[poll id=”5″] I heard on my local talk radio tonight that Michelle Bachmann will be running for President this time around. Sarah Palin will also probably throw her head-covering in the ring as well. Bachmann was at one point an … Continue reading
In my recent post about Rev. Curtis’ papers bringing election into the evangelism discussion there were many lively comments. I also noticed in Rev. Rossow’s recent post that some accusations were being thrown around that his congregation wasn’t doing enough … Continue reading
I just finished re-reading one of my favorite papers on liturgy and indifferent matters written by our now Synod President. It can be found here: https://steadfastlutherans.org/?p=6532 What is striking about this paper is that it points out how we have … Continue reading
Many times at conferences and conventions certain congregations and pastors are paraded forward as fine examples for the rest of us to emulate. I remember such a presentation at the 2010 Synod Convention. I have heard other pastors remark about … Continue reading
Rev. Heath Curtis has rendered a great service to the Church. He has published his papers and audio recordings from his presentation to a pastor’s conference in Indiana. Here is the link to his Gottesdienst Online post: http://gottesdienstonline.blogspot.com/2011/05/freed-from-shopkeepers-prison-in.html I … Continue reading
I stumbled across this story on the ELCA and how the great turbulence after the 2009 Assembly has largely disappeared. Here is the link to the article in the Great Falls, MT newspaper: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011105080301 What saddened me most is a … Continue reading
Update: A fellow pastor helped raise attention to the original article on some points that I needed to make more clear – thanks to that brother. We Lutherans are really good at understanding Jesus’ clear words concerning His body and … Continue reading
Recently, there has been a lot of posts about the campus ministry situation in Minneapolis. If you look at all of the various posts here on BJS you will find a number of “testimonials” of former members of ULC and … Continue reading
Over the past years of my personal study of the Lutheran Confessions, I have noticed something that I think I have often experienced pastors overlooking and also myself overlooked as a pastor, more specifically as a preacher. It is overwhelming … Continue reading
One of the first postings I wrote on BJS had to do with the ongoing pulpit shortage in the LCMS (other Lutherans are suffering from it as well). It seems like this year’s seminary placement will reflect the same problem … Continue reading
Many erring church bodies accept the idea of believer’s baptism on the premise that there is a certain amount of innocence in children until they reach a certain age (usually around 8). In the Scriptures, you can find no such … Continue reading
Whenever a new pastor arrives at a parish, there is built-in change that just comes with the change in man. Then there are the changes that happen because the man doesn’t know all of the traditions of the congregation that … Continue reading
A friend of mine in the ELS let me know a few weeks ago about a conference which deserves attention. It is called the Emmaus Conference. On May 5-6th this year in Tacoma, Washington the Presidents of the three … Continue reading
I am not witty enough to write in his style (but it shouldn’t stop anyone from trying in the comments), but today (Mar 2) is his 107th birthday. In researching the man who wrote many of my kids favorite books, … Continue reading
This came to me from a dear friend who faithfully serves without a helper (yet) suitable for him. I post it here to help those who are single and those whom they serve. – Pastor Scheer The first preacher, the … Continue reading
This article is about an often neglected part of a congregation, the pastor’s wife. A man who is called to be a pastor has the first vocation of being a husband and then also a father (if God has blessed … Continue reading
Since BJS is dedicated to helping restore fatherhood, I thought I would share a moment from the BJS Conference this past weekend. While attending the first lecture on Witness, my wife and children accompanied me into the sanctuary of Bethany … Continue reading
Doing my future preparations the other day, I encountered something interesting with the Pre-Lent (Gesimas) Gospel lessons. For those of you wondering about Pre-Lent, it’s a part of the Historic One-Year Lectionary. [ Go here for a brief description. For … Continue reading
I recently got back from the 2011 Symposia at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. I was only able to attend the second half of the week, so I will not be able to give comment on the Exegetical lectures. The … Continue reading
Lutheran Hour Ministries has chosen Rev. Gregory Seltz to be their new Speaker. For their press release: http://www.lhm.org/newsroom/enewsstory.asp?ArticleID=16561 The Lutheran Hour link has some biographical information for Rev. Seltz. From that I have compiled some resources to help us get … Continue reading
I was heading back from Symposia in Fort Wayne (another post on that to come soon) and tuning through the radio (AM) when I came across an interview with a Roman Catholic Priest concerning marriage. He went through many “proofs” … Continue reading
I just returned from Fargo, ND attending the Joint North Theological Conference (Minnesota North and North Dakota Districts). While the weather barely cooperated (snow and ice), the conference was outstanding. The teacher for the conference was President Harrison, who taught … Continue reading
98 years ago on January 9th, one of our great fathers in the faith passed into the Church Triumphant: Karl George Stoeckhardt does not receive a lot of mention in LCMS circles nowadays (Sadly he is not one of the … Continue reading
Recently I read an article at the Reporter Online about the continued discussions between the ELCA and LCMS regarding their “Cooperation in Externals”. This concept largely has to do with disaster relief, taking care of refugees and immigrants, and so … Continue reading
One of the big problems being tolerated in our Synod is a wide variety of practices in communion fellowship. Some examples are blatant “open” communion, “real presence believer” communion, “agree to these five points” communion, and “I know I am … Continue reading