Mankato Area Men's Prayer Breakfast

I want to start off by apologizing for my tardiness in keeping this blog up to date. I have been extremely busy with work and of course the upcoming prayer breakfast. I will get back to Martin Luther this weekend and get caught up before Wednesday. So with that said I would like to talk about something that has been very close to me for the past few months. One of the things that I noticed almost immediately when I came back to Church is that there was quite a few different opportunities for regular gathering for the women in the Church but the men's program's seemed scattered and not at the most opportune times for those of us working regular schedules. Also, there was some fear that most of us men are more apt toward coach potatoism (citing myself as the example) However, I felt that I was missing opportunity to connect with other Christian men within the community and share in fellowship. I also thought what a great opportunity for education and giving. So a group of men from Messiah Lutheran Church and Hosanna Lutheran Church here in Mankato got together to discuss what we could do. The following is the culmination of about 6 months of thought, prayer, and work. I encourage any men in the area to contact me and to come join us for what is the first of what we hope are many Men's Prayer Breakfasts.

Mankato Area Men's Prayer Breakfast
An Opportunity to share fellowship and giving with Mankato Area Christian Men

Guest Speakers: Eric Davis & Mark Esch
Head coaches Mankato East and West Football
They will discuss how their faith impacts their life and work

Saturday December 1, 2007
Messiah Lutheran Church
1706 Lee Blvd. North Mankato, MN

Doors Open - 8:32
Breakfast - 9:02
Speakers - 10:02

Tickets: $10.00
Proceeds to benefit community charities

For information or tickets contact:
Messiah Lutheran Church - 507-387-5537
Hosanna Lutheran Church - 507-388-1766
Email: jgangerjt@gmail.com

Martin Luther and "Ad Fontes!"

This may get a little deep and if so I apologize now but this is pretty significant to Luthers break with the church. So here goes... In 1507 Luther was ordained as a priest and went back to the University of Erfurt to continue his studies in Theology. While there he was exposed to the humanist ideas and embraced their slogan "Ad Fontes" or "Back to the Source." Humanists believed that the Greek and Latin classics contained both all the lessons one needed to lead a moral and effective life and the best models for a powerful Latin style. The humanists developed a rigorous and new kind of study program that helped correct and better understand the ancient works of the Greeks and the Romans. The humanist were skilled teachers and taught many to read and write in the classical styles of the ancients. The humanist also convinced many of the popes that they were a needed commodity within the papal circle to write Letters, propaganda, and to write a classical form of the Mass. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, humanist theologians insisted that the formal theology of the universities was far less valuable than a direct knowledge of the biblical text, and that the documents that supported the church's privileges should be subjected to critical scrutiny, like any others. Now Martin Luther felt very strongly about this idea and used the humanist style to create for himself a formal Bible study which meant that he would study the bible in it's Hebrew and Greek texts. The humanist movement provoked the Church to reject their ideals because it went against the rigidness of the educational and scholastic programs of the Church.

Erasmus
Among the prominent artists and scholars aligned with the humanist movement was Erasmus von Rotterdamm. Erasmus was known all over Europe and was considered to be a great intellectual of the time. Erasmus initially liked the reforms that Martin Luther was putting in place as he was learned in the Greek and Latin texts and was critical of the papacy. The kinship did not last long, however some of Luther's closest associates kept in contact with Erasmus through the years. Among them Phillipp Melanchthon.

In 1512, Luther was appointed to a chair for Biblical Study at the University of Wittenberg. This time is characterized by Luther's grappling with religious understanding. His decisive religious enlightenment is said to have come during his intensive study of the Letter to the Romans during which time he realized that people receive justice through the grace of God, not through good works: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith." (Romans 1:17)

Luther himself stated that he came to this decisive realization in the study room of the Wittenberg monastery. When this actually happened is disputed; it is also known as the Tower experience. In 1514, while lecturing on Psalm 71, he discovered his principal of "justification by faith." This new key to the entire Bible became the centerpiece of his new theology. Luther's theology developed quickly, and soon the entire faculty of the university accepted his ideas. By 1517 Wittenberg had become a center of Biblical humanism. Around this same time Luther called for Phillip Melanchthon to come teach at Wittenberg. In addition, Martin Luther was also the priest of the City Church of Wittenberg.

