Christian News, New Haven Hires New Editor
Christian News, published by Lutheran News, Inc. in New Haven, MO was started in 1962, by Pastor Herman Otten and his wife Grace. Together they published Christian News, with worldwide distribution, for nearly 57 years. Grace retired a few years ago and Pastor Herman Otten continued on until he was taken to be with his Lord and Savior this past April about an hour after editing and approving Volume 57 Number 17. Since Pastor Otten’s passing into eternal glory, his daughter Ruth (Otten) Rethemeyer (Christian News, Managing Editor), Naomi Finck (Secretary) and Luke Otten (Business Manager) have been carrying on the mission along with the help of many contributing writers and various volunteers and part time office help.
Christian News is a newspaper that covers current news telling what is happening in the theological world and secular arena and how it can affect your church and your life.
Christian News is not an official organ of any church-body, but an independent publication designed to supply rank and file Christians with information needed to face the present crisis(es) in Christendom.
Christian News is not a doctrinally neutral observer, but is committed to the full historic Christian faith, as it is authoritatively revealed in the written Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, and correctly set forth in the Confessions of the Orthodox Church to wit, the Book of Concord in 1580.
Recently the Lutheran News Inc. board of directors unanimously voted to hire Pastor Philip Hale, who was born in Oklahoma and raised in Keller, TX. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. After working very briefly as an engineer in Austin, he attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. Following a vicarage in Fredericksburg, IA, under Pastor Ron Koch, he graduated in 2007 and was called to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bancroft, NE and then later to St. John Lutheran Church in Lyons, NE as part of a dual parish. He was installed as associate pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Omaha, NE in August, 2015 and remains in that call currently.
In 2007 he married his wife Aubri. They have been recently blessed with their 10th living child, who is due in early May. Their oldest child is 11-years-old. Rev. Hale enjoys fishing, jogging, brewing beer, and playing basketball.
Why Christian News?
By Pastor Philip Hale
There are many less than compelling reasons to continue Christian News: just because it is 57 years old and people are used to receiving it; for the memory of Herman Otten and his work; to relive the glory days of Christianity in America and the LCMS; as a tribute to the steadfastness of the Otten family. While these points have their merits, they are not sufficient reasons, in themselves, to continue putting out a weekly paper.
However, Christian News provides a service for which there would be a large void, if it were to go away: it can continue to provide a doctrinal and orthodox viewpoint on current events and heresies affecting Christianity; an independent forum for openly communicating and critiquing churches, leaders, seminaries, and their teaching, from the standpoint of God’s Word; and an outlet to speak the truth of Christ boldly and without compromise.
The legacy of CN is to speak the truth clearly and plainly, no matter how unpopular it is or how much pressure is exerted by church bureaucrats or the worldly-minded. It has not played the “name game” by worshiping the powerful and honored by merely judging based on reputation or status, but instead it has dealt with the issues and substance of Christianity from Scripture and its plain teachings. It has not been afraid to tackle error and heterodox teaching head-on, including specifically naming those in error and exposing lies spoken in the name of Christ. Lastly, Christian News has promoted the positive aspects of Christian living, including the value of all human life and true Christian piety—which is often ignored today. It has been a watchdog, a forum, and a vital voice for genuine Christianity. By God’s grace, this will continue.
CN has a lot of baggage for some. It definitely has a strong and polarizing reputation, because it has actually done and said something. Many are afraid to speak up today and do not want to deal with the consequences of confessing Christ without apology. Church leaders have mostly become politicians, masters at speaking well for lengthy periods of time, without saying anything of substance. Church journals march in the atheistic parade of academia, allergic to Luther’s bold theology and reluctant to confess. Church media and magazines have become just advertising and cheerleading for the church body, only focusing on the practical, external aspects of what man does, rather than sword of God’s inspired Word—putting a positive spin on everything, avoiding anything that may cause anyone discomfort. Official church publications mostly read like fundraising literature, since leaders are afraid to say anything that might affect the financial bottom line.
But without a real stance on Christ’s Word, which requires rejecting error and falsehood, nothing is really stood for. While I am not Herman Otten in personality, background, or height, I will strive to continue this legacy of speaking boldly and clearly for the church of today and against the attacks of Satan which are constantly foisted upon it from the world. Amen.
Pastor Philip Hale,
Editor of CN