The Proud Winner of a Golden Aardie

It's nice to know that my deranged and often disjointed thoughts are receiving critical acclaim. It's also nice to know (and frankly terrifying!) that my deranged and often disjointed thoughts are being read!

Thanks for the Golden Aardie! I continue to strive and struggle with what it means to be a Lutheran. There's a reason "What does this mean?" is all over the catechism. If we stop thinking about what this means, we will lose the true meaning of what it means to be Lutheran...if you get what I mean!

Thanks again Aardie for this most esteemed honor! Check out Aardvark Alley! It's a great blog site!

Who Are We?

I am beginning to realize that the Missouri Synod knows some things very well. For example, we know who we are NOT. For example, we are NOT Roman Catholics, we are NOT Orthodox, we are NOT Reformed, we are NOT mainstream American Protestant, we are NOT charismatic, and we certainly are NOT EVANGELICALS!!

When my parents and grandparents were growing up in the Lutheran Church, the thing NOT to be was Catholic. As a matter of fact, there was nothing worse than the idea that we were just a different “kind” of catholic. As I am growing up in the Missouri Synod and learning more and more about our history, it seems that we have a long line of groups that we are NOT. It seems that in my career in the Missouri Synod, the thing so far that we are trying to distance ourselves from (at least the more vocal among us) is that of the dreaded Evangelical. Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I am NOT one of those mainstream, mega-church, feel good, polo-shirt wearin'-to-church-on-Sunday Evangelical ministers (actually, I’m not quite sure what I am sometimes, since I am, after all “just a Vicar.”) The atmosphere among the “in-the-know” theologically educated shuns this feel-good Evangelical, smiley, nice dressing and generally watered down group of happy-clappies.

Unfortunately, no one is clearly telling our people or our clergy what we ARE. Are we liturgical? If so, how liturgical can we be without crossing the historically dreaded line of Catholicism, or the mysterious, although somewhat alluring, line of Orthodoxy? Are we contemporary? If so, how many praise bands, testimonials, and “worship leaders” are we away from being general Protestants, or worse (gasp!) Evangelicals?!!

It's always a fine line that I find no one wants to cross. As a matter of fact, no one even really knows where it is, that is, until it's been crossed. By the time the line has been crossed in either direction it is not much longer until accusations are being made, threats are being lobbed by all sides and the fear of schism rears its ugly head in our beloved Synod.

So, here’s a real question, and I hope I will get some constructive feedback on this. Who are we as Missouri-Synod Lutheran Christians? How far can we go in either direction? Is incense too far one way? Are all out heavy metal Divine Services too far the other? No one really seems to know until it has already been done, and often times by that time it's too late.

I am confident that, for the most part, the majority of our pastors and theologians are well right of the center as far as theology goes. But what are we going to do about who we are? Can anything be done? Who knows? As for me, I’m gonna keep pushing that liturgical envelope until I can someday have people, without fear, follow Luther’s suggestion to “make the sign of the holy cross” as a rememberance of their baptism, to “let their prayers rise before God as incense” and all sorts of other fun and meaningful liturgical stuff that may be considered “too Catholic.”

Commemoration of the Faithful Departed

This is a day that few of us in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pay much notice to. Maybe it's too "catholic" sounding, maybe it's just weird for us, who knows. But I think it's a wonderful celebration in the church year.

It is on this day that we give thanks to God for His faithfulness in leading His people to their eternal home. The focus in on GOD’S work, not the work of any saint. We give thanks to God for sending Christ so that we can be saved through Him and faithfully carrying His people to their eternal home in heaven.

So, today give extra thanks to God for His faithfulness, thank Him for the gift of faith that He works in us, thank Him for using His people over the ages to spread the Gospel of Christ.

Collect for Commemoration of the Faithful Departed

Almighty God, in whose glorious presence live all who depart in the Lord and before whom all the souls of the faithful who are delivered of the burden of the flesh are in joy and felicity, we give you hearty thanks for your loving-kindness to all your servants who have finished their course in faith and now rest from their labors, and we humbly implore your mercy that we, together with all who have departed in the saving faith, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, in both body and soul, in your eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Weird Pictures

Last night my good wife, Lesa, went through all my blog posts and edited them. Apparently I am not perfect and needed to have some errors corrected. That's what wives are for.

She asked me where I got my picture for my profile. I told her I took it myself and that it was one of my favorite self-pics. She told me that she couldn't quite figure it out, but there was something wrong with it and she really didn't like it.

I had taken the picture of myself in a mirror. The reason I liked it is because that is how I always see myself. That is the same reason my wife disliked it. She never sees my reflection and it looked off to her.

I"ll leave you, the good reader, to make your own theological connections to this. I just thought it was interesting that how I see myself and how my wife sees me is different. What I like is not what she likes and vice versa.

If you want a picture of yourself that you'll like, take it in a mirror!

