The 'Post-Church Age' And Other Fairy Tales...

I sometimes hear, in the various mission meetings I attend, that we are now living in a “Post-Church Age.” This phrase has always bothered me a bit not so much for the somewhat weak logic for arriving at such a conclusion which I don’t think can be supported by the most basic examination of church history but rather what invariably follows; a call to change the methods the church catholic has traditionally used to proclaim the Good News, reach the lost, and perform acts of mercy that should naturally flow from a saving faith in Jesus.

I’ve detailed on more than one occasion instances of folks coming into my own congregation in the name of evangelism and making their case that if we just added a seeker friendly worship where secular music is played so as not to frighten away the unchurched. I’ve reported on a Southeastern district presentation that suggested that we give away jars of cookies or jelly in order to get folks to consider giving us a shot as their new church. Nearly all this goofy methodology is put forward because we are told that the ways of preaching , teaching, and reaching the lost no longer work the way it used to because we are in a different time: a “Post-Church Age.”

That’s rubbish plain and simple, more especially for persons who call themselves confessional Lutherans.

Last month I was more than pleased to see that my pastor wrote his newsletter article on the problems of a so called “Post-Church Age” in a manner that is clearer and more succinct than I could ever hope to pen. Enjoy!


The 'Post-Church Age' and Other Fairy Tales...

The stories that we tell can tell a lot about us. The stories you tell your kids about when you were a kid say a lot about you today. The stories you tell about your day go a long way to making or breaking the day of those you tell your stories to. The stories that we tell about ourselves as a church tell a lot about what sort of a church we are...

Lately there's been a story going around among some of the higher-ups in our church. The story is called "the Post-Church or Post-Christian Age," a scary sort of story that goes some- thing like this: "For centuries and centuries we lived in a Western Culture that embraced Christendom. The Church was popular and well liked by the vast majority of the culture. Even those who didn't go to church a lot generally had a positive view of Christianity. The Church had a fairly easy time attracting people to become members. Today it's all changed! Our culture is becoming increasingly secular or atheist or Islamist or hostile to Christianity. So our churches face a bleak future of declining numbers of members, declining resources, and less respect from the world at large. We need to do something! (But we're not exactly sure what...)”

Maybe you've heard this story, or bits and pieces of it. It's usually the preamble to a pan- icky appeal that we must change our worship, our theology, our outreach, or the sky will fall!

I think the story is nonsense. It's certainly not the story Scripture tells of Christ and His Church and the world around us. It isn't the story the church fathers told. Most of all, it isn't even factually accurate. Harry Stout, religious history Professor at Yale University used to ask his classes which they would guess was the most religious generation in America? First guess was usually Revolutionary War. Wrong! Civil War? More than the founding fathers' generation, but far from the prize. The right answer? Our generation (circa 1985) was the most religious in American history! While the number of people who say they are Christian has dipped slightly in the first decade of the 21st century, it's still above all others except the 1980’s-90’s.

In the 4th century AD, Constantine made Christianity legal, and lots of people flocked to Christian churches. But oddly enough, Augustine didn't think the number of Christians had really changed at all from the previous century. That the culture thought the church more fashionable didn't make for more Christians, as far as he could see. Popularity did bring a sharp increase in the heresies fathers like Augustine had to battle-- Pelagians and Arians and Donatists and all kinds of bad apples--who tended for most of that era to be the majority of Christendom!

Luther read in St. Paul (Romans 9-11) that the number of the elect is a constant. It was determined by God before time began, unveiled by Christ on the cross, and isn't affected at all by anything we do or don't do. Our good efforts can't increase the number of people in heaven by even one. Our failures and faux pas cannot reduce the number by a single soul. In Elijah's day there were (according to God's reckoning) only 7,000 in all Israel (population at least a million and probably closer to two or three million) who hadn't bent the knee to Baal. Nothing in Scrip- ture suggests that percentage changes much from age to age.

So the world has mostly always hated the Gospel of the Crucified One. It's always been an acquired taste of the (s)elect few. When people fawn over us, we don't get puffed up. When they scorn us, we don't fret. This age is no more post, pro, or pomo Christian than any other. the faithful still stand where we've always stood--on Christ and His promises alone. The world's hatred or love cannot make or break us, but our fear of what people think of us should certainly embarrass us! The only thing that matters is what Christ Jesus thinks of us--and He reveals that in His pure Gospel and Sacraments on which we stand unafraid, a beacon in a dark world- -the light of which will always draw exactly the right crowd, with no crowding, no worrying, and no fear, only faith in the One who has everything, absolutely everything, in His nail pierced hands...

Lunch Delayed

A programming note; my lunch with the Mormons had to be delayed because my workload this week was busier than it had been in months. I promise I’ll let ya’ll know how it goes when I am able to reschedule our meeting.

When I called the local missionary center to let them know that I was going to be out of town the day of scheduled meeting I was told that it is two elders that were to meet with me. Elders? I was under the assumption that they would be sending me younger, less theologically trained missionaries.

