Journal of Lutheran

Mission March 2017 | Vol. 4 | No. 1

The Journal of Lutheran Mission
Contributing Editors
David Berger, Emeritus, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
Rev. Dr. Steve Briel, chairman, Board for National Mission, LCMS
Rev. Allan Buss, parish pastor, Belvidere, Ill.
Rev. Roberto Bustamante, faculty, Concordia Seminary, Buenos Aires
Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III, director, LCMS Church Relations
Rev. Thomas Dunseth, director of deaf ministry, Lutheran Friends of the Deaf, New York
Rev. Nilo Figur, area counselor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Lutheran Hour Ministries
Rev. Roosevelt Gray, director, LCMS Black Ministry
Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, director, LCMS Hispanic Ministry
Rev. Dr. John Kleinig, emeritus lecturer, Australian Lutheran College
Rev. Ted Krey, regional director, Latin America and the Caribbean, LCMS
Deaconess Dr. Cynthia Lumley, principal, Westfield Theological House, Cambridge
Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens, parish pastor, Berlin
Rev. Dr. Naomichi Masaki, faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Rev. Dr. Tilahun Mendedo, president, Concordia College, Selma
Rev. Nabil Nour, fifth vice-president, LCMS
Rev. Dr. Steve Oliver, LCMS missionary, Taiwan
Rev. Dr. Michael Paul, LCMS theological educator to Asia
Rev. Roger Paavola, president, LCMS Mid-South District
Rev. Dr. Darius Petkunis, rector, Lithuanian Lutheran Seminary
Rev. Dr. Andrew Pfeiffer, faculty, Australian Lutheran College
Rev. John T. Pless, faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill, faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Rev. Dr. David Rakotonirina, bishop, Antananarivo Synod of the Malagasy Lutheran Church
Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast, president, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Rev. Geoff Robinson, mission executive, Indiana District
Rev. Dr. Carl Rockrohr, pastor, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Rev. Robert Roethemeyer, faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Rev. Dr. Brian Saunders, president, LCMS Iowa East District
Rev. Dr. Detlev Schultz, faculty, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne
Rev. Bernie Seter, chairman, Board for International Mission, LCMS
Rev. Kou Seying, associate dean, Urban and Cross-Cultural Ministry, Concordia Seminary, St Louis
Rev. Alexey Streltsov, rector, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Siberia
Rev. Martin Teigen, parish pastor/Hispanic ministry, North Mankato, Minn.
Rev. Dr. Wilhelm Weber, Jr., rector, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Pretoria, South Africa
Rev. John Wille, president, LCMS South Wisconsin District

Executive Editors
Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III, director, LCMS Church Relations
Rev. Bart Day, executive director, LCMS Office of National Mission
Rev. John Fale, executive director, LCMS Office of International Mission
From the President
Dear Reader,
G
race and peace in Jesus! We are so very
thankful that so many of you opted to access
the previous issue of our Journal of Lutheran
Mission. The numbers for readership are growing, and we
are delighted. (You can read it here.)
Our previous issue included two very significant
demographic studies about why the LCMS has been
declining for some 45 years. These studies indicated that
following the World War II baby boom, the numbers
of children born and baptized in the LCMS dropped
significantly and have continued to decline. It is clear
from the evidence that the size of the demographic
challenge is epic. The changes in culture especially
having to do with delayed marriage, living together,
postponing childbirth, education of women, etc. have
been seismic. The studies also show that there is no easy
way forward. The growth in the LCMS during the post-
war period was driven by primarily by childbirth. More
children born and baptized meant more adults joining
the Synod (i.e., adult confirmations), which meant more
confirmations and the like.
As weve pointed these things out, I continue to
be absolutely amazed at the Synod rumor mill. Oh,
Harrison thinks the answer to our decline of numbers in
the LCMS is to have more babies. As I have repeatedly
stated, I doubt very much that any significant change in
the childrearing habits of LCMS members will occur or
greatly affect future numbers. That said, let me be clear
that the Bible does say a lot about families and children,
and its high time we open our Bibles and have a fresh look
at it. By the way, why in the world werent these studies on
demographics done 25 years ago when all our indicators
were already slumping?
For the record, once again (see my convention
report in the 2016 Workbook, p. 3) and in the wake of
these studies, I will note six important foci that must
be taken seriously and acted upon by our pastors, laity,
congregations, districts and the Synod. In fact, many of
our clergy, laity and congregations are deeply involved in
this kind of work already!
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
1. E
 vangelism and outreach. Synods new personal
witnessing program, Every One His Witness, is heating
up. Our evangelism expert, the Rev. Mark Wood,
is coming and going, training people all across the
Synod! See lcms.org/witness-outreach.
2. R
 e-invigorating congregations. Weve produced
re:Vitality for congregations to have a good look at
themselves and move to a better strategic position
for outreach to the community. See lcms.org/
revitalization.
3. H
 ealthy workers. We must all concentrate on making
sure our pastors and church workers are forgiven,
healthy, supported and engaged in the work of their
vocations!
4. I ntentional outreach to immigrant populations.
The LCMS may be overwhelmingly Anglo, but that
is changing. Its changing slowly, but it is changing.
The nations are at our doors. Its time to help them
find a way in. Our schools and universities are gems
in this regard!
5. C
 hurch planting. Synods Mission Field: USA
church planting-manual and other resources are
now available for districts and congregations to use
in reaching out to the diverse communities of our
nation. See lcms.org/church-planting.
6. R
 esolution of internal issues that cause conflict.
Weve come a long, long way. The 2016 convention
was unbelievably calm. Resolutions on controverted
issues passed overwhelmingly. Weve got a long way
to go. God grant us repentance, patience and fidelity.
This issue of Journal of Lutheran Mission focuses on
national mission and includes some of the items Ive
listed here.
In Christ,
Pastor Matthew Harrison
Presentation of Our Lord, A.D. 2017
iii
Letter to the Editor
February 2017
To the Editors,
I
received a copy of the December 2016 Special
Edition of the Journal of Lutheran Mission (JLM)
and read with curiosity that the major reason for
decline in our church body had been discovered and
policy decisions to address the decline would come from
this research. As an infant-baptized LCMS Lutheran and
as an epidemiologist who studies and analyzes patterns,
causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in
populations, I care deeply about health and wellness,
especially in the LCMS population. After all, what better
health outcome than salvation is there?
However, as I read the articles, my curiosity turned to
concern. I noticed these significant fallacies in the journal
and expand them in the following document.
1. The inability of the study design(s) to infer causal
relationship, but assumption of causality evident
throughout the articles in the journal;
2. An enhanced meaning of the results given to the
outcomes of the analysis methods chosen;
3. An inadequate set of variables included in the analysis;
4. A causal pathway model that is in error.
In short, the research evidence presented in the
2016 Special Edition of the Journal of Lutheran Mission
does not support the conclusions with the degree of
certainty that the authors and the editors have inferred.
The research does present some interesting correlations,
includes some large data sets, includes a limited literature
review, and can be a starting place for more rigorous
study if this topic continues to be an area of interest.
Using scientific, evidence-based approaches is helpful
in determining policy,1 However, the Synod should be
cautioned in promoting pronatal policies based on these
studies as premature and not well supported by the
scientific body of evidence.
In His Service,
Rebeka Cook, Epidemiologist
1Julie A. Jacobs, Ellen Jones, Barbara A. Gabella, Bonnie Spring,
and Ross C. Brownson, Tools for Implementing an Evidence-Based
Approach in Public Health Practice, accessed February 6, 2017, https://
www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2012/11_0324.htm.
iv Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
LIMITS OF INTERPRETATION IN THE
JOURNAL OF LUTHERAN MISSION
DECEMBER 2016 EDITION
Study design cannot determine causation; causation
assumed.
In the first article, A District-Level Examination of
Demographic Trends and Membership Trends within
LCMS Districts George Hawley utilized an observa-
tional study design, specifically an ecological study
design. In the social sciences, an ecological study is con-
sidered appropriate for the initial investigation of a causal
hypothesis. This type of study can measure correlation, a
statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two
or more variables fluctuate together. It is not able to deter-
mine causation, the name given when one event is the
result of the occurrence of the other event.
The correlations seen in the data are not spurious or
random. However, even if there is a statistically signif-
icant correlation, causation cannot be inferred by this
study design. In this first article, the author does not infer
causation, but the subsequent article by the same author
does; he does so repeatedly and uses anxiety-heighten-
ing sentences like, Failing to halt or even reverse this
trend [of the lack of early marriages and larger families]
would be disastrous for the LCMS.2 By the conclusion,
he has moved to a full embrace of causality: The chief
cause of numerical decline has been declining birthrate.3
The writings in the rest of the 2016 December Special
Edition continue in line with this assumption that the
falling birthrate is the chief/most important cause of the
decline in the number of adherents in the LCMS. An
ecological study design does not have the ability to deter-
mine causation. In addition, the body of evidence around
the topic in the rest of the journal is insufficient to infer
causation.
My objective in sharing this is not to discredit this
early evidence there is a moderate to low correlation
between some birthrates and the percentage of LCMS
2George Hawley, The LCMS in the Face of Demographic and Social
Change: A Social Science Perspective, Journal of Lutheran Mission 3,
no. 3 (2016): 7.
3 Ibid., 107.
decline but to emphasize the limitation of this study
design and to advocate for greater caution in crediting the
cause of decline in the LCMS as being birthrate based
on the body of evidence in this journal.
Enhanced meaning given to outcomes
The meanings given to the outcomes of the studies
contained in this journal are enhanced to a point of
inaccuracy and are overstatements of (1) statistical test
capability, (2) the strength of the effects of statistical tests,
(3) the breadth of topics included in the studies, and (4)
the ability to narrow causality to a single variable.
First, the statistical test chosen to analyze the data
is a Pearsons R. A Pearsons R cannot speak into causal
relationships; it measures strength and direction of a rela-
tionship. Repeatedly, results have been described with this
type of language, Learn the key factor behind the decline
in LCMS membership4 and Several demographic reports
explain the major reason behind patterns in decline.5 In
the second article, the author uses the phrase, This paper
examines one of the most important causes of the LCMS
decline: low fertility among its adherents. Section 3 of the
final journal article states, One factor has overpowered
all other factors in the synods numerical decline: A plum-
meting birth rate These statements are prolific in the
journal and assume strong causation, but this language
is a misrepresentation of the capability of this statistic.
The author mentions this limitation in the first article,
6
however, his subsequent language, the language used to
promote the journal, and the direct statement in Section 3
indicates a failure to remember this limitation.
Second, assuming birthrate is causative of decline, the
correlation is still not statistically strong enough to drive
life-altering policy. Of the limited variables included in
this study, the highest correlation White [non-His-
panic] Birthrate exhibits barely a moderate correlation
(r =0.5); there are two implications to this correlation and
its use. The confidence implied by the language used in
this journal article as it attributes the decline of LCMS
membership with birthrate, including white birthrate,
on the rate of LCMS decline is an overstatement. The
4The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod News and Information
website, accessed January 31, 2017, https://blogs.lcms.org/2016/journal-
of-lutheran-mission-december-2016.
5 Email communication received from LCMS Communications
infocenter@lcms.org received January 31, 2017.
6George Hawley, A District Level Examination of Demographic
Trends and Membership Trends within LCMS Districts, Journal of
Lutheran Mission, 3, no. 3 (2016): 2.
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
correlation relationship is not strong; a Pearsons R with a
value of 0.5 is the lowest limit of a moderate correlation,
and an r=0.49 would be considered weak correlation.
Subsequently, in interpreting this data and concluding
that The LCMS needs to increase the birthrate in sta-
tistical language reads, The LCMS needs to increase the
white, non-Hispanic birthrate, a rather ethnocentric
statement. Broadening the vocabulary to include Total
Birthrate or even the White [non-Hispanic] Married
Birthrate results in relying on data with weak correla-
tion; consequently, the rationale for considering policies
based on the strength of these correlations disappears.
Promoting only birthrate as a means to increase family
size instead of adoption or embryo adoption, added with
the inaccurate interpretation of the regression analysis7
declaring the LCMS remains the church of a particu-
lar ethnic group,8 support the idea that non-Hispanic
white births are the births that the LCMS is promoting.
I recommend extreme caution, prudence, and care in
the language used in promoting birthrate. In summary,
the correlations9 between birthrates and decline are not
strong, and the association described is a specific relation-
ship between non-Hispanic white birthrate and LCMS
decline.
Third, the list of variables included in this analysis is
limited to demographic and family formation variables. A
way to read the question asked in the study is this, What
is the individual linear relationship between LCMS mem-
bership change and (1)white birthrate, (2)white marriage
rate, (3)total birthrate, (4) total birthrate, 5) total mar-
riage rate 6 percent white (in a district), (7)white married
birthrate, (8) total population change, and (9) median
age? Those are the only variables included in the anal-
ysis. Therefore, statements that promote birthrate as the
most important cause of the decline of the LCMS are
in error by being too broad,;white birthrate is the most
important10 of those nine variables, not considering the
confounding effect of other variables. A correct statistical
reading would be, Of the nine variables independently
considered, the white non-Hispanic birthrate had the
7Hawley, Demographic and Social Change, 71. A correct reading
of this regression would be, For each additional percent increase of
German ethnicity in a county, theres an additional 0.14 percentage
points of LCMS adherents in that county.
8 Hawley, Demographic and Social Change, 46. Again there is
a correlation, causation cannot be assumed, and is a statistically
inaccurate step.
9 These are correlations, not causal relationships.
10 Most important correlation, not most important cause.
v
 Finally, a Pearsons R can only consider the effect of a single variable and cannot separate t
Finally, a Pearsons R can only consider the effect of a single variable and cannot separate
variable whose presence affects the other variables being studied. The consequence is a test
variable whose presence affects the other variables being studied. The consequence is a tes
reflect the actual relationship between the variable under investigation and the outcome; thi
reflect the actual relationship between the variable under investigation and the outcome; th
confounding. A Pearsons R cannot control for confounding and the effect of the relationsh
confounding. A Pearsons R cannot control for confounding and the effect of the relationsh
decline and a decrease in birthrate might be explained away by controlling for the marriage
decline
strongest linear correlation with the change variables
in and a decrease
percent- in birthrate
section, might beGenerosity,
Generational explained away by controlling
education
explores inwomen for11the marriage
a litera-
not included in the analysis (e.g., an increase in in 11
or an increa
variables not
12 included in the analysis (e.g., an increase in education in women or an incre
workplace, both variables that are independently correlated with
age of the LCMS population In statistical laymans terms,12 ture-review style evangelism (compared only to Southern a decrease in birthrates in
workplace, both variables that are independently correlated with a decrease in birthrates i
implement
Of the nine constructs considered, one at a time, pronatal
whitepronatal policies
Baptists), when a causal relationship has not been established is prematur
implement policiesrural
when atrends, conservative
causal relationship has values,
not beenavailability
established is prematu
birthrate increases and decreased most similarly to LCMS of youth programs, presence of early childhood centers,
Inadequate set of variables included in the analysis
membership. Note that other variables are There Inadequate
explored set Hispanic
of variables included in the analysis
is anin inadequate set ofoutreach,
variables and includedpastor in the affordability.
analysis presentedThe variables
but conclusions ab
the journal, but these are done in the method There is an inadequate set of variables included in the analysis presented but conclusions a
areofassumed.
a liter- 13Variables
13
includedto in the journal
include are all growth
in a population a starting study place
would to fit
explore
under two broad
are assumed. Variables to include in a population growth study would fit under two broad
ature review and sometimes include minor statistical those who leave the LCMS
decline and and immigration
provide thought-provoking those who join the LCMS,
correlations, but including
those who leave14the LCMS and immigration those who join the LCMS, including
testing; note, too, that the literature review is quite baptized as
limited infants.
the listA study objectively
is incomplete, seeking to discern the major cause of growth or
baptized as infants. 14
A study objectively and seeking thetocausation
discern theand strength
major causeofof growth o
include variables from both migration and immigration. Variables in the first two articles in
in variables considered. While the data set is large includeandvariables
the any fromone bothfactor
migration cannot be determined
and immigration. by the
Variables methods
in the first two articles i
restricted to immigration and most specifically to natural increase. The third section, G
work done in analysis long, the data set and the resulting explores
restricted
Generosity,
to used.inIna summary,
immigration and most
literature-review the scientific
specifically to
style evangelism process(compared
natural to narrowonly
increase. signif-
The third section,
to Southern B
statistical tests used are not robust enough tools Generosity, explores
to infervalues, icant in a literature-review
variablesofforyouth inclusion style evangelism
seems to have (compared omitted.to centers,
only Southern B
conservative availability programs, presence of been
early childhood Hi
conservative values, availability of youth programs, presence of early childhood centers, H
more from the data. pastor affordability. The variables included in the journal are all a starting place to explore
pastor affordability.
thought-provoking A correlations,
faulty causal
The variables pathway
included
but the
in the journal are all a starting place to explore
list is incomplete, and the causation and strength of
Finally, a Pearsons R can only consider the effect of a
thought-provoking correlations, but the list is incomplete, and the causation and strength o
cannot be determined A causal by thepathway
methods used. is theIn process
summary,bythewhich scientifican process
outcome to narrow sig
single variable and cannot separate the effect of a variable
cannot be determined by the methods used. In summary, the scientific process to narrow si
for inclusion seems to
is broughthave been omitted.
into omitted.
being. There is an exposure, and there is
whose presence affects the other variables being for studied.
inclusion seems to have been
The consequence is a test result that may notAreflect an outcome. In the case of faith, a person is exposed
the pathway
faulty causal
A faulty causal to pathway word and/or sacrament, and the Holy Spirit
actual relationship between the variable under A causal pathway is [Gods]
inves- the process by which an outcome is brought into being. There is an exp
A causal pathway is the process
promises to work by whichthrough an outcome
these means is brought into being.faith
to produce There is an ex
tigation and the outcome; this is called confounding. an outcome. A In the case of faith, a person is exposed to [Gods] word and/or sacrament, a
an outcome. In the case of faith, a person is exposed to [Gods] word and/or sacrament, a
Pearsons R cannot control for confounding and promises
the effect to work through
(outcome). these means to produce faith (outcome).
promises to work through these means to produce faith (outcome).
of the relationship between LCMS decline and a decrease
in birthrate might be explained away by controlling for
the marriage rate or even by variables not included in the
A picture of that relationship
A picture looks
of thatlike relationship
this: looks like this:
analysis (e.g., an increase in education in women 11
A picture or anof that relationship looks like this:
increase in women in the workplace,12 both variables that
are independently correlated with a decrease in birthrates
in general). Acting to implement pronatal policies 11 when a
Ibid., 17.
11
causal relationship has not been established is12premature. Ibid., 17.
Ibid.,16. Faith is difficult to quantify, and a proxy measure
12
13 Ibid.,16.
13
Ryan MacPherson, is often used; itGenerosity:
Generational could beHanding said that DownHawley
Our faithusesto OurLCMS
Children and Our C
RyanofMacPherson,
Journal Lutheran Mission, Generational Generosity:
3, no. 3 (2017): 107. Handing Down Our faith to Our Children and Our
Inadequate set of variables included in the Journal
14
I disagree of Lutheran adherents
with the Mission,
term natural 3, as
no.the proxy107.
3 (2017): itfor faith.toAthis visual representation
Faith is difficult to
thequantify, andincrease
a proxy as measure pertainsis often population
used; it couldandbeexplain whyHawley
said that in the
analysis 14
I disagree
Faulty CausalwithPathway;
of term
the natural
therefore,
causal increase
I include
model as it pertains
natural
Hawley increase
puts to this
forwardin population
with and explain
immigration.
is: why in the
adherents
Faulty Causal as the proxy therefore,
Pathway; for faith. A visualnatural
I include representation
increaseofinthe withcausal model Hawley puts f
immigration.
There is an inadequate set of variables included in the
analysis presented but conclusions about overall effect are
assumed.13 Variables to include in a population growth
study would fit under two broad headings: migration While it can be said that While familyit can
faith beissaid thatfor
a proxy family
the workfaithofisthe a proxy for the
Holy Spirit in the way th
those who leave the LCMS and immigration is a proxythosefor faith,
workthe of textthedoesHolynotSpirit
agree in with theeither.
way that Hawley LCMS compared
adherent membership
is a in an
citizenship in a country; he says, LCMS
who join the LCMS, including those who are baptized as proxy for faith, the text does not agree with either. Hawley affiliation remains largely a characteristic that one
Faith does not come from birth, even birth into a family of believers. The term Hawley uses
infants. A study objectively seeking to discern the major compared membership in an LCMS church to citizenship
14
parents are LCMS members and then become LCMS adherents is natural growth. This as
cause of growth or decline would include variables Faith infrom in a country;
an individual comes through he says, the HolyLCMS Spirit affiliation remainshis
working through largely
word anda sacrame
both migration and immigration. Variables toinfaith. the 16first characteristic that one inherits at birth.15 Faith does not
two articles in the journal are restricted to immigra- come from birth, even birth into a family of believers. The
tion and most specifically to natural increase. In aThe
familythirdwhereterm faith Hawley
is present,uses an individual
for children will whose
be exposed parentsto wordareand
LCMSsacrament mor
are not in a family of faith; they will see discipleship modeled, they will be discipled, they w
members and then become LCMS adherents is natural
11 Ibid., 17.
heard the message of Jesus from a trusted person. In these ways, their exposure to their fam
changes the likelihood growth. This will
a person assumption
develop faith. is inInerror. Faith in an
epidemiology, we individ-
would refer to this
12 Ibid., 16.
risk factor. A risk ualfactor
comes through
is any attribute, thecharacteristic,
Holy Spirit working or exposure through his
of an individual that c
13 Ryan MacPherson, Generational Generosity: Handing Down Our
likelihood of developing
faith to Our Children and Our Childrens Children, Journal of Lutheran
word and sacrament
an outcome. The to bring
risk factora person
cannotto faith.
cause the
16 outcome alone; famil

Mission, 3, no. 3 (2017): 107. individual faith, but it can increase or decrease the probability of it occurring. This specific
14 effect is called a moderating variable. The outcomes are different for those who are raised i
I disagree with the term natural increase as it pertains to this
population and explain why in the section called A Faultyand those who are15 not.
Causal Hawley, Demographic
However, family and
faithSocial Change,
is not in the causal
48. pathway of faith formation
Pathway; therefore, I include natural increase in with immigration. 16 Third article of the Apostles Creed, Luthers Small Catechism.

vi Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

is difficult to quantify, and a proxy measure is often used; it could be said that Hawley uses LCMS
ents as the proxy
In afor faith. where
family A visualfaith
representation
is present,of an
the individual
causal modelwill
Hawley puts forward
grace, is: or the family of God. In the entire text
forgiveness,
be exposed to word and sacrament more often than if of the journal, the name of Jesus is mentioned once, while
they are not in a family of faith; they will see disciple- LCMS is mentioned close to 900 times, adherents is
ship modeled, they will be discipled, they will likely have used over 200 times, and birthrate and births over
e it can be said that family faith is a proxy for the work of the Holy Spirit in the way that LCMS adherent
heard
roxy for faith, thethe
textmessage
does not of Jesus
agree from
with a trusted
either. Hawleyperson.
compared In membership
these 200intimes an LCMStogether.
church Theto causal model Hawley operates
ways, their
nship in a country; exposure
he says, LCMS to affiliation
their family of origin,
remains largelychanges the from
a characteristic ensures
that one inheritsthat the church
at birth. 15 will have a new generation
likelihood
does not come a person
from birth, willinto
even birth develop
a familyfaith. In epidemiology,
of believers. The term Hawley of adherents. It may
uses for children
22
whosepreserve a cultural remnant, but
ts are LCMS wemembers
would refer and then become
to this typeLCMS adherents
of variable as ais risk
natural growth.
factor. itThisdoesassumption is in error.a focus on the kingdom of God
not demonstrate
in an individual comes through the Holy Spirit working through his word and sacrament to bring a person
A risk factor is any attribute, characteristic, or exposure or the purpose our Lord and Savior has for his people as
th.16
of an individual that changes the likelihood of develop- recorded in Scripture.
amily where ingfaith
an outcome.
is present, an Theindividual
risk factor
willcannot causetothe
be exposed outcome
word and sacrament more often than if they
alone; family faith cannot cause individual faith, be
ot in a family of faith; they will see discipleship modeled, they will but it
discipled, they will likely have
the message of Jesus from a trusted person. In these ways,
can increase or decrease the probability of it occurring. their exposure to their family of origin,
ges the likelihood a person will develop faith. In epidemiology, we would refer to this type of variable as a
This specific type of confounding effect is called a mod-
factor. A risk factor is any attribute, characteristic, or exposure of an individual that changes the
erating variable. The outcomes are different for those
hood of developing an outcome. The risk factor cannot cause the outcome alone; family faith cannot cause
idual faith,who
but itare
canraised
increasein or
a family
decreaseofthe
faith and those
probability of itwho are not.
occurring. This specific type of confounding
is called aHowever,
moderating family faith
variable. Theis outcomes
not in theare causal pathway
different of faith
for those who are raised in a family of faith
hose who are not. However, family faith is not in the causal pathway of faith formation.
formation.

mplications ofThe
this implications of thisUtilizing
model are profound. model are profound.
Hawleys causalUtilizing
pathway model misses the purpose of
hurch; it focuses on ancausal
Hawleys institution rathermodel
pathway than the body the
misses of Christ,
purposediscipleship,
of the or faith formation.
church; it focuses on an institution rather than the body
ead the Journal of Lutheran Mission, this sentence seemed to capture the main idea being communicated:
ese issues] of
areChrist, discipleship,
important or faith formation.
paths for a religious denomination to ensure a stable population.17 This purpose
As Ilike
oed in statements readKeep
the Journal of Lutheran
young people involvedMission, this sentence
in religion, 18
It is in the churchs best interest to
urage earlyseemed
marriagetoandcapture the main
large strong idea A
families, 19
being communicated:
religious pronatalist message can only be effectively
20
mitted if religious
[Theseinstitutions
issues] arehave the means
important of promoting
paths compliance,
for a religious denom- Religious organizations are
21
eting with ination
one another for pieces
to ensure of a shrinking
a stable pie. 17 This purpose is
population.
echoed in statements like Keep young people involved in
wley, 48.
religion,18 It is in the churchs best interest to encourage
d article of the Apostles Creed, Luthers Small Catechism
.,, 10. early marriage and large strong families,19 A religious
., 10. pronatalist message can only be effectively transmitted if
., 11.
., 21. religious institutions have the means of promoting com-
cPherson, 90. pliance,20 Religious organizations are competing with
5
one another for pieces of a shrinking pie.21
The language of this journal is LCMS adherents. The
language throughout the journal is about religion, insti-
tutions, and power rather than faith formation, followers
of Jesus, the body of Christ, restoration of a broken world,

