While visiting another Lutheran church in the area as the gathered worshipped the LORD through the prayers and praised God through the songs, across the pews I saw a man, arms folded, a closed lip face saying, “I dare you.”

How can you be resentful in worship when we should be joining the angels in singing and celebrating the glorious grace of God?

If you say to yourself that you won’t sing louder; if you argue within your spirit against the invitation to give yourself to worship – Right there! Right in that thought of your rebellion dwells your sinful resistance.  If you hear the Word in a sermon and you are whispering in your mind, “Pastor, you can pound sand!”; just perhaps you have a resentful, rebellious faith.

Is your resistance because the call to worship is unbiblical or contrary to faith? No. Is being resentful and stubborn to the invitation of God unbiblical?  No. Unfortunately we see a lot of stubborn resistance in the Bible.

After people fled from the Babylonian siege in Judah into Egypt, the wives gave themselves over to worshipping a goddess. Even though idolatry and false values were the reason for all their previous troubles, still they traded the LORD for gods and priorities that have no power to give life. When the prophet Jeremiah warns them, they resent the prophet for meddling (Jer 44:1-30).  Is that your attitude?  “Don’t tell us how to be faithful to God.”  Do you have a resentful faith where you want Jesus, but don’t want him “telling me what to do!” 

In worship, we gather not for our amusement. We gather to celebrate the glory of God. When your pride and your resistance to worship gets your hackles up, you are not worshiping or faith-filled to God. When you are offended for being called to worship regularly, your stubborn nature is resisting God’s grace.        

As redeemed sinners we need to recognize that the very act of worship is spiritual warfare. That the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God and the Gospel of our Crucified Savior are doing battle with the false gods and values embedded and bonded to our human nature. Worship is about the very act of being called, exorcised, out of darkness and brought into God’s marvelous light by the Spirit.

How can we resent the Lord who loves us stubborn folks so much, that not only does he give us the blessing of each breath and each day, but gives his own beloved Son to die on the cross for our stiff-necked sin to release us into the joy of faith?  Rather than stubborn resistance, we have been reconciled to God through Christ so we may bask in God’s grace, love and forgiveness. Rather than arm folded resentment we are called to angel flying joy of praising the One who loves us.

Since Jesus endured the cross and its shame so that we may gather in the joyful assembly, we have something to be joyful and excited about. In the presence of God we glory in the hope and joy we have received through Christ. As God’s people we are celebrating the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. 

Christ wants you to have the full measure of his joy. Faith replaces resentment. Be filled with faith.

May the proven genuineness of your faith result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:7)

Pastor Douglas 

Part 1: A Gift of Restoration, Resilience, and Prophetic Perspective

Dear Friends—

We were in the middle of our first vacation ‘Out West’, somewhere between Colorado Springs, CO, and Yellowstone Park, WY, when my wife asked in a surprisingly calm voice, “So, what does happen when the pop-up mechanism of a pop-up trailer doesn’t pop?” Just minutes before I had explained that there was a high degree of probability that the lifting system on our trailer had broken. All I can say is that it was a most fascinating time with five kids. I only wish we had brought the dog and a couple of cats to make it more magical! Anyway, it was wonderful but not necessarily restful. You’ve probably had at least one of those vacations in your lifetime; you return home in desperate need of rest.

I’d like to address the topic of ‘rest’ in light of Jesus’ gracious appeal in Matthew 11 and how we can more fluidly incorporate rest into our lives. Why is rest (aside from sleeping) an essential but often missing ingredient in our daily schedules? I would say that without it—REST—we are much less effective in how we go about the work of ministry.

Are you presently resting from a place of work, or working from a place of rest? Perhaps we are relying more on our own efforts, programs, and plans than spending much-needed and regular time in the quiet place of abiding and rest. Clearly, Jesus’ ministry was rooted in and flowed from a place of silence and solitude, thus being still in seeking His Father’s directive (cf. Matthew 4:1-11, 14:23, 16:36-46, 17:1-9; Mark 6:31; Luke 5:16,6:12; and many more scriptural references). Jesus’ daily ‘schedule’ reflected a pattern of rest/retreat … and then an advance with the work of ministry/the Kingdom. I know there have been many occasions when, thankfully, dear ones (i.e., my wife, etc.) have lovingly challenged me to stop striving with my own agenda and energy and just rest.   

