Theological Musings from a Renegade Lutheran Pastor
Book it!
It’s official! I will be installed as the Lead Pastor of Peace Lutheran Ministries in Saginaw, Michigan on Sunday, May 5th, at 3:00pm. You’re all invited if you can make it, and we would love to have you celebrate with us, either in person or from a distance.
The service will be at Peace Lutheran Church, 3427 Adams Ave, Saginaw, MI 48602, with refreshments to follow.
Saginaw, it is!
Well, here we go.
After a great deal of prayer, thought, conversation and prayer, plus a lot of prayer, I have decided to accept the Call to become the Lead Pastor of Peace Lutheran Ministries in Saginaw, Michigan. I announced it to the people of Community Lutheran Church in Flat Rock, where I have served in my only call to this point, since 2011.
What a crazy thing, this call process. Since receiving the call the afternoon of Sunday, March 3rd, while I also happened to be at my buddy Sean’s installation at his new congregation (the McCoys are coming to Michigan, yay!), I have been both honored and humbled, while also feeling pulled in two different directions. It has taken a toll on me mentally, emotionally and physically, as well as on Heidi and to a lesser extent Ethan and Katy, who were a part of the decision-making process…
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It has been quite a while since I posted here, but the Blog is still active, believe it or not!
Today, I am updating you on some big news for our family:
I have received a Call to serve as the Lead Pastor for Peace Lutheran Ministries of Saginaw, Michigan.
To find out what that means, continue reading…
Getting very personal today…
Five years ago today, my heart was broken and bruised.
Five years ago, my son died.
Five years ago, he was six years old.
Five years ago, I was lost.
Today, I am still lost.
I continue to stumble my way through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, trying all the while to pretend like I am a normal human being, capable of life.
I know the Lord is with me, and I am not alone.
Still, I feel alone.
Because life goes on. Time moves on. You adjust. You change. You become. Just like you did when he was born. Just like you did when every new challenge presented itself. You just do. You have responsibilities. You’re still a husband. Still a father. Still a pastor. Still alive. No matter how much you want to run and hide, life just doesn’t allow it, because life goes on…
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He is considered the Rock Star of meteorologists, a face and name synonymous with extreme weather. He became famous for reporting on the scene of major weather events – and he may even be credited with making bald look cool.
But while Jim Cantore has developed a reputation for reporting for The Weather Channel no matter what the conditions are, Jim Cantore never stopped a storm.
Jim Cantore may be an extreme weather rock star, but there is only one man in the history of the world whom even the winds and waves obeyed.
The disciples were on a boat on the sea of Galilee, and a violent storm had blown up, and it was extreme weather. Had Jim Cantore been there reporting, he would have been sliding back and forth on the deck of the boat, wondering how anyone could possibly survive this, let alone sleep through it.
But while the disciples were fighting for their lives to keep the boat upright, Jesus was asleep. And once the disciples realized the situation was out of their control, they woke Him up: “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
Now, if it wasn’t weird enough that Jesus was sleeping through the storm of the century, what happened next is beyond weird.
First, Jesus rebuked the disciples: “What are you so worried about?” And then… Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves.
What do you think He said?
“Hey! I’m sleepin’ here!”
Whatever it was, it worked, because it was immediately…completely… calm.
Rain, wind, thunder, clouds, waves, everything. Stopped.
The Bible says “the men were amazed.”
You think?
That is power we can’t even begin to imagine.
It’s the kind of power that only the God who created the winds and the waves could possibly have over them.
It is power that is kind of scary to think about.
And we don’t like to think of the scary side of Jesus. It’s not an easy aspect to consider, and it’s certainly not as nice or comfortable as the fully human Jesus. We love human Jesus: sitting on a rock surrounded by children or carrying a lamb on His shoulders with a comforting smile, He makes us feel good about having a God who loves us.
And those aren’t wrong images. They just don’t tell the whole story.
