I began doctrinal bulletins by email many years ago. They turned into sermons as well because various people asked for them. Although I kept the list small, where I knew every recipient, I still found a few individuals serving as self-appointed kamikaze pilots, eager to zoom in and detonate on any target.
The first few Ichabod posts were on a website, but that was time-consuming, so I turned to blogging for convenience.
Soon the sanctimonious name-calling began. People who want to be known for their great love unleashed a volley of invective, revealing a lot more about their tortured personalities than anything they read.
Some would like to be known for their great love of the (fill in the blank) synod. Most Doctrinal Pussycats have refused to do their jobs - with the excuse they are protecting Holy Mother Synod from scandal, danger, harm, and bad PR. Ditto many leading pastors and church bureaucrats.
The end result of their torpor is genuine hatred. They have allowed hatred for the Word of God, the sermon, the Confessions, the liturgy, and hymns to dominate all discussions. What was once unthinkable has become a well-funded norm.
The Chicaneries hate the synod they have parasitized for decades. They tilted the budget to guarantee failure of all the schools, simply by changing the percentages. The WELS pastors knew that 20+ years ago.
The Chicaneries put their men and women into positions of power, turning their headquarters into the Chicanery Coop. The Shrikers promoted heresy right and left in the name of "spoiling the Egyptians."
I was favorably impressed with discussions from the WELS group on Facebook. A lot of people see through the heretical and criminal deeds of the recent past. Those who want to Photoshop their family histories--or parade their DNA--are still rolling in the mud of Willow Creek, but they are fading fast.
Nevertheless, Satan's minions do not go gentle into that old blight. They rage, rage against the dying of the night.
The convention and the aftermath will prove whether those who love the Word and the Confessions will exhibit the persistency of their opponents.
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"The Son of God Goes Forth to War"
by Reginald Heber, 1783-1826)
1. The Son of God goes forth to war
A kingly crown to gain.
His blood-red banner streams afar;
Who follows in His train?
Who best can drink His cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below--
He follows in His train.
2. The martyr first whose eagle eye
Could pierce beyond the grave,
Who saw His Master in the sky
And called on Him to save.
Like Him, with pardon on His tongue,
In midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for them that did the wrong--
Who follows in his train?
3. A glorious band, the chosen few,
On whom the Spirit came,
Twelve valiant saints; their hope they knew
And mocked the cross and flame.
They met the tyrant's brandished steel,
The lion's gory mane;
They bowed their necks the death to feel--
Who follows in their train?
4. A noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Savior's throne rejoice,
In robes of light arrayed.
They climbed the steep ascent of heav'n
Thro' peril, toil, and pain.
O God, to us may grace be giv'n
To follow in their train!
Hymn #452
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: 1 Timothy 6:12
Author: Reginald Heber, 1827
Composer: Henry S. Cutler, 1872
Tune: "All Saints New"
