POTF Blog Of The Week:Cyberbrethren’s Connecting The Dots

This week’s blog of the week has got to go to überblogger Rev. Paul McCain’s Connecting the Dots: Women’s Ordination and the ELCA’s Decisions about Homosexuality over at Cyberbrethren. While I agree with every point Rev. McCain makes concerning how we should deal with the ELCA’s recent decisions at its church wide assembly, it his opening paragraph that had me cheering:

It is painful to watch men and women I’ve come to know and love as brothers and sisters in Christ, in the ELCA, suffer through the agony of their church body crumbling down around them. If somebody wants to chastise me for calling them brothers and sisters in Christ, go ahead, but it changes nothing. They are. I am, frankly, sick to my stomach watching some of the ham-fisted, rude, obnoxious, boorish reactions to the ELCA decisions appearing on Lutheran blog sites and discussion groups, including ridicule and mockery in the form of songs. Must we Missourians go out of our way like this to confirm every worst suspicion of us, that we are a bunch of jerks? No. It is time for clarity with charity.

Rev. McCain isn’t the only one frustrated with sectors of the Lutheran blogosphere. I’ve been a bit discouraged myself, especially with people and sites that purport to teach and who hold themselves up as true heirs of the reformation. More and more frequently these sites I once enjoyed resort to personal attacks and allowing venomous commentary and remarks that will only serve to damage any effort to steer our beloved synod from the road so many have gone down in Americanized Christianity. Sadly some fail to see how their own words will be used against the very causes they so enthusiastically fight for.

Rev. McCain isn’t the only one getting sick to his stomach watching boorish behavior. I fail to understand how anyone thinks an opinion or view on a particular issue will be changed without even a semblance of civility. Watching folks not content to just tear people down using only their true names that they resort to signing in under numerous pseudonyms so as to pile on (because even though we say we don’t like counting heads, we sure do like making sure that there are plenty of non-people agreeing with us to prove our point don’t we?) at these same sites is confirmation that all too often we Missourians are jerks indeed.

Now before anyone asks “isn’t this the pot is calling the kettle black here?” maybe, but I’ve never once put myself on a pedestal or set myself above others as the place to go to learn how to do things the way true blue Lutheran’s are supposed to, I don’t defend my goofy ideas from silence, and yes I will delete a comment if the adjectives jackboot, thug or ilk are used. Ya know why? Because even a slack jawed layman understands civility and what it means to make attacks personal. Just so ya know.

Anyhoo, the rest of Rev. McCain’s post is as good as the opening paragraph and I strongly encourage everyone to give it a read and see what he means by connecting the dots. Thanks for the great post Rev. McCain!

Song Review: What A Friend I've Found

In a comment on a recent post I was asked by someone new to POTF to give my thoughts on a particular song. I think this song would qualify as a praise song as I’ve heard similar lyrics sung in Sunday worship services of friends of mine who do not share my traditional Lutheran sensibilities. I’ve always taken requests here at POTF so there was no reason at all to not accepted the challenge.

Since “What a friend I've found” isn’t a traditional hymn I’ll be using a shorter but succinct method that I use to judge not only hymnody but sermons as well: the Wilken Diagnostic. The Wilken Diagnostic is a three step evaluation popularized on my favorite radio program Issues, Etc. by host Pr. Todd Wilken that goes like this:

1. How often is Jesus mentioned?

2. Is Jesus the subject of the verbs? Is Jesus the one who acts, or are you?

3. What are the verbs? What has Jesus done and what is He doing?

Now, keeping the Wilken Diagnostic in the back of our minds as we read “What a friend I've found” written by Martin Smith; here’s the lyrics:

What a friend I've found, Closer than a brother

I have felt your touch, More intimate than lovers

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, friend forever

What a hope I've found, More faithful than a mother

It would break my heart, To ever lose each other

chorus repeat until end

So, using the Wilken Diagnostic, let’s start answering the questions.

1. How often is Jesus mentioned? Well, Jesus does get mentioned in the chorus and that’s a lot more than some songs I’ve heard that purport to be Christian. It’s true that Jesus is our friend and that will indeed last an eternity but He’s a bit more than that, isn’t He. I just think “Jesus, friend forever” leaves out nearly everything about who Jesus is and what he does which is a nice segue into our next diagnostic question.

