Model theological conference
I received this email in my box last night.
Model theological conference on worship
The 2007 Synod convention resolved "that the Commission on Worship and the Commission on Theology and Church Relations organize a model theological conference ... in order to 'build greater understanding of our theology of worship and foster further discussion of worship practices that are consistent with that theology'" (2007 Resolution 2-01). Such a conference is now set for Jan. 11-13 at Concordia Lutheran Church in Kirkwood, Mo. It will meet around the theme, "Toward a Theology of Worship."
Rev. David Johnson and Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, the executives of the two commissions organizing the conference, say that since the subject is worship, "we thought it necessary to hold it in a church rather than a hotel. Concordia has both a beautiful, traditional sanctuary with pipe organ, conducive to a traditional worship, and a separate [worship] center, accommodating to either 'traditional' or 'contemporary' worship, with projection screens and ample space for musicians."
The conference is being funded by a generous grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and we thank them for it.
We ought to build a greater understanding of worship, namely, we ought to call it leitourgia or Gottesdienst and not the vacuous term worship. The conference is needed, if only to remind us that Sunday morning is not about what we do for God but what God gives to us.
Unfortunately, the title "Toward a Theology of Worship" has me concerned. What has been the content of my seminary courses - Liturgics 1 & 2, Luther on Worship, Music and Theology of J.S. Bach, and Lutheran Hymnody? Have they not included a theology of worship? Were we stumbling in the adiaphoric black? I hope not.
According to my training, we have a theology of worship, articulated in the Holy Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions. The conference betrays a perceived weakness with regards to both the Scriptures and Confessions on the subject. We ought to ask the question: Do we need to form a new doctrine, reform the old doctrine, or rather teach what we have received from Christ himself?
