"The early 19th-century Awakening in Germany produced a piety that was a revived form of 17th and 18th century Pietism. Many of the characteristics of those earlier forms were perpetuated in the various groups of "Old Lutherans." That designation was the preferred one among those who later learned to identify themselves with Missouri, the state where Walther had his home base and led their prime seminary.""The context for development of a refreshened Pietistic style was the experience of immigration. Within the past century and a half, exciting Lutheran outreach and growth in this country has been most apparent among Lutheran immigrants and their children through several generations. It offered a church-life combination that met a strong felt need among those who first settled in the new country. It did so even among their grandchildren and great grandchildren as they migrated into the cities in the first part of this century and went to the suburbs after World War II. This style emphasized the reassurance of basic identify and familiar community for people under circumstances where they were unsure of themselves."
..."Caution and conservative were generally the hallmarks of those who wished to survive in a culture which was to some extent alien. Thus a religious approach that was personalistic, emphasized personal piety and social morality, and yet continually proclaimed the presence of a loving God, fitted well the religious need of many immigrants. The fact that the religious and social dimensions of the lives of immigrants matched so well is part of the explanation for the growth of "Old Lutheran" denominations, especially the Missouri Synod."
The leaders of the Synod, themselves immigrants, understood well what their new members were experiencing and what they needed to hear. Even before they left Germany, Walther and others had passed through the valley of despair and doubt and had emerged on the other side with an evangelical faith. They were determined to build a church in which others would have similar faith experiences. Turning their backs on the German state churches, they set themselves to the task of building an American Zion that was founded on Lutheran confessionalism and a lively piety."
Walther spoke for the "Old Lutherans" when he stated that Christians needed to have a profound spiritual experience, or awakening, as stated in his lecture on Law and Gospel.
According to God's Word any person who has never felt the testimony of the Spirit that he is the child of God is spiritually dead. ...
Lastly, ask any person who has all the criteria of a true, living Christian whether he has experienced all the things of which he speaks, and he will answer in the affirmative, telling you that, after experiencing the terror which God sends to a sinner whom he wants to rescue, he had an experience of the sweetness of God's grace in Christ. He will tell you that his heart is melting within him at every remembrance of his Savior's love. Again, he will also tell you that, (in) spite of the fact that he knows he has obtained grace, he is frequently seized with fright and anguish at the sight of the Law.Note, then, that our statement that no one must base his salvation or his state of grace on his feeling does not mean that he can be a good Christian without having experienced any feeling in regard to religious matters....
In his Church Postil ... Luther ... writes as follows: "At this point every one is to ascertain whether he feels the Holy Spirit in his heart and experiences His speaking [italics in original]."
"Three things are happening that are causing disintegration of the combination that made the spirit of so many Lutheran churches so infectious during their period of growth.
- The felt needs of the natural constituency have changed.
- The distinct ethnic culture of Lutheranism is disappearing.
- Distinct styles of spiritually oriented Lutheran piety are not well cultivated anymore. ..In part they were driven out by more formalized liturgical emphasses. Pietistic expressions also began to look out of step with times that seemed to call for more aggressive engagement of Christians in social issues."
"The Old Lutherans of the Missouri Synod have reclaimed the confessional orthodox stance that has been one basic component of this church body's substance from the beginning. But that was only one component. What will happen to the other, the emphasis on piety? Through this church's period of growth, orthodoxy and piety were cultivated together. Some today would seem to make the preservation of orthodoxy itself the major focus of their practical piety. But when the combination was most effective, right teaching was kept in perspective as a necessary means to developing the Christian life of response to God's saving presence. What will be the style that helps that presence be most readily recognized in today's culture and that cultivates a church life of infectious response?"
But there is hope. Some LCMS congregations are growing while others die. Lessons must be learned. First, what doesn't work. Lucke continues on page 92:
"What will be the style that helps that presence (God's saving presence) be most readily recognized in today's culture and that cultivates a church life of infectious response?"As a style which churches can cultivate, experiential "contact" Pietism has repeatedly shown its worthiness as a wellspring for new church life. It is a style that has a rightful place in Lutheran theology and history. Today it is practiced most effectively by many evangelical churches. Lutheran churches concerned about outreach have good cause to go, look, and assess. Perhaps they may find something from their own roots that they can readapt."
- A style still tuned to immigrant needs for certainty and assurance of identity is not likely to stimulate such response.
- Nor will a style that depends for its effectiveness on a traditional church culture that is fading from consciousness.
- Perhaps the emphasis of an older style could be effective among the newest immigrants from non-European countries, but they hardly share the cultural presuppositions of inherited Lutheran style."