The Burr in the Burgh

The U.S. branch of the Anglican tree, the Episcopal Church - USA, has had female priests for around 30 years now. And it's been close to 20 years since they elected their first female bishop. Now a new barrier has been shattered as the EC-USA consecrates their first female head bishop. This means she will represent the EC-USA in the world Anglican communion. Here is the news article.

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod is part of the vast majority of Christians worldwide who do not ordain women as pastors. This is not only the huge majority position but is also the practice of 99.9% of the church's history.

Why don't we ordain women? Obviously, I cannot give a thorough and finely nuanced explanation in a blog post. So let me keep it simple, at the risk of being simplistic.

First, what do the Scriptures say:
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve (1 Timothy 2:11-13).

There are a couple of other passages that discuss the woman's role in the church. But this one is sufficient. The apostle states that a woman must not teach or have authority over a man in the church. And he argues from the order of creation. Adam, then Eve.

Another argument that I personally find quite convincing is the practice of Jesus himself. He had numerous devout women as his followers and supporters. These were women of tremendous faith and courage. Yet, he chose only men to be his apostles. And one simply cannot argue that Jesus was only following the cultural norms of his time. Our Lord broke cultural norms on a number of occasions, in particular, with regard to women in society. If it is right to have female apostles, Christ would have selected some.

All I've done here is give the sparest of answers to the question in my title. Why don't we ordain women? Because it is contrary to the will of God and this has been recognized through the practice of the church for eons. Perhaps in a future post I will elaborate further, if you're interested.

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Leading Evangelical pastor, Ted Haggard, has resigned his post as head of the National Association of Evangelicals. This outspoken Christian leader has been accused of paying a male escort for sex on a monthly basis for the last three years. While the facts of this allegation are still being determined, Haggard has confessed that some of it, at least, is true.

The liberals and secularists in our country love it when this happens because they get to use the "H" word, "Hypocrite." You see, Ted Haggard has been leading the crusade against gay marriage. And now it appears he fancies gay sex.

I don't know anything about Ted Haggard. But I hope for the sake of his family, his congregation and his soul, that - if these allegations are true - he finds good law/gospel counsel. Confession is good for the soul. Absolution is even better.

But I have a concern for anyone who is quick to use the "H" word. Is Haggard a hypocrite? Sure. But that does not invalidate his arguments against gay marriage. Listen carefully: A person can both be opposed to a practice AND engage in that practice at the same time. My guess is that Haggard really does believe that homosexuality is sinful. He really does want to protect traditional families. He really does despise the homosexual agenda. And just maybe he like to have gay sex too. Inconsistent? Yep. Hypocritical? To be sure. Hard to imagine? Not really.

Take St. Paul for example. In Romans 7, he states that he does things which he hates. I don't know what things he was referring to. But don't you find yourself ever doing things, saying words or entertaining attitudes which you actually despise? You might even despise yourself. But that doesn't bother me too much. A little bit of self-loathing is a good thing. It's good as long as it drives you to Christ but not if it drives you to despair. Note that Godly sorrow brings repentance while worldly sorrow brings death (2 Cor. 7).

I like Luther's 18th Heidelburg Thesis: It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ. The man who is guilty of tragic disastrous sins and is humiliated thereby is potentially in a better spiritual condition than the smug ones who delight in another man's downfall.

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Here's a piece I penned for Higher Things magazine encouraging youth to enter church professions.

There was a funny commercial on television around Valentine’s Day last year. A man was sitting at the kitchen table while his wife stood with her back to him at the counter. She said, “Dear, is this the year that you bought me that diamond necklace I’ve always dreamt about?”

With a look of terror on his face, eyes like saucers because he’d forgotten all about Valentine’s Day, the man said, “No, Honey.”

“Well, then did you make reservations at the ritzy French restaurant?”

“Uh, no.”

“Surely you bought a dozen roses. You have roses for me don’t you?”

“Actually, no I don’t.”

Getting a bit desperate, but hoping for the best, the woman says, “Then I know you got me a sweet card. You did. Didn’t you?”

The guy hesitates and says, “Well… no I didn’t get you a card either dear. But I did think about it.”

