Defend the
Old, and Strive for the New!
Conservatives, Liberals and the Two Greatest Fears in the Church Today!
I’m wondering if Jesus was a liberal or a conservative. There are pretty good arguments on both sides. Don’t make too much of this. I’m working my way toward a topic that (hopefully) will unfold as this edition of the Pastor’s Page goes along. But it is an interesting question.
If a conservative is one who “conserves,” that is, holds to the established truths and traditions of the past, than you could say that Jesus was very conservative. He claimed to be the truth, and that the truth was as absolutely unchanging as God himself. He was conservative in that He sought to continue the work of the Father in heaven, which had always been to gather the people of the world back to himself.
Jesus stood solidly on the ancient truths of God’s revelation in the Bible. That truth doesn’t change. He did not change or modify the promises of God. God’s will had been the same since before the creation of the world, and Jesus held to that will unswervingly.
But if a liberal is someone who seeks change through innovation and creativity and continued progress through bold moves and changes, than how can anyone deny that Jesus was possibly the most liberal person the world has ever seen. Jesus transformed the ancient Sabbath laws by performing acts of mercy that the conservatives said were forbidden. He instituted whole new forms for the Passover meal, taking the ancient traditions and filling them with a greater and fuller meaning and purpose.
He
completely revised the people’s understanding of the temple, a rock solid
conservative foundation for the religion and culture of his day. He taught that He Himself was the
I guess I don’t have a very good answer to my question. Pretty conservative, but pretty liberal.
I tried the same thing in my mind with Martin Luther. He was quite the revolutionary liberal type, calling for debates and transformations in the teaching of the church of his time. Some say his revolutionary approach to church and society make him the father of all modern liberal attempts at reform!
And yet he also was quite conservative. His greatest passion was for the Church to stand on the word of God alone, to reject all the innovations that had crept into the theology and practice of Christianity, the traditions of the church fathers that had become doctrine. He wanted to get back to the very basics.
That’s a hard line to straddle sometimes. Luther held firmly that the worship traditions of the liturgy and the special remembrances of church festivals and occasions should be kept, but he radically transformed the liturgy by encouraging worship in German, not Latin, so the people could understand. So, was Luther liberal or conservative? Hmmmm.
Two Great Fears!
Our anniversary year was a particularly meaningful time for me. As I heard talk about my three predecessors as Pastor, I noticed that the long tenures of our Pastors seem to mark three distinct eras of our congregational history. That’s common in a good number of churches, but not the case in all.
To
the Board of Directors and I, it’s a sign that
As churches grow, the focus shifts away from the Pastor to the various ministries and programs that are offered for a growing variety of people. That’s a shift we have never quite made as a congregation. We’ve tried a time or two to break through, but our efforts seem to eventually slide back to our status quo.
The problem is that when programs designed to help us minister to and reach out to greater numbers of people fail to take hold as part of congregational life, we keep shrinking back in size and our mission to the community goes unfulfilled.
I read recently that churches have two great fears. The first fear in churches is that there would be too much change. Churches are called to be “conservative,” that is, to hold to the timeless, unchanging truths of the gospel, and in our case, our understanding of scripture as formulated in the Lutheran Confessions. But churches are also called to be “liberal,” that is, to be immediately responsive to our changing community and society, responsive to the ever-changing mission field around us that demands innovation and creativity. The first fear of churches is that we would change too much and lose our foundation, the gospel of Christ’s saving love.
But the second fear is that we would not change enough, and thereby miss our calling to share the saving love of Christ. What was appropriate and responsive to the surrounding culture in 1931 didn’t work in 1951, so the church changed.
Who could deny that our community and the families in our community are radically different today than they were in 1951 or even 1981?
Walking the Line!
A small leadership team, appointed by the Board of Directors, is helping lead the Board and our church’s leaders in a study to determine how we can change the way we approach ministry to our members and our community to more effectively reach the lost with the saving love of Christ. We’ll keep you posted.
The
challenge looks to me a lot like the challenge in
And
at
We have good models in Jesus and in Dr. Luther. Stand on the word of God. Stand on the gospel of Christ’s saving love. Stand on the unchanging truth of the teachings we believe. And find new, creative, innovative ways to utilize every gift that God has given us, especially as those gifts are given to every member, young and old, long time member and newcomer, to work together for the purpose we all share, reaching the lost for Christ.
The will of the American people was voiced this week. You may or may not agree, but the people spoke. The Church is not a democracy. We are a “benevolent dictatorship” sworn to follow the will of the One King who is ruler of His people, the Church. It is our calling to study God’s word, know His will for us, and then speak together so that we can speak with one voice.
I hope you are prayerfully preparing to join the conversation. It’s going to be quite an adventure!