Thy Strong Word - News

My cool Photoshop is based on an idea kelmed from Bruce Church.

The next Lulu project is Thy Strong Word, which is out of print and still in demand.

Cries have gone up to provide it in print, since reading 650 pages online is a bit tedious.

Are we going backwards here? See the previous post. Not at all. Getting TSW into Lulu will mean free PDF downloads for anyone who wants them. They can also print a version, too.

There will be a bit of editing for typos, but it will be the same book, except the Greek and Hebrew passages will be cut out to make it more useful for the laity. Those who object may look for the book on the used market, where it appears.

I have some books to get into Lulu right now. I expect to do that soon.

Online teaching is going well for now. I have seen two major cutbacks in the last few years, so I am not counting on that. As we all know, there is far less security in a country where idiots rule. I am not just talking about the Syn Conference leaders.

Lenski - "Resist the Beginnings"

Lenski

I was getting my Lenski commentaries ready to ship, since someone wants them. I will attach a note - "He is great on justification, but wobbles a bit here and there toward UOJ."

I ran into some places where I noted excellent quotations in the book cover. One was "Resist the beginnings."

That should be the motto of the Syn Conference, but it is not. The beginnings of the current fiasco were decades ago and few resisted.

I often talk with Diablo, a WELS layman. He and I agree that the various Lutheran groups were far more in agreement (around Luther) in the old days, than they are now. Currently they are in agreement with Fuller, Rome, and every other fad.

Guess what?

Unsolicited, Grey Goose sent Lenski and Luther on disk, and I have installed both on my computer. The first thing I did was look up a commentary, open a page, and copy a section. That took a few seconds. The evidence is below.

Megatron is looking mighty creaky in comparison, but I learned a lot creating, tweeking, and using it.

This will be useful in all future publishing efforts.

Lenski from disk:

Luke wrote both of his books for a certain Theophilus, concerning whom, unfortunately, we know next to nothing. The address κράτιστε, which may be rendered “Your Excellency,” indicates knighthood, official position, or great wealth and prominence, it is uncertain just which. But we have no information concerning the contact between Luke and Theophilus, where the latter resided, and just why Luke wanted to write to him to give him the certainty that he ought to have. Some feel certain that this Theophilus was already a Christian, but this was not the case. In the Gospel Luke addresses him as κράτιστε, not so in the Acts. In all Christian literature, however, no brother Christian is ever addressed by such a title of earthly distinction. Hence when Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus, this distinguished man was not yet a Christian but was greatly interested in things Christian; but when Luke sent the Acts to him, Theophilus had become a convert. This conclusion is safe and not the other which is based on κατηχήθης in 1:4 and interprets this verb as if it meant that Theophilus had already been instructed in the Christian doctrine.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 11. <== The citation was created when I copied the section.

Going Methodist Can Make Money for the ELS Too

Everyone is forgiven without faith in Christ,
so everyone can work together.
Lay down suppressive fire against those who disagree.

Seminary Smorgasbord

By Mark Tooley on 6.18.10 @ 6:07AM

A United Methodist school in California is reportedly the first seminary in the United States to become multi-faith. Featured in a recent Los Angeles Times article, Claremont School of Theology outside Los Angeles will begin clergy training for Muslims and Jews this fall, and hopes for future Buddhist and Hindu programs.

Concerned about the new direction, United Methodism's oversight agency for its 13 official seminaries cut off funding to Claremont early this year and will reevaluate the cut-off later this month. Claremont was getting about $800,000 annually from the denomination. But the school says it has been offered $10 million from private supporters for the interfaith initiative. About 70 of Claremont's 275 or so students are United Methodists.

"Eventually, I suspect we will have a cluster of seminaries," Claremont President Jerry Campbell told a church publication early this year. "Each with its own specialty, but in an environment that emphasizes mutual understanding and makes religion the parent of peace rather than the parent of conflict."

At a press conference on June 9, Campbell officially unveiled the multi-faith plans, joined by Jewish and Muslim partners. "This is a very American approach. It's an expression of American religion and American religious attitude," enthused Jihad Turk, religion director for the Islamic Center of Southern California, which is partnering with Claremont. An imam who has studied in Iran and Saudi Arabia, Turk promised: "We promote a theology that is inclusive, that is cooperative, and that is pluralistic in tone and tenor." Citing "fanatics" who "promote theology of death," he asserted that Claremont's interfaith project is the "strongest counter argument" to "fear, hate and violence."

Claremont's first Muslim professor is a woman who declared at the press conference: "We are redefining what it means to be righteous in the 21st century." Najeeba Syeed-Miller insisted Claremont's goal was not to "dilute our faith but to be better Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Hindus, Protestants or whatever faith you bring." She urged a "theology of courage" focused on "collaborative action" on issues like homelessness and hunger.

Having struggled with financial solvency and even its accreditation in recent years, Claremont seems to see the multi-faith project as its redemption. Founded in 1885 as a Methodist seminary, in the 20th century it followed most other Mainline Protestant seminaries into theological liberalism, which morphed into radicalism in the 1960s. Claremont became especially renowned for Professor John Cobb, one of the architects of Process Theology, which asserts that God is constantly evolving and mutating rather than immutably sovereign. In the early 1970s, Cobb founded the Center for Process Studies at Claremont, partnering with Professor David Ray Griffin, who is now a leading 9/11 conspiracy theorist. Griffin, who now heads the center and remains at Claremont as professor emeritus, believes the Bush Administration exploded the World Trade Center to justify its imperialist wars. Process theology, with its notion that God is incomplete, is especially susceptible to vast and dark conspiracy theories, since it rejects orthodox Christianity's confidence that a sovereign God ultimately defeats all evil.

