Vocation in the Valley

God Whisperers Promo Video – Who’s Your Friend

Every Lutheran radio program needs a commercial. This one should appeal to the “inside baseball”, slightly masochistic target audience.

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There’s a T-Shirt for that.

Since I’m unlikely to win an “LPR Bundle Pack,” I decided to make my own t-shirt.

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Associate Members

One of the proposals in the BRTFSSG report is to change what constitutes “Voting Membership” in the Synod. Currently, voting members are a pastor and a lay delegate from a member congregation. There is also a category of “Advisory Members” which include pastors without congregations, professors, teachers, deaconesses, etc (commissioned ministers). As you see, “Advisory Members” are currently not eligible to be voting members. The BRTFSSG proposal is to eliminate the “Advisory Members” and create an “Associate Membership” category that encompasses pastors and what were formerly “Advisory Members.” So “Voting Membership” in the Synod would be an “Associate Member” and a lay delegate from a member congregation.

This change seems to cause lots of problems and does actually ripple throughout the rest of the document. I wouldn’t presume to speak for the pastors, but from my point of view, it doesn’t seem right for pastors to be viewed on par with non-clergy, even if it is only with respect to voting status. This change seems more inappropriate in light of the BRTFSSG goal to make the Constitution a more confessional document (e.g. “There hasn’t been any place in our governing documents through the years that tells us and the world how we are saved.” and “Subscription to the confessional basis of the Synod (Article II) and to its Constitution.”).

As I mentioned above, the change to make what were formerly “Advisory Members” on par with pastors as far as “Voting Membership” causes some other changes to the Constitution. For one, the district presidents shall (9.c added sections are italicized) “Perform, either in person or by proxy, the ecclesiastical ordination or commissioning of candidates for the ordained and commissioned ministry assigned to their districts and the installation of such, as well as the installation of ordained and commissioned ministries called by the congregations in their districts;” I presume since the status of commissioned ministers has been elevated the commissioning must be elevated to similar status.

Finally, this change also leads to some very unfortunate wording. Since “Associate Members” include pastors and commissioned ministers, bylaw 2.13.4.2 includes this wording “While on suspended status, the member shall continue to hold all rights under the Constitution and Bylaws except that as an associate member he/she shall…” See, we now have a case in which pastors are included in a category that requires the “he/she” construct. I don’t think anyone is trying to “soften things up” for women’s ordination, but it sure seems like a bad idea to have governing documents which muddy the waters.

I understand that the BRTFSSG was trying to address the problem of voting representation for commissioned ministers, but they seem to have addressed the issue in a way that dilutes pastoral authority and inadvertently weakens our stance on women’s ordination. I’m sure I could be overreacting, but I don’t see how this proposal is better even though it may be more efficient.

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Unity By Relationship and Connection Through Narrative and Structure

Many of the BRTFSSG recommendations focus on strengthening relationships and connections within the Synod. One of the consultant’s recommendations is to “Hire ’story-tellers’ who can engagingly and narratively connect LCMS history and identity to the real life experiences of members.” Also, one of the rationales for the recommendation to create five geographic regions is “creating greater relationships and connectivity between the Synod President, the national office, and local congregations.” I certainly hope we’re not looking to heart warming stories and regional loyalty to grow the church.

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Gross Misuse of Statistics

I’ve been reading through the final report of the BRTFSSG and have noticed several times that the surveys from the district conventions were used to draw conclusions about the recommendations. I previously wrote about how the substance of these recommendations was really glossed over when the surveys were taken. It took only reading the first recommendation to find a gross misuse of the survey data.

From the report:

Recommendation #1: Affirm and Clarify Governing Documents

Amplify, affirm, and clarify the Preamble of the Synod’s Constitution (Reason for the Existence of a Synod), Article II (Confession), Article III (Mission and Purpose), Article VI (Requirements of Membership), and Article VII (Relation of Synod and Its Members).

These recommended changes to the Synod’s governing documents are outlined in Appendix 1 of this document (Pages 1.1-1.7). In the feedback received from the thousands of delegates at the 2009 district conventions, the task force was encouraged by the 83 percent of respondents either agreeing strongly or agreeing with this recommendation.

