A Statement of 46 Years Ago

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Paul Harris

The “Statement of the 44” made in 1945 was one of the sharpest turns the Good Ship LCMS ever made. Actually, the turn was made when they were allowed to withdraw it with no consequence, no repentance. It was a theological mulligan. And that ilk has been hacking up the theological course of the LCMS ever since while truly confessional men are marginalized.

Dr. Scaer and I think Dr. Preus too thought the Good Ship LCMS made a turn in the late 60s and especially early 70s, and it was due to the laity. Truthfully, I never bought that. My father was one of the layman involved, but if not for the theological leadership of men like Drs. Scare and Preus and Professor Kurth Marquart as well, no turning would have occurred. Of course, you need layman who will read, study, listen and know gold when they’ve found it. Here is truly a golden nugget from St. Kurt of 46 years ago, 1978, found by one of my members. Continue reading →

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Impacted by Which Spirit?

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Paul Harris

I attended a virtual service of Impact Family Church, Austin on Sunday, June 19, 2022. I started with the service for that day and my computer crashed while livestreaming, so I switched to the Sunday before. This was serendipitous if not downright led by the Spirit for the message in the sermon series “Jesus My Healer” for the Sunday my computer compelled me to go was “Jesus My Healer – When Loved Ones Die Unexpectedly.” You would be impacted indeed by listening to his hourlong sermon (https://www.impactatx.org/copy-of-live-stream-chat) even as a whack upside the head impacts you. It disorients; it confuses; it confounds. Continue reading →

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It’s the 1980s Calling….

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Paul Harris

Visiting Our Savior Lutheran Church, Austin, is like stepping back into 1980’s Missouri Synod. Before the liturgy, vestments, and creeds were completely thrown out. When contemporary music was starting to filter in;  when the emphasis was on giving and evangelizing; when women were only reading the Scriptures; when Open Communion still had some standards. Continue reading →

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Mixed Messages – Visit to Holy Cross Lutheran Church (LCMS), College Station, Texas

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Paul Harris

Paul’s warnings about trumpets giving uncertain sounds (I Cor. 14:9), go unheeded by the modern church. Entering Holy Cross, College Station, Texas new sanctuary in April 2022, my sensory impressions were all sound stage not church. They have paid little if any heed to about 2,000 years of church architecture. They have the pulpit higher than the altar. In 2000, St. Kurt was asked what he thought of Our Savior, Houston, Texas Continue reading →

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Carrie Underwood Does Church Better: Visit to another Non-denom

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Paul Harris

All the markings are there: the Untuckit shirt, the ironed jeans, save for no high-dollar, colored tennis shoes. He wore boots. Fitting for Bryan, Texas. But of all the churches out there who fly the colors of not being sure what they do and don’t believe, why choose this one? Continue reading →

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Rick Perry Leads the Way into the Brave New World

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Paul Harris

This blog is a follow up to the September 9, 2019 blog “Let’s Get Chemical” and it carries the warnings and advisories of the June 29, 2021 blog “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. So you might want to read these before reading further. Continue reading →

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Dialog between Pauline and a Pastor

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Paul Harris

Christian News published this in late 2022.  It’s 21 pages long. This really is only for those who dare, but for those who do I think there is insight into those who came of age with the smartphone a given. Continue reading →

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More on Porn

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Paul Harris

Danger – Close

(I titled this so, so I could remember what the draft was about. I am not for shortening sins. Porn for pornography is like living together for adultery, or sleeping together for fornicating. There is wisdom in calling a spade a spade. Particularly if those are right who say that behind Erasmus’ 16th century mistranslation is a wish to avoid the double entendre in the 2nd century Greek saying. Below is a sermon not so dated. I wrote this in 1994. I had the secretary retype it in this format because if I did it, I would edit as I go. And I wanted you to hear it as I wrote it 30 years ago. The sermon is based on Ephesians 4:17-21. In a May 1, 2023 blog I published a letter I had written to WORLD magazine in regard to an article that said pornography would not be dealt with till after the Baby Boomers had gone. I mentioned that almost 30 years ago this Boomer had addressed the issue from the pulpit. Here’s the original sermon.) Continue reading →

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Giving Away the Farm

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Paul Harris

About the time the article below was written, Winter 1993, I contacted what once passed for Google: the reference librarian. You’d call up your local library ask to speak with him and ask anything. I called up and wanted to know the origin of the WW II saying “buy the farm.” English was not this man’s first language and he responded, “What farm you want to buy?” This, however, is about “giving away the farm.” Or the Closed Communion illustration of shutting the barn door after the animals have fled. This is what Conservative Lutherans did in 1993 and Confessional ones are doing now. Continue reading →

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Visit to Divine Savior Church, Liberty Hill, Texas – Field of Dreams

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Paul Harris

This is a ‘mission’ start of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). You wouldn’t know this except for it saying so on the front cover the bulletin, in tiny print, but more prominently on their web page https://divinesaviorchurch.com/discover-dsc/#core-values . I call this Field of Dreams because like the movie says: If you build it, they will come. This is the philosophy behind this ‘mission’ start. WELS has plopped down, whole and complete, a pre-k, elementary school, and a ‘church’ prepaid in the middle of a growing, kitschy, suburb of Austin, Texas called Santa Rita Ranch. The aforementioned website will tell you they have planted other Divine Savior Churches in Delray Beach, Doral (both English and Spanish), North Collin County, Sienna, and West Palm Beach. But just what are they building? Actually, the question is really what are you faithful Wisconsin Synod laymen building?  Continue reading →

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