Reach the lost with what? On a mission to do what?
What is the Great Commission anyway? To baptise and teach what has been commanded. If there is no agreement on what that is, which is to say, no agreement on doctrine, then it is no mission of Christ's but a self-serving way to keep a church business afloat, saving jobs and pensions.
LCMS itself opened the door to this problem by opening the door to a Vatican II-like menu of This, That, and the Other even in its approved worship. Why would not someone think "Why not This Other too?"
The Lutheran Reformation reformed a catholic church that had gone off the rails as The Catholic Church. Now it began going off the rails itself by adapting the "reforms" of The Catholic Church, inevitably leading, as it has done in the RCC itself, to all kinds of other sources as well.
Exactly the confusion Luther warned against in the Preface to the Small Catechism, regarding a multiplicity of forms and texts.
We have staked our eternal lives and at times our temporal ones too on the Confessions being a true and accurate statement of that teaching -- doctrine -- to which Christ has given the Great Commission. There's all kinds of voices "telling you about Jesus"; the point is, this is what we believe Jesus is telling you about Jesus. It is not about what we do, but about what he has done.
And is doing, as in the Divine Service, which is not about us, but about him in Word and Sacrament. Doctrine in motion, not us in motion. Lex orandi lex credendi
I also have some concerns about this as well, and posted those there. I'm concerned about this assumption about the doctrine of election, which seems to be becoming a more prominent piece of the puzzle... not good, I think.
I, too, am alarmed at the Gottesdienst article. The only Lutheran worship I knew growing up was based on the Common Service, the "catholic" liturgy that even Rome changed after Vatican II.
In the first LMCS parish I joined after coming to my senses and leaving the liturgical mess that was the novus ordo the pastor used five different forms of confession and absolution. He was also fond of using materials from American evangelical sources and a "cut and paste" liturgy on Sundays even though the LSB was available in every pew. Is this really what we want?
I think we would be wise to heed Luther's words. If our Confessions, which were forged at such a dear cost, are no longer the foundation of our faith and worship we are indeed in trouble.
I read it last night, it is a astonishing response to the LC-MS Koinonia Project. Thanks Rev Weedon for the hook up. I thank the Lord for gathering my family to his hilltop. I can't thank and praise God enough for his gracious gift he showers in the Lutheran Mass in our parish. My prayer is Jesus' Fervent Prayer that we be one.
"I must confess that I never made it through "Bondage."
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with that?!? :)
Dan
I think it's absolutely right off.
ReplyDeleteReach the lost with what? On a mission to do what?
What is the Great Commission anyway? To baptise and teach what has been commanded. If there is no agreement on what that is, which is to say, no agreement on doctrine, then it is no mission of Christ's but a self-serving way to keep a church business afloat, saving jobs and pensions.
LCMS itself opened the door to this problem by opening the door to a Vatican II-like menu of This, That, and the Other even in its approved worship. Why would not someone think "Why not This Other too?"
The Lutheran Reformation reformed a catholic church that had gone off the rails as The Catholic Church. Now it began going off the rails itself by adapting the "reforms" of The Catholic Church, inevitably leading, as it has done in the RCC itself, to all kinds of other sources as well.
Exactly the confusion Luther warned against in the Preface to the Small Catechism, regarding a multiplicity of forms and texts.
We have staked our eternal lives and at times our temporal ones too on the Confessions being a true and accurate statement of that teaching -- doctrine -- to which Christ has given the Great Commission. There's all kinds of voices "telling you about Jesus"; the point is, this is what we believe Jesus is telling you about Jesus. It is not about what we do, but about what he has done.
And is doing, as in the Divine Service, which is not about us, but about him in Word and Sacrament. Doctrine in motion, not us in motion. Lex orandi lex credendi
Pastor Weedon,
ReplyDeleteI also have some concerns about this as well, and posted those there. I'm concerned about this assumption about the doctrine of election, which seems to be becoming a more prominent piece of the puzzle... not good, I think.
Regards,
Nathan Rinne
I, too, am alarmed at the Gottesdienst article. The only Lutheran worship I knew growing up was based on the Common Service, the "catholic" liturgy that even Rome changed after Vatican II.
ReplyDeleteIn the first LMCS parish I joined after coming to my senses and leaving the liturgical mess that was the novus ordo the pastor used five different forms of confession and absolution. He was also fond of using materials from American evangelical sources and a "cut and paste" liturgy on Sundays even though the LSB was available in every pew. Is this really what we want?
I think we would be wise to heed Luther's words. If our Confessions, which were forged at such a dear cost, are no longer the foundation of our faith and worship we are indeed in trouble.
Christine
Great read...well thought out, almost surgical!
ReplyDeleteI read it last night, it is a astonishing response to the LC-MS Koinonia Project. Thanks Rev Weedon for the hook up. I thank the Lord for gathering my family to his hilltop. I can't thank and praise God enough for his gracious gift he showers in the Lutheran Mass in our parish. My prayer is Jesus' Fervent Prayer that we be one.
ReplyDelete