“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10).

The one who accuses before God day and night will one day be forever cast out of God’s presence.  He won’t stop accusing, but so what?  The Lord already knows these things, Of course you stand before the Lord accused.  In many cases, rightly so.  Do not deny it but come to the Lord and receive the forgiveness He gives by grace and learn how to truly live.

Lord, why do I fear being accused?  When I am rightly accused, why do I fear making a confession?  You have come to save the lost, for the righteous do not need to be saved.  Yet because we live in the age of the accuser, where night and day we are accused, we, that is I, worry about the accusations.  Turn my ear to hear what You said from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.”  Let me see and understand that I do not need to play the devil’s game.

Lord Jesus, I am guilty of reacting to the accusations of the wicked one and not acting according to the salvation You have given me.  I need what You alone give and what You alone can do.  Help me laugh at the devil, especially when I am accused of the obvious, but take seriously the salvation You have given me.  Help me to live honestly with myself and others.  Guide me in the way of truly righteous living.  Amen.

“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9).

We are on the earth and the devil has been thrown down to where we are.  It makes me wonder about the ‘when’ of this?  Is this depicting what happened in the beginning (of our age)?  We’ll find out after the end of days.  Meanwhile, we contend with the reality that the devil and his minions are loose on the earth; but we have been told that all things work together for good according to God’s  purpose for those who love Him.  Will you listen to their vile lies, as many do, or turn to the one who will save you?

Lord, I am often confused by events, but You have made clear that You have come to save those who will turn to You and repent.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life so that I may be guided by what is right and true.  You do not require me to pass a test to enter into Your kingdom.  You only ask that I look to You to be saved.  Add whatever else You know is needed, so that I may humbly walk in the way of salvation.

Lord Jesus, You have paved the way for salvation because You crushed the head of the serpent.  But the serpent remains for a time.  Help me, dear Lord, to look to You, especially during those times when the wicked one is attacking me.  Lead me through all the things that will come in this world so that I may forever abide in You.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, in the way You know I need to go.  Amen

“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven (Revelation 12:7-8).

Are we seeing what happened, or what will happen.  This age has been a war between principalities and forces of darkness.  The answer is the cross where Christ, once for all, conquered sin, death, and the devil.  But the battle still rages.  In this war, where will you end up?  On which side will you land?  This is the question for us all.  Will you live as one who follows Jesus?

Lord, as the storm rages I find I am often confused and feel all alone.  But this is the lie of the wicked one.  You promised that You are with me forever.  Lead me, O Lord, and guide me according to Your goodness to stay the course of following You.  I can hope that I get out of this life unscathed, or I can live in the reality that, no matter what happens, I belong to You.

Lead me, Lord Jesus, on the path of salvation.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to know that in You I have hope that is not just for today, but forever.  Lead me to hold this in my heart always.  You have given me a new heart in You, and only in You will the heart, which is a heart like Yours, bear the goodness and mercy which You gave me from the cross.  Help me to stand firm in the truth.  Amen.

“Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Revelation 12:6).

Time, times, and time and a half.  The Lord has each of the seasons laid out and He knows the outcome.  We have lost track of the meanings of these things and often end up guessing some literal value being conveyed.  The real value is that the Lord has laid things out and that all  seasons are in His hands.  Will you go into the wilderness with the Lord, or stay on the outside and wonder what all of these things mean?

Lord, I have heard so many prognostications over the meanings of things in this book.  They confuse me.  But I do see the parallel in Your life on earth.  For a week, weeks and week and a half, You fasted and prayed for each one of us.  You overcame the temptation of the devil for us.  You went to the cross for us.  You came back to life through the resurrection so that those who believe would be with You always.

Lord Jesus, You are the Savior, and we all need saving.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life so that I may humbly walk with You, my Lord and God.  Let me not be distracted by the prognosticators of this age.  Help me to keep a clear focus upon You.  Guide me always in the way of righteousness preparing for everlasting life with You.  Teach me how to live in the Father’s will.  Amen.

