Category: Uncategorized

Busy times and Printing to a Canon iR2230

JesseLeave a comment

Clearly, I haven’t posted anything for a while. I’ve thought of some interesting things to post, but couldn’t justify the time it would take. Maybe after Christmas.

By the way, Merry Christmas to all who happen to read this. May the joy of the Christ-child warm your hearts with the love that God demonstrated by sending His Son into our world and redeem sinners through His own death. Remember, the same Jesus has now risen from His grave, and reigns forever over all things for the good of His Church, which He is bringing out of this fallen world to Himself.

Most of what I have learned about computers has been learned when I can’t really afford the time. So I spent the whole morning, and part of the afternoon today getting a new computer set up to print to our church printer, the aforementioned Canon. It’s an old black and white business-level photocopier, and has been very reliable for us. We’re currently at 162,461 letter-sized pages on that machine.

Canon’s print drivers for Linux have improved in the last few years, but their support in the United States is very poor. I’ve been using the Japanese driver, which is named “LIPSLX” for some reason. “LX” at the end is a Roman numeral, I think. Anyway, this new computer is a 64-bit machine, the first in this office. So the OS (Ubuntu) is also 64-bit. And Canon doesn’t provide binary (pre-compiled) driver packages for Debian-based 64-bit Linux. I tried lots of things and learned a lot about the print system (which comes from Apple and is called CUPS). It seemed I was close, but there was no data in the print jobs. Zero copies of zero sheets every time a job went through.

More digging on Google found a thread on a Gentoo Linux forum with an odd post that actually pertains closely to my problem. So thanks to n00b, I was able to create my own binary package files for 64-bit Debian. And they work.

I’ll quote n00b’s series of “less than intuitive” steps below, for future reference…

  • Run the following commands which are necessary to support the binary blobs included in the driver files: 
    
     ln -s lib /usr/lib64
     apt-get install ia32-libs
  • Visit the Canon-Australia support site and download the most recent drivers, currently Linux_UFRII_PrinterDriver_V250_uk_EN.tar.gz.
  • Unpack the file.
  • In the Sources directory, unpack the cndrvcups-common-2.50-1.tar.gz and cndrvcups-lb-2.50-1.tar.gz files.
  • Edit the debian/control files and change all instances of “Architecture: i386” to “Architecture: i386 amd64”.
  • Edit the debian/rules files and uncomment the “dh_makeshlibs” lines.
  • Edit the cndrvcups-lb-2.50/allgen.sh file and delete all instances of “–enable-static”, “–disable-static”, “–enable-shared”, and “–disable-shared” options.
  • Run the following commands from the Sources directory to build and install the driver software: 
    
     cd cndrvcups-common-2.50cndrv
     debuild binary
     cd ..
     dpkg -i cndrvcups-common_2.50-1_amd64.deb
     cd cndrvcups-lb-2.50
     debuild binary
     cd ..
     dpkg -i cndrvcups-lipslx_2.50-1_amd64.deb cndrvcups-ufr2-uk_2.50-1_amd64.deb cups-ufr2-us_2.50-1_amd64.deb

Buy the whey, I’m using Ubuntu 12.10 64-bit, and I ended up using the “LIPSLX” package produced by the debuild process. Other printers might work best with a different one.

Margaret Sanger Opens First Birth Control Clinic in the US

JesseLeave a comment

A little bit of “today in history…” thanks to the Mid-Columbia Today radio show. Quoted from Wikipedia:

On October 16, 1916, Sanger opened a family planning and birth control clinic at 46 Amboy St. in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, the first of its kind in the United States.

Wikipedia emphasizes her compassion for women whose lives were dominated by the children they bore. She herself was one of eleven children. In 1912,

Margaret and William became immersed in the radical bohemian culture that was then flourishing in Greenwich Village. They became involved with local intellectuals, artists, socialists, and activists for political reform, including John Reed, Upton Sinclair, Mabel Dodge, and Emma Goldman. Starting in 1911, Sanger wrote a series of articles about sexual education entitled “What Every Mother Should Know” and “What Every Girl Should Know” for the socialist magazine New York Call.

Besides her mission of mercy toward overburdened mothers, Wikipedia also describes a deeper agenda, “Sanger believed that through selective abortions and birth control the white race could be purified and what she termed as the ‘undesireables’ could be controlled.” For example, “The mission of the clinic in Harlem was to control and help limit the African American population.”

