United in the same mind and the same judgment...NOT

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Corinthians 1:10-17 ESV)

I had occasion to chat with a guy in my school district who was visiting my campus this morning. We're passing acquaintances at best. The conversation started over the music I was listening to at my desk with the door open-- Telegraph Road by Dire Straits. The topic of being Lutheran came up in an oblique sort of way (actually, I mentioned, first, that I was going to a Lutheran seminary to which he exclaimed "You're Lutheran?!...Me, too!!", to which I responded almost by default and no doubt with a quasi-judgmental tone for which I was somewhat ashamed after I let it slip, "What kind?"). So this guy, turns out, was raised Catholic but married Lutheran. He told me he and his family couldn't find a comparable church when they moved a few cities south a few years ago, so they make a 25-mile commute every Sunday to their ELCA congregation.

I found this chance encounter very educational (not in the public school sense). As we talked about churches and beliefs and such, he mentioned to me that he's happy with his church even though his "watchtower" (hopefully, little "w") theology doesn't always jibe with the pastor's. Imagine that.

I'm fascinated by what draws a person into church (I mean the brick-and-mortar kind), Lutheran or otherwise! And that's not sarcasm. I'm certain there's an art to working the mission field, but is there an art to keeping the lost where they belong-- in the church pew?

There's so much to ponder about the soul's dance card (psyche, reason, disordered world, etc.) and when the Spirit begins to lead...

It makes me sad to think of "other" Lutherans, of "other" Christians...

Has there ever been a better time than the broken Here and Now to want to become a pastor?

I read a post put up today entitled Worth Fighting About!. Endnote 2 has a link to a related article in the Lutheran Clarion called This is the Missouri Synod? Take a look at both...

...I pray for a time when or place where the question "What kind?" never has to be asked. Until heaven, I suppose it always will be...until we "be united in the same mind and the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV).

:(