Gottesdienst Online

2012-02-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

Cross-post, also at Gottesblog, of a transcript of the sermon preached for Candlemas 2012, at St. Paul's in Kewanee, Illinois (for the audio, click here):

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Dearly beloved in the Lord, the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord, his manifestation in the flesh is a fulfillment of the word that was written by Moses: Let there be light and there was light.

From the very beginning, this was to be so: that while darkness shrouded the earth, nevertheless the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep. And the Spirit gave way to the word which proceeded and came out from the mouth of God: let there be light. And the world shrouded in darkness was enlightened.

This is the way of God. This is the way also, therefore, of the Gospel. This is how it works. The light shines in dark places and enlightens them all by itself.

This is what caused Simeon to exult and rejoice when the Child Jesus was brought into the temple on that great day, the day we commemorate this day, the fortieth day from his birth, the day he was presented in the temple. And with the song of the angels still resounding in their ears, Mary and Joseph now here Simeon’s exultation and exaltation of Christ, the One come as a light: a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people Israel.

This is what it means that the world was shrouded in darkness and then was enlightened by the word of God. This is what it means: that without him we are lost. Our hearts, that is, are the places where the true and deepest darkness may be found. The heart of man, the darkened heart of man gropes after but can come nowhere near finding its Creator. We grope in the dark. We are lost, we are helpless, we are hopeless. We are sinful masses who have failed our Creator. The darkness is we ourselves: our hearts are darkened. Their foolish hearts were darkened, says the Apostle St. Paul, and he was not only referring to those who happen to be on the outside, but to all of us. Our hearts are by nature completely shrouded in darkness.

But thanks be to God that the Spirit of God hovered there, as the word was spoken over them, and the waters over which the Spirit hovered in the beginning, have become for us the waters of the blessed laver and font of Holy Baptism; and we have been brought into the light of Christ by the grace of his speaking: Let there be light. In him and only in him is light. And without him, and without his word, there is only darkness. We are lost, condemned, dead, enemies of God in ourselves. But Christ has come, as it were out of nowhere, and the light has enlightened the darkness, as it is written by the prophet Isaiah, the prophet perhaps that Simeon had in mind when he said his words. The prophet said, The people that sat in darkness have seen a great light. We sat in darkness; we have seen a great light.

But who gets credit for the seeing? You? Your eyes? They are useless without light. It is the light that enlightens the room, that gives sight to your eyes; and so also it is the Gospel and story of Jesus that gives light and salvation to our darkened hearts. So we find on Candlemas, the day on which we celebrate the light of Christ, we find that we have been enlightened entirely by the magnificent, unspeakable grace of almighty God.

This is the light of Christ toward which we also tend, toward which we are headed. I love the words of the Introit for a Requiem: Eternal rest grant unto them o Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. The idea that the dead in Christ are in perpetual light is very biblical, because God is light; and light emanates forth from him. The light of the Transfiguration emanated forth from him. The light of the glory that shown around the Bethlehem shepherds emanated forth from him. The light that first enlightened the darkened seas emanated forth from him. The light that brings us to him emanates forth from him to us poor lost, condemned, otherwise mortal creatures. And the more we tend toward our mortality and weakness and the grave, the more clearly we can see that we are lost in ourselves, and dependent utterly upon him who so freely lavishes the light of his mercy and forgiveness on our darkened hearts; forgiveness wrought by the very incarnate one, the Incarnate One, whom Simeon held in his arms.

The elderly Simeon was now unafraid to face death itself: Now let your servant depart in peace, he cries, unafraid; because he holds the source of light and life and salvation. So now we receive him here in this holy place, and it is therefore perfectly appropriate and right that we should sing the same words, that they should be echoed on our lips:

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace—let come what may—because according to thy word mine eyes have seen thy salvation which Thou has prepared before the face of all people. A light, a blessed light, a holy light, an enlightening light, a dispersing of the darkness light. And the glory, the only glory, of God’s people Israel.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Nice Bulletin Insert Explaining the Place of the Gesimas in Lententide

2012-01-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

Look at THIS BULLETIN INSERT that Rev. Todd Peperkorn has made available for everyone's use at HistoricLectionary.com.

If you're like me and don't want to have to reinvent the wheel, this is a great summary. The insert states that after Ash Wednesday the crosses are veiled. I always thought that ceremony was after Judica. But since he makes it available in both .PDF and .DOC formats, it's easily changeable.

How to learn to preach

2012-01-26T08:35:00.000-08:00

Preaching is hard. This is the double plus profound conclusion I have come to. It is embarrassing to read back over many of my old sermons. Some I still like. Many I think were just...bad. I'm sure you've had similar experience. The preachers I respect the most are those who struggle with it the most and don't rest on their laurels.

The second double plus profound conclusion I have come to about preaching is that the only way to learn to be a better preacher is to read the sermons of the better preachers. I am honestly shocked that my seminary homiletics classes had almost none of this. I think one professor assigned us to read a couple of sermons. Maybe you had a different experience, but in my classes we spent a lot more time on technique, exegetical studies, Lowry Loops, object lessons, yadayadayada. I learned something or other from all of it, I suppose, but I really wish that I had started my reading of good preachers a lot earlier.

This is one of the main reasons to observe the Historic Lectionary. When I'm called to speak to pastors about worship or liturgy I always bring this up. Even if you are a fan of the post-Vatican II three year series, why not try out the Historic Lectionary for one year? If you do, every week you can read the sermons of Augustine and Chrysostom through the NPNF series (online for free), Luther (online for free), and countless others through the Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers volumes, and the Gospel volumes of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. This is a year-long course in homiletics vastly superior to any you have taken so far. I guarantee it. And if you don't love the Historic Lectionary after that year, go back to the 3-year series with what you have learned.

+HRC

Jefferson Bethke's Palpable Hypocrisy

2012-01-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

Over sixteen million hits on his YouTube video "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus" have provided over sixteen million people with an opportunity to see the palpable hypocrisy of Jefferson Bethke and his poetry. Unfortunately it's likely that the same misguided thinking has kept many more millions away from the church, Bethke's straw man. He claims the church starts wars, builds huge churches while failing the poor, and equates establishment Christianity with support for the Republican party. His verdict: "It never gets to the core; it's just behavior modification like a long list of chores."

He claims that God calls religious people whores, and charges them with hypocrisy ("acting like a church kid while addicted to pornography"), because they are "self-righteous."

No doubt it would be easy to find churches that fit this description, in part for the simple reason that there are so many offerings on the smorgasbord, but here's what struck me. While going on this rampage without making any distinctions, and writing religion off in some of the most wildly descriptive judgments imaginable, he makes this outlandish disclaimer: “Now I ain’t judging. I’m just saying quit putting on a fake look."

"I ain't judging"? Friend, if this ain't judging, then what is?

Here's the whole trouble, actually. He shouldn't be judging, because his judgment is grossly unfair; he's not equipped, and he doesn't provide the evidence. It's the same worn and tired complaint that it's religion that starts wars. What religion started the Nazi regime? Or the Viking marauders? Or the Huns? And as for religions that do start wars, well, let's see: there's Islamofascism, but I don't think that's the religion Bethke has in mind. What he's probably thinking of (though one can't really tell) is the Crusades. There's a lot of misunderstanding afoot about the Crusades, but even we grant that the Crusades were stared in the name of religion, it's doubtful that Pope Urban was the religious type Bethke has in mind, and to say the papacy in that day was an exemplar of the religion prominent in today's American churches is a hard sell. My guess is that Bethke knows next to nothing about the Crusades.

In the end, he's another self-styled, self sent preacher, who conveniently chooses to forget that the apostles were "in the temple" praising God, and that Jesus stood up to preach "in the synagogue," as was his wont, and that those who preached his name in the New Testament were sent by him to do so. "How can they preach, except they be sent?" The result of such self-crafted preaching is that while it may be partly true--and on the basis of its partial truth it gains adherents--its overall message ends up being a lie.

"Pure religion and undefiled and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." And that reminds me of one of the important duties laid upon the ministers of the Gospel, whom God has sent.

Being a pastor in the sticks

2012-01-23T06:36:00.000-08:00

So by now you have probably discovered that they didn't tell you everything in the seminary. Indeed, that it's a long list. But what I had in mind today was about the nuts and bolts of being a parish pastor. It seems odd that this would be one of the lacunae of seminary education - I think the plan is that this is what you are supposed to pick up from your fieldwork supervisor and vicarage bishop. And fair enough: we all learn a lot there. Yet in that quick immersion in parish life one can lose sight of the forest for the trees. And what if you don't end up in a parish like unto your vicarage parish? A lot of the practical things are very, well, parochial.

For example, my father in law served the majority of his career as a parish pastor in an exurban parish that exploded in growth as the yuppies of Chicagoland headed west. He himself grew up in the city of Kansas City. We had a very interesting conversation once about home visits. Never worked for him. The people didn't want him in their homes, and that made total sense to him. This is all mind boggling to me - I'm from a small Nebraska town and serve two small rural Illinois parishes. The people expect me to be in there homes, to know what pets they have, to eat their coffee cake, and remember to say hello to their aunt (who is not a member) is in the nursing home three towns over when I visit their cousin (who is a member).

In all my pastoral ministry classes - Intro to Pastoral Ministry, Pastor as Counselor, Pastor as Administrator, Pastoral Theology (the capstone class) - such things were not discussed. I've often thought that the best pastoral ministry class would be if the professor just brought in five different pastors from the area with different sorts of parishes and let each one talk to the class for two weeks, leaving one day at the end of that second week for the prof to dissect, evaluate, and comment on what the pastor said. That's what I wish I had had.

At any rate, this post is especially for a city-boy friend who finds himself now in the sticks in my native Nebraska. I feel sorry for him. He likes country life about as much as I liked Chicagoland, which is to say zilch. But worse than not liking it is feeling like you don't have your bearings, like the people are expecting something of you but you don't know what. As I said, all parishes are parochial, but for what it is worth, here is my primer on pastoring in the sticks.

* You have to do the home visits. Right away. And then make opportunities for them to happen every year. Folks might say they don't want you to bother, but they are lying.

* Oh, about that lying. They do it all the time. They are Midwesterners. Any time somebody says, "Oh, you don't have to come to the hospital/confirmation party/nursing home, Pastor, I know you are so busy." The only appropriate response is, "Of course I'll be there."

* They expect you to know who is sick, but they will never bother calling to tell you without a lot of training on your part. I once wrote a newsletter article called "When to call Pastor." That helped, but I still rely mainly on gossip.

* Speaking of gossip, somewhere in your small town there is a bar, or truck stop, or restaurant where all the retired men go in the morning to drink coffee. In the OT they called this "the city gates." You need to be there once or twice a week. This is where you will learn almost everything. I'd recommend first just going. You can start a Bible class later. For now, just go and listen, and tell a joke or two, learn their politics, their pet peeves, what a "pork belly" is, etc.

* On homeschooling. If your parish has a school, forget about it. Just forget about it - I'm sorry, but it can't be done. Put your energies into making your parish school better, freely take your kids out of school when you want, skip all the field trips, whatever - but your kids have to be enrolled in your parish school. [If you are one of the exceptions to this rule, good for you and your family. But I honestly don't know of even one exception to this rule where the pastor, family, and parish are all happy and looking forward to many, many fruitful years together.] If there is no parish school, be ready to be surprised by just how much pride the people place in their local government school. I wouldn't send my kid to a government school either, but just be ready to get a lot of push back.

* I never received communion from a chalice until I went to college. This is largely a West of the Mississippi phenomenon, but be ready to work on that. It probably will be neither as easy nor as hard as you think.

* If you ride a bicycle for exercise: don't wear spandex. Ever. Really even wearing a helmet is problematic, but I know your wife wants you to be safe.

* While you are in God's country you might as well take up a country hobby. That way the men of your parish will then have something to talk to you about instead of just looking at their shoes and shuffling off to the bathroom whenever you approach. Your options are fishing, hunting, and shooting. Fishing is probably the easiest to get in to, and the most practical-cost effective if you like eating fish. Gardening is good too, but one of the three overtly masculine hobbies is really needed as well. Woodworking is also masculine. Settlers of Catan, Star Trek, bocce ball, and squash are not masculine: I don't care what that article on artofmaniless.com might have said.

* Whenever you are on the job, wear your clerics and keep your appearance sharp and well maintained. Whenever you are not on duty (down the post office on Saturday, the grocery store, working in the yard) dress in ratty old jeans (Wrangler preferred) or camo hunting pants and try to be unshowered and generally filthy.

* The parsonage lawn. This is a tricky one. Offer to mow it and see what the trustees say. They may guard it jealously, or they may be longing for a pastor who isn't so lazy that he won't mow hizzowndamnlawn.

* If a Midwesterner takes you to dinner. . . they might make it easy and tell the waitress right away that it will be on one check and they'll take it. If so, then all you have to do is say, "Oh, no, I'll get our side of it." Then, when that offer is refused, say, "Are you sure? Well, OK, then. Thanks, let me get the tip." If the check comes and this arrangement has not been made, reach for your wallet, not the check - then the same dialogue will ensue.

The same city boy who is struggling in the sticks recommends Wuthnow's Remaking the Heartland. He sent me two quotations that I thought were hilarious, but for very different reasons than he thought they were hilarious. I was laughing at his pain and he was laughing at us hicks. You might like the book, too, whichever side of that debate you happen to be on.

+HRC

Rev. Paul Rydecki Receives Sabre of Boldness 2012

2012-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night, January 19, 2012, Rev. Paul Rydecki, pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was selected from among six nominees for the 2012 Sabre of Boldness. The Sabre has been awarded by the editors of Gottesdienst for seventeen years. Originally slated to be held at La Quinta Hotel in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the ceremony was moved to the commons at Concordia Theological Seminary due to the threat of inclement weather. As it turned out, this also made matters more convenient for attendees at the seminary's Symposium banquet the same night. The Sabre ceremony was held shortly after the banquet's conclusion.

Rev. Rydecki is a founding member of Intrepid Lutherans, a blog (www.intrepidlutherans.com) which serves as an online forum to “promote, support, and where necessary, encourage a restoration of confessional Lutheranism within the Wisconsin Synod.” Because of the opinions he has expressed on his blog and recently at pastoral conferences, he has been called a legalist by those in authority in the Wisconsin Synod and pressued to apologize for supporting Book of Concord expressions of faith, which he has refused to do.

The Sabre Ceremony was recorded, and the link to the audio is here.

There were five other nominees, all of whom the editors consider most worthy of the award, and whom we wish to honor as well. They are listed here below.

1. Rev. David Kind is pastor of the Univ. Lutheran Chapel in Minneapolis. The chapel is being sold by the district’s Board of Directors. Fr. Kind has remained faithful in the face of hardship and opposition to this important campus mission.

2. Rev. Richard Gizynski is pastor of Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Chicago. This church and its parsonage are in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, one of the most economically, depressed, crime, drug and gang ridden areas in Chicago. Today the church and parsonage are for sale because of the congregation’s poverty. He has not been paid in months, and faces potential homelessness, but he remains committed to serving his congregation faithfully, as he has done for years, for as long as he is able.

Due to this troubling situation, the editors deemed it proper to set up a fund for the purpose of providing Pastor Gizynski with aid. In addition to funds collected the night of the ceremony, we have established the capability for donors to contribute online, at our regular Gottesdienst website under "Make a donation." Be sure to list Pastor Gizynski in the "Purpose" box. The link is here.

3. Rev’d Jonathan L. Jenkins, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lebanon Pennsylvania, practices confessionally orthodox worship and has stood up for the faith in the face of secularization and revision of the faith in the ELCA. He has organized Lutherans Reform! in Central Pennsylvania and has been a strong voice for orthodox Lutheranism.

4. Rev. Donavon Riley, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Webster, Minnesota, is under extreme stress as his eldest son, Owen, age 9 has fluid on his brain which threatens to push the cerebellum into the spinal column and will most likely require brain surgery. At the same time, his wife is pregnant and has developed gestational diabetes. Yet he continues to post both to his own blog “The First Premise” (http://thefirstpremise.blogspot.com/) and co-edit the blog Gnesio (http://gnesiolutheran.com/, and carry out a full schedule of regular duties. Meanwhile his church has suffered financial difficulty and he himself has faced criticism for his unwavering preaching of the Theology of the Cross and fidelity to the Gospel.

5. Provost Gert Kelter of the SELK (our German sister church), pastor of the Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, is a powerful orthodox force among the leadership of the SELK as one of the four supervisory clerics under the bishop. He has been severely criticized and threatened for a straightforward piece he has published in Logia regarding the Islamic surge in Europe. He has consistently been the confessional voice in the SELK.

MegaScam

2012-01-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

Undoubtedly you have by now seen that the former bassist of Megadeath is enrolled in SMP through CSL. Well, good for him. I wish him every blessing in Christ.

The scandal in this story is not that the LCMS is about to get another praisebanding pastor - we've got a bushel and a peck of those a-ready. Nor is the scandal in that CSL is trying to get publicity from a semi-celebrity enrollé: any self-respecting institution of higher ed would do the same.

The scandal is this. SMP was sold to the Synod on two premises. First, that we have a shortage of clergy and thus need to ease academic requirements to fill the gaps in our ministerium. This is just false. Seven years on of shortages of calls in May have pretty much convinced even the bureaucrats to stop saying otherwise. Second, SMP was sold as needed to help fill special ministry situations, specifically mentioned were ethnic enclaves. I know, I was there when Larry Rast and Andy Bartelt sold it to us in convention: this was the big selling point. SMP would get guys who just could not otherwise go to seminary through - especially poor folks from ethnic communities who desperately needed native pastors and didn't have 4 years to wait and lots of money to spend.

I've already given you anecdotal stories about good old fashioned German-descended white guys getting in to SMP. I don't need to give you my private anecdotes anymore. Here is a real live rich white guy with a Vikingish last name (and beard!) who gets in to SMP. Why could not the Rev. Sem. Ellefson have just learned Greek and Hebrew and moved to St. Louis for 4 years like the rest of us? He would have received a much better education and been better prepared for the ministry for it. Does anyone honestly disagree? Does anyone honestly think that the regular 4 year programs and the SMP program provide equal preparation for the Ministry?

No. No thinking man of any experience in the Church thinks this. SMP is a second class, dumbed down, mostly distance ed, speed route to ordination. In that it is very unwise. But at least it is not asking men to pretend to be pastors when they are not, as in lay ministry, which is evil.

So, in a contest between unwise and evil I'll vote for unwise every time. But we could stop both. We could end SMP and lay ministry. We really could. All we need is a little leadership. I was glad to see that Larry Rast dared to speak some truth at the Symposia. Any one else in high places want to take up this baton?

+HRC

Student debt

2012-01-19T05:00:00.001-08:00

This may be old news to many, but it was new to me. If you came out of seminary with any federal backed student debt, read this.

HT: MW

Fort Wayne Festivities

2012-01-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at Redeemer's Free Conference yesterday and more Gottesdienst events are on their way for later this week. Alas, parish duties have called me back to Illinois, but if you are in Fort Wayne or on your way, don't forget to stop by the Gottesdienst booth and attend the Sabre Ceremony on Thursday.

+HRC

9-0

2012-01-11T10:30:00.001-08:00

A unanimous US Supreme Court has dismissed the employment discrimination case against Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church. This is the best decision for the religious life of the nation - though I remain immensely uncomfortable with the MO Synod's language about "ministers." Read all about it.

HT: Herr Vehse

+HRC

Sabre of Boldness Nominees Sought

2012-01-04T14:41:00.000-08:00

Nominations for the 2012 Sabre of Boldness Bearer are invited. The award is given “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity on behalf of the Holy Church of Christ while engaged in the confession of His pure Gospel in the face of hostile forces and at the greatest personal risk.” Please submit a signed nomination to Fr. Eckardt via E-mail. Simply state the name, address, and telephone number of the nominee and the reasons why he or she is a fitting choice for Sabre Bearer. The degree of the adversity faced by the nominee, a demonstration of steadfast resistance to pressures to compromise the truth of the Gospel, heedlessness of threatened personal consequences, and a clear confession of the truth at stake are considered. The slate of nominees will close on Wednesday, January 18^th, 2012. Then the editors of Gottesdienst will meet privately to make their selection.

The Sabre ceremony is slated to be held Thursday night, January 20th, following the symposium banquet, at La Quinta Inn and Suites, on 2902 East Dupont Road in Fort Wayne.

Sabre of Boldness Recipients

1996 The Reverend Peter C. Bender
1997 The Reverend Jonathan G. Lange
1998 The Reverend Dr. Edwin S. Suelflow
1999 The Reverend Gary V. Gehlbach
2000 The Reverend Peter M. Berg
2001 The Reverend Dr. John C. Wohlrabe
2002 The Reverend Erich Fickel
2003 The Reverend Dr. Wallace Schulz
2004 The Reverend Charles M. Henrickson
2005 The Reverend Edward Balfour

2006 Bishop Walter Obare

2007 The Reverend Dr. Ronald Feuerhahn

2008 The Reverend Aaron Moldenhauer

2009 The Reverend Juhana Pohjola

2010 The Right Reverend Dr. Paul Kofi Fynn

2011 The Reverend Brian Saunders

Vespers at Redeemer's Free Conference

2012-01-03T04:42:00.000-08:00

I hope that you are planning on coming up to Fort Wayne for the Symposia - which looks to be especially good this year with the main guest being Richard Bauckham - and that you can come early for Redeemer's Free Conference on Monday (see the post below). Once again we will be using the Brotherhood Prayer Book for Vespers with instruction in Gregorian chant coming from its editor, Dr. Benjamin Mayes. He has kindly sent along this pdf copy of the order of Vespers so that you can look it over before arriving at Redeemer.

Now, if someone could just explain to me why we do all this in beautiful Ft. Wayne in JANUARY instead of September. . .

