The Journey Home: A Lutheran Pastor becomes Orthodox

Pontifications ^ | Monday, March 20th, 2006 | Ezekiel +

[iowamark]

Q: LCMS (would this be "swimming the Rhine")?

A: Not since the 1830's. Now it's more like "swimming the Mississippi."

LOL! I thought that was the Mormons.

[Plumrodimus]

LOL! I thought that was the Mormons.

Don't you mean "swimming the Great Salt Lake?"

My use of the word Mississippi was in reference to the term Zion on the Mississippi used for the Saxon Lutheran settlements in St. Louis and Perry Counties, MO on the banks of that river.

The Mormons were chased across the Mississippi.

[iowamark]

You are correct that they were chased across the Mississippi in both directions. Joseph Smith found the original Garden of Eden in Independence MO, or so he said. He had to flee to Nauvoo, Il where they built a huge temple and city. Smith was killed by a mob and they fled west again.

[GAB-1955]

"What I thought unusual is that in my experience LCMS Lutherans usually swim the Tiber not the Bosphorus while ELCA Lutherans usually swim the Bosphorus or join the LCMS (would this be "swimming the Rhine"?) "

No, "fleeing to Augsburg!"

(a fellow LCMS and honored to be able to assist in the worship of the Living God.)

[Irene Adler]

My Pastor knows this ex-Pastor as well. I will send him this article which I know he will read with interest. My Pastor is a confessional, traditional Pastor and we have a confessional, traditional Divine Service with traditional music (which the organist is always trying to subvert). I am a member of the choir and hear a certain amount of cranking about what Pastor insists upon regarding the music we sing.

My Pastor recently stated that the Mo. Synod will break up in three or four years if not sooner. We currently have a clintonista-type, PR-crazy, church-growth, glory-hound as President of the Synod. He is packing various church ruling bodies with his toadies right and left. Like Clinton, he created a bunch of new voters (guaranteed to vote for him) the last time he was up for re-election. He has stated that closed communion is NOT a matter of church doctrine but merely a matter of policy which is a lie. He has also recently stated that no Pastor has the right to publicly disagree with Synod rulings. Since he is packing the Synod governing bodies with his own people, that will shortly mean that no one has a right to disagree with him. The guy is a post-modern, narcissistic disaster. The biggest losses in membership the Synod has had have occurred since he has become President, though the sycophants who support him try to wave this inconvenient fact away.

I left the Episcoclowns for the Mo. Synod, and this situation is making me none too happy, but obviously there is nothing I can do about it.

Except for the potential effect on Pastors' pensions and other potentially nasty dislocations, I would frankly welcome a split between the Lutheran confessionals and the happy-clappy music, serve-yourself-communion-whenever-you-feel-like-it-during-the-praise-service crowd. I didn't think it would happen, but lately, my Pastor is saying it will. We shall see.......

[redgolum]

He has stated that closed communion is NOT a matter of church doctrine but merely a matter of policy which is a lie. He has also recently stated that no Pastor has the right to publicly disagree with Synod rulings

I wasn't aware of the former, but was aware of the latter. I hope and pray for a change, but fear for the worst.

[redgolum]

You might be interested in Irene's comments, Pastor.

Is it true what she said about closed communion?

[Mr. Lucky]

President Kieshnick's personal statement of faith is posted on the Missouri Synod web page. What in it do you disagree with?

[Charles Henrickson]

(While I recently started a two-month break from regular FR posting, since a ping was directed specifically to me, I'll take a moment to respond to it. CH)

You might be interested in Irene's comments, Pastor.

I concur with her general assessment of the current president.

Is it true what she said about closed communion?

Maybe not in those exact words, but you get the idea.