The problem with picturing Jesus only in ways that make us feel safe and comfortable is that we are essentially attempting to tame Jesus – to domesticate Jesus. And that is not Jesus. Yet we often treat Him like He has been house-broken – like the family dog everyone loves having around, as long as He loves us unconditionally and never needs anything from us…
But Jesus is not the family pet – He is the Lord and Savior of all Creation! The Bible calls Him our “advocate with the Father,” which means He is at the Father’s side in heaven, arguing on our behalf – fighting for us (1 John 2:1). He is the Good Shepherd, who tends to His flocks (John 10:11-15). And yes, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me,” says the 23rd Psalm, but the shepherd carries a rod and a staff to defend the sheep against wolves and lions and anyone else that would endanger them!
So the picture of a Jesus who is calm and serene and loving is a beautiful and right and biblical picture of Jesus. But it is not the whole picture of Jesus. And the problem with not seeing the whole picture of Jesus, is that unless you see all of Jesus, you don’t really see Jesus, at all.
Muslims talk about the same God we do. The name in their holy book is Allah, the name in ours is Elohim, but both mean “God,” the title we use. But when God chose to reveal Himself as His Word become flesh, His only Son, Jesus Christ, our eyes were opened to the fullness of the picture of a God who would become one of us to save all of us. Muslims, along with many others, shut their eyes to that picture, and reject the name above all names. And so Islam is a Christian heresy: a false teaching about God.
When you refuse to see the whole picture of Jesus, you aren’t seeing Jesus, at all.
On that first Palm Sunday, the crowds all waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna,” “Save us,” to Jesus, who they thought was their coming King.
But when the Jesus of reality failed to match the picture they had in their minds, they stopped shouting “Hosanna,” and started shouting “Crucify Him!”
They were scared of the Jesus who didn’t fit inside their little box.
Just like the Pharisees, who saw the Jesus who turned their self-righteousness inside-out and began to plot His murder. Just like the money changers in the temple, who saw the Jesus who flipped their extortion businesses upside down and chased them away with a whip. Just like the demons, who saw the Jesus who scared them so much they begged Him to cast them into a herd of pigs just to escape.
And just like us, if we are not careful to consider the real Jesus. If we really want to know Jesus, we need to be courageous enough to see the whole picture of Jesus, even if it makes us uncomfortable.
It’s time to stop pretending that being a Christian is supposed to be easy and comfortable. Because the hardships we experience in our lives is nothing compared to facing those same hardships without hope. And it is our friends and family and neighbors in our community who face this world and an eternity without hope if we do not introduce them to the Jesus who humbled Himself to die on a cross for them. And He is the same Jesus who will return at the end of days, when it will be too late for introductions.
Because the Jesus who is coming back is not a safe or comfortable Jesus – He is the One about whom it is written,
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:11-16).”
That’s a scary Jesus. But see, that Jesus is coming for us – to save us!
And like the disciples in that boat, we are never in danger when He is with us!
C. S. Lewis writes of Aslan, the great Lion who stands in for Jesus, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver. “Why, don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood…”
“Is—is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” Beaver said sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” asked Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”
It is tempting to domesticate Jesus.
I mean, a lion is an awesome animal – a majestic beast – and if you had one of those as a pet, you’d be the coolest person around.
No more unwanted guests, no more door-to-door salesman – and you can forget about the Jehovah’s Witnesses!
There’s just one problem: lions are not tame.
You cannot domesticate a wild beast.
Roy, of Sigfried and Roy, was attacked by their tiger.
The Crocodile Hunter was killed by a Sting Ray.
The Grizzly Man was eaten by a bear.
You can’t tame Jesus.
He said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
But He also said “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
You can’t tame Him, but you would never want to, either.
The real Jesus conquered death and promises everlasting life – to you.
He is the only person in the history of the world whom even the winds and waves obeyed.
Because He made the winds and the waves.
So remember that, the next time you feel like your life is out of control.
Like you are being tossed about by the wind and the waves.
Our Jesus made the wind and the waves, and you are more precious to Him than silver or gold.
Tumnus said to Lucy, “Don’t worry. We’ll see him again.”
