This morning began, as should all Christian endeavors, with worship. A sermon by Rev. Erma Wolf called us again to the hard task of ministering to those that anger us most because they are so similar to us. She reflected on the very familiar story of the woman at the well from the Gospel of John, recognizing that the crowd that gathered in response to the woman’s testimony were Samaritans also. (Samaritans were especially repugnant to Jews because they claimed to be worshipping the same God, but they did it in the wrong way.) To sum up Pr. Wolf’s point, as it was for the ancient Jews when they looked at the Samaritans, so it is for us when we look at Christians with whom we disagree: We are called not only to tolerate such people, but go to them, minister to them, and when necessary evangelize them with the fullness of the Gospel… because that is what Jesus did.
Dr. Paul Martinson concluded the theological presentations by outlining for us the deep connection between our theology and mission, especially noteworthy was his nuanced overview the differences between the visions of God proclaimed by Christianity and Islam. Following Dr. Martinson’s powerful lecture, Ryan Schwarz asked us the question, “What does all this mean for our future?” It was a time primarily for questions to be asked from the microphone by those in attendance. These questions were asked not of the lecturers of the assembly, for it is we as lay and clergy theologians who will have to answer them. These days have been intense and powerful, but they have only been the beginning. Much needs to be done, and not only must every thought must be made captive to Christ, so must our practices. As one person said eloquently from the microphone, “we must practice a faith that yields nothing while practicing a love that yields everything.”
My own answer to the question to the question “what does all this mean for our future?” was first articulated by Dr. Hinlicky on the first night of the conference: As our Sunday liturgy teaches us, Christian faith has as its starting point repentance. “Repent and believe the Gospel,” is our Lord’s first public declaration in the Gospel of Mark, and it is the starting point for us today as well. And what does repentance look like for us who hoping to put wheels on the ideas we have contemplated at this conference, those of us who want to see orthodox Lutheranism revitalized in this country? In practice, it will at the very least mean reexamining our every parish practice—no matter how hallowed a local tradition—with an eye toward the Great Commission and its injunction not only to spread the faith, but to teach “everything that Christ commanded us” so that we may be obedient to Christ. We must unflinchingly examine such local conventions so that we may practice what we preach… and so preach the faith even more faithfully.
With the conclusion of the theological conference, it was time to “see if this dog would hunt.” The ideas we had bandied about for two days now had to “become incarnate” in the form of the guiding documents of Lutheran CORE—the coalition that is to provide the fellowship, support, and resources for orthodox Lutherans of all denominations. Could this be done? Was there much hope for the future in this regard? How would it look when “the rubber hit the road?”
Have you ever seen smoke pour off the tires of a race car as the sheer power of the engine pushes the wheel beyond the ability of gravity, friction, and inertia to keep it bound to the pavement? That is the sense I have of what is happening here. The car is not moving fast—yet—but the power at work beneath the hood is showing its evidence everywhere here and it is but a matter of a short time before the wheels find their purchase, and we are off to the races.
It is gratifying to know that others seem to think so too. The assembly received greetings from other church bodies and had visitors from even more. The assembly received official greetings from several of these groups. Especially noteworthy were the remarks of Bishop Ray Sutton of the Anglican Church in North America and the Rev. Dr. Francis Stephanos of the Mekane Yesus Lutheran church of Ethiopia, who reminded us that “one cannot inherit the kingdom of God by majority vote.”
Christians who desire to be orthodox, confessional, one, holy, and apostolic are watching us. I leave the first day of this convocation optimistic about what they saw.
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