Women in Albs, Cinctures, and Stoles Appear to be Clergy

By Larry Beane

Here is yet another example of the witness to the world regarding the Christian doctrine of men and women and the theology of the Office of the Holy Ministry from a congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, especially as evidenced by the caption under the picture in the article: "Pastor Roy Minnix and affiliated Clergy."

"and affiliated Clergy."

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy, even all the while, those who allowed, encouraged, or bullied (whatever the case may be) these women to dress in this way might protest with a shocked (shocked!) look on their faces that anybody could possibly be scandalized: "But, but, they're not pastors, but, but, the stole is not worn over the shoulder, but, but, they're deaconesses (or deacons), etc. etc.

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy.

And we will hear the following from confessional pastors and deaconesses: "But, but, that's the Atlantic District..."

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy.

We'll hear: "But, but, this is nothing new, it has been going on for years..."

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy.

We'll hear: "But, but, the alb, cincture and stole are adiaphora..."

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy.

We'll hear: "But, but, these women are just lay assistants who don't consecrate the elements..."

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy.

We'll hear: "But, but, they're not part of the Concordia Deaconess Conference..."

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy.

This is the confession made before the world when these pictures and articles are published, when no-one is reprimanded, when nobody in authority addresses the problem, when excuses are made by pastors and lay people all along the political spectrum, when our polity ensures that pastors and professors who even go so far as to openly advocate for women's "ordination" are protected by their district presidents, and where district presidents seemingly enjoy carte blanche because of our polity.

Is this the confession the pastors and congregations of the LCMS want to be placed before the Church and the world?  Is this how we respect our partner church bodies around the world who have suffered for making the good confession regarding the roles of man and woman in ministry and in the marital union?

Women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy.

Does that even matter any more?  Does anyone in a position of authority in our church body care?  Will they say anything about this?  Will they do anything about this?  Can they do anything about this?  Or is it just business as usual that LCMS women wear albs, cinctures, and stoles, and that women in albs, cinctures, and stoles appear to be clergy?

Is this what the response will be?

Military Chaplaincy and Worker-Priesthood

Rev. Dr. A.C. Piepkorn

By Larry Beane

As part of what I hope to be a helpful discussion on bi-vocational pastors, I'm reproducing a letter I received from a brother pastor who is also considering worker-priesthood in the form of military chaplaincy.  I've redacted his letter a bit for privacy and removed some personal comments.  But I've left intact his commentary regarding the changing nature of military chaplaincy and I hope this will lead to further discussion.

Dear Revd Fr Beane:

I read your article entitled "Diary of a Worker-Priest" and I wanted to respond to you....

One of the ways many pastors in the past have supplemented their incomes was to become a Reserve or National Guard chaplain. The late great Dr. Piepkorn did this in MN back before WWII. Many others have since.

As a pastor in a small parish..., I have long considered this option, especially as Navy vet. Prior to 2001 this was a viable option for many pastors in small parishes. I can now report to you, in our state of perpetual war, this is no longer an option for small parish pastors. With perpetual war the reserve has moved from a "strategic" role to an "operational" role. You now hear reserve and guard leaders refer to our "operational reserve." When talking with recruiters about chaplaincy they all told me expect to spend at least one year away every three or four. In a small church this is devastating.... The reserve has been used to such a degree that it is increasingly becoming harder and harder to determine who is reserve and guard and who is active duty. As such more and more chaplains in the reserve are coming from non-parish settings like VA chaplains, hospital chaplains, teachers, and non parish based ministries. So for intents and purposes military chaplaincy is not really an option for the worker priest like it once was.

I just wanted to share that, because it has weighed heavily on my mind, since I read your article and I have struggled with this for a long time. I am called parish pastor and intend to stay there. I am blessed to be able to do it full time.... I'll probably be a ministering to a circuit in a few years when the Boomers all leave....

