WELS Discussion - The Call and Its Abuse by the District Popes in WELS

September 3, 2014, 7:19 pm

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Both of these pastors, joined by two church staffers, sued a man for telling the truth about Ski. Glende was also involved in the charges of sexual harrassment. They posed for this gluttony photo when studying under the abusive Mark Driscoll. Does this sound like Walther studying under Bishop Stephany, STD?

Bryan Lidtke‎WELS Discussions

3 hrs · 

As Beckie pointed out, this CRM related issue isn't necessarily the cause of the new call reporting mechanism. Here's a well-documented summary if you haven't heard: https://vdma.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/two-wels-pastors-and-four-meritless-lawsuits/

Thoughts?

Two WELS Pastors and Four Meritless Lawsuits

Recently, two WELS Pastors, Tim Glende and James Skorzewski, and two of their staff members filed four almost identical lawsuits against a WELS layman, Jonathan Donnan, a former member of their con...

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• Jeffery Clark and 2 others like this.
• Melissa Brander Unfortunately not surprised it was handled like this. Our culture does not take sexual harassment allegations seriously and the victim is often blamed or shamed and it is seen as "not that bad" or the woman is told she is "overreacting." Too often it is swept under the rug and not taken seriously in Christian church bodies, not just the WELS but I keep up with other church bodies/Christian organizations and two of them within the past year have had scandals where the leaders were accused of inappropriate actions towards women, varying in degrees of severity, but yet people still stand behind them and say they are still "good people." This is not something that is taken as seriously as it should be. Moving him to a different congregation in a different part of the country does not fix the problem and is a large part of why the Catholic Church has had issues because they too often just moved priests who were accused of pedophilia to a different parish instead of handling the issue. There should be zero tolerance for this kind of behavior in a pastor.

  2 hrs · Like · 5
• Sherrie Rardin I would have a very hard time trusting any of the people involved in this action. We are taught the first step in obtaining forgiveness is to admit the sin. Seems to me that this was never really done. In something of this nature by someone of this status, that admission should have been to the direct people involved, his entire congregation from the pulpit and his fellow pastors as well as his own family, if applicable. Then, and only then, should he expect the victim and her husband to be able to let it go and move on.

  2 hrs · Like · 5
• Nick Brander Having been through a negative situation with a previous pastor of the WELS, I don't believe it is our job to have thoughts on this at all. I believe this should have stayed within the affected people, the church leadership and the district leadership. Let me stress that we do not know the full story and we cannot know the full story. For us to form any thoughts would be counter-intuitive and serve no beneficial purpose.

  2 hrs · Like
• Bryan Lidtke I think it's important to discuss for a variety of reasons, including:
  1) What if this were to happen to you or the pastor at your congregation? It's nice to see what happened in a previous case. 
  2) What if those involved are currently in your congregation or is your pastor? Once again, it's nice to know what happened. 
  3) If this were to stay only among the affected people and the congregation and the district, what happens when there's a disagreement? I mean, I'm pretty sure the Donnans are upset about what has occurred. Since the congregation and the district leadership sided against them, who's allowed to help them?
  4) I think it's pretty easy to know the full story - ask those involved! From my conversations with those involved, this blog post is a factual and accurate summary of what has transpired.

  2 hrs · Edited · Like · 5
• Sherrie Rardin I respectfully disagree. It was made a public matter by their decision to file not one but four lawsuits and to hold a public meeting about the matter. Pastors, DPs, etc are not infallible. Sometimes it takes sheep standing and reminding the shepherd of the path.

  2 hrs · Like · 6
• Bryan Lidtke ^ Forgot to mention that. Thanks, Sherrie! As Sherrie said, a public lawsuit in a public court makes things public I would say.

  1 hr · Like · 1
• Joe Jewell Exactly. The two aspects that absolutely make this public are the lawsuits filed against the victims (absolutely unbelievable in my mind), which actually did put the entire thing irretrievably on the public record--that was the plaintiffs' poor choice if privacy was the goal--and the fact that he was subsequently placed back into the public ministry. I would agree with Nick that there would be no reason to have a (public) thought on this at all otherwise. However, given those two facts, it's quite right that it be discussed.

  1 hr · Like · 5
• Nick Brander 1) What has happened in a previous case has little to no relevance in the immediate need to deal with a situation. In specific cases such as these, God's Law and Moral law need no historical precedence
  
  I'm going to combine 2, 3 and 4) Since we don't know the full story, and asking those involved has certainly not worked well already, is there something that we don't know that swayed the District Presidents choice to grant Pastor Ski CRM status? The district and the pastors involved are certainly not telling us.
  
  To approach it from the unpopular angle, is there conclusive proof that Ski acted in such a way that could be deemed inappropriate? Not to diminish the claim, as such allegations are always serious allegations, but just as the pastor is not infallible, so to are the congregants.
  
  Since we know that Ski has received and accepted a call to Texas, it is their prerogative to find out everything they can about the pastor they are calling, and it is not our job to cast the shadow of doubt on someone when we don't know all the facts.
  
  There is too much conjecture to form an opinion on what happened without taking the risk of forming a harmful opinion in error of the truth. It would not serve us at all to get involved in this.

  1 hr · Like
• Daniel Baker Actually, per the public testimony issued in a Court of Law:

  1 hr · Like · 3
• Daniel Baker Q: Okay, so you believe that there were indiscretions by the pastor directly towards Jonathan’s wife that occurred by the pastor, correct?
  
  A: Yes, which were addressed. And then once he resigned, it was over because he is no longer a pastor. That happened in the middle of April.

  1 hr · Like · 3
• Bryan Lidtke How has asking those involved not worked well? Not trying to sound like a jerk here, but I'm not sure I understand what you're saying there.

  1 hr · Like · 1
• Daniel Baker So the supervising pastor admitted that wrongdoing occurred, and that the issue was "closed" because the perpetrator was removed from the Ministry. However, his readmittance to the Ministry makes this very much worthy of discussion.

  1 hr · Like · 6
• Nick Brander That the supervising pastor said that there were indiscretions, but Mrs. Dannon says that the supervising pastor was part of it at times and that nothing was done to address him says to me there is something more going on, and that we do not have all the information, and without all the information, it would not become us to form an opinion or make a discussion of it.

  1 hr · Like
• Nick Brander To put it bluntly, I don't see the need for us to stick our noses into something that we are not involved in.

  1 hr · Like
• Nick Brander If the Dannons have an issue with the ruling of the District and its President, than it would seem to me that the next appropriate course of action is for them to approach the Council of Presidents

  1 hr · Like
• Bryan Lidtke They've done that and talked to some other synod officials, as well. Nothing has really been resolved. What's next?

  1 hr · Like · 1
• Daniel Baker We are involved, because our congregations are in fellowship with a pastor who resigned for sexually inappropriate conduct, whose supervising pastor said, under oath, that he resigned for said indiscretions, and yet who was allowed back into the Ministry and transferred elsewhere. Now he has the potential to be transferred to a parish near you. That definitely is our business.

  1 hr · Like · 3
• Daniel Baker I don't recall "Council of Presidents" being one of Jesus' steps in St. Matthew 18.

  1 hr · Like · 2
• Beckie Grunewald So what do you hope to achieve by talking about it here? Are there people here with authority to do something?

  1 hr · Like
• Daniel Baker As for me, I wasn't planning to comment, but the "we should just be quiet and never question Holy Mother" mentality gets me every time. I imagine Bryan started this thread because people were derailing the CRM Status thread with this unsavory topic.

  1 hr · Like · 3
• Joe Jewell Personally although this may be a "fait accompli" (though I don't necessarily concede that), exposing this case--which I and many, many others feel was handled quite improperly--helps to ensure that either 1) we stand by our practice of reassigning or granting quickie calls to former pastors in similar situations, only this time in the light of day rather than in the hasty way it was done over the objection of many in and out of the district; or 2) it doesn't happen again. 2) is my preferred outcome, personally.
  
  Finally, secrecy and attempted secrecy are essentially what created the unsavory situation in the first place. Sunlight is an excellent disinfectant. In particular, the nature of the offense (and the lack of repentance that filing the lawsuits demonstrates) means that it absolutely needs to be widely known. Suppose you were considering joining a certain congregation in Texas, or the congregation of the supervising pastor in Wisconsin! This is absolutely and completely relevant, at the minimum, for every woman and every married man. People move around and travel so much these days (both parishioners and called workers). If this is all above-board, let it be known--it is, after all, the PUBLIC ministry.

  1 hr · Edited · Like · 2
• Bryan Lidtke Yeah, as I said in the OP, this was brought up in the CRM thread and this is off-topic with what was in that thread, so I started one to discuss this in particular.

  1 hr · Like · 1
• Sherrie Rardin Beckie, if "authority to do something" is now a criterion for discussion, then there need be no more about anything. I personally believe as WELS members we have a right and a responsibility to go to our pastors about things within our church body as a...See More

  47 mins · Like · 3
• Cathy Probst I find this extremely disturbing. I hope the Texas' church's professional liability insurance is up to date and paid in full.

• Beckie Grunewald Sherrie what I mean is that if people just sit here and go "that's horrible" and then continue to talk about the details but that's it, it just becomes gossip. When I told my husband about it, he made a note to talk to his circuit about it, because it seems wrong and unsavory. But even as we have public details of the suit filed we dont have public knowledge of what happened between Ski and anyone else as far as counseling. It is conjecture and speculation.

  55 mins · Edited · Like
• Bryan Spiff Grefsheim Disgusting, but sadly not surprising. We all fall short, but the district leadership really let their members down. I'll also add that these two "pastors" clearly were absent when they covered 1 Corinthians 6 at the Sem!

  16 mins · Like · 1
• Steve Spencer There's really no need for any conjecture or speculation. The necessary facts, straight from those involved - 

  10 mins · Like · 3

FACT: Ski was suspended by the DP "for cause," and that cause was sexual impropriety - it matters not of what kind. Period. 
FACT: In almost every case of such a suspension for a sexual cause, regardless of the circumstances, the man is out for good. 
FACT: In a VERY few cases of this nature, the man at the very least must wait 2 years to even apply for CRM status. 
FACT: Then the application must go through the District Presidium AND the ALL the Pastors of that district. They, then have the opportunity to oppose the granting of CRM status. 
FACT: ONLY after the two-years wait, and the approval by the District is the man even eligible to be placed on Call Lists for consideration. 
FACT: In Ski's case, the district 2nd VP strongly objected, as well as a number of other Pastors, including some CPs. 
FACT: In no other case has the two-year rule been waved. 
FACT: In no other case has an objection by a VP and other District Pastors been dismissed. These are the facts. 

• Now, in this case, it has strenuously been denied by various leaders that there was any "deal" involved, or any "quid pro quo" on anyone's part. I'm certainly willing to accept that. However, as I have pointed out to them, the "appearance of evil" is still quite clear and evident, and enough just cause to re-visit the situation and make public the emails and conversations surrounding the circumstances of the case, especially how it ended with Ski as a Pastor again so soon. If this were the government, or a large business, such communications would be demanded by the press and all those who are concerned for propriety. We're not talking about the sanctity of the "confessional" here, but of how the very public Call process was used in this specific case. Again, there is no speculation about the actual facts. They are what they are. That some leaders are being judged as being less than honest in this case is their own fault, and they hold the remedy - making everything open and above board.
• 
  

***

GJ - These innocents should realized that all the members are paying for the abusers, through higher insurance premiums. They not only pay the costs of the settlements, but also the court costs, which were quite high just for the Scott Zerbe case in the Michigan District.

