What's the Problem?
by Pastor Dan Selbo*What could be so great a problem over the "historic episcopate," that it should prevent "full communion" with the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA)? By now you may know that the problem is this. The ECUSA requires that all bishops be ordained in an historic episcopate (H.E) through the laying on of hands and prayer. The understanding in the Anglican Church and its daughter ECUSA, is that bishops, through this process for ordination, can trace a special grace, back to St. Peter-not available to pastors and lay persons-and so be passed on through subsequent bishops who have been ordained in this H.E. succession, all the way down to the present. Bishops ordained in the historic episcopacy, according to the ECUSA, receive the divinely given authority to ordain pastors for the church. The pastors, as a result of their ordination, then receive the authority of God and the Church to alone preside at the Sacrament of Holy Communion and to "confect it," i.e., make the sacrament happen .
The Reformation's Church Martin Luther and the Reformers said that the authority and the purpose of the Church are to proclaim the Word and properly to administer the Sacraments. When that happens, they stated, the Church is present. The H.E. was dropped because it was not necessary or essential for the unity of the Church. The Word alone defines the presence of the Church.
Article VII of the Lutheran Church's principal statement of faith, the Augsburg Confession, states "The church is the assembly of saints, in which the Gospel is taught purely and the. sacraments rightly administered. For the true unity of the church it is enough to agree concerning the teaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments. It is not necessary that human traditions or rites and ceremonies, instituted by men, should be alike everywhere. "
As a result of the Denver vote, ELCA Lutherans are now required to adopt the practice of the Historic Episcopate, even though its requirement is in direct contradiction to what the Lutheran Confessions teach-and the Lutheran Church has believed since its inception.
What's Been Happening? The decision to surrender to the Episcopal Church's demand by adopting the document "Called to Common Mission" (CCM). in which the historic episcopacy is made mandatory for full communion with ECUSA, was passed at the Denver Assembly. This attempt to bring about greater unity in the church has served instead to drive a doctrinal wedge between Lutheran Christians in the ELCA. The Lutheran witness of Word-Alone, Faith-Alone, Grace-Alone, Christ-Alone, is now being challenged, if not compromised, in the CCM.
During the fall, regional gatherings took place across the country. Under the name of "Word Alone," pastors and lay persons came together to share concerns and to discuss implications of the Denver vote. United by a love for the church and a desire to continue the Lutheran witness in this country without compromise, the gatherings shared their concerns and resolved to walk together with other ELCA members and churches to encourage faithfulness to the Lutheran confessional WordAlone position. The regionals resulted in a national gathering on November 15 & 16 at Roseville Lutheran Church, in Roseville, Minnesota
The Roseville Story
Nearly 300 persons were present, representing 22 States. Roseville included pastors, lay members, seminary professors, theologians and prominent church leaders. The purpose was again to share concerns, discuss implications and explore possibilities for the future.
Dr. Meg Madson was the first presenter. She spoke about the one thing needful for salvation, namely, Jesus Christ. It is Christ who makes us one; it is Christ who has redeemed us from our sin; it is Christ who makes possible and real our salvation. Jesus is the one thing needful for all Christians.
Every denomination has its own teachings however, and "official teachings matter," Dr. Madson said. "Every church has a genetic code, a kind of DNA, that determines its official teaching." For the Catholics it's the papacy; for Episcopalians the historic episcopate; for Baptists, a personal decision for Christ But every time any denomination's DNA requires more than the Word alone, the gospel is subverted and salvation is uncertain, Madson insisted. "Whenever the Word alone is not enough, we are thrown back on ourselves."
Madson went on, "The certainty of salvation (that comes from the Word alone) is not a Lutheran luxury. It is intrinsic to the gospel. To lose the certainty of our salvation is to lose the freedom of the gospel. Where the Word alone is enough, we are free-free from sin and death, free from religiosity, free to let God be God, and free to be truly ourselves."
