountered the Shrinkers.

Uncle Sam Wants You

 

Jeff Gunn, Church of the Outside Donor Needs-a-Grant

 

Matt Doebler, Proof That Copying Enthusiasts Will Not Create Success

Awww - Ain't That Sweet!

Greg:

I recently sent you an email suggesting that I was going to “take your website down.”  I realize now that I allowed my emotions to get the best of me.  My mission isn’t to change your mind about the way I and others decide to do ministry.  No one’s going to be converted to Christ by defeating you.  So I apologize for my lack of focus and continue to pray for God’s grace to reign in your heart as you approach others.

I recently read this in a book I’m currently re-reading called, “Killing Cockroaches.”  I think it summarizes things pretty well.

“…Frankly,  it’s our hope that lots of people love what we do.  But we also hope that a few people HATE what we do.  If we don’t experience those extreme reactions, we’re probably not fulfilling God’s mission for the church.  Don’t forget, God despises “lukewarm.”  We are a church for those who are unchurched or have given up on church.  If we are fully aligned with God’s mission for our ministry, we are going to offend people who love the institution or their version of “the truth” more than they love the people the Truth was intended to reach.  So love us or hate us, we love you.”

“Killing Cockroaches”

Tony Morgan

Page 118

Merry Christmas, Greg.

Mark

"If we are to achieve results never before accomplished, we must expect to employ methods never before attempted."  Sir Francis Bacon

Pastor Mark Walters

1575 Belcourt Blvd.

Orleans, ON  K1c 7N7

Phone:   613-824-2524

Fax:  613-824-2905

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And from St. Marcus WELS LCMS Church

Dear Mr. Jackson,

I happened upon your 12/12/08 blog entry entitled "Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed" and I do not think that it would be an exaggeration on my part to say that it wounded my heart to read it. Prior to seeing it I was as one living in a dream where there was a oneness in the Body of Christ on this earth that exemplified the oneness that Jesus shares with His Father, this oneness being the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17 (verses 11, 21, 22 & 23) that causes the unsaved world who observes it to come to the place of believing that the Father did in fact send His Son, Jesus … but this was before I rubbed elbows with you. As if being abruptly awakened from that dream I am once again reminded that there are still Pharisees out there, each sincerely believing that he or she is upholding the faith by defending his or her own particular brand of Christian turf, and I of all people should not be surprised by this because it wasn’t too long ago that I myself was a Pharisee, though at the time I would’ve strongly opposed anyone who had half their scriptural wits about them had they even tried to suggest that such was the case! And you can trust me when I say that it took an act of God’s divine mercy to knock me off of that high horse and to then direct my path to St. Marcus where I am now a member who is more than grateful to be there growing in His grace and prospering in His will for my life as I am being taught His Word … something which even if my life had depended upon it just a few short years ago I would’ve never believed could happen because of my unbending pharisaical mindset. What is it that bolsters Pharisees like I once was to pride themselves in defending their small lifeless congregations while at the same time feeling the need to lash out at and label larger congregations as being Ichabods for thriving? Could it be that these attacks issue forth from a place of unacknowledged (if even realized) fear because of not being as sure as they profess themselves to be that their numbers are small solely because they are God’s chosen "remnant", or because of whatever other supposed scriptural reason that they can come up with?

Please know that I will be praying for you and because I have walked in your shoes I am comforted to think that perhaps my prayers on your behalf will prevail where someone else's who hasn't might otherwise fail.

May the Lord’s Name be glorified in this instance, and always!

[Signed but I omitted the signature]

WELS Fond du Loot Pastor Donates 10 Grand to Himself - Church and Change Connections Galore: Ripped from the Pages of the Fond du Lac Reporter

Zak graduated from the Sausage Factory, 1982, with such Shrinker luminaries as:

James Mattek, Peter Pan-denominational, Paul Jahnke,

Bruce Becker,

Mark Freier, Mike Albrecht, and Jeff Gunn.

