This Side of the Pulpit » Entries tagged with "LCMS"
All the Liturgy’s a Stage
Pastor Eric Brown thinks we’re all just acting up there in the chancel…and we have understudies. Ok, not really. But he does point out that when you worship with the liturgy (the real liturgy, not your made-up ones), worship doesn’t depend on the man at all, but the office and the body present. And others can, when necessary, “stand in” for the office. His post is here. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Does the Supreme Court Really Have to Tell the LCMS to Act Like Christians?
Today the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the case Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC. The Wall Street Journal has an opinion piece here. Essentially, a teacher at the school became “rostered” and was then called as a Commissioned Minister, a Called Teacher, no longer under contract. Good for her. But then she fell ill, went on partial disability for a while and after several months informed the school that her doctor believed she would be able to go back to full time in several more months. Then the Church and School royally screwed up. They changed their health care plans, cutting her benefits, hired another teacher and asked her to resign her call. She threatened to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and she was fired. So … Read entire article »
Interview with Matthew Harrison
I haven’t been addressing Synodical politics too much lately here–haven’t been addressing too much of anything lately, for that matter–but here’s a link to a really fine interview with Synodical President-elect Matthew Harrison. I was impressed with his pastoral heart and his humble attitude. Hope you enjoy: … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Rev. Joseph Myers
Joe passed away in his sleep yesterday. He was the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Garber, OK, one of the churches in our circuit. In many ways he was a pastor’s pastor, the kind of man who represented what the LCMS was, and in many ways, what it should be: a faithful man, a joyful person, an excellent preacher, a lover of the Lutheran Confessions, humorous, witty and humble. Arrangements are forthcoming, but for now I ask your prayers for all, especially for his wife Mary and the people of Immanuel. May God have mercy on us all! ”Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Rev 14:13 ESV) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
“Ch-Ch-Changes”
Find it anywhere and everywhere, there is now officially, approved-by-voters, honest-to-goodness change in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. First, the Synod’s Constitution was fundamentally changed the past few days at the Convention. Why and how and what exactly I’ll have to report later; much of it involves elections, terms, boards and committees and so forth. There may be fundamental changes to districts in the near future as well. President Kieschnick fought long and hard for these changes to be implemented, and many of them make sense. Second, the nearly the entire Presidium was voted out of office. We now have President Matthew Harrison,1st VP Herb Mueller (former conservative District President of Southern Illinois); 2nd VP John Wohlrabe; 3rd VP Paul Maier; 4th VP Daniel Preus (former conservative 1st VP in the first Kieschnick … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
LCMS Convention
The LCMS Convention is well underway (I’m behind the game on this). Already our byzantine church polity has been replaced with a less byzantine church polity, and more is underway. After all these re-structuring changes are complete, the normal order of business will be followed, i.e., electing the President and other resolutions. I cannot get excited or bothered by much of this. Re-structuring is probably necessary; our constitution is an unwieldy amalgamation of rules and conflicts. But restructuring will not change the Synod that much. Likewise the question of who is president. A more liberal president will ignore the conservatives, and a conservative president will ignore the liberals. It’s all politics, after all, and no one wants to preside over the real change that must happen in our synod. What’s that, you … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
(The) Who will fix our Synod
Many of the LCMS blogs these days–at least the ones I read–are posting about the upcoming LCMS Convention this summer, and posting a lot about it. It is the topic du jour. It always is. But not here. At least, not so much. It is true the LCMS is in a world of hurt, at least when it comes to financial operations, unity in doctrine and practice and unity of purpose. It’s gotten so bad that I have to fight off an inward cringe when I have members who tell me, “I visited and LCMS when I was on vacation, and they…” Almost inevitably, they continue by saying something that sounds more Consumerist Mega-Church Metho-bapti-costal than anything Lutheran. Well now. So we should all be concerned with what is happening at the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Blue Ribbon Task Force and Analysis Part Three:The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good Again, I was impressed with the overall demeanor and forthrightness of the Task Force. They have been responsive to questions and criticism and changed much of their recommendations over time. They do appear to be genuine and actively listening to the concerns and needs of those who have responded. And many of their recommendations are good. I firmly support the change in length of terms, the four-year cycle and the reduction in delegates to Synodical Conventions. These will provide significant cost-savings to the Synod and to the congregations, which are assessed for conventions. In fact, I really find that few of the actual recommendations are bad or dangerous or misguided or anything else that critics have suggested. Since I am not a voting delegate to the Convention, I recommended those … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Blue Ribbon Task Force Report and Analysis Part Two
In this part I will address the content of the presentation and the recommendations of the Task Force in more detail, reporting on some of the major changes and providing information gleaned from the Q&A portions of the presentation. Part Three will offer my analysis and commentary on the good, bad and ugly of the Synod and this restructuring proposal. The final report is published here. If any of these posts are of interest to you, I recommend you read the whole thing, in all it’s mind-numbing detail. Recommendations #1-3 were essentially brushed over by the panel. They include #1 Affirm and Clarify Governing Documents #2 Clarify the Congregational Principle #3 Restore Circuits to their Primary Purpose Despite some significant changes to the wording of the Constitution, the panel emphasized #3 the most throughout the event. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Blue Ribbon Task Force Report and Analysis: Part One
Part One: A Summary of the Event My report and analysis will be divided into three parts. First, I will provide a general look at what happened at the conference. In part two I will offer and comment upon the content of the presentations and a portion of the questions raised and answers given, with emphasis on what I feel are the most critical and important recommendations. The final section will give my summary and general critique of this proposal and the future of the Synod. The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance began their work four years ago. President Kieschnick suggested that they have spent thousands of hours on the recommendations, and it shows. Before you read all of this, please be aware that the entire presentation given … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
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