Northwoods Seelsorger

Everyone works out their best method of studying.  It's truly an individual thing.  For me?  I prefer a cat on the shoulders.

"Some things, even though openly known, ought to be tolerated for a while.  That is, when circumstances afford no suitable opportunity for openly correcting them.  For sores by being cut at the wrong time are the worse inflamed; and, if medical treatments suit not the time, it is clear that they lose their medicinal function.  But, while a fitting time for the correction of subordinates  is being sought, the patience of the church leader is exercised under the very weight of their offenses. Therefore, it is well said by the psalmist, 'Sinners have built upon my back' (Psalm 128:3; LXX).  For on the back we support burdens; and therefore he complains that sinners had built upon his back, as if to say plainly: those who I am unable to correct I carry as a burden laid upon me." Gregory the Great (c. AD 540-604) The above quote was included in CPH's The Lord Will Answer (2004), described as "a daily prayer catechism."  Gregory's words resonate wit...

"The Christian desires to draw near to God in humble, acceptable worship.  He comes, in company with his fellow Christians, from the conflicts of the past week, bearing on his heart the burdens of many defeats and the joys of few victories.  He knows, that in spite of his best efforts his conduct has not been wholly pleasing to God.  Before him lies now a new week with its thousand hopes and fears; and before he dares enter upon this new week, he must hold communion with God his heavenly Father.  But how shall he approach his God who dwells in unapproachable light?  First of all he must be pardoned of his sins, and be made sensible of such pardon.  For this purpose there is no form better adapted than that given in this Liturgy for Confession and Absolution.  The Confiteor is therefore the first part of a normal Order for public worship. In the Confiteor the soul has been delivered from the burdens of the past defeats, and is now prepared to take a f...

"In public worship the Church experiences an especial nearness to God; she approaches into the very presence of the Bridegroom, and tastes the blessedness of Heaven even here below.  Public worship is the prettiest flower that can bloom on human stems.  The Order or Liturgy in which this worship is expressed ought therefore to be the image of the inner unity and harmony of the spiritual life - an ecclesiastical aesthetic in concrete form.  In the Church's inner life, as well as in the public expression of her worship,  Word and Sacrament constitute the center.  Like the waves of the sea, breaking and falling upon the rocks, the various forms of the Liturgy must be determined by this central point;  they cannot be arbitrarily chosen, but must be ordered and arranged according to the relation which they bear to Word and Sacrament.  This center determines the steps in the Plan of Salvation, and this in turn determines the Order of public worship.  A ...

Some of you probably already discovered this.  According to the archives activity goes back to this past September.  At any rate, if you haven't discovered it, this appears to be a site worth bookmarking ( Concordia Theology ). Concordia Seminary - St. Louis constructed a very appealing and interactive page in which one can engage the seminary, its faculty and unearth some theological gems along the way.  When I have a bit more time I will explore further.  

Discussions as of late have again turned to the future of theological eduction.  Gottesdienst Online waded back into the fray with the article "Economics in One Lesson - or - My Plan to Save the Seminaries," a followup, of sorts to a related article in 2010, "Don't Go to the Seminary." At the center of the debate one finds the recurring issue of the "Specific Ministry Program," adopted by the Missouri Synod at its convention in 2007.  The Brothers of John the Steadfast recently supplied yet another article, this one by Issues, Etc's Todd Wilken, entitled "A New Category of Pastor: A Prescient Warning."    A review of the above writings will bring you up to speed with the discussion, at least among those concerned for the current state of theological education. When the SMP program was initially proposed and approved, I had my own concerns.  Having witnessed the weaknesses in the old DELTO program (Distance Education Leading to Ordin...

By now many who watch the national news are no doubt aware of the devastation at Christchurch, New Zealand.  Pr. Henderson, of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia (Dr. Marquart' former home) has provided some information and video footage at his site ( Glosses From An Old Manse ), and I am sure will keep us up to date on any developments as he learns of them.  I have seen nothing at the LCMS website, although I assume something will be forthcoming, especially from Lutheran World Relief.  They are in our prayers.

In anticipation of doing some research on the lectionary I stumbled across the issue of the One Year (Historic) Lectionary vs. the Three Year Lectionary.  For the entirety of my 23+ years of ministry I have used the Three Year series.  This stems simply from the fact that the churches which I served had this tradition prior to my arrival and the inserts or pre-printed bulletins they used included this series.  Over the years I have heard repeated promotion and defense of the One Year series, so this is not something new to me.  However, I don't remember hearing it discussed at seminary, at least not in a very in-depth way.  Furthermore, this is not a topic that captured my interest.  Perhaps that is due to the fact that I haven't understood the finer points of the debate.  My recent interest in the lectionary, by the way, comes from a proposed master's thesis on the Apocalypse (book of Revelation) and the liturgy.  A decision from Nashotah on my...

