Outer Rim Territories

Logia Blog: A Brave New Church

A Brave New Church

Dr. Hermann Sasse (1895-1976) astutely noted decades ago: "The optimism and synergism prevalent in America have made such inroads into American Lutheranism that the Augsburg Confession's 'where it pleases God' has for practical purposes been given up." He went on to say: "Evidence of this is the uncritical taking over of ideas and programs of stewardship and evangelism from such groups as the Seventh Day Adventists [today it's the Southern Baptists like Paul Borden's Hit the Bullseye: How Denominations Can Aim the Congregation At the Mission Field (Abingdon Press, 2003)]. The pastor schools his people so that with the right kind of pious talk they will be equipped to win other people for the church. In place of the office of preaching reconciliation comes the training of 'soul winners,' teaching them just the right way of talking with people, to make maximum use of the techniques of psychological manipulation. The system admittedly derives from the methods of American business. Thus the people are to be brought into the church, made to feel at home there, be led to make a decision, and then all together they are to carry on their building of the kingdom of God. What the Word of God is no longer trusted to do is achieved with the psychological techniques of such modern evangelization. There is of course talk of the Holy Spirit, but no one knows who He is any longer. It seems He can be measured and quantified. Such evangelism produces results. Thousands are won for church membership. On the other hand we may recall the failure of Biblical prophets and of our Lord Himself. When one considers the latter, one begins to understand the full earnestness of the "where and when it pleases God." (We Confess Anthology [CPH:1999] in the third subsection "We Confess the Church." "On the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit," 22-23)