17 Ibid., 10.
18 Ibid., 10.
19 Ibid., 11.
20 Ibid., 21.
21 MacPherson, 90. 22 Hawley, Demographic and Social Change, 10.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod vii

Responses
Dear Editors,
I
am grateful to Rebeka Cook for bringing up
a number of good points in her recent letter. The
conversation about family and the future of the LCMS
is important, and I hope it includes many voices. In the
pages ahead, I want to clarify a couple of points, defend
my conclusions, and acknowledge certain weaknesses in
my analysis that should be addressed.
In the pages ahead, I will only address those critiques
aimed directly at my own work. I leave it to the editors
and Dr. MacPherson to respond to other points.
Mrs. Cook makes an excellent point about causality, and
a great deal of caution must be exercised when attempting
to draw conclusions from data such as these. It is true that
correlation coefficients tell us nothing about a particular
causal relationship. Although an invaluable tool in the
social sciences, high and moderate correlation coefficients
should just be a starting point, to be followed by more
sophisticated methods that can better discern causality.
The point about ecological inference is similarly
important.1 Using census data (that includes everyone,
not just LCMS members) to draw inferences about
behavior within the LCMS was a crude measure, which
is why I was surprised to see that the correlation was as
strong as it was. It would have been better to have detailed
data on birthrates and family formation within each
LCMS district that was limited to the LCMS itself rather
than the best proxy available.
This leads to a broader point. I absolutely agree
that more work should be done to better discern the
causal relationships at work. In an ideal world, it would
be terrific to have longitudinal data from individual
congregations, including information on infant baptisms,
confirmations, deaths, and adult gains and losses.
District-level data provide a useful starting point, but
the small number of districts (and the concomitant
limited degrees of freedom) precludes more sophisticated
statistical analyses. As data collection improves, it will
be helpful if the LCMS at some future date is able to
conduct a large-N, multi-level analysis that will help the
denomination better discern the determinants of growth
and decline, using variables at both the congregation
1W. S. Robinson, Ecological Correlations and the Behavior of
Individuals, American Sociological Review 15 (1950): 35157.
viii Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
level and at the broader community level. I hope that
the LCMS will continue to examine these questions and
additionally hope that experts like Mrs. Cook will provide
their insights for future projects.
However, despite acknowledging the various
limitations in my report, they must be viewed in context.
There is already compelling evidence from the existing
social science literature demonstrating that family
formation patterns are strongly related to a denominations
health. Some of these I mentioned in my report, but there
are other examples worthy of our attention.
In what I consider the most important article on this
subject, Hout, Greeley, and Wilde examined General
Social Survey (GSS) data over time to discern the
reason why conservative Protestant denominations
were growing at the expense of more liberal mainline
denominations in the latter half of the 20th century.
They found that other potential explanations, such as
conversion and different rates of apostasy, had little
empirical support. However, the earlier average family
formation and higher fertility rates of conservative
Protestants accounted for a remarkable 76 percent of the
trend. They ultimately concluded: The changing shape of
U.S. Protestantism reflects the interaction of differential
demography and strong socialization. There are more
conservatives today because their parents had larger
families than did Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist,
Lutheran, and Congregationalist parents.2 In other
words, denominations with more large families grew,
and those where small families were the norm declined.
Wuthnow has similarly provided compelling evidence
that declining rates of family formation account for the
decline in religious observance.3
This leads to another important point that I fear was not
made sufficiently clear in the earlier report. Yes, the best
way to make a Lutheran is to baptize infants as Lutheran,
raise those children in the church, and hope they choose
to become confirmed members. However, we should not
forget the other reason family and faith are connected.
There is also strong evidence that forming a traditional
family at an early age is one of the best ways to ensure that a
person remains connected with his or her church.
2Michael Hout, Andrew Greeley, and Melissa J. Wilde, The
Demographic Imperative in Religious Change in the United States, The
American Journal of Sociology 107 (2001): 497.
3Robert Wuthnow, After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-
Somethings are Shaping the Future of American Religion (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2007), 55.
 In the aforementioned book, Wuthnow showed
that married young Americans remain very likely to be
involved in religious congregations. In fact, the likelihood
that young married Americans will attend religious
services has not changed since the 1970s. Unfortunately
for religious denominations, unmarried Americans are
both becoming less likely to attend worship services,
and they are growing as a percentage of the population.
Unmarried young men are particularly unlikely to attend
worship services.
A number of explanations for these findings have
been offered. Thornton, Axinn, and Hill suggested several
possible reasons marriage tends to strengthen religious
commitments compared to other domestic arrangements,
such as cohabitation.4 Cohabitating couples may
correctly or not feel judged by their religious
communities and thus be more likely to withdraw from
their churches. Married couples are also much more
likely to have children, and the desire to raise children
in a religious environment is often a catalyst for adults to
return to church. Stolzenberg, Blair-Loy, and Waite also
found that having children increased rates of religious
participation among adults.5
In other words, denominations should not just be
concerned with having more babies because those babies
represent the future of the church; forming an intact
family unit helps keep current members attached to their
faith and involved in their congregations.
The question of ethnocentrism must also be addressed,
as I want to be very clear on this point. Using the aggregate
white birthrate of each district (rather than the birthrate
for all racial and ethnic groups) made sense because of
the LCMSs demographic profile; it is one of the more
homogenous denominations in the United States. I think
that Sherkat was correct to describe all major branches of
Lutheranism as de facto ethnic denominations.6 One can
argue that this is itself a problem, though I should note
that it is certainly not a problem exclusive to Lutherans. In
an overwhelming majority of congregations in America,
at least four-fifths of all members are from a single racial
4Arland Thornton, William Axinn, and Daniel Hill, Reciprocal
Effects of Religiosity, Cohabitation, and Marriage, American Journal of
Sociology 89 (1992): 62851.
5Ross M. Stolzenberg, Mary Blair-Loy, and Linda J. Waite, Religious
Participation in Early Adulthood: Age and Life-Cycle Effects on Church
Membership, American Sociological Review 60 (1995): 84103.
6Darren E. Sherkat, Changing Faith: The Dynamics and Consequences of
Americans Shifting Religious Identities (New York: New York University
Press, 2014), 2728.
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
group.7 The purpose of my analysis was to show that
districts where the LCMSs core demographic group had a
higher fertility rate tended to also be the districts where the
LCMS exhibited slower rates of decline. But if the LCMS
chooses to pursue natalist efforts in the future, it should
aim to encourage family formation for all of its members,
not just those with a particular racial/ethnic identity.
The information I provided about the LCMSs
demographic characteristics was not intended to promote
any exclusionary tendencies within the denomination.
The LCMS of course should be a welcoming church to all
people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or citizenship status.
And it is worth noting that, when it comes to outreach
to people from other racial and ethnic backgrounds,
a recent study suggested that LCMS is one of the better
performers. Wright et al. found that LCMS congregations
were actually quite good about providing information to
black, Hispanic, and Asian people who showed interest in
the church; on this question, the LCMS outperformed the
ELCA, the UMC, the SBC, and the PCUSA.8
I do not say this to imply that the LCMS should declare
that its outreach efforts are sufficient, and I am certainly
not implying that they should be abandoned. I do not
speak for the LCMS, nor do I know what (if anything)
the denomination will choose to do with the information
provided in these reports. But the fact that my work focused
on natural growth via family formation, rather than other
methods of growth, does not imply that the denomination
should give up its other outreach efforts.
I also understand and appreciate Mrs. Cooks point
about causal pathways. When working on my report,
I treated the LCMS as I would treat any other social
organization (a political party, for example). I thus
focused my attention on measurable variables like LCMS
adherents. Questions of discipleship and the Holy Spirit
were not part of my analysis because I know of no way
to measure these things. That does not mean they are not
important, but they are far removed from my own area of
expertise.
Related to this point, I wish to note Mrs. Cooks
own argument that using scientific, evidence-based
7National Congregations Study, American Congregations at the
Beginning of the 21st Century, 2007, accessed February 16, 2016,
http://www.soc.duke.edu/natcong/Docs/NCSII_report_final.pdf.
8 Bradley R.E. Wright, Christopher M. Donnelly, Michael Wallace, Stacy
Missari, Annie Scola Wisnesky, and Christine Zozula, Religion, Race,
and Discrimination: A Field Experiment of How American Churches
Welcome Newcomers, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 54
(2015): 185204.
ix
approaches is helpful in determining policy.
Unfortunately, using such an approach also seems to
preclude the use of unmeasurable variables, such as the
Holy Spirit. I chose not to discuss these considerations,
even in a qualitative sense, because I lack the qualifications
to do so. But my report does not dictate LCMS policy,
and I assume that any policies the LCMS implements
in the future will be created with crucial input from
religious scholars and leaders who will ensure that the
Gospel remains the denominations primary guide and
inspiration.
In summary, Mrs. Cook brought up a number of
critical points. I agree that the findings in these reports
should represent the start of a research agenda rather than
a definitive conclusion. But the connection between family
formation and the health of religious institutions is real,
even if certain causal relationships remain ambiguous.
For these reasons, I encourage the LCMS to continue
thinking carefully about this subject. I additionally hope
that experts such as Mrs. Cook will continue to take part
in these conversations and apply their talents to these and
related questions.
Best regards,
George Hawley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Alabama
x Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
Dear Mrs. Rebeka Cook,
T
he letter of concern that you sent to the
Revs. Heath Curtis and J. Bart Day concerning
the December 2016 issue of Journal of Lutheran
Mission was forwarded to me so that I could respond to
the points you have raised. I authored the third article in
that issue, entitled Generational Generosity. In February
2015, I presented a half-day workshop on the same
material to President Matthew Harrison and about 60
administrators representing different areas of the Synods
work. I understand from the Rev. Curtis that Dr. George
Hawley presented his research at a separate meeting,
which I did not attend. I previewed his two articles
shortly before publication, but otherwise our work was
independent. My comments below pertain primarily to
my article, Generational Generosity.
First, I thank you for your interest in the membership
trends of the LCMS and other church bodies; we both
recognize that this is an important topic. I also appreciate
your concern for a Christo-centric understanding of the
church and your focus upon the means of grace as the only
real entry point into the church. In Appendix B (p. 109
10), I cautioned against applying statistics pragmatically
to issues that instead should be navigated by faith. I
infer from your letter that you and I are in agreement
as to the efficacy of the word of God, the ministerial
versus magisterial use of reason, and the theology of
the cross versus the theology of glory as I delineated
those in Appendix B. I also want you to know that the
Synod leaders who convened to discuss my findings in
February 2015 strongly agree that the church should not
be in the business of crunching the numbers in order to
boost numerical membership; rather, they were seeking
to understand the context in which the means-of-grace
ministry operates, and they were willing to suffer further
numerical losses if that happens to be the cost of fidelity
to Christ and his word (cf. Curtiss introduction to the
December 2016 issue). While it is true, as you note, that
the name Jesus seldom appeared in the articles authored
by Hawley and myself, I hope that you can recognize that
we in no way meant to diminish the glory that is due
him but rather we were seeking to address a different
question: What are the factors, humanly speaking, that
help to describe and perhaps explain the trajectory of
LCMS membership? Naturally, we were measuring only
numbers on membership rosters, for no one but God can
discern hearts to see faith in members or non-members.
The bulk of your concerns, as I understand them,
relate to the distinction between causation and correlation
and the proper methods of quantitative analysis for
supporting such conclusions. Here perhaps is where we
may have respectfully to disagree, but I am confident that
you can give me a fair hearing even if in the end you are
not fully persuaded to accept my perspective.
I invite you to consider the distinction that I see
between two different parts of my argument. On the
one hand, I claim quite strongly that the decline of the
birthrate is the principal cause of the decline of total
membership over the past 60 or so years. On the other
hand, I suggest more tentatively that contraception,
delayed marriage, divorce, and several other factors each
have played a role in causing the birthrate to fall. I see
these as two different sorts of causal claims, requiring
two different kinds of argumentation in their support.
In the first instance, it is a matter of simple demographic
arithmetic that for any time interval (year, decade, etc.):
the starting population + births deaths + immigration
emigration = the ending population. Of these variables,
the birthrate has changed the most (declining to about one
fourth of its 1950s level), while the other variables have
remained comparatively stable over the decades. Swap the
1950 birthrate (ratio of births to base population) for the
2010 birthrate and, ceteris paribus, youd have a declining
membership in 1950 and a growing membership in 2010,
but swap any of the others, and it would hardly change
the situation. As I acknowledge in Appendix A (p. 108
109), the data sources are limited in both their scope
and their accuracy; however, I also explain there that
long-term, major trends remain obvious despite data
limitations, noting for example that swapping the LCMS
birthrate (declining steeply and becoming quite low) and
ELS birthrates (declining, but not quite as steeply) would
hardly make a difference in the overall pattern for either
synod (p. 109).
As for the second instance, there is less certainty as to
which factor or combination of factors may have caused
the birthrate to decline and/or prevented the birthrate
from rebounding. Here is where Pearson coefficients,
multivariate analysis, longitudinal studies, and the like
could be helpful. If you feel so inclined, I would encourage
you to contact the LCMS Office of Rosters, Statistics
and Research Services, which provided me with year-
by-year data that could be compared across the Synods
districts. I did far more number-crunching than what
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
was published, and Im sure you could take things even
further. Meanwhile, if you follow my footnotes, you will
discover that some of the authors that I cited arrived at
their conclusions on the basis of research employing the
statistical techniques that you suggest (see, for example,
Carlsons study on student loan debt leading to delayed
marriage and suppressed fertility).
Furthermore, it is worth remembering that the
quantitative analysis appropriate to epidemiology, the
discipline that you suggested as a model, may not be
appropriate to other fields. As research moves from
physical to biochemical to behavioral phenomena,
scientific conventions typically ease the threshold as
to which p values suffice for statistical significance
(perhaps p < 0.0001 in physics vs. p < 0.05 in sociology
or political science). Moreover, historians and lawyers
follow the preponderance of evidence rule, which in some
situations allows for circumstantial evidence to trump
eyewitness testimony (not all eyewitnesses are reliable,
and a diverse set of independent circumstantial evidence
may, therefore, outweigh a direct witness). In my article,
I was not so much trying to prove that smoking causes
lung cancer,which would demand the epidemiological
model that you recommended, but rather to show that
we have good reasons to attribute the overall numerical
decline of the LCMS to a declining birthrate, which
in turn resulted from a variety of factors, of which I
explore seven possibilities. Conversely, we do not have
good reasons to attribute the overall numerical decline
of the LCMS to a lack of good youth programs or an
overzealous conservatism, since neither the quantitative
nor the circumstantial evidence supports those claims.
Hawleys article, which is far more quantitative than mine,
provides additional insights, such as his revelation that
rural churches do a better job of resisting the decline of
regional populations than we colloquially suppose, and
that suburban churches do not always grow and even
when they do grow, they grow at a slower rate than the
base population in their neighborhoods.
After contemplating the concerns you that you have
raised, I continue to stand behind my conclusions (p.
107, emphasize added): The LCMS has experienced
numerical decline (this is an historical fact beyond
question), the chief cause of numerical decline has
been a declining birth rate (none of the other arithmetic
variables in the standard demographic equation has had as
momentous a shift as the birthrate, nor as monumental an
impact on the calculation of the resulting population), and
xi
other factors, such as liberal or conservative rural
or urban early childhood centers Hispanic outreach
appear to have shaped the Synod demographics much
less than the steep and persistent decline in the birth rate
(for if such factors had made a major impact, it would
have shown itself in a Net Outreach number sufficient to
overcome the declining birthrate; we have 60-plus years
of historical records demonstrating that this was not so). I
also continue to urge (and I sense that you agree with me
on this point) an improvement of the Synods statistical
record collection and further research, including
longitudinal case studies (p. 108).
Let me also emphasize that I share your concern
that the results of these articles would too hastily lead
to policy implementations. Personally, I find the greatest
value of the research that Hawley and I conducted not to
be in any new answers we have produced but in the way
our work has challenged old assumptions and invited new
questions. Above all, however, I desire that any changes
in attitude or practice would result from a renewed
attention to Holy Scripture. There we find, as you noted in
your letter, the doctrine of the means of grace. The word
is efficacious, and thats how the Holy Spirit builds the
church.
I am, however, confused as to whether you regard
the word of God as efficacious in infant baptism. The
faith formation model that you propose in your letter
speaks of sociological cofactors and risk factors in
relation to an individual acquiring the Christian faith.
Theologically, I simply cling to Gods promise that a
baptized child acquires faith through that sacrament.
Church membership is a different issue altogether, since
a member could be a hypocrite and a non-member
could be a baptized believer. The demographic analysis I
provided does not measure the number of believers (the
invisible church), but rather the number of members (the
visible Synod). Both Hawley and I spoke of the birthrate
as contributing to natural growth simply because this is
the standard demographic term for population increase
that results from the surplus of births over deaths; neither
of us was thereby denying the efficacy of the Holy Spirit
working through His Word and Sacrament to bring a
person to faith, as you claimed that we were in your letter.
Insofar as the LCMS remains faithful in its administration
of the means of grace, I remain confident that the LCMS
contains many believers, for Gods word is efficacious.
The Church, capital C, is to be found wherever the marks
of the church (means of grace) are found. Meanwhile,
xii Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
in a synod where congregations and schools have closed
their doors due to demographic collapse, and many other
congregations struggle to muster a salary for their pastors,
it is prudent to understand the demographic factors
driving that decline, but none of this answers the question
of whether the kingdom of God is growing or declining.
Daniels faith persisted for 70 years of Babylonian
captivity, no matter the social statistics working against
him.
In Scripture we also find, as I emphasized in Appendix
C (p. 110), an intergenerational ministry model in Titus
2, which I feel the church has neglected to her peril. Will
a Titus 2 approach result in numerical growth of the
church? I dont know, and thats not really my job anyway,
for as I emphasized in Appendix B (also on p. 110): Let us
serve the Lord regardless of future membership trends.
One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase
(1 Cor 3:7). So, in the end, I am not offering any testable
hypothesis, as if to say, Implement Policy XYZ, and then
youll see numerical growth, but rather my message is
Trust God, cherish His institution of marriage, welcome
His gift of children, follow His apostles exhortation to
mentor the older generation to become mentors for the
younger generation, and gather everyone around the
means of grace. Thats what I meant when concluding with
the recommendation that the Synod revive the teaching
of a biblical and confessional Lutheran understanding of
family vocation and foster intergenerational models of
ministry (p. 108).
I ground this recommendation on doctrine, not data;
the demographic and cultural factors identified in my
article serve primarily to reveal the context in which the
twenty-first-century church must pursue her first-century
mission. The quantitative analysis of the demographic
equation and the qualitative analysis of historical-cultural
factors were appropriate to this aim and communicated
suitably to the intended audience. I remain perplexed by
your assertion that assuming the birthrate is causative
of decline, the correlation is still not statistically strong
enough to drive life-altering policy. The alterations in
policy that I recommend merely consist in renewing
our appreciation for the vocation of parents and bridging
the congregation and its families Titus 2-style, while also
reconsidering a congregations stewardship of their called
workers financial needs (e.g., aiming for full-time, rather
than bi-vocational, salaries). My article imposes no new
burdens upon the community, for the actions I suggest
are what any sanctified Christian would delight in doing,
whether 2,000 years ago or today.
If you discover that the LCMS is misapplying my
research to support any anti-biblical agenda, please
alert me. I will stand with you in correcting them. For
the present, I remain confident that President Harrison
and the Revs. Curtis and Day are proceeding as faithful
stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor 4:1).

Your brother in Christ,

Ryan C. MacPherson, Ph.D.

President, Into Your Hands LLC
www.intoyourhandsllc.com

Chair, Department of History

Bethany Lutheran College

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod xiii

 Journal of Lutheran

Table of Contents
Mission March 2017 | Vol. 4 | No. 1

New Frontiers
by Steven Schave................................................................................................................................................... 2

Mission USA: Americas Changing Demographic Landscape

by Larry Vogel...................................................................................................................................................... 4

Reaching the Latino Mission Field: USA

by Carlos Hernandez........................................................................................................................................ 17

The Presence of God

by Todd Kollbaum............................................................................................................................................... 19

Serving Jesus at Church and in Community

by Roosevelt Gray ............................................................................................................................................. 21

Theological Framework of City as Mission Field

by Jeffrey Pulse................................................................................................................................................... 23

Engaging the World in the Incubator of Ideas

by Marcus T. Zill ............................................................................................................................................... 28

Christian Vocation and the Mission of God: A Missing Link?

by Andrew Pfeiffer ........................................................................................................................................... 30

Reaching Out to the Inner City: Opportunities and Challenges for Mission
Here at Home by Klaus Detlev Schultz .................................................................................................... 38

Book Review: Has American Christianity Failed? by Warren Graff................................................. 48

2017 The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod. Published by The Lutheran Church Editorial office:
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use only does not require permission of The Journal Please direct queries to St. Louis, MO 63122-7294,
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should credit The Journal of Lutheran Mission as the This journal may also be found at
source. Cover images are not reproducible without www.lcms.org/journaloflutheranmission.
permission. Also, photos and images credited to
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Member: Associated Church Press Evangelical Press Association (ISSN 2334-1998). Indexed in
ATLA Religion Database. A periodical of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synods Offices of National
and International Mission.
New Frontiers What do we think of when it
comes to mission work?
by Steven Schave

W
hen we think of missions, we typically literally where the world is at our doorsteps, with people
think of days gone by, when we sent a from around the globe living together in a city block. To
missionary out into the field, in some faraway be sure, the cities of the United States are some of the
place, to reach a people group who had never heard the greatest mission fields there are on the planet. And as the
gospel. And to be sure, this work has borne much fruit, as city goes, so goes the culture, influencing politics, arts,
we now have mission activity in nearly ninety countries. and technology. But from a Christian worldview, the cities
We have planted not only churches around the world, but also bring great difficulties as they are seen as places filled
have helped in establishing self-sustaining church bodies with turmoil, corruption, religious persecution, crime,
with their own administrations, mercy unrest, poverty, and immorality. And so
operations, and seminaries. And it amidst these challenges, the church is
While church
would seem that the need for theological losing its foothold in the most densely
education of indigenous church leaders
planting and populated locations in the United
is at an all-time high in these places. revitalization may States. But as we see with the prophet
Contrast that with what has hap- seem to be only Jonah, God demands that we preach
pened over the years in the United concerned with repentance and forgiveness in the city,
States. As our partners in the global if for no other reason than there are just
new mission in
South have seen growth in Christianity, so many souls at stake.
the United States, along with the rest of
new frontiers, to Our rural communities, where
Western civilization, has seen its decline be sure, it is also a a very large portion of our existing
in terms of those attending church. From continuation of the churches are located, have also fallen on
a merely anecdotal perspective, the aver- reformation of the hard times with many of the same chal-
age LCMS member who remembers the lenges as our urban areas. And while
Christian church.
1960s and 70s can still recall that in the rural America is typically associated
neighborhoods they grew up in, it was a with being a place of traditional values
bit of a stigma for a family to not have a connection to and churchgoers, it too is becoming more and more sec-
a local church. But today, serving in a metropolitan city, ularized. Suburbs have long been thought of in terms of
it would not be shocking at all to meet a child who has white picket fences, gated communities, and block par-
never even heard of Jesus. ties, but with the advent of the digital world, the fabric
With that said, the United States has been dubbed the of fellowship has been torn and walls are being mounted
third largest population of the unchurched, behind only in a country divided. And things are changing rapidly
China and India. Urbanization and urban pioneers are throughout the United States, with huge demographic
reversing the trends of flight from the city with expec- shifts and massive immigration influxes. This is Mission
tations that 80% of the population will soon live within Field: USA, with its many contexts and incredibly diverse
city limits. Great efforts are being made to revitalize landscapes. Regardless of how different the environment
and repopulate the city, and for the first time they are may be, however, there is one human condition and one
outgrowing their suburbs in many areas. Our cities are gospel needed by all.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 1

 The challenge of mission today in America is therefore What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants
twofold. On the one hand, the vast majority of our exist- through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned
ing congregations are declining. On the other hand, our to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave
church body does not reflect the shifting demographics the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who
of a new America in terms of age, ethnicity, and location. waters is anything, but only God who gives the
And this is where we might diverge in mission priorities. growth. He who plants and he who waters are one,
Do we say that planting new churches among new people and each will receive his wages according to his la-
groups in new locations does not bear enough fruit for bor. For we are Gods fellow workers. You are Gods
the investment that is needed? Do we make it our prior- field, Gods building. (1 Cor. 3:59)
ity to increase our base through growing families who
Conventional wisdom in regard to national missions
are strong in the faith and double down on our efforts in
and church planting would tell us that we must start the
revitalization?
equivalent of 2% of the number of our existing congrega-
Or do we say our existing congregations are going
tions (~122 a year) for us to simply maintain the number
through a natural life cycle and should have a dignified
of communicant members in the LCMS. So too, conven-
end, thereby saying that all of our investment should be
tional wisdom would dictate that to reach the most new
made in planting new churches and reaching new people
converts requires new churches in new places. Likewise,
groups by raising up ethnic immigrant church workers
it is true that planting new churches is part of the very
to serve these diverse populations and helping to rebuild
fabric of the LCMS, as is mission to new people groups.
communities both physically and spiritually? It is indeed
But this will take a shift in priority to see the United States
a false biblical dichotomy to pit revitalization against
as a ripe mission field in need of investment. As a nation,
church planting, as much as it is to pit international
we are divided, our inner cities continue to struggle, and
against national mission. To be sure, there are unique
the masses have a negative view of organized religion.
contexts and challenges, but let there be no doubt, God
And yet we must remain bold confessors, weeping proph-
wishes for all men to be saved.
ets, gospel-bearing marauders who stand before the gates
In terms of revitalizing a congregation, vital is the
of hell even as we might be outcasts.
key component of revitalization. Wherever the word
In the days of the Israelite exiles who found themselves
is proclaimed in its purity and Gods sacraments are
as resident aliens, God did not call them to withdraw
rightly administered, there is spiritual vitality. But is
from the world. While not compromising their values
spiritual vitality enough for a congregation to be vital?
and beliefs, they were also called to be the best citizens
Congregational vitality begins with spiritual vitality,
they could be: serving the poor, being charitable to their
but it also includes factors that affect its ability to begin,
neighbors, reaping hot coals on the heads of their ene-
increase, or continue activities that convey the spiri-
mies through their good works, and being known for how
tual vitality of word and sacrament ministry. The new
they loved one another. And in the age of the Diaspora, in
Synod revitalization program, re:Vitality, systematically
the midst of persecution, the early church planted congre-
addresses congregational vitality to determine a con-
gations in large urban areas and strengthened the existing
gregations stage of vitality and the most effective ways
congregations in times of adversity and division. This was
to preserve, increase, or restore it through a three-part
and is and ever shall be Gods mission, never more so
approach: Objective & Consistent Self-Assessment,
than in these dark and latter days.
Action-Oriented Training, and Equipping Gods People
While church planting and revitalization may seem to
for Outreach-Integrated Witness. The needs and circum-
be only concerned with new mission in new frontiers, to
stances of congregations vary.
be sure, it is also a continuation of the reformation of the
re:Vitality goes from self-assessment to improving the
Christian church. In this 500th year of the Reformation,
effectiveness of congregational outreach by intentionally
we see that here in the United States there is indeed
creating connections, building relationships, and making
much confusion and a shadow that covers over the
disciples. This is a biblical understanding of how we are
gospel as in the past. The very same confession of faith
involved in Gods mission to reach the lost:
that was brought into the light all those centuries ago is

2 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

now needed as much as ever in these modern times. And
wherever this seed of the Lutheran witness is planted, it is
reformational by its very nature. Faith alone, grace alone,
Scripture alone, Christ alonethat is most desperately
needed by those broken by sin in the United States. And
by the word of God, the LCMS in the United States will
find renewal again in the difficult days ahead.
This is a watershed moment in a new frontier: to reach
into the heart of the city, to have a pivotal role in racial
reconciliation in America, to welcome those coming into
our nation, while reaching back into an era of witnessing
amidst the skeptical and even persecutors. As we turn the
chapter, it will be all hands on deck to support our mis-
sions and our missionaries who will be pioneers of global
mission work right here in our own backyard. This is not
institutional preservation; it is being faithful to our call to
reach the least and the lost!

