True Humility
"True humility recognizes its authority and its office: a mother who does not discipline her child is not being humble, rather she is denying her God-given office. She has a low view of her office. Either she is usurping the God-given office with her own presumed authority or is denying the office because she is afraid of its consequences."
This has practical applications. Further building on C S Lewis' thoughts on ceremony and Gerhard's thoughts on change, in the office of Pastor and as parishioners, both, we should be resistant to liturgical change for the sake of change. We should resist "novelty" in worship - this includes creative liturgical formulations, treating liturgical elements as a "grab bag" for a disposable order of worship, and picking and choosing rubrics based on personal opinion. We should speak of Christ as He speaks and as others speak of him, which is not always winsome. We should challenge the assumption that screens in the sanctuary add value. We should challenge the false idea of "online worship." As the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, we should challenge our functional view of the ministry when it creates innovations not known to the church catholic prior to 1899.
Instead, true humility dictates that we own our office, take a high view of it and execute it in the manner God prescribes in Scripture.
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