Concordia Publishing House has re-published by popular demand an out-of-print edition of the Book of Concord, Bente’s Triglotta. Get your copy here. This is a unique edition of the Book of Concord featuring the text of the Lutheran Confessions in their original German (1580) edition and Latin (1584) edition, along with an English translation, presented in three running columns with wide margins for study notes. There is no other edition like it. For further details about the Concordia Triglotta please refer to the book’s preface, reproduced below. It should be noted that this edition provides the only easily accessible texts   More…

On my way to the 2013 BJS Conference I had some time to listen to stuff on my cheap mp3 player while I sat in the airport and flew on the planes.  So since I was working on catechizing my youth on the glorious gift of baptism I was listening to the Large Catechism.  This was possible through a free download at Librivox of the Book of Concord.  I had been informed of this because the pastor who did this great work was from my own Wyoming District, Pr. Jonathan Lange.  Pr. Lange has done the Church a great service   More…

Confessional Lutheranism during the middle to late 19th century, when the “New Measures” of Charles Finney were wreaking havoc within American Lutheranism, was threatened with extinction. At that time, American Lutheranism was undergoing an identity crisis and looked to Revivalism for the change believed necessary for their survival in the golden age of American expansion. One Lutheran not interested in following the pop-church fad of the day was Charles Porterfield Krauth, author of the incredibly brilliant tome, “The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology” (CPH, 2007). The American Lutherans of Krauth’s day wanted to look and sound like American Revivalistic Evangelicals   More…

With this post we welcome Jim Pierce to the BJS stable of writers. I have known Jim for years adn have had the pleasure of worshipping with him and his pastor in Seattle while visiting my in-laws. Jim has been with BJS from its inception and is known to many as a sharp, confessional, and provacative commenter on the site. It is a good news/bad news welcome. Jim has decided to shut down his apologetics blogsite down due to an illness in his family that he must attend to. In the meantime, he will be writing for us here at   More…

A dear colleague, friend and mentor, Rev. Arthur J. Henne is a ’57 graduate of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP).  He is a retired ELCA pastor.  In the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), a predecessor denom to the ELCA, he served many years as a missionary in the Caribbean.  We have known each for about fifteen years and one of our frequent discussions is the demise of his alma mater, LTSP  and his profound sadness over its condition.  It no longer has a Lutheran only professorship.  Art gave me for my 25th anniversary of Ordination The Conservative Reformation by   More…

One feature of District and Synodical Conventions is the “mom and apple pie” resolution. These are the kinds of resolutions that no sensible person can really vote against. Cynics suspect that such resolutions are set forward in order to get the “yes” votes rolling, so that the train might continue to roll right through the more controversial topics. (Note to those in charge: This might sound good on paper, but it doesn’t always follow through in actual practice. Use with care.) Whether or not such reasoning is actually the case, I also suspect that it doesn’t look too good in   More…

 I would like to spend a little time with three words mentioned by Pastor Martin Noland in his response (comment #32) to my previous post.  Thank you (and everyone) for your comments! In the Missouri Synod’s latest Rite of Ordination (published with LSB), pastors specifically promise to practice according to the Lutheran Confessions. When you look through the Lutheran Confessions, you find various worship practices set forth.  As you consider these practices, they fit within at least one of three categories: Prescriptive – The Confessions say: “Do thus.” Proscriptive – The Confessions say: “Thus, thou shalt not do.” Descriptive –   More…

Not that this is a bit of self-promotion, but .. I couldn’t resist this post from Cyberbrethren. Note some resources not mentioned below are the Daily Readings (available by twitter or email), the bulletin inserts for 3-year and 1-year series, and a Dare to Read pamphlet to help inform your congregation the importance of reading the BoC. Another feature of the site is linking the Augsburg Confession to the Roman Confutation to The Defense of the Augsburg Confession. Look in any of these sections for something that looks like this: Another website, bocl.org (that’s capital l, not 1, as in   More…

When I became a pastor in the Lutheran Church, I said that I would perform the duties of my office in accordance with the Lutheran Confessions. I promised, with the help of God, to preach and teach and administer the Sacraments in conformity with the Holy Scriptures and these Confessions. (To the best of my knowledge, such statements are standard at the ordinations and installations of Lutheran pastors, at least in the Missouri Synod.) So, when push comes to shove and the rubber hits the road, what is the result of these statements and promises? What does it mean –   More…

I’ve been graciously asked to bring a little bit of WELS history and an occasional WELS perspective to the Steadfast readers. I’m quite sure most of my brothers in the WELS would agree that I’m not exactly your stereotypical (or even typical) WELS pastor. There. Now you know. This should be interesting. Let’s begin with the most important thing in the Holy Christian Church on earth – numbers. Here’s how the WELS looks on paper: Congregational membership: 389,545 Churches: 1279 Elementary Schools:334 Pastors: 1305 Teachers: 1846 Staff ministers: 106 The synod operates one seminary, one pastor/teacher training college and two   More…

“The Six Chief Parts of Lenten Catechesis” The Ten Commandments The Creed The Lord’s Prayer The Sacrament of Holy Baptism Confession The Sacrament of the Altar “These Words” (The Sacrament of the Altar) Tonight we conclude our series on “The Six Chief Parts of Lenten Catechesis.” So far we’ve been following the Catechism in looking at the basics of the Christian faith and life: The Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, and Confession. That brings us tonight to the Sacrament of the Altar.

(I’ve been doing this series on the Catechism, especially because we have a Book of Concord Reading Group that has just finished reading the Small and Large Catechisms. This coming Monday, March 30, we start the Augsburg Confession. Anyone in the St. Louis area who wants to join us, our class meets on Mondays, 9:30-11:00 a.m., at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Bonne Terre, Missouri.) “The Six Chief Parts of Lenten Catechesis” The Ten Commandments The Creed The Lord’s Prayer The Sacrament of Holy Baptism Confession The Sacrament of the Altar “Frequently Asked Questions about an Infrequently Used Practice” (Confession)   More…

“The Six Chief Parts of Lenten Catechesis” The Ten Commandments The Creed The Lord’s Prayer The Sacrament of Holy Baptism Confession The Sacrament of the Altar “It Works” (The Sacrament of Holy Baptism) The Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer. Tonight, in our series on the Catechism, the basics of the Christian faith, we come to the sacraments. We begin, fittingly enough, with the sacrament with which we begin the Christian life, namely, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. I think all that I want to say about Holy Baptism tonight I can include under a heading of just two   More…

“The Six Chief Parts of Lenten Catechesis” The Ten Commandments The Creed The Lord’s Prayer The Sacrament of Holy Baptism Confession The Sacrament of the Altar “A Prayer That Sums It All Up” (The Lord’s Prayer) Suppose you were commanded by God and invited by God to pray for all the needs you have and all the gifts he has to give you. Think of that! All of your needs, all of his gifts. And you have to put it all into a prayer. How long would it take you to pray for all those things? How many hours, how   More…

“The Six Chief Parts of Lenten Catechesis” The Ten Commandments The Creed The Lord’s Prayer The Sacrament of Holy Baptism Confession The Sacrament of the Altar “To Know and Believe in God” (The Creed) The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in a big national survey last year–the Pew Survey found that 92% of Americans say they “believe in God or a universal spirit.” 92%! Well, whoop-te-do. Big deal. That doesn’t really say much. Who is this God you believe in? Allah, the false god of the Muslims? Sorry, I bear witness that there is no god called Allah,   More…