Attorney Rick Techlin Details Glende Staff Bullying of the Victims of Staff Behavior.Glende Tried To Blame a Blog in Arkansas Too.SP Schroeder Also Helped Cut a Deal for Ski/Glende

Many previous posts about Ski and Glende are linked here.

Two WELS Pastors and Four Meritless Lawsuits

June 11, 2014 by Rick Techlin

Recently, two WELS Pastors, Tim Glende and James Skorzewski, and two of their staff members filed four almost identical lawsuits against a WELS layman, Jonathan Donnan, a former member of their congregation.  Specifically, they asked a secular court to issue four restraining orders, ordering Jonathan Donnan to stop “harassing” them.

In the courthouse lobby before the first case was heard, a local attorney who handles a lot of cases in that court (and who had absolutely no connection to this case) looked at the court’s calender, and said, “When you see four restraining order petitions against one person, then usually that person did something extremely bad, or it’s a bunch of bullies ganging up on someone.”  Jonathan’s wife, Mara, who was sitting nearby, piped up and said, “It’s the second one.  It’s a bunch of bullies ganging up on someone.”

Who appointed Ski the circuit sexpert?

History

According to Jonathan Donnan’s wife, Mara, Pastor Skorzewski said numerous sexually inappropriate things to her over the course of months, and on at least one occasion, Pastor Glende also joined in with this disgusting behavior.  (At the time, Mara was a member of The CORE, a WELS church, and also Pastor Skorzewski’s executive assistant).

After a long ordeal involving the Circuit Pastor, District President, and even the Synod President, Pastor Skorzewski finally resigned.  However, Skorzewski almost immediately requested CRM status.  (CRM means that a man is deemed to be blameless, above reproach, and qualified to receive a call as a pastor).

Jonathan did not think the man who behaved so inappropriately toward his wife should become a pastor again, and he thought the WELS pastors from the district who would be asked to comment on Skorzewski’s CRM status should have more information.  So he wrote a letter to the pastors of the Northern Wisconsin District giving them information about Pastors Skorzewski’s and Glende’s behavior toward his wife.  This letter was signed by Jonathan, his wife Mara, and also concerned WELS pastors Lidtke and Suhr.

Having received comments regarding Skorzewski’s potential CRM status from other WELS pastors, District President Engelbrecht then also sought comments specifically from the membership of St. Peter & The CORE, which had been Skorzewski’s congregation before he resigned.  To this end, an informational meeting was scheduled at The CORE for August 13, 2013.

At the beginning of the meeting, Pastor Glende said the purpose of the meeting was so that the congregation could seek direction and make decisions about the ministry “specifically on this campus,” The CORE.  During this meeting, District President Engelbrecht summarized Skorzewski’s behavior and the Donnan’s reaction and the steps the District took to rehabilitate Skorzewski, he solicited questions, and then he gave the members of St. Peter & The CORE thirty days to submit comments to the district leadership regarding Skorzewski’s proposed CRM status.  During this meeting, District President Engelbrecht also said that he was an ardent supporter of Skorzewski and his ministry.

Jonathan Donnan showed up at this meeting because he wanted to protect his wife’s reputation and honor.  After DP Engelbrecht’s summary, Jonathan believed that DP Engelbrecht had portrayed Pastor Skorzewski’s behavior in the best possible light, while portraying his wife’s reaction in the worst possible light.  Therefore, Jonathan sat through much of the Q&A section with his hand raised waiting to be called upon.  Finally, Pastor Glende said that he would allow Jonathan to speak; however, he first informed the congregation that Jonathan was not invited to the meeting, had no legal right to be there, and that if Jonathan started attacking people, then he would be asked to leave.

Jonathan said that was a rude way to call upon him.  The entire exchange then quickly devolved into whether Jonathan had a right to be there because he was not a member of St. Peter & The CORE.  Jonathan believed that as a Christian husband he had a duty to try to defend his wife, and that St. Peter & The CORE’s constitution and bylaws could not overrule his moral obligations.  After a short period of time, Jonathan left the meeting, but announced that he was there to defend his wife, and would be outside to speak with anyone who wanted to hear the whole truth.

While Jonathan was outside, he could hear laughter and applause inside as the meeting continued without him.  While Jonathan was outside, he also received a lecture about forgiveness and about how he did not understand forgiveness.

A few days later, Pastors Glende and Skorzewski and two church staff members filed four almost identical lawsuits against Jonathan Donnan.  They asked the Outagamie County Family Court to issue four restraining orders telling Jonathan to not write any more letters to WELS pastors about Glende or Skorzewski, to not show up at any future meetings at St. Peter & The CORE where they would be discussing personnel issues, and to have no further contact with St. Peter & The CORE or its staff.

Pastor Glende’s case was heard first.  Pastor Glende spent about two hours presenting his case.  He himself testified extensively along with two laymen from his church.

Best buddies posed with porn singer Katy Perry.
Ichabod will not post what Ski showed his staffer.
Engelbrecht knew all about it, but backed Ski and Glende anyway.

Legal Issues

In order for a behavior to be harassment, it has to serve no legitimate purpose.  Does writing a letter to the men (WELS pastors) who would help decide Skorzewski’s CRM status serve no legitimate purpose?  And does showing up at a congregational meeting where they are discussing how your wife was treated, and where the District President is seeking comments and advice about whether that pastor should get CRM status, does that serve no legitimate purpose?

Is that inappropriate behavior?  Or could those be the behaviors of a man trying to protect and defend his wife?

The allegations Mara made against Skorzewski were not false.  A false allegation would serve no legitimate purpose, but a truthful allegation does.  If certain WELS pastors and a certain WELS congregation are going to be specifically asked to provide comments about whether Skorzewski should serve as a pastor again, is it legitimate that they should also hear from the victim or her representative?

The August 30 Court Hearing

Under oath, Pastor Glende testified that Jonathan’s behavior served no legitimate purpose because it hindered the ministry of St. Peter & The CORE, and it was just an attack.  (Court transcript, page 40).  According to Pastor Glende, Jonathan’s behavior served no legitimate purpose because the decision about whether Skorzewski would serve as a pastor was made back in January and April.  Pastor Glende stated this numerous times throughout his testimony.  Below is just one example.

Under oath, Pastor Glende said that Jonathan’s “behavior was disruptive in our congregation in a meeting.  It is — it attacks me personally.”  Attorney Maurer then asked Glende: “What’s wrong with that, pastor?  What’s wrong with a person attacking on how you handled the situation of allegations of sexual harassment by one of your pastors?  What’s wrong with that?”  To which Pastor Glende responded: “A group of my peers have said it’s been dealt with, addressed, move on.”  (Court transcript, page 39).

