There I said it. I have decided it is important to finally declare it on this blog. This blog started as a vehicle to mostly defend contemporary worship as a legitimate and beneficial style of worship. I defended it as worthy of the effort to start a mission that could reach the unchurched. I have been active in that effort for over 6 years and now...I have to say, I was wrong.
If I wanted to be thorough, I could go out there into the blogosphere and find all the quotes from others who warned me. I'm not going to though, because it is not necessary. The point is that this blog has a long running history of me trying to make arguments that at best were unwise to being just plain foolish.
Some time ago a blogger once said, "Tim is in a position to see where the best of intentions lead." Well he couldn't have been more correct. I see a slippery slope at multiple levels and I have decided I am tired of navigating slippery slopes. There are slippery slopes in society, government, synod and congregation. I can only address that which I can control directly and that is only myself. I have spent 3.5 to 4 years studying, learning and digesting but now its time to execute.
I am not making any promises to resume my blogging in any regular fashion as I tried a year ago and failed to do miserably. Work is too busy to allow me to be regular in my writing. However, I will try. I will just make my posts shorter and sweeter perhaps and that might make a return that much easier.
Tim - Lutheran 3.0
4 comments:
You weren't wrong. You've just grown in your understanding in what is right and what is wrong
Perhaps the word is Naive. So I lived and learned I guess. I just want anyone who has read anything I wrote (and even though I've written virtually nothing in two or 3 years, I still get hits on various articles regarding contemporary worship) that..if you are starting this journey, please reconsider.
Even more important..it doesn't matter what you do (contemporary, traditional, liturgical, biblical, confessional), if you lose vigilance, the devil will work his way in and slippery slope you as far away as possible.
Contemporary worship will not save any more than liturgical worship will. This kind of philosophy flies in the face of the Doctrine of Election...we can not as men add or take away from the kingdom. So the success reverts back to what our default mode is as orthodox Lutherans. Preach the Word. Distribute the Sacraments. Purely. The mission of the church is not to call the lost, but gather the elect. Huge difference. This has given me peace.
That is correct Joe. Worship is not the place to pin your hopes on conversion, salvation and the like. However, for the gathered elect...it is the place to gsather, strengthen faith and receive the forgiveness of sins and keeping it a place for that untarnished is key. This is my acknowledgment that the best of intentions and doctrinal discipline and integrity will most likely degrade when we dabble in the ways of the world rather than set ourselves apart from it.
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