President Matt Harrison Speaks About Sale of ULC

LCMS Synod President Matt Harrison has blogged about the sale of the ULC on the blog "Witness, Mercy, Life Together." The following is taken from the article listed on that blog.

Concerning the Sale of University Lutheran Chapel

Friday, September 30, 2011

Dear Friends in Christ,

In the course of the September meeting of the Council of Presidents, Minnesota North President Don Fondow and I requested of President Lane Seitz a meeting with himself and the Minnesota South District Board of Directors. Of the several concerns raised by the then-impending sale of the University Lutheran Chapel property, President Fondow and I were in agreement that it was unwise to disregard the resolution of the joint pastors’ conference requesting that any decision to sell the property be made at the Minnesota South District Convention. We were seeking to share this and other information directly with the board. President Seitz quickly offered us options for the meeting and was polling his board for an agreeable date. However, President Seitz later informed me that the individual authorized by the Board to sell the property had signed documents to that end at very nearly the same time as President Seitz was working to find an agreeable date for us to meet with the board.

The Life Together which we enjoy is fragile and often fractured. This action makes it even more so. There is no question that the Board had the right to do what it did with the property. Unfortunately, this action is difficult, even impossible to separate from ongoing dissensus in the district about what it means to be Lutheran, very similar to our larger challenges as a Synod. We have a long way to go in this regard. God help us.

I wish to state my hearty thankfulness for ULC. I have met more delightful and engaged Lutherans from this campus ministry around the country than any other. They are occupied in all manner of professions and active in church. We need many more campus ministries just like ULC. The army of clergy and now deaconesses who have come through ULC is astounding.

I would urge that all who are concerned about ULC turn away from judging motives, as difficult as that may be. This action comes as no surprise to anyone close to the situation. It’s time to turn toward ULC’s future, a future I support.

It is also time to have more brotherly conversations around the Word of God and to implore the Lord of the Church to grant greater harmony in what it means to be Lutheran. Together, let us hear and heed the apostolic word: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:9–10).

Pastor Matthew C. Harrison, President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

(Witness, Mercy, Life Together)

Read More...

Summary only...

ULC Minnesota SOLD

Copy of memo announcing sale of ULC

LU Clemmensen, Treasurer for the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (MSD), entered into a purchase agreement with Doran, Inc. on September 23rd to sell the University Lutheran Chapel (ULC) according to the copy of a memorandum found on the ULC website (link here).

The purchase agreement is for the amount of $3.5 million dollars and the sale will be finalized on July 1, 2012 if Doran acknowledges all conditions of the sale have been met by that time.

I blogged about the ULC sale on September 20th (here) and described the action of the MSD to sell ULC as "boneheaded." I am being kind with my description.

The way the MSD conducted themselves in pushing the sale of the ULC is an embarrassment to the LCMS. The Board of Directors of the MSD managed to show to the world the worst possible treatment any large corporate landlord in the world could heap upon its tenants and that is by selling the tenant's "home" right out from underneath them. Indeed, nobody—not even non-Christians—could have guessed that an entity bearing the name of the LCMS, which represents millions of Lutheran Christians, would have been so callously Draconian in its treatment of the pastor and parishioners of the ULC. 

Read More...

Summary only...

The Persecution and Killing of the Saints

According to this ACLJ article A Christian pastor by the name of Youcef Nadarkhani may be executed Wednesday or shortly there after. His crime? He confesses Christ Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

"When asked to 'repent' by the Judges, Youcef stated, 'Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?' The judges replied, 'To the religion of your ancestors, Islam.' To which he replied, 'I cannot.'" (ibid.)

Pr. Nadarkhani will be given two additional chances to renounce his faith in Christ and confess Mohammed is the true prophet of God. If he doesn't, he will likely be executed immediately as an apostate according to the government of Iran.

Pr. Youcef Nadarkhani's situation gives me much to think about.

As an American citizen the idea that I could be executed for the confession of my faith by the state is utterly foreign to me. I really can't grasp what it means to live under the fear of a theocratic government having the power to force me to choose between my faith or death. It's simply "unAmerican" for government to infringe upon another's right to practice their own religion.

At times I have heard some American Christians wistfully talk about martyrdom and put down Christians in the USA and Europe as "Laodiceans" who are weak in faith. It is true that the Churches throughout Europe and America do at times look lukewarm, or indifferent, in their confession of Christ. It is surely a fact that some denominations have fallen into outright apostasy. However, I believe it is a mistake to try to compare Christians living in western democracies with those who live under the boot of theocratic oppression such as that found in Iran. It is an apple versus oranges comparison. Sadly, with much liberty comes ample opportunity to walk away from our faith. 

American Christians are attacked on all sides by an insidious persecutor. We are beset upon by a moralistic, deistic, therapeutic ethos which also happens to forcefully propound "religious tolerance" in an effort to silence Christians (or anyone else with an exclusive truth claim for that matter) who would dare confess the truth of Jesus Christ. Make no mistake about it, we Christians in the western world are heavily under attack. The truth is under attack. We just don't have the executioner's axe physically held over our heads.

One of the attacks we face in American Christianity is the strong temptation for syncretism and unionism. We are barraged with a "live and let live" message through various sources such as the media and entertainment industry. The multicultural message is all around us, indoctrinating us with the universalist  message of religious coexistence, which really means that there is no room for anyone's  identification with an exclusive truth claim (such as Christ's "I am the way, the truth, and the life" John 14:6) aside from the claim that all religions are basically the same. There just is "religion," which has become a generic brand of therapy. You have your "god" which makes you feel good and helps you to live a moral life, and I have my "god" which does the same, or so the spirit of the age tells us.

