“But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is
concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who
is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his
wife” (1 Corinthians 7:32-33).

We get to the heart of what Paul
has been saying. There is a principle here. We have been created to care. Where
that care is directed is important. We often find that we are driven to care
about the things of this world. When that care interferes with the direction of
our faith, this is a problem. We were created to love and the direction of our love
will guide us. Direct your life toward the Lord.

Lord, I do not know what it means to love you above all things. Lead me,
O Lord, to be guided by You in and through all things. Help me to see that only
in You will I find meaning for why I exist. Guide me to live in the right
direction that I may now and always walk according to Your purposes. Help me
see through those things that seek to direct my focus in other directions.

Lord Jesus, You continuously
pointed us upward. Lead me to see that only in You will I find completion. Guide
me according to Your goodness to know that in You alone will I be able to walk
the narrow path of salvation. Lead me out of myself to see that through You is
the only way to find what is missing that I may not wander through this life
aimlessly. Guide me, Lord Jesus. Amen.

“And those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who
rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did
not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use
of it; for the form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:30-31).

The point continues that your
momentary circumstances will change. 
What you have will eventually pass from you to another.  What you do not have remains to be seen.  Who you are in the Lord is eternal and the
hope toward which we are called.  This
age will pass away, but you are called by the grace of the One who is
eternal.  For what will you live and to
what will you strive?

Lord, there are many ideas in the world.  People are constantly vying to persuade me
this way or that.  Help me I pray to see
through the lies and delusions to see clearly what it true.  In truth, lift me up to become as one who
seeks Your face and follows in Your example. 
Teach me how to walk in this world of confused and mixed messages to be
one who walks with You in the words of eternal life.

Lord Jesus, Word made flesh, lead
me in truth that I may be guided by Your clear and ever-present word.  Help me in moments of confusion to see and
hear clearly.  Help me to learn what it
means to abide in You.  Help me to never
reject the promise of Your abiding in me. 
Through all things, keep me on the narrow path that I may walk humbly
before the Father and do what is pleasing in His sight.  Amen.

THE PRAYERS,

Transfiguration of Our Lord, Cycle A (February 23, 2020)

Let us pray that the light of Christ may shine upon the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.

A brief silence

Holy Lord, Holy and Mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us! In the transfiguration of Jesus, we see your glory. And we see what a human being, immersed in you, will look like. Thank you for this “doubled vision.” Thank you for showing us that Jesus truly is all in all. Thank you for his suffering and death, which transfigures our own. Thank you for the vision of his holy glory, which he so lovingly pours upon all who cling to him in faith.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Transfigure your Church. Make it a lamp, radiating the splendor of your beloved Son’s light and life. Make it a place where poor sinful mortals may eat and drink in your presence, and live. Make it a place where cleverly devised myths are confounded by the glorious truth of the Gospel. Make it a place where all may come, and be fashioned into the very image and likeness of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Transfigure this congregation: its people and programs; its decisions and vision; its worship, service, and fellowship. Make our every word and action like clear crystal, through which the radiance of Jesus’ love shines unimpeded upon everyone we meet.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Transfigure the suffering of your persecuted Church, by uniting it to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Give it grace to speak truth and offer forgiveness to its enemies. Transfigure the ministries of seminaries, missionaries, and sister congregations and synods, that all they say and do points to Jesus and his strong saving love.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

 Transfigure this world, so that the sacrifices of those who stand in harm’s way to protect us may not be in vain. Let their actions shine with valor and honor; and grant them healing when they fall, and joy when they return home.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Transfigure this death-shadowed world; its people; and its leaders. Enlighten minds to seek your truth, and purify hearts to delight in doing your will. Turn us from being enemies of you, of one another, and of our own eternal good. Transfigure us into your loyal subjects, sisters and brothers to one another, wise stewards of creation, and lovers of your Beloved.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Transfigure the lives of all who sit in the shadows of suffering and sorrow – especially: {List}. Grant that Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, may rise upon them with healing in his wings. Let sorrow be turned to joy; fear into hope; and despair into faith in your love.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, we entrust our beloved dead into your care, knowing that you have transfigured their death into life, their sin and brokenness into holiness, and their limits into unbounded delight in your infinite wisdom and goodness. We humbly beseech you to transfigure each of us into the likeness of Christ. Speed the coming of that day when he shall be all in all. Grant that when we look upon the face of any whom you have redeemed through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we see his love alone, shining in their eyes.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

