FW: An Interview with Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes, Editor of Johann Gerhard’s Theological Commonplaces

 

Mayes on Gerhard…   Feed: Concordia Academic Posted on: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 12:00 AM Author: DawnW Subject: An Interview with Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes, Editor of Johann Gerhard's Theological Commonplaces   As Concordia Publishing House prepares to release the eighth volume in Johann Gerhard's magisterial Theological Commonplaces, the following interview with the series editor, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, introduces Gerhard and his writing, and reflects on the place of this material in the 17th century and for pastors and scholars of the 21st century. Who was Johann Gerhard and why is his work important? Johann Gerhard was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who lived about 100 years after Martin Luther. He was born in 1582, just two years after the last Lutheran confession, the Formula of Concord, had been published. In 1606, the year before Captain John Smith established Jamestown, Virginia, Gerhard received his first call—a call to be a pastor and superintendent of 26 parishes, and a lecturer at a high school. He was only 23 years old. Before he was 30, he had become a doctor of theology and had published several books. In his mid-30s he was called to be a professor of theology at the German city of Jena, and there he spent the next 21 years, until his death. Gerhard's writings built up the church and Christian believers and also defended the same against attacks. His works that built up the church include his Sacred Meditations, Meditations on Divine Mercy, School of Piety, his Aphorisms, his Bible commentaries, his many sermons, and, most crucial, his work on the first great Lutheran study Bible, the Weimar Bible of 1640. His works that defended the church against attacks include the Theological Commonplaces and the book called The Catholic Confession. What are the "theological commonplaces"? Why did Gerhard write this series? The Theological Commonplaces (Latin: Loci Theologici) are a multivolume work of theology that draws from Holy Scripture, presents the teachings of the early church fathers, and defends the truth against its opponents. It is Gerhard's most famous work. It began as disputations (debates) that Gerhard held with the pastors in his district as an exercise in studying theology and defending the church's faith. From there Gerhard put into writing all of his notes and preparations, so that the Commonplaces would be a treasure trove of divine learning for pastors and other Christians to learn and defend God's holy revelation in Christ Jesus. As you work with this material translated from Latin, what have you found to be most challenging? What has surprised you most in the volumes so far? A number of things surprised me. Gerhard uses a lot of words that are not found in the standard Latin dictionaries. (This is because modern Latin-English dictionaries are geared for use in reading the classics; but the Latin language had grown and developed a bit by Gerhard's time, over one and a half millenia later.) Also he quotes from Augustine and other early church fathers more than from Luther. He knew and quoted from medieval church law and ancient Roman imperial law. He knew philosophy and made use of it in order to clarify his arguments and criticize his opponents' arguments. His arguments are thoroughly biblical, and he is very clear on this, even though he knows and makes use of so many other testimonies to the truth. Finally, he often ends his chapters or commonplaces with a consideration of the "practical use" of each doctrine. This shows that theology was not an ivory-tower exercise for Gerhard. Each point of theology was derived from Holy Scripture and was meant for application to God's people as teaching, consolation, admonition, or warning. This project is truly a team effort. Describe the roles of the people involved. Dr. Richard Dinda, a professor at Concordia University Texas in Austin, originally translated the 19th-century edition (edited by Edward Preuss) into English, but this translation lay dormant for several years. Then in the 2000s, the Rev. Paul McCain and the senior leadership and board for Concordia Publishing House resolved to bring forth Dr. Dinda's translation in print. Since nearly the beginning I have been the general editor, tasked with checking the translation and adding clarifying footnotes, tracking down the plethora of works that Gerhard cites, and providing a suitable introduction. Dawn Mirly Weinstock has been the production editor from the beginning, putting together the parts of these large volumes like the pieces of a puzzle. Recently, the Rev. Joshua Hayes and the Rev. Heath Curtis have joined the team as assistant editors. Numerous others have contributed to make this series the acme of Lutheran theology in the English language. What benefits will a parish pastor derive from interacting with Gerhard's Theologocial Commonplaces? Gerhard's Commonplaces are more thorough than any work of classical Lutheran theology that we have in English. For example, Pieper devotes a little more than one page to God's immutabity, and Gerhard devotes about four times as much space to the same topic. Pieper is three volumes; Gerhard will be seventeen volumes. Gerhard's Commonplaces are educational. By reading him, one can learn an enormous amount about God's Word, church history, philosophy, and clear thinking. Gerhard's Commonplaces give us a window into how the Formula of Concord was understood in the generation after it was written. Many of Gerhard's opponents had incorrect views that are popular today. For example, in Commonplace II, On the Nature of God, Gerhard is constantly arguing with Conrad Vortius, a late 16th- / early 17th-century Reformed theologian who was condemned at the Synod of Dort (1618–19). Vorstius denied God's eternity, using the very same arguments as Nicholas Wolterstorff currently uses. Instead of being eternal, God, for Vorstius and Wolterstorff, is a temporal, everlasting being, bound by time just as we are. Nowadays, open theism and the theologies of Karl Barth and Wolfhart Pannenberg have found open ears among many. Gerhard's Commonplaces can help pastors and theologians today connect to the entire Christian tradition, which from the early church through the Middle Ages and the Reformation affirmed such things as God's impassibility, eternity, immutability, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Gerhard can help us to break free from modern theology. Gerhard does a thorough job with his polemics. Although it may be unpopular these days, polemics are still important. They help us to go beyond saying, "This is what we believe," to saying "and this is why." Gerhard especially argues against Socinians (anti-Trinitarians, who were commonly called "Photinians"), Roman Catholics, and the Reformed. Yet Gerhard was not overly polemical. He loved the truth and was willing to attack errorists, but he did so with moderation. He always endeavors to represent his adversaries truthfully. This makes his writings all the more accessible to us today. Gerhard gives thorough consideration to issues dealing with pastoral practice and ethics. Marriage is the largest volume in the series. (It deals also with celibacy, polygamy, forbidden grades of relationship, etc.) Many scholars have noted that Gerhard's Commonplaces are not only intellectual, but they are also pastoral and devotional. Describe the value of the publication of this series for the scholar. Gerhard is the third most important classical Lutheran theologian, after Luther and Chemnitz. He quickly became a standard for all later Lutheran doctrine. Everyone quoted him and interacted with his writings, until people stopped reading Latin. The Commonplaces are filled to the brim with quotations from the church fathers, many of whom have never been translated. One can read large quotations from Augustine and Cyril of Alexandria, for example, and also quotations from figures known to, but not commonly read by, American Lutherans, such as Alcuin, Bernard of Clairvaux, Savonarola, and Jean Gerson. Gerhard lived in an era that is basically unknown to us. We know a lot about the time from the Reformation to the Formula of Concord, and then from C. F. W. Walther to the present, but not about the time in between—a span of 250 years. (The United States is younger than that.) It is as if someone buried a treasure and left us a treasure map. We have known about Gerhard for a long time—that is the treasure map. But only now are we beginning to dig up the treasures themselves. The forthcoming volume addresses sin and free choice. In addition to his constant dialogue with Robert Bellarmine, what other groups or theologians does Gerhard address? Gerhard rejects Matthias Flacius's views on original sin; Flacius claimed that the substance of fallen man is itself original sin. Rejecting this view was important, since God remains the creator of mankind, and yet God is in no way the author of sin. This latter point is emphasized against the Reformed, some of whose writers made God responsible for Adam's fall. Nevertheless, Bellarmine and his Tridentine Roman Catholic colleagues remain the main opponent, as they minimized the gravity of original sin, claimed that evil desires are not sinful, and maximized the abilities of human free choice without the aid of God's grace. Gerhard, on the other hand, emphasizes the seriousness of human sin and the utter necessity of God's grace for salvation. In this way, He gives all glory to God and seeks salvation where God has put it, in the saving work of Christ, applied to us by the Holy Spirit.   To order On Sin and Free Choice, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org. Click here to subscribe to Johann Gerhard's Theological Commonplaces series. At CPH since 2006, Benjamin Mayes is the managing editor for Luther's Works: American Edition, the general editor for Johann Gerhard's Theological Commonplaces, and he oversees other book projects. View article...

