Unintended Consequences
Will Underwood, an occasional BJS reader and member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, emailed me, offering some insightful comments regarding the recent…
Category: Uncategorized
Lenten Bible Studies in the Penitential Psalms, from Around the Word
Beautiful for the Lenten season, Around the Word Bible Studies offers a series of excellent studies on The Seven Penitential Psalms. These Psalms…
Lutherans and Zombies – More Stuff to Annoy the Pietists
There at the dinner table her song began as expected, being carried along by a mesmerizing joy afforded only to three-year-olds. But no…
Free Lenten Devotionals for personal and congregational use: Around the Word
There is a great Lutheran option for Lenten Devotions this year. Around the Word, the theological journal written for laity is offering a…
Anonymous Complaints and their fruit…
Complaints are a part of life in a fallen world. Add to that a culture of personal opinions and tastes, and complaint can…
Daystar — An Open Letter to District President Linnemann
Found over on theDayStarJournal this morning: We wish to commend you for following the Synod’s Constitution, Bylaws, and standard operating procedures in…
How do You Top Wolfmueller’s Stand-Up and Sophie’s Choice for BJS Banquet Entertainment? A Dramatic Reading of a Hans Fiene Play, by Pr. Rossow
We have had some incredible banquet speeches at the BJS Annual Conference but this year may take the cake, that is if you…
Ten Earnest Pleas for LCMS congregations that use “Praise Bands,” part two
Continuing from Part 1 of Ten Earnest Pleas … Consider carefully your liturgical model. Consider the sequential form of your gatherings. What…
Spiritual Daycare: Why Youth Pastors Shouldn’t Exist
Let’s get right to it… Do we really need youth pastors? Are they necessary? Are they truly helpful? These are rather taboo questions in…
Great Stuff — The Motives and Qualifications of a Genuine Church Member
Found over on ConfessionalLutherans.org: Walther’s Words of Welcome to New Members by C.F.W. Walther By signing the constitution of our congregation, you…
The Justifier and the Justified
Lutherans get all worked up when you mention the “chief article”. It had better be justification or else you’re in danger of hell-fire….
Ten Earnest Pleas for LCMS Congregations that use “Praise Bands,” part one
In the constant conflicts over worship in our synod, it seems that too often the level of discourse quickly devolves to snide caricatures…
Some Thoughts…Harrison, District Presidents, Special Conventions
We have already spoken about words and deeds, so here is a post about thoughts, my thoughts… President Harrison has done a good…
The Tsunami Is About to Break
In 2008, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod canceled Issues, Etc. That single event galvanized an entire generation of do-nothings like me to sit up…
Distinguishing Between Doctrine and Life
This is a re-post from October 2014 that reflects Luther’s teaching on how to deal with false doctrine and its teachers. “Doctrine…
Thank you President Harrison.
“When a public teacher on the roster of Synod can without consequence publicly advocate the ordination of women (even participate vested in the…
Matthew Becker is Progressive; 5/2 is Progressive; Confessional Lutherans are also Progressive, by Pr. Rossow
Progress is not the sole property of free-thinkers unteathered to Scripture like Matthew Becker or out of the traitional/liturgical box church planners like…
Rev. Dr. Matthew Becker, LCMS Clergyman. Exonerated.
It came out during the North Dakota District Convention that the case against Rev. Dr. Matthew Becker, an LCMS clergyman who teaches at…
Conference News – New “Becker Rate” for conference. Save $10.
With the news that the LCMS has been unable to deal with dissenters to our stance on women’s ordination and the evolution, it…
A Hymn on the Transfiguration of our Lord
This hymn is dedicated to the saints of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Laramie, WY Recommended tune: Jesu, Meines Lebens Lebens. Christ the…
A Communion Hymn
Before Your altar, Lord, I bow To taste Your pledge of grace; As angels join my worship now, I see by faith Your…
I Wonder if the Time Has Come
It’s been since October that I’ve had the chance to offer anything here at Steadfast Lutherans. With that, here’s what I’ve been pondering…
Should Lutheran Pastors Chant the Words of Institution?
The English verb, ‘to chant’ derives from the Latin word, ‘cantare,’ which simply means to sing. Some form of singing or chanting existed…
I like my pastor.
While helping decorate church for the Christmas season our four year old son told our pastor, “I don’t like church… but I like…
Conference Update — now with prizes and new t-shirts…
For those of you who haven’t registered yet (this year has been our best early registration year yet) there is still time to…