Usually the missionaries that knock on my door on Saturday mornings have a ton of scripture verses memorized but have no real working knowledge of their doctrinal systems. How I carry on a conversation with folks depends of their understanding of their own theological system whether it’s my Baptist neighbor or a scientologist looking for Zenu’s mothership.

I’m gonna have to do a bit of research and figure out what exactly the LDS folks mean when they say someone is an elder. With there being a local LDS temple in my area it is entirely within the realm of possibility that that I’ll get to chat with the guys who have temple privileges. If that is the case, our conversation will be a very different one than I had originally envisioned.

Evangelism As An Idol

I had a “conversation” recently with someone who believes that our beloved synod’s favorite evangelism program, eh, movement; Ablaze! is the best thing since sliced bread. I, as is no big secret ‘round here, completely disagree.

I put conversations in quotes above because there is rarely anything remotely resembling a conversation when debating Ablaze! from either a Scriptural or a confessional standpoint with those whose views differ from mine . I’m always up for a good debate and really do enjoy a dialogue with people that disagree with me. That being said, I just can’t accept a synod website, when that website conflicts with Scripture or takes Scripture completely out of context, as a legitimate debating point. Madison Avenue marketing campaigns will always be trumped by Scripture. If even that simple point can not be agreed upon, let’s just be honest and just call it a day because the discussion is going to go nowhere pleasant for either of us.

What I’ve seen by the precious few who will debate a slack jawed yokel like myself (and for reasons I can’t explain, there really too few who are debate anything at all concerning true evangelism) is almost a willingness to make an evangelism program the equivalent of a golden calf that is to bowed down to. Allow me to elaborate;

The Ablaze! program did not hide Easter eggs for the kids in the neighborhood.

The Ablaze! program did not invite people to your Easter breakfast.

The Ablaze! program did not shake your visitors hands in your church lobby.

The Ablaze! program did not work in the local food pantry.

The Ablaze! program did not talk to people at the bus stop or in the airport about Jesus.

The Ablaze! program did not, I repeat, did not bring anyone to faith.

I see very little difference between ascribing the receiving of faith by the Holy Spirit to a program developed by consultants and the bowing down to a golden calf by the people of Israel when Moses was still on Sinai in Exodus 32. Likewise, it is an error of similar magnitude to dance around that same golden calf to the drum beat of our own good works. Extol Ablaze! all you like but the focus is almost never on the faith in Christ which is the only thing that makes a good work good.

To take credit for your own works as being good or attributing the bringing of those who would hear their Shepherds voice to faith is nothing more than the fashioning of an idol from the gold colored metal of an evangelism program.

The old confessors understood this when they defended the historic catholic faith against the papacy and the Roman system of works righteousness that had developed through the middle ages before the Emperor Charles V at Augsburg when they confessed in AC V how faith is received and how and where we find Jesus;

That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake.

They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works.

Golden calves take many forms but the one thing that every idol has in common is taking credit from the work of our Lord and making it our own. When Ablaze! is always running (the subject of) the verbs, no matter how well intentioned it may be, our beloved synod’s shiny evangelism program is nothing more than an idol to be condemned.

Ablaze!’s Counting Evolution

The Ablaze! website counting criteria evolution:

Baptisms do not count as baptism is only an outward sign

became

We are not counting baptisms or conversions. We are counting the number of Gospel seeds planted.

and ended up

We are counting sharing the Gospel with individuals--seeds planted in faith…

Well, I guess there has been some progress…

I would love to know when the second standard of what was to be counted on the Ablaze! website was changed to the third.

Personally, I see these changes as progress. Who knows, maybe the Ablaze! program or movement might resemble something vaguely Lutheran by, oh let’s say 2017ish if these changes continue!

Like, wouldn’t that be cool…

Does Ablaze! Count Baptisms Now?

From last week’s inbox comes this School Ministry E-Bulletin story under the heading “Ablaze Moments in Lutheran Schools”…

ABLAZE Moments

In the past 15 years, Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Fords, NJ, with an average enrollment of 100 students in Grades PK-8, has baptized 16 students. On May 10, #17 will be baptized, and #18 will become a child of God on June 14. God is so good!!!!

The fact that 18 children have been heirs of heaven in the waters of Holy Baptism is a blessing indeed as the sacrament “works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare”.

But… I have to ask the question; is Ablaze! now counting baptisms? The reason the question is important is that for the longest time the Ablaze! website explained the methodology of the program this way:

"We are not counting baptisms or conversions. We are counting the number of Gospel seeds planted."

That same page that the LCMS set up to explain Ablaze! methods: "Are we really counting? If so, what exactly are we counting?" now states:

We are counting sharing the Gospel with individuals--seeds planted in faith…

See the difference? The statement that we do not count baptisms is no longer there! So, are we counting baptisms or not? If we are now counting baptisms, when did we start?

Don’t get me wrong, counting the sacrament of Baptism is a very good thing! One of my biggest problems with the whole Ablaze! fad is the lack of focus on and never pointing to the Means of Grace; the Word preached purely and the Sacraments rightly administered. The Means of Grace should be the only things we look to for visible signs of the Church on this side of eternity. To look elsewhere for signs of a visible church or pretending that we can see what lies in the human heart is the same vain and futile effort and thinking that sent many a Pharisee skipping their merry way down the road to perdition.

