From https://vdma.wordpress.com/tag/pastor-ski/
TAG ARCHIVES: PASTOR SKI
Meritless Lawsuits and Spiritual Abuse
A little over a year ago, Pastors Glende and Skorzewski and two of their staff members brought four meritless lawsuits against a former member of their congregation. All four lawsuits were either dismissed or thrown out of court for having no merit. Here are some links to articles about the issues:
- Two WELS Pastors and Four Meritless Lawsuits
- WCCA vs. WELS Privacy Concerns
- When Pastors Violate Trust
- Privacy and Abuse of the Public Ministry
However, unanswered questions remain. This article asks just one of those questions: Will Pastors Glende and Skorzewski ever express contrition for bringing these meritless lawsuits? Or in other words, will there be any fruit of repentance?
Pastor Skorzewski made repeated unwanted sexual comments toward another man’s wife. Pastor Glende also made a rude sexual comment. Then when her husband complained at an “informational meeting” about the matter, they took him to court.
They asked the court to issue a restraining order because he had been complaining about them. Put another way, they wanted a secular court to potentially throw a man in jail, because he had complained about them and their inappropriate sexual comments.
Jail. Think about that for a moment. When someone violates a restraining order, they often go to jail. Jail.
So this was not a little thing. This was not two pastors gossiping behind someone’s back. They and their staff filed four (4) restraining order petitions. Disobeying a court restraining order is called contempt of court, and a remedy for contempt of court is jail.
Glende took his case right to trial, however, his case was so weak the court threw his case out before the defense even presented any evidence. For example, on the witness stand Glende complained that the layman had asked his family and friends on Facebook for prayers and support.
Think about that for a moment. A WELS pastor complained to a secular court that a layman asked his family and friends for prayers and support.
Here is Pastor Glende’s testimony under oath:
A: Okay, I received this. I received it yesterday. It was dated yesterday at 2:29. I believe that would have been from Wednesday.
THE COURT: What is it?
WITNESS [Glende]: It’s a Facebook post that was made by [Jonathan] and then there are several comments that follow below.
BY ATTORNEY GILL:
Q: Could you read them to the Court?
A: The comment that was Jonathan’s posting was,
“If anyone would like to support Mara Rose and I Friday at 9:30 to noon at the Outagamie County courthouse, that would be amazing. There’s currently four temporary restraining orders against me for alleged harassment by me from four petitioners. They are the former pastor of The CORE church, his assistant, the senior pastor at St. Peter and his assistant. They were filed after I attended the meeting on August 13. I was allowed to speak at it, too. I’m thankful to get my day in court. Mind you, this is the same church where their leadership caused repeated sexual harassment against my wife, drinking on the job, and using an AK-47 as a church prop, ‘lapse in judgment.’ They are in the process of potentially reinstating one of the pastors that was ordered to resign. I hope and pray that many others will too see the potential pitfalls they are creating with others and past and current decisions. Thanks for your prayers and support, Jonathan and Mara.”
— Court transcript, pages 19-20.
Does that sound like harassment? Does that sound like the sort of behavior that should potentially result in time spent in jail?
This is serious. Would you like your pastor to treat you like this? Why does the WELS tolerate this sort of behavior?
The danger here is not just that two litigious guys can bring spectacularly bad lawsuits against innocent people and threaten to have them thrown in jail, but that two pastors, with impunity, have wronged a layman. This is not just secular abuse, it is spiritual abuse.
This is one of the ways that faith is destroyed:
Satan gets another Christian to sin against us in deed or word. It pleases Satan if a person with spiritual significance or authority, such as a parent, pastor, spouse, or leader in the Church sins against us. Their spiritual status, their office, magnifies their offense and intensifies the damage that it does. This is a kind of ritual abuse, the misuse of holy things against us.
— Grace Upon Grace, by John W. Kleinig, page 234. Emphasis added.
Can we do better? The WELS must do better, for the sake of the Lord’s name.
Two WELS Pastors and Four Meritless Lawsuits
Recently, two WELS Pastors, Tim Glende and James Skorzewski, and two of their staff members filed four almost identical lawsuits against a WELS layman, Jonathan Donnan, a former member of their congregation. Specifically, they asked a secular court to issue four restraining orders, ordering Jonathan Donnan to stop “harassing” them.
In the courthouse lobby before the first case was heard, a local attorney who handles a lot of cases in that court (and who had absolutely no connection to this case) looked at the court’s calender, and said, “When you see four restraining order petitions against one person, then usually that person did something extremely bad, or it’s a bunch of bullies ganging up on someone.” Jonathan’s wife, Mara, who was sitting nearby, piped up and said, “It’s the second one. It’s a bunch of bullies ganging up on someone.”
History
According to Jonathan Donnan’s wife, Mara, Pastor Skorzewski said numerous sexually inappropriate things to her over the course of months, and on at least one occasion, Pastor Glende also joined in with this disgusting behavior. (At the time, Mara was a member of The CORE, a WELS church, and also Pastor Skorzewski’s executive assistant).
