The Lutheran Spokesman (August 1995)




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                   *   L u t h e r a n   *
                   *  S P O K E S M A N  *
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                   *    August 1995      *
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    I believe that God has made me with all creatures, giving me
    my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason
    and all my faculties.

    And that He still preserves me; therefore richly and daily 
    providing clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home,
    wife and children, land, cattle, and all my goods, and all
    that I need to keep my body and life; defending me against
    all danger, and guarding and prtecting me from all evil;

    And all this purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and
    mercy, without any merit or wirthiness in me;

    For all of which it is my duty to thank and praise, and to
    serve and obey Him.

    This is most certainly true.

    --Luther's explanation to the First Article


In this issue

Divinely Dependent New Creatures In Christ A Letter From Asia Worth Looking Back At Looking Back in the Spokesman, August 1965 To Our Readers Meet Seth Schaller Announcements For Circulation and Subscription Information, click here.

Divinely Dependent

The IRS defines a dependent as one who relies on his parents or someone else for more than half his support. According to God's family design "growing up", in most cases, involves moving from a state of dependency to a state of independence. Yet even the most independent among us realizes that term is purely relative -- for all of us depend upon others in countless areas of our lives. Our relationship to God gives new meaning to the term "dependent". "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Whether children, youth, adults, middle age, or senior citizens, we remain ultradependent, physically and spiritually, for everything we are and have. This humble dependent spirit pervades Luther's Explanation to the First Article, as he cites the three great "P's" which show our Creator-Gods ongoing hand of blessing in our lives. Our God is our Provider Protector and Preserver. Our Provider "... Richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support my body and life". Consider the vast amount of food and natural resources needed to feed and care for this world's five billion people. Despite repeated warnings of overpopulation, depleted natural resources, worldwide starvation, and economic doom, God still provides daily, reproducing, renewing, and replenishing His creation. Any problems that exist stem not from God's lack of provision, but from man's sinful greed, waste, and mishandling of His gifts. "Truly the eyes of all wait upon You, O Lord, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." (Ps 145:15) Indeed is it even conceivable that our all-powerful and loving Creator who "spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" would not also "freely give us all things" (Rom 8:32)? Our Protector Farmers raising chickens well recognize the threat of chicken hawks who circle the sky waiting for the little chicks to stray from the hen -- only to swoop down and destroy them. Seeing the hawk the mother would call her chicks and spread her wings -- under which they would dash for protection. This striking picture both our Savior (see Luke 13:34) and the Psalmist allude to: "Therefore the children of men put their trust in the shadow of Thy wings." (Ps 36:7) Luther puts it this way: "He defends me from all danger and guards and protects me from all evil". Do we realize all the physical dangers that surround us daily and from which we have been spared -- bacteria and virus that can invade and infect our bodies, the breakdown of our organs, accidents and natural disasters, crime that pervades our society? Even when illness, trouble, and sorrow come our way He is at our side to see us through and to strengthen us spiritually. Consider the hordes of spiritual enemies and threats we face daily. All have been overcome for us by and through Jesus. He bids us walk and live in faith, not fear. "For The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of what shall I be afraid?" (Ps 27:1) Our Preserver ..."And still preserves me". As awe-inspiring as the creation account is, the continuation and preservation these past 6000 years of all that God created may be even more marvelous. The evidence for creation was and is; evolution is not and never was. In spite of the debilitating effects of sin and the impending destruction of this universe, the hand of our Master Creator remains evident to the child of God both by faith and by sight. Similarly the miracle of spiritual birth and life through Holy Baptism is a miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit. However, even more amazing may be the preservation of that faith until Christian death safely secures one "forever with the Lord". This is accomplished only by ongoing application of the Word by the Spirit through Christian parents, teachers, pastors, spouses, and individuals themselves. The words of the apostle in 1 Corinthians 4:7 are a fitting summary to the First Article: "And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it why do you glory as if you had not received it?" Have I earned and deserved any of Gods blessings? Never, answers Luther emphatically: "And all this purely out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy without any merit and worthiness in me". Only one response remains appropriate: "For all of which it is my duty to thank and praise to serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true!" --Pastor David Schierenbeck

New Creatures In Christ

2 Cor 5:17

Studies in Second Corinthians

Chapter 5

LIFE AFTER LIFE What Is So New About Your Hope?

