Not long ago in a discussion in an online Lutheran group, one father did a manly thing. He admitted he was scared in his role as father. He said, “Nothing scares me quite like teaching my children.” Hallelujah! I told him, “This is a fact true of many fathers. Usually we just keep ducking, but … Read more
VIII. Luther’s Efforts at Restoring Catechetical Instruction. 90. Cooperation of Parents Urged by Luther. Friedrich Bente, Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, (Public Domain, Kindle Locations 2677-2734). In order to bring the instruction of the young into vogue, Luther saw that church, school, and home must needs cooperate. The home … Read more
Editor’s Note: Rev. Larry A. Peters, Senior Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church of Clarksville, Tennessee, kindly gives his permission to republish this article from his blog, Pastoral Meanderings. The original posting may be found here. When children are in their early elementary school years, their minds are actually at the peak time for easy rote … Read more
The connection between mission and the Small Catechism has a number of aspects. Some of them are: state of catechesis marriage family congregation community generations Some realities we need to face are that: The state of catechesis is poor. We are suffering a death rate among our own offspring who, after being confirmed, depart the … Read more
Parents, you have disciples. Primary and secondary ones. Your children are your primary disciples. Here are some excerpts from an article by Pastor James Uglum that crystalize these truths. The kids that God has entrusted to you are your primary disciples. As Christian parents we have the privilege of not simply making disciples, but raising … Read more
So you missed the winkel. No need to miss the presentation. Rev. Phil Booe, has kindly provided his selected excerpts from his doctoral dissertation, “Cooperative Catechesis: A Model for Equipping Lutheran Parents and Pastors to Catechize Children in the Christian Faith,” prepared for the March 16, 2016 winkel at Hudson New York. Learn about parents … Read more
Garrick Matthew Miller Halvorson, aka Gunny, decided he was going to sleep in a cardboard box that night. Dad still comes in to pray the Lord’s Prayer with him. In the midst of the informality of bedding down in a cardboard box, Gunny still knows what reverence is, and his father shows him that prayer fits … Read more
Here is a video of Leif and Kim Halvorson praying the Lord’s Prayer with their three children at bedtime. Dads, as you can see, this takes hardly any time. To be exact, 39 seconds! Yet it has a tremendous impact. It has impact because: A. The Lord’s Prayer is God’s Word, and God’s Word does stuff. … Read more
What is the most neglected part of the Small Catechism? The Table of Duties, maybe? Christian Questions with Their Answers? How about Prayers for Daily Use? Naw, it’s got to be Office of the Keys, right? Thanks for playing. Good answers, Those are neglected more than they should be. But they are not the most … Read more
Editor’s Note: You can download a PDF flyer version of this pastoral letter here. + + + God’s Word Belongs in the Home Where We Live A pastoral letter of Pastor Rolf Preus – March 2016 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: As we ponder Christ’s passion during this holy season, it is good for … Read more
Following is the Oral Defense Opening Statement defending the doctoral dissertation of Rev. Phil Booe. COOPERATIVE CATECHESIS: A MODEL FOR EQUIPPING LUTHERAN PARENTS AND PASTORS TO CATECHIZE CHILDREN IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH Rev. Phil Booe Oral Defense Opening Statement In the Lutheran Church, as in many liturgical Christian traditions, there exists the practice of Confirmation. … Read more
If the reader will forgive my use of a somewhat cliché prefix, I would like to talk about an idea for which I know no word. Therefore, for the purpose of this post, I will use the term “metacatechesis.” I would like to define this word to refer to teaching our children to teach the … Read more