Another black pastor speaks out on genocide

The liberal UCC pastor of Trinity Church, Jeremiah Wright, has blamed whites for genocide in the black community, for AIDS, and for black on black crime. Another black pastor, Jesse Peterson, has also spoken out, but he's doing something about it.

"I believe there is a reason for the silence of black churches and black politicians regarding abortion. They actually have much in common with the abortionists: Abortionists are simply using blacks for power and wealth, the same way much of the black clergy, black politicians and liberal elite whites have used blacks for years.

I notice that when I am in front of the clinics or talk about abortion on my radio show, most of the anger, hostility and attacks come from young white and black educated women. These women typically hate their fathers, and men who have used them in the wrong way. Our universities have taken this hatred and "educated" these young women with "facts" that reinforce their existing inner rage and prejudices.

It is time for America, but especially the black community, to come out of its state of denial and realize that true racism is the attack on the black unborn baby, started by Margaret Sanger and carried out by the liberal elite in this country. The solution to this problem is a strong belief in the Creator, strong families and self-respect.

Most importantly, men must step to the forefront of this issue. They must return back to their proper state as men of character and as the head of their families, or the horrors we've already seen in this "one nation under God" will be dwarfed by the horrors to come."

Stop by his archives page and take a look.

Abortionist lauded as "courageous" for illegal abortions

Partial-birth abortion specialist Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, KS, was caught on video admitting to aborting babies a day before the mother's due date. The woman introducing him at the Feminist Majority Foundation's annual Women's Leadership Conference held at the National Education Association (NEA) on March 9 is enough to make you retch. This is leadership? Courage? Dripping with pity that women had to drive to Kansas to kill their babies.

The video shows graphic pictures of babies with abnormalities that he had aborted, so as to make the case for late-term abortions as necessary medical procedure. Full video available online at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wpr_sN04j_0

Full story at LifeSiteNews.com.

Birthday Prayers in verse

These are from "A Book of Prayers for Boys and Girls" by G.J. Neumann, Wartburg Press, 1943.

O Listen, Lord Jesus,
And hear what I say:
There's something I'm wanting
To tell you today.

For this is my birthday--
O come, be my Guest;
Of all I'm inviting
I love you the best. Amen.

Lord Jesus, today
A blessing I pray
As a birthday gift for my mother dear;
With happiness, health,
And love's pure wealth
Bless her, O Lord, for many a year. Amen.

Wartburg Press used to be located in Columbus, Ohio, and became part of Augsburg Press, which is now Augsburg-Fortress, the publishing arm of the ELCA.

An interesting footnote

This footnote I'm about to quote (#10) appears on p. 863 of v. 2 of "What Luther Says," (Concordia, 1959) and references the content of a letter Martin Luther had written to Count Philipp von Hesse in October 1529. The discussion concerned what the church fathers said about the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the Lord's Supper, and Luther says to the Count it was a comfort to know that their faith which rested solely on God's word was witnessed to in the church. The editor's footnote to this one sentence, reports that among Lutherans of the era the church fathers

"were cited as witnesses, not judges. . . When a generation later, Martin Chemnitz examined the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, two words of his revealed the great change that the Reformation had introduced. He quoted the noted axiom which Vincent of Lerins (died ca. A.D. 450) had coined: that the Catholic faith is quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus est creditum (what has been believed always, everywhere, by all) but significantly added ex Scriptura (from or on the basis of Scripture)."

For this the editor cites W. Elert, Morphologie, I, 252f, and adds for modern day readers, "This is the Lutheran position."

This is an amazing layering of citation skill, showing how detailed and careful the editors of this work were. 1) the letter of 1529, 2) in which Luther cites a colloquy with Zwingli and his followers, moving ahead a generation to 3) Martin Chemnitz examining the Council of Trent, 4) Vincent of Lerins, 1100 years before, 5) all of which is recorded in Elert's work, citing the German, not the English translation, 6) and apparently in a footnote [I think that's what the lower case f refers to] of that piece, and finally, 7) the editor's statement: This is the Lutheran position.

Now, if Lutherans could just agree on what scripture says we'd be good to go.

But enough about Jesus and the cross

"Let's talk about you and your needs and hopes."

The emergent, velvet, purpose driven church

The questions I haven't seen about Wright and Obama

Am I the only one who thinks donating $20,000 over 20 years is paltry for a two income, political, Ivy-League educated family? That's less than $5 a week each for Barack and Michelle.

Where was the United Church of Christ higher ups (don't know if they are bishops or deacons or just chairs) in all this? Having a preacher of their denomination give rousing, hate-filled sermons and not losing his credentials. I'm guessing they wouldn't be so kind, so open, so understanding if a a UCC minister tried to preach on what Paul mean about sexuality and God's wrath in the book of Romans. The guy or gal would have been shown the door before she could hang up her robe.

Even if Obama won't repudiate his mentor, Jeremiah Wright, does he grasp how this hate speech fuels crime and hopelessness among people who didn't have his advantages?

Why are white liberal Christians even surprised (or maybe they weren't)? They've known about black liberation theology for about 30 years and embraced it warmly. Maybe it just feels so good when the whipping stops? I read James Cone's book years ago--when I was a member of a large liberal church. I've heard elements of it from black pulpits when I listen to services here in Columbus on Sunday morning. Apparently, his sermon didn't surprise African Americans. They agree with him.

"Last Friday, in an effort to gauge just how "out there" Wright's sermons are in the context of the African-American church tradition, Newsweek phoned at least two dozen of the country's most prominent and thoughtful African-American scholars and pastors, representing a wide range of denominations and points of view. Not one person would say that Wright had crossed any kind of significant line." James Taranto, WSJ, Mar 19

It's become a way for white churches to keep the black Christians separate and out of their power structure--down on the plantation, as it were, because it's a theme you wouldn't hear any where else. It's the same hypocrisy that had a gang of white liberal preachers in Columbus going after Rod Parsley's tax exempt (World Harvest Church) status at his conservative church while ignoring the political preaching that goes on Sunday after Sunday in black churches.

Church of the Lutheran Brethren

These Lutherans sound like nice folks--sort of casual in style, but deep in substance. I came across the website of one of the churches in MN (can only find one in Ohio), because someone came to my site looking for a recipe for the Church of the Brethren communion bread. When I backtracked through Google, I found the Lutheran Brethren (who also have a recipe for communion bread). The Lutheran Brethren have a very active missions program.

Here's the recipe for the Brethren from Granddaughter's Inglenook Cookbook. 1942.

10 C. flour
1 lb. butter
3-5 tablespoons sugar
1 pint milk
1/2 pint cream
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly; add cream and milk to make a medium dough. Divide into three or four parts and knead well. When dough is smooth and free drom bubbles roll out with rolling pin onto metal baking sheets. Trim, mark with ruler, cut, and stick with fork. Bake in slow oven until well done. Cut strips apart before removing from baking sheets. From the Elgin church. p. 31

One flock, one shepherd, many sheep

It's difficult to keep track of the battles ongoing among Lutherans--never mind all the other Christians. And don't think for a moment just because they give allegiance to one church, that Roman Catholics don't have great diversity among their parishes and orders. I may never live long enough to understand how we are all Christians.

The other day I was reading an advice column from WELS--Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. A woman, who apparently attends an ELCA congregation (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) somewhat reluctantly, was asking if it was proper to once a year attend a Mennonite service out of respect and in memory of her dear saintly mother, who was a Mennonite. Her concern was apparently worship participation with those Christians who were not confessional Lutherans. The e-pastor gently but firmly chided her for worrying about 1/365 of the year, when the 364 other days she was subjecting her mind and spirit to the teachings of the ELCA!

Then today I came across the webpage of the Church of the Lutheran Confession, which is even more exclusionary than WELS. It will not fellowship with a number of Lutheran bodies because of "unionism," which is not labor unions, but churches which keep their own polity, adhere to the Lutheran confessions, but cooperate with each other in some form. Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) from which the CLC evolved in the 1930s is beyond the pale because although they don't ordain women, women are allowed a voice in the church by voting, and LCMS fellowships with WELS in some areas, which taints WELS, for CLC.

