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Correspondence between President Sonia Holder and Pastor Bohler of Minnesota December 2, 2002 Dr. Benke, Recently I read some of the letters reprinted on your congregational webpage, letters which I suppose are there to give support to your actions in participating in the September 23, 2001 "Prayer for America" at Yankee Stadium. It intrigues me that several of those letters which ostensibly are there to support you, actually condemn you of the very thing of which you were charged: bringing Christ down to the level of the other "gods" invoked at that service. I would think that if you truly believed what Christ said about there being no other way to the Father but through Him (John 14:6) you would distance yourself from the assumptions made by these letter-writers who take your accusers to task for believing and teaching the exclusivity of Christianity. At the very least, I would suggest that you make it clear that you do not agree with those who argue against the teaching that there is salvation in no other name under heaven (Acts 4:12). In Christ, + + + + + December 2, 2002 Pastor Bohler, We are attempting to answer emails at this address as appropriately written. We have received some emails that really border on harassment from pastors of the Missouri Synod, so we are careful in our responses. Your question concerning Pastor Benke's beliefs in Christ are answered in his words on our webpage in many locations. I will list several for you: "That We May Be One;" "Response to Request for Clarity;" and "Response to Charges, section 4." Pastor had answered a person like you long ago. His name is Cascione. We have a file with some of Pastor's articles here - I will copy it at the end of this message for you to read. Of course, we don't need to go to a webpage to know what Pastor Benke believes. We hear him preach and teach every week. What troubles us is that you and pastors like you honestly don't believe that our Pastor is a Lutheran Christian. That comes across in what you say and do. What we know here in New York is that you have to put your message out on the street in words that people can understand when they need to hear them most. That's all Pastor Benke was doing at Yankee Stadium, and we WANTED him to be there to do just that. We knew he would pray in Jesus' Name, and he did. We knew he would bring words of comfort and healing in Jesus' Name and he did. We knew he would be a witness to God's love and he was. What more do you want? Clearly there are things for you to learn from Pastor Benke. We need for you to come here to learn. Come to Brooklyn and learn with us how to reach out with the love of Jesus in word and deed. We are a tender congregation, not big and powerful. We are a learning congregation, without all the "answers" in a bag. We are a forgiving congregation. People here have problems, often big ones, and we have learned to "take it to the Lord in prayer." "It's OK to Pray" is not just a motto to us - it's a way of life. Come and join us! Sincerely yours, Sonia Holder, President + + + + + Benke Confesses Jesus Christ is the Only Savior We asked the question, and even though others have told me he would not answer or he would give the wrong answer, the following reply from Atlantic District President David Benke is actually better than the question that was sent to him. President Benke's reply is reproduced in its entirety and further comments follow it. Jack, Your question is "Is Jesus Christ the only Savior of the world, and are all those who seek salvation in any other God than Jesus Christ eternally lost." Without quibbling, the answer to the first half of the sentence is "Yes." The second half of the sentence is less than satisfactory in my opinion because for whatever reasons it does not reference the Triune God, but only the second person of the Trinity. However, I am most comfortable confessing and responding with a "Yes" - there is salvation in "no other Name" than Jesus. Indeed, that is the meaning of my prayer at Yankee Stadium. The first "official" time I answered the question of the exclusive claim of the Christian faith in the affirmative was at my Confirmation in 1960. I then answered it in the affirmative at my ordination in 1972. During all that time I was answering it in the affirmative each time in worship or private devotion when I confessed my faith by speaking one of the church's creeds. The creedal confession spoken by me and those around me most often is the Nicene Creed. These creedal confessions evidence the exclusive claims of the Christian faith, and I confess them daily in private devotion and weekly in the Divine Service. It needs to be stated that no one who knows me here "on the ground" in New York or in most circles in the Missouri Synod would ask the question you ask. It would be viewed as unnecessary, since I have spent my ordained ministry in mission outreach to those of other religions or no faith, presenting the exclusive claim of Christ in word and deed in New York for nearly thirty years. I have baptized and confirmed people coming from Hindu, Muslim and Jewish backgrounds. I am instructing two such families as a parish pastor right now. Last year the Atlantic District, which I serve as President, began more new ethnic missions than any other District in the LCMS. Two of those mission starts were targeted to Muslims, two to Hindus, and one to those of the Jewish religion. Our District motto is"Every Congregation is a Mission Station." 