A Worker-Priest Responds

Chaplain Dean Kavouras

By Dean Kavouras

[Note: Fr. Kavouras has responded to my call for discussion about the controversial - and yet increasingly common - situation of bi-vocational pastors.  My original article "Diary of a Worker-Priest" is in the current print edition of Gottesdienst.  I am meeting more and more pastors who work secular jobs either part-time or full-time, and so we need not only theological discussion about this trend, but also practical insights from men who live this pastoral life.  Pastor Kavouras is well-known in the LCMS for his chaplaincy work with police, the fire service, and the FBI, as well as his magnificent little book on his chaplaincy work following September 11.  He is a true mentor to men serving in such chaplaincy capacities.  I really appreciate his insights, and hope you do too!  Published with permission. + Larry Beane]

Fr. Beane seeks responses from others who are worker priests.  For 28 of my 34 years in the ministry I have provided my own support.  After 6 years of nothing but trouble, getting kicked around, run around and ruined financially, I decided that I don't mind this happening to me, but I will not let it happen to my wife and children.   That was back in 1984. At the time I stumbled upon a job selling debt collection services to businesses.  Within 3 years we decided to strike out on our own and have been at it for 25 years on our own.  In addition, about five years ago, I learned how to buy and sell coins for a profit.  Both of these businesses are immensely enjoyable because I like the world of finance, I like business in general and I love sales, which besides managing the business took up most of my time.

Time management is no problem for two reasons.  When you are self employed, especially when engaged in sales, your schedule is flexible.  We had the good fortune of making a liveable wage in less than half of a normal work week.  Besides this many pastors don't use their time wisely.  As far as I can tell a pastor's duties are as limited as they are important: prepare for and celebrate the Mass, catechize, hear confessions (not very time consuming these days), visit sick and shut in members.  These last two duties, however, are not the exclusive domain of the pastor.  A well trained, qualified deacon (not just a warm and willing body) who is locally ordained for that purpose can do it.  While there may have been a need for a professional clergy when parishes were large, and prosperity was flowing, today we must recognize that confessional churches are small and getting smaller.  Why would they have a full time pastor for the limited duties needed?  We need to break free from our mental mold and deal with reality.  I recognize it is hard.  But try if you will.

Further, I suspect that if we survey all of Christendom over the last 2,000 years, we might find that part time clergy are the rule, rather than the exception.  We would probably find pastors who spent a good part of their day growing their own plot of food, farming, tending animals, and going to market in order to live.  And, think of the pastors today who are full time clergy, but only by the grace of their wives who take on the double burden of bearing children and providing for the household.  If a wife is willing and able I see no problem with it, but if she is not willing or able, or only haltingly so, then the pastor needs to man up.  There is no theological requirement for a full time, professional clergy.  Indeed I believe that I have accomplished as much, if not more, than others on a part time basis because I never got involved in the busy work.  Almost everything I do is pure ministry.  We have eliminated, of necessity perhaps, all busy work in our parish.  We have one meeting every two months with the Board of Admin.  We celebrate Mass every Sunday and hold a bible class and SS preceding the Mass.  I do my preparation, personal studies, visit the sick and shut ins, and provide some pastoral counseling, as well as carry out my chaplain functions.  We also sold our building two years ago, it was drowning us, and now we rent from a sister congregation, but maintain two very separate congregations in the same building.

As for ups and downs?  In my case it is mostly ups.  The money is good, the independence is better, the wide range of people I meet and things I get to see as I consult with business owners, learn about their businesses, and counsel them on their collection needs is vast and stimulating beyond what one would imagine.  The switching back and forth from one reality to another took a little getting used to, but I find it happily satisfying.  When one mistress gets trying, I fly to the other.  But I love them both and serve them both.  I consider them both gifts from God, both as fields of service.  If there is a down side it is that some people don't consider you legitimate if you are less than full time (especially if you own a collection agency, and are a coin dealer).  I don't like to create confusion in people's minds but that is their problem, now isn't it?  I have never had that problem personally because I kept my two worlds separate, purposely so.  I never talk about my business ventures to the church, not ever.  It's none of their business.

Cleveland, being a large city, means that I don't run into members in my business dealings very often.  As for types of employment that could muddy the waters.  If you live in a small town, and end up dealing with your members as customers, especially if it is what some wrongly call "menial" employment, it could cause some confusion in people's minds.  But if dealt with properly that goes away and there is no such thing as menial labor if done with honor.

