Bob Wade: We have with us today - honored to have Fr. Duane Jack who has been spiritual director
since '76. He's been on every weekend since. He's been Cursillo's spiritual director, and has been a
very powerful influence in the area. I would just like to recognize Father Duane Jack.
My name is Ellie Henning. I went through Lutheran Cursillo #8 in Minnesota. Thank you for
being here today. It is my great pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker. In November we had the
opportunity of meeting here and it was one of the most awesome things - to sit in the executive board
meeting - and watch Pastor Peter Setzer at work. It just started to flow out of him - the ideas of the topic
"Come, Holy Spirit" and it all started with us taking a look at the renewal card and using that as our first
devotion for our first time together as a board. And here we are, using the card and using the theme,
"Come, Holy Spirit." Each day, you will hear about the other - the three forums will be Piety, Study, and
Action. Today, Peter will give you an overview and share that with you.
Pastor Setzer is from Western North Carolina. He's the senior pastor at St. Mark's Lutheran
Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. His wife, Susan Setzer is a A.I.M. candidate for diaconal ministry.
She's a career counselor and she's a church educator. They have two children - two children, David and
Joy. Positions held include Synod Council in North Carolina Synod. He's chaired the steering
committee in Region 9 of ELCA. He's spiritual director of the Western North Carolina Via de Cristo at
this time, also. His involvement with Via de Cristo has been twelve years. He has served in two
parishes, and he has been instrumental in helping 150 pilgrims attend the weekend. When you get a
chance sometime, those of you who are pastors will be meeting with him as well but all of you get a
chance to talk with Peter and have him share a few ideas on how to involve the clergy in your area. At
this time, I would like to turn this over to Peter and have him share our keynote address.
REV. PETER SETZER
Good afternoon, pilgrims! I know some of you use the expression "Cursillista," in addition to
pilgrim, but pilgrim seems to fit particularly well today, because we've all been recent travelers - some of
us coming from a very far distance. You come from Florida, from Arizona, from Minnesota, Virginia,
Montana, and so forth. I hope that you've arrived in good health, and I hope everyone has come who
planned to. No one got lost along the way. We have many reasons for giving thanks to God, for journey
mercies and for such a beautiful setting for this annual meeting. The facilities here at Augustana College
are particularly good for us.
It may be not very convincing that I consider the facilities here ideal because I brought my own
furniture. You see here the most famous piece of furniture in the Via de Cristo movement - the much
talked about three-legged stool. How many of you refer to the three-legged stool on your weekends?
Raise your hand. Well, that's just about everyone. You've got a diagram of it on a board, and you use it
as the symbol for piety, study and action.
Many years ago, when I was in my early teens, I worked as a hired hand on a farm in the eastern
mountains of Tennessee. That was the dark ages. All the farming there was still done with horses. In
fact, I remember when I was fourteen years old, the first farmer in Happy Valley purchased a tractor. It
was one of those tractors that had wide wheels in the front. A Ford. I didn't know that Ford made
anything but cars. Well, most of the farmer's envious neighbors predicted that that tractor would roll
over on him in those steep hills on his farms. It would serve him right for trying to bring a tractor and
replace the faithful horse that had served them all so long. We milked sixteen jersey cows twice a day.
None of that fancy milk parlor stuff that you all have around here. We chained our cows to the fence
under a shade tree, and that's where we milked them - out in the pasture. A necessary piece of furniture
was the three-legged stool, the traditional milk stool, no doubt the form of stool that has been used by
milking farmers for many, many centuries.
Why the three-legged stool? Well, a two-legged stool just wouldn't be very stable at all, would
it? And a four-legged stool on uneven ground would always be wobbly. One of the legs would be too
short and another leg would be too long. So, the three-legged stool was just right on the slanted slopes of
east Tennessee mountain farms. It would sit still and it would offer a farmer at least that security while
he's trying to concentrate on four milk faucets, keep Bossy's tail out of his face, and her foot out of his
milk pail. This stool is a tried and true symbol of balance. We Christians need balance in the Christian
life. Balance that is solid underneath us, and that reliably stays solid when the ground beneath us gets
bumpy and uneven. And couldn't it be said that the ground under a Christian is never even, as the
ground was not even at the foot of the cross.
