Oh, the Joys . . .

. . . of not having your own building continue! This weekend is our annual Good Shepherd Seminar. We fly in a professor from our Ft. Wayne Seminary who holds forth on a topic for us on Saturday, and then leads Bible Class and preaches for us on Sunday. Every year we've held this at the same hotel, for eleven years now. We never had any trouble. Never. Ever.

Until this year.

At about 8:30 last night, we arrive at the hotel and they know nothing about us. Zilch. Nada. No reservations at all. The meeting room had been rented to another group. We have no place to have our seminar. We call to other area hotels, but they either have no meeting space, have already committed it, or want to charge something spectacularly high since we're over a barrel. And at that time of night, it's most difficult to get a hold of the hotel managers anyway.

We had our contract with them, but the sales manager who made it no longer works there and apparently didn't enter it into their system - or however they do it. Sigh. Fortunately, they still had a guest room for our professor, so we got that. But now we'll have to meet at local members house. It'll be a bit cramped, but we'll make do. But what a headache last night! And trying to communicate to everyone coming today for the seminar to go to a new location. We'll have a sign up at the hotel and information there - hopefully everyone will get to the new location okay.

The professor was very good and good natured about it all. And, lesson learned. Check. Double check. Confirm. Triple confirm. But this I know, too: it will be a good seminar today, despite the circumstances. :-)

A Good Weekend

This past weekend was our annual Good Shepherd Seminar. This year we had Rev. Jim Bushur from the seminary come out and teach us. It was very, very good. The audio files of his presentations have been posted on our web site. I very strongly encourage you to listen to them - it will be well worth your time. Click here to go to the page with these files (and also files from many of the other years of our seminars).

In other news, my father is still hanging in there. He has his good days and bad days, good moments and bad moments. We are just still waiting to see what the future hold. The hospice doctor is coming over soon, so hopefully we'll get some clarity as to what is happening.

My son comes home from college for the summer this week. It will be nice to have him home again for a while. My daughter is making preparations for her first year of college this fall at Virginia Commonwealth University. It will be a big change to have them both gone in the Fall!

My Phillies are still doing pretty well for a rebuilding club. They are ahead of schedule, playing above .500 ball, and have many exciting youngsters in the minors ready to come up either this year or next. The future is looking bright! I think the same could be said with the Eagles - they got some good free agents and have some good talent if they can stay healthy. All will depend on the quarterback of the future, Carson Wentz, working out. We shall see.

I guess that's about it. Again, make sure you go listen to the seminar. Really. Go. Listen. Really. Now. :-)

Home

I am now home from the conference. Got in late last night so I am dragging a bit this morning. Home is good. Comfortable. Back in my environment and routine. It was good to be with my brothers if office. It is also good to be home.

The second half of my presentation went well. The whole thing was kind of rough since I had little time to prepare, but overall we had good discussion. Now I need to catch up on things put off for being away. Our Good Shepherd seminar is coming up fast. If you read this and are in the area, come! There is still room.

Seminar Audio Posted

The audio files from our Good Shepherd Seminar have now been posted on our church web site. Click here to go to the page. The presentation was recorded in four segments, to make it easier to listen to it a segment at a time.

Good Shepherd Seminar

We had a great seminar yesterday with Professor Pless. Attendance was good, interest was high, and the presentation excellent. We will have the audio of this seminar available on our web site very soon, so if you were not able to attend, you can still listen and learn. One tidbit from yesterday, just to whet your appetite: "Theologies that start with human freedom end up in bondage. Lutheran theology begins with bondage and ends in freedom."

Yes, I'm Still Here

I haven't blogged for a while (a week). That's not all that unusual for me, though I'd like to be more frequent.

This week started with my last Circuit Conference as Circuit Counselor. I was actually quite excited! I am happy someone else will be taking over for me so that I can devote the next three years to my Ph.D. studies. I turned down nominations to other offices also. The next three years will be as father and husband, pastor, and student. Then we'll see after that.

The Circuit meetings are always good. Not that the agendas and presentations are always good - but it is good to be with my brothers in office and talk with them. I don't know how many of these conferences I will be able to go to the next three years (with my class schedule) - but I will definitely try to make the time to be with my brothers somehow.

I arrived home on Wednesday night (our Circuit meetings are multi-day, since we live so far apart in a non-geographical circuit). Thursday and Friday were devoted to installing a drain in my yard. We were getting lots of standing water in front of our door and in the yard when it rained, so hopefully this new drain will take care of a lot of that. Boy, was it a lot of work! The trench I had to dig was 8-12 inches deep for about 40 feet, with lots of rocks to dig up and roots to hack and chop out. I am quite sore and tired now, but the drain is in and working, new grass planted, and the yard looking good again. I sincerely hope I do not have to do that ever again!

Now, you may be asking, when will you have time to work on your sermon? Well, this weekend is my congregation's annual Good Shepherd Seminar. Professor John Pless from our Ft. Wayne Seminary is coming in tonight to give us a seminar tomorrow, and then he will lead Bible Class and preach for the Divine Service on Sunday. The topic this year is "Pastoral Care and the Sacraments" and will focus on the role of pastoral care in pre- and post-baptismal catechesis, pastoral care and private absolution, and pastoral care with regard to the Lord's Supper and the practice of close(d) communion. It should be good!

Next week is going to be very busy, so I am glad for a bit of a break this weekend. Now you're caught up . . . whoever "you" are!

Not So Good Quote

Another quote from our Good Shepherd Seminar this past Saturday . . . but this one not so good, from Rick Warren and his book The Purpose Driven Church:

“Bringing enjoyment to God is called ‘worship.’ Worship is not for your benefit . . . Worship isn’t for you. It’s for God.” (p 64, 66)

To me, this is a stunning denial of the true nature of worship. On this basis alone I do not know how this book could be used and held up as a good and salutary thing in any Lutheran Church. For basic to our understanding of the Divine Service is that in His Word and Sacraments God is serving us. He does not need us, we need Him. And so Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). Acts 1:1 says that Luke’s first book (his Gospel) tells us about all Jesus began to do and to teach until He was taken up – which work of serving He now continues through the Office of the Holy Ministry in His Church. The “Acts of the Apostles” is better named the “Acts of Jesus through the Apostles.” And so it is today. The Divine Service is Jesus still coming to sinners today with what we need the most: the forgiveness of our sins.

Now, does serving us with the forgiveness of our sins, life, and salvation give God joy? Surely. But to say that worship is not for our benefit but God’s, is a complete misunderstanding of the Scriptures and the Gospel. And with such a basic misunderstanding, all theology is turned on its head. The doctrine of the Church, the sacraments, vocation – all is scuttled, and all that is left is the Law . . . Christians trying to find a way to please and bring enjoyment to God through their deeds. How sad.

Good Quote

A good quote from our Good Shepherd Seminar this weekend, which explains the Divine Service in a simple and clear way: "The Liturgy is not the work of the priest or the work of the people -- it is the work of Jesus."

Good Shepherd Seminar

My congregation’s Second Annual Good Shepherd Seminar will be on May 3rd. The Topic is “The Church and Her Fellowship,” which will be presented by Rev. Dr. Naomichi Masaki of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN. All are invited, the cost is FREE, and lunch will be provided. You can’t beat that! Check our web site for more information.