tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post6040732589927545940..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: From one thing to another. . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-59285570456680729262017-11-15T23:48:12.718-06:002017-11-15T23:48:12.718-06:00In the last 75 years the LCMS has had 3 different ...In the last 75 years the LCMS has had 3 different hymnals produced.<br />The 1941, the 1981, and 2006. Instead of revising and updating the<br />1941 hymnal, the 1981 one opened the door for everyone to do their<br />own thing. With the advent of the computer it became possible for<br />a parish to produce their own order of service each week and no<br />hymnal was needed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-79495644318700249162017-11-12T16:41:06.310-06:002017-11-12T16:41:06.310-06:00Perhaps different ways of presenting the same mean...Perhaps different ways of presenting the same means of grace to different people in different places is a strength, rather than a weakness?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-77019642094765823352017-11-12T12:35:04.554-06:002017-11-12T12:35:04.554-06:00I agree with "Anonymous" in that congreg...I agree with "Anonymous" in that congregational practices seem to be working against unity of worship in the LCMS. Pehaps, the reasons are found in the American penchant for independence and democracy as codified expressions of self-rule. Bonhoeffer, when he visited this country before World War 2, was puzzled by the independence of American churches. He would be shocked if he saw exactly how bad it is today, and the Lutheran camp alone is fractured into progressive vs orthodoxy by individual congregation. I pray the LCMS will hold together in spite of this tension, but only if leadership exerts itself at the Synod. Otherwise, each LCMS church will look different. Not a great outcome.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-14559582744698935742017-11-12T10:15:14.667-06:002017-11-12T10:15:14.667-06:00Lutheran identity will be driven by congregational...Lutheran identity will be driven by congregational practice, with the Michigan and Texas districts going their direction, Atlantic theirs, Indiana theirs, etc. In general, the churches are responding to Lyotard's casualization of society, and one should not paint with too broad a brush that any non-liturgical worship is by definition not Lutheran. Perhaps a solution would be for the synod to develop a body of contemporary Lutheran hymns and orders of contemporary worship. According to the Solid Declaration, the essentials of Lutheran worship are the pure preaching of the gospel and right administration of the sacraments. What's surprising is that the 1983 CTCR report on Communion wants to treat the frequency of offering the sacrament as an adiaphoron, stating that no set number of times should be attached to the offering of the Lord's Supper, yet the confessions speak of preaching and the sacrament as the only two things that stand outside ceremonies, which are not to be a source of condemnation if churches have more or less of. In a sense, the CTCR report is correct, since if no one desires the sacrament it must not be offered, but we are a long way past the times where this may have been a real possibility.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com