tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35149853159708760102024-02-19T20:56:25.999-08:00The Augsblog ConfessionsI will speak of thy testimonies before kings -- Psalm 119:46Matthew Catalanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17223312121942605882noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3514985315970876010.post-51479692058650198352010-04-25T10:59:00.000-07:002010-04-25T11:17:23.295-07:00Sermon - "The Lord is YOUR Shepherd" - Easter IV (Series C, Revised)<b>Sermon Text - Psalm 23: </b><i>The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.</i><br />
<br />
A number of years ago, a member of a congregation died. As was customary in this particular church, after the service was over, the preacher asked if anyone would like to say something. At first it was the normal stuff – grandchildren talked about what a loving person this man was. Friends attested to his faith and brought even more comfort that because of Jesus, the man was now in heaven. And to close all this, two men stepped forward, and they could not have been more opposite. The first was a twenty-seven year old man, a business professional, decked out in a fancy suit. The man who had died was the first to go out of his way to welcome him into the congregation. The businessman had an impressing speaking voice and a presence so powerful that when he entered the room, you knew it.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>So this man stands before the people and, fittingly, reads Psalm 23. He began the Psalm with a bang: “The LORD is My SHEPHERD” thundered through the church. Anyone who may have been dozing was no longer. He continued, the volume of his voice increasing. His inflection was spot on. The walls and windows seemed to reverberate, so powerful was his tone. He looked people in the eyes. He pointed. He raised his arms to heaven. None of this was meant to be showy or pompous – it was genuine. And after closing a resounding “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER” you could see the effect his reading had on the congregation. Some actually stood and cheered. Must not have been Lutheran. This reading of Psalm 23 gave them confidence and joy and hope and a vision of a glorious future.<br />
<br />
After he sat down, the other man went. He, though, was short and his back bent due to his many years. He had been the best friend of the man who had died. And, not having talked to the young professional previously, also recited Psalm 23. His start was rockier than the 1st reading. His voice cracked, so he started again. He read slowly. His volume level was just above a whisper, sounding very monotone. It sounded like this: “The Lord is my shepherd. (pause) I shall not want. (pause) He makes me lie down in green pastures” (pause)… As he read, the congregation hushed itself. No one spoke. And as he closed with “I will dwell in the house of the Lord (pause) forever” there was hardly a dry eye in the house. The old man quietly closed his Bible, sat down, and no one moved for well over five minutes.<br />
<br />
Why such different reactions to the same words? Well, think about the speakers. The young man had his whole life ahead of him. And his confidence was the Lord. He knew how many dark valleys he would walk through. He knew he would need God to fill up his cup regularly. He knew he had to be fed by the food that is the Lord’s Word and Supper if he had any chance of making it. He knew enemies, spiritual and physical, would do everything to stop him. But he, with God given confidence, knew he would live on in heaven forever.<br />
<br />
The other, the older man, had been through those wars. Year after year God had fed him, protected him and saved him from danger. He had story upon story about him being in want and God providing some how, some way. He had been through death’s valley numerous times before. With a loving family, a church home, with fifteen grandchildren and with Jesus as his Savior, his cup of blessing was full. And he knew his time was close. So as he read the Psalm, he was almost like Paul at the end of his life. I have run the race. I have finished the task. And every day, Lord, when I wonder if today will be the day, I find great comfort in knowing that I will be with you.<br />
<br />
So how do we approach this Psalm today? Are we looking for soaring joy, a smile bringing hope and enthusiasm about the future? Or is it like the old man – keep me close, Lord, one more day. See me through, for I cannot make it alone? Honestly, is it not both? Isn’t Psalm 23 one of great joy and amazing comfort? Of course it is. And thank goodness, for we absolutely need both.<br />
<br />
During Easter 1973, a dictator, Idi Amin, terrorized Uganda. His soldiers beat, burned and killed Christians. But that Easter Pastor Kefa Sempangi preached the risen Lord in a soccer stadium to seven thousand people. After the service, Amin's Secret Police followed Sempangi to his church and closed the door, rifles in his face. “We’ll kill you for disobeying Amin" said the captain. "If you have something to say, do it now." Kefa, thinking of his wife and daughter, was shaken. But God strengthened him to speak. "Do what you must. God says in Christ I’m already dead. My real life is hidden with Him in God. My life’s not in danger but yours. I’m alive in the risen Lord. You’re dead in your sins. May He spare you from eternal destruction." They looked at him for a long time then lowered their guns and said, "Pray for us?” Kefa did, and those who saw his brave witness, protected him with their lives. <br />
