As promised, here is some information about another one of President-elect Harrison’s appointment. He has returned to the well of Lutheran World Relief to tap the Reverend Doctor Albert Collver as one of his three executive assistants. To be fair to both the appointer and the appointee you really should read the latter’s Logia article referenced below for yourself. I believe I give an accurate description of what I read, but I was in the throes of making a statement of confession, so I would be biased. Please remember three things. My church and I entered into a state of confession on June 20, 2005. There are only a handful of others who have done so (no more than .5% of LCMS congregations). And finally, in keeping with the melancholy if not melodramatic ending to my 2005 letter, the appointment of the good reverend and doctor doesn’t bode well for this handful. Good thing we are in not in the hands of men. Continue reading →
A brother directed me to this endorsement of Rev. Matt Harrison after I had noted that one of Rev. Harrison’s first acts was to appoint a woman as one of his assistants.That woman was Barbara Below. Here is her endorsement of her then and now again boss. From my view from the outside it speaks volumes. Continue reading →
No math wizard I. No math would be more accurate, but riddle me this. When is 1% a 100%? When it matters the most.
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Though I’ve always been suspicious of this analogy, I’ve used it. Bank tellers aren’t taught to recognize counterfeit money by handling hundreds of examples of funny money but by handling true money. Therefore, we shouldn’t spend a lot of time going over the errors of other Christians. We should focus on the truth. Continue reading →
I finally put my finger on what bothers me about Intelligent Design: the argument that the design of creation points to or even proves the existence of a creator. What bothers me is it’s not that intelligent. Continue reading →
“The #1 reason students give for rejecting the gospel is evolution.” So says the flyer from the Alpha Omega Institute, and so said the Rev. Christian Tiews in a presentation at the Higher Things conference in Nashville. Continue reading →
“Conventional wisdom,” the actual publica doctrina of the public is that a positive attitude toward illness helps in terms of survival and reoccurrence. “Just believing” helps. It is my contention not only that it doesn’t help physically but it hurts spiritually. Continue reading →
Don’t hold me to it; more aptly don’t hold him to it, but I think this is a one sentence summary of the Rev. James Alan Waddell’s 2005 magnum opus The Struggle to Reclaim the Liturgy in the Lutheran Church. This work is well-worth ready even though he shoots down many of my favorite arguments for the historic liturgy. Continue reading →
You just thought you knew what it meant to be Ablaze! or as the Pentecostals have always said “on fire for the Lord.” Continue reading →
Every Lutheran pastor has been asked to make an exception and baptize someone by immersion. LCMS Chaplain Oliver Washington, Jr. is pictured in the May 2010 Lutheran Witness as doing that on page 18. And what’s the big deal about that? More than a soldier is being immersed; our theology is. Continue reading →
