Buske Turns Down Call To WELS Wisconsin Lutheran College

Rev. Andy Stanley (Babtist) and WELS Pastor Buske at Drive 08.

------------------------ C A L L S - D E C L I N E D -----------------------
Buske, Rev James G - WLC - Milwaukee WI - 01/08/2010
Second Campus Pastor

Collegian Computer and Internet Quiz

Colleges should certify their students before allowing them to use computers and the Internet. Below is a sample quiz, with the answers, to make it easier to pass.

1. Once a video is uploaded to YouTube, anyone can copy it and save it. True or False?
True - the software for copying is provided on YouTube.

2. There are many video hosting sites. True or False?
True - There are many hosting sites. YouTube and Vimeo are two of them. Anyone can access them.

3. If an image is used on the Net, Google will index it for searches. True or False?
True - Google will label the image and make it available to everyone.

4. Links last forever on the Internet. True or False?
True - The more a link is copied on Internet pages, the more Google will move it to the top of the search.

5. I can control where links to my photos, videos, and web pages are posted. True, False, or Dude?
Dude? - What are you thinking? Stuff is copied in a second and no one controls the Internet.

5. A blog can be hidden by omitting the link. True or False?
False - The blog is still published on the Net. Google may find it or may still have the information. Anyone with the original link can find it.

6. Material can be removed from the Internet by erasing it. True, False, or Not Exactly?
Not exactly - There are services that provide copies of earlier material published to the Internet.

7. Facebook pages are private. True or False?
False - They are webpages used by many different companies. How do you think ads appear based on your unique information?

8. Facebook photos are private. True, False, or Gotta Be Kidding?
Gotta Be Kidding - Facebook photos are available to all friends, or to friends of friends, or to everyone. Even if they are restricted to friends, that can be a large and leaky list.

9. Using Google is stalking. True, False, or Take Your Meds?
Take Your Meds - Everyone uses search engines to find out published information. That includes photos and messages that will end chances for that choice job. The words "publish" and "public" are closely related. MySpace is even more open than Facebook.

J. P. Meyer's Disciples Turn Easily to Babtist Decision Theology

UOJ led this Stormtrooper into the flamboyant side of the Force.

I wrote before that J. P. Meyer's Ministers of Christ leads someone effortlessly into Decision Theology, because Meyer's own language is thoroughly unLutheran and anti-Scriptural in places. He does not make some points about Corinthians, especially about adulterating the Gospel. But note what happens with his precious UOJ:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "More on Justification Book":

In the Feedback section of FIC, A Lutheran Voice, someone spoke of "decision theology" concerning the series on the Holy Spirit.(referring to the NOV. edition) I will quote the feedback that was put in the January 2010 edition:

"I'm compelled to respond to the most recent article in Pastor Degner's series on the Holy Spirit. "Earlier in life I was involved in a variety of "evangelical/fundamental" churches. "Decision theology" was big in their presentation of the gospel. I can recall many Sunday school sessions in which I strived very hard to convince my student to "accept Jesus in to their hearts"-i.e., to accept God's offer of forgiveness and eternal life in Christ. How often I used variations of Pastor Degners's analogy of the rich man trying to give each person in town a million dallars[Nov.]. "Just accept it!" I pleaded. But then God arranged circumstances that brought me into ELS/WELS churches. What a great epiphany occurred when I fully realized and understood that we are totally incapable of accepting salvation; that it is wholly the work of the Holy Spirit as he effectd our new birth by way of his gift of faith in Christ Jesus!"

Here is the response by "one" of the editors:

"Your point about decisions to accept God's gift is well taken. With Luther we confess that we cannot come to Jesus or believe in him by our own power. That is the work of the Holy Spirit by the power of the gospel. Yet Paul invited the jailer simply to "believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." The gospel does come with an invitation that we cannot accept but by the work of the Holy Spirit.-ed."

If GJ and Brett remember, that is taken from the same article that I quoted a few months ago. So we were not the only folks who noticed these things (a few words from that article/universal justification....forgiven and not forgiven)

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

Fake Ichabod Revealed

Fake Ichabod tries to look serious.

The fake Ichabod appears and disappears, never revealing his name.

He is a WELS pastor, a friend of Ski, and "works" in Fox Valley.

Some are surprised that DP Engelbrecht lets him get away with this, because the congregation, district, and synod are vulnerable to slander charges and the appropriate financial penalties from his previously published remarks, which were preserved for future action.

Important Birthday on Wednesday

Philip Jacob Spener's birthday is on Wednesday.

Ich bin Phillip Jakob Spener(1635-1705), Father of Pietism,

baptismal sponsor of Nicholas Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf .

I left a message on Spener's Facebook page:

Happy Birthday, Phil. I know a lot of your friends.

Funding for The CORE

Senior Pastor Tim Glende, St. Peter, Freedom, Wisconsin, was struck speechless with Katy Perry - "Ur So Gay."




WELS Pastor Ski has closed down his photo albums on Facebook to visitors, but are they removed? Ask DP Doug, his FB friend. MariQueen, an alleged singer, tried posing with her clothes on.




Bishop Katie, Ski's highly paid assistant, does the work at The CORE, leaving a trail of Tweets all over Schwaermerland. Glende, Ski, and Katie have broken Kelm's record for sitting at the feet of false prophets.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

The CORE is supported for a certain length of time (a couple years) with an agreed upon dollar amount by an anonymous donor. St. Peter and the Synod are not monetary supports.

***

GJ - But who is providing this enormous diversion of funds to The CORE? Inquiring minds want to know. Who bought Ski's home in Milwaukee? Who sold him a home in A-town? The records are public.


---

Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "Funding for The CORE":

Also...if this anonymous donor weren't hoodwinked into supporting The CORE might he be giving his dollars to less pietistic exercises?

Or, at least, pastors who don't value the teaching of mega church founders over their own religion?

***

GJ - Michael has grasped the issue. The Shrinkers have abysmal skills in reading comprehension. Diversion does not mean skimming from the synod coffers, a skill which the Changers do take pride in. Diversion means - The money could have been spent better than wasting it on a clown ministry - running off to Schwaermer conferences every few weeks.

Note that the Shrinkers take great offense at what was not said, so they can rant about the accusation not made, instead of addressing the main issue. According to Anonymous (who else?), The CORE Lutheran Church will run through $500,000+ while missionaries are unemployed, schools are closing, and Patterson is canceling his safaris.

---

Appleton Anonymous Pastor has left a new comment on your post "Funding for The CORE":

Anon 12:13 You're another Jerkson zombie that takes in everything Jerkson spews out. I'm guessing that over 200 people are attending the CORE. And yes, you are not seeing. You're not even looking.