At the other end of the spectrum, I looked at a webpage of an ELCA pastor who attended our congregation when he was in seminary here in Columbus--don't remember the year, but probably late 80s. They were a wonderful family and contributed so much to our small group Bible study which they joined. Both husband and wife were gifted Bible teachers--although his English was better (both foreign born). The seminary in Columbus is very liberal, but he was able to get by with his strong Biblical views because they needed minority students. Looking at the various things he's involved in, he seems to now be a gay pastor supporting the marriage of gays, lesbians and transgendered. The web page of his church and the organizations where I found his photo and name do not seem Biblical to me. So at that end of Lutheranism, I would seem as narrow as the CLC decrying women being allowed to vote as unbiblical.

Fortunately, Jesus will sort this all out when he returns.

The Audacity to Hope

Here's the sermon by Jeremiah Wright preached in 1990, from which it is said comes Barack Obama's theme.

The Audacity to Hope

The assistant pastor of Obama's church was at Lakeside the summer of 2007. He was a fine preacher with a good message.

Nothing new under the sun

"The last two years have been good for atheism. A rash of books making the case for unbelief, including Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion (2006) and Christopher Hitchens' God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007), have sold millions of copies. Strident atheist Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, one of his atheistic tomes designed to rescue children from belief in God, was made into a movie. Even pop star Elton John got into the act, calling for a ban on religion. Leaders of the so-called New Atheism are aggressive and proselytizing. They don't just condemn belief in God; they also condemn respect for belief in God." Read more "Skepticism, Agnosticism and Atheism; A Brief History of Unbelief" by M. Z. Hemingway, Modern Reformation, March/April Vol. 17 No. 2 2008 Pages 18-23.

My public library, which has such a poor collection of Christian books, has 7 copies of Dawkins' most recent book, and 10 of his titles; 9 copies of the Hitchens' title; 30 copies of Golden Compass in various formats--books, oversize books, CDs, and a Blueray and DVD on order. It's probably his deepest wish to rot the minds of children, and if I were a parent, I wouldn't have it in the house. Because parents aren't allowed to know what children are checking out, you'd probably better look at the book bags or go with them to the library.

Christian contemporary music

Much of it sets my teeth on edge and makes me weep for how self-centered it is. But I've been pleased with this album http://www.igracemusic.com/ig5/ The samples are long enough to enjoy and to decide if you wish to buy. I'm not familiar with any of the names. Nice acoustic guitar. And when it isn't the amplification isn't overwhelming. Nothing blasting my eardrums or trying to wake up God that I've heard.

Not all males are men

Our pastors have commented that our Lenten series on the miracles of the cross is challenging. Probably nothing like this passage from the Old Testament.

Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

However, it can be done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDxcyqeRc-4

Serving and experiencing Communion

This morning during my walk I was thinking about how Protestants disagree on the meaning of "literal." Take this verse for instance:

"Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks and offered it to his disciples, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.' " Matt 26:27-28

There are similar passages in the other gospels. In the Church of the Brethren where I was baptized and which I attended until I was an adult, the "love feast" and communion were somewhat literal in the setting and was held only twice a year. There was a simple meal of a broth type soup, time for personal reflection, foot washing, sharing communion unleaven bread and grape juice. The women wore prayer coverings for the service, even if they didn't in every day life, even in the mid-90s, when I last attended while visiting my parents.

In the Lutheran Church (ELCA) we use wine, break bread which is baked by ladies of the church (formerly made by deaconesses and purchased in packages), and some congregations have communion once a week (Advent Lutheran on Kenney Rd), some once a month and more frequently during special seasons like advent and lent (UALC on Lytham Rd). Our church also offers grape juice for those who prefer it.

Lutherans take the passage more literally than the anabaptists, but not as literally as the Catholics. I'm not sure of the theology here, but Jesus says THIS IS so he is "in under around and through" the elements; they have not been miraculously changed into his actual body and blood; nor is the meal only a memorial to his life and death. Nor do Lutherans, or any other group I know, think it is important to reinact any part of the meal with the disciples, other than the bread and wine.

This morning I was thinking about my mother who died 8 years ago. If someone suggested I could spend a few minutes 1) looking at her photos, or 2) reading her letters, or 3) sitting in her robe at her kitchen table eating her favorite breakfast of cheese on toast, I would choose the third option. It has the touch, feel, taste and comfort of Mother, even if she isn't there in person. That's sort of how I think of the communion experience at UALC.

How refreshing!

When researching a topic on the internet, it is easy to get side tracked. But sometimes there's a perfect storm--a coming together of what you were thinking about 30 minutes ago, with the topic you're researching. In my case, I was looking up the medallions in the library at Prague that depict John Huss, John Wycliffe, and Martin Luther. I came across the web page of The La Vista Church of Christ, located near Omaha, Nebraska. Two things impressed me. 1) An easily navigated web page that instantly brings up the information--my huge, wealthy Lutheran church with experts and staffing out the wazoo hasn't been able to achieve this in 8 years of trying; 2) what the church is about.

"The church has no bowling league, no softball team, nor does it sponsor a Boy Scout troop. We have an air-conditioned building with several rooms for Bible classes, but there is no kitchen, no banquet hall, no gymnasium, or party room.

Perhaps you are wondering what kind of church is this, or what does the church offer the community. Quite simply, we are a church that follows after the pattern of the New Testament. We are not a social club, nor a civic organization, nor a political forum, nor a welfare institution. While the influence of the church and its members are felt in all these areas, the church, itself, is none of these things. The church is a spiritual institution, which administers to the spiritual needs of its members and the community."

I've gone no deeper. We may be a few miles apart in theology--I know we are on the role of women in the church. But isn't this refreshing? A church that doesn't let its programming get in the way of its message about Jesus!

When the gospel of Christ is not preached,

those who are suffering in their sins are told by this exclusion that their hope is not to be found in the church. Instinctively, people realize that they are lost. I would go so far as to say that people know in their own hearts that they are spiritually dead. Why else would we advertise revival meetings and why do new teachings arise? As a church, we have a responsibility to lift up no god but the one true God. The one who is a savior to all who believe. We need to lift up Christ in our teachings and our sacraments at all times and remind people that there is life beyond the death that we are born into. Coffee Swirls

Our hope

In the Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics, (1973) Hope is defined as

"the conviction that God will judge the evil of the world and create a new heaven and a new earth with righteousness. The Old Testament prophets tell us that the whole of history is divinely ordered, and interpreted even the most hopeless hours in the light of the coming victory of God. A new age will replace the present one and end all woe and sin."

I suspect that isn't the direction Barry and Mama Obama are taking us.

"The New Testament takes up the theme of the Old Testament idea, but elucidates, sharpens, and specifies it at the same time."

Is this where Obama comes in?

"Jesus through his life, suffering, death, and resurrection laid the basis for that final intervention of God in history and human experience. Christian hope is concerned with the future of every human being, but it does not end there. The overarching concern encompasses the new humanity or Christ's church."

So the hope is the Kingdom of God? Seems to be some disagreement even among Christians about "what is our hope?"

"The theologians of hope want to rewrite theology in terms of categories of change--a total restructuring takes place where God is seen as part of the changing process."

Hmm. Did this guy write Obama's theme speeches? Hope, future, change? This might be the most religious guy we've ever had running for the White House! Oh, wait.

"As promised in the Scriptures, [hope is] demonstrated in the resurrection of God's Son, and experienced by Christians in the past and present."

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Cross posted by Collecting My Thoughts

A leap of faith

into the arms of Jesus.



Evel Knievel (1938-2007) gives his testimony of how Jesus grabbed and hung on.

HT Random Responses.

A template for pastors

Our congregations (3 locations, 10 services) are reading/preaching through the New Testament. This week we start Romans. I was struck by what a wonderful template it is for pastors--both in outline and topics. Always begin with the gospel. Paul goes on to remind the Christians in Rome of many other points--don't conform to the world, be joyful in hope, pay your taxes, bear with the weak, keep your bodies holy--but he starts with the gospel. It won't make any difference what else you've taken as your topic of the day or Sunday School lesson, if you don't ground it in the gospel, it isn't love and it's a clanging cymbal.

One of our pastors, Jeff Marian, has received a call from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minnesota (Minnesota's next to heaven for good Lutherans, I've concluded--at least in the USA). UALC sends him out with love and regrets--he has a large following here, and his oratory is magnificent (I'm sure there's a better theological term, but it escapes me at the moment). So from the book of Romans, here's my send off (modified letter from Paul) for Pastor Jeff:

Jeff, a servant of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle
and
set apart for the gospel of God,
the gospel God promised us beforehand
through
His prophets in the Holy Scriptures
regarding
His Son Jesus,
who as to his human nature was a descendant of David
and
who through the Holy Spirit
was declared with power
to be the Son of God
by his resurrection from the dead.
Through him and for his name's sake,
Jeff has received grace and apostleship
to call the people of Minnesota
to obedience that comes from faith in Jesus Christ.
And we also, here in Columbus at UALC,
are among those who are called
to belong to Jesus Christ.