Besides Process Theology, Claremont has been host to countless other theological fads and isms over the last half century or more, with its main stumbling block being primarily orthodox Christianity. California continues to host numerous robustly evangelical congregations, such as Rick Warren's Southern Baptist Saddleback Church, which regularly draws about 20,000 worshippers. But thanks partly to Claremont's revisionist theological influence, which de-emphasizes evangelism and Christianity's uniqueness, United Methodism has lost about half its membership in California and elsewhere on the West Coast over the last 40 years. Less than 4 percent of all United Methodists are now on the West Coast or in Rocky Mountain states. The few remaining evangelical United Methodist clergy in that region typically attend a non United Methodist seminary, including evangelical Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, which has about 4,500 students.

At less than 10 percent of Fuller's size, and having struggled financially for years, despite a United Methodist subsidy equal to about $10,000 per each United Methodist student, Claremont envisioned institutional salvation outside Christianity. But Claremont still hopes to reclaim its United Methodist funding by placing its non-Christian programs under a legal umbrella called The University Project. Claremont insists it will continue to cherish its Methodist "presence" on campus and will remain under the governance of the United Methodist Church. The school's board includes the United Methodist bishops of Phoenix and Pasadena, both of whom presumably supported or did not resist the new interfaith direction when the board approved it in 2008. Unsurprisingly, both bishops preside over dwindling flocks and are renowned advocates for homosexual causes and liberalized immigration advocacy, while failing to attract many homosexuals or immigrants to their United Methodist churches.

Producing ministers who actually win converts and sustain congregations may recede in importance if Claremont can gain liberal donor dollars for its multi-religious path. As one Claremont board member has explained: "The confessional seminary is a dead duck." The $10 million interfaith gift is coming from a liberal Methodist couple in Phoenix and compares to Claremont's less than $8 million total budget in 2006-2007, when Campbell was first becoming president and struggling to save the school.

Another issue is whether Claremont's multi-faith initiative will reproduce new adherents of religious pluralism or provide an opening for orthodox Muslims who, unlike the liberal Methodists who run Claremont, believe in proselytism and the objective truth of their own religion. And if the latter, how will dedicated pluralists who largely reject Christianity's unique truth claims accommodate Islam's own potent truth claims?

Bedazzled by a $10 million gift and a dramatic financial reversal after a near implosion, Claremont's momentarily celebrating president, faculty and board may not have thoroughly pondered the ultimate repercussions of a multi-faith seminary whose only core dogma is seemingly self-preservation.

***

GJ - Claremont has a fairly good reputation in academic theology. I knew a Jewish student who went there before joining the doctoral program in New Testament at Yale. That sounds pretty mixed up - she dropped out of the Yale program.

The big money is always on the side of apostasy. Ask Church and Change. They may be feeding the sheep to the wolves, but they are getting most of the synod/Thrivent/foundation money while doing it.

This Is How To Wreck a Congregation - ELS Going Methodist

King of Grace Church Council Draft Document for Planning June 2010

The Mission, Vision and Long Range Planning Statements, along with the LRP Objectives, were adopted in 1994 and 1995. Regardless of the passage of time much of what was said then is applicable in today's church/school environment. It sets forth a working platform as we proceed ahead with a defined 3 year Long Range Plan.


Mission Statement

The purpose of King of Grace Lutheran Church is to further the growth of our Lord's Kingdom. We learn this from Article II of the present Constitution which states: The purpose of this Congregation is the expansion of His Kingdom in the hearts of the Congregation members and to all people throughout the world.

We believe it is the will of our Lord that His church on earth makes disciples. For this to be accomplished He has given us His means of grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacraments; His power for the salvation of all who believe. We believe that as we baptize and teach in His name, He will be present with his power and blessing.

Vision Statement


The Members of King of Grace Lutheran Church and School will be:

Faithful to the Word of God and will boldly confess our faith through traditional and progressive worship and ministries.

A membership equipped for evangelism to expand His Kingdom by bringing God's Word to our neighbors, our communities, and to the world.

Supporting our membership and serving our communities with innovative Christian studies and programs.


Recognized as an open, friendly, sensitive and caring congregation, focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


Committed individually, and as a congregation, to Biblical stewardship principles.


A Lutheran Christian Education leader in Minneapolis and suburbs, with special emphasis on the Preschool through Eighth Grade.


Long Range Planning Statement

The purpose of a King of Grace Long Range Plan (LRP) is to provide a blueprint for continued organization/congregational growth and improvement which considers progress to date and newly identified membership needs with the Lord's counsel and to His glory.


Benefits of LRP Planning


It glorifies God through good stewardship of time, talents and treasure.


It creates awareness among the members of the church's work.


It promotes communication among members leading to better understanding.



It provides guidance and direction enabling members to work as a team.


It fixes a timetable for action.