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Received for Review

 

Hodge,  Bodie and Laura Welch, editors and compilers.  Illustrations by Bill Looney.  The Flood of Noah: Legends and Lore of Survival.  Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2014. 24 Pages. Interactive Hardcover. $18.99. www.masterbooks.net  (LHPN)

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Received for Review

 

Sabel, Thomas. Legends of Luternia: the Prince Decides. Little Elm, TX: eLectio Publishing, 2013. 217 Pages. Paper. $13.99. (ebook for $4.99.) www.eLectioPublishing.com  http://thosabel.blogspot.com (LHPN) Rossow, Francis. Gospel Handles: Old Testament Lessons. St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. ebook. www.cph.org (P) Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Edited by Clifford J Green, Michael DeJonge. The Bonhoeffer Reader. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013. 850  Pages. ebook. www.fortresspress.com (LHP) Refuge: Selections from The Book of Psalms for Worship. Pittsburgh: Crown & Covenant Publications, 2011. Audio CD. $15.00. www.crownandcovenant.com (H) Deliverance: Selections from The Book of Psalms for Worship. Pittsburgh: Crown & Covenant Publications, 2019. Audio CD. $15.00. www.crownandcovenant.com (H) Nov 2010  http://lhpqbr.blogspot.com/2010/11/hymnody-review-psalms.html BPW Mar 2011 http://lhpqbr.blogspot.com/2011/03/resources-received-music-and-methodists.html Dec 2011  http://lhpqbr.blogspot.com/2011/12/liturgy-and-hymnody-review-sing-more.html BPW5th

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FW: The Christian's Time

 

Weedon/Loehe…   Feed: Weedon's Blog Posted on: Sunday, June 15, 2014 5:41 PM Author: noreply@blogger.com (William Weedon) Subject: The Christian's Time   A Christian lives his days with Christ and in comtemplation of Him.   His Days pass in remembering the sufferings of Jesus. When the clock strikes eleven, he knows that the bells are ringing in the noon hour of his Redeemer, when thick darkness overshadowed Him. In the afternoon at three o'clock, he breathes a greateful prayer of joy, for the Lord has finished. Every stroke of the clock calls upon him to consider what Christ did and suffered in that hour.   His Weeks are pictures of Christ's life. Sunday, at each return, is the brother of the Easter Day, the most joyful day of the week. It is preceded by days of repentance and suffering. Wednesday already brings the memory of the unholy bargaining of Judas with the high priests and murderers of Christ. Thursday divides his mind between the struggle in Gethsemane and the blessed institution of the Lord's Supper. Every Friday is a weekly "Good Friday." Every Saturday is a sabbath of the rest of Christ in the grave.   As in the week, so also the Year: it recalls the life, suffering and death of Christ, an ever new experience of what the Gospels narrate; itself a very Gospel of Christ our Lord.   --from Wilhelm Loehe's Seed Grains of Faith. p. 142, 143. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog View article...

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FW: Questions and Answers with Dr. A. Andrew Das

