Mea Culpa

Dear friends, Fr. Hollywood here.

I posted a couple sermons here by mistake - thinking I was posting them to my own blog. Sorry about that! I deleted them from Four and Twenty, but Google Reader thinks they are still there. I'm sorry for any confusion, and please excuse the interruption.

And now, we return to our regularly scheduled programming...

Attendance Observation

I've served in two different locales - one in the Chicago suburbs and one in rural southern Illinois. I don't know if it holds across the country, but it is invariably true that attendance is highest on the first Sunday of a month.

The most reliable indicator of a low-attendance Sunday? Any time I think I've written a really good sermon. Never fails.

+HRC

Proposed Pastoral Practice regarding Confirmation and First Communion

[The following is a proposal that I have been making to our board of elders regarding the practice of confirmation and first communion here at Messiah. I would welcome your comments and suggestions. -Peperkorn]

A Proposed Practice Regarding First Communion and Confirmation of children at Messiah Lutheran Church

By Pastor Todd A. Peperkorn

December 18, 2008

Proposed pastoral practice regarding First Communion:

That Messiah Lutheran Church admit children to Holy Communion when the pastor, the child, the parents and at least one elder all concur that the child is prepared to receive Christ’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion. “Preparation” shall include but not be limited to a clear confession of faith in the Gospel by means of reciting by heart the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, by being examined and absolved by the pastor (Individual Confession and Absolution), and by verbally expressing their desire to receive Christ’s Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Proposed pastoral practice regarding Confirmation:

That Messiah Lutheran Church confirm those children in the Christian Faith who can recite by heart the Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther with Explanation, who have been examined and absolved, and who are able to confess the faith and answer the questions placed upon confirmands in the Rite of Confirmation found in the Lutheran Service Book.

Rationale

The reason for this proposed practice is simple: It is of great benefit for all Christians to receive Christ’s Body and Blood, and that we should be about giving our children Jesus as much as possible, and as soon as possible.


The challenges for this proposed policy are several:

1) By separating confirmation and first communion, we run the risk of denigrating the importance of the rite of confirmation.

2) This practice, while gaining acceptance in the LCMS as a whole, is not universally accepted, and does require explanation.

3) Because this is based on the confession of faith of the individual and not an arbitrary age, it makes the practice appear random, when in fact this is more consistent with our understanding of worthiness of receiving the Sacrament.

Quotations From the Book of Concord

6 Confirmation and extreme unction are rites received from the Fathers that not even the Church requires as necessary to salvation, because they do not have God’s command. Therefore, it is useful to distinguish these rites from the former, which have God’s direct command and a clear promise of grace.

Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions, Edited by Paul Timothy McCain (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005), 185.

38 We cheerfully maintain the old traditions made in the Church for the sake of usefulness and peace. We interpret them in a more moderate way and reject the opinion that holds they justify. 39 Our enemies falsely accuse us of setting aside good ordinances and Church discipline. We can truly declare that the public form of the churches is more fitting with us than with the adversaries. 40 If anyone will consider it in the right way, we conform to the canons more closely than the adversaries. Among the adversaries, unwilling celebrants, and those hired for pay, and very frequently only for pay, celebrate the Masses. They sing psalms, not that they may learn or pray, but for the sake of the service (as though this work were a service) or, at least, for the sake of reward. Among us many use the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day. They do so after they have been first instructed, examined, and absolved. The children sing psalms in order that they may learn. The people also sing so that they may either learn or pray. 41 Among the adversaries there is no catechizing of the children whatever, about which even the canons give commands. Among us the pastors and ministers of the churches are encouraged publicly to instruct and hear the youth. This ceremony produces the best fruit. 42 Among the adversaries, in many regions, no sermons are delivered during the entire year, except during Lent. Yet the chief service of God is to preach the Gospel. When the adversaries do preach, they speak of human traditions, of the worship of saints and similar trifles, which the people justly hate. Therefore, they are immediately deserted in the beginning, after the reading of the Gospel text. A few better ones begin now to speak of good works; but about the righteousness of faith, faith in Christ, and the comfort of consciences, they say nothing. Indeed, this most wholesome part of the Gospel they rail at with their reproaches. 43 On the contrary, in our churches all the sermons are filled with such topics as these: repentance; the fear of God; faith in Christ, the righteousness of faith, the comfort of consciences by faith; the exercises of faith; prayer, what its nature should be, and that we should be fully confident that it is powerful, that it is heard; the cross; the authority of officials and all civil ordinances; the distinction between the kingdom of Christ, or the spiritual kingdom, and political affairs; marriage; the education and instruction of children; chastity; all the offices of love. 44 From this condition of the churches it may be determined that we earnestly keep Church discipline, godly ceremonies, and good Church customs.

Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions, Edited by Paul Timothy McCain (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005), 193.

SID Goes on Record against Synod and for AC XIV

Today the Southern Illinois District in convention approved the following resolution by a vote of 118-19. I want to publicly thank Pres. Herbert Mueller for his support in this effort. Also worthy of mention and thanks are my circuit brethren, especially Pr. William Weedon, as well as the circuit counselors of the SID and the SID general pastors' conference all of whom contributed to producing this resolution. And it would be remiss not to mention with thanksgiving the work of Prof. Joel Okamoto of CSL who wrote the article rejecting "lay ministry" which was subsequently published as the joint decision of both systematics faculties.

It's certainly not a perfect resolution - for example, the language could certainly be stronger: "the SID expresses its regret" about the breaking of the AC's 14th article in the Synod at large rather than "calling the Synod to repentance" or something like that. In addition, the "plan" that is recommended here is slow going and open to much finagling.

But those shortcomings aside, I'm very glad that a whole district, by a wide margin, is on record against "lay ministry" and taking a stand with the systematics faculties in supporting our historic confession in contradiction to the Synod's current practice.

I would encourage pastors in other districts to use the SID's example to your benefit and bring similar resolutions to your district conventions. For most, the time for handing in resolutions to committees is past. But maybe, depending on the district, this could come from the floor.

At any rate. . . here's the resolution as adopted:

SID 2009 Convention

Resolution: 2-02

Subject: Specific Ministry Pastors

Action: Adopted, 20 February 2009, 118-19

Whereas, in certain situations today, the Synod approves of preaching and administration of the sacraments by men who have not been publicly called to and placed in the office of the ministry (this position is expressed, e.g., in 1989 Resolution 3-05B, “. . . when no pastor is available, and in the absence of any specific Scriptural directives to the contrary, congregations may arrange for the performance of these distinctive functions [preaching and administering the sacraments] by qualified individuals”); and

Whereas, the Augsburg Confession's fourteenth article reads, “Concerning church government it is taught that no one should publicly teach, preach, or administer the sacraments without a proper [public] call” (KW p. 46); and

Whereas, the systematic theology faculties of both seminaries, acting jointly, have published a detailed statement on “The Office of the Holy Ministry” (Concordia Journal 33.3[July 2007]: 242-255) which states in part,

“The Confessions never use the truth that the whole church possesses the power of the keys to make the office of the holy ministry unnecessary or merely useful. On the contrary, this truth serves as the basis for the church's right to call, choose, and ordain ministers. . . . [T]he Treatise [on the Power and Primacy of the Pope] does not imagine churches without ordained ministers of some kind, even in emergency situations or when no one else will call and ordain men for the office. As confessors of the same doctrine, neither should we. . .