I hope that we are indeed counting baptisms now. I would also hope like heck that we hired the right consultant this time to tell us that Scripture and our Confessions have been pointing us to the Means of Grace as something to be counted for quite a bit longer than the Madison Avenue marketing gurus have been saying that the Means of Grace are only an impediment to growing Christ’s church.

Ablaze! Counter Hits 10 Million (Or If You Live By The Numbers…)

From the inbox; last Thursday the Reporter, the official newspaper of the LCMS, sent out emails and reported on its website:

Ablaze! faith-sharing counter exceeds 10 million

By Paula Schlueter Ross

The Web-based "counter" that tracks the number of times LCMS Lutherans have shared their faith with others as part of the Ablaze! movement hit 10,006,997, as of April 29. That figure includes some 310,000 additions from the Synod's Southeastern District, which has been recording Gospel-sharing events for three years and last month added them to the Ablaze! Web site.

Sally Hiller, who has been overseeing the districtwide Ablaze! emphasis, says "people are becoming more comfortable in seeing and seizing the opportunities to share their faith" and now the initiative is "beginning to gain momentum" in the district.

"I rejoice and give thanks to God because each day I am humbled to read of the faith-sharing experiences of people throughout the district," Hiller said.

She recalled one person who told her, "Oh, I probably speak to someone about Jesus 25 to 30 times a day. How do you not?"

Still, the district is not easing up on its Ablaze! emphasis. At its May 1-3 convention in Norfolk, Va., delegates unanimously adopted a resolution to make faith-sharing a districtwide priority for the next triennium. The Southeastern District wants to have reached 750,000 people with the Gospel by its next convention in 2012 -- that's 30 percent of its goal to reach 2.5 million by 2017.

With a little more than eight years left until Ablaze! culminates on Oct. 31, 2017, the movement is one-tenth of the way toward its goal of reaching 100 million people worldwide with the Gospel.

It would be truly delightful if those who lived by the numbers would hold themselves accountable by the very numbers and statistics that they demand of us. Allow me to make my case…

In 2003 the President of the LCMS Gerald Kieschnick was giving speeches as all presidents do at district conventions. In each of those speeches the President Kieschnick stated:

From 1971 to 2001, our Synod’s baptized membership has decreased from 2.89 million people to 2.54 million and confirmed membership has decreased from 2.01 million to 1.92 million.

Sadly, by 2009, the membership of the LCMS has dropped further to 2.4 million baptized members. I looked for how many of those 2.4 million members were actually catechized and confirmed but couldn’t find the current numbers.

How can this be? I thought the Ablaze! movement was being hailed as a success? If we have ten million “critical events” then why has the headcount dropped half a million people since Ablaze! was implemented? Does losing at least five hundred thousand people sound like the non-program is working to you?

So, let’s not try to all be negative Nancys and such and try to put a positive spin on the situation. Maybe those that we are counting as being reached with chance to respond (this is the definition of a “critical event”) are going to other protestant denominations. With the recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life polling it has been learned that denominational loyalty can no longer be counted on. Maybe those we are counting are actually in other denominations based on our evangelism.

The problem with thinking that we, out of the goodness of our hearts, are just helping out every other denomination but our own is that the number of Americans who call themselves Christian, as a percentage, hasn’t changed in years and in fact there are very real signs of a decline in actual numbers. If we look at Americanized Christianity and can’t see even a small increase with ten million “critical events”, shouldn’t someone ask what the heck are these people doing with all these chances for to respond? Are they going anywhere at all? They certainly don’t seem to be going to church that’s for sure.

And continuing to put the best spin on the situation, I’m also going to make the assumption that they ain’t going to visit the Mormons. The Mormon numbers are increasing somewhat but I seriously doubt that the average unchurched seeker is interested in looking for Jesus on Kobol.

So again; where are these ten million “critical events” folks? Who knows and that’s my point. The Ablaze! movement never had as its goal pointing to the one thing that Scripture and our Confessions say can be counted; the Means of Grace, that is to say the Word preached purely and the Sacraments properly administered. Since we don’t point to the Means of Grace can we really expect a “return” on our evangelism investment?

It’s more than a little frustrating to read how a high cost evangelism movement is praised with no measurable movement concerning results within our beloved LCMS (or anywhere else for that matter). It would be nice if those who lived by numbers and spreadsheets would call a thing what it is and admit that the numbers and spreadsheets being hailed as a success only tell a portion of a sad story.

If you live by the numbers, shouldn’t you be held accountable to them as well?

Sin City Bible Study?

To prove to all that I can be a company man and that I do indeed care for the lost and the “unchurched,” I’ve decided, after prayerful consideration, that maybe my concern that using secular movies as the jumping off point of a Bible study may have been too harsh. I’m now going on record as saying we can and should try to reach those who would never consider otherwise a Bible or Lutheran Confessions study by whatever means necessary even if the base material is of a secular nature.

