I just saw this brief story about a celebration planned at Zion Lutheran Church in Mission Valley, Texas, Sunday. The reason? They’re joining the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. With more than 90 percent approval, members voted to separate from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America last year. The Rev. Mike Couchman, Zion’s chief minister, said the decision to leave their original denomination was a difficult one, and he admits the divide is bittersweet. “We’re sad we had to do it. It could have been any issue, it didn’t have to be a gay issue,” Couchman said. “Essentially the ECLA said, ‘We   More…

Christianity Today‘s Mark Galli looks at how consultants would have advised the early church to improve preaching and other issues in this dead-on satire: Let’s begin with one of your leading PR men, Peter, who is clearly a gifted communicator. We believe he would find that our seminar “Winning Techniques for Effective Communication” would help him be more effective still! Unfortunately, he has the regular habit of berating his audience, just at the moment when he has them eating out of his hand. They think Philip’s work in Samaria was ill-advised: We recognize that living by faith is a core   More…

I just stumbled across this delightful Lutheran Witness article. I think it might have been written in 1916. I had to share it with you all: Is This Christianity? — The Rev. Philip Yarrow, of Morgan Park, Chicago, plumped down three bottles of beer on his pulpit lately, explaining that he had bought them in the three country towns of Burr Oak, Mount Greenwood, and Blue Island, contrary to the Sunday closing law. Rev. H. D. Knickerbocker, of Houston, Tex., announces that “next Sunday” he “will have in the pulpit a deck of cards, a schooner of beer, a hawk,   More…

In the comments to the previous post some folks wondered how they could make sure their contributions for relief efforts go to relief efforts. LCMS World Relief and Human Care posted a new FAQ on the future of mercy work in the Synod. PDF link is here and the questions can be found here and also below. Answers to Your Questions About the Future of the Synod’s Mercy Work and LCMS World Relief and Human Care Q. I understand that WR-HC no longer exists. What happens to donations I’ve already given to LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC)? A.   More…

From, of all places, the LCMS. It’s a great interview with solid questions: What is your reaction to your election? You will now serve as the 13th president of the Synod. (Dr. C.F.W. Walther having served in the office twice.) What is your assessment of the convention and of the restructuring it has mandated? Going forward, what will be your biggest challenges? How do you believe the national church can best serve the local congregation, and what implications might the 2010 Synod convention’s actions have for the local congregation, if any? So if you’re curious about the answers to those   More…

The installation of new officers, including President-elect Matthew Harrison, will take place Sept. 11 at the Chapel of Saint Timothy and Saint Titus on the campus of Concordia Seminary. I’ve attended one of these installations before and they are very nice. This one looks particularly nice as all clergy are invited to bring vestments and a red stole to join in the processional. Some of my highlights of attending the recent Synodical convention were those moments when you’d hear groups of pastors singing the Doxology or otherwise combining their voices to beautiful effect. I’d love to hear that service. It’s   More…

Religion News Service (which is a wire service focused on religion news) is running a Q&A with Rev. Matt Harrison. Here’s a snippet: Q: The Missouri Synod is known as a conservative denomination, but some have said it or its leadership were not conservative enough. Do you agree? A: I think the challenge we have to face internally is the proper approach to meeting culture and accommodating culture. Obviously we have to take a very ancient New Testament message and bring it into a fast-paced and ever-changing post-modern world. I think some thought the essence of Lutheranism was, at times,   More…

I have been so busy talking with folks and watching the events on the floor that I have failed to keep you all updated. I did have some overall observations, some of which repeat what you might have read here already. – BJS is read by a lot of people from all across the Synod. I can’t tell you how many people wished to discuss with me things that they had read here. – I have been calling this the “Issues, Etc.” revolution. You are seeing that the folks who are being elected are the folks you might hear on   More…

Just wanted to pop in and give an update on the convention. As you’ve already heard, some of the major restructuring passed with, as is sadly usual in Synodical politics, a narrow margin. I went around to ask delegates about their mood and found, as you might expect, quite a few people who voted one way or the other. More surprising to me, at least, were the number of people who voted FOR restructuring who are strong, strong Harrison supporters. Their thinking was that the restructuring was needed for efficiency reasons but that cutting a few costs or streamlining doesn’t   More…

A friend sent this to me and I thought I would pass it on to you. By Daniel Bourke-Bourke (RSNS) Paul, an octopus in Oberhausen, Germany, gained international notariety by amazing fans with his correct World Cup picks. The magnificent mollusk accurately predicted the outcome of all of Germany’s matches by choosing between two mouthwatering mussels, one for Germany and one for its opponent. Paul is now attempting to soothsay outside the world of sport, and is making a foray into the ecclesial realm. On Tuesday, July 13, in Houston, Texas, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod will meet in a plenary   More…

I know you shouldn’t enjoy a hot, sticky, muggy city like Houston is, but I am having a blast down here. The locals are as friendly and wonderful as could be and the Lutherans from around the country are fantastic. There is not much to report thus far in the day. Delegates are beginning the work of moving through their schedule. There were two motions made this morning that I thought I would update readers on. The first was to change standing rules so as to preserve the spirit of the “pro-con” debate. In the rules, it says that delegate   More…

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today, an article on restructuring: The vote on restructuring has been five years in the making. Kieschnick is its primary designer, and he has sold it hard to the people in the pews, traveling the country for the last three years with members of his restructuring task force to listen to suggestions, explain possible changes and answer questions, according to the Rev. Larry Stoterau, president of the denomination’s Pacific Southwest district and a member of the task force.

I know that many of us are getting ready to head to Houston for the convention. With just a few days left, I thought it worth revisiting this video made earlier in our journey toward Houston. At the very least it makes for excellent music to pack to!

The rumors have been swirling for a month or more, but there is reason to believe that it’s more than a rumor. Supporters of President Kieschnick have articulated the plan in various ways but the bottom line is that they’re suggesting that, if elected, this would be President Kieschnick’s last term. Further, they’re suggesting that the Rev. Matthew Harrison could use an additional three years in a Synodical position before being made president. It’s easy to see how this would be the strategy — nothing else has really gained traction, campaign-wise. But will it work with delegates? I decided to   More…

Religion reporter Brad Greenberg, a colleague of mine at GetReligion.org, has an article in the Wall Street Journal today about the difference between mission work and charity work. Read the whole thing but you’ll appreciate this quote that ends the article: The Rev. Albert B. Collver, an executive with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s World Relief and Human Care division, sums it up well: “It is the recognition that Christ died, that he wants everyone to be saved and that his love for the church is a love for all of mankind.”