This is an old journalism story.
A man wrote to Horace Greeley and said about his congregation - "We have tried everything: cookie sales, bake sales, slave days, gambling night, auctions, and we are still broke. Do you have any suggestions?"
Greeley - "Why not try religion?"
That remains the key to dealing with the sickening dread and foul odors coming from the disciples of Fuller Seminary and Rome. The Liberace clergy robes first came to ELCA, then LCMS, then the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Malone and Adjoining Counties. Even WELS began replacing their Geneva gowns with albs, in case people noticed their purchase of pop Calvinist hymns. The Fuller-blest marketing gimmicks have all flopped.
The appeal to popularity (in Latin ad stupidos) has left them with nowhere to turn, except for the Greeley solution, which I have updated below.
- Start with the best Lutheran hymnal, modestly called The Lutheran Hymnal.
- Mark the best Lutheran hymns by referencing The Bethany Hymnal blog - 44,457 views - illustrated by Norma A. Boeckler. The congregation should know or learn the hymns of Martin Luther, Paul Gerhardt, Matthias Loy, Nicolai, Kingo, and many other greats. They do not have to be Lutheran, but they better be emphasizing the substance of the Reformation, not the be-bop of the latest pop music fad.
- Use the constantly changing - within a framework - traditional liturgy. What is different each week? - the hymns, introit, collect, gradual, sermon, and prayers.
- Emphasize the Means of Grace, the invisible Gospel in preaching and teaching, the visible Gospel in the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.
- Post, print, email, or blog the entire sermon, because the purpose of the Church is to teach faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Good Shepherd, born of the Virgin Mary, miracle worker and Teacher, Who raised the dead, atoned for our sins on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven.
- Visit the sick, shut-in, and dying.
- Use the King James Version, because all the other Bibles brutalize the Apostolic Text, which God has preserved.