Jesus provides interesting insight on this topic of rest and the power it holds: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30) Although this is one of the most familiar texts in the New Testament and there are two references to rest in these verses alone, it seems that we are hesitant to embrace Jesus’ very tender and attractive words! We all know that statistics will clearly expose this reality, but who needs statistics when we experience it first-hand?

Yet, ironically, rest may be the very thing that Jesus desires for His listeners—and that through rest many blessings will come. It is a gift. But, like Paul, we find ourselves torn and often caught in our own humanity, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15)

Part of the blessings of rest, and what I desire to leave with you, is both invitation and challenge. Please know that I do this as a sometimes weary but hopeful brother and colleague in Christ. The invitation is to simply embrace Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30 … and rest … knowing that His rest will bring you many unexpected graces, including the gift of restoration of your soul, resilience for the long-haul, and prophetic perspective in discerning the ‘spirit of the age’ (Ephesians 2:1-3). The challenge is to incorporate a regular pattern of rest—and Sabbath-taking—in our restless, relentless, and demanding worlds!

If we can integrate daily encounters with rest into our schedules, and thereby establish rest as a predictable pattern in our daily routine, then will we not hear God more easily and trust His leading more readily? Doesn’t this become an intentional act of resting our faith on His Grace, being released of so much work (which can become works/law; Romans 4:16 & 5:2)?

Out of this wellspring of Rest, Inc., may you experience an early springtime of the soul! When the care of your own life is established in rest, then the privileged work of ministry (i.e., disciple-making, missional outreach, etc.) will flourish. I hope to address this in Part II of Rest, Inc.

In Christ,

K. Craig Moorman

“…take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan…” Joshua 4:3

We wish God’s blessings upon Dean Rostad, president, and the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute.  This is the third of a series of three articles about various residential discipleship ministries for young adults.   We began in January by featuring Faith Greenhouse, connected with Faith Lutheran Church (LCMC) in Hutchinson, Minnesota.  We continued in March with the Awaken Project (TAP). TAP is a non-profit organization housed on the campus of Mt. Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, Minnesota.  We thank God for these ministries and pray for them as they work to raise up a whole new generation of followers of Jesus and leaders in the Church. 

After 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites were about to experience God’s saving work in a profound way – walking through the parted (piled-up) Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. So that this God event would never be forgotten, God instructed them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan. These rocks of remembrance were to become physical pointers to God’s saving action in their lives. God never wants us to forget how He has moved in our lives.

My name is Dean Rostad and I have the privilege of serving as the President of the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute (CLBI) in Camrose, Alberta. CLBI is a campus-based Bible college through which 1000s of young adults have been trained to become disciple-makers in their churches, neighborhoods, and professions. In 2023, CLBI’s vibrant discipling community comprises 45 students, staff and committed volunteers. Just as Jesus discipled along the road, around the table and in the community, we also do.  Our students experience a different Bible class each week taught by high-caliber instructors from all over North America and beyond. Some weeks learning is off campus through inner-city ministry experiences, canoeing/hiking in the mountains, or serving cross-culturally. Each student is discipled one-on-one and is part of a rich weekly discipleship group that meets in a staff home. All of this is done to help CLBI achieve its mission of discipling young adults in the way of Jesus and equipping them for a life of mission in their vocations (be that as a pastor, baker or candlestick maker). I never know how Jesus is going to make a profound impact in our students’ lives, but I am completely confident that He always will.

When I ask alumni how God impacted their life while they were at CLBI (aka their rock of remembrance from the Jordan), the answers are incredibly varied: their faith took three steps deeper in Romans class, while being discipled by a staff member, they realized that they needed to stop trying to prove themselves to God and others and simply rest in the gospel,  a late-night conversation in the dorm led them to finally forgive someone, a cross-cultural ministry experience awakened a calling within them to bring the gospel to those who have never heard it, when they discovered they had found the spiritual family they had longed for. These are all significant transformational rocks of remembrance.

