MSNBC Suspends Olbermann

Of all the political analysts (if you can call them that) out there blowing hot air and entertaining the masses with their overdone rhetoric and biased, "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story," reporting, the worst of the worst, in my not so humble opinion, has always been Keith Olbermann.  His pompous, condescending attitude and approach has always rubbed me the wrong way, so much so that when NBC started using him in the pre-game show for Sunday Night Football, I stopped watching.  Well, okay, I still watched the game, but I refused to turn it to NBC until the actual game started.  And this has nothing at all to do with my being strongly opposed to many of Olbermann's liberal views.  It's just him.  His attitude.  His smugness.  His condescension.  I have never understood how liberals could find him appealing.  In the same way, I can't figure out what in the world conservatives find appealing about the likes of Glenn Beck, who makes a living butchering history and sobbing like a baby, or Bill O'Reilly, who makes a living throwing fits and bullying guests.  But, hey, that's just me.  Anyway, back to Olbermann.  MSNBC announced today that he is being suspended indefinitely without pay because, get this, he donated funds to the campaigns of three different Democratic candidates during this latest political season.  Say it ain't so!  Not Keith Olbermann!  Not after all the woeful lamentations about those on the other side of the political aisle doing this very thing.  Not after all the years of telling the world how far above the conservatives he was on the ethical ladder.  Something about a pot and black kettle comes to mind.  But, of course, something tells me that Mr. Olbermann will be back in the saddle soon, if not on MSNBC, somewhere else, and I'm sure he'll come up with a fantastic way to spin this little "oops!" in his favor, and begin informing us about "America's Worst" once again.  We'll see.  You can read about this here. 

Big Brother at Work

So, it seems that we will all have a decision to make when we fly in the future.  Either we can submit to a naked body scan or we can opt out of those and allow TSA agents to fondle and grope our private parts - all in the name of national security, of course.  Sing it with me:

"My country, 'tis of thee, 

Sweet land of liberty, 

Of thee I sing . . ." 

On October 28, TSA released the following statement:

"TSA is in the process of implementing new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide as one of our many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe. Pat-downs are one important tool to help TSA detect hidden and dangerous items such as explosives. Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, among others."

I guess the "among others" in that statement includes fondling and groping the private parts of women and children, as the video below reveals (or you can go here and read an article on the subject - they pat-down men's private parts, too).

". . . Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!"    

Pr. Curtis on "Lay Ministry"

Below is an Issues, Etc. interview featuring Pr. Heath Curtis on the subject of "Lay Ministry" in the LCMS.  It is a must listen!  I am hopeful that our synod will finally put an end to this practice, which stands in clear violation of AC XIV, at the 2013 Convention.  It is good to see both of our seminary's systematics faculties addressing this issue, which you can read here.  You can also read a study document on the topic written by Pr. Curtis and Pr. Weedon here.  

Autumn Greeting from LCMS President Harrison

I know most of you have probably seen this by now, but I also know that some of you haven't.  A beautiful, Christ-centered, autumn greeting from our Synodical President:

God Is In Our Midst!

I have long argued that the chief reason many Lutherans abolish the Mass, contra AC and Apology XXIV, and replace it with the revivalistic worship styles and forms of the Methobapticostals and Americanized Evangelicals, is a lack of faith in the Real Presence of our Lord.  Advocates of "contemporary worship" among Lutherans vehemently argue to the contrary, but the old saying, "actions speak louder than words," holds forth here.  It is very difficult to believe that one believes Christ is truly Present when the altar is pushed to the side to make room for the praise band, the pastor is clad in street clothes and wont to speak and behave informally, even making it a point to crack a few jokes now and then, the gathered assembly is treated as an audience there to be entertained, and so forth.  Perhaps this lack of faith in the Real Presence of our Lord is due to a lack of knowledge or understanding.  I'm certain that is the case with the majority of the people assembled.  They simply have no clue, and you really can't blame them.  The "worship experiences" they attend do not exactly scream of Christ's Presence.  But, what of these Lutheran pastors, who should know better?  I suppose lack of knowledge and understanding accounts for some, but I'm convinced that many simply believe otherwise.  They have weighed and measured Lutheranism and found it wanting, and proceed accordingly.  They claim that their actions flow from their deep love for the lost.  I believe them.  I know many who have a fervent desire to reach the lost for Christ and work feverishly to that end.  But, what they fail to realize is that, in the process of their "soul-winning" efforts, they end up forsaking their First Love.  

Anyway, I got to thinking about this while reading "Christ's Church" by Bo Giertz this evening, who writes (on pp. 102-103):

God is on our midst!  Also today.  Because what happened once in history is not only something in the past.  The connection that was then opened between earth and heaven has never since been broken.  The same Lord, who came to dwell among us, also built His Church among us.  He is still active there through His Spirit, in the external forms of the word and the sacraments.  The new life still descends into this world of corruption.  The eternal light is still being revealed.  Christ is still doing the work for which He was made man . . . 


