MEMORANDUM To:                 The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod From:              Gerald B. Kieschnick, President Subject:          Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Document “Report and Recommendations on Ministry Policies” Date:      ...

Manya Brachear and Margaret Ramirez, "Lutheran task force recommends changing gay-clergy policy" (Chicago Tribune, February 19, 2009): "A task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recommended Thursday that its leaders make changes to allow gay and lesbians in committed relationships t...

This is a difficult quiz!But try it anyway. If you are LCMS you'll probably do better than I did. You are 80% Lutheran! This is most certainly true.   Not a perfect score. What does this mean? You have room for growth in understanding Lutheran terminology and culture. Good thing Salvation is by...

Where is Martin Luther when you need him?Pastor Eric Waters mentioned Thursday night that it was 491 years since Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door (October 31, 1517). No modern Christian has the clarity and common sense of Martin Luther--there doesn't seem to be anyone close in the ELCA. I've ...

American Lutheran Church in Norway At one time, the Lutherans in the United States were heavily ethnic, and the synods reflected that. When we joined UALC in 1976 is was part of the American Lutheran Church which was a meld or merger of various Scandanavian synods. Then in 1988 the ALC merged with t...

You may recall that last month I gave a speech in Chicago at the 2008 ELCA Communicators Conference. This particular conference is important to me, for a couple reasons. First off, my 2006 speech to this group was the most impactful speech I’ve ever given. It was wild to see so many blogs pop ...

The Big Me Tonight we're having a congregational meeting with our senior Pastor to discuss (and pray about) the latest, ongoing and interminable draft of the ELCA Social Statement on Human Sexuality from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality. Can you believe it takes 64 pages when God made it...

It might be interesting this Good Friday to examine "another Gospel," one of the many counterfeits floating around the shallow precincts of our theologically bankrupt "mainline" churches these days. It's the heresy that spawned the ravings of Barak Obama's former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, ...

One flock, one shepherd, many sheep It's difficult to keep track of the battles ongoing among Lutherans--never mind all the other Christians. And don't think for a moment just because they give allegiance to one church, that Roman Catholics don't have great diversity among their parishes and orders....

I guess it is time for me to re-surface from my mini-blogging break and chime in on something: On March 13 the ELCA Sexuality Task Force released a draft copy of the social statement on sexuality.  I have yet to read it and I am NOT going to read it until after Easter. My question is...WHY NOW?...