Missouri Synod

The fragmentation of American Lutheranism

August 25, 2010

I expected to see many from the ELCA come flocking to Missouri after the ELCA’s church-wide assembly repudiated the Biblical view of human sexuality last summer. Perhaps not congregations, but people. For a time we had a steady stream of ELCA visitors at Immanuel, but that has stopped. Now it appears there will be yet another [...]

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LCMS elects new president

July 13, 2010

Rev. Matthew Harrison was elected president of the Missouri Synod today. He defeated the incumbent, Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, 643-527, on the first ballot. Afterward, Rev. Herbert Mueller, Jr., was elected first vice-president. President-elect Harrison is currently the executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care. He is the author of “A Little Book on [...]

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LCMS approves major restructuring; president’s power expands

July 13, 2010

The centerpiece of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synodical Structure and Governance, the consolidation of the entire synodical structure into two program boards that report to the president, passed on Monday. You can listen to a report from the convention site by parishioner Mollie Ziegler Hemingway by clicking here.

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Prayer for the Synodical Convention

July 8, 2010

The following is from the Prayer of the Church I used in 2007 on the opening Sunday of the Synodical Convention. I plan to use it again this Sunday. I cannot remember if I wrote this, got it from somewhere else, or if it’s a hybrid of those. Lord of the Church, as our Lutheran [...]

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March for Life this Friday

January 19, 2010

Friday, January 22 is the March for Life, an annual peaceful demonstration in our nation’s capital asking for the right to life for every human person to be protected. Lutherans will gather under the Lutherans for Life banner at 12pm at 7th & Independence.  Besides the participation from locals, Lutherans from around the country usually [...]

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Beecroft: Who decides?

January 18, 2010

Pr. Mason Beecroft has written a very important post reflecting on a question arising out of the LCMS “Model Theological Conference” on worship. Here is a sample: So who decides [what is liturgically appropriate, reverent, sacramental]? The question itself reflects an unholy amnesia, a loss of identity. Certainly each pastor and each congregation should not [...]

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Sanctity of Human Life/Epiphany II sermon

January 17, 2010

I was asked to write the sermon for the LCMS Life Ministry’s resource for Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, coinciding this year with Epiphany II. The following is that sermon, slightly modified for use in my own parish. “In the beginning, God created” (Gen. 1). That’s who God is. The One who creates. Outside of [...]

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Welcome Home!

November 21, 2009

I am rejoicing at the news that Rev. Charles McClean, a member of Immanuel, has been reinstated to the clergy roster of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Congratulations, Fr. McClean!

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Whence cometh the "climate of distrust"?

October 8, 2009

Pastor Michael Brockman of Christ Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Kansas wrote a penetrating letter to the editor in the latest issue of the Lutheran Witness. President Kieschnick is not the only one wanting the “climate of distrust” gone from among us as LCMS Lutherans [“From the President,” August]. I, too. But how has this climate [...]

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LCMS President Kieschnick responds to ELCA decision affirming homosexual clergy

August 27, 2009

The two largest Lutheran church bodies in the United States are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with 4.8 million members and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) with 2.4 million members. On Friday, Aug. 21, the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to open the ministry of the ELCA to gay [...]

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