Gospel of the Old Testament - Video Chad Bird

https://www.1517.org/videos/chad-bird-the-old-testament-gospel

Love Beyond Efficiency

Read the whole article at https://mbird.com/family/love-beyond-efficiency/

The drop-off for the elementary school is precisely at 8:30am, and there remains just five minutes to walk the three blocks. Still enough time, though only just. “It’s time! Let’s goooo.” But then a second breakfast item is requested, all the masks have gone missing, and no one has any shoes on. With a “No, too late,” a “Shoes, please!” and a “Hurry up!” walking commences down the street as the sound of crying signals yet another scraped knee. “Come on! Almost there …” Arriving at 8:34, school has successfully happened yet again, but it’s not a victory worth celebrating.

REAL MEN DROP L-BOMBS

Read Full Article at https://mbird.com/2021/05/real-men-drop-l-bombs/

You’ve heard the confession countless times before. “My father never said ‘I love you’ to me growing up.” I heard it from a friend yesterday, while we were running together. He explained, “It wasn’t that he didn’t love me or was cold, just that, like most men of his generation, he expressed his love non-verbally, through provision and presence and maybe the occasional hug.”

Read Full Article at https://mbird.com/2021/05/real-men-drop-l-bombs/

ORDINARY FORGIVENESS AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

Read the whole article here: https://mbird.com/2021/05/ordinary-forgiveness-and-the-christian-life/

Some have described the Easter season as a journey. And indeed, one can’t help but notice a shift in the trajectory of the Sunday readings. From Easter Sunday to just before Pentecost, the readings slowly move out away from the initial joy of the empty tomb, and especially as we move closer to and beyond the Ascension, the readings return to the Upper Room Discourses in John’s Gospel, the place where we began our journey through the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection on Maundy Thursday.

We’ve turned from the initial Easter Joy to a consideration of what it’s like for us as we live within what Paul Zahl calls the presence of the absence of the Risen Lord. And this Gospel arc will culminate next week with Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church, the beginning of our life as Christians.

AN ODE TO CURIOSITY

Read the whole article here https://mbird.com/2021/05/an-ode-to-curiosity/

One of the best scenes in the opening season of the surprise-hit show Ted Lasso is during a darts match in a sports bar. As the game is heating up and a crowd is clustering around him and his opponent, Lasso tells a story in parabolic fashion. While driving his son to school one day, he sees a quote painted on a wall: “Be curious, not judgmental.” The quote reminds him of the people who used to belittle him when he was young. “Not a single one of them was curious,” he recalls. “They thought they had it figured out. They judged.” Little did they know that Lasso did have something to offer (and little does his opponent know that Lasso is a master at darts). The moral here is that curiosity is the opposite of judgment. Where judgment decides, curiosity searches; where judgment closes a door, curiosity leaves it open.

A Fresh Breath of Hope

Read the Whole article Here. https://mbird.com/2021/05/a-fresh-breath-of-hope/

Last year, there was a stunning spring, and I definitely noticed it. The blossoming and blooming of Capitol Hill is always beautiful, but spending my days working from home made for more walks, more gazing out the window, more noticing.

My office told us we’d begin teleworking. I nodded. “Two weeks at most,” I thought. Two weeks would be nice to be home. A little breather from my normal chaotic job. But it wasn’t two weeks, and from my house I watched spring unfold, but not with the normal ease and pleasure.

It was a mercy that while everything else shuttered up, the blossoms still opened themselves to bring our world color and life. As the two weeks wore on, I began to realize this wouldn’t go away. The normal hustle and bustle of the city slowed to a sudden, abrupt stop. The same words were on everyone’s lips: “the pandemic,” “restrictions,” “case numbers.” But amidst the frenzy, a trip to the grocery store delivered the same mercy to me the spring blossoms offered to our scared and shaky world. 

Read the Whole article Here. https://mbird.com/2021/05/a-fresh-breath-of-hope/

On Controversy

Read the Article here https://www.ligonier.org/blog/oncontroversy/

Dear Sir,

As you are likely to be engaged in controversy, and your love of truth is joined with a natural warmth of temper, my friendship makes me solicitous on your behalf. You are of the strongest side; for truth is great, and must prevail; so that a person of abilities inferior to yours might take the field with a confidence of victory. I am not therefore anxious for the event of the battle; but I would have you more than a conqueror, and to triumph, not only over your adversary, but over yourself. If you cannot be vanquished, you may be wounded. To preserve you from such wounds as might give you cause of weeping over your conquests, I would present you with some considerations, which, if duly attended to, will do you the service of a great coat of mail; such armor, that you need not complain, as David did of Saul’s, that it will be more cumbersome than useful; for you will easily perceive it is taken from that great magazine provided for the Christian soldier, the Word of God. I take it for granted that you will not expect any apology for my freedom, and therefore I shall not offer one. For method’s sake, I may reduce my advice to three heads, respecting your opponent, the public, and yourself.

Consider Your Opponent

As to your opponent, I wish that before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord’s teaching and blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to love and pity him; and such a disposition will have a good influence upon every page you write.

If you account him a believer, though greatly mistaken in the subject of debate between you, the words of David to Joab concerning Absalom, are very applicable: “Deal gently with him for my sake.” The Lord loves him and bears with him; therefore you must not despise him, or treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise, and expects that you should show tenderness to others, from a sense of the much forgiveness you need yourself. In a little while you will meet in heaven; he will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts; and though you may find it necessary to oppose his errors, view him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever.

But if you look upon him as an unconverted person, in a state of enmity against God and his grace (a supposition which, without good evidence, you should be very unwilling to admit), he is a more proper object of your compassion than of your anger. Alas! “He knows not what he does.” But you know who has made you to differ. If God, in his sovereign pleasure, had so appointed, you might have been as he is now; and he, instead of you, might have been set for the defense of the gospel. You were both equally blind by nature. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes, and not his.

Of all people who engage in controversy, we, who are called Calvinists, are most expressly bound by our own principles to the exercise of gentleness and moderation. If, indeed, they who differ from us have a power of changing themselves, if they can open their own eyes, and soften their own hearts, then we might with less inconsistency be offended at their obstinacy: but if we believe the very contrary to this, our part is, not to strive, but in meekness to instruct those who oppose. “If peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth.” If you write with a desire of being an instrument of correcting mistakes, you will of course be cautious of laying stumbling blocks in the way of the blind or of using any expressions that may exasperate their passions, confirm them in their principles, and thereby make their conviction, humanly speaking, more impracticable.

Consider the Public

By printing, you will appeal to the public; where your readers may be ranged under three divisions: First, such as differ from you in principle. Concerning these I may refer you to what I have already said. Though you have your eye upon one person chiefly, there are many like-minded with him; and the same reasoning will hold, whether as to one or to a million.

