First Love

The other day in a conversation I became aware of my use of the phrase “my first love” in that conversation.  I was mildly surprised to realize that I use this phrase rather regularly.

We were talking about matters of the Christian faith.  Once I become engaged in such a conversation regarding the doctrine of the Scriptures and the blessed hope of everlasting life that this doctrine teaches, I find myself hoping that I am not pressing too hard and for too long.  I find myself excusing my enthusiasm and fearing that I am demonstrating verbosity, and I say something like, “Well, this is my favorite subject and my first love.”

While the Lord Jesus uses this language in Revelation 2:4, still it caused me a degree of amazement to hear this coming from my lips in regular conversation.  Yet it is true.  I would rather speak the Gospel than do anything else.  It is not from a sense of obligation as though I speak it as a duty.  Rather, it is the source of my joy in life.  To share this source of joy and peace and comfort is what I find myself most wanting to do.  I am built up in the sharing and I desire the same for everyone else.

Some people imagine the sharing of the Gospel to be kingdom building or witnessing for the Lord or mission work and such things.  For me, it is simply who I am and what I love most in life.  For me it is simply the most natural thing to be doing, at home, with customers, with people in line at the store, on a blog or web site, wherever and whenever.

The Gospel is Life.  The Gospel is Hope.  The Gospel is Peace.  While it is mildly surprising to hear it flow from my lips in regular conversation, it is also pleasing to know that the Gospel is my first love.  I cannot imagine anything better or more worthy of my devotion.

Our Beloved Synod

One of the sayings that I remember as part of the mantra that I learned throughout my years of growing up in the LC-MS and then in my pastoral training is: “Our Beloved Synod.” I wonder how many prayers that I heard during my youth and that people heard from my lips as a pastor included this mantra. The use of the phrase, “our beloved synod,” is an indicator of a people’s pattern of thinking. It is indicative of what is understood as necessary for life as a believer. I wonder how many people who use this phrase and regularly hear this phrase in church parlance and in worship settings actually think of what the use of this phrase indicates.

It is generally used in connection with an area of concern regarding the life of the church body. When the church body is facing trouble of some sort, this phrase becomes very commonly and regularly utilized. It is often used during times of convention and restructuring. It is very frequently used in connection with fund raising.

I noticed this example at the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) website, although a substitute phrase is used: “WELS Connection.”




November 2010 - Christian giving from WELS Streams on Vimeo.

This video is entitled: November 2010 - Christian giving. It is a very well made video. It is very powerful. It pulls very hard on the heart strings. Yet it has the appearance of being meek and gentle and humble.

An interesting aspect of this is the title of this portion of the web site: WELS Connection. This fits perfectly with the assumptions of the members, be they WELS members or LC-MS members or ELCA members or members of other church bodies. Those assumptions are rarely spoken or even identified openly, yet they rule the hearts and minds of the members. One of those assumptions is that membership in the church body is equal to membership in The Church. Another assumption is that to give to the church body is equal to giving to the Lord. Another assumption is that the Church cannot function without the existence of church bodies and that these church bodies must be propagated and preserved. Another is that the so-called mission activities and ministries of these church bodies are the means by which the Lord carries out the evangelization of the world and that without these the Gospel would more or less stagnate.

And so programs like WELS Connection are invented. The current example in the LC-MS is the Ablaze!™ movement. (Notice the trademark.)



This Ablaze!™ movement of the LC-MS is especially clear in emphasizing that it is not static. It is a “movement.” This is strongly stated in What is Ablaze!? and especially in What makes Ablaze! different from every other church evangelism program of the past?. The underlying proclamation, although rather subtly hidden, is the necessity of the LC-MS cooperative efforts.

Is an awareness of this subterfuge important? Does such awareness serve a purpose? Does it matter that the various church bodies are held so highly? Is there a problem with the mentality that accompanies the use of the “our beloved synod” phrase? Did St. Paul address anything like this in his epistle of 1 Corinthians? Is there a connection to Matthew 21:12-16 and Mark 11:15-18? What does Jesus mean by what He says in Matthew 23 ? Does this or Jeremiah 7:4 mean anything in this connection? Is there a connection between the misquote of Matthew 26:61?
John 2:18-22 begs the question even more powerfully, as the Lord Jesus speaks of them tearing down the temple of God, that is, the body of Jesus, and that He will raise it up in three days, but they speak of Him tearing down their temple. The question in this is: why did they associate the temple of God with the works of their own hands and the works of their fathers, and not with the house of God in which God actually lives?

Is there a connection between this and the mentality that accompanies “our beloved synod”?

The Lord Jesus says: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

What does this mean? Does it have any application at all in this matter?