Das…   Feed: Concordia Academic Posted on: Thursday, June 12, 2014 12:01 AM Author: Laura Lane Subject: Questions and Answers with Dr. A. Andrew Das   Dr. A. Andrew Das took some time to reflect on his Galatians commentary. Read on to learn what led him to this writing, what he thinks about modern Pauline scholarship, and how he hopes his commentary will be influential. How did you become interested in studying Galatians? In 1992 J. Louis Martyn taught a seminar on Galatians at Yale while he was in the process of preparing his Anchor Bible commentary. This was my first taste of a Pauline epistle at the graduate level, and the course introduced me to a entirely new way of understanding Second Temple Judaism as well as to what is called "the new perspective on Paul and the Law" (it's not that new anymore). The "new perspective" movement does not prioritize the Reformation's emphasis on sin and grace and abandons anything remotely "Lutheran" in the reading of Paul. The first-century apostle is absorbed, instead, with rejecting the view that the gentiles need to become Jewish in order to enjoy membership in the people of God. After a Lutheran seminary, this was an entirely new way to read Paul's letters, and I returned to these discussions in my doctoral work. I also went back to the description of the Judaism of Paul's day as a religion based on God's gracious election of a people and mercy toward sinners. I developed what I have labeled a "newer perspective on Paul and the Law" (I guess it's not "newer" anymore). My 2001 Paul, the Law, and the Covenant lays out my approach to reading Paul. The Galatians commentary, then, is a chance to return to the biblical book that got me started in my professional work. What unique contribution does your commentary make? The Galatians commentary differs from some of the other commentaries in the series. Since Pauline scholarship has been largely neglected in conservative Lutheran circles, and since Galatians is not an excessively long biblical book, I have tried to be fairly thorough in my review of the professional literature. So you will find in the footnotes of the commentary reference not only to all the other commentaries on Galatians but also to a range of journal articles, ancient sources, and other professional materials. My hope is that this commentary will get the conservative Lutheran audience up to speed on what is going on in modern Pauline scholarship. At the same time, this Galatians commentary is the very first that is written from the standpoint of my "newer perspective" on Paul and the Law. I have argued at length why one can accept an understanding of Judaism as a religion largely of grace rather than of "works righteousness," the old caricature, and yet Paul understood that grace in terms of Christ and not the Mosaic Law. To take the path of Moses' Law is simply a dead-end with respect to salvation. For that matter, the Law of Moses itself points the way forward to what God would be doing in Christ. How do you hope your commentary on Galatians will influence the ministry, preaching, and teaching of pastors? I was frustrated as a teenager and college student by preaching and teaching that did not advance my understanding of the Scriptures beyond what I had gleaned already before my teenage years. I went to seminary and graduate school in the hope of finding a way to offer something back to that bored teenager from years before. Pastors and teachers in the church need to remain active and genuinely curious about the ancient biblical text. That curiosity, combined with good study patterns in the parish and a good set of tools, would, I am convinced, make a difference for many potentially disengaging parishioners. I am hoping that this Galatians commentary would provide pastors and teachers with a useful resource for personal study in Scripture as well as for preparing interesting, meaty Bible classes and engaging sermons. Another problem in our circles is what I call a sort of "Gnostic" preaching and teaching of the biblical text. Conservative Lutheran pastors jump too quickly to the analogy of faith or to other biblical books when preaching a biblical text. There is a place for that, but later on in the interpretive process. Lou Martyn was right to stress to his students and colleagues that we have to imagine ourselves in the first-century congregations addressed by Paul in his Letter to the Galatians. That original setting is the rightful context in which we must interpret these words. Unfortunately, unless we have personal connections with the Doctor and his TARDIS (a fairly sophisticated time machine), we are not able to go back in time to sit in one of those Galatians congregations when the letter was first being read and studied. That means that we need to reconstruct, as best as we can, what that original context must have been like. We need to study the first-century culture. We mine Paul's letter for clues about the situation he was addressing. We test hypotheses about the original audience and situation. Then we go back and read the letter in view of that reconstruction. This is the task not just of the scholar but also of the pastor, and especially of the congregation itself. Every pastor's job is to transport the congregation back in time to those original audiences. We have to appreciate Galatians on its own terms before we then branch out and understand Galatians in view of the larger Pauline corpus. Then we branch out and interpret Galatians in view of the rest of the New Testament and the rest of the Scriptural witness. Finally, we are able to look at how Galatians was received through the centuries and understood within the framework of Lutheranism. The problem is that too often interpreters ignore the crucial starting point with the original audience, and, when that happens, it becomes very easy to get these words on the page to mean something that reflects more our own modern discourse. We read our own conclusions into an ancient text. If this commentary gets the point across about the need for good interpretive work, then that will be one measure of its success. What was the best part about writing your commentary? Of course, the best part about writing the commentary is to see the labors finally completed and in print. Hopefully others will find it useful and of value, and to the Lord be the glory! About the Author A. Andrew Das is the Donald W. and Betty J. Buik Chair at Elmhurst College. Dr. Das authored Solving the Romans Debate (Fortress, 2007); Paul and the Jews (Hendrickson, 2003); Paul, the Law, and the Covenant (Hendrickson, 2001); and Baptized into God's Family (Northwestern, 1991; 2d ed., 2008). He coedited The Forgotten God (Westminster John Knox, 2002). His articles have appeared in Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal for the Study of the New Testament,New Testament Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Concordia Journal, Concordia Theological Quarterly, and Logia, as well as in Paul Unbound (Hendrickson, 2010), The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (Abingdon, 2009), Reading Paul's Letter to the Romans (Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), Unity and Diversity in the Gospels and Paul (Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), The Law in Holy Scripture (Concordia, 2004), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics (forthcoming), and The Oxford Handbook of Pauline Studies (forthcoming). He was an invited member of the Society of Biblical Literature's Paul and Scripture Seminar and has presented at the Society of Biblical Literature; the African Society of Biblical Scholars; the Chicago Society of Biblical Research; the international Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, of which he is an elected member; and the Evangelical Theological Society. He is also a member of the Catholic Biblical Association of America and serves on the Holman Christian Standard Bible revision committee. He received his M.Div. from Concordia Theological Seminary and did his graduate work at Yale University, Duke University, and Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. He served as a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Lombard, Ill., from 2000–2002 and assisted as a pastor at St. John's Lutheran in Lombard from 2002–2004. View article...

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Closing Issue 8.2 and Opening Issue 8.3

Pentecost: Closing Issue 8.2 and Opening Issue 8.3

This post will mark the last entry in QBR 8.2, Eastertide,
and the opening entry in Apostles' Tide, QBR 8.3

Received for Review

 

Newton, Phil A. and Matt Schmucker. Elders in the Life of the Church: Rediscovering the Biblical Model for Church Leadership (A comprehensive update of the previous edition, Elders in Congregational Life). Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2014. 256 Pages. Paper. $16.99. www.kregel.com (LHP) Keating, Ray. The River: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel. Manorville, NY: Keating Reports, 2014. 264 Pages. Paper. $13.99. www.pastorstephengrant.com  http://smile.amazon.com/The-River-Pastor-Stephen-Grant/dp/1499514174/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 (LHPN)

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FW: Martin Luther on Music

 