It offers a means for measuring progress and achievement.



It contributes to a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.



LRP Objectives


Worship service attendance growth each year.



Enhanced worship services consistent with our doctrinal position.



Enrollment growth and program improvements in all Christian education ministries.


Increased membership retention.


Increased membership assimilation, nurturing and assistance.


Increased Christ-centered youth fellowship opportunities.


A congregation structured to provide improved administration and management.



Effective internal and external communications promotion the KoG ministry.



A unified budget based on well defined, prioritized ministries and capital projects including normal operating expenses.


Formally trained Christian stewards.



Formally trained lay leaders.


Formally trained Christian witnesses.



Increased individual involvement in congregational service, programs and social activities.



Greater participation in community outreach and educational activities.



Support for members who wish to attend Christian colleges, universities or seminaries that are in doctrinal agreement with King of Grace Lutheran Church.



Active fellowship and association with Lutheran Churches and Synods with whom we are in doctrinal agreement.

***

GJ - I am trying to discover how this statement is different from Methodism, or perhaps anything more than a quick editing of Management Buy Objective (get the pun?) by Peter Drucker.

This statement simply reeks of Pelagian heresy. We are going to plan to grow by being known as friendly, caring, and sensitive! We are going to manufacture disciples! Plan it and all these dreams will come true.

This is the opposite of trusting the Word and Sacraments.

Where are the Confessions in this document? Peter Drucker is their Apostle - not the man who wrote "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gives the growth"!

After this passes, the brain-washed lay leaders will insist than any deviancy from Lutheran doctrine and practice is demanded by the statement they just passed. WELS pulled that under the Mischke-Gurgle administration. "We have to do this - the Mission Vision Statement mandates it!"

"God wants His church to grow." Who said that? Martin Luther or the founder of Church Growth at Fuller Seminary?

The non-confessional Lutheran congregations of the 19th century are United Church of Christ today.

Sending this out for approval means the congregation has already left the Lutheran Church.

But I am sure the ELS Bored of Doctrine Committee is on this like white on rice. Jay Webber was against Church Growth 23 years ago--on the surface--but he has been content with CG heresies all around him. Published articles against CG - zero. Activities with CG heroes - lots. That is how their Bored of Doctrine works - by posturing.

Be sure to look up Webber's website, where all kinds of fine things are quoted but never followed.

UOJ Paranoia

"I keep hearing voices, voices, telling me strange things. They must be angels, or demons, speaking the truth that only I can reveal. The horror. The horror."

Actual quote:
Also, there seems to be a buzz in the Lutheran blogosphere that there's really no such person as "Brett Meyer" and that you're just Dr. Greg Jackson incognito.

That is so funny, and coming from an alleged historian. His source is...not known. His source is... a rumor passed along on some blog or blogs, so he claims. It is hard to verify something so vague.

As I have mentioned to LPC, Brett, and Bruce Church, I seldom give serious attention to a Missouri Lutheran teaching at a Roman Catholic school. Add the latest hallucinations and his credibility goes below the sub-basement level.

Gary and Alicia would be very sad to hear that their son does not exist. Brett's wife and children would also be alarmed. DP Buchholz would also be wondering.

I can see how dense the UOJ people are. Their heads are starting to explode. They think I can post 4200 times and invent a separate identity who posts lengthy, detailed comments, full of facts and quotations.

I want to say, on behalf of Brett - thanks for complimenting him. He is trained in computers and got Bethany going on the video broadcasts. The bloggostorian is saying that Brett's comments are close enough to mine that he thinks a PhD in theology has written them.

Tonight, before I read that claim, I was thinking about how good the responses from LPC and Brett have been. When I talk to pastors or church officials, they repeat their seminary dog notes and never grasp the basics of Biblical theology.

Brett, LPC, Bruce Church, Church Lady, and Grey Goose understand what Lutherans have believed and practiced.

WELS and Missouri should toss out their DPs and randomly select laymen to fill the office so badly abused by the current occupants.

Make Mine Freedom, 1948, May Sound Very Up To Date

Not a Word Out of You - WELS, LCMS, ELS, CLC (sic)

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 15, 2010

ELCA Welcomes Dialogue, Consultation with RCA, Reformed Church Partners
10-165-JB

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The ELCA welcomes dialogue with the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and a consultation involving church partners who are part of the 1997 Formula of Agreement, a full-communion relationship of the ELCA, RCA, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Church of Christ, said the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations. Delegates to the 2010 RCA General Synod requested the dialogue to discuss the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly actions on human sexuality and the consultation to discuss matters related to Scripture.

The RCA General Synod, the church's highest legislative authority, is meeting June 10-15 on the campus of Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa. McCoid and the Rev. Roger A. Willer, director for studies, ELCA Church in Society, attended the RCA meeting.

***

GJ - The soi-disant Confessional Lutherans cannot point their fingers at ELCA unless they wash their nasty little hands first.

There is a lot of washing to do, too.

Those synods would have to eliminate their generic labels, whoopee worship, feminist creeds, praise bands, felt needs, marketing, and using Satan for evangelism.

They would have to stop teaching Reformed doctrine at Mequon, St. Louis, Ft. Wayne, Mankato, and the portable seminaries of the micro-mini sects.