The theme of this keynote address for the annual meeting 1995 is "Via de Cristo - the call to a
passionate, balanced Christian discipleship." Why is this theme so important to us? Every Tuesday
morning at 7:15 a.m., I meet four other men at the church as I have for nearly thirteen years. We meet
together because we feel called to a passionate, balanced Christian discipleship, and we feel called to
steady one another in that balanced, passionate life. After our cheery greetings and taking up a fresh cup
of warm coffee, we sit down and draw out of our wallets that frayed, cream-colored card. The opening
prayer we can all pray by heart. You could, too. "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful," and
so forth. Then, one at a time, we go through the card, it's questions and directions leading the way.
Early on, I found myself asking "Where did all this come from? Why do they ask these
particular questions? Who wrote these, and why these specific words?" I had a hunch that its origins
went far back to the Pietism movement, and that we pilgrims were participating in something much more
ancient and bigger than we had any idea. So, I've done some research. And now I'm going to give you a
summary of what I discovered, that's given me great excitement about reunion groups, an exhilirating
appreciation for what is written on this card. Most of you know about the well-published origins of the
Cursillo movement about fifty years ago on the island of Majorca off the coast of Spain. But, actually,
the roots of this movement go back three hundred years to a great spiritual awakening in Lutheran
Germany and the birth of a renewal movement called "Pietism."
The name most associated with the Pietism movement was Phillip Jacob Spener, a Lutheran
pastor who lived in Germany from 1635 to 1705. He was a well educated and devoted pastor who served
the parish in Frankfort on Main. He wanted to nourish his flock in a deeper Christian piety. But worship
and congregational life in his day did not make this an easy thing to do. This was the Scholastic Period
in Lutheran history. Worship at that particular point was very formal and reserved. Sermons were
typically scholarly lectures delivered on fine points of doctrine, sometimes with debating other writers of
doctrine, with very little bearing on everyday life. These sermons were designed to stimulate the head,
not the heart. The average parishioner found them unhelpful, and frankly, boring. Spener decided to
change that. He began preaching sermons filled with passion, touching his hearers emotionally to build
them up. He called for moral and spiritual reformation, and for his people to take living the Christian life
seriously.
Now this is the first of eight positive characteristics of the Pietism movement that I am going to
highlight here. This is a write-down. First, Pietism called for a new emphasis on deepening spiritual
life. Second, Pietism introduced a method for deepening the spiritual life, which involved
gathering together like-minded members of the congregation into small groups. The first such
group organized by Pastor Spener, himself, met in his own parsonage. The purpose of the group was for
Bible study, prayer, and discussion of the sermon the preceding Sunday. The members of the group were
expected to mutually encourage one another in personal reform. The small groups were called "collegia
pietatis," which translates "groups of the pious." It was from this name of the small groups that the
larger movement got its name - "Pietism."
Third, Pietism aimed for major involvement of the laity. Prior to this, the laity in Germany
was generally passive in the life of the church. But Spener insisted that if we take the "priesthood of all
believers" seriously, as Luther certainly did, then the laity should have a larger role in upbuilding the
Christian life and carrying out the mission of the church.
Fifth, Pietism gave major emphasis to Bible study. Thorough knowledge of the Bible was
encouraged, but the method was less didactic and scholarly, and more practical and devotional. For
instance, one Pietist pastor, Bengal is noted for teaching, "Always apply yourself totally to the Biblical
text, and always apply the Biblical text totally to you." Typically, Bible study was done in small groups,
with pastoral guidance.
