Pictures from the 2013 BJS Conference

The Brothers of John the Steadfast held their fifth annual conference on Friday and Saturday, February 15 & 16, 2013 A.D. at Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, IL.  Bethany recently installed some new stained glass windows.  The window above depicts some of the church buildings in which Bethany has called home.

On Friday, Pastor Fisk spoke about being raised Lutheran, but not staying Lutheran, and the challenges we face in passing on the faith to future generations.

One of the goals of the Brothers of John the Steadfast is to use new media to pass on the faith.  Pastor Fisk exemplifies that approach in his video podcast, Worldview Everlasting.  Pastor Fisk’s presentation can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here.

On Saturday morning, Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller, a co-host of Table Talk Radio, spoke about loving God’s word.  (Click here to view the video of his presentation).

God’s word causes us to understood, is without error, and inspires love.  One of the best aspects of a Brothers of John the Steadfast conference is the fellowship of brothers in Christ.  Scott Diekmann wrote about the fellowship of this year’s conference in a post entitled: “Joy.”

Because God has filled our hearts with love, we also love one another.  Every year the BJS conference features fine fellowship, delicious food, and generous hospitality.  This year was no different.  We were also treated to two fine sermons by Pastor Hans Fiene (“Steadfast in Doctrine, Steadfast in Love“) and Pastor Tony Sikora (“The Shallow Promises of the Defeated Devil“).

On Saturday afternoon, Pastor James May spoke about Lutherans in Africa.  Pastor May said the best way to make disciples was by preaching and teaching the word of God.  He said that Islamic missionaries were teaching their faith, while many Christian missionaries gave out T-shirts.  We should never neglect people’s physical needs, but we should not pretend that helping other people physically is the same thing as teaching the gospel.  The Church Growth Movement does not work in America or Africa.

One story that stood out was of a mother who wanted her babies to be baptized, but could not afford the baptismal fees charged by the Roman Catholic priests.  The fee for a baptism was $15, but $15 was two weeks wages in that part of Africa, and she had twins.  She was trying to find a priest who would bless her babies for free, when she discovered Pastor May.  Pastor May explained that he was not a priest, but that baptism was not so much about becoming a member of the Roman Catholic Church, as it was about becoming united to Christ.  The gospel is freedom, so Pastor May baptized her babies for free.  Her children later died, and she was comforted by their baptism.  She believed that baptism united her children with Christ and saved them because God so said.  (Romans 6:3-5).

Pastor May’s presentation can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here.

The picture above is of Bethany’s nave after the conference concluded.  For additional pictures from this and past year’s conferences, click here.

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Blessed Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent.  Lent is a period of renewal involving confession, absolution, and repentance.  It takes place in Spring because our Lord died and rose again in Spring: Spring is a period of renewal and new life.

In our baptism, God drowned our sinful nature, buried it with Christ, and raised us again to new life in His resurrection.  (Romans 6).  The sacrament of Confession and Absolution stems from our sacramental death and resurrection in Baptism.  In Confession we die to sin, and in the Absolution we are raised again to new life.

As Lutheran Christians, we

keep Confession, especially because of the Absolution.  Absolution is God’s Word which, by divine authority, the Power of the Keys pronounces upon individuals.  Therefore, it would be wicked to remove private Absolution from the Church.  If anyone despises private Absolution, he does not understand what the forgiveness of sins or the Power of the Keys is.

— Apology to the Augsburg Confession, Art. XIIb, 2-4,
The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005, 172.

Baptism and repentance are both gifts of God.  (Acts 11:18).  In the very first of the 95 Thesis, Martin Luther wrote that when “Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ [Matt. 4:17], he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”  (Luther’s Works).  That means that the entire life of a Christian is a living out of our baptism.

On Ash Wednesday, many Christians use ashes to remind us of the wages of sin: death.  For we were made from dust, and to dust we will return.  (Genesis 3:19).  Our deaths bring only death forever.  On the other hand, Christ’s death brings us life eternal.  In sin and ash we fall from death to death.  But with cleansing water Christ raises us from death into His life.

In Him, He makes us clean and alive forever.

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BJS Conference 2012

The Brothers of John the Steadfast held their fourth annual conference on Friday and Saturday, February 10 & 11, 2012 A.D. at Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, IL.  Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller, a co-host of Table Talk Radio, spoke on Saturday, February 11.