The Scriptures tell us: be prepared at any time to give the reason for the hope we have to everyone who asks us. (1 Peter 3:15) Suppose, if you will that someone has raised a question about "Life after Life" -- a very popular topic these days. Using the Bible, especially our assigned chapter, as the reason, the dialogue might go somewhat like this:

Q:

I have heard you say that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (5:17). Presumably your hope of life after life would be something quite new and different in the world?

A:

Absolutely. "'No mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.' But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit" (1 Cor 2:9).

Q:

What is so different and new? When the Corinthian letters were written, there was a lot of talk about life-after-life. Years earlier the Egyptians believed that a body properly embalmed and entombed in a monumental pyramid had the prospect of another life. And the Corinthian Christians must have been familiar with the ideas of the Golden Age of Greece. People like the Dionysians then held that someone's soul lives forever in bliss when it is finally freed by death from imprisonment in matter and flesh -- usually after repeated unfortunate reincarnations in some physical prison. New Age channelers in America and Hindus in India are still offering these things as their hope. Hollywood script writers love to have the dead become ghostly, disembodied spirits that still look surprisingly like their counter- parts "on this side". The same in some comic strips. So what is so new and different about your hope?

A:

A vital part of the answer lies in our study chapter. It starts with a comparison of our present, temporary habitat ("the earthly tent") with the future eternal home of believers in Christ.

Q:

What's the difference between the two habitats?

A:

Some key points: Our present habitat is quite imperfect, being so much involved in "human hands" which have quite spoiled God's perfect creation. Like ourselves, it is mortal, temporary (4:18), destined for destruction, when the earth will be laid bare by fire on the Day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:10). In spite of the countless good things the Lord provides, this present existence can be loaded with groaning, (v. 4) pain, and trouble (recall chapter 4). Moreover, since we walk by faith, not by sight (v. 8), we are in a sense "away from the Lord", whom we would please and in whom we trust.

Q:

You call that hopeful?

A:

And most meaningful. In our present habitat ("while in the body" v. 10) we, like Paul, have opportunity to know Christ, believe in Him, and "please him" (v. 9). So we can be "always confident" (v. 6) as we live out our days, looking forward to the time when we all shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the gracious inheritance due him (v. 10).

Q:

And what is that?"

A:

Back to verse 1, if you will. "A building from God an eternal house in heaven not built by human hands".

Q:

That's pretty lofty for a flesh and blood person like me. Like your Paul, I have no desire to be "unclothed" (v 4), becoming a sort of naked spirit.

A:

Actually the Bible encourages us to think of our life-after-life eternal home in very physical, down to earth terms. Jesus spoke simply of the meek "inheriting the earth" (Matthew 5:5). The apostle Peter echoes the prophecy of Isaiah 65:17 that God will create new heavens and a new earth, which he pictures as the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). In Revelation 21:2 we are given to see "the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. So the dwelling of God will be with men." So, our writer says, we will have left our present habitat ("away from the body") to be "at home with the Lord" (5:8).

Q:

Now just a minute. Your text says that the eternal house is "in heaven" (5:1).

A:

Yes, in preparation. Jesus declared that He has gone "to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). When He comes back to the restored earth he will be able to escort us to our quarters, made glorious by His peesence, in the Fathers House. For an exciting picture of perfection in the eternal city, read Revelation 21. Have you ever gone camping in a tent? In spite of the hard ground and the lack of a shower, you were probably quite content knowing that tenting was temporary. Your permanent house with all its creature comforts was waiting for your happy return. That's the picture before us in chapter 5:1-10.

Q:

I'm not sure I could be suited to life in this glorious eternal city. The weight of my years is heavy upon me, and I feel I am wearing out.

A:

We take heart from the Word of 1 Corinthians 15. Read there how we shall be changed by the creative working of God in the Resurrection. Then this mortal (oh, how mortal!) shall put on immortality; this mortal will be "swallowed up by life" (2 Cor 5:4). "The Lord Jesus Christ ... will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21).

