Out With the Old
[Aaron D. Wolf on the revolution in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, grandfathers, the Devil, and the fate of Issues, Etc.]
My grandfather has congestive heart failure. I hate to say it, but I probably won’t see him this time next year. “Gramp,” as I’ve called him since I can remember, taught me how to shoot and hunt, taught me how to change the oil, taught me how to drive a truck, taught me how to run a trot line and how to shake a catalpa tree for worms. He helped me buy a hotrod and a Fender strat. His daddy’s gun sits by my bed, and I have paper money from Okinawa that he brought back from the War. For half of my life, we lived in the same house. I named a son (Carl) after him.
I sometimes wish he would have joined me in going over to the Lutheran church, but Gramp is a hardcore Baptist and just never was interested in learning why we do all of that standing up and sitting down, why we say some of the same words every week. (“The Lord be with you. / And with thy spirit.”) On the other hand, had he joined me in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, I wonder what he would have made of LCMS President Gerald B. Kieschnick’s signature slogan: “This is not your grandfather’s church.”
It was on the basis of that breathtaking statement that President Kieschnick launched Ablaze!™ in 2004—a “missions movement” designed to “share the Good News of Jesus with 100 million unreached or uncommitted people by . . . 2017.” From the get-go this business of counting “critical events,” as Kieschnick puts it, seemed very un-Lutheran. Tallying up decisions for Christ makes sense after a Billy Graham Crusade, but it does not square with the Augsburg Confession—a document once known in a Church that respected Her grandfathers.
“When one person gives a clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to another person,” says the Ablaze!™ website, “so that there is an opportunity for that person to respond, this activity ‘counts’ toward the 100 million goal.” But how is one to know whether he has participated in an activity that fits the bill? Here is some helpful guidance:
A congregation puts 1,500 flyers in the local paper. The 1,500 flyers do not count. But, any inquiries that came as a result of the flyers and opened the door for the congregation to share the Good News with an unreached or uncommitted person will count toward the 100 million goal.
Another thing that did not count was a long-running and surprisingly popular radio program called Issues, Etc.—“Talk radio for the thinking Christian.” Every weekday from three to six in the afternoon, and for two hours during a nationally syndicated broadcast on Sunday evenings, the Rev. Todd Wilken talked about current events, politics (Srdja Trifkovic was often interviewed on foreign affairs), popular culture, and—above all else—Lutheran theology. As Lutheran theology has something to do with “the Good News”—Lutheran churches were first called “evangelische”—it should come as no surprise that, quite often during Issues, Etc., the Gospel was “shared.” And while it is really impossible to “count” the work of the Holy Spirit, it is safe to say that the program produced results. An ever-growing audience testified to this. Countless lifelong Lutherans discovered their own Church’s doctrine and learned why we say those same words every week. Unbelievers called in with questions, and many became catechumens in Lutheran congregations. Issues, Etc. live broadcasts from parish halls across the heartland reflected the excitement of the faithful who had a renewed sense of their own identity.
When David Strand, a layman and the chairman of the LCMS Board of Communication Services, fired the Rev. Wilken and his veteran producer, Jeff Schwarz, on March 18 (Holy Tuesday), there was an immediate backlash. Over 7,500 signed a petition, and several districts (dioceses) issued formal complaints. President Clinton . . . er, Kieschnick was quick to declare that the decision “transpired with my awareness but neither by my order nor at my direction.” Soon thereafter, fellow LCMSer Mollie Hemingway wrote critically of the “Holy Tuesday Treachery” in the Wall Street Journal, tying this “critical event” to the theological aberrations of Ablaze!™. (As a regular guest on Issues, Etc., I was always cautioned never to speak ill of Ablaze!™ on the air.) President Kieschnick fired back a letter to the WSJ editor, explaining in carefully selected detail that this decision was all about money and denouncing Hemingway for suggesting that our synod is “deeply divided.” (How ridiculous!)