After a long ordeal involving the Circuit Pastor, District President, and even the Synod President, Pastor Skorzewski finally resigned. However, Skorzewski almost immediately requested CRM status. (CRM means that a man is deemed to be blameless, above reproach, and qualified to receive a call as a pastor).
Jonathan did not think the man who behaved so inappropriately toward his wife should become a pastor again, and he thought the WELS pastors from the district who would be asked to comment on Skorzewski’s CRM status should have more information. So he wrote a letter to the pastors of the Northern Wisconsin District giving them information about Pastors Skorzewski’s and Glende’s behavior toward his wife. This letter was signed by Jonathan, his wife Mara, and also concerned WELS pastors Lidtke and Suhr.
Having received comments regarding Skorzewski’s potential CRM status from other WELS pastors, District President Engelbrecht then also sought comments specifically from the membership of St. Peter & The CORE, which had been Skorzewski’s congregation before he resigned. To this end, an informational meeting was scheduled at The CORE for August 13, 2013.
At the beginning of the meeting, Pastor Glende said the purpose of the meeting was so that the congregation could seek direction and make decisions about the ministry “specifically on this campus,” The CORE. During this meeting, District President Engelbrecht summarized Skorzewski’s behavior and the Donnan’s reaction and the steps the District took to rehabilitate Skorzewski, he solicited questions, and then he gave the members of St. Peter & The CORE thirty days to submit comments to the district leadership regarding Skorzewski’s proposed CRM status. During this meeting, District President Engelbrecht also said that he was an ardent supporter of Skorzewski and his ministry.
Jonathan Donnan showed up at this meeting because he wanted to protect his wife’s reputation and honor. After DP Engelbrecht’s summary, Jonathan believed that DP Engelbrecht had portrayed Pastor Skorzewski’s behavior in the best possible light, while portraying his wife’s reaction in the worst possible light. Therefore, Jonathan sat through much of the Q&A section with his hand raised waiting to be called upon. Finally, Pastor Glende said that he would allow Jonathan to speak; however, he first informed the congregation that Jonathan was not invited to the meeting, had no legal right to be there, and that if Jonathan started attacking people, then he would be asked to leave.
Jonathan said that was a rude way to call upon him. The entire exchange then quickly devolved into whether Jonathan had a right to be there because he was not a member of St. Peter & The CORE. Jonathan believed that as a Christian husband he had a duty to try to defend his wife, and that St. Peter & The CORE’s constitution and bylaws could not overrule his moral obligations. After a short period of time, Jonathan left the meeting, but announced that he was there to defend his wife, and would be outside to speak with anyone who wanted to hear the whole truth.
While Jonathan was outside, he could hear laughter and applause inside as the meeting continued without him. While Jonathan was outside, he also received a lecture about forgiveness and about how he did not understand forgiveness.
A few days later, Pastors Glende and Skorzewski and two church staff members filed four almost identical lawsuits against Jonathan Donnan. They asked the Outagamie County Family Court to issue four restraining orders telling Jonathan to not write any more letters to WELS pastors about Glende or Skorzewski, to not show up at any future meetings at St. Peter & The CORE where they would be discussing personnel issues, and to have no further contact with St. Peter & The CORE or its staff.
Pastor Glende’s case was heard first. Pastor Glende spent about two hours presenting his case. He himself testified extensively along with two laymen from his church.
Legal Issues
In order for a behavior to be harassment, it has to serve no legitimate purpose. Does writing a letter to the men (WELS pastors) who would help decide Skorzewski’s CRM status serve no legitimate purpose? And does showing up at a congregational meeting where they are discussing how your wife was treated, and where the District President is seeking comments and advice about whether that pastor should get CRM status, does that serve no legitimate purpose?
Is that inappropriate behavior? Or could those be the behaviors of a man trying to protect and defend his wife?
The allegations Mara made against Skorzewski were not false. A false allegation would serve no legitimate purpose, but a truthful allegation does. If certain WELS pastors and a certain WELS congregation are going to be specifically asked to provide comments about whether Skorzewski should serve as a pastor again, is it legitimate that they should also hear from the victim or her representative?
The August 30 Court Hearing
Under oath, Pastor Glende testified that Jonathan’s behavior served no legitimate purpose because it hindered the ministry of St. Peter & The CORE, and it was just an attack. (Court transcript, page 40). According to Pastor Glende, Jonathan’s behavior served no legitimate purpose because the decision about whether Skorzewski would serve as a pastor was made back in January and April. Pastor Glende stated this numerous times throughout his testimony. Below is just one example.
Under oath, Pastor Glende said that Jonathan’s “behavior was disruptive in our congregation in a meeting. It is — it attacks me personally.” Attorney Maurer then asked Glende: “What’s wrong with that, pastor? What’s wrong with a person attacking on how you handled the situation of allegations of sexual harassment by one of your pastors? What’s wrong with that?” To which Pastor Glende responded: “A group of my peers have said it’s been dealt with, addressed, move on.” (Court transcript, page 39).
