You are not the one who is lost

In any spiritual conversation about Jesus in which you feel inadequate or unprepared, Pastor Eric Waters said last Sunday, "Remember you are not the one who is lost, . . .you've been found!" He was preparing the congreation for a 10 week series on evangelism. "We know the way home, that Jesus is the only way to the Father." The decks are cleared for action--the calendar is clear. The church is out of debt; we've settled the synod decision. Now is the time. . .

The Shepherd of Hermas--the 12 Mandates

Continuing to read in "The Story of Christian Spirituality," I dipped in The Shepherd of Hermas, which came close to being included in the New Testament. It consists of revelations, rules and parables--always a favorite for Christians of all eras. The book was written in Rome by a former slave who had no particular office in the early church. Hermas receives 5 visions while walking and then recorded his experiences; 12 mandates; and 10 parables. I have a translation in my Goodspeed "The Apostalic Fathers, an American Translation" (Harper, 1950), which I haven't found on the internet, but this one by Crombie from the mid 1800s sounds pretty good--doesn't seem to have the thees, thous and -eth (s) endings for verbs.

1) believe that God is one, that He has made all things and contains all things and is Himself alone uncontained.

2) simplicity keeps one from evil-speaking and encourages one to live according to God

3) love truth and by doing so one receives a spirit free from lies; abstain from lying and one lives with God

4) purity; healing for the one who sins; the baptized need to live sinless lives; no second repentence

5) long-suffering and prudent; power over all evil deeds; the Devil dwells in ill-temper. Keeping this command gives strength to keep the others

6) believe only the righteous and not the unrighteous angels

7) fear of the Lord is the means for keeping His commandments; do not fear the Devil

8) temperance and self-control--list of things to avoid: "theft, lying, robbery, false witness, covetousness, lust, deceit, vainglory, ostentation, and everything like them"; things one doesn't need to avoid: "faith, fear of the Lord, love, harmony, upright speech, truthfulness, endurance"--these bring blessings, and these will follow, waiting on widows, looking after orphas and needy people, delivering the slaves of God from distress, being hospitable, nonresistance to anyone, being quiet, being more needy than all men, revering the aged, practicing uprightness, observing brotherhood, putting up with insolence, being patient, not holding a grudge, encourageing the weary in heart, not casting out those who have stumbled from the faith, but converting and encouraging them, not oppressing debtors and those in need."

9) purity of heart--doubt is the worst and causes double-mindedness

10) grief is the sister of double-mindedness and corrupts man more than other evils; to combat grief, put on joyfulness, which always is acceptable to God; the joyful man does good deeds, has good thoughts and despises grief

11) don't listen to false prophets who are impudent and shameless and lead a life of luxury--if he accepts money, he's false; true prophet is meek, gentle and lowly minded

12) put away every evil desire--carnal desires are the worst; whoever believes these commandments can be kept will be able to keep them, and without keeping them there is no salvation.

Help with summary from Masterpieces of Christian Literature in Summary Form, edited by Frank Magill (Harper & Row, 1963)

Other patristic literature

Nothing new in Christian debates of today

In my previous entry I noted how much I'm enjoying reading "The story of Christian Spirituality." So many discussions and arguments I read in the various faith traditions go way back--most can be found in Paul's letters to the young churches. That's what I love about this book--the background on how people of different eras struggle, and excerpts from the writings of martyrs, theologians, academics, pastors and monks. Even those most caught up in contemplative non-thought or mysteries of the faith, took time to write it down and tell others to do it their way. This advice from Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022 A.D.), an aristocrat who entered a monastery in Constantinople, for those seeking experience and those saying it is wrong sounds so contemporary:

Do not say: It is impossible to receive the Holy Spirit;
Do not say: It is possible to be saved without Him.
Do not say that one can possess the Spirit without being aware of it.
Do not: But God does not appear to men.
Do not say: But men do not see the divine light--
Or at least it is impossible in this current generation.

This is a thing, my friends, which is never impossible, at any time.
On the contrary it is entirely possible for those who long for it." [Hymns of Divine Love, #27]

Excellent summary by John A. McGuckin, who wrote Chapter 4 of this book.

Audio about Symeon by McGuckin.

Christmas potluck at Lytham Road tonight

plus music of the Worthington Civic Band Concert at 7:30. At first I thought I'd use up one of those carrot cake mixes in the pantry, but thought better of it and opted for a bowl of fresh fruit mixed with a little mayo and whipped cream.