Religious leaders caught up in this universal spirit of the age fall all over themselves in taking opportunity to show their unity in the doctrine of religious multiculturalism. What used to be simply a call for tolerance of each other's beliefs is now a silent killer. Rather than physically executing a Christian for confessing the truth, we now have a politically correct apparatus through multiculturalism in which to "kill" the message that there can be only one truth found in Christ. Claiming to have "the Truth" is a message held by hyper-radicals like Islamofascist terrorist groups, by today's "standards." "Live and let live" is the message of the day and sadly too many American Christians are buying into it. Don't believe me? Just do a web search on "interfaith community" and you will get over 6 million results. It is extremely popular today for religious leaders of all faiths to publicly join hands together in "working for a better world." The "social gospel" transcends all "faith traditions." The following  is highly unpopular with the priests and priestesses of the multicultural religion of today,

Interfaith service in Pomfret, CT

"14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“ I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” —1 Corinthians 6:14-18

My prayers go out to Pr. Youcef Nadarkhani and his family. I don't want to romanticize his predicament and neither do I want to belittle it with some sort of comparison to what we Christians in America are facing. However, I think there is much to be said about being able to see your enemy's face and with the strength of God confess the truth of Christ Jesus. All too often, here in America, we don't get to see the "face" of the enemy until it is too late and the evil work of the devil has been thoroughly accomplished in our midst. 

Read More...

Summary only...

Learning to Pray

I am "green," "wet behind the ears," or however else you want to describe being a novice at certain things. Five years ago I was an absolute "n00b" (that is slang for "being new" or beginner, in case you didn't know) when it came to praying. I had spent years as an unrepentant sinner and when Jesus brought me to repentance I had little understanding of how I should approach God in prayer, or for what I should even ask in prayer. Some life-long Christians who are used to praying may find that difficult to understand or believe, but yeah, verily, it was the case.

Now, I don't mean to say that I had no idea how to speak words to God. You have to understand that prior to being an atheist I had been part of the Pentecostal movement. At that time when I prayed, I was heavily influenced by the "name it and claim it" crowd who when approaching God in "prayer" treated our Lord as a servant they could manipulate with their demands. Praying, in these circles, was a show of strength in the individual's faith. For example, rather than ask God "Lord if it is your will that I have an Audi A7, then please help me make my car payments," I might have strongly asserted something like, "Lord, you promised us 'Ask anything in my name and you will receive it!' and I am claiming, in faith, this here electric blue Audi A7 with Italian leather seats in your name! AMEN!" If I wasn't "blessed" with the automobile of my choice, then I chalked it up to not having enough faith or to sin. After all, God wanted me to prosper financially and have the wealth of the world, since I was His child and the wealth of the world was my earthly inheritance. Sad, I know.

When I eventually left the world of Pentecostalism and became a conservative Baptist, I still hadn't been taught how to pray and my "prayer life"—we talked allot about such a life since we liked pietism—hadn't changed all that much. I wasn't "talking in tongues" anymore and I didn't hop up and down like I had hot charcoal in my shoes, but my demanding language hadn't really changed. My Father in heaven was not revered in my words or actions. I wasn't bowing to God in either my heart, nor with my head.

After I had walked away from God and spent eighteen years as an atheist, God granted me faith to receive His forgiveness of sins. The fact that I was such a wretched, blasphemous, person and yet God loved me and forgave me blows me away even now as it did five years ago. How does one approach such a Holy and loving God in prayer? I didn't really know at the time and so I asked my pastor.

My pastor pointed me to several sources. The first place he turned my attention to was the Lord's Prayer found in the Gospels. I remember having an "Oh, duh!" moment, because I had already been praying the Lord's Prayer in the liturgy. The second place I was pointed to was the structure of the liturgy itself. In there I found confession of sins, praise and thanksgiving to God, prayers for the whole people of God and for all people according to their needs. Little did I realize at the time the liturgy was training and preparing me in my faith. I firmly believe the traditional liturgy is indispensable for catechesis. Why on earth would anyone want to take such a sound means of teaching the one true faith away from the laity?

My pastor also showed me a couple prayers found in Luther's Small Catechism. As a "n00b" at the time I was just getting my feet wet in the adult catechism class taught by my pastor and I hadn't gotten around to reading the copy of the Small Catechism given to every new member of the congregation. I honestly had a "geek" moment as I looked through the Small Catechism. It was better than playing around with a new operating system! For a "geek" that means it is really good.

One thing I noticed right away was that all the prayers I was being taught were quite reverent. God wasn't being treated disrespectfully as some sort of Genie in a bottle from which I could demand the fulfillment of my wishes. No, in these prayers God was being esteemed as the Most Holy One who made it possible for me to approach Him through His dear Son, Jesus Christ.

Today I am not as much of a novice to prayer. Thanks to the pattern of prayer given to us by Christ with the Lord's prayer, I now know how to pray to my heavenly Father. I am also thankful for the Small Catechism and for prayer books (e.g. Starck's Prayer Book and The Treasury of Daily Prayer) I regularly use.

Read More...

Summary only...

Word and Sacrament: Hip? Cool? Nah, it's Scriptural

Pr. James E. May, Jr. doing real missionary work

A friend of mine, Pr. Thomas Messer, posted the above picture in his Facebook stream and wrote something I think is profound, "A REAL, live missionary at work, doing REAL, live missionary work!"

I thank God for faithful pastors such as Pr. Messer and Pr. May. Indeed, this is REAL missionary work. It isn't the hip and cool "missional" hype some are caught up in. What we are seeing is the Word of God and water working a miracle on a sinner. Jesus tells us, "...there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). We, too, can rejoice with the angels that yet another sinner has been added to the Church through teaching God's Word and Baptism for the remission of sins!

Read More...

Summary only...

Unionism Again?

Unionism: The Concordia Cyclopedia (St. Louis, 1927), p. 774: “Religious unionism consists in joint worship and work of those not united in doctrine. Its essence is an agreement to disagree. In effect, it denies the doctrine of the clearness of Scripture.” —Christian Cyclopedia

On September 12th the egregiously sinful Evangelical Lutheran Church of America announced that it had held a number of commemorations of 9-11 with its "interfaith partners" (press release¹). These commemorations were prayer and worship services.

According to the press release issued by the ELCA these "interfaith partners" included, "...Muslim, Jewish and other Christian neighbors." Just who were some of these "other Christian neighbors? 

Attending the Manhattan "prayer and remembrance" event, hosted by ELCA Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, and showing support as an "interfaith partner" was none other than Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's Atlantic District President David Benke. Wasn't Rev. Benke the center of controversy over an interfaith prayer event held  at Yankee Stadium in 2001 upon which he was brought up on charges? Yes, he was exonerated of those charges eventually and after much turmoil which is an understatement. So, here again we find the District President of the LCMS Atlantic District involved in another event displaying a show of religious unionism via worship with "interfaith partners" which includes the ELCA. Have I missed something here? Is there a technicality that allows us to lock hands in public worship with pagans and heretics?

