Illogical Logic

The congregational nonimations for President of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS) have been counted and posted. And the numbers overwhelmingly reveal that the congregations want a change in leadership.

Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, received 1,332 nominations. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, incumbent LCMS president, received 755 nominations. To put those numbers in perspective, consider the following facts:

• Harrison’s 1,332 nominations is the most ever for a non-incumbent.
• Kieschnick’s 755 nominations is the least ever for an incumbent.
• Kieschnick’s 755 nominations is 28% fewer than the 1,055 he received in 2007.

And yet, despite the facts, President Kieschnick offered this explanation in a recent newspaper article:

“I’ve been a part of this church long enough to know that if someone in office is doing a very poor job, we’d have more than 30 percent of them weighing in. ... Call it apathy or satisfaction, but they see no need to make a change.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/24/2010]

This was quickly followed up by a group of Kieschnick supporters, who made the same claim:

The main news from the nominations result is that only about one third of the eligible 6,000 congregations participated in the process. One interpretation is that by far most congregations are satisfied with the present leadership and thus did not participate. Their non-participation says nothing about how their delegates will cast their vote. Along that same line of reasoning, congregations that took the effort to make nominations are more likely to want change. There is website evidence this year that groups of dissatisfied pastors made a strong effort to organize to have their candidate(s) nominated. Thus one could conclude that a nomination total of 1,300 for a non-incumbent means only a quarter of the congregations are dissatisfied and want to change leadership. [Jesus First, Issue 62, April 2010: Putting Convention Nominations into Perspective]

Low numbers = high approval. How’s that for illogical logic!

LCMS, if you want to continue with this type of illogical leadership, your decision flies in the face of the majority of the congregations who cared enough to send in their nominations. There is a better leader in Rev. Matthew Harrison. May our gracious Lord bless the LCMS through the faithful leadership of President Harrison beginning this summer!

Spirituality without Religion

It seems young adults are spiritual, but increasingly not very religious. Admittedly, those terms are ambiguous. Especially when asked by pollsters in carefully crafted questions. But an August 2009 survey done by LifeWay Research is still worth our time and attention in getting a pulse of the culture around us. Here are a few of the findings with regard to millennials (those born between 1980 and 1991):

• 65% rarely or never pray with others.
• 38% almost never pray by themselves.
• 65% rarely or never attend worship services.
• 67% do not read the Bible or sacred texts.
• 50% do not believe Jesus is the only path to heaven.

The study found that 65 percent of millennials identify themselves as Christian, while 14 percent say they are atheist or agnostic, 14 percent list no religious preference, and 8 percent claim other religions. It also found:

I believe this survey is accurate. Not only have young adults forsaken religion, so have their parents. Why? Because their god is a combination of themselves and this world. That is who man is by nature. Self-centered. Self-seeking. Self-indulged.

To make matters worse, Christianity has become so dumbed down in our culture that it has little to offer anymore. Sin is no longer sin. Christ is no longer the only way to heaven. God is whomever you want him to be. In order to be relevant to a very fickle culture, most Christian churches have minimized (if not totally removed) the Scriptural truths of sin and grace, law and gospel, repentance and forgiveness. Why do I need a Savior when I am no longer a sinner condemned to hell? Why do I need the Triune God when I am a god unto myself? Why do I need to repent and believe in Christ when I am content relying on my own seeming goodness to get to my own conception of heaven?

Simply put, spirituality without religion (i.e. the one holy Christian and apostolic Church) is like Christianity without Christ. It is an oxymoron. Christians devote themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:38). It’s what they do because it is only in Word and Sacrament that Christ’s forgiveness, life, and salvation become our own.

Reader, you are a sinner. God says so. And sin leads to death, eternal death. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man to rescue you from sin and death. He took your sin upon Himself and paid its penalty on the cross. Then He rose again on the third day to declare you righteous. Now He brings you the benefits of His death and resurrection in His Word and Sacraments that you might live in His forgiveness. Know that I am happy to tell you more about this new life in Christ!

See LifeWay Research and USA Today for more details on the aforementioned survey.

Renewed!

You live a wearied life. You work long hours. Then you come home and have to deal with dinner and dishes, the kids’ homework and activities, mowing the lawn, a trip to the store for groceries, fixing the kitchen faucet, sorting through the mail, and paying the bills.