The Rev. Steven Schave is director of LCMS Urban & Inner-

City Mission and director of LCMS Church Planting for the
Office of National Mission.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 3


Mission USA: Americas
Changing Demographic
Landscape1
by Larry Vogel
Introduction: Definitions and Scope
D
emographics is the study of a population
in order (1) to describe it accurately, (2) to
identify patterns and developments, and (3) to
predict new social realities. It is the study of groups of
people populations that may be designated in various
ways, from worldwide or national
populations, to sub-populations
or identifiable groups within groups.
Certain basic demographic factors
are central to demographic analysis:
age and sex distribution, birth rate,
major sub-groups, and migration
patterns.2 This article will briefly
describe such core factors, especially
regarding the US population, then
compare them to the demographics
of the LCMS, and close with a few suggestions for LCMS
mission priorities.
1. Core Demographic Change The Demographic
Transition
In 1968, Paul Ehrlich warned that human population
growth was leading to imminent catastrophe, that within
the decade of the 1970s hundreds of millions would
starve (including a third of the US population).3 Ehrlichs
predictions were widely circulated and believed and, char-
itably, woefully inaccurate. Nevertheless, many still worry
about surging human population and may be surprised to
hear that, All told, some fifty-nine countries, comprising
roughly 44% of the worlds total population, are currently
not producing enough children to avoid population
1This paper is based, in part, on a presentation given at the LCMS
Mission Summit on November 20, 2014.
2Donald T. Rowland, Demographic Methods and Concepts (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2003, 2008), 30.
3 Paul R. Ehrlich, Population Bomb (New York: Ballantine Books, 1968).
4 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
The numbers dont lie: The LCMS
isnt growing because she isnt
countercultural.
decline, and the phenomenon continues to spread.4 The
term demographic transition (DT) describes this phe-
nomenon. It is one of the most helpful observations from
the study of demographics. The DT unfolds over time
in stages. A visual may help.5 Pre-transition (stage 1), a
society must have lots of children because lives are short
for most and many die in infancy.
Mortality and birth rates are both
high. Note how the DT changes this:
D
 eclining mortality: The popu-
lation experiences an increasing
average life span as a result
of declining infant mortality
and greater longevity as nutri-
tion, sanitation, and medicine
all improve (note the steeply
declining death rate in stages
two and three).
P opulation growth: As a direct result, the population
increases as it experiences natural, biological growth
(note the increasing trajectory of total population in
stages two and three).
D eclining fertility: As the transition continues, the
population experiences declining birth rates because
women have fewer babies on average (see the declin-
ing birth rate in stage three especially).
P opulation aging: The fourth stage of the transition
is marked by a decrease in the natural population
growth rate and the average age of the population
rises.6
4Phillip Longman, The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten
World Prosperity and What to Do About It (New York: Basic Books,
2004), 26.
5Visuals that were not created by the author contain the source either
within the visual or as a footnote.
6Tim Dyson argues that another fundamental change involved in the
DT is the urbanization of the population in question; Population and
Development: The Demographic Transition (London, New York: Zed
Books, 2010).


These four stages are complete in the developed strong economic correlation with this transition. Aging
world.7 Moreover, virtually every human population nations tend toward prosperity while youthful nations
is at some stage of the DT as infant mortality declines and earlier in the DT are poor.11
longevity increases even in the poorest nations. Of course,
2. D
 emographic Patterns and Details
that means some populations are growing rapidly, since
they are in the early stages of the DT. For affluent populations, the transi-
However, the long-term effect of the tion to aging has already occurred.
DT is population decline, not popu- Three specific demographic details
lation growth. are important: age and sex, birth rate,
A second graph8 shows the same and migration.
phenomenon, but has a stage five, a. Age-Sex Distribution Over Time
labeled with a question mark. It Note the series of age-sex pyramids12
shows what has happened wherever for the United States based on census
the previous four stages are completed. In this stage the data for 1960 (top), 1985 (middle), and 2014 (bottom).
birth rate stays below replacement levels and eventually At the end of the baby boom in 1960, 38% of the United
total population declines. Despite many questions about States was under twenty and 13% over sixty. By 1985, less
it, this stage of the transition is occurring throughout the than 30% of the population was under twenty, a drop of
developed world.9 almost 25%. The boomers ballooned the 2040 cohort
The DT develops slowly, often unnoticed. Rates of and 16% of America was over sixty, with a few over
declining mortality and childbirth
are not uniform. Nevertheless, the
DT is one of the most helpful frame-
Well have almost as is a significant move back to a more
sustainable population. See Britta Sandstroem
works for understanding population many Americans over Russias Baby Boom: Fertility Rate Far Higher
than in EU, Rising Quickly, Russia-Insider.
conditions globally. There is also
10
age 85 as under age 5. com, accessed September 13, 2016, http://
This is the result of russia-insider.com/en/politics/russias-baby-
boom-fertility-rate-far-higher-eu-rising-
7Developed world refers to economically
developed areas, most notably Europe, North
longer life spans and quickly/ri385.

lower birthrates. Its

America, Latin America, Russia, East Asia,
Australia, and most of Southeast Asia.
8See Demographic Transition Model, uncharted territory, not
Geography Department of Lord Wandsworth
College, accessed September 13, 2016, http://
just for us, but for all of
geographylwc.org.uk/A/AS/ASpopulation/ humanity.
DTM.htm.
9 For a couple of decades there was a theory
among demographers that populations would naturally maintain
replacement levels of population as the transition was completed.
Recent facts dont corroborate that theory. Rather, in a number of
countries, including almost all of the former Soviet-bloc countries,
Cuba, Japan, Germany, and much of the EU, the DT is at a stage in
which all have very low, sub-replacement total fertility rates (TFRs).
So stage 5 can happen, but whether it is a natural result of the basic
model itself remains a topic of debate. A helpful website showing
declining TFR is Fertility rate, total (births per woman), The World
Bank, accessed September 13, 2016, http://data.worldbank.org/
indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN.
10 One can easily, for example, divide world regions into two categories:
those who have completed the transition to low mortality and low
birth rates and those who are at various stages within the process.
Russia is an outlier. It experienced a decline in infant mortality to
sub-replacement levels, but longevity is not increasing because of high
levels of substance abuse, smoking, chronic illnesses, AIDS, suicide,
and other problems. See Murray Feshbach, Population and Health
Constraints on the Russian Military, Susan Yoshihara and Douglas A.
Silva, eds., Population Decline and the Remaking of Great Power Politics
(Washington: Potomac Books, 2012), Kindle location 14451710. It is
noteworthy, however, that a recent trend in Russia toward more births
11 On the one side, Europe has gone through
the four stages and is now struggling to
maintain its native populations. On the other,
Africa has experienced certain elements of
the DT without others overall mortality is
declining slowly (due to less infant mortality),
but, while birth rates have declined about 20%
in recent decades, they continue among the
highest worldwide (Clint Laurent, Tomorrows
World: A Look at the Demographic and Socio-economic Structure of
the World in 2032 [Singapore: John Wiley & Sons, 2013], 19). Dyson
notes that the correlation between economics and DT is not iron-clad:
There is no reason to believe that a major rise in per capital income
is required for the constituent processes of the transition to unfold,
(Dyson, Population and Development, 5). See also Longman, Empty
Cradle, 30. Longevity in Africa is also facing headwinds like AIDS,
malaria, and significant deaths from violence and warfare. See also
Longman, Empty Cradle, 811. Longman theorizes that declining
TFRs in the Mid-East have fueled fundamentalism because it is a
byproduct of greater freedom for Muslim women, which is viewed as
a Western evil imported to Islam. World TFR maps are available from
many sources. See Total Fertility Rate of the World, Maps of World,
accessed September 13, 2016, http://www.mapsofworld.com/thematic-
maps/world-total-fertility-rate-map.html#. See also Ronald Lee, The
Demographic Transition: Three Centuries of Fundamental Change,
Journal of Economic Perspectives 17, no. 4 (Fall 2003): 167. He calculates
that aging will be ten times more important than births.
12Based on visualizations and data by Martin De Wulf, Population
Pyramids of the World from 1950-2050, populationpyramid.net,
accessed September 13, 2016, http://populationpyramid.net and http://
populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/2016/.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 5

eighty-five. In 2014 the distribution DT predominate in Africa, parts of
is generally uniform in age-sex from the Middle East, India, and Muslim
infancy to about sixty years. About a Asia. As for the United States, we
fourth is 019 years, another quarter are in the two to three children per
is 2039, a third quarter is 4059, woman category. But that is deceptive
and a final fourth of the popula- since US TFRs have been hovering
tion is now aged sixty and up a only slightly above and often below
150% increase for that increasingly 2.0 for some time. In 2012, the last
female group. Notice the significant year for which we have firm statistics
number of people over age 85, espe- on births in the United States from
cially compared to 1985. Less than the CDC, the general fertility rate hit
a tenth of 1% of the population was a 25-year low.
over 85 years of age in 1985. Today (Note: The 2012 total fertility
almost 2% of the population is a rate (TFR) for the United States was
twenty-fold increase. 1,880.5 births per 1,000 women,
Paul Taylor from the Pew 1% below the 2011 rate (1,894.5)
Research Council explains: (Tables 4, 8, 13, and 14). After gen-
Well have almost as many Amer- erally increasing from 1998 through
icans over age 85 as under age 2007, the TFR has declined for each
5. This is the result of longer life of the last 5 years. The TFR esti-
spans and lower birthrates. Its mates the number of births that a
uncharted territory, not just for hypothetical group of 1,000 women
us, but for all of humanity. And would have over their lifetimes,
while its certainly good news over the long haul based on age-specific birth rates in a given year. Because
for the sustainability of the earths resources, it will it is computed from age-specific birth rates, the TFR is
create political and economic stress in the shorter age-adjusted, and can be compared for populations across
term, as smaller cohorts of working age adults will time, population groups, and geographic areas. The TFRs
be hard-pressed to finance the retirements of larger declined for nearly all race and Hispanic origin groups in
cohorts of older ones. 13 2012, down 12% for non-Hispanic
white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic
b. Birth Rate The flight from and AIAN women. The rate for API
One of the most significant marriage creates diverse women rose 4% from 2011 to 2012,
demographic measures is total fer- however. The 2012 US TFR remained
social problems.
tility rate or TFR. TFR is the average below replacement the level at
number of children women will bear. which a given generation can exactly
A replacement TFR for a population requires more than replace itself (generally considered to be 2,100 births per
2,100 births each year per thousand women in a society.14 1,000 women). The TFR has been generally below replace-
Low birthrates and a completed DT in Europe, afflu- ment since 1971. With the exception of Hispanic women
ent Asia, and elsewhere have resulted in TFRs below (reflecting mainly rates for Mexican and other Hispanic
the level needed to replace populations. High birthrates women), the TFRs for all other groups were below
because populations are in a (much) earlier stage of the replacement (Tables 8 and 14). Read more from Joyce
A. Martin, et al., Births: Final Data for 2012, National
13 Paul Taylor, The Next America, Pew Research Center, April 10, Vital Statistics Reports (vol. 62, no. 9), Center for Disease
2014, http://www.pewresearch.org/next-america/#Two-Dramas-in-
Control, US Department of Health and Human Services, 2,
Slow-Motion.
14 In individual terms, that means that the average individual woman
abbreviated as CDC 2012, accessed September 13, 2016,
must have two or more children for a population to remain constant. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf.)
For fertility in individual countries see Fertility rate, total (births
The most recent CDC report on births says, Since
per woman), The World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/
SP.DYN.TFRT.IN. 1971, our TFR has exceeded 2.1 only two times (1971,

6 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

 White Population: 2000 2010
Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin 2010 Number 2000 2010 Number 2010 Change Change 2000-
in millions Percent of in millions Percent of 2000-2010 in 2010 by percent
total pop. total pop. millions.
Total Population 281.4 100 308.7 100 27.3 9.7
White alone or in combination 216.9 77.1 231.0 74.8 14.1 6.5
White alone 211.5 75.1 223.6 72.4 12.1 5.7
Hispanic/Latino 16.9 6.0 26.7 8.7 9.8 58.1
Not Hispanic/Latino 194.6 69.1 196.8 63.7 2.3 1.2
White in combination 5.5 1.9 7.5 2.4 2.0 36.9
White: Black/African American 0.8 0.3 1.8 0.6 1.0 133.7
White: Some Other Race 2.2 0.8 1.7 0.6 (0.5) (21.1)
White: Asian 0.9 0.3 1.6 0.5 0.8 86.9
White: Am. Indian (Eskimo) 1.1 0.4 1.4 0.5 0.3 32.3
White: Black, Am. Indian 0.1 - 0.2 0.1 0.1 105.7
All other combinations 0.4 0.1 0.6 0.2 0.2 50.4
Not White alone or in comb. 64.5 22.9 77.7 25.2 13.2 20.5
Percentage rounds to 0.0
Note: In Census 2000, an error in data processing resulted in an overstatement of the Two or More Races population by about 1 million people (about 15
percent) nationally, which almost entirely affected race combinations involving Some Other Race. Therefore, data users should assess observed changes in
the Two or More Races population and race combinations involving Some Other Race between Census 2000 and the 2010 Census with caution. Changes
in specific race combinations not involving Some Other Race, such as White and Black or African American or White Not White alone or in comb. Asian,
generally should be more comparable.
Sources: U S Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1 and PL2; and 2010 Census Redistricting Data
(Public Law 94171) Summary File, Tables P1 and P2.

2007). It was 1.9 in 2012. With the exception of Hispanic
women, all ethnic or racial groups in the United States
have below replacement fertility.15
The preceding table from the 2010 US Census com-
pares the 2000 and 2010 census results, especially with
respect to the growth of the white population over against
other races and people of Hispanic or Latino origin.16 It
indicates an overall growth in the US population of just
under 10% for the decade. However, while the United
States did more than replace its population in the decade,
growth is not coming because of overall births, but largely
because of increasing longevity and the growth of the
Hispanic population. Non-Latino whites increased their
population by only 1.2% for the decade (due to modest
immigration from Europe). Non-Hispanic white deaths
15 Data published on December 30, 2013. For as long as the CDC has
tracked TFR for Hispanic women, they have exceeded the overall US
TFR, but in 2012 the Hispanic TFR had diminished to 2.2, only slightly
above replacement level (CDC 2012, 7). The CIA, which uses slightly
different measures than the CDC, estimated the TFR for the United
States at 2.0 for 2014. See The World Factbook, Central Intelligence
Agency, https://www.cia.gov; from Country Comparison: Total
Fertility Rate, Central Intelligence Agency, accessed September 13,
2016, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
rankorder/2127rank.html.
16Because the census identifies both by race and ethnicity, there is
some overlap as when an individual is identified as both white
and Hispanic which the chart takes into account. Lindsay Hixson,
Bradford B. Hepler, Myoung Ouk Kim, The White Population: 2010,
2010 Census Briefs (September 2011): 3, accessed September 13, 2016,
http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-05.pdf.
exceeded births beginning in 2012.17 Compare the 1.2%
white population growth to Hispanic population growth
of 58.1%. Latino growth is based first on immigration,
second birthrate, and third on increasing longevity.
Moreover, 37.1% of Latino Americans are under twenty,
compared to 22.4% for whites.18 In comparison to
non-Latino whites, Hispanics will have a much larger
proportion of their population of child-bearing age for
the foreseeable future.19
c. Migration
17See Sam Roberts, Census Benchmark for White Americans:
More Deaths Than Births, New York Times (June 13, 2013), accessed
September 13, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/us/census-
benchmark-for-white-americans-more-deaths-than-births.html?_r=0. I
can find no reliable data comparison of births to deaths for 2013.
18Based on 2012 numbers latest available The Hispanic
Population in the US: 2012, United States Census Bureau, Hispanic
Origin, accessed September 13, 2016, https://www.census.gov/
population/hispanic/data/2012.html.
19 Even if the Latino birth rate drops to that of whites, the Latino
population will grow about twice as fast as non-Hispanic whites. From
2000-2009, nine US Latinos were born for every Latino who died,
while white births barely exceeded deaths (Rogelio Saenz, Population
Bulletin Update: Latinos in the United States 2010, Population
Reference Bureau, December 2010, 12, http://www.prb.org/pdf10/
latinos-update2010.pdf). The link is no longer active last access
on November 10, 2014. As of July 2015, non-Hispanic white births
were exceeded by total minority births. See DVera Cohn, Its official:
Minority babies are the majority among the nations infants, but only
just, Pew Research Center, accessed September 13, 2016, http://www.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/23/its-official-minority-babies-are-
the-majority-among-the-nations-infants-but-only-just/.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 7

The final core demographic component is migration, the suburbs and rural America (although there are note-
which includes two elements: international immigra- worthy exceptions).
tion and internal migration.20 Historically, a significant Americans have always been mobile, seeking oppor-
rate of immigration is not exceptional for the United tunity by moving to a different US location. Such internal
States. The sources of immigration, however, shift over migration continues.23 Almost 3% of the US population
time Germans at one point, Irish at another, Italian, moves to a different state each year and about a third
yet another. The result is always dynamic change in the of the US population has moved from the state where
US population. Today, immigration, in addition to TFR, they were born.24 With few exceptions, the Midwest and
is shifting the complexion of the country. The Census Northeast struggle to retain population while the South
Bureau predicts that the white population will peak in ten and West continue to draw.
years and then begin to fall in totality The most important aspect of
and as a percentage. The black popu- internal migration is urbanization.
lation will grow slightly; Asians and With a declining To be sure some urban centers (like
Hispanics will grow dramatically. 21
importance of extended Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, or St.
Current percentages of immi- Louis) are static or are in population
family and community,
grants to the United States are decline, (although with increasing
similar to those from the 1850s to
fewer traditions, percentages of immigrants and other
the 1920s, but source countries for values, and religious minority populations). Broader
US immigrants have changed mark- perspectives are urban areas cities plus suburbs/
edly. Todays immigrants are largely inherited. exurbs continue to grow, how-
Latino, Asian, and African, rather ever. Small to mid-sized cities are
than European. Overall, immigrant
22
also growing.25 Rural and small town
growth is most evident in cities in the coastal United Americas population loss26 is typically offset only in areas
States and along the southern border and is less evident in where immigrants have located.27 Although many immi-
grants settle near entry points thus the heavy Latino
20 Emigration from the United States is too low to be considered. populations along the southern border and Asian pop-
Immigrant and foreign-born are synonymous terms; the immigrant ulations on the West Coast not all remain in these
population includes all the foreign-born in the United States as nearly
states. The next visual shows that the number of states in
as they can be counted, including documented and undocumented
immigrants, as well as those immigrants who are now naturalized which Hispanic kids comprise more than 20% of kinder-
citizens. gartners has doubled in twelve years. These now include
21 The non-Hispanic white population is projected to peak in 2024
states in the aging Northeast, the Great Plains, and the
at 199.6 million, up from 197.8 million in 2012. Unlike other race or
ethnic groups, however, its population is projected to slowly decrease,
falling by nearly 20.6 million from 2024 to 2060. Meanwhile, the 23Internal migration hit a 30-year low since the recession of 2008
Hispanic population would more than double, from 53.3 million in (Raven Molloy, Christopher L. Smith, and Abigail Wozniak, Internal
2012 to 128.8 million in 2060. Consequently, by the end of the period, Migration in the United States, Journal of Economic Perspectives 25,
nearly one in three US residents would be Hispanic, up from about no. 3 [2011]: 173-96, accessed September 13, 2016, https://www.aeaweb.
one in six today. The black population is expected to increase from org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.25.3.173).
41.2 million to 61.8 million over the same period. Its share of the total 24 Ibid., 178.
population would rise slightly, from 13.1% in 2012 to 14.7 % in 2060.
The Asian population is projected to more than double, from 15.9
25 Kenneth Johnson, Demographic Trends in Rural and Small Town
million in 2012 to 34.4 million in 2060, with its share of nations total America (University of New Hampshire: Carsey Institute, 2006),
population climbing from 5.1% to 8.2% in the same period (U.S. accessed September 13, 2016, http://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.
Census Bureau Projections Show a Slower Growing, Older, More cgi?article=1004&context=carsey. See also Hope Yen, Rural America
Diverse Nation Half a Century from Now, December 12, 2012, United Is Steadily Shrinking, Census Data Says, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (July
States Census Bureau, accessed September 13, 2016, https://www.census. 28, 2011).
gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb12-243.html). 26 Johnson, Demographic Trends, adds: The share of people in rural
22Pew reports that the Latino percentage of immigrants has been areas over the past decade fell to 16%, passing the previous low of
declining while Asian immigration has increased. The drop in Hispanic 20% in 2000. The rural share is expected to drop further as the US
immigration as a percentage of immigrants coincides with recent population balloons from 309 million to 400 million by mid-century,
economic decline and increasing focus on border security (Renee leading people to crowd cities and suburbs and fill in the open spaces
Stepler and Mark Hugo Lopez, U.S. Latino Population Growth and around them.
Dispersion Has Slowed Since Onset of the Great Recession, Pew 27Mark Mather and Kevin Pollard, Hispanic Gains Minimize
Research Center, September 8, 2016, accessed September 13, 2016, at Population Losses in Rural America, Population Reference Bureau,
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/09/08/latino-population-growth- August 2007, accessed September 13, 2016, http://www.prb.org/
and-dispersion-has-slowed-since-the-onset-of-the-great-recession/). Publications/Articles/2007/HispanicGains.aspx.

