B.Y.O.M. - Bring Your Own Mass Bells

Mass bells keep breaking up that old gang of mine.

From the Swede:

Among the want ads placed in a recent edition of the Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne daily newsletter (July 28 and a few other days) was the following:

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LITURGICAL MUSIC COORDINATOR AT UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS seeks applications for a part-time Liturgical Music Coordinator to work in collaboration with the Campus Ministry team to continue to grow a vibrant Music Ministry for the worshipping community at USF. The Music Coordinator will work 10 hours/week preparing music for the Sunday evening Eucharistic liturgy. Responsibilities will include selecting music, as well as preparing music ministers for the liturgy. The Music Coordinator will also be involved in the planning of music for Praise and Worship nights, two weekend retreats during the school year, Opening Convocation and Baccalaureate Mass. Individual must have knowledge of liturgical music and experience in a music ministry. To apply, send letter of interest, resume and three references to searchcommittee@....

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Well, at least it's good to know our "confessional" seminary openly supports its students participating in and preparing the music for Roman Catholic masses. By the way, ads have also run to serve on the music staff of a local ELCA congregation, although I don't have a copy of that one.

***

GJ - LCMS and ELCA students have been crick-jumping for years. The lavender organist who killed a burned an old lady in Texas was LCMS/ELCA while working on a big Kieschnick shindig. The LCMS pastor promptly morphed into the ELCA Wheatridge Foundation director. Thank you: Cedric and Percy and Tangerine.

That's My Boy

The late Don McGavran, Disciples of Christ liberal, founder of the Church Growth Movement, unless we give credit to Robert Schuller, who claims the honor. The biggest event in Larry Olson's stunted life was meeting McGavran, after Larry executed a handspring dismount from his rented bicycle.

Efficacy and Holy Communion

Those who, like Paul Kelm, reject the effectiveness of the Word, also reject the Scriptural and Confessional teaching of the Word.
The efficacious Word conveys Christ to us in Word and Sacrament.

J-169

"The other eating of the body of Christ is oral or sacramental, when the true, essential body and blood of Christ are also orally received and partaken of in the Holy Supper, by all who eat and drink the consecrated bread and wine in the Supper—by the believing as a certain pledge and assurance that their sins are surely forgiven them, and Christ dwells and is efficacious in them, but by the unbelieving for the judgment and condemnation, as the words of the institution by Christ expressly declare...."
Formula of Concord, SD, VII. #63. Holy Supper. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1921, p. 995. Tappert, p. 581. Heiser, p. 270.

J-170

"For the true and almighty words of Jesus Christ which He spake at the first institution were efficacious not only at the first Supper, but they endure, are valid, operate, and are still efficacious [their force, power, and efficacy endure and avail even to the present], so that in all places where the Supper is celebrated according to the institution of Christ, and His words are used, the body and blood of Christ are truly present, distributed, and received, because of the power and efficacy of the words which Christ spake at the first Supper. For where His institution is observed and His words are spoken over the bread and cup [wine], and the consecrated bread and cup [wine] are distributed, Christ Himself, through the spoken words, is still efficacious by virtue of the first institution, through His word, which He wishes to be there repeated."
Formula of Concord, SD VII, #75. Holy Supper. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 999. Tappert, p. 583. Heiser, p. 270f.

J-171

"Also, Tom. III, Jena, Fol. 446: 'Thus here also, even though I should pronounce over all the words: This is Christ's body, nothing, of course, would result therefrom; but when in the Supper we say, according to His institution and command: 'This is My body,' it is His body, not on account of our speaking or word uttered [because these words, when uttered, have this efficacy], but because of His command—that He has commanded us thus to speak and to do, and has united His command and act with our speaking."
Formula of Concord, SD VII, #78. Holy Supper. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1001. Tappert, p. 583. Heiser, p. 271.

J-172

"Now, it is not our faith that makes the sacrament, but only the true word and institution of our almighty God and Savior Jesus Christ, which always is and remains efficacious in the Christian Church, and is not invalidated or rendered inefficacious by the worthiness or unworthiness of the minister, nor by the unbelief of the one who receives it."
Formula of Concord, SD VII, #89. Holy Supper. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1003. Tappert, p. 585. Heiser, p. 272.

