Dear Members and Friends of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod,
When I was a young boy, I recall hearing about some of the neighbor children being visited by St. Nicholas on December 6. They would put out stockings and get them filled with candy and small toys. I asked my mother why we do not do this and she said those children were in Catholic families. Then I started hearing that jolly old St. Nick was Santa Claus and I became even more confused. How did Santa know what religion kids were? I guess if he knew when we were naughty and nice, he must also know where we went to church too.
That feeling of being left out actually may be experienced by some of your relatives, friends, and coworkers as they observe your family taking part in special services at Christmas time. But what they might not know is that they are welcome to join you in these celebrations of the Savior’s birth. As you well know, they have the same Savior, who came to save us all.
Where appropriate, invite those who might be feeling left out of your joy this coming season. They may not respond by attending with you this year, but in years to come with repeated gentle invitations; and after life changes bring a need to fill an identified spiritual void for them, they may accept the invitation.
May your celebration of Christmastide be fill with the joy of the greatest gift, not found in stockings or under the tree, but in the means of grace where God gives you His Son made flesh in Word and Sacrament for forgiveness, life and salvation. A blessed Christmas to you all!
Glenn Obenberger
South America Field Visits
Board for World Outreach Administrator Rev. Thomas Heyn and board member Rev. Timothy Bartels visited pastors and congregations in the Santiago, Chile area, as well as in the Lima, Peru area and the city of Chimbote, Peru. A group has been formed in the mountain city of Cajamarca, Peru, and plans are being discussed for a church building and permanent pastor to serve them.
Lutheran Sentinel Content Editor
Rev. Kyle Madson has served the ELS as the content editor for the last nine years. At the 2024 convention he was elected to be the synod secretary. Due to these added responsibilities Kyle has had to resign as editor. We thank him for his diligent and faithful service and petition our Lord to bless him in his new work for the ELS. Rev. James Braun, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Brewster, Massachusetts, has agreed to be appointed as the next content editor. The Committee for Communication has ratified this appointment. Keep him in your prayers during this transition period so that he might continue in the long line of faithful editors.
Reformation Lectures
The 2024 Reformation Lectures, “The Fiftieth Anniversary of Seminex,” were held on October 31 and November 1 at Bethany Lutheran College. Guest speakers were President Matthew Harrison (LCMS), Dr. Mark Braun (WELS), and President Glenn Obenberger (ELS). Video recordings of the lectures are available on the Bethany Lutheran College YouTube website: blc.edu/reformation-lectures
Mission Rally
The Southern Minnesota Mission Rally was hosted by the Norseland and Norwegian Grove congregations on October 19 at Norseland (St. Peter MN).
2025 ELS Convention
Its theme will be “Bondage of the Will: ‘I Cannot by My Own Reason or Strength…’” Pastor David Jay Webber will be the essayist. 2025 will mark the 500th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther’s The Bondage of the Will which he himself thought was one of the most significant of his compositions. Sinful mankind’s original sin prevents human beings from working out their own salvation, because they are completely incapable of bringing themselves to God. Therefore, there is no free will for humanity, as far as salvation is concerned. Luther: “[T]he human will is placed between the two like a beast of burden. If God rides it, it wills and goes where God wills … If Satan rides it, it wills and goes where Satan wills; nor can it choose to run to either of the two riders or to seek him out, but the riders themselves contend for the possession and control of it.” In America, which marks its inception with a celebration of independence and rejoices in the many freedoms we enjoy, the concept of “free will” seems to permeate much of our shared worldview. In addition, the predominant Christian religious flavor in our culture is grounded in American Evangelicalism which ordinarily teaches falsely that humans have a free will in spiritual matters. Confessional Lutheranism however understands Scripture rightly by acknowledging with Luther that our natural state as sinners is that our wills are bound to sin, death and hell. Only the miraculous working of the Spirit creating faith in Christ rescues us from such bondage which leads to eternal death. The Bondage of the Will is a seminal work that clearly distinguished the Lutheran Church from Rome and the other Reformers.
Upcoming Events
December 25 – Christmas Day
January 10 – Synod Review Committee
January 13–14 – Board for Lutheran Schools
January 20–21 – Board for Youth Outreach
View current vacancies and calls in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
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