There will be likewise many who pay too little regard to religion, to have any settled system of their own, and yet are preengaged in favor of those sentiments which are at least repugnant to the good opinion men naturally have of themselves. These are very incompetent judges of doctrine; but they can form a tolerable judgment of a writer’s spirit. They know that meekness, humility, and love are the characteristics of a Christian temper; and though they affect to treat the doctrines of grace as mere notions and speculations, which, supposing they adopted them, would have no salutary influence upon their conduct; yet from us, who profess these principles, they always expect such dispositions as correspond with the precepts of the gospel. They are quick-sighted to discern when we deviate from such a spirit, and avail themselves of it to justify their contempt of our arguments. The scriptural maxim, that “the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God,” is verified by daily observation. If our zeal is embittered by expressions of anger, invective, or scorn, we may think we are doing service of the cause of truth, when in reality we shall only bring it into discredit. The weapons of our warfare, and which alone are powerful to break down the strongholds of error, are not carnal, but spiritual; arguments fairly drawn from Scripture and experience, and enforced by such a mild address, as may persuade our readers, that, whether we can convince them or not, we wish well to their souls, and contend only for the truth’s sake; if we can satisfy them that we act upon these motives, our point is half gained; they will be more disposed to consider calmly what we offer; and if they should still dissent from our opinions, they will be constrained to approve our intentions.

You will have a third class of readers, who, being of your own sentiments, will readily approve of what you advance, and may be further established and confirmed in their views of the Scripture doctrines, by a clear and masterly elucidation of your subject. You may be instrumental to their edification if the law of kindness as well as of truth regulates your pen, otherwise you may do them harm. There is a principle of self, which disposes us to despise those who differ from us; and we are often under its influence, when we think we are only showing a becoming zeal in the cause of God.

I readily believe that the leading points of Arminianism spring from and are nourished by the pride of the human heart; but I should be glad if the reverse were always true; and that to embrace what are called the Calvinistic doctrines was an infallible token of a humble mind. I think I have known some Arminians, that is, persons who for want of a clearer light, have been afraid of receiving the doctrines of free grace, who yet have given evidence that their hearts were in a degree humbled before the Lord.

And I am afraid there are Calvinists, who, while they account it a proof of their humility, that they are willing in words to debase the creature and to give all the glory of salvation to the Lord, yet know not what manner of spirit they are of. Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit. Self-righteousness can feed upon doctrines as well as upon works; and a man may have the heart of a Pharisee, while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the creature and the riches of free grace. Yea, I would add, the best of men are not wholly free from this leaven; and therefore are too apt to be pleased with such representations as hold up our adversaries to ridicule, and by consequence flatter our own superior judgments. Controversies, for the most part, are so managed as to indulge rather than to repress his wrong disposition; and therefore, generally speaking, they are productive of little good. They provoke those whom they should convince, and puff up those whom they should edify. I hope your performance will savor of a spirit of true humility, and be a means of promoting it in others.

Consider Yourself

This leads me, in the last place, to consider your own concern in your present undertaking. It seems a laudable service to defend the faith once delivered to the saints; we are commanded to contend earnestly for it, and to convince gainsayers. If ever such defenses were seasonable and expedient they appear to be so in our own day, when errors abound on all sides and every truth of the gospel is either directly denied or grossly misrepresented.

And yet we find but very few writers of controversy who have not been manifestly hurt by it. Either they grow in a sense of their own importance, or imbibe an angry, contentious spirit, or they insensibly withdraw their attention from those things which are the food and immediate support of the life of faith, and spend their time and strength upon matters which are at most but of a secondary value. This shows, that if the service is honorable, it is dangerous. What will it profit a man if he gains his cause and silences his adversary, if at the same time he loses that humble, tender frame of spirit in which the Lord delights, and to which the promise of his presence is made?

Your aim, I doubt not, is good; but you have need to watch and pray for you will find Satan at your right hand to resist you; he will try to debase your views; and though you set out in defense of the cause of God, if you are not continually looking to the Lord to keep you, it may become your own cause, and awaken in you those tempers which are inconsistent with true peace of mind, and will surely obstruct communion with God.

Be upon your guard against admitting anything personal into the debate. If you think you have been ill treated, you will have an opportunity of showing that you are a disciple of Jesus, who “when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.” This is our pattern, thus we are to speak and write for God, “not rendering railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that hereunto we are called.” The wisdom that is from above is not only pure, but peaceable and gentle; and the want of these qualifications, like the dead fly in the pot of ointment, will spoil the savor and efficacy of our labors.

If we act in a wrong spirit, we shall bring little glory to God, do little good to our fellow creatures, and procure neither honor nor comfort to ourselves. If you can be content with showing your wit, and gaining the laugh on your side, you have an easy task; but I hope you have a far nobler aim, and that, sensible of the solemn importance of gospel truths, and the compassion due to the souls of men, you would rather be a means of removing prejudices in a single instance, than obtain the empty applause of thousands. Go forth, therefore, in the name and strength of the Lord of hosts, speaking the truth in love; and may he give you a witness in many hearts that you are taught of God, and favored with the unction of his Holy Spirit.

How to Stop Making Gospel into Law

Read the full article at https://mbird.com/2021/04/how-to-stop-making-gospel-into-law/

1. God gave the law to creatures, but God is not the law.

The dream of finding Law [that inspires and gives life] imagines the theological project to be equating God and law, … to claim that God’s eternal, objective, righteous essence is none other than a graceful, nonthreatening, ordered, beautiful, eternal law as the thing that unites the complicated contradictory attributes of mercy and justice. […]

The law is taken to be the form of the will or mind of God … and so we mold our god into the shape of our happy life. […]

[Luther] knew that if one tried to describe God’s essence apart from forgiveness, what he got was God = law, which is God naked in majesty without any gospel, and that the end of that quest was death.

2. The law has two “uses,” but used by God. One use fosters and preserves life in the old world, and the other makes a person run from God’s threat/wrath to the mercy of Christ’s promise.

The law is not there to give ears [of faith], but to take them away. It does not give, but removes faith in God’s word. Worse, the law is there to kill sinners wherever it finds them.

3. The law always accuses, in both its uses, which is the essential or constant voice of the law.

The problem Paul had with the law is the same that you and I have: it kills us in whatever form it comes — ceremonial or moral — and we don’t want to die. It does not make us righteous; it condemns.  … God gave the law for this one and only purpose: to threaten us with death, and carry out the death wherever there is sin.

4. Christ alone fulfills the law, and so is the point, the “thing” that law wants, needs, and demands — and which sinners cannot give.

Luther is very precise on this matter. Christ’s crucifixion and ministry do not abolish the law; he fulfills the law. But fulfilling is not the moment the law hands out its prize. Christ’s unexpected fulfillment of the law on the cross has a most dramatic effect on the law, evacuating or emptying it.