She challenged the delegates not to lose sight of our "Lutheran DNA." She warned that many will underestimate the importance of the adoption of the CCM with the Episcopal Church, believing it can be practiced in the ELCA without harming the Lutheran faith. "Who would deny," she asked, ''that If you practice what you do not believe in, you will be corrupted over time?"Governor AI Quie
A powerful presentation by former Minnesota Governor AI Quie lifted up four basic truths:
1. The ELCA has voted to mandate the historic episcopate in its practices.
2. Many Lutheran Christians do not believe in the historic episcopate.
3. It takes courage to stand in opposition to authority.
4. If a person does what he doesn't believe, it corrupts his soul.
Governor Quie challenged the gathering to be clear about what they believe and to stay faithful to it. "If you do what you don't believe in," he said, "you have forfeited your right to lead. If you do what you don't believe in, something is lost within."
Several presentations were made by articulate pastors and laity. These included an address by The Rev. Father Sam Pascoe, an Episcopal priest from north Florida. He gave a stunning address for more than an hour on the direction he saw the Episcopal church going, and then outlined the perils awaiting the ELCA for its cozying up to the Episcopal church.
What's Being Done?
The gathering was Spirit-filled and led. It was apparent from the opening devotions to the closing worship that the concern of the group was not the single issue of the adopted proposed CCM with the ECUSA, but the deeper and far reaching implications of our having compromised the Lutheran commitment to the Word alone.
The Roseville gathering had no official status or authority. It was not an official meeting of any kind. It was, rather, a group of pastors and laity concerned about the direction and decisions of the ELCA. They came to share these concerns and explore possibilities forthe future. In that sense, nothing official took place in Roseville. It was a grass roots movement Its impact if any, is yet to be seen.
A number of clear decisions were made, however. They resulted in certain clear steps being taken. First, they created an informal umbrella organization which will allow pastors and lay persons who share the concerns regarding the agreement with the ECUSA, to act in a responsible manner with others who share the same doubts.
Second, the gathering elected an interim leader to help facilitate a coordinated response to the concerns expressed, and to explore possible courses of action. Chosen as the interim leader of the Word-Alone-Network was Pastor Roger Eigenfeld. He currently serves the imposing St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.
What's The Problem?
Third, the participants chose to put together a list of persons from which a steering committee would then be formed This committee is now in place and is being directed by Pastor Eigenfeld and Vice-president, Governor Quie.Regional and National Meeting Determined
The purpose of the Steering Committee is three-fold. (1) To compile the concerns shared by those at Roseville and to make recommendations on how best to begin addressing them. (2) To offer information from the Roseville gathering and recommendations from the Steering Committee, to those interested in a second round of regional gatherings. These will take place across the country in January and February . (3) To compile results from the regional gatherings and make further recommendations to a second national meeting, scheduled for March 26-29, 2000. It will convene at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Road, Mahtomedi, MN 55115 (a northern suburb of St. Paul). Its purpose will be to act on the results of the regional gatherings and the recommendations of the Steering Committee.What Needs to Happen.
Without question, the greatest single need forthe future of the Word Alone grassroots movement is prayer. We need to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit that the decisions and directions set from here on will be consistent with the will of God. We need to pray for Pastor Eigenfeld and for the members of the Steering Committee. We need to pray that they would have the wisdom and the ?courage to make the decisions and set a direction that will bear fruit for the Kingdom. Pastor Eigenfeld has already met with ELCA Bishop H George Anderson. We need to pray for the ELCA and the Word Alone leaders, that they would see clearly the will of God, and be able to share concerns without compromising beliefs.
In order for us to pray together, we need also to expand the base of support for and knowledge of the WordAlone Network. We need to get the word out, both to pastors and to lay members, sharing what's been happening and how others might become involved. God works effectively through people of faith. But if people are not informed, it can block the work of the Holy Spirit. We need to tell others about the Word Alone movement and why it is that such a movement even exists.
If the base of support is to grow, we need to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we work to share information with as many people as possible. We also can help support this movement by sending financial gifts. St Andrew's church has set up a special account in which money can be given, ?allowing for contributions to be tax deductible. The Steering Committee is planning a number of mailings, some of which will be sent to every ELCA pastor and congregation. For this, along with other steps to be taken, financial support is needed
As one who attended the gathering in Roseville, I share many of the same concerns as those who came together there. I also share the love for Christ's Church which was deeply evident among those present. I am committed to the Word alone, as the basis for our unity in the Church, and thus, I believe, this movement has the blessing of God. I hope you'll join me in praying for the Church, sharing with those you know, and doing what you can to support the Word Alone position. After all, it's the DNA of the Lutheran Church, it's where we find the promises of God, and it points us to the one thing needful for our salvation, Jesus Christ.