Pastor Wolfmueller mentioned three attacks of the devil against the Church:  First, he convinces us that theology is boring.  This causes us to chase around after frivolous entertainments instead of living in the truly exciting word of God.  Second, the devil convinces us that because good theology is difficult, we should avoid it for easier pursuits.  Third, the devil puffs us up with our own self-importance so that we are afraid to be wrong or make mistakes.

Pastor Wolfmueller emphasized that Christ’s name matters, not ours.  We do not need to feel ashamed if we are wrong or make a theological mistake, because repentance and turning to Christ is all part of growing in grace.  If we are afraid of making theological mistakes, then we will not talk about theology at all.  However, God wants us to discuss his word, and let it dwell in us richly, not just as private individuals, but also as a Congregation of all believers.

A portion of Pastor Wolfmueller’s presentation is featured below:

There was a small problem with the electronic speakers at Bethany Lutheran being slightly out of synch, which explains the echo in the video above.

Friday’s inclement weather caused me to miss most of Pastor Fisk’s presentation.  Pastor Fisk is best known for his video podcast Worldview Everlasting.  Please check it out.

One of the highlights of every BJS conference has been the outstanding liturgical music led by Cantor Phillip Magness of Liturgy Solutions.  This year was no exception, and one of the Divine Services was done mostly a cappella.

Pictured below are what appear to be horns in the back of Bethany Lutheran.  I took the picture while standing under them looking up toward the ceiling.

The other highlights of every conference so far have been the delicious food and generous hospitality of Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, IL.  This year was no different.

Pictured above are conference attendees arriving in the nave for Pastor Scheer’s presentation after lunch on Saturday.

Pastor Joshua Scheer stated that theology is supposed to be the habitus for all Christians, including laymen, and that layman should love their pastors enough to hold them accountable.

Speaking about the internet, Pastor Scheer said that today’s Christians face a temptation to become a sort of gnostic internet community based on mere knowledge and information sharing.  However, while internet communities and relationships can provide good support and resources, they cannot fully reflect the theology of our Lord’s incarnation as a real physically present person.  Therefore, all Christians (including pastors) should have a real physically present pastor, who stands in the place of our incarnate Lord, and delivers real physical gifts in word and sacrament.

Also according to Pastor Scheer, our primary goal should not be to save our synod, but rather to save our Confession (of Christ).

Pictured above:  Brothers meet under the cross, before returning to their earthly homes.

For additional information about the conference, check out Stand Firm.  For additional pictures from past conferences, click here.

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Lutherans in Siberia

In this world, we often see the powerful becoming more powerful, and the downtrodden being trodden down even more.  But Jesus said to his disciples:

Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

— Mark 10:43-45, NIV1984.

HT: Father Hollywood.

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LCMS’ Harrison: Repent

This is a breath of fresh air.

Pastor Harrison is President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS).  The rest of President Harrison’s address can be found embedded on the Brothers of John the Steadfast at: President Harrison’s Open Forum for the ANCA-LCMS Dialogue.

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Benedict XVI and The Evangelion

The quotation which follows is from Jesus of Nazareth (p. 46-47) by Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI.

Both Evangelists designate Jesus’ preaching with the Greek term evangelion—but what does that actually mean?

The term has recently been translated as “good news.”  That sounds attractive, but it falls far short of the order of magnitude of what is actually meant by the word evangelion.  This term figures in the vocabulary of the Roman emperors, who understood themselves as lords, saviors, and redeemers of the world.  The messages issued by the emperor were called in Latin evangelium, regardless of whether or not their content was particularly cheerful and pleasant.  The idea was that what comes from the emperor is a saving message, that it is not just a piece of news, but a change of the world for the better.

When the Evangelists adopt this word, and it thereby becomes the generic name for their writings, what they mean to tell us is this:  What the emperors, who pretend to be gods, illegitimately claim, really occurs here—a message endowed with plenary authority, a message that is not just talk, but reality.  In the vocabulary of contemporary linguistic theory, we would say that the evangelium, the Gospel, is not just informative speech, but performative speech—not just the imparting of information, but action, efficacious power that enters into the world to save and transform.  Mark speaks of the “Gospel of God,” the point being that it is not the emperors who can save the world, but God.  And it is here that God’s word, which is at once word and deed, appears; it is here that what the emperors merely assert, but cannot actually perform, truly takes place.  For here it is the real Lord of the world—the living God—who goes into action.

—Benedict XVI in Jesus of Nazareth
(pages 46-47).