Michigan DP was resentful that he had to check out the abusive history of the pastors as an insurance requirement. He and others like him were the reason why the insurance companies insisted - because the settlements were so expensive.

Rejection of justification by faith, replacing it with universal absolution without faith, has consequences.

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Alcoholism in WELS

September 4, 2014, 1:45 am

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The atmosphere is familiar but not exactly inviting.

The latest post in The Shattered Pulpit blog concerns the pastor, his wife, and the blogger all drinking in excess together.

The post explains why WELS is so accommodating for pastors like Ski and Glende, who sacrificially began a bar ministry, calling it a coffee house ministry, and got themselves into a pile of trouble - even by WELS standards.

Alcoholism is an addiction carefully nurtured by alcoholic WELS leaders, beginning in college. Although one argument for closing NWC was the student alcoholism there, Martin Luther College is no different. The best way to become student body president and GA pope is becoming a falling down drunk before graduation and after.

Alcoholic addiction is legal and well supported by a giant legal apparatus in Wisconsin. No other state is more tolerant of drunk drivers. No other synod is so understanding - with DPs and seminary professors and missionaries running to the bar association after getting loaded and wrecked by another type of bar.

Alcoholism is a physical addiction. Drunks get withdrawal symptoms when they go without liquor, and withdrawal is considered a medical emergency.

Alcoholism develops slowly, over the years. The person who can drink the most without showing it will be a good candidate for total addiction in 20 years. When the habits are developed and encouraged in college, the ministry is bound to continue the pattern - since clergy socials are often lubricated with liquor.

Non-drinking denominations are likely to have plenty of alcoholics, but the ones openly welcoming the cash bar at all events are going to be the best places for a drunk to hide. "George had a little bit too much to drink last night." I witnessed one LCA pastor offer to pay for everyone's drinks if his new pals stayed at the bar with him. They didn't. In another case, a younger woman offered to stay with the older drunk pastor and drive him back to the hotel. Everyone was leaving, but those were staying for another round. That reminded me of Roman Catholic events - like the conferences that began with a cash bar.

An Episcopalian priest told our group that the first thing on the grocery store list each week was liquor, both for him and his wife. Their children suffered terribly until both of them sobered up. He became an effective counselor because he had been there.

The WELS leaders are willfully blind because it is not cool for them to frown on their fellow drunks. "Let him who is without DTs cast the first detox center assignment." When one DP was arrested for a DUI, the synod transferred him to another place. Many know but officially know nothing and see nothing. It is best not to even think about it, as one WELS minder said in the discussion group.

Nick BranderHaving been through a negative situation with a previous pastor of the WELS, I don't believe it is our job to have thoughts on this at all. I believe this should have stayed within the affected people, the church leadership and the district leadership. Let me stress that we do not know the full story and we cannot know the full story. For us to form any thoughts would be counter-intuitive and serve no beneficial purpose.

Many tragedies have already happened because of alcoholism, but the attitude remains. DP Buchholz knew about all of Ski's problems long before everything erupted in the Fox Valley WELS circuit and the Anything Goes District. Buchholz laughed about it. That reminded me of another official, Paul Kuske, laughing in the same way about Floyd Stolzenburg.

How long will everyone remain in the Great Cloaca of WELS, simply because it is home to them?

Bugs Never Bugged Me, Because I Was Raised Right

September 4, 2014, 7:24 am

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Ladybugs are named after the Virgin Mary. They are voracious pest eaters in all stages of life, but vulnerable to sprays and "safe" oils.

I was trying to figure out how long it would take to catch up with my mother's knowledge of insects and wildflowers. She published articles on butterflies and moths, with expert photos included. When I read a gardening book about beneficial insects, I recalled her constant advice - "Leave the bugs alone. The beneficial insects will take care of the bad ones." We would be outdoors and she would find an interesting one, hold it in her hand, and demonstrate how safe it was.

One of the biggest mistakes in gardening is to resort to insecticides and oils to take care of a pest. That will work temporarily, but those measures are even more effective against beneficial insects and spiders. Almost all bugs are beneficial, so a bugspray will wipe out the whole population in one area and allow the worst pests to come back before the beneficial insects recover.

An edible oil is not toxic by itself, but when used to get rid of pests, the oil will also suffocate the eggs of good insects, like the ladybug.

People seem content to view weeds, bugs, and certain birds as bad, but God created them all for specific purposes. Our helper continues to worry about the crabgrass in the sunny garden, where tomatoes are forming and ripening. I see the tangle of crabgrass and vines as green manure. They will provide the carbohydrates for the soil creatures below, where the richness of their chemistry will be locked into the top layer of soil for next year's garden. If a tomato is damaged and not good to bring indoors, I smash it into the soil so it the seeds will volunteer new plants next year.

I also want trashy areas for bugs and birds. The lawn is in great shape, simply from the mulching mower, but a grassy area limits life above ground. There is nothing like a wild patch for spiders and birds to find their food. Across the street is a maple filled with one type of bird each night. I am not sure which species, but they want to eat in the morning and evening. I want our yard to be a spa for birds, so they stop by to bathe, to drink, and to feed on pests.

The invention of labor in gardening continues to fascinate me. Every time I mention roses, someone responds "Work! All the work! The spraying, the pruning..." The gardening books are no help. They outline big projects that make me tired when I read about them. Why build condos for compost when a little chicken wire works?

Asparagus is a good example. As farm boys know, it is often found along fences, where birds rested and deposited the seed - with fertilizer.

Now read a gardening book. Dig a big trench and fill it with compost hauled from the three-stage compost condominium complex that you built with your carpenter friend. Put the mature plants in deep. Cover with soil, then wait, and cover with more soil or compost. And again. And again. But I ask, "The birds just sit on a fence. Why?"

The key to asparagus is time and rich soil. I have chosen an area where I will plant asparagus in mushroom compost and cover with organic material, including newspaper, mulch, and compost. Earthworms will distribute the organic matter and fungi will feed the roots. The overhead soaker hose will keep them watered. The thick spears will be harvested and the rest will fern out to feed the enormous roots. I will buy praying mantis eggs cases to populate the area with the nemesis of the asparagus beetle.

Immobilize and Mineralize - The Soil Food Web of the Creator

September 5, 2014, 5:07 am

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This photo of fungus decomposing grass illustrates how nutrients are liberated and moved.

"Fungi are the primary decay agents in the soil food web. The enzymes they release allow fungi to penetrate not only the lignin and cellulose in plants (dead or alive) but also the hard, chitin
shells of insects, the bones of animals, and— as many gardeners have learned— even the protein of strong toenails and fingernails. Bacteria can hold their own, but they require simpler-to-digest foods, often the by-products of fungal decay, and often only after such food has been broken or opened up by fungi and others. Compared to fungi, bacteria are in the Minor Leagues of decaying ability." 
Lewis, Wayne; Lewis, Wayne; Lowenfels, Jeff; Lowenfels, Jeff (2010-09-10). Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition (Kindle Locations 888-891). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

I now have Teaming with Microbes on Kindle. Previously I bought the print edition and just found out I could get the Kindle version for $3. Amazon never forgets. Now I have both Kindle versions on my computer with the big screen. Teaming with Nutrients is second book in the series. I never caught on to the little Kindle book reader, so this method is ideal for reading and writing, since I can mark and copy book quotations and use them for blogging. One student already warned me against buying too many Kindle books. 

My goal in this endless string of gardening posts is to show how easy this hobby can be with the application of Creation principles. The closer we look at the microscopic world, the more we understand the complex dependencies that could not exist without design. 

Immobilize
Two ideas are easy to grasp but complicated in their execution. The first involves immobilizing plant nutrients. The chemical gardener puts amendments on the soil, assuming that the NPK will pass through but leave some beneficial results. Liebig, in Germany--who discovered the use of inorganic nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium--found this inorganic method did not work very well on his own garden and later argued for manure.

The Creation gardener adds organic matter and accomplishes an important step in keeping nutrition where plants can use it. The application of mulch, newsprint, compost, manure, and plant remains will build up the bacteria, fungi, and soil creatures. The ocean of life in the soil captures the basic elements and keeps them around by eating and being eaten.

If the total soil population doubles, then the available NPK also goes up, along with the other basic elements in soil chemistry.

Mineralize
Feeding the plant roots involves breaking the elements down so the roots can swap carbon for those minerals. The decomposers (fungi, bacteria, protozoa) break the chemical bonds and free the elements for soil use. 

Earthworms are shredders that help pull apart leaves and grass for the decomposers to attack at another level. Waste matter is the byproduct that becomes plant-food while the creatures serve as food for others, which also generate useful waste - especially nitrogen compounds.

Complex Dependencies
I often see Internet posts mocking Creation. I wonder how these people account for protozoa and bacteria balancing their populations, pathogens being destroyed in the soil by mold and bacteria (penicillin and streptomycin), lengthy fungus hyphae attacking soil surface litter to feed the roots below.

Mutualists – the mycorrhizal fungi – colonize plant roots. In exchange for carbon from the plant, mycorrhizal fungi help solubolize phosphorus and bring soil nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen, micronutrients, and perhaps water) to the plant.
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/soil/SoilBiology/fungi.htm

One can isolate three-way dependencies, but they are far more involved than that. Each individual component relies on all the others for life, and each component gives life to others. Ants farm  fungus, and they drag dead earthworms away to be eaten and recycled. Earthworms graze on bacteria, moving them and concentrating them while multiplying the values of the soil they circulate through their bodies. Darwin suggested that all soil has passed through the bodies of earthworms at one time - a singular accomplishment by itself.

Poisonous fly agaric fungus

No one should be surprised that false teachers specialize in isolating one part of God's Word to make a case for their peculiar dogma. They refuse to see the whole and angrily impose their partial view on everyone, ignoring the vast number of contradictions that defeat their notions.

Many are allergic to reading Luther because he always treated the Bible as a unit. When people denied infant faith because they lacked the reasoning powers of adults, he countered, "You have reason but you still have no faith."

Topic More Avoided Than Justification by Faith - Abusive Clergy. Covering Up and Moving the Louse Is Not the Answer

September 5, 2014, 12:24 pm

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Patterson provided an insta-call.

Zank was Engelbrecht's Amen Corner, so he was elected DP to replace Deputy Doug Engelbrecht.

http://shatteredpulpit.blogspot.com

Friday, September 5, 2014

How Should the Church Respond?

Taken from The Hope of Survivors (see below for their web site):
 
When a pastor has violated his sacred trust by taking advantage of a congregant, the church often wonders what to do and how to respond. Unfortunately, all too often, the church does not respond in a manner that is helpful to either the victim or the pastor. Below are some suggested guidelines to be adopted in order to help facilitate healing for all.