*Dan Selbo pastors St. Timothy Lutheran Church, San Jose, CA, and is the Treasurer of the FELLOWSHIP OF CONFESSIONAL LUTHERANS (FOCl). He was the official representative of FOCL to the Roseville gathering.
What’s the Situation
by Dan Selbo
Full Communion with the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) was first proposed to the ELCA at the latter’s assembly in Philadelphia in 1997. Called the “Concordat of Agreement,” it was defeated by the necessary six votes. The Philadelphia assembly then resolved to have a committee appointed which would attempt to forge a document more acceptable to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It presumably would surmount the ECUSA’s controversial insistence that the ELCA must adopt an historic episcopate (H.E.) in order to find favor with the Episcopal Church. The presiding bishop of the ELCA, H. George Anderson, mandated however, that the new document include the H.E. The result, the “Called to Common Mission, (CCM),” was a rewrite of the original Concordate, with minor changes. It was brought before the Denver Assembly. The Denver Assembly adopted CCM with a winning margin of 27 votes higher than the necessary two-thirds majority.
Justifying Justification Lutheran Dissent and Disavowal of the JDDJ
"Position Statement of Theological Instructors in Higher Education to the Planned Signing of the Official Common Statement (OCS)to the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ)," courtesy of Prof. W. Haerle, Heidelberg Univ., and translated by Pastor Mark Menacher.
"In realization of their responsibility for theology and church, the undersigned theological instructors in higher education issue the following position statement in relation to the planned signing on 31 of October 1999 of the Official Common Statement of the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church (OCS) with which the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) shall be confirmed:
"1. The OCS together with its Annex does not remove the critical objections which have been raised against the JDDJ on the part of theological instructors in higher education and which have been put forth by many synods in their position statements to theJDDJ. Above all, the criticism related to the lack of consensus in the JDDJ on the meaning of word and faith for justification, on the certainty of salvation, on the nature of the justified human being as sinner, on the meaning of good works for salvation as well as on the criterial function of the doctrine of justification. Further, the criticism related to the still insufficient consensus on the relationship between law and gospel; and finally, the criticism related to the lack of consideration of the Old Testament. None of these points of criticism has actually been refuted by the OCS.
"2. It is acknowledged in the OCS that further work on many theological questions - including the doctrine of justification itself - is needed.
However, the hoped for clarifications from this future work on these fundamental questions must be attained before a Joint Statement can be signed responsibly.
"3. To be sure, the OCS does include a few Lutheran formulations, for example "simul iustus et peccator''[simultaneously both saint and sinner] or "by faith alone", but it interprets these statements in a Roman Catholic sense against their Reformation meaning. The declaration of the OCS that the condemnations of the Council of Trent no longer apply to the Lutheran church is only valid with the condition of this interpretation. (In relation to the "simul" phrase and to the doctrine of concupiscence, this was subsequently confirmed and emphasized not only by the Council for Unity but also by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). This interpretation, which has been adapted to the Tridentine condemnations, fundamentally calls into question the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification, which all Lutheran pastors and bishops are obligated to uphold in their ordination vows.
"4. If it is claimed, in contrast to this, thatthe Roman Catholic Church accepts through the OCS hitherto condemned Reformation insights, then this contradicts not only the contents of the OCS but surely its function. Indeed, it (the OCS) became necessary only and solely to remove the contradictions to the condemnations of the Tridentinum which the Roman Catholic Church displayed in its official response to the JDDJ from the 25th of June 1998.