I'm reading the most wonderful book from the UALC library and I want to recommend it to every Christian of any sect or group: "The Story of Christian Spirituality." [You can Google the title to get a look inside.] When I read a "Christian" book I want the author to at least give Jesus a nod and the Gospel a line or two. This book ties all faith traditions in Christianity together the rational, theological, meditative, contemplative and still manages to lift high the cross. The art work is fabulous and the paper quality is wonderful. The first chapter, rightfully so, begins with Judaism, then the birth of Christ. It ends with the end of the 20th century. In the past I have dipped into some of the more contemplative and meditative writers, but have found little that pulls it all together like this title. This book, with its outstanding bibliography, could be a college course and a worship experience rolled into one.

I'll be returning this to the church library because I so fell in love with it that I have ordered a copy. Although it is a Fortress Press (2001), to get a new copy I had it sent from UK (Lion), and it was $22 + $7 shipping. And considering that many used copies were much higher, I thought it a fair price. It has beautiful art work and meaningful selections of text.

Another find was discovering I had a few books in my own collection that supported many of the writings in this book.

Walking in unity with the ELCA

What the early church taught about the value of life

The Didache (Διδαχὴ, Koine Greek for "Teaching" was the earliest Christian rule book and was used in the first century church by pastors and missionaries who needed to explain to converts the teachings of the church. It would not be popular in the 21st century church because there are so many negatives--don't do this, don't do that. There was no official canon (Bible), but there are passages from Matthew, Luke, Acts Peter and other early writers. There are rules for loving God and rules for loving your neighbor. Included under loving your neighbor is a prohibition for violating or corrupting boys (i.e., sodomy or homosexuality) and murdering a child through abortion, or killing an infant when born. Both practices were acceptable in Greek and pagan society, but forbidden to Christians.

"You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill one that has been born" (Didache 2:2 [A.D. 70])."

Two Lutheran Tribes

There are two Lutheran churches in America, writes Peter Berger. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), aka Aunt Elka. There are two kinds of Lutheran fundamentalism. "There is a theological fundamentalism very visible in the LCMS. A political fundamentalism (aka “political correctness”) is very evident in the “airport culture” of the ELCA—it shares it with the mainline Protestantism into which it is morphing."

The article has some good background on the current woes of ELCA and the financial struggles of those congregations who are leaving it. Since 1988, when the ELCA was formed, contributions have declined by 50%, on the other hand, the newly formed NALC (which our congregation has joined) doesn't yet have enough financial clout to support many of the struggling smaller congregations that have left ELCA. So, staying or leaving, these "Lutheran" congregations are facing tough times. I didn't know that ELCA's headquarters were at O'Hare Airport. So, how nice that the new NALC headquarters will be at our own Mill Run Church.

I commented a few entries ago at my regular blog that ethnicity trumps everything. ELCA is no longer ethnically identifiable and has become a blob of its former selves--Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Finns-- merged into one big mushy protestantly bland and policially liberal church. LCMS for now anyway, still has the glue of ethnicity to hold together its theological structure.

Two Lutheran Tribes | Religion and Other Curiosities

Please note, there are other Lutheran synods and groups, but I think Berger's point is that LCMS and ELCA are the biggies.

Giving Thanks and Thanksgiving

We were reminded today by Pastor Paul of the terrific selection of readings we have for the two weeks preceding Thanksgiving week, and Joanne Foster in the children's sermon mentioned several opportunities to give while thanking--like Operation Christmas Child (packing a shoe box), the Angel Tree project (gifts for children of prisoners), and packing a grocery sack or two to bring to church for the Lutheran Food Pantry.

The gospel for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost was John 6:22-35, where Jesus explains he is the Bread of Life. Paul noted that our food donations matter because it is hard to hear the gospel when one is hungry. It's also not unreasonable to think that it's difficult to impress on those who have everything--enough food, leisure activities and wonderful vacations, good health, lovely home, multiple automobiles, a safe and lucrative career--that they still need Jesus, the Bread of Life.

Let's not get theological . . .

The grandson of friends is enrolled in a sociology class at Ohio State University. Recently, the instructor brought in a guest speaker, a lesbian Lutheran pastor who had been a member of the sexuality task force that has split the ELCA and caused a steady decline in membership since the synod was formed in 1988. Gay men and women were allowed to become Lutheran pastors but had to take a vow of celibacy in the past. She told the class how proud she was of her role in the August 19, 2009 Human Sexuality Statement and reversing that "discriminatory" rule. (I'd truly like to say you could read this without tearing your hair out over the obfuscation and double-speak, but sadly I can't.) In short, it provides for gay pastors in "committed relationships." Our congregation has voted to leave the ELCA, but many Lutheran congregations have never been given an opportunity to vote, or even discuss leaving.