8 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

Northwest.28
Despite the many
concerns about immi-
gration that are part
of the current national
debate, from the stand-
point of demographics,
immigration is a signif-
icant plus, providing
not only a population
of workers, but also
on education, employment,
hope for programs like Social Security that depend on
young people to fund benefits for older ones. Paul Taylor
reminds us that immigration is akin to raising the
birthrate, but its impact is more immediate, because the
newcomers arrive ready to work.29
3. Current and Future Realities: Sociocultural
Consequences of Demographic Change
Demographic Transition affects culture both directly
and indirectly. Direct effects include those obvious, mea-
surable realities mentioned above. But other resultant
changes in culture, that is, customs and assumptions, also
flow from the DT.
First, attitudes about children change. As the popula-
tion increases earlier in the DT there are more dependent
children. While children can be an economic benefit in
an agrarian culture, bigger families become liabilities, not
assets, in urban environments. Children are increasingly
viewed as burdens rather than blessings and adults seek
ways to limit family size (contraception). Smaller fam-
ilies become the ideal a profound reassessment of the
family itself.
Since declining mortality precedes birth rate declines,
the DT first produces an increasingly youthful popula-
tion with high childhood dependency. Africa illustrates
this today internationally. Poverty is a frequent corollary
to high economic dependency. And, with poverty, vio-
lence is another indirect effect of early stage population
increase because of a high percentage of young men. A
high percentage of poor young men without many eco-
nomic opportunities is a prescription for violence.30
28Jens Manuel Krogstad, A View of the Future Through Kindergarten
Demographics, Pew Research Center FactTank, July 8, 2014, accessed
September 13, 2016, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/08/
a-view-of-the-future-through-kindergarten-demographics/.
29 Taylor, Next America, 86.
30George Magnus, The Age of Aging: How Demographics are Changing
the Global Economy and Our World, (Singapore: John Wiley & Sons,
2009), 205209.
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
Second, the DT produces
radical change in the lives of
women. The significance of
pregnancy, childbirth, and
child-rearing is greatly dimin-
ished as birth rates plummet.
The typical woman experi-
ences a smaller percentage
of her life in motherhood.
Women are increasingly intent
and careers rather than childbearing. Many will postpone
both marriage and children, some will marry but choose
not to bear children, and others will neither marry nor
bear children. The nexus between women and marriage is
severed when women no longer find primary identity as
mothers. Distinctive roles for men and women are largely
blurred.
As womens lives change, so do households. The
accompanying table31 shows concrete examples for the
United States: in 1940, 90% of American households con-
sisted of a family: husband-wife, with or without kids, or
mother or father alone with kids. Today over one-third
of American households are non-family households of
single individuals or unrelated persons living together.32
Clearly, marriage is in decline when only 48% of house-
holds are married. Even more significantly, families of any
sort are also in decline, with over one-third of households
being non-familial.
31Based on data from Families and Living Arrangements, Table
HH-1 Households by Type, 1940 to Present, US Census Bureau,
downloaded October 27, 2014, https://www.census.gov/hhes/families/
data/households.html.
32Table of Selected Social Characteristics in the United States, US
Census Bureau American Fact Finder, accessed on September 13, 2016,
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.
xhtml?pid=ACS_13_3YR_DP02&prodType=table. Abbreviated as
CenFact.
9
 Nicholas Eberstadt warns of a flight from marriage (a must determine their own identity, attitudes, and values.35
global tidal wave away from early stable lifelong conjugal Fourth, the DT makes long life a social problem. Early
unions).33 The flight from marriage creates diverse social in the DT, large numbers of children mean increasing
problems, further indirect effects of the DT. To mention dependency strains for their parents. At the end of the
just one, consider the societal costs of children in a single
transition, instead of large numbers of dependent chil-
parent household. Demographer Sara McLanahan argues dren, aging societies are supporting an increasing number
that as the DT moves to sub-replacement birthrates, it of older people with limited ability to provide all their
widens social class disparities. needs.36 The aged are increasingly viewed as liabilities and
Children who were born to mothers from the burdens, rather than blessings.
most-advantaged backgrounds are making sub- Other effects of the DT are more subtle. Demographer
stantial gains in resources. Relative to their coun- Tim Dyson argues that the social effects of demographic
terparts 40 years ago, their mothers are more ma- change are centered in a new attitude about life based on
ture and more likely to be working at well-paying increasing longevity: A key point here is that mortality
jobs. These children were born into stable unions decline generates higher levels of confidence in society as
and are spending more time with regards the worldly future.37 As life expectancy extends
their fathers. In contrast, chil- and fewer die young, people gain
dren born to mothers from the a greater sense of confidence about
most disadvantaged backgrounds Pews LCMS data, for the here and now. Attitudes change
about everything from how many
are making smaller gains and, in example, shows that on
some instances, even losing pa- children they should have, to sexual
issues such as abortion, and marriage habits, to gender roles,
rental resources. Their mothers
are working at low-paying jobs.
homosexuality, and and so forth. More important for our
Their parents relationships are same-sex marriage, purposes is a theological implication:
unstable, and for many, support individual members of Less attention is given to thoughts
from their biological fathers is LCMS churches tend to about what comes after death. In bib-
minimal.34 lical language, demographic change
reflect the attitudes of results in people taking far more
Third, extended family and com- the rest of the country. thought for the morrow (Matt
munities have less influence over 6:34, KJV), for the coming days and
attitudes and values. Migration years rather than for a life that is
and, in particular, urbanization results in a declining everlasting.
importance for the extended family as many individu-
als, couples, and nuclear families relocate. This changes 35 Families also become more child-centered (social supply and
lifestyle and not merely location. With a declining demand). Having fewer children means greater emotional investment
in children since rarity makes for value. Consider what can be called
importance of extended family and community, fewer the 4-2-1 effect in China where every four parents now have only two
traditions, values, and religious perspectives are inher- children and every two children produce only one grandchild, or, on a
ited. Migration demands more of the individual and the more mundane level, the constant whirl of social, school, and sporting
events focused on American kids. In its extreme, children are feted
nuclear family the individual and the nuclear family and catered to and parents become hyper-vigilant, fearing the injury
or loss of the only child. Children experience increasing influence over
against parents and others. The Wall Street Journal and other outlets
33 Nicholas Eberstadt writes: Perhaps more important than any of recently noted the phenomenon of children calling parents by their
the other portents for future childbearing is what has been termed by first name. In Britain some child advocates recommend such things
demographic specialists the flight from marriage: the modern global as having children participate in the interview process for hiring new
tidal wave away from early stable lifelong conjugal unions (Yoshihara, teachers. See Children Put Mom and Dad on a First Name Basis:
Population Decline, Kindle edition, Locations 131-133). For Attention, Power, or a Test, The Wall Street Journal, October 29,
2013, accessed September 13, 2016, http://online.wsj.com/articles/
34 Sara McLanahan, Diverging Destinies: How Children Are Faring children-put-mom-and-dad-on-a-first-name-basis-1414609230 and
Under the Second Demographic Transition, Demography 41, no. Pupils interviewing teachers for jobs, BBC News, April 3, 2010,
4 (November 2004): 608. See also E. Bradford Wilcox, ed., When accessed September 13, 2016, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/
Marriage Disappears: The New Middle America, The State of Our Unions: education/8599485.stm.
Marriage in America (Charlottesville, Virginia: The National Marriage
Project, December 2010 [NMP]), accessed September 13, 2016, http://
36 Longman, Empty Cradle, 52-57.
www.stateofourunions.org/2010/index.php. 37 Dyson, Population and Development, 159, emphasis added.

10 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

 Another indirect effect as population makeup changes exception of Russia,42 none of these contemporary, gov-
as a result of differences in TFR is the potential for ernment-sponsored efforts have successfully reversed the
intragroup friction. Contemporary debates about immi- second demographic transition and produced TFRs high
gration are, at least in part, a result of ethnocentric fears enough to sustain a population. As Phillip Longman puts
as individuals encounter a different language, customs, it, when cultural and economic conditions discourage
and values. Nativism to one degree or another seems a parenthood, not even a dictator can force people to go
constant corollary to the whole of US immigration histo- forth and multiply.43
ry.38 Urbanization multiplies the potential for friction by Historically, the one major recent change in the almost
increasing the size of conflicting groups. The difficulty of inexorable trajectory of the DT has been the result of the
learning a new language, compounded by poverty among horror of the Second World War. Only after that slaugh-
immigrants, only furthers the potential for anti-immi- ter was there a significant change in TFR, a change that
grant resentment. With immigrants come challenges involved most of the countries affected by the war. It was
to long-held customs and practices. Religious practices called the baby boom and it reversed the TFR slide
also change as new religions grow in adherents and are toward smaller families that had started in the late nine-
increasingly manifested institutionally. Those of a more teenth and early twentieth centuries. It lasted a generation.
secular mentality find the multi- There is another exception to
plicity of religious expressions to be the general rule of declining fer-
proof that all religions are of equal LCMS adults have tility. The title of a recent book by
or perhaps no value.39 What Eric Kaufmann summarizes the
was once sacred is now questioned
fewer children living at point by way of a question: Shall
increasingly. home with them than the Religious Inherit the Earth?44 The
a. Will There Be Exceptions to This
the national average short answer is yes. He says: Simply
Demographic Trend? or the average for all put, this book argues that religious
Other societies have faced demo- Protestants. fundamentalists are on course to
graphic decline and sought to take over the world through demog-
address it.40 Demographers note raphy.45 This is not quite as new
that countries as diverse as Sweden and Singapore are as Kaufmann thinks. Rodney Stark cogently argues in
sponsoring programs to encourage increased family his The Rise of Christianity that the higher fertility of
size, offering services and financial incentives to women Christian women in comparison to pagans and Romans
to have more children. Such countries realize there will was a significant factor in the early churchs growth.
46

not be enough human capital (that is, young work- That fits Kaufmanns thesis: Those embracing the here
ing people) to support the aging.41 However, with the and now [the most secularized individuals and societ-
ies] are spearheading population decline, but individuals
who shun this world are relatively immune to it.47 He is
not talking about the ordinarily religious, but those with
38 See Michael Barone, Shaping Our Nation: How Surges of Migration
religious commitments strong enough to pit them against
Transformed America and Its Politics (New York: Crown Forum, 2013).
39 In 2008, 8.1 % of America claimed a religion other than Christianity, their surrounding culture, those Niebuhr almost cer-
including Mormon (1.7%) and Jehovahs Witnesses (0.7%) as well as tainly would have categorized as Christ against culture
all the completely non-Christian religious traditions (4.7%). As new
religious types, although you dont have to be Christian
religions are introduced, some individuals find them appealing and
switch. Others find enough similarity to think that religious distinctions to qualify.
no longer matter and reject religion altogether. They become agnostics,
atheists, and spiritual but not religious (16.1% of the United States)
(Pew, Religious Landscape, 10). 42 Sandstroem, Russias Baby Boom.
40 It was a significant problem in the Roman Empire. See Phillip 43 Longman, Return of Patriarchy, 58.
Longman, The Return of Patriarchy, Foreign Policy, no. 153 (March/ 44Eric Kaufmann, Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? Demography
April 2006): 56. Rodney Stark comments on this extensively; The Rise and Politics in the Twenty-First Century (London: Profile Books, 2010),
of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Kindle edition.
Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries (San
45 Ibid., 51.
Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997), 115128.
E.g., Longman, Empty Cradle, 52-67 and Yoshihara, Population
41
46 Stark, Rise of Christianity, 115-128.
Decline. 47 Kaufmann, Religious, Kindle location 63.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 11

 So Kaufmann notes the population growth of the a. LCMS and US Age-Sex Demographics
Old Order Amish and the Quiverfull movement among What, if anything, does such demographic change mean
Christian groups, but also adds Mormons to the mix for the LCMS and its mission? My answers are based on
before turning to Salafist Muslims (fundamentalists), and extrapolations from LCMS statistical reports and from
finally to the mushrooming population of ultra-Ortho- other data that is available about the LCMS from Pew
dox Jews.48 With Michael Blume he grudgingly admits Researchs Religious Landscape Survey.53
that when it comes to Creationism vs. Intelligent Design, To get a helpful picture of the LCMS demographically,
evolutionary theorists brought up far more scientific we must start with race. As members of a church body
arguments but committed believers in supernatural that is 95% non-Latino white (the highest percentage
agents brought up far more children.49 He also concedes of any Christian tradition except the ELCA), the LCMS
that [r]eligious zealots are no more violent than social- must simply realize that we are representative of a shrink-
ists or anarchists. His fear is elsewhere. The greater ing demographic group.54 Not only are whites declining as
threat is cultural: that fundamental- a percentage of the population, non-
ism will replace reason and freedom Latino whites are also the group that
with moral puritanism.50 Or, as is declining most rapidly in terms of
Longman predicts: If no alternative
Five percent of LCMS church involvement, as another Pew
solution [to declining birthrates] members live with an study has shown. Pews 2000 study
can be found, the future will belong unmarried partner Nones on the Rise is blunt about
to those who reject markets, reject higher than the ELCA, disaffiliation in the United States,
learning, reject modernity, and reject
which has only 3% of its noting that the increasing number
freedom. This will be the fundamen- of people, especially young people,
talist moment. 51 members cohabitating. leaving the church is not a universal
Trends do not always continue, phenomenon across American races
and Longmans thesis must stand the and ethnicities. Rather, [w]hen
test of time. Moreover, no one expects rising religiosity to it comes to race the recent change has been concen-
be an overnight change. They accept that secularization trated in one group: whites.55 The shrinkage does cross
of attitudes will continue to dominate for some time;52 denominational lines. Such decline is not only true of the
that overall decline in religiosity will not soon change; mainline, but also in Evangelicalism as a whole.56
and that an aging society is inevitable. Their point, rather,
is that the highly religious will be important long-term 53 A disclaimer is necessary. The LCMS baptized membership is only
exceptions to demographic decline and that the highly 1.4% of the total US population, and one cannot make too many
assumptions about how well our population reflects the national
religious will increasingly exercise the power of growing population given that we are a small sample. Religious Landscape
numbers. This growth of religious influence will occur Survey: Religious Affiliation: Diverse and Dynamic, February 2008,
15, Pew Research Center: Religion and Public Life, http://religions.
primarily through child birth, not conversion. pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf. Later
studies have fully confirmed the trends identified by Pews landmark
4. The LCMS and Demographic Change work. See 2014 data, Members of the Lutheran ChurchMissouri
Implications for Theology and Mission Synod, Pew Research Center: Religion and Public Life, accessed
September 13, 2016, http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-
study/religious-denomination/lutheran-church-missouri-synod/.
54 Ibid., 77.
48 Kaufmanns comparison of Muslim vs. Christian growth is 55 Nones on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious
noteworthy: The natural increase of Muslims was nearly double that Affiliation, October 9, 2012, 21, Pew Forum on Religion and Public
of Christianity, allowing it to outpace Christianity despite the fact that Life, http://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/. Cp.
Christianity trumped Islam 3:1 in the market for converts (Kaufman, Michael Lipka, Why Americas Nones Left Religion Behind, Pew
Religious, 120, Kindle location 2494). With regard to Israel, he notes Research Center, August 24, 2016, accessed September 13, 2016, http://
that the ultra-Orthodox population has gone from a 20% share of the www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/08/24/why-americas-nones-left-
total population in 1960 to nearly 50% today (Kaufman, Religious, 210, religion-behind/.
Kindle location, 4113). 56 See John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors
49 Kaufmann, Religious, Kindle location 274. That Will Crash the American Church and How to Prepare (Grand
50 Ibid., 117. Rapids: Baker, 2013), e-book, who concurs with Christian Smiths
estimates of the Evangelical population of the United States as only
51 Longman, Empty Cradle, 16869. about 7-9% of the US population (25). Pew assumes a figure of about
52 Kaufman, Religious, 911, Kindle locations 450503. 26% (see Religious Landscape, 10), but the difference is definitional

12 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

 groups in terms of age group proportions. Our level of aging is well above the average for
wayRoman
to try to get at our
Webirth ratethe
is mainline
more round-
Adult Populations by Age 1829 3049 whites,
5064other Protestants,
85+ and Catholics. reflect churches in this area.
about, but at least it is specific to the LCMS.
US nonLatino whites 20 35 26 b. Birth
19 Rate Note the following graph of LCMS membership
over fifty years. It is in five year increments from
Roman Catholic 18 41 24That comparative
16 dearth of young adults has an obvious implication for overall LCMS
1962 to 2012.
All Protestants 17 26 A low20
38 birth rate. number of births
Thegoing
graphforward
goes backis unavoidable
far enough given the lower than average
to enable
us to see the end of the baby boom generation
Evangelicals 17 39 number 26of potential
19 mothers. However, we have no statistical basis to determine the average
(those born from 19451964). US TFRs peaked
Mormon 24 42 birth rate
19 for individual
15 around
women 1960
in the at 3.6,sodropped
LCMS, to 2.9assume
we can only in 1965,thatand
young LCMS women
to 2.5 in 1970. From about 1975 on they have
Unaffiliated 31 40 will not 20 have markedly
8 different birth to
fluctuated rates thanof
a low the1.8,
general white exceeding
but never population. Another way to try

LCMS 11 32 to get 31at our birth 2.1 significantly. The graph of baptized member-
26rate is more roundabout, but at least it is specific to the LCMS. Note the
ship suggests that the LCMS seemingly followed
Data from Pew, Religious Landscape Survey (2008), pages 78 and 79, and
US Census 2010.
following graph of LCMS membership over fiftyinyears.
this trend, peaking 1972It at
is in fiveunder
just year increments
2.9 from 1962 to
million, and gradually declining thereafter.
2012.
Two facts indicate a declining LCMS birth rate.
Pews data indicates that the LCMS is 47% male and
53% female overall as compared to a 48% male to 52%
female ratio. The entire Christian population shows a sim-
ilar pattern of greater female than male participation.57
As for age, Pews Religious Landscape stats show the
LCMS as one of the oldest religious groups in the United
States.58 Note the accompanying compilation of data from
Pew and the US census to see how the LCMS compares to
the white population and to select other groups in terms
of age group proportions. Our level of aging is well above
the average for whites, other Protestants, and Roman
Catholics. We reflect the mainline churches in this area. The graph goes back far enough to enable us to see the end of the baby boom generation
First, significant loss of baptized membership begins in
b. Birth Rate (those born from 1977 while significant
19451964). confirmed
US TFRs peaked around membership
1960 at 3.6,loss does to 2.9 in 1965, and
dropped
That comparative dearth of young adults has an obvious not begin until 1992 and even then trends downward
implication for overall LCMS birth rate. A low to 2.5 in 1970.
number of From about 1975 on they have fluctuated to a low of 1.8, but never exceeding 2.1
more slowly than baptized membership, a time spread
births going forward is unavoidable given the lower than Thethat
significantly. matches
graph with membership
of baptized typical confirmation
suggests thatages.theInLCMS
addition,
seemingly followed
average number of potential mothers. However, we have you can see that the percentage of baptized to confirmed
no statistical basis to determine the average birth this trend, peaking
rate for in 1972 at just
membership underconsistently
shrinks 2.9 million, and overgradually
time. In declining
the earlythereafter. Two
individual women in the LCMS, so we can only assume 1960s, confirmed members were 72% of the total LCMS
facts indicate a declining LCMS birth rate. First, significant loss of baptized membership begins
that young LCMS women will not have markedly differ- membership. According to the best stats now, 78% of all
ent birth rates than the general white population. Another LCMS baptized members are 20 also confirmed. Looking
from the perspective of the end of the baby boom,
between 1972 and 2012 baptized LCMS membership
rather than data-driven. Dickerson defines Evangelicals as those
who believe in salvation by faith, that the Bible is Gods Word and declined by 23.7% while confirmed membership declined
without error, and that Jesus is the Savior (23). See also his op-ed by 15.8% meaning we were losing baptized member-
piece The Decline of Evangelical America, The New York Times,
December 16, 2012, accessed November 5, 2014, http://www.nytimes. ship at about 150% of the rate of confirmed membership
com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/the-decline-of-evangelical-america. loss. In noting such realities, LCMS Research Services
html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
57 The 2007 and 2014 male-female ratios from Pew are identical.
says this usually indicates an aging population.59
Protestants overall and Roman Catholics are at 46% male and 54% Pew corroborates these extrapolations, showing that
female (Pew, Religious Landscape, 95). That pattern reverses toward a LCMS adults have fewer children living at home with
male majority in all other religions that Pew surveyed and in those who
are unaffiliated with any religion.
58 Pew, Religious Landscape, 83. 59LCMS Research Services, Forty Years of LCMS District Statistics
(March 25, 2013), ii.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 13

them than the national average or the average for all
Protestants.60 As of 2007, 72% of LCMS members had no
child at home; 11% had one child, 10% had two, and only
7% had three or more. Nationally the numbers for the
total population were 65% with none, 13% with 1, 13%
with two, and 9% with three or more.61 Additionally, as of
2014, 10% of the LCMS population was under the age of
thirty, which does not bode well for future childbirths.62
c. Migration
The LCMS is clearly dissimilar to the United States in
terms of reflecting immigration, since the United States
is less than 64% non-Latino white, while the LCMS is
95% non-Latino white.63 That 5% includes African, Asian,
Hispanic, and various other immigrant Americans, so
there has been some immigration effect, but it is minimal.
One reason for this is that the LCMS has little presence in
the areas of the United States where minority groups live.
In terms of location, to a large extent, our present
LCMS geography correlates with our history as a German
immigrant church. The map
nearby corroborates this.64 In
white areas the LCMS is stron-
gest (between 2 and 6% of the
population). In the red areas,
we are between 0.8 and 2.0%.
Yellow is three-tenths to eight-
tenths of 1% and green and
blue are less than three-tenths
of a percent. We are strongest
in states that are not fast grow-
ing and weakest in the largest
and most populous states. Pew
gives percentages for LCMS
membership: 64% is the Midwest vs. 7% in the Northeast,
13% in the West, and 16% in the South.65
The LCMS is similar to the general population, how-
ever, in more recent migration patterns. Over the past few
decades, the Synod has experienced some shifting of its
population to the southern United States, especially to
the Southeast and to Texas. Texas experienced growth in
60 Pew, Religious Landscape, 87,
61 Ibid., 89.
62 Pew, Members of the LCMS.
63According to the 2010 Census. See http://www.census.gov/prod/
cen2010/briefs/c2010br-05.pdf.
64 Prepared by Ryan Curnutt, LCMS Office of Research and Statistics.
65 Pew, Religious Landscape, 92.
14 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
baptized membership over thirty of the past forty years,66
as did Florida-Georgia and the Mid-South and Oklahoma
Districts, while the Southeastern District experienced
growth in twenty of the past forty years. In the districts
where we are numerically strongest, weve experienced
modest growth in several. The Nebraska District grew
modestly for thirty of the past forty years (B-8), while
there was modest growth for twenty of the forty years
in the Missouri (B-4), Kansas (B-16), Rocky Mountain
(B-16), and Central Illinois Districts (B-20).67 The men-
tion of Midwestern districts in this mix hints that the
population shifts that have occurred in the LCMS seem to
have followed US trends in which most southern move-
ment is due to whites leaving upper Midwest cities and
the Northeasts urban areas. Statistics from our districts
in such areas tend to bear that out as well.68 Unfortunately,
despite some growth in previous decades, no district has
experienced overall numerical growth in the past ten years.
Not only are we not strongly present in heavily
minority locales, we are also not
strongly present in the areas of the
country where population is grow-
ing fastest overall, which includes
many of those minority locales,
but other areas as well. The map of
projected population growth indi-
cates the fastest growing areas of
the country in dark blue.69 The dots
show where our congregations are.
You see a strong cluster of LCMS
congregations in zones that are
pink or the lightest blue, where
growth is negative or minimal.
However, while these hard demographic factors must
account for a significant part of the LCMSs decline, they
are by no means able to account for all of it. We must
remember that despite declining TFRs, the white pop-
ulation of the United States continued to grow through
the last forty years. Only two years ago, in 2012, did the
66 LCMS Research Services, Forty Years, B-4, B-20, B-12.
67 Ibid., B-8, B-4, B-16, B-20 respectively.
68 For examples from Forty Years, see Atlantic (about -40%, C-2), New
England (about -35%, C-36), New Jersey (about -40%, C-38), Eastern
(about -40%, C-8), Michigan (about -20%, C-22), Ohio (about -25%,
C-48), NID (about -40%, C-44), SWD (about -30%, C-60), and English
(about -30%, C-10). Atlantic, New England, and English experienced
significant losses during the synod controversy in the 1970s, but the loss
estimates here are based on decline since 1977.
69 Prepared by Ryan Curnutt, LCMS Office of Research and Statistics.
continuing spiral of low birthrates cause the death rate to less than Roman Catholics or Pentecostals, but less also
exceed the number of births for non-Latino whites.70 But than Evangelicals. And our present geography makes us
the LCMS decline goes back about forty years, not two. congregation-heavy where population is light.
Obviously, the problem is bigger than the lack of babies. All this makes it extremely unlikely, on the basis of the
d. Indirect Demographic Effects data, that the LCMS would be an exception to the rule of
What about the areas I referred to as indirect demo- demographic decline among whites. There seems to be
graphic effects, those other socio-cultural changes that little evidence of a willingness or eagerness on the part of
correlate and are associated with core demographic the LCMS membership as a whole to be counter-cultural.
change? The LCMS exhibits both similarities and dissimi- It is hard to be anything but skeptical about a resurgence
larities in this area, too. of the LCMS based on its present trends. It may be that
Take marriage and income, as examples. Pews sta- our pastors are more purposefully countercultural than
tistics on marriage, which are LCMS-specific, are again many other Christians, but that does not seem to have
relevant. They are helpful in terms of household and translated to the laity overall.
family information. Sixty percent of LCMS people are 5. LCMS Missions: Practice and
married, higher than both the total Assumptions
population or than other Protestants.
Five percent of LCMS members live
In the midst of The numbers are discouraging. But
we live by the gospel, not numbers.
with an unmarried partner, slightly inter-ethnic conflict,
Our church has one strength that
lower than the national average of the unity of the Spirit amounts to more than any of her
6%, equal to Evangelicals as a group crossed human divides. weaknesses: our evangelical and
who are also at 5%, but higher than
catholic faith. Consider that here. As
the ELCA, which has only 3% of its
the Augustana reminds us, we know that the one, holy,
members cohabitating.71 Our divorce rate is slightly below
catholic, and apostolic church will not fail. Such confi-
the national average and the Protestant average. We have
dence comes only on the basis of the power of the word
about 35% more widowed members than the national
and the words visible signs, baptism and Eucharist (AC
average and one point more than the Protestant average.
VII). The church is still evident in Missouri. The church
We have far fewer never-married adults 11% for the
stands under Christ and his mission to all nations.
LCMS vs. 19% for the national population and 17% for all
The LCMS exhibited ongoing growth throughout most
Protestants.72
of its history, up to the 1970s. Since then, we have known
e. Will the LCMS Be an Exception? only persistent decline. Various factors might be cited
All of this indicates that when one compares the LCMS theological controversy and social change, for example
to the US population overall, we are probably more cul- but LCMS decline basically mirrors the decline of the
turally similar than dissimilar to the rest of the white US non-Hispanic white population. Our mission efforts
population. Pews LCMS data, for example, shows that since the 1970s continued the base pattern of planting
on issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and same- churches in the places where our people and people like us
sex marriage, individual members of LCMS churches were moving. Some of our districts did well for a while
tend to reflect the attitudes of the rest of the country.73 and many strong churches were planted and continue to
Moreover, we have low fertility and are aging quickly just be planted, praise God. We should continue to reach out,
like the rest of white America, or, indeed, more quickly planting churches where LCMS members are moving and
than non-Hispanic whites as a whole. As for migration, where there are young couples and families.
we are gaining very few of the new Americans overall, far But that is not enough. Indeed, in light of the changing
demographics of the United States, a cross-cultural focus
70 There were 12,000 more deaths than births for non-Hispanic whites must become our highest priority. Outreach to those least
in 2012. White population grew overall only because of European like us deserves the best of our thinking, our profound
immigration (+188,000). See Roberts, Census Benchmark.
commitment, and financial sacrifices. Far more important
71 Pew, Religious Landscape, 7274.

72 Ibid., 80.
than preserving our institutions is the call of our Lord to
73 Pew, Members of the LCMS. make disciples of the nations. In the new America, if our

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 15

church does not turn its attention outward, to those who
are least like us, to our Gentiles, even those who count
themselves as our enemies, we will not be faithful.
This means that we must ask the Lord to prepare
workers for the following segments of America today.
1. Minorities and especially Latinos and other immi-
grants. Many, if not most, live in poor neighborhoods that
we have forgotten. Some are highly educated and prosper-
ous. They are all different from most of Missouri red,
yellow, black, brown, and every color. It will not be easy to
earn their trust. Yes, many are firmly committed to Rome
or Pentecostalism. Yet many others are unchurched and
non-Christian.
2. The unmarried those who have postponed mar-
riage, or scorned it, or were never blessed with it; the
divorced, the single moms (and dads), the lonely, and the
many widows. We will need to value, teach, and model
holy marriage for them, but we must not make marriage a
requirement for discipleship in Christs holy family.
3. And, of course, those generations in their 30s and
under, including those who stand opposed to faith and
those who claim a faith that has dispensed with the
church. Many will view us with hostility. And many are
our kids and grandkids. We cannot abandon them to
Satans empty secularism.
Rodney Stark reminds us that Christianity in its first
centuries had that very same challenge a challenge
that was met not only because of its message, but also its
manner of life. It brought charity and hope to the poor,
an expanded sense of family, and new attachments to
cities full of strangers, orphans, and widows. In the midst
of inter-ethnic conflict, the unity of the Spirit crossed
human divides.74 These are salutary and hopeful remind-
ers of the churchs strength when she proclaims and shares
the mercies of God.

The Rev. Larry Vogel serves as associate director of the

Commission on Theology and Church Relations.

74 Stark, Rise of Christianity, 161.

16 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

 Discover how the LCMS is
assisting with the revitalization

Reaching the Latino

of Latino congregations right
here at home.