Currently, two members of the CLBI community are in online seminary studies with the Institute of Lutheran Theology. Both had no intention of going into pastoral ministry when they first came to CLBI. Once again, I love watching how Jesus changes the trajectory of people’s lives.

Since 1932 Jesus has been changing lives through this school. Please pray with me that God will continue to raise up all of the students and donors needed to ensure that current and future generations will have the opportunity to encounter Jesus in this holy place. For American students, the complete cost for eight months is just over $10,000 USD. That even includes a January trip to San Pedro, California for our students to connect with another Lutheran discipling community. To learn more about this incredible jewel of a school, visit clbi.edu.

What is your “rock of remembrance”? What is your significant God experience that marked a new trajectory for your life?

Certainly one of the most complex, difficult, and volatile situations in the world today is the
relationship between Israel and its neighbors. The Jewish people suffered horribly during the
Holocaust. After World War II they needed a homeland – a place to live where they would be
safe. The problem is that there were people who were already living there and had been for
hundreds of years.

I do not agree with everything that the Israeli government has done over the years, just as I do
not agree with everything that the U. S. government has done over the years. There are many
ways in which the Palestinian people have been suffering and we need to be deeply concerned for our fellow Palestinian Christians. But the Israeli government needs to be able to protect its people, just like every government needs to be able to protect its people. The Israeli government and the Israeli people need our prayers and support as they fight off the most violent and deadly incursion in decades.

I believe that the promises of God were fulfilled in Jesus, not in the creation of the modern state
of Israel in 1948. I do not agree with those who believe that the Kingdom of God would be
advanced if the Dome of the Rock were to be torn down and a Temple were to be built in its
place. But still, as I read the Bible, the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
played a major role in God’s plan for our salvation. The Lord said to Abraham, “I will bless
those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12: 3). And the apostle Paul wrote about his people, the Hebrew
people, “To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the
worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh,
comes the Messiah” (Romans 9: 4-5).

The best article I have found regarding how we American Christians should view and why we
should stand with Israel under attack was written by Russell Moore, editor in chief of
“Christianity Today” magazine. Here is a link.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/october-web-only/israel-hamas-middle-east-war-christians.html

I urge you to join with me in praying for Israel under attack – for its government, its people, the
wounded, the dying, those who have lost loved ones, those who live in fear and constant great
danger.

“He will command his angels to guard you in all your ways.  They will bear you up in their hands so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”  (Psalm 91: 11-12) 

Dear Friends:

I experienced the truth and power of that promise last month.  I do not have a good sense of balance so I take precautions.  For example, I do not ride escalators, especially in airports when I have luggage and my carry on.  But after I arrived at the Oklahoma City airport on my way to the NALC Convocation, as I left the gate area the escalator down to baggage claim was straight ahead and I did not know where the elevator was, so I foolishly did what normally I no longer do.  I took the escalator. 

As I remember, a little way down the step jerked.  I lost my balance, fell to the side, and badly cut my upper left arm – I believe on the metal edge of the step.  People were so concerned and so kind.  They brought paper towels to wrap up the blood and called the airport fire department triage team, who retrieved my luggage, called an ambulance, and I was taken to the emergency room of a hospital not too far from where the convocation was taking place.  My laceration was treated and I was released. 

Afterwards I was thinking about how fortunate I was that I did not fall forward or fall down the escalator and how much more serious the injury could have been (though the escalator did leave tread marks on my upper left arm).  I was also very glad when I heard the announcement that first aid was available during the convocation at the volunteer central room.  There I found kind people who would change the dressing.  It is hard to change the dressing on your own upper left arm. 

And then I got to thinking about what people can do – show concern, wipe up the blood, retrieve luggage, get me to emergency, treat the wound, and change the dressing – but what only God can do – command His angels to watch over us and give our bodies the amazing ability to heal. 

