ST LOUIS- In an effort to reach out to some who have been less-than-enthusiastic about the Synod's Ablaze! initiative, mission-minded strategists have announced a new version of the Ablaze! bracelet.
Long hailed for its ability to turn everyday conversation into rip-roarin' ablaze contacts, the Ablaze bracelet with its six colored beads will come in a new variation.
In an effort to invite papist-leaning Lutherans into the Ablaze! camp, the synod will make available a version of the Ablaze! bracelet, known affectionately as the Lutheran Rosary, with a crucifix.
Rev. Scott Snow, who demonstrated how to get your sinner friends to ask Jesus into their hearts with the original Ablaze! bracelet, explained this most recent incarnation. "The premise is the same. When someone asks you why your bracelet has six different colored beads, which they do all the time, you answer simply: 'The black bead tells us we are separated from God because of His Law, which is sorta like Jim Crow laws. The red bead reminds us of Jesus' blood, and Valentine's Day, when we send Jesus love notes in our praise songs. White, which rhymes with right, reminds us that we are right with Jesus, which was an old way of saying "We cool, Jesus?" The green bead tells us to grow in our faith, like weeds. The yellow bead reminds us of heaven, where all the walls are painted yellow.' Then, when you get to the crucifix, you invite your friend to pray the Sinner's Prayer to Mary."
According to Snow, the innovation of praying the Sinner's Prayer to Mary is what makes this allthingtoallmen initiative palatable to papistic Lutherans, some of whom still believe Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born.
"Honestly, whether your friend prays the Sinner's Prayer to Mary or to Jesus, what matters is that you go to
www.lcms.org/ablaze to record the event."
