Take the Survey - From the Shattered Pulpit Blog

Take the Survey

How does this national survey compare to the Lutheran Denomination? 
Take the survey on the right (and share it) so we can see.

Diana Garland, dean of Baylor School of Social Work and co-author of Baylor University School’s National Study of “Clergy Sexual Misconduct with Adults” conducted the survey on more than 3,500 adults, which is the largest scientific study into clergy sexual misconduct (CSM). The abuse, however, often is seen by parishioners and denominational executives as something else--a problem with alcohol, for example, or an emotional or relationship problem of the pastor or the parishioner, or a parish conflict.

Congregations who blindly trust the person in the pulpit should tune into a new national study, suggesting clergy sexual misconduct with adults occurs across denominations and religions a lot more often than many realize. The analysis by Baylor University’s School of Social Work found that 3.1 percent of adult women who worship at least once a month have been the target of a clergy come-on since turning 18. 

Of those surveyed:

• More than 3% of women who had attended a congregation in the past month reported that they had been the object of CSM at some time in their adult lives;
• 92% of these sexual advances had been made in secret, not in open dating relationships
• 67% of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance.
• In the average American congregation of 400 persons, with women representing, on average, 60% of the congregation, there are, on average of 7 women who have experienced clergy sexual misconduct
• Of the entire sample, 8% report having known about CSM occurring in a congregation they have attended. Therefore, in the average American congregation of 400 congregants, there are, on average, 32 persons who have experienced CSM in their community of faith.

In addition to analyzing data from the General Social Survey, Garland also gathered first-hand accounts of clergy sexual misconduct. She interviewed more than 80 women and men. This group included victims of clergy misconduct, family members or spouses of victims, religious leaders who have committed misconduct, and professionals who have provided care for offenders and survivors.

From those interviews, Garland learned there were five factors that perpetuate clergy sexual misconduct.

-- Nobody acts in a situation that calls for action.

-- Parishioners don’t want to hurt their pastor’s feelings.

-- Religious leaders don’t have to report to an office or supervisor. And much of their communication is private.

-- People worship in sanctuaries, which means "safe place." That increases vulnerability and lack of awareness.

-- The same person exhorting the congregation from the pulpit is often the same person providing counseling or psychotherapy behind closed doors. The overlapping roles create an inappropriate power dynamic. 

A Few Scandals in WELS Reveal the Problem - The ELS and LCMS Are No Different

Various pastors and laity got nowhere dealing with Ski and Glende.
SP Schroeder jumped in to protect Ski and get him a new call, his fourth in four districts.
Ski's porn addiction was part of the letter that went to entire district and around WELS.

WELS policy is to hide stories, even those that make the newspapers, and Christian News has been useful in helping them by spiking stories. If the WELS leaders have to deal with a scandal, they limit the discussion to the area where people know about it and are demanding the facts. The innocent do not get the facts, of course, but a manufactured tale designed to prove once again that WELS is infallible.

Capital Murder - Total prison sentences - 5 years for Al Just
WELS never told this one. Marvin Schwan, the patron saint of WELS-ELS-LCMS, dumped his wife to marry his manager's wife, breaking up two marriages, two families. She found out the truth of their finances when she read the Forbes article in Christian News. There he laughed about getting rid of her for $1 million and a Cadillac when his net worth was already $400 million. She killed herself, but all that was hushed up, except Jay Webber was happy to tell his ELS bosses that I sent the article to Otten to print. Somehow, that was the only sin, since "no one reads Forbes." Marvin spent a lot of indulgence money on the ELS, WELS, and LCMS, and they doubtless assured him of his forgiveness, salvation, and holiness. Wisconsin Lutheran College named their library after him, for a price, and WELS featured him on their magazine cover, grinning like "I did it." John Shep, who got about $15 million from him for Thoughts of Faith, said, "His only weakenesses were Cadillacs and women." In effect, Marvin ripped apart two families, abandoned the mother of his children for a pittance in alimony, and destroyed her desire to live - all while Missouri, WELS, and the ELS bowed before him as a saint while raking money from his nasty little pockets.