***

GJ - So 200 are members or 190 are attending from local WELS churches? Using the published total of 15 members in one year, I get:
5 Ski-sters
1 Bishop Katie
2 Transfers from Appleton WELS
___

8 WELS members to begin with, leaving a possible 7 unchurched at best.

Let's face it - If Ski and Bishop Katie held services on Sunday morning, the place would be nearly empty. Notice the calendar during Advent, Lent, and any other sacred time for Gospel services - Worship at St. Peter, Freedom.

Twenty sub-woofers (!) do not have the horsepower to overcome what is lacking at The CORE Lutheran Church.

Young Man, There's a Place You Can Go

Young man, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.

Young man, there's a place you can go.
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.

Let’s party at the E-L-C-A.
Let’s party at the E-L-C-A.

They have everything that you need to enjoy,
You can party with all the boys ...

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 8, 2010

ELCA Northeastern Iowa Synod Bishop Questions Congregational Vote

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Steven L. Ullestad, bishop of the Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has declared that a Clear Lake, Iowa, congregation's initial vote to leave the denomination did not achieve the required two-thirds vote, even though congregational leaders believed the widely reported vote was successful.

On Dec. 13, 2009, Zion United Lutheran Church held a specially called meeting of members and took a vote to terminate its relationship with the ELCA. The vote came in response to the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly's action to direct changes in ELCA ministry policy that created the possibility that people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships could serve as ELCA associates in ministry, clergy, deaconesses and diaconal ministers.

The Mason City Globe-Gazette and other news organizations reported that members of Zion voted 238-119 to leave the ELCA -- exactly two-thirds of those whose votes were counted.

But Ullestad disagreed with that conclusion. In a January 6 letter to Carole Roth, Ventura, Iowa, president of Zion, he wrote that there were 366 members registered and in attendance at the meeting. The ELCA Constitution, section 9.62, requires that "a two-thirds majority of voting members present" is needed to adopt a resolution for a congregation to terminate its relationship with the ELCA. With that understanding, Ullestad wrote that 244 votes, not 238 votes, were needed to adopt the resolution.

"The resolution clearly failed," Ullestad wrote in his letter to Roth. "It would be in violation of the constitution for me to begin the synodical consultation process since Zion did not adopt the resolution." Normally, following a valid vote to leave the ELCA, synod bishops begin a 90-day consultation process with the congregation before a second vote is taken.

Ullestad noted in his letter that synod staff communicated previously with Roth and the Rev. Dean C. Hess, senior pastor, prior to the congregation's vote to leave. He wrote that Assistant to the Bishop Linda J. Hudgins sent "the constitutionally required process for this vote."

Following the Dec. 13 congregational meeting Hudgins wrote in a Dec. 18 letter to the congregation council's recording secretary, Beth Ann Schumacher, of a possible problem with the vote. She wrote that based on a conversation with a member of the congregation, it appeared the congregation's vote was one vote short of the required two-thirds.

The synod's correspondence with Zion's leadership is posted on the synod's Web site at http://www.neiasynod.org/synod_news/CongregationalVotes.asp
The ELCA News Service contacted Roth, who said in a phone interview, "We don't see it (the vote) as invalid. From our standpoint, we don't see a conflict."

"We have counted all of the votes, and we have a count of the voting members present: 357 voting members present, with 238 affirmative votes 119 negative," he said. As for Ullestad's different numbers, Roth said she did not know where he would have gotten the numbers he cited.

Roth said she got Ullestad's letter Jan. 7. She said she expects the congregation's leaders will discuss the bishop's letter next week.

According to official ELCA statistics, Zion Lutheran Church has approximately 1,700 baptized members. Ullestad said the congregation has been historically generous in its mission support. The ELCA News Service attempted to contact Hess by phone and e-mail numerous times. Calls and messages were not returned.

Through mid-December 2009, the ELCA Office of the Secretary reported that 135 congregations had taken votes to leave the ELCA. Ninety-seven had achieved the required two-thirds vote on their initial votes to terminate the relationship with the church, and 38 had failed.

More on Justification Book

I am working on the doctrinal history chapters, which will be published in rough draft on this blog and sent around in Word files to those interested.

This is a tentative outline for Justification By Faith: Luther Against the Pietists.

1. Efficacy of the Word
2. Enthusiasm
3. Calvinism
4. Reformed influence via Lutheran Pietism
5. Halle and UOJ
6. Justification by Faith, Biblical Exegesis
   
7. Appendices: A. Justification quotations. B. UOJ quoations. C. Biblical passages used to promote UOJ.

---

More research will come out, I am told. UOJ is the product of Pietism, its main claim to fame.

Emerging Church - Old Stuff - LCA Tried Entertainment Evangelism Decades Ago

Real, relevant, relational - transforming lives.

Overshadowed by Elvis' anniversary, Art Clokey died January 8th. He invented clay-mation, Gumby, and Davey and Goliath.

---

June 17, 2003

ELCA's 'Davey' Documentary to Begin Airing in September

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Sept. 14 the ABC television network will begin airing "Oh Davey ... History of the 'Davey and Goliath' Television Series," a documentary featuring Davey and Goliath, a value-based children's program that aired on commercial television networks from 1960 through the mid-1980s.

ABC-TV affiliates will show the documentary beginning Sept. 14. Affiliates will determine local broadcast times.

The original "Davey and Goliath" television series, created and owned by the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA), promoted "basic Christian values," said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Department for Communication. It reached an estimated 1.7 million children and was aired in seven languages in 19 countries around the world.

Premavision/Clokey Productions, Los Osos, Calif., producers of the "Gumby" television series, also produced the original "Davey and Goliath" programs with the LCA.

"Davey and Goliath" is now a property of the ELCA, formed through the 1987 merger of the LCA, the American Lutheran Church and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.

"The ELCA was chosen to produce a documentary by the National Council of Churches and the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission, which works closely with the networks to bring faith-based programming to general market television," said Ava Odom Martin, broadcast production manager, ELCA Department for Communication, and producer of the documentary.

"There is no other pop-culture icon owned by a church," Shafer said.

The documentary will be hosted by Clifton Davis, from the television sitcom "Amen," and Mary McDonough, best known for her role as Erin on the television series "The Waltons." Set in a 3-D virtual environment and to be taped in Chicago by Post Effects Studio, the documentary will move through the history of "Davey and Goliath" beginning with its inception in 1958 and continuing through the decades to the program's current productions, Martin said.

Initial screenings for the documentary are planned for Sept. 7 in Chicago, and Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C., she said. Screening dates are to be announced for sites in New York and Los Angeles.

Created by both Art and Ruth Clokey, the original series was made through a technique known as stop-motion animation, a process where puppets are staged and moved little by little in each frame of film to give the illusion of movement when shown at broadcast speed. "These are real things in real environments," said Martin. It takes 24 still frame images to create one second of video, she said.

"The most appealing quality of Davey is that he presented scenarios that children could relate to," Shafer said. "The plots were often similar -- Davey got into trouble, Goliath acted as his conscience, and Mom and Dad saved the day."