In summarizing all of the evidence presented by Pastor Glende, Pastor Glende’s attorney said:

There are statements that have been provided as evidence that … show that Mr. Donnan is not going to let this issue die.  He believes his purpose is to see this through.  The issue has absolutely been resolved, and for some reason Mr. Donnan refuses to come to grips with that.  So his conduct in sending the letters, continuing to contact people, showing up at the church and refusing to leave, clearly, in my opinion, falls within, engages in a course of conduct that has no legitimate purpose …

— Court Transcript, page 75.

Was the issue of Skorzewski’s CRM status absolutely resolved?  No.  This court hearing took place during the 30 day comment period in which members of St. Peter & The CORE were being asked to advise the District about Skorzewski’s CRM status.  And only a few months later, the District granted Skorzewski CRM status, he immediately received a call, and has already been installed as a WELS pastor in Texas.

Attorney Maurer tried to get Pastor Glende to admit that the August 13 meeting was about potentially reinstating Skorzewski to the pastoral office.  Attorney Maurer questioning Pastor Glende:

Q:   Okay, you testified earlier that the issue in the past had been resolved back in January, correct?

A:   There was an initial decision reached on it in January.

Q:   He resigned in April?

A:   Correct.

Q:   And you’re stating that the August 13, 2013 meeting had nothing to do with that whatsoever, with his disposition going forward with the church, correct?

A:   Pastor Ski resigned and is not currently a pastor.  He doesn’t have status to be a pastor.  The church has nothing to do with him going forward as a pastor.

Q:   That’s not entirely true, is it?  Isn’t it a fact that part of the purpose of this meeting was some specific members of the congregation wanted to reinstate the pastor to his previous position, correct?

A:   That’s not true.

Q:   If I have people come in and testify that there were people at that meeting that were petitioning the church to reinstate the pastor, that’s not the truth, they’re lying?

A:   Were there people there that their opinion was that the pastor should be reinstated?  Yes.

Q:   Were there people at the meeting that said that?

A:   There could have been people in the meeting that said that.  The purpose of the meeting; however, was not to reinstate him.

Q:   The purpose of the meeting was as it related to Jonathan’s wife, correct?

A:   To share information regarding the case.

Q:   So why would you think it’s inappropriate for the husband of the alleged victim to be present at the meeting to hear this?

A:   Mr. Donnan has heard all that information before, and from my knowledge, it was a meeting for the members of our congregation, which he is not one of.

Q:   Why didn’t you simply tell him to leave in the beginning?  Instead you gave him the opportunity to speak.

A:   I didn’t see him there at the beginning, I was up in the front.  I had not had a chance to do anything about it and I didn’t want to cause a scene to ask him to leave.  For two hours of the meeting Jonathan sat there.  From my position he looked agitated and upset when different things were said, which, as I have always said, Jonathan is entitled to his opinion in regards to this case.

Q:   Wouldn’t you be upset if you believed your wife was the victim of sexual harassment by a pastor and they were discussing that at a meeting?  Do you think that’s unreasonable?

A:   I guess I don’t know how to answer that question.

— Court Transcript, pages 35-37.

Attorney Maurer further questioning Pastor Glende:

Q:   Do you believe there was any merit to the allegations against the pastor?

A:   Do I believe it was sexual harassment?

Q:   Do you believe there was any merit to any of the allegations, factual allegations, alleged against the pastor?

A:   The pastor resigned.

Q:   That’s not an answer to my question.  Do you believe there was any factual basis for the allegations of harassment made by Jonathan’s wife towards the pastor?

A:   We have said, declared publicly, that lapses in judgment happened.

Q:   I’m just — yes or no, you personally?

ATTORNEY GILL:  Objection to the relevance, your Honor.

ATTORNEY MAURER:  It’s part of a harassment injunction, conduct that does not serve a legitimate purpose.  Making up allegations of harassment just to attack these people, then that doesn’t serve a legitimate purpose.

ATTORNEY GILL:  Your Honor, the continued behavior has no legitimate purpose.

THE COURT:  The objection is overruled, he can answer.

WITNESS [Pastor Glende]:  Can you repeat the question?

Q:   I’m asking you if you personally believe there was any merit to the factual allegations of harassment raised by Jonathan’s wife against the pastor?

A:   Are you asking me if there were –

Q:   Just yes or no.

A:   You’re asking me a yes or no to — I can’t agree with -­-

Q:   So you don’t believe there was any merit to the factual allegations of harassment?

ATTORNEY GILL:  I’m going to object.  There were eight or nine allegations, your Honor.

ATTORNEY MAURER:  I’m asking about any of them.

ATTORNEY GILL:  What specific allegations are we talking about, your Honor?

THE COURT:  Overruled, he can answer.

[Attorney Maurer questioning Pastor Glende]:

Q:   To any of them in general.  Yes?

A:   Sure, yes.

Q:   Okay, so would you personally condone that type of conduct by one of your pastors?

A:   No.

Q:   Okay, so you believe that there were indiscretions by the pastor directly towards Jonathan’s wife that occurred by the pastor, correct?

A:   Yes, which were addressed.  And then once he resigned, it was over because he is no longer a pastor.  That happened in the middle of April.

Q:   Okay, but again, the August 13 meeting was to address possibly the allegations that had happened in the past?

A:   It was to share the summary of everything that had gone on from the end of October, November to that point.

Q:   What precipitated that meeting?

A:   Because of the letter that Jonathan and Mara sent out.  Our district president said it was appropriate, at this time, to set it out.  Until that point, we had not shared publicly with anyone in our congregation that this involved Jonathan or Mara.

Q:   Your superiors told you, let’s have a meeting with the congregation on this to let everyone know what happened, and it’s your position you didn’t want him and his wife to be there?

A:   He wasn’t a member, he was an uninvited guest.

Q:   Okay.

A:   Wanted or not wanted, I wouldn’t have thought of inviting him, he wasn’t a member.

— Court Transcript, pages 40-43.

Also at issue during the hearing was whether the August 13 meeting at The CORE was about how Pastor Skorzewski treated Jonathan’s wife, and Pastor Glende admitted that was true.

After Pastor Glende finished presenting all his evidence, and before the defense called a single witness, the court ruled on the case.  The standard the court used was this:  It put the best construction on everything Pastor Glende and his witnesses said, it considered Pastor Glende’s case in the kindest possible light, and gave Pastor Glende the benefit of the doubt on everything.  Nonetheless, the court ruled that Pastor Glende’s case had no merit, and dismissed his case.

Pastor Glende’s case was dismissed even before the defense called a single witness or presented any evidence.  Glende had nothing.