Q:

You sound so sure about all this. How can you be considering that all you describe of life-after-life is completely beyond human experience?

A:

The Spirit has revealed these things through Christ in the Word. And -- according to the text (v. 5), He has been given to us. His joyous presence is Life -- a foretaste of our future life, and a sort of down payment that guarantees what is to come.

Q:

This lovely picture of life-after-life is obviously drawn for Christians. As your oft-quoted John 3:16 has it: "Whoever believes in Him (the Son of God) shall not perish but have eternal life." Do you see any hope for an inquirer like me?

A:

A glorious yes rings out from the remainder of our chapter. In dealing with the universal problem of sin, the root cause of mortality, we are told that Jesus, as a sacrificial substitute, "died for all, and therefore all died" (v. 14). Every person on earth is encouraged to see Jesus as dying to make atonement for his/her sin. It was the world that God was reconciling to himself in Christ, not counting peoples sins against them (v. 19). The status of the whole human race was changed from guilty to innocent. Justified! Because of this, those who have been led to receive their new status in faith have become Christ's ambassadors (v. 20). Addressing any and all, they implore people on Christ's behalf: "be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (vv. 20-21). Don't you find yourself drawn to this? Enjoying in Christ what makes possible the believers sure and certain hope of true life-after-life? I implore you, be reconciled to God! --Rollin A Reim

A Letter From Asia

(The following are excerpts from a recent letter from our missionary to Thailand We know you will find it interesting As you read you will also find many things for which you will want to pray.)

June 10 1995

Dear Fellow Believers: How I praise God that I can write to you from Asia, the most spiritually needy continent in the world! It is both a privilege and a challenge to be here. Since this life is so short, and we have so little time to serve our Savior and proclaim the Gospel, I am thankful to the Lord that He has granted me the opportunity to bring the Gospel to a part of the world where so many have not heard. What a joy to prepare for this task! We miss our families in the United States very very much. We also miss all of you. In spite of this present loneliness we look forward to the Resurrection when we will all be together forever, and so the Lord comforts us with this certain hope. Now it is day when we can work. According to Gods grace and strength we intend to do just that until the Lord grants us rest. Last January, I came to Thailand to prepare the way for my family's trip here. Prior to January, I waited in the United States for communications from a friend in Thailand who volunteered to help us get visas to stay in Thailand. He was also to meet us when we arrived. Since I didn't hear from him and I couldnt contact him, the Mission Board permitted me to come to Thailand myself in January to attempt to get everything done, including getting a recommendation letter for a visa, finding a home, and enrolling in language training. (Pastor Bohde then tells how the Lord marvellously arranged all these things). . . . After arriving in Thailand on February 5 we allowed ourselves a couple of weeks to buy the things we needed to get going, and familiarize ourselves with the city, and where such things as hospitals, doctors, and clinics were, etc. We also spent a couple of days getting over jet lag. We began our language study at the end of February. Our language teacher comes to our home five days a week for two hours a day. We began by learning the 44 consonants, 45 vowels, and combinations, and five tones. We are studying through the basic Thai language books that children get in school. Since I will need to read and write as well as speak Thai, we have chosen a more traditional approach to learning the language. Our Thai teacher agrees. Thai children go through one book in about six months. We have been studying for about 3 months and are preparing to begin our third book. We have also begun basic communications. We speak Thai for example when we go to market or talk briefly on the street, to take a taxi, etc. Our vocabulary is growing. We are now beginning to emphasize vocabulary and speaking. We are able to read quite easily now. We don't know much of what we are reading yet but we are progressing. We have been told by several people that we are moving very quickly. We praise God for that Shelly is doing extremely well in speaking, because of her ability to hear and reproduce the tones. I am excelling in reading. Please pray for me in the area of speaking. While I am progressing well, it is more difficult for me to hear and reproduce the tones consistently. Each word has its own tone; this is what makes asian languages sound sing-songy. Unless the tone is spoken accurately, a Thai speaker can't understand what you are saying, if you pronounce the letters and the word correctly. Please pray for my speaking ability. This ability is critical to both preaching and witnessing. . . . We live in a neighborhood that is all Thai. We are the only Farang (foreigners) in the area. While most foreigners tend to live close to others from their own country, we wanted to avoid that so that we would have more intereactioin with the Thai culture. It is more demanding this way because we don't have the comfort of the familiar that we would have if we spent alot of time with fellow Americans. While it is more demanding in the short term, I believe our living siituation will be a real blessing in the long term. The people in the neighborhood have been very friendly to us. We thank the Lord for His great kindness to us. . . . While Thailand, like any tropical country, has alot of reptiles and insects, we aren't bothered too much where we live. Since we live in the city, we don't have too many to deal with. Of course, we have snakes in the yard. We are infested with ants (everyone is) including fire ants as the children have found out. Both have been bitten by fire ants and are much more cautious now. We have large roaches which die hard. We have lizards in the house which are good because they eat insects. We have several varieties of lizard outside, one of which is poisonous. The children avoid that one when they see it. The other day I found a spider on the road down the street from our house that was the size of a tarantula! While I have seen them in houses before we don't have any in our house. The mosquitoes aren't too numerous now, since we are just entering the rainy season. . . . . . The Lord has richly blessed us with all that is necessary. How we praise God for your prayer and financial support of this new mission. Please continue to pray for us. The Lord has answered prayers abundantly. Please pray especailly for the following: 1) Rapid progress in Thai language study; 2) Our physical and spiritual protection; 3) An appropriate vehicle; after our formal language study is completed, I will need to be much more mobile; 4) The Lord would give me wisdom and guide me to know where He wants us to begin our work after language study. . . . Many of you have requested a list of what we need. We will be sending that along shortly. May the Lord richly bless all of you. How we praise God for the privilege of carrying the Gospel to Asia! The Lord will continue to sustain us and guide us through your prayers, support and love. Please continue to pray. Your Fellow Servant, Mark Bohde

