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Lutheran Central |
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Copy Of Letter Sent To Wallace Schulz |
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To: Rev. Wallace Schulz, the two Vice-Presidents that joined in the recent purge of Rev. David Benke and all people who support the purging of David Benke from his positions because of the “Benke Prayer to God in Yankee Stadium.” Greetings Wally and all, In the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Messiah. Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 1Timothy 2:1-8 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle — I am telling the truth, I am not lying — and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles. I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. Romans 12:1-12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Hebrews 12:1-15 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. In my last writing to you prior to your decision on the Benke case, I asked you to “ask yourself this question prior to your decision; When it comes time to deliver the Good News to the Nations; Is it charge or charges?” It is apparent you chose “Charges”, I will take “Charge”. I printed the scripture in hopes you would join me by inwardly digesting some of this Word and applying it in consideration of your recent decision about David Benke. Maybe the Holy Spirit will soften your heart. For me; by writing you and witnessing to the faith, it makes me feel good and I pray it’s pleasing to God. You and your gang of bandits need to be rebuked. The following is my personal response to the reflection casted by your decision about David Benke: Shame on you for what you have done to David Benke with your recent decision on 6/25/02. Who was the source that placed Benke as President of the Atlantic District? Answer: God. For what purpose was Benke placed in office? Answer: God’s. God has placed David Benke in the position of President of the Atlantic District of the LCMS for His purpose, and you have purged David Benke, obstructed God’s will for Benke to carry the Lord’s message to the lost, to witness to the faith, your decision is contrary to the will of God. Your actions will aid the Devil in his attempt to stifle God’s mission in the Atlantic District and many other servants of the Word. Your actions are myopic and exhibit self-serving sectarianism. Ephesians 4:7-16 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Now it’s time for a comprehension check. Read the following scripture and ask yourself this question: Was the apostle Paul guilty of unionism or syncretism when he joined Jew and Gentile to witness to the faith? Ephesians 3:6-12 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Answer: You bet its unionism and syncretism. By David Benke’s Calling from God he had no choice but to show up at the prayer service and witness to the faith with all his heart, to give way to God’s love and saving grace. David Benke took up the cross for the Gospel (Matthew 10:38, Mark 8:34) and I join in support for what David Benke did. I am a builder that has answered the Lord’s Calling. I, a sinner saved by God’s grace, take up the cross for the Gospel daily to preach the Word amongst anyone; Jew or Gentile, Pagan, Buddhist, Methodist, Muslim, Roman Catholic and even you; 24/7. Shame on you, Satan has entered your heart, repent and seek the Lord’s forgiveness and be saved. There is hope for you and the lost bandits that supported your decision, like the thief on the cross, there is still time for you. May God have mercy on our souls. Wally, when you came to our last Eastern District Convention in Buffalo, NY, you proclaimed that when delivering the Good News: “it’s OK to change the wrapping on the package as long as you don’t change what’s inside the package.” Your sectarian decision is not contiguous with God’s word. You have distorted and changed what’s inside the package and it’s wrong. Shame on you, repent and seek the Lord’s forgiveness. Let’s see if there is any glass in your reasoning with the decision you made to purge Benke from his position: You have served as associate speaker of the Lutheran Hour and have just been appointed speaker. You proclaim the faith and pray over the radio waves announcing the saving grace of God. You have an audience of many people; believers, pagans, atheists, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Jews, Baptists and people of all faiths that actively participates with you, together by listening, responding and praying together with you in the presence of our Lord. (It’s that two or three or more thing......) The radio wave is the vessel or “stadium” in which your forum is held and those people who listen and actively participate are in your company, together with you and OOps.........I think we have a scent of hypocrisy in the air, a double standard. Wally you have committed syncretism and unionism. By the same standard you applied to David Benke, you must apply to yourself. Well how about that, broken glass, point made, case solved. You set the standard, I didn’t. You must resign as speaker of The Lutheran Hour. Shame on you, Satan has entered your heart, repent and seek the Lord’s forgiveness and be saved. There is hope for you and the lost bandits that supported your decision, like the thief on the cross, there is still time for you. May God have mercy on your souls. I have realized that you and that Judge out in California (pledge of allegiance) have done a good service to all of us with your sectarianism, unionism, syncretism and one nation stuff. “It’s not one nation under God, It’s All Nations under God, through Jesus Christ the Messiah.” I’ll carry the cross for the Gospel daily and do I have nails. Sedes Doctrinae. Your reasoning has only applied bits and pieces of individual passages with bits and pieces of doctrine. Your view is that of sectarianism. To the contrary, doctrine is to be viewed by the entirety of scripture. God is the author. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) You have distorted the doctrine and the Word of God. The core issue is the witness to the faith and the prayer to the source, God. David Benke’s heart was in the right place. Benke has nails. Do you? I have my nails. I have a set of standards I like to apply in my reasoning in matters of conflict and I would like you to do the same. It’s called “What About and What Part of”. What part of All Nations don’t you understand? What part of witnessing to the faith don’t you understand? What part of love and forgiveness don’t you understand? What about David Benke, Who chose him to show up at Yankee Stadium? Would you have been a better substitution in his place? What part of the prayer service would you like to change? What about purging everyone who is not Lutheran? Are you upset because you’re on the radio and Benke got on the tube? Praise to God, for He chose David Benke to bring witness, David’s heart is with the Lord and he is willing to carry the cross for the Gospel and all the stuff that nailed Jesus to the cross. Do you have your Nails? David Benke does and I have plenty of Nails too. “What About Jesus Christ? Where and when does He enter into this closed circuit decision that you and your earthly sectarian group has made? When two or three more gather in His name......Jesus is there. Let’s do a quick count. #1-David Benke #2- Roman Catholic Cardinal Edward Egan #3- Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Well that makes two or three, I guess we don’t have to count Oprah do we; Oh let’s throw her into the mix and let Jesus decide what to do about Yankee stadium attendance and Oprah. Yes, What About Jesus Christ the Messiah? He was there too. How about filing charges against Him for syncretism and unionism? Why do you charge Benke and not Jesus Christ? Hypocrisy. Jesus has been charged before. Just what were the charges filed against Jesus? Where are your nails? I have them. By your actions you have embarrassed and disgraced the Church, you have brought much pain and created many wounds. You are and act like a sweet pepper just picked from the garden, but when we bite into it we suddenly realize you have been crossed pollinated with a hot pepper, Satan. With much love I am compelled to recommend that the following actions be taken: #1: Repent and be saved, seek the Lord’s forgiveness and publicly apologize to the members of the LCMS, the Church and David Benke for your actions. #2: You are to withdraw as speaker of the Lutheran Hour for the same reasons you purged David Benke from his positions. We can’t make the rules and then not apply them to ourselves, can we? Anything else would be hypocrisy. #3: You and your bandits should be purged from your positions just like you did to Benke, but that would not be the Christian way of doing things. Instead you should withdraw your decision to remove Benke from office, reinstate him, begin to seek forgiveness from the Body of Christ (People) and subject yourselves to the will of God at the next synodical convention. #4: Spare the rod, spoil the child. You should be publicly spanked for what you did, the Devil has begun to burn your heart. When you realize what you have done wrong and begin to cry, then I will be one of the first to welcome you back with loving arms just as a father disciplines a child and comforts them when the child realizes they have done wrong, just like Jesus does when He saves us, forgives us, reveals His love and shows the way to everlasting life with God. You see Jesus nailed Satan on the cross. You do not need to nail David Benke. #5: You should be made to write a paper on “What God means by All Nations and the effects His meaning can have on His creation.” and also a paper on “Who hears our prayer when two or three gather in His Name?” It should be reviewed by clergy, laity and a matter of subject at the next synodical convention. Along with your apology, these papers should be printed in the Reporter, Lutheran Witness, and every denominations newsletter that has poked at us. This letter should receive as much secular exposure as possible. Just as much as the embarrassing reports about this Charges stuff has created.(Press) May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have mercy on our souls for what we are doing to His Kingdom. In His love, service, trust and assurance, Garry A. Seefeldt Wilson, NY 14172-0311
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