In summarizing all of the evidence presented by Pastor Glende, Pastor Glende’s attorney said:
There are statements that have been provided as evidence that … show that Mr. Donnan is not going to let this issue die. He believes his purpose is to see this through. The issue has absolutely been resolved, and for some reason Mr. Donnan refuses to come to grips with that. So his conduct in sending the letters, continuing to contact people, showing up at the church and refusing to leave, clearly, in my opinion, falls within, engages in a course of conduct that has no legitimate purpose …
— Court Transcript, page 75.
Was the issue of Skorzewski’s CRM status absolutely resolved? No. This court hearing took place during the 30 day comment period in which members of St. Peter & The CORE were being asked to advise the District about Skorzewski’s CRM status. And only a few months later, the District granted Skorzewski CRM status, he immediately received a call, and has already been installed as a WELS pastor in Texas.
Attorney Maurer tried to get Pastor Glende to admit that the August 13 meeting was about potentially reinstating Skorzewski to the pastoral office. Attorney Maurer questioning Pastor Glende:
Q: Okay, you testified earlier that the issue in the past had been resolved back in January, correct?
A: There was an initial decision reached on it in January.
Q: He resigned in April?
A: Correct.
Q: And you’re stating that the August 13, 2013 meeting had nothing to do with that whatsoever, with his disposition going forward with the church, correct?
A: Pastor Ski resigned and is not currently a pastor. He doesn’t have status to be a pastor. The church has nothing to do with him going forward as a pastor.
Q: That’s not entirely true, is it? Isn’t it a fact that part of the purpose of this meeting was some specific members of the congregation wanted to reinstate the pastor to his previous position, correct?
A: That’s not true.
Q: If I have people come in and testify that there were people at that meeting that were petitioning the church to reinstate the pastor, that’s not the truth, they’re lying?
A: Were there people there that their opinion was that the pastor should be reinstated? Yes.
Q: Were there people at the meeting that said that?
A: There could have been people in the meeting that said that. The purpose of the meeting; however, was not to reinstate him.
Q: The purpose of the meeting was as it related to Jonathan’s wife, correct?
A: To share information regarding the case.
Q: So why would you think it’s inappropriate for the husband of the alleged victim to be present at the meeting to hear this?
A: Mr. Donnan has heard all that information before, and from my knowledge, it was a meeting for the members of our congregation, which he is not one of.
Q: Why didn’t you simply tell him to leave in the beginning? Instead you gave him the opportunity to speak.
A: I didn’t see him there at the beginning, I was up in the front. I had not had a chance to do anything about it and I didn’t want to cause a scene to ask him to leave. For two hours of the meeting Jonathan sat there. From my position he looked agitated and upset when different things were said, which, as I have always said, Jonathan is entitled to his opinion in regards to this case.
Q: Wouldn’t you be upset if you believed your wife was the victim of sexual harassment by a pastor and they were discussing that at a meeting? Do you think that’s unreasonable?
A: I guess I don’t know how to answer that question.
— Court Transcript, pages 35-37.
Attorney Maurer further questioning Pastor Glende:
Q: Do you believe there was any merit to the allegations against the pastor?
A: Do I believe it was sexual harassment?
Q: Do you believe there was any merit to any of the allegations, factual allegations, alleged against the pastor?
A: The pastor resigned.
Q: That’s not an answer to my question. Do you believe there was any factual basis for the allegations of harassment made by Jonathan’s wife towards the pastor?
A: We have said, declared publicly, that lapses in judgment happened.
Q: I’m just — yes or no, you personally?
ATTORNEY GILL: Objection to the relevance, your Honor.
ATTORNEY MAURER: It’s part of a harassment injunction, conduct that does not serve a legitimate purpose. Making up allegations of harassment just to attack these people, then that doesn’t serve a legitimate purpose.
ATTORNEY GILL: Your Honor, the continued behavior has no legitimate purpose.
THE COURT: The objection is overruled, he can answer.
WITNESS [Pastor Glende]: Can you repeat the question?
Q: I’m asking you if you personally believe there was any merit to the factual allegations of harassment raised by Jonathan’s wife against the pastor?
A: Are you asking me if there were —
Q: Just yes or no.
A: You’re asking me a yes or no to — I can’t agree with --
Q: So you don’t believe there was any merit to the factual allegations of harassment?
ATTORNEY GILL: I’m going to object. There were eight or nine allegations, your Honor.
ATTORNEY MAURER: I’m asking about any of them.
ATTORNEY GILL: What specific allegations are we talking about, your Honor?
THE COURT: Overruled, he can answer.
[Attorney Maurer questioning Pastor Glende]:
Q: To any of them in general. Yes?
A: Sure, yes.
