The Burr in the Burgh

This image of my handsome and incredibly photogenic 11 year old son shows pretty much how all the Stiegemeyers feel today.

This morning, I preached my final sermon as the pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church, Brentwood, Pa. Our district president, Dr. John Brunner, was there to assist and offer prayers and a blessing for me and my family. It meant a lot to me for him to be there.

Then in the afternoon, the wonderful people of my congregation had a lovely farewell luncheon. Several other local pastors were there. The turnout was huge. So many kinds words and wishes and prayers. Julie and I were truly overwhelmed. We are so thankful for our time here and the many friends we have made.

This evening, we stopped over to visit a parishoner who recently had major surgery and could not attend the events today. As we were leaving their house, Julie was a bit teary and said, "It's like leaving family." And indeed, this congregation is family to us.

Tomorrow, we drive to the next stage in life's adventure: Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN where I will become the new Director of Admission.

The Stiegemeyer clan is moving. The movers have invaded our home, packed our stuff and are finishing loading the truck today. Talk about having your whole life thrown into a flurry.

I remain excited about my future working at the seminary. (Read this). But I have to admit it was kinda sad last night walking through the empty barren house. Julie was annoyed by all the dust bunnies who no longer had anywhere to hide. The cats were COMPLETELY disoriented, poor girls. Lucy, the Golden Retriever, hardly even noticed. All she cared about was that there were a half dozen new people for her to make friends with all day. I will say this for her: She is all about people. Things mean nothing to her.

Sunday is my last time to preside and preach at Concordia Lutheran Church in Brentwood, Pa. Sunday afternoon the church is having a farewell luncheon for us.

It is sad to leave this place. My heart is heavy. Congregational pastoral ministry is the most exciting, unhappy, rewarding, disapointing, invigorating, frustrating and meaningful vocation one could have. I both hate it and love it. Other than my own death, the only thing I can imagine which would separate me from congregational pastoral ministry is the opportunity to help recruit and train future pastors. I hope that God will smile on my efforts. For His glory and the edification of the church.

Pr. Kim Riddlebarger has the answer here.

FYI - A Reformed Christian is one of the Calvinist persuasion.

By the logo, you can tell that this is an ELCA congregation, not a LCMS congregation. But I'm not gloating. Many within our own beloved synod, at times, stumble into these eccentricities.

This is soooooo 1975. Like all those Puff, the Magic Dragon love songs that get recycled as "contemporary" worship. Who is this trying to reach? Which demographic is this for? The unchurched clown population? Or maybe the aging and increasingly irrelevant boomers who remember earth shoes and patchouli incense and wax nostalgic for the glory days of Haight-Ashbury.

So what does it mean to be a fool for Christ (1Cor. 4:10)? Isn't the apostle saying that the cross is foolishness to the so-called wisdom of this world? He's not saying we should wear big shoes and greasepaint so people laugh at us. Do I really need to wear a big red ball on my nose in order to be a fool for Christ? How about I just preach the atonement, since that's what the apostle was talking about.


Addendum: I am all for working hard to reach the lost. Usually posts like this elicit complaints that I don't care about missions. I do care. I care a lot. But I think that gimmicks inspired by content-free hysteria do a lot more harm to the cause of Christ than good. I try to be winsome. I make inviting and welcoming guests to church a high priority. Indeed, one of my great interests is to examine how religious belief intersects with popular culture. But disrespecting God by playing circus in His house, mistreating his Word and blaspheming the sacrament are not prudent ways to do evangelization.

One theme people often hear me sound is the importance of having a theologically well-informed laity in the church. But a similar concern I have is American voters who don't understand the world they live in. Just as poorly catechized believers can cause havoc in churches - esp when put in positions of authority - so also poorly educated voters can create devastating problems for the republic. Many voters just pull the levers their spouses tell them to or pick the guy with the best commercials. Many Americans vote without thinking very deeply about what they are doing.

In that light, this article claims that 75% of Americans can name two of the seven dwarfs from Snow White but only 25% can name two of the Supreme Court justices. More Americans could correctly identify Harry Potter than they could Tony Blair. Respondents to the survey were far more familiar with the three stooges than with the three branches of our government.

Below is a sermon I will preach in about one hour at a memorial service for a grief support group that our congregation offers. I don't often post sermons on my blog, but this one is short so I thought, "why not?"