"Davey and Goliath" dealt with issues facing children in the 1960s and 1970s and was progressive for its time, Shafer said. Themes included racism, gangs and guns in school, he said.

Though it dealt with controversial themes, "Davey and Goliath" always focused on God's love for children, he said. "The basic message throughout was that God loves you no matter what," Shafer said.

The ELCA is also merchandising many "Davey and Goliath" items such as lunch boxes, toys, bobble head dolls and neckties through the official Web site http://www.daveyandgoliath.org and through Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA. Proceeds from merchandising will go to fund new "Davey and Goliath" episodes, said Shafer. The ELCA is seeking $5 million in financial gifts for future productions, he added.

***

GJ - I attended some LCA Communications conferences. They were inordinately proud of their cartoons, while the typical pastor said, "So what?"

The Communications office final claim to fame was its program, Face-to-Face Religion, aimed at Billy Graham (but denied). They wanted congregations to buy their ads and put them on TV and radio. That may sound familiar to WELS members.

When I met future WELS pastors at Mequon, the first thing they brought up, swooning, was how much the LCA spent on communications. I always said, "Where did that get them?" I wondered who had them so excited about spending money. I had a call before I realized how much WELS adored the Church Growth Movement. I did not have any Valleskey classes, so I missed his reveries about Church Growth.

---

Kenneth J. Schmidt has left a new comment on your post "Emerging Church - Old Stuff - LCA Tried Entertainm...":

I have some new episode ideas that should be popular with the ELCA crowd. "Davey and Goliath Meet Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transgendered Phil."

***

GJ - I know some film producers who could handle that assignment. They are young collegians with a flair for flamboyant, edgy films. They know how to use digital media, music, and YouTube.

WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode Since 1977

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The First Sunday after the Epiphany":


Bret Meyer you suck the biggest out of all of 'em, you really have brain damage.


***


GJ - See what I mean? WELS funded Church and Change with offering money. Great investment.

---

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

Brain damage? Everyone is free to judge what I've written. I stand by everything that I have written which is far more than can be said for the contradicting spirits guiding the Church and Change group.

And, in support of testing the spirits I suggest everyone test what is written by the WELS here:

http://www.wlsessays.net


---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

Wow mr. Anonymous 3:42: Brain damage?
Please be a bit more articulate with your concerns.

I'm a first time poster but a longtime reader. We all need to be discerning when we read and write. You must recognize that the WELS has its flaws. Let's discuss the issues and leave the "brain damage" comments on the side. It doesn't help.


---

From Appleton - the source of many vulgar comments:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

Actually brain damage might explain what is wrong with Meyer. Jerkson, Meyer, DK, and others on this blog were kicked out of WELS long ago. They all harbor bitter feelings and want to take as many down with them as they can.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

That is a great picture!

I personally think the 'brain damage' comments and those like it seem pretty juvenile. It's one thing to disagree but if you're going to do it, back it up with your evidence and/or facts. Time to grow up and have a serious conversation.

---

dk has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

Wow

Anon 5:30. Thanks for informing me that I was kicked out of the WELS. I had no idea!


...one of the most bizarre statements I've heard in a long time.

***

GJ - Not at all, DK. That is how the Shrinkers work. I resigned from WELS, due to their support of clergy adultery and false doctrine. Pastor Robert Schumann went around telling people I was removed. He was ordered to apologize to me, but he never did. Soon he was selling AAL insurance. I understand he is an obnoxious atheist now.

WELS is known for their whispering campaigns. They call it "The Grapevine." The Doctrinal Pussycats use character assassination to get rid of anyone asking pertinent questions. At the same time they lie to cover up felons and felonies in abundance.


---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

From a church united to a church divided, we owe it all to Church and Change, and corrupt leaders.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

This blog is full of bizarre statements such as the CORE receiving mission money.

***

GJ - Bizarre statements abound with The CORE Lutheran Church. At first, St. Peter's was keeping The CORE at arm's length. Now The CORE is a downtown campus of St. Peter. The CORE reported to St. Peter that they burned through $250,000 in a year or less, for a grand total of 15 members. Six of those members would be the highly paid staff, so that leaves nine, which included at least one transfer from a local WELS congregation. That is reaching out to the un-transferred with the Gospel, eh?

I do not know the source of all that loot. Obviously Ski, Bishop Katie, and Glende enjoy regular trips out of town to attend Schwaermer conferences and worship.

The CORE should reveal where all that money is coming from. It might not be too bizarre to say a small fortune has been diverted from missions and education to pay for Pastor Tim, Pastor Ski, and Bishop Katie to have their own personal sandbox to play in. To quote Ski, "Twenty sub-woofers!"

I doubt whether the entire membership of The CORE can afford the lease and utilities at the movie theater, not to mention the popcorn and soda costs.



---


Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church and Change - Operating in Stealth Mode...":

Anonymous tries to use the "disgruntled employee" defense of the WELS, saying that blog critics of the WELS were kicked out of the WELS. Of course, anonymous can reasonable assume the commenters have been kicked out of the WELS because ALL critics of the WELS are kicked out in short order, unless they are 5th generation WELS like Rev. Mark Jeske. Members of the WELS are considered more like employees who have to toe to the company line or be fired, rather than being treated as actual church members.

What's really a laugh is when pastors tell members not to listen to critics of the WELS because they aren't in fellowship with the WELS, though the only reason they aren't in fellowship is they've been booted out. So booting them out serves to discredit critics.

excerpt: Anonymous says "Jerkson, Meyer, DK, and others on this blog were kicked out of WELS long ago. They all harbor bitter feelings and want to take as many down with them as they can."

Gerhardt - Jesus Christ Thy Manger Is

Paul Gerhardt, 1607 -- 1676
Sung by the Kammerchor of Concordia University Wisconsin.
Set to a new tune by our director, Kenneth T. Kosche.
LSB #372

O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is my paradise at which my soul reclineth. For there, O Lord, doth lie the Word made flesh for us; herein Thy grace forth shineth.

He whom the sea and wind obey doth come to serve the sinner in great meekness. Thou, God's own Son, with us art one, dost join us and our children in our weakness.

Thy light and grace our guilt efface, Thy heavenly riches all our loss retrieving. Immanuel, Thy birth doth quell the power of hell and Satan's bold deceiving.

(Thou Christian heart, whoever thou art, be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee! For God's own Child, in mercy mild, joins thee to Him; how greatly God must love thee!)

(Remember thou what glory now the Lord prepared thee for all earthly sadness. The angel host can neve boast of greater glory, greater bliss or gladness.)

The world may hold her wealth and gold; but thou, my heart, keep Christ as thy true treasure. To Him hold fast until at last a crown be thine and honor in full measure.

