Northwoods Seelsorger

Whenever Pastor Herman Otten warns of the so-called "Hyper-euro" clergy in the LCMS, the accusation that immediately follows is the charge of "sacerdotalism." This was leveled against unamed pastors once again in the recent issue memorializing Pastor Bischoff (June 29, 2009, page 4.) Now whether his caricature of these pastors is even close to the truth remains an open question, at best. They are accused of rejecting all aspects of the traditional governance of the Missouri Synod, and thus the "rights" of the laymen, in favor of a complete return to an episcopal form of governance. They are said to insist on ordination as a third or fourth sacrament of the church equal to Baptism and Communion. In short, they reject the heart of what makes Missouri good, and are no better than the Church Growthers or the Higher Critical folks who still question the verasity of Holy Scripture. Or so it sounds to me in the pages of CN month after month. The charge ...

In an effort to remain informed about the teachings of other churches, and to assist with teaching, I will occasionally pick up doctrinal books from other denominations. Recently I ran across the book Church of God Distinctives by Ray H. Hughes, which, as the title indicates, is a summary of Church of God beliefs. Well, to be accurate, the teachings of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee.) "Church of God" is actually used by more than one denomination . This particular denomination represents a church of over 6 million, so it is certainly quite representative of major Pentecostal teaching. The contents of the book contain no surprises for those familiar with mainstream Pentecostal belief. It predictably includes many pages devoted to the so-called charismatic gifts with emphasis on healing and speaking in tongues. When reviewing chapter 4, the "Distinctive of Worship," which is a little short of 20 pages, I was, however, surprised by one glaring omissio...

Since the surprising announcement yesterday of Michael Jackson's sudden death, many are now describing the pop star legend as "deeply spiritual." Aware of Jackson's Jehovah's Witness upbringing, the question naturally arises, "What was Jackson's faith in more recent times?" And, even more important, "Was he an active participant in the faith of his choosing?" The question becomes important now that the media and supporters rush to describe him in ever glowing terms, elevating his supposed spiritual side. One early hint of his current spirituality came when his brother, at a press conference announcing the star's death, wished a blessing upon Michael from "Allah." In doing some quick searches on the net it became more and more obvious that, indeed, the star did convert to Isalm back in 2008 , less than a year before his death. According to his own admission , Jackson continued to practice his JW faith for several years...

For those who would like to keep up with events and decisions of the ongoing District Conventions of the LCMS, the writer of Preachrblog has a great summary at this site . I noticed that no one has yet submitted a report of the North Wisconsin District, of which I am a member. The convention in Green Bay was fairly non-eventful, in that it was quiet and did not involve controversial issues that elicited any spirited debate. The current president, Joel Hoelter was reelected to a second term. All current vice presidents were also reelected to additional three year terms as well. As with all the district conventions there was a report on the Blue Ribbon Committee on Structure, which is probably better reviewed by others, as you can find at the site above. For my part I am just relieved to be done, as I had the responsibility for the worship and daily devotions of this convention. Despite the predictable glitches, overall it seemed to go well from my perspective. Now I can re...

Senate bill S.909, also called the "Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act" (or simply "Matthew Shepard Act") is scheduled for a hearing in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill back in April in what was seen as bipartisan support. This bill, in one form or another, has been in discussion in Congress since 2001, but has failed for lack of support. Some of you may have heard of this proposed hate crimes act and the concern expressed regarding the ramifications this could present to the church and the public proclamation of the Word. You can read the full text of the bill here . According to a Wikipedia article on this bill, FBI statistics indicate that of the over 113,000 hate crimes since 1991, 55% were motivated by racial bias, 17% by religious bias, 14% sexual orientation bias, 14% ethnicity bias, and 1% disability bias. The article also indicates that this proposed bill is "supported by th...

I know that my last post came nearly a month ago, but I have to confess being exceptionally busy these days. This coming week, beginning on Sunday, is the North Wisconsin District Convention in Green Bay. For the second convention in a row I have had the responsibility for all the worship at the convention. As 'chaplain' for the convention I am charged with putting together the opening vespers service, the convention communion and memorial service, and two morning devotions. Finding musicians, coordinating resources and space, and working the bugs out of endless megabytes of documents has been like having another part-time job. And as it is so often in church work, having such extra work does not preclude the fact that other unexpected events will not occur in the meanwhile, such as funerals. So, needless to say, I have been preoccupied as of late. Yet I see so many items in the news and in the periodicals and magazines that I read, and I want so much to comment on t...