Yup, it's official.

I hate my new assignment. Imagine if you will being taken from a cubicle and being put into an area that's approximately the size of 4 regular cubes big.
Now stick desks in there, one right next to another.
Each "desk" space is large enough to hold a computer, a monitor, a keyboard & mouse, and maybe, if you're lucky, a pad of paper.

Populate this area with 11 people. You're #12.
Every single thing you do is noticed, and likely commented on. Go to the restroom? Someone comments on it. Need a drink? Someone notices. Go to lunch? Hey, wait up and we'll ALL go. Check your email? Gee, that's a really pretty background you have set for your Gmail. Itchy nose? Someone asks you if you're going to sneeze, for crying out loud.

I don't like people that much. I especially don't like them enough to be surrounded by chattering, noticing people for 8-10 hours every single flipping day.

God, I swear, whatever You want from me that will GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE, I will do. If your grand plan is entitled "Kim's Having a Nervous Breakdown", then I'm right on track for it, but if it's that SOMETHING BETTER THAN I EVER IMAGINED that I keep getting told about, then you better hurry up and make that SOMETHING BETTER happen before something BAD happens.

I'm pretty sure that it's really bad when I start fantasizing about getting a serious case of H1N1 because "well, at least THEN I wouldn't have to go into That Place for a while." Please God...it's not that I'm ungrateful to have a job...it's just that I don't know how much more of this one I can take anymore. And "God's got a plan, just you wait" is starting to sound a lot more like random noise than anything meaningful to me.

God, I don't want to be a bad witness to people. I want to show Your love, and how great it is that we have Hope because of Your Son. But God...I keep getting more and more miserable, and I'm having a harder and harder time finding Hope. Please God...at least give me that. Hope and Peace in You.

And Satan, if you're the one behind all this, I say this with all sincerity:
SCREW YOU. GO BACK TO HELL. STAY THERE. YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE OF THE FIRST WATER, AND YOU CAN JUST GO BACK TO YOUR HELLHOLE AND STAY THERE FOREVER. I AM NOT ABANDONING MY FAITH BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID MACHINATIONS, SO JUST PISS OFF.

Give Thanks In Everything

Okay, so Pastor in his sermon yesterday pointed out that we should give thanks for all things. He's been actually working on that theme for a while, but yesterday's was fairly memorable because it had a "wait...what?" attached to it.

He said that we should think of something we really really hate doing, even though it's for someone we love. Okay, got that.
Now, give thanks that we can do that thing, whatever it is. Um. O....kay....
And now, next time we do it, give thanks at the time we're doing it that we can do that task, whatever it may be.

Wait. What?

Yeah. What, you thought that Christ only gave thanks for the easy stuff? "Hey Father, thanks for the fish and stuff, make more. Thanks muchly." No, of course not. Christ gave thanks to the Father for everything.
And you know, his life wasn't all that easy either. But he did it because he loves us. So...

So okay. Driving to work this morning.

Hey, God, Pastor said to so I'm going to. I mean, we've had conversations about this before, so you're already real familiar with my opinion about this whole situation. So...um....thanks. Thanks that I can do this for my family. Thanks that I have the sheer ability to do all that's necessary to provide for my family. Thanks that I have all the skills necessary, and the physical capability to drive to Indy every week. And...thanks that I have a job, even though it might not be where I want it.

There, that wasn't so hard, was it?

Actually...yeah, it was. It was pretty freaking hard. But...I did it, and I'm going to try to do it tomorrow.

Thanks, God, that I'm in Indy right now at my job. And please help me to really mean it.

Amazing Grace

Nice video for your enjoyment.

As seen on the Straight Dope Message Board

"If your place of worship could serve as a zeppelin hangar and has smoke machines, light shows, soft rock music, a coffee bar, a jumbotron with satellite uplink, and a noticeable lack of theology, then you are engaged not in worship, but in a suburban horseshit social club/fashion show. Here's a nickel. Go find a real church."

Amen, brother. A-freaking-men.