“'[C]all and ordination' are essential for conduct of the ministry. . . .What is the sign of authority for ministers today? It is their call and ordination, which assure that they act by divine right and on the authority of Christ. This truth makes such ideas as “lay ministers” invitations for difficulties and troubles to ministers whose authority is doubtful and to laypersons whose assurance of God's grace may be questioned.” (pp. 253-254, 255);

and,

Whereas, the Board for Pastoral Education and the two seminaries are now implementing the Specific Ministry Pastor Program mandated by the 2007 Synodical Convention; and

Whereas, the Board for Pastoral Education and the Council of Presidents are due to report to the 2010 Synodical Convention concerning “situations currently served by licensed lay deacons” (2007 Res. 5-02); THEREFORE BE IT

Resolved, that the Southern Illinois District in convention express its regret at the current situation in the Synod at large concerning men who are conducting Word and Sacrament ministry without being publicly called to and placed in the office of the ministry; and be it finally

Resolved, that the Southern Illinois District in convention memorialize the Synod in convention to direct the Board for Pastoral Education and the Council of Presidents to develop a plan and lay out procedures:

A) So that all men who are currently engaged in Word and Sacrament ministry without being publicly called to and placed in the office of the ministry may either be enrolled in the SMP program or cease from all forms of Word and Sacrament ministry by the end of 2016, and
B) So that all current Synod and District tracks, programs, licensing procedures etc. which train men for Word and Sacrament ministry without benefit of being publicly called to and placed in the office of the ministry can be phased out in favor of SMP by the end of 2016; and

C) So that the Board for Pastoral Education report on this plan to the 2013 Synod in Convention for approval, emendation, and adoption.

The Prayer of the Church

For some time I've often used an adaptation of the Roman Canon for the Prayer of the Church. I've always thought it makes a worthy intercession; just a terrible Eucharistia! LSB permits the pastor to frame the Prayer of the Church, and having just reworked this adaptation, I offer this redaction for those who might care to use it. Two points at which it would likely make our laity uncomfortable are the intercessions for the departed and the reference to the saints in heaven praying for us.  Yet both of these are actually in accord with the Lutheran lex credendi, our Book of Concord. The form of intercession for the departed is adapted from Starck's Prayer Book.

+ THE PRAYER OF THE CHURCH +

We come to You, Holy Father, with praise and thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ, Your Son. Through Him we ask You to accept and bless the prayers and gifts we offer - for we bring You in thanksgiving only what You have first given to us in love. Lord, in Your mercy, R.

Remember, Lord, Your holy church. Watch over her and guide her. Grant her peace and unity throughout the world. Lord, in Your mercy, R.

Remember, Lord, Gerald, our Synodical President, Herbert, our District President, and all pastors and servants of the Church. Grant them to hold and teach the faith that comes to us from the apostles. Lord, in Your mercy, R.

Remember, Lord, our President, our public servants, and all in our armed forces. Guide, bless, protect and uphold them in honor. Bring all nations into the ways of peace and justice. In Your kindness and love, grant us seasonable weather and an abundance of the fruits of the earth. Lord, in your mercy, R.

Remember, Lord, all who suffer for Your name, all who are in prison, the hungry and ill-clad, the poor and the lonely, those who travel, and all who cry out to You in their time of need (especially…). Take them under Your tender care and grant them a happy issue out of their afflictions. Lord, in your mercy, R.

Remember, Lord, all who are gathered here before You, our living and true God. We pray for our well-being and redemption. Order our days in Your peace, deliver us from the danger of eternal death, and number us among Your chosen flock. Though we are sinners, we trust in Your mercy and love. Do not consider what we truly deserve, but grant us Your forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, R.

Remember, Lord, (N. and N. and) all our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in Christ our Savior. Refresh their souls with heavenly consolation and joy and fulfill for them all the gracious promises which in Your Word You have given to those who believe in You. Lord, in Your mercy, R.

Holy Father, in communion with the whole Church we honor Your saints, in whom You have given us a mirror of Your mercy and grace. We praise You especially for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph her husband, St. John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, and all Your martyrs. Give us grace to walk before you with faith like theirs and, in accordance with their prayers, grant us a share in their heavenly fellowship. Lord, in Your mercy, R.

Lord God, as we prepare to receive the holy Sacrament, we pray You, bless and sanctify, with the power of Your Holy Spirit, this bread and wine, which You have given us, that through our Lord’s Words they may be unto us His body and blood, the food and drink of eternal life.

Grant that we may receive worthily this sacramental mystery, the New Testament of our Divine Redeemer, for He is the Lamb of God, who gave Himself once and for all, as a holy, immaculate and perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sin and for the life and salvation of the whole world.