<br />
Years later, Sempangi, in a book, noted that what came to his mind as he faced those soldiers was Psalm 23. He had no confidence in himself. It was all in the Lord. He found the courage to speak because he knew the mighty, powerful Lord was at his side and would work all things for his good. He knew the Lord would see him through this dark valley. In the face of evil, he did not have to fear that evil, for, by rod and staff, his Good Shepherd would comfort him. Psalm 23 helped him confidently move forward. God is with me. I will not fail.<br />
<br />
Aren’t we so often in that same situation? We are struggling, in any and every way possible. Despair robs us of joy. Problems abound, problems of body and soul, of heart and mind. And worst of all there is that conscience, the one that records our sins and regularly brings them up. You will pay for what you did. God cannot want you, sinner. You know the hatred you have felt for others. You know the improper things you have looked at or said to others. You know how often you heart is not God-centered during church. And you know that breaking one law is the same as breaking them all. You have no shepherd. You have strayed too far, lost sheep. He will give up on you, and bar you from his sheep fold.<br />
<br />
And who of us can disagree? Just take the First Commandment: have no other idols. God calls us to respect and revere him – to fear him – above all else. Do we always approach him in reverent humility, fully understanding our sins? Hardly. God also calls us to love him with heart, soul and mind. Another word would be devoted. We are to be fully devoted to him. Are you? Am I? Has anything else captured our affection more than God? Or anyone else? Has God ever been anywhere but first on your list of priorities? Me too. And finally we are to trust him in everything. I just had an issue come up last week. I got angry, frustrated, annoyed, sad, and when I got over that, it was, “What must I do about this?” It took a full two hours until I realized I had not taken this matter to God in prayer and found guidance in his word. Is that trust, trust in the almighty to be with, comfort and guide me in all my way? And have you ever been there, that your trust is everywhere else but in God?<br />
<br />
So, don’t we need a rousing Psalm 23, with the joy that comes from knowing Jesus IS our Good Shepherd? Of course we do. We are lost sheep, destined to slaughter. But the Shepherd, by becoming a lamb, has freed us from sin, death, Satan and hell. In going to that cross, First Commandment sins and every sin died with him. Get that? They no longer exist. Every one has been paid for and wiped away from you by your Good Shepherd on account of his work for you. And with sins forgiven comes so many more blessings, the blessings David talks about here. He will lead us in his word. He will protect us physically as he sees fit, but will perfectly protect our souls from harm. As we walk through those dark valleys, he will be there, whatever those valleys may be. And because Jesus did all this, we can move forward with hope and joy – God is with me, I will not fail. Doesn’t that pick our spirits up? Doesn’t that make our hearts want to sing? Doesn’t that bring us hope for the future, since God is with us? Most certainly it does. Like that young businessman, we can walk without our shoulders hanging low and our heads down. No. In Christ our heads will be held high, for no matter what, God will see us through.<br />
<br />
So yes, God wants us to draw immense hope, joy and confidence from this, he wants joy in our hearts, praise on our lips and resounding alleluias. But then are those other times, times when we feel like we are just hanging on. We feel so weak, so powerless, so helpless. Like the old man, we’ve fought the battles – winning some and losing many. We have seen friends die. We’ve seen families blown apart. We watch immorality slowly but successively creep into society. We are worn out and are afraid we cannot keep the fight up much longer. We don’t need a rousing Psalm 23. We need a comforting Psalm 23, one that assures us that in spite of everything that is going on, we will make it.<br />
<br />
And we have. In our funeral liturgies, this Psalm is read every time. And every time, it has not a leaping and dancing effect but a solemn, quiet comforting effect. My dad ran the race. And in Christ, he won. My mother, by that same grace, fought the good fight, and now knows nothing but peace. God kept them strong. God did not let them stumble. And, Lord, I thank you that the Good Shepherd will do the same for me, and that I will dwell with them in your house forever.<br />
<br />