Sign the petition - save the unborn

I don't know if signing this will do any good or not, but I have to try.
Please, go out and sign the petition AGAINST the "Freedom of Choice Act".

Harrison for President?

I was just directed to this guy's website....here's a paper he's written on the future of the LCMS:
He calls it "“It’s Time”
LCMS UNITY AND MISSION -
The Real Problem We Face
and How to Solve It

Interesting. If I'm reading this stuff correctly, I'm all for Harrison.

O Come O Come Emmanuel

VERY cool video a friend just sent me.
Not sure what's up with the horse at the end; rather LOTRish, but the rest is just...wow.

Waiting, or copping out?

I had a thought over the weekend - when does "waiting upon the Lord" become actually "copping out so I don't have to make decisions"? Seriously, it'd be so easy to just sit and say, "well, God will tell me what He wants me to do, so I'm gonna sit back and just keeeep floating along until He tells me what He wants me to do with my life." Easy - no decisions, no responsibility for those decisions if they go wrong, because it's all God's Plan, you see?

But...I wonder at what point "waiting for God's Plan" becomes "so I don't have to do anything." How can you tell?

Squelching Dissent?

Well. THIS is interesting. I just checked out http://www.ideateblog.com - the blog site for "JH Church's" Pastors (mentioned in my previous post "Any Random Volunteer").
I was correct that they are not publishing my comment / feedback about their blog post. However, I've also discovered something else - they have completely disabled comments altogether on their blog now.

To be fair, they could be trying a new template, or something glitched in the feedback system, so it may be temporarily disabled due to a technical issue, and will be back soon. However, I find it very interesting that immediately following at least two negative comments regarding their new practice of violating the Augsburg Confession, the comment feature on their blog was completely removed.

I have taken my objections to them, per Matthew 18, and they did not listen. Apparently saying "No, actually, you're wrong, and you're leading people astray" really isn't part of their ministry.
Nobody likes being corrected - I'm not saying they should enjoy it, but they should at least listen.
And, this is the same church that needed a $25,000 grant from the Synod to acquire a building to meet in, yet paid large amounts of money for some very bizarre, and very controversial billboards. (If you don't want to click - it's a video clip - the gist of it is that they paid to put billboards up that said things like "Boycott Jefferson Hills church" and "I hate Jefferson Hills church", signed "Satan".)
Most people didn't think they were effective, because they thought an atheist group put them out. It didn't get the Gospel out there. It didn't further Christ's message. It did make a lot of people disgusted with WHOEVER it was that put the billboards up, because they figured it was showing disrespect for the church. When they found out that Jefferson Hills church is the one that put them up, they were...let's just say "less than impressed".

Apparently they aren't improving with age...or wisdom.

Any Random Volunteer Will Do

I just found out about a new disturbing practice that at least one church is engaging in, thanks to The Rebellious Pastor's Wife. Apparently "JH Church" is engaging in something called "Communion Nights", wherein anyone who has received a "laying on of hands" can consecrate and distribute Holy Communion, held at a member's house.

Here is the entirety of my comment that I left for them. I have no confidence that they'll actually publish it:

This is very concerning to me, as a member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. We profess that the Augsburg Confession is a right and true interpretation of Scripture.
In Augsburg XIV, it is stated that "no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called."

The simple laying-on of hands is not a "regular calling" as the Church understands it. If anyone could become a pastor by simple laying-on of hands, then why bother with the Seminaries? Why have regular curriculum that our Pastoral Candidates must pass before becoming actual called and Ordained Pastors?

And, why are you, the supposed spiritual leaders of this church, so contemptuous and disdainful of your sacred calling that you would so eagerly and readily relinquish it to any layman that happened to show up and volunteer for it?

This is a very disturbing practice, in clear disagreement with the Augsburg Confessions and with Holy Scripture.

Please, I urge you to be responsible Pastors and reconsider these "Communion Nights". Keep the Office of the Holy Ministry for those who have been trained in it, rather than any random person that happens along and volunteers at the right time.

Meaning in Life

Strawberry's latest post asks how to "find the meaningful" in life. It's a good question, really. How do you find things that are meaningful, and how do you get motivated to DO them?

