Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 22, 1993 TAG: 9305220158
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bansemer, bishop of the Virginia Synod of the denomination, stressed the importance of the "mission" of the church in three reports to the annual assembly of the synod last weekend in Salem.
Historically, since the time of the Reformation, Bansemer said, the Lutheran church has been more concerned with theology than with evangelization.
The time has come, he said, to shift the focus to the "resurrection of Christ. We have neglected that doctrine to our own shame," Bansemer said in an interview last week.
"We have to get back to the cornerstone of the faith - that the Resurrection is real, that the Messiah was real and that he is coming again.
"That sounds very fundamental to some people," and it is, he acknowledged. It involves a call to return to the biblical admonition to evangelize the world.
Like many other Protestant denominations, Lutherans place a strong emphasis on a belief that humans are "justified" - or brought to a state of acceptability to God - through faith in Christ, which is itself a gift from God.
This doctrine of "justification by faith through grace" rests on a belief in the redemption of mankind from sin through Christ's death and resurrection.
Some denominations have over-emphasized God's initiation of that "justification" process, one group of modern-day theologians contends, and have neglected their responsibility to spread the Gospel.
Evangelization doesn't mean being obnoxious or disrespectful of other faiths, Bansemer said. Christians, however, should be willing to share their conviction that God has revealed himself most fully to the world through "the son, Jesus the Christ."
Bansemer challenges what he believes is a widespread popular conception that "it doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere."
"It does matter," he contends. "Specifically, it matters what a church teaches about the Resurrection," which he believes must be taught as a historical and present reality.
Lutherans, like many other Christians, have become timid about speaking about that and other aspects of their faith, Bansemer said.
"We can talk about everything else under the sun, but we've been told it's taboo" to talk about faith. "We're saying, `Phooey on you - we're going to talk about it anyway.' "
"We've been shy too long."
Bansemer acknowledges that learning to speak up won't be easy. He said he is eager to learn from other Lutherans, even other denominations, how to evangelize.
In a seven-point proposal adopted by the assembly last weekend, Bansemer proposes specifics for developing "the skill and the will" to do the mission of the church. That means, especially, reaching non-Christians.
The specific proposals include such things as leadership training, pilot programs and idea-sharing among congregations.
Recognizing and developing opportunities for witnessing to the Christian faith is a key to Bansemer's vision. That might include developing small groups where individuals can be comfortable talking about their faith inside a church. It may mean learning to invite an acquaintance to services where a member goes to church.
It also means acknowledging the Christian motivation behind the church's social ministry to those in the world around it - feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, caring for the sick and teaching the young, Bansemer said.
When churches open their doors to support groups, day care centers, Boy Scout meetings, those who use those services must understand that the space is available because of a Christian commitment to the whole person, Bansemer said.
For years, Lutherans have thought about the church primarily as a place "to collect persons who agree on certain expressions of faith" and have them "shepherded" by a pastor who is trained to take care of that existing flock.
While that still is a valid ministry, Bansemer said, the church must fulfill the rest of its mission - to take its message to those who aren't coming to church on Sundays.
And that may mean leaving the comfort of the familiar for the trials of confrontation with the real world.
"We have sought to make a cruise ship out of a battleship," he told the synod assembly last weekend.
Many Lutherans and other Christians have come to believe, falsely, he said, "that what we stand for is only one of many options to present to non-believing human beings.
"In this society, tolerance has become more important than truth, and what we say more important than who we are, and whose we are," Bansemer said.
"Where has the boldness gone from this church? . . . Who has convinced us to pray in generic terms to the risen Christ? Our enemy has been successful long enough. It's time to strike back."
by CNB