Simul justus et pecator - Simultaneously saint and sinner.
Lima Bean Gospel?
Posted On: January 03rd, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Sometimes blogging is difficult because there is really nothing substantial to say. Material did conveniently present itself, however, after I read an article from an issue of a Christian magazine.
The article had pictures of lima beans everywhere. The purpose of the article was to warn the reader that the Christian gospel was very bland and uninteresting, like a lima bean, and was in danger of being ineffective to the unbeliever if not presented in an attractive way. The author went on to describe Christians as being perceived by the general public as too rigid, not allowing the gospel to reach every unique person.
Reading this with a Lutheran mind brings up some red flags immediately. The Spirit working through God’s Word isn’t good enough, so we have to pick up the bland and uninteresting slack? We know we don’t have the power to do so in any capacity. Also, who determined that the Gospel is bland? Is it supposed to be tasty, conforming to a sinful world?
We see examples of this in our churches everywhere from people who, fundamentally, have decent intentions. Jesus said, “Go now and make disciples of all nations…” and for many, the goal has been reached when every pew is full every Sunday. That would be nice, of course, but what really happens is there are lots of empty spots in the pews and eventually you wind up in a voter’s meeting when the budget is presented and the church isn’t making the cut. The instinctual reaction when this occurs is to then blame the church, as if the Gospel is too uninteresting for others and this is the sole reason as to why they don’t worship. The result, then, is to change the worship service to conform around modern taste, often cutting parts of the liturgy entirely and introducing simple, catchy music and generic messages in its place.
Question: If this is the solution, why do so many churches incorporating these techniques continue to have empty pews? Answer: It doesn’t work.
Altering the Gospel message in any way is dangerous and counterproductive. The righteousness of Christ through faith is a very interesting concept. Your personal salvation is, in no way, bland. Why taint the essence of this truth with lots of Law and misleading messages? The problem here is that the Gospel rejects, or even better, repels the sinful nature which thinks it has the ability to call the shots.
I’ve noticed that by being on several campus churches that this is can be a very difficult ministry. When most of your members are in their early 20’s, it can be tempting to then custom-make your service to fit their stereotyped desires. Men and women in their early 20’s, though, do have the same fears and need for forgiveness as the men and women in their early 60’s. The beauty of the Gospel is that it applies to everyone regardless of age, and there is nothing we have to do to change it to fit teenagers, hippies, middle-aged crises, or anyone else.
While traditional liturgy can be perceived by some as very archaic, it is, by far, the most comforting to the sinner. When facing the painful hardships of life, or even facing death, the Christian can do so with confidence - not because of his or her own strengths, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the gifts of forgiveness through the Sacraments, and that is far from bland.
Comments:
Re: Lima Bean Gospel?
Posted On: January 03rd, 2008 at 2:43 pm by J Hansen
Very excellent post! This argument is going on in my church, and I'm struggling with this "lima bean" mentality that many of the baby boomers in my congregation have. I found your blog post to be very comforting and encouraging!
Re: Lima Bean Gospel?
Posted On: January 03rd, 2008 at 9:33 pm by luvable lutheran
well put especially about campus ministry.