Leadership is not a title, a performance, or mere occupation. It is a sacred relationship creating ripple effects, for both good and bad. This book is about stewardship leaders, who are both the humblest and stubbornest people on the planet. Today in our “pro-choice” environment freedom is about choosing, the more choices the better. For stewards, freedom is about being chosen, knowing who you are, with assigned roles and tasks.  Thus, healthy results radiate outward into your community, church, or workplace. Life becomes more gracious, business more successful, and the church more effective when you follow a call.

Central Concept: We are in a leadership crisis today. Without proper grounding, self-appointed leaders are harming basic community building from the family to the nation. The thesis of this handbook is that healthy leaders have the hearts of stewards. Properly understanding our unique LUTHERAN HERITAGE releases incredible spiritual and relational power which in turn builds healthy followers.

Takeaway Values:

• Readers will learn why leadership is harder today, yet be motivated to hear God’s call.
• Readers will understand that leadership is not a title. It is not even an occupation. Leadership is more an art than a science, less a performance than a sacred relationship. When we face a problem, we almost always start looking for a program, some method with which to attack the crisis. But when God sets out to solve issues, he always starts with a person. The Holy Spirit calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
• Readers will discover that there is a rich LUTHERAN theology of leadership, underutilized yet critically needed, which puts individual character at the forefront.
• Readers will gain insights and encouragement to grow in vision, courage, integrity, as they build their team and understand the riddle of power.

Unique Features:

• Each Chapter focuses on biblical characters, discovering healthy and unhealthy models of stewardship.
• This handbook is complete, in that all major issues of leadership are included.
• Personal experiences of the author, his friends, and historical figures, illustrate every point.
• Rather than focusing on gimmicks for success, each chapter focuses on the theology which produces long-term healthy results.
• Each section concludes with Reflection Questions for personal or small group discussion

Organization: The book is divided into an introduction followed by six chapters. The first chapter is foundational, sharing the surprising power and freedom God’s calling gives us. The succeeding chapters address the stewardship of vision (two), heart (three), community (four), opportunities (five), and finally power (six).

Click here to purchase the book, published by Pinnacle House Press, and available on Amazon.

Don’t play with dead fish! Mom said don’t bring it home thinking we’ll eat it! A dead fish is useless and worthless.

What are we to do with dead faith? Since a fish is a symbol for a Christian, maybe we can see how a dead faith isn’t much different from a dead fish.

Why do we declare a dead fish dead?  Most obvious is that it doesn’t move. Ever poke someone who was still to see if they were still alive? I try poking motionless Christians to see if their faith is alive. They don’t like it.

If our faith has no action, is it faith? James declares that faith with no action is dead (James 2:17). A living faith moves us: moves us to worship and praise our living God, moves us to pray and read his word, moves us to share Christ and bless others for His sake.  A faith without the life-giving Spirit is dead (James 2:26). And a dead faith is as useless as a dead fish because it is not living the aliveness that God intends (James 2:20).

(A faith that is about making ourselves feel good about our righteousness is not faith in Christ. I will cover that in a future article.)

If our motionless faith is just words; an empty lifeless confession that we are a Christian but no swimming in life as a Christian, then our faith is dead. If our faith is just the stripes of ancestors and heritage from days gone by but does not inspire fresh living today, then, well, even dead fish have stripes. Knowing facts about God or Christ is like a dead fish skeleton. You can see the outline, but a skeleton alone does not manifest life. A static dead faith isn’t just infertile and lifeless. Not having a living faith means we lack life-changing love, but rather are full of worry, obligation and tedium.

Why bother having a faith that is dead? Should a dead faith Christian just become an atheist to become dead to God all together?  Should we just drop the farce of faith? NO!

Embrace your dead faith. Yes, you are dead in your faith and also dead in your sins where you stand. But God excels at dealing with the dead. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”(Eph 2:4–5)

You have every privilege as a dead fish Christian to call upon God to make your faith alive. You are baptized. You are baptized into the death of Christ so you can be raised to a new life in Christ. (Rom 6:3-6)

Are you content to be a motionless, dead fish Christian or will you pray for your faith? God promises to give you life. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Rom 8:11)

So, I invite you to drag your dead faith butt to worship. Sit there in the pew in your grave clothes of this dull, exhausting existence to hear the Word of God. Dead fish Lazarus didn’t come out of the tomb patting himself on the back but rose up because Christ spoke to him (John 11:43-44).  Christ calls you to be alive with faith.

