Quietism in Missouri

By Arthur Simon Thanks to my father, I became aware at an early age of the reluctance within the LCMS to question the status quo regarding social justice. The scandal of racial prejudice and segregation within both church and nation were special concerns of my parents. Then when my brother Paul was first elected to…
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Naming the Devils

By Robert Schmidt Tho’ devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us We tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall not overpower us. This world’s prince may still, scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none, He judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him.  …
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On Jon Nelson

Submitted by Robert Schmidt FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES When Jon and Juni Nelson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, they amended their wedding vows with this caveat: “Whoever leaves the marriage first has to take all the children.” All 14 of them. The last time the Rev. Nelson, a longtime civil-rights and peace protester, was arrested, his…
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Fear

By David Domsch Lutherans have a long and complex relationship with fear.  Luther was famously fearful as a young man – fearing that no matter how hard he tried, he could never be sure that he was living up to what God expected of him. In a very real sense, the Reformation is a direct result…
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Remembering Wayne Saffen

By Eugene Brueggemann Wayne Saffen is one of those unsung heroes in a lost cause whose contribution to that cause was worthy of note. The lost cause was defending the Missouri Synod and its St. Louis seminary from the swarm of cultural and theological conservatives who triumphed at the Denver convention in 1973. He was…
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