From the Editor's Desk --

Worth Looking Back At

It was 1965 when then editor of the Lutheran Spokesman Winfred Schaller Jr wrote a provocative series of articles entitled REMEMBER THE DAYS OF OLD The following words from the first article in the series (May 1965) help to explain the authors purpose: In several articles we wish to explore our heritage and make an attempt to understand ourselves in the light of our inheritance And we would view that heritage not only as a history of amazing and wonderful gifts from a merciful God but we would also see the bad elements the sins of the fathers which are also a part of our heritage For we must learn that that which has called forth the judgment of God will also call forth judgment on the CLC to the extent that we continue in the sins of the fathers We would learn the weaknesses of Missouri which go back 100 years or more and see how we carry those weaknesses; we would recognize all weakness sic in Wisconsin which we share; we would learn what wrong emphases the Norwegians transmitted to us We would try to discern our errors and faults that we may seek to be cleansed from them and kept from presumptuous sins. Such searching through past history was both a bold and commendable undertaking particularly because many of the writer's CLC peers we include layleaders in this assessment had lived through and thus personally experienced a large part of the period of synodical conference history to be reviewed They with the writer were not unaware of the rich heritage from which confessional Lutheranism had sprung in this country; they with the writer were not unaware of their personal and synodical weaknesses yes failings They with the writer knew where the strength lay for the future in a childlike submission to those things which the Savior says have been hidden... from the wise and prudent and been revealed... to babes (cf Mt 11:25ff). Thirty years have passed. It is well, we think, for the new generation to be reminded, and to learn a little something about the concerns and attitudes of the former generation now fast disappearing from the scene. Schaller (Spokesman Editor from June 1958-August 1970; died 1983) had many gifts. Current readers may not be aware that it is due largely to his writing that we have the confessional statement Concerning Church Fellowship. Schaller composed the first draft of this writing which continues to this day an essential part of the doctrinal platform of the CLC. The April 1983 issue of the Spokesman reports on Schaller's death. The report includes the following: "In 1975... he took a colloquy and was received as a clergy member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod". The report written by current staff member Rollin A. Reim, concludes with the observation that later in life Schaller "apparently no longer held to the convictions about fellowship which he so forthrightly expressed in Concerning Church Fellowship. Nevertheless this is also said: "We have reason to recall with profound gratitude what the Lord provided for us and the church-at-large through this man of stature during the time he was among us. Since he wrote so well there will be enduring benefit for many..." Its in the spirit of those words that we pass along some exerpts from the second article in the series. Those who would be interested in reading the five unabridged articles, each of which are quite lengthy, please contact me. Pastor Paul Fleischer, Editor

