We Need To Be The Lutheran Church—MISSIONAL
Synod
By
Ray Schkade
Someone
has suggested that we rename our church body The Lutheran
Church—MISSIONAL
Synod. Great idea.
However, to be a MISSIONAL Synod is no easy assignment
from God. Not with
the devil, that old evil foe, alive and well, seeking which
LCMS preacher or lay person he can impact, no matter on what
level of influence in the church, no matter what political
side, no matter how sincere.
Our Synod, due to the effective work of Satan,
is in constant danger of losing its MISSION focus, and
becoming a church in RE-MISSION (dictionary definition: the
act of canceling, or annulling).
And Satan does not take sides in our synodical
controversies. He
is champion for every side that divides. Some examples:
Three
Dangers
1. For called church workers or lay persons in
the LCMS, whether in a congregation, district or Synod, to
have a passion for sharing the “water of life” with the
lost, but mix the “water of life” with false doctrine
(example: work righteousness as a part of salvation), these
persons become guilty of changing our Synod from a true
Missional Church to a Re-Missional Church, from a church in
mission to a church in remission.
Satan is a big supporter of this group.
Pure doctrine in Word and Sacrament ministry is an
essential ingredient of a Missional Synod if its efforts to
reach the lost for Christ are to succeed.
No matter how intentional and successful LCMS
congregations/members are in sharing the water of life with
the lost, if the “water of life” is contaminated,
their efforts will be in vain, lost souls will remain lost,
and Satan will have won another victory.
2. For called church workers or lay persons in
the LCMS, whether in a congregation, district or Synod, to
possess and preserve the “water of life” in all its truth
and purity, but fail to intentionally and intensely share this
“water of life” with thirsty and dying lost souls is to
become guilty of aborting Christ’s Great Commission.
Those who “talk the talk” about preserving
the Word, without “walking the walk” in sharing the Word
with the lost, become partners with Satan in changing our
church body from being a true
Missional Church to a church body in remission.
3. For
called church workers or lay persons in the LCMS, whether in a
congregation, district or Synod, to meet the high standards of
both keeping pure “the water of life” as well as sharing
the “water of life” with the lost, but are guilty of
publicly judging or labeling their fellow Lutheran brothers or
sisters with whom they disagree, whether on the left or the
right, without clear evidence to its truthfulness, need to
examine their actions in the light of the 8th
Commandment.
Placing
the Worst Construction
Placing the “worst construction” on an
issue at hand fans the flame of conflict in Synod, disrupts
our unity under Christ to be a Missional Church, and results
in a denomination in remission.
For the world to observe the LCMS as a denomination of
people who are in conflict rather than the mark set by the
Lord in “see how they love one another,” is another
victory for Satan.
It has become all too common in our beloved
Synod to allow personal convictions to interfere with a
healthy respect and love for those who disagree with us.
The result? The
old evil foe wins again, and the LCMS becomes the loser—a
church body in remission, instead of a church in mission.
One of my mentors in ministry some years ago
helped me to adopt a new approach when it comes to theological
and practical church issues that arise from time to time and
threaten unity in our church body: Is the
theological/practical issue at hand so clear, so powerful, so
unbending, that I would be willing to offer the salvation of
my soul as a guarantee to my commitment to the issue at hand?
Would
You Stake Your Soul on an Issue?
For example, I will stake my soul on my belief
from the Bible that Jesus Christ is the ONLY hope of salvation
for lost souls.
I am NOT willing to stake my soul on what I
happen to believe about the issues of Yankee Stadium, or
woman suffrage, or Lutheran clergy preaching from
non-Lutheran pulpits. In each of these issues, and there are
many others, while I have strong feelings and opinions on
these matters, I may be right…or I may be wrong.
Only on Judgment Day will I know for sure where God
stood in all of these matters, and I am not willing to stake
my soul on what I happen to believe in each of these issues.
God forbid that any leader in the LCMS become
guilty of influencing congregations to be a church in
remission, building walls rather than bridges out of fear of
dealing with church growth or variety of worship styles or
people’s felt needs.
The time for the LCMS to “go disciple” is
now. Concentrate
on being the Missional Church God wants us to be.
Rev. Ray Schkade is a retired pastor and
district executive living in Giddings TX.
