Lutherans blogging

I've just (somehow) found a Lutheran blog with a very very funny piece. The blog is Horn + Swoggled and it seems that there are maybe nearly as meny Lutheran blogs out there to match the Catholic ones. And as is the case with us, the Lutherans that are blogging are mostly pretty traditional and orthodox.

Anyway the story I came across was on Liturgy Card Girls Highlight Blended Worship.

Faced with an alarming absence of men in its pews, one Iowa church is borrowing from successful fight promoters in a new form of "blended worship" designed to please a wide audience. The Third United Methodist Church of Ames will continue to use the historic liturgical form of worship, but has begun using bikini-clad "liturgy card girls" to announce each new part of the traditional service.

"Men are staying away more and more on Sunday morning," said Pastor William Knight, a 52-year-old former marketing consultant. "We need to do whatever it takes to fulfill the Great Commission by winning men's hearts for God."

Knight initially proposed scrapping liturgical worship altogether, replacing it with a contemporary football-themed service. When some younger members complained that they desired to deep the "solemnity" of the liturgy, Knight struck a compromise involving the liturgy card girls.

"We're all going to have to sacrifice if we're going to re-engage men in the life of the church," said Pastor Knight. "That includes some young women who are going to have to sacrifice some of their clothing for the sake of their erring Christian brothers."

Oh dear. I'm not sure if it's working and I wonder what kind of men it's bringing to the liturgy.