All these things, and whatever else you see that we need, grant to us, dear Father, for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE PRAYERS,

6^th Sunday after Epiphany, Proper 6, Cycle A (February 16, 2020)

Let us pray that the light of Christ may shine upon the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.

A brief silence

Dear Father, you set a high bar before us! You want us to look, act, and be like Jesus. Thank you for promising us that, in our Baptism, we are joined to him. Thank you that he has “cleared the bar” – and help us to not dangle lazy arms or drag objecting feet, as he carries us over that bar with him! By your Spirit, grant that all that Jesus has done for us is made manifest in us, to your glory and for the benefit of your people.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Build the Church into a holy temple, filled with your Spirit, with Christ as the cornerstone. Give it faithful pastors, bishops, theologians, teachers, and other leaders.  Help them plant and water the seed of faith, to which you alone give growth. Make the Church set before the world the way of life; and grant that many should choose it.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Cause quarrels, angry words, and hurt feelings to cease in this congregation. Unite us in a common purpose: planting and tending the seed of faith in one another, in our children and grandchildren, and in our friends, neighbors, and community.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Jesus spoke hard words about anger, adultery and divorce. Help us take them to heart. Bring your forgiveness and healing to those wounded by hurtful words and deeds. Give each of us wisdom and grace to comfort, challenge, and encourage loved ones who strive to remain faithful; who struggle to repent of offenses they have caused; and who agonize over how to forgive those who have betrayed their trust.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

We pray for our sisters and brothers in the faith who suffer persecution and death on account of Jesus. Set before us their example of faithful obedience to your Word. Help us to assist and defend them. Turn their tormentors from the paths of death and toward your light and life.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Set before the rulers of nations the path of life and of death; and give them the desire and the strength to choose life for themselves and for the people in their care. Conform each of us to your will, so that we may rightly and peacefully live together as your people.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

We lift before you the needs of everyone who is afflicted by suffering, sin, or sorrow, especially: {List}. Deliver them from evil; grant them refreshment, hope and healing; and restore them to fellowship with all who love them.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Dear Father, keep in your tender care all who have died trusting in your promises, especially those whose loss we grieve most deeply. Give us grace to comfort one another; to abound in gentleness, forbearance, self-control, faithfulness and compassion; and to choose those good things which you mean for our eternal life. Grant us the joy of joining the whole company of the redeemed in praising, worshipping, glorifying and adoring you forever.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

All these things, and whatever else you see that we need, grant to us, dear Father, for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE PRAYERS,

5^th Sunday after Epiphany, Proper 5, Cycle A (February 9, 2020)

Let us pray that the light of Christ may shine upon the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.

A brief silence

Heavenly Father, your Word is challenge, command, and marching orders for us. How often we stumble, fall short, or go AWOL in fulfilling it! Justice, generosity, holiness, mercy – we break your Word, your heart, and the hearts of people most in need of those good things. Thank you for Jesus, who fulfilled your Word among us, and who IS your Word. Thank you for setting his unquenchable light and holiness, mercy and obedience within our hearts. For his sake, make us like him: salt and light, hope and holiness, so others may turn to him and live.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Grant that the Church should constantly preach Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sin unto everlasting life. Keep it from being conformed to the desires and whims of the world.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Bless the people and ministries of this congregation. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, so everything we say and do glorifies you and helps our neighbor, especially the poor, lonely, hurting, and distressed people in our community.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Father, being a disciple means being a student of Jesus. Give us teachable hearts and minds! Lead your “apprentices” in paths of personal devotion and holiness. Form them into “journeymen” who walk with those whose path is hard and lonely, and who bring hope, encouragement, and your dear Son’s love to those who need it most.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