2. Is Jesus the subject of the verbs? Is Jesus the one who acts, or are you? This question is a crucial one because if Jesus isn’t doing the doing, He’s not doing anything at all. The first line the song seems to fail this particular test. Do we as poor sinful creatures really find Jesus? Are we capable of coming to know anything about Jesus on our own? Let’s see what Scripture says about our own ability; let’s look at what St. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-8;

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God

So, we are indeed dead in our sins and can only receive faith as a gift from God. In the above text, who is running the verbs? It’s God ain’t it? Yep, and thanks be to God that by grace He does this even though we don’t deserve it. The Lord looks at us and sees, not fallen creatures, but His only begotten Son’s blood drenched robes and declares us righteous on the account of Christ. All that sin that we carry with us is atoned for at Calvary. If we are to be honest about it, we could say we had a part only in the fact that it was our sin that caused Him to be nailed to the cursed tree.

Now let’s also look at the words of Jesus in John 15:1-6;

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

The key phrase here is Jesus saying “for apart from me you can do nothing.” Here Jesus reminds us that everything is dependent on God’s grace, even the good works that bear fruit are gifts from the Spirit! All the doing is God doing the doing. All our lives, whether we talk of faith or works it is God running the verbs.

So can we “find” Jesus? Not on our own we can’t. To say or even think that we run the verbs goes against what Scripture proclaims! The song “What a friend I've found” doesn’t have Jesus doing the doing but rather it has us and what we do and what we think and what we feel as the subject of the verbs.

This brings to our last question;

3. What are the verbs? What has Jesus done and what is He doing? If Jesus isn’t the subject of the verbs, this question must simply be left blank. Not much more to say than that other than to lament the fact that the song fails to mention what Jesus did out of love for all His poor miserable creature! The story of Jesus’ work at the cross is called good news for a reason! If I’m gonna sing about Jesus, I sorta want to sing about the evangel, the good news. If that wonderful story isn’t at the center of your song… I really don’t feel comfortable singing it because it doesn't say anything that offers me any hope for the sin which infects all of us to core; Jesus’ atonement on the cross which allows me, through no work of my own, be declared righteous before the Lord God almighty.

Lastly, while this thought doesn’t fall under the Wilken Diagnostic, I still feel it needs to be said; I would be really uncomfortable singing the first stanza with a line like “I have felt your touch, More intimate than lovers” in any setting. We often speak of Christ as the Bridegroom and His Church as the bride but in the last few years there has been an explosion of songs that seem to use erotic language when referring to our Lord. I fail to see how Christ’s Church is edified with such language.

It’s true that the Song of Songs has some imagery that describes a very intimate relationship (this book of Scripture in particular is often sited as an excuses for the sexualization of both hymnody and preaching) but texts of this sort do not give us license to turn our songs into soft core porn ditties that resemble hits(?) sung by so many over sexualized pop stars seen on stations that still play music videos. Sorry, but I still get creeped out every time I hear a song that requires me to constantly remind myself it supposed to be about our Lord!

Ask yourself this; if you scratched out the name Jesus and wrote in either the name Andy or Andrea into the chorus, does the song still work if you sing it as a love song to your respective boyfriend or girlfriend? If you answer in the affirmative, I fail to see how anybody can enjoy singing such a song.

I’m afraid I can’t give my approval to the song “What a friend I've found”. With so many good hymns out there, both ancient and modern, that are able to speak of Christ’s salvific work and even our response, why sing a song that falls so short of confessing how God expresses love and our response?

My Email To The Lutheran Witness Concerning A Recent Article On DCEs

I just thought I’d share what is only my second letter to the editors of the official periodical of the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, The Lutheran Witness, concerning the latest article on Directors of Christian Education or DCE’s:

I apologize for taking so long to write this email but my vocation has had me quite busy as of late. It is the matter of vocation that I write today.

One of the blessings of the reformation was the freeing of the people of consciences that had been burdened by the Roman system of works. Under this system, people had been taught the only good works and vocations were those done for the service of the church by the priests, nuns, and monks (I’m sure there are other sub-vocations but those escape me at the moment). The Roman culture was so corrupt that by the time of the Reformation; there are in fact reports of parents, fearing for their children’s eternal souls, giving up their infants directly to monasteries or nunneries to insure that they might merit heaven by a life of service to God’s church. I have great difficulty imagining, as most would today, the fear of just not doing enough to merit our Lord’s grace to the point that I would leave my child with a religious order.

The question I have now is this; are we really all that far away from the same mind set the faced the reformers five hundred years ago? Are we now ourselves burdening consciences with the idea that unless you do something for the church, your vocation is a lesser vocation? I think sometimes we do indeed say that even if it is not what we intend and I think the recent article on DCE’s very much propagates this false notion.

Under “What is a DCE?” found on page 19 of the August issue of the Lutheran Witness; an explanation from the website of Concordia University Texas is used to describe what the vocation of a DCE is and states:

A director of Christian education (DCE) is a synodically certified, called, and commissioned life-span educational leader prepared for team ministry in a congregational setting.

