Unless I have it wrong, he has been at St. Paul's not quite a year longer than I have been here in Clarksville...
We will pray for you Will and for all those affected by your decision as well as the will of God to be made clear to you....
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Prayer requested...
Unless I have it wrong, he has been at St. Paul's not quite a year longer than I have been here in Clarksville...
We will pray for you Will and for all those affected by your decision as well as the will of God to be made clear to you....
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23 comments:
Whenever a pastor receives a divine
call, there is one important question
to be answered, "Where can I best
serve the Lord?" If Will is led by
the Holy Spirit that the answer is
at the International Center, then
he will have the opportunity to serve
the Lord there. If the answer is to
remain at St. Paul, then he will
continue there. A divine call gives
a pastor time to evaluate both his
strengths and weaknesses.
Wow!!
Christine
Christine,
Love your new moniker!
My sinfull, selfish person admits how hard it often is to pray "Deo Volente." I will also pray for the folk at Fr. Weedon's parish. Should he accept this new call, it will be heartrendng for them.
It would be equally heartrending should the same thing happen at Grace. Especially hard for my husband and I who have been doubly graced. Graced in God's leading us to the LCMS, and graced in having such a wonderful parish, right under our noses, so to speak.
The people of the flock need a faithful pastor more than the purple palace does. The local parish is far more important than an administration.
Why in the world would the purple palace covet this faithful pastor and entice him away from his divine calling to shepherd the flock? Shameful. Have they no regard for the local parish and its needs? And you call this a Divine Call?
Thanks Janis!
Christine
Man, this is a tough one for me. I once got an email from some Catholic group complaining of who sat on the board of Notre Dame. I showed it to my son and explained who they were and that it was so sad that such folks were sitting there when some much more faithful people would do a better job. I told him that it is important for the faithful to sit in such positions else the unfaithful occupy them.
Tough call.
This blog post from December sheds some light on what is expected of this post. Eyebrow duly raised.
http://afortmadeofbooks.blogspot.com/2011/12/worship-director.html
VERY curious, why a retired seminary professor, retired pastor from 75 Lutheran churches in the area couldn't do this instead of removing a parish pastor?
We had a reception for new members at our church, this morning. One member made a comment, stating that the congregation, formed in the mid 1950's, has been blessed to have always been served by confessional pastors. This was most certainly not by accident. We would hate to see our beloved pastor leave, but we know, as a calling flock that we would again be blessed with a confessional pastor. We must understand that when a pastor accepts a new call, that is not only God's plan for him, but also His plan for his new call, as well as for the place that he is leaving. God's richest blessings, Rev. Weedon, as you consider this new call.
The Tenth Commandment.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his.
What does this mean? - Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away our neighbor's wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and [diligently] do their duty.
Enticing a pastor with a big salary, benefits, perks, etc. from his pastoral call is not right. This puts the pastor in a bad spot and reflects poorly on whoever has enticed him.
Call a pastor who is not serving a parish and put him to work.
This doesn't compute. Our synod administration and seminaries are crying about the shortage of parish pastors and they now try to compound the problem by taking another pastor away from his duty? What kind of example is this?
Having followed Pastor Weedon on his blog and reading his writings on other blogs, I am convinced that he is more traditional than most LCMS pastors. By accepting such a call, would his influence on other pastors throughout the Synod be greatly increased, or compartmentalized and reduced. Would he remain a faithful pastor or become a faceless, nameless bureaucrat occupying a cubicle. Politically speaking, offering a disruptive, noisy member a lucrative position at headquarters is one way to control the opposition.
In his blog posted upstream, Robbie F. stated it best: The person in that position could be a "....stooge for whatever side of the "worship wars" is currently in favor." Would Weedon's supervisors force him to help generate generic Evangelical worship materials that would be contrary to his beliefs regarding confessional worship? Sorry, but as a lifelong LCMS layman, I do not trust Synod and its motives. Too many Synod and district employees are still trying to turn the LCMS into a generic Protestant denomination. Recall that TCN is still a recognized RSO of the LCMS.
Pastor Todd Wilken is no longer on the LCMS payroll, and yet Issues, Etc. has profound influence on Synod. What would Todd Wilken do. If I were Pastor Weedon, I would consult with him first. In addition, what does the board at Steadfast Lutherans think? Would the board endorse or reject such a move?
~Cafeteria Lutheran
While I do not share the deep disdain of "corporate" Synod and I think of great positive effect of having someone of Pr Weedon's character in such a position, I also see the great value of keeping a good Pastor in the parish. Besides, perish the thought of Pr Weedon having a call which did NOT include presiding and preaching in the Divine Service. Since I do not know the full extent of such responsibilities for the office to which he has been called, I cannot make informed comment. There is but one thing that would keep me from taking such a position and that would be absenting myself from the altar and pulpit -- which is the core and center of my pastoral responsibilities here and the very things of this calling I value most of all.
You are right. A pastor who values preaching and administering sacraments to the congregation knows what he was trained for and his mission in the kingdom. To do any other is forsaking the divine call. The sheep need faithful pastors. An office needs bureaucrats.
If Pastor Weedon takes this position, he is most certainly not "forsaking the divine call," any more than President Harrison did when he became director of LCMS World Relief, or now President of the LCMS. This position would allow Pr Weedon to bring his wealth of knowledge and pastoral heart to influence our entire synod in matters liturgical, and it would also allow him to serve as a pastor in the IC, where (I would hope we all agree) we very much want a Lutheran ethos to pervade.
The office of parish pastor is a noble thing. But the church will also need pastors to do such things as teach other pastors (sem professors), instruct our future teachers in theology (college professors), and yes, work at the IC, to serve all the parish pastors and musicians who would profoundly benefit from his guidance.
I am not a fan of bureaucracy. But I am a big fan of what President Harrison is trying to accomplish in our synod, and we all should be rejoicing that such a man as Pastor Weedon has been called to this position. It speaks volumes about President Harrison's desires for our synod.
Amen, Pr. Esget!
Pres. Harrison did not leave a pastoral call to become president. In fact, he accepted a pastoral call soon after becoming president. The point is that we should not be taking pastors away from their calling as pastors of churches where they serve a divine call of God and the people. This is just poor practice and not based on a scriptural doctrine of the call.
True - he left one before that. So, would you say that when he left Zion Ft Wayne to work for LCMS World Relief Human Care (and the many years he did that without any call as assistant pastor t a parish), that was wrong? And it is wrong to have seminary professors?
There is freedom in the Gospel folks. Whether he remains in the parish or takes this position, Pastor Weedon will serve the Lord.
(Although, personally, I'd like to see him write more Firefly and get it picked up by a network... oh, wait, that's Whedon... nevermind)
Perhaps he wants to leave his parish and that's why he was nominated for this job. Getting too pious about the way calls, contracts, nominations, etc. work in LCMS can get one into trouble. What does the Bible have to say about this? What do the Confessions say about this? That's what counts. Coveting and enticing a pastor away from his call can't be a good thing, though, unless he wants to make a change.
Getting too impious can be dangerous as well. But particularly dangerous is assuming, Anonymous, that there is coveting and enticement going on here. That is definitely putting the worst construction on everyone's motives.
I think I know Pr Weedon well enough to say categorically that he neither sought nor can be enticed by a call but rather believe that, being so close to St. Louis, and having so many know him as a good, faithful and wise Lutheran Pastor, those seeking a men for this national position sought out just such a person, and, prayerfully and Spirit led, called Pr Weedon. That said, it is up to him to prayerfully confirm this election or to decline this call in the belief that God has called him to stay where he is...
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