Huh?

 In Morning Prayer today, we read the following words:

. . . if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules . . .

~ 1 Kings 9:4

Huh?

How could God say such things of David? Doesn't He remember Bathsheba, the adultery, how David tried to cover it up, and then finally murdered her husband?

Well, no, actually, He doesn't remember! David was forgiven. That means those sins of his were separated from him as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Now, when the Lord looked at David, He did not see an awful sinner - He saw a forgiven son.

And that is how He looks at you, too! Your sin, your unworthiness, your shame, your guilt, all that would separate you from your heavenly Father has been put on Christ and taken away from you. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). With the forgiveness of sins, that is all gone. 

Pretty awesome, huh?  :-)

Evolution as Philosophy

It occurred to me the other day that evolution is not just a theory, but a philosophy. It's not just an explanation about how things might have come to be, but an entire worldview - a way of looking at all of life, and its meaning, purpose, and value.

When I mentioned that to someone, they said, "Of course." But I don't hear it spoken of that way. Maybe if we started to say that more and more, it might help people think a little differently and realize that as a philosophy it is incompatible with theology, which is an entirely different worldview.

Lent and Easter Reflections

What a glorious day yesterday, celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord. It just never gets old.

This was a rather weird Lenten season for me, though. Not the usual. I cannot tell you why. It just wasn't the same for me. Maybe because we are still not in our regular church building - 8 months out now! I never would have guessed that, that it would take that long. Maybe it was because of other busyness I had to attend to, and all the trips I wound up taking. Maybe it was just satan playing with me, pushing my buttons. I cannot tell you, just that it was somehow different for me this year. I wasn't even as busy this year - at least, during Holy Week. I usually have to go to the rental place and pick up some chairs, and then have to haul all our church stuff to where we will be having our Holy Week services. Didn't have to do that this year, since we've been in our "temporary" location for 8 months now (did I mention that?). We also didn't have a Good Friday noontime service this year. The woman who reserves that room for us has been recovering from illness and a stroke all the season of Lent and was unable to do that.

So I got to Holy Week this year, and it just didn't seem right. But Holy Week . . . that just put everything right again. :-) I love Holy Week, soaking in the Word all week, thinking, writing. This was weird too - usually I cannot write my Easter sermon until Saturday, after I have been through all the other services of Holy Week. But this year, I was able to write it on Friday morning. Again, not sure why. Just the way it was for me this year.

And then our Divine Service yesterday! Our keyboardist who played yesterday is just awesome. I love all our musicians, just she just has a way. Sadly, she and her husband will be leaving our congregation soon, beginning a new time of life. I will miss them! And I think I was probably one of only a handful of pastors in the United States who didn't use April Fools Day in my sermon! (Click here to listen.) But getting all the parts of the liturgy back from our liturgical Lenten fast, getting all the chanting back, the wonderful hymns and readings . . . just great.

So now another 7 weeks to celebrate our Lord's resurrection! Some things getting back to normal, some new ventures begun . . .

Liturgical Schizophrenia

In my area (and I suspect in many areas of the country) people are working longer hours, which makes attending midweek services and Bible studies difficult. The traffic in my area around DC compounds the problem. So the question is: what to do with those festivals of the church year that fall during the week? If they are important festivals I want my people to commemorate, is it better to observe them on the nearest Sunday or stick to my liturgical guns and keep them on a weeknight?

Hi, my name is Pastor Peasant, and I am a "liturgical schizophrenic."

What I mean is that I do both. Some festivals (like Epiphany) I observe on the nearest Sunday, but some (like Ascension) I thus far have resisted moving and continue to celebrate on either Wednesday or Thursday night. As I think about it, I have no set of criteria I use to determine this - just some I do and some I don't. I know churches and pastors of many denominations wrestle with this also. So if you are reading this, what do you think? What should be done? And why? What criteria should be used?

I have spoken to some pastors who will stick to their guns - no. matter. what. A festival is a festival that is to be celebrated on. that. day. and will be - even if no one comes. I am sympathetic to them, but also ask why? Yes, we are teaching our people the importance of the church year and liturgical celebrations and the proper rhythm of Sundays and festivals, but if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it . . .

