SMR 1113

Smoky Mountain Reflections

November 2013

            "That is your interpretation"... That was often the response I got when I would try to share God's truth with people in my many years as a parishioner.  I know it is frustrating when you try to tell people the truth as you have come to understand it through the help of your family and your church and especially the Holy Spirit.   When people reject God's truth you can't help but feel a little rejected yourself so, in this month of thanksgiving I would like to briefly touch on two topics that may help; Hermeneutics and Evangelism.  I know these two words will illicit one or both of two reactions among most Christians....confusion and/or fear. Let’s first deal with confusion, so we do not need to run in fear from the second.

            Hermeneutics: Biblical interpretation.  When you are discussing living out your faith with your neighbor, you may be using different methods of biblical interpretation. If so, you can and will come up with different conclusions. Using the metaphor of leaves, your discussion comparing two leaves may be confusing because you may be coming from the prospective of an oak tree while your neighbor is coming from the prospective of a maple tree. The ‘leaves’ or conclusions are different because they come from completely different trees.  It is the same with biblical interpretation. While there are many methods or lenses out there through which people look at God’s word, they really all fit into one of two categories; magisterial or ministerial. I know, two more big words to define but be patient with me as I define both of them for you and explain how these two lenses come up with different applications and conclusions about the unchangeable truth of God's word.           

            Magisterial: There are actually many methods of interpretation that fall into this category but what they all have in common is an appeal to human reason over and above God's word. The most prominent among these methods is the Historical Critical method. The conclusions that are derived are based on the preconceived notions of those who use this method.  In other words, if God's word says something they do not like or agree with, then they simply use this method to say “I know what it says but it cannot mean that so if you look at it through ‘this’ lens I can decide the meaning for myself”. This method puts all the authority in human reason over and above the revealed truth of God’s word.  Some biblical scholars, atheists, and agnostics fall into this category and what they have in common is the idolatry of the human mind over God's reveled truth.  This method leads to a misapplication of biblical principles or just outright denial of any biblical authority at all. If your ultimate authority is the human mind then you can hold the rights of the individual over and above the rights of those you define as less than individuals...those of other races, those of other genders, those not yet born, those with a lifestyle you do not like, those with a quality of life you arbitrarily decide is not worth the status of individual with protected rights. You also have the freedom to depart from God's word completely and make new rules for yourself and your society. Society can make new rules and norms such as; "Anyone can be a pastor". (Call, education and gender have no bearing on who should fill that role.) "Marriage is for consenting adults of any gender". (Chastity, monogamy, heterosexuality, and fidelity are the products of a manipulative, medieval, patriarchal society and we have out grown these oppressive cultural norms of the past.) "Only God can forgive sins" (God’s biblical directive to the church through Peter to forgive sins does not mean what it says.) "Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are acts of obedience" (because it is not logical that water and word can save or that bread and wine can be flesh and blood.)

            Ministerial on the other hand, has one main method called the Historical Grammatical method. Many use this method until their ‘human’ reason pulls them back over into the ‘magisterial’ category. The Historical Grammatical method also employs human reason, but only as we finite beings acknowledge that we cannot fully comprehend the infinite and we let God's word have the final say even when God's word says things that are illogical. This method acknowledges that God is all powerful and can reveal His truth to us in any way he chooses.  He chooses to reveal His truth, clearly defined through history and grammar, in His word, the infallible, inerrant, 66 books of the Holy Bible.  As such, this method produces interpretations that are clear confessions of biblical truth only. If your ultimate authority is God's word then you will acknowledge that all human life is created in His image and is intrinsically valuable. All races, locations, sizes, and conditions of humans are therefore worthy of the highest respect and protection we can provide. We also have the freedom to function within the gifted order of His creation. He put ‘norms’ in place for our benefit and we let His word have the final say no matter how politically incorrect or illogical it may sound. "God gives men and woman different roles";  (mother, father, husband, wife, pastor - Scripture attaches genders to each of these roles. see: 1 Tim 3:1-13, Titus 1:6-9, 1 Cor 14:33-35, Eph 5:21-26, Col 3:18-19, 1 Tim 2:9-13, 1 Cor 11:3-10, 1 Peter 3:1-5.) Yes, history and grammar can help us better understand these things but cannot redefine what the words mean. To be a pastor, one must be male, rightly called and ordained. Marriage is defined for us in Genesis, one man and one woman. Other truths in scripture are; chastity for the unmarried, and monogamy and fidelity for the married. These are the gifts of a loving God to us all regardless of our fallen sinful condition.

