Northwoods Seelsorger

As a new church body forms out of the continued wreckage of the ELCA, one hears concerns about the unity of the church raised. A similar note can be heard among Anglicans as their communion continues its ongoing fracture. Many from the more liberal side of the spectrum will undoubtedly appeal to Jesus' words in John 17 about His prayer that we should be one, even as He and the father are one. The desire for outward unity, a conviction shared, ironically with Rome itself, forms a core of the modern ecumenical identity for the church. So, is any disruption of this outward unity of breach with the will of God for His church? Any student of church history will acknowledge that maintaining outward unity at all costs ultimately sacrifices something else critical to the church. Usually this involves fidelity to the truth. Agreeing to disagree only erodes the church's commitment to a clear confession which is exchanged in turn for social statements that embrace increasingly libe...

Recently I received an email inviting me to an event called PRAYER2010. The note states that this event is "designed to invite the gifted intercessors from around the Lu­theran Church–Missouri Synod to come together in one place for a time of prayer and intercession for the advancement of the Kingdom of God on earth, the blessing of our LCMS and her leaders, the provision for our mis­sionaries to the nations, and to ask the Father’s blessing on LCMS congrega­tions, pastors and people as we pray 'Come Holy Spirit' to call, gather, enlighten and sanctify us in your truth. (Daniel 9-10)." It was sent by the Rev. Dr. Victor Belton , a member of the LCMS Board of Directors. According to the website of the LCMS he is a 1986 graduate of our St. Louis seminary, although the directory fails to list any doctorate, honorary or earned. A website devoted to Dr. Belton supplies a short biography, with scant reference to his education and again any reference to his doctoral...

If you read John Piper's book The Future of Justification you will discover that one of the central points of contention with N.T.Wright's doctrine of Justification involves the imputation of Christ's righteousness, especially that of his "active obedience." Classically we have usually emphasized both Christ's passive and active obedience, His sinless life of keeping the whole law perfect and his obedience unto death, even death on a cross. In criticizing this teaching Wright seems often to characterize it in such a way that it resembles the Catholic doctrine more than the one of the Reformation - infused vs. imputed. However, the reason why he resists this teaching so much involves his deconstruction of Paul that I referenced in the previous post. While he acknowledges the law-court metaphor in justification he insists that the judge in no way shares or transfers his own righteousness, but merely creates a new "status" for the justified. At ti...

I have almost finished N.T.Wright's book Justification - God's Promise and Paul's Vision and the review essay required on it for my class. Taking a pause before lunch I thought I would jot a few notes while they are fresh in my mind. Understanding Wright requires effort. One pr oblem with Wright, to use his own analogy, is that he rearranges and discards the traditional puzzle pieces so much he leaves you more than a bit confused, and concerned, if not outright frustrated. While surfing around I stumbled across a short post entitled "N.T. Wright's Doctrine of Justification - In Layman's Terms!" For the most part his brief summary hits the main points of what I read in his book. A blog post cannot possiblly do justice to a thorough review of his work, and if time allows I may post my own paper later. Suffice it to say that Wright, while endeavoring to appear quite biblical and evangelical, has managed to completely upset any traditional understan...

A week has now passed since I returned from my studies and I thought I would muse a bit on my time away. These are relatively random thoughts, placed in no particular order, related to no single theme. 1.) As I was researching my options for graduate study over the last year or so, I looked into a variety of possible arrangements and degrees, including online distance learning. With more than a few hours back in the classroom I see even more the value of residential programs, even if only for an intensive two week period. Interaction with fellow students and the professor in a live face-to-face encounter provides invaluable learning experiences I am not convinced online programs could adequately reproduce. Now I am not arguing against online distance programs. They have their place. I simply am observing a unique benefit and possible advantage of residential programs over and against these offerings. The 60 hours I spent in class exposed me to a variety of opinions, insights, bac...

The troubles and stresses in the Episcopal Church (TEC) are no mystery. This past week while studying at an Episcopal seminary I picked up on the frustration of many within this denomination, but also from a priest within the Church of England who served as my professor. Then I read in my most recent issue of Christianity Today that this frustration has risen all the way to the upper leadership of the Anglican church. Apparently the tipping point came with the ordination of a lesbian assistant bishop in Los Angeles. In light of this Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has recently requested that TEC withdraw from ecumenical dialogue and rescind its voting rights on an Anglican doctrinal committee claiming that the ordination breaks guidelines aimed at calming tensions in the worldwide church. Predictably, however, Episcopal Presidi ng Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori defended the ordination showing concern over what she called "colonial attitudes." Well, Schori ma...