Sometimes "The Meaningful" just whacks you between the eyes. Sometimes it's incredibly obvious, and you can't help but do whatever it may be, because you're almost compelled to do so. For me, that's things like playing the organ for church. I have to play - at least on occasion. Heck, just going to service on Sundays is The Meaningful. And I do really miss it if I don't go in a particular week. And I'm sure that, if you asked her, Strawberry would tell you that teaching Sunday School is part of The Obvious Meaningful to her.

But sometimes The Meaningful doesn't present itself with a 2x4. Sometimes, making yourself go out and doing something becomes meaningful in retrospect. I don't mean just things that are "hafta do" things, like laundry and cleaning - I mean things like "go for a walk in the park" or "sit outside with a coffee (or tea) and just listen to the birds" becomes meaningful. Those are ways that Captain Spaulding and I use to "center" ourselves, and take a couple minutes out to remind ourselves that life isn't just about doing the things we MUST do every day. Life isn't just sleep-eat-work-sleep; it's the little stuff.

Likewise, Meaningful isn't always the Big Important Feelings and motivations. Many times I've had to force myself out of my chair, out of the house, to go do something that I really don't feel like doing. I don't feel motivated, I don't feel ambitious, and I sure as heck don't want to do anything except go back to bed. But I get up and do it, because either I've promised someone else I'll be there, or go do "it" (whatever it is), or because I'm just tired of being in my rut of sleep-eat-work-sleep. I certainly don't feel like whatever I'm going to do is meaningful. But later on, maybe while I'm doing whatever it is, or afterward, I look and see that yes, it was meaningful, and I feel better about myself for having done it. Even if it's just walking the dog around the block, or hiking in the woods, or...hey, even hanging laundry to dry.

The Meaningful is all around us. Sometimes it's obvious. Sometimes it's very, very hard to see. When it becomes nigh unto impossible to find, it's up to each of us to MAKE The Meaningful happen, rather than wait for it to find us. And, like many other things, the more Meaningful we "do", the easier it is to find it next time.

More updates

Another update on, guess what, yeah, my ankle. Oh come on, you can't pretend you're surprised. That's pretty much what's occupying my time lately, innit?

Anyway. ANOTHER significant piece of progress today - I climbed the stairs to the balcony at church! All 17 of them! Yes, of course I counted. Did you really expect anything different? Anyway, I made it up with the help of the handrail and the cane. I practiced on the organ, and I figure I should be OK to play and back up to speed by the time August rolls around. AND I got to play my flute for service today! Yay!

The sermon today, by the way, was excellent. Pastor talked about the Parable of the Sower (it was the Gospel lesson.) He pointed out that there's always time for us to not only be the fertile soil, but to fall back into being the rocky, weed and thorn-choked soil. But Christ saves us from that! We have to be careful not to compare our "thorns" to someone else's, though. What seems easy to us (their thorns) is very difficult for them - and our very-difficult-to-deal-with-thorns are probably no big deal for someone else. I always appreciate his sermons; they get us to look just a little bit differently at the readings, and get us out of the "well, of course this is what that means because it's always meant just that."

Immerse yourself in the Word, and by the grace of God you will be fertile soil. Thanks be to God!

Issues Etc. Returns!

http://www.piratechristianradio.com/

Hooray!

Comfort. Easter. No idea what to call this.

Easter's over. The day has passed, we've gone to church, come home, had a nice dinner, and now we're back to "real life" - whatever that may be. So, Easter's over. Right?

WRONG!

As long as Christ is still risen, Easter continues! We celebrate Easter every single Sunday - the Eighth Day of Creation! HE IS RISEN! We still rejoice, we still celebrate, we STILL live for Christ every day.

OK, fine, I know what people mean when they say "Easter's over". This year's occurrence of Easter Day is now several days ago, and we're on with our lives.

What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that....wait. Sorry. Habit. :D

Although I am going back to Luther.
Look at my previous post. That one down there, called "Martin Luther's Prayers". Go ahead, I'll wait.