The First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Last Supper, by Norma Boeckler

The First Sunday after the Epiphany


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn # 134 Songs of Thankfulness 4.9
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 396 O For a Faith 4.18

Temple Alone – God Made Manifest

The Hymn #304 An Aweful Mystery 4.6
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #81 O Jesus Christ Thy Manger 3:60

KJV Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
KJV Luke 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

First Sunday After Epiphany
Lord God, heavenly Father, who in mercy hast established the Christian home among us: We beseech Thee so to rule and direct our hearts, that we may be good examples to children and servants, and not offend them by word or deed, but faithfully teach them to love Thy Church and hear Thy blessed word. Give them Thy Spirit and grace, that this seed may bring forth good fruit, so that our homelife may conduce to Thy glory, honor and praise, to our own improvement and welfare, and give offense to no one; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Temple Alone - God Made Manifest

The Gospel of Luke has so much material that is loved and known by all Christians. Many favorite stories about Jesus are from Luke and unique to Luke – the birth story, the essence of every Christmas program by children, Jesus in the Temple, the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, Zacchaeus…

KJV Luke 19:2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

If we learned the story in Sunday School, it was probably in Luke.

The relationship between Luke and the New Testament is also interesting. We know from brief references that he was a traveling companion with Paul (Acts).

I smile when people try to compare world religious leaders, because I have to gather information about each world religion. The earliest biography of Mohammed is from 200 years later. Our Gospels are from the same generation as Jesus – not two centuries later.

What if our first biography of George Washington came off the presses this year? There would be no first-hand witnesses around. The Virgin Mary was with the apostles in Jerusalem and stayed with John in Ephesus, according to tradition.
What a difference in factual knowledge alone, not to mention the details that make history valid.

The factual basis of Luke is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, but it is not divorced from reality. Luke had all his historical details correct, which proves how painstaking he was.

Jesus in the Temple

This is a story for all children and for the child or parent within us. We can identify with Jesus as a boy (to some extent) and as parents with Joseph and Mary.

The details are very important. Nothing should be overlooked, because the Gospels are quite condensed. And this story has abundant details.

Here is one:

Luke 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

Joseph and Mary always went to the Passover in Jerusalem. In this story, Jesus is twelve, so we can assume from the details provided that He went many times with them, perhaps every time. A large extended family went together, which is ideal for traveling with small children.

We took a tour of the famous St. Louis Zoo when our middle grandchild was just a baby. It was hot and sticky, normal weather for St. Louis. Baby Dani got crabby with the heat, so I got to hold her. Her big sister was pushed in the buggy and kept checking on us. Dani fussed from the heat. A couple (not grandparents yet) said, “You must be tired of holding her.” I said, “Never.”
Going to Jerusalem was an annual tradition, and doubtless it included the extended family each time. We can see how this developed. Jesus was probably entrusted to others at various times, and the parents were secure in the thought that they knew where he was.

Most importantly, Jesus was present many times in Jerusalem. Later, when he mourned over the future destruction of Jerusalem, it would be like a Midwestern adult knowing that Chicago would be utterly destroyed, or like a New Yorker knowing that the entire city would be leveled one day. When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, it was a city He knew well, and one that knew Him.

They were given every chance.

When people worry about the salvation of unbelievers, they forget how often God has provided the Gospel for them. The population is always shifting. For example, the Jewish population does not stay Jewish. There are many Christian Jews, ethnic Jews who believe in Christ, who have congregations and ministries in various parts of America. No one talks about it. Phoenix has three Messianic Jewish congregations, which now attract non-Jews. Northwest Arkansas has another group, and no one expects that in the rural South.

Jesus in the Temple explains why this is so and how many things developed in the time of Jesus.

There are believing Jews in the religious leadership when Jesus was on trial and crucified. Two of them are named – Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. We know how Nicodemus encountered Jesus in John 3.

The seed was sown early, when Jesus made Himself known in the Temple a second time. After all, He was already known there once before:

Simeon in the Temple

KJV Luke 2:25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Anna in the Temple

KJV Luke 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

We can see that God already provided multiple witnesses to Jesus. Simeon alone might have been enough, but Anna also spoke about seeing the Messiah in their own Temple.

Perhaps people forgot, or only one person remembered, 12 years later. But no one could forget what happened when Jesus made himself known to the most distinguished Jewish religious leaders.

Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem after the Passover traditions were completed. They traveled downhill toward home for one whole day before they realized Jesus was not with the company.

Has that happened to any other family? We left my sister at a gas station on a trip. My mother assumed she was in the front seat. I did not hear her in the back seat, so I asked first. “Why she is up there with you.” It was dark and my father was occupied with driving. Mom was in the back. We headed back to the gas station, where my sister was being consoled. Every minute that passed made her think that no one missed her. It was just a matter of false assumptions. A hit movie was based on the same concept.

Joseph and Mary had to travel uphill for an entire day to reach Jerusalem again, doubtless going between feelings of anxiety and fury with each step. They looked for Jesus three days. Was that three days plus one? Either way, that was a long time to look for a lost child. Jerusalem was a large city and choked with pilgrims at that time.

The personal details remind us of Luke and Mary being associated. One of the greatest icons of the Christians in Constantinople was a portrait of Mary painted by Luke. Lutherans are not inclined to believe the factual nature of many of these sacred objects, but the painting does show the traditional association of those two New Testament figures.

KJV Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. [This is the last mention of Mary in the New Testament.]

Parents can identify with Mary’s response to finding Jesus in the Temple:

And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

Nothing sounds so up to date as that response. Losing a child in this way combines sorrow and anger at the same time.

This story emphasizes the divine nature of Christ. There are no details about how He obtained food or shelter, or how He worried about His parents. He was unlike all other boys His age. His human nature did not limit His divine nature in any way.

Jesus had amazed the most learned teachers of the Law. He had three days to teach them about the Messiah. These men were astounded at His learning.

Luke 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

The time from His manifestation in the Temple as a baby until this moment was not so long that everyone forgot Simeon and Anna. This was additional proof of what was said at that time.

Jesus said to His parents – Don’t you realize that I must be about my Father’s business? He could not stop being the Son of God, and His mission was to take the Gospel to His people first.

This is so often mixed up by the belly-servers of today. They talk about mission, but they want to take the Gospel to those who are already believers (in a way) and want a different spin, a different market plan. So these characters brag about how they fill their movie theaters – by appealing to the Old Adam.

Jesus took the Gospel to the opposition and gave His own people every chance to believe in Him. That began with the official circumcision in the Temple, the prophecies there, the lengthy appearance in the Temple, and the public ministry later.

This Gospel shows us how God brings us Christ in spite of our sin and failings. We do not come to Him. He comes to us. We love Him because He first loved us.

He gives us the Gospel in many different ways – Word and Sacrament, through faithful pastors, the written Word, hymns, the liturgy and Creeds. The witnesses are abundant and varied.

Party in the MLC Video - Still Being Broadcast

MLC and WLC students were incensed that anyone objected
to this video, an obvious copy--made worse--of a gay video.

