Ben Kjendal wrote:
"As I have struggled to be faithful to God over these past two years here, I have come to realize what that means in the greater fellowship of churches that are part of the Missouri Synod. I can no longer in good conscience remain in that fellowship, no matter how wonderful this little piece of it is. There are other pastors who also strive to be faithful and who remain in the Missouri Synod. But, as I have preached here, part of our faithfulness to God is in submitting to the authority which he has placed over us. In the Missouri Synod this means that pastors are to be in agreement with each other in terms of teaching and worship. That is not a reality in our synod, and is no longer the case for me. At times Jesus asks us to drop all that we have to follow him. For every Christian, that may be something different, but for me and my family that means leaving the Missouri Synod and seeking fellowship in the Orthodox Church."
The following quote was mistakenly attributed to the Niles ELDONA site. Instead, the Luther quotation is from a collection by Sanders - Devotional Readings from Luther's Works for Every Day of the Year, by The Rev. John Sander, L.H.D., published by the Augustana Book Concern in 1915. I misread the email from Grey Goose. He wants me to cry, "Fowl!" but it was my error.
Where else would God dwell? Those self-constituted saints, in their own estimation excellent, high and great, are much too proud, much too high, wise and holy. They have passed up through and far above heaven, so that they could not be his habitation on earth, although they boast of being the only Church and people of God. Though they appear in all the pomp and glory and ornament of their self-made holiness, yet God does not do them the honor to look at them. He is found in the humble huts of the poor and despised, who fear and believe the Word of Christ and would gladly become Christians, but who feel that they are very unholy and unworthy sinners. "They are the temple of the Living God."