Phillips…   Feed: Historia et Memoria Posted on: Sunday, June 1, 2014 8:39 PM Author: Matthew Phillips Subject: Martin Luther on Music   "I would certainly like to praise music with all my heart as the excellent gift of God which it is and to commend to everyone.  But I am so overwhelmed by the diversity and magnitude of its virtue and benefits that I can find neither beginning nor end or method for my discourse.  As much as I want to commend it, my praise is bound to be wanting and inadequate.  For who can comprehend it all?  And even if you wanted to encompass all of it, you would appear to have grasped nothing at all." Martin Luther, "Preface to Georg Rhau's Symphoniae iucundae," in Luther's Works, vol. 53, pp. 321-322. Martin Luther demonstrated his love of music, especially in Christian worship, throughout his adult life.  Luther studied music as one of the liberal arts.  In this famous preface, written in 1538, Luther described music as a divine gift that appears throughout nature but reaches its perfection in human beings. "First then, looking at music itself, you will find that from the beginning of the world it has been instilled and implanted in all creatures, individually and collectively.  For nothing is without sound or harmony.  Even the air, which of itself is invisible and imperceptible to all our senses, and which, since it lacks both voice and speech, is the least musical of all things, becomes sonorous, audible, and comprehensible when it is set in motion….Music is still more wonderful in living things, especially birds….And yet, compared to the human voice, all this hardly deserves the name of music, so abundant and incomprehensible is here the munificence and wisdom of our most gracious Creator." Ibid., 322. After Luther marveled at the human voice as an instrument that confounds philosophers, he praised the benefit of the divine gift of music.  He understood its power over the human mind and soul to be next to Holy Scripture. "We can mention only one point (which experience confirms), namely, that next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise.  She is mistress and governess of those human emotions….which as masters govern men or more often overwhelm them….For whether you wish to comfort the sad, to terrify the happy, to encourage the despairing, to humble the proud, to calm the passionate, or to appease those full of hate….what more effective means than music could you find?" Ibid., 323. [Emphasis added] For this reason, Luther explained that the ancient prophets and fathers combined music and God's Word.  Thus humans combine the gifts of language and song to praise God. "But when [musical] learning is added to all this and artistic music which corrects, develops, and refines the natural music, then at last it is possible to taste with wonder (yet not to comprehend) God's absolute and perfect wisdom in his wondrous work of music." Ibid., 324.   View article...

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Resources Received

 

Vieker, Jon D. August Crull and the Story of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book 1912 (Shaping American Lutheran Church Music). Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2013. 87 Pages. Paper. $15.00. http://www.lutheranupress.org/Worship-and-Music-books (LH) Hawkins, Robert D. Prelude and Fuge on the Life of Harriet Reynolds Krauth Spaeth 1845-1925 (Shaping American Lutheran Church Music). Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2012. 31 Pages. Paper. $15.00. http://www.lutheranupress.org/Worship-and-Music-books (LH) Hyslop, Scott M. The Precious Gift: The Hymns, Carols, and Translations of Henry L. Letterman (Shaping American Luheran Church Music). Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2013. 126 Pages. Paper. $15.00. http://www.lutheranupress.org/Worship-and-Music-books (H)

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FW: Still time. . . Register TODAY

 

The LCMS Worship Conference…   Feed: Pastoral Meanderings Posted on: Friday, May 16, 2014 5:00 AM Author: noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Peters) Subject: Still time. . . Register TODAY   I am thrilled to promote what looks to be a spectacular week July 28-31, 2014, at Concordia University Nebraska (Seward).  The list of major presenters includes Dr. John Kleinig, Bryan Wolfmueller, Robin Leaver, Paul Soulek, and Betsy Werner with an unbelievable list of seminars for the Pastor, Musician, and others (including some guy who writes a blog called Pastoral Meanderings who will speak on Worship as Pastoral Care), and workshops to dazzle every interest and need. The program is 25 pages of offerings, information, presenters, bios, and encouragement to take a week off in July and head to the plains of Nebraska for a stellar line up of people, topics, and fellowship.  Pres. Matt Harrison will be there.  I hope YOU will be there as well. Direct Link to the Program is here. Direct Link to the Schedule is here. Direct Link to REGISTER is here. Direct Link to the LCMS page of information is here. Direct Link to the Facebook Page for the Institute is here. About the Institute Like earlier conferences, the 2014 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music is designed for pastors, musicians and laity who assist in worship or simply are passionate about it. The institute consists of four main types of events:   Worship — Anchored by the Divine Service at either end and filled with the Church's daily prayer services, worship forms the heart and center of our gathering. Christ assembles His people to give out to them His gifts! Keynotes — Five extraordinary speakers will invite us in four keynote addresses to ponder the theme of comfort and its impact upon the worship life of Christ's Church. Our Lutheran Confessions teach us: "Everything, therefore, in the Christian Church is ordered toward this goal: we shall daily receive in the Church nothing but the forgiveness of sin through the Word and signs, to comfort and encourage our consciences as long as we live here" (LC II 55). Seminars and Workshops — Covering a wide variety of topics and aimed at pastors, musicians and interested lay people, various teachers and pastors share their insights to strengthen and deepen the Church's worship life. Extra Goodies — Conversation with LCMS President Matthew Harrison, visiting with the "Issues, Etc." team, free time, organ recitals, a hymn festival, an ice cream social, A Taste of Nebraska Picnic and more. Put all that together, and this promises to be one stunning event that you will NOT want to miss. Hosted on the beautiful campus of Concordia University, Nebraska, Seward, Neb., July 28–31, join us as we are strengthened together in the comfort of Christ. THANKS to LCMS Worship Guy and Chaplain Will Weedon and his crew for putting together an amazing Institute.  Be there.  You do NOT want to miss this!  Clergy, Lay, Parish Musician -- there is something for ALL. View article...

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Received for Review

 

Jahn, Curtis A. A Lutheran Looks at Catholics. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2014. 241 Pages. Paper. $16.50. http://online.nph.net/p-14973-a-lutheran-looks-atcatholics.aspx (LHP)

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Received for Review

 

Oden, Thomas C. The African Memory of Mark: Reassessing Early Church Tradition. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2011. 279 Pages. Paper. $22.00 (On sale for $17.60). https://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3933 (LHP)

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FW: Thoughts on Lutheranism on the occasion of a Lutheran leaving. . .

