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Letters to the editor We are all one under Christ Article on evangelicals hit home with missionary; others assess content ® APRIL 2011


Who are the evangelicals? 20 Plus study guide 26


www.thelutheran.org $2.50


Easter rflection:


Beyond the Resurrection 14 Blessings or privileges? 28 Growing community 30


‘ Christ at the crossroads 16


Legalized individualism I want to take issue—gently and thank- fully—with Lindsay Mack’s thought that privilege isn’t necessarily a bad thing (April, page 28). Its etymology —from Latinate cognates meaning “private law”—seems to suggest that those who are privileged are somehow above or beyond what the rest of us face, accountable to laws that apply only to us. Wouldn’t that tend to make privi- lege always a bad thing, tantamount to legalized individualism? My apprecia- tion to The Lutheran for Lindsay’s quiet reminders of God’s goodness, whatever


I preached in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches and everywhere in between and was accepted with enthusiasm.


they are called. Bob Sitze Wheaton, Ill.


Sadness to joy ’


When I served as a missionary to Nepal, it was like a breath of fresh air to know we were all brothers and sisters in Christ (April, page 20). I preached in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches and everywhere in between and was accepted with enthusiasm. The Presbyterian semi- nary where I taught had, in addition to me, pastors who were Baptist, Pentecos- tal and two Roman Catholic priests. We were all just one in the Lord. When I had my experience with the Lord and when I had my charismatic “add on,” it filled me with such love for all my fellow Chris- tians of whatever stripe and for all those who needed the message of salvation that I was convinced it was of the Lord.


Thanks for that article. The Rev. Robert S. Ove Rio Rancho, N.M.


48 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


After reading in the March edition (page 8) the number of Lutheran churches vot- ing to leave the ELCA over inclusion of gay and lesbian pastors, I was sad and disappointed. There have certainly been gay people since before the time of Christ, even within Christianity, and the world has survived just fine. Where is the simplicity of Christ’s message to love one another? Then I read in the April edition (page 12) the story of the three camps that welcome diversity with love. I am filled with hope and joy for the possibilities of turning from judg- ment to respect, of recognizing the true


tenants of what Christ tried to tell us. Bonnie Malone Sisters, Ore.


Devil still a force


The author of “Church as movement” (April “My view,” page 49) wishes to sanitize the renunciation of the devil and all his forces from the baptismal rite. It sounds to him like “war.” As


Christians we are at war with the devil and his dominions throughout our lives. The baptismal and other references should not be eliminated. To do other- wise is typical of the theological nov- elties permeating the ELCA. Of course the church is a movement, but not at the


expense of abandoning biblical truths. Ken Roeh Madison, Wis.


It needs to stop I disagree with the author of “Question- able content” (April, page 49). I applaud The Lutheran for identifying bullying the pastor, the most significant illness within the church that is destroying smaller congregations. Bullying in a church drives younger adults with children and visitors out of the church. What hurts the ELCA is not identifying bullying, but not doing enough to stop it. Identifying the problem isn’t demoralizing. It’s the first


step to correcting the problem. Joy Sorensen Sealy, Texas


Change for the sake of faith In “Tough medicine for tough prob- lems in tough times” (April, page 18), I contest idea No. 2 that “leaders need to make a radical commitment to change, including moving away from Sunday morning worship as the primary lotus of ministry.” Sunday ministry, that is ministry of word and sacrament, is the essential ministry of the church. It is the heart of the Great Commission and it is, as we confess in the Lutheran confes- sions, the way God creates and sustains faith in the church. It should say that “if word and sacrament is the lotus of our ministry, it should move the church to make radical changes for the sake of the neighbor and the clear testimony of the


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