 

FdL minister accused of stealing from his church

BY RUSSELL PLUMMER • The Reporter • December 14, 2009

The longtime pastor of a Fond du Lac church is accused of stealing as much as $10,000 from church offerings collected during the holidays, a police official says.

The Rev. Stuart Zak, 55, resigned from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 855 Martin Ave., Nov. 30 after he confessed to stealing money over a period of 10 years, according to a press release issued by church pastor, the Rev. Brett Naumann.

“The Fond du Lac Police Department was alerted by staff at Good Shepherd after they discovered missing cash — a discrepancy — in offerings made during holiday seasons,” said Major Kevin Lemke.

An internal investigation revealed the church was missing between $5,000 and $10,000, said Lemke.

“The suspect has spoken with police and has admitted to stealing the money from the offerings,” Lemke said. “We believe the investigation will be wrapped up by the end of the week.”

Zak told The Reporter he would not comment on the alleged theft.

In the release, Naumann said Zak would no longer be allowed to serve as pastor in any Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod program. Good Shepherd is one of three WELS churches in Fond du Lac. It has a congregation of 450.

Naumann declined to comment when asked why Zak stole the money.

“Even as we grieve over this turn of events, we thank Mr. Zak for the many blessings that the Lord has brought to Good Shepherd through his work,” Naumann said. “The Lord has brought about amazing growth both spiritually and physically through the work that was accomplished through Mr. Zak during his years of service as a pastor.”

Zak became pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in 1993. He served on the Board for Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family Service, the District Board for Parish Education as coordinator of early childhood education, a consultant for Parish Assistance and Northern Wisconsin District chairman of Evangelism, according to his past profile on the Good Shepherd Web site.

Lemke, a 28-year veteran of the Police Department, said he couldn’t recall a case of a “person of the cloth” stealing money from a church.

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Small town evangelism

Stuart A. Zak

May 1988

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For more information and registration go to www.wels.net/evangelism and click on Welcoming Worship Seminar, or contact the district evangelism coordinator the Rev. Stuart Zak (920-921-8500 or email).

That means Zak arranged for Ski to do evangelism presentations for the district, two years in a row.

***

GJ - One WELS pastor has suggested having all accounts audited wherever Zak was involved.

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "WELS Fond du Loot Pastor Donates 10 Grand to Himse...":

There is something subliminally creepy about stealing from a congregation's offering, no matter who does it. The recommendation for an audit in other areas outside of the congregation could be very telling. My guess is that skimming the pocket change from offerings could be small potatoes in comparison.
There is one missing detail in the story. I cannot determine how the pastor even had access to the offerings. This is especially true in this age of night depository boxes at banks. The counting and recording of the offerings is always done by laity such as a finance committee, trustees, financial secretary or a combination of them. This was true 40 years ago when my father was involved with it.

At my previous congregation, after the offerings were counted and recorded, they went into the bank bag with the deposit slip and dropped into the night depository on the way home.

There appears to be a defect in the manner in which this was done at Zak's former parish. The offerings sit in the plates on the altar until after the service. There is usually more than one member who counts it. The treasurer or bookkeeper will have some notice from the bank as to the exact amount of the deposit. All of this is designed to minimize the contact that a pastor would have with the offerings. There are several checks and balances. Please pardon the unintentional pun.

***

GJ - Some bad ideas are:
1. Having only one person count the offering.
2. Leaving the offering at the church, even in a safe.
3. Letting the treasurer count the offering.
4. Giving the same person permission to write checks and count the offering.
5. Assuming everything is fine and never having an annual audit. Federal Reserve - take note.

I was skeptical about the money spent on financial controls at the Love Shack when SP Schroeder took office. That was needed, as insiders know, and the results have been good.

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PJL has left a new comment on your post "WELS Fond du Loot Pastor Donates 10 Grand to Himse...":

For much of this year I've been a daily reader of "Ichabod." (By the way, I found it when I did a google search of "WELS.") Though many in our synod may not appreciate this blog, I must admit that it does provide more realistic news of what's happening in the WELS than we'd ever get through the official channels. And it's true, going through the official channels simply means that your question or concern is usually "forgotten." Either that, or you're passed from one ecclesiatical official to the other with no one really willing to step up and say what needs to be said.

