FW: Two watches... no right time...

 

Consider…   Feed: Pastoral Meanderings Posted on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 5:00 AM Author: noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Peters) Subject: Two watches... no right time...   A person with one watch knows what time it is; one with two watches is never quite sure. So says an old saying that addresses the same issue of Scripture when Jesus says no man can serve two masters.  This is the problem with the kind of diversity in which we present two (or more) different faces.  We are never sure which face is the real one.  It reminds me of my Grandma telling me that if you tell the truth you don't have to remember how you spun the lie when you have to say it again. Quite apart from anything else, Lutherans faces the problem of several watches and therefore no sure time.  For our early history and for much of the time following, who we are was shaped by our Confessions.  Our practice flowed from those Confessions.  We wore one watch.  Oh, to be sure, there were folks who deviated from our Confessions and those whose practices conflicted with those Confessions.  There will always be.  But the difference was that those who deviated in confession and practice were both seen and identified as exceptions, challenges, and even errors.  They were not the showing the correct time of Lutheranism (to extend the metaphor).  Now, the whole culture of diversity has said that Lutheranism wears many watches and we are have our own time.  It may be close but the preciseness of the time is less important than the fact that we all have our own watches.  In other words, Lutheranism has many faces, many definitions, and none of them is necessarily wrong or not authentic.  Lutheranism can exist in the form of a seeker service with contemporary music pumped out by a praise band and Lutheranism can exist in the form of the sung Divine Service and pipe organ and chanting and incense.  In this sense, Lutheranism is more of an idea than an entity. The problem with this is that when we wear many watches we don't really know what time it is.  When Lutheranism wears many faces, no one knows what Lutheranism looks like.  When we embrace many confessions and practices we have no set confession or practice.  We don't know who we are among ourselves as a Lutheran family and so we don't know how to present Lutheranism to the world.  Nearly all of us know how untenable this is so we fight internally over contemporary vs traditional, maintenance vs mission, progressive vs repristination, modern vs ancient, etc...  What the world sees is a Lutheranism wherein even the Lutherans are not sure who they are.  Who wants to join such a church? I am tired of the worship wars and the debates between inward focus or outreach.  We fight the same straw men over and over again and no one wins.  It seems to me we are arguing about something we say is already settled by our Confessions.  It seems to me that the only authentic face of Lutheranism is the one that still confesses what we have always confessed and the one that looks like those Confessions on Sunday morning.  If we want to be something other than this kind of Lutheranism, then we need to either ditch our Confessions or join a church body whose faith and practice corresponds to what we think and want to do.  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone to leave Lutheranism.  I would much rather that all Lutherans simply decided to be who we say we are in our Confessions and to make our liturgical, mission, and parish practice conform to those Confessions. If you wear two watches, you never know which one tells the right time.  If Lutherans confess many confessions and wear many faces before the world and tolerate many practices on Sunday morning, we are like the man with many watches but who cannot answer what time it is.  The world pays attention to those who know what time it is -- they may reject them but the world has little respect for those who have no confidence in their convictions.  Think how we show our disdain for politicians who have no firm positions.  Again, my plea is not for anyone to leave but for us all to look at what we have said we believe and how this Confession is lived out in practice and to be what we are.  Period. View article...

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FW: The Liturgy: A Two-way Street Based on Christ

 

Cwirla…   Feed: Stand Firm Posted on: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 9:21 AM Author: Scott Diekmann Subject: The Liturgy: A Two-way Street Based on Christ   Quoting from Pastor Bill Cwirla's article "The Law and the Gospel in the Liturgy": The Liturgy runs in both a "sacramental" and a "sacrificial" direction. God justifies man sacramentally, and justified man serves God sacrificially. God speaks his Word and as his Word has its mortifying and vivifying way with us, we speak to God and to one another. God opens our lips, and our mouths declare his praise (Ps 51:15). Jesus Christ always remains the center and focus in the liturgy, whether we are speaking sacramentally or sacrificially. Through Jesus Christ, the Father bestows forgiveness, life, and salvation by the Holy Spirit who works through the Word. And through the same Jesus Christ, the church renders her thanks and praise sacrificially to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In both directions, Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). Where sacrament and sacrifice are confused, there will be a corresponding confusion of the Law and the Gospel. Worship that is focused on our prayer, praise, good works, love, caring, outreach, mission, stewardship, and sanctification instead of on Christ's saving death and resurrection, is focused on the Law and not the Gospel. Sacrifice without sacrament is Law without Gospel. To worship God according to the Law is idolatry, even if the God whom we are worshiping is the one, true God. This distinction of sacrament and sacrifice provides a Christocentric litmus test for worship. If what is said, sung, or preached in the liturgy could be said, sung, or preached had Jesus Christ never died on the cross and rose from the dead for the salvation of the world, then that worship is not uniquely Christian. The sacrificial death of Jesus for the life of the world is the essential, core of the Liturgy. "For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26). View article...

