2002 Hein-Fry Lecture Series

Death of Church, faith exaggerated,
Harvard scholar tells Seminary audience

For decades, books, articles and news stories have chronicled the death of the church and the rise of "secularism." But well before September 11, and especially since, evidence sharply to the contrary has been rolling in.

"We are innately religious beings, and if a satisfying religious experience isn't provided by the church, then people will look to other sources," the Rev. Dr. Peter Gomes told a Seminary audience February 19. Gomes, a highly regarded teacher of preaching at Harvard Divinity School and Chaplain of the Memorial Church at Harvard, was the 2002 Hein-Fry Lecture Series keynoter at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Gomes's riveting presentations lasted 2 ½ hours and were marked by evocative use of lively language, passion and humor.

Gomes said that behind the rise in new religious dimensions is exhaustion by the populace with many aspects of modernity, which have posed as substitutes for religion. "We're not in the middle of a revival, but in a period of discovery," Gomes said. "People are recovering a memory of something they once knew. The task we have as church leaders is to keep up with our people and find out where they are going so we can lead them there!"

Gomes said that today's clergy and other church teachers and leaders are in a "teachable moment, a time and place where people are beginning to ask afresh the old questions." Those questions include, "Who am I? Why did God make me? What should I do with my life?" He said the questions arise during a time when people realize they are making more money sometimes, but are not better off, and when they recognize that making a better living doesn't lead to a better life. "When people see the twin towers of Babel destroyed before their eyes, they begin to ask these questions all over again, and we had better be prepared to answer their questions," Gomes told the Seminary community.

Gomes said the death of "secularism" may not be evident to many church leaders because many congregations and denominations are in decline. For example, such leaders may see the "empty cradle" in places where the Christian faith has held historic importance -- in Germany, France and throughout Western Europe where church attendance is often poor when compared to Third World attendance. But, he said, church leaders frequently confuse the death of Christendom, denominational decline and sagging activity in some congregations with the death of faith and faith in Jesus Christ. He said the two are not the same. Indeed, the post-September 11 spiritual climate has made it clear the Church "still has the power to draw people to it."

Gomes's remarks were part of a lecture entitled "Death of a Paradigm." For the series at the Seminary, Gomes delivered a second lecture entitled, "A Matter of Trust." And he preached at an morning chapel service.

Other Gomes remark highlights included:

• "We (church leaders) have the spiritual hot milk that people are looking for, but churches sometimes make faith a cumbersome thing. The church is an outpost for the life of the world to come."
• "Once I thought it was important to be able to explain things to people. Later on I thought I should apologize for what I don't know. Now I don't explain or apologize. I help people to celebrate the holy mysteries of life. I tell them they can't understand them and it really won't make a difference if they do. Being religious doesn't mean understanding everything. I help people understand that the story of faith is not dead and ancient. I work to make religion credible My job is to get people from this world to the next."
• An example of the humor of Peter Gomes: In remarking on how some feel the techniques for preaching and teaching of faith should be made more interactive, Gomes quipped, "I have always thought that interactive means I do the talking and you listen!"
• "Church leaders ought not to lose their nerve and wonder if they are custodians of the faith. Leaders need not to be in the center of things but at the edges and margins of life. They must not confuse the City of Man with the City of God, and they must not lose their ability to imagine what the City of God is like. It is important that they continue to imagine a world where things are more possible than they are now. What resources and opportunities are available to you?" He maintained that for people of faith, "our best days are ahead."
• Substantive and longer sermons with grabby titles are more important than ever. "People used to be more serious about faith activities like prayers and studying the Bible at home. Those activities are gone from the normal routine. One dose on Sunday morning is all the Bible many people receive." He said that limiting people's spiritual formation and knowledge of the Bible to a 10 to 12-minute sermon each week "is a pretty thin time."
• Trust is a key word for professional church leaders in preaching. He advised listeners to trust the text of scripture they are preaching on and to know each time they contemplate a particular text something new may come to light. Preachers need to trust their congregation and recognize that people want their leaders to succeed. Preachers need to trust the Holy Spirit to make their job more doable. "The Holy Spirit is interested in maintaining the power of the Word."
• Preachers need to "trust yourself and who put you here. God trusts you, so you surely must trust yourself. You have been clothed in righteousness and that makes you somebody else, something that makes you worthy of self-confidence. You must believe that nothing, even your own inadequacies, can deprive you of the ability to pronounce the Word."
• In a sermon focused on the 18^th Chapter of the Book of Matthew, Gomes focused on a reference to "stumbling block" in the Scripture, reminding his audience not to "block the light" or intrude into the path of others on the road of faith. He also discussed the parable of the shepherd and the lost sheep, focusing on how the shepherd rejoices at finding the one lost even though he has 99 others who never left the fold. He reminded listeners that God is like the shepherd in the story. As the shepherd "did not rest" until the lost sheep was found and then rejoiced with the discovery, so it is true that "we will be pursued by God until we are found. That is true about you and it is true about me," he said.

The Hein-Fry Lecture Series at the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is designed to trigger discussion on thought-provoking church issues.

Co-presenter with Gomes this year is Dr. Barbara Lundblad, Associate Professor of Preaching at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. The overall theme for the series this year is "Biblical Preaching in Babel: Preaching in a Post-Christian World."