Category Archives: For Pastors Only
Why a Good Host Doesn’t Use the Word Host
Here is a letter – surprise, surprise – that wasn’t relegated to the trash can by its receipts. The The Lutheran Witness published it in the October 2017 issue.
Aren’t We at Least to where USMA and Sherman were?
I have a confession to make. I try not to have to preach on July 4th.
Is Life Really Too Short?
I’ve heard this from blue collar iron workers to white color businessmen. “Life is too short to partake of cheap beer, cigars,” or any other condiment of our existence. But is it?
Send Me Romans and I’ll Send You John or Money – An Open Letter to All Missionaries Seeking Money
I have been bombarded in the last two years with LCMS pastors seeking funding for their mission field. My response is “Send me the Book of Romans.”
A Laughing Matter that isn’t Funny
I have a thirty-year-old cartoon in my files from Christianity Today. It depicts an absolutely frazzled man on the edge of a bed, phone plastered to his ear, with a freaked-out expression. The caption is: “My wife just left me, … Continue reading
America, Behold Your gods!
America has three gods. They are the three C’s: Choice, Control, and Compensation. You mess with any of these and you bring a firestorm of popular resentment against you. And herein is the problem.
You Can Have Your Catechesis
Here is my reply to all those pastors who insist on referring to their catechism class as catechesis, a term familiar virtually to no one outside the seminary, and ought to be avoided because it sounds more like a disease … Continue reading
No Deeper Than a Radio Gimmick; No Newer than Ben Franklin
It took me some internet searching to find the origins of “Name it; Claim it.” You have to wade through pages of Joel Osteen and others Pentecostals. As it turns out, it’s really no deeper than a radio gimmick.
A Whiter Shade of Pale
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” was a 1967 hit by the British rock band Procol Harum. You can’t not know this song if you like classic rock. That would be like a poet lover not knowing “The Rime of the … Continue reading
Being a Typewriter Repairmen in an Apple World
This is from the TV show Blue Bloods, season 4, episode 5, “Lost and Found.” A “whiskey priest” is speaking. He has been a chaplain to the NYPD since at least 9/11 when he “worked the pile” with firemen and … Continue reading