May 2024
Please Note
Please note that all articles posted on this website and downloadable in PDF format are
"Copyright 2024 Lutheran Society for Missiology. Used by permission."
Please include the above statement in any printed reproduction of an article.
Articles
A Missional Reading of the Church and World; Victor Raj
This essay reflects on two foundational principles of Christian mission. The first is an appreciation that mission flows from God's heart. By His very nature God is missional in everything He says and does. God scatters His people as agents of His mission and gathers into the household of faith everyone who heeds His word. The second is the awareness that God has set apart His Church as an instrument of His mission worldwide. The Church serves God and the world by preaching and teaching what God has accomplished uniquely in Jesus Christ. In His infinite mercy God has redeemed the whole creation solely in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In every generation, the Church continues the mission of God by speaking the Gospel and putting into action God's promises for life and salvation.
The Divine Service and Missio Dei; Robert Newton
A funny thing happened on my way home from the mission field. My American family had changed hymnals. My mother’s congregation had changed from Red to Blue and my sister’s congregation from Red to Green. With the change of hymnals came a change in language regarding worship. The “Order of Morning Worship” and the “Order of Holy Communion” were now called “Divine Service.” This new title intended to signal a renewed understanding in the theology of worship, a proper Lutheran understanding. It signified that God is the primary actor in worship, the one serving His gathered people, not the other way around. What began as a rubric change in our hymnal in the late 1970s has since replaced the title “Worship Service” on the signboards of many Lutheran churches in America. The term “Divine Service” seems to have been adopted as the official nomenclature of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, as the January 2024 issue of The Lutheran Witness might suggest.
Liturgy and Mission; James Marriott
A quarter century ago, Thomas Schattauer published “Liturgical Assembly as Locus of Mission” as part of a seminal collection of articles entitled Inside Out: Worship in an Age of Mission. I have used Schattauer’s article many times in my university and seminary courses on the theology and practice of liturgy. Here, I hope to revisit and refresh some paradigms Schattauer set forth in his article, and to suggest ways in which the ongoing work of liturgical inculturation might enrich the efforts that Schattauer summarized a generation ago.
Church and Mission: A Historical Lens; William W. Schumacher
David Bosch’s magisterial Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, though written more than three decades ago, still engages and challenges mission thinkers today. It is still an indispensable text for all who would reflect deeply about God’s work in the world and the implications for Christians as we are drawn into that mission of God. This essay makes use of the second part of Bosch’s book, in which he develops his ideas of how mission theology has gone through multiple transformations in Christian history, in an effort to illuminate the variety of ways “church” and “mission” have been understood in relation to each other through the centuries.
Unraveling the Interplay between the Church and the Mission of God—A Lutheran Perspective; Samuel Deressa
Although a vast array of research has been published on Martin Luther’s theology, there is not adequate research on the missiology of Martin Luther. Luther’s understanding and contribution to mission theology are often disregarded. Yet, as rightly noted by David Bosch, “In fact, [Luther] provided the church’s missionary enterprise with clear and important guidelines and principles.” This article is about church and mission from a Lutheran perspective. It focuses on Martin Luther’s conception of the church and its mission as articulated in the Augsburg Confession, in which the church is defined as the assembly of believers who preach the Gospel and administer the Holy Sacraments according to the Gospel.
Luther on the Church as Mission of God; Robert Kolb
Martin Luther did not get around much. He had journeyed to Rome early in his career as an Augustinian brother, but his 500-kilometer trip to Worms in 1521 resulted in the charge of outlawry, which limited his ability to travel. Nonetheless, he viewed the Christian life as a pilgrimage, though a more detailed description of the way from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City came from John Bunyan a century and a half later. However, Luther’s commentary on Galatians did shape Bunyan’s thinking. Luther calls believers “pilgrims” and comments on the progress the Holy Spirit causes in believers’ lives, even as he also describes the setbacks and false paths that form part of the experience of the Christian life. In 1537, he told students gathered in his home, “the saints went to Rome, Jerusalem, Compostela, for the satisfaction of their sins, but as true pilgrims, we are able to make our way in faith, when we read the psalms, prophets, gospels, etc. diligently. Then we take a walk not through holy towns, but we visit their thoughts and hearts, the true promised land and paradise of eternal life.”
Mission and the Theology of the Cross; Joel Okamoto
Abstract: Luther’s theology of the cross and his distinction between the theologian of glory and the theologian of the cross were revolutionary ideas when he presented them in 1518. They remain revolutionary and therefore helpful for all theology and practice, including mission and mission thinking. This article summarizes Luther’s theology of the cross and then suggests how it might frame discussion about mission and mission thinking today.
Ecclesial Amnesia: How the Church Forgot its Mandate and Ways to Return to Faithfulness; Robert Scudieri
Abstract:
In thinking about how mission has changed since I served with the Board for Mission Services, it would be easy to say that the mission has not changed but the methods have. Some today are not sure. The calling is to do in His Name, so that salvation, won for us on the cross of Christ, can be brought to all people. “Mission” when I was privileged to serve was to bring the gospel into the entire world. Today it seems we see the mission as establishing Lutheran icons. Our leaders are well meaning. They know and love the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hopefully a conversation can occur around what it is the Lord of the Church is calling us to do.
Staying within the Story—Understanding the Great Commission According to Matthew’s Gospel; Scott Geminn
Abstract: We often read Matthew 28:16–20, the Great Commission, outside its narrative context. Unfortunately, this can lead to a truncated understanding of the Church’s mission and what it means to be missional according to Matthew’s Gospel. Such an understanding often results in an emphasis on proclamation toward the non-Christian that is soteriological, with little attention given to “observing the commands of Jesus.” However, reading Matthew 28:16–20 within the narrative framework of Matthew’s Gospel can provide the Church with a more holistic and reinvigorating understanding of its mission that is both outward and inward, with a renewed emphasis on learning and obeying the teachings of the Matthean Jesus.
“Is a Church with No Mission Still a Church?” Messiah Lutheran Church, Midland, MI Addresses Its World; Edward Doerner
Some argue that a group of people who gather around the Word and Sacraments is a church regardless of mission. Others argue that a group of believers who gather around the Word and Sacrament without a mission to save the lost is no longer a church but a club acting like a church. Whether a church with “no mission” is still a church or not is for the Lord of the Church to decide.
The Meaning of the Word Church; Miriam Carter
Abstract: The author demonstrates how the word church with its several English usages can be explained to children or a language learner. She notes such usages of church as the building where believers gather, or as the worship service where there is singing, praying, Bible reading, preaching, and often an order of worship. A wider meaning can signify God’s people throughout the world. Clarity about the meaning of church is important since how the term is understood can affect how people work in God’s mission.
