No. 40. >> I'm also aware of other contemporary terms associated with church that are not explicitly used in Scripture. Such as Synod or denomination. Today we also call some communities mega churches, others rural or urban churches. Some Christians avoid the term church all together and prefer to call their church a Gospel or fellowship hall. Could you perhaps shed some more light on these various descriptions? >>DR. KLAUS DETLEV SCHULZ: Yes, I have noticed that, too. That as we read about books, we discover that there are terms used such as Synod. We know that we are called the Lutheran Church of Missouri Synod. What does that mean? It basically means that the Missouri Synod as a church has decided to adopt a certain polity. It has decided -- its over 6,000 congregations have decided together to adopt a certain way as they would like to run everyday life as a community, as a church. They have structured their polity accordingly. They have a president. And they have districts, district presidents. They have circuit councils. All of these indicate that the Synodical structure that we as a church of Missouri Synod have today is one by choice. One cannot say that the word Synod is found in Scripture in the sense of actually saying to us: This is the polity now that we need to adopt for today, the 21st Century. When our fathers came and formed the Synod in 1847, they had a number of options to choose as to what polity they may use. As you know in Germany and other countries around the world, the polity that they use is not Synod. But usually what we call an Episcopal structure. That means instead of a president, they have a bishop. And they have usually theological convention that is making decisions only when pastors are present. And then they also have a Synod that then affirms those decisions that the pastors have reached at their conferences. We have a Synodical structure that allows a convention of laity and pastors together, delegates coming. And they make resolutions, decisions, about what the Synod needs to affirm theologically and about its polity for the future. Such resolutions are usually binding. That is, advisory to every congregation in the Synod. It is important to understand that as we look at our Synod today, these congregations that become members of the Synod follow it theologically, doctrinally. That is they have an interest that what the church teaches, the church of Missouri Synod now, is crucial for them to exist in this world today. And to help us along the years, the decades and the centuries now, the Missouri Synod has also decided to establish a committee, a commission, on theology and church relations. That, for example, will help us Christians in the congregations to walk a life in this world with answers given to particular issues as they emerge. We know that it becomes increasingly difficult to answer biomedical issues. These problems that arise around abortion or procreation and other issues. And we need to find answers here. And so the Synod has enabled us to listen carefully to the words that will be spoken by a commission that clearly enunciates and states the position based on Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. As I look at the founding days in 1847 and the first constitution that was written, we need to note that our church of Missouri Synod is based on Scripture in its inherent form and also on the Lutheran Confessions. That provides us a basis to work with. In fact, it serves as a guidance to lead us into the future. And we always need to return back to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions in order to maintain that original intent that the founding fathers had wanted to be included in the constitutions. We also might be mindful that the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod needs to negotiate with a number of partners around the world. Those that as we also affirm the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions as binding for all pastors and congregations. We have created in the world an international Lutheran Council. That means that this Council comes together every third or second year and meets and discusses issues that relate to all partner churches around the world. It's a crucial gathering. Because it offsets the Lutheran World Federation's domination around the world. And it is crucial that we affirm the International Lutheran Council and that many of our church leaders around the world come together and meet and discuss important issues that are relating to our church Missouri Synod. But also internationally to other churches, as well. One might ask the question then: What exactly was the interest of bringing together congregations and forming a Synod? It is probably a problem that was associated with the initial presidency of the Missouri Synod or the first fathers as they came over from Germany that created the Synodical structure. We know that the father or the bishop of the first Perry County Christians as they came over was Martin Stephan. There were some sad stories around his person. And as a result, the fathers that were in Perry County decided not to go along with that structure that they had adopted in Germany. But to create one their own instead. Many accuse the Synod, thereby, of buying into the American polity of democracy. It is true that in the New Testament we cannot find the Democratic rule that says that every Christian is allowed to rule over their doctrine. Sometimes it is the truth that needs to prevail. And the truth cannot be ruled away by a Democratic vote here or there. But it probably is