Late last week the Secretary of the Synod mailed out to each congregation the official nominating ballot for the offices of President, First Vice-President, and Other Vice-Presidents. That official ballot is one of the most important pieces of mail your … Continue reading
Thanks to our readers who made generous contributions to Issues, Etc. and the Brothers of John the Steadfast. We raised a total of $3,803. Of that total $2,570 was designated for Issues, Etc. and $1,233 was designated for the Brothers … Continue reading
(Damion Giunta is an LCMS member in the suburbs northwest of Los Angeles. He is hoping to start a chapter of the Brothers of John the Steadfast in his local area. If you are reading this and are in the … Continue reading
(This is the description for the All Saints’ Day Celebration at Bethany Lutheran – Naperville, Illinois that was printed in the bulletin this morning. The dinner was great. Your editor feasted on scalloped corn and smoked ham, while others enjoyed … Continue reading
Blessed Reformation and All Saints Days to all our readers! At the parish I serve we like to have as many actual feasts on the feast days of the church year as possible. This year Pastor Stephen Schumacher, my co-worker … Continue reading
This notice appeared at the Ft. Wayne Seminary: P R E S I D E N T ‘ S O F F I C E Dear Seminary Family: This coming week, November 4-6, it will be our privilege to host … Continue reading
Review: “Reconnect with Synod’s Noble Past” Thursday, 29 October … Continue reading
Below is a comment that came in regarding the WCA article on the BJS site that we felt was worthy of posting on the homepage. The author has been verified by us and we know who it is, but obviously … Continue reading
Thanks to Rev. J Wheeler who went straight to the LCMS Treasurer Tom Kuchta, we now know how much was spent on consultants for the Blue Ribbon proposals: $409,703. Tom Kuchta also mentioned that the money came from Thrivent. This … Continue reading
We continue to bring you things that we find around the web .. here is another post that we found on Scott Diekmann’s Stand Firm blog: Feeling like your missional gas tank is on “E?” Head on over to ablazefuel.com, … Continue reading
(Editor’s Note: for an introduction to this essay and for Part I click here. For Part II click here and for Part III cilck here.) IV. Contemporary Challenges to Laymen’s Rights in the Missouri Synod – The Blue Ribbon Proposal … Continue reading
The final report of President Kieschnick’s Blue ribbon task force is on the synod’s web site and the conversation surrounding it has continued. Much ink will be invested during the next nine months discussing the relative merits of the far … Continue reading
I hope to work my way through the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Structure and Governance’s (BRTFSG) Final Report (pdf) one section at a time and provide some analysis and commentary. We begin with the introductory pages where we find … Continue reading
I found this on Scott Diekmann’s Stand Firm blog. Scott is a frequent BJS author and commentator, and is an airline pilot for Alsaka Airlines in “real life”, which is helpful to know to understand why he talks about taxiing … Continue reading
President Kieschnick’s Blue Ribbon Task Force Final Report It’s . . . Monty Python’s Flying Task Force . . . Man: I’d like to have an argument, please. Receptionist: Certainly, sir. Do you want to have a thorough, well-reasoned argument … Continue reading
The final report of the BRTFSG is out. (PDF) I will need some more time to thoroughly understand it but I thought I would open the discussion with a curious sample. I am sure that the Task Force has … Continue reading
(Editor’s Note: for an introduction to this essay and for Part I click here. For Part II click here.) I am surprised that so few church historians have commented on the role of laymen in the reform and later establishment … Continue reading
Yesterday a comment was posted here that sends chills up your spine making us realize how TCN is preying upon naive parishes. The chill was taken off however by a great response from another of our regular readers, Dan from … Continue reading
“Following in the Train of the Confessors”(Psalm 119:46) Confessors, princes, duty bound, To Augsburg bold they came. Before the king they stood their ground And were not put to shame. Their good confession made that day Proved not to be … Continue reading
Is Matt Harrison Ablaze? I do not know. Based on the following personal testimony from a reader who attended his presentation in western Missouri yesterday, it is clear that he is in favor of spreading the Gospel. (This comment is … Continue reading
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Rev. Matthew Harrison, Executive Director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, was the main speaker for the West Missouri Pastors’ Conference. Although not serving in that half of the district, several of … Continue reading
(Editor’s Note: for an introduction to this essay and for Part I click here.) Before we look at contemporary challenges to laymen’s rights in Lutheran congregations, I would like to take you on a historical tour of the idea. … Continue reading
Recent decisions by various church bodies to allow homosexual clergy are threatening the arrangement of denominational lines of demarcation in the Christian church. It is our hope here at the Brothers of John the Steadfast that fresh blood in the … Continue reading
(This is the next post in our regular column “Spiritual Headship in the Church and Home” Pastor Hein’s articles on BJS can be found here.) This article on spiritual headship is geared to all of our dear sisters in Christ. … Continue reading
I believe that the Theses on Worship (PDF), produced by the council of presidents, while a very helpful contribution to our ongoing discussion about worship, needs some work. Thesis IV is not quite adequate in its discussion of the imposition … Continue reading