Sanger founded the precursor to Planned Parenthood in 1921, and was eventually president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. From her own life, it’s clear that the “planning” advocated by Planned Parenthood is meant to be done partly by the parents, and partly by social engineers like Sanger. In that respect, she was a product of her time, when communism and eugenics were fashionable even in the United States. While not all advocates of abortion today would agree with Sanger’s deeper agenda, it’s likely that many do. The reason it’s not advocated so openly today is the intervening period of Hitler and the Third Reich, with their aggressive eugenics and racial purification programs. On that scale, the world recognized this agenda for the evil that it is. The evil becomes harder to recognize when seen in the idealistic agenda of a single person, or even a “family planning clinic,” but it’s really a difference in magnitude only, not a difference in kind.

Meanwhile, here is what our Large Catechism says under the heading of the Fourth Commandment:

In addition, it would be well to preach to the parents also, and such as bear their office, as to how they should deport themselves toward those who are committed to them for their government. For although this is not expressed in the Ten Commandments, it is nevertheless abundantly enjoined in many places in the Scripture. And God desires to have it embraced in this commandment when He speaks of father and mother. For He does not wish to have in this office and government knaves and tyrants; nor does He assign to them this honor, that is, power and authority to govern, that they should have themselves worshiped; but they should consider that they are under obligations of obedience to God; and that, first of all, they should earnestly and faithfully discharge their office, not only to support and provide for the bodily necessities of their children, servants, subjects, etc., but, most of all, to train them to the honor and praise of God. Therefore do not think that this is left to your pleasure and arbitrary will, but that it is a strict command and injunction of God, to whom also you must give account for it.

But here again the sad plight arises that no one perceives or heeds this, and all live on as though God gave us children for our pleasure or amusement, and servants that we should employ them like a cow or ass, only for work, or as though we were only to gratify our wantonness with our subjects, ignoring them, as though it were no concern of ours what they learn or how they live; and no one is willing to see that this is the command of the Supreme Majesty, who will most strictly call us to account and punish us for it; nor that there is so great need to be so seriously concerned about the young. For if we wish to have excellent and apt persons both for civil and ecclesiastical government, we must spare no diligence, time, or cost in teaching and educating our children, that they may serve God and the world, and we must not think only how we may amass money and possessions for them. For God can indeed without us support and make them rich, as He daily does. But for this purpose He has given us children, and issued this command that we should train and govern them according to His will, else He would have no need of father and mother. Let every one know, therefore, that it is his duty, on peril of losing the divine favor, to bring up his children above all things in the fear and knowledge of God, and if they are talented, have them learn and study something, that they may be employed for whatever need there is [to have them instructed and trained in a liberal education, that men may be able to have their aid in government and in whatever is necessary].

And under The Fifth Commandment:

Therefore the entire sum of what it means not to kill is to be impressed most explicitly upon the simple-minded. In the first place, that we harm no one, first, with our hand or by deed. Then, that we do not employ our tongue to instigate or counsel thereto. Further, that we neither use nor assent to any kind of means or methods whereby any one may be injured. And finally, that the heart be not ill disposed toward any one, nor from anger and hatred wish him ill, so that body and soul may be innocent in regard to every one, but especially those who wish you evil or inflict such upon you. For to do evil to one who wishes and does you good is not human, but diabolical.

It should go without saying, but Luther would consider unborn human babies to be protected by this commandment just as much as any other human being. There can be do doubt about that.

It’s Nice to be Super Wealthy

JesseLeave a comment

The politics of this year keep coming back to “the Bush tax cut,” often pilloried as a “tax cut for the super rich,” who already “fail to pay their fair share” of the tax burden. I remember that tax cut fondly, because my family began seeing a lot more money in our bank account. I must say that it’s nice to be super rich. Maybe some day our household annual income will break $100k. In fact, it seems more and more likely now, with all the new money being created out of thin air to make possible the record federal spending of the last four years. The only question is what all that super-wealth will be able to buy when it’s over.

Seriously, I think this talk about the super rich is meant to make us envious of our neighbors. This might be a good time to revisit the 9th Commandment, among others. Yes, they apply even in the voting booth. So why not review what they mean? Just keep in mind that your neighbor’s legal income is really his, not yours to obtain through the political process, in the Orwellian name of “fairness.”

