From Augsburg Confession, Article XXVIII, paragraphs 61-62: "There are monstrous debates about changing the law, ceremonies of the new law, and changing the Sabbath Day. They have all sprung from the false belief that in the Church there must be something similar to the services set forth in Leviticus (1-7), and that Christ had commissioned the apostles and bishops to come up with new ceremonies necessary to salvation."
Note that it doesn't say the ceremonies from Leviticus are NOT similar and do not foreshadow those in the New Testament Church, but they are arguing against those who say there MUST be something similar, that bishops are to create new ceremonies, and that such ceremonies are NECESSARY to salvation.
The very specific instructions for sin offerings in Leviticus 4 and 5 foreshadow the New Testament Holy Absolution. When an individual sinned, he brought and killed an offering (confession), the priest made atonement with the blood of the sacrifice, and the sin is forgiven (Absolution). In both OT and NT situations, the actual sin offering is, of course, Christ.
This also relates the OT royal priesthood (Exodus 19:6) with it's more popular counterpart, the NT royal priesthood. The NT royal priesthood still receives Absolution through God's appointed ministers/priests.
This is not to say that something in the pastor makes the Absolution valid. God always works through means, both in the OT Church and in the NT Church. Holy Absolution is received by the royal priesthood through the means of called and ordained men standing in the place of Christ for that very purpose. There is beautiful continuity from the Old Testament Church to the New Testament Church.
*The ALs thank Prs. TandP for assistance in articulation.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Pay Your Organists
If someone were called on with four hours notice to work part of his/her weekend, should that person expect to be paid for time, skill, and inconvenience, or at least not lose money by being reimbursed for mileage? If you are a Lutheran organist, the answer you’ll still get at some congregations is a stunned “What?!”
Yes, we all “serve the Lord with gladness”, but that gladness is tough to muster when being taken advantage of. Organists, for the most part, buy their own shoes and books, paid for their own training, and provide their own transportation. Most also do not just show up for services and sight-read but take time out of their schedules to do careful preparation for each service.
Organists are largely very generous and don’t mind donating their time as the pay per service is usually quite low. However, it is one thing to give a token amount as a thank-you and acknowledgement that the organist did some skilled work for the congregation and quite another when the organist is expected to take the good ol’ Lutheran “bend over and grab your ankles” routine with good humor and grace. Some congregations have financial constraints which make it next to impossible to pay the organist anything near what is suggested by the
American Guild of Organists, but those congregations can still pay something. If a congregation of less than one hundred souls in a poor, rural area can still toss ten dollars the organist’s way each service, so can yours.
It’s not about the money, it’s the principle. Most organists do not make a living playing but do it as a service to a congregation, while keeping other jobs that actually pay the bills. Many give back their organ pay and much more in offerings. The surest way to tighten organists’ grips on their wallets and purses is to not pay them. They will not only not give monetarily to your congregation, they probably won’t answer the phone the next time you’re looking for an organist either.
The argument has been raised: “Well then, why don’t we pay Sunday School teachers then too?” One answer those in Lutheranism will understand is “We’ve never done it that way before.” And possibly with good reason. Organists are trained (or should be) longer than Sunday School teachers, and most organists paid for that training, while most Sunday School teachers did not. Also, the time involved for a dedicated organist is far more than most Sunday School teachers. Plus, most organists provide their own music paid for out of pocket, but most Sunday School materials are provided at no cost to the Sunday School teachers by the congregation.
If pastors would like to have organists who take the time to prepare carefully and bother to learn why the Lutheran church does what it does and sings what it sings, then please show them enough respect to pay them.
What if your organist refuses pay? This sometimes happens whether for pious or self-serving motives on the part of the organist. It might be best to say, “Gee, (insert name of organist), we appreciate your willingness to play for free, but you won’t be able to always be here, so we need to have a fair pay scale in place for those rare times when you need a substitute and for when you, sadly, are no longer able to play. If you’d like to donate your pay back to the church or to any charity, you are certainly free to do so, but we would really like to show the congregation’s appreciation for your work and the work of other organists by paying you $x per service.”
There are very legitimate concerns about where a future generation of church musicians will come from. Encouraging young musicians to serve in the church might be at least a little easier if they knew they would be appreciated and not sink farther into debt by giving of their time and skill to work in the church.
