It's Almost Here

The Issues, Etc. one year CAnniversary^TM celebration starts this Sunday!

Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed.
Perfect man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

Here the King of all the ages,
Throned in light ere worlds could be,
Robed in mortal flesh is dying,
Crucified by sin for me.

O mysterious condescending!
O abandonment sublime!
Very God Himself is bearing
All the sufferings of time!

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

LSB 428

photo credit: Lawrence OP

One Circuit's Restructuring Comments & President Kieschnick's Reply

For those of you pondering your response to the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Restructuring and Governance proposals, you're welcome to compare notes with the Headwaters Circuit of the Wyoming District, whose ideas are reproduced below, and which can also be downloaded here. Following their comments is the response they received from President Kieschnick.


Response of the Headwaters Circuit, Wyoming District, LCMS to the Proposals from the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance


No. 1 – Affirming Mission and Purpose of Synod

We support the effort to assure that our confessional basis remains unchanged. God's Word and its explication through the Lutheran Confessions are what make us Missouri Synod Lutherans. Thankfully, the current language of our Constitution is clear and strong on this matter. We cannot support any changes to the wording of our Constitution without seeing the changes and having adequate time to consider them.

No. 2 – Priority of Synod Governing Documents

We support the priority of the Constitution over the Bylaws. Amending the Bylaws should not be an easy task and therefore we would recommend that such changes be made by a three quarters majority vote and not by a simple majority. The rationale used by the Task Force in regards proposal #7 and its comments that close votes do not foster unity but add to division should be applied here.

Click HERE to continue reading >>

Truth Is Power

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 ESV

photo credit: Daniel Y. Go

The Intervention

I showed up for the Elder’s meeting, and the Vicar mumbled something about an “intervention,” with a rather broad smile on his face. “Huh? What are you talking about?” My Pastor then chimed in as well, with a hearty laugh.

I then got the picture. My wife had been at church earlier in the day. She and the Vicar were planning this summer’s Vacation Bible School. She had apparently “mentioned” (or some less polite word) that I had been spending “all my time” blogging the past few days, and that she was going to stage an “intervention.”

If you’re not familiar with the term, an intervention is generally the term used when a cult member is collared by family members and an expert, and isolated for a time as the cultist is “deprogrammed,” hopefully resulting in the loss of his or her undesirable attachment to the cult. In my case, my wife seems to have noticed I was spending a bit more time than usual "blogging," and wasn’t too appreciative. Of course, like any true cult member, I can explain:

First of all, I wasn’t blogging! I wasn’t! I was just getting ready to blog. And if that isn’t enough of a excuse reason, it’s for a very important event. As I’m sure you already know, next week is the one year anniversary of the cancellation of the Lutheran radio talk show Issues, Etc., when Pastor Todd Wilken and Jeff Schwarz, the host and producer of the show, got canned by the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. So I’m calling it the One Year CAnniversary^TM. I’ve been sacrificing my own personal time to provide for you, the reader, a quality product. Next week, the entire seven days will be filled with audio and visual treats, and more, all to celebrate the CAnniversary^TM, or what I view as more of a liberation than a drive-by firing.

The best part of the festivities will be the guest bloggers who have generously agreed to share their thoughts, past, present, and future, on the whole Issues, Etc. CAnniversary^TM. I’m not talking about some rag tag team of blogging wannabees here either – I mean the crème de la crème of the LCMS: radio glitterati Pastor Bill Cwirla, apologist Chris Rosebrough, and Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, journalist extraordinaire Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, and for the crème on the latte, Pastor Todd Wilken.

So I’m busy getting ready. I hope you’ll spread the word, but please don’t remind my wife. I’m in enough trouble already! And if you see a little less of me this week, well, you’ll know why! I'll either be "not blogging," or in the dog house.

Christ, the Life of All the Living

Thou hast suffered great affliction
And hast borne it patiently,
Even death by crucifixion,
Fully to atone for me;
Thou didst choose to be tormented
That my doom should be prevented.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

LSB #420, v. 6

Proposed Constitutional Amendment Wording / Delegate Selection

The proposed rewording of the LCMS Constitution by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance has been released, and is available for study here. Thanks to Kiley for pointing this out.

For a good review of the process by which delegates to the Synodical Convention are selected at their Circuit Forums, check out Pastor Tom Chryst's review at Preachrblog.

For Reasons Unrelated to the Merits of This Proceeding

A friend of mine on The Wittenberg Trail asked me the following question:

Scott - I'm interested in your understanding of the meaning to the stated reason for the withdrawal of the lawsuit: "Opposer The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod withdraws the above-captioned Opposition with prejudice, for reasons unrelated to the merits of this proceeding."