+HRC

Free Conference - Ft. Wayne - January 16

2011-12-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

On Monday, January 16, 2012, Redeemer will host a free conference. The theme of the conference is the on-going difficulties with Rome’s doctrine of the papacy and Pope Benedict 16^th’s hermeneutics and theological process. This might strike some as strange since Benedict is the friendliest pope in memory and maybe since Luther’s excommunication. So also there have been requests that we re-think and re-evaluate the Confessional identification of the office of the papacy with the antichrist.

The Roman doctrine is more complicated than it first appears and Lutheran apologetics haven’t always been fair. We make no promise that we will answer all the issues fully. But we promise no cheap shots and will attempt to address them together, fraternally, and to seek to better understand the Holy Scriptures and the Confessions regarding these things.

The first address will be given by Rev. Heath Curtis, Gottesdienst Editor, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Worden, Illinois and Zion Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois. He will consider the doctrine of the antichrist in the Holy Scriptures as well as the confessional claims, in the context in which they were written, while evaluating whether or not these things still apply to the modern pope.

The second address, “Benedict 16^th and the Hermeneutic of Continuity” will be presented by Rev. David Ramirez, assistant pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Illinois. From his own involvement in Vatican II to his time as the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the “hermeneutic of continuity” has been a central aspect of his Benedict’s Theology. It not only defines his interpretation of Vatican II, but also is the key to his understanding of history, doctrine, authority, and the nature of the church.

The conference itself is free, but lunch is not. We will order in pizza and take a collection to cover the cost for those who stay. You may, of course, choose to go elsewhere for lunch or to bring your own lunch. The conference will begin with the panelists at 11 but be preceded by an opportunity for Private Confession with Rev. Petersen in the Chapel beginning at 9:30 am and the Holy Communion at 10:30. We will also have the opportunity to learn better how to read and sing Gregorian chant as presented in the Brotherhood Prayer Book under the tutelage of the Rev. Dr. Ben Mayes at 3:30 pm and then to pray Vespers together from the Prayer Book in the Chapel at 4:30.

Here is the schedule:

Monday January 16, 2012 A+D

9:30 Private Confession available with Petersen in Redeemer's chapel

10:30 Low Mass in the Chapel

11:00-45 “Consideration of the Papacy in Light of the Confessions” by Rev. Heath Curtis

11:45 “Benedict XVI and the “Hermeneutic of Continuity” by Rev. David Ramirez

12:30 Lunch - order in pizza, pitch in for costs

2:00 The Panel takes questions and considers statements from the floor

3:30 Gregorian practice/training with Dr. Ben Mayes for the LLPB Vespers

4:30 LLPB Vespers w/ Treasury Propers

Spot the error!

2011-12-26T12:40:00.000-08:00

Have you received the CSL 2012 calendar yet? Instead of complaining about it, let's make it a game. The game is: spot the errors, in doctrine, practice, or fact. I'll go first: nice picture for February, Alma Mater! Thanks for supporting classic, traditional, Methodist practice!

+HRC

Blog + Beg = Bleg

2011-12-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

I would be very appreciative if someone with access to the Graebner's essay, "Our Liturgical Chaos," could scan it in and email it to me. pastorcurtis AT gmail DOT com

Thanks in advance - and I promise to share it with others so your work will be worth the effort.

+HRC

Just how many new pastors do we need again?

2011-12-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

From the latest meeting of the LCMS Council of Presidents:

At the conclusion of the meeting, COP Secretary Rev. William Klettke, president of the New Jersey District, reported that 221 LCMS congregations were calling sole pastors; 37, senior pastors; and 45, associate or assistant pastors. He also reported that 430 congregations were listed as having temporary non-calling vacancies.
Numbers from all 35 LCMS districts were included in his report, Klettke said. He also noted that since the September COP meeting in St. Louis, districts had reported 21 new starts and seven closures.

What does this hold for May? I assume that those 37 congregations looking for senior pastors won't be looking for seminary graduates. That leaves 261 calling congregations. Do half of them really want seminary graduates? Doesn't there need to be some room for mobility among veteran pastors as well?

Given these numbers do we really need the SeminaryLite of SMP?

And those 430 "temporary non-calling vacancies"? What does one make of them? Didn't we used to keep track of "permanent non-calling" and "temporary non-calling"? Have we lumped those into one category now? I can't see a bail out fund of calls coming from them this spring.

Will the LCMS rationalize its seminary process? Can both seminaries survive without a new method of funding their mission? You've seen my plan for how to save them.

Some have argued that this dip in demand for pastors is like unto the dip in demand experienced during the Great Depression. Things will turn around, they say. But our problems are much deeper today than a mere lack of money in some congregations. In the 1930s we had a robust birth rate and (though we didn't know it then) we were just 10-15 years away from another influx of German Lutheran immigration and a cultural baby boom. None of those things holds for today. Surely it is passed time to face facts and plan for the future we are likely to have instead of kicking the can down the road. I do not envy our Synod's leaders at the district, Synod, and seminary level. I pray God gives them wisdom for the hard days ahead.

+HRC

2012 Gottesdienst Liturgical Calendar is Up

2011-12-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Subscribers to the print edition should already have theirs by now, but here's the online version of our Gottesdienst 2012 liturgical calendar, in living technicolor.

AC XIV, again

2011-12-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

Curiouser and curiouser. . .the CTCR has a new (now that new, I don't get over to their website that often, I'm afraid) document out responding to a couple of questions from the South Wisconsin District. The latter asked if it was appropriate under AC XIV for lay men to "regularly carrying out the duties of the pastoral ministry, viz., the public proclamation of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments." The answer was "not appropriate."

BUT! A Footnote! "It is clear from background information in the District President’s correspondence that this request does not pertain to questions about the service of “licensed lay deacons,” but about lay men “commissioned” by the congregation to carry out certain functions of pastoral ministry, such as public preaching and regular sacramental administration."

So the CTCR has at least said that it's not right, excuse me, "appropriate," for some laymen to pretend they are pastors. This is a step in the right direction. Dare we read into this carefully parsed statement a general tendency on the current CTCR to look afoul of the "licensed lay deacons" as well? After all, they Synod is only a collection of congregations. If a congregation can't "commission" somebody to pretend to be a pastor, then why can a bunch of congregations "license" a guy to do so?

Perhaps this fine statement from the systematics faculties is finally having its effect.

The upcoming District conventions will see several memorials to the Synod to get rid of lay ministry. The time to restore the Augsburg Confession in the Missouri Synod is now. Will the current leadership step forth boldly to do this? Oremus.

+HRC

Faithful Lutheran Mission Needs a Chalice

2011-12-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

There is a faithful LCMS mission start to Chinese immigrants in Evansville, IN, under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Dr. Michael Paul. They are starting from the ground up and would like to buy a chalice. They have been offered free individual cups from the usual sources but want to start this new mission out right. Would you like to donate? Contact Dr. Paul at: paulm9 at gmail dot com.

+HRC

More St. Nicholas

2011-12-06T13:58:00.001-08:00

A very fine sermon from Dr. Stephenson.

+HRC

Saint Nicholas

2011-12-06T06:45:00.000-08:00

Arius

Heretic most hated

Spread the lie

Our Savior was created

Hearing of his fall from grace

Nicholas hit him in the face

Holy Father Nicholas

HT: Prof. W. Tighe

Hymns for this Church Year

2011-12-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

Picking the hymns is the most stressful part of preparation for the Divine Service if you ask me. So I am a big fan of the hymn selection guide in the LSB volumes. Here are two more excellent resources.

* Here at Gottesdienst we have our own resident hymnologist, the Rev. Dr. Rick Stuckwisch. Search his blog archives for all sorts of information and suggestions. I especially like his lists of hymns ordered by how many times his congregation sings them each year.

* Father David Juhl can't put his disc spinning days behind him and still loves to come up with a play list. He plans out the whole year's hymns and then kindly sends them to me - and now I'm sharing it with you here.

+HRC

The Snorting Horse

2011-11-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

As a racehorse that snorts when the gate's latch is jangled by the jockey's aide as he fumbles with the lock, so the Christmas issue of Gottesdienst prepares itself to bolt onto the racetrack. The mailroom volunteers are like the horse's restless hooves: she can't wait to spring forth, and they can't wait to sort and carry the mailbags to the Post Office this week.

In this issue you will find the 2012 Gottesdienst Liturgical Calendar, and:

Two seasonal sermons
The Gospel in the Details
The Virtue of “Overstatement”
Two new poems
The Marcions Are Coming!
An Unfading Remembrance and Noble Heritage
The Best Preaching
Sixteen Years of Sabre-Bearers
GottesGuests at La Quinta January 17-20
Kneeling
In the Beginning: The Seventh Day

Not a subscriber yet? It's still very inexpensive ($15/year), so why not take care of that matter today.

30% Off DDSB & New Testament in His Blood

2011-11-28T09:39:00.001-08:00

The publisher of Gottesdienst editors' choice is running a cyber Monday sale. Get Daily Divine Service Book, The New Testament in His Blood, and other titles from Dr. Eckardt or myself for 30% off with the code CYBERMONDAY305 at checkout.

+HRC

Out of my depth

2011-11-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

The most useful thing I've read about being a pastor in a long time. How to live a life out of your depth.

HT: The inestimable Lew Rockwell.

+HRC

Contemptible Worship, Swedish Style

2011-11-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

By Larry Beane

As if Lesbian "bishops" and gay porn in the cathedral weren't enough, here is the latest blasphemous attempt by the Lutheran (sic) "Church" of Sweden to engage the youth.

This about sums it up:

The church in Sweden has become increasingly progressive. In 1958, it allowed its first female priests, and two years ago ordained its first openly gay bishop, Eva Brunne, and gave priests the right to wed same-sex couples.

Idestrom says his modern Mass is a further development on the road of progress.

"People say this is exactly what the Church of Sweden needs," he said. "We need to develop the services so that we have a service also for people, mainly from the younger generation, who like this kind of music."

That's always the rationale for "contemporary worship." And notice how it never stops with a few guitars, a flute, and a piano...

"There are churches who have U2 Masses, where they play music by U2, some have animals — horses and dogs and donkeys — and we have motor cycle Masses."

This is exactly what happens when the church forgets that worship is Gottesdienst (Swedish: Gudstjanst), God's service - a holy, supernatural, sacramental transaction in which the Lord gives His gifts to His people in Word and Sacrament, who in turn worship Him with reverence and gratitude for the sacrifice that has saved them from sin, death, and the devil. Once that bond of mystery is broken, once the connection to the faith of our fathers is severed, there is not much left but a shallow and pathetic cry for attention that can quickly degenerate into a freak show.

At the heart of the matter, it's a first commandment issue. Do we worship and submit to Christ? Or do we worship ourselves and serve the god "entertainment"? The liturgical butchers of the "Church" of Sweden have made it clear what is the object of their veneration.

HT: Dr. William Tighe

Speaking of Poetry . . .

2011-11-12T06:17:00.000-08:00

This blew me away this morning, again from the Almanac:

The White
by Patricia Hampl

These are the moments
before snow, whole weeks before.
The rehearsals of milky November,
cloud constructions
when a warm day
lowers a drift of light
through the leafless angles
of the trees lining the streets.
Green is gone,
gold is gone.
The blue sky is
the clairvoyance of snow.
There is night
and a moon
but these facts
force the hand of the season:
from that black sky
the real and cold white
will begin to emerge.

"The White" by Patricia Hampl, from Resort. © Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1983. From The Writer's Almanac for November 12, 2011.

It is cold here, all the leaves are down, but the sun is shining and the sky is blue. The last two nights the sky has been clear, the moon full. Ms. Hampl just described my world and noted for me the sad foreboding reality that we are in our last "nice" days of the year: winter is coming.

Anyway, great poem.

Read Poetry for Better Preaching

2011-11-10T06:08:00.000-08:00

Spurred on by my recent column in Gottesdienst, I’ve enjoyed a little series at Issues, Etc. with Rev. Todd Wilken on how to become a better preacher. In the midst of this, fellow Gotteseditor (that is edited by God and not the other way around) Rev. Jason Braaten put me on to the book Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media have Shaped the Messenger by T. Gordon David. It turns out, by the way, that Wilken has interviewed David. You can listen here: http://issuesetc.org/podcast/222050509H2S1_2.mp3

You should read David’s book. $7.50 on the Kindle, which is deliciously ironic and also a great bargain. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1596381167/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3141364181&ref=pd_sl_46v6whdqbq_e

In the course of the interview with Wilken, David advocates preachers reading poetry to become better preachers. I myself have advocated this for years. Once in a while some non-logophile preacher tries to take me up on it and then sends an e-mail asking, “How does one read poetry.” Generally, I’ve ignored those e-mails. But here is an attempt to help.

Step one: just do it. Subscribe to the Writer’s Almanac from NPR and read a poem a day. It is fast. It is easy. You don’t have to understand them or appreciate them. Just read them. Get into the habit. Sooner or later, one of them will make sense, one of them will hit you were you live.

Step two: go to the public library and get the audio course from the Teaching Company on listening to poetry. You might have to make an interlibrary loan request. You should know how to do that anyway. The public library is your friend.

If that spurs you on, I suggest you pick up poetry anthologies from the library. The Norton anthologies for English 101 are quite good. The notes are nice also.

I’ve ignored the question because I am not an English major: I simply love poetry. But I will now do a stupid thing and try to take you through a poem. Here is the poem from the Writer’s Almanac that landed in my in-box this morning.

When the War is Over
by W.S. Merwin

When the war is over
We will be proud of course the air will be
Good for breathing at last
The water will have been improved the salmon
And the silence of heaven will migrate more perfectly
The dead will think the living are worth it we will know
Who we are
And we will all enlist again

"When the War is Over" by W.S. Merwin, from The Lice. © Copper Canyon Press, 1993. Found at The Writer’s Almanac http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/ for November 10, 2011.

Read the poem out loud. Then read it again. Does it work? Maybe not. The poet is playing with you. The sense requires you ignore the line breaks and find the real breaks on your own. Here is how it should sound when read for sense:
When the war is over, we will be proud, of course.

The air will be good for breathing, at last.

The water will have been improved.

The salmon and the silence of heaven will migrate more perfectly.

The dead will think the living are worth it.

We will know who we are.

And we will all enlist again.

The poem is lamenting the sad reality that war is inevitable, that we do not learn from history. It subtly mocks the idea that the dead think the living are worth it, that we are proud of our violence. The poem is told, remember, from the perspective that the war has not yet ended. This is the private in the trench trying to comfort himself. He might be one of those dead. He is desperate that air and water quality improve again, that the salmon return. He hopes his future pride will make it worth it, that if he lives his dead buddies don’t begrudge him. But he is sad, confused, uncertain in these bold statements.

That sadness and confusion, that bitter note at the end, that we don’t learn, that war will never end, etc, is conveyed by more than the words. It is conveyed also by the lacking punctuation and weird line breaks. The poet seeks to create an experience in you. The only way to participate with him is to meet him half-way. He wrote the poem now you have to read it, carefully, deliberately, more than once or even twice. You have to invest. Then it becomes clear and you are part of it.

The poem is about more than war. It is about the lies we tell ourselves, our attempts to comfort ourselves, and our realism, knowing, that it won’t work.
What this does for preaching is create an awareness of the power of words not just for their dictionary definition, but for the exact right word at the exact right place.

So there you go. There is the Petersen method of poetry reading. English majors may now assault in all their manliness.

DDSB in NKJV?

2011-11-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

While I have been constantly updating Daily Divine Service Book to correct the typos that users have found in the first edition, it has always been my hope to eventually offer a fully reworked second edition. As you might imagine, this is a lot of work and I wanted to make sure that a full-blown second edition would really have something unique to offer. If I'm not going to be able to produce a product that is significantly different than the first edition, then I can make better use of my time.

Well, today I got an offer from Thomas Nelson publishing to allow me to use the New King James Version translation for the readings. But they are in this to make money and I don't know if the price they are asking is feasible. So, please see the poll at right to help me out with a little market research. And thanks in advance.

+HRC

Harrison on Preaching

2011-11-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

The other part of President Harrison's address to the open forum in Ft Wayne the other day is actually the more important part, in my opinion. What he says about the need to reform our preaching is spot on: Click here to watch.

What do you do all week?

2011-11-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

The guys at the local bar/coffee shop/restaurant/town meeting place like to rib me since I only work one day a week. I retort that yes, I only work one day a week, but I only get two days off all year long.

This business of only working one day a week is, in my experience with myself and my friends in the ministry, where the parish antagonists are likely first to strike against the pastor: he's lazy, what does he do all week, why are we paying him so much for so little work, etc.

Thus it is good general advice to young pastors, a pastor in a new a place, or a pastor who can see some conflict on the horizon to keep a daily log of just what he does all week. Lawyers have to do this all the time: they have to show what they are doing every 15 minutes (every 10 minutes if your hourly is high enough) in a "billable hours" journal. It is really handy to be able to plop this down in front of the board of elders, the district president, or the antagonist in the parish - it cuts them off at the pass.

And there is an added benefit to keeping this journal for at least a month or so every year: it gives you a chance to review how effectively you are using your time. I've rearranged my schedule more than once based on what I saw in my habits. As every pastor knows, a "normal week" is hard to come by - but by keeping this journal you can devise a "normal week" as a goal to aim at, keeping in mind the sort of contingencies you've got to expect in your parish. FWIW, here's my "normal week."

Sunday: Set up at church: 6am; Bible Class 7:30; Divine Services 8, 9:30; Bible Class 10:45. Usually home by 12 or 12:30 and usually have the rest of the day free.

Office/Study/Visit Days (Mon-Thurs)

Daily Mon-Thurs: Prayer, Scripture reading, and study: about 1.5-2 hours where it fits. Usually morning, but also at noon or in the afternoon.

Monday: Morning: in the office - prep services, newsletters, communication with parishioners, parish planning, writing (for this blog, papers for presentations, etc - not sermons), etc. About a third of the year there is a women's Bible study from 9:30-10:30. During the school year, opening chapel at 8:30. Afternoon: visits, errands, more of the morning stuff. I often spend either the morning or the afternoon visiting the sick or putting out fires that I learned about on Sunday. Evening: maybe once a month on average I have a meeting on Monday night.

Tuesday: Men's Bible study early. Then opening at school at 8:30 during the school year. The rest of Tuesday looks a lot like Monday. It is often a good day to visit the far away shut ins. Once a month this is Winkel Day and school board meeting in the evenings. Tuesday evening is the night I also set aside for meetings with parishioners, visits of delinquents, writing notes, etc.

Wednesday: Every other month during the school year, chapel at 8:30. Lunch with my wife (I often don't eat lunch or eat it at weird times, always on the run and alone as I like to think while I eat. On Wednesday I bring in something special from the bar/restaurant/coffee shop and we have lunch together.) Prep for Wednesday night stuff. Evening: 5 - set up for DS; 5:30-6:15, set aside to hear confession; 6:30 DS; 7:00 - catechesis for government school kids and whatever adults are "in the system."

Thursday: Morning coffee at the bar to catch up on all the local "news" (that is, gossip and BS) with all the old men. This is the main place I learn who is angry with me, who is sick, etc. 8:00-10, opening and catechesis at the school. 10:00 - sermon writing. Afternoon: the long list of what hasn't been done yet this week, all the leftovers.

Friday: Scheduled day off. Especially during the school year I might be stretched into doing a shut in call this day, but I am pretty good about taking it completely off.

Saturday: More than half the time I also have Saturday basically off as long as Thursday went well and there is no sermon hanging over my head.

One thing you will notice about my schedule is the paucity of evening meetings. I am just blessed in this regard: my people hate meetings as much as I do.

This week is off to a normal start. It's Monday at 9:45 and here I am writing, with my study done for the day. Though not my prayers and Scripture reading! This is a perennial problem with me. I find it very easy to put that off until later in the day even though I am always happier when I do it first. I should repent. I have three people to check up on, but they can all either be dealt with via email or wait until the afternoon. Now it's time to get the Advent services figured out and maybe a shut in call this afternoon. Deer season is also coming up, so if I have extra time today I might get sermons done ahead of time. I should have tonight off to hang out with the family.

I honestly don't understand you guys who take Monday off instead of Friday. Do you ever really get it off, free and clear?

+HRC

Sensible, Straight Talk from Fr. Harrison

2011-11-03T08:57:00.001-07:00

In years past there has been much hand wringing about the decline of Missouri's membership. In these pages we have often argued the problem is a demographic one. I am gratified to see that we're not the only ones who have noticed. Thank you to Dr. Heidenreich for transcribing the following from Fr. Harrison. - +HRC

There are three things that are really hitting the Missouri Synod as much as anything. We're doing, I mean we're doing better than a lot of churches of course. But we've had a continuous slow decline over the last 50-40 years. I think 30 years ago was the last recorded yearly increase in our membership. Forty years ago, says Larry. That's all right, he'll, as he becomes president and becomes more and more of a fundraiser he'll become less and less of a historian. [Laughter] The biggest challenge we face is the birthrate. The birthrate of the Missouri Synod that is overwhelmingly white, descendent of European people in this synod - the birthrate of our church body has simply followed, mirrored, the broader birthrate of the United States among descendants of northern Europeans. That's a fact. There's hardly a single family out there that you're related to that has more children in the latest generation than it did in the previous generation. Now, do I expect any wholesale turnaround in this phenomenon? No, I don't. There are all kinds of intense pressures upon us. However, I think it's time for us to preach "Be fruitful and multiply." That's what the Bible says. And we ought to encourage young people and families who have the ability to have families. And encourage them. The church needs to be a place... It's no time to despise family ministries. It's no time to despise those kind of diakonic efforts in the church to care for marriages and families, etc. It's time to redouble our efforts in those areas and it's time to speak clearly that it's a good thing to have a large Lutheran orthodox family. If Muslims are having an average of 4.2 children a piece and we're having 2.1 children a piece, I would say God would be really happy if we'd bump it up to at least 4.2 per family. Don't quote me on that. [Laughter]

President Matthew Harrison, address at the ACNA-LCMS Open Forum, Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Thursday, October 27, 2011.