J-173

"1. That the human race is truly redeemed and reconciled with God through Christ, who, by His faultless [innocency] obedience, suffering, and death, has merited for us the righteousness which avails before God, and eternal life. 2. That such merit and benefits of Christ shall be presented, offered, and distributed to us through His Word and Sacraments. 3. That by His Holy Ghost, through the Word, when it is preached, heard, and pondered, He will be efficacious and active in us, convert hearts to true repentance, and preserve them in the true faith. 4. That He will justify all those who in true repentance receive Christ by a true faith, and will receive them into grace, the adoption of sons, and the inheritance of eternal life." ..."God in His purpose and counsel ordained [decreed]:
Formula of Concord, SD, XI. #15. Of God's Eternal Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1069. 2 Corinthians 5:19ff. Tappert, p. 619. Heiser, p. 288.

J-174

"And this call of God, which is made through the preaching of the Word, we should not regard as jugglery, but know that thereby God reveals His will, that in those whom He thus calls He will work through the Word, that they may be enlightened, converted, and saved. For the Word, whereby we are called, is a ministration of the Spirit, that gives the Spirit, or whereby the Spirit is given, 2 Corinthians 3:8, and a power of God unto salvation, Romans 1:16. And since the Holy Ghost wishes to be efficacious through the Word, and to strengthen and give power and ability, it is God's will that we should receive the Word, believe and obey it."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #29. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1073. 2 Corinthians 3:8; Romans 1:16. Tappert, p. 621. Heiser, p. 289.

J-175

"For few receive the Word and follow it; the greatest number despise the Word, and will not come to the wedding, Matthew 22:3ff. The cause for this contempt for the Word is not God's foreknowledge [or predestination], but the perverse will of man, which rejects or perverts the means and instrument of the Holy Ghost, which God offers him through the call, and resists the Holy Ghost, who wishes to be efficacious, and works through the Word, as Christ says, 'How often would I have gathered you together, and ye would not!' Matthew 23:37."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #41. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1077. Matthew 22:3ff.; 23:37. Tappert, p. 623. Heiser, p. 290.

J-176

"Moreover, the declaration, John 6:44, that no one can come to Christ except the Father draw him, is right and true. However, the Father will not do this without means, but has ordained for this purpose His Word and Sacraments as ordinary means and instruments; and it is the will neither of the Father nor of the Son that a man should not hear or should despise the preaching of His Word, and wait for the drawing of the Father without the Word and Sacraments. For the Father draws indeed by the power of His Holy Ghost, however, according to His usual order [the order decreed and instituted by Himself], by the hearing of His holy, divine Word, as with a net, by which the elect are plucked from the jaws of the devil. Every poor sinner should therefore repair thereto [to holy preaching], hear it attentively, and not doubt the drawing of the Father. For the Holy Ghost will be with His Word in His power, and work by it...."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #76-77. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1089. John 6:44. Tappert, p. 629. Heiser, p. 293.

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GJ - Is this a coincidence? The same Synodical Conference that taught UOJ - justification without the efficacious Word also taught receptionism, where the elements were not the Body and Blood of Christ until they were received. The same doctrinal illiterates have been known to have a Holy Communion service without the Consecration.

Look into the Episcopalian Mirror

Episcopalian Bishop Bennison,
eyewitness of his ordained brother's affair with a minor,
is no worse than many Lutheran leaders.
Look into the Episcopalian mirror and you will see the Lutheran synods.

Virtue Online:

The most dramatic and moving testimony was that of Johanna Alexis Oslovar who wrote, "I was a victim of Charles E. Bennison. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I AM a victim of Charles E. Bennison. As much as I would like to believe that I am free from being victimized, my present reality tells a different story. I am still fighting for justice and accountability. I still have to tend old and new emotional wounds, and I am still hostage to the abuse that John Wm. Bennison perpetrated, and that Charles E. Bennison allowed to continue. As a hostage of sexual abuse and cover up by the Bennisons, I long for freedom, wholeness and restoration. "I need to heal. My family needs to heal. For that to happen, I need Charles Bennison permanently removed from ministry."

Luther on the Efficacious Word

Luther was mocked and charicatured in his lifetime, facing death for years because of his teaching against false prophets.
Here he is the "Seven-headed Luther."

