TABLE TALK
Official Publication of the LMS-USA
February 2003
Volume 10, Number 1
In this Issue:
Where Has All the Passion Gone?
By Rev. Michael Zamzow
Perhaps this dates me as a person eligible for membership in AARP, but I remember Lenten services so well attended that folding chairs had to be set up in the rather large church in which I grew up. We counted on being in church for a couple of hours on Maundy Thursday because so many people wanted to receive the body and blood of our Lord that evening every year. Have I just gotten old? Has age affected my memory in regard to Lent? Is this the religious equivalent of walking a mile uphill in the snow both ways to school in my childhood? (I really did walk a mile to school in the snow when I was a boy, but it was uphill only on the way to school.) The sense that something is missing goes beyond nostalgia or longing for the not-so-good "good old days." Lent left a lasting impression on me. I ask you to bear with me as I share what made that impression.
Every Wednesday, I heard a reading from the Passion History. By the time I was in sixth grade I knew the story by heart. Year after year the story touched me, moved me, brought tears to my eyes, caused me to take a good look at myself. Lenten Services back then were not multi-media. They would be boring by today's standards. But the impression they left! Reinforcing the story were the hymns which made the connection between the story and me even stronger. Solid preaching, the vesper liturgy, a congregation that took the whole matter seriously - they all added up to strengthening the faith I was being brought up in.
So what's the big deal if attendance at Lenten Services has declined to a handful of people in many congregations? Is it really a big loss if congregations and pastors even choose to drop mid-week worship and concentrate their energy and resources elsewhere? When I look around, I sense that many pastors and congregations have come to the conclusion that it really is "no big deal, no big loss." When I was a boy, I knew intuitively that those Wednesday services were important. Now as a more mature, well-seasoned person, I still know that they are important. Now I can draw on a lifetime of experience and learning and identify what it was and is about Lenten Services that make them so integral to Lutheran piety and life.
It isn't just a personal quirk that the Passion History left an impression on me. For Luther and those who joined him in reforming the Church, Jesus giving his holy and precious blood and saving lost and condemned people through his innocent suffering and death are the heart of the Gospel. Already in the 95 Theses, Luther's cry is "cross, cross." Their insight shaped Lutheran worship. Luther's friend, Johannes Bugenhagen, worked on a harmony of the history of the passion (suffering) of our Lord. That Passion History became a part of Lenten worship throughout Scandinavia and northern Germany where Bugenhagen had introduced the Reformation. What had been know as the Fastenzeit (time of fasting) became known as the Passionszeit (time of the passion). So where has all the passion gone? The bitter suffering and death of Christ make people uncomfortable. If Jesus suffered and died to take away my sin and guilt, sin must be a more serious matter than making a few less than ideal choices. Modern and post-modern people don't want to be bothered with God who takes sin and guilt so seriously that he gave his only begotten Son. Watching "American Idol" (what an appropriate name) allows a few moments of escape. The passion of Christ allows for no escape. It causes us to join in the words of the hymnist: "....I 'twas denied thee; I crucified thee." It bids us stand and live and die beneath the Cross ... and thus to really be alive.
Where has all the passion gone? It's been put aside because it makes us uncomfortable. Pastors might have issues or projects they consider more important than all this blood and dying stuff (as one pastor scoffed about the Gospel at an event in Minneapolis, MN). The passion has been lost in the shuffle of all the activities and commitments families and individuals are caught up in. It is the responsibility of pastoral and congregational leadership to restore the Passion to its central place in our lives and piety. March this year should be more than Hoopszeit (basketball time). Imagine the impact on lives if we would become as passionate about the Passion of Christ as some of us get about the Final Four.
We could discuss for several more pages about where all the passion has gone. That would be an interesting and even helpful discussion. More important than that discussion is to reflect on where the passion is. It is in the story. To restore the passion, we need to restore the Season of the Passion of Christ. We need to restore the place of the Passion of Christ in Lent. We need to restore the place of the Passion of Christ in our lives. It is proved (in the experience of the Reformation) to restore passion for Christ in the Church. I will continue to observe the Season of the Passion --- whether in the company of a little flock or a big herd. My desire to see Lenten Services restored is not a flight of nostalgia. It is a desire to see as many lives as possible touched by the life-giving story of God's love in Jesus Christ. It is a desire to see the suffering and death of Christ impressed on people's lives through the proclamation of the story, the singing of the hymns, and the prayers of the people. When the question is asked, "where has all the passion gone," it would be nice to be able to say, "It's in our lives."