Be careful, little hands, what you post.

Martin Luther College's notorious gay video, Party in the MLC, is hosted on a Portuguese website, and easy to pick up from Google.

The original hosting links are, well, you don't want to see them. They say the video is withdrawn from YouTube by the user, but those special websites have not erased the embed. The video link is a good way to draw customers to buy the services of men with great abs.

I noticed that an MLC Facebook page has also linked the video, the old YouTube embed code.

The more times a video is linked, the more likely it will show up early on a Google search.

So be careful, little hands, what you post,
So be careful, little hands, what you post.
Google searches everywhere
And the video's still there.
So be careful, MLC, what you post.

---

mjleyrer has left a new comment on your post "Party in the MLC Video - Still Being Broadcast":

And you're still beating the same dead horse.


***

GJ - This nightmare (get it?) is still alive, and you are still reading this blog.


---

mjleyrer has left a new comment on your post "Party in the MLC Video - Still Being Broadcast":

I'm still trying to figure out what good you're doing by continually bringing up 'party in the MLC'

***

GJ - This way you and other collegians can publish on a blog that people read.


---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Party in the MLC Video - Still Being Broadcast":

If it weren't for Dr. Jackson's blog this pathetic video would not have been pulled from youtube.

If it weren't for Dr. Jackson's blog, Ski's antics would not have been exposed.

If it weren't for Dr. Jackson's blog there would be no discussion forum for Jeske's leap to the LCMS.

If it weren't for Dr. Jackson's blog Patterson would be continuing his excursions to Exponential conferences and receive free staph ministers as well as free vicars.

If it weren't for Dr. Jackson's blog WELS members would have no knowledge of the non-denominational Rock and Roll church.

I'm just saying...

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Party in the MLC Video - Still Being Broadcast":

“Party in the MLC” may follow the [edited out] actors all the days of their lives.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Party in the MLC Video - Still Being Broadcast":

~ WHEN THE RIGHT PEOPLE disparage you, it’s better than a basket of fan-letters.


***

GJ - Nodding my head like yeah, waving my alb like yeah.

---

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Party in the MLC Video - Still Being Broadcast":

Anonymous Appleton pastor, please post the Scripture passages that instruct Christ's Church not to publicly rebuke the public sins of false teachers and future false teachers.

Jude 1: 8-13, "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."

You defend the perversions of the Emergent New Age hirelings and attack those who expose it for the benefit of Christ's Church. You glory in your shame.

javascript:void(0)

Join WELS Church and Change - Get On Their Secret Yahoo Group - Pose with Tarts

This moving photo is no longer available on Facebook.
In fact, all the photos are locked down.
Can his friends still see them?

Ski's friend are a Who's Who of Shrinkers in WELS. Ask any of these to see if the bunny is still posing with Ski. Maybe Playboy already sued him for damaging their image.

Bill Limmer
Brian Arthur Lampe
DP Doug Engelbrecht
Forrest Bivens
Jeff Gunn
Jim Buske
Joe Krohn
John Huebner
Jonathan Ruddat
Tim’s Mom
Bishop Katie
Mark Jeske
Mark Walters – of course
Mike Borgwardt – natch
Steve Kurtzahn
Tim Felt-Needs

Fools Smarter Than Christ, Part Deux

Freddy Finkelstein has left a new comment on your post "Fools Smarter Than Christ":

Dr. Jackson -- Thank you for this fine bit of hot polemic. It bears the marks of Martin Luther – one whose influence is fading quickly in our age overbearing tolerance toward matters of truth and falsehood. It seems to have become a virtue among liberal Lutherans to recognize error without necessarily rejecting it, and to recognize false teachers without avoiding them. Instead, like looking for seed by sifting through horse excrement, these wise and virtuous Lutherans seek out false teachers, that they may mine their error for golden nuggets – as if the gold cannot be obtained from any purer source. When criticized for this, they claim the right of so-called adiaphora, never respecting for a moment that Lutherans have been in a state of Confession since the Reformation, and that to make clear their separation, true confessors exercise their freedom to avoid the unique expressions and practices of the heterodox, not to take them on as their own.

Anyway, I happened to be reading in the historical introductions of my Triglotta this evening. The last paragraph of section 121, pg 94, reads as follows:

It was, above all, the spirit of indifferentism toward false doctrine, particularly concerning the Lord's Supper, which Luther observed and deplored in his Wittenberg colleagues: Melanchthon, Bugenhagen, Cruciger, Eber, and Major. Shortly before his last journey to Eisleben he invited them to his house, where he addressed to them the following solemn words of warning: They should "remain steadfast in the Gospel; for I see that soon after my death the most prominent brethren will fall away. I am not afraid of the Papists," he added, "for most of them are coarse, unlearned asses and Epicureans; but our brethren will inflict the damage on the Gospel; for 'they went out from us, but they were not of us' (1 John 2, 19); they will give the Gospel a harder blow than did the Papists." About the same time Luther had written above the entrance to his study: "Our professors are to be examined on the Lord's Supper." When Major, who was about to leave for the colloquy at Regensburg, entered and inquired what these words signified, Luther answered:

"The meaning of these words is precisely what you read and what they say; and when you and I shall have returned, an examination will have to be held, to which you as well as others will be cited."

Major protested that he was not addicted to any false doctrine.
 
Luther answered: "It is by your silence and cloaking that you cast suspicion upon yourself. If you believe as you declare in my presence, then speak so also in the church, in public lectures, in sermons, and in private conversations, and strengthen your brethren, and lead the erring back to the right path, and contradict the contumacious spirits; otherwise your confession is sham pure and simple, and worth nothing. Whoever really regards his doctrine, faith and confession as true, right, and certain cannot remain in the same stall with such as teach, or adhere to, false doctrine; nor can he keep on giving friendly words to Satan and his minions. A teacher who remains silent when errors are taught, and nevertheless pretends to be a true teacher, is worse than an open fanatic and by his hypocrisy does greater damage than a heretic. Nor can he be trusted. He is a wolf and a fox, a hireling and a servant of his belly, and ready to despise and to sacrifice doctrine, Word, faith, Sacrament, churches, and schools. He is either a secret bedfellow of the enemies or a skeptic and a weathervane, waiting to see whether Christ or the devil will prove victorious; or he has no convictions of his own whatever, and is not worthy to be called a pupil, let alone a teacher; nor does he want to offend anybody, or say a word in favor of Christ, or hurt the devil and the world."

I wonder who among our Ministerium needs to be examined and/or re-colloquized?

Freddy Finkelstein

***

GJ - A dedicated group elected SP Schroeder. Readers know I am out of that loop, because I had John Brenner as the candidate. That group needs to organize and insist upon a synod-wide study of one part of the Book of Concord. I love the Formula of Concord, but perhaps the Large Catechism is better for various reasons. The Large Catechism is Luther's and parallels the Small Catechism in many ways.

