LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 445

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ADDITIONAL. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 445

nifies not a cultic following of Martin Luther but rather fidelity
to Christ and His Word. (Preface to the Book of Concord)

It follows that Lutheran distinctives should not
be eliminated in favor of a generic Christianity.

Therefore, it is spiritual harmful:

When the name and confession known as “Lutheran” is replaced
by a generic Christian identity, which may include heterodox
teaching and practice.

When the name Lutheran is removed from our churches, jeopar-
dizing the visibility of some of the key teachings of our Biblical
confession, such as the real presence and compromising consci-
entious Lutheran pastoral care exercised in the loving Biblical
practice of close(d) communion.

When a generic Christianity downplays controversial Biblical
truths in favor of a least-common-denominator approach to doc-
trine, practice, and fellowship, thus compromising Christ’s mis-
sion on earth. (Formula of Concord SD X, 5-7)

When pastors or congregations presume to change or alter the
wording of the Ecumenical Creeds to suit their local circum-
stances.

VI
The “theology of the cross” defines
the mission and ministry of the church.

The Holy Spirit uses the “foolishness” of preaching Christ cruci-
fied (1 Corinthians 1:21) together with Holy Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper to build Christ’s church on earth.

This great treasure of the Gospel of the cross, and it alone, offers
the power of God for salvation to all mankind. Any alternate ways
to build Christ’s church are illusory, essentially deny God’s
Word, and are contrary to God’s revealed will. (Romans 1:16;
Galatians |:6—10)

The risen Christ has won this salvation, not by what the world
would recognize as victory, but by the humiliation, suffering, and
defeat of the cross. John 12:23—25; John 12:32)

As the Son of God, in taking the form of a servant, humbly hid
His majesty in the lowly manger and on the despised cross
(Philippians 2: 6-11), so He continues His work under the lowly
cover of preaching and Sacraments. And just so He draws close to
His children in their sufferings and weakness. (2 Corinthians
12:9-10)

As at Pentecost, God built His church with dramatic increase in
numbers through the proclamation of the cross; so in the days of
Noah, Elijah, and Jeremiah, He built His church in times of de-
creasing numbers. (1 Peter 3: 17-22)

Faithfulness on the part of pastor and congregation includes the
work of evangelism, that is, the proclamation of Christ crucified
in community and world. (! Corinthians 9:16-19; 1 Peter 2:9;
3:15-16)

In an unbelieving world, as Christ’s faithful bride, the church
lives under the cross, she may expect contempt, hardship, strug-
gle, and suffering. (Matthew 10:19-25; Mark 10:28-30)

e

It follows that the “theology of glory”
(the wisdom of the world) misleads the church.

Therefore, it is spiritually harmful:
When spiritual life is measured in terms of personal happiness,
earthly success and appearance, worldly wisdom and human
glory. (1 Corinthians 1:21-25)

When behavioral and social sciences are given a shared authority
with the Word of God as a measure of spiritual truth.

When it is thought that saving faith can be imparted by human
market strategies or that the growth of the Holy Christian Church
can be adequately or accurately measured by numbers. (Matthew
7:13—14; 16:18; Acts 2:47; Colossians 2:19)

¢ When a congregation sees itself as necessarily more faithful be-
cause it is not growing. Or, conversely, when a congregation
views growing numbers and income as an indication that Christ is

necessarily building His church. Numbers, large or small, are not
a litmus test of the Gospel!’s power. (Matthew 7:24-27)

¢ When anything other than faithfulness by pastor or people to
the pure Gospel and Sacraments of Christ is used to measure the
“health” of a congregation. (1 Corinthians 2:2)

Part Two
The Cultural Issues

THE CHURCH GROWTH MOvVE-
MENT JS AN ATTEMPT to address
the contemporary culture, which
has become increasingly secular-
ized and in need of evangeliza-
tion. The question then becomes,
to what extent should the church
change its practices to accommo-
date the culture? Clearly, Chris-
tians exist in a particular culture,
as do the non-Christians we hope
to reach with the Gospel. The church must communicate in a lan-
guage and in a way that the surrounding culture can understand.
On the other hand, following the lead of a secularized culture can
only Jead to a secularized church.

Further complicating the matter is the fact of cultural pluralism.
America today embraces many different cultures, so that attempts
to appeal to one (for example, affluent white baby-boomers who
live in the suburbs) may not appeal to others (African-Americans,
Hispanics, rural midwesterners, Generation-Xers). These pluralistic
cultures are themselves under assault from the commercial “pop
culture” which reduces all cultural expressions to a homogenized
commodity to buy and sell.

The Lutheran Church is blessed with a theology that offers a
specific, comprehensive framework for addressing the relationship
between the church and culture. The doctrine of the Two Kingdoms
can help us address the cultural issues raised by the Church Growth
Movement in a positive way.

The Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions state that the
world in essence is essentially good but accidentally evil. (The
Confessions utilize Aristotelian terms to describe both “essence”
and “accident”). Original sin is not of the nature or essence of man
(FC SD I, 55-58). Therefore, the earth is the Lord’s. In Luther’s
two-kingdom paradigm, the kingdom of power is where God op-
erates as the Creator. It is not the world of Satan. Both Christians
and non-Christians co-exist in the kingdom of power.

I
The Lutheran Theology of the Two Kingdoms teaches
that God reigns in all cultures, but that the church is to be
ruled by the Word of God alone, and not by the culture.

¢ The Two Kingdoms are defined as the Kingdom of Power, which
God rules today by virtue of His creation, and the Kingdom of
Grace, which Jesus Christ rules today by virtue of His redemp-
tion.

¢God’s earthly kingdom—or “Kingdom of the Left Hand” or
“Kingdom of Power”’—includes all persons in the world whether
they are Christians or non-Christians, and remains subject to
God’s Law, His created orders and His providential care.

¢ God’s spiritual kingdom or “Kingdom of the Right Hand” or
“Kingdom of Grace”—-includes only those persons who have
been given faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit,
are thus under the Gospel.

* God’s earthly kingdom is subject to human reason, cultural dy-
namics, and scientific laws. God’s spiritual kingdom is subject
only to His Word. Both kingdoms belong to God. (Augsburg
Confession and Apology, XIV, XVI, XXVIII)

* God is active in His earthly kingdom, for both Christians and non-
Christians, through human vocations—the family, citizenship and

2001 Convention Workbook