S is for
Self-Examination
II. This is a time for amendment of life for our churches.The "American way" to deal with difficulties is active and practical. We immediately look for a program or an initiative to "fix the problem," and practicality is better than living in denial. But the Biblical witness offers a more faithful way, both to persons and to institutions. It is called repentance.
Repentance is not mere penance, groveling or finding fault in a mess. Repentance is a change of mind and heart, a turning toward God for life. This is not the do-it-yourself spirituality of self-improvement, but the slower listening to God for both judgment and hope. It means letting go, allowing our strengths to be transformed, admitting we have been missing the mark, and praying, as the old common service put it, for "time for amendment of life and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit."
The Acts of the Apostles testifies that the "restoration of the kingdom to Israel" was not in Israel's control, not even the control of the twelve apostles, one judge for each of Israel's tribes (Acts 1.8, 12-26; Lk 22.30). The apostle remains a servant of God's mission, not yet a ruler. Repentance or turning to God was God's gift to Israel. Sent to the Sanhedrin, Peter and the apostles declared, "God exalted him (Jesus) at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." Apostles are witnesses of this gift, but God's generosity exceeds their understanding. God's apostolic mission sends the church into broad publics, bearing one message, "Turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ." The Holy Spirit descends on Cornelius and his non-Israelite household, and in his surprise and conversion Peter declares, "If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" And all present declared together, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles, the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11. 17-18)
Paul's letters also reflect conflict about apostolic office and mission. Neither one of the twelve nor one of the pillars in Jerusalem, Paul was adamant in his claim to be an apostle, "sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." (Gal 1.1) In his struggles in Corinth with the "super-apostles," Paul asserted that those who boast of their strengths are "false apostles," driving him to boast of his weakness so that God is praised.
The point is that to be a fit instrument of God's distinctive mission in the world, the church itself must be in repentance. The New Testament is less about the glorious apostles and more about the extravagant mercy of God's apostolic mission to invite all people to turn to God. God constantly turns the church from its vaunted strengths toward the source of its life in order to bear God's promise in Jesus Christ to the world.
Our agreement announces that we are "Called to Common Mission," but apart from a few sentences about the participation of all members of the church in its apostolic ministry, ecclesial confidence outweighs repentance. Of course, this little document does not carry a full confession of our shared faith nor delineate the calling that lies ahead. It is probably unfair to expect this genre of "ecclesiastical diplomacy" to be what it is not.
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| Dr. David Tiede |
The Greek word for "repentance" is metanoia. Metanoia also means "turn," "conversion," or change of mind. I am impressed by Peter Senge, the systems thinker at MIT. He teaches corporations how to be learning organizations. Senge is fascinated with metanoia. He cites both the New Testament and the Greek philosophers to help leaders of institutions recognize that change of mind lies at the heart of leading change toward a shared vision or a common caring. He observes two sources of energy that motivate organizations in change: fear and aspiration. Then he adds, "Fear can produce extraordinary changes in short periods, but aspiration endures as a continuing source of learning and growth." (The Fifth Discipline, p. 225).
For the ELCA and the ECUSA to respond to our calling to common mission, we must first repent, not only personally, but corporately. We have been given a time for amendment of our life together. We will be changed. This "change of mind" involves fear of what will happen if we do not bear fruits worthy of repentance. As John the Baptist said to Israel, "Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruits is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Lk 3.89)
Repentance also includes "aspiration," or put directly within the faith, this "change of mind" is the inspired gift of the Holy Spirit. Our shared conviction that we are called to common mission signals our hope in God. Our churches can be transformed into fit instruments for apostolic mission. Every arena of our life together falls under this calling to change, this gift of repentance or conversion for the mission ahead. Think with me briefly about three key institutions: seminaries, congregations, and bishops.
In the midst of our change process at Luther Seminary, one of the bishops on our board spoke with considerable agitation when he observed, "The church invented seminaries in the monastery. Then our theological faculties were located in the heart of the universities of Europe. What in the world are we trying to do now?"