I am very sad whenever I hear preachers and Bible study leaders reduce the Christian message to what we do – whether it is doing works of compassion, advocating for justice, or what is now the dominating emphasis in some church circles – dismantling systemic racism, white supremacy, and male dominance.  I think of the account of the raising of Lazarus in John 11.  The people could move the stone and unwrap the grave clothes, but only Jesus could raise the dead.  We of Lutheran CORE are committed to preserving and proclaiming the full and pure Gospel message – not of the far-left political agenda but of the gifts that God gives as He forgives our sins, makes us new creations, calls us to service, and commands His angels to watch over us. 

We have promised to keep you posted regarding the work of the commission that will be developing the plan to remake and reconstitute the ELCA.  The thirty-five members of the commission have been appointed and have held their first meeting.  Biographical paragraphs of the members are now available.  We will be analyzing the makeup of the commission and will share our analysis in the September issue of our newsletter, CORE Voice.  The makeup of the commission should be cause for great concern.  As they say, When you know the makeup, you know the outcome.

Also in the September issue of our newsletter a couple members of our young adult group – both of whom are students at the North American Lutheran Seminary – will be writing about their experiences serving as mentors at NEXUS this past summer.  A ministry of Grand View University in Des Moines, NEXUS is a week of Bible study, theological reflection, and fellowship for high schoolers, where they are challenged to become involved in Christian ministry and consider attending seminary.  Thank you for your gifts, which make it possible for Lutheran CORE to be one of the sponsors of NEXUS.  Ethan Zimmerman, one of the seminarians who again served as a mentor this past summer, wrote about his experiences –

“This summer’s NEXUS Institute was the best NEXUS I’ve been to in my five years of being involved!  The Holy Spirit was moving in and amidst everyone, from the high school student participants, to the young adult mentors, all the way to the adult chaperones!  Everyone’s faith was deepened and broadened in such a fantastic way, and speaking for myself, I will forever be changed for the better because of my involvement as a mentor.  The NEXUS Institute is one of the premier places for high school students to grow and learn more about their faith, and to see what a calling and vocation from God truly looks like!”

I am writing this letter the week after the devastating fires on the island of Maui.  Having visited that beautiful island, I have a hard time imagining what it must be like now.  We are continually reminded of tragedies and natural disasters that are happening to people.  But the greatest tragedy of all is what sin, death, and the devil have done to God’s creation.  People need to know and be in right relationship with a God who loves, forgives, calls, empowers, and is with them, and who commands His angels to watch over them.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and gifts to Lutheran CORE, which enable us to continue our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Thank you for your prayers for us.  Please click here to print a form that you can use to let us know how we can be praying for you.

Blessings in Christ,   

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

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I first got to know the name James Nestingen through what I still believe is the best confirmation text ever produced — the first edition of Free to Be co-written with Gerhard Førde. (Jim was unhappy with the later revision of it by AugsburgFortress.)

But while I heard him speak from time to time, the first occasion I spent at length with him was the Lutheran CORE Conference at Lindenhurst, Illinois, on September 28, 2007. Many of Jim’s friends and students describe him with the word “prophet,” and he was certainly in full prophetic mode at that event regarding the directions the ELCA was taking. The event gathered those of us who would lead the response to the sexuality decisions that would be made a few years later, leading to the change in strategy of Lutheran CORE and the formation of the North American Lutheran Church.

Jim represented a somewhat different version of Lutheranism than I had grown up with in my eastern LCA context, and I found it enlightening and refreshing, not to replace but to supplement the ways I had come to understand the faith. I learned from him to say with regularity, “we sinners,” as I would preach and teach. Jim would tell us that we should always listen for a confession in conversations with people. He understood the brokenness of our fallen world, and exulted in the Word of absolution that we dare to speak on the authority of the Son of God Himself.

Not that Jim ever claimed to be anything other than one of “us sinners.” And he could sin boldly from time to time. For him, theology was not an abstract intellectual enterprise, but God’s life-saving intervention in the world with the Word of Life we are empowered to speak through Jesus. He stood on “grace alone,” knowing that even our repentance is God’s gift through the Holy Spirit, channeled through the Word and the Sacraments.