Some Hymns I'm working on

Christ, the Source of all Praise and Worship

The holiday season is swiftly approaching! The Advent of our God is our theme in prayer! I have been bitten by the hymnology bug (if hymnology is a word.) These are a few attempts to leave my mark on the world, for better or worse.

I wrote this to be a Thanksgiving offertory. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei are also for our Thanksgiving service.

Give thanks to God for He is good.
He blesses us with home and food.
His steadfast love continues on,
Praise Christ who has the vict’ry won!

Be not concerned with anything,
But to Him with thanksgiving bring
Our supplication and our prayer,
Our needs with Him we gladly share.

Praise be to God who is our gain,
Daily He blesses us with grain.
Come let us now respond in love,
To the Eternal throned above.

Now may this peace from God above,
Given in Christ with perfect love,
Guard us in all our thoughts and ways
Till He returns at end of days.
(Text: James A. Roemke, 2005 Tune: Old Hundredth)

Sanctus (sung to “Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel” LW #1)

O Holy, holy, holy Lord
In all the heav’ns and earth adored.
Thou art the Lord of power and might,
You fill us with Thy radiant light.
Holy, holy only Thou art holy
We come to Thee humble and lowly.
(Text: James A. Roemke, 2005)

Agnus Dei (sung to Puer Nobis, “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” LW #14)

O Lamb of God, perfect and mild
You came to us a little child.
The weight of sin you came to bear,
Now in your righteousness we share.
(Text: James A. Roemke, 2005)

These verses I plan on using for the Advent theme. I will be preaching on the names of Immanuel in Isaiah 9:6 using a different name each Wednesday service. I plan on inserting the appropriate stanza for the week's sermon in LW #12 "The Advent of Our God."

Wonderful Counselor, who guides us all our days, stay close to us abide with us and lead us through life’s maze.

Come Mighty God, arise. Defend us from all harm. Lord Jesus comes to save us with His Almighty arm.

Everlasting Father, beginning and our end, Alpha , Omega, Eternal your sheep you came to tend.

O Christ, our Prince of Peace, you died to give us life. Sins bonds are broke, the price is paid an end to all our strife.

(Text: James A. Roemke, 2005 Tune: St. Thomas)

The Importance of Sacred Space

In previous posts I have shared my prayer habits and practices. The establishment of “sacred space,” that is a space devoted entirely to God and His worship, a place that is set apart from the daily tasks, a place that is special and reflective of one’s faith is, I believe, very important in our faith lives.

I have set up in my home a small prayer altar. It is just a bookcase with a crucifix, Bible, candles and a place to burn incense, but it has enriched my prayer life and devotions. It is a place set apart from all the cares and concerns of my day, a place with limited distractions, a place for me to be quite and know that God is the Lord.

Now, mind you, I am NOT saying that this cannot be done without “sacred space.” In any and all circumstances we are able and privileged to call upon the Lord. We have the blessing, because of Christ, to go boldly before the throne of God with our prayers and supplications. We who have been baptized have received the righteousness of Christ and in a very real sense are always covered with “sacred space.” What I am suggesting and even advocating is using set apart “sacred space” as a tool, a help for meditation on God’s holy Word, a focusing upon the sacrifice of Christ.

The main reason for this post is that this weekend, and for at least the next two weekends, at my vicarage congregation we have to worship in the gym because of remodeling. My bishop and I went to great lengths to turn the gym into a worshipful, meaningful “sacred space” so that the minds and senses and hearts of the people would not be focused on the basketball hoops, but where they should be focused, on Christ and Him crucified.

I encourage those who read this post to consider setting aside a “sacred space” for your prayers and devotions. It can be a real blessing to have a Sabbath rest away from the everyday toils and trials of life.

Hurricane Rita and the Love of Christ

I know, I know, it's been a long time since I’ve posted anything. I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. But, a word in my defense, I have been pretty busy with this vicarage thing. Since I’ve been here in the great nation of Texas, I’ve already had a lot of great experiences; my first (gag) meetings, my first sermon without notes, my first solo funeral, my first shut-in calls, my first hospital visits, my first aramadillo sighting, my first Dove Festival, and, oh yeah, my first experience with a hurricane!!

This past weekend, as Hurricane Rita grew ever more ominous and people around Hamilton were really getting a little nervous, I had my very first experience with ministering to evacuees. There had been some talk about us taking some evacuees in our gym, but, this is Hamilton, it’s a very small town and surely there would be better places for displaced families to go. But, because of Hurricane Katrina, all those other places were full. It was last Thursday when we were informed that we would indeed be taking some people. We got a call that a family of five was on their way. We were able to get enough bedding for three right away and there were other members who still needed to be called, so we felt pretty confident of our abilities to give this family shelter.

