THE CRITICAL EVENT --

“When one Lutheran Christian gives witness about Jesus of the hope that is within him or her to another person so that person can encounter Christ.”

The Background of the Phrase: "The Critical Event."

The background of the "critical event" phrase is noted in a paper produced in 2003 by President Kieschnick titled: "Igniting the Mission: A Call to Action." Pertinent sections of that document, copied in italics below, describe the original understanding of the phrase "critical event."

Given the decline of Christianity in our country and the broadening culture gap between the Church and society, the opportunities for mission fulfillment focus upon the individual as key in mission outreach and strategy. It is, in fact, individual Christians who are best positioned to reach across the culture gap toward the people in their lives who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. If we, as the LCMS, are to impact the world for the kingdom of God, a necessary component will be individual LCMS Christians whose hearts and lives are conditioned for witnessing mightily and boldly about the Lord Jesus Christ, whose hearts are on fire for Christ, and who take a witness of Jesus into the workplaces and marketplaces of our country.

While certainly the Word and Sacrament ministry of local congregations remains central in Christ’s salvation mission, the witness of the individual Christian is crucial in the process. In fact, there is a “Critical Event” that must occur for the LCMS to attack the declining trends in Christianity that have been prominent in our church and country for the past 30 years, as well as for increasing the number of people in the kingdom of God. This “Critical Event” is “When one Lutheran Christian gives witness about Jesus of the hope that is within him or her to another person so that person can encounter Christ.”

This witness will employ any, and all, of the evangelism styles of serving, inviting, personal caring, giving testimony, providing intellectual proof, or confronting with the Word of God that results in, or can be measured by:

• A life of faith and good works in that individual, and
• Adult Baptism and/or Confirmation

Unless you and I, as individuals for whom Christ died, are willing to bring people across the culture gap to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, where the life-giving message of forgiveness is imparted, it is very likely that Christianity and our church will remain on a path of decline during a time in God’s history when the Gospel is needed desperately by so many.