I am also sympathetic to those who observe festivals on the nearest Sundays. The people are then there to celebrations these, though it does displace the Sunday, which robs the people of those part of the church year.

So what to do? I don't have a good answer and will probably continue in my schizophrenic state. But it is on my mind . . .

Working on Good Friday?

I am torn.

In years past, Good Friday was a day of - how to say it - respect? There was not much activity on this day. There was quiet. Many did not have to work. It was a different kind of day.

But now it is quite different. Ordinary. Normal. Most people I know go to work. There is the sound of lawn mowers, construction, trucks, and much else.

Now, I know that as our nation slides farther and farther away from Christian truth, this is what will be. Still, I find myself yearning for the days of old . . .

Do I condemn those who work? No - many of my own people must. They are fulfilling their vocation in service of their neighbor. And isn't that what Jesus did on this day? For us. Laying down his life for us.

Now true, if we do it only for money, only for our own selfish gain, then we are thinking and doing wrongly - not only this day but every day. But when done in faith, everything is pleasing to God. So in our vocations, we serve others, even lay down our lives for them.

So do I wish folks had off on this day? Yes, to be a day spent in God's Word, meditation, and prayer. But if you must work on this day, don't feel guilty or ashamed. Rather, while you work, remember your Saviour who worked for you. Who in loving service stripped off His garments and washed His disciples feet. Who in loving service had His garments stripped off of Him and was hung on the cross. And thus are you doing for others. Especially if you'd rather have the day off, but can't.

God bless you. You will be in my prayers.

Holy Week

Well, haven't felt like posting to the ol' blog of late, but thought that I'd post some Holy Week thoughts . . .

I really love Holy Week. There's so much hubbub around Christmas, so many extra activities that make it such a hectic time of the year. But Holy Week is different. For me it is very meditative, spending so much time in the Word, thinking and writing.

We had brief online Vespers services again this year for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I did this last year, reading through the Passion accounts of the various Gospels. This year we read through sections of John chapter 12 - the Gospels assigned for this time of year, and I wrote brief meditations on them. You can read them here.

Tomorrow I have to go to pick up the chairs we are renting for our regular Holy Week services and set up the house church where we will be. Yes, a house church, because we cannot use the church we rent for Sunday mornings during the week. So each Holy Week we have to set up at a different location. This year is a new location, so in addition to renting chairs, I need to go and figure out the logistics of it all. It makes it all a bit harder - both for me and for the folks - but that is what we must do. Someday, perhaps, we will have our own building . . .

Private Absolution tomorrow night as well. An hour before the main service in the evening. A very good way to begin the Holy Week observances.

I occasionally watch some of the big services that go on at the Vatican on their YouTube channel. I have them on in the background while I'm working on other things. Helping me to learn Italian! (Like I need to learn yet another language! :-) But seriously, one of the things that always strikes me is during the reading of the Passion story - St. Peter's square is packed solid with people, but right after the reading of Jesus' death, everyone drops to their knees and you can hear a pin drop! And they stay that way for some time in meditation. Now, I still disagree with Rome on some of their theology, but I gotta admire that piety.

I also like listening to the St. John Passion this week. It is - bar none - the greatest work ever written, in my humble opinion. If you want to see one of the finest performances of it, go here. You will not regret it! (Note: The close captioned translations of the German are not always the best, but they give you the gist. Also, there's a bit of a hiccup around 22:50 - not sure what that's about, but it doesn't last too long.)

How to Do a Church Budget

Last night was our regularly scheduled church budget meeting. For the past number of years now, instead of trying to hash out the budget in a meeting after church when everyone is eager to go home and watch the football game, I invite the Executive Board over to my house for a dinner meeting. My wife cooks up a great feast, we enjoy some beer and wine with the meal and enjoy each other's company, and then after a wonderful dessert, get started on the budget. And you know what? It goes really smoothly! I am happy to say that our missions budget is now well over ten percent of our total budget. That is a goal I've been working toward. In the past years we have given more than ten percent because we've given away some of our budget surpluses, but this is the first year we've actually budgeted over ten percent. A lot of that is going to our seminarians, for we have both a pastoral ministry student and a deaconess student, and the seminary asks for a lot of support for each of them, but we are happy to do so. Now, we aren't the biggest church and we don't have the most complicated budget, but I never dread these meetings. They are always high on collaboration and we're all on the same page. And yes, it is a deficit budget, but less than previous years. And I applaud my leaders for not cutting missions just to make the budget balance. We just go forward in trust that the Lord will provide. He always has, and we believe He always will. So well done, Executive Board!