1. Recognize that the pastor has violated his sacred authority and trust. This must be understood in order to prevent blaming the victim and re-victimizing her. Women who have been sexually abused by their pastors feel betrayed, not only by the pastor and the church, but by God. The pastor is the one she looked to for spiritual guidance and direction. If he led her in the wrong direction, claiming that it was God’s will for them to be together (or whatever else he may be trying to get her to do), she may have perceived it as God leading her in a wrong direction (or a direction she hitherto believed to be wrong) and become very confused. If she cannot trust God, what can she do?

2. Take responsibility for the situation. A pastor who has sinned in this regard has proven that he is no longer capable of performing the sacred duties pertaining to a minister of the Gospel. Adultery is a violation of the 7th Commandment. It must never be permitted in a pastor—a man who stands in the pulpit as a representative of Christ. It is shameful!

3. Talk to the victim and her family. Have compassion for her and her family. Listen to her; find out how to bring about spiritual, emotional and physical healing. What are her emotional and financial needs? Does she need counseling? Does her family need counseling? Setting up a once weekly counseling session for a period of one year (at no cost to her) should help the victim to see that her needs are being addressed. We mention financial needs as most victims, at some point during or after the abuse, incur financial loss and sometimes a total devastation. This type of abuse is so emotionally devastatingthat some women (and even their husbands) may be unable to perform in their jobs for quite some time during and after the abuse. The church has a responsibility to assist the victim in getting back on her feet financially, if this is the case.

4. One of the most important things to a victim is to be heard, understood, comforted and believed. She did not make this up. She feels horrible about it and most likely feels she, alone, is to blame.

5. The church, as a whole, cannot afford to go into denial about this crisis. Covering it up, moving the pastor to another church, turning against the victim are all improper and detrimental ways to handle this situation. The church should not be concerned about avoiding liability and financial loss. This hurts everyone and only prolongs the healing process for all. Most victims would never think to file a suit against the church if they were treated with respect and dignity, listened to and comforted. Most women in these situations do not wish to bring harm to the church, their pastor, his family or anyone else. The main reason lawsuits are filed is because no one within the church hierarchy or congregation would listen or take appropriate action. Lawsuits are virtually always a victim’s last resort in order to be heard and helped to heal. As a church, as children of God, we are to be concerned about souls, not financial loss.

In some states, it is a criminal offense for a pastor to have a “relationship” with a congregant. It is usually possible for a civil suit to be filed against the pastor and/or the church, even if a criminal suit is not an available option. (The Hope of Survivors is aware of several women at this time who are in civil suits with their former abusive pastors, and it has been very hard on them emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually. At the same time, we recognize and empathize with the individual’s need to see her pastor stop abusing herself and others. Whether a lawsuit is filed or not, it is always right for the pastor to be held accountable for his actions.)

6. Recognize the responsibility to the victim, the congregation, the pastor, the pastor’s wife (and family) and the community. (Responsibility to the victim has been addressed above.)

        A. The church’s responsibility to the congregation:

            i. Inform the congregation of what really happened. This can be done tactfully and without intimate details. Full disclosure is important. The congregation should be educated to the fact that this was NOT an “affair” or a “consensual relationship” but, rather, it was an abuse of power. The pastor is not “just a man.” The pastor is responsible in ALL cases for maintaining appropriate boundaries and behaviors toward a congregant/counselee.

            ii. In the confusion of this “relationship,” the marriage vows (both of the pastor and the victim, if married) were violated and overlooked. The pastor took a solemn vow before God to be faithful to his wife, to God and to the church, and to help those in his flock to uphold their own marriage vows. As a shepherd of God’s flock, his responsibility to remain faithful in his commitments is much higher.

            iii. Don’t just practice “damage control” and try to think of “the least we can get away with and move on.” This will never be helpful to anyone. Try to foster an environment of acceptance (not tolerance!), compassion, love and understanding.

        B. The church’s responsibility to the pastor and his family:

            i. The church has the responsibility to relieve the offending pastor of his sacred office immediately. If he is not repentant, steps should be taken to disfellowship him. Some may ask why the victim is allowed to remain in the church while the pastor is not. The answer is this: the church needs to understand that this is abuse; each member needs to recognize their responsibility and their accountability to God and to their spouse (10 Commandments, Phil 4:13); acknowledge that God requires fidelity to His commandments at all times; the victim was never in the position of authority, as was the pastor; the victim did not come to church thinking, “I’m going to destroy this pastor.” On the other hand, the pastor is the one who often speculates and fantasizes about different scenarios with different congregants.

            ii. The church should make provision to assist the pastor and his family in getting proper counseling, and provide the opportunity for them to heal spiritually and emotionally. Does the wife have someone she can talk to regarding her husband’s behavior? If he is struggling with pornography or masturbation, he will most likely act out this sexual behavior eventually, given the right opportunity. At all times, the pastor and his family need to be addressed tactfully, in love and with compassion. Efforts should be made to restore an offending pastor to the church (not his position) when the genuine fruits of repentance are manifested in his life.

        C. The church’s responsibility to the community:

            i. If the actions were public or made public, it should be addressed publicly, with the church offering its regrets and informing the community of the steps it has taken to correct the problem. 

            ii. If the situation is not known publicly (meaning outside of the church), then don’t “air the church’s dirty laundry” and bring shame and reproach on the cause of God. Handle the situation truthfully and tactfully within the proper organizational structure.

If someone within the church (local congregation, conference, any governing body) is aware of the pastor’s struggle with pornography or masturbation (or any other sexual sin), they should monitor his behavior very closely. Again, given the right circumstances, he will most likely act out sexually with another. If the pastor has a history of abuse and has been moved from church to church, the church (the governing body that was aware of the abuse) is responsible.

What the church members at large, or the community (if the community was already aware of the problem), do not know is left to speculation, rumors and gossip. This only creates division within the church and does further damage to the victim. Clarification kills gossip!

To summarize what Marie M. Fortune wrote in her book, Is Nothing Sacred?, the proper steps to take when implementing justice and mercy (based on Micah 6:8) include:

    1. Truth-telling (breaking the silence of the abuse)

    2. Acknowledging the violation (in hearing the truth, the church acknowledges the violation)

    3. Compassion (means to “suffer with,” to be present, acknowledge and listen, even when you can’t solve the problem)

    4. Protecting the vulnerable (prevent further harm)

    5. Accountability (based on Luke 17:1-4, it begins with confrontation and should end in repentance)

    6. Restitution (making payment for damages is a concrete means of renewing right-relation)

    7. Vindication (for the victim, it most often means exoneration and justification)

The bottom line: TAKE RESPONSIBILITY–DON’T HIDE!

The Hope of Survivors
http://www.thehopeofsurvivors.com/how_should_church_respond.php

Posted by Lillian Armstrong at 11:31 AM No comments: 

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Labels: church leaders, congregational response

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Seven Unhealthy Congregational Responses

Seven Unhealthy Congregational Responses toward Victims of Clergy Sexual Assault or Abuse - by Carolyn Waterstradt, ma, msw 

Because congregants are often unfamiliar with what clergy sexual assault or abuse is, the majority do not know how to respond when someone is victimized in their congregation. Sadly, congregant’s most common responses are unhealthy and re-traumatize or re-injure the victim. In addition, these unhealthy responses make it impossible for the congregation to truly acknowledge, work through, and heal from the clergyperson’s betrayal of the congregation. When denominational or congregational leaders do not speak outregarding the damage of unhealthy responses to the victim their silence allow these unhealthy behaviors to perpetuate creating an environment in which dysfunction is the norm, thereby increasing the likelihood of calling another abusive clergyperson to the congregation.

What are these unhealthy responses towards a victim?

1. Blaming – Congregants blame victims for the assault or abuse because they erroneously believe it must be the victims’ fault because a man or woman of the cloth could never be a sexual predator. However, anytime a clergy person has a sexual relationship with a congregant it is an abuse of power. Congregants or church leaders often misplace blame by asking victims to leave the congregation or limit participation in the congregation. Victims who work in the church usually lose their jobs.

2. Shaming – Congregants shame victims by accosting or sending hate mail. “How could you?” “You need to repent.” “I forgive you for your sinfulness.” “What kind of person are you?”  Victims are not responsible for the abuse or the assault.

3. Shunning – When congregants intentionally avoid victims such as blatantly turning around and walking away when they see a victim in the store, they practice shunning. Shunning may take the form of no longer speaking to, socializing with or inviting victims to participate in activities. Shunning is also deleting or blocking victims from social media pages, ignoring victims’ phone messages, or failing to acknowledge their emails, messages, or letters.

4. Gossip – Gossip is when congregants spread rumors about victims. Eventually victims hear the gossip from a third party. Of course, gossip is skewed and rarely contains facts.

5. Degrading – Congregants degrade victims when talking ill of them. Imagine the impact degradation has on someone striving to heal from sexual trauma and posttraumatic stress. Then imagine the impact such degradation has that person’s children when congregants say, “I’m sorry your Mom is crazy….a whore….a witch.”

6. Dismissing – Congregants may dismiss victims’ families from congregational life. Being dismissed like yesterday’s trash is especially damaging to underage children who are spiritually impressionable. Such congregational behavior often stunts or blocks children’s spiritual growth. Friends who support the victim may also be dismissed from the congregation.

7. Colluding – Congregational and denominational leaders collude by not naming what happened as assault or abuse, allowing victims to be removed or expelled from congregational life, working with or covering for the perpetrator, and remaining silent on the dynamics of clergy sexual abuse and assault. Victims and their families must be a primary concern of the congregation and denomination for communal healing to occur.

If you have found yourself, acting in one of the above mentioned manners, please realize that it is a common reaction to want to protect the clergyperson especially considering most congregants are not familiar with what clergy sexual abuse is.  The good news is that once you learn about what about clergy sexual abuse is you can change your response to victims in light of your new found knowledge.  It is best to respond to victims of sexual assault or sexual abuse with same respect and dignity as congregants who have a terminal illness or recently lost a loved one.

Copyright © 2013 Inner Quest Healing – All Rights Reserved.
http://carolynwaterstradt.com/seven-unhealthy-congregational-responses-toward-victims-of-clergy-sexual-assault-or-abuse/

Posted by Lillian Armstrong at 8:01 PM

Caleb Sings Katy Perry

September 6, 2014, 10:49 pm

≫ Next: The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, 2014. Mark 7:31-37

≪ Previous: Topic More Avoided Than Justification by Faith - Abusive Clergy. Covering Up and Moving the Louse Is Not the Answer

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Caleb Schmiege - WELS CoWo clone.

He recorded and posted his version of Katy Perry's Firework - a song too nauseatingly dull to reproduce. Here are the Firework lyrics, so you can sing along with Caleb.

Wikipedia -  Slant Magazine stated that the song is "not an actively painful listen. Sure, the would-be inspirational lyrics ('Baby you're a firework/Come on show them what you're worth') are nonsensical, and the vocal lines, which sound like they were written for someone like Leona Lewis, are well beyond Perry's capabilities, but the chorus gains some momentum and the song would work well enough in a club setting that you could forgive its otherwise glaring weaknesses."^[11] 

https://soundcloud.com/caleb-schmiege/firework

Caleb Schmiege @calebschmiege · Aug 10

Just worshiped at @IllumineChurch this morning. Nice to play piano with some fun musicians.

