Necessary Roughness

Josh S, perhaps one of the first Lutheran bloggers ever, has written a great post that distinguishes Lutheranism from the religion of the megachurch.

Here’s how he wraps up:

You’ll never understand the Lutheran Church just by looking at it as “liturgical” (by the way, our liturgy beats anything Marty Haugen ever dreamed up) or at its tendency for smaller, more intimate congregations. Even those things are outgrowths of its sacramental character. And sure, you’ll find Lutheran churches that have pretty much lost any sense of what it means to be Lutheran. You’ll find the same flawed, annoying people. You’ll find groupthink and power politics. But those things aren’t what make the Lutheran Church what it is. Those things fade into the background when you see Jesus’ sacramental activity and presence in and underneath it all. A faithless pastor might be a puppet of Satan–but that’s all he is. A puppet. The sacraments he serves are still Christ’s, the Lord’s words, “Your sins are forgiven” and “This is my body” remain true, and so his word and presence in the Gospel, baptism and the Supper remain larger and greater than any surface problem the Church could ever have.

To be Lutheran is to believe what God has done for us, to identify what God has said and what he has not said, and to trust in his clearly identified promises and gifts.