Editor's Note: The CTCR issued a brief paper on cooperation in externals in which it provides basic principles for cooperating with the ELCA in works of mercy. The December 2010 document titled, "Principles for Cooperation in Externals with Theological Integrity (2010 Res. 3-03)"—which can be found at this link—clearly states, "Organizational events or ceremonies must not involve public worship and neither the LCMS nor the ELCA (or any other church with which we might be cooperating apart from a relationship of altar and pulpit fellowship) ought to imply that the joint effort fully represents its confession of faith in all articles."


_________
¹Thanks to Pr. Eric Stefanski for drawing my attention to this news.

Read More...

Summary only...

The Enthusiasm of Old Adam

I and my wife was driving home from a function and talking over pretty much anything popping into mind when we found ourselves chatting about the terrible malaise of not feeling close to God all of us Christians at one time or another experience. Our conversation was an important one since both of us come from a Pentecostal background and we also had been neck deep into the pop-spiritualism of the world prior to becoming Lutherans.

When I was a Pentecostal much of my waking time was spent on thinking over how to have a personal revival everyday. What could I do to get closer to God? The evaluation tool of choice in measuring the success of my works was wholly experiential. I, and my fellow Pentecostals, talked allot about "blessings" from God in response to our own faith driven actions. If I prayed, fasted, and read my Bible, then I could expect to experience God in a richer way than if I had not done any of that at all. How did I know I was experiencing God? The answer was by the number of blessings I received. Was I prosperous financially? Was I in good health? Was I winning souls for Jesus? Did I feel close to God? If I was prosperous, I was being blessed by God in response to my works. Ditto for my health, winning souls for Jesus, and my overall mental health, or "feeling good."

I was treating God like a heavenly slot machine where if you just pump Him full of coins sooner or later He will give you a jackpot physically and spiritually. Another way of thinking about this is treating God like He is a rabbit's foot. The problem is trusting in one's own action of rubbing the foot to obtain good things versus looking to what God promises us in the work of Christ. I was exercising faith in my own faith and works. I had to pull the lever to win big.

The most devastating problem, and one I think we all encounter, is gauging whether or not we belong to Christ with our feelings. I remember one Pentecostal pastor's sermon where he was preaching about having "mountain top" experiences in the Holy Spirit and "valley of dry bones" experiences. At one point in his sermon he asked a fairly legalistic question addressing it to those "in the valley." His condemning question was, "Who moved? You or God?" The answer, for this pastor, was if anyone was having a "valley of dry bones" experience then that person likely lacked faith, or was sinful, or both. 

You would think that as Lutheran Christians we would know better than to rely on our own feelings to gauge whether or not we are Christ's, but we are just as susceptible to the Pentecostal's enthusiasm as they. We state in our confession of faith:

"9] In a word, enthusiasm inheres in Adam and his children from the beginning [from the first fall] to the end of the world, [its poison] having been implanted and infused into them by the old dragon, and is the origin, power [life], and strength of all heresy, especially of that of the Papacy and Mahomet. 10] Therefore we ought and must constantly maintain this point, that God does not wish to deal with us otherwise than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. 11] It is the devil himself whatsoever is extolled as Spirit without the Word and Sacraments. For God wished to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken Word; and no prophet neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments [or spoken Word]. 12] Neither was John the Baptist conceived without the preceding word of Gabriel, nor did he leap in his mother's womb without the voice of Mary. 13] And Peter says, 2 Pet. 1:21: The prophecy came not by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Without the outward Word, however, they were not holy, much less would the Holy Ghost have moved them to speak when they still were unholy [or profane]; for they were holy, says he, since the Holy Ghost spake through them." —Smalcald Articles, part III, article VIII, 9-13 

Notice that Luther writes "enthusiasm inheres in Adam and his children from the beginning." As Lutherans we are not immune to falling into the trap of looking into our own hearts to try to find Jesus there. Where do we find Christ? Where we find His "outward" Word and Sacraments.

For those who don't understand what "enthusiasm" refers to in the above, Luther is broadly writing about the erroneous view that God draws us and justifies us without objective means of grace. Enthusiasm, in this sense, can involve a radical mysticism which teaches that we can have an immediate experience with God apart from God's own chosen means of grace. As Luther points out in the Smalcald Articles reference above, enthusiasm is the "power [life], and strength of all heresy" including the teachings of works righteousness (exemplified by the "Papacy and Mahomet [Islam]").

I believe some, and perhaps many, problems we face as Christians are created by us as our Old Adam seeks to find a ladder to God through our own works. It is our sinful nature that tells us we have to do something in order to merit God's favor. Our Old Adam can't possibly believe on its own that the forgiveness of sins is a gift freely given to us for the sake of Jesus Christ.

God so loved the world that He sent His Son (John 3:16) to take away each and every one of our sins and those of the whole world. It is Jesus who triumphed over our sins. Sometimes  Christ was sinless. His work on the cross was not at all selfish. He wasn't crucified for His sins and we just happen to benefit. No, Christ went to the cross so that your sins and mine could be nailed to the cross and in so doing Christ took our sins away with Him in victory over sin and death (see Colossians 2:6-15; Isaiah 53:4-10).

When Paul writes under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the church of Rome that there is no condemnation to those in Christ (Romans 8:1), he knows this to be true as an objective fact. That is to say, for those in Christ there is no condemnation over our sins, since we have been freely given Christ's righteousness which has nothing to do with our own works, or our feelings. This imputation of Christ's righteousness to us is something that happens outside us (extra nos). Isaiah writes about Christ's "robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10) and how that it is He (Christ) who clothes us with His own robe. When Christ was led to the cross He was covered in a bloody robe. Those who crucified Him took His robe off and cast lots for it while Jesus hung on the cross naked. Christ suffered the shame of hanging naked on a cross before the world as a condemned man where you and I should have suffered. The glorious news is that the robe of Christ Jesus is put on us, covering our sinfulness and shame. Because of Christ's work we are not condemned. Thankfully we don't rely upon our own works for righteousness (justification) or else we would certainly be damned (Galatians 3:10), but we trust in Christ imputing His righteousness to us and He does this freely on no account of anything we did or could do.

