My evangelical catholicity (small c)

Some have inquired on my Facebook page regarding my religious views where they state quite simply, "evangelical catholic."  My Lutheran friends seem to be confused by this as though I have rejected the beautiful doctrine of "Justification through faith alone," or at the very least (or most) they are giving me a good natured ribbing.  I actually suspect it is more of the latter, but because of multiple inquiries I felt I should explain just what I mean by referring to myself as an evangelical catholic.  Allow me then to take you all down the path as to why I consider myself an evangelical catholic.

First and foremost it has nothing to do with rejecting the key tenets of Lutheranism.  For me, to be an evangelical catholic is at the same exact time to be Lutheran.  One minor reason for taking on this name is because Martin Luther himself had no desire for the movement he started to bear his name.  But due to the confusion that occurred with several protestant sects following the 16th century reformation, Luther's followers began to carry the moniker "Lutherans."  It is still an important distinction to make and by way of individually calling myself an evangelical catholic I do not suggest that we go around to every Lutheran Church tearing down the name "Lutheran."  It is still an important name to carry as a way to identify ourselves.  

Also, the term evangelical catholic has little to do with the Roman Catholic Church.  In the title, and in my subsequent writing, I purposely use catholic in a "small c" fashion as not to identify myself with the Roman Catholic Church.  Small c catholic comes from the ancient Greek which means "universal."  There is an "Evangelical Catholic" movement in the Roman Church as well, as a way to be more evangelical in their witness to their faith within the Catholic (large C, but looking to capture small c) tradition.  The movement "evangelical catholic" in the Lutheran Church is wrapped up in the theme of the reformation.

Lutherans can and will be lumped into the grand category of "protestants" (note "protest") of those who came forth from the reformation, but Lutherans can not and should not ever be categorized as "reformed."  The reformed movement of the calvinists and subsequent groups is different from the Lutheran Church.  And thus also Lutherans should never be seen as a group of Christians who are arminian (to learn more about these terms do a simple google search!).  Lutherans, by nature, are sinful and unclean (ha ha), no but really, we are catholic in the sense of the small c and being universal.  We can call ourselves catholic because as the confessions state, "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church." This is to mean that we did not seek to separate ourselves from Rome but looked to reform Rome from within.  Rome gave us the boot, and here we are.  So with us we took the very pure and scriptural practices of church tradition and thereby the church catholic (small c).  In addition to that the confessions cite how the reformers (not the reformeD) were accused of abolishing the Mass, to this they replied, "Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence."  You can read all of this fun stuff here at the Book of Concord online.  

We believe in confession/absolution, the office of the keys, that Baptism brings regeneration, and that Christ is truly present in with and under the bread and the wine.  Where Lutherans have tripped up is on the evangelical end.  In America when one hears the word "evangelical" they likely cringe or reach for a vomit bag.  So called evangelicals have done immense damage to the image of Christianity, but the good news is the same community is reacting against itself now and is looking to rectify their past mistakes by replacing them with more catholic (small c) practices that look and sound awfully Lutheran (go figure).  The book unChristian is actually a book that with its theological concepts sounds very much Lutheran.  And I have had that confirmed by the author whose father once studied to be an LCMS Pastor and whose grandparents were life long members of the LCMS.  

Lutherans have long had an issue with being the one bringing the Good News or the evangel to the world.  The word evangelical comes from the Greek word Euangellion, which means Good News or Gospel.  We are to be the ones bearing the Gospel and we have not done a stellar job by any means.  So to be an "evangelical catholic" means to capture the idea that we remain true to catholic church traditions developed because of scripture and the early church (hence the divine service or the Mass as we see it, and the practices and doctrines that come with it) but at the same time being evangelical in our approach that we engage the world with the Gospel of Hope that transforms.  It is in this approach that I carry myself and it is the very reason why I identify myself as an "evangelical catholic (small c)."  

Too much information?  Perhaps.  But I had a few minutes to kill before class and wanted to address this.  Please comment or contact me for further information if need be!!