I do not like Talmudic editions of the catechisms. They remind me of house painters touching up a Rembrandt. Too many pastors have relied on prepared materials instead of doing their own studies. That has leveraged the influence of the Fuller crowd in the ELS, Missouri, and WELS.

The synod-wide study can be expanded over the years. If people study the Scriptures and the Confessions, the issues will sort themselves out.

The Wisconsin Synod is completely polarized at this point.

The Chicaneries have their own lobby, originally funded by the synod, and still propped up by various synod subsidies (Patterson's free vicars) and foundation/Thrivent grants. The Shrinkers have taken a clear stand for:

1. Reformed doctrine,
2. Entertainment evangelism,
3. Open communion or no communion at all,
4. Women's ordination,
5. Unionism,
6. Avoiding the name Lutheran,
7. Shunning the cross, persecuting sincere Lutherans.
   

Confessional Lutherans necessarily stand for:

1. Luther's doctrine, as confessed in the Book of Concord,
2. Respectful, liturgical worship,
3. Closed communion, with Holy Communion a high point of worship,
4. Male leadership, according to the Scriptures,
5. Fellowship based on doctrine, not fads,
6. The name Lutheran as symbolic of the true Christian faith,
7. Bearing the cross, leading Lutherans back to the Confessions.
   

---

"O Lord, Look Down from Heaven, Behold"
by Martin Luther, 1483-1546

1. O Lord, look down from heaven, behold
And let Thy pity waken:
How few are we within Thy Fold,
Thy saints by men forsaken!
True faith seems quenched on every hand,
Men suffer not Thy Word to stand;
Dark times have us o'ertaken.

2. With fraud which they themselves invent
Thy truth they have confounded;
Their hearts are not with one consent
On Thy pure doctrine grounded.
While they parade with outward show,
They lead the people to and fro,
In error's maze astounded.

3. May God root out all heresy
And of false teachers rid us
Who proudly say: "Now, where is he
That shall our speech forbid us?
By right or might we shall prevail;
What we determine cannot fail;
We own no lord and master."

4. Therefore saith God, "I must arise,
The poor My help are needing;
To Me ascend My people's cries,
And I have heard their pleading.
For them My saving Word shall fight
And fearlessly and sharply smite,
The poor with might defending."

5. As silver tried by fire is pure
From all adulteration,
So through God's Word shall men endure
Each trial and temptation.
Its light beams brighter through the cross,
And, purified from human dross,
It shines through every nation.

6. Thy truth defend, O God, and stay
This evil generation;
And from the error of their way
Keep Thine own congregation.
The wicked everywhere abound
And would Thy little flock confound;
But Thou art our Salvation.

Hymn 260
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ps. 12
Author: Martin Luther, 1523
Translated by: composite
Titled: "Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein"
Tune: "Ach Gott vom Himmel"
1st Published in: Enchiridion
Town: Erfurt, 1524

George Major taught that good works

were necessary for salvation.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fools Smarter Than Christ, Part Deux":

It is a shame that no one who is in a position to deal with Fullerites in WELS sees it as big enough problem to expend the time and effort to deal with them.

By those "in a position to deal with Fullerites" I mean a Circuit Pastor, a District President, a pastor in a circuit who has firsthand knowledge, or a lay person who has first hand knowledge.

All it would take is a signed, formal accusation of false teaching or false practice based on personal, firsthand knowledge, signed by the accuser. That would force the issue.

For those outside the circle of "those in the position to deal with the Fullerites," namely anyone else in the synod, a letter to the appropriate District President, citing such things as Willow Creek membership and other things cited on this website, asking for an explanation and action, as needed, would be in order.

However, without someone "in a position to deal with the Fullerites" taking action and making the accusation based on personal, firshand information, any other attempt to deal with the Fulleries will induce as much change as does this or any other website, which is none. Such letters have been written by some of us.

People may disagree with this, but it is the reality of the "chain of command" in WELS.

***

GJ - The Word is effective, even on an independent blog. We are not to judge results, only to broadcast the eternal-life giving seed.

---

+Diet O.Worms has left a new comment on your post "Fools Smarter Than Christ, Part Deux":

"From what has been said you can gather how foolish it is, yea, what an awful delusion has taken hold upon so many men’s minds who ridicule the pure doctrine and say to us: 'Ah, do cease clamoring, Pure doctrine! Pure doctrine! That can only land you in dead orthodoxism. Pay more attention to pure life, and you will raise a growth of genuine Christianity.' That is exactly like saying to a farmer: 'Do not worry forever about good seed; worry about good fruits.' Is not a farmer properly concerned about good fruit when he is solicitous about getting good seed? Just so a concern about pure doctrine is the proper concern about genuine Christianity and a sincere Christian life. False doctrine is noxious seed, sown by the enemy to produce a progeny of wickedness. The pure doctrine is wheat-seed; from it spring the children of the Kingdom, who even in the present life belong in the kingdom of Jesus Christ and in the life to come will be received into the Kingdom of Glory. May God even now implant in your hearts a great fear, yea, a real abhorrence, of false doctrine! May He graciously give you a holy desire for the pure, saving truth, revealed by God Himself! That is the chief end which these evening lectures are to serve."

(Walther, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm; Dau, William Herman Theodore; Eckhardt, Ernest: The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel: 39 Evening Lectures. electronic ed. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000, c1929, c1986, S. 20).

I Thought the Quotations Were Odious

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "100 Best Quotations":

Pastor GJ:

These Megatron quotes from various Lutherans are so good, what a pleasure to read.

I left my LCMS CG church recently, the elder asked me to come back 'help save the LCMS Synod'. The Synod organization and the sycophants are the problem. I'm using a couple of these for a reply.

Thank you making this available.

Sincerely,
cw

Note Left on Facebook

The Word is efficacious.

"Still buying/after all these years........Ohh, still buying/after all these years......." YOUR BOOKS! In particular Liberalism Its Cause and Cure. A close relative/beloved *was* a hardliner-pro abortion-pagan-feminist and is now a conservative Lutheran, in large part due to your books. Keep writing, please.

***

GJ - NPH gave me the rights to Liberalism, so I will republish it on Lulu.com, in the near future.

How To Lose By Quitting

Never quit. Never surrender.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "ELCA's Warning to WELS - Do Not Wait 20 Years":

“One letter can have an enormous impact. It forces people to act.”

I beg to differ. The leadership is so used to doing nothing or whatever they want, and getting by with it, that they will do absolutely nothing. The leadership is most likely to turn on the writers to intimidate them or get them removed.

Basically, they are all as useless as DP Deadwood.

***

GJ - Aha. Begin by not trying because it will bring on the cross. If you want to remove the cross, bub, you have already removed the Gospel. The two cannot be separated.

KJV Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

The comment above is actually the mirror of the Church Growth mantra. Lay down the cross and do only what the Old Adam wants.

