The Future of Lutheranism in a Global Context.
Mattes, Mark C.
The Future of Lutheranism in a Global Context. Edited by Arland
Jacobson and James Aageson. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008. xi + 205 pages.
Paper. $17.99.
This volume, consisting of thirteen essays by leaders in world
Lutheranism, presents an overview of the challenges and opportunities
faced by Lutherans throughout the world, especially those in Africa,
Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. The book is the result
of a conference held at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2004.
It is valuable for pastors, seminarians, and laity, since it indicates
that Lutheranism is a growing movement in Africa and Asia despite the
fact that it appears to be in decline in North America and Europe.
In the opening essay, Jan Pranger (Concordia, Moorhead) points out
that "statistically speaking, Christianity today is a non-Western
religion. Of the roughly two billion Christians living in the year 2000,
Africa (360 million), Asia (313 million) and Latin America (480 million)
make up 42 percent. The shift toward the South is only expected to be
more pronounced over time ..." (11). For Christians in "the
South," the Bible is read in new ways. The biblical message of
liberation of the oppressed "provides a direct source of
empowerment" (12). These Christians are also apt to read biblical,
"supernatural" events, such as healing and exorcism, as
speaking to their needs. Lutheranism has grown in Africa and Asia
"from 8.54 million in 1989 to 22.3 million in 2006, with the
greatest growth clearly in Africa where the number of Lutherans tripled
in these eighteen years" (17). Likewise, in Asia, the Protestant
Christian Batak Church of Indonesia, a Lutheran body, is rapidly
growing.
Such growth comes with challenges. In his essay, Musimbi Kanyoro
(Kenya) indicates that African Christianity must face the reality of
poverty and religious pluralism (30-31). Elelwani Bethuel Farisani
(South Africa) also notes the need of the church to specifically address
ethnic conflict (44). And, Pongsak Limthongviratn (ELCA churchwide
office) claims that the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers
opens opportunities for ministry among Asian Lutherans, but that
patriarchy has hindered the equal role of women in ministry (47-58). J.
Paul Rajashekar (Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia) focuses
on the mission of Lutheranism in India, particularly its ministry to the
Dalits (outcasts), which has been opposed by traditional Hindus (72).
With respect to South America, Winston Persuad (Wartburg Seminary)
addresses the witness of Lutheranism in the Caribbean and intertwines a
strong sense of social justice with an equally strong confessional
theology: "justification by faith is both evangelical proclamation
... and a necessary hermeneutic to distinguish between the gospel and
distortions of it" (89). With respect to ethnic pluralism, he
points out that "the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana (ELCG)
has a majority East-Indian membership and a significant minority
Afro-Guyanese membership, due to the replacement of African slaves as
laborers on sugar plantations with East Indian immigrants between 1838
and 1917" (82). And, Victoria Cortez Rodriguez (Bishop, Nicaragua)
provides an overview of the work of the church in El Salvador and
Nicaragua.
Looking to the Middle East and Europe, Munib Younan (Bishop,
Jerusalem) indicates the role of the Lutheran Church in health and
social work in Palestine, as well as a robust theology of the cross
(103). Maria Jepsen (Bishop, Germany) provides a fine overview of the
Protestant territorial churches in Germany; the governance of these
churches is often unknown to German-Americans. And, Per Lonning (Bishop,
Norway) argues that the Lutheran World Federation needs to keep
globalism at the forefront of its ventures.
Voicing the concerns of North Americans, Phyllis Anderson (Pacific
Lutheran Theological Seminary) presents the challenges Lutheranism faces
in the secular outlook of the West Coast, highlighting integrity and
humility as strengths for ministry (143). Mark Hanson (Presiding Bishop,
ELCA) convincingly contends that Lutheranism offers a resilient theology
for North Americans as we move into the twenty-first century, a belief
shared with his counterpart, Raymond Schultz, in Canada.
All in all, this is an outstanding book to spend time with, one
which keeps our own ministries in perspective, as we sense God working
in many races, languages, and cultures.
Mark C. Mattes
Grand View College
Des Moines, Iowa
