Rector’s Reflections
Tuesday 10th June 2025
Why the Church of England Needs Martin Luther
Over the last week or so, we have been looking at the life and writings of Martin Luther (1483-1546). Luther lived at a time when the Church as he knew it was in need of serious reform. The need for reform was widely acknowledged, but there were differences of opinion as to what this reform would mean in practice. There were also differences of opinion as to whether the Church could be trusted to reform itself, under its existing leadership, or whether there needed to be significant change.
In 1517, Luther decided to provoke a debate about indulgences, in the hope that the Church would be willing and able to engage on a programme of serious reform. In the event, Luther’s programme of reform split the Church, as not everyone was in agreement with everything that he proposed. In many respects, Luther’s ideas probably seemed a little too radical for some of many of his contemporaries, and it took a while for their novelty to wear off. It also took a while for the Catholic Church as a whole to get over the shock of Luther, and to embark on their own programme of Church reform, which later historians have called The Counter-Reformation.
Although Luther died 1546, his ideas have continued to be a challenge and an inspiration to Christians down the centuries. He has something to say to the Church in every generation, especially to churches which tend to be bureaucratic, hierarchical, and set in their ways.
We have seen that Luther would have much to say to the current Church of England. His doctrine of salvation through faith rather than works strikes at the heart of the church’s current emphasis on lots of activity and finding the silver bullet which will magically bring hundreds of people into church. Luther’s model of the Church provides a serious challenge to the Church of England’s model of senior leadership, which is narrowly clerical and far removed from the reality of life and ministry in the ordinary parish church.
Above all, Luther challenges the church to engage with human beings as they really are. Is our language communicating the gospel in a way which people can understand? We can use of lots of words but is the message of the gospel really getting through?
Are we remembering that for most human beings, family life is important. Are we helping church members to live out their faith within their family lives? Are we valuing family life, with all its complexity and challenges? Are we recognising that family life might well be different now from what it was in years past, and are we prepared to accept that families come in all shapes and sizes?
Finally, does the church do enough to recognise that men and women have feelings, prejudices, hopes and fears? Do we engage with the whole of our personalities, or is the communication of the gospel focussed too narrowly on our minds and our intellects?
In short, Luther might well ask: are we communicating the real gospel to real people? If we’re not doing this, we can’t expect our churches to be full. Let’s return to basics. As a church, our task is to share the gospel of God’s saving love in a way which meets the real needs of men and women today. Otherwise, we are increasingly consigned to irrelevance.
It’s not a new Archbishop that the Church of England is needing. It’s a return to basics : a return to communicating the gospel in a clear and relevant way.
Perhaps Martin Luther will come back from the grave and be our next Archbishop. Or might this be a step too far? What do you think?