Some argue the name is too German, too much of that European aspect, and too much centered around an fallible man (Martin Luther), instead of being centered around the cross of Jesus. To be fair, those arguing against Lutherans using the name Lutheran are not advocating doing away with the symbols of the church (Luther's Catechisms, Book of Concord, church catholic symbols of sacraments, office of holy ministry, etc.) Rather they are advocating that those who may be coming in from different backgrounds (Spanish or Hispanic being the most prominent though certainly other cultures and languages and peoples abound) have no idea who Martin Luther is.
Where I do agree with the people arguing against using the name Lutheran is where they say Lutherans like to keep things to themselves as if it is "our little secret." Not everyone does, most of our pastors are strong stewards of the Word and Sacraments. However, there is this idea imbedded in Lutherans that if we "go out there" we'll become "just like them." Who are the "them?" Atheists? Idolaters? Drug lords? Sex addicts? Non-believers? Nope, the "them" are other Christians.
Many Lutherans have this absolute fear that if the Lutheran Church "markets" herself at all, she'll adopt the theology of other churches (which are weaker) and be indistinguishable from the church of the Augsburg Confession. Unfortunately, this has happened. Jefferson Hills Church is one church that comes to mind for me when thinking of that happening. But, and here's where it gets dicey, to me it is worth the risk of getting our message out there. The Lutheran Church, and I'll speak specifically for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod since I am a part of her denomination, has a great message. We preach Christ crucified and risen, we preach Law and Gospel, we administer the sacraments and rally around the altar to proclaim our great faith by taking and eating the physical body of our Lord and drinking His blood "in, with, and under" the elements of the bread and wine.
But for some reason, we like keeping it to ourselves. This innate fear of becoming like "them" has held the Lutheran Church back for decades. Now, with an influx of hispanic speaking peoples and others coming into this country more than ever, and with newer generations not being brought up in the traditional church, and with many young people having disdain for Christianity because of so called "evangelicals" and their law based Gospel, it is our time. I will not say we "must" seize it. Because to be honest, the "Lutheran" Church could fade away and God's Gospel will still find a way, believe it or not. But I will say it is our time, and we "get to" do it.
I advocate for keeping the name Lutheran, because it's important to tell people who we are. We have a great message. We do need to be able to distinguish from other messages out there, even some Christian messages. In our explanation of these things Martin Luther's name is bound to come up. But we should stress his theology, his proclamation he rejoices with just as proudly as St. Paul that "the righteous will live by faith."
Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria
Let us "get to" teaching the people what this means, and why we call ourselves Lutherans. Perhaps that will do us some better, perhaps not. But one thing is for sure, "His Truth is marching on."
