Luthertist or Baptluthian

A friend suggested I change the name of this blog to "
Baptist, finally submitting to the truth"

I had to Laugh at that. There is something about being a Lutheran that fills me with satisfaction, But as I have ranted at people who call themselves Catholics who do not accept or follow the doctrine of the Catholic church, I have to ask,,,, Can I still call myself Lutheran even though I attend a Baptist Church?

Last night was the last night of my teaching a class at the Lutheran/Presbyterian Lay Ministry for Mission school. What a Blessing that was. As we progressed through the weeks many students asked why there churches are dying. As I have recently left Zion Lutheran I guess I could tell them,,,,, but because I'm am not all there, :) my reason will probably never be the normal response. Holy Spirit told me to go. This has been validated by the events that have come into play since I left Zion.

The men who I am a Missionary with in Prisons ( I prefer the title Servant) we have expanded our Ministry to non-Denominational Churches. Three time in four years we have held outside of Prison Keryx weekends and have had a resounding success in bringing real salvation to people who claimed that they were saved.
How do you know if your saved in Christ Jesus? Your life is dedicated to the furtherance of Gods Kingdom.

So anyway the Sad, Sad thing is that religious people who would not walk across the street to help a Catholic, Lutheran or what ever, and would never, never set foot in a Methodist or Catholic 4 day weekend BUT would in the same teaching attend a weekend in a Mission or Baptist church.

The thing is in all of this,,,,, God be praised, God be worshipped, God wants to have a loving, sustainable relationship with YOU.

So It seems God has tagged me to evangelize to EVERY CHURCH IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN regardless of religion. I have started this with some success.

The Problem is the Carnal aspects of church leaders.... How to convince them that this is the eternal life giving water that Jesus promised and not a device to steel there sheep? OR,,,,Heaven forbid to evangelize there flock, OH MY! more work for pastor or priest.

Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gracia

But excluding myself why are people leaving the big 5 churches?

Logic?

If Faith comes by hearing or reading,
The Big 5 do not promote Bible reading or study, They have sold there souls to the Lectionary and there is no continuation of worthwhile scripture. Also many in the Big 5 do not believe the Bible is the word of God. There are parts they do not like so they do not speak of them. They would like to have a Bible written in # 2 pencil so they can become there own god.

so there people have no faith because they do not hear.
There is no Grace because there is no faith,

Hell fills up.

The growing churches Instead of hearing a Sermon about the ecology hear the word of God by chapter, WITH NO PERSONAL COMENTARY. and then are fed, nourished sustained and give there lives completely to God.

OR

It is all Predestination and so God chooses and so it does not matter what a person does, his path is fixed.

Aleichem shalom,,,,,, Upon you be peace

I ran away from Luther

When I left the Lutheran Church in St.Ignace last December after attending for 40 years, I did not tell anyone other than my wife why.
Tongues wag, gossip fly's and here are some samples of what people gossip about of why I left.

1. I was not chosen to lead the church
2. I was not put into position to provide pulpit supply
3. It was a certain woman who is a non believer who forced me to leave
4. goddess worship was supported.

AND I should have taken control and forced people to choose sides.

I am a Christian, I have no allegiance to any church (corporate) except the Body of Christ, the Bride, or as we say in Cursillo and Keryx WE ARE THE CHURCH, me and you.

The reason I left Zion is that the Holy Spirit told me it was time to go. I have and friends of mine who are of all different sects of Christianity who have prayed for years for me to attend a Christian church rather than Zion Lutheran.

I believe that as long as the past Minster was their, God wanted me to be there as a sentinel, a person to hold the pastor accountable to the Gospel of Christ. On her last day as a pastor as I was walking by the alter on the way out, That was when the Holy Spirit spoke, " You will never worship here again"

After that night in mid December, My house caught unfire, and i was burned a bit. I stayed with my son and his family for a week out of town and then when I came home the church I was planning to attend was closed due to a bad snow storm. So I did not attend any church for a month. I now attend a Baptist church and I am happy there. Am I still a Lutheran? I teach in the Lutheran lay school. And If the Synod blesses me with a Licence to be a lay minister in prisons then yes i will be a Lutheran lay Minister. I love the Lutheran church, BUT first and foremost I am a Christian.

What I have learned in all this.

A. A wonderfull style of preaching the word.
B. A desire to attend a lot of different churches to witness about mission in Prisons, and Long term care, the homeless, Mission work in America.
C. That at my old church it was not the council but the whole church body who did not care If that church was becoming non-Christian. They did not care. It is go to church for an hour and then gone as fast as they can. No desire to small group, bible study, outreach to the poor and hurting. Dry Bones that once held flesh.
D. That God works his plan and we have to be ready to go out and serve him.

I have just attended a meeting of Pastors of many different Sects of Christianity, and witnessed to them about ' The short course in Christianity." I have been asked to attend a Baptist Church 100 miles away to talk about prison Bibles and Mission.

And starting soon four, 4 day missions in 4 different Prisons.

God is good. All the time.

So I put Luther in my pocket, and thank God for his tutoring. I pray that the ELCA will not be ripped apart.

And I follow the narrow road, to Salvation.

Aleichem shalom Upon you be peace

Is America adopting the Homosexual life style?

Is the Homosexual agenda a small model of what America has become today?

It is a fact that Homosexuality is being forced upon us against our will by gay and straight people in America, most notably the press and Hollywood, the Babylon of America, and even in churches. Once again I have to laugh at people who profess to be Christian and yet support whole heartedly a gay agenda, and/or Gay ordination into Christ's church.

Homosexuality is a life style that is totally self centered, like Americahas become as a whole, we have become a nation of " ITS ALL ABOUT ME!!!"