Aftermath

Immediately after the court dismissed Pastor Glende’s case, Attorney Maurer suggested that Skorzewski and the two church staffers should voluntarily dismiss their own virtually identical cases.  (Because Pastor Glende’s case took so long, the other three cases were rescheduled to a later date).  However, Skorzewski and the two church staffers refused to dismiss their cases, and instead attempted to negotiate a settlement out of court.

However, Jonathan refused to give up any of his legal rights in return for them agreeing to dismiss their cases.  In response, Skorzewski and the two staffers waited until the very last hour to dismiss their cases, thereby forcing the Donnans to endure the maximum amount of stress, and to pay the maximum amount in legal (attorney) fees.

Soon after, the Northern Wisconsin District denied Skorzewski CRM status, but made no announcement.  In congregational meetings at both St. Peter & The CORE, Skorzewski then advised the congregation that they should move on without him.  (“Around the Council Table,” November 2013 church newsletter).  The November 2013 church newsletter also had a special section entitled: “MOVING FORWARD AT THE CORE” which stated:

The announcement has been made that Ski will not be returning to that position [pastor at The CORE].  Although he applied for it, his reinstatement to the pastoral office was not granted at this point.  In a special meeting at The CORE, Ski expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to serve in our midst, but encouraged all in attendance to move forward.  That is the intent of our leadership on both campuses.  We will continue to pray for Ski, his family, and his reinstatement.

Shortly after that, Skorzewski applied for CRM status a second time.  This time, the Northern Wisconsin District granted Skorzewski CRM status (under the condition that he not be a pastor in the Northern Wisconsin District), and almost immediately Skorzewski received a call to serve as a WELS pastor in Texas.  St. Peter & The CORE then announced in their church newsletter that they were holding a farewell party for Pastor Skorzewski to wish him God’s blessings as he prepared to leave for his new call.

So a WELS pastor resigned, for cause, because of sin, but before he left for his new call at another congregation, his former congregation threw him a farewell party.

On Sunday, April 27, 2014, Skorzewski was installed as pastor at Christ the Rock (a WELS) church in Texas, and Pastor Glende preached at Skorzewski’s installation service.  (Vimeo 93511608).  At 28:20 in the sermon, Pastor Glende said that Skorzewski was his best friend, and that he wished he could work with Skorzewski forever, but God had a different plan: to bring him to Texas.  At about 28 minutes into the sermon, Pastor Glende said, “I’m sure down the road or in the course of time, you’ll hear a great deal about what it is that God used to bring him here.  It’s an amazing story.”

These two oinkers traveled all over the US listening to false teachers
and plagiarizing their material,
but they skipped a WELS conference where Deutschlander spoke.
They blame Ichabod for their troubles.

---

http://vdma.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/when-pastors-violate-trust/

When Pastors Violate Trust

April 24, 2014 by Rick Techlin

Trust.  This is the first qualification of a pastor.  He must be trustworthy.  This is because a pastor stands in the place of Christ, and has tremendous power over others.  He has been appointed by Christ to protect the flock, not to harm it.

It is wrong when a man says sexually inappropriate things to an unknown woman in a bar.  But because he has no power over her, she would feel little pressure to put up with his disgusting behavior.  However, when someone in a position of trust and power (for example, an employer, a doctor, a teacher, or a pastor) uses their office to say sexually inappropriate things to an employee, a patient, a student, or a parishioner, that is not only intrinsically wrong, it is also a violation of trust.

People with power over others have a duty to protect those in their care.  Doctors must protect patients.  Teachers must protect students.  Employers must protect employees.  And pastors must protect parishioners.

A pastor should not say sexually inappropriate things to an employee or a parishioner.  This is especially because a pastor has tremendous social power, not just over the victim, but often also over her family and friends.  He could not only use his position to create a hostile work environment, thereby pushing her to quit and lose her employment, but he could also apply social pressure in the church environment to keep her quiet, and to discredit her.  As a result, she could lose a job, a church, friends, and she could become depressed and maybe even alienated from Christ.

One might expect the wolves to attack the sheep, but a shepherd has been given a position of authority and trust.  He is there to protect the sheep.  Therefore, the shepherd must never intentionally harm the sheep, not even one of them.

Would a babysitter or daycare operator who intentionally harmed a child ever be put in that position of trust again?  Would a nurse who intentionally took sexual advantage of a patient ever be put in such a position of trust again?  Would a psychiatrist who intentionally hurt a patient be allowed to continue practicing?  The world does not tolerate this sin.  In the world, people who have violated a trust are not given offices of trust.

The issue is not just the intrinsic wrong, but also the abuse of an office to commit that wrong.  Those are two distinct offenses, and they magnify each other.  When a powerful person hurts a weaker person, that is an especially grievous sin.  How much worse is it when the powerful person is trusted by the weaker?  It is far worse because it is also a betrayal.  A pastor who has intentionally harmed an employee and/or a parishioner has also betrayed them.  He has betrayed the trust of not only the victim, but also his office, the Church, and Christ.

We do not trust betrayers.  Therefore, a shepherd who intentionally harms the sheep cannot be a pastor.

“But what about repentance?” some will ask.  First, “repentant” is not the only qualification to be a pastor.  A pastor must also be blameless and above reproach.  (1 Timothy 3:2, 7).  Second, genuine repentance involves not just faith, but also contrition.  (AC Apology XIIA (V) 28).  There should be fruit worthy of repentance.  (Matthew 3:8).

Thus, if a pastor says sexually inappropriate things to an employee or parishioner repeatedly over many months, he should resign immediately.  The pastor should not wait until her husband finds out.  He should not wait until the Circuit Pastor finds out.  He should not wait until the District President finds out.  He should not wait until after Christmas.  He should not wait until after the congregation’s building dedication.  He should not wait until the Synod President finds out.  He should not wait to be told to resign.  Finally, he should not file a meritless lawsuit against the victim or her husband.

True repentance is contrition and faith.  True contrition means that we accept the temporal consequences for our sins.  In contrition we accept the consequences, in faith we trust that even though we suffer in this world because of our sin God will still protect us to eternal life.  Only a man who completely surrenders in contrition and faith will ever be trusted again.

But if we try to avoid taking full responsibility, then we show that this world is more important to us.  And if we do not bear fruit worthy of repentance, then we are not fit to be called “pastor” or even “Christian.”

Jesus said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  (Matthew 10:39).  May the Lord grant to all of us true repentance.

Luther's Sermon on Pentecost Wednesday - Holy Communion Tonight at 7 PM

PENTECOST WEDNESDAY.

This sermon is not found in the edition of the Church Postil edited by Creuziger, and in some of Rodt’s editions it is found in the festival part of the Church Postil of 1528.

