What A Family Should Be
The chapter on "Parents and Children", taken from "Evangelical Catechism" states that:
"It is no longer possible to assume that a child lives with two parents; a father who works outside of the home and a mother who works at home . . . Today children are brought up in a variety of settings, with a variety of adult models and types of care."
As a statement of fact, this is most certainly true. But does it help us to say what a family at its best ought to be? Would articulating such an ideal be a condemnation of those families - blended, group, single parent - who do not meet it? In short, in a culture uncertain about the meaning of family and parenthood, is the Church reduced to "affirming" every family in whatever form it may be, "meeting needs" of people in parent-child relationships, etc.? Is this why we are reluctant to hold up an ideal? Is it even helpful to ask what a family should be?
In his new book, "Rebuilding the Nest: A New Commitment to the American Family", Oberlin College's, Gilber Meilaender, raises these and other questions as he seeks to say something about the family that is more than an affirmation of diversity. What can be said about the family itself?
His first point is that "the fellowship of the kingdom of God, though it may be spoken of as a family, is neither generated nor sustained through biological transmission of life, nor by the love given and received in the history of our human families. The kingdom is not a continuation, or even a reinterpretation, of the family as we know it; rather, it is a new creation...There is discontinuity between the kingdom of God and any earthly order, even one as significant as the family." The Scriptures reveal this truth (Mark 3:35; Luke 2:41-51; Luke 9:59-62; Matthew 10:34-37; etc.)
We must think of the family as a biological, historical community whose most fundamental task is the transmission of a way of life. The family should be a place of biological "begetting" and historical "telling."
We must not think of ourselves as individuals who come together for our own fulfillment. As parents, we are given the task of loving our children by setting aside our own craving for fulfillment and giving ourselves over to our parental functions. For when we lose our life - we then learn that the act of self-expanding love is actually a gift.
In a world that insistently raises the question, "What do you do for yourself?", the Church has a message that shines...the light of self-giving love. In a sense, we are called to the biological "begetting" of, and historical "telling" to, our children. We are called to hold up the ideal of what a family ought to be, especially now that so many haven't a clue as to what a family is.
Certainly, at their very best, our families will only approach this ideal. We need but look at our family portraits to see how far we fall short of it. But perhaps families need something more than an affirmation of diversity, or a ministry to failure. Perhaps what they need is a word the Church can uniquely supply: "a word that interprets the bond of parents and children in this light and gives to us all a renewed sense of what it means to live within a family." - by Rev. Hilton Chancellor
Mission For The Church
Since its formation the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA) has lost 89 members per day, according to Lutheran World Information. No genius is needed to agree with Hamlet that "Something is rotten in Denmark".
Many causes may contribute to this abomination. Not the least may be the widespread disdain for "church growth", as manifested by such puerile pastoral platitudes as, "We are not interested in numbers"; or "We're not after bucks and bodies".
A more weighty cause for this dis-evangelization is likely. We have cut our world mission forces down by more than two-thirds since the '60s. No church can prosper if it renounces its responsibility to "make disciples of all nations". For it is a peculiar law of the Kingdom that we must give in order to get, we must offer the Gospel in order to keep it. (Luke 6:38).
We need at once to re-program into our congregations a full emphasis on world missions. When, for example, did your congregation last celebrate a "Mission Festival"? Only a generation ago, this event annually captured the interest of almost every Lutheran congregation in the U.S.
When did your congregation last hear a foreign missionary at its main worship? Perhaps half the ELCA's global missionaries got the initial call to their ministry by sitting under such a presentation. When did your women's organization last have a sustained programmatic emphasis on world mission? Can you even imagine – still within our lifetime, such groups were regularly called "Women's Missionary Societies"!
How long since your congregation sponsored a weekly group devoted to prayer for the missionary personnel and outreach of the ELCA? The entire foreign mission movement in the U.S. started with a prayer meeting held in the lee of a haystack.
Can we renew this concern once more? If we do, we may witness the kind of evangelization that now blesses the Church in China – 20,000 new believers every day!
God, send us to our knees for your cause – "that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." – by Rev. George H. Muedeking
"What Does The World Need to Hear?"
In every age, the Church has struggled with the question of what should be its message to the world. Paul Tillich, in his Systematic Theology, described this Church-world interaction in terms of the "method of correlation". Here the Church answers the existential questions of the world by providing what it has always done, a theological response.
Such was the case in Luther's time. To a religious society overcome with fear of God's wrath, and preoccupied with appeasing such a God through good works, Luther preached the Word of freedom found in the gospel...a righteousness based not on works, but on faith in what God has already done for us through Christ's death on the cross (Rom. 1:16, 17). Luther was even heard to say, "sin boldly", to a people who did not trust in God's grace, love, and forgiveness.
But what does the world need to hear today! Because so much has changed today. We are no longer living in a religious society, but in a secular society. In our world people "sin boldly" as a matter of course. Most people go their own way and could care less about Christ and his Gospel. Somehow the "pill" of Luther's time, "sin boldly", no longer may be seen as a remedy, but, on the contrary, as part of the problem.
Many mainline churches today may be compared to a football team that is not doing very well. Some try some fancy plays that do not work. Some fumble the ball. Some lose ground. In such a case, a football team, if it is smart, returns to the basics of the game. It tries to accomplish the most basic of things in the hope that everything else will fall into place.