Looking Back in the Lutheran Spokesman

From August 1965 (a portion of) REMEMBER THE DAYS OF OLD -- II. . . . We are all descendants of one man, C. F. W. Walther. . . .Everything you and I have learned to treasure all that was good in the Synodical Conference -- its faithfulness to the Gospel, its emphasis on sound doctrine, its hatred for all error, its determination to establish Christian day schools, its thorough indoctrination of pastors, teachers, members, -- all this must be credited (humanly speaking) to that one man, Walther. Our confessional Lutheran church in America was born at Altenburg Missouri in 1841, when Walther contended for the true teaching of the church and ministry. His greatness is that he did not build a sect on that point of doctrine. Though forced by controversy to contend for the scriptural teaching on church and ministry, yet the salvation of the sinner by the justification of God in Christ remained central in Walthers teaching, preaching, and writing. He preached the full forgiveness of sins as no one had since the monk from Wittenberg. In his controversies with the Buffalo Prussians, and later with the Ohioans in the election cotroversy, he was able to see the heart of the errors and their relationship to the good news, the peace of the sinner. Walther was a courageous battler for the truth. He was also honest. Though he anxiously yearned to establish one Lutheran church across the land, his awe for God's Word was so great that compromise was out of the question for him. Quickly a seminary was established and a large clergy developed all stamped with Walthers love for the Gospel and fervent zeal for Gods Word. This is not meant to belittle the other influential men in Missouri, nor the many gifted lay workers in Missouri and Michigan. Wyneken, Hattstaedt, and Sievers brought a strong mission zeal to the group and turned the synod outward and outreaching. But Walther was the giant, a tremendous worker in every phase of the work. He combined an amazing practical ability with his theological gifts. The constitution he wrote for the synod is still used to a great extent today. His constitution for a congregation is reflected in every congregation in our midst. Walther fitted himself into his times. He understood America and recognized its greatness and its peculiar dangers. He quickly established that lodge membership was incompatible with a Christian confession. He knew that the union spirit of the European churches found even great reception in this country where people of all faiths mingled freely in the market place. Walthers greatness overshadowed all else, including the other faculty members, who were almost insignificant by comparison in the eyes of the students. The graduates of the first 30 years or so were Waltherian through and through. This created the unity in Missouri the strong esprit de corps. There was consistency in doctrine and in every realm of practice. This strong unified clergy, imbued with Walthers massive spirit, stood ready to receive and shepherd the mass of immigrants that flooded the country from 1850 to 1900. This Walther army was not only a well drilled army, but had great substance because Walther gave these men more than himself. He stressed above all objective justification that God had proclaimed an Easter pardon for every sinner in the world. Therein lay Walthers greatness, his meaning, his success. From St Lous went forth a host of faithful Gospel preachers establishing congregations from shore to shore. As other groups were assimilated by Missouri, they did not bring adverse influences. The solid corps was too strong. When one joined Missouri one became Missourian. Yes we have inherited much from Walther and the Missouri Synod. The entire concept of a confessional Lutheran church in a free society, uncompromising loyalty to Christ, an appreciation of the central truth of objective justification, the importance of Christian schools, sound congregational life adapted to a democratic society, excellent organization, and a burning zeal for mission work. To complete our work we must also see in our inheritance the shortcomings in Missouri and even in Walther. But we leave that for another issue. (W. Schaller, Jr.)

