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Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Coming Soon To An Assembly Near You? How To Kill A Church!


cp-deathofthechurch-02032014If you read my book, you noticed a middle portion devoted to bullies that harassed me from 2003-2012. What you don’t know is that I cut most of the bullying out due to editing concerns. All the bully neighbors, bully pastors, and bully leaders were cut out. I hate bullies!
One story that almost made the book was my era at an ELCA Lutheran Church in MN. Although I never joined the church or the ELCA, I attended there from 1992-2010 because of their preacher, I’ll call Herman the godly German, and their music department was top notch too (yes, I’m a spoiled-brat tenor). Under Herman’s sound guidance, and God’s Spirit, the church grew from 115 to 9,000 members from 1973 to 2007, to join only a few MN mega-churches, including North Heights Lutheran only miles away. Both churches were shining beacons.  

Every year from 1992, the ELCA became more wicked, and lost members, while Herman grew his church rapidly by preaching fire and brimstone repentance. In response to the ELCA losing its biblical foundations, he started a group called Word Alone to confront the ELCA’s wickedness, and encourage them to come back to true faith. Rev. Morris Vaagenes of North Heights Lutheran shared the Word Alone passion, making his church a target too.

When the ELCA watched North Heights leave their synod in 2002, they became frightened. What if other larger churches left? Hosanna ELCA of Lakeville (6,000 members) talked about leaving (but didn’t pull the trigger until 2009). What if Herman’s church left? That’s when the ELCA began to bully godly pastors before they would take their flocks to greener pastures. Meanwhile, at the ELCA Headquarters, the bullies amassed to create “A Situation” that could ensnare godly Herman. I believe they also created havoc at North Heights Lutheran as payback for leaving them.
Herman was a builder. He built four huge church-related buildings, and a senior housing development in thirty years. When Herman’s dream of the senior housing development caused financial concerns, the bullies and the toadies popped out at an all-church meeting in 2006. All who testified made the senior housing project sound like a mill stone around the church’s neck, and no one dared defend Herman. The worst weasel was Herman’s supposed friend, Brutus Bully, second in command. Brutus stabbed Herman in that decisive meeting. I wanted to publicly defend Herman, but God’s Spirit told me to BE SILENT! Is was frustrating to watch Herman play Caesar, as Brutus Bully manipulated the crowd to dethrone a great leader, but somebody had to witness it.  

I knew judgment was coming to that church; but God told me through prayers to stay there, and be a watchman. After Herman left in 2007, my music department leaders were the only godly people left in leadership, as the pastors became sleazier and dishonest.
Late in 2007, new Senior Pastor Godfather arrived. The Godfather was a master at selling ELCA poison and making it taste good. In 2008 The Godfather sold ELCA pipedreams like ketchup popsicles to white-gloved ladies. By the end of 2008, the Word Alone group left the building due to his sermons. Through the twisted preaching of the Godfather, the Bible-believers left, and the neophytes replaced them, in a tumultuous sea change.

In 2009 I was only a few miles away from the mysterious I-35W Tornado that popped-up out of nothing, hit the ELCA Convention, knocked a steeple off a nearby ELCA Church, and scared the demagogues. This was the infamous day where the ELCA voted to approve gay pastors 66.6% (Beast-666) to 33.3%. That was God’s judgment on the bullies and toadies. (In 2009, North Heights pondered hiring Mike Breen of 3DM fame to supercharge their charismatic people. It took six years, but 3DM destroyed North Heights via charismata.)

The Tornado, the Lutherans, and Homosexuality – See more at: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-tornado-the-lutherans-and-homosexuality

According to the ELCA’s printed convention schedule, at 2 PM on Wednesday, August 19, the 5th session of the convention was to begin. The main item of the session: “Consideration: Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality.” The issue is whether practicing homosexuality is a behavior that should disqualify a person from the pastoral ministry. The eyewitness of the damage continues:
This curious tornado touches down just south of downtown and follows 35W straight towards the city center. It crosses I94. It is now downtown.  The time: 2PM. 

The first buildings on the downtown side of I94 are the Minneapolis Convention Center and Central Lutheran. The tornado severely damages the convention center roof, shreds the tents, breaks off the steeple of Central Lutheran, splits what’s left of the steeple in two...and then lifts. (John Piper)  
In 2009, every church had one vote, regardless of having 9,000 members or 2 members, for that’s how the bullies force change upon the godly. Brutus was supposed to vote for our church, but he chickened out and sold his vote (for thirty pieces of silver) to a gay-friendly man, and took an extended vacation.

It was an ELCA conspiracy to sea change a church. The Godfather hired Pastor Mike the Toadie to assassinate me and anybody that agreed with me. The Godfather put a hit on me in 2010, after a Luther Seminary Professor debunked the whole Bible to the whole congregation, and I objected. Toadie screamed, “You’re of a different faith!” before he shot me. It was a blessing!

I knew Herman’s church was a pivotal church, and that the ELCA would stop at nothing to destroy all the faithful, and replace them with neophytes and wolves. Herman was the creator of Word Alone, the last voice of reason within the ELCA. Now you know why Brutus back-stabbed him.

Epilog 2016: God hates all sin. And, the greatest sin is replacing God, or making Him common. My complaints aren't directed at a specific sin, but rather pastors ruining churches by advocating sins. I hate bullies!

Toadie is driving the former Word Alone Church into the ground. On the south side of town, after accepting a promotion, the Godfather is dying.   
See more at: http://www.mtolivet.org/news/pastor-john-d.-hogenson
In his message to the congregation on May 22 [2015], Pastor Godfather said the doctors have determined he has an inoperable brain tumor. "After prayerful consideration, I recommend we begin the process of forming a call committee for Mount Olivet's next Senior Pastor,"

On the north side of town, North Heights closed its doors on Sunday. The death of a mega-church, caused by one of my friends (?), Rev. Mindy Bak. She failed when she attempted to destroy a church school where my kids attended years before, but she succeeded this time by adding 3DM fuel to the fire!

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: False Prophets and Bible Teachers in the Last Days - See more at:  http://bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com/2014/05/mike-breen-3dm-playing-havoc-with_1.html
Former mega-church North Heights Lutheran shutting down – See more at: http://www.twincities.com/2016/03/07/former-mega-church-north-heights-lutheran-shutting-down/

Be careful about those offering hyper-spiritualism, and thus weakening the power of God's word. Mike Breen and 3DM, and many others, are preaching a False Gospel of Gnosticism, knowing spirits without knowing God. "Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." C. S. Lewis

"Human being, prophesy against the shepherds of Isra’el. Prophesy! Tell them, the shepherds, that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Isra’el who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the choice meat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the best of the herd; but you don’t feed the sheep! You don’t strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bandage the broken, bring back the outcasts or seek the lost; on the contrary, you tyrannize them with crushing force. So they were scattered, without a shepherd, and became food for every wild animal — they were scattered. Ezekiel 34:2-5 (CJB)

Shalom! Central Lutheran's broken steeple

1 comment:

  1. Wow. Thanks for the backstory, Joel. Sad to see.

    I remember that tornado. I blogged about it way back then. I didn't realize John Piper also agreed it was a divine intervention.

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