Hungry Kenyans

The day before my birthday I received an e-mail from a man in Kenya by the name of Eric. He told me that he had visited our web site and found what is posted there to be inspiring and encouraging and therefore was contacting me to teach them the Word of God.

The little congregation is hungry, very hungry. They are hungry to be fed the Word of God for their salvation and comfort. They have encountered the pretense of the many churches, the hypocrisy of one thing being professed as official doctrine, but another thing being practiced in the various congregations. So they are gathered together in the hope of hearing the Truth and walking in Him.

Money is an issue for them. Their pastor, Eric, earns $1.00 per day digging for people. He walks 15 kilometers to town to rent computer and Internet time at the cyber café and then walks home again. He checks his e-mail every day to see what new information I have sent to him. If I miss a day or two he wonders whether I am OK. It makes my heart hurt to realize that I failed him. I think of these dear people continually, but sometimes I have no new things to send and fail to take into account that they are looking for daily communication.

How many people in America would walk 15 km, that is, 9.32 miles, in order to receive little bits of new teaching concerning the Gospel? How many Americans would take from their grocery money in order to pay to download such bits of teaching concerning the Gospel?

Stephanie and I can relate somewhat. Yet I am amazed at the desire of these dear people for the Word. And they are indeed in need. They have no Bibles. They have no hymnals. Moreover, what they receive from me is in English, which is not their native tongue. Yet they say that they rejoice to receive what I send them. Pastor Eric downloads my sermon each week, pays to print it, and then delivers it the following Sunday to the congregation. Some of the older people do not know English, so he has to translate and explain parts of it for them.

I am amazed that they say that they understand the sermons. People in America have criticized me for being too deep for them. Yet these people in another land and of another tongue say that they are benefitting. All that I can say to this is: Thanks be to God!

Thus far I have been able to print the Enchiridion from the Concordia Triglot for them and have sent them some copies. I also received from the Lutheran Heritage foundation a copy of the Enchiridion in Swahili, which they graciously gave me permission to reprint freely. I have scanned it and formatted it for a larger print booklet and have printed it and sent some copies as well. Through Biblica in Nairobi I have been able to purchase and send 3 copies of a Kiswahili Reference Bible along with 3 paperback KJV Bibles. None of these have yet arrived, but they are eagerly awaiting their delivery.

This is all that Stephanie and I have been able to do so far. We would like to do more. Perhaps in time we will have some more funds available. Sadly, the bills and debts must be paid. But at least the dear people will now have the Scriptures available to share in together, and copies of the Enchiridion (the Small Catechism) for their growth in understanding the Faith.

Much of my free time has gone toward these efforts. It is exciting to be a part in such an opportunity for the Gospel. It is a great joy to observe people who are hungry for the Gospel.

We Care About Mission Money

Whenever I receive an envelope in the mail with this return address and insignia, I know that I am being hit up for money. I know that this group has one and only one interest concerning me and my family, like the Federal Reserve’s Internal Revenue Service, they want my money.

The material enclosed always includes a letter that begins like this one:

The intent of the letter is to inform me how much the LC-MS cares about mission work and the spread of the Gospel so as to move my heart to give them money. Isn’t that lovely? The LC-MS wants me to know how much they care about the Gospel and about mission work and about missionaries and about the sharing of the Gospel on the home front and in the military. Perhaps I will refrain from the sarcastic reminders of the many ways in which the LC-MS has withdrawn support for this work and misused the people’s monies for other-than-Gospel purposes. Perhaps I’ll let those who are in the know reflect upon and react to those issues.

This month’s money request has this very carefully chosen and attractive cover on the envelope:

“GOING where God leads us...” is what it declares. The emphasis is on going. Let’s get going. All CAPS are used for going. “where God leads us...” is given a lesser emphasis. This is what concerns me to a much greater degree than the fact that I continue to receive assaults upon my conscience in attempts to obtain my money.

This seemingly insignificant variation in emphasis has very significant impact upon the practice of those who hold it. Thus the pursuit of my money. With the primary emphasis being on GOING, the practice that follows this emphasis is on works of men. Perhaps it is actually the other way around. The preponderance of the focus on the works of men drives the emphasis on GOING.

This is very likely the biggest false doctrine attached to missiology and evangelism. The mission is not comprised of the works of men. The Gospel is God’s work, work in which He includes men. This false doctrine, which reverses the works of God and men, changes everything. Thus the LC-MS World Mission organization is not even concerned about me and my spiritual well-being. They are not in the least concerned about whether or not my wife and I have survived the horrendous evils that the LC-MS has perpetrated against us, nor concerning the hundreds of other pastors who have been abused. Their only concern is to attempt to persuade me to give them money to GO.

