Mathew Andersen Dear Pastor: I was going to tell a bit about myself to introduce this letter but, as I spill my guts enough throughout the article, that would be rather like bringing owls to Athens. I do want to say this one thing about myself, though. I was a pastor in the LCMS for twenty-five…
Read more
Robert Schmidt “We won’t worry about the election. We are Lutherans and believe that there are two kingdoms. Though Trump won one, he didn’t, and couldn’t touch the other.” That’s the Kingdom of God’s grace.” But what does God’s grace include? Might it have something to do with the Old Testament promises about a new…
Read more
Why a Life-long Lutheran Fled the LC-MS Mark Woodworth Mark G. Woodworth is an Illinois attorney who holds a J.D. and a Ph.D (with a concentration in organizational analysis) from Saint Louis University. He and his wife, Teresa, reside in Geneseo, Illinois. Daystar has asked me to write an essay about why I, a life-long…
Read more
Robert Schmidt The last gavel has been struck; the convention is over. No more licensed deacons and plans are underway to find an easier way to rid the Synod of honest dissenters. Moderates are mostly retired and mission minded folks are concentrating on better practices, not a better administration. Three years from now there will…
Read more
Donald Muchow Leadership Conference LCMS Foundation/Lutheran Church Extension Fund San Diego, California 21 November 1999 Thank you for The introduction Your invitation to this conference The privilege to address you In preparation for this moment I faced two challenges: Too much material for the allotted time. Reminds me of my mother-in-law who, being a farm…
Read more
Robert Schmidt Portland Daystar Conference January 17, 2000 Introduction As the Christian Church greets the 21st century, it does so with some trepidation and gloom. The old idea of a “Christendom” where Christians set the agenda and sought to translate their values into the society is almost gone. Instead, active Christians find themselves in a minority…
Read more
Lloyd Goetz, William J. Hassold, John F. Johnson, George Loose, Victor Mennicke, and Edgar Trinklein The document Admission to the Lord’s Supper: Basics of Biblical and Confessional Teaching [ALS][1] is the response of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations [CTCR] to Resolution 3-05 of the 1998 convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod [LCMS], which was in turn a response to A Declaration…
Read more
Chris Wicher Editorial Note: Pastor Chris Wicher of Cheektowaga, NY, shares with us his response to a study document issued recently by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The CTCR was directed by the synod’s 1998 convention to prepare this study in response to a “Declaration of Eucharistic Understanding and…
Read more
Mary Todd Daystar Free Conference II One Body/One Spirit Mundelein, Illinois 30 October 2000 [© 2000 Mary Todd. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted without permission of the author.] I will readily admit to you that I am a reluctant keynoter today. I had agreed to be conference chair long before David cornered me about…
Read more
“Unionism” as It Was Perceived and Dealt with 75 Years Ago Edward Busch and Karl Wyneken The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has long had a reputation for keeping its distance from relations with other Christian groups and religious bodies. Even with this historic aloofness understood, however, the efforts of a very conservative faction to oust…
Read more