Advent Prayer Services

2011-11-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

Advent rapidly approaches and with it the awkward question of what to do with those midweek prayer services that became popular in the mid-20th century. Here are a few ideas for the liturgically minded.

* If you don't already have a midweek Mass, that is the place to start. See if you can parlay these Advent services into a regular midweek low Mass. This is of great spiritual benefit to the congregation if for no other reason than to allow vacationers, shift-workers, etc., to catch a Divine Service if they have to miss Sunday. For propers, see DDSB.

* If you already have a midweek Mass or for some other reason want to keep this a prayer service, use it as an opportunity for the congregation to learn Vespers, Evening Prayer, or Compline.

As for liturgical themes, readings, psalmody, etc., here are three ideas to consider that avoid kitsch and idiosyncrasy, which often goes by the name "creativity" these days.

1. Saints. Andrew (Nov 30); Nicholas (Dec 6); Lucia (Dec 13); Thomas (Dec 21). One each for the four weeks of Advent with obvious tie-ins to the season and historic readings (which can be found in DDSB). That's hard to beat.

2. Treasury of Daily Prayer. This is our Lutheran Breviary and is wonderfully done. Take a look at the assigned readings for the weeks in Advent. Let the Writings guide and inspire your preaching. Also take a look at a Roman Breviary for more meditations from the Fathers as well as a little perspective on the history of the TDP's readings. For the actual service, I think picking one day's readings from the week for the service is the best idea, to go along with encouraging the whole congregation to take up this discipline in the home.

3. Previous Sunday's Epistle lesson. Traditionally, the Gospel serves as the text for the Sunday sermon with the Epistle playing only a supporting role. These midweek services are a fine time to preach on the Epistles, or LSB's OT lessons which are nicely focused on prophecies of Christ.

+HRC

Report from the field

2011-10-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

This comes from a newly ordained pastor somewhere in the Midwest. Many times before I've passed on the advice I got from the inestimable Fr. Ralph Tausz when it comes to introducing Lutheran ceremonies and liturgy to congregations with less than ideal histories in that regard. As with anything in the pastoral ministry: your mileage may vary. But here is one more man's experience.

"Things are going very well! Thanks for asking. I see positive strides in both the congregation as a whole, and especially in individual souls. For what it's worth, you were right about a congregation's tolerance for a pastor making immediate changes when they are accompanied by patient teaching, at least in my situation. We still have a ways to go, but I'm very optimistic."

+HRC

Talking about the Liturgy

2011-10-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a guest post from Fr. Mark Surburg, a colleague of mine here in the SID, though he serves a bit south of me, firmly in the Baptist Belt a good two hour drive outside of the St. Louis Metro Lutheran Zone. I think his words here are very beneficial - and I'll let them speak for themselves.

+HRC

I am always interested to see how other pastors summarize the character and value of the liturgy as I look for new and better ways to present it to people. I have attached my own version of doing this in which I have attempted to draw upon what I have seen others done, while adding my own wrinkle here and there. - Fr. Mark Surburg

The Divine Service - God's gifts for us

Every Sunday we gather at church for the Divine Service. As we consider what happens on

Sunday morning, it is important that think about the service in the way of the Gospel. The focus

of Sunday morning is not on what we do (Law). Instead, the focus is on what God is doing

for us (Gospel). God comes to us with His gifts of the Means of Grace by which He delivers

forgiveness and strengthens us in the faith. The first move is from God to us. Then in turn,

as we receive God’s gifts, we respond with praise and thanksgiving. As the Apology of the

Augsburg Confession states: “Thus the service and worship of the Gospel is to receive good

things from God, while the worship of the law is to offer and present our goods to God … The

greatest possible comfort comes from this doctrine that the highest worship in the Gospel is the

desire to receive forgiveness of sins, grace, and righteousness” (IV.310). In order to recognize

this fact, Lutherans have called the Sunday service Gottesdienst, which means “Divine Service.”

This name reminds us that on Sunday, God serves us with His gifts.

The Liturgy of the Divine Service: God’s Word built around the Means of Grace

In ancient Greece, the word “liturgy” meant “public service.” The early church took this word

and used it to describe the fixed orders of service in which God comes to us and serves us with

His gifts. The liturgy of the Divine Service is made up of verses and phrases taken from Holy

Scripture. The liturgy is made up of Scripture and it has been built around the reading and

proclamation of God’s Word, and the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar. It highlights

and emphasizes the sacramental ways in which God comes to us and is therefore the best and

most natural setting for these gifts. The liturgy stresses the sacramental ways that God works,

and therefore it also emphasizes the incarnation because the sacraments find their origin in the

incarnate One, Jesus Christ.

The liturgy teaches the correct faith

What we believe, shapes and forms the way we worship. For example, churches who believe

that Christ gives us His very body and blood in Lord’s Supper place the Sacrament of the Altar

at the center of their worship service every Sunday, while churches who believe that it is only a

symbol do not usually celebrate the Lord’s Supper very often. The liturgy of the Divine Service

reflects exactly the faith of the catholic and apostolic Church that we believe.

At the same time, the opposite is also true. The way we worship shapes and forms what we

believe. The things we do, say and hear every Sunday determine what we believe. What a

church really believes can be learned from how they worship on Sunday morning. The weekly

use of the liturgy helps to form and shape us in the one true catholic and apostolic faith.

The Bible done right: again and again

The liturgy of the Divine Service is drawn from the Bible. However, it is possible to

misunderstand the Bible. Because the liturgy reflects the faith of the catholic and apostolic

Church, it is the Bible believed and understood correctly. In the liturgy, Law and Gospel are

properly distinguished as we admit our sins and receive Christ’s forgiveness in the Means

of Grace. The liturgy places Jesus Christ at the center and in doing so teaches it us that the

Christian faith is Christocentric – it is focused on the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The liturgy

repeatedly points us towards the return of Jesus Christ on the Last Day (it is eschatological),

even as it assures us that we already now begin to experience a foretaste of God’s final salvation.

The liturgy teaches us these things, and it does so by exposing us to these truths every week.

There is an old saying that “repetition is the mother of learning.” The repetition of hearing and

singing the words of the liturgy each week teaches us the catholic and apostolic faith, and shapes

and forms the way we think about the faith. This is a process that begins with the smallest child

and continues all throughout our life. It is not a process that ever ends or is finished because the

words and phrases, movements and actions invite ever deeper understanding as we grow and

mature as Christians.

The liturgy: prayers that teach

The liturgy contains prayers that teach. In the liturgy we use the inspired prayers of the Psalms.

We also encounter prayers that use the language of the Bible and have been crafted by two

thousand years of Christian experience living the faith. These prayers teach us the Christian

faith. They also teach us how to pray by leading us beyond those things that we would say and

focus upon. They lead us beyond ourselves and support our prayer when don’t want to pray or

don’t know what to pray.

The liturgy preserves the faith (it keeps us catholic)

The liturgy teaches the correct faith. It also preserves the catholic and apostolic faith as it

is handed on from one generation to the next. The eternal and timeless truth of God’s Word

is preserved in the liturgy and this helps the Church to resist the spirit of the world in each

time period (the tyranny of “today”). As such, the liturgy of the Divine Service unites us with

the saints of the centuries before us who have sung and spoken the words of the liturgy (the

communion of saints). The liturgy binds us together with one another, and with the Christians

who have gone before us.

Lutherans are evangelical catholics. Lutherans are centered on the Gospel as we share in what

the universal church has believed and practiced. The liturgy confesses the truth of the Gospel

as it teaches and preserves the catholic faith. For this reason, the Lutheran church is a liturgical

church – it uses the liturgy of the Divine Service. As the Apology of the Augsburg Confession

states: “So in our churches we willingly observe the order of the Mass [the medieval name

for the Divine Service], the Lord’s day, and the other more important feast days. With a very

thankful spirit we cherish the useful and ancient ordinances, especially when they contain a

discipline that serves to educate and instruct the people and the inexperienced” (VII/VIII.33-34).

The reverence of the liturgy as we stand before God

The liturgy shapes worship with a profound reverence as we stand in God’s presence. The

biblical texts used; the use of song and chant; the fixed movements by pastor and congregation

(such as standing and bowing) help us to enter into God’s presence with reverence. They remind

us that in the Divine Service we stand before the holy God.

In the liturgy we experience the real world: the new creation

We live as Christians in the “now and the not yet.” While we look forward to Christ’s return on

the Last Day, we already now have received God’s reign in Christ and have received salvation.

In the liturgy we experience something different from the rest of the week. Yet as God comes to

us in His Means of Grace, what we are experiencing is the world as it really is. We encounter

God’s reign that has made us to be a new creation in Christ. We are joined together with all

the saints and the heavenly host as we experience heaven on earth. The liturgy emphasizes

the “now” of salvation, even as it points us forward to the return of Jesus Christ on the Last Day.

The liturgy is part of the Church’s culture that sets her apart from the world

Christ has called the Church out of the world and made her His own. The Church is present

where the Means of Grace are being administered. The Church is most herself when she is in

worship, and therefore she looks very different from the world when this is occurring.

The Church has her own culture – her own ways of speaking and acting – that separates the

Church from the world and marks her off as God’s people. The liturgy of the Divine Service

is a very important part of this culture that marks off the Church as God’s own people who

have been called out of the world. As visitors encounter the liturgy, they will often experience

something that they find to be different and foreign to them. This is not surprising because they

are encountering a different way of doing the world – God’s way. However in this recognition

there is an invitation to learn more about God’s way of doing the world and to join the culture of

God’s people.

The ceremony of the liturgy communicates in many ways

The ceremony of the liturgy – the movements by the pastor, the way the communionware is

handled, the vestments, paraments, candles, etc. – is part of the church’s culture. The ceremony

of the liturgy adorns the Means of Grace and sets them before us. It communicates the truth of

God’s Word to us in a variety of ways and embraces our bodily, physical existence in this time

and place.

Lenten Sermon Series by Rev. Dan Dahling

2011-10-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

By Larry Beane

No, Gottesdienst has not gone the way of the world where Christmas decorations appear before Reformation Day and by the beginning of Advent, the St. Valentine's Day paraphernalia makes its way to the shelves.

However, as we are approaching Advent and a new church year, some of y'all may be in planning mode.

One of the great benefits I enjoy as the Sermons Editor of the print edition is that I am exposed to quite a variety of sermons and preachers, approaches to texts, and different styles of proclaiming the Good News. I have the honor to select a sermon or two for each quarterly issue.

Of course, there is a lot of great preaching out there. I can't possibly include everything worth reading, studying, or meditating upon in only eight or so sermons a year.

So, I'm going to use Gottesdienst Online to present a Lenten sermon series (in outline form) graciously offered to us for publication by the Rev. Daniel Dahling of Zion Friedheim Lutheran Church in Decatur, Indiana. In Pastor Dahling's own words:

I have a unique Lenten series that I wrote a few years back entitled “Jesus I will ponder now”. It is a series based on eight chorales written by Sigismund v. Birken & Johan Sebastian Bach. The sermon is structured around a hymn stanza or a chorale as the lines of the hymn become the outline of the sermon. The congregation sang the hymn verse as the sermon hymn and on occasion, the choir sang the verse. In this way the congregants were able to read the verse, sing it, and meditate on it during the service. The series was preached at Zion Friedheim Lutheran Church in 2006 and at St. John, Bingen during a vacancy in 2008. Would you be interested in reviewing or using this series?

So, with Pastor Dahling's blessing, I'm presenting below the overview and the sermons (six midweek, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday) as he preached them at Zion Friedheim in 2006.

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

Friedheim

Celebrating our 168^th Year

A 21^st Century Parish with a 1^st Century Faith

Acts 2:42

www.zionfriedheim.org

10653 N – 550 W

Decatur, IN 46733

“Jesus I will Ponder Now”

A Lenten series based on six Chorales written by Sigismund v. Birken & Johan Sebastian Bach

March 1, 2006 - Ash Wednesday - Luke 18:31-34

Stanza #5 If my sins give me alarm

TLH #140 And my conscience grieve me

Birken Let Thy cross my fear disarm

Peace of conscience give me

Grant that I may trust in Thee

And Thy holy Passion

If His Son so loveth me

God must have compassion

March 8, 2006 – Mid-week #2 – John 18:12-14

Stanza #3 Yet, O Lord, not thus alone

TLH #140 Make me see Thy Passion

Birken But its cause to me make known

And its termination

Ah! I also and my sin

Wrought Thy deep affliction

This indeed the cause hath been

Of Thy crucifixion.

March 15, 2006 – Mid-week #3 – John 18: 15-27

From Bach’s Peter gave it scarce a thought

St. John Passion When he God rejected;

At Christ’s look, he fled, distraught,

Weeping and dejected.

Jesus fix Thy gaze on me,

True repentance teach me,

When Thou evil there doth see,

Through my conscience reach me.

March 22, 2006 – Mid-week #4 – John 19:5

From Bach’s Jesu, who for me didst die,

St. John Passion Livest now forever.

When my hour of death draws nigh,

Let me waver never.

May I e’er to Thee be turned,

O my faithful Savior!

Give me but what Thou hast earned,

More I do not pray for.

March 29, 2006 – Mid-week #5 – John 19:23-27

From Bach’s He of everything took heed

St. John Passion In his hour of dying

Caring for His mother’s need,

On His friend relying.

O man, do all things aright

Love God and thy neighbor,

Die then without pain and fright

Rest from care and labor.

April 5, 2006 – Mid-week #6 - John 19:31-37

From Bach’s Help, O Christ, Thou God’s own Son,

St. John Passion Through Thy bittern anguish.

That our wills with Thine be one,

Zeal for evil vanquish.

On Thy death and its true cause

Contrite thoughts will render,

And Though weak and full of flaws,

Thee our thanks will tender.

NB: M. Thursday 4/13/’06; G. Friday 4/14/’06; Easter 4/16/’06

Ash Wednesday
March 1, 2006
Jesus I Will Ponder Now
Luke 18:31-34

Introduction: Today we begin a six week process of observing our Savior’s Passion, suffering and death during the discipline of Lent. Under the theme: “Jesus I will Ponder Now” we will focus on six aspects of the Savior’s Passion as rendered and presented in six beautiful Chorales – four of which were penned by Johan Sebastian Bach. It is my prayer that as we focus on Jesus’ suffering through Scripture and song we will grow in a deeper appreciation of what Jesus has won for us on the bloody and cruel cross of Calvary.

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, Jesus explains to His disciples, “Then He took unto Him the twelve, and said unto them, ‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished.” {V.31}
As we consider Jesus’ Passion we observe His work in terms of sin and grace.

I. If my sins give me alarm and My conscience grieve me.

A. It is sin which causes us to be alarmed

1. Sin of commission –committed and done by

a. Thoughts

b. Words

c. Actions

2. Sins of omission

a. When we had opportunity to do good but failed.

b. When we could have prevented sin but failed to act or didn’t want to get involved, or the time was not convenient.

B. Our conscience is troubled when we consider past wrongs, failures, and the nagging question, “What will God do to me at the end of my days?”

Transition: How do we receive a clean conscience and peace of mind? Our hymn verse gives us a clear answer.

II. Let Thy cross, my fear disarm peace of conscience give me.

A. The cross of Christ disarms our fears.

1. At The cross the wrath of an offended God was poured out on Jesus Christ God’s own Son.

2. Paul puts it this way; “God was in Christ reconciling us to the Father not counting our sins against us…” 2 Corinthians 5:19

3. As Christ has taken our sin there is nothing for us to fear.

B. Peace of conscience is what Christ alone can give.

1. He gives us His peace – “Peace I leave thee, My peace I give thee…” -John 14:27

2. This is the only peace which will sustain us – all other forms or attempts at peace - pale in comparison.

Transition: Christ suffered for us once for all. Yet the Devil will attempt to trip us up reminding us again and again of past failings. He will quote for us chapter and verse where we have sinned. That’s why we need a continued reminder of Christ’s work.

III. Grant that I may trust in Thee and Thy holy Passion.

A. All Jesus asks of us is to trust Him.

1. Trust is nothing more then another word for faith.

2. Faith is nothing more then taking God at His word.

B. We trust that what Christ accomplished at the cross is all that is needed to win for us salvation.

1. Jesus’ words: “It is finished!” says it all!

a. There is nothing left to be done. Jesus did it all at the cross.

b. Trusting in Jesus’ work and merit is what our faith must focus.

Transition: As we focus on what Jesus has done we learn an eternal truth – the love and compassion of Christ.

IV. If His Son so loveth me God must have compassion.

A. Smile - God loves you! Best summed up by Christ Himself in John 3:16-18

B. He has had compassion. The Passion of the Christ is motivated by the Father’s compassion for a fallen world. When He gave up His own Son He did the very best. The Father shows that;

1. He cares for us

2. He loves us

3. He sent us His own Son who redeemed this world to save us.

Conclusion: As we begin the discipline of Lent we focus on Jesus’ Passion. He has redeemed us lost and condemned creatures and has purchased and won us from sin, from death and from the power of the devil. A great and mighty wonder is to unfold during this Lenten season we watch in awe and wonderment.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

Jesus I will Ponder Now
March 8, 2006
Mid-week #2
John 18:15
“Simon Peter also followed in Jesus’ path and another disciple”

Introduction: Following Jesus’ arrest in the garden Peter and John follow behind the soldiers as Jesus is lead to Annas. Annas just so happened to be the father-in-law of Caiaphas – who had been appointed to serve as high priest.

It wasn’t left to chance that Jesus was sent to have an audience with Annas. Annas was the principle player within the Jewish Council. He made sure to keep a power hold within the court, keeping tight control within his family power base.

History tells us that four of Annas's sons were among those who succeeded him. His son-in-law, Caiaphas, held office from A.D. 18 until 36, during the time of Jesus' active ministry.
Although others held the priestly office, Annas seems to have been the elder statesman and the power behind the throne.

Together these two men; Annas and Caiaphas, brokered much influence within the temple and the court - It was Caiaphas who had given counsel and warning to the Sanhedrin that it was expedient that one man should die for the sake of the people. -John 18:14

Peter and John follow behind – they desire to see what will occur next.

I. With Peter and John we view Christ’s Passion.

A. “Yet, O Lord, not thus alone make me see Thy Passion.”

1. During this holy season we meditate on what Christ did and endured to earn our salvation.

2. We mark His arrest, trial, suffering and crucifixion.

B. “But its cause to me make known and its termination.”

1. The cause for which Christ was arrested, tried, scourged and crucified was to win for me salvation.

2. When Christ died – all of our sin died. Our sins, with all evil lusts were all drowned and killed.

Transition: But we do more then merely observe Christ’s action. We recall, affirm and believe what Christ has done. He suffered and died that I may receive salvation and life.

II. We also recall the impact of Christ’s suffering.

A. “Ah! I also and my sin wrought Thy deep affliction.”

1. It was my sin and mine alone which caused Jesus to suffer and die.

2. It is my sin which caused me to be separated from the Father, from Christ, and my neighbor.

B. “This indeed the cause has been of Thy crucifixion.”

1. Christ suffered for me because I can do nothing to earn my salvation. My sin robs me of fellowship with God or with my neighbor. “Lord if You should mark iniquity who shall stand…” -Psalm 130:3

2. Because Christ has suffered for me and on my behalf I now enjoy the blessings that come from Christ’s bloody cross; salvation, forgiveness, life eternal.

Conclusion: Peter and John remain in the wings to see what will transpire next. What happens is that Jesus is abandoned by God and by men to take on our sin to Himself and thus win for us salvation. “Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood be for my soul the highest good.”*

- I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table” from The Lutheran Hymnal © 1940 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

March 15, 2006
Jesus I will Ponder Now
Mid-week #3
John 18:15-27

Introduction: The story of Peter is your story. It is also my story. Peter is so strong; so sure of himself, so bold – yet so often he stumbles, fumbles, flops and falls. Johan Sebastian Bach in a beautiful chorale tells a powerful account concerning Peter’s failure. Let’s see how the story unfolds.

I. “Peter gave it scarce a thought when he God rejected.”

A. Peter was so sure of himself. He felt secure in his faith.

1. After all, he was one of the twelve and of the twelve, one of the three whom Jesus gathered together to be part of His inner circle.

2. He was fixed firmly in his own ability to stand confidently with the Savior. Just hours before Jesus’ arrest in the garden Peter had pledged his loyalty to the Savior. “And [Simon Peter] said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death. But Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, before a [single] cock shall crow this day, you will three times [utterly] deny that you know Me.” - Luke 22:33-34

B. When he would eventually deny the Savior he thought he was only finding a limb on which to climb. It was for him a way of “saving face.” “I wasn’t really denying my Lord,” he could argue, “It was merely a case of “mistaken identity.” Peter said to the crowd, “You’re talking to the wrong man!”

1. What happens in our life? – Do we give a “false witness” when we, for example, compromise clear Biblical principles in order to fit in at work, or at school? What price will we pay to acquire acceptance, approval, acquiescence?

2. Every time we sin willfully we are doing nothing short of what Peter did on that fateful night.

3. Like Peter we often “give it scarce a thought” when we compromise principle for convenience or for what is expedient at the time.

C. We too are tempted.

1. In the beginning we are tempted [by the Devil] - to think - “it’s nothing.”

2. In the end we are told [again, by the Devil] - “it can’t be forgiven.”

Transition: It was bad enough for Peter to deny his Lord. But upon looking into the eyes of the Savior Peter was seized with guilt. Luke reminds us: “And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord how He had said unto him, ‘Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.” (Luke 22:61) With one look Peter’s world crumbled!

