From the Pastor's Desk

Midsummer greetings! As we enter the long, hot days of August, I'd like to share a little of a trip we took earlier this summer. The end of June, Karen and I visited theLutheran School of Theology Chicago, one of our ELCA seminaries, for the 35th anniversary of Christ Seminary/
Seminex, my alma mater. Seminex was born out of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's "civil war" back in the '70s, and was, in fact, part of the catalyst of the birthing of the ELCA some years later.

It was a wonderful event, seeing classmates and professors, some of whom I haven't seen in over 30 years, and a humbling feeling to have been a part of such an important time in the history of the church in the 20th century in America.

At this event, a conversation which took place in 1971, between Doc. Caemmerer (a homiletics prof) and John Tietjen (our seminary president) was remembered and shared. I'm sharing it with you, because it speaks so well to the question, "What is the difference between the Missouri Synod and the ELCA?" Even though there was no ELCA at that time, the quote is still helpful and insightful about who we are as Lutherans.

"The two views about Lutheranism that are in contention right now are as different as a box is different from a platform. The Preus people (the Missouri Synod leadership at the time...not related to our Martin Preuss) think of Lutheranism as a box. You have to be in the box to be a Lutheran. The box tells you what you can believe and what you can't believe. If you don't agree on the truth in the box, you have to get out. But Lutheranism is really a platform on which to stand. The Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions that witness to what they teach are the ground of our life together. They are the platform on which we stand to witness to what we
believe. As a rule and norm the Scriptures help us make sure that we speak the Word of God when we witness. The Confessions free us up to witness to what is the heart of our faith - Jesus Christ - and the good news that we are justified by faith in Him." (Memoirs in Exile, Tietjen, p. 72).

That may be a little heavy for mid summer reading, but it says something about who we are as Lutherans, for which I am humbly proud. :) From that platform, we have "good news" to share, the good news of the Gospel, the grace of God as revealed in Jesus. That is a grace that shapes our lives, our words and our actions as we live out our faith in our daily lives. And there is a wonderful freedom in that.

Being able to attend that anniversary celebration helped underscore that wonderful gift for me, and for that, I am so grateful.

May we all boldly and faithfully live out our calling as that part of God's people called Lutherans.

Sincerely and gratefully,

Pastor Jack Diehl