German text: Erlangen Edition, 12:397; Walch Edition, 11:1533; St. Louis Walch, 11:1137.

Text: John 6:44-51: No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he that is from God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth hath eternal life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. and they died. This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: yea and the bread which I give is my flesh, for the life of the world.

CONTENTS:

ON FAITH AND COMING TO CHRIST, AND THE TRUE BREAD OF HEAVEN.
I. ON FAITH AND COMING TO CHRIST.

1. This faith and coming only saves 1-2.

2. Where this faith and coming are not, condemnation follows 2-3.

3. This faith and coming are wrought not by our own power, but by the power of God 3-4ff.

* The great power of God’s Word 4.

4. The nature and character of this faith and coming 5-6ff.

* Of the knowledge of God and Christ 7-8.

5. The means by which this faith and coming is effected 8-10.

6. The glorious fruit of this faith and coming lift.

II. OF THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN.

1. What we are to understand by this bread from heaven

2. The glorious power and working of this heavenly bread 12-13.

3. An objection raised by this bread from heaven and its answer 14. 4 . In what way one should partake of this bread 12-15.

5. Whether this bread from heaven refers to the Lord’s Supper

6. How the great grace and lovingkindness of Jesus is illustrated by this bread from heaven

7. Whoever partakes of this heavenly bread has fulfilled the will of God

8. That the whole New Testament treats of this heavenly bread

9. By what can we tell if one is or is not a partaker of this heavenly bread 20-21.

SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL:

1. No one will know Christ unless the Father draw him, that is, unless the Father teaches him inwardly in his heart. Therefore Christ says to Peter in Matthew 16:17: “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.”

2. Christ is the tree of life, of which Adam was forbidden to eat, Christ is the wisdom of God that is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it, as Solomon says in Proverbs 8:11.

3. The old bread from heaven, that is, the righteousness of the Law does not justify; but Christ makes alive forever when one believes on him.

I. ON FAITH, AND COMING TO CHRIST.

1. This Gospel text teaches exclusively of the Christian faith, and awakens that faith in us; just as John, throughout his whole Gospel, simply instructs us how to trust in Christ the Lord. This faith alone, when based upon the sure promises of God, must save us; as our text clearly explains. And in the light of it all, they must become fools who have taught us other ways to become godly. All that human ingenuity can devise, be it as holy and as luminous as it may, must tumble to the ground if man be saved in God’s way — in a way different from that which man himself plans. Man may forever do as he will, he can never enter heaven unless God takes the first step with his Word, which offers him divine grace and enlightens his heart so as to get upon the right way.

2. This right way, however, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever desires to seek another way, as the great multitudes venture to do by means of their own works, has already missed the right way; for Paul says to the Galatians: “If righteousness is through the Law,” that is, through the works of the Law, “then Christ died for naught.” Galatians 2:21. Therefore I say man must fall upon this Gospel and be broken to pieces and in deep consciousness lie prostrate, like a man that is powerless, unable to move hand or foot. He must only lie motionless and cry: Almighty God, merciful Father, now help me! I cannot help myself. Christ, my Lord, do help now, for with only my own effort all is lost! Thus, in the light of this cornerstone, which is Christ, everyone becomes as nothing; as Christ says of himself in Luke 20:17-18, when he asks the Pharisees and scribes: “What then is this that is written. The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner? Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.” <19B822>Psalm 118:22. Therefore, we must either fall upon this stone, Christ, in all our inability and helplessness, rejecting our own merits, and be broken to pieces, or he will forever crush us by his severe sentence and judgment. It is better that we fall upon him than that he should fall upon us. For this reason the Lord says in this Gospel: “No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.”

3. He must surely perish whom the Father does not draw. Thus it is decreed, that whoever does not come to this Son must be condemned forever. The Son is given to us only to the end that he may save us; besides him, nothing saves us, either in heaven or on earth. If he does not help us, then nothing will. On this Peter says in the Acts of the Apostles ( Acts 4:11-12): “He is the stone which was set at naught of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And in none other is there salvation; neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.” Where, in the light of this, are our theologians and professors who taught us that we become pious through our many good works? Here the great master Aristotle is put to shame, who proclaimed that reason strives for the best and always follows after the good. Christ says to this: No; if the Father comes not first and draws men, they must forever perish.

4. Here all men must confess their incapacity and inability to do the good.

Should one imagine he is able to do anything good of his own strength, he does no less than make Christ the Lord a liar; he would rudely and defiantly come to the Father and in all rashness ascend to heaven.

Therefore, where the pure and plain Word of God goes, it breaks into pieces everything that is exalted of man, it makes valleys of all their mountains, and all their hills it makes low, as the prophet Isaiah (40:4) says. Every heart that hears this Word must lose faith in itself, else it will not be able to come to Christ. God’s works do nothing but destroy and make alive, condemn and minister salvation. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, sings of the Lord: “Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up.” 1 Samuel 2:6.

5. Hence, a person who is thus smitten in his heart, by God, to confess that he is one who, on account of his sins, must be condemned, is like the righteous man whom with the first words of this Gospel God wounds, and because of that wound fixes upon him the band or cord of his divine grace, by which he draws him, so that he must seek help and counsel for his soul.

Before he could not obtain any help or counsel from God, nor did he ever desire it; but now he finds the first comfort and promise of God, which Luke 11:10 records thus: “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” From such promises will he ever continue to gain courage as long as he lives, and will ever win greater and greater confidence in God. Just as soon as he hears that grace is the work of God alone, he will desire it of God as from the hand of his gracious Father, who wishes to draw him. Now, if he is drawn by God to Christ, he will certainly experience what the Lord here says: “He will raise him up in the last day.” For he has laid hold upon the Word of God and trusts God. In this he has a sure sign that he is one whom God has drawn, as John says in his First Epistle ( 1 John 5:10): “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him.”

6. Hence, it must necessarily follow that he is taught of God, and that he knows now in truth that the meaning of God is nothing more than Helper, Comforter, Savior, as we say of those who rescue us from danger: Thou wast today my God. From this it is now clear that God will be to us nothing less than a Savior, a helper, and a giver of all blessedness, who neither demands nor desires anything from us. He only gives, he only offers to us; as he says to Israel in Psalm 81:10: “I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Who would not be kindly disposed to such a God, who approaches us so lovingly and graciously, and offers us his favor and blessings if we only acknowledge him as God and are willing to be taught of him? They cannot escape the severe, eternal judgment of God who ignore such grace, as the Epistle to the Hebrews ( Hebrews 10:28-29) says: “A man that hath set at naught Moses’ law dieth without compassion: of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing.”