WOW! I told you this would be deep! Next up...what I am sure everyone has been waiting for 95 Theses.

Reference Links (Because there is no way I am this smart!):

http://www.pitts.emory.edu/ARCHIVES/text/mss090.html

http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/vatican.exhibit/exhibit/c-humanism/Humanism.html

http://www.luther.de

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/REFORM/LUTHER.HTM

Events During Martin Luther's Lifetime

I would like to acknowledge Pastor David Hansen's contributions to this post and I encourage him to continue adding or filling in the blanks as I go along. Thank You Pastor David and please visit his blogs at Lutheranism 101 and Postings from Prairie Hill as well, as I have found it to be enlightening along my journey.

Major events in Martin Luther's Lifetime
During the 63 years of Marty's life (I like to think he would have liked being called Marty,) the world under went major change as this was a period of transition from Medieval period and feudalism to the Renaissance Period. This was a time of Art's and Science, da Vinci, invented the horizontal water wheel in 1510, Peter Henlein invented the pocket watch in the same year. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1512. Rumor has it that the flush toilet was also invented during this time (which leads to why civilization began to flourish). I digress, Christopher Columbus discovered...well the Caribbean which also led to the 1st outbreak of smallpox there also. In addition, the Plague was running rampant across Europe (thanks Pastor David) a pandemic that killed upwards of 75 million people and an estimated 20 million in Europe alone. There was also the invention of the moving type printing press in about 1450 which by 1517 was the renaissance version of the Internet.

The Power of the Press
Which brings me to something I was planning to save for later and I may actually get into further detail another time, but the Printing Press may have been Martin Luther's biggest Allie during the reformation and Catholicism's Achilles heel. For had it not been for the power of the press Martin Luther might very well have met his fate at the stake. The printing press and some good marketing people gave Martin Luther the ability to publish his thoughts and disseminate them to a much broader audience. Not only were kings, popes and princes reading Martin Luther but so was the meagerly educated peasant population of the land. And the press enabled Martin Luther's works to be distributed faster and gave the catholic church less time to respond to his writing. The pope was unable, or unwilling, to embrace this technology in a way that would allow the church to sway Martin Luther's popularity against him. By the time Martin Luther came out of hiding (or escaped from his kidnappers) enough of his writings had been circulated to the populace that the Church would have a very hard time arresting him or even executing him for heresy. Had the church made a move to arrest him at this point they likely would have had a large and very bloody revolt among the German people. In a sense you could say Martin Luther was like a Rock Star or at the very least the renaissance version of Billy Graham.

I promise tomorrow we will cover what I like to call "Ad Fontes!"

Martin Luther's "Coming to Jesus" Moment

Before I begin I need to thank Pastor Eric for the encouragement and contributions to this series. I am very excited to continue and hope that all get some of the great things I have learned about my own "Rebirth" through reading about Martin Luther and his teachings. Also Pastor Eric has some great and inspiring words on his blog and I encourage all to read his blog.

OK Installment #2
When we last met Marty had finished up his Baccalaureate and Master's degrees and was just getting into learning the law and the story continues... Martin had taken a little break and went home to Mansfeld to visit his family. On his way back to school Martin was walking near Stotterheim on July 2, 1505. As the story goes, Martin was a few hours outside Erfurt when a lightning storm struck. A bolt of lightning struck near him and the pressure from the strike threw Martin off his feet. At that moment, Martin called to St. Anne (the patron Saint of miners) that "I will become a monk!"
Now for a little creative license...So Marty is in this storm, likely under a tree when BOOM! the lightning strikes and hits the tree. The wind is howling a branch falls from the tree (with a little flame on the branch and scorching) and Marty falls to the ground from the pressure blast...the rain is pounding on Marty's face and lightning is striking every where around him. Suddenly, Marty shouts...Oh Saint Anne! please if you get me through this storm I will become a monk!! Suddenly the storm passes and a light rain continues to fall for a few minutes and Martin can hear the thunder moving off in the distance. A little more dramatic this way!