The Brewing Controversy in WELS and How to Avoid It

JesseLeave a comment

A distant acquaintance of mine, Rev. Paul Rydecki, has been suspended from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod for teaching false doctrine. This has come to me even through some of my own members, who are concerned and a bit confused. The accusation is that Pastor Rydecki denies the doctrine known as Objective Justification (OJ for short), also called by some Universal Justification, or for those who like many words, Universal Objective Justification, which I find a bit tedious. OJ is a biblical teaching emphasized by various people in our Lutheran heritage, notably C.F.W. Walther, who has been nicknamed “The American Luther.” Luther himself emphasized it in several places, as do the Lutheran Confessions. It’s an abstract proposition closely connected with the doctrine that the suffering and death of Christ has made full atonement for every sin ever committed by a human being. On the basis of that atonement being paid in full, Christ rose from the dead in proof that God has accepted this as propitiation for all of those sins. Objectively speaking, Christ’s work has justified every sinner. This is an important doctrine, because it allows us to speak the Gospel of God’s forgiveness to every person we meet, at any time they ought to hear it. Because justification is objectively accomplished, there can be no doubt that this proclamation of forgiveness is true, whether we are speaking it to our neighbors, or we are hearing it applied to our own sins.

Over the last century or more, our appreciation for OJ has increased dramatically. That’s a good thing. Unfortunately, our appreciation for OJ’s sister doctrine, which is equally true, may have diminished: Subjective Justification (SJ for short). This is also emphasized in the writings and confessions of the Lutheran heritage. It’s complementary to OJ. In fact, they are equally necessary for our salvation. SJ is possible because of OJ. Somewhere, I think Luther uses the illustration of a poor beggar who is discovered to be the heir of a prince. His newly-discovered identity gives him not only a new family and title, but eventually even lands, castles, etc. All of these things are objectively his, but it doesn’t benefit him at all unless he believes that this is true. If he rejects the royal messenger and goes on begging for the rest of his life, it doesn’t change who he is and what he possesses. However, none of those possessions would help him in the least. Likewise, OJ is received and becomes a benefit to the sinner only when God creates faith in his heart to believe the message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. That’s SJ. Every time the Lutheran Confessions mention justification “by faith alone,” they are speaking of SJ, often in opposition to the notion that it involves human works or merit.

It’s part of human nature to make mistakes. Yes, even WELS (or ELS) pastors have this nature. Yes, even ELS (or WELS) officials and administrators have this nature. Shocking, to be sure, but true nonetheless. But since we have a Savior, these mistakes need not trouble us. Instead, we should be troubled when we fail to recognize, repent, and correct any of our mistakes. Thankfully, we are often quite vigilant in helping to correct the mistakes of our Christian brothers. It comes naturally, because we so easily see the specks in their eyes, while the planks in our own remain invisible to us. This process of correction requires and encourages humility.

It doesn’t appear to me that Pastor Rydecki made any serious doctrinal mistakes that should threaten the integrity of the body of Christ. I could be critical of some things, but they would probably fall under the category of nit-picking. He has, however, done a great service to the Lutheran Church by restoring a measure of focus upon SJ and its necessity. He has called attention to some places where individuals in the WELS have perhaps been a bit careless in their vocabulary, or even emphasized OJ to the point of denying the need for SJ. As an example of sloppy vocabulary, consider one of the litmus-test questions asked him by his ministerial supervisor, “Did God forgive the sins of the world when Jesus died on the cross?” My response might be, “How precise an answer do you want?” If a precise answer is required, I would then ask, “Do you mean ‘forgive’ in the sense that the world appropriated this forgiveness and was thereby saved? Because that’s how I usually use this word. Or do you mean that God accepted Christ’s atonement as the all-sufficient basis for providing forgiveness to every sinner, who must then receive that forgiveness individually through faith in the Gospel?” You may not see a difference, but there is an important one, flowing from the distinction between OJ and SJ. If you don’t get it, then read the question again, carefully this time.

Without careful attention to the way we communicate the truths of holy scripture, there could well be a raging controversy about the article of faith by which the Church stands or falls, the very doctrine restored to its position of importance by the Lutheran reformation. How ironic that would be.

