This recording of the Great Reformer’s Christmas sermon was posted by the good folks at the White Horse Inn a couple of years ago (it was dug up from their tape archives). It’s a great read and an even better listen from the lips of Dr. Rosenbladt. I should note that it isn’t one of Luther’s actual sermons but an assembly of pieces from his many Christmas writings, put together by Roland Bainton as he envisioned Luther might have preached them.
A real downside to working for a Christian organization/church/media-what-have-you is that, depending on how public your position is, you become a lightning rod for people’s feelings about organized religion–which of course are rarely neutral or mild. In an instant you can find yourself cast as a stand-in for whatever Pharisaical relative or teacher or ex-girlfriend offended the friend-of-a-friend in question. Transference goes with the territory, and don’t get me wrong: when it comes to those you know and care about (and most that you don’t), it’s a privilege to serve in this capacity. But it can be awkward and even…
This post on the infidelity of the inner-lawyer comes from Jason Redcay.
I believe it was Rod Rosenbladt that said we’re all natural born lawyers. We know the Law well—it is written on our very hearts. We can delineate good from bad, friend from foe, enough from not enough, and we’re especially adept when it applies to The Others. The inner lawyer knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff and, because it’s so obvious to us, we naturally think it’s our job to share its power. If we could just educate people on the Law, well, they would follow…
In the (by now quite famous in our circles) series of talks given at The Cathedral of the Advent by Professor Rod Rosenbladt on the subject of fatherhood, one of the first insights presented was that of Helmut Thielicke’s The Waiting Father. In this, his work on Jesus’s parables, Thielicke artfully and tragically describes modern man’s belief that he is quite alone in a dark universe ambivalent to his existence:
Man is walking through the dark forest of life in the gloom of night. Specters are lurking all around him and strange sounds disquiet him. The dark forest is full of…
[Update 1/10/12: We are very pleased to announce that Michael Horton will be the keynote speaker at this years Mockingbird Conference in NYC!]
I thought the title should go ahead and communicate what I thought from the outset:) Almost 10 years ago now, I read a lecture by Rod Rosenbladt called The Gospel for those broken by the Church, which introduced me to him, Michael Horton and the other members of what is known as the White Horse Inn radio show. In no small way, the aims of this show—to bring together people of different confessional and even theological commitments who…
From Dad Rod and our friends over at New Reformation Press:
Dr. Rod Rosenbladt on “The Gospel For Those Broken By The Church” from Faith Lutheran Church on Vimeo.
“When school is not a good fit for a boy, when his normal expressions of energy and action routinely meet with negative responses from teachers and classmates, he stews in feelings of failure – feelings of sadness, shame, and anger, which can be very hard to detect beneath that brash exterior. Unable to “talk out” the emotional pressure, boys typically act out through verbal or physical aggression that walls them off emotionally from others, straining or severing emotional connections to the people and circumstances they find painful. And the worse a boy behaves, the more he invites negative reactions from…
Fredo Viola claims not to be a religious man, but ‘The Sad Song’ certainly strikes a chord with me on a spiritual level. I do not think it is entirely possible to decipher the cryptic lyrics which take a backseat to the aching melodies, but Viola’s lamentation seems to express his deep longing to honor his recently departed father.
Baby HarryBaby HarryBaby HarryBe good, be good
And go gentlyand follow the LordHe’s falling over…
Here is Fredo’s description of how the song emerged:
In March my family found out that my father had cancer, and we spent the following month and a…
I’ve been asked why do we, who like the Reformation and support a Law/Gospel paradigm in theology, always focus on ourselves as sinners? Aren’t we like Debbie Downer from Saturday Night Live who litters every fun conversation with sad and depressing news? When people want to talk about living out a life of love for the glory of God, we talk about our weakness, our need, and our inability. What about intimacy, healing, and fruit in a relationship with Jesus? Intimacy is wonderful; healing is great, and fruit is awesome! The question is not “what” is good (that’s God’s holy…
Here they are! As you can see, we are offering the recordings of the conference for free again this year. Which we are very excited to do and plan to continue doing as long as it’s feasible. They are a gift! That said, we ask those that did not attend the conference this year to consider making a donation to Mockingbird to help cover the cost of putting it on. Not to worry, there will be no follow-up or regulation – think of it as a Radiohead-style pay-whatever-you-deem-appropriate situation. If you find them to be of value that is… Enjoy:
WELCOME. …
Interesting study on both the scope of the unchurched (100 million in the US) and the reasons why they don’t go (Hat Tip to T19). Two quotes:
“Based on past studies of those who avoid Christian churches, one of the driving forces behind such behavior is the painful experiences endured within the local church context. In fact, one Barna study among unchurched adults shows that nearly four out of every ten non-churchgoing Americans (37%) said they avoid churches because of negative past experiences in churches or with church people.”
“The solution, according to Mansfield, is forgiveness – the same forgiveness that Jesus…
“…Go forth into the world, there thou wilt learn what poverty is. But as thou hast not a bad heart, and as I mean well by thee, there is one thing I will grant thee; if thou fallest into any difficulty, come to the forest and cry, “Iron John,” and then I will come and help thee. My power is great, greater than thou thinkest, and I have gold and silver in abundance.”
- From the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Iron John
If there is one thing I have noticed over the years about the male gender, it is the need. There…
A little over a year ago, I posted the following series on how the theology of the Reformation addresses the relationship between fathers and sons. Since the material was taken completely from the famous (and truly pivotal and historic) talk Professor Rod Rosenbladt gave in Birmingham, AL in 2003, I thought it would be good to repost it for new eyes. It is no stretch to say that these talks in 2003 re-oriented the course of my life and the lives of many others.
In November of 2003, I was attending the Cathedral of the Advent in Birmingham, AL and just…
About seven years ago Dr. Rod Rosenbladt gave a series of talks at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. It is not an understatement to say that the following two quotes from that event literally changed my life. I felt like I was given a clear picture of the Gospel for the very first time, and looking back, I realize that the long, bumpy road to seminary (and a mid-stream career change) began that day. These are both from the first part of his Saturday morning lecture. He spent about an hour doing some theology with us…
Many of you may already be familiar with our distinguished conference speaker, Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, but for those of you who are not, I thought I would put up a few posts that illustrate just why he is so important to us and why you should run, not walk, to next week’s Mockingbird conference in NYC. Way back when this ministry was not even a glint in DZ’s Mockingeye, we ran across his article entitled, “The Gospel for Those Broken by the Church”, that has, I think, remained a foundational document for what we are trying to do here–one of…
John Zahl: Congrats to everyone involved! What a huge accomplishment! I know Eth...
Charles: "full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction" ...
Paul Walker: Amazing post! Thank you....
David Morton: Thanks! Ummm... yeah... that was probably the most dead-on, jam p...
Mark Salomon: How am I only discovering this... today? Best to you and your future e...