LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 446

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446 ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

the workplace—in order to provide our daily bread and other
needs of this life.

* Christians are citizens of both kingdoms: the earthly kingdom by
birth and the spiritual kingdom by rebirth in Baptism.

* Christians exercise their citizenship in the earthly kingdom in
their vocation and in the spiritual kingdom in the life of the
church.

¢ Christians are to be in the world, but not of the world. (John
17:15-18)

* The Two Kingdoms are not to be confused or mingled with each
other.

* The church is not to imitate the culture. Nor must individual
Christians think they must create some separate Christian culture
or attempt to conquer the world for Christ. God already reigns,
even in the most secular culture among those who do not know
Him.

* The church, as a supernatural] institution present in the world and
called into being solely by God, is distinct from the culture, even
as its members are constructively engaged in the culture through
their vocations.

It follows that the culture is not to set the agenda for the Church.

Therefore, it is spiritually harmful:
¢ When the church changes its teachings to follow prevailing cul-
tural trends.

¢ When theology is determined by cultural considerations rather
than by the Word of God.

* When worship is shaped not by theology but by currently popular
styles,

¢ When Christians ignore their responsibilities to serve their neigh-
bors and to apply God’s moral law in the cultures in which God
has placed them.

* When Christians believe that only “church work” is a valid way
of serving God, so that they neglect their earthly vocations.

¢ When the church is operated as a purely secular corporation, with
the pastor functioning as the “C.E.O.,” the elders being reduced to
a Board of Directors, and the congregation treated as workers, all
organized according to a business plan to market a product.

¢ When the “Priesthood of All Believers” is taken to mean “every
member a minister.” This view denigrates the secular vocations
(in implying that everyone ought to be engaged in ministerial
functions to serve God, as if their existing callings were not
equally spiritual in God’s sight). It also can be used to denigrate
the pastoral vocation (in implying that everyone can do what the
pastor has personally been called to do).

Il
American culture offers many blessings,
but it currently includes features that can undermine the faith.

¢ The American legacy of religious and political freedom, eco-
nomic prosperity and technological progress is a great blessing
from the hand of God.

¢ Though God continues to work in today’s secular culture, many
of our cultural problems can be seen in terms of human rebellion
against God’s kingdom. ,

¢ Certain thought-patterns in American culture, however appropri-
ate in the earthly kingdom, can raise problems when brought into
the spiritual kingdom of the church.

¢ The American philosophy of pragmatism aims only at quantifi-
able results, assuming that the desired outcomes can be produced
when the barriers are removed. Such a view—concerned only
with the question “Does it work?”—often neglects issues of ob-
jective truth and the radical consequences of the Fall.

* American culture is often oriented to hedonism, which makes
human pleasure the highest priority. This view caters to our sinful
flesh,

¢ American culture is influenced by utilitarianism, which evaluates
ideas and principles in terms of their usefulness. This view is

2001 Convention Workbook

human-centered and, when applied to moral decisions, rejects the
absolutes of God’s Word.

« American culture promotes subjectivism, which evaluates knowl-
edge and values on the basis of personal inner feelings. This view
neglects the objective truths ordained by God.

* Americans are often consequentialists, believing that the end jus-
tifies the means. This view justifies negative behavior in the name
of an ultimate good, a position that rationalizes sin and violates
God's Law.

¢ Today’s postmodern culture denies that there are any absolutes.
Truth is relative; morality is relative; and religion is nothing more
than a privatized, interior meaning-system with no connection to
transcendent realities.

It follows that adjusting the church’s practice to appeal
to today’s American culture, as advocated by the Church Growth
Movement, will be particularly problematic.

Therefore, it is spiritually harmful:
* When the “success” of a particular church is assumed to consist in
quantifiable results, such as its budget or its number of new mem-
bers.

¢ When pragmatic or utilitarian considerations—however helpful
in their sphere assume an authority over that of God’s Word.

¢ When worship is shaped by the hedonistic desire for entertain-
ment.

¢ When subjective religious experience takes the place of the Word
and the Sacraments.

* When certain doctrinally-based features of the church—its
liturgy, hymns, moral stances, theological teachings, or culturally
unpopular practices (such as close[d] communion and refusal to
ordain women)— are construed as barriers that need to be elimi-
nated for the church to grow.

* When it is assumed that the church grows through the application
of principles, prescriptions, programs and other human actions,
as opposed to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Means of Grace.

se .
Cultural pluralism does not mean cultural relativism;
rather, it means that the church has the opportunity
to reach out to human beings in all of their God-given diversity.

¢ Though America has its distinct cultural qualities, America is also
a land of cultural pluralism. There have always been many dif-
ferent cultures that constitute America, and the rise of immigra-
tion and the acceleration of generational differences are rapidly
increasing our cultural diversity.

¢ The various cultures of the world and within this country experi-
ence God’s manifold blessings in His earthly kingdom, even
though these cultures are tainted by sin.

¢ Folk cultures of every kind, with their traditional values and eth-
nic identities, are being undermined by a homogenous popular
culture, which has its origins in mass technology and economic
consumerism.

¢ Whereas the music, customs, and other artifacts of ethnic cultures
transmit and preserve community values, artifacts of the pop cul-
ture exist to be bought and sold to the largest possible market.

¢ The pop culture favors products that entertain, that do not demand
thought or effort on the part of its audience, and that satisfy the
subjective tastes of the buyers.

* The pop culture also is eroding the high culture, the realm of
human achievement, education, and expertise. Quality music, lit-
erature and art are giving way lo the shallowness of pop music,
soap operas and computer games.

* The fact of cultural diversity does not mean that truth or morality
are relative; rather, all cultures are limited in their knowledge, tainted
by sin, and are in need of the transcendent truths of God’s Word.

* Christ died for all peoples. The same Gospel is for ali the world.
(Acts |: 8)