Speaking of money, even as the plan to ax Issues, Etc. was entering President Kieschnick’s “awareness,” one new LCMS congregation was using $25,000 in Ablaze!™ dollars to pay for billboards around suburban St. Louis that read, for example, “JeffersonHills Church sucks.” As KSDK NewsChannel 5 in St. Louis reported, “Beneath those messages is a hyphen, followed by ‘Satan,’ as if it’s a note from the biblical Prince of Darkness."
“I seen that thing and I about fell over,” one passerby told KSDK. “I just thought maybe some atheist group might have put it up, or something,” said another. “We’re getting a lot of responses,” said “Lead Pastor Steve Benke.”
Actually, I think President Kieschnick is right. This is not my grandfather’s church.
[Update: Issues, Etc. is back on the air as an independent program, 3-5 P.M. Central, thanks in part to the efforts of the Brothers of John the Steadfast. Check out the program's website, or subscribe via iTunes.]
Aaron D. Wolf is Chronicles' associate editor.
This article first appeared in the July 2008 issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.
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- Issues, etc. is back - The PuritanBoard
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Great piece, nice to hear about real people and how they/we in candor and with some hard won honesty puzzle through our daily lives. Truth is a powerful thing and it's a good thing a little bit goes a long way. Long as we don't forget our grandfathers. They were real and so should we be. They for the most part were perspicacious not pernicious generally. Satan's pernicious for the most part generally and a mind-bender. His sort of 'counter-balancing' we don't need, just need to avoid. I like to think of him as heaven's walking 'sting' operation to see who's who. It shakes out, truth even in little bits (fortunately) outs. We wouldn't want the 'whole' truth or thing to out; for then it wouldn't be alive anymore it would be a statue. Seriously, that's the 'mystery.' We all need to keep taking our appropriate baby steps. It's ok if it's from cradle to grave. Where we going? It should also be enjoyed. After all we're not puritans. They would hate even that. Apparently they're 'going' places.
God bless your Gramp.
As for Issues, etc., another instance of the faithful having to go "outside the camp."
Ablaze (TM) -- so American.
Mr. Wolf,
Always a pleasure to hear from you. Very sorry to hear of your grandfather's condition. My "paw-paw" had congestive heart failure and died back in March. He sounded a lot like gramp. I also named a son (Harold) after him.
Reading your articles had a lot to do with converting me to Christianity. I wish paw-paw had joined me but I didn't share the Gospel with him.
Have you considered some of the more conservative Lutheran groups such as the Wisconsin synod? There's several LCMS congregations in my area but only one small Wisconsin synod congregation. There's also a few ELS congregations in my state. Can you tell me a little bit about your view of WELS, ELS, etc?
God Bless you and gramp,
B. Batsche
re: wierd evangleism like the sign in St. Louis
I've had a related experiences in my church. We put on an evangelical family festival each year (it was last saturday). Our church leadership decided to bring in a live band with electric guitar. They opened with the Jimmy Hendrix Star (M)angled Banner and continued with GreenDay (a secular punk-rock band). I'd have approved of contemporary Christian rock under the circumstances . The idea was to appeal to teens. I wished I'd had a hearing aide like some of the old men in our congregation. I would have turned it off. They want to "outreach" to others through ANY MEANS.
Yet the church leadership has no issue with Onanism. Let's Onan ourselves into old age and eventual extinction and if we play punk rock maybe some teens will join us in this endeavor.
The dumbing-down and cultural accommodation of great confessional denominations seems to be a feature of our time. This misguided policy only demoralizes and repels existing members, while doing little to attract the people it is supposedly designed to attract.
Aaron,
This article was one of my favorites from the last issue. I hesitate to tell you that the Lutheran pastor in my home town is retiring after providing the longest, continous service of any other minister in the area --- something like 35 years. He was a pastor of souls in every way and confided to me recently that it has always been a grace for him to perform his duties but for the last 15 years it was growing more difficult to do so in a graceful way. He was not bitter, "too wise for that for he hath much to love"but the Missouri Synod "ain't what it used to be" in terms of confidence and orthodoxy.
There are 2 things I love in this...your grampa spending the time to teach his grandson (strange how we learn more than just what is being taught).
And Issues, Etc. is back on...will you be a guest anytime soon?
