Principles and Applications

The WELS’ principles and their applications seem very squishy these days and are getting more gelatinous and sticky all the time. Here is a part of the official doctrinal statements on male and female roles from www.wels.net: “All Christians, men and women, are to use their God-given gifts to serve each other (1 Pe 4:10). Women are encouraged to participate in offices and activities of the public ministry except where the work involves authority over men.”

This “authority over men” is explained to include teaching and voting. Yet, the WELS National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts will have women presenting sectionals. One of the sectionals, apparently open to both male and female attendees, led by a woman, will trace “the development of a contemporary liturgical service at Emanuel, New London, WI. Practical examples of service formats, repertoire, and rehearsal strategies will be covered along with discussion of the challenges faced in helping people value Lutheran worship principles. Ideas shared will help move beyond confining terminology and options while exploring variety in Lutheran worship.“

Sounds like this “woman” is going to be “teaching” “men”. How is this in line with the written doctrine of the synod? We’ve heard some explain that if a woman teaches in a submissive way (Could we get a demonstration, please? Does this mean slouching and looking at the floor and mumbling at a barely audible decible?) then it’s ok for her to teach men. Fine. Then a woman can preach from the pulpit on Sunday morning, consecrate the elements, and commune the faithful, as long as she does it in a submissive way. That’s where you end up when the pastoral ministry is all about authority and not about Christ. However, let’s leave that for some other time. The sentence, “Women are encouraged to participate in offices and activities of the public ministry except where the work involves authority over men” has more issues in it than will be covered here today.

Marketing Fellowship???

Thanks to an alert reader, we were directed to this from the LCMS e-News May 20, 2008:

Is your church . . .

SMALL--with fewer than 100 people in attendance on Sunday mornings?

LARGE--with many members and musical resources?

TRADITIONAL--with a deep desire to retain familiar worship patterns?

DIVERSE--offering different worship styles to members and visitors of many ages and cultures?

EVANGELISTIC--with a congregational mindset for reaching the lost?

EVALUATING--with a growing interest in new forms and music for worship?

ACTUALLY A CHAPEL--where daily worship serves high school or college students?

ACTUALLY A CLASSROOM--where children gather each day to worship the Lord?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then you will want to attend the:

2008 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching, and Church Music

July 22-25, 2008

Concordia University Nebraska--Seward, Nebraska

That looks oddly familiar... Where have we seen something like this before?

From the conference brochure the the WELS National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts:

Who should come? Anyone whose church is:

*Small with fewer than 75 people in attendance on Sunday mornings

*Large with many members and many musical resources

*Traditional with a deep desire to retain familiar worship patterns

*Diverse with members and visitors of many ages and cultures

*Evangelistic with a congregational mindset for reaching the lost

*Evaluating with a desire to enhance worship that edifies members and guests

*Experimenting with a growing interest in new forms and music for worship

*Actually a chapel where daily worship serves high school or college students

*Really a classroom where children gather each day to worship the Lord

We don't know which was written first.

Just a coincidence? Perhaps.

Wendell the Agnostic

*Like they say on the TV, this is a true story.*
*Name and details have been changed to protect the agnostic.*

Wendell grew up in a nominally Christian home. He was baptized as an infant in 1929. His parents took him to church most Sundays. He believed the Bible just as most of his friends did. He believed in a Christian work ethic and was pretty sure there was a passage in the Bible somewhere that said something about God helping those who help themselves. He believed that if he worked hard and did what was right, God would help him and give him what he wanted. With the rest of his Sunday School class, Wendell memorized Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”.

Wendell’s birthday was fast approaching. He had been a well-behaved, respectful young man and so believed that if he prayed really hard, God would make sure he received a Hubley 7” cast iron race car as a gift, which he had wanted for almost an entire year. So, Wendell prayed. He had also memorized 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing”, so he prayed a lot: at school, at home, at the dinner table, while playing, and before going to sleep. Every available moment he had during the month before his birthday, he prayed for that car. He was certain that God would reward his good work and give him what he asked for.

