Messages

1

Your Turn / Re: Rolling Stone Magazine Article About LCMS LC Controversy

« on: March 05, 2023, 03:25:41 PM »

. . . among other things taking Edward Engelbrecht to task for his laziness in not trying to find out who college student Ryan Turnipseed is.

I found this to be really rude.  He isn't the only one who wasn't taking this guy seriously.  My goodness.

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Your Turn / Re: 2023 LCMS Convention news, notes, and hard-hitting commentary

« on: February 07, 2023, 03:04:19 PM »

No Preus is speaking at this year's conference.  My nephew, Hans Fiene, is a Fiene, not a Preus.  His father, John, faithfully served the congregation in Zionsville for many years.

Hans is a good guy.  I recall being in a class or two with him while I studied in the deaconess program.  We were also able to visit his church in St. Louis while we were still living there.  His dad was one of my professors and also a well-known church planter who provided my husband with great wisdom on the subject throughout and beyond his seminary years.  I never picked up on even an ounce of negativity from either one of them, and I would put them both in the category of respectful teachers when it came to defending their positions and persuading others to reconsider theirs.

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Your Turn / Re: Individualism and feminism

« on: February 06, 2023, 04:44:25 PM »

Well, submission means something “below,“ something less than, something of lesser priority. You can dress it up with all the weasel words you want, but it means what it means. Furthermore, the word has a long, long, long, long history with regard to male/female relationships. If you’re gonna make this concept fly, you better find another word, there’s no putting lipstick on this pig.
And even then. . .

Well, we are Lutheran, after all.  Five uses of the word "submit" alone can be found in the Table of Duties.  It's not such a dirty word when used in the correct context.

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Your Turn / Re: Individualism and feminism

« on: February 06, 2023, 04:20:50 PM »

Thank you Pastors Preus, Speckhard and Fienen, for your above comments.  Social media makes it so easy to make assumptions about people and then tear down those who don't believe as they do.  But, as in my case, prolonged periods of patient teaching can really have an impact on people who are struggling to understand the ways of the church versus the ways of the world.  I know I'm preaching to the choir, as each of you engage in this every day as you minister to your flocks.  But some guys on social media have got to cool it with the over-the-top rhetoric.  The world is watching, and the world needs the compassion and love that Christ modeled for us on a consistent basis.  This does not make a man any less manly by exhibiting these qualities.  It actually demonstrates strength.  I grew up with two older brothers, spent six years in the Army, and have enjoyed almost 32 years of marriage to the most manly man I've ever met.  He doesn't view me as his property.  He exhibits daily his willingness to sacrifice everything for me, and that helps me joyfully submit to his authority.  (And I don't believe I'm any less of a woman by today's secular feminist standards for doing so.)

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Your Turn / Re: Individualism and feminism

« on: February 06, 2023, 03:03:29 PM »

Permit me to add a fifth: How can we work to overcome the incredibly strong, but completely incorrect, popular notion that submission = inferiority?

Well, it really helps a lot when LCMS men refrain from acting like jerks when espousing this concept.    It certainly took a little while for me to understand and appreciate this tenet of the faith, but when both husband and wife act on their Biblical responsibilities in a faithful manner, it is a thing of beauty.  There are some who are very gifted in teaching this in a way that it can be received well by women with even the hardest of hearts, and then there are others who fail miserably because they think it's manly and Godly to lord it over women.  I've been on the receiving end of both, and the gentle and respectful teachers by far make better inroads.

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Your Turn / Re: 2023 LCMS Convention news, notes, and hard-hitting commentary

« on: February 04, 2023, 07:13:36 AM »

This is what you meant, I'm sure.

Ha!  That guy's eyes resembling a little nut found in Ohio represented by this guy.

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Your Turn / Re: 2023 LCMS Convention news, notes, and hard-hitting commentary

« on: February 04, 2023, 07:11:02 AM »

Oh, the irony of  Buckeye Deaconess  working on the campus of Concordia
University Ann Arbor which is the same city of her arch rival the Michigan
Wolverines.