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FW: Eric Wyse: A Theology of Music in Worship

 

Food for thought…   Feed: internetmonk.com Posted on: Monday, October 08, 2012 10:01 PM Author: Chaplain Mike Subject: Eric Wyse: A Theology of Music in Worship   Note from CM: In days to come, I will be introducing and interviewing Eric Wyse, the author of this post. Eric is my brother-in-law, an extremely gifted musician, and currently Director of Music at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN. More about his journey on the Canterbury Trail later; for today he has contributed a thoughtful foundational document that guides him and his congregation as they sing and play music to the Lord in worship. He has also kindly included some statements about worship from the Book of Common Prayer and a list of books for more study on the subject. Eric blogs at HYMNWYSE, and you can find links to his other sites there as well. Like the statement from the USCCB we looked at last week, I commend this to you as an example of the good theological and musicological thinking that the church is capable of doing and should be doing with regard to music. * * * A THEOLOGY OF MUSIC IN WORSHIP The vision for music in worship at St. Bartholomew's is one of worship of the Triune God with all our beings, with all of our emotions, and with all of our intellect–hence we worship joyfully and exuberantly, as well as meditatively and reverently. In accordance with the canons of the church, the rector serves as the worship leader for the parish; the music director assists the rector in matters of music. Our focus begins with who God is: in songs of adoration and praise we worship Him and proclaim His goodness, greatness, love, mercy, holiness and all of His attributes, asking nothing in return but to enjoy His presence. We then move to expressions of thanksgivingfor what He has done for us–in all that he has given to us. Songs of penitence remind us of our sins, our need for forgiveness, and resolve to live rightly. With songs of oblation, we offer both our resources and our lives to God for His service. With songs of prayer, we ask for what we desire and need, when we bring to God our and intercessions and petitions, on behalf of others, and for ourselves. As we worship, our primary purpose, starting point, ending point and overall "umbrella" is an acknowledgement of who God is, and our response His call. This is a very God focused, rather than me-focused expression. At St. Bartholomew's, our musical offering is a reflection of who we are as believers living in a post-modern world, connected to the ancient historic faith. We draw from various styles and periods of music, including classic hymns, chant, and anthems, as well as fresh new expressions of music from around the world – praise songs, Taizé music from France, music of renewal from the Roman church, and Celtic music. We sing music that is hundreds of years old, because in addition to the truth it contains, it reminds us we are a part of the historic church, and we sing today the same music the saints of old sang, and in that way are joined as one church universal. We sing modern music, because he has put a new song in our hearts. We draw from the wealth of resources from our varied traditions. We sing in other modern languages (Spanish) to remind us that we are part of a global church, and we sing in Latin, which was the language of the church for most of church history. When we sing in Spanish, we connect to the believers in our church body who worship with us, singing in their first language. When we sing in Latin we connect with the historic language of the church–a language that is still sung every Sunday around the world. When we sing the service music we join our voices "with angels and archangels and all the host of heaven" (i.e. the cloud of witnesses). The architecture of our buildings, while modern, is rooted in history. Our sacred space includes stained glass depicting the story of redemption and the history of the church, and is constructed of materials from creation (wood, stone, brick. fabric), The church building faces east, and is shaped to represent Noah's Ark as a reminder of the covenant. Just as our building are designed to be different in style than other buildings in our daily life, our musical expression will intentionally sound different than the music we hear during the week. Our expression, as believers directly connected to our creator, should be unique–not foreign from our culture, but set apart, as our sacred space is, for worship. Our goal as a church is to have one integrated service plan that is repeated as needed (currently two ninety-minute Sunday morning times) that incorporates historic, modern, and global music. Rather than offering a "smorgasbord" of sound (take your pick of what you like–a traditional service of hymns and anthems, or a contemporary service of modern praise and worship), or a blended "soup" (everything is a blend of somewhat classical, somewhat pop, somewhat Broadway middle-of-the-road offend-no-one music), in the context of convergence, we offer musical "stew"–an expression of various styles, all working within a context of taste appropriate for Sunday worship, each with its distinctive flavor, yet a part of the whole in one cohesive "dish". In very practical terms, rather than having a distinct division of classic hymns and anthems(organ, choir) and praise band (rhythm section of piano, bass, drums, guitar) we find ways to create a modern "chamber music" approach of find the right combination of instruments