Six, Pietism encouaged what the leaders of the movement called "Action." Christians were
urged not only to have Biblical knowledge and deepened faith, but to put their faith into practice and
manifest their love in deeds in the world. Ziuzendorf, a Pietist leader said, "If Christians acted more and
argued less, Christianity would be greatly advanced."
Seven, the emphasis on action divided into two areas: the first being missionary outreach.
In 1694, Spener helped to found the University of Halla for the purpose of providing a center of learning
for the basic principles of Pietism. This campus provided a loving, warm Christian atmosphere for
students. Its faculty was composed of strong proponents of Pietism. Attached to the university was an
institute for training Christian missionaries. The Halla Institute stirred up widespread zeal for missionary
outreach. From this institute was sent the very first Protestant missionary in history. The attitude of
Protestants prior to this was, "well, the twelve apostles have already gone out, and they proclaimed the
faith to all the nations of the world, and some of the nations have accepted it and some have rejected it
and if they rejected it, well that's too bad."
The Halla Institute reversed that passive notion. They taught that the apostolic action of the
church was still required to evangelize the world. Halla sent out no less than sixty missionaries over the
next century to India alone. That's why there are so many Lutherans in India. They also sent missionary
pastors to America to serve the colonists. One of them was none other than Henry Melchior
Muehlenberg, the father of American Lutheranism. For many decades Muehlenberg rode on horseback
up and down the coast of the Americas, meeting with German settlers and forming congregations - thus
planting the church. Many of the German emigrants had been strongly affected by the growing Pietism
movement in Germany, and they brought this zeal - the zeal of this movement - with them to America.
The first ministerium or synod in Pennsylvania - the first organized in America - included six pastors.
Four of them were graduates of Halla.
In my state of North Carolina, all the early pastors from Germany to serve the colonists were
from Halla. The impact of the Pietist beginning is still being felt in my synod. Back in Europe, Pietism
proved to be contagious. It spread rapidly over much of Germany and was embraced enthusiastically by
the Scandinavian nations - Sweden, Denmark, and especially Norway. When settlers arrived in America
from any of those countries, they quickly organized congregations and sought pastors of Pietist character.
The other area of action emphasized in the Pietism movement was Christian service. Christians
whose hearts were on fire wanted to manifest it in loving service of the neediest people in society. And
so schools for poor children were organized all over Germany as were orphanages, hospitals and other
institutions of mercy - many of them still existing today. When those German people moved to America
the Pietists among them organized similar institutions here.
Now I ask you, "do these characteristics of the Pietism Movement sound familiar to you?" Yes
indeed! They sound like a Via de Cristo movement, don't they? The Via de Cristo movement is
primarily a lay movement involving small groups concentrating primarily in three areas as symbolized by
the three-legged stool - Piety, Study, and Action, and the action is divided into two distinct emphases:
Apostolic Action, i.e. missionary outreach to Christianize the world, and service, manifesting Christian
love and bearing the burdens of others. It's all there in the Pietism movement, and it's all summarized
right here on the reunion card. Discovering this connection between the Pietism movement and the Via
de Cristo reunion card gave me a new understanding of what's on that card, and a great appreciation for
its power.
However, not everything is good news. Unfortunately, there were some emphases in 18th
century Pietism that I would call negative, and over which there was considerable controversy three
hundred years ago, and still is. These are being addressed in the card, as well. First, there was a
declining interest in the creeds and confessions of the church among Pietists, along with a neglect of the
intellectual elements of Christianity. Pietism warmed the heart, but it neglected the head.
Second, Pietism de-emphasized the Sacraments. Baptism was not considered as important as
Confirmation. Pietists saw an inner struggle in adults leading to a new spiritual birth accompanied with a
strong emotional experience and they regarded that as the normative way to enter the kingdom of God,
rather than by infant baptism. As for the other Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, one of the criticisms of the
small groups of the Pious was that the laity frequently absented themselves from public worship, and did
not avail themselves of the Lord's Supper.
