Two videos are available from the LCMS regarding this issue. The first is presents Pastor Harrison's comments on the birth control mandate. The second is the video of his testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Govt. Reform. I encourage you to view these videos. You may see them on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5au8yj2msQ
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=527spTZiwBU
Dear brothers in Christ,
As you are well aware, a deadly tsunami struck the coast of Japan in the early hours this morning. Hundreds of people have lost their lives and many more are missing. As the morning progressed, the lethal waves moved across the Pacific Ocean striking other land masses in their path. While the full effect of the tsunami is not yet known, the losses are expected to be great.
We have been in touch with our missionaries and partner church leaders in the affected parts of the world. At this time, we have been assured that our missionaries in Japan and the presidents of the two Japanese Lutheran churches are safe. We will continue to closely monitor the aftermath of the storm, and our disaster response team is preparing to respond.
We encourage you to visit the LCMS website, http://www.lcms.org, often for periodic news updates. Also, we will be posting links to worship resources later today that may be suitable for use this Sunday or at another appropriate time.
In closing, please join me in prayer for the victims of the tsunami and their families. I would suggest the Litany. And let us also during this Lenten season make use of the historic discipline of caring for the needy (Matt. 6:2-4).
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. Psalm 46: 1-2
In His peace,
Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
No! I don't have a regular column called "blog of the week" like my favorite radio program "Issues, Etc." (see http://IssuesEtc.org)
It's just that this post by Rev. Paul McCain says something very important. It is entitled "One of the Very Best Things The Missouri Synod Did Not Do Last Week." Rev. McCain refers to defeating the resolution that would have changed the way delegates are elected for Synod conventions. The recommendation (made by a task force on structure) would have done two things. 1. Moved the election of delegates from the congregation level to the district level. 2. Given larger voice to larger congregations. The motion was only defeated by sending it to committee, where it will hopefully die a painless private death. As Rev. McCain so ably states, this proposal would have changed how Missouri understands the church. Check out his post here.
http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/07/19/one-of-the-very-best-things-the-missouri-did-not-do-last-week/
Tuesday, July 06, 2010; Week of the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
To the Churches of the Southwest Circuit, Iowa District West, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod;
It is my privilege to serve as your pastoral delegate to the 63rd Convention of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod this coming week in Houston, TX. Marvin Reents (St Paul Lutheran Church-Yorktown) is your lay delegate. Please pray for us as we consider the resolutions brought to the floor for consideration.
I have set up several avenues for communication during the convention to keep you informed. You may choose any or all of these:
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about the convention
Along with my updates please visit http://lcms.org/Convention for more up-to-date information. Including live video, pictures, news, etc.
God’s Richest Blessings
Pastor Jonathan C. Watt, Pastoral Delegate, South West Circuit, Iowa District West, LCMS
I have come to read this post a bit late. Please read "Of Foreboding and Forgiveness" by Uwe Siemon-Netto. It is a timely, direct call for Missouri to "get its act together." A sample of Seimon-Netto's direct language.
The time might soon come when there will be no mega churches with thousands of happy-clappy congregants; whoever among Lutherans believes that in periods of woe bestselling guidelines to a purpose-driven life can be put into action will be egregiously disappointed. What sustained me in air raid shelters and during months of starvation were not expressions of religious enthusiasm but the words and tunes of the Scripture-based liturgy I had memorized since Sunday school, and the unshakeable message that, whatever happened, I was a forgiven sinner and would therefore live eternally by virtue of Christ’s vicarious suffering, death and resurrection.
Along with those mentioned in his article, I too look for the LCMS to am '...praying that the LCMS will emerge from Houston “as a robust church ready to allow the treasures of its own tradition to bear fruit.”'
Uwe endorses Rev. Matt Harrison for president. As a delegate I am inclined to vote for Harrison for these reasons and many others.
Mitchell puts together a very interesting article about the Missouri Synod. Read it an let me know if you think it's accurate? fair?
Here's how it starts
CHICO — The Rev. Donald Jordan says it's no shock that his church, Redeemer Lutheran, and its denomination, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) are sometimes targets of criticism.
They've been called such things as old-fashioned, inhospitable, unyielding, inhumane, unfair and insular.
Jordan doesn't accept all these barbs, but he says, according to the spirit of the age, they are understandable.
Old-fashioned?
The hymns sung at Redeemer often date from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the service is quite formal, with little room for innovation.
And the message in Jordan's sermons may seem archaic to many. There's plenty of talk about sin, death and eternal life.
The sermons focus on what Jordan calls "Law-and-gospel" Christianity. According to this understanding, the Law (the 10 Commandments) is simply impossible for humans to keep. Christians would be doomed were it not for the good news of the gospel, that Jesus kept the law perfectly and gave his life for humankind, so that believers can be in good standing with God.