In this setting a DCE is
· a called minister of the Gospel;
· a trained parish-education specialist;
· a team minister who works with the pastor, staff, and lay leaders of the congregation;
· a teacher of the faith; and
· a trainer of the laity for service

Ok, I have little problem with bullet points 2 and 5 as a DCE is educated to be an educator. However, on bullet points 1, 3, and 4, I find these explanations to be confusing at best and an outright rejection of the Lutheran father's bold confessions during the reformation at worst.

DCE’s are not ministers, period. The ministry is only for those men called by our Lord through our congregations as we confess in AC XIV: Our churches teach that no one should publically teach in the church or administer the Sacraments, without a rightly ordered call1. In this article of confession, we clearly confess that it is the pastors who are charged to be ministers and teachers of the faith. It is through this Office of the Holy Ministry that our Lord uses these under-shepherds to feed his sheep until his glorious return. The office of ministry belongs to pastors and to pastors alone.

Putting the best construction on the matter I’ll presume that this blurring of educator and minister is a mere oversight. The danger of such confusion is that with catechesis in this country as poor as it is, there will undoubtedly be some people reading this article and thinking, like so many in Americanized Christianity do, that as the saying goes; everybody’s a minister. What typically goes with that thought is that only “ministry” is a God pleasing vocation. This is a dangerous idea that has burdened many souls since medieval times. This is a dangerous idea that runs rampant all across our country as people create idols out of “finding God’s purpose for you” and serving one’s neighbor but only through sanctioned sanctification.

Maybe one might say that “Well, that terminology would be understood by any Lutheran reader so you’re just splitting hairs!” I would hope that I would be able to share any article with my non-Lutheran next door neighbor but I can’t honestly say I would share this particular piece. Shouldn’t the Lutheran Witness be a clearer witness and not having all of us dig out our secret decoder rings and explaining to our neighbors that we say DCE’s are ministers but not really? Is should mean is here or a better way to say it is that is shouldn’t even have been used.

DCE’s are trained as educators and we should hold up this valuable vocation for what it is. DCE’s are not trained to be ministers and neither are our ushers, the people who clean our sanctuaries, or the people who fix our church secretaries’ favorite copier. Just because I’m a metrologist doesn't mean I’ve a metrology ministry. I could go on and on but my point is that we all have valuable vocations that are God pleasing and allow us to serve our neighbor but we are not all ministers!

Often people try to elevate vocations by tearing down another and many times the Office of the Holy Ministry seems to be a favorite target. By reproducing Concordia University Texas’s misleading website information on the role of a DCE; the author or the editor risked unnecessarily burdening the consciences of the readers of the Lutheran Witness. As the official periodical of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; better care should have been taken to use language that is distinctively confessional (even if unpopular) and Lutheran (also, even if unpopular) and then explained if such was an explanation was required.

I hope that in the future more discernment will be used when reporting on the subjects of vocation as well as ministry.

1 For the record, I am quoting the Augsburg Confession article XIV from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. A Reader’s Edition (CPH) which has passed a doctrinal review from the LCMS Commission on Doctrinal Review; an undertaking I’m not entirely sure the Concordia University Texas’s website could muster.

In Christ,

Frank Gillespie

CC Concordia University Texas Webmaster

Time Out Episode 29

Dan over at Necessary Roughness has the newest Time Out; Time Out Episode 29 posted.

The Scripture reading for this episode is chapter 20 of the John’s gospel and the hymn is “Lord of Our Life.” found on page 659 in the Lutheran Service Book.

Dan is joined in this edition of Time Out by Kantor Nathan Beethe on the organ. Kantor Beethe is Director of Parish Music for Grace Lutheran Church down in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Be sure to stop by, say howdy, and thank Dan for doing such a great job on Time Out Episode 29!

Previous Time Out episodes:

Time Out Episode 28

Time Out Episode 27

Time Out Episode 26

POTF Blog Of The Week: Territorial Bloggings’ A Lesson re: Polity

I’ve often quoted other people’s blogs here at Putting Out The Fire as there are an infinite number of people who write worthwhile material better than I would ever hope to. What I don’t think I’ve ever done is pick a blog of the week and I think that needs to change. I may not always have a blog of the week but every now and then I think I’d like to point out a particular post that just strikes me as a cut above the rest. Hey, why should big time talk show hosts and producers have all the fun? Also, it’s my blog and I can do with it what I please.

With all that being said, drum roll please…GHP over at Territorial Bloggings has a great post titled A Lesson re: Polity that looks at both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s organizational structure and their representation in convention and how the proposed reorganization of our beloved church body, the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance (BRTFSSG) and what that might mean for us if such a proposal is adopted.