It was a great question. It summarized a profound change that had already begun, but we had not yet conformed our minds to a new reality. We are now recognizing that the historic strengths of the seminary as Abbey were transformed when the seminary became an Academy. In the world of many cultures and religions of the 21st century, the seminary must again be changed into an Apostolate. The spiritual formation of the Abbey is no longer mere inculcation, and the critical reflection of the Academy no longer defines the excellence of the seminary. A missionary church needs the seminary to be converted, transformed as a fit instrument of the apostolic calling and public commission of the communities that call its graduates. What would become of us if we were to challenge all eleven of the ECUSA schools of theology and the eight ELCA seminaries to serve our calling to common mission? Together! What will become of us if we don't?
Congregations are as tempted by sin as all of us. Some have strategies to hold out against change in their worship life, their governance, and their endowment policies. Leaders who arrive with a conviction that God has a mission for a Christian community beyond taking care of itself are often rebuffed. At the same time, the signs of renewal and vitality are emerging in Christian communities and worshiping congregations all over the land. The apostolic warrants for pastoral and priestly ordinations are signs of continuity. But apostolic mission is also alive to change and broadly catholic or inclusive. Never in its history has the Christian church been entrusted with the gifts, resources, relationships, and public callings as right now among us. The Lord of the Church will ask us what we did with this wealth. God's call into common mission is a call to repentance and faith.
A few days ago a friend sent me an inspired case statement for a Campus Mission Center in San Marcos, Texas. It was bold in its assertions. "Growing denominations are those with congregations and individuals that make a priority investment in missions on campus. Churches in decline are those that don't!" This initiative arose from a consensus of the Lutheran and Episcopalian campus ministries at South West Texas State University. Listen to the Spirit in the vision: "What more fertile place could there be for continuing the maturity of the baptized and for developing their leadership than on a campus? And inasmuch as graduates go out into congregations everywhere, what could be more strategic to the mission of the church?" The ECUSA and the ELCA have literally thousands of congregations and ministries throughout the land. This network surpasses the capacities of the early church to permeate the empire. Many are coming alive to our call to apostolic mission in a world of many cultures and religions.
Transforming our worshipping communities into places of mission is central to our calling to common mission, and it will not be an easy task. Can we enter this repentance and renewal together? We have much to learn. What about the office of the Bishop? Why do we need Bishops in a time when we are called to common mission?
This is a serious question, expecting positive, but complex answers. In the ELCA we are still busy inventing our office of bishop while you in the ECUSA are showing signs of reinventing yours. Almost no one is arguing for some kind of monarchial episcopate, at least not in my hearing. But then the bishops' power or authority deserves courageous attention. That is, if we are called to common mission, we have real work to do, and we will need genuine evangelical, apostolic, and catholic oversight. The great American suspicion of anyone in authority is more than alive and well in the ELCA, but suspicion frustrates the work. We elect our finest pastors to the bishop's office. Then we hide them like bureaucrats in offices without worshipping communities and send them the personnel problems. Many are still using their authority well in equipping the church for mission in their synods. Strong leaders make things happen, unsatisfied with the status quo.
Several ELCA bishops are now pursuing what it would mean to be a missionary bishop. One asked, "Where are the examples of episcopal leadership, effectively authorized to lead in a time of change?" Another drew our attention to the Lambeth Conference. In particular, he pointed to the complex forms of evangelical authority arising in the Anglican churches of the southern hemisphere. How interesting! This global scope reminds us of the insight of Lesslie Newbigin, the Bishop of the Church of South India. After a lifetime of service on the mission frontiers of Asia, he retired to England to discover the church in decline and the new strength of Christian immigrant groups from Africa and Asia. The mission had come home!
Because we are called to common mission, we will be changed. The metanoia of repentance or conversion is personal and corporate. Our prayer for time for amendment of life is not dour penance, but a sign of faith. Whether consciously or not, every time we refer to "CCM" we make a confession of our faith in God. God has called us to common mission. This is a signal of the Spirit's voice in our hearts, and we are turned toward God. Our institutions will be transformed: seminaries, congregations, episcopal offices, not only toward the past, but also leaning into the future. God is not done with us yet, and the best which is yet to be will come through struggle.
