Northwoods Seelsorger

With my formal acceptance into the Nashotah House Master of Sacred Theology program (STM) complete, I have now registered for this summer's classes. Unlike a larger seminary or university where class choices may be greater, I was somewhat limited in my selections. Nevertheless, the courses should prove to be both challenging and interesting. The first course I will be taking is entitled The New Perspective on Paul: A Critical Engagement with Recent Trends in Pauline Scholarship . This seemed appropriate especially given its current attention within Lutheran academic circles. For example, LOGIA: A Journal of Lutheran Theology devoted its 2010 Eastertide issue to "The New Perspective on Paul." The Concordia Journal issue for Spring 2009 also gave attention to this, especially Thomas Schreiner's article "An Old Perspective on the New Perspective." Doing a little searching I discovered that this subject has been discussed for some time now, as another ar...

"I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them." - Romans 16:17 Traditionally this verse has been used to support the fellowship practice of Communion, especially as observed within conservative Lutheran circles. Not that that its use in this way has escaped challenge, especially among those who wish to open the practice of fellowship in as wide a way as possible. The argument no doubt concerns the fact that the average communicant from outside our fellowship has no intent in "causing divisions" or "putting obstacles in our way." He or she merely wishes to commune and nothing more. Perhaps. In many cases the casual 'drop in' simply passes through with hardly a sign of their presence left behind. Yet, is not their very presence already a sign, in itself, of the toleration of division ? By opening up the altar to those who...

Rather than add yet another addendum to my post a day or so ago, I thought a separate, though, brief post was in order. Unfortunately it seems I'm a bit of a latecomer to the discussions surrounding the CTCR document The Creator's Tapestry . For those still interested in the topic and the points already raised in the previous post, I would recommend taking a moment to 'drop in' on the discussion over at the ALPB's Forum Online dedicated to this very topic. Of special interest to me throughout the discussion (which I admittedly skimmed) was the perspective of Marie Meyer , a longtime voice in the LCMS regarding the role of women in the church. Although she references the site I mentioned in my previous post , she does not seem to come completely clean on her overall perspective or her ultimate goals. After pages and pages of discussion it was apparent they were indeed going "around in circles" and unable to fully agree on where it was all supposed t...

Churches, like families, are not immune to the effects of emotional dysfunction. However, in Christian love we may pass certain behaviors off as idiosyncrasies, trying hard not to judge those with whom we struggle. We might also attempt to explain it away by judging ourselves. The problem is ours, not theirs, we tell ourselves. We have not been sufficiently sensitive or accepting. Yet some behavior stems from various forms of what those in the psychological realm call "Mental Illness." Now to some degree we all suffer from a certain amount of mental or emotional dysfunction. No one escapes it all. The pressures of life bring varying levels of anxiety and depression, sometimes to severe levels (as in a crisis such as a loss to death), sometimes less. Having accounted for this, we are still left with those who suffer from conditions which are not manageable, and which negatively affect the overall health of the congregation. Obsessively compulsive individuals exert ex...

The presence of blogging from the perspective of the "left" side of Missouri's political spectrum has long seemed absent. Perhaps this is now changing. A new blog ( The Creator's Tapestry: A Thoughtful Response ) was started back in March as a response to the CTCR's booklet The Creator's Tapestry: Scriptural Perspectives on Man-Woman Relationships in Marriage and the Church . This study was commissioned a long time ago, but only recently completed and released to the church-at-large. As a pastor I received a copy, but admittedly have not studied it in any depth. At first glance the contents did not seem to reverse the current teaching of the Synod, so I was not too concerned. You can find an online copy of the study for yourself by linking here . One should have anticipated that those in the DayStar crowd would be upset and would waste no time critiquing and condemning the report as an inferior piece of scholarship and a travesty to the equal rights of...