WELS knowingly took in an adulterous LCR pastor when things got hot for William Tabor in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He did not change his ways in Cape G, but he received a call to Salem in Milwaukee, where his mistress shot his wife in the head, killing her. I believe this happened in the parsonage, yet WELS had no trouble letting him move - as a pastor - to serve a call in Escanaba, Michigan. WELS made sure Tabor's file was empty when the police investigated, and Tabor never went to prison. His mistress did. Three pastors told me about Tabor and his extensive reputation as an adulterer - William Bischoff (former LCR), Jay Webber, and Roger Zehms.

Al Just stabbed his wife many times over in their bed and pleaded innocent at his trial. He claimed she rolled over in bed and kept stabbing herself until she died. WELS jumped at the chance to defend good old Al Just, a teacher at ALA in Phoenix (the area high school that spawned Jeff Gunn's CrossWalk). The current First VP's father testified about Al's character at the trial. Motive? Al married his children's baby-sitter when he was in prison for a very short stretch. She divorced him afterwards, when she got to know him better - and was scared out of her mind.

Scandals Not Quite Contained by the Machine
We met a CLC pastor's wife whose first husband,  a WELS teacher in Milwaukee, ran off with a high school student. Those teacher flings are fairly common.

A female teacher was found by the police, where she was making out with one of her female students.

Years ago I wrote about a male teacher who was still teaching for WELS in Milwaukee, even though he had a history of offenses against female students. He was arrested and on trial for the latest crime, which should not have happened.

DP Robert Mueller's VP - Rick Schulz - was having an affair when a pastor exposed it. Mueller's response was to lie to the congregation and the pastor's wife about the resignation. The VP was "depressed" so buddy Rick got a job heading the WELS nursing home. Someone forced Mueller to explain all this to the various Michigan District conferences, so everyone knew the DP's spin. The pastor who found out told me how glad he was that his father was dead, so he didn't have to find out how low WELS had sunk.

DP Mueller and VP Kuske were cheerleaders for clergy adultery. If someone was forced out, as one Ohio pastor was, it was his wife's fault for lying about it and having all these connections (Kuske). Once I went to the hospital for a long visit with someone. That particular pastor was on the payphone in he lobby talking with someone, in a state of ecstasy, and was still talking like that when I was done.

Mueller and Kuske ran interference for Floyd Stolzenburg, who was kicked out of the LCMS for cause. They let him pretend to be a pastor, serve as a "consultant" in Columbus, and be promoted  as a pastor in WELS and when that failed - at Emmanuel in Columbus. Their buddy was divorced - no problem. He lied about his wife - no problem. They told the same lies - poor Floyd had a Scriptural divorce! The only difficulty was that I found out the truth and said there was something rotten going on.

The ELS and WELS still treated Floyd as one of their own. Jay Webber was glad to have Roger Kovaciny serve as bagman, collecting money from Floyd for the Marvin Schwan Mission in the Ukraine. Does anyone smell the potroast?

Wait, I am not done with the Michigan District officers. Mrs. Ichabod and I went to Dave Grundemeier's wedding. He was a mission pastor and also district secretary. When he resigned and his new wife divorced him, all the divorced and single women wept openly at his church. One of my contacts said he re-appeared in another district.

This is Michigan-centric, because I was in that district and learned about scandals as they unraveled and were silenced. When Scott Zerbe had an affair with a minor girl in Fred Adrian's parish, the police frowned upon his counseling style and put him in state prison. A nearby WELS pastor told me, "You know more about my district than I do!" That was during the "reform" reign of John Seifert, who put Adrian back in the ministry after good old Fred resigned. You will have to ask them about why he resigned.

I helped the girl's attorney win the trial, and the initial award was $400,000. Fred sent a letter around, rejoicing that insurance would cover it and that they were appealing the figure.