"5. Through the OCS, the JDDJ is supposed to be confirmed 'in its entirety.' This would thereby affirm the whole Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue process as mentioned in the JDDJ, together with the ecumenical perspective of purpose which has been one-sidedly influenced by the ecumenism-programme of the Roman Catholic Church. Further, this assessment is not contradicted by the OCS phrase about 'unity in diversity, in which remaining differences would be reconciled'" since this phrase refers expressly to the 'basis ofthe agreements reached' in the sense of the RomanCatholic interpretation and is subsequently valid only within this framework.
"6. The signing of the OCS would result in no improvements whatsoever in the practicalities of Protestants and Catholics living together in families and in congregations. At this point it becomes clear that the meaning of the Doctrine of Justification as the centre of the teaching and life of the church has been ineffectual in these texts.
"7. A signing of the OCS would mean passing over the member churches of the Lutheran World Federation responsible for doctrinal questions. None of their synods has yet taken a position on the OCS, let alone affirmed it. Neither the interpretation of the JDDJ and of Lutheran doctrine contained in the OCS nor the intention to confirm the JDDJ in its entirety can be based upon official votes on the JDDJ by member churches.
•. Summation: Because the OCS
• in the content of its statements fundamentally calls the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification into question,
• presupposes an ecumenical notion of purpose which is irreconcilable with Reformation criteria,
• has not received the consent of the instances responsible for doctrinal questions,
• results in no practical consequences for ecumenical togetherness on the ground, the undersigned theological instructors in higher education consider themselves occasioned to express their weighty objections against the OCS and to warn against its signing."
Signatories (251) If Interested, you may secure theirnames by writing the FOCL-POINTeditorial office, 4414 Springwood Drive, Napa, CA. 94558, or muedekin @napanet.netTo His Eminence, The President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy,Vatican City.
"Your Eminence,
We, in our capacity as Evangelical-Lutheran professors of theology, feel the obligation to bring to your attention the following declaration:
"1. The signing of the 'Official Common Statement" (OCS) by the president of the Lutheran World Federation, together with other representatives of LWF, is not binding for the member churches, since the LWF does not have any doctrinal authority. Neither are we, who as teachers have a share in the responsibility for our churches, bound by the ratification of the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" (JDDJ) 'in its entirety,' which is implied in the signing of OCS, and the interpretation of JDDJ that goes with it.
"2. Rather, we declare that neither JDDJ 'in its entirety' nor the 'Annex to the OCS' are reconcilable to the Confessions of the Evangelical-Lutheran Churches.
"3. Because of the special responsibility we have as teachers of theology we will resist every attempt to interpret or regulate the doctrine and preaching in our churches along the lines of JDDJ as it has been interpreted in the light of OCS (with its Annex). We rather contradict all attempts to reinterpret or undermine Martin Luther's central biblical rediscovery of salvation and its expression in the Lutheran Confession.
"4. We caution the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church and their pastors and teachers not to consider dissident statements from the LWF as scriptural and confessional expressions of current Lutheran doctrine and preaching.
"5. For the same reason we caution against the construction of additional doctrinal agreements regarding the Lord's Supper and the ordained ministry, which would be based on the alleged agreement in 'basic truths regarding the doctrine of justification.' Rather we ask Roman Catholic Christians, in the dialogues concerning the Lord's Supper and the ordained ministry, to take into account the scriptural doctrine of justification in its fullness.
"6. Our Lord Jesus Christ's high priestly prayer, "ut omnes unum sint" [:that they all may be one-Jn 17:21], commands all who believe in Him to obey the delivering and binding truth of the justification of the ungodly (Rom 4:5). At the same time it prohibits church-political strategies according to the wisdom of this world (1 Cor 1 :20; Rom 12:2).
"The unity of the true Church that is given in our one and only Savior Jesus Christ is still hidden beneath our painful disagreements because the churches do not hear and understand the Gospel of salvation in the Son in one single, identical way. Therefore we are forbidden to sacrifice the recognized truth which binds us in our conscience, even in the face of humanly understandable urging in favor of a visible and institutional church union and reasoning with a view towards evangelism, for which this kind of sacrifice is said to be necessary.
"7. The doctrinal condemnations that the Council of Trent directed against central tenets of our faith - whether as a result of misunderstanding or a correct interpretation - have no relevance before the judgment seat of God. Therefore even their 'correction' would be of no spiritual consequence for us and our congregations.
