LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 32

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32 SYNODICAL REPORTS

as the liturgy and hymns are sung week after week. Together with
the Small Catechism, they develop within the church a common
way of speaking that equips us to be faithful witnesses as we con-
fess the saving truth before this increasingly confused and dark-
ened world.

One of the reasons often given for simplifying or discarding the
liturgy is the concern that the church’s liturgy and hymnody con-
tain elements and concepts that are not understandable, both to the
unchurched and to the average church member. Obviously, the
church does not want to Promote a liturgical order that confounds
or confuses people. That does not mean, however, that whatever is
done in worship must aim for the lowest common denominator.
The genius of the liturgy is that even as it speaks a clear message of
Gospel, it also continually invites us to further reflection and de-
votion.

As an example of this Principle, consider the Lord’s Prayer.
None of us can count how many times we have prayed that model
prayer. We even prayed it as children when its meaning was rela-
tively obscure to us. But does that mean that we shouldn't teach
this prayer, or other texts, to children? Or that once the meaning
has been mastered, we needn’t pray it anymore? Hardly. Instead,
we learn the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles” and Nicene Creeds and
other fundamental texts so well that we can spend the rest of our
lives growing into them. Only after these texts have become a part
of us can we be freed to appreciate the fullness of their message.

We Are Members of “One” Church

In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul rejoices in the truth that
the church is one: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you

faith, one baptism; one God and Father of ali, who is over all and
through all and in all” (Eph. 4:46). Though St. Paul goes on to
speak of the various callings within the church, the purpose is not
to emphasize the diversity but to see how God uses the various gifts
to strengthen the church’s unity: “... so that the body of Christ
may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith ...” (Eph.
4:12b~13a).

This biblical emphasis on the church’s unity and order (see also
Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-26: 14:40) needs to be remembered when
a congregation considers adding a contemporary/alternative ser-
vice. Often, congregations are advised to offer several different
“styles” of worship in order to attract the greatest number of people
from our unchurched culture. The rationale is that a congregation’s
unity is not dependent on everyone worshiping the same way (see
Alan Klaas, Jn Search of the Unchurched [ 1996], pp. 57-63).

It is true that there is no biblical mandate demanding that a con-
gregation use the same worship format at every Service; congrega-
tions will nevertheless want to be concerned for unity and order.
The solution of providing two, three, or even four different styles of
services within a single congregation may answer a perceived need

for variety that communicates the Gospel to people of different

backgrounds and experiences. The end result, however, is not nec-
essarily an improvement. In effect, the members go their own way
(i.e., to their preferred service) on the basis of their own personal
tastes. Rather than learning how to live and worship with the whole
body, together with all of the rejoicing and Struggling that may en-
tail (1 Cor. 12:26-27), the impression is given that the church is
made up of individuals who segregate themselves on the basis of
their likes and dislikes. How does this manifest the unity of the
church?

The Church’s Worship Is Both Countercultural and Transcultural

As long as the church has existed in the world, it has struggled
to live faithfully according to Jesus’ command to be “in, but not
of” this world John 17:1 1-18). Certainly that tension is keenly felt
today as the church finds itself in a world that is less and less hos-
pitable to Christianity. From every angle we are bombarded with
messages that entice us to enjoy the pleasures of this life and to
strive for worldly success.

Coupled to the hedonism of the age is a new world view that
challenges any belief in absolute truth. Unlike the modern age of
the last two centuries, which challenged biblical truths on the basis
of scientific evidence, the postmodern world view advances the

claim that each person is entitled to his or her own version of the
truth. In such a climate, the church’s exclusive claim that salvation
comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Acts 4:12) is unwelcome
and readily dismissed by many. This postmodern view of the indi-
vidual is a manifestation of the very essence of what it means to be
a sinner. Emphasis falls invariably upon the self. Rather than being
guided by the will of God, it is one’s individual feelings, wants,
and desires that are often the determining factor for all of life.

Another feature of our culture is the sway of utilitarianism and
Pragmatism. Simply put, these “isms” advance the attitude that we
should use whatever means necessary to reach our goals. Perhaps
this world view is best summed up with the phrase, “If it works,
use it.” The Scriptures, however, never promote the attitude that
“the end justifies the means.”

Increasingly our society is being defined by the twin dangers of
Passivity and isolation. While inventions like the television and
computer have resulted in tremendous advances, they have also
given us opportunity to withdraw from the society around us. We
are rapidly losing the ability to interact with each other in any
meaningful way. Certainly this trend Poses a challenge to the
church’s corporate nature, namely, that it is defined not as a col-
lection of individuals but as the body of believers (1 Cor. 12:12-27;
Eph. 2:19-22; 4:4-6),

Finally, our world lives for instant gratification. First the tele-
Phone, and now fax and Internet allow us instant communication.
Fast-food establishments, ATMs, cellular phones—all of these give
us a sense that the world around us is ready to serve. Furthermore,
there is the temptation to expect everything to be relevant to the
here and now. If it isn’t, then its usefulness comes into serious
question.

In response to these pressures from the world, the church’s wor-
ship will often have to take up the task of opposing the culture. It is,
in fact, countercultural. In reply to the increasing relativism of the
age, for example, we must be resolute in our worship to proclaim
the whole counsel of God, both His terrifying judgment of sinners
and His comforting forgiveness for the sake of Christ. Though the
world will forever persuade the church to soften its prophetic mes-
sage, we remain determined to proclaim the truth, fully aware that
the Gospel—indeed, Christ Himself—is a stumbling block (Matt.
21:42; 1 Cor. 1:18-25), Of course, while the message of the cross
will be an offense to some, this never means that we intentionally
prepare or lead our worship in such a way that it turns people away.

Our worship will also strive to resist other trends that have
come to characterize our society. For example, the perception that
everything we do in worship must be relevant should not be an ex-
cuse for allowing our wants and needs to dictate the agenda of the
service. The genius of the church’s historic liturgy—and why it has
found continued use in diverse cultures over centuries—is its abil-
ity to focus on the heart of the matter, namely, our condition as sin-
ners in need of a gracious God. While freshly written confessions
of sin, absolutions, and creedal statements for example may give
the appearance of being relevant, the very attempt at relevance runs
the risk of turning attention away from God and onto ourselves,

Similarly, the church must be on guard against allowing her
worship to promote the tendency toward passivity. Something as
simple as the recent trend of calling those gathered in the sanctuary
an “audience” highlights this concern, Audiences typically gather
to watch a performance. The church’s worship, however, is any-
thing but a performance: it is, rather, the gathering of God’s saints
around His gifts so that they may receive and have life. It truly is
unlike anything else in the entire world. How the people of God
gather for and conduct themselves in worship will, then, reflect that
reality, namely, that this is heaven on earth. Far from being solely a
somber and grave experience, the church’s worship will exhibit a
full range of human emotions as God’s gifts are received, Joy and
exuberance will be as evident as solemnity. No emotion, however,
exists for its own sake, but is the response of faith to the goodness
of God’s gifts.

These countercultural aspects of the church’s worship are bal-
anced by the fact that the church’s liturgy also serves positively as
a transcultural force. The genius of the church’s liturgy is that it is
not the product of one time or place but, rather, the very wisdom of
the church from every time and place. Over the centuries the liturgy