“When?”
“In time. One day he’ll be here and the next he won’t. But you must not press him. After all, he’s not a tame lion.”
“No,” Lucy said, but he is good.”
I have tattoos. Two of them, actually.
Ink is not for everyone, though it has certainly become far more mainstream to get tattoos, and lots of them, for that matter.
Some people have very strong opinions on tattooing – whether or not it’s attractive, whether it makes a difference if you’re male or female, what parts of the body are and are not appropriate, whether or not Christians should get tattoos, the list goes on.
I am not one of those people. I love my ink. Both are extremely special to me.
What I would say is this: put a lot of thought into what you’re going to get, and be willing to consider whether you will still like the same things when you are 40 or 50 that you like when you’re 15 or 20 (hint: not very likely). I came very close to getting my fraternity letters tattooed on my upper arm when I was 21-22. And although I will always be thankful for my fraternity brothers and my time in Delta Upsilon (a truly non-secret, non-hazing, International fraternity, by the way), I am far more thankful that I do not have blue and gold Greek letters inked on my body today as a father in my 40’s.
And spare me the “You can always get it removed or covered up” line, teenagers. It’s expensive, painful, and likely not as effective as you think/hope.
I got my first tattoo when I was 36. My wife bought it for me as a birthday gift, and she even was the deciding factor on what I should get. See, I had struggled with that decision since I was 21-22 (the main reason I waited so long). I wanted a tattoo, I just couldn’t decide of what. It was Heidi who suggested the “Olde English D,” the logo used by the Detroit Tigers. I am from suburban, metro Detroit, and have always been proud to be from here. I have been a die-hard fan of the Detroit sports teams since my youth, but the Tigers came first. The design is classic and simple, yet also classy. In my mind, it symbolizes where I came from, who I am and what I’m passionate about. It secretly stands for “Dad” to me. So it means the world to me, and I love it. It’s on my left upper arm.
I got my second when I was 38. Yes, they are addictive. Almost as soon as the ink was dry from the first I began planning the second. But that’s not why I got it. On September 11, 2013, my son, Daniel, died. He was six years old, special needs, and my “Mini-Me.” My relationship with him was unlike any other I have ever had. I knew almost immediately I needed a permanent, visible reminder of his place in my life. He was my football buddy. He loved the Detroit Lions, especially watching them with me. When I would scream and yell at the TV, he would laugh and shout along with me. Heidi got a necklace pendant with his thumb print on it, I got the Detroit Lions logo and his name in script, Daniel Grady, inked on my right upper arm.
So those are my tattoos. I’ve been asked if it was “OK” for a Pastor to have tattoos (yes), but no one has outright told me I should not (though I have been told it makes me “extra cool” because I am a Pastor with ink…). Ironically, I got my first tattoo about six weeks before I was placed at my church, about three months before I became a Pastor – so yes, I was well aware of what I was doing.
I don’t know if this was interesting to you or not, but I’d love to know the stories behind your ink, whether existing or “almost.” Please share in the comments below.
As my incredible wife Heidi and I celebrate 21 years of marriage (!), I thought I would pass on some advice – the thoughts that I share in my wedding sermons, actually. If you have been or will one day be called into marriage, I hope you find some truth in it. And if it is too late for your marriage to be saved, I am truly, truly sorry. Thank God for His forgiveness and healing, and I pray both upon you.
A lot of people have false expectations about marriage. Some people expect way too little from it. They see marriage as simply a piece of paper – a legal contract – and a contract that’s only binding as long as the two people in it happen to feel like it.
But marriage is a lifelong commitment. And that commitment is critical, because there are times in a marriage when either or both parties will not feel very loving or charitable. But love is a verb, not a feeling – it’s a choice you make as husband and wife to keep working at your marriage, no matter what.
And while some wrongly believe that marriage is just a contract and nothing more, others believe that marriage changes and fixes everything, beginning a storybook romance for the ages.