Jim was not given to moderation, because his life was a huge love affair with Jesus. He and I had one difficult time when he demanded that Lutheran CORE rescind our invitation to a speaker with whom he had personal and theological conflicts. When we refused, our relationship was tense for a while, but we both moved beyond it. Lovers sometimes over-react, and Jim threw his whole being into the service of the Lord he loved. He was indeed a jealous lover of the Lord who he knew loved him with the same intensity.

As a speaker, nobody could hold the attention of an audience, lay or clergy, as well as Jim could. His repertoire of Sven, Ole, and Lena jokes along with often-scatological humor (which prevented most preachers from stealing his material) interfaced well with his profound theological insights, always centering on the Word of forgiveness Jesus proclaims through us. His North Dakota Scandinavian farmer persona helped humanize his brilliant teaching, and he could share personal stories of his encounters with real people and how the Word of forgiveness encountered them. Often he and all his hearers were in tears as he recounted these stories, even stoic Germans like me.

I still remember his story of visiting a dying friend, whispering in his ears as he was leaving this life, “The next voice you hear will be Jesus.” That is how real and concrete Jim’s faith was, and I know I became a better pastor because of my contacts with him.

Jim has been bothered these last years by painful ailments, and while he limited his travel he still managed to make it to NALC conferences and events, and to serve on our Commission on Theology and Doctrine (CTD). He arrived early in Dallas for the CTD meeting in November as my deans’ meeting was ending, so we got to spend a little time conversing together. While he was in obvious pain, somehow he found a way to fly there and continue to offer his guidance to the church body he helped bring into existence. I remember with thanksgiving these last conversations I had with him until we two redeemed sinners meet again around the Throne.

His death was sudden, and there was evidently nobody to whisper in his ear, “The next voice you hear will be Jesus.” But Jim already knew the voice of the Good Shepherd whom he loved and served so faithfully, and he surely knew Who was welcoming him into his heavenly home.

Year End 2022

Dear Friends –

I have been enjoying doing a weekly Bible study based upon the lectionary readings for the following Sunday.  A couple churches post them on their websites and Facebook pages as part of their adult education ministry, and I know of several people who use them either for their personal devotions or as resources for a small group Bible study that they lead.

This past week I was preparing a study on the Scriptures for Reformation Sunday.  In the third chapter of his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul makes a brilliant argument showing that God is both righteous and the one who justifies the person who has faith in Jesus (verse 26).  Paul says that we are “now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood effective through faith” (verses 24-25).  I read that verse and I thought of the movement that calls itself Progressive Christianity, which rejects the teaching that Christ died for our sins.

According to this movement, Jesus did not die for our sins.  Instead he died because he opposed the oppressive political power structures of his day.  But God raised him from the dead, showing that love wins, and now we need to join in his struggle against all the oppressive political and social power structures of our day. 

I know of a congregation where the new pastor, shortly after coming, took all the Sunday School material and with a black marker crossed off any reference to Jesus’ dying for our sins.  Then he returned the material to the teachers and told them that they were to use the amended curriculum and make no mention of Jesus’ dying for our sins.  All the teachers quit.  Good for them.

According to so-called Progressive Christianity (which I would say is not Christianity), sin, death, and the power of the devil are not three forces that hold us in bondage and we need someone to deliver us from.  And the main mission of the church is not to tell people of the Savior who loves them and who has broken the power of the forces that enslave them.  Rather, according to this view, the main message and mission of the church is to challenge people and rally people to work against all oppressive political and social power structures.

According to this view, Jesus is not a Savior.  Rather he is just an example and someone who wants to rally us to his cause.

I read the Second Reading for Reformation Sunday, and I contrast it with the main message of so-called Progressive Christianity, and I realize how much is at stake.  With what is going on in the Christian church today, everything is at stake.

I am very grateful for all the people who have told me of how they have read and deeply appreciate my analysis of the recent ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  People have shared that they also are in grief and horror over the way in which –

• The ELCA’s own description of the Highlights and its account of the Summary of Actions from the assembly make no mention of God and Jesus.  There is discussion of greenhouse gases, D. C. statehood, non-disclosure agreements, LGBTQ+ rights, and talk of dismantling racism and white supremacy, but no mention of God and Jesus.