Through Him, we beseech You, Father,  to look with favor upon us and receive our thanksgiving for so great a Gift, as You once accepted the offerings of Your servants Abel and Noah, the sacrifice of Abraham, and the bread and wine offered by Your priest Melchizedek. In union with them, we pray that Your holy angel would carry our prayer to Your altar in heaven and unite us in the unending liturgy of Your servants of every time and place; through Christ, our Lord, from whom all good things come.

Through Him, with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever.

Contemplating a Change...

For last year and this, come Sunday afternoons from September until Judica, I have offered the Service of Prayer and Preaching on Sundays at 5 p.m., and used it as my primary vehicle for Catechism instruction for both the children in the public school and any adults who are inquiring into the Lutheran confession of the Christian faith. But next year I am contemplating a change from Prayer and Preaching to Vespers.

Vespers is obviously the more historic service and was used for Catechism instruction also in Lutheran lands on Sunday afternoons or evenings. Prayer and Preaching is somewhat modeled on the old Catechism Service of Missouri, but it has additions too - additions that in the long run I am not certain are worth the effort. I speak especially of the Canticles. All the effort we have put into learning them! And still we are rather weak at singing them. How much better to have learned the Magnificat! I am a firm believer that anyone who learns Vespers will simply fall in love with that liturgy; I must confess that I've not fallen in love with Service of Prayer and Preaching - not after all these times using it.

I know I will never go back to putting catechetical instruction in a classroom again - the church IS the natural and right place for it. But I think a change to Vespers would be in every way "meet, right, and salutary." I wonder if the brothers and sisters have any further thoughts?

Wichita +20

Could you repeat that fourteenth part again?

This summer will mark 20 years since the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in convention quoted AC XIV and then added a dreadful "however. . . " Of all the scandals among us - purposely irreverent worship, lack of uniformity in fellowship, etc. etc. - this is the worst. That the LCMS purposely tells men who are not in the Office of the Ministry to go out and act like they are - that is, to teach, preach, and administer the sacraments week in and week out without a Divine, regular, public call to the Ministry - is nothing short of.....well, words fail me. Let's put it this way: it makes the 2001 convention's decretum that the ELCA is not an "orthodox Lutheran body" ring a tad hollow.

Most all of us have preached against this and taught our people the correct teaching. Some have sent in resolutions and worked to call our Synod to repentance in countless ways.

But maybe it's time for something more - something more organized and widespread.

While most of us have preached and taught our people the right doctrine, and many of us have sent in resolutions and worked in other ways - most of us have also been reluctant to actually take the avenue of public confession laid down in our Synod. That is, most of us have not filed a formal dissent against the Wichita "lay minister/deacon" system.

What do the brethren think of the following? What if we put together a website with information and a signature page (a là Issues Etc.) for LCMS folk (clergy, non-ordained 'members of Synod,' and laity) to sign which would broadcast the intent of the undersigned clergy, members of Synod, and congregations to flood the Synod with dissents on the 20th anniversary of the close of the 1989 Convention on July 14?

I know some pastors have been reluctant to take this step because it does come with risks - especially depending on the District in which one resides. I know others have stayed away from the official dissent because they view it as pointless. But maybe a massive effort from across the Synod would help solve both of those problems.

Well, what do you think?

+HRC

The Trouble with Youth

Aristotle said of the young that they have exalted notions, because they have not yet been humbled by life or learnt its necessary limitations.

St. Augustine lamented his own youth in the same regard.

And the Preacher warned the young, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth."

Unfortunately we all must go through youth, assuming we don't die in the meantime, and thus it is practically inevitable that we learn the lessons of humility the hard way.

I know I did.

I was musing the other night on how differently I view my life and my world today than I viewed it in my youth. Then, I always had a goal, an aspiration, a plan, a hope. These things kept me going. And when high hopes were dashed, I found myself feeling rather crushed. Still I plodded on, holding on to my dreams, thinking that some day God would bestow on me the glory I secretly coveted. And at the next disappointment the blow was more crushing than at the first. Though I didn't dare think it in these terms, what I meant to wonder in my misery was, When would God let me have my glory?