The student is still in his teens, however, he is not a Lutheran but was aware of the ELCA decision. When she asked for questions there were none about the church's new stance, only about her personally. So the young man bravely raised his hand, and began to clarify points in her presentation. "You said that. . . ." and she agreed; and "further you said that. . . " and she agreed, that yes, that is what she said. Finally, after clarifying all her major points, he asked her where in the Bible she found justification for this decision by the synod.

At that point she brushed him off and said, "Let's not get theological. . ." I guess it's all right to bring a gay Lutheran pastor to class, but not God and his word. And isn't that the crux of the matter for the ELCA?

An Analysis of the Pre-Pauline Creed in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Last night in Pastor Eric's class "Ten tough questions" at the Mill Run campus of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church he discussed the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is absolutely central to the Christian faith, and I've been surprised by some who prefer to focus everything on the cross, or everything on good works. Eric showed us the 12 appearances of Jesus over a period of 40 days after his death (after a very vivid description with slides of how and why no one survived a crucifixion). Then he focused on the first Christian creed, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, which predates all the Gospel accounts and predates Paul's own experience (Damascus Road). It's a fairly simple creed, but one the earliest Christians may have been saying to each other 1-3 years after the Resurrection. You are wasting your time hanging around Christian churches for the music, the values, the projects that make you feel good, or even a salary, if you deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus. And this is our hope for our future, too.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures
and that he was buried
and that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Eric's presentation isn't on the web site yet (the class is recorded), but here's something very similar.

An Analysis of the Pre-Pauline Creed in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry

My mother's retreat center

"I can't save the world, but I can save four acres."

Why would you do this?

I was just checking on some college costs--I have no one in college--was just curious. I attended a church related college my Freshman year, and the costs then were the same as my second year at a state university.

California Lutheran Tuition, fees, books, supplies, room & board is $44,980

Capital University, Columbus, for the same is $40,374.

Ohio State University is $18,700.

California Lutheran and Capital University are affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), but I'm guessing that like most church liberal arts colleges, there is little in the way of religion to be found on the campus that couldn't be found at a state university. Why would any parent fork out this kind of money, or student take on a debt load like this?

Stewardship series

Many churches have stewardship campaigns in the fall--ours is always very low key, and there have been years in the past, where nothing was said at all. But giving is part of worship, and we miss a lot if the topic never comes up. Here are the passages:

September 27 - October 3, 2010
27 Matthew 6:1-4, 19-24 (Giving and treasures)
28 Matthew 13:1-23 (Parable of the soils)
29 Matthew 15:1-9 (Care of parents)
30 Matthew 17:24-27 (Jesus pays temple tax)
1 Matthew 18:21-35 (Parable of the unmerciful servant)
2 Matthew 19:16-30 (The rich young man)
3 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 Grace Giving


October 4 - 10, 2010
4 Matthew 20:1-16 (Parable of the workers in the vineyard)
5 Matthew 21:12-17 (Temple purpose)
6 Matthew 22:15-22 (Paying taxes)
7 Matthew 23:23-28 (Pharisees’ righteousness)
8 Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of the talents)
9 Matthew 25:31-46 (Day of Judgment)
10 2 Corinthians 8:10-24 Giving by Churches

October 11 - 17, 2010
11 Mark 12:41-44 (The widow’s offering)
12 Mark 14:1-11 (A costly anointing)
13 Luke 12:13-21 (Parable of the rich fool)
14 Luke 16:1-15 (Parable of the shrewd manager)
15 Luke 18:9-14 (Parable of the Pharisee & Tax Collector)
16 Luke 19:1-10 (Zacchaeus the Tax Collector)
17 2 Corinthians 9:1-9 Giving Blesses All

We began tithing in our 30s after joining UALC, a tithe of the gross, not net, and really didn't experience the "too much month" feeling after that. If you take 10% off the top, you learn to live on what remains. God blesses. Christians can argue about what Scripture teaches, but not the results.