GHP is one smart cookie in that he has the foresight to see the possible problems of “top-down process (wherein the concept of every member having a truly & practically equal voice is lost), or a skewed and less-than-representational national voting body (wherein important changes could be driven by an agenda of the few, rather than by a representative consensus of the many…)” with what just happened at the ELCA convention as backdrop. A great post GHP and congratulations on being selected as the inaugural pick for POTF’s Blog of the Week!

ELCA Convention Fallout

Well, that didn’t take long, nope, not long at all. I was at least expecting until I came in to work on Monday to explain that my church wasn’t part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), the country’s largest Lutheran organization, which voted to enter into fellowship with a church body whose confession is as different from its own as night is from day, grant non-celibate homosexual ministers the privilege of serving as rostered leaders and pastors as well as their blessing of homosexual marriages as unions that are God pleasing in spite of Scripture’s clear prohibition against the same. There are other issues to be sure but there can be no doubt that the homosexual issue will be the one a lot of folks focus on. Nope, I only had until Saturday morning before I had to explain the situation as it.

I was loading up the kayaks for the weekend kayak excursion that the missus requested (read demanded) when my neighbor who was out walking his dog stopped by for a chat. After discussing how much both our workloads have slowed down he mentioned that he had seen what he thought was my church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, on the news the night before. It took a few minutes but I eventually was able to lay out a thumbnail sketch of the growing chasm of differences between the two organizations.

The ELCA should be considered an apostate body that has rejected God’s Holy Word for its own subjective interpretation and needs to be called to repentance. This whole situation will no doubt make having productive conversations with members of both leadership and laity even more difficult in the future.

I myself have family members in churches whom hold membership in the ELCA a bit further south from my little corner of the Haut South. I have never communed in these churches because when visiting family as I’ve heard in more than one homily that “God’s Word says ___ but what it really means is ___”. With the situation the way it is now, I don’t suspect either my missus or I will so much as even visit the very church she grew up and was confirmed in ever again, certainly not with a faithful congregation (where we have attended Sunday worship when visiting) just down the road. I believe the ELCA convention will bring considerable grief to a great many families in addition to my own.

The ELCA didn’t get to where it’s at overnight and it may take even a generation if ever for this organization to see its errors and return to the historic church catholic. After being brought out of Egypt, Israel had to wander forty years in the desert for her lack of faith in the very God that had just delivered them from Pharaoh and Egypt. But as the faithless generation passed away, a new generation did eventually enter into the land that the Lord had promised. Our Lord has always welcomed back repentant sinners and on the cross He died for each and every sin whether committed in a convention, at work, or at home. In love we must call our brothers to repentance before their hearts become so callused they resemble Pharaoh’s heart of stone.

Our hope should always be that the faithful remnant fighting the good fight within ELCA’s ranks be able to reach those who look at Scripture as something to be accepted or rejected by majority vote and varying cultural sensitivities at conventions be strong in the faith and always be point to the unchanging and inerrant Word of God. As we pray for the erring members of the ELCA, we need to keep those those good and faithful servants in our prayers each and every day that our Lord tarries, whether its forty years or four hundred, it makes no difference.

Worship Songs Turning Jesus Into Our Girlfriend/Boyfriend

While the songs that purport to be hymns of hope are still fresh in my mind; I thought I’d vent a bit concerning worship songs that turn Jesus into our girlfriend or boyfriend. It’s down right scary listening to some of ION’s Worship channel’s songs of praise.

If it wasn’t bad enough that most of what I’ve been listening to seem to forget to even mention Jesus or His work at the cross destroying sin, death, and the devil, some of these “praise songs” could actually be sung to a girlfriend or boyfriend and not in a I love you as a fellow Christian kind of way. It’s not too much of stretch to imagine these same songs being played with a racy music video that couldn’t be aired during the evening family hour instead of the candle lit auditorium with young people waving their hands in unity with hip soul patched music director up on stage.

Think I’m just an angry blogger setting up a straw man to attack because a particular style of praise song might not be to my liking? Au contraire. Allow me to make my case:
I could certainly choose any number of artists or worship leaders but for today’s discussion we’ll look at Kari Jobe’s “The More I Seek You”. Here’s the lyrics:

Chorus; The more I seek you, the more I find you

The more I find you, the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hand.

Lay back against you and breath, hear your heart beat

This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand.

I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

Chorus:4x

Now, is this song an appropriate song of praise or is it a love song to one’s girlfriend or boyfriend? I would argue that with the simple switch of the musical setting that Kari Jobe’s praise song makes the transition to a love song rather effortlessly. Am I incorrect or just making too much of too little? Is singing a song that can be either/or appropriate for any kind of worship or praise team?

