The Brothers of John the Steadfast Conference, Day 1

Note that these posts are a day behind, because I didn’t have time during the Conference to get them done.

Beg your pardon. In my previous blog post I said we were attending the Brothers of John the Steadfast National Conference, when it is actually the International Conference.

These Conferences are not without their challenges. Paige had class until early Friday afternoon, which meant we had to fly down the highway to get from Mequon, Wisconsin to Naperville, Illinois in time. There was the added challenge of eating lunch in the car while driving. That didn’t turn out quite so well since Paige got ketchup on her pants and shirt, precipitating an emergency pit stop at the roadside A&W to do a little in-sink laundering. That created a modest line of women waiting for the bathroom. Then there was the matter of me getting chocolate on the seat of the car, which of course got on the back of my pants. I guess we all bear our crosses.

We did manage to make it to the hotel, get the chocolate out of my pants, and still make it to Bethany Lutheran Church with time to spare. From there on out, we had a wonderful evening. Pastor Tim Rossow, the head of Brother’s of John the Steadfast, is the undershepherd at Bethany. Thanks to the good people of Bethany for all their warm hospitality.

Chris Rosebrough, the man behind Pirate Christian Radio, author of the blogs Extreme Theology and A Little Leaven (plus a couple of others), and host of the radio show Fighting for the Faith, spoke to the group about his escape from Evangelicalism. While I knew Chris’s story well, his presentation was still very moving, as he described the rat wheel of self-sanctification that he ran until he met up with Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, who helped Chris see the truth of the Gospel. If you’ve never heard Chris speak, in person, or on the radio, you’re missing out.

Then it was on to the Vespers service. NID District President Rev. Dan Gilbert offered the sermon. I love Vespers. What more can I say?

After a great pizza dinner, we all headed out to various “No Pietists Allowed” parties. Dr. Fritz Baue layed down tunes on his guitar at a private residence. Pastor Rossow’s wife Phyllis led one group out to Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge, and another group headed to two authentic Irish Pubs. Paige and I were the guests of Elaine and Tom Gavin, along with honored guest Chris Rosebrough and a bunch of other people as well. Chris, Tom Gavin, and several others of us managed to discuss theology until the early hours of the morning. Was it worth it? You bet!

Apparently, my photographic skills must have been clouded by the wine though. I messed up a setting on the camera, and these photos looked blue, so I attempted to digitally rescue them, with limited success. Tomorrow's pics should be better. That's Chris Rosebrough on the top and Elaine and Tom Gavin on the bottom.