Northwoods Seelsorger

My children have all attended Sunday School from earliest childhood. It never occurred to me that anything would prevent this. Yet in a country like China a child is forbidden to learn about Jesus or attend any kind of Christian education prior to age 18. Obviously this tactic would work well towards subverting effective growth of the faith when you consider the lack of influence in those incredibly formative years up to age 6. Although churches are officially allowed in China, they are also rigidly controlled. Freedom of Religion as we know it in the USA is completely missing in this communistic nation. The only "official" Protestant church in China that is sanctioned by the government is called the Three-Self Patriotic Movement . According to Wikipedia: "In 1951, a Cantonese Christian named Y. T. Wu ( 1893–1979) initiated the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which promoted a strategy of 'self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation' in order to re...

For most people reading the Bible can transform and uplift the spirit. However, one man claims that certain verses in particular translations have caused him "emotional pain and mental instability," according to a recent RNS story printed in the Grand Rapids Press. Because of this trauma, Bradley Lashown Fowler of Canton, Michigan, is now seeking $60 million from Zondervan, as well as $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in a lawsuit filed in federal court on July 7. The reason for his trauma? Fowler claims that the Bibles published by the above companies refer to homosexuality as a sin and therefore have made him "an outcast from his family" and have "contributed to physical discomfort and periods of demoralization, chaos, and bewilderment." He believes that "the intent of the publisher was to design a religious, sacred document to reflect an individual opinion or a group's opinion or a group's conclusion to cause him or anyon...

After 21 years of ministry I continue to be amazed at God's timing. Yesterday as I was planning out my day I debated about going to a nearby city for some hospital visits. However, I realized that I was also at that point where I needed to catch up with shut-in visits. Since I had to take my daughter into work and didn't want to waste gas, I ended up deciding to visit a shut-in south of town. Well, long story short, later in the day I received a phone call from this elderly woman's daughter informing me that she had suffered a serious stroke and was non-responsive. At this point I am unsure of her longterm prognosis, but at nearly 94 years of age it does not look very promising. Still, I couldn't help but recall how I almost chose to visit someone else that day, and unaware of God's plans for this woman my travel was redirected to this child of God in need of the Sacrament for what may prove to be the last time in this life. These divine travel and plan adj...

This past week while attending Boy Scout camp, I came across a book in the camp's "Trading Post" that caught my eye. I also discovered that it is featured on the ScoutStuff.org site, the BSA's online store for scouting material. Entitled The Gospel of the Redman , such a book seemed both appropriate and out of place at the same time. I say "appropriate" considering the influence of American/Native Indian customs on the scouting movement (e.g. Order of the Arrow ceremony, etc.). However, it also felt highly "out of place" when I thought about the title and began to read the contents of the volume. The Boy Scouts of America, while holding up the ideals of reverence and belief in God, does not endorse any faith. The brief description at ScoutStuff.org notes that: " Compiled from American Indian cultures, this classic work offers a glimpse of the ways, history, and philosophy of these proud peoples." This is misleading, though. ...

In light of the recent little debate we have enjoyed on this blog regarding evolution and ID, the cover article for the July issue of Christianity Today seemed quite timely. "God Is Not Dead Yet - How Current Philosophers Argue for His Existence," the title reads, featuring a cover mimicking the old Time magazine's article: "Is God Dead?" (April 8, 1966), as seen to the right. Author William Lane Craig indicates that the claim by the recent pate of atheist best-sellers that belief in God has become "intellectually indefensible for thinking people today," "is blissfully ignorant of the revolution that has taken place in Anglo-American philosophy. It reflects the scientism of a bygone generation rather than the contemporary intellectual scene." Craig claims that the "cultural high point" for this "New Atheism" was actually in the mid-1960's. "Back in the 1940's and 50's, many philosophers believed th...

According to a recent documentary, for all the talk about academic freedom in the world of the large American university system, it would seem that it extends only as far as the system defines it - especially with regards to the subject of origins and science. Noted speechwriter Ben Stein stars as host of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Dr. Angus Menuge, professor of philosophy at CUW, highlights the film in an article included in the Concordia University - Wisconsin magazine Concordian , including some seemingly revealing details about the expulsion of talented scientists who apparently were ‘expelled‘ from their positions for mentioning the theory of Intelligent Design: “In the current climate, even when academicians have a relevant doctorate and a track-record of peer-reviewed publication, their careers suffer if they argue that the scientific evidence points to an intelligent source involved in the creation of the world. In 1992, Dean Kenyon, a biology professor at ...