I would argue that any song that invokes, unintentionally or not, a good cuddle on the living room sofa with the Lord is not only something that need not be sung in a church setting but rather something that we would be wise to steer clear of. For crying out loud Jesus is the author of creation itself and savior of fallen humanity not a prom date! Who the heck thinks this nonsense is worship? Who thinks this is a sacred song? Not me that’s for certain even knowing the context in which the author intended it to be sung. When I look at “The More I Seek You” all I see is a creepy song that I want to avoid.

It’s Bar Form Not Bar Tunes

Today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day is from an interview on July 17 with Dr. Paul Grime. Dr. Grime is an Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions and Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In today’s soundbite Dr. Grime debunks the myth that Luther brought in bar tunes into the church.

I’ve heard this urban legend being used on more than one occasion to justify the sneaking in of popular culture’s music through the portals of our sanctuaries. The thinking is this; that if we make church sound more like the culture we’ll attract more people and thereby grow Christ’s Church. I’ve even seen an evangelism “suggestion” saying if we just play a Randy Newman or John Fogerty song as “bumper music” the people will feel more comfortable and not scared away by too much of that scary church music.

The fact of the matter is; is that if we make our sacred places look and sound like the culture they cease to be sacred spaces. Christianity has always been countercultural and has never conformed to what was going on outside the walls of our sanctuaries.

Dr. Grime’s comments tearing down the falsehood that Luther would take songs sung in taverns and make hymns out of them by explaining what a bar form is just, well, it’s just music to my ears and is today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day.

Just in case you missed it, here’s my inaugural pick for soundbite of the day.

“This Stuff Is Depressing!”

First the back-story…

I just got around to retuning my digital converter box last week. I was trying to get the local PBS station which I haven’t been able to pick up since the country went from an analog to a digital signal for over the air TV. (No, I don’t have cable or satellite, only the freebie signal picked up by a pair of good old fashiony rabbit ears.) I knew that all us cheapskates who get our TV for free (I am cheap, just ask anybody who knows me) were supposed to reset our converter boxes right after the switch but I had simply put the task off.

While I’m still not able to pick up my local PBS signal, I was a bit surprised that I picked a new and previously unknown to me and all channel called ION. I’m really enjoying one or two of the ION stations with the sailing lifestyle program Attitudes and Latitudes being my favorite. (I’m big fan of being out on the water and it doesn't seem to matter if it’s sailing, kayaking or even a fishing trip!) But not all the channels are my cup of tea, like for instance the ION Worship channel.

The Worship channel is basically what you’d expect from Americanized Christianity. There’s lots of talk of God with precious little discussion of either Jesus, what exactly it is that Jesus did for us at the cross, or what He does for us right now through the means of grace, that is to say; the preached Word and administered Sacraments. I have wonder if the producers for these programs have Jesus stuffed in a back room somewhere next to the first aid kit and right under the sign saying “If you use something make sure you return it; somebody else may need to use it after you, signed: management ”. Is it so hard to even mention his name? Apparently, yes it is.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect a discussion of the Heidelberg Disputation or Chemnitz’s Loci Theologici. To be honest there are very few churches Lutheran or otherwise where in-depth studies and discussions are common place. It’s sad but it’s true.

I do find myself watching ION’s Worship channel every now and then though to see what some of my more evangelical friends, whether they are reformed or Calvinist, view as worship. I’ve found that a good many of these same friends use the term worship interchangeably with sanctified living, good works, and even daily devotionals. Worship, for many, is not necessarily synonymous with what goes on in church on a Sunday morning although it is sometimes included, albeit rarely, in that context. Occasionally worship in the Americanized Christian lexicon can mean just listening to songs that are playing on contemporary Christian music radio stations and there are a lot of these songs on ION Worship’s playlist.

Okey-dokey, that’s the back-story.

I was listening to ION Worship’s Hymns of Hope program over the weekend when my missus wandered into the living room with a puzzled look on her face and asked “What the heck are you listening to?” I responded I didn’t know which of the four lines was the title and was watching strictly for curiosities’ sake.

Her next remark was priceless; “Well, this stuff is depressing! I stopped listening to country music when it all got to be this depressing.”

She had a point. The song was not unlike a pop hit where the singer tries his best to be all emotional and sensitive through a singing style reminiscent of something close to the grunge style of music in the nineties. There is no doubt that it does indeed take a good bit of talent to sing as if you just had a root canal without the benefit of anesthesia. I guess the question I’m thinking is; should songs sung in worship need to sound this way to express hope.

To be fair, the historic church has always sung hymns that had a somewhat somber tone during penitential seasons like Lent but the focus of those hymns is always Christ’s journey to Jerusalem and the cross. These wonderful hymns are filled with sung confessions of Christ atoning work is a far cry from songs that can’t even so mention our Lord much less his salvific work.

