Out of the blue today, I received this very kind e-mail from a Lutheran pastor, and I passed it along to the CPH team. Thought I’d share it here too:

Dear Paul McCain,

Kudos to you and to CPH!

I do not believe that we have ever met but I have written you an email or two in the past. I am a friend and classmate of Ed Engelbrecht, and Scot Kinnaman knows me from work on Lutheranism 101. I also really appreciate your blog–so few in our circles actually get sanctification but you do! Regardless, this is not a personal email per se anyway.

I am writing as a pastor in the field to express my extreme satisfaction with where CPH is these days and the products and services that you are providing. I am especially pleased with the products that Ed or Scot have had a hand in, and I have shared these thoughts with them directly. I figured it was high time to give you some thanks as well, as their supervisor and for other things happening at CPH.

I just finished doing an online survey from you regarding CPH’s possible “reward programs”; and it reminded me that I wanted to write you this email to say thanks. Yesterday, I went through a little CPH mailing entitled “Congregational Resources” with these words at the bottom: “Helping Pastors Help God’s People.” Indeed! As I thumbed through the pages I was thrilled to see the resources available–I quite literally either already had or I wanted just about everything in there! And I thought, “Wow, this is what CPH is putting out these days! I’ve GOT to write and say thanks!”

So, THANKS! You are doing a great job, and I appreciate it. I am 50 now, I have been using CPH products all my life, and I have never been so pleased with CPH as I am now.

One last thing for comment is the book that Ed recently put out through CPH: “Friends of the Law.” My doctoral work is closely related, so I have done quite a bit of research on this topic, and I have to say that he nailed it exactly! In fact, I am more thankful for that book than just about any other book, except for Scripture and the Book of Concord itself. It really is that good, and it has the potential to be a tide-turner against the latent and even overt antinomianism within contemporary Lutheranism, even in the LCMS. I wanted to personally thank you for allowing him to pursue this project.  I imagine that such a thing does not take place without your approval, so thanks for letting him do it… and, I’m sure, even your encouragement.

Grateful to you and to God for you,
Ernie Bernet

Pastor Ernest Bernet
St Mark Lutheran Church