Letters to the editor


‘Spiritual nomads’ still sparking debate Home visits still ring true, but not ending of article on Mary


SEPTEMBER 2012 www.thelutheran.org $2.50


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Forming faith


Technology, time change old models


Story 20, study guide 26


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Youth Gathering focus on faith 14


Wangerin: 2 essays before elections 28


Ranch touches lives 30


(I)f all we preach is classical liberal Christianity as expressed in the 20th century, many youth will fi nd that to be ‘done already’ and just go to Starbucks.


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The challenge issued in “Spiritual nomads” (August, page 20) is if all we preach is classical liberal Christian- ity as expressed in the 20th century, many youth will find that to be “done already” and just go to Starbucks. We need to be more theologically specific in worship, preaching, teaching and ministry about what it means to be a progressive yet liturgical Christianity. I love the phrase “sacramental politics of baptism and the Lord’s Supper that run deeper than today’s conservative hypocritical legalism and liberal thera-


peutic niceness.” The Rev. Dale Truscott Orlando, Fla.


Watch it I much appreciated The Lutheran tack- ling the issue of “Spiritual nomads.” However, I was troubled by the repeated digs at our evangelical broth- ers and sisters. Using words such as legalistic, hypocritical and judgmental and saying that “conservatives were driving young adults out of religion” is unbecoming and unhelpful. If young adults were merely fleeing the religious right, then the mainline (religious left) should be doing fine. It is doing worse. In the face of an aggressively secular culture, we should affirm Christian diversity in seeking to reach precious,


if perplexing, nomads. The Rev. Chris Brekke West Concord, Minn.


Mortal blow “Spiritual nomads.” An apt title for a group we left rootless when the Ameri- can Lutheran Church (an ELCA prede- cessor body) abandoned its confession of the sanctity of Scripture. The dismal future of the church is most telling in the editor’s comment that while it takes an average weekly worship attendance of 125 for a church to offer programs associated with a viable congregation, about 60 percent of ELCA congrega- tions worship 100 or fewer. Over half of the ELCA congregations are dying. The forfeiture of Scripture as the final authority, replacing it with what is politically correct, was a mortal blow


to a once significant church. James Kallas


Thousand Oaks, Calif.


Confused & offended I was confused and offended by your use of “worship” in your editorial (August, page 4) when you wrote about


48 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


congregations that “worship 50 or fewer on Sunday ….” Do true Luther- ans still worship the triune God—and not statistics? Or has that changed since the ELCA tries to attract “spiri-


tual nomads?” Richard Kaeske Deerfield, Ill.


Face the challenge


Thank you for the best issue yet (August) of The Lutheran. I particularly appreciated the “My view” (page 49) on missing opportunities to personally con- nect with people. Unfortunately, many pastors have capitulated and resort to Facebook, texting, Twitter and com- puter obsession that sidesteps impor- tant interpersonal relationships. Rather than giving up and doing chaplaincy for declining numbers, we need to be inno- vative and creative in finding ways to fulfill the Great Commission. The chal- lenges we face are certainly no greater than those faced in the first century as


described in the book of Acts. The Rev. Lester Hoffmann Phoenix, Ariz.


Send an invitation When I read about a 67-year-old life- long church member who’d never had a pastor in his home, a simple thought occurred to me. Did he ever invite a pastor into his home? This could be another example of “pastor is supposed to know everything” without clear communication from the other side of the pew. Most pastors I know show up where they know they’re wanted or needed. Maybe parishioners are forfeiting opportunities, too, in never


inviting a pastor into their homes. The Rev. Scott Adams Green Bay, Wis.


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