7. Oh, how diligent and earnest St. Paul is in all his Epistles that we may always grasp the knowledge of God aright! How often he expresses the wish for growth in the knowledge of God! As if he would say: If you only knew and understood what God is, then you would be already saved, then you would gain love for him and do only those things well pleasing to him.

Thus he says to the Colossians ( Colossians 1:9-12): “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” And in <19B934>Psalm 119:34 David says: “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy Law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”

8. Thus you learn from the first utterance in today’s Gospel that this knowledge must come from God the Father; he must lay the first stone of the foundation in us, else we will never do anything. But this is accomplished in the following way: God sends us preachers, whom he has taught, to preach to us his will. First he instructs us that our entire lives and characters, however beautiful and holy they may be, are before him as nothing, yea, are as abomination, and displeasing; this is called a preaching of the Law. Then he offers us grace; that is, he tells us that he will not utterly condemn and reject us, but will receive us in his beloved Son, and not merely receive us, but make us heirs of his kingdom, lords over all that is in heaven and upon earth. This is called preaching grace or preaching the Gospel. But God is the origin of all; he first awakens preachers and constrains them to preach. This is the meaning of St. Paul’s words when he says to the Romans: “So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.” Romans 10:17. This truth the words of the Lord in today’s Gospel also declares, when Christ says: “It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God.

Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he that is from God, he hath seen the Father.”

9. Now, under the first preaching, the preaching of the Law, namely, that we with all our works are condemned, man is restless and fearful before God, and knows not what to do with his life and deeds. He suffers from an accusing and timid conscience, and. if relief from some source were not to come quickly he would have to despair forever. Therefore, we must not long delay with the other preaching; we must preach the Gospel to him and lead him to Christ as the one whom the Father has given to us to be our mediator, that we should be saved solely through him, out of pure grace and mercy, without any works or merit on our part. The heart rejoices at this word and runs to such grace as a thirsty deer to the water. This longing David keenly experiences when he says in Psalm 42:1-2: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God, my soul thirsteth for God, for the living God.”

10. Now, when one comes to Christ, that is, to his Gospel, he hears the personal voice of Christ the Lord, which confirms the knowledge God taught him, namely, that God is nothing but a very gracious Savior, who wants to be gracious and merciful to all who call upon him. Therefore, the Lord adds: “Verily verily, I say unto you, He that believeth hath eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your lathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that cometh down out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: yea and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”

11. In these words the soul finds a well prepared table, at which it satisfies all hunger; for it knows for a certainty that he who speaks these words cannot lie. Therefore the soul falls upon the Word, clings to it, trusts in it, and also builds its dwelling-place in the strength of this well-prepared table.

This is the feast for which the heavenly Father slayed his oxen and fatlings and invited us all to it.

II. THE BREAD OF HEAVEN.

12. The living bread, of which the Lord here speaks, is Christ himself, of whom we partake. If in our hearts we lay hold of only a morsel of this bread, we shall have forever enough and can never be separated from God.

The partaking of this bread is nothing but faith in Christ our Lord, that he is, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:30, “made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” He who eats of this food lives forever. Therefore, the Lord says, immediately following this Gospel lesson, where the Jews strove among themselves about this discourse of his: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

13. The bread from heaven the fathers ate in the wilderness, as Christ says here, was powerless to keep them from dying; but this bread makes immortal. If we believe on Christ, death cannot harm us; yea, it is no longer death. The Lord utters the same truth in another passage when he says to the Jews: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my Word, he shall never see death.” John 8:51. Here he speaks definitely of the Word of faith, and of the Gospel.

14. But one may say, as did the Jews, who took offense at these words of the Lord: The saints, nevertheless, died, and Abraham and the prophets likewise died. We reply to this: The death of Christians is only a sleep, as the Scriptures everywhere call it. A Christian neither tastes nor sees death; that is, he is never conscious of any death; for this Savior, Christ Jesus, in whom he believes, has destroyed death so that he no longer needs to taste it and pay its penalty. Death is to the Christians only a transition of life, yea, a door to life: as Christ says in John 5:24: “Verily, verily,! say unto you, He that heareth my Word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.”

15. Therefore, a Christian life is a life of bliss and joy. Christ’s yoke is easy and sweet; the reason it seems to us galling and heavy is that the Father has not yet drawn us, and so we have no pleasure in it, neither does this Gospel lesson minister comfort to us. If we, however, rightly appropriated the words of Christ, they would be of much greater comfort to us. By faith we partake of this bread that has come down from heaven, Christ the Lord, when we believe on him as our Savior and Redeemer.

16. In this light I now remind you that these words are not to be misconstrued and made to refer to the Sacrament of the Altar; whoever so interprets them does violence to this Gospel text. There is not a letter in it that refers to the Lord’s Supper. Why should Christ here have in mind that Sacrament when it was not yet instituted? The whole chapter from which this Gospel is taken speaks of nothing but the spiritual food, namely, faith.

When the people followed the Lord merely hoping again to eat and drink, as the Lord himself charges them with doing, he took the figure from the temporal food they sought, and speaks throughout the entire chapter of a spiritual food. He says: “The words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.” Thereby he shows that he feeds them with the object of inducing them to believe on him, and that as they partook of the temporal food, so should they also partake of the spiritual. On this subject we will say more at some other time.

17. Now let us here notice that the Lord approaches us so lovingly and graciously, and offers us himself — his blood and flesh — in such gentle words that it should in all reason move the heart to believe on him; to believe that this bread, his flesh and blood, born of the Virgin Mary, was given because he had to pay the penalty of death and suffer in our stead the torments of hell, and, besides, to suffer the guilt of sins he never committed, as if they were his own. This he did willingly and received us as brethren and sisters. If we believe this we do the will of the heavenly Father, which is nothing else than that we believe on the Son. Christ says, just before our text: “This is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40.

18. It is now evident that whoever has faith in this bread of heaven — in Christ, in this flesh and blood, of which he here ,speaks that it is given to him and that it is his — he also accepts it as his own, and has already done the will of God and eaten of this heavenly manna; as Augustine says: What do you prepare for your mouth? Only believe, and you have already eaten.

19. The whole New Testament treats of this spiritual supper, and especially does John here. The Sacrament of the Altar is a testament and confirmation of this true supper, with which we should strengthen our faith and be assured that this body and this blood, which we receive in the Sacrament, has rescued us from sin and death, the devil, hell and all misery.

Concerning this I have spoken and written more on other occasions.