Is anyone noticing a pattern here? I am just getting to DP Ed Werner. He was known for openly messing with girls in his congregation, for decades, but the district pastors kept re-electing him. Finally, when new episodes began, the mothers got together and got him into court. He was doing to their daughters what he had done to them. If you think WELS does not have a grip on people, think of that factoid alone. The mothers stayed in Werner's parish. Werner went to state prison in South Dakota.

WELS spin. Keith Free, whose father was a DP, told the initial cover story for Werner. The WELS version was that good old Ed was arrested for slapping some girls on the face for being sassy in confirmation class. (Who makes up these fables?) Keith added, "At least I hope that is why."

When Valleskey's successor out West resigned, a layman said, "He was depressed." I said, "Really? What was her name?" The layman said, "Who told you?" I replied, "That is the patented WELS cover-up, resignation for depression."

When the synodical VP resigned from Muskego, he got a job at a hardware store and told  his family it was to relieve the stress of being a pastor. He even told his family I lied about it. (This is also a patented response.) I told the family member who wrote me about my "lies" that I had the report, which showed "for cause."  The VP's method of pastoral counseling was to offer himself... One woman told on him instead being "counseled." Ace is the place for the former WELS VP.

The Lavender Network
There is a well known but very hush-hush homosexual network in WELS. Various people have talked about it and their general knowledge of it, including names they know. The Polluted WELS blog had comments that showed homosexual assault to be common at the synodical schools, all in good fun of course. If someone objected to being grabbed, he was accused of being gay. I guess group grabs were common, too. The leaders know and wink and say they do not know.

Hard To Justify, Even with UOJ
Two WELS workers were arrested for homosexual child porn file swapping, which is only a foreshadowing of the scandals to be suppressed in the future. I was already told to stop mentioning one name.

Mark Jeske and the IF Women's Gathering and Blogs and Stuff Like That. More GA Deception, But CT Tells the Truth

From Mark-and-Avoid Jeske:

Introducing a new blogger!

I am excited to introduce you to Diana Kerr. She will be writing weekly blogs from a perspective that we love to hear from—the perspective of the younger generation. Diana’s very real and transparent writing style is refreshing and faith-filled and reveals her love for her Savior.

Diana is a speaker and writer and also serves as an IF:Local Leader, hosting women's events and prayer gatherings coordinated by the IF:Gathering, a global nonprofit comprised of Christian female authors and speakers. Diana and her husband, Kyle, live in Milwaukee, and I am delighted to welcome her to the blogging team.  

Be sure to check back next week to see Diana’s first post. In the meantime, here’s a little hello from her:

I am honored to join the blogging team of such an amazing global ministry! I never dreamed that God would bring me to Time of Grace through an opportunity to write. I would call it a total “God thing,” which has kind of become my life’s theme. My battle with rheumatoid arthritis since my teens has continually turned my plans and intentions for my life upside down, causing both pain and growth as I’ve watched God orchestrate my life according to his perfect purpose.

I can’t wait to share triumphs and joys with you through this blogging adventure. I’m especially passionate about topics related to health, personal growth, and wrestling with what it means to live as a Christian in today’s world. Just like on my personal blog, you can expect me to strive to bring value to your lives through transparency and honest conversations. I’m excited to get to know all of you readers, so please reach out to me via social media!  

https://twitter.com/DianaDKerr
http://instagram.com/dianadkerr
http://www.pinterest.com/dianakerr/
https://www.facebook.com/dianadenisekerr

The IF Gathering is linked and demi-semi-explained here.

---

What Guru Jeske didn't say!

If a Brand-New Christian Women's Conference Goes Viral, Then What?

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FEB 112014

The story behind the success of the IF: Gathering.

Kate Shellnutt

READ AS MULTIPLE PAGES

Ask author and Bible teacher Jennie Allen how she came to create the most popular interdenominational Christian women's event in years, and she'll stumble to answer.

Ask how she gathered tens of thousands of Christian women—live in Austin, Texas, and online across the globe—around the idea of pursuing spiritual calling, and she won't have the words.

