In smaller towns, you often hear the idea that we are losing our best of our youth to the bigger cities.   There is an assumption at the root of this statement that I want to address.  The assumption?  The best of our youth get good academic grades, go on to college, and get jobs a small town cannot support.  And so, small towns it is suggested are left with the leftovers.  We speak of those who remain in ways that suggest that if only they had went to college they would really be more valuable. 

In Martin Luther’s day, the main discussion about youth was whether they were dedicated enough to the Lord to join a holy order or if they were going to just do a normal job, which necessarily showed lack of devotion to the Lord.  Luther railed against this idea, teaching about how every vocation (calling/job) was holy to the Lord, one God had appointed for that person.  As long as the work was done with diligence and integrity, all work was holy work, important to God.

It seems to me that those of us who operate with the theological understanding of vocation have something to say to our culture as well.  And what is that?

Not only the college educated have a important role in society.  Not only their work is consequential.  We will affirm all people in their callings, regardless of their academic education.  As long as they are willing to work and learn the knowledge necessary for work, we affirm them as important, just as important as those who have gone on to vocations requiring more education.

We need be no less proud of the mechanic as we are the engineer.  The woman who raises her kids is just as valuable as the woman sitting in the board room.  Education level does not equal worth.  Worth is determined by what the individual offers to whatever community they live in and their dedication to it.

Does this mean we stop caring how our kids do in school? No, if our kids are in school, they should dedicate themselves to those tasks.  But if they do not ace the SAT, we do not treat them as a lower class citizens.  We do not belittle them as less valuable that those who did.  We should rather redirect them into places where they can serve their neighbor and provide for their family.

Those who refuse to work and fulfill a useful role in the community should still be rebuked.   But those working hard and learning what they need to to do their jobs should not be treated as the lowly ones left behind in our little communities, ones who could have done better.  No, we rejoice in all our kids, those dedicated to vocations that took much academic education and those that do other useful things in our community which required education not available in the college setting.

Some of the most valuable people I know never went to college.  And I suppose that will never change.  Yes we might lose some great kids to the bigger cities, but we also retain some great ones right here in small town America.

Komen does not have a pony in the abortion discussion.  The only horse they ride is the one covered in the pink ribbon at the end of the race.  From everything I understand, they never gave money to Planned Parenthood to support abortions.  They gave it to them because they promised to do breast exams when they applied for a grant with Komen.  While it is true that planned parenthood has abortion availability at the core of its reason for existing, they also do offer other women’s health services.

At some point the pro-life movement heard of this connection.  With good reason, the pro-life movement longs for the day when Planned Parenthood can no longer have the means to run their abortion mills.   And so, any connection to Planned Parenthood is assumed to be pro-choice support.  For Komen, it was never so.  It was simply about breast cancer.  But when the controversy raised to a certain level, they were concerned that their horse might be hobbled by their connection to Planned Parenthood.  They announced they were no longer going to fund Planned Parenthood not because they wanted to take a pro-life stance, but because they wanted to make sure they had enough support to finish the race they sought to run.

Just when they thought their horse was back to a winning gallop, the calls from those who love Planned Parenthood starting flowing in.  Again the Komen horse of breast cancer research was threatened.  For while many of those calling were trying to save their sacred organization that assured abortion availability to women, they also happened to be fervent supporters of other women’s health issues.

So Komen jumped back again.  Not to make a pro-choice statement, but to keep enough support for the race they wanted to finish, that of breast cancer research.

Komen is not Pro-Life.  True.  Komen is not Pro-Abortion.  True.  They are Pro-Cancer research.  To that end, they seek to keep as many people supporting them as they can.  In that light, they sought to not offend the Pro-life community.  They also sought to not offend the Pro-Choice community.

I say to my pro-life friends, do not let your anger rest on Komen.  Their cause is good.  They had a disastrous PR week trying simply to keep their cause afloat.  They took some missteps.  But their cause is good.  And they have sought to insure that their money given to Planned Parenthood will never be used for anything other than services related to their cause.

You are right to let your anger rest on Planned Parenthood.  They are set against life as a matter of purpose and policy. 

Komen is not.  If you want a group that is purposely pro-life and pro-breast cancer research, you will have to search elsewhere.  And that is your prerogative.  But if you are okay with having a group that is solely pro-breast cancer, then Komen may be a group you support.  Unless you are willing to crucify every secular group not actively putting resources toward Pro-life causes, I think Komen can be brought down from the cross.

If you disagree, I truly hope you will seek to correct me here or on Facebook in the comments.

