Issues, Etc. Takes a Giant Turn for the Worst

Jeff out corrallin' guests.

Things are rapidly going downhill at the Lutheran Public Radio studios.  Why you ask?  Apparently the gate was left open on the stable of guests, who subsequently vamoosed,  resulting in Producer Jeff Schwarz having to lasso people straight off the range as emergency guests. (A little like an emergency Baptism I guess - you do what you have to do.) Things got so dire that they actually interviewed me, discussing the article I recently wrote for Higher Things Magazine. The interview was so bad that I completely forgot to listen to my own spot, which was prerecorded and aired yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I was reminded about the whole dusty affair by a link Kari Anderson posted on Facebook.  I guess, as Pastor Wilken says, "they're all reruns to me."  So I suggest, unless you absolutely insist on listening to every segment of Issues, Etc., that you skip this one.  I saw on the news that most of the previous guests have now been rounded back up, so things should return to normal at the LPR stable shortly.  We can all praise the Lord for that!


photocredit: Conlawprof

The LCMS National Youth Gathering: Improvements on the Horizon

It's too infrequently that I talk about the good things that are happening in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  I suppose in a sense that goes along with the turf, considering the name of the blog.  While at the Lutheran Concerns Association Conference the LCMS Board of Directors Vice-Chairman, Pastor Michael Kumm, reported that there is an  effort being made to return the National Youth Gathering to a more confessional posture.  While he didn't go into much detail, I assume that means returning to a more liturgically structured affair, rather than something that looks like an evangelical Sunday morning funfest centered on me and my emotions.  He did caution us that these changes may not happen all at once, but I'm happy to note that someone is taking notice.  Another option for your kids, Higher Things, is always a good bet.  You can check out a past post on the National Youth Gathering here, and one on Higher Things here.

For other good things going on in the LCMS, I highly recommend Pastor Larry Peters recent blog post titled "It's Not Nothing..." on this blog Pastoral Meanderings.

Ferris Bueller is Back! Matthew Broderick Stars in 2012 Super Bowl Commercial

Who doesn’t love Ferris Bueller? Well now you can love him again, as Matthew Broderick reprises his 1986 classic film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” in a 2012 Honda CR-V Super Bowl TV commercial. Titled "Matthew's Day Off," here's a sneak preview of the extended version. In case you missed the original, I’ll let you borrow my copy, assuming of course you’ve got a DVD player and know how to use it.

A Report on the Lutheran Concerns Association Annual Conference

The Lutheran Concerns Association Annual (LCA) Conference was held the day before Concordia Theological Seminary’s (CTS) annual symposia in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on January 16. For those of you who didn’t make it, I’d have to say it was well worth the trip.

There aren’t too many venues in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod where you can sit down in a relatively intimate setting and hear from a Seminary President, a Synod Vice-President, a member of the Synod Board of Directors, a man who witnessed first-hand the “battle for the Bible” in the LCMS, and several other well known LCMS people all in one day, yet that’s what we were treated to at the LCA Conference.

The day started out with a Bible study presented by Rev. Charles Froh, and devotions by Rev. Dr. William Weinrich. CTS President Rev. Dr. Larry Rast gave his presentation “For Better or for Worse? Seminaries, Theological Education, and Pastoral Formation after Google.” If you attended the Lutheran Confessions Symposium at CTS, Dr. Rast’s presentation there was similar to the LCA presentation. A portion of his concluding remarks:

The purpose of this paper has been to raise some questions in your mind—though it may not have offered any answers. Questions about pastoral formation and certification, delivery systems for theological education, the relationship of pedagogy and methodology, continuing education, basic issues of funding, and many others will need to attention of best minds gathered together in prayerful consideration of the future of our confession. I hope this paper will contribute modestly to that endeavor, and I look forward to working through these issues with you.

I always enjoy Dr. Rast. He is a strong advocate for a rigorous on-campus pastoral formation program, one which, as he pointed out, takes gobs of dollars to support. Our seminaries certainly need our support if they are to continue to provide pastors who know the original languages and are solidly grounded in our confession.

Dovetailing nicely with Dr. Rast’s presentation was Rev. Kevin Vogts presentation “Our Concordia System: The Dying of the Light or Light from Above?” Rev. Vogts was the Director of Communications and Church Relations at Concordia Wisconsin from 1998-2003. He noted the continuing secularization of many of the Christian institutions of higher education in the U.S., which to some degree is related to their transformation to self-supporting institutions – which is where we are today with our Concordia University System and two seminaries. Rev. Vogts closed with a helpful set of suggestions on how we can preserve the integrity of our educational system. Certainly, both of these presentations offer hope for the future, but we will need sustained commitment in order to accomplish these goals.

