That's right, my German Lutheranism. And if you are a German Lutheran, than the only explanation you need may have been in the title.
Before I dive too far in, let me catch you up on my recent adventures in life. I am currently in my second student teaching assignment. My first one took place in a combined 5th and 6th grade classroom with 15 total students in Utica, Nebraska in a small, German Lutheran (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) town. (Ah, there's that term again!) I loved it, I was comfortable, totally the setting I grew up in.
Fast forward 8 weeks to the beginning of March. You find me in Idaho, still teaching in a Lutheran school, but now in a strong Latter Day Saints community with very, very few Lutherans, and even less Germans (or so it seems). I work with an average of 75 students every day ranging from grades 6-8, and I am teaching in a departmentalized setting. Slight difference from both my childhood environment and my first student teaching experience.
As I finish up my third week here and look forward to reaching the halfway point, one of my main struggles as been going to church. Not so much the motivation part as much as just the differences that I notice between this church and my home church - every time I go, I notice these differences, and it has become such a huge distraction to my worship experience.
Now. Here's where the German Lutheranism comes in. Allow me to make a list of the differences I have noticed from what I'm used to versus the church I'm now attending. (And please, feel free to laugh. They're ridiculous.)
- We don't use the hymnal for liturgy - it's printed in the bulletin.
- We don't use the maroon hymnal (AKA, the newest Lutheran hymnal.) (Sidenote, we do use the blue one, it's not the bright red one from days afar.)
- We are not formally dismissed from the Communion Table until the entire congregation has gone through at the Lord's Supper.
- There is a small explanation before every Bible reading.
Now, ok, you have to know that even as I go back and look at that I have to say to myself "Steph, common, those aren't reasons to write a blog post!" Please hear me out - if you were not born in, raised in, and then chose to continue being a part of the same church community (or same type of church community,) then maybe small differences are hard for you to understand. I've heard it referred to as a "worship language", and I think that's the best way to describe it. My worship language has been the same for the past 22 years, and to change even a little bit of that has been hard for me. (Because, again, stubborn German Lutheran.) This has been a minor struggle for me since getting here, especially because I have accepted a call (a job offer) to this school/church community for this fall.
Which is where I was when I went into Bible study today. We have been studying Acts, and it has been wonderful. I love digging deeper into Scripture to learn more about anything, really. My mom has always told me that Scripture is "living and breathing," that no matter how many times you read it, there's something new to experience, something about God that we didn't understand before, or something about our Salvation that finally clicks into place in our brains.
Today we began Acts chapter 11. (We didn't get very far, but it's because there's so much to consider in the first several verses.) If you are not familiar with Acts, I highly suggest finding a way to dig deeper, find a study companion (either in human or book form,) talk to your pastor, do something to understand this book better. I have been so blessed by a deeper understanding of its content. To bring you up to speed, at least from chapter 9 (where I came in,) Saul has converted from a man who persecutes Christians to a man who is now dedicating his life to sharing the Good News, becoming an Evangelist. Peter has been told by God that "what God has made clean, do not call common." (Acts 10:15, ESV) In other words, God has not only given His people permission to eat foods that were before considered unholy, but God has also indicated that because of Christ's death, there is now a fulfillment of the Law. That means that spending time with the Gentiles will not leave a person ceremoniously unclean - rather, God reminds us of His love for all people, that Christ died for all people.
We're missing a lot of the story in there, but that basic idea leads me up to chapter 11 of Acts. Peter returns to Jerusalem after having converted a Gentile family to Christianity - he's stayed with them, eaten in their house, and held company with them - all of which, at this point in history, can result in a person of Jewish background, like Peter, ceremoniously unclean. The Christians (with their faith in Christ and his death and resurrection,) have been following Jewish rituals up until this point, not really having fully considered Jesus' death a fulfillment of the Law given to the Israelites. When Peter returns, he is not welcomed by the leaders with a "PRAISE JESUS, Peter got some new believers!" Nope. Their response is more along the lines of "So, how unclean are you, after spending all that time with Gentiles?"
Ok, so now that all that is said, it brings me back to my current struggle. Change. (And all the Lutherans said "Amen!") But today was a huge eye opener for me: I've been like the leaders in Jerusalem. "Oh. We use that hymnal." "Oh. We use this form of worship." (Ugh, I'm disgusted with myself just reading that!) But here's what I haven't been seeing the past three weeks. I haven't seen how "toning down" the service from what I'm used to can reach out to so many more people than just the people who are already Lutheran. The communities that I've grown up in have been German Lutheran since their conception in the 1800s. That's not where I am anymore. I have come to realize that it's going to take SO much more than just opening the doors and posting the hours of the service in order to invite others to join the body of Christ.
Pastor put it perfectly today. There's two components (important components) of Christianity. Faithfulness and Evangelical action. The first is making sure that the church is following God's Law and teaching His Word in its truest form. The second is making sure that we share the Good News. Now, churches should have both. But what happens when you only have one or the other? Only faithfulness: "Here's our building. The doors open at 8:30. Service is here, and here. Gosh, I hope people show up and learn about Jesus!" Done. Only Evangelical action: "Well, we like everything the Bible has to say that makes people feel good, and we want to make other people feel good as well. We'll pick this and that, but focus mostly on the good stuff."
Do you see how powerful it can be when a church combines the two? Can you see how it was intended that the church combine the two? Now, I'm not going to sit up here on a high horse and say "THIS CHURCH IS DOING IT WRONG, AND THAT CHURCH IS DOING IT WRONG." That's not my job, or my goal. My eyes were opened today as to what I'm used to, what I'm comfortable with, and that's a more "faithfulness"-oriented church setting. What I see now is that maybe I'm being exposed to a more healthy balance of both faithfulness and Evangelical action.
I've said it before on my blog, I believe that no matter where I am, I'm called to be a missionary. What I haven't chosen to consider before is that God's work is not always comfortable. It doesn't mean that I get to go to church every Sunday and sit in a hard pew (oh yeah, we don't have pews either. Another silly stumbling block for me...) and sing out of a hymnal and follow the liturgy like I'm used to. Maybe it means that I adapt to a few minor changes that really don't affect my faith at all, but that maybe make those who are not born, raised, now-by-choice German Lutherans more comfortable in joining a church, in learning more about Christ, and overall, making that initial step toward faith and eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Acts 11:18a - "When they [the church leaders] heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God..."