20. What is the proof by which one may know that this heavenly bread is his and that he is invited to such a spiritual supper? He needs only to look at his own heart. If he finds it so disposed that it is softened and cheered by God’s promises and is firm in the conviction that it may appropriate this bread of life, then he may be assured that he is one of the invited; for as one believes, even so is it done unto him. From that moment on, he loves his neighbor and helps him as his brother; he rescues him, gives to him, loans to him and does nothing for him but that which he would desire his neighbor to do for himself. All this is attributable to the fact that Christ’s kindness to him has leavened his heart with sweetness and love, so that he has pleasure and joy in serving his neighbor; yea, he is even in misery if he has no one to whom to show kindness. Besides all this, he is gently and humbly disposed toward everybody; he does not highly esteem the transient pomps of the world; he accepts everyone as he is, speaks evil of no one, interprets all things for the best where he sees things are not going right. When his neighbors are lacking in faith, in love, in life, then he prays for them, and he is heartily sorry when anyone gives offense to God or to his neighbor. To sum up all, with him the root and sap are good, for he is grafted into a rich and fruitful vine. in Christ; therefore, such fruits must come forth.

21. But if one has not faith and is not taught of God — if he never eats of this bread from heaven — he surely never brings forth these fruits. For where such fruits are not produced, there is certainly no true faith. St. Peter teaches us in 2 Peter 1:10 that we should make our calling unto salvation sure by good works; there he is really speaking of the works of love, of serving one’s neighbor and treating him as one’s own flesh and blood. This is sufficient on this Gospel. Let us pray for God’s grace.

Gottesdienst Invites UOJ Fanatic George Mueller (aka Rolf Preus) - Attacks Justification by Faith. Robert Preus Left This Earth Attacking UOJ, Bub

Gottesdinks just had meeting of their little group, starring Rolf Preus (aka George Mueller, SpenerQuest).

This article takes issue with Robert Preus being against UOJ. No evidence is provided, of course. UOJ Enthusiasts expect their pronouncements to be accepted as if coming from the Oracle of Delphi.

The author says - Justification is a "mysterious act" in the heart of God from eternity.

Confidential to Dr. Lito Cruz - does that sound like Calvin to you?

That is Luther's definition of Enthusiasm - separating the Holy Spirit from the ministry of the Word.

For those who want to compare and contrast: read the David Scaer quotation below.

Never Fail Gardening

French horticultural beans impress me as craftily designed to beautify any garden. The pods are bright and impressionistic; the splashes of color on the beans complete the package.

Beans are easy to grow, but they are a pain to pick. When I grew them in the past, Little Ichabod and Mrs.
Ichabod picked them fresh, eating them raw.

Pole beans do not produce that much and bush beans are low to the ground. However, if we are hungry, they are close and convenient.

Some people quit gardening early because they start out too big. One small patch is much better than rototilling a quarter-acre, falling behind on weeding, and giving up. I started this year with eight bare-root roses ($8 each, shipping included) and now have at least eight hybrid tea roses ready to cut for this evening's service.

I follow the Ruth Stout method of mulch gardening. If a weed grows through the organic mulch, it goes on top to add to the pile. Leaf, grass, or wood mulch will improve the soil, hold moisture in, reduce topsoil loss, and feed the soil creatures that make a garden productive.

In other words, mulching is composting in the garden, saving one back-breaking step. I still compost, but after one of those Labors of Hercules, I decided not to wheelbarrow a ton of it uphill again.

Cherry tomatoes are easy to grow and fun to eat outdoors. I also grow larger acid-free tomatoes or anything I can get cheap. Cherry tomatoes volunteer (grow easily) from their seed, so I toss extra fruit in various places in the garden.

If you want to be an annoying plant expert, point out to everyone that tomatoes are a berry, not a vegetable. Tomatoes offer almost no nutrition, but they remain one of the most popular plants to grow.

Many herbs like poor soil and grow well anywhere. Some have escaped gardens and become weeds to the unknowing. Dandelion is the best example. Although I am not about to eat dandelion greens or make dandelion wine, the plant is an herb with a long taproot that helps the soil.

If pulled weeds are not used for mulch, they make good additions to the compost.

Other plants are misunderstood. Those who venerate a plush lawn seem to hate clover, which fixes nitrogen to help make the lawn green. Bees love clover, and kids love the bubblegum aroma from a small bouquet of clover flowers. Clover is a beneficial plant that seeds itself.

Our lawn improved this year with frequent mowing. Many of the groundcover weeds were still there, some quite attractive when blooming. Keeping everything short and mowed made the lawn look great without additional labor. The best time to feed a lawn is lat in the fall, and that might happen - not big on my list.

The only truly evil plants are the invasive ones - bamboo and mint spread from their roots. Feverfew will seed itself infinitely, so I have crossed that one off my list too. Those are three bad mistakes I have made in the past.

Plan Ahead and Plant Ahead
One way to clear an area for gardening is to cut off the sunlight. The Springdale Water Department did that by not picking up my large pile of tree branches for the longest time. When they finally took them away, the soil was bare in that spot, free of weeds and grass. I did the same for one spot by storing evergreen branches on one spot.

A future gardening spot, now in grass, can be prepared in the fall by storing all the leaves over that area. I have sycamore leaves, which defy rot and decay.

Some people pile up leaves and use something to keep them in place, such as more bags of leaves. A soggy layer of compost will work well too.

An area can be planted and left to finish in the spring (spinach) or left to freeze and fertilize the soil - beans. When someone begins to improve the soil with organic material, more opportunities arise and interesting networks form.

I gave my Midland neighbor all the horse manure she wanted for her roses, since I finagled free truckloads. She was overwhelmed as I delivered wheelbarrows of it to her garden. "Are you sure?" The next winter, her husband snowplowed our front sidewalk all winter - without being asked. In fact, it took me some time to discover who was doing it.

Garlic is easy to grow anywhere, healthy to eat, and great for rose gardens. I like garlic chives for roses, since they spread and have the potent effect of garlic.

We Had a Great Time at the Moline 1966 Reunion

Team Jackson posed with Ronald McDonald,
but we found him a bit stiff.

Sassy would not get on the bench with Ronald McDonald.
When I got a little stern with her about it, she got all cute and smiley to make up for it.

Mrs. Ichabod was inside with the Moline ladies having lunch at this excellent restaurant.
Sassy is not yawning. She is calling for Mom to come outside.

We enjoyed an evening with Linda and Dave Pearson in Geneseo,
a beautiful town of immaculately maintained homes.

One Rebuttal to WELS Propaganda

Jon-Boy Buchholz sent that email to me when he wanted good PR.

