ZITAT: 'So That They Can Play The Game Of Synod'

Unless I'm way off base with my basic translating skills (and have completely forgotten how to perform an accurate Google search!), I believe the English word "quote" (used as a noun as in "a quote") is translated to "zitat" in German. That will help to explain the strange "Z" word listed in the title of this post.

That being said, I'm always keeping my eyes and ears open for good Lutheran quotes that encourage prayerful consideration and deeper study of God's Word, His Sacraments, Christ's Church, and the Lutheran confessions of "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). Plus, it certainly helps me in my on-going journey from American Evangelicalism to becoming a Confessional Lutheran .

Here's the latest...

"There are many pastors in America who form a 'union' of sorts so that they can play the 'game' of synod. They may be renegades from the discipline of a legitimate synod, are usually poorly educated, know nothing about the doctrine of the church whose name they bear, may have no preparation for the office of the ministry at all, are filled with errors of every kind, may also be conscienceless people who carry on 'ministry' like any other trade, just in order to earn their daily bread and live a comfortable life. When they come into an area, especially one that has no synod, they think, 'This is nice, we'll form our own synod here.' So then they accept as members any Tom, Dick, or Harry who happens to come along, so that they can play 'synod.' They all want to be 'president,' and so they elect a large number of vice-presidents so that everyone holds an office, a title, a dignity. They have no doctrinal studies of any kind, because their heads are empty and therefore they can't produce anything worthwhile. Neither do they have any interest in doctrine. They spend their time on 'business,' how they should precede in a proper parliamentary fashion. They appeal repeatedly for 'proper procedure' in bringing matters up for consideration by the 'right reverend synod,' or the 'venerable ministerium.' And so they refer the matter from Caiaphas to Annas, etc. It is truly hair-raising and shocking to read the history of how certain 'synods' came into being. The way they operate is nothing less than scandalous! 

In contrast to that, a Synod worthy of the name must above all else be formed so that the gifts which are distributed to the various servants of Christ may be best utilized for the benefit of all. And here again the number one priority must be the promotion of a better understanding of God's Word. Even if a synod proceeds in a free and easy manner, with no particular organized procedure, it is still a glorious synod so long as there is an intensive study of God's Word. The Lord is in the midst of His Synodical members. For there we are gathered in His name and there His Word is taught in childlike faith." 

*- C.F.W. Walther, Essays For The Church, Vol. II, (St. Louis, MO, Concordia Publishing House, 1992), pp. 45-46.

In a Lutheran layman's terms, I long for more faithful men of God who desire to be true ministers of Gods gifts to His people, and staunch defenders of the faith, rather than those who just want to play the "game" of Synod all the time.



NOTE: I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or a Christian, Candy-Making, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this note, I'm also a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little over a year ago. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and point us back to) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Finally, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote on this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). In addition, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because we now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries. I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a dude's diary in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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