A rest well deserved — A loss deeply felt
From the CTSFW News page:
Dear Friends:
I wish to inform you that on the morning of September 19 our distinguished colleague, beloved professor, and brother in Christ, Dr. Kurt Marquart, died. After suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, he died peacefully at home. Earlier in the evening he had baptized his new great-grandson, Evan.
As baptism joined Dr. Marquart and Evan to Christ’s death and resurrection, we confess that he now enjoys that full life that Christ gives to those who are joined to Him (John 10:10).
President Wenthe
The ‘net will be awash with remembrances of this great man — and justifiably so!
I only met him a few times, but I can say with confidence that nothing will be said that can do justice to the man and his years of faithful service to God, the Church, and the LCMS. I can honestly say that I have never met a man who was so brilliant (an intellectual giant!), yet so genuinely and winsomely pastoral.
We are all better off for the blessing of his faithful service, and I thank God for that blessing. I thank God that Dr. Marquart has been taken to his reward. I thank God for the saving grace that ensures that I will join Dr. Marquart in that same, Christ-earned, reward.
Amen!
-ghp
Cyberbrethren
Cyberbrethren is back from a brief summer blogging hiatus — back with a vengeance — and I for one am grateful!
In I Love Jesus, That’s Why I Love Lutheranism, Rev. McCain clearly & powerfully lays out just why true, balls-to-the-wall (earthy, sure, but so was Luther!), Book-of-Concord-confessing Lutheranism is where it’s at. I’ve been working around the edges, at least in my mind, of a posting like this, but Rev. McCain has blown the doors off of anything I might’ve come up with in my own, inimitable, “roomful of monkeys” style.
I, too, love Jesus, His Word, and His doctrine. That, then, is why I also love Lutheranism!
-ghp
CN & Reclaim News
It has been observed that there is much ongoing/ever-present angst that exists amongst denizens of the LCMS. I would agree.
There is also much speculation & analysis as to why the angst exists and who is stoking it. Depending on who you ask, the “radicalist” culprits are either on the “left” (Jesus First, DayStar, et al) or the “right” (Christian News, Reclaim News, etc.). As a side note, while it’s obvious that Satan is the true source of all dissension & divisiveness, there seems to be some, shall we say, disagreement on just who his favored operatives are (as if we weren’t all guilty & sinful in this regard…). I don’t especially want to get into a whole discourse as to what I think on the matter, because, well, it doesn’t really matter (I have the suspicion that most of my readers would agree with me, and thus I don’t need to preach to the choir on this subject at this time…).
What I do want to comment on, however, is the rather odd effect that Christian News (aka Rev. Herman Otten) and Reclaim News (aka Rev. Jack Cascione) have in the discussions & eventual plans of action that come out of the group on the “right” (aka “conservatives” or “confessionals”). These two entities are significant players primarily through the rather impressive information dissemination channels that they have developed over the years. These two pastors have built & cultivated significant “bully pulpits” from which they can (and do) broadcast their opinions. And we have witnessed the effect that these opinions have had on Synodical politics in recent years. The LCMS wouldn’t be what it is today were it not for Rev. Otten’s work during the 1970’s era “Battle for the Bible”, nor would we be in the mess that’s developed since Rev. Al Barry passed away just prior to the 2001 convention were it not for the inexplicable cantankerousness of both Revs. Otten & Cascione. But enough history…
My main reason for writing now is this — as we get ready for the 2007 convention, it seems that Revs. Otten & Cascione are both looming large in the development of plans & strategies, and there’s one thing that puzzles me. I get why Rev.Otten is involved, as his congregation still belongs to the LCMS (even if he, for whatever unjustifiable reason, never got certified). IOW, he still has a dog in this fight.
Rev. Cascione doesn’t.
His congregation voted to leave the LCMS, and shortly thereafter he himself took leave.
He doesn’t have a dog in the fight anymore.
So why does Reclaim News continue to be almost exclusively about the latest happenings in the LCMS? Why does the goal of Reclaim News seem to be to obsessively detail each & every detail of the legal goings-on in the LCMS?
I don’t get it.
Can someone explain it to me?
-ghp
Freedom: “from” or “to do”?
I’m so very thankful for faithful pastors, as well as for faithful men who are willing to take on the difficult yoke of becoming pastors. For an example of what I mean by the former, read this posting over at Bloghardt’s Reflector, which came to my attention via an example of the latter, i.e., Outer Rim Territories.
It’s amazing how often Gospel freedom is misused & twisted in such a way as to inject works into the salvation that is truly given by grace alone (through faith alone in Christ alone!). But it is. And it shouldn’t be. As Pr. Borghardt so skillfully proclaims.
-ghp
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