Volume I, No 2 Syndouloi November 1999

As mid-November approaches and students scramble to fill out their schedules for next semester, Syndouloi would like to offer some help to Pre-Sem students. Many of your classes have probably already been decided for you, however, the Pre-Sem program does include some room for electives. After consulting with various professors and students, Syndouloi would like to offer the following suggestions for Pre-Sem electives. The following list is by no means all-inclusive but it should serve a resource for you both next semester and for the ones to come.

Theology: Any of these electives would help you in your studies but the interpretation (241-252) and doctrine (361-362) classes are especially good. Also check out 375-Cults and Denominations.

Psychology: Again, many of these classes fit the Pre-Sem program well, especially Psy-101 and 442 Intro to Counseling.

Languages: Latin is especially useful for studying the Lutheran and Ancient Fathers, and in today’s society Spanish will be a necessity in almost every area of this nation.

Other: There are many other classes that would be a great addition to your program, look around, talk to your advisor, and think about these: SS-232 Global Issues, Justice, and the Christian; ChMu-313 Christian Hymnody; Educ-201 Intro. to Education; Educ-300 Outdoor Christian Education.

Stay in Prayer (Read Mat. 7:7-12; LC, III.1-3, Tappert p.420)

As Lutherans we stress the paramount importance of God’s objective and promised means of grace: his Word preached and read, and his holy Sacraments. While these are the only vehicles through which we are able to gain the greatest gift of all, the forgiveness of our sins for the sake of Christ, there is another aspect of our faith which can not be overlooked: prayer.

Prayer is so very important to our lives as Christians because it is the direct line of communication between us and God. God comes to us through his Word and Sacrament, but we must communicate to him also, that is, we must pray.

Besides the necessity of staying in touch with God, we have God’s firm promises concerning prayer. The text for this devotion and its parallels make it very clear: if we pray in Jesus’ name, we will receive whatever we ask for. That is a powerful promise and one which we should delight in and ask God to fulfill in our lives.

Luther sums up both the necessity and the Gospel benefits of prayer in his Large Catechism, “Nothing is so necessary as to call upon God incessantly and drum into his ears our prayer that he may give, preserve, and increase in us faith and obedience to the Ten Commandments and remove all that stands in our way and hinders us from fulfilling them.” God is listening and waiting to bless us through our prayers, shall we turn down an offer like that?

In last month’s Syndouloi, this space was dedicated to a brief discussion of the definition of “liturgy” in regard to the worship wars. I suggested that since “liturgy” is given different definitions by each side in the continuing argument about worship, we should, for the time being, drop the term “liturgy” from the discussion and first see if we can come to a mutual conclusion about what is essential to Christian worship. In absence of a reply to last month’s editorial, this month I will elaborate on what I think is essential to Christian worship.

Admittedly the New Testament does not give us the clear instructions regarding the form of worship which the Old Testament gave to the ancient Hebrews. The freedom we have in Christ is stressed strongly by Paul in Col. 2 and Rom. 14. That being said, the New Testament also suggests that there were certainly practices which the apostles declared normative for all the churches (I Cor 7:17; 14:33). With this in mind, how can our practice of worship stress both this freedom in Christ and yet be in line with the overall usage and practice of the New Testament?

A good place to start our search is the Book of Concord, both the Augsburg Confession and Formula of Concord. The Augsburg Confession’s twenty-fourth article, titled The Mass, states, “no conspicuous changes have been made in the public ceremonies.” This conservative nature of Lutheran worship can still be seen today. Simply attend a Roman Catholic Mass, aside from things clearly unscriptural (prayers to saints, Epiclesis) the two masses are indistinguishable. Further the Formula of Concord Epitome article X says, “ceremonies. . .which are neither commanded nor forbidden. . .are in and for themselves no divine worship or even a part of it.” This obviously implies that there are certain things which are divine worship. What are these things which make up divine worship?

I propose that we can find these components by looking at what has been included in the worship of Christians from the very beginning and have been handed down to us unchanged from the early church through the Reformation and to our church orders today. When we look at the worship of the Church over its whole history we see seven things that are always included in Christian worship, each of which is drawn straight from Scripture, our only norm for faith and life, they are: Trinitarian invocation which calls us to our Baptism, Confession and Absolution, readings from Scripture (at least a Gospel lesson), an orthodox confession of faith like the Nicene Creed, the Lord’s Prayer which encompasses and leads to all praise and petition, the Lord’s Supper, and the Blessing. I contend that these seven things, drawn from Scripture and continual usage by Christians of all times are what make up divine worship.

In today’s contentious atmosphere definitions are the first and most necessary step toward a good discussion about what is best for the worship of the Church of God. Now that we have some proposed definitions, what do you think? Is this how divine worship should be defined? What should Christian worship look like? These are the questions that our generation of pastors will be asked to answer, now might be a good time to get started on a response. The editor humbly awaits your thoughts. . . .

· Syndouloi is still looking to expand its authorship. If you have a book review, devotion, story, opinion, prayer request, or anything else that you think would be a good addition to this publication, please send it to the editor, Heath Curtis, in campus mail.

One issue that Syndouloi would especially like to cover is Bible translations. Which translations are good translations? What makes for a good translation? How do different translations affect our theology? What about God’s Word, a recent Lutheran effort into the wide range of available translations? These and other issues would be worthy to explore and would be sure to find a space in Syndouloi, so please get your thoughts to the editor soon.

· The Pre-Sem Club has three officers, an editor of this publication, and a sponsor, all of whom are there to serve you. Here is their information if you need to contact them: President, Bert Mueller, 8665; Vice President, Dan Wing, 8530; Secretary/Treasurer Chris Ahlman, 8631; Editor, Heath Curtis, 8505; Sponsor, Prof. Block, 7442

· The November and December meetings are all scheduled at the regular time and place: 9pm Wednesday nights in the Dorcas Chapel. These one-hour meetings usually consist of free pop and cookies, a speaker or Bible study, and prayer. If you, or someone you know, would like to lead one of our weekly meetings please contact Bert or Dan.

Something to Ponder

Around 1415 Thomas of Kempis wrote a devotional book called The Imitation of Christ. It has been estimated that, aside from the Bible, this is the book most widely read by Christians of all times. It might be a good addition to your devotional life. (Page 32-34 of the 1955 Doubleday edition)

“Every man by nature desires to know, but of what avail is knowledge without the fear of God? A humble farm laborer who serves God is more acceptable to Him than an inquisitive philosopher who, considering the constellations of heaven, willfully forgets himself. If I knew all things in this world, but knew without charity, what would it avail me before God, who judges every man according to his deeds?

Those who have great learning desire generally to seem to be accounted wise in the world. But there are many things whose knowledge brings but little profit and little fruit to the soul; he is most unwise who gives heed to any other thing except what will profit him to the health of his soul. [Idle talk] does not feed the soul, but a good life refreshes the mind, and a clean conscience brings a man to a firm and stable trust in God. The more knowledge you have, the more grievously will you be judged for its misuse, if you do not live according to it. Therefore, do not life yourself up into pride, for it is certain that, hereafter, you must yield a stricter accounting.