The Wittenberg Trail

Mark Sell
  • 53, Male
  • St. Louis (Ballwin)
  • United States
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Mark Sell's Friends

  • Todd Rhodes
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  • Deaconess Emily Carder
  • Edwin De Vera
  • Richard Woelmer
  • Angelika Weiss
  • Kenneth Bomberger
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  • Pastor Jason Krause
  • Rev. Alan Kornacki, Jr.
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Steven R Neighbors joined Mark Sell's group
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Mercy Work in Lutheranism

A place where people can learn, contribute, and discuss the place of acts of mercy in Lutheranism. Why has it been missing? What happen to deaconesses? How about your church? Does the local church and synod have a place in showing mercy to the world?
Jan 24
1 Comment
Marcy left a comment for Mark Sell
"Here on the WT I sometimes just look at various members comments and pages. I noticed that you pasted my son's blog post concerning the bush fire in Australia. As a Commonwealth nations Canada and Australia are connected by the English…"
Feb 13, 2009
Todd Rhodes left a comment for Mark Sell
"Mark, Lorusso's is over on The Hill. Nice place to take your bride for St. Valentine's Day or on your anniversary. Follow the link below. Directions are accurate. Parking is on either side of the restaurant. There is a hardware or paint…"
Feb 11, 2009
Mark Sell left a comment for Todd Rhodes
"never mind - just got the info... btw, where is LoRusso's? mark"
Feb 11, 2009
Mark Sell left a comment for Todd Rhodes
"Todd, I never got word as to where the cigar club was meeting. Thus, I didn't make it. Is there still an e-mail loop for it?"
Feb 11, 2009
Mark Sell posted blog posts
Feb 11, 2009
Mark Sell commented on Mark Sell's blog post Prey for Wisdom - Great Crichton book
"Seth, no problemo! - I was on the road and sorry I didn't respond sooner. I'm just glad someone read the blog, whether they misread it or not. :)"
Feb 11, 2009
Rev. Mark Schlamann commented on Mark Sell's group Mercy Work in Lutheranism
"Pray for Australia February 9, 2009 This morning, Ian Adnams, editor of The Canadian Lutheran, e-mailed Linda Macqueen, editor of The Lutheran, the Lutheran Church of Australia's magazine, to find out if the current fires in the state…"
Feb 9, 2009

Profile Information

Tell us about yourself ( e.g. hobbies, education, projects you are working on, etc.). What brings you to the Wittenberg Trail?
Hi Everyone! I certainly enjoy many of the great theological discussions and issues facing Lutherans today. As time permits, I think I have thoughts to offer. Most importantly, I'll learn a great deal as I always do from the other confessional Lutherans.

I currently serve as the Executive Director of Friends of Mercy, an organization that serves AIDS Orphans and girls fleeing female genital mutilation. We also launched Lutheran Cancer & Hospice Society last fall and provide booklets for end of life issues and hospice. www.thefriendsofmercy.org

What I'm most excited about is an online community to speak with other Lutherans about all sorts of topics.
I am a...
Lutheran pastor

My Passions

Dying People - Terminally Ill - Funerals

I'm sure most of the pastors, deaconesses and other church workers would find themselves understanding my passion of serving the terminally ill. The Law, (SoS-2nd use) becomes quite obvious and the Gospel so much easier to proclaim. I yearn for the stares, the slowly rolling tears on the cheek, and the weakened hushed words, "Thank you, pastor." from the terribly sick person after communion. The glory of God in death! This explains my love for the Kenyans as HIV/AIDS wipes out another generation.

Detroit Red Wings

Ok, this isn't as eternally satisfying as the first one above, but, there is an
exuberant joy that one experiences when your team captain hoists the Stanley Cup over his head. This is where I completely indulge in an NHL theology of glory.