• The Assembly took action to approve a resolution that called for a review of the 2009 human sexuality social statement and reconsideration of the four positions of bound conscience.  What could very likely occur at the next churchwide assembly in 2025 would be a massive breach of trust, as the ELCA breaks its promise to provide a place of respect for traditional views and those who hold them, all while harshly criticizing the U. S. government for breaking its promises to indigenous persons.

• The Assembly also took action to call for a commission for a renewed Lutheran church.  I shudder to think of what this reconstituted Lutheran church will have as a statement of faith and a statement of the mission of the church and the role of rostered leaders.

Yes, everything is at stake.  I am certain that the majority of the members sitting in the pews in most ELCA churches would be horrified if they knew what actually is going on.

The apostle Paul told his young friend Timothy, “Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable” (2 Timothy 4: 2).  It is your prayers, words of encouragement, friendship, and faithful financial support that enable us to do that.  Thank you for joining with us in doing what the apostle Paul also wrote to Timothy – fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4: 7).

Please find enclosed a form which you can use to designate a year-end gift towards our regular operating expenses as we work to be a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Please also let us know how we can be praying for you.  Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, especially at this critical time when everything is at stake.    

In Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

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Lutheran CORE is always looking for ways to take our ministry to the next level and expand our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Our most recent new effort is to expand our video ministry.

For about two years we have been posting on our You Tube channel a new video book review on the first day of every month.  Many thanks to the Lutheran pastors and theologians who have been recording these reviews of books of interest and importance. 

We are calling our new video ministry CORE Convictions.   This new video series is being planned particularly for those who are looking to strengthen and renew their Christian faith. We believe that these videos will be a valuable resource for those who wish to grow in their knowledge of Biblical teaching and Christian living as well as for those who want to know more about how Lutherans understand the Bible. We also want to provide this resource for those who do not have the opportunity or the option of attending a church where the preaching and teaching is Biblical, orthodox, and confessional.

Here is a link to our You Tube channel.  In the top row you will find recordings from both sets of videos – in the order in which they were posted, beginning with the most recent.  In the second row you will find links to the Playlists for both sets of videos – Book Reviews and CORE Convictions.  Here is some more information about our two most recent video book reviews.

VIDEO BOOK REVIEWS

“THANKS BE TO GOD: MEMOIRS OF A PRACTICAL THEOLOGIAN”

Many thanks to NALC pastor Dennis DiMauro for recording a video review of Robert Benne’s book, Thanks Be to God: Memoirs of a Practical Theologian.  A link to his review can be found here. 

Dr. Benne is the Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion Emeritus at Roanoke College in Virginia as well as the founder of the college’s Benne Center for Religion and Society.  He currently serves as Professor of Christian Ethics at the Institute of Lutheran Theology.

In this book Robert Benne tells the story of his life from a small-town upbringing in an ethnically German area of Nebraska (which Dennis DiMauro describes as like Ozzie and Harriet wearing Luther Rose t-shirts), to the University of Chicago and a few sabbaticals in Germany.  At first enthralled with the seminary radicalism of the 1960’s, he soon discovers that this is not for him.  He moves from Chicago to Roanoke College in Virginia, where he works to reclaim the Lutheran identity of the college. 

In 1982 he founded the college’s Center for Religion and Society, which later was named after him.  He worked with Lutheran CORE in a failed attempt to uphold traditional views on marriage in the ELCA and worked with Carl Braaten to start the NALC’s annual theology conference (which later was renamed the Braaten-Benne Lectures), and the younger theologians colloquium, of which Dennis DiMauro is a member.  

Dennis DiMauro concludes this enthusiastic recommendation of this book by saying that it is a wonderful memoir that details Dr. Benne’s journey from left-wing activist to iconic Christian ethicist.  It demonstrates how one person can fight the good fight for God’s Law and Gospel and make a difference in the world while succeeding in academia against all odds.