So 83 percent of respondents agreed that the LCSM should affirm and clarify its governing documents. Did the presentation explain what those changes were? Of course not! If it had there’s no way that number would have been 83 percent. Did 83 percent know they were agreeing to remove the “exclusive use of doctrinally pure agenda, hymnbooks, and catechisms in church and school?” Did 83 percent know they were agreeing that they no longer would “encourage congregations to strive for uniformity in church practice?”

I won’t go so far as to say that this was the intent of the survey, but now that the surveys are in, the BRTFSSG seems to have used them in an inappropriate manner.

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Issues, Etc. Promo Video – There’s A Pastor For That

This came to mind this evening, and had to put it together. It’s amateurish, but I had fun doing it.

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Joy, Comfort, and Weight in Vocation

I’ve been having so much fun in my new vocation of basketball coach, and I’ve always drawn so much comfort from the doctrine of vocation when it comes to being a father and a husband that I’ve never really pondered the weight of being placed somewhere by God.

Well, I felt that weight yesterday at our circuit forum. My pastor, the circuit counselor, had just prayed for discernment and wisdom after having two 6-6 ties on the balloting for lay delegate to the LCMS national convention next year. My name was next to one of those sixes. What should I do? Should I vote for the other candidate to break the tie? Could I say I would be a better delegate? Was my motivation for seeking to become the lay delegate appropriate? I got a headache. I voted.

I now have the vocation of lay delegate for Circuit 18 of the CNH District. Of course I draw comfort from the fact that God has placed me in this position, but the context for this vocation has made me more aware of the weight surrounding where God has placed me and it is still giving me a slight headache.

I would like thank Erin for supporting me when I told her I would be running. She knows about all the various time commitments and I would not have run if it would have put too much strain on our family. She also knows that I’m doing this for the faith of our family.

I also want to thank my pastor for his support. I will continue to seek his guidance in the months leading up to the convention.

Congratulations are in order for our circuit’s pastoral delegate, Pastor John Bestul of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior (an Issues, Etc. 300 congregation).

Please pray for all the delegates to the convention as there are so many issues that will have profound effects on the synod.

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New Vocation – Basketball Coach

Looks like I have a new vocation and that is of 2nd grade basketball coach. I’ll be coaching my daughter’s 2nd grade instructional team which is a mix of boys and girls. I have always hesitated when asked if I would coach my children’s sports team. I believe I am knowledgeable enough, but my experience with my father coaching me was less than great. Looking back, it was not my dad’s fault, it was my stubbornness and immaturity, but I’m not sure if my daughter is any more mature and worry about how she’d handle it. So I asked her what she thought of me coaching and she said, “That would be so exciting!” My response was, “Really?” She said, “Yea, you could teach me lots of new stretches and basketball moves.” At that point, how could I refuse?

So, I’ve got some work to do to prepare for this new vocation. I also know where I tend to sin when it comes to sports, so I want to make preparations such that I avoid those situations. I hope that I can pass on the fundamentals and basic skills so they can improve, but most of all I hope to make it fun so they continue to enjoy playing.

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These Aren’t Praise Song Lyrics

When I think of “praise songs”, even the ones where Christ is foremost, we’re in there doing something good for God. But check out this line from “On What Has Now Been Sown”:

To Thee our wants are known, From Thee are all our pow’rs;
Accept what is Thine own And pardon what is ours.

There we are receiving and doing nothing good on our own and even repenting for what we do add. That is our theology and that won’t be in the CCLI top 40 anytime soon because us as powerless sinner doesn’t sell records.

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Analysis: Contemporary vs. Traditional Worship

I’m not a scholar and I’m only a theologian in so far as “everyone is a theologian,” but I’ve been trying to write a paper comparing and contrasting the “traditional” and “contemporary” services that we have at my congregation, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. As I posted previously, I am an ardent supporter of using the historic liturgy for many and various reasons and I wanted to study the two services, as our congregation has them, to see how having two services with two different styles might be affecting our congregation. Let me say that our “contemporary” service is much better at proclaiming the Gospel than any “3 songs and a ‘How-to’ sermon” from an Evangelical church. The basic outline has its roots in the historic liturgy and the sermon is the same one as used during the “traditional” service. That being said there are some major differences in the service. If there weren’t I would have no qualms. In all honesty, I wouldn’t complain if the “contemporary” service was TLH (15) or LSB (Setting 3) set to a guitar. It wouldn’t be my favorite, but at that point, I think I could leave it as a matter of style.

