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| ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber |
As many of you know I was at the funeral this Monday of Cythia Burnside, wiife (sic) of bishop Bruce Burnside. I met Bruce at the ELCA church-wide assembly and had preached about that the following Sunday. I preached about how he and I had sat next to each other at a worship service where I discovered that his wife had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a month before. During a particularly un-sing-able hymn that I was distracted by hating…I realized he was crying. So, throwing my snotty opinions about church music aside I just had to sing that terrible hymn twice as loud because my grieving brother in Christ couldn’t sing. After the liturgy ended, even though I was a new pastor he had just met and he was a bishop I asked him if he would like for me to pray for him and anoint him with oil and his eyes teared up and he said thank you yes. I committed to pray for him every day since and checked in occasionally via text message and email. At his wife’s funeral Monday I asked him “Who pastors Bishops?” He whispered “no one.” So, here’s the thing…I don’t really think I was the one who allowed Christ to be revealed in this encounter… it was Bruce. Because Bruce allowed himself to bear a need that someone else could, however imperfectly meet. And when the grief of our brother was cared about Jesus was cared about.
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GJ - ELCA has passed from Old Pietism, its roots, to Neo-Pietism, which is mainline dogma (everyone forgiven) with sappy examples like this portrayed as the Christian faith. Doncha feel better, now?
I ran into this when researching the drunken ELCA bishop (Burnside, mentioned above, pictured below), and I thought, "This is Ski rubbing Jesus all over people."
The Pietists reject the Means of Grace, so they invent absurdities about revealing Jesus in these touching little vignettes - sob.
Jesus comes to us through the Means of Grace. He is revealed in the Means of Grace. Little saint stories like this make people think they can replace faith in Christ with Pharisaical gestures.
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| Burnside is still an ELCA bishop, just as Ed Werner remained a WELS DP when facing prison. Burnside will have a different relationship with bars from now on. |
ELCA BIshop Accused in DUI-Related Death
A woman named Maureen Mengelt was out running near her home in Wisconsin on Sunday, as she often did. She was struck by a car and killed. Our prayers go out to her family and friends.
Sadly, the driver of the car was Bruce Burnside, bishop of the ELCA's South-Central Wisconsid (sic) Synod. He is being held by police, and has been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol. The police did not release his BAC to the press. Our prayers go out to Bishop Burnside and, especially, the people of his synod.
Burnside was on his way to a meeting at one of his synod's congregations.
Although we do not find that Lutheran pastors drink any more than the average person, or even as much, we most definitely have come to believe that alcoholism and depression occur at very high rates among our colleagues. This includes bishops; it was not long ago that Bishop Marsh was required to step down from his position in Detroit for similar reasons. [GJ - WELS promotes alcoholism in the clergy - and rewards it - until the obvious happens.]
We have no numbers to back any of this up. We're not even aware that anybody has ever studied it. But we do think that our health plan, which famously rewards us for taking a five-minute online assessment of things like our vegetable intake, might reward us even more highly for getting into AA and/or seeing a psychotherapist regularly.
Sadly, the driver of the car was Bruce Burnside, bishop of the ELCA's South-Central Wisconsid (sic) Synod. He is being held by police, and has been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol. The police did not release his BAC to the press. Our prayers go out to Bishop Burnside and, especially, the people of his synod.
Burnside was on his way to a meeting at one of his synod's congregations.
Although we do not find that Lutheran pastors drink any more than the average person, or even as much, we most definitely have come to believe that alcoholism and depression occur at very high rates among our colleagues. This includes bishops; it was not long ago that Bishop Marsh was required to step down from his position in Detroit for similar reasons. [GJ - WELS promotes alcoholism in the clergy - and rewards it - until the obvious happens.]
We have no numbers to back any of this up. We're not even aware that anybody has ever studied it. But we do think that our health plan, which famously rewards us for taking a five-minute online assessment of things like our vegetable intake, might reward us even more highly for getting into AA and/or seeing a psychotherapist regularly.
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| Discussing doctrine in WELS is forbidden - unless they are forcing their peculiar dogmas on others. |
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WELS financed and promoted this kind of sermon - and it is still posted on the websty of Gausewitz' father's congregation:
http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/pastor-skis-scrotum-sermon-at-morrison.html
Our church’s mission statement downtown is this... The Core exists to transform lives for Jesus through faith that is real, relevant and relational. My personal mission statement is this, because I’ve developed my own... From every pore of my body, I will ooze Jesus Christ so that in this world, as I brush up against people, my sweaty, oozy Jesus will get all over them! Every day he gives you opportunities. Every day!
WELS financed and promoted this kind of sermon - and it is still posted on the websty of Gausewitz' father's congregation:
http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/pastor-skis-scrotum-sermon-at-morrison.html
Our church’s mission statement downtown is this... The Core exists to transform lives for Jesus through faith that is real, relevant and relational. My personal mission statement is this, because I’ve developed my own... From every pore of my body, I will ooze Jesus Christ so that in this world, as I brush up against people, my sweaty, oozy Jesus will get all over them! Every day he gives you opportunities. Every day!