Stepping Stones Memorial
August 13, 2006
Text: John 6:35, 40

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. …
For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

You are all here today because you mourn the loss of someone dear to you. In a sense, such loss is just part of life. People live and then they die. Sometimes they die young and sometimes after many years of life. But everyone faces their final hour eventually.

With modern medical advances and the decrease of infant mortality, we can almost fool ourselves into thinking that we are invincible, that we can cheat death, that we can cure what ails us.

Our culture’s incessant emphasis on youth and youthfulness only perpetuates the myth that death is something that happens to other people, not something we need to be particularly concerned about for ourselves.

Counselors agree that denial is one of the common early stages in the grieving process. But denial can also color the way we think even when we are not particularly grief-stricken.

One of the most refreshing aspects of the Christian religion is that it is realistic. The Christian faith does not say to you, “OK, just stick your head in the sand, just live in denial of death and you won’t get hurt.”

No, instead the Christian faith repeats the words of St. Paul, “The wages of sin is death” and the words of the prophet Ezekiel: “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”

We live in a broken world populated with damaged people. And that brokenness is never more obvious than when someone we care about dies.

But that is where Jesus Christ intervenes. This is the number one most important fact you will ever face. Jesus gives life. Jesus Christ is the author and source of life for people steeped in sin and oppressed by death.

He says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” Our Lord is not talking about bread for your belly, the kind of food that once you eat it you eventually get hungry again and have to eat again and again.

Jesus gives you sustenance for your spirit, life for your soul. Most people today are more earthly minded than they are heavenly minded, more concerned about their material well being than their relationship with God, more concerned about where they’ll spend the Labor Day weekend than where they’ll spend eternity.

But the invitation of Jesus is a wake up call to all people. He is saying that man cannot live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He is saying that life is more than food and clothing, career and 401ks, possessions and acquisitions. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

He suffered and died to pay the penalty for our sins. That is the meaning of the crucifixion. You’ve been died for. Your sins, your shortcomings, have been paid for in full by Jesus Christ. And His resurrection from the dead is a preview of things to come for all who are baptized into Him.

Jesus says, “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

He will raise you up. He will overturn the grave. Death will not have the final word. It will not have the last laugh. But you will laugh with inexpressibly joy when the Savior says your name on the last day and you stand up and ascend to heaven.

The Christian message proclaims the reality of sin and death and the grave. But even more emphatically the church must proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the first fruits of them that sleep. In other words, just as Jesus rose victorious from the grave, so also all who are in Christ by faith will likewise rise bodily.

Jesus is more than just the guru of the moment, the god de jour, a dispenser of good advice. He is life itself. And being literally incorporated into Jesus through baptism, we can each anticipate our own personal Easter. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Julie and I are fond of animals. Always have been. So we own a dog and co-habitate with two cats. It makes for a happy home.

But with our move and a new yard , we (translation: I) are considering getting a second dog. The breed of choice is the Doberman Pinscher. I'd really love to hear from any Dobe owners and find out your thoughts.

Anyone care to guess why there is this photo of two mallards in my post from Tuesday, August 8?

Why are young women scared off by feminists? Here.

Are you a toxic parent? Find out.

kitsch \KICH\, noun:
1. Art characterized by pretentious bad taste.

It's like a car crash. I want to turn away but I can't stop looking. Why do people like this stuff?

Hey, come take a peek at the Department of Admission website for Concordia Theological Seminary. Techno-guru, Mr. John Klinger, is already - I see - getting my stuff up there.

Come see.

According to Murphy's Law, there are two types of people:
Those who divide people into two types and those who don't.

Someone else figured that there are two types in your church: Those who agree with you and the bigots.

Obviously, it is simplistic to divide people into tight little categories but making distinctions is necessary for clear thinking. I had one seminary professor who always used to say that studying theology is all about making definitions and distinctions. Pastoral ministry is utterly dependent on it.

So I think there are two kinds of people: those who are troubled by their sins and those who aren't. In stating that, I might just as well have written that the two types are Christians and non-Christians. It is not possible for a person to be in Christ and have no anguish over his sins.

That having been said, let me add that all the people I've ever met are complicated and contradictory. A Christian might live every day burdened by guilt over sins he has repeatedly confessed and been absolved for. He might also go through life essentially untroubled by his impure thoughts or how he mistreats his wife or his greed, etc. I have even met people who are in torment with guilt over things that are not really even sins.

