Vocation

Creations Create

By Cindy Koch –

Just like any other Sunday, the ushers marched down the center aisle halfway through the church service. Their leather dress shoes kept even time with the piano music during the offering. As they passed our pew, I noticed neither one of the gentlemen were looking at their destination. Their heads were tipped to the right and they both wore a proud, goofy smile. I scanned the rest of the congregation for a clue to their delight. In a wave of curiosity, every man woman and child also turned to focus on the grand piano on the side of the church.

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Idle Work

By Paul Koch –

We have all heard at some time in our life, usually on the lips of a well-meaning grandmother, that famous saying, “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.” This is a great saying and there is truth found in it. In fact, if you think about it, this saying focuses us on a central problem of mankind. The thing is, our hands don’t stay idle. To be idle is to be unproductive, to do nothing, but we are busy creatures always working in some way. So, this a cautionary saying that if our hands are not being employed toward something good, something faithful, or something beautiful then they will be employed towards something wicked – for they will not stay idle.

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Cogs in the War Machine

By Tim Winterstein –

The war machine will take what you have to give, and when you’re used up, it will discard you—at least if you’re General Glen McMahon or any of the other fictional generals who head up the combined allied troops in Afghanistan. War Machine (streaming on Netflix) is comedic, but its underlying themes are deadly serious and maybe even tragic. A veteran (or someone else who knows more than I do about inner workings of the military) could probably point out the moments at which this film touches reality, in the political machinations or the stupidity of how some military operations are decided and carried out.

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Sex in America: We can’t have our cake and eat it too

By Joel A. Hess –

Every day, another sex scandal. For the past decade, we have been shocked by teacher sex scandals. Before that, it was priests. We have become used to politician sex scandals, the honorable Roy Moore and Anthony Wiener notwithstanding. Now, we are enjoying a flurry of Hollywood sexual assault tales. Of course, little do they know that most of America assumed sexual assault was how you got into Tinseltown in the first place.

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Force Majeure

By Tim Winterstein –

Want to start a war between husbands and wives or friends of opposite sexes? Watch Force Majeure together. My wife went to sleep, so we didn’t get to have the discussion. But this is a film that raises questions of the differences between men and women, fathers and mothers. I suspect that, like the characters in the film, the reactions of men and women will match the reactions of Ebba and Tomas, Swedes on vacation at a French skiing resort.

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Just A Mother

By Cindy Koch –

Ever since I became a mom, I have struggled with these words. I was at home with my little ones 24 hours a day. Morning breakfast, afternoon naps, after-dinner cleanup, evening bath time, and midnight feedings. As much as I loved my children, as much as I loved being a mother, I discovered a repressed adventurous longing for something more. I would watch my husband open and close the door, venturing off into an interesting wide world just beyond the front walkway. And I would wash, rinse, repeat, one more day, one more time. I’m just a mother.

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Here We Go Again

By Paul Koch –

Every year as the church celebrates All Saints Day, we turn our attention to our Lord’s words in Matthew Chapter 5. These words of blessing have become familiar to us.  We have grown use to their rhythm and their simple beauty. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied…” Over the years we have heard many sermons on these words. We’ve studied them and digested them and wrestled with them over and again. They are a proclamation of blessing spoken by Christ to his disciples as they are surrounded by a great crowd of onlookers on a small mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

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Beauty in the Mundane

By Bob Hiller –

Last Sunday was amazing! My congregation in beautiful Escondido, CA hosted our circuit’s Reformation service, and it was epic! (A “circuit,” for those of you outside of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, is a group of congregations close in proximity to each other). A massive, multi-congregational choir, an orchestra, a guest preacher from Concordia University (who totally delivered the “goods” of Christ for us), the Sacrament, and, afterwards, an outstanding Octoberfest celebration all worked together for the good of the church! If this incredible service and celebration wasn’t enough, I came home that night to listen to one of the greatest World Series games in recent memory (though, last year’s Game 7 is hard to top). Game 5 of the Astros/Dodgers series was an epic, extra-inning, home-run heavy 13-12 victory for the Astros. I’ve never experienced a game that incredible on a stage that big. Sunday was amazing!

