Recognize at the Outset Basic Lutheran Differences About Change  

By Charles S. Mueller, Sr.

At a recent regional delegate gathering President Kieschnick shared an anonymous Blue Ribbon Task Force evaluation.  It read, “Now I‘m not sure what is being proposed, but I know that I probably would want to take exception to any proposal.”  

That’s a purely Lutheran response, whether  LCMS,  ELCA or WELS.  We know that because, “A Study of Generations,” the 400 page analysis  published in 1972, gave us a group photo of Lutherans and what they believe.  One snapshot is that Lutherans come in three varieties: 

Three Varieties

40% lean somewhat toward a transcendental-no-change mindset;

40% tilt toward being transcendental-change folks;

20%, the balance, are of an other-worldly bent. 

Regardless of characterization no synod has a corner on any one of them. They are evenly distributed among all Lutheran church bodies. And those numbers have since been consistently corroborated.  More alert Lutherans have sensed that kind of division has been around since the synod’s founding, as the Altenburg Debate and hundreds of other subsequent examples evidence. 

What are transcendental-no-change people?  They are folks who can be both evangelical and Confessional but their first impulse is to resist change whether on Synodical issues or when facing new things that surface in their congregation or in their families. 

Transcendental change folks can be evangelical and Confessional, too, but they see new things as having great  potential.  They are attuned to their times while working at keeping Christ’s mission first and foremost. 

Other-worldly folks make up a fairly small but important segment of our Lutheran family.  Deeply concerned with spiritual things they urge their church to hear and obey the Spirit’s promptings.  They usually function quietly and under the institutional radar.   

Even though Lutherans may be properly divided into these three “camps” most in each module are clustered around the Bell Curve’s center-line while each’s extremists do noisy things out on the far edges.  More than that, on a specific issue affecting family or friends, they can show up espousing an opposite’s position. How does that happen?

Thoughtful Fraternal Discussion

That kind of realigning is the product of thoughtful conversation, fraternal discussion and informed debate between those of a contrary view.  A quote often attributed to Winston Churchill that, “Talk-talk-talk (conversation, discussion, debate) beats fight-fight-fight“ is but a 20th century echo of  CFW Walther’s 1847 inaugural address.  In that speech he took the position that Word-and-Spirit-led unity were the product of family members given to convincing (talk-talk-talk) rather than control (fight-fight-fight).   That’s important to realize as we ready for a Synodical convention.

Given the already sited natural and normal Lutheran dissimilarities, conventions can bring out some of the worst in those who attend.  To compensate for that possibility we need to work hard at listening and learning from each other on the way to pooling our better insights for the benefit of the church.  A first step in doing that is to recognize that no one has the corner on all wisdom.  We need each other’s contribution to develop what’s best.  But how will we do that?

Walther’s insistence on operating under the Spirit and with the Word is our starting point.  Omit that and conventions become an embarrassing mess.  But there’s also another great blessing waiting in the wings: Robert’s Rules of Order.

With the Help of Robert’s Rules

It’s humbling to learn that General Henry Robert developed his Rules in 1871 after attending some unruly and raucous church gatherings.  It’s even more humbling to learn that the hundreds of pages and thousands of details of his Robert’s Rules are based on  three principles: 1) common consent, 2) common sense, and 3) common courtesy.  When applied, those principles can bring peace to a family, a congregation or a Synodical convention. 

Years ago I interviewed over a hundred pastors asking how they handled dissent in their parishes.

One brother told me, “There is no dissent in my parish.”  And then after a pause he added, “…they’ve all  left.” 

Wherever God raises up leaders after His heart, whether in a home or anywhere in the church, we know they are His by the way they apply Walther’s Biblical basics and  Robert’s three principles.  If we let CFW Walther and General Robert teach us a thing or two about the importance of opening ourselves to persuasion and genuine conversation with others we will have a magnificent convention.

Truth to tell Robert’s  trilogy of common consent, common sense and common courtesy is what thousands of Lutheran mothers have been teaching their children for years.   Now let’s see what we’ve all learned become the better way that Lutherans should live.