Q: Okay, so would you personally condone that type of conduct by one of your pastors?
A: No.
Q: Okay, so you believe that there were indiscretions by the pastor directly towards Jonathan’s wife that occurred by the pastor, correct?
A: Yes, which were addressed. And then once he resigned, it was over because he is no longer a pastor. That happened in the middle of April.
Q: Okay, but again, the August 13 meeting was to address possibly the allegations that had happened in the past?
A: It was to share the summary of everything that had gone on from the end of October, November to that point.
Q: What precipitated that meeting?
A: Because of the letter that Jonathan and Mara sent out. Our district president said it was appropriate, at this time, to set it out. Until that point, we had not shared publicly with anyone in our congregation that this involved Jonathan or Mara.
Q: Your superiors told you, let’s have a meeting with the congregation on this to let everyone know what happened, and it’s your position you didn’t want him and his wife to be there?
A: He wasn’t a member, he was an uninvited guest.
Q: Okay.
A: Wanted or not wanted, I wouldn’t have thought of inviting him, he wasn’t a member.
— Court Transcript, pages 40-43.
Also at issue during the hearing was whether the August 13 meeting at The CORE was about how Pastor Skorzewski treated Jonathan’s wife, and Pastor Glende admitted that was true.
After Pastor Glende finished presenting all his evidence, and before the defense called a single witness, the court ruled on the case. The standard the court used was this: It put the best construction on everything Pastor Glende and his witnesses said, it considered Pastor Glende’s case in the kindest possible light, and gave Pastor Glende the benefit of the doubt on everything. Nonetheless, the court ruled that Pastor Glende’s case had no merit, and dismissed his case.
Pastor Glende’s case was dismissed even before the defense called a single witness or presented any evidence. Glende had nothing.
Aftermath
Immediately after the court dismissed Pastor Glende’s case, Attorney Maurer suggested that Skorzewski and the two church staffers should voluntarily dismiss their own virtually identical cases. (Because Pastor Glende’s case took so long, the other three cases were rescheduled to a later date). However, Skorzewski and the two church staffers refused to dismiss their cases, and instead attempted to negotiate a settlement out of court.
However, Jonathan refused to give up any of his legal rights in return for them agreeing to dismiss their cases. In response, Skorzewski and the two staffers waited until the very last hour to dismiss their cases, thereby forcing the Donnans to endure the maximum amount of stress, and to pay the maximum amount in legal (attorney) fees.
Soon after, the Northern Wisconsin District denied Skorzewski CRM status, but made no announcement. In congregational meetings at both St. Peter & The CORE, Skorzewski then advised the congregation that they should move on without him. (“Around the Council Table,” November 2013 church newsletter). The November 2013 church newsletter also had a special section entitled: “MOVING FORWARD AT THE CORE” which stated:
The announcement has been made that Ski will not be returning to that position [pastor at The CORE]. Although he applied for it, his reinstatement to the pastoral office was not granted at this point. In a special meeting at The CORE, Ski expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to serve in our midst, but encouraged all in attendance to move forward. That is the intent of our leadership on both campuses. We will continue to pray for Ski, his family, and his reinstatement.
Shortly after that, Skorzewski applied for CRM status a second time. This time, the Northern Wisconsin District granted Skorzewski CRM status (under the condition that he not be a pastor in the Northern Wisconsin District), and almost immediately Skorzewski received a call to serve as a WELS pastor in Texas. St. Peter & The CORE then announced in their church newsletter that they were holding a farewell party for Pastor Skorzewski to wish him God’s blessings as he prepared to leave for his new call.
So a WELS pastor resigned, for cause, because of sin, but before he left for his new call at another congregation, his former congregation threw him a farewell party.
On Sunday, April 27, 2014, Skorzewski was installed as pastor at Christ the Rock (a WELS) church in Texas, and Pastor Glende preached at Skorzewski’s installation service. (Vimeo 93511608). At 28:20 in the sermon, Pastor Glende said that Skorzewski was his best friend, and that he wished he could work with Skorzewski forever, but God had a different plan: to bring him to Texas. At about 28 minutes into the sermon, Pastor Glende said, “I’m sure down the road or in the course of time, you’ll hear a great deal about what it is that God used to bring him here. It’s an amazing story.”
Church Status
Saint Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Freedom, WI (WELS) was my life-long home congregation. (St. Peter’s daughter congregation is The CORE in Appleton, WI).
In the Spring of 2011, the leadership of St. Peter Congregation terminated my fellowship with the WELS as a persistent errorist based on two letters that I wrote. Those two letters are linked below:
They said in a certified letter that they removed me as a persistent errorist because in those letters I publicly disagreed with Pastor Glende and the Northern Wisconsin District Presidium on three doctrinal issues:
- I said that plagiarism was a sin, and that Pastor Glende was guilty of plagiarism.
- I said that God does not need our service: in other words, the means of grace are sufficient.