II. “At Christ’s look he fled distraught, weeping and dejected.”

A. Confronted by his denial Peter was crushed.

1. This is what the Law does to us.

2. It is a necessary ingredient in preaching!

B. We too are crushed when confronted with the Law.

1. Nathan said to David “Thou art the man” - 2 Samuel 12:7

2. Contrition and repentance are necessary for restoration and forgiveness.

Transition: As Jesus fixed His gaze on Peter thus He must look on us.

III. We ask Jesus to “look on me” – “Cast me not away from Thy presence and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me” – Psalm 51:11

A. “Jesus fix Thy gaze on me”

1. Press me, pursue me.

2. Never let me go! “I will never leave Thee nor forsake Thee” -Hebrews 13:5

B. “True repentance teach me” Remember the 5 “R’s” of repentance…

1. Responsibility – we own up to our sin.

2. Remorse – we are heart sorry.

3. Repair – we attempt to fix what we’ve broken - inasmuch as we are able.

4. Repeat not! – We don’t return to visit!

Note: These four steps; leading to repentance, come from Dr. Laura Schlesinger, she’s a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. She suggests; quite convincingly, that this is all we need to right a wrong. Yet, one component is missing. A 5th step is necessary; the final step, which separates Christians from the rest of the world; a step, which turns from following rules to establishing a relationship with God Himself. The 5th step necessary:

5. Reconciliation - through Christ alone!

Transition: Repentance is not merely a one time act – it must be a daily process. Thus we pray…

IV. “When Thou evil there doest see through my conscience reach me.”

1. Jiminy Cricket from Disney’s ‘Pinocchio’ would suggest to us; “let your conscience be your guide”

2. Our text would suggest even stronger let your conscience and the cruel and bloody cross of Calvary be your guide!

Conclusion: After the resurrection Peter and Jesus had another heart to heart meeting. Three times Jesus would ask Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” John would remind us in his gospel account, “Peter was grieved because Jesus said to him for a third time do you love Me?” – John 21:17

Roman Catholics maintain that Peter was the first Pope. To this day Protestant parishes in Europe will place a rooster instead of a cross on the top of their spires as a not so friendly reminder of Peter’s seedy past. Not much has changed over the years. Have there been instances in our lives when we have not acted as becomes a child of God? Have you had to be reminded of that moment only to relive it once again?

Each of us can recall those moments in our lives in which we are not proud! Peter’s’ denial crushed him – but what he found was restoration by the Savior!

Peter’s freedom came at a price – the price of Jesus’ life. To be crushed by conscience and the Law is never a pleasant thing. But Christ’s redemption leads to recovery – to be reconciled to the Father and also to each other – all has been made possible by the Savior’s amazing grace!

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

Jesus I will Ponder Now
March 22, 2006
Mid-week #4
John 19:5
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, Behold the man!

Introduction: “Behold the man!” That’s what Pilate said. Who is this Jesus? How will you perceive Him? How will you react to Him? What has He done to deserve all this? Our chorale for this evening penned by Johan Sebastian Bach gives us much to contemplate.

I. Behold, the Savior of the world. Jesu, who for me didst die, Livest now forever.

A. Christ died –

1. He died for every sinner.

2. He died for me!

B. But now He lives –

1. Death could not hold Him.

2. He now lives and reigns through all eternity.

II. Behold Him who will hold us in death. When my hour of death draws nigh, Let me waver never.

A. Each must face death.

1. It is appointed for man once to die and after that face judgment. -Hebrews 9:72

2. Death is a curse which sinful humans have brought upon themselves. “The soul that sins it shall die.” - Ezekiel 18;4,20

B. Yet we can face death confidently in Jesus.

1. Because Christ defeated death by His own death we can now see death as a gate which leads to eternal life.

2. When facing our own demise terrors of conscience may seize us. Only Christ can keep us faithful. “Be Thou faithful until death and I will give Thee the crown of life.” - Revelation 2:10
III. Behold Him who will keep us. May I e’er to Thee be turned, O my faithful Savior.

A. By our own reason or strength we can not come to Him.

1. We are blind, dead and enemies of God.

2. Our sin prevents us.

B. Thus He sends us His Holy Spirit who…

1. Calls us - by the Gospel

2. Gathers us – into His body the Church

3. Enlightens us – with His gifts

4. Sanctifies us – keeps us holy

5. Keeps us – in the one true faith

IV. Behold him who will receive us into His glory. Give me but what Thou has earned, More I do not pray for.

A. What has Christ earned?

1. We now have peace with God.

2. We are given access to the Father’s throne - room of grace.

3. We have received forgiveness from all sin.

4. We’ve been given the hope of heaven with mansions glorious.

B. With all these gifts what more do we need?

1. The Christian can now be content.

2. There is nothing lacking for Christ has the sufficiency to supply us with all that we may ever need.

Conclusion:

I am content my Jesus liveth still
In whom my heart is pleased.
He hath fulfilled the Law of God for me,
God’s Wrath He hath appeased.
Since He in death could perish never
I also shall not die forever.
I am content! I am content!

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

I Am Content from The Lutheran Hymnal Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO © 1940

Jesus I will Ponder Now
March 29, 2006
Mid-week #5
John 19:23-27

Introduction: Hanging on a cross suspended between earth and heaven Jesus bore our sins in His body. In the midst of His cruel agony He provided for His mother’s care. John records for us the Savior’s word of dying concern. “When Jesus saw His mother, there and the disciple whom He loved, standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on this disciple took her into his home.” How beautifully Bach relates these events.

I. The death of Jesus was complete. “He of everything took heed In His hour of dying.”

A. All sin was paid for by Jesus’ vicious death.

1. There is not one sin left unaccounted.

2. The payment is marked: “paid in full!”

B. The proclamation of the cross is what frees us.

1. It is good news.

2. It is the power of God.

II. On the cross Jesus singles Mary out for attention. “Caring for His mother’s needs on His friend relying.”

A. He calls her “woman”.

1. A desire to spare her the hurt of “mother.”

2. He imparts a proper perspective – Mary will have to be saved like anyone else. She receives no dispensation!

B. He turns her over to John.

1. From that time on he became her son.

2. He provides for her taking her into his own house.

a. By way of history John will be the only disciple not to be martyred.

b. He will be exiled to the island of Patmos. – Revelation 1:9

III. By this act of love Jesus demonstrates the proper regard for family. “O man, do all things aright love God and thy neighbor.”

A. Jesus summed up the life of the Christian when He taught us;

1. “Love the Lord Thy God with all your heart, soul and all your might This is the first and greatest commandment.” - Matthew 22:37

2. “And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” -Matthew 22:38-39 There is no commandment greater than these.

B. “To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” - Mark 12:33

IV. Through Jesus’ example expressed to His mother He demonstrates a deep concern for others. Thus Bach concludes tonight’s hymn verse with these words; “Die then without pain and fright rest from care and labor.”

A. We can leave this world in death without pain or fright.

1. Christ bore our sins in His own body on the cross so that we will not have to suffer the terrors of a guilty conscience.

2. We receive Christ’s peace as He has secured for us peace with God.

B. Thus we rest from care and labor.

1. Luther possibly put is best when, in the conclusion to his morning and evening prayers he wrote: “Into Thy hands I commend myself [placing] my body and soul and all thing [into Thy care]. May Your Holy Angel [Spirit] be with me that the wicked foe may have no power over me.”

2. This moved Luther to conclude in the morning the Christian should: “then go joyfully to your work” and in the evening we rest confidently: “then go to sleep at once and in good cheer.”

3. Here is evidence of a clear conscience; not based on what we do but rather on what Christ has finished. Our salvation is complete. We can rest in peace because our Father is at peace with Jesus’ work. At the cross and empty tomb Christ’s mission was accomplished!

Conclusion: Jesus showing compassion and care for His mother and His dear disciple has shown us how we too must act. Of the seven words Jesus spoke from the cross half of His last words are concerned with others. May His words and actions so move us to will and to do His good pleasure.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

Jesus I will Ponder Now
April 5, 2006
Mid-week #6
John 19:37
They will look on the one they have pierced

Introduction:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the prince of glory died
My riches gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

The Passion of the Christ has been our focus through the sacred music of Johan Sebastian Bach these past three Wednesdays. We turn now to our final chorale – it is simply a prayer - that we may be one in Christ.

Help O Christ Thou God’s own Son
Through Thy bitter anguish
That our wills with Thee be one
Zeal for evil vanquish

I. We pray that our Will - may be one in the same as Christ’s. This we pray every time we pray the 3rd petition of the Lord’s Prayer – “Thy will be done” – Lord!

A. How is this done?

1. God’s good and gracious will is done among us by Himself – not us!

2. Specifically, when God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow God’s name nor let His Kingdom come.

3. Those forces we contend with are the will of the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh.

B. God’s Good and gracious will is...

1. To strengthen and preserve us steadfast.

2. Keeping us faithful to His Word and faith unto our end. “Fear not, little flock, for it is Your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” -Luke 12:32

Transition: We pray that the Father’s will might be done in us. Viewing Christ’s Passion we render Him our thanks and praise.

II. Our focus thus is on Christ and His Cross

On Thy death and its true cause
Contrite thoughts will render

A. When we consider all that Jesus endured - His suffering, agony and bloody sweet we cry out for the Father to have mercy upon us.

1. With the beggar we cry, “Jesus, Master have mercy on me!”-Mark 10:47

2. Or, as the Kyrie would remind us; “Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord, have mercy.”

3. And, in the words of the Agnus Dei; “O Christ Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world have mercy upon us and grant us Thy peace.”

B. And we thank Him!

And though weak and full of flaws
Thee our thanks will render

1. Thank You Jesus, that you have taken
away my guilt and my sin.

2. Thank you Jesus, that You prayed;
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” -Luke 23:34

3. Thank You Jesus, who gave Stephen the
strength to pray; “Lord do not hold this sin against them!” –Acts 7:60 For this is how we ought to pray.

Conclusion: As we have pondered Christ’s holy Passion during this Lenten journey may we be moved to pray;

Grant that I may willingly
Bear with Thee my crosses,
Learning humbleness of Thee,
Peace mid pain and losses.
May I give thee love for love!
Hear me, O my Savior,
That I may in heaven above
Sing Thy praise forever.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

 When I survey the wondrous cross from The Lutheran Hymnal Concordia Publishing House St. Louis, MO © 1940

 Jesus I will Ponder Now from The Lutheran Hymnal Concordia Publishing House St. Louis, MO © 1940

M. Thursday
As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. –John 13:30

Introduction: In his St. John Passion J. S. Bach paints for us a picture of the arrest of Jesus which will trigger a series of events. These events will bring about the greatest travesty of justice – yet, at the same time will usher in the greatest demonstration of the Father’s love and faithfulness; faithfulness to His promise, faithfulness to His fallen children. For us; to receive the Father’s pardon, the Son of Man would have to be arrested, tried, crucified and killed.

Following the Passover celebration Jesus’ disciples sang a hymn. As they departed from the upper room - it was night. Christ the sinless Son of God is about to suffer for the crimes and sins of men.

I. “Christ through whom we now are blessed - knew no evil doing.”

A. In Christ we truly are blessed.
1. Blessed to know Him, blessed to be known by Him.

2. Blessed to have a relationship with Him.

3. Blessed to be brought into His family – the Church.

B. We are blessed because of Christ the sinless Son of God.
1. He knew no sin. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

2. Yet He became sin for us. “At the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

3. He became a curse for us. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE "--

4. That we might become the righteousness of God through Him. “He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord’.”

Transition: Christ the perfect holy Son of God blesses us. Our blessing came at the time of Jesus’ arrest when it was night.

II. “Him at night they did arrest - like a thief pursuing.”

A. His arrest happened at night. “As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.”
1. His arrest happened at night when the crowds who had come for the Passover festival would not so easily witness His arrest.

2. They arrested Jesus at night so they could hold a quick and speedy trial.

B. Like a thief they pursued Him.
1. How ironic – He who had committed no treachery becomes a wanted man; a thief, a criminal, a villain, a man they must pursue.

2. The enemies of the Christ will stop at nothing at having Him eliminated. It was necessary for this to happen they would argue. It was necessary for one man to die for the nation. “Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. The leadership had had their fill – He must be eliminated.

Transition: Having made His arrest His trial is set.

III. “Led before the godless throng - falsely was convicted.”

A. Christ was convicted falsely.
1. Two witnesses came forward. “Many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.”

2. Finally, the High Priest came forward and charged Him.
“The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.”

B. These leaders stirred up the crowd for a conviction of convenience. It served their end.

1. “Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.”

2. “So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” Pilate said “I find no fault in this man.”

3. But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

Transition: Having achieved their goal of a conviction the council will send Jesus to His death – But first He must be handed to the guard.

IV. “Laughed at, scoffed at, spat upon, - as the Word predicted.”

A. The guard will make sport of Him.
1. They want to publicly humiliate Him. “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.”

2. They want so show their utter contempt for Him. “Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.”

B. This was all predicted for us in Sacred Scripture.
1. “He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

2. “Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth…”

3. “He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself”.

Conclusion: After the Last Supper, events in our Lord’s life moved rapidly-- His prayer in Gethsemane, betrayal by Judas, arrest, mock trial, painful beating, the trudge to Golgotha and execution. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.” The events of Golgotha snuffed out the human life of Jesus, the Light of the World, as even creation was dark when He suffered.

Jesus, the innocent victim is sentenced to death – a death He did not deserve – yet a death He will bear for your salvation. In this most blessed Sacrament which He instituted before His arrest you receive the tokens of His sacrifice – His body, broken - His blood, shed - that you might receive absolution and clemency for your offenses. O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us and grant us Your peace.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

Good Friday
Finally Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified – John 19:16

Introduction: Hanging on a cross - suspended between earth and heaven - the Son of man suffers – as no one has ever suffered – before or since. Stricken, smitten and afflicted see Him hanging on that tree – He hangs there - for you and for me.

We have come to the end of our series – Jesus I will ponder Now. Today we witness Jesus as He offers Himself as a sacrifice for the life of the world. The old song sings:

1. Make me see thy great distress,
Anguish and affliction,

A. The distress of Jesus is one no one has ever experienced. The physical torture was tremendous. But even greater was the spiritual torments He received. On that bloody and cruel cross Jesus was abandoned by God and by men.

B. Thus the Savior’s affliction and anguish was the highest cruelty. The wrath of an angry and offended God was poured out on the Son of man on a hill called Calvary. Heaped upon Him was a double load.

1. He suffered as no man should.

2. He suffered innocently the righteous for the
unrighteous.

Transition: Jesus suffered great distress, anguish, and affliction. He suffered in time so we could be in bliss with God eternally.

2. Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And Thy crucifixion;

A. Mel Gibson’s movie the “Passion of the Christ” is a vivid portrayal of the Roman style of execution called crucifixion. It is a rendering of what took place in Jerusalem during those short three hours on Good Friday. This movie is an apt depiction of what crucifixion was really like. No wonder the world feared the Romans! No wonder some still today can not bear to see it. No wonder the Romans had a law which read: Roman citizens may not be crucified. The scourging, whippings and beatings Christ endured was pure violence.

B. And yet, Gibson’s film is not “gratuitous violence.” To the contrary - there is a higher good which comes from the sufferings and the passion of the Christ.

1. Your sins, oh man, are gone. Your sins are buried in the tomb of Christ never to be seen again.

2. He separates them as far as the east is from the west and He remembers your sin no more.

3. There is now no more condemnation for those who are in Christ who was crucified. This is why we call this day Good Friday, for on a Friday - in time - the Son of God suffered to set you free.

Transition: Why mark these sacred hours when Jesus the Christ suffered? Why does every faithful Christian church station a cross prominently? What it the significance of the cross?

3. Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear and nails did wound Thee,

A. It was a human who transgressed God’s law. When the Father said, “Of all the trees you may eat. But of the tree in the midst of the garden you will not eat, lest you die.”

B. It was a human who believed the lie when the tempter said, “you will not die, for the Lord knows in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing the difference between good and evil.”

C. It was a human who disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit.

D. Therefore it had to be a human who would suffer in your stead. Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a human mother became the Father’s only attempt and the only hope for the human race to be free from sin. There is no other plan. There is no other way. There is no other hope except through Christ. This is what prompted St. Paul to write, “I determine to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

Transition: What is the significance of the cross? The hymn writer sums it up in thirteen powerful words.

4. How for man Thou diedst O God,
Who with thorns had crowned Thee.

A. Sacred Scripture is quite clear. “There is salvation in no
one else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

B. Here we see that great exchange God’s mercy and forgiveness purchased at the cross of His own Son! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

C. “No other child, no other Savior, Can ever help this sinful earth. Then take the Gift the Father sent us And spread the Story of His Birth.” That’s what our children said to us this past Christmas Eve. Good Friday assures us of a Merry Christmas! The birth of a baby means the death of a man – and that miserable death has saved us!

Conclusion: Come now, come weary sinner, come to the foot of the cross for all things are now ready!

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

Dog pastor?

2011-10-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

From the Now-I've-Seen-Everything department comes this story published in the Herald-Enterprise out of Goldonda, Illinois, October 12, 2011. The first line of the story under the photo, in case you can't quite make it out, says, "Loveland Elise Wilkerson [that's the dog in the picture] is a Certified Therapy Dog and also assists as a youth pastor at the Golconda United Methodist Church. She also recently presented lap blankets and a walker bag to the Pope County Care Center . . ."

Hm, "she"?

HT: Rev. Michael Henson.

Luther and Chemnitz vs. Walther and Pieper: Sorry, but, no contest

2011-10-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

In preparing to speak on "Consecrationism vs. Receptionism" at the recent Indiana District Church Workers' Conference (17-18 October), various points became increasingly obvious, some of them new and surprising to me, and others already familiar, confirming and clarifying what I already knew and understood from past reading.

It is certainly clear enough, and really beyond any reasonable doubt, that Luther and Chemnitz were "consecrationists." That is to say, they consistently taught and confessed that, by and with and at the speaking of the Verba, the bread becomes and is the Body of Christ, and the wine becomes and is the Blood of Christ. It is the Word and work of the Lord Jesus that does this and gives this. As Herman Sasse, Tom Hardt, Bjarne Teigen, Scott Murray, John Stephenson, et al. have pointed out, this "consecrationist" theology of Luther and Chemnitz flows from and with the doctrine of justification and the authority of the Word of God. It is not only what I was taught, or at least understood, from my seminary professors, but what I have always understood and believed from the Words of Christ Jesus, my Lord. And, as it is the clear teaching of Luther and Chemnitz, it is likewise clear that "consecrationism" is the teaching of the Formula of Concord, which was authored chiefly by Martin Chemnitz (echoing much of what he wrote in his Examination of the Council of Trent), and which explicitly cites Dr. Luther as the foremost interpreter of the Augsburg Confession.

It is also clear and straightforwardly obvious, that Walther and Pieper, following the 17th-century Lutheran scholastics, were "receptionists." That is to say, they taught that the Body and Blood of Christ were present only in and with the actual eating and drinking, and neither before nor after nor apart from that eating and drinking. This "receptionist" teaching follows from the emphases of Melanchthon, which stood in tension with Luther's emphases while both men were still alive, but which developed and sharpened in Melanchthon, in his students and beyond, in the years following Luther's death. Resulting controversies over a right understanding of the axiom, that "nothing has the character of a Sacrament outside of its intended use," were addressed by the Formula of Concord. However, in spite of the Formula's clarification, and in spite of Luther's and Chemnitz's understanding and explanation of the axiom in question, subsequent generations of Lutheran scholars adopted and taught a "receptionist" interpretation of the axiom, and, therefore, of the Sacrament. This view was fostered and solidified by a reliance on Aristotelian philosophy, or, rather, on a misunderstanding and misuse of Aristotle's "four causes." Walther and Pieper followed the Lutheran scholastics in this vein, and read back into Luther and Chemnitz and the Formula of Concord that "receptionist" view, which came to predominate.

It is a daunting thing to be in the position of saying that Walther and Pieper (and the 17th-century Lutheran scholastics) were wrong, but, on this point, they were. I'll stand with Luther and Chemnitz vis-a-vis Walther and Pieper, eight days a week. Even more important and to the point, I'll stand with the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ against anything and everything else in heaven and on earth. What He speaks, is so. It is, at once, the most profound Mystery and the simplest thing imaginable.

To answer the question that was put to me at the end of my presentation: No, I don't think that Walther and Pieper were Zwinglians, and I have no desire or intention of making any such claim. They certainly taught and confessed that the true Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ were received and eaten with the bodily mouths of the communicants, and in this faithful confession they were as far from Zwingli as the heavens from the earth. But in their "receptionist" position, they weakened and undermined the fundamental power and definitive authority of the Word of Christ, and allowed human philosophy and participation to intrude upon the Mysteries of God. It was one of Pieper's famous "felicitous inconsistencies" that preserved their faithful confession of the "Real Presence" alongside their "receptionism." Perhaps in largest part because their practice preserved a care and reverence for the consecrated elements that belied their theoretical teaching on the presence. Carefully consecrating only as many elements as would be needed for the Holy Communion, but also using a second consecration whenever additional elements were required to complete the distribution, and then consuming any and all remaining consecrated elements, rather than ever mixing consecrated with unconsecrated elements, made a strong ceremonial confession of the central and definitive significance of the Verba-consecration.

In subsequent generations, a breakdown in practice, supported and defended by an appeal to "receptionism," has eroded confidence in and reverence for the Verba and the Body and Blood of Christ. Thus, the historic Lutheran doctrine and practice spiral downward together.

In saying that Walther and Pieper were wrong on this point, in deference to Luther and Chemnitz and our Lutheran Confessions, and above all in deference to the clear Words of Christ, I do not dishonor those faithful men, who were far stronger and much better theologians than I am. But those who would appeal to Walther and Pieper (over against Luther and Chemnitz) in defense of a careless, sloppy, or otherwise irreverent practice, do those men a grave injustice. Worse is the dishonor that is perpetrated against the Word and Sacrament of Christ, our Lord.