…………………………

Read the Rest at

Read the full article at https://mbird.com/2021/04/how-to-stop-making-gospel-into-law/

Relax, It's Me: How Jesus Saves Us From Doubt and Despair

Read the Article Here https://www.1517.org/articles/relax-its-me-how-jesus-saves-us-from-doubt-and-despair

One of the finest sinners who ever lived was Thomas, the doubting one. The risen Jesus breaks in on him and his fellow disciples shaking in their boots, wondering if the religious leaders’ goons would get them like they did their crucified rabbi. Our Lord, on that day and today, has to deal with the first two moves of a sinful heart: doubt and despair.

These guys had spent the past three years with Jesus. They were witnesses to the signs and wonders that John relates in his gospel. They’d seen the signs, but they couldn’t read ‘em very well. Not even Mary Magdalene’s first sermon to them about Christ’s resurrection did them much good. They just couldn’t see it. “Okay, fine; he’s not dead. That’s not going to help us when we have the same folks breathing down our necks who killed him.”

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Read the Article Here https://www.1517.org/articles/relax-its-me-how-jesus-saves-us-from-doubt-and-despair

O Lord, Have Mercy Upon Us, Internet Sinners

Read article At https://mbird.com/2021/04/o-lord-have-mercy-upon-us-internet-sinners/

Recently, the Internet has made me aware of an interesting fact about myself: I’m wrong about everything! The books I read, the music I listen to, the type of credit card I use to pay for the aforementioned books and music, even having a credit card — it’s all bad! Wrong! “NO! How dare you consider this!?!” shouts the Internet as I read the two-hundredth review on Amazon for a new bike helmet so I can protect my (ignorant) brain. “Should I even be buying things from Amazon?” I wonder, reading a tweet about the latest controversy surrounding the corporate giant. 

If Dr. Suess (another recently controversial person on the Internet) were to write a rhyme about what it’s like to be an Internet user in 2021, it might go something like this:  

Your dog, your bike,
Your God, your likes;
You’ve chosen bad
And made me mad! 
You were wrong,
You don’t belong!
So long, goodbye!
xoxo, Internet Guy 

I have read articles telling me it’s wrong to “own” my golden retriever (I should’ve adopted from a shelter) or that the bike I bought actually sucks (I should’ve bought that more expensive, “better” one). I’m a bad person for believing in God. I’m a bad person for not believing the right things about God. Even the choices I didn’t know could be controversial, like what can of beans I buy at the grocery store, was brought to my attention by the Internet as a matter of great social, political, and ethical importance. Choose wrong and I’m bad. But choose right, and … I’m still bad, according to Internet Guy. 

The Doctrine of Grace vs. the Disposition of Grace

read the rest at https://mbird.com/2021/03/the-doctrine-of-grace-vs-the-disposition-of-grace/

The way you hold a position is oftentimes just as important as the position you hold.

My brother John said that to me recently in reference to what he’d learned from 20 years of public ministry. I’ve heard myself repeating it ever since. And not just as it relates to religion.

His words reminded me of a hot July day ten years ago, sitting in stand-still traffic outside New York City and watching in amazement as a church van a few lanes over decided to “redeem the time” by getting out a megaphone and reciting scripture to the rest of us. As you might imagine, there were no sudden conversions or hallelujahs; people were annoyed and, this being New York, they made their feelings known in a colorful way.

read the rest at https://mbird.com/2021/03/the-doctrine-of-grace-vs-the-disposition-of-grace/

A Short Theology of Busted Brackets

Read it all here at https://mbird.com/2021/03/a-short-theology-of-busted-brackets/

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results, March Madness is a tradition that lives up to its name. Every year, we try to determine the fate of 68 college basketball teams. Despite the odds (1 in 120.2 billion), we daydream of being the first person in history to fill out a perfect bracket. We guess the rise and fall of underdogs and the success of our hometown teams based on a lucky feeling. By the end of the first day of the tournament, our brackets are shadows of their former selves. Like the year before, we are reminded that there are powers at work that are far beyond our control. By the time the next year rolls around, however, we do it all over again in the hopes that the outcome will somehow be different.

There is something irresistible about the NCAA tournament. More brackets were filled out than votes cast for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in 2016. Part of the reason why the tournament is so inviting is because there are no prerequisites. One need not be a super-fan to participate. All it takes is five dollars for the office pool buy-in. Part of what makes the tournament so inviting is the single-elimination factor, so even the heavy favorites can fall unexpectedly. When chaos reigns, it’s really anyone’s guess as to who will win it all. The stats nerd and the coin-flipper have equal footing.

Read it all here at https://mbird.com/2021/03/a-short-theology-of-busted-brackets/

Why Do Men Cry Watching Sports Movies?

Read the Whole Article Here https://mbird.com/2021/03/why-do-men-cry-watching-sports-movies/

It’s a cliché, I know. But it’s totally true. Men love sports (or at least 80% of us), and sports movies hit us in ways that rom-coms don’t. Watching two star-crossed lovers on the silver screen might provide its own comfort, but it doesn’t reliably incite waterworks like dramas of athletic glory. “Boy’s Don’t Cry,” as the saying goes. I wish it weren’t so, of course. I don’t get to make the rules. Masculinity is equated with strength — the kind that doesn’t permit public displays of emotion. Call it stoicism or sexism, men don’t often let their guard down to feel so obviously. Sports movies are something of an exception to the rule………………………………

Read the Whole Article Here https://mbird.com/2021/03/why-do-men-cry-watching-sports-movies/

When Weakness Is What Saves You

Read original Article here https://mbird.com/2021/03/when-weakness-is-what-saves-you/

In the very early days of health policy decisions, there was a not-so-straightforward debate. Should the vaccines be used to prevent deaths or slow the spread? Do you first give it to senior citizens who are far more likely to die from Covid, or do you give it to younger people and more urban residents who are far more likely to spread the disease? If you aim to slow the spread, “normal life” might return more quickly, but at the expense of higher mortality rates among the elderly.

The answer to this quandary might sound obvious now, but it’s a small window into a broader landscape of untraveled possibilities for how the vaccine might have been distributed. When former NBA player Charles Barkley suggested that higher taxpayers (like professional athletes) should get “preferential treatment” for the Covid vaccine — even if it meant that people would die — his comments were immediately dismissed, but such a possibility isn’t unimaginable. Drug companies could have been permitted to sell their drugs to corporations or individuals willing to pay a premium. The vaccine could have been first given to U.S. citizens, to those without criminal records, to Democratic-voting states over Republican- ones, or to people with longer life expectancies.