Like the people who witnessed miraculous outcomes in the Bible, all Allen can do to explain the success of last weekend's IF: Gathering is point to the work of the Holy Spirit. "The whole thing has been completely unexpected to me," she said. "It felt like fish and loaves."

The first-time event had a vague premise—If God is real, then what?—and no speaker lineup when announced this fall, but sold out in 42 minutes, forcing organizers to coordinate local watch parties across the U.S. and 22 other countries to accommodate interest.

During the simulcast over the weekend, 40,000-plus locations streamed the women's conference, while 1,200 people attended the event at the Austin Music Hall—pumped with worship songs and decorated with crafty, Pinterest-inspired details: farm tables, mason jars, and strings of twinkling antique lights. #IFGathering trended on Twitter throughout the weekend, ranking among the top hashtags used around the world.

The two-day event featured discussions of calling by women across workplace and ministry settings, plus biblical teachings from women like Christine Caine, international speaker from Hillsong Church; Jen Hatmaker, Christian blogger and author of 7; Ann Voskamp, author of A Thousand Gifts; and Shelley Giglio, a leader alongside her husband Louie Giglio at Passion City Church.

IF: Gathering combined a unique scriptural message with viral marketing through online networks. Several months before the event, Allen brought together 60-some influential bloggers and leaders from across churches, denominations, and theological positions, convinced that God was calling her to rally for unity among the splintering factions of the church. Those women, including Hatmaker (a friend of Allen's and fellow Austinite), generated interest among their readers, enough to fuel the event's popularity throughout Christian blogs and social media.

How Long Have the Scandals Been Covered Up?

No GA anymore? Here is the new pope - Paul Krueger.
He was MLC student body president, meaning he is a hard drinker.
The secret hazing ritual has a new name.

Lilliam Armstrong, author of the Shattered Pulpit blog, wrote me that WELS people were being very nasty to her about telling the truth. During the day another woman told me of a pastor's closely guarded computer, because it was loaded with adult and child pornography.

Let's look at the foundation - GA - now has a new name - Herzliche Bruderschaft - even though hardly any Mequon student can pronounce or grasp German.



WELS is so used to lying that they deceive people about the most basic things that all the clergy know to be truth. This is consistent with cult behavior - and why the abusive sect has kept its secrets fairly well until now.

They can say there is no GA, because it is now HB - notice a change in each letter. So clever. No wonder the Germans lost two world wars. "Dah G becomes an H and dah A becomes a B. Let's make up a new German name no one can remember."

Is HB any different from GA? No. And it starts next week. If you want the Mequon graduates to be somewhere near normal, end GA-HB. Better yet - end the deceptive practices.

I promised a summary of WELS scandals. I will get to that in the morning. There is an important WELS conference to promote.

Another Hissy from a WELS Minder - On Polluted WELS

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5245975699731845112&postID=2485985714902805985

[GJ note - So many post anonymousely that the others have to respond to the Anonymous handle plus the time stamp. Hence this one is Anonymous at 12:41PM, Anonymous 12:41.]

Anonymous said...

Just so all the readers of this blog know the real reason “Mathias” is anonymous is because he is not a real pastor. He is a fraud. He is not a WELS pastor so he pretends and remains anonymous.
He has also been deleting these comments so if you read this you are one of the fortunate few. He has become like li’l Greg and his icky blog deleting anyone who disagrees with him.
To Spencer, Baker, Vernon, Lidtke et. al. If you continue to post and respond here please do not be surprised when people do not take you seriously elsewhere. It shows a lack of common sense to take up whatever issues you may have with the WELS with someone who is a fraud and deletes comments so only one side is known. If I am ever personally at a Synod or District Convention with you I will personally see to it that as many pastors and lay people know that you are the ones who post on blogs with someone who fakes being a pastor and who deletes any comments from the other side. You will have no one to blame but yourselves for your own poor reputation. (Being OK with someone impersonating a pastor will not be received well by anyone.) Show common sense and “mark and avoid.”
To “Mathias,” I pray that whatever sick thing is going on in your head you will repent of your sin of impersonating a pastor. It is a sin, no matter what you say, to impersonate a pastor. I pray you listen to me before you listen to God in judgment.
I have a feeling however that instead of applying God’s Law to your own heart you will just delete my post.