             "Only God can forgive sins"  This is most certainly true and He can do so however He wishes. To that end, He has established means through which forgiveness can be given. Forgiveness can be given through words spoken in His stead and by His command after confession, and through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, see: John 20:22-23

            "Baptism is a gift from God" This gift is not logical, water and word cannot normally save and give faith miraculously but scripture tells us that His word combined with water does just that. see: Matt 28:19; Mark 15:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 2:38-39; 22:16; 1 Cor 6:11; 12:13; Eph 5:26; Titus 3:5-6; Heb 10:22; John  3:5; Rom 6:3-6; Col 2:11-12, Gal 3:27-29 

             "The Lord’s Supper is a gift from God" This gift is not logical, bread and wine normally cannot  be flesh and blood and give forgiveness when consumed in faith, but scripture tells us that it is and it does. see Matt 26, Mark 14 Luke 22, and  I Cor 11.

            As you can see the ‘leaves’ on these two trees are very different. So the next time you are sharing your faith with someone and they say "well that is your interpretation", you can politely respond "yes and it is also the confession of the universal, historic, Christian faith so your disagreement is not with me but with a plain and clear exposition of God's truth". Or perhaps you can just say, "your disagreement is not with me but God's word" that might be simpler. It looks like I got a bit wordy for this month so I will address the topic of evangelism in December.

In Christ Pastor Portier     

SMR 1013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

October 2013

            This is one of my favorite times of year, when the canopy of green that has filled out trees for the past six or seven months starts to burst into a sea of yellows, oranges, reds and even some dark purple.  As we in our neck of the woods prepare for the flock of leaf peeping tourists, we watch the leaves, as well as a few acorns, soon fall. The falling of such a seed on the head of a fictitious chicken is the source of a well-known fable warning us against worrying about things we have no control over. Scripture also warns us against worry, revealing it to be a lack of trust in God's provision for all our needs.

            We do sadly find so many ways to creatively worry, while calling it ‘concern’ for the kingdom of God. We ask questions like, ‘How do we as Christians determine what the best course of action is for our church?’ All concerned members of the body of Christ should prayerfully ask themselves what the wisest course of action should be, shouldn't they? While I am a big fan of responsible evaluation of our practices in light of scripture and our confessions, there is a big difference between ‘evaluation’ and ecclesiastical hand wringing. The business world has a lot of good information that can be very helpful in managing the business aspects of an organization with memberships, facilities and staff to maintain, but the world has little to offer in the way of helping the church to be ‘in’ while not ‘of’ the world.

            So what are we to do if we are to be conscientious Christians seeking to share the great news of the Gospel as best we can while not corrupting or causing offense to that same Gospel? I would say there is a big difference between damage control and honest biblical outreach.  We can honestly look around us and learn from the mistakes of others, identify our own warts, and press on doing what it is God has called us to do, trusting in Him to do His will in His church in His good time.

            First visit some of the mistakes of others. The ‘seven sisters’ mainline Protestantism; The Methodist UMC, Lutheran ELCA, Presbyterian PCUSA, Baptist ABCUSA,  Episcopal, Church of Christ UCC, and the  DCC have a few things in common. One of the reasons they are so large is because of their liberal, historical, critical position on scripture. That position, while appealing to logic and public opinion, leads to poor theological decision making such as female clergy and support of the LGBT agenda. These departures from scriptural truth have led to them also experiencing the greatest declines in membership of all American Christian church bodies. The lord clearly warns us against such practices. (2 Peter 2:1-2) “There will be false teachers among you, who will surreptitiously introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful, licentious ways.” and in (1 Peter 1:14-15) “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you formerly had when you lived in ignorance.  Instead, just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” and finally in (Romans 12:2) “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

            Second we have to acknowledge the things that have caused our own church bodies decline. In the words of our synod president, Matthew Harrison "The people of the LCMS marry much later and are having far fewer children. Our outreach (conversion) has not been sufficient to stem that decline. So we need to look at how we encourage and support families and we need to invite our unchurched neighbors to church.  80% of people who join a church do so because they were invited by someone they know a friend of family member.”

            Finally while we diligently seek to share His truth in love we also must trust Him and His word and His sacraments to do His will in His good time. The responsibility to share His truth belongs to each and every one of us in our own daily vocations.