Yet they have the audacity to claim as their motto: “GOING where God leads us...” The church body is divided to such a degree that some are hoping to regain 50-80 % unity in the future. Where is the evidence of the church body and its missiology being directed and led by God? Do the Scriptures ever give any indication whatsoever of the apostles considering seeking financial support from beyond those with whom they are in communion? Did the apostles ever indicate in any way that mission work could be effectively pursued apart from 100% unity in doctrine and practice?

When unity in doctrine and practice is the primary concern, what is the result? Is not unity the result? When unity exists, do the people not of their own accord give from their hearts for the work that the Holy Spirit urges?

Is this not the problem in the churches today? Borrowing from a very common cliche, the cart is being hitched in front of the horse. Under such conditions, the horse struggles even when whipped severely. Is it possible that the churches will someday remember that the mission begins with teaching, that is, Baptism, as the Lord of the Church declares in Matthew 28? The mission begins with proper catechization of the Baptized within the congregation. Proper catechization includes regular participation in the Eucharist, by which true unity is embraced and made real. How many churches today completely ignore this ultimate manifestation of unity and proclamation of the Lord’s death, that is, the pure Gospel? How many churches never even discern the body of Christ at this most rudimentary and essential and defining level? How then can they imagine themselves to be led by God in anything, when they openly defy what God has ordained for the life of His Church on earth?

Christ declares Himself to be the way, the truth, and the life. The way cannot be discerned or acknowledged apart from the truth. Morever, the life of the Church cannot in any way be divorced from or contrary to the way and the truth. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

When churches forget this as the foundation of the Church, when churches forget that only pure administration of the Gospel and Sacraments has the effect that God promises for the Church, how can they imagine that they have the ability to go forth by God’s leading? If they want to receive God’s leading, they really need to listen to what He says. Don’t they?

When they remember this, they won’t need to reach out for money and they won’t need to reach out with the Gospel. For the Gospel is a light and the true Church is the light that God sets up on the hill for all to see so that people will come to the light. Mission work begins with the local congregation. What sort of witness is it to send forth missionaries when even the local congregations do not show forth the light that is to be carried abroad?

Notice that St. Paul did not urge the Corinthians to support mission work. Why not? Because they were the mission that needed the Gospel. They were so divided that the apostle told them that their supper was not the Lord’s Supper. He warned them that they were partaking of the table of demons. Until the unity that the pure Gospel produces was manifest among them, they had no light to show to the world. Thus he called them to repent, to return to the complete unity in which they at first shared together. At the end of the admonishments he finally called upon them to unite with the Galatians, who were also plagued by disunity, in supporting the saints, that is, the Church that was distressed by persecution on account of faithfulness to the pure Gospel.

St. Paul spoke of mission work to congregations that were united in Christ. He even asked them for their financial support. Could it be that the one whom the Lord Jesus called as the apostle to the Gentiles actually knows the manner in which mission work should be pursued? Could it be that the Holy Spirit inspired men to record these things for us to hear so as to be led by God? Whom should be counted as correct, the Holy Spirit and those who were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit, or a bureaucratic organ of a church body created and directed by men? Which is truly the mission of the Church, collecting money for GOING, or standing fast in the unity of the true Faith?

Reaching People

On the home page of a congregational web site that I visited this evening the following was stated:



In case the text is hard to read here it is again:

Reaching People.... Changing Lives

We are here to serve our community with God's Word, and to make a difference in people's lives for eternity!

I am not supplying a link to the web page as I do not wish to make the congregation itself the focus, but rather to address the “mission statement.”

If we examine this mission statement we can perceive the misunderstandings that are prevailing in churches today, misunderstandings that are turning Christianity upside down and inside out.

The first phrase of this statement is very revealing. When reading the Scriptures, whom are we commanded to serve? Are we ever commanded to serve the community? Are we not commanded: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve”? (Matthew 4:10)

Regarding serving the Word of the Lord to people, to whom are we commanded to do this and in what setting? Is this not to the Church, the communion of the saints, that the Word is to be served, and thus we speak of the divine service of Word and Sacrament?

It certainly is true that we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves, and thus we will be of service to our neighbors. But whom are we serving in doing this? Who is our master that is being served? Who therefore is the one to whom we look for the definition of such service to neighbor?

The second phrase is also revealing. In what way do the Scriptures say that the Church and the churches and the saints who are of the churches to make a difference in people’s lives? Do the Scriptures speak of the Church as being sent to the world to “reach out” to the world? Or do the Scriptures speak of the Church as a light set on a hill to which the people of the world will draw near? Moreover, what light enlightens the Church so as to make it a light to the world? What are the means by which people are served?

Regarding the Church’s world view, is the Church commanded by Christ to reach out to the world or to avoid the world?