“There were not enough candidates from MLC and WLS to meet all of the call requests. Following assignment day at MLC, there were still some 45 teacher calls that remained unfilled, due to a lack of suitable candidates available. The Lord blessed our district with eight teacher candidates of the 11 requested, and all four of our pastor candidate requests were filled. There were numerous other pastoral calls around the synod that went unfilled. This is the smallest seminary graduating class in recent memory (23 men). This year’s small seminary class and the continuing need for teacher candidates underscore the need to encourage young men and women to study for the preaching and teaching ministry. Remember that this year's eighth-grade confirmands will not graduate from Martin Luther College as teachers until 2022, and those who pursue pastoral ministerial training will not graduate from seminary until 2026. It’s a long pipeline, even as the need for workers presents itself now!”

Uh, no.  What a complete bushel basket of blather.  Let’s get this right out on the table: there is no real need for called workers.  This is the great myth that is constantly perpetuated.  How can there be such disconnect between the synod’s needs and the synod’s worker training college?  Maybe congregations aren’t looking for ECE graduates en masse and would rather get a teacher that could focus on fifth graders instead.  Maybe having a staff minister would be a horrible idea because the program is only good in theory and not in practice so instead a congregation would rather just call another pastor.  This district report even proves there is no need.  The AZ/CA district had 3 churches leave, 10 teaching positions were eliminated, and two schools were closed.  Why train more called workers to go to schools that are closing and churches that are leaving?  Seems rather pointless, doesn’t it?  Apparently the DPs are not reading their own reports.  Perhaps this is where that disconnect happens. 

The Changers used "Growth" to introduce their apostasy,
but their agenda was never growth - except growth in money and power for themselves.
Ask the Founders of Church and Change - John Lawrenz, Steve Witte,
John Johnson, John Parlow, and Old Scratch.

Buchholz Uses ELCA Strategy - If He Cannot Conquer, Divide

Luther paraphrases Paul.
Hey, hey - no UOJ.

I noticed in the WELS DP Buchholz report that he followed the example of his ELCA peers.

When ELCA cannot take over the property and kick out the pastor, when a congregation objects to the lavender activists, the bishop sets up an antagonist splinter group claiming to be the "real congregation."

That is precisely what Jon-Boy Buchholz did in Las Cruces - he followed ELCA's methods.

Buchholz:
"A subsequent decision by the majority of the Emmanuel, Las Cruces, congregation to retain Pastor Rydecki as its pastor resulted in the separation of that congregation from the WELS. After that vote, the members in the minority separated from Pastor Rydecki and formed a new congregation in Las Cruces. They chose the name “Cross of Christ” because they wish to
 proclaim that the forgiveness of sins was completed at the cross [GJ - justification without faith]. The congregation is served by Pastor Jim Connell and is applying for membership in the WELS and in the Arizona-California District at this convention." 

As I wrote before, the congregation voted to leave WELS.

Buchholz might have known he was losing this one, but he wanted to frighten the rest of clergy back into their rabbit warrens.

Transexual Priest - Church of England

Episcopal Church Plunges to New Depths on Sexuality Issues
TEC and Church of England elevate transgendered priests to pulpits

COMMENTARY

By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
June 9, 2014

The Episcopal Church reached new lows this week when it announced that the Washington National Cathedral, TECs flagship cathedral, would play host to its first transgendered priest, a certain Rev. Cameron Partridge, who will preach in its pulpit.

A few short years ago, such an invitation would have been unthinkable. Nobody in their right or left mind would have entertained the notion that a priest, claiming to be a man (of God) who was formerly a woman, could suddenly announce to his bishop -- in this case Massachusetts Bishop Tom Shaw, a homosexual -- that she secretly felt herself to be a woman trapped in a man’s body, obtain a sex change operation, (euphemistically called sexual reassignment surgery), keep her/his job as a priest, and then go on to preach in one of the nation’s most prestigious pulpits.

Never mind that transgender surgery is a lie. It can't change the chromosomes or DNA; it can only effect a cosmetic change. Nonetheless, The Episcopal Church has raced ahead of the culture and historic Christianity and pushed this abomination right into the pulpit. A church whose deepest theological utterances have been reduced to sound bite words like “inclusion,” “diversity” and “oppression” is a church that has surgically operated on itself.

From the plodding efforts of one man, Dr. Louie Crew who made it his life's work to get the church's leadership to embrace homosexuality, we have now reached the point where a whole bevy of unnatural sexualities have invaded episcopal pulpits...a sight that would have sent an Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer or Ryle reaching for their Bibles. Servitus would not have been the only object of John Calvin's wrath.

Who would have thought that, in time, an alphabet soup list of sexualities LGBTQI would have commandeered the minds of allegedly thoughtful bishops who, in the press for full inclusion and cultural push, would ditch sacred scripture in the name of a false compassion. And now the question comes: Why stop at a mere handful of sexualities? The way is open to a Heinz 58 variety of sexualities which we are told now exist! If inclusion be the theme of God’s new understanding of love, play on.

This is, after all, the Age of Tolerance. Sexual positions and attitudes that go against the prevailing zeitgeist have resulted in screams of homophobia causing orthodox believers to leave TEC. This makes tolerance the new intolerance. Those who don't agree are left hoping and praying that people will understand the difference between Episcopalian and Anglican.

The Episcopal Church has been in the vanguard of innovative changes in the area of human sexuality for more than forty years. Other denominations, like the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, have all followed suit. Last month, a group of 80 United Methodist pastors and theologians in talks about the future of the United Methodist Church went public with the view that the controversy over homosexuality is too great a doctrinal divide and called for an "amicable" denominational split.

"We need to recognize the reality that we — laity, clergy and even the Council of Bishops — are divided and will remain divided," the pastors stated in a letter published on the national Goodnews.org forum for Methodists.

"Talk of a 'middle way' or of 'agreeing to disagree' is comforting and sounds Christ-like. However, such language only denies the reality we need to admit. Neither side will find 'agreeing to disagree' acceptable." 

The fallout will be costly, but godliness and faithfulness to Biblical absolutes demands it. The losses will be great, but not as great as The Episcopal Church which has spent nearly $40 million on lawsuits over properties to date.

The Episcopal Church is reaping the whirlwind of its apostasies. It has lost over 200,000 active Episcopalians, hundreds of priests and dozens of bishops who, no longer able to stand the increasing abandonment of biblical norms on sexual behavior and the authority of Scripture, have set about to form the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).

Sodomy has become the lightning rod issue for progressive Christians. The irony should not be missed. Even as America's Protestant denominations capitulate to the culture on sexuality issues including divorce, abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, transgendered pastors, their churches, already aging, will shrink even more quickly and die. The urge to proclaim “justice” for sexually perverse persons overwhelms even the need to survive, it would seem, as God, we are told, is doing a “new thing” and we must get with the program.

It is hubris piled on hubris. It is as though the church has embarked on a long death march with a cyanide tablet, instead of a wafer, held out in the inviting hands of John Shelby Spong with the Cheshire cat grin of Gene Robinson standing next to him. The cup of salvation is now the cup of sexual salivation.