Caleb Schmiege @calebschmiege · Jul 2

There's something about using a port-a-potty while hearing "Fanfare for the Common Man" that feels so right. #america#ConcertsOnTheSquare

Katy Perry sets Tim Glende's bronzer ablaze and inspires Ski to greatness.

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, 2014. Mark 7:31-37

September 7, 2014, 5:58 am

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http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, 2014

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 #123                O God Our Help            4:3 

Faith and Love

The Communion Hymn # 304 An Awful Mystery            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 #  376     Rock of Ages                                   4:47

KJV 2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

KJV Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast created all things: We thank Thee that Thou hast given us sound bodies, and hast graciously preserved our tongues and other members from the power of the adversary: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy grace, that we may rightly use our ears and tongues; help us to hear Thy word diligently and devoutly, and with our tongues so to praise and magnify Thy grace, that no one shall be offended by our words, but that all may be edified thereby, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Luther’s Sermons on this text - Here:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/08/luthers-sermons-on-twelfth-sunday-after.html

Faith and Love

KJV Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

Jesus only traveled a short distance in His public ministry, but He went into various places, sowing the seed by preaching the Word of God. By moving around, teaching and healing, instructing the apostles, He established believers in these locations. Their faith spread because they communicated His teaching and miracles to others.

I experience the modern form of this spread of the Gospel. In my local classes I have someone from Africa, several from Korea, and an aborigine from Papua. When I was teaching the American students to use LinkedIn on the Net, the African native already had his profile up.

32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

This is an example of what happened because of the fame of Jesus. Everyone was talking about His teaching and miracles. These men either witnessed it themselves or knew enough to trust their deaf-mute friend could be healed. The Gospel planted faith in Jesus in their hearts. Someone would be tempted to say, "We could but we are only a few among many." This is especially true in a group, the most negative person tends to affect the rest in being negative. Human reason argues against such a miracle taking place and even against gaining a hearing from the Savior.

But faith is a confidence in the mercy, compassion, and power of Jesus. Faith is not a decision that comes about from study, but a trust that the Word of God creates. The New Creation is grafted onto the Old Adam and they grow together. The believer continues in study of the Word and worship, because human reason and our sinful flesh always intrude. 

I can say from many church meetings that one would be shocked at the claim of believers being present when the budget is discussed. Human reason, facts and figures predominate. Likewise, this man was probably the subject of many medical efforts in his life. My father stuttered, so they took out his tonsils. That only made him more self-conscious, and we live in a so-called scientific age.

After so many efforts, herbs, magical potions, and superstitious cures, anyone would have been sceptical, but faith in Jesus moved the friends to an act of love - bringing him to Jesus for a cure. They could see how limited he was by his inability to hear and to talk.

33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 

We know most deaf people are not completely deaf, so it makes sense that Jesus would take the man away from the roar of the crowd, demonstrate His healing of the ears and tongue, to comfort and give peace to the man. I know from having special daughters that their weakness and the presence of medical equipment were not good combinations. They were easily frightened by new experiences and needed to be distracted by a different perspective - such as an ambulance ride being fun, or an oxygen tent equated with camping and adventure.

Luther dealt with the current theories about why Jesus would sigh and look up to heaven. He was not eager to multiply theories. One answer is that it would show where the healing was coming from. The sighing could also be allegorical, similar to Jesus crying over Jerusalem. Here was one man with believing friends. If only the rest had the same faith. So many marvels would come from that. Or - sighing about the misuse of the voice. Here was something that we must have for almost all tasks, and speech is a great gift from God. But it is terribly misused and abused by so many.

We know that Jesus had compassion on individuals but also upon the multitudes, as shown when He fed them before they thought to ask, when He wept over Jerusalem, and when He prayed from the cross - Father, forgive them...

35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

God's miracles can take a long time to arrive, but they are immediate when they happen. Because of this, we should discern the miraculous and wait patiently for the miracles to take place. Thus Paul always prayed for his congregations, and those congregations became the foundation of the Christian faith, which spread across the world from those key trading cities.

36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Why would Jesus tell them to keep this to themselves? The primary reason is the way in which people saw miracles, as the coming of a political Messiah who would lead them to war. This was not Jesus' mission, and He spent years preparing people for what faith in Him would mean - bearing the cross rather than unsheathing the sword.

And yet nothing could keep them from telling others about it. The miracles testified about His divine power, and they felt His love and great compassion. Others were binding them with rules while He was releasing them from guilt and sin, so that love and faith would flourish together and benefit many others.

In a law religion, good works are a tax to be paid. The tax is necessary or the salvation is repossessed. But Christianity  gives grace and forgiveness without works, so the acts of love are pleasing and enjoyable to the believer. 

The Old Adam does not like messes and repetitive labor. But ask a mother, who misses taking care of the little ones, making them clean and happy, feeding them and giving them comfort. Luther said, "Dame reason despises this," but believing hearts treasure those opportunities.

Just as revenge promotes revenge and never stops, so do acts of love, which multiply beyond measure because they are divine in origin.

I am trying to grasp the new research in soil life. Since I am not involved in the physical sciences directly, I have to re-read many passages to understand how soil chemistry works. One fascinating aspect is the way unthinking but living creations work to benefit each others. Plant roots give fungi the one thing they cannot make for themselves, and the fungi form enormous feeding tubes to break down down and deliver nutrition to the roots. And yet these unthinking plants control the fungi by the way they offer and accept benefits. All this happens without our knowledge or control, and all we can do is stand back and nurture it to some extent. 

This mutuality is what the Gospel creates among believers, one helping the other, but without obligation or force. The extent is impossible to measure and yet the origin is clear - Christ's forgiveness, His righteousness received in faith.

WELS-ELS-LCMS Are Still in Cover-Up, Deny, and Slander the Victims Mode

September 7, 2014, 6:25 pm

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As of today, child-porn file swapper Hochmuth had this up on LinkedIn. Here is a link I obtained - listing other Lutheran offenders.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Collusion is Devastating

"It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement and remembering.”--  Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery (1992) 

“Collusion is usually far more devastating to victims than the primary abuse.” -- Dee Miller 

What message do leaders send to clergy abuse victims by this conduct?
Answer: "What happened to you doesn't matter. Go away. Shut up."

What message do leaders send to clergy perpetrators by this conduct?
Answer: "You're safe with us. We'll cover for you." 

When people collude, they are making themselves complicit in the cover-up of some sort of unethical conduct or in the protection of others who engage in unethical conduct.  

We see the manifestations of collusion with clergy sex abuse through minimization, denial, rationalizing, victim-silencing, victim-blaming, and keep-it-quiet tactics. Collusion can be accomplished both consciously and unconsciously, intentionally and unintentionally. Even if someone says they didn’t intend to collude, their conduct may still be collusive. Many collude through silence and inaction. You won’t see collusion in what they do; you’ll see it in what they don’t do. Collusion often occurs behind closed doors. It’s a secretive sort of thing.

Here is an example: 
I'm sure that everyone involved would say clergy sex abuse itself is a terrible thing. But look at the message it sends to a victim when something is done even unintentionally:

True case of a WELS pastor which happened a few years ago; local news media reported: 
A Lutheran pastor was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing child pornography on his home computer. _________ pleaded guilty. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The prosecutor told the judge _____ had more than 70,000 images of young boys and other homosexual photographs on his computer. _____ is a pastor at ________.

As a victim, I struggle with the fact that he pleaded guilty; is a registered sex offender; had possible additional charges in a neighboring state; BUT, despite all that, is in the WELS Synod yearbook as being “retired”. He was an active pastor when this happened and instead of resigning he “retired” and, as of today, is still listed in the yearbook as retired. I struggle tremendously that the Synod knowingly lists a registered sex offender in their directory as if nothing happened; thus giving the appearance that he retired normally and there was no wrong-doing. I left God because I thought the church condoned what happened, so when I see this still in the yearbook, I continue to wonder. When you are struggling to come back to God, faith, and church, things like this (even if done unintentionally) are stumbling blocks. It puts doubts in your mind as to what is acceptable to the church. 

Since the church considers itself to be “the family of God,” the parallels in how families deal with the shame of alcohol and other abuse are strikingly visible when we compare how families of “faith” justify such pervasive collusion with abuse.

It is generally recognized that enabling behaviors of the family members of a drug addict help to keep the patient in denial and out of treatment. By constantly "lowering the bottom" through rationalizing and covering for the addict, close relatives become a part of the problem. Generally, they are as resistant to seeing this as addicts are to facing their own addictions. 

Family members do not collude intentionally. It's just that addicts are experienced con artists. They know how to play on the emotions of everyone. They are excellent actors, often even fooling themselves. By diverting attention, often to other issues, the addict keeps people from staying on course to clearly focus on the addiction as the root cause of their suffering. 

The same is true for clergy perpetrators. A clergy perpetrator, usually with years of being in the public eye, is skilled at convincing almost everyone, including victims, that he is really innocent or just “made a mistake.” He uses his charisma and status to enhance this skill. Even if he breaks down and "confesses," he finds ways to minimize the problems and the harm already done. It takes an enormous amount of energy to find one’s way to reality through the fog of deception which has been created by the offender and the many colluders who have already been misled.

Certainly there has already been a lot of effort, on the part of most denominations, to consult attorneys and instruct clergy about the "new rules." Unfortunately, just like many spouses of alcoholics, the concerns seem much more about protecting the image of the "family" than protecting its most vulnerable congregation members. 

When a patient enters treatment, everyone in the family minimizes. "It must be a chemical imbalance." Or "He'll be fine in a few weeks. After all she's only been drinking heavily for five years." The same dynamics are evident with clergy perpetrators and their colluders. "It's just the stress of the ministry. Treatment will be tough, but we are all going to expect total rehabilitation. With all the prayers going up for him, he'll be back in the pulpit in no time, being the great guy that he has always been.” Other common characteristics which colluding church leaders share with family members of substance abusers: distrust, high anxiety, conflict among formerly close colleagues, inconsistency, unpredictability, constant manipulation of the rules, and aggressive tendencies. 

When an addict is finally forced into treatment, he seems to "clean up" quickly, but often does not stay sober for long, once he is released. It is common for him to look at the wife and children he has harmed and expect them to forget what he has done, welcome him home, and restore him to all the blessings of marriage and fatherhood while leaving behind their memories of neglect and/or abuse. Colluding family members have the same attitudes, thereby naively giving his denial support more than his sobriety. All of this is usually true, as well, of the clergy perpetrator and his colluders, as he tries to manipulate his way back into a trusting relationship with his congregation and profession. 
“The world is too dangerous to live in -- not because of the people who do evil but because of the people who sit and let it happen.”  --  Einstein

 

References:
http://stopbaptistpredators.org/whats_collusion.html
http://www.takecourage.org/parallels.htm

Posted by Lillian Armstrong at 6:18 PM 

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Labels: church leaders, congregational response, WELS

This known protector of priest-offenders gave a lecture at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and so did some of his priests.

