Lanterns and Lutherans
By Chris Streeper
Like a lot of young boys who grew up in the eighties, I spent a lot of time reading comic books. My personal favorite has always been Batman, but my father’s favorite hero was the Green Lantern. I enjoyed science-fiction quite a bit, so naturally, I also enjoyed the Green Lantern books. They were the only two DC characters that ever caught my interest.
For those unfamiliar with the Green Lantern, here’s a brief synopsis of the character. Hal Jordan served a fighter pilot in the Air Force and after his military service, put his skills to use as an experimental test pilot. One fateful day, an alien crash lands on earth and in his dying moments, bestowed onto Hal his power ring. As it turned out, this alien was a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency responsible for protecting the 3600 various sectors of the universe. Hal subsequently became Earth’s very first Green Lantern, protector of sector 2814. He was selected not because of his skills as a fighter pilot, but because of his courageous persona and his ability to overcome fear in the face of adversity, the core trait which all Green Lanterns must possess.
This was how the character was introduced in 1959, when my father was an eight-year-old boy. By the time I read my first Green Lantern book thirty years later, the lore had expanded a bit, and Earth was served by two additional Lanterns; John Stewart and Guy Gardner. All three men swore the same oath that all Green Lanterns across the galaxy did. All three men wore a similar uniform as the rest of the Corps. All three men utilized their power rings to fight bad guys, limited only by their imaginations and the strength of their will power. When this team of Lanterns assembled to defeat evil, they were virtually unstoppable.
Now as you might imagine, like many men who were born in my generation, as an adult I have enjoyed many of the comic book themed films that have been released over the past couple decades. While it was panned by critics, I enjoyed the Green Lantern film that was released in 2011. As you may guess, I was excited when I heard there would be a show that would feature Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Having dedicated an hour of my time each Sunday for the past eight weeks to watching Lanterns, I sadly must report that I am saddened by the product that was produced. Lanterns did not deliver what I expected. It wasn’t filled with intergalactic space battles, there was minimal use of the power rings, and the characters barely donned their uniforms or recited their oath. To put it bluntly and without spoiling it for those who may not have watched it yet; the show failed every expectation I had for a Green Lantern series. But it got me thinking…
Specifically, it got me thinking about church and worship over the past several decades and our current expectations. Granted, I was not alive in 1959, but the men who were have told me that Lutheran Worship during that period was pretty uniform across the board, especially within the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Nearly every congregation (over 95%) in the LCMS utilized The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) each Sunday to conduct Divine Worship.
Flash forward to 1989, when I read my first Green Lantern book. Lutheranism in the United States had gone through some significant changes and was fractured. Three bodies came together to form the ELCA. The LCMS and the Wisconsin Synod (WELS) were no longer in fellowship. Why? Primarily over things such as doctrine & practice. The “Worship War” had just begun making inroads with a contemporary worship that promised to deliver “Evangelical style” while maintaining “Lutheran substance.”
Now, nearly forty years later, one can walk into an LCMS congregation which looks nothing like one would expect. Instead of vested clergy many are presented with men in street clothes. Instead of Holy Scripture being read from a lectern and a sermon being delivered from a pulpit, many are given motivational messages from a stage. Instead of receiving the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper from the rail around an altar, many receive it from disposable single serving cups… if they receive it at all. Sacred music filled with lyrical theology has been replaced by catchy radio tunes. At many of these congregations one can find that the Book of Concord has been cast aside along with creeds, confession & absolution. Why? Two reasons; First… to attract new people to the church by casting off the dusty old image of the past. Second… adiaphora, none of that stuff really matters anyway.
But here is the problem. When I read a Green Lantern comic or watch a show… I expect to see epic space battles, powerful ring constructs, oaths & uniforms. Even before I became a Christian, when I would walk into a church, especially a Lutheran church, I expected to see something that closely resembles the Roman Catholic experience… after all, the Lutheran Confessions state that “We don’t abolish the Mass, but religiously keep and defend it.” [Ap XXIV] In fact, “The Mass is held among us and celebrated with the highest reverence.” [AC XXIV]. I expect to see vested clergy. I expect to hear hymns. I expect to recite creeds and hear the Word of God. I expect tradition. I expect to step into a sacred space that looks different from everything else in the world around it. I believe this to be true of most people’s expectations when they step into one of our congregations.
For nearly forty years many in our Synod have bought into the idea that Contemporary Worship is the way of the future and that it is what young people desire. But where are they? Our church body has an average age higher than nearly any other church body in the United States. It is past time to admit that the experiment has failed. Recent surveys and studies from organizations like the Barna Group show that young adults (Gen Z and Millennials) are increasingly drawn to liturgical, traditional, reverent church environments that are rooted in the ancient practices of the Christian faith and are structured around the church calendar rather than the high-production, trendy “show” environments most often found at non-denominational churches. They are seeking meaning, stability, and guardrails amidst the modern cultural turmoil which pervades our society.
Mark my words… Lanterns will go down in history as the biggest flop in the DCU. Why? Because it compromised its identity, its mythology, and its legacy. It gave up everything it is by caving to the whims of society and current trends. Instead of portraying the heroes as brave men who were team players and valiantly upheld their oath and performed their duties, they were portrayed as rebels who discarded their uniforms, had zero regard for authority or tradition, and went about things their own way. Yes, it will be regarded by some as innovative and brave, it may even win some awards, but it will go down in history as an abject failure. Why? Because fans wanted Green Lantern and they got a cheap knockoff of True Detective.
People who want Green Lantern don’t want True Detective. People who desire Christianity by way of the Lutheran tradition don’t want a generic contemporary moralistic therapeutic deism. If our congregations continue to deliver such experiences people will continue to pass over Lutheranism and journey on to the East or to Rome, where they will find a church bodies that are largely unified around their identity. Church bodies which will deliver them a consistent experience as they travel around the country and raise their families.
Right now, there are people all across our nation that are looking for true Christianity. They are seeking the crucified Christ who gives the forgiveness of sins. They are seeking the Catholic church, purged of error, heresy, papal abuses, and unbiblical practices. They are seeking the Lutheran Church, with all its liturgical trappings & traditions, full of Scripture, Creed & Confession. They desire sacred music. They desire the Sacraments. They want to hear the Law & the Gospel. Let’s give it to them, and not some cheap knock off that is Lutheran in name only.