Mission Field: USA

by Carlos Hernandez

New Life for an Aging Latino Congregation city, Brownsville, like other Texas municipalities on

T
he Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synods the Mexican border, is welded together economically,
network-funded church-planting initiative, educationally, socially and politically with Matamoros,
Mission Field: USA, is breathing new life into the Tamaulipas, Mexico.
revitalization of Latino congregations in their ongoing While El Calvarios location is strategic for engaging
efforts to respond to the challenge of proclaiming the in ministries of mercy and, under the Spirit, poised for
pure gospel of Jesus Christ. The urgency in reaching gospel proclamation, it has never been a candidate for
Latinos for Christ, especially the US-born second becoming financially independent because Brownsville is
and third generations, is intensified by their explosive a very poor city.
population growth. As of 2014, the US Latino population The 1990 census revealed that the U.S. had 284
was recorded at 55.3 million, making people of Hispanic Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Urban areas over
or Latino origin the nations largest ethnic or racial 100,000 population with at least one core city of
minority.1 over 50,000), and that of these 284 metropolises
The first of several Latino congregations slated for Brownsville ranked 284th, dead last, in average per
revitalization and resourced for church planting through capita income. In other words, Brownsville had
their respective districts in partnership with the Mission narrowly beaten out the McAllen-Edinburg and
Field: USA initiative is El Calvario Lutheran Church, Laredo MSA to earn the dubious distinction of be-
Brownsville, Texas. Organized in 1937 with the finan- ing Americas poorest city. Naturally, then, efforts
cial and prayerful support of the LCMS and programs to assist the impover-
Texas District, its founding pastor, the ished are of tremendous importance
Rev. Harry Smith, energetically labored Like all US-based to Brownsville.2
in the fertile mission field located on the mission outreach
United States Mexico border.
efforts to other
A New Texas District/Mission
Strategically Poised but Not Eco- stateside cultures, Field: USA Partnership Infuses
nomically Sustainable New Life
activating missions
El Calvarios location is amazingly The LCMS Texas District, cognizant of
among and by Brownsvilles poverty, invested many
strategic in the heart of downtown
Brownsville, several blocks from the
Latinos has always dollars for many decades in order to
infamous wall constructed to deter been a stewardship continue a vital Lutheran presence in
undocumented immigration from challenge. this poorest of American cities, blocks
Mexico, Central and South America, from the Mexican border and gateway
as well as other world populations. However, as a twin to Central and South America. In recent years, precious
LCMS Texas District mission dollars were urgently
1 Renee Stepler and Anna Brown, Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in
the United States, Pew Research Center, April 19, 2016, http://www.
pewhispanic.org/2016/04/19/statistical-portrait-of-hispanics-in-the- 2William L. Adams and Anthony K. Knopp, Portrait of a Border City:
united-states-key-charts/. Brownsville, Texas (Austin: Eakin Press, 1997), 4849.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 17

needed in equally important mission fields and financial Joining Hands to Activate Mission
subsidy was, understandably, discontinued. The support, prayers and ongoing collaboration of the
However, studied and collegial plans and consulta- LCMS Texas District with Mission Field: USA is making
tions with LCMS Texas District mission staff and boards all the difference as the project begins with the installation
infused new life and possibilities through the Mission on July 31, 2016, of the Rev. Dr. Antonio Lopez. Mission
Field: USA strategy. Mission Executive Rev. Michael Executive Rev. Michael Newman, a mission and ministry
Newman and Mission Field: USA Director Rev. Steve area facilitator for the LCMS Texas District whose area
Schave worked closely together to affect this collegial, regional responsibilities include Brownsville in the Rio
mutually agreed upon new start. Close collaboration Grande Valley of south Texas, expressed his hopes for the
between district and Synod offices continues. The LCMS blessings of this Mission Field: USA/LCMS Texas District
Texas District, El Calvario as a member of the district partnership based at El Calvario:
and the network-funded Mission Field: USA initiative
Launching two new ministries out of El Calvar-
will continue to work collaboratively.
io Lutheran church will be a great blessing to the
New Mission Initiatives from an wonderful people of El Calvario,
Existing Congregational Base its neighborhood and the greater
Brownsville community. Were
Rev. Steve Schave describes this part- Mission Field:
nership that has given new birth, vision praying that through our partner-
USA is breathing ship with the LCMS in Brownsville,
and hope to El Calvario as a base from
which to initiate a campus ministry at
new life into the many people will receive Christs
the nearby University of Texas Rio revitalization of love, come to know Jesus as their
Grande Valley and a new church plant Latino congregations Savior and be activated in mission
for Him.4
in north Brownsville. This is a min- in their ongoing
istry-planting role that is normally
efforts to respond Like all US-based mission out-
reserved for larger, wealthier congrega-
tions. The utilization of a strategically
to the challenge of reach efforts to other stateside cultures,
proclaiming the pure activating missions among and by
located small congregation in a mission
Latinos has always been a stewardship
planting role is a pilot project that will gospel of Jesus Christ. challenge. The Mission Field: USA part-
be closely watched. As Schave notes:
nerships with districts and with donors
Brownsville will be a pilot project for Mission Field: throughout the United States that recognize the presence
USA. It is an excellent location, as it is a modern-day of 55.3 million Latinos as the largest of our domestic,
Ephesus, a port city that is a gateway into Mexico stateside missions are enabling new Latino mission starts
and Latin America. There are great human-care in strategic US locations that are otherwise not economi-
needs to serve the poor, campus ministry with a cally possible.
primarily Hispanic student body (University of
Texas Rio Grande Valley) and it is a burgeoning
area on the Mexican border with growing medical The Rev. Dr. Carlos Hernandez is director of Church and
and technology industries there. By the grace of Community Engagement for the LCMS Office of National
God, we will be sending a domestic missionary to Mission.
plant a new church, start a campus ministry and
to use mercy houses on campus for human care.
This will be a place where people can bring mission
teams to come and serve, and [we] pray for support
of this initiative in a new era of LCMS Missions.3

3Roger Drinnon, Sincere Care and Small Catechism Bolster Hispanic

Outreach, Lutherans Engage the World 4, no. 2 (November 12, 2015):
19. 4 Ibid., 19.

18 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

 Despite rural and small-town
struggles, these outposts are

The Presence of God

still on the receiving end of
Christs work through His
word.
by Todd Kollbaum

I
n his Theological Statement for Mission in are located in what are considered rural and small-town
the 21st Century, President Matthew Harrison areas. These congregations are found in areas through-
states, Where the Holy Trinity is out the entire synod. These areas are
present via the Gospel and received designated as having a population of
in faith, there cannot but be Witness Demographic 15,000 or less and account for over half
(martyria), Mercy (diakonia), Life studies show that of the total congregations in the LCMS.
Together (koinonia). These three reflect there are millions of Interestingly, these congregations are
Gods very being as Creator, Redeemer also made up of over half of the mem-
and Sanctifier, and they encompass His
people living in and bers of the LCMS.
holy and gracious will for all in Christ around rural areas Demographic studies have shown
Jesus namely that all come to believe and small towns that the LCMS has been experiencing
in and bear witness to Christ, reflect who need to hear a long period of membership decline.
divine compassion and live together in this good news. Losses amount to nearly 20% of total
forgiveness, love and joy in the Church membership over the last forty years.
(AC I).1 Much of this decline is seen affecting
This statement is certainly encouraging to the church, rural and small-town congregations. These congregations
reminding us that the onus of the work of the church also face the added stress of shrinking budgets, aging
doesnt lie in the wisdom or cunning of man but in populations, and economic instability, as well as a severe
the very presence of God, working through His word. shortage of resources. They find that they are not only
However, to varying degrees, the church still struggles economically challenged, but also physically challenged
with getting in its own way of doing the work it is called due to a lack of community services, available workforce,
to do. This is especially acute within those congregations and manpower to carry out ministry objectives. Couple
that are called to be the church in rural and small-town these factors with a decreasing retention rate of con-
places. Because of a host of factors that are enumerated firmed youth and these congregations find themselves in
below, these congregations often lose sight of the call to a crisis level of need, making it a challenge to keep them
be salt and light within this darkened world. viable. Many have been forced to shift into survival mode,
There are currently in The Lutheran Church simply trying to keep their doors open for the saints who
Missouri Synod (LCMS) over 3,200 congregations that remain as members.
Given these factors, a grave missiological concern is
1 Matthew C. Harrison, A Theological Statement for Mission in the at play in these congregations. Because they have moved
21st Century, Journal of Lutheran Mission 1, no. 1 (March 2014): 60.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 19

into survival mode, many of these congregations have
lost sight of what it means for them to be The Church.
Therefore, they need to be reminded, encouraged, and
instructed in such a way that they can see clearly the bibli-
cal model necessary to carry out the work they have been
called to accomplish, that work which focuses upon pro-
claiming Christ throughout the world.
LCMS Rural & Small Town Mission
(RSTM) is seeking to do just that to
In living out
support and encourage rural and small their vocations,
town congregations to pick up their the members of
mantle and forge ahead to do the work these vital mission
they are called to do. Through educa-
outposts are
tional offerings such as our Engaging
Your Community events, these congre-
equipped to share
gations are trained and encouraged to the love of Christ
use their First Article gifts of reason and and His message of
planning to consider ways in which they hope.
might reach out to their respective com-
munities with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
While this missiological picture might look bleak,
the fact is that these congregations still have very
important and vital kingdom work to be accomplished.
Demographic studies show that there are millions of
people living in and around rural areas and small towns
who need to hear this good news. Indeed, these congre-
gations are uniquely poised to care for their Jerusalem.
Smaller communities offer an opportunity for fellowship
and relationship building that is not always available in a
larger setting. Herein, congregations can take advantage
of their visibility in the community to engage it in real
and meaningful ways.
These activities are further bolstered through ongoing
training with LCMS RSTM monthly webinars, articles,
and theme-specific training events offered through the
districts for hands-on application. Therefore, in living
out their vocations, the members of these vital mission
outposts are equipped to share the love of Christ and His
message of hope. Certainly, there is no solution that works
for every congregation, but LCMS RSTM seeks to assist
congregations to tailor their planning to best suit their
scenario while building upon common factors found in
most rural and small town congregations.

The Rev. Todd Kollbaum is director of LCMS Rural & Small

Town Mission.

20 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

 The LCMS has a huge
opportunity to prepare, equip

Serving Jesus at Church

and deploy pastors, deaconesses,
educators and other professional

and in Community church workers to the African

and African American
by Roosevelt Gray communities in North America.

Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell
you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest (John 4:35).

F
or Deaconess Dorcel Dowdell, living and nursing home facility. She
a quick run to the grocery graduated in 2010.
store turned into an oppor-
By the grace of God I was part of the first group of
tunity to reconnect with a woman I made it through the deaconesses in 2003. There were
from the local homeless shelter. I seminary. It was a ten of us. I was the only African-
was just making a quick trip, and she great experience to be American and I was going back to
called out my name. At first I didnt school twenty-three years after I
synodically trained,
recognize her, Dowdell said. I had received my masters in library sci-
volunteered at the Sparrows Nest for
to have the firm ence. It was a great experience. I
over a year and had met her. She was theological foundation, made friends easily to form study
relatively young, in her forties, with and to have made pastor groups, I loved the professors, I liked
several health issues. Because she was and deaconess friends staying in the dorm when I didnt
so ill, she lost her house and ended want to drive back to Toledo, and I
for life.
up on the streets. loved the high church of Chapel. It
Now she has an apartment and is was wonderful. And when the going
getting her health back, she explained. She asked about got tough and I wondered why I was there, the Holy Spirit
church, and I offered to pick her up. I pick up two other was right there to see me through, said Dowdell.
ladies too. So she came to church with us Sunday, which Although St. Philip is a small congregation, we have
was wonderful. mighty mission works in our hearts, she said. With the
Dowdell had been active in her church, St. Philip direction of the Rev. Mark Hill, Dowdell oversees the
Lutheran Church, Toledo, Ohio, for many years when an churchs group of the Lutheran Womens Missionary
elder suggested she study to become a deaconess. While League; parish education, which includes Bible studies
working full-time as a librarian, she took classes part-time and Vacation Bible School; the Toledo Blind Outreach
at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Center and their programs; special services; Thrivent
from 20032007. She then interned from 20072009 at projects; mission outreach projects and programs; hos-
Lutheran Village at Wolf Creek in Toledo, an independent pital and home visitation; and serves as secretary for

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 21

the church council. In addition, she volunteers in the
community.
In January, thanks to a mission outreach grant, St.
Philip Lutheran Church was able to present several pro-
grams and services to proclaim the good news of Jesus
Christ. In April, with the coordinators of the Toledo
Blind Outreach Center (TBOC), which meets at St. Philip
monthly, they hosted the Rev. David Andrus, a blind
pastor from St. Louis, who presented a workshop for vol-
unteers, members and participants of TBOC.
Another outreach effort this summer was Hope
Experience, a parking lot service for the community. We
went door to door leaving our announcements, placed an
ad in the paper, had a guest pastor from Detroit, and a
jazz-gospel band, all in an effort to share the gospel with
our neighbors. We had a gathering of fifty people, several
of whom were visitors, Dowdell said.
Dowdell would love to recruit more African-American
women to become deaconesses. There is so much work
to be done in the Kingdom. Its hard work and you must
be completely dedicated to the Lord and the work he has
laid out for you to do, but it is so worthwhile.
Im grateful the Holy Spirit led this elder to approach
me, and by the grace of God I made it through the sem-
inary. It was a great experience to be synodically trained,
to have the firm theological foundation, and to have made
pastor and deaconess friends for life, she said.
The 2015 U.S. Census Bureau estimated that there
are 46,282,080 African Americans in the United States,
meaning that 14.3% of the total American population of
321.4 million is black. This includes those who identify as
Black only and as Black in combination with another
race. The Black only category by itself totaled 42.6 mil-
lion African Americans, or 13.3% of the total population.
What a great opportunity for the LCMS to prepare,
equip and deploy pastors, deaconesses, educators and
other professional church workers to the African and
African American communities in North America, espe-
cially under the new Mission Field: USA initiative.
And he said to them, The harvest is plentiful, but
the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord
of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest
(Luke 10:2).

The Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Gray, Jr. is director of Black Ministry

for the LCMS Office of National Mission.

22 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

Theological Framework Why does the church need to
return to the city?

of City as Mission Field

by Jeffrey Pulse

W
hy am I writing this article? I realize Shepherd of the City is a church in the urban
this is a strange way to begin. However, it is core of Fort Wayne. Not quite the same as Baltimore,
a crucial question that necessitates an answer Philadelphia, Chicago, or St. Louis, but when you come
from the beginning. What credentials do I possess that to church early on Easter Sunday to clean up the bottles
would encourage a reader to trust my contributions to and syringes from the parking lot, you know you are not
the subject? What do I know about this topic of urban in rural Iowa anymore. These past eight years have been a
ministry, or any topic concerning the city as mission steep learning curve for my family and me. I have learned
field? These are good and reasonable questions a lot and am still learning.
questions that I ask myself on a regular basis. As I attempt I have learned that we live in a broken world, a broken
to give answer, I am certain the answers world with broken cities and broken
will only bring up more questions of a people. Yes, I know you know this.
similar nature. We act as if the Yes, I learned it at seminary. Yes, it is
I grew up on a cow farm in Iowa people are the true wherever you go and wherever
rural ministry should be my thing! problem, as if the you look. But in rural ministry and
I began my college years studying to inner city is the along the tree-lined streets of subur-
be a veterinarian. When I could no bia, people hide their brokenness. They
longer Jonah my way free, I went
culprit. pretend there are no problems behind
to Concordia Teachers College in the white picket fences and the two
Seward, Nebraska, for a teaching degree and ended up at car garages. Problems are not for the community, not for
Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne because the world to see they are personal. Certainly there are
I was afraid of the big city of St. Louis. When I received problems, but we are sucking it up, we are handling
my first call, it was back to the cornfields and cow pas- them our own way, we are receiving professional advice
tures of rural Iowa my comfort zone. There were 590 nothing to see here move along. And so the faade
people in our thriving metropolis. After 9 years it was remains intact, unscathed, shiny, and pretty.
on to Bremerton, Washington, a navy town on the Kitsap In the inner city, in the urban core, brokenness hits
Peninsula across the water from Seattle. You could see you upside the head with the force of a two by four.
Seattle but you did not have to make the journey. Then, Brokenness is not a pretty Band-Aid on a little boo-boo;
after 12 years, it was back to Fort Wayne and the semi- it is an open, bleeding sore. It is there for all the world,
nary. This is not exactly the urban ministry portfolio you all the city, all the community to see. In the city, broken-
might expect from the writer of an article such as this. ness is inescapable. You cannot turn a corner or close
However, a funny thing happened when I returned your eyes and it all disappears. There is no clicking the
to Fort Wayne. I realized that I missed the parish des- heels, reciting the mantra, Theres no place like home,
perately, so after one year when I was asked to serve as theres no place like home, because this is home, home
vacancy pastor of Shepherd of the City Lutheran Church to so many. The only way to escape the brokenness of the
in downtown Fort Wayne, I jumped at the opportunity. inner core is to leave it behind, flee the city, hide in the
That was over eight years ago. suburbs, take up hobby farming, and that has been the

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 23

option chosen by many who have such options. It has also hide behind the picket fences.
been the option chosen by many churches in our history. There is a story, a true story as it was recounted to me,
Get out! Run away! which took place in New York City many years ago now.
Of course, that leaves the city broken. Nothing has It seems that one of the taller buildings in the city began
been solved, no attempts have been made to deal with to develop some very strange and concerning cracks in
the reality. The only issue that has been addressed is that the concrete work on the 32nd floor. Obviously, this is not
of our own fears. Now, outside the city we join others in good. The first thing the owners of the building did was
hiding our own brokenness as we avoid the broken truth call in some engineers to check out what was going on.
of others. Flight and avoidance are responses, but they are The engineers set about the task of trying to decipher the
not solutions. And we know this, and we feel guilty. problem. It was obvious that the cracks were structural in
Guilt is the great motivator. We feel guilty about leav- nature so there was real reason for concern.
ing the city behind. We feel guilty about those people When this word concerning the structural nature of
suffering in poverty. We feel guilty about the homeless, the cracks got back to the owners of the building, they
the hungry, the disenfranchised, and the victims. We feel immediately came over to find out what the engineers
guilty about all those broken people living in a broken had discovered. They took the elevator to the 32nd floor,
place. And, in our guilt, we decide to fix things. but the engineers were nowhere to be found. One of the
When my children were little they liked to play with secretaries told them that she had heard they were some-
balloons. One day they came home from a birthday party where in the basement of the building. The owners were a
with balloons three balloons, and then, soon, two bal- bit puzzled by this, but they got back on the elevator and
loons, then one balloon. This is when I began to worry. took it down to the first basement. They looked around
So, I did what dads do. I lined them up no engineers. So they went down to
for the lecture, for the talk. I warned the second basement no engineers.
them to be careful or they would soon
A word and They tried the third basement no
be down to no balloons. It is no surprise sacrament ministry engineers. Finally, in the fourth and
as to what happened next. They messed that goes forth from deepest basement they found the engi-
around in all the wrong places in all the altar out onto neers poking around. The first thing
the wrong ways. They did what I told the owners asked them was what they
the street brings
them not to do and the remaining bal- were doing deep in the basement of
loon popped. And along with the pop
about change. the building when the problem was on
came the flooded eyes, dripping noses, the thirty-second floor. Not so, said the
and pitiful whines, but this time it took a different direc- engineers, and they showed the owners what they had
tion. One of them grabbed the pieces of the balloon in his discovered missing bricks! As it turned out, lots of
hands and led the procession to me. He held the pieces missing bricks.
out to me and said, Daddy, fix it! I am not helpless in the After an investigation, they learned that one of the
area of repairing broken toys and such, but this was a bit maintenance men would come to the basement each day
above my pay grade. before he went home from work and he would knock out
So it is that we approach the city. In our guilt we a couple of bricks and put them in his lunch bucket and
decide to fix it we need to fix it. And we try; we try to take them home. When the authorities went to his home,
fix the people. We feed the hungry, we house the home- they found that over the course of time he had built a
less, we clothe the naked, we free those imprisoned by BBQ grill, a patio, and a nice brick wall across his entire
drugs and alcohol with programs and treatment centers back yard. He had also removed a lot of bricks from the
we try to fix the people. Then, we try to fix the city. We basic foundation of the building. But the only place the
try to rebuild it. We restore the neighborhoods. We renew problem had shown itself, thus far, was on the 32nd floor!
the communities. We renovate the abandoned houses. We The inner city and urban core is a messed up, con-
rejuvenate the squalor. In our guilt, and yes, out of a sense fused place. So many problems, so many issues, so
of Christian duty and love, we try to fix the city. We try to many man-made disasters, so many tragedies, so many
fix the brokenness of the city by sending in resources, but heart-wrenching stories and we wonder, What is the
then we back away and go back to the two car garages and problem? At whose feet do we lay the blame? Where

24 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

do we go to fix the mess? How do we best go about the It is the same problem on the farm and in the burbs. It
restoration and repair? Children killing children, adults is the same problem around the world. Wherever human
killing adults and children, sexual abuse, drug abuse, gang beings are found, the problem is sin. The problem is the
violence, rude, crude and illegal behavior, murder and same the problem is sin, manifested in ways not so dif-
mayhem and our reaction? ferent. It tends to be more a matter of degree and volume,
Our first reaction is to blame. The reactions of soci- a matter of visibility and acceptability, but the problem is
ety, of governments, of communities, even of churches, universal, an all mankind problem sin.
have been predictable. Finger pointing, I told you so If sin is the problem, what is the solution? The solu-
attitudes, political posturing and agendas, guilt trips and tions that have been developed, the solutions that man
demands, and then our second reaction is to fix it! Fix the has created for this problem have proven woefully inad-
brokenness, fix the people, fix the city! And so, once again equate. Of course, most of these solutions indicate an
we feed the people, we house them, we clothe them, we unwillingness to acknowledge the true problem of sin
free them from drugs and alcohol. And we rebuild the and so they are doomed to fail. If we provide food and
city. We restore it, we renew it, we renovate it, we rejuve- clothing there will be no more hunger and nakedness. If
nate it. However, we are fixing the problem with plaster in we provide housing there will be no more homelessness.
the cracks on the 32nd floor. If we give away stuff there will be no more stealing. If we
Our repair efforts may make us feel better, they may provide health and wellness screenings and medical help
allow us to avoid the guilt that plagues us, they may ener- there will be no more unhealthy living and unhealthy
gize our members for human care ministries, they may choices. How has that been working? And because it has
even prove helpful in the short term, not been working, we decide to do the
but these efforts are simply putting same thing more vigorously. More help,
plaster in the cracks on the 32nd floor.
Confession and more money, more welfare this is not
Looks good, feels good, does good absolution that flows the recipe for success. Rather, it resem-
for a while, but those cracks keep reap- from our risen Lord bles the definition of insanity.
pearing and we are always surprised and Savior changes I am not saying these efforts are
and troubled. What is wrong with those people, and changed without merit at some level. It is good,
people? What is the problem with that right and salutary to reach out and help.
neighborhood?
people change It is a good practice and a biblical model
We act as if the people are the prob- neighborhoods. to help ones neighbor. But unless we
lem, as if the inner city is the culprit. acknowledge and address the real prob-
Well, the truth popular or not is that the people are lem of sin, we are simply putting bandages on a cancer.
not the problem, and the inner city is not the problem. We are filling the cracks with plaster on the 32nd floor.
The problem is sin! We know this. We know that sin is There is one solution for sin all sin. One solution,
the dividing wall of hostility. We know that sin is a corro- and it is not the social gospel that we employ too fre-
sive and destructive force in the midst of this world. We quently in the inner city. The solution is the gospel of
know that sin is responsible for all manner of disturbing, Jesus Christ! Here is the Theological Framework of the
deviant, and disgusting behavior. And we know that sin City as Mission Field: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has
kills slowly or quickly we know sin brings death. We come into our world and taken mans burden of sin to the
know this. cross at Calvary. He paid the price for our sin. Not with
We should know that ignoring or denying the foun- gold or silver, but with his holy and precious blood. Jesus
dational problem of sin will not make it fade away and Christ has washed away our sin so that we might be his
disappear. We should know that covering over sin with people and live and walk in his paths.
plaster in the cracks on the thirty-second floor is no real But this is the same Theological Framework for
solution. We should know that if sin and its reality in Mission everywhere yes it is! It is the exact same
our world are not addressed we can prepare for another because sin is the cause, it is the foundational issue that
failure, another battle lost. We should know this, and I stands in the way of a right relationship with our Lord
believe we do, but we keep trying to fix things without and God. The same issue, the same problem, because
acknowledging the real problem the problem of sin. we are all one people, created and sustained by the One