They would have to admit that they have all been promoting false teachers while punishing faithful leaders.

They would have to change the required readings lists at their schools.

They would have to repudiate false doctrine.

They would have to replace all the offering money skimmed to pay for tuition at Fuller Seminary, Trinity in Deerfield, Willow Creek, Granger, Exponential, Catalyst, Dirt, Drive, and many other swindles mounted for the gullible synod leaders.

And that will not happen. But the tongues will cluck, piously. "ELCA is so evil."

ELCA and the Syn Conference boys agree about doctrine, from UOJ to wild-hair unionism. The difference is that ELCA is honest.

Law Motivation Works

Who Fed the Cat?

Will the Ski/Glende Solution Add to WELS?

"Katy, please, Ski and Glende
are sorry they drank all that Green Chartreuse liqueur
before the photo op. They are so sorry."


rhs (http://rhs.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "SP Schroeder Suggests a Way To Increase Infant Bap...":

Ski is doing his best with sex education to improve production in the membership.

***

GJ - Groeschel's Satan's Sex Ed is bound to drive people away, but Englebrecht loves what the boys are doing.

Has WLC Converted Milwaukee Yet?

The new college chaplain, Paul Calvin Kelm, can relate to non-Lutherans.


rhs (http://rhs.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Jeske Rules and Rocks":

I attended the conference monday. WLC's spotlight was a laughable video detailing everything they do except their Lutheran heritage and 'Lutheran' teaching.

Ironic isn’t it that pastors attack self-centeredness and selfishness when they embrace those qualities so strongly and appeal to selfishness of individuals who want to feel saved.

***

GJ - Mencken said, "No one ever went broke by underestimating the taste of the American people."

WLC is non-profit and non-WELS (when it suits them), but WLC is a business.

I predict most of the WELS/ELS schools of higher education will be gone or radically different in five years.

Jeske Rules and Rocks

"Full speed ahead!" as the captain of the Titanic said on that fateful night.

Garrett has left a new comment on your post "Deputy Doug Englebrecht Re-Elected: WELS Will Cont...":

The Timid Lutheran is spot on. Wisconsinites are all impressed by Jeske's successes, and cloud their vision to look closer at his teachings.

I attended the conference monday. WLC's spotlight was a laughable video detailing everything they do except their Lutheran heritage and 'Lutheran' teaching.

Moi?

Same Old Thing - With Claws

The Church and Money Changers have a post-convention message
for you Confessionals.


John has left a new comment on your post "Deputy Doug Englebrecht Re-Elected: WELS Will Cont...":

The upshot is that Jeske will continue to do what he does.

What Jeske does with Time of Grace cannot be called outreach by any stretch of the imagination.

Outreach would include clear and direct instructions to viewers/listeners about how to get further information from a WELS pastor/congregation in their area.

Oh, wait a minute! Any outreach for WELS might offend The LC-MS, and jeopardize Jeske's relationship with them.

What to do!! What to do!!

***

GJ - Oh noes!

SP Schroeder Suggests a Way To Increase Infant Baptisms

From an eyewitness:

Schroeder also jokingly noted that our statistical reports remain fairly constant over the years, except for the newborn baptisms. "Men, I have a proposal on how to improve those numbers..." Rousing laughter.

Deputy Doug Englebrecht Re-Elected: WELS Will Continue To Suffer From His Leadership and Doctrinal Blindness

The white Obama will rule two more years.

The Boomer DPs are the glue holding the Mark Jeske coaltion together.

Who's Your Daddy?

Left-click the picture for the larger version.

We Know That Could Never Happen in WELS - At Least They Would Never Admit It

Financial Scandals

The Hidden Wealth of the Catholic Church

By Anna Catherin Loll and Peter Wensierski

Pee-Wee Herman ordained a priest?

Photo Gallery: 4 Photos

DPA

The Catholic Church in Germany, already struggling to cope with the sex abuse scandal, has been hit by revelations of theft, opaque accounting and extravagance. While the grassroots faithful are being forced to make cutbacks, some bishops enjoy the trappings of the church's considerable hidden wealth.

Shortly before Pentecost, Pastor S. received an unexpected early morning visit, not from the Holy Ghost, but from the police.

For the authorities, the words of the Gospel of Luke came true on that morning: He who seeks finds. More than €131,000 ($158,000) were hidden in various places in the rooms of the Catholic priest, tucked in between his laundry or attached to the bottom of drawers. The reverend was arrested on the spot. After several weeks in custody, Hans S., 76, is now back at the monastery, waiting for his trial.

And lo and behold, the proliferation of cash may have been even more miraculous than initially assumed. The public prosecutor's office in the southern city of Würzburg now estimates that S. may have embezzled up to €1.5 million from collections and other church funds. The members of his flock in a wine-growing village in the northern Bavarian region of Franconia are stunned. They had blindly trusted their shepherd, who always seemed so humble and modest.

The Catholic Church is currently being shaken by a number of financial scandals, not only in Franconia but also in Augsburg, another Bavarian city, where Bishop Walter Mixa's dip into funds from a foundation that runs children's homes recently made headlines.