to best support a given piece of music. In practical terms, this will usually be a combination of grand piano, acoustic guitar, percussion, bass, and one additional instrument (usually orchestral). The configuration varies from week to week depending upon the availability of musicians and the music chosen. Our music will be primarily congregational, as we hear from God and are best transformed into his likeness, within the context of community. Because we view the human voice as the primary instrument through which we offer praise, we sing some music unaccompanied (a cappella) each week. As we lift our voices alone, we are certain to hear the voices around us, (not just the instruments offering accompaniment), and are reminded that we live and worship in a community of joined voices and lives. On occasion, a soloist, or choir will offer music as an offering. During this time, we will engage in active listening as God speaks to us. At times, we will be silent and hear the Spirit speaking to the church. The music in our worship will be Christo-centric — in every service we will use music to help retell the story of God's saving acts throughout history — from creation, the exodus, and other events in Hebrew history, to the incarnation, death, resurrection and reign of Christ and the coming of His Kingdom. Our selection of music is sure to include a balance of songs about, to and in praise of the Father, Son, and Spirit, as well as combined Trinitarian language. At least one Trinitarian doxological expressions is usually chosen. We are careful to include songs that speak to both God's transcendence and imminence. In his transcendence, He exists apart from us, and is not encumbered by our physical, or human limitations; he exists in majesty, beauty and power above and beyond all that we understand. In his immanence, he has purposely chosen to intersect our universe, and through the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He participates within this material world, and knows our every joy, sorrow, pain and weaknesses. The music we sing is evaluated to achieve a balance of texts that remind us of God's revelation toward us, and our response to God's call upon our lives, as evidenced both in personal transformation into the image and likeness of Christ, and a call to work for justice and peace in our society. We also strive to maintain a balance of expressive, instructive, aesthetic, and memorial dimensions in the texts chosen. Living in community, the gifts of musical composition within our parish will be encouraged, and used so that our expression through music is uniquely ours as we offer new music (hymns, modern songs, service music, chants, Psalm settings, anthems, etc.). The musicality of our composers will help determine the palette from which we illustrate our expression of praise to God. Thus many of the praise songs, anthems, and new settings of hymns, as well as the majority of our service music, have been composed by members of our parish. –Eric Wyse, Director of Music (© 2001, revised 2008, 2011) * * * From The Book of Common Prayer (1979) Prayer and Worship Q What is prayer? A Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words. Q What is Christian Prayer? A Christian prayer is response of God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Q What prayer did Christ teach us? A Our Lord gave us the example of prayer knows as the Lord's Prayer.) Q What are the principle kinds of prayer? A The principle kinds of prayer are adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, and petition. Q What is adoration? A Adoration is the lifting up of the heart and mind to God, asking nothing but to enjoy God's presence. Q Why do we praise God? A We praise God, not to obtain anything, but because God's Being draws praise from us. Q For what do we offer thanksgiving? A Thanksgiving is offered to God for all the blessings of this life, for our redemption, and for whatever draws us closer to God. Q What is penitence? A In penitence, we confess our sins and make restitution where possible, with the intention to amend our lives. Q What is prayer of oblation? A Oblation is an offering of ourselves, our lives and labors, in union with Christ, for the purposes of God. Q What are intercession and petition? A Intercession brings before God the needs of others; in petition, we present our own needs, that God's will may be done. Q What is corporate worship? A In corporate worship, we unite ourselves with others to acknowledge the holiness of God, to hear God's Word, to offer prayer, and to celebrate the sacraments.   __________________ Suggested Reading Cherry, Constance M. The worship architect: a blueprint for designing culturally relevant and biblically faithful services. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010. Gustafson, Gerrit. The adventure of worship: discovering your highest calling. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Chosen Books, 2006. Rienstra, Debra, and Ron Rienstra. Worship words: discipling language for faithful ministry. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2009. Scheer, Greg. The art of worship: a musician's guide to leading modern worship. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2006. Webber, Robert. The Biblical foundations of Christian worship. Nashville, Tenn.: Star Song Pub. Group, 1993. Wren, Brian A. Praying twice: the music and words of congregational song. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000. 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FW: Fr. Ernesto on Music in Orthodox Worship