The Church of England, the Mother Church, also seems bent on the same road of self-immolation as the Episcopal Church, rather than following the African churches they gave birth to with the gospel, two centuries ago. How ironic.

Archbishop Justin Welby’s kairos moment in Nairobi to embrace his evangelical African brothers and sisters along with a handful of western orthodox Anglicans was passed over in favor of his own faux reconciliation talks with the most liberal Anglican flotsam he could muster while dodging the elephant in the sacristy - the emergent ACNA. Reconciliation and realignment are not the same thing. The former is playing the impossible game of squaring the circle; the latter is recognizing the obvious. 

The deeper truth is the fulcrum of Anglicanism is no longer Lambeth Palace and Canterbury. In truth, it is Abuja and Nairobi. Africa has the numbers while England wears the lace and miters of history led by theologically hollowed out bishops ministering to a dying church.

This week a Trannie, a woman priest (a man now a woman, the exact reverse of the American female into male), was made a minor canon at Manchester Cathedral. A narcissistic video narrated by the Rev. Rachel Mann tells us how wonderful God is for allowing LGBT folk into the church and now into the pulpit following decades of alleged oppression.

One can only imagine the high testosterone, masculine driven House of Bishops in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda or Rwanda viewing this video and then noisily throwing up.

One wonders at what point the whole sickening sexually revolting mess will be too much for Anglican African, Asian, and Latin bishops causing them to rise up with one last heave to overthrow their ecclesiastical colonial masters and bid them farewell, acknowledging once and for all that western Anglicanism is lost and that God’s Holy Spirit has indeed moved on to more fruitful pastures in Africa and China (where an estimated 40 million Christians now reside) leaving the West to rot in its own sexual apostasies.

Is it any wonder that social historian Philip Jenkins observed that Africa is overwhelmingly going Christian with more than one billion Christians by 2050? By then, TEC and the CofE and the ACoC will be footnotes to history. The CofE can barely muster one million today and TEC now has an ASA of less than 700,000 that includes seven transgendered clergy!

The American Physics Society compiled a list of countries that could have “no religion” by the end of this century. They include the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria and Estonia.

Perhaps one day a Kenyan Christian will visit Canterbury Cathedral and upon seeing it full of tourists, will suddenly jump into the pulpit and announce he has Good News that “Jesus saves and He wants your life your soul, your all.” The cathedral’s Director of Stained Glass Ministries stricken with the news promptly collapses and dies of fright.

TRANSGENDER REDUX

Theologian John Piper says that in the first chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul draws a parallel between the way nature teaches about God and the way nature teaches about male and female sexuality. "Nature is one of God's methods of revealing what we should prefer, even if we don't. God, the wise, loving, purposeful creator and designer of human life is the one who connects biological nature and sexual identity."

God's divine nature is revealed in the physical, material universe, he argues. So much so that Paul says in Romans, "So they are without excuse" when they "exchange the glory of God for the glory of the creature," or when they "exchange the truth about God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator."

Piper adds that Paul then draws the parallel with human sexuality. "Just as physical nature reveals the truth about God, so physical nature reveals truth about sexual identity. Whom we should worship is not left to our preferences, and who we are sexually is not left to our preferences. Both are dictated by God's revelation in nature," Piper writes.

So if a human looks at the world and chooses to worship a creature rather than the Creator, he is without excuse, he says. "And if a man looks at his own body and chooses to play the part of a woman, or a woman looks at her own body and chooses to play the part of a man, they are without excuse … Genitalia is a revelation of God's design.

"God knows what is best for humanity. He also knows the painful disordering of our sexual desires that came with the fall," he says. "We are all disordered in some measure in different ways. He promises to help us with our disordered loves so that we can enjoy measures of contentment in the midst of our necessary self-denial."

God will forgive anyone who turns to Christ for mercy and embrace Him in "repentance as our supreme treasure."

END

How Do They Miss the Efficacy of the Word? God Will Provide

I recently posted about gardening and the classic Isaiah 55 passage on the efficacy of the Word. Not comprehending the Isaiah passage means misunderstanding justification, sanctification, and evangelism.

The passage in the graphic is really about efficacy too, though the word efficacy is not used in the English translation.

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh (power of the Holy Spirit in the Word at work) in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The Holy Spirit always works through the Word, and God always works through the Holy Spirit in the Word - never apart from the Word. Adolph Hoenecke used that statement to say "That is sound doctrine. The Word never without the Spirit. The Spirit never without the Word."

This relates directly to gardening because the living seed (another metaphor for the Word in the New Testament) inevitably grows when rained upon.

Rain and snow return to the atmosphere after accomplishing God's purpose (Creation) and illustrate how the Word of God always returns to Him after accomplishing His purpose:
1. The Word is never without an effect - never preacher or taught in vain.
2. The Word always accomplishes His purpose - even when a riot, or shunning, or rejection follows.
3. The Word prospers His will, so it is a big riot, a major shunning, and a violent rejection. But it is also a major conversion, an abundance of blessing,  or a miraculous effect that continues for generations (such as the wedding of two believers, sometimes only one, and the believers that come from that union).

After sowing the seed carelessly, following Matthew 13/Mark 4 - and I do mean carelessly, I get results because the seed is alive and the rain water accomplishes God's purpose in initiating and promoting growth.

Gardeners suffer from planter's panic, the agricultural equivalent of buyer's remorse. They wonder, "Will all those seeds actually grow? I see nothing. I am out $30 in seed for those tiny packets." 

 

The trouble with city-slicker clergy is they have the religious equivalent but no Biblical study or gardening experience to counter it. They try something and see no results after a few weeks. They start looking for something that really works.

The Fuller con artists, long ago, promised them that business methods and statistical analysis really work, so the clergy do not need to worry about being faithful to the Word.

Abandoning the Word-that-really-works, blind Fuller and its blind disciples chased after fads and numbers, in spite of all the evidence they were no better off than the Gadarene swine - and no more appealing.

The one thing that works - preaching an original, Biblical sermon - was replaced by plagiarized how-to coaching harangues. 

• The liturgy is faithful to the Word - get rid of that.
• Classic Christian hymns are faithful to the Word - get rid of them.
• The Creeds confess the truth of the Word - get rid of them too.
• Holy Communion and Holy Baptism are taught in the Word - nope, might discourage the Sacrament-scared.

The Evanjellyfish are abandoning the Word as fast as they can. Witness the lavender activism of Andy Stanley. 

The blind disciples will continue to fall into the pit, on top of their Fuller, Willowcreek, and Trinity masters.

WELS and Missouri will continue to detonate, defibrillate, and decrepitate. \