How about the supervisor’s second litmus-test question, “Has God justified all sinners for the sake of Christ?” If precision is required, we must reply with a second question, “Do you mean OJ or SJ?” Pastor Rydecki seems to have had SJ primarily on his mind, due to the recent unfortunate trend that has been letting it slide. It seems likely that his supervisor had OJ primarily in mind. The distinction between the two was not fully articulated during the time of the Reformation, as it has been in more recent centuries, but it is nevertheless an important one, as evidenced by the brewing controversy.

See Pastor Rydecki’s explanation for more on this subject. I’m sure that more will be written about it. Please keep Pastor Rydecki, his family, his congregation, and the WELS in your prayers. Kyrie eleison.

Access to Logos Content without Windows: Priceless

JesseLeave a comment

Yes, friends, I’m using Logos Bible software on Linux. (But don’t tell Logos that Android is really Linux underneath, or they might decide to pull the plug.)

My Logos purchases of Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions and Luther’s Works: American Edition have been gathering digital dust the last year or three since I bought them. I’d hoped to be able to run the Libronix application under Wine, a set of Windows-compatibility libraries on Linux capable of running a large number of Windows applications as though they were native to Linux. But alas and alack! I have Libronix installed, and the icon stares me in the face from my Gnome desktop, but apparently Libronix relies on some of the proprietary features of Internet Explorer that are integrated into Windows, and not (yet) duplicated by Wine. Its runs with Wine, but the interface is mostly useless.

Now, I do have one or two Windows XP Professional installations available to me. One is on my old ThinkPad T43, gathering its own digital dust while I happily boot that machine 99% of the time directly into Ubuntu. It seems every time I do boot Windows, it wants to update some of the software. That could either be a measure of the infrequency with which I use Windows, or simply the price of running an OS with the security vulnerabilities of Windows. Suffice it to say that I didn’t choose to put Windows on that machine, but I’ve kept it around for “legacy” purposes. Until now, it was my only means to access the Logos content I’ve bought, and I’ve probably only used it a handful of times. The limitations, headaches, and expenses that always accompany a commercial operating system like Windows (and to a lesser degree, OS X) are just not worth the hassle of figuring out how to get things done in that environment, so even though I’ve bought Logos content, I’ve had to live as Paul recommends in 1 Corinthians 7:30.

But as you may have read in the previous post, I’ve now acquired an Android tablet for entirely different reasons. Though priced comparatively to a Windows or OS X license, the Nexus 7 is actually useful to me. Today I wondered, “Hmm. Even though Logos doesn’t have an application compatible with the Linux desktop, do you suppose they’ve made one for Android?” The answer, to my delight, is yes.

So now I can read my Logos content. I haven’t tried yet, but maybe I can also search through it. That would be most useful.

Now, all of this could make a person wonder why Logos wouldn’t make an application for the Linux desktop. Let’s speculate. The most likely reason is that they don’t think enough people would use it, so that the cost would not be justified. Okay, I can understand that. Logos is a business, after all. But…

Linux is built of Free software. While that may sound like it’s contrary to the principle of business-for-profit, it’s not. In fact, it can be used to the advantage of a business like Logos. You see, there are thousands of people with programming capability who literally donate their time to write software of every quality (from poor quality to better-than-commercial), which can be used in Linux. In fact, this phenomenon spills over into the Windows and Macintosh environments, but most of it happens in connection with Free computing environments like Linux. Some of those programmers (including me) would be happy to help create a Linux-compatible application for Logos.

Now, you might object, “But then Logos couldn’t sell it!” Ah, but they already have decided to give away their applications for Windows, Macintosh, and apparently Android too. Their money is not earned by selling their application, but by selling and supporting the content. So an open-source, Free Logos application for Linux would fit their business model like a glove. All we need are the specs needed access the Logos digital library. That brings us to another possible objection.

The Logos digital library and its inner workings are a kind of proprietary property of the company. The company probably believes that if any other programmers learn how to access it, they will lose their ability to generate revenue, and even to protect the rights of those who own the content. That’s a legitimate concern, because Logos has a responsibility in this area. However, I think the security record of Free software speaks for itself, especially when compared to proprietary software in the Windows environment.

There are plenty of Linux applications that are responsible for the security of their users, administrators, and the owners of the systems on which they run. Technologies like GnuPG, SSH, SSL, TLS and others are relied upon daily by people all over the world for their security, and they are implemented in Linux, with Free software. The security comes not from keeping the source code, algorithms, and apis secret, but on the contrary, by making them publicly available, with the widest-possible review base. These technologies protect important data from falling into the wrong hands. In the same way, Free software could protect intellectual property in the Logos Library System from falling into the wrong hands.