More than €40 million have gone missing in the Diocese of Magdeburg in eastern Germany, €5 million have disappeared in Limburg near Frankfurt, and it was recently discovered that a senior priest in the Diocese of Münster had 30 secret bank accounts. And while parishes throughout Germany are cutting jobs and funds for community work, many bishops are still living on the high horse. A brand-new residence? An ostentatious home for their retirement? Restoration of a Marian column to the tune of €120,000? None of these expenditures presents a problem to high-ranking church officials from Trier in the west to Passau in the southeastern corner of Bavaria, whose coffers are brimming with cash.

In many places, this blatant disparity, along with reports of mismanagement, misappropriation and pomposity have prompted the faithful to challenge church officials. They are accusing many bishops of just covering up the problem, as they did in the sex abuse scandal. They are determined not to allow anyone to see behind the curtain into their parallel world of bulging bank accounts and hidden assets, which, in some cases, have buttressed their power for centuries. The only aspect of church finances that is public is the diocesan budget, which derives its funding from the church tax -- but the church's true assets remain in the shadows.

Growing Questions About Church Funding

Now all of this wealth is becoming a political issue, however. The unemployed, recipients of housing assistance, families, communities, businesses, the military -- in the coming years, the federal government plans to deprive them all of billions of euros. But the church, of all things, is being spared, and hardly anyone questions the generous support it receives from the government.

Financially speaking, Germany's dioceses are in excellent shape. "The Catholic Church claims that it's poor, but the truth is that it hides its wealth," says Carsten Frerk, a Berlin political scientist who, after years of research, is publishing "Violettbuch Kirchenfinanzen" (The Violet Book of Church Finances) this fall. Frerk estimates the cash assets of the church's legal entities at about €50 billion. The Catholics, who are not releasing their own figures, accuse Frerk of being a prejudiced, atheistic critic of the church.

The assets, accumulated over the centuries, are invested in many areas, including real estate, church-owned banks, academies, breweries, vineyards, media companies and hospitals. The church also derives income from stock holdings, foundations and bequests. As a rule, all of this money flows into the accounts of the so-called bishop's see. Only a bishop and his closest associates are familiar with this shadow budget, which tax authorities are not required to review. The public budgets of dioceses consist of far less than their total finances.

This complicated web is handled with such secrecy that not even the financial department heads of all dioceses openly discuss their finances with one another. Seemingly baroque structures make these finances even more difficult to fathom. Depending on the diocese, the administrators of the church's funds can be members of a church tax council, a diocesan tax panel, a financial board or an administrative board. Sometimes assets are also spun off into foundations.

Of Germany's 27 Catholic dioceses, 25 refused to provide information in response to a SPIEGEL survey, noting that this information "is not made public." Only two dioceses, Magdeburg and the Archdiocese of Berlin, which was on the verge of bankruptcy a few years ago, were somewhat more accommodating, probably because they have so few assets to hide in the first place.

Secret Assets

The vicar general of a well-heeled diocese, on the other hand, said: "Yes, the assets in the bishop's see are secret. But perhaps it would be better if you wrote: confidential." When asked to explain this secretiveness, a spokeswoman of the Diocese of Limburg responded: "That's just the way it is." Finally, a representative of the German Bishops' Conference said: "I don't want to talk to you about this."

Elected lay representatives at the base are hardly more successful. They face a wall of silence, even when they are responsible for financial supervision in their diocese. One of them is Herbert Steffen, whose congregation appointed him to the diocesan council in Trier. Steffen, 75, is not exactly a fierce critic. A former furniture manufacturer, he comes from an arch-Catholic family of entrepreneurs in the Moselle River region. His concern was as straightforward as it was conservative: He wanted to make sure that his diocese was in solid financial shape.

The businessman was irritated by his experiences in the diocesan council. "I was surprised by the small size of the budget. It was something I thought we ought to look at," he says. At a council meeting, he asked a confidant of the bishop whether this was the entire budget. "There is also the budget of the bishop's see. But it isn't intended for the public," the official replied. When Steffen asked, "are you telling me that we can't see it, either?" the official said: "No!"

Trier, Germany's oldest diocese, is a good example of the Catholic divide between rich and poor. Bishop Stephan Ackermann, who also oversees sex abuse cases for the German Bishops' Conference, can be quite generous in financial matters, particularly when they involve prestigious projects adjacent to his bishop's palace. For example, the diocese currently has €1 million earmarked for a planned renovation of the square behind Trier Cathedral. Local church authorities want to make sure that the area looks its best, just in case the pope decides to lead an annual pilgrimage to the "holy robe" in 2012, joining the faithful in worshipping a robe that supposedly contains scraps from the robe Jesus wore.

---

GJ - LI was at MLS when it was revealed one of the staff found a way to skim the tuition funds. The shortage was up to $20,000 when the officials stopped talking about it. The students were impressed at how many things the staffer had, considering the low wages paid. They thought he was a very astute stewards of his funds.

Close, but not exactly right.

With a Name Like Rogue, It's Got To be Good

My Blog Roll - Rogue Lutheran

Intrepid Lutherans

Pastor Rydecki is one of the principles on that blog. I think the name Intrepid suits him (and his group). I have read his works and comments before. I particularly enjoy Gadfly , which I frequent. I like the way he uses language, “Don’t get into a spitting contest with a Cobra”.

Check out a good read.