It’s been far from the dystopian future of apocalyptic movies. Going back to last fall, policy makers essentially chose to save lives, to value human life above all else. As much as it’s true that the country is divided across partisan, social, and economic lines, the unified approach to distribution thus far has been nothing short of astonishing. If the fear of death divided the nation, the hope promised by the vaccine seems to have largely united it. 

Which isn’t to say that mistakes haven’t been made. Or that there hasn’t been a debate about the rollout. A lot of people are justifiably upset about a myriad of policy details. But the tenor of the conversation has more to do with charity in ways that are worth appreciating. People have clearly disagreed about how to save lives, but the ideal is largely agreed upon: those at most risk should get their doses first. The outrage over line-jumpers reflects a belief that the existing guidelines are correct. The debate over whose occupation might be deemed essential has more to do with the risk of exposure than social stratification. 

There may be vaccine envy, but not to the point of demanding preferred treatment. There has been frustration at not getting an appointment, but not to the point of arguing that one life matters more than others. I know that many are still on waitlists, but my elderly neighbor got the vaccine before Jeff Goldblum, Tom Hanks, the Duke of Sussex, and Dolly Parton. 

Those who are most worthy to receive a dose have been deemed so by a genuinely paradoxical measure. The vulnerable and at risk go first. The rollout has been a far from perfect system, but its ideals aimed to place the needy at the front of the line. Like grace itself, weakness is the only qualification.

It’s easy to miss just how profoundly Christian this approach has at least tried to be. It could have been otherwise. In ancient Rome there was little regard for the weak. As Tom Holland wrote in his book Dominion:

The heroes of the Iliad, favorites of the gods, golden and predatory, had scorned the weak and downtrodden. So too […] had the philosophers. The starving deserved no sympathy. Beggars were best rounded up and deported. Pity risked undermining a wise man’s self-control.

When a particularly terrible plague hit the empire in 250 AD, those who began to show symptoms were thrown out into the street for dead, and it was the Christians who gave them water, baths, and food. It was Jesus who compared his ministry to that of a physician, providing blessing for the poor and health to the sick. The Christian care for those who could not afford doctors inspired a 4th-century bishop to found what is likely the first major hospital, with free treatment, bed, shelter, and food.

Taking our cue from our inheritance of the Christian virtue of charity, it’s been decided that the collective good is accomplished when the defenseless and at-risk are protected from the plague. Meritocracy, deserving, and survival-of-the-fittest this is not. Instead, there is a line that places the aged and endangered at the front.

When it was rumored in December that Bill Gates hadn’t been vaccinated, the conspiracy theory rumor mill suggested he thought the vaccine wasn’t safe. He had funded vaccine research with hundreds of millions of dollars. Surely, if he wanted the two jabs he would have gotten it. But it turns out the real answer was far more inspiring. He was waiting for his place in line — just like everyone else.

Read original Article here https://mbird.com/2021/03/when-weakness-is-what-saves-you/

The Narrow Door of the Cross

Read the Whole Article here https://mbird.com/2021/03/the-narrow-door-of-the-cross/

Leigh Stein is the author of the new novel Self-Care. It’s a satire of the wellness industry and social media influencer culture. In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, “The Empty Religions of Instagram,” Stein confesses that she too fell for the accessible combination of self-care, social justice activism, and tongue-in-cheek Christianity proclaimed by the charismatic “preachers” on platforms like Instagram. Acknowledging that almost a quarter of all millennials in America claim no religious affiliation at all, Stein nonetheless questions if such statistics reveal a reduced rate of religiosity or if instead “our belief systems [are] too bespoke to appear on a list of major religions in a Pew phone survey.” Stein suspects the latter is the case. She writes,

Our new belief system is a blend of left-wing political orthodoxy, intersectional feminism, self-optimization, therapy, wellness, astrology and Dolly Parton. And we’ve found a different kind of clergy: personal growth influencers. Women like Glennon Doyle, who offer nones like us permission, validation and community on demand at a time when it’s nearly impossible to share communion in person. We don’t even have to put down our phones………………………………………………….

Read the Whole Article here https://mbird.com/2021/03/the-narrow-door-of-the-cross/

The Useful Sinner: A Story of Grace in Practice

Read the complete article here https://mbird.com/2021/01/the-useful-sinner-a-story-of-grace-in-practice/

God’s chief agents have often been notoriously weak. Moses, a murderer, was chosen to deliver the tablets of law, which contained a prohibition against his crime. Peter, a liar and coward, became a great leader of the church. David, a murdering adulterer whose misdeeds were fully chronicled, was the greatest king of the chosen people and was frequently quoted by Jesus during his ministry. Jesus used David’s words as he was dying on a cross, and St. Paul described him as a man after God’s heart. While we cannot hope to avoid sin, we can take comfort in knowing that there is a marvelous collection of useful sinners who have gone before.

Read the complete article here https://mbird.com/2021/01/the-useful-sinner-a-story-of-grace-in-practice/

Why The Beatitudes Are Still So Revolutionary

Read the complete article here https://www.relevantmagazine.com/faith/why-the-beatitudes-are-still-so-revolutionary/

I’m sitting on a hillside overlooking Galilee, where tradition and scholars say that Jesus spoke his Sermon on the Mount.

It’s my third time here. I love it. Each time, there’s a sense of coming home.

To my right I can see the city of Tiberius, which was founded by Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, and named after the Roman emperor Tiberius in the year AD 20. Beyond that into the distance is the land known as the West Bank, the Occupied Territories, or simply Palestine. Ahead of me is the Sea of Galilee, and on the horizon, the mouth of the Jordan River.

To my left I can see the hills of the Golan Heights, and beyond there is Syria with all its suffering and chaos.

If I walk a mile or two down the hillside, I will reach Capernaum, where Peter lived, the scene of so many stories from the Christian Scriptures.

I sit here in the Mediterranean sunshine, thinking and meditating and contemplating life with all its interweaving of people and stories and joy and pain.

