Sunday, March 27, 2005 AD
What is the ELCE for?
As I said in my opening post, the aim of this blog is to help consider what the ELCE is "for" - rather than just looking at individual issues in a disconnected way, to try to take a more "strategic" viewpoint; to allow for greater theological reflection and discussion, so that particular practical issues are dealt with in a manner that flows from a distinctly Lutheran perspective, rather than just a pragmatic, "what works" approach. So as a means of kicking off this blog, it would be good for each person who joins to summarise their own thoughts on what the ELCE is for.
My own view is that our role should be focussed on the following main areas:
Fundamentally, I believe our calling is to hold our nerve. We live in an age in which some of the above principles would be regarded as incompatible with one another, particularly items 1 and 4. We are under powerful temptations - in the name of being open and accessible to outsiders - to abandon or marginalise the historic Divine Service in favour of the bland, "generic Christianity" of modern choruses and breezy, dressed-down informality that dominates contemporary evangelicalism.
The evangelistic motive is laudable, but the cost to our distinctiveness is, in my view, too high. The Gospel is not like a fluid that can be tipped into whatever container we like while retaining its essential characteristics. It is vital that we hold on, not only to Article IV of the Augsburg Confession, but also Article V. The "so that we may receive this faith" of Article V teaches us that the ministry of Word and Sacrament is itself part of the Gospel we confess.
This is also taught by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in His own summary of the Gospel message, in Luke 24:46-47:
This is one area which I hope will be discussed in more detail on this blog over time.
Another area is our relationship with other Christians (point 3). I have real concerns about ecumenism, particularly from my experience of the Churches Together movement. More positively, my (admittedly limited) experience suggests that there are many Christians who find Lutheran teachings profoundly helpful when they come across them - the true & pure gospel strikes a real chord with them. This isn't about "sheep-stealing", not least since switching to a Lutheran church is not practical for most people, given the lack of Lutheran churches. Rather, it is about saying that we are sitting on treasures that could enrich and benefit Christians in all churches - particularly the teachings of the Small Catechism, which are "mere Christianity" at its best.
(Though, on the subject of "sheep-stealing", should we be embarrassed about saying that the pure Gospel and rightly-administered Sacraments are matters of sufficiently profound importance as to justify people changing church? The Roman Catholic Church is not squeamish about saying this; nor, in their own way, are many evangelical churches, particularly those that practise "re-baptism").
Anyway, these are just a few of my own thoughts. I look forward to hearing other people's responses to these points, and to your own ideas as well about what the ELCE is here for.
My own view is that our role should be focussed on the following main areas:
- Spreading the Gospel in our communities.
- Serving the "Lutheran diaspora" within the UK.
- Promoting Lutheran teachings within the wider UK church.
- Celebrating (in both senses of the word) the Divine Service, and showing that the historic worship of the church need not be incompatible with living, breathing, attractive Christianity.
Fundamentally, I believe our calling is to hold our nerve. We live in an age in which some of the above principles would be regarded as incompatible with one another, particularly items 1 and 4. We are under powerful temptations - in the name of being open and accessible to outsiders - to abandon or marginalise the historic Divine Service in favour of the bland, "generic Christianity" of modern choruses and breezy, dressed-down informality that dominates contemporary evangelicalism.
The evangelistic motive is laudable, but the cost to our distinctiveness is, in my view, too high. The Gospel is not like a fluid that can be tipped into whatever container we like while retaining its essential characteristics. It is vital that we hold on, not only to Article IV of the Augsburg Confession, but also Article V. The "so that we may receive this faith" of Article V teaches us that the ministry of Word and Sacrament is itself part of the Gospel we confess.
This is also taught by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in His own summary of the Gospel message, in Luke 24:46-47:
"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."In other words, the Gospel is not merely the account of events that happened long ago (Christ's suffering and rising from the dead); it is the proclamation to all nations by Word and Sacrament that the saving benefits of those events - forgiveness, life and salvation - are available here and now to all.
This is one area which I hope will be discussed in more detail on this blog over time.
Another area is our relationship with other Christians (point 3). I have real concerns about ecumenism, particularly from my experience of the Churches Together movement. More positively, my (admittedly limited) experience suggests that there are many Christians who find Lutheran teachings profoundly helpful when they come across them - the true & pure gospel strikes a real chord with them. This isn't about "sheep-stealing", not least since switching to a Lutheran church is not practical for most people, given the lack of Lutheran churches. Rather, it is about saying that we are sitting on treasures that could enrich and benefit Christians in all churches - particularly the teachings of the Small Catechism, which are "mere Christianity" at its best.
(Though, on the subject of "sheep-stealing", should we be embarrassed about saying that the pure Gospel and rightly-administered Sacraments are matters of sufficiently profound importance as to justify people changing church? The Roman Catholic Church is not squeamish about saying this; nor, in their own way, are many evangelical churches, particularly those that practise "re-baptism").
Anyway, these are just a few of my own thoughts. I look forward to hearing other people's responses to these points, and to your own ideas as well about what the ELCE is here for.