Sadly, his birthday came and there was no Hubley 7” cast iron race car for Wendell. His mother baked a cake and he was given a present, but it was not what he had been asking God for. Instead of the race car, he received four toy soldiers. He hadn’t prayed for or wanted toy soldiers, but that was what God had given him. It wasn’t fair in Wendell’s mind. He had done his part by obeying his parents and teachers. He had even prayed! He had prayed for a whole month! Why hadn’t God answered him? Perhaps, God didn’t answer because He isn’t there. The first seeds of doubt were sown in Wendell’s mind. God didn’t give him what he wanted, so maybe God doesn’t exist.

Wendell continued going to church with his family. He went to Sunday School and learned more about God but was always carrying the nagging uncertainty whether God was real.

In time, Wendell grew up and left home. He married and his wife became pregnant. She went into labor too early in the pregnancy and the baby boy died. Wendell had prayed for that baby too, but God had let him down again. God hadn’t protected Wendell’s family. He had brought the family grief. Wendell’s wife was unable to become pregnant again and died childless, leaving Wendell all alone. Now, Wendell had more doubts about the existence of God. If God did exist, it seemed that He hated Wendell. This was too much to bear for Wendell had always tried to follow God’s will for his life. God had no reason to be so angry with Wendell. The only answer that made sense was that there was no God. Wendell’s parents had been suckers to spend so much time and money in church. There was no God. They were fooling themselves.

Wendell retired and met another retiree in his neighborhood who was a member of the local Lutheran church. They would talk about religion and this Lutheran tried and tried to convince Wendell that God did exist, despite the hardships that Wendell had endured, and that God was merciful and loving. Wendell didn’t buy it but was lonely and liked the company, so he kept up the conversation. Eventually, the Lutheran invited Wendell to attend a church service with him. Wendell declined. Wendell continued to decline for several months. Then, the Lutheran invited Wendell to attend Bible class held after the church service. Wendell accepted. He saw this as an opportunity to save those dopes some time and cash by showing them that God is not real. He hoped to trip up the pastor leading the class and show him for the charlatan he must be.

Wendell’s friend brought him to Bible class every week. Wendell asked questions but none of the church members seemed able to see the inconsistencies and logical fallacies inherent in Christianity. Wendell was undeterred and had nothing better to do, so he kept coming to the class for years. In that time, the church changed. When Wendell had started coming, there had been a “praise service” advertised. Wendell had no interest in seeing popular music, which he didn’t enjoy, modified to Christian lyrics, and he didn’t believe there was any God to praise anyway, and if there were a God, a God who allows such suffering on Earth, why in the world would we want to sing Him love songs?

Eventually, a new pastor came. This pastor was convinced that the Bible could be proven to be true using science. Wendell was curious, and still had nothing better to do, so he kept attending the Bible class, but not the church service, which was now only from the hymnal all the time, though no one could explain to Wendell why that change was made. The pastor made his case for creation using science, but his conclusions could not be proven absolutely, so Wendell continued to doubt and loudly question.

In time, that pastor retired and a new pastor came. This pastor taught the people why they prayed the historic liturgy every Sunday. Wendell didn’t really care. This pastor also related everything to Christ in Bible class. This was mildly annoying to Wendell, but he kept attending and bringing his questions to the pastor and the group of duped church members. They studied parts of the Bible that warned against hardening your heart (Psalm 95). They studied the Gospels and Christ’s atonement for all sins of all people. They learned of the promises of Christ, not to give Christians whatever they want, but to provide for what all need and that bearing the cross in a fallen world is painful and difficult but is always for our good.

The pastor met with Wendell privately and with a trusted group of Wendell’s friends and warned him that he was in danger of eternal punishment in hell and told Wendell that he was praying and would continue to pray for Wendell. Wendell told the pastor that he didn’t believe in hell and that the pastor could keep praying if he wanted to but it made no difference because God probably wasn’t real. Besides, Wendell didn’t believe that he sinned. He had found a nice lady TV preacher, and though she was kind of shrill and obnoxious, he did agree with her that he too was not a sinner.

