Another Concordia Treasure: Visitation

While at the Concordia Publishing House store in St. Louis a couple weeks back, I picked up from the pastoral helps shelves a nice looking large pocket-sized, black leather-covered book entitled (in a nice gold script) Visitation. I think I was expecting a generic, protestant "minister's manual" type book -- you will find those in most any "Christian" bookstore, even the denominational ones like Augsburg Fortress and CPH -- but it was an unfamiliar title and, what the hay.

I immediately knew I was in for a treat, though; the subtitle is "Resources for the Care of Souls" and the editors are Arthur A Just, Jr., and Scot A. Kinnaman. I first met Art Just when he addressed the Society of the Holy Trinity for our 5th anniversary and have gotten to know him better since then through events at Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, where he is Professor of Exegetical Theology and former Dean of the Chapel. I wish I'd had a professor like him at PLTS.

It's another brand new pastoral resource that can be used by pastors or lay visitors but, while it certainly draws on the Missouri Synod's fine, new Lutheran Service Book resources, it is clearly something different from LSB's excellent Pastoral Care Companion. Prof. Just writes in his preface, "More than thirteen years ago, I made a comment in class that someday I would like to put together a book of lessons and prayers to assist pastors, deaconesses, and caring Christians in their visitations to the sick and the suffering." Pastor Kinnaman was a seminarian in that class and that book was published only a few months ago.

At $28, it ain't cheap (though CPH's discount for pastors helps). I'm already glad I bought it. And in an upcoming post, I'll show you an example of why.

Do You Be Somebody? Or Do Something?

An interesting snippet from a speech given by our Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, at the Air War College in Maxwell, Alabama, last April, where he talks about Col. John Boyd, the "architect" of the American victory in Desert Storm.

As this new era continues to unfold before us, the challenge I pose to you today is to become a forward-thinking officer who helps the Air Force adapt to a constantly changing strategic environment characterized by persistent conflict.

Let me illustrate using a historical exemplar: the late Air Force Colonel John Boyd. As a 30-year-old captain, he rewrote the manual for air-to-air combat. Boyd and the reformers he inspired would later go on to design and advocate for the F-16 and the A-10. After retiring, he would develop the principals of maneuver warfare that were credited by a former Marine Corps Commandant and a Secretary of Defense for the lightning victory of the first Gulf War. Boyd’s contributions will resonate today. Many of you have studied the concept he developed called the OODA loop– and I understand there is an “OODA Loop” street here at Maxwell near the B-52.

In accomplishing all these things, Boyd – a brilliant, eccentric, and stubborn character – had to overcome a large measure of bureaucratic resistance and institutional hostility. He had some advice that he used to pass on to his colleagues and subordinates that is worth sharing with you. Boyd would say, and I quote: “one day you will take a fork in the road, and you’re going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go [one] way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go [the other] way and you can do something – something for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself … If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and you may not get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won’t have to compromise yourself … To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you have to make a decision. To be or to do?”

For the kinds of challenges America will face, the Armed Forces will need principled, creative, reform-minded leaders – men and women who, as Boyd put it, want to do something, not be somebody. An unconventional era of warfare requires unconventional thinkers.

This range of security challenges – from global terrorism to ethnic conflicts; from rogue nations to rising powers – cannot be overcome by traditional military means alone. Conflict will be fundamentally political in nature and will require the integration of all elements of national power. Success to a large extent will depend less on imposing one’s will on the enemy or putting bombs on target – though we must never lose our will or ability to unsheathe the sword when necessary. Instead, ultimate success or failure will increasingly depend more on shaping the behavior of others – friends and adversaries, and most importantly, the people in between.

This new set of realities and requirements have meant a wrenching set of changes for our military establishment that, until recently, was almost completely oriented toward winning the big battles in the big wars. Based on my experience at CIA, Texas A&M, and now the Department of Defense, the culture of any large organization takes a long time to change. The really tough part is preserving those elements of the culture that strengthen the institution and motivate the people in it, while shedding those elements of the culture that are barriers to progress and achieving the mission. All of the Services must examine their cultures critically, if we are to have the capabilities relevant and necessary to overcome the most likely threats America will face in years to come.

Secretary Gates may have been speaking to up-and-coming military officers, but his observations fit with any organization that (as nearly all do) develops a bureaucracy, large or small: business enterprises, schools, social service organizations, churches, etc.

Hat tip to Gary North's Specific Answers.

A Different Scale than Any Before

In this 4-minute ad for iTulip.com, you can see the scale of the current crisis compared to the past banking crises back to 1919, when the Federal Reserve System was established. I can't speak for iTulip.com, but WOW -- what an ad.



And the crisis has only just begun. Are you frightened?

You should be.

Lutherans to Lead Evening of 40 Days of Prayer for Peoria

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peoria hosts Day 25 of the 40 Days of Prayer for Peoria beginning at 6 pm the evening of Saturday, January 24, 2009. The Rev. Steven P. Tibbetts, STS, Pastor at Zion, will lead the ecumenical prayer service using the contemporary Lutheran rite for Evening Prayer, which is traditionally called Vespers or Evensong. The 40 Days of Prayer services have been held at 6 pm each evening since December 31 at First United Methodist Church, 700 Main Street, Peoria. The 40 Days will continue through February 8.

