Donald Clark Plan B: Get a Life, not a Coach

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "So California - When Will WELS Try This?":

On page one of a Google search under "life coach criticism", I came up with this gem from almost five years ago. The author is British, and this bloke really hits the nail on the head:

http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2007/05/get-life-not-coach.html

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Donald Clark Plan B: Get a Life, not a Coach:


You said it! What a great title. Almost as good as 'NLP for dummies'. On Amazon you can buy both for £2.99. Someone was introduced to me, not surprisingly at the BBC, as a Life Coach. I was uncharacteristically speechless, as I still can’t get my head around the idea of Life Coaches (can’t believe I’ve capitalised those two words - twice). Who, while maintaining any sense of personal dignity, could treat their own life as some sort of training programme, subjecting themselves to this nonsense?
Life coaches as like low life astrologers
Is there anything more nauseating or narcissistic than the very idea, never mind the type of person, who sets themselves up in such a role? Are life coaches any better than low life astrologers, feeding a narcissistic desire to sell people the idea that you need them to shape your future? Who are these people? Who has the arrogance to describe themselves as being able to cajole another person into believing they need them to help direct their ENTIRE life?

A 'paid friend'
Paying for a friend is undignified. Sure get advice on tax, the law, finance, but LIFE! It smacks of a deep seated need for a religious substitute, a higher power, who has the moral authority to give you a 'sense of direction'. I suppose it does act as a sort of dating agency to match up those who feel the urge to pay for a friend with those with no concrete skills, other being paid to listen and ask reflective questions, a sort of escort agency for lonely minds.

Whatever happened to friends, family or even self-reflection as providing advice? Get a life not a coach.


'via Blog this'

So California - When Will WELS Try This?

We watched a little of the Hour of Foreclosure, formerly the Hour of Power, with another guest speaker. I read that they are re-runs because they have extended the Left Foot of Fellowship to the whole Schuller clan.

John Maxwell, Drive-buy DMin, Fuller Seminary

Mrs. Ichabod wondered who was speaking. He looked familiar to me. He should have. I heard him live at a business convention - John Maxwell. I read his Wikipedia entry.

He was a minister. I knew that. He still is. And - he got a drive-buy DMin from Fuller Seminary, just like Larry Olson, WELS. Here is a defense of Fuller and Rob Bell - try to read it without gagging.

Maxwell is a life-coach. Now the light dawns. All the life-coach baloney in WELS stems from Maxwell and his buddies. They found a new way to mine the gold. Don Patterson and his odious network are in the life-coaching business.

Luther taught that faithfulness to the Word was success.

Schuller taught that positive thinking, not Biblical fidelity, would bring success. Schuller was not faithful to the Word, not even to his Dutch Calvinist confession, and he has not been successful. He has spread his false doctrine, copied from Norman Vincent Peale, who plagiarized an occultist for The Power of Positive Thinking.

The real pioneer of Church Growth was Peale, not Schuller. Church Growth began with borrowed plagiarism, which explains the Missouri/WELS adventure and its miserable results. And Appleton.

Schuller fired his own son, so I had to find another likely heir
to the Hour of Power.

Judica Sunday, 2012. Hebrews 9

Judica Sunday, The Fifth Sunday in Lent, 2012

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #462       I Love Thy Kingdom                                    4:21  

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual        

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #40      The God of Abram Praise               4:94 

Our Great High Priest

The Communion Hymn #245       God Loved the World          4:6

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657       Beautiful Savior                   4:24

KJV Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee, that of Thine infinite mercy Thou hast instituted this Thy sacrament, in which we eat Thy body and drink Thy blood: Grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not receive this gift unworthily, but that we may confess our sins, remember Thine agony and death, believe the forgiveness of sin, and day by day grow in faith and love, until we obtain eternal salvation through Thee, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Our Great High Priest

KJV Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus declared His authority in clear, plain words. Although Matthew, Mark, and Luke are clear enough about these matters, the Fourth Gospel takes up this issue and expands upon it for our benefit.

The purpose of the Gospel of John is to create faith by the working of the Holy Spirit in the Word, to convict us of not trusting completely in Christ, to show us God’s love in Christ, so that in believing we would have forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

The Gospel and the Epistle are revelations of the mysteries of God. They are declarations rather than arguments. For the unbeliever these passages can be irritating and absurd. For example, many are taught that Jesus was a great teacher, a good rabbi, and a compassionate man. But when they read or hear these claims of divinity and sonship, they ask, “Where is the proof?”