Dear Mr. Wolf,
My deepest sympathies to you over your father’s illness. When the day comes, may he find eternal peace and joy with our Lord.
I am a former LCMS pastor and have a bit of experience with the Kiesch¬nick regime and the general decline of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. One thing that conservative Missouri Synod Lutherans need to come to grips with is the fact that Kiesch¬nick is not the center of the problem in the church, he is a symptom. The 2004 LCMS national convention overwhelmingly supported him and his revivalist theology. The Synod convention advocated and approved unionistic/syncretistic worship with non-Christians. The synod convention passed “Guidelines for Participation in Civic Events” - 757 votes for; 446 votes against. The synod convention declared fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), which is a Lutheran World Federation member, with 90.9% of the voters in favor. The sad fact is that there just aren’t enough Confessionalist clergy or laity to hold off false doctrine anymore. And it will not get any better. This venerable old German Lutheran church body has finally fully Americanized and is now no different than all the other revivalist sects. It will contribute to the decline of the faith in America. Pastors should not fool themselves into thinking they will turn the tide in the institution of the LCMS. Christians are going to have to reject their corrupt leaders, and Christians who will not will sink with their corrupt leaders.
I, along with a handful of other former LCMS pastors have formed the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA). http://www.eldona.org/
We hope the faithful in the LCMS will join us.
“Any pastor who is only intent on fanaticizing his members for the Lutheran church, or for the Missouri Synod, or even worse, for the Iowa District, is not a true pastor. Such men are poor pastors. Pastors must direct people to Christ and say, “You see, we proclaim the pure word of God, which contains the eternal Gospel. That is why you should cling to us, and that is why we maintain that the moment we no longer do that, you should leave us! For salvation is not in any way dependant on us, nor on the Missouri Synod. So, if it does not proclaim the pure Word of God, it is worthless, and you should leave it....It [the Missouri Synod] should prefer to go out of business (untergehen) rather than to let the church suffer harm by its continued existence. Those who want to see the Synod continue under all circumstances, regardless of whether that would harm the kingdom of Christ, are not being led by the Spirit of Christ but by the spirit of selfishness, and instead of being a building stone in the kingdom of Christ, they are a hindrance to God.” - Walther, C.F.W., Essays for the Church, vol. II, p. 61-62.
Hi Aaron,
Great article. It's nice to see others who understand how important it is to maintain one's integrity. Integrity as a Lutheran, a Roman Catholic, a Baptist, or a Mormon.
Integrity, i.e. being faithful to your confession is the backbone of marriage, raising children, and most importantly your faith.
Being a Lutheran is a blessing that I'm very proud of. Issues was willing to be Lutheran and that's what I always appreciated as a Lutheran pastor and now someone who is wanting to show the mercy of God to AIDS Orphans in Kenya. THe context of pure gospel permits us to do the right thing in the mercy of Christ.
I look forward to more integrity from Issues and from people like you Aaron.
I'll be honest I was reminded by a motion picture of something I said on the old sf site, or in that timeframe. The pill made monogamy no longer about the kids. But here's why.
It was for 'him'-the potential dad in the marriage or tandem-about her [& sex, of course] and subsequently for her about (her &) the kids which would ensue, then him. - No such thing as a kidless marriage, 90% plus of the time.
The point is marriage was about the KIDS without the couple realizing it so much consciously, prior to scientific birth control. Prior, that reality (kids) was the elephant or real ghost to be, in the room.
REALLY marriage is still about the KIDS except today that has to be elevated Up to consciousness. So not only is it about our grandfathers - which is a good start toward remembering the real - it is about our sons, and about their sons & daughters in THEIR elevating UP to consciousness marriage is about the KIDS.
It's astonishing but women have forgotten that fact too. Today they believe marriage is about 'perfect' wuv...and kids as an afterthought if they choose to have any. But then, in reality - what is the point of "marriage"? she should be ashamed of herself. Him too if he's just some dupe. "perfect wuv..." give me a break.