Benedict XVI may not clearly proclaim that the power of the Gospel is in the purity of its gift of life.  Nonetheless, those words are still a powerful statement about the efficacy of God’s word.  God’s word has power.  God’s word has power in the mouths of all who speak it.  This is true no matter who they are, no matter what denomination to which they belong, and no matter what rank they hold in the Church.  God’s word never returns to Him empty.  (Isaiah 55:10-11).

One of the cornerstone teachings of the Lutheran Reformation was that God’s word alone has the power to reach people and change the sinful human heart.  And yet today, there are numerous so-called “Lutheran” pastors who believe God’s word needs their efforts.  They believe that without their methods and salesmanship God’s word will not even be heard.

According to them, “To reach people no one else is reaching, [they] must do things no one else is doing.”  According to them, instead of God’s Word reaching people and performing great miracles through us, these false teachers are the ones who reach out and perform great miracles using the word.  They are the performers, not God.  They act as if without their money, their wisdom, their entertainments, their personalities, and their speaking abilities the elect will be lost.

Jesus taught us to judge teachers by their fruit, in other words, their teachings and practices.  (Matthew 7:15-23).  The fruit of these Church Growth pastors is rotten.  Do they trust the evangelion?  Do they trust God’s Word?  No.  Their practices show that they trust themselves.

How sad when the pope is more Lutheran than these so-called “Lutheran” pastors.  Should we not feel burning shame when we see the pope speak so clearly about the efficacy of God’s word while numerous “Lutheran” pastors see God’s word as a hindrance?  Of course, those who obstinately plagiarize false teachers in their sermons not only despise His word, but they also display a seared conscience incapable of shame.  (1 Timothy 4:2).

To these so-called “Lutheran” pastors Christ crucified is not the Rock upon which the Church is built, but rather a hindering stone in the path of church growth.  “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  (Romans 9:32-33, Acts 17:25-30).

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WELS Appeal Denied

As background to this post, please see the previous posts: “Terminated from WELS Fellowship” and “Receiving Holy Communion in the WELS.”

On April 11, 2011 St. Peter congregation terminated my fellowship with the WELS as a persistent errorist, and also removed my brother from membership in the congregation.  (Minutes from April 11, 2011 meeting.  As part of this citation, I need to say that my dad gave me the minutes from this meeting.  This needs to be said because other members of St. Peter have expressed concern that Pastor Glende will call them in to question them about where I got a copy of these minutes, and I want to spare them additional church discipline).

Since my fellowship with the WELS was terminated wrongfully, I appealed.  On June 23, 2011, I received the following letter:

June 17, 2011

Dear Mr. Techlin,

We thank you for the material you provided to our Board of Appeals and for the time you spent with us.  After prayerfully considering the evidence in the matter of your appeal, we, the members of the Northern Wisconsin District Board of Appeals have determined that St. Peter Lutheran congregation had Scriptural reasons for removing you from membership and, in doing so, acted in the spirit of Christian love.  We are therefore, denying your appeal.

We commend you to the care of our gracious God, trusting that he will be at work in you “… to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

Sincerely,
Pastor David Wenzel
NWD Board of Appeals

It is hard to accept this because the Board of Appeals offered no reasons to support their decision.  Left unanswered are the following questions:

• What are the “Scriptural reasons” for my termination of fellowship?
• Of what false doctrine am I guilty?
• Of what do I need to repent before I can commune?

In order to commune, am I supposed to say that God needs our service?  Am I supposed to say that Christians can choose to believe God’s Word?  Am I supposed to say that the deceit and false doctrine involved with plagiarizing false teachers is not a sin?

How can an ambush termination of fellowship be construed as acting “in the spirit of Christian love”?  Where am I supposed to receive the Lord’s Supper?  What denomination am I supposed to join?  Am I supposed to become an unaffiliated lone Lutheran Christian who never communes?  Or should I join a denomination that actually serves the Lord’s Supper more than twice a month, and just forget about agreeing with anyone on doctrine?

The Board of Appeals was supposed to determine “whether the process leading to the disciplinary action and the doctrinal basis of the disciplinary action were scriptural.”  (WELS Constitution, Section 8.50; Appeals by Laypersons.  Emphasis added).  However, the Board of Appeals told me they were not going to consider the doctrine.  They told me that the District Presidium was in charge of doctrine, not them.  So whatever the District President said the doctrine was, the Board of Appeals was going to agree with him.  Therefore, since my doctrinal disagreement was not only with Pastors Glende and Skorzewski, but also with District President Engelbrecht, by the rules of this appeal, I had no chance to win on the doctrine.