There is no proof (in the sense of a scientific laboratory) because the Word of God is the authority. Science and technology are useful tools that provide many benefits for us, but they do not explain purpose because they cannot. The moon creates tides, which create tidal pools, providing vast amounts of food for animals and humans. But no one can explain the purpose of the moon or its remarkable relationship with earth.

The purpose of life is explained and taught by the Christian faith. The Holy Spirit is the professor and the Word of God is the authority. Many human authorities have come and gone, but the Word of God remains forever. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word will never pass away.

Old Testament and New

The Gospel and Epistle unite the Old Testament with the New, a remarkable sweep of history.

Old Testament references show us that both parts of the Bible are united in teaching the same lesson. They hold Christ the way a cradle holds a baby, as Luther explained. Because Jesus is the great High Priest, all the Old Testament passages about the priesthood are part of the Gospel.

The priesthood, the animal sacrifices, and the Temple prepared Israel for the coming of the great High Priest, Jesus.

Lenski:

The main point is the predication: “as High Priest of the good things about to come.” As such he arrived, was at hand, and entered in. The writer tells us of the High-priestly act of Christ and at once names him as the High Priest.

It goes without saying that “High Priest of the good things about to come” aims to exalt Christ above all the common Jewish high priests, none of whom could be so designated.

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James. Columbus, O. : Lutheran book concern, 1938, S. 289.

In English we are taught not to mix metaphors. A metaphor is when A = B. “The argument was a tangled web of contradictions.”

But Hebrews mixes the metaphor of Jesus as the great High Priest and the innocent Lamb of God. How can He be both the Priest and the Victim? That is another indication of the Bible being the Word of God. What man says is wrong, the Bible illustrates with clarity and beauty.

No priest in the Old Testament could offer himself as the atoning sacrifice, but Christ did that. Wherever we look in God’s Word, we find confirmation of this truth, and it deepens our faith in the unified truth of the Scriptures.

In fact, this is the central message of the Bible – that Christ has paid for the sins of the world. The objective truth of the atonement is the Gospel message itself.

All human forms of forgiveness are based upon paying a price or performing a work to pay for sins, to make up for wrongs. In fact, civil law often refers to “making someone whole.” If someone is cheated out of $100, he has to be given that $100 back.

But divine will is different and gracious. Christ is the great High Priest who offered Himself as the sacrifice, to pay for the sins of mankind. That atoning sacrifice is valid and true, even if no one ever believed in it.

The argument from popularity is a logical fallacy – it is true because a majority believe in it. The number who believe in a given statement is not connected to its truth. All the kids are getting a tattoo and a nose ring, so it must be a good idea!

Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

Luther said about this passage that priest is a better term for Jesus than any other title. It is the ultimate title because priest describes His office in giving Himself for our sins.

Jesus became our Savior, Messiah, Savior, and Brother by being our priest.

If He were just a man, then His death had no ultimate value. That is exactly what all the Christian apostates say. The one thing they want to take away is the priesthood of Christ. They will allow miracles, but not the atonement. They teach that this gives God a bad reputation for judicial acts. Looking closer, we can see that they also teach against the resurrection of Christ, against His divinity. One prime example is the Braaten-Jenson Dogmatics text used in all ELCA seminaries.

Another metaphor – Christ is not only the High Priest and victim. He is also the Tabernacle. He said, “Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.”

KJV John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

All three metaphors are connected with Old Testament forgiveness – the high priest sacrificed the spotless lamb in the Temple, so the sprinkling of blood would atone for the sins of the people.

12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

A common Biblical argument is from the lesser to the greater, and we find this often in Hebrews. (Luther thought that Apollos probably wrote the letter, but he also referred to the author as Paul. In other words, it can be from either man. They worked together.)

If the Jewish people sacrificed animals for their sin, then what can we say about the cross being the Holy of Holies, where Jesus earned eternal redemptions for us?

Lenski:

We discard the idea that at the time of his death Jesus took his blood into the heavenly Sanctuary before God. One is disturbed to read what Bengel, Stier, Delitzsch, and others say about Christ’s blood; such things as that the blood Christ shed was received back into his body, that it was received into heaven, or that the blood which was left in Christ’s dead body was increased and renewed. These distressing conceptions center particularly on the Lord’s Supper, in connection with which some speak of “the glorified blood” that is now given us to drink in the Sacrament. Where does Scripture speak of Christ’s “glorified blood”? The words that are used in connection with the Sacrament are: “my blood in the act of being shed for you” just as: “my body in the act of being given for you.” When Riggenbach regards “blood” as it is used in our epistle bildlich, “figurative,” signifying “death,” he surely does not fully understand the implication of his words. What Christ shed was “his own blood” and not something that pictures his death. Instead of saying that Christ’s blood = his death, the reverse is true: where the Scriptures speak of his death they refer to his bloody death, his expiatory, sacrificial blood^.