Editor's note:
A recent notice in a local paper announced a program in a Lutheran Church in that community. Members of the church "will present a Hit Parade of Hymnody, the top ten most popular hymns of all Americans of all denominations." The notice continues, "The afternoon will include Holy Communion (open to all baptized Christians of any denomination)...."
In another community an ad appeared in several issues of the newspaper announcing, "Open Baptism. Come and be Baptized. No one turned away; no classes to attend. Face tomorrow in the Power of God's love...."
Another church (Lutheran) close, by displayed on their signboard, "For all you do, His blood's for you," an obvious take off on the Bud Lite beer slogan, "For all you do, this Bud's for you."
Much of the Church - much of our dear Lutheran Church - has lost sight of a rightful understanding, respect for, and use, of the Sacraments. The following article was written some 50 years ago. What a contrast to the understanding and practice in much of the church today!
The Sacraments and Their Uses
Paul G. Vigness
"Concerning the use of the Sacraments," says Article XIII of the Augsburg Confession, they teach that they were ordained not only to be marks of profession amongst men but rather that they should be signs and testimonies of the will of God towards us set forth unto us to stir up and confirm faith in such as use them.
It may seem superfluous to discuss in a Lutheran publication what are the merits of the two sacraments of the church. From earliest days Lutheran homes and Lutheran congregations, in their spiritual lives, have become so habituated to Baptism and the Lord's Supper that we assume a generally adequate knowledge and comprehension of them. However against this easy assumption Luther himself uses vigorous words. In the preface to his Large Catechism, Luther rebukes those who are guilty of "this shameless vice and secret infection of security and satiety, tamely, that many regard the Catechism as a plain, unimportant statement of doctrine which they can read over once and then throw the book into a corner, and be ashamed to read it again." I venture to suggest that in this observation Luther indicted not only those of his day, but that it hits "close to home" within our own congregations today. We might justly inquire how many of us, after confirmation, continue to study "that greatest textbook ever written." Note how Luther himself became a child of his own Catechism:
But I say this for myself. I am also a doctor and a preacher, yea, as learned and experienced as all who have such presumption and security. Yet I do as a child who it being taught the Catechism. Every morning and whenever I have time I read and say, word for word, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms, etc. And I must still read and study daily, and yet I cannot master it as I wish, but must reman, and that too gladly, a child and pupil of the Catechism.
The Lutheran Church observes two sacraments. It does so because the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper were commanded by Christ Himself. "Go, ye, therefore, into all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). The Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ, as we well know, "on the night in which he was betrayed."
Baptism
Baptism is a ceremony of initiation. It is the act of admission into the Kingdom of Christ. When a child is born in the United States he becomes immediately a citizen of the United States. When a child is baptized he becomes immediately a citizen of the heavenly kingdom.
Many people do not believe in infant baptism. They say that the child does not have the consciousness or the faith to accept the sacrament, and that, therefore, such Boatswain is not effective. Of Baptism the Augsburg Confession (Art IX) says:
Of Baptism they teach that it is necessary to salvation and that by baptism the grace of God is offered and that children are to be baptized, who by baptism, being offered to God, are received into God's favor.
They condemn the Anabaptists who allow not the baptism of children, and affirm that children are saved without baptism.
Would these same persons today deny American citizenship to our native-born until they have reached the age of maturity? Certainly our native-born are not conscious of their citizenship at the time of their birth. But they receive it nevertheless and no one questions the rightness and fitness of the fact. Why, then, should there be any doubt of the validity of infant Baptism? When Christ commanded Baptism he made no distinction between man and child. Indeed, Christ said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God."
In the sacrament of Baptism, however, there is something deeper than mere initiation. "Baptism," said Augustine, "is the visible Word." It effects the "new birth," the second birth, as Christ explained to Nicodemus, "Except ye be born of water and the Spirit, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
We, like Nicodemus, cannot comprehend the miracle and mystery of the sacrament. Just as "the wind bloweth where it listeth," so it is difficult to apprehend the spiritual effect of baptism. But effect there most certainly is. By it the child has been transferred from God's wrath into His love. There has been placed within the child a taste of the heavenly gift of "forgiveness of sins," and all the abundance of God's grace has been made available for all the days of that child's life.