           Jesus will build, protect and sustain His church in accord with His words in Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock (his confession that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. God grants the increase and sustains us through any difficult times. 1 Cor 3:6  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. .......9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. So be diligent, do not worry and enjoy the fall colors.

In Christ Pastor Portier

Relationships....

Smoky Mountain Reflections

September 2013

            "In a Relationship".....so what does that mean? If you post it on social media it has a myriad of possibilities ranging from mildly attracted to someone to married.  ‘Going steady’ is no longer in vogue. We are surrounded by people who want to "keep their options open", in the words I once heard from a man who was in his 70's.  The word "relationship" gets thrown around in our fast food, disposable culture, not so much in the life long committed biblical model these days but more in the ‘this is how it is for now’  model. That works until you get bored with how things are and move on to something or someone else.  Our society’s concept of "relationship" is far removed from the selfless ‘love thy neighbor model’ that scripture gives us. I am not just talking about marital relationships, but all forms of ’relationship’.      

            The whole second table of the law is about how we are to act in relationships, and the building block for all relationships is the family. This is the anchor, the solid foundation, on which God decided to build the relational structure of His creation. It started when God noted the first "not good" thing in His very good creation. It is not good for man to be alone so God created a second person, out of the first, and created, at the same time, the first relationship.  That relationship contained all the God pleasing elements of selfless giving. The two would give themselves to each other in sacrificial, complementary ways that would also have creative elements, not the least of which was another relationship, that of parent and child. In this small model we can learn and exercise all of the relational skills we need to lead a God pleasing life.

            The lie that our world tells us is that we get to choose our relationships… However, they are a gift from God. Every person you come in contact with is, at some level, in a relationship with you.  We do not get to choose our parents, they are a gift from God and this relationship is designed to be life long in nature, though not always the primary relationship. Even the person we marry, regardless of the cultural method that brings us together, is a gift from God that is designed to be lifelong...”.till death do us part”.

            Another lie our world tells us is when we tire of relationships we can end them.  God has designed our relationships to form a web of love, comfort, support and protection. When we choose to end a marriage the whole web is disrupted. It is not just husband and wife who suffer.... children, siblings, parents, extended family and friends all suffer.  When we start to go ‘gender bending’ it does not just affect the "couple", the whole web of relationships is affected. Though we may agree or disagree with someone's life style, none of these sinful acts; divorce, cohabitation or "friends with benefits" make us any less directed by God to love our neighbor and seek to speak the truth in love.

            So as sin continues to break holes in the web of relationships, there is a web repair service of sorts available to us all. We pray in the Lord ’s Prayer "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us". Forgiveness and reconciliation are at the core of what it means to be in a God pleasing relationship. Forgiveness is the glue that fixes and holds together broken relationships. True forgiveness does not ignore sin or its consequences. The source of true forgiveness is love. Love does not keep a record of wrongs. Love, in fact, acknowledges the pain and suffering caused by a wrong even if we think no one gets hurt because we do not get to say how other people feel.

            Relationships have priorities. Some relationships in our lives are more important than others. When we are children our first relationship is with our parents and this takes priority over all others. If I have to say no to someone because of a conflict of schedule or opinion, my sibling, teacher, friends or employer all take a back seat to my parents. This changes however when we get married and absolutely yes, young adults should not play house, they should get married. The marriage relationship becomes the new primary relationship. Your boss, your friends, your parents, your siblings and your children all take a back seat to your spouse. This is not an opinion up for debate. If we would follow the biblical model for relationships fewer of them would fail. Sin in this category hurts deeply.  There is one more issue of priority you want in your relationships. You want them to be God pleasing and by default pleasing to you and all whom you love and are concerned for. All earthly relationships are #2 relationships in a rightly ordered life. The #1 relationship in our lives must always be our relationship with the Son of God who redeemed us and regularly nurtures us in His Word and Sacraments.

In Christ

Pastor Portier

August 2013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

August 2013

            So as the summer winds down and comes to a close and we are getting ready for school to start again I find myself reflecting on ‘vocation’. As many of you know my daughter Elisa, with the help of Scott her husband, added a new definition to my vocation list about six weeks ago. I am now a Grandfather, or as they say in bayou country Paw Paw. Just about the time all the little people in my family grew up, God blessed me with another playmate :-). (Of course Harper has been giving me practice on how to be a good Paw Paw for the past two years now.) Besides the gift of my Grandson, what is this gift of vocation that God gives us?