- I said that in the light of faith Christians cannot choose to believe God’s Word: in other words, from beginning to end, faith is 100% the gift of God.
Because I believed that these positions were not doctrinal error, I appealed. However, the Northern Wisconsin District Appeal Board denied my appeal without explanation. (Because the Appeal Board’s written decision contained no explanation, I believe their decision was based on politics, not principle). Now, I have three choices:
- Sin against my conscience by renouncing the above true Christian doctrine, and then presumably rejoin St. Peter Congregation.
- Refuse to publicly recant the true Christian doctrine, and remain excluded from the WELS forever. (The WELS Constitution §§ 8.30(c) and 8.50(e) would forbid my return).
- Disregard the District Appeal Board’s ruling and the WELS Constitution (§§ 8.30(c) and 8.50(e)), and continue indefinitely in triangular fellowship with other WELS congregations who agree with me in doctrine. (Currently, this is where I am).
In summary, the leadership of St. Peter Congregation terminated my fellowship with the WELS because I questioned the methodology and doctrine of Pastors Glende and Skorzewski and the Northern Wisconsin District Presidium’s defense of their false doctrine and practice.
I did my best to resolve these issues in a brotherly way by spending years attempting to meet privately, and then after years of private effort, by ultimately bringing these concerns to the Church. In return, the leadership of St. Peter Congregation terminated my fellowship with the WELS as a persistent errorist.
Lord, have mercy.
For further reading:
WELS Appeal Denied
As background to this post, please see the previous posts: “Terminated from WELS Fellowship” and “Receiving Holy Communion in the WELS.”
On April 11, 2011 St. Peter congregation terminated my fellowship with the WELS as a persistent errorist, and also removed my brother from membership in the congregation. (Minutes from April 11, 2011 meeting).
Since my fellowship with the WELS was terminated wrongfully, I appealed. On June 23, 2011, I received the following letter:
June 17, 2011
Dear Mr. Techlin,
We thank you for the material you provided to our Board of Appeals and for the time you spent with us. After prayerfully considering the evidence in the matter of your appeal, we, the members of the Northern Wisconsin District Board of Appeals have determined that St. Peter Lutheran congregation had Scriptural reasons for removing you from membership and, in doing so, acted in the spirit of Christian love. We are therefore, denying your appeal.
We commend you to the care of our gracious God, trusting that he will be at work in you “… to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
Sincerely,
Pastor David Wenzel
NWD Board of Appeals
It is hard to accept this because the Board of Appeals offered no reasons to support their decision. Left unanswered are the following questions:
- What are the “Scriptural reasons” for my termination of fellowship?
- Of what false doctrine am I guilty?
- Of what do I need to repent before I can commune?
In order to commune, am I supposed to say that God needs our service? Am I supposed to say that Christians can choose to believe God’s Word? Am I supposed to say that the deceit and false doctrine involved with plagiarizing false teachers is not a sin?
How can an ambush termination of fellowship be construed as acting “in the spirit of Christian love”? Where am I supposed to receive the Lord’s Supper? What denomination am I supposed to join? Am I supposed to become an unaffiliated lone Lutheran Christian who never communes? Or should I join a denomination that actually serves the Lord’s Supper more than twice a month, and just forget about agreeing with anyone on doctrine?
The Board of Appeals was supposed to determine “whether the process leading to the disciplinary action and the doctrinal basis of the disciplinary action were scriptural.” (WELS Constitution, Section 8.50; Appeals by Laypersons. Emphasis added). However, the Board of Appeals told me they were not going to consider the doctrine. They told me that the District Presidium was in charge of doctrine, not them. So whatever the District President said the doctrine was, the Board of Appeals was going to agree with him. Therefore, since my doctrinal disagreement was not only with Pastors Glende and Skorzewski, but also with District President Engelbrecht, by the rules of this appeal, I had no chance to win on the doctrine.
Furthermore, I have no idea how the Board of Appeals ruled against me on procedure. I had no notice that St. Peter congregation was going to terminate my fellowship with the WELS. I had no opportunity to speak on my own behalf and defend myself. I had no opportunity to face my accusers and answer their charges directly. They still have not told me of what false doctrine I am supposed to be guilty. Procedurally, I was treated worse than our secular society treats accused criminals.
As part of the appeal, I was still not allowed to face my accusers, and no pastors were allowed to help me or speak on my behalf, even though I had numerous WELS pastors who were willing to help.
All the accusations made against me were made behind my back, and I was given no chance to understand the charges or to directly confront my accusers face to face. This is not how a church should operate.
This fact remains: I caught Pastor Glende red-handed in the sin of plagiarism: he was plagiarizing false teachers. I documented the evidence, and followed every procedure that was required of me. As a result, Pastor Glende received no discipline, and I had my fellowship in the WELS terminated as a persistent errorist (without an allegation of a specific error). Again I ask: what is my doctrinal error?
