The survey on the Catechism and BOC is now open again. I pulled the
right levers and shifted the proper gears to reopen it and accept as many responses as you
are willing to provide. Here is the direct link to the survey. It is very fast, and painless. Thanks for your participation.

Please pass this survey link along to anyone/everyone you know.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=V7s3rh1E9An1XBLm04OeCw_3d_3d

Would you take a moment to give me your feedback on a couple ideas I'm kicking around?
First, publishing the text of the Small Catechism and the Large Catechism together, in this way: the text of the Small Catechism would be printed, for instance, the First Commandment and its meaning, then would follow the Large Catechism's text on the First Commandment and its meaning, and so forth.
Second, we are considering publishing an inexpensive edition of the Lutheran Confessions, containing only the text of the Confessions, in a compact book, paperback. The text will be that of the Concordia edition, without any of the introductory materials, notes, etc.
Would you take a moment to take this survey and let me know what you think about these ideas?
Click Here to take survey

I was really impressed by the plans for the much [desperately] needed library expansion project at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. You'll be hearing a lot more about this in the coming months. Please be prepared to support this project. It looks fantastic!

Enjoy, and spread the word! Copy these files on to your blog and give people a "listen" to promotional audio for the Treasury of Daily Prayer. Hear Pastor Weedon and Professor John Pless, Pastor Todd Wilken, and Mr. Jeff Schwarz talk about the Treasury of Daily Prayer.

Click on the audio files below for a series of advertisements that are running on Issues, Etc.

Download 006a_j_cph.mp3

Download 006b_t_cph.mp3

Download 006c_t_chp.mp3

Download 006d_t_cph.mp3

Download 006e_t_cph.mp3

Download 006f_t_cph.mp3

Download 006g_t_cph.mp3

Download 006h_t_cph.mp3

This is a cool new addin that allows you to access data nearly instantly when you are anywhere on the Internet with just a couple keystrokes. Check out how you can use it with the English Standard Version of the Bible.

I have some news on the Libronix Lectionary Viewer.

It is now FREE to anyone/everyone who owns a CPH Logos product.

So, if
you have the Concordia Electronic Theological Library, Luther’s Works,
or the Concordia Edition of the Book of Concord, you are now able to
get the entire Lutheran Service Book lectionaries (both one and three
year series) in your software and use it. It is a very handy way to
work with the lectionary within your Libronix software and with your
LOGOS resources.

Telephone Support:
(800) 875-6467

As of today I joyfully canceled my Twitter account. No more twitting or tweeting for me. I found it to be the ultimate expression of Internet silliness. I highly do not recommend it to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Here is a great article on Twitter-hate. And here's a spot-on excerpt:

Why do we think we’re so important that we
believe other people want to know about what we’re having for lunch,
how bored we are at work or the state of inebriation we happen to be at
this very moment in time? How did society get to the point that we are
constantly improving technology so that this non-news can reach others
even faster than a cell phone, a text message, a blog, our Facebook
profiles?

There’s
no blaming Generation Y for that. Blame their parents, those
touchy-feely post boomers who piled on the praise and positive
reinforcement, lest they bruise little Dylan or Madison’s budding self
esteem. It’s Mom and Dad who awarded gold stars and iMacs every time
their precious progeny engaged in the most mundane of child
development. Why should they or the rest of us gape in horror at the
next generation posting itself naked on the Internet (both literally
and metaphorically). Twitter is just the latest development in the
biggest generation gap since rock n’ roll invented teenagers.

Or
blame Paris Hilton. She’s always good in a pinch. Twitter, then, is the
latest evidence of the Paris Hiltoning of America. Twitter is always
on, always looked at, and at a 140 character limit, doesn’t have the
capacity to be either deep or meaningful.

Oh well. Who gets hurt?

This article contains much food for thought. It has been my observation living with three teenagers, and hanging around, as a consequence, with a lot of teenagers, that many of our teens think that what the Boomer crowd seems to think is "relevant worship" is, in their view, trite, banal, silly and irrelevant. Here is one young woman's opinion on this subject, titled, "Why I Walked Out of Church" by Julie Neidlinger. Here is an excerpt, follow the link to Julie's web site to read the rest.