 

Interesting…   Feed: internetmonk.com Posted on: Monday, October 08, 2012 10:01 AM Author: Chaplain Mike Subject: Fr. Ernesto on Music in Orthodox Worship   Note from CM: Fr. Ernesto Obregon has been one of IM's "liturgical gangstas" for a long time. He practices his faith in the Antiochan Orthodox tradition. We turn to him when we want insight into the theology and life of the Orthodox church. He blogs at OrthoCuban. * * * Orthodox worship involves the whole body and all its senses. One quote from an Orthodox website says, "Orthodox Church art and music has a very functional role in the liturgical life and helps even the bodily senses to feel the spiritual grandeur of the Lord's mysteries." In many Orthodox worship settings throughout the world, there are literally almost no spoken words. All words are chanted (sung). In fact, chanting styles have developed to try to guarantee that what is said is understood. This is because in an Orthodox worship, the words that are being chanted are of supreme importance. There are different chanting styles, but they all have as a goal the making the words of the chant to be fully understandable. In fact, the words of an Orthodox worship have not varied in centuries, though sometimes certain words have been omitted. (Note: the translation of the words has obviously varied, but not the general words themselves.) But, you need to understand that at its heart, the Orthodox see their music as connecting them to the music that is being sung by the angels and the elders at the foot of the throne of God (Rev. 4:8-11, Isa. 6:1-4, Eze. 3:12). Exodus 25 claims that the worship of Israel followed a heavenly pattern. The Book of Hebrews confirms that and further alludes to Christian worship also following that same heavenly pattern. "We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat." Music is not an option for the Orthodox or frosting on the cake. It is something which ought to be a part of every believer's life. Saint Ignatius of Antioch wrote, "You must every one of you join in a choir so that being harmonious and in concord and taking the keynote of God in unison, you may sing with one voice through Jesus Christ to the Father, so that He may hear you and through your good deeds recognize that you are parts of His Son." When we chant, we chant Truth. When we sing, we join with the angels in heaven and the elders before the throne and the multitude from every tribe, nation, people, and language. When we chant, we pray to God. When we sing, we express our oneness and our fellowship is with God the Father through Jesus Christ so that He may hear us. When we chant we join ourselves to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, to the New Testament apostles, to the historic saints and martyrs of the Church, to both the Church Triumphant and the Church Militant. When we sing we join our Earthly experience to the heavenly realities. View article...

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FW: The Top 25 God Songs

 

LHP QBR has only recommended one of the following…   Feed: Pastoral Meanderings Posted on: Sunday, October 07, 2012 5:00 AM Author: noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Peters) Subject: The Top 25 God Songs   What's on YOUR Ipod?  If you are evangelical, chances are what you listen to in the ear buds or from your local Christian radio station or what you hear at church include a healthy smattering of the CCLI top 25. I know that my folks never encounter this in church on Sunday morning but I also know a healthy segment of the faithful Lutherans in the pews have this kind of music running through their eyes the rest of the time.  Perhaps it is no different where you live. October 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012). Report Period 1011 - United States Rank Song Title Author/s CCLI# 1 How Great Is Our God Tomlin, Chris\Reeves, Jesse\Cash, Ed 4348399 2 Mighty To Save Fielding, Ben\Morgan, Reuben 4591782 3 Our God Redman, Matt\Tomlin, Chris\Myrin, Jonas\Reeves, Jesse 5677416 4 Blessed Be Your Name Redman, Beth\Redman, Matt 3798438 5 Here I Am To Worship Hughes, Tim 3266032 6 Revelation Song Riddle, Jennie Lee 4447960 7 Everlasting God Brown, Brenton\Riley, Ken 4556538 8 Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) Tomlin, Chris\Giglio, Louie\Newton, John 4768151 9 Jesus Messiah Tomlin, Chris\Carson, Daniel\Reeves, Jesse\Cash, Ed 5183443 10 In Christ Alone Townend, Stuart\Getty, Keith 3350395 11 Your Grace Is Enough Maher, Matt 4477026 12 Forever Tomlin, Chris 3148428 13 Open The Eyes Of My Heart Baloche, Paul 2298355 14 Forever Reign Morgan, Reuben\Ingram, Jason 5639997 15 How He Loves McMillan, John Mark 5032549 16 You Are My King (Amazing Love) Foote, Billy 2456623 17 Holy Is The Lord Tomlin, Chris\Giglio, Louie 4158039 18 From The Inside Out Houston, Joel 4705176 19 Hosanna (Praise Is Rising) Baloche, Paul\Brown, Brenton 4662491 20 Shout To The Lord Zschech, Darlene 1406918 21 Come Now Is The Time To Worship Doerksen, Brian 2430948 22 The Stand Houston, Joel 4705248 23 Hosanna Fraser, Brooke 4785835 24 Lord I Lift Your Name On High Founds, Rick 117947 25 Glory To God Forever Fee, Steve\Beeching, Vicky 5384338 If you are like me, you probably only recognize a handful but that does not mean Lutherans, Roman Catholics and others are not using these either at home or in the car or at church.  In the Internet Monk discussion of the three new break out hits to make the list, a certain Miguel in the comments made this observation: Reasons these songs are popular: 1. They're simple. Their chords usually only change on downbeats, and you can teach it to your church band quickly. 2. They're written by celebrities. I've heard far better songs written by the unheard of. 3. They're recorded with top notch production. Trust me, if it was up to the way YOUR church sounded doing these songs on Sunday to make them sell, they'd be going nowhere fast. 4. They get exorbitant amounts of radio play on the three big Christian radio stations. People have been brainwashed into expecting to sing their radio pop favorites on Sunday morning. 5. The musicians are usually the other extreme from ugly. (My wife has a crush on Joel, not sure if it's the accent or the hair, but she got irate when I suggested one of his songs for Sunday). 6. They are marketed like nobodies business. The machine behind these releases could rig nearly ANY song up to the CCLI top 25, and IMO, these songs prove this. 7. They are demographically targeted at youth. See "the Merchants of Cool" documentary: Cut and paste from the MTV playbook. 8. But most importantly, they don't require deep thinking or doctrinal commitment/understanding to sing. I think his eight points are pretty fair.  Church music is big business.  Whether you are Hillsong or Hilldale (that is the church next door).  It is no longer a hand maiden to the Word.  It is a cash cow for the producers, an earthly measure of success for the musicians, and a feel good medicine for the listeners... That cannot be denied.  I am glad that people are listening to this instead of the vulgar stuff that glorifies all sorts of evil (secular music) but I am not sure that this music is all the friendly to the cause of the Gospel.  Music has become a personal expression of taste and less a medium of confession and truth.  The sound of it is much more important that what it says.  It is beat driven instead of Word driven (remove the percussion and you cut the heart out of this music). I do not think it is fair to write it all off and smugly open our hymnals as if this other stuff did not exist but neither do I believe that this Christian pop rock has a place in the liturgy.  We need new music, new hymns, new songs for Sunday morning -- this just ain't it!  And, sadly, the reality it that for too many (especially the younger end) this is the ONLY thing they hear....  View article...