And with that, she swings around and throws her arms around him kissing his face and neck. “Oh, I just knew it. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Screen fades to black and the announcer intones, “Sometimes it’s the thought that counts. But in the real world buy your sweetheart….” So on and so forth. He goes on to promote whatever product the commercial is trying to sell.

The point is that even though we repeat these shallow little platitudes to each other such as “It’s the thought that counts,” we all know that’s baloney. Thoughts are great but they are not enough. Not for a relationship based on love.

But what is love? For many, it seems that love is just a feeling that comes and goes. With God, however, love is never mere sentiment. Love involves action. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

The Bible does not say God loved the world so that He had a warm feeling or thought a happy thought about us. Love is more than a warm fuzzy. It is action. I’m glad that when God loved the world, He didn’t just think about it. He got to work. He got dirty. He scuffed his shoes. He broke a sweat. He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins.

The church is the hands and feet and mouth of God in the world today. God makes His love known to sinners most explicitly through preaching and the sacraments. He also makes His love known very tangibly through works of mercy.

There is no question that people are obsessed with love. They want to feel loved. And they – at their best – want to show love to others. But real love can be hard to find. For love is never selfish. It is always patient and giving and kind, just like St. Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 13. Where can people know that they are more than ascended apes, the results of random natural forces? How can they hear that their lives have meaning? What can be done to help people understand who God is and what He has done for us?

I want to encourage all of you to consider and pray about dedicating your lives to full-time service in the church as pastors and deaconesses. There are certainly many ways to demonstrate God’s love to people. But there is a special need for young men to consider pastoral ministry and young women to think about becoming deaconesses.

God uses pastors to pronounce his declaration of pardon through preaching and holy absolution. The angels erupt into rejoicing each time a sinner is baptized into Christ. And it is a mighty privilege to wait on God’s people at the table where His own body and blood are served for the forgiveness of our sins. Being a pastor is hard and dangerous work but God will use you to alter lives for time and eternity.

While the pastor serves in his unique calling, the deaconesses of our church demonstrate God’s mercy to people who are weak or hurting. They tend the sick and aged. They nurture children. They relate to the women of the parish and help tend the material needs of people. All of this is God’s action revealing His love as more than just a feeling.

The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod is blessed with a very fine university system which prepares students to be instruments of God’s love as professional church workers. Go to higher-ed.lcms.org to find out more about what our educational institutions offer. God is in the business of loving humanity through Word and Sacrament and through works of mercy. And the colleges and seminaries of your church are here to offer you the finest training for these noble tasks.

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Aaah, Halloween is upon us. My good blogging buddy, The Beast, really knows how to have fun with this holiday.

This morning in Bible class, our pastor, Rev. David Petersen, made a good observation (one among many). He talked about how the general unchurched American views God. He said, quite accurately I believe, that people are not afraid of God.

This is something I noticed too as a parish pastor. I used to think that most unchurched people saw God as angry and wrathful and seeking vengeance against us and that my job would be to show them the grace of God in Jesus Christ. What a relief that would be! How our church would grow once people finally heard about forgiveness and salvation!

I quickly realized that most people (churched and unchurched) do not fear God's judgment. I wish they did, to be honest. Then they'd have a better chance of escaping hell. Instead, the average person today assumes without question that God loves them and that they are good people and He would never condemn them. Tony Soprano summed it up once when he said that the only people who go to hell are child molesters genocidal megalomaniacs. I'd say that's very typical. Charles Manson, Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot. We're content to consign them to hell. But what about Ghandi or Anne Frank? What about you?

Certainly, if the standard of judgment is Adolph Hitler, then most of us really do have nothing to worry about. Truly, most people are better than he was. The trouble is that Hitler is not God's standard of judgment. He doesn't compare us to Charles Manson either. He compares us to Jesus Christ. And by that rule, we all fall short.

As a pastor, I know that many poor souls are indeed frightened and burdened with guilt. And even many of those who think that a loving God would never send them to hell really are scared to die. I was always eager to pronounce absolution and constantly pointed to Christ's accomplished work upon the cross.

But the message of the cross falls on deaf ears when the hearers are not stung by the judgments of God. Precisely then what is Christ saving you from? The Gospel devolves into just a generic syrup about love.