Some say that Gay men are born that way. A heated debate over the existence of a "gay gene" emerged from a 1993 report published in the journal Science by then-NIH researcher Dean Hamer, PhD. That study linked DNA markers on the X chromosome to male sexual orientation.

ooooo kay

Ok I can see that point, If your born gay it must be ok to have gay sex? But what of the Alcoholic? If a person is born a alcoholic, then they can choose or pray for deliverance from this curse of alcoholism.
Born flawed, but by the grace of God made whole. I am a alcoholic but I can choose not to let that life choice drag me down into death.

Clergy and other people who support the Gay lifestyle do so in disregard of Scripture, A Lutheran Pastor form Escanaba last spring told me that Jesus would have supported Gay people.
Whoa!
There were Gay people around before the time of Jesus and yet he did not mention to take care of them like other requirements i.e. visit people in prison, or the orphan or widow. Doesn't look like Jesus said, give my Homos a pass. Sin,,,no matter how you argue it is sin.

Would Jesus have cared for them? I believe so, but he would have said " Go and sin NO more"

Many Ministers who graduated from seminary who are not Christians, sad. Scripture points to this, and how many so called Christians do not believe the Bible is the word of God?
How many Christians say that Jesus was just a good wise man? I know Pastors who have said so ,

Sad

It is getting so bad, people calling themselves Christian that I am happy to call myself something else. like Follower of the WAY. A disciple of the Christ Jesus.

What of you? Is it logical that if you call yourself Christian that you would need to follow ALL the words of Jesus?

God is our Father
Jesus our Savior
Holy Spirit our helper.

Al praise glory and honor be to the three. Abba, Jesus, Holy Spirit.
Amen

The great Com-mission

I have left the Lutheran Church as a congregant to become an Disciple of the most high God. IN ALL churchs

The Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

"Disciples
Discipleship
An Evangelist
Etuein " to make Disciples
Make Disciples " Matheteusate"
Baptizing and teaching

The aim of Mission is the winning of people to the status of being TRUE CHRISTIANS
The First Disciple that followed our Lord were in fact the Prototypes for his CHURCH. NOT religion but we the believers who are the church...... we are the Bride of Christ.

The task of the followers of Jesus was to make other into what they
had, had become and were; Disciples
They, the disciples are the salt of the earth ( humble) and the light of the world (Filled with the Holy Spirit) God IS there Father, and they ARE children of God's reign, and as such they are FREE, Free of all worldly trappings because they may be IN the world but are not OF the world. And they are "adelphoi" brothers among each other as well as servants of each other. They each follow separately the Master but never alone because they are of the fellowship of the Body of Christ. The Disciples were fellow workers for the Kingdom not just messengers.

How do be a Disciple in 10 easy steps

Being a Disciple of Jesus does not mean that one has arrived so to speak. Once you stand for Christ you have just Informed the Enemy that your ready to have that target put on your back. Matthew warns us to be ever vigilant to the last moment, to constantly be under self examination, Mission work never should take place in self-confidence but in knowledge of our own weakness. and to be eager to engage in mission.

In Mathew Jesus promises his Desciples that " I am with you always even unto the end of this age"
This means that Jesus is with you, in the presence of Holy Spirit. I have had Lutheran Minister correct me when ever I would say that we were in that place saving souls daily. The pastors would say that only the Holy Spirit can save souls..... DUH.. but what do they think that Holy Spirit is in the next room waiting for his cue? Or is it not a fact that as a Disciple of the most high God that he has Indwelt Holy Spirit inside of you to do his works.
I can say as a fact that many times I have touched someone and Holy Spirit has gone out of me into them. Can you name any time in scripture that holy spirit saved a soul without going through a person?

So what is Discipleship? Is it going to Kentucky to work on a habitat home or taking kids to a youth rally? Is that stuff really mission? Sure it is very Important but is it Mission?

If Jesus is indeed Lord of all, this reality just has to be proclaimed. Nobody who knows of this can remain silent about it. He or she can do only one thing, help others also to acknowledge Jesus' lordship, and this is what mission is all about,,, Proclaiming his Lordship.

A Disciples task is of self giving service to the world. The resurrected Jesus is present among all of his missionaries.
It is unthinkable to divorce the Christian life of love and justice from being an disciple. Discipleship involves a commitment to Gods reign, to Justice and love, and to obedience to the entire will of God. Mission is not narrowed down to an activity of making individuals new creatures, of providing them of blessed assurance so that come what may they will be eternally saved. Mission involves from the beginning and as a matte of course making the new believer sensitive to the needs of others, opening there eyes and hearts to recognize injustice, suffering, oppression, and the plight of others who have fallen by the wayside.
It is not possible to make disciples without telling them to practice God's call of justice for the poor.

BUT they are also proclaimers of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The long and winding road

It has been a long and winding road. It has been awhile since I have last thrown anything onto this electric screen to see what may stick.
Prison work has kept me busy, but to my great joy I have been working on outside prison teams along with my peeps all 35 plus of us leading the churched to salvation. How Holy Spirit uses us for God glory is nothing short than amazing.

I begin next week teaching a Lay school class, " The Holy Spirit and the Church in Mission". This is a joint Lutheran / Presbyterian class and I intend to shake things up because I do not see nether the Holy Spirit nor Mission work in Lutheran churches today, at least not here in the Hinterlands. I greatly Appreciate what the larger church has done in mission though. The ELCA does a fine job in reaching the least of these in the world. It is the dry bones of local churches though that is a real problem.
Im my case do I stay and divide a church to bring them into reconciliation with God? or do I leave? And If I leave how can I a Christian continue to be a Lutheran Christian and remain faithful to Abba?
As a Lutheran for 56 years and a member of the Zion Church council for 25 years to whom shall I go? Who has the words of eternal life?

To God be all Glory
Amen
Rick Weiss 2-14-09