The immediacy of the problems we face is met with an urgency and immediacy of solutions. Inevitably, they are conceived of and described apart from the means of grace. It is as if the Word and Sacraments were also rans in the competition for ideas, programs, and tools to make the church grow and prosper. It is as if God had somewhere said that He had done all He was going to do and now it was up to us to do the rest. On the one hand it sounds good because we wall want to do something but on the other hand it should sound the warning bell within us because it presumes that we are not merely guardians of the truth nor its voices in our day but those who will either kill or make alive. Something that God has reserved only for Himself. If I, a conservative, confessional, liturgical Lutheran are tempted by such sales pitches, it is easy to see how so much of Protestantism is consumed by them. Because we live at a time when immanence had replaced transcendence in the preaching, teaching, witness, and life of so many Christian communities -- even Rome.
This lack of a any real sense of transcendence has led to a certain flattening of the message. It shows up in the way the preacher focuses almost exclusively on the present. It is revealed in funerals that have become mere celebrations of the life of the deceased. It shows up in youth work which basically competes with the fun places of the world for an ever decreasing attention span in the pursuit of pleasure. It shows up in morality which leaves it up to the individual to decide what works in the moment and calls it good. It shows up in truth that is one person wide and one moment deep in time. It shows up in sacraments that have been reduced to signs and symbols without any power to bestow what it is they show. It shows up in the Word which is a take off point for a message that ignores the main message of the Scriptures.
It has left the leaders of the church with the idea that that his or her actions are more central and crucial than Christ’s -- not only to the life of the church but also to its growth or decline. It has transformed the liturgical movement so that the horizontal is more important than the vertical, the real presence in the pews more profound than in the water, bread, and wine of the Sacraments, and the Scriptures mere proof texts for a talking point designed to make folks feel better about the very things that the Savior came to defeat. It explains why so many liturgical churches have lost respect for the liturgy, traded in the sturdy hymns of doctrine and piety for momentary appeals to sentiment (but with a beat), and turned the building into a theater with comfortable seats and fellowship into the snack bar that provides refreshments for the show.
In the end, even liturgical churches show for pastors who have a certain style, casual and easy, and whose preaching does not preach and whose teaching does not teach. It has made us forget not only the call to the man of God who is God's prophet and priest in this place but the whole upward call of God that is meant to transcend this moment. The ceremonies of the liturgy have been replaced with special effects (smoke machines), special music (designed to entertain while mirroring the sound of secular music), light shows (designed to keep the focus on the stars of the show and worship leaders), and theater (complete with good acting and directing) replaces our focus on the Christ who instituted the Word and Sacraments as the means by which He is present among, acts upon, and incorporates into Himself a people who will be called His own.me Catholics lose respect for the sacraments because of a lack of sympathy for the officiant. They shop around for a priest whose style is more moving or simpatico, as if the Real Presence were not enough.
Strangely enough, those who lead such churches are often rendered powerless to say anything against such intrusions into the holy place where God dwells and instead have been forced by our need for people's approval and money to tacitly accept even when they know is poison. Whether Rome or St. Louis, it hardly matters. The bad guys have universally become those who stand up and stand against such a betrayal of Christ and His Word, of churches and their historic confessions, and of the very shape of priesthood and episcope. Sadly, where the form remains, it is no longer three dimensional or alive but flat and empty, filled with the sad and weak mirror of the moment that gives people just what they want as it kills them. Transcendence is what the world needs. Immanence is about all Christianity seems to have to offer. We are starving the hungry and feeding them with the very causes of their sickness unto death. All the while God is seeking to renew His Church and refresh His people with a call to repentance and the efficacious Word and life-giving sacraments that gives us Christ.
22 comments:
Great post Pastor Peters. Read something similar from a Catholic theology student.
https://mystudentvoices.com/about-those-young-rigid-traditional-catholics-14a755092ae0?source=user_profile---------0-----------------------
So, if they have betrayed Christ, His Word, His Sacraments and His Church, how can they still be considered part of "the Church"?
Rev. Peters: "The bad guys have universally become those who stand up and stand against such a betrayal of Christ and His Word, of churches and their historic confessions, and of the very shape of priesthood and episcope."
The inclusion of "episcope" falsely implies that it is part of Christ and His Word and a requirement in the Lutheran Confessions.
