Release the Ichabod! - WELS SP Mark Schroeder's Threat Comes True. Every Northern District Pastor Has the Packet On the Ski, Glende, Engelbrecht Cover-Up

Basic URL for St. Peter and The CORE
Glende's first solo parish is insolvent,
and the big building project in Freedom is in trouble.

One source told me that WELS SP Mark Schroeder threatened Northern Wisconsin District President Doug Engelbrecht with Ichabod exposure if he did not do anything about Pastor Ski, aka James Skorzewski.

A few days ago, Ski was still welcoming people to The CORE websty. Ever since the evening service of St. Peter in Freedom started, the CORE websty has featured a juvenile movie of Ski ordering people to attend his plagiarized service. One movie featured him mocking sermons with duct tape over his mouth. That was true to the theme of Fox Valley, belittling the Word of God.

When the Ski/Glende scandal began to break, Ski disappeared off the websty and the files were all mixed around - briefly. Then he came back, even though he resigned from the WELS ministry!

Here is the lowdown on that episode. Engelbrecht told Schroeder one story and St. Peter/CORE another. Schroeder actually visited the errant congregation just before the Emmaus head-fake conference of all three SynCons. Deputy Doug assured St. Peter/CORE that Ski would be back by the end of summer, but resigning from the ministry is supposed to mean no call and no CRM status until perhaps, maybe, sort of later - probably not at all.

So Ski resigned from the ministry and came back to The CORE's websty.

No one has told St. Peter/CORE the truth about the allegations. Never. And the Fox Valley pastors are all behind the current Glende/Ski/Engelbrect cover-up.

Remember - this is the WELS - or as they say it in Milwaukee - Dis is duh WELZ.

Ski, Glende, and Engelbrecht excommunicated Rick Techlin (secretly) for questioning the plagiarism at St. Peter and The CORE. Engelbrecht gave an essay, which I published, where he defended plagiarism, since "everyone does it."

The Latest News
A married couple made repeated efforts to have something done about Ski's behavior. Remember Schroeder's mantra - "Write a letter"? They did all that, and they met with the proper people, including Deputy Doug. They contacted a lawyer and Church Mutual Insurance, too.

Who is liable in this situation, especially since WELS has lost at least one case like this (Scott Zerbe for having an affair with a minor girl when he was a vicar under Fred Adrian)?

• WELS is liable. So is Mark Schroeder - failure to supervise.
• The Northern Wisconsin District and Deputy Doug are liable.
• St. Peter in Freedom is liable.
• The pastors involved are liable, especially since the staff knew and approved.
• Ski is liable.

The financial penalties are severe. Adrian's Zerbe case cost $400,000 to the girl, and that did not include legal costs. WELS probably settles a lot of matters out of court. In the Zerbe case they lied to the judge, which does not make the legal system happy. I helped the girl's lawyer win the case by telling the truth about WELS behavior and cover-ups. The judge ordered the abusive sect to fess up - that is considered pretty severe, the lawyer told me. According to WELS, I was born forgiven and saved, but I do not think they have forgiven me for the Zerbe case.

Needless to say, this couple got nowhere. They told Deputy Doug they would send out a letter if he did nothing. He did nothing, so they did - to each of the 187 pastors in the Northern Wisconsin District.

No pastor in the district can now say, "I know nothing about it." Lillo has been saying that for months. I imagine he got a packet too.

Schroeder cannot say he knows nothing about it, because he has known about it all along.

The Allegations
One is from 2010 - Ski decided to show a female employee the infamous Brett Favre photos. Most Packer fans heard about them, but most of us did not try to find them. This alone would march any man out of employment - don't stop at your desk - we will hand your stuff to your in a cardboard box.

Multiple beer lunches - Ski. There seemed to be a constant supply of beer at The CORE and constant drinking on the job. No wonder they bought a bar for The CORE's third location - with WELS offering money - and Ski promised to keep the beer/wine license "for weddings." Um-hmm.

Obscene, derogatory language used about an overweight woman - Ski again. I had to look up the term in the Urban Dictionary. I am not hip.

Playing a song for a prospect - the title and lyrics were obscene. Ski.

Using a real assault weapon, an AK 47, as a sermon illustration. Ski.

Note, readers - that Ski gave sex education lessons (copied from Groeschel) at The CORE and also at their precious WELS high school. A man who should have been fired three years ago is the one chosen to be a teacher and example for the high school students.

WELS Response
This abusive sect has responded by punishing the couple in every way possible. While giving devoted support to Ski and Glende, the district and synod have ostracized and abused the innocent couple. If someone tried the WELS response at a Coca Cola bottling plant or Ford dealership, there would be so many millions of dollars of penalties added up in a civil suit that they would beg for a settlement.