Since this is true, I can imagine that Pastor Jackson easily became frustrated during his days in the WELS trying to get his DP and others to listen to him. That may explain his biting sarcasm on this blog. If he were simply expressing concerns in a nice way, no one would probably listen!

That said, I'd like to caution all of us from thinking everything that happens to someone in the WELS is because of CGM and Church and Change. Neither is everyone who sins a shrinker.

I'm a WELS pastor in the area around Lake Winnebago. Stu Zak has been part of our pastoral conference. I don't know him real well, but I don't believe we need to connect his personal sins to the shrinkers.

There are many who are hurt by Pastor Zak's actions. Most unfortunately, the gospel and the credibility of gospel ministry in and around FDL is taking a hit from his actions. Just take a look through the ignorant comments to the article at the FDL Reporter website to find that out.

So, while I, too, smell the stench of CGM and secrecy coming from parts of Appleton, I'm not so sure I can smell it in Fond du Lac.

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PJL has left a new comment on your post "WELS Fond du Loot Pastor Donates 10 Grand to Himse...":

Oh no, I've been found out! Actually, I knew that someone would find me if I gave even a hint of where I was from.

One of the things I admire about Pastor Jackson, Michael Shottey and others on this blog is that they're willing to step out and be counted. They sign their names.

If you want to know ...

1) We print out the service because many of our elderly members find it easier to hold a bulletin than a hymnal. So, I listen to the people I serve.

2) Yes, I make use of a screen and PowerPoint. I had stopped doing this for about nine months, but again, many of our members, even some seniors, told me how much it helped them. They said that they're visual learners. So, again, I listen to the people I serve.

3) I didn't know that the NIV was tacky. It's the version of Scripture I've been using since I was ten years old!

Make me to be what you want me to be. Since you found me, feel free to e-mail or call so I can know more about you.

***

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Fond du Loot Pastor Donates 10 Grand to Himse...":

>>>But watch out!!
No use of the hymnal (merely printed for "ease of use", no doubt. More like ashamed of ancient text if you ask me)<<< Did you bother to notice that the church in question is using the Common Service from Christian Worship? It's not the Lutheran Hymnal, but this service is rooted in the Western Rite that dates back to at least the third century A.D. It does not help the cause to lambaste pastors who are actually upholding liturgical worship, especially in such a superficial manner. *** GJ - The pastor is not a Shrinker, based on several marks (notae). He has a statement of faith which emphasizes the Means of Grace. I find his wording a bit awkward overall, but it does seem to be his own rather than something borrowed from the Evangelical Covenant Church. Kelming another confession is something I noticed at Gunn's sect and some other quasi-WELS parishes. Also, this pastor gave away his identity, which is very un-Growthy. His response to criticism was light-hearted, very unlike the Shrinkers I know. They rage and fume, but always anonymously.

I saw no link to Time of Generic Grace, which is one good indication by itself. He did not say, "God has blessed this congregation with membership growth ever since I arrived," - typical of Shrinkers. See Dom Perignon Patterson and VP Huebner.

As Paul said in Galatians, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails, so we should not condemn based on the hymnal or Bible translation. This pastor is explicit about the Means of Grace on his website, something I hardly saw in WELS or Missouri over the years.

WELS pastors are starting to feel safe in being Lutheran. That is a good sign.

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Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS Fond du Loot Pastor Donates 10 Grand to Himse...":

Pastor Lidtke...another in a long line of younger men from the Michigan District that I can't wait to be old enough to be "in charge."

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GJ - The Chicaneries know they are losing. That is why the attacks on the blog are mounting. Of course, Chicanery attacks are like being stoned to death by popcorn.

Did I say popcorn? I wasn't even thinking even Ski.