May 13, 2014

Severing Doctrine from Practice

A recent post at Brothers of John the Steadfast criticized the contemporary worship services at Concordia University Nebraska. I can't fully defend the article, because it was written from the perspective of a one-time visitor, and some of the points were not entirely accurate. However, the comments it generated, especially by many offended CUNE students, were of special interest.


The recurring themes, repeated over and over by students who were lifelong LCMS Lutherans, some of whom were Pastors' kids, were:
  1. We can't expect non-Lutherans to worship like Lutherans.
  2. Traditional liturgy is off-putting to unbelievers.
  3. Not everyone is edified by liturgical worship.
  4. As long as we are true to the Word (or at least don't preach false doctrine), the worship style is irrelevant.
So based on these premises, the students feel convinced that having CoWo chapel is not only acceptable, but is to be preferred over traditional liturgical worship. Unfortunately, the premises are made of straw and don't hold up to scrutiny. Let's examine them one at a time.

1. We can't expect non-Lutherans to worship like Lutherans.

In what universe would a Baptist walk into a Greek Orthodox church and expect to find a gospel choir? Ours, apparently, because that is the argument being used here. Lutherans are worried that non-Lutherans might pay to attend a Lutheran college, be taught Lutheran theology by Lutheran faculty, but then be shocked and disgusted that they worship like Lutherans? If a person has decided to attend a Lutheran school, then let's be honest to him and to ourselves about our heritage and our Confessions (even that troublesome Article XV of the Apology to AC).

2. Traditional liturgy is off-putting to unbelievers.

So what happens if a demographic of Wiccans starts attending a Lutheran college? Can we mutilate the divine service enough to appeal to them? This line of thinking is dead wrong for two reasons. The first is that worship is not an outreach tool. The second is that it assumes that God's Word and the gospel have no real power over the soul, placing the importance instead on "style."

3. Not everyone is edified by liturgical worship.

Yes, everyone is edified by liturgical worship, unless he has hardened his heart to the Word. What this argument is really saying is, "I don't like liturgical worship [it doesn't make me feel good]." Again, this is wrong for two important reasons. The first is that it attempts to drain the Word of God of its power. The liturgy is not an empty set of rites that might as well be a bunch of nursery rhymes. In large part, it is the Word of God. It is assembled from the inspired songs of Scripture into a regular structure that administers law and gospel at every service. It must edify us. This argument is like saying that a person who does not like spinach will not be nourished by it, which is obviously not true. God's Word is efficacious without our "spicing it up" with drums and guitars.

The second error is in thinking that my feelings determine what is good for me and what is not. If what I like determines what is good, Twinkies are just as good for me as steak. And if the emotional high I get in CoWo really is edifying, then so is being told that I just won the Powerball, even if it isn't true.

4. As long as we are true to the Word (or at least don't preach false doctrine), the worship style is irrelevant.

Wrong x 1000. Worship flows out of theology. Lutherans cannot worship like Quakers, Methodists, Pentecostals, Reformed, or Evangelicals. Not only because our Confessions forbid casting aside the "customary rites," but because our theology naturally produces worship that is liturgical, participatory, gospel-oriented, edifying, and centered on Word and Sacrament. From my experience at morning chapels at CUNE, there seems to be at least a substantial portion of students and faculty who want to foster a complete disconnect between theology and practice. But that disconnect cannot be maintained long before cognitive dissonance sets in. The tail will start wagging the dog, and doctrine will conform to practice.

I don't mean to pick on CUNE or even the LCMS here, because it's a widespread problem among Lutherans. We can't fool ourselves into thinking that we can maintain pure doctrine and law-gospel preaching while entertaining non-Lutheran worship styles.

8 comments:

  1. The offended CUNE comments are common in WELS, too.

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    1. Of course. I didn't mean to imply that this is a problem only in the Missouri Synod.

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  2. Have you read The Fire and the Staff? Excellent work on practice and doctrine.

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  3. Well said. The only thing I would disagree with is in #2 when you said that worship is not an outreach tool. I think that worship (especially liturgical worship) is the ideal outreach tool. The problem is that many don't really understand what outreach (or evangelism) is. They see it as scratching the itch of someone's "felt needs" rather than proclaiming the gospel through which the Spirit creates and strengthens faith. CoWo might scratch the itch of the unchurched, but if it obscures the gospel, then it is not evangelizing - at least not to the best of our abilities.

    Again, I do agree that worship doesn't exist solely or even primarily for the purpose of reaching unbelievers. Otherwise, it would never dig more deeply into depths of Scripture. However, insofar as it proclaims law and gospel, it is exactly what evangelism ought to be.

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    1. Point well taken. Maybe we have different understandings of "outreach." I've never understood it to be synonymous with evangelism. To me, outreach is the idea of going "out" into the community and bringing people into the church. I don't think liturgical worship is designed to do that—although when the unchurched do visit, they will of course be evangelized.

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  4. As a lifelong Lutheran, I can't agree with you. There is nothing Holy or Sacred in our worship services outside of the pure Word of God. We do not worship the way that Jesus worshipped. We don't worship in the exact same manner as Luther did. Or even our grandparents. Worship styles CHANGE over time. Wrong? No. I don't want a 'feel-good' service. However, I do want a service that reflects Lutherans and true Christ-centered worship. Do Lutheran churches in other countries worship exactly like Lutherans do here? No. Their services reflect their culture. Is that wrong? It is narrow-minded to insist that the style of worship that someone prefers, is accustomed to, and/or enjoys is the only correct way to worship, when there are so many churches out there that belong not just to a synod, but to the True Church, that preach the same Law, Gospel, and often Creeds as you. If you want to single out a specific church or worship community, and disagree with them on the basis of what their worship teaches (or doesn't teach), please educate me on that. But a large, generic, 'my way of worship is correct' does not do your intelligence justice.

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    1. Anonymous, thank you for your comment. I believe you are well-intentioned, but misinformed.

      "There is nothing Holy or Sacred in our worship services outside of the pure Word of God."

      This is exactly why the historic liturgy (AKA the Mass) is pure and sacred—because it IS the Word of God. The Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, Agnus Dei, Sanctus, Magnificat, and Benedictus, are all inspired songs of Scripture. Nothing could be more Christ-centered. And this is why the Church has used them for almost 2,000 years, and why it continues to do so.

      I neither said nor implied that our worship should remain static, that it hasn't changed for 2,000 years, or that Jesus wrote the Mass (well, at least not directly). Of course liturgical worship has evolved. But its structure, the canticles, its creeds, and even many of the hymns have been passed down to us from our Christian fathers over centuries. I can open my hymnal and sing "Savior of the Nations, Come," written by Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century with a tune adapted by Johann Walther in the 16th century. Lutherans recognize that when we use the traditional liturgical rites, we are intimately connected with all believers past and present—not just our brand of Lutherans. So it is not sectarian at all—quite the opposite. You can go find Scandinavian Lutherans, Italian Catholics, and Russian Orthodox Christians using the same basic rites, although each with its own cultural flair.

      "It is narrow-minded to insist that the style of worship that someone prefers, is accustomed to, and/or enjoys is the only correct way to worship..."

      Lutherans do not think that "their way" of worshipping is the only way—just that it is a very good way. We believe that something that is very good should not be thrown away without an equally good reason, as is explained in the Apology to the Augsburg Confession, Article XV. The purpose of this post was to contradict the notion that the "exteriors" of worship are irrelevant. Not only is this ridiculous, but it is also dangerous, because doctrine and practice are so intimately connected.

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