We remember before you our persecuted sisters and brothers. Make them into lamps shining in dark places. Bring them justice and deliverance. Soften the hearts of their enemies so they may turn to you and live.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Cause the rulers of all nations, especially our own, to heed the words of the prophet: to do justice tempered with mercy, and to care for the poor. We pray that they – and we! – not only refrain from evil, but actively pursue righteousness, and strive to live in peace.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Bring healing and hope, justice and mercy to everyone burdened by sin, sorrow, and suffering. Especially we lift before you the needs of: {List}. Shine the light of Christ upon them, and upon all who care for them.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, we entrust into your care all our beloved dead, especially those who were salt and light in our lives. Keep us also in your care throughout our earthly pilgrimage. Kindle your kindly Spirit within us, so that we constantly encourage and help one another along life’s way. And for the sake of your beloved Son, who gave himself for us, bring us into your eternal Kingdom, where with all whom he had redeemed, we may gaze upon his face and adore you for your goodness forever.

Lord, in your mercy, please hear our prayer.

All these things, and whatever else you see that we need, grant to us, dear Father, for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

“But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she
has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to
spare you.  But this I say, brethren, the
time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as
though they had none;” (1 Corinthians 7:28-29)

Looking at life and its meaning, our view is often of the day and the circumstance. Paul is calling for us to look at the age and its reality. Recognize that each path will carry with it burdens and these should not be taken on lightly.  Walk therefor with intentionality and seek to see things from the perspective of eternity.

Lord open my eyes to see beyond the immediate.  I am in this moment and I should not leave
it, but help me to live in this moment knowing what You have promised and how
things shall be after this age.  Holding
these two things together, teach me how to walk in the way of salvation.  Guide me to make choices that will enable me
to walk boldly in faith.  Teach me
faithfulness.

Come Holy Spirit and amidst the
confusion of this age show me a clear path that You would have me walk.  Guide me moment by moment and teach me about
the eternal perspective.  Let my heart be
free in You, but guarded from the wiles of this world.  In all things, teach me to live wholly in the
grace I have been given knowing that all things are in Your hands.  Lead me always!  Amen.

There are at least two significant and alarming trends confronting American church bodies in general, and mainline Protestants in particular.

One is the developing clergy supply crisis, and the second is the aging and upcoming precipitous decline of most of our congregations.

Both of these trends are related, to some degree, to the generational issue of aging Boomers. The single most eye-opening statistic—reported on repeatedly by PEW Research—is that less than half as many Millennials are attending church than was the case for their Boomer parents back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. I still remember a particular cover story of Time Magazine back in 1993. It was the April 5^th issue. (I just Googled it.) The quote on the cover of that issue was “The Baby Boom Goes Back to Church.” Needless to say, there has been no story, in the last decade, reporting a similar trend among Millennials.

Of course the decline of mainline Protestant churches is also due, in large part, to the on-going and accelerating secularization of American culture. And that reality is taking a toll on all national church bodies. But the more generational realities of our future are not simply about an inflated view of my own generation’s importance. This is about demographic realities helping us to see and clarify the urgency of what is before us as the Body of Christ. And to put it bluntly, the reason why the clergy supply crisis will be upon us sooner than the dramatic, precipitous decline in overall church membership is this: Most Boomers will, like me, have the good fortune to be retiring before they make the transition to assisted living and/or death.

Clergy Supply Crisis

What’s going on in the ELCA gives us a convenient window into what the LCMC and NALC will be facing. As I shared in previous articles, the ELCA is facing a major crisis with both clergy supply and their projected membership decline in the very near future. And aggravating these largely demographic realities is the rapid secularization of ELCA organizational culture. The ELCA’s Department of Research and Evaluation projects —based on the aging of their membership and the decline in baptisms — that by 2041 there will be less than 16,000 members worshiping — nationally —on a typical Sunday! That compares to 864,000 worshiping as of the end of 2018. And the issue of clergy supply for the ELCA? That crisis has already arrived. As of June of 2019 there were 2,776 empty pulpits out of a total of approximately 9,000 congregations.

