I've A Feeling We're Not In Kansas Anymore: 2016 ND LWML Convention Mission Message
The following is a lecture/message at the 2016 North Dakota Lutheran Women Missionary League Convention in Jamestown, ND.
In 1939 the world was introduced to a musical fantasy
film titled, "The Wizard of Oz." In this film the main character,
Dorothy, finds herself trapped in a massive Kansas tornado. As a result she is
struck in the head and knocked unconscious. While being unconscious she dreams
that this immense Kansas tornado grabs a hold of her house, spins it around and
mysteriously transports her to the magical Land of Oz.
Soon after arriving to this new magical Land of Oz,
Dorothy utters the now famous, often-quoted words (and often misquoted), “Toto,
I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Over the last several decades the Christian church in
America has been finding itself identifying with Dorothy as well. Somewhere along the line, we too were wrapped
up in a tornado-like storm and somehow transported to another culture. It is true; as we gaze out of the front doors
of the church we come face-to-face with an environment that is unfamiliar,
different, and frankly at times overwhelming.
This change in our cultural landscape is of seismic proportions, in
which every area of society has been changed.
Like Dorothy, we’ve got a feeling that we are no longer in the America
that we once knew so well. Like Dorothy,
the Christian church has recently been saying, “I’ve a feeling that we’re not
in a Christian culture anymore.” We are
truly in a new land – we are not in Kansas anymore.
As many of you already know, at one time the Christian
church was in a cultural majority position; the church was very influential in society. In other words, the church was embraced and
supported by culture. This resulted in a society that understood the basics of
the Christian story. Words like ‘grace, atonement, and Trinity’ were understood
in a Biblical context. Most people understood the fundamentals of Christianity,
even if they did not attend church. In evangelism, many non-Christians
comprehended the basics of Christianity which granted a common platform of
language and a common context for the gospel to be delivered. Furthermore, people
inside and outside of the church would seek out the pastor for assistance with
input in life’s issues and the church was historically placed at the center of
the city with its steeple rising above the trees, so that the cross could cover
the roof tops of houses. Overall there was a uniform and common foundation for
understanding life. In spiritual conversations you could begin with the
assumption that those around you understood basic Biblical phrases and
terms. Yes, in the past there was a common
ground and a relatively uniform worldview in America. For the most part there was also a fairly
consistent Godly ethic in the culture.
With this said, there is no doubt about it that
Christianity has enjoyed a relatively smooth ride these last two centuries here
in the good ol’ USA. Christians and even
Pagans have tipped their hats to Pastors, Sundays have been respected with Blue
Laws, and tax exemptions have been given to churches. We Christians have had it
easy. Otherwise stated, over the last
two centuries a person could be a Christian and not really have to suffer any
consequences from the state or from pagans in society. To be a Christian these last two hundred
years really has not cost anything. No
suffering; no persecution; no mocking; no attacks; and no government fines or
law suits.
In the last several decades though, all of this has
changed. We are no longer in Kansas; we
are no longer in a Christianized culture.
We are in a different land – it is not the magical Land of Oz, but like
Oz, it is different from what we have known.
In this new land – this new culture – we have seen
dramatic changes as prayer has been removed from school, the Ten Commandments
removed from courthouses, and the name of God stricken from the public
sphere. Abortion is now a right,
same-sex marriage is now the norm, and gender distinctions are no longer
relevant and are deemed by some as oppressive.
Instead of being respected, Christians are now labeled bigots and
haters, with lawsuits and government mandates stomping on religious
freedom. Right before our eyes, the
church and Christianity have been kicked out of the public sphere, shamed, and
labeled. This has resulted in a
Christian voice that is often not heard, sought out, nor respected. Furthermore, the Christian story has been
lost in our culture and words like ‘grace, atonement, and Trinity,’ conjure up
thoughts of perfume, a recent Academy Award winning movie, and a female science
fiction character, rather than Biblical terms.
We not only see this shift in the church’s place in
society, but we also see a shift in the way that people think and process the
world and understand truth. We have entered into a new land and a new culture;
we are no longer living in a world familiar to the way Christians have known it
to be for the last two centuries. In the
words of Dorothy, “We are no longer in Kansas.”
We are no longer in a Christian culture.
At this point, it would be easy for you and me to close
our eyes, click our heals and whisper with a hopeful determination, “There is
no place like home, there is no place like home, there is no place like home…”
only to open our eyes and see that we are not back in a Christianized culture, but
still in this new culture we find ourselves in. Yes, it is easy to have a
homesick feeling as we find ourselves looking backwards to the good ol’ days, longing
and reaching back for the days when the church was respected, honored, and held
in a majority position in culture. With that said though, it is imperative for
us to recognize the reality that this new culture is here and I believe that it
is here to stay. We might be in the Land of Oz for quite some time!
To our surprise, many in the American church have already
accepted the reality of this new culture that we find ourselves in. Like us, they have survived the wild tornado
– the transition into this new culture.
These individuals though have stepped out of the spinning house into
this new land to explore. However, instead
of clicking their heels longing for the good ol’ days, they have decided to be
hopeful optimists and engage this new culture.