Are you a baptized child of God? Good! Then you don't have to seek after immediate experiences with God through means outside the Word of God, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. Every Lord's Day when you partake in the Holy Supper of our Lord you are in Christ's very presence. You don't have to look for the feel of hairs raising on the back of your neck, or for some zing in your step to know you are truly Christ's. You don't have to be stuck on the emotional ups and downs of being "high on the mountain" one day and in the "valley of dry bones" the next to know that your sins are forgiven in Christ Jesus and that our heavenly Father loves you, because you have the objective promises of Christ which do not hang on your feelings or works.

Read More...

Summary only...

Name Changes and Maximizing Effectiveness for Christ

SBC Logo

One of my Google+ friends brought to my attention this linked article which reports that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is considering a name change.

It doesn't matter to me if the SBC changes its name, but what catches my eye from the article reporting the potential change of name is the following quote from SBC president Bryant Wright:

"With our focus on church planting, it is challenging in many parts of the country to lead churches to want to be part of a convention with such a regional name. Second, a name change could position us to maximize our effectiveness in reaching North America for Jesus Christ in the 21st century."

Mr. Wright believes that a name change, or "rebranding" as it is called in the corporate world, will "maximize" the effectiveness of his denomination's mission in North America.

In 2008 the idea of a name change for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod was presented by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance in its brief Walking Together—The LCMS Future. At that time the Blue Ribbon Task Force showed interest in changing the name of the LCMS citing the following reason,

"Changing the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to better reflect who we are today, a church body that serves throughout North America and in partnership with 30 other Lutheran church bodies around the world" (p. 6).

Rebranding is typically done in order to change public perception about a product, business and other corporate structures. Rebranding per se isn't necessarily wrong. However, what can make a name change problematic and even wholly wrong is the rationale offered in support of rebranding. For instance, take the reasoning offered for changing the name of the LCMS. On the surface that seems to be a good reason for a name change. After all, most of the synod is not contained in the state of Missouri. Perhaps a name change would better reflect who we are as a synod today? I don't have an answer to the question and that is besides the point being made here.

The problem I see with the rebranding strategy waved at by the SBC's president is that he is claiming a name change will "maximize" the SBC's "effectiveness in reaching North America for Jesus Christ." His claim is nothing more than sheer Church Growth gobbledygook. If people are attending a church because of a brand name, then the owners of that name need to urgently assess their teaching on the Gospel. 

The Church Growth world contains many a guru who believes that it is their work that has the power to make disciples for Christ. Ever since the 1970s followers of Donald McGavern and Peter Wagner have promoted a doctrine that reduces the working of the Holy Spirit through His Word in adding to the Church daily to the roll of a spiritual energy bar to be consumed by the missional enthusiasts who believe they and their programs are the real power behind the growth of the Church.

I bring the reasoning offered by the SBC's president for a name change to our attention as Lutherans, because there isn't a single Lutheran synod I can think of that hasn't been infected by this sort of Church Growth nonsense permeating American denominations and churches and that because of the success of the SBC and other American Evangelical denominations peddling Church Growth programs. The case in point here over rebranding is that a name change not only has the power to bring people to Christ, but will maximize the effectiveness of the Gospel. Hmm....

Jesus instituted the perfect means through which to grow His Church and that is through Word and Sacrament. Church Growth initiatives, such as rebranding a denomination in order to "maximize the effectiveness in reaching" sinners with the Gospel, are doomed to fail from the outset because the object of growth in the Church becomes our own programs and not Christ Jesus. Faith in our works is at best misplaced and wrong headed and at worst idolatrous, but in each case needs to be repented of. 

The rationale offered by the SBC president for a name change is a good example of men putting faith in their own works when it comes to growing God's kingdom. Why not trust that the Holy Spirit will work through the proclamation of His Holy Word and leave it at that? Why not jump off the consumeristic, Church Growth boat and get to teaching and baptizing as our Lord instructs His Church to do in Matthew 28? The problem and answer may be as simple as that enthusiasm truly does cling to the Old Adam. The Old Adam just doesn't want to believe that God works through His chosen means of grace alone. Indeed, God doesn't want to deal with us sinners except through Word and Sacrament. That is exactly how He reached this sinner.

Read More...

Summary only...

Hey what happened to your blog roll man?!

To blog roll or not to blog roll... that is the question! Uh... well... maybe not. Blog rolls are pretty important in the blogging community. For one thing, it is nice to be tied into a community of bloggers and blog rolls help to create such a community. On the whole though, it is just darn nice to be listed on another's blog. Don't ask me why, but it just is... it is one of those blogger things.

Some of you will undoubtedly notice that my blog roll is no longer on the front page. My blog roll has moved. It now has a full page devoted to its own growing self. You can find my blog roll by navigating to it from the top nav bar under "Blog Roll." Pretty catchy name huh?

At the top of my new blog roll is the mother of all blog rolls, "The Big Blogroll O' Vark." and its equally large cousin the "Lutheran Blog Directory." If I don't have a blog listed for one reason or another (usually because I don't have time to visit them all throughout the day), you can find it on the Big Blogroll O' Vark or Lutheran Blog Directory. If you want to be listed on my blog roll just shoot me an email. I like to read other's bytes and wouldn't mind reading what you have blogged... unless of course you are selling something... or spamming... or a Russian bride site... or... well... you get the drift. 

Read More...

Summary only...

ULC and Synod, Inc. Shenanigans

If you are an LCMS Lutheran frequently reading web community boards such as Steadfastlutherans.org, then you have undoubtedly read something about the University Lutheran Chapel (ULC) which serves the University of Minnesota.

The ULC is a thriving campus chapel which serves roughly 200 parishioners half of which are University of Minnesota students. The ULC has been serving its community since 1925 and is currently one of the most successful campus ministries in the LCMS. The problem is that the Minnesota South District Board of Directors (MSDBOD) has unilaterally decided¹ to sell off the ULC for $3.2 million to developers.²

Speculations are flying around the internet as to what is prompting the MSDBOD to sell off the ULC. I don't care to speculate over the motives of this board. What I have read are a good number of questions as to why the sale is being pushed hard and fast. A good question, being asked by several, is why can't this sale be brought up for a vote at the next district convention? What is the hurry?