Do you need a score card for Lutheran bodies?

Pastor David Jay Webber of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Scotsdale, AZ maintains many website, and one is this list of Lutheran bodies, some in fellowship with each other, some not. I've enjoyed looking through his websites. It's easier to read his Ukrainian Lutheran site than it is ours, which is a turn key system that is so complicated, even those of us who know what we're looking for can't find anything. The Ukrainian site is even translated into Russian. I wonder if he hires out?

Ash Wednesday

Easter is really early this year. Our Lytham location had 3 services--early a.m., noon, and 7:30. My husband and I served communion for the evening service. In the morning at Panera's almost everyone I saw had the gray cross on their foreheads. The ashes are from last year's Palm Sunday, I've been told. One family of five that I recognized sat near by and the father prayed over their bagels--and it was a long prayer--I think in his language, although the three children speak beautiful English. It was a beautiful way to start the Lenten season.

Cross posted at Coffee Spills

Church of the Best Buy

In yesterday's Columbus Dispatch there was a small ad for the Best Buy Scholarship fund. I don't think I own BB stock, but I shop at Best Buy once a year for my son-in-law--it sells "consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services through more than 1,200 retail stores across the United States, throughout Canada and in China." Volunteerism figures prominently at its corporate website. 1500 of the scholarships (non-renewable) are $1,500, but 51 are for $10,000--well worth taking the time to apply.

The ad I saw was all words, but shaped like a human, and it listed all the volunteer activities high school students might be doing which would qualify them for a Best Buy college scholarship. It was really quite clever and well done. Here's the list, and notice #14. (I added the numbers.)

1. Worked at the local food pantry.
2. Mentor
3. Picked up garbage off the freeway
4. Delivered meals on wheels.
5. Tutored a 2nd grader.
6. Walked the neighbor's 2 dogs.
7. Visited residents at a nursing home.
8. Rang the ------ (unreadable) for a total of --??--- hours.
9. Raked leaves for elderly people.
10. Mentor for a 3rd grader,.
11. Mowed the lawn for a handicapped neighbor for the past 4 summers.
12. Shoveled snow for Mrs. Jones.
13. Volunteered at a book drive to raise money for children's literacy.
14. Got a B+ on my chemistry test.
15. Organized a school blood drive,.
16. Basketball coach for 5th grade boys.
17. Read to toddlers at the local bookstore.
18. Children's summer program assistant.
19. Wildlife nursery volunteer.
20. Cooked for homeless teens on the week-end.

The only academic item on this list is a B+ in chemistry, and it is so different than the others, (it was the left arm of the figure), it almost looks like an error. The scholarship does have a grade point requirement, and obviously, the selectors are not looking for a teen who did all of this. In fact, a B+ in chemistry won't get you far in academic competitions--perhaps that's why it was included, to encourage the less than stellar students to apply.

What I like about this list is, 1) specificity, and 2) age appropriateness. They are not asking 15 year olds to go out and organize farm workers, picket abortion clinics, sleep on the streets with the homeless, or build homes for low income people. The list just by appearing in the paper shows that everyone, no matter how young, can do something close to home (and close to a Best Buy store, which is part of the FAQ). Only #20 seems out of place, considering the logistics and exclusivity of the idea (a pizza party with other teens sounds like a better idea to me rather than let-me-help you-feel-inadequate).

I think it is nice that Best Buy is a good corporate citizen, that it helps the communities from which it earns its income, and that its employees have opportunities to volunteer. However, I also believe its first commitment has to be to its real mission, to make money honestly in an ethical manner for its investors, which will in turn be good for its employees, the U.S. economy and the global economy.

This is a good lesson for youth staff of churches--as long as they keep in mind their real mission, which is to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ--his life, death and resurrection--discipling their youth to move out into the community, and not just compiling to-do lists to keep their young, affluent members busy with feel-good projects. Nothing is wasted in God's economy, so even if the project benefits no one, God can bless. But how much better to not innoculate children against true mercy and kindness when there might be a better lesson in their own school or home.

[Most of this is cross-posted from Collecting My Thoughts]

Mixed bag Sunday: music, Russian, and multitasking

Our new pastor, Eric Waters, has a degree in Russian. He even worked in Russia--Siberia, I think, and that's where the Lord tracked him down and claimed him. Now this eastern, Ivy League, former Catholic, is a Lutheran pastor. Maybe I'll brush up on my Russian and some morning (if they let him preach at Lytham Rd.) I'll just go through the greeting line after church and say something brilliant, but with a bad accent. His installation is at 3 p.m. today. The community/congregation is very excited. He's getting a doctorate in something--Bible related, not Russian.

There are some people who apparently don't know the Prelude is part of the morning worship service, and they use that time to catch up on friendships instead of preparing. As the organ music swells, their voices get louder. And more distracting. I hate to be a nag (actually, I don't), but I wanted to produce a loud SHUSH! That's the librarian in me. Or is it? How do you feel about whispering, chattering and giggling during worship?

During Advent I was serving communion with another woman. Behind us a row or two was a woman who whispered during the entire sermon--but only the sermon. I suspect she was praying in tongues, but I can't be sure. I don't know if she didn't like the topic and wanted protection or if she was praying for the pastor, but I thought my co-server was going to turn around and toss a hymnal at her.

Sometimes we think these distractions just bother us more as we age, but studies have shown that really, no one does well with multi-tasking. You're far better off to remove some of the distractions and focus on the task at hand. Even your teen-ager who truly believes she needs music blasting directly to her brain through ear buds, the TV on, her e-mail screen up on the computer, all while text-messaging her girlfriends when studying for the algebra exam, is just kidding herself.

I have nothing "noise emitting" turned on at the moment, but if I sit quietly and don't type, here's what I distinctly hear: to my left is a forced air register so I hear the air; to my right is the Compact CPU, and from time to time it pauses and gurgles; outside my room and from my husband's office I hear something that sounds like chirping, and I know that it is what his TV sounds like funneled through the stairway; on this floor in the kitchen, I can hear when the refrigerator kicks in. These are not noisy appliances and they all are in good condition. Then if I shift a little, I can hear my clothing, and then the thump of the cat as she jumps off my lap onto the carpeted floor. Boomers and gen-x'ers probably hear a lot less since they were raised on rock.

If I turned on the TV, CD player, radio, or an Internet broadcast, all that other noise would still be there. At one of our church services (I don't attend that one) the music is so amplified a jet bearing Jesus for his return could land in the parking lot and no one would hear it in the service.

Look what I found

We joined UALC in 1976, but were attending in 1974, so I think this LP was made before then. William Halverson was the choir director, Marolyn Halverson was director of The Twelve, and Mary Pinkerton the Organist. Luther Strommen and Paul Ulring, pastors. Steve Puffenberger was the engineer. I see lots of choir names that I recognize--still at the church--and some who've gone home, and some to Minnesota, which for Lut'rans, would be the next best thing, I suppose.

I believe the photo is taken below the dam on the Scioto River along Rt. 33.

Our current choir director is Michael Martin. It's worth getting into the service early (Lytham) just to hear him pray with the choir. Our senior pastor is Paul Ulring, assisted by Pastors John Stolzenbach and Eric Waters. Eric's been on board about two weeks, and wow! are people excited about this guy. I hear he speaks Russian. Maybe I can practice. Pastor Dave Mann is on the payroll, but serving in Haiti.

I found it while looking for this. They both smell pretty musty.

Using a hymnbook for devotions

We do not use the 1995 "With One Voice" hymnbook in our Sunday worship at UALC. In fact, we rarely use a hymnbook at all since the words of the hymns are cast on a screen (I don't like this, but someone thought Lutherans needed to have their hands free of books--smile). I'll address the Confession at a later time after I've done a little research. I checked out a copy from the church library. A few of the hymns are . . . underwhelming. Others fresh, even if the range looks a bit challenging for us older folk. I did notice the awkward detours around male pronouns--then you see Father and Son are also scarce. (Diety in many modern hymns and prayers if mentioned is gender neutral and described by function.) The exceptions are Spirituals, or something very old and unsingable from the Didache or possibly a Latin chant. This removal of the male pronouns puts a heavy burden on the overworked first person pronoun--I, me, my, we, us, etc. Then the gender and diversity themes start to rise.