Now maybe the performer was indeed grief-stricken having only four lines to sing before he had to repeat the chorus five or six times. It stuck me as odd that the chorus was the majority of the song. I know I’d get a little bummed out if I had to perform such a repetitive composition.

And the kicker alluded to above; there wasn’t a single mention of God, Jesus, or Holy Ghost. There wasn’t even a mention of a generic deity that is included sometimes in prayers so as to be all ecumenical and not offend. Who the heck wants to sing a song that doesn’t mention God or Jesus and call it worship. How in the world do you sing a song on a program called Hymns of Hope without giving a reason for the hope we have in Christ Jesus?

Where is the hope without Jesus? Answer, there isn’t and maybe that’s the reason the performer sounded a bit depressed.

The Lords Of Kobol Are Happy

The Lords of Kobol are going to be a happy, happy bunch with Variety reporting:

Universal Pictures has set Bryan Singer to direct and produce a feature version of "Battlestar Galactica," confirming a report on the Hitfix website.

"Battlestar Galactica" appears to be on a fast track and sources said that Singer could be looking at a $10 million paycheck to sign on to the film.

Heh, I wonder if Singer will make the missus happy by making Starbuck a guy again.

For those of you who are new readers, I posted a good bit of Battlestar Galactica last year mostly because of Mitt Romney’s fail attempt to be the president of the United States. Romney being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints allowed me to comment on political matters which I traditionally avoid here at the Official Ablaze! Firefighter’s® blog. Here’s a link to a post I wrote discussing Ron Moore ‘s reimagined BSG giving a shout out to the Mormon legends that the original series creator Glen Larson sees as theological fact.

The Mormons have always fascinated me for a couple of reasons. The first reason being is that they are clearly the most successful of the made in America religions. The second reason they have always piqued my curiosity is their temple worship which bears a striking resemblance to a certain cult of which I used to be a member (a future post to be certain).

Just the thought of a Battlestar Galactica movie has me giddy with the idea of new posts on the theology of the sons of Kobol.

The Shiniest Story Not Being Reported: King David’s Palace Found

Did you hear about the coolest archeology find in years? Did you hear about Dr. Eilat Mazar finding what is most likely King David’s palace in Jerusalem story? How did she find a palace that was buried in Jerusalem for a couple of thousand years? Heh, she read her Bible.

For a good long while the accounts recorded in Scripture have been treated as legends or fairy tales by many academics. From the story reporting Dr. Mazar’s find:

For a growing number of academics and intellectuals, King David and his united kingdom of Judah and Israel, which has served for 3,000 years as an integral symbol of the Jewish nation, is simply a piece of fiction. The biblical account of history has been dismissed as unreliable by a cadre of scholars, some of whom have an overtly political agenda, arguing that the traditional account was resurrected by the Zionists to justify dispossessing Palestinian Arabs. The most outspoken of these is Keith Whitelam of the Copenhagen School which promotes an agenda of "biblical minimalism," whose best-known work is The Invention of Ancient Israel: The Silencing of Palestinian History.

Even in Israel, this new school has found its voice. Israel Finkelstein, chairman of Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology, began championing a theory several years ago that the biblical accounts of Jerusalem as the seat of a powerful, unified monarchy under the rule of David and Solomon are essentially false. The scientific methods for his assumptions, called a "lower dating" which essentially pushes archaeological evidence into a later century and thus erases all evidence of a Davidic monarchy, were laughed off by traditional archaeologists. But his book, The Bible Unearthed, wound up on the New York Times' best-seller list and he became the darling of a sympathetic media. He concluded that David and Solomon, if they existed at all, were merely "hill-country chieftains" and Jerusalem a poor, small tribal village. He claims that the myth of King David was the creation of a cult of priests trying to create for themselves a glorious history.

For years folks have been trying to locate David’s palace but have given up when it could not be located within what is the nine square acres of the original city. So how did Dr. Mazar know where to look when no one could seem to find it? More from the story:

Some biblical scholars gave up looking for the palace because, according to Mazar, they were looking in the wrong place. Scholars searched for remains of the palace within the walls of the ancient Jebusite city that David conquered and called Ir David (City of David). This city, while heavily fortified with both natural and man-made boundaries, was also very small, just nine acres in size. When no evidence of such a majestic palace as the Bible describes was found there, the next step was to claim that David's monarchy never really existed.