Holy Week

From a terribly sinful pastor's point of view, I dreaded holy week because it was so busy I couldn't think straight. However, I love holy week, with Good Friday, actually the Triduum (Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Feast of Easter), being such a wonderful time to grasp the whole counsel of God. It's the point of being Lutheran. Although, I must admit, it took me five years before I could appreciate holy week because I was so wiped out by Easter afternoon.

Mark Sell's Blog

Why I Preach on the Gospel

Whenever I travel around the country and preach in a congregation, I always preach on the Gospel of the day. Every Sunday changes and the church in her wisdom moves through the life of Christ and so that's what I want to do as well.



However, this surprises some people because when I preach out in the church it is an invite to talk about the work of Friends of Mercy (FoM). I'm often asked, "Do you have a special text for your sermon?" Well, I don't, because I always want to… Continue

Posted on February 11, 2009 at 12:46pm

Tucson AZ - But it's A Dry Heat?

But It's a dry heat" It is true. That's why I love the desert. Can you believe it? I was excited about traveling to AZ in February because, after all, it was winter here in MO and Tuscon is the southwest. I was looking forward to the dry heat of the desert.



It was cool, rainy, and overcast.



What a hoot. After flying for 4 hours, it turns out that the weather was warm and sunny in MO. It was warmer at home than it was in Tucson.



OTOH, I had a… Continue

Posted on February 11, 2009 at 11:51am

Prey for Wisdom - Great Crichton book

I just finished Michael Crichton's book, Prey. It is about nanotechnology and the building of machines that are extremely small. They are machines that are about 100 nanometers in size. Huh? I had no idea what that meant until I read this book.



A hundred nanometers is a hundred billionths of a meter. Or a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. That's small! The U.S. government spent $1 billion on this relatively new technology in 2000 and 2001.… Continue

Posted on January 30, 2009 at 5:36pm — 7 Comments

Call or Office or What? Who is really called?

For a long time it bugged me, the debate about "who" is really called according to Lutheran theology. I have to admit, for the longest time, I was of the opinion that only pastors are "really called." After all, the auxiliary offices can be made up by the church as I learned from Walther's theses on Church and Ministry (Ministry Thesis 8). The "pastoral office" is the highest office of the church and all others flow from… Continue

Posted on January 29, 2009 at 4:34pm — 4 Comments

I'm Baaaaaaack to the Blogosphere after Long Break - Where is God? In Vocations.

Whew! It's been a long time since I've been on line to blog for Friends of Mercy or here at Wittenberg. Sorry about the hiatus. We've had quite a string of family issues that called me to focus on my family for about 6 months. Everything from my father - in - law with strokes/Alzheimers who died in faith just before Christmas, to learning more than I ever wanted to about bi-polar and teenagers.



Thanks be to God, He has seen us through all of this through so many vocations.… Continue

Posted on January 27, 2009 at 12:30pm

Stanley Cup Champs

Whew! They took it to the last couple of seconds again, but we did it. Now I can focus again on other things.

That's right, I didn't have the guts to post anything after our game 5 loss. I was too tired and stayed up too late fretting over a triple over time loss.

Posted on June 5, 2008 at 9:22am — 3 Comments

"Let's Go Red Wings!"

Just can't help myself!



Sure the wings lost last night, but only after they battled back twice in the game. They still lead the series 2-1. Then, you see the third period last night. There is no way the Penguins can keep up the pace. The Pens played harder and faster than they did in the first two games. However, Detroit didn't play their game well until the third period. The speed was incredible. And then the Pens answered with speed as well. I was tired after watching… Continue

Posted on May 29, 2008 at 9:24am — 4 Comments

On the Road - Great to be Home

For those of you who travel a lot, isn't it amazing how great it is to get back to your own bed at night? I was on a long trip for Friends of Mercy in California and after two nights away I was longing for home. My wife, the kids, our pugs, and even cutting the grass.

Thus, the reason for lack of activity on WT over the last couple of weeks from… Continue

Posted on May 29, 2008 at 8:30am — 2 Comments

Jeremiah Wright - Liberation Theology - Hegel is Everywhere, Can You See Him?

[SIDE NOTE: A Lutheran theology of mercy in vocation is the answer to Liberation theology.]



Hi Everyone -





This J. Wright guy is a classic liberation theologian. Liberation theology and its mild forms are everywhere, especially in the Lutheran church it is very deceptive. Here are the roots of liberation theology.



Hegel - dialectic philosophy - synthetic philosophy - process theology -



a) Thesis

b) Antithesis

c)… Continue

Posted on April 28, 2008 at 9:30am — 4 Comments

Polygamy is Nothing New to Me (I was a pastor in S. Utah for 9 years.)

Yes, the Salt Lake LDS bitterly oppose polygamy. However, what they won't tell you is that they believe that one day, a future LDS president will lead the country back to polygamy.



Still, FLDS (fundamental LDS) polygamous communities are abundant in S. Utah, S. Idaho, and Nevada. What you see on T.V., i.e. how the girls are dressed and the young age of plural spiritual marriage, is a way of life just outside of St. George, Utah.



Our hospice team had to hire two… Continue

Posted on April 21, 2008 at 2:30pm — 3 Comments

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Comment Wall (10 comments)

At 7:17pm on April 17, 2008, Pastor Landskroener said…
Hi, Mark.

So far so good.

I don't do much on here since I haven't figured it out yet.

How are things in the mercy business?

Tim
At 9:40pm on April 17, 2008, Pastor Walter Snyder said…
Hello, Mark. Good seeing you.
At 3:11pm on April 18, 2008, Rev. Clint K. Poppe said…
Great work on the Hospice booklet! Clint
At 7:03pm on April 20, 2008, Pastor Landskroener said…
Things at church are ok for the most part. We do have some interesting challenges.

Thanks for asking.

Tim
At 8:28pm on April 20, 2008, Rev. Clint K. Poppe said…
She knows by now that I am hopelessly untrainable!
At 10:21pm on May 30, 2008, Scot Kinnaman said…
I don't hear from you enough. I see Madison on FB more than I have heard from you. VBG. Give me a call.
At 12:12pm on June 26, 2008, Richard Woelmer said…
Hey Mark, when are you going to make me your friend? How about those Red Wings! Now the Tigers are beginning to show signs of life.

Still waiting in Bloomington.
At 3:46pm on February 4, 2009, Todd Rhodes said…
Thanks for the comment, Mark.

I often think I have very little to offer in a community such as WT but it is a great place to be a "sponge". I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night - as yet, there is no location identified.

Regards,

Todd
At 8:04pm on February 11, 2009, Todd Rhodes said…
Mark,
Lorusso's is over on The Hill. Nice place to take your bride for St. Valentine's Day or on your anniversary. Follow the link below. Directions are accurate. Parking is on either side of the restaurant. There is a hardware or paint store right next to Lorusso's whose sign is actually a lot easier to see than the restaurant’s sign.

I have family conflicts on Thursday night so I am not going to be able to be there - regrets. Have a stick for me.

Todd
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Des+Peres&1s=MO&1pn=saint+pauls+lutheran+church&2c=Saint+Louis&2s=MO&2pn=Lorussos#a/maps/l:St+Paul's+Lutheran+Church:12345+Manchester+Rd:St+Louis:MO:63131:US:38.603422:-90.442575:address::1/l:Lorusso's+Cucina+&+Banquet:3121+Watson+Rd:St+Louis:MO:63139:US:38.606854:-90.293324:address::1/m::9:38.577158:-90.372016:0:::::/io:1:::::f:EN:M:/e
At 5:47am on February 13, 2009, Marcy said…
Here on the WT I sometimes just look at various members comments and pages. I noticed that you pasted my son's blog post concerning the bush fire in Australia. As a Commonwealth nations Canada and Australia are connected by the English monarchy. (Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is our Head of State.) We are very concerned for and pray for those experiencing this fire.
I am honoured that you found my son's blog post worthy to be placed in Mercy Work in Lutheranism.

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