But, we may inquire, since the child is unaware of the baptismal act how can it be effective? Delitzsch in his "System of Biblical Psychology" explains: "It is peculiar to all God's creative agencies that the creature . . . has no consciousness of what is occurring." "So, in Baptism," he continues, "the divine fact itself is and remains for him in an unattainable depth below his consciousness, and as with natural birth, so the spiritual birth remains hidden from him in darkness . . . . We perceive from Scripture what occurred to us in Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We recognize the reality of what occurred from many kinds of consequences which reach into the conscious life. But to what occurred itself we only stand in the relation of unconscious passivity, and the fact of what occurred is purposely withdrawn from our perception."
What we do not understand we do in faith. And because Christ has commanded, we teach and exercise the sacrament of Baptism as an essential doctrine of the church.
The Lord's Supper
Three basic views of the Lord's Supper prevail. They are reflected in the three major divisions of the Christian Church, viz., Lutheran, Reformed, Catholic. Perhaps no single doctrine has been so effective in establishing this division as the teachings on the Lord's Supper. Stated briefly, the Catholic Church believes in what it calls "transubstantiation," wherein they teach that the bread and wine lose their earthy essence entirely and become the actual body and blood of Christ. "Only the form of bread and wine are left, without the object"! 'The followers of Zwingli and Calvin, the present Reformed church, believe, essentially, that when a communicant participates in the sacrament he receives not the actual body and blood of Christ, but merely bread and wine as a memorial, and that only through the faith of the communicant is the body and blood of Christ received. By this concept, the faith of the communicant becomes an essential part of the sacrament, for, says the Reformed Church, "only through faith can the far-absent body of Christ" be included in the sacrament. It was because of this interpretation that Luther said to Zwingli: "Yours is a different spirit from ours," and the great division in Protestantism became inevitable.
What do we Lutherans believe? As against the Reformed teaching the Formula of Concord says:
Now it is not our faith that makes the sacrament, but only the true word and institution of our Almighty God and Saviour, Jesus Christ which always is and remains efficacious in the Christian Church, and neither by the worthiness or unworthiness of the minister nor the unbelief of the one who receives it is anything invalidated or rendered inefficacious . Whether those who receive the sacrament believe or do not believe, Christ remains nonetheless true in his words when he says: "Take, eat; this is my body," and effects his presence Not By Our Faith but by his omnipotence.
As for the Catholic view, the Formula of Concord says: "When in the Papistic mass the bread is not distributed, but offered up or enclosed and borne about and presented for adoration, it is to be regarded as no sacrament; just as the water of baptism, if used to consecrate bells or to cure leprosy . . . would be no sacrament or baptism."
We Lutherans accept Christ's own words exactly as He said them:
"This is my body; this is my blood," and recognize no twisting by human reason to invalidate their simple truth. So we believe that in the act of consecration by the minister by a divine mystery the body and blood of Christ enter "in, with and under the bread and wine," and that by this act the sacrament becomes completely sufficient. Since the efficacy of the sacrament is entirely outside of the communicant, participation in it by a Lutheran becomes an extremely sobering thing. Paul gives us solemn warning. To the Corinthians he wrote: "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation unto himself not discerning the Lord's body" (I Corinthians 11:29).
Recently one of our local pastors, in his radio service included in his prayer the petition "to protect us from the deadening influence of frequency." In this plea the minister struck realistically at a matter of deep spiritual concern to Christians. We attend services regularly; we know the order of service so well that we follow it almost automatically. Only if the service is altered are we jolted out of our equanimity.
In our congregation we celebrate communion at least once each month. Frequently the thought rises within me: Am I so accustomed to this sacrament that I fail miserably to appreciate it? Because of its frequency have I become deadened to its sublimity? From this concern a fear rises within me. If I am deadened to its significance, then to what end do I partake in the sacred celebration? It is an awesome thing to kneel at the altar and actually to partake of the body and blood of our Lord, just as did Peter, James, John -and Judas!