Cleveland

No, not the president (as in Grover, I know that's what you were thinking, right?) but the city. That's where I am for a Pastoral Conference. Got here Monday night and leaving Thursday. In between they have the days packed completely full with presentations. We leave the hotel for a local church at 7 am and get back sometime after dinner. Yesterday, the first morning session was by development people, so I got some sermon thinking done and some thoughts done on my computer.  :-)  After that, we had two sessions from a pastor who has a new book on demons and spiritual warfare. He was very good and consistent in his theology and the power of the Word of God being our only power and weapon. He was worth listening to. I got to sit down with him during lunch and talk a bit, which was nice. Later in the afternoon got kind of preachy - we had guys presenting about missions trips they were organizing and leading to different countries. Good stuff, but a bit too long and as I said, preachy. Got tiresome.

It is good (always) to reconnect with guys I haven't seen in a while. Have had some nice conversations. I'm not sure how today will be. We'll see, I guess. Perhaps I will get some sermon writing done!

Merry Christmas

I sit here in the wee hours of Christmas morning. This is my time. I am a morning person. I can't stay up late but I can get up early. Everyone else is sleeping, but I can look at the tree, listen to quiet music, consider, think, ponder, relax. Last night was so hectic. So much to do between getting ready for church, entertaining guests, packing up, picking up a shut-in for church, not being able to get to church because the highway exit ramp was closed due to an accident, getting there late, rushing to set everything up in time for the service. So many things to think about.

But not now. Now is quiet. Now is peaceful. I think of my sins. Why do I get so agitated and angry? I want things to be right. I want things on time. I want our visitors to see a church that knows what it's doing and has its act together. Vanity? The Word is proclaimed, in Word, in music, in sermon. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. That's the important thing. And how I need a Saviour! Christ born for me. The forgiveness of sins. That's the message to preach today as well, and to receive in my Saviour's Body and Blood.

There's a siren outside - what's happened? An accident? An illness? A death? No "merry" Christmas for that person and their family. But still a blessed Christmas. The birth of our Saviour! The Word became flesh. God has bared His holy arm. He has spoken to us by His Son. That's what we'll hear today. Wonderful words. Peaceful and peace-filled words. Words I need.

At least this morning, arriving at church, the church will be set-up and all ready to go! No moving and shifting and hauling all our stuff up from the closet. How often I am jealous of those who have a church building! Just arrive and it's all set to go. Not quite that easy I know, but not all the set-up every week. But I wouldn't trade my church for another. This is where God has put me. And the people are wonderful. Peaceful. United. We had a visitor last night from another church. They have a building but no peace. Trouble and turmoil and hurt. Sad that darkness.

So just like Mary and Joseph receiving the Son of God in a borrowed place, we receive the Body and Blood of the Son in a rented place. Perhaps a reminder that this is not our true home. That's coming. Because the Son of God made His home here for awhile, our home will be there forever.

Ah, Christmas! I remember the Christmases of my childhood. It's different now - not only as an adult but as a pastor. Better? Worse? Neither. Both. Different. Different worries, different joys, different thoughts. Same Saviour! Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, and forever. A constant in a changing and hectic world and life. A life of accidents and turmoil and hurt. A life of anger and anxiety and vanity. A life of early mornings and late nights. But an unchanging Saviour, unchanging forgiveness, unchanging promises. How good.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Death, School, and GMU

How's that for the title of a post?  :-)

The death was the death of my computer. My trusty (or formerly trusty!) MacBook died Monday afternoon. I took it to the Apple store Genius on Tuesday who could not get it to boot no matter what he tried. Probably the logic (mother) board, he said. I really wanted a new computer,but opted for the cheaper repair option - a flat rate to fix all that needed fixing. BUT, I agreed to this because the "genius" assured (but did not promise) me that I would get it back later that week - Thursday or Friday. To me, the time without it is more important than the money. So I said okay and off it went. But I still don't have it back and I'm very annoyed and frustrated at him. I really hope I get it back today!

