Tonight, Monday, November 9, 2026, 7 pm Central time, the above pre-recorded debate will go live. The Thesis is: “Resolved: For the sake of the clarity of the Gospel, Lutheran congregations should preserve the historic orders of the Divine Service rather than adopt contemporary alternative forms, even when those alternatives are confessionally sound.” The Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller argues in the affirmative, and the Rev. Dr. Steve Zank argues in the negative.

When it premiers live, you will have the opportunity to comment in real time.

Why do football stadiums basically look the same? There are certainly differences in size, whether or not they have a dome, and the external aesthetics of the building. They are individually known by different names. But that said, you can drive by a football stadium - whether at the local high school campus, the university, or in a big city that has an NFL presence - and you will know that this is a stadium…

I’ve often heard the service of the acolyte being downplayed as “just lighting candles.” If that’s the case, why have them at all? And since we now have electricity, why have candles at all? For anyone in the congregation can flip the switch. Such denigration of acolyte service is unfortunate and ill-advised.