The Missouri Synod has a percieved lack of unity among its 6000+ congregations. Those looking at us from the outside would probably view us as lock-step in agreement. And, as our Synod President has pointed out time and time again, we are in total agreement about the major doctrines of the Faith. But one of the greater reflections of this disunity is the so called, "Worship Wars" that have been going on for close to 30 years. Dr. Andrew Bartlelt of Concordia Seminary recently wrote an article about the new Missal the Roman Catholic Church is introducing in the coming months. Click here to read his article.
I fully agree with his point that "the worship in any part of the Church is the worship of the Church, not just the local congregation." We are all one body in Christ. While moment in time and culture and context creates diverse expressions of worship - and thats okay and actually good right and salutary. Yet there should be an inherent order in worship recognizable by Christians in all places. In other words, Christian worship of the one True God by Christians should generally look and sound and feel at least somewhat familiar. Congregations are not merely "independent cowboys" doing whatever they want. Each congregation is also part of the trans-congregational church - accountable to one another in matters of doctrine and practice.
What do you think?
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