If He had, I would doubtless still be dancing around that calf today. It's hard enough to deal with pride on an ordinary day; the imp would have become a behemoth if my hopes had been realized back then. High hopes in youth are common, and come in varying strains. What is dangerous, and could be deadly, is when those hopes are realized too soon, or, in some cases, at all.

These days I look back on those perils, and I sometimes wonder, what in the world was I thinking?

There's still a lot to learn in this regard for a middling man; the last thing I want to become in my geriatric years is someone who thinks he's wise in his own conceits, who has nothing left to learn, and whom no one can teach.

And so it is my prayer, and I recommend the same prayer to the young, that I may learn to seek above all other things the kingdom of heaven rather than any earthly kingdoms. Those visions of earthly glory, whatever they are, are illusions, every one. They're mirages. Or worse, they're the devil's disguises. They aren't worth it.

So if you can't decide on a confirmation verse for a particular junior catechumen, here's one that will always be appropriate: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

Always look for different angles

One of the things that we who take our religion, our doctrine, our church seriously need to remember is that when we come across folks who at best seem to take our religion/doctrine/church irreverent or poorly (or at worst seem to desire to actively do harm) is that we should try to understand things from their point of view - we should try to figure out why they are approaching the idea the way they do.

Now, this is not some hippie-style "can't we all just get along" cry, but rather a comment about how we approach others. The simple fact is this - if we want to deal with these folks, we need to understand how they think in order to best handle them. (If you don't want to deal with them anymore - one word, and it starts with R and ends with "epent." We love our neighbors - even the _________ ones.) Let's briefly consider the benefits that can come from trying to understand the direction the person causing you theological grief is coming from.

1 - It prevents hatred. We know we are not to hate - but sinful human beings love to hate. And it's even better when we can feel justified in our hatred, when we can claim that it is a righteous anger -- why look at what this ________ is doing to our religion/doctrine/church, oh that I could smite him! And this feeling of justifcation is much simpler when we simply assume the worst. However, if we stop, pause, and consider their reason for doing something - it becomes harder to simply hate off the bat.

2 - It provides an opportunity for discussion. Ask someone why they do something, what makes them think it is a good idea. We all like to talk about what we think (if you didn't know that, look at blogging - pontificating to the masses is good) - let them talk to you a bit. If you ask them what they are thinking (and ask in a "so, why did you do this," way and not a "What in the name of David and Pete Scaer were you thinking you crackpot" way) - and suddenly you won't be a scary Conservative/Confessional/Curmudgeon Lutheran, but someone to talk to.

3 - It sharpens your sword. Only when you know why a person does something can you successfully change their mind. It maybe that they have laudable goals and just did something foolish - then you show them a better way. It may be they have misplaced goals - then you try to point to better goals, and there can be improvement. Maybe they caved to pressure - then you know how to encourage and bolster. If you know where a person is coming from then you can best help them.

In other words. . . those liberals/open communers/contemporary worshippers/whatever other things are horrible that I'm not hip to at the moment people are indeed people too. Instead of thinking of them as archvillians, tools of Satan meant to be broken - view them as fellow servants of God, but once who have gone astray. Figure out how Satan has lead them astray, and then try to lead them back. And remember to be grateful when a faithful brother applies this to you instead of simply crucifying you at the first sign of theological stupidity.

Merely buzzing about the ears,
Gadfly

Fellowship or Franchise?

In the thirteen years that I have been a pastor, a number of folks have left Emmaus for other local congregations, and as many or more have transferred to Emmaus from other local congregations. This sort of thing happens, of course, and no doubt for all sorts of reasons. My own rule of thumb is that one should be a member of the nearest congregation wherein the Gospel is rightly preached (the Law and the Gospel rightly divided) and the Sacraments are faithfully administered (reverently in accord with the Word of Christ). I realize that it can sometimes be a bit dicey and more difficult to measure and discern these criteria in practice, and that other attendant circumstances also come into play, but this isn't my main point.