Third, Pietism sometimes crossed over into legalism. A strong emphasis on morality led to an
ascetic attitude toward the world. Pietists forbid dancing, theaters, and cards. They stressed strict
moderation in food, drink, and dress. Sometimes, among them the Christian faith was seen as obedience
to a moral code alone, and that a believer could make oneself righteous by living a disciplined life.
Now, in spite of these three negative aspects to Pietism, the movement had immense benefit.
One prominent historian summarizes: "Pietism undoubtedly affected Germany very widely and for good.
It fostered a more vital type of piety. It greatly improved the spiritual quality of the ministry, preaching,
and Christian training of the young. It increased the share of the laity in the life of the church. It greatly
augmented familiarity with the Bible and the devotional study of the Scriptures. It produced vigorous
faith and phenomenal missionary successes.
The existence of these three negative features of 18th century Pietism are what makes the term
"Piety" one of reproach for some people today. ELCA pastors know about the Pietism movement. They
study it in their seminary course on church history. The impression lingering for many of them,
unfortunately, is that it was a negative movement, and they see Via de Cristo as a contemporary
manifestation of 18th century Pietism, and that raises a red flag. So, our critics see us as being against
theological orthodoxy, sloppy in our thinking, too emotional, legalistic, unappreciative of the
Sacraments, dangerously lay controlled , uncommitted to Luther's emphasis on justification by faith and
Christ alone, with an elitist, revivalist born-again piety.
Now, I think this is a serious error in perception. On the contrary, while these extremes may be
found here and there from time to time - probably in your secretariat, too - the movement employs the
best aspects of eighteenth century Pietism, and avoids the worst features by maintaining a healthy
balance in the Christian life. Now, how can I make such a bold claim? By evidence that you see in your
reunion card, used by the small groups, used by my brothers every Tuesday morning, and by groups of
like-minded souls in secretariats all over this country, and in the larger movement all over the world.
This reunion card is probably the most influential tool in the Via de Cristo movement, and is most
instructive for identifying our core emphasis. Actually, the Pietism movement was a major effort to
correct an imbalance in the Christian church, an imbalance produced by scholasticism and rationalism --
movements that immediately preceded it. Although Pietism itself got out of balance, its main
contribution to the church was to regain a healthy needed combination of emphases called for by Biblical
faith.
Now, let's take a look at the reunion card. All of you were passed one as you came in, just in
case you didn't have yours handy, or you use a different kind. This is the one produced by the National
Lutheran Secretariat. But first, I want to show you a chart that I have developed, charting the balanced
Christian life. Now the three emphases of Via de Cristo are Piety, Study, and Action. I want to
demonstrate on this chart that these aren't simply three arbitrary selections for us to concentrate on, but
rather they represent the core essentials of the Christian life. They cover it all. If we think in terms of
human functions, there are basically three human functions, thinking, feeling, and doing. The feeling
falls under the piety section, thinking under study, and doing under action.
Or, if you want to think of it in terms of our basic human capacities, you could refer to these
categories as our emotional capacity, our rational capacity, and our volitional capacity, the capacity to
make decisions, acts of the will, etc.
Or, if you want to get poetic, you can speak of it in terms of the body parts that are used. In
piety, we're exercising the heart. In study, we're exercising the head, and in action, we're exercising the
hands and the mouth, because remember action has two emphases - the missionary outreach or witness
and the service. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a word for the mouth that started with an "H," so we
could have neat alliterations in all the words.
Now, there's one more category that I want to tie in here. That is, when we get extreme in any
one of these three areas. When we get out of balance, that is overemphasizing one of these areas while
neglecting another, an unhealthy spiritual disease results. We move away from Biblical faith and we
wander into heresy, which is false teaching. For instance, European Christianity in the years immediately
preceding Pietism were weighted too heavily in the middle area - the study, thinking rational, head stuff.
