Letters to the editor


Craft message so outsiders understand Sin, salvation, sabbaticals, seclusion, Seuss stories spark sentiments


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FEBRUARY 2012 www.thelutheran.org $2.50


Lent: Story 20, study guide 26


Experience the flow of God’s grace


n Faith, FROGS & Costa Rica 14 n What is sin? 18


n Lutheran at a monastery 28 n Peruvians hit a high note 36 n Applesauce communion 38


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The ELCA has so much that is exceptional, worthy and meaningful for our society—for outsiders.


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Thanks for “Insiders and outsiders” (February, page 34). I was cheering the whole time I read it. I do not under- stand why the ELCA is confused by its lack of influence and relevancy. If we don’t become more relevant or useful to the needs of those not with us today, we are dooming ourselves to not only irrelevancy but to our ultimate demise. The ELCA has so much that is excep- tional, worthy and meaningful for our society—for outsiders. The church has what outsiders need. The message itself does not change, cannot change, and will not change because it is the word of life, the very gospel itself. But there is a need to package the message in a way that outsiders can understand. Just look at how the message was made relevant


and adapted to the audience in Acts 17. Sam Johnson Knox, Pa.


Loving the outsider While the author of “Insiders and out- siders” points to some evident truths, we believe he blew it. “Every deci- sion made by staff, council and com- mittees is made on behalf of those not yet here” (emphasis added). It’s not about making changes so the outsiders can become insiders. It’s about lov- ing the outsider simply because they exist. That’s what every decision by staff, council and ministry team should be based upon—how many people in the world will know the love of Jesus


because we live this way? The Revs. Jane Jebsen & Peter Morin Golden, Colo.


Enough already A Supreme Court associate justice famously said that while he perhaps could never define pornography, “I know it when I see it ….” I would tell your two professors (February, page 18) that most of us don’t need them to define sin because most of us know what it is when we see it. I once had a professor say that many theologians enjoy dissecting a gnat. I think the gnat


has been thoroughly dissected. Jerry Johnston Camdenton, Mo.


It’s about atonement It is hard for me to understand how anyone can explain salvation (January, page 18) without referring to the old covenant ritual law of blood sacrifices, offered for the sins of the people. Christ is the mediator of a new covenant. He entered the most holy place, once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. We’ll never fully understand salvation, but we had best accept and be content with God’s rev-


48 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


elation in books like Hebrews and Romans. The old covenant explains


the new. That’s it. The Rev. Lester F. Polenz Mansfield, Ohio


Sabbaticals work I want to affirm the article “Sabbaticals score big” (January, page 30) because I had one last year. What refreshment. As I looked back on 37 years in the min- istry without having had a sabbatical, I realized that I moved from one parish to another every five to seven years. In at least two parishes I served, having a sabbatical would have kept me there longer and would have, I believe, been mutually beneficial. I am a strong advo- cate for sabbaticals and the biblically


renewing qualities that result. The Rev. Dennis R. Fakes Huntsville, Ala.


Not so fast


Why should a congregation consider giving its pastor a sabbatical when the majority of its members would never dream of asking for or receiving one from their employers, especially in today’s economy? How do sabbaticals end up being part of a pastor’s call? If the answer is ELCA guidelines, synod guidelines or the pastor himself/her-


self, we have the tail wagging the dog. Paul Slinde Atlantic Mine, Mich.


Just say no In the article about the Dr. Seuss- inspired eucharist (January, page 39), the question was asked, “Will this be silly and irreverent?” Wise folks often say that if you have to ask the ques- tion, you already know the answer. So this is a gentle reminder that it is


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