Northwoods Seelsorger

Close Communion as a policy in the LCMS ranks high among the most misunderstood, reviled, and abused practices in the church today. The Synod has reaffirmed its support for this practice time and again all the way back to the late 1960's, yet we have still to arrive at a common understanding of how to implement it in the real world. In the LCMS today one can find the spectrum ranging from blatant "open communion" all the way to a faithful upholding of the ancient fellowship practice. In 1967 Res. 2-19 was passed that instructed that "pastors and congregations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, except in situations of emergency and in special cases of pastoral care, commune individuals of only those synods which are now in fellowship with us." In 1986 in Res. 3-08 further stated "that the pastors and congregations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod continue to abide by the practice of close communion, which i...

My daughter alerted me to this very entertaining blog called BAD VESTMENTS . In a day when dignity and reverence is fast disappearing from the sanctuary, it makes sense that liturgical vestments would follow suit. I included his latest entry to whet your appetite. Enjoy!

After following part of a thread over on the Luther Quest discussion board regarding the recent resignation of a pastor, I want to offer here something that seemed missing there. The biblical causes for a pastor to be relieved of his Call are clear: persistent teaching of false doctrine, a life unbecoming a Christian (moral failure), inability or unwillingness to perform the functions of the office. Sadly, many pastors are forced out of their parishes for causes far less than these. Even sadder yet, are districts that allow such forced departures for less than biblical cause. The means they use to do this might include as crass a move as to suspend his pay, thus starving him out of office, as it were. Or they may take the route of pressuring him to resign, offering incentives mixed with veiled threats as a way to press the pastor to leave. On the thread mentioned above a comment was offered that made it seem that if a pastor resigned his call by accepting a severance packag...

On June 23 I reported on concerns regarding the pending "Hate Crimes" bill in congress, which at that point was only in committee. The following is a statement from the LCMS website regarding President Kieschnick's warning against the same bill (now passed in the House) echoing similar concerns of my own: President calls attention to 'hate crimes' bill While the free speech implications are not clear in a "hate crimes" bill pending in Congress, LCMS President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick is urging c hurch leaders to contact their congressmen with questions and concerns. The bill, passed in April by the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, expands the definition of "hate crimes" to include those against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. The U.S. Senate has not scheduled a hearing on a companion bill, S. 909. In a statement issued Ju...

The current Reporter (the "Official Newspaper of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod"), contained a nice summary of 13 district conventions from the month of June. What struck me in particular were the resolutions concerning the Blue Ribbon Report that I began reviewing in my last post. In addition to the four mentioned here with resolutions on the Blue Ribbon Task Force, I will end the post with a reference to the most recent convention in Ohio. KANSAS The district in convention asked "the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance to complete its final report to LCMS congregations by October 15 so that congregations will have time to consider the recommendations prior to the 2010 Synod convention." SOUTH WISCONSIN This district addressed "concerns about [the] Blue Ribbon Task Force proposals. Memorials to the Synod's 2010 convention included requests to: keep The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod name; make no changes to Synod's stru...

On June 23 I reported on concerns regarding the pending "Hate Crimes" bill in congress, which at that point was only in committee. The following is a statement from the LCMS website regarding President Kieschnick's warning against the same bill (now passed in the House) echoing similar concerns of my own: President calls attention to 'hate crimes' bill While the free speech implications are not clear in a "hate crimes" bill pending in Congress, LCMS President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick is urging c hurch leaders to contact their congressmen with questions and concerns. The bill, passed in April by the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, expands the definition of "hate crimes" to include those against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. The U.S. Senate has not scheduled a hearing on a companion bill, S. 909. In a statement issued Ju...

Since returning from the North Wisconsin District Convention, I now feel I can spend a moment or two reviewing some of the proposals for the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG). As with the other district conventions, a representative from Synod presented a survey form for the delegates to complete reflecting their views on the proposed changes. My initial reaction was not positive, but mainly because I was being asked opinions on matters for which I had not yet spent any time contemplating. The discussion of the points in the BRTFSSG only came after we filled out the survey , not before, which felt backwards and somewhat counterproductive, especially for those just now hearing about these changes (which would mainly involve the laity in this case.) Needless to say, I filled out most of the survey with noncommitted responses. For what it is worth, here are some of my initial reactions to the proposals. My blog report will probably require more tha...