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http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/former-pastor-sentenced-for-child-porn/?id=81437

Former Pastor Sentenced For Child Porn

March 4, 2009, 11:07 AM 

A former Watertown pastor was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing child pornography on his home computer.

Sixty-seven-year-old Dennis Hayes pleaded guilty in January. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The prosecutor told the judge at Wednesday's sentencing that Hayes had more than 70,000 images of young boys and other homosexual photographs on his computer.

Hayes is a former pastor at St. Martin's Lutheran Church in Watertown. 

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2040581/posts

Watertown, SD, Pastor Arrested, Charged With Sex Crimes

ksfy ^ | 07.03.08 | Brian Allen 

Posted on 7/3/2008 9:42:55 PM by Coleus

A Watertown pastor suspected tonight of having sexual contact with a child. KSFY obtained these court documents which lays out the case against Dennis Hayes. In documents released by Watertown Police, we're told the suspected contact happened last Friday when Hayes took a juvenile boy he had been mentoring from the "Southwest Youth Services Center" in Magnolia, Minnesota to a library in Luverne, Minnesota.

The boy claims during the drive to Luverne, Hayes held his hand and told him he loved him. While at the Luverne library, he claims Hayes rubbed his back outside his shirt. During the drive back to Magnolia, he says Hayes touched and rubbed his hand again.

And upon arriving in Magnolia, he claims Hayes slid his hand down into his pants and rubbed his buttocks. The boy told authorities this has been going on for a year. Hayes has told police he has patted and rubbed the boy in the past to calm him down, but then admitted he had placed his hand in the boys pants and touched his buttocks.

Hayes is a pastor at St. Martin's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Watertown he is now charged with three counts of sexual contact with a minor: In addition, Hayes was arrested today and charged with possession of child porn. He's free on his own recognizance tonight. I called Dennis Hayes house tonight: I wanted to ask him about these charges made against him. A female answered the phone and told me he could not talk about it.

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LCMS:

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/2014/07/03/green-bay-church-school-teacher-faces-child-sex-charges/12146283/

 186CONNECT 1TWEETLINKEDIN 14COMMENTEMAILMORE

A teacher and basketball coach at a Lutheran school on Green Bay's west side faces five criminal charges in connection with the sexual assault of a 13-year-old student, Brown County Sheriff's officials said Thursday.

Wayne Makela, 27, of Hobart, was arrested by sheriff's investigators Wednesday after the student's mother found sexual text messages from Makela on her son's mobile phone, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Makela worked as a youth director, basketball coach and computer teacher at Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School, 1731 St. Agnes Drive. He is accused of assaulting the 13-year-old boy at the school and one of the incidents happened in Makela's office at the facility, authorities said.

He faces charges of second-degree sexual assault of a child, child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, exposing a child to harmful materials of harmful descriptions or narrations and sexual assault by a school staff person or a person who works or volunteers with children.

Related: Read the criminal complaint against Makela

"It is with great sadness that we are informing you of recent events regarding one of the staff members of Pilgrim Lutheran," Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School Pastor Scott Malme said in a statement released Thursday that noted Makela had been at the school for six years.

Malme did not say if the school had taken any action regarding Makela's employment.

Brown County Chief Deputy Todd Delain urged parents to monitor their children's text messages and Internet use to keep them from coming in contact with predators.

Investigators seized "multiple devices" including a computer from Makela's home and have started examining their contents in an effort to see if other children may have been victimized, sheriff's Lt. Jim Valley said. He urged parents who believe their child might have had inappropriate contact with a teacher to notify the sheriff's department.

Makela is the father of a young child. His attorney said in court that Makela and his wife are expecting another child this fall.

Sheriff's officials said they have several open investigations into other potential child-sex cases. Capt. Jeff Sanborn issued a warning to potential offenders.

"If you're doing this," he said, "knock it off now before we knock on your door."

Email Rachel at rminske@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @rachelfminske.

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David William Smith, 35, faces 10 counts of possession of child pornography, Norfolk police said.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/03/norfolk-pastor-arraigned-child-porn-charges

By Louis Hansen
Patrick Wilson
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 29, 2013

NORFOLK

A pastor's arrest on child porn allegations during Holy Week left his congregation shocked and his attorney calling him "a good man with a problem."

David William Smith, 35, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, was arrested Wednesday on 10 counts of possession of child pornography. His attorney, Howard Copeland, said Smith confessed to police earlier this week.

"It's disturbing to everyone," said Copeland, who is a member of the church. "There is no hint of any contact with any child in any inappropriate way."

Smith was arraigned in Norfolk General District Court on Thursday and remained held without bond in the Norfolk City Jail.

Each felony carries a punishment of 1 to 5 years in prison for a conviction. A bond hearing is scheduled for Monday, and a preliminary hearing is set for May.

Smith has served as pastor of the Granby Street church near Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center since late November 2010.

Copeland said Smith also taught youth classes at the church, which has a few hundred members.

Smith was placed on leave from the church and will not be allowed on campus if he is released on bond, according to a statement on the church's Facebook page. He lives with his family in Poquoson.

"Our prayers are with Pastor Smith and his family," the statement says. "During this time of Holy Week, we are reminded of the sacrifice that Christ paid for our sins. It is only through Christ that we are saved from ourselves and the evil that persistently assaults us."

It also said that church members were stunned and would cooperate with authorities.

"All we saw was what was in the news," said Judy Sykes, a church member and the principal of the church's school, which serves toddlers through fifth-graders.

A biography of Smith on the church's website, which has been removed, said he previously served congregations in St. Louis, San Diego and Nashville, Tenn.

He also led an Old Dominion University student group called Christ on Campus, according to the university's website.

He also was a member of the University Chaplains Association at ODU, a volunteer group of faith leaders who operate independent of the university, said Brendan O'Hallarn, an ODU spokesman.

Patrick Wilson, 757-222-3893, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com

Louis Hansen, 757-446-2314, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com

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Rev. Jonathan L. Offt has been charged with attempting to purchase sex after being caught up in a prostitution sting. | Marion Police Department

http://www.christianpost.com/news/iowa-minister-arrested-in-prostitution-sting-58548/

BY LUIZA OLESZCZUK, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER

October 18, 2011|8:40 pm

An Iowa minister, a married father of three, has been caught in a police-arranged sting while allegedly attempting to purchase prostitution services Friday, it emerged this week.

The Rev. Jonathan L. Offt, 41, served as the senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, since 2003, local media have reported. He was one of nine men charged Friday.

The sting was arranged by the Marion Police Department. Police officers have placed advertisements on various websites offering sexual services. Potential customers were responding via telephone, text messages and email, reported The Huffington Post. In an arranged meeting with an undercover female police officer, the potential clients were arrested upon offering money in exchange for sexual services.

Police told a local newspaper, The Gazette, that after the arrest, Offt was "pretty sullen."

All of the arrestees were booked at the Marion Police Department on misdemeanor prostitution charges and released upon their promise to appear in court, according to The Huffington Post.

The Trinity Lutheran Church has released the following statement:

Follow us  Get CP eNewsletter ››

Trinity Lutheran Church and School is saddened by the most recent news story regarding Jonathan Offt. The proper authorities are handling the situation. The church and school request your prayers for all involved. We have no further comments at this time.

The minister’s name was removed from the list of pastors on the church’s website.

A native of Blairstown, Offt has previously served as a chaplain in St. Louis and Des Moines and as assistant pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Iowa City, as well as a chaplain-administrator at the Davenport Lutheran Home, The Gazette reported. He and his wife reportedly had one daughter at the time of the appointment.

In addition to Offt, who was the first to be taken into custody, police also arrested: Daniel Gingerich, 37, of Marengo; Ronald Coleman, 40, of Robins; Joseph Burke, 57, of Cedar Rapids; Michael Romanowski, 67, of Iowa City; Steven Van Nevel, 53, of Brooklyn; Gregory Stroyls, 40, of Marion; Donald Wedewer, 53, of Earlville; and Keith Myers, 50, of Cedar Rapids, reported The Huffington Post.

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ELCA:

Lake Orion pastor accused of soliciting minor to be held, federal magistrate rules

By SHAUN BYRON

POSTED: 09/14/10, 12:00 AM EDT |

0 COMMENTS

DETROIT -- A federal judge ordered a Lake Orion pastor to be held prior to his trial on solicitation charges during a Tuesday hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District.

William Bendert, 51, appeared in an orange St. Clair County Jail jumpsuit alongside his attorney at the hearing before U.S. District Magistrate Virginia Morgan.

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LCMS

BENTONVILLE, Ark. —Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning, the Bentonville Police Department arrested seven people an undercover prostitution operation conducted at an area hotel, including the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Bentonville.

Robert Joseph Burnham, 36, of Bentonville, was arrested and charged with sexual solicitation. Burnham is listed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Bentonville on his joeburnham.com website. According to Burnham's wife's Twitter account, they just recently moved to Bentonville from Denver, Colo., in November.

A church spokesman said Friday that Burnham resigned from his position as pastor after his arrest. In a statement released Friday, the church said: "We are saddened to hear of the charges brought against Robert Burnham. Clearly, we do not condone this type of action. He has offered his resignation, and it has been accepted. We will be praying for all parties affected."

Read more: http://www.4029tv.com/Bentonville-Pastor-Among-7-Arrested-In-Prostitution-Investigation/5262424#ixzz3CguY4YWR


***

GJ - The evidence in the public domain shows how much is going on, because a lot is being hidden. LCMS policy is to destroy all notes so the evidence disappears. All officials have an obligation to protect children. Instead, they protect the abusers.

One woman, now a mother, has nothing but scorn for Lutherans because she was raped as a child. Her Lutheran pastor told her she could NOT report it to the police, that she would go to Hell for reporting him. Instead, she had to forget it. The consequences have been very serious for her health and she is an opponent of the Christian faith.

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Only in ELCA - Or WELS - Missouri, ELS, and CLC (sic) - If We Are Going To Be Honest

September 7, 2014, 9:12 pm

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HOLY SMOKE! Sex offender William Prante, pictured yesterday, has St. Peter's Church in an uproar.

PORN-AGAIN PERV

By Matthew Nestel

May 7, 2008 | 9:09am

Outraged parishioners have abandoned a Manhattan Lutheran church – after their pastor vowed to keep a convicted kiddie-porn collector on staff.

“The families were horrified,” said Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge John Wilson, who attended St. Peter’s Church at the Citicorp Center in Midtown with his wife and young son until learning last October that its receptionist was a registered sex offender. “It’s truly disappointing that someone in a position of authority would think so little of protecting children.”

But the Rev. Amandus Derr said that by keeping William Prante on the job, the church is fulfilling its Christian mission of rehabilitating sinners, while protecting kids by barring Prante from being alone in St. Peter’s with anyone else.

Prante, however, regularly sees children at the church as part of his job.

Prante, 61, pleaded guilty in 2004 to a Louisiana child-porn charge after authorities found more than 700 sexually explicit images of children, including girls who appeared younger than age 5, at his home.

Prante, who downloaded the porn onto his work computer during his past job as an arts group’s education director, served two years in prison.

“The best day of my life was the day of my arrest because I could get healthy,” Prante told The Post yesterday.

After his release, he moved to New York – registering as a low-risk sex offender – and started hanging around St. Peter’s, where a friend is the organist.