It was called the Scholastic Period, and it was noted for its intense scholarly activity. Christianity was
more a head activity than it was heart or hands. Reason was highly valued. This was the age of
enlightenment -- so-called "enlightenment." Emotions were regarded with suspicion. Christianity that
resulted was aloof, cold, dull, and often dead. The heresy was rationalism and scholasticism. You see it
under this section. When our emphasis is too much here, we are guilty of rationalism and scholasticism.
Now, with the Pietism movement, the Holy Spirit provided the church a desparately needed corrective to
bring balance into the Christian faith, and so it sought equal balance on the right, in the heart, the
feelings, the piety. And it insisted on an equivalent emphasis on action required by faith. St. James says,
"Faith without works is dead." Christians who get overbalanced on the piety side, however, having little
interest in study or action are called Quietists." These are the people the bishop was speaking of earlier
this afternnoon, who concentrate on their spiritual life, and neglect to do anything of service to the needy.
They exhibit a do-nothing faith. Lutherans, in general, throughout the history of this country, have been
accused by some others as being "Quietists," in regard to involvement or lack of it in political or social
issues.
On the other hand, a person who is extremely weighted on the action side, to the neglect of piety
and study is charged with "activism," a kind of superficial obsession with political or social activity with
little concern for the heart of the Christian faith. Examples of this are readily apparent in the late 60's in
this country, when a lot of pastors got out of the pulpit and did community action. Applying this
balancing process to each of us as individuals, it's been my observation that people don't naturally
become balanced. Most Christians would notice that they are stronger in one of these three, with a kind
of automatic preference for operating in that particular sphere. At the same time, most Christians are
very weak in one of these three, and automatically avoid operating in that sphere. Living the balanced
Christian life seeks in an intentional and disciplined way to correct our personal imbalances, and seek a
more healthy spiritual condition.
Now let's look in more detail at each of the three areas, one at a time. What does the information
on the reunion card say to us? For what purpose is it written this way, and not another? Please take a
close look at the reunion card as it is presently published by the National Lutheran Secretariat. The first
thing we do in a reunion group is pray together the prayer which begins, "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the
hearts of your faithful." We acknowledge that in our own strength we can only fail. Any real spiritual
renewal will come only with God's Spirit working in us. So together we pray for it. The section entitled
here "Your Piety" begins with a question holding us accountable. "With what spiritual aids have you
nourished your vital union with Christ this week?" Now first take note of the phrase, "vital union with
Christ". This is a very Lutheran phrase. Martin Luther used it frequently. For Luther, piety isn't worth a
pig's tail unless it is piety growing out of a vital relationship with Christ. A vital relationship with Christ
is another way of speaking of faith. Luther says, "All that Christ has done for us is without avail unless it
becomes an individual's personal possession. This is affected by the Holy Spirit, who works when, how,
and where He will creating repentance and faith."
The second question, located at the bottom of the Piety section is probably the most influential
line in the card. "What was the moment that you felt closest to Christ?" We are invited to ponder our
personal relationship with Christ, and carefully examine how Christ has been interacting with us in the
past week. This Christ-centered emphasis here in the Piety area of the card represents a corrective by the
Cursillo movement to 18th century Pietism. The emphasis must be on Christ, and what Christ is doing
for us and through us, and not on our self-propelled activities or various efforts to please Christ. This
Christ-centered emphasis helps steer us away from moralism and legalism - other heresies.
The spiritual aids listed here are useful for giving us a daily connection with Christ. Four
different kinds of prayer are suggested. Now, I'm pleased to see included here "Worship and
Communion". Communion - the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is included. I'm excited to see that
word here. Remember, the Pietists neglected the Sacraments, but Cursillo brought it back - even more
strongly than is indicated on the card. Because on our weekends, don't we celebrate the Lord's Supper
every day? And at the annual meeting, it will be every day. The major rollo of the spiritual directors at
the weekend underscores the importance of the Sacraments to the Christian community.Typically,
pilgrims in Via de Cristo experience an increased hunger for the Lord's Supper and they desire to
celebrate it more frequently in their home congregations.
