Northwoods Seelsorger

As one concludes a year it is always fun to look back and see the past twelve months in review. Often a lot happens and we forget. For me personally 2010 was a significant year filled with transitional events in my life and work. This blog reported one of them, namely my decision to enroll at Nashotah House and pursue graduate work in the Master of Sacred Theology (STM) program. I will begin 2011 back at the books, with hopes that this next year finds the completion of two more courses, leaving me with only one in 2012, along with the thesis. Reviewing my blog articles, here are some of the highlights that stand out for me: 2010 seemed to be a reorganization year for the liberals of the LCMS. The original DayStar site was down and up and then gone, finally being replaced by another newer site , which in turn was transitioned to the newest Daystar Journal . Dr. Matthew Becker , a younger theologian than the old guard coming out of the 70's, is now the perceived leader for th...

You can learn a lot by the mentors a person admires, as well as the historical figures to which one looks for guidance and inspiration. Dr. Matthew Becker, editor of the DayStar Journal and theological voice of a neo-liberal movement in the LCMS, recently wrote a remembrance post of the anniversary of the historical mentor of his doctoral studies, Johannes von Hofmann . Although Hofmann is described as a "conservative Lutheran theologian" by Becker, which is a confusing moniker these days with varying definitions of conservative. In doing a little Wikipedia search on von Hofmann, it was interesting to find his name appear in another article entitled "Neo-Lutherans." Neo-Lutheranism was a so-called "revival movement" within nineteenth century Lutherans in reactions to both theological rationalism and pietism. At this point one might well conclude that we are talking about the forefathers of the Missouri Synod, but you would be wrong. This group actua...

Evil remains ever close at hand, and even the most peaceful, solemn occasions are often broken by acts of seemingly senseless violence. Such is the case in Bethlehem as the deranged despot named Herod vents his angry paranoia on the innocent children of this little village. As the church's first martyrs they deserve our reflective attention this day, remembering especially that our Lord Jesus came into the world himself to suffer and die. Christmas is too often painted in soft gentle hues that fail to reflect the harsh colors of this world's real sin and evil that made the event of his incarnation a necessity for the salvation of the world. The Slaughter of the Innocents reveals that the heart of Christmas is that God came into our troubled, dying world, for the express purpose of saving it. The name with which he was christened, Jesus, in fact, means "Yahweh saves." It was a dangerous mission and in the end brought death even for the sent savior. Christmas poi...

I have the honor of being born on a saints' day, yet without the similar honor of acquiring the name. Apparently my dear mother was unaware of the important nature of this minor festival (being preoccupied with giving birth no doubt.) Nevertheless, on the occasion of my half-century mark in life, it seemed most appropriate to honor the saint whose name adorns this festival time. St. John was the only disciple of the original twelve whose day is marked by white on the altar since he is also the only one to escape martyrdom. The icon on the wall of my office notes this saint as "the theologian." Given my vocation as pastor and the additional graduate work I am pursuing in theology, it seems appropriate that I share this day with the beloved apostle and teacher of the church. I pray that I may learn from him and his devotion to our blessed Lord Jesus Christ through the exalted words of his gospel, and by God's grace grow as a theologian reaching at least a portion ...

It is hard to believe that this is now the fifth Christmas for this humble little blog. Looking back I am amazed at the journey and thankful for the interaction of the readers over the years. As I type these words onto a computer screen that will appear next to my photographed digital image, I am also reminded of the limits in this two-dimensional world in which I have long interacted, and filled with renewed wonderment in the greater mystery and miracle of the incarnation which we celebrate this day. God came into our world, taking on real flesh, close enough to touch and see. In a day when so much of what we experience is through the medium of a virtual reality, the greater reality of the enfleshment of the divine in the person of Jesus brings a unique comfort to the struggling believer. This morning, in just a couple of hours, I will kneel at the altar and receive on my hands the very body of Jesus Christ, the God made flesh. I will lift the chalice to my lips and drink the v...

I join with many others in applauding President Harrison's recent acceptance of a call to serve as an assistant pastor at Village Lutheran Church in Ladue, Missouri . A brief blog article containing a letter sent to the district presidents of Synod explains well his rationale and the support this actions have in our synodical constitution. Serving as a circuit counselor since 2006 has allowed me to live in a world that often serves as a bridge between the local parish and the structure of the district-level and national church body. Since I live and serve in a local setting my position allows me to put a far more personal 'face' on the Synod for people who may too often see such structures as distant and irrelevant. I hope that President Harrison's actions in this case assist in doing that for him as well. Yet more important still, I agree with him that a need exists for the president of Synod to retain a pastoral connection with the church. He notes that this is...

Pastor Tim Rossow over at Steadfast Lutherans offers an encouraging and interesting post on Communion fellowship and how it is received by others ( "The Communion Rail was Closed Today to Two Old Ladies" ). In discussions on this issue in my parish over the last couple of years, a few had belabored the point of the offensiveness of this practice, especially to prospective communicants such as these pleasant ladies. Pastor Rossow notes that these women understood the need for the faithful practice of Close Communion and respected it without showing angry indignation, even though they had what he refers to as "LCMS bloodlines." As I have noted before, our confession counts, and formal membership in a church with a differing denominational affiliation links us with that confession, even when we may not intend it to be that way. If membership is to mean anything, we must be held accountable for it. Apparently these ladies understood that and accepted the limitatio...