Finish reading here: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_15188236?source=rss
But I hold out hope for the Missouri Synod. After all it is the synod of my birth. We are at our heart traditional, liturgical, practical and faithful to the Lutheran Confessions. At our heart we confess the faith of our fathers. (In spite of some who insist that this isn't our grand-father's church see "Through the Ages . . ." http://www.lcms.org/pages/wPage.asp?ContentID=418&IssueID=27) At our heart we know that all worship must find its center in Jesus Christ Crucified for the forgiveness of sins. We know the best way to worship is to speak, sing and chant the same texts as the faithful church has done over generations. At our heart we bring the Word of God to the world from our unique (Biblical!) law and Gospel perspective. At our heart we revel in the confession of the faith that has been handed down to us in the Lutheran Confessions. On the surface is the foolishness described by Phillip Magness in an article by Terry Mattingly (Mattingly and the Lutheran Worship Wars http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/mattingly-lutherans-and-worship-wars)
"What I found out is that we're a lot like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates," he said. "It says 'Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod' on the sign, but when you go inside you have no idea what you're going to get. ... Some of our churches are playing with the structure of the liturgy and some are playing with the content and our whole synod is trying to find out how to draw some boundaries."
As one pastor in the synod has said, "Now is the time for Confessional Lutheranism." The world is unsettled and unstable. People are looking for stability. The message of God's great love for sinful people shown chiefly in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is the message we have. It is the message the world needs to hear and see. What we need to show is a traditional, liturgical, practical, confessional worshipping community that clearly and uniformly presents Christ. The best way to do that is the way the faithful church has done it: Word and Sacrament administered according to Christ's command; Hymns, songs and spiritual songs that clearly confess God's work for us in Jesus Christ; Preaching the law in its full force to crush the hearts of the faithful as well as the unbeliever AND the Gospel in its full force to sooth broken hearts with the comfort of Jesus Christ. there is no church body that can do all these things at the same time as well as the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. God grant it for Jesus Sake.
+SDG+
Pastor Jonathan C. Watt
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
Creston, Iowa
I clearly understand any pastor not "wanting" to practice closed communion, it is (currently) the most difficult pastoral practice we face. But obfuscating language to allow for any practice is truly a post-modern deception. Satan wraps the lie in the truth. There's a whole lot of leaven here.
Read pastor Beane's article.
http://fatherhollywood.blogspot.com/2009/04/closed-communion-cone-size-catch-22.html
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is working behind the scenes to sell KFUO FM. A few years ago it was worth about $20m. Now days about half that. Is it bad stewardship to sell the station when the price is down? Here's an article in St. Louis Today.
Given the climate at the Synod one is always suspicious of decisions to sell valuable assets that can never be replaced. As the article says generally AM FM pairs are sold together. If the FM goes the AM is likely to follow. Some are hopeful the FM sale profits will be used to support the AM station. I think this is not likely. It seems that the AM has always been used to shelter the FM and protect it from criticism. As the budget at the Synod is likely not to be well funded, cash is going to be needed. $10m is an attractive number to help balance the books.
I have always found it difficult to understand the FM's Classical Music as a ministry of the LCMS. I listened a bit when we were at Seminary, and was quickly disappointed. I changed to the AM, primarily for Issues, Law and Gospel and the Bible Study. These kind of programs are what the AM and FM should be playing. The AM / FM combination has potential as a platform for Lutheran Web radio. It's loss would be a great loss to the synod, albeit it is being wasted now. The value of the FM as a potential for the Gospel combined with the AM and Internet is worth well more that the price tag.
On the other hand the value of the FM will likely continue to plummet. The cash is likely better now than it will be in the foreseeable future.
However, again, the sale of this valuable asset to pay the bills is probably rather shortsighted.
tmatt" a writer at the GetReligion blog (A blog that studies how religion is represented in the media) chimes in (http://www.getreligion.org/?p=3328) on the Issues controversy with an entry about MZ Hemmingway's feature in the WallSteet Journal. He talks about his connection to the show.This is especially interesting to me, since this was one of the only radio shows that I used to agree to appear on (for free) to talk about trends in religion news. It offered intelligent hosts and very fine listeners with good questions. It was worth the time and effort to hook up with them. It was not a shouting show.He finishes with an interesting observation.
Welcome to the worship wars and the post-denominational age. This is the kind of conflict that is quietly developing on the right, while the left draws more headlines battling over the creeds, salvation and, of course, sex.Any thoughts that this issue isn't a big issue should soon evaporate!
I will not be preaching this week, as I am a delegate to the 63rd Regular Convention of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod this coming week.