August 26, 2014 at 12:41 PM

 Matthias Flach said...

The comment above was caught by the spam filter, but I let it through so that everyone can see how the WELS company men fight. Very dirty. Very personal. Very threatening.

I'm also very curious why this individual is so certain that I'm not a pastor. Why would someone anonymously pretend to be a pastor? I'm not sure how to prove that I really am a WELS pastor, but I am.

August 26, 2014 at 1:30 PM

 Matthias Flach said...

One other thing. I've never deleted posts by people from the other side of the argument. In fact, as anyone who has actually read this blog would know, I am eager to respond, sometimes line-by-line, to the arguments of other. I have also repeatedly asked for people on the other side of issues to make a case for their position.

There has only been one time that I've deleted comments. There were some off-topic personal attacks against someone else on one thread that I got rid of. That's it though.

August 26, 2014 at 1:34 PM

 Pastor Paul Lidtke said...

My goodness. One observation about LCMS call practices and an interesting happening in the early years of my ministry surely deserved that anonymous threat, don't ya think? Anonymous at 12:41, you've given the WELS ministerium more of a black eye than anyone else who has posted on this blog!

August 26, 2014 at 2:23 PM

tlcsvaz@orthodoxlutheran.info said...

Matthias - Here's how to prove you're a WELS Pastor: Who won the World Series in 1939? Oh, wait that would only prove you're not a Japanese spy. OK, how about - what was J.P Meyer's nickname, or Carl Lawrence's, or which side was J.P. Koehler on; no, I know, I know, where do you put the apostrophe in Protestant, like the Conference of former WELS guys? Better yet, who once wrote that "forgiveness is found at the foot of the cross?" You other guys could ask him what his "Bonecruncher" name was or something like that.

August 26, 2014 at 3:01 PM

Daniel Baker said...

LOL i think i've only posted here once or twice too, Pr. Lidtke. Couldn't be lumped with better company, though.

August 26, 2014 at 4:19 PM

Matthias Flach said...

Maybe this helps people to understand better why I've been publishing anonymously. If your name is attached (even superficially, apparently) to anything that dares to criticize the infallible WELS, your name will be remembered, you will be threatened, and it will be used against you whenever possible.

August 26, 2014 at 4:38 PM

Vernon Knepprath said...

To anonymous @ 12:41, if Matthias posts anonymously because he's a fraud, why do you?

Vernon

August 26, 2014 at 4:52 PM

Dr. Joseph Jewell said...

Can I get my name on the list, too? I am happy to be counted in the company of such men as Mr. Baker, who stood tall at the last Synod Convention and spoke truth to power against the NIV2011, and Pastor Lidtke, who has provided continuing pastoral care and advocated for laymen (and women) callously and abusively treated by their shepherds in his district.

How exactly, Anon 12:41, are you so sure "Matthias" is not a pastor? Nothing I've read here seems very unlikely to me.

August 26, 2014 at 5:20 PM

Anonymous said...

The anonymous poster at 12:41 was out of line and his contributions are not helpful here. But let's be careful not to make assumptions about the entire WELS ministerium based on his one post. There is a reasonable middle (which I believe is a majority), and we will continue to gather there.

August 26, 2014 at 7:41 PM

Randall Schultz said...

Please put my name on this list also. I still remember my confirmation vow from 45 years ago. I also remember the warnings from my father about windbags like these WELS company men. They sound like we need to mark and avoid them.
Randall Schultz

***

GJ  - Anonymous at 12:41 has been drinking the bong water again. One strange accusation involves the Polluted WELS blog and my blog deleting comments. I made a point of copying comments into the main article so they could not be deleted. People like Jack Kilcrease deleted their own comments (and blogs!) so often that "kilcrease" became a verb meaning - to delete a series of comments previously made. I have followed the Polluted WELS fairly closely and I have never seen one deleted by the blog host.