Read the complete article here https://www.relevantmagazine.com/faith/why-the-beatitudes-are-still-so-revolutionary/

The Rise and Fall of Martin Stephan

Taken from https://leben.us/rise-fall-martin-stephan/

The Lutheran religion did not get off to a fast start in America. None of the early explorers were Lutheran. Most of them were Roman Catholic or Anglican. None of the early settlers were Lutheran. In fact, Lutheranism did not come to America until Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden mentioned a planting of a Lutheran colony in 1624, about 125 years after the new land was discovered. His daughter Christina fulfilled this dream by sending over a colony of Lutheran Swedes to settle in Delaware in 1639. While this colony did not last, Lutherans by name have been in the country ever since.
Yet these so-called Lutherans were not always Lutheran. Calvinism, Piet-ism and Rationalism all had an effect on these people. Pastors were uneducated. They fell into trying to reform the rough life of the new land. They would preach both in Reformed and Lutheran pulpits. Even Muhlenburg, the father of Lutheranism in America, was not necessarily always a confessional pastor. This does not mean that there were not any confessional pastors in America. Men, like John Campanius, the Falckners, the Henkels and others stood firmly in their beliefs. On a whole, however, Lutheranism in America suffered.
Then in the early 1800s more and more confessional Lutherans began to come over to this country to escape Rationalism, especially from Germany. Most notably was a Saxon pastor, named Martin Stephan, who brought over a group of immigrants to St. Louis. This group would start what was the most confessional synod in America at that time, the Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod. This synod established confessional Lutheranism in America. Yet when the synod started, they were without their leader. Only a few months after Stephan led this confessional group to America, he was deposed and cast out of the colony for sinful actions. How could this happen? How could a confessional Lutheran pastor, who held so firmly to God’s Word, fall into such evil sins? How could he be disposed so quickly by a people who loved him and had just followed him to the new colony? Were they jealous of him? Were they looking for power? Or was Stephan deserving of this expulsion? These are the questions that we must examine if we are to understand the rise and fall of Martin Stephan.
Martin Stephan was born on August 13, 1777 in Stramberg, Moravia, which is now in the Czech Republic. His parents were originally Roman Catholic but had been converted to Protestantism before Mart-in was born. They raised Martin with a strict training in God’s Word and were teaching him the family trade, as a linen weaver. However Martin’s parents died when he was still young. His pastor, Johann Ephraim Scheibel saw promise in Stephan to be a pastor. So he gave him free access to the church’s library. This reading en-couraged him to become a pastor and gave him his conservative standpoint, which he held throughout his life.1 With the financial help of some Pietists, he was able to go to St. Elizabeth’s Gymnasium in Breslau before attending both the University of Halle and the University of Leipzig.
Stephan, however, did not graduate from either of these universities. Although he was gifted in many ways, Stephan seemed to have little interest in reading the classics, which were required for graduation from a university. Instead he spent much of the time reading the Pietists’s publications.2 He seemed only to be interested in religious affairs.
Upon leaving Leipzig, he served as a pastor in Bohemia for a year. Then in 1810, something happened to Stephan that would change his life forever. He was called to be a pastor at the unique congregation of St. John’s in Dresden.
St. John’s was formed by Bohemian refugees during the Thirty Years’ War. After the war ended, they were granted special rights by the government, even though they were considered part of the state church, because of their nationality. They could have irregular gatherings, which the state church normally prohibited, choose their own elders and pastors, and exercise their own church discipline. All of these privileges are important to understand when examining the rise of Martin Stephan.
Even though Stephan was not qualified to be called as a pastor in the state church because he had not graduated from a university, St. John’s could exercise its freedom and call the Bohemian to be their pastor. They did this at the recommendation of Court Preacher Doring. At first, Stephan did not stir up much interest. However, soon, Stephan’s fame would spread throughout all of Saxony.
Forster reports that in the first ten years that Stephan was there, membership increased six fold. At the end of 1819, St. John’s had over a thousand members.3 There are a couple of reasons for this increase. First, Stephan’s conservative approach to Scripture was in stark contrast to the rationalistic state church of Saxony. People came to see this man, who was preaching something different, and the Holy Spirit was at work through his preaching. Secondly, Stephan had a strong personality and great communication skills. This, humanly speaking, drew people to Stephan and to his church and soon he had many strong supporters.
Thus the fame and power of Stephan spread throughout all of Saxony. “More and more people looked to him for spiritual leadership. When people in trouble came to him for aid and found it, they went away not only, perhaps not even primarily, as converts to orthodoxy, but as personal champions of Stephan.”4 These champions would then in turn tell others about Stephan and soon people would come from all over Germany, from all walks of life to meet this man. He was famous.
One of the men who sought comfort from Stephan was a troubled student named C.F.W. Walther. Walther had sought help from a group of Pietists, but found no comfort. Instead “he was afflicted with serious doubt and suffered the most excruciating pains of spiritual diseases.”5 One of his friends suggested that he write to Pastor Stephan who had a reputation for helping those who could find an-swers to their troubles nowhere else. Walther took this advice and it changed his life.
When Pastor Stephan wrote a letter back to Walther, Walther was so scared that he fervently prayed to God that this letter would not be filled with what he deemed the false comfort of the Pietists.6 Fortunately it was not. Instead of pointing him to his own good works, Stephan pointed Walther to the atoning and universal work of Christ. He set him free from the burden of the law. Through this letter, and many others that were exchanged between these two men, Walther became a convinced Lutheran and an admired follower of Stephan because he had explained the gospel to him.
Despite his growing fame and power, Pastor Stephan’s Bohemian congregation was not completely happy with him. With all the new members that were coming in, they were feeling left out. They did not always welcome the new people that were from a different heritage than they. They liked their little Bohemian congregation with their special privileges and Stephan seemed to be ruining it. They did not think that he was fulfilling his pastoral duties to those who were actually his members.7 He was spending too much time counseling other people.
This led fellow pastors in the area to not be pleased with Stephan as well. It seems as if Stephan had no regard for the so-called “sheep stealing”, meaning taking members from other local congregations without their permission. To accommodate the growing crowds, Stephan had to hold six services every Sunday in both Bohemian (Czech) and German.8
The greatest opposition to Stephan came from his superiors in both the state church and the government. Stephan did not teach the rationalistic beliefs that his superiors in the state church taught. Instead, he held firmly to the truths confessed in the Lutheran confessions. The state church, however, could not depose Stephan because of the right, granted to the Bohemian congregation of St. John’s, that they could choose their own pastor. Instead of removing him, they attacked him in the press.
They attacked Stephan constantly, accusing him of running a sect. They said he was a separatist, who was causing criminal acts by his false, extreme teachings. They made these charges for many years and for the most part Stephan remained silent, letting his followers defend him. A few times, especially before 1823, he responded.
On one occasion in 1821, Stephan decided to defend himself. Writing back to those accusing him, he said, “I am not a member of any sect, old or new;…I am an evangelical Lutheran preacher and I preach the Word of God as recorded in the Bible…I preach the apostolic religion, which Luther preached in its purity with such courage.”9
Yet his accusers continued their attacks. Some would say that they had good reason to do so, not on the basis of what he taught, but on the basis of his actions. Stephan was known for his irregular meetings, especially late at night. These types of meetings were outlawed in Saxony for all people, even for churches, because they feared social riots. However, Stephan was allowed to do them because of the special rights given to his unique congregation. This made the legal authorities suspicious of Stephan.
Stephan claimed that these meetings were open forums, a question and answer session dealing with such things as the Formula of Concord.10 He claimed that he was doing nothing wrong at these meetings. Not everyone believed him. Many people thought that evil sins were being committed during these meetings. These suspicions rose higher and higher throughout the 1830s. No longer was Stephan just meeting with members of his church but he also began going on long walks, late at night with females.