                ^[1]Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James. Columbus, O. : Lutheran book concern, 1938, S. 293.

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

This assures people of their forgiveness and also unites the Old Testament with the New Testament (the NT being written at that time). The argument works both ways. For the Jewish people, those centuries of animal sacrifice were preparation for Christ. For the non-Jews, the Temple sacrifices were a visual metaphor for what their Savior accomplished for them.

Lenski:

The blood is the lytron or ransom that was paid by Christ in order to effect release from sin and guilt. Expiation and ransoming are the same in substance and closely akin in connotation so that “blood” is said to be the means of ransoming. This word and the one used in v. 15 are treated more fully in connection with our exegesis of Rom. 3:24 to which the reader is referred.

                ^[1]Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James. Columbus, O. : Lutheran book concern, 1938, S. 294.

The ransom money or eternal redemption was paid once for all. Therefore, no one needs to wonder whether faith in Christ delivers from one particular sin, an enormous debt of sin, or even from horrible unspeakable sins. The price has been paid. Believing in Christ is forgiveness of sin.

Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Thus the Gospel is always true and remains powerful and effective for each one of us. We are in constant need of forgiveness, which is the beginning of all the fruits of the Christian faith.

About 99% of the world’s advice is based upon law and man, but 100% of the Gospel is God’s work for man, God’s grace for man, God’s forgiveness distributed by the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace – for man.

When people oppose justification by faith, the true Gospel offends them, even when they used stained glass words.

When people trust in God’s declaration of forgiveness—another way of saying justification by faith—they receive forgiveness and the fruits of the Spirit that necessary follow sincere faith.

God has given us hundreds of ways to know, grasp, and remember these Gospel lessons. The Book of Hebrews is one of the most vivid. Everything is a picture, which made it easy to illustrate Hebrews 11 as the Chapter of Faith.

Trust in God’s Word, in His Gospel, is the most important lesson we can learn, the most important we can teach.

Note on Bengel

GJ - Bengel was very influential and I believe his concept of stored blood was one source of UOJ.

From TSW,

quoting Hoenecke - And Ph. D. Burk (Rechtfertigung und Versicherung, p. 41) rightly said:

‘The difference between general justification and the more common usage of the term justification can be expressed as follows. The latter takes place precisely upon the appropriation of the former.’

Hoenecke - An emphasis upon general justification is necessary in order to safeguard the material content of the Gospel. [GJ – This sounds very much like Knapp, who taught at Halle, where Hoenecke studied, and had a very influential textbook stating this.]

Hoenecke - We need furnish no extraordinary proof in regard to the justification of the individual sinner; let us suffice with the story of the publican. Justification takes place in the one who appeals to the grace of God, but it does not take place in the Pharisee. And the entirety of Scripture demonstrates that he who believes is always justified; this applies to every individual, the moment that faith is kindled in him.”

Hoenecke, like Joe Krohn, dabbles with the term OJ but defines justification exclusively through faith.

Marquart and others said Hoenecke was better than Pieper on justification.

Quotations

FREE WILL

Formula of Concord

December 26, 2000

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

2 Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

"Of Free Will they teach that man's will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work things subject to reason.  But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness; since the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Corinthians 2:14; but this righteousness is wrought through the Word."

Augsburg Confession, Article XVIII, Freedom of the Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 51. Tappert, p. 39. 1 Corinthians 2:14.

"Now, although both, the planting and watering of the preacher, and the running and willing of the hearer, would be in vain, and no conversion would follow it if the power and efficacy of the Holy Ghost were not added thereto, who enlightens and converts the hearts through the Word preached and heard, so that men believe this Word and assent thereto, still, neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, but should be certain that when the Word of God is preached purely and truly, according to the command and will of God, and men listen attentively and earnestly and meditate upon it, God is certainly present with His grace, and grants, as has been said, what otherwise man can neither accept nor give from his own powers."

Solid Declaration, Article II, Free Will, 55-56, Formula of Concord, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 903. Tappert, p. 531f.

"Why is so much assumed about the ability of human nature?  It has been wounded, hurt, injured, ruined.  It has need of a true confession, not of a false defense." [Augustine, De natura et gratia, chap. 53; quoted with approval by Chemnitz]

Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I,  p. 411.

"Moreover [On the other side], both the ancient and modern enthusiasts have taught that God converts men, and leads them to the saving knowledge of Christ through His Spirit, without any created means and instrument, that is, without the external preaching and hearing of God's Word."

Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II. 4. Free Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 881.

