From a Man Who Actually Uses His Own Name

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "This Poor Guy Cannot Read, Cannot Count":

Thanks, Mr. Brom Bones, for crediting me as a regular contributor. Oddly enough, Ichabod is the first and only blogspot that I consider worthy of commentary. I am not a big fan of "flaming" on blogs. I always remember what G.K. Chesterton once said - "Men quarrel because they do not know how to argue."

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GJ - I have not allowed or posted Fiend comments that are even more derogatory than the ones I published already. I will post some silly, negative comments just to show the public how degenerate the visible Lutheran Church is. For those who want to roll in the dirt with dogs, there is always LutherQuest (sic).

Intelligent opposition is welcome, even if it is anonymous.

LemKeel Again - On MLS

Lemkeel said...
I can't believe it (though I'm not surprised) that Mark Schroeder LPS president is going to be WELS new president. He, in my opinion, is a large part of the problem, not the solution. His job was in jeopardy (president of prep) and so he started campaigning for new presidency, this time of the synod, and he put together a bunch of nonsense to make it look like he knew what he was talking about, and the people who don't use their brains said, "Hey, he's made a bunch of points, he's obviously thought about it and we haven't so let's elect him president!" These same people don't want to lose MLS, but have no idea why it should stay open and don't know how to think, and they're the majority in the WELS so... The Wisconsin Synod is about to downward spiral into self-destruction more so than it is. With Wayne Mueller elected Pres., there was hope because he actually knew what was going on and had a vision for the future of WELS. Mark Schroeder is going to put the synod in a worse condition than it already is. I can't wait.

August 1, 2007 1:08 PM
Anonymous said...
I would assume that this indicates that MLS will definitely receive enough votes to stay open? Wasn't Schroeder a huge proponent of keep MLS open?

I thought LPS was in much better shape financially than MLS. Is this not the case (lemkeel, I assume you are an alumni of LPS ?)

August 1, 2007 7:58 PM
Lemkeel said...
Yes, I graduated from LPS. My thinking was that if MLS closes, LPS would eventually follow. If people are willing to lose one prep school, the other one is likely to follow shortly thereafter. LPS is in about the same financial shape as MLS, except there's slightly more students enrolled at LPS. However, there currently aren't enough students enrolled at LPS to meet the financial needs to maintain the school, hence the tuition increases. Both schools take funding from the synod budget each year, but because enrollment is down in both schools, the schools themselves are hurting due to lack of tuition funds. Additionally, because the synod is in debt they're looking for ways to make cuts, and prep schools should be the first to go. Mark Schroeder for the past few years has been involved in fund raising activities at LPS, a bad sign. He realized that his role as president of Prep was in jeopardy simply because he knows that his job in a prep school is dispensable (able to lose synod functioning and/or close) much more so than the college or seminary. That's what I was implying...

Not Everyone Keen about MLS

Lemkeel said...
This is disappointing. You'd think the delegates would strongly consider the WELS CFO's warnings against keeping MLS open or funded by the synod... but they came into the convention already with a decision. They listened to the many letters and phone calls of the parents of the prep schools and decided to let their emotions make the decision. The irony here is that the delegates voted to keep MLS open with the thinking that the synod's problems would begin to be resolved. In fact the problems are going to get worse. By voting to keep MLS open or continue to receive synod funding, the delegates only delayed the inevitable. MLS will eventually close or lose synod funding, and LPS will soon follow. The fact is that enrollment will NOT increase in either prep school because tuition is too expensive. The money that goes into the prep schools should be diverted to the college to encourage enrollment there by reducing the cost of tuition for students. It's cheaper to go to an instate university to be a teacher/pastor where in fact the students get a more well-rounded education. I have no idea how parents can afford to spend 25K for each of their kids at prep and then 50K for each kid at MLC. That is ridiculous, or should I say ludicrous.

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GJ - I am assuming this is a WELS layman.

From Another WELS Layman

August 6th comment:

R Klatt said...

I spent too much time last week watching the streaming internet feed of the Monday-through-Friday national convention of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The main issues were the election of a new president, the closing of the prep school in Saginaw, and money. The synod is going broke, mostly because people in the pews aren't giving more and more and the administration is spending unwisely.
A new president was elected. That does not mean things will get better. The prep school was resolved to stay open. That does not mean it will not close. There will now be pressure, from the top down, on congregations to increase their regular offerings and further to contribute to a huge special offering. The top does not, or refuses to, realize that the bottom has heard so many cries of "wolf" recently that they are tired of the whole thing.