Furthermore, I have no idea how the Board of Appeals ruled against me on procedure.  I had no notice that St. Peter congregation was going to terminate my fellowship with the WELS.  I had no opportunity to speak on my own behalf and defend myself.  I had no opportunity to face my accusers and answer their charges directly.  They still have not told me of what false doctrine I am supposed to be guilty.  Procedurally, I was treated worse than our secular society treats accused criminals.

As part of the appeal, I was still not allowed to face my accusers, and no pastors were allowed to help me or speak on my behalf, even though I had numerous WELS pastors who were willing to help.

All the accusations made against me were made behind my back, and I was given no chance to understand the charges or to directly confront my accusers face to face.  This is not how a church should operate.

This fact remains:  I caught Pastor Glende red-handed in the sin of plagiarism: he was plagiarizing false teachers.  I documented the evidence, and followed every procedure that was required of me.  As a result, Pastor Glende received no discipline, and I had my fellowship in the WELS terminated as a persistent errorist (without an allegation of a specific error).  Again I ask: what is my doctrinal error?

For now, I belong to no earthly congregation.  Still, I am grateful to the WELS pastors who have told me that they will continue to commune me until District President Engelbrecht satisfactorily explains to them why I am guilty of false doctrine and why I should be excluded from their fellowship.

Shepherds are supposed to defend the sheep, not kill them.  (John 10:1-19).

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Receiving Holy Communion in the WELS

Without warning, St. Peter Congregation terminated my fellowship with the WELS as a persistent errorist.  This means that St. Peter Congregation has marked me as someone all WELS congregations and members should avoid lest my influence corrupt their faith.  (Please see the post entitled “Terminated from WELS Fellowship“).

In my letter appealing this wrongful termination of fellowship, I asked District President Engelbrecht to give me a letter allowing me to commune at other WELS Churches pending my appeal.  (April 30, 2011 appeal letter).  In a letter dated May 6, 2011, District President Engelbrecht responded:

In regards to your question about communion, I am seeking the advice of my brothers on the Conference of Presidents.  My own opinion at this point in time is that since the termination of your membership was because you publicly stated that you are not in doctrinal agreement with your pastors, your congregation, the district, and other leaders in the WELS, another WELS pastor would have difficulty allowing you to partake of Holy Communion … at least not without him consulting with your former pastors to get their blessing.  I know that you said those words were taken out of context, but they were made public and were taken at face value and bear consequences that may not be to your liking.

— May 6, 2011 letter
from District President Engelbrecht.

It has now been over a month with no new word.  That May 6th letter was the last communication I received from District President Engelbrecht.

Thus, as part of my submission of written materials for the Appeal Board on May 24, 2011, I asked Pastor Wenzel, the chair of the Appeal Board, if he would be able to provide me with such a letter.  (May 24, 2011 appeal cover letter).  His only response to date has been that the Appeal Board hopes to arrive at a decision regarding my appeal within a few weeks.  So far, I have not been invited to speak with the Appeal Board.

Nonetheless, at the invitations of Pastor Martin and Pastor Suhr, at St. John Lutheran Church (WELS), during the Divine Service I received Holy Communion on May 29, June 5, and June 6, 2011 A.D.  I have also been invited to receive Holy Communion at other WELS churches by other WELS pastors.  These pastors are not intending to despise the fellowship practices of the WELS, rather they are confident that I am in doctrinal fellowship with the WELS notwithstanding the bogus declarations of St. Peter Congregation.

I do not wish to be a catalyst for strife, but duly called and ordained servants of the Lord have offered and are offering me this precious gift, and what the Lord gives, I want to receive.

These pastors are also fully aware of my circumstances, and I am grateful to them beyond measure.  They stand in the place of Christ not only to distribute His gifts, but they also stand in the place of Christ because they are willing to potentially sacrifice a great deal to distribute His gifts.  Unlike some, these servants are not greater than their Master who sacrificed everything (John 15:20), but through grace alone as servants of the Word they share in His glory that is hidden in the cross.  And on the last day, they will also share in His triumph.

May the Lord bless and protect His true servants.

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Lutheran Satire Video: Baptism

“In [Noah's Ark] only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.  [Baptism] saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

— 1 Peter 3:20-22, NIV1984.  Emphasis added.

