From Disorder to Order: Using the Three Estates to Establish Godly Order in the Congregation

Schlueter, Paul R.

Etd

From Disorder to Order: Using the Three Estates to Establish Godly Order in the Congregation

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Schlueter, Paul R. From Disorder to Order: Using the Three Estates to Establish Godly Order In the Congregation. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/e94d32c3-83f4-4987-950a-7e91d70a5e60.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

S. P. R. From Disorder to Order: Using the Three Estates to Establish Godly Order in the Congregation. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/e94d32c3-83f4-4987-950a-7e91d70a5e60

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Schlueter, Paul R. From Disorder to Order: Using the Three Estates to Establish Godly Order In the Congregation. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/e94d32c3-83f4-4987-950a-7e91d70a5e60.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Schlueter, Paul R.

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

The effects of conflict within a congregational community can prove to be devastating to that community. Long-standing rivalries can come to the forefront and create dissension and strife that threaten to tear apart God's people. Satan uses human sin to stir up disorder within the Christian congregation. God's word, however, is an ordering word that overcomes the work of Satan to reestablish good order. This project addresses an instance of congregational conflict that occurred as the result of the decline and eventual closure of the school that was operated by St. Paul Lutheran Church in Milford Center, Ohio. The congregation was divided between those who felt that the school was too great a financial burden for the congregation to continue to carry and those who believed that the school was too vital a piece of the spiritual development for the congregation's children to allow it to close. The period in question was one of great strain to the congregation that resulted in division and disagreement and disorder. The doctrine of the three estates affirms that God has designed a specific order into his creation through his institution of the church, the family, and the civil government. Within these estates, God has established a holy order with offices that have been given a specific domain in which they are to exercise authority as a trust and stations that are given to be subordinate to those offices. These offices are arranged within the spheres of the three estates, namely the church, the household, and the civil government. Through authority, God protects the individual members of a community and ensures their protection and provision. God calls on each member of the community to willingly place themselves under the care of their authorities. Conflict and disorder arise when authorities misuse or abuse their office or when members of a community refuse to practice subordination. The intent of this study was to teach the scripture passages and related doctrine to the members of St. Paul Lutheran Church during its period of disorder. Special attention would be given to teach the spiritual discipline of subordination together with the right use of authority. Subordination is the willing surrender of oneself such that the individual takes the role of a servant within a community. Likewise, authority is to be used in service to the community and in subordination to Christ. The assumption of the study is that God's word is an ordering word and through the teaching and the preaching of that word order would be restored. A teaching plan was developed that sought to make the doctrines concrete using visual aids and metaphors. Following the teaching, a survey was conducted to determine the effectiveness of that teaching. The subsequent calm and the restoration of order and a well-functioning congregational hierarchy suggest that the effort was successful.

Year