They arrived, very tired and anxious looking. They had been on the road for over 18 hours on a drive that should have taken six hours max. We were feeling pretty sure of ourselves and proud that we could care for this family. About ten minutes after they pulled in, about 20 other people came. We had no idea what we would do or how we would accommodate 25 people. That is when I really started to realize that we in the church are not the ones that “do” anything. We are just the servants of the Lord and we have to turn to Him for all our needs. I learned that even more the next morning when there were over 80 people in the gym. Over the night we had had over 100 people who had just stopped in to rest.

It was a great blessing for me and my brothers and sisters in Christ to care for these people. It was humbling to realize that without God even our best efforts to do good would fall far short of the need. It was tremendously comforting to see God’s provision for us as a church and for these people who had been displaced.

I have learned a lot as a vicar. I have learned that serving God means humbling oneself. I’ve learned that the Love of Christ is more powerful than any storm. I’ve learned that “outreach” can be done right in the church. It’s been a great experience and for anyone who cares I will try to be more dilligent in posting my experiences.
The Lord be with you!

The Peace that God gives in Prayer

My bishop left for a mission trip to Russia. I was a little nervous about being "in charge," but we had finished all our shut-in calls, there were no scheduled meetings, and things had been quite at the hospital.
Monday morning I got a call to come to the hospital right away, a member who had been ill for some time had been re-admitted and was not doing well. As you can imagine from the title of this post, that member died.
I was all alone with a funeral to prepare for! I was nervous, but it was such a great opportunity to share the gospel, such a great opportunity to minister to God's people and show them His love and the hope we have in Christ.
I cannot overemphasize the importance that prayer played in my week. Numerous hospital visits with a grieving family, other hospital visits, office equipment problems, preschool open houses, sermon preparation, funeral preparation and three nursing home services sure is a lot to get done. Thankfully, the burden of all this was not on my shoulders! Because of the wonderful gift God has given His people in prayer, because we know that Christ has won for us righteousness before the Father, because we have the assurance that God works for the good of all who love Him and have been called to Him, we have peace.
It is this peace that God gave to me over this last week. It is the peace that passes all human understanding, it is the peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It is that same peace that will sustain the greiving family now after the funeral, and the same peace that is available, at no cost, to all who greive and are in difficult situations.
This was a busy week for me. It could have easily been used by the devil as a tool to discourage me, but thanks be to God we have prayer.
My encouragement to any who still read this thing after so long with no posts is to establish an active and vigorous prayer life. I am not suggesting some kind of "works righteous" activity by saying this, I am suggesting we use the gifts, the tools and the weapons our Father has given us.
When you feel overwhelmed or discouraged, turn to God as a child and seek His peace!

I'm a Vicar...and I'm a little scared!

I’m a vicar now! I have a lot more responsibilities, people to visit, sermons to write, Bible studies to lead, oh, and my bishop is leaving in a week and a half for two weeks in Russia. It’s great, right?

I’ll be honest, I am scared to death of all the stuff that lies before me. I am excited about it and I know it will be a great experience and I love the town and the church and everything else we’ve encountered up to now, but I am scared! What if I mess up? What if I forget someone or something? What if someone dies? I know that there is a pastor who can help me in all these circumstances, but I’m still scared. I guess it’s the fear of the unknown. Seminary just can’t prepare someone for all the experiences one will encounter in the parish. That is, of course, the reason for vicarage, but I’m just a little uneasy. I don’t like messing up, especially when I am in charge.

So, what will I do if I mess up? I will give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His steadfast love endures forever! If I forget someone or something? I will give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His steadfast love endures forever! If someone dies? I will give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His steadfast love endures forever!

What it all comes down to, and what I have to remember is that it is not about me and what I do. It is all about God and what He has done for us in and through Christ. I will mess up a lot, but Christ be praised! I give thanks that it is by grace through faith, not by my talents as a vicar or lack thereof, that I have been given the free gift of salvation, forgiveness of sins and the ministry of reconciliation.

I am a vicar now! To God be all the glory now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

+ + +

Oh Lord, help me to remember to give You all thanks, honor and praise in all I do. You have established the ministry of reconciliation and have given me the gift of participating in that ministry. You will be my Guide and Comfort. You will be my Good Shepherd and lead me in Your paths of righteousness for Your namesake. I turn all my shortcomings and fears over to You. I thank You, Holy Trinity, for uplifting me with the peace that surpasses all human understanding. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, One God now and forever!
Amen

The Hope of our Resurrection

Why is death so painful? Certainly, we as Christians, have that sure hope of everlasting life in Jesus Christ. So why is it then that upon hearing of the death of one of my favorite professors, Rev. Dr. Deomar Roos, that I was so sad? Paul says in I Thessalonians, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” Yes, we do have hope in the resurrection and glorious return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but we still can mourn the loss of one who is dear to us. The truth about death is that is plain sucks! Death is the result of a fallen world and the consequence of sin in that world. Jesus tells us “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” Lord, by Your sacrifice and full atonement of all the sins of the world, You have turned our sorrow into joy. We may weep and lament the loss of one so great as Brother Deomar, but You have taken away the sting of death and given us the peace that surpasses all human understanding.