“Explanation of the Common Service, Part I.”

http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2010/06/explanation-of-common-service-part-1.html

Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed: The man who shall not be named, because everyone is afraid of him. He’s a man with a wit that cuts like a rapier and an amazingly prolific writer, too. Check out his book list.

He sticks up for the little guy and he doesn’t let the establishment types push him around, I like that.

The first time I read his blog I thought: “Wow, he really doesn’t hold back, and he tells it just like it is.” Brutally honest.

Missouri people have a wealth of insight and church history available to them if they’d read his back posts. I back-filled 30 missing years by reading his posts, I heard he’s up to 4,000 now, it didn’t seem like that many, but they’re all so interesting.

I like his blog roll, too. I frequent the sites. I would add them to my blog roll except I have technical difficulty with the Mac OS and iWeb margins. But let me list them here:

Call to Faithfulness
Extra Nos
Faithful Service
It's Time Welcome
Light from Light
Logos Bible Software Blog
Lutheran Colportage
Lutheran News
Necessary Roughness
Norman's Demesne
Sceleratissimus Lutheranus
The Brothers of John the Steadfast
The Finkelsteinery
The Gadfly
Timid Lutherans: A Definite Synodical Platform
What Sasse Said

A new addition on Ichabod’s webring is Timid Lutherans. I like his style and I don’t think he’s timid at all. Never mind that he’s anonymous, he probably has a very good reason.

I am among this blog ring, and I am grateful that Ichabod gave me a spot to unload a lot of angst, which I’m just about over with. I would have no traffic at all if not for his support. Thank you.

Ichabod has the most astute regular commenters-- among the best are The WELS Church Lady, Brett, and Freddie Finkelstein.

Lenski Set Needs a Happy Home

My set is not as pretty but it is complete.

I am setting my Lenski commentaries because the print is too small for me. I had to take off my glasses and squint with one eye to read a portion on Luke. I will get the digital version to replace it.

The Revelation commentary actually has burn marks on it - very evocative.

Did you know how prolific Lois Lenski, his daughter, was? I grew up on The Little Engine That Could. I still quote it when we are trying to take off in a passenger plane or we are chugging up a hill. "I think I can. I think I can." Mrs. I. usually pops me one when I do that on a plane during takeoff.

LI joked that when WELS parents read Lois Lenski's books to their children, they start by saying, "Her father was not good on justification."

Lois Lenski did the artwork for many children's books and wrote them,
winning the highest awards. Her total was about 100 in all.

Lois Lenski.
If you have her books, we would like to own some.
My blog email is gregjackson1948@qwest.net

The Second Sunday after Trinity

Cover design by Norma Boeckler.
Book ready for Lulu publication.

The Second Sunday after Trinity


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn # 361 O Jesus King 4.1
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 #471 Jesus Thy Blood 4.6

Excuses Lead to Evangelism

The Communion Hymn # 462 I Love Thy Kingdom 4.21
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 #657 Beautiful Savior 4.24

KJV 1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

KJV Luke 14:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Second Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks unto Thee, that through Thy holy word Thou hast called us to Thy great supper, and we beseech Thee: Quicken our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not hear Thy word without fruit, but that we may prepare ourselves rightly for Thy kingdom, and not suffer ourselves to be hindered by any worldly care, through Thy beloved Son. Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Excuses Lead to Evangelism
This Gospel lesson teaches, with a certain amount of humor, how people turn away from the Word, and yet that leads to evangelism.

This is a parable – as indicated by the words – “a certain man.”

The great feast includes both the Kingdom of God and Holy Communion. The anti-sacrament people like to go lite on Holy Communion, because it is just an ordinance to them. However, the sacraments are essential to the Kingdom of God. We can tell that from the placement of the sacraments in the Gospels and the frequency of their mention in the New Testament.

For example, the baptism of Jesus is the beginning of His public ministry. He also indicated the inclusion of children in baptism when He said, “Let the children come to Me, and do not forbid them [literally – excluding from membership] for to such belong the Kingdom of God.” He also said, “Whoever does not believe as a child will not enter the Kingdom.”

The importance of Holy Communion is indicated by its careful description in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul, its meaning described in John, and many more references in Paul.
The largest portion of each Gospel is devoted to the crucifixion of Christ, and the Last Supper is a central element in that series of events. We do not memorialize any other part of the Passion of Christ. The Last Supper epitomizes the meaning of the Gospel – “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sin.”

The feast is also important because our important and favorite events are marked by eating and celebrating together. We consider invitations to these events to be very significant by themselves.

Many people fuss over the lack of believing Christians, as if that is the fault of God. They want a different formula or a reason for this happening. Of course, the New Testament is full of explanations, but that does not please these people, who seem to put on itching powder every morning.

The invitation is the same word as “call.” Jesus called His disciples. When I translate Greek with a student, I always insist on them using the verb “phone,” to get them used to connecting the Greek root with actual verb. That does sound strange – Jesus phoned His disciples. But that does convey what happened. If I phone someone to hear the Wannamaker Organ (Philadelphia), that is significant by itself. What happens to that invitation is another matter. Actually I was invited to that concert and I was unable to attend – just like the parable. The disciples were called to be apostles, and they trained men who were called to be pastors.