Here is where the Boomers especially are sissy whiners. They do not want to pay the price for the Word. And it is not going to be to the point of shedding their blood, which we should all be happy to do for the Gospel.

Someone can be removed from the synod or the congregation, or pushed out by a campaign of hatred and vilification. Does that keep us from faith? Not at all. In fact, a pastor pushed out can simply begin a new congregation with the Word. Starting with nothing is not easy, but the challenge can be fun and life-giving to many.

Members are finding it difficult to attend a faithful Lutheran church, but that situation has been created by decades of indolence, sloth, and avoiding the cross.

Let's say DP Engelbrecht and the others do not answer the letter. Send another letter, certified, to all parties asking for an explanation. That will have an effect. And have others write letters and phone. The Chicaneries are actively blocking any action. They are organized to get their way. They put another Fuller graduate in the second highest office in WELS - voted in, by the way, just as Wayne Mueller was.

I learned to protect the health and well-being of my daughters, because they were disabled. I  put the spotlight on what was happening. My wife and I went to the Columbus newspaper. We went to the governor's office. We wrote letters and backed them up with visits to an attorney. We wrote more letters. We spoke to hospital boards and doctors. We confronted incompetent nurses. One time the hospital tried to give my wife a hard time about Erin's care. She phoned and I gave her one question to ask - "Do you want to deal with me or my husband?" That had an amazing, calming effect on the staff.

I knew when I wrote the first article on Church Growth in Christian News that the synod would retaliate. I got about 100 positive letters from that one little article, a bad sign for me. That was in 1988 probably. The Shrinkers have been viciously striking back ever since, but they have only hurt themselves. I get ugly anonymous comments every day--very encouraging--and read three blogs where Shrinkers display their ignorance, malice, and bovine humor.

Everyone holding back is simply storing up more wrath to fall upon the Lutheran Church. ELCA has seen it happen, almost overnight. The pot is ready to boil over in WELS, too.

In spite of what Bruce Becker teaches, with impunity, there are no barriers to the Word of God.

---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "How To Lose By Quitting":

We should be encouraged by the Word of God which assures us that hardship and adversity purifies us. When we look at how Luther handled the cross, we should also be encouraged. Luther took advantage of an exile at the Wartburg to translate the Bible into German.
Bearing the cross is difficult, as our Old Adam will always make war against it. God's Word assures us that he is always with us. He will not forsake us.

When you have children with special needs, disabilities, or are terminally ill, the burden often can be very devastating. We would eventually fall apart if we relied upon our own strength.

I am in awe by the manner in which the Sovereign Lord eventually reveals the demise of false teachers. They revel in their Theology of Glory, their own efforts, their buildings, and their handling of those who would dare to expose them for what they are.

There once was a time in the WELS when false doctrine was opposed from the pulpits. The paradigm shift has been incremental, but noticeable. When laity would inquire of a pastor about some false doctrine, he would be quick to point out the error in the doctrine. The approach taken now is to glean some kernel of truth from the error.

I have had no problem keeping my distance from laity who are being flayed to the bone by false teachers. As a result of doctrinal indifference, many cannot comprehend the magnitude of the problem. I have gone to great lengths to explain to many members what the visible effects of false doctrine within their midst has produced. I have received little opposition.

It appears that false doctrine, and its implementation has produced docility within much of the laity. They no longer see themselves as part of the Church Militant. They cannot comprehend the fact that false teachers are in their own midst. From their point of view, the only threats are those outside of the church walls.

Fools Smarter Than Christ

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Slinging Mud Anonymously":

“I'm ashamed that what should be a proper stand against false teachers in our synod has turned into a witch hunt that's dragging even good solid pastors through the mud.”

I am not ashamed. What I am ashamed of are the fools who deemed themselves smarter than Christ and refused to keep a careful watch on things.

***

GJ - When a Lutheran pastor worships with Babtists, he despises the Word of God, which plants faith in the hearts of babies. He rejects the words of Christ, who taught us to believe as a child. Andy Stanley does not believe that babies have faith - he does not trust the Savior of the world.

When a Lutheran pastor is ashamed to provide regular services of Holy Communion, because it will interrupt the entertainment and be a barrier to unchurched Harry, he is mocking the Scriptures, which teach us - Do this in remembrance of Me.

When a Lutheran pastor asks for training from Schwaermer, he is saying, "I believe in the Real Presence, but that is not divisive when I can learn so much about how to do church."

When a Lutheran pastor thinks he has to make the Word of God attractive, reasonable, or appealing, he is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, Who works only through the Word and never apart from the Word.

The WELS Chicaneries and their counterparts in the ELS, Missouri, ELCA, and the CLC (sic) are worse than the Sodomites who only destroyed themselves. They are soul-murderers, slandering the Scriptures by substituting their spittle for the Word of God.

Let Me Tell You About Who Creates the Atheists

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Slinging Mud Anonymously":

Looking around where do you find the paragons of virtue in religion. No wonder people are falling away as prophesized in the bible. What the bible left out is that so many lying, vile, dishonest, phony, insincere, vindictive, nasty pastors would disillusion members and give them untold reasons to leave.

***

GJ - I used to joke that certain people turned pastors into atheists. I thought about the WELS pastors I knew who were now avowed atheists, plus one who probably is. All three were Shrinkers.

What did they have in common?

Everyone protected them, helped them, and gave them special advantages no one else had - especially when they messed up.

They were coddled, and that was bad for them. Nothing hardens the heart more than pronouncing absolution on someone who has no contrition and continues in his sin. Not only did other pastors lie and cover up for them, they did so knowingly.

God punished them for their false doctrine and notorious sin by letting them be coddled into atheism. Now they have the torture of knowing about God but rejecting Him. Two are advocates of atheism, pitiful examples of male leadership.

I know there are plenty of evil pastors. I have known more than my share of them. There were plenty of belly-servers during the Reformation, too.

KJV Psalm 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

We are warned many times in the Scriptures not to believe because of man, but to trust in the infallible and unchanging Word. No man's evil is enough to separate us from the love of God in Christ. No one is good enough or kind enough to convert us - only the Word can do that. I do think a special curse will be on those pastors who abused their office and exploited their members. They may be CG gurus now, but they will pay the price for their concupiscence.

KJV 1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Slick Brenner used to say that WELS was headed for the day of judgment. Now the very things no one imagined have taken place. The same is true of Missouri and ELCA.

The Reformed Take on the Emerging Church

Here is the link.

Slinging Mud Anonymously

Notice "Dr." Steve Witte and in other places "Dr." Larry Olson.
Witte went to Gordon Conwell for a DMin. He was a Chicanery founder.
Olson went to Fuller for a DMin.
Chicaneries advocate false doctrine.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "New NPH Stuff from Church and Changer Mark Paustia...":

As a WELS pastor, I have heard Professor Paustian speak and present papers and answer questions on a couple of occasions. I have heard him preach several times. I have read his books.