 

Peters…   Feed: Pastoral Meanderings Posted on: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 5:00 AM Author: noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Peters) Subject: Thoughts on Lutheranism on the occasion of a Lutheran leaving. . .   Another Lutheran has swum the Bosporus and, like most, he is a good guy, serious minded, frustrated by the great divide between theory and practice among Lutherans, and scandalized by what passes as Lutheran on Sunday morning.  Though some are quick to condemn those who leave, I am more circumspect.  They will be accountable for their own choices and that is enough for me.  That said, however, I find myself greatly sympathetic with many of their complaints while remaining unconvinced by some of justification for their decision to leave us. It is a scandal of epidemic proportions that Lutherans, especially Confessional Lutherans, have no consistent face to their faith on Sunday morning.  The fact that in the LCMS we run the gamut from low church Protestantism to high church charistmatic to generic evangelicalism to broad church formalism to catholic liturgy on Sunday morning is nothing less than sinful.  Quite apart from the theology of it all (which I have reiterated over and over again on this blog), how can a "brand" have an inconsistent and contradictory identity -- even within the same community!  This is a dastardly diversity in which some of us are not man enough to admit we do not walk together and it is not the kind of diversity envisioned by our confessions and expected by our covenant of life together as parishes and pastors of the LCMS.  Think what it could do to McDonalds if they were like a Long John Silvers on one block, a Taco Bell on another, and a Hong Kong Wok on another?  It is ridiculous to assume that the vast spectrum of Sunday morning faces given to Lutheran doctrine is healthy for any of us (much less for a congregation which institutionalizes these preferences with an ordinary scheduled diversity for Sunday morning!). I refuse to defend or tolerate such schizophrenia of Lutheran worship.  If it does not have the Ordo (the liturgical pattern inherent to and expected by our Confessions), it is not Lutheran.  I am not, like some, insisting upon a page number but, like pornography, you know it when you see it.  Saddleback style or Willow Creek wannabes or Joel Osteen lookalikes are not the same as any version of the Divine Service.  We all know that.  Hardly any of those using contemporary worship forms and music even pretend to have much in common with the liturgical Lutherans.  They know it.  We know it.  He is not one of us and I am not one of them.  Credible liturgical diversity of ceremony is acceptable without dividing the confession but a weekly Eucharist, the pattern of the historic mass, and music that confesses are all givens for Lutherans. Liturgy may compensate for poor preaching and teaching but it should never be allowed to hold up the household of God without faithful confession.  In other words, the Divine Service is expected of ALL Lutherans who use the name, get money from jurisdictions, or come out of our seminaries... BUT the doctrine needs to match the practice and it is not a godly position to choose liturgy over doctrine or doctrine over liturgy.  Either they go together or the church is wounded, disabled, and hobbling along where she should be walking and running. I love the ambiance of Orthodoxy (real smells and bells) and I love the authoritative structure of Rome (especially when faced with Lutheran supervisors who chose to hide, ignore, or condone liturgical and theological abuses).  But the liturgy (what some call the choice of a way of life over a doctrinal certainty) should not have to carry all the weight; doctrine and confession are also required.  In the same way, it is not fair to have to choose between doctrine and bishops -- the early church expected that both went together and would be shocked by those churches that today boast episcopal orders but cannot confess the creed without crossing their fingers. Am I a dreamer?  I guess I am.  I dream of Lutherans who mean what they confess, who practice what they confess, and who refuse to allow the compromises of the past substitute for the pursuit of the fullness of all that can be.  I dream of Lutherans who walk into a Lutheran Church on Sunday morning and recognize the form, most of the words, and sing their faith in the solid text of music that confesses.  I dream of Lutheran Pastors who look like clergy all the time.  I dream of catechesis which is lifelong and flows from and back to our Confessions.  I dream of the best and brightest  being moved toward church work vocations.  I dream of people who refuse to settle for what is cheap and easy (from architecture to organs to ministry to missions) and who are relentless in their pursuit of excellence AND faithfulness.  I dream of a day when other Christian are envious of the doctrinal consistency and vibrant apologetic of Lutheran parishes, pastors, and people.  I dream of sermons that engage as well as faithfully speak Law and Gospel, rightly distinguishing them, of course.  I dream of Pastors who work so hard no one jokes about working only on Sundays and congregations who make it possible for their Pastors not to worry about having enough money to pay the bills.  I dream of a day when Lutherans tempted to leave are drawn back by the vigorous confession, the faithful doctrine, and the rich liturgical piety of parish and people.  Yeah, I am a dreamer and sometimes I live too much in my dreams but... wouldn't it be grand if that were the way all Lutherans dreamed???? 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Received for Review

Munson, Paul and Joshua Farris Drake. Art and Music: A Student's Guide (Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition). Wheaton: Crossway, 2014. 112 Pages. Paper. $11.99. www.crossway.org (LHP) Helm, David. Expository Preaching: How We Speak God's Word Today (9Marks). Wheaton: Crossway, 2014. 125 Pages. Cloth. $14.99. www.crossway.org (P) Rinne, Jeramie. Church Elders: How to Shepherd God's People Like Jesus (9Marks). Wheaton: Crossway, 2014. 133 Pages. Cloth. $14.99. www.crossway.org (LHP)

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Received for Review

 

Page CXVI. Good Friday to Easter. Boulder: SoundCloud/Page CXVI, 2014. mp3 audio download. Available April 15. http://pagecxvi.com/   http://pagecxvi.com/#store  http://blog.pagecxvi.com/ (H) You can STREAM THE ALBUM HERE  to listen to this entire week before the official release! https://soundcloud.com/pagecxvi/sets/good-friday-to-easter   And here is VIDEO PREVIEW featuring the song "Three" from the album: http://youtu.be/x6qVym0QeFc   The record will be available at pagecxvi.com/#store, iTunes, and other digital media stores on April 15th!   Website for the band: PageCXVI.com Twitter handle: @pagecxvi Instagram: @pagecxvi

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Received for Review

 

Swanson, Kevin. Apostate: The Men Who Destroyed the Christian West. Parker, CO: Generations with Vision, 2013. Paper. 312 Pages. $26.95. www.apostatebook.com (LHPN)

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Quick Summaries: A Marathon Look at Liturgical Music

 