After 1830, Stephan became extremely secretive about what was going on. Often these walks or meetings would be very late at night, going until two or three in the morning and would involve married or unmarried women. Stephan claimed that he needed these long walks to fall asleep and the women were free to come as they chose.11 Coupled with the fact that Stephan and his wife did not have the best marriage and he seemed to give little attention to his eight children, rumors about these meetings arose.
Accusations of sexual misconduct arose, but no matter how hard they tried, the authorities could not prove anything. They had a lot of wild accusations against him but they could not find substantial proof. Newspapers ran stories and cartoons depicting Stephan as a man acting immorally. People began to develop strong feelings and to take sides. Because of this, the authorities tried to dispose him from office. They feared that some sort of a riot would happen.
In November of 1837, the authorities planned a raid on Stephan’s private lodge, where many of these late night meetings took place to try and catch him in the act, but when the police raided the lodge at midnight, they did not find him there. Instead they found only five of his companions deep in conversation. Stephan himself was on a walk with a female companion. When he returned, both he and his companion were questioned for a long time but they would admit to doing nothing wrong.
On the very next day, however, the state was able to gather enough accusations and enough support to suspend Stephan from office. Previously Stephan had been arrested but had always been cleared of accusations. This time, however, was different. This suspension caught both Stephan and his close followers by surprise. They were not prepared for it. They thought that Stephan’s popularity, connected with his unique position at the Bohemian congregation, would save him from suspension. They were wrong. Because of this suspension, Stephan hastened his plans of coming to America.
Already in 1830, Stephan had thrown around the idea of coming to America with some of his closest friends. He had good reason to do so. The state of religious affairs was not very good. There were very few confessional pastors in Saxony. When Stephan tried to unite these pastors around 1830 nothing happened. Plus, the Prussian Union was influencing all those around him. He thought that soon he would be either under their control or under something similar. This led Stephan to say, “Will it not soon come to this that we must leave Babylon and Egypt and emigrate? Where will we turn? In the German states we can find no refuge. Everywhere there is great hatred for the pure Lutheran doctrine…So my eyes are being directed to North America.”12
These plans for emigration really picked up speed after 1836, when more and more accusations were brought against Stephan. Yet this was not the main reason that Stephan gave for his plans. Stephan always blamed the false religions of his day, which were persecuting him. He claimed that these enemies were the ones who were bringing up these false accusations of sexual misconduct so that they could prevent people from flocking to Stephan. There probably was some truth to this. Stephan was being persecuted by his enemies for his sound beliefs. He would never back down from his firm stance on Holy Scripture. By blaming his enemies instead of the accusations, Stephan managed to turn the attention from his actions to his strong confessional stance.13
Stephan was well known throughout the community, and everyone had an opinion on him, either good or ill. All knew of the accusations and his plans to sail to America. Stephan could say, “When my emigration became known, a company of 700 people willingly joined me, even though I had asked no one.”14 This is probably embellished a little by Stephan because it is known that he did ask those close to him in his church to join him.
Those who were close to him, believed that Stephan was such a good man that he would admit it if he did anything wrong.15 They wholeheartedly believed that they were emigrating to America for religious reasons, not to escape allegations of criminal behavior. They believed their pastor when he said, “No hope remains for maintaining the Lutheran Church in our land.”16
It is clear that this is the way that those who went with him to America thought of him. They had no problem subjecting themselves to any of his demands, whether they agreed with them or not. One demand was that Stephan required all people to be confessional. He required that they subject themselves to God’s Word and to the Augsburg Confession.17 He wanted everyone in his colony to have the same beliefs. He also demanded that everyone pay 100 thalers as a fee for the journey to the new colony, no matter what their income. Although most of the notable people were professional, a good number of farmers came over on the trip, as well, who were not as rich. Of course, it was necessary that there be some sort of a fee to pay for the journey across the ocean but it hardly seems fair to charge everyone the same price. Plus, although he denied it,18 Stephan had access to the money and Forster claims that Stephan used this to his advantage by buying stuff to make his journey a little more comfortable,19 both before and during the trip. Later on, when he would be expelled from the colony, the colonists charged Stephan with falsely taking their property. But for now they trusted him and paid the money without question.
Finally in October of 1838, all the preparations had been made and Stephan and his group were ready to set sail for St. Louis in America. Stephan chose St. Louis over other Midwest cities because it was safer. The Native Americans were not as hostile there as they were in Wisconsin or the Dakotas. Plus, St. Louis was a developing town and they could buy land for the colony at a good price.
From November 3rd to November 18th, five ships set sail at different times to America carrying Stephan and his followers. Stephan was the unquestionable leader of this group. He was the one who came up with the idea of moving to America, promoted it and organized it. He decided who would go on what ship and who would be in charge of each ship. Of course, all the important people sailed with Stephan on the Olbers. Stephan probably put all these important people on his ship so that he could keep an eye on them just in case they would try and usurp control.
This seemed to have happened. Stephan became very domineering on the ship. His companions noticed that his attitude had changed once he had boarded the ship. No longer were all wholly devoted to him but some leaders were questioning his authority, most notably Marbach and Dr. Vehse, two lay leaders.20 This led Stephan to become stricter, hoping to squash these subtle attacks. On the ship, he was successful. Stephan was able to convince both Marbach and Dr. Vehse that these actions of theirs were sinful because he had been appointed the leader of this colony.
A few days later, after squashing these attacks, Stephan’s leadership was made official. On January 14th, a day after the first colonists reached St. Louis, as the Olbers was in the Gulf of Mexico, the men on Stephan’s ship elected him bishop of the colony, in charge of both the civil and religious affairs. The four prominent pastors, O.H. Walther, G.H. Lober, E.G.W. Keyl and C.F.W. Walther, signed a document which asked Stephan to accept this position of bishop. The document said,
Your reverence has, according to the gracious council of God, remained standing as the last, unshakable pillar on the ruins of the now devastated Lutheran Church in Germany…accordingly you have already for a long time occupied the position of a bishop and performed Episcopal functions among us…we have been instructed by you in many things in accordance with the Word of God…In consequence of all this, therefore we approach you with the reverent urgent plea: Accept Reverend Father the office of bishop among us bestowed on you by God and grant that we may now express our unqualified confidence in your fatherly love and pastoral faithfulness towards us.21
It is amazing to see the power that Stephan still had over these men. Even though they were now sensing that something could be wrong, he was still elected bishop and given complete control over all things in the new colony. In fact, a month later, as they were on the steamboat close to St. Louis, these men confirmed Stephan as bishop. They pledged their complete loyalty to him on February 16th22 saying,
We affirm and testify before the countenance of the omniscient God, in agreement with the truth, that we have complete and firm confidence in the wisdom and fatherly love of our Reverend Bishop; and we abhor all distrustful, suspicious statements and thoughts, in which he is accused of injustice, harshness, selfishness, carelessness in the administration of our temporal goods…Further we pledge ourselves to submit with Christian willingness and sincerity to the decrees and measures of His Reverence in respect to both ecclesiastical and community affairs.23
News about these documents spread rapidly to St. Louis, where the other members of Stephan’s party had already gathered. In fact, this news spread to all who were living in St. Louis so that many people were waiting for Stephan when his steamboat arrived on the shores of the Mississippi. However they were disappointed.