God is in our midst!  Just as Jesus once entered the world as God's outstretched hand, as a visible revelation of God's invisible being, and as an audible message of that which no ear has heard, so God's hand is still stretched out at the baptismal font and the communion rails, and so the Word still sounds, not as a mechanical repetition of what the Master once said but as a continually repeated message from the mouth of our Savior.  The Word is not only a teaching but a living call, an offer from God, a herald's summons, that the Eternal One issues to us and that again and again requires from us a response.  It is the same way with the sacraments.  They are not symbols and metaphors but Christ's way to deal with us today, just as real and tangible as He once dealt with people on the fields in Galilee and the streets in Capernaum.  Thus He has given us baptism in order still to receive people into the Kingdom and into the fellowship of His followers.  Thus He is still at the table with us in the Lord's Supper to make us partakers of His atoning sacrifice.  He has not left the world, where He once was born for our salvation . . . 


Living and genuine Christianity is in its innermost essence faith in the incarnation and the atonement.  It is in its innermost essence sacramental, it is the message of God's real and wondrous presence in the midst of the fallen creation, in the Lord Christ and His Church.

Beautiful!  Would that all Lutheran pastors confessed the same, not only with their mouths, but in their practice, believing that Christ is truly Present in the Mass, that they would take seriously their sacred duty to preach the Gospel in its purity and administer the Sacraments according to Christ's institution.

The latest from . . .

Sarah's World Religions prof, per a text I received earlier from Sarah, which read:

"My religion prof just said, 'Some uptight and stubborn Christians still believe that the old, boring music should be a part of the liturgy.  But most faithful Christians realize that traditions change and so should music and liturgy with it.'" 

Hmmm, let's see what we've learned thus far:  1) Luther started the Reformation because he wanted to marry a nun; 2) Lutherans believe that only a literal 144,000 people will be saved; 3) Faithful Christians realize that traditions change and so should music and liturgy with it, among many other things (these are just the highlights).  A solid education being had there, for sure - NOT!  Sigh.

Just for Meggers . . .

Pastor Weedon on "Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise," last week on Issues, Etc.  Okay, so not just for Meggers, but especially for her. :)  Listen below:

Joel Osteen or Fortune Cookie?

Yes, It IS About the Music, Too

I've been no stranger to the ongoing "worship wars" among Lutherans.  I've been in the trenches fully engaged in the "wars" for many years now.  And, believe it or not, there was a time, many, many moons ago, when I fought for the other side, believing that we Lutherans needed to ditch the historic liturgy and get with the times.  I was young and naive - and very ignorant about what Christian worship is.  But, then I read and studied the entire Bible, from beginning to end.  I had done that several times before, but this time I paid special attention to every reference to worship I found in the Bible.  I jotted down those references, along with some notes about each.  I came across those notes in an old file cabinet some time back.  They're in rough shape, and much of what I wrote down back then shows forth how ignorant I was at the time, especially considering that I completely missed a plethora of worship references, and I wonder now how I could have possibly done so.  But, even back then, as ignorant as I was, what this exercise of reading through Holy Scripture and noting the references to worship taught me was that my ideas about the need to make worship entertaining, fun, and more appealing to the lost were way off base.  I simply couldn't find any basis for that anywhere in Scripture.  I still can't.  What I did find was that Biblical worship is always a holy and reverent encounter between God and His people.  I also found that Biblical worship simply knows not a thing about mimicking the surrounding culture for the purpose of outreach, something I was told time and time again was the main purpose and end-all, be-all of Christian worship.

Noting the discrepancy between what I found in Holy Scripture and what was passing itself off as Christian worship in the LCMS congregation I was attending at the time, I was encouraged to read many of the classic "Church Growth Movement" text books and assured by my pastor, who had been convinced by these himself, that these books would set me straight about what Christian worship is really all about.  It didn't work.  What I read in those books was not consistent with what I read in Holy Scripture.  Instead, what I found was that the authors of these books began with a series of self-conceived assumptions, developed these assumptions into a detailed set of principles, and then read those assumptions-turned-principles into the Biblical text.  In other words, it was pretty obvious that they were not beginning with the Word of God, but with their own ideas, which they forced upon the Word of God.  Plus, it was vividly clear to me that the authors of these books adhered to a theology wholly inconsistent with Lutheran theology, and I found it odd that, as a Lutheran, I was supposed to be learning from non-Lutherans.  But, that's precisely the thing that made this a fruitful exercise for me, since it led me to dig deeper into what Lutherans actually believed.  Prior to this, the only thing I knew of Lutheranism was what I read in the Small Catechism and what I was taught in Confirmation/New Member Classes.  But, this led me to actually pick up, read, and study the Lutheran Confessions, which, in turn, led me to hunger for more, and I began to read the writings of our Lutheran fathers.  Suffice to say that the more I read and studied what Lutherans believe, teach, confess, and practice, the more convinced I was that the "seeker-sensitive, outreach-focused, fun, entertaining" worship being done in my congregation stood in stark contrast to our Lutheran theology of worship.  It was also at this time that the desire to pursue the Office of the Holy Ministry began in me, a desire I did my best to suppress, but one that the Lord would confirm several years later by calling and ordaining me into this Office.