Perhaps due to my relatively normal childhood and upbringing, I always am attracted to TV shows that showcase the lives of those not afforded such an upbringing.  Recently, I came across  a show call Hardcore Pawn (With this title, I must be clear that this show is not an “adult” show, but is called this due to the pawn shop’s location in downtown Detroit where many describe their hard lives  as hardcore.)  And while I can in no way recommend the show as an edifying show in many ways, there is one very laudable thing.  The owner of the pawn shop Les has many employees including two of his children.  However, on a recent episode, Les made clear that his children were not the only employees he saw as family.  He said all of his employees were his children.  This is laudable indeed.

In the scriptures, we see laid out a relationship defined between master and servant/slave in the sections containing what Lutherans call the tables of duties .  Often we never get further than a discussion of whether the scriptures are speaking for or against slavery.  In this discussion, we cannot seem to free our minds of the idea of the awful master and slave relationships we saw in our own country.  Truth is in the time these texts were written, the master servant relationship was a integral part of the home economy.  Most people in the culture did not work outside of the place they called home.

Our situation is nearly the opposite.  Hardly anyone works inside the place they call home.  And this being true, we have often forgot that the bible assumes that the relationship between employer and employee is intended to run along the model of the father-child relationship.  In words that rebuke our misunderstanding, Luther says in the Large Catechism, “All who are called masters stand in the place of parents…and…ought to have fatherly hearts towards their people [servants].”  

Les is right, employers are to treat their employees as family.  In the culture of the text’s day this was easier to see due to the inclusion of servants in many parts of the families life together, though no doubt it was still not often done well.  In our day where home and employment are so far removed from each other, employees are often only seen as mechanisms of efficiency.  Wages are set without any thought to the individual life situation of the employee.  Employers often simply exercise their authority in manipulative ways meant to increase efficiency.  Where profit becomes the sole motivation for operation, employees are often treaty unfairly or unjustly.  They are not treated like family.

Some verses to consider:

Philemon 1:15-16 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother

Ephesians 6:9  Masters, do the same to them [servants], and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Colossians 4:1  Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15  You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.  You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.

Job 31:13-15  "If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me,  14 what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?  15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

What a different world we would have if employers treated their employees as family, without using threatening manipulation, paying them fair and just wages delivered to him promptly, and considering their particular situation in life.  This the Lord requires of the Christian master or  employers.  The one who seeks the position of employer should take heed to these things.  His prime job is not ensure the obedience of his employee, but to make sure his employee is cared for well.  The former is the prime concern of the employee.

Perhaps you have never seen Hardcore Pawn.  You may be better for it.  But perhaps you have seen Undercover Boss on CBS.  It is a show where the CEO gets close enough to his employees to understand not only their jobs, but their lives.  It without exception changes the way they treat their employees.  This should not be the exception, but the rule.

This is how employers should treat their employees as they sit at the head of the table of duties.

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I owe many thanks to Pastor Jon Bonine for setting my mind thinking in this direction and for teaching me much through his research and thinking.

This year I am coaching my son Gideon’s basketball team.  The other night at practice, I was trying to explain to him something I wanted him to learn.  Right in the middle of my instruction, he began to walk away.  After one of those lovingly stern dad looks, he realized that I was not happy with that choice.  I said, “If you are not going to be coachable, I am not going to coach you.”  Natural ability can only go so far.  This was a battle I picked to fight because I believe strongly that in sports and life, one must always remain coachable.

Not long ago, I saw on Facebook that Bill Cwirla and Bruce Keseman were posting about Doxology.  It caught my attention because I am a Doxology graduate.  When they first posted, I assumed they were guest speakers at the conference.  They both have many years under their belt and are respected among their peers.  They both have my respect, Bill from afar as a writer, Higher Things pioneer, and podcaster and Bruce up close as my supervisor at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church when I was doing field work at seminary.  As I read on though, I realized that they were not speaking, but were students.  They were humble enough to go and learn how to be good pastors after pastoring many years.  They were remaining coachable.

It is so easy to think we can in whatever vocation we have do just fine with our natural ability and prior training.  But such pride is only an impediment to us truly fulfilling our vocations with faithfulness and excellence.

I know at times I have figuratively walked away from those who just wanted me to learn something.   They would have been right to pull me aside and rebuke me.  As a pastor, I can always learn more about how to apply the Word in people’s lives, to proclaim God’s law and gospel from the pulpit, to lead the prayers of the Church, etc.