The ULC is working hard to raise funds in order to buy the campus chapel from its own synod.³ To date it has raised roughly $16,000 and needs a bare minimum of $30,000 in order to seriously pursue purchase of the chapel. 

It is my opinion that the proposed sale of the ULC has to be one of the most embarrassing moments for the LCMS on whole. Here we have a university congregation which is the only campus ministry of its kind serving the University of Minnesota and having long deep roots in the community, and now it is abruptly being sold off for no clear and good reason. This is the sort of action one would expect to see from "sharks" in the corporate world who don't give a hoot about the "little people" being affected by their actions. No matter how the MSDBOD spins this sale, it is simply an incredible embarrassment that the district would drag the name of the LCMS through a calloused action of booting some 100 or more people out of their home church, a church where men, women, and children have been receiving the forgiveness of sins since 1925. I will just call the move what it is, bone headed. It is really stupid to knock down a well established center where the means of grace are being given to students and who in turn go out in their vocations and show the mercy of Christ to perhaps thousands of students and faculty attending the University of Minnesota.

What price will the MSDBOD put on solid gospel proclamation to those in the university community? What's the price on Word and Sacrament ministry? Apparently the current price is $3.2 million.

If the ULC eventually sells to some entity other than the congregation now housed there, I can't see how such can be anything other than a gigantic sore on the record of the MSDBOD. Indeed, I wouldn't at all be surprised if members of that district worked hard to ensure that all the members of the board of directors were not reappointed to their positions.

I find it heartbreaking that Christians would sell out from underneath their brothers and sisters in the Lord the very place where they receive the forgiveness of sins. And for what? Money! What in the world could the MSDBOD be thinking? Or are they thinking? The evidence strongly indicates they are not.  

It is my hope and prayer that enough money can be raised for the ULC to be purchased by its congregation. There is no good reason I can think of as to why the ULC should be closed down. If you would like to support the ULC please visit the following web page for details. Thank you.

Read More...

Summary only...

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

I am so very thankful that my Lord Jesus Christ saw fit to reach out and pluck up a blasphemous atheist of 18 years out of the pit and make him His own. God is faithful (1 John 1:9) and His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-9 is most certainly true.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the LORD of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever."

Read More...

Summary only...

Remember Your Baptism

As one who loves the Lord it can be painful to think about my own sinful shortcomings and I surely have them. Christians all over the world groan and long for the day when we will no longer have to grapple with our sinful desires, but one day we will live with our Lord Jesus Christ in a new heaven and earth and we will be like Him. Until that day we struggle with our fallen natures, sin, and repent.

Are you breathing? If so then you are a sinner by nature. There is no way around it, we are sinful and only deceive ourselves if we think otherwise (1 John 1:8). Repentance is a wonderful gift given to us by God. What is repentance? As a Lutheran I confess along with my Lutheran forefathers,

"Now, repentance consists properly of these 3] two parts: One is contrition, that is, 4] terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of 5] the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts 6] the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits of repentance." —Augsburg Confession XII 2-4 

Repentance is remorse over our sins and believing that for the sake of Christ, God has forgiven us our sins. It is because of the work Jesus did some two thousand years ago that our sins are forgiven. There is nothing we can do which will earn the forgiveness of sins and this remains true throughout the life of a Christian. God mercifully grants us repentant hearts. He graciously and freely pours out His forgiveness of sins to us and this all because of what Christ has done.

As repentant, baptized, children of God our consciences smite us over our sins and the good news is that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives through His Word and Sacraments. If we didn't care about sin, or if we didn't earnestly desire the forgiveness of our sins, then we would be in trouble. We would have to wonder if we had any faith at all. I like what Luther has to say on this topic. I was reading the following a couple of days ago in the Treasury of Daily Prayer (p. 721) and found it quite encouraging and comforting. Luther says regarding our baptisms,

"The Children of Israel, whenever they turned to repentance, remembered above all their exodus from Eqypt, and remembering turned back to God who had brought them out. Moses impressed this memory and this protection upon them many times, and David afterwards did the same. How much more ought we to remember our exodus from Egypt, and by this remembrance turn back to him who led us through the washing of regeneration [Titus 3:5], remembrance of which is commended to us for this very reason!"

Here Luther has certainly given us a good reason to remember our baptisms. We are comforted by the objective fact of the remission of our sins through the means of water coupled with the promised Word of Christ. But Luther doesn't stop at our baptisms. There is another means through which we can remember that our Lord "led us through the washing of regeneration," as Luther put it. He continues,

"This can be done most fittingly in the sacrament of bread and wine.... Thus you see how rich a Christian is, that is, one who has been baptized! Even if he would, he could not lose his salvation, however much he sinned, unless he refused to believe. For no sin can condemn him save unbelief alone. All other sins, so long as the faith in God's promise made in baptism returns or remains, are immediately blotted out through that same faith, or rather through the truth of God, because he cannot deny himself if you confess him and faithfully cling to him in his promise" (ibid.).

Now before we start patting ourselves on the back for having been baptized, or look to ourselves clinging to the cross as a means of comfort, we should rethink such! Faith in our own faith is to lose the object of faith which is Christ. Such a loss creates a despair where we only see the blackness of our own hearts and we spiral downward into defeat, a loss of hope, and possibly a loss of our faith. Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). God in His great mercy raised us up from sin and death and made us alive in Christ. Indeed, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Luther's Small Catechism echoes this point in the explanation of the third article where Luther writes,

"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true."

We have no room to boast about our justification before God, or even our sanctification as we journey through life. It is the Holy Ghost who keeps me in the truth faith. Everything that we have comes from God and hallelujah for that fact! If we did have to look to ourselves for our own justification and sanctification, then we would be in real trouble! Thank our Lord we can look to Him solely for strength and comfort for it is He who is faithful and will continue to be merciful and gracious to us even in our darkest of hours. 

The devil likes to bash us with our sins and remind us of what horrible sinners we are. Here we can agree with the devil that we are wretched, poor, miserable sinners. However, we also have the promise of God through the means of grace He has given to us. So, we can rest in Christ's promise and tell the old devil, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)! Yes, indeed,  "Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation" (Psalm 68:19). Amen.