"Against both these parties the pure teachers of the Augsburg Confession have taught and contended that by the fall of our first parents man was so corrupted that in divine things pertaining to our conversion and the salvation of our souls he is by nature blind, that, when the Word of God is preached, he neither does nor can understand it, but regards it as foolishness; also, that he does not of himself draw nigh to God, but is and remains an enemy of God, until he is converted, becomes a believer [is endowed with faith], is regenerated and renewed, by the power of the Holy Ghost through the Word when preached and heard, out of pure grace, without any cooperation of his own."

Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II. 5. Free Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 881.

"Hence the natural free will according to its perverted, disposition and nature is strong and active only with respect to what is displeasing and contrary to God."

Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II. 7. Free Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 883. John 8:34; Ephesians 2:2; 2 Timothy 2: 26.

"For, first, although man's reason or natural intellect indeed has still a dim spark of the knowledge that there is a God, as also of the doctrine of the Law Romans 1:19ff., yet is is so ignorant, blind, and perverted that when even the most ingenious and learned men upon earth read or hear the Gospel of the Son of God and the promise of eternal salvation, they cannot from their own powers perceive apprehend, understand, or believe and regard it as true, but the more diligence and earnestness they employ, wishing to comprehend these spiritual things with their reason, the less they understand or believe, and before they become enlightened and are taught by the Holy Ghost, they regard all this only as foolishness or fictions. 1 Corinthians 2:14..."

Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II. 9. Free Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 883. 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 4:17f.; 1 Corinthians 1:21

"And, in a word, it remains eternally true what the Son of God says, John 15:5: Without Me ye can do nothing. And Paul, Philippians 2:13: It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. To all godly Christians who feel and experience in their hearts a small spark or longing for divine grace and eternal salvation this precious passage is very comforting; for they know that God has kindled in their hearts this beginning of true godliness, and that He will further strengthen and help them in their great weakness to persevere in true faith unto the end."

Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II. 14. Free Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 885. Philippians 2:13; John 15:5.

"Thirdly, in this manner, too, the Holy Scriptures ascribe conversion, faith in Christ, regeneration, renewal, and all that belongs to their efficacious beginning and completion, not to the human powers of the natural free will, neither entirely, nor half, nor in any, even the least or most inconsiderable part, but in solidum, that is, entirely, solely to the divine working and the Holy Ghost, as also the Apology teaches."

Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, II. 25. Free Will, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 891.

"Today's Gospel also teaches by this parable that our free will amounts to nothing, since the good seed is sowed only by Christ, and Satan sows nothing but evil seed; as we also see that the field of itself yields nothing but tares, which the cattle eat, although the field receives them and they make the field green as if they were wheat.  In the same way the false Christians among the true Christians are of no use but to feed the world and be food for Satan, and they are so beautifully green and hypocritical, as if they alone were the saints, and hold the place in Christendom as if they were lords there, and the government and highest places belonged to them; and for no other reason than that they glory that they are Christians and are among Christians in the church of Christ, although they see and confess that they live unchristian lives."

Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John N. Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 103. Matthew 13:24-30;

Rolfian Rationalism: Joe Krohn Should Agree with an Absurd Contradiction

Rolf Preus:

Jesus was justified. Those whose sins he bore were justified. Since he bore the sins of the whole world, the whole world was justified. That's what the statement says. That's what Walter A. Maier affirmed in signing that statement. It is a clear affirmation of objective justification.

Again, do you agree with the statement that "God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven all sinners all of their sins"? You say it flies in the face of John 3, 18. But if you affirm the statement that WAM signed, you must also affirm my statement with which you have taken issue. For you cannot hold to two mutually exclusive assertions at the same time. You cannot affirm objective justification and reject it at the same time.

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GJ - The UOJ Factory--which pounds out universal forgiveness 24/7--never addresses the clear and compelling teaching of the Scriptures and the Book of Concord: - that no one receives grace apart from the Means of Grace.

The UOJ Factory workers should study Isaiah 55 and Romans 10, two chapters that teach the Means of Grace with special clarity. They would rather return to the veneration of the Great Walther and the infallibility of everyone in the Synodical Conference (tm) who taught UOJ.

Ludwig's father, Ottomar, married the widow of O. H. Walther,
so Ludwig often went to Uncle CFW's home.
Ludwig's mother came from the Buenger family,
who assisted the Walther brothers in kidnapping two children
and evading arrest in Europe.
Ludwig's grandmother went to prison for her role in the felony.
The Buengers also helped in the mob action against Bishop Stephan.

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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Rolfian Rationalism: Joe Krohn Should Agree with ...":

"Jesus was justified. Those whose sins he bore were justified. Since he bore the sins of the whole world, the whole world was justified.

