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| Here's to Liebig, who should be a WELS hero, because he was dead wrong and spawned the chemical fertilizer industry anyway. |
http://welsdocument.blogspot.com/2015/01/among-hidden-fear-of-speaking-out.html?showComment=1421455288472
- So, the reason the WELS or any synod goes haywire, is not just because of the leaders, or the heretics, or such, but because there were not enough courageous people to "fill the gap;" indeed, because far too many had all kinds of bravery behind the label of anonymous, but not enough to charge by name when the bugle sounded. So, again I say to all those anonymous criers complaining about their dear synod going in directions they don't want it to go - YOU have the power to stop it. YOU have the ability to turn it around. YOU are responsible - nobody else - just you. So, speak up or be quite, but please no more anonymous drivel. Enough already!
For myself, I have been "speaking out" since my very first WELS conference as an 18-year-old lay delegate, and throughout college, seminary, and my entire ministry. Have I been called names - sure. Have I been told to shut-up - yeah. Have I been threatened with "black-balling" - yep. But the Calls kept coming, and my ministry continued. Has it been unpleasant at times - absolutely! Has it been lonely quite often - very much! Has it cost me personally and professionally - no question. But, so what?! I'm still here. Still kicking. What would I do different? Oh my, there are not enough words in the world to go into all that! But would I take the anonymous route - no way, and still be true to myself, my heritage, and my faith.
I'll watching with great interest to see if I'm wrong, and so to read about the hundreds and hundreds of examples over the years where those who have spoken out have suffered terrible consequences. Perhaps I just haven't been paying close enough attention.
Of course, on the other hand, if such examples don't show up, I would expect people - including the moderators of this site - to drop the anonymous nonsense and come out into the open.
It will be nice to have some more company for a change! Welcome to the fight!
Deo Vindice!
Reverend Father Steven D. Spencer
Trinity Orthodox Lutheran Church
Sierra Vista, AZ - ***
- GJ - Mark Schroeder's classmate and spin-doctor has done it again. Missing is the account of Intrepid Lutherans being targeted by district death-squads, to cease having their names on the blog. And that worked. The pastors and most laity jumped ship too - including the founder, Steve Spencer hisself. The latest post - from a layman - is from Thanksgiving.
- Ecclesia Augustana stopped publishing new articles over a year ago.
- Bailing Water had three editors, all forced to stop.
- Spencer should remember Issues in WELS. DP Free, who called Spencer "a cancer that should be removed" reversed himself and urged Steve to promote the conferences. That was under SP Gurgle, who despised the group. Soon it was disbanded and all the posts erased.
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- The only group to have thrived and grown is Church and Change, which runs the whole synod. Instead of being punished for their false doctrine, they are rewarded and protected. They can abuse members and be absolved. They can drink on the job, fake promise to dry out, and still find a safe harbor.
- I could list a few dozen experiences, each one exposing the false doctrine and abusive nature of WELS.
- People contact me about severe abuse in WELS and the ELS. I know many stories that cannot be hinted at. People trust someone who keeps confidences instead of feeding names to the DP and SP.
- WELS should be happy there are any laity left to fund their extravagances, upper level salaries, and pay-offs to avoid courtroom appearances.
- Whatever you do folks, pastors or laity, do not contact any WELS clergy. Go to an attorney recommended by the bar association and start there. Let that person be the sole contact.
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The president of DMLC defended a murderer in court.
WELS covered up for a second murderer and
had no problem with his serving a new congregation.- Typical WELS Pastor - Hiding Behind "Anonymous"
- AnonymousJanuary 16, 2015 at 3:48 PMI will make a comment similar to one I made on a previous blog. In my years in ministry, I have never been shy about speaking up in circuit meetings, and conferences, and conventions. I have made personal phone calls and sent personal emails. I have spoken up on many occasions, to the point that I'm sure some wished I would shut up. Obviously, none of those were done anonymously. But as Pastor Spencer has said, I've never faced any real negative consequences. I have regularly received calls, and have served in conference, district, and Synod capacities.
But when commenting on some of these issues online, for the time being, I prefer to remain anonymous. One main reasons is that I do not want the required proctological exam from Ichabod, picking through everything I've ever written (much of which is still available online), looking for whatever quotes he can pull out of context, digging up whatever dirt he can find, in an attempt to smear me. While I don't feel I have anything to hide, I just don't want his fingers there. So in these types of public blogs, most of the time, I prefer the blanket of anonymity. - GJ - So much to unravel here. I keep seeing a scatological obsession among the WELS clergy. I imagine many of them were potty-trained at gunpoint.
- They would like to say anything and yet not be known for their words. There are no actual circumstances described in this parson's heroic attacks on the synod. He was careful to note all his honorific positions, in spite of his Don Quixote personality.
- I am glad he wrote, because he illustrates how the Circuit Pastors, District Presidents, and Synod President work. They hide behind a cloak of anonymity and feed false accusations to the gullible. The best liars work their way to the top and winter in the Caribbean.