98% of the 1000 + letters and e-mails that I have received regarding my prayer participation at Yankee Stadium have been positive. Those people all understood that my prayer "in Jesus' precious Name" was a simple and powerful witness to the exclusive Christian claim. Those 1000 + letters and e-mails, plus a huge volume of voicemails and phone/personal conversations, represent tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people, LCMS Lutherans, other Christians and even some non-Christians. They did not and do not feel that my prayer witness was weak, ineffectual, or subverted in any way. They understood it to be highly appropriate and have been incredibly grateful that a witness to Christ was made in my brief prayer. Those who know me "on the ground" here in New York understood that I was simply representing them - to "know Christ and make Him known," in exactly the same way I have attempted to represent them as a parish pastor and District President in New York for thirty years. Sincerely yours in Christ, Dave Benke Some observations by Reclaim News: We thank President Benke for his reply. As stated above, his answer was better than the question. Benke's high regard for the Nicene Creed is the purest confession of the Gospel. His mission emphasis with the proper catechetical instruction is the lifeblood of the LCMS. + + + + + December 2, 2002 Dear Ms. Holder: Thank you for your email response below. I am surprised that you are the one responding, since I sent my message to Dr. Benke (pastor@stpeter-brooklyn.org). I would appreciate your making sure that Dr.Benke gets a copy of my emails, since I am interested in his thoughts on this matter. However, I think you are missing (or ignoring) the point I was trying to make: when you publish letters from people who deny that Christ is the only Way to salvation (such as the Leonard Burkhart letter) as support for Dr. Benke's actions, then you give credence to the charges made against him: that he has brought Christ down to merely "our" god, one among many. Maybe YOU know what Dr. Benke believes and preaches, but for those of us who do not hear him weekly, that is not the case -- what is published on your congregational website serves to shape our understanding/perceptions. As to going to New York to learn from Dr. Benke and your congregation, I must decline at present since God has called me to serve Him here in Minnesota by faithfully preaching/teaching the Word and administering the Sacraments and I am bound by that call. In Christ, + + + + + December 4, 2002 Dear Pastor Bohler, Thanks for your response. Pastor Benke sees our correspondence. I would have thought you would be more happy with my response, which just pointed you to what has already been stated and written. It seems as though you can't take "Yes" for an answer. But that doesn't matter - God loves you and so do we here at St. Peter's. We weren't asking you to move out here, just to visit, so our offer still stands; any time you're in the neighborhood, stop over! Sincerely yours, Sonia Holder, President + + + + + God's blessings to you Sonia, Pastor Benke and your flock. I have read all of the information on your web page re: the Yankee Stadium event. I have followed news coverage since day one when I saw the live TV coverage and was delighted that God was using the Lutheran Church through Pastor Benke to witness the joy and saving grace of Jesus Christ worldwide. Tonight I read the exchange between you and Steven W. Bohler, Pastor, Our Savior's Lutheran Church/First English Lutheran Church, Crookston, MN. I give God thanks for all of you at St. Peters and especially you and Dr. Benke and what you have done and are doing to effectively share the gospel message through your words and deeds. The love demonstrated by you in this exchange with Pastor Bohler is the spiritual love that Jesus Christ taught in word and actions. I regret that Pastor Bohler demonstrates such little understanding of this love. Like Pastor Bohler, we all have a special call from God and must make daily choices as to how we carry out our individual spiritual call. I forgive Brother Bohler for his free use of the law with little gospel love or prayer conveyed in his letter. Perhaps he didn't recall when he wrote how Jesus on the cross wrapped the thief in love, forgiviness, hope and the promise of eternal life. Jesus spoke! It was! It happened! So it is today! WOW, and all that several years prior to Lutheranism or Missouri Synod! My prayer is that God will give Pastor Bohler a more gracious and joyous understanding of his call and open his heart to the love of Christ. Jesus freely shared His love with all without reservation. My prayer is that Brother Bohler may begin to emulate such in his life. It is OK to pray with and for each other! May God continue to bless you and yours as your let you light shine so brightly in Brooklyn, NY so