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Engaging Conian Black Theology Through Strategic Lutheran Missiology Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship 6-1-2017 LCMS Identity and Mission in the American Urban Context: Engaging Conian Black Theology Through Strategic Lutheran Missiology Gregory Seltz Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/phd Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Seltz, Gregory, "LCMS Identity and Mission in the American Urban Context: Engaging Conian Black Theology Through Strategic Lutheran Missiology" (2017). Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. 56. https://scholar.csl.edu/phd/56 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LCMS IDENTITY AND MISSION IN THE AMERICAN URBAN CONTEXT: ENGAGING CONIAN BLACK THEOLOGY THROUGH STRATEGIC LUTHERAN MISSIOLOGY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Practical Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Gregory P. Seltz June, 2017 Approved by Dr. David Schmitt Advisor Dr. John Nunes Reader Dr. Bruce Hartung Reader © 2017 by Gregory P. Seltz. All rights reserved. ii To the one who made real freedom possible for all who believe, our crucified and risen Lord Jesus, and for all those who, with courage, audacity, and compassion, are compelled to bring His freedom to others no matter the personal cost or contextual challenges, this work is dedicated prayerfully to be useful to that cause, that mission. iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xi INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 The Thesis ............................................................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ 7 The Need for an LCMS Urban Missiology: An LCMS dialogue with James Cone via the Synthetic Model .................................................................................................................... 7 The Cultural Setting of the Modern Urban American Environment .................................... 7 The Political Setting of Twenty-First Century America: Power Politics, Ressentiment, and Delegitimation .................................................................................................................... 10 Ecclesial Engagement in the Public Sphere: Participating in Cultural Issues via Political Dynamics ............................................................................................................................ 14 The Theological and Sociological Location of the LCMS in American Society ............... 20 Displaced: The LCMS, an Immigrant Confessional Church in America .................. 21 Displaced: The LCMS, a Sociologically Ethnocentric “Fundamentalist” Church .... 23 The LCMS: A Sociologically “Outsider-Insider” Church......................................... 25 Summary: By General Survey Alone, the LCMS Seems Ill-Equipped to Deal with the Challenges of the Urban Environment to Missiological Engagement....................... 30 Delegitimated: Black Theology’s Challenge to LCMS Urban Missiological Engagement ............................................................................................................... 30 Bevan’s Synthetic/Dialogical Model: A Structural Way to Begin the Dialogue with Cone48 Engaging Cone: A Racial Critique of the LCMS; Delineating the Challenges of a “Concrete Christology” in the Cultural Context of Urban Black America ........................ 52 Fashioning an LCMS Urban Missional Response for the City: Maintaining a Concrete, LCMS Missiology Rooted in an Orthodox Biblical Perspective of the Gospel ................. 56 Defining the Issues and Challenges of the Urban Context ................................................. 63 iv CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................................... 68 The Concrete Christological Paradigm and Its Racial Critique of LCMS Missiological Engagement ........................................................................................................................ 68 Moments and Days: LCMS Mission Work among Black Americans in the United States .......................................................................................................................... 74 Period 1: 1847–1892: Moments and Days of Inner Mission .............................................. 74 Black American Experience ...................................................................................... 76 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Structural Ethnocentricism and Isolationism................................................................................................................ 81 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Saying the Right Things, Not Doing the Right Things ............................................................................................. 85 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Congregational, Grass-Root Successes ................................................................................................................... 90 Summary .................................................................................................................... 91 Period 2: 1893–1946: Moments and Days of a Growing Involvement in Christ’s Mission93 Black American Experience ...................................................................................... 96 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Structural Racism and Paternalism ................................................................................................................ 99 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Not Always Saying the Right Things, Often Not Doing the Right Things ............................................................. 103 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Congregational, Grass-Root Successes ................................................................................................................. 106 Summary .................................................................................................................. 108 Period 3: 1947–1972: Moments and Days of Mushrooming Mission Expansion ............ 110 Black American Experience .................................................................................... 111 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Structural Racism and Paternalism Yet Growing Awareness ...................................................................... 113 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Saying the Right Things with v More Empathy and Clarity, Reluctantly Doing the Right Things ........................... 118 LCMS Missional Activity among Black Americans: Congregational, Grass-Root Successes ................................................................................................................. 122 Summary .................................................................................................................. 125 Final Summary .................................................................................................................. 125 CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................................... 134 The Critical Responses to Cone’s Concrete Christology: Other “Evangelical Voices” in the City.................................................................................................................................... 134 Cone, the Concrete-Christological Paradigm, and Modern American Ecclesial, Cultural Engagement ...................................................................................................................... 137 Engaging Cone’s “Concrete Christological Paradigm”: The Larger Ecclesial-Cultural Perspective of Concrete, Political Engagement ................................................................ 140 “Faithful Presence”: Its Potential Solutions and Challenges for a Concrete, LCMS Missional Engagement in the City. .......................................................................... 151 Engaging Cone’s “Concrete Christological Paradigm”: Evangelical Voices Specifically Engaging the Challenges of Black Theology ................................................................... 156 Anthony Bradley and the Evangelical Engagement of Cone’s “Concrete Christological Paradigm” ......................................................................................................................... 166 The Possibilities of Bradley’s Work ........................................................................ 171 The Limitations of Black Theology in Delivering “Concrete
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