- The prime example is the WELS Grapevine, a way of poisoning the well - or WELS - anonymously.
- Why did a former seminary president oppose the merger of Northwestern College and DMLC? Answer - He was senile. Yes, I heard it on the Grapevine.
- Why did Corky K. write against Church Growth and the merger? Answer - He was brain-damaged. I heard that on the Grapevine too.
- There is another grapevine where believers abide and bear fruit, but many WELS pastors know nothing about it. They have never taken John 15:1-10 seriously.
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- Anonymous 3:48 - Your comments about Dr. Jackson are out of line and off base. I have known him personally for over 25 years. You may disagree with his views or the way he runs his ministry or blog - very many do, and that's fine. But unless you're going to document the accusations you make, you really should not speak so. To remain anonymous out of fear of being featured on Ichabod is an extremely weak excuse. Come on, you can do better than that - or maybe not.Reply
The fact is, there is no excuse or rational explanation for this silly anonymity, aside from plain old fear, and I think everyone pretty much knows that in their minds. Facing fear is the first step in defeating it. It has been said that we are all cowards, just about different things. And some fears are good, they keep us from doing stupid and/or dangerous things. But it is still fear. That's all I'm saying. Again, as with the unconfessional direction some pastors and churches seem to be taking, don't blame "the synod" whatever and whoever that's supposed to be - it's the people who are remiss. So with this plague of anonymous voices, it's not the leaders who are to blame, and the supposed persecution by them, but the anonymous ones themselves who are giving in to their fear, and without much, if any, rational reason. What if Luther had given in to his VERY rational and real fears? If he had we'd probably all be worried about suffering for thousands of years in purgatory right now, instead of defending the right to be anonymous on some Lutheran web site! Consider that while you ponder who and what you really are. Sin fin. - AnonymousJanuary 16, 2015 at 8:08 PMI am going to play the 8th commandment card ;) Why not take the words and actions of anonymous posters in the best light, assuming they are being respectful towards everyone else. Perhaps their church is adding contemporary worship or they have heard about such churches in the WELS and have concerns, perhaps they recently moved and transferred to a church and they are beginning to notice a "odd" direction & evangelical lingo filtering in, perhaps they don't quite know where they stand yet on the issue. Perhaps they came across Ichabod and don't want to be highlighted and a meme named after them. Perhaps they just need time to figure things out. Perhaps they don't agree with their current congregation's "philosophy of ministry" yet they don't feel like they can leave (for whatever reason). Not everyone has another WELS church down the block or perhaps that one is "worse". Perhaps an online community is the only way they feel they have someone that understands their so called "non-missional","out-of-date", "traditional" view but their own congregation would reject them. Perhaps, you are not in the same shoes as those who post anonymously and until you walked a mile in them can not understand the emotional difficulty and cross they have carried to try to draw a line on where they stand on these difficult issues. Instead of judging them to condemnation perhaps you could lovingly support and encourage them and try to understand that you may not realize all the details. Perhaps they/I will be encouraged to speak up at some point. If you don't want to read or reply to the posts of anonymous posters feel free to bypass... no one is stopping you.
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Here is another evil meme, quoting Luther.
How dastardly, how malicious,
to teach others about Luther's doctrine and faith.
AnonymousJanuary 16, 2015 at 8:12 PMSorry Pastor Spencer, but his most recent post, attacking you, me, and every WELS pastor, kind of proves my point.
Now, as for consequences to speaking out. I think you will find that you're going to get very few actual cases of negative repercussions, because as far as I know there are very few "documented" cases that could be sited (sic!). Those on your list are not all because of "speaking out." For example, whether one agrees with Pastor Rydecki's take on justification or not, it should be stated that his suspension was specifically based on that issue and not simply for speaking out as an Intrepid Lutheran. And as far as IL goes, the main reason it went by the wayside is because of that same issue. People were being suspected of agreeing with him, whether they did or not, just by their association with IL. Now, that was not fair, but it was what it was, and was not due to just speaking out. The Techlin matter, and that involving the former CORE secretary and her husband, it seems to me, do indeed fit your description pretty well, but again, how many more like those could actually be documented. A few, no doubt, but not a ton, again, as far as I know. I await enlightenment.
My point is simply this: Yes, people post anonymous comments out of fear of repercussions, but that's all it really is, FEAR of repercussions. And yes, there are a few cases where such fears were indeed justified, but far fewer than people think. The bottom line is - if many, many more people would speak up and speak out and be willing to be identified, they could not all possibly be attacked or silenced. The sheer numbers would make such a reaction by whomever impossible. OK, a few of those in the front of the "wave" might have to take it in the shorts, but like dead bodies on top of barbed wire, they would make it easier for their comrades behind them to push through the offensive to success. "Once more unto the breech, until we fill the gap with our English dead . . . !" continued . . .