And so the whore reason raises her ugly head. It's that kind of reasoning that got us:

"Since God elected some to salvation, then he must have elected some to damnation."

These guys need to stop thinking so hard. If Objective Justification "in Christ" were* so obvious - and so important to salvation - then why didn't the Reformers see it and phrase it that way?

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GJ - * Were is correct here, because this is contrary to fact.

The Book of Concord authors and editors were strangely negligent in this regard, too. If they had known that people would rely on the plain, clear teaching of the Word, they would have left behind several volumes proving that the entire world was justified. Samuel Huber tried to help, but they rejected his arguments and terminated his job at Wittenberg.

Since Walther is the Great Prophet, with statues and shrines dotting the Missouri landscape, we do not need the Bible or the Book of Concord. The Great Prophet explains it all. Those who disagree with him are obvious false teachers.

The Joel Osteen article linked previously points out that the Grinning Reaper has only a bachelor's degree from Oral Roberts University - in communications. That reminded me of Walther, who only had a bachelor's degree from the rationalists at Leipzig and Pietistic oversight from the syphlitic bishop-to-be.

Why pay attention to Luther? He went to a Catholic university, where he earned a doctorate in Scripture. He supervised monasteries and lectured on the Bible. He did not kidnap a single person. He was kidnapped himself, but that does not count. Instead of robbing people, he gave away gifts sent to him. He always taught the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace.

Luther is too clear and plain for the Waltherians. They want sect members who subscribe to their strange notions and bow to their authority, even though they have little reading comprehension and no spiritual discernment at all.

Lawsuits bring scrutiny to Trinity Broadcasting - CBS News

Paul Crouch

Lawsuits bring scrutiny to Trinity Broadcasting - CBS News:

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Televangelists Paul and Jan Crouch have faced plenty of mountains building their religious broadcast empire — among them allegations of a homosexual tryst and a prolonged battle with the Federal Communications Commission — but the most recent attack on the founders of Trinity Broadcasting Network comes from their own flesh and blood.


Their granddaughter, Brittany Koper, recently filed court papers that include allegations of $50 million in financial shenanigans at the world's largest Christian broadcasting network. Her suit was followed by another from a Koper in-law, who detailed opulent spending at the network on items such as private jets, mansions in California, Tennessee and Florida and a $100,000 mobile home for Jan Crouch's dogs.


The lawsuits came after Koper's husband was accused by a debt collection company of embezzling more than $1 million from TBN. The debt collection company that filed the lawsuit later added the Crouches' granddaughter and two of her in-laws as defendants.


The outbreak of legal skirmish offers a rare window into the secretive world of the sprawling religious non-profit and exposes a family feud that could draw more outside scrutiny of TBN. Attorneys from both sides say they have contacted police and the Internal Revenue Service.


The Crouches founded TBN in 1973 and grew it into an international Christian empire that beams prosperity gospel programming — which promises that if the faithful sacrifice for their belief, God will reward them with material wealth — to every continent but Antarctica 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has 78 satellites and more than 18,000 television and cable affiliates and owns seven other networks, as well as its headquarters in Costa Mesa in Orange County, an estate outside Nashville called Trinity Music City, USA and the Holy Land Experience, a Christian amusement park in Orlando.


On any given day — or night — viewers from the United States to India can watch Christian-inspired news updates, documentaries, movies, talk shows and sermons by preachers such as Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes and Dr. Creflo Dollar without leaving their armchairs.


The lawsuit attention comes at a bad time for TBN, which has seen viewer donations drop steeply. TBN raked in $92 million in donations in 2010 and cleared $175 million in tax-free revenue, but its net income plummeted from nearly $60 million in 2006 to a loss of $18 million in 2010, the most recent year available. Donations fell by nearly $30 million in the same period — a hit the network blames on the bad economy.


At the same time, Koper's father — the eldest Crouch son — resigned abruptly as vice president and chief-of-staff late last year. The unexplained departure of Paul Crouch Jr. roughly coincided with his daughter's legal battle and came just months after he launched iTBN, a project to expand the network's online and mobile reach.


TBN places a premium on privacy and it's almost impossible to divine what is going on behind the scenes. Yet televangelist empires built largely on charisma often encounter choppy waters as their founding personalities age.


"It's true that in these large ministries, they do become family enterprises ... and in many ways that can be a most precarious problem for them," said David E. Harrell, a professor emeritus of American religion at Auburn University, who has written about well-known televangelists. "Business squabbles, if they're complicated with family squabbles, can get nasty indeed."


TBN referred requests for comment to its attorney, Colby M. May. Crouch Jr. did not return a call.