that others may believe in Christ and God is glorified by your words and actions. We wish you and yours a blessed Christmas season as we again visit Christ as a baby at the manger. Gene Rummel cc: Pastor Steven W. Bohler + + + + + Pastor Bohler, In December, you sent us an email entitled "Ethics" with a request that we said we would look into. I wrote to say we wondered about why you were so interested in us. Over the holidays we received a forwarded set of internet items from the website "Lutherquest." It had a conversation "thread" with your comments, followed by those of others. This is some of what we received: By Steven W Bohler on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 08:19 am: It is also interesting that the disaster agency of which he serves as interim CEO recently gave him and his wife an all-expense-paid vacation out of the funds sent to help victims. My query as to the legitimacy of this resulted in a letter from the agency stating that pastors need respite in the wake of tragedy such as 09/11; but I do not know of any other pastors receiving such vacation vouchers. By Michael L. Anderson on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 12:59pm: Thanks for the hot tip, Pastor Bohler. I will immediately be contacting the America Psychiatric Association (APA) seeking voucher funds for a refreshing sortie to the sands of the Cayman Islands. You see, I think I could use an all-expenses-paid "respite" from the abundance of PTSD presentations stemming from the 9/11 and October sniper tragedies, herein the DC area. Man, who says the Lutheran Church doesn't minister to the spirit, mind and body of its members! Is this a great, "not-your-grandfather's-synod-anymore"denomination,or what? Hey, don't fret about being left out, little buddies -- I'll send all you guyspostcards! Ciao! By David Lord on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 01:29 pm: Start a new job with a vacation? I guess Dr. Benke read our comments on how posh the Camelback Inn was and had to go check it out. At least the LSS-MNYis part funded by the ELCA, so the loss is not all ours. I can only tell you how hurt we are at St. Peter's by what you write, the way you write it, where you write it, and how you encourage others to behave, write and react like you. We asked Pastor B to comment on the facts of the matter. This is what he has to say: "I am involved with two agencies in a leadership position. LDRNY, "Lutheran Disaster Response of New York," is a
not-for-profit corporationserving the New York metropolitan area since 9/11/01. For its first year, I was the unsalaried President of LDRNY, and am now the unsalaried Vice-Presidentof LDRNY. One of the many ongoing
forms of assistance LDRNY has undertakenhas been to provide respite to church workers through retreats, plans for individualsand families to get away, spiritual workshops and the like. This is a concept that is at
the very core of the values promoted by LDRNY – to provide those who work with the victims of a disaster the opportunity to recuperate. Hundredsof church workers have been given this assistance, through individual
or group grants. Www.ldrny.org, the website of LDRNY, provides detailed information and updates of the activities of LDRNY. Pastor Bohler, your words concerning our Pastor are completely out of line.· You are mistaken in the facts· You don't bother to check the facts before you write. You write in an unkind and immature way. Those who respond to you on your Lutherquest network pick right up on it with more immature remarks. You seem to feed on one another's immaturity.· You write on the same network, "Lutherquest," on which the "poll" was take nindicating that Osama Bin Laden has more integrity than our pastor. We've read enough on it to see it as a bad infection in the Lutheran church, and not a quest for anything worthwhile.· You attack our Pastor's character and carrying out of duties as the pastor of our congregation, St. Peter's in Brooklyn, with zero contact with him OR US on that topic. You are making claims about a congregation that is not your congregation. Not only are they false claims, they are not claims you have the responsibility to make. They are indecent. Our interactions with you have affected the way we think about Pastors – in a negative way. That is truly sad. We have a strong natural respect for the pastor and his position. You make us think twice. Why would you do that to us? Why would you do that to the calling of pastor? We have been attempting to dialog with you three times. It is simply not working. These words fromTitus 3 apply directly: "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a secondtime. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned." As much as it hurts us to do it this way, all we can request of you at this time is that you ask God to change your heart, Pastor Bohler. That communication is between you and your Maker. We will pray for that spiritual change. As for us at St. Peter's, you didn't have the right to talk about us; until you change your ways, you have lost the right to dialog with us. We are praying for you! Sonia Holder, President |
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