To Our Readers

Behind An Editorial Groan

Almost as soon as last month's issue arrived at our home in finished form I knew I was in trouble. My wife asked me if I looked closely at the cover. I said: Why? and looked at it again with critical eye. Immediately I knew what she meant, and sank back into my chair. Oooh no. "What now dear?" came the editors groan. Immediately a letter was dispatched to all CLC pastors asking them to intercept as many issues as possible and insert -- in the issue itself or in a church bulletin -- some statement to the effect that the editor is aware that the otherwise attractive cover could inadvertently mislead. One pastor who also happens to be president of the synod wrote some good and gracious -- from our standpoint -- words for the sake of subscribers in his congregation (in his bulletin): As usual there are the many good articles in the Spokesman that instruct and edify. But we make the following comment: According to Scripture we are to respect authority. That includes civil authority, because civil authority is "ordained of God". So says the Spirit through the apostle Paul in Romans 13:1. The Spirit speaks through the pen of the apostle Peter saying, "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake: whether it be to the king as supreme; or unto governors... (1 Pet 2:13-14). "... Honor the king" (2:17). As Christians who are first of all citizens of heaven (Php 3:20) one of the manifestations of our faith is recognized by living as discerning, respectful, and responsible citizens of our country, these United States. Indeed, we are thankful to the Lord for the manner in which He has blessed this country in which we live. With all its problems and ills as part of this world winding down to its close, in which other nation of this world would you rather live? God has blessed this country in His longsuffering and patience. For that we are thankful. It was with the intent of recognizing the Lord's blessing upon this country, undeserving as it is, that the (July 1995) Spokesman carries the cover that it does. However, unfortunately and much to the editor's chagrin, the expression on the cover, taken from a hymn in our hymnal, is used out of context. The hymn verse which begins with "O Sweet and Blessed Country" obviously does not have the United States in mind. The hymn verse is speaking of heaven, "The home of God's elect". It is the home in heaven "that eager hearts expect". In the hymn we pray "Jesus in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest..." The editor wants you to know that he understands the sense of that hymn verse, and that he regrets its appearance on the cover with the implication that the sweet and blessed country is this nation. Nevertheless, read the articles. You will profit. Why Such A Fuss? Perhaps this is an opportune time to mention why, from time to time, the Spokesman prints corrections or clarifications. The reason is stated succinctly in one of our doctrinal confessions: the Brief Statement of 1932: The orthodox character of a church is established not by its mere name nor by its outward acceptance of, and subscription to, an orthodox creed, but by the doctrine which is actually (original emphasis) taught in its pulpits in its theological seminaries and in its publications (our emphasis)... (Article 29a) The "its" in each case here means "the synod's." Inasmuch as the Spokesman is an official CLC publication, it represents the CLC to the world. What is taught and said on these pages, or what is depicted on the cover, tell something about the synod. The Brief Statement above implies that there can be a discrepancy between what a congregation or synod -- or its official magazine -- says and what it actually stands for. It has happened before that what is written or otherwise appears in official pub- lications leaves a wrong message. Beyond publications, it happens more and more in our day that what congregations or synods say in their yellowed, musty constitutions is one thing, but what they believe or practice may be quite another. For example, a check of the doctrinal articles in constitutions of many Lutheran congregations as well as most Lutheran synods today would likely contain some very good words about the Bible as the Word of God. But, dear reader, you can't take most of them at their word! Things have come to such a pass in our day that it needs to be asked: "What do you mean by that? Does 'is' mean 'is' or are you suggesting that the Bible just 'contains' God's Word?" Doctrinal Discipline Notice yet how the above-mentioned Article 29 of the Brief Statement concludes: ...On the other hand, a church does not forfeit its orthodox character through the casual intrusion of errors, provided these are combated and eventually removed by means of doctrinal discipline, Acts 20:30; 1 Tim 1:3. Please check the Bible verses. They teach the importance of doctrinal awareness and supervision. They show that it is a biblical and thus a divine mandate that great care be taken that "no other doctrine" than God's clear Word be taught in the church. When and where it is, doctrinal discipline is called for. Doctrinal discipline has almost disappeared from most Lutheran synods. We note in one case this summer that the Wisconsin Synod still practiced it. Synod officials this summer declared a sizeable Minneapolis congregation and its three pastors out of fellowship because they had been teaching and practicing -- and for a number of years defending their teaching and practice -- contrary to Bible doctrine on the role of women in the church. Doctrinal discipline is practiced in the CLC. Such discipline, as all things in Christ's church, will be carried out with Christian love, much patience, and great care on the part of those responsible for exercising it. Notice what is said in one of our CLC tracts: ...We must watch closely what is preached and taught. Whatever is contrary to the Bible must be corrected. We first find out whether what has been said (or written - PF) is just a slip of the tongue or was poorly expressed. If it is defended, the false teacher and false teaching are to be identified for all to see. We must separate ourselves from the error and its teachers. (This Is your Church, p. 11f). In other words, what you or I say -- or write -- is one thing. What you or I take pains to defend is quite another. -- Pastor Paul Fleischer

In The CLC Classroom...