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Received for Review

 

Kraft, Dave. Mistakes Leaders Make. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 121 Pages. Paper. $14.99. http://www.crossway.org/books/mistakes-leaders-make-tpb/ (LHP)

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FW: A Follow-up Question

 

Consider…   Feed: Steadfast Lutherans Posted on: Friday, October 05, 2012 12:31 PM Author: Todd Wilken Subject: A Follow-up Question   In advance of our observance of Reformation Day, Pr. Paul McCain has written an excellent blog post Does Being Lutheran Still Matter? The answer, of course, is Yes. But, I have a follow-up question. Pr. McCain quotes C.F.W. Walther on the nature of a true Lutheran's subscription to the Lutheran Confessions: We do believe that the teachings of the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Book of Concord of 1580, are in fact the pure, divine truth, because they agree with the written Word of God on all points. It is for this reason that the Lutheran church, and consequently our Synod, demands of all members, especially of our ministers, that they acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions without reservation and show their willingness to be obligated to them. My question is, "Does being Lutheran still mean this?" In other words, do Walther's theological descendants –the pastors of the LCMS– still believe that the Lutheran Confessions are the pure, divine truth, because they agree with the Bible on all points? Do they still acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions without reservation and show their willingness to be obligated to them? Being Lutheran still matters. But, are the pastors of the LCMS still Lutheran? SPACE View article...

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FW: Does Being Lutheran Still Matter?

 

