How Emergent is Lutheranism?

Today, Skye Jethani wrote a little piece in the Leadership Journal Blog about the steps or "layers" to becoming emergent. I just wanted to use this to point out how Lutheranism is already there in some ways, just so some of you can start to see where my rants are coming from.

Layer 4: Mission
The emergence of Postmodernism causes Seeker Community Church to reevaluate the effectiveness of their mission strategy. Altar calls and gospel tracks are left behind in favor of community groups and relationships. Conversion is accepted as a journey and not merely a point of decision.

Yay. Lutheran were never much for altar calls anyway, but we've always been into the community groups, especially when there is coffee or beer involved. Conversion is a journey, and we're basically quadriplegics being taken on the Holy Spirit short bus. (I apologize in advance for any quadriplegics out there who are offended by this.)

Layer 5: Church
Seeker Community Church begins to wonder if a multi million-dollar building housing a theatrical production every weekend is the only way to do church. Drawing from new and ancient forms of church, they launch alternative communities—one meets in a bar on Sunday night, and the other is a liturgical gathering. The church also partners with an inner city monastic group to reach street kids.

Liturgical gathering? Did I just read that right? That basically describes most Lutheran churches I've been to...Woo Hoo, liturgy is cool once again! And even when it's not cool, we're still going to do that because, dangit, we're Lutherans and we don't change.

OK, so seriously, there is a lot to liturgy that most people don't even realize because they've never gotten to understand and appreciate it. I just hope that churches don't start doing it because it's cool, but instead start doing the Liturgy thing because it's GOD'S WORD. That that's cooler than being cool. That's Ice Cold.

Layer 6: Gospel
The leadership of Seeker Community Church is stunned when the senior pastor confesses, “I’m not sure I’ve really understood the gospel.” He begins to wonder why Jesus never said God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life? And why Paul never asked anyone to invite Jesus into your heart? He starts to realize that the Good News is much more than he’d ever imagined.

I've been wondering when those evangelicals were going to stop repeating the stuff they were making up, like all that wonderful plan stuff and the crap about inviting Jesus into your heart. That's not in my Bible. So why do we insist on putting it into our hearts? And yet Jesus is so much more than we could have ever imagined. Even as I teach the New Testament and have been reading over the gospels, I'm finding there is so much more to Jesus than I ever remember Him being about. Ice cold.

Layer 7: World
Maybe the mission of the church isn’t simply to become a bigger church? Maybe, like Jesus, the church is to engage the larger world to reveal that the kingdom of God has drawn near? To their amazement, Seeker Community Church discovers significant swaths of the Bible (such as the Pentateuch, prophets, gospels, and epistles) talk about justice, poverty, and compassion. The church begins to speak about social issues and participates in efforts to combat poverty, AIDS, and global injustice.

Oh yeah. Any Lutheran worth his catechism knows that it's not about just making a bigger church, but making disciples by, say it with me, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey EVERYTHING I have commanded you! Jesus talked a lot, and it ALL good stuff. There's also some good stuff in the Old Testament too. I guess you can just extend it over all of God's word.

Well, there you go. The emergent people are finally starting to realize what we Lutherans have known all along. It's all about the Bible. Of course, the article does not do justice to what Jesus did for me, but that's a different criticism for another day. In the meantime, I'm proud to be a Lutheran, and I'm proud that Christ decided to make me his own. I mean, how cool is that?

Ice cold.

My Best Life Now

Just wanted to update on my life...things are pretty busy, I'm the assistant coach for the #1 ranked D4 team in Southern Section of CIF (for those of you outside Cali, each section is basically like a state, so CIF finals is about equivalent to a "normal"/MO/WI state meet.) We probably don't deserve that ranking, but oh well. Teaching is going well, I'm trying to figure out ways to make teaching the New Testament interesting.

Tomorrow Anna and I are going up to Pomona for church with Korey and Kate Maas, and it'll be our first time going somewhere other than Abiding Savior since we've been here. We've come to really love Abiding Savior in the couple months we've been here, and it'll be interesting to check out another church now too, and visiting the Shaltanises.

Aside from that, we've got my first round of parent-teacher conferences next week Thursday and Friday, and then the week after is new pastor orientation with the PSW district and Empire League finals for cross country.

On top of that, I'm finally getting stuff unpacked and put away...

...So there you go, my best life now (with no help from Joel Osteen), although I do wonder whenever I go to Target if Rick Warren sees his book "The Purpose Driven Life" there and what he thinks about it. Speaking of Rick Warren, I had a dream I went to his house last night. It was huge, at least in my dreams.

Well, I'll have to check on that house again now. I've got an early morning tomorrow, so I'm turning in. May God bless all of you who are interested enough in my life to check back here!