A while back I reviewed the Day Star Reader , which is largely a compilation of past articles from their old site. The Crossings web site , hosted by ex-LCMS scholar Ed Schroeder, has now offered a review of their own . Written from the perspective of one sensitive to Day Star's agenda, it offers a helpful glimpse into their true theological views, not what might be 'spun' for the sake of political acceptance to Missouri's greater audience. Note for example their open admittance of Day Star's depreciation of the absolute verbal inspiration of Holy Scripture: Though ostensibly on opposite sides of the fence on many LCMS issues, both of these two groups, I thought, were still tied to each other with their primal commitment to verbal inspiration of the Bible as the cornerstone for Christian theology. Au contraire the Daystar crowd--and other still small voices within Missouri--whose theology begins with the Gospel's authority and grounds the Bible's au...

For several years now I planned to finish a second graduate degree after seminary. In 1996, with the encouragement of my then pastoral colleague Dr. Charles Gieschen , I entered the STM program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne . Unfortunately, after but one course he took a call to CTS and my duties changed as I assumed the senior pastor's position for the next four years at Trinity - Traverse City. Spare time for such educational ventures vanished. Then came another child and with the other two growing and expanding their activities, new roles were assumed that recaptured my time again. Not that I regret this in any way. Taking time with your children remains a critical priority for me. However, with one over half way through college, the second one entering his second half of high school (with a new job in tow), and but one in the elementary level, the time again seemed right. So back in February, after spending much time and effort exploring the myriad of op...

As a pastor I wrestle with the impact the prevailing culture has on my church. A disconnect exists between Sunday morning and the rest of the week. What happens out there often appears to be in direct contrast to the values we espouse in the sacred assembly on a weekly basis. On another front the church-at-large struggles on how to change the culture by its own witness. Yet do we see any real evidence of true change? James Davison Hunter in an article for the May issue of Christianity Today noted: How is it that American public life is so profoundly secular when 85 percent of the population professes to be Christian? If a culture were simply the sum total of beliefs, values, and ideas that ordinary individuals hold, then the United States would be a far more religious society. Looking at our entertainment, politics, economics, media, and education, we are forced to conclude that the cultural influence of Christians is negligible . ["Faithful Presence," pp. 33-36] Hu...

During the early history of the Christian church and even well into the Middle Ages and beyond, Christians assumed the burden for helping the poor. Government aid, as we understand it today, simply did not exist, and the church would not have expected it otherwise. However, with the so-called "war on poverty" that began in the Johnson years, the general assumption now is that the government has a primary responsibility to care and support the poor. As the years have gone by the church has taken a step back and like everyone else looked to the government more and more for answers and solutions. According to a ChildFund International Survey, Americans believe that childhood poverty is an urgent problem needing to be addressed, yet they rank faith-based groups last when asked who should be responsible for meeting that need. 66% of those surveyed believe that the U.S. has an obligation to help poverty-stricken children around the world. Almost 3 in 10 of those surveyed fel...

For six weeks the church lives in the glow of Easter. "He is risen, He is risen indeed!" echoes between pastor and people. Bright white or gold colored paraments adorn the altar, indicating a special "Christ time" of the church year. It would be hard to believe that anyone active in their congregation would miss the significance of all this. Yet outside those hallowed walls many remain clueless. According to a Barna Study group less than half of U.S. adults surveyed specifically associate Easter with Jesus' resurrection. Seven in 10 who responded indicated religion or spirituality when answering the question of what Easter means to them. Only 42% linked Easter to the Resurrection. Aside from Jesus' rising from the dead, how else might people see this special day? Others see it as a Christian holiday, a celebration of God or Jesus, a celebration of Passover, a holy day, or simply a special day to attend church. It is amazing that after all the years ...

Recently we have been exploring the faith and practice of various churches and denominations in a Bible class at my church. Last month we examined the Mennonite and Amish tradition, which the class requested be extended into this month as well (this class meets only monthly). In preparation for these classes I have been reading and rereading various books and sources, in addition to some film coverage on DVD. Last night I watched an award winning PBS documentary called "The Amish - A People of Preservation" as the first of three DVD films my wife ordered on library loan. While the original film goes back at least 20 years, the cover does indicate that this is also an "updated look" at the Amish origins and life, which can be seen in the difference in car models throughout the film. Despite its age, however, I found the film quite informative, well done, and in a surprising sense, insightful about matters in my own faith and church. Historically the Amish and ...