I'm not saying we preach too much Gospel. I'm saying we are in danger of preaching a disfigured Gospel when it isn't presented in the context of the threats and curses of God. The truth is, there is no forgiveness without repentance. Maybe a good scare from the pulpit would be a fitting way to commemorate the Reformation this week. That sounds really strange, but I'm hoping you know what I mean.

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Today, in about 2.5 hours, I'll be in the air on my way home to Fort Wayne. Back to snow and rain and drizzle after 5 days of glorious sunshine. Aaaahhh. Last night, on the phone I asked the resident 11 yr old boy how the weather was at home. And he said, "It's cold and wet and everything bad." Groovy.

I love California. You can find EVERYTHING in California. Good or evil. It is here, baby. Church-wise too. Some very outstanding Lutheran churches are in Southern California. Some of the best LCMS pastors and theologians I know live and work here. But this is also a place of much experimentation. Church-wise too.

SoCal folks tend to value innovation and creativity. They are optimistic and want to be happy. Following your heart is more important than doing your duty. It's all this doggone sunshine. It puts them into too much of a good mood. Drat! Church-wise too. So move away from tradition and form and heritage. Embrace the new, the novel, the entertaining. Forget about confession and absolution. What is there to confess? 'S all good. Stop judging. You be you and I'll be me, OK? Dump the repetitious liturgy and the laborious hymns with all those... those ... those words. Give us simple 7/11 songs to sing. 7 words sung in 11 stanzas. And doctrine? What's that? Sounds like doctor and that is scary, man. My karma just ran over your dogma, dude.

But most every error has a kernel of truth. Midwest Lutherans can be a bit gloomy at times. We drag ourselves through the Sunday liturgy like it's a dirge. But we do it RIGHT. We go up to Holy Communion like we're filing past a corpse.

Oh, I'm exaggerating , of course. Actually, it wouldn't kill us in the fly-over country to lighten up a bit. I don't mean water down the doctrine or eliminate tradition. I mean realize that joy is OK. It's alright to like going to church. It's not just an uncomfortable duty like having your teeth cleaned. Uh, Christ Jesus is alive. The Eucharist is the antidote to death. The Gospel is good news of free salvation. So keep your eyes down, mumble that 347 stanza hymn, and don't let anyone catch you smiling or laughing in the house of God.

I'm not suggesting the complete Californication of the Church. Plastic smiles. A veneer of sunshine induced euphoria. Hippy, boomer Churches that cater to felt needs and are market or fad driven will burst at the seams. But faithfulness is more important than success. A few more clouds would do them good. There are some things too wonderful to take lightly.

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Today, I came to Redlands, CA. It's west of LA by San Bernardino. The weather is wonderful. I arrived a little early, so before going to the church I drove around the university campus looking for coffee. One shop, in particular caught my attention. The sign said: "The Bean and Leaf." I seemed to recall a place in PA with a similar name that was a combo coffee and tobacco shop. Since I like to occasionally puff on a pipe, this place looked promising. Y'see, I can only smoke my pipe when I'm out on trips like this because my wife and son can't tolerate the smoke. Boy was I ever disappointed when I found out the full name was The Coffee Bean and the Tea Leaf. Tea!? Drat!!!

So since I was already there, I stomped inside and barked my order. As I calmed down from my profound disappointment, I sat in the puffy chair and proceeded to goof off. In the course of the 40 minutes I was there, the cute little blue-haired barrista with multiple tattoos and piercings came and expelled two different people at two different times. One guy for eating a sandwich and the other a lady licking an ice cream cone. It seems this was a kosher coffee bar. No non-kosher foods were allowed. I'd never been in a kosher coffee shop before.

Nowadays, so many churches are watering down their doctrines for fear of offending the visitors. Even though I have no interest in kosher laws, it's kind of refreshing to see people who take their religion seriously enough to say, "conform or scram."

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It seems that there is a scarcity of Old Testament scholars in our church body. I visited a Hebrew class this morning at Concordia University - Irvine, CA. It was good seeing the fresh young fellows crunching away at it. I confess that my Hebrew is rusty. I'm much better at Greek and always have been. There seems to be less interest in our seminaries and pre-seminary programs in studying the Old Testament.

