Gottesblog

In the big picture, a Capital-M Mission is a reason for being, a purpose. It is the “why” of any organization or entity. For many decades, corporations have been expected to have a “mission statement.” But in the church, a Small-M mission is some kind of outreach. A church’s Small-M mission might be to run a school, a VBS, Lenten fish frys, a consignment shop, a coffeehouse, or maybe supporting a preaching station intended to become a daughter congregation.

I listened to a recent podcast, in which the host, an LCMS parish pastor, said the following:

There is something very, very powerful about private '“for you” Confession and Absolution rather than just corporate confession. I sound kind of old school, I guess, when I say that, but, I think there people need to hear…

A member of an LCMS congregation posted with great gusto and passion on a Facebook group concerning the Sign of the Cross, of which he disapproved, because it is a “tradition of men.”

The guys at Unite Leadership Collective are adamant that the seminary model we have for pastoral formation is not sufficient. In the past, the narrative has been that the “residential model” is the “gold standard,” but we need something to supplement it. But the shift now is to question the “gold standard” part itself.

The origins of these two disparate approaches to clerical garb provide an interesting contrast.

I have a Substack called Most Certainly Beane. You are invited to subscribe (it’s free), or simply to read it at the website. Or not! I never post things behind a paywall. The name is tongue-in-cheek humor. I wanted to put my name on it (as I’m the only contributor) and make the name of the blog a kind of Lutheran “dad joke.” So there it is. You are free to groan, and as Lutherans, hopefully in four-part harmony.

The Texas District President, the Rev. Michael Newman, wrote a recent piece called “The Way to Unity in the LCMS.” In it, he makes the case that when it comes to vestments and liturgy, anything goes. His argument is based on the “satis est” of AC 7:

In looking to explain and combat the current laity shortage, a lot of the discussions seem to miss the elephant in the parlor.