"Their true correction regarding the relations between the churches is not to be achieved through reconciling formulae. It could only be achieved through a fresh understanding that accords with the Gospel. This requires from all churches, which now de facto exist in particularity, the renunciation of all preemptive and monopolistic claims to mediate salvation in Christ. The paper that was signed on October 31, 1999, just as JDDJ itself. bears no trace of such a renunciation.
"8. 'Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful' (1 Cor 4:2)."Signed: If Interested, secure the names of the signators of both these documents by writing the FOCL-POINT editorial office, 4414 Springwood Drive, Napa, CA. 94558, or muedekin@napanet.net
Perspectives
A Wedgwood Lesson: Christians want to believe that "in all things God works together for good to those who love Him."(Rom. 8: 28). The dead and injured at Fort Worth's Wedgwood Baptist Church at the hand of an enraged killer, seem to challenge that conviction. In WORLD magazine (1 0/ 3/99) R. Albert Mohler Jr tackled the issue. "The bold witness of these young people is shocking to a culture accustomed to timid Christianity and churches in retreat. .. The age of Christian martyrs is not over. More than 100 million persons have been killed for their Christian faith in this century alone ... Even in this great evil, God was glorifying Himself in the multiplied witness of these young people. They were safe in the eternal purpose of God. As the Wedgwood Baptist Church website declared, "We have not 'lost' our loved ones. We know exactly where they are."
"An entire generation of American evangelicals was profoundly shaped by the 1956 murder of Jim Eliot and four other young missionaries. Will these latest martyrs inspire this generation of evangelical youth? .. We cannot expect a compromised church preaching a diluted gospel to produce this kind of conviction. Such faith is found only among those who know the transforming power of Jesus Christ and have received pardon from sin and the gift of everlasting life.
"Only those who claim the assurance of Romans 8:28 can look death in the face and say with a famous martyr of the early church, 'You may kill us, but you can never hurt us.'"
JOINT DECLARATION: According to the SUEDDEUTCHE ZEITUNG (Munich, October 21), more than 250 (Lutheran) university professors and teachers, including Dr Hans Schwarz of Regensburg Univ., former ELCA Trinity Seminary professor, warned against signing the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification(JDDJ). This agreement was signed, however, on Reformation Day at Augsburg, Germany (what irony!) between officials of the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Pontifical Council for Creating Christian Unity. The document claims that the major differences on the doctrine of Justification by Faith have by now disappeared, and the vituperations conversely hurled against the respective churches about this doctrine no longer apply.
For Lutherans, this doctrine is "the central chief article by which the Christian doctrine and the Christian Church stands or falls." As Luther said, "This article [of Justification] is the head and cornerstone of the Church, which alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and protects the Church; without it the Church of God cannot subsist one hour."
These protesting European theological teachers, however, insist that the newly minted JDDJ is a reinterpretation of Lutheran and Scriptural doctrine into a Roman Catholic direction.
In addition, theological faculty from Scandinavian and American universities and seminaries have sent protests to the Vatican disavowing the alleged convergence of Roman Catholic and Lutheran doctrines on Justification. (See both statements in the accompanying article, "Justifying Justification.", Parts I and II.)
In spite of the celebrative hoopla created in many parts of the globe by joint observances with the Roman Catholics on the signing of the JDDJ on last Reformation Day, our doctrinally able readers will have little difficulty, after reading the JDDJ, in agreeing with these protesting Lutheran theologians. The technical theological language in which these protests are cast should not deter any of our readers from recognizing the total seriousness of the threat to our continued Lutheran faithfulness to the biblical truth that we are saved by faith alone, which threat the JDDJ agreement engenders.
YOU HAD YOUR LAST THANKSGIVING. In a regional meeting of pastors and laity in San Jose, Pastor Herbert Hoff pointed out that "1999 will be our last real Thanksgiving. Our ELCA vote at the recent Denver Assembly to approve the Episcopalian requirement that our church adopt the historic episcopate in order to be graced by "full fellowship": with that church also said the Pilgrims were wrong. 102 pilgrims came to this land in order to escape the persecutions that came from imposing 'the gift of an historic Episcopate' upon the churches of Britain. One year later there were 61 who had survived in America. What would they think of us?"
