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My proposed overture, which didn’t get out of my circuit but was submitted by a congregation within my circuit (thanks LCOS!), got through committee, made it to a floor vote, and was actually passed at the CNH District convention. It lost any teeth, which was expected, but I feel like it even lost the idea of striving for unity of practice completely and in fact emphasized the opposite. Oh well, hopefully I haven’t done any harm.

RE: TO APPLY CHRISTIAN FREEDOM INFORMED BY LOVE IN PREPARING DIVINE SERVICES FOR DISTRICT AND SYNODICAL GATHERINGS

WHEREAS. the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions do not prescribe the structure.form. style. or music of Christian worship; AND

WHEREAS. the basic structure of our current divine services evolved over time beginning with the early church: AND

WHEREAS. the Lutheran Confessions state that it is not necessary that human traditions or rites and ceremonies. instituted by men. should be alike everywhere (AC Vll. Apology Vll & Vlll); AND

WHEREAS. Martin Luther in his preface to the German Mass and Order ofService stated that. ”As far as possible we should observe the same rites and ceremonies” without proposing that all of Germany should uniformly follow the Wittenberg Order. and that all those who desire to follow it “not make it a rigid law to bind or entangle anyone’s conscience. but use it in Christian Liberty as long. when, where. and how you find it to be practical and useful“ (LW 53. pp. 6l-62); AND

WHEREAS. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg submitted a communion liturgy to the Ministerium of Pennsylvania in 1748 which became the basic structure ofthe divine service in the Common Service Book (1918). The Lutheran Hymnal (1941). the Service Book and Hymnal (1958). the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978). Lutheran Worship (1982). Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006). and the Lutheran Service Book (2006); AND

WHEREAS. the 2004 Synodical Convention approved the Lutheran Service Book for use in the worship services of our congregations and recognized the hard work and effort given by the Commission on Worship in developing the worship resource; AND

WHEREAS. a local congregation hosts the divine services at our district and synodical gatherings; AND

WHEREAS. St. Paul recognizes that Christian liberty is informed by love; THEREFORE BE IT

RESOLVED. that those planning the communion services for district and national synodical gatherings be mindful of and appreciate the basic structure of the Lutheran Mass; AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED. that those planning such services do so in the spirit of Christian liberty informed by love recognizing the widespread use of the Lutheran Service Book in our churches: AND BE IT FINALLY

RESOLVED. that all those attending and participating in our district and national synodical gatherings be encouraged to attend divine services at those gatherings.

I submitted my overture to my pastor/circuit counselor so it can be presented (or whatever happens) at the circuit forum this coming Sunday. He said it was fine and since he is on the floor committee that the overture would go to he thinks it can get to the convention floor. Like me he’s pretty sure it will be shot down. At the last district convention our DP boasted that we had such unity in our district as evidenced by not a single “no” vote on any of the overtures. If this overture gets to the floor, that illusion will be shattered.

With district conventions coming next year, I thought I’d repost my proposed overture. I’m going to submit this at my circuit forum for submission to the district convention and then figure out how to get it to the national convention. Please consider submitting something similar to your district convention.

I’ve seen enough oddball services held at various LCMS gatherings. Many people have been offended by these cooked up orders of service. Sure some are offended as a matter of personal preference, but some truly take theological issue with the services. As we all know there is no order of service commanded in Holy Scripture, but it is quite clear from them and our confessions that worship should be orderly and peaceful. To that end I am going to submit the following overture to my district and the national conventions; You know “bubbling up from the grassroots” and all. If you have any suggestions to strengthen the wording, please feel free to leave a comment. I know we’ve go a couple of years, but this kind of stuff will drift out of my mind by then if I don’t put it down now.

To Use Lutheran Service Book at Services During Official District and National Gatherings

WHEREAS, God, in His 3rd Commandment, places an expectation upon us to worship Him; and

WHEREAS, God calls us to the Divine Service such that He might distribute His gifts to us; and

WHEREAS, AC XXVIII.55 states, “… that all things be done in the churches in order, and without confusion”; and

WHEREAS, Article III.7 of the Constitution states, “Encourage congregations to strive for uniformity in church practice, but also to develop an appreciation of a variety of responsible practices and customs which are in harmony with our common profession of faith”; and

WHEREAS, 1998 Resolution 2-12 commissioned a new hymnal to be produced, 2004 Resolution 2-03A approved Lutheran Service Book, and 2007 Resolution 2-03A thanked the Commission on Worship for its work on Lutheran Service Book; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 70 percent of all LCMS congregations have adopted Lutheran Service Book (2010 Convention Workbook pg. 46); therefore be it

RESOLVED, That for the sake of “love and tranquility” (AC XXVIII.55) all services during official District and Synodical gatherings use an order of service out of and as it is outlined in Lutheran Service Book.