But when the church finance director – who was unaware of Prante’s crime – hired him last year, a parish council member uncovered news stories about him and complained to church officials before ultimately resigning.

Derr then felt compelled to tell his congregation, and did so following a Sunday service with Prante’s permission.

“That day was particularly heinous,” said a parishioner and mother of a young child, one of more than a dozen congregants who stopped attending St. Peter’s afterward.

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http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/StPeterLuth.html

St. Peter Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street New York, N.Y. 10022 http://www.saintpeters.org Organ Specifications: 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street (since 1903): Present building (since 1977) ► II/43 Johannes Klais Orgelbau (1977) First building (1903-c.1970) ► III/17 M.P. Möller, Inc., Op. 7626 (1948) • II/5 Welte Organ Co. (ca.1912) – Sunday School room ► III/32 Eifert & Stoehr (1905) 474 Lexington Avenue at 45th Street (c.1871-1903): • George Jardine & Son (1872) See also the Continuo Organ in the Chapel.

St. Peter's Church (c.1871-1903)   Since its founding on June 2, 1862, as the Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Sanct Petri-Kirche by a group of German immigrants, St. Peter's has faithfully served the midtown Manhattan area. Worship services in the German language began in a loft above a feed and grocery store at the corner of 49th Street and Lexington Avenue. By the 1890s, it became apparent that English services were required. During its first ten years, parish growth required several moves to larger quarters, eventually purchasing the former Lexington Avenue Presbyterian Church at the corner of 45th Street and Lexington Avenue. St. Peter's remained at this location until being uprooted by the construction of Grand Central Terminal.     St. Peter's Church (1903-1970) The building was sold to the New York Central Railroad in 1903 for $200,000, with the proceeds going toward the construction of a new Gothic-style church at 54th Street and Lexington Avenue. The new church was dedicated on May 14, 1905, and was typical of Lutheran church design of the time. Carved wooden sculptures, altar and pulpit dominated the chancel with a mural of the Sermon on the Mount above the altar, and glorious stained glass windows pictured scenes from the life of Jesus. In the balcony was space for a three-manual organ, the choir and the overflow crowds. By the 1920s, German services no longer predominated and English was adopted for morning worship. In 1925 the legal name of the parish was changed to "Saint Peter's Lutheran Church of Manhattan." By 1960, congregations in New York City were dwindling and St. Peter's was no exception. Rather than flee to the suburbs, the congregation of St. Peter's decided to affirm human life amidst the skyscrapers and develop a ministry that would serve more than just a Sunday congregation. A renewal of liturgical life unfolded and new programs in jazz, drama and the arts were developed. John Garcia Gensel joined the staff as the first pastor to the jazz community. In 1970, the First National City Bank (later known as Citibank) purchased the property for $9 million and agreed to build a new church next to its 59-story office tower. Hugh Stubbins & Associates designed both the tower and church, and Vignelli Associates designed the church interior. Stubbins described the church as two hands held up in prayer with light coming in between them." Consecrated in 1977, the church is a flexible space allowing for a great variety of expressions of worship through liturgy, song, sermon, dance, music and poetry.

Delivering the Nutrition - Why Gardeners Do Too Much

September 7, 2014, 9:38 pm

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Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona illustrates God's landscaping methods.

Strangely, gardeners and farmers have followed the Liebig mistake in thinking their big programs work better than microscopic action in the soil.

1. If I buy 40 pounds of nitrogen and spread it on my lawn, the grass will be so happy. I will bag up all the clippings and haul them away for that neat pool table look.
2. If I scratch fertilizer into the garden, the flowers will love me. 
3. If I rototill the garden before and after the season, the soil will be be fertile and smooth.

All three programs are wrong for the soil and harmful for the plants. Yet people blunder away, spending too much money and working too hard for bad results.

Almost all the nutritional benefits come from fungi and bacteria, and the interactions based upon fungi and bacteria. The bacteria are so small that 500,000 fit on the same space occupied by a period at the end of a sentence. Fungi are bigger and can be quite lengthy. Fungi can grow faster in a few hours than bacteria move in a lifetime.

As a Creation gardener, I want to help the fungi and bacteria distribute nutrition as they work with earthworms and other creatures. The three actions above damage the microscopic actions in the soil without providing more than marginal help. For example, Scotts Lawn fertilizer will not stay in the lawn but pass through into the water table, adding to pollution.

In contrast, nitrogen from mulched grass will be locked up by the soil creatures and passed back and forth in the root zone, to feed and energize those living forms that need nitrogen. They pass it to plant roots in exchange for their carbohydrates. The root tips receive nutrition from and donate food the bacteria, protozoa, and fungi need.

The earthworms are gentle bulldozers than move soil constantly, improving and multiplying the good effects of the bacteria they graze upon. I do not want to tear up this intricate web, but support it from above by protecting it from disruption.

Before, when I put mulch under the crepe myrtle bush, I thought about holding in rainwater and protecting the surface from drying out and wind erosion.

Now I realize that by mulching the bush with its plant material, I am feeding the bacteria and especially the fungi that need dark moist environs to do their work. I added Epson salt before the rain to take magnesium and sulfur down into the soil. Fungi distribute the chemicals where they are needed.

Church Programs - Scotts Lawn for Congregations
Church programs are like the three damaging steps I described above. The grand projects, often forced at a national level, ignore the divine effect of the Word and substitute man's cleverness. The more they fail, the more they insist on doing everything the wrong way. They search among all the false teachers to find an expensive magical formula instead of trusting in God's Word.

Creation and the efficacy of the Word are two sides of the same coin, to borrow a phrase. Denying one means rejecting the other.

Positive Response after The Shattered Pulpit Blog Posted

September 8, 2014, 6:42 pm

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Monday, September 8, 2014

Synod Responds within Hours

http://shatteredpulpit.blogspot.com/2014/09/synod-responds-within-hours.html

Within hours of my last post that a registered sex offender was listed in the Synod Yearbook, I received official word from the WELS Synod Administration office that they had already taken the necessary steps to remove this individual from the yearbook. It was an oversight that he was included in the first place and they do not have his name in the 2015 synod yearbook.

I feel like a thousand pound weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I have struggled for months over that one issue and if that meant God condoned what happened to me also. Today knowing, without a doubt, that it was NOT intentional and the Synod does NOT condone that type of behavior, gives me a tremendous amount of peace and relief.

Over the course of time, my thinking has become so warped that I no longer know what “my way” of thinking is and what is “normal” thinking. In my mind I am terrified of God, therefore, I constantly look for ways to further doubt him and “prove” that he truly is evil and condoned what happened. My brain is so programmed to proving that God is evil that it is an instinctive reaction to everything now. I have dwelled on that yearbook point for countless hours wondering, whereas, a “normal” person would be able to immediately process that as unintentional and go on with life. I, however, let it become a major stumbling block of doubt for me instead.

I think one of the biggest impacts in my healing has been writing because as I write, I get responses from people that truly mold my journey and aide with the healing process. I have become SO convinced that God is this “evil being” up in heaven causing pain that it’s my primary focus now. However, through this journey, I am finding many people who are proving that theory wrong and showing me a loving God instead. That it’s “my way” of seeing God and not how God actually is.

Several pastors have also written offering me tremendous amounts of support with my journey and that, combined with the Synod Administration response, gives me an indescribable amount of peace today. Up until TODAY, I always had that nagging doubt that God condoned this. Today that was finally put to rest.

Today is the VERY first time, since this all began that I can honestly say God doesn’t condone what happened - and actually believe it. I can’t even find the words to describe the peace that I feel because of that. When you have been terrified of God for so long, and to such a degree, coming to realization that God and the church, as a whole, doesn’t condone what happened is the most amazing feeling on earth!

Maybe I can survive this journey after all. Maybe there is hope for recovery. To all the pastors that are showing me how God, and the church, really is thank you. Thank you for hope and this incredible amount of peace that I have today because of that!

***

GJ - One Satanic temptation is thinking that such evil is condoned. Most people are disgusted and alarmed at this behavior, and they do not comprehend what is being hidden from them. The greater the scandal, the greater the motivation to hide it.

Jeske's Church and Changers have engaged in gorilla warfare for years to get their guys in jobs and their wild hair projects funded. They are bullies and thugs, as everyone has seen from the Engelbrecht-Patterson debacle with Ski and Glende, who are both former hirelings of Jeske.

Moreover, such Dreck as this item from the WELS Meditations is sure to encourage the worst in everyone -

This is from WELS's Meditations, March-May 2014, for Monday, 17 March 2014.  The howler is in the second column which reads:  "No matter what you did yesterday -- or failed to do -- and no matter what you will do tomorrow, God has forgiven you." 

Everyone should encourage Lillian Armstrong, because she has been willing to put her experiences on display to help others. Continue to contact and support her. Here is the contact information for The Shattered Pulpit blog.

Some think that nothing can be done, but things happen as soon as light is shed on evil. Web pages are erased. Denials are issued. Problems are fixed - or at least massaged. 

The situation has to change to the point where officials fear that cover-ups will be even more damning than the facts. 

More about Driscoll

September 9, 2014, 4:51 am

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This is the link about Driscoll's abusive language. Is it a wonder that the same language was reported in the Anything Goes District of WELS, after two chumps went to a Driscoll conference?

Book Stores Selling E-Book Readers - That is the Lutheran Church Today

September 10, 2014, 1:20 am

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Many times I have walked into a bookstore, only to find a man behind the counter, right at the front, selling e-book readers. I wanted to say, "Do you realize you are selling the tool to close down this store for good?"

No one read my thoughts, and one favorite bookstore chain shut down completely - and they had the best oatmeal cookies ever.

The Lutheran Church anticipated this foolishness, engaging in it wholesale across denominational lines. Fuller Seminary? ELCA pastors were there in droves. So were LCMS pastors - and WELS/ELS pastors. The excitement was so great that James Tiefel in WELS and Paul Tiefel in the CLC (sic) fell under the spell - a great movement for little minds, flinty hearts, and no soul.

The Big Two and the Little Three comprise 99.99% of Lutherans in America, and they are all engaged in training pastors and laity to leave Lutheran doctrine and worship for good. No one admits it. Not at all. They are all "confessional Lutherans."

SP Mark Schroeder (WELS) has the audacity to call WELS orthodox while promoting the Mark Jeske Church and Change fund-raising operation at every opportunity.

SP Matt Harrison hymns the Olde Synodical Conference while transcending the battle, a battle that was never fought, since the Missouri leaders pushed it down on everyone while denying it was there.

Consider this - the Lutherans who grew up in the LCA and ALC of the past were far more Lutheran than the Olde Synodical Conference fakes of the present. The ALC/LCA members went to church expecting to sing real hymns and chant the liturgy. They did not crave feminist Bibles, feminist Creeds, and women teaching men. They were raised on the foundation of the English language, the King James (Tyndale) Bible, directly connected to Tyndale's study under Luther and Melanchthon.

The LCA/ALC members expected to hear a pipe organ, which supports hymn singing better than any other instrument. They looked forward to Biblical sermons rather than coaching or success story talks. They did not have monstrous screens hanging from the ceiling, nor did they expect a rock band cluttering the chancel with their instruments and befouling the narthex with their latest CDs on sale.