Sometimes legitimate writers delete because they recognize their typos too late.

The Yawning Pit of "Consenting Adults"

From Norma Boeckler

About 40 years ago, a chaplain at a hospital said this, "A minister better not take advantage of nurses and patients who are vulnerable because of the the crisis they are facing."

Someone came up with a new excuse, which proved useful for the Lavender Mafia. They were "consenting adults," so there must not be any laws enforced against those caught in the park. This escape hatch was quickly adopted for many different opportunities and escapades. Defense lawyers jumped at the phrase, bawling to the judge, "They were consenting adults, but now she is bitter and trying to make money off this human tragedy."

Although this is fading away from public discourse, the former idea was this -  an authority figure dare not use his position to force his way on women, children, or colleagues. Someone in an inferior position of power or in a vulnerable position (age, finances, subordinate) cannot "consent."

The Olde Synodical Conference embraces the Five Freedoms, the fifth being The Freedom To Romp in the Parish. Their notorious founder--Bishop Martin Stephan--practiced this freedom with the approval, or feigned blindness, of his disciples in the CFW Walther circle.

• No clergy noticed that Stephan did not want to leave Europe until he was arrested for his promiscuity with young women and his financial shenanigans in the parish. 
• No clergy noticed that Stephan installed a young woman at the parsonage, a woman who was kicked out by his wife, and put back in the parsonage by Stephan as the "lord of the house."
• No clergy noticed that Stephan took his female groupies along to America, but left his STD-laced family behind (except for his healthy son).
• No clergy noticed that St. Louis residents were deeply disturbed by their married bishop being surrounded by young women, which is why Stephan bought junk land in Perryville instead of prime property for less in the city.
• Nor did the brother-in-law attorneys who defended Stephan in court in Germany notice something wrong with the cult until they were in America.

Although various clergy pundits will cheerfully say, "Tell the officials about this," or "Write a letter," the synodical response will be vindictive, deceitful, and volcanic. No one knows, remembers, or believes anything. The very mention of such scandals "hurts the face of the church," an odd notion used by the current president of the mini-seminary at Mankato. Doubtless the Corinthians could have tossed that at St. Paul: "You are hurting the face of the church."

The Little Sect on the Prairie taught their seminarians, "Two strikes and you are out." That really means the ELS pastors are given a Get Out of Jail Free Card at ordination. They can have one adulterous affair in the parish and get a new call. But beware, that only works once. As one ex-Lutheran said of his tribe, "Yes, the synod officials read the Bible carefully - and do the opposite."

All the members are paying for this. They are paying more for congregational insurance to cover the court cases. They are paying more when money is siphoned off to pay victims out of court - even though it is not a line in the budget. When a married WELS vicar had an affair with a minor girl in Michigan, the legal system sent him to the Big House, but the district kept it a secret. No doubt, it would have "hurt the face of the church."

Otten refused to print the story, doubtless because it would have "hurt the face of the church."

We have such sensitive clergy now, so subtle and clever in their handling of the Scriptures. If the Roman Catholic clergy do this, they are condemned on the front page. If ELCA is caught, they are proof of the superiority of  the Olde Synodical Conference. If the Olde Synodical Conference clergy (our guys) do this, the stories are spiked and the leakers are shunned as evil-doers.

Make sure you know the ground rules before you start any crusades.

WELS Endorses Glende Technology Conference. Another Church and Change Coven Meeting

Sallie Draper and Martin Spriggs
The usual Shrinker crew will be there,
including those who sued a fellow Lutheran for telling the truth about
Glende and Ski, including staffer/presenter Leslye Ullman.

Martin Spriggs has been serving as the WELS Chief Technology Officer since October 2004. In his capacity as CTO, Martin speaks at numerous workshops and conferences on varied technology topics including building evangelistic websites, promoting your church and school, digital Bible Study, creating the efficient church office and effective time management through technology. He is more than eager to serve the membership of our synod and help our churches and schools make effective use of technology to aid in their ministries.

