Delegate Dialog - thoughts

May 9, 2007 · Filed Under theology

Something that I think will happen over the course of the next two months, is that the strawman dichotomy of “doctrine vs. mission” will get trotted out by a vocal contingent in the LCMS.

This false dichotomy is usually proffered in the bemoaning of a focus on “incessant doctrinal purification”, and that pastors need to be more “mission-minded” rather than just being “caretakers”.

This false dichotomy can be quickly debunked & exposed by reading this quote from LCMS Founding Father C.F.W. Walther:

“Many say, ‘Instead of disputing over doctrine so much, we should much rather be concerned with souls and with leading them to Christ.’ But all who speak in this way do not really know what they are saying or what they are doing. As foolish as it would be to scold a farmer for being concerned about sowing good seed and to demand of him simply to be concerned about a good harvest, so foolish it is to scold those who are concerned first and foremost with the doctrine, and to demand of them that they should rather seek to rescue souls. For just as the farmer who wants a good crop must first of all be concerned about good seed, so
the church must above all be concerned about right doctrine if it would save souls.”
–C. F. W. Walther, synodical president
“Our Common Task–The Saving of Souls,” 1872

It’s an emotionalistic argument, and it’s certainly not one based on Scripture or the Confessions.

The drumbeat will be loud, but it can, and must, be withstood.

-ghp

This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Tags: church, convention, feelings, heterodoxy, lcms, lutheran, politics