My first proposal for a new study using popular films is the Sin City Total Depravity of Man Extreme Bible Study. Nobody understands the total depravity of man better than the Sin City’s creator Frank Miller. Why, Miller’s entire body of work in the comic book world is a virtual goldmine of material on man's fall from God's grace! See here for my previous post on Frank Miller’s Lutheran world view.

The Sin City movie is an interwoven set of three stories (see, see, three is one of those holy numbers!) about the most depraved individuals imaginable that could be reviewed as one whole piece or broken up to address the different troubles, concerns, and foibles of the fallen citizens of Basin City. It’s a sure fire way to get “those who might not otherwise attend a Bible class on the Lutheran Confessions” in the door!

If we get ‘em in the door for my Sin City study, who knows, we might even find a way to convince these potential seeker to stay for a while and ain’t that what reaching the lost is all about?

LCMS Looking To Hire “Catalyst”

With more than half of LCMS congregations in rural areas, which is defined as fewer than 15,000 people, and leadership looking to revitalize congregations, LCMS World Mission--National Mission Team is looking to hire a “"catalyst" to identify and coordinate resources for existing congregations and for starting new ministries in rural areas and small towns.”

According to the Reporter; organizers are looking for “ "a teacher, organizer, go-getter, entrepreneur, and ordained -- someone with a history of starting new things." ”

Isn’t it amazing that to grow the church and reach the lost we (as a denomination) continually seek out new-fangled ways to do what we used to be really good at. It seems to me that “your grandfather’s synod” had a few more members than we currently do. With those who want the church’s mission to look more like church being labeled museum keepers who cling to dusty old confessions that just get in the way of outreach openly, I can’t help but wonder how many members the LCMS is willing to lose before leadership realize that the brand is being harmed.

Heck, I'd be happy if the LCMS just started talking like a church instead of a fundraising corporation speaking through public relation department press releases that have been cleared by legal teams.

Read the whole article here.

I’m Not Even Going To Debate You

Something I’ve noticed…

Those who argue that we need to do more to reach the lost and unchurched with synodical resolutions and bylaws will give you a good old fashion scowl if you muck up the debate with Scripture and/or the Lutheran Confessions. Yep, serious scowlage followed by the time honored rite of shunning just as if you walked out of the First Temple of Moloch right after midday sacrifices.

Innovative Ablaze! Funds Outreach

This was sent to the inbox from a longtime reader:

On Saturday January 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. gas prices are falling.
Jordan Lutheran Church is giving the people of western Wake County a little break from the slowing economy at the Dolphins BP station located at 5016 Common Hills Drive in Cary. The church is buying down gas $0.50 per gallon and selling it for two hours at the discounted rate.
Here is how it will work. Anyone wanting the discounted rate must be at the gas station between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The limit is 15 gallons of gasoline per vehicle. The goal is to "share the wealth" with as many people as possible!
Mike Merker, Pastor of Jordan Lutheran Church says, "People often ask why we do these types of events? The number one reason is that we want the community to know that Jesus cares for even their practical needs. We believe that showing kindness in a practical way is what Jesus would do if He were walking the earth today. We are to be Jesus' hands' and feet."
This discounted rate comes just in time for everyone who is feeling the crunch of Christmas bills. Merker added. "We want to change the way people think about church. God was the best giver of all, so that is what we want to do, give!"
Jordan Lutheran Church will begin worshipping on February 8, in Beaver Creek Cinemas located at 1441 Beaver Creek Commons Drive in Apex. The worship services start at 9:30 a.m. with a nursery and children's church available for young kids.

Jordan Lutheran Church defines itself as a cooperative partnership of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

My only commentary is that the prices and availability of a good single malt scotch in the Haut South is something that brings me significant stress. I wonder if my congregation would be willing to accept Ablaze! monies so as to do a single malt scotch outreach. This is certainly not a new idea as the awesomeness that is Mollie has long advocated for a “bar ministry.” I think she might be joking but I’m certainly not. What a great way to sit down, relax, and talk about everyone’s favorite movement. Just a thought...

A Tangible And Significant Faith… Or Something Else?

How do we receive faith and how is that faith sustained? An easy question to answer ain’t it? Before you answer that let me tell ya why I’m asking in the first place.

Yesterday in my inbox I received two emails that heralded a new “program” available from CPH; the publishing house of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The email starts off:

January 22, 2009 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 8

Journey program involves senses in Passion account

How much more would the events of the week leading up to Christ's death and resurrection mean to you if you could actually taste the vinegar Christ was given on the cross or hear the crack of the whip that scourged his back?

That is the premise of a new product from Concordia Publishing House (CPH) titled Journey to the Cross, a sensory-based program that presents the biblical account of Passion Week and Easter morning through experience-focused activities appropriate for ages 3 to adult.

Kelly Bailey McCray, creator of the Journey to the Cross program and director of Christian education at Trinity Lutheran Church, Bend, Ore., originally developed the program in 2003 for a special Maundy Thursday worship event for the church's grade school.

Participants in the program begin at a Customs Station, where they receive a passport to record what they see and hear. They then walk in small groups through 13 stations and experience the Bible accounts of Holy Week at each stop.