Oh, Praise the Gracious Power (Text by Thomas H. Troeger, b. 1945)

vs. 3
Oh, praise inclusive love,
encircling ev'ry race,
oblivious to gender, wealth,
to social rank or place.

This one will probably not make the next cut (after all, this hymnbook is already 13 years old and missed the gay marriage battle).

As Man and Woman We Were Made (Text by Brian Wren, b. 1936)

As man and woman we were made
that love be found and life begun
so praise the Lord who made us two,
and praise the Lord when two are one:
praise for the love that comes to life
through child or parent, husband, wife.

This one is quite scriptural, but I haven't tried to sing it.

"I Am the Bread of Life" (text: John 6, adpt. S. Suzanne Toolan, SM, b. 1927)

"I am the Bread of life.
You who come to me shall not hunger,
and who believes in me shall not thirst.
No one can come to me
unless the Father beckons."
"And I will raise you up,
and I will raise you up,
and I will raise you up
on the last day."

I say Amen to that!

Some familiar gospel hymns appear too, always a joy to read through, such as "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling," or the wonderful sending hymn (Welsh tune) we often use at UALC, "Go, My Children, with My Blessing," or the great Fanny Crosby's "Blessed Assurance." She was blind and wrote 8,000 hymns, so it would be difficult to leave her out of a hymnbook that wants greater representation by women. I also hummed through a few toe tapping Catholic hymns we sing in Cursillo.

Are you up for the challenge?

There are many reading challenges on the Internet. Here's an interesting one. Only John Bunyun is a familiar name.

One Puritan book a month.
"Here is the line-up of books we are reading this year:

January: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes (128 pp)

Martyn Lloyd-Jones says of this book: "I shall never cease to be grateful to Richard Sibbes who was balm to my soul at a period in my life when I was overworked and badly overtired, and therefore subject in an unusual manner to the onslaughts of the devil. I found at that time that Richard Sibbes, who was known in London in the early seventeenth century as "The Heavenly Doctor Sibbes" was an unfailing remedy. The Bruised Reed quietened, soothed, comforted, encouraged, and healed me".

February: The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel (221 pp)
March: The Godly Man’s Picture by Thomas Watson (252 pp)
April: Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks (253 pp)
May: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ by John Bunyan (225 pp)
June: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen (130 pp)
July: A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge (287 pp)
August: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (228 pp)
September: The True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton (224 pp)
October: The Christian’s Great Interest by William Guthrie (207 pp)
November: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter (256 pp)
December: A Sure Guide to Heaven by Joseph Alleine (148 pp)

The twelve Puritan Paperbacks together in one bundle, saving you 36% off the retail price can be purchased here. The 12 books retail for $101.00, and Reformation Heritage Books is selling them for only $65.00. And of course, you can always try the library.

The idea comes from Provocations and Pantings, and he will be providing some biographical and historical information at his blog.

Fifty years and beyond

Today I came across a good story in a religious journal over 100 years old (Evangelical Visitor, Brethren in Christ, 1887), so I googled its source to see if it was on-line (so I wouldn't have to retype it). Google has scanned many old books, so I did find "Fifty years and beyond; or gathered gems for the aged," by S.G. Lathrop, 1881 (has been reprinted in 2007--the boomers are entering old age!). The story reminds me very much of one I've heard Pastor John Stolzenbach (UALC) tell of his ministry to some of our older members, who although they may have dementia and don't remember their own family members, remember the words to hymns, liturgy and Bible verses they learned long ago.

The author tells of singing the song of salvation with a 98 year old man--"quick [modern] music loses its charm" (even in 1881)--and then goes on to tell this story. From the chapter, "The Lord is my strength and my song." p. 140

"Do you know me?" said the wife to her aged husband who was dying. He said, "No."

And the son said, "Father, do you know me?" He said, "No."

The daughter said, "Father, do you know me?" He said, "No."

The minister of the Gospel standing by, said, "Do you know Jesus?" "Oh yes," he said, "I know him, 'chief among ten thousand, and one altogether lovely'."

Blessed be the Bible in which spectacled old age reads the promise. "I will never leave you, never forsake you." Blessed the staff on which the worn out pilgrim totters on toward the welcome of his Redeemer. Blessed the hymn-book in which the faltering tongue and the failing eyes find Jesus, the old man's song."

The message of the Bible

is not "The Lord helps those who help themselves," but "the Lord helps those who are helpless." Christianity has to do not with man reaching up to God, but with God reaching down to man and offering him salvation as a free, undeserved gift; not with man attempting to justify himself, but with God invading history and making forgiveness possible by taking the sins of the world upon Himself. According to the Bible, we live in a fallen, sinful world, a world populated by men and women who are in rebellion against God and who are thus separated from His loving presence. We all are guilty of sin; we all possess what the church calls "original sin," but which the Bible more accurately calls a "sinful nature." . . . Christians do not gain salvation by their own merit (trying to do so would be like mopping a floor with dirty water), but because the God-man, Jesus Christ, who was the only human to live and not sin, took the punishment for our sin upon Himself. . ." From "Culture, religion, philosophy, and myth: what Christianity is not," by Louis Markos, Christian Research Journal, Vol. 29, no. 2, 2006, pp. 32-39

Salvation isn't earned; it is a gift. Good deeds follow salvation; works are not a means but an outpouring of love. But every Sunday, in thousands of churches in our land, preachers will stand before their congregations and turn this message upside down, offering an endless "to-do list" instead of the gospel.

The "purpose" in Rick Warren's best seller, The purpose driven life, is all about you and me, not Jesus. In fact, I'm not sure he gets to salvation until the end of the book, where he says he can provide a list of books on how to share the Good News (the gospel). He bounces around the NT at such speed, that if I hadn't already known the gospel when I read this book, I'd get to the end with another "to-do list" about the local church and global mission.

The final entry in volume one of the Brethren Encyclopedia (3 vol) says: "Saving faith can be known only by a life of piety and obedience to Christ. Justification (declared righteous) is assured only in those whose faith manifested itself in obedience." What a message of works! For the last 30 years I believed I didn't hear the gospel because my ears were closed and I was rebellious, thinking I didn't need to be saved. Now I think I didn't hear it because it wasn't preached where I attended church (Church of the Brethren and United Church of Christ, one of the parent denominations of First Community Church in Marble Cliff, OH). [This doesn't excuse me--there was enough sin in my life it should have been obvious.] And although I'm in a believing church now with godly pastors, they too often slip into the theme of the day without first announcing why we have gathered to worship the Creator and Redeemer of the universe. [You have a better chance of NOT missing the point if you attend a liturgical service, but most don't because they like happy clappy music.] The gospel settles us down and reminds us of who we are--people precious in God's sight for whom Christ died. Then we can get down to the business of worshiping and serving a mighty God.

And we well deserve it

The closing paragraph of a powerful presentation on the Book of Acts by Frederick W. Baltz at the Word Alone November, 2007, Theological Conference. Word Alone is a renewal movement within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America:

“Stanley Hauerwas, distinguished theologian of the Methodist tradition, has said: God is killing the mainline churches, and we goddamn well deserve it. Can we expect God to bless denominations or congregations that depart from the biblical paradigm for the Spirit-led? The faithful ministry of the Word still reaches people’s hearts and changes their lives. If we can do nothing else for a denomination whose leaders are not ready to listen, let us demonstrate the blessings that flow from following the biblical paradigms we find in the Acts of the Apostles.”

Rahab's Thread

I found a lovely Christian blog this morning called Rahab's Thread. You might remember Rahab--she's in Jesus' genealogy--a fallen woman. But she's obedient and saves God's people. She's a reminder that God's mercy extends far beyond our past sins.

This morning I read an amazing story on Rahab's Thread about Dana's son who was born with a cataract. It's a beautiful story with a wonderful spiritual message you won't forget.

Quilt Show at Mill Run

Yesterday we hung a new quilt show at The Church at Mill Run (Upper Arlington Lutheran Church), which will run through Thursday, February 7 (comes down on Friday). These ladies work very hard and have great fellowship and workshops, too. The OSU Buckeyes play LSU this week, so here's to them:





Steve on the green ladder, VAM member, is heading up UALC's 168 Hours Film project. This involves making a film in one week! If you'd like to help--either with your dramatic skills or money or being part of the prayer team, check out the special web site, runofthemillproductions.org.