            The first thing we think of when we hear the word ‘vocation’ is work. What we do to earn a living is certainly part of our vocation but it is one small part of a very big picture. If we step back we see how blessed we are to have our identity wrapped up in every aspect of our vocation. Who we are in our relationships at work, in our family, in our community, in our church, all of these put together are what make us who we are in our relationship with God and our neighbor. Unfortunately we get things out of whack sometimes, messing up our priorities and spending too much time on one part of our vocation while neglecting other parts. We spend too much time at work or at play or with our family and our work or play or family suffer because of the imbalance. Another confusion may be that we take a role for ourselves that does not belong to us, or the reverse, we give our own responsibilities to another. Examples would be, trying to do our bosses’ job or our Pastor’s job or a government official’s job when it is not ours to do. Sometimes we completely abandon our work or our spouse or our community, leaving others to carry our responsibilities as well as their own.

            But God takes our broken sinful priorities and fixes them, washing off our feeble efforts and making them pleasing to God.

            He takes our sinful selfishness and works faith in our hearts helping us to see we are not the god we make ourselves out to be. Our desires are not the most important thing....He is.

            He takes our often poor efforts to represent Him and helps us to see how we can best reflect our love for Him by bearing His name with respect and honor.

            He takes our poor time management and leads us to be still and know that He is God. He does this in our daily lives with prayer, reading and devotions, and in our regular weekly time to receive the gifts he showers on us in word and sacrament, nurturing our souls to live out our vocations in the coming week.

            He takes our rebellion against authority and turns it into honor, obedience, and submission to our parents, leaders, spouses, and employers.

            He takes our murderous attitude which has no regard for all life created in His image and He turns it into the loving activities of family members and caretakers who nurture and serve the week and vulnerable among us.

            He takes our lust and fleshly desires and turns them into selfless giving of ourselves to our spouse. He blesses us with that already great gift, caring for our physical and emotional needs with the occasional arrival of a new family member.

            He takes our greedy desires and turns them into concern for our neighbors’ positions to the point that we would gladly sacrifice something of our own to prevent or restore a loss suffered by our neighbor.

            He takes our dishonest thoughts and deeds and converts them through a contrite heart that seeks truth and justice, encouraging peace and reconciliation, willing to sacrifice our own justice for the benefit of others.

            He takes our covetous hearts and minds and turns them into loving, caring souls that seek, with His help, to nip our sinful activities in the bud.  He deals with them when they are only desires and helps us prevent them from becoming actions.                      

            God takes our sinful thoughts and deeds and puts them into the gift of ‘vocation’ which converts sinful activity to God pleasing activity. Turning selfishness into selflessness, turning disobedience into standing for His truth, turning killing into defending family or nation, turning adultery into loving one’s spouse, turning theft into protecting someone from harming themselves, turning lies into words spoken that benefit others at our own expense. God's rules do not contradict themselves when we do something within our vocation as parent, employer, leader, child, worker or citizen which on the surface appears to be a violation but is a cost to our reputation. We gladly pay this in service and love for others. Then, and only then, we can see the smiling face of our Lord and Savior saying “Well done, my good and faithful servant, come into my presence and abide with me.”

Blessings on you all as you do your best to live out every aspect of your vocation in Christ

In His name

Pastor Portier       

July 2013...Where is Waldo?

Smoky Mountain Reflections

July 2013

            Where is Jesus??? In our world today, full of little churches and mega churches trying to sell you Jesus by saying ‘Come over here, we have the Jesus you didn't even know you needed or wanted’, how does one find the real Jesus? Well, first let’s make a typically Lutheran statement..."you do not find Jesus He finds you!" That is all fine and good and true but not very helpful in responding to the constant barrage of trendy Jesus marketing. So let’s briefly review the three main marketing tools used to sell you a Jesus that is really more about you than the Savior who came to save you. That is what marketing naturally does, appeals to the individual.   