Now some biographies I have read in preparation for this feel that the story itself may have been fabricated for effect by Luther. Others, state that he may have already been contemplating the move to the priesthood prior to the thunderstorm and this only solidified his decision. Either way, upon Luther's return to Erfurt University, Martin went to one last party with his friends and the next day entered the Black Monastery in Erfurt despite the efforts of his parents, friends and classmates to persuade him to continue his Law degree.
Ok so I just have to do it here...Marty gets back to the "U" around late evening on the 2nd of July. He gets to his room and one of his classmates comes in and says "Hey how about that storm huh?" Marty says "yeah that was a bad one! I nearly got killed by a lightning strike." Classmate to Marty, "Man I'll bet that was pretty wicked! Hey, I heard there is going to be a Kegger on the 16th you going to go?" Marty says "Sure one last party to get my game on before I go over to the monastery sounds like fun!" Ok I promise last one! :)

The Monastery was of the Augustinian Order and life in the monastery during those times was hard and consisted of daily prayer, fasting, and work. The Monks day usually started around 3:00 AM and began with Prayers and Scripture reading along with basket weaving or some other work. Monks ate two meals a day and fasted on Wednesday's and Friday's. Most of their day consisted of work in silence and meditation and prayers during the work. It is said in some of the biographies that during this time Luther found a close relationship to the bible which would help him later in life. Luther took his vow's of a monk in 1506, and was ordained as a priest in Erfurt in 1507. At which time he began studying Theology at the University of Erfurt.

Ok that's it for tonight. Watch for the next episode "Ad Fontes!"

Martin Luther Feedback

I was talking to our Pastor at church tonight and we were discussing confirmation classes and I brought up the fact that...I personally feel that there may be a lack of understanding (within the congregation) as to why the Lutheran church exists. And of course with October 31st fast approaching (and I am not talking about Halloween) that this might be a good time to discuss Martin Luther and the Reformation (What a concept huh?) So I have done a LOT of reading on the subject (reformation and Marty) and thought that it would be a good idea to use this month as a time to discuss Marty and his life and how the denomination we call Lutheran came to exist. So I am hoping I get a lot of feedback from readers this month because I am now being asked to present to the confirmation class about Martin Luther. So I am going to start out the month with a bit of the knowledge I have about the guy and hopefully I will get some rousing conversation going or if you will, perhaps a little "Table Talk." So with my pint in hand here goes, I hope you all enjoy.


So my understanding; Marty was born Martin Luder on November 10, 1483. He later called himself "Luther" in Eisleben(Ice-Lee-Ben), Germany. His parents were Hans and Margarete. Hans picked up and moved the family in early 1484 to Mansfeld where Hans was a copper miner. Martin went to Latin school in Mansfeld until 1497 when he was sent to 'Brothers living together' school (a boarding school.) In 1498 he went to Eisenach to live with relatives and attended the parish school.
In 1501 Hans had the money to send Martin to the University in Erfurt to get his Baccalaureate, In those days you had to learn the 7 Liberal Arts before you could study a specific subject like Law, which his father had hoped Marty would learn. Now Martin was a quick study because in 1502 he received his Baccalaureate and then his Master's degree in 1505. At this point Martin began to study Law and his father was hopeful that his law studies would go as well so he could soon be a practicing lawyer.

So this was the "Wonder Years" for Martin. Some of the biographies I have read state that Martin was: "a quiet, reserved yet talented student who was intimidated by the strict order." Others state that he was a student of average level who was often beaten at school as well as home. Never the less, Martin excelled in the university where he was introduced to modernism, and the "Humanist" movement. Though, not overtly influenced by the humanist movement. Modernism is another story I will get into later.

Ok, That's the nugget for today...Tomorrow I think we will discuss the infamous lightening storm. Thoughts? How am I doing so far? Anyone want to add to this?