I saw and experienced this in Columbus, Ohio, where Tim Glende had a very bad education in promoting an unrepentant adulterer as a Church Growth expert. Glende saw how useful it was to slime anyone who dared to question the infallible WELS - even though he grew up in a non-WELS church.

Classic Ichabod - Groeschel Fact Page

Craig Groeschel's and Andy Stanley's bro-love.
No, it is not what you are thinking.
These Enthusiasts are the leading lights of Fox Valley, WELS.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Craig Groeschel Fact Page

How To Plagiarize Legally

Groeschel on Plagiarism

Screaming is a typical Reformed gimmick
to sell the Gospel, to be entertaining. Intrepid Lutherans on Groeschel. Craig Groeschel preaching.

Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley (Babtist) often conduct Catalyst conferences together. This is a fairly recent one.

Groeschel was born in 1967 in Texas, grew up in Oklahoma, attended a Methodist university (Oklahoma City U.) and pursued a degree in marketing. He attended Philips Seminary, which is affiliated with the ultra-liberal Disciples of Christ, the denomination of Jim Jones and Donald McGavran.

He married Amy in 1991. They have six children.

He was a United Methodist minister in 1995 when the Oklahoma City bomb blew up the federal building and severely damaged the nearby church where he worked.

In 1996 he began a church in a two-car garage, apparently because his denomination did not want him to start a mission church. Like Hybels of Willow Creek, he began with a marketing survey. The church grew rapidly and became Life Church - with the URL of LifeChurch.tv.

The New York Times reported:
He set up a website for people to post "secret confessions," an idea copied by Pastor Ski at The CORE.

The Catholic Church noted this new trend started by Groeschel.

USA Today says:

"Of the USA's 100 largest churches, 67% now have two or more sites and 60% of the 100 fastest-growing churches also have multiple sites, according to the annual listings of the USA's largest churches in Outreach magazine's October issue."


The most innovative churches in America are:

· LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel

· Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll

· Granger Community Church (Granger, IN) :: Mark Beeson

· Flamingo Road Church (Cooper City, FL) :: Troy Gramling

· Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC) :: Greg Surratt

· Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren

· Mosaic Church (Los Angeles, CA) :: Erwin McManus

· Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.

· North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley

· Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels

· National Community Church (Washington, DC) :: Mark Batterson

One story says:

"Granger broke the rules when his church plastered mylamesexlife.com billboards around the local city, which stirred debate among Christians and a media storm. LifeChurch.tv went out of bounds when it launched the multi-site movement, which includes an internet campus for worship services. And Life Church's senior pastor,Craig Groeschel, broke the rules when he went into bars to meet "the sick" and tell them about Jesus."

Groeschel motto: "In order to reach those that no one else is reaching, we will have to do things that no one else is doing," he said.

Groeschel began as a United Methodist minister but is an Evangelical Covenant minister now. The Evangelical Covenant church is Pietistic and related to the Swedish Augustana Synod which merged into the LCA in 1962.

Groeschel's thoughts about the United Methodists can be found linked here.

He claims 21,000 in attendance each week.

He may not have been the first to promote multiple sites, but he is known for them now. He began using video when his fourth child was born and he could not lead services.

Classic Ichabod - New Views on Old Post

Ray Klatt Asks: "Why Translate the Bible When It Is Easier To Bowdlerize Luther and the Book of Concord?"

 The Sausage Factory turns out UOJ Stormtroopers by the dozen.

raklatt (http://raklatt.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "St. Peter Fond du Lac (WELS) Edits the Book of Con...":

And this from among the group that is thinking about making its own translation of the Bible? The Epistle of Paul to the Romans would be shorter than the Third Epistle of John.

But wait...does DP stand for DiotrePhes? 3 John would of necessity have to be even shorter. 3 John 9-10 would have to be left out for it says: "I wrote unto the church, but Diotrephes, who loveth to have pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not. Therefore if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words. And not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethern, and forbiddeth those who would, and casteth them out of the church."

No new translation will be done. It is so much easier to edit Luther and the Book of Concord.

Wikipedia on Bowdler.

Lil Packet of Luther Sermons - Rogate Through the Ten Lepers

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/07/three-sects-united-by-common-business.html

Luther's Sermons - 
Many links have two or three sermons together on that topic.