Good article, but to me the problem has been and always will be for the foreseeable future that most so called "Christians" aren't really Christians at all, but only trying to put on a facade of faith in order to elevate oneself over others as being more spiritual, or in fact more deep than they really are. The great Christian apologist Josh McDowell once decleared in a Campus Crusade for Christ COnvention that "90% of Christians weren't Christian at all". This got me thinking about me my faith and what I was observing with my Crusade friends and my church back home. It is more of a keeping up or oneing up the Jones' than actual faith. I mean come on, you have folks attending every Sunday having affairs, multiple illegitimate kids, drugs, sex, etc. No real difference between a Christian and non Christian anymore. The next biggest problem with the Church is it is now centered on running itself like a business and not a church. It is more akin to a Sports franchise trying to get the butts into the seats than actually trying to do any real soul saving. THen of course like a previous poster exclaimed, the Church is watering down its message and "dumbing" down to the putrid level of what constitutes modern day culture. I am a Christian(Miss Lutheran) without a home church anymore as I got sick of how my church has become nothing more than a moneygrubbing Megachurch. I am seriously thinking about converting to Orthodoxy as of right now. Lutheranism just seems to be a spiritual dead end anymore.
If you're looking for 100% pure Christianity, good luck finding it anywhere on the face of the earth. Even while reading the scriptures bring along our own history and concepts to taint the true Word of God. The article and the commenters previous to me clearly desire pure Christianaity.
Keishnick isn't an idiot and he's not surrounded by idiots... so there must be something to what he says. My take on what he says is more like. 'It's not my Grandfather's generation that the church needs to reach out to'. Everyone 'used' to belong to a church, it was a matter of getting them to show up once in a while. It's not that way anymore. People like Robert Bruce in the comments before me want to see genuineness and relevance. Though I love liturgy, even I am not genuine in saying it and they become menotanous. Though I love hymns, they often are played or sung poorly and lose relevance with my grandfathers (and fathers) grandchildren.
I would love to see 'Traditional Conservatism' make a concerted come-back. There are lots of churches that are trying to maintain it, but it's a poor attempt. Until I see it have life, I'll continue to attend a church with genuineness & relevance there there may not be 100% pure christianity, but it beats the streets where there's 0%. Thank God salvation is a personal thing, not corporate!
The moneygrubbing thing is something I'm still working through too... if I could wire my gifts directly to God, I might be a little less hesitant when the offering plate comes by.
About all I can do is pray that my gifts only go to areas in the church that are genuine and relevant... then it's up to God to make them go there.
Great article.
Mr. Bruce,
Lutheranism is not dead. It is flowing through the pages of the Bible and through the Sacraments, and still lives in the confessions that are recorded in the Book of Concord. It lives in us today. A congregation may be dead. Many congregations may be dead. But Jesus warned us that would be the case. John's Revelation warns us that would be the case. The evils you write about happened in the ancient Church (1st Corinthians), in the Middle Ages, in the Reformation, and will always be happening. It will get worse.
Don't sacrifice a good beautiful doctrine for the show. Lutheranism isn't bad because we have people in our congregations who dont' believe and who have handed themselves over to sin. The fact that they are not disciplined is very concerning. But it doesn't mean that what Lutheranism is, truly is, has declined. It most definitely hasn't.
And for the person that asked about WELS and ELS, I'm not the author, but here is my perspective. They have their problems as well. Their doctrine on the divine call is not very good, and they are abandoning the liturgy for contemporary worship in droves. Pietism -- labeling something as a sin that is not, or making something a requirement of righteousness that is not is also something else that they struggle with. I've attended both and have family in the ELS. Out of all the major Lutheran church bodies, the LCMS, despite all of her struggles, is still the closest to the teachings in the Book of Concord and still the most devoted to the proper separation of Law and Gospel. I'll leave when that can no longer be said. While she is still fighting for her confession, I don't consider leaving to be an option.
It's pretty much dead alright Another 2 generations of politically correct rule and it will be all but extinguished.
Just a quick thought-- it's not Lutheranism we're fighting for. Luther fought for the Gospel, and the historic expression of catholic, orthodox Christianity. As long as redeemed sinner/saints gather around Word and Sacrament, Luther's fight is still on for radically exposing the grace of Christ in the Gospel to a world which so desperately needs it.