Read More...

Summary only...

Save the ULC

The following is taken from the University Lutheran Chapel's (ULC) website. The ULC serves the University of Minnesota and is the only LCMS chapel of its kind serving the university area's residents and students alike. Please read over the following and consider supporting the ULC.

A Brief Overview

On April 19th, 2011, the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod unveiled a plan to "expand campus ministry" within the District. The keystone of the plan is to sell the chapel of University Lutheran Chapel and use the money to start other campus outreach posts at schools around the state. The rationale being that buildings cost too much money to maintain, and that church buildings really have nothing to do with mission work.

We at University Lutheran Chapel believe our chapel building is extremely important to our work of campus ministry at the University of Minnesota and to the life of our congregation.

Why should you care?

University Lutheran Chapel is the only LC-MS congregation near the University of Minnesota and is extremely important to the spiritual welfare of our students and for outreach to those whom Christ would call to faith from the campus community.

ULC is not only important to our students at the U of M, but also to our entire church body. Our chapel is a flagship ministry in the LC-MS. We are one of the campus ministries that others look to for how faithful and successful campus ministry can be done. ULC impacts the entire synod through our students who leave our chapel to become leaders in churches throughout the world.

Consider the following:

ULC's campus ministry is one of the synod's oldest , having been active on the U of M campus since 1925, and in its current chapel since it was built in 1949/50.

ULC has sent 26 men to seminary over the tenure of pastors Pless and Kind. She has also had students become deaconesses, Lutheran school teachers, LC-MS camp directors, missionaries, etc.

ULC has had students and members who have done mission work in Haiti, in Kenya, in New Orleans, in South America and in many other places around the world.

ULC provides confessionally faithful and liturgical services to students throughout the year, numerous catechetical opportunities, Bible studies, social events, outreach events, and community service opportunities.

ULC is the only congregation in the city of Minneapolis that has shown consistent numeric growth (members, attendance & giving).

ULC as a congregation has become home to many young familes throughout the Twin Cities metro area, with a thriving Sunday School, VBS program, confirmation classes, youth group, choir, etc.

ULC has worked very hard to become self-supporting and now costs the MNS South District very, very little to operate (see "MNS District's Campus Ministry Budget" at the right of this page. Please note that based on this budget it is not zero dollars as previously reported, but still a relatively small amount of money. We are sorry for any confusion on this.)

What can you do?

Contact the MNS District Board of Directors, President and Mission Exec

Board of Directors: Make sure to address messages to the Board of Directors care of President Seitz. and put something to that effect in the subject line of the email and send it to President Seitz.

Or better yet send an old-fashioned snail mail letter to the following address: Board of Directors - MNS District, LC-MS, c/o President Seitz, 14301 Grand Ave. South, Burnsville, MN 55306

Rev. Dr. Lane Seitz + mnspres@mnsdistrict.org + 952-223-2150.

Rev. Peter Meier + peter.meier@mnsdistrict.org + 952-223-2151

Emails addressed only to President Seitz or Rev. Meier will almost certainly NOT be passed on to the Board of Directors.

Help Spread the Word!

Tell others to visit this website or to visit our Facebook fan page "Save University Lutheran Chapel".

Pray for us

Above all else, we pray the Lord will uphold this congregation and her students in the midst of all of this; for as He has said, even the gates of Hell shall not prevail against His Holy Church.

_____________

(Blog Editor's addition)

Donate Today to Help Save the Chapel
The ULC chapel is up for sale. It is still possible for the ULC chapel to be saved through purchasing the chapel. If you have the means consider donating to help save the chapel today. Thank you.

Read More...

Summary only...

Glass Walls and Stitches

I live in the "Emerald City," Seattle. My home was built in 1927 and is one of the type of "craftsman homes" which are in demand in the Seattle neighborhoods. The homes are certainly very nice, but they also require allot of work in upkeep due to their age.

When my family first moved into this house it had a late 70s/early 80s interior decor which had made a come back in the early to mid 90s. One of the walls in the living room was covered in 12" X 12" square mirror tiles. It looked cool for a time, but as time passed my family was ready for change and so was I. The glass wall had to go!

I am one of those frugal type who will squeeze all I can get out of a penny. Before I will seek to hire someone to do a job, I will take my time and investigate whether or not I can do the work myself and save labor costs. Anyone who has had work done to their home knows that labor is the largest cost when having work done.

After a good deal of research I decided that I could remove the glass wall myself and save a bundle of money. I had little time to get rid of the glass wall, since we had new furniture on order and it was to arrive soon. The following are some pictures of the job as I was working. I did all this work by myself and I only had four days to do it before our new furniture was delivered.

First picture of prepped glass

This is the first picture I took documenting my work. I had already taken down oak wood that had been used to help hold the mirror tiles in place. I really don't know why the wood was necessary, since these mirrors were not just hot glued into position, but also had double sided tape securing the corners of the glass to the plaster behind them in addition to the adhesive backing on each tile. Talk about overkill. As you can see I taped off each glass tile using masking tape. I did this in order to keep down the amount of glass shards flying around when it was time to pull the glass down off the wall.

As I said, the glass was firmly secured to the plaster. I was really hoping that a number of things were going in my favor as I started the job. The first thing I was hoping for was that the tiles had not been hot glued into place, but rather that they were being held in place solely by the factory adhesive backing on each tile. That would have been ideal, since I would have only needed to heat each tile with my hot air gun and the tile would then practically slip off the wall with little damage to the plaster behind it. The second condition I was hoping for was that the wall behind the glass was dry wall and not plaster. One of the problems with these old craftsman homes is that the walls are constructed of the old lattice and plaster type. It is an enormous amount of work to have to hang dry wall and I really didn't have the time to do it since I only had four days to demo the wall, mud it, texture it, and paint.