I'm also glad to see the phrase "Spiritual Direction" here because it indicates a high regard for
pastoral guidance. Those critics of the movement who fear the laity are about to take over the Church
should be informed of the place the laity have given pastors in the constitutions as spiritual heads of the
movement and of all the weekends, and generally, across the country, pastors must attend a weekend
before any of his or her members go because we honor a pastor's role as shepherd of the congregation,
and we don't want in any way to weaken that role.
Now turn to study on your card. Question #3 asks, "What have you done to better understand the
gift of God?" The implication here is that one doesn't gain such understanding by gazing at our belly
button, or by reading philosophers, or new age enthusiasts. The Bible is not the only source. Though the
Holy Scriptures are our main source, they are not our only source, but a pre-eminent one, and all other
truths must be consistent with its Gospel message. We have here listed periodicals, books, tapes, and
others. It's a short list -- too short and in need of more direction for the person seeking balance in the
Christian life.
Next, we look at the section entitled "Your Action." Now, I ask, "Do we see here the twin
emphases of the Pietism movement on missionary action and charitable service?" Isn't this amazing?
The missionary activity is addressed in question #4. "In what way did you share Christ with the world,
etc. in your family, your profession, your environment. We're invited to reflect on whether we were
successful or not, and how we felt about it. The service component in the action section is reflected in
the word immediately under "Your Action" regarding spreading Christ's love to others through various
means including visits, and there's a reference here to Matthew 25, where Jesus told the people who visit,
or who have neglected to visit the poor and the sick, in prison. They gave food and drink to these people,
or neglected to, and thus they either served Christ or neglected to serve Christ. The vital union with
Christ would prompt the person to give generously to these needy people. And Martin Luther backs us
up on that. He says "that the believer does works pleasing to God is the proof that he has entered into a
vital union with Christ." Then on the card, a quote is provided from Hebrews 10 urging us to spur on one
another in doing good deeds in love. That's what our Christian brothers and sisters in the reunion group
are expected to do, to hold one another accountable for these things - to encourage one another to grow in
grace and a clear understanding of God and in loving service to our needy neighbors.
Finally, comes the prayer of thanksgiving, a petition that all the works of this day will be done to
God's glory. And then a final plea to live in the grace of God. Now, do you understand why I am so
excited about this discovery of the connection here? This reunion card, designed in the main by the
founders of Cursillo nearly fifty years ago, has fashioned a method to apply nearly all the best features of
the Pietism movement and to correct its major errors. The Cursillo method is powerfully grace-centered.
One of the blessed ironies in the history of Cursillo is the way the primacy of grace, so stoutly advanced
by Martin Luther, was then neglected by eighteenth century Pietists and later re-inserted into the Cursillo
method by the Roman Catholics, and then, decades later that method was shared back with the Lutherans.
As many good features as there are to this reunion card in its present form, now that I have done
a good bit of research and getting this card in historical perspective, I have several suggestions to make,
that would make the card, I think, more effective to reunion groups as they grow in grace to a more
balanced Christian life. Now I want to distribute a draft of another possible card. (New card is
distributed).
Here you see a draft of a revised reunion card. The main things, the basic form and content of
the original is included here, but it strengthens these in several respects. Please open up the card and first
note the immediate appearance of balance. The three basic areas of the Christian life are divided evenly
between the three folds of the card -- Piety, Study and Action. Each have their own section. Notice the
strong Biblical emphasis. Each section of the card is preceded by an appropriate Scripture verse for that
section. For instance, the verse for Piety is Jesus' great invitation, "Come unto me all you who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This defines Piety. It's coming into a closer and more vital
union with Christ.