May dismissed the idea of family turmoil and said the reason behind the legal fight was simple: Koper and her husband stole from the network.


"They're attempting to create a diversion and to create as much public spectacle as they can in the vain hope that this will all get resolved and that's simply not going to happen," he said.


TBN's reach and programming are expansive, but what is more impressive is the amount of money it receives from viewers — even in a downturn.


During TBN's Praise-A-Thon earlier this month, a preacher exhorted viewers to bellow "Fear not!" three times, count down from 10 and then rush to the phone with donations. In exchange, he said, they would receive a miracle from God "about this time tomorrow." Within seconds, all 200 phone lines were busy.


Ministry watchdogs have long questioned how TBN — which declared more than $800 million in net assets in 2010 — spends that wealth.


TBN files reports with the IRS, but the Crouches run nearly two dozen other organizations that are harder to track and they operate extensively overseas, said Rusty Leonard, who founded Wall Watchers, an organization that monitors the financial transparency of church ministries to which its members donate.


Wall Watchers gives TBN an 'F' for financial transparency and keeps them on its list of the 30 worst ministries.


"They could run a loss like the one they ran last year for an awfully long time before they would run out of money," Leonard said. "They're basically taking money from old people and putting it in their pocket and living the high life."


Allegations of lavish spending are central in the battle between the Crouches' granddaughter and a debt collection company called Redemption Strategies Inc., which was incorporated by a TBN attorney.


According to Koper's attorney, the 26-year-old took over as chief financial officer at TBN after obtaining a master's in business administration degree and quickly realized that its directors — her family members — were acting illegally.


Koper sent a memo to the board detailing her allegations, but was fired within days, said the attorney, Tymothy MacLeod.


Koper's husband was sued by Redemption Strategies, which alleged he had embezzled hundreds of thousands while he worked at the family business. The debt collection company was registered with the state by a TBN attorney one day before it filed suit against Michael Koper.


The case was dismissed, but not before Brittany Koper and two in-laws were added as defendants.


Brittany Koper countersued, alleging that TBN's attorneys formed Redemption Strategies to retaliate against her for whistleblowing.


Her suit doesn't list TBN as a defendant, but it alleges that Koper was fired and made to turn over her house, condominium, life insurance policy, car, furniture and jewelry as "an act of Christian contrition" when she complained about the financial misdeeds at TBN.


A similar suit filed by Michael Koper's uncle, Joseph McVeigh, alleges that TBN attorneys also targeted him as part of a campaign of retaliation.


McVeigh's suit names TBN as one of seven defendants and alleges that TBN bought a $50 million luxury jet through a sham loan; owns an $8 million Hawker jet for Jan Crouch's personal use; bought a $100,000 RV for Jan Crouch's dogs and has 13 mansions and homes around the U.S. for the Crouch family's use.


TBN attorney May called the McVeigh's lawsuit a "tabloid filing" and said the allegations in both cases were "utterly and completely contrived." TBN suspects McVeigh, who claims he received a $65,000 loan from the family empire, was working with the Kopers to steal money from the ministry, May said.


The network's spending is in line with its mission to spread the gospel throughout the world, May said, and the Crouches travel by private jet because they have had "scores of death threats, more than the president of the United States."


The ministry keeps large amounts of cash in reserve because incurring debt goes against the Biblical exhortation to "owe no man any thing," he said.


"The answer is, there is no fire there," May said. "They pay as they go and every now and then one of the things that they pay as they go on is the acquisition of a broadcast facility and that's a multi-million dollar transaction."


TBN is no stranger to outside scrutiny.


In 1998, the elder Crouch secretly paid an accuser $425,000 to keep quiet about allegations of a homosexual encounter. Crouch Sr. has consistently denied the allegations, which were first reported by the Los Angeles Times, and has said he settled only to avoid a costly and embarrassing trial.


In 2000, after a five-year battle, a federal appeals court overturned a ruling by the FCC that found Crouch had created a "sham" minority company to get around limits on the number of TV stations he could own.

Versions of Beautiful Savior - Thanks to FB Friend Iggy Antiochus

Beautiful Savior, King of Creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love Thee, truly I'd serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.

Fair are the meadows,
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer;
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.

Fair is the sunshine,
Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels in the sky.

Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!