Psalm 23 brings great joy, but it also reminds us of that fact: we will make it. And the Lord reminds us that he will give us all we need to make it. When we are weak, he takes us to the green pastures of his word. When we hunger, physically or spiritually, he feeds us with His Body and Blood. Evil is all around us but it will not win. For he will bless us on our way himself, through family, through friends and in so many other ways. He who has anointed us as his own through Christ will shepherd us home, a home in heaven forever. Do not despair. You will make it. God promises this, a promise that is fulfilled in Christ alone.<br />
<br />
Rousing and comforting – that’s Psalm 23. Draw immense joy from it and quiet confidence as well. For the Lord, wherever you are in the stages of life, is always your shepherd. He led you to the quiet waters of your Baptism and in that marvelous simplicity welcomed you into his kingdom: “I am your shepherd. You are my sheep. When you fear, remember me. Find joy in my cross, in the life I gave for you that you will forever have life with me. Cling to that cross, cling to me, for I will never let you down. Enemies, attacks, dark valleys or moments of blessings and joy beyond belief, I will be there. For you are my sheep and I am your Shepherd.”<br />
<br />
At times he does set our hearts on fire for him. At other times he douses the flames of sadness and despair. And we in the world will always need both. Thank God we have it. So with great joy and with great comfort, let us hear one more time: “the Lord IS my shepherd.” Amen. <i><br />
</i>Matthew Catalanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17223312121942605882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3514985315970876010.post-8933229284402148072010-04-23T22:38:00.000-07:002010-04-23T22:38:53.019-07:0021st Century Lutheranism - Part 2: The Main ChallengesWithout a doubt, the most serious challenge facing Lutheranism as a whole is whether doctrine will even be important enough that there will be any serious doctrinal controversies. The ELCA merger was consummated with very little doctrinal discussion. The LWF agreement with Rome on justification didn’t cause much of a stir within the member bodies. Pluralism is the rule of the day. Most individuals are “church shoppers” who display little “denominational loyalty,” that is, little knowledge of or commitment to doctrine. Morality is adrift in a sea of relativism. Modernists could still ask Pilate’s cynical question, “What is truth?” Post-modernists are identified not by a question but by a statement, “There is no truth.”<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Modernism placed man at the center of reality, with confidence in the scientific method’s ability to discover truth and in society’s ability to express that truth in universal propositions. To the modernist knowledge was certain, objective, good, and accessible to the human mind. There was unflagging trust in reason and an unquestioning optimism about the progress inevitable through science and education. This world view was the great threat to the church at the beginning of the 20th century.<br />
<br />
In contrast, postmodernism has no center of reality, no core explanation for life. Reality is conditioned by one’s context and experience. It is relative, indeterminate, and participatory. There is no “truth” to discover, only preferences and interpretations. Radical pluralism means that there may be many “truths” alongside each other. There can be no “objective” truth or reality because there is no neutral stance from which to view things. Emotion and intuition are valid paths to knowledge, not just reason. And knowledge is always incomplete. Rather than an optimistic confidence in progress, postmodernism has a pessimistic focus on human misery. It is the inevitable conclusion of existentialism, the denial of any meaning, purpose, or reason to life. This is the world view confronting the church in the new millennium.<br />
<br />
This post-modern way of thinking has had its influence on Lutherans too. Even the members of our churches who attend Bible class regularly are often more drawn to “practical topics” than to serious doctrinal study of a portion of Scripture like Romans 1-8 or Galatians. The major exception is doctrinal topics like fellowship and the roles of men and women, which are seen as having a practical (or impractical) impact on the daily life of the church. Even in such courses there is great pressure from the class to speed past a careful study of Scripture to application.<br />
<br />
More than we want to admit, members of the church have lost the close connection between their faith and their life that a Christian culture promoted. Polls say that people view themselves as “spiritual,” even though they deny absolute truth and biblical morals. People are more interested in finding practical applications which work for them than in studying the abiding truths on which all application and practice must rest.<br />
<br />
It is no longer possible to assume that people know the basic Bible stories that shaped the Sunday school curriculum and even the public school curriculum of a generation ago. It is unwise to assume that people understand and agree with all the doctrines their church teaches. While some of our hearers are very aware of the conflict between their faith and the world in which they must work and live, others have comfortably adopted the postmodern pluralism that sees no conflict between opposing worldviews for the different spheres of life.<br />