Two of the most interesting blog posts all year. Not so much for the posts themselves, but the comments are truly amazing. The discussion is on the Gottesdienst Online blog and starts with a post with a pastor from the SELK discussing that bodies position on Women’s Ordination. In the comments, Valparaiso Professor and LCMS rostered clergyman Matthew Becker defends his pro-Women’s Ordination stance. Of course his fellow pastors refute his position and call him to repentance. Prof. Becker sees no reason to repent or break fellowship with the LCMS.

The discussion gets even more interesting in a follow up post where Prof. Becker continues his support of Women’s Ordination. Then, in answering a question regarding the relationship between Women’s Ordination and the ordination of homosexuals, he expresses support for the ELCA’s view on human sexuality. Prof. Becker sees these things as individual items of theology and Christian ethics that may be disagreed upon.

I enjoyed all the pastors defending the historic faith, but I was fascinated by Prof. Becker’s arguments in favor of his position. No, I was not swayed in the least, just in awe of the various gymnastic moves he makes to hold his positions together. I have no doubt that he is very intelligent based on the positions he has synthesized, but he is not a very good theologian.

I’ve been following the comments on a post by Pr. Messer about the Michigan District giving funds to a congregation so they can open a coffee house. Supporters of the funding have noted that “journeys coffeehouse is a non-traditional approach to bringing the message of Jesus Christ to the world.” and “… a coffee house could be just such a place to slowly build relationships so that others may come to know Christ.” Pr. Messer and Jim Pierce have done a wonderful job of pointing out where these notions are problematic.

”The Great Commission”

What I want to address is one commenter’s assertion:

Doesn’t Jesus himself say “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”? (Matt. 28:19).

This statement also goes by the name “The Great Commission” and after being bombarded with these two substitute forms of the real Great Commission for over 2 years by the Synod, CNH District, TCN, and every evangelism program under the sun, I have now formulated a response, “Finish the sentence!”

Those ellipses and the shorthand “Great Commission” obscure how the church is to make disciples. With the shorthand in place those words have been used as an excuse to do just about anything from having a pastor ride in on a motorcycle, to big puppets processing in a service, to now funding a coffee house. Let’s try looking at the full sentence:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

Wow! That’s a lot of stuff under those ellipses. I don’t know about you, but “…” is a poor substitute for baptizing and teaching. But here’s what I think is really going on. I don’t think any Christians these days have a problem with baptism. Even those with unbiblical views of baptism hold it in some regard. What I believe more and more every day is that today’s Christians have a real problem with “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” The full breadth and depth of the Christian faith, especially as it is confessed in the Book of Concord, unites us in Christ but divides us from the culture and too many Christians fear being out of step with the culture or, gasp, irrelevant. They want to hide behind those ellipses so they can “reach out” however they best see fit. Never mind that Christ has told us how to make disciples, that might offend people. Let’s just make them some coffee.

One more thing, I think those ellipses also hide the answer to a lot of concerns I have in my life. I have two young daughters and I’m concerned about how they will become and remain biblically orthodox Christians. I have a wife who wasn’t raised in a Christian household and worry about her spiritual life if anything ever happened to me. I belong to a struggling congregation where some just want to “make disciples of all nations…” ellipses and all. How do I address these disparate concerns? Of course the answer is trust in God, but the means in each of these cases appears to me to be “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

I’ve been on a little video editing spree, but I’ve got some other projects I need to attend to so this one will be the last one for a while. After the logo/emblem/slogan of “Witness, Mercy, Life Together” was unveiled by President Matthew Harrison and his team, I knew I had to put together some type of video. Here’s what I came up with.

I’ve seen enough oddball services held at various LCMS gatherings. Many people have been offended by these cooked up orders of service. Sure some are offended as a matter of personal preference, but some truly take theological issue with the services. As we all know there is no order of service commanded in Holy Scripture, but it is quite clear from them and our confessions that worship should be orderly and peaceful. To that end I am going to submit the following overture to my district and the national conventions; You know “bubbling up from the grassroots” and all. If you have any suggestions to strengthen the wording, please feel free to leave a comment. I know we’ve go a couple of years, but this kind of stuff will drift out of my mind by then if I don’t put it down now.