---

IggyAntiochus has left a new comment on your post "Versions of Beautiful Savior - Thanks to FB Friend...":

You're very welcome, Gregory! :)

Trinity Broadcasting Network - Expose

Jan Crouch

One of my Facebook friends has written about Paul and Jan Crouch, so I asked him for information about the book.

http://www.newdiscernment.org/

Rev. Bob Liichow Hi brother Gregory. If you'd like to tell folks about my book "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About TBN* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) --- they can order a copy for a mere $25.00 in full color, 8.5 X 11 book, professionally done. You can direct them to send me an email at Bliichow@juno.com or simply send a donation to us via PayPal through our website ---www.newdiscernment.org. Thanks and God bless!

http://discernmentministriesinternational.wordpress.com/

West Hollywood coyboy Paul Crouch.

---

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Trinity Broadcasting Network - Expose":

There are many independent ministries with a strong Internet presence that have opposed the Church Growth Movement. Many of them are more knowledgeable and vocal in their opposition than most of today's alleged conservative Lutherans. A few years back, when I was looking for help in finding out about Rick Warren, I ended up printing out a stack of articles about two feet high. It gave me good insight into the flighty nature of the book of the month trend that is prevalent in today's navel gazing American evangelicalism. Conditions have only deteriorated since that time. So much of the laity has been hoodwinked. A member who desires study from the Book of Concord certainly must seem to be an anomaly.


***

GJ - The ELCA pastors, led by Tietjen, rebelled against a CG parish being set up in their territory. The insurance project moved to Yorba Linda, flopped, and closed. That was the only Lutheran opposition I saw, except for Richard Neuhaus' speech against it at Ad Fontes. Neuhaus was one of many people I knew whose disgust with Church Growthism translated into Romanism.

I have always been startled by the Evangelicals' slashing, pointed attacks against the Fuller mentality. The so-called conservative Lutherans simply compromise, defend, and promote it.

Buchholz was supposed to be a critic of Church Growth, but he has been a defender of it, a bulwark for Mark Jeske too.

The truly conservative Protestants, who actually believe in the authority of the Word of God, have no use for Fuller Seminary antics, including those spikey-haired goofballs who called themselves Emergent.

That is one thing lacking in the Synodical Conference (tm). Lutherans should be teaching the Means of Grace faithfully and upholding worship and sermon standards. Their lack of faith in the efficacy of the Word shows the world that they are no more than Fuller wannabees, without the spine to admit the truth about their cowardly retreat.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Trinity Broadcasting Network - Expose":

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/televangelists-accused-of-defrauding-50-million-from-trinity-broadcasting-network/
Their granddaughter, Brittany Koper, recently filed court papers that include allegations of $50 million in financial shenanigans at the world’s largest Christian broadcasting network. Her suit was followed by another from a Koper in-law, who detailed opulent spending at the network on items such as private jets, mansions in California, Tennessee and Florida and a $100,000 mobile home for Jan Crouch’s dogs.

(W)ELS never found the $8,000,000. Who is in a position to explain what happened to eight million dollars of the laity's offerings? I think that qualifies Synod money to be henceforth referred to as Burnt Offerings.

Beautiful Savior, King of Creation

"Beautiful Savior"

by Author Unknown, 1677

Translated by Joseph A. Seiss, 1823-1904

1. Beautiful Savior,

King of Creation,

Son of God and Son of Man!

Truly I'd love Thee,

Truly I'd serve Thee,

Light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.

2. Fair are the meadows,

Fair are the woodlands,

Robed in flowers of blooming spring;

Jesus is fairer,

Jesus is purer;

He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.

3. Fair is the sunshine,

Fair is the moonlight,

Bright the sparkling stars on high;

Jesus shines brighter,

Jesus shines purer,

Than all the angels in the sky.

4. Beautiful Savior,

Lord of the nations,

Son of God and Son of Man!

Glory and honor,

Praise, adoration,

Now and forevermore be Thine!

The Lutheran Hymnal

Hymn #657 

Text: Ps. 45: 2

Author: unknown, 1677

Translated by: Joseph A. Seiss, 1873

Titled: "Schoenster Herr Jesu"

Tune: "Schoenster Herr Jesu"

1st Published in: "Schlesische Volkslieder"

Town: Leipzig, 1842

Sandusky labeled 'likely pedophile' in 1998 report - TODAY People - TODAY.com

Where is his counselor's report?

Sandusky labeled 'likely pedophile' in 1998 report - TODAY People - TODAY.com:


More than a decade before former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with more than 50 counts of child sex abuse, a psychologist warned university police that his actions fit that of a “likely pedophile’s pattern.”

The finding by State College, Pa., psychologist Dr. Alycia A. Chambers, the therapist for one of Sandusky’s alleged victims, was contained in the internal Penn State files of a 1998 police investigation of the former coach for showering and bear hugging her client and another young boy in the school’s athletic locker room.

