A while back I was contacted by a man who was curious about the difference between the Roman Church and the Lutheran Church. Initially I sent him a copy of my brother Rolf’s short essay on justification but the man wanted something more specific. Believing that it is always a good thing to review what we believe especially in contrast to others I have decided to share part of that exchange with you.  Dear Pastor Preus,   Hello, I contacted you a while back asking about justification. You had sent me an essay and I thank you for that. I   More…

Rev. Dr. Matt Rueger of the Iowa East district has written the following: I think it is well considered, well expressed and certainly very timely. Klemet Preus   Equity or Christological Equality? By Rev. Matthew Rueger, Ph.D. July 1, 2010 A new word is being used in the report of the Blue Ribbon Task Force that is going virtually unnoticed. It is a word that seems harmless and perhaps even “fair” but which introduces a concept that takes our Lutheran understanding of church and ministry in a whole new (and I would argue un-lutheran) direction. The word is “equity.” The   More…

10. “Pastor, after the breakout today I have decided I want a Christ centered wedding and not a bride centered wedding.”  Where do kids get these thoughts? HT. 9. Fabulous preaching. Top honor goes to Rev. Mark Buetow who preached what is arguably the best crafted sermon I have ever heard. It was on “feet” in the bible. The gracious feet of Christ, my feet so quick to offend, the feet of those who proclaim the good news. Really great. Marcus Zill gets honorable mention for the longest portion of sustained unconditional gospel of the conference. “He gives you forgiveness   More…

  I spent two days last week in dismal humidity teaching about the Augsburg Confession to a small but enthusiastic group of Lutherans from Marion Ohio. Currently I am drinking coffee and looking out at the mountains of Utah where I am resting in anticipation of the Higher Things conference held in Logan, beginning this afternoon. There I will speak to – I would guess – 40 or so high school kids on the topic of “God, Marriage and Sex: in that order.” Following that, I rush home and have a baptism Sunday while also preaching and giving the Holy   More…

Ever since Rev. Matt Harrison got 600 more nominations for president that his closest rival I have heard, through the grape vine, some “reasons” why people might want to be careful about electing Matt for president. The first reason is this:   1. Look at who his friends are. They are all a bunch of strident right wing conservatives. OK. I am a partisan and I count myself among Matt’s friends. I suppose that judging by me you shouldn’t vote for Matt Harrison. I’m pretty conservative. I hope I’m not strident or unsavory. But I’m not on the ballot for   More…

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with a young woman who wondered whether it was proper or godly for a Christian to receive communion from the hands of a woman. She wondered whether there are any specific passages in the Bible which say that women may not distribute the sacrament. She did not want to participate in the sins of another. It occurred to me that this young woman is probably not the only one to have asked such questions or to be confronted with a circumstance in which a choice was necessary regarding whether or not   More…

This is the fourth and final post analyzing why President Kieschnick showed so poorly in nominations. Perhaps his greatest weakness is that President Kieschnick has a very difficult time working with people who do not agree with him. Before I continue please answer the following question. What do Wallace Schulz, Daniel Preus and Todd Wilken have in common? You might have answered: All three used to be employed by the Synod and were busy promoting the gospel of Christ in ways which reflected the rich mission diversity of our church. Wallace Schulz was the assistant Lutheran Hour Speaker. Daniel Preus   More…

I am analyzing the factors which lead to President Kieschnick’s poor showing on synodical nominations. Last time we looked at President Kieschnick’s strong tendency to get bogged down on the administrative aspects of his job and ignore the theological. Today we look at his third mistake; an appearance of accumulating power to his office. We will analyze certain aspects of the Blue Ribbon Task Force. And these will show a troubling appearance of the accumulation of power on the part of the president of the synod.   President Kieschnick appointed the task force in June of 2005. His immediate stated   More…

I am analyzing the mistakes which President Kieschnick has made in the last nine years which lead to his poor showing on synodical nominations. Last time we looked at his apparent inability to recognize and address our theological divisions. The second mistake President Kieschnick has made is to have theology take a back seat to administrative goals.   Every leader wants to build on his strengths. I do. So I really can’t fault President Kieschnick for wanting to focus the attention of the synod on administrative details. This is where his strengths lie. He is a detail guy when it   More…

The nominations have been calculated and Rev. Matt Harrison has received 75% more nominations than his closest rival. Never, in synodical history has an incumbent president received so many fewer nominations than other nominees. What do these numbers indicate? First of all these numbers indicate a widespread frustration with the current administration. Second they indicate an optimistic groundswell of support for Pastor Harrison. Let’s look first at the dissatisfaction with President Kieschnick. In my opinion President Kieschnick made four crucial mistakes in his presidency which have left the synod poorer for his leadership. First, he downplayed our theological differences. President   More…

When I was a young mission pastor I helped start a church which organized on Good Shepherd Sunday (this year April 18 or April 25 depending on which series you follow). We called the congregation “Good Shepherd Lutheran Church” and ever since then I have been a bit partial to both that name and to that Sunday. When we call the Lord Jesus our Good Shepherd we conjure up images of a shepherd both leading the sheep with his voice and carrying the sheep in his arms. Most importantly we are saying that he “laid down his life for the   More…

I hadn’t seen Matt Harrison’s picture lately in either the Witness or the Reporter. I figured that he was too busy traveling to Haiti and had not gotten the Haiti/photo-op memo. So I was pleased to see him on page two of the Ministerial Growth and Support insert to the April Reporter. Check it out. There he is running along with other Lutherans to promote the “Kick it up Challenge.” He’s the guy running fourth. Man, where does he get the time and energy to write, visit Haiti, keep his Board in the black and still work out the way   More…

Analysis of the 1977 convention elections And a correction Far be it from me correct my colleague Mollie Zeigler Hemmingway, but… she has repeated an inaccuracy which has been floating around since the announcement of the nominations was made last Wednesday. Everyone seems to accept uncritically that in 1977 J A O Preus “won handily on the first ballot.” That is not true. Actually, according to the minutes of the 1977 convention Preus did not win until the second ballot and then it was not that handy. The minutes of that convention read as follows: Chairman Zeigler (no relation to   More…

Yesterday I offered my own words upon which the reader might meditate in anticipation of the observance of the death of our Lord. Today I offer to you the words of Luther. All citations are from Martin Luther’s Easter Book (Augsburg 1962) except the seventh word which is from a 1519 Good Friday Sermon.     THE FIRST WORD “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they do.”   Who can express such love?  His heart was so full of the fire of love that no one can comprehend.  In pain and shame he acted as though he felt   More…

Here are my thoughts regarding the seven words of Christ from the cross. Tomorrow I will share thoughts of Luther and the next day thoughts of Johann Gerhard. I trust that these brief meditations will aid the reader in preparing his heart for the the observance of the death of our Lord.      THE FIRST WORD “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they do.”   Here we see the purpose and effect of the entire work of Christ and of all God’s gracious plan in him – Father forgive them. He speaks as a son who wishes   More…