In reply to Scott Seidler.

The author wrote: "It is not reason, as we have sometimes done, to discard our hymnody and liturgy or to employ desperate and cringeworthy gimmicks."

So.... the solution to church decline is to promote praise bands and small groups. If I were to walk into Shepherd Of The Desert Lutheran Church in Scottsdale, would the books and dvds used in small groups and in adult Sunday school be the very same found in the local non-denominational mega-church found across town? Would the pastor then begin preaching sermons from the small group leader guides endorsed by pop-Evangelical groups such as Saddleback and Hillsong? I have personally belonged to such an LCMS congregation. And yes, I have spoken to the lead pastor. His response to me was that these things must be done in the LCMS to reverse decline and to grow the church.

"Missional" or "confessional" leanings notwithstanding, Lutherans are very passionate about their theology and will defend their theology to the death. That trait is hardwired into the LCMS (and WELS) DNA and is a blessing and a curse. I have learned the hard way that you will be subject to persecution in an LCMS congregation if you dare question leadership respectfully or assume a leadership position. By all means, DO NOT question the pop-Evangelical theology of the small group materials in an LCMS congregation!

I am sure that the fellowship in your congregation is wonderful, but that assumes you are not the subject of gossip and slander from the wives of small group leaders, from one or two disgruntled elders, and/or from people "with the right last names" who will immediately pounce on you if they feel you are saying or doing something not to their liking - no matter how minor. American Lutherans do love "to eat their own", you know. Adding dozens of small group leaders just makes the problem exponentially worse.

We then decided to visit an large, suburban LCMS congregation that is indistinguishable form the local non-denom except for a couple of key differences: They baptize babies, the praise band looks and sounds like a ragtag teenage garage band, and the coffee is still grandma's Folgers or Sanka "Ersatzkaffee". My family decided it was a bad copy of what the non-denominationals were doing. In other words, why bother?

We recently attended a local non-denominational mega-church as a family. The main attraction is that no one is arguing nonstop about theology and what it means to be non-denominational Christian. Sure, they pressure each other to give personal testimonies, but these actions do not trigger arguing nor persecution. They truly act as if nothing else in life matters but engaging in fellowship and in serving your neighbor. I can therefore visit a non-denominational congregation without feeling judged. The coffee and praise bands are also superior to those found in our local "cool, hip, and contemporary" LCMS congregation.

The reason why we won't be back to the non-denominational church anytime soon is that my teenage son refuses to attend a contemporary church service featuring a praise band. He told me that the people stand around and watch the band give a concert, the pastor gives a "Ted talk" sermon, and then the band resumes the concert. He told me he got nothing out of it. Imagine that! Is my son an exception to the rule, or is he part of a growing cohort of "under age 40" people that yearns for the historic Lutheran church that was so common prior to 1945?