"For let me tell you this, even though you know it perfectly and be already master in all things, still you are daily in the dominion of the devil, who ceases neither day nor night to steal unawares upon you, to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against the foregoing and all the commandments. Therefore you must always have God's Word in your heart, upon your lips, and in your ears. But where the heart is idle, and the Word does not sound, he breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware. On the other hand, such is the efficacy of the Word, whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, that it is bound never to be without fruit, but always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness, and produces a pure heart and pure thoughts. For these words are not inoperative or dead, but creative, living words."
The Large Catechism, Third Commandment. #100. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 609. Tappert, p. 378f. Heiser, p. 175f.

Treasure the Word, Treasure the Workers

"For this reason we shall now relate, furthermore, from God's Word how man is converted to God, how and through what means [namely, through the oral Word and the holy Sacraments] the Holy Ghost wants to be efficacious in us, and to work and bestow in our hearts true repentance, faith, and new spiritual power and ability for good, and how we should conduct ourselves towards these means, and [how we should] use them." Formula of Concord SD II. #48. Free Will. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 901. Tappert, p. 530. Heiser, p. 246.


The Formula of Concord, 1580

"And this call of God, which is made through the preaching of the Word, we should not regard as jugglery, but know that thereby God reveals His will, that in those whom He thus calls He will work through the Word, that they may be enlightened, converted, and saved. For the Word, whereby we are called, is a ministration of the Spirit, that gives the Spirit, or whereby the Spirit is given, 2 Corinthians 3:8, and a power of God unto salvation, Romans 1:16. And since the Holy Ghost wishes to be efficacious through the Word, and to strengthen and give power and ability, it is God's will that we should receive the Word, believe and obey it."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #29. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1073. 2 Corinthians 3:8; Romans 1:16. Tappert, p. 621. Heiser, p. 289.

J-175

"For few receive the Word and follow it; the greatest number despise the Word, and will not come to the wedding, Matthew 22:3ff. The cause for this contempt for the Word is not God's foreknowledge [or predestination], but the perverse will of man, which rejects or perverts the means and instrument of the Holy Ghost, which God offers him through the call, and resists the Holy Ghost, who wishes to be efficacious, and works through the Word, as Christ says, 'How often would I have gathered you together, and ye would not!' Matthew 23:37."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #41. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1077. Matthew 22:3ff.; 23:37. Tappert, p. 623. Heiser, p. 290.

J-176

"Moreover, the declaration, John 6:44, that no one can come to Christ except the Father draw him, is right and true. However, the Father will not do this without means, but has ordained for this purpose His Word and Sacraments as ordinary means and instruments; and it is the will neither of the Father nor of the Son that a man should not hear or should despise the preaching of His Word, and wait for the drawing of the Father without the Word and Sacraments. For the Father draws indeed by the power of His Holy Ghost, however, according to His usual order [the order decreed and instituted by Himself], by the hearing of His holy, divine Word, as with a net, by which the elect are plucked from the jaws of the devil. Every poor sinner should therefore repair thereto [to holy preaching], hear it attentively, and not doubt the drawing of the Father. For the Holy Ghost will be with His Word in His power, and work by it...."
Formula of Concord, SD XI. #76-77. Election. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 1089. John 6:44. Tappert, p. 629. Heiser, p. 293.

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Revolution Needed

GJ - One issue is far more important than the fragile state of the various synods' balance sheets. Money is held in low esteem in the Bible. The Gospel Promises are the treasure of the Scriptures.

Luther said in many different ways, those who treasure the Word will value those who bring them the Word. Those who despise the Word will despise church workers, whether they are pastors or teachers or their families.

The synods got away with tossing away clergy and their families for many years. A layman from a smaller synod says he has a list of all the men driven out by his leaders.

Even today, there is no shortage of church workers. The religious boom of the 1950s has been replaced with congregational mergers, closing of parishes, and mission fizzles. All these are symptoms of the Church Shrinkage Movement, a vast and expensive enterprise where the most ludicrous false teachers (wolves within and without the flock) have been paid exorbitant sums to destroy the Christian faith. Now they cry out, "We need more money and programs."

