The congregation I serve is about a mile from a naval air station. A fairly decent portion of the people who commune with me on a Sunday have connections to that naval base either because they are or were active duty there, engage in or retired from contract work there, or have a friend or …
Tag: Lutheran
Today is a day…
I suppose there is no end to the number of emotions people are experiencing this morning. Some are celebrating, they are glad and joyous because the candidate they supported has won. Others are mourning, they are sad and fearful because the candidate they supported has lost. Me? I’m neither celebrating nor in mourning, neither happy …
An Expression of Joy and Humility
The following was part of my morning devotions. It is in The Daily Office (St. Louis: CPH, 1965), 254–6. An Expression of Joy and Humility Let us praise God in gladness and humility for all great and simple joys and for the weak things of the earth which have confounded the strong. For the gift …
I Wasn’t There
My favorite place to sit and think on the campus of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis is on a bench just inside the Walther Arch. The arch was famously boarded up fifty years ago today, with the word EXILED painted across it. February 19th, 1974 is a day many are remembering today, some perhaps even …
Remembering Missouri’s Most Sweetly Orthodox Teacher
In November of 1967, a few years and a month before his death on this day in 1973, Arthur Carl Piepkorn was doing what he did best—engaging the broader church. Piepkorn was a son of the Missouri Synod, and indeed was Missouri’s most sweetly orthodox teacher, but he did not believe the church was a …
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A Day We Never Thought We Would See
In late June of 2017 my wife and I saw a day we never thought we would see. We went in for an ultrasound at the 18 week mark of our second pregnancy. We were excited for another little addition to our family. I was serving a wonderful congregation who cared for me and my …
Truth & Unity
Nearly fifty years ago, the student body of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis believed, as I did when I attended, that the faculty who taught them were not simply beloved mentors, but orthodox teachers. The students were not pawns, as some have suggested, but they were filled with passion for and devotion to those whom …
It Matters
Without a doubt, today marks the most important day in my life. No, I’m not being hyperbolic. While there are days of extreme significance like my wedding day, the birth of my children, and so many others including my birthday, November 3rd eclipses them all. On that day, in 1985, God the Father claimed me …
Protestors and Politicians and Police, Oh News!
Every now and again Facebook decides to remind me of some quote or picture I shared years before. I’m always intrigued by this because it gives me a window into my past. Recently I’ve been reminded of all the Martin Franzmann quotes I shared a few years ago as I was researching for my STM …
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let them come…
Most Monday mornings start out the same way, sipping coffee and studying some text of scripture with a group of older ladies who have been gathering together for well over a decade. Yesterday went a little longer than the usual hour, but I didn't mind, because the conversation spiraled into a conversation about persecuted Christians. …
an occasional theologian 