But Mazar always suspected that the palace was outside the original city, and cites the Bible to prove it. When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed, they went on the attack to apprehend him. This occurred after he conquered the Fortress of Zion, which was the actual nucleus of the city, and built his palace. The Bible says that David heard about it and "descended to the fortress," (2-Samuel 5:17), implying that he went down from his palace, which was higher up on the mountain than the citadel/city.

Mazar told Aish.com: "I always asked myself: Down from where? It must have been from his palace on top of the hill, outside the original Jebusite city."

Mazar says she was confident in her assessment of where the palace would be. What she discovered was a section of massive wall running about 100 feet from west to east along the length of the excavation (underneath what until this summer was the Ir David Visitors Center), and ending with a right-angle corner that turns south and implies a very large building.

One of the things I love about archeology is the fact that this science in particular is one of the Christian’s greatest friends in refuting the idea that a group of people, whether they lived two or even three thousand years ago, created a religion out of thin air that had no ties to real live history. The fact of the matter is that ancient Judaism and Christianity are the only religions that can stand up to the archaeologist shovel and still come out on top.

It just bothers me a bit that nobody seemed to want to cover this story. This find confirms a major religion’s place in history when the majority view of scientific community seems to be otherwise! It just seems like we’re living in Bizzaro world when the main stream media will report a grilled cheese sandwich that looks like Mary, the mother of God, up for auction on Ebay and overlooks important archaeological finds that validates the Biblical narrative from a scientific prospective and methodology. The next thing you know they’ll skip the finding a stegosaurus carved into Buddhist temples story! ;-)

One thing I told my Sunday school class recently is that Christians should never fear science. Yes, there are claims out there that seem to contradict Scripture but when the rubber hits the road or the shovel hits the Jerusalem hillside, my bet’s on God’s Holy Word coming out on top when it comes to truth. Yep, my money is on Scripture.

Time Out Episode 25

Dan over at Necessary Roughness has the newest Time Out; Time Out Episode 25 posted.

The Scripture reading for this episode is the first chapter of Colossians and the hymn is “By Grace I’m Saved” found on page 566 in the Lutheran Service Book.

The audio for Episode 25 is from the Higher Things 2009 Sola conference at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. It is included with permission from Higher Things. You can hear the hymn by itself at their Sola 2009 page now, but it will eventually become part of the HT-Online subscribers-only page. When that happens, you will need to register at Higher Things for free and then add the premium service. The premium service will also contain other great audio from both Sola conferences.

Be sure to stop by, say howdy, and thank Dan for doing such a great job on Time Out Episode 25. And while your there, wish Dan a happy birthday as Necessary Roughness turns 5 years old today!

Time Out Episode 24

Time Out Episode 23

Time Out Episode 22

Time Out Episode 21

Time Out Episode 20

New Feature: Issues, Etc. Soundbite Of The Day

Today marks the debut of something new here at Putting Out The Fire; the Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the Day. It’s not that I’m not a huge fan of the Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the Week, I am a huge fan of the Friday segment. I've even called in and voted myself a few times. It’s just that, every now and then, there is just a portion or two of an interview or segment that catches my attention in a big way that might not make it to the Friday show to be voted on as a possible soundbite of the week.

After I had the idea that it would be fun to do my own soundbite, I emailed the producer Jeff Schwarz and asked for permission (yes, I really asked for permission, no joke!) to have my own audio pick of the day and post it. My request was granted (it only took a day or so; I’m assuming it had to be run by all the big wigs and such) and all I needed to figure out is how to post my pick; whether it be strictly audio or was there going to be a visual component to my project. Today ya’ll get to see the results. It should be noted that this is still a work in progress and from time to time there may be changes as I make improvements.

My inaugural Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the day is from none other than the host of the program itself. I picked Pastor Todd Wilken wrapping up an interview back on June 23 with author Pastor Daniel Deutschlander on his The Theology of the Cross book for two reasons; first, Pastor Wilken has never had his own soundbite even though there is at least one listener who has suggested a comment or four for Soundbite of the Week. Second, and more importantly, Pastor Wilken makes an important point about the theology of the cross and the preaching that comes from the pulpit.

Congratulations Pastor Wilken on the high honor of being the inaugural pick of Putting Out The Fire’s Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the day!

What Kind Of Culture Are You Trying To Build?

I’m a little cranky after reading the latest article from the Reporter, official newspaper of the LC-MS, concerning young adult ministry. Hate to be a negative Nancy but ya’ll know how so persnickety I can get. Here’s the article:

Web site features Synod young adult ministry
A new Web site for young adult ministry in the Synod is up and running at http://www.lcmsyoungadultministry.org.