So there are two types of people - those who are troubled by their sins and those who aren't - and I am both at the same time. I am a true dual personality. Or as Lutheran dogmaticians like to say, I am simultaneously sinner & saint. In this lifetime, no one is ever fully sanctified. That happens only in the next life, though that work of purification has begun here and now.

It's a paradox. It's St. Paul's struggle in Romans 7.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Our theology must be able to work in this paradox. The dichotomy that defines the Christian in this world. Saint and sinner. Law and gospel. To the "me" who is complacent with his sin, preach the judgment of God. And to the "me" who is troubled in conscience, preach reconciliation with God through the atonement.

One of the great points of division historically between Lutherans and Romans Catholics is the notion of salvation through faith alone (sola fide). This topic continues to energize discussions between believers in those respective churches today.

Setting sola scriptura aside for another occasion, the remaining Reformation solas are sola gratia (grace alone) and solus Christus (Christ alone). When we say that a sinner is saved via faith only, we are saying the same exact thing as when we say that he is saved by God's grace alone and by Christ alone.

We mean that when it comes to being justified before God, I can boast of nothing. I can never stand before the Almighty pointing to my own achievements as a basis for His acceptance. I can only appeal to God's grace (unmerited favor). I can only point to the righteousness of Jesus Christ reckoned to sinners. When I lie dying, I will not find comfort in looking at myself, my life, my personal holiness. All of that falls short, far short. But I will find comfort in the grace of God and work of Christ on my behalf.

That's what sola fide means. It does not mean that a Christian can disregard God's law. It does not mean that it is possible to be a true believer without demonstrating fruit in one's life. It does not mean that we should not expect the believer to advance in holiness. It does mean that none of those things are sufficient to save us, nor are they capable of adding anything to the work of Christ on the cross. The merits of Jesus are the only merits necessary or capable of making me right with God.

I agree that Mel Gibson has a problem. I don't agree with many in the media, however, about the nature of his problem.

First, he was drunk, driving 87 m.p.h. in a 45 zone, had an open container in his car and when stopped, let fly a string of insulting remarks toward the police officers.

All of that is bad, even criminal, behavior. His anti-semitic remarks are the part, however, that is receiving all the press. And admittedly, there is no excuse for what he is quoted as saying.

What puzzles me is the amount of coverage this has received. Is this the first time a famous person has been on the wrong side of the law? Or is it the first time someone of Gibson's stature has said stupid, offensive, hurtful things?

So the plastered Gibson said the Jews are responsible for all the wars. People say that about Christians all the time. Stop the presses! The statement, in both cases, is erroneous and bigoted. So what else is new? People are ignorant and bigoted. This is news?

Then I read this article from then LA Times. It has a lot of interesting stuff. It basically says that the people in Hollywood who know Mr. Gibson personally and have worked with him have always known about the man's drinking problem and say that when he ties one on, he becomes a different person entirely. So he acts differently when he's smashed on Tequila? Right. Would you, fair reader, want the world to know everything you've done or said after an evening of excessive revelry? This is not to excuse Gibson's behavior. Just to put it back into perspective.

The Times article then ends in the weirdest fashion. It lists a long history of movie stars who've misbehaved, implicitly lumping Gibson among them. But come on! Fatty Arbuckle was charged with rape and murder; Roman Polanski with rape (and he subsequently won an Oscar). Rob Lowe filmed himself having sex with a minor. By comparing Gibson's drunken misbehavior with these far more serious offenses, we risk the further deadening of our consciences.

Is hurling anti-semitic remarks - as wrong as that is - really as bad as rape and murder? If so, then why aren't people tarring and feathering Ted Turner for saying Christians are losers? Is he to be compared to rapists and murderers like Fatty Arbuckle and Rob Lowe? You can tell when a culture is unravelling when it lacks all sense of proportionality. Gibson did a bad thing. But it's not murder.

It reminds me of when I saw a television exchange between two Roman Catholic priests. One a lib and one a conservative. I don't remember the name of the lib, but the conservative was Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life. The lib was barking at Pavone for being so concerned for fetuses but not showing equal outrage over the innocents who've perished in Iraq. God bless Father Pavone. There is a man who understands proportionality. Yes, even a single wrongful death is horrible. But there are btwn 3000-4000 abortions in America every day. Which situation really has the greater moral urgency?

