Author Archives: Paul Harris

About Paul Harris

Pastor Harris retired from congregational ministry after 40 years in office on 31 December 2023. He is now devoting himself to being a husband, father, and grandfather. He still thinks cenobitic monasticism is overrated and cave dwelling under.

Yes, There is a Difference

Lutherans aren’t the only ones who distinguish between themselves with letter acronyms. The Reformed do too, particularly the Presbyterians. They have PCUSA, PCA, and OPC. This corresponds to Lutherans ELCA, LCMS, and ELS. I’d never been to an OPC that’s … Continue reading

Posted in Families, For Pastors Only | Leave a comment

Dataism, Reductionism, and Edellism

The first two are real. The third is a term coined by me, but it means the same as the first two. My research assistant, Dr. Richard Strickert, Ph.D., showed me this. I brought up Dataism in Bible Class; he … Continue reading

Posted in For Anyone who dares | Leave a comment

Halfway to Concord

Concord is a Lutheran word. We have the Book of Concord of 1580 and the Formula of Concord of 1577, and yet we never seem more than halfway there. Despite having a formula  for it and book of it. Something … Continue reading

Posted in For Pastors Only, Missouri Megatrends | Leave a comment

The Re-Forming of Lutheranism

               Every time I think I’m taking a swipe at Reformed theology, I find I’m hitting the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Since I come from the land of LCMS-dom, I may be hitting other conservative synods and not knowing it. … Continue reading

Posted in Contemporary Worship, Missouri Megatrends | Leave a comment

Okay Boomer

I always wanted to write something like “The Sunscreen Song” (1999) or better still Gordon Sinclair’s 1973 “The Americans.” However, I would be greeted with the platitudinous insult, “Okay Boomer.” Okay, then, I’ll let someone else do it.

Posted in For Anyone who dares | Leave a comment

Boomers vs. Digital Natives

               You know the brackets for the various named generations fluctuate depending on who’s doing the categorizing. I think we can go with the Bellamy Brother’s definition of “Kids of the Baby Boom.” If you didn’t watch John Kennedy die … Continue reading

Posted in Families | Leave a comment

Antioch Community Church, the Parable of the Sower, and Pentecostalism

               I now know who is forking over 70 bucks to buy a shirt that looks good untucked. It’s the pastors of Antioch Community Churches. I virtually attended Antioch, Waco on 10-11-20 and Antioch, Bryan in person on 10-18-20. And … Continue reading

Posted in Contemporary Worship, Missouri Megatrends | Leave a comment

Oz, not the Doctor, and Bacon, not the Food

When teaching on the three ways Man tries to know the True God and fails, philosophy, mysticism, and moralism, I appeal to Oz and Zhivago. Perhaps I should substitute or at least add bacon to the latter.

Posted in Contemporary Worship, Families | Leave a comment

Why Missouri Will Never Move From the Fence

I don’t know the pastor who said this about me, but you do. He is all over the LCMS. He is a fence-sitter posing as pastoral, compassionate, Gospel-oriented to cover his ambiguous confession. I really don’t know the man, so … Continue reading

Posted in Missouri Megatrends | Leave a comment

Of Killing Snakes and not Kids

               The story begins either with an outdoor writer, a district president, or a secretary but culminates with a journalist and an organist.

Posted in For Pastors Only | Leave a comment