One of my good friends is a minister of music at an Evangelical church. When he learned that I still wore a robe and conducted the liturgy, he burst into laughter. I do not mind that he and his congregation have their style - that is their business. But I mind very much that Lutherans did not have the nerve to resist the total saturation of their denominations with the Fuller agenda.

Fungi Are Smarter Than People - I Read That in a Book

September 10, 2014, 2:42 am

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This fungus is smarter than you and I put together.

Fungi produce special structures— for example, mushrooms above ground or truffles below— to disperse spores. Since fungi grow in all sorts of environments, they have devised some elaborate methods to achieve spore dispersal, including attractive scents, triggers, springs, and jet propulsion systems. To ensure survival, fungal spores can develop tough membranes that allow them to go dormant for years if the conditions are not right for immediate germination. 
Jeff; Lowenfels, Jeff (2010-09-10). Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition (Kindle Locations 860-861). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

As one scientist observed, evolution gets increasingly difficult to promote at the microscopic level. Man-made devices, like the Swiss watch, look crude under a scanning microscope. God's Creation is a marvel of engineering. The author--an evolutionist and global warmist--has to use unusual language to explain how simple fungi can serve as the primary decomposition agents in the soil.

It is perfectly clear to the author - fungi have devised elaborate methods to achieve success! Likewise, desert plants have figured out that waxy leaves will ensure survival in the blazing sun. There must have been conferences of fungi and cacti, because both groups have many different strategies for dealing with the same issues in their environments.

That Chemical Factory in Our Plants
Intricate chemical systems created by God are used by bacteria and fungi to decay matter and hold nutrients in the soil to feed to plant roots. Harvesting some beans and tomatoes made me think about the more elaborate chemistry of plant cells turning solar energy and basic chemicals from the roots to fashion:

• Sunflowers - loaded with minerals, protein, and oil.
• Corn - sugar that turns to starch after harvesting, oil.
• Beans - carbohydrates.
• Spinach - fiber and iron.
• Potatoes - comfort food and a vitamin pill.
• Squash family - B vitamins in abundance.
• Cabbage family - cold weather plants with great nutrition.
• Carrots - sweet when raw, sweeter after a frost, like candy when cooked.

Lacking the ocean of life in the soil, the plants would never grow. And yet the plants also feed the soil. Most gardening books seem to think of compost as returning the organic matter to the soil, but more is involved than that. Although we eat the fruit, seed, roots, and tubers of these plants, we have a big plus when returning the garden trash to the soil.

1. The roots have penetrated the soil and established fellowship with fungi and bacteria.
2. Tap roots have mined the minerals from below.
3. Plants have formed cellulose, lignin, and carbohydrates for soil creatures to break down and store in the soil.
4. Rotting roots have fed soil life and left channels for rain and air to penetrate. The soil actually breathes when it rains.

Simply knowing the mutual dependencies of Creation can make us gifted gardeners who are the envy of the rototiller fan club.

Rototilling; spraying with herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and miticides; compacting soil; removing organic material from lawns and under trees —all these human practices affect the soil food webs in your yard and gardens. Once a niche is destroyed, the soil food web starts to work imperfectly. Once a member of a niche is gone, the same thing happens. In both instances, the gardener must step in to fill the gap, or the system completely fails. Rather than working against nature [GJ - Creation?], the gardener had better cooperate with it; and this, as we shall see, does not require a lot of hard labor— not if the gardener understands and teams up with the soil food web, letting its members do the work.
Lowenfels, Jeff (2010-09-10). Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition (Kindle Locations 1517-1520). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

To get this Knockout rose bloom, I dug a hole in the lawn, put the plant in it, mulched it, and added red wiggler earthworms.

Why Did Wisconsin Lutheran College Pick Archbishop Weakland To Speak? - Perhaps the Answer Is Here

September 11, 2014, 3:06 pm

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Roman Catholic Archbishop R. Weakland said that children wanted sex with adults. He protected his priests and had his own homosexual affair. Wisconsin Lutheran College hired him and his priests to lecture to the public - and denied it. Blackmail and embezzlement - familiar topics in WELS. A reaction to Weakland protecting abusers can be found here.

http://www.abusedinwisconsin.com/St_Johns_School_for_the_Deaf.aspx

John Doe 16

In the 1990's, many of Father Murphy's victims began to break their silence and report their abuse to the Archdiocese. Among those who reported was “John Doe 16”. John Doe 16, now an adult, and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Father Murphy at St. John's School for the Deaf, reported the abuse to Archbishop Weakland in 1994 and began a several year quest to have the Vatican hold the abuser accountable and remove him from the priesthood. After much back and forth between Catholic officials in Rome and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Murphy was never held accountable, never removed from the priesthood and when he died in 1998 Murphy was dressed in full vestments and a funeral mass was presided by Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba. 

New York Times Report 2010

In March, 2010, an article by Laurie Goodstein and David Callender in the New York Times reported on the Murphy debacle:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/us/27wisconsin.html 

John Doe 16 v. Holy See

In April of 2010, after years of dealing with a life time of severe emotional distress from his abuse as a child, John Doe 16, represented by Jeff Anderson and associates, filed a lawsuit in United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Division. The law suit, titled "John Doe 16 v. Holy See" names Pope Benedict and two of his top aides as defendants. 

The suit alleges that the pope, in an earlier role before his election, and other Vatican officials failed to discipline Murphy in the 1990s when US Church officials discovered the abuse, reported it to the Vatican and wanted him defrocked. 

The filing of the lawsuit, is the second such filed by Jeff Anderson and Associates on behalf of a victim of clergy abuse. 

CNN Documentary: John Doe 16 Breaks His Silence

In September of 2010, just a short time after filing his lawsuit against the Holy See, Terry Kohut, AKA John Doe 16, broke his almost 50 years of silence and spoke to CNN about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child at St. John's School for the Deaf. Click Here for CNN Documentary 

Later that year, Terry Kohut and fellow St John's victim of Father Murphy, Steve Geier, were featured in the magazine Deaf Life. http://www.deafpeople.com/dp_of_month/kohut.html 




Index of articles about Wisconsin Lutheran College's beloved Archbishop Weakland.

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Fun with Cold Weather

September 12, 2014, 7:19 pm

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The cold and rain has arrived here, though no snow for now. We were sweltering and batting at insects. Now I am thinking about cold weather projects.

I just ordered spinach so I can start it now, cover it for the winter, and harvest in the spring when the insects are not out and the spinach is crunchy with moisture. Fall-planted spinach will last through a bitter Minnesota winter and pop up for early spring.

Peas can be planted extra early in the spring, far earlier than people imagine.

Lettuce also loves cold and rain but bolts and turns bitter with heat.

Fall means the hardy bulbs will arrive soon and be planted: tulips, garlic, daffodils, giant aliums, crown imperials. Garlic will be my deterrent against predators going for the tulips. That may work.

I also started with suet, which I can buy at the meat market. I told them, "If the raccoons find it first, I am cutting off their supply."

Fat-loving birds are the ones that eat insects, so we want to see chickadees, starlings, woodpeckers, and many others clustered around the suet bags.

Even the Seminary President's Name Is Ambiguous. Save the Date - October 12, 2014. Will She Do an Ellen Afterwards?

September 13, 2014, 8:57 am

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Robin Steinke is the first woman Lutheran seminary president. Liz Eaton is the first woman to head a Lutheran denomination. Rebecca M. Bergman is first woman president of Gustavus Adolphus College. Paula J. Carlson is the first woman president of Luther College.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

THE INAUGURATION OF ROBIN J. STEINKE

SERVICE OF INSTALLATION

Save the Date!

October 12, 2014

3 p.m.

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, Minn.

Preaching: The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA Presiding Bishop

A reception will follow the service.

Get directions to Shepherd of the Valley.

ROBIN STEINKE

President

The Rev. Dr. Robin Steinke came to Luther Seminary as president in June 2014. She was the first woman in the 145-year history of the seminary to be named to the position.

Prior to coming to Luther Seminary, Steinke was the dean of the seminary and professor of theological ethics and public life at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, where she served from 1999. She previously served as an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor; a training manager and financial planner at American Express Financial Advisors; and a middle school band director in Marietta, Ga. Steinke is a graduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. She holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Sacred Theology from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in England.

Steinke is known for her strategic leadership and passion for sharing the gospel. She is involved in a number of important church and academic initiatives. She is currently co-chairing the national ELCA Theological Education Advisory Council that is evaluating and exploring the future of theological education. She serves as the ELCA Representative to the Lutheran World Federation Council and chairs their Endowment Fund. She is a member of the ELCA Ecclesiology Task Force and serves on a number of other church and academic committees. She previously served a six-year term as a commissioner for the Association of Theological Schools’ Commission on Accrediting.

Not WELS - A Valuable Property Stolen by the Episocopalians, Sold to Babtists

September 13, 2014, 1:32 pm

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GROTON, CT: Bishop Seabury Church sold to evangelical Baptist congregation

By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
August 21, 2014
The Diocese of Connecticut, which is bleeding money and people and who recently let a bishop go because it can no longer support three bishops, has sold a flagship parish after the congregation was forced to leave following the parish and priest's rejection of the theological and moral innovations of The Episcopal Church.

The building, formerly known as Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church on North Road in Groton, has been sold to Stedfast (sic) Babtist Church, which describes itself as independent Babtist with "one message--the message of the Lord Jesus Christ, and one ministry--the ministry He has given us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." The church is also the home of several other ministries.

No price was given for the sale. The Land Clerk's office in Groton said there was an exemption clause on the sale of the building, so no price was available. The diocese also did not reveal how much it received in their press release.

The message of Stedfast Babtist is the same message that the former occupants under Fr. Ron Gauss declared, but a very different message from the one proclaimed by Bishop Ian Douglas, the diocesan Bishop of Connecticut, whose gospel is more one of inclusion and diversity.
Douglas had already lost what became known as the "Ct. Six" -- the most active orthodox Episcopal parishes in his diocese -- and with it a sizeable portion of income to the diocese. Fr. Gauss was one of the original "Ct Six." After the group lost their suit in federal court to preserve their rights of worship, the Bishop of Connecticut and his Diocese filed suit against the rector and vestry of Bishop Seabury Church in 2008 to establish their ownership of the property under the supposed terms of the trust unilaterally imposed by the malodorous Dennis Canon. The trial court ruled against the parish in 2010; the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the trial court's decision in September 2011; and the United States Supreme Court declined to review that decision earlier this year.

Douglas set a policy, reinforced by the national Church and Mrs. Jefferts Schori, of "no negotiations for properties and no sale to Anglican churches." The parish had attempted to negotiate with the bishop but to no avail. Fr. Gauss had sought a negotiated settlement, but the response was a temporary rental -- nothing else.