Church Shrinkage Movement fanatics hate the Word and hate those who get in the way of their apostate programs. They have imagined, in vain, they could drive out or silence anyone who dissented from their crypto-atheism.

Lutherans who value the Means of Grace are not aggressive, hateful people, so they have tended to shrink back from the crafts and assaults of the Fuller and Willow Creek veterans. If the church leaders do not change their priorities, the pool of church workers will vanish or it will be replaced by the worst riff-raff imaginable.

ELCA has already seen this happen, yet ELCA calls the tune for all the pan-Lutheran projects for them, WELS, and Missouri. One LCA parish (pre-ELCA) told me they were so small they could not get another pastor, even though their current one was an adulterous jerk. Many smaller congregations in ELCA had women pastors forced on them, and one can only guess what is happening now.

Here are some simple solutions for the synods, excluding ELCA, which is beyond hope:

1. Seminary education should be completely free, the costs handled by congregations, districts, and synods. Seminarians might be expected to pay for food and housing, but required books, fees, and tuition should be free. This will reduce the slavery-to-synod problems arising from enormous student loan debts for an education worthless in the secular world.
2. Pastors, teachers, spouses and children should be treated well and defended against the Church Shrinkage wolves who continue to prowl the synods.
3. Even someone with modest gifts, like the typical DP, should have a place doing work through the Means of Grace.
4. District and Circuit Popes should be stripped of the power (whether given or grabbed) to walk in and annul a divine call without cause, without proper Biblical procedures. Whether these idiots are appointed or voted into office, they should be removed from the ministry for one offense against the divine call. They should not be allowed to protect and shield predatory pastors and teachers, whether this is done with silence or promotions or transfers.
5. Verified criminal church worker acts should be published in the national magazine, to serve notice that those who violate their calls will be publicly admonished and chastened, as a warning to the rest. Promotions for clergy adultery should cease.
6. All church leaders should be expected to quench the Church Shrinkage Movement wherever it is found and to extol the efficacy of the Means of Grace alone.
There is no "yes, but" with the Means of Grace.
7. Ministers should be rebuked publicly and punished for plagiarizing the sermons of false teachers, but encouraged to quote Luther, Chemnitz, Chytraeus, and Gerhard.
8. Congregations, circuits, and districts should be encouraged to engage in a constant round of studies of the Small Catechism, the Book of Concord, the Formula of Concord, the Examination of the Council of Trent, and doctrinal topics arising from the Scriptures. These studies should be done without imposing the filters, switches, and sidetracks of recent synodical writers and doctrinal opinions.
9. Synodical publications should mark and celebrate the ordination anniversaries of pastors, anniversaries of teachers, and show an appreciation of how the efficacious Word works God's will.
10. Synodical publications should turn from their Ladies Home Journalism to doctrinal articles.

Formula of Concord - Free Will

"Now, although both, the planting and watering of the preacher, and the running and willing of the hearer, would be in vain, and no conversion would follow it if the power and efficacy of the Holy Ghost were not added thereto, who enlightens and converts the hearts through the Word preached and heard, so that men believe this Word and assent thereto, still, neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, but should be certain that when the Word of God is preached purely and truly, according to the command and will of God, and men listen attentively and earnestly and meditate upon it, God is certainly present with His grace, and grants, as has been said, what otherwise man can neither accept nor give from his own powers."
Formula of Concord SD II. #55-56. Free Will. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 903. Tappert, p. 531f. Heiser, p. 246.

Good Clean Fun

"A number 3 and a bubble bath, please."

A Burger King employee got his birthday wish with a bubble bath in the franchise's huge sink, in Xenia, Ohio. His friends videotaped him as the employees, including the manager, looked on. The video was published on YouTube. Burger King grilled the employees and fired them.

Someone utterly lost in Southern Ohio saw a Burger King and pulled up to the drive-in window.

"Could you tell me where we are."

The helpful employee said, "Sure. You're at Burger King."

Newsfeeds at Bottom

Keep Planet Earth green: recycle.

Grey Goose pointed out that the news feed needed some work, so I split it into ELCA/Lutheran, LCMS/Missouri, and WELS/ELS. The search mechanism is not perfect but it is handy. I did not know the couple, attacked in China at the Olympics, was Lutheran (ELCA).

I like the news layout better at the bottom.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I hear from all over.