Rogate - Prayer

Ascension of Christ

The Day of Pentecost

Pentecost Monday - John 3:16

Pentecost Tuesday - John 10 - I AM the Good Shepherd

Pentecost Wednesday - On Faith and Coming to Christ

Trinity Sunday

The First Sunday after Trinity - The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Second Sunday after Trinity - The Great Feast. Luke 14:16-24

Two Sermons on the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin - Luke 15:1-10

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity - Treatment of Our Enemies - Luke 6:36-42

The Fifth Sunday after Trinity - The Draft of Fish - Luke 5:1-11

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity - Matthew 5:20-26

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity - Matthew 7:15-23 - Beware of False Teachers

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity - Luke 16:1-9. The Unrighteous Steward

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity - Jesus' Warning about the Destruction of Jerusalem

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity - Parable of the SynCon Leader versus the Publican.

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity - Healing of the Deaf Mute. Mark 7:31ff.

Bonus Sections:

Luther's Sermons on the Good Samaritan

Trinity 14 - Faith and the Healed Lepers

Trinity 15 and Sermons Following

Augsburg Confession and Apology on Justification

Massive collection on UOJ and Justification by Faith.

Comments on Works-Righteousness. Luther Said People Purchase Hell When They Could Have Heaven for Free

The CORE (www.gotocore.com)

11 hours ago

• Sunday's Take-Away: How successful have you been this week following Jesus' example of what it is to be a "servant"?

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Leading People Down the Path of Works-Righteousnes...":

A generation ago, we still heard much admonition against falling prey to works righteousness. The Theology of Glory and Works Righteousness go hand in hand. The end result is that one starts tooting their own horn. A broken and a contrite heart O God, thou wilt not despise. The word contrition has fallen out of vogue in today's so called Christianity. Yet, Luther used the word contrition in his Small Catechism.

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narrow-minded has left a new comment on your post "Leading People Down the Path of Works-Righteousnes...":

Thank you for this great post. I can attest to the fact that Pietism leads to failure. Having grown up Methodist, I gave up on Christ in my late-teens and through my twenties. Jesus was just an example. "Be like David," I was taught. The Bible, especially the OT, was treated as the Life Handbook, with nary a mention of the Promise. So, I want to be a murderous adulterer, like David? I was never taught to look at David's Faith in the Promise.

I recently read that Wesley looked to Constantinople for much of his theology, and it's true. I know one EO priest who came from Methodism, and it's an easy transition. Methodism is just EO without the bells, smells, and intense Mariology.

It amazes me how the Pietists seem to fall the hardest. While I am a miserable failure on my best day, the Pietists seem to succumb to sin worse than anyone, especially in the department of keeping the pants zipped. Look at Martin Stephan. Look at the televangelists.

Any "good" we do apart from Faith is considered sin. If the tree is sick, it will bear no fruit. It is sad, given the great gift the Lutheran Fathers gave us, that the SynCons have thrown away JBFA. Perhaps this is why UOJ is the mainstay today, because Pietists eventually come to the realization that their works are like filthy rags. If we despair of our sin without Faith, Universalism is the only hope.

Praise to the Triune God for the Gift of Faith!

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GJ - Hoenecke has the key distinction. He could put an entire essay into one sentence - The Pietists confuse sanctification with justification and make the first the cause of the second.

There are only two justifications. One excludes the other. Justification by works is the most popular, not only excluding but persecuting justification by faith. Since this tree is evil, it can only produce corrupt fruit.

Justification by faith excludes all human works as a cause for our forgiveness. Justification by faith necessarily leads to those fruits which the Pietists urge upon everyone but cannot produce from their works-righteousness. Faith makes the tree good, as Luther reminds us, and so the good tree produces abundant fruit.

My two friends from high school were ordered not to smoke and threatened by their parents if they smoked. My classmates were Methodists, and they became cigarette addicts. Law motivation energizes a rebellion and clearly defines how adolescents can make parents go crazy.

Universal Objective Justification is Pietistic gasoline poured on the fire. UOJ only knows the law, since faith has been excluded. Therefore, the law-encased sinner becomes Antinomian when told he was born forgiven and saved, end of story, period (DP Jon-Boy Buchholz). Confused and illiterate in Biblical theology, he is taught to make a decision for UOJ to be forgiven personally - as opposed to globally. That obliterates any understanding of the Means of Grace.

Bragging about Works - Typical Corrupt Fruit

The worst problem manifests itself in bragging about "sharing Jesus.'

Tim Glende defines himself as: Passionate about sharing Jesus in the Valley. Hard worker.