How should the communicant continue to alert his awareness to the deep meaning of the Communion? What is the frame of mind of the worthy participant? The conditioned suppliant is beautifully described in the Formula of Concord:
The worthy guests in the Holy Supper are those Christians, weak in faith, timid, desponding, who, while they revolve in their minds the greatness and multitude of their sins, are alarmed; who, in reflecting upon their great impurity, judge themselves unworthy of this most precious treasure and of the benefits of Christ; who feel and deplore the infirmity of their faith: these are the worthy guests . . . . Their worthiness, therefore, consists neither in the greatness nor in the weakness of their faith, but in the merit of Christ.
Each time I am privileged to approach the Lord's Table a verse which has become precious to me, rises to condition and reassure me:
Yet I may love Thee, too, 0 Lord,
Almighty as Thou art,
For Thou hast stooped to ask of me
The love of my poor heart.
It helps immeasurably in that unending struggle against "the deadening influence of frequency." The sacraments are our priceless possessions, given to us for enrichment of this present life and for that mystical preparation for entry into the glorious life to come. May we all confidently lay hold on so great a gift.
The Lord Bless you and keep you!
By Rev. Ralph Spears
We say them many times, sometimes too quickly or even by rote; important phrases and bunches of words that have been together for centuries even eons and have so much meaning packed into their bundle.
For these lines are marvelously rich, written and passed on to us by the greatest minds this world has known; prophets, inspired writers and apostles. Truly considered, these are greater living artifacts of those times past than anything that could be unearthed with shovel or spade.
However, they are so often treated as mere words, dated and archaic. The first thing that many Biblical pundits in successive ages - especially our own - think of, is updating, reformulating and re-translating them so that they might "speak to our age" more easily. In the name of easy relevance, many of these gems are threatened with extinction by the stroke of an editor's pen rather than being understood for their genius and the 'code of depth' that they possess.
Really this has much to do with allowing the Scripture as a living organism, to speak to us. It means establishing a relationship with the Word as we read, remembering that "as we seek, we will find, as we ask it (can) and will be given, as we knock on the door (of understanding) - it will open!" Long before the term interactive became popular in our recent lifetimes, it was already the best way to describe a proper and active way of reading Scripture.
One good example is the familiar liturgical response to psalms or scripture readings, the Gloria Patri (which is Scripture);
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end! Amen."
How this gem has been hurried through in it's lifetime! Along about my hundredth funeral or so - I found myself reflecting suddenly with some depth on the more profound meaning of this phrase. Instead of straining so intently to make a point of the tremendous truths of life after death to the grieving and bored faces huddled together in the overly manicured funeral home; I made an easy connection. It is simply that this phrase - these often used words - have always been true, will always be true and therefore are most surely true now in an unbroken eternity of meaning about God in all known aspects! Instead of just passing through them on the way to the next psalm of comfort, these words slowly read and parsed began to speak in real depth for the first time.
If words could be considered to have their own collective soul, I'm sure that they might have been relieved that they got through to me on their own - finally! And as I spoke of this in the narrative of the funeral service, I could see a 'light' going on in the eyes before me, much in the way they had first lightened my eye.
The lesson here is that we need not try so hard to preach - as I have learned over and again, as let the Word, preach itself! Because IT does a much better job than we do!
Those reading the Word aloud often have a profound experience. All of a sudden they are reading not just words, but profound ideas from the Word, which brings them to pause as if to say, "Wow, listen to what I just read!"
It happened when I as a rookie pastor, was reading the lessons for the next day aloud to an empty sanctuary on Saturday night! One part of me seemed to be reading, the other part of me - listening, as I heard the content of those phrases for the first time. The effect was startling!
One tradition of the old rabbi's is that reading the Word (Torah) aloud is much more powerful than silent reading, because it imitates the very act of creating as God 'breathed' (ruach) His breath - into all things thereby causing them to have life and to become living entities.
Of the earlier known Scrolls from the Dead Sea, is one titled, The Formulary of Blessings, which includes a collection of blessings to be pronounced by the priests, one of their more important priestly functions. All recovered scrolls typically have pieces of words or phrases missing, due the effects of two thousand years on the parchment, which have made them dry, brittle and fragmented throughout - especially towards the edge or bottom of the scroll. As most everyone knows these precious hand written scrolls were carefully rolled and sealed with pitch within clay jars with domed lids fashioned especially for the purpose right on site at Qumran. However many were broken or deliberately divided by the bedouin merchants so as to bring more return from their sale. This resulted in more fragmentation and division of the test bearing material.