You too, whatever you vocations are, should always remain coachable.  Do not let your pride get in the way of your learning.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. (Proverbs 12:15 )  

What is your favorite story of all time?  Is it one you first saw on the big screen?  One that you first encounter on the printed page?  Maybe a story you saw painted on the canvas of real life?

What is the best wisdom you know?  It is something you heard from a relative?  Is it something you heard a speaker say?  It is something you saw on a blog?

What is it that leaves with a smile on your face every time? Time spent with your beloved?  When your team wins the championship?  When you arrive at the perfect vacation spot?

Last week, I was at a Pre-lent retreat where Dean Wenthe was the main speaker.  As a graduate of the Seminary under the Arch, I had never heard him before this conference.  On the last day, he said in his normal understated manner that when he was invited to speak these days at a church he often suggested the bible to the members.  What did he mean?

He stated that due to many of the battles fought over the nature of the Bible in recent decades, he believed many of us have lost our simple love of the Scriptures.  We have lost the ability to say with integrity with the Psalmist, “Your instruction (Torah) is my delight.” We no longer do we just enjoy time in the scriptures.  I think he is right, especially among those who have fought and continue to fight the battles.

What if your favorite story was from the scriptures?  What is the best wisdom you knew was straight out of the bible?  What if the thought of time to read the Bible made you smile? 

Early in my ministry, I came into a hospital bed of a dear man name Leroy who now rests with his Lord.  The passage I wanted to share was a little longer that I would usually share in a hospital.  I said, “If it is okay, I would like to read this passage, but it is a little long.”  The man said without missing a beat, “It is the Word of God and I love it all.”  These words flowed from his heart.  He delighted in the Bible.  May God grant through his Spirit that all his baptized people might have such affection for the Bible in their hearts as well.

I ask for one thing when you read this post.  When I speak of God hating or loving people in this post, please understand that in concert with the original quote, I use these terms to speak of that in people’s lives which God loves or hates, rather than the disposition of God toward any person on the whole.

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” – Anne Lamott

This quote showed up on my Facebook wall this morning.  And it is being received with much affirmation.  And no doubt, it should be.  It is true.  If your God only affirms your every thought, you might at well face a mirror rather than altar when you pray.  If the one you call god simply serves as an abstract almighty justification for that which you want hate, you do not call upon the true God.

But I would suggest that the converse of this statement is also true and yet would not be received as quickly.

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God loves all the same people you do.”

I would suggest that more often that among the Christians I know personally the problem is not that they craft God’s hate in their own image (although they are some), but they craft God’s love in their own image.

They assume that God must without any rebuke love all those they love.  Surely God can not be set against their child who is living  a licentious life.  Surely he can not loathe the celebrity that they have chosen to idolize.  Surely he cannot seek to rebuke the author that uncannily puts their thoughts into words.

Surely God must love all my friends, family, and favorites.  So therefore, he must love what they do or at the very least not be truly concerned about it.  He must accept them just as they are.

And finally this statement is perhaps the most true.

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God loves you as much you do.”

Surely God must love me without questions.  He must love my every thought, word and deed.  He must never desire to rebuke, correct, or condemn anything about me.  He must think as highly of my life as I do.

May we love what God loves, hate what he hates, and let both of those truths search our lives for sin in order that we might seek again the mercy of our God and receive it in his Son. 

photo from Lutherans for Life Website for Life Sunday 2012

The following thoughts are not from Lutherans for Life.  Their theme mentioned on this image simply sent my mind thinking in this direction. 

“I just am not ready to have a child.”

“A baby right now would ruin my career.”

“We are not financially stable enough to have a baby.”

“He said he is not ready to be a dad.”

“I am not psychologically ready to raise a child.”

“I have all the children I want.”

Who made these statements?

A woman at an abortion clinic when asked why she want an abortion?  Yes.

A married couple when asked why they are choosing to use birth control? Yes.

Choosing abortion and using birth control are different in nature.  Abortion takes a life already created and therefore unquestionably from a scriptural standpoint trespasses these words, “You shall not kill.”  Birth control seeks to make sure that a life is not created.  Life is not ended but prevented. And therefore, judging any trespass in this decision is a little more complex.

And yet, choosing abortion and using birth control are often born out of similar attitudes and convictions.  They often both rest upon the ideas that a child is not wanted, that the child will cause inconvenience, or that resources will not be present to raise the child.

I say uniformly, “Trust God.  Choose life.”   I say to be holistically pro-life is to neither end nor prevent life. I do not say this as one who has not and does not still continue to struggle with the concerns at the heart of the above statements.    But I do say it as one who ends up always convinced that such struggles simply reveal my lack of faith in God.

