WHATEVER HAPPENED TO……?

SOUL ACCOUNTING “Soul Accounting” is a term coined long ago. It was used especially in congregations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It described a very good practice. It was a process to track and follow-up on the status of their members. The Senior Pastor had primary responsibility. Often he was assisted by a team of lay persons (in those days always men) who shared responsibility with the pastor. The goal was to monitor as best as possible the spiritual well being of the congregation members. It focused on frequency of communion attendance, regularity of attendance at worship, consistency of financial offerings, ensuring that children were enrolled in the Lutheran school et sim. It really had a noble purpose and when properly carried out greatly assisted the congregation in its responsibility for the spiritual welfare of all of its members.

If I were to use that term today in my ELCA congregation I would get a blank stare and the honest question, “What in the world do you mean by 'soul accounting'? Is that some new computer tracking system?” My congregation keeps no formal record of communion or church attendance. It has no lay committee charged with monitoring how things are going in the families of the church. I know of no system in place for laity to visit the ill, no functional utilization of our apparently dead Stephen Ministry. I know of no effort to have private conversations with members who have stopped making financial contributions. All of this leads to my lament “Whatever happened to soul accounting?”

LUTHERAN CONGREGATION SINGING Again, I have wonderful memories of robust total congregational singing in the Lutheran churches of my youth. There were old hymns (especially chorales) accompanied by a full pipe organ. Men, women and children joined in, often in the four-part harmony of soprano, alto, tenor, bass. Now many new songs are filled with what to me is simply a repetition of quickly succeeding sixteenth notes. Maybe one-in-ten congregants sing along. In my congregation the singing of hymns is a lost art.

HOME VISITATIONS AMONG CONGREGATION MEMBERS It is, I am sure, not just nostalgia that recalls all those Sunday dinners we used to share with other members of our congregation. And they were augmented by big at-home beer and bar-b-que filled wedding receptions, birthday celebrations, and remembrances of years of marriage. The pastor was certain to have been an invited visitor in every single congregation home. Now it usually takes death or a near death experience to have an in-home pastoral visit.

But it is not only church related stuff that I am nostalgic about this morning. Rather, I ask more about WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…

EATING OUT AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE This week my wife Jane and I celebrated her birthday at a wonderful top level steak house. It was generously paid for by friends and family. Here is what we had: 1 serving of French onion soup, asparagus, dessert, one glass of good house wine, the smallest filet on the menu and the lowest cost full-sized steak. The bill (without tip) was $175.00. Now, I want to be clear: it was great, the gift from friends and family deeply appreciated. But $175.00! What retired Lutheran schoolteacher in the world could ever do that without assistance from family and friends!

A DECENTLY LONG GOLF DRIVE I just watched the golf tournament at the magnificent Bethpage-Black Golf Course in New York. I saw and relived the hole where 30 years ago I won the long drive contest with a drive of about 275 yards. Today it takes me a good drive and another wood to reach that distance

THAT MEL WHO ALWAYS HAD A POSITIVE SPIRIT The truth is he is still very much alive. He knows that the whole scene of congregational life has changed in the last 75 years and the good ole’ days have been replaced with lots of good multimedia worship. He knows that Lutheran congregations are still places of care, good pastoral ministry and music which lifts the souls of many. Good dinners can be found and paid for without taking out a loan, and it does feel good to hit golf drives that are straight even if they re not very long. But I just decided to let it all hang out for a few minutes, post it on a BLOG and then go have a good glass of wine and be grateful for the past, the present and the future.