The general call or invitation is the Holy Spirit’s work through the Word:

The Third Article.
Of Sanctification.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
What does this mean?--Answer.
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.
So – Number One. The Gospel invitation goes out, and that invitation is expressed in many different ways by many different voices representing Christ.

Those who were invited in this parable were also united – they all had an excuse.

· The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
· And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
· And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

All three excuses are flimsy.
· The purchased land is not going to move or go away.
· Test-driving the oxen would normally precede the purchase.
· Would his wife not allow him? Family matters are often an excuse, and that was offered as one when a man left the Lutheran church to please his wife, who became very antagonist toward Lutheran orthodoxy. She did not mind lukewarm Lutheranism but she despised Lutheran orthodoxy.

The excuses are material reasons for avoiding the spiritual invitation of the Gospel. We can see how wrong that is, and yet that is often the reason behind the refusal.

Years ago, I met with one couple who had been at church. They were offended by two things. We had a building fund – that really annoyed them. They also did not like the absolution, pronouncing forgiveness. They did not want to learn – they wanted to condemn. They found reasons, and I did not see them again.

Jesus is teaching us that excuses will always accompany the Gospel invitation. That is not a reason to give up. It is not for us to judge and decide, based on false assumptions, that we are discouraged.

The gracious invitation, in this parable, was not merely ignored. It was refused with reasons given. There the wrath of God was incited. “None of them shall taste of My supper.”

To gather for the feast, the Master gave these instructions:

Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

The four groups suggest every possible person – among the least likely. Even today they are the invisible population. People know they are present, but look past them.

Brenda Kiehler, who slowly succumbed to a bone disease, had to rely on help for almost everything. When she typed, she used one arm to pick up the other. She said, “The Gospel is all that I have, so I cling to that. I don’t have money or health or anything else.”

When large groups are suggested the Bible, as this parable does, it does not mean only those named, but everyone. The four groups are like the four corners of the world. Or someone would say today, “I looked North, East, West, and South for that.”

When the four groups do not fill the banquet hall, God says,

23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Lenski has many interesting comments based on the strange responses to this parable. Over the ages it has been tempting to invent a lot of things about it.

Because the initial invitation is refused, representing official Judaism, the call goes out to the least likely, and finally people are compelled to come in from the highways and hedges. That is to say – no place on earth is spared.

I was surprised to find out that the most pages read on my blog came from mentioning the Christian who evangelizes the Muslims from a location in America. That seems to be an unlikely quest, one hardly worth trying and certainly one filled with danger.

And yet it is being done while many people raised in the Christian faith take it for granted, the worst of them being Scribes and Pharisees of the visible church – the theology professors in the divinity schools and seminary. (The academic theologians are almost always atheists – but are the official denominational theologians any better?)
The parable reveals the grace of God. Rather than limit His call to His chosen people, He has extended it to all across the earth. The less likely one is to become a believer, the greater the call to that person.

Through persecution and hardship the call is extended. For example, those who are beset by the spiritual conflict of false doctrine are the very ones who value sound doctrine the most. It is not calm but emotional hurricanes that make people seek shelter.

The Reformation was an era of conflict and persecution, warfare to destroy the Lutherans and kill their leaders. That was also when the best hymns were written, the best books published.

When Lutheran doctrine became divided by false teachers, The scandal was so great that Lutherans could not agree among themselves at religious conferences. Their opponents said, “Why should we debate you? You are not in agreement among yourselves.” God raised up another group of religious leaders to give us the Book of Concord.

The temptation is to say, “No we cannot debate these issues. That would divide us.” But the Scriptures say there must be divisions to prove what is acceptable and good in the eyes of God.

I cannot remember a single religious document that worries about institutional issues, such as the budget, the numbers, the emotional calm of the organization. In other words, they never worried about the man-made structure. They concentrated on the doctrine – whether it was in harmony with God’s Word or not.

That is the very thing mocked by people today, within the fold and without.

The apostle John wrote:

1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

Doesn’t that sound strange in the context of today’s attitudes? There is an assumption that a good church or a good believer will be one where the unbelieving world smiles and pronounces its blessing. Just the opposite is true. There will always be an attitude of scandal, derision, and mockery.

We know this is true from the catcalls within the visible church.

“You have a Martin Luther complex.”

“You are a legalist.”

“How many members do you have?”

“Why are you so small if you are following His Word?”

Meanwhile the false teachers are in the driver’s seat – even better – they are being driven in a limo while scattering coins among the poor.

So there is a constant choice for believers, between loving God’s Word and loving the world’s opinion. The two cannot be reconciled in this life.

The gulf is so great that I speak to a group of people and see who the opponents of the Gospel are by the way they respond visibly. They scowl, fold their arms, and find fault. Yesterday my grandson and I practiced the look. We scowled at each other, looked down, scrunched up our arms, and glared. Behind his “look” was merriment, so he laughed in between.

Opponents of the Gospel do not laugh. They get even, And they get even many times over.

Once apostasy takes over, people will not tolerate any minister except an apostate. He must be as lost as they are, a belly server and flatterer.

In the old ULCA, which preceded the LCA, many congregations would only call a Mason for a pastor. The brother Masons were so powerful that they would not consider anything else. If you think that is strange, the Secretary of the LCA, George Harkins, was told he would never get anywhere in the older organization, the ULCA, unless he became a Mason. He never did and he never became the president, which he was well qualified to do (apart from belonging to the Lodge).

