April 16th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I’ve been receiving disturbing news in the past couple of weeks regarding the mission that is officially “conceived” here. The missionary pastor has taken a different approach than what was expected of the Ohio District agency that was funding him. I’ve been told the agency itself is running out of money and will close soon, having attempted several church starts and not being very successful.
The meetings that I’ve been attending have all started with getting groups together for Bible study first and then slowly growing into a church that worships together. I must confess, this seems backwards to me.
Are we so afraid of Law and Gospel, of hymnody, of liturgy, of living the faith of the church in the first couple of centuries that we have to employ some sort of sneak attack Bible study, fearing people will run away if they hear liturgy? As if worship wasn’t Bible study! As if the liturgy contained no scripture!
Each Sunday worship has readings from the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Pauline Epistles, with a 15-20 minute sermon focusing on one of these things, usually. Everything done in Bible study can be done in Divine Service. Not everything in Divine Service can be done in Bible study.
I implore the professionals, please, trust God’s instituted Word and Sacraments. Gather three or more in his name for worship, and build from there. Bread, wine, and hymnals are still cheap. Don’t sweat the self-imposed limitations.
I like Ramona Porter’s comment:
I’ve heard it said, “Lutherans have the ’steak’ of theology, while Protestant evangelicals only have ‘hamburger’ — the problem is, Protestant evangelicals are having a cook-out and inviting everyone while Lutherans keep their ’steak’ to themselves.”
When we seek to evangelize without worship, we are leaving the steak in the freezer.
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April 16th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Hey Dan,
This seems oddly close to some of the topics that I’m trying to address in my rough draft for the next “Missional” thing on my blog - deconstruction and reconstruction.
The crazy thing is that what I’m finding in my research is that this (at least from what I hear) is absolutely the wrong way of going about addressing people living in postmodernity. They’re trying to “deconstruct” the wrong stuff.
I would like to hear more about what is going on in your district. Where can I go to find out or can you post more?
jW
April 17th, 2007 at 9:51 am
It’s because we don’t want to appear “to religious” in the eyes of the communities in which we are trying to start a congregation.
As far as the Hamburger and Steak argument…
Which is better, the full grade-A beef steak or a ground up mass of the butcher’s leftovers?
Just because people are showing up for the party, doesn’t mean they are going to take anything meaningful away from it.
The danger here is in thinking that bringing people to worship is something we do. When in reality it is strictly something the Holy Spirit does.
If we hold fast to proper doctrine and teachings, Holy Spirit driven, (as Lutherans are wont to do…) the Holy Spirit will bring true believers to that worship.
If we hold fast to politically correct contemporary doctrine and teachings, human driven, (as many American Evangelicals are wont to do…) we’re not going to get the people the Holy Spirit is directing toward proper doctrine and teaching, are we?
April 17th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
“Since When Did Divine Service Need an Appetizer?”
It doesn’t.
“Are we so afraid of Law and Gospel, of hymnody, of liturgy, of living the faith of the church in the first couple of centuries that we have to employ some sort of sneak attack Bible study, fearing people will run away if they hear liturgy?”
Yes.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
The church I grew up in started as a Sunday School mission to reach military families. It quickly grew and was incorporated as congregation within 5 years. I really do not see a problem with a mission starting as a Bible Study and growing from there, remember the Word is one of the three Means of Grace. I can not speak for others but in my case it is not so much fear of scaring people with the liturgy as it is great way to share the Gospel. Don’t forget Philip shared the Gospel in an impromptu bible study. I would also think that because bible studies tend to be a place which foster relationships they can be a great tool for reaching a generation that tends to value relationships very highly. The thing we must remember is bring in the sheep isn’t the only goal of the church, we are also called to feed and help them grow.
April 18th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Dr. Luther from Lutherama wrote:
The thing we must remember is bring in the sheep isn’t the only goal of the church, we are also called to feed and help them grow.
I would argue the main purpose of the congregation isn’t to bring in the sheep, that is done through spreading the Word throughout the week. The main purpose of the congregation is to feed those sheep and help them grow, and that should be done with a sound liturgy (though a basic one, I have no problem with….confession and absolution, reading of God’s Word, preaching of God’s Word, Lord’s Prayer, and Creed) and through the SACRAMENTS.
Communion may be one of the means of grace, but I never heard that it was okay to “utilize” only one and to not be concerned about the others. If God gave us three Means of Grace, then it is because we need three Means of Grace. People who come in to learn will also be fed and led to faith through what is done in a very basic liturgical service. Worship is not something we grow into (remember, God is feeding US there, in the service), (I like the analogy of an appetizer), it is the very activity of the body of believers.