In his "On the Way to Episcopé: Resolution 8-01A of the 2004 LC-MS Convention in the Light of Synodical History," originally delivered at the conference, "Confession and Christ's Mission: Challenges to the Future of the LCMS," October 21, 2004, in Melrose Park, IL, Rev. Dr. John C. Wohlrabe [currently 4th VP] stated:
"Those people who want to restore the office of bishop to the Lutheran church have never served under or in the midst of a real episcopacy. Blatant cronyism and servile fawning did not go out with the Dark Ages, but have become entrenched in many episcopal forms of church government. Truth and justice are often sacrificed in order to curry favor with the bishop who holds the cleric’s future, as well as that of the congregation, in the palm of his hand. If you are 'with it' today, you call such government episcopé (pronounced: e-pis-ko-pay). If you are a member of the 'episcopal club,' you probably think that episcopé is just great. [p. 1]
"Today, for the most part seminarians and pastors don’t seem to have a historical bone in their body. If they do, LC-MS history is usually the topic of least interest... This lack of interest in our own history explains, to a large degree, why we are now 'on the way to episcopé'." [p. 2]
"The arguments used to justify the major changes in Resolution 8-01A are the same arguments that could be used to disenfranchise all laymen from all congregational and synodical offices. That would be sacerdotalism – domination by the clergy. It is a primary characteristic of episcopé. [p. 8]
"The second chief problem in our church court system has existed since 1992. That is the binding powers of the two Commissions in church court cases. When the Commission on Constitutional Matters makes a binding ruling in a church court case, it exceeds its service function and is no longer a commission, but a Supreme Tribunal. Opinions of the Commission should really be only advisory. [p. 8]
"And underlying it all – this strict emphasis on maintaining privacy according to Matthew 18, even in the case of sins that are publicly known, further lends itself to the closed, unmonitored system that is so characteristic of episcopé. [p. 10]
"It is truly an incredible irony of Lutheran history that The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which began as the great champion of layman’s rights and as the opponent of episcopal polity, should succumb so easily to episcopé in Resolution 8-01A." [p. 11]
Pastor Peters has frequently mentioned that his personal background is Swedish Midwestern Lutheran. The Swedes have always had an episcopal polity, and Pastor Peters is simply propounding his own personal preference for such. It is who he fundamentally is. The irony is that this personal preference is no different than the personal preferences decried in the church growth mindset. A pining for billowing clouds of incense in an LCMS church is no different than pining for a billowing smoke machine.
Notice how frequently episcopal champions in the LCMS point to adult converts, who have no understanding of history in the LCMS, as examples of those who want to be "real Lutherans," i.e., sacerdotalists who devour Loeheist ideas that our own church body has a long history of rejecting. We once produced great theologians aware of our unique status within Lutheranism. Now we are led by a crowd obsessed with form rather than faith, that would have us follow the "real Lutheran" ideas of Loehe and Sasse, rather than Luther. Good grief. Read "On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church" already.
Seriously,
Take a step back and listen to what the good Pastor has to say. Also to say that "episcope" if falsely identified with Christ is a false statement in itself because he had the Apostles shepherd his church who in turn imposed hands to ordain presbyters, etc. You know this both from the Bible and history.
Anon @12:27 PM,
Lutherans reject your Romanist tripe and refer to the true and unadulterated exposition of Scripture in the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope.
Ah Mr. Strickhert, your vitriol is admirable. Again, you place all of your trust on the Smalcald Articles, etc. which are nothing other than a private interpretation of sacred revelation and not in continuity with either sacred history or the sciptures. YOUR pope, then, rests in all of those writings. What happened to bible alone?
Episcope is supervision of doctrine and practice, to use Missouri Synod terms. Pastor Peters has said that repeatedly over this blog. It does not mean bishop but every church that takes doctrine and practice seriously has somebody, District Presidents or whoever, who practice oversight.
Anonymous said...
Episcope is supervision of doctrine and practice, to use Missouri Synod terms. Pastor Peters has said that repeatedly over this blog. It does not mean bishop but every church that takes doctrine and practice seriously has somebody, District Presidents or whoever, who practice oversight.
Well said.
Anon @1:00PM, your ignorance of Lutheran theology is pathetic.
Anons @ 1:02 PM and 1:09 PM
The Lutheran and Missouri Synod understanding of "episcopé" is well documented and is not affected by your unsubstantiated handwaving.
The understanding and acceptance of Dr. Wohlrabe's use of "episcopé" is included in the paper "The LCMS District Presidents and their Powers" (Lutheran Clarion May-July 2017), by Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland, Pastor, Grace Lutheran Church, San Mateo, California, who stated:
"When it later became evident that expulsion cases were an entirely different matter than 'dispute resolution,' the synod again revised its judicial system in 2004 to separate the two processes. It then gave the powers of judging expulsion cases to the district presidents. 'Reconcilers' then dealt primarily with 'dispute resolution' cases, unless they were called to serve on an expulsion case with two district presidents. The power of the CCM and CTCR to make binding decisions in judicial cases was not changed in 2004. The result is that the LCMS now has a type of 'episcopal polity' in its judicial department, in that judicial decisions are made by district presidents—who are the LCMS equivalent of bishops, and by CCM and CTCR members when they are consulted.
"How did the LCMS, which began with a thoroughgoing 'congregational-synodical polity,' end up in this state of affairs? One of our most astute church historians, the Rev. Dr. John C. Wohlrabe, Jr.—also the LCMS 2nd Vice-President, has recently authored an article titled 'Distractions and Repercussions of the Liturgical Movement in Mid-20th Century Missouri Synod' [23] that suggests some of the origins for our 'episcopal drift'—this is my term, not his.
"Prior to these theological developments, the eastern districts of the LCMS began to exert a measure of independence from the national body of the LCMS....