Deeds lead to Thoughts -or- No, you really can't worship like a Baptist and expect to stay Lutheran

2011-10-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

An Alert Reader has send us a clipping from Concordia-Seward's student newspaper. This is my alma mater and my own dear wife used to edit this paper, The Sower. Alas, how things have changed. I will reproduce the entire article and comment on just the bit I will put in bold, which is the key to understanding more than just the "disco ball" (as our Alert Reader put it). I have deleted any student names because, hey, if somebody went looking in past issues of The Sower they'd probably find a lot of stupid things I said when I was 19 as well.

NEW EQUIPMENT COMPLEMENTS WORSHIP
Lighting and software makes a multi-sensory experience

by [Student A] Staff Writer

Praise on Wednesday evenings and chapel on weekday mornings offer opportunities for students to worship outside of the typical Sunday morning tradition. With the beginning of a new school year, the way Concordia is worshiping is changing with the introduction of new lighting.

"Lighting is a gift from God, and in this community, he's given us lighting to manipulate," said Assistant Professor of Music Peter Prochnow.

According to Prochnow, there are many components that make up the new system. These include the lighting, sound [Ach! where's the Oxford comma? Is there no decency, sanity, and clarity left in the world? - +HRC] and production software called ProPresenter. ProPresenter allows the images to move on screen behind the lyrics for songs.

In order to get the system started, Concordia partnered with Inspirmedia, located in Lincoln. The company has helped with the 2010 National Youth Gathering and with the Room 211 worship services offered at Christ Lutheran Church in Lincoln.

According to Junior [Student B], before the first night of Praise the student-led Praise team was worried the lighting would seem more like a performance of be a distraction.

He said the team was nervous that the new technology might not work the way they needed it to. According to [Student B], during sound check something was loud and seemed "off."

"God showed Himself on the first night," said [Student B]. "People are still focused on worship and who we're worshiping. In that respect, it's been a success."

One aspect of this success, according to [Student B], comes from the amount of energy he saw in the first two Praise services. he felt that there was more focus on worship and learning from the speakers. He also said there was more participation in worship, rather than just sitting back.

"People were more interested in being a part of worship rather than letting worship happen to them," said [Student B].

According to Prochnow, these types of changes are happening in LCMS churches across the country.

"I haven't run into a church that isn't doing or trying to do this," he said. [Sic! Some Assistant Professors just don't get out much! - +HRC]

Prochnow said the system creates more of a concert atmosphere in worship services, but instead of being excited about the performance, the excitement is about the message of what God is telling the student body.

Campus Pastor Ryan Matthias said [that when] he first began working at Concordia three years ago, Weller auditorium [NB: Seward has never had a dedicated chapel. - +HRC] was almost "devoid of sensory experience." [Almost - before, there was only hearing the Word, seeing the ordained servant of God carry out his duties, and smelling, touching, and tasting the Holy Communion. - +HRC]

"What we do with the lighting is to enhance the beauty of what God does with light," said Matthias.

Matthias compared the smoke machine used in Praise to God appearing to the Israelites as a cloud of smoke. He said the fog gives the light something to reflect off of.

"Our God is a creative God. He does things in an elaborate way," said Matthias. "The beauty in worship is a constant reminder that this is the God we worship."

[Picture of three students, one with a guitar, one at a trap set, and one holding a mic. Caption: As one of the Praise team leaders, junior [Student B] introduces and closes each Wednesday evening worship gathering.]

The most important bit in this article is the first line that I put in bold. "God showed Himself on the first night," says Student B. Where did he learn to talk like that? The same place where he learned to worship, to sing, and to think about how men interact with God (i.e., worship): not from Lutherans. Lutherans are rather sticklers for how we talk about theophany. This quotation is simply off the Lutheran farm. It's how Pentecostals and Evangelicals talk and think about God. How does God show Himself for these folks? In the "amount of energy" that one "feels" in the crowd.

And, as Dr. Nagel might say, who is running the verbs? This young man at Seward has learned - no doubt from his home parish - that we are not to "sit back" in worship and "let worship happen to us" but instead be full of "energy" and "participate." What does he mean by this? What is not participatory in DS III? What is more participatory about a "concert atmosphere"? What is worship for? Sitting back and receiving, or "feeling" "energy"? In what proportion to each other, etc?

The Campus Pastor seems no help as he feels that worship before the stage lighting and fog machine was "almost devoid of sensory experience." And the Assistant Professor of Music can't say that he knows even one parish that isn't striving for lights, camera, smoke machine, action. The mind boggles.

My kids are a long way off from college, but here's my thinking at this point. Small private liberal arts school are really expensive and based on my life experience since I graduated, I don't think they educate any better than cheaper schools. It might be worth shelling out the bucks for a truly rigorous Lutheran education - bu, well, you read the article. Is this the sort of education about worship you want for your kids? At 20 grand a year? But it might still be worth it - remember how I started this post, about meeting my own dear wife at Seward. Hard to put a price on that. But in these latter days of Higher Things campus ministries and online match making - perhaps there are more efficient ways for Lutherans to find each other.

I dearly love my alma mater and know that it prepared me very well indeed for seminary and a life of service to the Church. But it is also clear that today it is not the place I graduated from just over a decade ago. And then there is this argument: if students from strong, Confessional parishes and families stop going to the Concordias they will only get worse.

Well, as I said, I've got quite a while to think about it yet. But for those readers who currently in the college market, what have been your thoughts? Where are your kids going or looking to go to school? How did you go about evaluating each choice when it came to the spiritual prospects of each school?

+HRC

Regarding October 23...

2011-10-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

When I put together Daily Divine Service Book my goal was to include a full, and truly Lutheran sanctoral calendar. The basis for this was Loehe's Martyrologium, but I also wanted to include the days and commemorations from LSB. An Alert Reader pointed out that I had yet to explain the exception to this rule: DDSB has no feast of "St. James, Brother of the Lord" on October 23rd where LSB does. So here's why not.

This feast came new to Lutheranism in Lutheran Book of Worship as "St. James, Martyr" but was rejected by Lutheran Worship. I think LBW got it from the American revision of the Book of Common Prayer. The feast is again left out of the ELCA's newest hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship. If it has any history in modern German Lutheran hymnals, I am unaware of it but would happy to be corrected.

Lutheranism is, of course, part of the Western Church - indeed, in accordance with our own self-understanding, we should really say that Lutheranism is the continuance of the Western Church cleaned up from certain errors (the three P's: Purgatory, Prayer to saints, and the Pope's lavish claims), by the grace of God. In the West, the James who is denominated as "the brother of the Lord" has usually been considered as identical to "James the son of Alpheus." Read all about it. Consequently, in the West, "James, the brother of the Lord" is celebrated on May 1, the Feast of St. Philip and St. James (the Less, the Just, son of Alpheus). In the West, there is no feast of any St. James on October 23.

In the Eastern Church, however, the judgment has been different. They identify "James, the brother of the Lord" as someone other than one of the apostles. Namely, as one of four children of Joseph of Nazareth from his first marriage. The evidence for this comes from the Protoevangelium of James. Read all about it. His day in the East is, indeed, October 23.

Including this feast day in a Lutheran calendar is, therefore, a bit polemical. It makes a definite statement about which James is which, and it is a statement contrary to the West's tradition.

Secondly, to modern American ears the name of the feast is a bit polemical in another way. When the East calls James "the brother of the Lord" they mean one thing and modern Protestants, like the Anglo-American Common Prayer mean quite another.

[Here in passing we might note another title in LSB that was not adopted in DDSB: St. Mary, "Mother of our Lord." This was, in my opinion, a most unfortunate choice. In the Ecumenical Creeds and our Lutheran Confessions, and in all the old Lutheran calendars, she is "Mary the Bearer of God (Θεοτόκος, Gottesgebaererin)" or "the Virgin Mary" or "the Blessed Virgin Mary." To those with any church history, the title "Mother of Our Lord" is fraught with meaning as it was the title that Nestorius insisted upon using, and no other. If using the Confessions' title of "Bearer of God" was thought to be too difficult or confusing for today's laity, then why not just "The Virgin Mary" as she is called in the Creed? Or just "St. Mary"?]

Well. Isn't it all adiaphora? Who cares whether one thinks that the West or East is right about which James is which? Indeed, they might both be wrong and we could add a couple other James' Days to the calendar. But it's precisely the fact that this is a judgment call that made me most hesitant to add the feast. When in doubt: dance with who brung ya. We're a Western Church. Likewise with titles given to Mary - let's stick with our own tradition. Same thing when it comes to Mary and "the brothers of the Lord." If you really think the meaning of that term is adiaphora, then why would you go out of your way to proclaim an opinion contrary to the whole history of the Church? It it doesn't matter then honor your fathers in the faith by accepting their opinion.

So I suppose this is a matter of general outlook. And my outlook is this: let's not reinvent the wheel and let's be content with what our own fathers have handed us.

+HRC

November Feasts

2011-10-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

By Larry Beane

It is nearly November, the time of year when folks in Chicago enjoy falling leaves and the folks in New Orleans enjoy the departure of hurricane season! The Church begins November with All Saints Day and concludes the month with the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. In November, we end the previous church year with the last weeks of the year reminding us of the End of the Age, and with the beginning of the church year again calling to mind the beginning of the Last Days through the mystery of our Lord's incarnation. For Americans, November is also a time of thanksgiving - which in ecclesiastical terms, makes us think of the Eucharistic Feast.

November is indeed a special time of the Church's calendar.

A magnificent choir known as the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter the Apostle (formerly the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's in the Loop) has given the Church a wonderful musical gift for this sacred time of transition in the her calendar.

This album, Music for the November Feasts, is one of my favorite musical albums of all time - in any category. This is definitely a "desert island" CD. It is an ecumenical collection of sacred music covering centuries in a diverse mix of ecclesiastical musical styles: hymn and chant, English and Latin, old and new, a choir of men and women singing both a capella and with musical accompaniment.

I cannot recommend it enough!

Here is the Amazon link to download the album ($8.99) or any of its twenty-two tracks ($.99/each). Lutherans will especially enjoy seeing many favorites from their hymnals: such as By All Your Saints in Warfare (LSB 517, 518), Jerusalem My Happy Home (LSB 673), In the Midst of Earthly Life (LSB 755), Come Ye Thankful People, Come (LSB 892), Hail to the Lord's Anointed (LSB 398), Crown Him With Many Crowns (LSB 525), and the sainted professor Rev. Dr. Martin Franzmann's masterpiece O Kingly Love, which was not included in Lutheran Service Book, but was in Lutheran Worship (LW 346). Also, though not technically a Lutheran hymn, the great Anglican composer and chorister Dr. Healy Willan's majestic setting of the Te Deum Laudamus as sung in many Lutheran schools and churches - including the Kramer Chapel of Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne) - is part of this wonderful collection!

And if you appreciate Gregorian Chant and Latin, there are some haunting and inspiring tracks that proclaim the catholic timelessness and comforting transcendence of the Church of Jesus Christ and His Word.

And here is more from the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's in the Loop (known today as the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter the Apostle).

As a postscript, I was honored to have the Schola's conductor, J. Michael Thompson, drop by and leave a kind comment on an old FH posting about Dr. Franzmann. Mr. Thompson, blessings on your work in the Lord's kingdom! You have a gift that is also a treasure!

As Reformation Day approaches: Luther's question

2011-10-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

It has become a sort of cliché to say that the question that Luther asked, "How can I, a sinner, be saved in the face of an angry, righteous God?" is not the question of today - that the Reformation is hopelessly time bound. Luther's question, folks say, is a question for a Christian culture, not a reverted pagan culture. So, the theory goes, to reach out to today's culture, our message should be changed/nuanced/finessed. Instead of justification, we should speak of (you pick) healing, victory, God-loves-you-and-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life, etc.

This is, once again, a basically Arminian analysis of the Reformation. The idea is that the Reformation doctrine of sin, grace, and justification just can't speak to people today. We need to speak the language of our day to get people to convert. The underlying assumption here is that people are on neutral ground and must be convinced to convert - that the sort of people who might convert change over time.

But I don't believe that there is a people of God today that is in any qualitative way different from the people of God of 1520 or 520 or 587 BC. The people of God are always the people of God. They are always fearful of God's just wrath against sin because the fear of the Lord is the beginning wisdom. They are always comforted only by the thought of salvation by grace alone and all that that entails, i.e., The Bondage of the Will.

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am not one of those Lutherans who hang on Luther's every word and revere him as a Hero with a Capital H. Rather, I accept the author's own opinion of his life's work:

Regarding [the plan] to collect my writings in volumes, I am quite cool and not at all eager about it because, roused by a Saturnian hunger, I would rather see them all devoured. For I acknowledge none of them to be really a book of mine, except perhaps the one On the Bound Will and the Catechism. [LW 50:172-73]

That's spot on. Luther is the "foremost teacher of the Augsburg Confession" because he got this central, vital, timeless truth right: justification by grace alone through faith alone and the doctrines that necessarily follow from this: the bound will and unconditional election. His question, and his importance, will never fade, will never be out of style or irrelevant to God's elect. As he himself knew, there was plenty of dross among his wheat. But for the great worth of that wheat he is rightly honored among us as a Doctor of the Church.

I don't know why so many Lutherans are afraid of this sort of statement. We regularly recognize these facts when it comes to men like Gregory, Augustine, Irenaeus, etc. Luther himself recognized it especially about Bernard and Aquinas. There is no shame in pointing out that Augustine was wrong in his valuation of monasticism or that Gregory was wrong about purgatory. Nor should there be any fear among us to say that Luther dropped the ball with Philip of Hesse's bigamy, or his meddling in government affairs (e.g., recommendations to burn synagogues to the ground), or his high-handed approach to the canon of the New Testament, or his monomaniacal tirades against the congregation in Wittenberg (see LW vol 58). Nor do I have any interest in rereading the various excuses offered for Luther's opinions and actions in these and other equally egregious cases; so they will be kindly ignored in the comments.

All the Doctors of the Church are sinners redeemed by grace. They also all had the humility to say something along the lines of what Luther said about his own work as quoted above. That is not false humility. It is just true. We honor these saints of God best when we acknowledge that truth and speak forthrightly of it.

+HRC

So, could I just...

2011-10-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

By Larry Beane

I'm getting a lot of requests for baptisms lately.

But it's not necessarily good news.

Just today, I got a call from a guy who lives about an hour away and would like his children "christened" at Salem Lutheran Church "Christened." That's always the first clue. He said the name of his home church quickly, and then explained that his parents live in the area and that it would be most convenient to "just do it there." So, could I just do the baptism?

I slowed him down and found out that he belongs to a Presbyterian church. I told him that we do have Presbyterian churches in the area and that it would be best to find out which one is in fellowship with his church. He insisted that Salem Lutheran would be more convenient, and that Lutheran and Presbyterian is really the same thing anyway. So, could I just do the baptism?

I explained to him that Lutherans and Presbyterians do have some fundamental differences. I briefly explained, for example, the difference between our views on the Eucharist. He said that he was christened a Catholic and had no problem with our view of the Sacrament. So, could I just do the baptism?

I recommended that he find a church that believes the way he believes. I asked him which denomination of Presbyterian his church belonged to. He didn't know. He explained that did not pick that church based on belief, but based on the fact that they are convenient and have a really good school. Belief really isn't the issue. So, could I just do the baptism?

I explained that if I were to baptize his children, they would be under my pastoral care. They would be Lutherans. He replied that this would be fine with him. He would have no problem being a Lutheran. He didn't know what Lutherans believe, but he was certain that he would be fine with it. But he really likes to go to the Presbyterian church because it's so convenient. And they have a really good school. So, could I just do the baptism?

I felt like I was stuck in one of those Rev. Hans Fiene Lutheran Satire cartoons complete with the monotone computer voices, circular reasoning, the astonished silent blinking pastor, and Offenbach's Can Can music.

So, could I just do the baptism?

A little more SCOTUS hullabaloo

2011-10-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile, as we might expect, the Justice Department has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Obama Administration asking the court to throw out the ministerial exception altogether, in effect to give the government authority to decide, say, whether a church can have male-only clergy. Fortunately, even Justice Sotomayor seems to see this as unconstitutional.

Here's an WSJ opinion piece on the matter.

Housekeeping

2011-10-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

I moved Dr. Stuckwisch's post back up above all the SCOTUS hullabaloo because I didn't want it to get knocked around by, well, by a lot of SCOTUS hullabaloo. So read it, right underneath this post.

And for a laugh you can consider this Kantian thought-experiment about Gen 1:28 and the categorical imperative.

+HRC

Hoc Est Corpus Meum

2011-10-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

When God, the Son of God, has wed

His holy Body to the bread,

By the Word which He has said,

We take and eat, and we are fed,

From His own hand, who is our Head

Wait, wait: what did I see?

2011-10-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Fr. Curtis for posting all this fascinating SCOTUS hearing of an LCMS case. But back up a minte; just looky here at something he put up with only a little parenthetical note:

JUSTICE ["Follow the Money"] GINSBURG: Well, it was certainly for some purposes, I mean, if every teacher who teaches religion and math and a lot of other things said, I'm a minister and I'm entitled to the parsonage allowance on my income tax return, certainly that's something that a government agent would review.

See there? I knew it! I have been warning them for years that this whole commissioned minister business was nothing but a subterfuge. The tax man cometh!

Summary and Analysis of the SCOTUS ministerial exception case

2011-10-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

If you are just joining our coverage start here and read up. Here is my summary, analysis, and prediction.

Oh, one final quotation first:

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: So you're limiting your

test to whether that person is minister. So define

minister for me again.

MR. LAYCOCK: A minister is a person who

holds ecclesiastical office in the church or who

exercises important religious functions, most obviously,

including teaching of the faith.

-----

Alito, Scalia, and Roberts come across as obviously favoring the parish's case. Thomas, as is his wont, was silent; but let us assume that he will go with the "conservative wing" and decline to let the government get involved in ecclesiastical employment disputes. Kagan, Sotomayor, and Ginsberg seem to be on the teacher's side. That leaves Kennedy and Breyer to make the majority.

Breyer truly seems to be a wildcard in this. Of all the justices he seems to me to be the one who truly read the case with the most open mind. He obviously favors sending this back to a lower court to decide some narrow issue - specifically whether or not this teacher was really fired for a religious reason or whether that was just a pretext.

Kennedy also did not like the fact that the teacher's case was tossed out without a hearing - but what he thinks the hearing should have been about was whether or not she was really a "minister." The "conservative" justices were obviously talking to him when they pointed out what a mess that would be in court.

So there seem to me to be three opinions there, with none of them having a majority. The conservatives, however, only have to pick up Kennedy. The "liberals" will need Kennedy and Breyer. So I'd say the odds are 60-40 that it goes for the parish and upholding a rather broad interpretation of the ministerial exception....BUT I think the price of Kennedy's vote might be an open door for lower courts to hear testimony on whether or not someone is really a minister in a "pretext" argument.

So here is my bold prediction. 5-4 for the parish on narrow grounds, but Kennedy will write a partly dissenting, partingly concurring opinion that says, yes, this woman has a piece of paper that says she is a "commissioned minister" so this case goes to the petitioner....but, lower courts should be able to review claims that are not so clear if the individual employee claims that the church is calling him/her a minster as a mere "pretext."

+HRC

Us neither, Justice Breyer, us neither

2011-10-05T12:48:00.001-07:00

Breyer for President! Of anything!

-----

JUSTICE BREYER: That isn't -- that isn't

the problem. The problem, it seems to me, is I don't

know how substantial these interests are religiously. I

don't know how substantial the religion itself considers

what they do from a religious perspective.

+HRC

Of popes and day school teachers. . .

2011-10-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

JUSTICE KAGAN: I'm just asking you to

assume with me for a moment that there is a categorical

exception, and to tell me who you think counts as a

minister, and why the woman in this case does not.

MR. DELLINGER [Counsel for private respondent]: Well, in our view, if that

was the test, then we would say that the court of

appeals was correct in holding that she was not a

minister, and the reason -- the principal reason is she

carries out such important secular functions in addition

to her religious duties -

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: I'm sorry to

interrupt you, but that can't be the test. The Pope is

a head of state carrying out secular functions; right.

Those are important. So he is not a minister?

The doctrine by which the [Lutheran] church stands or falls...

2011-10-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: On the other hand,

the -- the belief of the Catholic Church that priests

should be male only, you do defer to that, even if the

Lutherans say, look, our dispute resolution belief is

just as important to a Lutheran as the all-male clergy

is to a Catholic.

+HRC

Breyer is on Fire!

2011-10-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, we have found the one man in the world who really understands the Missouri Synod! (see below in bold).

+HRC

JUSTICE GINSBURG: Did you say -- did I

understand you before, in response to Justice Sotomayor

and Justice Scalia, that even if she were merely a

contract teacher, the fact that she teaches religion

classes would be enough for her to qualify for the

ministerial exception?

MR. LAYCOCK: Yes. And the fact that she's

a commissioned minister is the clincher in this case.

Teaching -

JUSTICE GINSBURG: Is the clincher in this

case, but even -- I think you answered if she were not a

commissioned minister, she's teaching the faith,

therefore she can be fired, and it doesn't matter

whether she's commissioned, so the commission is

irrelevant. It's -- it's her job duties that count?

MR. LAYCOCK: Job duties are enough.

Commission is not irrelevant. It is the clincher.

JUSTICE ["Follow the Money"] GINSBURG: Well, it was certainly

for some purposes, I mean, if every teacher who teaches

religion and math and a lot of other things said, I'm a

minister and I'm entitled to the parsonage allowance on

my income tax return, certainly that's something that a

government agent would review.

MR. LAYCOCK: Well, they do review it there.

I think they -- I don't think the Lutherans have any

problems with the IRS on that. But yes, that is a

context where they review these questions.