Irony, indeed.  I can't believe we're living here.  But I am loving my vocation and the great students I am privileged to serve.  I didn't so much love how my door was "decorated" before the OSU/MI game this year by none other than The Yak.  Oh, and he showed me the depths he goes in pursuit of intellectual knowledge recently . . . let's just say he reads books with blank pages.  So much for continuing education.

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Your Turn / Re: 2023 LCMS Convention news, notes, and hard-hitting commentary

« on: February 03, 2023, 08:30:33 PM »

With your campaign slogan, i can only assume the Board for International Missions would probably become a drug cartel under your leadership.

Oh, for sure.  I have to see this guy almost every day now, and he is trouble.  Now if he changed his campaign slogan to Go Bucks! . . . he would be a sure thing.

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Your Turn / Re: New CPH Large Catechism

« on: January 31, 2023, 10:38:02 PM »

That's pretty harsh, accusing me of misogyny on a public forum, where the whole synod can read it, for repeating what the fathers of our synod taught about women voting. 

I accused you personally of nothing.  Please read my comments more carefully.  I am truly curious how this is received by your adult female parishioners because it is absolutely foreign to the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women I know in the LCMS.

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Your Turn / Re: New CPH Large Catechism

« on: January 31, 2023, 09:50:43 PM »

Yes it would, but in the situation we are in, wherein there are now two votes for every household, a Christian woman should not have a bad conscience about voting as her husband directs.

Don't forget daughters in the household who have reached voting age . . . that makes even more votes for the husband to control. I'm curious how many adult women are in your congregation and how well-received these views are considering they don't align with LCMS teachings.  I left a church body previously because its views on abortion were so absolutely misaligned with my own.  I can't imagine how anyone who believes this about women can stomach remaining in the LCMS where this way of thinking is completely foreign.  Some might blame feminism for these views seeming to be so extreme.  Others might blame misogyny.

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Your Turn / Re: New CPH Large Catechism

« on: January 29, 2023, 11:20:04 PM »

So then are we perhaps to understand that Scripture forbids women from working outside the home based on what was cited above in two Bible verses?  I wonder why, then, the Bible doesn't tell us whether Lydia gave up her lucrative career as a dealer in purple goods once she and her family were baptized. That would have certainly settled things.  And the Proverbs 31 woman?  She "delivers sashes to the merchant", which I would imagine means her work took her outside the home.  So this makes her not so virtuous then? 

It's not clear how one can make such broad generalizations from one or two Scripture verses in a denomination that is known for allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture.  Perhaps it IS a novel teaching in the 21st century church that women would work outside the home.  But I can't imagine a world without female nurses, female Lutheran school teachers, among other professions.  And I shutter to think what the outcome of WWII would have been if women hadn't stepped up to take on positions in the workforce in the absence of men. Were they sinning, or are exceptions made when circumstances dictate?  I'm left scratching my head why the LCMS as a denomination isn't teaching this concept more broadly.  How can the masses through so many years have gotten this so wrong?

No one is saying women can't ever work outside the home.  Even Walther didn't say that.

Really?  It seems like that was the argument you were making.  I'm glad to see that clarified.

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Your Turn / Re: New CPH Large Catechism

« on: January 29, 2023, 09:13:37 PM »

So then are we perhaps to understand that Scripture forbids women from working outside the home based on what was cited above in two Bible verses?  I wonder why, then, the Bible doesn't tell us whether Lydia gave up her lucrative career as a dealer in purple goods once she and her family were baptized. That would have certainly settled things.  And the Proverbs 31 woman?  She "delivers sashes to the merchant", which I would imagine means her work took her outside the home.  So this makes her not so virtuous then? 

It's not clear how one can make such broad generalizations from one or two Scripture verses in a denomination that is known for allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture.  Perhaps it IS a novel teaching in the 21st century church that women would work outside the home.  But I can't imagine a world without female nurses, female Lutheran school teachers, among other professions.  And I shutter to think what the outcome of WWII would have been if women hadn't stepped up to take on positions in the workforce in the absence of men. Were they sinning, or are exceptions made when circumstances dictate?  I'm left scratching my head why the LCMS as a denomination isn't teaching this concept more broadly.  How can the masses through so many years have gotten this so wrong?