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The Loss of the Loss of Friendship

By Paul Koch –

I have written a lot on the topic of friendship over the years. It is a subject that I find fascinating and a universal component of the human experience, and deep down I know that it is personally crucial for my life. Friendship is not just a theoretical discussion or a curious observation of social constructs. No, it is something that I need in my life. I am the furthest thing from the “lone wolf” ideal of the American frontier; I need friends in my life. I don’t need a lot of them, but I need them. I need men amongst whom I know who I am; my worth, my strengths and weaknesses, my values and goals are best sorted out in the company of a friend.

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A Woman Must Love

By Cindy Koch –

Our story of woman follows a storyline of love, the greatest virtue given by God. But even more, we were made to love, just as we were made to breathe. Wisdom has taught us we have been created to love one another. Wisdom moves our relationships express love to someone else. Wisdom has shaped our convictions and principles, emboldening us to love our neighbor, our spouse, our child, and our friend.

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Our Ridiculous Political Contradictions

By Graham Glover –

Some think it’s reached the point of absurdity. Our politics that is. These past few months (actually, this past year and a half) has not seen our politics at their best. Like many of you, I’m still a bit shocked that we’ve gotten here and increasingly saddened as to why we debate the asinine issues we think are important. Although I remain optimistic that things will improve (naively, perhaps), I’m certain that I’ll be banging my head against the proverbial wall this week, sighing out loud as I watch, listen, and even partake in this thing we call politics.

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Men are Not Defective Women, and Dads are Not Defective Moms

By Scott Keith –

(Warning: this blog represents a return to my cantankerous Jagged Word roots.)

I have been beating the drum of the loss of masculinity for years now. Writing Being Dad – Father as a Picture of God’s Grace and publishing The Jagged Word Field Guide to Being a Man have both been attempts to push back against the groundswell that has been rolling over men for years. I could again harp on the media and its tiresome portals of men as daft, inept, bumbling fools who know little and do even less. The fact is, it’s still bad. Commercial after commercial fails to show positive portraits of men and dads for our boys and young men to emulate. But I’m not going to put you through that again. I think that you get the point. I hope. I pray.

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The Number

By Ross Engel –

Recently I watched the 2006 Kevin Costner/Ashton Kutcher movie, “The Guardian.” The film centers on the training of the U.S. Coast Guard’s elite rescue swimmers. Kevin Costner is the seasoned veteran—a legend with more rescues than one can keep track of—and Ashton Kutcher is the talented yet cocky recruit who yearns to make a name for himself. Both men are running from tragedies and brokenness and the movie is dripping with themes of self-sacrifice and coping with loss. There is appreciable depth to this movie.

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The Weakest Link

By Paul Koch –

I’m writing this in my hotel room in Palm Springs on the concluding day of our annual pastors’ conference for our district of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Now, pastors’ conferences can often be quite the grab bag of competing experiences—of fun, disappointment, encouragement, depression, laughs, and silent tears. It is a place where I get to gather with my brothers in the ministry to speak openly and honestly about the task set before us. This can be refreshing and uplifting on the one hand and upsetting and discouraging on the other. To be sure, there are difficulties facing the Church on which we need to have open and honest reflection. So, the tone of the thing (like the tone of this opening paragraph) can fluctuate between confidence and fear, joy and discouragement.

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Lord, Teach us to Pray

By Scott Keith –

When the disciples of Christ Jesus asked him how to pray, he gave a somewhat uncharacteristically forthright answer. He uttered the words for them to repeat in what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. From that time forward, the Lord’s Prayer has been a staple of catechetical instruction when one Christian attempts to teach another Christian the “basics” of the Christian faith. Accordingly, Martin Luther included this surprisingly simple prayer in his Small Catechism, along with a few questions and answers for the young to memorize, contemplate, and hopefully, one day, make an organic part of who they are in their Christian faith. Thus, Luther begins his section on the Lord’s Prayer by giving an exhortation to the “Head of the House,” and simply listing the text of the prayer.

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Preaching and the Bureaucratic Malaise of the Church

By Paul Koch –

This week, I gathered together with a decent-sized group of my colleagues for a monthly meeting in which we receive the gifts of our Lord together, study theology, and discuss matters pertaining to our district of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. We have a good group of guys, and I always do my best to try and attend these gatherings. After all, there will usually be passionate disagreements about practice, heartfelt please for future endeavors, lots of laughs at the expense of some brother who didn’t show, and certainly a beer or two during lunch.

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