I must express my profound disappointment and sorrow that you chose to print such a mean-spirited letter from a reader (who I will leave nameless) in your April issue directed towards Paine Proffitt’s illustrations (appearing in the December issue). It was a serious lapse in judgement. As Christians, we are called to encourage one another,
Without cultural traditions behind it, we may wonder how to celebrate Pentecost. Is it really as important as the other days? Why do we observe Pentecost at all?
I struggled with your editorial on funerals (Feb. 2008 Q&A). Serving in a congregation that regularly does more than fifty funerals a year, it becomes clear that our issue is not so much truth as love. A funeral or memorial service is for the living, and the focus is on proclaiming the gospel of Jesus
I read with interest President Kieschnick’s article, Pastors Wanted, projecting the synod’s need for pastors in the next 10 years and appealing to congregations and pastors “to think of men to whom the Lord has given such gifts (for the pastoral ministry)” … and to “encourage these men to consider the ministry.” This past April,
After a four-decade career that spanned the globe, Leo Mehl, one of the most influential people in modern motorsports, has found a spiritual home.
I find it ironic that in the very first paragraph of the article “A Hand of Life-Giving Love,” it speaks about the Great Commission in Matt. 28:18-20 “being caught, thought, and taught incompletely and even inaccurately” when the article itself incompletely presents that very Scripture. Finger number 4 on the outstretched palm and paragraph no.
St. Paul asks in Romans 10, “How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Synod’s congregations will need around 2,700 pastors in the next 10 years, an average of 270 each year, just to fill retirement vacancies.
“Lord, make this the shortest operation of its kind on record, and give him a complete healing. Amen.”
Putting Together the Pieces Two-year-old Katelyn was watching the children’s TV show “Blue’s Clues.” The episode featured a pizza, which Katelyn repeatedly referred to as “Pastor’s Pizza.” Pastor’s Pizza? What could that be? Befuddled, her family finally figured it out—the pizza was cut in the shape of a cross. Two-year-olds do see Jesus! —Rev. John
by Rev. Jeffrey Sippy An old adage says polite gentlemen do not speak poorly of another man’s bride. Can you imagine? Can you imagine someone speaking poorly about your spouse? Yet the Bride of Christ is often maligned and insulted by reckless and thoughtless words—sometimes by its own members. Criticism, complaint, and gossip are the
Regarding February’s Family Counselor, “Playing Second Fiddle”: One might point out to the husband who feels like a second fiddle that life is a matter of the choices one makes. He may choose to feel like a second fiddle and put pressure on his wife, making her defensive, and at the same time inducing an
The month of May covers a lot of ground by closing the door on spring and opening the door to summer. In this issue of The Lutheran Witness, we also cover a lot of ground.