Yes, we all “serve the Lord with gladness”, but that gladness is tough to muster when being taken advantage of. Organists, for the most part, buy their own shoes and books, paid for their own training, and provide their own transportation. Most also do not just show up for services and sight-read but take time out of their schedules to do careful preparation for each service.
Organists are largely very generous and don’t mind donating their time as the pay per service is usually quite low. However, it is one thing to give a token amount as a thank-you and acknowledgement that the organist did some skilled work for the congregation and quite another when the organist is expected to take the good ol’ Lutheran “bend over and grab your ankles” routine with good humor and grace. Some congregations have financial constraints which make it next to impossible to pay the organist anything near what is suggested by the
American Guild of Organists, but those congregations can still pay something. If a congregation of less than one hundred souls in a poor, rural area can still toss ten dollars the organist’s way each service, so can yours.
It’s not about the money, it’s the principle. Most organists do not make a living playing but do it as a service to a congregation, while keeping other jobs that actually pay the bills. Many give back their organ pay and much more in offerings. The surest way to tighten organists’ grips on their wallets and purses is to not pay them. They will not only not give monetarily to your congregation, they probably won’t answer the phone the next time you’re looking for an organist either.
The argument has been raised: “Well then, why don’t we pay Sunday School teachers then too?” One answer those in Lutheranism will understand is “We’ve never done it that way before.” And possibly with good reason. Organists are trained (or should be) longer than Sunday School teachers, and most organists paid for that training, while most Sunday School teachers did not. Also, the time involved for a dedicated organist is far more than most Sunday School teachers. Plus, most organists provide their own music paid for out of pocket, but most Sunday School materials are provided at no cost to the Sunday School teachers by the congregation.
If pastors would like to have organists who take the time to prepare carefully and bother to learn why the Lutheran church does what it does and sings what it sings, then please show them enough respect to pay them.
What if your organist refuses pay? This sometimes happens whether for pious or self-serving motives on the part of the organist. It might be best to say, “Gee, (insert name of organist), we appreciate your willingness to play for free, but you won’t be able to always be here, so we need to have a fair pay scale in place for those rare times when you need a substitute and for when you, sadly, are no longer able to play. If you’d like to donate your pay back to the church or to any charity, you are certainly free to do so, but we would really like to show the congregation’s appreciation for your work and the work of other organists by paying you $x per service.”
There are very legitimate concerns about where a future generation of church musicians will come from. Encouraging young musicians to serve in the church might be at least a little easier if they knew they would be appreciated and not sink farther into debt by giving of their time and skill to work in the church.
Friday, March 7, 2008
No Blood Test Necessary
If a seminary professor of your church body reads Pia Desideria and says publicly, “Huh! Spener agrees with us…I guess he had some good things to say.” your synod is infected with Pietism.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Know Your Place
Recently spoken by a Lutheran pastor of the LCMS persuasion, “Well, this is a real long Gospel reading, but let’s get through it with just as much energy at the end as we’ll have at the beginning.”
Angry Lutheran response, “What the…?!”
Then, the entire congregation read the Gospel reading. Mind you, this was after a nameless, vestment-less female parishioner had wandered up to the lectern to read the Old Testament and Epistle readings. What was the pastor doing during all this? Standing with his hands at his side and staring into space for the first two readings and then reading the Gospel along with everyone else.
Why would this practice be instituted? You’ve likely heard the answers before: to be inclusive, to give ownership to the people, to get everyone involved, after all, they are a royal priesthood. Now how can Angry Lutherans have a problem with that?
This practice confuses the identities of those present in the Divine Service. Yes, those in the pews are the royal priesthood who sing praise to God, pray, receive God’s gifts, give thanks, and go out into the world to serve as little Christs to their neighbors. However, they are not standing “in the stead and by the command of “ Christ. That is the pastor’s position. He is there to give. The royal priesthood is primarily to receive. Laypeople should revolt at the suggestion that they should be trundling up to the front to “do the readings”! Their response to pastors who would abdicate that part of their responsibility should be, “No! We are the Bride of Christ! We are here to receive gifts from the Bridegroom who loves us and gave Himself up for us! You, who stand in His place, should serve us with His Word and Sacraments! How dare you try to shuck off part of your role! Don’t insult us with your pandering to make us feel more included! Proclaim God’s grace to us! Don’t make us proclaim it to ourselves!”