<br />
In spite of widespread indifference to doctrine, however, we can expect that doctrinal issues will remain important enough to a core of concerned people in the church that doctrinal disputes will still arise. What are likely to be the main issues?<br />
<br />
<b>Issue 1) The Gospel of Christ </b><br />
<br />
The most crucial issue facing the Lutheran Church today, as in every age, is preserving the gospel of Christ. Today this gospel is under heavy attack within the Lutheran church. Certainly God’s love and forgiveness are being preached in all Lutheran churches, but today there is frequently neglect or even direct denial of the objective payment which Christ made for sin. If I preach “God loves you and forgives you,” I have not yet preached the gospel. To preach the gospel clearly I need to state “Jesus lived, died, and rose for you.” I am not preaching the gospel unless I emphasize the payment which Christ made as my substitute and the legal verdict of acquittal which God pronounced on the whole world. This message is the heart and core of all truly Lutheran preaching, but this is the very point which is being undermined within the Lutheran church today.<br />
<br />
Lutherans are being told, “Jesus was born not to die, but to live for us. …The cross is central to our preaching because it shows the depth of God’s love for us. …Some preaching describes Jesus’ death as a payment to God’s wrath. This approach stresses guilt as a barrier to our entry into heaven. There is truth here, but this is only one of many ways the Scriptures proclaim the meaning of Jesus for us” (<i>The Lutheran</i>, Mar. 30, 1988, p. 46). In such teaching the doctrine of the vicarious atonement is reduced to being one of several theories about the meaning of Christ’s death, rather than receiving the pre-eminence which it does in Scripture.<br />
<br />
A prominent American Lutheran theologian can write, “The meaning of the historical cross was transmitted in the suprahistoncal language of mythological symbolism. …When the cross is viewed mythologically, and not simply as one historical event alongside others, it receives redemptive significance of cosmic proportions” (Braaten and Jensen, I, 547,548). If such teaching prevails in the Lutheran church, Lutherans will be left with a crucifixion which is a means of salvation only when it is mythically interpreted.<br />
<br />
The doctrine of justification by grace through faith is the central doctrine of biblical and Lutheran theology, but today the doctrine of Christ’s payment for sin is being stripped of its legal aspects. A prominent Lutheran dogmatician writes, “The historical event [of the cross] must be translated into eternal truth about the satisfaction of God’s honor, or elevated to a sublime example of dedication to whatever religious people are supposed to be dedicated to, or transcribed into a story about the deception of cosmic tyrants. None of that is evident from the event itself. It comes from the moral, mythological and metaphysical baggage we carry with us” (BJ, II, 79), and again, “There is no strange transaction that takes place somewhere in celestial bookkeeping halls to make it universal. The one we killed, the one no one wanted, is raised from the dead. That is all” (BJ, II, 92). Certainly, it is true that the significance of the crucifixion must be explained. Scripture provides such an explanation, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.” This dare not be reduced to one of several theories explaining Christ’s death.<br />
<br />
We should not be shocked that theologians who share the viewpoint cited in the preceding paragraphs have surrendered the biblical teaching of justification in their dialogues with Roman Catholics. The now decade-old Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification is clear evidence of this tragedy and betrayal of not only our Lutheran history, but our biblical history (see Rev. Paul T. McCain's excellent commentary on this <a href="http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/04/21/a-betrayal-of-the-gospel-the-joint-declaration-on-the-doctrine-of-justification/">here</a>.) “Agreement in the gospel” no longer means acceptance of the biblical, Pauline, Lutheran doctrine that our sins are freely forgiven by the gracious verdict of God, not because anything which we have done, but solely on the basis of Christ’s perfect payment for sin. Today some Lutherans are reducing “agreement in the gospel” to the belief that somehow or other our salvation is ultimately dependent on God’s grace.<br />
<br />
The biblical message that Christ paid for the sins of the whole world and that God has credited that payment to the whole world is being watered down to an ill-defined religious encounter. This is the greatest tragedy of contemporary Lutheran dogmatics. Lutherans who cherish the clear proclamation of the scriptural doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone as their greatest joy and privilege must vigorously oppose such teaching and strongly disassociate themselves from it.<br />