I want to focus on just a few words from his prayers. You'll notice the second half of each of them is identical, and I think it's because they say something so very important. First, how many times have we prayed these, and just recited the words without thinking? It's easy to do - repeating it at night, or at our evening devotion, or at the beginning of the day, or our Sunday School opening or whatever. But really look at those words for a second.

They're incredibly powerful.
Take a look at just this ONE little bit:
"For into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul and all things."

Wow.

Think about that.
With this prayer, we are telling God that we trust Him to take care of every single thing and be in charge of every single second of every single day. Leave off worrying about...well, anything, really. God will take care of it!
Granted, He doesn't always act the way we would like Him to, but then again, we're not praying for that, are we? We don't say, "for into your hands I commend myself - and make sure you do it my way," are we? No we are not.

We hear the Good News of Christ's resurrection every week, so it's (sadly) rather easy for us to forget exactly how Good this News really is! And exactly WHAT it means to us. We get distracted by the world, and our personal problems, and forget the incredible wonder of Easter. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. If I can trust God to care for my eternal life, which is the biggest and most important thing EVER, then surely I can trust Him with the small things, all the "what-ifs" and "what happens whens" and the daily needs of my life!

And that's what I'm telling him with that prayer! I'm saying, "God, I trust you to care for me - for ALL my needs, not just the big ones. I trust you to order my life the way it should be ordered, in accordance with YOUR plan for my life. I trust that anything you give me will be far superior to that which I may have had in mind to take for myself, or that I could have achieved BY myself."

That's a powerful statement. Whenever I start to worry, or fuss about the future, or what will happen when / if this or that happens, I remember "...my body and soul AND ALL THINGS." Right. ALL things.

And, while I have no idea what that means for me, nor where I'm going (even though I'd very much like some ADVANCE NOTICE sometimes), and it can be incredibly frustrating, stressful and (occasionally) depressing to be in situations where the ONLY thing I can say is "God must have a plan," where the ONLY way I can get through it at all is to say, "Well, God, I trust that YOU, at least, can see some good in this, and I trust that YOU have a reason for this," I know that I can always trust that I will eventually see the good that God is working through me, and in me - often despite me.

My body, my soul, and all things belong to Him.
And I am comforted.

Not My Decision

We attended church with some friends this past weekend. It's always interesting to attend church at "not home" on occasion, because I get to see how other congregations (and other denominations) do things. One thing they had in the service was a "reception of people making a Decision" or something along that lines. At any rate, it was the bit in the service where you go forward if you "decide" to accept Christ as your Savior.
I've been taught that we don't "decide" any such thing. So I got to thinking about this. In the past, when I was growing up, occasionally a group would come to our neighborhood during the summer, and offer a program for a week or two in the mornings, and my mom would send us. (Now that I'm grown up, I can't say as I blame her! Those were her only "time off" during the summer - and I'm betting that's when she got stuff done. ) During those programs, they always had a "Decision Time" - same thing, really, as was in church. We'd all go real quiet and they'd explain what it was and "you should ask Jesus into your heart."
I always thought about it, and being a little kid and not really understanding the whole "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in my Lord Jesus Christ, or come to Him", I'd sit there and ask. I never felt any different, though, and when you're 6 or 7 or 10, that's kind of a letdown. Here you've been told you'll feel a great peace, joy, love, whatever - and I never felt any different. So it was kind of disappointing.
Reflecting on that this week, though, I really thought about it. (Considering I haven't bothered with those memories in quite some time, I'm surprised I remembered it at ALL, actually, but that's neither here nor there.) And I realized that of course, the reason I never "felt" any different was because I wasn't any different. My parents had had me baptized and I've been a Child of Christ since I was an infant. NOT since I was seven, or eight, or twelve, or twenty-eight, or whatever. I absolutely did not Decide in any way, shape or form to accept Christ's salvation. And I realized something further.
There's an incredible comfort in knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am saved. That my salvation isn't based on my feeling saved, or my mood-of-the-moment, or my "opinion", or anything on my part. It's all been handled. Care-free, worry-free, and effort-free on my part. I don't have to do or say or feel ANY particular way, and it doesn't matter. I'm still saved.

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
I never really realized how comforting Romans 5:8 was before.

What is a missionary?

Missionaries - we all know who they are. They're the people who live in exotic, far away lands, with people of different cultures. Bringing Christ to the Nations. Different languages, different cultures, different people, different countries. It takes a special kind of person to be a missionary. They're special. They're called. They're God's Important People. Lots of special training, lots of special work...right?

There's another kind of mission field, though. I go out into it every day. Showing Christ to the people around me. Following God's will and God's Word - even when it's not convenient or easy. Believing and trusting and HOLDING FIRMLY to Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Praying and living each day believing that GOD'S will shall be done - not MY will. Living according to His will, His word, and His purpose.

That's my mission field. I'm a missionary to lots of people - including fellow Christians. Who knows what they need - maybe just by being there I can help them in their faith walk. Maybe just an email, or a smile, or a comment is all they need to help them right now. Maybe it's something greater. Maybe I'll never know the purpose to which God is putting me right now. But that's OK, because I know that He is putting me to a purpose. He does have a plan, and it all works together for the good of those who love Him.

No, I don't have to go to exotic, far-away lands to serve in a mission field. I'm in my mission field, day in and day out, doing the mission I was called to do. I just pray that I can do it well, and faithfully. It's hard sometimes to remember I'm in a mission field. It's hard to "show Christ to the nations" - or even my friends and family sometimes. But, I also hold tight to Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Something interesting happened after church yesterday that highlighted one of the many reasons I really like our pastor. After service, we always have "announcement time" - anyone that has something to announce that they want everyone in church to know about gets a chance to say their piece.
Usually these announcements revolve around "Hey, the youth group fundraiser items came in," or "the LWML is meeting right after service" or whatever, and we did have those kind of announcements. However, at the tail end of the announcements, a little girl in the front pew raised her hand to say her announcement. She said...something. She was pretty quiet about it, so nobody farther away than maybe 5 feet could hear her. Many adults, especially those in charge of a service or program, knowing that nobody could hear her, probably would've cut her off, or asked her to wait a second and then tell them on the way out what she had to say.

Not Pastor. He listened quietly to her announcement, and even moved a little closer to her so he could hear the whole thing. When she was done, he repeated it so that everyone could hear it, just like he would for any person who had an announcement but couldn't speak loudly enough to be heard. Again, many people (even, sadly, many pastors) would have chosen to just tell the little girl "that's a good idea" or "that's nice" and exited. But no, Pastor said that she wanted to remind everyone to wash your hands before eating, so you don't get sick, and mentioned how important the reminder was, and thanked her for reminding us.

Many people would've blown her off, or just not acknowledged her waving hand, figuring that "oh, it's a little kid, she just doesn't get it, this is for important (read: "big people") stuff." Our Pastor, though, understands and recognizes that everyone contributes "important stuff" to a church, and that everyone deserves respect, regardless of their age.

Yet another reason I really like our Pastor. I truly believe God called him to our church, and we are so blessed to have him and his family with us.

comment from yesterday got me thinking.

So, I'm reproducing it here in today's post.

I think I see another imprecision.....

To believe something exists is really very different than believing IN something. Luther said it is not enough that someone believes God exists, or even that He sent Jesus to die on the cross and that Jesus rose again from the dead. Even Satan believes that.

Believing IN something means you are trusting in it, you are basing your life on it. It is one thing to know or believe that God exists, it is completely another thing to trust IN Him and His Word and to know that He will provide what we need, especially when we are tempted to sin.

I sincerely doubt that the person who said she didn't believe IN war would ever consider putting her trust in war. I even doubt that many soldiers put their trust IN war as a guiding idea. But they believe it exists. They make their living doing it, and they probably believe IN the cause that brings the war about.

So when we are saying "I believe IN God the Father Almighty....and the rest of the creed, we are saying far more than "there is a God and He exists" But many people aren't actually going any farther than that.