According to a press release from the diocese, the last 18 months have seen lay and ordained leaders from the Bishops' Office and from Episcopal parishes in Gales Ferry, New London, Niantic, Norwich, Poquetanuck, Stonington, Mystic, and Yantic attempting ways of discerning what God is up to in Groton and its environs, and how the resources of the Bishop Seabury Church might best be used to extend God's mission in Groton and across Connecticut.
In a community-wide meeting in January, representatives of the neighborhood, social service agencies, other faith communities, and municipal offices all shared their hopes and dreams, needs and aspirations for Groton. The meeting came up empty-handed despite the need for housing for wounded veterans, a community center, and a soup kitchen. In the end, it was decided that the best option would be to sell the building to another Christian community and use the proceeds to support a new missionary program of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut if indeed that ever comes about.

So with all these efforts of liberal do gooders, and despite the tremendous need in the area, all the surrounding parish leaders could not come up with anything, even with a soup kitchen, to keep the property from being sold. Finding no basis therefore in keeping the property, the diocese sold it to an evangelical Babtist congregation who, they say, will keep the gospel alive under the noses of liberal Episcopalians.

"There is irony heaped upon irony here," the Ven. Ronald S. Gauss, Rector of Bishop Seabury Anglican Church, Gales Ferry, CT, told VOL. "These Babtists no more tolerate homosexual behavior than we do; they have a clear fix on the gospel as we do; and now they have bought the property from one of TEC's most liberal bishops. God has got a great sense of humor."
A further irony is that the Babtist church is growing and they were looking to relocate to a new and larger facility. The money was too good to pass up for Bishop Douglas as he watches his parishes age and wither and income into the diocese drops.

In a press release, Douglas said of the sale, "I am delighted that the building formerly known as Bishop Seabury Church will continue to be a house of prayer for sisters and brothers in Christ. And I am particularly excited that the resources freed up by the sale of the building will help to underwrite a new missionary program through the Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. After all, Bishop Samuel Seabury, the first bishop in The Episcopal Church, was a pioneering missionary in these parts in the early years of American independence. I can think of no better use of the money coming from the sale of the church that bears his name than to support new missionaries in Connecticut today."

Said Fr. Gauss; "If the building was not going to be used by our congregation, it couldn't have been put to better use. One note is that Bishop Seabury Church in all of its 140 years of existence was never called Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church. The original name was Bishop Seabury Memorial Church, and later shortened to Bishop Seabury Church. The Diocese has removed The Seabury Window, and all other memorial items (The Seabury Pulpit, Altars and Lecterns) from the property. It is my prayer that they are put to good use and not just stored away somewhere or sold. Hopefully the funds obtained from the "short sale" of Bishop Seabury Church will be used to present the REAL Gospel of Jesus the Christ, and not the socially correct Gospel that caused Bishop Seabury Church to depart the Episcopal Church."

Several WELS cronies of Mark Jeske stole this congregation, St. John in Milwaukee.

Where was the protest from the Love Shack when St. John's property and endowment were stolen?

Silence Protects the Abusers

September 13, 2014, 9:42 pm

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Saturday, September 13, 2014

Expanding the Focus

http://shatteredpulpit.blogspot.com/2014/09/expanding-focus.html

Before people get bored reading my story, and move on to something more interesting, I am expanding the focus of the Shattered Pulpit to include the perspective of others who have had similar experiences. I can write about it from the victim’s standpoint, but I can’t explain it from any other viewpoint. I think it is important for people to understand what happens as a result of these sins from all angles not just a victim’s.  

The New Focus:
A look behind the closed door of Lutheran clergy sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse with first-hand accounts from victims, family members, congregants, coworkers, leaders, pastors & perpetrators to aid in the understanding & prevention of further exploitation. By reading viewpoints from all angles, people will not only better understand the early warning signs to prevent it, but also the devastating affect that it has on everyoneinvolved.

Author: I survived extensive clergy sexual abuse at the hands of a long-time WELS Lutheran pastor which ultimately destroyed my faith and soul. I share my story with how it started, progressed, the red flags that everyone missed, and how it destroyed me emotionally & spiritually. 

To anonymously share your story, from any angle, email: lilliansuearmstrong@gmail.com

***

GJ - In a parallel story. the NFL uses a similar protection scheme to keep scandals out of the news or to tamp them down as soon as they erupt.

The Synod Presidents are really in charge of damage control, which means denying the obvious, absolving the guilty and unrepentant, and slandering anyone who talks. When I was still following ELCA, the denomination reported scandals in their national magazine and in their news releases. They certainly did not report everything.

So-called news departments are public relations efforts. Someone can track the agenda by what is reported and what is spiked. Herman Otten was always eager to spike stories for the ELS, LCMS, and WELS. His readers did not want to see anything against Holy Mother Synod unless it was part of the Otten-Cascione agenda.

Two major factors in clergy abuse are alcoholism and Thrivent. 

Alcoholism and drug abuse are both the cause and the excuse. "I didn't know what I was doing because I was drunk."

One sure sign of clergy alcoholism is the need to have meetings, "ministries",  and "Bible studies" in bars. I would also look for the alcoholic liver, the belly that extends beyond the normal body shape.

Thrivent fosters abuse by its genocidal support of abortion on demand through the funding of Planned Parenthood. By grouping all the Lutherans together in funding and projects, Thrivent reduces everyone to the lowest common denominator and erases any sense of compassion for the victims. Smooth operations and gobs of money are the goals.

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. Luke 10:23-36. The Good Samaritan

September 14, 2014, 7:07 am

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The Good Samaritan, by Norma Boeckler

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 281     The Savior Calls               1:29

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 #259            Flung to the Heedless Winds 1:64 

The Entire Bible is a Sermon about Jesus

The Communion Hymn # 308 Invited, Lord, by Boundless Grace                    1:63

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 # 464     Blest Be the Tie That Binds            1:39 

KJV Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritancebe of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19 Wherefore then serveththe law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

KJV Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Luther’s Sermons on the Good Samaritan

Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast granted us to live in this accepted time, when we may hear Thy holy gospel, know Thy fatherly will, and behold Thy Son, Jesus Christ! We pray Thee, most merciful Father: Let the light of Thy holy word remain with us, and so govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may never forsake Thy word, but remain steadfast in it, and finally obtain eternal salvation; through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Entire Bible is a Sermon about Jesus

KJV Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The beginning of this lesson is a sermon in itself. Jesus told His disciples privately that the great and wise had longed to hear such words and to see such miracles, and they did not. But the disciples, who were ordinary men by the standards of the day, were able to see and hear what no one else had - ever before.

The same is true of believers. The Bible sells in the millions but many read it with veiled eyes, thanks to 150 years of the new rationalism and various enthusiasms. They have the words before them, but they only see meanings in harmony with their own agenda.

When I tried to show a class of non-Lutherans how the New NIV reversed the meaning of Romans 3 by adding an extra "all," my smartest student said, "But justification by faith is still there." The great and wise in Lutherdom thought one "all" erased justification by faith, but a college student saw through it, acknowledging the impact of one added "all" in one verse. 

Of course, the Jefferson Bible fan club sees the New Testament only in terms of those sections they like - and those parts are few in number. But many Lutherans are no different because they refuse to see the Bible as a whole and mentally erase the other parts from their understanding. That is like saying Gone with the Wind is a novel about farming, since it starts and ends on a Southern plantation.

So, when students in Old Testament write about Adam and Eve, I remind them the key verse is the Promise of a Savior. Forgetting Genesis 3:15 is like Christmas without the Nativity, Easter without the Resurrection, or football without Notre Dame. These are illustrations of the fallacy of emphasis, getting the meaning wrong by leaving out something in favor of the agenda item.

The Fall of Man is the setting for the Promise of the Son of God redeeming the world of sin. 

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

Here we have an excellent sample of a Parable that serves to be a gold mine for agendas, mostly to make people feel guilty and sad. Their agendas are a familiar logical fallacy - the fallacy of emphasis, which I mentioned above. The Parable is certainly about loving one's neighbor, but what comes first?

Luther constantly taught two things from the Bible - faith and love. Faith is our relationship with God, which always needs purification (cross) and strengthening (Means of Grace). Apart from faith, the Bible is no longer the Word of God, but a word about God. 

Clearly there are two parts to this summary of the Torah. One is love of God, the other is love of neighbor. As Hoenecke said so concisely, Pietism confuses the two and makes works the cause of justification rather than the effect of justification.

That is why the entire Bible is a sermon about Jesus, because the purpose of the Scriptures is to create and strengthen faith in the Son of God, our Savior. The Bible presents Jesus as a kindly, gracious, welcoming person who draws people to Him by His forgiving and patient manner. Those who doubt this should consult the ending of John's Gospel, where he stated his purpose - to create faith and through faith, salvation.

John 20:

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

It is also noteworthy that the lawyer wished to justify himself, so his question was no sincere but tricky. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? So do we want a sermon based on a question intended to trap Jesus?

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

This is where the modern Pharisees find a rant about works rather than a sermon about Jesus. But in fact, they are the unbelievers who put on a big show and do nothing to help anyone.

Their tirades are not any good unless they make everyone feel guilty about not doing this or that. If they have, it is not enough.

Some hometown liberals were bemoaning racial prejudice in the past and stirring up the guilt. I pointed out that I was teaching in a former slave state, one famous for racial conflict - and my classes were filled with all races - no problem. The Gospel unites people. Lutherans coming to America were disgusted by slavery, and Christianity was a key component in ending that horrible practice. Stephan, the founder of the LCMS, had no problem with slavery because his ethnic group used slaves.

Liberal guilt comes from the fallacy that we make up for our sins by doing good things. That never satisfies since it is done for the wrong reasons and is never enough.

Luke 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 

Jesus is the Good Samaritan. He went to a man who was barely alive and began to minister to him. He began to heal his wounds (forgiveness). He used oil (the comfort of the Gospel) and wine (the sharpness of the cross). We still use oil for healing. This morning we put coconut oil in the coffee for sore throats and oil on the skin where it was dry and ouchy. Wine is obviously antiseptic, but Luther saw the bite of the wine as the cross. Faith requires knowledge of the cross or initial faith is crushed by immediate negative reactions.

One blogger wondered about impact, so I replied, "Nasty and manipulative messages mean you are right on target." That is the cross, doing what is God-pleasing and having church people treat you like Judas Iscariot and a thousand demons besides.

Notice in the Parable what else Jesus does. First is the initial treatment, then far more than we might expect - being put on a beast of burden (given access to the Gospel), carried to the inn (which is the House of God, where the Means of Grace are distributed), and taken care of there. He stayed with the almost-dead man to help heal him. People want to sit on a park bench and spend hours talking to Jesus, according to Facebook responses. Jesus is there in the Word of God every day, all day.

Luke 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Jesus not only cares for the wounded and dying in the House of God, but He also provides for innkeepers - pastors - to supplement His work in His name, and provides for them as well.

How can this be a works sermons when Jesus asks the ultimate question.

Luke 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Because I was blinded by works rants in the past, I found this ending perplexing, lopsided. Something was wrong. When that seems to be true, the error is in ourselves and not in the text.

The ending is perfect for the meaning. Who is this neighbor we should love? The one who showed mercy (Jesus the Samaritan, the Rejected One).

Go and do likewise - "Love Jesus and the fruit of that love will be works pleasing to God. Salvation begins with faith in Jesus, love for the Gentle Samaritan, and the fruit of that love and faith is kindness to our neighbors..."