One thing that seems hard to ignore is the fact that the Francis party in Rome has done little to encourage priestly vocations (or any vocations, it seems). The seminaries of the more progressive or liberal wing of which Francis is king are largely empty. I read where one survey of bishops could not name one seminarian who was inspired by Francis to choose the priesthood. Given the declining numbers of priests and monks and nuns, it would seem that inspiring future pastors would be central. Everyone has read with shock over the number parishes because of the lack of priests -- literally hundreds of churches closed in diocese after diocese. Add to that the declining numbers in the pews and it would seem Rome would figure out what works and go with it. But they have not and seem not to have read the signals very well.
Of course, if Rome is in the dark, so is most of Christendom. Evangelicalism with its focus on the person -- what they feel, what they want, and how to achieve their goals -- has tu rned Christianity into a highly successful business but it does not seem to have succeeded in promoting orthodox faith and belief. God is less an object of evangelicals than the evangelicals themselves. Mainline Protestantism has watched as their buildings empty and their seminaries fill with those who come from the fringes or the churches -- both in terms of sexuality, gender, belief, and practice. They may reflect well on the diversity of those communities but they do not seem effective at bolstering the flagging numbers. Conservatives (like the Southern Baptists) are almost embarrassed by their past as fundamentalists. While not ready to give up the official statement of faith, they plant missions without the Baptist name and the folks in the pulpits do not bear much resemblance to their fire and brimstone preachers of old.
I wish Lutherans fared better. We seem intent upon mirroring what is the worst in other denominations -- some worshiping like evangelicals and others believing like Baptists and others like mainlines all dressed up in liturgical words they do not believe. Among us, the same problem exists. Being everything but Lutheran has not encouraged a wave of seminarians and, in fact, has done just the opposite.Yet the reality is that confessional in theology and traditional in practice seems to do a better job of inspiring future pastors and establishing a solid community of faith. We need to be careful to make sure we are for more than we are against but, giving that temptation, people who believe and teach the faith without fear seem to raise up more to follow them as pastors.
If you ask me, casting all other things aside, genuine orthodoxy does a better job of raising up future pastors and keeping the pews from emptying than anything else. But Rome will probably keep on demonizing those orthodox in faith and practice. Evangelicalism will keep on ignoring God except when they can will try to learn from Him how to get what they want. The mainlines will choose cultural priorities over the things of God, except when they need help achieving them. Baptists will continue to manifest a s somewhat split personality, hiding who they are in favor of trying to become what people think they want. And for Lutherans the gulf between orthodox faith and practice will widen but it will not bring about unanimity within the Lutheran groups much less between them. We are not quick learners, none of us.
1 comment:
It seems to me, all of us need to look back, and rather than being “quick learners” we need to be what most would call “old fuddie duddies.” We need to remind ourselves (in pew and pulpit - and seminary) that the old ways were and are the right ones. We confess we are the Church of the Apostles without the Apostles doctrine all too readily.
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