There are many things that can be done to foster relationships. Bible study is definitely a very important one. But we are the body of Christ, and when we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ the unity that we have together is no more real than there. Luther says when we celebrate Holy Communion, not only are we one with Christ, but we are one with the people we are communing with. Their joys become our joys, their griefs also are ours. A confessional congregation should be unified around the Table. That is true community. If their identity is built around small groups, etc. then the struggle to give the sacraments and the liturgy their proper place may always be a struggle.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
jWinters wrote:
The crazy thing is that what I’m finding in my research is that this (at least from what I hear) is absolutely the wrong way of going about addressing people living in postmodernity. They’re trying to “deconstruct” the wrong stuff.
actually…post-postmodernity.
I completely agree with j. Lisa Takeuchi Cullen wrote a book on baby boomers and funeral rites…how the generation that redefined everything else according to individual meaning is now redefining their own funeral practices. When I had a chance to talk with her, I told her that while the baby boomers may be dissecting rituals and replacing them with things that give them personal meaning, they also are destroying things that have had meaning for generations, and they are not replacing them with anything that holds meaning for future generations. You see Gen X’ers (I hate these generation terms) floundering and searching for tradition and meaning, but in a way that is kind of lost, because they hardly know what is gone. I think liturgical churches have something priceless to offer, yet we treat it like it is old and tarnished. Last I heard, the Orthodox church is one of the fastest growing Christian churches. Surely, Lutheran theology has a much more solid base and our traditions are even more full of meaning.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Rebellious: “Last I heard, the Orthodox church is one of the fastest growing Christian churches. Surely, Lutheran theology has a much more solid base and our traditions are even more full of meaning.”
I assume you mean Easthern Orthodox? As opposed to general orthodox, which includes Lutherans who hold fast to their historical doctrine, liturgy and traditions?
But, yes, the truly orthodox congregations are growing. Even Lutheran ones.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
“Sneak attack bible study”. That just about sums it up. Willow Creek, et al, teach that you have to get “them” through the door first. That means nothing strong doctrinally and nothing that may be puzzling for the uneducated. It also means starting with community instead of starting with the means of grace. Last I heard, faith came from hearing, and hearing from the word of God, not from liking the people who went to my next likely place of attendance.
The synod in general fails on this. The me-too-ism factor, on a scale of 1-10, is up to 11.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:53 am
I think I gave the false impression of elevating one Means of Grace over another or excluding the others. That is not the case, I was addressing a perceived lowering of the value of the Word.
I would completely disagree with you, Rebellious, in that it is part of the calling of a congregation to seek the lost. I do agree that it should also be done throughout the week. In fact, I would rejoice if more people would engage in such work. At the same time not everything can be done on strictly on an individual level. I think I should clarify when I speak of congregation, I do not merely mean Sunday Morning Worship. I would also add that worship properly done is going to reach the lost and feed the sheep.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
I do believe that it is part of the calling of the congregation to seek the lost, be merciful to the suffering, to comfort the grieving. But this is not the church worshipping, it results from receiving Christ’s forgiveness and being strengthened and sanctified through the Means of Grace.
The Lutheran understanding of worship is believers gathering together to be fed by God through the Means of Grace. This is a gathering together of believers under a pastor, and there should be a worship service, not simply a Bible Study gathering. Have a Bible study and invite people…wonderful! Reach out to the lost. Absolutely. But the worship service is intended for the feeding and strengthening of the believer through God’s Word and His Sacraments, and that is what Dan is saying is missing, if I’m reading that right. The believers are fed by God, and then they (as a congregation or individually) can reach out to others.
However, the real focus that I perceived is that when the church gathers together, it is not having a church service. The liturgy is not being used, the eucharist is not being celebrated, it sounds much more like a casual gathering. This is more appropriate for some other time than at the established time for believers to worship - be it before the service, after the service, or sometime during the week.
You mentioned Phillip, and that is an ideal way that you would hope to be able to witness, but that is not a worship service. It was Phillip coming across a man pondering Scripture. Good Bible study, not a gathering of believers for worship. It is quite possible that after that discussion, Phillip and the eunoch worshipped together, and I am sure the eunoch returned home to Ethiopia or wherever his duties were taking him to find a body of believers to worship with and to learn.
I do think that it is wrong to establish a mission congregation, and to not “bother” with a worship service until there are more of you. I believe that even if there are 2 or 3 gathered, a worship service with the liturgy and communion can and should be celebrated, if the believers gathered there have been properly catechized and confess their faith (and I’ve been in a congregation when there were only two or three. It is a beautifully intimate experience, not a waste of time, as some would think). Everything else, Bible studies, potlucks, bowling leagues, neighborhood canvassing, works of mercy, etc. should eminate from that central point - the gathering of the believers around the Means of Grace.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
RPW: “But the worship service is intended for the feeding and strengthening of the believer through God’s Word and His Sacraments, and that is what Dan is saying is missing, if I’m reading that right.”
That’s correct, for the record.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Rebelllious Pastor’s Wife Says: “The Lutheran understanding of worship is believers gathering together to be fed by God through the Means of Grace.”
Well said. “Believers gathered together”… how often we forget this critical little detail.
April 24th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
I just thought I’d let y’all know I have decided to take up this topic at my place.