"Today, I went to Bismarck Evangel
Temple, sat through the worship and most of the sermon, and
then…walked out before it was done.

I don't blame that church;
it is my own inability to fit that literally forced me to leave. I
don't really doubt their sincerity, and that many people love the
programs and opportunities that church provides. I've even found, in
the past, a few sermons to be interesting. But…

I believe what
I believe — my Christian faith — not because of tradition or because
I was raised that way. Not because I want fire insurance or
hell-avoidance. Not because I want to find a group or place to belong.
I believe it on my own, I believe it to be real, I believe it to be
important and valid, and I believe the way we have made Christianity
out to be is completely wrong. And that's why I have such a hard time
going to church as it is now done.

Reaching people with trendiness
A
recent cover story at World Magazine about "NextGen Worship" inspired a
strong desire to smack the pastors depicted in the article and in the
photos. The cover photo alone enraged me,
with the pastor wearing baggy jeans and untucked button-up shirt with
flip flops and an ear microphone. Later, the same guy is shown out
front of a church holding a paper Starbucks-like cup of coffee. Could
he try any harder to be lame?

I'd have liked to have taken that
cup of coffee and dumped it on his head. But it's nothing personal
against that guy or his beliefs or sincerity. It's an anger at
something else.

I'm not going to be one of those starched-collar
Christians who, based on personal preference, say that this is a sign
we're going to hell in a handbasket and that all things are wrong
unless they are done as they were with the Puritans. What I'm saying is
that I can't stand the phoniness, or trendiness, or sameness — or
whatever I'm trying to say here — that the church seems to catch onto
at the tail end, not even aware of how lame it is. The fact that this
is not only actually successful in appealing to people, but attracts
them, also disgusts me.

It makes me want to throw up.

It's buying into some kind of lie or substitution of cool culture as being relevant when it isn't.

This week's topics include:
Worldviews, Death & Eternal Life, John the Baptist, the Early
Church & Abortion, the Homosexual Lobby, End Times Teachings and
more. Listen to what you want when you want at www.issuesetc.org!

Folks, we have a fully working demo of the Treasury of Daily Prayer, complete with virtual page turns. Please visit the Treasury web site, which has now come fully on line, and experience the Treasury of Daily Prayer for yourself. As you page through, you will have all the prefatory materials in the Treasury, some of the prayer orders, and all the readings you need to begin using the Treasury now, through the month of September and all of October. By the end of October and early November the Treasury will have arrived at CPH and be in stock. Enjoy! Please let me know what you think. This is our new software for offering nice previews of our books and other resources. Here is a screen shot of the Treasury web site. Click on it for a larger image:

I can't knowingly cast a vote for a man who can not come to the defense of the most helpless of our fellow citizens. When Obama was asked when life begins, he could only answer, "That's a
question above my pay grade." Nobody has to ask Sarah Palin. She knows. She proved it. She didn't
murder her unborn son with Down's syndrome.

OK, so I was convinced by a colleague today that I really must be on Twitter, tweeting; that is, informing the entire world what I'm doing every moment. So, if you want to "follow" me, now's your chance. Warning: my life is basically dull, boring and uneventful. If you enjoy watching the grass grow or paint dry, you are just the kind of person to be following me.

Here I am on Twitter.

I know of no other Lutheran pastor alive today who has done more and worked more tirelessly to encourage and inculcate a genuine Lutheran piety and devotion to a regular, ordered life of prayer than Professor John Pless. That is why his words of praise for the Treasury of Daily Prayer are humbling and received with great thanks and appreciation by Concordia Publishing House.

Folks, I'll say it again, I'm feeling quite strongly that the demand for the Treasury is going to be huge, once folks hear about it more widely. We are sending out a large mailing to Lutheran congregations, in mid-September. I can't underscore enough how vital it is for you to get your orders in now if you want to be among the first to receive the book and avoid the inconvenience of waiting while we go back to reprint. Place your orders here.

Here then are Pastor Pless' words of praise for the Treasury: