An open letter to an LCMS District President

What follows is the text of a letter I have sent to a DP of the LCMS concerning the Issues, Etc. trademark dispute. You can read about the issue with the good folks over at the Brotherhood of John the Steadfast. A petition has also been started for those who hold concerns for the situation. In the spirit of Issues, Etc. I have tried to keep the letter Christ-Centered, Cross-Focused while taking a hard look at the issue at hand. I pray that I have been successful.

Grace, mercy and peace in our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ. The very Jesus who shed his blood to redeem the world and gave to his Church the task of spreading the Good News to all nations. May his grace sustain you through your life.

It is with a heavy heart that I write to you today. As you are probably aware, last spring our synod canceled the KFUO radio show, Issues, Etc. While I was saddened to see the mission-minded show leave the station, God has blessed the ministry of our brothers, Todd Wilken and Jeff Schwarz as an independent ministry through which the world continued to be blessed.

However, lawyers, on behalf of our synod have threatened to recommend legal action over the trademark Issues, Etc. (Please see the enclosed copy of the letter sent to Issues, Etc.) as the show has declined to sign an agreement with the Synod to use the trademark. The offer was refused for two major reasons.

1. The synod did not renew the trademark about ten years ago. An application for the trademark has since been made by a third party. Additionally, since the show was removed from KFUO, our synod has made it clear that it has has no desire to use the trademark.
2. The agreement included a clause that would have prevented the show from criticizing the LCMS.
   

I find the second point particularly troublesome. The Church ought to remain in a constant state of reformation. This cannot be done without criticism being made. I shudder to think what would have happened if Luther recanted and kept himself silenced thereafter. Truly, the Gospel would have suffered!

Indeed, I struggle how to think this recommendation by the lawyers, if carried out, would bless the Gospel and glorify Christ’s name. Does it not hinder the Gospel and tarnish the name of our Savior? Would such a suit be good stewardship of the resources God had granted us?

As a brother in Christ, and for the sake of the Gospel, I urge you oppose any possible action against Issues, Etc. while talking to the Synodical leadership and to support a resolution at the Nebraska district convention. We as a synod should pray for the best blessings for the ministry of Issues, Etc. and that God may forgive us for the sake of his Son for letting such a letter be sent.
Sincerely yours,

Daniel Bergquist

The following is the text of the letter sent to Issues, Etc.

Lynette Petruska, Esq.

Pleban & Associates, LLC

2010 south Big Bend Boulevard

St. Louis, Missouri, 63117

Re: ISSUES, ETC.; Our Ref 46324-80132

Dear Lynette:

Enclosed is a courtesy copy of a Notice of Opposition filed on December 2, 2008 on behalf of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod against U.S. Trademark Application No 77/487,948 filed by Harry B. Madsen. Though Rev. Wilken and Mr. Schwarz are not parties to this TTAB proceeding, we wanted to provide you with a copy of this filing, as it relates to matters we have been discussing.

We received your November 13, 2008 letter, and were disappointed in your clients’ response to our draft Agreement. We have discussed the letter with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and find many of the points raised in your letter to be in direct contradiction to what we understood to be an agreement in principle. While it remains our strong preference to continue negotiations and resolve this matter amicably between the parties, unless your client is willing to negotiate in good faith to finalize a mutually acceptable agreement in the near future, along the lines that we were discussing last summer, we will be left with no alternative but to recommend that The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod prosecute the opposition against Madsen’s application and take action against your clients to enforce its rights to the trademark.

Sincerely,

Thompson Coburn LLP
By
Thomas A. Polcyn

TAP/sal

Enclosure

The Dark Road

I gripped the phone as my friend told me how his day was. "This is why I tried to warn you that trying to know and do God's will takes you down a dark road."

I get a stunned response from the other end. I don't remember what it was exactly because my own mind was stunned from what I just said. I try to recover and continue on.

"It's a dark road fully of frustration and despair."

The conversation continued in a friendly manner, but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to really expound on what I said.

There are, effectively, two religions in the world. There is one that says, "I can attempt to know and do my god's will." This religion takes many forms in our world, Buddhism, Scientology, Islam, the list goes on. It's ideals has even infected some parts of Christianity. Some say that their god's will is that they "do" certain things, other say it's that they "experience" certain things and yet others that they "believe" certain things. While some people may thrive in these works righteousness systems, they all logically lead to the same place: once I know what my god's will is, how do I know for sure it is his will? Couldn't I be wrong? And once I know and do it, am I really living up to what he expects? Am I doing it just right and with the right attitude? Am I experiencing the right things? Feeling it enough? How do I know those fully feelings are not from demons (Edit: who so often parade as angels of light)? Do I truly believe hard enough? Doubts after doubts lead to fear, which leads to one of two ways to resolve the issue.

Some who realize that they can't live up to their god's will seek to make it more manageable. They simplify it, put fences around it or say, "Oh, we will let that offense slide." This is what the Pharisees in Jesus' day did. What was Jesus' response? He turned up the heat on the Law to show them what they could not face.

Others, who realize the same conclusion about their ability react differently. Plagued by the various doubts, they fall into deep despair, fearful of their god and probably view him with hatred. Their quest to live up to the will of a demanding god consumes their lives and their very soul. This is what Martin Luther did in a German monastery until the Word of God plucked him from his despair. Often others are not so lucky.

What was in God's Word that affected Luther so? Indeed, it was the other religion, the Gospel: The righteous will live by faith! "But wait!" I hear you say, "Faith? You mean we have to believe the right way!" You talk as though faith were a work that we do, rather than a gift that God works in us by the Holy Spirit through the Word.

Only the Christian can see to do the will of God. He does so not out of some sinful self-sanctifying desire, but rather the good he does do is sanctified by the perfect life of Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Christian sees God's will as good and right to do, but does not let it replace Christ as the focal point of his faith, lest he start down that dark road. Though he tries he will always fall short of God's will. But, as I was able to tell my friend, that is when the Christian clings tightly to the Cross and takes comfort that, as an adopted son of God, the Father will not disown him.