----

JUSTICE BREYER: Well, suppose that that's a

central tenet. Suppose you have a religion and the

central tenet is: You have a problem with what we do,

go to the synod; don't go to court. And that applies to

civil actions of all kinds. All right? So would that

not be protected by the First Amendment?

Breyer nails the Missouri Synod position on the ministry: She's sort of like a minister

2011-10-05T12:00:00.001-07:00

The transcript of the oral arguments of the Lutheran teacher/minister/EEOC case at SCOTUS is up and it is....what? I don't want to diminish the pain and hurt this matter has caused both the parish and the former teacher...but...well, the transcript is kind of funny if you are a lifelong LCMS Lutheran who has been party to endless discussions of just what in blue blazes is the Lutheran doctrine of the ministry. Kyrie Eleison!

I'm only about halfway through - here are some highlights so far.

+HRC

MR. LAYCOCK [Counsel for the parish]: How -- how many religious

functions you perform can be explored. The issue that

can be explored is whether she's a minister. We think

she clearly is. The issue -

JUSTICE SCALIA: And that term is a legal

term. What constitutes a minister is -- is decided by

the law, not by the church, right?

MR. LAYCOCK: That is correct.

JUSTICE SCALIA: Okay.

MR. LAYCOCK: That is correct.

JUSTICE KAGAN: Is that correct?

JUSTICE ALITO: But I thought with a lot of

deference to the church's understanding of whether

someone is a minister.

MR. LAYCOCK: We think there should be

deference to good faith understandings. But we are not

arguing for a rule that would enable an organization to

fraudulently declare that everyone is a minister when

it's not true. You decided the Tony Alamo case 20 years

ago. We're not defending that.

JUSTICE SCALIA: What makes it not true?

What is the legal definition of "minister"? What is it?

That you have to lead the congregation in their

religious services or what? What is it?

MR. LAYCOCK: We think -- we think if you

teach the doctrines of faith, if that is per your job

responsibilities to teach the doctrines of the faith, we

think you're a minister.

......

JUSTICE KENNEDY: While Justice Ginsburg is

looking, I had -- I had the same impression, that

whether you're commissioned or not commissioned doesn't

necessarily mean you can't teach a religious class.

MR. LAYCOCK: Well, it doesn't -

JUSTICE KENNEDY: And again, that's

something that, that can be heard. you don't even want

to hear it.

......

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: What is your definition

of minister? Maybe we need to find out. So it's not a

title. It's really -- the only function, you're saying

anyone who teaches religion?

MR. LAYCOCK: I think if you teach the

religion class, you're clearly a minister. But if you

are -- if you hold an ecclesiastical office, that makes

this a very easy -

JUSTICE SCALIA: Okay, but this is -- you're

saying a fortiori, but basically you'd be here anyway

even if she hadn't been ordained; right?

MR. LAYCOCK: That's correct.

...........

Justice Breyer: . . . I didn't until I read the very

excellent brief filed by the Lutherans that explained

the nature of taking civil suits. No one said that to

her, whether it was in someone's mind or not. She found

out on motion for summary judgment. So therefore this

wasn't an effort by the religious organization to

express its tenets. She was dismissed.

She could have -- they could have had a

defense, but it doesn't apply, and therefore, even

though she's sort of like a minister, she loses.

.........

[Poor!] JUSTICE ALITO: Mr. Laycock, didn't this

inquiry illustrate the problems that will necessarily

occur if you get into a pretext analysis -- the question

of was she told that she had violated the church's

teaching about suing in a civil tribunal. Well, that

depends. The significance of -- let's assume she wasn't

told. The significance of that depends on how central a

teaching of Lutheranism this is.

It's like, suppose a Catholic priest got

married and the bishop said: I'm removing you from your

parish because of your conduct. Now, there wouldn't be

much question about why that was done. So you'd have to

get in -- what did Martin Luther actually say about,

about suing the church where other Christians in a civil

tribunal. Is this really a central tenet of

Lutheranism? Isn't that the problem with going into

this pretext analysis.

.....

Gerhard's On the Ecclesiastical Ministry

2011-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

If you were to make a short list of "theological controversies in contemporary Lutheranism" there is no doubt that the Ministry would be near the top. And though you might not think of it as a controversy, part of the problem is surely our lack of familiarity with our own tradition. Therefore, CPH is doing Lutheranism a double service in putting Johann Gerhard's Loci into English, with the next volume up being On the Ecclesiastical Ministry Part I.

Full disclosure: in recent months I've had the honor of editing part of the translation for Part II of this work. But hey, CPH isn't paying me a per volume commission, and if they tried, I'd turn them down because these are not the sort of books that make CPH money (just ask my hunting buddy and CPH accountant, Mr. Bivens). These are the kind of books that CPH puts out in service to the church - books that no one else will publish, but that fill an important need in our church. Under the able editorship of Dr. Benjamin Mayes, these volumes are also actually usable for research. You will find not only a good translation, but also clarifying footnotes and a real working bibliography that will allow you to dig into the primary sources that Gerhard is so facile in quoting.

Below is the full PR release for this volume with ordering information. But the reason you need to read this book is rather simply stated: because neither you nor I know as much as we think we know about the Lutheran doctrine of the ministry.

+HRC

This volume, the first part of Johann Gerhard’s commonplace On the Ecclesiastical Ministry

deals especially with ministers of the church: their necessity, call, ordination, transfer, removal,

and the like. With detailed and penetrating examination and analysis, Gerhard first proves that

there is an ecclesiastical ministry instituted by God, an affirmation disputed by contemporary

Anabaptists and Unitarians. Next, Gerhard demonstrates from Scripture the necessity of a

specific call to the ministry, a call given by God through the church, before one may carry out

the pastoral functions and duties. Besides the qualifications for holding this office in the church,

Gerhard discusses the call of Martin Luther, the degree of Doctor of Theology, and ordination

through prayer and the imposition of hands, among many other topics that are of importance to

the church still today.

The Theological Commonplaces series is the first-ever English translation of Johann Gerhard's

monumental Loci Theologici. Gerhard was the premier Lutheran theologian of the early

seventeenth century. Combining his profound understanding of evangelical Lutheran theology

with a broad interest in ethics and culture, he produced significant works on biblical, doctrinal,

pastoral, and devotional theology. Gerhard interacts with the writings of the church fathers,

Luther and his contemporaries, and the Catholic and Calvinist theologians of his day. His 17-

volume Loci is regarded as the standard compendium of Lutheran orthodoxy, with topics ranging

from the proper understanding and interpretation of Scripture to eschatology.

Useful for research on Lutheran doctrine, Gerhard's accessible style makes this a must-have on

the bookshelf of pastors and professional church workers.

Each embossed hardback volume includes

• the translation of Gerhard's Loci (originally published from 1610 to 1625)

• a glossary of key theological, rhetorical, and philosophical terms

• a name index

• a Scripture index

• a carefully researched works cited list that presents guidance for deciphering the numerous

abbreviations of the other titles from which Gerhard quotes.

Call 1-800-325-3040 and become a subscriber to the series and save 30% off the retail price!

About that clergy "shortage..."

2011-09-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Baptized and confirmed membership is down. The number of congregations is down. And the number of clergy is up. Draw your own conclusions about the reality of a "clergy shortage."

Baptized membership fell by 33,525 (to 2,278,586) and confirmed membership
decreased by 20,115 (to 1,764,024).

The number of member congregations in 2010 fell by 20 (to 6,158). The number of ordained clergy serving in parishes was up by 33, to 5,369. The number of
clergy serving in other capacities fell by 49 to 630, while the number of
retired clergy increased by 29, to 2,928.

Read the whole press release here.

+HRC

You Spin Me Right Round, Jesus?

2011-09-29T08:33:00.001-07:00

Here's another example of "worship" that speaks volumes about what's wrong with Praise Bands, if you have ears to hear (and eyes to see). I mean, either we have to say, "OK, nothing wrong here, folks, it's all adiaphora, and there's no detectable false doctrine, so you can't judge," or you have to agree with us that the divine liturgy is not a matter of indifferent things. If you take the time to read the uploader commments at the youtube site, you'll see that this is in fact the discussion people are having there.

It's also another example of the kind of thing I was seeking to show in my most recent Liturgical Observer (for a subscription to the print version of our quarterly journal, click here), of a singer taking a popular rock song and changing the words a bit to convince himself that he has made it acceptable for worship. The example I had listed in the Observer was George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," for which someone replaced the background lyrics from the Bhagavad-Gita with references to Jesus. This example is actually creepier than that one, because it takes a song which is unquestionably about hedonistic sex -- "You Spin Me Right Round, Baby," by the overtly homosexual band Dead or Alive (to see for yourself, click here) -- and seeks to make it Christian. I expect few of those kids in the audience who were, um, spinning right round for Jesus were aware of the ugly origin of that tune, and who knows, perhaps some of those dancing Israelites were similarly unaware that their "worship" was unacceptable to God (for the final word on it, check with Moses).

So raise your hand if you think these people are actually worshiping Jesus. And if you raised your hand, it's likely you wanted to take of your shoe and spin it around too, like the people in the video, right?

I can't decide, but I think maybe this is Gnosticism, the ancient religion named some of its gods "Truth," "Word," "Life," and "Church" but was as far from Christian as darkness is from light.

HT: Dr. William Tighe

A modicum of church order

2011-09-28T07:03:00.001-07:00

The men who penned the Formula of Concord (as well as the men who penned the Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession, for that matter) also penned binding church orders - the words and rubrics to be used in Lutheran churches. There was no allowance for "creative worship," for each pastor and parish to make up liturgies as they liked. Instead, whole churches (that is, all the congregations within the territorial boundaries of a prince/city council/duke who had accepted the Reformation) agreed together how worship should be conducted within their churches and then stuck to it. Martin Chemnitz had the task, as Lord Superintendent, to see to it that all the pastors were indeed sticking to it. He wrote a book to examine them in their doctrine and their practice, the Enchiridion (available from CPH), according to which they were examined twice yearly. In that work's third part, he wrote,

Part 3. With regard to the doctrine concerning ecclesiastical ceremonies (which we first said would be the third chief part of this examination), it is contained and set forth in the church order. Pastors should also be examined with regard to that very doctrine, so that they might both have the right understanding of it and be able rightly to explain it to their hearers. Likewise, one should inquire whether and how they observe those ceremonies. Superintendents should also confer with pastors regarding marriage orders, incorporated in the church order, that they might have the necessary understanding also of them.

What is this "church order" to which he refers? It is the order of Braunschweig-Wulffenbüttel of 1569. (By the way - I am quoting from a draft translation of this provided to me by Fr. William Weedon - the translation was done by Fr. Matt Harrison in 1999 and revised by A. Smith in 2011. I have no idea if they plan to publish it, but they should!) What sort of things did this church order legislate? Both doctrine and practice. In the matter of worship, the exact order of Divine Service, in both word and deed are given. For example,

the pastors and ministers [kirchendiener] who desire to hold mass when communicants are present shall not merely in their common clothing, but rather in their ecclesiastical vestments [ornatu ecclesiastico] such as alb, cassock and chasuble, very honorably and with great reverence and invocation of the Son of God approach the altar and commence, hold and accomplish the office of the mass [officium missae].

There is plenty in this order that any given reader of Gottesdienst will like and also plenty he will dislike. I like the bit about vestments above. I don't like the bit where the elevation of the Sacrament is forbidden. But please note the reason given for discontinuing the elevation: "because the elevation [elevatio] has been done away with in the neighboring reformed churches of this and other lands for good and important reasons, it shall thus be discontinued in all places, so that the dissimilarity may not produce disputes."

Hasn't the dissimilarity of worship around your circuit, district, and synod caused disputes? Isn't it insane that you can't go on vacation and find a service you recognize in a Lutheran church? But just how much similarity is needed? That's the question that AC XXVIII and FC X leaves up to each church jurisdiction. We are not about to arrive at the sort of unity and harmony in worship that was required by this church order in 1569. But surely, we would benefit from more than we have today. And really, the Synod's constitution has a very broad sort of church order. We ought to follow it. It is not oppressive. It allows for much local variation in ceremonies - but it also provides for a healthy amount of unity and harmony.

With that in mind, check out this resolution that will be headed to the NID district convention's floor committee for 2012 (HT: Fr. Ben Ball). It might be something you want to send in to your district as well.

+HRC

To Encourage Harmony in the Worship Services of Congregations of the Northern Illinois District

Whereas, the Scriptures say that in Christian worship "all things should be done decently and in order" (I Cor. 14:40); and

Whereas,, the Scriptures say that, "'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up " (I Cor 10:23); and

Whereas, the Formula of Concord states that the Church "in every time and place has the right, power, and authority to change, reduce, or expand [church] practices according to circumstances in an orderly and appropriate manner, without frivolity or offense, as seems most useful, beneficial, and best for good order, Christian discipline, evangelical decorum, and the building up of the church" (FC SD X.9); and

Whereas, the Augsburg Confession states that "it is lawful for bishops or pastors to establish ordinances so that things are done in the church in an orderly fashion....It is fitting for the churches to comply with such ordinances for the sake of love and tranquility" (AC XXVIII.54-55); and

Whereas, the Constitution of the Synod states that one of the "[c]onditions for acquiring and holding membership in the Synod" is "4. Exclusive use of doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks, and catechisms in church and school" (Art. VI); and

Whereas, controversy has continued in the church for some time concerning pastors and congregations who write their own orders for public worship, or draw them from sources other than those mentioned in the Synod's Constitution, therefore be it

Resolved, that the Northern Illinois District solemnly encourages each congregation in the district to offer public worship services exclusively according to the rites and services of the Synod's three English hymnbooks/agenda (The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship, and Lutheran Service Book) as well as the supplemental hymnbooks/agenda prepared by the Synod's Commission on Worship (Worship 1969; Hymnal Supplement ‘98; All God's People Sing), the French hymnal of the Lutheran Church-Canada, (Liturgies et Cantiques Luthérien), and the Spanish hymnals of the LCMS (Culto Christiano and ¡Cantad el Señor!) and be it finally

Resolved, that the Northern Illinois District Praesidium investigate what other languages in our district are in need of worship resources consistent with our confessional subscription and synodical constitution and formally request the Synod’s Board for National Mission to produce for Synodical convention approval resources as needed.

Gottesdienst Speakers' Bureau

2011-09-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Have you sat through enough tedious pastors' conferences yet? Well, then, maybe you should pass on this information about the Gottesdienst speakers' bureau to the folks on your district committee. Better yet, volunteer to serve on that committee and work directly to bring in one of our speakers. You can pick a wide range of topics and speakers as you can see from the full brochure. (NB: Some folks seem to have problems logging in to Scribd - if it asks you to log in via your Facebook account and you don't have one, there will be a link that says "I Don't have a Facebook Account" - click that and you will be good to go.)

+HRC

Weedon nails it

2011-09-15T08:16:00.001-07:00

My colleague down the road a pace has hit the nail on the head: Kind for President.

+HRC

Speaking of Synod and Districts...

2011-09-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

It's all over the web today: the MN South District BOD has voted to sell the University Lutheran Chapel's building, probably to a real estate developer, for no less than $3.2 million. Read more about it here. The congregation and pastor don't want to lose their building. Wouldn't even the Fugger bankers give the congregation and pastor until the end of the year to raise a competitive bid? Doesn't that seem like the minimum of human decency?

Check out the link above and let the district office know that you are willing to send in a donation. Ask them to give the congregation time to raise the funds.

UPDATE: I tried to call Pres. Seitz (952-223-2150) - his voice mail says he will be out of the office until Sept. 28th. Go figure.

+HRC

Memo to Synod: Mind Your Own Business

2011-09-12T12:13:00.002-07:00

This article was published in the Easter 2011 issue of Gottesdienst. By request it is being posted here. Word is that the mischief herein mentioned is still going on.

Naiveté can get one into trouble. I should have smelled something fishy when I received a request from the LCMS International Center to have my parish participate in a “Perceptions of Ministry Inventory,” a survey designed “to enhance the formation and professional development of parish pastors”; had I been paying closer attention, I might have wondered why the Board for Pastoral Education and the Council of Presidents wanted to assure me that my “privacy and anonymity will be preserved throughout the process.” I might have been a bit suspicious about the fact that the survey packets I was to hand out to various congregational leaders were sealed. Why the secrecy? But I shrugged, Why not? What harm can a little survey do?

Next thing I know, the survey packets are being returned to me by confused people wondering why they are being asked to pass judgment on their pastor’s performance. Fortunately for me, there’s no undercurrent of unrest in my parish. What if there were? These survey questions could be lethal:

How often have you seen that [your pastor]
Expresses his confidence in the Lord.
Recognizes his own intellectual, emotional and physical limitations.
Focuses on important issues in a conflict situation.
Worries about what others think of him.
Belittles a person in front of others.

That second-last one would probably get a higher ranking if the pastors knew what was in these sealed packets going out to their members. And the list goes on:

Appears to believe his own opinions as a pastor should be accepted without question.
Tends to be pessimistic and negative in his attitudes.
Talks and acts as though he is unable to forgive himself.

There are 117 questions in all. Each question is framed in a way that asks the participant to make a moral or value judgment about the pastor.

Frankly, it’s all rather creepy. It’s really creepy. Here we have the bureaucracy of the Missouri Synod butting its nose into the life of the parish, and for what purpose? What good could possibly come of this kind of thing? In the first place, the parishioners are subtly being asked here to craft their thinking in a way that is manifestly contrary to the meaning of the Eighth Commandment, which tells us to “explain everything in the kindest way.” But no matter: the survey needs to be filled out, which apparently grants permission to set the divine directive aside for a moment and become judge and jury! And to judge the pastor, of all people to forget to treat with the benefit of the doubt!

There are already plenty of parishioners around the Synod who are eager to do this very thing. The real reason they don’t like their pastor is likely to be (and usually is) that he has some confessional stamina, and so is unwilling to compromise the truth. Say he practices closed Communion, or refuses to allow the Gideons to speak to his people, or will not bend the rules forbidding members of Lodges to be members of his parish. Or say he’s more liturgical than his predecessor was, or conducts the liturgy in a less emotive kind of way, or won’t choose hymns like “The Old Rugged Cross.”

One of the questions asks how much “eye contact” he makes. Seriously? Eye contact? There will always be people who don’t like pastors for all the wrong reasons, which makes holding the confessional line a very difficult task for some pastors—particularly young or new ones. Persistence may require a boatload of patience and indomitable courage. But now, although the pastor is painstakingly hoping to lead his parishioners to a better and richer faith, they find in their hands this ghastly survey that provides them with a howitzer’s worth of ammo for use against him.

Does he behave “like a bull in a china shop”? Why yes! Yes! He does! That’s just it! He’s ruining our church! Is he “argumentative”? Yes! Exactly! He never listens to us! Why, I am led to wonder, aren’t they being asked if they ever listen to him, which is in fact the reason they are called “the hearers” in the Catechism?

And this one’s particularly rich: does the pastor remain “positive and constructive toward antagonistic members”? And now, by a stroke of coincidence, those very members have become more antagonistic.

What’s especially insidious about this project is that the pastor gets some survey questions of his own to answer, but they are of a different stripe. They’re all entirely bland, requiring no sort of assessment at all: questions of age, marital status, years of service, type of parish, etc. Not one of the 38 questions on the pastor’s form requires a judgment of any kind, leading the pastor—as it certainly did me—to think the whole exercise is entirely innocuous and harmless as a dove.

Nothing could be further from the truth. There are no assurances given that these surveys would not be shared with district officials in the midst of a “reconciliation” process between a troubled parish and her pastor, for though a promise of confidentiality is made, the results of the survey could still be given anonymously. And come to think of it, that could actually be devastating if used to accuse a pastor of flaws: anonymous accusations are the worst.

Dr. Glen Thomas, Executive Director of the Board for Pastoral Education, is the one whose name appears on all the correspondence about this, so I called him to express my concerns. Naturally he demurred, but he also said that the survey results may well be used by District Presidents to discuss areas of concern “fraternally” with the pastors whose members’ surveys may have led him to think some areas of pastoral improvement might be in order. I can’t quite imagine the benefit of a fraternal conversation with a District President encouraging me to make more eye contact with my people. Whatever happened to parish visitations in which superintendents looked for and encouraged pure doctrine and practice?

I pointed out to Dr. Thomas that the questions overall seem crafted in a way which encourages or elicits a negative assessment of the pastor, and all he could say was that a low mark on the negatives would itself amount to a positive mark. Right, and by the same token there was nothing sinister about the Pharisees’ temptations, since Jesus did the right thing by refusing to fall for their tricks! Further, Dr. Thomas told me several times that if the pastor determined he did not wish for his congregation to participate, he was free to choose that they not do so. Yet this reply sidesteps the feint embedded in the tool which leads the pastor to think the questions asked of his parishioners would be of the same vanilla flavor as the questions asked of him. How could he know otherwise? The parishioners’ packets were sealed. Dr. Thomas was pleasant enough to talk to on the phone, but I note that he did, er, “appear to believe his own opinions should be accepted without question,” and while he was polite, he also came off as rather “argumentative” to me. Let’s see, who’s his District President?

Even if these survey questions were not be used in any way to add fuel to a parish fire—though we now know that they may well be used for that very purpose—still, the ramifications of any high negative ratings would reflect poorly on seminary training. And what would come of that? Seminary training in psychobabble, anger management, or a host of efforts to make the pastor somehow nicer, while more likely serving to emasculate him. Forget integrity, theology, faithfulness; let’s concentrate on things like eye contact.

But the worst in this is that these kinds of menacing questions can get a train rolling along the perilous track of unintended consequences in the parish in which the questionnaires are circulated. They serve to help the “antagonistic members” to frame complaints in more concrete ways, even if the concretion of the complaint would bear little similarity to what is really irking the complainant. Is the pastor strong in his confession? Now he can be called stubborn, unyielding, hard to get along with. Is he willing to persist even when attacks on his person depress him? Now he can be called one who “distances himself,” is “easily hurt,” or “fatigued.” Honestly, if the devil himself wrote this thing I couldn’t imagine it being worse.

