Thursday, February 24, 2011

Change or Die - Update

Since our post last week in which we addressed the ill-conceived Change or Die conference scheduled for March 10th, we have not received any communication from Pastor Jeske or Pastor Skorzewski in response to our letter.

When we approached members of the COP to see if they were aware of this conference, we were informed of the following:
  • The WELS Conference of Presidents had scheduled a meeting concerning this conference even prior to our post on Intrepid Lutherans.

  • The WELS COP has unanimously requested that Pastors Jeske and Skorzewski not participate in this conference.

As of this time, the conference brochure and registration form remain unchanged on the Siebert Lutheran Foundation website.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

And if they go anyway........?

Scott E. Jungen

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki said...

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

It is our hope and prayer, and even our loving assumption, that the rebuke from God's Word and the request from their overseers in the Church will convince our brothers not only to pull out of this conference, but to see and admit the error of it. That will be cause for great rejoicing.

Pastor Jeff Samelson said...

I remember another time -- about 12 or 13 years or so ago -- that the CoP requested that a someone not go ahead with something that was causing offense in the WELS. They (WLC) went ahead with it anyway. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see what happens in the next few weeks.

Unknown said...

I felt compelled to right my own letter to Pastor Jeske and sent it last week via postal mail. Most likely, a return letter has not had time to come back my way. We leave the results of this to God.

Perry Lund
Grace Evangelical Lutheran
Oskaloosa, IA.

Anonymous said...

Once one draws a line in the sand, there can be no compromise. If indeed right is right and wrong is wrong, the Intrepids must hold their ground, or retreat into the company of fools comprised of those who sit by the side of the road and wait for someone to do something significant. A "request" by the COP is not the decisive action expected or required; they should not abdicate leadership, they should exercise leadership, and make a clear statement that we untheologically trained laymen can clearly understand.
Kenneth Jamka

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki said...

To give our leaders the benefit of the doubt, we (at IL) don't know the form this "request" took. It may well be the decisive action required. It may have been more forceful than a request. And they may be planning on making their judgment public once those involved have been given time to respond.

We won't let the issue go. For the moment, we will give Pastors Jeske and Ski a little more time to respond, either to us or to the COP, or preferrably to all those who have contacted them, which would seem to be the loving thing to do.

This can't drag on for months. The conference is coming up in two weeks. By that time we should know if the pastors involved have accepted the COP's (and our) admonition gratefully, acknowledging their error (which would be cause for great rejoicing), or if they have accepted the COP's (and our) admonition under protest (which would not yet be cause for rejoicing), or if they have rejected the admonitions they have received (which would be cause for even greater concern).

Anonymous said...

Praying for all involved.

I wish I was as hopeful as Pastor Rydecki, but I am not. I think this issue has gone on unchecked for too long and the error will not be seen. Hopefully, I'm wrong.

Shanna Wright

Intrepid Lutherans said...

Shanna - thank you for taking the time to comment.

So, then the question becomes, "What if . . .?"

What if the admonition and request of the 12 District Presidents of the WELS is ignored or rejected?

Some would say we shouldn't cross that bridge until we come to it, and that's fine.

Still, it's always good to plan for every eventuality.

I'd be interested to hear what our readers think confessional Lutherans in the WELS should do in case the Change or Die conference goes on with Rev.s Jeske and Ski still participating.

Pastor Spencer

Daniel Baker said...

We could stage a protest and camp out at the synod headquarters in Wauwatosa.

Oh wait, the teachers' union took that idea already.

All jesting aside, I'm not sure what can be done (assuming Pastors Jeske and Ski do not repent of their error). In the very least, it seems to me that Pastors Jeske and Ski will have proven that they do not share our fellowship principles, and thus are not united in doctrine with our synod. Perhaps some formal declaration of that kind would be in order.

One thing we will know (again assuming the worst) is that letter writing will have proven itself to be a fruitless endeavor.

Anonymous said...

If false doctrine and practice are consistently tolerated and if attempts at rebuke and correction are consistently ignored, then, finally, what other option is there but to separate from those who tolerate false doctrine and ignore correction?

Mr. Adam Peeler

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on that idea Adam!

I have consistantly heard through the years and continuing to this day, that the word "synod" means "walking together".

There are just so many people, and that includes these clergy members as well as others,that have decided to take some hikes of their own off the path so well marked in God's Word, blazed for us by our Savior Jesus. They don't want to "walk together" and are so proud of their new paths and the "success" they are having along the "new" trails.

Well, I may be outwardly trying to hang on to the shreds of youth that I have left, but as a result of the experiences I've had in my spiritual life, I've gained enough wisdom to know the following is true: When a person is following God's Word and trying to follow Him, life is going to be a struggle because Satan wants you in his sheep pen and won't be happy until you are. Likewise, things are substantially easier when we follow our own paths... Satan doesn't need to bother with what's already his.

I believe it's time to do a little gardening pull the weeds from the trail as well as the dead wheat on the rocky ground that are obscuring the path that God laid out for those who are walking together on the narrow path...

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 11:15) Let's all be listening to the true God - the one in the Bible!

Linda Sasieta

Joe Krohn said...

Here's an update for ya!

http://www.churchandchange.org/

Anonymous said...

Is there a good reason why these pastors were not approached brotherly with a personal confrontation? At the least, a private phone call? Did the letter need to be published before a response could be given, or at least the conference had been held and it was determined whether they attended, or not?

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