Nearly 48 hours after our latest Appleton update, Rick Techlin posted on his own blog, Light from Light, that his membership at St. Peter Lutheran Church of Freedom, WI, was terminated on April 11.
Now that he has shared St. Peter's public actions against him, as well as his decision to file an appeal of his termination of fellowship with the district, we would like to reiterate our support for Rick, whom we at Intrepid Lutherans still consider to be our WELS brother.
We pray for Rick, for the Board of Appeals, for the Northern Wisconsin District and for our whole synod. May the Truth of Christ prevail!
We would ask that any comments submitted on this issue would refrain from taking pot shots at any of the individuals involved. That would not help our brother Rick.
Pastor Paul Lidtke
Showing posts with label appleton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appleton. Show all posts
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Silence Is Broken: An Appleton Update
“This issue, and now the silence following it, has deeply shook my confidence in our synod.”
Dan Johnson (5/3/11)
The WELS Conference of Presidents (COP) reports in the recently released Book of Reports and Memorials for this summer’s synod convention:
“One continuing area of discussion is the matter of congregational practices in the areas of worship, outreach, and organization. While fully committed to the scriptural principle of Christian freedom, the COP continues to encourage congregations to determine carefully those things that lie within the realm of Christian freedom and then to exercise Christian freedom with wisdom, brotherly love, and extensive consultation with others in our fellowship who may be affected. The COP maintains, as it has in the past, that our practice in all of these areas should be consistent with our doctrine and should reflect a unified understanding of scriptural principles. It continues to encourage open and brotherly discussion of these matters at circuit, conference, and district meetings, convinced that such discussions, done in a spirit of Christian love and based on an ongoing study of God’s Word, are essential to maintaining our unity, our understanding of Christian freedom, and our clear identity as a confessional Lutheran church body.” (Emphasis added)
The concerns raised by a group of five WELS pastors and two laymen in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley have everything to do with “congregational practices in the areas of worship, outreach, and organization.” They center on the “exercise (of) Christian freedom with wisdom (and) brotherly love.” There’s a desire for “extensive consultation with others in our fellowship who may be affected.” And the concern is absolutely about how “our practice in all these areas should be consistent with our doctrine and should reflect a unified understanding of scriptural principles.”
The highlighted portion of the paragraph above relates why there has been silence since the March 25 meeting. We were told not to write in a blog about anything that was discussed. I’m not saying that I agree with this, but I’ve done my best to respect the request.
I will say this: the concerns we had were answered by the district presidium in a written response. There was a time for discussion, but it did little to bring the two sides closer to a real agreement on the issues before us. Nevertheless, there is a desire to keep talking.
As for Rick Techlin, please stay in touch with his situation by visiting his blog, "Light from Light." I’ve agreed to allow him to speak for himself.
I’m sorry, Dan, that your faith in our synod’s resolve to teach pure doctrine is shaken. As a whole, I believe the WELS is still committed to that. When practices that threaten to upset our unity of doctrine are paraded in front of the public on the internet, a public response may very well be called for, even if it’s not our first choice.
The Intrepid Lutherans’ hope has always been for an open, honest discussion on the matters of doctrine and practice that threaten to divide our synod. We still hope for that, instead of silence.
Pastor Paul Lidtke
Dan Johnson (5/3/11)
The WELS Conference of Presidents (COP) reports in the recently released Book of Reports and Memorials for this summer’s synod convention:
“One continuing area of discussion is the matter of congregational practices in the areas of worship, outreach, and organization. While fully committed to the scriptural principle of Christian freedom, the COP continues to encourage congregations to determine carefully those things that lie within the realm of Christian freedom and then to exercise Christian freedom with wisdom, brotherly love, and extensive consultation with others in our fellowship who may be affected. The COP maintains, as it has in the past, that our practice in all of these areas should be consistent with our doctrine and should reflect a unified understanding of scriptural principles. It continues to encourage open and brotherly discussion of these matters at circuit, conference, and district meetings, convinced that such discussions, done in a spirit of Christian love and based on an ongoing study of God’s Word, are essential to maintaining our unity, our understanding of Christian freedom, and our clear identity as a confessional Lutheran church body.” (Emphasis added)
The concerns raised by a group of five WELS pastors and two laymen in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley have everything to do with “congregational practices in the areas of worship, outreach, and organization.” They center on the “exercise (of) Christian freedom with wisdom (and) brotherly love.” There’s a desire for “extensive consultation with others in our fellowship who may be affected.” And the concern is absolutely about how “our practice in all these areas should be consistent with our doctrine and should reflect a unified understanding of scriptural principles.”
The highlighted portion of the paragraph above relates why there has been silence since the March 25 meeting. We were told not to write in a blog about anything that was discussed. I’m not saying that I agree with this, but I’ve done my best to respect the request.
I will say this: the concerns we had were answered by the district presidium in a written response. There was a time for discussion, but it did little to bring the two sides closer to a real agreement on the issues before us. Nevertheless, there is a desire to keep talking.
As for Rick Techlin, please stay in touch with his situation by visiting his blog, "Light from Light." I’ve agreed to allow him to speak for himself.
I’m sorry, Dan, that your faith in our synod’s resolve to teach pure doctrine is shaken. As a whole, I believe the WELS is still committed to that. When practices that threaten to upset our unity of doctrine are paraded in front of the public on the internet, a public response may very well be called for, even if it’s not our first choice.
The Intrepid Lutherans’ hope has always been for an open, honest discussion on the matters of doctrine and practice that threaten to divide our synod. We still hope for that, instead of silence.
Pastor Paul Lidtke
Friday, March 4, 2011
An Appleton Update
Our WELS brother Rick Techlin has provided An Update to his previous post "Why I No Longer Attend My Church."
We pray that the scheduled meeting with local pastors, laymen and district leadership gets to the heart of the doctrinal issues involved. We will assume that the invitation sent by the Northern Wisconsin district president was simply poorly worded where it says, "The goal of our meeting is to affirm that, while there may be some differences among us regarding our approaches to ministry, we are all united in doctrine and practice."
There is no substantial difference between "approaches to ministry" and "practice," especially in the context of the concerns raised by area pastors and laymen. To remove the theological underpinnings beneath the "approaches to ministry" in question would either be thoroughly dishonest or egregiously inept, which is why, again, we assume that the invitation was just poorly worded.
We pray for every one of those who will be attending this meeting.
We pray that the scheduled meeting with local pastors, laymen and district leadership gets to the heart of the doctrinal issues involved. We will assume that the invitation sent by the Northern Wisconsin district president was simply poorly worded where it says, "The goal of our meeting is to affirm that, while there may be some differences among us regarding our approaches to ministry, we are all united in doctrine and practice."
There is no substantial difference between "approaches to ministry" and "practice," especially in the context of the concerns raised by area pastors and laymen. To remove the theological underpinnings beneath the "approaches to ministry" in question would either be thoroughly dishonest or egregiously inept, which is why, again, we assume that the invitation was just poorly worded.
We pray for every one of those who will be attending this meeting.
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