And if the pressures of work and home aren’t enough, you also have to deal with your sinful flesh. The unkind word you spoke. The grudge you are holding. The covetous desire for more and better and bigger things. The lust, envy, greed, and pride that are never far from your heart. As you well know, the battle wages on day in and day out. The devil does not grow weary in tempting you. The world does not grow weary in enticing you. Their troops are always fresh and their weapons always find their mark. But you, on the other hand, do grow weary. Your sinful flesh wants to waive the white flag of surrender and indulge in the temptation of the moment. But in your struggle against the Old Adam, in your weariness during the battle, do you think that God has forgotten you, that your way is hidden from Him?

Isaiah has some good news for you: “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). You’ve been renewed before! In fact, you received “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) in Holy Baptism. It should come as no surprise, then, that by returning to your baptism daily in the drowning of your Old Adam you will also find a renewal of your spirit, faith, and strength as the New Man—Christ in you—emerges.

The Hebrew word “cha-lif” (translated above as “renew”) actually means to “exchange.” Remember the wonderful exchange Christ has made with you? He has taken your filthy rags of unrighteousness and given you the white robe of His perfect righteousness. He has taken your weariness and given you His strength.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden,” says Jesus, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Christ is the answer to your weariness. Therefore, weary one, renew your strength in Christ’s words of absolution, in the proclamation of His Word, and in His body and blood. For in these and these alone will you find the rest, forgiveness, and strength your weary soul so desperately needs.

And while you are at it, reach out in love to those around you. Those weary from busy lives or full schedules. Those weary from long work days or endless searching for employment. Those weary from troubled marriages or quarreling families. Those weary from medical problems or tight finances. Reach out to them in their need. Listen to their plight. Offer a helping hand. And don’t be afraid to pray with them and for them.

And then look a little closer at those whom God places in your path, for you might just see something more. Those weary from the weight of their own sinful nature. Those weary from guilt and shame over some past sin. Those weary from trying to do the impossible by pleasing God with their own works. Reach out to them in their need as well. Listen to their plight. Remind them of the rest, forgiveness, and strength you have in Jesus Christ as a free gift by grace. And then invite them to come to church and hear God’s Word with you.

The Apostle Paul writes: “Let us not grow weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9). You need never grow weary in doing good, for Jesus Christ continues to renew you through baptism, absolution, gospel, and supper for that very purpose. Day in and day out He bears you up with wings like eagles so that you can run to your neighbor in need and not be weary, so that you can walk in the way of the Lord and not faint. In Christ, you now face work and home and even your own sinful flesh with the rest, forgiveness, and strength He so abundantly provides. All because He has renewed you!

Quasimodo: Our Story!

In Victor Hugo’s famous novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame an abandoned baby is discovered on the steps of Our Lady of Paris, the city’s grandest cathedral. This baby is so incredibly deformed, having a twisted face and a hunched back, that not even his mother loves him enough to care for him. Discovered on the cathedral steps on the Second Sunday of Easter (Quasimodo Geniti), this baby is taken in, baptized with the name of the day on which he is found, and raised within the confines of the cathedral to become its bell-ringer. It seems only within the Church can such a grotesque mockery of a person find refuge.

You and I have a lot in common with Quasimodo. Although we may not have a twisted face or a hunched back, spiritually we are no more impressive before God than Quasimodo was to those around him. Consider the words of the Psalmist: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). After the great flood, the Lord God makes it clear that “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). And the Apostle Paul is quick to remind us that we are all, by nature, “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

Thanks be to God, therefore, that His Holy Spirit has led us to the Church, where—just like Quasimodo—we find refuge in Holy Baptism. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, no longer do the twistedness and deformity of our sinful nature cause us to look so repulsive to our heavenly Father. For by going to the cross in our place, Jesus became the Quasimodo we are by nature—having “no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2)—that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21)!

Only within the Church did that grotesque mockery of the person named Quasimodo find refuge. And so it is that only within the Church do you and I—who by nature are grotesquely sinful—find refuge, forgiveness, and new life in Jesus Christ our resurrected Lord. Thanks be to God!

It's Time

The names of nominees for Synod president (and vice-presidents) who will be on the ballots for election at this summer's Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod convention were announced via LCMS News (No. 33) on 8 April 2010.

The Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, 48, executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, led the way by receiving 1,332 nominations, nearly 600 more than the current president of Synod.