The long-time Lutherans in the pews realize there is something wrong. Many cannot put a finger on it. It is doctrine and practice. For thirty years, the Church Growth advocates in the synod administration have been watering down the published material, setting aside good practice and trying to turn every member into a minister to haul in more members so there will be more money. None of that belongs in a Lutheran church, in any church. That's why Lutheran churches in all the synods are failing. I would not now argue with the premise that Lutheran Christian teaching will no longer be around in 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, so there will be nothing to celebrate.

Because of the plethora of bad Bible translations, no one knows what the Scriptures say anymore. Preaching the Gospel has turned into worldly mutual consolation in a support group. There are Lutheran churches that no longer offer Holy Communion. So there are many little gatherings in odd little buildings on many little corners each led by some guy or gal who thinks he or she has found the key. Americans are largely consumed by a social religion, not a Christian one. That week-long convention did not help. The freedom Christians are given by the Gospel is freedom to reject the false and cling to the true. We can do the former only by doing the latter.

Leonard Sweet Lives! - in WELS

From a layman:

Here is a taste - an email from Rev. Aderman to the Church and Change group.

"James Aderman adermanj@fairviewlutheran.com


FYI

I see that Leonard Sweet has a new book out, The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion. The title sounds like some of the material we heard from him at the Church and Change conference almost two years ago. Anyone read it?

Blessings!

Jim

Link to Amazon:
Sweet's Latest Book

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GJ - This layman got himself on the Church and Change email group. Aderman is the WELS pastor who represents the cutting edge of Church Growth apostasy.

Leonard Sweet is a Methodist, cutesy-wutesy writer, as anyone can tell from the title of his latest abomination. Here is his self-inflating bio:

How Many Methodist Sermon Titles
Can You Find On This Page?

If you have not realized this already, Church and Change is the Jesus First of the WELS.

Forward in Chicken Soup for the Soul

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Comment on WELS Materials and Synod Help":

Forward in Christ is a good example of the dumbing down aimed at adults. Many of the articles read like "Chicken Soup for the Soul". Perhaps they can glean some of the easier material, assemble it into a how-to manual and call it "Christianity for Dummies". NPH could publish it and all of the synod's financial woes could be over. Some articles also tend to have that Reformed slant that is similar to Dobson and Rick Warren claptrap.

Another WELS Comment

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "From a Lifelong WELS Member":

This is encouraging to read that another lifelong WELS member, like myself, feels this way. I can get some knowledgeable WELS laity to agree with many of our criticisms. But, most of them have been whipped into shape and are too cowardly to be vocal about it. Fear is control and many of the synodical officials enjoy having a subserviant, mute laity. After all, when you are infallible, you are above reproach.

From a Lifelong WELS Member

"Pastor Jackson,

I discovered your blog several weeks ago and have really enjoyed the commentaries. As a lifelong WELS member, I have seen and experienced many of the problems with our Synod and its hierarchy first hand."

Michigan DP Not So Excited, Exciting

 Former DP John Seifert (middle) posed with Scott Barefoot, who sent himself as a minister to gays and organized People of Grace with Pastor Richard Starr. But do not join the Intrepids! Oh no!

According to my source (Grey Goose) Michigan DP John Seifert did not seem energetic in his support for Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

I find little difference between LCMS District Popes, WELS District Popes, and ELCA bishops. All have seized the power to kick pastors out of the ministry without cause (except the pastors' valid criticisms of the synod). All three synodical types seem to think their job is to be loyal to and worshipful toward the organization. "I love the (fill in the blank) synod" is a good career motto. Expressing a few reservations is good - tossing red meat to the base - but those reservations mean nothing.

Michigan DP Robert Mueller, a tireless bungler, saw his district vote down four different resolutions in favor of amalgamation (DMLC taking over NWC). He did everything possible to get a positive vote. Then he spoke at the national convention in favor of amalgamation. The pastors stopped speaking to him. They even left the room when he entered. So he declined to run. He got a free trip to Russia, supposedly as a missionary. Ha. Now Gurgel is going to do "mission work" overseas. Ah, that sounds so much better than a long, synod-paid vacation.

Another synod cipher stepped in when Mueller declined to run. I mean, Seifert stepped in. He worships the Wisconsin Synod, as all the officials do.

Seifert was such a loyal circuit pastor that he never noticed Bivens (same circuit) defending Church Growth and bragging about going to Fuller Seminary. Seifert heard it in his own driveway, but he forgot the episode twice. Bivens forgot too, because he could not imagine why I thought he went to Fuller Seminary. Good career move, Frosty.

When initial efforts were being made to close down MLS, John Lawrenz, then the president of the school, said this, "We are willing to accept any role the synod gives us." He waved the white flag at his own school, at the district meeting! Soon he was president of DMLC for one month, head of Worker Training, and seminary professor. For some reason he was soon out of Mequon and teaching in Russia and Asia. Obviously, pulling the plug on his own school was not a bad career move.