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 25

God who sent his Son to deal with this problem of sin.
The theological framework does not change with loca-
tion or economic status. The theological framework of
our work in the city must be the same as our work in
the suburbs, the same as our work in the rural setting,
the same as our work around the world. If it is not, then
we continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over
again. Unfortunately, we have a history of reversing the
order, which begs the questions, Do we understand the
real problem? Do we believe that the word of God does
what it says? Are we confident enough to truly invest in
our mission to the city?
In our cities and their urban cores, food pantries and
homeless shelters have replaced churches. Food pan-
tries and shelters are important, but the order has been
reversed. If there is no church from which these services
flow, how do we address the real issue, the foundational
problem? If there is no church presence in the community,
how is the gospel preached and confession and absolution
provided? If there is no church building standing in the
midst of the chaos, how will they know the presence of
God in their troubles and trauma?
Where is the church? You may say that the church
is the people of God, whether they live in the neighbor-
hood or not, and you are absolutely correct. Certainly, we
believe, teach, and confess this very truth the church
is those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
wherever they may be found. And I would never suggest
that those people who come from outside the inner city
to minister to the needs inside are not the presence of the
church, but when the church goes home, the people are
left confused and they wonder where is the church?
No steeples piercing the sky, pointing to heaven; no
bells ringing, calling to worship; no structure in the midst
of the hood providing sanctuary; no physical symbol of
a hoped-for spiritual reality. Where is the church? The
physical has always helped us to see and understand the
spiritual. Consider how the city is viewed in Gods word.
City in Scripture is focused around two things:
earthly Jerusalem and heavenly Jerusalem. Earthly
Jerusalem is the place where God dwells in his temple.
Early on, with tabernacle and then with temple, God
established his presence with his people by being in the
center of the camp, the center of the city. And he did it
with a physical structure that would point to the spiri-
tual reality of God dwelling with man, of God being truly
present in their midst. God dwells in the midst of his
people and his throne room is the Holy of Holies in the
26 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
temple in the city. The church is visible in the midst of
the people, in the midst of the city.
Why does the Son of God become flesh and taberna-
cle among us? Why does he come and reach out to the
outcasts, the sick and diseased, the impoverished and
destitute, the prostitutes and lepers? Why? Because these
people have been separated from the temple they
cannot come to the dwelling place of God so, God
comes to them. Jesus, the new temple, comes to them, in
their midst, physically before their eyes.
And what of the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God,
the city on the hill, the courts of heaven, the place where
God dwells and where we will dwell with him, in his midst
around his throne? When the people of Israel looked upon
the temple in Jerusalem, they were reminded of a greater
reality. They were reminded that God was dwelling with
them, but also that they would one day be dwelling with
God in the heavenly mansions prepared. The physical
presence of the temple in their midst reminded them of
this eternal reality and they had hope, even when the ene-
mies were knocking at the gates.
This is the pattern established by God in Holy
Scripture and it is this pattern that we re-examine and
revisit as we consider the city as mission field. The church
needs to return to the city, not just the people, but also the
building and a worshiping community of faith. In order
to stand firm in the city, we must first return to the city
with mission eyes wide open. And not just in thought,
word, and deed, but also with the real presence of Gods
church in the midst of it all.
From the physical community called church, out-
reach, mission, and ministry flow forth. This reality is
powerful and the symbolism is just as powerful. God has
not abandoned us. The church has not left us. The God
who provides us with hope as our sins are washed away;
the God who pours out his grace upon us through word
and sacrament; this God, our LORD dwells with us in this
city so that one day we may dwell with him in the courts
of the Heavenly City.
Stand firm in the city! See the city as a mission field,
see the city with mission eyes, not because the inner city
is more important, but rather because the urban core is
equally as important as any mission field, because it is a
place where people dwell. Stand firm in the city by being
a physical presence in its midst. The Church, physical and
spiritual from that place the hungry are fed, the thirsty
receive a cup of water, the naked are clothed, the homeless
are housed, the sick are healed, those in prison are visited
 these acts of physical mercy flow forth from the physi- will be an integral component to the greater churchs out-
cal presence of Gods church in the midst. reach to the inner city mission field.
I believe that the church, especially The Lutheran The mercy focus and the role of deaconess and parish
ChurchMissouri Synod (LCMS), is uniquely situated nurse are important parts of the inner city as mission
for the mission field of the city. The LCMS is uniquely sit- field. However, they are most effective when they flow
uated to reach out to, and to reach back into, the urban from the community of faith within the community.
core of our cities. Whether this is accidental, intentional, All of the challenges and opportunities can be best met
or intuitive I cannot say; however, our current direc- by taking the church and replanting it in the city where
tion and focus, even developments, will prove critically it once stood as a witness and symbol of Gods presence
important. with his people. From this perspective, the real problem of
Our emphasis on a ministry of mercy and the language sin can be dealt with in the way that God has provided
of mercy has reentered the church. By the very definition through a faithful word and sacrament ministry. A word
of mercy, it demands that we reenter the city, and not just and sacrament ministry that goes forth from the altar out
a mission trip, but even more as a physical mission field onto the street brings about change. Confession and abso-
with churches planted and worship services that teach lution that flows from our risen Lord and Savior changes
and proclaim the mercy of Christ from which our mercy people, and changed people change neighborhoods.
must always flow. Christs ministry of mercy was espe-
cially directed toward the widows, the orphans, the sick,
The Rev. Professor Jeffrey Pulse teaches in the exegeti-
the lame, the blind, etc. In other words, the impoverished
cal department of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort
outcasts of the world who find themselves separated from
Wayne, Ind., and also serves as vacancy pastor of Shepherd
the church by their situation. The language of Scripture
of the City Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne.
used to identify the coming Messiah in both Old and New
Testaments is, The lame shall walk, the blind shall see,
the prisoners will be set free. These are acts of mercy
and they are the specific marks of the Messiah. I believe
them to also be the acts of mercy that identify those who
believe, teach, and confess this Messiah the church!
The inner city, the urban core, abounds with opportuni-
ties to be Christ-like.
Another development in the LCMS that puts us in an
enviable position as we are about the work of the king-
dom in the city is the resurgence of the role of deaconess
and parish nurse. When I first began to serve as pastor
of Shepherd of the City Lutheran Church, everyone was
nice, cordial, and happy that I was there. They treated me
well, respected me as pastor, and smiled when they shook
my hand at the end of the service, but it was obvious that
the women of the congregation were being careful. They
liked me, but did not yet trust me or their trust in me still
needed to be verified before they would open up. One
year later, our first deaconess arrived on the scene and
began to serve at the church, and in one week, she knows
everything! The women of the congregation immediately
take her into their confidence they trust her. It took
me over four years to even begin to approach this level of
trust. There are many reasons for this reality, but the role
of deaconess has proven invaluable to our work in the city.
I believe the availability of deaconesses and parish nurses

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 27

Engaging the World in the
What is our responsibility with
regard to LCMS youth as they

Incubator of Ideas venture off to college?

by Marcus T. Zill

A s we prepare to celebrate the 500th (5.9%) are also increasing.1

anniversary of the Reformation, we are reminded Also, like unto the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the
that big things happen when those who dare to university is a gathering of people from many races and
witness to the truth of Gods word on a university campus nations. Since the early 1950s, a slow but steady silent
dont shy away from the public arena. While not all ideas migration has taken place to our shores from the four
are conceived in the academic square, many of them corners of the world not to access US healthcare, or to
both good and bad are certainly powdered, diapered, necessarily escape persecution, but to take advantage of
nourished, and even burped there. Thinking happens our US system of higher education.
where thinkers are. According to the Institute of International Education,
The Lutheran church cannot escape the great incu- a little over sixty years ago there were only 34,000 interna-
bators of ideas; she was born on the academic turf of tional students on US soil. Today there are nearly 975,000
a German university at Wittenberg. Throughout her international students enrolled on US campuses, and this
history she has not forsaken the number is increasing exponentially
campus though she has not always at the rate of about 810 percent a
placed adequate resources there.
Almost 28% of all year. When including dependent
The time for this to change is now. incoming freshman family members, it is not a stretch to
The stakes are simply too high, and today list no religious say that there are roughly two mil-
the ever-multiplying mission and preference on studies of lion internationals populating our
mercy opportunities are simply campus communities.
rising college freshmen.
too plentiful. The top four countries are China,
Like unto Athens of Acts 17, the India, South Korea, and Saudi
university is a place permeated with worldly philosophy Arabia, the first three making up half of all international
and religion. It is not a matter of there being religion on students in the United States. The largest increases are
campus. Our young people will be ministered to, but from the Asian corridor, and increasingly the Middle
ministered to by whom, and ministered to with what? East, Northern Africa, and especially Latin America and
We have a solemn responsibility to help keep our own the Caribbean.2
precious sheep in the fold as they venture off to college. In one short generation we have witnessed an unprec-
The wisdom of the world is on full display in the academic edented surge of international students on US soil, many
quad and the wolf is a welcome recruiter there. In addition of whom come from countries presently closed to our
to being subject to an endless matrix of secular progressive missionaries, or where our work might otherwise be hin-
ideology, our precious youth will be tempted to forsake dered. These international students, by the nature of their
their faith, and far too often many will lose it as the word of reason for being here, are some of the most highly gifted
God is increasingly marginalized and mocked. and intelligent people from their countries.
As we continue to slide into a post-Christian era
of influence here in the United States, the impact upon
1 See the latest results of this fifty year continuous survey sponsored
our youth has been simply staggering. Almost 28% of all by The Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University
incoming freshman today list no religious preference of California, Los Angeles: http://www.heri.ucla.edu/monographs/
TheAmericanFreshman2014.pdf. The religious preference results begin
on studies of rising college freshmen. This has doubled in on p. 9.
only one generation. The percentages of those who addi- 2 The latest date on Open Doors from the Institute of International
tionally identify themselves as agnostic (8.3%) and atheist Education can be found at http://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-
Publications/Open-Doors#.

28 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

 Every year these internationals are temporarily making the tragic mistake of diverting resources from our
uprooted from their familiar social, economic, cultural, campus ministries and outreach posts right at the time
and religious surroundings and transplanted here on the that the opportunities on campus could not be greater.
colleges of this land. While our international mission Instead, let us become even more intentional and aggres-
fields are critical, no longer are the only mission fields in sive in our efforts to equip our young people and those
places like Nigeria, Venezuela, and China, but the best and who work with them on our nations campuses. Full-time
brightest Nigerian, Venezuelan, and Chinese students are international student domestic missionaries should also
increasingly finding themselves in places like Champaign, be considered in key locations.
Illinois, College Station, Texas, and Tempe, Arizona. There are ultimately many reasons to CARE about
This should challenge us to a new way of thinking. campus ministry today, but I believe they can be summa-
There are many obvious strategic, financial, and logistical rized as follows:
advantages in terms of cultivating such mission outreach Catechizing and caring for our own
here at home. Our campus ministries can clearly also Apologetics in the academic square
serve as strategic mission outposts in our own nation, Reaching out to those who are lost
even as many already are.3 This does not mean the alter- Engaging a dying culture with Christ
ation of our current campus ministries, but recognizing This is no time for timidity, and I, for one, believe our
the incredible opportunities that God has given us to young people are ready for this challenge. In a culture
expand them, and perhaps significantly so. marked by pluralism, we confess that Jesus Christ alone
In his Admonition to Prayer against the Turks, is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). In an age
Luther demonstrates how God can utilize the catecheti- of relativity, we gladly confess the reliability of our Lords
cal instruction of our young adults words, and the truth and certainty of
toward missionary witness: his promises. And in an age of higher
We need to step up
And finally, I strongly urge that the educational migration, we have been
children be taught the catechism.
our catechesis of our given an open door to cast the net of
Should they be taken captive in youth as they head off the gospel not only off, but also on, our
the invasion, they will at least to college. very shores.
take something of the Christian The challenges are certainly great
faith with them. Who knows what God might be on campus today, but the opportunities are equally
able to accomplish through them. Joseph as a sev- plentiful. The continued exposure to faithful Lutheran
enteen-year-old youth was sold into slavery into doctrine and practice on campus is not only essential for
Egypt, but he had Gods Word and knew what he our own youth, but also in order to reach out to those
believed. And he converted all of Egypt. 4
who are atheists and agnostics, as well as internationals.
Our campus ministries also serve as a great place to help
Hopefully our young people wont be sold into slav- groom our best and brightest students who might desire
ery or carried off in an invasion as Joseph was in Genesis to be pastors, deaconesses, geo or career missionaries,
37:12ff, but clearly we, and they, have plenteous oppor- and who will continue the cause of campus ministry and
tunities to confess the faith in the midst of this unique mission outreach elsewhere in, with, and through their
invasion, if you will, of international students that our various vocations.
gracious God is simply bringing to us from all over Let us dare to not forsake, but greatly expand, our
the world. work in our nations incubators of ideas for the sake of
We need to step up our catechesis of our youth as they the gospel, where our young people may be equipped
head off to college, not only so that their faith is not stolen, in the academic square to live as faithful confessors of
but also so that they might boldly confess their faith to the Jesus Christ and His Word, and where God has opened
world that awaits them there. We also must refrain from incredible doors to what is quickly becoming perhaps our

3
greatest domestic mission field.
Many thanks to all those associated with International Student
Ministry over these many years. Learn more about their important
work at www.isminc.org.
4 LW 43:239. The Rev. Marcus T. Zill serves as the LCMS director of
Campus Ministry and LCMS U.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 29

Christian Vocation and the What is the mission of God?

Mission of God: A Missing Link?

Andrew Pfeiffer

E
lwood and Jake Blues, played by Dan Aykroyd undergird the fact that mission is an activity of God, his
and John Belushi, are trying to get their band back ongoing salvific activity in history.1 Mission takes place
together in the classic movie The Blues Brothers. through the church and with all the pastors and people
As they visit the old members of the band and encounter of the church being involved. Nevertheless, it is Gods
a few obstacles, they fall back on one mission. In the narrow sense of con-
thing: Does it help for you to know version, mission takes place through
we are on a mission from God? All the people of the Spiritfilled ministry of the means
The term mission of God can be of grace in the life of the church.
used rather loosely. It is certainly
God are called to make Therefore, on the basis of Gods
understood in many different ways. use of the means of word we now want to give a further
This paper aims to bring mission grace in the church, account of how the human being is
of God and Christian vocation to support the work of converted to God; how and through
into conversation. The intention is to their congregation and which means (namely through the
enrich our understanding of mission oral word and the holy sacraments)
in such a way that mission is restored
the wider church, and the Holy Spirit desires to be active
as a joy and a privilege for Christians, to live the faith where in us and give and effect true repen-
and that we might have a good God has placed them. tance, faith, and the new spiritual
conscience about our involvement in power and capability to do good
the mission of God. works in our hearts; and how we
The concept of the mission of God (missio dei) has should respond to such means and use them (FC SD 2, 48
spawned significant missiological reflection, espe- [Kolb-Wengert, 553]). This basic groundwork of biblical
cially following the International Missionary Council at and theological study assists the church to see the central
Willingen, Germany, in 1952. This was closely followed function of the means of grace in the mission of God.
by the work of George Vicedom, translated into English There is, however, further biblical study that is neces-
and published in 1957 as The Mission of God. In recent sary to expand the picture of mission. In Gods mission,
decades there has been renewed understanding of the pastors and all the people of God have special callings.2
theology and practice of Christian vocation. This has Pastors are called and ordained to preach the gospel, to
assisted Christians to think about the way God is at work forgive sin, to administer the sacraments, and to weigh
in their daily life, and to become aware of the temptation and judge the truth of teaching, and in that sense they are
of a new type of false monasticism, in which Christians
retreat from the world rather than love and serve and give 1
For example, texts to study would include Matt 28:1820; Luke 24:46
witness in the world. 50; John 17:2023; Acts 2:1439; Rom 1:1617; 10:1115; Eph 2:45.
2A good place to begin study of this topic is the paper, The ministry
What is the Mission of God? of the people of God and the public ministry, Commission on
Theology and Inter-Church Relations, Lutheran Church of Australia,
There are many different ways to answer that question. accessed November 27, 2016, https://lca.box.net/shared/static/
Initially, a comprehensive study of biblical texts will ebem50bgk3kkrddjt6er.pdf.

30 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

the frontline in the mission of the church (AC XXVIII, 6, church, ministry, and the Christian life (or the new obe-
7, 21 [Kolb-Wengert, 92, 94]).3 dience), is essential for understanding the mission of
All the people of God are called to make use of the God from a Lutheran perspective.6 The Confessions also
means of grace in the church, to support the work of their incorporate an understanding of Christian living that
congregation and the wider church, and to live the faith recognizes the significance of ones station in life and the
where God has placed them. This means taking up the associated callings, as critical to understanding Christian
calling to be in the world but not of the world, to bring discipleship (AC XXVII, 49 [Kolb-Wengert, 88] and AC
the needs of the world to God in prayer, and to be ready XXVI, 10, 11 [Kolb-Wengert, 76]). We turn to this in
to witness to their Christian hope in word and deed. In more detail later.
that sense, the life of the faithful in the world is a criti- Third, to understand what mission is, the Lutheran
cal component of the mission of God. It bears witness to Church of Australia has produced its own mission state-
the grace of God, to Christian confidence and hope, and ments that guide its thinking.7 The 2001 statement has an
to the truth that God does not call His people out of the opening set of affirmations that still serve as a very help-
world in order to be His witnesses, but into the world, ful basis for studying the mission of God. The grounding
right into it, where He has placed them, to serve in love of mission in Gods saving activity to the lost through the
and charity and prayer, and to be ready to give the reason means of grace is well summarized. The statement then
for their hope when asked.4 begins to explore the role of the laity
Second, there is much to be learned in the mission of God in their daily
from exploring the contribution of Luther Vocation contains lives. Without using the term voca-
and the Lutheran Confessions in under- great mission tion per se, the statement speaks
standing the mission of God. This is a potential, for it of the fact that Christian witness
growing area of missiological studies as a involves the whole Christian life:
new generation of theologians discover that
demonstrates how
Christians witness not only by
the Confessions move beyond an apparent Christians may
their words but also by their lives
minimal contribution to mission thinking, contribute in the of faith active in love for their fel-
and understand that for Lutherans, mission civil sphere toward low human beings. Reunited with
is grounded in an understanding of the jus- the promulgation of God through Christ, Christians
tifying work of God through the means of
grace in the life of the church.5 So, studying
the gospel. are empowered by the Holy Spir-
it to lead a new kind of life (Rom
the articles of faith that we might vari- 12:13). Christians love other
ously refer to as God, sin, free will, justification, baptism, people because God has first loved them and all
humankind (John 3:16; 1 John 4:1921. This love
3 See also Tr 60, 61 (Kolb-Wengert, 340). There are many biblical texts for others is expressed in care and concern for the
to study with respect to what we call the office of the holy ministry,
such as John 20:1923; Luke 10:16; Eph 4:1114, and the entire Pastoral welfare of other people as spiritual, physical and
Epistles, for example (note also Matt 28:1820 and 1 Cor 11:2326). emotional beings (Matt 25:35, 36).8
That study has been taken up in many different places. See for example
the LCAs Theses of Agreement, Theses 6 on The office of the ministry,
LCA Doctrinal Statements and Theological Opinions, accessed November
Finally, for further exploration of missio dei there are
27, 2016, https://lca.box.net/shared/static/eu94q385nbnfae2lzs12.pdf, now many indepth studies. David Bosch, the author of
and the paper The Pastoral Ministry, Lutheran Church of Australia,
a key missiological textbook titled Transforming Mission,
accessed November 27, 2016, https://lca.box.net/shared/static/
fi7cilt1yanvbexilgpo.pdf. sees Gisbertus Voetius (15881676) as one of the first
4Starting points for biblical study concerning the way in which daily Protestants to develop a more comprehensive missiology
Christian living is a key component in the mission of God would
be Rom 12; Eph 2:10; 4:1724; Col 1:914, 2:68; Heb 4:1416;
6 For an excellent recent example of this emphasis, see Klaus Detlev
10:1925; 1 Pet 2:913; 3:15.
Schulz, Mission from the Cross: The Lutheran Theology of Mission
5 See for example Karl Hartenstein, The Augsburg Confession and Its (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).
Missiological Significance, Concordia Theological Quarterly 65, no. 1
(Jan 2001): 3146; Ingemar Oberg, Luther and World Mission, trans. by
7A Statement on Mission, Lutheran Church of Australia, revised
Dean Apel (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2007); and Volker edition 2001, and Our Church in Mission, Lutheran Church of
Stolle, The Church Comes from All Nations, trans. by Klaus Detlev Australia, 2003, both available at http://www.lca.org.au/mission.html.
Schulz (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2003). 8Ibid., accessed November 27, 2016, https://lca.box.net/shared/static/
bl1eeebqjlm93rz9m6tj.pdf.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 31

that saw mission grounded in the very heart of God and the Triune God himself.11
aiming ultimately to bring glory to God.
And describing the mystery of Gods mission, the
The immediate aim was conversio gentilium (conver-
same author writes:
sion of the Gentiles), which was subordinate to the second
and more distant goal, plantatio ecclesiae (the planting of God sends his Son; Father and Son send the Holy
the church); the supreme aim of mission, however, and Ghost. Here God makes himself not only the
the one to which the first two were subservient, was gloria one sent, but at the same time the Content of the
et manifestatio gratiae divinae (the glory and manifesta- sending, without dissolving through this Trinity
tion of divine grace).9 of revelation the equality of essence of the divine
The International Missionary Council at Willingen Persons.12
in 1952 defined missio dei not so much in terms of the
In the context of a discussion about holiness, Harold
churchs activity in obedience to a command of the
Senkbeil has reflected on the vitality and centrality of the
Lord, but primarily as Gods activity. For the church, this
work of the Holy Spirit in the triune Gods saving work.
meant mission was more the gift of participating in Gods
All that the Father planned for our salvation from eter-
gracious activity of salvation. Bosch explains the devel-
nity was earned by the Son in history
opment of mission thinking at this
and is now continually delivered
conference:
One of the benefits by the Spirit through his appointed
Mission was understood as being
of this teaching for the means.
13

derived from the very nature of The Spirit calls, gathers, enlight-
God. It was thus put in the con- church today is that it ens, and sanctifies the church by the
text of the doctrine of the Trinity, leads Christians to see gospel for its life of love in the world,
not of ecclesiology or soteriology. their lives in church, and not as a work in isolation. It is a
The classical doctrine on the missio
marriage, family, and Trinitarian saving work. By reflecting
dei as God the Father sending the on Luthers explanations to the three
Son, and God the Father and Son the world, as all being
articles of the creed, we can see that
sending the Spirit was expanded to critical components of the Holy Spirit calls and sanctifies
include yet another movement: Christian living. the church through the gospel, keeps
Father, Son and Holy Spirit sending the church united with Jesus Christ,
the church into the world.10 living under Him and with Him in His kingdom, and
Within a few years of the 1952 council, George living by faith, part of which is giving thanks and praise to
Vicedom had written The Mission of God, a work in which the heavenly Father (LC XXXVIII, 64, 65 [Kolb-Wengert,
he explained the role of the church in participating in 436, 439, 440]). This Trinitarian approach to mis-
14

sion is not just an abstract theological construct. Schulz

missio dei.
The mission is not only obedience to a word of the
Lord, it is not only the commitment to the gath-
ering of the congregation; it is participation in the
sending of the Son, in the missio dei with the in-
clusive aim of establishing the lordship of Christ
over the whole redeemed creation. The missionary
movement of which we are a part has its source in
9David Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of
Mission (Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books, 1991), 257.
10 Ibid., 390.
describes how the mission is fulfilled practically as the
pastoral office attends to its calling, and then as the people
of God go about their daily vocations, playing their role in
Gods mission.
Vocation contains great mission potential, for it
demonstrates how Christians may contribute in the civil
sphere toward the promulgation of the gospel. Vocation
George Vicedom, The Mission of God (St Louis: Concordia Publishing
11
House, 1965), 5.
12 Ibid., 8.
13
Harold Senkbeil, Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Acedia, the Pastoral
Pandemic, in You, My People, Shall Be Holy, John R. Stephenson
and Thomas M. Winger, eds. (St. Catherines, Ontario: Concordia
Theological Seminary, 2013), 264.
14 See also LW 40:213, 214.

32 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

broadens the scope of mission by taking into consideration Martin Luther struggled in his own life with the ques-
that, through their everyday service, Christians contribute tion of living a God-pleasing life. In his early years, the
to the spread of the gospel. Indeed, every Christian with his road to holiness seemed to be via the pathway into
or her special talents, abilities, and gifts contributes to the monasticism. If one could only escape the distractions
mission of God in his or her particular way.15 and temptations of the world and give oneself to a life
The contribution takes place in two ways. Christians of prayer and study of the word surrounded by spiritual
bring the gospel, Gods blessing, and love to the world, support and mentoring, then surely the result would be a
and they bring the needs and concerns of the world to good conscience in serving God. The history of Luthers
God in prayer.16 struggle is well known. What is significant for this paper
When exploring the Trinitarian nature of prayer, John is the way in which that struggle led Luther to a renewed
Kleinig writes: appreciation of the way in which God is at work through
Prayer, then, is a gift of the triune God. When we Christian vocation. Christians who serve their neighbor
pray, we engage with the three persons of the Holy faithfully in their daily life can not only have a good con-
Trinity. We pray to the Father; we pray together science before God in knowing they are doing good and
with the Son; and we pray by the power of the Holy Godpleasing work, but even more, in knowing that they
Spirit. What we do when we pray de- have Gods blessing as they attend to
pends entirely on what the Son gives their life callings, and in some ways
It is impossible are working for God and with God in
us in His Word and on what the Spir-
it does with us through our faith in to think of the that calling.
Christ.17 mission of God In his Confession Concerning
Christs Supper of 1528, Luther
without considering
We might add, when we pray from reminded the church of three
within the context of faithful baptismal
baptism, teaching, divinely instituted orders in life. God
living, we are involved in missio dei. That absolution, and delivers His blessings to the world
context, that location, puts before us the preaching repentance through these orders: The holy
needs of the world in that place, which with a view to the orders and true religious institutions
become in turn a focus for prayer. On established by God are these three:
forgiveness of sins.
the one hand, there is a strong sending the office of priest [pastor], the estate
aspect in missio dei as God does His of marriage, the civil government
salvific work in the world through the church, loving and (LW 37:364). Today we could speak of the three orders as
serving the world. Yet as the church takes its place in the church, marriage, and civic society.
world, living vocationally and being a praying priesthood, In addition, Luther taught the church again about the
it is empowered by the Holy Spirit to pray with Christ the priesthood of all believers. Together, the people of God
Lord of the church to the heavenly Father for the needs of are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
the world. This dimension is part of the goal of the send- Gods special possession (1 Pet 2:9). Christians serve
ing. Mission has the dual purpose of bringing Christ to together in the priesthood by living lives of sacrificial ser-
the world and the world and its needs to God in prayer. vice (Rom 12), which includes bringing God to the world
So let us now consider the concept of Christian voca- through word and loving service and the world and its
tion in order to be able to explore further in what way needs to God in prayer. This prayer calling is lived out in
Christian vocation might be an integral part of the mis- individual lives but also as Christians assemble together
sion of God to the world. to receive the means of grace and to pray for the whole
people of God and all people according to their needs
Christian Vocation
(LCA hymnal: 13).
Christians also love and serve specifically in the call-
15 Schulz, Mission, 105.
ings of their daily life. This reality helps Christians not to
16 See Walter C. Huffmann, Prayer of the Faithful (Minneapolis:
overcomplicate or aggrandize the idea of priestly service.
Augsburg Fortress, 1992), 3032.
It keeps the focus on the simplicity of Christian living. It
17John Kleinig, Grace upon Grace: Spirituality for Today (St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 2008), 167.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 33

encourages Christians to reflect on the three orders and to recognize that his calling and command are much
identify their current calling in each order in church, different from that of the saint he is following. The
in marriage and family, and in society. This is the think- way of God . . . does not tolerate selfsought or self
ing behind the last section of Luthers Small Catechism, chosen works. Then you may reply: But if I am not
which according to its longer title is: The household chart called, what shall I do then? Answer: How is it
of some Bible passages for all kinds of holy orders and possible that you are not called? You will always be
walks of life, through which they may be admonished, as in some state; you are a husband, a wife, or a son or
through lessons particularly pertinent to their office and a daughter, or a servant or a maid. Take the lowest
duty (LC [Kolb-Wengert], 365). The socalled Table of estate for yourself. (LW 75:355)
Duties moves from being seen as an imposed burden to
He then goes into specific exhortation on various
a Godgiven arena of service when we understand God
estates, including that of secular rulers and the bishops of
calls and blesses us to live as his children where he has
the church, and reminds the congregation of one of the
located us. Living a Godpleasing life doesnt begin with
devils focal points of spiritual attack, namely, to bring one
an escape from daily life but by embracing it and making
to the point of forgetting and abandoning his calling
the most of its opportunities for service in all of its facets.
(LW 75:354). Thank God it is never too late to walk again
In the order of the church a Christians life looks very
in ones callings in faith, forgiven in full for past failures
different from the world regularly assembling with
on account of the sacrificial death of Christ, and encour-
fellow saints around the means of grace, using their gifts
aged by the fact that vocational living has Gods blessing.
to serve the congregation, bearing one anothers burdens,
One of the benefits of this teaching for the church
praying for one another and encouraging all the people
today is that it leads Christians to see their lives in church,
of God to stand firm in faith. In the orders of family
marriage, family, and the world, as all being critical
and society a Christians life may, from the outside, look
components of Christian living. The realm of the con-
little different from any wellintentioned civic-or fami-
gregation is primarily for the Christian a receptive realm.
ly-minded person. In one sense it is similar. Both, whether
In this sense participating in missio dei is as much about
unintentionally or intentionally, do Gods work in their
receiving as doing. Yes, there are opportunities for service
daily vocation. Yet there is a difference, and it comes with
and love and prayer in many forms, but the congrega-
the perspective of faith. So Luther can say, See to it that
tion is primarily a realm of Gods activity through the
each remain in his station and not cast it aside. This work
means of grace. It is where God liberally gives and offers
is pure gold when it proceeds from faith.18Yes, its pure
His gifts for the forgiveness, life, and salvation of many.
gold. Faith recognizes that God is at work in daily life
While marriage, family, and society are also realms of
through the service of a Christian in family and the civic
Gods activity, that activity takes place primarily through
realm. This gives meaning to tasks and callings in life
Christian service and witness.
beyond their surface appearance and opens opportunities
The vocation of the laity is not to seek some sort of
for prayer, witness, and spiritual vigilance.
affirmation by imitating the clergy this is actually a
Luthers sermons are rich in this thinking, especially
veiled form of clericalism. You are good for something
when he is contrasting God-pleasing Christian living with
in this church as you do what pastors ordinarily do! So it
any type of Christian discipleship that we are tempted
is thought that the laypeople are elevated, given a higher
to invent for ourselves. For example, in a sermon on the
status if they have a role in liturgical leadership. On the
gospel for St. Johns day he says:
contrary, there is God-assigned dignity in living within
There are many people who do everything except the ordinary places of human life.19
what is commanded them. Many hear that cer- A vacuum in the church regarding the teaching and
tain saints made pilgrimages, for which they are understanding of Christian vocation has become a seed
praised. So the fool starts off, leaves his wife and bed for a potential new monasticism which has sometimes
children sitting, who are entrusted to him by God,
and runs to St James, or here or there, and does not 19John Pless, The Catechism as Handbook for the Vocation of Laity in
Worship and Prayer, in The Pieper Lectures: The Lutheran Doctrine of
Vocation, vol 11, John H. Maxfield, ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Historical
18See Joel R. Basely, trans., Festival Sermons of Martin Luther: The Institute and The Luther Academy, 2008), 94.
Church Postils (Dearborn: Mark V Publications), 166.