"People remember more of what they experience than what they hear, so Journey to the Cross was made to use the senses as much as possible," McCray said. "As participants walk from site to site, they meet individuals dressed as Bible characters who tell the stories of Jesus' death and resurrection as if they had been witnesses. Every stop also has an activity that involves the senses. For example, they smell perfume, taste Passover foods, wash their hands, and pet a donkey. And the participants collect stickers in their passports at every stop, so they have a tangible record of their Journey experience."

While the program was designed for children in the school, McCray found that the parents who acted as chaperones simply walking the children between stations "came away with a renewed appreciation for all that Christ had done for them." About 275 people took part in the first journey.

The email goes on to state that it was developed in a Lutheran congregation and those who participated in Journey to the Cross share that it is one of the most meaningful Easter experiences they've ever had. The email concluded:

"And it doesn't need to be done at your church," she (McCray) added. "The whole event could be done in a public setting such as a park or parking lot or empty warehouse. The key to using the Journey as outreach is to publicize it well in your community and have a plan for connecting with visitors after the event."

McCray feels the best part of Journey to the Cross "is the chance for the events of Holy Week to come alive and not just be words in a story. Children and adults alike think they know the whole story because they hear it every spring. But when you actively participate in something that is similar to what Jesus experienced, by tasting vinegar or hearing a whip crack, then the events of Easter become more significant and less likely to be taken for granted."

So, I’ll ask you again, how do we receive faith and how is that faith sustained? It’s an important question that needs to be answered and properly understood before we move forward in any discussion concerning the email.

The old Lutheran confessors at Augsburg, defending the one catholic Christian faith against the papists way back in 1530, knew that it was the ministry that was instituted for saving faith when they proclaimed in AC article V;

So that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. 2 Through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given [John 20:22]. He works faith, when and where it pleases God [John 3:8], in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake. 3 This happens not through our own merits, but for Christ’s sake.

4 Our churches condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that through their own preparations and works the Holy Spirit comes to them without the external Word.

I know what some are already thinking, “See Frank, the Lord can work when and where He pleases so He can work faith in a parking lot petting zoo just like in a church!” I do not dispute that the Lord of heaven and earth can work faith in a parking lot but the fifth article of our confession ends with a condemnatory statement that bookends what we believe and confess with what we reject because of what Scripture speaks against.

What needs to be looked at closely is the condemnatory clause that rejects the Anabaptist’s wrong teaching that we experience the Holy Spirit; as the editors of Concordia write in the introduction to AC V; "through their own reflections, by enjoying nature, or by ecstatic religious experiences." The editors continue; "The comforting truth is that the Holy Spirit works through objective, external, sure, and certain means of grace, through which we receive justification by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone"

At the time of the reformation (and still today) those who believed that faith was something to be obtained through fasting, contemplation, music, and rituals were called Schwärmerei, enthusiasts who were condemned in SD II 4, 80:

4 Both the ancient and modern enthusiasts have taught that God converts people and leads them to the saving knowledge of Christ through His Spirit, without any created means and instrument; in other words, without the outward preaching and hearing of God’s Word.

80 On the other hand, the enthusiasts should be rebuked with great seriousness and zeal. They should not be tolerated in any way in God’s Church. They imagine that God, without any means, without the hearing of the divine Word, and without the use of the holy Sacraments, draws people to Himself, enlightens, justifies, and saves them.

Do you see where this going?

This whole means of grace thingy become crucial for the proper understanding of what might be wrong with a program that sets itself up to create an experiential event. If we are believe the apostle Paul when he writes to the church in Rome; “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” then the Journey to the Cross should raise all sorts of red flags! By starting with the premise that “People remember more of what they experience than what they hear” the creator and promoters of the program are proceeding from a false dichotomy that pits what we experience against what we hear when it comes to the God’s Word. In taking this approach, objective faith becomes subjective based on feelings during small group meditative stations.

Now, truth be told I have no problems with an experiential event per se but only in so far as it is a means that our Lord has promised when it comes to churchly things. I would even argue that we do have real and tangible, that is to say real and physical, things that our Lord has given to sustain our faith. In the Lord’s Supper we taste our Lord’s body and blood hidden under the elements of bread and wine. In Baptism we see a child’s old self (or adult for that matter) drowned and then see a new Christian raised up. We hear our Lord’s Word in the reading of the lessons, epistles, and Gospel as well as in the words of the pastor who has been called to proclaim God’s Holy Word. Our Lord does indeed use real and tangible things to give and sustain our faith. Do we really need a program that shifts our focus away from promised means and instead has us (and our children for that matter) looking inward for the meaning of Easter?

What our Lord does not promise in Scripture is to come to us through the smelling of a container of perfume or the tasting of glass of vinegar. Jesus does not promise to be with us until the end of the age through the means of a petting zoo or hand washing demonstrations. Can anyone cite a single verse of Scripture that states if we meditate on the cracking of a whip our faith will be built up or sustained?

What is missing from many a church these days is proper preaching that points to the Means of Grace. With so many churches doing everything that they can to become seeker sensitive they frequently miss the mark and forget to preach the we DO deserve to experience everything that Jesus experienced through proper preaching of God’s Law. This is happening not only in the nondenominational mega-church down the street but all too often in our own beloved synod.

