Read With Me

With the encouragement of a fellow pastor, I plan on reading the entire Book of Concord (the Lutheran Confessions) this summer.

Many people might cringe at the idea of reading the confessional writings of any church body. Some might say that reading something like the Book of Concord is something pastors should do, but lay-people, the “regular folk” shouldn’t concern themselves with them.
This just isn’t true, however. The following quote sums it up well:

This is not just a book for pastors and church “professionals” or “academics.” In fact, it is important to realize that the people most directly responsible for the Lutheran Confessions were laymen, not pastors and theologians. At tremendous personal risk to their own lives, their property, and their profession, laymen boldly stepped before the emperor and the pope’s representatives. They asserted that these Confessions were their own. They did not back down or compromise. For this reason, it is unfortunate that down through the years the Book of Concord has come to be regarded more as a book for pastors and professional theologians.
Tucked into the middle of this book is the most widely used of all the Lutheran Confessions: Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. Luther wrote this document not simply as a resource for the church and school, but, first and foremost, for the head of the household. Luther intended this little book to be used by laypeople, daily, to help them remain anchored to the solid teachings of God’s holy Word, the Bible. So keep this important fact in mind: The Book of Concord exists because of the faith and conviction of laypeople, who risked their very lives in order to have these Confessions produced, published, and distributed. The Book of Concord is a book for all Christians, church workers and laypeople alike.
Christians who want to be true and faithful to the teachings of the Bible return, again and again, to this book. In these confessions of faith they find agreement, unity, and harmony in the truths of God’s Word. (from the General Introduction to the Book of Concord)

The fellow pastor who encouraged me to read these confessions, Rev. Johann Caauwe, wrote his own post about it, which I encourage you to read. If you’re interested in reading too, feel free to leave a comment here and/or at the original post.
Happy reading!

UPDATE I'm adding another couple of paragraphs from Pastor Caauwe's post to make a few things more clear:

I will be using the CPH Reader’s Edition (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions) again. This has become my standard English version which I use.  If you don’t have a copy of the Book of Concord, get one. Read the paragraph below to explain why. It is currently on sale for $20 at cph.org. If you have a different version (Triglot, Tappert, Kolb/Wengert), there is an older version of the summer schedule here. If you don’t want to buy a book, you can read it on the internet right here, or purchase an electronic version here. You might also consider the pocket editionif you want to keep reading while on vacation and not have to lug a big book around.

Are you interested in reading with me? If so, I’d like to hear from you. Perhaps we can even discuss a few topics as we go through it. I’ll warn you that the schedule is pretty ambitious. This is the third time I’ve attempted this schedule and I’ve never yet finished on September 6th. But maybe if I had a few reading partners, you can help me stay on track. You can download the schedule through this link.

 Update #2 There's going to be a discussion going on for these readings on Google Wave. If you don't know what wave is, you can read my post on it. You no longer need an invitation for Wave, so feel free to check out the discussion embedded at http://web.me.com/caauwejw/Concordia/ .

The Harvest is Plentiful, the Workers are…Too Many?

Last week was graduation and call day at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, the seminary that I attended. The call day part of this is when the new graduates receive their first divine calls into the public ministry as pastors. It’s definitely an exciting day, and the service connected to it is very moving for all who attend and watch it.

This year, though, like several previous years, not all the graduates have been able to be placed at this call day service. There can be many reasons for this. The number of churches requesting graduates simply might not be enough for the number of graduates. Similarly, the congregations requesting graduates might simply not match well with the gifts of the available candidates.

Of course, there are other reasons behind these reasons, too. Often lack of funding keeps churches for adding another pastor to their staffs. Missionaries who are called home due to cuts in mission budgets return to the pastoral pool here in the US, causing fewer pastoral vacancies, causing less calls available for graduates. Financial problems have forced our synod to open far fewer new mission starts in the US. Fewer positions equal fewer calls.

Obviously, this leads to the potential of bad feelings all around. When people hear that not all graduates are placed, they get angry and frustrated at the possible causes. Sometimes people blame past decisions of synod leadership. Prospective pastors, young men with hearts for the ministry, see that not all candidates are placed and sometimes decide not to pursue the ministry further. The candidates left unassigned can feel like they are somehow deficient, unworthy of serving God’s church. (I know; this is the position when I was left unassigned at my graduation.)

We can never miss the bigger picture, though. There will never be enough workers in the mission fields of this world, let alone too many. Jesus told us, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Luke 10:2)

Instead of blame, instead of despair, instead of anger, our reactions at this time should be prayer. We pray to God to provide the workers need to spread the Good News. We pray for God to move those who are willing to serve as those workers. We pray that God’s Word continue to be preached and his sacraments administered as God intended.

God will answer us! He has promised that the gates of hell will never stand against his Church. (Matthew 16:18) God has also promised to work all things out for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28) I am blessed to see how he did this for me, by calling me into the ministry at the congregation I am still blessed to serve.

Even for those people and those times and situations that make it harder to understand God’s will, we never have to doubt his love for us. He has already worked out all things for our eternal good by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection! He will continue to provide workers to bring that message out! So go and pray for him to keep his Word – we know he will!