34 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

seen Christians so involved in selfchosen spiritual activ-
ities, or even in aspects of congregational life, to the point
that they no longer have time or energy for their voca-
tion in their marriages, family, workplace, or community.
One of the temptations for Christians is to seek arenas of
service that they have not actually been called to, and in
the process to abandon arenas of service they have been
called to, and in which they receive Gods blessing, and
which is central to Gods mission (AC XXVI, 8-11 [Kolb-
Wengert, 76] and AC XXVII, 49 [Kolb-Wengert, 88].
The church has a treasure in the teaching of vocation
that has, at times, been hidden, and that has impacted the
mission of God. As Christians start to discover again their
calling in daily life, the church needs to walk alongside
them. Christian living in station and vocation is not easy.
In fact, it is often quite difficult to take up the cause of
being Gods servants in family, workplace, and civic life.
Sometimes it involves bearing the cross in ones
vocation and it certainly involves spiritual struggle.20
Christians need teaching and sermons and pastoral care
that encourage them to seek Gods help to remain faithful
in their callings. President Matthew Harrison has this in
mind when he says:
It takes courage for a man to be faithful in his call-
ing to the office of father. Fathers must balance
the pressures of the workplace with the need to be
present for their children. A fathers calling into the
office of fatherhood is a call to sacrifice for his wife
and family, even as Christ made a willing sacrifice
of Himself for the children of his heavenly Father.
And it doesnt take long for a new father to realize
that his call to sacrifice increases tenfold upon the
birth of his child. 21
Having explored missio dei and Christian vocation
separately, it is time to reflect on them together.
Missio Dei and Christian Vocation
The missio dei requires, if it is to find full expression in the
church and the world, the reality of Christian vocation.
Mission sermons based on texts such as Matt 28:1620;
Luke 24:4650; or John 20:2123 proclaim the Lords
mission vision and mission means. It is impossible to
think of the mission of God without considering baptism,
20Gene Veith, The Spirituality of the Cross (St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 2010), 11114.
21Matthew Harrison, Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith into
Action, (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2008), 235.
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
teaching, absolution, and preaching repentance with a
view to the forgiveness of sins.
At the same time, when Paul teaches the faithful about
Christian living and their role in the mission of God,
he does not say that all Christians are to baptize, teach,
preach, or preside at the Lords table. It is understood that
there is an office of preaching whose task it is to attend to
the public ministry of the means of grace, the means of
the Holy Spirit.
Paul teaches Christians to lead a life sanctified by the
word in accord with the faith they have received, a Spirit
filled and Spiritled life of service and hospitality worthy
of the Lord, a life lived in the world but different enough
from the world to invite scrutiny and inquiry.22 So what
is the difference? As we have noted above, in one sense
Christian living might not be all that different from any
other wellintentioned citizenship. Luther spoke of people
being masks of God in the sense that they do the work
of God, intentionally or unintentionally.23 For example,
parents who feed their children, care for them, and keep
them safe are doing Gods work not only Christian par-
ents, but all caring parents. Farmers who look after the
land and sow seed do Gods work of feeding people not
only Christian farmers, but all farmers of integrity.
For Christians, however, there is an additional dimen-
sion to their vocational living. By faith, they now see their
callings in life as callings from God. They are aware that
what they are doing in marriage, family, work, and society
is Gods work, and it is done on Gods behalf. They take
up their callings as part of a response of faith, and in that
sense they work with God in their station and vocation.
John Kleinig has captured this when he writes:
The practice of Christian spirituality rests on the
teaching that everything that has been created by
God can be made holy by the Word of God and
by prayer. This applies to all areas of our life be-
cause the goal of our piety is the sanctification of
our whole journey through life. Thus, just as every
meal is sanctified by saying grace, so everything
that we are and have and do is sanctified by the
use of Gods Word and prayer in our daily devo-
tions. Every home and every marriage, every gift
22See for example Eph 2:10; 4:1724; Col 1:914; 2:68; see also
1 Pet 2:913; 3:15. This has been explored in my paper, A Comparative
Study of Ephesians, Colossians and First Peter: Implications for the
Evangelisation of Adults, Lutheran Theological Journal 34, no. 2
(Aug 2000): 6172.
23 Veith, Spirituality, 89116.
35
 and every possession, every day and every night, all
our work and all our sleep, all our joys and all our
sorrows; everything is made holy by God as we use
His Word to guide us in our prayers. But most sig-
nificantly, we are kept holy by listening to His Word
and by praying as guided by it. The Word that sanc-
tifies us sanctifies our meditating and our praying
so that we can serve God the Father as His priests
in our station and vocation.24
The Christian life is a holy life sanctified by word and
prayer, lived in the daily callings of marriage, family,
workplace, and community (Eph 5:156:20; Col 3:14:6).
As Christians move from the liturgical assembly with the
blessing of God for their week of service, they go as the
baptized and the fed, they go as people of word and prayer,
the holy ones going to their God-given callings. In 1 Peter
3:15, Christians hear that one aspect of their holy living
will be that people ask them to give the reason for their
hope, and so they need to be ready to give the reason. The
word reason is perhaps a little weak for modern ears.
The word is apologia, and so a better translation could be
to be ready to give a defense, or an account, of the gospel.
This means that Christians need to know the Christian
faith and be prepared to engage with the questions of
those who ask.
It may be that it is rare for people to ask straight out
why someone is a Christian, but people are asking spir-
itual questions all the time: Why does God allow bad
things to happen? Will you pray for me? Being religious is
about living a good life, isnt it? I can be a good Christian
without going to church, cant I? Does Christianity
really help you? Sometimes they come out as assumed
statements of fact, but if we listen, often they are also
questions. Be ready to give a reason for the hope you
have. But do it with gentleness and respect, keeping a
clear conscience, St. Peter writes (1 Pet 3:15). Gentleness
and respect are fruits of the Spirit, and they have to do
with care for the person who has asked. Conscience has to
do with standing before God and challenges Christians to
check their motives and intentions when giving a defense
of the gospel.
One of the differences in living mentioned earlier is
that, when we do speak, we are called to speak in a gra-
cious way, inviting people to further conversation and
the exploration of additional questions (Col 4:56). This
24 Kleinig, Grace, 279.
36 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
conversation and prayer, emerging from simply living and
loving and serving in the regular context of daily life, is
vital in the mission of God.
The question for this paper is what does it mean for
the mission of God when the church encourages and
teaches the faithful to see that part of their involvement
in missio dei is the call to live out their faith in marriage,
family, workplace and community? Through that voca-
tional living, that service, God is at work blessing His
world, and opening up new conversations that lead to
inquiry and prayer. Mission is not some kind of alterna-
tive theological orientation. For example, mission is not
either moving out or inviting in, but both. The church
is not either mission or maintenance, but both. Worship
is not either liturgical or missional, but both. Similarly,
the mission of God is not either about baptism, preaching
and the Lords Supper, or about Christian vocation. The
two live together hand in hand in an integrated way in the
mission of God. In one sense the locus of mission is the
church and the teaching and sacraments of the church. All
people are invited, urged, and encouraged to be baptized,
be taught, receive absolution, and to receive the Lords
Supper. And these gifts are given to, and administered
through, the church. In another sense the focus of mis-
sion is the world. We are sent into the world. Christians
live their lives in marriage and family, in the workplace,
in the community where they are located. They serve with
love and bring the needs of the world to God, both in
their own devotional life, and as they gather together as
the priesthood in the liturgical assembly.
Sometimes mission strategies can set targets or goals
too much in the future. The same thing applies when we
think of the link between Christian vocation and the mis-
sion of God. The goal is not that we live vocationally so
that some people in our family or workplace or commu-
nity will become Christian. We live vocationally because
this is Gods call and it has Gods blessing. God will take
care of His mission. He calls us to attend to our vocation.
He will open opportunities for love, hospitality, conver-
sation, prayer, loving service, and even verbal witness for
those who have ears to hear and eyes to see.
Serving the Faithful for Vocational Living in
Missio Dei
This paper closes by posing a question and offering some
initial solutions. When the church comes to embrace
Christian vocation as an essential dimension of the mis-
sion of God, and when Christians come to see that living
a life of faith and service where they have been placed
means involvement in the mission of God, then what do
the people of God need from their church to encourage
and sustain them in this aspect of their mission? I suggest
eight things.25
1. Teaching the baptized for their daily Christian voca-
tions. This means also being released from the burden
that to be a good church member means to be involved
in every latest congregational program. There are many
excellent resources available for congregations and
Christians wanting to study Christian vocation.26
2. Preaching that recognizes the struggles of vocational
living and offers spiritual help. This takes note of the
fact that it is often difficult to be a Christian in ones daily
vocations, but that such discipleship has Gods command
and Gods blessing.
3. Teaching the baptized to pray for the world in the
mission of God. This includes both the individual and
the corporate components of intercessory prayer. Pray as
the people of God gathered together for the needs of the
world and personal and family prayer for the needs asso-
ciated with ones own sphere of life and callings.
4. Encouragement to practice hospitality. Two tables are
significant in any Christians life: The table of the Lord
from which we receive forgiveness and life, and the table
of our home at which we practice hospitality by offering
food, fellowship, and conversation.
5. Teaching the Christian faith to the faithful clearly and
unapologetically. In a culture where we can no longer
assume that Christians have been well catechized, we
need to start with the basics: the Ten Commandments,
the Apostles Creed, and the Lords Prayer. Luthers Small
and Large Catechisms have a place in mission education.
6. Working with the confidence that Gods word and
sacraments are effective mission means. In an ecclesial
culture of spiritual activism and a secular culture of reward
for effort, the church needs to be confident in the work of
the Spirit through the means of grace, and to teach and
encourage a spirit of receptive spirituality among the faith-
ful. The power for Christian life is the gospel and the gospel
25These can be read together with the five suggestions noted in my
essay, Strengthening the Congregation for Service in the Community,
Lutheran Theological Journal 46, no. 3 (December 2012): 199207.
26 See especially Chad Hooper, Vocation: God Serves through Us, The
Lutheran Spirituality Series (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
2007); and Gene Veith, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of
Life (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2011).
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
is offered and ready to be received through Gods means of
grace, both for long-time Christian and new inquirer.
7. Regular opportunities for the instruction of inquirers.
According to 1 Peter 3:15, when Christians live their faith
in their daily life there is every likelihood that people will
ask them to give the reason for their hope. Christians can
do this, but just as they need opportunities for spiritual
growth, so also the church needs to offer opportunities for
believers to invite inquirers to learn about Christ by explor-
ing the core teachings of the Christian faith at more depth.
8. Prayer for the fruit of the Spirit. St. Peter encourages
Christians to give their defense of the faith with gen-
tleness and patience (1 Pet 3:15). Sometimes the verbal
Christian witness is imbued with aggression rather than
gentleness, impatience rather than patience. Christians
need the church to be praying for them and their witness
regularly in the general prayer of the church.
Summary
Sometimes Christians are confused about mission.
Perhaps they are carrying the burden of thinking that
they are responsible for the salvation of their family or
work colleagues (John 17:20). Perhaps they have lost con-
fidence in Gods word and are willing to try any mission
idea or program, even if they have some doubts that it is
theologically credible (Rom 1:16). Perhaps they are finding
it difficult to persevere (Heb 12:13). Perhaps the cross is
becoming unbearable (Gal 6:2).
Is a renewed understanding of Christian vocation the
missing link for Christians seeking to take their place in
missio dei? This paper suggests that it is worth consider-
ing. Christians who embrace their Godgiven callings
where God has placed them, and find the blessing of God
in those arenas of Christian service, will not only find a
good conscience as they respond to Gods call in their
lives, but they will find their niche in missio dei, and peace
and joy in their Christian service, even, and perhaps espe-
cially, when it brings the cross.
Dr. Andrew Pfeiffer is the head of the School of Pastoral
Theology at Australian Lutheran College.
37
 How is the inner city one

Reaching Out to the Inner City: of the Synods and her

Opportunities and Challenges

congregations biggest
missiological challenges?
for Mission Here at Home
by Klaus Detlev Schultz

Personal Reflections on Inner Cities1 Fortunately, in many areas of our cities in the United

I
have travelled around the world and seen States, revitalization is evident and there LCMS presence
cities of all sizes and under all kinds of conditions. is more easily established than in the tougher areas of the
I visited pastors and accompanied them in their city. But where this is not happening, inner cities bring
work in the slums called favelas in Rio de Janeiro and Sao their own challenges. Of all the cities I have visited, I have
Paolo, Brazil, the latter being the third largest city in the found that the United States tackles a particularly unique
world, with over 17 million citizens. We have been alerted problem and that is the inner city abandonment and the
to these conditions through the recent Summer Olympics struggle to keep many sections of it from decay. Other
in Rio de Janeiro. I was in Kibera, Africas largest slum people have moved in and churches that were dealing
in the city of Nairobi, Kenya, housing about 250,000 with a former white commuting membership must now
people, predominantly in shacks. In refocus and address the neighborhood
total there are about 2.5 million slum in new innovative and resourceful ways,
dwellers spread throughout the city
The United States often across cultural divides of which
of Nairobi; that is, about 60 percent of tackles a particularly we will talk later. But there are flickers
the citys inhabitants. Most house as unique problem and of hope and signs of concerted efforts to
tenants on just 6 percent of the land. that is the inner city make a difference.
Basic amenities such as electricity, water, Emmanuel Lutheran Church in
abandonment and downtown Fort Wayne has invited
sewage, medical care, and clinics are
missing or in dire need of improvement.
the struggle to keep the neighborhood community for
And to exacerbate the conditions even many sections of it Trunk or Treat and Block parties. The
more, many, especially the unemployed, from decay. most enduring outreach has been for
indulge in the cheap home brew called eight years to the public Washington
Changaa and use drugs to spend their time. Abortions Elementary School with assistance to
are common and so is criminality, and factions take place its school children. This year, a grant from the LCMS
between tribes such as the Luo and the Kikuyu. All these called Stand with Your Community will help fund
factors do not contribute towards the quality of life for an afternoon program where the children can come to
the people. church and learn about Jesus. Fort Waynes inner city
Then there is the opposite extreme. I was in New African ministry called St. Augustine fell into a slump
Yorks Times Square, downtown Chicago, Orange County, because no new African immigrants are coming to the
Los Angeles, Singapore, and Tokyo, inner city experiences city and their children have assimilated into American
of glitter and neon lights where the rich and the wealthy culture, so consequently, if they do attend worship, it
frequent. would be at a normal LCMS congregation. For this
reason, St. Augustine has been taken under the wings of
Holy Cross Lutheran, a large church on the periphery
of the struggling area. Yet, the inner city receives new
1 This is an updated and adapted version of a presentation given on June
11, 2011, at a conference of the Philadelphia Lutheran Ministries (PLM) people. Asians and Latinos still move in. The historic
on Inner City Missions.

38 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

LCMS congregation, St. Pauls Lutheran, is surrounded However, efforts are still being made to get or keep a foot
by over 10,000 Latinos. The pulling force is that rental in the door and Bethlehem has partnered with the public
housing is available. This could not happen in other cities John S. Irwin Elementary school to plant a communal
around the world because there, downtown is considered garden. Yet the struggles remain real and the burden on
prime property. congregations is enormous.
The urban, inner city environment brings with it some
Meeting the Challenge: Inner City Ministry
personal familiarity. As a family, we moved to the south
side of Fort Wayne to an area that had seen its prime well For all the reasons above, we consider the inner city a
over fifty years ago. Its buildings still show some of its past missiological challenge. Since people of different ethnic
splendor and it is, admittedly, a far cry from the abject backgrounds and cultures have moved in, the inner city
conditions of real inner city settings we customarily think is a mission field of its own special kind. Fortunately, as
of. And yet here, too, conditions are not conducive for said before, many inner cities in the United States are
improvement. Income from property tax is much lower gentrifying, but still not everywhere. It is true that revi-
compared to the suburban part of the city, and schools talization is occurring somewhat in Fort Wayne too. Zion
are suffering because of it. The number of children who Evangelical Lutheran Church is an inner city congrega-
receive free and reduced lunch is far greater than in the tion and it has over the last decade or so managed to clean
suburban districts. The need among up its neighborhood by partnering with
students of such schools is dire. In the the municipality and the neighboring
case of Brown v. Board of Education
The woes of Jesus Roman Catholic congregation. Vacant
from 1952, the decision was reached were spoken over houses were bought and torn down and
that education may not support racial the city prior to His replaced with new housing. The Allen
County Public library and the Urban
segregation. And yet beyond that, as triumphant entry.
the case of San Antonio Independent League moved in. The city cooperated
Among the many and built trails for walking and biking
School District v. Rodriguez (1973) has
shown, the issue remains unaddressed
elements that are and a new YMCA has been built, but
as to how schools in lower income areas unique to the city crime is still a challenge with a murder
with predominantly non-white children of Jerusalem, it also rate that is too high.
This so-called renaissance proj-
should be supported. speaks for cities in
South Side Fort Wayne Community ect was spearheaded by our former
general. pastor who is now the LCMS president.
School serves as an example. It still
offers an International Baccalaureate The renaissance project was a human
and has the reputation of having been one of the best care project in partnership with the neighborhood and
schools in Fort Wayne. Now it is on probation, one reason focused on non-members. In such cases, acts of mercy
being that 700 of the 1500 students have English as a offer greater latitude of interdenominational cooperation
second language. People from other culture groups have without violating the LCMSs confessional stance. Still
moved to this part of town, causing a reshuffling of those membership is stagnant. It seems that some churches are
who live there, and the majority of them now have to once again thankful for their location having waited out
learn English. Of course, all children will have to take the the worst of times and reaping the benefits of gentrifica-
standardized exams and be part of the AYP (Academic tion. They withstood all the years of white urban flight to
Yearly Performance). South Side is struggling and it sym- find a renewed interest of millennials who move to that
bolizes the problems inner city schools face. very part of the city.
The LCMS representation was strong once upon a When we think of the word city, many associations
time here also. Close by, we have inner city Bethlehem come to mind. Not only should we look at cities in ethnic
Lutheran Church, which in the 1970s still had one of the and cultural terms, but also as rough patches dealing with
LCMSs largest schools. Now the church is a mere shadow a kind of spiritual warfare where good and evil forces are
of its glorious past, and the school is non-existent because battling for their allegiance.
it has been closed. Redeemer Lutheran Church down the Our Lord Jesus Christ looked over the city of
road had a school that also ceased to exist a long time ago. Jerusalem and cried:

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 39

 O Jerusalem! Oh, Jerusalem, you who kill the serve or individuals who are willing to minister while
prophets and stone those sent to you, how often being in a bi-vocational position. This in turn raises the
have I longed to gather your children together, as question of the latter groups preparation for pastoral
a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you ministry. Increasingly, the argument is made that such
were not willing. Look, your house is left to you bi-vocational ministers need onsite training and not a
desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until lengthy extraction to go the seminary. Moreover, the price
you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of of education at the seminary seems unnecessarily high. To
the Lord. (Luke 13:34-35) that end, in response to an LCMS convention resolution,
both seminaries have inaugurated an educational track
The woes of Jesus were spoken over the city prior to called the Specific Ministry Pastor program (SMP) that
His triumphant entry. Among the many elements that trains those individuals in congregations who may serve a
are unique to the city of Jerusalem, it also speaks for church in a bi-vocational position and yet want the theo-
cities in general. God sent messengers to that city, but the logical education. Once they enter the program they will
response was mixed to the message of Gods salvation in be called vicars and then after 1 years of on-line theo-
Christ. Does that deter God from continuing His mission logical education, they are ordained and then required to
to the city? Not in the least. Christs entry upholds grace:
study another 1 years to become rostered pastors. This
Like a hen gathers her chicks under her is an education model that the Synod
wings The citys unfaithfulness is not has endorsed, and it anticipates chang-
countered by Gods unfaithfulness. God The poor and the
ing and struggling contexts such as the
sends His own son. He enters riding on needy are a central inner city where individuals are not able
a donkey on His way to the cross and concern of the to remove themselves from their minis-
the empty tomb all for those who live
church the active try for traditional theological education.
in the city.2 The point is that the city has
become and should become the Synods
love and hope that We also have started a practicum at
Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS)
concern overall. It is our national mis- accompany a true
in Fort Wayne that requires, in addi-
sion field. Christian living will tion to readings and assignments, an
In Fort Wayne we have an inner city appear in the daily inner city summer vicarage sponsored
church called Shepherd of the City. It
life and work of all through the Office of National Mission
was once a flourishing congregation.
Yet the church, then called Concordia
believers. (ONM). Currently ten students have
joined the practicum with an interest
Lutheran, decided to relocate to another in becoming the Synods first inner city church planters,
area in the 1970s. It left behind a beautiful building and modelling their ministry after the Network Supported
a remnant few who are struggling to keep the church Missionaries (NSM) deployed for overseas mission
open. Unfortunately, in the forum of congregational through the Office of International Mission (OIM).
autonomy, most other churches in the vicinity leave this But lets go back to the inner city church in Fort
church to tackle her woes by herself: a small member- Wayne, Shepherd of the City. The pastor who volun-
ship, no money to pay a full salary for the pastor or for teered eventually left the church and once again it was left
the upkeep of the building. These woes led to the tearing stranded. This time CTS picked up the situation and now
down of the former school with an old bowling alley in a professor serves as its part-time pastor.3 This professor
the basement (the demolition itself cost $60,000). For a has also been assigned a vicar, but this vicar needs to be
short time, an older pastor volunteered to serve the parish paid. Who can do that? The district had offered some
and he could do so without a salary because he had inher- time ago to step in and offer half of that salary. The church
ited some money. is slowly but surely recovering from multiple setbacks.
Might this portend future ministry to the city? Most
likely so. Struggling inner city churches will have to find
3 On September 25, 2016, The Lutheran Foundation in partnership
individuals who are either retired but are still eager to with Concordia Lutheran High School released a series of videos (2016
delegate meeting videos) depicting Lutheran life in and around Fort
2Charles Van Engen, Mission on the Way: Issues in Mission Theology Wayne, including a video capturing the ministry to Shepherd of the
(Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), 9091. City Lutheran Church.