The Catechism quotes 1 Timothy 3 in saying that “the overseer must be above reproach,” etc., and to be sure, that list of requirements for a pastor is daunting: “. . . temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” That list is enough to deal with in itself. The last thing the pastor needs is a cadre of people whom the Synod has now abetted in their opposition to his efforts to be faithful, by offering them a potential list of nebulous character adjustments.

So here’s a little memo to the Synod: mind your own business, will you? If you really want to be of service to the churches, how about some encouragement for struggling pastors? How about reminding parishioners of what they owe their pastors? Gee, that sounds awfully “abrupt,” “driven by guilt and fear,” and needing “to have the last word,” doesn’t it? I suppose we might have had to change the way it’s put, were it not from the Catechism.

Go ahead, fill out a survey about me, and when you get to the question “can relate to others on a feeling level,” be sure to give me a high mark, because I do know how—I feel—how difficult it can be for those young guys who are just trying to be faithful. And on the question, “expresses anger or hostility toward other people or institutions,” you can rate me high on that one too, especially right now. Count this pastor as one whose anger is particularly reserved for meddlers.

You may get yourself a subscription to Gottesdienst by clicking here.

Worst Sermon Face-off: Worm eating vs. Urination

2011-09-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

By Larry Beane

In this corner, the worm-eating college president...

And in this corner, the preacher with a penchant for proud pee proclamation...

Which one is the "winner?" Thanks be to God for one thing: neither of these trainwrecks happened in a Lutheran church!

Out of the Barn!

2011-09-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

King David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, expressed the thrill of his heart when he knew and experienced the Lord's help in time of trouble in the 18th Psalm. It has always been one of my favorites. The imagery is gripping and intense:

"In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind."

And it occurred to me, as I was preparing the latest issue of Gottesdienst for mailing at the PO this morning, that, inasmuch as the Lord always uses means, and that his means of rescue is the Holy Gospel, there is truth to the sentiment that the sending forth of Gottesdienst is in some small sense a bit of this imagery come true. Gottesdienst is full of the Gospel, and exists for the purpose of defending the Holy Liturgy of the Church in which the Gospel has been encased throughout all of history. Therefore when the Lord's words in Gottesdienst are mailed out, I think it's ok to say that this is in some sense the Lord himself riding upon a cherub, flying, riding upon the wings of the wind, coming to aid his people.

Though we certainly take no credit for the Lord's work, we are pleased to have been given this task. And it certainly remains a thrill to be able, every quarter, to say these words again: Gottesdienst is out of the barn.

(subscribe here)

He won't care how much you know until he knows how much you care

2011-09-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Board of Elders of Wrath of God Lutheran Church,

I'm sorry to hear, through the grapevine, that you are having problems with your pastor. That's a rough business and doesn't do anybody, nor the church catholic, any good. I'm sure that more than one of your gripes have some basis in fact. I know that your young whipper snapper of a pastor is wet behind the ears and has a lot to learn from you men who were born and raised, and in turn begat and raised kids, in this parish. But, you know, he won't care how much you know until he knows how much you care.

Have you ever had a good boss or manager? My first really good boss was Lowell Highby, now communications director for Lutherans for Life, but once upon a time the program director of a small Christian radio station where I cut my teeth in broadcast. I was terrible: I would accidentally toss what I that I was cuing up on the air, miss breaks, and stammer through the weather. Lord willing, all of my aircheck tapes have been destroyed. But I wanted to get better and worked at getting better because I loved Lowell Highby. He was kind to me when I flubbed and was such a genuinely nice person who genuinely cared for me that I wanted to work harder and be better. I did get better because of him and eventually even landed a gig for a short stint as an interim news director at a real live commercial radio station.

Well, I'm boring you with this anecdote right out of a Lutheran Hour sermon for a reason. If you want a good pastor, treat your flubbing, goofy, odd, somewhat lazy young pastor like Lowell Highby treated me: with kindness, fatherly wisdom, and friendship. Show him love, and love for you will grow in him and make him want to serve you better.

But I didn't really learn all this from Lowell Highby, though I learned so very much from him - I really learned it from my board of elders. Once, when I was once again shocked by their kindness and generosity to me, a young whipper snapper with crazy ideas, I mentioned to them how blessed I was to have men like this who supported me and my ministry. And one of them said, "Well, we learned a long time ago that a pastor is kind of like a wife, he's going to do what he wants to anyway, so you might as well get on board."

Now, this was half a joke and we all laughed. If I told them to pray to saints or quit baptizing their children they would toss me out on my ear, as well they should. But it was only half a joke; there was a lot of truth to it, too. They could see that things like chanting, kneeling, getting younger kids into confirmation classes, and having communion every week were important to me. They could see that I was getting my stuff from the Bible (or at least it wasn't against the Bible) and that it went right along with the Synod's hymnal and agenda. They may not have particularly cared for my style, but clearly I was Lutheran. So they took my bad with my good, showed kindness to me and my family, supported me at voters meetings - and by golly did this make me want to be a better pastor for these godly men who loved me for no other reason than that I was their pastor.

And then, the same elder told me this story. Once they got a good pastor: he visited the shut ins, he was a go getter, nice young family, etc. This was several decades ago. Well, about three years in he got a call and took it. They were pretty bummed out, but so it goes in rural congregations: the good ones go on to greener pastures. But they still wanted to do something nice for the guy, so they rounded up some money and bought him a going-away present: a 27 inch color TV, which was quite extravagant at the time. After his last service when this was presented, he said to the elders, "I never knew they liked me."

Now that made them think. That good pastor might have stuck it out here, might not have taken that call, if he had known that his ministry was appreciated - if he had known how much they cared.

Now, maybe you don't think that your pastor is a good one. Well, all I can tell you is that I'm not a very good pastor either - I mess up, I drop the ball, I let people fall through the cracks, I forget to visit Mrs. Schickelgrueber when she is in the hospital, etc., etc. But they treat me with kindness anyway, they gently restore me when I err, and they show tangible evidence of their love for me and my family. I know how much they care - so I care very much what they know, I value their counsel, and I want to be a better pastor because of them. I know that there are no greener pastures for me and I am so very thankful to God for being here.

Your quickest route to a better pastor is to do the same for the one you've got.

XXOO,

Pastor Curtis

Worship Attire

2011-09-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

By Larry Beane

An interesting article regarding the trend toward casual clothes in worship (and one way to address this pastorally): "No Hooters shirts in Mass, please."

"Filter by Service"

2011-09-01T05:23:00.000-07:00

Muslim name AND a French Beret

By Larry Beane

The new and improved LCMS Locator on the website has an interesting feature. When you are looking for a church, you can specify the type of service you are looking for.

This could be a helpful feature, considering the "box of chocolates" nature of our Synod - you never know what you're going to walk into on Sunday morning. So, you might expect when you "filter by service" you would see certain fields in the drop-down box, maybe a list like this:

TRADITIONAL
CONTEMPORARY
BLENDED
AGING HIPPY
DANCING GIRLS
SMELLS AND BELLS
NAILS ON A CHALKBOARD
PAGE FIVE NO CHANTING
FRUITY EMERGENT RELEVANT

or perhaps:

HIGH MASS
LOW MASS
NO MASS
NO MAS
NO
NOOOOOOO!

... or some such.

I was surprised to see that it is actually a list of ethnicities (for the most part). So, you might imagine a list something like this:

GERMAN
GERMAN-AMERICAN
PRUSSIAN
HESSIAN
GERMAN-NORTHERN
GERMAN-GERMAN
SWEDISH
NORWEGIAN
DANISH

with maybe a token

SERBIAN

or

ICELANDIC

thrown in for a little Lutheran-style diversity.

However, the list is a little more diverse than one might expect. But hey, Lutherans are all over the globe, speaking every imaginable language these days, so this isn't such a crazy list after all:

ASIAN INDIAN (as opposed to "CLEVELAND INDIAN?")
CHINESE (an hour later and you want to go back to church)
ETHIOPIAN
FRENCH (a.k.a. FREEDOM PEOPLE by the FOX-NEWS crowd)
GERMAN (ya think?)
HEARING IMPAIR (a.k.a. SPELLING IMPAIRED)
HEARING IMPAIRED
HISPANIC
HMONG ("Everybody blames the Lutherans...")
JAPANESE
JEWISH (Wait, what?)
KOREAN
MUSLIM
OTHER AFR..

Whoa! Back up...

MUSLIM. Did I just read "MUSLIM"? Yep, MUSLIM. That's what Confessional Lutherans call the "TURK" or the "MOHAMMEDAN."

At any rate, you can actually search for MUSLIM services in the LCMS at the LCMS website. That's, er, interesting.

I still think a search tab for "traditional" would be more helpful and practical, though.

HUMOR ENABLED

Uncle

2011-08-29T08:54:00.001-07:00

I cry Uncle. Let it never be said that the folks at CPH have no sense of humor. The new Walther commemorative medal is made out of "antique bronze." That's a win.

I am very much looking forward to Fr. Harrison's revised translation of Kirche und Amt. Those of us with subpar German, limited time, or both will benefit greatly from a faithful, scholarly translation of the work which is supposed to be the "voice of our church" on the topic that continues to plague contemporary Confessional Lutheranism. Word on the street is that the currently available translation is inaccurate - and beyond any doubt, a vast majority of the folks who pressed the "yes" button at the 1998 [correction: 2001] Convention hadn't read the thing anyway. (But that's how legislative bodies work these days - ever heard of the Patriot Act or Obamacare?) Therefore, Fr. Harrison's time is well spent in getting this into the hands of the Synod.

For my own part, I become more and more convinced that what we really need on the topic of Church and Ministry is a bold ad fontes back to the Confessions and the Confessional writers, their influences, their historical context, etc. My own study in this regard leads me to believe that there was a definite divide between Luther on the one hand and Chemnitz on the other when it came to Church and Ministry and that this divide at the beginning has reverberated down the centuries. Walther made a heroic attempt to reconcile these two strains of thought. I am not convinced that he succeeded - but hitherto I have been frustrated in making a thorough study of the question due to the lack of a scholarly edition/translation of Kirche und Amt. Bring it on!

+HRC

A layman's frustration

2011-08-27T12:33:00.001-07:00

At a funeral today, a parishioner from a different parish in the wider area cornered me to vent his frustration over his parish going to the American Evangelical worship route. I thought his comments were both insightful and humorous.

"And those songs! It's all one word over and over again - Jesus, Jesus, Jesus - no explanation!"

"And we've got this one fella who thinks he can play the guitar and so at Christmas time he gets up there and sings this song, 'Mary, did you know this?' 'Mary, did you know that?' Well, she knew before anybody else. . . "

I wonder just how many parishes have experienced significant conflict at the hands of the pushers of "contemporary worship"?

+HRC

Lutheran Propers for St. Augustine

2011-08-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

By Larry Beane

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) has given us a lot of possible commemorations, perhaps more so than any previous English language hymnal.

For example, in the Missouri Synod's sanctoral calendar on LSB page xiii, we find that "Augustine of Hippo, Pastor and Theologian" is commemorated on August 28 - which falls on a Sunday this year. Setting aside for the time being the sectarian terminology ("Augustine of Hippo, Pastor and Theologian"), it is a good development for us to honor whom the rest of western Christendom calls "St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo and Doctor of the Church."

However, LSB does not provide any liturgical propers for the celebration of the feast. Fortunately, we do have some resources at our fingertips. Obviously, there are many ways to figure out what propers to use (such as Anglican and Roman Catholic resources), but so that my parish can commemorate St. Augustine per our own synodical calendar, here is what I happen to be using:

For the collect, I am using the one in the Treasury of Daily Prayer.
For the Introit, Gradual, Epistle, and Gospel, I am using the helpful volume edited by my colleague here at Gottesdienst, the Rev. H. R. Curtis: Daily Divine Service Book: A Lutheran Daily Missal (DDSB).
For the Old Testament Reading, I am using the late Rev. Paul W. Nesper's reference called Biblical Texts. It is in reprint thanks to Concodia Theological Seminary Press.

Most of the legwork has been done by Fr. Curtis. The Introit comes from Sirach 15:5 (Antiphon) and Psalm 92:1-2. The Gradual is from Psalm 37:30-31. The Epistle is 2 Timothy 4:1-8, and the Gospel is Matthew 5:13-19. Since my congregation uses ESV, I did have to look up these texts in that version as opposed to Fr. Curtis's preferred KJV - which unlike ESV, is in the public domain.

As DDSB follows the tradition of the Common Service and The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) and does not include Old Testament readings, I used Fr. Nesper's reference work to give me some options. I looked up both the Gospel and Epistle readings in the index (page 438). I found that the Epistle is used in one lectionary for the 11th Sunday after Trinity. In turning to Trinity 11 (pages 380-381), I discovered that the Epistle was used in Lectionary 10 (see page 337). This happened to have been the old Synodical Conference lectionary. Back to page 380, it is clear that the Old Testament reading used by the Synodical Conference that matched up to the Epistle Lesson given in DDSB is Micah 2:7-13.

So, I now have a complete set of Lutheran propers to use for the feast of St. Augustine.

This is a little bit of work. However, it's a lot less work than it could have been, especially to the labors of Fr. Curtis.

Oktoberfest 2011 Schedule of Events

2011-08-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

Schedule of Events for Oktoberfest and Gottesdienst Central

(Oct. 9-11, St. Paul's Kewanee, IL)

Featuring Dr. William Weinrich from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Conference theme (for Sunday and Monday): Baptism in the Gospel of John

Sunday
5 p.m.: Autumn Choral Vespers
6 p.m.: Bratwurst Banquet (and partying into the night)

Monday
8:30 am: Registration
Private confession is available in the vestry from 8:30-9:15 am
9:30 am: Solemn Mass.
Fasting prior to mass is a laudable custom.
10:45 am: Brunch, in the cafeteria.
11:15 am: Dr. Weinrich
12:30 pm Office at Sext
12:45 pm Break. Snacks will be available.
1:10 pm: Dr. Weinrich, continued.
2:00 pm Break.
2:10 pm: Dr. Weinrich, continued.
3:00 pm: Office at Vespers
The late afternoon and evening is free. Weather permitting, a golf outing might be arranged.
Tuesday
9:00 am Low (spoken) Mass
9:45 – noon: Open seminar and workshop on the ceremonies of the Lutheran Mass: attention to the details that confess and magnify the Real Presence.
12 noon: Office at Sext
12:15 pm – lunch (on your own: we will attend a local restaurant)
1:30 pm – 3:15 pm: Seminar, continued.
3:15 Office at Vespers. Itinerarium

Sign up here.

Lodging info:

AmericInn, 4823 US Hwy 34. 800-634-3444
Super 8 Motel, 901 S Tenney (Rt 78). 309-853-8800
Aunt Daisy’s B&B, 223 W Central Blvd. 888-422-4148
Kewanee Motor Lodge, 400 S Main St. 309-853-4000
Days Inn, I-80 & Rt 40, Sheffield. 815-454-2361
Holiday Inn Express, I-80 & Rt 78, Annawan. 309-935-6565

Body Gospel

2011-08-23T11:23:00.001-07:00

What's wrong with American Christianity, you ask? Look no further.

HT: Fr. Scott T. Adle

+HRC

Obare Email Hacked

2011-08-14T10:23:00.001-07:00

READERS PLEASE NOTICE:

A blog entry from August 12th contains an email claiming to be from Rev. Isaiah Obare who is studying at the Fort Wayne seminary. Rev. Obare is the son of Bishop Walter Obare of Kenya, known to many of our Gottesdienst readers as a strong suppoerter of Confessional Lutheranism and a former recipient of our Sabre of Boldness award.

Today I was advised by a reputable source who is well acquainted with Rev. Obare, advising me that this email is a FAKE, that it is the result of someone having hacked into his email account, and that he is NOT asking for financial assistance. The hacking appears to be the result of a political ploy on the part of someone trying to make it appear as though the Obares are seeking sympathy money from Americans.

What is clear is that although Rev. Obare did have a fall, he does not need surgery, and that he certainly did not request any financial assistance.

PLEASE DISREGARD THE FORMER PLEA. Our apologies for the confusion.

+ B F Eckardt, Editor

"Sister Enya, MD and the Trans-Siberian Riverdance"

2011-08-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

or "Sometimes the Nun Gets You."

By Larry Beane (cross-posted at Father Hollywood)

On a visit to the bookstore of the Daughters of St. Paul today, I picked up a Chant CD. It is called "In Paradisium" by the Daughters of St. Paul. The cover depicts a beautiful vaulted cloister courtyard along with the title "In Paradisum" in Latin as well as the subtitle "Chant" and "Ever Ancient Ever New."

The clincher was that the CD was 40% off. I thought it would be nice to hear some Gregorian Chant sung in the female voice register by nuns. The back cover depicts the choir of nine habited sisters.

And so, I took the bait.

Upon listening in the car, it wasn't quite what I expected. The music did feature (nearly all) Latin chant by the female choir - but there was more. The vocals were overlayed with New Age licks reminiscent of Enya. Don't get me wrong, I like Enya. I know I'm probably not supposed to, but I don't really care. I also like pineapple-amaretto daiquiris and little umbrellas in my drinks. You want my man card? Μολὼν λαβέ, tough guy! But Enya is not sacred music. I didn't dig the whole Gregorian Chant thing with massage music going in the background.

Other tracks sounded like the theme from House, MD. Hugh Laurie is a talented guy, but I don't think he can pull off the whole singing nun thing.

Still other tunes sounded like blatant ripoffs of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Again, I like the TSO. I don't care what the trendsetters have to say about it. But TSO is as compatible with singing nuns as is BTO. Still other riffs called to mind Riverdance or some of the soundtrack of Braveheart. Again, nothing against Celtic tuneage. I'm of Celtic heritage myself. But Celtic dance tunes are just not compatible with the ancient dignity of Gregorian Chant. Finally, there is the last tune, which goes disturbingly overboard regarding the mother of God - but what's even stranger, it is set to the Lutheran hymn tune "Erhalt Uns Herr" - otherwise known as the "Muderous Pope and Turk" song.

What a trainwreck!

It didn't have to be this way. There were clues. I should have paid better attention. Had I had the Lutheran traditionalist defender of Lutheran traditionalism(tm), Br. Latif, on speed dial, he could have "talked me down" and saved me ten bucks.

Our conversation would have gone something like this:

Me: "Hey, Brother Latif. Larry here. I'm looking at a chant CD."
Latif: "Hi Father Larry. Okay. Latin or English?"
Me: "Mostly Latin."
Latif: "Nice. Who's it by?"
Me: "The Daughters of St. Paul."
Latif: "Ooh. Uh, habited?"
Me: "Yes."
Latif: "Hmm. Traditional?"
Me: "Well, I'm not sure..."
Latif: "Are their necks or ears exposed?"
Me: "Um, I see a little bit of lobe on one of them. Yes, necks are exposed."
Latif: "No whimples?"
Me: "No whimples."
Latif: "I see. These sound like Vatican 2 habits with modified veils. Could be trouble. Color?"
Me: "Navy and white."
Latif: "Okay. That's enough. I don't need to hear any more. Father Larry, put the CD down, take three steps backward, turn, and run to the nearest bar or juke-joint where you can find some Springsteen or Evanescence..." (Of course, Brother Latif would be referring to the good Evanescence with the deep lyrical themes from the time before the Christian guy left the band, not the inferior-quality post-Christian Evanescence where Amy Lee just whines virtually monosyllabically about her inebriated boyfriend...).

Brother Latif would also have picked up on the fine print on the back of the "In Paradisum" CD: "new arrangements." I mean, what more needs to be said?

Yes, my bad, mea culpa. I was foolish. I hoped for traditionalism, and instead got a Vatican II Baby Boomer blend of Latin Chant and New Age, TV Soundtrack, Big Dramatic Drums, and Synthesized Bagpipes. It happens. But it doesn't have to.

Next time, I'm calling Brother Latif.

Civil Observances and Sunday

2011-08-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

This year September 11th falls on a Sunday, and that on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th. This date has become a de facto civil observance and is used, each year, by the purveyors of various political perspectives for their own ends. And everybody wants God on their side, so this or that preacher/priest/shaman/rabbi/Christian Science Practitioner is always pulled in by this or that group for their prayer service/sit in/protest/remembrance walk, whatever.

What of local congregations and this day? Lutheran churches, especially of the Midwestern, conservative bent, will face the same sort of temptations that come along every time July 4th falls on a Sunday: patriotic jingoism and the the drafting of God Almighty into the service of the political aims of the United States. (Around July 4, a pastor in a nearby parish is famous for festooning the sanctuary in red, white, and blue and singing various patriotic songs.)

So I'm rather pleased to see that the Synod President has issued some very responsible suggestions. This is exactly the kind of leadership that a Church's chief pastor should give. If the suggestions are followed, the result will be a responsible ecclesiastical observance of a national tragedy that chiefly prays for peace, forgiveness, and healing and avoids politics.

As for me and my house, this day will be observed in much the same way we observe other national (and cultural - Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc.) days: the lectionary will not be displaced and the day will be acknowledged in some way in the sermon and in the prayers. But for those congregations which have their own reasons (chiefly geographical, I suppose) for a more profound observance, these resources demonstrate the proper flexibility of the Church's liturgy to encompass the pain, anger, and hatred of men and redirect it into the vein of godly prayer.