Martin Luther's Christmas Book

Several weeks ago I checked out this title from our church library and forgot about it. Because of its seasonal topic I was only supposed to keep it one week! Now I'm reading it, and think it is so wonderful, I want to buy a copy. Luther's writing is timeless, and he wrote on every imaginable topic.

If I'm reading the publication data on the verso correctly, the editor, Roland H. Bainton, put it together with selected woodcuts from German artists of the era in 1948. This paperback is by Augsburg Fortress, 1997. Unfortunately, Bainton is a bit vague on where to find the originals, citing "the index to the sermon on the Gospels in the Weimar edition of Luther's works, vol. XXII," and suggests the stories are more beautiful in the original German. The back cover tells us that this little devotional contains 30 excerpts from Luther's Christmas sermons and that Bainton, a renowned Reformation scholar, translated and arranged them into eight topics. A reviewer at Amazon.com says that this represents 1/20th of what Luther preached and wrote about Christmas.

This is from the first chapter, "Annunciation."

"Our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a line of ancestors whom the Evangelist Matthew arranges with artistry into three groups of fourteen patriarchs, fouteen kings, and fourteen princes. Among the latter were a number of disreputable characters, as we learn from the book of Kings, and there were no savory women. God holds before us this mirror of sinners that we may know that he is sent to sinners, and from sinners is willing to be born."

So much of today's emphasis in evangelical churches is on Jesus as a friend and buddy, a close relationship, personal self-worth and happy, clappy, feel-good worship services, and service to God in order to feel good. Many of the songs are "I, me, my, mine" or "we, we, we." Luther never loses the awe and majesty of God come in the flesh, but also he doesn't let us forget why we need a savior. And as with all presentations of the Gospel, if you don't start with sin, you have no climax or ending either.

A note from Charlie

A friend sent the following e-mail. It's probably going around, but looks like a nice idea.

It's that time of year again. Let's all extend the spirit of Christmas to our good friends at the ACLU by sending them Christmas card. I know it will be an emotional experience for them.

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004

Charlie

How do you plan to get to heaven?

I don't know how you're doing, but I'm not good enough to go to heaven. Someone else is getting me in for free. Jesus. Jeff Marian, one of our pastors at UALC, noted in the church newsletter,

A recent study asked church-goers: Can a good person earn his or her way to heaven?
52% of Presbyterians,
54% of Lutherans,
58% of Episcopalians,
and 82% of Roman Catholics said YES! Are you among them?

The truth is that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, not by any good deeds that we do. The Bible tells us that salvation is not a program, but a relationship with Jesus! People still need to hear that very basic message of our faith. Are you willing to be a messenger of God’s free gift?

The people in the pew need to hear this every Sunday from the pastors too, because they can be lulled into a works mentality--particularly in our American culture where "bootstrapping" is considered a virtue. They can get so busy and so proud of their accomplishments (or so discouraged by their lack of them) that they forget what the good news is all about. I don't mean the entire message of the sermon has to be on the cross and resurrection followed up with an altar call, but it needs to be the foundation of the sermon. Peter and Paul always laid the ground work when writing to the young Christians in the first century of the church. Then they moved on to the "to do list" of faith.

Accompanying that sermon, it also helps to have a well written liturgy that expresses "and for HIS sake forgives you all your sins," a fabulous, spirit-led choir and director , and some solid hymns that reinforce the good news. That will send us out eager and ready to be a messenger.

Source for church history

I noticed a link to Sketches of Church History, from AD33 to the Reformation over at The Hall of Church History.

A disciplined thought life

A constant struggle, isn't it--and she addresses the problem well, after the deep disappointment in a spiritual leader:

This came at the heels of my own realization that my thought life was out of order with regards to someone, and frankly I needed to repent. Daydreaming about someone else other than your mate is a sin, just as surely as literally going out on them is and it violates at a lot of levels. Most importantly, by indulging this I fail to do the most important thing I can do which is to focus on the here and now, and live in the moment... Moment by moment taking things as they come. I realized that my harmless little daydream had become a sort of fluffy blanket to wrap myself in against the emotional cold of my marriage, but because it isn't real, it only leads to frustration and discontent, and anger, and like the alcoholic, you think the one drink is only warming you and lightening your heart, but really its leading you into a darkness because that one glass in your hand becomes two..."What will it hurt?" and then its the bottle and it consumes you...

There's more

Blessed are the peacemakers, Jesus said

How to tell a real peacemaker? Check out their beliefs not the posters and marches in front of hospitals or funerals clamoring for media attention. Statement on the War in Iraq by the Mennonites (Mennonite Church USA), at the Global Anabaptist Encyclopedia On-line. Also useful for doing some genealogy searches if you have Mennonites in your family tree.

Using this encyclopedia, I somehow wandered into the archives of Mennonite Life, and in the 1950 issue saw an article about the Mennonites who had immigrated to the Freeman, South Dakota area. In the immediate vicinity of Freeman there were 13 Mennonite churches in 1950 (I haven't checked to see what it is now). General Conference Mennonite, Krimmer Mennonite Brethren, Evangelical Mennonite Brethren, Mennonite Brethren, and United Missionary Church. 13 Mennonite churches to serve 3400 Mennonites. Maybe it's my imagination, but it sounds like they needed a little in-house peace making. To be fair, these 13 churches were the result of different immigrations over a period of about 50 years from three different groups, the Hutterites, the Swiss, and the Low German (Dutch ethnics who were Prussianized who settled in Russia) who spoke different languages and had distinct cultures. There is almost no difference in doctrine--and splits, even within ethnic and language group, have been over leadership, type of clothing (aprons, hats, polka-dot or plain), use of modern technology, etc.

These are not peacemakers.

Battle of the Bands

If you don't like the music at the informal/ contemporary/ ear-splitting gen-x led service, you're probably losing the battle, if history is any indicator and if you are Lutheran. An article in Church History (1936) comments

"Because the Swedish church in America had failed to train an American ministry, and the men sent from Sweden were unable to preach in the language of the younger people, the Swedish churches on the Delaware became Episcopal churches. Thus was solved the language problem by the group which comprised the earliest Lutheran settlers in Pennsylvania.

When Henry Melchior Muhlenberg came from Germany in 1742, he found the German Lutherans in Pennsylvania in complete confusion. . . he squarely faced the problem of language and influenced his sons and his colleagues to master the language of the country in order that the gospel might be preached to all, regardless of language or nationality. By 1754, when he was pastor at Trappe, he preached regularly in both English and German. . . in New York City, he preached in Dutch in the morning, in German in the afternoon and in English in the evening. It mattered little to him which language was used in a service of worship. The important thing was that it was the language of the people. "The Language Problem in the Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania 1742-1820" by Armin George Weng, Church History, Vol. 5, No. 4. (Dec., 1936), pp. 359-375.

As much as I don't like it, this awful music that changes my heart rate and hurts my ears, "preaches the gospel" for some in a language they understand. Although if it sounds like a non-denominational, all-purpose gathering in a movie theater, is it a Lutheran church and have you lost the battle of the bands whichever way you go?

After Muhlenberg died, many Lutherans went back to using German, according to this study. Squabbles about language continued in Pennsylvania. You find First English and Second English Lutheran Churches in some communities.

What brings in the people?

Library staff use gimmicks to bring people to the library where they can refer them to . . . more gimmicks--movies, games, air guitar--to raise the stats (looks good on bond issue requests and money from the state). What happens if you substitute the word "church" in this entry for library? Does it sound familiar? Who's copying who?

"Another reason the parties and stunts matter is that they attract new users to the library church. When librarians church staff sponsor a "gross-out challenge," Ninja tag, giant chess with human pieces, lego contests, teen lock-ins, garage band nights, improv comedy, American Idol style talent shows, and teen competitions for best videos, photos, and art, they're bringing teens - especially boys - to the library church, often for the first time." Marylaine Block

What's so bad about the Good News?

After last night's "Scenes from his nativity," a musical banquet performed at our church to coincide with The Friends of the Creche fourth biennial convention in Dublin, Ohio, I was floating. Words can't describe how beautifully the program and music led to the manger of Bethlehem. It began with scenes from the crucifixion in "God so loved the world," by John Stainer, which is really the heart of the Christian faith, and then took us back and developed the theme of the coming of the Savior. The spectacular final piece, "Is it really you?" [Words by Carolyn Martin, Music by Michael G. Martin] was commissioned by TFOC and tells the story from the perspective of one of the Wisemen, asking at the end, "Is Jesus Christ born in you?" Yes, this was a program filled with the hope, promise and power of the gospel.