40 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

The area is surrounded by poverty. With a matching grant In an essay several years ago entitled, Re-examining
from the Lutheran Foundation, a kitchen will be put into Our Vision for the Poor,5 Jeff Cook recognizes that in
a new outreach center, Shepherds Hand (the building was engaging the inner city community, social issues such
a former dance hall), adjacent to the church. But to raise as injustice and poverty become an integral part of the
the funds that then will be matched has been a struggle. churchs mission. It is not about the reality of poverty,
One of the main purposes for that kitchen is to address since that is a given, but rather it is a question of how we
prevalent obesity among those living in that area. go about helping the poor. Here are some considerations:
We have here a case study that shows that there is a Our eagerness to help needs to be guided by the ques-
need in the LCMS, as in other churches, to offer and share tion, how can we assess what we do in the context and
its resources to address the problems of a struggling con- how does it affect the people who are on the receiving
gregation coupled with flexibility in action. We all are in end? There are perhaps three levels of social need that
this together as the body of Christ. We cannot leave indi- can be suggested as one addresses the community and
vidual pastors fighting out inner city ministry on their its people. The initial step, undoubtedly, is through relief,
own and that includes new church planting projects but then it moves to development and, finally, to help in
in the inner city. Church planting efforts have shown that making structural changes. In terms of the first step, we
joint support of an individual prevents them from becom- can establish the fact that it is natural for us to respond
ing modern-day Jonahs who despair in crisis first with emergency relief. As
over their own isolation. In short, we Cook points out:
can hear the cries of inner city mission-
The inner city Whether it is a local house fire that
aries and church workers coming at us destroys a family home, a hurricane
from all angles, reflecting problems that
outreach will have
that sweeps across New Orleans, or
are historical, contextual, relational, a huge worldwide
an earthquake that devastates Hai-
ecclesiological, and missiological. impact when certain ti, the willingness of Christians to
Concerns Lead to Appropriate Action immigrants, non- give immediately and sacrificially to

It is important, however, that whatever

Christian people,
are reached.
reflections we make, whatever values
we construct, and whatever theology
we create for the city, we must correlate
or complement our thinking with action. That action
plan must reach down to the level of the streets and the
people of the city or community. We cannot expect that
an inner city commuting church is the answer. Its about
the community and being established in it and above all
recognizing the local particularities. We cannot operate
with generalizations, but must pay attention to the defi-
ciencies prevalent in the community, of which there could
be many: illiteracy, visual deficit (rundown buildings),
teenage pregnancies, high dropout rates, battered women,
drugs, gun violence, alcoholism, and homelessness. If our
concern is about community, then the church becomes
directly involved in such challenges as a church in and for
that community. And so a church serving its community
must be open to variety in order to meet the challenges.4
4 Charles Van Engen aptly describes the situation: The church is not
a social agency but it is of social significance in the city. The church
is not city government but is called to announce and live out the
kingdom of God in all its political significance. The church is not a
those in desperate need has a posi-
tive and redemptive impact for Jesus.
The Church excels in this kind of cir-
cumstance.6
However, in Cooks opinion, such open-handed,
sacrificial giving is helpful only when it is relatively short-
term. When continued too long, the very relief intended
for good can foster long-term dependency and rob people
of dignity as they become accustomed to being identified
and treated as charity cases. It is possible to be sincere
bank but is an economic force in the city and is to seek the economic
welfare of the city. The church is not a school but is called to educate
the people of the city concerning the Gospel of love, justice and social
transformation. The church is not a family but is the family of God,
called to be a neighbor to all those whom God loves. The church is not
a building but needs buildings and owns buildings to carry out its
ministry. The church is not exclusive, not unique but is specially
called by God to be different in the way it serves the city. The church is
not an institution but needs institutional structures to effect changes
in the lives of people and society. The church is not a community-
development organization but the development of community
is essential to the churchs nature (Van Engen, Mission on the Way,
9394).
5Jeff Cook, Re-examining Our Vision for the Poor, Torch (Fall-Winter
2010): 6.
6 Ibid., 6.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 41

but sincerely wrong in ones actions. It is possible to The only possible way for a local congregation to jump
show the right kind of motivation and yet land up with into such services is to conduct her own assessment. To
skewed results. We must evaluate the differences between that end, Cook suggests:
needs that result from crisis and those that are chronic. Churches can begin the pursuit of development
Chronic challenges demand a different kind of response, ministry by determining how God has positioned
Cook says.7 and equipped them by assessing their strengths and
The second level of social need is development. Here limitations, finding out what the real needs of the
the church must adjust its responses to people who are community are, building relationships with peo-
trapped in cycles of poverty by empowering them to ple in the community, discovering other ministry
change their circumstances.8 This kind of social help can models, and evaluating what they do.10
be more involved and time consuming since we develop a
close relationship with the people and try to help them to The third level of inner city ministry is to seek out struc-
develop themselves. Nevertheless, this type of assistance tural change. What exactly does this mean? The fact is that
is important as it may contribute towards them escaping there are environmental or systemic problems that keep
the cycle of poverty. For in Cooks estimate, it prompts people trapped in the cycle of poverty. Developments might
them to transition from perpetual thus not go deep enough to overcome
dependence to self-sufficiency. This injustices and obstacles. Here one may
type of development might include, for The church will point to sin and that sin not only takes
example, providing education or skill offer the gospel as a hold of people but also these sinful yet
training to enable people to conquer credible alternative powerful people act in certain structures
their own chronic problems and pre-
way of life to that of of society, favoring more the powerful at
serve their dignity. 9 the expense of the poor and weak. This
If that is the case, what specific min-
the culture. has already happened among the Jewish
istries help at the level of development? people of the Old Testament, and the
The list is long, yet not exhaustive, with the following prophets Isaiah (Isa 5: Vineyard song) and Amos (Amos 5)
forms of assistance: addressed it. Isaiah 5:23 reads, Woe to those who acquit the
- Parenting classes guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.
- Student mentorship programs And the prophet in Amos 5:12 says, For I know how
- After-school tutoring many are your offenses and how great your sins. You
- Adult education (in the LCMS that includes pastoral oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the
ministry) poor of justice in the courts.
- Computer skills training It could very well be that certain structures are in place,
- Job interview coaching but unless they change, improvement might elude many
- English as a Second Language (ESL) training of the people living there. Cook identifies inadequate
- High school completion classes structures such as poor educational systems, predatory
- Basic finance management training lending (where cash advance businesses charge exorbitant
- Home ownership classes interest rates on loans), injustice in zoning laws, and disin-
- Entrepreneurial development vestment in communities by financial institutions. These
- Job transportation are all problems, he says, faced by urban poor, which
- Substance abuse and family counseling collectively become monumental hurdles to overcome.11
- Emergency shelter Thus, in such a situation where structural changes are
- Drug referral services needed, the local congregation might have to partner with
- Clothing outreach and feeding ministry organizations that are experienced in engaging systemic
- Prison ministry issues in the society, thereby blending their presence and
- Obesity awareness influence with others to confront unjust power.12

10 Ibid., 67.
7 Ibid. 11 Ibid., 7.
8 Ibid. 12 Ibid.
9 Ibid.

42 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

From Unintentional to Intentional Service
We read in James 2:19 that the apostle James points out
that caring for the poor helping the widows and the
orphans is an expression of true faith, active through
loving works that reflects Gods own impartiality. The
question here is whether inner city work can be left to
the mere good will and voluntary intentions of a few
members of the church or whether it should become
a deliberate and intentional service on the part of the
church at large (i.e., the Synod)? We can provide some
arguments that point to the latter. In other words, there
are indicators that speak in favor of a corporate concern
for the synods involvement:
We are aware of Luthers strong emphasis on broth-
erly love and biblically the demonstration of love for the
neighbor is underscored in Galatians 6:5 where we are to
have a faith active through love.13 In his famous preface
to the epistle of St. Paul to Romans, Luther circumscribes
this faith:
O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith.
It is impossible for it not to be doing good works
incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are
to be done, but before the question is asked, it has
already done them, and is constantly doing them
For through faith a man becomes free from sin and
comes to take pleasure in Gods commandments.14
Melanchthon, too, sees this sanctified faith as always
active, not an idle thought, but a new light, life, and
force in the heart as to renew our heart, mind and spirit,
makes new men of us and new creatures and as long
as it is present, produces good fruits(Ap IV, 64 [Kolb-
Wengert, 131]).15 Since this faith is living (fides viva),
active (Ap IV, 248 [Kolb-Wengert, 158]), and firm,
witness and confession are never far from it (Ap IV, 384
[Tappert, 165]).16 Paul Althaus thus concludes:
I cannot believe in redemption only for myself. I
receive divine love as the man, as Adam who is
part of all others. If I do not believe in salvation for
all, then I wont believe for myself either Laxity
13Klaus Detlev Schulz, Mission from the Cross (St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 2009), 257.
14 Preface to St. Pauls Epistle to the Romans, LW 35:37071.
15The Solid Declaration IV, 12 (Kolb-Wengert, 576) compares the
inextricable connection of faith and works as to heat and light.
16 No faith is firm that does not show itself in confession.
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
in missions is always a sign of an individualistically
reduced and thereby disfigured faith.17
In Matt 25:31-46 we are also alerted to the fact that
helping the neighbor in need is a reflection of our faith.
When the Son of Man comes, he will say:
Come blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was
thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and
you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed
me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison
and you came to me. (Matt 25:34-36)
But it cautions us not to harbor any meritorious inter-
est in serving the poor and hurting, and the Lord alone
recognizes the faith behind what is being done:
Lord when did we see thee hungry and feed thee,
or thirsty and gave thee drink? And when did we
see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and
clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in
prison and visit thee? (Matt 25:37-39)
Luther provides us with the christological underpin-
ning of such a concern for ones neighbor:
I will therefore give myself as a Christ to my neighbor,
just as Christ offered himself to me; I will do noth-
ing in this life except what I see is necessary, prof-
itable, and salutary to my neighbor, since through
faith I have an abundance of all good things in
Christ Behold, from faith thus flow forth love
and joy in the Lord, and from love a joyful, willing,
and free mind that serves ones neighbor willingly
and takes no account of gratitude or ingratitude, of
praise or blame, of gain or loss. For a man does not
serve that he may put men under obligations. He
does not distinguish between friends and enemies
or anticipate their thankfulness or unthankfulness,
but he most freely and most willingly spends him-
self and all that he has, whether he wastes all on the
thankless or whether he gains a reward.18
It seems that our existence as humans can and is only
one of co-humanity. We exist in relationships and these
relationships matter in terms of showing concern for his
17Paul Althaus, Um die Reinheit der Mission, Mission und Theologie
(Gttingen: Heinz Reise, 1953), 51.
18 LW 31:367.
43
or her welfare, both spiritually and bodily. To deny one-
self of these relationships is to fall outside of ones true
humanity in Jesus Christ. Sin, as Luther would say, leads
to a life of incurvature that denies itself selfishly of human
relationships, and above all with God:19
If God should not test us by tribulation, it would
be impossible for any man to be saved. The reason
is that our nature has been so deeply curved in
upon itself (tam profunda est in seipsam incurva)
because of the viciousness of original sin that it not
only turns the finest gifts of God in upon itself and
enjoys them (as is evident in the case of legalists
and hypocrites), indeed, it even uses God Himself
to achieve these aims, but it also seems to be igno-
rant of this very fact, that in acting so iniquitously,
so perversely, and in such a depraved way, it is even
seeking God for its own sake.20
By contrast, in one of our Commission on Theology
and Church Relations (CTCR) documents dated February
1999, we read of a service in faith that is ready and with-
out pretense:
The focus here is how those who are truly right with
God by grace through faith serve others without
any further thought of how it may serve them. So it
is that one of the churchs post communion prayers
asks that God would strengthen us in faith toward
you and in fervent love toward one another.21
The poor and the needy are a central concern of the
church, and we would agree that the active love and hope
that accompany a true Christian living will appear in the
daily life and work of all believers and is impressed on
them in worship through corporate prayers. In this way
Lutherans are well taught by their tradition to recognize
that this is the primary way the church reaches out with
the love of God for a suffering world.22
To express such love all Christians are placed in the
context of their family and neighbor and in occupational
situations. According to the CTCR statement, some speak
of this crucial daily work of believers in their various
callings as indirect and unintentional influence and
19Matt Jenson, Gravity of Sin: Augustine, Luther, and Barth on homo
incurvatus in se (New York: T&T Clark, 2006), 24.
20 LW 25:291
21CTCR, Faith Active in Love: Human Care and the Churchs Life,
(February 1999): 18.
22 Ibid.
44 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
indirect and intentional influence that the church might
have on society through the daily work of individual
Christians. We could say that when the church is engaged
in its central task of proclaiming the gospel and adminis-
tering the sacraments, faith is engendered in the members
and love follows often without explicit instruction. In
many cases the spontaneous indirect and unintended
result is active love in the daily life of the believers.
Thus,
[T]he terms indirect and unintended indicate
that love flows from faith in the Gospel apart from
any specific or organized plan or intention on the
churchs part, while at the same time suggesting
that the church serves society indirectly by help-
ing individuals who are in need.23
However, the church also proclaims and encourages
in its sermons intentionally about this indirect care and
concern for others. Therefore we may call it still indirect,
yet intentional in influence and focus, just as the preacher
becomes explicit in reminding his members that good
works are necessary in their everyday lives and that Gods
law in its third use provides a helpful reminder.24
However, can we go beyond this realm of vocational
service and ask the question of whether the church should
also engage in a communal, intentional, and direct way of
addressing its love? We have examples of such communal
concerns in Acts 6:17 where the apostles select deacons
to relieve them from the task of helping the Hellenist
widows so that they could devote themselves to their
main task of preaching. The point is that the church can
become a social organization to help those in need. In 2
Corinthians 8 we see that there was not just a readiness
but an actual display of such love among the churches of
Macedonia.
Some may posit that the church should do so commu-
nally by addressing foremost the needs of its members.
But would there also be communal obligation to those
outside of the church? Some would argue that this should
be done only rarely and left under ordinary circumstance
23 Ibid., 15.
24 Ap IV, 189 (Kolb-Wengert, 150): Good works are to be done because
God requires them; ought to follow faith as thanksgiving and is
shown to others, in order that others may be invited to godliness by
our confession; FC Ep IV, 18 (Kolb-Wengert, 499): It is necessary to
exhort people to Christian discipline and good works, and to remind
them how necessary it is that they exercise themselves in good works
as an evidence of their faith and their gratitude toward God, as it is to
warn against mingling good works in the article of justification.
to the vocational, unintentional deeds of individual
believers. Thus, as often as emergencies occur, such as
Hurricane Katrina or earthquakes, the church corporately
steps to the plate. In such cases where the church steps
corporately into places of need, it competes with many
other secular, private, or public agencies. But in contrast,
churches take man for who he is, holistically provid-
ing both food for his soul and his body and her mercy
extended underscores the gospel and love of Christ.25
There is of course the theological and ecclesiological
argument that the synod as such assumes corporately the
task of missions given the fact that the Lords mandate to
do so is given to the church after the death of the apostles.
The consequence and implications of that is reflected by
the founding father of the synod himself, C. F. W. Walther:
As certain as the church is first gathered outwardly
by baptism, thus swearing allegiance to the banner
of Christ, and placing herself in his service as
certain as the church has the keys of the kingdom of
heaven and the priesthood for the whole world
as certain as she is the spiritual mother of all believ-
ers, the leaven of the world and Gods wheat seed
as certain, finally, as the church is a fellowship
of love whose true members have ever born the re-
sponsibility for the conversion of the lost world, so
certain it is that the Christian church itself is the
true mission society, instituted by God Himself.26
On behalf of its congregations, the Synod takes on the
missionary task corporately for the conversion of the lost
world. Though that task has customarily been thought
of as international, there is no logical argument that it
should not also oblige the church to do so nationally in
the lost world of our inner cities. At this point, of course,
it would require a reappraisal and restructuring of the
current mission paradigm where short-term volunteers of
local congregations prefer to engage in overseas projects
rather than the mission field here at home. Adjustments
made here would bode well for the situation in the
United States.
While the overall goal for mission to the city is in
Walthers words the conversion of the lost world, there
25Though much is said about helping those in need, Robert Lupton, in
his book Toxic Charity, does not promote evangelistic activity or any
connection of such work to the church. Robert Lupton, Toxic Charity
(New York: Harper Collins, 2011).
26C.F.W. Walther, The Mission society established by God, Mission
sermon on Isaiah 43:21, in The Word of His Grace: Occasional and
Festival Sermons (Lake Mills: Graphic Publishing, 1978), 23.
Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
is no single way of describing the tasks leading towards
the goal, especially the human care side that would assist
the proclamatory and sacramental character of our mis-
sion. The CTCR from February 1999 seeks to differentiate
the tasks of mercy depending on the particular, local
challenges:
There is no single way in which the church must
organize to assist its members in showing human
care. Accordingly, there is no prescribed manner in
which the church must organize today. The struc-
tures employed for the work of human care thus
differ from the office of the pastoral ministry 27
Examples of such work differentiated from the pasto-
ral work can be manifold:
1. A parish nurse program that keeps tabs on the mem-
bers health care needs.
2. A day care center program for preschool children.
3. A food pantry for people unable to secure their own or
family meals or that have only limited resources to do so.
4. A low-income housing project.
5. Serving God at the (local) homeless shelter.
6. Allocating the congregational budget for LCMS mercy
work.
And yet, all the above tasks have in common that the
faith of the church becomes active in love, extending the
love of Christ to others outside of the word and sacrament
worshipping community.
The Florescence of the Church
The Synods obligation to address the inner city situation
comes from its own logo. It represents the classical acts
of diakonia, (leitourgia), martyria and koinonia, which to
me suggests a corporate commitment to these activities as
they take root at the local level through or near a congre-
gation. Thus, the Synod together with all its congregations
wants a congregation to become
1. An active service of mercy to others diakonia.
2. A worshipping sanctuary that offers word and sacra-
ment as Gods life-giving word leitourgia. People
gather to sing and pray and break Gods bread as once
the first congregation in Jerusalem did (Acts 2:4042).
27 Ibid., 28.
45
3. A fellowship that cares for one another and carries each
others burdens (Gal 6:10) koinonia.
4. A congregation that is evangelistic martyria and
carries the life-changing message to this world.
These four classical activities do not tell everything of
a church, but they do highlight her existence in view of
our co-humanity and how she can shape it in her life.28
Today, martyria in particular needs an intentional
focus and a fine tuning at that. In the words of Lesslie
Newbigin, a former missionary and bishop to India,
martyria would have to seek an intentional missionary
encounter with the prevailing culture and nothing less.
That missionary encounter embraces three fundamental
convictions: First, the churchs beliefs are shared with the
cultural community, challenging the reigning idolatrous
assumptions of the world. Hermeneutically, the prevalent
culture must be understood and encountered in light of
the Bible rather than allowing the Bible to be absorbed
into the formative religious assumptions of the culture.
Only in this way will our message challenge prevalent
views at their roots.
Second, the church will offer the gospel as a credible
alternative way of life to that of the culture. For that to
happen, the church must also embody a life as Gods chil-
dren. And it should be made unmistakably clear that God
has come in Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. It
is about the gospel and the center of it is the cross. The
death of Christ is a universal event, valid for all people,
non-discriminatory, and non-racial. Thus, the missionary
encounter, if genuine, will embrace people of all back-
grounds and societal standing.
Finally, there will be a call for radical conversion, an
invitation to understand and live in the world in light
of the gospel. The witness of the church through word
and sacrament and the witness of its members call all
inhabitants of the dominant culture to conversion to the
different way of life in the church that the gospel offers.
In Newbigins mind, the church has too often learned to
coexist peacefully with the culture around it.29
In the end, the Synods mission is all about the gospel.
To sharpen the focus and edge on others, I recall Reporter
(June 2011) once stating provocatively that it is not only
about the unchurched but the unsaved.30
28 Schulz, Mission, 236237.
29Michael W. Cohen, Liberating the Gospel from Its Modern Cage:
An Interpretation of Lesslie Newbigins Gospel and Modern Culture
Project, Missionalia 30, no. 3 (2002): 360375.
30 LCMS Reporter (June 2011), 2.
46 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
The Global Impact of Inner City Mission
We have to take one final dimension of inner city mis-
sion into account which could almost qualify as a
welcome by-product. The inner city outreach will have
a huge worldwide impact when certain immigrants,
non-Christian people, are reached. The author of a recent
journal article entitled, Reaching the Nations through
Our Cities envisions a global dimension with the inner
city mission work in the United States. He describes the
situation as follows:
Most church and mission organization paradigms
in America have not adjusted to the reality that
the frontier of reaching unreached peoples is not
necessarily geographically distant but is sometimes
available through relational networks in their own
homeland through influential immigrantsWith
the world becoming deeply urban and connected,
the pioneer missionary of the twenty-first century
will look much different from previous centuries.
They will focus on reaching busy, hidden, influen-
tial unreached peoples who have migrated to cities
and will spread the gospel through these migrants
networks throughout the world.31
The work among immigrant people groups in the
inner city will create diaspora groups who will continue
to have ties with their ethnic group back home. That then
has value for missions overseas. Unfortunately, church
members are largely still willing to spend billions of
dollars for their own short-term trips to foreign lands, for-
getting that in our inner cities potential missionaries are
living right here at their doorsteps. To reach such people
we need to raise our own cross-cultural missionaries. As
said, these missionaries will often feel isolated from their
own church or organization which seems indifferent to
their work in inner cities or is critical of it because they
still imagine missionaries to be engaged in overseas mis-
sion work:
As a result, if laborers are going to increase among
the unreached in America, structures and plat-
forms within mission organizations and churches
need to support and facilitate the work among the
unreached.32
31Chris Clayman, Reaching the Nations through our cities, Great
Commission Research Journal, 6, no. 1 (Summer 2016), 621. Therein
page 9.
32 Ibid., 13.
Conclusion
Most LCMS congregations and their members have an
honest desire to help a hurting world, and yet Cook is
correct when it comes to stepping to the plate:
[I]t can become confusing and intimidating when
we are challenged to make a difference in the face of
such overwhelming needs. Just as a doctor first de-
termines a patients problem in order to prescribe a
helpful course of treatment, the Church must also
learn to diagnose social needs to determine the ap-
propriate response.33

We are certain and convinced that the spiritual needs

are common for all humans equally, and yet the challenge
to address those spiritual needs through an appropriate
ministry and worship life for a particular context, espe-
cially the inner city, is a persistent one. To that end, may
the Lord grant His church insight and fortitude, and may
He guide and bless her in that service.

The Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz is dean of Graduate

Studies, director of the Ph.D. in Missiology Program, and
professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia
Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

33 Ibid., 7.

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 47

 The Christian confused by the
current landscape will find in
this book trustworthy counsel
Book Review and Commentary and steady, solid exposition
Has American Christianity Failed? of the word of God given in
by Bryan Wolfmueller (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2016) Scripture.

by Warren Graff

T he author has provided a helpful and needed

resource for an examination of current American
Christianity. Do we know the right diagnostic questions
and problems in the church far past areas covered in
this book. As he points out concerning the four afore-
mentioned isms, these characteristics describe the
to ask? Scanning the theological landscape around us theological landscape of American Christianity. They
Joel Osteen and his promises of prosperity, Calvary shape the hearts and minds of Americas Christians.
Chapel preaching end-times, former Lutherans being How consequential is a familiarity with these isms?
re-baptized, solid Lutheran college students being In an enlightening vignette, the reader gets to hear
invited to so-called non-denominational campus Bible Wolfmueller interviewing a famous leader in contempo-
studies, etc. do we know how to rightly discern what rary worship. When Chris Tomlin says that the role of
is going on and what might be the the worship leader is to bring people
dangers? into the presence of God, Wolfmueller
Has American Christianity Failed? Its not just is able to then ask, How do you know
helps set the compass in front of our when youve arrived in the presence
eyes. The book intends to awaken
about diagnosing of God? (17). Tomlins answer to that
our theological awareness and, in what is going simple question allows the reader to
view of the problems, inconsistencies, wrong around see what mysticism looks like when the
and outright false doctrines we see rubber hits the road of actual experi-
around us, to offer a beautiful alterna- us. Its also about ence. In a few pages, the reader is given a
tive. Theres a lot of land to cover, but diagnosing what clear grasp of the problems brought into
Wolfmueller, with obvious familiarity the church by these isms. From there, it
is going wrong
with the terms and clichs of modern is a natural extension to hear revivalism
American religiosity, is able to bring in us. or pietism or mysticism or enthusiasm
the reader on a straight path through being intermingled with Christian doc-
the confusion. trine and to rightly diagnose what is going wrong.
What are revivalism, pietism, mysticism, enthusi- But its not just about diagnosing what is going wrong
asm (i.e., theological enthusiasm, not the enthusiasm around us. Its also about diagnosing what is going wrong
we all enjoy of jumping up and down at the basketball in us: The only way the death of Jesus makes sense is if
game)? A book could be written about each of these, we are broken beyond repair (58). Is our sin a tendency
but Wolfmueller succeeds in giving a succinct, clear we need to deal with so that we can improve? Do we have
understanding, and this is an understanding that will a spark of good preserved in us after the fall? The ques-
aid the Christian in diagnosing problems of doctrine tion is critical. It will determine whether the preaching

48 Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod

we need to hear concerns improvement and methods for for him, and where he might find that word unadulterated
making a decision for Christ, or if it must concern some- by false righteousness or spirituality all of these will
thing quite different. The something find in this book trustworthy counsel
different is, of course, the preaching of and steady, solid exposition of the word
Christ crucified Christ as pure gift. of God given to us in Scripture.
But this brings up an often forgotten
It is the creeds As a final note, the helpful appen-
distinction concerning free will. If we and confessions dix in the back of the book must be
are not saved by an exercise of our will of the church mentioned. Here the reader is given a
(I have made a decision for Christ), concise breakdown of each of the doc-
then is there any such thing as free will?
where the uments in the Book of Concord the
In a concise survey of the question, Christian may creeds (the Apostles, the Nicene, the
Wolfmueller demonstrates the free will find his or her Athanasian), the Augsburg Confession,
we do, indeed, have (i.e., in the deci- The Apology of the Augsburg
sions of my daily life Who should footing. Confession, The Smalcald Articles, The
I marry? What color socks should I Power and Primacy of the Pope, The
wear?) and, on the other hand, the will Small Catechism, The Large Catechism,
of God, which is for us to look at the cross: On the cross, and The Formula of Concord. For the reader, this is a
the depth of your sin is matched with the height of His most helpful reminder or a most helpful primer for
love. On the cross, your wickedness is revealed, and for- the reader not yet familiar with the confessions of the
given (71). Lutheran Church of the documents by which the
Wolfmueller has demonstrated an impressively church confesses her doctrine and faith. And in a time of
expansive view of the landscape of modern American rampant revivalism, pietism, mysticism, and enthusiasm
Christianity and provided a valuable resource to help the attacking every corner of the church, it is the creeds and
reader to rightly discern the sometimes confusing, some- confessions of the church where the Christian may find
times conflicting, teachings and methodologies driving his or her footing on the solid ground of our Lords doc-
much of what we see around us. But he does all this with trine of salvation.
the heart of a pastor who has not only been familiar him-
self with the theological wilderness (8), but who also,
The Rev. Warren Graff is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church,
being surprised by the gospel (232), is able to rejoice in
Albuquerque, N.M.
bringing the gift of the gospel, the forgiveness of sins, to
hearts living in despair or fear. And to bring the gift of
that gospel with the confidence that Jesus does forgive
sins and in the church He is comforting the conscience
and calling us to be His own.
The Christian confused by the current landscape; the
young man tempted to listen in on prosperity preaching,
hoping to find there some promise of success; the young
woman preparing to go to college, wanting to know what
to expect from the non-denominational Bible study
groups; the parents striving to understand the allure
of contemporary worship; the woman trying to dis-
cern Gods will for her life and wondering what signs
she should look for from God; the husband trying to
find deeper spiritual feelings; and, most importantly, the
sinner wondering if God has a word of mercy and grace

Journal of Lutheran Mission | The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod 49