<br />
Equally dangerous is the tendency toward universalism and pluralism within Lutheranism. Christ is no longer being upheld as the one way to heaven. Even many of our own members have been influenced by the “many roads to heaven” myth.<br />
<br />
The emphasis on Christ apart from the benefit of justification through His work on Calvary is much worse than the accusations of dead orthodoxy that Lutherans are often confronted with. Without preaching that we are justified by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, then the church has failed to be the minister of reconciliation that she is called to be. Without His perfect law-keeping on our behalf and the payment which propitiated the wrath of God on the cross, then Christ is merely left as a greater Moses, a greater lawgiver, not the justifier of the ungodly.<br />
<br />
If our churches continue the trajectory of American evangelicalism, we will, as one author put it, preach a God without wrath who brought men without sin into a world without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross. The Christ that pop American evangelicalism presents to the itching ears of postmodern man will leave them dead in their sins and transgressions.Matthew Catalanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17223312121942605882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3514985315970876010.post-69881920308880558662010-04-23T17:00:00.000-07:002010-04-23T17:46:30.474-07:0021st Century Lutheranism - Part 1: How Did We Get into This Mess?<div class="snap_preview">Surveying the current state of affairs that we as Lutherans in America face, it is not a pretty picture. Those of us who consider ourselves Confessional Lutherans have many challenges ahead of us, regardless of which synod we make our home in. It is easy for us to look out onto the evangelical landscape of America and criticize that which we see. Pop psychology, vacuous forms of worship, and the obliteration of the gospel of grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone dominate the church. Yes, all of these accusations of American Christianity are true. However, they are now true of us, as well. Whether LCMS, WELS, or ELS, the effects of American Christianity have invaded our synods and have devastated all that is true of our beloved Lutheran Confessions, both in doctrine and in practice. In my own synod, the WELS, the effects of the church growth movement have been particularly insidious. We are only now just starting to combat it.<br />
<br />
In order for us to move forward, however, we must also look backward, and see what events in our history have led to the current climate.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Being neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet I wondered how to go about predicting the doctrinal trends and problems for Lutherans in this century. Put yourself in the place of an observer in 1900, looking ahead and trying to imagine what lay ahead for Lutheranism in the bright new century, the 20th century of the Christian era, the 5th century for the Lutheran church. Things were looking good. The 19th century had been the best time for Lutheranism since the life of Luther.<br />
<br />
The 19th century had not gotten off to such a great start. The effects of Pietism and the Enlightenment were being felt throughout the Lutheran church. As the 300th anniversary of the Reformation rolled around, the Prussian Union had appeared as a state enforced plan to put an end to an independent, confessional Lutheran church. Throughout the century the acid of historical-critical methodology would continue to eat away what remained of the scriptural foundations of the Lutheran theology faculties of Germany.<br />
<br />
Yet amazingly, in the midst of this crisis there would be a rebirth of confessional Lutheranism, which would return the teachings of Luther and the Confessions to a prominence that was unmatched since the mid-seventeenth century. In some respects Luther’s teachings were put into practice more fully in the 19th century than they had been in Luther’s own time, because now for the first time the Lutheran church was free from the entanglement and pressures of a state church that had prevented the implementation of Luther’s biblical principles of church and state and church and ministry.<br />
<br />
The location of this rebirth was not, of course, Germany, but the New World. The man at the center of this resurgence of true confessional Lutheranism was C. F. W. Walther. To be sure, he had predecessors, allies, and successors in America and to a lesser extent in Europe, but more than any other individual Walther embodied the newfound vitality of confessional Lutheranism. As the 19th century came to a close, the Missouri Synod and the other confessional synods drawn into fellowship with it in the Synodical Conference of North America were well positioned for rapid growth in their new homeland, for mission expansion throughout the world, and to be a source of strength and encouragement to smaller confessional churches throughout the world. The rising material prosperity brought on by the industrial revolution, a revolution in transportation and communication (the steamboat and railroad, the telegraph and telephone), and the arrival of the electrical age seemed to foreshadow a great age of opportunity and expansion for the church. Colonial empires provided open doors for missions around the world. Rapid advances in automobiles and air travel were widely anticipated. Some bold futurists even predicted that by the end of the 20th century it would be possible to send pictures instantaneously around the world in color. Optimism abounded for what was coming for society and the church.<br />