“But that doesn’t guarantee that legitimate purchasers of LLS content will not misuse it!” True. Neither does the current Libronix application for Windows. At some point already, Logos’ responsibility to copyright owners ends, and the end users’ responsibility takes over. That would still be true with a Free software Logos application. Nothing would change there.

While some might think that the Linux community has no regard for intellectual property, the opposite is generally the case. Through long conditioning, Windows users reflexively click past EULA screens when installing software, but the copyright stipulations that make open-source software Free are very important to a great many Linux users, especially the programmers. We tend to care about whether a bit of intellectual property is used in the ways intended by the copyright-holder, because that’s where we find the most basic difference between the programming of proprietary software and Free software. The copyright of Free software is what makes it Free. Not necessarily free as in “free beer,” but Free as in “freedom to see the source code and use it elsewhere.”

If the security model of the Libronix library system is based upon truly secure ways of safeguarding the intellectual property of copyright-holders, then I would only expect improvements to the interface and the security, and maybe even improvements to the system itself. If, on the other hand, the security model relies upon keeping the API secret and proprietary, then it’s a failed proposition from the start, and the copyright holders should already be nervous.

For today, though, I’m happy finally to have practical access to the content I purchased. So thanks, Logos, for the Android app.

Getting Things Done… Better

JesseLeave a comment

The weak link in my GTD implementation was the “trusted system” for keeping and reviewing my actions and projects. I’ve done it on paper, but I also had to carry my Palm T|X to have my addressbook handy. (I have thus far capitulated to having a mobile phone, which I use only sparingly when absolutely necessary, but still have avoided a smartphone because they’re vastly overpriced for the use I’d make of one.) So I returned to my trusty peditPro text editor on the T|X, and have been using it for quite a while. The trouble in the system is the device interface. GTD is about overcoming the limits of human behavioral patterns, and the Palm Pilot, even the T|X, just doesn’t allow for an easy enough interface to manage the “trusted system.” I would find it a daily chore just to enter the text needed for processing actions and projects. Of course, I pressed on, not really perceiving that problem. Norwegian-Americans are often really good at that. (I think it’s the German part of me that finally brought me to my senses, but it could be the Scottish.)

Then came the babies. Twins. I was needed so constantly at home, 24 hours a day, for the last seven months, that about a month into it, I just stopped using GTD altogether. None of my projects were moving forward, and no actions were getting done. It was survival mode, and I’m okay with that. My wife has always needed sleep more than I do (her personal motto is carpe requiem), so I knew that she and the family would need my full attention for a while. I missed two regional pastoral conferences and every winkel until the 2012 synod convention. Somehow, we made it through Lent and Easter, and I think I even preached sermons. Well, there’s audio on the web site, anyway, so somebody preached.

But I gradually began doing more and more at church again, and God began sending guests to our services, and church activities were fruitful and multiplied. Fortunately, I have come to realize that I’ve been keeping a sizable to-do list in my head, and that it’s not working. Unfortunately, it took several system failures for me to realize it. So as I posted the other day, it’s time again for GTD. And now I recognize the weak link, and I come to the point of this post.

Turns out there is an abundance of GTD resources that many people have developed. It was a bit overwhelming just sifting through them. But I think I found my solution. First, the main requirements:

  • It should allow me to implement GTD, as described in David Allen’s book Getting Things Done.
  • It should be very portable. My Palm T|X excels here, and is hard to match.
  • It should have a large capacity, including an address book.
  • Centralized data storage is a plus, if it’s accessible from multiple locations, and can be backed up
  • Data should be secure.

A Ruby-on-Rails web application called Tracks was enticing, because I could keep my data on my own server, even if it’s hosted online. But the Ruby on Rails support at the web hosting companies I currently use is either non-existent, or not very fully implemented.

So after looking around, I’ve settled on a smaller Android tablet computer coupled with an online service called Toodledo. Right now, I’m saving up for the tablet, which will probably be a Google Nexus7. It’s bigger than my Palm T|X, but not by much. The larger size alone may solve the physical aspects of the “weak link” in my GTD system. But there are also several Android apps written to sync with Toodledo. The one I’m most interested in trying is called Ultimate To-Do List. If it’s anything like it’s described, it should be excellent.