If we are smart we are thankful that we don’t get to experience anything the Jesus had to endure in our place. We should be thankful that we don’t have a God who deals with us as we deserve. We should be thankful that it isn’t us who have the flesh ripped off our backs. We should be thankful that it isn’t us that are stripped naked and having nails pounded into our hands and feet for somebody else’s continually committed sins. We should be thankful that it isn’t us gasping for breath on the account of others transgressions. We should be thankful that it isn’t us experiencing any of the things that Jesus had to endure because of our miserable and sinful nature.

I would suggest that instead of this theological navel gazing, those who wish to meditate and brood over things incomprehensible, get their hands out of the kiddies’ touch tank and find a church that can stay away from subjective experiential emotionalism as a means.

And in the for what it’s worth department, don’t think for a moment that I haven’t caught that this “program” has the theological fingerprints of the emergent church leaders like Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt, and Dan Kimbell all over it. Our beloved synod has for a while now has been looking to emergent leaders as a way to reach out to the unchurched and still be hip and relevant and cool with youth and people who don’t like church to begin with though these very methods. I would also argue here that these methods are monastic in nature and are the very same techniques that drove Dr. Luther to the point of despair. Do we really want to lead people down that dark road? I would hope not but…

A Perfect Saturday Morning for Teaching Scripture

Oh what a perfect Saturday morning. The sun is shining, the air is cold and crisp just like I like it and my missus is nowhere around. Huh? Why would my missus not being here make for a perfect morning you ask? Well, because I had the joy of receiving visitors.

See if this sounds familiar; you’re sitting on the couch and all of a sudden the doorbell rings. You open the door and find two people on your stoop holding what looks like pamphlets and their trusty translation of the New Testaments. Oh yeah, I had me some Jehovah witnesses stop by.

What was odd with these two was that they were a mother and son team with the boy being about nine or ten. Still, an opportunity to teach as my missus is away with the alter guild decorating our tree at church. For what it’s worth, I’ve never seen the JW’s send only one adult and after today I don’t think that happen on my street again.

The women asked me a couple of questions about if I thought Jesus was setting the example we should live. I answered all of her very basic questions and she seemed genuinely pleased with my answers. Then she made the comment that people don’t often read their Bibles or that they interpret the Scriptures to mean something that they don’t. Boy howdy, that was an opening that you could fly a Boeing 747 through with room to spare!

“I know what you mean” I said. “Did you know that there are some people that actually think that Jesus never said He was God?”

“He did say He was the son of God” she replied still smiling.

“Not only did he make the claim that He was the Son of God, but every time me says “I Am” He is saying He is the same God that spoke those words to Moses from the burning bush, He is saying He is God!”

“Hmm, really…”

“Absolutely, come on in for a second and I’ll show you my New Testament in it’s original language; Greek and we can break out my lexicon if we run into any trouble”

As me moved inside I brought out my books and sat down in the living room. While the boy played cautiously with the cat we looked at words ego eimi (if I could figure out how to turn the Greek font on, believe me I would) that Jesus uses throughout John’s gospel. I let her use her translation that butchers the opening of John’s gospel as she just wouldn’t put it down and I used my New King James Version for our impromptu study.

I briefly walked her through the I Am (ego eimi) statements and explained that the reason the crowds are picking up stones to kill Jesus is that they understood that he was making the claim that He was the same God that revealed Himself in the Old Testament. When I was done, she was smiling but barely.

I told her that I could see she was struggling with this and challenged her to show me where the crowds picked up stoned to kill Him when He said He was a son of God. She couldn’t find any passages in her Bible and told me that she really had to be going. She did say that she was very interested in learning more about these Greek words ego eimi and she would look them up in her encyclopedia at home. Heh.

Before she left I told her that I’d be happy to talk to her some more and would be happy to teach all about the I Am statements. For some reason or another, she didn’t commit to any class taught by me. I then told her that when she got home she should get out a good translation that hasn’t screwed with the original text and read that forth gospel so that she may understand it a little better. Her only response was to thank me and she hoped I enjoyed the rest of my day.

So as quick as she and her son came, off they went down the street to the next house. At the end of the day I think I pulled out my books and notes too quickly. I should have taken it a little slower but since I believed that she thought that I was agreeing with her; I really didn’t feel I had any other choice. I just couldn’t let her go too far in the direction she was clearly taught without addressing the heresies of the Jehovah Witnesses’.

Oh well, maybe next month.

Starbucks Looking At LC-MS Initiatives?

While the LC-MS looks to Starbucks as the new gathering place of the hip faithful, have you ever wondered what it would look like if coffee shops looked more like what we have planned for youth ministers trying to be relevant and seeker sensitive? If so, watch the embedded video that I found over at Anthony Sacramone’s Strange Herring. His post was titled Starbucks as the Epitome of the Emerging Church. Or the Other Way Around. Yep, we can learn a lot from each other.

Why Are The Missing Generation Missing? Because We Lost Them.

The Reporter, the official newspaper of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has reported that the LCMS Youth Ministry folks have put together a group of young adults to help find what happened to what is being called "a missing generation". This “missing generation” are those classified as young adults in their 20s and 30s that no longer go to church.