In following a thread on the ALPB site I read a comment by Pastor Weedon on the purpose and role of the Synod that caused me to pause and think. He wrote: "The difficulty, as I see it, is that in these parts we were always told that we contribute to Synod to support work together that we can't do alone so well: training pastors and missionaries; training teachers; providing published materials. Now, the problem with this argument became apparent some years back: the Synod doesn't give funds for those things anymore. The seminaries and colleges are on their own; the missionaries raise their own money; CPH gives money TO the Synod. So what ARE we giving the money for? That's the challenge. I think the tightened financial times for Synod can only be healthy. We've got a bloated bureaucracy at the top, and it can be pared down - especially in this age of the internet ! Time to do some serious rethinking." A debate has raged for some time now within ...

As we celebrate once more the founding of our great nation, a question comes to mind as to its origin. The question concerns not the historical details, per se, but rather the theological justification. Lutherans have long held that the apostolic directives of Romans 13 require proper respect and obedience to the governing authorities, even if that authority is seen as morally suspect. The escape clause, as it were, is the other apostolic directive in Acts that reminds the church of the greater responsibility to obey God rather than man when the one attempts to restrict the other, especially the freedom to proclaim the Gospel. I have often wondered, in light of the above, how a Lutheran would reason through the right to engage in revolutionary activity against a governing authority that did not seem, at the time, to be restricting the church's right to proclaim the Gospel. For those interested in a brief article by stellar Lutheran theologian that explores the dynamics of t...

My wife ran across a letter from my father the other day as we were cleaning out the garage. He passed away in September of 1988, and it is dated March 18 of that year. Despite the fact that 20 years have now passed, it still feels like yesterday. The point of sharing what follows is a reflection on how ones priorities and thinking change over the years with regard to ministry and time. I arrived at my first parish, Grace Lutheran Church of Baldwin, Michigan, in August of 1987, fresh out of seminary. A month later I had to fly to Denver for my wedding. Naturally, after being away so soon and following a brief honeymoon, I felt that I should settle down and stay in the area for a while. My father, on the other hand, had been admitted to the Veteran's Hospital in Milwaukee soon after I took my call, and although he would never be able to return home again, he still hoped for that possibility. Only 65 years old, his disabilities seemed far beyond his age. Naturally, b...

As Lutherans continue to jettison the beautiful liturgy, evangelicals pick up this discarded treasure along the way and discover the gem we so willingly lost. Some apparently found it a while back - even the Baptists, a seemingly anti-creedal/ anti-liturgical church if there ever was one. In one of the letters to the editor in the July 2008 issue of Christianity Today , one reader writes a familiar lament often heard by confessional Lutherans: "Raised in a dully affiliated Southern Baptist/American Baptist church that followed the liturgy, I have searched ever since for Protestant churches steeped in this tradition as I've moved around the country. Along the way, I've tried to return to my Baptist roots more than once, but have repeatedly experienced worship services that not only lack any liturgical elements, but also have a carnival-like atmosphere in which the focus is more on the people than on God. Just to cite one obvious example: Why do so many Bible churches se...

Recently the good news was announced that Issues, Etc. was back. When it departed I shared the grief that a good, solid Lutheran program was no more. Still, my grief was tempered by the fact that my only connection was the journal I received in the mail (which was excellent, BTW.) You see, I am not in St. Louis, and ---I have dial-up. All those You-Tube tack-ons that people include in their blogs go unnoticed by me, because by the time they load I have added yet one more gray hair to my beard. Unless I was willing to pay the rather steep rates demanded by satellite (which I am not), the only hope is that someone will put a tower out here in the hinterlands with a strong enough signal that I can actually enjoy high-speed (or upgrade the existing ones.) It's funny how the word "dial-up" used to refer to a phone with a real dial that you turned with your finger to make a call. How times have changed. (If you are too young to remember one of these ancient art...