Anyway, this little autobiographical sketch and trip down memory lane is simply meant to reveal that I know much about, and have been engaged in, the "worship wars" among Lutherans.  What I really want to talk about is the concern I have about the repeated mantra I've been hearing from brothers on my side of the "worship wars," namely, "It's not about the music."

I am concerned about this because it seems to give the impression that music is neutral and that, all other things being equal, it doesn't matter what music is used in the Divine Service.  Knowing many of the brothers I've heard saying this, I cannot bring myself to believe that this is at all what they believe, but it begs the question:  Why say it and give that impression?

I think those who have been saying this need to stop.  People are hearing it in a way that I don't think those who are saying it mean.  In fact, what prompted me to finally write about this was an email I received yesterday from a lady named Anne, who stated:

Dear Pastor Messer,
I really enjoy reading your blog.  I also read the blogs of many other Lutheran pastors and enjoy them as well.  If you don't mind, I have a question for you.  First, I should let you know a little of why I'm asking about this.  I belong to a missouri synod congregation that has three worship services every Sunday, the early one is traditional and we use the hymnal and follow the liturgy in that one, the middle one is blended and has some of the liturgy and uses some hymns and some popular praise songs of today with the praise band leading us, and the third one is contemporary - actually it's titled "praise service" - and there really is no liturgy to speak of or hymns (well, on the rare occasion, the praise band might sing a hymn) and it is very informal and feels more like a rock concert than a worship service.  My question is would it be enough for this "praise service" to be Lutheran if they did the liturgy but kept the music the same?  The reason I ask is because I have been reading on other blogs of Lutheran pastors that the issue is not the music or musical instruments being used in worship, but when the liturgy is not used.  I am confused about this and wonder what you think about it.  Just to let you know, my husband and I have thought about finding another congregation to worship at, but it seems that all the Missouri congregations around us have these same kinds of different services at them.  So, for now, we stay put and attend the traditional service at our congregation.  But I think that even if the "praise service" at our congregation used the liturgy from beginning to end while using the music they use now, it would still feel more like a rock concert than a Lutheran worship service.  Am I wrong?  What do you think?


Thanks for listening,
Blessings,
Anne

As I told Anne in my response to her, I don't think she is wrong at all.  Our Lutheran theology of worship is about more than simply using our hymnal and following the liturgy.  I have actually been to Services in LCMS congregations where the entire liturgy was used, word for word, but left thinking that there was nothing Lutheran about what I had just experienced.  Why?  The music.  The liturgy was undone by the entertainment of the praise band and the songs they sung, filled with false doctrine as they were - false doctrine that grossly contradicted the doctrine being taught and delivered in the liturgy.  The liturgy couldn't save the Service from feeling far more like a Pentecostal "worship experience" (or rock concert) than a Lutheran Divine Service.

Now, I think the reason many of my brothers are heard saying that it's not about the music (or about specific musical instruments) is because they want to emphasize that the far greater issue at stake is theological.  Plus, I think they see how bad things are among us today in the realm of worship and would be thrilled if every congregation in our synod would at least employ the liturgy in all of their Services.  But, while that would definitely be a step in the right direction, it would be but a step and not an end to our "worship wars."  Music is a huge factor in these "wars" and ultimately needs to be addressed before we can truly become united in the theology of worship to which we all claim to adhere in our synod.  Thus, I think it would behoove those who are wont to say, "It's not about the music (or about specific musical instruments)" to stop saying this, for it most definitely IS about the music, too.

Lutherans have no business singing popular CCM songs which contain theology contrary to ours.  Likewise, Lutherans have no business employing praise bands and using rock and roll instruments to entertain the congregation.  Whenever the music used by Lutherans is the main thing, our theology of worship is lost.  Whenever the music used by Lutherans is presented in a performative and entertaining manner, our theology of worship is lost.  Whenever the music used by Lutherans does not remain a servant to the text, but overpowers it, our theology of worship is lost.  And, of course, as already mentioned, whenever the music used by Lutherans contradicts our theology, our theology of worship is lost.