The 40 Days of Prayer for Peoria was first held last year as a response by area churches and ministries to Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis’ invitation to include prayer as part of the fight against violent crime. Zion co-hosted one evening of prayer last year with St. Andrew’s Anglican Church. Since the initial 40 Days last year, continued prayer efforts in the city have been coordinated by Push for Peace Peoria (website www.pushforpeacepeoria.org) which has organized this year’s second effort. The prayer services reflect the wide variety of Christian practices available in the Peoria area, yet center on the whole church’s common prayer for the city.

A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Zion has been proclaiming the Gospel from the South Side of Peoria since 1894. The church is located at the corner of Easton Avenue and Hayes Street, one block west of the intersection of Jefferson and Western, on the South Side of Peoria. For more information call (309) 637-9150 or view Zion’s web site at www.zionpeoria.org.
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Sanctity of Human Life Day

Next Tuesday (my sister's birthday) is not only Inauguration Day, it is the day for Peoria's Annual Sanctity of Human Life Walk and Rally. Festivities begin with an Open House at the Family Resources Center, 321 Main Street, downtown Peoria, beginning at 5:30 pm.

The Walk for Life begins at the Peoria County Courthouse at 6:30 pm: "Prayer, singing, and walk to" Sacred Heart Church (across Fulton Street from the Civic Center) for the Sanctity of Human Life Rally at 7 pm. Keynoting is Derrick Jones, the Communications Director for the National Right to Life Committee.

Look for Pastor Zip there.

Meanwhile, here's one of the final proclamations by President Bush, released yesterday. Alas, we probably won't be hearing anything like this for the next four years.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Oh, It's There!

I was a die-hard LA Herald-Examiner reader and subscriber (and still think real newspapers should be published in the afternoon), so I really hate it when the Los Angeles Times gets it right. Nevertheless, as a follow-up from yesterday's post, here's the beginning of today's Times story on the new Topanga Division LAPD station. Remember the question: Where is the police station?

LAPD opens new station in Canoga Park

Its 265 officers will serve the southwest San Fernando Valley. The department also celebrates its 140th anniversary.

By Ruben Vives

There was a lot to cheer about Saturday in Canoga Park.

The Los Angeles Police Department celebrated the opening of its 21st police station and launched the commemoration of the department's 140th anniversary.

Although the station is in Canoga Park, near the intersection of Schoenborn Street and Canoga Avenue, a panel of city leaders chose to name it the Topanga station in recognition of the Gabrielino-Tongva Indian tribe, which once inhabited the San Fernando Valley.

The station was going to be named the Northwest station but officials changed it after community members indicated that they wanted to honor the region's history, said Councilman Dennis Zine, whose district includes the area.

The 54,000-square-foot station was built at a cost of $36 million; the funds came from Proposition Q, a public safety facilities bond measure approved by voters in March 2002. Officials said the structure incorporates energy-saving light fixtures and other "green" features, including an efficient irrigation system.

About 265 officers assigned to the Topanga station will patrol the southwest portion of the San Fernando Valley, which includes Canoga Park, Winnetka, West Hills and Woodland Hills. The area has a combined population of 190,000, more than the cities of Green Bay, Wis.; Salt Lake City; or Topeka, Kan.

At least 40 volunteers also will help the station's officers, assisting in administrative and other duties, said the station's commander, Capt. John Sherman.

"We are starting a police-community partnership," Sherman said during a welcoming speech. "This is your police station."

Read it all here. But remember this -- by the third sentence, you knew exactly where the Topanga Division station is. Chalk up one for the [shudder] Times' reporting. Who? What? Where?...

Who? What? Where? When? (Uh, Where?)

The San Fernando Valley's Los Angeles Daily News (that would be the home town paper) for New Year's Day includes a very nice article about the new police station in opening in Canoga Park this weekend.

LAPD's Topanga station to open

By Brandon Lowrey, Staff Writer

CANOGA PARK - Capt. John Sherman of the Los Angeles Police Department was smiling as he paced the bare halls of the LAPD's new Topanga station, which will soon be his to command.

Sherman nodded to a veteran detective who, dressed in shabby clothes, rolled some red-orange paint onto an office wall.

The 47-year-old captain contemplated the placement of a map showing his station's domain. It would go on his wall, next to photos of his wife of 28 years and their three adult children.

Volunteers buzzed around Sherman while construction crews peeled a chain-link fence away from the front of the high-tech station, set to officially open for business Sunday after a community celebration Saturday.

Sherman, born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, said the new station has drawn more volunteers than he could have hoped for.

"There's new enthusiasm in this community that wasn't here before," said the captain who has served in the LAPD nearly 24 years. "This will clearly be one of my most memorable experiences - helping build Topanga. I'm pretty proud of that."

The criminal element, however, might be a little less enthused about Sherman's plans.

"There's a gang area right here that's going to get a lot of attention from the Police Department," he said.

One of the Valley's most active gangs, Canoga Park Alabama, is in the station's sights.

The Topanga Division is one of two new LAPD stations opening Sunday. The other, the Olympic Division, is located near Koreatown.

Read it all here.

Then try to answer the following question: Where is the new police station? I'm not looking for "all the news that's fit to print." I just want to know the key detail of the news story!

Fortunately, we web-savvy people can find the LAPD's own press release with the street address. Which is very helpful, since it turns out the new Topanga Division is near, but not on, Topanga Canyon Blvd.

At least it's in Canoga Park.