For now, I belong to no earthly congregation. Still, I am grateful to the WELS pastors who have told me that they will continue to commune me until District President Engelbrecht satisfactorily explains to them why I am guilty of false doctrine and why I should be excluded from their fellowship.
Shepherds are supposed to defend the sheep, not kill them. (John 10:1-19).
Public Rebuke of Pastors “Ski” and Jeske
The Intrepid Lutherans have publicly rebuked WELS Pastors Skorzewski and Jeske in a post entitled: “Dear Pastors Jeske and Ski: You are clearly in the wrong.” This rebuke is based on Skorzewski’s and Jeske’s planned participation in an upcoming seminar entitled “Change or die.” The Intrepid Lutherans publicly declared Pastors Skorzewski and Jeske to be wrong for two reasons.
First, the “change or die” theology is false:
The stated premise of the “Change or Die” conference is that, if a congregation properly “changes” its methodologies and image, then it will “live” in the sense of having enough members and financial resources to continue to function and grow. If a congregation fails to “change” its methodologies and image, then it will “die” in the sense of the congregation being forced to close its doors for lack of members and money.
This teaching does not come from the Lord Jesus… It is Christ alone who builds His Church, not by man’s changes, but through the power of his Gospel alone, by means of the Keys given to His Church…
“Change or die” stems from what Luther calls a “theology of glory.” The concept comes, not from the Scriptures, but from deceivers – false teachers and Church Growth promoters like Baptist minister Rick Warren …
Since the premise of the “Change or Die” conference is false and promotes a false theology, [Pastors Jeske and Skorzewski] you are wrong to be participating in it. By doing so, you are leading the Church astray into a theology of glory, and we fear that many souls will be misled.
Second, it is wrong for Pastors “Ski” and Jeske to join together with two ELCA pastors to teach “‘Lutheran’ ministry methods.” Both of the ELCA presenters, including the Rev. Wheeler and his congregation, openly support homosexuality.
What exactly shall we learn from Rev. Wheeler? How should we in the WELS “change” to be more like this apostate ELCA congregation? What trendy Lutheran ministry techniques or theology shall we glean from these apostates? How do you dare participate in a conference on Lutheran ministry side by side with those who hate Jesus? God has only one message for these men: … “Repent or perish eternally in your sins!” …
But instead of this clear witness to God’s Law, you are selling yourselves as fellow “change agents” together with them. You have gone too far… You are pursuing methods to keep the Church alive together with those who have forsaken Him who is the Life. You are wrong to be doing this. And you are leading souls astray …
You, Pastors Jeske and Ski, are clearly in the wrong. Your involvement in promoting “Lutheran” ministry with apostates who hate Jesus is wrong. And your involvement in promoting the “change or die” deception in the Church is wrong.
Pastor Skorzewski is one of the pastors with my congregation, but I still express thanks to the Intrepid Lutherans. I agree with them. Their entire letter is worth reading. They are following the instructions Paul gave to Timothy:
Kyrie eleison!
The CORE on the Move
Recently St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church and The CORE in Appleton, WI had a unified sermon series entitled “Don’t Just Go to Church: Be the Church.” (The CORE is St. Peter’s daughter congregation). Regarding this sermon series, St. Peter’s October newsletter states that
“Pastor Ski [Skorzewski], Pastor Sievert, and Pastor Tim [Glende] preached on being devoted to God’s Word, People, and Mission. The series has encouraged members to unite as one congregation in two locations.”
Emphasis added.
On October 1, 2010, I e-mailed Pastor Glende (and carbon copied Pastor Sievert) this question:
“What is the current status of The CORE with respect to St. Peter? Back when the voters approved The CORE, we were assured that The CORE would be a separate congregation, but lately I’ve heard a number of statements that The CORE is our “downtown campus.” I haven’t attended all the voters meetings in the last two years: Did the voters approve a change in status between The CORE and St. Peter?”
Three days later, Pastor Glende responded that he would not answer my question via e-mail, and that if I wished to discuss this matter, then we needed to meet face-to-face. We tried to schedule a meeting, but there have been too many scheduling conflicts.
Regarding the “Don’t Just Go to Church: Be the Church” sermon series, St. Peter’s October newsletter also reports that during this series
“we learned that the church is about more than just the building. Christians belong to Christ and to each other. The CORE’s building has never officially “belonged” to them. It was during this series, that Pastor Ski announced another church has put in an offer on the Big Picture [the movie theater where The CORE currently meets] … and that offer has been accepted… In the next few weeks Pastor Ski will be announcing where The CORE’s new home will be. Please understand that this does not mean that the ministry is ending, it only means that the building and location from which the ministry operates from will be changing.”
The Big Picture movie theater is an impressive building.
Kyrie eleison.
December 14, 2009 Call Meeting
At St. Peter’s December 14, 2009 call meeting, our Church Council President announced that the council had amended Pastor Glende’s job description to read “lead pastor,” and that we would be calling an “associate pastor.”