Two Strategies

With Lutheran CORE’s Congregations in Transition (CiT) ministry we are focused on both a short-term and long-term strategy to help LCMC, NALC and orthodox ELCA congregations address both of these daunting challenges. And let’s not deceive ourselves. Our commitment—as orthodox clergy and congregations—to a Scripture-focused and more evangelistic worldview does not make us immune to the challenges the ELCA is facing. Somewhat more insulated perhaps, but not immune.

1st Century Model for Ministry

The CiT approach to congregational ministry is, overall, the empowerment of the laity. First, because it is the biblical, 1^st century model for ministry and outreach; and second, because an unhealthy dependence on the availability of ordained, full-time clergy will not even be a future option for many of our congregations.

Our mission, with CiT, is inspired by texts like 1^st Peter, chapter two, verses 4-5. Writing to the laity of his generation, Peter declares:

…You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Gifted Transition Teams

The three congregations (all LCMC) I am currently coaching are all facing the retirement of their only pastor. While each of these rural/small-town churches are just large enough to still afford a future full-time pastor, they are all rapidly aging worship communities who are very aware of their significant membership decline over the last twenty years. But here’s the good news: Their three transition teams are comprised of incredibly gifted and committed lay leaders. And these lay leaders are very invested in the current and future ministries of their congregations. My role is to insure that these members (of the priesthood we all share in Christ Jesus) will be motivated to step forward and lead their congregations even if the search for their next pastor takes longer than anticipated.

I had many short-comings in my 40 years of ministry as a parish pastor. However, being a gatekeeper was not one of them. In fact my greatest joy in ministry was enlisting, equipping and motivating members to use their God-given gifts and abilities to serve their congregations and surrounding communities. This is now, more than ever, the best hope for the Body of Christ: to facilitate the ministry of the laity in the face of significant challenges faced by today’s church. This will require both faith and creativity on our part. But let us never underestimate what God can accomplish, despite any and all obstacles, through the incredible gifts of our (non-ordained) brothers and sisters in Christ.

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word
by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to
wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell
John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and
the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is
anyone who takes no offense at me.” (Matthew 11:2-6 NRSV)

There goes the Son …

Evangelical Lutheran Worship

These days, there are many who are offended by the God revealed in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Scriptures.  The primary offense is caused by the name Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Others take offense at the masculine pronouns that the Bible uses for God.  As a result, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in its hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship, worked diligently to reduce the use of masculine pronouns to refer to God. This was particularly true in the translation of the Psalms. In addition, they provided an alternate invocation for the beginning of the liturgy that enabled congregations to avoid saying Father and Son.  Many of the Prayers of the Day and all of the Proper Prefaces, were changed so that prayer was addressed to God in general rather than to the Father.  Over the years, Sundays and Seasons, the electronic worship resource from Augsburg Fortress, has offered a variety of alternatives for those who are so offended. Finally, at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly, a social statement was passed calling for an even greater use of “gender-inclusive and expansive language for God.”

The Trinity

The Augsburg Confession, on the other hand, affirms the doctrine of the Trinity in the strongest terms, saying:

We
unanimously hold and teach, in accordance with the decree of the Council of
Nicaea,’ that there is one divine essence, which is called and which is truly
God, and that there are three persons in this one divine essence, equal in
power and alike eternal: God the Father,
God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.[1][emphasis mine]

What’s at Stake?

So what is
at stake?  Is this just quibbling over
words?  Are we as Lutherans bound to the
language used in the Augsburg Confession? 
Will it really make a difference if we use expansive language for God?