Not having it made last week quite difficult as I had to find and port many things over to our new church laptop and use it for my computing needs. I am fortunate to have it and be able to do this, though it slowed me down greatly as it is a Windows machine. Just meant a busier week than normal.

Last week was also the start of classes at GMU which means the start of our Campus Ministry for the Fall. We had our kiosk there Monday and Wednesday and will begin Evening Prayer services on campus twice a month starting this Wednesday night. It is a ripe field, but one that has been quite difficult for us to crack.

My school also started last week. I have only one class - my last class! - this semester. There was really nothing being offered that I was really interested in, and since I had already fulfilled all my requirements, I opted for a history class: Topics in Medieval Spirituality. No professor was listed and none of the topics that might be covered were given. So when I went in on Thursday, I found out that it was a brand new professor (always a question mark) and the one and only topic was: St. Bernard and the New Monasticism.  :-(  Not really what I was hoping for. St. Bernard is last 12th century and I was hoping for topics closer to the time of the Reformation. But as I sat there doubting whether I wanted to stay in the class for the semester, I thought that maybe I could make it work since Bernard was one of Luther's favorite fathers. Also, we will be reading some of Bernard's sermons on Song of Songs, which should be interesting. So maybe it will be okay . . .

Finally, had our church Labor Day picnic yesterday. Though it threatened rain most of the day (keeping attendance down a little) we had no rain and a lot of fun. I was good and tired getting home last night! And you know, I like holidays - the problem is that by taking Monday off, I am now behind for the rest of the week!

Well, here's hoping that this week is better than last . . .

Learning to Think Differently

"And there was evening and there was morning, the first day."

Thus begins the creation account in Genesis. The day begins with the evening and ends with the daylight. This is quite the opposite of how we usually think. Typically, morning begins the day, we work (or go to school) all day, and then rest and recover at night. But in the biblical way of thinking, the night comes first. Thinking this way, it is not we who work first (and then recover at night) - rather, God works first, preparing us for the work of the day which follows.

This is the pattern of all our relationship with God. God first, then me. He works, then I work. He speaks, then I speak. He gives, I receive. And so, too, with the day. There is evening and then morning. God's work, then my work. I rather like thinking this way. It seems to put things in their right place.

Pastoral Conference, Day 2

Well, Day 2 did not live up to the promise of Day 1. Some of the presentations and discussion were not bad, but whereas the Gospel was so evident on Day 1, it was church growthism and modern day charismaticism that soured Day 2. We heard of church starts that really aren't churches, but coffee houses, and an hour and a half on one pastor's healing ministry. (What does that mean? Think a "Lutheran" Benny Hinn.) So whereas I left Day 1 filled with the Gospel of forgiveness and hope, and I left Day 2 filled with the Law and sadness.

Now, why is that? Because what was communicated through these presentations (usually implicitly) is that if you're not doing these things, you are failing people in your ministry, you are not being the pastor God wants you to be, you need to be what we are. Really? And so I worry about the new pastors and the younger pastors in the district who hear these words, and the burden that they must feel. And I am saddened. Many of them are in challenges places, doing their very best, faithfully proclaiming God's Word and giving His Sacraments. But then they are told: That's not good enough. You're not good enough.

You know what? We know that. I think all pastors know that. We're not good enough. There's always more we can and should be doing. Why can't we build up our pastors at these conferences?

Perhaps (to put the best construction on this), the district thought they were. Perhaps they thought these presentations were uplifting and edifying. If so, I must tell them: No, they aren't.

I have the outline of a response that I will be writing on one of these presentations and sending to the District President, my Circuit Counselor, and (I hope) will be sent to all the pastors in the district, to challenge some of what was asserted. It will not be an attack, but rather (I hope) a scholarly critique of what was said, a correction of some of the assertions, and a questioning of the assumptions. I will post it here when I am finished, too.