Now that seems absurd because it is tough to find a Mason younger than 80, but it opened the door to free-thinking, secretive apostasy. Since money flows to false doctrine, the loot confirms false doctrine as good in the minds of materialistic people. How can it be wrong if a Mason just built a new sanctuary for us?

I know of that happening in WELS and in Missouri, while WELS made fun of Missouri for being soft on the Masonic Lodge.

One of the great comforts of this parable is to show that we are not rubbing shoulders with the elite who scorn the Gospel, but with the riff-raff, who were compelled by the Gospel call to come to the feast.

South Dakota ELCA Rejects National Decision

Diversity is definitely not the goal of ELCA.
Conformity to the lavender agenda is their only goal.

State ELCA Lutherans reject church's national stance on sexuality

Holly Meyer Journal staff | Posted: Friday, June 11, 2010 8:43 pm | (5) Comments

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The 2010 South Dakota Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America narrowly voted Friday against the national church's statement accepting gay relationships.

By a margin of eight votes, the state assembly passed a resolution, 251-243, with 10 abstaining, rescinding the national 2009 Churchwide Assembly's decision to recognize same-gender couples through its social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift & Trust," which also passed narrowly at the national level, according to Bishop David Zellmer, leader of South Dakota's ELCA congregations.

A re-vote was sought on Friday's action, but that request was denied by a 19-vote margin.

The state assembly is expected to vote Saturday on whether or not to rescind the national church's policy that allows gay clergy in a monogamous relationship to be on the ELCA's list of pastors and serve in churches.

The social statement lists four positions on relationships accepted by the ELCA, including gay marriage, Zellmer said.

The resolution and others being discussed during the three-day assembly at Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid City are responses to the national assembly's inclusive position on gay couples and gay clergy, which disconcerted many congregations and worshipers nationwide. It resulted in some churches choosing to withhold funding from the national assembly and others choosing to leave the ELCA altogether.

In South Dakota, seven congregations have left the ELCA since the 2009 assembly's decisions, and seven more are waiting to take second votes on leaving.

More than 600 people attended Friday's Synod sessions.

The resolution passed Friday by the clergy and lay people, representing South Dakota's 123,000 Lutherans, makes two statements to the national assembly. First, it says adopting the social statement was a violation of the ELCA's Confession of Faith, the foundation of the church's beliefs. (The assembly voted down an amendment to remove this section.)

Second, it asks the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to reconsider and remove the social statement it approved in 2009.

Zellmer said it will be difficult to convince the national assembly to change what is now church law.

At the 2009 state synod, that assembly passed resolutions asking the national assembly not to pass the changes, but it happened anyway, Zellmer said.

The Rev. David Baer of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Whitewood said some congregations are not making a decision on leaving the ELCA until they see what happens at the state Synod, and others are waiting to see what happens at the 2011 national assembly.

Baer's church stopped contributing to both the national church headquarters and the state ELCA synod. He is also a part of the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal -- commonly called CORE -- which formed in opposition to the proposed changes to ELCA policies and church teachings.

Baer said churches are waiting because leaving the ELCA is like leaving your family.

"It's emotional; we feel connected," Baer said. "We do really relate to each other, and it's hard to say ‘no' to your family."

Zellmer said Friday's resolution may help some congregations decide to stay with the ELCA, but passing Saturday's resolutions on the church's policies on gay clergy would help the most.

"It would have more of an ability to have the churches step back and wait before they would take a vote to leave," Zellmer said.

Based on response from congregations at a national level, Baer and Zellmer both said it was unlikely the national assembly would change its mind. A splinter church, the North American Lutheran Church, is already forming for congregations leaving the ELCA; a constituting convocation is scheduled for August in Ohio, Baer said.

The South Dakota Synod Assembly will meet again in 2011, and the group's position could change before the 2011 national conference, Zellmer said.

In addition to gay clergy, the assembly is expected to vote on matters regarding mental illness education, encouragement of mission partnership, church elections and ending poverty and injustice.

Contact Holly Meyer at 394-8421 or holly.meyer@rapidcityjournal.com.

Posted in Lifestyles, Faith-and-values, Religion, News, Local, State-and-regional, Top-stories on Friday, June 11, 2010 8:43 pm

From Faithful Service

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An effort in the Northwest Washington Synod to rescind Resolution 4 of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which allows practicing homosexuals to be pastors in the ELCA, failed. (see resolution results here)

Three DPs

Three DPs,
Three DPS,
See how they run,
See how they run!

They all ran after
The Church Growth myth
They told all the Revs
"It will be such bliss!
Just copy and paste
And you simply can't miss!"
Say the three DPs.

Ichabod Copied by Rogue Lutheran

Did someone just quote the-one-who-must-not-be-named?

Rogue Lutheran

Link to charities

The struggle is God or Group and the adversary is still the same -- it’s a War on Faith and a lot of assets hang in the balance.

“Why are the Lutheran synods in epic fail mode? Forget all the sociological excuses. They are lies purchased from experts to excuse the corruption, dishonesty, and venality of the organizational leadership. Here is a great one from WELS - "The Masonic Lodge is losing members, too." As the lodge goes, so goes WELS, it seems. Why is no one laughing?