The Sandusky Files: Read the 1998 police report
NBC News has obtained the complete file on the investigation – the police report and assessments by two psychologists who interviewed the boys -- which provides new details about Sandusky’s behavior. It also could raise fresh questions about how school and local authorities handled his case.

“There was very little doubt in my mind (Sandusky) … was a male predator, someone that was in the process of grooming a young man for abuse ,” said Chambers, speaking publicly for the first time, with the permission of her client’s family, in an interview with NBC News. “I thought…my report was strong enough to suggest that this was somebody who should be watched.”

The Sandusky Files: Child psychologist's report
Chambers’ detailed report is potentially significant because it was the first clear warning about the former Penn State coach’s actions – nearly four years before a then-graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, reported to the late Coach Joe Paterno and other top school officials that he had found Sandusky in the Penn State showers one evening with another young boy, engaged in what he viewed as sexual contact. (Paterno testified last year he was unaware of the 1998 investigation and Gary Schultz, the former Penn State vice president who oversaw the school police, testified that he never reviewed the details of the case. A Penn State spokesman declined comment, citing pending investigations.)
Advertise | AdChoices


In her interview with NBC News, Chambers described her anguish when she was contacted by police last year and learned that authorities were again investigating Sandusky for allegedly molesting multiple other boys, 13 years after she first raised her concerns.
“I was horrified to know that there were so many other innocent boys who had their hearts and minds confused, their bodies violated,” said Chambers. “It’s unspeakable.”


'via Blog this'

Robert Fleischmann, Church and Change, WELS.Self-Perpetuating Money Machines

Non-profit organizations are profitable for staff and secretaries.
How many WELS pastors make $80,000 a year, own a huge home, and raise money for the babies?

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Support Your CEO":

Norm Teigen on Christian Life Resources, Oct 14th, 2007:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2007/10/norm-teigen-on-christian-life-resources.html

I see the Christian Life Resources as a self-perpetuating organization without any control from a responsible church body. Christian Life Resources endorses an organization called Church and Change.

A pastor in my synod was accused of false doctrine for his stated intention of attending the Church and Chanage conference. The objectee also, apparently, said that the Wisconsin Synod has a false doctrine in its synod in Church and Change.

My suggestion is for the ELS to put Christian Life Resources and Church and Change under the microscope and advise the membership of its results.

Overhead view of Fleischmann home.

***

GJ - Accord to John Brug's book, WELS pastors do not have doctrinal problems, so that ELS charge must be false, slanderous, and a violation of Matthew 18.

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Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Robert Fleischmann, Church and Change, WELS.Self-P...":

Well, I had nearly forgotten about CLR. The ELS promotes this organization and I don't. I think that CLR must be hurting financially because its income is based on the discretionary spending capabilities of its adherents. With discretionary income reduced for individuals by the current economic condition, CLR will probably be experiencing a dip in income. The arguments based by CLR for its own existence are thin and poorly reasoned. The issues presented by CLR and its adherents would bind the consciences of the faithful to a secular and political agenda.

Another Eructation from Dork-o-Blog

Doctrinal DNA reveals that UOJ is indeed the father of Church Growth.

Anonymous said...
A little off topic.

Barf alert: original photo of Katy Perry,
Tim Glende's and Ski's trophy FB girl.

These are humiliating scenarios: two middle-aged, married pastors, posing with a barely dressed tart.
The photos are original, except for a little background font work.
You will see it in a minute.

I find his obsession with finding out who is running this site fascinating. Of course, he's thrown out his theories from time to time and seems to be sticking by his guess that it is Tim Glende right now. He acts as if it were a high crime that he's being criticized anonymously. Of course, the criticism of him and his teaching that is done here is mild in comparison to the daily, vicious rants that he posts against anyone who disagrees with him. I, for one, don't find it amazing that this site is run anonymously. I mean, who wants to have their face photoshopped into humiliating scenarios everyday on a a poorly written blog?

***

Original photo posted in Facebook - Holy Word staff:
humiliating - for Holy Word.

GJ - Paul McCain and Jack Kilcrease--his Catholic theology expert--asked for Photoshops. McCain said he enjoyed them, and Kilcrease made suggestions for some.

Tim's specialty is scatology, which his buddies never decried because it is their style too.

Many readers enjoy the graphics, and four have contributed their own.

I notice that the party-boys of Appleton cannot produce anything positive on their blog. They simply repeat the same things, which only makes it easier to create more satire.

It is so appropriate that The CORE bought a bar, an ugly one at that. They did not belong in a former Lutheran church building. The movie theater was appropriate, especially since they initiated it by showing The Wizard of Oz.

"You dare offend the great and terrible Oz!?"