Quick Summaries are pithy paragraph-long reviews of releases that cross our QBR desk.    These are reviews for when you don't have all day    to decide whether a resource is worth your time, money, storage space, or trouble.   Hawn, C. Michael, compiler and editor. Foreword by John L. Bell. Preface by Pablo Sosa. New Songs of Celebration Render: Congregational Song in the Twenty-first Century. Chicago: GIA, 2013. 460 Pages. Cloth with audio CD. $42.95. www.giamusic.com (LHP) Tice, Adam M. L. Stars Like Grace: 50 More Hymn Texts. Chicago: GIA, 2013. 128 Pages. Spiral. $19.95. www.giamusic.com (H)  Gathered for God. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Sheet music: $18.50. Audio CD: $16.95. www.giamusic.com (LHP) Haas, David. We Are Not Alone: Hymns, Psalms and Songs for Eucharist and the Hours. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Sheet music: $26.50. Booklet of Reflections and Prayers: $9.95. Audio CD: $16.95. www.giamusic.com (LH) Alonso, Tony and Marty Haugen. The Lyric Psalter: Revised Grail Lectionary Psalms (Year A). Chicago: GIA, 2013. Spiral music: $25.00. Audio CD set: $39.50. www.giamusic.com (LH)  Lowenberg, Kenneth. Gregorian Preludes for the Liturgical Year. Chicago: GIA, 2013. 47 Pages. Paper. $25.00. www.giamusic.com (LHP)  Joncas, Michael. God of All Beginnings: Liturgical Music for Choir and Assembly. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Sheet music: $20.00. Audio CD: $16.95. www.giamusic.com (L)  Cry Out with Joy: Responsorial Psalms, Gospel Acclamations and Universal Prayers for the Liturgy of the Word (Christmas, Triduum, Solemnities, and Other Celebrations). Chicago: GIA, 2013. Spiral sheet music: $33.00. Audio CD set: $25.95. www.giamusic.com (LH)  Cry Out with Joy: Responsorial Psalms, Gospel Acclamations and Universal Prayers for the Liturgy of the Word (Year A). Chicago: GIA, 2013. Spiral sheet music: $33.00. Audio CD set: $25.95. www.giamusic.com (LH) Chepponis, James. Mass for the People of God (Choral Accompaniment Edition). Chicago: GIA, 2013. Paper. $4.50. www.giamusic.com (L)   Bell, John L. The Truth that Sets Us Free: Biblical Songs for Worship. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Sheet music: $14.95. Audio CD: $16.95. www.giamusic.com (H) Tate, Paul A. Seasons of Grace, Volume 5. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Sheet music: $20.00. Audio CD: $16.95. www.giamusic.com (LHP)  Lawton, Liam. Eternal. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Sheet music: $20.00. Audio CD: $16.95. www.giamusic.com (LHP)  Stuempfle, Herman G., Jr. The Song of Faith Unsilenced: Hymns, Songs and Carols. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Spiral. $21.95. www.giamusic.com (H)  Blest Are Those Who Mourn: Music for the Order of Christian Funerals. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Paper. $3.95. www.giamusic.com (LH)  Schrock, Dennis. Handel's Messiah: A Performance Practice Handbook. Chicago: GIA, 2013. 111 Pages. Spiral. $16.95. www.giamusic.com (LHP)  Lawton, Liam, with Theresa Donohoo. Catholic Irish Classics. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Audio CD. $16.95. www.giamusic.com (H) My Lenten Prayer: Morning and Evening Prayers for People on the Go. Chicago: GIA, 2013. Audio CD set: $25.95. www.giamusic.com (LH)  Lectionary Psalms: the Revised Grail Psalms (As Found in Lead Me, Guide Me Second Edition). Chicago: GIA, 2013. Audio CD set. $29.95. www.giamusic.com (LH)   Lectionary Psalms: the Revised Grail Psalms (As Found in Lead Me, Guide Me Second Edition). Chicago: GIA, 2012. Spiral sheet music. $34.95. www.giamusic.com (LH)  Lead Me, Guide Me (Second Edition). Chicago: GIA, 2013. Cloth Hymnal. $15.50. www.giamusic.com (LH)    If you're overwhelmed by the list of resources above, think how thrilled, stunned, honored, and happily buried we were last October when a large box of unsolicited review copy books, CDs, and sheet music arrived from Chicago and our friends at GIA. We followed up with them with our thanks and a request for the last two items on the list. Let's dig in! + Although the last resource read, this was the first one that had me excited, New Songs of Celebration Render: Congregational Song in the Twenty-First Century. There has been a need for a book like this, a modern supplement to the previous work by Routley and Westermeyer on the melodies and texts of historic church music. Hawn, et al., and the accompanying CD describe "Seven Streams of Song: An Overview of Congregational Song since Vatican II (356-7, passim). They include: 1. Roman Catholic Liturgical Renewal Hymnody (Blest Are They, On Eagle's Wings); 2. Protestant Contemporary Classical Hymnody (Tell Out My Soul, When in Our Music); 3. African American Spirituals and Gospel Songs (Total Praise); 4. Revival/Gospel Songs (Because He Lives; Shine, Jesus Shine); 5. Folk Song Influences (use of Southern Folk Tunes and Shaped-note melodies; British, Irish, and Scottish tunes); 6. Pentecostal Songs (Awesome God, El Shaddai, Majesty, Thy Word); 7. Global and Ecumenical Song (Taize; Bell, Sosa). Chapter Six unfortunately parrots the false story of Luther pioneering vernacular styles (177), misunderstanding history near and dear to me. Scheer is correct about Booth--please keep Luther out of it. I must complement Scheer on the focus on the recent hymn revival, a theme QBR has followed closely (197). He also correctly shows the danger of worship adopting one generation's youth culture (200). I am also thankful that Chapter Two (Brink, 64) highlights the hymn revival. The modern hymnody of Townend (54, 193, 198, 351) and Getty (54, 198) is also featured in multiple chapters, demonstrating the unifying nature of such singable, freshly-stated, and theologically deep congregational song. I could quibble about other details in a longer review, but there just isn't anything like this resource elsewhere. Recommended. - A Lutheran response to a new collection of Mennonite hymnody is a challenge. I personally found two texts, "God is our Shelter and Our Shield," and "Upon the Holy Mountainside" usable in my context. I was horrified by the anti-scriptural "God Sparks the Human Soul," particularly because it was written to encapsulate "a core tenant of Anabaptism--human freedom in choosing to follow God." Scripture teaches Original Sin, that humans are naturally enemies of God, and that even our heart, reason, and desires are tainted with sin. I most appreciated sight-reading the new hymn tunes. Not recommended. +/ Gathered for God is both a CD and choral composition collection. I think of it as a GIA composer sampler. As a Lutheran, I won't use "Dolorosa." I will consider Cooney's "God Is Love" for weddings, as well as Mahler's "My Beloved Is Mine," and "The Lord Is My Shepherd" by Daigle. Partially Recommended. - Haas' We Are Not Alone has three components: CD, choral sheet music, and a devotional. I refuse to pray to Mary. She is not the One Mediator between God and men that Jesus is, nor is she omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. I respect her as the Mother of God, full of His grace, but still another sinner like me in need of a Savior. The Magnificat would have been a