While saving up for the tablet, I’ve been starting my transition to Toodledo. I’m amazed at this tool. It’s exactly what I want in a GTD to-do list, and easy enough to use that it doesn’t feel like a chore. I’ve only been through part of the listings in my Palm Pilot, and already my mind is beginning to get unwound. The creative juices are beginning to flow, and the old sense of GTD control is returning. I look forward with anticipation to having everything back in a trusted system, and out of my head.

Some Things Pols and LEOs Can’t Prevent

JesseLeave a comment

There’s usually a bit of discussion about gun control laws following the tragic, murderous attack of innocents. Lawmakers obviously feel somewhat responsible for preventing such attacks. In the same way, the 9/11 attack on the United States has resulted now in our airline travelers being herded around without recourse, like cattle in chutes, until they can be viewed naked by a special government officer through highly-specialized x-ray equipment.

Lawmakers and government officials have taken upon themselves the responsibility of preventing any further attacks through the airlines, and when government steps in to act, in can’t help but force everyone else to acquiesce. I had to go through the backscatter machines the last time I flew. To my dismay, we were forced to hold our arms up in the air inside the machine, sort of like when the FBI has you surrounded, with all its weapons aimed at you. It was a little disconcerting, since I also had to remove my belt. Up until that fateful moment, the only thing holding my pants at waist level were my hands. When I was forced to “reach for the sky,” I could only hope that the tension in my leg muscles would be enough to hold my 36″ pants on my 32″ waist. I think my guardian angel may have passed a finger through an empty belt loop at the last second, because the pants stayed up.

You might wonder why I have 36″ pants, when my waist is only about 32″. Well, I’d recently lost a bit of weight. In addition, most of my pants have larger-than-usual waists so that when it is appropriate, I can exercise my civil right to bear arms. I take that right seriously because it’s really the only way we have effectively to prevent murderous attacks like the Aurora shooting or 9/11. Well, I suppose those particular examples would still not have been prevented, because private citizens are not trusted to be armed on airplanes (including pilots, at the time), and the Aurora theater where the attacks took place was a so-called “gun-free zone.” But there are still other places where it is allowed for private citizens to bear arms, and with people who take this civil right as seriously as I do, those places are much safer.

While there can be private citizens everywhere, all the time, that’s not possible for law enforcement officers. Their response time may be measured in mere minutes, but a murderous attack may be well underway by the time they arrive. But even with that disadvantage, law enforcement officers can do much more against a violent attacker than lawmakers can do.

Some lawmakers seem to feel compelled to do something about the problem. The thing they do best, however, is of almost no use. Lawmakers make laws. Last I checked, there are already laws against murder. The only other way to use laws would be to strip away the civil rights and the convenience of all citizens in the hope of making it harder for murderous attackers to do their worst. Unfortunately, those attackers have little regard for laws. In fact, they are not constrained by the much more basic social norms and natural law that permit a civil society to exist. Their motives are sociopathic at worst, sometimes induced by mind-altering chemicals that also make them very hard to stop with anything short of lethal force.

So let me try to help our frustrated lawmakers find peace in these matters. They are not responsible for preventing such attacks. I repeat, they are not responsible for preventing murderous attacks by those who disregard the laws. They can’t be, because the most powerful tool at their disposal is completely ineffective. In fact, if they try to curtail violence by dismantling the civil rights of private citizens, they will end up increasing the likelihood of violence by disarming those who do respect the laws and who may be present when a violent attacker could be stopped. If they tie the hands of those who might have stopped murder and grave injury, then they do bear some responsibility for the suffering — not all responsibility, but some.

Believe it or not, there are things that laws cannot accomplish. There are things even government can’t do. When it fails to recognize this and tries to do them anyway, nothing good results. When government takes full responsibility for the safety and security of its citizens by disarming and incapacitating them, we have a recipe for disaster.

This post is dedicated to the memory of the private citizens on United flight 93.

Where is the other side of the boat?

JesseLeave a comment

It was clear to Jesus’ disciples where He meant them to cast their nets. All they had to do was step across the boat to reach the other side. It didn’t make any sense according to earthly reason that casting their nets there should produce a different result, but it was what Jesus told them to do. That was what made all the difference. You may agree that we should listen to what Jesus says now, regardless of earthly reason. But how do we find the other side of the boat? What would Jesus have us do?