Meet: Seth Schaller

Seth Schaller received his elementary education teaching degree from Immanuel Lutheran College in May 1993. Through the Call Committee on Graduates, he received a call to teach at Redeemer Lutheran School in Cheyenne Wyoming, where he is currently teaching. Seth married Erin nee Fossum Schaller in 1994. His most memorable day in teaching came when his first firstgrade student began to read. His favorite subject to teach is science. Outside the classroom Seth enjoys fly fishing and playing basketball. He has learned patience by being a longtime fan of the Detroit Lions! When observing his classroom you may hear him use his favorite expression -- "Get your work done first then you can use free time". Seth is the son of Pastor and Mrs. Walter Schaller of Lemmon, South Dakota. (Editor's note: Staff member Joseph Lau -- himself a teacher -- has agreed to undertake the compiling of brief profiles of our CLC teachers. These men and women who, day in and day out, instruct Jesus' little lambs, so regularly and faithfully in the classroom are among the many "unsung heroes" in the church. Let us remember to pray for and give thanks for the teachers in our Christian Day Schools! And, teacher Lau, we thank you for your efforts.)

Announcements

Appointment

Pastor Stephen Kurtzahn has been appointed as Visitor of the Minnesota District. He will fill the unexpired term of Pastor Douglas Libby who resigned upon accepting the call to a fulltime position in Immanuel High School, Mankato. --Daniel Fleischer President

Installation

On July 2, 1995 I ordained and installed Michael Schierenbeck as pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bowdle So. Dak., as authorized by President Fleischer. Assisting were Pastors W. Fanning, T. Kesterson, P. Larsen, P. Naumann, W. Schaller, J. Schierenbeck, and L. W. Schierenbeck --Pastor Paul Krause

Change Of Address

Wayne Eichstadt 2121 Burwick Avenue 2905 Orange Park FL 32073 904 2720911 WEichstadt@AOLcom Rev John H Johannes 821 Security Drive Apt AA104 Fond du Lac WI 54935

Two Groups in India

Last month I passed along some mistaken information in connection with the article about the graduates of the Martin Luther Bible School in India. That school is conducted by Pastor Mohan Bas, who is leader of the Bharath Ev. Lutheran Church (BELC), and not, as was stated, of the CLCI, which is a separate group. However, both the BELC and the CLCI are in doctrinal agreement with the CLC. --The Editor

"Invisible Sunday School"

The Invisible Sunday School is now being published by Randi Pomerantz. Any requests for sets should be sent to her at this address: 3130 E. 36th Ave. #3, Spokane, WA 99223. The price is now $35.00 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling. Please send a check with your request for a set. The check should be made out to: Randi Pomerantz.

Request For Nominations

There will be three vacancies to fill on the faculty of Immanuel Lutheran College for the 1996-97 school year. Two of these positions will require a man qualified in the area of elementary education; the other for a seminary-trained individual. The nominations will be requested one at a time. The Board of Regents for ILC at this time invites the voting members of CLC congregations to nominate an individual or individuals to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Professor Robert Rehm. The nominee should have extensive teaching experience in a multigrade elementary classroom. He should be qualified to teach education classes and elementary education methods at the college level. He should also be qualified to teach high school and college social studies. He would have a secondary responsibility to teach high school English. The nominee should have either an advanced degree, masters, or be willing to pursue one. Those placing nominations are encouraged to include information regarding their nominees educational background and teaching experience. They should also indicate how their nominees might help our school in supervising extracurricular activities -- band, strings other music, sports, coaching, etc. Letters of nomination should be postmarked no later than September 10, 1995 and sent to: Pastor Michael Sydow Sec ILC Board of Regents Rt 2 Box 664 Markesan WI 53946