Getting Rid of the Last Lutheran Member, St. Peter, Freedom, Wisconsin, WELS

To whom it may concern,
We, the Council of St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church, having prayerfully and faithfully examined the concerns raised by Mr. Frederick "Rick" Techlin Jr. in the document entitled “Letter to Council and Pastors”, and having determined that the accusations submitted therein reflect a gross misstatement about and misunderstanding of the ministry of St. Peter, and finally wishing to clearly state our consensus, submit the following response.

1) On the matter of the preaching of sound doctrine;
We believe that Pastor Glende and all called workers of St. Peter are preaching sound Lutheran doctrine based on God’s Word and all of them are faithful to their calling as ministers and/or teachers of this congregation.
2) On the matter of proper application of the Law and Gospel;
We believe that Pastor Glende and all called workers of St. Peter are preaching and teaching the proper mix of the Law and Gospel in their sermons and classrooms.
3) On the matter of plagiarism;
We believe that Pastor Glende and all pastors, at St. Peter and other WELS congregations, have every right to use outside resources in the preparation and preaching of their sermons.
4) On the matter of pietism;
We believe that it is truly Biblical for Pastor Glende and all called workers to encourage the members of our congregation to do good works to the glory of God motivated by the Gospel message of pardon in Christ.
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10.
“The Bible makes it very clear that a sanctified life is not something that God deems optional for us. God desires us to live holy lives. Paul states this in no uncertain terms to the Thessalonians: ‘It is God’s will that you should be sanctified. For God has not called us to be impure, but to live a holy
life.’” (1 Thessalonians 4:7) - (“Sanctification”. People’s Bible Teachings, p.106)
5) On the matter of the St. Peter mission statement;
We believe that our mission statement contains both Law and Gospel. The phrase “and share God’s love with the whole world” sufficiently refers to the spreading of the Gospel message of pardon.
6) On the matter of the St. Peter vision statement;
We believe that our vision statement properly enumerates the actions that we will take to accomplish what Christ commanded in the great commission, to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
7) On the matter of the use of outside creeds;
We believe that we can use various creeds (by definition - a statement of faith, belief) in our worship services which express the truth of God’s Word. The use of such creeds is an adiaphoran.
8) On the matter of the teaching of the Lutheran Confessions;
We believe that Pastor Glende and all called workers are properly emphasizing the Lutheran Confessions in their ministry.
9) On the matter of new liturgies and contemporary music;
We believe that Pastor Glende and all called workers have every right to design new worship liturgies and use Biblical contemporary Christian music to the glory of God.
“There are many areas where we New Testament Christians have freedom. The liturgies we use, the appointments we use in connection with worship, the translations we use, the architecture of the churches and schools we build, the forms and instruments of music we use, the forms of ministry we adopt – all are matters in which we have freedom to exercise sanctified common sense.” (“Sanctification”.
People’s Bible Teachings, p.177)
10) On the matter of the attendance of Christian Conferences;
We believe that Pastor Glende and all called workers have every right to attend Christian conferences to learn more about various Christian ministry methods.
Synodical professors, teachers, pastors, mission counselors and parish counselors in our synod are currently attending such conventions as part of their continuing education.
11) On the matter of fund raising;
We believe that our congregation in its Christian liberty has the right to conduct a limited amount of fund raising events.
Now, having responded such, we consider the personal nature of this correspondence concluded. This matter has been taken up by the Council and will be addressed following the guidelines set forth by Christ and the constitution of St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church.

In conclusion then, while we continue to encourage all Christians to follow God’s command to continually test the spirits (1 John 4:1), we also cannot allow the divisive nature (Titus 3:9-11) of this dialog to continue but rather will close with a final reminder and closing encouragement from God’s Word:
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (New International Version)

In Christ,
The members of the Council of St Peter Lutheran Church
Tom Denney, President
David Gruendemann, Vice-President
William Kietz, Treasurer
Tim Bolwerk, Secretary
David Dalke, Elders
Gregg Mattek, Evangelism
Todd Dombrowski, Trustees
Adam Thomas, Board of Education
Gary Thoma, Stewardship
Mr. Phil Punzel (Principal), Ex-Officio member

Do Not Celebrate The Popcorn Cathedral Victory Too Soon

I checked, and yes, Ski's brag about studying under and worshiping with Babtist Andy Stanley is still posted.

Here is the link if you graduated from Mequon and did not notice the link above.

Lots of photos are there. Lots of WELS workers were there.

Wouldn't most Lutherans want to hide the evidence when they have been exposed as Babtist believers? What does that say about Ski, Glende, Parlow, and the rest? Fox Valley? The Anything Goes District? The DP and SP?

The Lost Sheep

Copyright, Norma Boeckler.

Returns from the legendary Megatron database on "anxious."

"Thus too, if our confidence is to begin, and we become strengthened and comforted, we must well learn the voice of our Shepherd, and let all other voices go, who only lead us astray, and chase and drive us hither and thither. We must hear and grasp only that article which presents Christ to us in the most friendly and comforting manner possible. So that we can say with all confidence: My Lord Jesus Christ is truly the only Shepherd, and I, alas, the lost sheep, which has strayed into the wilderness, and I am anxious and fearful, and would gladly be good, and have a gracious God and peace of conscience, but here I am told that He is as anxious for me as I am for Him." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, IV, p. 86. Third Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon Luke 15:1-10.

"Early in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned, while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to where to get its breakfast. Later, when it is hungry, it flies away and seeks a grain of corn, where God stored one away for it, of which it never thought while singing, when it had cause enough to be anxious about its food. Ay, shame on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to eat." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 114. Trinity 15 Matthew 6:24-34

"Pietist preachers were anxious to discover and in a certain sense to separate the invisible congregation from the visible congregation. They had to meet demands different than those of the preceding period: they were expected to witness, not in the objective sense, as Luther did, to God's saving acts toward all men, but in a subjective sense of faith, as they themselves had experienced it. In this way Pietism introduced a tendency toward the dissolution of the concept of the ministry in the Lutheran Church." Helge Nyman, "Preaching (Lutheran): History," The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., ed. Julius Bodensieck, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965, III, p. 1943. [Ski, Glende, Church and Change - he is talking about you and your ELCAish transforming members and all that Pietistic baloney you are using to destroy Lutheran worship and doctrine, with the help of your Methodist Episcopal Lutheran friends.]

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Triglotta, p. 1095) Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65. Tappert, p. 632. Heiser, p. 294. FC SD XI, #94-96.

***

GJ - This is the new Ichabod: tanned, rested, and ready for battle.

Sesame Street Goes Soft Core, In Spite of Katy Perry's Special Relationship with The CORE

Our masks are slipping.

---

Katy Perry: Way too 'adult' for 'Sesame Street'?
September 23, 2010 | 10:18 am

Perry

All the toddlers who brought out their best daisy dukes for Katy Perry's "Sesame Street" premiere are gonna be so cranky.

Thursday morning, the PBS children's show announced that a scheduled appearance by Perry, queen of the most inappropriate whipped-cream bra ever, had been canceled. On Monday, a clip of Perry wearing a sweetheart-cut dress, singing a G-rated version of her hit "Hot N Cold" and begging to "play" with Elmo, was leaked on the Web. Parents, outraged by Perry's C-cup-accentuating dress, immediately protested. "You're going to have to rename [Sesame Street] Cleavage Avenue," wrote one commenter, while another simply joked, "My kid wants milk now."