I remember a couple of times as a parish pastor being asked questions like, "Pastor, why should we care about the Old Testament. Let's just focus on Jesus." The trick is to demonstrate that the Old Testament IS about Jesus. In any case, the OT is 2/3 of your Bible. Neglecting its study is a very serious problem.

There is a second century heretic named Marcion. He denounced the Old Testament and all within the New which he considered too Jewish, basically. He was sort of hyper-Pauline and ejected Matthew, Mark and John. Luke being an associate of Paul was OK, I suppose.

Are we in danger of becoming Marcionites today when we ignore or neglect the Torah, the prophets, the hebrew poetry and hymns collected in what we call the Old Testament? Does it in some way discolor our understanding of Jesus?

I say yes it does. For the last couple of years, during Lent, I have made reading Leviticus part of my personal devotional schedule. If you ever want to gain a graphic new insight into the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, spend some time mulling over Leviticus. Consider also the psalms, the hymnal Jesus grew up using and had memorized. Remember that Jesus Himself explained to his followers that Moses, the prophets and the psalms all speak of Him.

I will even say that it is absolutely essential to know the first 39 books of our bible in order to correctly understand the last 27.

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Began the day with a stimulating discussion in our bible class at church. Pastor Petersen is always fun to listen to. The service and sermon was, as always, edifying.

Went to our first congregational voter's meeting after church since joining Redeemer Lutheran Church. Started with a nice lunch of ham sandwiches w/real horseradish. I luv the stuff. And homemade pumpkin pie. Then in less than an hour, we heard reports, elected officers AND adopted a budget.

After Jacob and I got haircuts, I spent a good part of the afternoon lying in the La-Z-Boy dozing and reading my latest novel by Tom Wolfe.

I spent the evening getting prepared for a recruitment trip for the seminary. At 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, the security guy is coming to pick me up and drive me to the Fort Wayne International Airport. Poor me. I gotta go to sunny southern California for 6 days. Actually it's all business. Starting at our college in Irvine and ending up in San Diego, I will be ardently recruiting for the seminary. Amazingly I have been criticized for asking for people to pray for me on this blog, but I'll do it anyway. Please pray for our efforts to identify gifted men for the Office of the Holy Ministry. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers. The fields are ready but the workers are too few.

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Last week, I was interviewed on Issues, Etc., a Lutheran talk radio program on KFUO in St. Louis, MO. The topic was The Da Vinci Code. Rev. Todd Wilken and his trusty producer, Jeff Schwarz, like to scour Higher Things magazine for radio subjects. And last summer, I did a mega-sectional on DVC for the Higher Things youth conference in Colorado.

Issues, Etc. likes to regularly feature professors from Concordia Theological Seminary and they make tons of old broadcasts available on their website. It's really excellent. Now you can also access some of these interviews through the seminary website. Go here. Happy listening.

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One of the things I enjoy about Concordia Theo Seminary is that every Friday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. we have Gemutlichkeit. That's a German word meaning warmth and friendliness. It's used to refer to friends gathering over beer and food for conversation and happiness.

Every week, the kegs are brought in with local microbrew and munchies in the student commons. I'd say 80-100 people attend every week, students, professors, families, staff. It's really quite fun.

Today was extra good. We had a chili cooking contest. There were 19 entries. First the judges (5 profs) all got their samples and then everyone else got to try. I had four excellent bowls myself. I learned that genuine Texas chili does not have beans. While all the chilis I sampled were really very good, number 19 was definitely the hottest. It was like eating fire soup. And now it's like fire in my belly.

My hat is off to our weekly Gemutlichkeit. The seminary is a community of people gathered by Christ around His Gospel. We are devoted to rigorous study, edifying worship, works of service and enjoying one another and the good gifts of God. Pastoral and diakonal education is so much more than just downloading information. These social events on campus are, in my view, vitally important. The conversations, the laughter, the camaraderie. Friendships are built and strengthened, making our seminary community so much more than an academic enclave.

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Martin Luther talked about a profound distinction between different types of theologies. Simply put, he said that some are theologians of glory and others are theologians of the cross. His famous Heidelberg Theses remain some of the Reformer's most important insights.