After prepping the glass for take down I started testing individual tiles to determine the easiest method of removal with the least amount of damage to the wall underneath. I took my hot air gun and heated up the first glass tile. The glass "popped" and then cracked as I had applied too much heat. It was then, to my horror, that I discovered the glass tile had been hot glued to the plaster! This was not a good thing, since it was going to require more time and effort to remove the glass, time I really didn't have. I decided to test another tile. In my right hand I held the hot air gun and in my left I held a tape knife which I gently slid under the glass as it heated up. This method seemed to work quite well. In fact all too well, since no sooner had I applied pressure to the tape knife after heating up the glass, the knife quickly slipped under the tile and before I could do anything my unprotected hand slid over an adjacent tile and cut my hand wide open. It was like the Texas Chain Saw Massacre! My hand was squirting blood all over the place. I quickly got into the bathroom and took a nice white towel (man was I in trouble!) and wrapped my bleeding hand with it. Blood was in the carpet, on the floor in the bathroom, all over the sink and all over me. An emergency room trip and two large stitches later (and a large doctor bill to boot!) I was back in business, but not that day. Day one ended in a bloody mess.

The wall by mid-day

You know that old saying, there is no rest for the wicked? Well, in my case I had only three days left to get my job done and the freshly stitched hand couldn't hold me back. I was up early the second morning and with tape knife and hot air gun in leather gloved hand I started tackling the wall. I had to have it down in a couple hours, the glass removed from the floor and had to have the wall patched and ready to go for mud and primer the next day. There was simply no way around it. By mid-day my left hand was aching, but I had all the glass down. To my relief the damage to the underlying plaster wasn't all that bad.

Wall mudded in and ready for sanding

I dragged out about 100 pounds of glass. I must admit I had some choice words that I muttered as I was going along. With every tile that shattered and hit the floor, taking along with it a nice sized chunk of plaster board with it, I wondered what would have possessed someone to secure glass tile to a wall as if a tank was going to drive across the wall. Indeed it was frustrating work. What had I gotten myself into? Would I make the deadline? I was already hearing pleas from my loving wife to put off the delivery of the furniture, but being the stubborn man that I can be I opted to work harder, faster, and longer. By the end of the day I had the wall completely mudded in with "hot mud" and dry wall compound. The next day I would have to sand the wall down and texture it to match the texture of the surrounding walls. I left two fans blowing on the wall so that they would dry enough over night for me to sand over them.

Day three found me up very early in the morning to start sanding and to get the texture up on the wall before noon. I had two fans blowing on the wall as I worked with the texture, since it had to be dry enough to get primer on the wall. Even though I was going to use a high quality self priming paint, I still wanted to ensure that there would be no "bleed through" from the wall causing bright spots and priming the wall prevents such "bleed through." I worked long into the night and had two coats of primer up on the wall before bed time. The plan called for the color coats of paint to be on the wall by the end of day four so that hopefully delivery day the paint would be hard enough to have new furniture moved into the living room. I definitely didn't want fresh paint on the new couches!

Drying paint on the wall

I rolled out of bed early on day four. Not only was my hand aching, but so was the rest of my body. I am a computer "geek" and not a laborer. The hardest manual work a computer "geek" has to do is lifting a coffee mug to his lips as he types away at his keyboard. Of course, occasionally a computer needs to be moved, but it certainly isn't as labor intensive as this job was. Although, I do have a story I could share another time about how I had a job tearing out a server room years ago. Now that was hard labor... for a nerd like me. At any rate, if you are guessing that I missed my deadline you would be wrong. With my two fans blowing on the wall, I worked through the day and applied several coats of paint to the wall once covered by glass. As you can see from the picture the wall looks much nicer than the 80s look we had for far too many years.

There's nothing more satisfying to me than a job well done and one that was very hard. I made the deadline. The paint was dry and hard enough to move our new furniture into the room. Literally after much sweat and some blood I was able to stand back and enjoy my finished work. Although, now I have quite a bit of new wall space to hang pictures. Any suggestions for wall art? Please don't suggest glass tiles! 

Read More...

Summary only...

Worldview Everlasting: "Symphonizing the Idle w/ Equal Dikaios"

Read More...

Summary only...

Why Apologetics?

If you are a regular reader of Confessional's Bytes, then by now you have read ad nauseum that I was an atheist for 18 years prior to being a Christian and Confessional Lutheran. Every chance I get, whether it is speaking to others, or writing comments on message boards, I like to talk about what Christ has done for me and continues to do for me: He has forgiven me of all my sins and this not because of any works I have done or did (after all I was a blasphemous atheist), but He has forgiven me out of His unmerited favor upon me.

I also like to use my story in making the point that God's Holy Word is powerful. I know that the Holy Spirit does work through His Holy Word in creating faith (Romans 10:17)! When I was a atheist there was no amount of reasoning that would have convinced me that God really does exist and that Jesus is God the Son who died on a cross for my sins. Indeed, I spent years studying the arguments of Christian apologists such as John Warwick Montgomery, Richard Swinburne, Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, and many others and to no avail. The more I studied, the more entrenched I became in my own atheism. Indeed, I became evangelical about my atheism and joined the ranks of men like Richard Dawkins in promulgating militant atheism. There was not a single logical argument or bit of empirical evidence that would convince me that God exists and that Christ died for my sins.

Unfortunately, my insistence on this truth over the bondage of my will to sin when I was an atheist is mistaken by some as a treatise against the work of apologetics. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a Lutheran layman I firmly believe that we should be able to give a reason for the hope that is within us when called upon to do so. 

In my opinion, apologetics is a useful tool through which the good news about Jesus can be spoken to others. In fact, I often engage in apologetics, that is arguing in favor of what Christ has not only done for me, but for the whole world (John 3:16). For me apologetics is something quite personal, since it involves the confession of my faith in Jesus Christ. God does not need my defense nor my confession, but the Scriptures are very clear that those who confess Christ before men, He will confess them before His Father (see Matthew 10:32-33). As Christians we confess Christ.

I am certainly a supporter of apologetics, in the sense that I point at above, but there is another view of apologetics that I am wholeheartedly against. It is the view that I, or anyone else for that matter, am capable of proving the truth of Christianity to the satisfaction of the skeptic. The reality of the situation is that apologetics is actually for those who already solely trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Evidential arguments in support of the resurrection of Jesus, for example, will not at all bring the skeptic to his knees in repentance. One will be lucky to get any agreement out of the skeptic regarding the miraculous, period. However, sound arguments and solid evidence in support of the resurrection of Jesus most certainly will embolden us Christians to speak out against those attacking the truth and will provide us tools through which we can speak God's Word that He has given to us to tell to others who don't know Him.