Sponsored by the Synod's seven-member Young Adult Ministry Advisory Committee, the site offers:
• monthly blog articles by young adults about their ministry, culture, and faith.
• information about servant opportunities, including the committee's first "LEAD" servant event, held May 31-June 5 in New Orleans.
• book reviews about young adult ministry and culture.
• twitter feeds on the activities of the advisory committee.
Jessica Bordeleau, a member of the committee, told Reporter that the group's two-pronged goal is "to enable congregations to build a culture where young adults are able to fully participate in the life of the church, and to enable young adults to become an integral part of the church community, living out their faith in a global context."
Bordeleau is coordinator for Lutheran Youth Fellowship and Young Adult Ministry with LCMS District and Congregational Services -- Youth Ministry.

A virtual note paper-clipped to the site's home page describes the advisory committee and its work, as follows:

"We are a movement of LCMS young adults reaching out to our peers with the love and light of Christ. We know that no top-down institutional program is going to impact the heart of a young adult like a community of believers living out the love of Christ in their daily interactions, ... ready, willing, and able to be servant leaders who point our friends, communities, and world to the love of Christ in relatable, relevant, real ways."

Posted July 29, 2009


First things first… reread Ms.Bordeleau’s comments; “to enable congregations to build a culture where young adults are able to fully participate in the life of the church, and to enable young adults to become an integral part of the church community, living out their faith in a global context."

How the heck do these folks suppose that young people are to become active participants in the life are the church? Is this something that even requires “building cultures” within congregations? How do any of us become active participants in a congregation whether young or aged? The Means of Grace!

Through the Means of Grace, through God’s properly preached Word and through His rightly administered Sacraments we become part of the community of believers past, present, and future. It is the community that always gathers around the voice of her Shepherd, Jesus Christ that should be held up as something to be imitated. Sadly as of late people that gather for Word and Sacrament are mocked as museum keepers only performing a maintenance ministry!

Think I’m just an angry blogger who just doesn't like change? Then read the book of Acts and see how the first Christians grew the Christ’s Church. Read how Peter and Paul created a culture of community by preaching the Gospel and the repentance of sins as commanded by Jesus himself. Read how Stephan did the same and was martyred for living out his faith, albeit deadly, context! Can anybody point me to a single passage of Scripture that states we need to build cultures so that youngsters (or oldsters for that matter!) can feel like they are a part of a community apart from the Means of Grace? Is the phrase “build cultures” even in the Bible? I know my knowledge of Greek is extremely limited and my knowledge of Hebrew is nonexistent so maybe I’m just missing some hidden meaning lost on slack jawed yoke like myself but I can’t find a single English translation that speaks of “building cultures” either! Apart from the Voice, an emergent translation that makes the NIV look like a modern day pedagogic masterpiece, there isn’t a single translation I can find that points to works outside the church; i.e. “faith in a global context."” as something to measured from inside the Church. Yes, the outside world will know Christians by their works but the faithful don’t count these works as their own but rather as fruits of faith. Big difference between the two views!

Which brings me to the second point; this has the emergent church’s theological fingerprints all over it. The emergents nearly always focus on acting within a global community to help the world become the paradise our Lord intended it to be. Of course this misses the problem of the fall into sin entirely as the root cause of the real problem plaguing humanity and if you fail to understand the problem, how the heck can anyone understand Christ’s gifts won at the cross. This is why emergents always point to works and community outside the church catholic!

Now, read the article again; what does the monthly blog feature; articles for young adults about their ministry, their culture, and their faith, information about servant opportunities that they can participate in, and book reviews about their ministry and their culture. Not a lot about Jesus in there is there? Sorta begs the question; exactly what kind culture do you suppose they are trying to build?

Will Museum Keepers Do The Keeping?

The awesome Mollie Ziegler Hemingway over at Steadfast Lutherans reports that the LCMS is opening a museum. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article:

KIRKWOOD — The second-largest Lutheran denomination in North America opened a museum Sunday at its international headquarters on Kirkwood Road, telling the story of its growth since being founded in 1847 in the St. Louis area by Saxon and German immigrants seeking religious freedom.
One can see editions of some of Martin Luther’s books from the mid-1500s; a model of a ship that brought Lutherans to America in 1838; and the carriage that carried the synod’s first president. One can also hear radio broadcasts from the 1940s played on KFUO, the nation’s longest continually running Christian radio station.

Commenting on the article Charles Henrickson makes an important clarification and writes: "One small correction to the article: A visitor is quoted as saying, "It's the first time we've had a place to go and get one good overview of our church." That's not correct. For many years the museum was housed at the Concordia Historical Institute on the campus of Concordia Seminary in Clayton. Now the museum has been moved to the LCMS International Center in Kirkwood. So it's a relocation, not the "first time" we've had the museum."

Ok, all I want to know is will the LCMS staff the museum with, uh, I don’t know… museum keepers?