"In my opinion, the elevation of the status of the district president in the LCMS coincided with the greater independence of the eastern districts, because the former phenomenon justified the latter. Where district presidents were viewed as de facto bishops, their district members increasingly looked to them for doctrinal and practical guidance, instead of to the synod as a whole. The synod was then increasingly viewed by such people as a federation of districts, instead of as a doctrinally-cohesive-synod administered by district representatives of the synodical convention and its officers. The 'federation' view was sure to cause mischief, as indeed it has."
Reference 23 includes John C. Wohlrabe, "Distractions and Repercussions of the Liturgical Movement in Mid-20th Century Missouri Synod," Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 89 no. 3 (Fall 2016): 45-65; and similar work by Dr. Wohlrabe in his abridged dissertation, published as: Ministry in Missouri until 1962: An Historical Analysis of the Doctrine of the Ministry in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (n.p., 1992); and in John C. Wohlrabe, "On The Way to Episcopé: Resolution 8-01A of the 2004 LCMS Convention in the Light of Synodical History."
Carl, aka Richard Strickhert,
When was the last time you had any compassion or spoke in a charitable manner? From everything and I mean EVERYTHING that you have written, all I see is a bitter, frustrated and hateful individual who, while being very well informed (if you call cutting and pasting informed)lacks tack, civility and a genuine Christian way of handling things. Are you a frustrated seminarian who never made it through seminary? Just wondering.....
Mr. Vehse, You can say what you will and quote what you quote but one word, episcope, meaning oversight, means just that. Who does it is another matter but that it is done is essential. You can wax long in your opposition to bishops but that has nothing to do with the issue of episcope or oversight and it is not episcopal polity to have ecclesiastical supervision and even a cursory review of Missouri's history shows that there was always people who had this responsibility and that it was done. Don't kill the horse because you don't like the color of the saddle.
Anon@2:56 PM,
When was the last time you provided factual information regarding Lutheran confessions and teachings that could be substantiated and be of use, instead of ad hominem whining and complaining that I am mistreating you by pointing out the ignorance in your comments on Lutheranism?
Next time, go whine to your mother.
Anon @ 2:59 PM,
Yes, I will discuss and quote from various Lutheran theologians, whose explanations I relay on more then the unsubstantiated pontifications from an anonymous poster.
Episcopé is the Greek word for the office of bishop, that is the office which has the authority and powers to be used by a bishop. The Missouri Synod only has episcopé in the office of a divinely called pastor of a congregation.
The various executive offices of the synod and district corporations are NOT, in themselves part of the episcopé. The synod and district executive officers, in their office, do not have bishopric authority and power. Such executives cannot require or prevent a synodical congregation from issuing a divine call to a specific man who is synodically qualified. Such executives cannot depose a pastor from his divine call to a congregation. Such synod and district executives, in their offices, cannot excommunicate anyone. The only authority and power the synod and districts offices have is to restrict, suspend, or remove the membership of a person or congregations from the synodical roster.
As the Synod Constitution Art. VII states, the Synod (including its executive officers) "is not an ecclesiastical government exercising legislative or coercive powers, and with respect to the individual congregation’s right of self-government it is but an advisory body."
Oh, yeah. The Synod is not a church.
Mr.Stickhert, for someone who is supposed to be scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, you rely almost exclusively on the writings of Luther and his cronies. Btw, I’m not whining just pointing out to you what I see from your rants on this blog. Other Lutherans such as Cliff are balanced in their writings. You my friend are the one that whines.
Anon @ 5:34 AM,
As I responded to another nonLutheran, "Steve," whining about the same thing a week ago on Cranach:
"I've quoted or referenced Scripture as well as referred to theological books by recognized Lutheran theologians that contain and exegete on numerous Scriptural texts."
If your comment is meant to imply that I should quote or refer to eisegetic interpretations of Scripture or other heterodox writings of nonLutherans to achieve a "balanced" writing, your ignorance of Lutheran theology is even more pathetic than noted in a previous comment above.
Carl Vehse
We should ignore Anonymous/Steve. He trolls Lutheran blogs looking to stir up trouble. It gives him something to do between his shifts stocking shelves at his local 7-11.
Vehse said: The Missouri Synod only has episcopé in the office of a divinely called pastor of a congregation.
So there can be no doctrinal oversight of any pastor of a congregation since all episcope is deposited in that office alone and everything else is human distinction and not authentically Lutherans (or Missourian). If that is the case, then it is obvious why Missouri is in tough shape.
Anon @11:37 AM
What I stated was:
"Episcopé is the Greek word for the office of bishop, that is the office which has the authority and powers to be used by a bishop. The Missouri Synod only has episcopé in the office of a divinely called pastor of a congregation."
I also previously stated:
"The only authority and power the synod and districts offices have is to restrict, suspend, or remove the membership of a person or congregations from the synodical roster."
The congregation that called a pastor can remove (depose) that pastor from his call for teaching false doctrine or for other valid reasons.
Episcopus is Bishop or overseer but episcope is oversight so you have your terminology is wrong Verse.
The definition of episcopé, as used and recognized by Lutheran theologians, has been provided above. The episcopé (επισκοπή) is defined as the bishopric, that is the office of the bishop (επίσκοπος).
That definition is not going to change just because some anonymous nonLutheran person with no substantiation or credentials has the notion that it's wrong.
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