So good call!

She's right. I used the wrong definition of "believe" and this could have caused quite a bit of misinterpretation as far as the rest of what I believe, and the rest of my post. Thank you to her for correcting my definition, because I would NOT like to cause confusion over my beliefs because of it.

I believe in God. That means I put my faith in God. I do not put my faith for salvation in war.
However, I do believe that war is sometimes necessary. War, in and of itself, is a bad guiding idea, as she said. However, to steal a quote from another friend of mine:
"People are free because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

To all those people who have stood ready, who are standing ready, and who will stand ready to do violence on my behalf, so I may remain free...

Thank you.

What I believe - and what I realized

I believe a lot of things. For example, I believe that people use the English language very imprecisely. I heard someone on the radio this morning saying she "doesn't believe in war." Oh really? It exists, and I know lots of people that can prove it. I believe in war - I know it exists. I think she meant she doesn't believe that waging (or fighting in a) war is moral - but I can't be sure what she really meant, because she didn't use the language precisely.

I "believe in" war - I know it exists. Likewise, I BELIEVE IN God. I know He exists. I BELIEVE that I am a sinner, a "lost and condemned creature", as Martin Luther said, and that nothing I do can EVER pay the debt of sin I owe. I believe that everything I do is tainted by sin, and therefore it will NEVER be good enough, on my own, to make up for my sin. I believe that I sin every day, and even if I could start to make up for the sin I do, I have so much sin and evil in me, and commit more sin every day that I don't even realize I'm doing, that there's no way I could ever catch up. I also believe that God loves me, and wants me to be with Him forever. But, because of my sin, I - by myself - cannot join Him.
But here's the best part. I also believe that God sent His only Son to earth to pay for my sin. I believe that Jesus was both God and Man, that He died on the cross to pay for - not his OWN sin, for He had none - but for MINE. For every single person that ever was, and ever would be. Our sins are paid for. Covered. And nothing I did, nothing I can do, EVER came into play. He did it all on His own, without any input from me, without any help from me.
I believe that, because of this incredible gift of love that Christ gave me, I am washed clean of sin. ALL my sin is gone in God's eyes, because of Christ's sacrifice. Because of this, I can come to God as one of His own beloved children, and He will give me what I need, and what is best for me. He always hears my prayers - not because I deserve to have Him listen, not because I'm a "good person" (because nobody can EVER be good enough for God on their own), but because His Son made me His own.

I believe that Christ shares His body and blood with us every time we participate in the Lord's Supper. I believe that He gives His life to us every time we partake of His body and blood. I believe that He is truly present, that His body and His blood are really, physically present at every Holy Communion. The Jews in the Old Testament were forbidden from eating or drinking the blood of animals they killed, because that blood contained the very LIFE of the animal. That was not theirs to eat - they were only to eat the meat, not the life. Christ gives us his LIFE, and shares his life with us when we eat his Body and drink his Blood. I believe it's not a symbol, or a representation of Him - be3cause it's not a symbolic life! We're not going to "symbolically" go to heaven with Him - we are going to live with Him.

I believe that participating in the Lord's Supper with fellow Christians shows that we share the same beliefs. I believe if we do NOT share the beliefs of the people we are with, that we should not attend Communion with them. See that word "union" in there? If I'm not IN UNION WITH the people around me, I SHOULD NOT pretend I am by attending Communion with them. I SHOULD NOT lie to them, and possibly even myself. I will, instead, pray with them, sing along with them, and participate in the aspects of worship we DO agree on.

I realized this weekend that another of my "beliefs" was very wrong. I tend to think of "the mission field" as Somewhere Else. It involves leaving home and going to people in a far-away place, with a different culture, different habits, and probably a different language than I have. It likely involves a passport and lots of vaccinations. Missionaries are specially-trained people who have to learn a lot, including new languages, and spend years in a culture they didn't grow up in, teaching people who never met them before about the Gospel.
Guess what?
That's not the ONLY mission field out there, and the specially-trained people aren't the only missionaries. We all are missionaries. Everywhere is a mission field. Home, family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors are all a mission field. Sometimes it's a "small" task, and sometimes it is a decades-long mission to share Christ with a single friend, relative, or co-worker. It always involves lots of prayer, lots of patience, and sometimes, lots of grief.
We don't always see the "payoff", but that's the way mission work is, sometimes.