I am not against apologetics. If we are too busy arguing ontological arguments for the existence of God and pointing out archaeological evidence for the historicity of Christ and the reliability of Scriptures, we may miss the reason why we are talking to someone about Jesus. I believe we have to keep in perspective why we confess our faith to others and that isn't so we can trot out "Evidence that Demands a Verdict," but rather that we may tell others about the mercy Christ has had on us poor miserable sinners. The bottom line is not to convince a skeptic we are right, but to tell them that they are in trouble with God and the good news is their sins are forgiven in Christ.

Read More...

Summary only...

Soap Box Central

"18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men." — 1 Corinthians 3:18-21

Martin Luther had much to say about the wisdom of the world. In his famed Heidelberg Disputation he grounds his arguments around the distinction of the theology of the cross from a theology of glory in the Scriptural view of what it means to be wise. Here is what Luther wrote,

"22] That wisdom which sees the invisible things of God in works as perceived by man is completely puffed up, blinded, and hardened.

This has already been said. Because men do not know the cross and hate it, they necessarily love the opposite, namely, wisdom, glory, power, and so on. Therefore they become increasingly blinded and hardened by such love, for desire cannot be satisfied by the acquisition of those things which it desires. Just as the love of money grows in proportion to the increase of the money itself, so the dropsy of the soul becomes thirstier the more it drinks, as the poet says: The more water they drink, the more they thirst for it. The same thought is expressed in Eccles. 1:8: The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. This holds true of all desires.

Thus also the desire for knowledge is not satisfied by the acquisition of wisdom but is stimulated that much more. Likewise the desire for glory is not satisfied by the acquisition of glory, nor is the desire to rule satisfied by power and authority, nor is the desire for praise satisfied by praise, and so on, as Christ shows in John 4:13, where he says, Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again.

The remedy for curing desire does not lie in satisfying it, but in extinguishing it. In other words, he who wishes to become wise does not seek wisdom by progressing toward it but becomes a fool by retrogressing into seeking folly. Likewise he who wishes to have much power, honor, pleasure, satisfaction in all things must flee rather than seek power, honor, pleasure, and satisfaction in all things. This is the wisdom which is folly to the world." — Heidelberg Disputation 22

Ultimately a theology of glory is anthropocentric. It is a theology where the rationality of man reigns supreme over the wisdom of God as found in the Holy Scriptures. What forms might this magisterial use of human reason and wisdom take in the Church?

I think probably the most distinct form to be witnessed are the rationalist assumptions about the Scriptures coming out of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. One of these assumptions is that the Holy Scriptures can't possibly be inerrant. This assumption is based on a deduction from human fallibility. I will not be exploring this issue in any depth here, but suffice it to say that the idea that the Holy Scriptures are not inerrant isn't derived from what the Scriptures say, but is a conclusion drawn about the Holy Scriptures from human understanding as to why the Scriptures must err.

Another example which is unfortunately highly controversial even among my brothers in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is a literal six day creation. Those rejecting a literal six day creation solely based upon empirical evidence found in the latest theories of science today exemplify a magisterial use of human reason over the Scriptures. It is not enough to allow the Genesis account of creation to speak for itself, but the purveyors of rationalism must harmonize the Scriptures with today's empirical studies. Anyone suggesting that we should simply remain silent, where the Scriptures are silent, and speak using the language used by the Scriptures with regard to creation, are ridiculed as Neanderthal flat earthers. 

The theologians of glory must give to human reason the power of "satisfaction of all things." These are the men who are "ever learning" and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7).

Of course, a theology of glory can be quite subtle. We see the insidiousness of a theology of glory in the Church Growth movement, Seeker Sensitive movement, and in the Contemporary Worship movement. The Church is repeatedly being pitched by these movements that the world is going to hell in a hand-basket and that the Church must change, or it too will slide off into obscurity along with the pagan religions of old. Of course, the pitchmen for these movements ignore the words of Jesus where our Lord quite literally promises that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18). Nonetheless, much of Christendom has come down with a severe case of Chicken Little disease because they are trusting that the prognosticators of the Church's demise have the correct solution to the very problem they have created.

The theology of the cross is one that is not recognizable to the "old Adam" which seeks anything other than the suffering and death of Christ on the cross. We do not comprehend out of our human reason alone the power of Christ working through the mundane objects of water, bread, and wine. Our brain power collapses at the words "take eat, this is my body" and all we see is bread. Likewise, the idea that Christ is in control and that the Holy Spirit adds to the Church daily (Acts 2:47) those whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) simply causes the human mind to go "bonkers." It is far easier to accept the glitz of a theology of glory and implement the Contemporary Worship programs coming out of the Willow Creek Association than it is to practice a humble liturgy which places Jesus front and center of the divine service rather than the pastor's oratory skills, or a "worship leader's" crooning, or the praise band's hot contemporary sound.

The wisdom of this world, e.g. a theology of glory, suggests that the Church must be permeable to the culture around it. If we are to "survive," then local congregations should allow the community to influence how worship is conducted in the divine service. If a poll strongly indicates that the "unChurched" don't like public confession and absolution, don't like the pastor to preach and teach using words such as "sinner," "suffering," and "Christ," and that they don't want to see crosses or crucifixes, then the theologian of glory will see to it that the wishes of the unregenerate are catered to. As Luther states in the above quote, "...men do not know the cross and hate it, they necessarily love the opposite, namely, wisdom, glory, power, and so on." A theologian of glory doesn't want to be the salt of the earth.

What rejection of a literal six day creation as recorded in Genesis and the Church Growth, Seeker Sensitive, Contemporary Worship movements have in common is interpreting the Scriptures, or parts of them, exclusively in terms of human values and experiences. The question, "What does this mean?" is rewritten to "What does this mean to me?" And, it is in the two words "to me" which turns a theology of glory into the anthropocentric bulwark against Christ that it is. It is simply the Tower of Babel revisited; humanity trying to create their own ladder to God because it is much more palatable to us to create our own means to God rather than accept the humble means of grace that Christ has instituted and through which God works in the world.

Read More...

Summary only...