But marriage is work – hard work – never ending work. A husband and wife come into a marriage as two individuals who arrived at an intersection on their journeys through life, and decide to continue on that journey together. But two people becoming one and learning to put the other before themselves takes hard work, sacrifice and forgiveness. Lots of hard work, sacrifice and forgiveness. Never stop communicating – if it’s a challenge for you to talk, make yourself talk, and if it’s easy for you to talk, shut up and listen. Let your strengths complement each other’s weaknesses. You will both grow and change as people, and it takes hard work, communication, sacrifice, trust and grace to grow and change together. But through it all, don’t forget to laugh together and be friends.
Marriage isn’t easy because life is never easy. You will fail each other. You will let each other down. You will make mistakes and you will hurt each other. There will be times when a husband will give in to the temptation to wound his wife by failing to show her the love she needs; and there will be times when a wife will wound her husband by stripping away the respect she knows he needs.
But when these times come, don’t run away from each other, run to each other. Admit your faults, and forgive easily. Never let the lines of communication break down. Build him up, love her and forgive each other.
1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love never gives up. It is not selfish, jealous or arrogant. Love is not quick to anger and does not keep track of hurts. It protects, trusts hopes and maintains. These are not just nice-sounding words; they are a high, high calling. In declaring your love for each other today before God and the rest of us, you are making a commitment to love like that. Those verses don’t give you a way to measure or judge another’s love for you, they tell you how to love.
Forgive early, forgive often (sounding a bit repetitive? It’s that important). And never, ever believe the lie that you are better on your own than together with your spouse. It only seems that way because it seems easier to be on your own than to have to consider someone else all the time. But you haven’t just found each other; God has brought you together, and for that reason you are stronger together than you are apart. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” This is why the man and the woman leave their families and in marriage form a new family.
Marriage is a high calling and a lot of work – but it is totally worth it. I cannot imagine who I would be were it not for the incredible woman by my side. We both realize that we each come with our own set of challenges, but we both know that we are blessed by each other in so many ways. Remember that God is there with you in your marriage. If you keep Christ between you as the heart of your marriage, your marriage will be strong and lasting.
If you are called into marriage, may Christ be always at the heart of your marriage, and may your journey be filled with joy and forgiveness. May your marriage shine as a beacon of love to those you meet, and may the love of Christ be evident in your love for each other, Amen.
It’s a fascinating question, and a question that has fascinated people for as long as people have been around. We barely like to admit we are aging, let alone deal with our own mortality, so the idea of immortality – living forever, living again, or living in paradise – is one that at least give us hope that this life is not all there is.
And while the Christian understanding of what happens after death has also become muddled by an assortment of ideas from other religions, philosophers, confused preachers and pop culture, the biblical idea of everlasting life is actually pretty straightforward:
We (human beings) were created in God’s image as both body and soul, beautifully intertwined. Death is the separation – the tearing apart – of eternal soul from mortal body.
For Unbelievers, this is the loss of all hope.
When the wicked dies, his hope will perish Proverbs 11:7
At death, until the Day of Resurrection at Jesus’ return, their bodies are in the grave, but their souls are kept “in prison,” in a place of punishment.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey. I Peter 3:18-20
On the Day of Judgment, the bodies of unbelievers will join their souls in hell.
They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day. 2 Thess. 1:9-10
It is unpleasant and horrifying to think about anyone spending an eternity in torment, and even many Christians want to believe that a loving God would not allow anyone to go to hell. God’s Word, though, says otherwise. All who go to hell go there of their own desire to exist without God’s presence, and all have had countless chances to repent of that desire.
And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly… then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime… Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” 1 Peter 2
God has made clear the cost of our sin, and the cost is one we cannot ever repay. But God makes available as a free gift a substitute payment for what we owe: Christ pays our debt.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
To reject that payment is to welcome hell. In this sense, God doesn’t send people to hell, people condemn themselves there – and God grants them their desire to be without Him.
But the story is different for Believers. At death, our bodies rest in the grave, awaiting the Last Day, when body and soul will be reunited. Our souls, along with the souls of all who die in the faith, are immediately in the presence of Christ, where they have peace and joy until the Day of the Resurrection of All Flesh.