The above quote comes from the LCMS attorneys on their formal Withdrawal of Opposition to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which can be viewed here (scroll down to the second and third pages). (By the way, the LCMS did not file a lawsuit, but rather was opposing the trademark application for the Issues, Etc. name filed by Mr. Madsen.)

Rather than speculate on the legal meaning of the phrase, I emailed Mr. Harvey Madsen. He was kind enough to provide me with the following response, which is reproduced in its entirety, for your reading enjoyment and legal edification. Thanks to Mr. Madsen for sating our curiosity:

Scott,

1. You asked for a layman-speak translation. To be accurate, brevity is impossible.

As to what the language, “Opposer The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod withdraws the above-captioned Opposition with prejudice, for reasons unrelated to the merits of this proceeding” means, I note:

1A. LCMS counsel in their pleadings used the term “on information and belief” as a basis of making statements, some of which were false, and some of those which officials of LCMS knew to be false. However, they did not make the statements under oath so they had the technical escape hatch of saying they believed it but did not swear to it. In my response and challenge to the LCMS allegations I also used the “on information and belief” formula, however, I am prepared to stand by it under oath at two levels: (1) that I the asserted facts recited were true, and (2) that what I stated as my belief was truly my belief and that I was prepared to document the basis for that belief, and (3) I was prepared to accept the court’s order of punishment (like being forced to pay the opponent’s legal fees) if my stated facts were not true or my
beliefs unreasonable.

Click HERE to continue reading >>

Simony Gone Bad, Not that It Was Ever Good

Fortunately, God gave me a conscience, or I’d outright steal this blog post by Pastor Larry Beane at Gottesdienst Online. The topic is Modern-day Roman Catholic Simony. It’s short, to the point, and funny. That’s all I’ll say, or I’ll spoil the fun.

Thanks for Pastor David Petersen for pointing this one out, which I somehow previously missed.

The CLCC - An Idea Whose Time Has Come

My wife Cheryl and I made the trek up I-5 to Marysville, Washington this weekend to attend the CLCC seminar on Evangelism, Outreach, and Assimilation. The seminar was held at Messiah Lutheran Church, whose undershepherd is a former pastor of ours, the Rev. Kurt Onken. I tried to get my wife to write this particular blog post, since she was there too, but she just wouldn’t buy off on the idea, so I guess you’re stuck with me.

The CLCC, or Confessional Lutherans for Christ’s Commission, is just under a year old, and is growing rapidly. Their objectives are “to foster a united and coordinated voice among Confessional Lutherans and to build up Christ's Church by providing education and training primarily for the laity, but also including commissioned workers and the clergy.” They travel the country giving seminars in host congregations to promote Confessional Lutheranism.

The instructor for our seminar was Pastor Dan Freeman, whose parish is in Chehalis, WA. We thoroughly enjoyed Pastor Freeman and his humorous but thoughtful style. The seminar started off discussing the theological side of evangelism, digging right into the Book of Concord. We explored the relationship between the role of the pastor and his parishioners as they relate to evangelism. Their entire focus stems from Article V of the Augsburg Confession. It is primarily through the Office of the Ministry and the proclamation of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments through the pastor that lives are eternally saved, yet it is primarily through the parishioners, in their vocations, that people are brought to the Church.

This seminar discusses various ways that outreach and assimilation take place, always emphasizing that underlying all evangelism is Word and Sacrament, not gimmick and reliance on “us.” If the fundamental truths found in AC V are kept in view, other parts of the “plan” will naturally fall into place.

Our particular seminar was attended by 48 people, representing ten different congregations from area states. The CLCC is adding more instructors, since the demand for their services is rapidly growing, in a Synod where a thirst for catechesis is on the rise. They are also offering seminars on “Your Reformation Walk,” which “provides a history of the faith from the days of the early church father’s to recent times,” as well as a new seminar on Worship and the Divine Service, and another on LCMS Church Polity.

It's not possible to overemphasize the importance of a thoroughgoing catechesis, especially in light of the Synodical and secular climates in which we now live, and the CLCC is one organization that really does help fill that very important need. I hope you’ll consider joining their organization, and hosting them for a seminar in your area. More information can be found on their website.

Pictured above, Rev. Kurt Onken (in all black) with CLCC team members, from left to right, Gene White, Rev. Robert Harris, Rev. Dan Freeman, and Deanna White.