The water of The Great Deluge symbolizes baptism.  Therefore, baptism cannot be merely a symbol, because symbols represent higher and deeper realities.  If The Flood was real, then how much more real is Christian baptism which the water of The Flood symbolizes?  Baptism has a heavenly and an eternal reality.

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children …”

— Acts 2:38-39, NIV1984.

Click here to view more videos by The Lutheran Satire on YouTube.

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Pictures from the 2011 BJS Conference

The Brothers of John the Steadfast (BJS) are a group of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) pastors and laymen who fight against heresy, including the “Church Growth Movement” and its methodologies, by working to promote the Lutheran Confessions, the historic liturgy, new Lutheran media, and by equipping husbands to be spiritual heads and strong voices “of leadership in their local congregations.”  (BJS website description).

The Brothers of John the Steadfast held their third annual international conference on Friday and Saturday, February 11 & 12, 2011 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, Illinios.  The featured speaker at Friday’s banquet was the newly elected President of the LCMS, Pastor Mathew Harrison.

The theme of the conference was the current threefold emphasis of the LCMS: “Witness, Mercy, and Life Together.”

Pastor Harrison is well liked, and received a standing ovation before he even spoke.

Mr. Fisher, Pastor Jonathan Fisk, and Pastor Charles Henrickson wait in line before the banquet.

The banquet was catered, and for dessert we were served flaming cherries jubilee.

During the banquet, I sat next to an LCMS pastor.  When he learned that I was WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod), he told me he recently communed at a WELS congregation, but that most WELS pastors will not commune you if you are not in fellowship with the WELS.  (I assumed he communed under a misunderstanding).  The WELS practices closed communion.  He, being an LCMS pastor on the other hand, practiced open communion because the Lord’s Supper is forgiveness, and he does not withhold the Lord’s Supper/forgiveness from anyone.  On Judgment Day, he did not want to have to inform Jesus that he withheld the Lord’s Supper from anyone for not being a Missouri Synod member, because Jesus would ask him, “What is the Missouri Synod?”

I said this was my third BJS conference, and I have never communed at a conference.  I asked somewhat rhetorically, “Isn’t closed communion also the rule in the LCMS?”  He said, “I don’t know.  Well, it’s probably the rule here” (at Bethany Lutheran in Naperville).

This amicable conversation was interesting to me because if the WELS does not start enforcing the practical aspects of our doctrine, then it will not be long before we also have malpracticing pastors who openly flout our doctrine, and then claim ignorance while they put eternal souls in danger.  (1 Corinthians 11:29).  Unfortunately for the WELS, that day may have already arrived.

It is good to remember that Jesus did not say, “Trust the WELS” or “Trust the LCMS” or “Trust whatever pastor you just happen to have,” but rather he said, “Watch and pray.”  (Matthew 26:41).

On Saturday morning, Cantor Phillip Magness spoke about Christian witness.

Later, Timothy Hetzner, the President of Lutheran Church Charities, spoke about Christian mercy.  According to Mr. Hetzner, at the time of Christ, the common cup was associated only with marriage.  The only time the Jews drank from the common cup was for marriage.  The symbolism is that the Church is the Bride of Christ.

Pastor Jonathan Fisk delivered the sermon at the Divine Service on Saturday, February 12, 2011 A.D.  In the pictures above and below, Pastor Fisk is on the left.  Pastor Fisk is best known for hosting the video blog Worldview Everlasting.

Pastor Fisk and company stand under the cross of Christ.

The third emphasis of the conference was “Life Together.”  Christian life together involves communion.  Unfortunately, within Confessional Lutheranism there are divisions, and not all self-identified “Confessional Lutherans” can commune together.

However, in the January 2011 edition of Forward in Christ, Paul T. Prange hinted that in the near future there may be free conferences between certain members of the WELS and the LCMS.  (“One in faith?”  Page 32).  A free conference is a place to discuss doctrine “outside the framework of fellowship” for the purpose of determining whether there is fellowship: in other words, whether there is complete agreement about everything Christ commanded us.  (Matthew 28:20).

In the Garden of Gethsemene, Jesus prayed that all believers would be brought to perfect unity.  (John 17:21).  Just as Jesus prayed to His Father: “Thy will be done,” so also we must pray: Lord Jesus, may Thy will be done.

Click here for additional pictures from the 2011 conference.

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