Yes. Read on…   Feed: Cyberbrethren Lutheran Blog Feed Posted on: Friday, October 05, 2012 8:04 AM Author: Paul T. McCain Subject: Does Being Lutheran Still Matter?   We are fast approaching the Festival of the Reformation and each year when we do folks ask me for this article, so I thought I'd get ahead of the requests and post it today. Feel free to copy, use, share. Please do not change the contents (unless you notice a typo!). There seem to be three responses to the question, "Does being Lutheran still matter?" One is, "Are you kidding me? You better believe that it matters. Let me tell you why." Another response is a sort of "mental shrug" to the question, "Well, of course we want to be and remain Lutheran, that goes without saying, there's no real need to talk much about it though." And then, sadly, there is this response, "It doesn't matter. All that matters is being a Christian. We need to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us." As I watch and analyze events and trends in Christianity and Lutheranism, both in this country and around the world, I am increasingly convinced of two things: first, being and remaining genuinely Lutheran matters more then ever, and second, the reasons why this is true are unclear at best to many people, including many Lutherans. To be Lutheran is to be a person who says, "This is what God's Word, the Bible, teaches. This and nothing else is true and correct. The Lutheran understanding teaching and confession of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most accurate and most faithful to God's Word. Nothing more, and nothing less, will do, for this is the truth." In our day and age these sorts of bold assertions are often met with angry responses, such as, "How dare you insist that Lutheranism is actually the true teaching of God's Word. How can you think you have the truth? All that matters is if a person is sincere about their faith in God." We live in a time when truth is viewed as something relative, impossible to know for sure. The attitude common today is reflected when we hear things like this, "I have my truth. You have your truth. As long as we respect our differences, that is all that matters." It seems today that the most important "truth" for many people is their profound doubt that truth can be known, and the conviction that those who claim to know the truth are wrong. Before we go further we need to clear up a common misconception. While insisting on the truth of Lutheranism, we can never allow ourselves to do so in an arrogant, haughty or self-righteous manner. People who are passionate about the truth of Biblical Lutheranism know that the Bible teaches often and clearly that we are all sinful human beings in need of God's constant mercy, which He so lavishly gives in Christ. To be truly Lutheran is to receive the gifts of God with humility, repentantly recognizing our great need. It is tempting for Lutherans to be proud and arrogant of their great heritage, but this is a terrible evil! To be Lutheran is to be always mindful of our great sin and our great need for a Savior. To be a Lutheran is to be a sinner calling out to fellow sinners, "Come and see!" Furthermore, we would never want anyone to think that we Lutherans are saying, "We, and we alone, are the only ones who will be in heaven. In fact, you can't be a Christian unless you are a Lutheran." Not so! Not at all. We realize that the Word of God is powerful and active, wherever and whenever it is heard, read or meditated on. There are many Christians in other denominations and churches. They are not Christians because of the errors in their churches, but in spite of those errors. Let's then have none say, "You Lutherans think you alone are Christians." We have never said that, we have never believed it, and we never will. The reason we insist on Lutheranism for everyone who will listen is because we believe so passionately that it truly is the most correct and most accurate understanding of the Word of God.   Another point that confuses people is the fact that there are so many different churches to choose from. It is an awful mess, so it seems. Yes, it can be confusing, but it really is not as complicated as some would think, or want to maintain. Up until the year 1054 there was basically one unified Christian church, distinct from a number of non-Christian or anti-Christian heretical groups. In 1054 the church divided into Eastern and Western Christianity. By the time of the late Middle Ages, the Western Church, which had come to be known as the Roman Catholic Church, had reached a point of deep corruption, most importantly in what it believed, but also in the morals and life of the clergy and church leadership. In 1517 there began what we know today as the Reformation, when Martin Luther, a professor and monk in Wittenberg, Germany posted a series of "talking points" on the practice of selling "indulgences" by which people were led to believe they could buy forgiveness of sins, for their dead relatives in purgatory. A person has to decide if the Lutheran view of Christianity is correct, or the Roman Catholic view is correct.   After the Reformation, many groups developed from the teachings of persons other than Martin Luther, most notably, two men: Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, who did much of his work in Geneva. These two men and their writings gave rise to many churches that can be traced back to and grouped under the general category of "Reformed" churches. In America in the 19th and 20th century there arose many splinter groups from Reformed churches. These would include "Charismatic" and "Pentecostal" groups, along with groups that rejected all denominations and became, in effect, a denomination of their own, the so-called "non-denominational" churches. A decision must be made about which branch of the Reformation is correct.   But there is an additional challenge unique to our century and more so the past half-century. Today, despite all their denominational differences and historic confessions, the vast majority of Christian churches in Protestantism have been nearly overwhelmed by the rise of liberal Christianity. This unites them more so than any other feature of their confession of faith. Historic differences are no longer regarded as divisive since these divisions were based on one group's understanding of the Biblical text as opposed to another group's understanding of the Bible. For example, the difference between Lutheran and Reformed views of the Lord's Supper are very important and based on very serious and clear differences in how the words Jesus spoke at the Last Supper are understood. Liberalism however regards the words of Jesus in the Bible as unreliable. It teaches that we can not be sure that what is recorded in the Bible is true and accurate, therefore, there is no point in being "dogmatic" about much of anything having to do with the Bible. Modern liberalism has swept through all Christian denominations, Lutheran Reformed, Protestant and Roman Catholic.   