Then this morning I went to check a date on our church's website, and came crashing to the ground. Such a disappointment. You can find the gospel on our website if you first Google "What we believe" + UALC" but it would be a challenge to find even a snippet any other way. Using the website, you'd have to know to first click on the link for visitors, then click on "What we believe" (it isn't there), then on "What worship means," and then from there follow a link to a pdf file, "What we believe." This pdf spreads at 45% to 2 pages, and is comprehensive. Does that mean shorter items about forgiveness, grace, Christ's death, sin, etc. couldn't be sneaked into other links? (The Alpha link doesn't count because that's an international program hosted by our congregation.) The Visual Arts Ministry, which spent weeks hammering out a mission statement that would explain why we are a ministry to reach the community for Christ and not a committee, is lumped with "fellowship groups," and has no spiritual message at all on this site.

Let's not waste my time and yours here quibbling about the God words or whether programs for visiting nursing homes or martial arts for little kids are really forms of "the gospel." Announcing that "we seek to live in and for Jesus" is happy talk, not the gospel. The gospel tells people about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Gentle, non-threatening phrases filled with chummy, non-threatening God words and wussy verbs declare nothing, believe nothing, and move no one.

The emerging church message is not new--it's a battle in Christendom that returns each generation under different names. I attended liberal, main-line Protestant churches with limp messages for 35 years. I know that no one is saved in a liberal church unless like me, they become so desperate for hope and truth, they are driven to look elsewhere. I was that desperate when I attended UALC for the first time in 1974. There were no websites then, or 8 page newsletters, or multiple campuses or large staff. Just a minister (Luther Strommen) with a 3 point sermon, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Let's prepare the webpage so there is room for Jesus this Christmas!

Interview with a Christian writer for children

Girls will read boys' stories, but not the other way around, he realized, so he writes for boys and gets both. He hated reading when he was growing up, although his father was the author of 70 books, so he writes for kids who hate to read. He acted in films as a child and visualizes with background music as he writes. An interview with Max Eliot Anderson here.

How my ancestors may have recited the Lord's Prayer

Cousin James (2nd cousin once removed) on a genealogy listserv for Church of the Brethren reported how my Pennsylvania Dutch great great grandparents may have used a local dialect of German, which differed from High German. The Brethren were the first people in the colonies to have a Bible printed in a European language--German (Christopher Sauer, 1743).
From the Luther translation of the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) (High German)
http://www.ethnicharvest.org/parallel/parallelscript.mv

Unser Vater in dem Himmel! Dein Name werde geheiligt. Dein Reich komme. Dein Wille gescheheauf Erden wie im Himmel. Unser täglich Brot gib uns heute. Und vergib uns unsere Schuld, wie wir unseren Schuldigern vergeben. Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern erlöse uns von dem Übel. Denn dein ist das Reich und die Kraftund die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit. Amen.

Low German: http://www.neemeyer.com/html/lords_prayer.html

Uns Vader, de is in Himmel. Heiliget is dien Naam. Dien Riek sall komen. Dien Will doch doon,up Welt as dat is in Himmel. Gäv uns dis Daguns dagliks Brod. Un vergäv uns uns Schuld, as wi vergäven uns Schuldners. Un bring uns nich in Versuchung. Aber spaar uns van de Übel. Denn dien is dat Riek un de Kraftun de Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit! Amen.

Easy listening

This morning I checked a CD out of the church library called, "Listening to Luther," published by Concordia Publishing House, $14.99. It is delightful. I recommend it for your public library, church library, or your personal library. I wasn't confirmed in the Lutheran Church, so I didn't have the privilege of using Luther's Small Catechism, until a few years ago when it was used in one of our adult classes. We joined our congregation (formerly ALC, now ELCA) in 1976 and the catechism book we used was a mish-mash, rewrite with trendy 70s illustrations and photos. What a waste when we could have used the real thing!

Product Description
A wonderful devotional or personal study aid, this recording includes the Six Chief Parts from Luther's Small Catechism, Daily Prayers, Table of Duties, and the Christian Questions with Their Answers and the six catechetical hymns by Martin Luther. Also included is Luther's hymn, "Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word."

A 12-page booklet explains the history of the Small Catechism and Luther's hymns, and lists complete text for all hymns.

Written by Martin Luther in 1529 in question and answer format, the Small Catechism explores Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine: The Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Confession, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Also included are daily prayers, a table of duties for Christians in their various callings in life, and a guide for Christians to use as they prepare to receive Holy Communion. Luther intended the catechism to be a prayer book for individuals and families and a powerful tool for the Christian life because it provides a brief, clear summary of God’s Word on the essentials of the Christian faith.

What you find in the Bible

I love the simplicity of this. Most Christians can get it pretty garbled, but this guy's right on. "What you do find in the Bible is an account of what Christ did. You find His living of a perfect life and a perfectly innocent sacrifice of Himself on the cross. You find Him rising again. These are all works accomplished for you. In reality, your sins are already forgiven and you have the gift of eternal life. You don't need to DO anything for it. It is yours." Buch's blog

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Lutherans and Catholics drink a lot of beer

Organizers of San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair — sponsored by Miller Brewing Co. – have portrayed Christ and his disciples as half-naked homosexual sadomasochists in the event’s promotional advertisement.

I think Miller Brewing Co. should hear from some Lutherans. They shouldn't just pull their logo, either, but all sponsorship money should be returned, all advertising pulled, and Christians should stay home.

"Miller Brewing Company has decided to pull its logo from a "Last Supper" poster-featuring homosexuals and sex toys-advertising the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, Calif. But a Catholic group is urging the company to cut all ties with the homosexual "leather" street fair." CNS news

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A word about short term missions

Find another term for short term missions this African pastor suggests.

"Besides bringing an agenda, what tends to distinguish the American personality?

Americans have two great things going for them culturally. One is that Americans are problem-solvers. Every time I come to the U.S., I like to spend a couple hours in a Wal-Mart. I find solutions to problems that I never thought of!

The rest of the world, even Europe, isn't so intent on solving inconveniences. We tend to live with our problems. In America you almost never go into a house where the sinks have two taps, a cold water tap and a hot water tap, because that means you have to mix the water in the sink to get it to the right temperature. You have these single faucets that mix the water before it comes out. It makes perfect sense. But that's a problem the rest of the world wouldn't even think to solve.

Americans don't easily live with a problem—they want to solve the problem and move on. The rest of the world is more willing to live with the problems.

The second great thing for Americans is that your educational system teaches people to think and to express themselves. So a child who talks and asserts himself in conversation is actually awarded higher marks than the one who sits quietly.

How are these traits seen, say, in Africa?

Those two things that are such great gifts in the home context become a curse when you go into missions. Americans come to Africa, and they want to solve Africa. But you can't solve Africa. It's much too complex for that. And that really frustrates Americans.

And the assertiveness you are taught in school becomes a curse on the field. I often say to American missionaries, "When the American speaks, the conversation is over." The American is usually the most powerful voice at the table. And when the most powerful voice gives its opinion, the conversation is over.

So what should talkative, problem-solving Americans do?

I tell Americans: "We're going into this meeting. Don't say anything! Sit there and hold your tongue." When you sit around a table, the people speaking always glance at the person they believe is the most powerful figure at the table. They will do that with you when you're the only American. And at some point, they will ask you: "What do you think?"

Don't say anything. If you say anything, reflect back with something like "I have heard such wisdom at this table. I am very impressed." And leave it at that. Affirm them for the contribution they have made. Don't give your own opinion.

Americans find that almost impossible. They do not know how to hold their tongue. They sit there squirming, because they're conditioned to express their opinions. It's a strength at home, but it becomes a curse on the field.

In a sense western missions has been marked by that. But isn't it strange that Jesus not only entered society incarnate at the weakest point, as a defenseless child who needed the care of his host community, but he also told his disciples: "Do not go with money; do not go with a second pair of shoes; go in a stance of vulnerability; be dependent on the communities you visit"? Isn't it interesting that for 30 years he doesn't speak out; doesn't reveal himself; he remains quiet, and only after 30 years of listening and learning the culture does he begin to speak."

Read the whole interview with Oscar Muriu at Christian Bible Studies.

guitar-driven worship

I cut and pasted this phrase from a description of one of our church services. Oh my goodness. Is that what drives worship?