Comparing Gibson to Fatty Arbuckle is a major lapse of moral judgment.

I love Darrell's take on the story about the British amusement park needing to cancel its Muslim Fun Day due to lack of interest. Instead of September 17, they should have schedule it on 9/11. A much more jubilant day for many world muslims.

In the Image of God:
A Christian Vision for Love and Marriage

I think all of you should attend this conference from the Cranach Institute on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN. It will be September 18-20, 2006.

The publicity states: This conference will focus on God's design for marriage and sexuality.

Now who doesn't want to hear that?

Speakers will include:

• Rev. Matthew Harrison - Director for the LCMS World Relief and Human Care Ministries
• Ethicist, Dr. Gilbert Meilander
• And best selling author, Lauren Winner
  

For the past couple of days, Julie, Jacob and I were in Fort Wayne, IN to make preparations for our move.

Regarding my position at the seminary, I had a couple of goals in mind. First, I wanted to introduce myself to the admission staff. They really are a crackerjack bunch. I asked them to show me what their respective jobs entail and tried to impress on them that I am eager to hear their ideas and suggestions. I heard a lot of great thoughts and already have a few things on the roll. I ask of them to simply be patient with me as I have a bit of a learning curve ahead of me. We share the goal of finding excellent candidates for the ministry and helping them through the admission process.

Secondly, I wanted to hand deliver my letter to President Wenthe accepting the call. It was good to speak with him also about his vision for the seminary and share some ideas.

Personally, my wife and son were eager to see the campus house and begin planning how to decorate and furnish it.

I was on staff at the seminary seven years ago before I came to this congregation and it was a joy to see so many familiar faces and renew those acquaintances. I am excited by the challenge ahead of me and feel such a devotion to the seminary and its mission to train shepherds for God's sheep.

Even so, it is sad to consider leaving this congregation which has been so good and loving toward us. May God smile on us all.

Below is a comment I left on the Beast's blog earlier. Go here to see his post.


Very interesting post. I like what you wrote very much. I haven't read about Pastor Boyd, but he may really be on to something.

Certainly the Bible teaches us how to live holy lives. And certainly it is God's will for His children to lead holy lives. And the Christian Church will, at times, proclaim messages that overlap with current events or social issues.

But you are abso-tively correct that the Bible is not just a book of do's and don'ts It's firstly a book about Jesus and His saving work for humanity. That should always be our central focus.

I personally squirm a little when churches are so quick to adopt secular holidays like 4th of July, Mother's Day, Veteran's Day but ignore historic Christian holy days such as Epiphany, Ascension Day or the season of Lent. But that's another topic.

There is something a bit off about too much blending of Christian teaching with politics and current events. Yes, as I said, the bible does address many issues that happen to show up in the daily papers and the church must teach clearly the whole counsel of God.

But I do not believe the church is the proper place to display the American flag or sing the national anthem or anything like that. God is not (gasp!) an American. Nations rise and fall and ours will be no exception. America is not the new Israel (the church is). We are not the chosen nation (the church is).

Revelation talks about heaven being filled with people from every tribe, nation and tongue. Which flag do they salute in their sanctuary? Whose anthem do they sing in worship? Wouldn't it be great if the church on earth would better reflect the church in heaven?

One of the things I love about blogging is the network of friendships I have found with Christians all over the nation and of varying confessions.

Two blogs that I check every single day and always get a kick out of reading are from Darrell, the devout Roman Catholic, at SouthCon and from Philip, the Southern Baptist youth pastor, over at The Beast's Lair. They are my peeps.

This is true ecumenism, my friends. We have never been afraid to discuss our differences, but I have been delighted by the civility and warmth and supportiveness these blogging buddies have demonstrated. I certainly do not believe in sweeping doctrinal disagreements under the rug, but it has been enlightening to find out how much we share in common.

Don't get me wrong. I have personally never been more convinced of the veracity of the Lutheran Confessions, but I find that when I hang out only with Lutherans of like convictions, we become sort of, well, smug.

I heard someone put it this way. Confessional Lutherans are like manure. When you spread them around they can do a lot of good. But if you put them all in one place, they just make a big stink.

Anyhoo, go check out SouthCon and The Beast's Lair.