A Little Kick in the Pants from Captain Kirk: What DO We Believe, Anyway??

I'm always startled to hear "Lutherans" mentioned in pop media because, other than one exciting assembly week every two years when we are caught talking about sex in public, we are such a relatively quiet bunch. But last week my friend, "Pastor Brad" (some of my best friends are pastors, you betcha!), posted a clip from the popular TV series Boston Legal on his blog. I have a hard time watching this series because William Shatner will always and forever be Captain Kirk to me. But in this clip his BL character comes out as a...Lutheran! And then proceeds to wrestle with some pretty serious questions like "What do I believe?" and "Who am I?"

"What denomination are you, Denny?"

"I, um...I'm Lutheran!"

"And what do Lutherans believe, Denny?"

"Why, Lutherans believe in a great many things. Mostly we believe in...uh...Luther."

The truth is: Unless you're sunk deep into the world of the Christian right, you most likely don't know what you believe. At least not in any sort of coherent way that you could share with somebody else...even if you felt compelled to do so. This is the case, even, for a lot of mainline pastors these days.

Why is this?

A lot of reasons probably. Here are the first three that come to mind for me:

1. In Christendom, we didn't have to explain what we believed to people who didn't because everybody did (or at least pretended to). Those of us who are mainline pastor-types have all been trained for ministry in Christendom. And many of the rest of us (in congregations, seminaries, judicatories, and denominations) act like that is still our reality. In other words, we've never bothered trying to explain what we believe to somebody who doesn't know what we're talking about. And that is why a) we've never really worked out exactly what we believe and b) our little faith communities keep getting littler.

2. Our theologians are too smart for their own damn good (and for ours). For the most part, scholars within the mainline and progressive churches are just talking to themselves because none of the rest of us can understand what in the hell they're saying. So when it comes to helping us figure out what we believe and how to share it with others, they're no help at all.

3. Pride. If we dared to ask the question "what do I believe?," we might have to admit "I'm not exactly sure." It's easier to blow off the question with answers like, "It's too complicated for you to understand." I've heard Lutheran pastors actually SAY, "The reason our churches are dying is because most people don't want to have to think." In other words, we're just so much SMARTER than everybody else. Our theology is just too DEEP for regular folks. Give me a break. Underneath all that blustery arrogance is a fear of being found out. If we really knew what we believe, we could say it in a way that makes sense to anybody. [And don't pull out the postmodern excuse on me, either, as if "it's all about the questions." Our answer to the question "What do you believe?" needs to make ROOM for questions...but there still has to be an ANSWER in there somewhere.]

Reclaiming the F word in mainline and progressive churches means being able to answer the question "What do you believe?" simply and clearly enough that anybody could understand what we're talking about, and with enough passion and confidence that people might actually care.

And that probably begins with admitting that we haven't been very good at doing either.

Captain Kirk gives us a little kick in that direction.

Click here to visit Brad's blog and watch the clip. Even if you're not a Lutheran, you'll laugh. And some of you, if you dare to recognize yourself (and/or your parishioners), will probably cry.

Comments

[Rev. Lovett]

It's unfortunate that this question is ever actually posed. There are certainly aspects of the faith that are more complex than others (like the hypostatic union), but the answer any Lutheran (or any other Christian) should give is so simple that a child knows it.
"I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
"And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell; the thrid day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."

I take the time to spell the whole thing out for those of you who have lost the F word. What do I believe? If you're asking this question you've ceased to listen to the Son who forgives your sins and gives you His life.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm all in favor of not over-complicating things. In fact, I'm like the queen of bullet-points when it comes to all things theological. On the other hand, even Martin Luther had to ask about the words you've repeated above: "What does this mean?!"