THEY DON'T TRUST US. The Pew Research Center surveyed government officials, asking, "Do Americans know enough about issues to form wise opinions about what should be done?" Only 31 % of the members of Congress said yes, and only 13% of presidential appointees said yes. Civil servants were as disdainful-14% said yes.
Does this pervasive elitist contempt help explain why the ELCA membership also was given such a one-sided presentation of the doctrinal capitulations required for accepting the Episcopal Church's demands for an "historic episcopate"as the unconditional price for ecumenical exchange? The Denver-adopted CCM stipulates this doctrinal cave-in.
Did such bureaucratic arrogance spill over onto the pages of THE LUTHERAN, the ELCA's official communication agency, so that only a single article was allowed in opposition to the CCM? Is this why numerous bishops refused to allow their synod meetings even to air the questions about CCM? Or why materials promised for congregational discussion in the two years preceding Denver were barely in hand before the Denver Assembly arrived, with its trouncing of confessional Lutheranism? Or that every presentation across the nation by the staff of the national ELCA offices pushed
?the adoption of the eeM? Indeed, "the priesthood of ALL believers," a central Lutheran doctrine, is hard put to keep its head above water these days.
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S NOT FIT TO PRINT: We of FOCl want to see our Lutheran Church remain faithful to its teachings on the full authority of Holy Scriptures to define our life. How then have a number of our fellow members bought in to the idea that the homosexual life style is a permissible alternative to the Bible's mandates on the subject? A recent study by ACCURACY IN MEDIA suggests why these fellow clergy and laity have been so easily persuaded. They don't know the facts.
We know about the death of the college student homosexual, Matthew Shepard, a year ago. Who doesn't? It regularly plays still in the media. The Washington Post, for example, has run more than 80 stories about it, and our politicians have all had their say. And TV Commentators quickly assigned the cause to the "religious right."
But did you read last September 26th about the murder of the 13 year old, Jesse Dirkhissing, in Rogers, Ark, by the two homosexual adults, David Carpenter and his lover, Joshua Brown? They brutally assaulted the lad sexually until he expired. No, probably not. You never got the chance.
This news was suppressed and not reported outside Arkansas, where it was front page news for three days. Not until President Clinton was challenged in his news conference to comment on the murder, a whole month later, did the news get out. Only then did the Associated Press put it on the wires. Even so, The Washington Post buried the story with a single 59-word inside piece in a limited edition. Meanwhile, the homosexual activists have recently sent a booklet to every public school in the country instructing how to teach that homosexual acts are normal.
If our clergy and laity could more readily access the facts about this lifestyle, such as its pervasive danger to health, they might have second thoughts about the eagerness of the recent ELCA Church Council to once again fund a study on the desirability of granting ordination to homosexual practitioners. Facts could speak for themselves-if we all had the facts.
All the Ways to God
by Haddon W Robinson"
In the marketplace of ideas, all vendors have equal rights to sell what they believe. But that doesn't mean all their ideas are equally right.
Christians proclaim that Jesus is the only way to God, not because they are bigots but because they believe it is true. They take at face value His claim that He alone is the true and living way to God.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, Except through Me." Many people shrug off the claims of Jesus as the only Savior of the world by saying, "Well, that's all fine and good, but you have your way to God and I have mine."
Jesus stood such thinking on its head, when He said, "I am the way ... No one comes to the Father except through Me." If Jesus' claims are true, they are true for everyone. If they are false, the sooner we are proved wrong and put on the right road, the better. As C.S. Lewis put it, "Christianity is a statement which, iffalse, is of no importance, and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important."
There are no two ways about it. Jesus doesn't ask for our vote as the most appealing candidate for Savior of the world. He simply states His lordship of the universe, and demands our allegiance. Does He have yours?
*Dr Robinson writes for the Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, MI. His affirmation of the Bible's truth about Jesus is a solemn reminder in this day when all roads are supposed to lead to God, and are so affirmed even by a minority of ELCA clergy. Reprinted from Our Daily Bread, 12/22/99