The seven members of the group, all within the targeted age category, will meet in a local St. Louis coffee shop in order to keep with the culture of the age group that the committee has been tasked to attract. The committee set out two main goals that they wish to achieve;
• "to enable congregations to build a culture where young adults are able to fully participate in the life of the church.
• "to enable young adults to become an integral part of the church community, living out their faith in a global context."
In addition, Jessica Bordeleau, coordinator of Lutheran Youth Fellowship and Young Adult Ministry with the youth-ministry office, and the committee's convener, said;

”the committee plans to launch a Web site as early as next year to provide listings of best practices in young-adult ministry, links to books, training events, and other helpful resources. She said the committee also is exploring ways to "promote service leadership opportunities for young adults."

Also from Bordeleau;

“This is a generation that is passionate about social justice and service to the community.”

Where to begin…

I’m still struggling to see why so many think that to become relevant the church must become more like the culture. Likewise, why is it that only youthful hipsters with soul patches and goatees can “win” over youth? When the hipsters do attract youth, and I do believe that they will for a time, are they really going to integrate them into a congregation? At what point will the event move from Starbucks to the congregation gathering around the preached Word and administered Sacraments? Do we look at any other age group and say they can only be reached by “peers?” No, we don’t and no we shouldn't.

How are the youth and young adults expected to step into roles of leadership if they don’t understand that the center of the Christian’s life is Christ and his gifts? How are these youth and young adults going see the merits of going to church by meeting in a Starbucks with a group that didn’t even mention Christ in its reported goal? Leadership without Christ can just as easily be found down at the local glee club or Masonic lodge. The lodge can just as easily offer the opportunity of “social justice and service to the community” so why bother with a church? At the end of the day what’s really the difference if Jesus is left out of your mission goals?

For all the complaining that kids leave the church, these folks seem to go out of their way to create a subgroup of youth apart from the community of all believers that is the congregation. Why would youth and young adults want to be part of a congregation when those who are leaders always set them apart as their own tribe? How are these youth to lead if they don’t understand that they are members of a congregation? If the problem of youth not feeling that they are part of a congregation is really that we ourselves have separated them into a separate group apart from the congregation then I would argue that it is and that I have the results of thirty years worth of the small group church growth seeker sensitive movement that can back me up.

St Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians chapter 4 encourages that church (and ours as well) to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Paul tells the congregation that they are one family gathered around one confession of one Lord. At no time does Paul say that small groups in the church at Ephesus need to meet apart from the gathering around that common confession.

Paul goes on to say that there will be “apostles, the prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”. These workers that are being raised up will always point to the congregation of saints gathered around the Word and not subgroups meeting in coffee shops.

Why speak of and highlight the congregation’s unity in faith? The apostle explains;
“so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

I believe that it is we adults who need to grow up and start treating our youth and young adults like they are actually part of our congregational families. It seems to me that the committee’s solution of changing cultures fails to recognize that it is because we treat youth ministry as something separate and apart from the congregation that the missing go missing.

Think I’m wrong? Just ask a teenager returning from a national youth gathering what he liked best. If he or she says that it’s the rock bands, the dramas and skits, or getting to throwing beach balls around during a worship service, you will see a glimpse of how far from congregational life we have led them. Sure it’s cool for them but when they return, do they want to go back to your worship service without the light show and praise bands? The answer of why the lost generation is lost is that the adults drove them there and gave them an incomprehensible map to help them find their way back.

It is true that we adults who need to change our culture but we do not need to look to the culture of the world for tips. Starbucks may be popular and hip with youngsters but it offers nothing but a caffeine fix which is not terribly helpful for dealing with sin, death, and the devil or church attendance for that matter. If you want a culture that deals with sin, death, and the devil, start looking and acting like a church and attendance problems will fix it self, no enabling required.

Read the whole article here.

What Does Air Hockey Have To Do With Church?

My polling place was in a medium sized mega church. Yep, the jokes can just write themselves at this point.

As I was in line it was everything I could do to keep my mouth shut about a host of issues such as the coffee shop in the front of the building as well as the indoor playground that rivaled any public school’s outdoor setup.

As the line snaked through the worship space where this congregation spent Sunday mornings, we eventually got to walk past the air hockey tables set up at the back of the room, right next to a whole series of bar stools and coffee tables. As the line was moving slowly we had plenty of time in an area that looked like a youth recreation center. The women in front of me looked a bit puzzled and finally raised the question when she asked; “What’s that got to do with church? Why do they have air hockey tables in their sanctuary?”

My response was short and sweet; air hockey has nothing to do with church, nothing. I followed that up with a snarky comment that they must be looking at one of those new fangled translations of the Bible that say church should look like the culture it’s trying to reach, specifically loose translations of Matthew 29.

The women in front of me just nodded in agreement.

I wonder if air hockey tables were placed there by republican operatives trying to sway the air hockey moms to vote for Palin? Just a thought...

How Do You Grow Your Church? Part Deux

How Do You Grow Your Church?