Believe me, I absolutely detest Church and Change and what they have done to my synod. But Mark Paustian is of a completely "different spirit" than the Church and Change scoundrels. He is a solidly Lutheran and Confessional pastor.

I'm ashamed that what should be a proper stand against false teachers in our synod has turned into a witch hunt that's dragging even good solid pastors through the mud.

***

GJ - Some readers are looking for a little more courage and clarity in the statements of the WELS leaders. If Martin Luther College's staff is so confessional, why are they are not running screaming out the doors when there is another Chicanery conference there, in the name of evangelism or missions?

I respect Paustian for replying and Mike Shottey for his response. It is a bit amusing to having someone yell "witch hunt" anonymousely. Show some fortitude. Are you a man or a mouse?

I will look up the anti-Ichabod blogs (three and counting) to see if there is a parallel comment about "dragging even good solide pastors through the mud." I doubt it.

This strikes me as another GA post, with someone pretending to detest the Chicaneries while being anti-anti-Church Growth.

I remember Joel Gerlach pulling that with a letter to Otten. He knew that WELS had problems, a list "as long as my arm," but Otten was violating the Eighth Commandment by publishing my articles. Gerlach also said he went to Fuller Seminary. He was glad he saw their false doctrine, but he was also the guy who promoted "making disciples" and "disciples making disciples making disciples making disciples."

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Slinging Mud Anonymously":

The anti-anti-CG comment "dragging even good solid pastors through the mud" reminds me of a comment by Ann Coulter. She said that you can tell what the liberals are up to by what they accuse conservatives of.

Anti-anti-CG could be abbreviated anti2-CG for anti- squared.


***

GJ - True enough. The WELS CG defense is - "I am terribly hurt by all your hateful, snide, caustic, legalistic, slander. I do not know why you get such pleasure out of tearing people down and dragging them through the mud. It makes me terribly sad."

They are shocked and saddened by an open debate on doctrine, but they are not shocked and saddened by their professors attending Fuller Seminary, or the seminary president going to Fuller and lying about it. Or their Asia Board guy graduating from Gordon Conwell. Or Parlow with his Denver DMin. Or Kelm with his St. Louis DMin. Or Rich Krause's union DMin. Not one of them can manage a real academic master's degree, but they all want to be known as "Dr"!

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Slinging Mud Anonymously":

Do you think it's possible that people post anonymously because on several occasions you've googled people's names to find a creative way to slander them rather than responding to what they said in their post, GJ? Don't mistake someone protecting his reputation for cowardice.


***

GJ - There is another anonymous accusation, without any factual support - typical of the Chicaneries. I know many laity and pastors who do not share their names because of the vile, dishonest behavior of the Shrinker crowd. They go after faithful laity, too. No one is allowed to dissent from their Reformed doctrine, their unionism, their apostasy.

I hear from people all the time. They are the source of my material. I quote it extensively and the Chicaneries sob like addicts who dropped their last packet down the grating.

Several people do use their real names, whether they agree with me or not. I respect that. There should be more open debate. But I am happy to keep it anonymous if people will discuss doctrine rather than what they imagine is wrong with me. That topic has been explored at length.

I know all about Chicanery concern for reputations - theirs. They tell each other's lies. The funniest is the Fuller alumni group telling everyone else who did NOT go to Fuller - and they know otherwise. Every Chicanery is a "Confessional Lutheran" and "sound, orthodox." Why have they devoted an organization to destroying Lutheran doctrine and practice? And they did it by skimming offering money from WELS - pretty low, even for Chicaneries.

A confessional Lutheran seminary president would not devote his entire career to the Church Growth Movement. Nor would he lie about going to Fuller Seminary. 

For amusement I look up the anonymous websites trying to cope with the influence of my little effort. As Bugs Bunny says, "It is to laugh." Too bad they cannot put their names on their work. Perhaps they are concerned that people would be revolted by their behavior.

ELCA's Warning to WELS - Do Not Wait 20 Years

Staff Ministry, Unionism, Enthusiasm, Party in the Fire Island Pines

An ELCA theologian, who was around 20+ years ago:

David Yeago: In the Aftermath

IN THE AFTERMATH

Reflections Following the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly

HOW DO WE LIVE NOW?

I’m writing for those who share with me the conviction that the actions taken by the Assembly on human sexuality constitute a theological, ethical, ecclesiological, and ecumenical disaster of immense proportions. I’m not going to make the case for viewing those actions in that way; that has been done repeatedly and very capably by others in the debates that preceded the Assembly. I am writing for those who are already convinced, whom I will call traditionalists.

Michael Root is not exactly Mr. Orthodox Lutheran.

***

GJ - In 1987, when ELCA was formally merged, the pattern was already set. Everyone knew how radical, anti-Confessional, and gay ELCA would be. Quotas were mandated, and they always favor the extreme fringe of the Left.

Hardly anyone said anything. Many clergy were lobbying for positions. As I recall, Root was finishing or finished with a PhD at Yale. Many other names are familiar as I read the protests. Bishop Kenneth Sauer was promoting the merger too.

They all waited 22 years to proclaim a disaster, when they voted for the original blueprint and funded the monster. Lawyers conducted the merger meetings. And the sheep went to the slaughter.

Now WELS members and clergy want someone to fix 32 years of entrenched Enthusiasm, which goes by the name of Evangelism, Missions, Church Growth, Church and Change. The SP cannot do it alone.

Here is a simple formula to get things changed for the better:

• Write a letter documenting errors in doctrine and practice.
• Be precise and factual, using dates and documents whenever possible.
• Edit the letter to emphasize the issue itself.
• Send the letter to the Circuit Pastor, District President, Synod President, and the ELS Synod President.
• Copies may also be sent to the doctrinal board or other concerned people.

 One letter can have an enormous impact. It forces people to act. If nothing is done, a follow-up letter is in order, asking, "What precisely is being done?"

In 1992, Valleskey endorsed Church Growth unionism six ways from Sunday, and WELS was silent, except to promote him to Sausage Factory President. The few who objected were forced out, and their friends went silent.

Larry Olson (DMin, Fuller), the Harmless Heretic, was put in charge of Staff Ministers at Martin Luther College. So what could go wrong there?

Brug endorsed women pastors in 1994 or so, and no one said anything. Not long ago, WELS women staff ministers were consecrating Holy Communion and distributing it to shut-ins, obviously with the approval of various leaders. The spineless doctrinal board imposed a "moratorium". A what? Meanwhile, the WELS Latte Church has a woman pastor "administering the Means of Grace," covertly now.

ELCA did the same thing. After years of covertly ordaining homosexuals, ELCA imposed some restrictions, which amounted to a modified limited moratorium. The Lavender Mafia worked together with the feminists and overturned that last little obstacle.

ELCA bishops, pastors, and members are fleeing the synod they created and allowed to fester for 22 years.