When the ship arrived in the middle of February, Stephan stayed in his luxury cabin, complaining of a sickness rather than going out. Finally in the middle of the night, he made his way into the city, where a room was prepared for him. Stephan would spend most of his time in St. Louis in this room, distant from all his fellow colonists. He would not let anyone come in to visit him without an appointment, except for those who were really close to him and came out mostly to maintain control.24 Truly Stephan’s attitude had changed from the man who would counsel and talk with all who came to him in Dresden. He had become a different man. His fellow colonists would see this soon.
No one knows for sure what had caused this change in Stephan. He was no longer the man with the engaging personality, standing up for the true Word of God, counseling all who came to him. Instead he had become distant. Maybe the years of accusations had finally taken its toll on him. Maybe his ego had been built up by the constant years of praise that he thought of himself so highly. Maybe he was covering up some sins and his conscience was burdening him. Or maybe it was a combination of a couple of these. No one may ever know what caused this change in Stephan. It quickly became apparent in the new land.
On March 3rd, the first service of this new colony was held at Christ’s Church25 in St. Louis. Stephan, of course, was the preacher. There were a large number of people in attendance at this first service, waiting anxiously to hear Stephan. All, who had made the trip over to America, came. Plus many people from the city of St. Louis attended because the newspapers were constantly running stories, updating people on the actions of this famous Bohemian migrating to America. At this service, however, Stephan did not impress anyone. Apparently Stephan, who was preaching in a church for the first time in about a year because of the suspension and the long boat ride over, did not give an engaging sermon. Two days later, the newspaper stories of this service were kind to these new colonists, calling them intelligent and dignified but they made no mention of Stephan.26 Most of his own people, who had followed him to America, were disappointed in his efforts. Stephan, of course, blamed the people for their lack of faith and their doubting. It was not his fault that the people were not impressed with his sermon but theirs. While he had never been the most engaging preacher, his sermons were now lacking substance. From then on Stephan rarely preached.27
Part of the reason was that Stephan was bishop over both ecclesiastical and civil affairs. He had control over all things in the colony and this took up a lot of his time, especially in the beginning. Stephan had very specific ways in which he wanted his colony run. It took him a month to enforce these demands.28 Plus the colonists had purchased land in Perry County, about one hundred miles south of St. Louis, where they would establish their colony. Before they could move down there, many preparations had to be made. Stephan oversaw most of these preparations.
During this time, from February to April, Stephan was ruling with an iron fist. This once again caused his close followers to question his authority, especially Marbach.29 Marbach wanted a separation of a church and state. He thought that Stephan had too much power and later on this turned out to be true. Whenever these small uprisings would occur, he was able to put them down. As long as he was on the scene, the majority of the people would back their bishop.30 By May of 1839, Stephan thought that he had established enough control over his colonists that he could leave them in St. Louis and make preparations in their new land of Perry County. He went to Perry County with about 200 men, leaving 400 still in St. Louis.
Therefore Stephan was in Perry County on May 5th, trying to get things ready so that the colonists could move down there, when Pastor Lober preached a sermon to the colonists in St. Louis that would change Stephan’s life forever. Lober’s sermon was on the 6th Commandment. In it, he must have mentioned some piercing law that had an effect on a couple of women in the congregation. Two women, independently of each other, without each other’s knowledge, came to Lober that afternoon and confessed that Stephan had seduced them. This shocked Lober and he quickly told C.F.W. Walther. Within a few days, all the prominent clergy had been informed of this heinous crime.
This accusation was the straw that broke the camel’s back. These men, who had been shown the great comfort of the gospel by Stephan, who had defended him against all the accusations in Dresden, who had willingly followed him to a new colony in North America, who had a deep love and admiration for their leader, finally realized that Stephan had been living in open sin. They finally had the proof to make charges against Stephan and take away his power as bishop.
It is amazing the change that took place in these men. Only a year earlier, they had defended their beloved bishop against numerous attacks in Dresden, asserting that Stephan had to be innocent because if he was guilty, he would have confessed.31 Only three months earlier they had elected him bishop over ecclesiastical and civil affairs and affirmed their subjection to him. Now they were making plans to depose him from office. The clergy thought even if he was innocent of these charges, he should resign for the good of the colony.32 Truly these men had seen a change in Stephan.
The clergy set into motion a plan that would depose Stephan from his office of bishop. They concluded since they called him to that position on the boat, surely they had the power to remove him from office. Therefore they leaked out the information to the people. When they did, a few other women came forward with similar accusations of sexual misconduct.33 The clergy even decided to send Walther34 to Perry County to inform the people, who were working on this new place with Stephan, of the accusations.35
Since Walther had gone here without Stephan’s authority, he was not welcomed by Stephan. The people, however, readily accepted him and believed the accusations. They quickly turned against their leader. This shows that they too had seen a change in Stephan and were feeling oppressed by his new domineering personality. They even went into the woods to hear Walther preach on Pentecost instead of listening to Stephan’s sermon.36 The people had been turned against their bishop. Stephan’s fate was sealed. Brought before the Council, and refused the opportunity to defend himself, Stephan was quickly found guilty of adultery, misuse of property and false doctrine, and excommunicated.
They wished to forcefully remove him from his house and send him across the Mississippi River to Illinois as punishment. However there were many logs being floated down the river at this time, which made it impossible to cross. Therefore they put him up in a tent for the night, not allowing him the comfort of his own home. Stephan, recounting this miserable night says, “I was very thirsty and begged only for a glass of water but no one gave me anything nor did anyone care about my health.”37
On the next day, May 31st, before they sent him across the Mississippi, they forced Stephan to sign a document, in which he gave up his rights as bishop. The document says, “I, Martin Stephan…do certify by the discussions that took place on this day…to voluntarily cede and give up control of the above mentioned congregation to her trustees.”38 Then Stephan promises never again to come back to the colony. The document says, “I promise never to come back to the territory of the said company and to the state of Missouri.”39
Even though Stephan signed this document, it did not mean that he confessed to any of the accusations. In fact, he maintained his innocence until the day he died. When he boarded the ferry, which would take him across the River to Illinois, he was still protesting his expulsion but to no avail. When he left, they gave him “the necessary clothing, a cloak, linen, 2 beds, 2 chairs, 1 clock, 1 sofa cushion and its frame, books of meditation and 100 dollars in money.”40 Plus they gave him an axe and a spade so that he could do work.41 At 10:30 AM on May 31st, two days after they formally accused him, Stephan left the colony.
Reverend Stephan never admitted to doing anything wrong, yet the constant attacks on him during the latter years of his life, coupled with multiple women on separate occasions accusing him of adultery were enough to convince the colonists and most people. After the Saxons had disposed of Stephan, his maid, Louise Guenther, confessed to having an affair with him, as well.42 Before they could punish her, however, she fled the colony to join Stephan and lived with him until he died.
Reverend Stephan would be called to serve in several congregations, ending his career at Trinity Church in Horse Prairie, Illinois. He died quietly on February 26, 1845. He is buried in Trinity Cemetery. A picket fence surrounds his grave and a ten-foot cross serves as its marker. According to tradition, his casket was carried around the church three times before he was buried, showing the respect they had for this man.43
Even though Martin Stephan had many troubles in this life, and more than likely committed grievous sin, which caused his expulsion from the colony and the church, God nevertheless used him to achieve His purpose here on earth. Though estranged from C.F.W. Walther, Stephan’s influence on the man most associated with the founding of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was, in retrospect, almost entirely positive. For the broader church, the message is Paul’s message to the Corinthians, “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (I Cor. 2:5)

