This Side of the Pulpit » Archive
Holy Week is Every Week
Ah, Holy Week. When you’re in or around a church Holy Week works its magic on you. No, it’s not in peaceful divine rays of blessing on your shoulders. Its magic is not in beatific visions of heaven. The magic of Holy Week is that it makes us cranky and stressed and sinful. Yet it is still Holy. Part of Holy Week for us in the church is simply stress. We have many extra worship services, more music, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Rubrics: Maximal and Minimal
I’ve gone on a rubric kick the last week as I contemplated (now preparing for) ministry at Grace Lutheran Church. They are higher church than Redeemer, and so I have some studying and homework to do. For instance, at Grace the Pastors genuflect during the confession, at the Words of Institution etc.. They use a lavabo and incense as well. All things I do not use here. What’s funny about this is that the Lutheran blogosphere is in a tizzy about rubrics and ceremony even as I am doing this homework and study. They are debating how much and how far and “is it necessary” and all. What I want to do is learn. We don’t have a good published official ceremony and only the mere suggestion of rubrics in our hymnal … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Call Announcement
I announced this morning to my congregation that I have accepted the call to serve as Senior Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Tulsa, OK. Please pray for both congregations, for my and for my Associate Pastor Christian C. Tiews. My last Sunday at Redeemer Lutheran Church will be April 29, 2012. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
The Rome or Geneva Post by Pastor Peters
Pastor Peters hit another one out of the park a few days ago. Here’s a choice paragraph: For every parish or Pastor who might be accused of mimicking Rome on Sunday morning, there are fifty who openly borrow from Willow Creek or Saddleback or which ever place or program is in vogue this week. The damage that this does is not limited only to the particular parish that trades in the sturdy Lutheranism for a flashy modern incarnation of a not so Christian Christianity. It ripples throughout our church body stealing our unity, raising conflict between brothers in the ministry and parishes that claim the same confession. It presents a muddled and muddied view of Lutheranism to the world — one that wears so many masks it does not even know … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
St. Cyprian: An Unlikely Saint
I really enjoyed a sermon I recently read by St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr, as recorded in The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers (4 Volume Set). While the sermon was included for the the Fourth Sunday in Lent, the sermon itself was a long exhortation on giving alms and the value of alms for our salvation. I thought he must have been one of those Fathers who gave everything away and languished in poverty for the sake of the Gospel. Not so. And his story is much more complicated than that. He was born into some wealth, and gathered perhaps even more, but at one point only gave a portion to the poor, keeping his Villa and then some. Nevertheless, the poor of Carthage loved him and when he was … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Weekend Report
We had a wonderful weekend in Tulsa. We arrived Friday night and had a nice visit with our friends who moved from Enid a few months ago. Saturday held the Winter Guard Competition at Union High School. They have quite an impressive campus–more on par with a small private College than a public high school. Amazing. The Winter Guard competition was fun. Enid HS had probably their best performance ever, and was awarded with First Place in their division–by several points too! All the teams performed we saw performed well and were very entertaining. Saturday evening ended with the awards presentation and burgers at our friend’s house. Sunday I woke early and attended worship at Grace Ev. Lutheran Church in Tulsa. Another amazing facility! Pastor Tiews conducted the liturgy with grace and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Ceremonies and Their Purpose
Here is an excellent post by Fr. Larry Beane (yes, a Lutheran “Father”–believe it) about our worship “style” or “height” be it High Church or Low Church. There are really too many passages worthy of being a pull quote, but here’s one: Ceremonies are not about looking pretty, but rather about communicating well and with excellence. Ultimately, it’s all about charity, humility, and love. A man who loves his wife will “take pains” in the way he acts around her, treats her, and speaks to her. Christ took great pains for us on the cross. And we “take pains” to confess this truth with clarity and in love. In the final analysis, it is all about God’s grace. My congregation has grown in ceremonies over the years I have been here, from a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
The Call and the Ministry and the Battle
Which place does God want me? I mean seriously…which place does God want me to serve, at Redeemer in Enid, or at Grace in Tulsa? That’s the $64,000 question, isn’t it? So I should pray and pray and even fast maybe (it is Lent, after all) and figure out where God wants me. Except it’s not that hard. God has issued a divine call to both places. I still have the divine call to serve Redeemer Lutheran in Enid. And I have the divine call to serve as senior pastor at Grace Lutheran in Tulsa. Both apply. Both are real. Both are divine calls, God’s will expressed through the congregation, through God’s people. He has called me to be in two places at once. So I have freedom. Freedom to decide where … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Call Received
Dear Readers, Today I announced to my congregation that I have received a divine call to serve as Senior Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I humbly ask your prayers for me and my family and for the two congregations involved as I deliberate this call. Thanks! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Pastor Peters and Policing
Pastor Peters’ blog Pastoral Meanderings is a real gem. He offers the kind of pastoral wisdom that comes from years of experience, but retains the courage and conviction that all too often dies out as years in the pulpit increase. He posts today about a Roman Catholic priest removed for refusal to pray the Mass according to the rubrics. He does not advocate such policing in the LCMS but raises the point: whatever happened to submitting to one another for the sake of good order? Go over there and read his blog and add it to your reader. You’ll be enriched because of it. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
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