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As told by a pastor

I grew up and was baptized in Church of the Brethren, a small Anabaptist sect that arrived in the U.S. from Germany via the Netherlands in the early 1700s. The group has split several times, but still cooperate on genealogy. I subscribe to the genealogy listserv, even though I have been a Lutheran for over 30 years (as were many of my ancestors who later married into the Brethren and followed that faith tradition). Most Brethren in the 18th and 19th centuries were called Tunkers or Dunkards (a derivative of the German word) because of their practice of trine immersion baptism of adults. The following story was told this week on the listserv about Rev. Bob Richards, an Olympic athlete who was quite an engaging speaker whom I heard more than once when I was young.

Rev. Bob Richards, Olympic pole vaulter champion and Brethren minister, to a very large gathering of Brethren College Students: (His story went something like this) I got on a city bus and sat beside a man who asked me what I did for a living. I replied that I was a Dunkard Pastor. He replied, "That's interesting, the bus driver just called me the same thing when I got on the bus."

There is still a group of about 900 called Dunkard Brethren which left Church of the Brethren in the 1920s.

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ELCA and Homosexual pastors

"This month the delegates to its biennial convention approved a resolution that urged all denominational leaders not to discipline (as it has in the past, in accordance with church rules) sexually active homosexual clergy in “faithful committed same-gender relationships.”

Of course, we are seeing a great deal of effort on the part of ELCA officials, who obviously fear the effects of this resolution on church life and funding, to nuance what this means. But a brief visit to the blogsites of Lutheran homosexual activists makes it clear that they understand its significance. Something immensely important has happened; the floodgate is now in fact open. The ELCA joins a number of other mainline Protestant denominations as, as one Catholic observer put it, just another Sodomite sect." S. M. Hutchens at Mere Comments

Our congregation used to have a plan to pull out; but then that pastor (no longer with us) was guilty of infidelity, so I don't know what the current thought is.

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Tony Campolo

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to hear a sermon by Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University and an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church, at Lakeside Sunday service at Hoover Auditorium (I'd already attended worship on the lakefront). He was the "Chaplain of the Week." Regardless of what you think of his theology or the larger umbrella of "the emergent church" you'll never hear a more entertaining Christian. He even jokes about being a bald guy with a son named Bart and a daughter named Lisa. He's a member of a predominantly African American congregation, and can preach it with patois better than anyone I know. If you were to hear it on a recording, you'd never guess he's an Italian American.


I always listen carefully for the gospel--not the social, feel-good, do-gooder peace and justice gospel, but the real Jesus-died-on-the-cross-for-your-sins, because without that you're just kiddin' around, giving people false hope that they can get into the kingdom with good works. Jesus didn't set aside any of the ethical and moral codes of the Jews developed over hundreds of years--the good news was about him. And Tony did mention it--at the end of the sermon. If you're in a liturgical church that sings traditional hymns and has a lesson from the NT and OT, you can fill in what the preacher misses. But why should you need to?

Thirty some years ago I had the impression that Prof. Campolo and I were on the same page. Of course, I'd been a works-Christian most of my life before 1974, so maybe it was just that with the fresh blush and bloom of the Gospel, I didn't notice that some people who called themselves Evangelicals had become bored with the Good News of Jesus and wanted to "move on." Or maybe he came to the conclusion that there were no unbelievers in the pew. Wrong. If the folks aren't saved, Tony, there's not much point to a stunning sermon about the spirit.

Cross posted from Collecting My Thoughts

401

They buried the N-word

There probably should be a few others. Story. As usual, Christians are followers, not of the King, but the Culture.

Worse still, many emerging pastors today are embracing the idea that foul language is a great way to engage the culture. A recent church baptism training video (intended to look like an MTV farce) features a pastor in a pool, preparing for a baptism, when someone does a cannon ball right behind him. The church thought it would be funny to bleep out what the pastor says, as though he is cussing. When the church starts becoming like the culture to supposedly win people, nowadays that includes the use of foul language. On the Christian news blog that I publish, I cannot even link to some church sites due to their use of vulgar language and their promotion of Hollywood filth. I frequently have to delete comments from Christian readers who use words like “su***”, and cr**. Christians are joining the great stampede toward Gomorrah, and they justify it every step of the way. Those who oppose this kind of speech by believers are told to get over it. Read the rest at When Vulgarians Seize a culture

400

On Beth Moore Bible studies

I've been in a lot of Beth Moore Bible studies--usually Saturday mornings, but occasionally the Thursday morning group. But this one is a hoot.

On Holiday

398 Grace

Two weeks ago I bought a book at our public library branch (for sale items by Friends of the Library) titled, "My mother's favorite song; tender stories of home to deepen your faith" by John William Smith (Howard Publishing, 1995). It looked brand new; the publisher's statement on the verso of the title page included a statement about Jesus coming again, and the book flap story appeared to be sound. So for $2 it looked worth the price to purchase "one of America's best storytellers." Now after having read several selections during my morning devotions, I'll say, "money well-spent."

Often when I'm told that such-and-so gave a wonderful, moving sermon (our church has 10 services in 3 locations, and sometimes I wouldn't even recognize the speaker if I saw him), I ask, "Did he present the gospel?" And I get a blank stare or a stammer. That's why I like a liturgical service (we have two); it clearly says, "and for his [Jesus] sake, forgives you your sin." Brings me up real smart, that does. Nothing in what I did or will do makes me worthy of forgiveness. It's all grace.

On p. 121 of Smith's book he writes my story:

"When I was growing up, I never heard much about grace at church--I mean, in sermons or classes. I slowly figured out that it was important and that we needed it, but we were sort of embarrassed by it."

Actually, I'm not sure I heard about grace at all. We didn't even sing "Amazing Grace" in those days.

"Now that we've discovered it, we're trying to make up for lost time and make the most of it. It has become an issue. Can we have too much grace? Will grace fix anything? Does grace mean that everybody is saved? Does grace mean that we don't have to do anything? . . ."

"Nothing crucifes the self more than grace. And nothing is more painful than self-crucifixion. Nothing strikes a more savage blow against our basic pride and sense of self-worth than grace. Being able to accept grace is very hard, because it makes such intense demands. On my road to God, nothing I have encountered has baffled and frustrated me more than grace. It is the most nonsensical, illogical, unpredictable, unreasonable thing in all of God's arsenal of weapons that are designed to defeat the enemy within all of us--ourselves."

Our sermons at UALC are grace-lite, or Jesus-lite, I think because if not done right, they can sound legalistic or harsh. I mean, who wants to be told she is sinful? Who wants to know he doesn't measure up? It might turn off the seekers; it might shake up the members. It's far easier to admonish the congregation to do more, be more, adore more. Grace? You can't earn it, but it sure isn't cheap.

397

Advice from an entertainer

Last week I saw in the Wall Street Journal an interview with Betty White concerning her years on the small screen. Remember, she was on the Mary Tyler Moore show and is still being seen on reruns of Golden Girls. She commented:

The biggest change [in TV series] is the industry's drastic expansion. . . Anytime something gets so big, the product gets watered down."

Hmmm. Happens to churches too, Betty. We go for the numbers and in so doing, water down our product (message).

396

Churchy talk

Today I took that 15 question test in Newsweek on religion and I scored 100%. If I'm so smart, why do I not have a clue what these two paragraphs are about?

"Emerging Church leaders focus on epistemology, arguing that modernism corrupted the church by limiting its focus to a defense of propositional truth based in an unassailable philosophical foundation. The rejection of foundationalism is a central theme of emergent culture." Albert Mohler "What should we think of the Emerging Church? Pt. 1"

And then there's this obfuscatory telling of how to become a Christian--if I were an unbeliever I would have no idea what they were talking about, and I'd wonder what they had against capital letters.

". . . the birthing of christians is a work of the holy spirit, to which the church community is midwife. as you are called by holy spirit into a love relationship with god, we will come alongside you as your journey and discern a calling to christian faith." Apostles Church, Seattle

395

The new Lutheran hymnal

In our congregation, I haven't heard anything about the new hymnal for ELCA, although from time to time I read about it on the internet. These things take a long time to work through, and our congregation does very little that other Lutherans would recognize anyway, so we are not the audience. At our Mill Run location, there are no hymnals. I use the hymnal for hymns if it matches what's on the screen just because I hate to totally lose my music reading ability; occasionally it is needed for liturgy, but not often. So what I have here are comments (used with permission) excerpted from an e-mail from another Lutheran, a choir director in another denomination, who does know music and liturgy and attended a regional workshop:

"There were 141 registered; majority was made up of pastors, choir directors and those interested in ELCA worship. The presentation team consisted of 5 pastors and 2 laymen from the Northern Illinois Synod. They went through one complete service setting as well as playing a very fine DVD hosted by Rev. Mark Hanson on the birth and completion of this new hymnal.