+HRC

Some Demons are Stronger than Others

2011-08-12T06:43:00.001-07:00

When Osama was killed and the search revealed his porn stash, a friend said to me, "The terrorists always have porn." Somehow I had missed that detail. But my friend wasn't the only one to notice. Touchstone put up a little blurb this morning that caught me by surprise: http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2011/08/porn-national-security.html

Touchstone linked Salvo. I subscribe to both, and suggest you scrounge up the money to do the same - right after you renew your subscription to Gottesdienst. :)

I've linked the article in Salvo before. To their credit, they're taking this head on. Every issue has at least a couple of articles that deal with sexual sins. Pornography is a common thread in all deviancy. It is also rampant. It is not just "out there." It is on our church computers, on our seminary campuses, in the international center. OK. I don't know that. But then again, I do. Because the statistics are there. This addiction afflicts the Church, its pastors, elders, Sunday School teachers, ushers, alligators, coffee and sign minister persons, etc.

So what do we do about it? Understanding it is a good first step. Some demons come out only with fasting and prayer. This demon will destroy your family, shame you in front of your mother, cause you to lose your job, etc. He won't come out easily. He needs to be confessed and external discipline needs to be put into effect. It is time to bear some fruits of repentance.

To that end, I suggest Open DNS. I am not a tech guy, but even I figured this out. Thanks, btw, to Rev. Jonathan Fisk for pointing this out. Open DNS is free and it doesn't slow down the computer. We have it at church and home and I never notice it. I am ashamed to admit it but we often sacrificed security for speed at home. We tried programs like Net Nanny and other filters but they slowed down the computer and since the kids complained, I blamed them. The truth is, nobody liked the slower speeds. But Open DNS actually speeds up the internet. And did you forget that it is free? So click on the link and set up an account and keep yourself and your kids safe.

But that may not be enough. Because if you are the addict, you will cheat. That is what addicts do. So in a sober moment, you need to hand the keys over to someone you trust, someone who loves you. Set up the account. Follow the instructions. Then give your user name and password to a trusted friend (or spouse) and have him change it so that you do not have access. He can do it from a distance, over the internet. Put it on at home and at church and everywhere.

Go to confession. Come to the Sacrament. Pray the Psalms. And use the tools that God provides, including Open DNS and Salvo and Touchstone and Gottesdienst.

Gottesdienst Library: An Explanation of the Common Service for Kindle

2011-08-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

An Explanation of the Common Service

Our friends at Emmanuel Press have already reprinted this invaluable resource in paperback and I encourage you to pick up a copy at their online store here. Emmanuel's summary reads:

This is the perfect book to explain the liturgy to new members, youth, and even long-time members and pastors. First printed over a century ago, this Lutheran liturgical handbook uses questions and answers to explain the meaning of the Communion, Matins, and Vespers. (Liturgical texts are equivalent to those of The Lutheran Hymnal 1941.) In addition, hymnody, liturgical theology, and history are addressed succinctly.

You should really buy copies of Emmanuel's edition for all your elders, worship committee, etc. and study it with them. And see the many other wonderful reprints and original works that Emmanuel has to offer.

For those who wish to read An Explanation of the Common Service on Kindle, I've made it available in a Kindle optimized pdf.

Kindle Instructions

Download the file, email it as an attachment to your @free.kindle.com address and it will automatically download to your device. As with all the pdf files, you may wish to view it with a horizontal screen orientation. Kindle edition $1.99

The Deacon after the Priest

2011-08-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

As I was musing on St. Laurence, whose martyrdom we celebrated yesterday (August 10) at mass, I got to thinking about the apocryphal story of the exchange between him and Sixtus, who was himself being led off to martyrdom on August 6 of the fateful year 257.

The story goes that Laurence was grieving over the fact that he could not accompany his bishop to martyrdom: "Father, where are you going without your son? Have I not ever followed you wherever you have served? Have I not been faithful to you in all things? How can you leave without me?" To which Sixtus prophetically replied, "Yet three days and you will follow, the deacon after the priest."

This led me to thinking about a related matter, one we tend to be rather loath to talk about in the Missouri Synod, because our established practice is already so entrenched. I refer to the matter of lay assistants at the distribution of the Sacrament.

I'm fully aware of the parish nightmares that tend to arise when a pastor institutes change too abruptly or without forethought or warning. Gottesdiensters already have a bad reputation in this regard, though I would submit that it is largely undeserved. We do not endorse foolhardy revolutions in the parish; but we do take issue with those who deny the need for certain changes, especially regarding the Sacrament.

So on the matter of lay assistants at the altar, of course we have to deal with the century or so of the use of this practice--and I'm probably being generous in my assessment; it may be far less than that, but I'm not going to go look it up right now--which means that practically speaking there will be a need for much education, catechesis, preparation, etc.

But what I find unsettling is the popular notion that this is a matter we can altogether ignore. Here's the other side of the matter. AC XIV is not the first time the Church has insisted that no one should administer the Sacrament without a regular call. If you think so, you might be able to dismiss its more "rigid" interpretations by saying that when a lay assistant is handed the chalice, then in fact the one distributing is still the pastor (though even this is a stretch; I mean, distribution has to do with, well, distributing). But the Church catholic has, prior to the sixteenth century's Augustana, always insisted that only ordained men should do the actual distributing of the chalice (to say nothing of the Host!).

St. Laurence was a deacon, and one of the most prominent diaconal duties was the distribution of the chalice. This was widely known and indisputable in the third century and well before and beyond. The deacon was ordained to do this. St. Laurence did not need ordination to tend to the needs of the poor and look after the church's treasury, though he did those things too. He was ordained to distribute the chalice and to read the Gospel (there's another matter we can perhaps take up at another time).

To make matters worse for the confessional Lutheran's conscience, consider this: it was among the Protestant churches--specifically those churches with a low view of the Sacrament--that the use of laymen to distribute first became popular. It's a kind of Pietist invention. While it is true that this is one area in which (sadly) even the Roman Catholic churches have at last been influenced, it was not always so. It's only since Vatican II, if I'm not mistaken, that their "extraordinary ministers of the Sacrament" have arisen, among whom today one can even find women.

In St. Laurence's day it was unheard of; as also in Luther's day.

I will grant on the one hand that this is not a matter that must be changed this instant: having lay assistants at the altar does not make one apostate, after all, and no Gottesdienster would say such a thing. On the other hand, I think it needs to be considered; it needs at least to be on the radar screen. With the acknowledgment that we've come a long way in the Missouri Synod comes a rider: We can do better.

+ BF Eckardt

Clerical Narcissism

2011-08-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Fr. Juhl for passing along this insightful article about messing with Mass - from a Roman Catholic perspective, but very applicable on this side of the Tiber as well.

Money quote:

Setting aside the important underlying theological issues, we can see deeply rooted psychological motives behind the American priests who “individualize” the Masses they celebrate, placing their “personal stamp” on the liturgy. These priests play fast and loose with the rubrics of the mass, transform the “very brief” introduction after the greeting of the people, as authorized by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, into another homily. Some even individualize the prayer of consecration, and in numerous other ways seek to make the Divine Liturgy conform to their own tastes and views.

Gottesdienst Library: Krauth's The Conservative Reformation

2011-08-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology is readily available in used copies at prices cheaper than I can match, so no paperback copy of this one. But it has yet to appear for for Kindle - so here we go.

UPDATE: While Krauth is not available at the Kindle store, a reader found it here in another Kindle format for free.

UPDATE II: If you try the free version you'll find some formatting problems. This is why I don't try to convert pdfs to mobi format. I think it is still readable, but the errors are unpredictable. Try it out, but if you grow frustrated, you can pick up the pdf version below.

Kindle Instructions

Krauth's classic is a BIG book - both in page count and in physical size so there are some special instructions with this one. As always with pdf files, after you purchase the file you just send it as an attachment to your Kindle email address (@free.kindle.com) and the file will automatically download to your device. However, in order to meet the download limit of Amazon (and the attachment limit of most email services) Krauth's work comes in FOUR files. To enlarge the font to the correct size for reading just click the Kindle's Aa button and rotate your view 90 degrees.

DDSB #8 at Kindle Store

2011-08-09T17:44:00.001-07:00

Daily Divine Service Book for Kindle with active Table of Contents currently sits at #8 in the Kindle Store among Christian Prayerbooks. Surely we can beat out #3, Praying the Rosary, with the Mysteries, right? Father Petersen had these kind words for DDSB for Kindle when recommending it to a friend:

It is very handy to have this on a phone, etc. Because DDSB doesn't
just have the references for the Bible readings. It has the full text.
That means I can be stuck in the bleachers at a wrestling match, pull
my phone out with Kindle app and quickly find and read the lessons for
the coming Sunday, etc. It enables me to think on the text. That is a
very good thing. This is well worth $5.

Don't forget: if you bought a copy without the active TOC, just email me and I'll send you a free update: pastorcurtis at gmail dot com.

+HRC

Gottesdienst Library: Gerhard's Sacred Meditations for Kindle and Paperback

2011-08-09T01:01:00.000-07:00

Latest addition to the Gottesdienst Library: Gerhard's Sacred Meditations

Johann Gerhard's Sacred Meditations needs no introduction. It is truly Lutheranism's greatest contribution to Christian devotional literature still today more than 400 years after publication. Can you believe it wasn't on Kindle? I'm happy to announce it's publication in two formats to make this work more easily available - a paperback edition that is cheaper than anything else on the market and a Kindle optimized pdf.

Paperback Edition

Paperback, 304pp.: $9.99 (click here)

Kindle Edition Instructions $1.99 (click here)

The Kindle edition is a pdf facsimile of the 1896 Lutheran Publication Society edition which I have optimized for viewing on the Kindle. After you purchase the file you just send it as an attachment to your Kindle email address (@free.kindle.com) and the file will automatically download to your device. The typeface is clean and measures at about 10.5 point with an vertical orientation (that's how I read it); for a larger type, simply push the Aa button and rotate orientation to horizontal. $1.99 (click here)

God-cousins

2011-08-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

We had about 150 people here at Redeemer last week for a family retreat. They were mostly, though not exclusively, homeschoolers. They were mostly, though not exclusively, large families. Many of them have fringe ideas about nutrition, government, polyester, brown eggs, or the Lord of the Rings. They were exclusively, to a man, hardcore confessional Lutherans and passionate about everything. More than half of them were under 18, most under 16, only a handful were over 50. It was exhausting, but wonderful. I am almost recovered and beginning to climb out of my characteristic over-analysis of the details, able to start reflecting on the blessing we have received and the joy that was bestowed upon us.

Here are the first things that are bubbling up:

My children had godparents, now, sadly divorced, whose children were my own godchildren. Of their own design, years ago they started to call one another “god-cousins.” In that rare inspiration of language they hit the mark. They were more than friends and neighbors. Their parents were god-brothers and that made them god-cousins. The adults gathered here this past week weren’t just friends, they were brothers. And that made all the children cousins.

I love being the pastor of small children. Nothing could be easier or more rewarding. The children do not care at all about my orthodoxy, insight, eloquence, or chanting. The length of my sermons or my stand on close communion or who I will marry or what I think of the synodical president, don’t matter. I am not just a friend of the family: I am the pastor. I am their pastor, same as their mom’s, and they love me. And, as is always the case, having first been loved, I love them.

Okay, maybe that is not Gottesdienst material. I should say something profound about the Sacrament or send a torpedo over the prow of the Contemporary Worship crowd. But it is what is coming now and I think the cousins bit is quite good.

The next retreat, btw, will be Tuesday July 31-Thursday Aug 2, 2012. Rev. Dr. Larry Rast, president of CTS will present on Martin Franzmann. We will sing a lot of Franzmann hymns and perhaps learn a thing or two about poetry and theology (as though they were different topics).

Gottesdienst Library: Schmid for Kindle and in Paperback

2011-08-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

At Gottesdienst we are not really into mission statements and whatnot, but if we had one it would be something about making Lutheranism Lutheran again. For years, our esteemed Editor-in-Chief has been printing resources (like Why? A Layman's Guide to the Liturgy and The New Testament in His Blood) with this end in mind. The new technologies of print-on-demand and ebooks have opened up even more possibilities. Today I'm happy to announce the republication of another classic - and later this week, Dv, I'll be adding another still. Welcome to the Gottesdienst Library.

Heinrich Schmid did Lutheranism a world of good when he compiled the statements of the Lutheran divines of the 16th and 17th centuries in systematic order and in one volume. How many of us made it through seminary with almost no contact of any depth with the classical Lutheran theologians? Could that be part of our fellowship's ailments today? One of our goals at Gottesdienst is to correct such lapses, so I am happy to announce the republication of Schmid's seminal work in both Kindle (with an active Table of Contents to take you directly to the section you wish to read) and paperback editions with the following new introduction. The two editions have the same text, but the paperback has additional indices tied to its pagination while the Kindle uses only the linked Table of Contents.

Heinrich Schmid's The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 692pp.

For Kindle with active Table of Contents: $5 (click here)

Paperback: $25 (click here)

Introduction

The state of contemporary seminary education in North American Lutheranism is a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, the three self-consciously Confessional and fully accredited seminaries of this continent provide an academic education second to none when compared with other denominational seminary programs. A student who makes it through these three year (plus vicarage) programs will have only himself to blame if he cannot read Greek and Hebrew with understanding, discuss the history of the Church and her confession and controversies with intelligence, and display an awareness of the contemporary theological landscape.

And yet, on the other hand, I fear that our fine seminary professors in the systematics departments take a little too much for granted. The following was my experience, and the experience of many of my colleagues. Our seminary level education in doctrinal theology began with a close study of the Confessions, then a close study of Pieper, and then various upper level courses on modern and contemporary theology. Coming out of the seminary none of us had read (for a class, at any rate) Melanchthon's Loci, Chemnitz's Loci, or Gerhard's Loci. Quendstedt was a footnote in Pieper. Hollaz? Calov? Who were they?

In short, we had jumped from 1580 to 1880 with hardly a glance at the immense and vital doctrinal theology of the intervening three centuries. One of the most interesting classes I had in seminary was a course on justification that looked at Osiander's teaching in detail - it was interesting because it opened my eyes to just how much I did not know about my own tradition.

What joy then to discover Heinrich Schmid's Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Here, at last, was what I really needed: a systematic theology arranged along the lines of the classic Loci that drew together the standard Lutheran theologians from the Augsburg Confession down to the 17th century divines. I don't think there can ever be a substitute for actually reading through the great doctrinal works of Melanchthon, Chemnitz, Gerhard, et al. - but Schmid's work comes close. If not a substitute for reading those works, it is a time-saving summary of those works for the serious Lutheran who is getting a late start - as we all are these days. Yet it is more than a mere summary - Schmid does provide a summary at the head of each locus, but most of the work is actual quotations from the great doctrinal works of Evangelical Lutheranism. Thus, by looking up a topic in Schmid you are not only given a bare bones summary of the doctrine but also a ranging look at the very words of our great theologians and therewith a complete bibliography for deeper investigation.

I originally came across this work in the library of my father-in-law and it soon became a fast friend. I used it in teaching the Christian Doctrine course at Concordia University-Chicago for the one semester I taught there, but that was in the days before e-readers and easy to use print on demand. The book was out of print and used copies were going for upwards of $50. Thus, the students had to read through the work online and this was tiresome. Therefore I could not be more pleased to be offering an affordable edition of this work in both paperback and Kindle formats. Due to the limitations of the Kindle format, or rather, due to the immense amount of work it would require in the Kindle format, the indices have been removed. This is an edition meant to be read and annotated by each individual using Kindle's bookmarks and notes features.

The theological problems Lutherans face today, I am convinced, largely stem from our ignorance of our doctrinal heritage. I pray that by making Schmid's vastly important work more available some of that ignorance may be cast out.

- Rev. H. R. Curtis

St. Oswald's Day, 2011

Kindle DDSB now has Active Table of Contents

2011-08-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to the Daily Divine Service Book fans who were able to help me put an active Table of Contents in the Kindle edition ($5 click here). (If you already bought a copy without an active TOC, email me and I will send you instructions on how to get a free upgrade: pastorcurtis at gmail dot com.) You learn something new everyday. . .

This is a VAST improvement and really makes the Kindle edition quite handy. Now you may navigate directly to any of the following locations, from which any proper is just a few page turns away.

Preface 4

The Apocrypha in the Worship of the Augustana Rite 17

–SEASON OF ADVENT– 20

The Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord 47

–EPIPHANYTIDE– 90

Ash Wednesday 142

Laetare 231

–SACRED TRIDUUM– 307

Ascension Eve 397

–WHITSUNTIDE– 408

–TRINITYTIDE– 437

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity 502

Divine Service with Rubrics 569

–FEASTS OF JANUARY– 599

–FEASTS OF FEBRURARY– 634

–FEASTS OF MARCH– 659

–FEASTS OF APRIL– 692

–FEASTS OF MAY– 709

–FEASTS OF JUNE– 734

–FEASTS OF JULY– 783

–FEASTS OF AUGUST– 820

–FEASTS OF SEPTEMBER– 858

–FEASTS OF OCTOBER– 888

–FEASTS OF NOVEMBER– 920

–FEASTS OF DECEMBER– 944

Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary 973

Common of a Bishop 976

Common of a Saint 979

Common of a Martyr-Bishop 983

Common of a Martyr Not a Bishop 986

Common of Several Martyrs 990

Common of a Confessor-Bishop 993

Common of a Doctor of the Church 998

Common of a Confessor not a Bishop 1001

Common of an Abbot 1005

Common of a Pastor 1008

Common of a Virgin-Martyr 1012

Common of a Several Virgin-Martyrs 1016

Common of a Virgin not a Martyr 1017

Common of a Martyr not a Virgin 1020

Common of Several Martyrs not Virgins 1024

Common of a Holy Woman not a Martyr 1025

–VOTIVE DIVINE SERVICES FOR THE DAYS OF THE WEEK– 1029

–VOTIVE DIVINE SERVICES FOR VARIOUS OCCASIONS– 1063

Appendix A: Selected Prayers for the Celebrant While Serving at the Altar 1082

Appendix B: Hymns of the Day 1089

DDSB August Sales: Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover

2011-08-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

The free market is a great thing: the division of labor, comparative advantage, etc. Due to new cost structures with Amazon's print on demand service, I've been able to significantly reduce the price of the paperback edition of Daily Divine Service Book from $30 to $25. To help launch the book with this new publisher, through August the price will be further reduced to $22.25 (click here).

Hardcover: $38 from Lulu Press (SALE: 20% off with code SUMMERBOOKS)

Paperback: $22.25 from Amazon's CreateSpace (through August)

Kindle edition: $5 from the Kindle Store

ePub Format (for other eReaders) $5 from Lulu Press

+HRC

DDSB for your Kindle and iPad

2011-08-04T12:01:00.001-07:00

I've received many requests for eReader versions of Daily Divine Service Book and have finally gotten around to the rather frustrating task of formatting the files. (Word to the wise: don't bother using Calibre to make ePub files! Use the free Open Office Add On and don't look back. Calibre works great for making .mobi files for the Kindle.)

DDSB for the Kindle

Amazon is a breeze to work with - pick up your Kindle edition of DDSB here. I sent the file directly to my wife's Kindle and it works great.

DDSB for Apple Devices

You can also get DDSB on your iPhone or iPad, but you've got to do it via download (here) and iTunes right now. You see, getting distribution to the iBookstore is very troublesome. They are very stringent about how the ePub metadata has to be formatted and so far it's been a terrible pain and I'm fixin' to give up. But the workaround is simple. Get the ePub file here and put it in iTunes on your laptop or desktop and then sync up your iPad or iPhone and it should appear in your books. Buyer/Apple user beware: this is how various Apple forums say to do this, I don't use Apple products aside from my iPod mini so I have not actually done it (though it appears to be the same process as manually adding files to the library in iTunes.) The ePub file itself works just fine on my laptop's ePub reader.

Remarks

I enjoy reading books on the Kindle and I can see how this would work for shut-in calls or browsing the propers. But one of my main gripes with Kindle is that it's not too easy to flip back and forth from, say, page 30 to page 176. So with this ebook you will have to navigate on your own to the proper that you want ahead of time and will not have easy access to the ordinary (but I never flip back to the Ordinary during shut-in calls or Wednesday low mass anyway, nor do I think most pastors do - surely you've got that memorized?). But for using one set of propers, I think those who use either Kindle or iPhone/iPad will find this format useful.

+HRC

What to call the "elders"

2011-08-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

It is obviously problematic to call laymen who are assigned various duties to assist the ordained presbyter "elders." That's the Bible term for clergy. Likewise with calling them "deacons" as some other parishes do. For whatever deacons were in NT times (arguments persist), it is clear that they were set apart from the laity and even clearer that in Reformation times the term was synonymous with the lower ranks of clergy. A good first step in relieving the modern day confusion over the Ministry would be to use words the way the Bible uses them. Hells bells, even the Mormons use the term elder correctly! (For further reading on how we got in this mess with "elder" see Dr. Al Collver's "Lay Elders: A Brief Overview of Their Origin in the Missouri Synod."

And yet, the proper functions of a board of "elders" is vital to parish ministry - at least in the kind of parishes in which I have served. I need a sounding board of intelligent, faithful men of the parish to teach me about the parish and personalities, to warn me of pitfalls, to be my sounding board, to be the first to learn the Word of God and serve as examples to their families and fellow parishioners.

I propose calling them the Board of Counselors, or Pastor's Council. That actually describes what they do.

So, if your constitution is coming up for revision, consider that. Ours here probably won't come up for many years - oh, the pain of putting in a new constitution! - so for now, it's "elders" and all the confusion that brings when we turn to I Tim 3 in Bible Class...

+HRC

Free Shipping (and did you notice we're out of the summer doldrums?)

2011-08-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

We went through a rough spot of low posting traffic this summer - but if you'll read below, you will notice great stuff from both Fr. Petersen and Dr. Stuckwisch, two excellent, thought-provoking posts. As summer travel wraps up and another school year begins, look for Gottesdienst Online to get back to our regular volume.

Also - you can pick up Daily Divine Service Book volumes and The New Testament in His Blood with free shipping (code: SHIPFREE305) through Friday. Minimum order is $20 to qualify.

+HRC