Formulary of Blessings the name assigned by the scholars contains blessings to be pronounced upon the priests and other blessings to be pronounced by the priests upon the people. One gets an easy impression of the tremendous importance of blessing. Those carefully drawn words acted as a signature or shield to those being blest. This practice was taken quite a bit more seriously than we might consider in our forms of worship, even high liturgical worship, today. It might be somewhat reminiscent of the protection implied by Paul's mention of the "shield, breastplate and armor" - of the Gospel as an illustration in his epistle.
And prominent among these formulas are the words so familiar to us from Numbers 6: 24 and following; "The Lord bless you and keep you"!
There is an ancient Hebrew prayer going well back into the B.C. years - the era before Christ, which has these words placed before our time honored Benediction and enfolding them thus;
"Our God and God of our fathers, bless us with the threefold blessing in the Law, written by the hand of Thy servant Moses, spoken by the mouth of Aaron and his sons, the priests, Thy holy people:
The Lord bless thee and keep thee, The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace."
And Number 6 adds; "So you shall put my Name on all Israel, and I will bless them!" Which shows with what high value these words were held especially then.
But in reading the Formulary of Blessings from the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves, it is found that they go for a vertical depth in a way similar to some later rabbinic traditions. They - the writers of the Dead Sea community - did this says Dr. Theodore Gaster (who first translated the Scrolls into English) - "by reading further meaning into a Scriptural text. Which they did by mentally correlating it with other passages in which the same words are used in (perhaps) different contexts", while still maintaining the same meanings.
For instance "The Lord Bless thee correlates in the passage of the Scroll with - an association with "fountains of Israel" which occurs with the word "bless" in Psalm 68:26 so the connotation is of drafts of water from the 'Divine Fountain' - so that the 'blessings' flow - as water. "May the Lord bless thee out of Zion His holy habitation" - with springs of living waters.
"Ánd keep thee " takes on the sense of "keep with thee - the Covenant" and "The Lord shall keep thee from all evil" and therefore a "protection from satanic forces". (Deut. 7:12 and Psalm121:7)
[The next three lines of the scroll are broken with only few words having to do with 'holiness' and 'holy teachings' showing! The next three lines also are broken with some reference to 'eternity' and 'all appointed times'!]
"and be gracious!" has the meaning of gracing one in the presence of enemies, to grace with intelligence, instruction, understanding and wisdom. Or to grace the recipient with the study of the Torah. (Or to grace us with the Gospel as we might say!)
"The Lord lift up His countenance"-- has to do with various connotations of - 'lift' such as lifting the soul from the pit -- to lift or have lifted your sword and standard in battle - and to lift all obstacles from the path.
"and give thee peace!" has the sense of sealing one with all the things of peace, with keeping your foot from stumbling on the way and with the Holy Spirit. The Essenes were consistent with another tradition of the old rabbi's in that every blessing was to seal the recipient with peace and the things that make for peace.
With just a cursory reading of the Scroll, we can see with what depth and meaning the words of the Benediction came. Also how very important a part the act of blessing was in their ritual and worship.
We might see how meaningful as well is the Psalm "Bless the Lord Oh my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy Name" as a fitting response to all of this!
Ironically many contemporary formulas of worship have become less than patient with this ancient formulary of blessing. They have changed the Benediction, literally the "good saying", to a sleeker form such as; "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!" And in the process, much has been lost.
For the modern pastor like the priests of old, should be invoking the "Face of the Living God" with His unfathomable gifts upon his people at the conclusion of holy worship. He is reminding them of the importance of "keeping" and being kept by the promise of the Law (Torah) and the Gospel as he binds them with those profound words. He the pastor/priest is invoking the lifting up of God's protection, encouragement and enlightenment and absolution upon the beloved people in his keeping as priests* for eons have been commanded and encouraged to do - in the Name of the blessed Trinity!
May we not lose by simplifying, rather may we become aware of the profoundly marvelous truths that lie at our fingertips as priests of God to the people of God!