How much could we endure for the sake of Christ?  Can we even begin to imagine years separated from our families, beatings where inhuman torture nearly crushed both mind and body, despair-inducing isolation in dark, dank cells, or the sheer hatred that evil can produce?  As I flipped through the pages of Richard Wurmbrand 's Tortured for Christ and Harlan Popov 's Tortured for His Faith , books I had read years ago and nearly forgotten, images of unbelievable suffering came back into clear view.  Even though people of my generation came of age in the era of the Iron Curtain and the Cold War, the memories have faded, except for reminders in old films.  Yet men like Richard and Harlan, and countless others both in Russsia and the other satellite states of Eastern Europe, endured unspeakable atrocities in the name of their Savior at a time when the USSR became the grand experiment of the perfect atheistic state.  Of course these sufferings still exist and many att...

Right now my state has taken front stage in the news as thousands of people protest outside our capital.  The issue revolves around our governor's proposal to remove collective bargaining as a right of most unionized state workers, which includes public school teachers.  Given the loud and heated rhetoric on the subject, one is led to believe that this "right" to "collectively bargain" -in this case for health care and other fringes on the state level - is an inherent, fundamental human right.  In doing some brief internet research I discovered that such a belief indeed exists, but it appears to be something connected more with Europe and the UN, than with the US as such.  Obviously, some of the largest corporations in the US lack any provision for collective bargaining: Walmart, IBM, McDonalds, to name a few.  Now given the premise of collective bargaining as a fundamental human right, one would feel compelled to therefore condemn these companies as in grave mo...

After a hiatus from my involvement with our local Boy Scout troop, I spent three days in a row reengaging, beginning with an Eagle court of honor and ending with a board of review for yet another Eagle scout.  Watching these emerging young men make the final step in their scouting journey is always encouraging, especially if you have been part of that journey as an adult leader.  However, it should be noted that in scouting the Eagle rank, the highest of the ranks in scouting, does not represent an end in their involvement, but rather a new beginning. It also carries with it a new burden, the burden of being an icon of the highest ideals of scouting.  Both young men were reminded repeatedly of this burden and the charge to now step forward as a leader of the generation to follow them, exhibiting more than ever the ideals of the movement as they have confessed them countless times before in meetings and ceremonies. As a scout leader I too have joined in these pledges beg...

It's only a small meeting of about 75 representatives from central and northeastern Wisconsin.  Nevertheless, their meeting today, about an hour drive from my home, will decide to support or oppose homosexuality within Presbyterian leadership.  According to the Associated Press a majority of the 173 Presbyterian regional organizations must ratify or reject the issue.  The Wausau Daily Herald interviewed the local Presbyterian pastor for his reaction, and he indicated that prohibiting people from serving the church based on sexual orientation "runs contrary to Christian theology that no one is perfect."  Come again?  I hope that the paper simply misinterpreted or misunderstood what he said.  If this is accurate, I guess it means two things, neither of which will certainly be acceptable to either side: 1.) homosexuality is a human imperfection, and 2.) homosexuality is an imperfection no different than any other physical or psychological abnormality common to...

Going back to graduate school placed me into the heady invigorating world of academic theological deliberations.  Keeping abreast of ongoing debates among scholars conservative and liberal alike allows me the chance to continually sharpen those reemerging skills.  However, as I was reminded yesterday in the basement of my church with six students at the adult instruction class, theology must ultimately address issues affecting the real-time lives of God's people.  Last night we discussed the age-old question of sin and the Fall in Eden and the ancient tactics of the evil one.  Parish work affords ample opportunity to wrestle with the most difficult theological dilemmas, as sin continually poses challenges to the application of law and gospel in the most fundamental way. In my corner of the world two of the challenges that most frequently complicate the life of the parish involve issues impacting morality (e.g. cohabitation) and fellowship (e.g. close communion)....

Since Dr. Becker has resurrected his swipe at Murray's book, it seemed only proper that somewhere Dr. Murray be given equal time in response.  Unfortunately when someone regularly blogs, those to whom they refer are not afforded the opportunity for rebuttal.  The venue may or may not be widely read, and thus the subject of a post may not even know he or she became the center of a discussion.  For those who may have picked up on Becker's argument and would like to hear the "other side" of the issue, may I propose a good response from Murray's own pen?  If you are so inclined I would suggest reading his paper "The Third Use of the Law: The Author Responds to His Critics," which was published in CTQ, vol. 72, 2008.  Dr. Murray does a masterful job at examining not just the concerns of his critics, but the reason why some are so negatively inclined toward the subject of the third use of the law in the first place.  One would think, from Becker's scathing...