I pray that on this day set apart as Life Sunday realize that the use of birth control is a life issue which deserves our reflection and attention as God’s people.   If we think the number of children killed through abortion is staggering, surely if we could know the number of children prevented through contraception, we would be dumbfounded.

Wikipedia is down.  Google has gone black.  Many other sites are protesting in their own way.  And what are they protesting?  From Google:

“Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business.”

I want to be clear.  There are some legitimate concerns about how these laws would be enforced and how the power granted to government would affect the internet as we know it.  And those things must be considered carefully.

But the basic reason Congress is considering these laws is because those who create things like movies, music, and software have grown tired of seeing the content they are seeking to sell offered for free in all sort of places by people without any part in the creation of that content.

I want to take this occasion to say this clearly.  Piracy is sin.  Each time you download a song you did not pay for from some site, it is not different from walking into you local retail store and stuffing a CD (If you are under 16, ask your parents what  a CD is) into you pocket.  Each time you use a piece of choral music without obtaining the right to preform it, it is as if you walked out of the local Christian book store with the materials stuffed in a backpack you brought in to the store.  Each time you download that TV show or movie to watch on your iPod without paying, it is as if you jumped the rope at the local theatre.  And yes, every time you load up that software someone else offered to you for free since they had the disc or the files, it is the same as walking out of the Best Buy with the software stuffed in your shirt.  Piracy is sin.  The fact that you do it at your house and you are almost certain never to get caught does not change for a second the fact that you have stomped all over these words, “You shall not steal.” 

Image used with permission of Paul Söderholm http://www.gnurf.net/

Satan loves to convince us that if no one is around to convict us of our sin, it is not really wrong.  But today, the Spirit through these words comes to rob us of his lies.  The Spirit himself comes to convict us of sin.

So today, you are more than welcome to consider the implications of the legislation before the congress.  But you are not welcomes to act any longer as if stealing is okay. 

No, it is not okay because no one will catch you.  It is not okay because the creators of content are in some cases filthy rich.  It is not okay because you would not have bought the content otherwise.  Piracy is sin.

So repent today of it.  Delete the music and the movies.  Buy that software you have been using without paying.  Delete the peer to peer sharing network off your computer.

And know this:  The one who paid the whole price for your salvation says to you, “Your sins are forgiven.  Salvation is yours.  I give it to you free as your eternal possession.”

No, my wife and I will not be on the roof for a sexperiement this week (it is pretty steep anyway). But I did preach this week on the proper use of our bodies and how that relates to sexuality. Listen in below:

In the Gospel lesson for this coming Sunday, Philip says “Come and see” in response to Nathaniel’s initial hesitation at his proclamation that he had found the Christ in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

I have a friend who left my church body for another several years ago.  In trying to understand the confession of his new church, I asked him several questions about their teachings.  He hesitated to give me simple answers to my simple questions.  Instead, he said that in order to understand his church, I would truly have to come and live their life with them for a while.

I have always been struck by his answer.  In one way, I know he gave this answer because his church devalues systematic expressions of the faith.  But in another way, I have always seen great wisdom in his answer.

He was not suggesting that I should see his deeds and therein find his faith.  This was not “preach the gospel, if necessary use words.”

It was to say that to truly understand his faith, I would have to come and see the life the congregation shared together in Christ.  He was suggesting that only by immersion into the Church’s life together could one really understand his faith.

And I think this is important.  I think those of us that cling to the confession of faith we call Lutheran are prone to simply try to explain someone into the life of Christ.  We explain why  our systematic formulations are most correct scripturally and assume that is sufficient.  We often take a very cerebral approach to witnessing.

Far better is the come and see approach.  Yes come and hear our theology and the scriptures which undergird it.  Hear of your sin and your savior.  But also come observe the liturgy.  Become familiar with the sound of our music.  Get to know the people gathered in this place.   Watch how we sit and stand and pray.  Come live right in the midst of us, even if you do not yet believe or confess what we do.  We believe that as God is active according to his promise in our life together and that you will see him as clearly as you can right here where he has promised to be.

Sometimes our initial response to quickly answer every question with what we know means that people will never come and see Jesus where he has promised to be.  I can help but think if Philip would have been a modern Lutheran, the story might have been quite different.  When questioned in his judgment of who the Messiah was, he might have just sat down and went through prophecy after prophecy and showed Nathaniel how it all tied together into a perfect little package.  Instead, I think thankfully, he said, “Come and see.”