And (Jesus) said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
The Bible uses comforting images to describe the death of a believer – phrases like “gathered to his people,” “depart(ing) in peace,” “sleep,” “rest,” “pass(ing) out of death into life,” and “gain.”
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. Philippians 1:21-23
Through death, the baptized child of God passes into life – into an eternity of peace and joy with our heavenly Father. Far from being the final loss of all hope, the death of a believer is a homecoming; the moment when sorrow and suffering end and they are glorified with the saints in heaven.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” Revelation 14:13
And yet their joy is not yet fully complete until the resurrection:
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-54
The final restoration of all things will be on the Day of Christ’s return. On that Day, all the dead will be raised, bodies and souls will be reunited, and believers will receive glorified bodies free from pain, suffering, sickness, aging and tears. They will be perfectly renewed and glorified resurrection bodies, in which we will spend all eternity in a new heaven and new earth, in the joy of the presence of God and all the saints, forever and ever.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4
Some say death is natural, that it is just a part of the circle of life. Others even say death is a friend! But in truth, Death is the enemy; it is a horrible reality of this sinful, fallen world in which we live. Death is part of the curse of sin.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:25-26
God did not create human beings to die; He created us to live! Death was not part of our created nature – it came about because of our sinful disobedience; a disobedience passed down to every human being since the first.
The message of Christianity is not about good people going to heaven and bad people going to hell. The message of Christianity is simply the Good News that whatever you’ve done, whatever you’ve failed to do, God sent His Son to pay the price for all of it – and to conquer death forever. And if you can believe that there is a God who loves you enough to save you in spite of yourself, then death is not the end.
And if this post makes you angry, then I am truly sorry. No Christian truly wants anyone to go to hell for eternity – it is our desire, as it is God’s desire, that all would hear the good news and believe it in order that we may all live without sorrow and pain and hate and bigotry – as we were meant to live when we were created.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17
Tomorrow is the seven-year anniversary of my ordination – the day I became a Pastor. I didn’t declare myself a pastor, I wasn’t elected pastor and I haven’t even always wanted to be a pastor! It was the culmination of a long process that required hard work and sacrifice, but which ultimately was held in the hands of others. I was approved as a candidate for seminary, certified by the faculty, recommended by my vicarage (internship) supervisor, called by a congregation, approved by a District President and commissioned by the laying on of hands by other pastors.
In honor of the seven-year anniversary of that moment, I thought I would share a not-so-serious but all-too-real description of “the perfect pastor.” I don’t know the source of this – if you do, please share in the comments below so I can give credit where it is due. I have seen it in several places, so it may just be a common thing. Anyway, here goes:
The perfect pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings. He works from 8 AM until midnight and is also the church janitor, yet is an exemplary husband and father. The perfect pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the church. He is 29 years old and has 40 years experience. Above all, he is handsome. The perfect pastor has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and he spends most of his time with the senior citizens. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his church. He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed. The perfect pastor always has time for church council and all of its committees. He never misses the meeting of any church organization and is always busy evangelizing the unchurched.
The average career of a pastor in America is seven years. Seven years! With the above expectation, maybe that shouldn’t be surprising…
At any rate, after my own seven years, I can honestly say that I love my job and, Lord willing, I’m not done yet! Though it is rarely easy, it is good. I am humbled to be called to be a pastor, proud to be in the LCMS, and honored to serve at my amazing congregation.
If you have a pastor, be sure and tell him “Thank you.” He’ll appreciate it.
Perhaps this post will seem a little late. Good Friday was months ago, so perhaps it’s not very timely. But I wanted to write about it, because I’ve seen and heard it said jokingly for years now:
“What do you mean ‘Good’ Friday? It wasn’t very good for Jesus!”
So, why do we call it “Good” Friday, the day Jesus suffered and died upon the cross?
It’s about blood.
Blood and water, actually. Continue reading “Good” Friday?