The answer
is, “Yes!”  What was at stake at the
Council of Nicaea was far more than a quibble over words.  The Council was not engaged in an esoteric
debate about a doctrine that few lay people would ever understand.  What was at stake was the Incarnation
itself.  Is the Son divine, or only the
Father?  Was God truly incarnate in Jesus
of Nazareth, or did it only appear to be the case?  It was the position of the orthodox that the
Gospel and salvation itself were on the line. 
Rejection of the Incarnation was a rejection of the Gospel. The Lutheran
reformers would have agreed. 

The Gospel

Why is the Gospel at stake?  To explain this, let me introduce a couple of terms with which you may not be familiar.  The terms are general revelation and particular revelation.[2]  General revelation refers to the knowledge of God that is available to all people.  Romans 1:20 says:

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal
power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and
seen through the things he has made. (NRSV)

Some knowledge of God is available to all people.  For instance, through the use of reason we can come to know that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.  If we look at nature, at the beauty and precision that it contains, we can catch a glimpse of the Creator.  If we pay attention to the moral law that is written in our hearts, we know that God is holy and righteous.  Some of us have even felt God’s presence in our lives.  Reason, nature, the moral law, and our feelings can give us some idea of what God is like.

What none of them can do, however, is enable us to know that God is a gracious God.  Knowing that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent doesn’t tell me whether God cares about me.  What nature reveals about God is too ambiguous to tell me whether he is good.  For every beautiful sunset, perfect snowflake and cuddly puppy, there is a hurricane, earthquake or an incurable disease.  The moral law tells me that God is holy, but it doesn’t tell me whether God is merciful to sinners like me.  My feelings about God are ambiguous as well.  One minute I may have a sense of God’s love and peace, but another moment I feel abandoned or condemned by God.  General revelation can take us no further.  Luther says:

I
answer that there are two ways of knowing God. One is general, the other
particular. Everyone has a general knowledge—that is, that there is a God that
created heaven and earth, that He is righteous, and that He punishes the
wicked. However, regarding what God thinks about us (His will toward us), what
He will give or do to deliver us from sin and death, and how to be saved (for
certain, this is the true knowledge of God), they don’t know any of this. In
the same way, I may know someone by sight but not thoroughly because I don’t
fully understand that person’s feelings toward me; that is how people by nature
know there is a God. But what is His will and what is not His will, they have
no idea![3]

The God We Meet in Jesus Christ

Particular
revelation, on the other hand, which refers to God incarnate, Jesus Christ,
does.  When we encounter God in the baby
in the manger and the man on the Cross, then we do know that we have a gracious
God.  It is the God we meet in Jesus Christ
who enables us to have faith, to trust that we are loved and forgiven.  Again, Luther says:

Christ
is the only means, and as you might say, the mirror in which we can see God and
by whom we can also know His will, for in Christ, we see that God is no cruel
and demanding judge but a Father of extremely goodwill, loving and merciful. In
order to bless us—that is, to deliver us from the law, sin, death, all evil,
and to grant us grace, righteousness, and eternal life—He “did not spare his
own Son, but gave him up for us all.” This is the true knowledge of God, the
divine persuasion that does not deceive us but paints us a trustworthy picture
of God, other than this there is no God.[4]

Offended by the Incarnation

This is
why traditional Lutherans are alarmed by the call for more “gender-inclusive
and expansive language for God.”  It is
not because we oppose inclusive language in general, as is often alleged, or
that we want to subordinate women to men. 
Something more is at stake.  When
we are offended by the very words that Jesus used to name God, when we are
offended by his masculinity, as in the past some were offended by his
Jewishness, when we are offended by the claim that Jesus is the way, the truth
and the life, we are offended by the Incarnation itself.  In that case, we are offended by the only
thing that makes it possible for us to know and trust that we have a gracious
God.  The Gospel, justification by faith,
and salvation itself, are at stake.  Instead
of being offended, we give thanks, as we do in the proper preface for
Christmas:

In the wonder and mystery of the Word made flesh you have opened the eyes of faith to a new and radiant vision of your glory: that beholding the God made visible, we may be drawn to love the God whom we cannot see.[5]

[1] Theodore G. Tappert. Augsburg
Confession (Kindle Locations 58-59). Kindle Edition.  

