"But as you can see from the above references, ever so slyly, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Valleskey is promoting the Church Growth Movement. [emphasis in original] I will argue that with anyone. God forbid, but my guess would be the next such book out of WELS will be even more CG oriented and even more blatant in its CG statements."
So wrote WELS Pastor Steve Kurtzahn, 1996, when he was still a Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) pastor. He started as WELS, joined the CLC (sic), and went back to WELS.
So why did Kurtzahn denounce the false doctrine of the president of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, aka The Sausage Factory (Jay Webber's nickname), and then join WELS? Was he trying to out-Preus Jack and Robert Preus?
Answer: - The Greeks have a saying: "A chameleon can turn every color except white."
KJV Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
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| How many pastors perm their hair? I have trouble with car salesmen who do that. |
GJ - From what I read, Kurtzahn went back to Mequon for contrition and homage to their brand of Pietism. He got an assistant pastor's job in Coon Rapids, became the senior pastor, and later took a two-point parish somewhere.
Kurtzahn is like most WELS/CLC/ELS pastors, keen on occupying two opposing viewpoints at the same time - or - easily scared away or bribed away from the truth.
Kurtzahn was only too happy to join hater Paul Tiefel in a ferocious CLC (sic) campaign against the sin of having pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. A pancake dinner was not only a Roman Catholic practice, they insisted, but also one associated with gross immorality. Drama queens love to exhibit their fragile emotions when confronting imaginary evils.
UOJ drama queens follow the same pattern. They screech that their favorite idol is being attacked, effectively setting aside the Scriptures as the ruling norm, the norma normans. In ancient times, as Chemnitz wrote, the church leaders paraded the Scriptures before a conference to show that the Word of God was the only norm.
I could add that the Book of Concord is the ruled norm, except that is not true for any established synod today. The ELS-ELCA-WELS-LCMS combine will discuss justification at length without ever acknowledging the Formula of Concord, Article III on....wait for it...The Righteousness of Faith.
No one would claim that these pusillanimous pinheads and peculators have read Melanchthon's brilliant essay on justification by faith in the Apology, which they supposedly confess as their own.