Ski made his personal mission statement (repeated in many places) -

"Our church’s mission statement downtown is this... The Core exists to transform lives for Jesus through faith that is real, relevant and relational.  My personal mission statement is this, because I’ve developed my own... From every pore of my body, I will ooze Jesus Christ so that in this world, as I brush up against people, my sweaty, oozy Jesus will get all over them!  Every day he gives you opportunities.  Every day!"

And it is still on the websty of the church where Gausewitz' father preached.

If Ski is looking for work, even though DP Doug promised his return to The CORE, 
he could always work at Am Oozing Love Church, also endorsed by WELS with a big fat grant and absolution for plagiarizing just about everyone.

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LPC has left a new comment on your post "Comments on Works-Righteousness. Luther Said Peopl...":

If we despair of our sin without Faith, Universalism is the only hope

What a true observation!

LPC

Why men have stopped singing in church.Luther Put Biblical Hymnals Back into the Worship Service

Why men have stopped singing in church:

Why men have stopped singing in church

May 8, 2013 By David Murrow 24 Comments

It happened again yesterday. I was attending one of those hip, contemporary churches — and almost no one sang. Worshippers stood obediently as the band rocked out, the smoke machine belched and lights flashed. Lyrics were projected on the screen, but almost no one sang them. A few women were trying, but I saw only one male (other than the worship leader) making the attempt.

A few months ago I blogged, “Have Christians Stopped Singing?” I did some research, and learned that congregational singing has ebbed and flowed over the centuries. It reached a high tide when I was a young man – but that tide may be going out again. And that could be bad news for men.

First, a very quick history of congregational singing.

Before the Reformation, laypersons were not allowed to sing in church. They were expected to stand mute as sacred music was performed by professionals (priests and cantors), played on complex instruments (pipe organs), and sung in an obscure language (Latin).

Reformers gave worship back to the people in the form of congregational singing. They composed simple tunes that were easy to sing, and mated them with theologically rich lyrics. Since most people were illiterate in the 16th century, singing became an effective form of catechism. Congregants learned about God as they sang about God.

A technological advance – the printing press – led to an explosion of congregational singing. The first hymnal was printed in 1532, and soon a few dozen hymns became standards across Christendom. Hymnals slowly grew over the next four centuries. By the mid 20^th century every Protestant church had a hymnal of about 1000 songs, 250 of which were regularly sung. In the church of my youth, everyone picked up a hymnal and sang every verse of every song.

About 20 years ago a new technological advance – the computer controlled projection screen – entered America’s sanctuaries. Suddenly churches could project song lyrics for all to see. Hymnals became obsolete. No longer were Christians limited to 1,000 songs handed down by our elders.

At first, churches simply projected the songs everyone knew – hymns and a few simple praise songs that had come out of the Jesus Movement. People sang robustly.

But that began to change about ten years ago. Worship leaders realized they could project anything on that screen. So they brought in new songs each week. They drew from the radio, the Internet, and Worship conferences. Some began composing their own songs, performing them during worship, and selling them on CD after church.

In short order we went from 250 songs everyone knows to 250,000+ songs nobody knows.

Years ago, worship leaders used to prepare their flocks when introducing a new song. “We’re going to do a new song for you now,” they would say. “We’ll go through it twice, and then we invite you to join in.”

That kind of coaching is rare today. Songs get switched out so frequently that it’s impossible to learn them. People can’t sing songs they’ve never heard. And with no musical notes to follow, how is a person supposed to pick up the tune?

And so the church has returned to the 14^th century. Worshippers stand mute as professional-caliber musicians play complex instruments, sung in an obscure language. Martin Luther is turning over in his grave.

What does this mean for men? On the positive side, men no longer feel pressure to sing in church. Men who are poor readers or poor singers no longer have to fumble through hymnals, sing archaic lyrics or read a musical staff.

But the negatives are huge. Men are doers, and singing was one of the things we used to do together in church. It was a chance to participate. Now, with congregational singing going away, and communion no longer a weekly ordinance, there’s only one avenue left for men to participate in the service – the offering. Is this really the message we want to send to men? Sit there, be quiet, and enjoy the show. And don’t forget to give us money.

There’s nothing wrong with professionalism and quality in church music. The problem isn’t the rock band, or the lights, or the smoke machine. The key is familiarity. People enjoy singing songs they know.

How do I know? When that super-hip band performed a hymn, the crowd responded with gusto. People sang. Even the men.

If you liked this article, click on the FACEBOOK icon below and share it with your friends. Join the conversation on my Web page. Or better yet, “Like” Church for Men.

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Why men have stopped singing in church":

The credit goes to Luther for putting the music back into the church. He encouraged it by writing hymns and many of those that followed after him did the same.