The one on my mind today is thesis #21:
A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is.

As he stands before God, a theologian of glory boasts of his own righteousness. He thinks his personal holiness commends him to God while the theologian of the cross realizes that his own righteousness is like filthy rags (Is 64:6).

We see this principle manifested in other ways as well. The hyper-pious insist that true faith sees all things as grace (gifts). Surely God can use terrible things to bring about a good result, but that doesn't make the terrible things any less evil. God is not the author of evil. The death of Christ saves us. But death is a curse, not a blessing. The painful sufferings you endure in this corrupted world can draw you closer to God. Sufferings can purify us. The eyes of faith do learn how to see God at work in every kind of circumstance. But some falsely pious Christians take this to a faulty conclusion, that evils such as injury, death and trouble are good things.

To suffer well - that is, in a way that leads to health and life - one must know how to "call a thing what it actually is." Name the enemy. He has won ground if we begin to count him our friend.

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I saw a catalog today that markets "decorative crosses." And the first thought that came to my mind was "what kind of sicko decorates their houses with crosses?" Then I calmed myself down.

We have crosses, crucifixes and religious artwork all throughout our house. My study at the seminary has several. And though they may be artistically stylized and may look nice, they should never be considered decorations. Jesus Christ died on a cross. Oh isn't that lovely?! The Son of God bled on the cross for my sins. Wouldn't that make a darling decoration?!

Maybe I'm getting to be more of a curmudgeon but I really can't tolerate "cute" religious artwork. I am often literally SHOCKED when I see Noah's Ark toys and cartoony chidlren's bedsheets and lampshades. Good grief! God violently destroys all living things on the surface of the earth. How adorable is that?! The flood was divine wrath upon mankind. God was sorry he ever created man. Isn't that sweet? Why don't we make Auschwictz action figures and Buchenwald bedsheets? Let's put a photo of a lynching or a burning at the stake in our parlour. Won't that be grand?

One of the causes of anemia within the Church today is the cute-ification of God. Cute kittens I love. Cute kids are precious. Cute teddy bears I could hug all day long. But God is not cute. The crucifixion is not mere decoration.

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Books

• Just finished A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe. I'd never read anything by Wolfe until this. What a terrific book! My travel companion in Siberia this summer was reading it and he recommended it. Sort of a modern Charles Dickens. Many richly drawn characters whose story lines overlap and intersect in interesting and surprising ways. Nice homage to good ol' fashioned Roman Stoicism.
  

Music

• Color me happy. I noticed that my favorite Pittsburgh band, Good Brother Earl, is now available from iTunes. I immediately submitted a review. Buy their music. Be happy.


• The new Mindy Smith CD is out. I've lately been exploring some of these neo-folk and alt-country artists. Neko Case. Lucinda Williams. Kasey Chambers. But right now for me, Mindy is the top.


• It probably doesn't classify as music exactly, but I've been enjoying What's He Building in There? by Tom Waits. It's like an Edgar Allan Poe short story. What a weirdo.
  

TV

• I hate watching TV. It's a gigantic waste of time. HOWEVER, there are some shows that I consider worthy. So I get them on DVD. I can't tolerate sitting through the advertisements. So, I just finished season 2 of Lost. Now I'm nearing the end of the second season of the new Battlestar Galactica. I think it's interesting that the humans are polytheists and the robots are monotheists.
  

Film

• Re-watched To Kill a Mockingbird. First, the novel by Harper Lee is genius. I love it. Can't believe she only wrote one book. Second, Gregory Peck IS Atticus Finch.

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I always enjoy reading Frederica Mathewes-Green. Her movie reviews, in particular, are always engaging. Read here to see what she thought of Open Season.

It touches upon the question of the coarsening of American culture. In my view, Americans are increasingly base and trashy. Pop culture is largely to blame. But that's a chicken and the egg quandary. It's also a failure of the schools, families, and churches to teach morals and manners. Another symptom of the whole trend is the growing rush to intimacy we see in all aspects of American life. The car salesman immediately wants to be my chum and call me by my first name. Men used to wear suits and ties to baseball games and now they won't even do so to church.

By the way, I'm not saying men must wear suits to church. I am saying that our culture's growing casualness affects manners.

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