“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” (1 Th 5:10)

Your servant in his Word, Pastor Douglas 

Editor’s Note:  Rev. Dr. Douglas Schoelles joined the board of Lutheran CORE earlier this year.  Rev. Jeffray Greene has been writing devotions for us for a long time. We are grateful to them both for their valuable contributions to Lutheran CORE.

Lutheran CORE’s readers have been faithfully absorbing Rev. Greene’s daily devotions for many years. Some read them via the website and others view them on Twitter or on our Facebook page.

But it’s nice to have options. Pastor Schoelles enables you to watch a video or listen to audio in the car. He records The Daily Plunge in which he encourages “a quick swim in the day’s scripture reading.” Pr. Schoelles says he works his way through books of the Bible in bite-sized pieces. And by bite-sized he means videos in the 4–5-minute range. Definitely digestible!

Dr. Schoelles recently asked Lutheran CORE if we would like to link to his devotionals from our website. The answer was yes, thank you! And so now we can listen, watch or follow along by 1) listening to the audio, 2) watching via YouTube, or 3) following along on his Facebook page. Click here to open our new Daily Plunge Bible Study page where you can choose the option which best suits you. Also, click here to see Dr. Schoelles’ playlists arranged by books of the Bible.

Currently, Rev. Greene is about halfway through the book of Revelation while Dr. Schoelles is wading through 1 Corinthians. Please join us!

Both sets of devotions are available each day. Check here to see our new Devotions page. The Daily Devotions page and the new Daily Plunge Bible Study page are subpages under it but can also be accessed via the Devotions page.

Click here to see our revised web map reflecting these changes.

As Americans we are living in a time of increasing emotional despair.  And this crisis presents the Body of Christ with tremendous challenges as local churches consider how they might respond.

In the past, when I heard people complain about the state of American society and the level of social upheaval, I would respond, “But it’s not as bad as it was back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  Well I no longer say that.  I think the state of American society, in 2023, is now worse.  I have never, in my lifetime, seen as many studies and statistics pointing to widespread depression and despair as I have read about in just the last two years.  Some examples:

1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been conducting major surveys of high school students every other year since 2011.  The most recent survey—conducted in 2021 with the findings released in 2022—discovered an “overwhelming wave of violence and trauma and never-before-seen levels of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts among high schools students in the United States.”  This trend has been particularly alarming among high school girls.  “Almost 60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year, and nearly 25% made a suicide plan.”  This represents a 60% increase when compared to the survey results back in 2011.
2. Nicholas Kristoff, a writer with the New York Times, recently wrote, “Americans die from deaths of despair—drugs, alcohol and suicide—at a rate of more than 250,000 people per year, and the number of walking wounded is far greater.”
3. Suicide-related visits to pediatric emergency rooms in the United States—between 2011 and 2020—increased 500% (five-fold) among children, teens and young adults. (New York Times, 5-1-2023)

Back in 1920 the poet William Butler Yeats wrote his poem, The Second Coming.  His appraisal of the world of his day, no doubt shared by many of his peers shortly after the conclusion of the First World War, was incredibly stark.  “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold, the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”  Call me an alarmist, but I believe these words capture how a great many Americans—on both sides of the (political) aisle—view the current state of American society.    

There are undoubtedly many factors contributing to these startling statistics.  Perhaps the most frequent cause cited is the increased use of social media; especially among young people in general, and young women and girls in particular.  There is also the on-going decline in the number of two-parent households; increased rates of addiction; and the increasing numbers of Americans living alone.  And I would add the increasing secularization of our society and culture.

So what can the local church do to respond to all this despair?  In my opinion congregations can potentially make a significant and positive difference.  How?  By reaching out to some of the “walking wounded” in their local communities and introducing them to the blessings of being part of a caring Christian fellowship.  And, this introduction will typically happen one caring relationship at a time.  

However, there are at least two challenges faced by a great many local churches which need to be addressed.  One challenge is that too many congregations are just as polarized and conflicted as our surrounding culture.  We must not allow our churches to be characterized by discord and disunity.  It is incredibly difficult to witness to the love of Christ if this love is not evident within our congregations due to internal conflict.