The verse for Study is Jesus' appeal to his disciples to continue to study His word, to live that
word, and if they do, they will know the saving truth. "If you continue in my word, you will know the
truth, and the truth will make you free." Then the verse for Action is Jesus' great commission to The
Twelve, provided by St. John, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." Now the word translated
in English as apostle is the Greek word apostolos which means "one who is sent." Paul, in his letter to
the Galatians, begins his letter, "Paul, an apostle, sent" etc. The apostles were men sent by the risen
Christ to witness to His resurrection, and to take that gospel message of the forgiveness of sins to all the
corners of the world. This Scripture reinforces that fact. One of the weaknesses of many rollos that I
have heard on apostolic action is the failure to make this point clearly. The apostolic action of first
importance is witness to Christ and second to service. The secular world will serve human needs, but if
the church doesn't witness to Christ, no one else will do it in our stead.
Return now to the Piety section. Question #1 has not been changed. Of the spiritual aids, the
phrase "worship and communion" is preceded by the word "congregational." Now I feel particularly
strong about this. The Via de Cristo movement seeks to renew the congregation. Most pastors in the
movement use the movement primarily for that purpose. Yet nowhere in the present card does the word
"congregation" appear. By listing this first gives due emphasis to the congregation, and its worship that
unites pilgrims and non-pilgrims alike. Via de Cristo pilgrims should seek the word preached in the
congregation and celebrate the Sacraments distributed in the congregation. Other aids are listed here:
personal devotions replaces meditation, and blessing before meals is added to encourage these practices
of traditional Biblical piety.
Now look again at the Study section. In the opening question #4, this card recommends a return
to the original version of the question that's on the Catholic card: "What have you studied to better
understand Jesus Christ and his mystical body, the Church?" In our current form of the card, the Study
section gets only half the space of the other two sections, which sends the wrong message. Do we really
mean to short-change Study, as our critics suggest? No, we seek balance among all these areas, so I'm
suggesting we add other aids to this section. First is added "adult education class in your congregation."
Now churchwide, this is the major study time, and we should encourage it. In addition, most
congregations provide a Bible study course. In my last two parishes, the Via de Cristo pilgrims
consistently comprised the large majority of the students. They were hungry for it. Next, the private
Bible study is introduced to be of a devotional nature, with a rigorous personal application. Bible
commentaries should be next on the list to stress the fact that the Bible is our primary source of study.
We want well educated heads to inform our pilgrim hearts. Next in rank of importance, books on the
Christian faith. ..... and theology books that help us think clearly and understand our Lutheran emphasis
on grace and justification by faith. Christian periodicals, such as The Lutheran clarify the intent of what
was worded simply, "periodicals," which could be anything. This draft adds pastor-guided reading. In
keeping with our respect for the pastor's role as shepherd and spiritual director of the congregation, we
should encourage our lay pilgrims to seek the assistance of their pastors in selecting the books that would
be most beneficial. Our lay leaders need to be exposed to the best books available. Now note that a
question has been added to the Study section, parallel to the question under Piety, seeking our closest
moment with Christ. Here we ask, "What was your most helpful spiritual insight that you received while
studying?" In my experience, my closest moment with Christ is often during study time. It may be while
reflecting and wrestling with a Scripture text in preparation for a sermon. Or, while applying to my
immediate personal situation a meditation in a devotional book like "Light for Today." Would this not
be an edifying matter to share with my reunion group? Should I not share both the word from Christ that
stirred me and the personal circumstances that were illuminated?
Now, please move over to the ACTION section of the card again. Observe that question #7 in
the card is parallel with similar questions asked in the preceding two sections. Since action is divided
into parts, witness and service, there are comparable questions covering both parts. Again, magnifying
the closest moment with Christ from the Piety section, we seek to identify similar special moments in
each of these areas as well. Question #9 asks, "What was the moment of your most burning witness?"
And, "What was the moment of your most sacrificial service?" These questions balance the card and the
reunion sharing across the Christian life so that we become more aware that Christ is making himself
known to us and close to us in all three areas of our life.
The last question at the bottom of each section is the same: "What will I plan for next week?" in
each area. To deepen my piety, to enrich my study, to enlarge my witness and service. By spreading the
planning out over all three sections of the card, perhaps the planning feature won't be neglected so much
because it generally comes at the end of the card when you're about to run out of time for the reunion
group.