I moved to table the call because I believed that our congregation did not have enough information to ratify Pastor Glende as lead pastor, and call an associate. I believed that the council needed to better communicate with Pastor Christenson to better understand why he left after only seven months. Also, without going into any specifics, I cited a long letter that I had sent to the council and my pastors back at the beginning of November which raised important issues. I did not mention any of the specifics of my letter because I believed that that would be beyond the bounds of a call meeting.
Another layman asked whether there were additional actions or steps that needed to be taken before we issued a new call, and Pastor Glende replied, “If we had to do things, if there was anything that needed to take place before we could call again, then District President Engelbrecht wouldn’t allow us to issue a call.” District President Engelbrecht did provide our congregation with a call list of five candidates that he believed were suitable to be an associate pastor.
The argument against the motion was that neither Pastor Glende, nor our church council, nor District President Engelbrecht believed that any additional steps needed to be taken. District President Engelbrecht did attend and participate in our call meeting. When he was not speaking, he sat in the back, and chatted with Pastor Skorzewski.
The motion to table the call failed. However, it did receive a smattering of timid “ayes.” After the meeting, another layman estimated that the motion to table received about a third of the votes present. (I thought it probably received less than that, but there was no official count). St. Peter congregation did call Pastor Wayne Shevey to be our associate pastor with a unanimous vote. This is a divine call, and it is our prayer that God will bless St. Peter through this call.
On Thursday, December 17, 2009, I met with Pastor Glende, and he provided me with the church council’s official response to my letter. The council’s response was a letter that summarily and unanimously rejected every one of the concerns I had raised as being either false or without merit.
May the Lord be with his Church, his Bride, his Chosen People “to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Revelation 22:21).
Related Post:
St. Peter’s Upcoming Call Meeting
St. Peter church in Appleton/Freedom, WI has scheduled a meeting for December 14, 2009 to discuss calling a new pastor. However, our congregation still has not been informed as to why Pastor Christenson left after only seven months.
On December 1, 2009, I met with Pastor Christenson for over two hours. According to Pastor Christenson, not one member of our church council approached him to inquire as to why he was leaving. Pastor Christenson had approached our church president, Mr. Denny, to discuss the problems with our ministry and practices here at St. Peter. However, according to Pastor Christenson, President Denny acted as though he did not care.
Pastor Christenson had a divine call, and he took that call seriously. So should we. He had to ask for another call as a result of extremely serious problems with the ministry and practice here at St. Peter. Pastor Christenson should not be blamed for leaving, he needed to leave for his own spiritual health and the spiritual safety of his family.
However, Pastor Christenson does have a duty to speak and to tell the truth and the whole truth no matter the cost. Here are some suggested questions for our church council to ask Pastor Christenson:
- Why did you leave St. Peter after only seven months?
- What did your wife do after first hearing Pastor Glende preach on Maundy Thursday?
- How do you evaluate the preaching of justification at St. Peter?
According to Pastor Christenson, his definition of contemporary worship is not the same as Pastor Skorzewski’s and Pastor Glende’s definition of contemporary worship. Pastor Christenson is a believer in contemporary forms of worship, and would often play the guitar. However, he also believes that it is important to have good practices, and to preach Christ crucified and the true Law and Gospel.
The preaching of Christ crucified through the true Law and Gospel has been sorely lacking here at St. Peter.
The CORE’s EnCORE
The CORE is the daughter congregation of St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Freedom, WI; and is located in the former Big Picture movie theater in downtown Appleton. The CORE holds its services on Sunday nights at 5:30 pm.
After their services, The CORE asks attendees what they learned from the service, and then posts a video of select responses on the internet. For example, here are responses to the question, “Why do you come to The CORE?”
(EnCORE episode 9):
This church just is totally alive, and you can feel that it’s blessed by God. And like the sign up here says … “To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things no one else is doing.” And how Pastor Ski … will do anything short of sin to reach people.
Here are some responses to the question, “What does being a Dangerous Church mean to you?”
(EnCORE episode 10):
The idea of getting real and talking about the issues that really matter. There are so many people that are struggling, and they don’t know where to go; and God is there, he wants to help us, he is just waiting for us to cry out to him.
Here are some responses to The CORE dressing up like an airport.
(EnCORE episode 11):
It was so awesome when I walked in, and I heard the airport sound effects going. The whole atrium was set up to look like an airport, and we got to pick up our tickets. It was just so much fun.
The whole concept of “Baggage,” and being able to deliver that to Jesus is just fantastic.
The CORE by the Numbers:
The CORE held its grand opening on April 19, 2009.
- $250,000 spent
- 200 average weekly attendance since the grand opening
- 15 members
The information for the above attendance numbers was gathered at St. Peter’s open forum on June 16, 2009 A.D., and the above numbers are current as of that date.