And as a church we need to do that too. We need to return to the basics. And not much is more basic than Jesus' first preaching recorded in St. Mark's gospel, "The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the Gospel." (Mark 1:17). These are words that our world needs to hear as well. Yet there are two basic stumbling blocks to this message:
(1) There is the stumbling block of moral change. People do not like to be told that their lives miss the mark, much less that they are sinners headed for God's punishment. It is much easier for the Church to offer false hope saying, "Well, so many people are living immoral lives...lives which break God's commandments...it's okay; after all, everyone is doing it," as if morality could be determined by majority vote. Yet, the Christian life requires a moral change in direction. It requires leaving the past behind and entering the way of life and forgiveness and hope (I Cor. 6:11). This is a very profound stumbling block, for most people do not like to give up their sins, and fight against change.
And (2) There is the stumbling block of faith. While many people may believe in God in some abstract sense, they do not believe that God would make an appearance in our world. They do not believe that the creation could bear the Creator. Yet, that is precisely what Christianity proclaims. As St. John has it, 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." (Jn. 1:14a). Such a "scandal of particularity" creates division; Christ brings not peace but a sword. And so most people are offended that God would be born to work in the world for our salvation. Nonetheless, as Luther says, 'This is most certainly true."
We need to return to the basics of Christian preaching today. The world needs to hear a Word of change and a Word of hope. "Repent and believe" remains an appropriate "pill" for our lost and wandering world. – by Rev. William R. Bragstad
Synod Assembly Resolutions
F.O.C.L. is concerned that congregations and members who seek input into the decisions of the yearly Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly may not be aware of the required procedures to be followed in order to get their resolutions brought to the floor and accepted. (For example - resolutions to be processed through the various Conferences must be passed and sent on to the Synodical offices by February 1, in order to find their way into the Pre-Assembly Reports).
At the time of this publication, it may already be too late to follow the required procedure in order to have your resolutions in the pre-Assembly report. However, it is still not too late to submit resolutions to the Assembly. A resolution can be submitted, through the Synod office, up until four weeks prior to the Assembly, as long as it carries with it the endorsement of a congregation.
The Great Commission Network
The Great Commission Network (GCN), an organization of concerned, Confessional Lutherans, has formed with its headquarters in Minneapolis, MN.
The GCN's objective is to become an umbrella organization uniting evangelical, confessional theologians, pastors, laity, congregations and institutions working in solidarity for the confessional renewal of the ELCA.
The Reverend Thomas Parrish, pastor of Trinity Lutheran of Minnehaha Falls, MN and Interim Convenor of GCN attended F.O.C.L.'s September Board Meeting. Pastor Parrish spoke of the organization's (GCN) strong support within the Minneapolis area. At one recent event 60 area pastors came together to express their concerns about the current direction of the ELCA and to implement their vision to form a national network.
FOCL was viewed as having an important voice and role in this network, and will be in ongoing conversation with its leadership. We encourage you and your congregation to become members in the network.
News from The Front Line
Interest in FOCL Grows . . . Letters of encouragement and support continue to arrive at the FOCL office. People from many parts of the country are beginning to hear of the efforts and concerns coming from Northern California and are offering their support to our fellowship. There are also other groups with similar concerns beginning to form in various areas of the country. It is exciting to see the work of the Holy Spirit, in so many regions of our Church, beginning to raise Confessional concerns. It was also encouraging to hear that Central Lutheran Church in Portland, OR, scheduled its annual lecture series to revolve around some of the major issues raised at the St. Olaf College "Call To Faithfulness" conference. We encourage other congregations to sponsor a similar event in their respective areas. Both written texts and audio cassettes of the conference may be obtained through St. Olaf College. Thanks to the members of Central Lutheran for your commitment to the life of the Church and for sharing your ideas with us!
FOCL POINT is the quarterly newsletter of the Fellowship of Confessional Lutherans. Its purpose and vision come from the commitment of its members to the Confessional integrity of the ELCA, and from their desire to be a pro-active voice within the Church. If you have any comments you would like to share with us, please feel free to write to the editor with your thoughts. Also, if you and your congregation would like to become supporters of our fellowship and receive additional copies of our newsletter, please fill out the form below and send it to our office.
Our fellowship is supported solely by the contributions of its members. Please prayerfully consider your involvement in and support of the work of this fellowship. Your church needs your and our influence. We hope to hear from you soon.
PRAYER CONCERNS FOR THE CHURCH . . .
Our fellowship is committed to raising before our God some of the concerns that we find within our Church. We invite and encourage you to include the following list of concerns in your daily prayer life:
1) Pray that the mission outreach efforts in China will not lose their doctrinal integrity as a result of many having no access to Bibles or Bible teachers.
2) Pray that fellow Lutherans released from political constraints in Namibia may not turn to material possessions and political freedom as a way of replacing the freedom found only in the Gospel.
3) Pray that the National Assembly of the ELCA will place evangelization of the world and loyalty to the Scriptures at the heart of its concern.
4) Pray that the Mission '90 efforts throughout the Church will bring a renewed focus on Scriptural foundations as the key to spiritual life.
MISSION '90
Mission '90 began as the vision of ELCA Bishop Herbert Chilstrom. The purpose behind Mission '90 is to give our new Church direction. Mission '90 attempts to give answers to our people for the following questions: "Who are we? In what do we find our basic identity? What are the priorities for our church? And in what direction are we headed?"
The exciting aspect of Mission '90 is its strong emphasis on evangelism, renewal and Scriptural instruction and study. Every congregation should commit itself to Mission '90.