For example, in the 1990s a movement began that was called the Church
Growth Movement. It was a movement that
enticed me as a young Christian, as well as many pastors across our country. This movement was an attractional model of
ministry that was designed to entice people in the culture to come into the
church. The Church Growth movement
encouraged churches to mimic the culture – to bring the Land of Oz into the
walls of the church in order to entice people to come and join the church. As a
result churches created all sorts of ministry programs based upon demographical
groups; altars were stripped out of churches and replaced with stages, lights,
and praise bands. Narthexes were
redecorated to look like Starbucks and some Narthexes even were equipped with rock
climbing walls. Bouncy castles were also blown up outside the church for
children. Free food was given away and televisions
were raffled away. Crosses and religious
art were removed from inside churches… the list goes on and on, but you get the
picture. Churches that did not want to adapt
their churches to look like the Land of Oz; well… they were accused of being
behind the times, irrelevant, not loving, and not caring about reaching the new
culture.
About a decade later, in the early 2000s, another
movement came about called the Emergent Church Movement. This movement told young pastors like me that
it was no longer important to try and adapt the inside of the church to look
like the Land of Oz, but rather, it was mandated that the people needed to
leave the walls of the church and go out into the Land of Oz – to be
missional. In other words, according to
this movement, it was no longer important to attract people into the church,
but rather, it was important to kick people out of the church. As a
result of this movement, the office of pastor, doctrine, and sermons were
downplayed. Deeds were demanded, not
creeds. If the church was to grow, it
was not enough to simply invite people to come to the church to hear the Word
of God, but the church needed to be involved in all sorts of projects and deeds
in the community. As a result, church
services were canceled on Sundays and parishioners would venture out into the
community to rake leaves or clean up garbage in ditches, in order to make a
difference and somehow grow the church by proving to the world that Christians
were needed and relevant.
While the original intentions of these movements may have
been honorable and while there is much that we can commend about these attempts
to engage our new culture, we must confess that after 25 years, these two
movements have had little impact on the attendance and membership numbers of
the church. That is to say, they have
been ineffective at ministering to and into the new culture we find ourselves
in. In fact there is considerable
evidence that these two movements have actually hindered the Word of God – that
they have not only failed to evangelize our culture but have wounded and
destroyed those already in the church.
Indeed, the church over the last several decades has
essentially failed to engage and reach the new culture we find ourselves
in. The work of these two movements has
not resulted in a mass movement of people from the Land of Oz into the church. Statistically speaking the church in the
United States of America has essentially been playing musical chairs, shuffling
people from one church to another, while the decline in membership
continues. The cold hard truth is that,
statistically speaking, the Church Growth and Emerging Missional movements have
had little impact on the attendance and membership numbers of the Church. This is true across America and it is true
for us here in North Dakota as well.
Soberly stated, what we have seen is not an increase in
attendance over the last several decades or successful engagements of our new
culture, but rather, we have seen a culture that has become more and more
hostile to the church.
Consider Dorothy again.
As she left her house and journeyed on the yellow brick road throughout
the Land of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West took notice. That is right, when Dorothy Gale and her
companions set out on their great adventure, the Witch attacked them with a
pack of 40 great wolves, a flock of 40 crows, a swarm of black bees, and a
group of Winkie slaves. What I mean to
say is that, more often than not, as the church ventures out into the Land of
Oz – this new pagan landscape – the church should learn to expect persecution
and hardship. To the point, I believe
that evangelism in this next century will not be marked with loud euphoric
numerical growth, but will be marked with a quiet persecuted growth.
While this may be disheartening for us to hear, this is
nothing new though. In fact, Jesus in the
Gospels tells us over and over again that whoever confesses Christ freely will
not have paradise here in this present life, but persecution and hardship. That is right, what we have experienced in
America for the last two centuries is not the standard, but the exception. In other words, being a Christian typically
does not include roses and quiet walks on the beach, but rather, includes a thorny
cross and suffering.
Dear friends, consider Jesus for a moment. After His birth, King Herod sent soldiers to
Bethlehem to slaughter children in order to exterminate the Christ-child. Years later, as Jesus began His ministry, He
told the religious leaders about their sins and as a result they began to hate
Him, plot against Him, and eventually killed Him. With an unjust trial they convicted Him to
death. What harm did Jesus do to the
world? Nothing at all, except point out
the reality of sin and then speak truth into ears! However, the world would not have this and
repaid Him with fierce wrath, bitter hatred, and death on a cross. The world and the devil hated Christ, for the
darkness shrieks at the light.
Considering this, if this is true of Jesus, will it not
also be true of His Apostles and if it is true of His blessed Apostles, shall
it not also be true of His disciples like me and you?
With all of this stated, is all hope lost for us
Christians then? Is all hope lost for
North Dakota Missions? Is all hope lost
for North Dakota church planting? Is all hope lost for North Dakota LWML? Should we just close up shop and go into
hiding now, when we still have a chance?