For the time being, this is the end of Wendell’s story. He continues to come regularly to Bible class, not believing what is taught. He still asks questions to try to trip up the Christians but has never succeeded in turning any away from their confession of faith. Wendell’s Lutheran acquaintances continue to pray for his conversion and probably will until his time on earth is ended, but they are not so naïve as to think that perhaps some different method would have a more favorable effect. The method of evangelism is not the issue. Hardness of heart is. We do not overcome another’s hardening of his or her own heart by our cleverness or novelty. Only the Holy Spirit overcomes hardness of heart (“so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11)

The story of this real person and of all those who have hardened their hearts is sad, profoundly sad. How difficult it is to sit next to someone, in a Bible class no less, who has chosen to reject Christ. Yet, this person will continue to be welcome in the congregation and will be taught and remembered in prayer and kindly spoken with by the pastor and the members always in the hope of a blessed eternity with our Savior.

The Answers Are:

We almost forgot, but in case you were wondering, here are the quotes from below with their sources.

1. “This invitation to dream, however, is not one that asks you to dream with your eyes closed and simply to imagine what can be. Rather, this invitation asks you to dream with your eyes wide open.”-Rev. Gerald Kieschnick
2. “The rewards of lending a helping hand to others or being the recipient of an act of kindness leads to an atmosphere of trust, caring and relationship building.”-Mary Kay
3. “_________ meetings are full of shared energy, enthusiasm, and excitement.”-Amway
4. “It’s so simple, yet makes such a difference. Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important’.”-Mary Kay
   

Synod Propaganda or Pyramid Scheme

Ok, here’s another game we’ve developed after wading through the junk mail. There’s an odd familiar ring to some of the propaganda that is sent out from Lutheran synods. With the constant drumbeat of missions behind darn near everything that is written, the synods end up sounding mighty similar to multi-level marketing organizations (pyramid schemes).

You start with a product and a leader who gathers around him/herself a small group of “believers”, gets them all fired up to go tell others about the wonders of Amway, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, Tupperware, Lia Sophia, Herbalife, Shaklee, Creative Memories, or Jesus, then sends out those from the small group to form their own small groups and get new people fired up. Hopefully, some from these small groups will also see the benefits of being part of the organization and make a formal commitment. Then they can go form their own small groups and the conversion continues. Just as there is no need for a Mary Kay salesperson to ever set foot in the door of the corporate headquarters, there also seems to be no need for Lutheran pyramid scheme operators to get themselves to their assumed source, the Church. No, the impression is given that the small groups are the answer. They will self-perpetuate divorced from the preached Word and the administered Sacraments. The big show on Sunday becomes the rally to get more new people to sign up for the small groups, with hopes that they will then eventually form and lead their own small groups.

This approach of marketing the Gospel may explain some of the backdoor losses the Lutheran church experiences. If you come into the church because of the inspirational high of emotionally charged music and worship or because of a Lutheran testimonial to what wonderful things have happened in the life of another since joining a church, how difficult is it to leave when things start to go badly in your life or if the emotional high doesn’t come as readily as it once did? This same burnout is seen in MLM salespeople who come in excited and assured that all will now be well with them, but then fall away when the promises of exorbitant wealth, free time, and happiness aren’t kept. Reminds one of Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed.

This pyramid scheme evangelism ignores the cross Christ promised to His followers and makes unrealistic promises and unScriptural demands on new members. No, your life might not get outwardly happier or easier if you join a Lutheran church. No, you don’t HAVE TO join a social group in a congregation to BE INVOLVED. No, it isn’t necessary to membership in Christ’s Church to receive phone calls from other, more established members inviting you, the new sucker, to every potluck, coffee hour, kids’ concert, meeting, fundraiser, or picnic under the sun.

Church isn’t primarily about us; it’s about Christ. Only after it’s about Christ is it about us. Never underestimate your own insignificance.