            The first and most popular of the shallow self-centered versions of ‘marketing Jesus’ is the, "Look at how good I feel Jesus".  This version of marketing Jesus is easy to identify. Followers talk about Jesus but Jesus is not really ‘doing’ the verbs. This version is referenced when the one who shares Him with you does not talk about what Jesus does for you but about how Jesus makes you feel.  In truth, Jesus does not manipulate our emotions. How we feel is about us, not about Jesus.  Emotions are a gift from God and yes, when we sing His praises or listen to or read His words or share how He has blessed us, it can and should make us feel good.  But those feelings are not Jesus, they are not even an indication He is close to us. The one who bled and died for ours sins is Jesus. What if I do not feel good, if I am grieving, if I am hungry, if I am sick? Does that mean Jesus is not with me? Quite to the contrary! When we need Him the most, He is there providing the peace He promised. So if someone tries to sell you a "Look at how good I feel Jesus" say no thanks and politely run away

            The next version of marketing Jesus is the "Look at all my stuff Jesus". This version is also easy to identify. Followers tell you to ‘look at all the great stuff Jesus gave me because I am a hard worker for the kingdom and He clearly rewards those who follow His laws and do His will’. This of course does not tell you about Jesus and what He did for you, it tells you how good this "believer" thinks he is. What if I am poor, if my car gets repossessed, if I lose my job or my home...in those cases, in this version, this false Jesus must not love you. The real Jesus came for, and loves and serves, all sinners and tax collectors. It does not matter what side of the track you come from.  You know you are living right not if you are blessed with material things but if your activities reflect a redeemed life that seeks to love God and neighbor as best you can with His help. So if you meet someone selling this Jesus tell them you can't afford to pay the entry dues!

            The last version of marketing Jesus is the "Look at my degree Jesus". This version of marketing Jesus is again easy to identify. This group tells you that they can prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is who He claims to be because they themselves are so learned. This is a ditch I often fall into because it sure would be nice to be able to prove God is who He claims to be. But you cannot prove God to anyone, only the Holy Spirit can create faith. And reason is but a maidservant to her mistress, faith. As long as the maidservant and the mistress sleep in their own beds they get along nicely. However if the maidservant tries to sleep in her mistresses bed....confusion and anarchy are sure to follow.  So when your pastor says he can prove to you God exists, remind him that he cannot:-)

            We have now identified the false Jesus marketing models.  They have been over simplified here but they all prove that the great deceiver does his best to disguise falsehoods in a myriad of ways. How is this helpful? Or is it helpful in identifying where Jesus is? While it is helpful to know where Jesus is not, it is more helpful to know where He is.  With the eyes of faith, it is as easy to see where He is as it is to find Waldo on a busy multicolored page. You know exactly what Waldo looks like. His candy cane shirt and hat, the glasses and blue jeans are unmistakable. The true Jesus might make you feel good, He will bless you but not necessarily with wealth, and science and history are His friend, but those things are not how you will know Him. You will know Him because He is where He says He will be in His word and sacraments. You can know with absolute certainty that you are a baptized child of God whom He loves more than His own life which He gave on a cross. He regularly nurtures you through His word proclaimed and His (body / bread) and (blood / wine) put in your mouth for your forgivness. Take comfort in His assurance "Lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world" Amen.

In Christ Pastor Portier

June 2013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

June 2013

            Isn't it interesting that those who would call you intolerant for sharing the gospel will not tolerate the gospel being shared in our schools or in our military or any other place that God's truth might be deemed offensive by the politically correct ‘thought police’? Christians all over our nation are shamed into silence and not tolerated by those who claim to be the most tolerant.

            Isn't it interesting that young earth creationists are excluded from the sanctioned scientific community, being told that their views are too exclusive and not inclusive enough of all possible views?  Their view is excluded from the conversation. They are not even allowed a seat at the table because those who do not hold the scientific, old earth, big bang view are "persona non grata" in those discussions. Young earth creationists are excluded from the public discourse because their position has been deemed unscientific and is dismissed without even being considered.

            Isn't it interesting that those who would encourage Christians who hold a biblical worldview to be more open minded are themselves very closed minded if you try to share the Gospel with them?

            Isn't it interesting that Christians are so often judged by others as being judgmental, while at the same time those who make this determination have no problem being judgmental themselves toward Christians?

            Isn't it interesting how those who hold a biblical worldview are often accused of forcing their morals on others, while in the very same breath the one making that accusation condemns the Christian for not holding to the ‘other’ moral standards of  pro-choice & redefining marriage?

