Minister of Public Witness

The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber was installed this weekend as the first pastor of public witness for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  Bolz-Weber, who is a controversial figure and often a lightening rod for the ELCA, is most well known for her New York Times bestselling books, including “Shameless: A Sexual Reformation” and “Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint,” a sort of  prayer/profanity-filled memoir of her personal journey from alcoholic stand-up comic to Lutheran pastor -- and now public theologian.

The role of Pastor of Public Witness is a new position for the ELCA.  It is a self-supported position with a title and an air of legitimacy but not compensation.  Bolz-Weber will have a pulpit or a venue to speak for the ELCA and to the ELCA but she has seemed to thrive on living on the edge so this position, while new, is not necessarily new to her.  She has always lived on the edge with a message laced in threat and vulgarity that has both startled and offended traditional Lutherans.  She openly speaks of sex outside of marriage and of the blessing of homosexuality and all the other genders and attractions de rigueur among edgy Christians.  

“The motivation comes from having a pastoral concern and wanting to have a broader reach than a single congregation,” said Bolz-Weber to the Religion News Service.  And that is exactly what she has -- a broad reach.  She has been a featured speaker all over the ELCA -- from youth gatherings to women's groups to church wide assemblies.  But the problem lies in that her appeal is as much because she is provocative as anything else.  She literally pokes her finger in the eyes of everything traditional and makes jokes about the Biblical model of marriage, the context of sexual intimacy within marriage, and Scriptural roles of male and female.  She does so with a vocabulary that might make the proverbial sailor blush and now her church body has given her mission of shock and awe an official name and sanction.  The reality is that even when Bolz-Weber is spot on, she makes you wince.  If you are a church body wanting to leave behind its Scriptural and Confessional roots, she is exactly the persona for this job of public witness but it is also one more reason to be concerned about the Lutheran-ness of a body that claims to be Lutheran.  Or perhaps it is Lutheran in heritage only?