We don't have the luxury of waiting till "the right time", either. Who knows what will happen? The people of Noah's time sure didn't expect 40 days & nights of solid rain when that first storm started - and by the time they realized they were in trouble, it was too late.
Christ's coming will be the same way - once He has come, it's too late for that talk with your neighbor, your co-worker, your friend. Once He comes, it's too late to believe, as well. Sorry, time's up.

So...we need to share our beliefs with others, and we need to do it every day. I don't know how God's going to use me today, but use me He shall, and I'll try to be ready for Him, and do what He wants me to do.

And a BIG thank-you to our Pastor for helping me to clarify and realize all of this.

Here I stand. I can do no other.

(Thanks to Captain Spaulding for the idea).

Happy Reformation Day! On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a copy of his treatise on indulgences, later to become known as "the 95 Theses", to the door of the church at Wittenburg. And so began one of the largest movements of the Christian faith.
Martin Luther never set out to start his own denomination. He wanted to reform the Roman Catholic church, not leave it. But, once it became frighteningly obvious that the church as he knew it would not reform, he could not help but leave.
It's tempting, is it not, to go to church every week, and sit in the pew, and think about how nice it is that we certainly don't have to do that. Thanks, Luther, for doing all the hard work for us. Only that's not really true. There are still errors that crop up in peoples' beliefs. It is our duty and obligation to point out these errors and to help our fellow Christians (and non-Christians) to correct them. However, we should NEVER do this out of a sense of sanctimonious holier-than-thou superiority. It's not about "scoring one" on someone else, or making OURSELVES feel better because, hey, at least we're not like that guy.
No, it should always be in love that we do this. Because we CARE for someone and we are CONCERNED for them. This means, of course, that most of our "error correction", so to speak, will be a tadge closer to home than Luther's was. That doesn't mean it'll be any easier! Sometimes it feels far more difficult to try to point out the errors of a brother, a sister, a parent, a close friend than it would to try to...well...Reform The Church! And, while your relatives and friends probably won't try to cut off your head, they may very well cut off their relationship with you.
Wow, that hurts, doesn't it? Just makes you want to run right out there and start with the error correcting! Woohoo, let me at it - a chance to tick off my family, get them to never talk to me again, and have them think I'm a stuck-up, intolerant jerk because I am the one who said, "No, that's wrong, and I can't agree with that." It's very difficult to stand up - especially to family - and say, "I'm sorry, but I can't agree to that practice; it's wrong". It's even more difficult to follow that up with "if it continues, I'm sorry, but I cannot worship with you." But that's exactly what we are told to do in Matthew 18! If it's hurtful? Well, it's the pain that is supposed to help bring the erring person into line!
And what if it doesn't? We keep praying, we keep doing the right thing, and most of all, we keep loving them, and trying to help them. And, of course, we must be willing to accept error correction ourselves. None of us are perfect, and we will err too - so we must be willing to accept help in correcting our errors, as well.
It's also tempting to say, "Hey, that's between them and God, let THEM work it out." Unfortunately for us, God doesn't really give us that option. He told Ezekiel that if he appoints a watchman, and the watchman sees trouble and fails to warn the people, and they die, it's the WATCHMAN that's responsible. If the watchman does warn the people, and they ignore him, it's on their own heads. We are the watchmen. Each of us has been appointed by God to be a watchman for each other! God will hold US accountable for THEIR actions if we see them going astray and DO NOTHING. So if we see an error, it is our DUTY and OBLIGATION to point it out, and do everything we can to help that person correct it. And it is their duty to point out our errors, as well.
Even if it's family.
Even if it hurts.
Even if we don't like it.

Luther puts it best.
"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason—for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves—I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one's conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen."

God help us all to do what is right. Amen.