I ran into a comment from a couple, again, asking for prayers. One had just been dumped from a long-standing church job, where there is no due process. Lutheran synods may be the last vestige of Stalinism today, and there is only a difference of degree between Missouri, WELS, the ELS, the CLC (sic), and the micro-mini sects. They protect their crooked friends and slander their opponents - even suspected opponents - out of that private heaven they control.
I give all the glory to Pietism, which degenerates into a sad muddle of legalism, abuse, and bigotry. One strange manifestation came up in WELS. If someone did not like the preacher's sermon, he refused to take communion. I thought the sacrament came from God, not from a quality control inspection. Another WELS example was this ultimate test, "Would you take communion with Paul Kelm?" If that is not a shunning question, I give up, because the question has nothing to do with the Means of Grace.
If someone is no longer willing to agree with the synods' (note, plural possessive) slide into the arms of ELCA, they are shunned. This is a precious sacrament today, because it gives them total control. Some are given a public, gradual, and then 100% shunning, so the rest are kept quiet and passive.
I wonder how many bristle against the bullying of Matt the Fatt, or snore while Mirthless Mark goes over the feeble finances. No one will know because fear freezes their emotions. They will gladly overlook felonies and waltzing with ELCA, as long as they can keep their salaries and benefits, their friendly greetings at the clergy meetings, the gracious smiles of the pot-bellied pastoral potentates.
Those who defy their synod will not get an answer, except for the kind of feeling one gets from grabbing an electric fence. Want to do that again? The nastiness increases and multiplies.
I post to give some comfort and encouragement to those tossed out without reason. One person said, "You are the only one who understands me." I described how he was being treated and he sobbed loudly because it was true.
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| WELS DP Ed Werner was finally imprisoned. |
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| Martin Luther College is proud of their graduate Ed Werner, featuring him recently on their websty. |