As of this week, the week of July 15, 2009, The CORE has yet to serve the Lord’s Supper, and is waiting until special hand made communion-ware is manufactured. According to Pastor Glende, most new congregations do not serve the Lord’s Supper for several months. Once The CORE begins to serve communion, then they will have a better idea of how many of its attendees are members of other area WELS congregations.
The CORE Opening Weekend
• Wildwood Film Festival at The CORE
My first visit to The CORE was on Friday, April 17, 2009 for the Wildwood Film Festival. I saw both film sessions at The CORE, and my favorite movie was Maine Story. The movie was shot in Maine, but the main actress was from Wisconsin, and she was talented and natural.
Some characters in Maine Story did take the Lord’s name in vain, but I was also straining to hear the dialog. I’m not sure whether The CORE or the Festival was in charge of projecting the films, but I thought the picture and sound quality were sub-par, especially during the first session. During the second session, one of the film makers yelled, “Volume!” and the volume was turned up making the second session easier to hear.
The biggest disappointment for me was Autumn. I thought this might be my favorite movie, and was looking forward to maybe fifteen minutes of sharp beautiful autumn photography. Unfortunately, Autumn seemed like it was less than 60 seconds of blurry footage. I was disappointed.
The final movie at the CORE was The Hungry Bull. The Hungry Bull is a feature length movie that was superbly acted, well directed, and was also accompanied by excellent local music. However, it was also very vulgar. Based on the previews, I was expecting the “F” word and some vulgar images, but I think The Hungry Bull set an all time “F” word world record, among other words. There was also nudity along with sexual activity on camera.
The Festival organizers said that all the films were about a PG-13 rating, but I disagreed. There was one nude scene in particular that in my opinion could have earned The Hungry Bull an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, if the movie had been rated. That scene was supposed to be funny, but there are some things I’d rather not see. Overall, I did not like The Hungry Bull because there was too much moral darkness.
A good chunk of the discussion period after the second session was about the amount of vulgarity in The Hungry Bull. The first questioner was a gentleman who indicated that he hears that sort of language at work every day, and felt that while some vulgarity in a movie can help to make a point, he thought that The Hungry Bull over did it. He also noted that The CORE was a church, and should be a place of hope, not despair. The movie makers explained their decisions to portray the characters in the way that they did, and one of the Festival organizers also noted that everything was discussed and cleared with Pastor Skorzewski in advance.
During the time period I was writing this post, Pastor Skorzewski was unavailable to comment, but Pastor Glende said that Pastor Skorzewski
did not clear everything as was claimed. One of the organizers even apologized for that movie which was so vulgar … pastor Ski didn’t approve the movie and the promises made regarding the content was not the way it played out.
The director of Happy Boy said that he had made a decision to avoid vulgar language, specifically the “F” word, because he did not want to limit his audience. Happy Boy was an amusing comedy and my second favorite picture of the Festival.
• The CORE Grand Opening
On Sunday, April 19, 2009, I returned to The CORE for the grand opening. Immediately upon entering the doors, I was hit by the smell of fresh popcorn. There was more popcorn for the grand opening of The CORE as a church than there was for the film festival, however, there were also a lot more people on hand than were there for the festival.
There was standing room only at The CORE as a large number of WELS members came to see this different style of worship. Even Pastor Ski commented on the large number of pastors in attendance.
The service began with a crystal clear projection of The CORE’s new logo on their extra-large movie screen surrounded by lightning and electricity sound effects. Immediately, it was clear that The CORE’s video was going to far surpass the quality of the video at the film festival. “Pastor Ski” (Skorzewski) then joked that The CORE doesn’t have a bell, so they use lightning and electricity sound effects instead.
The jokes and statement of mission were followed by a period of introduction and prayer. The praise band then took over with the first praise song: “God of Wonders” by Chris Tomlin.
The following player plays a low quality recording of some sample music from the grand opening: “At the Name of Jesus.”
Then there was a confession of sins called “Forgive Us, Renew Us, Lead Us,” a reading from the Book of Jonah, a collection of gifts followed by applause for the praise band, and then the sermon entitled: “Urban Legends: There are Many Ways to God.”
As part of the sermon message we watched a five minute video of Pastor Skorzewski asking people, “How do you get to heaven?” The answers were all basically the same: Be a good person. Pastor Skorzewski’s sermon did deliver law and gospel.
Here is a link to a pdf of The CORE’s grand opening bulletin along with a sermon outline:
The CORE Grand Opening Bulletin
After the sermon, Pastor Skorzewski asked the audience for prayer requests. Then after some specific prayers and the Lord’s prayer, the praise band concluded with “The Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns. Here is the refrain and bridge from that song:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
The voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.
After this song, Pastor Skorzewski gave the Benediction, and then concluded with a number of closing comments, including giving away prizes to the winners of a number of naming contests: The winning name for the video blog was “EnCORE,” and the winning name for the newsletter was “COREspondence.”
Finally, there was a period of fellowship and food in The CORE’s lobby.