[2] Luther,
Martin. Martin Luther’s Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians
(1535): Lecture Notes Transcribed by Students and Presented in Today’s English
(p. 350). 1517 Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[3] Ibid., p. 350.

[4] Ibid., pp. 346-347.

[5]
Lutheran Book of Worship: Ministers Desk Edition.  1978 Augsburg Fortress, p. 209.

I
was thoroughly blessed through reading the recently published memoirs of Dr.
Robert Benne.  Many thanks to Dr. Benne
for writing them and to the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau for publishing
them.  Reading Dr. Benne’s memoirs
reminded me of when I saw the 1989 movie, “Born on the Fourth of July.”  While watching that movie, and while reading
Dr. Benne’s memoirs, I felt like I was reliving several of the years of my own
life. 

I
was born ten years after Dr. Benne, but like him I grew up in a culture that
supported and encouraged the Christian faith. 
He grew up in a small town in Nebraska. 
I was born in Minneapolis and spent some of the formative years of my
life in a small town in Iowa.  At that time
the world was trustworthy and safe, America was great and good, and right and
wrong were clearly defined (page 77). 
Bob Benne met his first black persons in college.  I had my first Asian friend in seminary. 

I
experienced and was dramatically changed by the same social and cultural
dynamics that strongly affected him, though at an age of ten years
younger.  We were both influenced by the
liberal idealism of the early 60’s.  Like
him, I came to view the church mainly as an instrument of social transformation
(page 83).  I identified with his
self-description, “I tried to swim with the radical tide” (page 88).  I was amused by his comment, “I became a
‘social justice warrior’ before the term had been coined” (page 106).  He mentioned that while teaching at the
Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago he worked with the Ecumenical Institute,
an organization that offered introductory courses to the Christian faith,
workshops on anti-racism, and training in community transformation.  I remember while attending college near
Chicago hearing a presentation by one of the staff members of the
institute.  I was stirred by what he said
and was determined that that is what I wanted to do after graduating from
seminary.

I
could identify with Dr. Benne’s then sharing the story of how he came to
realize the spiritual bankruptcy of that view of the mission and message of the
church.  He described himself as a
“wanna-be radical” who got “mugged by reality” (page 90).  He came to see how, by viewing the church
primarily as a vehicle of social transformation, he had reduced its
transcendent message to merely human efforts (page 89). 

I
greatly appreciate the way in which Dr. Benne shares so personally, openly, and
honestly the story of his own spiritual and ministry journey.  He feels deeply and articulates boldly and
clearly the seriousness of the departure of much of American Lutheranism from
the historic Christian faith.  He feels
the pain, and he can articulate the issues. 

In
the final pages of his memoirs he describes the events of the last twenty
years, including the formation of LCMC (Lutheran Congregations in Mission for
Christ), Lutheran CORE, and the NALC (North American Lutheran Church).  He states wisely and accurately, “Though
church schisms are undoubtedly serious matters that should be undertaken with
trepidation, it has seemed clear to me that the schismatic party was actually
the ELCA.  It simply collapsed before the
‘progressive’ American culture, as did other mainline Protestant denominations.
. . . The ELCA bishops, whose first duty was to defend the orthodox truth,
failed miserably” (page 167).

I am very grateful to Dr. Benne for writing these memoirs and am very thankful for the opportunity to read them.  I also want to thank Dr. Benne for the role he has played in the formation and life of Lutheran CORE and the ministry that he continues to have. 

Dr. Robert Benne currently teaches Christian Ethics at the online Institute for Lutheran Theology. He was Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion and Chair of the Religion and Philosophy Department at Roanoke College in Virginia for eighteen years before he left full-time teaching in 2000.  He founded the Roanoke College Center for Religion and Society in 1982 and directed it until 2012.  He continues at Roanoke College as a research associate in its religion and philosophy department.  A link to the ALPB (American Lutheran Publicity Bureau) website where you can order a copy of his memoirs can be found here.