Finally, my presentation, you ask? Well, I thought it just okay. Thinking back, I could have presented some things better, and the projector didn't work as I had hoped, so that interfered a bit. But, I had several guys come up to me afterwards who appreciated it, so hopefully God will bring some good out of it. :-)

So, that's it. I'm glad I went, though I had to miss the last half-day because I had to return late Tuesday night for my class on Wednesday. It was good to reconnect with many guys, meet the new pastors, and even to hear the not-so-good-stuff so that I can respond and hopefully provide some small bit of correction.

Pastoral Conference, Day 1

A good day yesterday. The major presenter was Dr. Joel Elowsky, a good friend, who talked about the Church Fathers and early African Christianity. Then there was a presentation from the South Wisconsin District Mission developer on "Bridging Cultural Barriers" since a lot of our conference is about cross-cultural outreach. He was engaging and, I must say, not your typical mission developer! I say that because - sad to say - most mission folks beat people up with the Law. They simply stand up there and say "You have to reach more people! You have to go! You must . . ." and we all know that. We all know that, no matter how much we are doing, there is more we could be doing, and so just wind up feeling like crap. But this man was - thankfully! - different. In fact, one of his greatest lines was: "BEWARE of those who come to you and say: "You must change or die."" YES! He emphasized not losing who you are and what you are about for the sake of mission, and using the Small Catechism for your outreach. THAT is what people need and are longing for. I hope people were listening. I couldn't agree more.

This man then also preached for the Divine Service after dinner. And He preached the Gospel! Again, sadly, I can't tell you how many times at these kinds of gathering, people think they have to preach such a wonderful sermon and have to be so mission oriented that it winds up as all Law. Last night, we received the Gospel - in a wonderful and well done liturgy, good preaching, and the Lord's Supper. So my thanks to Rev. Dan McMiller and, if you ever need a mission person for a presentation, I would recommend him.

We had some fellowship time after the service, and it was good to sit around with the brothers and talk, and to catch up with some old friends. Met lots of new guys to the district as well. We'll see what today holds. My presentation is in the coveted right-after-lunch-slot (!), so hopefully I can keep people awake! :-)

Pastoral Conference

I'm in Chicago for a pastoral conference for a few days. I haven't traveled much the last few years, since I started back in school, but it felt like the airlines had pushed their seats closer together since the last time I flew. When at looked at the little space they wanted me to squeeze into . . .  :-)  But I made it, though it wasn't the most comfortable.

Went to Giordano's for dinner with a friend and had some deep dish pizza. Good, but (I have to say) not as good as Lou Malnati's! Then, we got a few beverages and spent a while talking over lots of stuff until late. Which is good . . . except for having to get up early this morning. I forgot about the time change to Central time here, and so had to get up and ready for Morning Prayer at 6! Ohhh, that was tough this morning! But all went well. The hotel was extremely nice and let me use another room for it so I wouldn't have to bother my roommate, who had gotten in well after midnight. I think they'll let me do the same tomorrow.

I'm now on my second cup of coffee, and my head is still a bit foggy. Might just be one of those days. The conference starts at noon. My friend is presenting today, so that should be good. I'll have to try to think up some tough questions for him! I don't present until tomorrow. Tonight after dinner is the Divine Service. I'm looking forward to some time to just sit and listen and visit with the brothers.

Finally, the Eagles won yesterday! Before my flight I sat in the airport and watched some of the game and was pleased to be able to cheer the Eagles in the midst of a bunch of forlorn Redskins fans! Hopefully they can build on this and salvage the season before its too late.

Birdfeeder Edition

We like to feed the birds at my house. In my backyard, we get the usual Sparrows, Chickadees, and Juncos, but also Titmice, Nuthatches, Carolina Wrens, Golden Finches, House and Purple Finches, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Morning Doves. It is great fun to watch them all and the different ways they eat.

Yet we also get what we call the "pig birds" - Starlings and Grackles. When they come, they can clean out our feeder in a day! We try to chase them away in favor of the birds we like to watch, but it is a losing battle. It's not that I don't want to feed them, but it would be nice if they would leave some seed for the other birds! Seed isn't cheap. I don't have a solution to this problem, so we just do our best.

Today I am working in our dining room and having just refilled our feeders, am watching the birds as I think and work. What a great variety our Lord has given us to enjoy - even the "pig birds."