In every case when I have had members of a sister congregation visit Emmaus more than once or twice, and certainly when any such members of a sister congregation have expressed interest in transferring their membership, I have insisted that they visit with their pastor and express to him whatever concerns they may have. In most of these cases, they have already done so; in each of the other cases, they have done so after speaking with me. In several situations, I have also contacted the other pastor in question, myself, as a matter of collegial courtesy. It has simply seemed obvious to me that such a conversation should certainly take place. In any event, I won't accept the transfer of members from another local congregation without proceeding in that manner.

It has not always worked that way in reverse, when members of Emmaus have found their way to other congregations in the area. Transfer requests have sometimes appeared out of the blue, occasionally without any prior hint that such a thing was in the works. Other transfers have come about as no real surprise, but still they were not preceded by any pertinent conversation. From what I have been able to gather, I am not alone in having this happen to me, but it troubles me that it should happen at all.

I realize that people have their reasons for doing what they do. Sometimes they are theological reasons; sometimes not. Sometimes they are good reasons; sometimes not. Lay people do not always know the proper protocol, and they simply proceed in naivete. Some folks are shy or nervous or embarrassed, and so they are reluctant to approach their pastor with a conversation that is likely to disappoint him or hurt his feelings. I understand all this, and I am sympathetic, even though it is a shame. People should communicate with their pastor if they have questions or concerns, or if they desire to transfer their membership for whatever reason; but in the end, I am most concerned that they be hearing the Gospel faithfully preached and receiving the means of grace from a shepherd of their souls.

What I don't understand is brother pastors who would welcome the sheep of another pasture without a word. Is there no admonition to do the right thing? Or does it simply go unheeded? Is it such a difficult thing, or considered so unnecessary, to call a person's present pastor and inquire as to the circumstances? Does not even courtesy suggest such an effort?

Sometimes it seems to me that the "LCMS" is less a fellowship than a franchise, and that, instead of living in communion with one another, we are engaged in a competition over heads of sheep. But I don't want to think of things that way. Although I have different opinions and practices than some of my brothers in office, and some points of significant disagreement, I don't view my colleagues as competitors, but as fellow ministers of the one Gospel of our one Lord Jesus Christ. That is why I will not receive their members into my congregation and pastoral care without first of all making sure that they are "in the loop" and respected for the sake of their office and their labor in the Gospel. Indeed, I have done the same when Christians approach me from outside the Lutheran Church altogether. But what does it mean for the fellowship of the Missouri Synod when brothers in office do not afford each other the same courtesy and respect? Is this typical or unusual?

Praying for One Another

I don't use it enough, but every time I do use "A Pastor's Daily Prayer" from the old Pastor's Companion (same as in the back of The Lutheran Liturgy) I like its petitions for brethren in office and the Synod at large:

"To Thy grace and mercy I also commend all my brethren in office. Arrest and suppress all discord and dissention. Give me a brotherly heart towards all and true humility, and help me to bear with patience their casual weakness or deficiencies. Grant that they also may act as true brethren toward me. Keep and preserve our whole Synod, its teachers and officers, true to Thy Word. Cause the work of our Synod to grow. Guard and protect all members of Synod against sinful ambitions, dissension, and indifference in doctrine and practice. Bless all higher institutions of learning, our colleges, seminaries, and universities. Accompany all missionaries on their dangerous ways, and help them to perform their work. Gather the elect from all nations into Thy holy Christian Church, and bring them at last into Thy Church Triumphant in heaven."

+HRC

A Survey

So, how many of you (who celebrated the Baptism of our Lord) this weekend used Dr. Luther's Baptismal hymn? And how many used the old tune? New tune? I confess that I chickened out and decided to sub the Starke hymn on our Lord's Baptism and even then to sub the familiar Hyfrydol - for which I was suitably chided by my wife. "How can they learn it if we never sing it?" Sigh. Smart woman. Next year! But in the meantime - what did you guys do who observed Baptism?