A second challenge is that too many of our congregations have become immobilized by and fixated on their institutional decline.  This might be apparent due to decreasing worship attendance, or reduced financial giving, or perhaps their inability to find a new pastor during a prolonged vacancy.

Granted, our society is becoming increasingly secular, and the percentage of Americans identifying as “religious” has been decreasing.  However, more and more Americans—in their despair—are  recognizing their need to be a part of a loving and supportive community.  And they understand that this “community” needs to be in-person, not online.

Jessica Grose, a columnist for the New York Times, recently wrote an article entitled, “What Churches Offer That ‘Nones’ Still Long For”.  This article just appeared in the paper’s 6-28-2023 issue.  Keep in mind that Ms. Grose is a “none” of a non-observant Jewish background.  This was her final article in a five-article series on the increasing number of Americans leaving organized religion.  She wrote, “The one aspect of religion in America that I unquestionably see as an overall positive for society is the ready-made supportive community that churchgoers can access.”  One of the de-churched “nones” whom Jessica interviewed for her articles said the following: “I was raised Pentecostal and went to church three or more times a week, so I desperately miss the community.  It was where my friendships came from.  I have very few friends now.”  I would dare to say that hundreds of thousands of dechurched Lutherans probably have similar stories.  At the end of this article Ms. Grose wrote, “Almost everyone needs community to flourish.”  On a personal note, my wife and I, as we returned to more regular in-person worship attendance after the pandemic, realized how profoundly we had missed the worship and fellowship of our home congregation.

Writer Kirsten Sanders, in the recent March/2023 issue of Christianity Today, did an excellent job of describing the kind of Christian community which could reach the “walking wounded” of 2023.  “What makes the church (unique) is its knowledge of itself as called by God to be his representative on the earth, to be marked by unwieldy and inconvenient practices like forgiveness, hospitality, humility, and repentance.  It is marked in such a way by its common gathering, in baptism and Communion, remembering the Lord’s death and proclaiming it until he comes…When the church becomes preoccupied with defending itself to the world, it eventually becomes incoherent.  The only way to be a church is to speak the peculiar language of peace, of forgiveness, of repentance and resurrection.”

One of my favorite New Testament passages that I believe presents a vision of God’s love and Christian community is Ephesians 3:16-19.  Paul writes, “I pray that out of (the Father’s) glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Don Brandt

Congregations in Transition /Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative

pastordonbrandt@gmail.com

Note from our Executive Director: Many thanks to Kevin Haug, ELCA pastor in Texas, for his article about the Sparkle creed.  This so-called “creed” has received a lot of attention and stimulated a lot of discussion since its recent use during a worship service in an ELCA congregation in Minnesota.  We should all be alarmed over the way in which this statement rejects Biblical teaching and orthodox theology in its promoting the LGBTQ agenda and transgender ideology.  We are saddened but not surprised as we read of many ELCA pastors who are praising it as a way to connect the Christian faith with life today.  We are also saddened but not surprised by the total silence of ELCA leaders about it. 

“Pastor, what are we going to do about this?”

Those words were spoken by one of my octogenarians after she heard two news stories about the “Sparkle creed,” a statement that received national attention because of its use at an ELCA Lutheran Church in Minnesota.  The congregation recited it at worship, posted the video online, and it went viral.

The “Sparkle creed” has actually been around for a year or two, but it was not until conservative news sites and blogs discovered it that it caused a bit of an uproar, and that uproar is not without merit.  However, care needs to be taken when addressing this issue. I will attempt to show why.

First, let me define creed as a statement of belief.

In a very real way, everyone has a creed of some sort.  Individuals have creeds. Organizations have creeds. Individual congregations have creeds.  In fact, many biblical scholars say that the first creed was quite simple: Jesus is Lord. Those three words actually led to the death of Christians who would not say the Roman creed: Caesar is Lord.  

Because everyone has a creed, one could argue that having a creed is actually a neutral concept.  People believe all sorts of things. That they believe them is undisputed and neutral, but what they believe can be problematic and either good or bad. For instance, if I believe that all human beings are endowed by their Creator with fundamental rights, then that is a creedal statement.  And I would happily argue that it is a good creedal statement for various reasons.  Someone could hold a different position: that human beings are not endowed with rights from a Creator, but that governments decide what rights a person should or should not have. I would argue that this isn’t a very good position to take, but that doesn’t prevent some nations and people from holding it.  