<br />
To be sure, there were some ominous clouds on the horizon. Confessional revival in Europe was barely a ripple in the pond. The poisons of evolutionary theory and negative criticism continued to undermine the vitality of Lutheranism. In the North American heartland the election controversy of the 1880s had caused the first major fracture in the alliance of solidly confessional Lutheran churches. In eastern Lutheranism Schmucker’s “American Lutheranism” which was a voluntary embrace of the principles of the Prussian Union, had been beaten back, but the old eastern Lutheranism had not experienced a true confessional revival. Even this wing of American Lutheranism, however, could produce a theologian of the quality of Charles Porterfield Krauth. The doctrinal differences separating the Synodical Conference from the predecessor bodies of the ALC were issues like pulpit and altar fellowship, lodges, conversion and election, millennialism, and open questions. These were not trivial questions, but there was unity in fundamental doctrines.<br />
<br />
It was obvious that, as always, there were dangers facing the Lutheran church as the new century broke, but who could have foreseen the depth of the disaster that the 20th century would produce for Lutheranism around the world. In Germany the church was devastated by two world wars, Nazism, Communism, secularization, and a total surrender to critical views of the Bible. The Lutheran lands of the North became secular societies, more heathen than many mission lands of the third world. In the mission societies and revival movements within the national churches and in the tiny confessional churches a small remnant still carries on a faithful testimony, but the voice of confessional Lutheranism is almost silent in its European homeland.<br />
<br />
In America, the new stronghold of Lutheranism, liberal eastern Lutheranism, as embodied in the ULCA and LCA, has swallowed up the moderate Lutheranism of the midwestern ALC. Groups like the Ohio, Buffalo, and Norwegian Synods, once so close to the Synodical Conference, are now absorbed into the ELCA merger, which retains a paper profession of loyalty to the confessions, but has abandoned virtually every teaching which they confess. Gone is even a paper profession of the inerrancy of Scripture. Gone is a firm confession of the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Sacrament. Gone is “by faith alone,” the core principle of the Reformation. Added to all of this is the ELCA’s decision in August of 2009 to allow the ordination of homosexual ministers and it is clear that “American Lutheranism” has won after all.<br />
<br />
The LCMS, the anchor body of the once solidly confessional Synodical Conference, has slid over into the slot once filled by the so-called moderate Lutheranism of the old and new ALC. In 1900 who could have imagined that by the 1930s Missouri’s staunch position would already be suffering serious erosion, that by the 1960s historical criticism would dominate its theological training system, that at the end of the century it would be abandoning the small confessional Lutheran churches that it had helped bring into being and working more closely with the Lutheran World Federation. Even today many around the world have a hard time believing it is really true. The recent political actions of the hierarchy of the LCMS has only further exacerbated its decline. Along with the unionism and syncretism that followed in the wake of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, the leadership of the synod has now embraced the broad evangelical principles of church growth, the weakening of liturgical practice, and its end result, the loss of a sacramental theology. Its willingness to overlook the actions of those which violate its stated doctrines is indicative of the powers that be to turn the synod into one of bland American Christianity.<br />
<br />
Of more than 60 million Lutherans in the world fewer than half a million belong to church bodies that stand firmly on the doctrinal platform and the fellowship practices of the old Synodical Conference. A few million more belong to church bodies trying to hold a compromise position between the stance of the Synodical Conference and the extreme pluralism of the Lutheran World Federation.<br />
<br />
Talk about doctrinal challenges for Lutheranism! One hardly knows where to begin. Begin, we must, however, if we are to recover that which our forefathers spilled their blood to gain; the clear proclamation of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament.</div>Matthew Catalanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17223312121942605882noreply@blogger.com6