I started the research for the paper by reading through journals, papers, blogs, writing down the order of service for both services, comparing the song from each service, etc. etc. But when I came to write the paper, I had a tough time doing the comparison and contrast I wanted to do because things were so intertwined. It just so happened that I was rereading “It’s Time: LCMS Unity and Mission” and Pastor Harrison’s thoughts on addressing controversies by discussing them. In this way, I could layout what I affirmed and what I rejected. This exercise would then become more than just me spouting off about what I liked and disliked, but it would become a vehicle for clarifying my ideas and having them opened for criticism and correction. So, following the format of “The Forumla of Concord” I present my statement on “Traditional Worship”:

[Status of the Controversy]

[1] A concern has arisen about the use of “contemporary” or “praise band led” worship within our congregation. [2] One side holds that “traditional” worship should be the standard for all worship services as it was handed down to us as the tested means for proper Christian worship. [3] The other side holds that worship styles are mandated neither in the Scriptures nor the confessions and as such we have the freedom to worship as appropriate for our local context.

[Affirmative Statements]

[4] I believe that the historic liturgy is the best vehicle for our understanding of worship which is the proclamation of the Gospel in Word and Sacraments, and our response to those gifts. [5] I believe that all previous additions to the historic liturgy were done to enhance the proclamation of the Gospel. [6] I believe that all previous subtractions to the historic liturgy were done to remove things that obscured the Gospel.

mach zehnder modulator[7] I believe the historic liturgy is the best tool for catechesis in the context of worship. [8] I believe the Ordinaries are a vital part of teaching the faith as they ingrain the basic truths of our theology. [9] I believe the celebration of the Church Year and Feast Days enhances our understanding of the faith by continually walking us through the life of Christ, the lives of the saints before us, and our own Christian lives. [10] I believe most of the hymns found in TLH and LSB are good expositions of what we believe and by singing them, we deepen our understanding of Lutheran theology.

[11] I believe the historic liturgy is the best platform to promote unity within and between congregations. [12] I believe that corporate singing and responsive reading display church unity in our response to God’s gifts and provide a shared experience to all participants. [13] I believe the historic liturgy displays unity with the saints who practiced the same liturgy before us. [14] I believe the historic liturgy acts as a sign-post to others with the same confession of faith.

[15] I believe the prominence of the altar, pulpit, and baptismal font in our church architecture enhances the sacramental focus brought out in the historic liturgy.

[Negative Statement]

[16] I reject the removal of the Ordinaries as they are vital parts of the proclamation of the Gospel and catechesis.

[17] I reject the minimization of the Church Year and Feast Days as they are import for catechesis and the understanding that our faith is steeped in historical events of Christ’s redemptive life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

[18] I reject the removal of responsive readings as they are important for our understanding that worship is a corporate activity.

[19] I reject the addition of a “Children’s Message” as this implies a distinction within the church that does not exist; a simple change to “Teaching Message” or something similar would be acceptable.

[20] I reject the use of “praise songs” as they are largely bereft of sound theological content; a contemporary setting for sound hymnity would be acceptable.

[21] I reject the forsaking of the pulpit when preaching as this obscures our understanding that the pastor is called to preach the Word under God’s authority and is not to draw attention to himself.

[22] I reject the use of screens and projectors as they pull our attention from the altar, pulpit, and baptismal font, the symbols of the sacraments around which we are gathered and should be focused.

[23] I reject the use of amplifiers and speakers, and the placement of the praise team at the front of and facing the congregation as these set the praise team apart from the rest of the congregation and detract from the corporate nature of our singing and worship. [24] Ideally, the praise team would not be visible as with the choir, but at a minimum the speakers and amplifiers should be removed and they should be turned in the same direction as the rest of the congregation.

[25] In general, I reject all those things which take away from our distinct theology and tradition as this watering down will cause great confusion in the future amongst the steadfast inside and outside of our congregation, and give comfort to those who would willfully attempt to alter our theology to make it more palatable to the culture.

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