confession

Jonesin’ for the Joneses

By Jaime Nava –

I was reading a comic. It was something like Tales from the Darkside. Although the endings of these things could be a bit gruesome, there was also a dark comedy to it. One in particular is actually fitting. There is this couple, the Robinsons. The wife would watch down the street toward the neighbor’s place. They’d get new stuff delivered, like a couch or a huge TV. She had to have it. She makes her husband miserable with all the stuff she demanded. She would keep saying she wanted whatever Mrs. Jones got. They didn’t really have the money, but the husband kept buying these things while growing equally miserable with the stuff they kept getting. One day, the wife demands whatever it is that Mrs. Jones has. The husband looks out the window and grins.

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Gnostic Football and Virtual Church

By Bob Hiller –

Have you seen Super Bowl MVP Von Miller’s commercial for Madden NFL 17? It’s hilarious! Miller dances around with a few moves he no doubt gained from his stint on Dancing with the Stars to sell one of the world’s most popular video games. Perhaps what is most amazing in the commercial is not Miller’s dancing nor the heart-warming reminder that our Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 but the graphics for the new Madden. Since the days of Mario and the original Street Fighter II, I haven’t played many video games. But I am amazed at how realistic they have become. It is getting harder and harder to tell the differences between a game and the real thing.

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Where Do You Come From?

By Paul Koch –

The Olympic games are an amazing spectacle. To be able to watch the best in the world compete on that grand stage is awesome. The speed, accuracy, dedication and strength on display often leave us in a state of shock. But every time the Olympic Games come around we are reminded that just as much as we love watching the athletes compete so we also love the background stories of these athletes. We love to learn about individuals who’ve overcome incredible obstacles to make it to the Games. This year perhaps more than any other individuals the world learned about the Refugee Olympic Team. A group of athletes from the Sudan, Ethiopia, the Congo and Syria who came not just from poverty or single parent homes but they came from countries torn apart by war and unimaginable violence.

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“Love your Spouse” Challenged

By Cindy Koch –

It’s sometimes funny to me the debates I entertain in my own mind. And this week I debate with myself over the infamous #loveyourspouse challenge that is plastered all over Facebook and other such imaginary places. Seven days of pictures, seven days of lovely sayings, seven days of carefully selected moments, seven days to incur the jealousy and disgust of the not-as-happy virtual world. I put the question to myself – could I, should I, #lovemyspouse?

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The Eternal Subordination of the Son

By Scott Keith –

There is a theological disagreement stewing in the evangelical world with which I think the Jagged Mafia should be made aware. The controversy is over something called the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS). This week on the Thinking Fellows podcast, we talked with Elyse and Joel Fitzpatrick about the controversy, and the show has stirred up some lively conversation. What I’d like to do today is simply introduce our readers to what is going on, define some terms, and provide a very slight commentary.

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Ignoring the Problem

By Caleb Keith –

Today, I spent approximately four hours separating, organizing, and scanning various papers, articles, and magazines for Dr. Rod Rosenbladt. Since his retirement last fall, I have been assisting him with various aspects of the transition. This has meant moving a lot of books and sorting through a lot of paper. Most of that sorting involves scanning important documents so that he no longer needs to keep stacks of papers. Today, I was excited as I opened up one of the last boxes labeled “Scan.”

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Denominational Loyalty

By Graham Glover –

I’d love it if more of you were Lutheran. Specifically, it would be great if you were a member of or in fellowship with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It’s not that the LCMS has a monopoly on the truths of Christendom, but as I proclaimed in my ordination vows, I believe her confessions to be a correct exposition of the Holy Scriptures and a right exhibition of the Christian faith. This is why I am and will remain a loyal member of her communion.

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The External Word of Love

By Paul Koch –

Most of my colleagues agree that one of the least favorite things to do as a pastor is a wedding ceremony. Many times (usually over a few beers at a conference) I have heard the refrain, “I would happily do a funeral rather than a wedding, any day.” The reasons are sound; at a wedding you’re dealing with a whole lot of unknown factors and outside influences. You have bridesmaids and groomsmen who are usually unassociated with your fellowship. Photographers have no idea about the meaning of sacred space. Not to mention, the sometimes erratic mother of the bride will be there. You find that childhood wish-dreams and romantic ideals have as much bearing on things as church tradition and practice.

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Get to Fighting or Get Away!

By Paul Koch –

In the great movie Tombstone featuring Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer, during the shooting at the O.K. Corral, unarmed Ike Clanton rushes towards Wyatt Earp pleading with him to not shoot. As Earp’s brothers and Doc Holiday engage the rest of the gang, he grabs the shirtfront of Ike and yells “Get to fighting or get away!” In other words, engage in the battle, go down swinging (or in this case shooting), or get clear of the battlefield.

