Learning German . . . Again!

I began learning basic German seven years ago during my first year of Ph.D. (Missiology) studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. For myriad reasons--the trajectory of my studies, family commitments, the call to the parish, lack of discipline, etc.--I totally dropped the ball.

Now I'm starting over again.

I'm starting over again because the original focus of my dissertation research totally changed when it became clear that I would not have access to the necessary primary sources. Over the course of time, perhaps especially since I took a call to the parish, my focus has both narrowed...and broadened.

Focus Broadens

As a parish pastor I have come to see the necessity of developing a consciously evangelistic ethos among the people. In my writing and teaching I have defined the vogue term "missional" (in the personal sense) as being "concerned that your neighbor regularly hear the Gospel preached in its truth and purity." Thus, in a sense, my dissertation focus has broadened in that I see the parish as the locus of evangelism. In the parish Christ-crucified (1 Cor 1) is proclaimed day-in and day-out in the worship and catechetical life of the congregation, and God's people proceed forth serving their neighbors in their various vocations and giving an answer for the hope that is in them (1 Pet 3) as the Lord provides opportunity.

Focus Narrows

In seeing the parish as the locus of evangelism I have come to see how deeply I have been molded by my parish experience and how truly insightful was Rev. Wilhelm Loehe, the pastor responsible for the missionary settlement of my home town, Frankenmuth, Michigan. In the mid-1800s Loehe (the pastor of a small Bavarian village called Neuendetteslau) set in motion some of the great "mission experiements" in Church history. In the interest of spreading the Gospel he planned not to send just a missionary or two, but a living, breathing missionary community. Frankenmuth, for one example, was not settled by a missionary but by a missional pastor and missional laypeople. They didn't just send a missionary, they sent husbands and wives and their children; they sent butchers and bakers and farmers to settle a Christian community and bear witness to the Native Americans in the then frontier territory of Michigan.

I know that some evangelical-types are trying this, even in the United States, but the progenitor of this type of thing--as I understand--was Loehe, and no one, to my knowledge, is using the mission-colony concept with anything like Loehe's ecclesial-sacramental vision. I want to investigate whether a thoroughly Lutheran mission-colony concept can't be revived in the 21st century. (Incidentally, I had a great conversation about this with one of my "ecclesiastical supervisors" from the West Coast. He was v-e-r-y interested in the project, which gave me great encouragement.)

Now, the people of what became known as The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod eventually came to theological odds with Loehe, and a sad separation resulted. Even so, I contend that there is a great deal to learn from him. Unfortunatley, very little of Loehe's voluminous writing is translated into English. Much of the missiology, as I understand, is "embedded" in Loehe's correspondence. Thus, I am belatedly returning to learning German, that I may have access to the minds of Loehe and his contemporaries and participate, possibly, in the revival of a truly confessional Lutheran missiology.

Language learning is a tough sled for me. Please pray for my patience and discipline!

Yours in Christ,
Lance_+