Each disciple of Jesus must listen for himself to the words of Jesus, because He says many things. That’s another good reason for us to begin our Christian life anew each day with repentance, prayer, and meditation on His Word. We can’t distill what Jesus says into a 12-step program that will apply to everyone. Each of us finds himself in our own lives, in our own context, with our own challenges. The Word of God does not change, but its application can vary according to need and circumstances.

Still, here are some ideas for Christian individuals and churches. Let’s define three categories of activities in which we may spend our time. We’ll call them evangelism, outreach or advertising, and good works.

The one most talked about in the recent past is “evangelism.” We’ll define that as narrowly as possible: the communication of the Gospel message to another human being. It requires a medium, like the spoken word, the written word, or visual art. It may be possible to help communicate the Gospel using the medium of music or human actions. The Gospel is essentially a fact or proposition, so its full expression requires a medium that permits a high degree of articulation.

As communication, evangelism includes not only the expression of the Gospel, but also the reception of the message. That does not necessarily include a response of faith, but it does include understanding. It is not evangelism to speak the Gospel in English to people who only understand Spanish.

Jesus commanded evangelism to His apostles when He said (Mark 16:15 NKJV), “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” That command continues today for those whom Jesus has called into the same pastoral office, and its most pointed and literal fulfillment is found all over the world wherever the Church gathers for the divine service. Every Christian participates in this through our connections to the churches where the Gospel is preached and taught. There are other ways the Gospel is figuratively “preached,” but we’ll leave those for another time.

It’s important to realize that evangelism, as we define it here, is how God the Holy Spirit causes the Church to grow and thrive, as Lutherans confess in Article 5 of the Augsburg Confession:

1] That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, 2] the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear 3] the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.

4] They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works. (bookofconcord.org)

The second category has recently been called “outreach,” but we could also just as well call it “advertising.” This activity seeks to establish lines of communication between Christians and non-Christians, or between the Church and the world. It is not a communication of the Gospel, and so it does not have the power to save anyone from sin or death.

Advertising also involves communication, but as we define it narrowly, its purpose is different than evangelism. Advertising conducted by churches is really the same tool as used by businesses in the world. Businesses advertise to entice or attract the attention of others, with the aim of selling a product or service that the customer may not have been considering. By analogy, churches advertise to entice or attract the attention of others, in order to establish a line of communication that can be used for the Gospel.

It may sound inefficient to communicate an advertising message (conduct outreach) in order to later communicate the Gospel (evangelism). Why not just cut straight to evangelism, and bypass outreach? The reason is simple. The unbelieving world doesn’t like the Gospel. It finds the Gospel to be offensive, foolish, and ridiculous. Just read the first chapters of 1 Corinthians; Paul explains it there. Now, if churches want to communicate something to the unbelieving world, we have the same basic task before us as the secular businesses in our community. I’m fairly certain that people in marketing would discourage us from advertising a message aimed at recipients who will find that message to be offensive, foolish, and ridiculous. We could do it anyway, and rely upon the miraculous work of God to produce the results. We would even see some results, eventually. But if we want to open channels to communicate the Gospel, then we should probably distinguish between outreach and evangelism, between simple advertising and preaching the Gospel.

If businesses are trying to sell a product or services that their customers may not have been considering, churches have it even tougher. We are trying to communicate a message (the Gospel) that we know the recipients don’t want to hear! So it’s important that we open the conversation strategically with an outreach message that may gain the ear of the unbelieving world. Even while we communicate the Gospel in whatever ways we can, we should also conduct outreach by advertising.

This translates easily from churches to individual Christians. In fact, the importance of outreach is even clearer in the lives of Christians. We conduct outreach every time we speak to a non-Christian. The way we speak and act can either open or close lines of communication for the Gospel. We are living advertisements for our Lord’s Church. But then, we are also breathing examples of the Gospel.

That leads us to one of the most powerful media for both outreach and evangelism: the good works of Christians. James 2:18 applies (NKJV): “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” On that topic, I recommend you read this year’s convention essay from the Evangelical Lutheran Synod’s convention. Pastor Obenberger treats it much more completely than I could do here.

These are some general ideas about the other side of the boat. Jesus actually told His apostles to preach the Gospel, and He tells His whole Church to love one another and perform good works. Why not cast our nets there? But as I mentioned in the last blog post, we need to start much closer to home. We need to begin with our own spiritual problems before we can reach out to help our neighbor. Yes, Christians do have spiritual problems. We require daily repentance as we live in our Baptism, in the holy Name of our God and Savior. We to receive His Word and meditate upon it so that it becomes the fabric of our lives. That’s really where we begin to find the other side of the boat, and it prepares us to reach out in godly love, with genuine good works.