important to note that in the Synod with its multiple structures of presidency, of districts and of congregations, that all are given a an equal say. And this equal representation takes place at the convention. One other aspect of our Synod is also that we have united around three concerns. These concerns pertain, first of all, to theological education of our pastors. Together all congregations unite that they are around the cause of having seminaries established. And we have two currently in Ft. Wayne and St. Louis that educate pastors. We then, also, have a joint concern in the Synod for the publication of our literature. And for this reason, we have created the Concordia Publishing House, for us to read the literature that especially pertains to our Synod. And finally, I would say that the Synod also comes together particularly around the vision of mission. And so for international missions especially, since not everyone can go overseas, it is important that we unite together around a mission that is being done and centralized actually for us to send somebody under the supervision of a Board, that that Board then assumes control and authority and accountability of someone who is engaged in mission overseas. So just to summarize these three concerns, as a Synod, we are interested first that we have mission being continued, theological education. And also the publication of books. And then in terms of our constitution, we also need to add that the roots or the basis of our existence is that we affirm repeatedly and return back to the unadulterated Scriptures and also the Lutheran Confessions. One important point here in this connection of affirming doctrine and the truth as it is found in Scripture and the Confessions is really that we then have decided to exist as a denomination. We have indicated, Josh, the word denomination. We as a Missouri Synod think that it is important to continue to exist as a denomination. Because we believe that in this world today, as we look at all of the various other denominations, that we have a special place therein because we try to go back and retrieve the truth from Scripture and affirm it in such a way as perhaps other churches do not agree with. And so our reason for existence today I think is solely because we are understanding Scripture differently. And explaining it in view of the Confessions in such a way that will not find agreement elsewhere. You have also indicated of other communities that have tried to avoid the term church. Yes, I know that there are evangelical groups or those that you might call groups of the Radical Reformation who call their gatherings or the churches as they come together worshiping communities or worship halls or something else. I think they have a certain resentment against institutionalism, against the institutionalized church. This means that they would like to return back to the early church context and say that they don't -- or are not influenced by the Reformation Era. But actually are existing already far earlier than those times of the 16th Century. There are also other concepts of church today in the 21st Century that we need to notice. Such as the emergent church movement. Some of you might have heard about this as you read books written by authors such as Brian Mclaren. Now, I have my certain reservations about the emergent church movement. I do see it playing a great role today in the spirituality of the youth, the forthcoming generation. I think this generation that follows the booming age, the age of the boomers, is looking not for technology or other things such as the boomers have looked for. These new Christians are looking for something more aspiring, more spiritual. And therefore, the emergent church has addressed the issue of rituals, those practices that the church is doing Sunday after Sunday, and tries to reinvigorate those in the life of the church. However, it is important to note that as we look at such movements, that they exist because the Gospel is being preached. And they live from the Gospel. And so we would indicate to them that it is not merely the ambiance of being in a celebration, of having rituals taking place, that is actually defining solely the church's existence. The church exists on the basis of the Gospel. And we have an interest to emphasize that the Gospel must be purely and rightly preached to the people. And cannot be avoided and worked away with solely to unite with one another. We have emphasized this point repeatedly with the movement such what we call today the emergent church. Josh, we also have a number of terms that are used today as we speak about the church such as mega churches or meta churches. And that term is associated with huge churches. Churches that have perhaps more than just one pastor. A large membership. And these churches rely on a team ministry. So that mega church -- those mega churches exist today frequently in cities and have made up a dominant portion of our Synod today. And have seized great attention in a number of circles. I would say the mega church concept plays an important role in the Missouri Synod today. We need to define, however, that the ministry that is provided in such a church equals that of other churches, as well. That we have pastors who actually are intent not only of leading the church as a person would maybe lead a company, but also be willing to engage in the Word and sacrament ministry. We also have a number of other churches that identify themselves with the Missouri Synod. The rural churches. I've spoken about Perry County. And we notice that in the history of the