“The Book of Concord should be in every Lutheran home.” Do we still believe this? And if so, what are we doing to make it happen?
The Book of Concord should be in every Lutheran home. For that reason our church should provide a good, inexpensive copy, and pastors should see to it that every home has one. If a person isn’t familiar with this book, he’ll think, “That old book is just for pastors. I don’t have to preach. After working all day, I can’t sit down and study in the evening. If I read my morning and evening devotions, that’s enough.” No, that is not enough! The Lord doesn’t want us to remain children, who are blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine; instead of that, He wants us to grow in knowledge so that we can teach others. (C.F.W. Walther, Essays for the Church, Vol. II, pg. 51).
Concordia Publishing House prepared and published Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions to make available a “good, inexpensive copy” of the Book of Concord available to all Lutheran homes. With over 85,000 copies in print, it has become, far and away, the most popular edition of the Book of Concord ever published. But there are still many Lutheran homes that do not have a copy of the Book of Concord and many Lutherans who still have not heard of it, and have never had a chance to understand it. There is no legitimate excuse for this. Let’s work at getting the Book of Concord in every Lutheran home. Yes, Dr. Walther was right: the Book of Concord should be in every Lutheran home.
I was confirmed in the LCMS as a child and spent over 35 years as a faithful member of various LCMS churches around the country. I don’t recall ever being taught from the Book of Concord. I was taught from Luthers Small Catechism. Granted, I was a weak Christian and did not study Lutheran doctrine as I should have. However, none of the LCMS churches I attended ever spoke of or offered classes on the Book of Concord (BOC). From my perspective, I had no idea a “Book of Concord” existed. (I believe that is true of my immediate family as well – all Lutherans.)
The past 6 years I have attended a Southern Baptist Church – but am not an official member. It was during a church history class taught by a Southern Baptist that I was told Lutherans believe in single election/predestination. I privately questioned the accuracy of this teaching. I went to the LCMS website and various Lutherans blogs and found out there is this book – The Book of Concord – which clearly spells out Lutheran doctrine and confessions. Wow, what a shock! It took a Southern Baptist to lead me to the BOC. I purchased one right away. I have learned much about the Lutheran faith that I never knew.
Yes, if one is a Lutheran, the BOC is a must have. The LCMS churches need to do a much better job informing and teaching their members on Lutheran beliefs as contained in the BOC. Maybe I was simply an exception regarding knowledge of the BOC, but I doubt it.
Thanks for sharing this comment, James. Powerful story!
Well said…I couldn’t agree more.
“Let’s work at getting the Book of Concord in every Lutheran home.”
Amen! If our Lord grants that I return to active ministry I intend to do exactly that.
Rev. Allen Yount
-+-Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio Faciunt Theologum-+-
I have a copy of Concordia but admit that I don’t read/study it as much as I should.
I’ve been trying to get a Lutheran confession bible study going at my congregation but the idea hasn’t really gotten past the discussion stage. Our DCE is interested in teaching such a class, but he’s very busy with all the various youth programs. I think it’s something that should happen and I’ll just keep being persistent and hopefully that will pay off.
This is the time of year to promote the Book of Concord as a Confirmation gift.
I certainly agree…every Lutheran should know about and read the Book of Concord. However, we also need to stimulate in Lutherans, and recover the belief, that each and every doctrine is vitally important. Only when we believe this fact, that every word which proceeds from the mouth of God is important, will we be encouraged to study the Book of Concord and its theology.
Is CONCORDIA THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS no longer available in paperback?
Yes, it is.
Go to http://www.cph.org/concordia
Click on the “other formats” tab
The “pocket edition” is the paperback edition.
I have a confession to make: not only have I not read the Book of Concord, I have not even heard of it before now.
BTW: THis is my first time to visit this blog, and I have enjoyed it.
Amen!
Wow, what an accurate quotation from Walther, thanks.
Jesse: your DCE should include the youth in a study of the BOC. My 2yr old has had the 10 commandments memorized for months now thanks to us reading the BOC together at breakfast. By the way, it was just my own new years resolution to read through it, I had no idea I’d be able to use it so easily to teach. It truly is a family resource. It’s never too early to start educating our youth in the faith. Your DCE and congregation will be amazed at the contributions youth add to the conversation. Not to mention they’ll be much better equipped to handle the diversity of beliefs they’ll find in college; they’ll know why they are Lutheran.
(I know this because I was blessed enough to have a DCE who was brave enough to teach us Walther’s Law & Gospel when I was in high school. Amidst all the teenage protests, I really learned something).
Additionally, there is a section in the front of the BOC with a year-long schedule for reading it in its entirety. Or you can subscribe to the google group or twitter & receive daily readings (5 days/week so you can catch up on weekends
. http://www.bookofconcord.org/ hosts the daily readings and has a free copy to view online.
I’ve been aware of the Book of Concord (or Concordia) since I was in high school, being a bookworm/geek, reading up on Luther and Lutheran church history among other things on my own. I obtained a copy sometime during my twenties or thirties (I turned 53 today) and then a more readable version from CPH very recently. No, I have not really started reading it in depth. The daily readings may be the way to go.