Pastor Harrison has written an excellent paper on the main problem our Synod faces and some common sense solutions that are Christ-centered and Scripture-based.  You will find this paper -- It's Time: LCMS Unity and Mission (The Real Problem We Face and How to Solve It) -- in both print and audio form by clicking here.

I pray the convention delegates will elect this faithful pastor to lead our Synod and unite our practice around our doctrine and confession.

Easter Vigil: Exsultet

Rejoice now, all you heavenly choirs of angels;

rejoice now, all creation;

sound forth, trumpet of salvation,

and proclaim the triumph of our King.

Rejoice too, all the earth,

in the radiance of the light now poured upon you

and made brilliant by the brightness of the everlasting King;

know that the ancient darkness has been forever banished.

Rejoice, O Church of Christ,

clothed in the brightness of this light;

let all this house of God ring out with rejoicing,

with the praises of all God’s faithful people.

LSB Altar Book, Vigil of Easter

Holy Week: Saturday

As evening falls (the Jewish day begins at sunset), Jesus’ corpse is removed from the cross and laid in a fresh-cut tomb.

• Matthew 27:57-61
• Mark 15:42-47
• Luke 23:50-56
• John 19:38-42

A guard is set to watch over the tomb of Jesus to prevent His corpse from being stolen.

• Matthew 27:62-66

Source: Paul McCain, Cyberbrethren

Holy Week: Good Friday

Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested by the authorities (perhaps after midnight, early Friday morning).

• Matthew 26:47-56
• Mark 14:43-52
• Luke 22:47-53
• John 18:2-12

Jewish trial, phase 1: Jesus has a hearing before Annas (former high priest and Caiaphas’s father-in-law).

• John 18:13-14, 19-24

Jewish trial, phase 2: Jesus stands trial before Caiaphas and part of the Sanhedrin.

• Matthew 26:57-68
• Mark 14:53-65

Peter denies Jesus.

• Matthew 26:69-75
• Mark 14:66-72
• Luke 22:54-62
• John 18:15-18, 25-27

Jewish trial, phase 3: Jesus receives a final consultation before the full Sanhedrin and then is sent to Pontius Pilate.

• Matthew 27:1-2
• Mark 15:1
• Luke 22:63-71

Judas hangs himself.

• Matthew 27:3-10

Roman trial, phase 1: Jesus appears before Pontius Pilate and then is sent to Herod Antipas.

• Matthew 27:11-14
• Mark 15:2-5
• Luke 23:1-7

Roman trial, phase 2: Jesus appears before Herod Antipas and then is sent back to Pontius Pilate.

• Luke 23:6-12

Roman trial, phase 3: Jesus again appears before Pontius Pilate and is condemned to die.

• Matthew 27:15-26
• Mark 15:6-15
• Luke 23:13-25
• John 18:28--19:16

Jesus is crucified.

• Matthew 27:27-54
• Mark 15:16-39
• Luke 23:26-49
• John 19:16-37

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” [Luke 23:34]

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” [Luke 23:43]

“Woman, behold, your son!” “Behold, your mother!” [John 19:26-27]

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” [Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34]

“I thirst.” [John 19:28]

“It is finished.” [John 19:30]

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” Luke 23:46

Source: Paul McCain, Cyberbrethren

Holy Week: Maundy Thursday

Jesus instructs Peter and John to secure a large upper room in a house in Jerusalem and to prepare for the Passover meal.

• Matthew 26:17-19
• Mark 14:12-16
• Luke 22:7-13

In the evening Jesus eats the Passover meal with the Twelve, tells them of the coming betrayal, and institutes the Lord’s Supper.

• Matthew 26:20-29
• Mark 14:17-23
• Luke 22:14-30

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take eat, this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” [LSB Divine Service]

After supper Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, interacts with them, and delivers the “upper room discourse.”

• John 13:1—17:26

Jesus and the disciples sing a hymn together (probably from Psalms 113–118), then depart to the Mount of Olives.

• Matthew 26:30
• Mark 14:26
• Luke 22:39

Jesus foretells Peter’s denials.

• Matthew 26:31-35
• Mark 14:27-31
• Luke 22:31-34

Jesus gives His disciples practical commands about supplies and provisions.

• Luke 22:35-38

Jesus and the disciples go to Gethsemane, where He struggles in prayer and they struggle to stay awake late into the night.

• Matthew 26:36-46
• Mark 14:32-42
• Luke 22:40-46

Source: Paul McCain, Cyberbrethren