Stem Cell Awareness Day Poetry winner requires an apology--still

CIRM has "apologized" for its offensive winner in a poetry contest, reporting

"[it] contained some religious language that is identical to liturgical language used in the context of Christian and Catholic sacraments. The language introduces a religious element that we now realize was offensive to some people. We are deeply sorry for any offense caused by the poem. Neither the author nor CIRM intended for the language to insult or offend any religious group. When CIRM recognized that the language was of concern we removed all four poems from the CIRM web site and from the Stem Cell Awareness Day web site."

I'm not surprised that people who advocate embryonic stem cell research didn't recognize "this is my body given for you."

UPDATE -- Stem Cell Awareness Day Poetry Contest Winners Announced | California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

CIRM continues on the embryonic quest for a cure for something, even though all the success in stem cell research has been with adult stem cells. It was created in California in 2004 to counteract the limited number of lines available through the federal funding (embryonic stem cell research has never been illegal--private money could do it).

What's wrong with this prayer?

Eternal Parent, we praise and thank you for the loving rules you provide to guide us. Strengthen our trust in you and our willingness to obey in order to serve you better and to live in loving fellowship with all of your children. Amen.

Not very personal, is it? Feminist to the core. Just can't say "Father," or "Son."

It was a meditation on the hymn, Trust and Obey. You might start with the language.

Human Sexuality

This is a paragraph from UALC's "What we believe" which among many other topics, addresses human sexuality:

We believe that our sexuality is a good gift from God. Sexual intimacy is blessed by Him when expressed according to God’s design, within the context of monogamous heterosexual marriage. Outside of that context, sexual intimacy, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is sin. All who desire to turn from sin, sexual or otherwise, can be forgiven and renewed by the grace of God in Jesus. (Genesis 2:24; Exodus 20:14; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 1:26-32)

And yet when 92% of the voting members of UALC chose to leave the ELCA synod because after 22 years of parsing words and cutting corners a tiny minority of members of a task force had decided that God could bless homosexual unions among our clergy, good friends have decided to look elsewhere for a believing congregation. They said, "The percentage voting to leave surprised me and made me feel unwelcome. I had no idea the congregation was this conservative."

Like they had been worshipping and serving on a different planet. I wonder what they thought the phrase "monogamous heterosexual marriage" meant?

Paul Ulring of UALC is Moderator of CORE

The August 26-27, 2010 Lutheran CORE Convocation elected Pr. Paull Spring as Bishop of the North American Lutheran Church for a provisional one-year term, and Pr. Paul Ulring as Moderator of Lutheran CORE for a two-year term. From the Press release:

"A new Lutheran denominational body was born on Friday, Aug. 27, as Lutherans from throughout North America voted overwhelmingly and enthusiastically to form the North American Lutheran Church (NALC).
The decision to form the new church body was made at the annual Convocation of Lutheran CORE which attracted more than 1,100 Lutherans Thursday and Friday at Grove City Church of the Nazarene. Thousands more watched the convocation online. The Convocation adopted a constitution and elected provisional leaders for the NALC. The Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., was elected as bishop of the NALC. Spring served as the
bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for 14 years."

Books with "secret" in the title--Brian McLaren

Recently I've dropped out of a Christian book group that has chosen to read Brian McLaren's The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything . I just didn't do my homework when I agreed to buy the book (fortunately I have not enriched this author's errors by buying it). If someone tells you who he is, believe him--to paraphrase Maya Angelou. Here's the starter:

"What if Jesus' secret message reveals a secret plan?" asks Brian McLaren in his new book, The Secret Message of Jesus. "What if he didn't come to start a new religion--but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?"[1-page 4]

Was Jesus so stupid and such a manipulator of people that he could have kept it quiet if he were leading a political movement? Why would you follow a liar, and why would you read McLaren, one of the leaders of the Emergent Church movement, a movement that says, Y'all come, no boundaries here, no repentence necessary, sin is a figment of your imagination if it's personal and it's all out there in government, cultural and social structures.

No thanks. I went through all that in the early 1970s when I was a member of a liberal, open door church, and I have no intention of going back.

Will Yancy ever find what he's looking for?

Some people love Philip Yancey's books. I find him constantly searching--and that's boring. Reminds me of a church we used to belong to.  If I were this on the fence and so filled with angst over the BIG questions after so many years of writing, I think I'd throw in the towel--or typewriter.  However, I haven't read this one.  Maybe he finally gets it?

http://www.amazon.com/What-Good-God-Search-Matters/dp/0446559857

Little Hannah prays up a storm

We’re not going to listen to that old Satan, we’re going to heaven anyway!

He’s an awesome God, he can do mighty things.