Cast your net on the other side of the boat.

JesseLeave a comment

Lutheran congregations are probably not alone in our struggle recently to continue operating with the same degree of material success that we enjoyed in the last fifty years or so. More and more, Christians’ attention is diverted from the mission that Christ has given His Church, including our own growth in the faith. It seems that this happens by necessity, as more time is required for each family to earn enough income to remain solvent. Then, since we spend so much time at the grindstone, we require more down time in recreation apart from the normal demands of life. In other words, when we’re not working hard, we’re usually playing hard. It leaves less and less for the life of the Church.

The effects of this appear in the church attendance pattern of our members, and in their willingness or zeal to give personal time toward the activity of the Church. Bible classes and Sunday schools are emptier than they have been. Fewer and fewer members are more and more involved in sustaining the congregations, placing greater demands upon those individuals. In a way, it’s not the fault of our members, and I don’t mean this as a rant against members with poor attendance or involvement at church. But I do observe this as a trend over time. We could justifiably blame it on the economy, or on social trends. Most likely it’s an attack by the enemy, Satan. My concern here is not so much the cause, but what we Christians might do about it.

The first things we must always do are repent and turn to God in prayer. Never underestimate the importance and power is these things. Much of the suffering in the Bible endured by God’s people was a call to repentance, so that God might forgive, restore, and bless them. Why should we suppose that He works differently today? In fact, we’ve been studying Revelation 2 and 3 in our weekly Bible classes at Bethany in The Dalles, where Jesus clearly calls upon New Testament congregations to repent of various kinds of faithlessness and sin. We would do well to examine our habits, priorities, and assumptions to see whether they are aligned with the will that God has revealed in holy scripture. For that matter, we should also examine our doctrine, practice, and tradition.

Prayer is the privilege of priests, given to all who are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. It’s not vain babbling meant only to externalize our inner demons. It’s communication to our Creator and Savior, Who invites and commands us to approach Him through the blood of Jesus Christ. Prayer is a participation in God’s work in the world. We could make a crude comparison to a program of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans called Thrivent Choice, in which members who hold a certain minimum amount of insurance products with Thrivent can direct the company to give some of its vast financial resources to various congregations or other works of ministry. In a comparable, but far more powerful way, God allows His redeemed children to participate in His gracious workings in the world by praying to Him. He has promised to hear, and He even responds to our prayers in the way He deals with us. That doesn’t mean we can force Him to do something that He knows is not best, but there may be times when He withholds a certain blessing until we ask for it.

An old tradition among Lutherans is to pray and worship at home with a family altar. It takes planning and sacrifice to dedicate and set up space in our homes for such a place for prayer and meditation. We may find ourselves unwilling to make the compromises necessary. It takes more planning and sacrifice to form a daily habit of personal prayer. Even so, we can devote at least some daily time for personal or even family worship. Both the Hymnary and the Hymnal contain many resources to help with this, as does the Catechism and many other resources. How might the plight of our congregations improve if each family devoted itself to daily self-examination, prayer, and meditation? This kind of practical and personal application of faith to our lives is where the most important spiritual warfare happens. May God help us to fight this good fight.

The most apparent pressing need at many congregations is to meet their budget. The flip side of this apparent need is to bring more members into the church. It’s a mistake to focus on these things as the measure of success in our congregations, yet the earthly side of any outward organization requires them. So how can we address this apparent need? In the past, churches have turned to business practices for help. Evangelism programs and mission statements are an outgrowth of this approach. Such things are not necessarily wrong, but they can wrongly diminish our reliance upon God’s grace, and our faith in His Word.

In every age, the Church has existed contrary to reasonable human expectations, because it has existed as a miraculous work of God. Jesus demonstrated this to His disciples when He told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. How should that make any difference? The only difference is that this is what Jesus told them to do. So instead of spinning our wheels in activities that we think ought to be helping our struggling congregations, maybe we should try what Jesus says, even when it seems utterly fruitless and counterintuitive. I challenge you to read your Bible, and see if I’m wrong about this.

Our help and salvation are still found in our gracious God, through Jesus Christ.