This impacts our question, "Does being Lutheran matter?" for we have to realize that there are many churches in the world today that claim to be Lutheran but have been nearly entirely overcome by liberal views of the Bible. Therefore, they have compromised away the distinct doctrinal position of Lutheranism. They may still be fond of historic Lutheranism, but no longer insist that it, and it alone, is true and that other views of the Bible are in error. When we ask the question, "Does being Lutheran matter?" It is a question that must be asked first of those who still use the name Lutheran, but no longer insist on the exclusive truth claims of historic, genuine, authentic Lutheranism. Let's examine the world's largest Lutheran organization, the Lutheran World Federation.   Clear-headed analysis of what is happening in world Lutheranism reveals that the greatest threat to being and remaining genuinely Lutheran comes from groups that call themselves Lutheran! Let's think about the Lutheran World Federation, for instance. No organization in the world has done more in the past fifty years to deconstruct genuine Lutheranism than the Lutheran World Federation. It has tolerated, even encouraged, a loose and unfaithful understanding of the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, all the while ostensibly claiming a certain identity with them. The predecessor bodies that formed the Lutheran World Federation would not reject and throw out false teachers such as Rudolph Bultmann who worked to "demythologize" the New Testament, casting doubt on the words and deeds of Jesus. To this day the Lutheran World Federation pays mere lip service to the ancient Christian creeds, but tolerates in its midst churches whose pastors and theologians who doubt, and even brazenly deny, the most fundamental tenets of the Christian faith, casting doubt on the miracles of Jesus, His virgin birth, His bodily resurrection, and so forth! A number of LWF member churches have embraced the anti-Apostolic and anti-Scriptural practice of the ordination of women, abortion, and homosexuality. The LWF, despite its claim that it is Lutheran, can not even insist on faithfulness to the most basic of all the Lutheran confessions, Martin Luther's Small Catechism. The LWF, and most of its member churches, compromised and walked away from the Lutheran insistence on the Lord's Supper when it entered into all manners of "full communion" with Reformed churches that continue to this day to deny that the bread and wine in the Holy Communion are in fact the body and blood of Christ. The LWF leadership structure has embraced a compromise of the very heart of the Gospel itself with Rome, when it accepted the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" in which it allowed Rome to continue its formal anathema of the Biblical doctrine that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, apart from any works. In our own country, we have seen the devastating consequences of this compromising view of Lutheranism in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is in full communion fellowship with the most notoriously liberal of one of the most outrageously liberal protestant churches in the world, the United Church of Christ. The UCC does not even insist that its member pastors confess their believe in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity! And, most recently, we have witnessed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America scuttling even the most basic Biblical teaching concerning human sexuality, gender, family, and marriage, all in the name of love, understanding and progress, so-called. Lord, have mercy!   Within The Lutheran Church—Missouri Syunod there is the constant temptation to bury our collective head in the sand and hope, and pretend, these situations are not taking place or that somehow, perhaps by magic, they will just all go away or that we can ignore these realities and go on with business as usual. These pressures and theological trends also are at work in conservative Lutheran church bodies. And while it may be the case that the overt liberalism of mainline Protestantism appears to be less of a threat to more conservative Lutheran churches here in the USA. It has been correctly noted that conservative Lutherans tend to be tempted more toward generic Evangelical Protestantism, than the kind of liberalism we see in the mainline protestant denominations. We face the temptation to adopt the methods, forms and appearance of the "big box" non-denominationalism that has little regard or place for the Sacraments, that continually throws people back on to their emotional reactions with God as the certainty of faith, that would shift the focus of the Christian life away from a strong focus on the objective reality of Christ's saving work, and on to a life that is more about my feelings, and my "decisions" for Christ. Doctrine is downplayed and revivalism and emotionalism become the most prominent parts of church life. A clear confession that God has instituted and ordained an office of the ministry is watered down, in favor of a form of American democracy at work in the Church's ministry. These are very real and present dangers for conservative Lutherans. The assertion of an inerrant Bible and a belief in the miracles recorded therein is no substitute for a firm adherence to the Confessions of the Lutheran Church, not merely in a polite nod toward them, but actually implementing what they teach about Lutheran doctrine and Lutheran practice among us. Replacing the historic liturgical worship of the Lutheran Church with entertainment-worship styles, that is, suggesting we can take up the style of Evangelicalism, without threatening the substance of Lutheranism among us, is a false and misleading dream.   