Regarding those who do not repent but seek to mingle worldly elements with the life of the Church, how does the Lord Jesus say that such people are to be regarded by the Church? (Hint: Matthew 18:17 ; Romans 16:17)

In Matthew 18 the Lord Jesus teaches that the purpose of the office of the keys is to lead sinners to repentance. The purpose of the Church is the administration of the means of grace, which are the means of forgiveness and life. The Church is not about what we do but about what God does for us and for all who observe what God is doing for us and amongst us so that they come to be converted to be recipients of His grace, too. This can only happen when the Church stands apart as those who have called out of the world.

Sadly the churches have forgotten this and have actually ceased being the Church, the called out. Today the churches imagine that they are the ones who are to call out, rather than being the called out. They imagine that being witnesses is equal to being those who have the power to call people to faith. Then they imagine that they also have the authority to determine how the calling out is to be done.

When this shift occurs in the focus of the churches and the members they themselves become the focus of their witness. Their works and their efforts and their love is what rules the hearts and minds of the congregation.

The message of the Gospel is the proclamation of the works and efforts and love of God in Christ. It is the proclamation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, proclaimed in words and deeds, more accurately, in God’s words and deeds, that is, in the words of Christ expounded purely and in the right administration of the Sacraments.

Looking back to the “mission statement”, whose mission statement is this? Are the words of Christ even mentioned? Are the Sacraments that He ordained mentioned? Is this not upside down and inside out from what Christ says of His Church and of the meaning of being His witnesses?

The Word versus the Mission

In Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13, the temptation of the Lord Jesus is recorded. Matthew and Luke record three particular parts of His temptation, three direct attacks by the devil.

In the first, the devil appealed to the ego of Jesus, that is, His awareness of His being, His identity. “If/since a son you are of God, say that these stones bread should become.” The devil appealed to the fact that by His identity Jesus was the Word by which all things exist. Surely He should have no reason to be hungry when by merely speaking it the bread would come forth from the stones.

But Jesus had been led into the desert to be hungry and to endure our temptations. He went out to prove not Himself, but rather, what His identity means for mankind. He is mankind’s bread of life. He is mankind’s sufficiency.

The devil has used this same temptation in the churches, and they largely have turned to their own identities for their confidence rather than the identity of the Lord Jesus. They have turned their hearts to the earthly and fleshly provisions rather than counting “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” to be their source of life and hope and peace and joy and sustenance.

In the second approach the devil appealed to the act of believing and trusting God’s promises. Surely Jesus would not deny what the prophets had written. Surely Jesus would want to demonstrate that what was written about Him is true. Surely it must be meet, right, and salutary to step forward in faith and show the world the faithfulness of God’s promises recorded in the Holy Scriptures.

But Jesus was not born to act according to His own determination. He came to fulfill that which was already planned from eternity. He came to do the Father’s will. God is His Father and He was sent to the world by the Father. Even though He and the Father are one, even though He is the Word by which all that God does is made to be, nevertheless, “Again it is written, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Again the devil has effectively tempted the churches with this same temptation, and largely the churches have chosen to decide what God would have them to do in His name. They have set forth to build God’s Church for Him and have tempted the Lord their God. Rather than walking in the way that He has prepared and declared, they have chosen to make improvements by choosing what mighty things to do in His name.

Finally the devil held before the Lord Jesus the mission that He had come to the world to accomplish. The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all the glory or people of them. According to the devil’s offer, Jesus would increase the numbers of those who were brought into the Church. In fact, the devil promised that all of the kingdoms and all of the people would come to Jesus by this one simple alteration.

But Jesus did not come to alter anything. He came to restore what had been altered. He came to restore people to worship the Lord their God purely and solely. He did not come to establish a church that included everyone according to various ways of worship. He came to reestablish the one true worship of God in the unity of God’s Word.

Again, the devil has presented this same offer to the churches, and largely they have chosen to make the worship alterations that appeal to the masses. Their alterations have worked, for now the churches have become one with all of the kingdoms and they share in the glory of those kingdoms.

The devil has been quite happy to let the churches keep their identities as Christians. In fact, they basically all identify with each other, even allowing that they each have “enough of the Gospel” to be called Church.

The devil has been quite happy to let the churches keep their Scriptures. In fact they have the Scriptures in more translations than can be easily counted. And they each hold to the Scriptures according to their own interpretations and applications. Yet they all speak of the Scriptures as the basis for faith, and nevertheless they never agree on what that faith really is. Or do they?

Finally, the devil has been delighted to allow and even to encourage the churches to become more and more mission minded. He has encouraged them to focus their energies on making disciples of all nations. And the churches have made this their primary focus. All else can be set aside if necessary, so long as they are continuing in pursuing the fulfillment of the mission.

The Lord Jesus, on the other hand, never took His eyes off of the way of the cross.

It certainly presents an interesting contrast when one considers the Mission of the Word versus the Word of the Mission.