Category Archives: Missouri Megatrends
A Brief Statement about the Brief Statement
Had not the Brief Statement been adopted by the LCMS in 1932 there would not have been the Statement of the Forty-Four in 1945. Yet though confessionals bang the Brief Statement gong loudly and even LCMS, Inc. will appeal to … Continue reading
Everyone a Missionary
We tried “everyone a minister” then it was “everyone an evangelist” now it’s “everyone a missionary.” Sheesh, soon they’ll be no one in the pews to receive the gifts. Soon there’ll be no mothers and fathers raising kids. Soon will … Continue reading
Is there an Imperative to Grow?
The sainted Reverend Father Rudolph Kurz once wrote a paper saying that there is no command in Scripture for the church to grow in numbers.
Cherchez la femme
That’s what I usually write in my book on feminism when I have been asked to sign a copy. It’s French for “look for the woman.” As American’s say “follow the money” to solve a crime the French say “look … Continue reading
Mr. Rogers Worship
When my kids were small I didn’t forbid them from watching Mr. Rogers but I ridiculed the man, and I say so now unapologetically not wishing to speak ill of the dead but truthfully of the one-time living.
Who Really is Practicing Selective Fellowship?
Because I won’t commune members of the LCMS who believe that communion should be open to all who want it, or all who have been baptized, or all who believe in the Real Presence, I am accused of practicing selective … Continue reading
A Non-Compete Clause
We don’t have non-compete clauses among pastors, but perhaps we should in our own heads because there ain’t no way I’m competing with this Missouri Synod church.
Fiel pero desdichado
That’s the Churchill family motto since 1661. It’s not Latin but Spanish, and nobody knows why. It expresses how I have frequently thought about my relationship to the LCMS.
Lutherean
That’s what the pen had printed on it – Trinity Lutherean Church. I know this is a typo, but it seems to me that it describes what many Lutheran churches have become.
Hold the Line or Dance their Tune
It’s well-known that in a battle one running man or one charging man can turn the tide of battle. Macarthur’s’ father won the Medal of Honor for picking up the fallen standard of his Civil War unit and continuing the … Continue reading