Distasteful Things & Vocation

January 8, 2006 · Filed Under theology

While today hasn’t been an overall bad day (that was yesterday, when everyone in the TB household was a bit on the cranky side…), there have been two rather distasteful things that I’ve encountered. Only one of those things, however, was justifiably and/or reasonably related to the execution of one of my vocations — see if you can guess…
First, after a reasonably good Divine Service (myself, I would’ve preferred a little stronger/clearer application of the Law, prior to the application of the Gospel — but then I usually do, so I suspect the problem might be with me, not with my Pastor’s homiletical prowess… — I would’ve also liked to have had Communion, but methinks the road to every-Sunday Communion will be a long & arduous one… :sad:), we had the usual round of announcements. This week, however, there was an additional one — a little spiel by a rep from the Gideons.

Now, I had found out about this last Tuesday at our Elders meeting. I wasn’t all that pleased, but I didn’t say anything about it then, mainly because it was a done deal. And, to my shame, I didn’t feel like fighting the battle, even though I knew it was a mistake for us to have the Gideons present, as if there’s nothing wrong with their decision-theology based approach. Unfortunately, but quite predictably, my fears were realized.

A couple of things jumped right out during the presentation:

the obligatory, heart-tugging, warm & fuzzy examples, one of which included a reference to the signing of the “Decision Page” (recreated here, at the Gideon’s website…)
a statement that the goal of the Gideons is to “win souls for the Lord Jesus Christ”
a massive litany of statistics, showing just how they can quantify their progress towards meeting that goal
a Law-driven, guilt-laden, appeal for money, so that they can continue to win those souls

Now, lest you think me a heartless legalist bent on sectarianism, let me first offer up 1 Cor 5:6 (Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?) as a way of explaining why I feel it necessary and justifiable to point out the errors that make the Gideons inappropriate for promotion by/in a Lutheran congregation.

So, in a nutshell, having the Gideons was a mistake because their base theology, well, stinks. It’s flawed, and it’s dangerous. More specifically, there are two major problems:

WE DO NOT MAKE A DECISION — neither to be saved, nor to accept Jesus, any more than a corpse can make a decision to “accept” life & begin breathing again. Any organization that defiles the Bible by adding a “Decision Page” is doing a grave disservice. Thankfully the Holy Ghost is successful DESPITE, not because of flawed instruments like us.
WE DO NOT WIN SOULS — we contribute NOTHING. We bring NOTHING to the dance, other than an Old Adam who is desperate to queer the deal & send us to the pit. Again, thankfully the Holy Ghost deigns to use imperfect vessels, as we most certainly are, to the glory of God The Father. That we are so graciously used, can in no way ever be construed as meaning that we add anything to the process. All it shows is that God is so loving and so powerful as to effect, through Christ’s death and resurrection, the transformation of that Old Adam into the New Man. (I guess that this isn’t such a bad object lesson to have on the observance of Christ’s baptism (Mark 1:4-11), eh?)

At this point, let me direct you The Lutheran Heritage Foundation, if you are in any way, shape, or form tempted to give time/talent/treasure to the Gideons. Your efforts will be better spent, and you won’t have to worry about any “decision-type leaven” getting the lump!

The second distasteful thing I encountered today was having to clean up the yard, after many weeks of the dog having, shall we say, had his way with the yard. You wouldn’t think that a 20 lb Boston Terrier could generate that much, er, stuff, but he had a nice holiday season around some generous people… But, you know, cleaning up after Hammie didn’t bother me near as much as the Gideons’ spiel, especially after I thought about the two things in terms of vocation.

I have a vocation as a dog-owner, that entails cleaning up after the little bugger (at least until the kids are old enough to delegate that character-building job to! :twisted:). It might not be pleasant, but it comes with the territory, just like changing the kids’ diapers back in the day.

Being subjected to the Gideons’ spiel in the context of the DS, however, most certainly does not logically flow from my vocation as a congregational member, elder, service attendee, etc.

Perhaps the only way I can think it will end up being something of benefit, vocation-wise, is that maybe I’m being nudged in the direction of understanding and engaging a new vocation — something like promoting the LHF. And I guess that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it?

-ghp

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Tags: boston terrier, christianity, lutheran, theology, vocation