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The Church Will Suffer, and I’m Okay with That

By Jaime Nava –

The United States feels like it’s in a tail spin, at least to me. More than likely, I think the next president will be a goon. Subjective morality has become the local truth which is no truth at all without absolute truth. Socialism is the glimmer in the eye of so many millennials now. We’re setting ourselves up for the same wall that Germany and Russia ran into. First, we’ll try to be great one last time only to get kicked in the nuts as a nation. Next, we’ll sulk and blame the old ways for all the troubles. Following that will be a leader who promises to send us to greatness. He’ll do this with total control because the people want him to have it. With each and every step, the church will be relegated to a room, then a corner, then finally kicked out.

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The Night I Love Confirmation Class

By Ross Engel –

Recently Paul wrote about Confirmation and hating the way it has been utilized as a sort of silver bullet to make up for years of no catechesis taking place at home. I found myself nodding my head in agreement as I read his words. My Sunday morning Bible study and I recently had had an in-depth conversation about the need for parents to step up to the plate and teach their own children the faith, so it was a timely article.

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Confession and Confession

By Jaime Nava –

As a pastor and sinner, there’s an unspeakable privilege in the office I’m called to. God’s Word comes through my unclean lips. Each week, we commune on the body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine because the promise was spoken. The Words of Jesus echoed once again for sinners to hear, see, and taste forgiveness. To be able to place eternal life into people’s mouths is something I am certainly not worthy of. Despite that, here I am doing what the congregation called me to do. And I’m not alone. The people, those I shepherd for the Good Shepherd, go out into the world. They speak forgiveness to each other. They unlock the heavenly gifts of life by letting wrongs go.

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Call Day Musings

By Ross Engel –

This week was Call Week at our two seminaries. Both St. Louis and Ft. Wayne placed vicars, deaconess interns, deaconess candidates, and candidates for the Office of the Holy Ministry into congregations. Last night, two of our Ft. Wayne “Bell Ringers,” Greg Bauch and Michael Daniels, received their placement assignments for their first Calls into the Office of the Holy Ministry. What an exciting time for them both!

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Don’t Let Haters Be Your Validators

By Joel A. Hess –

Often during the election year, I find myself drawn to the political candidate whom the left hates the most. Well, not the intellectual left, as I respect the left, but the Miley Cyrus, Sean Penn, and Rachel Maddow shallow-screaming left. But is that a good strategy for picking a political candidate? Of course not!

Sadly, many in the various church bodies allow hate to validate their beliefs and actions.

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Meeting Christ

By Paul Koch –

St. Stephen was a man of unshakable resolve and courage. And early in his ministry he stood and proclaimed the Word of God to a group of, well, let’s call them hostile listeners. In fact, we are told that the crowd grew so angry with what he preached that they ground their teeth and then tried stopping their ears. When they couldn’t stand it anymore they rushed at him, seized him, drug him out of the city, and began to stone him. As they cast their stones they took off their outer garments to better do their damage. They laid those garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

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Imagine…

By Donavon Riley –

Imagine a church’s mission statement is: “You Don’t Have to Fake It ‘Till You Make It.” That is, you walk into church, and an usher hands you a bulletin. On the front, it reads: “We don’t expect you to believe everything we confess, pray, preach, and sing about this morning. You’re invited to join us for worship anyway. Listen to the sermon, pray, and sing with us. You’re a gift to us, and we trust the Holy Spirit will change your heart in his own time. Please come again and ask any questions that you may have.”

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The Church Market

By Jaime Nava –

Reading a fellow writer’s recent post got me thinking. There’s a lot of Christian denominations to choose from. I say Christian because God’s Word is presented in a Trinitarian way with Jesus Christ as dying for sins. So whether Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, Revival-oriented (i.e. most non-denoms), or what have you, there are Christians present in those places because God’s Word doesn’t return void. The Jesus they preach is the same that Christendom has always preached: the God-man (100% both), who is the second person of the Three-In-One, died for our sins. Cool. Preach Jesus. Even so, denominations differ. Emphases are placed on different things. What’s the big deal? Let’s consider our American history.

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Is Church Membership Overrated?

By Graham Glover –

Seriously, what’s so important about the membership one holds in a particular church body these days?

Does one’s denominational affiliation really mean what so many of us theologians wish it did?

Don’t misinterpret what I’m asking. The theological differences between church bodies are immensely important. I’m a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for a reason. As one who daily works alongside clergy from other denominations, I fully appreciate why Christendom is not united.

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