I am not a Lutheran because of my German heritage, or because it is an interesting cultural phenomenon. Frankly, I often tell my friends that being a Lutheran can be a miserable experience, full of suffering-- we are, from our genesis, a call to repentance and faithfulness to the Church Catholic. We are not Protestants, nor are we the bland, lowest common denominator Evangelicals of American reknown. We are catholic Christians, grounded in Scripture and the confessions and the creeds, rivitted on Christ and the Cross... and as such, we will often be a spurned minority.
We don't cast aspersions on other Christians, regardless of the quantity of errors that possess their communions, but we do bear witness to the truth, regardless of whom we meet. Ours is a lonely road, long and narrow, and with fewer travellers than the broader roads out there. Let us not tire of either our mission, nor our journey.
In Christ,
Brad
Granted, this is not my grandfather's Church. I have been on this earth for 79 years, Baptized MLHS, re-baptized Catholic (when my parents divorced), was a Catholic, First Communion and Confirmation at age 7. Then became MLHS again when my catholic mother died, in 1936. We have been members of the same congregation since our marriage in 1951, we have been involved, church officers, deacon, elders, altar guild, ladies guild, circles, Sunday School teachers. Today all of this is gone, we nowhave a cabal of Professors running the congregation. From the Lutheran Hymnal 1941, and the Liturgy 5 and 15, we have gone through, at great cost, This Far by Faith, the Schuck and Jive, version, A marriage ceremony, "Jumping the Broom", a "Prayer for a Mother with a sons on drugs", then the Lutheran Book of Worship and now the LBS. Add to that "School Choice", what was once a Christian Lutheran Day School we now have a baby-sitting source from K3, to 8th Grade, and for this we get $5316.00 for each student, a million dollars a year in State money. Oh, yes all of the grandfathers who have not gone to Heaven have left, in ten years we have gone from 1400 members to less than 400 and from three services a week to one arbitrary 9:00 a.m. service, and there was never a Vote, we no longer have Voter's meetings, the Cabal picks like thinking people for every office.
I left the Non-Denoms for LCMS, mostly because of the White Horse Inn Show with Rod Rosenbladt. Issues Etc was my favorite Radio Podcast & Pr. Todd was truly enjoyable and instructive as a host and apologist. Issues Etc has, and now will continue to, reach more believers and unbelievers than K-nick will ever do with his schemes.
As I've seen this decline locally and on the National LCMS scene--I've despaired of the certain demise of the LCMS.
I will probably join the PCA--at least they observe their Confessions.
I have worked at the LCMS IC for over ten (10) years in a department that deals with the entire Synod. The level of financial abuse that I have seen is criminal (literaly). I can honestly assure Chad, who posted earlier, that his gifts are not used in any ficially responsible way, at least on a regular basis.
Obviously there are many bright spots in the LCMS overall, but for the most part, good steward's are few and far between. One of the usual mantra's chanted at the IC is "it's not my money, why should I care." I have heard this on a weekly basis from someone consistantly since I have been there.
Abuses range from the small (no acutal travel expense policy so anything goes while traveling - $500 dinner for 2 - no problem if the department allows it) to the large (lavish parties at the tirannual Convention and other annual meetings - that cost over $100,000 - entire executive offices redesigned and refurbished since a new director does NOT want to use the same restroom, furniture, etc...as the last director). I could go on and on...
"This is not your grandfather's church."
He is right. She belongs to Christ. It appears that Mr. Kieschnick has chosen to act as if it is his own. James 3:1.
Lavish Church Growth ads in "USA Today" and ugly billboards are not reaching postmoderns. They waste many dollars. iPod audio (Issues Etc.) podcasts did and do reach postmoderns. If the goal is to reduce the number of souls in the pews... well, just look at the numbers and you will see their successes.
Word and Sacraments build souls. Beyond the much improved hymnal, what Synod-wide action to help us in the pews is helping churches with W&S?
Evangelism is important. I shudder to think of it in their CG-terms, but Youtube-style short-videos would be a good investment for confessional Christianity. Any takers?
Wonderful article...keep up the great work!