Bibliography
Bekenntis der Louis Guenther. June 3, 1839. Manuscript from Concordia Historical Institute.
Forster, Walter O., Zion on the Mississippi, Concordia Publishing House. St. Louis, MO. 1953.
Pastor Stephan Stephan, Manuscript from Trinity Lutheran Church in Horse Prairie, IL.
Pledge of Subjection to Stephan Feb. 16, 1839. Manuscript from Concordia Historical Institute
Rast, Lawrence R. Jr., Demagoguery or Democracy? The Saxon Emigration and American Culture. Concordia Theological Quarterly 63.4 (1999), 247-268. Available from http://www.ctsfw.edu/library/files/pb/1767
Sentence of Disposition Pronounced Upon Stephan. May 30, 1839. Manuscript from Concordia Historical Institute
Spitz, Lewis The Life of Dr. C.F.W. Walther. Concordia Publishing House. St. Louis, MO. 1961.
Stephan’s Investiture, January 14, 1839. Manuscript from Concordia Historical Institute
Stephan to Flugal. Oct. 12, 1841. Manuscript from Concordia Historical Institute
Stephan’s Renunciation of the Claims on the Gesellschaft. May 31, 1839. Manuscript from Concordia Historical Institute

ENDNOTES
1 Forster, Walter Zion on the Mississippi. Concordia Publishing House. St. Louis MO 1953. p. 27
2 Ibid., 28
3 Forster, 33
4 Forster, 61
5 Spitz, Lewis. The Life of C.F.W. Walther. Concordia Publishing House. St. Louis MO. 1961. p. 17
6 Ibid., 21
7 Ibid., 32
8 Ibid., 33
9 This is a letter to the paper that is quoted in Forster p. 35
10 Forster, 69
11 Forster, 73
12 Stephan to Kurtz in March of 1833. Quoted by Forster, 87
13 Forster, 107-112
14 Stephan to Flugal. Oct 12, 1841 CHI MSS
15 A quote from Keyl quoted by Forster, 70
16 Protocol of the emigration, May 18, 1838. Quoted by Forester, 137
17 Forster states this on both p. 90 and p. 151
18 Stephan to Flugel 1841. Stephan says, “I had nothing to do with this cash. I did not know, even today, the cash flow or their gifts.”
19 Forster, 167
20 Forster, 282
21 Stephan’s Investiture. January 14, 1839. CHI
22 This is only three months before they would expel him from the colony.
23 Pledge of Subjection to Stephan Feb. 16, 1839. CHI
24 Forster, 325, 353
25 Christ’s Church was an Episcopal Church, which served as the colonist’s church for the first three and a half years they were in the new land, until they could afford to build a place of their own. The colonists would worship either on Sat afternoon or most of the time on Sunday afternoons.
26 Daily Evening Gazette ran an article on March 5th two days after this sermon expressing this. This article is found in Forster, 322-323
27 Forster, 323. Forster references a couple of first hand accounts in support of these statements. He references Winter to Guericke on April 28, 1841 and Hohne to his brother on Sept. 26, 1840.
28 Ibid., 355
29 Stephan to Flugal, 1841
30 Forster, 390
31 Keyl said this quoted by Forster, 70 (see footnote 17)
32 Forster, 394-395
33 Forster, 395-398
34 This was really the first time that Walther is seen as a leader of the colonists. By stepping up during this controversy, Walther was now perceived by the people as the leader.
35 Forster, 403-405
36 Ibid., 409
37 Stephan to Flugal, 1841
38 Stephan’s Renunciation of the Claims on the Gesellschaft CHI MSS Also in Forester, 421
39 Ibid.
40 Ibid.
41 Ephan to Flugal, 1841
42 Bekenntnis der Louise Guenther. MS CHI
43 Pastor Stephan Stephan. MSS from Trinity Lutheran Church in Horse Prairie, IL

The Gospel is Not Self-Care: Overcoming Burnout

Read the article at https://mbird.com/2021/02/the-gospel-is-not-self-care-overcoming-burnout/

Talk of burnout usually unfolds in statistics. There are percentages and fractions. A high percentage of people in a given profession feel “emotionally unequipped” for their job. One in five members of another profession report a major health problem attributed to their work. A low but statistically significant percentage of people in the same profession reported extreme stresses on their families. A lower but terrifyingly high number report something worse. We hear these statistics in seminars we attend for our employers or central church offices. Maybe we read them in some clickbait that floated onto our social media page. But wherever they land, these stories are meant to warn us. Care for yourself or else.

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Finding Quiet After the Marathon

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trong strides, swinging arms, tired-yet-powerful legs propelling myself forward — this is how I imagined myself finishing my first marathon. Imagining how my marathon would go was a strategy I’d used in races before, along with repeating phrases like “I am strong!” when experiencing pain. Coupled together, these strategies are meant to help runners cope with the mentally grueling aspect of racing. But as most marathoners can attest, the actual race didn’t go as I’d hoped. I hit “The Wall.” Cramps crept up at mile 18 and caused my fantastic finish to be more of a horrific hobble. My marathon ended with me crying into the arms of a finish line volunteer. She put a gold medal around my neck. I kissed it. And then I vomited. 

After my marathon, my typical reply when people aske………………………………..

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