Should we remove our websites, stop publishing our sermons online, quit
having public Divine Services, put our pastors into a witness protection plan,
discontinue the Lutheran Quarterly, and dismantle our church buildings in order
to sell them off as spare building parts?
By no means! Christ Jesus is
indeed a stumbling block and the world will come against Jesus and His
disciples; however, nowhere in scripture do we read that Christ and His
followers will be overturned. Sure the
kingdom of darkness and those blinded by darkness will attack and persecute and
slander and hiss at Christ and His church, but they will do so in vain! Do not fear dear sisters and do not fret,
Jesus has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His mighty
fortress – His church. The Holy Spirit
through the Word is our Comforter against terror, our Truth against lies, and
our Witness against tyranny. We are not
alone. We – the church – are the bride
of Christ and Christ protects His bride, the church! No matter how bad it gets, we will not be
abandoned.
Therefore, let the world anger, the devil spread his
fear, and the world burn with fury, for they cannot overcome Christ and His
church. Let the Wicked Witch cackle; let
the great wolves howl, let the crows caw, and the Winkie slaves grumble, for
they are all defeated foes. You are safe
in the ark of Christ’s church, where we are all sustained by the Lord’s Word
and Sacraments, despite the raging threats of chaos around us.
What does this mean though in regard to North Dakota
Missions? This is the part where I
should offer a solution, assurance, or a list of ways to deal with the struggle
before us. What are we to do with this
Land of Oz outside our church doors? In
all reality, I believe the solution is quite simple; it is found in the
heartbeat of our Lutheran theology. It
is the Word and Sacraments. Yes, it is
the Word and Sacraments.
Consider this for a moment. The people that are in this new culture –
what we call this Land of Oz – do not need to move to Kansas first to get Jesus
(figuratively speaking). The church also does not need to become like Oz to
give Jesus and His gifts. It is not
about Kansas or Oz. It is not about
culture, it is about Jesus. It is about
Christ-crucified. It is about the
message of the Gospel. It is about the
forgiveness of sins for us, for our neighbor, for North Dakota, and for the
world. It is about the proclamation of
the Word of God and the ministry of the Sacraments.
Blessed baptized saints, the fight that we find ourselves
in is not to get back to Kansas or attempting to become like the new Land of Oz,
but to faithfully receive, confess, and proclaim Christ-crucified.
Simply
stated, it is all about the Word and Sacraments – it always has been and it
always will be regardless of the culture or age that we find ourselves in. Nothing changes! The reason why? The Lord is the one who converts souls and grows the church through the Word and Sacraments –
that is the way that it has always been. He uses us when and where He
pleases to confess and proclaim and plant the Gospel seed. And as we confess
this Gospel we do so knowing that the Gospel does the work. It will not
return void.
Therefore, Baptized Saints, be confident, it is about the Holy Spirit
through the sure Word of God for you and for North Dakota. The same Gospel Word that has called you,
granted you faith, enlightened you, sanctified you, and kept you in the true
faith is the same Gospel Word that is needed for our neighbors – those in the
Land of Oz.
Baptized Saints, do not let your ears be tickled or distracted by the
gimmicks of mankind, it is not about these things, but about Jesus and His
gifts.
Baptized Saints, stand firm and do not fear the Land of Oz or the Wicked
Witch – do not fear the evil foe. But
rather, with your pastor and local church, receive and confess Christ-crucified
for the forgiveness of sins in season and out of season. With your pastor and local church, receive
and confess Christ-crucified whether the church grows or declines, whether we
are persecuted or embraced. With your
pastor and local church, receive and confess Christ-crucified when it is
popular and when it is not, when it is politically correct and when it is
politically incorrect. Indeed, with your
pastor and local church, receive and confess, Christ who is for you and for
North Dakota.
In the month and years to come, as North Dakotans, the
devil and the world may attack us, but they will not overcome us as Baptized
Saints. We might die, but we will not
fall away. The Lord keeps His own. Jesus did not die in vain and will not give
up on you and me. He will not let the
devil and the world stand between you and Him.
He is with you to the very end of the age, regardless of the season of
life we find ourselves in. Whether the
church is favored or scorned, it does not matter, for the Lord does not change
and does not bow to the kingdom of darkness.
Furthermore, as a part of North Dakota Missions let us
plant churches and revitalize churches by God’s grace, as we confess together that
death has been slain, that hell has been shattered, that sin has been blotted
out, that God’s wrath has been taken away, that heaven has been opened, that
all who are baptized are heirs of eternal life, and that this message is for us
and for our fellow neighbors to receive.
And finally, as the Lord grants us His grace to live and
be in this new culture, know that you have received a heart like the Tin Man (A
New Heart); a brain like the Scarecrow (the Wisdom of Christ); and courage like
the Lion (The Lord will fight for you).
Women of North Dakota LWML and friends may the Holy
Spirit, through the power of the Word, compel, teach, and guide all of you in
this unchartered territory to receive and confess Jesus in the fullness of His
forgiveness of sin and healing grace, because Dorothy was right, there is no
place like “home.”
Amen.
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