The Divine Service, according to our Lutheran theology of worship, is a holy, reverent encounter with our Lord, who graciously and mercifully comes into our midst to Gift us with forgiveness, life, and salvation through His Holy Word and Sacraments.  It is, by definition, Christ-centered and Cross-focused.  It's focus is always on Christ and the work He does for us and among us.  It is ever mindful of the fact that our Lord is really, actually, and truly Present among us, and not "up there" in heaven waiting for us to reach Him with our praise.  Anything that detracts from that foremost and essential truth is inconsistent with our theology of worship.  And, certainly, one of the biggest detractors from that foremost and essential truth is the use of music which suggests otherwise.

The bottom line is that if it looks, sounds, and feels more like a rock concert than the Divine Service, it is not our Lutheran theology of worship at work.  It IS about the music, too, and we need to make sure that we are clear about this.  For to suggest otherwise is not only misleading, but it runs the risk of falling into the "style vs. substance" pit, as if we can employ the "worship style" of other Christians, who do not believe as we do, but somehow maintain our "Lutheran substance," which is quite impossible.

As an object lesson, here is an LCMS praise band singing a hymn which is near and dear the hearts of Lutherans, and a favorite among many, including myself - "Thy Strong Word."  It's a good test case to examine, for if it is true that music is not the issue, then surely a praise band singing a great hymn would be okey-dokey with our theology of worship.  But, you tell me:  Is the video of this praise band singing a solid Lutheran hymn reflective of our theology of worship?

Great News!

Many of us have been praying for the LCMS and the SELC (Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church) to enter into altar and pulpit fellowship with one another.  It seems that prayer is very close to being answered.  A delegation from the LCMS, led by Rev. Dr. Albert Collver, Director of Church Relations - Assistant to the President, recently met with leaders of the SELC at Novosibirsk, in Siberia, Russia, for theological discussions.  It was determined that the two Church Bodies are in doctrinal agreement and that steps should be taken immediately to officially declare them to be in full fellowship with one another.  Those steps will hopefully be completed by next month and, thanks to the adoption of Res. 3-04A at the 2010 LCMS National Convention, upon completion of these steps, the LCMS and the SELC will be in fellowship, and that fellowship will be presented to the 2013 LCMS National Convention for ratification.  This is outstanding news, and you can read more about it at Dr. Collver's blog.  As I said above, this will be the answer to the prayers of many of us who have longed for the day when the fellowship we share with our Lutheran brothers and sisters in Russia would be officially recognized and declared.  Thanks be to God! 

Is This Little Guy Precious or What?!

A few more pics of my nephew, Max:

Max's first sleep over at Grandma Sally's

Max's first Halloween - Now THAT'S just downright cute!

Max missed his favorite uncle so much, they had to give him a picture of me to calm him down! :)

No Mo' BEEcursitudes

A Long, but Blessed Day

Winkel this morning at Lord of New Life in Midland.  Our Lord fed us on Word and Sacrament through His servant, Pr. Kurt Eichinger, and Pr. Dave Reed, who served as our pastoral delegate to the LCMS Convention this past July, presented his report, and led us in a discussion of, the Convention, highlighting the elections made and major resolutions passed and declined.  He also shared with us his experiences during his recent trip to Ireland, along with several Irish jokes he picked up over there, using a perfect Irish accent, to boot.  Good stuff! :)  It was good to see such a good turnout - every congregation in our circuit had pastoral representation, and I think there were only two brother pastors who couldn't make it.  I spent the rest of the afternoon bringing the Holy Word and Holy Sacrament of our Lord's Body and Blood to shut-ins (still have a few more to see in the next couple of days), which is always a great blessing, and even made it to the polls to vote, too.  And, when I finally got home this evening, I was thrilled to see that my copy of "Christ's Church" by Bo Giertz had arrived today.  A good day all around!

Just in case . . .

you missed these.  Here are Pr. Fisk's Worldview Everlasting videos for last week - awesome as always!

Reformation Celebration - 6

Okay, so one last post with pics of our Reformation Celebration yesterday.  The first set of pics are of those six brave souls who competed in our "Best Luther Impression" contest.  Each person had to stand up in front of everyone, put on the Luther mask, and read a famous Luther quote as if they were Luther himself.  After all the contestants took their turn, everyone in the audience voted for the person they thought did the best Luther impression.  All the contestants did a great job, but the clear winner was Mary, our church secretary and organist, who read her Luther quote with much zeal and drama and received about 95% of the vote.  Lots of fun!  The last few pics are of those who stayed to play Reformation Pictionary after the celebration had pretty much broken up.  It was a grand day, beginning with the beautiful Festival of Reformation Day Divine Service in the morning and lasting all through the good eats and great fun into the afternoon.  We'll definitely be doing this again next year, and I'm confident that it will be even bigger and better!  Thanks to everyone who helped make this a very special day in the life of our little parish!

Paige

Sarah

Morgan

Dave

Terry

Mary - the champ!  (You can see a bit of the drama of her performance depicted here - she made a great Luther!)