To change positions literally requires a conversion process as many, if not most, creedal beliefs are actually statements of faith not statements of science.  For instance, science is practiced by using the scientific method: state a hypothesis; test and measure to see if the hypothesis holds water; formulate a theory; test the theory repeatedly.  Is the scientific method a true way of getting knowledge? Well, you have to assume that it is.  You have to trust that it is.  You cannot test the scientific method by using the scientific method.  Philosophers call this circular reasoning. Trusting that the scientific method is an accurate way of obtaining knowledge is a creedal belief. It is a deep, foundational belief, but it is a belief none-the-less, and one does not change those sorts of beliefs easily.

Which brings us to the Creeds of the Church, and I am intentionally capitalizing the letter C on both of those words. There is a reason for this as I shall get into shortly.

Within the Christian Church, there are three, recognized, orthodox Creeds: the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, and what you need to realize about these statements of faith is this: these Creeds were recognized by the whole Church as true affirmations of the Christian faith.  They were based in Scripture. They were developed over time or argued over or carefully thought through. They were not put together in a pastor’s office to make a particular group or segment of society feel welcomed or accepted.

In general, they were written to stomp out heresy. They were written to unify a divided Church. They were written to solidify and codify what the Church believed about God the Father, Christ the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  And as such, they are not to be trifled with.

Imagine for a minute if you will, gathering with a group of Christians circa 250 A.D. You are in hiding because Christianity is still not a recognized religion of the Roman Empire. It is the Easter Vigil, the time that it has become traditional for converts to be baptized into the faith. As the baptismal liturgy begins, the presider looks into the eyes of the converts. He begins addressing them and asks them three questions: Do you believe in God the Father? Do you believe in God the Son? Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit? And the converts begin reciting what they have been taught about who God is; who Jesus is; and who the Holy Spirit is. These statements have come together over decades of persecution and trial. Speaking them would immediately set these converts apart from the dominant culture and could lead to arrest and persecution.  Such is the nature of the Apostles’ Creed.

Or consider a church divided by various sects all claiming to represent the one true faith. Yet, those beliefs are contradictory at times. Some are not grounded in scripture. Some are off the charts. What does it mean to be a Christian? What are the foundational beliefs? Is this world truly, totally evil? Does only the spiritual count? Was Jesus indeed fully human and fully divine or a really good human being only adopted by God and infused with the divine Spirit?  What do you Christians truly believe? And bishops from far and wide gather to hammer such things out.  They consult deeply with the scriptures; argue their points vehemently and passionately; and put together a statement of faith which declares: this is it.  These are the non-negotiables. It is accepted by the church council and has stood the test of time for centuries. Such is the nature of the Nicene Creed.

The “Sparkle creed” shares none of this history. It was written for entirely different reasons and has not even come close to being vetted by the whole Christian Church on earth.  In fact, the majority of the Christian Church on earth would outright reject it. 

Therefore, it follows, that it has no standing to replace the Creeds in worship.

I mean: if someone wants to say that they adhere to the “Sparkle creed,” then they can personally say that they believe exactly what is in that statement. If a congregation wants to go so far as to use this creed in worship, then they are free to do so, but I strongly believe it should be introduced as a statement of that individual congregation, not of the Christian Church–it is not “the faith of the Church, the faith in which we baptize.” 

For to use it in such a manner is to actually separate one’s self and congregation from the global Church.  It is to become myopic and rather self-centered. Arguably, it is creating one’s own personal faith and religion—dare I say one’s own god.

And yes, I am quite aware that I belong to a denomination whose founder separated himself and then many congregations from the larger Church body of the time. The irony is not lost on me; however, Luther didn’t mess with the Creeds.  He affirmed them and what they stood for repeatedly. He didn’t tinker with the Creeds or try to change them for he never wanted to split with the Church of Rome.  These statements of belief were not up for negotiation or reformation. They were good “as is.”

They still are. They are meant to hold us together despite our disagreements on secondary issues. Trying to put “sparkle” in them only causes more division.

Leave the Creeds alone.