So, at long last, which of the quotations below is from a Lutheran church leader? Bonus points* if you can guess** the source of any of the others, too.

1. “This invitation to dream, however, is not one that asks you to dream with your eyes closed and simply to imagine what can be. Rather, this invitation asks you to dream with your eyes wide open.”
2. “The rewards of lending a helping hand to others or being the recipient of an act of kindness leads to an atmosphere of trust, caring and relationship building.”
3. “_________ meetings are full of shared energy, enthusiasm, and excitement.”
4. “It’s so simple, yet makes such a difference. Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important’.”

*If you send us real money, we will send out real prizes
**”Guess” means no internet searches

Placement Whining

It’s the middle of placement season. LCMS seminaries have made their spring placements and the WELS is not far behind with teacher/staff minister placement coming next week and pastoral candidates the following week. There was a shortage of calls for the LCMS seminary graduates this spring which has been the cause of some online whining, which in our view, is stupid. The complaints we’ve heard and seen run along these lines: “the students put in eight years of school”, “the students went into debt”, “there are congregations who plan to stay vacant instead of calling which means there are calls available”. Yes, all three complaints are entirely accurate. However, so what?

Did you think you were joining the Army when you entered the seminary? Did anyone promise you a job for signing up? We doubt it very much. If your church body has more pastor-students than congregations willing to take them, then not all of the graduates are placed. This isn’t new. Would those of you complaining be doing the same kind of whining for graduates in an accounting program, clown college, or dental school? We doubt it. Yet, the situation is somewhat similar. Most of those students went through several years pursuing an education in their chosen field. Many of them went into debt. Though these men at the seminary are planning to go into church work, there is still a role for the kingdom of the left in the process. If 42 vacant congregations are looking for candidates and there are 53 graduates, some of the graduates will not be placed. Life’s not fair, even in the church. The truly admirable part of all this is the work done by the placement directors who have high hopes of placing everyone by later in the summer. They should be commended, not crapped on.

There will still be LCMS congregations who are vacant while graduates twiddle their thumbs waiting for a placement. Sometimes, the responsibility for this lies partially with the graduates. If you told the placement director you would only accept a TLH congregation with no women voters within a 40-mile radius of Tampa, FL, you may be waiting a while to be placed. Some vacant congregations are ornery, cantankerous groups that don’t want some pastor telling them what to do and will be vacant until Christ returns (and even then won’t appreciate the New Guy telling them what to do in their church). Would you want to be assigned to such a place? It might be better to take the plumber’s exam instead.

Missourians should be dancing in the streets for joy over how much control they do have as students in their first placement. Come to the WELS where there are no interviews and no advance warning, with the exception of international mission placements. You get what you get. You don’t find out until they announce your name in the call service. Teacher/pastor/staff ministers are all in the same boat. You may be assigned to the educational specialty for which you had been studying the past five years. You may not. You may be assigned as a staff minister, you may be assigned to run a preschool. You may be assigned to be the second pastor in charge of chancel dramas and the praise team even though you were the one pushing for installing a tabernacle in the new-fangled portable chapel. We don’t wish to hear of any weeping or gnashing of teeth in St. Louis or Fort Wayne, but we won’t be surprised if the number of prescriptions for Cymbalta goes through the roof in New Ulm and Mequon in the next two weeks.

Attention, Blue-Haired Hotties

This is to all the LWML babes out there. Or, rather, all of you who were able to hook your manual typewriter up to the interweb so you could send teck messages to your great-great-grandchildren. (This might be a small audience.) Anyway, your church body needs you. The LCMS seems to be unable to keep missionaries in West Africa. We think it’s about time someone stood up for the poor who desperately need help for this world and the next even if that means backing off attempts to reach those who drive by US LCMS churches every day in their SUVs without setting foot inside, have ignored your canvassing efforts, and threw out your church-advertising mailers. Who better to support the spread of the Gospel in places like Togo and Burkina Faso than an organization like the LWML? If you can take a break from throwing your hands in the air and waving them around like you just don’t care, consider supporting planting churches and schools in West Africa.