            You will notice in any dialogue you have with someone who disagrees with you on what God's word has to say on a given topic that they will not say ‘that is not what God's word says’. They will either attack you for holding the position or attack the authority of God’s word.  When they say ’that is your interpretation’, they are addressing you, not the text. No one is out there saying God’s word says it is ok to abort babies, or it is ok to marry your own gender. Because they know God’s word clearly condemns murder including the unborn "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" Jer 1:5a, and they know marriage is clearly defined while all other intimate relationship variants are condemned.  Rom 1:27 a "In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men," Those who oppose God's truth actually affirm what it says when they attack the messenger or the authority of God's word. So at least we can be sure that they know what God’s word says and pray that the Holy  Spirit will work on their conscience helping them to come to a God pleasing contrite, reconciled relationship with God.

            In the meantime we will continue to plod on sharing His truth whenever given a chance, with His help and encouragement.  God never promised us that being a Christian would be fair, pleasant or easy but He does promise to be with us always unto the end of the age.

In Christ Pastor Portier        

May 2013

Smoky Mountain Reflections

May 2013

            I would love to wax eloquent on the wonders of spring or reflect on the busy nature of the summer that lies ahead of us all. However, a crucial decision is being made by the Boy Scouts of America on the 23^rd of this month that has far reaching ramifications for our way of life here in America. I am not talking just about the Boy Scouts. As you may know, I wrote an open letter to the organization which I published widely.  Sadly, I just read the proposed resolution and if it passes, we will no longer be able to charter a troop here at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Sevierville TN.

            The reason I feel the need to reflect on this is because it is just one more place where a battle between two different world views is playing out. If we do not stand with God's truth and speak the truth in love about what a biblical worldview is, we may soon find ourselves treated as second class citizens.  You may call me Chicken Little, but I am not saying the sky is falling. I am saying that if our society continues on its current course, it will go the way of all past civilizations that stopped making good bricks to build their society. By good bricks, I mean protecting the weak and innocent and fostering a strong natural family. If we continue to build with faulty bricks that dispose of the weak and innocent as costly, and sacrifice the natural family on the altar of self gratification, we will go the way of every failed civilization that has preceded us because faulty bricks build weak walls that eventually crumble.

            The American Family Association (AFA) is an organization that often does a very good job of speaking to these issues.  You may know them as the organization that produces those Christmas and Easter buttons we all love to wear so much. They also produce a number of other good resources for citizens to live out their Christian faith in a world that is growing more and more hostile towards the Gospel. They also produce a monthly Journal that highlighted the BSA issue.  The main article in the April issue by Ed Vitagliano made a number of good points and provided a good summary of this worldview conflict:         

           "It is Christianity versus secularism. Forget all pleasantries and appeals to fairness and tolerance and inclusivity, this is a war of ideologies – two mutually exclusive worldviews locked in a titanic struggle for supremacy.

           For the tolerance gurus there is a secular morality that is just as absolute as that preached by any Bible-thumper behind a pulpit. It is a pagan sexual ethic rooted in moral relativism with the taproot deeply embedded in Darwinian evolution. Its teachers have their own unbending laws cut into stone and pronounced from on high. Their prophets hurl jeremiads at the unrepentant, who are relegated to a this-worldly hell consisting of the drying up of corporate funding, the disdain and downright persecution of the civil state, banishment to the fringes on university campuses, and the sneering mockery of Hollywood.....

           First the humanists succeeded in routing religion out of the government sphere. Now they are attempting to drive it from the private sphere – by targeting an institution like BSA."

            We as Lutherans believe and teach a doctrine of two kingdoms where the church is in the business of loving and serving God and neighbor, and the government is in the business of keeping the peace and maintaining public property.  However social engineers are trying to give a little too much authority to the government right now. We as citizens of both kingdoms must do our best to be good citizens in each place. Being in but not of the world is not an easy calling, but it is our calling. So we must be active in our vocation as citizens to make informed votes and speak out against injustice and champion the weak, the sick, the unborn and the natural family at every turn. We need to do this in our work place, in our neighborhoods, in our families and in our churches. The church should remain silent on political issues that are matters of preference and opinion. But when the topic is morality and issues on which God's Word is clear, we must speak the truth in love. “Being in but not of the world” means being ready to take it on the chin when you speak this truth. It means publically standing by those who seek to reflect the last two words of the Scout Oath: "Morally Straight".  Lord willing, the decision from the 1400 delegates will be a God-pleasing one. Either way, He is in control of everything and works for the good of those who love Him. So be a good citizen of both kingdoms, do not worry, and have a blessed summer.

In Christ, Pastor Portier