Now look at the top of the card and note the title: "My balanced weekly plan for growing in
God's grace." This title reminds us of the real purpose of the reunion group, and the method to seek
balance in those areas of life where we are weak, and to make regular, intentional plans to seek the
strengthening of Christ and the strengthening of my brothers or sisters.
Now, fold the card and look at the front panel. The phrase "Order of Reunion" at the top of the
front cover is probably misunderstood by many pilgrims. It means the agenda of the reunion group. Like
"Order of Service" in the LBW, and in our Sunday worship bulletins means the agenda for the worship
service. I suspect that many pilgrims think that "Order of Reunion" refers only to the prayer that begins,
"Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful." This prayer, a staple in the movement, has been
moved, as you see, to the front page of the reunion card in order to provide needed space on the inside.
A few other items in the current card have been dropped to make needed room and I think the dropped
portions are the least used.
Open the card again, and look just under the top line. There is a Scripture verse from
Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Now this verse is very dear to the
hearts of many of our pilgrims, so it is here returned from an earlier version of the card. Now it's quoted
in the space at the top of the card because it applies to the entire renewal process. If we want to be
spiritually renewed, we can't do it on our own power. Only in Christ and with Christ are we able to grow
in grace in all the needed areas encompassing Piety, Study and Action.
The title of this keynote address is "Via de Cristo - the call to passionate, balanced Christian
discipleship". Nearly all my time has been devoted to developing the concept of balance, but in closing I
want to make clear that we feel very strongly about this balance. Our hearts are on fire! The Holy Spirit
leads us to vital, productive balance for our sakes and for the sake of God's kingdom. We feel passionate
about it. Passion also refers to the suffering of Jesus on the cross for our salvation. The balance we seek
is created by the passion of Jesus and the Spirit of Jesus working in the hearts of the Christian
community. We are giving much attention to the reunion card at this annual meeting because the reunion
card summarizes the essence of this movement. Because it is used so often by so many, it shapes the
movement. It shapes what happens in the reunion groups. It shapes how pilgrims grow throughout their
Fourth Day. It is, in a sense, one of our most reliable spiritual directors, and so we want to be extremely
careful about what it says.
Now, I must confess that I am overwhelmed by the card, the version in your hand. I wonder if
you are. There is a reason for everything that is there. It's all good, but it's far more than my reunion
group can get around to in the sixty minutes that we set aside. We do rigorously discipline ourselves to
save time at the end for kneeling at the altar for prayer. That's the best part of all. I'm not suggesting
reunion groups be lengthened. Let's be realistic. Each pilgrim in the group is probably not going to give
equal time to every section of the card each week. In my reunion group, for instance, Powell's passionate
concern this week may be a stunning experience that he had in the area of Piety. Phillip may want to
share something that he had just studied that hit a nerve. Larry is still hurting from a disastrous attempt
to witness to a fellow worker, and he needs to sort it out with us. And Bill is glowing from an experience
that he had in feeding the homeless men in the uptown shelter. As individuals, we are not balanced - at
least in our reporting. But as a group we may be, as each of us gains encouragement in each area from
what the others have to say. If I notice over a period of several weeks that I have been neglecting one of
the three areas, then I'll make mental note of this, and strive to recover the lost balance. In other words, I
think it is important to have the card expressing the right balance, even though to get the right balance,
we must include more questions than we can adequately answer during a reunion. The reunion card calls
us to the ideal.
I urge widespread use of the reunion card all across Via de Cristo. I urge all of our secretariats to
use a common card upon which we can all agree as an expression of our unity and to keep the movement
from eventually fragmenting into different groups going different directions. Let's improve the card.
Let's promote the card. Let's appreciate the card for the blessed gift that it is - a frequent reminder to us
of our call from Christ to Piety, Study, and Action. Let's keep it in widespread use and supportive of the
balanced Christian life! Amen.
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