Missouri Synod that these rural churches have really served as the backbone. But as the United States received more and more immigrants, these rural churches finally were absorbed into cities. We still have a lot of rural cities, that is true. But many of them are experiencing great losses. People such as farmers cannot sustain themselves anymore and move away to cities to find other sources of income. We need to pay particular attention to these plights of rural churches. Since they have helped the Missouri Synod through all of these decades. Our focus and our attention today in the mission of the Missouri Synod is given a lot on urban churches. Suburban churches especially. As we look around the cities, we see them growing at a great pace. And we need to emphasize that churches need to be planted all around such cities as the suburban growth takes place. Within the cities itself, such as inner city churches, we also have those communities that need particular attention. In Detroit alone in the last ten years or so, more than 30 churches have closed down in these inner cities. Which means that as people are moving away from the inner cities to suburban areas, there's a large vacuum left behind. And I have to say that we are still at a loss today as to how exactly we will address the plight of these communities. But we should pay a particular attention to this plight and these -- this existence of communities that are struggling in the inner cities. So we notice, therefore, that today as we speak about the church and look at the Missouri Synod, that it is configured in a number of ways. Rural cities, suburban cities, mega churches, and also inner city churches. And we need to pay particular attention to all of them so that neither of these are neglected. One common concept used in contemporary Ecclesiologies is a term church growth. And I would like to mention a little bit on that because it is prevalent in many circles today to promote church growth or to speak about it. Now, first the bottom line is really that we all would like our church to grow. But as the parable of the seed, the fourfold seed as it is sown into various grounds, we also know that in some places it will not grow. And for this very reason, we should emphasize that the church does not always grow as we humans would like it to do. And we need to reserve a space or a very prevalent place for the Holy Spirit in our Ecclesiology, namely, that he is the one to bring about growth in the church. And we need to thank him for everything that leads to such growth. The promoter of the church growth theory and practice is Donald McGavran. Some of you might not know of him anymore. But he was a famous missionary in India. And as he looked at India and returned back to the United States, in retrospect he saw that many mistakes occurred during his mission in India. You might know that the churches in India struggle with a caste system. Where some castes don't frequent with other members of other castes. And Donald McGavran realized that over time the church in India had always enforced on Christians to merge with other caste systems. He, therefore, devised the concept of homogenous units saying that the church grows best when it deals with people who in some ways feel together. That is that they have a particular interest or background on which they can build their relationships. This homogenous unit principle has also been furthered in the concept of cell groups or small groups where people come together sharing a common interest so that the Word of God then is shared amongst those people. I think one concern that might be voiced against church growth is that it is very pragmatic orientated. We as Lutherans are always concerned that the Gospel is preached purely and properly in the church. And sometimes we need to discern between law and Gospel in all clarity so that members who come to church and live in blatant sin or have done something that they do not feel that they have committed and admit their guilt, then we are as Christians to proclaim the law clearly to them. But then also forgive them for their sins. This clarity of the Word that rules in the church, in the Lutheran Church, gives a certain reprimand on church growth in the sense that it asks: Can the Word in view of pragmatism still come to its full fruition in the environment of the church? These are just a few concerns. And I would like you as a student also to become knowledgeable of the church growth system as it is still proclaimed in many circles today. In conclusion to this question, I have related you to a number of issues that pertain to Ecclesiology today. I've looked at the word Synod and explained it to you. I've said that there is a certain distinction in the Missouri Synod with other churches around the world. These that have an Episcopal structure. I have explained to you why the Synod even exists. And I've also said that in its constitution of 1847, it made a clear statement that it wants to be founded on the proper explanation of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. I've also drawn attention to a number of words that circulate around in the church today. And in literature the words such as mega church, urban churches, rural churches. And also alerted to you the concept of the emergent church that is very prevalent and popular today. And finally, I've also related to you the concept of church growth. That was all done in a very brief way. And I would encourage you as a student to return back to all of these items as I've listed them. And make yourself further knowledgeable about them.