But I have a suggestion for pastors needing extra income, viz., that you consider self employment, and especially sales.  Sales is an art and a science that can be learned and acquired just like any other skill.  It pays very well.  With that ability a person can make an above average income, in less than average time, and work in whatever field he enjoys. If you like men's clothes, welding supplies, corporate jets or silk flowers you can turn selling those things into you own business.  There are also other professions and skills which people might possess: construction trades, accounting, law, medical professions, computer programmer etc.  Use them.  What's wrong with being a part time plumber and part time pastor?  Or practicing law or accounting on a limited basis to supplement your low pastoral income?  Again, this takes a re-think on our part, and on the part of our people.

Also as Fr. Beane mentioned, being out there leads to some interesting discussions.  I have lost track of the number of people I have counseled and prayed for in my business dealings because of my dual vocation. People open up to us.  Also, people can read you in the business world, they can perceive if you are a man of integrity, and pastors excel in that area.

Lastly, I would suggest that since confessional churches are magnet churches, and not neighborhood phenomena, that two confessional churches would do well to share buildings, two separate parishes
housed under one roof.  Find someone you can live with, and do it. Why do we maintain buildings that are bleeding us to death?  Sell one, make the other sound, if you can find reasonable people of like mind.

A Question Concerning Districts

"Pastors" of the Mekane Yesus Lutheran (sic) Church (sic) in Ethiopia

By Larry Beane

I've been a member of the synod since my ordination in 2004.  But I still do not understand our polity in the LCMS.  It is a mystery right up there with the riddle of the sphinx and the fate of Atlantis  - though with 18 years of marriage under my belt, I may finally be starting to understand the gentler sex.  However, the LCMS's bureaucratic machinations is something that I may never really grasp on this side of the grave.  And in eternity, I don't think we'll be too concerned with synodical bureaucracy - at least I hope not.  At any rate, I have a question: In the LCMS's structure, are the districts authorized to meet with the leaders of church bodies around the world that "ordain" women?

It sounds like a loaded question, but it really isn't.  I honestly don't understand what the district's role is in forging relationships with international Lutheranism.  I know that our seminaries - particularly my alma mater CTS-Fort Wayne - established contact with several Lutheran bodies around the world.  In some cases, this has paved the way to full altar and pulpit fellowship.  I know that these contacts have been criticized by some for not following political protocol.  I honestly don't understand all of this.  All I know is that there are faithful Lutherans around the world who are courageously standing firm on the Bible and the confessions, bearing the cross and the gospel, who refuse to go with the flow on homosexuality and women's "ordination" (which are actually two sides of the same coin).

One such example is the preacher at President Harrison's installation, Kenya's archbishop Walter Obare, the recipient of the 2006 Sabre of Boldness.  He heroically defied the mighty Lutheran (sic) World Federation by consecrating a faithful Swedish bishop who would not "ordain" women and cave to the homosexual agenda in the Church (sic) of Sweden.  Archbishop Obare has written eloquently, and has backed up his theology with courageous deeds, and has borne a heavy cross as a result.  His action freed faithful Lutherans in Sweden to once more have pastors - something denied them by their own wicked bishops for many years.

What puzzles me is the recent news from the Southern District.  Here is an excerpt from the Spirit of Southern newsletter (Jan/Feb 2012):

District and Concordia-Selma Presidents Travel to Ethiopia 

District President Kurtis Schultz, accompanied by Rev. Dr. Tilahun Mendedo, President of Concordia College – Selma, AL, embarked on January 5th for a 13 day trip to Ethiopia. The Southern District Board of Directors at its December, 2010, meeting adopted a resolution that the Southern District express its strong desire for greater mutual conversation, encouragement, and kingdom work between the Southern District and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Mekane Yesus. They are the largest and fastest growing Lutheran church body in the world.The pastors’ itinerary included meeting with the leadership of Mekane Yesus, as well as visiting congregations and historical places.

