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Spirit & Life
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version 4.0
•••"The
words I have spoken to you are spirit and life"
-- Jesus, John 6:63
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| Of Guilt and Association with Christian News | | Date Created: 20 Oct, 2005, 12:12 PM |
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| About three weeks ago, my wife and I travelled to scenic New Haven, MO for a mission presentation at Trinity Lutheran Church. Lutherans reading this post will perhaps recognize this famous (or infamous) location as the home and headquarters of the Rev. Herman Otten, editor and publisher of Christian News. |
| I admit I was nervous about the journey and presentation. I've made many such presentations over my years here among the Omaha. To my memory, the only such I've ever declined were due to scheduling conflicts. My basic rule is when someone asks, I go if I possibly can. Since the formation of the partnership between My People Lutheran Outreach and the parish I serve, Zion Lutheran Church, Bancroft, NE, my schedule restricts these outings more often than before. But there are six Sundays I can be gone on such travels 'built in' to the agreement. Other mid-week presentations are not so restricted, save by my duties in the parish and on the rez. Yet it was not the long distance, nor the topic which brought my unease. |
 I confess it was my own prejudice, pure and simple. I'm not proud of it at all. But it was mine, and I own it along with Christ's forgiveness for it.
I've been reading CN since seminary. Whenever the new stack would appear there on the tables outside the sem bookstore, I'd pick up my copy. I didn't care much for the policy of printing anonymous letters and articles, as I've always figured if someone had something to say they'd ought to believe in it enough to put their name on it.
There seemed to be an active administrative effort on campus to keep the students ignorant of events and 'politics' in the synod at large. CN was one of the only avenues to obtain such word from "out there" in the church. Back in those days, the affordable personal computer market was only beginning to bud into flower, and advent of the internet at a blazing 2400 baud appeared during my last years at sem. A decade and more later, the term "blog" would be coined, and news and views of synod events would be but a click away. |
 Professors and synodocrats generally tended to fear and dread CN, precisely because one would find there 'unauthorized' reports of current events. Frequent statements from many profs painted CN as the nominally Lutheran equivalent of the Weekly World News. Allegations against CN of persistent and unrepentant violations of the 8th Commandment were common. Unwittingly I learned to echo these things inwardly, though I'd still be there with the rest snapping up my copy of CN.
In the years since ordination, pastoral regard for CN and Rev. Herman Otten is kind of like the major media regard for Matt Drudge. On the one hand, there's a sort of 'seedyness' and some level of illegitimacy associated with him. On the other hand, one likewise notes a kind of begrudging respect and inability to entirely ignore him and what he says -- even by his greatest detractors. Famous or infamous, the name of Herman Otten and CN means something to most every churchworker and officer in synod.
In a rather ironic sense, Herman Otten is sort of the grandfather of the Lutheran blogosphere. Some love him, others hate him, but many more 'love to hate him' and 'hate to love him.' Whatever your opinion on Herman Otten and Christian News, it's probably strong enough to elicit a reflexive disclaimer, an involuntary approving smirk or a contemptuous grimace before you even realize it. |
 It was a nice trip, as my wife and I enjoyed some very rare travel time together without the kids. We arrived a few minutes later than we expected, but the Ottens were gracious and the meal Grace prepared was splendid and delicious. Our conversation was pleasant and wide-ranging, as we each got a sense of who and what sort of fellow the other was. I admit sadly I was somewhat guarded. Surprisingly, I noted, so was he.
After our meal, Rev. Otten took us on a tour of the Camp Trinity campus, where his log cabin home stands. We got to hear the stories of it's origin, the various people who had travelled and spoken there, and the features of each area. Then we got to see the Lutheran News, Inc. building -- the columns of extensive file cabinets, the rows of published stock of books, everything that goes into publishing Christian News each week. |
Because of my own background, which includes more than a few stints writing articles, editing and producing weekly newspapers, student journals, layout, and such, I was duly impressed. More than impressed, even, as I learned he still writes everything on a typewriter, personally eschewing the use of computers and the internet. He's a die-hard on a lot of levels, a fact one notes and grows to respect.
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 The presentation that evening went well, with good questions about my work among the Omaha, theology and practice of mission, and the general direction of synodical mission work today. The Ottens had reserved a room for us at the recently renovated, historic Central Hotel. Morning came and we met with Grace for a quick tour of the town before we set out for home.
I considered then another side of Rev. Otten, that of a pastor in his community for more than three decades. Long tenure in pastorates is not common now as it once was in the synod. Yet as we toured the town, one could not help but reflect on how the Otten family story is tied in with the story of the community of New Haven, MO.
The story of the Otten family is also tied in with the story of the Missouri Synod. Historians would be remiss should they try to tell the tale of Missouri without mention of Herman Otten. Especially so, because he himself has documented in great detail and with original sources so much of the synod's history through his work publishing Christian News. |
 Meeting Herman Otten and seeing him as more than an editor and publisher, but a flesh & blood human being, a husband, a father, and a parish pastor "in context" made me think very differently about him. It also made me realize how my own story is tied to that of the Missouri Synod too--and now, even more literally.
You see, the October 17, 2005 issue of Christian News arrived in our church's mailbox a couple of days ago, and that of every other congregation in the LCMS. The full-color, center-fold layout (p.12-13) and entirety of p.14 prints the full text of an essay entitled "Gone, But Not Forgotten [PDF]" by one Pastor Jeffery Warner, Missionary to the Omaha tribe, along with about a dozen photos of him and his work.
Sadly, in days not yet far enough gone, I'd probably have been a bit embarassed. But today, I can honestly say:"Pastor Otten, Grace, thank you for the hospitality. Truly, it was an honor to meet you." |
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