great substitute for "Hail, Holy Mary..." Similarly, I resist calls for social justice in "Sing a New World into Being." "Come, Follow Me" lacks context. St. Francis similarly misunderstood Mark 10. I dislike the word "choice" in "Join the Gospel Song" and am confused why "Body and Blood" are omitted from "Coming Together for Wine and Bread." Not Recommended. + Lyric Psalter Year A puts the Revised Grail Lectionary Psalms to melodies composed by Tony Alonso and Marty Haugen. With some adaptations to the Three-Year Lectionary of Lutheran Service Book, I can see this collection used profitably in an LCMS congregation. Roman/Marian Feasts would be omitted. We would like to see similar collections for B, C, and the Historic Lectionary. Recommended. ++ Gregorian Preludes for the Liturgical Year will find immediate use in my parish after I complete this review. "Kenneth Lowenberg offers ten preludes based on well-known Gregorian chants for the liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi. These short preludes are perfect for setting the mood of the season and are accessible to any organist" (Publisher's website). Highly Recommended and compatible with Lutheran Service Book! / The God of All Beginnings collection of Joncas music is only Partially Recommended. "Christ Be Near" is comforting. "Like a Bird" sings an oft-misunderstood Bible text too overused by moderns pushing a feminine view of God or ministry. I could use "Canticle of Mary," but not "Holy Mary." "Sacred This Banquet" has some unfortunate language, incompatible with either Lutheran (LCMS) or Roman understandings of Close Communion. The remainder of the pieces are serviceable for Lutherans to consider using. + Like The Lyric Psalter, Cry Out with Joy gives liturgical Three-Year Lectionary congregations fresh settings of Psalms to sing. This collection of responsorial Psalms, Gospel Acclamations, and Universal [responsive] Prayers, covering Psalms for Christmas, Triduum, Solemnities, and Other Celebrations, paired with Year A, is a complete resource for congregations desirous of singing more psalms. Refrains would be accessible by a congregation even without sheet music, due to the internal repetition. A choir or soloist is necessary to sing the bulk of each Psalm.  I would be interested to see years B and C as well as a similar resource for the Historic Lectionary. Recommended. +/ Prolific composer James Chepponis' Mass for the People of God is next on our list. My concerns as a Lutheran are those of Luther looking at the medieval Roman Church's Latin Mass, as well as those of a modern Lutheran confused at seeing the Kyrie misused as part of the Penitential Act, instead of as a prayer of the forgiven people of God asking for mercy. Also, I will "quibble" about the phrase "people of good will" in the Gloria in Excelsis as an inadequate translation. LCMS Lutherans could use this setting otherwise, though we would certainly miss having an Offertory and our Nunc Dimittis. Recommended with slight modification. + John Bell's latest collection, The Truth that Sets Us Free, surprised me. I had not been that impressed just looking at the paperback music collection. It was the CD that changed my mind. I had been listening to another review CD from another publisher. As this CD began, I noted how much simpler and "unplugged" the tunes and texts were, reminding me of Bell's Introduction: "In an era when less and less may be assumed about the general public's knowledge of Jewish and Christian Scripture, it is important that the Church does not forsake the deep pools of Biblical truth for the shallows of saccharine personal piety." Consider also: "From John L. Bell and the Wild Goose Resource Group comes a new collection of 21 shorter songs for public worship. The music in The Truth that Sets Us Free magnifies God and the experience of God's people and effectively offsets the personal focus that most popular praise songs emphasize. This diverse mix of world music has biblical roots and references—some express exultant praise—others yearning, or anger. Many of the songs are suitable for most Sundays while others are better suited to a particular season or liturgical act. It is the hope of the Iona Community that this collection will add to the pool of similar material, which takes both God and the world seriously, since it was for the world and not just humanity that Christ came" (Publisher's website). Recommended. + Paul A. Tate's Seasons of Grace, Volume 5 is a great resource for church musicians either as the CD or as the piano solo sheet music. Building on well-known Christian hymn tunes as diverse as those known for "In the Garden" and "Hail, Holy Queen," this collection is usable by Lutheran musicians. Consider this a collection to be used when the tunes of good hymn texts show up on Sunday morning and other times of worship. Use without fear beautiful melodies now divorced from their problematic, even unBiblical texts. I can't wait to hear Volume 6, and Volumes 1-4 and listen to such creatively beautiful piano music while following along in the solo books. I will also be sharing this with our church musicians yet this weekend. Recommended! +/ I respectfully disagree with Liam Lawton that "Christ Has No Body Now But Yours" and omit his "Ave Maria" from my use of his Eternal choral music and CD collection, yet I will consider use of his beautiful "Bethlehem Sky" and the comforting and memorable piano, choir, assembly, keyboard, guitar and cello piece, "The Lord Is My Shelter." Partially recommended. + Many collections of new hymn texts are uneven. I have appreciated the hymn texts of Herman Stuempfle, including those in the new collection of hymns, songs, and carols called The Song of Faith Unsilenced. Sung in proper context, 16. "For Vows" is growing on me. 28. "Jesus Christ, Our Elder Brother," has title language to problematic to be sung in places with Mormon populations. 54. "The Guns of Death" and "While Nations Thunder Threats of War" speak truth, but not complete truth, omitting the concept of necessary self-defense, the Christian understanding of Just War, and our responsibility to protect and defend the innocent. I very much like hymn texts for neglected Lectionary texts like 2. "A Pharisee Went to Church," and fresh restatements of more common texts like 8. "Behold the Lamb of God!"  We are saddened on the occasion of the author's death in 2007. He will be missed. Recommended. + With a few notable exceptions, Blest Are Those Who Mourn: Music for the Order of Christian Funerals, Second Edition is Recommended.  Lutherans have no overwhelming objection to the Liturgy of the Sacrament at a Christian Funeral, yet our concerns largely have to deal with the pastoral care concern of practicing Close Communion, even when the very immediate family of the deceased may not have been in temporal Communion fellowship with the deceased. Lutherans will also object to language (6) referring to the Roman sacrifice of the Mass, though we would not object to the historic texts of the Mass itself with exceptions, including prayers to Mary (100, et al.) and the Saints (102, et al).  