Also reported here in the Southern District's This Ministry That We Share newsletter (Jan/Feb 2012):

PRESIDENT SCHULTZ TRAVELS TO ETHIOPIA 

President Schultz traveled to Ethiopia on January 5th and returned to Slidell, LA, on January 17th. President Schultz traveled with the Rev. Dr. Tilahun Mendedo, President of Concordia College – Selma, AL. Their itinerary included meeting with the leadership of Mekane Yesus, visiting congregations and historical places.  

The Southern District Board of Directors at its December, 2010, meeting adopted a resolution that the Southern District express its strong desire for greater mutual conversation, encouragement, and kingdom work between the Southern District and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus.   They are the largest and fastest growing Lutheran church body in the world.  

Ethiopia is a country located in the Horn of Africa.   It is the second most populous nation in Africa with over 82 million inhabitants.  It is also the most landlocked nation in the world.

This is all well and good until you consider that this church (sic) body, Mekane Yesus, is not only in full communion with the ELCA and the LWF, but according to its own website, it is proud to "ordain" women.  This fact seemed to have been omitted from the Southern District reports above.  That fact seems to me to be more important than its status as the "largest and fastest growing Lutheran (sic) church (sic) body in the world."

Arianism was also a large and growing "church" body.  Today's Mormonism and Islam are also large and fast-growing religious bodies.  Why does size and rate of growth trump faithfulness to the Scriptures?

I know that there are church bodies around the world in which there are conservative factions heroically fighting against women's "ordination" in their own midst.  There is also the recent historical example of the Church of Latvia which managed to rollback and end the practice of women's "ordination" thanks to yet another faithful bishop. Of course, I believe we need to support churches and their leaders who are willing to stand for the Bible and the confessions - even against their own hierarchies who have gone to the dark side by adopting cultic "ordination" practices.

But at least according to Mekane Yesus's own website, they are not exactly trying to do away with the practice, but are rather quite encouraging of expanding it!  Maybe the leaders that the delegation from the Southern District met with are in opposition to this practice and are fighting to overturn it.  I hope so.  The articles are silent regarding the matter.

Back to my original question: Is this the role of the LCMS district in international contact and ecumenical dialogue?

I was always taught that the districts are synod's representatives in a given place.  So, is this meeting between the leaders of the Southern District and Mekane Yesus supposed to represent some kind of official synodical ecumenical contact?  And what does it mean that the Southern District's board of directors has resolved to express its "strong desire for greater mutual conversation, encouragement, and kingdom work between the Southern District and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus" with no mention of the "elephant in the parlor" of women's "ordination"?

Can we do "kingdom work" with a body that is boastful of a Satanic practice like female "ordination"?  Is an LCMS district considered to be representing the synod as a whole when its leadership meets with high-ranking officials in other church (sic) bodies?  As a member of the Southern District, I would have been a lot more comfortable if the news announcements made it clear that the LCMS is not in fellowship with Mekane Yesus and the fact that the latter practices ordination of a diabolical sort that the district obviously condemns as contrary to Scripture.  I would feel a lot more comfortable if the mission were to call Mekane Yesus to repentance and to support dissidents trying to overturn the practice.  I'm going to assume and state publicly that there is no doubt a reasonable explanation that precludes any member of synod from sinning here.  My reason for raising this issue is not to accuse, not to presume that anything sinful has occurred by any member of synod - but rather to understand where the district comes into play when it comes to international contacts.

Again, I am not being critical of my district president (far be it from me!).  But as a member of synod, I am posing the question to other members of synod how all of this works.  Is there any implied relationship being forged between the synod and this Ethiopian Lutheran (sic) body?  But I will certainly and unequivocally condemn the heresy of women's "ordination" - which is really a manifestation of the goddess-cult and nothing other than a recapitulation of Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden under the temptation of the Serpent ("Did God actually say...?").  I believe every LCMS pastor ought to be able to agree that women's "ordination" is Satanic.

My personal opinion is that we should honor and support Lutherans around the world who refuse to "ordain" women.  As the faithful bishop of another Lutheran body worded it to me in a private e-mail: "By ordination of women Satan wants to destroy the priesthood in the Christ's Church. And we must resist, we must defend the Church, as we promised during our own ordination."

Again, what is the role of the LCMS district when it comes to this kind of ecumenical dialogue?