* It was still taught up to a few years ago, that only an ordained pastor/priest could make use of the full benediction of Aaron. A lay pastor or as yet unordained officiant was to use an abbreviated blessing or say "bless us" as a prayer rather than a full benediction of the priest to the people.
Fellowship in Confessional Witness and Mission
LMS-USA Applies for membership in ILC
by Rev. Richard W. Horn
Secretary of the LMS Ministerium
The Lutheran Ministerium and Synod - USA (LMS-USA) began as, and continues to be, a forum for confessional orthodoxy within Lutheranism. In the statements of our faith and practices, we inherently recognize that we are not unique historically or in the contemporary Lutheran family. But as a theological forum, based solidly on a Biblical and Confessional foundation, we desire and seek dialogue with others, learning from one another. An example of this productive dialogue has been the presentations at our Annual Conferences, with presenters both from within the LMS-USA and also from outside, especially from The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LC-MS). We have expressed a desire for contact and fellowship with the German Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK) and, recently, with the International Lutheran Council (ILC) of which the SELK is a member.
We have formally applied for membership in the International Lutheran Council, a fellowship presently comprised of 28 Confessional Lutheran church bodies in 6 world areas. (North America has three member churches: The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, the Lutheran Church - Canada and The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti)
Remembering that the original meaning of the word "Protestant" is to testify in favor of ("pro + testant") rather than against, we testify with others for that which is true and right. Our identity and purpose, shared already with the member churches of the ILC, is an evangelical outreach based on Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. Together, we can be supportive of one another in missions, theological training and witness to the world. We would gain a broader world-perspective in cooperation and outreach. We would also gain fellowship with others who share the importance of a Biblical and Confessional Lutheran stance.
Who is the International Lutheran Council? The ILC is a fellowship of church bodies "to assist and strengthen them in their confessional witness and mission." "The ILC is a worldwide association of established confessional Lutheran church bodies which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord as the true and faithful exposition of the Word of God."
How would our participation in the ILC be mutually strengthening? "The International Lutheran Council is an organization of its member church bodies which enables them, through their authorized representatives, to share information, study theological questions and concerns together, issue statements when asked to do so by its members (e.g., in addressing contemporary questions facing the church), discuss effective and coordinated means of carrying out the mission and ministry of the church, nurture and strengthen their relationships with each other, and work toward the closest possible joint expression of their faith and confession."
"The ILC provides a 'forum' to which member churches may bring their theological and practical needs and challenges for mutual responsibility. At the same time, the resources and experiences of other members may be shared and applied to these issues for their mutual nurture and support and for the furtherance of the Lord's mission in the world. Member churches recognize that each church may face peculiar challenges that require solutions suited to its own place and culture. In finding solutions to problems, member churches, out of fraternal love and consideration, should be mindful of how their actions might affect the unity of the group."
What would be expected of the LMS-USA? "Member church bodies contribute, on an annual basis, financial support (based on their baptized membership) for the costs of operating the ILC. The Council, which presently has 28 participating churches, meets every two years."
"Although membership in the ILC does not imply or require the existence of formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship between all member church bodies, all member church bodies are pledged to exhibit mutual respect and fraternal regard for each other as fellow Christians and confessional Lutherans, and to foster, strengthen, and preserve confessional agreement which manifests itself at the altar and in the pulpit."
Whether we now accept full membership in the International Lutheran Council, maintain an associate standing, or stand alone, we will continue to be of like mind and spirit with the member churches of the ILC as we serve and witness to our Lord Jesus Christ as confessional Lutherans.
Note: Quotations are from the official website of the ILC, www.ilc-online.org
The LMS-USA is a Biblical, Confessional, Evangelical, Liturgical, Congregational
expression of the universal (catholic) orthodox Church on earth. It is a
'Forum by Subscription.' As a 'Forum' the intent is that there will be an
ongoing discussion of theological issues and concerns among clergy and lay
alike. The LMS-USA meets annually for a Theological Conference and this
publication, besides carrying news of the Ministerium and Synod, functions
also as a vehicle for this continuing dialogue.
For information or to make comment contact:
President/Pastor, LMS-USA
2837 East New York St.,
Indianapolis, IN 46201
Table Talk
P. O. Box 31
Chetek, WI 54728
email - revralphs@juno.com or
revjse@discover-net.net