Angry Lutheran response, “What the…?!”
Then, the entire congregation read the Gospel reading. Mind you, this was after a nameless, vestment-less female parishioner had wandered up to the lectern to read the Old Testament and Epistle readings. What was the pastor doing during all this? Standing with his hands at his side and staring into space for the first two readings and then reading the Gospel along with everyone else.
Why would this practice be instituted? You’ve likely heard the answers before: to be inclusive, to give ownership to the people, to get everyone involved, after all, they are a royal priesthood. Now how can Angry Lutherans have a problem with that?
This practice confuses the identities of those present in the Divine Service. Yes, those in the pews are the royal priesthood who sing praise to God, pray, receive God’s gifts, give thanks, and go out into the world to serve as little Christs to their neighbors. However, they are not standing “in the stead and by the command of “ Christ. That is the pastor’s position. He is there to give. The royal priesthood is primarily to receive. Laypeople should revolt at the suggestion that they should be trundling up to the front to “do the readings”! Their response to pastors who would abdicate that part of their responsibility should be, “No! We are the Bride of Christ! We are here to receive gifts from the Bridegroom who loves us and gave Himself up for us! You, who stand in His place, should serve us with His Word and Sacraments! How dare you try to shuck off part of your role! Don’t insult us with your pandering to make us feel more included! Proclaim God’s grace to us! Don’t make us proclaim it to ourselves!”
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Testify!
Are Lutherans ashamed of what their church confesses? Or are they just woefully ignorant of that confession? What is the reason so many Lutherans continue to invite those whose theology is in opposition to the Lutheran church to speak to Lutherans? Do they just not care? Maybe it’s a problem of insecurity or an inferiority complex? Baptists, Methodists, and Reformed congregations aren’t beating down the door of Dr. David Scaer’s office to invite him to come and tell them “how to do ministry” or to give his “testimony”. Their churches wouldn’t agree with what he would have to say and they know it. Do they have a better understanding of their own church’s beliefs or just more integrity than Lutherans? (Prof. Brug’s name from Mequon could have been substituted, but with the fellowship issues involved, even if a WELS professor was invited somewhere, we don’t think he’d be able to go, unless he could present “simultaneously” and not “with” anyone else.)
Lutherans should first, learn what their church’s confession is, and then confess it. Lutherans have no need of the broken cisterns and polluted wells of American Protestantism.
Lutherans should first, learn what their church’s confession is, and then confess it. Lutherans have no need of the broken cisterns and polluted wells of American Protestantism.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Tone Disclaimer
No complaints about tone, please. The tone here is sarcastic, and that is deliberate. The discrepancies, annoyances, and heresies pointed out here have all been presented to the appropriate people over the years in a gentle, evangelical way and were either not answered or not given any credible defense. Because these issues are serious (some more serious than others), they are being discussed again, this time more forcefully and sarcastically. Again, this is intentional. Any complaints about tone will be deleted.
Unless we find them humorous.
Unless we find them humorous.
Why Anonymous?
This is intentional. Ideas may be considered more carefully if you don’t know who the sources are. For example, if we are LCMS members, some WELS members would immediately retract the right hand of fellowship and replace it with the left hook of Ro 16:17, for there is the belief that nothing good dwells outside the WELS. Likewise, if we are LCMS members of the St. Louis or Fort Wayne persuasions, the other side could ignore what is written as alternately St. Louis or Fort Wayne drivel. If we are WELS members, we may live in fear of retired synod presidents coming after our children or pets in the dead of night or making certain no one in our families receives a call into the public ministry again. If we are female WELS members, no male WELS member would be able to read this, unless it was written in a posture of submissiveness with no attempt at exercising authority over any man anywhere, which is a rather subjective standard and difficult to prove decisively either way.
As we remain anonymous, we will accept anonymous comments, though all comments will be screened and any deemed inappropriate, whether signed or anonymous, will be deleted.
As we remain anonymous, we will accept anonymous comments, though all comments will be screened and any deemed inappropriate, whether signed or anonymous, will be deleted.
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