It sounded impressive to put it in Latin. However, the more familiar English derivative, vocation , or more simply yet, "call," would have done just as nicely. The concept of our work on this earth as a vocatio, or "calling," was brought home to me this morning as I watched a plumber attend to my clogged bathroom sink. There, crouched on the floor, dealing with the disgusting greyish-black sludge accumulated through decades of use, this man was performing a task for which I discovered myself quite inadequate. Not that I refused to try. I made multiple trips to the Menards and Walmart attempting to find tools for what initially appeared to be a routine household chore. I twisted and pulled and pushed until the greyish-black ooze squirted strategically in unwanted directions, soiling all in its path. As I watched this man attend to my failed chore I admittedly had renewed appreciation for his work. He, like many in our society, does what we prefer to avoid, t...

Certain comments are to be expected from clergy and professors in the liberal mainline denominations, such as the UCC and ELCA. However, although we all know that there are those within the LCMS that teach contrary to the established teaching among us, few rostered clergy in the Synod today approach the brazen openness of Dr. Matthew Becker with regard to views clearly in opposition to accepted teaching. His writings and comments supporting the ordination of women and evolution are fairly well documented now, especially through the recently published Daystar Reader . Nevertheless, he just added to this list with what I can only call bizarre. Again, over on the Gottesdienst Online site Becker posted the following in the comment section: What may be Christologically significant is that Adam in Gen 1 is both male and female, androgynous. There have been some in the Christian tradition who have said the same about the second Adam. As an androgynous Adam, Christ redeems both male and f...

I thought it a bit curious that Becker's controversial musings on his blog were receiving so little notice. Or so I thought. Unbeknownst to me until a chance comment on Becker's site, there has been quite a bit of conversation going on over at the Gottesdienst blog . Although clearly in a minority, Becker is to be credited with being as open as he is with his views. With 52 separate comments to comb through, you can get a fairly good idea of the current response to Becker's recent 'coming out' efforts. This, however, is only the second installment on the issue. The article that first responded to Becker occurred already on Thursday, the day of his post to which I responded. "SELK: Reports of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated" itself generated no less than 87 comments! I read and scanned a good deal of it. Great discussion and worth time in reading. Since the abundant material there speaks for itself, I will not even attempt to summarize or...

This was a first for our little daily newspaper (at least in my memory over the last decade.) An ad appeared on Friday entitled "Harmonious Spirit," offering the availability of a meeting room or chapel at a listed address in town. It then read, "Services performed: Weddings, Funerals, Baptisms." The ad also included the name of a man entitled with "Rev." As far as I can tell he does not represent any of the local churches or cults. The ad sports a cross, so contrary to the Eastern-sounding name "Harmonious Spirit," I am left to believe he may be Christian. I can somewhat understand the idea of hiring yourself out for weddings and funerals. People are always looking for a pastor willing to do theses "services" for the unchurched. Some calls to my church are as crass as "How much do you charge for a wedding?" Funerals are the same way. When someone dies it does not matter if they seldom if ever graced a church for wor...

Apparently Dr. Becker hit a nerve with a recent post on the discussion of the ordination of women in the Independent Lutheran Church in Germany (SELK). If he was looking for attention on the issue, he now has it. Was that his goal? He certainly did not miss the opportunity to again chastise the LCMS for its apparent lack of willingness in beating this dead horse. Like the SELK there is division on this issue in the LCMS; of this we are painful aware. After all, the mere existence of sites such as The Creator's Tapestry and DayStar indicates that there are those who wish to keep the subject alive in our midst. On the other hand, both denominations also lack broad-based support within the rank-and-file of the congregations even after extended conversations on the topic. One might think that after ten years of discussing this in SELK without a positive result (for the pro-ordination side), we might conclude that the issue is indeed becoming the proverbial "dead horse....

I will be registering this week for my next class at Nashotah for January. It is entitled "Reading Romans: Exploring Paul's Theological Vision," and will be taught by Dr. Garwood Anderson , the professor I had this past summer for the course on "The New Perspective." Excellent teacher. Since Romans represents such a foundational book for Lutherans, it seemed more than appropriate to sign up for this course. I suspect that out of this course will come my thesis topic, which may be inspired by whatever major paper I pursue. At the moment my interest is centered on exploring Romans 13, and maybe a broader exploration of the "kingdom of the left" in the New Testament, with a focus in the Pauline corpus or even incorporating material from the Gospels for the thesis. We'll see. This summer I am excited for the possibility of a course offering which will explore "The History and Function of the Church Year." The scheduled professor is the L...

Some time ago I bemused at the paucity of blogging done by those from more liberal theological convictions. Then The Creator's Tapestry resurrected the seemingly dormant Voices-Vision outlet, giving 'voice' once again to those pushing for more involvement of females in the ministerial leadership of Synod. The writing here has been, like my own blog as of late, rather lacking in consistent regular contributions, although after a hiatus since August a recent post has appeared dated December 2, offering a brief tribute to one of their own colleagues recently deceased. Now, yet another from regions left of center has also appeared in the blogosphere. None other than the DayStar court theologian, Dr. Matthew L. Becker has launched his own site as well as a new replacement for the DayStar group, called "The DayStar Journal." His blog is entitled "Transverse Markings: One Theologian's Notes." You may link to his blog here . His latest article is ...

President Harrison's office at the International Center has recently launched a new blog entitled "Witness, Mercy, Life Together: In Christ, for the Church and the World." It will feature articles by the executive staff on a variety of subjects. You can follow it here .