LCMS 63rd Convention orientation

Tonight I just sat through a meeting briefly going over some resolutions that our Synod will be debating over in the middle of July. While sitting and listening to each resolution I was impressed with how our church body is wrestling with the tough issues. Serving in the city I often feel like the church in the city is forgotten and unimportant. But I have changed my mind.
Many of the resolutions dealing with many different issues all seem to affect what will be happening at 2062 East 30th, Cleveland. For example, there is a resolution to decide how we deal with training laymen who desire to be pastors in places where no one else wants to go like the city or a rural church of about 10 worshippers. I just so happen to be training a guy at this moment who desires to be a pastor in the city...He is not Lutheran as of now, but it is very possible that after I am done with him he will be a confessing lutheran. What is also impressive is that I may be able to refer this guy and other guys like him to pursue the ministry as this resolution prescribes. (That is if the resolution passes. There will be many from both sides of the Lutheran political realm that will be against such a move.) Either way, I was impressed that our church body is making a viable effort to put into practice what we believe and teach according to the Confessions.
My prayer is that the decisions at 63rd Convention will be God pleasing and a great blessing to the congregations that Synod serves.

You can take the Boy out of the Hood...

But You can't take the Hood out of the Boy.

I found this to be true this past friday. I took 4 boys to the suburbs on Friday to a carnival that Shanna was putting on at her church in Chagrin Falls. Chargin is known as one of the richest areas in Ohio. I told the boys this was a rare chance that they would get to see an outside part of Cleveland that they never had seen before. Then I stressed,
"You better be on your best behavior." I also brought the boys so that they could help run a few games at the carnival. As it turned out the weather was bad and their behavior changed with the weather. Somehow fists began flying between the boys because of some flowery words used toward one another. The two boys were broken up and one was taken to the side by me. After I talked with him he had developed in his head that he was going to blow up our church and kill everyone in it.
An hour later the two boys were best friends once again.
So far the church has not been blown up.