From: Martin Spriggs via WELSTech <welstech@messenger.wels.net>
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2014
Subject: WELS: [Welstech] SEEK Conference Oct 3, 2014
To: "welstech@messenger.wels.net" <welstech@messenger.wels.net>

Just wanted to let everybody know about a new conference being offered up in Appleton, WI at The Core called the Seek Conference. Seems like they have put together a nice mix of offerings for those interested in technology/media in reaching out. I’ll be presenting on some of the hot and current intersections of ministry and technology, but there are other interesting workshops as well. If interested visit www.seekconference.com.

Martin Spriggs

Chief Technology Officer

martin.spriggs@wels.net

phone: 414-256-3250

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod • www.wels.net

N16W23377 Stone Ridge Dr • Waukesha, WI 53188

Martin Spriggs has been serving as the WELS Chief Technology Officer since October 2004. In his capacity as CTO, Martin speaks at numerous workshops and conferences on varied technology topics including building evangelistic websites, promoting your church and school, digital Bible Study, creating the efficient church office and effective time management through technology. He is more than eager to serve the membership of our synod and help our churches and schools make effective use of technology to aid in their ministries.

A former WELS pastor, Martin earned his MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management, Chicago. He built the Midwest practice for Net Quotient Consulting Group (a firm that provides Internet application development for Fortune 1000 companies) and Qwest Communications (a telecommunications firm), as well as worked on technical development and internet consulting at these companies. A member at Peace, Hartford, Wis., he, his wife Debra, and their three children live in Slinger, Wis.

Contact Martin: 414-256-3250 | martin.spriggs@wels.net | martinspriggs.com

***

GJ - Martin Spriggs left the ministry because he could not stop giving Willowcreek sermons verbatim, exactly as recorded. Infallible WELS did not think it wrong to ape a false teacher, but Martin promised to stop doing it and went right back to it.  The person who objected was hated out of the congregation. Shun the evildoer! Shun! Shun!

The Shattered Pulpit Blog Author - Lillian Armstrong

UOJ teaches that everyone is forgiven all past, present, and future sins,
so is anyone puzzled that WELS is plagued by alcoholism, porn, pornography, and worse? 
Questioning WELS is a sin against the Holy Spirit and Holy Mother Sect, so that is NOT forgiven...ever.

The Shattered Pulpit blog is about a woman who was groomed to be a WELS pastor's sex toy. The blog is linked on the left.

Lillian Armstrong, her pen name, has a Facebook page. Click on the link to the left to find her page and friend her.

Her email is - lilliansuearmstrong@gmail.com

If you want to see how a famous Baptist pastor sexually abused women in his congregation and created his own mini-denomination of abusers, including his clergy son and clergy son-in-law, read this link for starters -

List of Hyles related sex abuse cases - World's Largest Sunday School, Hammond, Indiana.

WELS has not been kind to Lillian Armstrong for posting the truth, although she hides her real name and the congregation's name.

Does this sound familiar in Green Bay, Wisconsin?

Marvin Schwan--the patron saint of WELS-ELS-LCMS--thought nothing of breaking up his family and his manager's family to marry his second wife. Tragedy followed, but WELS held Marvin's predestinating hand and told him he was forgiven all past, present, and future sins. Marvin did not live much longer, so perhaps God took up that case on appeal.

The conservative Lutheran abusers will continue to get away with this until the victims network together. The synods will obstruct, frustrate, and slander their efforts, but they can help many by exposing the racket of protecting the guilty while crushing the victims with accusations.

Remember Archbishop R. Weakland, featured speaker at Wisconsin Lutheran College? He protected Roman Catholic priests who abused children, because he said children asked for it. Of course, Weakland himself was a basket case, with a young boyfriend who blackmailed him.

WLC hired Weakland and some of his priests
for a series of public lectures on urban ministry.
WELS denied this happened and then created a story about it being private.
Ha - they advertised it all over the city.

Will Glende Follow His Mentor's Example and Step Down?

Mark Driscoll Steps Down While Mars Hill Investigates Charges

(UPDATED) Driscoll offers 8-step solution to followers: 'Current climate is not healthy for me or for this church.'

Morgan Lee

[ POSTED 8/24/2014 12:41PM ]

MARS HILL CHURCH

Driscoll announces his 'extended focus break' from Mars Hill.

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[Updated with eight "next steps," direct quotes, video of announcement.]

http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/august/mark-driscoll-steps-down-while-mars-hill-investigates-charg.html

In Mark Driscoll's first public statement since Acts 29 rebuked and removed him from the church planting network he founded, the embattled Seattle pastor announced he will temporarily step down as leader of Mars Hill Church while charges submitted by 21 former pastors against him are investigated.

He offered his church a list of eight next steps he plans to take [see bottom of this post, along with video link], acknowledging that some charges are "simply my fault, and I will own it, confess it, and move on from it as God continues to redeem me."

See the entire article about Mark Driscoll here.

***

GJ - DPs Engelbrecht and Patterson conspired with SP Mark Schroeder to get Ski back into the ministry when most businesses would have handed him his belongings in a cardboard box and shown him the door. Likewise - Glende: he engaged in the same behavior and encouraged/protected Ski from the consequences of their juvenile, abusive behavior.

Effective Work in the Garden

Knock-Out roses look better than this.
This looks like the hue was turned up to nuclear on Photoshop.

We had several good projects this weekend. Our grandson helped me prune the roses, and I cut a bunch for the Sunday altar. Some of the hybrid teas were perfect for the vase. The fast-blooming yellow roses were already on a downhill slide, but I could not prune them yet. They are a burst of yellow and fragrance near the door.

I prune the Knock-Outs often and Alex pruned more on Saturday, so I had some great reds for the arrangement.

Trimming the roses is always effective. They respond with more growth and more roses.

The Lyle Lovett crepe myrtle is fuzzy with flower buds already. Two burst out immediately after the severe trim a week ago. Now the entire top of the bush is ready to bloom with compound buds. Lower branches, once bare, are sprouting some new foliage. As my mother often said about her home haircuts - "It will grow out."

Alex

I brought a tomato in for Mrs. I - still warm from the 95 degree weather, but even warmer from sitting in the sun on the south side of the house.

Our helper covered the rest of the vegetable garden in newspaper and mulch. Although the work is not hard, it does take time, newspapers, and trips to Lowe's, for all the square footage planned for the spring. Both backyard gardens will be deeper into the yard.

The rose garden expansion will mean holes and roses first, newspapers and mulch second. That is a lot more fun - and rewarded with roses in 30 days or so.

Little Ichabod walked out in the back and said, "This is a big backyard." When the trees were hanging down to eye level, most of the yard was difficult to navigate and completely shaded. Now the yard is balanced with sunlight and shade and much larger  in its usefulness. I would have written off the back section before, except for composting. Now I am ready to grow some screening plants and try pumpkins along the ground. I can extend the Elevated Soaker Hose (Trademark G. Jackson) around the entire perimeter of the fence, which will give me an enormous vertical garden ( vertical being one of the recent fads) and ease in watering.

We often waste space because we have so much. When the area is relatively small or the ambitions big, the plans change.

Luther Quotation - Pastor Balfour Photoshop

"They say it would be better if we would make some slight concession rather than cause such commotion and controversy in the Church regarding an article which is not even one of the fundamental doctrines. My reply is, cursed be any love or harmony which demands for its preservation that we place the Word of God in jeopardy!"

Martin Luther
Comentary on Galations
http://www.bibleteacher.org/luthercom_1.htm

Luther's Galatians Commentary - Graebner Translation - Defeat Pan-UOJ Argument

 

Preface and Forward
Chapter 1:1-6

Translated by Theodore Graebner

December, 1998

pp. iii-v

PREFACE

http://www.bibleteacher.org/luthercom_1.htm