Rounding up the usual suspects. . .

A few months ago there was an interview online with former LCMS President Jerry Kieschnick with the inclusion of 12 reasons why he believes the LCMS is in decline.  In summary they were:

1. The Demographics are against us.
   
2. The failure of the Church to impact the lives of people.
3. The Romanization of the clergy.
4. The centralization of power in the Synod.
5. The sinful and prideful worship practice -- worshiping worship.
6. The failure to recognize the Body of Christ.
   
7. The failure to honor the priesthood of all believers.
   
8. The failure to utilize the priesthood of all believers.
9. The reticence and reluctance to recognize and utilize the service of women.
10. The restrictive policy of sacramental hospitality (closed communion).
11. The failure to believe there is a place called hell.
12. The fact that we seem to have forgotten our mission.

As you might have guessed, these are mostly the typical complaints of a certain perspective in Synod and they have been the usual suspects for the decline of our church body for the last fifty years.  The problem is that these are not quite objective nor are they reflective of anything more than anecdotal evidence rather than facts and figures.  Some of those who were irritated by such comments might have responded from their own perspective decrying the opposite side of the usual suspects.  We could have a very fine war of ideas based upon our own anecdotal evidence.  The result is that we are ever more divided but still not quite over facts or figures or objective evidence but perceptions.

The LCMS is in decline not because we are losing people faster than other churches -- the truth is that we are better than most at member retention.  The LCMS is a bit better than average at reaching new people.  The LCMS offers more child and adult catechesis than many other churches.  What we are battling is basic -- catechesis in the home as well as in the church, focusing on the centrality of the family, having more rather than less children, having the Church be the center of our lives and our friendships, being in the Word, and being willing to serve.  None of these are really new although it could be said that the roots of the declining size of the family actually go back fifty years rather than fifteen.  What I think is most striking is the fact that the more we as LCMS congregations, Christians, families, and individuals mirror the culture around us, the more we will decline and the less urgency there will be attached to our message and our identity as a church.  While it is easy to blame the usual suspects, parishes like my own disprove the stereotype.  One last thing, the character of the church ought to manifest also in the welcome that we offer the stranger -- offering them not the promise that anybody off the street will feel at home but that we will help and support them embracing the radical difference living within the life of Christ's body as His baptized children receiving His gifts through the means of grace.  Now that does make a big difference.