A show of hands of those presenters who read Stand Firm. Or not. Rast is waffling.

Rev. Michael Kumm, who is the Vice-Chairman of the LCMS Board of Directors, presented on “Synodical Issues and Update.” He gave an overview of the ongoing restructuring effort, which is a rather herculean task, as well as other miscellaneous synodical affairs, while at the same time not giving away too many state secrets. It’s always nice to be able to question someone who actually knows what’s going on in the Synod!

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Lutheran Satire Nails it Again: Creeds

I hate it when somebody posts some idea that I wanted to post on, but this video from Lutheran Satire nails the comments I often hear about creeds, so I'm posting it anyway, even if I do get "scooped." Plus, I reserve the right to post my own "creeds" post, assuming I ever actually get it done, which is a pretty big assumption.

Some Dreams Do Come True

Playing Blind Man's Bluff with God

Dr. Martin Luther, as quoted in One True God: Understanding Large Catechism II.66:

Reason plays the game of blind man’s bluff with God. It makes nothing but false moves and always misses Him in that it calls that “God” which is not God; and, conversely, fails to call Him God who is God…. It goes about the matter in this clumsy way, ascribing the name of God and divine honor to what it imagines to be God but never hitting upon the true God but rather on the devil or its own notion, which the devil controls. This is the reason why there is indeed a very great difference between knowing that God exists and knowing what or who God really is. The first truth human nature knows, and it is written in all hearts; the second only the Holy Spirit teaches. (St. L 14:859)

Edward Engelbrecht, One True God: Understanding Large Catechism II.66 (St. Louis: CPH, 2007) 98.

We’ll Always have Paris Fort Wayne; the 2012 Symposia, Epilogue

In a sense, attending the Symposia is a unique opportunity for us outsiders, because it offers us a chance to participate in the life of the seminary for a week. Attending the presentations is a little like going to class, albeit with a lot of material. Interacting with the rest of the community is valuable. And one of the really nice things is the ability to participate in the various worship services, including the Divine Service if you’re there on Monday.

There’s something very beautiful about hearing the voices of so many men, and a few women, filling Kramer Chapel. It’s a treat to attend daily services, something that’s not available back at home. Walking through those doors is like entering another world, one free from all the worries and pressures of a hectic existence. One can sit and appreciate the choir, the organ, the cantor, the words of the sermon, all the while resting in Christ. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

Thanks to President Larry Rast, the faculty, staff, and students of Concordia Theological Seminary for sharing your campus with us. It’s greatly appreciated.

photo credit: Bob Myers

We’ll Always have Paris Fort Wayne; the 2012 Symposia, Part 2

One of the best things about the Symposia is being able to hang out with fellow confessional Lutherans, and there’s always plenty of them to be found – perhaps too many in fact, judging from my lack of sleep.

Most of the “quality time” that I spent with others occurred over dinner. I was able to break bread with my friend Joe Strieter a couple of times. Joe has a lot of insight into synodical issues, as well as being a solid confessional Lutheran. One night I had dinner with Gene White and Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller, followed by a contest of wills with Pastor Wolfmueller, seeing which of us could continue a lucid conversation while staying awake later than either of us should have been up. Eventually Wolfmueller cracked – of course I had a one hour time zone advantage on him, he being on Mountain time, while I was operating on Pacific time. I also had dinner with Pastors Tim Rossow and Jonathan Fisk, and Chris Rosebrough (who wasn’t attending the symposia). It was good to see Chris, whom I hadn’t seen in a couple of years.

The most egregious social event occurred when I went to a bar someplace in the middle of nowhere with Pastors Drew Newman, Tim Rossow, Marcus Mackay, Clint Poppe, Scott Porath, (who has a radio program along with Pastor Brent Kuhlman in McCook, NE), Christopher Gerdes, Kent Schaaf (hope I got all that right), and a couple of others whose names I’ve subsequently forgotten - sorry guys. I’m pretty sure I was the token layman of the group. I mostly kept my mouth shut, not because of my layman status, but out of fear that my teeth would be discolored from all that cigar smoke. At times I was wishing I had a pair of night vision goggles to maintain visual contact with everyone in the group. I wonder if the cigar epidemic has anything to do with a certain synodical president? Probably not. Seriously, that was a lot of fun. Where else can you sit around with a bunch of guys and never have the conversation drift towards football? This is what true unity brings. I paid the price though. Pastor Rossow and I didn’t get back to the hotel until well after midnight, and I still had to bid on next month’s flying schedule before I went to bed (plus wash my clothes in the sink for de-fumigation purposes), so I didn’t hit the hay until 4 a.m.

