Sitka: A Special Piece of God’s Handiwork

One of my favorite places to overnight on trips is Sitka, Alaska. Located in the panhandle of Alaska on Baranof Island, it is one of God’s masterpieces. Sitka was originally inhabited by the native Tlingit, but was overrun by the Russians in 1804. The city still has remnants of both its Tlingit and Russian ancestry, including the beautiful Saint Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral. With a population of around 9,000, it’s the fourth-largest city in Alaska.

I love running in Sitka – it has wonderful trails. You can run through the muskeg, which is boggy with sparsely populated trees affording incredible views and something akin to Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Running along Indian Creek is especially impressive when the salmon are running. You can reach down and touch them as they make their way back to their birth waters – as long as a grizzly doesn’t reach out and “touch” you first. The trails along Indian Creek have the most impressive engineering of any trails I’ve been on, with all sorts of ingenious ways to keep the trail going over water and through tight spots. If you’re up for it, there’s several mountains to climb as well, and if you're even more adventuresome, Sitka Sound is an awesome place to kayak.

Sitka has an ELCA and a WELS church, but no LCMS church.

For you aviators out there, the Sitka airport is on an island with man-made extensions, so there’s water on all four sides of the runway. When the weather gets bad the surf can kick rocks up onto the runway. Landing a 737 on a 6,500 foot runway can get interesting if the runway isn’t dry.

Enjoy the view. At some point in the future I’ll post a few more pics. There’s plenty of scenery to go around.

The Trumpet Will Sound

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 ESV


photo credit: lonecellotheory

Sign Up Now for the BJS Conference

The Second Annual Brothers of John the Steadfast National Conference is rapidly approaching. Better sign up now before they run out of space.

This year's speakers include Pastor Todd Wilken, the Host of Issues, Etc., journalist Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, and Pastor Klemet Preus, who's got too many responsibilities to keep track of. The theme for this year is "The Fired and the Staff" - I'll let you figure out the witticism.

The conference will again feature No Pietists Allowed Parties, a Pastor Charlie Henrickson dunk tank (Shhh..., keep it quiet, he doesn't know it yet), multiple meals including a Friday night banquet, and worship services.

The conference is being held at Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, Illinois (Chicago suburbs), beginning on Friday, February 12, with a welcome reception at 4:00 p.m., and concluding on Saturday with lunch. For further information and to sign up, click here. I hope to see you there.

Dr. Kuhn Sets the Record Straight on the BRTFSSG Final Report

Very early in the day on January 18, Rev. Dr. Robert Kuhn, former President of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, stood up before those gathered for the Lutheran Concerns Association Conference to set the record straight. It was obvious from his demeanor that there was something important that he wanted to discuss. He pointed us to page nine of the Final Report of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG), which lists the members of the BRTFSSG.

At the bottom of the page, last on the list, Dr. Kuhn’s name is listed:

**Dr. Robert Kuhn, president emeritus of the LCMS, served on the task force until early 2008, when he found it necessary to devote his time to personal matters.

It was certainly to the Task Force’s advantage to leave Dr. Kuhn’s name on the list, even though he hadn’t participated in the Task Force for a year and a half, since his name added a confessional cache to the report. So why did Dr. Kuhn find it necessary to point this out? Because the reason given by the Task Force for his resignation was inaccurate. While it is true that Dr. Kuhn wouldn’t have been able to continue his work on the Task Force because of personal matters, he had already resigned from the Task Force prior to that, not because of personal matters, but because he disagreed with the direction the Task Force was headed. This untruth greatly disturbed Dr. Kuhn – he did not want his name associated with the BRTFSSG Final Report. It seems as though this untruth is yet another example where the words of the Final Report don’t really line up with the facts.

Back from the Fort

We made it back from Fort Wayne Saturday night. The two symposia at Concordia Theological Seminary were a great success. I’m told that well over a hundred more people attended this year’s symposia than last year. I’d like to thank the faculty, staff, and seminarians for their hospitality, allowing us to be members of their community for the week.

We were treated to a stellar group of speakers that included Dr. Arthur Just, Dr. Charles Gieschen, Dr. Scott Hahn (Franciscan University), Dr. Peter Scaer, Dr. David Scaer, Dr. Dean Wenthe, Prof. James Bushur, Dr. Lawrence Rast, Dr. Adam Francisco, Dr. Benjamin Mayes (Editor, Concordia Publishing House), Prof. Roland Ziegler, Dr. Paul Raabe, Dr. William Russell (Texas Lutheran University), Rev. Mark Chavez (Director of Lutheran CORE and VP of WordAlone Network), Dr. Joel Lehenbauer (Executive Director of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations), and topping it off in a way that truly combined the transcendent with the immanent, Dr. William Weinrich.

Not only were we able to listen to great speakers on stimulating topics, we were also showered with God’s gifts through the Daily Offices in Kramer Chapel. To hear God’s Word preached and music and voice combined in such a wonderful setting, rising like incense through the peaked roof of Kramer Chapel, was a real joy. Dr. David Scaer delivered a provocative homily, as did Dr. Rast.

I was able to make a pilgrimage to the bookstore (actually several of them), which is why I could barely get my bag jammed into the overhead bin on the flight back to Seattle. (Dr. Scaer was kind enough to autograph one of my books.) I also compared notes with Pastor Bill Cwirla at the Higher Things reception, and said “Hi” to Pastor Matt Harrison, among others.