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Your Turn / Re: New CPH Large Catechism

« on: January 28, 2023, 10:04:43 PM »

Thank you, Peter and Tom, for your responses pertaining to women's roles.  I can't recall ever being told that I'm the property of my husband at any point in my theological education or from pastors I've sat at the feet of.  I submit to my husband and he has authority over me, of course, but ownership of me? I'm not surprised this wouldn't be well-received in a pastor's congregation, causing him to refrain from teaching publicly as such.  Leading with this kind of thinking as it relates to women's roles is so backwards in my mind.  Speak enthusiastically about what she CAN do, and it will be much better received.

But what do I know?  As a woman, I contributed an essay to a volume published by CPH trying to help others understand how women can faithfully serve God without needing to usurp the pastoral office.  And I can't recall how many times I've offered up that same volume as reading material for men, sadly, who have claimed that women can and should serve as pastors/preachers in LCMS congregations.  Women aren't the only ones to blame for these teachings within our denomination.

Can anyone provide Scriptural references as to women being prohibited from serving in leadership positions in the secular realm that may entail some amount of authority over men?  I've yet to see the argument made and still scratch my head when this is articulated as a Scriptural mandate.

I often ponder what an empty nester like me who already volunteers at my church's food pantry, keeps a clean house, cooks meals from scratch most nights, does all the laundry, etc., should be doing with my days if not working outside the home?  My adult children seem to be thriving, and I'm thankful I made the decision in their early years to stay at home with them.  What am I missing when it comes to women who have already reared children (or perhaps were not blessed with them), can manage the household and care for their husbands fairly well . . . is it a sin to work outside the home where she might exercise authority over males?  Should women just be relegated to entry-level jobs with no supervisory responsibilities or jobs that only entail having male bosses? And what if the male boss isn't a Christian?  Does he still have authority over her?

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Your Turn / Re: CUW next president

« on: November 11, 2022, 01:07:02 PM »

Very sour grapes. 

Dave Benke

It would appear so.  I can only speak for my own experience at CUAA, and it has been an absolute blessing to serve within the Lutheran Christian culture that exists on this campus.  I teach Accounting, so perhaps I'm insulated from some of the experiences that theology faculty encounter.  There is no "wokeness" in my world here or in my classes.  And I most recently came from an extremely progressive Canadian university where "wokeness" is the name of the game.  I know what it is; I lived it daily.  And I was able to function just fine within it, making some great friends in the process, even, because I somehow was gifted with the ability to follow what is commanded of us in 1 Peter 3:15. 

I recognize that some lament the lower numbers of future church workers attending our Concordias than in times past.  They are still there, though.  We have also been handed a massive mission field within which we get to express unapologetically the love and redemption found in Jesus Christ to a generation of hurting and lost students.  What an honor and a blessing it is to be a part of that.

Given the amazing job CUAA has done this week of honoring veterans like me, I found this line in your linked piece interesting:

But he will be impotent when it comes to inspiring professors and supporters to follow his policies and five-year visions, much less follow him into battle.

So long as I continue to be encouraged to function as a Lutheran Christian in carrying out my duties and providing a witness to future business professionals (and church workers), I'll happily keep fighting the battle.

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Your Turn / Re: CUW next president

« on: October 29, 2022, 07:58:58 AM »

I am glad you had such a positive experience on your campus visit.  I have been very impressed with CUWAA's culture and Lutheran Christian identity.  I went through a series of interviews, one specifically to assess mission fit, when I was being considered for the position I now hold. New faculty also participate in ongoing orientation sessions in which Lutheran doctrine is espoused.  In fact, a new program will be launched next year to better prepare new faculty to uphold our Lutheran heritage and confession (Lutheran Mission and Identity Seminar).  I am seeing firsthand now how important our Concordia schools are not only for training future church workers, but also to present the faith to many who have yet to learn about it.  Everyday when I walk onto campus, I'm entering a mission field in which I am blessed to be able to share the Good News of Christ with students who are in desperate need of hearing it.  Even in Accounting courses.