From the voices around me, I knew I was in the company of people who love to sing, know how to sing and have little trouble with rhythm or range.

I was impressed with the amount of information contained in this new hymnal. The line drawings, alone, were worth the price of the book.

But I came away feeling that those who put the hymns together did not give much consideration to range: many ran up to Ds, Es and even Fs on the treble clef. Too high for most congregations.

And the number of choices of service settings, prayers and responses was overwhelming. Putting hymns from WOV and the purple Hymnal Supplement into this new ELW was a great idea, but they overdid it on the liturgical variety.

I know it's been over 30 years since the green hymnal publication but I left the meeting wondering if the cost to each congregation was worth the gain in newer, more contemporary hymns and ten Holy Communion settings."

Ten communion settings? Silly me, we're lucky at our church to use one and only the older people know it. I'm almost afraid to see what 10 different settings can do to gender-free pronouns.

394

Was I the only Christian disappointed?

I thought it was good that the planners of the memorial service for the VA Tech students and faculty represented several faith groups: Sedki Riad, a Muslim, Julie Still, a Buddhist, Sue Kurtz, a Jew, and Bill King, a Lutheran. The campus is obviously very multi-cultural with many first and second generation Americans, and some of the dead were international students. The Muslim, Jew and Buddhist seemed to represent the beliefs of their faith, reading for comfort from their holy books, quoting their leaders even as they expressed their sorrow and disbelief. But the Lutheran pastor . . . well, here's what he said:

"We're gathered this afternoon for many purposes. To weep for lost friends and families, to mourn our lost innocence, to walk forward in the wake of unspeakable tragedy, to embrace hope in the shadow of despair, to join our voices and our longing for peace, healing and understanding which is much greater than any single faith community, to embrace that which unifies, and to reject the seductive temptation to hate."

"We gather together weeping, yes, we weep with an agony too deep for words and sighs that are inexpressible, but also we gather affirming the sovereignty of life over death. At a time such as this the darkness of evil seems powerful indeed. It casts a pall over our simple joys, joys as simple as playing Frisbee on the Drill Field. We struggle to imagine a future beyond this agony. If we ever harbored any illusions that our campus is an idyllic refuge from the violence of the rest the world, they are gone forever. And yet we come to this place to testify that the light of love cannot be defeated. Amid all our pain, we confess that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it," said King.

"We cannot undo yesterday's tragic events, but we can sit in patient silence with those who mourn as they seek for a way forward. As we share light one with another, we reclaim our campus. Let us deny death's power to rob us of all that we have loved about Virginia Tech, our community. Let us cast our lot with hope in defiance of despair," said King, who invited the convocation to a moment of silence. From The Lutheran (ELCA magazine).

Does this represent any particular faith perspective? If you didn't know it was spoken by a Lutheran pastor, would you even have identified the speaker as Christian, especially since he doesn't seem able or willing to identify the light shining in the darkness? Sad, very sad.

393

A very sad interview

A young man from a counseling center--Christian or new age or secular, couldn't tell--was interviewed in Blacksburg today by Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts about how to counsel the parents and children in the aftermath of yesterday's shooting. Of course, he had no answers--who would? But he could have offered something positive and hopeful. He was either muzzled, tongue tied, or didn't know the Biblical truth that there is evil and sin in this world and that God has a plan. He stumbled around in some theological quicksand about "free will," but that was about as far as he got, and Robin even had to throw him a few prompts. Some students, however, knew the source of comfort.





Cross posted at Collecting my thoughts

Why is he still a priest?

Rev. Jeffrey John, an Anglican priest, didn't get to be bishop because of his long term homosexual affair, but apparently he can deny the most important belief in the Christian faith and insult millions of Christians living and dead, many who died for the belief he's ridiculing, and remain a priest. Some speculated on one web site that because the announcement was made on April 1, it was an April Fool's joke, but this is really nothing new for liberals. I've heard more "God is love" sermons that leave out human sin and the cross and how God wants to be our best friend no questions asked, than I care to remember.

Here's his Lenten talk on BBC. What drivel.

From Pierced for our transgressions, p. 216-217: These charges are extremely serious. We cannot pretend that critics of penal substitution are raising a minor point of dispute: they are accusing us of propagating a theological novelty, imposing our twisted modern world views on God's holy word, unwittingly encouraging and justifying sadistic acts of violence, and worshipping a malevolent, hypocritical deity who bears no resemblance whatsoever to the loving God of the Bible. Disagreements over penal substitution are fundamental; they cannot be ignored.

Misunderstanding Jesus

On my way to church this morning, I heard a woman on NPR saying that liberal Christians were making a comeback on the political scene (not her words, but the idea) and that Jesus had talked more about "serving the poor" than anything else. Not really. I can't find such a program in the listing, so it must have been a quip quote in the news since we were approaching the hour--I moved on to another station

Often in the New Testament women "get it" when the men, even Jesus' close followers, are clueless. I think that's why the resurrection was revealed first to women. But the woman I heard today is missing the big picture. She probably thinks the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew is about feeding the poor and hungry; that sowing the seed and harvesting is about grain. Jesus did not set aside any of the concerns of Mosaic Law for the poor--don't exploit or oppress them, but have compassion. However, God didn't need to send his only Son to die on the cross for that message--it had been told and retold for thousands of years. But the biggest emphasis of the New Testament is who Jesus said he was. The conservative Christians also major in minors--like homosexuality (most Biblical admonitions and advice on sex are for men who lust after women, not men) or modest dress or homeschooling. But at least the records show they are more generous with their money than the liberals, and they know who they are worshiping.

The primary focus of the Gospels isn't the poor, or poverty, or even misuse of wealth (although all are very important topics) or end times, but the last week of Jesus' life leading to his death and resurrection. When the woman anoints and worships Jesus with the expensive perfume, who is it that expresses concern for what that money could have done for the poor? Why Judas, of course.

Conversation Peace

Our Women of the Word Bible study selection this spring is Conversation Peace; the power of transformed speech by Mary A. Kassian (Lifeway Press, 2001, 2006). The Saturday group runs through May 12 at our UALC Mill Run campus and there is a video and workbook. I believe there are women's groups for WOW that meet Tuesday evenings and Thursday morning at our Lytham Road location. This morning we surprised our leader with a birthday party--a chocolate raspberry ice cream cake from Graeter's. We paused our discussion of the text and video for laughs and jokes. Then she told us that after her husband was released from the hospital after a heart attack (she is now a widow) he had lost a lot of weight, and the only thing that tasted good to him was raspberry chocolate chip ice cream, so every time she eats it she remembers him. The woman who ordered the cake didn't know that. That's how God arranges birthday parties.

Our fearless, faithful leader

Listening

One of the advantages of blogging is being able to link to the items you want to share, but since I also print and bind mine, I've just got to provide the heart of this one. It's from Pomegranate and Paper.

"Yesterday in church, the priest asked what we had chosen as our Lentan penance. I squirmed a little in the pew because, as I wrote last week, I don't do the "what I gave up for Lent thing". And then he said that he had a suggestion for anyone who hadn't chosen a "penance" yet. He suggested that we chose what he considered the hardest penance of all: listening. Specifically, listening to someone that we don't like to listen to, someone with whom we are not sympatico.

He described listening as a physical and spiritual act. He suggested we listen without words, that is, that we truly listen without forming a reply, without thinking of what to say next, and without chiming in with what was bothering us. He spoke of listening as the act of opening up fully to another and receiving their words without judgment, without reaction, and without an eye on the clock. My mind immediately raced to all the times I've been impatient with listening: to my kids as I'm just home from work, to my mother in law on the phone with her repetitive list of complaints, to my own mother when she wants to tell me about the intrigues around the mah jong table, and to my husband when he just needs to tell me how he feels and have me accept what he says.

I'm working on listening this week. To really hearing what others are telling me. Sometimes that means listening more to the silences than to the words. I find that listening quiets the words in my own head. It takes me out of my self, beyond my needs, and my mind racing from thought to thought."