So, how do you grow your church? Looking around I see a couple of different ideas:

1. Preach God’s Word purely (it’s all about Jesus and Him crucified folks) and administer the Sacraments rightly. Baptize babies and catechize all people in sound Christian doctrine.

2. Open up a day care center and tell the parents that they will get a discount if they join your congregation. If members of your mother congregation apply for a job; tell them that it would probably turn out better if they transferred membership. Don’t worry, that mother congregation, they have plenty of members to spare.

3. Call your mother congregation’s members and just ask them outright to transfer to your exciting and dynamic congregation. Be sure to email the member’s pastor after they agree to give it a shot. Remember, if he objects; you need to say that you didn’t think he would mind… after all, they still have plenty (too many) of members to spare.

All three scenarios are in play in my little corner of the haut south.

My congregation, that uptight mother church that thinks it’s important to make sure her sheep are fed above all else without Madison Avenue programs has always went with the first of the above options. With two of our three daughter congregations are choosing the remaining options, is it any wonder why I have a problem with the Ablaze! program and it’s emphasis on counting?

We reap what we sow and we are reaping big time ‘roud here.

Ablaze! Ambassador Quote Of The Day

Today’s Ablaze! ambassador quote of the day comes from Dr. Richard Bimler, past president of Wheat Ridge Ministries and a member of the Ablaze! Ambassadors Planning Team:

"A few weeks ago, I was at one of my Starbucks 'offices' (I call it St. Arbucks)," he related via e-mail. "As I ordered my usual 'tall of the day,' a man saw the Ablaze! shirt I was wearing and also noticed my 'AH-HA' button. He simply asked, 'Why are you so excited so early in the morning?'

"I quickly explained that Ablaze! is a movement that enables people to share their faith in the Lord and that my 'AH-HA' button was one of the ways I share my faith through Lutheran Life Communities as the AH-HA person -- the Ambassador of Health, Hope and Aging!"

I just wish somebody would enable me to share my faith. Why can't I go to a cool new mission field like St. Arbucks? Is that even possible to do this without an initiative, program, or movement?

The LCMS Mauve El Camino

It took me a while to find; but I did it! The successor to the LCMS Studebaker was the LCMS El Camino. Already by 1979 you see the road that LCMS, Inc. is headed down; a mauve gimmick to reach the unchurched.

Originally, I wasn’t going to put this embarrassing outreach tool up. However, with both Preacherboy and The Rebellious Pastor’s Wife complaining that the LCMS Studebaker looked a little too much like their grandfathers outreach car and with Elephant’s Child yelling that there must be more mauve; I felt I had no choice but to put this not so proud moment in Madison Avenue marketing picture in a post.

What’s oddly missing is the LCMS cross that does not. I couldn’t find any evangelism tools with a cross of any sort out there at all. Isn’t that weird? Does anybody know when the current design was approved by a synodical convocation or convention?

Church Hosts Drive-through Prayer Ministry

From the Reporter, the official newpaper of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod:

Church hosts drive-through prayer ministry

By Joe Lawlor

MT. MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (RNS) -- Hold the pickles, mustard, ketchup, tomatoes, buns, burgers and french fries.

The only item on the menu in the Cathedral of Faith Church of God in Christ parking lot is prayers.

On Saturday, July 26, the church held its second drive-through prayer service, and dozens of people lined up for a few minutes of soul-searching. Volunteers held up signs that said, "Pull over for Prayer!"

Customers didn't even have to get out of their cars. Those who pulled in filled out a form saying what they wanted to pray about and drove over to the other side of the church. Patrons rolled down their windows, and the Rev. Chris Martin or another minister held their hands and prayed while the cars idled.

Gail Liddell of Flint said she saw the signs and made a snap decision to pull in and pray for her 21-year-old daughter.

"She's in boot camp in the (U.S.) Army. She's stationed in South Carolina, where it's, like, 100 degrees," Liddell said. "She fainted three times from heat exhaustion, but this is something she really wanted to do."

Sharon Hill of Flint said someone approached her as she was leaving a grocery store, and she decided to stop at the church.

"My [31-year-old] brother had a heart attack, and he just got out of the hospital," Hill said, adding that she's been lax about going to church and she wants to start attending again.

Martin said jobs, personal finances, and health were the most frequent topics people asked to pray about.

"Taking the church to the people, to the streets, is what this is all about," Martin said. "Praying inside the church and having services is nice, but the real problems are out here."

Joe Lawlor is a correspondent for Religion News Service.

Posted Aug. 14, 2008

"Taking the church to the people, to the streets, is what this is all about," Martin said. "Praying inside the church and having services is nice, but the real problems are out here."

Wow!

Isn’t that like a doctor saying that treating health problems in a hospital is “nice”, but we need to address terminal cancer at the bus terminals and homes where people live? A doctor would be guilty of malpractice if he didn’t tell his patient where to go to get well.

So, what does it say about the LCMS when it’s official newspaper is holding up as laudatory a congregation that publicly states that Christ’s gifts are nice but they don’t really address everyday concerns? Does this mean that your grandfather’s synod now believes that faith can come without the external Word, through their own preparations and works contrary to Scripture?

Again, wow.