Does being Lutheran matter? Many would suggest that to insist on being and remaining Lutheran is to insist on what divides us from other Christians rather than on what unites us with them. "I'm more interested in people being Christian, rather than Lutheran" is a comment one actually hears these days quite often, sadly and tragically, even from Lutheran pastors. Clearly this is something we must be on our guard to avoid. Being Lutheran is not a matter of culture, tradition or habit, at least it should not be simply that. No, being Lutheran is about being passionate about the truth, the full truth, and nothing but the truth as revealed by God in Holy Scripture. As much as we care about the truth of God's Holy Word and the proclamation of a pure and unadulterated exposition of the Scriptures, being Lutheran matters. Martin Luther was concerned that people would be using his name, but then he realized that using the name "Lutheran" was a way to identify with what he stood for, to identify with his confession of the Gospel, in other words, to clearly identify oneself as a person who holds to a specific confession of Christ and none other. There are so many competing points of view of what Christianity is. Being Lutheran therefore is a way to distinguish and teach and confess and bear witness to the Christian faith in a very specific and faithful way. Being and remaining truly Lutheran takes courage and determination. It is not easy. Faithfulness to the Word of God is never easy, or convenient, or popular. This places unique demands on our pastors and congregations and our church body, since we are determined to be and remain truly Lutheran. Dr. C.F.W. Walther, the first president of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, offers important insight in his masterful study of Lutheranism titled The True Visible Church on Earth. Contrary to our detractors, the Lutheran Church has never claimed to be the only church outside of which there is no salvation. No, not at all. We do believe that the teachings of the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Book of Concord of 1580, are in fact the pure, divine truth, because they agree with the written Word of God on all points. It is for this reason that the Lutheran church, and consequently our Synod, demands of all members, especially of our ministers, that they acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions without reservation and show their willingness to be obligated to them. And it is precisely because we so value and honor the purity of the Gospel given as a gift to us that we stand with Scripture (1 Cor. 1:10; Rom. 16:17) and our Confessions (AC VII; FC SD X) in rejecting every fraternal and ecclesiastical fellowship that rejects the truth of the Lutheran Confessions, either in whole or in part. This is why we say that being and remaining Lutheran does matter. We Lutherans therefore have no choice but to keep on standing up, and calling up for true, orthodox, confessional Lutheranism. We want no poor imitations, but the real thing. We will continue to call for complete faithfulness to God's Word and the Lutheran Confessions, recognizing the blessing that such faithfulness has been since the time of the Lutheran Reformation. Our desire is always to be maximally faithful, not merely minimally so. With this call for faithfulness comes the Lord's call for outreach. In no way must we ever permit ourselves to pit faithfulness against outreach. Faithfulness to the Word results in outreach with the Gospel. Faithful outreach is based entirely on a faithful proclamation of the Word. The constant hallmark of a genuinely Lutheran Synod, and a genuinely Lutheran congregation, is this two-fold emphasis: faithfulness to Scripture and the Confessions, and outreach with the Gospel. God forbid that we would ever apologize for wanting to be, and remain, a truly Lutheran church, or that we would ever hesitate clearly to speak up when we notice others walking away from the truths of the Word and the Lutheran Confessions for the sake of unity, which is no unity at all, since it is not based on agreement in the teachings of the Word, but only on an agreement to disagree! Thus, we pray that the Lord would continue to strengthen and embolden us to be a true, faithful and courageous Lutheran church body, to the glory of His holy name and the extension of His kingdom.   It is particularly interesting and encouaging to me to notice how many younger people are keenly interested in Lutheranism. They want substance in worship and in Bible study and in every aspect of their church life. They want authenticity, not the showy and manipulative hype that their parents and maybe now even grandparents found so alluring in the past several decades. They have been raised in a culture that at every turn is trying to manipulate them into buying something. They have had enough of that. They see how shallow it is and they want instead substance and content and rich depth of meaning. This is where Lutheranism excels, for we rejoice in the depths of God's truths, not resting content with simply "once over lightly."   We wonder why, when people have a choice, they leave the Lutheran church. Why bother to remain Lutheran if there is nothing anything worth remaining for? If the differences that distinguish Lutheran from any other option in Christendom are never mentioned, or made to appear no more important than picking amongst various ice cream flavors, is it any wonder why people leave our congregations to find "greener pastures" in other churches? That is why the constant challenge we face is gently, pastorally, warmly and winsomely to be working hard at reinforcing good understandings and encouraging careful thinking and reflection, helping our people to see the issues of our day, and thereby recognizing and appreciating the fact that Lutheranism is the best option for anyone who wants to remain genuinely faithful to God's Word.   So, how does one remain Lutheran? Fond hopes, fervent wishes, pious prayer? Yes, all that, but more. The old Benedictine motto: "Ora et labora" applies! Pray and work and then, pray and work some more. Teaching is key. We must disciple people into the truth. This involves long, hard work. Passion, energy, excitement, dedication, enthusiastic desire to pass along the truth-these are key to being and remaining Lutheran. Nothing is more exciting than the truth, and if that is so, shouldn't our attitude toward it be equally one of excitement and energy and conviction? If Lutheranism appears to be dreary, dull and plodding whose fault is that but ours? High-quality intensive teaching is the key to the future of Lutheranism. We sing, "Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word" and then we work to make it so among us, for our sake and for the sake of those who will come after us.   Does being Lutheran matter? Yes, it matters. It matters as much as being and remaining true to Christ and His Word and Sacraments matters, as outreach with the Gospel matters, and as loving our neighbor matters. May God bless our efforts, and may He guide our work together in this high calling and noble task of being, and remaining, genuinely and faithfully Lutheran. — Rev. Paul T. McCain Publisher, Concordia Publishing House Reformation 2012 View article...

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