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Friday March 28, 2008
Category: CultureBring back "Issues, Etc."!
I'm a guest from time to time on Issues, Etc., a smart, lively radio talk show about faith and culture produced by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Come to find out the show has been abruptly canceled. M.Z. Hemingway, an LCMS communicant, offers her theory as to why in today's Wall Street Journal. It's not pretty. Excerpt:
The Rev. Michael Kumm, who served on three management committees for the station, said that the explanation doesn't add up. " 'Issues, Etc.' is the most listened to, most popular and generates more income than any other program at the station and perhaps even the others combined. This decision is purely political," he said.He may well be right. The program was in all likelihood a pawn in a larger battle for the soul of the Missouri Synod. The church is divided between, on the one hand, traditional Lutherans known for their emphasis on sacraments, liturgical worship and the church's historic confessions and, on the other, those who have embraced pop-culture Christianity and a market-driven approach to church growth. The divide is well known to all confessional Christian denominations struggling to retain their traditional identity.
The Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, the synod's current president, has pushed church marketing over the Lutherans' historic confession of faith by repeatedly telling the laity, "This is not your grandfather's church."
Trads vs. Emergents, basically. Issues, Etc. kicks it old school, so has been deemed insufficiently emergent, it would appear.
Filed Under: LCMS
posted by Rod Dreher @12:36pm Permalink 
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About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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Just wanted to add (now that I have the computer back), that this is the reason why Issues is important. Its an intellectually honest program that can educate people like me on those topics that underlie the visible, whether I agree with the hosts or not. ;-)
Posted by: Rob Oglesbee | March 31, 2008 8:28 PM
Rob,
My experience (and I'm saying this as a layperson, as well) is that most laity also perceive that the divide is simply over musical styles and not over anything substantive. But not only are the issues much deeper, they are also much wider--pulling at that one little string reveals an intricate weave that includes all of our beliefs and practices. That's why a well-catechized laity is so vital to the church--so that the weave doesn't become unraveled at the smallest tug. For what it's worth, I commend you for your interest in the subject and for trying to learn about it--it's more effort than I've seen from many life-long Lutherans.
One of the issues at the heart of the matter is this: Why do we go to church in the first place? We go to receive forgiveness of sins, to hear God's Word, to hear God's Law and Gospel applied to us, and to strengthen our faith. We also respond by thanking God for His gifts. The purpose of going to church is not to have an emotional experience. Whether or not we feel anything during the service--and whether or not we even enjoy the service--is irrelevant. God's Word and sacraments are effective regardless of how we feel about the service.
Our culture, on the other hand, is one of emotional manipulation. We're constantly bombarded by marketing. Everything we do has to be fun and enjoyable. Do what feels good, right? If it doesn't make you feel good, it's not worth doing. Pop culture especially is all about manipulating us so that we buy into current fads. Pop music is highly, highly emotional stuff. For the most part, it's not about conveying ideas, but rather about conveying feelings. Ideas are controversial. Feelings are universal. You'll get more people to buy your album if you make them feel something than if you make them think about something.
Music is powerful. Musical style is not, as you suggest, neutral. And I say this as a musician and composer. It's very easy to manipulate people through music. In the worship service, the focus is entirely on Word and sacrament given to sinners for the forgiveness of sins. Music--along with everything else in the worship service--should act to serve that focus. When you take a musical style that is inherently based on conveying powerful emotions and try to make it subservient to something that is an inherently objective message, you create a massive incongruity. When you start introducing incongruities like that into your worship service, they tend to spread. And then, finally, when your practice ceases to match your theology, often it's your theology that changes to resolve the incongruity. That's why there are so often a whole host of other things that tend to go along with a change to contemporary worship styles. And that's why so many confessional Lutherans are adamant about retaining historical liturgical worship.
I found an article on the Concordia Theological Seminary website that actually does a much better job of explaining this. Perhaps I should have just linked to this and saved you my pontification:
http://www.ctsfw.edu/library/files/pb/1176
Your questions about music, style, and worship are directly answered in the sections beginning on page 53 and page 55. The entire article is quite good, even though it's pretty thick reading.
Posted by: Jason T | April 1, 2008 12:18 AM
In light of the CHANGE PROCESS I have seen taking places in the LCMS church I am still a member of as well as other LCMS Churches in the Palatine, IL area; I am not surprised by the decision to drop the Issues Etc. program. I suspect the sound doctrine discussed on Issues Etc. was the real reason for the program being canceled. The change process I have personally witnessed taking place in LCMS Churches is dependent upon keeping church members ingorent of sound Doctrine. It appears to me that THE TRUTH of God's Word is the real problem for LCMS and that there may have been to many people listening to the show.
Posted by: Wade Nielsen | April 1, 2008 7:39 AM
I'll say it again and our Bishop [president] Rev. Kieschnick has reminded us before many times too: this ain't your grandfather's Lutheran Church!
Posted by: Brian | April 2, 2008 4:52 PM
Jason wrote: Music is powerful. Musical style is not, as you suggest, neutral. And I say this as a musician and composer. It's very easy to manipulate people through music. In the worship service, the focus is entirely on Word and sacrament given to sinners for the forgiveness of sins. Music--along with everything else in the worship service--should act to serve that focus.
I agree, music is one of the most powerful forces our senses can encounter. I think manipulate is a strong word, but it definitely emphasizes and enhances sympathetic emotions.
I read the relevant parts of that document you linked. Valid points, but I disagree with the conclusion. As you say, music in worship must serve the purpose of God and be used to convey the Truth. And music is neutral. The background and circumstances of the people in the congregation change this. That's why I say you must use the style that suits your congregation. Context matters.
Hypothetical: place two songs side-by-side, same Truth being conveyed, one song in a traditional style and instrumentation, the other in contemporary style and instrumentation. I would argue that the one that writes the word more effectively on the hearts of the congregation is the preferred one: it is a better vehicle for the Word. This is why it is vital for the Pastor (or the music director, if the discernment is there) to be involved in the music selection. Unfortunately, I think most Pastors are too busy with other parts of their calling to want to bother with this and therefore prevent an alternative to traditional hymns from becoming viable (and no, I'm not talking about my current Pastors ^_^ ).
I really think we are saying the same things, just coming to different conclusions. I prefer contemporary style because I participate more. I try participating in singing older hymns, but I find the music so distasteful most of the time that I just stand there reading the words, or wondering when I'll be able to mow my lawn or wash the car. Which is a shame, because the words can be quite beautiful.
For me, traditional songs and styles (80% of the time) are very blunt instruments for writing upon my mind and heart.
Posted by: Rob Oglesbee | April 2, 2008 7:33 PM
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