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By Repentance

"The Christian struggle against sin is not done by rule-keeping, but by repentance."

- Pastor Todd Wilken, from his article “Legalism & License,” in the latest edition of the Issues, Etc. Journal.


photo credit: frozenminds

Changing DNA

On the January 11 Issues, Etc. a caller asked guest Chris Rosebrough what the definition of a healthy church is according to seeker-driven church growth proponents? Here’s his answer:

Well here’s the deal. What’s underlying all of this is basically they’ve changed the DNA of the body of Christ. Think of it this way, is that, I now live in the Midwest, and we’ve got a lot of guys out here who grow corn, and so I get to see commercials on television for corn growing, and for, you know, guys who are offering seeds when it comes to corn. Well a lot of the seed growers out here, they actually genetically manipulate the corn seed so that it produces a higher yield. What the seeker-driven guys have done is they’ve actually manipulated the DNA of the body of Christ, and they’ve spliced into the body of Christ DNA from the corporate world in order to produce a higher yield. So in their mind, a healthy church is a growing church and they’ve studied to death the best practices out there by every growing church, regardless of what that denomination teaches or confesses, they basically work from the concept that growth is good no matter which church it is that’s growing. But I submit to you that Islam is growing, that does not, that’s not good, it’s not good growth, and that’s not from God, and so these guys, they’re basically applying almost a nonsensical corporate metric that has to do with growth, and applying it to the Church regardless of doctrine, and assume that that means that the Church is healthy.

photo credit: hongiiv

News from the Front

Here’s an update on the Lutheran Concerns Association Conference, which was held yesterday in Fort Wayne. I’ll hit a couple of the highlights. I’m told they will post the video on the internet, so once that’s been accomplished I’ll go back and copy a few of the many excellent quotes for you. Pastor Charlie Henrickson also live blogged as the conference went along. You can check out his report here.

My day started out on a good note, as I joined Mr. Harry Madsen and his wife Millie for breakfast. Harry is the President of Lutheran Public Radio, which brings us Issues, Etc. We compared notes on our eccentric habits of collecting books from the oddest of places. Harry also told me a few entertaining stories of his time spent in Korea during the Korean War. There’s no way I can match Harry’s stories.

I drew the lucky straw on the seating chart for the Conference, sitting at the same table as Dr. Jim Voelz (Dean of the Faculty at Concordia Seminary), Joe Strieter and his wife Alice (Joe is on the Ohio District Board of Directors), Dr. Robert Kuhn (former LCMS President), Walter Dissen (who was on the Board of Control during the Seminex debacle), and Christian Preus, Esq. (the President of the LCA).

Dr. Kuhn opened with a brief devotion, followed by Dr. Fritz Baue (Pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, IL) speaking on the abandonment of Augsburg Confession Article XXVIII and the pastoral office in the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG). Dr. Baue’s presentation was first rate, surpassed only by his trademark bow tie.

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A New Listening Opportunity: Reformation Underground Radio

If you’d like to get in on the ground floor of a soon-to-be burgeoning internet radio operation, check out the freshly minted confessional show Reformation Underground Radio, which is the voice of Reformation Underground: Dead Theologians Society.

The Co-Hosts of the show, David Appold and T. Emmett Bramwell, both exhibit the singular trait of being in varying degrees of preparation for entrance to Concordia Theological Seminary – but we won’t hold that against them. Dave holds a BS from Concordia University – Ann Arbor, and Ty is currently studying theology in the same venue.

To quote from their website, “Reformation Underground Radio is a must listen to program that walks through history, trampling on butterflies (thank you, Ray Bradbury) in order to affect the way Christians today receive the waves of information bombarding them in the name of Christ. Basically, if people know what theologians have said about God in years gone by they will be better equipped to discern what people are saying about Him today. The hour long show is an on-air RUDTS meeting where David and Ty talk through the details of various theological works as well as analyze what they mean for Christians today.”

I listened to the maiden voyage of their show, which airs on blogtalkradio.com (you can download the podcast), and was both informed and entertained. They spent a few minutes explaining what their show is going to be about, offered us a serving of audacious audible atrocities added to annoy and alert (which actually was pretty entertaining), and spent a fair amount of time “exhuminating” Melanchthon’s "Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope."

They’ve obviously done their homework, with a really nice website complete with articles, contact form, links, even apparel, as well as facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. Best of all, they’re on iTunes for your downloading on-demand convenience. I’m looking forward to hearing more, as they exhuminate a few more dead theologians so that our faith may be “grounded” in the truth.

Reformation Underground Radio – Examining the dead, to better understand the living.

Help for Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti certainly brings to the fore the question of “Why?” Why does God allow these sorts of things to happen? I don’t know the specific answer to why a devastating earthquake rocked Haiti, but I know the general answer – it’s a part of God’s plan. The God who created the universe did not afterwards turn His back on His creation and walk away, but continues to sustain it through His mighty Word. Through disaster God calls people to repentance and draws them closer to Him. I know that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

How can you help the people of Haiti? Certainly the most expedient thing you can do is pray. After that, since we can’t all get down there physically, you can contribute to relief efforts for Haiti through LCMS World Relief and Human Care by making a donation here. Material donations may be made by clicking here.

For the latest reports on LCMS efforts in Haiti, click here. Pastor Matt Harrison’s latest video can be found here, and Dr. Al Collver’s blog post, which offers a behind-the-scenes look at LCMS World Relief and Human Care endeavors, can be found here.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” Psalms 139:7-12 ESV