Much of the good found in this affordable booklet is already in Lutheran Service Book. I will give further consideration to the recommended hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs included here as I comfort the mourning with our Christian hope in the communion of saints, forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. ++ Dennis Schrock's performance practic handbook for Handel's Messiah comes Highly Recommended. Participating in a performance of even part of Messiah can be a daunting proposition. This handbook will help you better understand the composition, content, theology, and musicality of the piece as a whole and as individual compositions. I appreciate the professionalism and high musicianship of this handbook and how it can prepare singers and musicians to worship the Messiah while performing Messiah. + Good, edifying Christian song for St. Patrick's Day can be difficult for Christians to find. Perhaps this recording of Irish Catholic Classics can fill that void. I love St. Patrick's Breastplate. Apart from that text, "Be Thou My Vision" sung to SLANE, the tune ST. COLUMBA, and the text "May the Road," much on this recording was new to me. I celebrated St. Patrick's Day this year as a good Lutheran with Guinness, corned beef and cabbage, "In Christ Alone," and hymns like these. Recommended. -/ Appreciated, but Not Recommended. In QBR 2.1, (Christmastide 2007), we reviewed the original pair of My Morning Prayer and My Evening Prayer. Our praise and critique of My Lenten Prayer is identical. That previous review is reproduced below. Liturgy & Hymnody CD Review My Morning Prayer/My Evening Prayer. (Set of both My Morning Prayer and My Evening Prayer, or available separately for $25.95 each.) Seven Daily Services for People on the Go. Chicago: GIA, 2006 & 2007. 4–CD Audio CD set. $40.00. www.giamusic.com800 GIA 1358 (LH) When I first saw these advertised, I thought, "This has got to be one of the best ideas that I've seen in years that would encourage busy people to pray." I still hold that opinion. This four-CD set has some wonderful strengths. I will also share some deeply-held concerns. Here's how they are to be used, according to the back of the CD cases: "Each day of the week has two tracks on these CDs; the odd-numbered tracks are the beginning of the day's service, the even-numbered tracks begin with the Canticle…" My Morning Prayer makes use of the Canticle of Zechariah, often called by its Latin title, the Benedictus, while My Evening Prayer sings the Canticle of Mary, often called the Magnificat, also after the Latin. Due to the success of their 2006 release of a resource for the morning, GIA followed up with a resource for the evening. My Evening Prayer appropriately begins with Saturday, the "eve" of Sunday, since it is prayed after sunset. My Morning Prayer goes Sunday through Saturday. The services are very learnable by repetition. Repeated elements like the Invitatory, Canticle, music for the General Intercessions and Lord's Prayer, and the Blessing are the same for either MMP or MEP all through the week. The services are reverent and respectful of the received tradition, and their structure will be familiar to liturgical Christians nourished by the teaching of the Gospel. They also give the listener a good exposure to the texts, music and composers in the GIA catalog. My primary concern with these CDs is the inclusion of women presiding in a prayer office. This will likely lead to confusion with regard to the Office of the Holy Ministry, (see 1 Corinthians 14:33b-40; 1 Timothy 2: 8-15; 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; et al) and there is enough of that in Christendom as is. I wonder if the 50-50 male/female balance in reading Bible texts and praying collects is due to the influence of the flawed idea from "liturgical theology" that liturgy is "the work of the people." Sunday's concluding collect at Morning Prayer makes a vague reference to how to "find" God. This could have been cleared up by a reminder that Christians find God "for us" in Word and Sacrament, just as He promises in Scripture. You will wish to avoid adding your "Amen" to the prayer for the dead near the end of Evening Prayer on Monday. The hymn for Sunday Morning Prayer shows the influence of St. Augustine and his teaching of the role of Christianity in society (according to Niebuhr) as "transforming culture." The hymn text for Thursday Evening Prayer is weak, due to its theology coming primarily from the First Article of the Creed. Additional strengths of the set are memorable well after finishing the week of prayer for the first time. The Morning Prayer canticle has the tune the British use to sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem," Forest Green, also found in Lutheran Service Book. That is but one example of how familiar melodies provide a welcoming foundation to both MMP and MEP. New compositions help add a breathtaking freshness. Wednesday's Evening Prayer hymn is wonderful. Listen to that before you begin using the set. Some users will notice that the hymn for Monday Morning Prayer is a text we knew from The Lutheran Hymnal 525 with new music and a new refrain. I would encourage GIA to provide similar My _____ Prayer resources for Compline (bedtime) and Midday Prayer (useful for mid-morning, lunch hour and mid-afternoon prayer). Praying with other people is better than a recording, yet this kind of help for personal prayer is better than praying alone. PJC / Our marathon edition of Quick Summary reviews of liturgical music concludes with three companion resources intended for use among Roman Catholic African Americans, Lead Me, Guide Me. The hymnal's title hymn is new to many LCMS Lutherans, yet becoming known because of its inclusion in Lutheran Service Book. Our big GIA October "Christmas Box" included a 3 CD set of recordings of lectionary Psalms, similar to both Lyric Psalter and Cry Out with Joy, reviewed above. We contacted GIA about the recordings due to an initial problem with one of the CDs that was quickly and professionally corrected. That led us to express our interest in seeing both the spiral sheet music of the Lectionary Psalms composed for Lead Me, Guide Me, as well as the second edition of the hymnal itself. There is much to like in the Psalm settings here, particularly those for Lent, when Americans are used to minor keys. I appreciated the "blue note" feel of the refrains and verses throughout, familiar to previous, more secular forms, yet fresh and appropriate for Divine Service and Daily Office use. The hymnal itself is ruggedly built for a couple decades of use and is an unique blend of the Roman and the African American. While I cannot recommend the hymnal for Lutheran use, I do consider the Lectionary Psalms companion a good resource for musicans and choirs.   More information about each of these titles may be found on each respective publisher's website.  The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Yellowstone Circuit Visitor (LCMS Wyoming District), a permanent member of the Board of Directors of The Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education, Wyoming District Worship Chairman, and Editor of QBR.

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