DEBATE BETWEEN ERASMUS AND LUTHER 

Many thanks to Ethan Zimmerman for his review of the debate between Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther on the issue of free will.  Ethan is a first-year student at the North American Lutheran Seminary.  A link to his review can be found here.   

This debate took place in the mid-1520’s as Erasmus stated in his Diatribe that the will is free, while Luther insisted in his Bondage of the Will that the will is bound to Satan or to God.  Erasmus’ work is a very methodical, precise piece according to the best tradition of the humanists.  Erasmus uses Scripture to support his point because he knows that Scripture is the only authority that Luther will accept.  Luther argues his point on the basis of the same passages of Scripture which Erasmus uses, plus some additional passages.

A major difference between the work of these two men is the tone.  Erasmus’ writing is very professional, polite, concise, and academic.  Luther’s is emotionally charged, vehement, and down to earth.  Reading Erasmus is like reading a textbook.  Reading Luther is like reading a fiery sermon.

Ethan Zimmerman concludes by saying that reading these two books “will more clearly elucidate both the men of the debate, the issues of the reformation, and shed light on the core tenants of the Lutheran tradition and why we are the way we are today.”  

* * * * * * *

CORE CONVICTIONS

We now have four videos posted in our CORE Convictions series –

• “Defending Christian faith and morality without being a nasty jerk or a defensive Bible thumper” by NALC pastor Cathy Ammlung
• “Jesus is the only way to salvation” by Russell Lackey, campus pastor at Grand View University (ELCA)
• “Teaching the faith to children of all ages” by NALC pastor Jim Lehmann
• “What does it mean to be Confessional?” by NALC pastor Jeffray Greene

More videos will be posted as they become available.  My August letter from the director contained a summary of and a link to Cathy’s video.  Here is a summary of and a link to Russell’s video.

IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION?

Many thanks to Russell Lackey, senior campus pastor at Grand View University in Des Moines, for his answer to the question, Is Jesus the only way to salvation?  A link to his video can be found here.

Some will interpret John 14: 6 as Jesus’ narrowing the way to God.  “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  Instead Dr. Lackey points out that here Jesus is providing a way to the Father.  “No one comes to the Father.”  On our own we would never be able to come to the Father.  “Except through Me.”  Jesus provides the way.  It is as if we were all stuck in a dark room and were unable to find our way out.  Someone needs to open the door, provide a light, and show the way.

Pastor Lackey also refers to Revelation 5: 2-5, where the question is asked, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?”  Only Jesus is worthy.  No one else is able to provide the way. 

We will all die.  No one can escape that.  Jesus alone overcame the grave, opened the way, and provides a way beyond the grave.  The best news of all is this – Jesus has made a way to the Father. 

No Mention of God

Here is a link to the ELCA’s description of the Highlights of its own recent Churchwide Assembly. Please notice.  Two words are conspicuously absent – the words “Jesus” and “God.” 

One would think that a church body that is holding its triennial, several-day assembly would consider some mention of Jesus and/or God in its Highlights, but not the ELCA.  I have read the Highlights three times, but have found no mention of either.

This is even worse than the ELCA’s own Summary of Actions from its 2019 Churchwide Assembly.  Again, that summary makes no mention of Jesus, but it does make one mention of God, when it says that we are all created equal in the eyes of God.

In the summary of the 2022 assembly there is mention of greenhouse gases, D. C. statehood, diversity, equity, and inclusion, but no mention of Jesus or God.  It is only a matter of time until the ELCA will bear little if any resemblance to a Christian church. 

Updated Understanding

In my August letter from the director I expressed my concern that the 1991 social statement on abortion (which is more conservative than what most in the ELCA would want) could be gotten rid of through archiving.  Actions taken by the 2022 Churchwide Assembly included archiving several social policy resolutions, including a couple related to the issue of abortion.  I knew that it was social policy resolutions (not a social statement) that were archived at the 2022 CWA, but I was concerned that since the 1991 abortion social statement takes a similar position to the social policy resolutions that were archived in 2022, what would prevent the social statement from being archived in 2025?  It is good to know that a social statement which is more conservative than the preferred and prevailing position within the ELCA today cannot just be gotten rid of through archiving.