To Use Lutheran Service Book at Services During Official District and National Gatherings

WHEREAS, God, in His 3rd Commandment, places an expectation upon us to worship Him; and

WHEREAS, God calls us to the Divine Service such that He might distribute His gifts to us; and

WHEREAS, AC XXVIII.55 states, “… that all things be done in the churches in order, and without confusion”; and

WHEREAS, Article III.7 of the Constitution states, “Encourage congregations to strive for uniformity in church practice, but also to develop an appreciation of a variety of responsible practices and customs which are in harmony with our common profession of faith”; and

WHEREAS, 1998 Resolution 2-12 commissioned a new hymnal to be produced, 2004 Resolution 2-03A approved Lutheran Service Book, and 2007 Resolution 2-03A thanked the Commission on Worship for its work on Lutheran Service Book; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 70 percent of all LCMS congregations have adopted Lutheran Service Book (2010 Convention Workbook pg. 46); therefore be it

RESOLVED, That for the sake of “love and tranquility” (AC XXVIII.55) all services during official District and Synodical gatherings use an order of service out of and as it is outlined in Lutheran Service Book.

10. Meeting Pastor and Mrs. Harrison outside the Floor Committee 1 open hearing
9. My DP saying AC XIV was for 16th century Germans and his “U.S. as a foreign mission field” paradigm would be to have 1 ordained pastor managing 25 lay deacons.
8. Breaking bread with so many solid pastors
7. Mrs. Harrison waving to me as I came down the escalator and me looking around and wondering who she was waving to
6. Pr. Watt talking PDP-11 programming
5. Beers in Pr. Weedon’s room
4. All the people that I met too numerous to name
3. The Passage of 8-08A
2. The Kyrie inserted between Confession and Absolution at the Saturday service
1. Pr. Harrison elected President of the LCMS

Last week, Issues, Etc. asked the question, “Where were you when Matt Harrison was Elected President of the LCMS?” Here’s my answer as best as I can recall.

My head was slumped. I had just pushed #3 and the send button on my voting machine. What hope was there that Pr. Harrison would win? We had just finished the first 2 and half days of the convention and Dr. Kieschnick had presided over it masterfully. He was fair, he was humorous, he was in his element. He had even given his “President’s Report” which was as good a stump speech as I’d heard from any secular politician give. His pet project, restructuring, had just passed the previous day in the form of Resolution 8-08A. The convention was divided. The mood of many was that we had a lot of work to do and debate was slowing us down. What hope was there that Pr. Harrison would win? Lord, have mercy.

I looked up. 4 more seconds. If Dr. Kieschnick wins, what would it mean for me and my congregation? The lack of ecclesiastical supervision which, I believe, has lead to a lot of the mistrust within the Synod would continue. Would practices become more aberrant? Would the restructuring create a political class within the Synod focusing on being convention delegates instead of churchmen? Would TCN, Ablaze, et al. continue to dominate? Could these changes cause my congregation to reconsider its membership in Synod? Could they do the same to me?  If Dr. Kieschnick wins, what would it mean for me and my congregation? Christ, have mercy.

Here come the results. What will this vote mean for the Synod? We had already made so many changes in the form of 8-08A that we didn’t know what the Synod looked like even at the moment of the vote. What staff had been let go of? What program boards were gone? We were continually told that the functions still existed even without the staff. Huh? How would the divisions that were so obvious in these close votes be healed? Would it just get worse? Would one side just leave? What will this vote mean for the Synod? Lord, have mercy.

Matthew C. Harrison – 643 Gerald B. Kieschnick – 527 What?!?! Pr. Harrison won!?!? The release of tension mixed with joy, relief, excitement caused unwanted tears to well up in my eyes. The problems of the Synod were by no means resolved by the election, but Missouri got what she needed and that is a pastor. A pastor to call us to repentance and proclaim the Gospel. A pastor who trusts the Word of God to do what it says it will do. There’s a place for programs and structure, but our hope lies in Christ and what He has done for us. Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy. Amen.

One thing that was really driven home by this convention is that the terms and language we use need to be clearly defined. Bylaws and resolutions were amended and re-amended to clarify terms and languages. Some of the language that was passed is unclear and leaves room for much mischief. In promoting one viewpoint or another, language was used that was, intentionally or unintentionally, vague and misleading. There was much talk of our disunity and mistrust at the convention and I believe this stems largely from the intentional or unintentional use of terms that don’t have a clear definition.

My hot button term this week was ministry. There was much talk of youth ministry, singles ministry, ministry to Gen X, every “Red Chair” video started with the district president talking about how long he had been in ministry. I guess this stems from the notion of the priesthood of all believers which I don’t dispute, but when the word ministry is applied to just about every activity in the church then use of the term detracts from the true ministry of Word and Sacraments. It also leads to an understanding that since I’m in say youth ministry that it’s really not much of a stretch to publicly preach. The next convention needs to start with a proper explanation of the Office of the Keys. I know my pastor and a bunch of Fort Wayne pastors would be happy to do it.

Similarly, unity, confessional, harmony, mission, and more are terms used over and over in varying and sometimes seemingly conflicting ways. As we go forward, we better start using the same language or well just be walking together in isolation.