Dr. Matthew Becker reveals his not so thinly veiled disdain for Missouri's right in his latest post defending the work and theology of Werner Elert.  You can read his post and judge for yourself, but his lack of any scholarly respect for Dr. David Scaer of CTS-Ft. Wayne and Dr. Scott Murray, pastor and synodical vice president is quite transparent.  For example, he refers to Murray's book on the law , which was based, I think, on his doctoral work, as a "shallow and mistaken study." Dr. Lawrence Rast provides a more positive review in a 2005 CTQ article . He then cuts them down again at the end of his article by noting two other men as "better scholars."  Dr. David Scaer remains one of Missouri's greatest scholars, and I think that Becker could have acknowledged his theological acumen with a bit more graciousness.  His admiration for Missouri's former left and current theologians of the ELCA seems far greater than anything he would offer for those...

In my unintended series on significant theologians of the 20th century without earned doctorates, yet another name must be added: Bo Giertz .  As far as I can determine, this great theologian of Sweden who became a very prolific and popular writer while also attaining great respect as a scholar, never earned an actual doctoral degree.  Yet, as happens so often, he is the subject of dissertations himself and remains an inspiration for generations of theologians and pastors. Many have provided more than adequate summaries of this great man's life, a feat I will not attempt to reproduce here.  A nice biographical sketch can be found at the Lutheran Student Fellowship of Pittsburgh , among other places. Basically, Giertz was a man of the church.  His active career can be divided into two parts: his time as a parish pastor in Torpa, Sweden (1938-1949), and his time as a bishop in the Church of Sweden in Gothenburg (1949-1970).  His first few years in the ministry (...

I was recently looking through one of the academic catalogs from Concordia Theological Seminary-Ft. Wayne and wondered what happened to a couple of professors who left the seminary in the early to mid-2000's.  Neither is listed on the clergy roster of Synod , and in doing a Google search it seems that little is available there also.  The professors both taught OT exegesis.  They are Chad Bird and Douglas McC. L. Judisch .  Bird, it appears has done some adjunct work for Clarendon College as recently as last spring, but is not listed among their faculty for this year.  He has also been involved in the doctoral program at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, OH since 2003, according to an online CV.  Dr. Judisch, who was my OT prof at Ft. Wayne also shows up on the net, but only in reference to past works he has authored.  Both of these men contributed well-received books and writings over the years.  Pr. Bird (I think he is still a pastor?) also...

As we sang his now classic hymn in church this morning, "Thy Strong Word," I was reminded of another great theologian of the 20th century; a theologian who also did not appear to have secured an earned doctorate in his lifetime.  Martin Franzmann (1907-1976) remains influential even to this day not only through his hymnody, but also through his prolific writing.  Recently I had the occasion to use his commentary on Romans for one of my graduate papers, a paperback I bought several years ago at a used book store in Madison (during another graduate class), which is now falling apart from use and age.  While in college his book The Word of the Lord Grows was our standard text for the introduction to the New Testament.  Then later his influence continued as I used the Concordia Self-Study Bible and the Concordia Self-Study Commentary in my ongoing preparation for Bible studies and sermons, especially in my earlier ministry.   His writing encompasses many more wor...

Today we assume that serious, academically-minded theologians earn a doctorate. In fact, how can someone ultimately be respected without one?  However, many famous teachers of theology in the past never made it that far, and still they commanded great respect among their peers and even secured respected teaching posts in world class universities. Recently I discovered that three great theologians of the 20th century taught and wrote extensively and yet the only doctorate they had came in the form of an honorary one.  The three men are: Karl Barth , Reinhold Niebuhr , and C.S.Lewis .  Now one may take issue with the last name in the list since he did not make a career in theology, but rather in teaching literature.  Nevertheless, it cannot be argued that his writings stand among the great 'classics' of apologetics. (Another name one might also add to the list could include the well-known biblical scholar F.F.Bruce .) It seems ironic that innumerable doctoral dissert...

The other night a young graduate of one of the Concordias came to speak at my church.  He was recently contracted to work with a Lutheran pastor in Japan and hoped to find some financial support from a couple of our groups.  We gladly promised him support.  I am pleased that my congregation remains supportive of missions.  When the budget was passed last month the elder in charge of the stewardship board, upon seeing that we had a budge much under the previous year due to paying off our building loan, suggested we raise our overall giving to missions.  It passed without resistance at $22,000 (which includes support for all synodical services at district and national.)  All glory be to God alone! Given this I was disappointed when I recently read how far down the list the LCMS is with regard to mission giving, especially overseas missions.  The February 2011 issue of Christianity Today reported that the Missouri Synod contributed 1 cent for every dol...