See: Now we're conservative

Some of the editors of Gottesdienst are getting rather old. Many even have gray hair and have paid $19.95 for those phones with really big buttons. Some even have grandchildren. Well, some of these were complaining that it was becoming difficult for them to read the white type on black background of this blog. So while changing things around for the elderly editors, we of course needed a new color scheme. And what else could we use but a classic, conservative royal blue?

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Thinking about Brothers in the Office

No elite military unit in the world enjoys the level of camaraderie that is given to those who share a common confession and serve in the Office of the Holy Ministry. Of course, I’ve never been in any elite military unit, nor do I really know how to measure or compare levels of camaraderie. What I really mean is that I cannot imagine any greater camaraderie, any greater or higher union or bond, than that which I share with fellow confessional pastors lest it be the bond with Christ Himself – but that I know not apart from the Office where the bond is bestowed upon clergy and laity alike.

I’ve sought to articulate this throughout the years. I always come back to “comradery.”  Our bond has been forged in the Church’s defensive combat against the devil for the souls of the saints. This joyous bond is distinct from that of the one fleshness with wife. It is likewise distinct from filial duty and affection toward parents or the paternal contentment that God can give for our children. I think that it is also distinct from the bond that all Christians know with one another and even from that which undershepherds feel toward those whom they serve. It is related to all those things, but is distinct. It is difficult to express because it is difficult to think about, but it is not difficult to recognize. The Greeks, for sure, would know it as philos, which was, for them, the highest form of love built, as it was, upon respect, trust, and knowledge.

To call these men simply “brothers” seems too weak and at least partially inaccurate, though I know not how else to address them. Some of them are more sons and others more fathers than they are brothers. Still others are like cousins or friends of a friend. They are recognized immediately. There is instant joy in their company, but it is not yet a knowing love. The bond is there but it is not as deep as it might be. As the love becomes knowing, and circumstances change, the relationships flow. A man once a cousin can become a father or a brother or a son. A father can become a brother. That happens with some frequency as sons come into their own.

We hope, however, that a father  never become a son. But that happens also. Age and infirmity make men feeble. One-time sons sometimes are called upon to father their fathers. I’ve done a bit of that. Just thinking of it now brings a tear to my eye. It is humbling and terrible, but also, in a strange way, wonderful, because the Office is greater than the men who fill it and it endures beyond the life of even our greatest earthly fathers. We serve in the Office.  The Office is what defines us. The Office also what defines and creates our bond. And the best of us, or, us at our best, know beyond all things that we not only serve in the Office, but, chiefly, we are served by the Office. So the hoary heads of our fathers bow over shaky hands to receive a blessing that leads out of this dying life.

The nurture of this bond is one of the main benefits of a gathering together with like-minded, faithful pastors. The gathering this past Tuesday at St. Paul’s in Brookfield served, for me, this purpose beautifully. Gently, but firmly, was I rebuked, encouraged, and instructed. I garnered enough sermon and catechetical material from table side conversations to last many weeks.

Gottesdienst: Chicago audio

Many thanks to Fr. Erich Fickel for recording the presentations at Gottesdienst: Chicago.

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Gottesdienst: Chicago recap

In just two years Gottesdienst: Chicago, our spring one-day conference, has already grown to about half the size of our flagship two-and-a-half day fall conference in Kewanee. This success is surely largely due to our wonderful hosts, Fr. Ben Ball and the good people of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Brookfield. If for nothing else, you should come next year just for the wonderful lunch!

Our goal with all of our conferences can be summed up as "what you wish your Winkel and district pastors' conferences were" and Tuesday was no exception. We might have some audio to post later on.

Next up is a Gottesdienst: West one-day conference in Kearney, Nebraska, on "lay ministry." This is scheduled for July 25 and more details will be forthcoming shortly, Lord willing.

Two editors, Drs. Eckardt and Fabrizius, are also speaking at the CCA symposium in Sussex, WI, in June. This is another wonderful conference and Gottesdienst is honored to have provided so many speakers for it over the years.

And what about your fall pastors' conference? Or next spring's? Could it use some improvement? Pass along the Gottesdienst speakers' bureau brochure to your district committee.

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What The Hunger Games Teaches Us About Receiving Gifts

The Hunger Games Trilogy is a great read. They're fun. They're uncomplicated. They have excellent character development. But what of the themes: Christian? Anti-Christian?

One thing that struck me throughout is the recurring theme that Katniss can't receive gifts, especially gifts of sacrifice, without feeling that she owes them. She always incurs debt with every gift. Haymitch even capitalizes on this during the games to get her to do what he wants her to do. 

This is exactly how we feel when we receive a Christmas present and haven't gotten one for them. We feel we owe them. We feel like we're in their debt. And that we must repay them. 

Works righteousness is in all of us. And when we engage in it, we ourselves step into the the Hunger Games arena. We're fighting to live. We don't want to die. And so the game makes us who we are. We aren't allowed then to get out of the games on our own terms (like Peeta wanted to). We must play the game. And that game forms us. It changes us. It kills us. For there can be only one Victor of that game: He who only is righteous, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

With that, HERE is a great article that confirmed my initial suspicion and took it to far greater depth and insight.