The list of fellow bloggers with whom I at least got to say “hi” to includes:

Rev. Tom Chryst, Preachrblog

Rev. Dr. Al Collver, The ABC₃s of Miscellany

Rev. Dr. Burnell Eckardt, Gottesblog

Rev. Jonathan Fisk, Worldview Everlasting

Rev. Christopher Gillespie, Outer Rim Territories

Rev. President Matt Harrison, Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison

Rev. Kurt Hering, Laughing Martin

Rev. Dr. Jack Kilcrease, Theologia Crucis

Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes, Lutheran Orthodoxy

Rev. Dr. Michael Paul, 因基督稱義

Rev. Larry Peters, Pastoral Meanderings

Rev. Robert Portier, Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Rev. Dr. Larry Rast, Rastaman Vibrations

Chris Rosebrough, Fighting for the Faith (and multiple others)
Rev. Tim Rossow, Brothers of John the Steadfast 

Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller, The World-Wide Wolfmueller

In the basement near the bookstore Adriane Dorr and Deaconess Pam Nielsen were manning a booth (maybe that should be “personning” a booth). We had a lively conversation. I hadn’t met either of them before – now I know why Wilken and Schwarz are always trying to marry off Adriane, and why they continue to ask Pam back to the studio. Speaking of bookstores, I demonstrated amazing restraint in only purchasing one book on this trip.

A smattering of the many other people I talked to: Pastor Peter Bender (his last series discussing vocation on Issues, Etc. was great), Walter Dissen, Pastor Aric Fenske, Dr. Daniel Gard, Dr. Arthur Just (who also saw our daughter down in Haiti), Pastor Michael Kumm and his wife Janet, Greta Martin, Bob Myers, Dr. John Nordling, Dennis Peskey, Prof. John Pless, Rev. Klemet Preus, Lilian Spilde, Rev. Doug Taylor, Ginny Valleau, Rev. Larry Ziegler (whose main claim to fame now is that he's the father of Mollie Ziegler Hemingway), and Rev. Tom Zimmerman.

I’m thankful for all of my Lutheran friends. They are a true blessing. See you next year.

We’ll Always have Paris Fort Wayne; the 2012 Symposia, Part 1

I made it back from Fort Wayne and the 2012 Symposia Series. Between the very slow snowy drive to the Fort Wayne airport and the circuitous route home, I’m thankful I made it back in one day (if you call getting home at 3 a.m. one day). Chicago was snowed in with all the flights from FWA canceled, so I had to fly to Dallas, and then to Seattle. The flight out of Dallas was way overbooked, with them paying some people to wait until the next day to travel. Since I’m an airline pilot, I can ride in the cockpit (for free) on just about any U.S. carrier, which is what I thought I’d be doing. You don’t want to ride in the jumpseat on a 737 – absolutely no leg room, the seat is hard as a rock with a straight up and down back, and that’s the good seat (there’s two on a 737 – the other jumpseat is directly behind the captain’s seat and it doesn’t even have knee room). But in Joel Osteen-like divine providence, what he calls God’s faaaa-ver, not only did I get on the plane, there was one first class seat that was inexplicably open. Nice! Some other selfless pilot, I think he was an American pilot, let me sit in first class and he took the jumpseat. Thanks to United Airlines, Skywest Airlines, American Eagle, and American Airlines for allowing me to ride along.

The Symposia, as always, were excellent. The Exegetical Theology Symposium featured Doctors David and Peter Scaer, Dr. Charles Gieschen, Dr. Richard Bauckham, Daniel Johansson, Dr. Arthur Just, and a panel discussion moderated by Dr. William Weinrich. I don’t know why some people skip the panel discussions, because they’re really good, with people asking questions that often need to be asked.

Dr. Richard Bauckham, the renowned Professor from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, had a two-part presentation on Jesus and the eyewitnesses which was quite interesting. His recent book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony, sold out in the bookstore. He was autographing the book for people who had one, but I opted instead to hear Dr. Just’s presentation. Note to sem: Don’t run concurrent presentations and autograph sessions.

The Symposium on “The Lutheran Confessions: Justification in a Contemporary Context” featured Dr. Larry Rast, Dr. Scott Murray, Dr. Naomichi Masaki, Dr. Erik M. Heen, Dr. David Scaer, Dr. Christopher J. Malloy, Dr. Gordon Isaac, Prof. Roland Ziegler, and Dr. Jack Kilcrease, as well as a panel discussion.

Dr. Malloy, a Roman Catholic, spoke on the Joint Declaration of the Doctrine of Justification from a Catholic perspective. He definitely seemed a bit nervous, and who could blame him? He managed to make it through though and effectively survived the barbs that Dr. David Scaer tossed his way.

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